we have in our new Translation turned into Charity which in the old is Love for Charity will not sufficiently explain the meaning of the word Therefore it is said in the 3. v. Though I bestow all my Goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing That is if we have not Love for Love cannot be without Charity but Charity may be without Love for we may be Charitable by the way of Merit thinking to purchase Heaven by it and that will not do But if we are without Charity in the way of our Duty and Love in the fellow feeling of one anothers sufferings then is not the Love of God in us For St. John saith in the 3. chap. 17. v. But whosoever hath this world's goods and seeth his Brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of Compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him 18. v. My little Children let us not Love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth And St. James saith in the 1.17 Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Afflictions and to keep himself unspotted from the World And he saith in the 2. c. 13. v. For he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy and mercy rejoyceth against Judgment 14. v. For what doth it profit my brethren tho a man say he hath Faith and have not Works can Faith save him 15. v. If a Brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily Food 16. v. And one of you say unto them depart in Peace be you warmed and filled Notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the Body what doth it profit 17. v. Even so Faith if it hath not works is dead being alone We are not here now to wait for new Calls but to improve the Talent that God hath given us in that we have his word the good motions of his Spirit and the Checks of Conscience the which Talents well improved will bring us to Eternal Blessedness for if we take to the rule which he hath set before us and according thereunto beg his continual Assistance God will then never be wanting to us And St. Paul saith of the Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.15 That from a Child thou hast known the Scriptures which is able to make thee wise to Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus By which the Promise is obtainable for as there is an absolute Election of whom it is said their Names was Written in Heaven from the Foundation So there is a conditional Election and us a Day of Grace Therefore as the Apostle saith having a promise of entring into his Rest let us fear lest we should fall short of it Therefore let us up and be doing that thereby we may make our Calling and Election sure for we are not of that number that are chose to be his standing Witnesses thro' the World and therefore may fall away the which I have clearly proved by the word where I have spoken of Election Of Baptism AND whereas St. Paul saith Gal. 3.27 For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ The which is meant 〈◊〉 the Spiritual Baptism whereby they become conformable to Christ as in Rom. 8.9,10 Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is Life because of Righteousness But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you The which indwelling of his Spirit is this Spiritual Baptism Now with the Spiritual Baptism there is joyned a sign or Seal the which is the outward Baptism of Washing or Plunging So as to be buried under the Water and therefore said buried with him in Baptism for as Christ was underneath the Earth so we should be plunged under the Water the which doth also signify to us that we should be Spiritually Dead to the World as having no delight in it or to it Now the Children of believing Parents are said to be Holy therefore fit to receive this sign of Baptism and they also being in Covenant as well as their Parents And by the Blood of Christ it is that both are made partakers of the Promises but to any that are of Maturity and not Believers the which Belief is such as brings our Wills over into a conformity to the will of God then Christ dwells in us by his Spirit and then are we Spiritually Baptised And if the outward sign and Seal is fixt on them that within them is not sound the thing signified It is but like a Seal to a blank Bond For St. Paul saith Rom. 2.28 For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the Flesh 29. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of Men but of God Now Children are innocent as to any actual Sin and if they come of believing Parents are said to be Holy and so fit to be Baptised and the Covenant of God made by Moses was as well made with Children as with those of Maturity Of the Trinity THe meaning of the Trinity is this That the Infinite God consists of three Glorious Beings or Persons as God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost and these three to be one God being of one Will one Mind one Power one Glory this being the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity which was from all Eternity and so continues to all Eternity the only true God blessed for ever more Amen Heb. 1.3,8 John 5.21,22,23 1 John 5.20 Col. 1.15,16,17 John 1.3 Acts 5.3,4 Wisd 7.24,25,26,27 Let us all learn to know God in Christ Christ in Faith by an Holy reliance upon him and a self Resignation of our Wills and affections to him and to know our Faith by good works and so to know the Will of God as to do it and before the knowledg of all other things we should learn to know our selves Whereas it is said in 1 John 5.7,8 that the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost are One so it is said the Spirit the Water and the Blood a gree in one as to the renewing of a sinner the Spirit of the Lord doth again Renew us the Water in Baptism washeth us and the Blood of Christ 't is that Justifies us if we take hold of the tender of his Grace according to the condition as it is offered And again the Spirit the Water and
is done to the Figtree but also if ye shall say unto this Mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the Sea and it shall be done 22. And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer believing ye shall receive This Christ spake to his Disciples unto whom he afterward gave as great power to as that of the removing of Mountains when he sent upon them the Holy Ghost and the Power of working Miracles and there is no doubt but if they had said to the Mountain be thou removed into the Sea but it should have been done as well as when Elijah called for Fire to come down from Heaven But these promises belong not to us but those that find they have Power to do these Miracles may believe they do belong to them Now here is some difference betvven vvhat is said in these Verses and vvhat is said in the former for there it is said that they shall say to this Mountain be thou removed and it shall be done but in these last Verses it is said if you shall say to this Mountain be you removed and it shall be so In the former there should be nothing impossible for them to do But in these vvhatsoever they should ask believingly they should receive Now as St. Paul saith 1 Cor. 13,2 And tho I have the gift of Prophecy and understand all Misteries and all knowledg And tho I have all Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have no Charity I am nothing 3. Altho I bestow all my goods to feed the Poor and tho I give my hody to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing Now these Mountains that St. Paul here speaks of doth appear to be some inbred Corruption which a man might find some inconvenience in And so for fear of Hell he becomes terrified and therefore no longer willing to live in them having all Faith as to believe the whole Revealed Will of God in his Word And therefore when he finds that he in his own strength was not able to overcome them then he goes to fetch strength from the the Lord in making his Addresses to him for his Assistance and having thereby gain'd power to remove these Mountains yet if his Heart is not drawn out in the Love of God and Christ thereby he is still nothing for it is our Love that God requireth and it is that which will launch with us into the World that is to come As to that word which in these new Translations is termed Charity is in the old Translation Love as in the Original For by Love vve extend our selves to God as vvell as to our fellovv Creatures vvhich by Charity vve cannot do Now as for those places of Scriptvre vvhere Christ and his Apostles saith he that believeth in me or he that believeth in Christ shall be saved is only in short to remember them of the Lord 's Revealed Will in his Word vvhich if they do so believe in the Lord as to make his Commands and Precepts the rule of their Lives to live according thereunto they shall be saved The vvhich is a clear demonstration that the Lord hath by himself and his Apostles left us Instructions vvhich vve are to believe by vvhich Salvation is attainable The vvhich St. Paul's vvords does farther clear 1 Cor. 15.1 Moreover Brethren I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you which also ye have received and wherein ye stand By which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I Preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain And St. Peter faith 1 Pet. 1.21,22 Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the Dead and gave him Glory that your Faith and Hope might be in God Seeing ye have purified your Souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit see that ye Love one another with a pure Heart fervently We here see this Faith purifieth the Soul and extendeth it self in Love for God is Love And St. Peter saith in Acts 15.9 That God put no difference between us and them purifying their Hearts by Faith By vvhich vve see if vve have a saving faith it vvill vvork the same effect in us This is spoken of the Election 〈…〉 and 〈◊〉 of those that were Christ's standing witnesses thro' the World of whom the Lord faith in John 10.27,28 That none can pluck them out of his hand Concerning the Indwelling of Christ in us NOW as to Christ's being in us and as to the indwelling of the Spirit with us I shall here set down what St. Paul saith 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves whether ye be in the Faith prove your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be roprobates Now we are to take notice what he here saith in the former part of the verse the which was that we should examin our selves whether we are in the Faith and that we should prove our selves as much as to say that is the way to know whether Christ is in us or no And in the Ephesians he tells us plainly how it is Christ is said to dwell in us where he saith in Ephes 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your Hearts by Faith that ye being rooted and grounded in Love By which we may clearly see it is by Faith and Love that Christ is said to dwell in our Hearts And therefore St. Paul saith in 1 Cor. 16.22 If any Man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him him be Anathema Maranatha The which is let him be Accursed and if accursed besure he is a Reprobate Now if the indwellings of Christ in us is by Faith and Love then the best way to know whether Christ hath such an Indwelling in us or no is by our Obedience to him in our close walking with him according to his Revealed Will in his Word And if so we shall have the Spirit which is the Comforter more or less bearing Witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God And St. Paul here speaks of the Works of the Flesh where he saith Rom. 8.5 to the 10. v. They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit For to be carnally minded is Death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace Because the carnal mind is entirely against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And if Christ be in you the Body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is Life because of righteousness We see that the Spirit here spoken of is no other but a Spirit of Complaiscency to God and Christ in that their Wills are brought over into the Love
relating to us and the present time has occasioned our falling into great mistakes For whereas the Lord said to his Disciples Matth. 17.20 If ye have faith as a grain of Mustard-seed ye shall say to this Mountain Remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall be unpossible unto you Now tho' at that time the Disciples faith was but weak yet afterwards according to the promise of the Lord they did greater Miracles than that of removing Mountains but this promise belongs no more to us than that of sitting upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel But as much as we can do the Miracles so much the Promise belongs to us Likewise the Apostle speaking of the Gentiles which had received the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 12. v. 2,3 Ye know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto these dumb Idols even as you were led Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Now he spake this of those that were convinced by the Holy Ghost that Christ was the Son of God For the others that were not then thus convinced would not own him But now all the Christians have learned by rote to say that Christ is the Son of God without the assistance of the Holy Ghost Now the persons of the first Churches were in a more particular manner chosen to be Heirs to the promised everlasting Covenant because unto them was given the Holy Ghost as the earnest of their Inheritance so as they must wilfully disinherit themselves if they mist of the promised blessedness but to the succeeding Generations of the Gentile Churches to them the Promises belonged as they before did to Israel And tho' they were not given the Holy Spirit to be in them as he was in the first Churches but to be with them as he was with Israel yet none can come in as Heirs to the promised Mercy without bringing their wills and affections into subjection unto Christ for he must be so in them as to have the ruling-power in the heart for he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his Rom. 8.9 That is so as to have their minds brought into subjection to the will of Christ Therefore St. Paul saith Rom. 8.13,14 For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye thro' the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God That is whosoever will not be led by the Spirit of God to obey the revealed Will of God are not the Sons of God Therefore St. Paul when he related who they were that were in Covenant he there declares it is the Believer that is in Covenant and therefore saith If one of the Parents be a Believer then are the Children holy 1 Cor. 7.14 Whereby we see all that come in as Heirs to the Covenant are included as Believers And the Believer is no longer a Believer than he believes Salvation is to be had according to the tenour of the Gospel But when the Everlasting Covenant is establisht with Abraham and his Seed together the which will be at the Resurrection of the Just which is at the restitution of all things then it is that God will never turn away from them neither shall they then any more depart from him Jer. 32.40 God saith I will make an Everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from me This is that which crowns life to the Soul This promise is not only to the natural Seed of Abraham but to all the adopted Seed that shall be found true Believers in that day then it is that the Lord will perform his promise as in the 39th I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever for the good of them and their Children after them This is clearly evident that this promise was never made good to the Children of the Gentile Churches and therefore this promise remains to be made good in time to come for his faithfulness cannot fail for hath he said it and shall he not do it no let God be true and every man a lyar Now Israel when they were first brought under the Covenant then was the time when God saw them in their sin and said unto them live For when God brought them out of Egypt they were then polluted in their blood the which time was the time of love the Lord then taking them into Covenant with himself and thereby he said unto them live But Israel not obeying the voice of the Lord in living according to his Commands and Precepts therefore they were cast off of God So when God first took into Covenant the Transgressors of the Gentiles they were then polluted in their blood whom God then renewed by his Spirit and took them into Covenant with himself and put them into a capacity of obedience And the Believers Children were sharers in the promised Mercy until such time as they grew to have no love to the truth but like Israel took pleasure in unrighteousness Then God left them to strong delusions that they might believe lyes That all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes 2.12 But God hath promised all to be with them whilst they keep the way and to the remnant of whom the Disciples sprang which were his Fathers before and given to Christ it was those of whom Christ said None shall pluck them out of my hand but that he would be with them to the end of the World Now when Christ first came the Spirit was shed on Believers abundantly Titus 3.6 Yet notwithstanding St. Paul terms it but night to that approaching day which is at hand and therefore saith The night is far spent the day is at hand let us walk honestly as in the day c. Rom. 13.12,12 Thereby shewing that in that day there will be no disorderly walking amongst them for then it is that both the natural and adopted Seed of Jacob will be all taught of God from the least of them to the greatest of them so as they shall no more teach every man his Neighbour and his Brother For then it is The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the Earth as the Waters cover the Sea I shall not here insist upon the Everlasting Covenant because I intend fully to explain it in another Treatise Chap. XVI A Belief in Christ further Explained NOW whereas Christ saith He that believeth in me or on me shall be saved And the Apostles also Saying He that Believeth in Christ shall be saved Which is no other than in short to declare that Christ had said and manifested the way and
method of Salvation which if accordingly be lieved they should be saved Therefore Christ saith to the Church Rev. 3.3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent If therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee Here we see the Lord calls upon them to put in practice what they have heard Which if they do not he will come upon them at an hour they are not aware of And as the Thief comes to destroy so the Lord will come to the destruction of them that have his word and will not according thereunto wait for him with a prepared heart in love to receive him For he saith If ye keep my Commandments ye shall abide in my love John 15.10 and in the 14. v. Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you And also the Lord saith John 8.31 If ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed And the offer of mercy by Christ is to all that will take his Yoke upon them Matth. 11.29 And the Lord saith Mark 8.34,35,36 Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me For whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel the same shall save it For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own Soul This losing of the life for Christ is to be taken under a twofold head Not only when we are called to lay down our life for the defence of the Gospel but also in denying our selves the pleasures delights and advantages of this world for this is spoken in general to all that will save their lives to life eternal According to this the Lord saith John 12.25 He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal And Christ saith Matth. 7.21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Matth. 7.24 Christ saith Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them is like to a wise man that built his house upon a rock So if we lay hold upon the promise of life according to the conditions offered by Christ we build upon that rock that will never fail us So as when the greatest storm ariseth that man will securely stand because he is faithful that hath promised But if we believe in Christ for justification yet walk according to our own imaginations and not according to his Commands it is building upon a sandy foundation for which they will have damnation According to the word of the Lord when he sent his Disciples to teach the Doctrine of the Gospel which was the conditions of the Covenant of grace He then said He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned Mark 16.15,16 That is it was the Gospel which then Christ sent forth his disciples to teach which they that heard were to believe Accordingly the Lord saith Matth. 28.19,20 Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you and lo I am with you to the end of the world That is with the race of the Disciples which is of the remnant he will be with to the end of the World for they are those that none can pluck out of his hand And of whom it is said they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth And also he will never forsake any whilst they keep his way in observing to do whatsoever he Commands them Now the Belief in Christ that is saving is to be grounded upon the words of Christ that his righteousness is to be applied for the justification of the sinner according to the conditions as it is tendred by him which is in the observing to do whatsoever he commanded them For tho' at the first receiving of the Gospel by his free grace they were saved from their sins by yielding to the conditions that Christ required Yet all of them that were not immediately taken away by death were to be judged according to the performance of those conditions before they could be thought meet to partake of the Crown of life And in every believer is required the faith of God's Elect that in the way of their love and obedience they shall become Heirs to the promise Zacheus desired to be a Disciple of the Lord and he knew in being so his Obedience was required Therefore he said Lord half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have taken any thing from any by false accusation I will restore him fourfold Luke 19.8 But many of us like the Jews of old by their Tradition made the Commands of God of no effect So many with us by their half-faith or believing but half way in that they leave out the conditions upon which life and salvation is offered by Christ have made their faith in Christ of none effect to the saving of their Souls because the promise of life is upon condition of our Obedience In which whosoever remains faithful to the death shall have the Crown of life But for any to think that Christ dyed to give them a liberty to sin it is of such God saith Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thy self but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes Now consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver Psal 50.21,22 This forgetting God is forgetting their duty as to yield Obedience unto his Commands But for our having Faith in the righteousness of Christ separate from good works is dead standing alone James 2.20,21,22 But wilt thou know vain man that faith without works is dead Was not Abraham our Father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his Son upon the Altar Seest thou how faith wrought with his work and by works was faith made perfect Thereby shewing that a lively and perfect Faith always includs good works As first the inward work upon the will and affections and afterwards good works put in practise Therefore he saith in the 26 verse For as the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also And Chap 1. v. 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect Law of Liberty and continueth therein he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this man shall be blessed in his deed Now why is it term'd the Law of Liberty Because such as walk in obedience thereunto are by Christ set free from the condemning power of sin and death 26. v. If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth
the Lord loved him And what the Lord here saith as to his selling his Estate and giving it to the Poor was as well to instruct the Church by reason they were not long to have inheritances there the which all the Church followed after the Crucifixion of the Lord. And St. Paul saith in Acts 13.26 Men and Brethren Children of the Stock of Abraham and whosoever among you feareth God to you is the word of this Salvation sent By which it is clear that none was left of God to blindness of Mind that truly fear'd his Name And so now it is with us as 't was with the Jews that our Inheritances here will signify little to us And whereas the Lord saith Matt. 11.13 For all the Prophets and the Law Prophesied until John That is until John there was a Succession of Prophets and the whole Law was of force until John after which the Ceremonial Law was Abolished But the Moral Law and some of the Prophesies of the Antient Prophets will be of Force in the World to come Bishop Vsher says We do not well understand what Sanctification and the New Creature are it is no less than for a man to be brought to an intire Resignation of his Will to the Will of God and to live in the Offering up of his Soul continually in the Flames of Love as a whole Burnt-Offering to Christ and how little says he are many of those who profess Christianity experimentally acquainted with this work on their Souls And he further saith 'T is those of the Inner-Court that shall be left as a Seed to partake of the Glory And also good Mr. George Withers saith The Lord will again come whom the Jews do expect And also Mr. Saltmarsh witnessed it with his Death And all the Scriptures do agree in foretelling the second coming of the Lord and other good men whom God hath open'd their Eyes to understand the same with the evident signs that were foretold should be before the coming of the Lord as now if we will be wilfully ignorant of the Truth we must take what follows And that we are in the time of Daniel's 45. Year is most certain and that there is a great many of them past since the signs have been upon the Earth is evidently manifest but as to the day and Hour of the Lord 's coming is uncertain altho very near at hand therefore we should prepare for it and pray for his coming and earnestly desire it I am apt to believe the first Blasing-Star that was seen in 1662 of which it was said it was a rod to whip the World withal which I take to be the first sign that God gave notice of the near approaching Judgment of this World and since we have had several Blazing-Stars and continual Signs As the oft-repeated Earth-quakes and the Cities of the Nations falling with the repeated Rivers and Floods of Fire out of the Earth and Wâ—rs in divers places which were the signs the Lord gave us of his coming which the Earth never produc'd the like before The Lord grant we may be warned by the signs of the Time as all that look Sion ward may â—ay themselves low at his foot that they may be refreshed by his presence And Lord grant that thy Ransomed ones may be many My Book being not so well done as I intended therefore I shall not at this time give an account of the Return from the Land of the Enemy of them that Died Innocently being clearly to be proved by those that are said to be slain in the New Testament are said they shall return from the Land of the Enemy in the Old and also in the last Judgment they are all Judg'd according to the deeds done in the Body With several other places to the like effect which I shall not here mention THE Christian Belief Shewing What a Christian ought to Believe What a true Soul saving Faith is What a false Faith is and Instructions as to a true One With a Brief Explanation Shewing how the Spirit of Christ must be in us or we are none of his proving that it is the same mind is required in us as was in Christ Jesus in having our wills brought into Subjection unto the Will of God And not that the Holy Ghost is given to be in us as it was in the first Churches whereby mighty Sgns and Wonders were done by them and the same Anointing taught them the hidden Misteries of God for the Confirmation of the Gospel that others and those that did come after them might believe the Truth thereof As also an Account of Boptism as to the sign and the thing signified And of the Trinity By M. Mersen London Printed and Sold by John Clarke at the Bible in the Old Change John Gwillim in Bishops-gate-street over against the Royal James Mrs. Mitchel at the Crown and Cushion in Westminster Hall and Mr. Garin over against the Crown Tavern in the Strand the corner of St. Clements Church Yard 1697. The TABLE ADefinition of a true Faith p. 182 A Covenant p. 185 A false Faith and instructions in the true One p. 187 Concerning the everlasting Life given the believer p. 202 A grain of Faith explained p. 228 How it is Christ dwells in us by his Spirit if we are his explained p. 233 An explanation of Baptism p. 245 An explanation of the Trinity p. 247 Concerning the Soul of Man Advertisement THis being part of a Book which contains three Subjects which is parted that all might the better attain to the knowledge of the things therein contained The other Book fully explains the meaning of St. Paul where he speaks of willing and running And therein also is the Faith of Abraham clearly explained with the other difficult places And also therein is proved that the Spirit or Holy Ghost that was but with the Disciples or Church was afterward given to be in the first Churches Joh. 14.17 And therefore Peter said that God put no difference between us and them He there speaks of those that were likewise fore-chosen and did partake of the Holy Ghost to be in them by which they immediately upon receiving spake with Tongues Act 15.8 which evident Witness was to confirm the Gospel to the following Generations But when I Wrote this book I then thought that those that laid hold of the offered Mercy were likewise termed the Elect as well as those that were fore-chosen But since by the Word I find they are but in Covenant I therefore here acknowledge my mistake in explaining those words of St. Peter Acts 15.9 which mistake is in page 232 blotted out THE Christian Belief OR That a Christian ought to Believe according to the Precept of God's Word â— Believe in God the Father Almighty That he was from all Eternity to 〈◊〉 all Eternity God blessed for ever â—…inite in Wisdom Holiness Justice â—…odness and Truth also in Power and 〈◊〉 Glory and that he was the Gen. 1 1â—
the Blood agree in one for at our first beginning after God had Created Man God breathed into him the Breath of Life and thereby man became a Living Soul God did not first give him a Natural Life and then breath into him the Breath of Life so as he became a Living Soul but it was that Living Soul that quickned his Natural Body and did intermix it self with the Water and the Blood as to agree in one and so it runneth through the whole Body of Man not the least Finger nor the most remote part of man but the blood hath therein its Circulation And the Spirit being intermixt with the Water and Blood whereby we may suppose that the Soul of Man vvhen distinct from the Body may bear the figure of a Man for vvhich Opinion our Lord did no vvay reprove his Disciples for thinking he had been a Spirit vvhen he appeared to them in his own likeness after he arose but said Handle me and see for a spirit hath not Flesh and Bones as ye see me have as in Luke 24.39 This I speak not as an Article of Faith but being not reproved by the Lord therefore 't is most likely THIS TREATISE Proving Three WORLDS FOUDATIONS Mentioned in Scripture Whereby it is clearly made apparent that none were Elected before the Foundation of the Material Heavens and Earth And likewise that the Eternal Purpose only reacheth forward to the Eternity that is before us That the Decree for entring into Life was made strait after Adam fell Two sorts of Elections proved by the Word with the Day of Grace or an Offer of Mercy to all that will upon the Conditions take hold of it which all Israel had till they forfeited it by their not yielding Obedience There are also several Controversal places answered The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge explained LONDON Printed for M. M. and to be sold by Tho. Fabian the lower End of Cheapside in Mercers Chapel And Henry Nelme at the Leg and Star in Cornhill And divers other Booksellers about London 1696. THE CONTENTS THE several sorts of Election As The Election of the first Churches and their Children being in Covenant page 303 The meaning of being Chosen in him before the Foundation of the world p. 305 The Decree was made after the fall of Adam p. 316 Israel was put into a capacity of obedience p. 320 That the Christians were put into the like capacity p. 323 When it is God beholdeth not iniquity in Jacob. p. 326 327 The meaning of Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated p. 337 What God hardened Pharaoh in it being neither in sin nor cruelty p. 343 The root of bitterness which is the Beast p. 347 God shewing mercy to whom he will have mercy p. 349 God gave a day of Grace or an offer of mercy to Babylon p. 351 That we may withstand our mercies p. 362 A three-fold hardness of heart p. 363 Of old ordained to condemnation explained p. 368 The meaning of chosen from the beginning p. 375 The meaning of the eternal purpose p. 380 Who they are that are chosen to the praise of his glory with the general offer of mercy p. 382 What were the worlds that were made p. 394 Concerning the Illegitimate p. 399 How there came to be several Seeds in the world p. 400 Concerning the Righteous and the VVicked p. 407 The foreknowledge of God p. 411 All shall be judged according to their deeds p. 422 The Children of Believers dying in their infancy are in Covenant p. 424 The very Elect or standing witness p. 426 The promise made to David Solomon and Christ p. 444 The Battle of Gog and Magog p. 448 The Sinagainst the Holy Ghost p. 453 The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. p. 456 Of Perfection p. 458 TO THE READER Christian Reader IN this Treatise is discovered those great Truths which we have not understood The which hath much occasioned those great and dangerous mistakes that we are in at this day But God having compassion on them that are unwillingly out of the way therefore hath accordingly now brought the true meaning of the word to light that his justice might be magnified and also that man might not bottom on a wrong Foundation so as to think that God from all eternity elected some to everlasting Life and left all the rest under a necessity of Damnation For now the places of Scripture that have caused our mistakes as to these things are by the word clearly proved to have no such meaning as we have hitherto apprehended But this Book being done in hast both by the Author and Printer for which cause it was not so well done by either as it should have been For my intentions were to have had it published the latter end of the last year But I afterward finding there were several other things in dispute in the New Testament which I did not then so clearly understand made me deferr it till such time as by prayer and further search into the word God might enable me to answer them The which accordingly by Gods assistance I have now perform'd in a small Treatise or two Wherein also the Election of the first Churches is more clearly explained Likewise shewing that their Children were taken into Covenant and those difficult places mentioned in the Table of this Book are here by the word made plain And Oh! that we would improve the Knowledge of these things And since God hath not excluded any from his mercy that are willing to accept it upon the conditions as it is tendred let us not by sin exclude our selves that we may not exclude our selves is the earnest prayer of your Servant well-wisher in Christ M.M. Advertisement This being the part of a book which containeth three several Subjects which I thought good to divide that the price being small it might the easier be attained by all As touching the several sorts of Election and the several ways whereby Christ bringeth his Elect or Sheep into his Fold is here set down FOR although there is but one way of coming to God and that one way is only 〈◊〉 and through Christ for our Lord saith John 14.6 I am the way the truth and the Life no man cometh unto the Father but by me And he farther saith John 10.1 Verily verily I say unto you he that entreth not by the door into the Sheepfold but climbeth up some other way the same is a thief and a robber And the Lord also tells them that he is the Door wherein he saith V. 9 I am the Door By me if any man enter in he shall be saved And it is said Act. 4.12 â—either is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved By these Scriptures is fully manifested there is no way for the elect to come unto God but in and through Christ
that ye walk not in the ignorance of Youthfulness and Fornication wherein I over shot my self and defiled the Bed of my Father Jacob. For I assure you that the Lord did therefore strke me with a sore Plague in my Flanks the space of seven Months and I had perished if my Father Jacob had not Prayed to the Lord for me because he was minded to have slain me I was thirty years old when I did this evil in the Sight of the Lord and seven Months was I sick to Death and with a free heart did I afflict my self seven years before the Lord I drank no Wine nor Strong Drink no Flesh came within my Mouth I tasted not any fine Bread but I mourned fot my Sin for it was great and there shall none such be done in Israel And my Sons hear me that I may shew you what I saw concerning the seven Spirits of Error in my Repentance Belial giveth seven Spirits against a Man which are the Well-Springs of Youthful Works seven Spirits are given a Man in his Creation whereby all his Works are dore the first is the Spirit of Life wherewith is Created his Being The second Is the Spirit of Seeing wherewith cometh Lusting The third The Spirit of Hearing wherewith cometh Learning The fourth The Spirit of Smelling wherewith cometh delight by drawing of the Air and breathing it out again The fifth I the Spirit of Speech wherewith Knowledg is made The sixth Is the Spirit of Tasting whereof comes the feeding upon things that are to be Eat and Drank and through them is ingendred strength The seventh Is the Spirit of Seed and Generation wherewith entereth in the Lust of Pleasute Fot this cause it is the last of Creation and the first of Youth because it is full of Ignorance and Ignorance leadeth the younger sott as a blind body into the Ditch and as an Ox to the Stall Amongst all these is the Eight which is of Sleep with whom is Created the wasting away of Nature and the Image of Death With these Spirits are mingled the Spirit of Error whereof the first is the Spirit of Lechery who lieth within the Nature and Senses of a man The Second Spirit of unsatiableness lieth in the belly The Third Spirit of Strife lieth in the Liver and in Choler The Fourth Syirit is of Bravery and Gallantness that the party may seem comely by Excess The Fifth is the Spirit of Pride which maketh a man to mind over-great things or to think well of himself And the sixth is the Spirit of Lying or vain-gloriousness in boasting a man's self and in desire to fill his Talk concerning his own Kindred and Acquaintance The Seventh is the Spirit of Unrighreousness which stirreth up the Affections that a man should perform the lustful pleasures of his heart for Unrighteousness worketh with all the other Spirits by taking Guile unto him Unto all these Spirits is matched the Eighth Spirit which is the Spirit of sleep or sluggishness in Error and Imagination and so the Souls of Young Folks perish because their minds are darkned and hidden from the Truth and udderstand not the Law of the Lord neither obey the Doctrine of their Fathers as befell me in my Youth But now my Children love the Truth and that shall preseve you For Fornication is the destruction of the Soul separating it from God because it leadeth the mind and understanding into Error For Whoredom hath undone many men And although a man be Ancient or Noble yet doth this make him a Laughing Stock But Joseph because he kept himself from all Women and cleansed his Thoughts from all Fornication found Favour both before the Lord and Men. Therefore my Sons fly Fornication charge your Wives and Daughters that they trim not their Heads and will them to chasten their Looks for every woman that dealeth deceitfully in these things is reserved to the punishment of the World to come That is to the Sentence of Judgment which will be in the World to come Now since it was Woman that was first in the Transgression therefore Women and Gentlewomen imploy all your Diligence to escape the near approaching Judgment of the World to come Now whereas Kuben saith had not his Fathers Prayers prevailed with God that God would have killed him Yhe which had the Lord then taken him off where would then have been the Twelve Tribes To which I answer God could raise up Two Tribes out of One Stock as there was of Joseph or God could have given Jacob another Son in his stead For Ruben did at time lose his birthright And Eve said when she had born Seth that God had given her another Seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew Gen. 4.25 And God said unto Cain before he committed that Murder Gon. 4.7 If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted And if thou dost not well sin lieth at the door And also the rest of the Patriarchs that was guilty of that sin against Joseph they at their Death declared what terrible Afflictions they fell under for that sin of theirs and the great Repentance they had for it And Judah likewise gives an account of his Affliction and Repentance for the sin that he was overtaken in And where the Old World is spoken of Gen. 6.3 The Lord said my Spirit shall not always strive with man The which words argue the striving of the Spirit of God with Man that had not Man been wanting to himself but had used his utmost endeavour he might have obtained salvation For although after the Fall of Adam the Entrances into Life were made strait yet not so strait but with Labour and Diligence thro' the promised Messiah it was and is attainable But it is said in the fifth verse God saw the wickedness of Man was great in the Earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the Face of the Earth both Man and Beast and the creeping things and the Fowls of the Air for it repenteth me that I have made them But Noah found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man Now whereas the Lord doth express that it repented him that he had made man and that it grieved him at his heart the which shews a concern in God that man had not then lived up to his Decree whereby his Mercy was attainable Numb 23.19,20 Now whereas it is said That God is not a man that he should lie neither the Son of Man that he should repent Hath he said and shall he not do it or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good I have received Commandment to bless and he hath blessed and I cannot reverse it Now whereas it is said that God is not a man that he should lie neither the Son of