him That they are the work of his hands Thy Mercy O Lord endureth for ever it reaches and extends beyond the Day of Judgment even throughout all Eternity Forsake not the work of thine own hands Psal 138. 8. Do not leave them for ever in utter despair and misery God hath more than one Blessing to Angels and Saints he may make Devils and condemned Sinners Hewers of Stone and Drawers of Water John 9. 2. That is somewhat ease and exempt them from the worst pain and thraldom For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek For there is no difference between the Flesh of a Saint and the Flesh of a Sinner and I suppose there is not much more as to the outward original frame and composure of Spirits of the same kind For the same Lord over all that is Creatures is rich unto all that call upon him For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved Rom. 10. 12 13. This is cited from Joel 2. 32. and there it is delivered So that by the comprehensiveness of the Word Whosoever which takes in all without exception and from the Apostle's arguing That the Lord is rich unto all that call upon him That is he hath Goodness abundant and to spare for he doth ten thousand times exceed even that of Isaac or of the best and most tender Father for 't is he who created the Bowels and put Compassion in them By the Riches of his Goodness he is obliged to do somewhat for every one that calls upon him So that if these Creatures can and do but call upon the Name of the Lord though it will not be after the same manner and nothing to an equal degree of that Salvation the elect Servants of God are possessed of yet they will at length be somewhat saved and delivered from that depth and grievousness of pain and misery which they have long groaned under For I will not contend for ever neither will I be always wroth for the Spirit should fail before me and the Souls that I have made Isai 57. 16. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all Rom. 11. 32. As the Wisdom of God is manifold so the Truths arising out of his Word are of more universal latitude and of longer extent even throughout the succeeding Eternity than that particular occasion upon which they were at first cited For these two great Scriptures have a further meaning and signification than to troubled and afflicted Consciences or to the temporal casting off of the Jews The same may be yet further understood from the very Nature of God who is infinitely eternally and essentially good and from the Analogy and Reason of things that he will not contend for ever in the punishment and misery of his Creatures but he hath shut them all under deserved and the greater part under actual condemnation that he might have mercy upon all O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God How unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out was the Conclusion which the Apostle made when himself had before according to the measure of the Knowledge given him searched and found out some of them But thus he pronounceth concerning what yet remained behind and which himself understood not any further If thou Lord shouldst mark Iniquities O Lord who shall stand Psal 130. 3. And Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Psal 143. 2. For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God Rom. 3. 23. The best Servant of God that was ever or is now upon the Earth doth come short of that Holiness as He is holy and of performing that Duty in all things and at all times which God did command or require of him Such Truths are to be made known which shew how these are so let whatever imputation will be fastned upon it To come with Ropes about our Necks and acknowledge our selves worthy of Death eternal to donfess our Sin in the most aggravating Circumstances to arraign our selves and make no other Plea than acknowledgment of our own Guilt that we have transgressed against the Lord and to cry our mightily and earnestly unto him for pardon and mercy All this is the best and soonest way to make our peace with God So did David and the Prophets Saith one We lie down in our shame and our confusion covereth us for we have sinned against the Lord our God from our youth even unto this day and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God Jer. 3. 15. But we are all as an unclean thing and all our Righteousness are as filthy Rags Isai 64. 6. Some may be apt to surmise What need the Prophet mention this for peradventure God might accept this Righteousness as it is whereas by vilifying and depretiating it as he doth he may put God in mind or move him not to accept it What an absurd and wrong imagination is here For it was the Spirit of God which did first acquaint and make this known unto Isaiah and he speaks it forth unto the People in order to humble them and make them have a low Conceit of their best Performances To be as nothing in our own sight to acknowledge our own Guilt and Unworthiness to bear iniquity and loath our selves for our Sins This is the way to get the Favour and Mercy of God for so did the holy Men and Women of old who served him and were accepted by him And so when God would tell People of their Sins and Transgressions when they have done amiss and erred from his Commandments he doth not now speak unto the Inhabitants of the Earth out of the cloudy Pillar or from the Battlements of Heaven but now he speaks in the still Voice of his Word and Spirit unto their Hearts and Consciences Which Word is yet more clearly and distinctly revealed unto some of his peculiar and elect Servants whom again he prompts by his Spirit to speak out and publish the same Word unto others And so they do not tell and inform God but God doth tell and inform them Agreeable hereunto is that kind of speaking unto Ezekiel Go and shew the House of Israel their Doings and cause them to know the Abominations of their Fathers Ezek. 20. 4. God sees it and is displeased Isa 59. 15. He knows it and is grieved Forty years long was I grieved with this Generation Psal 95. 10. His own Spirit is pressed until it is actually stirred up which same Spirit he doth infuse it into some Pipe here on Earth either Man or Woman who again doth receive convey and vent it forth by publishing and making it known unto other Men and Women I am pressed under you as a cart is pressed with sheaves He doth here speak after the manner of Men for our Infirmities And hereby we may apprehend how the
wonderful Works of God Acts 2. 11. they are taken up with mans Notions Sayings and Phrases and they are bewildered in the little things of this lower World for they do not understand even them throughly and clearly Where seems to be a little pure and primitive Christianity is not there much Ignorance and coming short of the Knowledge of the Things of God as they ought to be known There are either some affected Phrases of their own which they harp and insist altogether on or there is a preference of some select parts and portions thereof before the whole Word of God all which ought to be brought in equally upon occasion without preferring one thing before another or at least not to make the one a pretence to shut out the other Are there not dark Speeches used if it be not sometimes unintelligible and mystical nonsence whereas the time now is that they should speak no more to us in Proverbs but they should shew us plainly of the Father John 16. 25. And in these larer times the Spirit speaketh expresly 1 Tim. 4. 1. yea and clearly viz. such things as may be understood not in Words which Man's Wisdom teacheth not in humane affected Phrases but which the Holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual with spiritual And compare Scripture with Scripture we shall find that such whether they be Men or Women who say when the Lord hath not spoken or who speak a Vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord Jer. 23. 16. Which prophecy out of their own heart Ezek. 13. 17. Or who say that it shall so come to pass when the Lord hath not commanded them and it will not come to pass and the thing doth not follow such are presumptuous Deut. 18. 22. They take God's Name in vain and a Woe is now pronounced against them which at last will fall down upon them to their own misery and condemnation Is it not in some measure fulfilled at this day We see not our Signs there is no more any Prophet neither is there any among us that knoweth how long Psal 74. 9. That knoweth any thing certainly from God as in times past he did reveal his Secret unto his Servants the Prophets or how long this Judgment of the Sword will be upon the Nations nor after what manner and when God will work Salvation and establish Peace in the midst of the Earth For God is my King of old working Salvation in the midst of the Earth Psal 74. 12. I will be thy King Where is any other that may save thee in all thy Cities and thy Judges of whom thou saidst Give me a King and Princes Hos 13. 12. These things will so be when God doth reign immediately over the Hearts of all Men and they yield that Obedience unto him as now they do to their Kings and Governours after the Flesh But at this day it is fulfilled Therefore night shall be upon you that ye shall not divine and the Sun shall go down over the Prophets and it shall be dark over them then shall the Seers be ashamed and the Diviners confounded yea they shall all cover their Lips for there is no answer of God Mic. 3. 6 7. Consider throughly of this all ye Preachers in the several Churches and Congregations and do ye not sensibly perceive the Truth of this last There is no answer of God There is at this day and accordingly he that is most spiritual and knows most of God doth most sensibly perceive it the face of the Covering and the Veil that is spread over all Nations Isa 25. 7. There is a Veil and Covering over the Hearts and Understandings of Men I feel it upon mine own that they have not that constant lively Faith and clear Knowledge of the future and invisible things of God as was in the days of Moses or of Christ or as themselves had in former times when they were illuminated Heb. 10. 32. Or as themselves shall have when God shall be pleased according to his gracious Promise here to destroy that Covering and Veil and to break it that we may see through But even unto this day when Moses is read the Vail is upon their Hearts nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord the Veil shall be taken away 2 Cor. 3. 15 16. Religion is now at a low ebb I do not mean as to outward Worship the Profession Appearance and Shew thereof for that was retained all along throughout the foregoing Generations But so it is as to the walking in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless in all Righteousness and true Holiness To shew the exceeding stress that the People lay upon this thing of their going constantly to the place and their performing the outward act of Worship the Holy Ghost doth repeat it three times in his Caution concerning it Trust ye not in lying Words saying The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are these Jer. 7. 4. That is as much as to say it is a lying and false Word let People repeat it over and over and insist upon it never so much It is not the bare going to Church or to such a Congregation is all that God doth require of Men and Women nor is this sufficient to bring them to Heaven To say or affirm that this is all which God doth require or that this with no more ado will bring them to Heaven is a lying Word For the Lord hath shewed in the foregoing Verse what he doth require of Men namely Amend your ways and your doings and I will cause you to dwell in this place This is the way to be fixed and for ever to abide in the high and blessed place of Heaven Again he finds fault Will ye steal murder and commit adultery and swear falsly and burn incense to Baal and walk after other Gods whom ye know not here the Prophet enumerates the breach of Six Commandments and in like manner it may be applied to the other Four viz. Sabbath-breaking Dishonouring of Parents Falshood and Covetousness and come and stand before me in this House which is called by my Name and say We are delivered to do all these Abominations Is this House which is called by my Name become a Den of Robbers in your eyes behold even I have seen it saith the Lord Jer. 7. 9 10 11. So that the Inference is natural and necessary That it is not the going to Church or to any other Place of his Worship upon the Lord's Day or upon every Week-Day will serve to make an atonement or blind and deceive God for the breach and transgressions of his Laws and Commandments for he doth here say I have seen it even through this Veil of Hypocrisie let them think or say what they will that their Trade or Business or Necessity of Affairs do require them so to do To the same purpose is the first Chapter of Isaiah throughout I hate
this Body there succeeds Judgment and Account and strict requiring for all those Omissions of Good and Duty which I have been guilty of which are now utterly gone by and cannot be retrieved for all eternity Trial was once had but now it is over even as to all the Days and Doings of this Life here upon Earth Now the Days are passing and we are as yet in the Flesh but then they will be all over and gone and our Spirits will be removed from hence Then shall they remember Luke 16. 25 the several Steps and Passages of our Life here on Earth which at firsâ— may seem as faint as the remembrance of â— Night-Vision or of the things which havâ— been lately or long since past But they shalâ— be all call'd over again and appear before usâ— All the Thoughts Words and Actions of thâ— past Life will remain present before the Souâ— and appear more lively and make yet a greater impression because then she is to receivâ— accordingly than when they were first done The Word of Instruction which doth arisâ— hence is that every thing now should be so done as it will be then wished and desired that it haâ— been done and this is to strive to the utmost iâ— pleasing and finding acceptance with Almighty God In what fear should we pass the timâ— of our sojourning How should we improvâ— every moment of our precious Time and nâ— suffer the least portion thereof to pass away iâ— unprofitable and vain things The dispropoâ—tion between Time and Eternity is vast anâ— as much greater as between the whole Oceaâ— and a single Drop or as the whole gathering â—f the Waters is to a narrow Gulph or Stream The Rivers run to the Sea and in like manâ—er as soon as we draw Breath we are gliding â—n 'till we launch forth and are swallowed up â—nto Eternity The Odds will be as great or â—ather more exceeding than when one who â—as imprisoned in a dark Dungeon or cubâ—ed up in a narrow close Room is let out to â—he liberty of the whole Earth Or like a Swalâ—ow which for a little time was pent up in a Cage is let out again to fly up and down in â—he wide and immense Regions of Air. The â—lteration and Change which will be then â—ade upon us is yet more unconceivable It â—oth not yet appear what we shall be Now â—e know nothing or but little of the Soul â—e shall then perceive nothing besides the Soul â—ow we are wholly taken up with the Conâ—erns of the Body then we shall have nothing â—o do with it And so though our Bodies do â—â—oulder towards the Dust and then seem to be â—tterly lost yet it is not so for ever for they â—â—all be raised up again and rendred glorious â—nd incorruptible Now we do mind if not â—nly yet chiefly things sensible and carnal â—ut then we shall be wholly taken up with the â—onsideration of things spiritual The whole Creation with all the Things and Works of God will be more clearly manifested before us and understood by us than they are now as much as the Understanding of a Man doth exceed and surpass the Conception and Instinct of a Beast It will be a very great change and renewal of things now no more to turn to Corruption nor to be destroyed nor yet dissolved But as it is said of Melchisedeck That he abideth a Priest continually Heb. 7. 3. By which Word Priest according to its first institution is signified the most Sanctified and Holy and Choice of the People And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests and a holy Nation Exod. 19. 6. from whence cometh that Word Clergy So in like manner it may be affirmed when those true Things are erected and set up whereof the Things heretofore made and now in being are but the figure when the new Heavens and the new Earth are created which are spoken of in Isai 65. 17. then if we may so speak after the manner of Men with much humility trembling and reverence that it may be understood by their Capacities God hath done his best For the new Heavens and the new Earth which I will make shall remain observe that before me saith the Lord Isai 66. 22. This Word Remain doth denote an eternal unchangeable state or whatever is to last for a time if it be a thousand or million of Years that is transitory for the several parts and portions of Time do pass away and succeed one another Now there is both Time and Motion which are relative Terms and these do point forth unto as they will be swallowed up at length in the eternal Rest The whole Earth is at rest and quiet they break forth into singing Isai 14. 7. This doth respect and look back unto that Confusion Desolation Destruction Trouble and Weariness which hath been heretofore on the Earth when there was fear and weeping It is before said The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy fear and from thy hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve vers 3. These former evil things shall be done away and the contrary good things shall succeed in the room thereof And though this will in some measure be fulfilled in the latter days on the Earth when the Sinners who cause all this evil and trouble shall be consumed out of the Earth and the wicked shall be no more Psal 104. 35. For in what Prayer the Spirit of Truth doth dictate is included a Promise that so it shall be And then the People who inhabit here shall practice the same Holiness and live in peace as in Jerusalem which is above which is the Mother of us all Which Word Jerusalem by Interpretation is the Visions of Peace Though this will be in a less degree and more imperfect manner just before the Church on Earth shall be received up and swallowed into that of Heaven And it shall then come to pass that the whole Creation shall be at resâ— and quiet They shall sing for joy and breaâ— forth in loud Voices and everlasting Hallelujahs as is described in the Revelations They shall not only be so as to rest and inward peace of Soul and Spirit but also as to outward Resâ— and Motion The Sun shall no more be thy lighâ— by day thy Sun shall no more go down neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting Light Isai 60 18 19. So shall it no more rejoyce as a strong Man to run a Race nor any longer continueâ— his going forth from the end of Heaven nor his Circuit unto the ends of it but the reason of the thing will then also cease and God Himself will then supply that immediately to his living Creatures and Spirits which they had before by the means and instrumentality of the inanimate Creatures There shall be no more any weary Beast but if these sensitive and irrational Creatures should be raised up also to being
and be assured of by the quickness of Thought and by Sight the principal Sense and Operation thereof For our Thoughts will run to and fro from East to West from North to South faster than the Sparks among the Stubble even in a moment of Time For so our Eyes reach up unto Heaven at the first opening the Lid thereof so the Spirit of a Man will in the twinkling of an eye waft it self throughout the whole Universe Besides the quickness of its motion it is eminent for its tenuity whereby it will pass through the most firm Bodies Now the Soul is wrapt up in a small Body and seems to be little more than nothing but then it will be exceeding subtle and small and then it will be gathered up unto the Father of Spirits As aforesaid People will then perceive and remember that it would be infinitely better for them to have done exactly according to the Will of God than to have acted at that confusion and uncertainty with which the World goes on now after their own Ways and in their own Wisdom and Will It is a frequent form of speech in Ezekiel and in the other Prophets That when God doth bring his Judgment and Punishment on the Inhabitants of the Earth then they shall know that the Lord hath not said thus in vain So when the Reward is to be given and some are made up among the Lord's Jewels then shall they return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not Mal. 3. 17 18. So when this Generation of Men and Women is carried off from the Earth as the former already are and as we go off day by day in our several Persons then we shall return that is to the proper Understanding of Men and discern that it would be better to have lived otherwise The consideration whereof will raise indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish in the Soul for having done evil because there comes of it punishment and also loss of an exceeding and eternal Happiness To what is doubt now and dull apprehension then will be the greatest certainty and most lively sense that so it would have been Let the Heathen be awakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat c. Joel 3. 12. By which phrase of awakened we learn that the knowledg of God and the Christian spiritual Life is as much beyond that of Heathens and natural Men as waking is to sleep And even in serving of God there are proportionable degrees which do exceed the service of God according to the common standard and size of the World as real Action is beyond Dreaming But then according to Truth and as it is common to all This Life with all its activities is as much less and comes short of the future Life as sleeping now is to waking or as the absolute death of the Body is to the breathing thereof in sleep or as fire it self doth exceed the remote and distant heat thereof or as the light of the Sun shining in its brightness is much more than the dim light of a Candle And so the business and employment with all the other things pertaining to it do proportionably as much exceed the other And so the Happiness and Good which God hath prepared for his Creatures and which he will invest them withal doth yet seven times exceed the utmost apprehension and thoughts any one hath concerning it As we have heard so have we seen Psal 48. 8. and yet much more abundantly in the City of the Lord of Hosts in the City of our God God will establish it for ever Selah Whereby is denoted a contrariety and diversity to the things here which are but perishing and do pass away We have thought of thy loving kindness O Lord in the midst of thy Temple vers 9. Now this Temple is the World and accordingly the Jews fashioned their outward Temple made with hands according to the similitude thereof and the Earth is observed to be placed in the exact midst of the World So that it is no forced construction but the very natural meaning thereof That in this short time we did live and inhabit here on this Earth we thought of the loving kindness of God not so much what we were sensible of then but chiefly what he did intend to do further for his Creatures It is elsewhere written Men's Hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth Luke 21. 16. So it will be with them who have been ungodly and wicked but to the good and obedient it is joyful Hope and comfortable Expectation either to look after what things are coming on the Earth or what shall be shortly manifested before them Day unto Day uttereth Speech and Night unto Night sheweth Knowledge As every day bringeth forth something that is remarkable of what is done here throughout the World There is somewhat more or new if not in its self yet in its person or in the manner and place of acting So the Servant of God who is endued with Faith and Knowledge as every day he makes nearer approaches to the things unseen so he is in expectation of further knowledge and discovery of them As the Traveller upon every five or six miles advance hath a new and fresh Horizon opened unto him so in the succession of Days and Weeks and Months and Years we know more spiritually concerning God and also more clearly and distinctly concerning the other Life Sometimes we are upon the Mountains and then in the Valleys our Mind is now pure lifted up and dwelling in Heaven again it is cast down and become altogether earthly and sensual Sometimes we have clearness and brightness of light then a cloudy day see Zech. 14. 6. now there is a glimmering of morning and evening and then again we are fallen into the darkness of night It is thus differently with us throughout the several times of our Life as to our apprehension of things spiritual and eternal Sometimes we are clear and then again cloudy We are sometimes in the twilight yea we become more dark and at some times are in utter darkness concerning them And this doth not so much depend upon set times and seasons but it happens thus diversly with us as we commit sin which makes God forsake and withdraw his Communications from us Again when we walk before him in all sobriety obedience and duty as is well-pleasing in his sight then he doth afford the Communications and Manifestations of himself to us Lord how wilt thou manifest thy self to us and not to the World But there is certainly a different and another Manifestation whereby God appears and discovers himself to his elect Servants than as he is apprehended by the generality of the World Tho' to them it is somewhat hard to discern as much and trust in him God doth commonly more shew and manifest himself in time of trouble both
other and before I had finish'd what I came into this World for to do How many precious Truths of more latitude of greater concern and of more universal use to all Men and Women in the general which might be of instruction and edification for longer time and even for the Generations to come which do also more immediately respect the Church of God and his elect Servants might have been brought forth and published instead of a lesser matter of a National Revolution which was done by a few thereof And tho' their eternal Salvation was concerned herein that being to be obtain'd no other way than by keeping the Commandments of God yet it was not altogether so much relating to the great and common multitude whose Souls are as highly esteem'd of God as the Souls of the rich and mighty People And then for my laying of divine Truths before them they laid persecution upon our Loins which caused disturbance of Mind and loss of our precious Time Hereby I came to lose that lovely Awe and Dread and that sweet Sence of God which did formerly dwell and abide upon my Soul and Spirit O that I were as in the days of my youth when the Secret of God was upon my Tabernacle Hereby also I became insensible and unbelieving as to the invisible and future things of God which heretofore my Heart was always full with the expectation of I who have heard Words of God and knew the Knowledge of the Most High who was always looking after what I shall not see now and still beholding after what did draw nearer and nearer yet again there did as it were Scales come over the Eyes of my Understanding and I became as other ignorant ungodly People In the multitude hurry and confinement of the City I have not had those pure enlightnings and clear communications of God as I have had in mine own native Country and under my Father's Roof and I have several times desired that I might recover and return to that state again and not spend my life upon one thing only which is little more than a continued bringing forth unto trouble But as I do day by day approach nearer and nearer unto this future Life and Immortality so whether I sleep or wake am busie or idle my Thoughts may be always thereupon and be more lively concerning it and I may be still reaching forth after it Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God 2 Pet. 3. 12. Whether we do think thereof or not we do continually run yea and fly towards it But hereby the Holy Ghost doth teach and instruct us That tho' we do move so fast towards it yet we should prevent it in our Thoughts so we should think more continually and earnestly as we come nearer in time and see the day approaching And this should not be a vain speculation nor a meer thought only but we should still be upon the inquiry and examination What we must do to be saved And that we give all diligence to make our calling and election sure that so an entrance may be ministred unto us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ still making Heaven sure unto our selves and endeavouring to make it yet more sure The Life which I now live is by faith in the Son of God and so when God and Christ do act altogether in us and our whole Business is to please and approve our selves unto them Religion and our future being is all in all of our Concern and all our Works and Doings are brought in subordination under that then we are Servants of God and Christians indeed Tho' I have known such after the flesh yet henceforth I know them no more nor yet will I walk after the manner of the flesh nor after the manner of the world nor yet after the way of childhood youth vanity or jesting We should renounce the things that savour of men nor make mention of them within our Lips The Holy Ghost saith by the mouth of Micah Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest because it is polluted chap. 2. 10. This expression is in allusion to Shepherds who after they have fed one place well and throughly with their Flocks and their feet have trodden spoiled or made the Pastures to smell then they remove to a fresh place and ground So after we have throughly done the Business of Life in such a thing we should not still stick in that but press further to the higher and greater Concern The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her they shall pitch their tents against her round about they shall feed every one in his place Jer. 6. 3. And when they have so done for some time they take up and remove to another It is said in the following Verse Wo unto us for the day goeth away for the shadows of the evening are stretched out If we have not done our task nor the work appointed for us whilst we were here on this Earth our Master in Heaven will call us to an account Doth the plowman plow all day to sow Isai 28. 24. This would be too laborious and tiresome for when tbe day is far spent as towards two or three of the clock he looks up to the Winter-Sun and concludes it is time to draw off Our God hereby doth instruct us to discretion and teach us that when a great deal of our life is spent and the day of immortality is at hand then let us make the three afore-cited Inferences Arise and depart for this is not your rest Which in the language of the Gospel that brings Immortality to light speaks on this wise The Bridegroom is at hand go forth to meet him Tho' future life and immortality is coming fast enough upon us yet we should run out before to prevent meet and anticipate it I want Words to express it according to the very meaning purport and requiring of the thing As the Soul is just breaking forth out of this Shell of the Body into endless life the Babe should leap in the Womb and move it self before yea and lift and ascend its self up desiring to be there And as the Plowman draws off at such a time of day so we should draw off our Desires not only from the sin and evil for we should be perfectly listless and dead as to them but our desires should be drawn off utterly even from the lawful necessary and indifferent things of this World We should be as if we used them not temperate in all things and get above them The reason of the different actings of Men is according to the diversity of the knowledge that is in them as our Saviour answer'd him who asked a good thing and was doubtful whether he should receive it or not According to thy Faith so be it unto theâ— So as to many future things we are doubtful in the dark or blind as towards them yet
intercourse is between God and his Creatures that whatever good is done here on Earth it is if I may express it the Actings of God through his Creatures Hence are those Sayings in Scripture I will dwell in them and walk in them 2 Cor. 10. 6. God dwelleth in you 2 Cor. 10. 16. It is not you that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you Mat. 10. 20. God is in you of a truth 2 Cor. 14. 25. And where it is so he is a continued Principle of right action and well-doing Hereby we may perceive the superlative and infinite and exceeding Goodness of God who is the Root and Foundation of all Beings He doth as much exceed all the Inhabitants of the Earth take them all in their Generations and Places when and where they were on this Earth as the whole Earth doth exceed an handful of Dust or Sand. We see how much one good Man doth how he reaches forth and extends his Goodness far and near and he is always seeking Opportunities for exerting of it If he is a Man of Knowledge and Wisdom the Lips of the Wise disperse Knowledge and it is unexpressible how much good his Words may do when the sound thereof goes out far and near and yet much more good will they do when they are written for the Generations to come Psal 102. 18. and for after-Ages I have often thought when I see a just Man who is perfect in his Generations and walketh with God Gen. 6. 9. who is right towards God in all things and withal zealous diligent and active in his Service as God hath all along in the foregoing Generations and in the several Countries raised up such single Instruments what a blessed World would there be if hundreds and thousands did the like Each Man would bring over his thousand and ten would put ten thousand to flight to the utter and thorough subduing of the whole World of the Sinners and Ungodly Whereas they appearing singular in their Generations it comes to pass through the great and continued opposition of Satan the name of whose Instruments is Legion for they are many that such could not effect any great matter or if they did somewhat for what is of God will stand in spight of Men o Devils yet it was not in that degree to which they did aim and intend it They were like light shining in a dark place which others at a distance could just see the glimpse and appearance of but they had no benefit thereof And then this burning light in his Generation was either blown out for the Devil hath sometimes power to kill the Witnesses or wasted sooner or if none of these did happen it must at length be naturally spent out In this also they were like the Captain of their Salvation I have trodden the Wine-press alone and of the People there was none with me Isa 63. 3. For when once they begin to be bruised or the sparkles of Blood do fly then the People will be sure to keep far enough off Now God did act all along in those single Creatures but why he did not stir up more or others also or if he did press upon them with the secret motions of his Spirit which they did not obey Whereas he could have been upon them even upon them with a strong hand also and with such an over-ruling pressure of their Spirits that they should have been likewise actually stirred up But it was not so the reasons hereof how it was then for the great Ends of his own Glory and Man's Trial himself will rehearse when he writeth up the People But this is certain that in those Times of universal Reformation which are now drawing on in these latter Days he will raise up a proportionable number of Instruments even thousands and ten thousands who shall certainly and actually effect the very thing Until the Spirit be poured down upon us from on high Isai 32. 15. The word Pour doth denote in a much more large and Plentiful manner than that dropping and distilling of the Spirit heretofore only in such peculiar and chosen Vessels And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh Acts 1. 17. Thus it will be in the very last Days at the conclusion and shutting up of all But if we look back unto the foregoing Generations as to the state and progress of pure and undefiled Religion or as to the Knowledge of God in this or other Countries that of Jeremiah is here true and applicable They have gone backward and not forward Since the day that your Fathers came forth of the Land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my Servants the Prophets daily rising up early and sending them yet they hearkned not unto me nor enclined their ear but hardned their neck they did worse than their Fathers Jer. 7. 25 26. When God did make an appearance and shew himself by Miracles and Signs then People were for the time in some measure as they should be But when they were over and the remembrance of them did go off and vanish by degrees then they did return to their former Sin Corruption Ignorance customary and formal Worship So it hath been since the days of Christ and his Apostles when we were redeem'd from spiritual Egypt from the Bondage and Hurt of Sin Satan and Death then indeed there was a peculiar People but ever since they have gone backward and not forward And so when the People of this Nation about an hundred and fifty Years since came out of the Egyptian Darkness of Popish Ignorance and from out of the Wilderness of Superstition into a fuller and clearer light of the Gospel which they worked through and brought out from the very fire then indeed were the Churches cleansed and bright But almost ever since it may be said They have gone backward and not forward When the Storm of Persecution is over them then it doth rouze up their Zeal their greater Fear of God and their greater Concern for the Truth and Spirituality of his Worship This Fan doth also purge the Floor as to blow away the Chaff of Hypocrites and gather the Wheat of real firm sincere Christians more close together But when that is over the others come in again and they are mingled together and they do lie promiscuously one with another At this day the Churches have rest and free liberty of Worship according to their several Opinions and Persuasions yet they have gone backward and not forward For is there not a Laodicean lukewarmness and indifferency spread throughout them all Are not the Ordinances of Prayer and Preaching become cold flat dull and low Do they mount up as Eagles Isai 40. 31. Or rather do they not still lie among the Pots Psal 68. 13. Instead of publishing the Name of the Lord ascribe ye Greatness unto our God Deut. 32. 3. and speaking of the
I despise your Feast-days and I will not smell in your solemn Assemblies Tho' ye offer your Burnt-offerings and Meat-offerings I will not accept them neither will I regard the Peace-offering of your Fat Beasts Take thou away from me the noise of thy Songs for I will not hear the melody of thy Viols what must we do then But let Judgment run down as Waters and Righteousness as a mighty Stream Have ye offered unto me Sacrifices and Offerings in the Wilderness forty Years O House of Israel Amos 5. 21 22 23 24 25. Have ye worshipped me according to your several Ways and Congregations in this Wilderness of the Earth where one is at a loss to find the right Way through your manifold Opinions and Divisions for almost six thousand Years O ye Children of Men But still ye have continued in your own Doings and in the things ye have made to your selves whereas that is the true Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not Man Heb. 8. 2. And now what if God himself should say in the last Day as he doth now speak from Heaven in this his Word I hate I despise I will not accept neither will I regard your Burnt offerings Meat-offerings and Peace-offerings Which he himself did yet command and institute and Man did then use them to please atone and be reconciled to Almighty God This is to be understood by the way that God will one day speak himself in person with a loud and outward audible Voice what he doth now speak from Heaven in the still Voice of his Spirit or in the Scriptures which are his Epistle sent unto the Inhabitants of the Earth And whereas with many Men their Letters are powerful but their bodily Presence is weak and contemptible it will be contrariwise as to God For his Word now as written or spoken by Men is weakness 1 Cor. 1. 25. But when himself shall utter his Voice the Earth will melt Psal 46. 6. The Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat 2 Pet. 3. 10. For the Lord himself shall descend with a shout with the Voice of the Archangel and with the Trumpet of God 1 Thess 4. 16. So that he will make a yet greater impression and cause a greater shaking not only upon the living Creatures but also upon the very material Works of God even all the World over than that manner of giving the Law did formerly upon the single and particular place of Mount Sinai concerning which see Exod. 19. Heb. 12. 17 18. 19. So it will be pronounced concerning the several Acts and Parts of Worship outward Prayer Praise Hearing the Word Baptism and the Lord's Supper Not that these are to be cast off and neglected in no wise But yet so it is when it doth become the Sacrifice of Fools the Sacrifice of Sinners and Transgressors for they provoke God and deceive themselves whereby they are Fools when they keep up one with another that is when they worship God and yet continue in sin and transgression The whole Scripture is full to the same purpose But here it may be surmised That if the case is so it is good for such not to worship God at all But all Men cannot receive this Saying but unto whom it is given for Worship is due from every Creature unto God and these things are written not that they should cast off and neglect it in no wise But that every one should turn away from his Iniquities Acts 3. 26. and cease from all manner of sin and transgression And then they are to obey all the Commandments of God which relate to Good or Evil Righteousness or Wrong Truth or Falshood enjoying the one and forbidding the other as well as they do already obey those his Commandments which pertain to his Worship Except they do this also they cannot be saved and all their Worship will signifie nothing It is strange but yet true and common That many People of both Sexes should go on blindly and ignorantly for thirty forty fifty and sixty Years yea throughout all their life in this Deceit of being Worshippers of God and yet not doing his Will whereas it is written so plainly that every Capacity may understand it Now we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any Man be a Worshipper of God and doth his Will him he heareth John 9. 31. As we read that Prayer of Moses and David and that Promise which God made unto his People by Isaiah of Levi he said Bless Lord his Substance and accept the Work of his Hands Deut. 33. 8 11. Remember all thy Offerings and accept thy Burnt-sacrifice Selah Psal 20. 3. They shall come up with acceptance on mine Altars Isai 60. 7. and Ezek. 20. 40 41. We learn this Word of Instruction which may make us to fear and take heed and beg pardon for the Iniquity of our holy things and to pray instantly and continually for acceptance that in all things we do in order to God or pertaining to Religion as it is commonly named or understood unless God do accept thereof it all signifies nothing Nay what is yet further It is as cutting of a Dog's neck there is not much in that it is as offering Swines blood this doth displease God it is as blessing an Idol Isai 66. 3. which is the highest and superlative degree of provoking God to the greatest manner that possibly can be So they do rather displease than please they make God to be further off and more angry rather than bring him near and make him reconciled unto us Hear this Word all ye People of England that enter in at the Church-doors or Meeting-Houses to praise the Lord. Another thing wherein ye are defective and found wanting is this For they say and do not Mat. 23. 2. They hear read and talk of many good Words and precious Truths but they do not turn them into practice and suitable action It is recorded of Moses the Servant of the Lord He was mighty in Words and in Deeds Acts 7. 22. so he was for both and therein he pleased and was accepted by God who had hereupon a favour and love towards him But this belongs not to the nominal nor yet to the real Christians of this Age who make a fair shew in the Flesh and they are sincere and of the better sort yet herein they are found wanting many of them are mighty in Words but not in Deeds They do talk of the highest Duties and Attainments of Religion and they do conceive speak read hear and write of the great Truths of God but how to perform the same at all times and in all places and in reference to all Persons they find not Towards the publishing and making known these Truths throughout all this Region or to hazard or even to suffer actual tribulation for the Word's sake they are offended and themselves will not run the risque and experience of it The like