wisher to the Souls of all Men As God hath done good to my Soul So I cannot but wish well to the Souls of others That as he hath found out a way for my Redemption and Salvation so likewise I wish the same for others that are bond-men and bond-women and under the Power of their Corruption Gods work hath been to destroy the Bondage and the Oppression and to destroy the Tyrant that Reigns over the Souls of his People God having made them for his Glory and the Devil hath Stolen them away that they do not that which pleaseth God But God's good pleasure is that all may be Saved and come to the Knowledge of the Truth And God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life And he is called The Lamb of God which takes away the Sins of the World He can take away Sin if my Sin do not obstruct my Faith and Confidence in him he will take it away and if he takes that away then he makes the Tree good Nothing hinders us from the injoyment of God but Sin and if Christ will take it away by the blood of his Cross no matter for all the Scorn Contempt Hardship Reproach and Persecution of this World no matter for he hath not deceived us but told us before hand If we will be followers of him and be led by him we must expect these things suffering Reproaches Persecutions Disdain Envy these things come not uncertainly upon us the World loves its own and cannot love them that are not of it but they that are now of the World may be brought to the terms of God and they may not be any longer of the World Christ Prayeth not that his Disciples may be taken out of the World but kept from the evil he prayed for them that did not believe So that Christ is a Mediator for all men and a Propitiation for all men and he is working by his Spirit for the Redemption of all men That to as many as believe in him to them he gives Power to become the Sons of God The sum of all is this that we have an opportunity put into our hands we cannot deny it you must all upon search confess that the Grace of God doth often work in your hearts against any Corruption against any Evil Let not this prize be put into our hands in vain as into the hands of fools If I knew that this and that was a sin I would leave it let us be of that mind and we shall soon know it Then say If I knew such a thing to be a sin If I could get a thousand pounds by it I would not do it why should'st thou love sin for profit or pleasure I am sure it is an ill bargain when it is done Whatsoever I am convinced of is a sin I will not it Resolve upon this and there the Grace of God will be at work we shall soon see that we must leave off sinning there is such a thing I must leave God hath set up a Judgment in my mind against it though it bring profit and pleasure away it must go here is a step a following step to follow Christ he that will deny himself will follow Christ My Redeemer shews me this to be an evil I will not do it but follow him and imitate him Here the Soul is led step by step even by Christ the Captain of our Salvation till it is gradually cleansed from sin and reconciled unto God and this can be done by no other means for Prayer and Alms will not do it All that can be done by us will not dot it none can do it but Christ alone that God hath laid help upon that you may all wait for the Divine Operation of his Grace in your hearts that is it which we Labour and Travel for as knowing that God hath wrought wonderfully by it for the Redemption of all those that love him more than they love their pleasures more than they love their sins it must be concluded that following of him and leaving Father and Mother Husband and Wife Children Brethren and Sisters all these things as they stand in competition with him and the Obedience of his Spirit all these must be looked upon as nothing to him Then above all things I must not displease him He can speak Peace and none can take it away and if he take it away none can give it If we follow Christ when this is done then all is done according to the Will of God then the blessing of God descends upon the whole Creation then every man will speak truth to his Neighbour and every man will govern his Family with discretion So God is Glorified and his name comes to be Exalted who is worthy to be Loved Adored and Exalted above all Blessings and Praises to him be Glory who is God over all Blessed for Ever and Ever Amen His Prayer after Sermon MOST Glorious God of Life and Power and of Everlasting Kindness a God of Long-suffering and Patience else we had not been here at this day Lord we are Monuments of thy Mercy thou hast spared us long and hast called unto us in a day when we turned away our Ear from thee thou hast stretched out thy hand all the day long and thou hast gathered a little Remnant of the lost Sheep of the house of Israel to partake of thy Pastures of Life and now all our Souls have been greatly refreshed and comforted since we come to understand and comprehend with the rest of thy Saints the Height and Length and Breadth and Depth of thy Love which in the Son of thy Love thou hast Revealed to us And blessed Father of Life our Souls do breath and cry unto thee on the behalf of Strangers which are Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel that are yet breathing and inquiring after thee And asking the way to Sion O Lord remember them and hear their cry and let their sighing and complaining enter into thine Ears that all they in whom thou hast begun to kindle up holy desires after thee may have them grow into a flame to burn up all their Enmity to thee that so they may be purified by thy judgments and receive of thy Heavenly Grace This is the way which thou hast used with thy Children thou hast commanded them to Worship thee in thy dwelling place thou hast taken them into thy house and fed them with thy finest Wheat refreshed them with thy Loving-kindness and filled them with thy Holy Spirit Dearest God of Love this is the design and purpose of our Meeting together that we may enjoy thy Presence and feel the operation of thy Word and have Communion with thee and thy Son Jesus Christ through thy Holy Spirit the way into Rest and Life is with thee thou canst open and none can shut Lord open the hearts of this People to receive of thy
Lord Jesus Christ to whom thou hast given a Name above every Name and let his kingdom and glory be exalted over all and shine forth in the midst of us Blessed Father of Life give wisdom to our Counsellers that they may Counsel for thee Make known thy will and send help from Heaven to all that stand in need thereof and that wait upon thee for it Give them thy Holy Spirit that they may be guided in thy way let thy Son Jesus Christ have the stearing and Governing of all things and let Glory be rendered to thy great aad worthy Name and keep us in the Love of God and in Union one with another let the stroak of thy Power remain upon the Hearts of all whose Hearts thou hast touched at this time let them be bowed down always in thy Holy Worship and remain in a belief of thy truth and cease to do evil and learn to do well and walk acceptably before thee that so Transgression may be finished and Sin and Iniquity may be put to an end and that Truth and Righteousness may be set up and shine among us and that our Souls may rejoyce in thee that we may magnifie and praise thy Power and Glorifie thy Name for thou art worthy of all Honour praise and glory and humble thanksgivings for the manifestation of thy love and Power All which we desire to offer thee through Jesus Christ who art God over all blessed for ever and ever Amen Sermon VII The Inward Preacher Or The Office of Conscience Preached at Grace-Church-Street June 21. 1692. My Friends MAny have been sent among you that from Living experience have declared their Testimony for the truth that you might all be brought to wait for the testimony of Truth in your selves This is that which will stand you in stead to know the testimony of truth in your own Hearts to be for you Therefore you are to wait especially at such times as these to hear the Voice of Truth in your own Souls For whatsoever the Preacher preacheth if the Truth in thine own Heart doth not speak Peace it is not well with thee Whatsoever testimonies are born of the Truth it self it is the Truth that must bear testimony of thee That unerring Word that gives to every one an Infallible evidence of their Peace with God or against that which hinders them You know our labour hath been to perswade all People to hearken unto the Truth in themselves and to make it their business and travel and endeavour that they might have unity with the Truth in their own Hearts that their Consciences may not condemn them For such as you in whom God hath raised his witness and hath exalted his Truth for a Judge You are not Ignorant nor covered over with darkness as many others are you do not remain in doubt but you know the Truth and have an Answer of Peace in well doing and a condemnation in evil doing not Administred to you only by Preachers without but by the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit of God in your own Hearts This is that standing Ministry which God hath raised which can never be put down again but as each one may put it down in themselves I grant that Men may put it down You have read and had it plainly witnessed to you even killing the just and Crucifying the Lord of Glory and of spiritual Sodom and Egypt These things you have read of and you that are turned to the Light know the meaning of those sayings by woful experience for when ever you have turned aside from a due subjection to rhe Grace of God by which we are convinced then there hath been a piercing and Crucifying the Son of God a fresh and a vexing and a grieving the Holy Spirit by which you should be Sealed to the Day of Redemption then there hath been Anguish and Tribulation upon your Souls And if this be minded it will plant a fear upon the Heart and make you affraid to do the like again but where this Tribulation and Anguish is neglected and put off there a custome of Sin takes away the sense of Sin As you know many have had more Judgment at sometime upon them for a vain word or a vain Thought than afterward they have come to have for the most abominable wicked Action How come this to pass Was Sin ever the better Or hath it changed its Nature No but they are further off from the sense of the evil of it this is the word of Truth to which you must stand or fall this is the Stone that whosoever falls upon it shall be broken and tendered But if they stay till the weight of Truth fall upon them it will grind them to Powder They that will have a life of liberty let the Truth say what it will I will have my liberty and use my Tongue as I list I will be wanton and proud and envious and malicious though I know these things to be nought and the witness in my Conscience testifies that these things are wicked and contrary to the will of God yet I will have them whosoever comes to this Mind the Stone is near falling upon them and they will be ground to Powder they are like the barren Earth which beareth Thorns and Briars and is rejected and is nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned Therefore Friends I entreat you to hearken to the Word of the Lord it is a holy Word an old Word many have professed it There are some Preachers that will cry Hearken to the Word of the Lord in such a Chapter and such a Verse My Testimony this Day is Hearken to the Word of the Lord but where shall we find it some will say I tell you it is written with the Finger of God in your own Consciences and is either for you or against you Let your Profession amongst Men be what it will this Minister of the Covenant hath no respect of Persons or regard to Profession he will not excuse this or that Man because he makes a greater Profession of his Name than others this rather is his Judgment and his Condemnation shall be more swift and sharp upon him that makes a Profession of Christs Name If Judgment begin at the House of God what shall the end of them be that obey not the Gospel of God These that take upon them a strict Profession they do greater dishonour to God than those that cry out there is no Reformation there can be no Living without Sin these Profess what they do and they do as they Profess But when People come to Profess Holiness and Righteousness and Profess a Power also by which Righteousness is obtained but live not strictly according to their Profession these are they That cause the Name of God to be Blasphemed among the Heathen more than they that say there can be no living without Sin Now this Witness of God hath no respect to Profession but hath respect
on in every ones Bosom when the Question is stated I would have you really Answer it Shall I guide my Actions and Words according to this unerring Rule or no I cannot tell what to say say some there is danger in it What danger can there be to answer that which a Man knows to be Truth I will tell you what danger The World is Perverse the most men Live out of Truth and the Devil is a Cunning Adversary and he would have none Live in it He abode not in the Truth and he would not have us live in it nor regulate our Words and Actions by the Truth in our own Souls What if most Men in the World pervert the Truth What if so few walk in the Narrow Way and so few come to Life Eternal therefore is that an Argument I must not come there should it not stir me up to greater diligence that by any means I may be of the number of that few that shall obtain Salvation and not go with a agreat company in the Way that leads to Destruction If we improve our Times and Seasons and Opportunities and Mercies and Blessings that are vouchsafed to us we at last may obtain Life Eternal But some may say I must sit down in Despair for I cannot come thither of my self though I do what I can to Work out my own Salvation There is a Decree against me what though I should Pray never so much and spend my Nights in Grief and Sorrow If I be Decreed to Eternal Damnation there is no help for me no hope that I should escape it And if I be Decreed to Salvation though I take my Liberty to Sin and be Loose and Wanton as others it cannot hinder me from attaining Salvation at last For this Reason many have laid aside the Spiritual Warfare against Corruption and their Spiritual Travel that they will do do nothing in order to their Everlasting Happiness therefore they think they had as good take their Pleasure But my Friends the case is not now so with us Let every Soul among us praise the Lord for his mercy in expelling that thick Cloud of Darkness which is vanished and gone This I know and I hope you do all believe that God doth every where and in every Nation call Sinners to Repentance and that He delighteth not in the Death of him that Dyeth but rather that they would turn and Live and in order thereunto he hath given his Son Jesus Christ to be a Saviour and a Mediator and he hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts to give direction to us in our Way Now our Duty is to make improvement of those Visitations of Mercy that God hath bestowed upon us in order to our Salvation and not Live in Rioting and Drunkenness Chambering and Wantonness Strife and Envying and following the Fashons of the World But we must Work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling But some will say Is not this done already Is it not already wrought by our Saviour and Mediator Christ hath tasted Death for every Man and laid down a Price for the Soul of every Man But there must be a change wrought in us There is a Translation of our Souls from one state to another This is called in the Scriptute Regeneration and being born again this is called a being baptized into Christ and described also by other expressions But the matter is to Change thy Life for there is a sinful Source of Wickedness that is stirred up by the Motions of the Powers of Darkness and our own concupiscence but God is always ready to bring us under the Government of his Holy Spirit that will lead us into into all Truth and this cannot be done without a Cross but the Question lies here Shall I take up this Cross or no if I do it will Crucifie me to the World Let me see How much do I Love the World A great deal But do I Love the World better than my own Soul What will it profit me to gain the whole World and lose my own Soul Or what shall I give in Exchange for my Soul I cannot get to Heaven without denying my self let me take care of my Immortal Soul I am a poor Creature I will serve the Lord my Maker and make it my business to Glorifie and Please him He can snatch me away by Death when he pleaseth therefore I will labour that my Thoughts Words and Actions and Conversation may answer to that rule that he hath set before me as a Standard of Truth to square and regulate my actions by I will not live any longer in vanity as many do I do not know but my Breath may be stopt to Day before to Morrow therefore To Day while it is called to Day I will hear Gods Voice and not harden my Heart but receive that Counsel that is offered to me for the benefit of my Soul I am bought with a Price I am none of my own I will live to him that died for me I have more Reason to live to Christ and serve him that shed his precious Blood for the Redemption of my Soul and to be subject to him then to be subject to Christs Enemy to the Prince of the Power of the Air that Rules in the Children of Disobedience I will take up a Resolution to serve God but I can do nothing of my self but The Grace of God which brings Salvation will teach me to deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Righteously Soberly and Godly in this present World Take heed of being deceived and beguiled for there is no way will bring you to Heaven but an Holy and Undefiled way Therefore come and take this Standard of Truth in your hands to guide you in your way that you may neither turn to the Right hand nor to the Left this will shew you the way you should walk in and be like the Cloud and Pillar of Fire to the Israelites in their journey to Canaan which was a Type of Heaven the Cloud they could see by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night so this Standard of Truth will direct you in your Travel to the Heavenly Canaan Let this be the Rule and Measure of your Thoughts Words and Actions If a workman that is a Builder hath a Rule to work by if he goes on and never examines his Work by his Rule but makes his Eye his Rule if he doth not bring his Rule to his work every little while to see whether his work be right if he worketh on and never mind his Rule What sad work willl he make But a Prudent Skilful workman will say I will not trust mine Eye too much but I will look to my Rule my Rule will not fail me if there be bad work it will discover it to me that I may mend it before I go any further Thus a discreet Workman will bring his Rule to his Work and use his Line and Plummet
they would give more reverence and respect to it It is this that brings those that Preach Christ to Preach him in those terms and under those Denominations that he is nigh them We do not doubt of Christs being born of a Virgin in the Land of Canaan and that he wrought Miracles and Preached many Godly Sermons and that he was Crucified Dead and Buried and Rose again from the Dead for these things are certainly true we would have him our Saviour in this Age we would have a nearer knowledge of him and a sense and feeling of the virtue of that Power by which he saved them that lived in former Ages He is not a Christ and a Saviour of one Age only but of all Ages to this Day from Adam to the last Man that shall live upon the Earth That Age and Generation that knoweth not Christ will not be saved by him if there be any Age wherein he is not known There is no other Name under Heaven by which you can be saved if you ask where is this Saviour Say not in thy Heart who shall Ascend into Heaven that is to bring down Christ from above or who shall Descend into the deep that is to bring up Christ again from the Dead The word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy Heart that is the Word of Faith which we Preach He is nigh thy Soul he is the Lord of Life and a Quickenning Spirit If I know that Quickening Spirit after this I know the Lord Christ when he comes to work in me by his Power changing my Heart and translating me from Death to Life then I know the true Christ God hath manifested in all Ages that it is the Duty of People to come to the knowledge of the Son of God for he hath sent forth his Spirit for to teach us and to lead us into all truth For when Christ was with his Disciples he told them that he would pray the Father and he should send the Spirit the Comforter and when he came he would be known by his Divine and Inward Teachings and Operations guiding and leading them into all Truth that was his work to them But what shall other Folks do He will be made known to others too When he comes He shall convince the World of Sin So that his work to his Disciples was to lead them into all Truth and his work to the Woâ—ld is to convince the World of Sin Who will deny but that there is a Spirit in our Age as well as in other Ages that will convince men of Sin Is this the Spirit of God that convinceth the World of Sin or is it the Spirit of the QUAKERS only When People come to consider really and truly how they may serve God aright they will find there is no serving God aright unless they come to Christ the Mediator that in and by him they may put up suppplications to God and through him they may expect at the hands of God Peace and comfort and there is no other way nor never will be The Jews they had another way they had an outward way of serving God this stood in divers Offerings Sacrifices Washings and Observations this was a way of worship of Gods own institution to that People but what came of it When the Apostle came to grasp it he said The commers thereunto were not made perfect What were the transgressors of it then They that would sin on and continue in sin and not bring a Goat or a Ram or other Oblation they that did observe it and came up to the point of the Law they did bring their Offering when they were convinced of their Sin If a man sinned he was to bring a Hee Goat and to bring it to the Door of the Tabernacle but when he sinned the conscience of sin the guilt of sin remained upon him For it was impossible saith the Apostle that the Blood of Bulls and Goats should take away the Sin For if the Blood of Bulls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the Unclean Sanctifieth to the Purifying of the Flesh how much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit Offered himself without spot to God Purge your Consciences from Dead works to serve the Living God When there is no hope of attonement and reconciliation with God by all those offerings under the Law he tells you of one offering of the Son of God himself through the Eternal Spirit by which he became a a Propitiation for thus will it do If I believe that Christ offered an Holy Offering to the Father for my sins I believe he offered his Body and that through the Eternal Spirit that he might be a propitiation for sin and take away sin and have Power over Sin and Death and conquer Death and Darkness the Apostle drives the matter farther you must come to the inward Work of this outward Offering this Eternal Offering that was in due time Offered to God you must come to know the Operation of it by the sprinkling of the Heart from an evil Conscience so that there was to be an Applicatory Faith for the offering of that The way to a Saviour was not made by Man no more than the way of Salvation by Christ was found out by Man No more than the Application of the benefits is effected by man Where it pleaseth God to call a People by his Grace he calleth them to his Son not by this and the other Form No man cometh to me saith Christ except the Father which hath sent me draw him The first thing that a Man or Woman comes to be aware of is the secret sense and feeling of the Lords Divine Power upon the Heart to seek Christ Jesus As soon as they feel this and embrace it this will be a Token of the Love of God I hope all this Congregation will acknowledge that they have sometimes felt his drawings and that they have not embraced and closed with them so well as they ought When the People are aware of these drawings Inwardly to Holiness and Righteousness and are sensible that they should with care and intention close with them for the good of their Poor Souls and that it concerns them to be happy in the other World that World that is to come and therefore resolve to be led by these drawings of the Spirit of God these are not weeds that grow in the Field Naturally These are sparks of Divine Fire kindled in the Hearts of Men by God himself No Man comes unto God till God cometh to him and touches him and gives him sense and motion these are the motions and stirrings of Gods Holy Power in the hearts of many that are wicked and Abominable Yet the Lord doth not despise the work of his own hands but reacheth to such When the Lord meets with these that Despise not but highly Prize this wonderful Grace and Close with it and are Glad of it such a one
saith I feared that the Lord had forgotten me and had passed me by and had done with me but I see he Visits me again and he hath Visited my Soul this Day inclining me to walk more answerably and suitably to his Love he hath doubled his Power upon me and hath kindled a holy Fire in my Heart and caused me to seek after him He hath touched my Heart and I will Pour out my Soul in Supplication seeing he hath touched me He will take hold of â—e by his Power and he will keep me from being any more drawn away I will live in the sense of his Power and mercy that keeps me Night and Day that I may encrease in it and grow in Grace When the Lord meets with such a one he will draw him to the way that he hath appointed none can come unto me saith Christ except the Father which hath sent me draw him If I am drawn into what form shall I go now And what Ordinance shall I take up now This is all under Feet This is none of my Work I will come to Christ the Mediatour and he will take the Government and Rule of me It is not my best way to study for a form and an outside Religion I will wait upon that Power that hath thus touched my Heart that he may by degrees bring me to the Obedience of Christ But some are ready to say Who and What is this Christ Jesus that you are speaking of that Immediate Christ Jesus that is extant and present that I am to have to be the Object of my Faith That I may believe in him and come to Acquaintance of him that I may partake of the Life of Christ Jesus and have it Communicated to my Soul It is true we have not a thought or a word to speak that may Derogate from the wonderful Grace of Christ who died in his person on Earth for the salvation of our Souls Yet we must know that the Lord Jesus Christ may be Spiritually present with us and take the Government of us and we are to be subject to him How shall this be I am speaking of one that hath felt the Fathers Drawings when he draws them to his Son and draws them to something that is Holy and Pure This God the Father hath begotten we read in Scripture that God hath begotten Christ who is the only begotten of the Father It is strange you will say to speak of begetting Christ again God begets Christ again that is spiritually he being the first born in many Brethren in every true Believer and there is a travel of Soul that Christ may be Formed in him See what Travel of Soul the Apostle Paul falls into the second time for the Galatians They were a brave People they worshiped God in the Spirit and believed in Christ Jesus and afterwards they came to be seduced by false Prophets and false Teachers that set them about their Works and told them that they could not be Justified and saved without their own Works These false Teachers that came among them were as bad as Popish Priests and Friers It is not your Obedience to Christ and the Spirit will save you you must be doing So these Poor People were deluded and bewitched to give you the Apostles own Words and so they were Infatuated and drawn away from the Simplicity of the Gospel and they thought by the works of the Law to obtain Salvation The Apostle writes a Letter to them and tells them that he traveled in birth again till Christ was formed in them If this was not Scripture it would look like a strange work there must be a forming of Christ a Birth there must be and a begetting Who must beget in this and that moment But the same that begat from the beginning the same is the Father he begets Christ in all that believe and obey the Gospel He is begetting something in me that is Holy though I be unholy the Father by the Operation of his Divine hand begets something in me that is Holy This I find though I am not so good as I should be I have that given me that will tell me that the more I adhere and joyne my self in my desires and Affections to this good Principle the more I shall pertake of the Quality of it this good Principle though it be like a little Grain of Mustard-seed I cannot tell what to compare it to for Littleness in comparison of the Great Lump and Mass of Sin Corruption and Filthyness that Wars against it This will Overspread all that is bad and make me Holy as that is Holy Pure as that is Pure and to have a Love to Him from whence it came even to God and Christ It will gather the Affections from Corruptible things and place them upon things above This Faith tells People that it is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen such a one lives by Faith such a one that comes to be joyned to that that is begotten of the Father He lives by the Faith of the Son of God and can do nothing of himself but through Christ that strengthens him They say unto God I perceive I can do nothing without thee I cannot Pray unto thee nor serve thee of my self I can do nothing acceptably but through Christ the Mediator such a one becomes like a little Child and he must be Led and who must Lead him but the Spirit of Christ You cannot Preach saith one to him unless you be moved by the Spirit You cannot Pray till you be moved by the Spirit How should I No without him I can do nothing I cannot Preach nor Pray nor do any thing Acceptable to God the Father but by Christ and he hath Revealed him in me This is no new Doctrine we see the new and Living way It was an old way to old Christians and a new way to the new and so a Thousand Years hence if the World last so long Men will see that they cannot do any thing pleasing to God but as they are gathered into Christ they will see their own Righteousness works and doings will avail them nothing at all This is all laid at the feet of Jesus whom God hath exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to be Lord and King Now my Friends we are engaged in this Age abundantly engaged to offer thanks to God through Jesus Christ that he hath provided and opened a way for the sending forth the Spirit of his Son And that God hath gathered a People and hath made known to them the way of Life that they might walk in it but there is no walking in it but through a Daily Cross and self-denial It is not likely that a Man should be brought back to God the same way that he went out from God and the Prophets and Apostles do allude to this turning to God When thou turnest aside to the right Hand or to the left thou shalt hear
is much strife and opposition in that way If I have a mind to speak a Vain word I am Limitted if I have a desire to wrong my Neighbour and cheat and defraud him I am Limitted I am not to do it that belongs to the Broad way if a Man will seek after the Lord and walk in the way of Holiness and Righteousness the end whereof is Peace he will find it is a Narrow way wherein he cannot enjoy his own will such a one must be a David who said I behaved my self as a weaned Child that is as one that is affraid to be Beaten But thou wilt be ready to say I am a Man and not a Child I am come now to be a Man a Man of Parts I have seen much and read much and would you have me become a Child What a great Man was David If you speak of a Man he was a Man of Dignity and Honour a Man of Valour and Experience yet when he speaks with respect to the frame of his mind before the Lord he saith he behaved himself as a weaned Child as one that feared to be beaten feared to commit an Offence He feared the Rod of his God upon him he feared Judgment would come upon him he feared something of Judgment upon his Conscience David was an Old Testament Man but he had regard to that which never waxeth old but is the same in all times new and old Alpha and Omega Christ Jesus was his leader before he was born of the Virgin Mary his Word was a Light to his Feet and a Lanthorn to his Paths David had Acquaintance with God who did lift up the Light of his Countenance upon him And when Christ himself came to Preach upon Earth he saith himself Every one that comes into the Kingdom of God must become a little Child He must become as a little Child in Simplicity and Subjection he must be under Government he must become like a little Child or he must in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven They must not think to enter into Christs Kingdom because they are Men Men of Parts Men of Courage Men of Understanding Learned Doctors that are Masters of Liberal Arts and Sciences These may help to make them Men but they must be Children all their Wit and Parts and Manhood Courage and Valour will do them no good for little Children Babes and Sucklings may understand more than they of Divine Misteries and have greater Communion and Entercourse between God and their souls than they so that whosoever enters into Christs Kingdom must become like little Children So that here is a way provided by Jesus Christ for Man to come again into the favour of God which is by Christ alone not by any thing that a Man can do Christ must be their leader and their Counsellour he alone can give them the true knowledg of God No Man can know the Father but the Son and him to whom the Son reveals him Men can never attain to the saving knowledg of God by study and by Disputation and reading Books and Commentators and Observators of matters of Religion Time would fail me to speak of the multitude of Books that have been written about the Knowledg of God You must come to Christ for Divine Knowledg Theology the Knowledg of God and Divine and Heavenly things is from Christ he shall have this Divine Knowledg be he never so simple that comes unto Chist for it he cannot have it any other way for God hath ordained this way saith God he shall have it of my Son who is the Reconciler the Mediatour between God and Man he shall be beholding to Christ for all All Mens own works and labours will not Justify and save them for God hath Committed the whole work of Salvation to Christ One would think it should be no great matter for Men to lay aside their own works and Duties and submit to Christ but I tell you it is very hard and I found it hard my self Men think by reading and Learning and hearing this and the other Mans Notions and Opinions they may be edified and proffited and come to the true knowledg of God but while they are waiting upon God in the way he hath appointed they may receive knowledg from Christ and be more certain and Infallible in what they do know than by consulting all the wise Men and learned Doctors in the World For no Man knows all at once and no Man knows all things neither it is not a thing necessary that a Man should know all things in relation to God for as he is in himself he is incomprehensible For no Man knows the Father but the Son and he to whom the Son shall Reveal him Yet that which he knows of God he may know it as certain and Infallible Suppose a Man know nothing of God but that he is the searcher of Hearts and the trier of the Reins There are many have read this and say they know it that yet doubt whether there be a God or no But when God comes within them and convinceth them of Sin and searcheth them and brings Judgment upon them for what they have done then they know Infallibly that God is the searcher of Hearts This is not Mans work this is the work of God if I find God doth approach my Spirit I know it is Gods work I have now got some knowledg of God how came I by it who gave it me No body but he that hath all Knowledg he that was with the Father from the beginning and was Glorified with the Father before the World began he gave me this Knowledg and how did he give it thee By this Spirit for he hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into my Heart and that Spirit of Christ searches the Heart and tryes the Reins He tells me this is Evil that thou hast done this is that which God that made thee hath against thee this thou must forsake and this thou must Repent of here I have an Infallibility of what I know but I cannot get Rid of my Evil. Now if I can believe in that Power by which my Heart is search'd and trust in him that hath begun to deal with me then his work is not only to Reveal his Light to convince me but to put forth his Power to convert me so that by the Power of that truth by which my Heart is search'd I come to be converted and turned from my Sin and break off from it and when I am broken off from it I am sure and have a certainty that it is so that I am broken off from such a Sin and that my Heart is turned against it I am sure that now I hate it and detest it and that God hath turned my Inclination another way I am sure this is Gods work I can witness this Infallibly that something is now done in order to my Redemption But there is something yet Remaining to be done What
spake or wrote it It was not the Blood of Bulls or Goats nor the Blood of a Ram that could purge away Sin from their Consciences And after the Apostle had opened the Mystery of Divinity who had a Divine and Spiritual Skill in unfolding the Restoration of Mankind he declared plainly that when the Offering was made by Aaron for Sinners even then there remained still a Conscience of Sin for it was not possible that the Blood of Bulls and Goats should take away Sin so that their outward performances and their outward services they did but point out the Mediator they had a pointing finger as it were to the Real True and Everlasting Mediator Christ Jesus who is made a Mediator betwixt God and Man that by and through him man might be again Reconciled to God So that now in these Gospel days wherein God is opening the Mysteries of Life and Salvation to the intent and purpose that the Sons and Daughters of Men might be restored again unto their Primitive Enjoyment of the Favour of God Now in these days it is the Duty of all Christians and of all that are seeking the welfare of their Immortal Souls that they have their Eyes and their Hearts unto Jesus as unto one that is able to Reconcile them unto God To him it is committed to him Wisdom and Power is committed and to him Authority is committed that he should be an Everlasting High Priest and that all the Services and all the Worship and Religious performances that People offer up to God should be in his Name that so by him they might be Recommended to God For none will ever find Acceptance with the Father unless in all their performances they have an Eye unto him So that it comes plainly to pass according to that short and confident Assertion of the Author to the Hebrews That without Faith it is impossible to please God But it is possible to Offer Sacrifices without Faith and possible for People to perform Religious Services without Faith as woful Experience have taught us in our days That many have been exercised in a kind of a Religious Service and Worship that never in their Lives had Faith enough to believe the things that they pray for And they are without Faith For when People Pray to God to send his Holy Spirit into their Hearts that they may keep his Commandments to their Lives End they have not Faith to believe it And when they Pray Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven This is a Religious performance but I question whether it be done in Faith if not it is but an Increasing in Sin an Addition to Sin Where is the Man that is exercised in praying to God that believeth that ever such a thing is like to come to pass Go where you will in this or the other Nation and Inquire of People about their Faith they believe there is no possibility of Extirpating and Rooting out of Sin while they live upon the Earth therefore all their Prayers for it are vain and their Faith a vain Faith and it is high time in such a day as this when men are Faithless and Unbelieving to preach up the object of Faith the Lord Jesus Christ People are of divers Faiths and of divers Beliefs but we have found by experience that they do them no good they do not bring a thing to pass that of necessity must be brought to pass ere they can be Reconciled to God their Faith doth not cleanse the Heart nor extend so far as to believe that ere they shall be cleansed In all the Worship and Religion that they perform they come not to this Faith that they shall be made clean All that is done is but in sin and uncleanness they cannot bring a clean Sacrifice out of an unclean Vessel And our Lord Jesus Christ saith concerning this Subject An Evil Tree cannot bring forth Good Fruit. But there must be good Fruit brought forth how must we do it Make the Tree good and the Fruit will be good When that Mens vain janglings about Religion and Religious fancies must come to an end Then all that Religion will appear to be in vain and will not answer the end for which it is performed till men believe that it will make the Tree good and cleanse the Heart and Transform men by Renewing the Spirit of their Minds So that Religion it must begin within And it is not our changing our forms of Worship from one form to another and taking up this and the other Opinion that doth change our hearts Sad Experience doth teach us that men may carry over their old Lusts into a new Religion we can carry over our old Inclinations into our new Opinions For though the form of Worship be changed the Heart remaining unchanged and the Lusts unmortified their Religion is in vain let them be of what persuasion they will Now the remedy of this great Calamity that hath overspread all sorts of People for there is no sort of People but there are those among them that are under this great Calamity of holding the profession of Godliness with an Ungodly mind and the profession of Truth with a false and treacherous Spirit Now for the remedying of this there is but one way that all Mens Eyes be brought off from having their Eye unto their Performances and to the Doctrines and Tenents that they hold and do as the Apostle saith Fix their Eye upon Christ and look upon Jesus that is the first thing that must begin our Religion for Christ must be the Alpha of our Religion as well as the Omega of it If I begin not there let me begin where I will I begin wrong Let me begin at the most serious and sound Doctrines and at the most Apostolical Religion If Christ and his Apostles were here upon the Earth if I walked among them if I believed all they said and did I should begin wrong if I did not fix mine Eye upon Jesus Christ that is the taker away of sin and is the sanctifier of the Soul by his Spirit There must be the first beginning and there must be the conclusion he is the Author and the finisher of all true Faith There are Authors of other Faiths Men have different Faiths and their Creeds and Articles And they have exposed and imposed them too but this is the worst of it none of them are right let them be exposed and imposed with never so much force and violence none of these will cleanse the heart but that Faith which is delivered over by Christ Jâ—sus that hath the quality of cleansing and purifying that is the Faith when all is done that will do the work that is it that will save and sanctifie and do the business that all the World is about every one would have a Reconciler with God and Sin rooted out and be as God would have them be this is the publick profession of Christendom at least they
would find out something by which it might be done Others are willing enough to continue in Sin and Drunkeness Whoredom Lying and Hypocrisie these are a sort of Fools that make a mock of Sin and that swim in the stream of pleasure and what care they so long as they make a profession of Christianity But I am speaking of a People that are strugling under their corruptions that would mortifie Sin and serve God in Holiness and Righteousness and do Gods will on Earth as it is done in Heaven and do it not in form but would have power to do it And they try several ways to have it done it is not done many have been at this work till Gray Hairs are upon their Heads and it is not done Now God hath given Christ to make Reconciliation now how can we that have the Love of God extended to us But extend our Good-will to our Friends and signifie to them that all the travel and pains they are at and all the Prayers they make that all will do nothing till they have their Faith fixt upon Jesus that is able to save and deliver them and save to the uttermost all that come to God by him But here some will object and say It is true what you say But is it needful to preach such Doctrines to us for we all believe in Christ that is the only Mediator and Saviour We know that Christ Jesus is the only Mediator and that unless he Commend us to God we cannot be Accepted of him This is our General Doctrine therefore what need it be urged and pressed upon us that are come into the the Faith already Let me search into the matter it is of greater concernment than to search into a Bargain of Worldly things men would fain have others open and discover to them wherein they may be Cheated to prevent their being Imposed on in a wordly bargain I hope then they will hearken to know how and wherein they may be deceived by themselves and deceived by others in matters of Eternal concernment There are no Protestants but they reject any Mediator but Jesus Christ and believe that no Mediator can Reconcile them to God but Christ alone and they say he is the Object of their Faith I would ask them this Question Whether they believe in Christ at a distance or as present really present with them If their Faith be Historical and at a Distance that they believe in Christ as one born of the Virgin Mary and was Crucified and Dead before they were born and Arose again and Ascended into Heaven and is set at the right hand of God if the reason of my belief be I have heard of this Relation of Christ Or whether the reason be because by his Spirit he hath visited me in this Age The one is I believe because good men have told me so but the other is I believe because by this Spirit he hath promised to send to lead me into all truth he hath visited me Now whether I am aware of such a Spiritual visitation by this quickning Spirit which is the Lord from Heaven and not only the Lord in Heaven Whether I am aware of such a quickning Power and Vertue which I have received upon my Spirit that he is not only at the right hand of God on high in Heaven but that now he is come to knock at the door of my heart and hath raised in me a Life as opposite to sin as his was Now if I be aware of a secret touch of his quickning vertue upon my Soul whereby he hath begotten me into a Life opposite to sin so that if sin remains it remains as a Burthen and Oppression upon me so that I am a sufferer forasmuch as I am quickned and made sensible of a better life of a godly Life I would fain be at it and live in it but Iniquity Lust and Corruption lies in the way He that hath quickned me so far as to bring me to a sense of the Burthen of sin my Faith tells me he will take the Burthen off else my faith will do me no good if that Corruption still prevail upon me if my Faith tells me this it will tell the wickedest Man in the World as much But if my faith tells me I am a sinner and my sin consists of this and the other evil thing I do and am inclined to do it tells me again that he that hath quickned me and brought me to a sense of sin he can take the burthen off from me Here now is a true Faith that begins in Conviction and ends in true Conversion this is the word of Faith which was delivered to the Saints and which we are to Preach They said of Oâ—d that the word of Faith which they had to Preach was that which was nigh in their mouth that they might heaâ— it and do it I have something nigh that reproves me for sin if I be Obedient to it then Faith giveth me victory over that which is sinful for which the word reproveth me and as I see Faith gives me victory over any Corruption which I have been strugling under Here I am incouraged to fix my Faith upon him that hath thus quickned me So that this is the difference between Faith in Christ at a distance and Faith that quickneth me by Gods Spirit that Spirit which hath been so much slighted in our days by the highest Notionists in our Age they have supposed it to be a meer fiction some have mocked and derided and others have been discouraged to speak of the Spirit of Christ and his operations upon the Soul some have declared it both in the Press and Pulpit that they have had no experience of the touches of Gods Spirit upon their Souls But our experience hath brought us to another degree of knowledge We know and you may know if you please and that before you sleep that there is a way opened God hath made a way for his Spirit to reach the Spirits of men to signifie immediately to their Spirits without means herein thou dost wrong and herein thou mayest have life and seek after it Now the Spiritth at thus worketh is the Spirit of Christ the Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son that Voice in Man that tells them they might believe and be saved When he comes saith Christ He will lead you into all truth How shall the World know this is he He shall convince them of sin If there be any convincement that ariseth in Man of this and the other sin it must be from the way the holy Spirit hath upon their Spirits he hath a way to speak to men and every one that is a Lover of their own Souls are bound to hearken unto that voice In the latter days saith the Lord When I shall raise a Prophet in the midst of you whosoever will not hear that Prophet shall be cut off All Commentators agree on this Text that that
thy Divine Almighty Power that they might appear in the Earth to the Praise and Glory of thy great Name And O Lord as thou hast begun a great Work in the Earth so thou hast committed this great Work to thy Servants and Children that bear thy Name among the Sons of Men that they should shew forth thy Righteousness among the Inhabitants of the Earth And our Souls have said many times who is fit and sufficient for these things All our sufficiency and Preparation is from thee do thou make bare thine Arm and Reveal and make known thy Power We have found thy Presence with us from day to day and thou hast upheld them that know thy Love O Glorious God of Life herein we have Encouragement to go on in the work that thou hast called us to Hereby we are enabled to Worship before thee and to offer up Living Praises to thy great Name for that Consolation that thou hast Ministred unto thy People And O living Father we have never waited upon on thee in Vain when ever we have met together in thy Name we have found thy Divine presence and the opening of the Treasures of thy Love of thy Wisdom and of thy Favour unto thy Children so that from day to day and even at this day thou remembrest thy People and givest them fresh occasions to draw nigh to thee and to receive their daily nourishment and strength from the Operation of thy Power O living God of Life gather up the Hearts of thy People more and more unto thy self and draw them into a nearness to thy self that their Understandings may be more opened to discern thy will and subject themselves to thy Wisdom that every thought that is exalted against thy Divine Power and living Voice in their own Consciences may be brought down That so all the Nations of the Earth may bow before thee that so thy truth may Reign and thy Power may be exalted and the Righteousness which thou hast revealed may shine out more and more in the brightness and glory of it and inlighten those that are afar off that they may be brought to seek after thee And O thou living God of life and power let those that are bowed down under the weight of Sin be supported and raised up And let those that are weary and heavy laden have rest to their Souls Powerful God of life keep thy People in the fresh and living sense of thy love and of thy Heavenly Vertue by which thou nourishest thy Children and satisfiest them from Day to Day not only when they are met together but when they are separated from one another let thy People be preserved from the World while they are in it and let thy Wisdom and Power give them Victory over it That thou mayest have the Glory of all thy Mercies and Blessings vouchsafed to them for thou alone art worthy who art God over all Blessed for Ever and Ever Amen Sermon VI. The Divine Monitor OR Light from Heaven Preached at Grace-Church-Street June 19. 1692. IT is a great Priviledge to the Sons and Daughters of Men that it hath pleased God Almighty to open a way how they may come to the true Knowledge of himself And O that there was a Heart in every one of us that could rightly prize this Priviledge as they ought to do for in the Knowledge of the true God consists our true Happiness and without this the mind of no Man or Woman can be be good there is nothing seasons the mind and Soul of Man and prepares and fits it for an everlasting well-being but the Divine Knowledge of the living God that made him And there is a Propensity in the Soul of Man even since the Fall to return again to God and to have that acquaintance and Communion with the Lord that Man had before he fell and they that have regard to that inward spark of Divine Love that they find in their own Souls towards God they will experience that the Lord is merciful and Gracious and Propitious to that which is of himself For though the Soul is lost and Man is lost through transgression and a great Alienation is happened between him and his Maker yet the Mercy of the Lord endureth for ever And his kindness and favour to lost Man is such that he stretcheth out his hand all the day long and presents and offers to the Children of Men a Friendship and Acquaintance and a Communion again with him and though by Sin and Transgression there is a rebellous Nature grown up in the Sons and Daughters of Men yet the Soul of Man is not wholly so there is something that strives and labours in a contrary way and persuades the Soul to turn again unto the Lord and to wait for the knowledge of God and whosoever hearkens with care and diligence to that Divine Monitor that is daily drawing and persuading People to seek after God they come to understand that the Lord is not so Angry with Mankind but his Love and Mercy and Good-will reaches towards all the Sons and Daughters of Men and the Bar that hinders their Communion with God and Peace with God it is not in the Lord but it is in themselves and therefore the remedy must be wrought in themselves This is evident to every Eye that there is something gotten into Mankind which the Holy God cannot own and can never have fellowship with That is another contrary Spirit hath wrought upon the Souls of People and hath seduced and drawn them out to that which is unholy and contrary to God and the terms of Gods Covenant with Mankind which is that he should forsake that which the contrary Spirit hath wrought Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous Man his thoughts Why should he forsake his ways Because the Lord never led him to those ways He that made him never led him into them but the Devil the Enemy of Mankind seduced him into those ways therefore the Creatour cries out to him Let the wicked forsake his Ways and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts I cannot have union with him as long as he walks in his evil ways I cannot dwell in his mind so long as evil thoughts are in it so may the Lord complain of the works which the Devil hath wrought that Man is carryed away from God by his evil thoughts and the works of the Devil Why doth not God destroy those works when he is Almighty and able to do it Very true God is so but he hath offered to Mankind through the Son of his Love a way and means how Man may come to be purged and cleansed from the evil that the Devil hath wrought in him and how he may come to be reconciled to God God hath not chosen the way of Coertion and Force and to work altogether by irresistible Power that Man shall go to Heaven whether he will or no there was no force used for his going to Hell and Darkness but
it was the choice of his Will The Devil could not have forced Man and Led him away out of Covenant with God he could nor compel him to break the Holy Command of God but the Devil tempted him and he yielded to the Temptation and now Man is driven out of the presence of God yet God hath found out a way for the Sons and Daughters of Men to return again to him what by Force and Coertion and Irresistible Power No but the Scripture saith he hath offered Faith and Salvation to all Men He hath freely given the Son of his Love out of his own bosom who making himself an Offering for sin hath presented a way and means for Mans returning again to God How doth God present Christ to us he presents him to the view of every ones mind to the understanding of every Soul He Offers and presents him for Salvation to the ends of the Earth There is Damnation come in by Man's being subject to Satan But Salvation comes in by his being subj ct to Christ as Damnation came in by his being defiled so Salvation came in by his being cleansed As the Devil is the Defiler so Christ is the Cleanser and Man is the object upon which both do work and they that have been defiled and corrupted as we all have by the unclean Spirit Can any of us give a reason why we should not be cleansed by the holy Spirit we have lost our Right to Heaven by Sin and Transgression in the first Adam And can any give a reason why we should not be Restored and Redeemed by Jesus Christ the second Adam No reason can be given of our Redemption but that God is free in his Love and Christ in his Offering He hath Offered himself a Sacrifice for Sin Every Priest hath something to Offer This Man the Man Christ Jesus offered himself through the Eternal Spirit a Sacrifice for Sin And now the Sacrifice is Offered and a Door is opened and a new and living way consecrated through the Vail that is to say his Flesh Now who can be wise enough to find out a reason why all men enter not in at this Door for all Men Run in at the other Door which the Devil and Adam opened to run from God all could run in at that Door what is the reason that all run not in at that Door which Christ hath opened and God hath Revealed and which cost Christ so dear to work our way back again for Mankind to return to God If we go about to enquire into the reason we shall find it very little for there is all the reason in the World we should serve God and seek our own Happiness There is all the reason in the World we should part with Sin and Iniquity and with the Devils Work which he wrought if we knew but how now this I say is a great Priviledge that God hath afforded to the Sons and Daughters of Men that they may know for here is the terms of the Gospel and of Salvation brought to a narrow compass to a short sum there needs no Catalogue of them they that will be ruled by the Wicked one must have their part with him and they that will be ruled and Governed by the Holy one shall have their part with him that where he is there they may be also Is this in the Power of Man's Will no there lies the mischief in the will of Man for you cannot but know by Experience if a Man may have his own will he will alwaies run headlong to Destruction and run in the way of Wickedness And if ever he comes to turn out of that way into the way of Righteousness he must do it in a way that is Cross to his own will Some have said because we have spoken of the Free Grace of God in a way that is universal of his kindness to Mankind through Jesus Christ they have said that we hold Free Will that Men might be saved if they would but alas We have tried it and we have an Universal Knowledg that is able to convince us and all the World that it is far enough from our own will Man is far enough from being able to save himself from being saved by his own will he can run on to Damnation there is a Current goes with his Affections and with his Corrupt desires they go with the Current and Stream As long as a Man goes on in Sin he Swims down the Stream Now many after they have long gone on in Sin and their evil ways they think of returning to God for they think there is a better way and a surer way and a safer way for their Souls than to go on in wickedness so there is if there be so saith the sincere Soul O that I might walk in it Why dost thou not I am convinced that I see a more excellent way than my way is a better walking and Conversation than my Life is but Alas It is too hard for me to walk in it Why What is the matter What makes it hard Because of my own will I cannot walk in it and have my will I cannot walk in it and enjoy my Affections and Desires and my Interest in the World This is no wonder that thou tellest me now thou art Convinced of a better way and wouldst walk in it and thou canst not walk in it but thou must take up a Daily Cross we might all of us tell that and read it before I pray God you may come to read it within what a Cross it is you are to take up and what a way it is you are required to walk in that it is the way o God the way that leads to Heaven it is a Narrow way the way that the Devil would have you to walk in is a Broad way there is no Rub in it O! Would you but once come to Experience how hard it is to walk in that way that leads to Life you will find that you cannot do it without self denial It comes to this point I read of it before but now I find it so such a Man or such a Woman will seriously apply themselves to live blameless harmless and Inoffensive towards God and Man they will set a Bridle and a watch before their mouth that they might not speak a vain Word they will take care of the frame and Temper of their Minds that they Sin not in their Thoughts that they Sin not with their Lips nor with their hands This is not as I was wont to do I was used to have my liberty now I find my self yoked I dare not Sin against God Now I find by experience what I heard before that no Man can follow Christ without denying himself and taking up a Daily Cross I would have you experienced in this work wicked Men think it is a pleasant Life to follow the Devils work and to walk in the Broad way but the way of self-deniall is uneasie there
that inhabits Eternity yet he dwells with meek humble and contrite Hearts that tremble at his word If I be one of the number of those that tremble at Gods word I have Gods promise that he will come Home to me and dwell with me It is well for thee if the over-ruling Power of God hath prevailed upon thee that thou canst be willing to be at Gods Disposal and say Lord What wouldst thou have me to do Therefore Friends I would advise you all in Love to your Souls that when God desires your Hearts that you would give them up to him that there he may delight to dwell and have his habitation Hearken to Gods Voice and have regard to his word which is a more sure word than any Man 's in the World There is a more sure word of Prophecy saith the Apostle unto which you will do well to take heed This will check you and reprove you when you do Evil and shew you wherein you have Transgressed and will encourage you and be a Comfort to you when you do that which is good This will make you wise to Salvation and throughly furnish you and give you understanding for every good work This word will tell you this you must not do lest you offend God and wound your Conscience and grieve the Holy Spirit this word will help you so to speak as to Administer Grace to the hearers such a one as hath regard to this word hath a Chaplain in his own Bosome That will direct and teach him how to stear his course and order his Conversation among Men and how to serve God acceptably This High Priests Lips will preserve knowledg even Jesus Christ The Righteous who speaks to us in his Word we can do nothing but by his Direction If you come to him to lead to you into all truth he will bring you the Father reconcile you to him that you may obtain his Favour and Everlasting Life when one of Christs Disciples said Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us Jesus saith unto him He that hath seen me hath seen the Father And How sayest thou then shew us the Father If you subject your selves to Christ and to the Government of his Spirit he will bring you to that Life and Immortality that fadeth not away This hath been our Labour and Travel from time to time to Preach Christ among you and not to Preach our selves and gather a Church for our selves but to gather a People in to Christ who is Lord of Heaven and Earth We would Preach Christ Jesus the Lord we would not have you Admire Mens words and sayings and charge your Memory with them But we would have you remember the words and sayings of Christ who is the great Mediatour to reconcile Man again to God that you may know him by his Power working effectually in your hearts we Labour for nothing else and we want nothing else We are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us We pray you in Christs stead be ye Reconciled to God That you may so Live that whether you Eat and Drink or whatsoever you do you may do all to the Glory of God your great Creatour that hath given his Son to Die for you and Redeem you from all Iniquity that you might be a peculiar People zealous of all good Works Therefore let God have all the Honour and Glory for all his mercies and Blessings Let us render to him Hearty Praises and Thanksgivings for his wonderful Love and ackowledg that it is a great priviledg that we may obtain by Jesus Christ even to be brought again to the true knowledg of the living God which we lost by our Transgression His Prayer after Sermon GLorious art thou in thy Appearances O Lord and very wonderful is thy Power and thy ways past finding out And in this thy glorious Day thou art opening a way for the Sons and Daughters of Men to return to thee And O Lord those whose Eyes thou hast opened rejoyce and are Glad because they have seen the way of thy Salvations and the breathings of their Souls are that their Feet may be kept therein and that they may make straight steps in their way to thy kingdom And O Lord we are sensible that our strength and our Power and our Ability is only in thee and therefore are the Souls of thy Children bowed and subjected to thee Waiting for the Renewing of thy Power that as our Temptations are renewed from Day to Day that thou wouldest make known thy Power in us that we may feel the stretching forth of thy hand to save thy little Ones out of the hands of the Destroyer And so Powerful God of life break forth more and more in thy Glory and make known thy Power in expelling the Clouds of darkness and ignorance and bring the Minds and Understandings of thy People to know thee more and more till they come to the blessed Inheritance among the Saints in Light Holy and Powerful Father break in upon thy People by thy Almighty Power and scatter the dark Clouds of Temptation and cause the light of Life to shine upon them thou that hast commanded the Light to shine out of darkness do thou shine into the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Men. Open their Hearts that they may receive thy Truth and make tender their hard Hearts that they may live to thee that Created them and give a comfortable Account to thee of their Thoughts Words and Actions and let them turn to thee before it be too late to repent them Powerful God of Life thy mercies and loving kindness do abound to a little Remnant that do believe in Christ and do trust in thy great Name Thou hast been with them in their fiery tryalls and tribulations and to this Day thou hast been the glory of our Assemblies and the joy of our meetings We are sensible of thy holy Power working in our Souls and of thy renewing thy love upon us All that want a full sense thereof that are seeking and crying after thee for it O let them be brâ—ught to a due sense of God O arise for the help and the Comfort of the Sorrowful the Sighing and the needy Soul pour forth the treasures of thy love upon them that follow hard after thee and breath for deliverance that so Powerful God of life praises may arise to thee for all thy mercies and abounding blessings for thy goodness and loving kindness bestowed upon us from time to time Most Powerful God of life and light let the Eye of thy Favour be turned upon this Land of our Nativity spare the inhabitants of this City and Nation that they may seek after thee let them know the weight of thy Hand upon them to bow them down to humility and brokenness of Heart Give them Repentancee for their Sins Living God of life display thy Power to all from the highest to the lowest among us and advance the kingdom of our