sitting And there appeared unto them cloven Tongues as of Fire and it sat upon each of them And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance As their Commission was to preach the Gospel to all Nations so the Qualification for the Work was agreeable to the Commission Where Persons do pretend to the same Commission with the Apostles and that they have as large an extent of Power and Jurisdiction as they had and want the Qualification wherewith they were endued they carry saith the learned Dr. Owen the mark of Antichrist in their Foreheads That this Qualification for the first publishing of the Gospel did proceed from the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator for the gathering of the Elect out of the World will appear if we compare these two following Scriptures one with another Acts 2.32 33. This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are Witnesses Therefore being by the right-hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear Compared with Acts 10.34 35 36 43 44. Then Peter opened his Mouth and said Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of Persons But in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him The Word which God sent unto the Children of Israel preaching Peace by Jesus Christ he is Lord of all To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of Sins While Peter spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word In Acts 2.32 33. the Qualification is laid down without which Peter had been unable to preach the Gospel to those of Cesarea here is the Holy Ghost as a fruit of the Lord Jesus's Intercession attending the outward preaching of the Gospel and setting it home upon the Heart with Power the outward preaching of the Gospel being the instrumental means appointed to gather the Elect out of the World unto God Rom. 10.17 So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God By the Word of God here is meant the Declaration of the Gospel The outward Declaration of the Gospel doth contain in it these Truths appointed by God for the Salvation of the Elect the Holy Ghost removes the Vail of Darkness from the Heart subjects the Heart unto the Truth and inclines the Heart to join with it I come in the second place to treat of the ordinary Qualification to preach the Gospel without which a Person can have no real Satisfaction to his own Soul that he is called of God to that great Work and Service The extraordinary Qualisication and the ordinary Qualification do not differ in a different Declaration of Truths delivered but in a different work of the Spirit upon the Heart in discovering one and the same Truth the one having it by the immediate impulse of the Spirit of God overpowering all the Faculties of the Soul and making it stoop to the leadings of the Spirit in the other the holy Spirit works not so powerfully but by giving in of Light to behold the Truth already delivered in the Word and sealed by Miracle gives a Gift of utterance to declare it unto others For the clearing up this Qualification I shall compare two Scriptures Ephes 4.7 8. But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the measure of the Gift of Christ Wherefore he saith When he ascended up on high he led Captivity captive and gave Gifts unto Men. Which Gifts to Men he tells us in ver 12. are for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ the Body of Christ taking in the Saints until Christ's second appearance The Gifts here intended must be meant the ordinary Qualifications of the Spirit for the work of the Ministry as the means appointed by God to gather the Saints into one Body and to edify them when they are gather'd in until they be brought safe to the Mansions of Glory because the extraordinary Qualification did cease in a little time To clear up this a little further lock into 1 Pet. 4.10 11. As every Man hath received the Gift even so minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God If any Man speak let him speak as the Oracles of God if any Man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Jesut Christ to whom be Praise and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Here is contained in these words the Gift given from God the Father here is the Lord Jesus Christ through whose Intercession this Gift is given here is the nature of the Gift which is the Spirit 's inlightnings into the Oracles or holy Scriptures here is the twofold end God's Glory and the Saints Edification Where this Qualification is wanting the Soul can have no real Satisfaction that it is called of God to that Work and Service which I shall make appear by these following Rensons First Altho Learning be very serviceable in order to have recourse to the Original Text for the understanding the Letter of the Scripture in the Original for to stop the mouth of Gainsayers yet the Darkness which is upon the Soul by Nature is not thereby removed Neither can Learning of it self comprehend that inward Life and Virtue which breaths in the holy Scriptures The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned Secondly Without this ordinary Qualification of which I have been speaking the Soul can have no real Satisfaction that it is called of God to the work of the Ministry of the Gospel because that altho by Learning many weighty Truths may be collected from the Writings of experienced Christians who have lived in the Power of Christianity yet the inward work of the Spirit being wanting in him that delivers them to others they give an uncertain sound there being a want of an inward sense of these Truths upon the Heart and often a great deal of Man's Corruptions mixt with them which they receive from the Vessel through which they pass Thirdly Without this ordinary Qualification of which I have been speaking the Soul can have no real Satisfaction that it is called of God to the work of the Ministry of the Gospel because without it the Heart is not engaged in the Work that such Persons take upon them neither are their Aims and Ends right in their entering upon this great Work nor in the carrying of it on the getting an outward Support in the World for themselves being the thing they are most concerned for Fourthly Without this ordinary Qualification of which I have been speaking the
secret before God for Counsel and Direction and blessed be his holy Name he did not leave me but open'd a way for my Escape which Mercy I desire to keep in remembrance while I am in this World The night before the Warrant was to be executed I was very sick all the night but in the morning something better the Officers meeting together about that wicked Work to which they were all averse sent for me but my Excuse of not being well would not serve their turn but they proceeded by Lot to take the Houses of that poor People and sent me my Lots which I received with a great deal of joy seeing they desired me either to send Mony or get one to officiate I sent them the Mony rejoicing and upon my Knees blessed God for that great Mercy and tho the poor Quakers did offer me my Mony again yet I durst not for Conscience sake receive it I leave this with you as my Judgment that a misguided Conscience ought to be informed not forced God hath appointed other ways in his Word to reclaim those that are in an Error than by ruining Mens Persons and Estates The Liberty for Dissenters being granted by King James I was brought to hear five or six dissenting Ministers at Richard Cockeril's which through the Blessing of God so far wrought upon me as to take off that Prejudice that I had conceived against them but my Understanding remained dark without any inward discovery of the precious Doctrine of the Gospel until I sat under the Ministry of Mr. Humphreys being before that time a high Asserter of Free-will and general Redemption which naturally falls under the first Covenant-Principle His Personal Failings which brought a stain upon the precious Truths f the Gospel through Mercy I abhorr'd and took the freedom at times to speak to him about it yet his Doctrine which he preached was the instrumental means to bring me and many other poor Sinners to join with the Truth which through Mercy I was inabled to do upon the account of its own Worth and Excellency And mark it my Children that which must establish your Hearts in the Truths of God must be the holy Spirit 's inlightening your Souls to behold the Truth in the Scripture-Glass and inabling your Souls to see a native Beauty and Excellency in it above any Lustre that the Creature can put upon it by any Rhetorical Florishes whatsoever I cannot see what solid ground Persons can have to lay claim to an Interest in the Foundation-Truths of Christianity before the charming Simplicity that doth appear in Truth doth allure and win upon the Heart to lay hold of it When the holy Spirit doth present Truth unto the Soul it puts such a Divine Authority into it as constrains the Soul to bow before it and to submit unto it That Scripture which the Holy Ghost was pleased to make use of to present the Lord Jesus Christ unto my Soul and to seal unto it an Interest in God as my God through him was the words of Christ to Mary Joh. 20. the latter part of the 17th Verse Go to my Brethren and say unto them I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God In which words the Lord Jesus Christ was presented unto my Soul as the Person by whom we are brought into relation with God and so was I inabled to lay hold of him with my whole Heart as the Person that opens the door of Grace and Mercy and under the inward sense and feeling of that Grace and Mercy which I did then receive from my heavenly Father as an Evidence of his accepting of me through his Son my Heart was exceedingly melted before him and drawn forth by the Spirit of Adoption into such a familiarity with him as to lay open my Heart before him being not then afraid to let him know the worst of my Condition from that Confidence that I had in that blessed Mediator that stood betwixt us I then experienced a new Principle begotten in my Soul which knit my Heart to the Person of the Lord Jesus I felt my Heart leaning towards him for Security and Safety and while the inward Evidence of my Union with him did last I look'd upon my self to be without the reach of the Tempter and altho many Clouds and Temptations have been upon me since the time of my first closing with him yet he hath not suffered me to be overwhelmed by them but in the midst of Troubles hath discovered himself unto me And this frequently I have experienced that when some sudden surprizing Providence hath fallen upon me that seem'd to be of a frowning nature my Soul being rouz'd did shake it self to see if it 's spiritual Strength remained Its first search hath been after its Union with its Lord and to get the Heart raised to God through him If Grace remained so as to keep the Heart knit unto Christ to wrestle with the Father through him generally slavish Fear fled away and a submissive frame of Spirit took place of it to be disposed of by God according to his Wisdom and before the Trouble was wholly over some comfortable Scripture was born in as an earnest that the Deliverance was coming My hope for Heaven lies in this that I am in the way that all the Flock have walk'd in unto this day For the New Testament stands upon the Credit and Authority of the Old If the Messiah were yet to come to work out Man's Salvation the Old Testament Prophecies concerning him could have their Accomplishment in no other way than they are laid down fulfilled in the New in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Acts 10.43 To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of Sins And besides this my Heart hath been inwardly made sensible of the preventing Grace of God put forth outwardly towards me and his pardoning and renewing Grace hath been manifested inwardly in me First His preventing Grace hath been put forth outwardly towards me in that tender Watchfulness that my Heavenly Father hath shewed towards me to this day How many times have I been in danger of being led away by grievous Temptations and have been without the sense of the danger that I was in and yet something hath fallen out that hath prevented my falling by the Temptation and afterwards I have been made sensible of the Danger and of the Mercy received This was a great means of settling my Soul in the Doctrine of Election for I was many times constrained to cry out Why dost thou manifest such Grace unto me a worthless Creature For my Children I must acknowledg as standing under the first Covenant I was a Sinner before God and liable to his Justice His condemning of me could have been no Injustice in him therefore his dealing with me in Mercy 's way must lead me to acknowledg that it is by Grace I stand Secondly His
and a share in the Worship of it But the time of the Old Testament Church-state being expired the aim of the New Testament being to gather together the spiritual Seed of Abraham the fleshly Jew must be broken off and the believing Gentile must take his place that so the Church in the times of the New Testament may consist of the spiritual Seed and if he spared not the natural Jew because there was a want of the Qualification be not high-minded but fear for if thou wantest the Qualification thou hast not long to continue a Member of the Church of Christ in the times of the New Testament I have in treating of this Covenant contain'd in Gen. 17. gone from the common Opinion of Expositors and through Mercy I can appeal unto the Lord that I have desired sincerely to follow the leadings of his holy Spirit in his Word If I have varied in any thing from the holy Scriptures which I desire to follow as my Rule and Guide if any can shew me my Error and will do it in the Spirit of Meekness I shall be greatly obliged to them I must desire the Reader 's favour to overlook the weakness of the Stile in which these Truths are laid down and to look at the Truth it self which shines the clearest when it appears in its own native Beauty If it agree with thy Experience bless God for it for thou mayst see in reading of the Appendix which contains the Author's Experience and Advice to his Children that the Author hath nothing to glory in before the Lord It was by rich and free Grace alone that he was brought to see the Truth and to give Obedience to it It is through rich Grace that he receives strength to walk in it and it is by Grace alone that he hopes to come to that eternal Blessedness that is held forth by it CHAP. IV. Of the New Testament Church and what is required to be a Member of it BEfore I come to the matter contained in this Chapter I shall speak of the Church of Christ in general and so it comprehends the whole Elect Body from the Fall to those that shall be living at Christ's second Personal Appearance Ephes 3.14 15. For this cause I bow my Knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named Some of the Family are gotten to their rest others are conflicting with the World and some have only their being in the Decree of God to appear at the time appointed for them The Church so considered is the Body of Christ which he hath redeemed by his pretious Blood not having Spot or Wrinkle or any such thing when presented to the Father at the Last day But of the Church thus considered are many Members who are not brought to be Members of a gathered Church constituted according to the Rule of God's Word That Lot Job and his Friends were of the Body of Christ and so Members of the Church I think no Christian will deny yet it doth not any where appear that those were Members of the Old Testament Church who never imboided together and so became thereby visible to the Nations round about them As Christ in the times of the Old Testament had many Members who were not brought into the Church so hath he likewise in the times of the New Testament The idolatrous Church of Rome hath assumed to her self the name of the Church or the Spouse of Christ and so was owned for many Ages by the great Ones of the World while the Members of Christ were not visible to the World and in many places not one unto another In not distinguishing the Church as it is here laid down some Persons have driven on strange Designs against God's Children by their Cry That out of the Church there is no Salvation Which is true if we consider the Elect Body to whom Christ was given as a Saviour but will not hold true to any particular gathered Church for many Members of Christ are so scatter'd in the World that for many Ages it hath been and at this time is morally impossible that they should be gathered into a Body according to the Rule of the Word Of the Church as taking in the whole Body of the Elect do I reckon Elect Infants Whether only all Believers Infants or Unbelievers Infants likewise be so to whom Grace is applied by the Holy Spirit I leave as a Secret which God is pleased to reserve unto himself But that they are uncapable of Membership in a visible gathered Church in the times of the New Testament and have no Right to the two Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper will appear in the prosecuting of this and the next Chapter if regard be had to the Holy Scriptures as a Rule and Guide unto us By holding forth the Purity of the Church I do not thereby unchurch those several sorts of Protestants that differ from the poor despised Baptists in many things yet do hold with them the Foundation the Lord Jesus Christ as Redeemer and the one Mediator betwixt God and Man in opposition to the many Mediators brought in by the Idolatrous Church of Rome Yet if regard be had to the Holy Scriptures as a Rule many of the Protestant Churches will appear to have been building upon the Foundation Wood Hay and Stubble they have retained in their several Churches something that hath been handed down unto them from the idolatrous Papists and not from the Authority of the Holy Scriptures Although God hath born with these Churches several Ages as he bore with the Churches of Asia yet it is visible that his Presence is greatly withdrawn from them and may end in the unchurching of them when the Church comes wholly to be delivered out of her Wilderness State if there be not a hearty and speedy return unto him Having by way of Introduction open'd the way into what remains chiefly to be consider'd in this Chapter I shall lay down these two general Heads as that which may take in the whole matter First Treat of the Nature of the Publication of the Gospel under the New Testament Secondly What is required to be admitted a Member of the visible Church according to the Rule laid down in it First I shall treat of the Nature of the Publication of the Gospel under the New Testament and that is in a different manner from the Publication of it in the times of the Old Testament The Lord Jesus Christ was then held forth under such Types and Figures that the end for which they were instituted in the Church was beheld with great difficulty so that the Saints themselves that were waiting for his coming were ignorant of the manner of it and the nature of that Deliverance that should be wrought by him being much upon the expectation of a visible Kingdom in this World and outward Glory attending of it not being brought clearly to distinguish betwixt
manifest it self it leads the Administrator unto a chearful administring the Ordinance to such Persons And he Peter commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord. Those that do lay aside the Supper-Ordinance do say that Christ is come and therefore the Supper-Ordinance is of no longer continuance But if such Persons would seriously consider what the coming of Christ is which they speak of they would do well for if by coming inwardly into the Soul and the Holy Ghost's manifesting him in the Soul by the Glass of the Gospel be meant this is the Qualification to come to the Ordinance and so he is come to every sincere Christian 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom tho now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoice with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory Compared with Ephes 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your Hearts by Faith This dwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith is the inward discerning of him in his Sufferings which being wholly wanting in those that do partake of the outward part of the Ordinance they eat and drink Damnation to themselves not discerning the Lord's Body But if by being come they intend such a coming as to exclude the Expectation of the second Personal Appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ Whom the Apostle tells us Acts 3.21 the Heaven must receive until the Restitution of all things then they destroy one of the Articles of the Christian Faith The Saints in this day do in a measure witness with the Apostles the inward Enjoyment of him by Faith and by the same Faith that they liv'd in do expect the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle John speaks fully to this in 1 Joh. 3.2 Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is They could not be brought into the state of Children without the inward Enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith for this is the Evidence of Sonship and it doth not yet appear what we shall be in Eternity we do but as in a Glass behold the Glory that the Children shall there be made partakers of but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Not alone we know that he is ours but we know that he will hold and keep us till we enjoy eternal Glory with our Head the Lord Jesus Christ at his second personal Appearance then shall our vile Bodies be changed like his glorious Body and we be ever with the Lord. The next thing to be treated of is that the way of administring the Ordinances be kept to according to the Rule of the Word and that is as to the Ordinance of Baptism a burial of the Body in Water in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Buried with him by Baptism into Death Leigh in his Note upon the words of Rom. 6.4 The Apostle saith he alludes to the manner in which Baptism was then administred which was to plunge the Baptized in the Water after which they put on new Garments whence those manners of speaking used in Scripture to put on Christ to put off the old Man and put on the new Mr. Perkins agrees with Leigh as to the manner of Administration of the Ordinance of Baptism in the Primitive Church and tells us that it was altered from plunging of the Body under Water to sprinkling in the Face by reason of the Coldness of this Northern Climate but from whence the Power is derived to make any alteration in the Ordinance from its Primitive Institution this that holy Man shews not as if the Elements were not subject to the Power of God and he were not sufficient to preserve his Children in their Obedience to him in his own Appointments Secondly The way of administring the Supper-Ordinance we have set down by the Lord Jesus who was the first Administrator Mat. 26.26 27 28. And as they were eating that is the Passover Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to his Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body The Bread put for the thing signified by it which was the Body of Christ Ver. 27. And he took the Cup and gave Thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it Ver. 28. For this is my Blood that is a Sacrament or figure of his Blood poured forth of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of Sins This leads me to the next thing What the Ordinances do hold forth when administred according to the Rule of the Word I shall first treat of the Ordinance of Baptism which consists of two parts the one outward the other inward the outward part I have spoken to already which is a Burial of the Body in Water the inward part figured out by the outward is the Burial and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 6.4 5. Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into Death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of Life For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his Death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection As the outward Declaration of the Gospel is the instrumental Means in the hand of the Holy Ghost to convey that which is held forth by it which is the Lord Jesus Christ unto the Soul so is the Ordinance of Baptism the Means appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ and made use of by the Spirit to convey that which is held forth by it The outward of it self conveys nothing it is only made use of by the holy Spirit to set before the Soul what is figured out by it The Burial of the Body holds forth the Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Benefits which we receive by it which is a discharge from the Penalty of Sin and our rising out of the Water his Resurrection and the Benefits which we receive by it which is to walk with God in newness of Life by Power received from the Father through the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ The holy Spirit accompanying the Ordinance doth let the Soul see what Christ hath gone through to free it from Hell and to procure for it the Enjoyment of Heaven which inward sight by Faith knits the Soul to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle calls it a being planted into the likeness of his Death and into the likeness of his Resurrection The Believer is let into Christ so as to draw that spiritual Life by which he lives unto God from the Lord Jesus Christ he not only lives in the Enjoyment of the Father but doth likewise convey of that spiritual Life unto all his Members in a measure For
of Darkness hath shined in our Hearts to give the Light of the knowledg of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 4.6 That is The way that God doth take to exalt his Grace and Mercy to his Elect is in a way that doth agree with his Justice He beholds the eternal Word Creator united to the Childrens Nature by it giving Satisfaction to Justice The stoppage of Grace being removed Grace doth shine down upon them The Spirit of Adoption which is the inward Witness meets Grace in the way that it comes forth The Soul admires the Wisdom and Goodness of God in appointing the way of its Salvation in such a way as exalts Grace and wrongs not Justice Grace being no less to us by making its way through Christ to us because it was the Father that appointed the Son this Work and it was to answer the Father's Will that he performed it This inward Witness incourageth a poor Sinner that is weary of Sin to go to Christ and to God through him For altho there seems a great distance betwixt a poor guilty Sinner and a holy God to behold each of them as they are in themselves yet this middle Person the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Reconciler or the maker up of the Breach betwixt them being inwardly discovered in the Gospel-Glass by the Holy Ghost working with it those who were far off before are brought nigh by the Blood of this blessed Jesus Divine Love descends Faith enables the Soul to mount up and with Wings to ascend We love him saith St. John because he first loved us This Light of the Holy Ghost is a distinct thing from the first Covenant-Principle That lays the Soul under Guilt for Sin but takes not in the way of Reconciliation The Holy Ghost takes in the way of Reconciliation and gives Evidence of the Souls Interest in it It is by the Apostle called the Spirit of the Son because it is by the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ that the Holy Ghost is sent and because it leads the Soul to pay the Tribute of Divine Honour to him as being the way to the Father It leads the Soul wholly in another way than the first Covenant-Principle leads in Its Motives by which it stirs up the Soul to watch against Sin are from Mercy and Goodness that is spiritual Mercies received by the Soul The first Covenant-Principle breaks the Soul off from Sin by shewing the Wrath and Misery that attends it The Holy Ghost stirs up the Soul to set a Watch against the first motions of Lust by discovering the loathsom nature of it which if the Soul joins with it will thereby be unfit for Communion with God As it is by the Holy Ghost that Sanctification is carried or in the Soul to prepare it for the Enjoyment of God in Glory so the Apostle seems to put the Cure of the Bodies of the Saints even when they are under a Dissolution upon the Holy Ghost in order to their recovery out of that state Rom. 8.11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you I have gone through the first Head and laid before you the dealings of God with me in bringing of me to the Enjoyment of himself by Faith and shall now proceed to the second Head Secondly The Counsel and Direction which I recommend unto you if I should be shortly removed from you 1st Endeavour to get imprinted upon your Hearts the thoughts of God in his Soveraignty over you and those outward Providences which he exerciseth towards you God is so incomprehensible in his Being that he cannot be fathom'd by the Creature What an Awe and Reverence of him hath the Consideration of his Incomprehensibleness made upon the Hearts of his dearest Children In his discovering of himself to them in the greatness of his Power how hath he treated them as Worms and nothing Creatures And they in their expressing of themselves before him their Language hath carried in it the Evidences of a humble Heart Psal 22.4 5 6. Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them They cried unto thee and were delivered they trusted in thee and were not confounded But I am a Worm and no Man a reproach of Men and despised of the People We see here the Psalmist David who is recorded to be a Man after God's owh Heart how he expresses himself before God First In acknowledging God in his Power to deliver And then secondly In acknowledging his Unworthiness to be delivered by him in these words I am a Worm and no Man The clearer Discovery that the Soul gets of God in the Absoluteness of his Power and that incomprehensible Greatness he is invested withal hath that Effect upon the Heart as to lay it in the Dust before him Remember my Children that in your Creation you were in the hands of the wise Creator as the Clay is in the hand of the Potter The forming and the fashioning of you lay wholly in his own Will and Pleasure Psal 119.73 Thy hands have made and fashioned me give me Vnderstanding that I may learn thy Commandments That there is no defect in the Members of your Bodies is a Mercy to you but that there is no defect in the Faculties of your Souls is a greater Mercy What great Obligations are you under to the great Creator seeing you have received your Being from him 2. Consider how the Creator has disposed of you and how his Providential Dealings are towards you Acts 17.26 And hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men to dwell on the face of the Earth and hath determined the Times afore appointed and the Bounds of their Habitation That is He hath determined the time that he allows every one in this World and their place for a Habitation in it How bountiful is the great Creator unto you that he should appoint you your place in England and not in India or some other dark place of the World that is full of the Habitations of Cruelty that your Lot should be hitherto to have a full supply of outward Necessaries whereas many others are attended by great outward Wants and Penury 3. Consider God's Providential Dealings towards you that your Parents have been hitherto continued and made a Blessing to you that they have not been wanting to your outward Man by their utmost care to provide for it But above all what a Blessing have they been made unto you as to your Souls if it be but sanctified unto you What proof have your poor Parents given of their Care over your Souls in giving you your Education in such a way as hath been a means to bring them under great outward Straits their Eyes being fixt upon the good of your immortal Souls in what they have done that you might not be exposed
Work nor Device in the Grave If out of Christ when Death comes to you then miserable for ever if in Christ when Death comes happy for ever 6. Take care to get your Judgments throughly informd and settled in the Foundation-Principle of Christianity Other Foundation can no Man lay than that which is already laid which is Jesus Christ an all-sufficient Saviour Remember you must always go empty to him but have a care of returning empty from him Have the Saints in all Ages beheld such an Excellency in him and can you see none It 's a sign your Hearts are not right with him you talk of what you do not enjoy To you that believe saith the Apostle he is precious it 's such a Faith as gives a view of his Person in the Gospel-Glass 7. Endeavour to be much in the inward experimental part of Religion Have a care of sticking in the true Form without the Power and have a care of a pretended Power without the true Form If you stick in the purest Form without the Power you get no further than Formalists and are no better than a lifeless Image without Motion in God's account For Revealed Religion was appointed to bring the Heart to Communion with God and where this is not attained the great Design of God in giving forth Revealed Religion is lost Have a care of a pretended Power without the true Form for by this you will be laid open to the Transformings of Satan and to his Deceivings as an Angel of Light Lend not an Ear to that Spirit that gets above the holy Scriptures as a Rule and Guide How many Persons who have seemd to be in a hopeful way in the Truths of Christianity have been led into By-paths through Satan's Wiles and many sincere Christians have so far fallen as to lose much of their former Experiences 8. If the Lord in Mercy to you make you fit Matter of a Gospel-Church and afford you the Means of giving up your selves to other Christians that are gathered together according to the order of the Gospel upon a Profession of Faith and sincere Obedience neglect not so great a Mercy you may then be serviceable unto others by the exercising of the Gifts given you which may be for others Edification and Improvement to your selves and your Hearts may be warmed by the Gifts and Graces of other Christians Besides your Mercy will be very great in having the watchful Eye of sincere Christians over you to incourage you in your Christian Course and to be faithful Reprovers of you if they see that you do not walk orderly according to the Rule of the Gospel This is one of the great Privileges that attend those that are in Church-fellowship Gal. 6.1 Brethren if a Man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the Spirit of Meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted Two saith Solomon are better than one because they have a good Reward for their Labour for if they fall the one will lift up his Fellow but wo to him that is alone when he falleth for he hath not another to help him If two Christians may be serviceable one to another how much more to have a considerable number of sincere Christians watching over you 9. Endeavour to get imprinted upon your Hearts that the Life of a Christian while he is passing through this World is a Life of Prayer When God takes Persons into Covenant with him he pours out upon their Souls the Spirit of Prayer and Supplication Prayer is the Intelligencer betwixt the Saints here on Earth and their Father now in Heaven it is that which keeps God's Ear open to us and our Hearts open for him The blessed Jesus speaking of John's Ministry the effect it had upon sinners to bring them to a sincere Repentance and by strong Cries to lay open their state before God he tells us Mat. 11.12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence and the Violent take it by force He compareth these poor returning Penitents to a Company of Souldiers drawn up in Battel-array to force their Entrance into a Fort or Castle their Cries here on Earth piercing into Heaven Prayer made God use that familiar and condescending Expression to Moses concerning the People of Israel Exod. 32.9 10 11. And the Lord said unto Moses I have seen this People and behold it is a stiff-necked People Now therefore let me alone that my Wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great Nation And Moses besought the Lord his God and said Why doth thy Wrath wax hot against thy People which thou hast brought forth out of the Land of Egypt You may see in these and the following words to the 15th Verse what prevalency Prayer hath upon God when it is put up on the behalf of others much more when it is on our own behalf In treating of this Subject I shall First Shew what Prayer is and the nature of it Secondly I shall shew the necessity of the continuance of it while we are on this side Eternity First I shall shew what Prayer is and the nature of it We may take Prayer according to Scripture under a twofold Consideration First As proceeding from the Spirit of Bondage And here the Heart doth not cry unto God from an inward sight and feeling that it is interested in God but by the light of the first Govenant It looks upon God as Creator and as having an Ability in him to supply Nature's Wants and to deliver from approaching Misery This Prayer is Nature's Cry and is oftentimes put forth with a great deal of Earnestness where there is no Evidence of an Interest in God or Communion with God But that Prayer which I design to lay open is the Work of the Spirit of Adoption upon the Hearts of the Saints and this consists in these three parts 1st In giving inward Light to see the things necessary to be prayed for 2dly In giving Life and Motion to the Faculties of the Soul that so the Soul may be engag'd in the Duty 3dly In leading the Soul in the way by which an Entrance is obtained into Heaven First I shall shew the nature of the Inlightnings of the Spirit in the Duty of Prayer how they are discovered in the Soul of Man 1. The Inlightnings of the Spirit are discovered in the Soul of Man by discovering the inward Frame that the Soul is in The Hearts of the unconverted World are always in an ill Frame and that which is their great Misery they want Light to see it but if the Saints be in an ill frame they are in Mercy brought to see it remaining Corruption is discovered deadness and dulness and wandering of the Heart from God is discovered the holy Spirit gives Light that the Heart may be rectified and made fit for Communion with God because therein
lies Man's chief Happiness Keep thy Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of Life 2. The things that concern the outward Man are through the Inlightnings of the holy Spirit beheld as of less Concern and Worth altho they do lie next to Sense and the Hearts of the Saints have been inabled to get above them and to part with them when they stood in Competition with the sincere performance of those Duties which God call'd them to The Inlightning of the Spirit doth concern it self for the outward Man but it is that Nature may be satisfied and not Lust gratified it is that such a Supply may be given as Nature may be kept from Temptations not that we may run into Temptations Remove far from me Vanity and Lies give me neither Poverty nor Riches feed me with Food convenient for me lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the Name of my God in vain While the Heart is without the Inlightnings of the Spirit it is made a Servant to those things that are most obvious to Sense Daily Experience shews us that the Heart of every unconverted Sinner doth place its Satisfaction in the enjoyment of these things altho they end in Death so that the Inlightnings of the holy Spirit are absolutely necessary in the Duty of Prayer 3. The holy Spirit gives inward Life and Motion to the Faculties of the Soul that so the Soul may be ingag'd in the Duty Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh Intercession for us with Groanings which cannot be uttered That is the Spirit follows the Inlightnings with inward Life and Motion by which the Heart is set a working after God for the removal of that which stands in the way of Communion with him and for the obtaining of it there is an inward sensibility doth accompany the Matter which we present unto God in Duty not only the things we pray for are presented unto God as those we have need of but the Heart goes along with them that our Heavenly Father may see we are in earnest with him Psal 25.1 Vnto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul Compared with Psal 119.20 My Soul breaketh for the longings that it hath to thy Judgments at all times The holy Spirit draws out the Heart with such earnestness unto God as if there were a Separation going to be made betwixt the Soul and the Body 4. The holy Spirit doth lead the Soul in the way by which Entrance is obtain'd into Heaven We must distinguish betwixt the Spirit 's Intercession in us and the Son's Intercession for us The Spirit 's Intercession in us is that supplicating begging frame which the holy Spirit doth inable the Soul to express it self in when it appears before God yet this through the weakness of the Creature is attended with a great deal of Imperfection But the Intercession of the Son for us as Mediator the Church's Head is that upon which our admittance into Heaven is granted His Prayer is a perfect Prayer and carries Incense along with it to perfume ours Rev. 8.3 And another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a Golden Censer and there was given him much Incense that he should offer it with the Prayers of all Saints upon the Golden Altar which was before the Throne This Angel is the Angel of the Covenant the Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator and the Church's Head the Censer is his holy glorified Body the Man Christ the Incense is his Divine Nature the Perfume of which perfuming the Supplications or Prayers of the Saints and ascending with them before God gains acceptance That Spirit that would assume a right of giving Salvation by Man's Obedience to it its Work is as opposite to the leadings of the Holy Ghost as Light and Darkness For as the Declaration of the Gospel leads to the Lord Jesus Christ as God-Man in one Person our Emanuel as Redeemer and as Mediator who is able to save all those that come to God by him so with this doth the Holy Ghost agree in his inward Witness in the Souls of the Saints Joh. 15.26 27. But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testify of me And ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning This is that new and living way which the Apostle speaks of which gives Boldness in our approaching before God Heb. 10.19 20. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Vail that is to say his Flesh The Holiest that is into Heaven of which the Sanctum Sanctorum under the Law was a Type by a living way that enlivens the Person that walks in it boldness or a holy freedom being given to plead with God which yet causeth great Humility in the Soul its acceptance with God being grounded upon the account of another's Worthiness which by Faith the Soul is inabled to behold and not upon the account of its own Worthiness This is the Way that meets the Experience of the Saints that are now upon the Earth this is the Way that the Flock walk'd in who are gone to Heaven before us we may say we are compassed about with a Cloud of Witnesses The second part of this Head of the Duty of Prayer is to shew the necessity of the continuance of it while we are on this side Eternity 1st Because we have a multitude of Temptations attending of us outwardly And 2dly Because the Soul doth too readily join with the Baits that gratify corrupt Nature First I shall shew you that we have a multitude of Temptations attending of us outwardly The World is gotten to a very high pitch of Atheism and Profaneness Christianity as to the Power of it is not only removed but Persons have lost that Morality that former Ages did enjoy You can hardly deal in the World now but you are in danger every moment to be carried away with the Stream the Difficulties of getting an outward Support for the Body being great Satan takes the advantage of it to draw out the Corruptions of Mens Hearts after these things so as to hurry them forward in their Endeavours to keep and to gain a share in this fading World without any Consideration Where is the Person that hath the Fear of the Almighty before him and an inward Tenderness lest he should offend him Did David take up this Complaint Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech that I dwell in the Tenths of Kedar My Soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth Peace What cause have we every day to take up the same Complaint if we look upon the
it when it hath answered the end for which it was brought upon you the Providence will be changed or you taken from under it home to your Father's House 5thly Endeavour to get imprinted upon your Minds the necessity of having your Zeal in the Worship of God regulated by the Word of God It is good for to be zealously affected always in a good thing mind that it be from the Inlightenings of the Spirit within you that you are led to behold the Truth in the Letter of the holy Scriptures and that by comparing Scripture with Scripture you receive full satisfaction concerning the Truth you lay hold upon Let this go before and then your Zeal in worshipping of God by it and in bearing a Testimony for it follow after How many Persons are exceeding zealous for things which they practise in their Religious Worship that they have no ground for from the holy Scriptures and do place all their hope in this their superstitious Zeal not being brought in the least to witness the dealings of God with their Hearts What mischievous work hath blind Zeal made in the Christian World All the Sufferings and Troubles that have befallen the Children of God in all Ages have come in by it true Zeal desires to destroy Error and to save the Person that is carried away with it false Zeal falls upon the Person and endeavours to ruin the outward Man for the pretended Errors of the inward Man Where Persons are one with you in the Foundation and do walk with God by Faith answerable to their discoveries of Truth tho you should differ from them in many other things let your Moderation be shewn towards them And for those that may differ from you in the Publick Worship of God upon further discoveries of Light received have you a care of condemning any such of being guilty of Error before you are able from the Letter of the Scripture to lay open their Error It is the Scripture laid down in the Letter that is the Rule and not Mens Consequences from it Consequences may be allowed to strengthen the Rule but must not be allowed to be added to it 6thly Endeavour to get imprinted upon your Minds the necessity of a holy Conversation before Men this is that which keeps up the Credit of Religion in the World in despite of all its Adversaries The World knows how to deal with Religion when they meet it in a loose Professor but they know not what to say to it nor how to deal with it when they meet it in a sincere self-denying Christian whose Conversation pleads for the Reality that is in Truth and gives a check to the Opposers of it By a holy Conversation we vindicate the Interest of the Son of God in the World and do invite poor Sinners that are convinced of the Evil that is in Sin to come and taste of that pleasant Fruit that the ways of Holiness do afford to those that walk in them There is a great difference betwixt the ways of Sin and Holiness Sin tho it affords a seeming Pleasure in the committing of it yet draws after it Guilt and Misery Holiness tho in the Acts of it we receive Reproach from the profane World a train of inward Peace and Comfort doth follow it A Profession of Words cannot be taking to any Person where the Conversation doth speak a quite contrary Language To be loose in Conversation under a pure Profession is for a Man to contrive how he may make himself the miserablest of Persons when he comes in Eternity The Prophet Isaiah speaking of the Gospel in Chap. 35. v. 8. saith And an High-way shall be there and a way and it shall be called the way of Holiness the unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for those the way-faring Men tho Fools shall not err therein It shall be called the way of Holiness the unclean shall not pass over it Where pardoning Grace is inwardly received for all Sins the Soul under the sense of Divine Love hath an inward hatred against the very nature of Sin begotten in it and an inward yearning after Holiness as that which adds Strength and Vigor to the new Creature in the Souls of the Saints Where there is inward Strength and Vigor in the Soul against that Corruption which hinders Communion there will be a watchfulness against those things that tend to the dishonouring of God by our Conversation Holiness inwardly and sincere Obedience outwarldy are so inseparable that whoever hath the one it is impossible but he must have the other As by a growth in Sin Sinners do ripen for Hell and eternal Misery so by Holiness Saints do ripen for Heaven and eternal Glory Holiness makes us meet for the Heavenly Canaan without Holiness no Communion with God in this Life without Holiness no Enjoyment of God in Glory and as it makes us meet for the new Jerusalem so without Holiness no entering into that holy City Rev. 21.27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh Abomination or maketh a Lie but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life I shall conclude this Book and my Directions to you with the words of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians Chap. 4. v. 8 9. Finally my Children whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any Vertue think on these things Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen of me do and the God of Peace shall be with you FINIS The Contents PART I. Chap. I. OF the first Adam the Excellency of the State in which he was created page 1. Chap. II. Of the Nature of the first Covenant-light in the state of Innocency page 4. Chap. III. Of Adam's Fall the miserable change of his Condition thereby how all his Offspring were included in it page 13. Chap. IV. Of God's Image on the Heart of Adam how it discovers it self in the Hearts of his fallen Children The nature of the leadings of that first Covenant-light and the Condition of those that stand under the highest attainment of it page 25. PART II. Clearing that the Covenant of Grace and Redemption is but one and the same Chap. I. Of Election bottom'd on the Soveraignty of God How the Eternal Word united to Man's Nature is chose by electing Love as the Head of the Elect c. page 38. Chap. II. Of the Redemption of the Lord Jesus in two parts 1. Perfect Obedience to the Law 2. Satisfaction to the Penalty of it for the Elect c. page 47. Chap. III. Of Christ's Mediatorship in two parts 1. In sending the Spirit to fit for the publishing of the way of Salvation 2. For the Spirit 's accompanying the outward Declaration by opening the Heart c. page 61. PART III. Chap. I. Of the Publication of Gospel-Grace from the Fall to Abraham the Church-state during that Dispensation page 87. Chap. II. Of the Covenant made with Abraham and of the Old Testament Church-state what was required to be a Member of it page 92. Chap. III. Of the Ordinances of the Old Testament Church what they pointed at to the carnal Seed of Abraham and what to his spiritual page 97. Chap. IV. Of the New Testament Church and what 's requir'd to be a Member of it page 116. Chap. V. Of the Ordinances of the New Testament Church what is requir'd to fit for the partaking of them and what they hold out when administred according to the Rude of the Word page 132. PART IV. Being an Appendix which the Author leaves for a Legacy to his Children page 149. 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pardoning and renewing Grace hath been manifested inwardly in me 1. His Pardoning Grace hath been manifest in me I have many times come before God labouring under inward Guilt and have experienced a removal of the Guilt in the Gospel way For altho the Lord Jesus Christ did by his Death give a full Satisfaction to Justice for all the Elect that were given him of the Father yet while the Elect are on this side Eternity and through frailty liable to fall into Sin after Sin committed there can be no inward Peace enjoy'd until the Soul be led forth anew by a Renewed Act of Faith upon a suffering Jesus and a suing by sincere Repentance unto the Father for pardoning Grace upon the account of his Worthiness And as to the Praise of the rich Grace of God I have experienced his pardoning Grace so I hope to the Praise of the same Grace I can say it that I do experience Renewing Grace I do indeed feel my time to be a continual Warfare according to the words of the Apostle Gal. 5.17 For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would Grace is often foiling Corruption but hath not destroy'd it the growth of it is hindered but the Seeds of it remain it 's an Enemy that lies continually lurking to watch for Advantage and altho it cannot regain such a Power as to destroy my Soul yet it keeps so much Power as to disturb it My Soul sometimes goes mourning before God under the sense of the remaining strength of this Adversary and how hardly is Grace put to it to quit the Soul out of its hands But here lies my Security I am brought within the compass of the Father's unchangeable Love within the compass of the Sons Intercession and under the Leadings of the Holy Ghost First I am within the compass of the Father's Love being one of the Seed given to Christ and according to the Tenor of the Covenant do I experience the Father's dealings with me Psal 89.30 31 32 33 34. If his Children that is the Elect Seed given to Christ ver 27 28. walk not in my Judgments If they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments Then will I visit their Transgression with the Rod and their Iniquities with Stripes Nevertheless my Loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break Here is my Mercy that I do experience my Father's dealing with me to be according to the Tenor of the Covenant that his Providence towards me brings Frowns with it against Corruption and that he hath enlightned my Soul to see it Psal 94.12 Blessed is the Man whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest him out of thy Law Frowning Providences are not of themselves Mercies but the Spirit 's accompanying them and working by them upon the Soul to bring the Soul to a sensibility of its State and enabling the Soul to seek to God and to enjoy Comfort from him through Faith when denied Comfort from the World It 's this that gives the Evidence that they are sent in Mercy when corrupt Nature is subdued by them and inward Grace is stirr'd up to put forth the greater Fervency to God and for God in Duty that we may be serviceable to him in our Generation The Apostle in Heb. 12.8 lays this down as the common way of God's dealing with his Children and fixes Bastardy upon those that are not thus dealt with But if ye be without Chastisement whereof of all are partakers then are you Bastards and not Sons Mark it my Children I do not say God doth not give Prosperity to none of his Children in this World but where he doth give it he usually brings humbling Providences before it that so the Soul may not be prejudiced by it Joseph and David were both exalted to a very high state in this World but what great Afflictions did they go through before they were brought to it according to the words of the Prophet It is good for a Man that he hear the Yoke in his Youth And it hath been my particular Observation That where great plenty of this World's Goods are given to any of God's Children they have had a pricking Thorn put into some of their outward Enjoyments that they might not rest in these things as their Portion Secondly I am one of those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ is interceding and interested in him as a Member of his Mystical Body Father saith Christ keep through thine own Name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are He intercedes that we may be prepared for Glory and that we may be brought to the enjoyment of Glory Joh. 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me This Prayer saith a holy Man altho it was pray'd here on Earth by the Lord Jesus Christ in the state of his Humiliation yet the Matter contain'd in it doth sute his State of Exaltation and is a short Epitome of his Intercession as the Church's Head now at the Right-hand of his Father until every Member of his Mystical Body be brought to the Mansions of eternal Rest The Apostle in Heb. 6. from v. 13 to 20. having laid down the Unchangeableness and Immutability of the Father's Council concerning the Elect and how for their Encouragement he had bound himself not only by Word but by Oath for the performance of the things contained in the Promises and having shewed how the Flock do anchor upon their Father's Immutability as that which is both sure and stedfast and enters into that within the Vail Faith doth not content it self only with the Promises but pierceth into Heaven to God himself and the Soul there for its further Encouragement beholds the blessed Mediator interceding on its behalf ver 20. Where the forerunner is for us entred even Jesus All the Promises of God the Father being made to our Nature first as it is united to his Son the Eternal Word our Nature in him being brought to the Enjoyment of that Glory contained in the Promises doth on the behalf of the Elect intercede that every individual Person that belongs unto him may be brought to be sharers with him Your Father through Faith hath a well-grounded hope that he is one of the number for whom his blessed Lord is interceding and doubts not but in a little time to be a sharer in that part of his Intercession which leads to enjoy eternal Glory through him Thirdly I am one of those that are under the leadings of the Spirit of Adoption which is that inward Witness which the Scripture speaks of He that believeth in the Son of God hath the Witness in himself For God saith the Apostle who commanded Light to shine out