heart by the power of the truths of Christ conveyed thither and working there There are three great effects of this water It begets it washeth it nourisheth It begets a dead man to life it begets a man unto God for it is a living and active water or rather it is the seed whereof a man is begotten and born or at least the vessel that living vessel which containes it It is that also wherewith he is washed after hee is born though there be a washing with blood too And it nourisheth him after hee is both borne and washed hee lives upon the very same water that he was borne of and with It is the first of these effects that is here spoken of that stroke that water hath in the generation and birth of the new creature He is born of it It is by letting in these waters upon the soule and into the soule that God changeth it and maketh it a new Our change in our spirits and our conversion to God proceedeth from and is to be attributed to that power of truth that God lets in upon us and to that the Apostle ascribeth it as in many other places Rom. 6. 17. Iam. 1. 1â— As our first change from God was by drinking of the Devils waters which were waters of darknesse and death waters of errour and deceit so this great change to God againe is wrought by drinking of Gods waters his spirituall waters of life which are his truths which hee holds out unto us wherein there is no darknesse nor deceit at all but they are cleare living and substantiall 3. What is it to be born of the Spirit It is to have this change from these waters wrought in us by the spirit A man can never change his own heart by any of the truths of God but it must be the spirit that must doe it This water is too spirituall a seed for any man to sow in his own heart No man no creature can sow anothers seed this is the spirits seed and hee must sow it if it be sown Christ himselfe openeth and illustrateth this further in the eigth verse of the third Chapter The winde bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it commeth nor whither it goeth So is every one that is borne of the Spirit The Spirit breathes his own breath blowes his own blast makes his own sound of life himselfe in our spirits and thus are wee born of him It is not all the changes a man can make by the light of naturall truths nay by the light of spirituall truths working them upon his heart with never so much paines that will amount to a new birth but it must be the spirit of Christ breathing this seed into him and forming him into a new creature by this seed As it is water or the word of truth whereby we are begotten So it is God alone who begets and that hee doth of his own inclination too Iam. 1. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth 4. What is it to enter into the Kingdome of God The Kingdome of God is his spirituall dominion in Christ to which every spirituall thing belongs and in which all spirituall excellencies and blessednesses are laid up To enter into this Kingdome is by a spirituall act of the soule to come within the verge and bounds of it even that very act which Nicodemus was speaking of vers. 3. namely an act of true saith by laying hold on Iesus Christ and becomming one with him a man presently hath right unto and entrance into this Kingdome Now saith Christ it is impossible for any man to doe this who is not first new borne hee can never truly mount upward whose earthly nature is not first changed A man may talk of spirituall glories and his right unto them but of a truth he is not entred into the Kingdome nor cannot by true Faith who is not born againe and that both of water and the spirit To partake of the priviledges of Christ to have life and blessednesse from him requires a birth of water and of the spirit There must a new birth of water and the spirit precede there without which the person is not in a capacity of it he must bee made up againe of water and that not of his own forming neither but of the spirits forming and then by Faith he enters into the Kingdome and becomes entituled to all the priviledges of the Kingdome which without this birth fore-going cannot be done Vers. 6. In this verse Christ layeth down a position to confirme the truth he had spoken in the former verse There is a necessity of being born of water and the spirit or else a man cannot enter into the Kingdome for that is a spirituall act and a man can act no higher then hee is and hee is not spirituall he is but flesh if hee be borne but of flesh That which is borne of flesh is flesh Flesh here is not to be taken in its latitude but for that part of it which is powerfull in spirituall generation and production for that power of man together with the meanes and engines that hee can come by whether naturall or spirituall whereby he works a change in his own heart or upon others in imitation of that change which God alone doth and can work by his Spirit Nature Reason Art with all the advantages they can possibly desire or have Nature enlightened and purified by reason and art Nature furnished as much as may bee with the knowledge of God with desires to be like God to recover his image to obey him c. This is here meant by flesh and doth more directly thus reach the state of Nicodemus to whom Christ spake whose present conviction was wrought by Christs Miracles meeting with his reason and ingenuity then if it were understood in a more grosse ence To bee borne of the flesh denotes the greatest change that possibly can be made in a man by this power with all the meanes that it can use The change is so great that a man is new born becomes a new man is changed inside and outside both to his own appearance and in the thoughts of others It is an imitation of that work whereby God brings a man forth a new man The flesh will take his tooles set about his work and seem to produce the same effect bring forth the New Birth but in truth and substance it fals short of it for it is but flesh This birth when a man hath done all he can used all the spirituall meanes hee can yet it is but flesh The fruit can have no more vertue or strength and spirituality then the root had from whence it did proceed which was but flesh and though there were never so many spirituall engines in the hand of flesh yet this will not alter the case for those engines cannot work of themselves and the flesh cannot make them work
A Touchstone or Tryall OF FAITH BY The Originall from whence it springs and the Root out of which it grows Held out By way of EXPOSITION of the 12 and 13 verses of the first Chapter of Iohn's Gospel and of the six former verses of the third Chapter which treat expresly about this point Intended Not for the disquiet of any but for the eternall Rest and Peace of all to whom the Lord shall please to make it usefull thereunto To which is added The Spirituall Practise of CHRISTIANS in the Primitive Times LONDON Printed for Giles Calvert at the Black Spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1648. To the Reader READER IF thou hast any leasure from partaking in or exclaming against the bitter contentions of this present age which have eat out most mens content in themselves and their pleasingnesse to others Here are some serious considerations proposed to thee as thou wilt one day acknowledge when thine eyes come to be fully opened It is high time to look out after some other place and certainty of entertainment there when this earth by its continuall shaking and cracking under us doth so often threaten that it will not long support us There is no true security for us but by Faith in Chrisst he is the only Rock and there is no stepping thither but by Faith there is no certainty but by an assured knowledge of the truth of this Faith whereof there are so many and such accurate cheats that it is not possible to discern the difference without through sifting and scanning The Devill that great cozouning merchant hath all kinde of counterfeit wares which hee paints and guilds that he may put off for true He hath grosser ware for the grosser sort whom he can content with any thing but more refined stuffe for such as look more narrowly into things Men that are openly vaine and prophane yet can hardly bee beaten off from it but that they love God and have such a Faith as will carry them to heaven though they doe not live so strictly as others yet they believe in Christ and that is it God looks after This deceit thou seest through oh stricter soule but know withall the Devill hath more curious counterfeits wherein there is the exact proportion of the thing resembled all but the life and power yea he is cunning also in imitating the life and power of every thing he hath a resemblance of that too for those that will not otherwise be content to keep them from attaining the truth and substance which if they were not thus deceived by him with the similitude of they would not cease to pursue Thou art confident thou art not deceived so are all that are deceived the Devill could not deceive thee with that which is false if he did not withall work in thee a perswasion that it is true What will it hurt thee to try and try thoroughly Nay surely it will much advantage thy very confidence After tryall thou mayst be confident upon knowledge now thou art confident but upon supposition and if thou shouldest at last prove mistaken thou wouldest have too much time to befoole thy selfe and bewaile thy confidence thou wilt be more angry that thou wert pressed no further to tryall then thou art now offended that thou art pressed so much to it Thou art but a Traveller in this world and yet thou wilt look after a sure title in these transitory things oh look that there be not a flaw in thy title to thy true inheritance And if thy spirit be seriously bent towards this employment here perhaps the Lord may administer to thee some help and direction or furnish thee better some other way when he shall see good The way of tryall here propounded is certaine though somewhat difficult yea indeed altogether impossible without the help of Gods Spirit And yet what sweeter safer truer direction can be given to us poore weak empty creatures who are nothing who can doe nothing then to fly to him who is able to do all things to issue out that power to us and manage it in us whereby the thing we desire may be effected and to waite quietly upon him in our present uncertaine condition till he shall please to do it rather then patch up a satisfaction of our own And this way of tryall is not any invention of mine but it is plainly represented in these Scriptures from the mouth of Iohn and Christ referring the tryall of Faith to the birth and of the birth to the Spirit as thou mayst more fully see in the Discourse it selfe to which I now leave thee to make what use of it the Lord shall direct thee Thine in what the Lord pleaseth Isaac Pennington A Touchstone or Tryall OF FAITH JOHN 1. VERS 12. 13. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sonnes of God even to them that believe on his Name Which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God THis sweet and soaring Evangelist having glanced at the excellency of our Lord Christ in his relation to God being his Word his presence and onenesse with God vers. 1. in his influence upon all things he gave them their being vers. 3. he gave them their life too for it was first in him and his life containes all that light that man at any time receiveth either naturall or spirituall either from and through the creatures in at the windowes of his own sence and reason or more immediately from the Spirit of God into his own spirit vers. 4. Having thus given a generall and pithy description of him who was to be the maine subject of his discourse he comes in the next place to speak of his fore-runner and what of Christ might be learned from him He describeth this fore-runner 1. By his mission he was sent from God hee did not goe of his owne head but God bid him goe 2. By his name His name was John vers. 6. 3. By the end of his comming it was for to be a witnesse to testifie somewhat from God unto the world 4. Concerning what he was to witnesse It was concerning that light he had spoken of that came into the world and shined in the darknesse uncomprehended by the darknesse that this was the light indeed 5. To what end he was to witnesse this that all through him might believe that by his meanes men might universally come to acknowledge this light and to cast themselves upon it to lead them unto life vers. 7. In vers 8. he removes a mistake which might arise in men minds concerning this end He was not that light but to beare witnesse of that light as if hee had said do not mistake he was not this light himself he came not to that end to be the light but only to give in a testimony from God concerning the light to tell men which was it that men might not have
by night acknowledging him to be a Teacher from God one who had the will of God revealed unto him by God himselfe and came to make it known unto the sonnes of men Hee giveth Christ the ground which induced him thus to believe which was because of the signes hee shewed the wonders hee did which no man could doe unlesse God were with him Those things he did were beyond the working of any humane power therefore God must needs be with that person who doth them he comes as one that would be a disciple though hee comes not so openly as others did and at his first salute hee acknowledgeth Christ to be a Teacher sent from Heaven by God rendring his reason withall whereby hee could not chuse but so judge which was no meane one neieher but drawn from the mighty things Christ did wherein the very power of God did appear to the eye of reason evidencing unto it that living Spring from whence he came and the Presâ—â—â—â— of that living Spring with him This is expressed in the first and second verses In the third verse Christ applyeth himselfe to his particular state wishing him to consider the ground whence this acknowledgement of his did arise telling him plainly that true Faith must arise from another root then sight of his miracles Iesus answered and said unto him verily verily c. as if hee had said Mark what I say I know what I speak Verily verily it is most certainly so unlesse a man be born againe he cannot see the kingdome of God What is the Kingdome of God The kingdome of God is that state of life and blessednesse which God hath brought to light by Iesus Christ As the kingdome of the Devill is that state of death and misery man lies in by nature so the Kingdome of God is the state of life and glory man is advanced to by grace Philip preached the things concerning the Kingdome of God and the Name of Iesus Christ Act. 8. 12. He opened the life and blessednesse that belongs to this Kingdome and the name of Christ who is to bring us into it To see this Kingdome is an act of Faith which is the eye wherewith wee behold every spirituall thing this eye no man hath but he that is born againe he that is born from above This eye doth not lie hid in nature and so only wants somewhat to cleare it and draw forth the act of it but it belongs to a new birth he that is begotten and born of God hee hath this eye in him and none else Therefore Nicodemus consider thy mistake Thou thinkest because thou seest by an eye of reason that I am come from God and art drawne by thy reason and ingenuity to acknowledge and owne it that therefore thou believest No no Nicodemus if thou hast Faith it ariseth from another ground then the sight of my miracles it comes from a new birth in thee though God may make this usefull to thee also to help thee to believe but if thy Faith have no better ground-work then this it is like the fore-mentioned Faith of those in the former Chapter vers. 23. whom I dare not I cannot owne as Disciples Oh weigh and consider this all wise and ingenuous men behold your snare and take notice of this also which may help to enervate the force of it That sight and acknowledgement of any spirituall thing which wee are drawn to by a power of reason by such evidences as reason it selfe cannot withstand as miracles were wee have just cause to suspect as not true and spirituall It is the sight of reason not of Faith it is such an act of Faith as proceeds from the naturall man not from the spirituall man it is that act the eye that was in us before puts forth not the new eye Oh see how men are quite out in seeking after the truths of God in every kind They call for reason for evidences to have it brought by such hands as no man could justly refuse Ah! they should call for new eyes or least for Gods discovering his truths in a spirituall way to their eyes which all the miracles in the world cannot doe They may by miracles bee brought to a rationall sight and so to a present acknowledgement of truths but never to a spirituall sight which alone â—s satisfactory and which alone wâ—ll be lasting Verse 4. Nicodemus apprehends this spirituall truth very carnally and grossely of a fleshly birth of the fleshly part and it seemeth a direct absurdity to him what Christ had now affirmed He thinks he hath caught the great Master whom hee acknowledged just now a Teacher come from God in a trap and hee so expresseth it as if Christ had overshot himself and could not tell how to make good what hee had laid downe How can a man be borne againe when hee is old is there any possibility of this can hee enter the second time into his mothers wombe and bee borne Verse 5. Christ doth not abate any thing of what hee hath said but affirmeth it againe with the same vehemency further opening and confirming it Iesus answerd Verily verily I say unto thee Except a man be borne of water and of the Spirit hee cannot enter into the Kingdome of God Doest thou come to be a Disciple to learn the way to happinesse wouldst thou enter into that state of blessednesse that I come to preach thou must be born againe and not carnally not of carnall things but of water and of the spirit For the better apprehending of this let us enquire a little into these ensuing particulars 1. What is meant by water 2. What it is to be borne of water 3. What it is to be borne of the Spirit 4. What this entring into the Kingdome of God is which none none can doe but that person which it born of water and of the Spirit 1. What is meant by water By water is meant the knowledge of God in Christ the sight of God in the face of Christ wherein eternall life consists If thou hadst known the gift of God c. thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water Ioh. 4. 10. What is this living water Why this is life eternall to know thee the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Ioh. 17. 3. The heavenly doctrine of life and salvation is often expressed in Scripture by this tearm of water My doctrine shall drop as the raine my speech shall distill as the dew Deut. 32. 2. Is. 55. 10. Heb. 6. 7. As God is the fountaine whence all the life and sweetnesse of the creature flowes whether naturall Is. 65. 9. or spirituall Ier. 2. 13. So those beames of eternall light those streamings forth of life which issue out from God in the knowledge of Iesus Christ they are waters from this fountaine 2. What it is to be born of water It notes that fundamentall and radicall change which is made in the
not to set up our selves by them but to perfect this unity to build up one another in Faith in knowledge and that so we may in all things grow up into Christ the head vers. 7. to 16. Secondly The World towards them we must walke wisely Chap. 5. 15. First taking heed of partaking with them in any evill nay of countenancing the least evill in them Chap. 4. 17. Chap. 5. 7. 11. Secondly redeeming the time from them as much as may be for converse with God Thirdly doing as much good as we can to them while we are with them both which are included in that phrase of redeeming the time vers. 16. Thirdly those in neare relations to us whether brought home to Christ or in their naturall condition we are to observe the strict Lawes of that relation we stand debtours to them in which wee are not to faile in towards them bee they superiour or inferiour how ever they act towards us Chap. 5. vers. 22. to the end of the Chapter and Chap. 6. to vers. 10. Our engagement to Christ does not set us free from our relations and duties in any kinde to men but onely layes a bond on him to furnish us with free spirits and power to fill up what wee owe in every relation Christ gives us not freedome from but freedome unto every thing that is of God 4. To stand upon our guard not to be driven from the sweetnesse of the Gospel nor from acknowledging and admiring God in every step of his love mercy wisdome power and grace nor from this walking worthy of the Gospel by any enemy any temptation or any thing that befals us in any kind Chap. 6. 10. 11. but to stand armed against our enemies who are spiritually mighty and lay the sorest temptatious and baits in spirituall things vers. 12. We are to stand armed thus 1. With an understanding having its light clear about it and with a will having an holy disposition ready to act in any kind God shall please to call it out unto vers. 14. To have an understanding ready to put forth it selfe knowing how to carry it selfe how to obey how to suffer how to embrace how to resist and a will graciously disposed to either whensoever God shall call it forth Our loynes commonly are ungirt our light is to seek our grace hangs loose about us that we are unfit to act for God at all much more unfit to doe it in the face of that opposition which we are still likely to meet with in every spirituall undertaking And for want of this piece of armour we lie open to our spirituall enemies 2. With an holy resolution to act for Christ according to that light hee shall give in to the conscience to meddle with no evill to omit no duty of any kinde this is that brest-plate that keeps the heart or conscience pure and safe vers. 14. when the Devill doâ—s not finde us resolved against sinne or resolved for duties bee it how it will with us hee commonly takes us in his snare 3. With affections taken with the sweet truths of the Gospel as pardon of sinne c. and ready to hold out these truths for the Gospel to make out its way into mens hearts vers. 15. Troubles and â—fflictions wee meet with within and without will quickly damp our affections if they bee not well fenced with these 4. With Faith over all these defending even these as well as our selves in other respects by Faith by Faith interposing the power of Christ between us and every enemy that may come to assault us in these or in any other respects that may come to ungird us and make us unfit to act to damp our holy resolution for God to deaden our affections towards the sweet truths of the Gospel which prepare the way for Christ or to wound us with any temptation whatsoever Faith is a true shield it defends both the person and the rest of his armour as we know a shield does the Devill cannot prevaile in any point against a believing soule vers. 16. Alas we can doe nothing our selves doe no good avoid no evill all our strength lies in trusting God with our selves in every condition and with every spirituall advantage and help hee hath given us to manage it as he pleaseth for us 5. With hope of salvation by grace both for eternity and from any present distresse in GODS time Because many seeming miseries may befall the believing soule contradictions to his Prayers Desires Faith yea to all the motions of GODS Spirit in him hee must have an helmet of hope vers. 17. as well as a shield of Faith And this will keep up his spirit that hee shall not feare looking up to GOD what ever befals him 6. With the sword of the Spirit the Word of GOD the living Word the Word which is Spirit and Life This will kill all false reasonings and every thing that exalts it selfe against CHRIST this will make enemies flye from the soule for they hate the Word of life they know it is their death and it will also make the soule it selfe subject unto CHRIST vers. 17. And all this and every thing else must bee done by Prayer vers. 18. wee can doe nothing not gaine this armour not put it on not use it all must be done by Prayer by intreating another to doe it for us wee cannot believe wee must prâ—y for Faith neither can we pray we must believe for prayer we cannot doe either both must flow from the spirit and be done in the spirit praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the spirit Oh how are we stripped when every motion sends us out of our selves to another and yet withall tells us wee are altogether unable to goe out of our selves or step the least step towards that other And wee must watch unto prayer catch opportunities to breathe out our hearts to GOD to doe that in us which he bids us doe not being discouraged with any difficulties but persevering in our requests for our selves and all the people of God vers. 18. Behold ô Christian thy spirituall employment thine easie and painfull employment easie to thy spirit painefull to thy flesh and as yet somewhat painfull to thy spirit also by reason of the cumberance of thy flesh the weaknesse of thy spirit the power and fury of thine adversaries FINIS
spiritually So that all the births produced by man are but fleshly all the changes man can make in his own heart or any else is but from flesh to flesh from grosser flesh to flesh somewhat more refined Conversion by Miracles and strong arguments is but a fleshly conversion all the wayes that man can take to bring his owne heart to believe to close in with Christ to love Christ can produce but a fleshly Faith a fleshly love all the wayes man can take to kill and subdue sinne in him it is but a fleshly mortifying of sinne sinne is truly alive for all this and will discover its life again when it sees its time Christ doth especially allude to the Miracles that were in Nicodemus his eye wer 't thou born of these thy birth is but fleshly how spirituall soever such a person may seeme how spiritually soever he may seem to act yet at the root he is but fleshly The change is made but by flesh and the thing changed is still but flesh how glorious soever the change may seeme Think well of it it cannot be said too often all the wayes and meanes man can use to bring up his heart to God they are but fleshly and can produce but fleshly operations in him all this Faith and holinesse though raised to never so great an height it is but that his heart must bee mortified to if ever he live spiritually Oh! it would be sweet and profitable to consider the abundance of fleshly changes wherewith the Devill cozens men They see a reall change in themselves and so think they are sure whereas it is but a reall fleshly change not a reall spirituall change and so indeed not reall in the true sence a change from naturall unbeliefe to naturall Faith for there is a power in nature to believe which may either bee afrighted or perswaded to put forth it selfe for its own preservation Nature being convinced of its present danger and that there is no way of safety but by believing on Christ which Faith must bee accompanied with love to Christ the truths of Christ the people of Christ and that this love must shew it selfe in obedience Nature I say being convinced of this does presently muster up all its forces of Faith love obedience laying them at Christs feet to dispose of it will trust him love what he will have it love obey what he will command it hate what he will have it hate deny it selfe its own ends interests c. there is nothing so spirituall but it will undertake and goe thorough after its manner rather then perish and alas what is this All this is but nature working from its own principle with its own power to its own end There is no new birth necessary to all this though all this doth also proceed from a new birth where it is after more a excellent manner then nature can attaine to But now that which is borne or begotten of the Spirit is Spirit that which the spirit begets which the spirit produceth is spirit That Faith that love to God which hee breathes into a man that is truly spirituall If a mans heart bee changed not by reason not by the power of Miracles but by him by his immediate power then the change is true and sound As it is the spirit who begets so that which is begotten by him with that water which he useth in his act of generation is a true and spirituall birth There are three particulars which discover the reality of spirituall things as well as of other things 1 The originall from whence they come 2 the nature whereof they are and 3 the effects which they produce Every spirituall thing it commeth from the spirit it is spirituall it selfe and it worketh spiritually there is a true tincture of its nature and of its originall in every effect it produceth As every naturall man is begotten by a man hath the nature of a man in himselfe and acteth like a man worketh the operations of a man So every new man every spirituall man is begotten by the spirit hath the nature of the spirit in him and discovereth his nature and originall in every one of his spirituall motions and actions His Faith his love every thing in him proceeds from the spirit partakes of the nature of the spirit moveth and acteth spiritually The former of these Christ argues the truth of the new birth from in this place its comming from the spirit that which is born of the spirit is spirit What ever the spirit worketh in a man is truly spirituall that light he shews is true spirituall light that grace he gives is true spirituall grace that change hee makes is a true spirituall change but all other changes are but countersets of that true spirituall one which he alone can make And this may shew us the reason why there are so many changes in this flitting age it is because most men are changed by the flesh the greatest power of flesh still changeth them A strong Objection which they cannot answer will startle any man that is changed by a power of flesh Hence men take up one practise to day another to morrow now acknowledge this or that for a truth by and by it is false then true againe why because they see not things by the light of the spirit which never varies but by a force of argument by a power of reason which sometimes appeares stronger sometimes weaker sometimes greater sometimes lesser but a soule whose light is changed whose practises are changed by the spirit that change remaineth good let all the winds and gusts of arguments blow never so strongly Take heed therefore of changing your apprehensions or practises about any thing till you can say the spirit changeth them else it will be but a fleshly change What further remaines but that every one that loveth his soule should lay this to heart and consider thoroughly according to the weightinesse and importance of it how it is with him what that religion is whereupon he groundeth his hopes what oyl feeds his lamp whence his Faith his love came and of what rank and kind they are And not to doe this slightly or determine suddenly as is most usuall with men in matters of Religion but as on the one hand to be thankfull unto God for and make much of the least hope which is not every ones lot so on the other hand not to rest satisfied or let God alone till he hath brought us to an absolute certainty then and not till then we may safely without hazard give over the debate of this question And though we may perhaps be a long while before we attaine it yet if God carry on our hearts in the pursuite we may meet with sweet pledges and refreshings in the way as may much mitigate Gods seeming tediousnesse in deferring our full satisfaction herein And indeed though God leads his people in such harsh and difficult wayes to the eye of