for which cause he is not ashamed to call them Brethren Heb. 2.11 They that are sanctified are become Saints they bring forth the Fruits of Holiness and Sanctification and they are come into Fellowship with God and one another Every Branch in me saith Christ that beareth not Fruit he taketh away but every branch that beareth Fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more Fruit. That branch which beareth not Fruit is cast into the Fire and burned There are some that bring forth Fruit but it is Fruit to the Flesh and the Wicked one but I hope you are not of that number These separate themselves from the Life of the true Vine these have no Fellowship nor true Membership with the Church of Christ while they walk as Captives to the Devil and Sin these are of the World and not of the Church If you would have Fellowship with the Church do not think to have it by outward Conformity Do not think that this will maintain your Fellowship with Christ without a Life of inward Holiness and Righteousness for that day you break with the Truth in your selves you break off your Fellowship with the Church of God and break your peace with God and can no way be restored again to the favour of God but by an unfeigned Repentance For the Mystery of Faith is to be held in a pure Conscience how is my Conscience defiled if I wrong not this or the other Man or Woman some can hold the Mystery of Faith so far as it consists in a Profession they can profess it and they can Preach it but they have not held the Mystery of Faith in Christ so as to receive Life and Vertue and Comfort from him You have got the History of Words and Doctrines but as soon as you defile your Consciences by doing evil things and depart from a Principle of Grace as soon as you defile your Consciences you make Shipwrack of Faith But my Friends as you have a mind to continue and abide in the Faith and in this Travel and Heavenly Journey I would give you this as a certainty it may do you good when my head lies low The way to continue in the Church of God and Communion of Saints and to retain your Peace with God is to keep a Familiar Converse with the Truth in your own Souls and it will keep you from falling and lead and guide you in your Way in your Travel and Journey to Heaven As the Mother when her Child cries after her but cannot go she takes it by the hand and leads it so if you keep close to the Truth it can lead you through all Difficulties through great Business as well as little and deliver you from Snares and Temptations and when you are assaulted it can bring you off clear As for Communion with God and Communion with the Saints and People of God it stands in that Peace and Purity and keeping a Holy frame of mind in your Heavenly Travel in the undefiled Way that will at last bring you to the Undefiled Everlasting Rest that remains to the People of God Sermon VII The Dawning of the Day of Grace and Salvation Preached in Grace-Church-Street August 2. 1691. My Friends YOU cannot but know and be sensible that a Gospel Day a Day of Grace and Salvation hath Dawned upon you and that the Light of it hath broken through many Clouds of Darkness which sometime you could not see through This is an inestimable and unspeakable mercy of God unto us that the Light of the Gospel of Salvation shineth upon a People that without it must be miserable There hath been a very Dark and Cloudy Day upon our Fore-fathers and also upon us in the days of our Ignorance We are apt to wander hither and thither and to be turned aside with the wind of Mens Doctrine that we could not find a rest a home or a settlement for our Souls in order to Life Eternal And there be many have cryed unto God that he would please to reveal hiâ— Way and to make it known unto them and they have been apt to Covenant with the Lord that if once they could come to a certainty they would walk in it Unto such as these the Lord hath bowed his Ear and hath answered them and in his answering the cry of the Soul he hath brought Salvation near and hath revealed the Power by which he would bring it to pass in every particular Soul that receiveth the Gospel of his Son But now Friends you that are sensible of this Blessed Glorious Visitation of this Gospel Day in which Salvation is brought near It is needful for every one to examine their own Hearts whether they have really received the Gospel whether they have received and embraced the great bounty and unspeakable blessing of the Gospel with which the Lord God of Life hath visited us or whether they have rejected it For though it is our happiness to know the Visitation of Life yet it doth not follow that every one that is Visited will be made an Heir of it for There are many that fall short through their unbelief For there are many that have received the Gospel who do disobey the Gospel of Christ and so have not Eternal Life by it When People come to this serious Examination of themselves herein then the Light and Grace that comes from Christ unto every one of us both to him that rejects it as well as to him that receiveth it that will make known to them their State and Condition with respect to the Gospel of Christ For there be a great many that by an Alienation of their minds from the Light of Christ Jesus are apt to be mistaken in their State and to make a better judgment of themselves and of their state inwardly than really it will amount to in the day that the Lord searcheth and tryeth them But they that make a judgment of themselves by the openings and discoveries that they have through the Light of Christ Jesus for so we are to do in this weighty matter they make a judgment of ther state and condition according to the Evidence that the Spirit of God bears to their Spirits and this I hope you will all say is a most certain Way For if we go to compare our selves one with another and say I am better than thee and that man is better than I here we are liable and subject to a great many Errours where there ought to be none But if we come to measure and determine our present state and condition by the Evidence of the Spirit of God bearing witness with our Spirits here we have a foundation to place an infallible and certain judgment upon And they that are obedient to the Gospel of Christ are capable of giving a sound judgment of their state because they are made partakers through Christ of that Grace and Light and Truth which they should be obedient to and they are brought into
that Worship and Religion and the performance of those things that are pleasing to God They that are come thus to Worship they do not only know what the Lord requires of them and when he requires it of them but they are given up into the hands of God they Pray Preach Exhort and Live according to the will of God It is hard for People in a Carnal state to believe this but you that are Believers that are come to know the gift of God in your selves and the necessity of being ruled by him you will believe us for none else will believe us let us Preach to as many People and Nations as we will none will receive us as true Ministers but those that have the truth in their own hearts if there be any that despiseth the Grace of God in his own heart he hates that which chides and reproves him if there be such a Man he will hate me because I am a Minister and a Witness of the Grace of God and of that truth in the inward parts which is the ground and foundation that a Man hath of acceptance with God A Wicked Carnal Wretch will say I hate such a one I hate the Light that which checks me and witnesseth against me thou art such a one as bearest witness against me therefore I hate thee It is very true it cannot be otherwise now our desire and labour is that Men may come to the love of the truth in themselves You know there are a great many other Ministers whose Labour is to perswade People to believe what they say to lay down a Doctrine and prove it by Scripture and Reason and set it home upon their Minds by such testimony as the Scripture affords and hereupon they prevail upon the minds and judgments of People to believe what they lay down It is easie to lay down a Position and prove it and convince People that it must be according to Scripture but when a Person is convinced of a Principle of Truth he is not Regenerate thereby and come to God therefore though he cannot deny the Doctrine of Truth in words yet he can deny it in works and doth not rightly come to love it If People would believe what we say and observe what Arguments we bring for proving a Position they may be convinced of the Doctrine of Truth and come to a profession of it and yet be strangers to it till they come to love it in themselves if it were not for this we would leave Preaching if God had not given a measure and manifestation of the Spirit to every Man to profit withall you have it in your selves we are but as Monitors to you to put you in mind of it you have so much business in the World that you have not had leisure to take notice of it A Man may have a Rich Jewel and be Poor notwithstanding till he come to know the value of it A Man hath a Rich and Precious Jewel a Pearl bestowed upon him that would make him Rich in Faith and Love to God and qualifie him for the Kingdom of God and make him an Heir of it but he knows not nor understands the value of it and esteems it not therefore God hath raised up Ministers to put you in mind of it that you may be happy for ever and live in Blessedness to all Eternity whoever hath an ear to hear let him hear and when they hear what we say let them take the benefit of it to their own Souls We bring not truth to you but God hath bestowed it upon you you will be Rich indeed if you do as a Man that bought a Field where the Precious Pearl was and digged till he found it Come to the foundation upon which you should build all your hopes of happiness and depend not upon your own Works or Religious Performances for acceptance with God for there is no acceptance with God but only through Christ we are only accepted of God through him those that will become Christians indeed and worship God as he hath ordained and appointed himself to be worshipped they must come to the Principle of Light and Grace in their own hearts which they have in and through Christ and then they will find acceptance with God Sermon V. The Divine Life of Christ Jesus Preached in Grace-Church-Street March 16. 1691. THE Blessed Life of Christ is not of this World and it ought to be your care in all your Religious Assemblies that you be gathered into the inward feeling sense of this Divine Life that you may feel your Fellowship and Communion in that Life of Christ that is not of this World And may all of you lay hold upon it for this is the Nourishment and the Heavenly Bread with which the Children of the Kingdom are fed and nourished from day to day there are many that feed upon words that are not the Children of the Kingdom of God but the begotten of God are come to know the vertue of the Divine Life of Christ Jesus their feeding and their nourishment is by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God and they grow up to Life Eternal by that Divine and Heavenly Gift that God the Father hath bestowed upon them through his Son Jesus Christ and they enjoy the Communion of Saints through this Divine Head of the Church that Communicates of his Life and Vertue through every Member by which they are Sanctified and every day more and more prepared for that Living and Eternal Inheritance prepared for the Children of God And where there are a People that are thus gathered into the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ they are able to draw nigh to God they feel the Power of Enterance because their Sin is removed that did formerly lie at the door and the way is opened and consecrated for them to draw nigh and partake of the Table of the Lord by which they grow stronger and stronger in his Might and Power and are thereby enabled to perform the whole will of God and that Divine Worship and Religious Service which God requireth at their hands in their day For it is very certain and we have found it by experience the words of our Lord to his Disciples of old without me saith he ye can do nothing For though People may meet together and may pretend and set up a Form of Worship and of Religion in their own will yet it all amounts to nothing with respect to acceptance with the Lord there is no return in their Souls no addition of Life nor encrease and growth of Life they are not nearer the Kingdom than when they first believed but many times further off by leaning upon a formality and not really entering into the work of God nor travelling out of Death into Life for there must be Path and a travelling in it the Soul must have an exercise through the Power and Life of Jesus for the overcoming of Death that did separate
fit and prepare us for the everlasting Kingdom of God they that do wait upon God shall see this work wrought inwardly in them they know more by Faith than they can see by Sense I know and am certain that the Power the Devil hath in the World shall be broken down and Righteousness shall be exalted and justice and equity shall prevail in the Nations I shall not perhaps live to see it but I may see it by Faith I may see enough for my generation and they that live in the next generation shall see it also for the Church of God is the same from one generation to another Now unto us it is given to see the things that in former generations were Prophesied of God having saith the Apostle Provided some better thing for us â—hat they without us should no be made perfect The Church of God from one Generaâ—ion to another have their measure and deâ—ree of service and bear their proper Testiâ—ony and leave the rest to succeding Geneâ—ations it concerns us in our Generation to â—ee a change made inwardly in our Souls and â—he Kingdom of Christ set up within us and â—he Kingdom of Satan brought down in our â—elves This doth not concern my Son or Grandson only but it concerns me and when they grow up to mature Age in their â—ime it will concern them therefore that which is most profitable to us is that we have such a station and stand in such a place â—n our time where we may see the work of God carried on I have considered many a time that there are many brave Men and Women in this Age that might have been eminent Witnesses of God in the World and born their Testimony to his truth but their Faith hath been weak and ineffectual they have discovered their unbelieving hearts and have joyned with the common herd of the World because they thought such great things could never be done that the Kingdom of Satan could never be pulled down and destroyed and the Kingdom of Christ set up within us But I would hope better things of you things that accompany Salvation and that he that hath begun a good work in you will carry it on to perfection that Living Praises and joyful Thanksgivings may be rendered to him who alone is worthy who is God over all blessed for ever to whom be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Sermon VII The undefiled Way to Eternal Rest Preached at Devonshire-House July the 29th 1691. My Friends THE Lord will be with all his People that are undefiled in the Way â—hat are Spiritual Travellers walking in â—hat undefiled Way that leads to an â—ndefiled Rest There are some that by â—his Way are enter'd into Rest that Rest â—hich God hath prepared for them We â—annot apply to our selves that promise that 〈◊〉 made to us of entring into Rest unless we â—e real and true Travellers in the Way that â—ads to it for if we do We deceive our â—wn Souls Therefore you that have had a Sight and Vision of the Way Everlasting that leadâ— unto a Holy Rest you are Engag'd Peoplâ— to make straight steps therein and to have iâ— your daily Care and make it your continual Business to look that your Goings and Foot-steps are of the same nature and kinâ— that the Rest is that you desire to enter into For it is an undefiled Rest that we all are or ought to be Travelling after thereforâ— every one of us must be undefiled in the Way and every Foot-step must be of the same kinâ— and nature and separate from all that whicâ— defileth it and polluteth it that so it maâ— have a tendency to the bringing of the Soâ— nearer to its Rest This Holy Rest many Travellers have aâ—tained by this Holy Travel and many aâ— still in hope to attain it But now they that are full of hope of â—taining this Rest but their Foot-steps aâ— Goings are not of the same nature and kind they are not holy and pure they are not uâ— defiled These have not their Faces truâ— Sion-ward though the Face of their Profâ—sion may stand that way but the Loâ— looks at the Heart of every one and 〈◊〉 knows which way the Heart stands thâ— who have their Hearts truly turned to tâ— Lord they have the mark of Holiness 〈◊〉 their Eye and the mark of purity and righteousness in all their Undertakings because they know there is no attaining to that Divine Rest but by a Holy Way and Travel therefore their trust and reliance is alone on the Lord that is to keep them in all their Way for if they be never so clearly convinced that Holiness and Righteousness is their Duty and is the way whereby they may attain to the Kingdom of God though they are never so fully convinc'd of it yet there lies an impossibility of any walking therein without the Divine Assistance of the Grace of God for though they have been convinc'd by the appearance of his Grace and have had a light that openeth to them a sight of these things it is not this Sight and Vision that will enable them To run the Race that is set before them For the manifold impurities and hindrances which are in our Way between our coming out of Egypts Land the Bondage of Corruption and our entring into the Kingdom of God are too mighty and too great for any Man with his knowledge and strength to overcome The Children of Israel might as well have gone through the Red Sea without the help of God as the Christian Traveller can go through the many difficulties and the many impediments that he is to meet with in his Way without the assistance of God's holy Spirit My Friends It hath been a Labour and Travel at this time upon my Mind that all whom God hath so signally Blessed with the Knowledge of the Truth that you may see your Way and most clearly know and understand that your Way leads to Life Eternal that all and every one of you in your particular Meetings are to have a dependance upon that which can help you in your Way For I have seen too many that have had a wrong dependance after they were rightly Convinc'd and after they have had a true knowledge of their Way wherein they should walk they have too much trusted to openings and sights which they have receiv'd they have thought their Mountain so sure and that their Feet have been past sliding that there hath grown up a state of presumption that they have thought they should never turn aside and have not had due regard to the renewing of the divine Power of God in their Souls that God's Children always musâ— have They have as I may so say forgotten what our Lord said Without mâ— ye can do nothing they have passed a Sentence upon that Doctrine in their minds and they have thought they could do something that they could withstand Temptation that they could do some Work for God and Service
a kind of knowledge and understanding of their Duty whether they do it or no And this knowledge and this understanding that God doth give them makes them capable to pass a right judgment upon their own state They will not call it a good state if it be an evil state and they will not call it an evil state if it be a good one They know it is good by the principle of Truth in their judgment Therefore since there are so many uncertainties in the World and that men are so apt to take hold of an uncertain way of judging and determining even in matters relating to their Souls There is a greater aptness in People to take hold of uncertaâ—nt es in judging about the matters of their Souls than in those things that relate to their Bodies Seeing People are so liable to it it can do none of us harm to exhort one another and move and stir up one another to make a calculation of their state by something that will not deceive There are abundance deceived in this Countrey as well as other Countreys we shall not need to go into forreign parts to find People deceived and deluded It will not be amiss to say the Drunkard the Swearer and the Lyar and the Oppressor the Proud the Malicious are deceived If they were not so they would never be overcome by the wicked One the Author of all evil he hath deceived them in that they should think to go on in these things and cry peace peace to one another and in their own Souls this is a great Delusion and the Devil is the great Deluder that they are deluded by And it would be worth the while to find out that which should make a man think himself in a happy state and hope to enjoy Eternal Life with God and Christ while he goes on in Sin and Iniquity it would be worth the while to find out the Delusion There is nothing so proper to turn every one to the Grace of God as To search their own Hearts and try their Ways This is that which will discover their thoughts and make them known to themselves this is Gods Grace and Gift to men while they are yet sinners and disobedient he doth not with-hold his Grace but gives his Grace and Light and Truth Even to the Rebellious He giveth Gifts to men even to the Rebellious that he might have a Place and dwelling among them that they might know there is a God That searches the Heart and tries the Reynes and judgeth all Unrighteousness If God hath given thee so much Grace that he might have a dwelling in thy Heart Should not that restrain thee from Sin That the Devil by his Temptations might not defile thee and unfit thee for the Kingdom of God When the Lord comes to search the Heart it is in order to the purging of it and the taking away of Iniquity and Sin that would unfit thee for his Kingdom This is a better Way and more excellent than Living to the Flesh and fulfilling the Lusts thereof Let People live never so much to their own Corrupt Wills in Pride and Wantonness and Looseness and the Vanity of their Minds they will not find so much true satisfaction and delight as in living a Holy Life living in the fear of God and avoiding Sin and keeping themselves from the Temptations and Snares of the Devil This is a more excellent Way and it is our work and business to declare to People this more excellent Way which all one time or other will confess This is Irksome will some say this will abate my Pleasure and Delights in the World and spoil my Secular Interest if it were not for this reason they would grant it were better to Live a Holy Life and to Live in the Fear of God than Live in the Service of the Devil their carnal Interest lies in the way and â—â—igâ—â—â—own the Scale but it is because thou joinesâ— with it otherwise the Devil and all the Pâ—wers of Hell could not weigh it down Iâ— Pâ—ople would consider these things seriously they would say it is better to serve God that made them and gave them Life and Breath and Being than him that would destroy them And then when they meet with the Pleasures and Delights of the World that the Devil lays before them they would never weigh down the scale against a Divine Reason if thou wilt give thy Heart to it and seriously consider it it will weigh down the scale against all Temptations tâ— live in Sin and Pleasure and Jollity Iâ— thou wilt but joyn with this Divine Reasoâ— that tells thee these Carnal Pleasures and Enjoyments are not necessary for thy Soul but it is necessary to live a Holy Heavenly Life and to serve the Lord that gave thee Life and Breath and all Things that hath vouchsafed thee manifold Preservations If thou wilt but joyn with the Divine Reason and hearken to that which opens thâ— Truth in thy own Heart all the Devâ—â— can do cannot make thee serve him foâ— the Devil hath no Coercion no Power tâ— force thee to commit Sin he cannot makâ— a man to work wickedness against his Will He must first cloud the Understanding anâ— work upon the Will and allure and intiâ—â— the Affections by Earthly things So thoâ— canst not be forced by the Devil againâ—â— thy will to yield to his Temptations tâ— commit any Sin but thou must say I wiâ— do it I confess when the understanding is brâ—bed and the will allured and seduced by thâ— Devils Temptations there is no withstanding them But on the other hand if meâ— would give up themselves to the Power oâ— God they would have Divine assistance anâ— joyning with that Power they should Be more than Conquerours Therefore we cannot but be encouraged to keep in the way of the Lord and have acquaintance with the Power of God which will preserve you and give you victory over all the Temptations and Assaults of the Devil and without this Power you cannot overcome but if you have the assistance of this Power nothing will be too hard for you When you are in straits and in a helpless condition you say sometimes and are ready to cry out I shall not overcome my Spiritual Enemies I shall never get victory over Sin and the World and the Flesh and the Devil I shall never be able to withstand his Temptations but they will prevail over me all my days No wonder you make this conclusion when you have parted with your Trust and Dependance on that Power that is able to overcome the Devil and baffle him in your Thoughts Words and Deeds You may be ready to say alas of my self I can do nothing I am not able of my Self so much as to think a good Thought yet by Divine Assistance I do many times think good thoughts In me that is in my Flesh there dwells nothing that is good Not in my Flesh abstractly separate from the Power
THE Second Volume OF Mr. Stephen Crisp's SERMONS THE acceptance which the First Volume of the Sermons of this Author has obtained from Persons of different Perswasions hath occasioned the Publishing a Second of which many seem very desirous I shall say no more of thew let the Works speak for themselves but will only add that the Writer is still willing to satisfie any Inquisitive Doubter none of whom he has hitherto met with that these as well as the former are the Genuine Declarations of Mr. Stephen Crisp without any addition or alteration he having used the utmost exactness in taking and Transcribing them and his care and acuracy therein has been acknowledged and confirmed by many Ear-Witnesses who have heard them from the mouth of the Preacher THE Second Volume OF THE Sermons OR DECLARATIONS OF Mr. Stephen Crisp Late of Colchester in Essex Deceased Exactly taken in Characters or Short-hand as they were Delivered by him at the Publick Meeting-Houses of the People called QUAKERS In Grace-Church-street and Devonshire-House London And now Faithfully Transcribed and Published With some of his Prayers after Sermon LONDON Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell in the Poultrey near Cheapside 1693 Sermon I. Truths Testimony against the Power of Sin and Satan Preached in Grace-Church-Street June 13. 1688. My Friends GOD hath made you Witnesses of the great Work of this Day the Lord I say hath given you Eyes to see and Ears to hear and Hearts to understand the great Work of the Day he hath called you forth that you may be faithful Witnesses every one in your measure of that which he hath brought to pass in your sight for he hath revealed his Power the Eternal Power by which the World was made he hath revealed and manifested that power for the raising up of Life for the subjecting and bringing under death and the Power of it for a great while a Testimony that hath been born in the Nation hath been unto Death he that hath the Power of Death that is the Devil he hath had a great many to sound out his Power to declare the continuance of his Power how that Death must Reign and Darkness must continue and that the Kingdom of the Man of Sin will never be brought down But now in our Day Glory to God on high here is another sound come forth the Lord Jehovah hath uttered his voice and who can but Prophesie The word of Prophecy is given of God and many are raised up to publish it and to sound forth the Name of the Lord in the Expiration the Ruine and Destruction that is and shall be brought upon the Kingdom of Iniquity upon the Kingdom of the Man of Sin and to Prophesie and declare in the name of the Lord that Righteousness shall run down like a stream this is the Gospel the glad tidings that we receive from God and have ministred unto you that you might believe and that believing you might come to wait upon the Lord and behold the accomplishment of it For my Friends herein hath consisted all the labour and travel and exercise of the Servants of the Lord and for this cause have we suffered many things and gone through many Trials because we have stedfastly believed and therefore we have spoken it that the Lord will certainly by his Almighty Power lay waste destroy and bring to an end that Power that the Wicked one the Devil hath had upon the Minds and Spirits of the Sons and Daughters of Men and that he will set up and establish in the very same Soul a Law of Righteousness and a Law of Truth and will cause the Beauty of Holiness to shine forth through them where Iniquity hath Lodged where the wicked one hath Ruled Now you that have believed this Testimony you have received it as glad tidings unto you for you are weary of that old Service you are oppressed under the Power of that strange Prince there was a kind of Spirit and Power that had Ruled over you that neither gave you life nor breath nor had done any good thing and yet you were subject and many there were who through the grace of God that came to see that State and Condition of Sin and Iniquity was not a happy State and by a secret kindling of the Sparks of Gods Love in your Souls e'er you knew him there was a Cry raised to be delivered if it be possible If there be any Deliverance O why may not I be delivered If there be any Redemption why may not I be redeemed If there be a Power that can set me free from the Service of this Wicked one why may not I be set free Ah Friends remember the Days and Nights in which these Living Cries did run through you then you was poor indeed then you was humble and broken and the Lord beheld you in those days he saw your State and Condition he saw how helpless you were and did not he arise to help you Did not a Power spring forth in the Day of your humility in the day of tenderness by which you became able to make War against the Lusts of your own Hearts and did not you overcome and prevail in your War did not you make progress by the Power and by the Grace that first raised desires in you and as you made this progress and gained ground as I may say of your own Corruptions your Faith came to be strengthned and you were confirmed in the belief and in the obedience of the Truth and the more you trusted and relied upon him the more did he magnifie his Power in you he made known his ability and his strength in your weakness so that you did become Living Witnesses every one in your measure that there was such a Power and that that Power was able not only to save from a little or from a few but was able to save to the uttermost to save out of all that was polluted and defiled and to cleanse and purifie the Conscience from all dead Works and to enable you to serve the Living God Now the Lord having thus established you and confirmed you by his Power that you were sound in the Faith and firm in the believing of the Truth My Friends all the Labour and Travel and Doctrine and Exercises of the Preachers of the Gospel to those who were Converted and Confirmed became very acceptable So we preached and so you believed here was an Unity in our Faith here grew up a Fellowship a Communion in the Faith and the Lord became glorifiâ—d in the Assemblies both of them that preached and of them that heard because each one had a place in the Body and each one had a Saviour of the word of Life by which the Body was nourished Now my Friends that which lies particularly upon me to leave with you for my Testimony and I pray to God it may be placed in the hearts of all you that have believed that is that you may all wait
so you and I are these Trees 'till we have something good in our selves we cannot bring forth good Fruit. Therefore you must have respect to the Principle of Sanctification in your own hearts and turn you to what you may feel an experience of in your selves some Principle of Grace and Light in your hearts that can distinguish between good thoughts and evil thoughts Is this good for me to do I will go on in it with faith and courage but if it be evil I will not touch with it though there be profit and pleasure to allure and draw me to it I will not touch with it though I might gain the World by it Here is Christianity with Life and Soul in it we have been scandalized as if we Preached up Errour for Justification We say there is no Justification without Sanctification so you that know the Power live it and you that desire to know turn your minds to the Light and Grace of God and you will feel the Power that will oppose Sin in its Motion and it will never trouble you in its Action and Workings If I would not do ill to my Neighbour and I judge such a Motion when it is suggested it will never troâ—ble my Conscience because when the Devil moâ—â—d me to it I rejected it I would not follow him It is no Sin to be tempted for our Saviour that was perfectly Holy and free from all Sin was yet tempted he had motions in his mind but he withstood them and resisted the Devil in all his Temptations Christ was tempted that he might be able to succour us when we are tempted and he will do it for all those that wait for him Therefore Friends trust in the Name of the Lord and you shall feel the stirrings of that Power that Hath called you out of darkness into the Marvellous light of the Sun of Righteousness wherein you live and which will shine to his Immortal Glory and Praise and the Everlasting comfort of your Immoral Souls Sermon III. The Spirit of Christ the only True Guide Preached at Grace-Church-Street October 29. 1690. YOU that are met together in the name of the Lord and have your expectation from God and are really waiting to receive a blessing from his Bountiful hand you are they to whom the Lord will communicate the good things of his kingdom and instruct you in the Divine knowledge which the wisdom of this World cannot find out you shall have your portion in the blessings prepared for you and laid up in Christ for you to be handed forth to you from Day to Day for your support And hereby you have been preserved kept alive unto this Day You have received your Nourishment Divine and Spiritual Refreshment always in the presence of God when you have been out of his Presence you have met with troubles and darkness hath Gendered upon your Minds and Vailed and Clouded your Understandings that you have been sometimes in danger to lose your way until you have returned again unto the Great Shepherd and Overseer of your Souls by whom you have had Access unto God You that have had these experiences O! Let your Hearts and Souls be engaged to continue together in one Heart and one Mind serving the Lord and waiting upon him for something that may do you good that may strengthen you and confirm you in the present Truth For there are a great many that are convinced that do yet want establishment there are a great many that know the Truth yet cannot be brought to abide in it but are sometimes drawn out of it and then they meet with trouble in their minds and Distress and Anguish lays hold upon them and they do not enjoy that Tranquility and Peace and that Inward Joy which they believe others do enjoy â—t the same time and which they might have enjoyed if they had abode stedfast in the Truth Now what is it that will establish such a one but their waiting upon God to receive Power from him to resist the Temptations and the manifold Wiles and Snares of their Souls Enemy whereby they are daily in danger to be drawn away from God drawn out of the way You know Friends how the Lord brought us into this Exercise of waiting upon him by making us sensible that there was none could help us but him Teachers we have always had and Men that have spoken of God spoken of his Power and spoken of his Wisdom but how to dwell in that Power and stand established in it as at all times to resist the Power of the wicked one this is that which no man can help us to and upon this account it was that the Lords People were fain to cleave close to him and by Faith to have their dependance upon him and cry in their Souls Lord unless thou establish me I shall never be established The confirming power that stayes and settles their minds upon the Lord it comes from him it is handed to us through the Lord Jesus Christ whom we have believed in they that kept their Faith in him have had longings and breathings of Soul that they might receive some Divine blessing by him through him So that they that meet together in this mind they feel a settlement in the Truth as it is manifested and revealed in them and goes down into thâ— deep where Unity is known where they are of one mind and the Soul is made capable of putting forth strong Cries to God and Living Breathings Prayers to God that he will teach them how they shall profit how they shall grow how they shall serve him and honour him in their Day that he will reveal his Power in them to expel any Darkness or Vail that hath been gathered upon their minds that doth hinder them from beholding so much glory and excellency in the Truth and in the Ways of God as at sometime they have beheld And so these are Travellers that are Travelling with the Lord in Faith to receive a blessing at his hands Their minds are not left to this or that or the other man or to meer words or visible things but they feel the word of Truth answering the Truth in themselves and they receive comfort and benefit because they find a blessing to arise in them These words reach my Soul these administer help to me and I am comforted in them because I find those works working in me or wrought in me For Alas my Friends you know many of you some hear the word and the Declarations in the Word are but sounds unto them that have no experience of the work that is signified by the word so many such people do hear the lovely sound and they are affected many times to hear talk of the work of Regeneration and of the enjoyments of Gods people and how they are born up in all their Tryals by an inward and divine Power and how they are always kept alive to God and preserved in his
our design and end in the discovery that is made to us of the Life of Christ that we may grow in it and live in it indeed there is great talking of it but we should labour to shew forth the Resurrection of that Life in us They that come to be baptized for the Dead baptized into the Death of Christ The Apostle tells you In that he died he died unto Sin There are none baptized for the Dead made partakers of the Death of Christ but those that die unto Sin as he did Though Christ had no Sin yet he died unto Sin What use did he make of this That Christ knew no Sin but yet did take our Sin upon him He died unto Sin that they which did partake of his Death might be partakers of his Resurrection He Liveth again and after Death Riseth again Those that partake of this Death unto Sin are Crucified unto this World and have taken up Christs Cross and are Dead to all the Pleasures and Delights of the World which are whithered away and come to nothing What do they Live to now To Righteousness Holiness Chastity Temperance these are pleasant to them these come to live to Righteousness through the Power of him that loved them This shews the Glory and the Power of the Grace of God It is the Grace of God that worketh such a change in a Man or Woman They that delight in Sin and Wickedness in that which is corrupt and ungodly they have no delight in this no delight in Sobriety Chastity Holiness and Purity of mind Where did it work such a change In all that are freely given up to it Where any one is given up to that Life the grace of God hath the praise of it This is the Exaltation and Praise of the Power of God so that others may find by this they may by it come to believe and by believing to be saved Thus the Gospel hath gone forth from one to many and from many to many more and is encreasing more and more for Grace Mercy and Peace are multiplied by which the Heritage of God and so every Man and Woman that partake of this Life are gathered into their Fellowship So that your end in coming to these Meetâ—ngs is not so much to hear what this and â—hat and the other Friend saith but what you have in your selves to witness to The Divine Operations of the Power of God in your Souls bringing down something that is to be brought down and raising up something that is to be raised Temptation to Sin hath more prevalency upon me than it hath upon this and that and the other man I am not come to their degree yet it is better with me than it was at my first convincement If thou dost say this to deceive others Cry to God and Pray earnestly that all that may be brought down which is contrary to his Grace If thou say and profess this if at the same time there is a deceitful Heart to strengthen that which is known by the Light of Christ to be against the truth of God How will this appear at the Great Day of God The Eye of God is upon thy Hypocrisie He that Never Slumbers nor Sleeps he beholds thee if there be any Sin that thou wouldest keep and save alive if thou make a Profession and notwithstanding sayest this Sin I wilâ— keep The Lord Pardon me in this thing 〈◊〉 Like Naaman the Servant of the King of Assyria who said to the Prophet Thy Servant henceforth will neither Offer Burnt Offering nor Sacrifice to other Gods but unto thâ— Lord. In this the Lord pardon thy Servant that when my Master goes into the House oâ— Rimmon to Worship there and he leaneth 〈◊〉 my hand and I bow my self in the House of Rimmon When I bow my self in the House of Rimmon the Lord pardon thy Servant in this thing He knew if he bowed not the King would take notice of the alteration of his gesture therefore he would bow in the House of Rimmon That Sin he would save alive under a Profession That Hypocrisie the Lord did abominate Be upright in the sight of God and be faithful to your own Souls if it be so then every Sin will be a burthen and you will long to be rid of it if it be so you know whose hand it is that hath brought you so far if you be real and cordial and give up your selves to Jesus That Work which he hath begun in you he will finish for you He will finish it for you stand out with him in nothing you give up your selves to him and joyn not with his Enemies take heed of hearkning to them take heed of every Sin that will at last be a burden and oppressive to your Souls But if you Live this Heavenly Life of Jesus you will be set at liberty to have Dominion over Sin and stand without Guilt before the Throne of God Friends let your Hearts be deeply affected with the great mercies that God hath bestowed upon you and for giving you that Divine Life that Is acceptable in his sight Many things have been done upon the account of Religion and we could never be satisfied whether they were acceptable to God we could not be satisfied whether we did any thing pleasing to God we may say of them as the Apostle Paul of the Jewish Sacrifices there remains a conscience of Sin an accusing Conscience that tells us that Guilt is not removed nor the Sin taken away 'till the Lord opens this Divine Mystery to us that our Justification must be by Faith in Jesus that nothing could reconcile us to God but the Life of Jesus and the merit of his Death This Life of Jesus was a holy blameless harmless and innocent Life which Life he gave for the World which Life is the Light of Men and our Souls being turned to this Life we see the Glory and the Excellency of it and desires are kindled in our hearts after it Many have pursued and laboured and travelled that they might come to the enjoyment of it the very discovery of this Life ought to be highly prized and your Souls affected with it and when you have obtained it you will say O what a blessed Condition am I come into that Christ hath manifested his Divine Power in me not only in Reconciling me to God but taking away the Conscience of Sin by that also the Accuser is cast out and I may now sing to God Songs of Deliverance Now you tast of the Mercies that God hath bestowed upon you this will affect your Souls with a Child-like submission and subjection to him that hath begun to save and deliver you that so you may resign up your selves to his will and forsake the World and the things of it Now when they come to such a Meeting as this their minds may be retired and they may be sensible of the Power of Truth upon their hearts but for want of keeping
to God without the divine assistance of that Power that did beget them and alas the least they have sustained hath been that they have fallen into Evil and they have defiled their Way and run into Temptations though it hath pleased the Lord whose Mercy is Infinite to pull them many times back again out of the snare which they were fallen into and to take them up again and to wash them and cleanse them and purifie them and set their Feet on a sure place This was more than they deserved but his Mercy and Goodness and Tenderness is over all his Works This he hath wrought for many a one and not only once but many times it is hard venturing it had been better if such a one had never fallen or that their Foot-steps had never slid from the ways of the Lord than after they are fallen to be renewed again by Repentance It hath caused sore Judgment and Condemnation and Anxiety of Spirit And they have given their old Enemy an advantage to whisper in their Ears Thou hast lost thy ground thy Sins are gone over thy Head and thou shalt never find Repentance These are the Words of the Wicked one who seeks occasion against us and through our carelesness and not being watchful we put an advantage into his Hand Now seeing you know he is vigilant and seeks occasion that he may turn you out of your Way before you attain to the end of it you ough◠to be vigilant to keep occasions from him But some may say how may I keep occasions and advantages from the Enemy 〈◊〉 I answer the way hath been often told you and I dare say most of you have tryed it and found it to be true that so long a◠you have remained in a watchful State and Posture and have had your minds exercised by the Grace of God by which you wer◠convinced of your Sin and by which you◠Duty was manifested to you So long you gave the Enemy of your Souls no occasion but the Truth preserved you wherein you trusted and wherein you hoped and waited for the vertue and power of it Did you find want of ability then Did the Enemy prevail then He did not cease to Tempt when you was in the most watchful State of a Christian the Devil did not the◠cease to tempt you but you found in you a power that resisted him and said Get thee behind me Satan So long as you are upon your watch so far as you keep your mind fixed upon the Divine Power so long you are in a sure place and whosoever turns aside from this they suffer great harm and prejudice and if ever they be restored again it is with loss and damage and sore exercise and if they be not restored they are lost to all Eternity Then it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them And then they said within themselves this must be the way Sirs these things pertain to your Everlasting welfare I speak to you as to a People that God hath abundantly Loved and it hath been far beyond any thing of desert He hath made known his ways to you the Lord may say concerning you of this City as of old What could I have done more for my Vineyard that I have not done So he may say concerning you What could I have done more to make them a grown People a holy People an intire People that They may bear my Name and walk before me in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of their Lives What should hav◠been done more for them But this is an Exercise to us whom God hath blessed and set as watchmen to behold and see the state of his People and to fee◠and bear the burthens that are to be born and this is the great burden that after al◠that God hath done and that we do in the hands of God all that is necessary for the welfare of the People Yet here are some that turn aside and here are some that have defiled their way and we testifie in the name of the Lord that whosoever walks in a defiled Way shall never come to an undefiled Rest therefore that you do not attain to that undefiled Rest it is because ye have been defiled Seeing the Holy conversation of the People of God is the effect of the working of his own Power and Spirit Here comes the Rest by and through a Mediator even Jesus Christ the Righteous who is the Mediator between God and Man and the Leader of all his People in the way of Holiness and Righteousness which he hath made manifest to them that believe and obey the Power And He hath purchased Eternal Salvation for all that Believe and Obey the Gospel But the Transgressors do not obey the Gospel the Spirit of Christ doth not lead you to Transgression and the Power and Light that comes from Christ doth not lead you to Pride Vanity Envy and Bitterness Where-ever these things are led into there is another Spirit and that other Spirit hath another tendency and it leads into the wrath of God And my Friends this is that which my Soul desireth at your hands and it is for your good and advantage it is my Duty to discharge my Conscience and to speak plainly as the Lord shall give me utterance to warn you that you abide in the Truth for if so be you be not saved but will turn aside after your own Hearts Lusts after your Pride and the Vanity of the World and the Lusts thereof you may blame your selves and your Iniquity will be your Ruine We that have given up our selves to God for your sakes and for the Churches sake we speak these things which we have Learned of God and we earnestly press you that are convinced that you walk in the Truth which you have believed There is no great need of more knowledge and of the Vision of Heavenly and Divine things for abundance of you have seen more of the things of God than ever you have travelled and come up unto I would to God that every one of you that are convinced would come up To the measure of the knowledge you have received O! that you would answer the Lords Power in opening and discovering his Mind and Will concerning your Travel and the things that belong to your Everlasting Peace that your footsteps may be directed thereby If you will walk in this undefiled way you may lie down at Night and rise in the Morning with Peace and in the favour of the Lord and have the answer of a good Conscience in his sight The means that must help and conduct us in this way must be that familiar Converse that the Soul must have with something greater then it self the Familiar Converse that the Soul must have with the Divine Power with that manifestation of Divine Light and Grace which through Jesus
God that love any other way or think to come to God any other way than by Jesus the Mediatour their labour will be lost therefore I must exhort and perswade you that are out of the way that you would take Gods method and come into Gods way The torments I have told you are made already the bargain is not to make now I will give you so much to be at peace with God or I will part with this and the other thing that is dear to me No the Agreement is made between God and Christ and his Covenant is ordered in all things and sure and his Covenant stands sure with none but those that are in Christ Jesus There was a Covenant made with Abraham In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed The promises made to the Seed that is to those that are in Christ the Faithful are counted the Seed now the Faithful art those that are obedient to Christ who is the seed of the promise in whom all the Families of the Earth are blessed They must come to Christ the seed they must not rebel against him they must come to him and believe in him be there never so many Nations and Families in the World the Promise is not to them but to as many as the Lord our God shall call Here is the way for People to lay hold of for coming into acquaintance with God which is of so great necessity before they die they must come to Christ himself by his Spirit in their own hearts We need not go to this and the other Learned Man and inquire of this and the other sort of People but we must cry to God for help and direction and come unto him and give up all the powers and faculties of our Souls to him to be governed by him God will have Servants that will be obedient to him if ever we come to obtain Salvation we must have another Master one is your Master even Christ I must come under the government of Christ and he must lead me and rule me if I will be a Child of God When People come to see there is no effectuaâ— way but submitting to the grace of God in theiâ— own hearts and yielding themselves up to the dictates of the Spirit of Christ in their Souls when they come to this there are many hazards and difficulties to be encounter'd with there is the appearance of the Cross of Christ and we must takâ— up this Cross if we will follow Christ and be obedient in all things unto him This is that which wiâ— kill all my pleasures lay wast all my Religion anâ— destroy all my hopes I must be like a Man thaâ— hath built a house without a good foundation must pull it all down again and I must come tâ— build again upon a new foundation Here many have turned aside the Cross of Christ hath seemed to them so sharp and hard and intollerable that they could not bear it they would not be at the charge of such a Religion what must I part with all my delights and my beloved lusts and pleasures and all my interests in the world for Christ I cannot part with these these things lie in my way I must rather lose my Soul than part with what is so grateful to me and joyn with the light of mine own Conscience and the truth in my inward parts What must not I have so much as liberty of thought What must my thoughts be regulated by that which is so cross and repugnant to my mind Must I throw out all evil thoughts out of my heart and suffer none but good thoughts to remain there Who can stand here Who can bear such strictness as this Rather than endure this I will chuse to lose my Soul many have lost the Truth on this account and many are in danger to lose their Souls If there be in you Sirs any desire of peace with God that you may not go hence before you have attained it take hold of the present opportunity hardness of heart is a desperate plague it comes from a long obstinate continuance in sin when we have withstood the day of Gods Patience and Long-Suffering and grieved the Holy Spirit of God then God giveth us up to our own Hearts Lusts because we will not hearken to the voice of the Charmer charm he never so wisely when we stop our ears and will not attend to the Calls of God when Men will go on and nothing can stop them in the career of their Lusts and Pleasures but they will retain their Carnal Delights and Friendship with the World this hardness of heart is a desperate plague take heed of it that it doth not overtake you and bring ruine and destruction upon you Consider the Patience and Long-suffering of God and let his goodness lead you to Repentance Consider God hath waited to be gracious to you he hath exercised much long-suffering and patience towards you whereas he might have cut you off long ago given you your Portion with the damned in Hell but he hath hearkned to the Mediatouâ— that hath pleaded for you he hath extended his patience and Long-suffering to the Wicked and Rebellious also and for this reason the Apostle tells us that Christ is the Saviour of all Men especially of them that believe Now the Patience and Long-suffering of God hath been lengthned out to us all and we have noâ— improved it Conscience hath been sensible of the inward stroaks and rebukes of God for sin and oâ— the inward calls of his Grace to bring us to Repentance but we have not regarded those Calls noâ— hearkned to the voice of God so as to hear that our Souls might live O let us not put off our Repentance any longer but to day while it is called to day let us hear his voice and not harden our hearts but be of a tender heart let our hearts be softned and entendered under the word of God and under the stroaks of his Judgments If ever the Lord bring you unto a tender frame you will receive the word of God with meekness and mix it with Faith then it will work effectually to the amendment of youâ— Lives it will work Faith in those that are Unbelievers and strengthen the Faith of those that Believe Then we shall have cause to bless the Lord and Praise and Magnifie his Great Name for hiâ— Patience Long-suffering and Mercy which at thiâ— Day he hath lengthned out and graciously extended to us Sermon X. True Christianity Preached at Grace-Church street April 10. 1692. THE Institution of the Christian Religion was for this purpose that Holiness and Righteousness might be brought forth in the Earth that God through his Son Jesus Christ might take delight in the Sons and Daughters of Men that they be reconciled to him For that which the Law could not do by reason of its weakness God hath had a purpose to do by his Son and to him he gave