houshold of Faith a Religionist a Christian an heir and child of God but he that hath not such a Faith nor suffereth the fruits of love to grow and blossome in a right godly and not seeming-holy way or nature he knoweth neither of Faith Religion nor Christianitie yea of no God in truth though he understood all the Scriptures all mysteries and Articles of beleef and could thereof talk and dispute eloquently and rationally even as an Angel of Light yet is he in Gods sight an unbeleever a miserable and contemnable man for he hath not in him the living power of the living Faith which alwayes is fruitfull in love therefore he talketh and prateth much of Faith and its righteousnesse yet he knoweth not what either Faith or Faiths works are whiles he doth not find and feel them experimentally inwardly in spirit and truth nor outwardly sheweth his talking and knowledge in deeds and works which God and good men may approve With such unprofitable Bablers is alas at this day all the world replenished namely with such as with open mouth cry Lord Lord prophesie and do signes and wonders but fulfill and accomplish not the will of God in power all these are but external plaisterers external cryers and seekers of Christ and the Faith despisers of the inward power of God or of the living Word of Faith and the whole kingdom of God in men in whom and by whom is the fulfilling of the Commandements and also the true Christian freedome in holinesse and righteousnesse Therefore thou Faith-conceited Man beseech God that he would work this living Faith in thee and free thee from this damnable and wrath producing imaginarie faith since that thou by this faith prated into thee hast imagined to thy self a freedome to sinne to transgresse Gods Commandments relying upon Absolution according to thy accustomed manner whereby alas thou art verily free but not from sinne as Christs kingdom requireth but from God and the fulfilling of his will and the observation of his Commandements in perfect obedience and so art become truly a slave of Satan 1 Joh. 3. v. 7 8 9 10. Every one therefore that will be a master of Faith let him behave himself as a pattern unblameable inwardly by the office of the holy Spirit in doctrine and outwardly in life as a follower of Jesus Christ He that boasteth of faith let him shew the new obedience of faith by a new righteous holy and to Christ-conformable life and conversation in the Love of God and his neighbour He that vaunteth of the Articles of Faith let him shew them forth in deed and truth for God is served neither with knowledge babling nor disputation nor yet the Church of the Saints which overcometh all things with Love in Patience and consequently not with words but with power Therefore O beloved Man that sayest that thou beleevest in God or but that there is a God make thy faith appear with true fruit in the strict observation of his commandements otherwise is thy saying vain and thou in truth beleevest on no God nor that there is a God for otherwise thou wouldest tremble and shake at the breach of his Commandements Thou that sayest I beleeve that Christ is dead for me shew then by thy self in deed the death of Christ namely that thine old Adam is buried with him thy lust and desire is crucified with him and thou risen again with Christ in a new nature or life of the Spirit otherwise is thy faith of Christ an historicall knowledge without all power and propertie of Faith Thou that sayest I beleeve a Church of Saints which the holy Spirit enlightneth sanctifieth and purifieth examine thy self whether the holy Spirit doth inwardly enlighten teach chastise admonish anoint guide govern lead and direct thee and thou also hast by the power of the holy Spirit the kingdom of God revealed in thee so that thou resistest all that exalteth it self against Gods will his knowledge and confession through the office or power of the holy Spirit and that the tentation from the world flesh and blood and wicked enemie is a right hellish torment to thee so then art thou a true member of the true Church of Christ Sayest thou O Man so I am for I am a baptized Christian O beloved Man shew forth the drowning of the old Adam the mortification of his lusts and desires and the renuntiation which thou hast made to the Devill the World and the Flesh in truth so that they rule no more in thee nor move thee to sin though they entice stirre and egge thee on to it Doest thou not or findest thou not this so then art thou an unbaptized and unchristened man for thou livest in the old and not in the new birth therefore art thou a violator of the Covenant of God Sayest thou yet I partake of the flesh and blood of Christ If thou partake thereof then shew the living-making power of the flesh of Christ and that the blood of Christ hath cleansed thee from all sins in words and works so hast thou truly partaken of the flesh and blood of Christ otherwise goest thou to the Lords Supper to thy double condemnation In summe all the Articles must live sensibly in thee and outwardly demonstrate the living power of love otherwise is thy Christianitie meer hypocrisie seeming holinesse self chosen godlinesse and imaginarie faith which do but further the destruction both of body and soul as alas appeareth before our eyes and yet no man taketh it to heart or will duely examine himself Two Questions verie necessarie concerning these present and continuing Warres viz. 1. From whence Warre doth spring 2. By what meanes it ends AS the inward exterpation or rooting out of Jesus Christ with his holy and threefold office in mans soul which when she is obedient unto and receives him he then as the true and onely high-Priest perfectly reconciles sanctifies cleanses and presents her as a new creature to his heavenly Father in holy attire of Love and as the onely Master and Teacher in her sent from the heavenly Father makes her remember her miserie in penitencie chastises her instructeth teacheth guideth and preserves her from the spirit of errour and thus in her powerfully exerciseth his royall office as her Head and LORD to the utter ruine and demolishing of the Devils Sin pallace bruising the head of the subtle and holy-seeming Serpent quenching and suppressing of all that shall exalt it self against his inward kingdom of grace as also to the overcoming of all outward enemies through the Spirit of Prayer and his iron Rod or Scepter and thus killeth and crucifieth sin Death the Devill Hell the Flesh and Blood and break asunder the whole kingdom of sin so that it can no more bring under subjection or into darknesse the soul which he hath redeemed is the onely cause of unbelief and from thence springing unrighteousnesse wickednesse malice hypocrisie self-chosen godlinesse outward false worship of God or Sectarie
from thy Grace Goodnesse and Mercie all things spring and all good Gifts have yet their originall and must through Christ flow into us therefore mollifie we beseech thee through the power of thy Spirit our stony Hearts break them to pieces by thy true sorrow Contrition and Repentance which thou thy self workest in Men. O bruise them so that they may come to a true knowledge of their sins and in a sincere penitencie lay themselves down before thee in a sorrowfull and continuall prayer crying seeking knocking and not leaving off in their repentant Lamentation Ah Lord mark Ah Lord hear Ah Lord be gracious Ah Lord mark Ah Lord delay not for the honour of thy Name sake for thou art our Creator and we the work of thy hands O Father thou knowest that after thy Name we are called wherefore wilt thou then thus utterly destroy us that we be no more a People Ah righteous God this have we merited by our sins that thou in justice shouldst everlastingly cast us from thy sight for all our doings in and with our wonted externall Religion or formall God-service it proceeding not out of the Living Faith Spirit and Truth forasmuch as the inward powerfull office of the holy Spirit is alas ascribed to the outward Ministerie and thereby all is perverted and subverted they are in thy sight O righteous God a truly polluted and defiled thing much more odious then Dung and Filth wherefore thou O holy God throwest in wrath the dung or durt of our holy dayes and the noise of our Songs and Psalms back into our faces Ah that we were not so hard hearted but that we might perceive that the Curse instead of the Blessing on all fides pursueth us O Father we turn us to thy bottomlesse Mercy which is greater then all our sins and cry heartily to it that thou wouldest not enter into Judgement with us nor lay the sin to our charge for we can answer nothing else but this Ah Father we have sinned and our sins are more then the sand of the Sea which have alas seperated us from one another and brought wo upon us because we have cast out of us and rejected the Throne of Mercy with its Office and have adhered to Idols and humane Traditions O God of all grace and goodnesse forgive us we beseech thee our great sins and be gracious to us Oh have mercy upon us for we are but dust ashes and earth wherefore then should we be thus utterly consumed in thy wrath without all Mercie O most loving Lord Jesus Christ look upon that great calamitie and destruction with thy Love-replenished Heart which thy Father in his just displeasure hath determined now to let passe upon whole Mankind the like whereof never hath been under heaven before nor shall be the like for ever hereafter seeing that the wickednesse of the present world also farre exceedingly surpasseth all the ungodlinesse heretofore practised from the beginning of the world therefore the judgement shall light so much the more heavily and hidcously upon the hard hearted and deriding Mockers and despisers O thou onely Mediatour intercede thou for us out of meere grace and mercy fot without thee there is no means to be found neither in heaven nor earth betwixt thy Father and us poore miserable and forsaken people O intercede thou onely right and true Intercessour seeing thy heavenly Father doth at all times heare Thee O thou heartie Friend of Men let this move thee to compassion that men for whose cause thou becamest man should wholly be ruined and destroyed and that thine Inheritance which thou hast redeemed with thy rosie red Blood should become a spoyle and prey to thine enemies Ah we perceive mark and find that by reason of the new crucifying of thee thou wilt exercise vengeance upon vengeance through Heaven and Earth upon men and beasts Ah we have really deserved that the pit of darknesse should swallow us up everlastingly as right fuell for that hellish fire because we have indeed loved Darknesse more then Thee the true Light when thou wouldst inwardly aright have enlightned us and revealed thy kingdom in us therefore we deservedly also reap our unfruitfull works of darknesse and shall in Hell smart for it according to thy righteousnesse and judgement and have nothing to say against it But O God thou blessed holy Spirit who hast thy chiefest delight in and among the children of Men to heal them again to sanctifie them and to purge them from sins O hide not thy self now in this time of extremitie and urgent calamitie because that we have grieved thee and expelled thee with our reigning sins O thou Divine Flame of Love assist our cold hearts with unspeakable sighs Ah mediate Ah intercede Ah kindle our hearts with a true fervent and heartie sorrow and repentance that we may not so unawares and suddenly be snatched away without all Mercie Ah thou true chastiser chastise and reform our unnurtered Hearts Ah thou onely Enlightner enlighten thou we beseech thee our darkned hearts Ah thou onely Sanctifyer sanctifie our unhallowed hearts O thou true Cleanser cleanse now out hearts that are unclean and altogether defiled by the world money fleshly lust and spirituall pride O thou true Circumciser circumcise our wholly uncircumcised hearts O thou onely true Converter turn to day out of thy meer grace and mercie and convert our perverted hearts for without thy gracious drawing and powerfull operation in us we are able to do nothing therefore thou onely true worker of the will and the deed make thou to day to day the beginning in ours and all mens hearts to a true and cordiall Ninivitish Conversion For if thou turnest us we are rightly turned and converted from our wayes so that we do truly repent and cease to sin relinquish the world hate the flesh and blood and fight in thy strength against the subtle assaults of the world the flesh and the devill and obtain the victorie and not in a deceitfull way make a shew of holinesse for a day as if we therin were become religious men according to the customary naturall seeming Mouth-Repentance and notwithstanding all this remain inwardly the very former sows and dogs and in the dayes to come shew forth plainly the same properties of sows and dogges and upon a new pretended Remission sin afresh again and think to plaister over again outwardly such works of the Flesh with a Sacrament not considering that such use of it is turned to a double torment in hell for them for no Remission is ordained for such Hypocriticall Repentance but Hell and everlasting damnation Come O come thou true Divine Flame of Love and guide us to the true divine worship and pierce to day our souls with the true beams of thy grace whereby all accustomed hypocrisie false holinesse Phatisaicall godlinesse and the fair externall glistering shew being nothing but a meer Devils cloud may vanish for these are and for ever shall be an enmitie with
unto them double what they have done to the poore and innocent so will we for it praise Thee with united hearts everlastingly that thou in the midst of thy wrath hast yet remembred thy infinite goodnesse and mercy and turned thy self from thy wrath and our well deserved punishments and hast again mercy upon poore mankind and raised up a Saviour unto them O heavenly God and Father grant this our Prayer unto us for Christ his bitter death and suffering to a true Ninivitish Repentance and conversion that the day of thy promised Redemption may break in as a Lightning and that the Jews and Heathen may be gathered together in and to the Truth Amen Allelu-jah Amen The Barres which the Devill and the darkned Reason do set before the Souls that Christ cannot begin to work therein Ob. 1 1. That it is impossible that a Man through Repentance wrought by God can wholly die from sin that it henceforth should have no ruling power Ans Hereby is Gods omnipotencie Christs merit and the Holy Spirits inhabitation wholly made void and greater power ascribed to the Devill in our destruction then to Christ in our Renovation contrary to the tenor of the holy Scripture Rom. 5. 6 7 8. 14. 1. Cor. 2. v. 16. Cap. 3. v. 17. 2. Cor. 3. v. 17. 18. Gal. 2. v. 20. Ephes 2. v. 5. 6. Epqes 5. v. 27. c. Now as long as this Barre of doubt remaineth in thee so long is Christs kingdom shut up in thee and the kingdom of sin manifest varnish it over outwardly how thou wilt it will nothing at all avail 2 Barre Ob. 2 That God is mercifull and winketh at the sins of Men for Christs merits sake Answ Verily hereby is Christ made a Minister of sin contrary to the testimonies of the holy Scripture Gal. 2. v. 17 18. 1 Cor. 1. v. 30 31. 2 Tim. 3. 17. Colos 4. v. 12. Ca. 1. v. 28 Cap. 2. v. 10. and the Righteousnesse of God slandered and blasphemed Deut. 27. v. 26. Psal 5. v. 6. 1 Joh. 3. v. 10. and his Grace wrested or drawn by licentiousnesse into a most damnable abuse Epist Jud. v. 4. 14. seq 2 Pet. 2. v. 14. 1. Joh. 5. v. 2 3. 1 Joh. 2. v. 6. 3 Barre Ob. 3 Although man live not so blamelesse and fear not God with all his heart yet he may and can convert himself and obtain of God forgivenesse of his sin Ans Hereby is Repentance which is meerly Gods work and is not within the comqasse of mans abilitie Jer. 31. v. 18. 19. 2 Tim. 2. v. 25 26. ascribed to our naturall powers and by that meanes idolatry committed And in the like manner it is also with Prayer for it is the onely work of the holy Spirit Zach. 12. v. 10. Rom. 8. v. 15. 26. 27. Joh. 14. 15. Now God heareth not sinners for they pray without the Spirit which dwelleth in no soul that is subject to sin Wisd 1. ver 3 4 5. 4. Barre Ob. 4 Hereby men may be brought to desperation when all grace is denied to sinful evil doers and a man would have altogether a pure Church Ans O happy desperation which worketh a spirituall sorrow 1 Cor. 7. v. 9 10 11. killeth the old Adam wholly Rom. 6. v. 6. siq Rom. 8. v. 4. 19. Gal. 5. v. 24. maketh the world with all its doings to a bitter Crosse Gal. 6. v. 14. Phil. 3. v. 8. 1 Joh. 2. v. 15 16. Matth. 10. Luk. 14. taketh captive the Reason 2 Cor. 10. v. 5. maketh a man become a child Joh. 3. v. 3. a beast and a fool Psal 73. v. 22. yea a meer nothing Gal. 6. v. 3. for a reasonlesse naturelesse creaturelesse worldlesse man and freed from all vanity is fit for the kingdom of God and that is then the pure soul wherein God dwelleth 2. Cor. 6. v. 14. seq Psal 18. v. 27. Psal 24. verse 4. 5 Barre Ob. Such men as these it is impossible to find in the world therfore is it foolishnesse yea madnesse to require this of any man Ans He that is fleshly minded must judge fleshly and calumniate Gods work and truth for he is an enemie of the true Regeneration out of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2. v. 10 11. seq Rom. 8. v. 5 6 7 8 9. Psal 73. v. 89. Gal. 4. v. 29. There is but a narrow way to Lise wherein for even very few and not many walk Matth. 7. v. 13. 14. Luk. 13. v. 23. The summe of Christianitie is this That the old Man with his lusts and desires must perish 2 Cor. 4. v. 16. be killed destroyed and drowned by Regeneration 1 Tit. 3. v. 5 6. Rom. 6. v. 6. and all become new 2. Cor. 5. v. 17. that Christ may be all in all Colos 3. v. 11. fill all in all Ephe. 1. v. 23. and present every one perfect to the Father Colos 1. v. 28. Cap. 2. v. 6. 10. Colos 3. v. 34. Colos 4. v. 12. 2 Tim. 3. v. 17. THE SUMME OF THE TRVE AND LIVING FAITH and of all the Articles of the Belief The true and living Faith O beloved Man consisteth not in the knowledge of the holy Scripture which Moses the Prophets and Apostles have left behind them nor in such Articles which men have according to their reason collected out of the holy Scripture which a man can learn by heart and fasten in his memory and then out of his naturall power say and confesse this I beleeve for this truly is but the meet imaginarie faith wherewith all the world is at this day bewitched deceived and befooled yea so farre that men go on to defend this their saith wrought by their own power by wrangling contentions and disputes yea even by the sword with the shedding of the blood of the poore and murthering of many innocent souls which imaginary faith is the very true inward abomination of desolation from whence is also sprung the outward desolation of Countreys and people in the righteous wrath of God which shall continue break forth and make desolate so long as this unbeleef with its manifest power of unrighteousnesse and cold LOVE beareth sway The true Faith O dear Man is a divine work or power of God in man which changeth and regenerateth him out of God truly killeth the old Adam and maketh a whole new man from the heart minde and all his powers and bringeth with it the holy Spirit wherethrough man becometh without sin and keepeth and fulfilleth Gods Commandements which to the beleevers are not heavie For the righteousnesse of Faith maketh a man without sin fully righteous before God so that he feareth God honoureth him as a Father and loveth him as a Lord from his heart whole soul and all his powers and his neighbour as himself as Luther described the true but at this day very much unknown Faith Now he that findeth such power in truth in himself and thereby doth the will of God he is a true member of the