things is God And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a Servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after but Christ as a Son over his own house whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end Heb. 3. 1. to the 8. And make your calling and election sure for if ye do these things ye shall never fail for so an entrance shall be administred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. 9 10. Thus saith the Scriptures I say where there is no calling and what that calling is I have signified it is unto Holiness there is no justification and where there is no justification there is no glorification and this is in Christ Jesus And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is Life because of Righteousness But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you Therefore brethren we are debters not to the flesh to live after the flesh for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God and if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt Heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together Rom. 8. 10. to the 18. And if ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every mans work pass the time of your sojourning here in fear forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for you who by him do believe in God who raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God Seeing that you have purified your souls in the obeying of the Truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently being borne again not of corruptible Seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever For all flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass the grass withereth and the flower thereof fadeth away but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever And this is the Word which by the Gospel is Preached unto you 1 Pet. 1. 17. to the end So this is the calling and this is the word and this is the hope and this is the Predestination and this is the fore-knowledge and this is the Justification and this is the Glorification viz. Christ Jesus and as men are for him and are found in him not having their own Righteousness which is through the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by faith Phil. 3. 9. And where men are not here they are mistaken to talk of these things or to think them theirs They appertain to another state then Transgression which delivers out of it and maketh men indeed the Sons of God and so are Heirs of the Blessing that came on Abraham who believed and it was counted to him for Righteousness of whom God saith I know him that he will command his Children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the Way of the Lord to do justice and judgement that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him Gen. 18. 19. And who raised up the Righteous man from the East called him to his foot gave the Nations before him and made him rule over Kings He gave them as dust to his sword and as driven stubble to his bow Isa 41. 2. And art not thou our God who didst drive out the Inhabitants of this Land before thy People Israel and gavest it to the Seed of Abraham thy friend for ever 2 Chron. 20. 7. And if ye were Abrahams Children ye would do the Works of Abraham but now ye seek to kill me a man that hath told ye the truth which I have heard of God this did not Abraham you do the deeds of your Father Then said they to him we be not born of Fornication we have one Father even God Jesus said unto them if God were your Father you would love me for I proceeded forth and came from God neither came I of my self but he sent me Why do ye not understand my speech Even because ye cannot hear my Word Ye are of your father the Devil and the lusts of your father ye will do He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him when he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own for he is a lyar and the father of it John 8. 39. to the 45. v. So here 's an end to all this matter Those that the Father hath chosen unto himself it is unto good works which he hath before ordained that they should walk in them We are his work manship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them saith the Apostle Ephes 2. 10. And shew me thy faith without thy works and I will shew thee my faith by my works Faith without works is dead Jam. 2. 18. 20. And the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works Tit. 2. 11. to the end And those that are not redeemed from all Iniquity he hath not given himself to save And those that are not zealous of good Works he hath not purified unto himself a peculiar people And those that deny not Vngodliness and Worldly lusts and live not soberly and righteously and godly in this present World are not such as look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ And those that have not works their faith is dead and they that walk not
you And lastly Neither hath he redeemed all since the fall that were to give the lie to what Christ saith Strive to enter into the strait Gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able Enter ye in at the strait Gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction and many there be that go in thereat because strait is the Gate and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto Life and few there be that find it Luke 13. 14. And fear not little Flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom Luke 12. 32. And they are not all Israel which are of Israel Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children for in Isaac shall thy Seed be called That is they which are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God but the children of the Promise are accounted for the seed For this is the word of Promise At this time will I come and Sara shall have a Son and not only this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one even our Father Isaac for the children being not yet born neither having yet done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to Election might stand not of works but of him that calleth it was said unto her the Elder shall serve the Younger as it is written Jacob have I loved but Eâ—au have I hated Rom. 9. 6. to the 14. And though thy people Israel be as the sand of the Sea yet a Remnant of them shall return Isa 10. 22. And when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on his left Mat. 25. 21 22 23. And without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whore-mongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie Rev. 22. 15. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie but they which are written in the Lambs book of Life Rev. 21. last And come hither and I will shew unto thee the Judgement of the great Whore that sitteth on many waters with whom the Kings of the Earth have committed fornication and the Inhabitants of the Earth have been made drunk with the Wine of her Fornication Rev. 17. 12. And the beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless Pit and go into Perdition And they that dwell on the Earth shall wonder whose Names are not written in the book of life from the Foundation of the World when they behold the beast which was and is not and yet is v. 8. And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of Life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works Rev. 20. 12. And who will render to every man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality Eternal Life but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the Truth but obey Vnrighteousness Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil of the Jew first and also to the Gentile for there is no respect of persons with God For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law and as many as have sinned in the Law shall be judged by the Law for not the hearers of the Law shall be justified before God but the doers of the Law but the doers of the Law shall be justified Rom. 2. 6. to the 14. And to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels in flaming fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his Power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and be admired in all them that believe because our Testimony among you was received in that day Wherefore also we pray alwayes for you that our God will count you worthy of this calling and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of Faith with Power that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him to the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thes 1. 7. to the end And receiving the end of your Faith is even the salvation of your Souls 1 Pet. 1 7. And it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure Phil. 2. 13. And work out your Salvation with fear and trembling v. 12. And unto you first God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to blesse you in turning away every one of you from his Iniquities Acts 3. last And the Lord is my Portion saith my soul Lam. 3. 25. And upon the wicked he shall rain snares fire and brimstone and a horrible tempest this shall be the portiou of their cup Psal 11. 6. And these shall go into everlasting punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal Mat. 25. 46. And the grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present world Looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of that great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie unto himself a Peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2. 11 12 13. And ye are a chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood a Holy Nation a Peculiar People that ye should shew forth the Praises of him who hath called you out of darkness to his marlous light which in times past were not a people but are now the People of God which had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained Mercy Dearly beloved I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims abstain from fleshly luâ—â—s which war against the Soul having your Conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evil doers they may by your good woorks which they shall behold glorifie God in the day of Visitation 1 Pet. 2. 9 10 11 12. And their Consciences also bearing witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel Rom. 2. 15 16. And because he
witness These things saith the Amen the faithful and true Witness writes John to the Laodeceans who were grown neither hot nor cold and therefore he would spue them out of his mouth I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot neither quite dead nor quite alive neither being without sence nor having much I would thou wert cold or hot So then because thou art luke-warm and neither cold nor hot I will spue thee out of my mouth Rev. 3. 15 16. A sore word to be cast out as salt that hath lost its savour and is good for nothing but to be cast to the Dunghil If the salt hath lost its savour where with shall it be salted It is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be troden under foot of men saith Christ Mat. 5. 13. And shameful spueing shall be on thy Glory Hab. 2. 16. And Moab also shall wallow in his Vomit Jer. 48. 16. And it is happened unto them according to the true Proverb The Dog is turned to his own Vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire 2 Pet. 2. 22. This is the condition of all that are in this state whom the Lord spues out I say He that beleiveth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him John 3. 36. And here 's the state of all men by nature the nature that is in the fall in the Transgression they are without God the sence of God the life of God the Son of God without God in the World without Christ the Son of God Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel Strangers from the covenants of Promise having no hope as aforesaid and the reason is because they believe not on the Son on that which witnesses to God in them Which Judges and reproves them when they do evil and shews them what they should do Is not this the Christ John 4. 21. That which tells them all that ever they have done that searcheth their hearts and trieth their Reigns and knoweth the compass and end of all their Actions and sitteth down with them and risieth up with them and follows them wheresoever they go They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ 1 Cor. 10. 4. Which speaks to them in secret and convinceth them of evil which they know they should not go against which is the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation that hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live Soberly and Righteously and Godly in this present World of which the Apostle speaketh Tit. 2. 11 12. The Comforter which reproves rhe World of Sin of Righteousness and of Judgement of Sin because they believe not in me saith Christ John 1. 6. 8 9. of Righteousness because I go to my Father and ye see me no more Of Judgment because the Prince of this World is judged vers 10 11. So that which reproves and judges is the Spirit the Spirit of the Son the Comforter that which reproves gives comfort and hope to Godward that he will shew mercy It is his Arm that opens to gather It is his Crook by which he brings back O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together as a Hen gathers her chicken under her wings and ye would not Mat. 23. 27. Now that which gathers is that which brings together that which is astray that is out of its place out of its way and that which so gathers corrects or it is a correction or a reproof to that which is astray and the voice of that which gathers is a reproof to that which is astray the very calling to come together reproves that which was not so Now this comforts this is the Comforter that calls to man who is out of the way to turn him to bring him out of the wrong to the right way and that which tells a man that he is in the wrong way judges the wrong way reproves it And that which reproves the wrong gives comfort to a man as he receives it and lets it judge the wrong in him that he is regarded and shall be brought into the right And so thy Rod and thy Staffe they comfort me Psal 23. 3. It gives a man to see that its like to be well with him As a man that is travelling hard and he hath a long way to go and night will come and he fears least having mist his way he shall come short of home and then great perils will attend him and he happily may miscarry and be undone for ever If any man meet him and tell him how he is out of his way and that the other is his way and if he will go with him he will bring him in safety to his journeys end and deliver him from all his enemies and the sad event of a miscarriage this will revive the heart of the man that is in sence of his condition and instead of repining at or resisting or slighting his friend or persisting in the wrong way in which he was or rising against his friend and his admonition and reproof he will gladly go with him and accept the offer and he will say pray let me go with thee and I am glad I have met with thee and what a thing is it that I have met with thee that I should meet with thee and what a providence was it and his heart will be light and rejoyce that he hath met with the right and be comforted that now he shall come home and miss his dangers and be out of fear of miscarriage So his trouble is gone and all the way along he will be talking to his friend and telling him what a thing it was that he met with him Even so it is as to that which is Eternal man that is out of his way and comes to be in sence by that which calls upon him and tells him he is out of the way lying is out of the way swearing is out of the way deceit is out of the way the form of godliness without the Power is out of the way Profession without the prossession of that which is profest a Name that one lives and yet is dead as to the life of God a circumcision without when there is no circumcision within a walking as to the Law blameless and yet without law to Christ a Jew without and no Jew within a cover of Righteousness without and yet within a rotten Sepulcher full of dead mens bones an open Sepulcher a man that comes to be in the sence of this through that which calls upon him and thereby to be awakned to see the danger in which he was and so to be apprehensive of his deliverance will rejoyce at this and be comforted in this that so reprov'd
in good works and such as sin walk not in good works are not his Workmanship and those that are not his workmanship which is unto good works the fruit of Faith which is not dead but living by which those of old though dead yet speak the Vertue in them which brought forth the works the fruit unto Holiness unto Eternal life are not created in Christ Jesus So see your state all you that are here and be no longer deceived It is the Word of the Lord and so I have done with this Particular which for the sake of you I am moved to write to open their understandings because the time is neer wherein these things will be made manifest that they are so and the Door will be shut and then it will be too late to say Lord Lord open unto us For he will say depart from me I know ye not ye workers of iniquity for when once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the Door and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the Door saying Lord Lord open unto us And he shall answer and say unto you I know ye not whence ye are Then shall ye begin to say we have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets but he shall say I tell you I know ye not whence ye are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out And they shall come from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God and behold there are last which shall be first and there are first which shall be last Luke 13. 25. to the 31. And so I am clear of your blood whether ye will hear or whether you will forbear The Word of the Lord hath been often to you and his tender bowels through me and he would not have you die but live and it is the third time that I have particularly wrote to you in the movings of the Lord and my travail and my sufferings I speak of that which is not of this world have been great for you that your eyes might be opened and that ye might see where you are ere it be too late For the Lord hath known you and you have known something in you that hath given you the sence of his presence which is Christ Jesus the measure of him in you which reproves which makes manifest that draws ye to God-ward though ye have not believed that it is he and therefore have risen against the Corner Stone which ye builders have refused which is made Head of the Corner but there is no other way to God but by him Christ the Light God that quickneth the dead and calleth things that are not as if they were for that is not natural that shews Nature in the transgression and that is not of the evil one that shews evil and that is not of man in whom it is not to direct his way that leads unto God but it is of God the love of God that sent his Son into the world to redeem man and to bring him back again unto God And his work it is to deliver to set free the Captive that which is bound under sin and he that sinneth is bound to sin and to purifie and to cleanse and to make white and to break down the Partition that which is gotten between by reason of Transgression and to bring to God that so man may feel his Maker again and be joyned to him with whom nothing that is defiled can have any fellowship and sin desiles For our God is a consuming fire Heb. 13. last Now to hold that a man being chosen can never be removed from that state unto which he is chosen and that a man is justified when he is found a sinner and that he is in Christ when he is not a new Creature and he is not a new Creature whilst he is in sin old things are not past away the old man is there remaining with his lusts and deeds whose lust and deeds are sin all things are not become new and that a man is in God when he is not purged when he is not made clean and he is not made clean he is not purged that sinneth whilst he sinneth whosoever sinneth hath neither seen him neither known him John 3. 6. whilst he knoweth not nor believeth in nor is joyned to the Word of Life which dwelleth in the Saints which witnessed to God the Word that endures for ever The Word which by the Spirit is Preached unto you the Word that purifies 1 Pet. 1. last the Word that endures for ever and ye have not his Word abiding in you For whom he hath sent him ye believe not John 5. 38. The Word nigh in the mouth and in the heart which is the Word of Faith which we preach Rom. 10. 8. For the Righteousness which is of Faith speaketh on this wise Say not in thy heart who shall ascend c. But what saith it the Word is nigh thee c. vers 6. 7. So that is the Word the Word of Faith the living Word that endures for ever that cleanseth that purifies which is that which witnesses to God which abides Now are ye clean through the Word And now are ye clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you abide in me ye have not his Word abiding in you said he to the Pharisees and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of it self except it abide in the Vine no more can ye except ye abide in me in him that witnesses the Word of Life John 15. 3 4. And saith the Prophet he shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver and he shall purifie the Sons of Levi and purge them as Gold and Silver that they may offer unto him an offering in Righteousness then shall the offerings of Judah Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the dayes of old and as in the former years and I will come neer to you in Judgement and I will be a swift witness here 's the Messenger that prepares his Way before him the Messenger of the Covenant that he saith he will send whom he saith they delighted in behold he shall come saith the Lord of Hosts But who may abide the day of his coming And who shall stand when he appeareth For he shall be as Refiners fire and as Fullers soap I will be a swift Witness this is he who is the Judge of all that comes nere to Judgement that witnesseth that saith I will be a swift witness I will come neer to you to Judgement against the Sorcerers and against the Adulterers and against false Swearers and against those that oppresse the Hireling in his wages the Widdow and the