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<DATE>2007-10-20</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>SALTMARSH Returned from the Dead, <HI>In Amico Philalethe.</HI> OR, The RESURRECTION of JAMES The Apo&s;tle, Out of the Grave of Carnall Glo&s;&s;es, for the Correction of the univer&s;all Apo&s;tacy, which cruelly buryed him who yet liveth. Appearing in the comely Ornaments of his Fifth Chapter, in an Exerci&s;e, <HI>June</HI> 4. 1654. Having laid by his grave Clothes, in a de&s;pi&s;ed Village remote from <HI>ENGLAND,</HI> but wi&s;hing well, and heartily de&s;iring the true pro&s;perity thereof.</P>
<Q><BIBL>John 11. 25.</BIBL> I am the Re&s;urrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet &s;hall he live.</Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> and are to be &s;old at the black Spread-Eagle at the We&s;t-end of <HI>Pauls,</HI> 1655.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="friends in London" TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>To my honoured and beloved friends in <HI>London,</HI> who in a &s;olitary &s;ea&s;on in that populous Citie, were &s;o great refre&s;hment unto me, by their unde|&s;erved &s;ociety.</HEAD>
<P>_WHereas of late I received letters from &s;om of you, wherein I read that name, <HI>which is as an oyntment poured out,</HI> cau&s;ing the parties to whom it appeares, to fall in love therewith, carrying in it a &s;pirit which can produce a reall pre&s;ence, where there is an ab&s;ence in bodily re&s;pects: and that not only in re&s;pect of divine nature &s;imply con&s;idered, but al&s;o in point of Chri&s;tian relations and re&s;pects, which is never de&s;titute of humane, con&s;idered therein, and con|ver&s;ant therewith; otherwi&s;e, the goings forth of the &s;pirits of the Saints could not be peculiar, and di&s;tinct from that of the wicked, which the di|vine and omnipotent power reachethal&s;o; There|fore the Saints communicate in prayers, interce&s;&s;i|ons, &s;upplication, &amp; giving of thanks, &s;o as a &s;tran|ger cannot intermeddle therewith, nor with their joy ari&s;ing there-from.</P>
<P>And whereas &s;ome of you reque&s;ted mee to
<PB REF="3">
write unto you concerning the opening of a por|tion of the word of God, which &s;ome years agoe urged my &s;pirit, and put me into travell to bring forth but Satan hindered: Your letters vi&s;ited me immediately upon the employment of my &s;pirit in another portion of the word of God, which was then the proper &s;trength I walked by, which made me to think it might be a refre&s;hment unto you; which I could not lay a&s;ide, till God opened ano+ther into which I might enter. Neither could wee depart from that place till the cloud removed, in|&s;o-much that I was forcibly con&s;trained to employ my &s;elfe about the in&s;truments and &s;ervices of the Tabernacle, to bring the &s;ight thereof unto your &s;elves in the fir&s;t place.: And &s;o made bold to &s;et upon the writing of it, yea when others &s;lept, be|eau&s;e of my daily occa&s;ions; and when it was writ, I was much urged to endeavour the printing of it, that &s;o it might come to more view: and being it was written in ha&s;t, and &s;o would be tedious to read, I con&s;ented thereto; although there is nothing which I have &s;poken in publique &s;ince I &s;aw your faces, but I could as freely commend it unto you. The occa&s;ion of the Ark pitching upon this place, which me-thinks looks like <HI>Elim</HI> in this wildernes, where there are twelve fountains of water, and 70.
<PB REF="3">
Palm-trees, <HI>Numb.</HI> 33. 9. For our Apo&s;tle writes to the twelve Tribes, out of which we may draw plenty of the water of life: and there is perfection and fulne&s;s of palm trees, from which you may ga|ther plenty of branches, to carry as &s;ignes of victo|ry, not only of the abatement of that deluge of wrath, but al&s;o of overcoming <HI>by faith this pre|&s;ent world,</HI> for Faith is the victory whereby we do it. I &s;ay the occa&s;ion of the Arke pitching on this place was this;</P>
<P>We being met together to exerci&s;e our &s;elves in the word of God and prayer, there was one who occa&s;ionally named this Chap, and read &s;ome part of it, in which action the &s;cope of it &s;eemed to o|pen it &s;elf unto me; and to deale plainly and faith|fully with you, my thoughts had never been for|merly upon any part of it, &s;o as intending to ex|pre&s;&s;e my &s;elfe from it, but only as I have read it as other hi&s;tories and writings of the word of God.</P>
<P>Whereupon my &s;pirit was moved pre&s;ently to &s;peak from it what I did receive, and immediately uttered to the &s;ame effect, which I have in the fol|lowing lines commended unto you, out of my love unto you, and engagements beyond my ex|pre&s;&s;ion, moved hereunto by your loving &amp; chri|&s;tian-like letters, joyning them&s;elves unto me like
<PB REF="4">
<HI>Philip</HI> to the Chariot of the <HI>Eunuch,</HI> upon the de|livery of it, encouraging my heart hereunto, which otherwi&s;e I had not takenupon me, le&s;t it &s;hould have been thought a worke not worthy your ac|ceptance.</P>
<P>But if you plea&s;e to take the payns carefully to peru&s;e it, I doubt not but it may give occa&s;ion of further thoughts unto you, then can be expre&s;&s;ed in &s;o &s;mall a volume; it may point (as with a finger) unto &s;uch things, as to write them the world would not contayn the books, the matter being of an infinite and an eternall nature, holding proportion with <HI>Melchi&s;edech, who is without be|ginning of dayes, or end of life.</HI> Therfore the world cannot contain it, unto whom this Scripture, as un|der the motion of the cloud hath brought us, where we now abide, <HI>Heb.</HI> 7. For other place of our a|bode, I may not &s;ignifie unto you; for &s;ome of our Neighbours have profe&s;&s;ed before the &s;tate of <HI>England,</HI> that the place of our bodily aboad is a <HI>non ens,</HI> that it hath no being: and others have af|firmed that <HI>we are no people,</HI> not affording us &s;o much as God gives to the <HI>Conies,</HI> which he calls a people, though a &s;mall people, yet they make their abode in the <HI>Rocks;</HI> and it is that rock of Ages, in whom only we de&s;ire to be found, &amp; to take the&s;e
<PB REF="4">
courte&s;ie a patiently, as we do other kindne&s;&s;es under which we yet abide, as in that point of ba|ni&s;hment, only for &s;uch matters as in the follow|ing &s;peech we tender unto you.</P>
<P>Whereas you make mention of a Sermon prea|ched from the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> &s;peaking of the <HI>new heavens and the new earth,</HI> in the re&s;tauration of the Church; from which it was concluded, that &s;uch an excellent e&s;tate of <HI>Religion</HI> was to come hereafter, as never yet appeared, which &s;ome could not be &s;atisfied in &s;uch <HI>Expo&s;ition</HI> or <HI>Conclu&s;ion:</HI> we &s;ee it to be not onely the <HI>common doctrine,</HI> but <HI>deceipt</HI> al&s;o of the world, not to give Chri&s;t a pre|&s;ent being, but hold men in expectation, as in the ancient <HI>Jews, who when he appears, &s;eek his ruine,</HI> and that is the top of that &s;pirit.</P>
<P>By <HI>new heavens</HI> and <HI>new earth</HI> in that place, we under&s;tand the &s;tate of Chri&s;t, or of that <HI>holy un|ction</HI> or <HI>Christianity,</HI> that as the vi&s;ible heavens &amp; earth <HI>(to which he alludes)</HI> make a <HI>compleat</HI> and <HI>fruitfull world,</HI> even &s;o do God &amp; man in Chri&s;t make one durable and fruitfull <HI>condition, wherein righteou&s;ne&s;s dwells,</HI> as our Apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth, which according to that law of the &s;pirit, is ador|ned with infinitely more <HI>relations, operations,</HI> and vertues then all the Creations in Heaven and Earth can &s;et forth, which hee calls new,
<PB REF="5">
not with re&s;pect unto the&s;e vi&s;ible, but with re&s;pect unto that oldne&s;&s;e of the letter, and admi|ni&s;trations according to the <HI>carnall Command,</HI> wch the Apo&s;tle calls old, becau&s;e it is weak, fading, and ready to vani&s;h away, and &s;o is called <HI>the olde heavens, &amp; the old earth that pa&s;&s;e away,</HI> and that Mini&s;try which exerci&s;eth according to that, being ever con&s;cientious of the pre&s;ent want of the glo|ry and power of God in it, is con&s;trained to form a time to come, which will attayn thereunto, or el&s;e it could gayn no acceptation in the world, but through Conception of hopes which are like the &s;piders web.</P>
<P>But the Mini&s;try of the &s;pirit according to that word of life, gives pre&s;ent being to the thing it expre&s;&s;eth, or el&s;e it carries not in it that power of God, the nature of who&s;e word was ever &s;o to do, and ever will be, and they are &s;ayd to be new.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>becau&s;e of the ground thereof, for they re|new them&s;elves only by meanes of that which is an|tiquity it &s;elfe; for in the unity of God and man in the faith of Chri&s;t, the &s;pirit of God being an infi|nite fountaine, mu&s;t ever give out it &s;elfe by new operations, and not as one in want, to gather up a|gaine the &s;ame thing in all re&s;pects con&s;idered, in which he hath been formerly exerci&s;ed, no more then
<PB REF="5">
a living fountaine gathers up the &s;ame water al|ready vented to di&s;tribute it againe: and by rea&s;on of this infinite and eternity of &s;pirit and life, the &s;oule of a Chri&s;tian, or this &s;pirituall &s;tate and con|dition in Christ, is in an eternall act of newne&s;&s;e, like that new commandement that the Apo&s;tle writes of, and that old commandement which is from the beginning.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>they are new according their manner of being; for in what point of the Go&s;pel &s;oever Chri&s;t is made, it &s;tands of as firm grounds of aboad, and as impo&s;&s;ible to remove as heaven and earth: and we know that the very nature of the earth e&s;tabli&s;heth it &s;elfe in its repayring unto the Center, in &s;uch &s;ort hath God e&s;tabli&s;hed the &s;tate of his &s;ons &amp; daugh|ters; and yet when another point of the Go&s;pel is made manife&s;t, it is upon like ground, but to be ta|ken in as differing a re&s;pect, and variety of furni|ture and glory, as though it were another world, and &s;o in every appearance of Chri&s;t, it hath his whole and compleat condition comprehended and compri|zed in the &s;ame, as the whole world is in the hea|vens and the earth, for Chri&s;t, or chri&s;tianity is ne|ver piece-meal'd.</HI></P>
<P>As for example; <HI>If he be revealed as Father, with re&s;pect to a Son, it hath the whole furniture
<PB REF="6">
of heaven and earth, the whole e&s;tate of Chri&s;t, as Husband with re&s;pect to a Spou&s;e, there is the furniture of the whole world; for it is Chri&s;t who is all in all, if as King, with re&s;pect to &s;ub|jects, there is whole Chri&s;t, all chri&s;tianity is to be found there imbodyed: and &s;o in all points what&s;o|ever, el&s;e Chri&s;t is not preached as all in every thing; no office or operation of Chri&s;t, but it hath in it whole Chri&s;t, and &s;o ought to be revealed, el&s;e we preach a humane Christ, and not divine, a car|nall Chri&s;t, and not a &s;pirituall.</HI></P>
<P><HI>And where it is &s;ayd, the new heavens and the new earth which I</HI> will make; <HI>the word may as truly be read, which</HI> I do make, <HI>or which</HI> I have made: <HI>For it is Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, and to day, and the &s;ame for ever.</HI></P>
<P><HI>So that as the &s;tate of Chri&s;t which is the eter|nall Son, mu&s;t needs remayn, &s;o &s;hall the fruitfull condition of this estate, therefore their name and their &s;eed mu&s;t remayn, like heaven in name or au|thority, for operation or power: and as the earth, to conceive &amp; bring forth the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;s, as that which is ever in motion, for the renewing of the glory and fame thereof,: but I doubt not but &s;omething in the &s;peech following will give farther light to this point, then now we have time to mani|fe&s;t.
<PB REF="6">
Only note thus much; that &s;uch Doctrine as &s;ets forth a time to come, of more worth and glory then either is, or hath been; &s;uch Doctrine keeps the</HI> Manna <HI>till to morrow, to the breeding of wormes in it: Yea it hath in it that worm that dyes not for if Chri&s;t our Pa&s;s-over be eaten according to the law of the &s;pirit, there is nothing to be left till the mor|ning: And if it be the bread that comes downe from heaven, it mu&s;t be compleatly eaten at pre&s;ent, and there wil be no want to morrow, for it fals anew, &amp; afre&s;h, otherwi&s;e the word of God, that food of hea|ven is corrupted, by re&s;erving that for to morrow, which belongs to this pre&s;ent day: and in the &s;ixe dayes labour, in the operations of God, we have plenty to feed on; In the &s;eventh, as a ce&s;&s;ation from all our own works, keeping a perfect Sabboth unto God, &s;o that the kingdome of Chri&s;t is to be declared, and whole po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and pre&s;ent enjoyment given, and yet it is a Kingdome to come: So that wee have it in expectation as to come, as well as we fetch it up from that eternall e&s;tate of the Son, to give it a pre|&s;ent being; for if wee have it not as from the fir&s;t, and to the la&s;t, we give it not its pre&s;ent being, and then uo Kingdome of Chri&s;t; for no man can make him the fir&s;t and the la&s;t, that is, eternize the Son, but he mu&s;t give him a pre&s;ent being without inter|mi&s;&s;ion of a moment of time.</HI></P>
<P><PB REF="7" MS="y">
<HI>Dear friends, let me intreat you to read and con|&s;ider, and lend mee your help in the way of interpre|tation, for there is no le&s;&s;e need of that in him that hears, then in him that &s;peaks; in him that reads, then in him that writes, for the light mu&s;t &s;hine in him that heares, or reads, as well as in him that &s;peaks or writes, or el&s;e it is not fruitfull unto him. For we &s;ee by that light &s;et up in our &s;elves, which God hath made our owne, and not as the &s;ame light is in another: Therefore if you gather any comfor|table fruit from what is &s;ayd, let it be as your owne worke by the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, and not as mine. I have only endeavoured to put the</HI> Manna <HI>into the Arke, and there only you &s;hall find it, compleatly in the pot, like the oyle in the cru&s;e, and meale in the barrell, la&s;ting to pre&s;erve life, and incorrupted unto this day: Which if any thing that is &s;ayd may &s;eem to direct you unto, then I have my reward, and &s;o I humbly take my leave, and ever remayne yours in all &s;ervices of love, in our only beloved.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>S. G</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="friends in King's Lynn" TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>To my much re&s;pected and honou|red friends in and about <HI>Lynne</HI> in <HI>Norfolke,</HI> in whom I have perceived grave and joyfull Ac|clamations at the publication of the Go&s;pel.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Deare and loving friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_YOur carriage towards me, or rather to|wards the truth of God, was &s;uch, when I was for a &s;hort time among you, that it is a &s;ufficient engagement to bind me over for ever to be yours. Doe not thinke, that my not writing unto you, being at &s;uch a di&s;tance, is any abatement of my love and re|&s;pect: No, it hath rather kindled my heart, and fil|led it with employments otherwi&s;e towards you, which hath not cea&s;ed continually to pa&s;&s;e over the great Ocean to conver&s;e with you in &s;pirit, &amp; with God Almighty on your behalfe, whom I love in the truth, and it would be the joy of my &s;oule to heare of your pro&s;perity therein, which I may not doubt of, or call it into que&s;tion.</P>
<P>And it would not a little revive me, if the Lord plea&s;ed to cut out a way thereto, to &s;ee your faces be|fore I fall a&s;leep, and cea&s;e to conver&s;e with the&s;e terrene things.</P>
<P><PB REF="8">
I cannot in the meane &s;ea&s;on but commend the&s;e few following lines unto your Chri&s;tian con&s;iderati|on; which if they were the la&s;t words I were to breath out in this world, I could as a legacy freely commit and bequeath them unto you.</P>
<P>You may plea&s;e to &s;ee in the former Epi&s;tle, what occa&s;ioned them to come &s;o farre abroad, and not to &s;eem to abide within the confines of a few de&s;pi&s;ed people, as the re&s;t of our poore endeavours &s;eem to take up, and make it their aboad. Vouch&s;afe your payns to read them I be&s;eech you, as a token of my unfeigned love, and li&s;ten unto God for interpretati|on, who wil not faile to be a light unto you, and in them: You &s;hall &s;ee what manner of food my &s;oule lives by in this remote wilderne&s;&s;e, which I doubt not but will be reli&s;hed by you, though in a populous Town or Citie.</P>
<P>Now the God of peace fill you with all peace and joy in believing,</P>
<CLOSER>Amen.</CLOSER>
<CLOSER>So prayeth he who is ever yours,
<SIGNED>S. G.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="8">
<HEAD>AN EXPOSITION UPON The Fifth CHAPTER of JAMES.</HEAD>
<P>_FIRST, Ob&s;erve the Coherence and connex|ion of this Chapter, with that which goeth immediately before, wherein our Apo&s;tle tells us what is the proper &s;pirit, and pra|ctice of the men of this world, who are de|&s;cribed unto us by their &s;eeking after car|nal and corruptible riches, in the neglect of the durable and unfading trea&s;ury.</P>
<P>Therefore they re&s;olve in the latter end of the former Chap|ter, <HI>to goe out into &s;uch a City, and to buy and &s;ell, and get gaine;</HI> that is, to ca&s;t them&s;elves into &s;uch a forme and order, wherein through their exchange and traffique in the things proper to a creeature, they may get an advantage to advance them&s;elves as &s;uch as are more excellent and eminent then others, and yet in the meane time are ignorant of the event and &s;ucce&s;&s;e of things; <HI>for they know not what will be to morrow,</HI> that is, what i&s;&s;ue is ine|vitably annexed to their works and endeavours:</P>
<P>For he declares unto them, that they are as uncertain of the i&s;|&s;ue as they are of their life, <HI>which is but as a vapour,</HI> or as a breath
<PB N="2" REF="9">
(as the word &s;ignifies) that vani&s;heth in the ayre and comes to nought: So uncertayne is every carnall man of his owne &s;pirit what it is, or what will become of it, <HI>though it grows up with him, and is of him, and he cannot be &s;eparated from it;</HI> yet knows he not what it is, nor the thing whereby he maintains it; being the very vani&s;hing of the life and &s;pirit of the Son of God, through the in|&s;inuations and wiles of that Serpent and evill one, of who&s;e con|&s;titution, &s;pirit and practice he him&s;elf is, preferring things &s;ub|ject to carnall &s;ence of greate&s;t excellency and mo&s;t to be de|&s;ired.</P>
<P><HI>Whereas they ought to &s;ay, if the Lord will we &s;hall live and do this or that;</HI> that is, the thing to be &s;ought after, is the <HI>will,</HI> or <HI>law</HI> of God, even <HI>that law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord,</HI> whereby we live and receceive ability to do every good and acceptable thing.</P>
<P>But contrarily, <HI>they glory in their boa&s;tings;</HI> that is, they glory, rejoyce, and make it their only trea&s;ure to prai&s;e them&s;elves, as the word <HI>boa&s;t</HI> &s;ignifies; that is, they count the things proper to the creature to be their chief trea&s;ure and excellency, and not the things of the Creator.</P>
<P><HI>All &s;uch rejoycing</HI> or <HI>glorying</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is evill;</HI> that is to &s;ay, is of that evill one, namely the Devill.</P>
<P>Whence he infers, <HI>That he that knows to do good, and doth it not, to him it is &s;inne;</HI> that is, he that cannot but acknowledg that the things that are of God, which fade not, nor vani&s;h away, are the chiefe and principall good to be de&s;ired and &s;ought after, and pre|&s;erved above the things of the Creature, and accordingly to be rejoyced and gloryed in, in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them, and yet not|with&s;tanding he chiefly prefers and glories in the things of the Creature more then they; this is the &s;in of the world, that idoli|zing of the Creature, and &s;etting it in the place of the Creator, which is <HI>not to do,</HI> or <HI>not to be;</HI> that goodne&s;&s;e that is of God, but is properly the evill of that wicked one: For who knowes not that it is good to &s;eek after, and to have erected the be&s;t Citie or|der, to be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the riche&s;t trea&s;ure; to be encamped in the &s;tronge&s;t Ho&s;t, to be inve&s;ted with the wi&s;e&s;t Councell, and to be honoured with the mo&s;t Princely dignity.</P>
<P>And yet who is it, that prefers, and principally endeavours af|ter in all his travells and negotiations, that order compo&s;ed of
<PB N="3" REF="9">
God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, <HI>that Citie of the living God,</HI> the chiefe&s;t and mo&s;t eminent order that ever was, who is it that trades for tho&s;e trea&s;ures con&s;i&s;ting of tho&s;e divine and &s;upereminent excellencies compiled and topped up in that inexhau&s;tible Store-hou&s;e of the Sonne of God: and who is he that imbodyeth him&s;elfe in that Army con&s;i&s;ting of <HI>that hundred forty and foure thou&s;and following the Lamb on mount Zion,</HI> bearing the flagge of their Fathers power and authority written in their fore-heads, openly proclaiming their courage and magnanimity to be of God, and not of man? and where is he that prefers, and is found in <HI>that generall A&s;&s;embly of the fir&s;t born of God,</HI> as the choi&s;e&s;t coun&s;ell and mo&s;t grave advice ex|tant, having an equall Royalty and intere&s;t in all things that concern the government of the Kingdome, and of <HI>that Citie, ha|ving a foundation, who&s;e builder and maker is God.</HI></P>
<P>In a word, put all the&s;e things together, and what&s;oever is re|ally and eternally good, <HI>in that one Chri&s;t of God,</HI> who is the foun|taine and al&s;o the Center to which all things tend and &s;tand on tip-toe to &s;tretch them&s;elves unto him, that are of God.</P>
<P>And who is he that knows not that Chri&s;t Je&s;us, <HI>who is God ble&s;&s;ed for ever,</HI> is the chiefe and mo&s;t de&s;irable good to be gloryed in, and yet do it not, <HI>&s;uch are concluded under &s;inne</HI> by the verdict of the &s;pirit of God in our Apo&s;tle; that is, &s;uch as know the be&s;t thing is to be preferred and &s;ought for, though with the neglect and lo&s;&s;e of all other things <HI>(as he that found the pearl in the field, &amp; &s;old all that hee had to purcha&s;e that field)</HI> even &s;o he that cannot but confe&s;&s;e God to be be&s;t of all, and yet prefers his traffique in &s;ome other things before his attaynment of that, yea cau&s;ing the things of God to &s;tand a&s;ide and give way to his vaine and lofty lu&s;ts (of what nature or kind &s;oever) to &s;atisfie them: That man doth not the good which he acknowledgeth, or as the word will beare, <HI>he is it not;</HI> that is, he is not of the faith of Je&s;us, he is not &s;tated in the condition of the Son of God, who &s;eeks only to do the will of the Father, and prefers and glories in that above all things; and he that doth not that, he is of that evill one, and doth the things that are proper unto him, being under the &s;tate and power of &s;inne, which is as a tran&s;ition into the fifth Chapter.</P>
<P>Wherein ob&s;erve two things.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> The generall &s;cope.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Secondly,</HI> The particular parts of it.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1"><PB N="4" REF="10">
1. For the &s;cope or end to which the purpo&s;e of the Spirit is directed, and that is the death or crucification of the Son of God, that <HI>Ju&s;t one,</HI> as he is intitled, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 6. And he that &s;hall take the &s;cope and dri&s;t to be otherwi&s;e, he mi&s;&s;eth of that mark which the Spirit of God directs unto, and &s;hoots his &s;hafts in vaine, and this death is layd down unto us, and for us in a double re&s;pect.</P>
<P N="2">2. For the parts of this Chapter, and they are properly four.</P>
<P N="1">1. The fir&s;t &s;ets down unto us, the death of Chri&s;t as he is cru|cified in the world, <HI>by wicked hands,</HI> or corrupt admini&s;trations through the lu&s;ts of men, unto the decay and death of <HI>that law of the &s;pirit of life (which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord)</HI> in, and by the men of the world, as once the body of Je&s;us was crucified and kil|led doctrinally, by tho&s;e wicked Jews and all &s;orts of people then united in one, and this is contained from the fir&s;t <HI>ver&s;e</HI> to the &s;e|venth.</P>
<P N="2">2. It containes the depth of the Lord Je&s;us, as he is crucified to the world in re&s;pect of the fle&s;h; that is, to all carnall and cor|rupt things contained in <HI>the law of the carnall commandement, and hand writing of humane Ordinancs which is again&s;t us, and therefore nailed unto his Cro&s;&s;e:</HI> And thus he is &s;laine in the Saints, even in all the Subjects that appertaine and belong to his Kingdome, which con&s;i&s;ts not of the matters and affaires of this pre&s;ent world, and this is expre&s;&s;ed from <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 7. to the 12.</P>
<P N="3">3. It gives out an eminent and univer&s;all Prohibition, back|ed with an exhortation, together with the danger en&s;uing the not ob&s;erving thereof, and that is contained in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 12.</P>
<P N="4">4. It &s;ets beforre us, or rather romidgeth our hearts to finde out in us, and to bring forth by us tho&s;e excellent and admira|ble fruits which &s;pring up in the godly from the death of Chri&s;t, and ob&s;ervation of the prohibition above&s;aid. The <HI>Irradian</HI> beames whereof are &s;hed forth from <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 12. to the end of the E|pi&s;tle.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t of the death of Chri&s;t, as he is crucified in the world, in re&s;pect of his proper &s;pirit and vertue, &amp; that by wicked hands and admini&s;trations both of Jewes and Gentiles, that is, &s;uch as are &s;trict in Religion according to the literall command and hi|&s;toricall notion, being engaged thereto by that &s;pirit of bondage, and of fear, and others loo&s;e and licentious, not having the bond of the &s;pirit of God upon them. But u&s;ing the liberty of the Go|&s;pell
<PB N="5" REF="10">
as an occa&s;ion to the fle&s;h, <HI>&s;urreptitiou&s;ly</HI> encouraging them|&s;elves thereby to all exce&s;&s;e of ryot in the inordinate u&s;e of carnal and vani&s;hing things that peri&s;h in the u&s;e, and this is done by men of all ranks and qualities, that are not become one in that chiefe and principal goodnes; reckoning them&s;elves as nothing in account, but as them&s;elves; their place, authority, and dignity takes its being, and is &s;ummed up in that State, office, and dig|nity of the Sonne of God, otherwi&s;e they are &s;uch as glory and boa&s;t in them&s;elves, which rejoycing is evil, namely of that wick|ed one; wherefore he &s;aith, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 1.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 1. Go too now yee rich men, weepe and howle for your mi&s;eries that &s;hall come upon you.</HEAD>
<P>OUr Apo&s;tle here expre&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe to the wealthy of the world as rich men, or collectively (Rich man) as of all in one; that is, <HI>man of Sin,</HI> or <HI>men of Belial,</HI> who greed and gripe after all manner of good (fal&s;ely &s;o called) in the neglect of that one and alone goodne&s;&s;e in Chri&s;t, <HI>that one thing nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> that better or be&s;t part, which can never be taken from him, who choo&s;eth it as his chiefe and only trea&s;ure.</P>
<P>But to make choi&s;e of, and to rejoyce and glory in, as an on|ly and rich trade and trea&s;ure be&s;ides that, is to &s;tiflle in them|&s;elves, and &s;uffocate the life and &s;pirit of the Lord Je&s;us, which is thereby extinct, and in them breaths not.</P>
<P>He bids them therefore, <HI>Go too now,</HI> or come on, as if he would encourage them in their cour&s;e. A like phra&s;e is u&s;ed, <HI>Gen.</HI> 11. at the building of <HI>Babell, Go too now,</HI> or come on; give a word of exhortation and encouragement one to another for the fur|therance of your worke: As if he &s;hould &s;ay, Take your liberty, u&s;e your accu&s;tomed trade and traffique to get and gather in a|bundance of your corruptible riches, that moth and ru&s;t can &s;eize upon; and &s;pare no pains, mi&s;&s;e of no opportunity to make your &s;elves excellent, and glory in it; only with this provi&s;o, namely that you will a&s;&s;ure your &s;elves of the income and proper re|turn, together with your adventure, and this your practice, up|on that condition, take your be&s;t advantage, and full &s;winge in your cour&s;e, for the ju&s;t re&s;i&s;ts you not, as is expre&s;&s;ed, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 6.
<PB N="7" REF="11">
For the Go&s;pel of God is not a hinderer of wickedne&s;&s;e in the men of <HI>Belial,</HI> no more then the &s;op which Chri&s;t gave to <HI>Judas,</HI> together with his &s;peech thereupon, <HI>What thou do&s;t do it quickly,</HI> hindered him not in the execution of &s;o trayterous an office; for <HI>it is a &s;avour of death unto death</HI> unto the unbelievers, and of no le&s;&s;e power to accompli&s;h it, through that &s;pirit which is in the world, then it is of vertue to be a favour of life unto life in the Saints through that &s;pirit which is in them: And it is as unpo&s;&s;i|ble that one member of that body of &s;inne &s;hould come to the knowledg of the truth, as it is that any one of the cho&s;en of God &s;hould be deceived with errour and wiles of Sathan, which Chri&s;t affirms <HI>it is unpo&s;&s;ible they &s;hould be deceived.</HI></P>
<P>For as Chri&s;t keeps his family intire and compleat, <HI>So that none of them is lo&s;t but that &s;onne of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,</HI> in point of wrath proportionable to grace and mercy, which &s;onne of perdition (comprehending all the children of de&s;truction) was lo&s;t once and for ever.</P>
<P>Even &s;o doth <HI>Antichri&s;t</HI> mayntaine his intere&s;t in all the &s;eed of the Serpent, and parteth with none, only that <HI>lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, as a brand is plucked out of the fire,</HI> being found to be one of the flock of God once and for ever.</P>
<P>No marvell then, though our Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Go too now,</HI> unto the wicked and wealthy (in point of Phari&s;aical excellencies) for as the &s;tate of death and darkne&s;&s;e di&s;covered by the Go&s;pel, doth &s;harpen and provoke the godly unto joy &amp; thankfulne&s;s for their deliverance and e&s;cape therefrom: Even &s;o doth the &s;tate of life and peace di&s;covered in the Saints by the &s;ame Go&s;pel &s;harpen &amp; provoke the wicked to enmity and de&s;pair, which is the expelling of the &s;pirit of God, &amp; <HI>quenching the &s;ame</HI> in them&s;elves: Therefore he bids them <HI>weep &amp; howl for the mi&s;ery that cometh upon them;</HI> here|by, and by weeping he &s;ignifies unto them the departure and lo&s;s of all good, even that life of the Lord Je&s;us, <HI>whom they crucifie a|fre&s;h unto them&s;elves, and make a mock of him,</HI> in who&s;e life all good|ne&s;&s;e is trea&s;ured up, and comprehended, which unto them <HI>is va|ni&s;hed as a vapour;</HI> therefore he bids them <HI>weepe,</HI> for the lo&s;&s;e of good cau&s;eth tears: and by howling, he minds them of that pre&s;ent wrath and torture which abides upon them, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth them; which however it may lye as <HI>Dormant</HI> for a time, yet this &s;in of
<PB N="6" REF="11">
killing Chr&s;t in the Spirit, is the &s;ame with that of <HI>Caines</HI> killing his brother, and lies at the door, as the proper and only in-let of the deluge of Gods wrath into the &s;oule, and indeed into the world.</P>
<P>For it cuts off the Sonne of God from being propagated and brought forth in the world, according to the &s;pirit and power proper to him&s;elfe: as that wicked act of <HI>Cain</HI> cut him off from being brought forth in his geneologie after the fle&s;h, in the way of <HI>Abel,</HI> and &s;o makes a nullity of <HI>Schin,</HI> that makes all things, and therefore mu&s;t have all guilt in it, which is the doore and in-let for execution of vengeance: Therefore he adds, <HI>for the mi|&s;ery that &s;hall come upon you;</HI> or as the word may be read in the pre|&s;ent ten&s;e, <HI>is come upon you;</HI> For in the&s;e twain, that is to &s;ay, in the lo&s;&s;e of all good, and the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of all evill, perfect mi&s;ery and wretchedne&s;&s;e doth con&s;i&s;t. The word tran&s;lated <HI>Howle</HI> in the Hebrew is <HI>Shadad,</HI> and &s;ignifies to de&s;troy; of which <HI>Zadai</HI> is de|rived, a title given unto God &s;ignifying power, or Almighty; and here is an elegant allu&s;ion unto the etymologie of the origi|nall phra&s;e u&s;ed by the Prophets, &s;ignifying unto us, that no le&s;s then Gods Almighty power is exerci&s;ed and put forth to the ut|mo&s;t, in the &s;cattering and de&s;truction of all &s;uch as &s;tifle the Son of God in the breathings of his holy Spirit in them&s;elves, by pre|ferring &amp; glorying in other things before it; or as it is in others, by vilifying, contemning, and per&s;ecuting it, whereupon the next phra&s;e is brought in, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 2. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.</HEAD>
<P>THat is, all the &s;ub&s;tance they enjoy, boa&s;t of, and glory in, is putrified and changed from that which otherwi&s;e, and el&s;e-where it is, for they adulterate the holy word of God unto them|&s;elves, by &s;ubjecting and pro&s;trating the &s;ame unto their owne lu&s;ts, of pride, cruelty, and vain-glory, as though &s;uch things were the naturall fruits of it; they bring them forth, and al&s;o nouri&s;h and fo&s;ter them by it, as a Harlot doth a child in an a|dulterous way; that is, after the way of the <HI>letter,</HI> that kills, and not in the way of the Spirit, that gives out the life of the Lord Je|&s;us.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="12">
Therefore it is that above he calls them <HI>adulterers and adultere&s;|&s;es,</HI> telling them <HI>that the love of the world is enmity with God,</HI> that is, that which the world counts <HI>love</HI> in the height and top of affecti|on, is the proper malice and enmity of <HI>Caine,</HI> whereby he kills and crucifies him who is not a&s;hamed to call his Saints brethren, <HI>being fle&s;h of their fle&s;h, and bone of their bone.</HI></P>
<P>And we mu&s;t know that there is a unity in the Harlot, as well as in the true E&s;pou&s;all: <HI>For hee that is joyned unto an harlot is one fle&s;h, for two (&s;aith he) &s;hall be one fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>By twaine there, is not meant creature and creature joyned together, but God and the Creature are become one in that way of the harlot; that is, they are become one carnall, corrupt, and &s;infull e&s;tate; for there is as neere a unity between God and man, in that man of Sin unto all unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in prophaning all the holy things of God unto de&s;truction, in which the holy one is cleare from being a proper actor or agent in any of them all, as there is in Chri&s;t that man of God, unto all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, by &s;etting &s;infull man apart to all honour in &s;alvation, whereby <HI>being joyned unto the Lord, is made one &s;pirit with him;</HI> that is, they twayn are but one holy, happy, and righteous e&s;tate and condition, wherein man is excluded from being any proper a|gent or actor, as in any thing proper and naturall to the Crea|ture: So that man putrifies and corrupts the Son of God in him|&s;elfe through principles and aptitudes of mind proper to a Crea|ture, but not unto God, &s;ubjecting the things of God to the law of the carnall Commandement, naturally ingraffed and writ|ten in mans &s;pirit, which is the law of &s;in and death.</P>
<P>And God &s;anctifies and makes holy man in him&s;elfe through principles and aptitudes proper to the Creator him&s;elfe, and not unto the Creature, by &s;ubjecting it to the will of God according to his wi&s;dome, which is that &s;tate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and law of the &s;pirit of life, which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord.</P>
<P>The proper riches and excellencies of the world then are cor|rupted, and are become the proper <HI>mammon of iniquitie;</HI> for how|ever they may count upon truth to come within the compa&s;&s;e of their e&s;tates and reckonings, to advance their excellencies there|by, yet it is corrupted unto them, for <HI>they have changed the truth of God into a lye.</HI></P>
<P>Indeed they lay claime to Je&s;us as a Saviour, on whom they
<PB N="9" REF="12">
hang all their vani&s;hing, carnall, and Spider-web like hopes. But he is corrupted, and as a moth in them, being become <HI>Sha|dad,</HI> or <HI>Shedim,</HI> a wa&s;ter and de&s;troyer.</P>
<P>They monopolize Churches and Congregations of God unto them&s;elves, but they are corrupted, and are become Synagogues of Satan, and an a&s;&s;embly of evill doers.</P>
<P>For they are no true Church of Chri&s;t, or congregation of the fir&s;t born of God (who&s;e names are recorded in heaven) that &s;o expound the word of God, as they can but apply &s;ome one part thereof as their pre&s;ent ornament and furniture, for they may as well (as indeed they do) lay a&s;ide &s;ome part of Chri&s;t for the pre|&s;ent, and &s;o divide him, and make a nullity of him, as to lay a&s;ide &s;ome part of the word of God, as not in pre&s;ent u&s;e in their dayes, being a garment not holding proportion with their com|po&s;ed body.</P>
<P>But the true Church knowes that the end of the Law is Chri&s;t, and can tell how to adorn it &s;elfe in all ages, with tho&s;e ancient orders extant in <HI>Abrahams</HI> family, as al&s;o with all the ornaments exerci&s;ed among&s;t tho&s;e Princely Tribes, or Scepters of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> as under the conduct of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron, Caleb</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;huah, Deborah</HI> and <HI>Barak, David</HI> and <HI>Samuel,</HI> Chri&s;t and the Di&s;ciples, the Apo|&s;tles and all Nations.</P>
<P>Yea, and as under the conduct and mini&s;tery of that Angelical con&s;titution and order &s;et forth unto them in that book of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> that all &s;hall harmonize and agree as one joyfull and triumphant &s;ong, and &s;hout of deliverance, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;alvation.</P>
<P>And when the Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e lends his irradian beames through any of the&s;e bright clouds of witne&s;&s;e, commending it &s;elfe unto us in any of tho&s;e particular wayes of admini&s;tration, wherein the Saints of God have been exhaled and gathered up in|to unity and intimacy with the Lord: Yea, when any of the Saints do Evangelize out of any of the fore-named Admini&s;trati|ons, they can effectually and a&s;&s;umptively expre&s;s that &s;ignificant word <HI>Selab;</HI> which in a way of a&s;&s;everation, as al&s;o of elevation of the &s;ame thing, affirms it to have a pre&s;ent being, and reall ap|pearance, abiding without any end or ce&s;&s;ation thereof, of which nature the things proper to the Son of God exi&s;t.</P>
<P>And of &s;uch nature is the word of God in all its wayes of ad|mini&s;tration,
<PB N="10" REF="13">
being rightly interpreted; and &s;uch as manife&s;t and declare it otherwi&s;e, they may indeed a&s;&s;ume the riches and glory of a Church, and boa&s;t of it as the&s;e do, but it is a corrup|ted, a vani&s;hing, and vaporous one.</P>
<P>Therefore he &s;aith, <HI>That their garments are motheaten,</HI> that is, all their honourable Ornaments, wherein the Mini&s;ter for the en|crea&s;e and deifying of their corrupted trea&s;ure, are inervated, and voyd of vertue; for the very &s;ub&s;tance, pith, and marrow of them is con&s;umed and wa&s;ted: &s;o that when &s;hee put them on to appeare glorious, then their nakedne&s;&s;e appears to all men, &s;o <HI>as they glory in their &s;hame through minding earthly things.</HI></P>
<P>It is a gorgeous garment the world puts on in that point of its Mini&s;try con&s;i&s;ting of an imputed Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, re&s;ident in another, but not in him that confe&s;&s;eth it; this garment hath lyen &s;o long in that Arke of Tradition, that it is moth-eaten, the &s;trength and vertue of it is taken away, and it was brought out of the trea&s;ury of a carnal Chri&s;t, who is &s;ometimes pre&s;ent with, and &s;ometimes remote from his Church. So that in his ab&s;ence they are forced to form unto them&s;elves an imaginary righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e; for it is a meer <HI>Emedullatus,</HI> the pith and marrow of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e is taken away.</P>
<P>For that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is profe&s;&s;ed out of, or at a di|&s;tance from the &s;pirit of Chri&s;tianity, when or in whom&s;oever that &s;pirit appears, is not the rigteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of him who is really pre&s;ent with, or in his Saints <HI>to the end of the world,</HI> that is, to the ending and vani&s;hing of all &s;uch worldly and carnall concep|tions in the publication of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>For if we give another form to the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, differing in the nature, efficacy, or dignity in the profe&s;&s;or, from that which it is in the profe&s;&s;ed, it is not the <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is by the faith of the &s;onne of God.</HI></P>
<P>For as faith is alike reall and re&s;ident in all that come unto God, even &s;o is righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and <HI>He that comes unto God, mu&s;t beleeve that God is;</HI> that is, that he is that to him, or in him, that he comes unto him; for what ever it is, which is that glorious reward or end given, or accompli&s;hed in all the diligent &s;eekers of him; never did any come to God but by faith, for it is the hy|po&s;ta&s;is, or being of God and man in one and the &s;ame conditi|on; for it is &s;aid of our &s;piritual <HI>David, He believed, and therefore he &s;pake; we al&s;o believe, and we al&s;o &s;peake.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="11" REF="13">
Faith never differed in nature, form and vertue in any, for then it were not of God, but of the Creature, no more doth righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e; for where the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God admits of di&s;tin|ction in the &s;ame relation and re&s;pect, as in point of ju&s;tification, if the man Chri&s;t or Je&s;us &s;tand righteous before God, by a righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e in him&s;elfe; that is, in that individuall, and the Saints of God &s;tand righteous by that which is in another, and not in that individuall ju&s;tified; that is not the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, it is not the &s;implicity of him, but is made a compound; Chri&s;t is made voyd to &s;uch.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t differs not in any of his excellencies whereever they are in u&s;e, nor did he ever come <HI>to deny the inheritance between bre|thren,</HI> but to &s;tate the whole Kingdome entirely as upon one only &s;onne, in whom &s;oever po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth any part thereof, even as the fir&s;t-born of God: but if the world &s;hould not go upon mans principles to make one man as a Monarch in heaven, it would harldly maintaine the Monarchies upon the earth.</P>
<P>But as it is in the kingdome of God, &s;o it is in all the things of God, and <HI>his kingdome is an everla&s;ting kingdome,</HI> and &s;o is his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; but the Doctors of the world have no u&s;e of their imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; when once their inherent &s;anctity is perfected, they may as well put an end to the Kingdome of God, and become companions of the bruit bea&s;ts, as to put an end to the u&s;e of any thing that appertayns and belongs to the Sonne of God in his Saints.</P>
<P>We conclude therefore, that imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in the worlds acceptation is a moth-eaten garment, a meer phylo&s;o|phicall di&s;tinction of Antichri&s;t, to delude the world.</P>
<P>Of like worth is the garment of their &s;anctification, wherein they &s;o confidently enwrap them&s;elves, for they hold it to be a holine&s;&s;e &s;ubject to increa&s;e and diminution; and then it mu&s;t be a creature-like holine&s;&s;e, and not a God-like, which is holine&s;&s;e of truth, or the truth of holine&s;&s;e, which is not found but in the Son of God, which cannot admit of abatements, for that is pro|per to a creature from who&s;e &s;trength proceeds all their power of performances.</P>
<P>Againe, the holine&s;&s;e profe&s;&s;ed by the world (that is by car|nall men) may have the vertue and office of Prayer in it, but not of prophe&s;ie al&s;o: and it may have the vertue &amp; office of pro|phe&s;ie
<PB N="12" REF="14">
in it, but not the vertue of healing al&s;o; this is a moth-ea|ten holine&s;&s;e, the vertue and power of the Son of God is eaten out of it, Chri&s;t is crucified in &s;uch according to the &s;pirit.</P>
<P>For take away one of the vertues of Chri&s;t, and they all va|ni&s;h, for he is that bundle of life bound up without parting, or any &s;eparation: His ve&s;ture is &s;eamele&s;&s;e, and goes all one way by lot and inheritance, whether it be the robe of mercy in his, or the garment of vengeance in them that &s;o crucifie him, it may not be divided.</P>
<P>So that he who denies a Chri&s;tian to have power and authori|ty from God to publi&s;h and preach unto the world the my&s;tery of &s;alvation contained in the Go&s;pel, may as well deny him power to pray, or to believe, or the grace of remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;ins, expre&s;&s;ed and declared in tho&s;e glad tidings.</P>
<P>For the grace of Chri&s;t is as truly collective in the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of it, as di&s;tributive; who&s;oever therefore receives freely, that party hath a like vertue al&s;o freely to give.</P>
<P>Moreover <HI>the world (who by wi&s;dome know not God)</HI> teach by that wi&s;dome that a Chri&s;tian may be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with, and have the en|joyment of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, that holy &s;pirit of the Son of God, and yet the humane nature of Chri&s;t not pre&s;ent, but who|ly ab&s;ent and remote in another place; the&s;e men may a&s;wel up|on like ground profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be members of Chri&s;t, but not of his body; for of his Saints he &s;aith, <HI>Ye are fle&s;h, of my fle&s;h, and bone of my bone,</HI> not of another.</P>
<P>So that the two natures in Chri&s;t (according to the my&s;tery of &s;alvation in the Go&s;pel) are of the &s;ame extent that his my&s;ticall body is, and are co-apparent to the wi&s;dome of God in whom&s;o|ever it is.</P>
<P>For the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t never uttered or manife&s;ted it &s;elfe, but as the &s;on of &s;orry man utters and manife&s;ts him&s;elfe in, and by &s;uch principles and abtitudes as are proper and peculiar to the living and eternall God, taking their being and form from the wi&s;dome and power of God, and not from the policie and power of a creature; for without the <HI>Coagulation</HI> of the&s;e twayn, there is no &s;pirit of Chri&s;t made manife&s;t, nor is it in its ope|ration.</P>
<P>Therefore to &s;eparate the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t from the humane na|ture of Chri&s;t, in any of its operations, is to make a nullity of
<PB N="13" REF="14">
Chri&s;t, the faith of &s;uch per&s;ons is vaine, their holy garments of the Mini&s;try are moth-eaten, their righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the <HI>Scribes</HI> and <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> which enter not into the kingdome, and their proper holine&s;&s;e <HI>is the purification of the fle&s;h,</HI> purging them&s;elves of all the operations of the &s;pirit of life, that no ray or beame thereof be found upon them, which a wicked man is as careful of, as the Saints of God are of being &s;tained and &s;potted with the fle&s;h.</P>
<P>For if we gather not up, and take in true man into all the ope|rations proper to the &s;pirit of God, wee di&s;-unite and &s;eparate that which the wi&s;dome of God hath &s;o curiou&s;ly embroydered and wrought up together; for the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t and of God quickneth only to that ble&s;&s;ed e&s;tate and condition of the Son of God, and not to any other; even as a rationall &s;pirit filled with artificiall principles to find out the nature and cau&s;e of things, quickneth only unto that &s;tate and condition of man-kind, and not unto the condition of any other creature upon the earth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 3. Your gold and your &s;ilver is canckered, and the ru&s;t of them &s;hall be a witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you, and &s;hall eate your fle&s;h as fire; yee have heaped trea&s;ure together for the la&s;t dayes.</HEAD>
<P>AS Gold and Silver are the mo&s;t precious and durable mettals in the account and u&s;e of man; &s;o righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holi|ne&s;&s;e are the diadem and duration of the Go&s;pel of the Kingdom, the &s;on of God, and they are reckoned here as their Silver and Gold, <HI>who crucifie the love of life and glory;</HI> no otherwi&s;e but as &s;inne is reckoned upon Chri&s;t, where it is &s;aid, <HI>that he was made &s;in for us who knew no &s;inne;</HI> even &s;o the&s;e are made righteous that know no righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>For the ju&s;t and unju&s;t are made of like, yea of the very &s;ame matter, for God and man are really to be con&s;idered both in the one and in the other, and otherwi&s;e the true &s;tate of life and death canot be rightly compo&s;ed, neither is the go&s;pel and faith of the Son of God preached.</P>
<P>For in what tone, &s;ence, or re&s;pect man may be &s;aid to be in that worke of &s;alvation wrought by Chri&s;t, and participate in
<PB N="14" REF="15">
the power and glory thereof; In like &s;ence may the Sonne of God be &s;aid to be, and is in that work of de&s;truction, and parti|cipates in the defect and &s;hame thereof.</P>
<P>For as the wi&s;dome of God in that way of Chri&s;t, purifies and clean&s;eth that earthly and corruptible nature of man (in its ta|king of it into unity) from all &s;in and uncleane&s;&s;e unto a &s;tate and condition becoming the Sonne of the holy and eternal God; even &s;o doth the wi&s;dome of man, or of the fle&s;h (in taking hold of, and &s;earching into the things of God) corrupt and defile un|to, or in it &s;elfe, that holine&s;&s;e and puritie which is in the word, or Sonne of God, unto a &s;tate and condition proper and peculiar to that man of &s;inne, and &s;on of perdition; for <HI>the world by widome knows not God;</HI> that is, through its proper wi&s;dome and Serpentine policie, is blinded and become ignorant of him: So that there is a true and reall proportion between the mi&s;tery of God in Chri&s;t, and the mi&s;tery of iniquity in Antichri&s;t, el&s;e the &s;tate of the wicked could not have in it an Almighty power of wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, as the &s;tate of the Saints hath in it an all&s;ufficiency of mercy and love, for the proper Original and fountaine of each is in them&s;elves, and not in another, that is to &s;ay, the proper fountaine of love and mercy is in Chri&s;t, and not el&s;e-where to be found; and the proper fountaine of wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure is in Antichri&s;t, and not founded el&s;e-where: So that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e of the word of God, or Sonne of God; <HI>for it is not the word, but in its creating virtue, as it frames it &s;elfe in Chri&s;t,</HI> and this word is canckered in the world; for God and man (in a mi&s;tery) are become a corrupt e&s;tate and con|dition in that way of Antichri&s;t, directly contrary unto that o|riental Gold, and &s;even times purified &s;ilver that is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t: and that party who is ignorant of the mi&s;tery of iniquity in the corrupting and adultrating of the word of God, may talk of the unity that is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, purifying &amp; making cha&s;t mans nature in that word of God; but it is onely as he hath re|ceived it by tradition, from Libraries, Councels, and Accademi|cal cour&s;es; but the revelation of the &s;pirit he knows not, the onely means of the conveyance of the knowledge thereof.</P>
<P>The pure&s;t mettal thus changed becoms ru&s;t; and that is, fir&s;t, <HI>witne&s;&s;e again&s;t them;</HI> &s;econdly, <HI>It eates their fle&s;h as fire.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="15" REF="15">
Ru&s;t we know is the putrifaction and filthine&s;&s;e of mettals contracting it &s;elfe, and ari&s;ing from the not u&s;ing thereof; even &s;o the not exerci&s;ing and putting into u&s;e the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e of the word of God, that royal law of the &s;pirit, is the contraction &amp; rai&s;ing up of the vi&s;ion and corrupt de&s;ires of the fle&s;h, which is the very cancker, &s;pot, and &s;taine of the &s;oule, that it becoms <HI>reprobate Silver</HI> thereby, not to pa&s;&s;e for currant to any in the kingdome of God.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, and this ru&s;t by this means contracted, is a witne&s;&s;e a|gain&s;t them, that they have put the ju&s;t one to death, as it is ex|pre&s;t in <HI>Ver.</HI> 6.</P>
<P>For as the u&s;e and exerci&s;e of the law of the &s;pirit in the de|claration of the virtue of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, the contraction and <HI>Emit|to</HI> whereof, is the &s;plendant brightne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;tianity, te&s;tify|ing unto all men, that therein con&s;i&s;ts the crucification of the fle&s;h in all the affections and lu&s;ts of it.</P>
<P>Even &s;o the exerci&s;e of the law of the fle&s;h in the contraction and &s;ending forth of the de&s;ires and affections thereof, te&s;tifies unto all men that therein con&s;i&s;ts the crucification and death of Chri&s;t Je&s;us according to the &s;pirit, te&s;tifying an eternal guilt upon an act of &s;uch nature as that is, which is of no le&s;&s;e concern|ment then the ki&s;&s;ing of the Son of the eternal God.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It eates their fle&s;h as fire;</HI> now we know that as ru&s;t eateth and con&s;umeth the mettals in which it breeds, &s;o doth fire con&s;ume and de&s;troy the fuel in which it fa&s;tneth it &s;elfe, and taketh hold, <HI>and without fuell the fire cea&s;eth; for take away fuel, and the fire goeth out.</HI> Now the proper fuel wherein the wrath of God kindleth it &s;elfe, is the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h: &s;o that take away that, and the fire thereof goeth out; it is not without that, no more then fire is without fuel, and therefore no crea|ture in the world is capable of the eternal wrath of God, but onely mankinde, no more then any can be in a capacity of the con&s;olation of God, but &s;uch as are indued with his wi&s;e|dome.</P>
<P>For as the con&s;olations of God kindle them&s;elves, and become extant, through that wi&s;dome of God, which hath given it &s;elfe &s;o glorious and an eternal forme in all the virtue, relations, and re&s;pects that are between God and man in Chri&s;t, without which the con&s;olations could not be, no more then the eye can &s;ee
<PB N="16" REF="16">
without light, or a hou&s;e &s;tand without the pillars and joynts of it; even &s;o the jealou&s;ie and wrath of Almighty God kindles it &s;elfe, becomes extant, and in exerci&s;e, through the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, &s;etting &s;uch a forme on the operations, relations, and re&s;pects, as are conver&s;ant in the &s;tate of Antichri&s;t between God and man.</P>
<P>For the wi&s;dome of the creature, or carnal law, is wrath unto execution again&s;t &s;uch as u&s;e cruelty to the innocent, e&s;pecially in the highe&s;t degree; and when the proper operations of the word according to the carnal law are made manife&s;t, it &s;hall ap|pear that they have exerci&s;ed cruelty again&s;t the innocent Son of God, &amp; that then in the highe&s;t degree, in putting him to death in all that livelyhood and operation of his holy &s;pirit which is not permitted to exerci&s;e it &s;elfe, or breath in them, whereupon they mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity by that their wi&s;dome judge, condemn, and ex|ecute wrath upon them&s;elves, which could not hold proportion with this their fact; but as the power of God kindles it &s;elfe therein, yet &s;o as the proper power and &s;pirit of God is not any cau&s;e or original thereof, that is, of their torment, but man him&s;elfe is the proper cau&s;e and fountaine thereof, out of which it for ever floweth.</P>
<P>For as the &s;oule of man is kindled and inflamed through the wi&s;dome of God with the love and con&s;olations of God, yet the &s;oule of the creature is no proper original or fountaine thereof, for they are the love, and comforts of the Creator, and not of a creature, yet is the creature conver&s;ant and active in them, even &s;o the power and &s;pirit of God kindles it &s;elfe, through the wi&s;e|dome of the fle&s;h (the literall voice of the Scriptures written in all mens hearts) in wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, and is conver&s;ant and infinitely active therein; yet is the &s;pirit and power of God no proper original or fountaine of wrath, but the wi&s;edome and &s;pirit of the creature is the proper cau&s;e and fountaine of it, therefore it is &s;ayd of the Lord, <HI>fury is not in me.</HI></P>
<P>We mu&s;t remember then, that when the Scriptures a&s;cribe un|to man, love, joy, peace, grace, mercy, glory, power, and virtue proper unto the Saints, they are &s;uch as God is the fountaine and cau&s;e of, and not the creature, yet are they the excellency of the Sonne of God, who is not without the creature, though he be <HI>God ble&s;&s;ed for ever.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="17" REF="16">
So likewi&s;e when we &s;ee the Scriptures a&s;cribe unto God an|ger, wrath, fury, di&s;plea&s;ure, and vengence, which are proper unto the wicked; they are &s;uch as the creature is the proper fountaine and original of, and not God; yet are they not with|out God, but are the proper exerci&s;e of that man of &s;inne, and &s;onne of perdition, yea of that <HI>Shadad,</HI> or <HI>Shedim,</HI> that de|&s;troyer of man kinde, who is the God of this world; the Prince that ruleth in darkne&s;&s;e, which is accur&s;ed for ever.</P>
<P>And as for &s;uch devils, as are compo&s;ed through that conju|ration of academicall Nations, from literall expre&s;&s;ions of the Scriptures, as connexions of the dictates of their own hearts; we skill not, but give glory to God, both in mercy, and &s;everity, in the exerci&s;es of them, and &s;o the re&s;t is an infallible te&s;timony and witne&s;&s;e of the nature and practice of Satan him&s;elfe the God of this wicked world, therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>We know that we are of God, and the world is of that wicked one</HI> (as the word is) that is, of the Devill, the off-&s;pring and &s;eed of the Serpent accur&s;ed from the beginning.</P>
<P>3. He addes therefore in the third place, <HI>Ye have he aped trea&s;ure together for the la&s;t day.</HI> To heap trea&s;ure together, is to augment, increa&s;e, inlarge, and &s;o to fill up, as nothing more can be added, which is impo&s;&s;ible, unle&s;&s;e it be an infinite Trea&s;ury; and then he who onely is infinite, mu&s;t be in the &s;tore, &s;o <HI>that almighty and eternal God, is in the wrath hoarded up again&s;t the day of wrath, and re|velation of the ju&s;t judgement of God;</HI> for there is a fulne&s;&s;e of &s;in, without vacuity, either in re&s;pect of time, place or action, for <HI>the &s;inne of the Amorites mu&s;t be full, when Abrahams &s;eed po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the land;</HI> or el&s;e the fulne&s;&s;e of our deliverance in Chri&s;t appears not, for there is a fulne&s;&s;e in, or fulfilment of the letter of the Scrip|ture in that way of <HI>Judas,</HI> in his betraying of Chri&s;t unto death, as there is a fulne&s;&s;e in that law of the &s;pirit, or fulfilment of the Scripture in bringing forth unto light, and of that <HI>Emanuel,</HI> God with us;</P>
<P>For as Chri&s;t being true, man naturally mortall, is filled with eternal life in the excellency and purity of the Son of God; &s;o Antichri&s;t being true God (in the unity of his creation) immor|tal, becomes filled with eternal death, through the lu&s;ts and cor|ruption of man, for it is whole Chri&s;t that dyes, and not a part of him, he dyes in the Saints unto &s;inne, Satan, and all corrup|table
<PB N="18" REF="17">
things: So that when the Prince of this world cometh, he findes not in him to joyne him&s;elfe with, or lay claym unto, and he dyes in the unbeleife unto all things of the &s;pirit, accep|table unto God; and in this doth that ran&s;ome con&s;i&s;t, wherein the Sonne of God hath given him&s;elfe unto an eternal death to deliver his cho&s;en ones, into that eternal life proper and peculiar to the lord alone.</P>
<P>His dying unto the fle&s;h in his Saints, is the life and re&s;urrecti|on of it in the men of the world; and his dying unto the &s;pirit in the wicked, is the life and re&s;urrection of it in the Saints of God, for neither of them mu&s;t be annihilated; but as man at the fir&s;t was made in the Image of God, and the word was made du&s;t, that is, in that work of God both the wi&s;dome proper to a crea|ture was to be found, and that wi&s;dome al&s;o proper to the Creator, the&s;e twain mu&s;t remaine extant for ever; that is, the wi&s;edome of God extended to the uttermo&s;t in that curious workman&s;hip of the my&s;ticall and glorious body of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And al&s;o the wi&s;dome of the creature mu&s;t be extended to the uttermo&s;t in that compo&s;ure of the body of &s;in and death, which is only the curio&s;ity of that confu&s;ion in the building of <HI>Babell,</HI> there is a heaping up then, and an ab&s;olute fulne&s;&s;e of corruptable trea&s;ures and riches in the wealth of the world. But</P>
<P>For what is it heaped together? that is, for the la&s;t dayes: by dayes here is to be under&s;tood times and &s;ea&s;ons, and the word <HI>(la&s;t)</HI> &s;ignifies, the lea&s;t or ba&s;e&s;t dayes and times, as often it doth in the Scriptures, &s;o that this trea&s;ure rightly reckoned, and ju&s;t|ly &s;ummed and ca&s;t up, amounts to the wor&s;t and ba&s;e&s;t of days, a time wherein the Sonne of God exi&s;ts not, nor is he therein found, a day not of &s;alvation but of de&s;truction, a &s;ea&s;on of death and not of life; days of &s;orrow, and not of joy; ba&s;e times of famine, &amp; not of plenty; of pe&s;tilence, &amp; not of health; of war, and not of peace; times of murther and cruelty, and not of love and freind&s;hip; days of enmity, pride, and diabolicall policy, and not dayes of that meekne&s;&s;e of wi&s;edome that is in the Sonne of God.</P>
<P>In a word, the heaping together of the fruits of the fle&s;h as our only trea&s;ure, is to the bringing forth of &s;uch times and &s;ea&s;ons
<PB N="19" REF="17">
wherein the policy and power of Satan ruleth, and not the &s;im|plicity that is in the wi&s;dome and virtue of the Sonne of God, unto which &s;ea&s;on the oath of the Angel hath re&s;pect, <HI>that &s;tands with one foot on the &s;ea and the other upon the earth, and &s;wears by him that lives for ever that time &s;hall be no more;</HI> that is, with re&s;pect un|to that foot that &s;tands upon the trouble&s;ome and tumultuous e&s;tate and condition of that &s;ea of evils of the world, he &s;wares that no jot, nor tittle, time, nor moment of the life or day of Chri&s;t &s;hall ever be found, there he cea&s;eth in them for ever, and a ba&s;er time can never be then to be voyd of him, even as that time is mo&s;t precious and glorious, and tho&s;e onely are halcyon dayes wherein he appears, and Satan, or ought of him is not found in them no not for a moment.</P>
<P>He &s;hews in one particular wherein the ba&s;ene&s;&s;e of the&s;e dayes con&s;i&s;ts, and that is in the fraudulent detaining and keeping back the hire of the labourer.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 4. Behold the hire of the labourers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cryeth, and the cryes of them which have reaped, are entred into the eares of the Lord of Sabboth.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The note of a&s;pect, and looking up, <HI>Behold.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Who the labourers are that reap down the fields.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. What the labour and reaping is.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. What the hire of the labourer is.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. What the cryes thereof is that cryeth.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. Into what the cryes enter, that is, <HI>into the eares of the Lord.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>7. The title or tearm of honour given unto him, that is, <HI>the Lord of Sabboth.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>ANd fir&s;t of the note of a&s;pect, <HI>Behold,</HI> which &s;ignifies to look up in the ob&s;ervation of a &s;igne or wonder which is now to appear, and it is of like nature of that of the Prophet <HI>Jonah</HI> given unto the <HI>Jews</HI> that crucified Chri&s;t, which was a &s;igne of their de&s;truction, <HI>in that the Sonne of man was to lye buried three dayes and three nights in the heart of the earth;</HI> that is, to be perfectly and
<PB N="20" REF="18">
perpetually dead and buried in their earthly and carnal hearts, never to exerci&s;e his life and &s;pirit in them, which is a &s;igne and wonder that the Son of the living God &s;hould be mortallized in them, it is a like &s;igne and wonder here, that the Sonne of God &s;hould become a hireling defrauded of his hire.</P>
<P>For it is a like miraculous thing, that the Son of &s;orry man, who is &s;ayd to be a worm, an object, a vapour, a vanity, to be made Lord of Heaven and Earth, Judge of quick and dead, as that he that is Lord, ruler, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of all things, to become a hireling: So that the my&s;tery of iniquity is not without &s;igne and wonder, no more then the mi&s;tery of God is, and both re|all; though the one be a lying wonder, and the other a true wonder, the one confirms the faith of God, the other the faith of Devils.</P>
<P>The one promi&s;eth &s;alvation for the confirmation of <HI>Pharaoh</HI> in the hardning of his heart unto de&s;truction, which is a thing contrary, and therefore a lying wonder, as it appears in <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and his ho&s;t drowned in the &s;ea; the other promi&s;eth &s;alvation and deliverance unto I&s;rael in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron,</HI> which brings forth the thing promi&s;ed, and therefore a true and not a lying wonder, as appeared in I&s;raels marching triumphantly out of <HI>Aegypt.</HI></P>
<P>Now there mu&s;t be in a miracle, or wonder, that which go|eth beyond the power of any nature, el&s;e it is not a wonder, and that is both in the one and the other of the&s;e miraculous &s;ignes; for in point of &s;alvation by Chri&s;t, no &s;imple nature can bring forth &s;alvation, for there mu&s;t be in &s;alvation both a Saviour, and a &s;aved, el&s;e it is not full and compleat, which neither the nature of man, no nor the nature of God &s;imply and disjunctive|ly con&s;idered, can be or bring forth: Behold then a wonder in that, which tran&s;cends and &s;urpa&s;&s;eth any nature to be or to bring forth, therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>that we have a Mediator is made higher then the heavens;</HI> that is, the office of his mediator&s;hip is of that &s;uper-eminent dignity that no &s;imple nature can be, or at|taine unto, therefore <HI>of twain he makes one new man in him&s;elfe and &s;o creates peace,</HI> which otherwi&s;e could not be.</P>
<P>2. Againe there is a wonder in de&s;truction, which goes beyond any &s;imple and &s;ingle nature al&s;o.</P>
<P><PB N="21" REF="18">
For the nature of God &s;imply con&s;idered cannot be involved with the confines of de&s;truction, who is almighty and &s;upream Lord over all, neither can mans nature &s;imply and disjunctively con&s;idered be in a capacity of an eternal de&s;truction, being a crea|ture &s;ubject to the limits and precincts of time, therefore God &amp; man are to be joyntly con&s;idered in that wonder and mi&s;tery of iniquity al&s;o; which properly makes and gives being unto the God of this world, which is no le&s;&s;e then Satan him&s;elfe, who attempts through his arrogating &amp; in&s;atiable &s;pirit to ten|der unto Chri&s;t all the kingdoms of the Earth, and the glory of them: the one of the&s;e is a wonder, but a lying one, becau&s;e it brings not forth what it promi&s;eth, as the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Scribes and Phari&s;es is a righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but not that which en|ters into the kingdome, and the other is a wonder, and a true miracle, becau&s;e it brings to pa&s;&s;e the things it promi&s;eth, even as the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t enters into the kingdom, and &s;itteth in &s;afety and honour at the right hand of God.</P>
<P>And they that preach not the Go&s;pel as accompanied with the&s;e &s;ignes in the mini&s;try of it, according to the variety of the work propo&s;ed; <HI>the &s;peaking and creating word of his &s;ignes is not &s;ent unto that people</HI> for their relea&s;e and deliverance out of the hou&s;e of bondage, and yet it is true, that tongues are for a &s;ign not to them that beleive, but to them that beleive not, that is, an unbeleiver, ever expects that a &s;igne &s;hould &s;peak in the &s;ame form which formerly it hath done, or el&s;e he takes it not for a won|der wrought by God, but then there &s;hould need no interpretati|in the Church at all, without which tongues are not of u&s;e, unto edefying.</P>
<P>The worlds expectation of &s;ignes to accompany the preaching of the Go&s;pel for the confirmation of it in the &s;ame forme as for|merly, is the expectation of Infidels, &s;uch as follow Chri&s;t to be fed with carnal things, bread that peri&s;heth in the u&s;e, like them that after they had been fed miraculou&s;ly with the loaves and the fi&s;hes they per&s;ue and follow him to have a &s;igne that he is a man of God, and conclude that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was a man of God, that could give bread from heaven, but this not coming in like for me, but from the Earth, though in that wonderfull multiplication and increa&s;e, is as nothing unto them.</P>
<P>But the &s;igns, wonders, and mighty works accompanying the
<PB N="22" REF="19">
grace of the Go&s;pel never appear twice in the &s;ame forme, &s;o that a man may as well expect the water that now bubleth up in a li|ving and &s;wift running fountaine, to tarry and abide for him, till his return to it againe, as to fit down by a wonder wrought by God till it appear in the very &s;ame forme againe; it coming out of that inexhau&s;tible fountaine, and &s;wift running current of that infinite variety of his wi&s;dome and power.</P>
<P><HI>Mo&s;es</HI> miraculou&s;ly fa&s;ted forty dayes and forty nights, and is in the mount with God, and hath in that fa&s;t the law the perfect pattern of all truth and holine&s;s pre&s;ented and &s;hewed unto him, and againe Chri&s;t fa&s;ted forty dayes and forty nights, but was in the wilderne&s;&s;e among wilde bea&s;ts, and therein had the temp|tations of Satan, the proper platforme of the power of darkne&s;&s;e repre&s;ented unto him, which differs much from the pattern of &s;alvation and kingdome of light. <HI>Eliah</HI> al&s;o fa&s;ted forty dayes and forty nights, but was miraculou&s;ly fed before; in the &s;trength of which food he went into a cave by the mount of God, and there had apparitions &amp; voices manife&s;ted unto him, where|in God made him&s;elfe manife&s;t, and al&s;o &s;uch wherein God ap|peared not at all; one forty dayes fa&s;t, not but in variety of wonder; one death of Chri&s;t, but a diver&s;e &s;igne in it, he is &s;laine at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and our Lord is al&s;o crucified in <HI>Sodome,</HI> and in <HI>Ae|gypt,</HI> true in both, with re&s;pect to fle&s;h and &s;pirit.</P>
<P>And &s;o much for the word <HI>Behold,</HI> implying a wonder, wherein ob&s;erve the deceitfull &s;leights and cunning devices of the Magi&s;&s;i|ans, the <HI>Jannes and Jambres of our dayes,</HI> who have erected (for the confirmation of Princes great &s;ignes of honour and Godlike pro|&s;perity) Kings Chappels, and pulpits of State, State-prayers, and &s;tate-like officers in the Church for forming of them, that they may carry their virtue by whom&s;oever uttered, &s;tate-religion and &s;tate-like pompe in the exerci&s;e of it, as though the Kings of the earth &s;hould be thereby declared to be, not onely the off-&s;pring of the almighty, but the deputed Gods.</P>
<P>In what doth the &s;ucce&s;&s;e and i&s;&s;ue of the&s;e Doctors indea|vors end in, differing from tho&s;e Magi&s;&s;ians in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> in the confirmation and incouragement of their King, fir&s;t born and his alies.</P>
<P>2. The &s;econd point is, who the <HI>Labourers</HI> are, or the <HI>Labourer,</HI> for the word may be read either &s;ingular or plurally, as it u|&s;uall
<PB N="23" REF="19">
in Scripture to u&s;e words of active and pa&s;&s;ive &s;ignification, as al&s;o &s;uch as may be read either in the ma&s;culine or feminine gender, without wrong to the Text: &s;o al&s;o &s;uch as will beare either the &s;ingular or plurall number, and &s;o it is in this place.</P>
<P>To take the word therefore in the &s;ingular acceptation, it is Chri&s;t collectively con&s;idered, in that one intire and my&s;ticall body of his, comprehending all the Saints in all ages of the world.</P>
<P>Againe, take it plurally <HI>(Labourers)</HI> and it is Chri&s;t di&s;tinct|ly di&s;tributed, and given out in all the parts and members of that body; for he is that Labourer or Husband-man that &s;owes good &s;eed in his field, though the evill one &s;ow tares in the time of his &s;leep, or when, and where he is dead to all things of the &s;pi|rit, which is in that evill one only upon whom they grow.</P>
<P>He &s;owes with his owne hand, as he is that one fountaine and giver out of the &s;eed in all ages, <HI>ye&s;terday, and to day, and for ever the &s;ame.</HI> And his &s;eed&s;-men &s;ow al&s;o, as he is a participator and the receiver thereof; for he receiveth the &s;pirit though not by mea&s;ure, for it is <HI>immence.</HI></P>
<P>3. The third point is, what the labour is in reaping down the fields: By reaping here, is not meant cutting downe, but in ga|thering al&s;o, as the word-imports. Chri&s;ts reaping therefore is the cutting downe of all tho&s;e riches, and ripened fruits of the fle&s;h, tho&s;e &s;uperfluous branches from the true Vine, that they be not found in the field; or upon that hand of <HI>Emanuel,</HI> which el&s;e-where is &s;aid to be <HI>the crueifying of the fle&s;h in the affections and lu&s;ts, and the &s;laying of the enmity in him&s;elfe,</HI> which are the proper in gatherings of the worke; and that whereof their harve&s;t and Vintage doth con&s;i&s;t, whereby <HI>their regions become white unto the harve&s;t;</HI> that is, it &s;ets them in a capacity to be cut downe by an eternall de&s;truction, and in the&s;e the labourer is defrauded, <HI>who hath &s;pent his &s;trength (in them) in vaine, or unto emptine&s;&s;e, and labou|red for nought,</HI> as he complains by his Prophet (or in the Prophet) <HI>I&s;aiah:</HI> In them he hath lo&s;t his time, as a labourer hath who is deprived of his hire, for his time and age is not extant in them; the time of grace is expended, the day of &s;alvation is not found in them, his generation is cea&s;ed in them, and is no more: even as a labourer hath lo&s;t his time, &s;o &s;pent as no fruit nor profit ari|&s;eth; <HI>For he is cut off from the land of the living,</HI> (in the world) <HI>and
<PB N="24" REF="20">
hath made his grave in the wicked, and in the rich of this world is his death.</HI></P>
<P>For the Son of God hath expended his life in Antichri&s;t, unto no fruit or profit of the Spirit, but unto corruption; as the Son of man hath expended his life in Chri&s;t, unto no utility or fruit of the fle&s;h, but unto purity and holine&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>4. Therefore in the fourth place, they are &s;aid to keep back his hyre; the hyre of a labourer is to return unto him a reward pro|portionable to his worke. The word <HI>(hire)</HI> &s;ignifies to gather together, as a Ma&s;ter gathers to him&s;elfe a &s;ervant to be an&s;we|rable one to another by contract, which the world in that uni|ty of the harlot denyes unto Chri&s;t; for he that is holine&s;&s;e gives and unites him&s;elfe unto them, but they return no &s;uch thing unto him but only corruption: He who is love in him&s;elfe is u|nited unto them, but they return nothing but enmity: He who is truth gives him&s;elfe to them, but they return a lye unto him: He who is eternall life gives him&s;elfe to them, but they return eternall death unto him, and &s;o hold no proportion with him unto whom they are contracted, nor bring they forth any thing for his &s;upply &s;utable (in the lea&s;t) to his nature and quality: Whereas the Saints make return to God with things which are of God, holding proportion with him, with whom they are in con|tract: For <HI>they are increa&s;ed with the increa&s;ings of God;</HI> for <HI>of his fulne&s;&s;e we all receive, and grace for grace.</HI> It is the love of God &s;hed abroad in their hearts, which is the love by which they make over them&s;elves in contract unto him, and become E&s;pou|&s;als together with him, and can &s;ay with <HI>David</HI> (that beloved one) <HI>All things are thine, and of thine own we have given thee.</HI> Which the world falls infinitely &s;hort of, yea is in direct <HI>Antithe&s;is</HI> un|to the &s;ame, therefore they are &s;aid to keep back by fraud, de|ceit, or guile, becau&s;e they give that unto them&s;elves and things of the creature, which belongs unto the Lord, and things that are of him; they give unto them&s;elves wi&s;dome, power, and glory, which is the prerogative Royall of the Son of God, de|frauding him of his right; for they give their &s;ons unto <HI>Moloch,</HI> or unto the King; that is, unto the Kingdome and glory of the world, wherein there is as ab&s;olute a change of the word of God from its proper nature and operation to become &s;infull and dia|bolicall in them, in that way of Antichri&s;t, as there is of &s;infull
<PB N="25" REF="20">
man from his naturall properties, to become that holy Son of God in the way of Chri&s;t; therefore they that gave their &s;onnes unto <HI>Moloch,</HI> that is, to the reign, dominion, and coun&s;ell of the fle&s;h, they are &s;aid <HI>to &s;acrifice unto Devils, and not unto God;</HI> no greater fraud then to give that to the Devill, which is pretended to be given unto God: and it is the proper work of Sathan to bow the heart to the glory of the creature, whereby hee keeps back, and retains to him&s;elfe that honour which is proper to the Creature.</P>
<P>The&s;e per&s;ons defraud the Son of God of his livelihood, who only lives by his labour; for where there is no operation and work of Chri&s;t, there is no life of Chri&s;t, no work of faith, no labour of love, no patience of hope, no breathings of Chri&s;t, he is dead in that heart; for the Religion of God is not notionall, but efficatious: The Lord Je&s;us lives by his labour, the world de|frauds him of it, detaining it in their own &s;infull and &s;elfi&s;h o|perations, whereby <HI>they with-hold the truth in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e;</HI> the titles given unto Chri&s;t, as of a per&s;on, King, Lord, Prince, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> As of an office, as Mediator, Advocate, Interce&s;&s;or: Or of relati|ons, as Father, Husband, friend, or the like, are carefully to be taken up and a&s;&s;umed by the Creature as they do concern the ho|nour, office, and relation of this life, yet they may be a&s;&s;umed in that re&s;pect, as we <HI>may eate and drinke, marry and give in marriage,</HI> which all peri&s;h in the u&s;e, provided that they be a&s;&s;umed, as we are (to buy) or as we are to marry; that is, <HI>as though we po&s;&s;e&s;t them not,</HI> and as though we a&s;&s;umed them not, <HI>for the fa&s;hion of this world pa&s;&s;eth away;</HI> that is, that which men may form unto them|&s;elves to be excellent and prai&s;e-worthy, may at another time, or in another place become odious and abominable, as we have &s;een in the name King, Bi&s;hop, Prie&s;t, having many wives, and keeping only to one, have been: But to a&s;&s;ume them, or teach men &s;o to do, as things appertaining to the dignity, office, or relation of a creature, not con&s;idered in Chri&s;t, but as it con|cerns creature and creature, to be the ultimate end, &s;cope, and drift of the Scripture in any Title, Office, or Relation what&s;oe|ver, is &s;atanicall and wicked, for the end of the law is Chri&s;t; therefore the &s;cope of them all, and every particular, is God and man in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and thither it is to be brought, and there centred, or el&s;e we defraud the labourer, by detayning his due
<PB N="26" REF="21">
unto our &s;elves, or rather giving it unto Satan him&s;elfe. In which the cry of the defrauded one doth con&s;i&s;t, which is the fifth point propounded in order.</P>
<P>5. And this cry is the cry of the blood of <HI>Abel</HI> for the exerci&s;e of wrath in wrong done unto the innocent, who&s;e life as it is taken away by force and cruelty of <HI>Cain</HI> that man-&s;layer from the beginning, &s;o is it taken away by guile and &s;ubtilty, defrau|ding (by the Serpent) him of the proper meanes of his living, which is his owne operations, the fruits of that tree of life, by giving the glory and vertue to make wi&s;e, unto the tree of know|ledg of good and evill, which is a preferring the law of the fle&s;h a|bove the law of the &s;pirit, the wi&s;dome of man above the wi&s;|dome of God.</P>
<P>For as the wi&s;dome of God in that law of the &s;pirit through its curious device of the joynting of God and man to be one e&s;tate and condition, carries in it a &s;ufficient and prevalent argument to move the tender compa&s;&s;ions and bowels of mercy therein, as in an only beloved &s;on; even &s;o the wi&s;dome of man in that law of the fle&s;h, craftily in&s;inuating the glory and power of the arm of fle&s;h, to be the glory and power of God, giving unto it what is only proper to God, hath in it a &s;ufficient acclamation and argu|ment to move the exerci&s;e of Gods wrath in the &s;oule, as in one that is guilty of an infinite deceipt of Serpents &s;ubtilty.</P>
<P>Yea, as that life-blood of &s;prinkling, of the Lamb &s;lain accor|ding to the fle&s;h, in that hou&s;e of the <HI>I&s;raelite,</HI> &s;truck upon the door-po&s;ts and Lintels thereof (that is, upon all the wayes of e|gre&s;&s;e and regre&s;s into, and out of the &s;ame) hath in it a &s;ufficient te&s;timony and cry of re&s;traint in the de&s;troying Angel, to cau&s;e him to pa&s;&s;e over, as not having any employment there.</P>
<P>Even &s;o the blood of <HI>Abel</HI> &s;hed by the cruelty of <HI>Cain,</HI> as a Lamb &s;lain from the beginning according to the &s;pirit; or by the &s;ub|tilty of <HI>Judas</HI> betraying him with a ki&s;&s;e, hath in it a &s;ufficient cry in the de&s;troying Angel, to move the exerci&s;e of wrath upon the fir&s;t born of <HI>Aegypt,</HI> the beginning &amp; top of all that &s;trength wherein they tru&s;t, who cruelly and fraudulently keep back <HI>I&s;ra|el</HI> from his advance unto the land of <HI>Canaan.</HI></P>
<P>The one hath in it the voyce and language of peace, reconcili|ation, and agreement with God as his fir&s;t-born, and onely be|loved.</P>
<P><PB N="27" REF="21">
The other hath in it breach of brother-hood, and fellow&s;hip, the voyce of a vagabond flying from Gods pre&s;ence, and the glo|ry of his power, as in <HI>Caine;</HI> and wrath unto &s;elf-murther and de&s;truction, as in <HI>Judas I&s;cariot,</HI> that Confe&s;&s;or, or Preacher for hire, as his name &s;ignifies, in whom the word of God (in it &s;elfe Lord over all) is changed and transformed into an hireling.</P>
<P>6. This cry enters into the eares of the Lord; for as there is a certaine propencity in the eare of a man to take in any &s;ound, that moves the ayre; and to give it a true and proper form, his heart ecchoing the &s;ame thing, whether it be matter of joy, or matter of terrour. Even &s;o there is nothing that moves either in the proper &s;phere of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure, or of his acceptati|on and love: but there is a proper and immediate aptitude in his wi&s;dome and power to receive and give a true form thereun|to according to the nature thereof, ecchoing the &s;ame thing, in returning an an&s;werable and proportionable mea&s;ure of wrath or mercy into that heart in which it moves, where he hath place of a boad, either in way of mercy, as man by unity is become the Son of God in Chri&s;t, or el&s;e in wrath, as God is by unity al&s;o become <HI>the &s;onne of perdition</HI> in that way of <HI>Antichri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>7. And therefore that terme and title of honour is given him, namely the <HI>Lord of Sabboth,</HI> or <HI>Sabboths</HI> plurally; for that which the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> writes, <HI>the Lord of Ho&s;ts</HI> plurally, the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Romans</HI> writes, <HI>the Lord of Sabboth,</HI> that is, <HI>the Lord of Re&s;t,</HI> or plurally <HI>Re&s;ts,</HI> and this declares unto us that wonder of Gods re&s;t or ce&s;&s;ation from his work and labour in the beginning, and and how he worketh al&s;o even untill now.</P>
<P>For God re&s;ts, and there is an ab&s;olute ce&s;&s;ation of all works and operations proper to the Son of God, in that way of the fall, eating of the forbidden fruit, or exerci&s;e of the carnall comman|dement, in which no vertue, motion, or operation of the &s;pirit is found, but an utter and ab&s;olute ce&s;&s;ation from them all; and &s;o the earth is &s;ayd to enjoy its Sabboths, by Gods laying of it wa&s;t from its inhabitants, and in this condition the operations of the fle&s;h and power of Satan are found, and frequently in ex|erci&s;e.</P>
<P>Againe, God re&s;teth and cea&s;eth from labour; for we never under&s;tand the name God in a good and proper &s;ence, but with re&s;pect unto God in Chri&s;t, <HI>by whom the worlds were made:</HI> and in
<PB N="28" REF="22">
him God re&s;ts, and there is an utter and totall ce&s;&s;ation from all the works of &s;in and death, fruits of the fle&s;h, and operations of Satan, which mans nature is &s;ubject unto; there is a perpetuall re&s;t, ce&s;&s;ation, and &s;abbatizing in the Son of God from them all: but there is a mo&s;t glorious operation of the &s;pirit, and power|full work of the Son of God in that e&s;tate and condition of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is that re&s;t that yet remayns in the people of God, therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>hitherto the father worketh, and I worke;</HI> and therefore the word <HI>Saba,</HI> in the Hebrew tongue, &s;ignifies either <HI>Sabboth,</HI> a <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> or an <HI>Ho&s;t</HI> or <HI>Armie;</HI> and &s;ometimes the Apo&s;tles in <HI>Greeke</HI> tran&s;lates it, <HI>Lord God Almighty,</HI> to declare that there is an Almighty power of conque&s;t in whom&s;oever the re&s;t is found, for there is an Almighty power of the whole ho&s;t of Satans en|mity, in conquering and &s;ubduing the &s;pirit and vertues of Chri&s;t in them&s;elves, re&s;ting from them all.</P>
<P>And there is an Almighty power of the &s;pirit of grace in that Army of Heaven, and order of the Son of God, in vanqui&s;hing and &s;ubduing of all the power of &s;in and Satan, unto that perfect re&s;t which ever remayns in that only and beloved Son of God.</P>
<P>And truly, the world may as well preach the temporall &s;word to be the Re&s;cue, Reformer, and Con&s;ervation of the Church, as the be&s;t and greate&s;t Councell, Synods, Synodrians, and A&s;|&s;emblies that ever were, or can be gathered together only in the &s;trength and power of humane learning, wi&s;dome, experience, and policy; for in &s;uch the Lord is in array, as an ho&s;t, and in re&s;t and ce&s;&s;ation; but it is to do that work, that &s;trong worke of wrath not proper to the Son of the ble&s;&s;ed, whereby he re&s;ts from all his owne operations as the en&s;uing words do declare.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="29" REF="22">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 5. Yee have lived in plea&s;ures on the earth, and been wanton, yee have nouri&s;hed your hearts as in a day of &s;laughter.</HEAD>
<P>YOu have lived in plea&s;ure on the earth (as <HI>Dives,</HI> or that rich man did) that is, you have taken delight, and made it your very living to exerci&s;e your &s;elves in earthly and temporary things, all your dealings and commerce is in &s;uch things, as your &s;elves cannot but confe&s;&s;e mu&s;t have an end, and cea&s;e to be, and therefore earthly, as your bodily fa&s;ts and humiliations; your bodily fea&s;ts, and verbal thank&s;givings for vani&s;hing things; your Sabboths only in ce&s;&s;ation from bodily labour; your earth|ly victories and honourable achievements, the&s;e are the food you feed on, the things wherein your delight and plea&s;ure is &s;et, and mu&s;t they not have an end? If &s;o, then are they earthly, becau&s;e they fade and vani&s;h as the flower of gra&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Nay the order of your Churches and Elder&s;hips, the ordinati|on and in&s;titutions of your Oracles and Orators, will the&s;e &s;tand with the A&s;&s;embly and Church of the <HI>fir&s;t-born of God, who&s;e names are enrolled in heaven,</HI> where every one hath a like &s;hare, and equall right to all the offices, orders, and priviledges of the king|dome? if not, they are earthly, compo&s;ed by the mini&s;tery of the letter that kills, and not by the law of the &s;pirit of life.</P>
<P>Add further; what is your faith, your prayers, and righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, are not the&s;e earthly and carnall, as held and practi&s;ed by you? Can you tell what u&s;e to put them unto in your profe&s;&s;ed world to come? I tro not; for, for any thing that ever I could learn from the common Prie&s;thood of the&s;e dayes, they have no u&s;e of the imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Son of God, when once their &s;anctification is compleated; nor of their faith, when they have attayned the end of it, which they &s;ay is at their coming to heaven; nor of prayer, when they &s;hall need no more to conver&s;e with, or have &s;upply of the things of this pre&s;ent life: and are not the&s;e carnall and vani&s;hing then, as held and practi&s;ed by the Do|ctors of our dayes, together with their followers and Pupils; where then &s;hall we find the men that take not their delight, and place their plea&s;ure in earthly and vani&s;hing things, who&s;e reli|gion is not vaporous.</P>
<P><PB N="30" REF="23">
Whereas the truth is, there is nothing of Chri&s;t which hath not the nature divine in it, or el&s;e it is not an ordinance, act, exer|ci&s;e, or vertue becoming the Son of God who in all things is holy and pure, and there is no holine&s;&s;e without the &s;pirit of God; therefore they may as well hold and teach that the &s;pirit of God vani&s;heth, and comes to an end in the Saints, as that any Ordi|nance, Office, Act, Exerci&s;e, or Vertue of Chri&s;t vani&s;heth and comes to an end in any of his my&s;ticall body.</P>
<P>For if the unity of the Spirit cea&s;e in them in any re&s;pect, then the wi&s;dome and power of the Spirit cea&s;eth, and then that new Commandement, or law of the Spirit is abrogated, and made voyd, which the Apo&s;tle &s;aith <HI>is true in him, and in us, becau&s;e the darkne&s;&s;e is pa&s;t, and the true light &s;hineth,</HI> which is the &s;ub&s;tance of the Law in every point and particular of it: And where the light of God once &s;hineth to expell darkene&s;&s;e in us, it ever abideth, yea in that imputed righteou&s;ns&s;&s;e, or righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e reckoned together with us in faith, prayer, or what&s;oever, it abides firme and &s;table, as the Son of God is firm and &s;table.</P>
<P>And as for eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, with all things of like nature tran&s;ient, having an end, they are no proper parts of the Kingdom of God, nor any thing whereof it doth con&s;i&s;t, but are u&s;eful in their time and &s;ea&s;on to the Saints of God, and may be exerci&s;ed with a holy re&s;pect unto the King|dome, for the promoting of it; therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>Whether yee eate or drinke, or what&s;oever yee doe, let all be done to the glory of God.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore when they asked Chri&s;t that que&s;tion, <HI>who&s;e wife &s;he &s;hould be in the re&s;urrection, who had had &s;even husbands;</HI> his an&s;wer is, <HI>that they erre, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God, for in the re&s;urrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like the Angells of God in heaven;</HI> Therefore it follows,</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>And beene wanton.</HEAD>
<P>That is, they joyne with the&s;e earthly plea&s;ures wantonne&s;&s;e, they are become effeminate, womani&s;h, having e&s;tranged them|&s;elves from that heroicall and ma&s;culine &s;pirit which the Apo&s;tle exhorts unto, <HI>Stand fa&s;t in the faith, quit you like men, be &s;trong;</HI> that is, behave your &s;elves as men of God, going forth in his
<PB N="31" REF="23">
&s;trength, and not in the &s;trength of the arm of fle&s;h, which is true weakne&s;&s;e and womani&s;h.</P>
<P>But the&s;e are become wanton and la&s;civious, doting upon tran&s;itory and vani&s;hing things, letting the &s;ub&s;tantiall pa&s;&s;e, be|ing &s;ubdued and overcome with pictures, &s;hadows, and &s;emblan|ces of things that have no &s;ub&s;tance nor validity in them, and not with the things them&s;elves, being taken by the &s;ight of a wande|ring eye, and the hearing of a &s;en&s;uall eare, as the woman was by the words of the Serpent, and &s;hew of the fruit in the begin|ning.</P>
<P>The&s;e <HI>Siberificall</HI> per&s;ons, being widdows, in re&s;pect of any e&s;|pou&s;all with Chri&s;t, for they are &s;uch as wax wanton again&s;t Chri&s;t, and wil marry, in making contracts with forms of earthly Governments, forms of Churches, forms of ordinances, and ex|erci&s;es, wantonizing in their carnall copulations, with bread, wine, and water, oyle, &s;pittle, and cream, &s;o devoutly that none mu&s;t intermeddle with their minnions, but &s;uch as do it by con|tract, according to their law, of <HI>Carnulentia,</HI> and if any conceive by any other &s;eed then by their pul&s;e and lentiles, which onely &s;erves to make red, earthly, or <HI>Edoms</HI> broth, <HI>that profane fornica|tour,</HI> &s;uch per&s;ons are pre&s;ently counted breakers of covenant, pernicious per&s;ons, Hereticks, Schi&s;maticks, and bla&s;phemers of their gods.</P>
<P>The&s;e have forgotten that ancient, and ma&s;culine &s;pirit of wi&s;dome and gravity, &s;o skilful in geneology and chronology, that it can reckon it &s;elfe up together with eternity, &s;ee <HI>Prov.</HI> 8. from <HI>v.</HI> 22. to 31.</P>
<P><HI>Which takes its delight and &s;olace only in the compa&s;&s;e or circuit of his earth,</HI> or of his land, which the Prophet &s;tiles <HI>the Lords land,</HI> therefore he pre&s;ently interprets it, and &s;aith <HI>his delight is with the children of men,</HI> where <HI>he dwels</HI> and in whom he makes his proper abode.</P>
<P>This &s;pirit threfore in whom&s;oever it is, takes delight in no|thing as to place its plea&s;ure in it, but in eternal things which God in the Me&s;&s;iah onely is, and all other creatures, relations, and operations, are but as &s;o many letters or figures to lead un|to, and point out, what man is in Chri&s;t, in whom the delight and plea&s;ure proper unto godline&s;&s;e is onely &s;et.</P>
<P><PB N="32" REF="24">
Becau&s;e nothing el&s;e (as delightful) can be eternal, for eter|nal truth we know none but onely in Chri&s;t, for <HI>he is that way that truth and that life of eternity,</HI> be&s;ides whom nothing can hold corre&s;pondency with God &s;o, as to be the object, or &s;ubject mat|ter of his delight and plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>And how&s;oever there is in the godly man, that which is a crea|ture made within the bounds and precincts of time, yet that unity is eternal, becau&s;e in what&s;oever the unity doth con&s;i&s;t is proper|ly of God who is eternity, and not of the creature which is in time; if it be love, it is the love of God, and not of a creature; if wi&s;dome, it is of God and not of man; if it con&s;i&s;t in power, it is infinite and not finite, &s;o that that &s;tate and condition of God and man in one is eternall and not temporary, it lives the life of God, it walks and works by the wi&s;dome of God, and not of the creature.</P>
<P>We know the body of man hath life and wi&s;dome as well as the &s;oul, while it is in conjunction with it, not another, but the &s;ame that is in the &s;oule, much more hath the &s;oule of a chri&s;tian life and wi&s;dome, in and of God, and not another, &s;o long as it is in conjunction with God, which is for ever, or el&s;e his Sonne, his proper off-&s;pring &s;hould not inherit and be po&s;e&s;&s;ed with the na|ture of the father.</P>
<P>If the mortalli&s;ts of our dayes knew the way of &s;alvation by Chri&s;t, they could never conclude like bea&s;ts, that the &s;oule of man dyes with the body like a bea&s;t, for God is not onely in u|nity with the &s;oule as a worker and Creator, but hee is al&s;o one in the workman&s;hip which is made, for the Son of God is as tru|ly &s;aid to be <HI>made of woman,</HI> and <HI>made under the law,</HI> as he is &s;aid to be the Lord and maker of all things.</P>
<P>And it is the Image or wi&s;dome of God that gives being and forme unto that glorious workman&s;hip of God in man; &s;o that if the &s;oule dye, there is not a nullity of the work, but al&s;o of the Creator the maker of it, who gives the proper being and form to the work by that which is of him&s;elfe and not of a creature, for it is his Image or wi&s;dome which is the being and form of it, as the rea&s;on and under&s;tanding of a man gives being and forme to a man, and unto no other creature.</P>
<P>Without which wi&s;dome and Image of God the workman&s;hip of Chri&s;t never was, nor can be, for it never was but in that I|mage,
<PB N="33" REF="24">
life and wi&s;dome of God, and without unity with God nothing can be eternall.</P>
<P>And however the&s;e men are ignorant of the &s;tate of the Son of God, yet they &s;hall know that their &s;oules are eternized al&s;o, and that onely by unity with the Almighty and eternall God, but in the way of the harlot, in adulterating and fal&s;ifying the word of God, and that in the way of the my&s;tery of iniquity as truly as Chri&s;t is in the mi&s;tery of God, or is that mi&s;tery of God, for the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pell con&s;i&s;t wholly in him.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e therefore who&s;e darling and dalliance is not but in and with temporary and tran&s;itory things, which exerci&s;e and lay out their &s;trength and &s;ub&s;tance, in and about them, as their wi&s;|dome, policy, learning, time, &s;tudy &amp; all their aquired abilities (for the Greek word tran&s;lated <HI>wanton,</HI> &s;ometimes &s;ignifies <HI>A mon&s;trous profu&s;ion, pouring out, and expending ones &s;elfe without mea&s;ure in, and unto all la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s)</HI> &s;uch are the per&s;ons the Apo|&s;tle here &s;peaks of, who&s;e proper &s;trength is &s;pent in things they canot eternize, and are the proper crucifiers of Chri&s;t as tho&s;e were of old, who employed the &s;trength of their zeal in and a|bout outward ceremonies and beggerly rudiments, de&s;titute of the true &s;ub&s;tance, and body, which is Chri&s;t, who are further decribed and &s;et forth in the next phra&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Ye have nouri&s;hed your hearts as in a day of &s;laughter.</HEAD>
<P>The word tran&s;lated <HI>Nouri&s;h,</HI> &s;ignifies to feed, &s;u&s;taine, or fo|&s;ter, as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> is &s;aid to nouri&s;h his father and his brethren in <HI>Aegypt</HI> with all manner of nece&s;&s;aries, whereupon he is called <HI>the feeder and &s;tone of I&s;rael,</HI> as being that corner &s;tone that coupleth the building together, or the rock and foundation whereon it &s;tands, as our &s;pirituall <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> is, the Greek word <HI>Citometrion,</HI> is u&s;ed for a portion of meat, who then is that faithfull and wi&s;e Steward, whom the Lord &s;hall make ruler over his hou&s;e, that <HI>Nouri&s;heth</HI> (or giveth a portion of meate) in due &s;ea&s;on.</P>
<P>The word tran&s;lated <HI>heart,</HI> &s;ignifies in this place, plea&s;ure or delight; &s;o where one Prophet &s;aith, <HI>Solomon</HI> had fini&s;hed the Lords hou&s;e, and the hou&s;e of the King, he had done all that was in his <HI>heart;</HI> which another Prophet expre&s;&s;ing the &s;ame thing &s;aith, he had done all that <HI>plea&s;ed him;</HI> &s;o where it is &s;aid, &s;peak
<PB N="34" REF="25">
comfortably or plea&s;ingly to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the word is, &s;peak to the <HI>heart</HI> of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;o where it is &s;aid, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderne&s;&s;e, and &s;peak comfortably unto her; the word is, I will &s;peak <HI>in her heart,</HI> (meaning I&s;rael the Church of God) and many the like.</P>
<P>And by a day of <HI>&s;laughter</HI> here, is meant a day or time of fea|&s;ting as it is &s;aid by the Prophet <HI>I&s;ajah,</HI> that the Lord called unto weeping and morning, to baldne&s;&s;e and girding with &s;ackcloth, and behold joy and gladne&s;&s;e, &s;laying of oxen and killing of &s;heep, eating of fle&s;h and drinking wine, even as the&s;e are called al&s;o to weep and houle for the mi&s;ery that is upon them; for <HI>he that be|leives not, wrath abides upon him;</HI> that is, in being already; the &s;um is, that they have fed their plea&s;ures, and fo&s;tred them&s;elves in their hearts delights, as in a day of captivity, making their ex|erci&s;e in tran&s;ient things, their fea&s;tival &s;ea&s;on and time, delight|ing them&s;elves therein unto the full, in which the &s;laughter and killing of the ju&s;t one doth con&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>For nothing can feed unto fulne&s;&s;e but by mortifying of that whereon it feeds, becau&s;e it mu&s;t turne into the &s;ub&s;tance and na|ture of the thing fed and nouri&s;hed.</P>
<P>So that a wicked man takes not away his owne proper life in his banquetting and wantonizing in the corrupt de&s;ires of the fle&s;h, and things which are tran&s;itory and fading; but he takes a|way the life of another, he &s;layes not him&s;elfe who lives after the fle&s;h; but he &s;layes that Fatling the Lamb of God, by temporizing and earnallizing that word of God unto him&s;elfe, and &s;o it be|comes his proper nouri&s;hment, which is that portion of meate which the world univer&s;ally (in its wicked and unfaithfull Stewards) gives unto its Pupils; therefore it is that Chri&s;t makes that complaint in all his Saints, <HI>For thy &s;ake are we killed all the day long, and counted as &s;heep for the &s;laughter;</HI> that is, the great day of fea&s;ting unto the world, without the mortification of whom they cannot be fed; for <HI>the two witne&s;&s;es are killed in Chri&s;t, which are the two Candle&s;ticks,</HI> which hold forth all light of truth, and the <HI>two olive trees,</HI> which feed the light with oyle that it never go out, <HI>but &s;tand before the god of the earth;</HI> that is, as <HI>Davids</HI> &s;eed is &s;aid to be before God as the Sun, that is &s;tedfa&s;t and firm for ever in glory, as God him&s;elfe is.</P>
<P><PB N="35" REF="25">
Yea, they are tho&s;e <HI>two Prophets which prophecied one thou&s;and two hundred and three &s;core dayes,</HI> which is the &s;ame time of two and for|ty moneths; and of <HI>Elias</HI> his three yeares and &s;ixe moneths of drought, as al&s;o of the three dayes and an halfe, wherein they lye unburyed, only in variety of glory, and truth of witne&s;&s;e and te&s;timony which is in a two fold re&s;pect, and they that &s;tate the witne&s;&s;e in any other, carnallize the word of God, who can only witne&s;&s;e by prophecy or interpretation unto the eternall e|&s;tate of the man of God, as al&s;o of that man of &s;in, which are tho&s;e two great Candle&s;ticks whereon the light of Gods mercy and &s;everity &s;hine for ever, which never wants oyle for the trim|ming and &s;upply of it, &s;ignified by tho&s;e two olive trees, which none can interpret but the &s;pirit of God it &s;elfe; therefore it is not done <HI>by army, nor by power, but by &s;pirit &s;aith the Lord of ho&s;ts;</HI> for no man can give a true interpretation or te&s;timony of the eternal e&s;tate and condition of the ju&s;t and unju&s;t for time to come: but he that can witnes unto it as it is eternal, with re&s;pect of time pa&s;t al&s;o, which none can do &s;ave our <HI>Zerubbabel,</HI> that <HI>&s;tranger</HI> from <HI>Babels</HI> confutation (as his name &s;ignifies) therefore they who affirm an eternal condition unto ju&s;t and unju&s;t for time to come, and cannot interpret in point of looking back how it is really without beginning, they affirm they know not what, &amp; are fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es again&s;t Chri&s;t the Son of God: and where this te&s;timony failes, the witne&s;&s;es are killed, and put to death, which is <HI>in that Sodome and Aegypt, where our Lord is crucified:</HI> And as they are dead in the world for three dayes and an halfe, &s;o are they alive the &s;ame term of time in God, and never want oyle to give the light and brightne&s;&s;e thereof; in the one we &s;ee <HI>from what</HI> we are eter|nally delivered, and in the other <HI>to what</HI> we are eternally delive|red, &s;o that the three dayes and halfe is the &s;ame with <HI>that time, times, and the divi&s;ion of time,</HI> in which the woman is &s;ayd to be in the wilderne&s;&s;e, it is for a time; that is, one &s;imple time or act of eternity, it is <HI>times</HI> plurally; that is, there is a time of the Son of God, wherein nothing of the &s;on of perdition is contained; and there is a time of the &s;on of perdition, wherein nothing pro|per to the &s;tate of the Son of God is contained.</P>
<P>And there is the <HI>divi&s;ion of time,</HI> that is, in one &s;imple indivi|duall act of eternity, they are everla&s;tingly &s;eparated and divi|ded,
<PB N="36" REF="26">
infinitely remote from each other in all things which ap|pertain and belong unto them.</P>
<P>If this Candle&s;tick were not removed (for it is but one by the te&s;timony of the Prophet <HI>Zachary,</HI> with &s;even bowles) and this oyle and light extinct in the world, and the&s;e Prophets, or this Prophet killed, the men of <HI>Belial</HI> could never glut them&s;elves with the things of the fle&s;h, nor &s;o &s;end abroad and communi|cate the gifts thereof one with another as now they do, holding only to the word of the beginnig of Chri&s;t, and cea&s;e not there-from, or the elements and rudiments of Chri&s;t; or if you will, the letter of Chri&s;t, or literall Chri&s;t, as the word imports, that hi&s;toricall Chri&s;t contained in &s;uch a time of the word, and not el&s;e extant, confined to &s;uch a place, el&s;e-where not really pre&s;ent, vi&s;ible onely in &s;uch a particular per&s;on, or el&s;e not apparant, nor to be found: The&s;e men that are <HI>ever laying againe the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith towards God of the doctrine of bapti&s;me, and laying on of hands of the re&s;urre|ction from the dead, and of eternall judgement,</HI> having them &s;till to begin as in a &s;ubject out of Chri&s;t, not placing them all in that one eternall act of God in forming of Chri&s;t, as in that <HI>common faith once and for ever delivered unto the Saints,</HI> but have ever a new fabrick to &s;et up which is not yet rai&s;ed, and an old hou&s;e to pull down, not yet demoli&s;hed; whereas the &s;umme of the Go&s;pel is onely to proclayme what is <HI>(Ad &s;um)</HI> the&s;e men never attaine that perfection which the Apo&s;tle there onely exhorts and leads unto.</P>
<P>The&s;e men <HI>will never &s;uffer the carka&s;&s;es of the Prophets to be buried,</HI> for <HI>their dead bodies mu&s;t lye in the &s;treets of that great City where our Lord is crucified;</HI> that is, they mu&s;t &s;et up a livele&s;&s;e form of an eternall e&s;tate, to allure and terrifie the world: but take away that proper &s;pirit and life, that is the onely agitator and mover in each of them, giving a livele&s;&s;e form to a Church &amp; Ordinan|ces, as al&s;o the world and practices thereof, with no more &s;ub|&s;tance of the proper &s;pirit of either, then there is the vertue of fire in a &s;hadow thereof painted upon a wall, which to &s;ee a company of men to &s;tand by, and diligently turning them&s;elves to warme, in extreamity of cold, would make a wi&s;e man admire: Such is the care and zeale of mo&s;t Churches (if not of of all) erected in the&s;e dayes; they have taken away the life of the Prophets, but
<PB N="37" REF="26">
keep a dead form, as the <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> built their Sepulchres: <HI>They have barked my Olive tree</HI> (as the Prophet complayns) <HI>that no &s;app nor oyle can a&s;cend: And they have taken away the &s;even lamps and pipes from the top or head of the Candle&s;ticke, that no light can &s;hine in the Sauctuary.</HI></P>
<P>And as it is the greate&s;t &s;hame and abomination for man not to bury his dead (his own kind) out of &s;ight, when his nakedne&s;&s;e doth appeare, being di&s;roabed of all humane abilities, even &s;o it is the abhomination and &s;hame that the world glories in, to keep that great body politick of humane wi&s;dome unburied in the Churches, which it that which gives form and being to all their temporary In&s;titutions and Ordinances, which is as voyd of life proper to the wi&s;dome and &s;pirit of God, as a dead body is when the &s;oule is departed.</P>
<P>And therefore cannot move nor breath out the reality of the being of that e&s;tate both of the ju&s;t and unju&s;t, to be as truly with|out beginning as without end; for the world doth not eternize the Son of God by that common of trinity in unity, and unity in trinity in the divine e&s;&s;ence, for he is not Chri&s;t that annointed &s;on of God, but as he is con&s;idered in both natures; nor is the e|ternall wi&s;dome, or work of God (be&s;eeming him&s;elfe, who is infinite and eternal) extant, but in that workman&s;hip of Chri&s;t; for it is true, that as the &s;eed of man propagates not his kind, but as con&s;idered in male and female, even &s;o the immortall &s;eed of God produceth not his off-&s;pring, but as con&s;idered in God and man in Chri&s;t, therefore they have killed the faithfull and true witne&s;&s;e, the head and top of the creation of God, by not giving him the reality of being from eternity; therefore he is &s;ayd to be one <HI>that was dead and is alive;</HI> or as the word is, he <HI>is</HI> dead in the pre&s;ent tence, as in the wicked, and <HI>(is)</HI> alive, that is, in the Saints; for the word tran&s;lated <HI>(was)</HI> is the &s;ame where the A|po&s;tle faith, I <HI>(am)</HI> an Apo&s;tle in the pre&s;ent tence.</P>
<P>And here let us adventure to in&s;ert a word of the nature of the unity between God and man, which eternizeth the e&s;tate both of ju&s;t and unju&s;t, &s;eing there is in both mans nature which is tem|porary made and brought forth in time, being a reall and pro|per creature,</P>
<P>For the unity that is in Chri&s;t which is a being joyned unto
<PB N="38" REF="27">
the Lord and becoming one &s;pirit, or one my&s;tical and &s;piritual e&s;tate and condition together with him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider with me, that there is in the eternall an aptne&s;&s;e to do, or to be, and a proper principle or fountaine from which he doth, or is &s;uch a thing.</P>
<P>For doing, and being the thing done, are conjunctive, never &s;e|perated, but where the one is, there is the other; to do the law of God, is to be the law of God, and &s;o the Saints are a law unto them&s;elves, as well as the profane Gentiles, the one not having or doing the law of the fle&s;h, no more then the other hath or is the law of the &s;pirit.</P>
<P>God therefore is apt, and prompt to know, to be wi&s;e, prudent, to debate, determine, and conclude, to love, to pity, to have compa&s;&s;ion, to be at peace, to be kinde, joyous, and &s;alvation; but he doth, or is the&s;e from that principle or fountain of good|ne&s;&s;e and bounty wherein hee communicates him&s;elfe unto another in the being and exerci&s;e of them all, wherein is &s;uch infinite fulne&s;&s;e; that that which is proper unto the principles and practice of a creature, is &s;uperfluous in every one of them.</P>
<P>So that in what&s;oever a chri&s;tian is united unto, or comuni|cates with God in, it is properly and originally of God and not of the creature, as his Son&s;hip is of God, and not of the proper off-&s;pring of man, being begotten not of mortall, but of immor|tall &s;eed, &s;o are all the lineaments of God and man in Chri&s;t, if wi&s;dome joyne; <HI>the Tabernacle that God builds, and not man,</HI> it is the wi&s;dome of God; if love make the contract, it is the love of God &s;hed abroad in the heart, and not the love of man which is enmity with God; if faith e&s;tabli&s;h the heart that it wavour not, it is the faith of God, which <HI>is the power of God to &s;alvation,</HI> wherein con&s;i&s;ts the great work of God which is in beleiving; as Chri&s;t tels him that asked, <HI>what &s;hall I do to work the work of God? beleiue</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>for therein it con&s;i&s;ts;</HI> for it was <HI>by the work of faith that Abraham was ju&s;tified,</HI> and not by that vaine or empty faith with|out works; that is, without the pre&s;ent power and operation of God, for &s;uch faith the Devil may attaine unto, <HI>who beleives there is one God, and trembles,</HI> but doth not con&s;i&s;t in his power as made one of twaine in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><PB N="39" REF="27">
So that what&s;oever is in this unity, is properly and originally of God, and that from a principle or law of his bounty and goodne&s;&s;e whereby he communicates him&s;elfe unto another in all things, which that law or goodne&s;&s;e of his nature is apt and prompt to be, and to do, whereby he forms him&s;elfe in his Son, without whom, or out of whom, he never had being, took form in any will or law, nor put forth him&s;elfe in any operation, therefore it is &s;aid (&s;peaking of Chri&s;t, God and man) <HI>all things were made by him, and without him was nothing made.</HI></P>
<P>For if ever God had had being, or motion, &s;o much as of minde, and will out of man, it had ever been &s;o, and then &s;alva|tion had not been, the Saviour had never appeared; for &s;alvati|on canot be compleat, but in him that &s;aves, and is al&s;o &s;aved; and the Almighty never was, but as he is <HI>a God of &s;alvation,</HI> yea in the plurality thereof as the expre&s;&s;ion of the P&s;almi&s;t is, the be|ginning of Chri&s;t therefore canot be fathomed, nor &s;panned out no more then the beginning of the Almighty and eternall can, though there be that in Chri&s;t which is in time, yet he takes not his proper being from that, no more then man, takes his proper being from his body, but from his rational &s;oul and &s;pirit, which inliveneth, acteth, and moveth the &s;ame.</P>
<P>And in the one and the other doth the glory of the Sonne of God exi&s;t; for God working in and by the faculties, or aptitudes to do in the &s;oule, or &s;pirit of the creature, thereby his vertues and operations come to be di&s;tinct, and &s;o full of variety of glory, being the &s;pirit and life of the creature, con&s;i&s;ts in change of mo|tion, or operation, al&s;o here the works of God have their proper times, &s;ea&s;ons, and opportunities, which in the proper and &s;imple eternal could never be.</P>
<P>Furthermore, as man works not by the principles and proper|ties of the creature, but by tho&s;e that are proper to God, denying him&s;elfe, being re&s;igned over unto God, and &s;o all his operations become of an eternal race and virtue, and are in the true and reall account and reckoning of eternity, of &s;uch nature is the conditi|on of the Sonne of God, therefore the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>who can de|clare his age;</HI> he is the fir&s;t and the la&s;t, if he never end in being la&s;t, he never had beginning as he is the fir&s;t, but is from eternity to eternity, though that be in him which is temporary in it &s;elfe, even as mans body lives and under&s;tands, though of it &s;elfe
<PB N="40" REF="28">
it hath, nor doth either, as appears when the &s;oule is depar|ted.</P>
<P>Secondly, concerning the unity of Harlots, <HI>for he that is joyned unto an harlot is one fle&s;h;</HI> that is, one carnall and corrupt e&s;tate, in which all the ligaments thereof are &s;uch as properly the creature is the originall and fountaine of, and not the Creator; how then can this unity be eternall, when the proper bond is of that which is mortall and temporary.</P>
<P>To this we an&s;wer, that there are certain faculties or aptitudes to do, or to be in the &s;oule of a man; as al&s;o a law or principle by which it is, or doth &s;uch things, and for the aptitudes to do or to be: We may &s;afely &s;ay, that what&s;oever the Almighty is prompt unto; that through the &s;ublimity and excellency that God hath made the &s;pirit of a man to be of, he is prompt unto the variety of operations and excellencies that are in the Son of God, yea even to compa&s;&s;e the earth, and comprehend all things, and find out the cau&s;es, relations, and operations of them; yea, even to eternize him&s;elfe on the earth, by calling his lands by his name, by living in his po&s;terity; by &s;ome great work wrought, or monument &s;et up to memorize him unto po&s;terity and ages to come; yea doubtle&s;&s;e &s;ome State&s;-men and Politicians of the world are apt to lay plots and platforms how to bring about, accompli&s;h, and achieve things, which they know can never be done in their dayes, that their wi&s;dome and policy may live and be in u&s;e when they are gone: and of &s;uch u&s;e, and from &s;uch aptitudes come humane Chronicles, writing of bookes, or the like, to reach to eternity, which God only wi&s;e is. So that man works in, and by the aptitudes of God, but not from that law and principle proper to the Son of God.</P>
<P>For whereas God out of that law of bounty and goodne&s;&s;e of his nature communicates him&s;elfe in what&s;oever he is apt to do, and be, whereby he doth it, and is it in the creature.</P>
<P>The creature exerci&s;ing it &s;elfe in the way of mans wi&s;dome in things which God him&s;elfe is prompt to be and to do, not by gi|ving him&s;elfe up unto God to be his, and not his owne, but by that principle of &s;elf-love, and law of exalting the arm of fle&s;h, he arrogates unto him&s;elfe, and monopolizeth the things proper to God unto him&s;elfe, a&s;cribing them unto the things of man to beautifie and to &s;et up the things of the creature thereby, attribu|ting
<PB N="41" REF="28">
and giving unto the fle&s;h that which is proper only unto the Son of God, which <HI>is a turning of the truth of God into a lye; a chan|ging the glory of God into the image of a corruptible man; and a wor&s;hip|ping and &s;erving of the creature in&s;tead of the Creator, who is ble&s;&s;ed for ever, Amen.</HI></P>
<P>We conclude then, that as God by that <HI>law</HI> of grace exerci&s;eth him&s;elfe in all his excellencies in the aptitudes of mans &s;oul, fil|ling them with him&s;elfe &s;o, as the things of eternity come to be di&s;tinct, to have their proper &s;ea&s;on, time, place, yea and per&s;on, &s;o as the Saints are truly di&s;tinct, and the operation of their faith, as the Apo&s;tle amply declares in that to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> Chap. 11.</P>
<P>So al&s;o that man of &s;inn, through that carnall law exerci&s;eth him&s;elfe in the aptitudes of God, filling them with the things of the creature, &s;o as they become unmea&s;urable, not bounded by any time or &s;ea&s;on, but take in the va&s;t &s;pace of eterni|ty, and &s;o the &s;tate of the wicked is al&s;o evela&s;ting in that &s;on of perdition, as well as in that Son of God, and yet <HI>that which is born of the fle&s;h is fle&s;h, and that which is born of the &s;pirit is &s;pirit;</HI> but both perpetuated, of like race, in re&s;pect of time in the &s;ight of God, and all that judg and di&s;cern according to the &s;pirit of God; for as it is affirmed of that eternall word, that it was in the beginning. <HI>In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.</HI></P>
<P>So it is affirmed of the wicked one, <HI>that he is a man-&s;layer from the beginning, and not to abide in the truth, but is a lyar, and the father of it.</HI> There is therefore a change, and a reall change in Satan, for the truth of God is turned into a lye in him, but it is <HI>in the number and act of his being:</HI> &s;o that it is as true and reall, that he was ne|ver otherwi&s;e, and therefore he is &s;aid al&s;o to be <HI>the fountaine and father of it,</HI> as he that is &s;o originally, even as <HI>Abraham</HI> that high Father, and ancient of dayes, is &s;ayd <HI>to be the father of the faithfull,</HI> as the originall and propagator of them all.</P>
<P>And without this unity of the harlot, pro&s;trating and adulte|rating the word of God unto the lu&s;ts of men, Satan is not known, but works in and by, and is conver&s;ant with man, and man knows it not.</P>
<P>It is true al&s;o, that there is a change, and a reall change in Chri&s;t the &s;on of the ble&s;&s;ed, for mans nature is changed from
<PB N="42" REF="29">
its vi&s;io&s;ity and vanity proper to the wi&s;dome of a creaeure, to become the undefiled of God in the ble&s;&s;ing and reality of &s;on-&s;hip: but this change <HI>is from the manner, in&s;tant, and eternall act of his being:</HI> &s;o that it is as true that he was never other but that un|defiled and reall &s;on of God ble&s;&s;ed for ever, with re&s;pect to time pa&s;t, and that which is to come.</P>
<P>So that the Son of God is never alive in the &s;pirit, but Satan is dead in and to him; nor is Satan alive in the fle&s;h; but Chri&s;t is dead in, and to him, and by his &s;laughter the world nouri&s;heth its heart, and fea&s;ts it &s;elfe; &s;o that the mortification of the &s;pirit of the Scripture, or word of life, is the revivall of the letter, which becomes the proper nouri&s;hment of the carnall minde, which is that &s;tate of death, <HI>for to be carnally minded is death.</HI></P>
<P>So al&s;o it is true in Chri&s;t, that the mortification of the fle&s;h in the abrogating of that carnall law of &s;in and death, is the &s;lay|ing of that Leviathan Sea-Dragon, or man of Sin, <HI>who is given to be meate for Gods people in the wilderne&s;&s;e;</HI> that is, it is the revivall of the &s;pirit which becomes the proper nouri&s;hment of the &s;ons of God, and is <HI>that bread from heaven that peri&s;heth not, and food of eternall life which abides for ever:</HI> And as food becomes one with that body that feeds upon it, in the nouri&s;hing of it, &s;o doth the &s;pirit and life of the living and eternall God, become one &s;tate and condition in that man of God, and my&s;ticall body of Chri&s;t Je&s;us our alone Lord&s;hip and &s;alvation.</P>
<P>And &s;o al&s;o doth that &s;pirit of death and de&s;truction, in that the truth of God is turned into a lye, become one &s;tate and con|dition in that man of &s;in, that vile body and my&s;tery of iniquity, wherein that eternall death only con&s;i&s;teth, and remayneth for ever. In the next ver&s;e he declares who it is they have killed, and the manner of it.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="43" REF="29">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 6. Yee have condemned and have killed the ju&s;t, and he doth not re&s;i&s;t you.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. <HI>The act of the wicked,</HI> Yee have condemned, and have killed the ju&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>The demeanour of the Ju&s;t,</HI> He doth not re&s;i&s;t them.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Their act is two-fold.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. They condemn him.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. They kill him.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. BY the ju&s;t here (as hath been declared) is meant, <HI>the Lord our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> or our ju&s;tice, as the Prophet calls him, <HI>Who&s;e path is as the &s;hining light which &s;hineth more and more unto the perfect day;</HI> that is, hath all manner and motions of glory in it, as from the ri&s;ing of the Sunne unto the height thereof, it is he onely in whom perfect ju&s;tice re&s;ides, which con&s;i&s;ts in a Ju&s;ti|fier, and a ju&s;tified, which is only found in Chri&s;t, out of whom no perfect ju&s;tice is found; for if the Ju&s;tifier be one, and the ju|&s;tified another individuall, or &s;ub&s;tance, there is a fraction in the act, it admits of default and imperfection, you cannot find it whole in either of them: Chri&s;t therefore is only ju&s;t; and hence it is, that &s;eates of Judicature mu&s;t either condemn him in the world, or el&s;e they cannot ju&s;tifie them&s;elves to have the perfecti|on of the Law, &s;o they are &s;ayd here to condemn the ju&s;t, or that ju&s;t one.</P>
<P>To condemn implies the giving of &s;entence, as by law, for there mu&s;t be a di&s;cerning wch is by a rule, or el&s;e &s;entence cannot pa&s;&s;e; and every thing hath its proper and peculiar law, whereby it &s;eeks to effect, the con&s;ervation and &s;afety of of it &s;elfe in its proper condition: and where the wi&s;dom of the fle&s;h and carnall mind gives the proper being unto the condition, it hath a certain law, bond, or engagement upon it, in way of argumentall and legall rea&s;oning for the &s;afety and con&s;ervation of it &s;elfe in its own principles and achievements, and to condemn and &s;entence what&s;oever makes for the bane and overthrow of them, and unto that &s;tands bound and engaged in it &s;elfe, as to its ruler or god.</P>
<P><PB N="44" REF="30">
Now the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t in the crucification of the fle&s;h, and order of that law of the &s;pirit, doth confound humane wi&s;dome in the way of its being, and all its enterprizes, making it the pro|per folly of the world, for it is written; <HI>I will de&s;troy the wi&s;dome of the wi&s;e, and will ca&s;t away the under&s;tanding of the prudent: Where is the wi&s;e? where is the &s;cribe? where is the di&s;puter of this world? hath not God made the wi&s;dome of this world fooli&s;hne&s;s?</HI> Therefore the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h or carnall law, doth bind over, under penal|ty of de&s;truction of it &s;elfe, to convent, arraign, convict, con|demn, and pa&s;&s;e a finall &s;entence upon the Son of God, that law of the &s;pirit of life, otherwi&s;e it cannot reteyn and con&s;erve it &s;elfe: So that we may as &s;oon (and with better acceptation) per&s;wade a rationall and ingenuous &s;pirit, to lye downe and ut|terly for&s;ake the nature and activity of his wi&s;dome, and to be|come a bea&s;t of the dulle&s;t capacity, as to per&s;wade a carnall mind where the &s;on of peace is not, upon the true and proper conditions of the Go&s;pel, to become a &s;on of God.</P>
<P>It is no marvell therefore <HI>though the world love their owne,</HI> and hate &s;uch as are taught of God, condemning &s;uch as ju&s;tifie the words of wi&s;dome, which only &s;ets forth the folly of the world, or el&s;e it appears not: <HI>And they only love the works of darkne&s;&s;e, and dare not come to the light, lea&s;t their deeds &s;hould be di&s;covered.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. They do not only condemn, but they kill the Ju&s;t one, and that in a two-fold re&s;pect.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, con&s;ider, that a thing is &s;aid to be killed, when it is ex|pelled the proper place of its aboad, &s;o it is &s;lain in way of ne|gation and denying it its right and due: Deny a fi&s;h the water, and it is killed; take a plant out of the earth, and it withereth; take water out of the Sea, and it moves not in ebbing and flow|ing; and deny any thing the benefit of the ayre, and it cannot live, no not the water, nor the fire it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Now man-kind is the proper place of Gods re&s;idency and a|bode in the exerci&s;e and manife&s;tation of his wi&s;dome; <HI>delighting him&s;elfe in the habitable parts of his earth, even in the &s;ons of men.</HI></P>
<P>But where the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h beares &s;way, and makes its abode, there the wi&s;dome of God is denyed any place of re&s;iden|cy; therefore Chri&s;t <HI>who is the wi&s;dome of God, and the power of God,</HI> lives not there in any of his operations and vertues; for as <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Jo&s;eph, he is not;</HI> that is, he is not living in that heart.</P>
<P><PB N="45" REF="30">
2. He is killed actually, by laying violent hands, or admini|&s;trations upon him, to the quenching of his &s;pirit, whereby he becomes life-le&s;&s;e in the world, haling him to the places of execu|tion, for Chri&s;t never appeared, or was known in the world, but by vertue of an office, and in&s;titution.</P>
<P>For how can a King appeare, but by vertue of his inaugurati|on; or a Prophet, but by or in the &s;pirit of a Prophet: Or what is a Prie&s;t, if he have not &s;omewhat to offer? for he cannot be a Prie&s;t without. Chri&s;t appears not, but by vertue of in&s;titution and commi&s;&s;ion to execute, perform, and do the will of the Fa|ther; therefore he &s;aith, <HI>I come not to do my owne will, but the will of him that &s;ent me.</HI></P>
<P>Now to in&s;titute temporary Ordinances, and offices vani&s;hing and fading, not holding corre&s;pondency with the nature and con|&s;titution of Chri&s;t, it is to de&s;troy and thru&s;t out the proper &s;pirit and authority of Chri&s;t, as it not having a being in the world.</P>
<P>For to frame an Office or Ordinance of Chri&s;t, and not to have the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, is to de&s;troy and aboli&s;h unto them&s;elves that my&s;ticall body of Chri&s;t, even as a naturall body deprived of the &s;oule that gives it life, is thereby aboli&s;hed and turned to pu|trifaction.</P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider then how to form Ordinances, and e&s;tabli&s;h of|fices and Officers of Chri&s;t; for if they have not in them the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, they will prove no better then tho&s;e legall and Jewi&s;h &s;ervices taken up from <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as repre&s;enting the letter of the Scripture, and accordingly practiced in the dayes of Chri&s;t, by <HI>Herod, Pontius Pilate, Scribes, Phari&s;ees, Lawyers,</HI> and <HI>Souldiers,</HI> and the whole body of the people, who cryed out, <HI>crucifie him, crucifie him, away with him.</HI></P>
<P>When water in the River or Pond hath the &s;pirit of life from God in it, then we &s;hall count it as an Ordinance of Chri&s;t; when bread and wine on the Table have the &s;pirit of mortification of the fle&s;h, and quickning power of the re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t in them, then will they prove &s;pirituall Ordinances of Chri&s;t, be|&s;eeming the &s;on of the living God.</P>
<P>For there is no office, exerci&s;e, or ordinance proper to the kingdome of God, that is voyd and de&s;titute of the holy &s;pirit of the Son of God, who is that great ordinance of God in whom e|very particular is wrapped up and infolded, and not one of them
<PB N="46" REF="31">
barren, or de&s;titute of the &s;ame &s;pirit of life from God; otherwi&s;e all Ordinances and offices taken up from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, are of the &s;ame nature of tho&s;e taken up from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in Chri&s;ts days, and &s;hall prove of the &s;ame effect when ever Chri&s;t appears, for the one &s;tands upon the proper letter of the Scripture as well as the other; and Satan can alledg the Scripture to back his temptation, as well as Chri&s;t doth, for the confounding of him. Now if the &s;pirit and life of &s;uch Ordinances depend upon the Prie&s;ts and Elders, the In&s;tituters and Con&s;ervators of them; why &s;hould they then contend with tho&s;e which they call Papi&s;ts, but joyne hand in hand as being one with them.</P>
<P>Let us remember therefore, that If we bereave the body of the proper &s;oule and &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, we aboli&s;h and de&s;troy the Ju&s;t one, and turn him to corruption unto our &s;elves.</P>
<P>3. The next poynt is the demeanor of the ju&s;t: <HI>And he re&s;i&s;teth you not;</HI> that is, he doth not &s;tay or hinder your project &amp; violence from execution, he doth not detain nor keep back him&s;elf from you, but patiently &s;uffers him&s;elf to be di&s;poiled of all his vertues and excellencies in you, which are the native and proper opera|tions of the Son of God, cea&s;ing from his own work in you, that you may take your full &s;winge in that which is proper and natu|rall unto you, as to exerci&s;e your pride and policy; <HI>your prin|cipalities &amp; powers of darkne&s;&s;e, your &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es in high pla|ces, according to the Prince of the power of the ayre.</HI> That where&s;oever any heart is empty and de&s;titute of she &s;pirit of God, hee in&s;inu|ates him&s;elfe to be the fulne&s;&s;e of it; that according to that plen|ty of wickedne&s;&s;e, the wrath of God may finde fuell to kindle it &s;elfe upon, and &s;o he freely without re&s;i&s;tance layes downe his life in the wicked as a ran&s;ome, that he may take it againe in his Saints, and in them live for ever: And &s;o much for the death of Chri&s;t according to the &s;pirit in the men of the world, <HI>who cruci|fie afre&s;h unto them&s;elves the &s;onne of God, and make a mocke of him.</HI></P>
<P>And from this our Apo&s;tle infers an exhortation con&s;i&s;ting of divers particulars, which do concern the death of Chri&s;t accor|ding to the fle&s;h, as he is con&s;idered in the Saints: and that is the &s;econd generall head in the Chapter, which is contained to the 12. <HI>ver&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>And with re&s;pect unto death in both the&s;e re&s;pects, the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>God forbid that I &s;hould rejoyce in any thing, &s;ave in the cro&s;s
<PB N="47" REF="31">
of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whereby the world is crucified in me, and I am crucified in the world.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 7. Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord: behold, the husbandman waiteth for the preci|fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it untill he receive the early and latter raine.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The terme or kinde appellation, <HI>Brethren.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. An exhortation, in the&s;e words, <HI>Be patient.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. How long, or to what end; <HI>To the coming of Chri&s;t.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. An allu&s;ion to a husbandman, with re&s;pect to his &s;eed-time, and harve&s;t.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. ANd fir&s;t, for the term given unto them, <HI>Brethren,</HI> which is with re&s;pect unto that brother-hood which is in Chri&s;t, <HI>who is not a&s;hamed to call us brethren,</HI> whereby he declares their di&s;|junction and &s;eparation from the men formerly &s;poken of, as not being naturalized, or having any part or portion in that manner of death formerly expre&s;&s;ed, nor any allyance thereunto.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whence he infers the exhortation, <HI>Be patient therefore;</HI> that is, as the Son of God &s;uffers him&s;elfe to be deprived and laid wa&s;t of all &s;pirituall glory, vertue, and operations of his &s;pirit in the world, to re&s;cue you and deliver you there-from, even &s;o do you &s;uffer your &s;elves without any re&s;i&s;tance, to be routed and di&s;poi|led of all humane, tran&s;itory, and fading excellencies of the world; that as he fully &s;uffereth in the wicked in point of the &s;pi|rit, as being layd wa&s;te of all the things thereof, for there is a fulfilling or fulne&s;&s;e of the Scripture in <HI>Judas</HI> and the <HI>Jewes</HI> in putting Chri&s;t to death, in regard of the letter of it.</P>
<P>So do you patiently endure to be di&s;poyled and layd wa&s;te of all that carnall and temporall glory of the world, in what&s;oever it may &s;eem to con&s;i&s;t; for there is a fulfilling or fulne&s;&s;e of the Scripture in the man of God al&s;o, even in that <HI>Emanuel,</HI> God with us, or in us, in regard of the true &s;pirit and life of the word of God, therefore the fle&s;h mu&s;t be aboli&s;hed, that &s;o the fulne&s;s of the &s;pirit may appear, which otherwi&s;e it cannot do.</P>
<P><PB N="48" REF="32">
The word tran&s;lated <HI>patience,</HI> is the &s;ame, where the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I John even your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdome and patience of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> or in the Kingdome and <HI>under-abiding</HI> of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as the word is truly rendered; that is, a &s;uffering of the lo&s;&s;e of all things carnall and tran&s;itory, through that Princely power of the &s;pirit that reigns in the king|dome of God, that &s;o Chri&s;t his &s;uffering in the fle&s;h may be as full and compleat as that in the &s;pirit, that &s;o the form of the Cherubims on each end of the Mercy-&s;eate may an&s;wer one to a|nother, from between which the Oracle of. God ever utteteth it &s;elfe, and el&s;e-where expre&s;&s;eth not it &s;elfe in the Sanctuary; and hence is Chri&s;t &s;aid to come, or &s;pring up in this place, and that is the third point unto what this &s;uffering tends, and whereunto it &s;erves, and that is, <HI>to the coming of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. The word tran&s;lated <HI>coming,</HI> &s;ignifies to &s;pring, grow up, or a&s;cend, teaching us hereby, that this is the way of the re|&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, and his a&s;cention into all &s;pirituall and heavenly glory; for he gives him&s;elfe unto death, in re&s;pect of any life of the &s;pirit, being, or exi&s;ting in the world, or any glo|ry of his pre&s;ence in point of his divine grace, ever to appeare there, that is, in the wicked: and this is as a compleat and unva|luable ran&s;ome, whereby he purcha&s;eth unto him&s;elfe mi&s;erable and fraile fle&s;h in that way of his Saints, to be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed for ever in the power of his &s;pirit in all the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, being cloathed thereupon with the glory of the &s;ons of God, and heyrs of his Kingdom; this patience therefore is to the coming of the Lord into unity and brother-hood with fraile man.</P>
<P>The argument then &s;tands thus: If Chri&s;t &s;uffer death in the &s;pirit in the men of the world, freely giving up him&s;elfe thereun|to without re&s;i&s;tance to an eternall &s;eparation of his &s;pirit, and glory of his power, from that which he him&s;elfe is (namely man.)</P>
<P>Do you in like manner &s;uffer your &s;elves to be deprived of all the excellency &amp; glory of this world, and freely lay down your life in re&s;pect of any living thereunto, without re&s;i&s;tance; for it is not unto &s;eparation or departure, but to the &s;pringing up and coming of the Lord, that you may a&s;cend into that which he is in him&s;elfe, namely into the &s;tate and condition of an only &s;on.</P>
<P><PB N="49" REF="32">
Let the world take notice, that if the Son of God give it its full &s;cope without re&s;i&s;tance, to &s;et up and exalt it &s;elfe in riches, power, policy, and all wantonne&s;&s;e and la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, what a &s;hame is it to the world to deny him liberty and freedome in his Saints, to exerci&s;e him&s;elfe in all his vertues, offices, and operati|ons of his &s;pirit in his hou&s;e and kingdome, but they mu&s;t be judging him to be factious, &s;editious, pernicious, erroneous, and bla&s;phemous, and that by &s;uch as are mo&s;t properly &s;ealed up unto carnall and humane principles in Schools of humane learn|ing, &s;o as they dare not give an Expo&s;ition upon the word of God, but &s;o as it may be con&s;onant to the rules of humane Art, unle&s;&s;e they receive it at &s;econd hand by &s;ome approved Author, that pa&s;&s;eth for currant in the &s;tate where they live. While the world walks, and works in this &s;phear, we &s;hall &s;ee nothing a|mong the &s;ons of the mighty, but meerly <HI>Babels</HI> confu&s;ion. For the mo&s;t curious Arti&s;t de&s;titute of the &s;pirit of God, exerci&s;ing in the word of God, brings forth the greate&s;t confu&s;ion; for he is bound to pre&s;erve and maintayn the fle&s;h, which in all poynts lu&s;teth again&s;t the &s;pirit, and is contrary thereunto: So that it is the divi&s;ion of language, for his tongue is divided from God in all expre&s;&s;ions, if hee be under&s;tood according to his true intent.</P>
<P N="4">4. The amplification follows by an elegant allu&s;ion to a Hu&s;|bandman, with re&s;pect to his &s;eed-time and harve&s;t.</P>
<P>We all know of what nature the patient waiting of a husband-man is, with re&s;pect to his &s;eed-time and harve&s;t: Let us there|fore take out the meaning of the allu&s;ion, wherein is contayned a my&s;tery implyed in this word <HI>Behold,</HI> noting unto us the ap|pearance of a &s;igne or wonder, as was formerly &s;ayd of the &s;ame phra&s;e.</P>
<P>Now the Husband-man is the Son of God, who &s;owes good &s;eed in his field: But the enemy in this his &s;leep of death, unto the &s;pirit in the men of the world (or man of &s;in) &s;owes tares, for it is the word of God that is &s;own in the world; but being recei|ved and formed by the would, compo&s;ed of the principle and di|ctates of humane wi&s;dome, which hath in it the very characters of the letter of the Scriptures, which is the compleat form of the law of &s;in and death (even as the wi&s;dome of the &s;pirit hath in is the compleat form of the law of the &s;pirit of life) and being re|ceived
<PB N="50" REF="33">
and formed in that mould, it becomes a pernicious and unfruitfull tare.</P>
<P>In like manner, as the &s;pirit of the creature being ca&s;t into that mould of whol&s;ome Doctrine, doth through that wi&s;dom of God (become in it) <HI>the true &s;eed of immortality, to increa&s;e with the increa|&s;ings of God.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In the allu&s;ion or metaphor, we have to con&s;ider,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. A wonder noted in the word, <HI>Behold.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A patient waiting or abiding; <HI>The husband-man waiteth.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. For what? that is, <HI>for the precious fruits of the earth.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The time is, <HI>with long patience.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. The meanes of receiving them, and that is, <HI>The former and lat|ter raine.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>FIr&s;t, for the word <HI>Behold,</HI> implying a wonder, note thus much in the di&s;tinction of it from the former expre&s;&s;ion, for the word of God in every phra&s;e hath its peculiar and di&s;tinct lu&s;tre. In the former, Chri&s;t is brought in as an hireling in his death in the &s;pirit here, as the Husbandman, or Lord of the harve&s;t, in his dying unto the fle&s;h.</P>
<P>Whence we ob&s;erve;</P>
<P><HI>That it is a like wonder and miraculous act and deed, for the &s;onne of God to be made an hireling in the world, or kingdome of men, as it is for the &s;onne of man</HI> (Enoch, <HI>&s;orry and ba&s;e man, made of the earth) to be made Lord of the harve&s;t, ruler of heaven and earth.</HI> Let this be the only u&s;e of it, to carry newes to all men, that he that knows not the my&s;tery of the one, cannot unfold the <HI>Chidah,</HI> that hidden matter or riddle of the other; for the &s;pirit of <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> can interpret the dream of <HI>Pharaoh's</HI> Baker, as well as that of his Butlers.</P>
<P>2. <HI>The husbandman waites;</HI> The word implyes a wayting, as an over-&s;eer, to give things their due, and to keep from harm; hee tarries and abides by his field to &s;ee that nothing be wanting, nor that any tare be pluckt up to the hurt or di&s;advantage of the corne, but will have them grow together till harve&s;t.</P>
<P>Whence we ob&s;erve,</P>
<P><HI>That there can be no true and acceptable divi&s;ion made betwixt wheat
<PB N="51" REF="33">
and tares, ju&s;t and unju&s;t, but by the perfect growth and ripene&s;&s;e of them both; the man of God mu&s;t be brought forth unto perfection, &s;o al&s;o mu&s;t the man of &s;inne.</HI> Yea, the &s;eed of God &s;own in that great field of the world, not in one age, but in all ages thereof; as al&s;o the &s;eed of the Serpent, or tares &s;own by that evill one, mu&s;t be opened unto the full mea&s;ure of &s;in, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in the one, and in the other, <HI>or el&s;e no man can rightly divide between the precious and the vile.</HI> He cannot pluck up a tare otherwi&s;e, but he hurts the wheat; for no man can &s;cant a wicked man of the fulne&s;&s;e of &s;in, but he be&s;mears the Ju&s;t one, that holy one of God, with what hee keepes back from the wicked; for if it be not brought unto the wicked, as to its proper &s;eate in its perfection, it is left unto the Son of God, as he yet abiding under it. This Lord of the Harve&s;t therefore waits as a carefull and diligent over-&s;eer, that no &s;uch great inconvenience and evill befall his field, or hinder the right and joyfull in gathering of his harve&s;t.</P>
<P>They therefore that go about to gather in the wheat, or binde up the tares, before they be waiters and over-&s;eers unto fulne&s;&s;e and perfection of both, that they can truly &s;ay, the harve&s;t is come, <HI>which is the end of the world</HI> (namely of all worldly excel|lencies of the Saints) the&s;e are tho&s;e unskilfull &s;ervants which know not the mind of the Lord, nor is their enterprize accepta|ble unto him.</P>
<P>3. <HI>He waits for the precious fruits of the earth,</HI> and tarries and a|bides to pre&s;erve all things in order and place, to the appearing of them, which are the abundant and fruitfull exerci&s;es of mercy and ju&s;tice, which &s;pring up in the ju&s;t and unju&s;t.</P>
<P>The&s;e are they which the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peakes of, when he &s;aith; <HI>Mercy and truth are met together, ju&s;tice and peace have ki&s;&s;ed each other.</HI> For the&s;e are both alike innocent and guiltle&s;&s;e, precious, and of like difficulty to be found out, as they are gathered together, and exerci&s;ed by the wi&s;dome and power of God, who thru&s;ts in the &s;ickle of his wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, as well as of his love and good will, when the regions are white unto the harve&s;t in the one re&s;pect and in the other.</P>
<P>For it is alike precious thing in God to redeem and deliver the elect by man; and yet to free man in point of his own proper na|ture and ability from being any cau&s;e or furtherance in the work
<PB N="52" REF="34">
thereof, as it is to condemn and de&s;troy the wicked by the Son of God, and yet to free God in point of his own native properties and operations from being any furtherance of the work thereof, and without both the one and the other of the&s;e brought to light, the words of wi&s;dome are not ju&s;tified.</P>
<P>In the one, he that glorieth (or as the word is) prai&s;eth him|&s;elfe, it mu&s;t be in the Lord, for the boa&s;ting of all fle&s;h is ex|cluded.</P>
<P>In the other, he that is &s;hamefully di&s;honoured and bla&s;phe|med, it is only in man, for the Son of God is mo&s;t glorious and excellent for ever, and mo&s;t precious fruits of ju&s;tice and mercy a|ri&s;eth from each of them.</P>
<P>In the one, the Lord alone is our &s;alvation and our &s;trength; and in the other, <HI>Oh I&s;rael, thy de&s;truction is of thy &s;elfe.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The fourth point is, the time of waiting, and that is with long patience.</HEAD>
<P>The length of this <HI>patience</HI> is an&s;werable to <HI>the long &s;uffering of God in the dayes of Noah,</HI> who &s;uffered him&s;elfe to be mortified, in re&s;pect of all &s;pirituall and holy things in <HI>Cain,</HI> even as <HI>Abel</HI> was by him &s;laine, and put to death; for in <HI>Cain</HI> the life of righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e never appeared, for he was de&s;troyed in his &s;eed in the de|luge, in that re&s;pect never to live; onely none is to put him to death, nor dimini&s;h him in his living unto the fle&s;h, in which re|&s;pect he lives to this day, <HI>in tho&s;e that wander in the way of Cain,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle teacheth, and &s;o <HI>Abels</HI> blood &s;peaks wrath in him untill now.</P>
<P>And <HI>Abel</HI> is never to live after the fle&s;h, nor bring forth an off-&s;pring in that way, and yet &s;peaks in that voyce of faith and life of Chri&s;t in <HI>Seth, that &s;et one in his &s;tead,</HI> of whom Chri&s;t came as an offering acceptable, and of &s;weet &s;melling &s;avour before God for ever.</P>
<P>This patience then hath the length of eternity in it; for he that cannot expect the reception, and ri&s;ing up of the&s;e fruits at an e|ternall di&s;tance, as fre&s;h and new in exerci&s;e and execution, as though they had never taken being before, both in mercy to the godly, and in terrour to the wicked; he can never perceive, nor rightfully enjoy the pre&s;ent being of the one nor the other.</P>
<P>For if we look upon them according to the dimentions which
<PB N="53" REF="34">
God gives unto them, then are they to come unto eternity, both the de&s;truction of the wicked <HI>in our ran&s;ome,</HI> as the &s;alvation of the ju&s;t in their purcha&s;ed po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and they are both of them re|ally pre&s;ent in that act of expectation, even as the Son of God is one that is, and is to come: So that in patient waiting, we po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e, and in pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion we patiently waite, el&s;e things are not looked upon, as having God in unity, but only as Crea|ture in relation to Creature: but the Apo&s;tle te&s;tifies, that <HI>Abra|ham</HI> in wayting for the Promi&s;e, had the pre&s;ent enjoyment of it, and that as the father of all the faithful, who only inherit accor|dingly, and in no other way, and thence he brings in the next point</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Which is the fifth in order, and that is the meanes of receiving of them, and that is the early and the latter raine.</HEAD>
<P>This early and late raine, the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> calls it <HI>the fir&s;t rain in the &s;econd,</HI> implying that the reality of them both is in one act, as the Son of God is &s;ayd to be <HI>the fir&s;t and the la&s;t,</HI> and yet but one Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Now we know, that in point of husbandry the fir&s;t raine gives properly the &s;eed to put forth root downward; and the &s;econd, or letter raine cau&s;eth <HI>to put forth into blade, eare, and full or ripe corne in the eare:</HI> Therefore the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;aith, that the e&s;ca|ped of the hou&s;e of <HI>Judah &s;hall take root down-ward, and bring forth fruit upward.</HI></P>
<P>Now the rooting which the Saints give both unto ju&s;t and un|ju&s;t is from eternity, otherwi&s;e we give them not the proper meanes of their growth; for the P&s;almi&s;t affirms that <HI>the birth|dew of Chri&s;t is from the womb of the early morning;</HI> and the ground hereof is (as hath been &s;aid) becau&s;e the eternall is in the uni|ted, and therefore he is &s;ayd to be <HI>a dew unto I&s;rael, that he may ca&s;t forth his roots and branches, and grow as a lilly:</HI> and as the root goes down into eternity in point of time pa&s;t, el&s;e no proper meanes of growth, &s;o the branch in the height of it, and full corn in the eare, to the ripene&s;&s;e of it, is unto eternity for time to come, el&s;e hath it not the perfection of its growth.</P>
<P>And it is an act of like nature in faith, and of like nece&s;&s;ity to &s;alvation, to give it &s;elfe a being from eternity, as to give it &s;elfe a
<PB N="54" REF="35">
being to eternity; and hee that mi&s;&s;eth in the one, and &s;inneth in the other for his eternity to come, is but from tradition. For without the fetching up of him&s;elfe from the one, and &s;tretching out him&s;elfe unto the other, he hath not the proper and e&s;&s;entiall being of a Chri&s;tian, therefore Chri&s;t is de&s;cribed in whom&s;oever he appears, to be he <HI>which was, and which is, and which is to come.</HI></P>
<P>Note here, that the mi&s;take of this point is the ground of all that deceitfull doctrine at this day &s;o acceptable in the world, namely that &s;uch excellent times, and al&s;o mi&s;erable dayes and places have been, which are not now to be found in the world, as <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> con&s;idered both in <HI>Canaan,</HI> and in <HI>Aegypt</HI> al&s;o; and &s;uch excellent times are to come, as were never yet attained unto, as in that new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> calling of the <HI>Jewes,</HI> or Chri&s;t coming to reign a certaine &s;pace on the earth, as the &s;ole Monarch of the world, taking the letter of the word in which death con&s;i&s;ts, to be their proper guide and directory, whereas the proper &s;cope and intent is, by an hi&s;toricall narration of things which have been, to fetch up things of an eternall nature, to give them a pre|&s;ent and reall being both in ju&s;t &amp; unju&s;t, from a time &s;o early, as none can ever de&s;cend beneath, to pre&s;ent it otherwi&s;e: And al&s;o when the Scriptures &s;peake in way of Propheticall prediction of things that are to come, men take occa&s;ion thereby to carry us up in a phanaticall conceipt; to look after that which never yet was, whereas the &s;cope is to fetch down things that reach unto eternity to give us the pre&s;ent enjoyment of them, which never any can get beyond, or climbe higher; this deceitfull &s;pirit of, was, or will be, but is not in pre&s;ent exi&s;tence, could never en|dure the pre&s;ent appearance of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But if he be truly made manife&s;t, it is a torment unto them, and they &s;ay in heart, <HI>he comes to torment them before their time.</HI> But to conclude this point, we affirm that pre&s;ent precious fruit, to|gether with patient waiting for, is the proper inheritance of the promi&s;e, containing both &s;owing and in gathering in the king|dome of God; and to &s;eparate them, is to divide Chri&s;t, who is ever in unity, and never without the &s;ayd re&s;pects, whereupon he brings in the next words as an inference.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="55" REF="35">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 8. Be yee al&s;o patient, &s;tabli&s;h your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In which words ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The renewing of the exhortation; <HI>Be ye al&s;o patient.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. An enlargement thereof, drawn from the former metaphor or amplification, in the&s;e words, <HI>Stabli&s;h your hearts.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The ground or rea&s;on of it; <HI>For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>BE ye al&s;o patient;</HI> that is, do every one of you &s;tate him&s;elfe in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">he condition of the Husband-man, and per&s;onate the Hu&s;|bandman in him&s;elf, that &s;o in patient waiting for, you may enjoy the harve&s;t of the promi&s;e in the precious &amp; rare things of God in Chri&s;t, and in the pre&s;ent enjoyment of them, you may expect the coming of them in like glory, power, and virtue for e|ver.</P>
<P>The earth brings forth &s;ufficient for its inhabitants in one year, but it hath not &s;pent its virtue, but hath a new glory and &s;tore brought forth the next al&s;o, continuing its virtue and ability therein from the beginning; and &s;hall we think that ever the Sonne of God &s;hall be &s;o comprehended and gra&s;ped up together in his glory and virtue, that he hath it not to bring forth a fre&s;h, both in mercy and ju&s;tice, as though it had never before appea|red; not &s;o, for <HI>in his pre&s;ence is &s;ociety, and fulne&s;&s;e of joy;</HI> that is, perfection thereof at pre&s;ent; <HI>and at his right hand are plea&s;ures for evermore;</HI> that is, a delightfull and plea&s;ant renewing of them for ever.</P>
<P>Note here, that tho&s;e per&s;ons, that preach a defect and imper|fection in Chri&s;tianity, they ever hold a time to come when there &s;hall never be more attained, though not at death, yet at the day of their carnallized judgement, which is all one, as to hold that the Sonne of God may be exhau&s;ted and drawn dry in re&s;pect of his virtues, as though he were not that living fountaine that runs afre&s;h for ever, or as though the eternall were wrapt up in the
<PB N="56" REF="36">
bounds of time, and that infinite were now become fioite, this is the glory and top of &s;uch mens religion, that teach or hold an imperfection in the &s;tate of Chri&s;tianity; and it is only tradition that keeps them from preaching it in Chri&s;t al&s;o, for otherwi&s;e they know not his perfection.</P>
<P>2. He ads further in the exhortation grounded upon the for|mer doctrine, <HI>Stabli&s;h your hearts;</HI> that is, &s;ettle, fix, and confirme your &s;pirits upon this foundation, or two-fold piller in the Sonne of God, namely the reality of his immediate pre&s;ence, compleatly and perfectly, and that he is no le&s;&s;e compleatly to come; therefore it is, that <HI>he comes in preaching peace to them that are afarr off, &amp; to them that are nigh,</HI> alluding to the hi&s;tory of the Jewes and Gentiles, but the body and truth is in Chri&s;t, for it is no parradox to faith, to &s;ay Chri&s;t is the neare&s;t, and al&s;o the farthe&s;t of; for <HI>faith is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of things hoped for;</HI> that is, it is the pre&s;ent being of things that yet are not, for hope which is &s;een is no hope.</P>
<P>And it is <HI>the evidence of things not &s;een;</HI> that is, it is a plaine de|mon&s;tration of that which yet appears not; for he never appears but he hath a new manife&s;tation of him&s;elfe yet to come, other|wi&s;e the Sonne of God would waxe old; and <HI>that which waxeth old, is ready to vani&s;h and pa&s;&s;e away:</HI> but he abides for ever, with|out decay, like <HI>that old commandement that is from the beginning, and that new commandement</HI> that is &s;till to come, and &s;pring up afre&s;h in all that are intre&s;t therein.</P>
<P>Againe, we are to be e&s;tabli&s;hed in this in like manner, that there is the pre&s;ens being of wrath in the wicked, and likewi&s;e to come, as though it had never yet been; for <HI>he that believes not, wrath abides upon him already;</HI> yea and it is the wrath to come al&s;o, and therefore <HI>there is a fearfull expectation of wrath in the wicked,</HI> for <HI>there is a hoarding up of wrath,</HI> as having &s;tored up the perfection of it, and <HI>it is again&s;t a day of wrath and revelation of the ju&s;t judgement of God,</HI> which is likewi&s;e to come.</P>
<P>In the&s;e things we are to have our hearts confirmed, and to &s;tand fa&s;t, <HI>as that Angel that &s;tands with one foot on the &s;ea, and the o|upon the land, lifting up his hand to heaven, and &s;wears by him that crea|ted all things, that time &s;hall be no more;</HI> and that with that courage and boldne&s;&s;e, <HI>as in a lyon that roareth;</HI> for how&s;oever all things
<PB N="57" REF="36">
that God hath made may be &s;aid to be &s;ubject unto the circuit of time, yet is there no time of that man of &s;inne, that time of tur|bulent trouble of the &s;ea, found in the man of God, in that quiet re&s;t in the land of <HI>Emanuel,</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the oath of confirmation hath pa&s;&s;ed that puts an end to all controver&s;ie; no time of Sa|tan in the Son of God: neither is there any time, or age of man found in that Antichri&s;t and &s;on of perdition; an oath is pa&s;t, to put it out of doubt, that in the one re&s;pect and the other, time &s;hall be no more; and he that is an Angell, or me&s;&s;enger from heaven, can boldly and confidently proclaime the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Therefore <HI>when the &s;eaven thunders utter their voyce, and John is a|bout to write,</HI> hearing them di&s;tinctly, yet is forbidden, for the &s;ame voyce hath a prohibition in it, and commands al&s;o <HI>to &s;eale them up</HI> as a &s;ecret.</P>
<P>For the my&s;tery of iniquity <HI>is to be &s;ealed up, as a &s;evenfold ful|ne&s;&s;e and perfection thereof in that man of &s;inne,</HI> and &s;tate of the wic|ked, &s;o that no letter, nor character thereof, be once mentioned as recorded in that &s;tate and condition of Chri&s;tianity, that is by Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>So al&s;o <HI>that &s;evenfold my&s;tery of God in as plain and apparant voyce unto the gracious Saint, is to be &s;ealed up in that &s;tate and condition of the Sonne of God,</HI> &s;o as not one letter, or fillable thereof, no not a jot or tittle, be mentioned, as recorded in the &s;tate of the man of &s;in, tho&s;e Rolls of <HI>Babylon,</HI> Statutes of <HI>Omry,</HI> and Chronologies of all wicked <HI>Ahabs</HI> and <HI>Je&s;abels</HI> what&s;oever, for the voyce of the &s;e|venfold perfection of the my&s;tery of God, is &s;ilent and &s;peaks not in any of them all.</P>
<P>Note here hence, that &s;uch as write bitter things in the Saints of God, as &s;in, and uncleanne&s;&s;e, not yet purged and taken away, as al&s;o good things in wicked men, as remenders of that good I|mage of God wherein man was created, they know neither the prohibition, nor yet the command given unto that great Angell that comes down from heaven; nor have they the oath of God upon them, for the confirmation of time, to put it out of controver&s;ie in the &s;oules of men, how it is no more.</P>
<P>The ground of the &s;etling of the heart through patience fol|lowes,</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="58" REF="37">
<HEAD>Becau&s;e the coming of the Lord drawes nigh.</HEAD>
<P>By Lord here, is meant the Lord Je&s;us, and by coming is meant his grouth or &s;pringing up in his perfection: The word <HI>draw,</HI> &s;ignifies the continuation and extention of a thing to the utter|mo&s;t, as in the P&s;alms, <HI>draw out thy loving kindne&s;&s;e to them that know thee,</HI> or extend and continue thy loving kindne&s;&s;e to them that know or acknowledge thee, to be what indeed thou art.</P>
<P>And againe, wilt thou draw out or extend thy wrath unto all generations, or wilt thou <HI>draw out thy wrath to generation and gene|ration;</HI> as if he &s;hould &s;ay, is not thy wrath extended unto that generation of the wicked one, that &s;eed of the &s;erpent, in the ful|ne&s;&s;e and perfection thereof, and therefore the generation of the ju&s;t are cleared and acquit from the &s;ame for ever, &s;o that it can|not be drawn out <HI>to generation and generation,</HI> in ca&s;e that one po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e the fulne&s;&s;e of it.</P>
<P>The word <HI>nigh,</HI> &s;ignifies unity, and that in the neare&s;t bond of affinity, therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>thou &s;halt not come nigh thy kinne;</HI> that is, to enter into contract and copulation with them, which is of &s;uch nearne&s;&s;e as two to become one fle&s;h, where there is <HI>a leaving of father and mother,</HI> to become one in that mutuall bond as not knowing or owning any other.</P>
<P>The argument then &s;tande thus; that if the Son of God, who is before all time, yea from eternity, and is that <HI>Lamb &s;laine from the beginning,</HI> hath (notwith&s;tanding) extended and drawn out him&s;elfe to be kindred unto you, and become one with you in the neare&s;t affiance and unity that can be, rai&s;ing up him&s;elfe in you <HI>as Lord and King,</HI> yea <HI>as Prince of peace, being your pre&s;ent exalta|tion, lord&s;hip, and authory in your immediate condition,</HI> if no time hath intervened, no &s;tate &s;wallowed him up, no Saint &s;o ingro&s;&s;ed him to him&s;elfe alone, no per&s;ecution prevented, <HI>nor Princes of this world crucified the Lord of glory &s;o;</HI> but that he hath drawn out him&s;elfe from eternity in re&s;pect of time pa&s;t, to become one with you in the neare&s;t bond, as to be but one condition together with you; one faith, one love, one wi&s;dome, one joy, one &s;trrength, and authority, one rule and lord&s;hip, yea one exaltati|on,
<PB N="59" REF="37">
a&s;cention, and preferment; be ye then patient, and &s;ettle your hearts, waite and expect without wavouring, that from this unity and pre&s;ent being of the happy and ble&s;&s;ed e&s;tate you &s;tand in, he will extend and draw out him&s;elfe in you, without any ob&s;truction, or interruption unto eternall aye, rai&s;ing up him&s;elf afre&s;h in you, as lord and king without all interruption, intermi&s;&s;ion, decay or controule, but in all the variety of his glo|ry &s;hall ever appear like him&s;elf the Sonne of eternity, and of the ble&s;&s;ed God.</P>
<P>Whereupon he amplifies his exhortation, backing it with ar|guments in the next ver&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 9. Grudge not one again&s;t another, brethren, le&s;t ye be condemned: behold, the Judge &s;tandeth before the doore.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein we note,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The terme he gives them; <HI>that is,</HI> brethern.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A duty, or dehortation, <HI>Grudge not one again&s;t another;</HI>
<LIST>
<HEAD>which he backs with a two fold argument.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. From the danger, <HI>Lea&s;t ye be condemned.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Readine&s;&s;e for execution, and that in way of wonder, <HI>behold the Judge &s;tandeth before the doore.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>THe word brother in this place, comprehends not onely the brotherhood of the Saints of God as in the next ver&s;e where he adds, <HI>my brethren;</HI> but al&s;o a certaine relation in brother-hood which is between the &s;aints and men of the world, &s;et forth unto us in that between <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au,</HI> which the Scripture &s;o often expre&s;&s;eth, and alludeth unto, <HI>Was not E&s;au Jacobs brother, &s;aith the Lord, yet I have loved Jacob, and hated E&s;au, and have laid his mountaine wa&s;t, and his heritage for the Dragons of the wilder|ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>For Chri&s;t ari&s;eth and is brought forth, out of as near a kinn with the men of the world, as <HI>Jacob</HI> was unto <HI>E&s;au</HI> his brother, who had <HI>both one father, even I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>one mother,</HI> being both be|gotten
<PB N="60" REF="38">
<HI>at one going in of I&s;aac to Rebecca,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle reports un|to the <HI>Romans.</HI></P>
<P>Even &s;o Chri&s;t and Belial, God and the Devill, &s;pring out of one act of union, and conjunction of God and man, which mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have in its divine wi&s;dome and humane, el&s;e God and man are not exi&s;ting therein.</P>
<P>For the wi&s;dome of God tran&s;cends all creatures, and it is the excellency of man-kinde, that his wi&s;dome tran&s;cends all crea|tures on the earth be&s;ides him&s;elfe: So that without the wi&s;|dome of God, and the wi&s;dome of a creature, the creation of man is not, for he is made in the Image of God.</P>
<P>Therefore in the propagation of the Sonne of God, there is the wi&s;dome of God, &s;ubjecting and pro&s;trating mans wi&s;dome unto it &s;elfe, which is the bringing forth of Chri&s;t the Sonne of God.</P>
<P>Al&s;o the wi&s;dome humane &s;ubjecting and pro&s;trating the wi&s;|dome of God unto it &s;elfe, as the Serpent did the wi&s;dome of the woman, who was made in the Image of God, is the bring|ing forth of Antichri&s;t the &s;eed of the Serpent the &s;onne of per|dition.</P>
<P>So that it is God and man conceived and brought forth by the wi&s;dome of God, which is Chri&s;t the Sonne of God, the Savi|our of man-kinde.</P>
<P>And it is man and God conceived and brought forth accor|ding to the principles of humane wi&s;dome; that is, Antichri&s;t the &s;onne of perdition and that de&s;troyer of man-kinde.</P>
<P>So that they are one in conjunction, and unity of God and man in the root, as near as <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au</HI> were in that one act of generation, but in the &s;pringing up, and perfecting of them, they are as different and at as great a di&s;tance as <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au</HI> were, in tho&s;e two nations of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and <HI>Edom.</HI></P>
<P>And here note with me (my good freinds) that man cannot be known (no not that man of God) nor yet that man of &s;in, in a &s;imple act of creation, without re&s;pect unto generation, nor in one &s;imple act of generation, without re&s;pect to that act of creation.</P>
<P>For as it is in nature, that all the wi&s;dome in the world, in the act of mans creation, cannot expre&s;&s;e or &s;et forth his multi|plication and continuation, on the earth, but with re&s;pect unto
<PB N="61" REF="38">
the act and virtue of generation; nor can it in the act of genera|tion, &s;et forth and declare mans beginning and originall but with re&s;pect unto that act of creation; even &s;o no man can tru|ly preach Chri&s;t in that work of creation as <HI>we are Gods work-man&s;hip created in Chri&s;t unto good works,</HI> but with re&s;pect unto the act of generation, as <HI>he is the &s;eed of the woman begotten and borne of a virgin.</HI></P>
<P>Nor can he be truly known in the act of generation, but with re&s;pect unto that act of creation, as the &s;pirit of God carries up his geneology, <HI>which was the &s;onne of Seth, the &s;onne of Adam, the &s;onne of God.</HI></P>
<P>For the wi&s;dome of God, and the wi&s;dome of a creature, are both in the unity; which is as that unformed <HI>Chaos,</HI> in the begin|ning; but Chri&s;t is onely propagated according to the wi&s;dome of God, and Antichri&s;t is generated by the wi&s;dome of a creature, which is the giving of every thing a forme and virtue out of that confu&s;ed and deformed <HI>Chaos.</HI></P>
<P>So that without generation, creation hath no off-&s;pring, and without creation, generation hath no beginning or origi|nall.</P>
<P>Therefore the Son of God is voyd, without the one, and the other, and &s;o is that Son of perdition.</P>
<P>Note therefore, that in that unity or act of creation of God and man to be one workman&s;hip, there is a kindred between Chri&s;t and Antichri&s;t, as near in all re&s;pects, as that of <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au,</HI> con&s;idered in that lawfull contract and act of <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Rebecca.</HI></P>
<P>But in that act of conception and &s;pringing up, according to the wi&s;dome of God, and the wi&s;dome proper to a creature, there is that infinite di&s;tance and di&s;proportion, as is between <HI>I&s;|rael</HI> and <HI>Edom,</HI> Chri&s;t and Antichri&s;t, the &s;on of God, and the &s;on of perdition: Our Apo&s;tle therefore doth with good advice ex|hort the Saints of God not to grudg again&s;t the men of the world, and that in the relation of brethren, &s;aying</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Grudge not brethren one again&s;t another.</HEAD>
<P>Grieve not, or groane not, as the word is, that is, let not the enmity that is in the world be vexatious unto you: But behold
<PB N="62" REF="39">
in that way of &s;in and death, Gods wonderfull device for the in-let of wrath and execution of ju&s;tice in the world, and know that without that way of de&s;truction, &s;alvation had never been.</P>
<P>For if the Son of God had not beene made &s;in in our nature, and yet &s;o <HI>as not to know &s;in,</HI> that is, never to approve thereof, or be &s;tained therewith in the lea&s;t, for never was guile found in his mouth, being that <HI>Immaculate</HI> and &s;potle&s;s Lamb of God, altoge|ther pure, without &s;uperfluity or defect: So that his nature in what&s;oever is proper unto him, is free from all guilt and &s;taine, although he be found in a true &s;ence in that condition which is &s;infull.</P>
<P>Otherwi&s;e our nature had never been made <HI>the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in him;</HI> for what&s;oever is proper and naturall unto man, knows no &s;uch righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, nor can it approve of, or be &s;a|tisfied therewith; therefore can wee never receive and accept thereof, but with the lo&s;&s;e and denyall of all things proper to the nature of man, as con&s;idered in that off-&s;pring of the earth, which he is changed and renewed from by the wi&s;dome and &s;pi|rit of God, being <HI>turned from darkne&s;&s;e into light, fram Satan unto God,</HI> a change which all the Saints participate of; therefore <HI>can no fle&s;h boa&s;t,</HI> for by this meanes <HI>boa&s;ting is excluded,</HI> our owne works are utterly renounced.</P>
<P>Even &s;o, the Son of God is become darkne&s;&s;e in the men of the world, as ab&s;olutely as man is made <HI>light in the Lord,</HI> therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>that if the light which is in thee be darkne&s;&s;e, how great is that darkne&s;&s;e:</HI> For if that which makes light be become darknes, there is nothing left to cure that darkne&s;&s;e: &s;o al&s;o if mans na|ture which is in it &s;elfe is darkne&s;&s;e, <HI>be made light it &s;elfe in the Son of God,</HI> as he affirms of the Di&s;ciples, <HI>that they are the light of the world</HI> (the &s;ame that is &s;ayd of him&s;elfe) what is it that can im|paire or dimini&s;h that light.</P>
<P>So that as wicked men <HI>have changed the truth of God into a lye,</HI> and have <HI>changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man,</HI> &s;o they have <HI>changed the light of God into dark|ne&s;&s;e in them&s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>And herein Chri&s;t hath given him&s;elf as <HI>a ran&s;ome compleat,</HI> and every way proportionable for ever, unto that condition which
<PB N="63" REF="39">
man-kind is <HI>brought back and redeemed into,</HI> which is to be the &s;on of the eternall and living God, <HI>to dwell with him in that inex|ce&s;&s;ible light which no fle&s;h can approach unto:</HI> and it is alike holy and precious act in God to give his holy Son to be judged, con|demned, and executed in the world, and yet be no proper cau&s;e thereof, as it is to &s;ave man by nature &s;infull, and God him&s;elf the plenary cau&s;e thereof; for to <HI>ju&s;tifie the wicked, &amp; condemn the ju&s;t are alike abhomination;</HI> yet God hath found a way wherein the Ju&s;t one by nature (is and ever &s;hall be &s;o in the Saints) is in the world condemned, and al&s;o that wicked one (who is and ever &s;hall be &s;o in the wicked) is ju&s;tified and &s;aved in him&s;elfe, that is, in the Lord.</P>
<P><HI>Grudge not therefore brethren</HI> (by unity and contract in creati|on) one again&s;t another, though in act of conception, and &s;pringing up from that one <HI>Embryon,</HI> or formle&s;&s;e &s;ub&s;tance, you become thus un naturalized and divided into two Nations in di|rect antithe&s;is one to another, quarrell not again&s;t the work of God herein, but admire his wi&s;dome, who hath hereby brought to pa&s;&s;e our &s;alvation, by the &s;topping of the mouth of all fle&s;h, that glory may for ever redound to him, and not to the creature.</P>
<P>For it is as voluntary an act in the wi&s;dome of man to choo&s;e the way of death, in the preferring of the things proper to a creature, before the things that are of God; as it is in the wi&s;|dome of God in Chri&s;t, to prefer and make choi&s;e of things pro|per to the eternall, before tho&s;e which are momentany and mor|tall, <HI>&s;o that the worke &s;hall never &s;ay to the work-man, why ha&s;t thou made me on this fa&s;hion?</HI> For nature would not give in exchange its own nature &amp; di&s;po&s;ition for another, becau&s;e its life and being cleaves thereunto, which the nature of another mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be death unto it, which is declined by all things. Do not mur|mure then, nor grieve, let not the works of God be any way vex|atious unto you, but behold with joy and admiration that won|derfull wi&s;dome of God in that comely order of his ju&s;tice, who hath adorned him&s;elfe with as glorious ornaments of wrath in the execution thereof on the world, as he hath done in the di|&s;tribution of his grace and mercy in that way of his onely Son; in the one is the thing given as a purcha&s;e, and in the other is the thing purcha&s;ed. Our father <HI>Abraham</HI> was well acquainted with
<PB N="64" REF="40">
this poynt, <HI>when he bought that burying place of the &s;onnes of Heth,</HI> for him and his to be buryed out of &s;ight: he would not take it as a gift, but gave out the ju&s;t proportionable worth thereof in mo|ney by weight; for he knew according to the truth of Ju&s;tice, that as there was a valuable con&s;ideration given for a place wherein to be buried out of &s;ight (as <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;aith of <HI>Sarah)</HI> a like riches and dignity &s;hould be in the inheriting and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of the land by his &s;eed, to teach us this point, that according to the worth of that which is given to be buryed in the world, which is the Son of God; where none of his vertues nor graces is declared, alike &s;hall be the worth of that e&s;tate and condition of &s;uch as are ri&s;en again in Chri&s;t (according to the rule of ju|&s;tice) which is no le&s;&s;e then Son-&s;hip unto the eternall and living God.</P>
<P>This was in the heart of <HI>David,</HI> moving him not to accept of that kind offer of <HI>Araunah the Jebu&s;ite, concerning that thre&s;hing floor, oxen, and in&s;truments,</HI> but would pay a valuable price for them, becau&s;e <HI>he would not wor&s;hip the Lord in offering of that which co&s;t not a valuable price.</HI></P>
<P>And this is written according to the letter (as all other Scrip|ture is) in every mans heart, and utters it &s;elfe (if not &s;tifled through de&s;ire of gaine in all merchandizes of the world.</P>
<P>Such therefore as have critically brooded upon the Scriptures to hatch a temporary and humane death only, to be the death of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, the Son of God, telling us of an ayry vertue or effi|cacy thereof meerly imaginary; for they know not how any rea|lity thereof &s;hould reach unto us through ages pa&s;t; for &s;ay they, his death was &s;o long ago, and but of part of three days and three nights continuation, for whole ones they cannot make them all: and it was only the humane nature that dyed, which is only a &s;eparation of &s;oule and body, and neither &s;eparated from God. By which doctrine it follows, that mans re&s;urrection and life is only a rejoycing of &s;oule and body, without any unity or con|junction with God, which is the overthrow and de&s;truction of the doctrine of Chri&s;t, and &s;o of the &s;tate of the Sonne of God, and of &s;alvation.</P>
<P>For there is as reall a departure from God in the day of the wicked, who&s;e &s;tate and condition con&s;i&s;ts of God and man (o|therwi&s;e
<PB N="65" REF="40">
no eternall wrath) as there is a coming to God in the way of the Saint of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> who&s;e &s;tate and condition con&s;i&s;ts of God and man, otherwi&s;e there were no eternall mercy and fa|vour; the doctrine of the world therefore teaching a monarchi|call Chri&s;t, and a kingdome bounded by time (at lea&s;t in point of time pa&s;t) it is of proper u&s;e to whet and &s;harpen the &s;pirits of men, to hunt and &s;eek after a State and Kingdome of that nature and con&s;titution which man exerci&s;eth, and not the Sonne of God.</P>
<P>The&s;e men have tyed all &s;in originally to one man in the fall (as they by tradition call it) but yet know not how, nor by whom the entrance of &s;in came: But carry us to imaginary An|gels &s;utable to the re&s;t of their doctrine, neither know they the way of the derivation of it, which is of &s;o great concernment.</P>
<P>Even &s;o they having tyed all righteou&s;ne&s;s unto one particu|lar and individuall man in his re&s;urrection, compa&s;&s;ed and &s;ur|rounded by time, but are ignorant of the way and manner of the derivation of it; for it is whole Chri&s;t derived, or el&s;e &s;alvati|on is imperfect and maymed: But the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t (or as &s;ome mince it) the influence of the &s;pirit, without the body compleat, is but a part of Chri&s;t, the Son of God divided (as by this way of derivation he is) is as &s;ound a doctrine, as to &s;ay <HI>Paul</HI> was cru|cified for you.</P>
<P>To conclude this point therefore, the work of God in order|ing of the &s;tate of the wicked truly known and rightly judged of, is of no more di&s;quiet, grief, or vexation unto the Saints of God, then the work of God in our &s;alvation is; no, though our bro|ther the Lord Chri&s;t be &s;o given up unto death in them, as never to live in them any more, for <HI>it is our ran&s;ome, the ju&s;tice and equity of the purcha&s;e payd for the eternall relea&s;e of our &s;oules;</HI> for the &s;alva|tion of God holds firm in all re&s;pects, wherein the heart of man, or &s;ubtilty of Satan can put forth it &s;elfe; that as there is com|pleat &s;alvation free without money, or money-worth, as al&s;o in conque&s;t by force and &s;trength, &s;o al&s;o in point of &s;trictne&s;&s;e of ju&s;tice, in giving a valuable and con&s;iderable price in way of purcha&s;e.</P>
<P>The &s;pirit then of grief, vexation and angui&s;h, cleaves unto, as it is the proper portion of the brother-hood con&s;idered in <HI>E|dom,</HI>
<PB N="66" REF="41">
and not in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> found in Mount <HI>Seir,</HI> or as the word &s;igni|fies, the mount of the Devill, and not in <HI>Horeb,</HI> the mount of God.</P>
<P>Therefore the argument again&s;t grief and vexation at this bro|therhood is added, <HI>viz. Le&s;t ye be condemned;</HI> that is, fretting, grieving, and vexation at the wonderfull work of God, is con|demnation, and properly is the practice of that Fornicator, and prophane per&s;on <HI>E&s;au,</HI> when he hath &s;o lu&s;tfully and prophanely parted with the birth-right, to &s;atisfie his corrupt and carnall de&s;ires, bred and begotten in hunting after the things of this life, which is to pur&s;ue that <HI>hinde of the morning</HI> (as the P&s;almi&s;t calls Chri&s;t) to put him to death, for the glory of the fle&s;h and of God cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t and &s;tand together.</P>
<P>The word <HI>(Le&s;t)</HI> in this phra&s;e is not u&s;ed as a &s;uppo&s;ition, but as a certain affirmation, as where one Prophet &s;aith, <HI>le&s;t He|zekiah deceive you:</HI> Another expounds it, <HI>Hezekiah doth deceive you.</HI> So al&s;o where one Evangeli&s;t reports the words of Chri&s;t, <HI>Le&s;t the people faint in the way:</HI> Another repeating it, &s;aith, <HI>The people will faint in the way.</HI> So in this place, <HI>le&s;t ye be condemned,</HI> is, yee are under condemnation who&s;oever &s;o doth; for that is the condemning &s;pirit that frets and grieves at the works of God, which is ever found in the world, who can never endure that way and manner of the tran&s;lation of the right of inheritance from him which is born after the fle&s;h, unto him which is born after the &s;pirit: but vowes the death of the Son, which ever puts an end unto mourning for the death of the father al&s;o: now to be condemned, is to be pronounced and held guilty, as to ju&s;tifie is to acquit and make righteous, as the Apo&s;tle oppo&s;eth them, <HI>It is God</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that ju&s;tifies, who then &s;hall condemn?</HI> that is, it is God that acquits and makes righteous, who then can make guil|ty and &s;infull?</P>
<P>To be grieved and vexed then at the wickedne&s;s of the world, is to be under guilt and condemnation; that is, when men can|not ju&s;tifie and give excellency unto that work of Gods ju&s;tice in his execution of wrath on the world, and rejoyce therein through that ran&s;ome given to re&s;cue out of that condition, as well as he can be glad of that exerci&s;e of mercy in that inheritance and po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion which he is put into, for the glory of God in our
<PB N="67" REF="41">
&s;alvation con&s;i&s;ts in the one as well as in the other, and is alike glorious, and to be approved of in them both, according to the nature and manner of Gods operations found, and conver&s;ant in the one and in the other, and in them both compleat &s;alvation is made manife&s;t.</P>
<P>Nor is it the proper &s;tate and condition of the wicked, &s;imply con&s;idered in it &s;elfe, that makes wretched, but as it hath re&s;pect to the &s;tate of the ju&s;t, for with re&s;pect to both is condemnation compleated.</P>
<P>Note here then, that he that cannot be freely willing that the &s;pirit of grace and of God &s;hould &s;uffer lo&s;&s;e in the men of the world, of all its proper life, vertue, and operation, as it is that whereby the men of God live, move, and act in all things.</P>
<P>That man can never give con&s;ent, that that wicked &s;pirit of the world which by nature is proper to all fle&s;h, &s;hould ever be made in the excellencies of the Son of God, or furni&s;hed with the &s;trength and operations of God.</P>
<P>Hence it is, that men have carved out unto them&s;elves a better thing then <HI>I&s;h,</HI> the man of &s;trength, vigour, and courage; and a wor&s;e then <HI>Eno&s;h,</HI> the man of ba&s;ene&s;&s;e and &s;orrows; that is, they teach a better e&s;tate and condition then that of man, which is only in God him&s;elfe; and &s;o they make Chri&s;t not to be very God, which is to de&s;troy Chri&s;t unto them&s;elves; and they &s;et up a wor&s;e thing then Antichri&s;t, which is the Devill, and in the one and the other the form, the faith of Devils in them&s;elves, which is to believe tremblingly, that there is one God: but to believe, that of twaine he is made one new man in Chri&s;t, that wi&s;dome and confidence they attaine not.</P>
<P>So they conclude a God-head out of Chri&s;tianity, and then it is out of Chri&s;t the wi&s;dome of God, and &s;o he is properly the tormentor of the world; and they conclude a Devill out of man, and then he hath not the wi&s;dome and corrupt will of the fle&s;h, and that is none but the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, whom they account not only <HI>as one having a Devill,</HI> but as <HI>Belze|bub the prince of Devils,</HI> which is no more then to preach Chri&s;t for Antichri&s;t, and Antichri&s;t for Chri&s;t, and the&s;e are taken as men fit to make Preachers, and able to correct all errours in the world; for as it hath been in Councels and Synods, even &s;o it is
<PB N="68" REF="42">
now; but herein lies a great point of the deceipt and &s;nare where|in the world catcheth it &s;elf.</P>
<P>And the&s;e are the men that groane, grumble, and grieve at the works of God, both in ju&s;t and unju&s;t, for they can neither en|dure the work of God according to the excellency and top of perfection, as it is in Chri&s;t; nor yet the work of God, accord|ing as it is in that man of &s;in, Antichri&s;t, <HI>who goeth about as a roa|ring Lyon &s;eeking whom he may devoure:</HI> but they cannot abide to heare that he that is men <HI>is that man &s;layer from the beginning,</HI> and &s;o grieve that <HI>Cain</HI> &s;hould have his proper due.</P>
<P>And when ever the Go&s;pel appears in the truth and reality of it, <HI>they hold it comes to torment them before its time.</HI> For either it vi|lifies that which they exalt, or el&s;e it exalts that which they &s;o vilifie, and the time is never &s;ea&s;onable to them neither for the one nor the other.</P>
<P>And &s;uch as hold a &s;tate and condition between the &s;onne of God, and the &s;on of perdition (which is a reall condition pro|per to the &s;ons of men) they have it from the &s;ame principles from which the place of Purgatory doth &s;pring, which the &s;ame men &s;eem &s;o zealou&s;ly to condemn and approve, as Doctors of that kingdom which cannot &s;tand, being divided in it &s;elf, but is in the way of the &s;all, and not of the re&s;urrection; and &s;o much for the argument drawn from the danger, <HI>Le&s;t ye be condemned.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd follows, which is the readine&s;&s;e for execution, and that in way of wonder, <HI>Behold the Judge &s;tandeth before the doore.</HI></P>
<P>Behold, that is, admire and wonder at the appearing of this &s;igne al&s;o, namely that the righteous Judge of all the earth, that renders to every one according to his work, hath no other door to come in at, no other way of entrance, whereby to pa&s;&s;e &s;en|tence of ab&s;olution or condemnation; no way to quit the ju&s;t, or condemn the wicked; no way to exerci&s;e mercy or &s;everity, but only through this two-fold e&s;tate and condition of man-kind, namely the crucifiers of Chri&s;t according to the fle&s;h, and the crucifiers of Chri&s;t according to the &s;pirit.</P>
<P>Therefore he that finds a condition, way or act, wherein God is only as a bare &s;pectator or el&s;e exerci&s;eth &s;ome-what be&s;ides, or out of the way, either of mercy or wrath, among the &s;onnes of men, let &s;uch conclude of another e&s;tate in man-kind be&s;ides the&s;e twayn.</P>
<P><PB N="69" REF="42">
But let &s;uch know that they are not of the &s;pirit of <HI>Abraham,</HI> the <HI>friend of God;</HI> for he acknowledged freely the <HI>Lord to be Judg of all the earth,</HI> in that de&s;truction of <HI>Sodome,</HI> and deliverance of ju&s;t <HI>Lot,</HI> which the&s;e men deny, if there be another way of the ad|mini&s;tration of the Creature, whereinto the Lord enters not, for he hath no way of entrance in the way of his admini&s;trations a|mong the &s;ons of men, but only at this two fold door, either of mercy or wrath.</P>
<P>Let &s;uch look to this point who makes a good and commen|dable way of admini&s;tration in meer civill affayrs, wherein the grace and favour of God is not properly exerci&s;ed in that way of Chri&s;t, neither is the wrath of God in exerci&s;e as in that way of Antichri&s;t: But &s;uch will find that he who is not of the faith and works of <HI>Abraham,</HI> hee is of the law of the fle&s;h and &s;pirit of the world; and he that hath the &s;pirit of the world, hath not the &s;pi|rit of Chri&s;t; <HI>And who&s;oever hath noth the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, the &s;ame is none of his: and they that do not the works of Abraham, they are not the children of Abraham, but of their father the Devill, who&s;e workes they do, and will do.</HI> For this two-fold door is the only way of en|trance in all the wayes of admini&s;tration belonging to him who is that righteous Judge of all the earth.</P>
<P>Therefore he is &s;ayd <HI>to &s;tand before the doore,</HI> or as the word may be read, <HI>with the doore;</HI> that is, hath &s;etled and confirmed him&s;elf to be Judg of all, with this way of entrance, for admini&s;tration; for the word <HI>&s;tand,</HI> in this place &s;ignifies to mini&s;ter, as in the ad|mini&s;tration of the Prie&s;ts and Levites in the hou&s;e of the Lord; It is &s;aid, <HI>that Judah rejoyced that they &s;tood before the Lord:</HI> So the Prophets are &s;ayd <HI>to &s;tand before the Lord,</HI> when they Mini&s;ter with power and authority from him.</P>
<P>And the word tran&s;lated <HI>(Before)</HI> may be read <HI>with,</HI> by the al|lowance of the &s;pirit of God; for where one Prophet &s;aith, <HI>I am a &s;tranger (before) thee as my fathers were:</HI> Another reports the &s;ame thus, <HI>I am a &s;tranger (with) thee as all my fathers were.</HI></P>
<P>And where it is tran&s;lated to be the &s;peech of the King to <HI>Ha|man,</HI> he will force the Queen <HI>(before)</HI> me in the room. Another tran&s;lates, he will force the Queen <HI>(with)</HI> me in the room, and many the like; for the Hebrew words, <HI>ethpenei,</HI> and <HI>liphenei,</HI> are both one of the &s;ame &s;ignification, and put one for another in the Scriptures.</P>
<P><PB N="70" REF="43">
To conclude this poynt, the wonderfull and miraculous pow|er of the Go&s;pel, in being a <HI>&s;avour of life unto life, and a &s;avour of death unto death,</HI> con&s;i&s;ts in this <HI>two leaved gate, as the phra&s;e of the Prophet is:</HI> and here it is a door of a double or two-fold entrance of one eternal act in the di&s;tribution of mercy and ju&s;tice: For be|hold, the Judg hath no other entrance, but with re&s;pect of ope|ning this two-fold work of the my&s;tery of God, and the my&s;tery of iniquity; for the performance of all the workes which have been, are, or &s;hall be exerci&s;ed and done among the children of men, the truth whereof is ever repined at by &s;uch as are under the power of condemnation, from whom he &s;eparates the Saints, whereupon the next words are brought in as holding a con&s;imi|litude among them&s;elves.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 10. Take my brethren the Prophets, who have &s;poken in the name of the Lord for an example of &s;uffering affli|ction, and of patience.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In which words ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. A reiteration, with an addition of the terme Brethren, <HI>My bre|thren.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Adoration, leading them to the Prophets for a pattern, who are de&s;cribed unto us,</ITEM>
<ITEM>1. By their &s;peaking of the word of the Lord.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By their &s;uffering affliction and patience therein.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. HE gives the terme <HI>brethren</HI> here as he did before, but in a|nother re&s;pect, for he excludes that brotherhood, as ha|ving re&s;pect to that of <HI>E&s;au,</HI> therefore he &s;peaks unto them con|junctively, and a&s;&s;umptively, <HI>my brethren.</HI></P>
<P>So that it is not the phra&s;e of Scripture that is onely to be minded in the under&s;tanding of the will of God, but what it is that God intends in that place by u&s;ing &s;uch a phra&s;e, &s;o accom|panied with its coherence, otherwi&s;e we may take Antichri&s;t for the true Chri&s;t, and the true Chri&s;t for Antichri&s;t, and the God of this world for the true God.</P>
<P><PB N="71" REF="43">
For &s;ometimes the word Gods in the plurall number intends Idols, as the Apo&s;tle teacheth, <HI>there are Gods many, and Lords many;</HI> that is, Idols cut out unto places, and offices in the world crea|ted and &s;et up by men, but unto us &s;aith he, <HI>there is but one God.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;ometimes the plural Gods, <HI>Elohim</HI> &s;ignifies the true God, the Creator and maker of all, as it is &s;ayd, <HI>In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;ometimes the &s;ame word is taken for the holy and godly Judges in I&s;rael, as when the &s;ervant after his &s;even years &s;ervice would not depart from his ma&s;ter, <HI>he was to be brought to the Gods,</HI> the word is <HI>Elohim;</HI> that is, to the Judges, to have his eare bored through to &s;erve him for ever.</P>
<P>So al&s;o the Scriptures makes report of fal&s;e Chri&s;ts in the plu|ral number, and the true annoynted is given in the plurall phra&s;e al&s;o, where the P&s;almi&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Touch not my Chri&s;ts, and do my Pro|phets no harme;</HI> and &s;o Antichri&s;t, &s;tiles him&s;elfe Chri&s;t in the &s;ingular phra&s;e, as well as the true Chri&s;t is &s;o expre&s;&s;ed, as the Evangeli&s;t reports, <HI>many &s;hall come in my name, and &s;hall &s;ay, I am Chri&s;t, and &s;hall deceive many;</HI> there is joy in the &s;tony ground where the corne withereth, and never comes to good, as well as in that harve&s;t which is ripened in the kingdome of God, where <HI>they return with joy, bringing their &s;heaves with them:</HI> there is <HI>a righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Scribes and Phari&s;ees which enters not into the kingdome,</HI> as well as that of the Sonne of God, <HI>who is the Lord our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> the very kingdome it &s;elfe, and the inlet therein|to al&s;o.</P>
<P>Yea, there is <HI>a faith of Devils,</HI> as well as the <HI>faith of the Sonne of God,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle declares, <HI>Thou beleives there is one God, thou do&s;t well, the Devil al&s;o beleives and trembles.</HI></P>
<P>The phra&s;e of Scripture therefore without the &s;cope and in|tent thereof, is the common deceipt of all the world where the Scriptures are read, and the re&s;t have the &s;ub&s;tance thereof writ|ten in their hearts.</P>
<P>So that no humane learning (which is but the <HI>Dilucidation,</HI> or <HI>Lucifer</HI> of tho&s;e principles) can po&s;&s;ibly give light to lead to the true knowledge of the Scriptures: The mi&s;-apprehending of this point running away with the phra&s;e, as men by their Con|cordance
<PB N="72" REF="44">
heap up phra&s;es of Scripture to confirm their doctrine, whereas every one is of &s;everall interpretation, never minding the intent, but onely the &s;ound of words, is the very cau&s;e of all the principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkne&s;&s;e of this world, and &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;e (or wicked &s;pirits as the word is) in high places, which are &s;o elevated, con&s;ecrated, and judged of &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity in the world, for from hence ari&s;eth the unction of the King, as being &s;et in that office and roome of that <HI>King of Salem, Prince of peace,</HI> and from this is the Bi&s;hop con&s;ecrated, and in&s;talled, as bearing the office and place of that great <HI>Bi&s;hop and feeder of our &s;oules:</HI> and out of this mi&s;take ari&s;eth all tho&s;e offices and officers, re&s;pectively, &s;tanding in relation to the one, and to the other, whereby the pure word of eternity, comes to be pro|&s;trated and adulterated by bringing it into copulation with va|ni&s;hing things, which peri&s;h in the u&s;e.</P>
<P>Submitting it unto the glory of the creature, and not <HI>the crea|ture to the glory of him, who is God ble&s;&s;ed for ever, Amen.</HI></P>
<P>Note here, that the laws and orders of men in the world &s;tan|ding upon the letter of the Scripture, in &s;ound of word, and not in the &s;ence, in the hi&s;tory which alters in form, and not in the my&s;tery that abides for ever; hence it is that they are built upon the &s;ands, as Chri&s;t reports.</P>
<P>And when any people comes to &s;ee into the defects of the foun|dation which another people &s;tand upon, they encourage them|&s;elves, to pull down the building of another, to make their own more firme, &s;o that which the world takes to be the &s;trength and &s;afety of it &s;elfe, comes in few years to be the depopulating and ruine thereof.</P>
<P>For it is as po&s;&s;ible to give as good ground and argument for one way and order &s;et up, upon the &s;ayd principles, as for ano|ther, as for water in bapti&s;me, and men of ripe years, as wine in the &s;upper, and infants counted the &s;eed of the Church debarred, and for the cutting off the fore-skin of the fle&s;h, as wel as either of them both: and upon this ground comes in that continued work, and great imployment of reformation in the world, and &s;hall never be accompli&s;hed by the change of titles of officers, and formes of in&s;titutions; &s;o long as they are placed upon the &s;ame foundation, namely the bare letter of the Scripture: but the
<PB N="73" REF="44">
be&s;t perfection it will be brought unto, is to per&s;ecute <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> for interpretting the dream.</P>
<P>In this point of the letter or phra&s;e of the Scripture, and the true intent and &s;cope thereof, con&s;i&s;ts that threefold temptation brought in by Satan again&s;t Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t his effectuall an|&s;wer thereunto; in the one &s;tands the &s;ubtilty of the Devill, and in the other the wi&s;dome and minde of the Son of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. And hence he brings in the direction leading us to the Pro|phets as to a pattern how to come to the true knowledge of the minde of God; that is, to the true interpreters of the Scriptures, for the Hebrew word <HI>Nabi,</HI> and the Greek <HI>Prophetes,</HI> &s;ignifies <HI>&s;peaking, interpretting, and uttering words and Oracles that come imme|diately from God.</HI></P>
<P>So that we have no true example, copy, extract, draught, or pattern of the law of God, the order and compo&s;ure of the king|dome of God, but by having recour&s;e to the true interpretation of the word of God.</P>
<P><HI>And there is no true Prophe&s;ie of any private interpretation, but holy men of God &s;peak as they are moved by the &s;pirit of God;</HI> that is, there is no true interpretation given of any part of the word of God, when it is bounded to any particular time, or age, or confined to any particular time, or age, or confined to one particular per&s;on alone; but as the &s;pirit of God remains the &s;ame in its motion, &s;o doth the word of God in its expre&s;&s;ion and creating virtue ac|companying the &s;ame in Chri&s;t, and it is a thing too &s;ublime to be congealed into inke, too &s;ecret and hidden to be printed upon paper, too precious to be piled up in Libraries, and of too prince-like a &s;pirit to enter into contract with, or be &s;ub&s;ervant unto any &s;chool of humane learning.</P>
<P>For it is the &s;pirit of the Sonne onely, that knows the minde of the father, and it is he and not another, that mu&s;t reveale it un|to us.</P>
<P>So that if ever we receive <HI>that fiery law of the &s;pirit,</HI> we mu&s;t <HI>a&s;cend into the mount of God,</HI> namely into the height of the condition of him <HI>who &s;its at the right hand of God,</HI> being that whereby he mani|fe&s;ts his wi&s;dome and skill, power and glory (even as a man ma|nife&s;ts his art and skill by his right hand) which no art, power, nor policy of man can ever reach or attaine unto.</P>
<P><PB N="74" REF="45">
This pattern is &s;et before us in the Prophets onely, or in that one <HI>great Prophet</HI> in the interpretation and unfolding of the word of God, or in the tran&s;lation of the originall language; that is, in declaring how the things of God are transformed through the carnall conceptions of men, into the principles and rudiments of the creature, and &s;o is in them become a profane <HI>Grecian,</HI> which makes the Son of God &s;o complaine, that <HI>his vi&s;&s;age is mar|red more then any man, and his forme more then the &s;ons of men.</HI></P>
<P>And this is a language will &s;peak in <HI>Cain</HI> and all his po&s;terity, when inke and paper &s;hall vani&s;h as &s;moke.</P>
<P>There is al&s;o a skil to tran&s;late the &s;pirit of man into the prin|ciples and excellencies of the Sonne of God, as being thereby become that holy Hebrew, of <HI>Heber,</HI> yea the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and Sonne of God, to &s;peak according to that voyce of the blood of &s;prinkling which hath in it power to pa&s;&s;e over the de&s;troying Angell for ever; if the&s;e were as truly tran&s;lated or interpretted in the world as the letters and &s;illables of the Bible are into our native tongue, wee &s;hould &s;ee more eminent and ex|cellent Schollars appeare then now we do.</P>
<P N="1">1. And here the Prophets are de&s;cribed to be &s;uch <HI>as &s;peak in the name of the Lord;</HI> that is, in the power and authority of the Sonne of God; for to &s;peak in the name of God, is to &s;peak in the authority and power of God, which comprehends not onely &s;peech, but action al&s;o; that is, tho&s;e &s;ignes and wonders, and mighty works which accompany the preaching of the Go&s;pel in the confirmation of it, te&s;tifying the pre&s;ence of God, accompa|nying the word, making it good by act and deed, according to the expre&s;&s;ions thereof.</P>
<P>For the word of God is never truly uttered without the ap|pearance of a &s;igne and wonder, and a great work no le&s;&s;e then &s;uch as holds proportion with God for the confirmation of the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Now we know a wonder is a mon&s;ter in nature, &s;uch as no nature in its proper in&s;tinct brings forth, it goes beyond the bounds, abilities, and precincts of any naturall confines what&s;o|ever, and without &s;uch works, &s;ignes, or wonders, the Go&s;pel is never truly preached; for if it &s;hould, Chri&s;ts promi&s;e would faile, but <HI>heaven and earth &s;hall faile, before that one jot or tittle of the word of God come to corruption.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="75" REF="45">
So that there is no &s;peech or doctrine of the Go&s;pel, but in its expre&s;&s;ion it frames, con&s;titutes, and brings forth, a work of &s;uch nature as no &s;imple nature what&s;oever can bring forth, therefore a wonder and a &s;igne, to be admired, yea truly miracu|lous, for no nature can reach thereunto, in the utmo&s;t extent thereof.</P>
<P>For as it is true, that there is no operation of the &s;pirit of God, in the way of Chri&s;t, but it is above and goes beyond the nature of the creature, having the power and glory of the Crea|tor in it, nor is it attainable by any, or by all creatures.</P>
<P>So it is true al&s;o that there is not any work, or operation of the Go&s;pel, which the divine nature &s;imply and ab&s;tractively con&s;idered can be &s;ayd to be in any capacity or po&s;&s;ibility to attaine thereunto, but the po&s;&s;ibility of God to do all things &s;tands in his making him&s;elf to be &s;uch a one, otherwi&s;e it is un|attaniable in the nature divine &s;imply and &s;ingly con&s;idered, be|cau&s;e there is no work of the Go&s;pel without man con&s;idered in it, no more then there is a Chri&s;t without mans nature who is the &s;ubject matter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>And as Chri&s;t is not without mans nature, no more is any work of the Go&s;pel; for as the divine nature cannot of it &s;elfe &s;imply and &s;olely con&s;idered, dye, nor a&s;cend, neither de&s;cend, be|ing incomprehen&s;ible.</P>
<P>No more can the humane nature con&s;idered &s;imply in it &s;elfe, have in it eternal life, comprehend all things, or be omnipotent but in that unity of the Go&s;pel, the Sonne of God, they are all brought to pa&s;&s;e, and all in act, and being in that one Chri&s;t, no|thing in him therefore what&s;oever; but being &s;et forth and brought to light, there appear a wonder, a miracle is wrought, a &s;igne &s;et up for the confirmation of the Go&s;pel, &s;uch as no na|ture &s;imply con&s;idered can attaine unto, or bring forth; &s;o that if the true word of the Prophet, or of interpretation be &s;poken, this true and miraculous work mu&s;t enevitably appear, tran&s;cen|ding all nature in the utmo&s;t capacity thereof.</P>
<P>And therefore that &s;aying holds firme, that <HI>we have a Medi|tor made higher then the heavens,</HI> a work and wonder above all na|ture &s;imply and &s;olely con&s;idered, and therefore <HI>Chri&s;t is that new creature, yea the beginning or head of the creation of God, for God is one in
<PB N="76" REF="46">
the work, not onely in making, but as one made in Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And thus the Prophets are inve&s;ted with power and authority to &s;peak in the name of the Lord, not onely in word, but in work al&s;o, a &s;igne and wonder accompanying the word at all times, which makes them mo&s;t noble, and God-like, <HI>to the cutting off of the &s;pirit of Princes, becoming terrible to the Kings of the earth.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Whence he brings in the &s;econd de&s;cription of a true Pro|phet as the means whereby this power and authority is attai|ned; and that is, through &s;uffering <HI>affliction, and long pati|ence.</HI></P>
<P>By &s;uffering affliction in this place, we are to under&s;tand a be|ing cut off from being &s;upported by any earthly power, carnall policy, or any temporall glory what&s;oever, with re&s;pect to friends or alies, or any earthly relations which fade and vani&s;h away, which human &s;pirits &s;eek unto, and rely upon, for the pro|moting of them&s;elves.</P>
<P>For onely in the lo&s;&s;e and laying a&s;ide all the&s;e things, a true Prophet comes to be inve&s;ted into the power, wi&s;dome, and ex|cellency of the Son of God, in whom is found all friend&s;hip, all offices, and all relations what&s;oever not onely compleated, but al&s;o eternized to abide for ever, in who&s;e power and authority by this means they go forth.</P>
<P>By this means it was that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> became &s;o great a deliverer; for <HI>he refu&s;ing to be called the Son of Pharaohs daughter, choo&s;ing rather to &s;uffer adver&s;ity with the people of God,</HI> in the lo&s;&s;e of all &s;uch kinde of glory as <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court afforded, became an effectuall in&s;tru|ment to manife&s;t that power and glory, throughout all the land of <HI>Aegypt,</HI> in the deliverance of Gods cho&s;en, and overthrow of his enemies.</P>
<P>Again, take <HI>Eliah</HI> for an in&s;tance in this point, comprehending all the Prophets, as he did in his appearance with Chri&s;t in the transfiguration, and you &s;hall finde him complaining <HI>that he is left alone,</HI> as cut off from all relations from carnall apo&s;tatized I&s;rael, <HI>and his life &s;ought after to be taken away al&s;o,</HI> by the policy and power of the whole kingdome of I&s;rael under the Govern|ment of that wicked <HI>Ahab.</HI></P>
<P>For a true Prophet <HI>is to endure hardne&s;&s;e as a good &s;ouldier of Je&s;us
<PB N="77" REF="46">
Chri&s;t,</HI> and <HI>no man that warreth intangleth him&s;elfe with the affaires of this life, that he may plea&s;e him who hath cho&s;en him to be a &s;ouldier;</HI> For no &s;uperiority, dignity, or advance, no place of office or aten|dance, no conjunction or relation of this life, but mu&s;t &s;uffer wrack and ruine, in the true pro&s;ecution of the authority and &s;pirit of a Prophet, otherwi&s;e the name of God is not called up|on, as Chri&s;t witne&s;&s;eth, &s;aying, <HI>For who&s;oever of you he be, that for&s;akes not all that he hath, he cannot be my Di&s;ciple.</HI></P>
<P>The bond of family with re&s;pect to wife and children, mu&s;t give way to this; the bond of trade and imployment mu&s;t give way to this, the bond of office and place to uphold this tottering temporary order among&s;t men, mu&s;t give way to this, the bond and tye to particular congregations of tittuler Pa&s;tor, Teacher; or in any other way, hireling mini&s;try, which are much alike to family, cares, relations, and employments to maintain a tempo|rary credit and lively-hood in this life, the power and &s;pirit of <HI>Eliah</HI> breaks them to peeces; if the &s;pirit of God breath, it &s;naps them all like <HI>Samp&s;ons</HI> bands, which were but as flax when it &s;mels the fire, though the world in the lo&s;&s;e of the lock, by its <HI>Dla's,</HI> who hath bewitched them, to &s;tand ingaged unto it, contrary to the expre&s;&s;e word of Chri&s;t, which &s;ayth, <HI>If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and chil|dren, and brethren and &s;i&s;ters, yea and his own life al&s;o, he cannot be my Di&s;ciple.</HI></P>
<P>When did we hear of any of the Prophets or Apo&s;tles tyed un|to wife, children, congregation or family, who have &s;poken in the power and authority of the Son of God, or what earthly re|lation was any of them tyed unto: We read of <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> marrying a wife of fornications for a &s;ign unto the people, and al&s;o of <HI>Peters</HI> wives mother, which are but &s;lender arguments to encourage men to &s;it downe and dwell by temporary relations, and make them a &s;ufficient fence and guard to put off all Gods calls and in|timations, to attend upon him in any other way, if it make not for the &s;upport and &s;upply of &s;uch engagements; where is there a man that acknowledgeth a call from God, if it make not for the promoting of him&s;elfe in temporary things at the lea&s;t in his expectation; and if it prove contrary, hee takes it up as a fore burden; what ever becomes of the cau&s;e of God, it mu&s;t be &s;ub|&s;ervant
<PB N="78" REF="47">
to the&s;e things; no marvail though the world be voyd of the joyfull pre&s;ence of God, when wee rejoyce in nothing but what (in effect) the bruit bea&s;ts &s;eek after.</P>
<P>Obj. <HI>But it will be &s;aid, that how ever the Prophets, Apo&s;tles, and Chri&s;t him&s;elfe went on in the neglect of all temporary relations, yet how carefull were the Patriarchs in the pre&s;ervation and mayntaining of them.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To which we an&s;wer, that the Prophets, Apo&s;tles, and Chri&s;t him&s;eife teach in their practice, how we ought to &s;tand af|fected with the&s;e earthly things, and how to demean our &s;elves towards them in this our pilgrimage through the world.</P>
<P>And the fathers of old teach us by their demeanor, what care and re&s;pect we are to have in the con&s;ervation of &s;uch relations which are &s;pirituall, and abide for ever, as they are con&s;tituted in Chri&s;t, and conver&s;ant in the family and hou&s;e of God.</P>
<P>Obj. <HI>It will be &s;ayd, that men uniting them&s;elves to particular con|gregations, as Pa&s;tor, Teacher, Elders, Deacons, and Members, is of di|vine in&s;titution, and ought to be mayntained and contended for, according to the practice of the Apo&s;tles, and tho&s;e &s;even Churches, with their 7. An|gels, or Me&s;&s;engers particularly de&s;cribed and &s;et forth in the Revelations.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To which we an&s;wer; that &s;uch as the &s;alvation and faith is which we contend for, and maintain, &s;uch is the Church, but we contend for <HI>the common &s;alvation and faith once delivered to the Saints;</HI> and &s;o we do for a univer&s;all <HI>Church and congregation of the fir&s;t-born, who&s;e names are enrolled in heaven,</HI> once and for ever con&s;tituted; &amp; that doctrine and prayer which is of le&s;&s;e compre|hen&s;ion, that it reacheth not univer&s;ally to involve the compleat my&s;ticall body of Chri&s;t, <HI>it is a private &s;pirit,</HI> and not con&s;onant to the doctrine and interce&s;&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which hath a like re&s;pect to all the cho&s;en of God, and that in all times and ages.</P>
<P>And for tho&s;e particular Churches mentioned in Scripture, they are all repre&s;ented unto us in tho&s;e &s;even Churches in the <HI>Revelations,</HI> which all vani&s;h in the opening of heaven, in the fourth Chapter, and are never heard of againe, which only &s;et forth unto us in their &s;everall vertues, and &s;even-fold fulne&s;s and perfection therein, the &s;tate of that Church governed by him only <HI>that &s;its on the Throne,</HI> adorned with <HI>tho&s;e 4. lively weights,</HI> and <HI>four and twenty Elders,</HI> furni&s;hed with that Angelicall and fulne&s;&s;e of
<PB N="79" REF="47">
Mini&s;tery, &s;et forth by &s;even Angels, &s;even Trumpets, and &s;even Vialls, inriched with all tho&s;e excellencies, declared throughout that whole booke, and the perfection of this one only Church is &s;ignified unto us, in the vertue of tho&s;e &s;even, as the excellency of one &s;pirit of God is &s;et forth unto us in that report <HI>of &s;even &s;pi|rits of God being about the throne,</HI> and this one Church is &s;ignified and &s;et forth in that of <HI>Philadelphia,</HI> which hath nothing but com|mendable things found in her, and no reproof, uncomeline&s;&s;e, or imperfection at all.</P>
<P>Againe, tho&s;e &s;even Churches teach unto us, that one Congre|gation or Synagogue of Sathan, wherein is contained that &s;even-fold wickedne&s;&s;e and fulne&s;&s;e of &s;inne, in that <HI>Babylon</HI> the great, the mother of whoredoms, and proper &s;eate of wickedne&s;&s;e in the land of <HI>Shiner,</HI> to which it is all conveyed and carryed in that <HI>E|vah,</HI> which the Prophet <HI>Zachariah</HI> &s;peaks of, and this is &s;ignified un|to us in that one Church of <HI>Laodicea,</HI> commended in nothing, but condemned in all things according to ju&s;t de&s;erts, having a|tracted all wickedne&s;&s;e from that Angelicall Mini&s;try by turning the truth of God into a lye, and this Church is ruled <HI>by the Dra|gon, the bea&s;t, and the fal&s;e Prophet,</HI> in all tho&s;e abominable practi&s;es and filthine&s;&s;es &s;et forth therein to the end of that Book.</P>
<P>He therefore that &s;ets him&s;elfe as a Pa&s;tor over one particular people or congregation, and yet it is not without reproof, nor doth his exerci&s;e in the word and doctrine, comprehend all the flock of God, &amp; concerns the &s;tate of every Saint of God particu|larly, that man will be found a feeder onely of the mother of har|lots, and as a Dragon to devour the man-child with <HI>Herod,</HI> when he appears, and not as that good &s;hepheard who gives him&s;elfe for the flock, not having that &s;pirit of the Apo&s;tle <HI>that the care of all the Churches is upon him,</HI> as all in one, and one in all, as the true Spou&s;e &s;aith, <HI>draw me, we will run after thee;</HI> A &s;ingle eye hath re|&s;pect to all Saints alike, hath a like care of them, and they are a like precious unto him; the Son of God never directed the vir|tue of his death, or labour of his love to &s;ome of his cho&s;en before others, but men in the&s;e dayes have framed a pa&s;torall charge to be a fat pa&s;ture for them&s;elves, or el&s;e the call of God &s;peaks not therein.</P>
<P><PB N="80" REF="48">
But a true Prophet is under the lo&s;&s;e, and in the departure from all the&s;e things, and thereby is inve&s;ted with the power and autho|rity of the Son of God, &s;peaking in his name, words of wonder, and admiration, and not as the Scribes.</P>
<P>And they do not onely &s;uffer them&s;elves to be di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;t of the&s;e things, but they have long <HI>patience,</HI> or <HI>under-abiding</HI> in this condition, it alters not, what change &s;oever comes upon them in this world, for they are not le&s;&s;e jealous of that which the world counts pro&s;perity, then they are of that it calls adver&s;ity, and are as watchfull under good reports as bad, knowing a like &s;nare in both.</P>
<P>Not as &s;uch as &s;eem to &s;uffer for a time, and are zealous again&s;t the common practices of the world, till they have gotten &s;ome high place among&s;t men, and then they come to comply with the greate&s;t worldling, and conver&s;ant with worldly affaires, that can put forth it &s;elfe to be a con&s;ociate, or &s;uffragator unto them.</P>
<P>Note for conclu&s;ion of this point, that a true Prophet knows his liberty, how <HI>that all things are lawfull, but all things are not expe|dient; all things are lawfull, but he is not brought under the power and dominion of any thing;</HI> he may marry, but &s;o as though he had no wife, he may u&s;e the world, but as though it were of no u&s;e unto him at all; and he may buy, but &s;o as one that never intends to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, for he makes no &s;tore or trea&s;ure of any thing that is of a peri&s;hing nature, no not of the worlds ordinances of Chri&s;t, as they call them, being of &s;uch nature as are onely comprized within the narrow confines of this mortall life, which they can|not extend nor draw them out beyond, and therefore things that peri&s;h as bodily exerci&s;es which profit not.</P>
<P>So that what&s;oever a true Prophet makes u&s;e of in the world, he abides under &s;uffering of the lo&s;&s;e of it, and is disjointed from it, in the enjoyment of it, in point of that &s;pirit, wherewith the men of the world pur&s;ue and make u&s;e of the &s;ame thing, beco|ming a pilgrim and &s;tranger, to what&s;oever the common &s;pirit of the &s;ons of men account them&s;elves at home in, and is no more contracted, or affianced unto the things of this life, then he &s;hall be when in re&s;pect of this mortall life, he is no more to conver&s;e with the&s;e tran&s;itory things, and affaires.</P>
<P><PB N="81" REF="48">
Whereupon he brings in the next words in way of an&s;wer to a que&s;tion, might ari&s;e as thus; If the Saints of God &s;uffer affliction under &s;o long continued patience, wherein then doth their re&s;t and comfort con&s;i&s;t, the an&s;wer is,</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 11. Behold, we count them happy that indure. Ye have heard of the patience of <HI>Job,</HI> and have &s;een the end of the Lord, for the Lord is very pittifull and of tender mercy.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In which words ob&s;erve the&s;e particulars.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The e&s;teem had of enduring and &s;uffering: <HI>Behold we count them hapy that endure.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A pattern thereof propounded; <HI>Ye have heard of the pati|ence of</HI> Job.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The end God aimes at and attains therein: <HI>And have &s;een the end of the Lord.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The ground &amp; rea&s;on of the effecting and accompli&s;hing there|of, <HI>for the Lord is very pittifull and of tender mer|cy.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>FIr&s;t, for the e&s;teem and account had of &s;uffering, it is brought in by way of admiration and wonder, <HI>Behold,</HI> it is no le&s;&s;e then a miracle, that all happine&s;&s;e &s;hould con&s;i&s;t in durance and &s;uffering; for the Saints of God upon true account can &s;um up the ble&s;&s;ed and hapy e&s;tate and condition in one continued act of &s;uffering, which all the world is &s;o much afraid to undergo; that is, they &s;uffer the lo&s;&s;e of that exerci&s;e of &s;pirit in its enjoy|ments, wherein the honour, riches, prai&s;e, and proper pro&s;perity of all fle&s;h doth con&s;i&s;t (naturally con&s;idered) which is the de&s;ire and &s;upport of all the men of the world, in the lo&s;&s;e whereof the Saints are made partakers of that &s;pirit and life of the Sonne of God which &s;prings up and exerci&s;eth its virtue and power in them, wherein all true happine&s;&s;e doth con&s;i&s;t and exer|ci&s;e it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Which all carnall men decline, dete&s;t and abhor, for they will
<PB N="82" REF="49">
never accept nor receive Chri&s;t upon his own terms and conditi|ons, but contrarily reject and ca&s;t him off preferring <HI>the plea&s;ures of &s;inne which are but for a &s;ea&s;on</HI> before tho&s;e riches and trea&s;ures &s;tored up for ever in that Son of God.</P>
<P>It is a wonder, and miraculous, that afflictions and &s;ufferings which all men are &s;o fearful of, &s;hould be filled with the victory, joy, and tryumph of a Saviour: therefore it is that the Apo&s;tle &s;aith (being well acquainted with this point) <HI>God forbid that I &s;hould rejoyoe in any thing &s;ave in the cro&s;&s;e of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.</HI></P>
<P>Yet all men cannot but have an honorable e&s;teem and high ac|count of an innocent &s;uffering as having prai&s;e-worthine&s;&s;e therein, <HI>Behold wee count them happy that endure.</HI> Yea the inte|grity of the &s;ilver tryed in the fining pot, and the &s;oundne&s;&s;e and &s;olidity of the gold in the fornace, are precious in the &s;ight of all men.</P>
<P>Who is the man, but when the the &s;uffering and the &s;ufferer &s;eem both to be removed out of the world, will not &s;eem to ap|prove of the work? <HI>Abrahams</HI> departure from his fathers hou&s;e to go to a land he knew not whether, and his abode in the &s;ame land as a &s;tranger and &s;ojourner, not enjoying a foots breadth thereof, as the martyr <HI>Stephen</HI> reports, is approved as an excel|lent thing by all now in our dayes: but would be counted great folly, to give it a pre&s;ent being in a Prince to for &s;ake his royalties to undergo the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t: So al&s;o his &s;eed going down in|to <HI>Aegypt,</HI> and &s;uffering hard bondage under cruell task&punc; ma&s;ters, with their tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e and dangerous travel in the wilderne&s;&s;e enduring &s;o many cruell a&s;&s;aults of the heathen, and in their en|trance into the promi&s;ed land, by tho&s;e &s;even nations greater and &s;tronger then they.</P>
<P>The di&s;pertions and per&s;ecutions of the Prophets &amp; Apo&s;tles, together with the &s;ufferings and death of Je&s;us born of the Vir|gin, the&s;e being all taken onely as things pa&s;t, turned as into hu|mane hi&s;tory, out of which may be collected carnall experiments and policy; who is the man that wil not lend an eare unto them, and &s;eem to approve them? yea the very Scribes, Phari&s;es, and hy|pocrits cannot but trumpet out the fame of the Saints in this point of &s;uffering, &s;aying, <HI>That if they had lived in the dayes of their
<PB N="83" REF="49">
fathers they would not have per&s;ecuted the Prophets as they did,</HI> but in the mean time do nothing el&s;e but build the Sepulchres of the Prophets, by their erecting of temporary ordinances, carnal go|vernments, humane in&s;titutions, and appointments formed and framed from the pattern of the bare letter of the Scripture, un|der which they keep buried, the very &s;pirit and life of the Pro|phets, Apo&s;tles, and Chri&s;t him &s;elf, &s;tifling thereby the very virtue and power of tho&s;e &s;pirituall and heavenly appointments of the of God among the &s;ons of men.</P>
<P>In tho&s;e eternall extentions and operations thereof, then the which, a greater cruelty cannot be attempted or maintained; for as the blood &s;hed in all generations from <HI>Abel</HI> to <HI>Zacharias,</HI> comes ju&s;tly upon that pre&s;ent age &amp; people who thus deal with the Prophets; even &s;o that compleat power, glory, and pre&s;ence of the Prince of peace, and innocent Lamb of God, which hath appeared in any, or all ages of the world, ought (according to the law of truth, ju&s;tice, and equity) to be &s;et forth, made mani|fe&s;t, and acknowledged in the pre&s;ent generation and age of the world, who is <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, and to day, and the &s;ame for ever,</HI> though the world know him not, nor will acknowledg him &s;o to be.</P>
<P>Note for conclu&s;ion of this point, that onely the &s;ufferings of the Saints of God is an innocent &s;uffering; for they do not wrong unto, u&s;e cruelty again&s;t, or contradict any of the proper creatures, or workman&s;hip of God, who is the Creator of all things.</P>
<P>For how &s;oever it be true, that the wi&s;dome and &s;ubtilty of man, be the proper in&s;tigator and &s;tirrer up of all per&s;cution and cruelty again&s;t Chri&s;t in all ages, yet it is not that wi&s;dome &s;imply con&s;idered, as a work of God, but as it hath through its own voluntary propen&s;ity, &s;ockt in, and drunk up into it &s;elfe the wi&s;dome and word of God to the corrupting and fal&s;ifying thereof in it &s;elfe, and thereby doth truly become Satanical, which condition is no proper work of God.</P>
<P>Even as fraile man in that way of Chri&s;t, is become the po|tent and eternal &s;on of God, and not the proper &s;eed, and off-&s;pring of man.</P>
<P>So that it is the &s;pirit and power of Satan, that the Saints kill
<PB N="84" REF="50">
and crucified in them&s;elves, and oppo&s;e in others, where, or in whom&s;oever it appears, and not any proper creature of God, and therefore the Saints onely are innocent &s;ufferers, that being all they &s;uffer for.</P>
<P>Even as it is in the wicked, it is not the &s;pirit of a &s;imple crea|ture which they oppo&s;e and per&s;ecute in the godly, and kill and crucifie in them&s;elves.</P>
<P>But it is the &s;pirit and wi&s;edome of God which hath drunk in the &s;oule of the creature into it &s;elfe, through the nullifying of all humane excellencies and glory in which the wi&s;dome and glory of God doth con&s;i&s;t, &s;o that it is the wi&s;dome of God in this act, which the world oppo&s;eth and per&s;ecutes; the &s;ufferings of the Saints therefore are onely innocent, and miraculous, for they go beyond the power of any nature con&s;idered onely in it &s;elfe, which &s;uffering of the Saints he works up into one, as a pattern of all the re&s;t, and that is the &s;econd point.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Ye have heard of the patience of <HI>Job.</HI></HEAD>
<P>2. The &s;ufferings of all the Prophets are here gathered toge|the, and compo&s;ed in one, namely in <HI>Job,</HI> wherein we &s;ee the li|berty of the Scriptures in propounding it &s;elfe unto us either in the &s;ingular or plurall form, and that in the grace of &s;uffering, wherein the Saints are made exemplary, for the &s;ufferings of all the Prophets are here gathered up and centred in one particular, namely in <HI>Job.</HI></P>
<P>For if the &s;ufferings of all the Saints have unity in one Son of God, and be all of like nature, virtue and power in him, then hath that one act of &s;uffering of the Son of God (once and for e|ver) alike re&s;pect unto every particular Saint of God, and hath its plurality in them, being of like nature, virtue and efficacy wherever it appears; for what&s;oever is in that great Prophet of the Church, is of one &s;imple and eternall act, and is as unpo&s;&s;ible to carry a differing nature or virtue, as for God to change in any of his exellencies.</P>
<P><HI>For it becomes the Captaine of our &s;alvation in bringing many &s;ons to glory to be made perfect through &s;uffering:</HI> &s;o that there are many &s;ons we &s;ee, and yet there is but one onely &s;on-&s;hip, which onely &s;on-&s;hip
<PB N="85" REF="50">
every one hath who is not <HI>a ba&s;tard, and no &s;on,</HI> and is a &s;on only by the virtue and dignity of that one &s;on-&s;hip and not of a|ny other, in any re&s;pect what&s;oever.</P>
<P>And yet there is but one &s;on, becau&s;e <HI>all have acce&s;&s;e unto the Fa|ther by one &s;pirit:</HI> and therefore it is that God is &s;aid <HI>to call his &s;on out of Aegypt,</HI> when &s;o many thou&s;ands of I&s;rael marched out from <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> being but one body of I&s;ral, which is &s;aid to be done al|&s;o, when Je&s;us, alone, after the death of <HI>Herod,</HI> returned, being tran&s;ported by <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and <HI>Mary,</HI> as one of no &s;trength without &s;upport, a great difference in humane rea&s;on between that Infant and that Army that none of the Nations can &s;tand before; but in both con&s;i&s;ts that harmony which is in the natures of Chri&s;t, therefore it is a faithfull &s;aying, <HI>that if we be dead with him,</HI> or in him, <HI>we &s;hall al&s;o live in him, if we &s;uffer together</HI> (or in unity) <HI>we &s;hall al&s;o reigne in unity,</HI> &s;o that the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t are as truly multiplyed in the Saints as the glory of his reigne and &s;on-&s;hip is.</P>
<P>And yet it is true, that as there is but one &s;on, &s;o there is but one &s;ufferer, for <HI>he him &s;elfe bears our &s;ins in his own body upon the tree;</HI> that is, in his body my&s;ticall, and not in an hi&s;toricall body, and of &s;uch nature is the tree whereon they are born. <HI>He bore our &s;inne;</HI> that is, all that which is their &s;in in the worlds account, namely the contradicting and abrogating of that law of the carnall com|mandement, &s;tanding in ordinances, which is done, not on a wodden cro&s;&s;e, or gibbet, but in or upon that tree of righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, where onely it is found to be aboli&s;hed, <HI>that we being dead to &s;inne might live to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> in which the &s;tripes do con&s;i&s;t, whereby we are healed.</P>
<P>So that the &s;ufferer is but one compleat and compacted body; the place whereon this &s;uffering is onely found, is but that one tree of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, namely of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God through the faith of Chri&s;t, where the fle&s;h is onely crucified un|to an eternall &s;trength, and yet there are many &s;ufferers: and therefore it is the voyce of all the Saints of God that ever were, are, or &s;hall be, as one joynt acclamation or out-cry, written in their hearts for ever, <HI>For thy &s;ake are we killed all the day long</HI> (that is, once and for ever) <HI>and are counted as &s;heep for the &s;laugh|ter.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="86" REF="51">
We conclude then, that the &s;ufferings of all the Prophets, Seers, or interpreters of the minde of God, are comprized in our my&s;ticall and &s;pirituall <HI>Job,</HI> and the patient &s;ufferings of <HI>Job,</HI> are extended unto, and of an examplary nature in all the Pro|phets; that is, of a teaching and leading virtue in every Saint of God, fit to be imitated, and worthy to be followed of all the re&s;t, otherwi&s;e due honour is not given unto Chri&s;t according to the nature and glory of tho&s;e ine&s;timable &s;ufferings comprehended in his my&s;ticall and royall body innocent.</P>
<P>But he is carnallized in the doctrine of the Cro&s;&s;e, as in all other points, the world deals with him in the matter of the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P>3. It is taken for granted therefore, in the next place, that the Saints of God <HI>have heard of the patience of Job,</HI> or the &s;uffe|rings of <HI>the hated one,</HI> as his name &s;ignifies, or one <HI>that endures enmity again&s;t him&s;elfe,</HI> as it is &s;aid of him whom the world hates even untill now <HI>Con&s;ider him that endureth &s;uch contradiction of &s;in|ners again&s;t him&s;elfe, lea&s;t you be weary and faint in your mindes,</HI> as knowing it is the portion of him always, in whom&s;oever he re|ally appears.</P>
<P>The word tran&s;lated <HI>heard</HI> in this place, &s;ignifies to <HI>know,</HI> and that upon &s;uch termes of certainty, as to become one with the thing <HI>known,</HI> as it is &s;aid that <HI>Adam knew Eve his wife,</HI> not onely to be made one in Contract and E&s;pou&s;all, as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and <HI>Mary</HI> were, who yet notwith&s;tanding <HI>know</HI> not one the other; but to be made one individuall &s;ub&s;i&s;tance <HI>in their &s;eed,</HI> having one form, and one &s;pirit and life in it, and &s;o the patience of <HI>Job:</HI> or the &s;ufferings of <HI>Job,</HI> yea of Je&s;us, are <HI>known in the Saints of God;</HI> that is, they are one entire, &s;imple, and undivided act <HI>in him,</HI> and <HI>in them al&s;o,</HI> bearing the &s;ame forme, containing the &s;ame virtue, &s;ubject to the &s;ame reproach by the men of the world, as al&s;o, of like joy, and acceptation as of old unto the godly, by whom it is &s;aid, <HI>Rejoyce greatly O daughter of Zion, &s;hout O daughter of Jeru|&s;alem, behold thy King cometh unto thee, he is ju&s;t &s;aving him&s;elfe, low|ly, and riding upon an A&s;&s;e, and upon a colt, the foal of an A&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider, the word of God brought not forth in the begining the &s;un moon, and &s;tars, or any creature upon the face of the earth, to be of one nature and virtue in one age of the world, and
<PB N="87" REF="51">
of another nature and virtue in another time or age thereof, no more doth the word of God bring forth the &s;ufferings of the Son of God, to be of one kinde and virtue in one man of God, and of another kinde, power or virtue in another man of God, or in one age to be really pre&s;ent with the Di&s;ciples, and in another age to be far remote, for they are all one individuall act in that one multiplyed Saint or holy one of I&s;rael.</P>
<P>And &s;o are the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t according to the &s;pirit, in the man of &s;in, and &s;ons of Beliall, <HI>which crucifie the Son of God a|fre&s;h unto, or in them&s;elves, putting him to an open &s;hame:</HI> it is not one in <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and another in <HI>Herod;</HI> it is not of one nature or kinde in <HI>Cain,</HI> and of another in <HI>Judas;</HI> it is not one in the Scribes and Phara&s;ees, and another in the wicked Lawyers and Soul|diers; it is not of one nature and kinde io that Antichri&s;t and &s;on of perdition, and of another nature and kinde in the Devil and Satan.</P>
<P>But it is one &s;imple and eternall act of that one man of &s;in, multiplied into many Antichri&s;ts, <HI>which are now working already in the world, according to the power of the Prince of the ayre, the &s;pirit which now worketh in the children of unbelief,</HI> unto which Chri&s;t &s;peaks as unto one, &s;aying, <HI>what is thy name?</HI> the an&s;wer implies both the &s;ingular and plurall number, <HI>my name is Legion, for we are ma|ny.</HI></P>
<P>For we mu&s;t remember <HI>that what &s;oever the law &s;aith, it &s;aith unto them,</HI> or as the word is, <HI>in them who are under the law;</HI> that is, what&s;oever the law of the &s;pirit &s;peaks; now the law of the &s;pi|rit of life is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, according to which he &s;ubmits to the will of his Father <HI>(that ancient of days)</HI> in all things, as al&s;o rules over all temporary and carnall power; for there is nothing in Chri&s;t as wherein he &s;ubmits, but it hath the virtue of authority therein al&s;o, and what&s;oever this law &s;aith, it &s;aith it in all that are &s;ubjects unto the &s;ame, and gives being to what it utters, as the word did to all things in the beginning; &s;o that if it &s;peak of faith in any, it &s;peaks without re&s;pect of per&s;ons according to that impartiality which is in it &s;elf: &s;o that where it utters faith, it is in the powerfull work of faith, as a work wherein the Son of the eternall is involved, in whom it hath its virtue and power: if it utter alone, it &s;heds it abroad in the heart in the labour of it
<PB N="88" REF="52">
as that wherein God dwels, who is compo&s;ed of it: if it &s;peaks of hope, it is not deferred, but &s;prings up in the &s;oule as <HI>that tree of life in the Paradi&s;e of God:</HI> and if it &s;peak of &s;uffering, it creates the Cro&s;&s;e, not in any other form and virtue, but in that wherein it takes its being from the beginning, even as it was at the fir&s;t, with the creation in the operation of the word in bringing forth all creatures to exi&s;t and have a being.</P>
<P>When it made the Sun, it formed it in that virtue that abides the &s;ame in all ages; and &s;o it is with all creatures receiving their being and virtue by that word; even &s;o what&s;oever the law of the &s;pirit &s;aith, it gives the &s;ame being and virtue thereun|to in all that are under that law, whether it concerne humiliati|on or exaltation, death or re&s;urrection, the being of the Lord the Saviour, or the &s;aved of the Lord.</P>
<P>For what or in whom-&s;oever it &s;peaks, it &s;aith it to the realli|zing of it &s;elfe in the thing &s;poken, and that without exclu&s;ion of any one particular, or including any one more then the re&s;t, which are found under the &s;ame law.</P>
<P>For as unto us there is but one God, &s;o there is but one Image of that God, which is his wi&s;dome made manife&s;t in Chri&s;t, which is the proper and perpetuated form of Chri&s;t, wherein &s;o|ever he is manife&s;t, and of all true Chri&s;tianity in all ages of the world.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t therefore either take Chri&s;t, or a chri&s;tian forme be|ing under the law of the &s;pirit (and then there is no other &s;eat to &s;et him in, but under the dominion of the fle&s;h, that law of &s;in and death) or el&s;e the Cro&s;&s;e expre&s;&s;ed and maintained according to that law of the &s;pirit is the &s;ame in Chri&s;t, and in every Chri|&s;tian in all re&s;pects.</P>
<P>For <HI>it is that circumci&s;&s;ion made without hands;</HI> that is, without any wi&s;dome or ability proper unto, or atainable by man, name|ly the cutting off of that &s;uperfluous fore&s;kin of the fle&s;h; which is &s;uperfluous to the fulne&s;&s;e of Gods wi&s;dome and power, which is the proper hinderer and ob&s;tructor of the propagation of the Son of God.</P>
<P>Therefore this circumci&s;&s;ion is to be exerci&s;ed upon every male in the family of God (and that by divine in&s;titution) that is up|on every one who have that ma&s;culine &s;pirit of the Son of God,
<PB N="89" REF="52">
<HI>to acquit them&s;elves like men of God,</HI> by faith, conquering and over|coming the world, for this circumci&s;ion onely brings the &s;oule of man into a capacity of having the power of God to be exerci|&s;ed therein, in which is that fulne&s;&s;e and perfection, that all things natural or proper to a creature, are altogether &s;uperflu|ous, and therefore it is &s;aid to be <HI>Circumci&s;ion,</HI> or cutting round, &s;o as no beginning or end of this virtue can ever be found out, for it is eternall.</P>
<P>Againe, there is al&s;o the law of the carnal commandement&punc; or the carnall law, and what&s;oever that &s;peaks, it &s;aith it one|ly in them, and in all them (re&s;pectively) that are under that law.</P>
<P>And this con&s;i&s;ts in carnall and temporary ordinances and in|&s;titutions, &s;uch appointments as fade and peri&s;h in the u&s;e, &s;uch as abide not with man, or he not with them for ever; and what this law &s;aith, it &s;aith it in all and every particular that are under the &s;ame; that is, it reallizeth it &s;elfe in every heart wherein it &s;peaks, forming and framing a work therein according to the word gone out; for she word of God &s;peaks that language in a fi|gure, which mans heart naturally &s;peaks, taking that (by viewing it by his own light) to be the &s;ub&s;tance and reality of the minde of God, in his intent; but is but a &s;hadow, a figure or &s;ignificati|on thereof, thereby carnallizing the word by transforming it in|to the &s;imilitude of a creature, and not into the glory of the Cre|ator, &s;o that the imaginations and dictates of his own heart give a temporary forme unto an eternall word, which is that carnall law of &s;in and death in him&s;elfe, &s;ubjecting him&s;elfe thereunto, &s;o that what&s;oever the letter &s;aith which kils, it &s;aith it in him who is litterall, and hath the power of engagement, and binding that party over to the onely acknowledgement, and practice thereof; and &s;o the word of God becomes a tormentor unto man; for it being held, or impri&s;oned in this unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, or narrow and &s;trait confines of humane principles and capacity, and yet in it &s;elfe infinite and eternal, cannot po&s;&s;ible move there|in, but mu&s;t have re&s;pect unto its own nature, which is infinite incomprehen&s;ible, and eternall, whereby the &s;oule of the creature is &s;et upon the rack, hanged on the gibbet, laid under an intole|rable pre&s;&s;e, ca&s;t into the flames, overwhelmed with the flouds,
<PB N="90" REF="53">
being extended and intangled with that which is infinitely a|bove, as al&s;o below and beneath, and in all re&s;pects beyond the reach of all humane abilities, and &s;o continually devi&s;eth and frameth out more ways of torture and torment unto it &s;elfe, then ever mans heart in any tyrant could invent for the &s;hame and horrour of the body.</P>
<P>In which re&s;pect that compleat condition cea&s;eth to be the &s;tate and condition, or to be led by the proper principles of a meer creature, or workman&s;hip of God, and becomes <HI>Shedim,</HI> as the <HI>Caldean</HI> phra&s;e is, that is the de&s;troyer of mankinde, in humane and &s;atanicall.</P>
<P>So that the dictates of &s;uch a heart are the proper &s;ugge&s;tions of Satan, and its operations, the proper works of darkne&s;&s;e, and the onely path wherein the wrath of the Almighty treads for e|ver.</P>
<P>Note al&s;o, that there is in them who are under the law of the &s;pirit, a direct Antithe&s;is unto this expre&s;&s;ed of the wic|ked.</P>
<P>For the &s;pirit of man being taken into unity with the word, and &s;o gathered up into the wi&s;dome and power of God, works nor moves not but by principles proper unto God, which are of an eternall and incomprehen&s;ible nature; and yet the &s;pirit of the creature cannot move, but with re&s;pect to the precincts of time, in which it is, but it goeth forth in and by eternall princi|ples, &s;o that there is in the Son of God di&s;tinct operations, yet e|very one of an eternal nature and race.</P>
<P>The one giving delight to the work through variety &amp; change of action; and the other gives liberty, ea&s;e, and freedome unto the &s;oule therein, having &s;o large roome and &s;o &s;pacious a &s;phear to walke and exerci&s;e it in, the bounds whereof can never be tro|den out, like the Sun in the firmament who&s;e progre&s;&s;e none can hinder, nor &s;top, or prevent the health under its wings from the exerci&s;e of it &s;elf; nor can any take out of order tho&s;e <HI>fixed &s;tars of the morning, that fight from &s;uch an eminent and noble di&s;tance in their cour&s;es for the de&s;truction of this wicked Si&s;era,</HI> even tho&s;e <HI>bright mor|ning &s;tars that &s;ing together, &amp; &s;ons of God &s;houting for joy in tho&s;e Nobles of I&s;rael, in laying of the fir&s;t foundation of the earth &s;o as it &s;hall never be removed;</HI> who are as far above the power and dominion of
<PB N="91" REF="53">
Satan, as the heavens are above the earth, out of the gun-&s;hot of being in&s;i&s;ted with any corrupt doctrine, or of being hurt by any of the tyrannical practices of this pre&s;ent world.</P>
<P>Such is the &s;tate and condition of that my&s;ticall body of our Lord Je&s;us, the dictates of who&s;e heart are the motions of that &s;pirit of holine&s;&s;e and power, and his operations works of the Son of God.</P>
<P>And of &s;uch nature is the law of the &s;pirit which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and of all &s;uch as are under command, and in the authori|ty thereof.</P>
<P>The Saints then, or brethren of our Apo&s;tle, know the pati|ence of <HI>Job,</HI> not at a di&s;tance, but in the neare&s;t conjunction; &s;o as being made one with it, it being an entire and undivided cro&s;&s;e and &s;uffering, and is brought in the next &s;entence, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>And have &s;een the end of the Lord.</HEAD>
<P>Under the word <HI>&s;eene</HI> is comprehended the exerci&s;e of all the &s;ences which is u&s;uall in Scripture, as being filled in them all by the Cro&s;&s;e and &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t; as if he &s;hould &s;ay, yee have &s;een, ye have heard, ye have ta&s;ted, reli&s;hed and felt the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, <HI>for his name is an oyntment poured out, the &s;weet &s;avour and &s;cent whereof fills the whole hou&s;e;</HI> &s;o that <HI>your hands have handled the word of life</HI> in this point, as really as <HI>Thomas</HI> handled the humane body of Chri&s;t, when <HI>he put his finger into the print of the nayles,</HI> which fa&s;tned him to his Cro&s;&s;e, for the confirmation of his faith; of &s;uch reality is the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, as to make us to &s;ee, touch and ta&s;t for our &s;atisfaction the power and vertue of the Lord, o|therwi&s;e we can never handle the word of life to mini&s;ter and &s;erve in the &s;ame as Mini&s;ters of the Sanctuary, and as able Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, <HI>not of the letter, but of the &s;pirit, for the letter kills, but the &s;pirit gives life.</HI></P>
<P>So that our hearing or knowing of the patience of <HI>Job,</HI> name|ly our being one with Chri&s;t in his Cro&s;&s;e, alike as we are one with him in any other grace or vertue, is that which opens unto us the &s;cope of the Scriptures: &s;o that we &s;ee Gods end and aym in bla&s;ting unto us all carnall things, is the &s;ame that appeared in <HI>Job,</HI> to give double in that which never failes; for we never
<PB N="92" REF="54">
read of any more lo&s;&s;e unto <HI>Job,</HI> but as though he were enriched for ever.</P>
<P>We &s;ee therefore Gods intent and end in the Cro&s;&s;e, &s;o as to make it our joy and con&s;olation, &s;o that <HI>we rejoyce in per&s;ecution, in tribulation, and reproach,</HI> knowing that Gods end herein is only to make his power manife&s;t in us, <HI>for in all the&s;e things we are more then conquerours,</HI> knowing that our victory &s;tands both in being the Re&s;cuer, and the re&s;cued: &s;o that the glory and joy of them both is made one in us, which no earthly Conquerour can at|taine. So that our laughter is that &s;piritull <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> the joy of the whole earth; for how&s;oever we know our &s;elves (in mans na|ture &s;imply con&s;idered) to be like <HI>Sarah,</HI> barren of all the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and de&s;titute of that immortall &s;eed of God, and al&s;o our Lord &s;imply con&s;idered; to be pa&s;t age; for being brought forth and made manife&s;t in time in one that is but of ye|&s;terdays continuance, who in him&s;elfe is that Ancient of dayes: Yet the end and intent of the Lord in the conjunction of the&s;e, by vi&s;iting of us in that way of the promi&s;e, is the bringing forth of <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> according to that time of life proper to the Son of God, who is the joy and laughter of all that heare it, &s;o as to approve of it, and give credit thereunto, according to that unwavering faith of the Father of the faithfull, who &s;taggered not.</P>
<P>Therefore the end of this Cro&s;&s;e is manife&s;ted to be &s;on-&s;hip unto God, as it is &s;ayd, <HI>My &s;onne, my &s;onne, de&s;pi&s;e not;</HI> that is, ho|nour and embrace <HI>the cha&s;tning of the Lord,</HI> in the cutting off of all &s;uperfluity of naughtine&s;&s;e which mans nature is &s;ubject unto, for the end thereof is that child-like di&s;po&s;ition, being naturali|zed unto the Lord.</P>
<P>Yea, Gods end herein is to receive and embrace us as his pecu|liar ones; <HI>For whom the Lord loveth he cha&s;tneth, and &s;courgeth every &s;onne whom he receiveth.</HI></P>
<P>This is that through which we participate in his holine&s;s, and are po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of that integrity which is in none but him&s;elf.</P>
<P>For hee correcteth in cutting off all &s;uperfluous branches, to this end <HI>that we may be made partakers of his holine&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Yea, the end of the Cro&s;&s;e is to inve&s;t us in our filiall portion, for <HI>if you endure cha&s;tning, God dealeth with you as &s;onnes,</HI> for <HI>what &s;onne is he whom the father correcteth not;</HI> and that for this very end,
<PB N="93" REF="54">
namely to fit him thereby to exerci&s;e and bear up his own &s;pirit, nature, office and authority.</P>
<P>Such is the Lords end and intent in our undergoing of the Cro&s;&s;e, to be&s;tow a double portion on us as he did to <HI>Job,</HI> which is the proper right of the fir&s;t borne of God, appointed by the Law in <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> For where it is &s;aid, the Lord gave <HI>Job</HI> twice as much, the word is, <HI>Added double:</HI> The &s;ame phra&s;e is u&s;ed by <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> where he de&s;ires to receive a double portion of the &s;pirit of <HI>Eliah,</HI> or that &s;pirit of <HI>partition,</HI> whereby to divide <HI>Jordan</HI> aright, as his Ma&s;ter had done before him; the word pro|perly &s;ignifies <HI>the mouth exerci&s;ing the part of two,</HI> which is the &s;pi|rit of Prophe&s;ie con&s;idered in a double or two-fold re&s;pect; that is, as it contayns the &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion, in laying open and in|terpretting the &s;tate and condition of man-kind before God from which the Saints are freed and delivered; as al&s;o the laying open before the &s;ons of men the &s;tate and condition of the Son of God, opening and interpretting that to which we are delivered, both the&s;e were in <HI>Job;</HI> the one &s;ignified in his praying for his friends, that they might be delivered from unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and the o|ther in the names given to his daughters, declaring his pre&s;ent joyous, and delightfull condition. Likewi&s;e the &s;pirit of Pro|phe&s;ie is &s;ignified unto us, in that he &s;eeth his &s;eed unto the fourth generation; which number foure hath in it the my&s;tery of the exten&s;ion of things, as in the gathering of the elect from the four winds, or foure corners of the earth: &s;o al&s;o in that four times ten, or forty dayes fa&s;t of Chri&s;t, his continued act of ob&s;tinance from the wayes of &s;in and death is &s;ignified, as in that four times ten, or forty yeares travell of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in the wilderne&s;&s;e, declares the Saints &s;ight and acknowledgment of the works and wayes of the Nations, in all their performances, to be unto them as a bar|ren, dry, wild and way le&s;&s;e wilderne&s;&s;e for ever. Likewi&s;e Gods vi&s;iting of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him, is for ever; for whom he hates once, he hates for ever; which vi&s;itation the holy man <HI>Job</HI> &s;eeth his &s;eed freed from by the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie in this e&s;tate and condition of his re&s;tauration, and eternall enriching by God in way of this double portion.</P>
<P>For as the office of Kingdome and Prie&s;t-hood are the inhe|ritance
<PB N="94" REF="55">
of the fir&s;t-born in the family; &s;o al&s;o is this double por|tion in Prophe&s;ie, or <HI>mouth performing the part of twaine;</HI> that is, he hath the mouth to perform the part of the &s;onne of (Man) namely in exerci&s;e of the &s;pirit of God in interpretting and lay|ing open the &s;tate and condition of all fle&s;h, and by the vertue and authority of the high Prie&s;t of God, which is done not un|to terrour, griefe, or controver&s;ie, but unto peace, joy, and re|conciliation with God, as one that is entered within the vale.</P>
<P>And thus the mouth and breath of prayer is opened and drawn out with boldne&s;&s;e before the Lord at the throne of grace, as coming in that name and authority of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is a Prie&s;t for ever after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edech.</HI></P>
<P>Againe, in this double portion is the mouth of the Sonne of of God exerci&s;ed as from heaven, opening and interpreting un|to the world the mind of the Father in that &s;tate and condition of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, freely offering and making tender of the love, bounty, good will, and mercy of God unto the Saints; and this is done in that Princely &s;pirit, and bounteous riches and libera|lity con&s;i&s;ting in the power and authority of a King, which things are comprehended in the right of the fir&s;t born, and are the portion of <HI>Job</HI> in this his re&s;tauration, wherein we &s;ee the end of the Lord, and in whom the &s;tate of all the Saints is per|&s;onate and involved, and no other end is aymed at, or effected by God in all the &s;ufferings of the Saints, but to give in exchange for tran&s;itory and vaine things, <HI>an inheritance mortall and undefi|led, which fadeth not, re&s;erved for us in heaven,</HI> or in the height of of that e&s;tate and condition of the Son of God. For the confir|mation whereof, he brings in that argument propounded in the next place, which is the fourth point.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>For the Lord is very pittifull, and of tender mercy.</HEAD>
<P>To pitty, &s;pare, or to be indulgent, is to refraine from impo|&s;ing any penalty or, burthen, it is to forbeare to vex in the lea&s;t; even as not in pittying or &s;paring a per&s;on or a people, is to ex|ecute de&s;truction to the uttermo&s;t; This pity is exerci&s;ed in the &s;pirit of Chri&s;tianity, and of Chri&s;t, as when the &s;onne of &s;orry man is acknowledged to be &s;uch, as there needs no other weight
<PB N="95" REF="55">
but his own proper propen&s;ity, to ca&s;t him&s;elfe down unto death for ever; nor any other &s;ubtilty but his own to intrap and en|&s;nare him unto the will of Satan for ever, then only do the com|pa&s;&s;ions and pitty of a father move upon that heart, &s;o as to adde no &s;orrow thereunto.</P>
<P>Againe, to pitty or commi&s;erate, is to redeem, relea&s;e, and de|liver from what&s;oever might annoy or di&s;quiet the party which is &s;ubject to di&s;tre&s;&s;e; therefore it is &s;ayd, <HI>that in his love and pitty he redeemed them, and bare them</HI> (as out of the reach of any harm) <HI>all the dayes of old.</HI></P>
<P>So that when the heart declineth the help of all creatures, as in&s;ufficient to lend a hand from any of their proper abilities to help or re&s;cue out of trouble, and that wretchedne&s;&s;e whereunto all fle&s;h is by nature &s;ubject; then doth the pitty and compa&s;&s;ion of a father, as being author of all tenderne&s;&s;e and compa&s;&s;ion, move upon that &s;oule, effecting Gods end by &s;uffering of the lo&s;s of the abilitie and power of the creature: For when <HI>Job</HI> abhor|red him&s;elfe, as being but du&s;t and a&s;hes, then the Lord &s;tirs up him&s;elfe to relea&s;e him not only from the bitternes of his friends, but repayrs all his lo&s;&s;es with the right and priviledges of the fir&s;t-born of God. Such is the tenderne&s;&s;e and pitty of the &s;pirit of our good Shepheard, <HI>gathering the Lambs into his arms, and car|rying them in his bo&s;ome, and gently leads &s;uch as are with young, yea layes downe his life for his flocke:</HI> And this is the &s;tate and conditi|on of all &s;uch as find them&s;elves fatherle&s;&s;e in re&s;pect of any love, pitty, or compa&s;&s;ion exerci&s;ed towards them by the &s;pirit of the world, of whom it is &s;ayd, <HI>A&s;hur &s;hall not &s;ave us, we will not ride upon hor&s;es, neither will we &s;ay any more to the works of our hands, yee are our gods, for in thee the fathers find mercy.</HI></P>
<P>For he is not only pittifull, but of tender mercy, <HI>whereby the day that &s;prings from on high hath vi&s;ited us:</HI> Or that morning Sunne which is the light and glory of the world is ri&s;en up upon us, to give light to &s;uch as otherwi&s;e fit in darkne&s;&s;e and in the &s;hadow of death, even that light of pro&s;perity, joy and gladne&s;&s;e, peace and plenty, which ari&s;eth out of the light and inheritance of the fir&s;t-born, unto whom the full inheritance belongs, with what|&s;oever the Father was, is, or &s;hall be, in all his enterprizes and o|perations.</P>
<P><PB N="96" REF="56">
For the nature, office, and operation of the Son of God is ours, through the&s;e tender mercies, bowels, and compa&s;&s;ions of a Fa|ther which cannot with-hold from an only Son, not only free|ing us as a mercifull high Prie&s;t, from all evill and &s;in, but as a mo&s;t bountifull and liberall King, &s;upplying and furni&s;hing us with all good; for if we &s;ee the end of the Lord in our &s;uffering the lo&s;&s;e of corruptible things, we are &s;ure to feel the tender mer|cies of a compa&s;&s;ionate Father, communicating him&s;elfe with us in all the things incorruptible and eternall, without which he is not, and therefore is cea&s;ed to be mercy and tender pity in the world, that &s;o as a Father is in his Son, he may be what he is only in us: Whereupon he brings in an eminent and univer&s;all prohi|bition, backed with an exhortation, together with the danger of not ob&s;erving the &s;ame, contained in the next ver&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 12. But above all things my brethren &s;wear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay nay, le&s;t you fall into condemnation.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein ob&s;erve the&s;e particulars.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. The nece&s;&s;ity and weight of the charge, in the&s;e words; <HI>But a|bove all things.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A loving in&s;inuation to move unto ob&s;ervation; <HI>My brethren.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The charge it &s;elfe, or inhibition; <HI>Swear not.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. An in&s;tance in particulars not to be &s;worn by, that is 1. <HI>Not by heaven. 2. Not by the earth.</HI> 3. A univer&s;all com|prehending of all things contained in them both; <HI>Neither by a|ny other oath.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. An exhortation con&s;i&s;ting of affirmation and negation; <HI>But let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>6. The danger en&s;uing the not ob&s;erving hereof; <HI>Le&s;t you fall into condemnation.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>AND fir&s;t of the charge, <HI>Sweare not.</HI> By &s;wearing in this place is meant any Covenant, Contrract, or betrothing un|to a thing, as to be engaged as &s;ub&s;ervant thereunto; that is,
<PB N="97" REF="56">
when we are obliged and bound over, as being under the autho|rity or command of any thing further then it is found in, or &s;er|ving unto the compleating and &s;etting forth the my&s;ticall bo|dy of Chri&s;t, that &s;on of eternity.</P>
<P>Now a man is under the command and power of a thing, when he waites thereupon, &s;o as to ob&s;erve and an&s;wer to the time and opportunity thereof. In the rejection or neglect of any other thing, which might take up the opportunity, and hinder or ob|&s;truct the time, whereby that his Commander might be defrau|ded of its intere&s;t in him, whether it be office, dignity, allyance, relation, &s;lothfulne&s;&s;e, or operation.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t for office and dignity throughout the confines and government of a Kingdome, they ought not to captivate a Chri|&s;tian, but mu&s;t be &s;ub&s;ervant to the kingdome and call of Chri&s;t, who&s;e kingdome is not of this world, or things therof.</P>
<P>When did <HI>Abraham</HI> that high father of the world, <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Ja|cob,</HI> who were heyrs with him of the &s;ame promi&s;e, &s;ettle and e|&s;tabli&s;h their Scepter in any part of the earth, as tyed by place and office there, and were not as <HI>pilgrims and &s;trangers,</HI> &s;tanding in readine&s;&s;e as that <HI>righteous one of the Ea&s;t, to an&s;wer Gods calls, and to follow the Lord at his foot, who made the nations as &s;tubble unto his &s;word, and as driven &s;tubble unto his bow.</HI></P>
<P>Or where did <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> King in <HI>Je&s;hurunn,</HI> pitch his Tent to make his abode longer then it plea&s;ed that cloud of witne&s;&s;e to exerci&s;e its abode upon the Tent, being ever ready to depart with the mo|tion thereof.</P>
<P>Which bore witne&s;&s;e in its two and forty removals in the wil|derne&s;&s;e, to tho&s;e two and forty generations, or re&s;urrections of Chri&s;t, from <HI>Abraham</HI> to the womb of the Virgin, as al&s;o to the over-&s;hadowing of the Virgin by the &s;pirit of God, in that con|ception of the Son of God, from all the &s;corching reys and &s;un|&s;hine of mans glory and &s;ubtlety in that day-time of our &s;alvati|on; as al&s;o unto that fiery light of the &s;pirit breaking forth in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> through that Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, as in a night &s;o dark and ob|&s;cure unto the nations.</P>
<P>And to what people or places were any of the Prophets of God, or Apo&s;tles of Je&s;us Chri&s;t tyed, or engaged, by any tempo|rary or terrene band, except impri&s;onment by the adver&s;ary, that
<PB N="98" REF="57">
&s;o the vertue of the Cro&s;&s;e in its courage, con&s;tancy, and Princely re&s;olutions, might appear and make it &s;elf evident.</P>
<P>Or were the Judges and Law givers in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> tyed to dayes, times, &s;eates, and circuits, as men making merchandizes of mens e&s;tates, credits and lives, that in ca&s;e an Oath be bidden and gi|ven in exchange, delivery mu&s;t be made without controver&s;ie; and many times the cau&s;e is as currant, as when the &s;tronge&s;t ca|ries away the pur&s;e on the high way, though a po&s;&s;ibilty may be to finde out the fal&s;hood of the oath afterwards, when there is left no hope of redemption: And as for that mercinary and bel|ly-god-like bond, to be engaged to places and people under the names of Pa&s;tor and Teacher, to evade the troubles and travels of Prophets and Apo&s;tles. Let that &s;uffice which hath already been &s;ayd, only let &s;uch look them&s;elves as in a gla&s;&s;e, in that young man of the hou&s;e of <HI>Judah,</HI> and yet a Levite, joyned unto their congregations, as he to the family of <HI>Mica.</HI> Read <HI>Judg.</HI> 17. and let them read the effect of their Mini&s;try in that &s;trange kind of Levite, who is of mount <HI>Ephraim,</HI> joyned unto his Concubine of <HI>Bethlehem Juda,</HI> according to what it brings forth between <HI>Ben|jamine</HI> and <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> &s;et forth unto us, <HI>Judges</HI> the 19. and 20. Chap.</P>
<P>Againe, in point of family, as in kindred and relations, the words of Chri&s;t holds firm, and are to be valued at the &s;ame rate we &s;et upon him: and he &s;aith, <HI>He that for &s;akes not father and mo|ther, wife and children for my &s;ake and the Go&s;pell, is not worthy of mee.</HI></P>
<P>And againe, <HI>He that hates not father and mother, wife and children, brethren and &s;i&s;ters, yea and his owne life al&s;o, he cannot be my Di&s;ciple.</HI> The rea&s;on hereof is, becau&s;e all naturall relations brought unto the highe&s;t pitch which they tend unto, is to idolize the thing, by &s;etting it in the place of God, requiring a due re&s;pect and ob|&s;ervation thereof in the neglect or contempt of what ever might hinder the promoting thereof, which cannot &s;tand with a due ob|&s;ervation and re&s;pect of that relation, as it is ordered and eterni|zed in Chri&s;t, but mu&s;t make a nullity of it; for the coming of Chri&s;t in all things <HI>is glory to God in the highe&s;t,</HI> and not to the things of the creature.</P>
<P>When the man called by Chri&s;t, de&s;ired fir&s;t <HI>to go and bury his fa|ther,</HI> that the earthly relation may have chiefty, and come in the
<PB N="99" REF="57">
fir&s;t place, Chri&s;t an&s;wers, <HI>Let the dead bury their dead, follow thou me;</HI> intimating that the&s;e relations are dead, and are to be buryed unto us in the call and relation of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>For Chri&s;t is about his Fathers bu&s;ine&s;&s;e; not when he attends on <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> and <HI>Mary,</HI> but when he is di&s;puting and convincing the Doctors of the carnall Temple at <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>But earthly relations in their proper intent (without which the life of it is let out) ever &s;et them&s;elves in the fir&s;t place; for what is a Husband or a Wife, unle&s;&s;e they make each other the highe&s;t pitch of their love, which is the pointed up pinacle, which the Devill &s;ets Chri&s;t upon according to the fle&s;h, wherein the &s;trength of his temptations con&s;i&s;ts; and where it takes, it is the pre&s;umptuous &s;inne, which our &s;pirituali <HI>David</HI> is freed from; for who dares not to love wife and children to the highe&s;t poynt thereof, without feare of &s;inning, being the proper &s;inew to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ye them together, and the life-blood in the veynes, to give motion and agility in all conjugall re&s;pects, making each other the ob|ject of de&s;ires, hopes, ob&s;ervation, diligence, care and motion, that nothing, no not life it &s;elfe &s;hall hinder, or be thought too deare to maintaine the credite, comfort, and well-being of one another.</P>
<P>And here it is to be noted, that when the Scriptures take up a|ny of the Creatures in their nature, relation, operation, or in a|ny re&s;pect, it is not done but with re&s;pect unto the wi&s;dome and &s;pirit of man, for who&s;e u&s;e all things were made and are, and that to declare thereby either the my&s;tery of God, or the my&s;tery of iniquity, or both.</P>
<P>And that allu&s;ion cannot be of a capacity to &s;ignifie unto us the mind of God wrapt up therein (whether a thing terrible to nature or lovely) unle&s;&s;e wee extend it unto the farthe&s;t poynt which it intends or inclines after, and that is Satanicall; as for example, when it takes up a Lyon to expre&s;&s;e it &s;elf by, a Dragon, Tyger, Wolfe, Leopard, Beare, Fox, or Serpent, we mu&s;t look unto the proper pur&s;uit of the creature to the utmo&s;t extent of his di&s;po&s;ition and practice; which being centred in man as the &s;cope and intent of all Gods works, it mu&s;t be found there in the greate&s;t cruelty, &s;ubtilty, and tyranny, which is no le&s;&s;e then the Devill, that <HI>roaring Lyon, &s;eeking whom he may devoure.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="100" REF="58">
Againe, when it takes up lovely relations, as Husband to wife, and wife to Husband, Father to &s;on, and &s;on to Father, we mu&s;t carry them unto that point which nature depraved pur&s;ues in this world <HI>(For in the Kingdome of God there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage)</HI> and then it idolizeth the party beloved, &s;ets it in the place of God, and &s;o becomes an idolatrous affection, yea it is that love of the world <HI>which is enmity with God,</HI> having the &s;pirit of the Serpent in it, and therefore to be hated.</P>
<P>For it &s;wears and engageth unto the things of this world, con|trary to the charge of our Apo&s;tle given in this place; and &s;o is a true metaphor, and in way of di&s;&s;imilitude, or antithe&s;is, holds direct proportion with the things of God, and &s;o fitly &s;ets out the nature of the love of God in the Saints.</P>
<P>Who&s;e temporary relations, or lives are not deare unto them for the cau&s;e of Chri&s;t, in mayntaining tho&s;e that are reall and e|ternall in him: and in this true &s;ence of the height and intent of them, are all hated for Chri&s;t, and no bond at all to hinder them in their cour&s;e in the promulgation of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>For where find we any of the Prophets or Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t entangled with wife or children, friends or famlies, as a tye to hinder them in the pur&s;uit of the things of God. Indeed the A|po&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Have not we power to eate and to drinke, to lead about a &s;i&s;ter, a wife, and power not to worke as other Apo&s;tles, brethren of the Lord,</HI> or in brother hood of that Lord&s;hip over all things: Yet did they practice or de&s;i&s;t in doing, or not in doing the&s;e things, only as the progre&s;s and propagation of the Go&s;pel might be fur|thered and promoted thereby.</P>
<P>But it is the policy and practice of the world to adjure &amp; con|jure things &s;o together by humane tyes and bonds, knowing that all carnall relations flye for refuge unto a Diabolicall engage|ment, even as every &s;piritual relation flyes to that bond and oath of God.</P>
<P>For thereby the &s;pirit of the world &s;ets per&s;ons and places to|gether, to claym mutuall intere&s;t to the neglect and vilifying of that bond of the &s;pirit which is in Chri&s;t, pro&s;trating them|&s;elves to the &s;ervice and u&s;e meerly of each other.</P>
<P>But the doctrine of Chri&s;t &s;aith on this wi&s;e; <HI>Yee have heard that it hath been &s;aid of old, thou &s;halt not for &s;weare thy &s;elfe; but I &s;ay unto
<PB N="101" REF="58">
you, &s;weare not at all;</HI> that is, take not an engagement upon thee, &s;o as to &s;ubmit unto, or be at the &s;ervice and command of any thing what&s;oever; that is, not the proper &s;tate, place, office, rela|tion, operation, or condition, as it is founded in Chri&s;t, or con|ducing thereunto.</P>
<P>By which, and in whom we are made Lord of all things, and &s;o &s;ubject to none be&s;ides him alone: <HI>For of him, and through him, and for him are all things, and to him the glory of all appertains and be|longs.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore it is, <HI>That the &s;abboth is made for man, and not man for the &s;abboth, for the &s;onne of man is Lord of the &s;abboth.</HI> And hence it is that it is &s;ayd, <HI>that the woman was made for the man, and not the man for the woman;</HI> that is, all things more weake and effeminate, what&s;oever they be, are made to be &s;ubject, and of the &s;ervice of that ma&s;culine &s;pirit of the man of God, and not the man of God to be &s;ubject to any thing which hath not the &s;trength and autho|rity of the Son of God in it.</P>
<P>Now in that Chri&s;t was not made an high Prie&s;t but by an oath, and yet gives &s;trict charge not to &s;weare at all; we are to con&s;ider wherein an oath doth con&s;i&s;t, which the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews</HI> de&s;cribes in a two-fold re&s;pect, that is, the oath of <HI>God,</HI> and the oath of <HI>men.</HI> The oath of men is never taken in the way of Chri&s;t, but without the oath of God he exi&s;ts not; the oath of God is never taken in the way of Antichri&s;t, but without the oath of man he never was.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t for the oath of God, we are to con&s;ider the &s;peech of the Apo&s;tle, where he &s;aith; <HI>That when God made or built the promi&s;e in Abraham, becau&s;e there was not a greater to &s;weare by, hee &s;wore by him&s;elfe;</HI> where he transforms the promi&s;e into the oath, making them as one thing.</P>
<P N="1">1. For the <HI>Promi&s;e</HI> of God, the <HI>Covenant</HI> of God, and the <HI>Oath</HI> of God, are but one intire act or &s;tate of the Son of God, only differ in variety and reall di&s;tinction of glory. The promi&s;e be|ing Gods voluntary and free tender of him&s;elfe in Chri&s;t, toge|ther with mans acceptation in a voluntary and free return of thankfulne&s;&s;e: It is in God voluntary without compul&s;ion, free without any re&s;traint in him&s;elfe, or de&s;ert in man; It is the ten|der of him&s;elfe, el&s;e could not have in it the bounty and benigni|ty of God.</P>
<P><PB N="102" REF="59">
And it is accepted by man in a thankfull acknowledgment thereof in Chri&s;t, which is voluntary, without compul&s;ion; for the Son of God is not compelled to acknowledg the bounteous liberality of the Father, and it is free without re&s;traint of him|&s;elfe, for he makes a compleat &s;urrender of him&s;elfe unto God, and without any de&s;ert in God; as con&s;idered in the vilification of the &s;pirit in the men of the world, wherein is no de&s;ert, or thanks worthy at all but in him&s;elfe, and exaltation of the &s;ame &s;pirit in Chri&s;t, mo&s;t worthy of all renown and acknowledge|ments, as the author and giver of all things.</P>
<P>Even as the unworthine&s;&s;e of man con&s;i&s;ts in that &s;tate of the exaltation of the fle&s;h in the man of &s;in, or men of the world, but as it is &s;ubmitted unto God in Chri&s;t: &s;o the man Chri&s;t is he, to whom of due de&s;ert every knee &s;hall bow, and tongue confe&s;&s;e the worth and dignity of that Lord Je&s;us the man of God, and Savi|our of the world.</P>
<P N="2">2. Again, for the <HI>Covenant</HI> of God, it is a mutuall and conju|gall engagement of God and man in the faith of Chri&s;t, where|by they become mutually and reciprocally at the &s;ervice and u&s;e of each other, for therein is that &s;peech made good and fulfilled; <HI>The man hath not power of his own body, but the woman, neither hath the woman power of her own body but the man,</HI> God vouch&s;afing unto the Son of man all that help and glorious &s;upply that is in him|&s;elfe, and man bringing forth, and making manife&s;t in him&s;elfe all tho&s;e glorious excellencies and vertues which are in the Son of God, and &s;o is due benevolence given with re&s;pect unto all conjugall duties appertaining and belonging unto that holy Co|venant and Contract in that E&s;pou&s;all of Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Son of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. The oath of God is the immutability and unchangeable condition of this e&s;tate of our &s;pirituall <HI>Abraham,</HI> taken into the promi&s;e and hopefull expectation of God; taken in|to the Covenant and pre&s;ent enjoyment of God; taken into the oath of confirmation, and unchangeable e&s;tate and condition of the Son of God, wherein it is impo&s;&s;ible that ever God &s;hould faile or forget him&s;elfe, as not to abide and remayn the &s;ame, &s;o that he &s;weares by him&s;elfe, wherein <HI>Abraham</HI> is a party, el&s;e it cannot be an engagement, and &s;o is involved in the &s;ame condi|tion
<PB N="103" REF="59">
with God; for where it is &s;aid <HI>(God &s;ware by him&s;elfe)</HI> it is word for word, <HI>If I ble&s;&s;e thee not;</HI> that is, if thou be not ble&s;&s;ed, I am not ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e my &s;elfe: Therefore he &s;aith, <HI>Surely in ble&s;&s;ing I will ble&s;&s;e thee, and multiplying, I will multiply thee;</HI> that is, if I be ble&s;&s;ed, then thou art the &s;ame; if I be multiplyed in my vertues and excellencies, then thou al&s;o art and do&s;t the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Note from hence, that a Chri&s;tian and God-like oath, never &s;wears by a thing greater then he that &s;wears; for if he do, he di|vides him&s;elfe from Chri&s;t, divorcing him&s;elfe from God in fal|&s;ifying the Covenant, in adulterating that holy and perpetua|ted bond.</P>
<P>And therefore he adds the oath of man to be &s;uch as &s;wears by a greater then him&s;elfe, which is to make God and man to be two e&s;tates and conditions, which is that which hath ever made a nullity of Chri&s;t (who is one) and holds the &s;oule in a &s;tate of unbeliefe, and is properly that oath which God &s;wears in the way of his wrath, which excludes men from ever entring into his re&s;t; in the one man is in the oath, but no cau&s;e originall of the unity and contract between God and man; and in the other, God is a party in the oath, but no cau&s;e or originall of that breach or &s;eparation from God, exclu&s;ion out of the land of the living, or undergoing of wrath: The one is the &s;hutting of the gate of heaven unto the world by that clo&s;e and undivided e&s;tate of God and man, being the &s;ame condition; the other opens the grave for the Rebels in the wilderne&s;&s;e, that <HI>Hades,</HI> and &s;tate of death, by &s;eparating God and man from being the &s;ame exi&s;tence, and &s;o ever look after a greater then them&s;elves; for the obtayn|ing of whom, <HI>they return back in their hearts into Aegypt,</HI> &s;eeking &s;helter and protection in the power and authority of the arm of fle&s;h, exerci&s;ing it &s;elfe in the men of the world.</P>
<P>It &s;tands the world upon therefore to maintayn engagements between creature and creature, as the intent of the word of God, and &s;o in all things to have a re&s;pect to one greater then them|&s;elves, which mu&s;t be another, and not their condition, which is the only &s;trengthning of the arm of fle&s;h, and buckling of the joynts of the kingdome of darkne&s;s together, to become their on|ly refuge.</P>
<P>Even as it doth the Saints of God, to maintayn God and man
<PB N="104" REF="60">
to be one and the &s;ame condition in Chri&s;t, in the knitting toge|ther of that my&s;ticall body of Chri&s;t, <HI>in the perfect &s;upply of every part unto a perfect man,</HI> and &s;o make that undefiled and all-&s;uffi|cient Son of God the only place of their refuge.</P>
<P>The oath of man is framed by the wi&s;dome of man, and is the very top and pinacle of his prefermens and perfection.</P>
<P>And the oath of God is framed by the wi&s;dome of God, being the ma&s;ter-piece of his work, the beginning or head of his Crea|tion.</P>
<P>The wi&s;dome of God is his coun&s;ell held, or advice taken with fraile man, arguing from cau&s;e to effect, and from effect to cau&s;e, concluding both in one individual act and being; the re&s;ult pro|perly &s;pringing out of divine nature which comprehends all times, concluding man together with it &s;elfe in the &s;ame condi|tion, and that upon &s;uch undenyable principles, as cary in them the bond of an oath of the mo&s;t highe&s;t and mo&s;t eminent na|ture, which the Apo&s;tle calls the oath of <HI>interpo&s;ition,</HI> becau&s;e that in this &s;tate of Chri&s;t he comes between the ble&s;&s;ing and the cur&s;e, in &s;uch &s;ort that nothing of true happine&s;&s;e can po&s;&s;ibly pa&s;&s;e by, or transfu&s;e it &s;elfe into the cur&s;ed condition; for the vertue and excellencies &s;pringing out of divine nature, being the glory of the engagement, all things tending to happine&s;&s;e repayr thither, and gather them&s;elves into one there, even as all light is gathered into the body of the Sun, and is all the &s;eale and &s;ignet of God to confirm all true happine&s;&s;e to take its beginning and make its abode there for ever, being an immutable thing or word abundantly declared in all the heyrs of the promi&s;e.</P>
<P>Again, the wi&s;dome of man is that coun&s;ell held, and advice taken with the excellency of God, arguing from cau&s;e to effect, and from effect unto cau&s;e, ever concluding a di&s;tance in the one from the other, the re&s;ult properly &s;pringing out out of mans na|ture and aptitude, which mouldeth things in the precincts of time, and concluding God to be concerned in the thing, as being the cau&s;e of all cau&s;e, and &s;o argues a di&s;tance between the cau&s;e and the effect, God being before as the cau&s;e, and his word after|wards as an effect; the divine nature in Chri&s;t, before from eter|nity, the humane after in time: but the Go&s;pel is a my&s;tery, and &s;uch argument is naturall and humane, to make God eternall,
<PB N="105" REF="60">
and man in time: but the Go&s;pel eternizeth man in God, and makes God in time, in the &s;on of man.</P>
<P>2. This wi&s;dome argues a di&s;tance in place, of cau&s;e and effect, as the vertue of our &s;alvation is in Chri&s;t as a cau&s;e, being only &s;uch a per&s;on as lived in &s;uch an age of the world only, but the effect is in a Chri&s;tian, being another, which is a meer humane &s;peculation, and no my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>3. Again, it argues a di&s;tance in point of eminency, and prin|cipality, as the cau&s;e being more principall, and the effect le&s;&s;e principall, as though the birth and bringing forth of the Son of God in the royalty of his operations, were not a thing of like worth and dignity that the conception and framing of him is, according to that pattern of the law of the &s;pirit, &s;een only in the Mount.</P>
<P>So that this wi&s;dome ari&s;eth from, and carryeth in it princi|ples undenyable to keep a di&s;tance and loof between God and man, and therein the point of unbelief con&s;i&s;ts, which is the &s;tate of death, in which the &s;on of God is made a cur&s;e in the men of the world, as man is made a ble&s;&s;ing in the Son of God in Chri&s;t: and this al&s;o is an oath of interpo&s;ition; for hereby the Son of God being made a cur&s;e for us, interpo&s;eth him&s;elfe between the cur&s;e and the ble&s;&s;ed &s;tate: So as nothing bearing the nature of a cur&s;e, &s;in, death, or any unhappine&s;&s;e can pa&s;&s;e by, or defu&s;e it &s;elf into that happy &s;tate and condition of Chri&s;t; but all attracts it &s;elfe unto that which hath &s;o vilified and made a nullity of the Son of God: and this is an immutable word or thing, even the word and &s;tate of the cur&s;e which abides for ever, which God ex|plains and makes manife&s;tly to appear unto the heyrs of Promi&s;e, which &s;tand upon this ground of the impo&s;&s;ibility of God, to lye or faile to remayn and be for ever, that which once he is without alteration or change; therefore in the&s;e two immutable words of ble&s;&s;ing and cur&s;ing, or immutable things of the &s;tate of death and the &s;tate of life, God hath founded our &s;alvation, that wee might have &s;trong con&s;olation, as the Apo&s;tle te&s;tifies.</P>
<P>And this wi&s;dome or rea&s;on of man is as a &s;eale to confirm the &s;oule in its &s;eparation and dever&s;e from Chri&s;t, being that &s;ignet the high Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ees &s;et upon the &s;tone which covers the Sepulchre of Chri&s;t, and keeps him in the &s;tate of death in the men
<PB N="106" REF="61">
of unbelief, that his glorious re&s;urrection is not found in the men of the world from the beginning thereof unto this day, and is a principall product of the Schools of humane Learning; for the more refined rea&s;on is voyd of the &s;pirit of God, and the clo|&s;er tyed to Grammar-rule, in con&s;tructing the word of God, the more are &s;uch &s;ealed up in the word of the Cur&s;e, &s;o that you &s;hall &s;eldome &s;ee a great Arti&s;t embrace the &s;implicity of the Go&s;|pel in that Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And with re&s;pect to the oath of man, Chri&s;t &s;aith in a word for ever to be ob&s;erved, <HI>Sweare not at all;</HI> which our Apo&s;tle ac|cords with in this place, &s;aying, <HI>Above all things my brethren &s;weare not.</HI></P>
<P>Note from hence, that he which holds him&s;elfe under a grea|ter bond to utter truth, having taken the oath of men, then he is without the &s;ame, who never knew what the power and vertue of the oath of God is.</P>
<P>And if the weightine&s;&s;e of a cau&s;e require an oath, and not re|quired in a thing of le&s;&s;e moment then men hold the preaching of the word of God, either to be but a triviall thing; or el&s;e why do they not tender an oath to the Mini&s;ter when he goeth about to &s;peak thereof.</P>
<P>Note again, that as men hold them&s;elves under a greater bond have taken the oath of man, then they are without it; even &s;o when they are inve&s;ted into offices and places thereby, they ac|count and reckon of them&s;elves as being better, and of greater account and e&s;teem then others of their brethren, the &s;onnes of men.</P>
<P>To conclude this point, wide is the difference between the oath of God and the oath of man; the one forms and &s;ets in place and office the Son of God, the other forms and officiates the &s;on of perdition.</P>
<P>The one &s;wears the Lord liveth in him, in truth, in judgement, and in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and onely glories therein, and the other &s;wears the Lord to be another thing, &s;tate, and condition be&s;ides him&s;elfe; the one &s;wears with <HI>Jacob,</HI> by the feare of his Father <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> reverencing the &s;tate of <HI>I&s;aac</HI> to be one with God as <HI>Abra|ham</HI> was, and the other &s;wears by the God of his Father <HI>Nahor</HI> the idolater, who ever wor&s;hips that which is acknowledged to bea|nother, and not him&s;elfe.</P>
<P><PB N="107" REF="61">
The Saints are ever to &s;wear in the name &amp; authority of God, but never to &s;wear by the oath of men; the world ever &s;wears in the name and authority of men, but never in that name and au|thority of the Son of God.</P>
<P>2. The weight of the charge therefore is to be con&s;idered in the next place in the&s;e words, <HI>above all things &s;wear not;</HI> We con|clude then, that it is a thing of greate&s;t worth and weight in Heaven or in earth, never to &s;wear by the oath of men, but to receive our authority and confirmation in all things by the wi&s;|dome of God, and not by the wi&s;dome of the world, for the one inve&s;ts as a &s;onne into the Prei&s;thood, and way of reconcili|ation of, God and man; and the other as a &s;lave and va&s;&s;al of Satan &s;ets in the &s;tate of death, cruelty and wrath, in the &s;epera|tion from God; therefore of greater weight and concernment then all things be&s;ides.</P>
<P>3. Con&s;ider the terme he gives them, <HI>my brethren;</HI> as if he &s;hould &s;ay in more words, except yee be of my fraternity; that is, of the proper off &s;pring and brotherhood of the Son of God <HI>(fle&s;h of his fle&s;h, and bone of his bone)</HI> ye will never yeeld over your &s;elves unto this inhibition, nor ob&s;erve this charge given by God, for none but the off-&s;pring of God wil di&s;ingage them&s;elves from the language of this world framed and contrived according to the rea&s;onings thereof in the wi&s;dome of man, no more then there is any to be found but the &s;eed of the Serpent that will di&s;|ingage, disjoynt, and di&s;locate them&s;elves from the language and oracle of God, contrived and uttered by that wi&s;dome of God in Chri&s;t; prove your &s;elves therefore by this, whether you be the brethren of Chri&s;t, belonging to one and the &s;ame Father, po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ors of the &s;ame inheritance, for otherwi&s;e no heir&s;hip of heaven, no &s;hare in the tender compa&s;&s;ions of a father, no virtue nor grace of the &s;pirit, no crown of life laid up, onely for them that waite for, and love the reality of Chri&s;ts appearing, in the vani&s;hing and not appearing of all corruptible things at the brightne&s;&s;e of his glory alone, in what thing, relation, or act &s;oever they may &s;eem to &s;tand in, unto us, &s;o as not to be engaged unto any of them; for explanation whereof he gives an in&s;tance what we are not to &s;weare by; fir&s;t particularly, and then univer|&s;ally</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="108" REF="62">
1. And fir&s;t, we are not to &s;wear by heaven: By Heaven, or height, as the word imports in this place, is meant Principalities, powers, dominions, the rulers of the darkne&s;&s;e of this world, which the Apo&s;tle &s;tiles &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;e, or wicked &s;pirits in high, or in heavenly places, &s;uch as are eminent and glorious in the eyes of men, according to the judgement of humane wi&s;|dome: now the Saines of God are not to &s;wear by any of the&s;e; for however the oath of man &s;wears by the greater, yet the oath of God which is onely upon the Saints of I&s;rael cannot be by a greater then him&s;elfe, &s;o that he is not engaged to any of the&s;e, but all are &s;ub&s;ervant unto him, and he is above them all, for <HI>he is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords,</HI> as it is written upon his ve&s;ture, and upon his thigh or joines, as in his &s;trength and ornaments of his power and authority it doth appear, therefore Chri&s;t gives the rea&s;on why we are not to &s;wear by Heaven, becau&s;e &s;aith he, it is the throne of God: Now the throne is at the &s;ervice of him who fits thereon, and not he to be engaged to the throne: &s;o that the Principallities and powers of worldly Governments, are the very thrones or chariots, wherein the Son of God &s;its for the ex|cecution of his wrath on the world, and they all &s;tand ingaged to be at his &s;ervice, as that proper matter, and in&s;trument, wherein the wrath of the Son is kindled, and executed.</P>
<P>For there is a throne whereon Chri&s;t &s;its to rule with a rod or &s;cepter of Iron, wherewith he breaks to peeces as the &s;heards of a potters ve&s;&s;el, as well as there is a great white throne, that from the pre&s;ence of him that &s;its thereon, this heaven and earth which are not to be &s;worne by, do fly away, and no place for them (in that dominion) is to be found.</P>
<P>For <HI>A&s;hur is the rod or &s;cepter of his anger, and the &s;taff in their hand is his indignation;</HI> unto the&s;e high places the Saint of I&s;rael is not to be ingaged, for they are all &s;ub&s;ervant unto him; and thence it is that <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> that great King performed that peece of &s;ervice to <HI>Daniels</HI> friends, for the de&s;truction of &s;uch as were his immediate actors therein, for the manife&s;tation of a miraculous deliverance through the appearance of the Son of God in his powerfull pre&s;ence with his people, when as they would not &s;wear, or be ingaged to the authority and power of that high place, or great King; the like was in <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> who&s;e wrath <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
<PB N="109" REF="62">
feared, not becau&s;e he &s;aw him who is un&s;eeable; and in <HI>Hero^d</HI> whom Chri&s;t looked upon as a Fox fitter to betake him&s;elfe to the holes of the earth in his carnall power and policy, then to hinder him in that worke the wi&s;edome of the father of lights had pre&s;cribed him; in the doing of which work he denies his mother to have any intere&s;t in him, in that way of the earth, &s;ay|ing, <HI>Women, what have I to do with thee, my houre is not yet come;</HI> that is, my time is not to come under any carnall command, or authority what&s;oever.</P>
<P>Note in this point how contrary the practice of the common mini&s;try of the world is, in &s;eeking to be ingaged unto earthly power, as to &s;it under that &s;hadow and protection, as their onely defence, having confidence therein, as though there were no o|ther &s;afety; &s;o that if they can but &s;tand (with acceptation) by the elbow of a great man, and watch for a nod, or a beck, to &s;ig|nifie a permi&s;&s;ion to give thankes, pray, or to preach, they count it their chief honour and hapine&s;&s;e, and take it for a proper in|&s;piration of the &s;pirit unto them, and &s;o it is of that &s;pirit where|by they are led.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;econd particular by which we are not to &s;wear, is the earth; <HI>Neither by the earth:</HI> The word tran&s;lated (earth) &s;ig|nifies a ba&s;e degenerate &s;tock, &s;uch as in the judgement of man are as per&s;ons illegitimate, not being borne or brought forth unto the excellency, and de&s;ired priviledge of the Sons of men in, and of the world.</P>
<P>The&s;e we are not to be ingaged unto, or to &s;wear by, whether in re&s;pect of the &s;tate and condition of per&s;ons, or of any thing ba&s;e in the worlds account; the Saint of I&s;rael is not to be taken as bound over, or ingaged unto the&s;e things, as for their defence, government, &s;upply, reliefe, relea&s;e, or redemption and delive|rance in any re&s;pect, &s;o as to be required, and laid claime unto by the world, as their right due, or as a debt from his hands, no more then Satan can lay claym unto any thing that is in Chri&s;t; for the Son is free from paying tribute unto the world in all the children of the kingdome, onely as time, place, nece&s;&s;ity, occa&s;i|on, conveniency, and expediency gives and frames a fitne&s;&s;e and opportunity thereunto; &s;o do the Saints act, or refraine from acting in all things which the &s;pirit of the world ingageth it &s;elf
<PB N="110" REF="63">
unto, as being bound and yet mo&s;t free; that is, they are all firm|ly bound over in them&s;elves for the liberty and propagating of the Go&s;pel of God, and they are free likewi&s;e from what&s;oever is out of that &s;tate and condition of the Sonne of God, from yeil|ding any tribute, or being any way &s;o ingaged, as that it &s;hould make any true challenge, or lay any claym or title unto them, no more then that rich man could lay claym to the &s;ervice of <HI>Lazarus</HI> &s;o much as to bring him one drop of water to cool his tounge.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t renders a rea&s;on why we are not to &s;wear by the earth, namely, becau&s;e it is Gods foot&s;tool; &s;o the enemies of Chri&s;t are &s;aid to be made his foot&s;tool, by the P&s;almi&s;t; for as the powers of the world are as the throne for the exerci&s;e of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure, &s;o in the exerci&s;e and execution thereof, they are troden down under his feete, as &s;uch as are of ba&s;e condition and off-&s;pring whereon his feet are &s;et, as being victour and conque|ror of them for ever, therefore the promi&s;e is, <HI>Thou &s;halt tread upon the Lyon, and the adder, the young Lyon and the Dragon &s;halt thou tram|ple under feet.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. In the third place, the prohibition is of univer&s;all extent, comprehending all things contained in this heaven and earth as is de&s;cribed, in which heaven the actions, relations, and con&s;titu|tions are multiplied, as the heavenly bodies in the vi&s;ible hea|vens are, in their con&s;titutions, motions, operations, and re&s;pects, which are innumerable.</P>
<P>The things of the earth al&s;o, in their &s;everall forms, kinds and virtues are all comprehended in the&s;e words, <HI>Neither by any o|ther oath;</HI> the world therefore in its exalted and troden upon e&s;tates and conditions, are as full of variety in the one and in the other, and with re&s;pect to each other, as the heavens and the earth are, which are here elegantly alluded unto, and yet true Chri&s;tianity is free from being ingaged to any thing. (it &s;elfe on|ly excepted) not con&s;i&s;ting of any nor of all them; for the Son of God not having a greater &s;wears by him&s;elfe, and is ingaged to none be&s;ides; the &s;pirit and life of true religion is ingaged to nothing but it &s;elfe, and unto that upon oath wherever it ap|pears.</P>
<P>And <HI>pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is to vi&s;ite
<PB N="111" REF="63">
the fatherle&s;&s;e and the widow (according to their nece&s;&s;ities) and to keep our &s;elves un&s;potted of the world;</HI> that is, it gives out it &s;elfe and yeelds &s;ufficient &s;upply onely to the fatherle&s;&s;e, namely to &s;uch as are cut off from that race and &s;tock of the men of the world, and &s;o are without father, as <HI>Melchizedech</HI> is, and ever was, and will be, and in that re&s;pect the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>For with thee the fa|therle&s;&s;e they finde mercy,</HI> who are not propagated, and <HI>borne of fle&s;h, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God,</HI> for <HI>that which is borne of the fle&s;h is fle&s;h, but that which is borne of the &s;pirit is &s;pirit.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;tate of the widdow al&s;o religion &s;upplies and is ingaged unto as to it &s;elfe, who&s;e covenant and contract with the things of this life is broken, and altogether di&s;&s;olved, and made voyd, who are come to that age and gravity of the Go&s;pel, as of three|&s;core years and pa&s;t, that is pa&s;t bringing forth according to the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, who are &s;uch widows that bring forth in that kind, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>wax wanton and will marry;</HI> that is, enter into contract and ingagements with the things of the world through their divorce from Chri&s;t; Religion is in no &s;ort obliged unto &s;uch, but onely to the mode&s;ty and gravity of the former.</P>
<P>And therefore it is &s;aid, to keep it &s;elf un&s;potted of the world, it makes it &s;elfe immaculate and undefiled, by the e&s;tranging of it &s;elfe from the proper operation of that &s;pirit of the world in all things; for it neither eates nor drinks, marries, nor yet gives in marriage upon the &s;ame grounds and principles which the men of the world do, in &s;o much that Chri&s;tianity is that Virgin-like E&s;pou&s;all which conceives and brings forth by that &s;pirit of pu|rity not found el&s;ewhere but onely in it &s;elfe, which the world &s;tumbles at more then <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> did at <HI>Mary,</HI> before God re&s;olved his doubt, when he concluded to put her away, and to have no fel|low&s;hip with her, which all the world not taught of God pro|ceed unto, concerning the Saints of God, as ingaged thereunto by that &s;pirit of uncleane&s;&s;e, whereupon our Apo&s;tle brings in the next point.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="112" REF="64">
<HEAD>But let your yea be yea, and your nay nay.</HEAD>
<P>That is, what&s;oever you acknowledge your &s;elves to be inga|ged unto affirming it to be yea, let that ingagement be acknow|ledged to be alwayes, and in all things the &s;ame without denyall thereof in any thing wherein&s;oever it may be concerned: as for in&s;tance; if ever you were ingaged to God &amp; nothing el&s;e, as men for the mo&s;t part acknowledge traditionally they were in the creation of the fir&s;t man <HI>Adam;</HI> or if you acknowledge that here|after you &s;hall be ingaged onely to him and no other if you can|not make this yea; that is, to be always the &s;ame without any negation at all, it is not the confe&s;&s;ion of faith, no true profe&s;&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, yea it mu&s;t be concluded upon, and acknowledge both in the preter, pre&s;ent, and future tence, or el&s;e it is not pure religion and undefiled before God even the Father, becau&s;e o|therwi&s;e it is not the ingagement of the Son of God in whom alone all purity doth con&s;i&s;t; for if any thing, at any time, or time it &s;elfe, for one moment, interpo&s;e between God and man, between the Father and the Son, it is not that unity and faith of the Son of God who never admits of any time, or any thing to interpo&s;e between the Father and him&s;elfe, in that &s;ub&s;i&s;ting uni|ty of his.</P>
<P>2. This exhortation is laid down in way of negation, <HI>let your nay be nay;</HI> that is, if ever you finde a time wherein you deny your &s;elfe to be ingaged to Satan, either in your creation, or in Gods determination, or if ever you expect a time, or way, and means wherein and whereby you &s;hall be di&s;ingaged unto him, and that fully and perfectly, then let your nay be nay; that is, let it be re&s;olved upon that you were never ingaged unto him, neither are, nor ever &s;hall be at no time, nor in any re&s;pect, el&s;e it is not that di&s;ingagement of the Sonne of God; for Satan never came to finde any thing in him, bearing the lea&s;t tincture of his nature, or that held any corre&s;pondency with that evill one in any re&s;pect.</P>
<P>But I cannot but wonder many times, when I think of that profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t which is made in the world, which for the mo&s;t part is of &s;uch things as them&s;elves cannot but acknow|ledg
<PB N="113" REF="64">
were never found in Chri&s;t, as ignorance, pride, errour, ab|&s;ence from God, &s;elfe-love, enmity, di&s;obedience, unbelief, and the like, at the lea&s;t the relicks and remaynders of the&s;e to re&s;ide in the &s;tate of Chri&s;tianity, not knowing that the&s;e things are to be confe&s;&s;ed, upon that condition wherein the Sonne of God is transformed by the world unto, and in it &s;elfe another thing then by nature he is, in which confe&s;&s;ion there is the vertue of tran&s;mi&s;&s;ion of all &s;in and unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e into its proper place, even as in the acknowledgment of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God, it is to be tran&s;mitted into the &s;tate and condition of Chri&s;t, or el&s;e it is not an acknowledgment and confe&s;&s;ion of faith.</P>
<P>And &s;o &s;in is confe&s;&s;ed upon the head of the Scape-goat to be carryed into the wilderne&s;&s;e which is de&s;olate and way le&s;&s;e unto the people of God; neither is he nor it that is the goate, nor the &s;in in that true re&s;pect found in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> any more, and &s;o &s;in it &s;et on its proba&s;e and place of its perpetuall aboad not only in time to come, but pa&s;t al&s;o; that is, in <HI>Babylon,</HI> in the land of <HI>Shyner,</HI> the place of confu&s;ion; wherein note, that the &s;tricte&s;t order com|po&s;ed by the wi&s;dome of man (which is in truth and &s;ub&s;tance con&s;onant to the letter of the Scripture) men being tyed there|unto as a rule to walk by, is that proper confu&s;ion of <HI>Babell</HI> unto a Chri&s;tian unity, becau&s;e it makes man the fore-runner, and not the Lord Chri&s;t, who only enters within the vale, where the true oracle is uttered even as it is true, that when the will of God ac|cording to the law of the &s;pirit, is the mo&s;t di&s;tinctly made ma|nife&s;t, it appears to be the only confu&s;ion in a carnall mind, be|cau&s;e it layes wa&s;t tho&s;e proper principles whereby it adorns it &s;elf with all its ornaments.</P>
<P>Note here, how nece&s;&s;ary it is for mans wi&s;dome to moderate it &s;elfe in the making of Lawes, and binding men under penalties to take them as rules for all to walk by.</P>
<P>And here we propound a que&s;tion, whether one Law of God be not of like weight as another? for that di&s;tinction of the fir&s;t Table being more eminent then the &s;econd, is meerly humane; for doth not Chri&s;t center both in two commands, and affirms them to be of like weight: and the Apo&s;tles bring all into one, &s;aying, <HI>love</HI> fulfils the whole law: So that the two Tables do teach unto us the unity of God and man, and that both accor|ding
<PB N="114" REF="65">
to the letter of the Law, and al&s;o of the &s;pirit, and therefore the Law is broken by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> at the foot of the Mount, as con&s;ide|red in the Leviticall Prie&s;t-hood, exerci&s;ed in the Rebels in the wilderne&s;&s;e, and the Law is pre&s;erved and kept by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in the Arke unto this day as the Scripture affirms, as it is exerci&s;ed in that way of the Spirit, in <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> or Je&s;us, who leads into the land as that Captain of our &s;alvation.</P>
<P>But however the que&s;tion &s;tands concerning &s;trictne&s;&s;e of Law in two commands of the &s;econd Table, which are of the &s;ame weight and importance to every Chri&s;tian, the one as the other, and that is the not killing, but pre&s;ervation of life, and the not committing of adultery in the pre&s;ervation of cha&s;tity.</P>
<P>Is there not then a like care to be had, and provi&s;ion made for the pre&s;ervation of life, in re&s;pect of its exi&s;tance and being, as there is to pre&s;erve cha&s;tity, that &s;o man may appear in honour and temperancy.</P>
<P>If there be a like care to be had in both, then I demand how it comes to pa&s;&s;e, that men make a law to execute death upon that fact of adultery, which reacheth unto the very <HI>Embryon,</HI> and unformed &s;ub&s;tance of man in the womb, that &s;o they may pre|vent a Ba&s;tard-like brood, and that impure and incontinent con|ver&s;ation of men in the world.</P>
<P>Why are they not alike carefull to ordaine and execute a law upon men, in ca&s;e man and wife know each other, when there is no po&s;&s;ibility of conception, whereby the life of man &s;eems to be de&s;troyed and cut off, as con&s;idered in the very &s;ame capacity and principles, and &s;o upon the like ground murder committed.</P>
<P>This ca&s;e may &s;eem to be the very point of Chri&s;ts argument brought forth by his practice again&s;t the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, who &s;tood &s;o &s;trictly upon the letter of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> writing, when they brought that woman taken in adultery unto him; who in pre|tending the fulfilment of the Law, out of a malicious &s;pirit &s;eeke to en&s;nare the Son of God, to kill him, and put him to death, which murthering litterall &s;pirit of theirs he convicts them of, and acquits the woman, in that double act of his, in writing on the earth, having re&s;pect unto the writing of the two Tables of &s;tone, &s;ignifying unto them that killing <HI>letter</HI> bearing &s;way in them&s;elves, whereby they &s;ought to take away his life, rather
<PB N="115" REF="65">
then the womans, by putting the force and dignity of the Law to &s;tand in carnall and fle&s;hly ob&s;ervance, and &s;o convicted them in his fir&s;t writing upon the earth, as having broken the Law, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did the fir&s;t Table; and therein their con&s;ciences accu&s;e them as guilty of murder, and &s;o they ab&s;ent them&s;elves from Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And in his &s;econd writing on the earth, hee &s;ignifies that law of the &s;pirit, which is for ever kept and pre&s;erved in him&s;elfe, wherein is found no condemnation, but an acquittance from all &s;in and unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and therefore the woman e&s;capes with|out condemnation, when none but Chri&s;t, according to that law appears with her.</P>
<P>A Commentary might be writ of this point, but thus much only as clo&s;ely as may be in way of caution, to prevent men in their &s;o confident pro&s;ecutions, formed from the <HI>letter of the Scripture,</HI> as they piece-meale it out of the wi&s;dome of man, left it prove no better in conclu&s;ion then the wi&s;dome of the Serpent; that whil&s;t they entice to the eating of the fruit of one tree, be|cau&s;e of the fairne&s;&s;e and benefit of it, they do not corrupt and de&s;troy another in them&s;elves in &s;o doing, before they be well a|ware of it.</P>
<P>For if &s;uch mens wi&s;dome and wills had taken place in the dayes of <HI>Juda</HI> and <HI>Thomas,</HI> they would have made a breach in the Geneology of Chri&s;t: And if they &s;ay they would have &s;topped execution till the children had been born, then they would not have &s;to<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d to the glory of the Law; which after it be truly di&s;cer|ned, &s;tands in <HI>&s;eleritas inexequendo.</HI></P>
<P>Wee are then to attend the mind of the &s;pirit of God in this; namely <HI>that our yea be yea, and our nay, nay,</HI> wherein the &s;cope of the Scriptures do con&s;i&s;t, being the &s;tate of man-kind with re&s;pect unto God, which is in one act and for ever, and not in the rela|tion of any one Creature or Creatures, with re&s;pect unto others; that is, to any meer creature or creatures, which may now be <HI>yea, it is,</HI> and immediately <HI>nay, it is not:</HI> but in Chri&s;t it is not &s;o, who is the end of all law, the &s;cope of all relations, and the very end which all operations drive at, &amp; pre&s;&s;e unto, as he is crucified according to the fle&s;h, or el&s;e according to the &s;pirit; in which re&s;pect, <HI>yea</HI> remayns <HI>yea,</HI> and <HI>nay</HI> remayns <HI>nay,</HI> both in the way of
<PB N="116" REF="66">
Chri&s;t, and in the way of Antichri&s;t: So that he that teacheth a|nother thing to be the intent and meaning of the word of God, what ever it is that may one time be, and another time not be in the &s;ame &s;tate &amp; condition of man-kind con&s;idered, that is a do|ctrine under the &s;tate of condemnation: Therfore he backs it with this argument, <HI>Le&s;t you fall into condemnation.</HI> The word tran&s;lated <HI>Le&s;t,</HI> is not &s;poken as a &s;uppo&s;ition, but as an ab&s;olute affirmati|on, <HI>You are fallen into condemnation:</HI> As in the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> the words of <HI>Rab&s;hekah</HI> are, <HI>Le&s;t Hezekiah deceive you:</HI> For which in the book of <HI>Kings</HI> is written, <HI>Hezekiah deceiveth you.</HI> So al&s;o where one Evangeli&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Le&s;t the people faint in the way.</HI> Ano|ther rehear&s;ing the &s;ame &s;tory, &s;aith, <HI>The people will faint in the way,</HI> as a certain conclu&s;ion thereof; and &s;o it is here, <HI>If your yea be not yea, and your nay, nay, you are not fallen into condemnati|on;</HI> therefore Chri&s;t affirms, <HI>that what&s;oever is more</HI> (of the very &s;ame point) <HI>is of that evill one,</HI> that is, <HI>of the Devill.</HI></P>
<P>We are to know then, that &s;uch Doctrine as teacheth, that it was yea, that certain Angels, and al&s;o man were made in happy e&s;tate and condition, but afterwards it was <HI>nay,</HI> for the &s;ame &s;tate and condition became evill. It was <HI>yea,</HI> that Chri&s;t dyed, and afterwarde it was <HI>nay,</HI> he lived again in the &s;ame re&s;pect that hee is &s;ayd to be dead, according to the &s;cope of the Scriptures: Al|&s;o that it is <HI>yea,</HI> the Saints of God are &s;inners; but hereafter it &s;hall be <HI>nay,</HI> for they &s;hall have <HI>nay</HI> &s;in; in the &s;ame re&s;pect con&s;i|dered further, it is or was <HI>yea;</HI> that the wor&s;hip of God is or was tyed to &s;uch a form, according to the intent of Scripture, but it is or &s;hall be <HI>nay;</HI> it either is not now, or hereafter &s;hall not be tyed to &s;uch a form as it hath been, or now is, according to the intent of Scripture.</P>
<P>Doctrine of this nature is more then to let <HI>yea</HI> be <HI>yea,</HI> and <HI>nay</HI> be <HI>nay,</HI> for it makes the &s;ame thing to be both <HI>yea</HI> and <HI>nay,</HI> which the Apo&s;tle affirms to be the word of God, not <HI>but it is yea and A|men,</HI> the &s;ame for ever in the word of Ble&s;&s;ing, as al&s;o in the word of the Cur&s;e.</P>
<P>This doctrine then is that way of the fall, and defection from God brings men under the &s;tate of death and condemnation, as here our Apo&s;tle affirms, and hath not &s;alvation and life by Chri&s;t contained in it.</P>
<P><PB N="117" REF="66">
We are not ignorant of the manifold objections which may a|ri&s;e in mens hearts, backed by carnall Mini&s;try in way of mans wi&s;dome, drawn from the letter of the Scripture, which we have not cea&s;ed to &s;peake unto as the Scriptures have given us oc|ca&s;ion.</P>
<P>Wee &s;hall here propound two, and &s;peak a word to each of them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the fall of man, which as it is carnallized &s;eems to inter|po&s;e &s;in between God and the elect for a time.</P>
<P>Secondly, the confe&s;&s;ions of the Saints of God of a mi&s;erable condition for pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>To the fir&s;t we an&s;wer, that there is a mi&s;erable defection from God, and al&s;o a happy gathering up into unity with God, both with re&s;pect unto man-kind, and no other creature what&s;oever in heaven or in earth: And as for that Doctrine of Angels in that acceptation the world takes them, it is a meer fiction brought forth by humane wi&s;dome, brooding upon the letter of the Scrip|tures; for there is no elect Angell which con&s;i&s;ts not of the &s;ame nature which the Angell of the Covenant doth, which is Chri&s;t Je&s;us, God and man, in one &s;ub&s;i&s;tance and being.</P>
<P>And again, if there was a &s;in in the fall of Angels before the &s;in and fall of man, how could the Apo&s;tle confe&s;&s;e him&s;elfe in that faithfull &s;aying, worthy of all acceptation (or to be embra|ced of all the Saints &s;o as to acknowledg the &s;ame) <HI>That Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the world to &s;ave &s;inners, of whom I am chiefe;</HI> or as the word is, <HI>I am the fir&s;t:</HI> So that if there be a &s;in before the &s;in of man, how can man be &s;ayd to be the fir&s;t &s;inner; this doctrine therfore makes voyd the truth of the Scriptures in every founda|tion thereof.</P>
<P>We grant then that there is an ab&s;olute and reall change both in the Son of God, and the &s;on of perdition, but what change is from that fir&s;t act of the manner of the being of each of them once and for ever, without other mutation or change otherwi&s;e: That is to &s;ay, in the Son of God; the wi&s;dome proper unto a creature is in the fir&s;t act and manner of his being changed and transformed into the wi&s;dome and principles peculiar to God him&s;elfe; and this e&s;tate is, and abides the &s;ame for ever which is Chri&s;t the &s;eed of the woman.</P>
<P><PB N="118" REF="67">
Again, in the &s;on of perdition, the wi&s;dome of God is changed and transformed into the wi&s;dome and principles peculiar to a creature, and that in the very fir&s;t act and manner of his being; and this e&s;tate is, and abides for ever the &s;ame, and is Antichri&s;t that &s;eed of the Serpent, yea that very Serpent the Devill him|&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Even as Chri&s;t is not only that &s;eed of the woman, but al&s;o that &s;pirit which over-&s;hadoweth her, even God him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Furthermore, the word of God never expre&s;&s;ed it &s;elfe, but as a word of wi&s;dome; therefore it is &s;aid by the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>O Lord how manifold are thy workes, in wi&s;dome ha&s;t thou made them all.</HI> So &s;ayth <HI>Solomon, The Lord by wi&s;dome layd the foundation of the earth.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle &s;ayth, <HI>Chri&s;t is the wi&s;dome of God, and the power of God.</HI> Therefore out of him there is no wi&s;dome, &s;o that there is no expre&s;&s;ion of the word of God, or any exi&s;tance of the work of God, but with re&s;pect unto Chri&s;t therefore the fir&s;t words and workes manife&s;ted by God in the Scriptures is the preaching of Chri&s;t, which is the glad tydings of &s;alvation, the Go&s;pel of God, which was never known, nor ever &s;hall be, but in the death and re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, and that <HI>through the tender of him in whom the day &s;prings from on high to vi&s;ue us.</HI> So that in the framing of neaven and earth in the beginning, this mercy-&s;eate is erected, whereon tho&s;e two Cherubims do &s;tand, the death and re&s;urre|ction of the Son of God, and from this mercy-&s;eate, and from between the&s;e two Cherubims the word of God is ever uttered, and did never in any other way expre&s;&s;e it &s;elfe in the world.</P>
<P>Therefore the life and re&s;urrection of the Son of God in his Saints, and his death and de&s;cention in men of the world, do face each other, as holding proportion, and being of like capaci|city, even tho&s;e two Cherubs of mercy and Jui&s;tice di&s;tributed in Kingly authority, where ever the mercy-&s;eate is &s;er up in the publication of the Go&s;pel; and this life and death holds propor|tion in poynt of time &s;o as never life nor death were ever before, or &s;hall be after them.</P>
<P>The doctrine therefore of Angels and man in a &s;tate of inno|cency, and yet out of Chri&s;t, being changed from that which they were from the beginning, is no doctrine &s;avouring of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel, nor word of life and &s;alvation. But only as tho&s;e
<PB N="119" REF="67">
&s;ayings of old of the Scribes &amp; Phari&s;ees, which our Lord Chri&s;t &s;o carefully correcteth, as &s;uch as were corrupters of the Law, walking according to the oldne&s;&s;e of the letter, and not in the newne&s;&s;e of the &s;pirit, for arguments of that nature are not con|&s;i&s;tant with the doctrine of the Go&s;pel, and faith of Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P>For to affirm that man is &s;ometimes in Chri&s;t, and &s;ometimes out of Chri&s;t in the &s;ame individuall, is all one to affirm, that the Sonne of God is &s;ometimes in favour with the Father, and &s;ometimes out of favour with him; which is no le&s;&s;e then to &s;ay, that &s;ometimes Chri&s;t the Saviour of the World is true God, and &s;ometimes he is no God, and then no Saviour at that time at all.</P>
<P>And note here for the conclu&s;ion of this point, that the do|ctrine of the Go&s;pel is not <HI>yea and nay,</HI> but <HI>yea and Amen, once and for ever.</HI> That the Son of God never was, nor is con&s;iderable, knowable, or &s;peakable, but in the compleatne&s;&s;e of his my&s;tcall body; in the contriving and device whereof, the wi&s;dome of God doth properly, yea &s;olely con&s;i&s;t, for all other things point as with the finger thereunto: So that to deprive Chri&s;t of that work-man&s;hip at any time, fir&s;t or la&s;t, is to deprive God, only and in|finitely wi&s;e, of that his wi&s;dome, then the which greater <HI>Sacri|ledge</HI> cannot be. What change therefore may be concluded to ap|pertain and belong unto the Son of God, the &s;ame al&s;o belongs unto the Saints of God, and that is once for ever.</P>
<P>For as there is but one death of Chri&s;t, &s;o there is but one change as one eternall act: and as death is con&s;iderable in a two-fold re&s;pect, &s;o is the change, and are of the &s;ame ri&s;e in point of time pa&s;t, and of the &s;ame race or duration for time to come.</P>
<P>No marvaile therefore though men cannot calculate the time when Angels (according to their Doctrine) were created, or when the Devill (as they form him) took his beginning and ri&s;e.</P>
<P>But a word of the next point objected again&s;t this <HI>eternall Go&s;|pel which that Angell that flyes through the mid&s;t of heaven preacheth,</HI> being at a like di&s;tance from every part of it, all things being be|yond comprehen&s;ion, and he is a like neare unto all, for the mid&s;t of heaveen is the center of the world, where all points of the hea|vens meet and unite them&s;elves in one.</P>
<P>And this &s;econd <HI>Objection</HI> con&s;i&s;ts in the Confe&s;&s;ions of the
<PB N="120" REF="68">
Saints of God, and is a confirmation of the poynt, for which we will in&s;tance in one for all, and that is the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> who is &s;aid to be fir&s;t a <HI>Saul,</HI> and afterwards a <HI>Paul;</HI> who fir&s;t <HI>breathed out &s;laughters again&s;t the Saints,</HI> and afterwards payers, <HI>Behold he prays;</HI> once &s;ayd <HI>to be the chiefe of &s;inners,</HI> and againe <HI>not inferiour to the chiefe&s;t Apo&s;tle of Chri&s;t:</HI> once <HI>a per&s;ecuter of the Church,</HI> and after|wards <HI>a Preacher of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in the con&s;titution of the Church:</HI> once <HI>a bla&s;phemer,</HI> and afterwards <HI>utters the high pray&s;es of God:</HI> once engaged to the high Prie&s;t of that carnall and degenerate Sy|nagogue of the Jewes, by letters received to execute their enmity <HI>on all that call on the name of Je&s;us;</HI> and af<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">terwards &s;o engaged to the Saints of God, <HI>as to be &s;acrificed, or poured out as a drinke-offering upon the &s;ervice of their faith.</HI></P>
<P>To which we an&s;wer; <HI>That what&s;oever is &s;aid of this holy Apo&s;tle in point of evill with re&s;pect unto that vitious and depraved nature of man, it is &s;poken of him only as per&s;onated in that corrupt cour&s;e and condition of the carnall Jew, &s;o as to declare and &s;et out unto all the world that &s;tock and race of which by nature he comes, even as all men &s;pring out of the du&s;t, which is the proper meate of the Serpent wherewith he is nou|ri&s;hed and kept alive according to the fle&s;h, and according to the proper bent and propencity thereof brings forth nothing but enmity, corruption, and &s;ubtilty.</HI></P>
<P>For it is du&s;t and Gods image which are the materials of mans being in his Creation; for there is the &s;eed of mans wi&s;dome as a creature, as well as the &s;eed of Gods wi&s;dome as a Creator, which twayn are mayntained for ever, or el&s;e Gods workman-&s;hip &s;hould faile and come to nought; but it is to abide in both re&s;pects, and that in the height and eminency of each of them, which could never be in one and the &s;ame &s;ubject undivided, for they are incon&s;i&s;tant; therefore man-kind cannot be known but with re&s;pect unto &s;eed and generation: and &s;o the&s;e are both found in their height in <HI>Caine</HI> and <HI>Seath,</HI> who is &s;et in <HI>Abels</HI> &s;tead, and in them the whole work is brought to light, which before lay but as in the <HI>Chaos</HI> or <HI>Embryon</HI> in the man and the woman, &s;o that neither is to be annihilated: <HI>No man &s;hall kill Caine,</HI> a mark is &s;et on him by God, as a &s;eale to confirm his life to the fle&s;h, the very prints and characters of humane wi&s;dome turning it &s;elfe (as &s;eale to the wax) to the word or wi&s;dome of God: So that
<PB N="129" REF="68">
as the Sun which hath dominion of the day, and the Moon having dominion of the night, &s;hall never faile, but are tho&s;e faithfull witne&s;&s;es of heaven: &s;o the &s;ight of Gods wi&s;dome hearing rule in the day of &s;alvation: and the wi&s;dome of man as that other great light ruling in darkne&s;&s;e over all tho&s;e Lucubrations of the men of the world, are tho&s;e faithfull witne&s;&s;es of Gods mercy and &s;e|verity for ever.</P>
<P><HI>Paul</HI> therefore &s;ets forth him&s;elfe; that is, what he and all men are with re&s;pect unto that wi&s;dome exerci&s;ed in that legall, and literall wor&s;hip of &s;uch as put Chri&s;t to death, namely the car|nal Jew; thereby declaring unto all men from whence, and from what the word of life hath re&s;cued and delivered him, in whom the &s;tate of all the Saints is per&s;onated and involved, for the word of God is not of that narrow &s;cantling and capacity as to center it &s;elfe only in one particular man, but it takes in all men that belongs unto that proper inheritance which it intends in its expre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P>The &s;cope of the Scripture then in <HI>Paul</HI> as in all other of the Saints, is to preach Chri&s;t, and centers not in any particular man otherwi&s;e, and &s;o declares from what he is changed, as he is man to be made the holy one of God for ever: Not that <HI>Paul</HI> was in any time of his life of that corrupt and carnal &s;pirit of the wicked Jew; for bla&s;phemy again&s;t the &s;pirit of God &s;hall never be forgiven: Al&s;o he &s;aith of him&s;elfe, that he was called and &s;anctified from the womb, and that hee &s;aw Chri&s;t as one borne out of due time, or as an <HI>abortive;</HI> that is, he reckons him&s;elfe in the wi&s;dome of God (which gives him his being, and makes him to be that which he is) as one born out of time; that is, before all time, for no time can comprehend that; and as one that ne|ver &s;aw the Sun, that is, the glory of the Creature, to place an excellency therein, but only in that light which &s;hined round about him in the way to <HI>Dama&s;cus.</HI></P>
<P>So that we may not give the&s;e execrable things any being, or time, or abode in the Apo&s;tle of Chri&s;t, no more then we can give unto him to be a &s;ervant of &s;in at that time when he &s;aith, <HI>So then in my mind I my &s;elfe &s;erve the law of God, but in my fle&s;h the law of &s;inne,</HI> which things are incon&s;i&s;tant in one individuall &s;ubject.</P>
<P>For the word of God is an eternall word, and expre&s;&s;eth not
<PB N="122" REF="69">
it &s;elfe but with re&s;pect unto an eternall act; it is not a tran&s;ient and momentany thing, when it &s;aith of Chri&s;t, <HI>I am a worm and no man, an object, a &s;corn, a bubble, a vapour, a vanity, a nothing; to be in the belly of hell, and in the heart of the earth, to be &s;hut up, and cannot get out;</HI> The&s;e things are not momentany expre&s;&s;ions, and tran&s;ient acts, for the word and work of God is no &s;uch thing according to the true and reall intent and operation thereof: But they are reall manife&s;tations and declarations of what the world hath re|ally made of the word and wi&s;dome of God in them&s;elves.</P>
<P>And &s;o are the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions of <HI>Paul</HI> true manife&s;tations, what the condition of a carnall Jew is, and how they deal with Chri&s;t the wi&s;dome of God, and ever will do in whom&s;oever he ap|pears; from which &s;pirit that glorious change wrought once and for ever in Chri&s;t, hath freed all the Saints, and &s;et them in the liberty of the Son of God, which otherwi&s;e are no better, but by nature the &s;ame with others.</P>
<P>So that it is not creation of man in being made one with God, wherein ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e doth properly con&s;i&s;t; but it is that genera|tive vertue of the immortall &s;eed, bringing forth unto God, to|gether with that act of conjunction, whereunto true ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e is annexed; therefore Chri&s;t is truly &s;ayd to be made, and al&s;o to be begotten.</P>
<P>For out of that act of Creation in the unity of God and man, not only the wi&s;dome of God makes it &s;elfe manife&s;t in giving form unto Chri&s;t the &s;eed of the woman, but al&s;o that wi&s;dome of the creature, namely of man, which gives form to the Serpent, who was <HI>more wi&s;e then any bea&s;t of the field which the Lord God had made:</HI> And that is the &s;eed of the Serpent &s;o brought forth, that is, in con&s;ulting with the wi&s;dome of God from humane prin|ciples.</P>
<P>This is a faithfull &s;aying then of <HI>Paul,</HI> and worthy to be em|braced of all men, &s;o as to utter the &s;ame language, <HI>That Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the world to &s;ave &s;inners, of whom I am chiefe:</HI> For he that cannot acknowledge him&s;elfe to be the fir&s;t or chiefe of &s;in|ners, that is to &s;ay, in his grand Ance&s;tor being made one in that act of Creation, as he comes of the earth, and &s;o in that way of the unbeliever is the fir&s;t perverter of the word of God to de&s;tru|ction, though in him&s;elfe in his proper &s;ub&s;i&s;tance in the way of
<PB N="123" REF="69">
the generation of the Son of God, hee is once and for ever freed therefrom, in that deliverance made by Chri&s;t: &s;o that it is none of his inheritance or portion, otherwi&s;e no man can ever ac|knowledg him&s;elfe to be ble&s;t and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the fir&s;t and chief righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that ever was, namely that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, nor know him&s;elfe to be a fir&s;t-born of God, an heyr of the promi&s;e, and an inheritance of life that la&s;ts for ever. And &s;o we come to the fourth part of the Chapter, contayning that fruitfull and whol&s;ome benefit, which &s;pring from the death of Chri&s;t in all true Chri&s;tians, the fir&s;t whereof is layd downe in the next ver&s;e.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 13. Is any among you afflicted, let him pray; is any merry, let him &s;ing.</HEAD>
<P>VVHerein we are to ob&s;erve a two-fold propo&s;ition, layd down interrogatively, together with a two-fold an&s;wer given thereunto.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t whereof is this;</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Is any among you afflicted, let him pray.</HEAD>
<P>By affliction in this place is meant dimini&s;hing or weakning, as the word imports, and &s;o <HI>Pharaoh</HI> afflicted <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> to weaken and dimini&s;h them, le&s;t they &s;hould grow in multitude, and &s;o wax too &s;trong for him and his people: but God makes u&s;e of that his dealing with them, to increa&s;e and multiply them exceedingly; for that which weakens men in the worlds account, proves through Gods device to be the &s;trength and power of the Saints of God.</P>
<P>Therefore our Apo&s;tle puts us upon this que&s;tion; <HI>Is any among you afflicted?</HI> Being that he had told them of what nature the death of the Son of God is in the godly, namely to bereave and di&s;poil them of all the &s;trength, glory, excellency, and goodline&s;&s;e of man, &s;o as it becomes as the withered gro&s;&s;e, or decayed flower of the field, when the &s;pirit of the Lord breaths upon it; yea, though they be weakned and dimini&s;hed in all &s;uch re&s;pects, &s;o as they have nothing of that nature to tru&s;t or betake them&s;elves unto, which can &s;tand them in any &s;tead.</P>
<P><PB N="132" REF="70">
As if hee &s;hould &s;ay, hath the Go&s;pel and word of the King|dome made &s;poyl and prize of all things among you, or in you? hath it routed and layd you wa&s;t of all &s;uch tran&s;itory wayes and perfunctory wor&s;hips as the carnall and litterall <HI>Jewes</HI> do com|monly boa&s;t them&s;elves of, and comfort and content them&s;elves in, of which <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ayth, <HI>If any man might boa&s;t of, he much more, circumci&s;ed the eighth day, of the &s;tocke of I&s;rael, of the tribe of Benja|mine, an Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law a Phari&s;ee, concern|ing zeale, per&s;ecuting the Church, and touching that righteou&s;ne&s;s which is in the law blamele&s;&s;e:</HI> And where &s;hall we find a Church extant in the&s;e dayes which &s;peaks by any other &s;pirit then this, which runs in the &s;incke and channell of &s;uch externall and extrin&s;icall in&s;titutions, ordinances, genealogies, phari&s;aical righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, per&s;ecuting zeale, and tribe-like divi&s;ion of rule and govern|ment.</P>
<P>But what &s;aith our Apo&s;tle of all the&s;e things? <HI>But what things were gaine to me;</HI> that is, as the very wealth and riches of a carnall Jew, <HI>tho&s;e I counted lo&s;&s;e for Chri&s;t, yea doubtle&s;&s;e, and I counted all things but lo&s;&s;e, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chri&s;t Je&s;us my Lord, for whom I have &s;uffered the lo&s;&s;e of all things, and count them but dung, that I may winne Chri&s;t.</HI> And for this lo&s;&s;e, diminution, or af|fliction, our Apo&s;tle pre&s;cribes the cure and remedy in whom&s;oe|ver it is &s;uffered, in this his an&s;wer given.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Let him pray.</HEAD>
<P>The word <HI>(Let)</HI> hath a like Empha&s;is, as that of the Creation at the beginning, <HI>Let there be light, and it was &s;o,</HI> and hath in it the very force and vertue of creating the &s;pirit of prayer and inter|ce&s;&s;ion in that heart, in which this lo&s;&s;e, diminution, or affliction is found, for it &s;ignifies as much as <HI>Amen, &s;o be it,</HI> or <HI>&s;o it is,</HI> or <HI>&s;o it &s;hall be;</HI> &s;o that it fits the &s;oule with the &s;pirit of prayer, as the world was furni&s;hed with light by the &s;ame phra&s;e in the be|ginning, without which &s;pirit or breath of prayer the &s;oule is without life, even as the world was in darkne&s;&s;e without the cre|ation of light, or as the body that breaths not is dead, &s;o is the &s;oule without prayer.</P>
<P>Concerning praying therefore being &s;o nece&s;&s;ary unto the life
<PB N="133" REF="70">
of the Son of God, con&s;ider, 1. The &s;ignification of the word. 2. How it is to be taken in this place as an an&s;wer to the interro|gation, or effectuall and forcible &s;entence. To pray, is to make an appeale, it is an <HI>appellation,</HI> or <HI>interce&s;&s;ion;</HI> for the originall word in the Hebrew tongue, which the Prophets u&s;e for prayer, is <HI>Hithpallel,</HI> which &s;ignifies to <HI>appeale,</HI> or pre&s;ent a mans &s;elfe, or cau&s;e to the Judg, and it comes of <HI>pillel,</HI> which &s;ignifies to judg or determine cau&s;es, for which appeals are made.</P>
<P N="1">1. To pray therefore, is to make our appeale from one Judge|ment-&s;eate unto another; that is, from the judgment and deter|mination of mans wi&s;dome, opinion, and &s;entence, to that wi&s;|dome and device of the Son of God, <HI>who judgeth not as man judg|eth: For as farre as the heavens are higher then the arth,</HI> &s;o is the way of the judgment of God higher than all the Thrones and Judge|ment-&s;eats of the &s;ons of men; therefore the Apo&s;tle tells the <HI>Co|rinthians</HI> that were carnall, <HI>That it &s;eemes a &s;mall thing to him to be judged of them,</HI> or of <HI>mans judgment,</HI> or of <HI>mans day,</HI> as the word is; that is, by the light under&s;tanding or wi&s;dome humane, only he &s;tands to the judgment and wi&s;dome of God, &s;o as he <HI>judgeth not him&s;elfe;</HI> that is, by his own wi&s;dome as a man, but by the wi&s;|dome and light of the &s;pirit of God: Therefore the P&s;almi&s;t com|playns, &s;aying, <HI>Many there be that &s;ay of my &s;oule, there is no hope for him in God, Selah:</HI> but he appeals unto God as to his &s;hield, <HI>and the lifter up of his head, but thou O Lord art a &s;hield about me;</HI> that is, a defence from all adver&s;e power &s;et forth and &s;ignified in <HI>Ab&s;o|loms</HI> con&s;piracy; <HI>and the lifter up of my head,</HI> or head-&s;hip, in &s;et|ting me to be head of the people, and not <HI>Ab&s;olom,</HI> and that only through thy wi&s;dome, where the wi&s;dome, coun&s;ell and craft of <HI>Achitophel</HI> cannot take place; prayer therefore is an appeal from one judgment-&s;eate to another.</P>
<P N="2">2. Prayer is to &s;peake, or plead a cau&s;e: &s;o &s;aith the Prophet <HI>Daniel, Whil&s;t I was &s;peaking in prayer, pre&s;enting my &s;upplication be|fore the Lord my God, for the holy mountaine of my God, even while I was yet &s;peaking, the man Gabriel,</HI> or the <HI>&s;trength of God came flying vehemently and touched me.</HI> It is a word or &s;peech by which the &s;trength of God ha&s;ts it &s;elfe, and makes &s;peed to lay hold upon the &s;oule: So <HI>David</HI> cals it a &s;peech, &s;aying, <HI>My heart was hot with|in me, whil&s;t I was mu&s;ing the fire burned, and I &s;pake with my tongue, Lrrd make me to know mine end,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="126" REF="71">
3. Prayer is to &s;upplicate and intreat; &s;o &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>Return we be&s;eech thee O God of ho&s;ts:</HI> And again, <HI>I be&s;eech thee de|liver my &s;oule:</HI> And again, <HI>Save now I be&s;eech thee O Lord, O Lord I be&s;eech thee &s;end now pro&s;perity.</HI> So &s;ayth <HI>Mo&s;es, I be&s;eech thee &s;hew me thy glory.</HI> Prayer is the office and property of a &s;upplicant.</P>
<P N="4">4. Prayer is to judg and determine a cau&s;e (as the word &s;igni|fies) therefore <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Heare me when I call O God of my righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> (or ju&s;tice) that is, of my ju&s;t and righteous cau&s;e: and agayn, <HI>Judge me O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity, I have tru&s;ted in the Lord, I &s;hall not &s;tagger:</HI> And againe, <HI>Heare me when I call, and an&s;wer my prayer.</HI></P>
<P>Now for God to judg the cau&s;e of his Saints, to heare prayer, and to an&s;wer when they cry unto him, is to give right &s;entence, and to determine the matter: which thing is not done in another &s;tate and condition, but in that individuall being and &s;tate of a Chri&s;tian in that Saint of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> or holy one, the judgment is not pa&s;&s;ed, and &s;entence given of the cau&s;e and matter, by or from a|nother &s;ub&s;i&s;tence or being: but in that &s;ub&s;i&s;tance and con&s;i&s;tance of the Son of God, the hearing, an&s;wering, judging, determi|ning, and pa&s;&s;ing &s;entence of, or upon any cau&s;e or matter pre|&s;ented by prayer, is no further off, nor at any other di&s;tance from the &s;tate and being of a Chri&s;tian, then the cau&s;e or matter is which is pre&s;ented, for they both flow from, and are acts of the &s;ame &s;pirit, as <HI>man a&s;cending</HI> in the word of God for &s;upply, and the word of God <HI>di&s;cending in man,</HI> to declare its fulne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>So that there is in prayer a ju&s;t appeale from the wi&s;dome and practice of the world unto God; and there is in it al&s;o an hum|ble &s;ute and reall act of a &s;upplicant and intreater for favour, yea and the pleading and laying open of a righteous cau&s;e before the Judge of all the earth, together with the hearing, an&s;we|ring, judging, determining, and pa&s;&s;ing Sentence thereup|on.</P>
<P>And every one of the&s;e are as really intrin&s;icall, and of the &s;ame nearne&s;&s;e to a Chri&s;tian, making all for his proper being and &s;ub&s;i&s;tance as well one of them as another; neither &s;hall he for ever be without any one of them, but they &s;hall be as an harmoni|ous mellody in the &s;oule or life of a Chri&s;tian for ever, which if we deny, we hold not the unity of faith according to that <HI>compleat
<PB N="127" REF="71">
and my&s;ticall body of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> but make a fraction therein to the deviding of that holy one of God, which is that &s;tate of unbeleif, on which wrath abides.</P>
<P>So that when a Chri&s;tian cea&s;eth to judge between &s;inne and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, between Chri&s;t and Belial, when he cea&s;eth to di&s;cerne the difference between light and darkne&s;&s;e, between God and the Devill, then prayer &s;hall have an end and cea&s;e in the &s;pirit of a Chri&s;tian, and not till then; for it is the very <HI>breath of the Sonne of God,</HI> whereby he lives the life of God eter|nally.</P>
<P>Note from this point, as it hath been often declared unto us how the prayers of the world, not onely in &s;et forms, but in the more refined Prei&s;thood fall &s;hort of the nature of the interce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, <HI>who ever lives to make interce&s;&s;ion,</HI> not onely <HI>for,</HI> but <HI>in us,</HI> without &s;training of the word, &s;o that they deny the nature of the prayer and interce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, in this great point of its continuation.</P>
<P>And &s;o in like manner their doctrine mu&s;t needs fall &s;hort of that me&s;&s;age of life and &s;alvation, and &s;o much for the &s;ignificati|on of the word <HI>prayer.</HI></P>
<P>2. The &s;econd point is in what acceptation it is to be taken here, and that is for an <HI>appeal,</HI> implying hereby thus much, as if in more words he &s;hould &s;ay, have you lo&s;t all your own humane and fading excellencies, in the proper life and &s;pirit of all your earthly and momentany relations, for the mo&s;t honourable lo&s;&s;e of them is, <HI>when we are cut off from them in our hearts, in the pre&s;ent injoyment of them,</HI> as in covenants, contracts, and combinations with the creature, that carnall and topped up height of all your places of worldly dignities: have you picked out that common &s;tamp, in all your relations and operations, which the &s;pirit of <HI>the &s;erpent &s;ets upon them,</HI> making them appear beautifull and de&s;i|rable; and are you dimini&s;hed and corrected, as having all &s;uch &s;u|perfluous branches lopt away from you, as yeilding no &s;helter, nor glory or &s;afeguard unto you. Take it for granted that it is &s;o, yet here is a &s;ufficient &s;upply and remedy, make your addre&s;&s;es and appeal unto God in Chri&s;t, in whom they are all full, and that in an eternall compleat and perfect &s;upply, as things that are onely proper and peculiar to the glory and duration of that eter|nall
<PB N="136" REF="72">
Son of God, and not to that mortall, fading, and &s;hamefull race and pedegree of the &s;ons of earthly men, who&s;e breath as a vapour is in their no&s;trils; for in Chri&s;t you &s;hall have and be both king and &s;ubject, and &s;o &s;hall never fail nor betray him&s;elfe, which no earthly man can attaine, for he is that <HI>ruler in &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion</HI> as the Apo&s;tle to <HI>Titus</HI> calls him; for there is the truth of rule and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion in Chri&s;t as one, and both in the utmo&s;t excellency thereof, though men tran&s;late the word, as a charge to obey ma|gi&s;trates, <HI>Tit.</HI> 3. 1. To that effect the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>I John who am al&s;o your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdome, and patience of Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> or as the word is rightly rendred, <HI>in the kingdome and under-abiding of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> So that he is a companion in <HI>kingdom,</HI> that is, in power and authority, and al&s;o in <HI>under-abi|ding,</HI> or in a perpetuated &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the will of the father: &s;o that in the &s;tate of Chri&s;tianity there is all the relations, acts, and waits of admini&s;tration of the kingdome, all relations and mutu|all re&s;pects are there in act, and are fulfilled as in a kingdome of eternall glory and power, and that onely in the lo&s;&s;e and villi|fication of nothing el&s;e but an earthly fading and corruptible Crown, which <HI>Paul</HI> counts <HI>as dung, and lo&s;&s;e,</HI> as the &s;hame and undoing of man, that he may win the Diadem and glory of the other.</P>
<P>Againe, in it you &s;hall have that mutuall relation of husband and wife in that glorious and happy e&s;pou&s;all of Chri&s;t, for <HI>he that is joyned unto the Lord is one &s;pirit with him,</HI> or one &s;pirituall e&s;tate and condition, in which is compleated, and fulfilled all tho&s;e mutuall and conjugal relations, acts, and operations of the married e&s;tate, in the reality thereof, in which the nuptiall day and joyful fea&s;tivity never cea&s;eth; nor can time be found where|in it may not be &s;aid; <HI>Behold this is the day of &s;alvation, behold now the accepted time,</HI> yea this <HI>is the day which the Lore hath made, let us be glad and rejoyce therein.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover in the &s;tate of a Chri&s;tian you &s;hall finde the relation of father and &s;on, for <HI>the Father and I are one,</HI> there is the language of the &s;on of God, and that in all the wayes and admini&s;trations, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Education, donation, re&s;ignation,</HI> and <HI>inheritance of that purcha&s;ed po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,</HI> acted and done, and ever in the act of doing, betwixt the <HI>father of lights,</HI> and that <HI>&s;on of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> that great light
<PB N="129" REF="72">
that <HI>lightneth every one that cometh into the world,</HI> &s;o that in this ap|peal all lo&s;&s;e of temporary condition is infinitely &s;upplyed in e|ternall.</P>
<P>And further, in it you have the &s;tate and relation of high Prei&s;t and people, and that in all tho&s;e &s;everall re&s;pects of &s;acrifi|ces, &s;ervices, and oblations, together with their re&s;pective virtues and operations in point of that reconciliation and agreement made between God and man in the multiplyed comfort thereof, exerci&s;ed in that hou&s;e and temple not made with hands, but is e|ternall in that heaven, or height of happine&s;&s;e in Chri&s;t, who is that dwelling place of the mo&s;t high.</P>
<P>But time would faile to &s;peak of the&s;e things, becau&s;e they are infinitely uncountable, and unmea&s;urable in all their relations, offices, re&s;pects, and operations, which are through that device of God in chri&s;t to be attained in this appeal: becau&s;e God him&s;elf who is <HI>infinite, emence,</HI> and <HI>eternall,</HI> gives being unto, and is the reallity of them all, and yet man is really in the u&s;e, comfort, exi&s;tance, and exerci&s;e of them all, even as it is true that the &s;oul is properly the fountaine, and cau&s;e of all the motions and ope|rations of the body, and yet the body is really in the exerci&s;e, and hath the participation of them all.</P>
<P>For in this appeal is fulfilled that law of the &s;pirit, which <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Romans</HI> &s;aith <HI>is fulfilled in us;</HI> &s;o al&s;o &s;peaks the Apo&s;tle <HI>John,</HI> that <HI>the new Commandement is fulfilled in him and in us, becau&s;e the darkne&s;&s;e is pa&s;t;</HI> that is, that which is proper and incident unto the creature, <HI>and the true light &s;hineth;</HI> that is, that which is proper unto God is broke forth and appeareth in us, for a law cannot con&s;i&s;t of one but mu&s;t have re&s;pect unto twaine, otherwi&s;e there is no bond, therefore the law of the &s;pirit is not contrived, takes form, or holds in any point thereof, but as it con&s;i&s;ts of God and man in that faith of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in which or in whom &s;tands all our Lord&s;hip and &s;alvation: for how&s;oever in the world <HI>there be Gods many, and Lords many, yet unto us there is but one Godhead</HI> who is Lord over all, and <HI>one Lord&s;hip</HI> which abides and remains the &s;ame for ever.</P>
<P>Are we then at a lo&s;&s;e in the world, enjoying nothing that can abide by us, as <HI>Abraham &s;ojourned in Canaan,</HI> as the land is carnal|ly con&s;idered, <HI>not injoying the bredth of a foot thereof:</HI> as <HI>Stephen,</HI>
<PB N="130" REF="73">
that faithful Martyr, or witne&s;&s;e, makes report.</P>
<P>Let us make our appeal, for in this off-&s;pring and &s;eed of God, the whole inheritance in all its excellencies is perfected and com|pleated in us, as the wole land was given to <HI>Abraham</HI> in his &s;eed, after the enduring of &s;o great affliction.</P>
<P>So that in this appeal is contained a &s;upply of every want, a comfort again&s;t every affliction, a re&s;tauration of every lo&s;&s;e, as being that year of <HI>Jubile,</HI> or <HI>Jubel, the time of carrying or leading a|long,</HI> as the word imports, into that ancient liberty, re&s;t, and riches that are in the Son of God; wherein wee finde an infinite augmentation and increa&s;e of all things (wherein) with re&s;pect to the world, we are dimini&s;hed.</P>
<P>And hence the &s;econd Query is added of purpo&s;e, which natu|rally flows from this, with the an&s;wer or direction annexed.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Is any merry let him &s;ing.</HEAD>
<P>By being merry, plea&s;ant, or joyfull, in this place, is meant the joy of harve&s;t or fir&s;t fruits, or that triumphant mirth, and joyful fea&s;tivity and &s;plendant liberty exerci&s;ed in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in that year of <HI>Jubile,</HI> when the land brought forth &s;o plenteou&s;ly of it &s;elfe, without the labour and toyle of the people, or any means u&s;ed by humane hands or admini&s;trations, no not &s;o much as to gather it in, but feed upon the fruits where they were found naturally growing in the land, which is here alluded unto, to &s;et forth that abundant &s;upply and furniture to be found in this our appeale, which yeeldeth unto us through Gods appointment without hu|mane help, all tho&s;e liberties, priviledges, riches, and re&s;t, which anciently have appertained unto the Sonne of the eternall God.</P>
<P>So that however we may go forth of the things of this life, as <HI>weeping</HI> in the eyes of the world, like men in the time of &s;owing, parting with all their &s;tore and provi&s;&s;ions of temporary things; even as the people parted with the glory of the carnall temple, when they went down into <HI>Babylon:</HI> yet we know, that tho&s;e which <HI>bear the precious &s;eed,</HI> or as the word imports, u&s;ed by the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>the purcha&s;ed &s;eed,</HI> &s;uch &s;hall returne <HI>with &s;houting, joy|fulne&s;&s;e, bringing their &s;heaves with them:</HI> They then that have
<PB N="131" REF="73">
their <HI>lap filled with Ruth,</HI> in the parting from their native country to follow that motherly <HI>Naomy, being increa&s;ed with the increa&s;ings of God,</HI> in the diminutions of all humane and Moabiti&s;h prefer|ments and excellencies, who have found the harve&s;t, and more of the full years of corne in <HI>Canaan,</HI> to exceed <HI>all the thin ears in the land of Aegypt:</HI> And how that vintage <HI>which rejoyceth the heart of God and man,</HI> excels and &s;urpa&s;&s;eth <HI>the Vines of Sod me and the grapes of Gomorah,</HI> &s;uch as make <HI>merry in the Lord,</HI> being joyfull and triumphant in his &s;alvation, as <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was in his coming out of the red Sea; or as the word imports, the Sea of <HI>Edom,</HI> adver&s;ary to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> though near unto him in their fir&s;t origi|nall.</P>
<P>When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the men of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;ung &s;o triumphantly, with <HI>Mirriam,</HI> and the dam&s;els an&s;wering thereunto, with &s;ollem pompe in that happy returne of the Captaine of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> from the victory and &s;laughter, <HI>in breaking the head of that Leviathan, and gi|ving him to be meat for the people in the wilderne&s;&s;e;</HI> &s;uch as are merry with this kinde of mirth, and in &s;uch cau&s;es, they onely are the parties unto whom this direction belongs.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Let him &s;ing.</HEAD>
<P>The word <HI>let,</HI> is of like force as is before explained, giving vir|tue and exi&s;tance to the mellody of a &s;ong in the &s;oule of him, in whom this mirth is found; and by the word <HI>&s;ing,</HI> is comprehen|ded al&s;o, playing on in&s;truments, dancing, or any joyfull activity or acclamation.</P>
<P>So that all &s;uch as have made their lawfull appeal (as congru|ous to that law of the &s;pirit) from the judgment and determina|tion of the wi&s;dom of man, unto that which only con&s;i&s;ts in the wi&s;dome and device of God in Chri&s;t: They receive &s;uch plenty thereby, and skill for the u&s;e and exerci&s;e thereof, that they be|come expert, in handling all tho&s;e organs, iu&s;truments, and ex|erci&s;es of joy and triumph, which appertaine and belong to that &s;piritual Tabernacle and Temple, which <HI>God builds, and not man,</HI> &s;o as to proclaime and &s;et forth that harmony, and melodious con&s;ort, and agreement (unto the world) which is between God and man in that faith of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><PB N="132" REF="74">
Which is the &s;ong of old <HI>Simeon, Mary,</HI> and <HI>Elizabeth, Deborah,</HI> and <HI>Barack,</HI> and of all the Saints of God from the beginning un|till now; For there is none that can appeal unto God in prayer, removing the cau&s;e from carnall rea&s;on into his wi&s;dome, hol|ding a holy plea, in opening the nece&s;&s;ities of mankinde unto God, carrying up, and giving true intelligence of the &s;ame unto him; but that man whatever he be, can al&s;o bring down, and di&s;tribute unto the world, the true &s;tate and condition of the Son of God, who is the &s;ubject matter of the Go&s;pel, and give undoubted intelligence of that peace and plenty which is in the kingdome of God, uttering and declaring <HI>how good the Lord is</HI> in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Note then from this point as a conclu&s;ion thereof; That the true &s;pirit of prayer and &s;upplication, and the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie and interpretation, are never &s;eperated, never were, nor never &s;hall be, but are of an eternall unity and conjunction in the faith of Chri&s;t; and hence it is, that the <HI>Elders and in&s;tructors of the Church</HI> are brought in as having the &s;pirit of prayer, to pray for the Church in the next Ver&s;e following.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 14. Is any &s;ick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, annointing him with oyle in the name of the Lord.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein we have to con&s;ider; fir&s;t, a propo&s;ition; and &s;econdly, the an&s;wer thereunto; in the propo&s;ition ob&s;erve.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. <HI>A di&s;ea&s;e,</HI> Is any among you &s;ick.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The practice of the party di&s;ea&s;ed, as part of the an&s;wer, and that is, <HI>to call for the Elders of the Church.</HI>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Then con&s;ider in the re&s;t of the an&s;wer, or direction, the practice of the Elders, that is threefold.</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. To <HI>pray over him.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. To <HI>annoint him with oyle.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The manner how, <HI>that is,</HI> in the name of the Lord.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>1. FOr the fir&s;t, namely the <HI>propo&s;ition, If any be &s;ick among you?</HI> This is not &s;poken in way of &s;uppo&s;ition, but in way of
<PB N="133" REF="74">
certainty, and as taken for granted: and by &s;ickne&s;&s;e we are not to under&s;tand onely a di&s;temper of the body, no nor yet &s;ome cer|taine &s;orrow, greif, or di&s;quiet of the minde, which the word may &s;eem to import; but we are to take it as large as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> did; <HI>when he heard that his father was &s;ick,</HI> he pre&s;ently takes his two &s;ons unto him (as giving him up for dead) to be ble&s;&s;ed in his death and departure; for it is in this ca&s;e as it was with <HI>Hezeki|ah,</HI> when he was &s;ick unto death, which if he had not been, his life had never been renewed as it was: and as his life was re&s;tored through the &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie in <HI>I&s;ajah,</HI> &s;o here the life of the &s;ick is re&s;tored by the &s;pirit of prayer in the Elders, and as the &s;pirit of prayer was in <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> el&s;e had not the prophe&s;ie taken place, <HI>For he turned his face to the wall and prayed:</HI> Even &s;o is the &s;pi|rit of prophe&s;ie conver&s;ant in this &s;ick party, or el&s;e the prayer of the Elders cannot be effectuall, which &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie appears <HI>in his calling for the Elders,</HI> as fore&s;eeing health to ari&s;e out of that &s;peciall appointment and ordination of the wi&s;dome of God.</P>
<P>And as a miraculous &s;igne was given at the recovery of <HI>Heze|kiah,</HI> namely the <HI>Sun going back ten degrees in the dyall of Ahaz,</HI> that wicked King, to declare that the light and wi&s;dome of the world by which the men thereof rule and reigne over their brethren goeth directly backward, and contrary <HI>to that &s;un of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> light and wi&s;dome proper unto the Saints: and that it is for ever &s;o to be con&s;idered, is &s;ignified by <HI>tho&s;e ten degrees,</HI> which number hath the my&s;tery of eternity taught in it, for &s;o <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> doth ex|pound it, &s;aying, <HI>a ba&s;tard &s;hall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord unto the tenth generation,</HI> which in the next ver&s;e he concludes to be for ever: Even &s;o here is the &s;igne of the holy unction given to this &s;ick party, to &s;ignifie his reception from the dead, even as <HI>Abraham received his Sonne as from the dead</HI> in his exer|ci&s;e of the Prei&s;ts office in &s;acrificing and offering him up unto God.</P>
<P>This &s;ickne&s;&s;e therefore is as that of <HI>Lazarus whom Je&s;us loved;</HI> for when his &s;i&s;ter told Je&s;us that he was &s;ick, it is plaine by the record in computation of the time, that he was then dead; which Chri&s;t affirmes is not death, but that way of the operation, and manife&s;tation of the glory of God, which onely and for ever &s;hi|neth
<PB N="134" REF="75">
and &s;etteth forth it &s;elfe, through the death of the fle&s;h; that is, the death of all humane and carnal rea&s;onings, re&s;olutions, and conclu&s;ions, in point of the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; which &s;ickne&s;&s;e or death to all the legall and litteral &s;ervices, according to the carnall law is truly &s;aid to be not unto death, becau&s;e it is unto that eternall life of the Son of God, and a &s;ickne&s;&s;e of this nature we are to under&s;tand in this place, or el&s;e we carnallize the &s;ickne&s;&s;e, as &s;urely as <HI>Rome</HI> doth at this day the <HI>Elder&s;hip,</HI> as al&s;o <HI>New-England,</HI> more zealou&s;ly then they, and the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e the one is <HI>Hehetated</HI> with worldly pomp, and the other is <HI>Per&s;equenti&s;&s;imus,</HI> but hath not yet attained thereunto.</P>
<P>And whereas it is &s;aid, <HI>Is any &s;ick among you?</HI> or as the word may be read, <HI>is any &s;ick in you?</HI> as &s;peaking either of per&s;on or thing, as the P&s;almi&s;t hath a phra&s;e, <HI>help Lord, for the fathfull faile;</HI> that word <HI>faithfull</HI> is u&s;ed in Scripture &s;ometimes for a true or faithfull per&s;on, and &s;ometimes for a true thing; as if he &s;hould &s;ay, help Lord, for <HI>trueths faile,</HI> or <HI>fidelities faile;</HI> So this word <HI>(any)</HI> may be taken for any per&s;on or any thing, as if he had &s;aid, is any thing in you &s;ick? or are you dead to any particular thing what&s;oever, which worldly men make their life and trade, &s;o that you cannot reli&s;h nor ta&s;t it, no more then a &s;ick or dead man can reli&s;h any food, to quicken or enliven him, be &s;ure then to u&s;e the remedy pre&s;cribed unto you, for your health and re&s;to|ration, and your dayes &s;hall be renewed with <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> and your life recovered with <HI>Lazarus,</HI> and you &s;hall be rai&s;ed out of the grave of all &s;in and &s;orrow; and that is, to call for the Elders of the Church, for they are the re&s;urrection and the life in this point; in which ob&s;erve,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What it is to call.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Who the&s;e Elders be.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. What is the Church of which they are.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. Concerning the Call, the &s;ame word is prefixed as before <HI>(let him call)</HI> &amp; it is of like Emphe&s;is, that is to &s;ay, that through this &s;ickne&s;&s;e or death here &s;poken of, it creates and gives being in that &s;oule unto the life of the Son of God, <HI>and that life is the light of men;</HI> by vertue of which light he becomes a Seer, for it
<PB N="135" REF="75">
hath the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie in it, whereby he di&s;cerns wherein true health doth con&s;i&s;t, and knows what the Elder&s;hip is, and where to finde <HI>the true Church,</HI> which is &s;o controverted through|out the earth, in all ages of this pre&s;ent world: &s;o that if this &s;ick party had not perfect vi&s;ion, he might <HI>wander from mountaine to hill, and from the flood to the worlds end,</HI> before he could attaine the true knowledge thereof.</P>
<P>For &s;ome &s;ay, <HI>lo here is Chri&s;t,</HI> and &s;ome &s;ay <HI>lo there,</HI> which we are not to beleive neither the one nor the other; &s;ome &s;ay, <HI>he is in the de&s;ert;</HI> and &s;ome &s;ay; <HI>he is in the mountain;</HI> and &s;ome, in the <HI>&s;e|cret Chamber: but as the lightning &s;hineth from one end of heaven unto the other, &s;o is the coming of the Sonne of man;</HI> that is to &s;ay, all things that ever were or &s;hall be, proclaime his pre&s;ent abode in man-kinde either in point of his life, or death, in mercy, or el&s;e in his &s;everity, and &s;uch are the confines of the Church, it is not bounded within the circuit of time, place, or per&s;on, no more then the Son of God is; for his Spou&s;e holds proportion with him&s;elfe in all points, therefore is &s;he admired as one that <HI>looks forth as the morning, faire as the moon, clear as the Sun, terrible as an Army with banners:</HI> nay it is &s;aid to be his body, <HI>the fulne&s;&s;e of him that filleth all in all:</HI> So that to form and fa&s;hion a Church of le&s;&s;e comprehen&s;ion then Chri&s;t, will prove rather a Sinagogue of Satan, or cage of unclean birds, then the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t: &s;o that our Chronologers deceive the world, in framing a Chri&s;t onely by genealogie, not knowing what the Prophet meaneth when he &s;aith, <HI>he was taken from pri&s;on, &amp; from judgment, and who &s;hall declare his generation, he was war cut off from the land of the living, and made his grave with</HI> (or in) <HI>the wicked, and in the rich in his death;</HI> it &s;eems <HI>Philip (that man of war)</HI> is not joyned to their Chariot (as his name &s;ignifies.)</P>
<P>And &s;o they frame a Church not onely by &s;eperation of them|&s;elves from others by &s;ome carnall and temporary ceremonies, that they may &s;ay, <HI>Stand by thy &s;elfe, I am holier then thou.</HI> If the&s;e be their defences from the wicked, they had need carry them a|long with them through death, or el&s;e the fence being down, they will go near to come over and feed with them in the &s;ame pa&s;ture.</P>
<P>But this is not all the &s;eperation they make, for they divide the
<PB N="136" REF="76">
word of God, &amp; &s;eperate it, to form their Church, &s;aying, that &s;uch portions of the word of God were for the form of the <HI>Church</HI> in &s;uch an age of the world, &amp; for &s;uch people; but now another portion of it gives the forme in our dayes, as though the word of God were dead, or falne a&s;leep unto the world in &s;ome injuncti|ons and promi&s;es, but alive and awake in others, whereas they may as wel change and alter the form and manner of the being of the Son of God, as to change and alter the form, and manner of being of the Church of God; for the word of God in what&s;oever it hath expre&s;&s;ed, is the <HI>will,</HI> or <HI>law</HI> of God, and the will of God cannot change, and Chri&s;t is the end of the law: &s;o that if we fall &s;hort of him in any portion of the word of God, as though he had been in it, but now is pa&s;&s;ed over it, or as though it intended him, but yet hath not brought him forth, we make it the word of man, and not the word of God; for mans rea&s;on is the proper word of man, even as the wi&s;dome of God in that wonderfull contriving of his Son, is the word of God; and therefore man is &s;aid to be made a living, or a &s;peaking &s;oule, or life of &s;peech, or rea&s;on, whereby he tran&s;cends all other creatures excepting none; for no Angel, that is, me&s;&s;enger, or me&s;&s;age was ever &s;ent from God unto the world out of man-kinde.</P>
<P>It is true indeed, that the word of God hath expre&s;&s;ed it &s;elfe, as in divers Nations, <HI>Jew,</HI> and <HI>Gentile,</HI> in differing generations, or genealogies, as <HI>Cain</HI> and <HI>Seth, Abraham</HI> and <HI>Nahor, Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au,</HI> and the like, as teaching higher and more tran&s;cendant things thereby; Therefore to re&s;t in the&s;e as being the intent and &s;cope of the Scriptures, without &s;eeing and acknowledging the life and death of Chri&s;t in them, both according to the fle&s;h, and al&s;o according to the &s;pirit; we may by as good skill of in|terpretation center and terminate the minde of God in making any or all tho&s;e vi&s;ible creatures in heaven and in earth, in that proper work, without having any re&s;pect at all unto man there|in, and make them the utmo&s;t and extreame&s;t point of Gods thoughts and intent, which were no better then to di&s;inherit the Son of God, making a ba&s;tard and no Son of him, being they were all made to do &s;ervice unto him, and to &s;tand up, and joint|ly and skilfully point as with the finger to direct either to his perpetuall, life, or death, as being the reality, and &s;ub&s;tantiali|ty
<PB N="137" REF="76">
of them all; the forme of a Church therefore as con&s;tituted into particulers now in the world, is of no more weight or worth in a Chri&s;tian minde then any other order wherein men are conver&s;ant in wayes of civillity, <HI>&s;o called;</HI> for if once we finde the &s;ub&s;tance <HI>by the light of that day that &s;prings from on high,</HI> the darkne&s;&s;e of night, and &s;hadow flye away.</P>
<P>So as nothing looks amiable upon us, but onely <HI>glory in the highe&s;t, and peace in the earth, to that man of good will who dwels in the bu&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>It is the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie therefore, or of true interpretation that cals in the Elder&s;hip, w^c^h &s;ees this &s;icknes or death, to be that renovation of the health &amp; life of man-kinde in Chri&s;t, from that carnall life which the world lives, from living unto earthly and tran&s;itory things, to live unto heavenly and everla&s;ting things, &s;uch as abide for ever; therefore it is &s;aid, that fifteen years are added unto the life of <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> which number con&s;i&s;ts of ten, and five; ten hath in it the my&s;tery of eternity, as hath been de|clared; and five hath in it the my&s;tery of multiplication, &s;ignify|ing that variety and uncountable wayes of health and life which in all re&s;pects and ways of relation are multiplied and exerci&s;ed in that my&s;ticall body and &s;tate of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Therefore no &s;peech of the multiplication of any of Gods works till the fifth day, to &s;hew the my&s;tery of this number; therefore it is that <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> brings five of his brethren before <HI>Pharoah</HI> to &s;ignifie the multiplication of ble&s;&s;ings upon the land by all the family, &s;eeing &s;o manny had come upon it by his being there as one; the like is in <HI>Benjamins</HI> me&s;&s;e, &s;ent in by <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> five times &s;o much as any of the re&s;t, to &s;hew the multiplication of his love to that his brother, who only came of the beloved <HI>Rachel,</HI> together with him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>In the recovery out of this &s;ickne&s;&s;e, or renewing of life from the dead, we are to con&s;ider what Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>viz. Except the wheat corne dye, it multiplies not;</HI> that is, except Chri&s;t the &s;eed of God dye, he multiplies not; in which we are to know, that di|vine nature &s;imply con&s;idered in it &s;elfe, is not the &s;eed of God, no more then the &s;eed of mankinde is &s;imply in the male, but re|&s;pectively in male and female, el&s;e it produceth not, to multiply its kinde, and <HI>every tree hath &s;eed in it &s;elfe,</HI> therefore <HI>the man is not
<PB N="138" REF="77">
without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord.</HI> They are but one tree; that is, one e&s;tate and condition: even &s;o the &s;eed of God is whole Chri&s;t, God and man made one, and this wheat corne or &s;eed mu&s;t dye, or el&s;e it brings not forth the true kinde and off-&s;pring of the Son of God; that is, it mu&s;t be &s;ick and dye to all carnall and corruptible things, or el&s;e it never brings forth that multiplyed fruit of the &s;pirit which is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>To conclude this point, to call (in this place) for the Elders is not meant, the <HI>mendicimonium</HI> of a man, without magnanimity and courage, as one crouching unto a cour&s;e and carnall Elder made with hands; that is, &s;et up and created by men, who can come unto the a&s;&s;embly, and a private per&s;on; but before it be di&s;|&s;olved, is a pulick per&s;on, a reverend Elder.</P>
<P>But this call is an anthetique and princely &s;ummons of a roy|all Prophet; for this &s;ickne&s;&s;e hath in it the virtue and voyce of a &s;ummons to convent <HI>the true phy&s;itian multiplyed into an holy and honourable Elder&s;hip,</HI> the con&s;ultation and practice of whom is the cure of the &s;oule, even as the life and frolick pre&s;umption of the arme of fle&s;h hath in it a &s;ufficient &s;ummons to bring in the works of unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e to that appearance of Antichri&s;t, who is that poy&s;onfull dragon and de&s;troyer of the &s;oule.</P>
<P>Yea this call is the voyce of the &s;pou&s;e, <HI>being dead to her fir&s;t hus|band,</HI> and having <HI>forgotten her fathers hou&s;e</HI> in the for&s;aking of all her <HI>kindred,</HI> through which <HI>her &s;peech becomes &s;weet, and her counte|nance comely for ever.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;econd point is, who the&s;e Elders are; They are not the Elders of particular Congregations, compo&s;ed and ordered by man, under that deceivable terme of reformed Churches, as in the&s;e days, which are but like to the &s;heards of a potters ve&s;&s;ell, which cannot be &s;et together or &s;odred, no more then they can e|ver bring them&s;elves into unity; for the &s;pirit of that kingdome is divided in it &s;elfe, and therefore can never &s;tand in the way of that re&s;urrection by Chri&s;t, but are in the way of that apo&s;tacy and fall of man from his Creator, endeavouring &s;till to become as Gods by the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t ob&s;erve then, for the clearing of this point, who they are which our Apo&s;tle writes unto in this Epi&s;tle, and that is to
<PB N="139" REF="77">
the twelve Tribes in their di&s;pertion, and &s;cattering from I&s;rael, <HI>as carnally con&s;idered,</HI> for otherwi&s;e the Saints are never di&s;per&s;ed from the hou&s;e and temple of God.</P>
<P>And this &s;cattering is not into any particuler country or kingdome, as into <HI>A&s;&s;yria, Babylon, Caldea,</HI> or the like, but over the whole earth, even <HI>upon the breadth of the land of Emanuel,</HI> there|fore they are &s;aid to be &s;cattered abroad, as having no confines &s;et.</P>
<P>Neither doth he write to people as of one age, or tract of time, but as unto &s;uch as &s;hall live in all ages of the world; for as the word of God in the beginning went not out as to create the Sun for one age of the world, but for all ages; even &s;o the word of the kingdome, the Go&s;pel of God goeth not forth to the di&s;per|&s;ed and outca&s;ts of I&s;rael (that is, from the wi&s;dome, power, and policy of the arme of fle&s;h) in one place, or one age, but &s;o as every word of God in its true intent, concerns and fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s all places and ages of the world, both in re&s;pect of the word of the cur&s;e, and of the ble&s;&s;ing: &s;o that to expound the word of God, as fit|ting for one time, place, age, or per&s;on, and not for another, is the wi&s;dome of man that peri&s;heth, and comes to nought, and not the wi&s;dome of God, which abides the &s;ame for ever, and is that light which guides unto the Elders, who are the onely go|vernours and rulers of this univer&s;all Church called into com|munion and fellow&s;hip with this &s;ick party: and they are the fir&s;t borne of every tribe, having upon them the office of King, Prei&s;t, and Prophet in every family, and inferiour to that dignity; doth not this &s;ickne&s;&s;e call for any to come to vi&s;ite it, knowing all others <HI>to be Phy&s;itians of no value,</HI> for this kinde of &s;ickne&s;&s;e &s;um|mons none but the fir&s;t borne of God into communion and fel|low&s;hip with it; that call which <HI>Cornelius</HI> gave to <HI>Peter,</HI> that El|der of the Church, was like unto this, that when he &s;pake of that unction of Chri&s;t, the &s;pirit of God de&s;cended upon tho&s;e that heard it, in&s;omuch that <HI>Peter</HI> challengeth all men, <HI>whether they can forbid water that tho&s;e &s;hould not be baptized who had received the holy &s;pirit as well as them&s;elves;</HI> as if he &s;hould &s;ay, can any deny the &s;igne of unity between <HI>Jew</HI> and <HI>Gentile,</HI> which is communion and fellow&s;hip, &s;eeing they have the ground and &s;ub&s;tance there|of, namely are partakers of the &s;pirit of God, that holy anoyn|ting,
<PB N="140" REF="78">
which is the truth and &s;ub&s;tance of all community; <HI>whether we be pre&s;ent or ab&s;ent in body, we are one in that &s;pirit of the Lord.</HI> The word of Prophe&s;ie therfore, which is ever accompanied with prayer, as in <HI>Cornelius,</HI> or that word of true interpretation of the word of God, knows how to give &s;ummons unto, and call in the life and &s;pirit of kingdome and Prei&s;thood into fellow&s;hip with it &s;elfe, which is that healthfull &s;pirit, or unction that is by Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Add further, this &s;ickne&s;&s;e is the very foot of the throne, upon which that great Elder, even the ancient of dayes &s;its; for when <HI>Daniel beholds through this &s;pirit of interpretation, he &s;ees thrones &s;et up;</HI> or as the word will bear, <HI>thrones ca&s;t down,</HI> at you may &s;ee how the tran&s;lators give it in both phra&s;es, &s;ignifying thereby that the power and glory of the world is ca&s;t down where&s;oever this great Elder&s;hip is &s;et up, which is of no le&s;&s;e antiquity <HI>then is the eternall, that gives Judgement into the hands of the Saints of the mo&s;t high,</HI> and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth them with the kingdome, for none but the eternall can give an eternall inheritance, and he gives it not but as he &s;its on this throne, namely the glory of man ca&s;t down, and the gravity of this <HI>ancient of days</HI> &s;et up, <HI>who&s;e garments are white as &s;now, and the haire of his head like pure wooll;</HI> and &s;uch is the royalty and authority of the Elder&s;hip here intended, who are not brought in by any other call but by the Prophe&s;ie or in|terpretation of the minde of God; therefore it is, that the vi&s;ion &s;peaks &s;o punctually and particularly, where and with whom <HI>Peter</HI> is to be found.</P>
<P>Note here, that even as the life of the fle&s;h, through the cruci|fication of the &s;pirit, admits none into unity, nor inve&s;ts any in|to its proper condition, but onely &s;uch as are of its own kinde; &s;o the life of the &s;pirit which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, through the crucification of the fle&s;h, admits none into fellow&s;hip, nor inve&s;ts any into its proper &s;tate and condition but its owne kinde.</P>
<P><HI>For what is born of the fle&s;h is fle&s;h, and what is born of the &s;pirit is &s;pirit;</HI> and therefore none but the fir&s;t-born of God are of this Elder&s;hip, or callers of them into the exerci&s;e of their proper vir|tue and authority, even as it was with the Apo&s;tles <HI>when they pro|nounce peace;</HI> if the &s;on of peace be not there, their peace returns
<PB N="141" REF="78">
upon them&s;elves, and their abode is not in that hou&s;e of fa|mily.</P>
<P N="3">3. By the&s;e Elders then in the third place, we &s;ee what we are to under&s;tand by the Church they are of; that is, that unity and fellow&s;hip which the &s;elected and cho&s;en people of God are of, and have in that fellow&s;hip and faith of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as they are con&s;idered, not in one age, much le&s;&s;e in one Pari&s;h or company of people gathered together, but as they are univer&s;ally con&s;ide|red in all ages and times of the world.</P>
<P>For &s;uch as is the extent of the &s;pirit, by which every Saint lives, and of tho&s;e offices of Chri&s;t; by vertue whereof, the exerci&s;e of &s;uch extent is the true Church ever to be held and taken, o|therwi&s;e the Church is carnallized, and ca&s;t into the mould of the letter that kills, and not into the mould of the &s;pirit that gives life. So that to thru&s;t up Chri&s;t as into a corner, as in one age of the world, or to monopolize him among&s;t a handfull of people is all one as to put him in the grave, though with <HI>Nicode|mus</HI> a Ruler among the <HI>Jews,</HI> and that rich man <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> of <HI>Arime|thea,</HI> both night Di&s;ciples for fear of the <HI>Jews;</HI> they may &s;eem to differ from <HI>Herod,</HI> in that they perfume the dead body and wrap it in clean linnen, being affected therewith, but it is but accor|ding to the cu&s;tome of the Jewi&s;h Sinagogue, for they put it in the grave, and roll a great &s;tone thereupon, as men without hope or de&s;ire of the <HI>re&s;urrection,</HI> having that common &s;pirit that now lives in the world to beg leave of the <HI>Pilates,</HI> and great men thereof, before they dare adventure to trim up the dead body of Je&s;us, and fit it for the Sepulchre: But this univer&s;all Church of which the&s;e Elders are, is called by the Apo&s;tle, <HI>mount Zion, the City of the living God, the new Jeru&s;alem, the generall a&s;&s;embly and Church of the fir&s;t-born, which are enrolled in heaven.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;uch as con&s;titute and &s;et up a Church not of this nature and comprehen&s;ion, they build it up upon mount Sinai, under the terrors of the law, and &s;princkle the in&s;truments and officers there of as with the blood of <HI>Abel,</HI> &s;peaking from the ground, or earthly heart of <HI>Cain:</HI> and not on mount Zion, in that blood of &s;prinkling, which &s;peaks better things, in that peaceable agree|ment and reconcilement of God and man in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Note here, <HI>that where two or three are gathered together in any part
<PB N="142" REF="79">
of the world,</HI> or at any time, we deny it not to be the true Church of Chri&s;t; but what is it which gives it its capacity to be that Church of Chri&s;t? is it not he who is in the <HI>mid&s;t,</HI> or in the <HI>heart</HI> of them, as the word is, who is no le&s;&s;e then that <HI>everla&s;ting father, or that ancient of dayes;</HI> what bounds then can be &s;et unto it le&s;&s;e then that which gives it its capacity, to be &s;uch a thing who ex|tends him&s;elfe to the <HI>whole family of heaven, for unto him all faces looke,</HI> and <HI>every knee bowes:</HI> and if once it be &s;o in our &s;elves, we &s;ee it in the whole family and flock of God in all the elect.</P>
<P>So that the true &s;um &amp; volume of all their doctrine and pray|ers is of no le&s;&s;e extent, then the whole my&s;ticall body of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, otherwi&s;e it is not the word or Go&s;pel of the kingdome, nor the &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion which is by Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But it will be &s;ayd, <HI>that the&s;e things crncern the invi&s;ible Church, and not the vi&s;ible, for the true vi&s;ible Church is otherwi&s;e to be con&s;idered.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To which we an&s;wer; that it is a work of as great cu|rio&s;ity to frame a vi&s;ible Church of Chri&s;t, as to frame and com|po&s;e a vi&s;ible body of Chri&s;t; therefore the Apo&s;tle comparing the true Church to a body, &s;ayth, <HI>For as the body being one hath many members, and all the members of that body being many, are but one body, &s;o al&s;o Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And agayn, hear what the &s;pirit &s;ayth by the Apo&s;tle <HI>John,</HI> viz. <HI>As he is, &s;o are we, even in this world,</HI> where he &s;peaks of the Son of God.</P>
<P>So that to frame and compo&s;e a vi&s;ible Church, and to frame and compo&s;e a vi&s;ible Chri&s;t, are of the &s;ame nature, and of like ea&s;e and difficulty, and are alike &s;trange unto the world, and of the &s;ame acceptation to bring into manife&s;tation and appea|rance. Yet we know that Chri&s;t in both re&s;pects (for otherwi&s;e we know him not) is truly apparent and vi&s;ible, as al&s;o &s;ecret and un&s;een. For <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> by faith <HI>&s;aw him</HI> (meaning Chri&s;t) <HI>who is invi&s;ible)</HI> that is, he &s;aw him who is un&s;eeable, and both are re|ally true in a diver&s;e re&s;pect.</P>
<P>And they who frame a Chri&s;t vi&s;ible in one age of the world, and not in another, they do by the &s;ame argument conclude the vi&s;ible Church to appear, and to be manife&s;t only within the &s;ame confines and precincts of time wherein Chri&s;t appeared.</P>
<P><PB N="143" REF="79">
For the Church was never known to appeare but in the reall form of Gods righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and wi&s;dome, which is Chri&s;t, for <HI>he is the wi&s;dome of God, and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God by &s;aith,</HI> which is the reality of the Church: and as for all imaginary Churches, we skill not, for they will vani&s;h and come to nought, together with the profe&s;&s;ors of them, as they have done in all ages.</P>
<P>Again, &s;uch as form a Chri&s;t unto them&s;elves to appear vi&s;ibly unto a carnall eye, &s;o as to accept and approve of that his way of appearance, at the carnall and perfunctory wor&s;hippers of the Jewes did. Know this, that when&s;oever the true Chri&s;t appea|reth, he will receive at the hands of &s;uch the &s;ame mea&s;ure which was mea&s;ured out unto Je&s;us born of the Virgin, by <HI>Herod, Pon|tius Pilate, Scribes, Phari&s;ees,</HI> with the cry of all the people, &s;aying, <HI>Crucifie him, crucifie him, away with him, crucifie him.</HI></P>
<P>Even &s;o, they that frame unto them&s;elves a vi&s;ible Church, &s;o as to appeare unto a carnall eye or under&s;tanding, as being in a capacity to approve and like well of it, at the lea&s;t for a certaine &s;ea&s;on.</P>
<P>When&s;oever the true Church makes it &s;elfe vi&s;ible, it &s;hall re|ceive like mea&s;ure at the hands of &s;uch per&s;ons, to the utmo&s;t of their power and ability, as Chri&s;t did when he appeared unto the Jewes: For in &s;uch per&s;ons, and in that &s;pirit is the zeale of per|&s;ecution properly founded in the vi&s;ible and apparant exerci&s;e thereof.</P>
<P>Moreover they that form a vi&s;ible Church, as not having the invi&s;ible vertue alike efficatious in every part and member thereof, they al&s;o form unto them&s;elves a vi&s;ible Chri&s;t to appear, without aving the compleat vertue of the wi&s;dome and power of God in all re&s;pects in him, either in point of his being, or in the order and manner of his being; and this is that great Image of <HI>Nebu|chadnezzar</HI> which hath beeen &s;o long erected and &s;et up in the world, where the Scriptures are traditionally acknowledged and read, w^c^h all mu&s;t bow down unto at the noi&s;e of their in&s;truments and in&s;titutions, or el&s;e the fiery tryall mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e upon them that obey not: Only this is our comfort, that the Son of God will &s;o appear with them, or in them, that &s;o much as a &s;mell of that zeal or fiery fume and wrath of the world &s;hall not appeare upon them, but &s;erve only to the de&s;truction of &s;uch as are zealous a|ctors in &s;uch matters of the worlds melody.</P>
<P><PB N="144" REF="80">
The next point is the exerci&s;e of the Elders, and the fir&s;t is, <HI>they pray over him,</HI> or for him, or without any wrong to the Text <HI>with him;</HI> that is, in communion and fellow&s;hip with him; for there was never prayer of faith made unto God, out of which any elect or cho&s;en ve&s;&s;el was excluded; the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e every accep|table prayer hath in it the vertue of the interce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, o|therwi&s;e it is not in his name and authority, and the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t neglects not any one that appertayns to his my&s;ticall bo|dy; for if it &s;hould, that &s;oule could never be in&s;pired with the &s;pirit of prayer, without which there is no participation in the mediation of the Son of God, and then no acceptation with the Father; therefore prayer is communicative to all the Saints, if it be as the prayer of faith, it is as the life-blood running into all the veyns of the whole body; for none can enter into the holy place but he that carries all the Tribes upon his heart; it is not our temporary and private wants, which can bring forth a faith|full prayer to God; for <HI>as prophe&s;ie is not of any private &s;pirit or in|terpretation, but holy men &s;peake as they are moved by the holy Gho&s;t,</HI> of like publique &s;pirit is true prayer.</P>
<P>So that this &s;ick party is in unity with the prayer here &s;poken of; for the elder&s;hip of this Church, or that eternized fellow|&s;hip in the ancient of dayes, never appears unto any in that mira|culous vertue of healing, but in way of unity with the party healed. Therefore it is, that <HI>Chri&s;t will have the &s;tone rouled away from the Sepulchre,</HI> that nothing interpo&s;e betwixt <HI>Lazarus</HI> and him&s;elfe, when he re&s;tores him from death to life.</P>
<P>Al&s;o <HI>Eli&s;ha will be &s;hut up in the &s;ame roome with the widows &s;onne,</HI> when hee ray&s;eth him up from the dead; and <HI>Paul</HI> the Apo&s;tle <HI>falls upon Eutichus and embraceth him,</HI> when he brings his &s;pirit into him agayn.</P>
<P>Furthermore, where this true Elder&s;hip appears, it ever com|municates a like vertue to every individuall of the body, for <HI>the &s;pirit is not received by mea&s;ure;</HI> for that which in it &s;elfe is emence, cannot be received by mea&s;ure; they that go about to per&s;wade men that &s;ome have a greater portion of the &s;pirit, and &s;ome have a le&s;&s;e mea&s;ure thereof, they may upon as good grounds per|&s;wade men that &s;ome &s;hall be &s;aved, and be happy and ble&s;&s;ed a long time, and &s;ome a &s;horter time; for if the &s;pirit of God in
<PB N="145" REF="80">
any poynt of our &s;alvation be &s;ubject to mea&s;ure in latitude, it is as truly &s;ubject to be mea&s;ured and bounded in longitude, and then &s;alvation is voyd, which is the doctrine of the mo&s;t of our Elders in the&s;e dayes: but <HI>the &s;pirit of glory and of God,</HI> that re&s;ts upon the Saints through this &s;ickne&s;&s;e and &s;uffering, is neither given out nor received by mea&s;ure, but is unmea&s;urable in all its operations, whether in prayer or in prophe&s;ie; for they are &s;o neare in allyance, that that which is the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie in <HI>Eli|ah</HI> (in the hi&s;tory) in his &s;hutting up of the heavens, and re&s;trai|ning them from raine; and al&s;o in the opening of them, to give rayn in abundance, is &s;ayd here by our Apo&s;tle in this Chapter to be prayer: Prayer therefore and Prophe&s;ie are of like nature, and of like fame in the the hou&s;e of God; &s;o that to prefer one before the other, or to contayne the one, harder to be attayned then the other; or that one is of more u&s;e in the Church then the other, is not according to the judgment of God, but only in hu|mane wi&s;dome, and the Serpents &s;ubtilty and policy, that things are &s;o carryed in the world to lead men along in blindne&s;&s;e, by &s;peaking of the word of God in &s;uch unknown languages, which are not to be heard in the hou&s;e of God; for there is no office of Chri&s;t what&s;oever, or exerci&s;e of his &s;pirit, that one ought to be preferred before another, only the call of God makes every one chief and principall in its time and &s;ea&s;on. If men would well con&s;ider this, they might as well lay out money upon their chil|dren in the Schools to learn them to pray, as to teach them to preach, in ca&s;e the Spirit of God might be bought for money.</P>
<P>But the poynt is, that true Prayer and Prophe&s;ie do give and proclaym a like honour, vertue and power to Chri&s;t in whom&s;o|ever he appears: and they are &s;o near a kin, that the Apo&s;tle ap|poynts one and the &s;ame law in the exerci&s;e of them both; that is, <HI>in prayer and prophe&s;ie the man is to be uncovered, and in prayer and prophe&s;ie the woman is to be covered.</HI> And it is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;uall in Scripture to u&s;e one phra&s;e that &s;ignifies both, as in the P&s;alms; <HI>Let God ari&s;e</HI> prayer-wi&s;e; or as the word may be as truly read, <HI>God will ari&s;e,</HI> or <HI>God &s;hall ari&s;e, and his enemies &s;hall be &s;cattered</HI> (prophetically.)</P>
<P>The rea&s;on is, becau&s;e none but a Seer can be a &s;upplicant, if he behold not the thing by the &s;pirit of interpretation or pro|phe&s;ie, to give a true form unto it; he can never &s;ue for it, becau&s;e he knows not what it is.</P>
<P><PB N="146" REF="81">
To conclude this point, this act of the Elders may either be ta|ken to pray with him, or prophe&s;ie with him; for we &s;ee the &s;pi|rit of God u&s;eth them indifferently, the one for the other, as in that in&s;tance of <HI>Eliah</HI> which he brings in, in teaching this do|ctrine, for the one is as healthfull and nece&s;&s;ary for the recove|ry and well-being of the &s;oule, as the other, and of as wonder|full and miraculous effect for remi&s;&s;ion and confirmation, and cannot be in exerci&s;e by any, either the one or the other, but as it is accompanyed with the holy oyle, even that <HI>annoynting which teacheth all things, and hath no need to be taught of man;</HI> that is, it hath no need of humane skill, which fals infinitely &s;hort of that which it brings the &s;oule unto, and in&s;tructs and teacheth it in, and that leads us to the &s;econd poynt in the exerci&s;e of the Elders, <HI>They annoynt him with oyle.</HI></P>
<P>3. This &s;ick party therefore, or all &s;uch as are dead to the law of the letter, or carnall command; that is, to the word of God, as it is formed and fa&s;hioned, through the wi&s;dome, art, and skill of humane principles, which the Schools of Learning among the &s;ons of men in the world are only exerci&s;ed in, and conver&s;ant about, or el&s;e they &s;hould undermine their owne foundations, and &s;o let fall their building; for Gods wi&s;dome once layd in the de&s;cention of the Son of God, overthrows it all, as it comes of the Serpent, and &s;o is Satanicall folly.</P>
<P>But we mu&s;t know, that the Elder&s;hip of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> con&s;i&s;ts of the fir&s;t-born of God, and no other, unto whom the Scriptures look in the fir&s;t-born of every Tribe or family of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to in&s;truct us in that family which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, that the whole &amp; eve|ry part thereof is named, or hath its renown and authority only of, and from the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as <HI>Paul</HI> affirms to the <HI>Ephe&s;ians,</HI> as being of no other but of his true and proper off-&s;pring, &s;o as to make a difference of the &s;ons of God (none ex|cepted) as one being of greater eminency, birth, breeding, or ex|cellency, then another, is to ca&s;t reproach upon that one only fa|ther of whom every one is named that appertayns to that family, as though he were not of like power and glory, with re&s;pect unto them all; or as though he changed his act in producing of his on|ly &s;on, which tends to nothing el&s;e, but to <HI>make the &s;eed of the bond-wman heire with the &s;eed of the promi&s;e,</HI> and guil efully to give
<PB N="147" REF="81">
the wicked intere&s;t in the promi&s;e, whereas the word of the cur&s;e is only their inheritance.</P>
<P>But the children of this off-&s;pring having the name of this one Father called upon them, or they called by his name holy and ble&s;&s;ed for ever, every one as a fir&s;t-born of God, bearing his name and authority, is King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet (by vertue thereof) in the family, and there cannot be any inferiour among &s;uch, as to whom God communicates him&s;elfe in the whole off-&s;pring; nor can one be in account and reckoning before another, <HI>For of his owne will begate he us by the word of truth, that we &s;hould be the fir&s;t fruits of him,</HI> who is no le&s;&s;e then the eternall father.</P>
<P>So that it is impo&s;&s;ible that this Elder&s;hip &s;hould appear, and not be annoynted with the holy oyle, for it is their proper pa|trimony and birth-right, and therefore they ever appeare inve|&s;ted therewith, which ever carries in it the &s;ame vertue of healing this &s;ick party in all ages and times of the world; and a like mi|raculous recovery and re&s;tauration, where-ever they are called for by the &s;pirit of true interpretation or prophe&s;ie; for they cannot with-hold, but mu&s;t impart to every one in the family that which them&s;elves are ble&s;&s;ed withall: For none can know what is the right of the fir&s;t-born of God, and be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed there|with, but he mu&s;t freely impart it to every one in the family.</P>
<P>For the Spirit of Chri&s;t is ever like it &s;elfe in all ages, only men deceive them&s;elves by mi&s;take of the variety of figures, wherein God in one Chri&s;t, or holy annoynting commends him&s;elfe unto us, doting upon the &s;hadow wherein the &s;ub&s;tance is wrapped up as under <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> vale, and they &s;ee it not, nor can endure the glory and &s;hine thereof</P>
<P>But to whom&s;oever Chri&s;t unveyles him&s;elfe, hee imparts whole and compleat &s;alvation to every one, el&s;e it cannot be the &s;alvation of God; for he, or it, cannot be divided, and there|fore the holy unction is alike &s;hed forth to every one in this King|dome: and they that have it, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity annoynt every one into who&s;e fellow&s;hip they are called, according to the nature of the call of this &s;ick party, if they be Elders, having it by right of inheritance, of whom it may be &s;aid, <HI>Thou art my &s;on, this day have I begotten thee:</HI> For the day wherein Chri&s;t is begotten, or the day of &s;alvation, or of the Saviour, as the word will beare,
<PB N="148" REF="82">
is like the &s;eventh day in the Creation, whereunto neither eve|ning nor morning are annexed, as to the re&s;t of the dayes, for it is ever the &s;ame where in the Son is begotten, even an <HI>eternall light or day:</HI> Therefore this Elder&s;hip knowing it to be the birth-day of the Son of God, in that re&s;urrection of the dead, they cannot with-hold the whole Kingdome, nor any priviledg, prerogative, or royalty thereof, from any one that appertayns or belongs thereunto.</P>
<P>The u&s;e and benefit of the holy unction therefore is not yet cea&s;ed, for then the kingdome of God &s;hould cea&s;e; for all things in it that ever were, are, or &s;hall be in it taken and under&s;tood ac|cording to the mind of God, are of the &s;ame duration that the kingdome it &s;elfe is, which mu&s;t be as ancient as the King him|&s;elfe. But the carnallizing of the word of God in that and all things is cea&s;ed unto us, according to the Leviticall &s;ervices, the Kingdom &amp; Prie&s;t-hood thereof holding no proportion with the Kingdom &amp; Prie&s;t-hood of our <HI>Melchi&s;edech:</HI> For men may as well go about to divide the Red Sea, with a materiall rod or wand, as to poure oyle upon a &s;ick body, to give him health and forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;ins: Let us know therefore, that &s;uch as trade in materi|all oyle, water, bread, wine, ge&s;tures and ve&s;tments, they are &s;uch as &s;erve in the oldne&s;&s;e of the letter that kills its &s;ubjects, and not in the newne&s;&s;e of the &s;pirit which gives life to them that are ex|erci&s;ed therein: And to make a difference between the hi&s;tories of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, as being more cleer, and to be practi|&s;ed in the letter, then the hi&s;tories of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Prophets, it is a meer trick and device to deceive the world; for the one hath as great a vaile upon it as the other, and needs the &s;ame &s;pirit of interpretation to open it; <HI>For Chri&s;t him&s;elfe uttered his minde in parables, and without a parable</HI> (&s;aith the Text) <HI>&s;pake be nothing.</HI> We conclude then, that every Saint of God having received that &s;pi|rit of antiquity which only makes an Elder or Governour in the kingdom of God; without which, no true Saint&s;hip or holine&s;&s;e, being a &s;pirit of Princely rule, dominion, undaunted courage and fortitude in the things of God, what&s;oever he may appeare to be in the eyes of the world, and judgment of men, yet he is one that &s;heds forth the holy oyle, having the materials of which is con|&s;i&s;ts, and skill to compo&s;e the ingredients, according to the de|vice
<PB N="149" REF="82">
of wi&s;dome, or that word of God which he pours out in prayer and prophe&s;ie, to the healing of the &s;ick, &s;trengthening of the weak, quickning of the dead, and acquitting of the &s;oul from the guilt of &s;inne, in all &s;uch who finde them&s;elves dead unto all &s;uch things as men naturally live unto, as they are the proper off-&s;pring of the earthly man: and the&s;e Elders do ever acknowledg as great an excellency, and no le&s;&s;e miraculous act in him that re|ceives the unction, as in him that pours it out; for none but the fir&s;t-born of God (who&s;e right it only is) can receive it, nor can any of le&s;&s;e authority, or more inferiour off-&s;pring &s;hed it forth.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But &s;ome will &s;ay, <HI>That this doctrine denies that order &s;et in the &s;ociety of man-kinde, con&s;i&s;ting of &s;uperiour, and inferiour.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To this we an&s;wer; that the order &s;et in nature in poynt of &s;exe, age, gifts, place, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> they are all as &s;ignificant in|telligencers of higher, and more noble and durable things; for as it was in the creation of all things in the beginning, &s;o it is now in this poynt, there being re&s;pect had unto man-kind in e|very particular work of Gods&punc; hand, for who&s;e u&s;e and &s;ervice they were all created, and he the la&s;t, as being the end and &s;cope of them all, who was indeed that <HI>Microco &s;inus</HI> in him&s;elfe as the very &s;um and Epitomy of them all: Even &s;o man in him&s;elf con|&s;idered, or with re&s;pect unto any creature, act, or thing, unto w^c^h he may &s;tand in any relation what&s;oever to things in heaven or in earth, he hath therein a proper re&s;pect unto the Son of God, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, poynting at, and leading unto him, even as all o|ther creatures had a proper a&s;pect upon man-kind for whom they were made: and when&s;oever the thing taught by (which is the Son of God) appeareth, who is the truth and &s;ub&s;tance of them all; then the &s;hadows fly away, and are of no more validity nor value to a knowing and inlightned mind, which carries &s;ome re|&s;emblance of the body and &s;ub&s;tance, but holds no weight, va|lue, or con&s;iderable worth with the &s;ame; therefore when ever Chri&s;t appears, who is the end and &s;ub&s;tance of the law, then doth the letter betake it &s;elfe to its <HI>re&s;pitillian</HI> wings, and is no more, in point of any account or reckoning with the &s;onnes of God, who weigh and mea&s;ure all things according to that law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><PB N="150" REF="83">
For the unity and conjunction of God and man &s;imply con&s;i|dered, is that reall and &s;ub&s;tantiall <HI>Chaos,</HI> or unformed thing, taught unto us by that in the beginning, which no mind or heart of man can &s;o light up it &s;elfe as to give a comely form unto the &s;ame, or deck it with ornaments plea&s;ing unto a meer Creature, that is, that God &s;hould be made man, and become a creature, who is the Creator of all things; or that man being a creature, &s;hould be made the Son of God, he that creates all things, <HI>with|out whom nothing is made.</HI></P>
<P>Now the wi&s;dome of the &s;pirit of God <HI>brooding</HI> upon this deep, as in the beginning, brings forth all the ornaments of Chri&s;t in his unity, offices, vertues, relations, and operations what&s;oe|ver, who indeed is that <HI>Microco&s;mus,</HI> furni&s;hed and adorned with all tho&s;e &s;uper-eminent excellencies and glory of the &s;on of God, being that world whereof his kingdome doth con&s;i&s;t, which is the <HI>world to come,</HI> or el&s;e it could <HI>not be happine&s;&s;e unto the inhabi|tants thereof,</HI> if it were not <HI>to come as really as now it is:</HI> For as he was before the earlie&s;t time that can be reckoned, or retreated, and fallen back unto, even &s;o he <HI>will be,</HI> or <HI>is to come,</HI> beyond the late&s;t houre that ever can be marched unto hereafter.</P>
<P>And in this <HI>Chaos</HI> drawn out unto the&s;e ornaments, and beau|tified with the&s;e honourabe and eternall vertues in Chri&s;t, the or|der of God, or the God like order doth con&s;i&s;t, <HI>who is that God of order, and not of confu&s;ion;</HI> and the mo&s;t eminent and &s;tricte&s;t order in the worlds account, be&s;ides this, is reall confu&s;ion: Yea, that <HI>Babylon the great, the mother of harlots,</HI> which the Scriptures fore|warns us of: and this order ari&s;eth, and is drawn out of the <HI>Chaos</HI> of God and man being made one, through that wi&s;dome or &s;pirit of the creature <HI>brooding</HI> upon the &s;ame deep of the &s;aid <HI>Chaos,</HI> drawing it out into the lines and lineaments proper to the prin|ciples and capacities of a creature, wherein the letter of the word doth con&s;i&s;t, adorning it &s;elfe with the excellencies and abilities of the creature, and not of God the Creator; in which re&s;pect it is &s;ayd to be <HI>a hou&s;e of mans building, and not of Gods:</HI> And this is the proper order and reformation of the world, &s;tood for, and maintained to this day by Schools, Libraries, and Records, by Art, &s;tudy, and Law; by policy, experiments, and force of arms, unto which the mo&s;t eminent and &s;ublime order and in&s;titution
<PB N="151" REF="83">
of the wi&s;dome and &s;pirit of God, are as a formle&s;&s;e <HI>Chaos,</HI> and mo&s;t dangerous gulfe: and this wi&s;dome or device of man hath arguments according to its proper &s;phear it works in, as punctu|all and proper for the con&s;ervation and binding over of it &s;elfe unto de&s;truction, as the wi&s;dome of God hath in that way of Chri&s;t, for the laying down of his life unto &s;alvation.</P>
<P>We thwart not then the order and in&s;tinct of any creature, but give it its proper due for which it was made, which is either to give intelligence, by breathing out its proper life in the &s;ouls of the Saints, in directing unto another in whom the order of hea|ven and earth, which abides for ever is e&s;tabli&s;hed, or el&s;e to re|tayn its own proper life, which is earthly, in the expiration of the life of the &s;pirit of God, whereby it becomes <HI>a builder of the tower of Babylon,</HI> the one receives in&s;truction from the world, in the expiration of the life of it in him&s;elfe, it becoming as a <HI>cruci|fied,</HI> and dead carka&s;&s;e unto him, whereby he is made alive unto God; and the other receives in&s;truction from the kingdome of God, in the expiration of the life of all the things thereof in him|&s;elfe, &s;o as it is made by his wi&s;dome, as a <HI>crucified</HI> and dead thing unto him, whereby he is made alive unto the world, and the things thereof, adorning and &s;upplying of him&s;elfe with the arm of fle&s;h, and &s;o becomes as truly Satanicall, as the Saints be|come holy and godly. It is no more wrong therefore to look upon the glory and goodline&s;&s;e of man, as the flower of gra&s;&s;e, or thing of nought; when Chri&s;t was made manife&s;t, then it was wrong to the re&s;t of the creatures, when man was made <HI>as Lord of them all;</HI> which before that, the bruit bea&s;te of the field might &s;eem to have dominion of the earth.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e therefore that would have the &s;hadows of the night to retayn &s;ome excellency in their place, and not to flye away when that <HI>Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e ari&s;eth,</HI> and &s;heweth forth him&s;elfe. Let &s;uch make their opinion good unto the world, by retayning of like delight in, and having like e&s;teem of &s;uch rattles and baubles in the time of their Seniority, as they delighted them&s;elves with in the dayes of their minority, and &s;o much in an&s;wer to the ob|jection.</P>
<P>3. The third poynt is the practice of the Elders, and that is the manner how they annoynt the &s;ick party, and that is <HI>in the name
<PB N="152" REF="84">
of the Lord,</HI> or into the power and authority of the Lord Chri&s;t; for by this unction we are <HI>gathered up,</HI> and are <HI>all drunke into one &s;pirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> So that men may as fittingly preach the wi&s;|dome of man to be no better then the under&s;tanding of a bruit bea&s;t, as to teach that the &s;pirit of a Chri&s;tian is inferiour to the wi&s;dome of God in Chri&s;t, for they are one, as the wi&s;dome of man is one.</P>
<P>Therefore the actions of a Chri&s;tian &s;pring from the proper E|dicts and In&s;titutions of God according to the law of faith, with re&s;pect unto tho&s;e relations and operations e&s;tabli&s;hed between God and man in Chri&s;t, or in the unction, and not from tho&s;e re|lations and re&s;pects which naturall in&s;tincts and humane wi&s;dom hath founded and &s;et up between creature and creature, which the bea&s;ts of the field, and fowles of the ayre are for the mo&s;t part inclinable unto, as well as man-kind: So that there is &s;omething that is proper unto God only, that is a relative in all the actions of a Chri&s;tian, or el&s;e it is not done by the law of faith, which &s;tands in all terms of relation between God and man, and not between creature and creature: and thereby is every Chri&s;tian made Lord of all, which otherwi&s;e they could not be; for by this means no creature can lay claym unto them, but they are on|ly the Lords, the obligatious &s;tanding only between God and man, in that law of faith or &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of God and man in one, by the unction, which is Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, the actions and demeanors of a Chri&s;tian, have in them the effect of Gods power and authority, as well as &s;pring from &s;uch a root; &s;o that they prove fruitful, either <HI>to be a &s;avour of life unto life,</HI> or <HI>of death unto death.</HI> The doctrine, wayes, and coun&s;ell of a Chri&s;tian have a certain vertue of God in them to produce life unto life unto them that are &s;aved, or to work life in life (as the word may be read) in others; for they bring forth in the cho&s;en of God a life which hath all manner of liveline&s;&s;e infolded and wrapped up therein; for as the wi&s;dome of God is &s;ayd to be <HI>a manifold wi&s;dome,</HI> &s;o is the life of God <HI>a manifold life,</HI> which can never be unfolded and made manife&s;t unto the utter|mo&s;t, for then it were not infinite and eternall: So that if the Go|&s;pel bring forth and produce the life of Faith, it hath the life of hope in it, and in all things that can be hoped for; which as they
<PB N="153" REF="84">
are <HI>obtained, every one is as a tree of life:</HI> If it produce love, there is wrapped up therein the life of the love of all lovely relations, as Father, Son, Husband, Wife, love of all kinds of friend&s;hip, and the like; If it bring forth the life of joy, there is wrapt up therein the life of all joyfull things; in the life of pro&s;perity there is the life of all pro&s;perous ways: &s;o that what&s;oever the Go&s;pel works in the &s;oul, there is involved therein all of that kind that ever can come into u&s;e and exerci&s;e; &s;o that it is a bundle of life which none but <HI>the wi&s;dome of God and the power of God</HI> can ever bind up together, or bring forth.</P>
<P>Againe, if a Chri&s;tian or the Go&s;pel (for they are co-apparent, and were never one without another) produce and bring forth death in any, it is <HI>death unto death,</HI> or <HI>(death in death)</HI> there is one death involved and wrapped up in another unto eternity, which can never be found out to the uttermo&s;t, and yet no particular way of death doth ever a&s;&s;wage from the height and extreame&s;t terrour of it, nor &s;tand a&s;ide, as to permit an intermi&s;&s;ion, but only &s;o, as to give way or being in another, to exerci&s;e its vertue in the full force and terrour thereof: So, as the King of fear chan|ging his countenance in point of wrath, may give the greater on|&s;et, and breed a fre&s;h and unexpected trouble and terrour in the &s;oule, that it &s;hall never be inured or acquainted with any particular terrour, &s;o as to abate the pre&s;ent &s;ence of a heavy and infinite di&s;plea&s;ure, which nothing but Gods power and au|thority in that way of the Cur&s;e can po&s;&s;ibly bring to pa&s;&s;e; therefore this unction inve&s;ts into the effect of Gods power and authority, in that way of his Sonne Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord, and therefore he brings in the royall effect and power of prayer in the next place.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="154" REF="85">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 15. And the prayer of faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;icke, and the Lord &s;hall rai&s;e him up: and if hee have committed &s;innes, they &s;hall be forgiven him.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Wherein ob&s;erve for order;</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. What manner of prayer this is, and that is, <HI>the prayer of faith.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The act or power of it what it doth, and that is three-fold.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It &s;aves the &s;icke, it hath the power of &s;alvation in it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It rai&s;eth up as from the dead: <HI>And the Lord &s;hall rai&s;e him up.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. It hath in it the power of pardon: <HI>If he have com|mitted &s;ins, they &s;hall be forgiven him.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>FIr&s;t, for the manner of prayer here u&s;ed, and that is, <HI>The pray|er of faith,</HI> for that only is this healing prayer, it hath the vertue of health in it.</P>
<P>By <HI>Faith</HI> then, we are not to under&s;tand a notional perfection, as having Chri&s;t only as the object of it, as the common opinion is, but we are to under&s;tand it as the Apo&s;tle defines it; namely, that i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> is the <HI>Hypo&s;tacis,</HI> or &s;ub&s;i&s;tance, not only of things un&s;een and hoped for, but al&s;o in pre&s;ent <HI>being,</HI> &amp; <HI>demon&s;tration;</HI> for &s;o much our Apo&s;tle affirms of it, that <HI>it is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of things hoped for, and the demon&s;tration of things not &s;eene;</HI> that is, it is the pre&s;ent <HI>be|ing of things</HI> that are al&s;o to come, for they are unto eternity: and it is a demon&s;trative argument (as the word there &s;ignifies) which makes things to be in pre&s;ent appearance that yet are not &s;een; for the depth of Gods coun&s;els can never be &s;ounded, but are infinitely as a trea&s;ury to be brought forth, which things are not made good, but only in the Son of God, who only can &s;ay,
<PB N="159" REF="85">
<HI>Before Abraham was, I am,</HI> and yet <HI>am to come:</HI> So that prayer con|&s;i&s;ts not of a reque&s;t made by <HI>a meere creature</HI> unto the invi&s;ible God: But it is an appeale made by the Son of God, who con&s;i&s;ts of humane nature and divine (as the common phra&s;e is) God and man as one &s;imple act, undi&s;&s;olvable, and eternall creation.</P>
<P>Therefore it is &s;ayd, that <HI>we know not how to pray as we ought, but the &s;pirit it &s;elfe maketh interce&s;&s;ion for us.</HI> Now there is no &s;pirit of God con&s;iderable, disjoyned from the &s;pirit of man, no more then there can be a Chri&s;t de&s;titute of humane nature; therefore it is &s;ayd, <HI>That he that is joyned unto the Lord is one &s;pirit:</HI> For God and man in Chri&s;t are never &s;eparated, no more then the Father and the Son can be divided, for they are but one e&s;tate and condition in which the wi&s;dome of God, together with all his proper and native excellencies do con&s;i&s;t: So that there is no Chri&s;t or An|noynted con&s;iderable, but as con&s;i&s;ting of divine and humane na|ture, or <HI>aptitudes to do.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore the &s;pirit of God maketh reque&s;t, but it is with <HI>groa|nings</HI> or <HI>&s;ighes which are proper unto man:</HI> and they are &s;ayd to be <HI>&s;ighes not utterable,</HI> becau&s;e there is in prayer a &s;ighing or breathing out of life, as the la&s;t breath, never to be re&s;umed or taken in a|gaine in regard of that &s;pirit living to any carnall or corruptible thing, and this is a thing can never be uttered by any unbeliever, for they never &s;igh, as &s;ending out their la&s;t breath, in regard of ever living agayn to the law of the fle&s;h, therefore not utterable by any that is de&s;titute of the &s;pirit of God.</P>
<P>Again, there is a &s;igh in prayer as being the la&s;t breath, and ut|ter ce&s;&s;ation of life in the men of the world, which is never re&s;u|med or taken in again, and that is the breathing out of the life of the &s;pirit in the wicked, never to live unto God, in any &s;pirituall or heavenly vertue proper to the Sonne of God, of which there is an utter di&s;&s;olution and ce&s;&s;ation in the men of the world, and this is unutterable al&s;o, for it can never be uttered or expre&s;&s;ed in the &s;tate of Chri&s;tianity, where the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t re&s;ides and dwels; and the prayer of faith cannot be expre&s;&s;ed but with re|&s;pect unto the&s;e twayn; the one is <HI>life lo&s;t in the Saints;</HI> that is, the life of the fle&s;h, but it is extant in the men of the world, which is no le&s;&s;e then that &s;pirit of Sathan, or that dying life of the De|vill, and this gives demention unto that from which we are ran|&s;omed
<PB N="156" REF="86">
and delivered: and the other is <HI>life lo&s;t in the men of the world,</HI> but extant in the Saints of God, which is no le&s;&s;e then the life of the Son of God, that holy one or (Saint of <HI>I&s;rael)</HI> and this gives demention unto that whereunto we are delivered, and whereunto we are brought.</P>
<P>It is not a part therefore, but whole Chri&s;t that makes an ap|peale in prayer, namely from that which the Son of perdition is, unto that which the Son of God is: and of &s;uch extention and comprehen&s;ion is true prayer, or el&s;e it is not that prayer of faith which is effectuall; nor can it be &s;aid otherwi&s;e to be that &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion which interpo&s;eth it &s;elfe, and comes be|tween that depth of death, and that height of life, as in the parti|cipation of them both, as being freed from the one, and &s;et in the other, that is, Death, as God is con&s;idered, what he is, through that wi&s;dome of the creature in that man of &s;in, and life, as man is con&s;idered in the wi&s;dome of God, in that man of God the Lord our Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, the Saints therefore can truly &s;ay, <HI>Out of the deeps have I cryed unto thee O Lord:</HI> and in that acknow|ledgment <HI>confe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be &s;et upon the mountaine of Gods holi|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> though it be paradoxicall unto the world.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But if whole Chri&s;t be the &s;upplicant, God and man, to whom then doth he appeal, to him&s;elfe or to another.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Not to another, <HI>as in point of reallity of &s;ub&s;i&s;tance and be|ing,</HI> for it is one that pleads, and al&s;o gives Judgement, and de|termins the cau&s;e; But he prayeth unto another, with re&s;pect unto the reallity of the di&s;tinction of glory, for &s;upplication and an&s;wer are truly twaine in the &s;ame hypo&s;ta&s;is, for the glory of the &s;upplicant is one, and the glory of the <HI>&s;uppleo</HI> is another, and the&s;e give being each to other, el&s;e they are not nor can &s;ub&s;i&s;t, for either of them cea&s;e to be without its relative, &s;o that prayer mu&s;t con&s;i&s;t of them both, el&s;e it cea&s;eth to be prayer, for the <HI>&s;upplicant</HI> humbly pro&s;trates the cau&s;e in the nece&s;&s;ity of, and with re&s;pect unto &s;upply, which is the glory of its office &s;o to doe.</P>
<P>And the <HI>&s;uppleo</HI> yeelds relief, and &s;upplies the nece&s;&s;ity, and it is the glory of its office &s;o to do: and if either of the&s;e be wan|ting in a Chri&s;tian &s;pirit, it &s;ub&s;i&s;ts not, becau&s;e it is not the &s;pirit of the Son of God, in whom is power to forgive &s;ins, as well as to make &s;upplication for pardon.</P>
<P><PB N="157" REF="86">
So that the glory of the &s;peaker in prayer, or pleader of the cau&s;e before the Judge of all the earth, is one reall glory, and the glory of the &s;entence pa&s;&s;ed thereupon, is another real glory, but both but one act of the law, the glory of the &s;peaker in prayer as <HI>Daniel</HI> calls it) is to open the cau&s;e, holding plea upon true principles unto the point of i&s;&s;ue, now Chri&s;t is the end and i&s;&s;ue of the law in all points of relation and cau&s;es depending between God and man what&s;oever.</P>
<P>Againe, the glory of the Judge is to pa&s;&s;e &s;entence, according to the law in the point of i&s;&s;ue, &s;o that the cau&s;e pleaded, and Judgement given, is but one act of the law, which is Chri&s;t; and in ca&s;e either of the&s;e be wanting in a Chri&s;tian, he cea&s;eth to be that law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our <HI>Lord&s;hip,</HI> and is become that law of &s;in and death.</P>
<P>So that the party praying, and the party prayed unto, are one in point of hypo&s;tacis and being, and the party or office of prayer, and the party or office of hearing, or an&s;wering, are twain, in point of the variety in reallity of glory, for God and man are compleatly in unity in them both, el&s;e Chri&s;t is divided.</P>
<P>Even as it is &s;aid, that it is a more ble&s;&s;ed thing to give then to receive, which the Apo&s;tle affirms to be the &s;aying of Chri&s;t, though we finde no &s;uch place in Scripture, in &s;o many words; &s;o that it may &s;eem that the whole Go&s;pel or &s;peech of Chri&s;t is &s;ummed up therein, namely in giving and receiving, as he &s;aith to his Di&s;ciples, in &s;ending them out to preach, freely you have re|ceived and freely do you give; &s;o that it is a more ble&s;&s;ed thing to give then to receive; that is, it is another thing, a further glory, a various vertue in the Sonne of God, as if he &s;hould &s;ay, it is a ble&s;&s;ed thing to receive; moreover, or furthermore, it is a ble&s;&s;ed thing to give, for the one is the ble&s;&s;ing of giving, and hath its reall and peculiar ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e really con&s;i&s;ting therein, and the other is the ble&s;&s;ing of receiving and hath its reall and peculi|ar ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e really con&s;i&s;ting therein, and one of the&s;e cannot be without the other, for no giver without a receiver, and no re|ceiver without a giver, and each of them hath whole Chri&s;t exer|ci&s;ed therein, that only ble&s;&s;ed one; &amp; therefore as <HI>the hearingeare, and the &s;eing eye are both alike of the Lord,</HI> &s;o it is true of giving and receiving, and the difference &s;tands onely in the variety of glory, even as in the three witne&s;&s;es that bear record in heaven, no other di&s;proportion can be found.</P>
<P><PB N="158" REF="87">
For <HI>a naturall man can neither perceive</HI> &s;o as to give, nor effect &s;o as to receive <HI>the things that are of God,</HI> for <HI>they are &s;piritually to be di&s;|cerned,</HI> and apprehended, and &s;aid hold of, for <HI>none knows the things of God but the &s;pirit of God,</HI> no more then any other crea|ture can know the &s;pirit of a man but onely he that is of his own kinde.</P>
<P>And it is the Son of God onely that knows the father, and it is the Son only that reveals him, for <HI>no man knowes the father but the Son, and he to whom the Son reveales him.</HI></P>
<P>We conclude then, that prayer con&s;i&s;ts of whole Chri&s;t, and that both in point of petition, as al&s;o in the an&s;wer, otherwi&s;e it is not this prayer of faith: and therefore it is, that prayer is of that validity and force as to do &s;uch mighty things as are here attributed unto it. As</P>
<P>Fir&s;t &s;aves the &s;ick, it hath the vertue and power of &s;alvation annexed unto it, which can be a&s;cribed unto nothing but unto Chri&s;t alone, who never was nor can be known but in the exer|ci&s;e of an office, for it is the vertue and power of the &s;pirit of God that makes manife&s;t the Son of God, and it is he alone that &s;aves, <HI>for he hath &s;alvation.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>deliver my &s;oul from the &s;word, my darling,</HI> or as the word &s;ignifies, my <HI>alonely &s;oule</HI> (as having no copartner) <HI>from the power of the dog,</HI> and it is he that <HI>comes meek and lowly,</HI> as the Prophet <HI>Zachariah</HI> &s;aith, <HI>&s;aving him&s;elf,</HI> and not another; for as the father and the Son are one, <HI>&s;o is the Lord and the Di&s;ciple one;</HI> the Saviour and the &s;aved are one, el&s;e Chri&s;t &s;hould not be God|man.</P>
<P>Salvation then is in prayer, as the Scriptures te&s;tifie, <HI>and the time is come that every one, or who&s;oever call on the name of the Lord &s;hall be &s;aved;</HI> many teach that &s;alvation is only by faith, that neither know what faith nor &s;alvation is, for faith hath &s;alvation in it onely as it is, that hypo&s;tacis and &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of the Son of God; and &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> teacheth <HI>faith without works;</HI> that is, without the works of the law, which he calls dead works, becau&s;e the life and &s;pirit of the Son of God is not in them: but our Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> a&s;cribes &s;alvation unto works, and declines faith, as being the beliefe of devils; that is, &s;uch faith as hath not the powerful operations of God working in and together with it, &s;o that there
<PB N="159" REF="87">
is compleat &s;alvation in any proper work or operation of the Son of God, as well as in faith; therefore Chri&s;t concludes, that the great work and operation of God to be in faith, for faith is not without the works of God, nor the works of God without faith.</P>
<P>We are al&s;o &s;aid to be &s;aved by <HI>hope,</HI> as well as by either faith or work, there is &s;alvation al&s;o in love, for <HI>it is the fulfilling of the law:</HI> and where the law is compleat and full, there can be no con|demnation, but perfect acquittance and &s;alvation; yea <HI>God is love, and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him,</HI> which canot be without &s;alvation; yea &s;alvation is in patience, <HI>for he that con|tinues to the end &s;hall be &s;aved,</HI> &s;o that we are &s;aved by it.</P>
<P>Furthermore we are &s;aved by wi&s;dome; for <HI>the poor man by his wi&s;dome &s;aves the whole City of God, though his wi&s;dome be de&s;pi&s;ed, and his words not heard</HI> by the wi&s;e of the world.</P>
<P>And to conclude this point, &s;alvation is in prayer, it &s;aves the &s;ick, becau&s;e it is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of the mediator-&s;hip of the Son of God, which is ever one and the &s;ame, where, when, or in whom-&s;oever it appears, although it be &s;o little in u&s;e, and &s;o lightly accounted of in the&s;e days wherein we live.</P>
<P>Secondly, it hath in it the vertue and power of the re&s;urrecti|on from the dead, as it is &s;aid, <HI>the Lord &s;hall rai&s;e him up:</HI> there is in prayer a Lord-like authority, to ri&s;e out of that grave of &s;in and &s;orrow, of death and de&s;truction, &s;o as none &s;hall have dominion over it to keep it under, for it cannot be held of death, but it will remove the &s;tone from the Sepulchre, and deface and break open the &s;eal of <HI>Herod</HI> him&s;elfe, though &s;et upon it by the cheif Prei&s;ts and <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> making it as &s;ure as they can; it will make the hou&s;e of the carnall <HI>Jews</HI> to &s;hake, when the Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t are ga|thered together, or brought into unity and harmony by that re|conciling &s;pirit of interpretation.</P>
<P>It will make the foundations of the Pri&s;on to &s;hake, where the &s;pirit of our great Apo&s;tle is infringed, ca&s;ting open the doors, and laying wa&s;t &s;uch power to the a&s;toni&s;hment of the Jaylors them&s;elves, whoever they may be; yea it will rai&s;e <HI>Peter</HI> up out of the dungeon, and cau&s;e his chains to fall off from his hands to his own admiration and wonder.</P>
<P>In a word, prayer hath in it the power and vertue of the re&s;ur|rection,
<PB N="150" REF="88">
becau&s;e it is the breathing of the Son of God returned from death to life; this word <HI>behold he prayeth,</HI> was an argument &s;ufficient to prove <HI>Paul</HI> change from a <HI>Saul,</HI> and to be ri&s;en up out of that grave and puddle of the Jewi&s;h, litteral, and carnall wor&s;hips, and from that deadly &s;pirit of per&s;ecution which ever accompanies &s;uch maner of &s;ervices.</P>
<P>Thirdly, prayer hath in it the power of pardon and forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;ins; for if he have committed &s;ins they &s;hall be forgiven him, or in the pre&s;ent tence as the word will bear, they are for|given him; that is, to every one that partakes in this prayer of faith.</P>
<P>To commit &s;in here is to be under&s;tood in a two-fold re&s;pect, that is negatively, and affirmatively, of which the breach of law <HI>being &s;in,</HI> doth con&s;i&s;t; now to &s;in, and prove a delinquent in o|mitting, and not doing that which is required, is to neglect and leave undone that which the carnal commandement according to the &s;trict &s;pirit of a <HI>Phari&s;ee</HI> calls for; &s;uch &s;in, or mi&s;&s;ing of the rule of the carnall commandement &s;tanding in outward ordinan|ces is here to be under&s;tood, which is the onely &s;in condemned by a carnall <HI>Jew,</HI> and this law the prayer of faith doth rout, ravell, undo, and abrogate, with re&s;pect unto the obligation thereof in the true intent of a Phara&s;aical <HI>Jew.</HI></P>
<P>And again&s;t this law doth true prayer &s;in, in all its &s;upplicati|ons, interce&s;&s;ions, and reque&s;ts; for the prayer of faith ob&s;erves not in the lea&s;t in any point, that law of the &s;pirit of bondage, which onely obligeth to the law of the fle&s;h, nor can it keep and perform that &s;pirit of enmity which Chri&s;t Je&s;us nailes to his Cro&s;&s;e and &s;lays in him&s;elfe, and therefore a &s;inne in a Saint, in way of negation, again&s;t the affirmative part of the law of the fle&s;h.</P>
<P>Againe, there is a &s;in committed affirmatively, and that is by reall acting and doing, according to the law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord, which the wi&s;dome of man in that carnall law forbids, and that under the penalty of errour, &s;chi&s;m, here&s;ie, pride, bla&s;phemy, and death it &s;elf.</P>
<P>For every point of the law of the &s;pirit rightly compo&s;ed ac|cording to the prin ciples and grounds of faith, is mo&s;t heinous, wicked, dete&s;table, &s;infull, and abominable in the eyes of a carnal man.</P>
<P><PB N="161" REF="88">
Now the breach, di&s;annulling, and abrogating of the carnall command (for which the <HI>Jewes</HI> &s;o hated Chri&s;t) is the truth of the matter, the reality, and ever carries in it the remi&s;&s;ion, pardon and forgivenes of &s;ins in the Saints, as &s;urely as the breach of the law of the &s;pirit, and that everla&s;ting Covenant of God carries in it, guilt, crime, and is the condemnation of the world.</P>
<P>For every &s;in and bla&s;phemy again&s;t the Son of man (that is, again&s;t the wi&s;dome, will, power, and authority of the arme of fle&s;h) &s;hall be forgiven, or it is forgiven, for it hath the acquit|tance, general di&s;charge, and relea&s;e in it &s;elf: but he that &s;peaks aagain&s;t the holy &s;pirit, that is, again&s;t that law of the &s;pi|rit, or &s;pirituall e&s;tate of that holy one of God, it &s;hall never be forgiven; that is, he that breaks the law of the &s;pirit, in any word, or thing, as the phra&s;e imports, it hath in it that guilt which can never be wiped out, neither in this world, that is, in time pre&s;ent, nor in the world, or time, that is to come; or not in this world, that is, in the con&s;cience of the party &s;o made guilty; nor in the world to come, that is, in that &s;entence of the righteous Judge which doth for ever adjudg and condemn it, &s;o that as the breach of the &s;piritual law hath in it an eternall guilt un&s;eperably and enevitably fa&s;tned unto it and accompaning the &s;ame, even &s;o hath the breach or abrogation of the carnall law, an everla&s;ting pardon, and acquittance before God fa&s;tned unto and ever accompaning the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Note in this point that the Levitical law which the Apo&s;tle ap|po&s;eth to the <HI>law of an endle&s;&s;e life,</HI> doth not condemn, becau&s;e men fall &s;hort in &s;ome particulars of the fulfilment of the &s;ame, but it condemns, and is death unto him that walks according to the &s;ame, or lives thereafter.</P>
<P>Therefore our Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>If ye live after the fle&s;h ye &s;hall dye;</HI> that is, if yee live according to the law of the carnall commande|ment, for by it no fle&s;h can be ju&s;tified; or if yee <HI>minde</HI> the things of the fle&s;h; that is (as the word &s;ignifies) if ye frame, form, or fa&s;hon things unto your &s;elfe according to the carnall command, art, or rea&s;on of man, concerning the affairs of God, it is death; but to live after the &s;pirit; that is, the law of the &s;pirit, or &s;pi|rituall law is life and peace; or to <HI>minde</HI> the things of the &s;pirit, that is, to form, frame, and fa&s;hion things &s;piritually, that is life
<PB N="162" REF="89">
and peace; and as the one of the&s;e is &s;in according to mans wi&s;|dome, and his accounts, even &s;o is the other &s;in according to Gods wi&s;dome, and his reckoning and account, judgement, and doom pa&s;&s;ed upon it by an eternall and unchangeable &s;en|tence.</P>
<P>There is pardon then, and power of forgivene&s;&s;e in prayer, be|cau&s;e it is God that &s;itteth upon that throne of grace judging un|to ju&s;tification, who then &s;hall condemn? for it the &s;pirit of grace and &s;upplication, whereof prayer doth con&s;i&s;t, yea it is the Son of God who is ju&s;tified? who then &s;hal lay any thing to the charge of Gods cho&s;en, that holy one of God?</P>
<P>For wherever the &s;pirit and vertue of Chri&s;t is, there is power to forgive &s;ins; therefore he &s;aith (to &s;top the mouth of tho&s;e le|gall <HI>Phari&s;ees) whether is it ea&s;ier to &s;ay, thy &s;ins are forgiven, or to &s;ay take up thy bed and walke, but that you may know that the Son of man hath power to forgive &s;ins on earth; therefore I &s;aid unto thee, ari&s;e, take up thy bed and go thy way into thine hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>So that to preach the Go&s;pel to the re&s;tauration of the &s;oule from the <HI>policy;</HI> that is, from the fear, terrors, and tremblings of the law, as at Mount Sinai, to bring it unto Zion, giving &s;trength to take up that and carry it unto its proper place, as that man carried his bed into the proper place, which is his hou&s;e, which before had carried him extravagantly, and di&s;ea&s;edly a|broad; where&s;oever the Go&s;pel exerci&s;eth its power to rai&s;e up any to walk in the way of God, before others, in prayer or pro|phe&s;ie, or any appointment of God according to the nature and &s;ea&s;on of it, as that man is &s;aid to walk before them all to their admiration; where&s;oever the Go&s;plel is mini&s;tred to that effect, there is al&s;o in that mini&s;tration power to forgive &s;in, for the one is of like ca&s;e, and of like difficulty as the other is, yea they are both in one act; for he that can preach the Go&s;pel to carry &s;in in|to its proper place (which mu&s;t be done or el&s;e the Go&s;pel is not truly preached) he mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity remove it from the cho&s;en of God, which is the true remitting and pa&s;&s;ing of it over unto another.</P>
<P>He that hath power therefore to preach the Go&s;pel to the hea|ling of the Con&s;cience of the <HI>pal&s;ie,</HI> &s;ickne&s;&s;e, or tremblings of the law in the dead works thereof, or works of death, that man
<PB N="163" REF="89">
hath power to forgive &s;ins on earth, for they are in&s;eperable, and Chri&s;t in that place alluded unto, makes them one; for fir&s;t he &s;aith, <HI>&s;on thy &s;ins be forgiven thee:</HI> and in the rehear&s;all of it he &s;aith, his &s;peech was, <HI>ari&s;e take up thy bed and walk, go thy way into thy hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>And we know that Chri&s;t &s;aith to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>who&s;e &s;ins ye re|mit they are remitted, and who&s;e &s;ins ye retaine they are retained:</HI> And again, <HI>what ye binde on earth is bound in heaven, and what ye loo&s;e on earth, is loo&s;ed in heaven:</HI> to walk and work therefore in the things of God according to the power intended by the word of God, are of greater concernment then they would think; for to preach the Go&s;pel, in the revelation of the minde and will of God as to <HI>an onely Son,</HI> or to pre&s;ent our &s;upplications to God <HI>as a father from the minde and di&s;po&s;ition of an onely &s;on,</HI> are of no le&s;&s;e authority and power then to to give &s;ins; for <HI>to pray with the &s;pirit, and to pray with the under&s;tanding al&s;o;</HI> that is, to pray according to the my&s;te|ry of Chri&s;ts meditation, and yet with that wi&s;dome and skill of expre&s;&s;ion, as to unfold and explaine it in the minds of others, that they may a&s;cend up unto God together therewith, as <HI>Mano|a's Angel in the flame of the &s;acrifices;</HI> this, and to pardon &s;in, are of like power skill, and, authority, and a like weight lies upon both to whom&s;oever communicates in them.</P>
<P>For to pardon &s;in is not to change or alter the minde of God toward that party, but to explaine and interpret the minde of God concerning that party, which minde and will of God is the &s;ame in that one faith of the Son of God to all the cho&s;en of God, and where&s;oever it is rightly unfolded and made mani|fe&s;t in the proclamation of peace and reconciliation of God and man in one; <HI>if the Son of peace be there,</HI> he accepteth and recei|vet the &s;ame as the right of his inheritance.</P>
<P>If the Elders pray or prophecy unto health therefore, they pray or prophe&s;ie to the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins, in whom&s;oeve, commu|cates in the &s;ame, <HI>his &s;ins are forgiven him.</HI></P>
<P>To conclude this point, it concerns us, then to know what &s;in is, that we may rightly conceive of it, as it is pardonable, and al|&s;o as it not pardonable, for there is a &s;in (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle <HI>John) which is not unto death,</HI> or which is not in death, that is, it is not in that way of death; <HI>and there is a &s;in that is in death, I do not &s;ay
<PB N="164" REF="90">
that you &s;hall pray for it;</HI> that is, you &s;hall not pray for the pardon of it, becau&s;e it is not to be pardoned; for where Chri&s;t is once crucified in the &s;pirit, he never is to live in that heart according to the &s;pirit, no more then where he is once crucified in the fle&s;h, he never lives in that heart according to the fle&s;h.</P>
<P>Therefore in the next place he exhorts us unto the confe&s;&s;ion of our faults, in the true acknowledgement of them one to ano|ther.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="verse">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 16. Confe&s;&s;e your faults one unto another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed; the ef|fectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man a|vaileth much.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In the&s;e ob&s;erve,</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. An exhortation con&s;i&s;ting of two parts,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>To</HI> confe&s;&s;e faults one to another.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To</HI> pray one for another.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>The end wherefore;</HI> That ye may be healed.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. A rea&s;on, ground, or cau&s;e drawn from the nature of prayer, which is two-fold.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It is <HI>effectuall.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It is <HI>fervent.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The qualitie of the per&s;on praying; that is, <HI>A righteous man.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. The i&s;&s;ue or event of &s;uch prayer; <HI>It avayleth much.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. ANd fir&s;t for confe&s;&s;ion of faults, &s;ins, or oberations from a law; <HI>For where no law is, there is no tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, for &s;inne is the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of a law,</HI> or as the word is, the withoutne&s;&s;e of a rule.</P>
<P>Now there is the law of the fle&s;h, or carnall commandement, which is <HI>the law of &s;inne and death:</HI> and there is <HI>the law of the &s;pirit,</HI> or power of faith, which is the perfect rule of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>or law of the &s;pirit of life in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="165" REF="90">
Now the carnall commandement or perfunctory and fading ordinances may be broken, yea <HI>abrogated and nayled to the cro&s;&s;e, as that which is again&s;t us,</HI> and yet forgiven; for every breach or pier|cing through of <HI>the &s;onne of man;</HI> that is, mans in&s;titutions and appoyntments compo&s;ed by that carnall law, <HI>&s;hall be forgiven,</HI> or are forgiven; for the di&s;annulling of mans wi&s;dome, and in that re&s;pect to <HI>become a foole,</HI> is the e&s;tabli&s;hment of Gods wi&s;dome, in the removall of all guilt and condemnation from the &s;oule.</P>
<P>And there is the law of the &s;pirit, or of that holy Gho&s;t, which if a man <HI>&s;peake a word again&s;t</HI> intentionally, or bla&s;pheme and pierce through; that is, abrogate or make a nullity of it, <HI>It &s;hall never be forgiven neither in this world nor in the world to come;</HI> that is, neither in the pre&s;ent mind and con&s;cience of him that &s;o doth, nor in that holy mind and judgment of Chri&s;t, from pa&s;&s;ing &s;en|tence again&s;t it, being &s;o remote, and at &s;uch a di&s;tance from it, and contrary unto it; for the abrogation of the law of the &s;pirit is no le&s;&s;e then to di&s;annull that wi&s;dome of God in Chri&s;t; by which device only the &s;in and guilt of the &s;ons of men is taken a|way, and no other way, for el&s;e-where the redemption of the &s;oule cea&s;eth for ever.</P>
<P>Confe&s;&s;ion of &s;ins then one to another: This phra&s;e <HI>one to another</HI> is of like nature, as when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> ca&s;t down his rod on the earth of <HI>Aegypt,</HI> it became (or as the word is) it was <HI>to</HI> a Serpent; when it was on the ground, it was a Serpent, a quite contrary thing then when it is in his hand, or Mini&s;try; the one declaring the Dragons fury, in that government of <HI>Pharaoh</HI> in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> and the other that rod or &s;cepter in the rule of Chri&s;t, as that <HI>Shepheard and feeder of I&s;rael,</HI> as the word rod &s;ignifies a Scepter.</P>
<P>So that when we confes &s;in, that is, the breach of the law of the &s;pirit in the world, through the ob&s;ervation of the carnall com|mand, where Chri&s;t is bereaved of all his proper vertues &amp; opera|tions of his &s;pirit, it is unto another; that is, that &s;tate is become another thing (as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> rod was) then the &s;on of God; for it is that &s;on of perdition, even Sathan him&s;elfe, though under the fi|gure of <HI>an Angell of light,</HI> in the eye of the men of the world.</P>
<P>Again, when we confe&s;&s;e &s;in; that is, the breach or abrogati|on of the law, or carnall command, that Chri&s;t is bereaved and di&s;poyled of all glory, power, and vertue of the arm of fle&s;h: &s;o
<PB N="166" REF="91">
that <HI>his own arm &s;aves</HI> and gets the victory, <HI>not by might, nor by pow|er, but by my &s;pirit, &s;aith the Lord of ho&s;ts.</HI> We confe&s;&s;e, this &s;inne a|gain&s;t the carnall command, unto the unity of the &s;pirit, and the fulfilling of the law of Chri&s;t, or of that rule of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that is by faith in him, which is to another; that is, to another thing, &s;tate, and condition then that of the letter that &s;tands in outward ob&s;ervations, temporary engagements, and performan|ces, and this is that one and alone good thing de&s;irable, that Chri&s;t of God that carrieth and abideth for ever.</P>
<P>To confe&s;&s;e &s;in therefore, or to make profe&s;&s;ion of any thing; that is, to prai&s;e or acknowledge it, is to give the thing its nature and properties unto the utmo&s;t extent, and &s;o it mu&s;t be here to an utter contrariety, va&s;t and perpetuated di&s;tance of the law of the fle&s;h, and that of the &s;pirit, otherwi&s;e we contra|dict the command of God, by <HI>plowing with an oxe &amp; an a&s;&s;e together,</HI> by <HI>wearing a garment of linnen and woollen,</HI> and by &s;owing our field with <HI>two kinds of &s;eed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Here ari&s;eth a nece&s;&s;ary que&s;tion; <HI>Whether in the acknow|ledgment of the nullity of the law of the carnall commandement, unto that unity that is in Chri&s;t, a Chri&s;tian doth not thereby reckon and acc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">unt all the vertue of the Son of God to be his own proper portion and patrimony, as al&s;o whether in acknowledgement of the nullity of that law of the &s;pirit unto the unity of the harlot, he doth not as nece&s;&s;arily reckon unto him&s;elf as his due and proper right and inheritance, all tho&s;e vicious abominations that re&s;t and abide in the bo&s;ome of that man of &s;inne, which is An|tichri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To which we an&s;wer, that there is a like truth and rea|lity in the acknowledgment of the one, as there is in the other, taken in a due re&s;pect, as the mind of God commends the &s;ame unto us, where he &s;aith; <HI>So then with my minde I my &s;elfe &s;erve the law of God, but with my fle&s;h the law of &s;in.</HI> For a Chri&s;tian mu&s;t be plain down-right and reall in his acknowledgments before God, whether of &s;in, or of the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, yea in the root and originall both of the one and of the other.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But a Chri&s;tian by faith profe&s;&s;ing the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;s, and fountaine out of which they flow, is endewed with the life and &s;pirit of them, according to their native property in that ble&s;&s;ed &s;ubject of Chri|&s;tianity, el&s;e his confe&s;&s;ion of them is but as a fire paynted upon a wall, or
<PB N="167" REF="91">
the picture of a man carved out of wood or &s;tone, that wants &s;oule and &s;pi|rit, the ground of motion and operation.</HI></P>
<P><HI>For what is it to profe&s;&s;e or acknowledge the love of God, unle&s;&s;e it be kindled in our hearts to a flame,</HI> that many waters cannot quench, neither the world drown; <HI>or to confe&s;&s;e the power of Chri&s;t, unle&s;&s;e</HI> through him we be able to do all things; <HI>or to prai&s;e the Kingdome, Prie&s;thood, and propheticall office of Chri&s;t, unle&s;&s;e we have the power of rule, reconciliation, and interpretation in us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Will it not then al&s;o follow, that if he deale faithfully and &s;en&s;ibly in the confe&s;&s;ion of &s;in, as that</HI> he hath not the under&s;tanding of a man, <HI>that he</HI> per&s;ecuted the Church of God; <HI>that he is the</HI> chiefe of &s;in|ners; <HI>that</HI> the terrours of the Almighty are upon him; <HI>that</HI> out of the belly of Hell he cries unto God, that he is &s;hut up, and can|not come out. <HI>If he deale playnly in that, and be reall, will it not fol|low, that he hath in him the vicious de&s;ire of the fle&s;h, the &s;tate of the De|vill (if he be the chiefe of &s;inners) and partaker of the terrors of Sathan &s;en&s;ibly, if he cry out of the womb of hell; that if the creature, man par|ticipate of joyes cele&s;tiall and eternall in confe&s;&s;ion and acknowledgment of them: So the creature or man mu&s;t partake of all abominations of &s;inne, and &s;tate and condition of the Devill, if he be reall al&s;o therein, in his acknowledgments.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> We an&s;wer in the name of God, that no &s;uch con&s;e|quence follows upon a reall confe&s;&s;ion of &s;in: But through the wi&s;dome and device of God, it proves an eternall &s;eparation of the &s;pirit of a Chri&s;tian from all &s;uch &s;ins and &s;orrows; ju&s;tly and really acknowledged in and upon man-kind, or that matter whereof a Saint doth con&s;i&s;t; and this is proved by a true and re|all di&s;tribution of man, or of the creature, according to the word of the Lord gone out in the di&s;po&s;ing of it, as a reall &s;ubject of mercy and &s;everity, of love and wrath.</P>
<P>We are to take a man in a two fold re&s;pect according to the intention and expre&s;&s;ion of the word of God, which rightly judg|eth and determineth all things.</P>
<P N="1">1. As it &s;peaketh on this wi&s;e, <HI>All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth,</HI> becau&s;e he is the &s;on of <HI>man.</HI></P>
<P>Againe, whether is it ea&s;ier to &s;ay, <HI>Ari&s;e, take up thy bed and walke;</HI> or to &s;ay, <HI>thy &s;ins are forgiven, but that ye might know that the &s;onne of man hath power to forgive &s;ins.</HI> So al&s;o, <HI>ble&s;&s;ed is the man,</HI> or
<PB N="168" REF="92">
oh how happy it is, and well for us, that <HI>man</HI> going right for|ward, not turning a&s;ide to the right hand nor to the left: The Hebrew word <HI>A&s;hrei</HI> imports that &s;imple and immixt condition of <HI>man,</HI> which is only found in that <HI>man</HI> of God, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, <HI>who is God ble&s;&s;ed for ever,</HI> being that beginning, head, or fountaine <HI>of the creation of God,</HI> that new creature: and in this &s;ence is <HI>man,</HI> or the <HI>Creature</HI> con&s;iderable in the an&s;wer of this objection.</P>
<P N="2">2. We are to take <HI>man</HI> al&s;o in another &s;ence infinitely remote from this, where it is &s;aid, <HI>man being in honour abideth not but is like the bea&s;t that peri&s;heth;</HI> and wo unto that <HI>man</HI> by whom the Son of man is betrayed it were good for that <HI>man</HI> if he had never been born; al&s;o, if an enemy had done it I could have born it, but it was thou <HI>Oh man,</HI> my familiar I &s;peaking of the trechary of <HI>Achitophel,</HI> and Prophecying of <HI>Judas,</HI> into whom Satan entred, which is that <HI>man of &s;in,</HI> that Antichri&s;t and deceiver, of which &s;pi|rit and power there were many in the Apo&s;tles time: but the Prei&s;thood of our times have collected them into one man only, and crowded him up only in that corner of the world called <HI>Rome,</HI> that &s;o notice may not be taken of their oppo&s;ing and re|jecting of Chri&s;t to the deceiving of the people, as that &s;pirit ever doth into him, or into them. Satan enters, or takes his beginning in them; for as the Son of God hath no beginning but in man, &s;o Satan, or the Devil hath no beginning, but in man, even in that <HI>man of &s;in and &s;on of perdition,</HI> for as the Scriptures give the word of truth a being from the beginning, for <HI>in the beginning was the word,</HI> even &s;o it gives Satan to be <HI>a lyer from the beginning,</HI> and one that <HI>abides not in the truth:</HI> and this two-fold e&s;ta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e <HI>man</HI> to be ta|ken in, el&s;e know we not how to acknowledge &s;in, nor how to prai&s;e God for our deliverance into tho&s;e fruits and happy e&s;tate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>We an&s;wer then, that, when a Chri&s;tian confe&s;&s;eth, acknow|ledgeth, or prai&s;eth the excellencies of God in Chri&s;t, giving them their proper and full vertue and extent, as love, joy, mercy, gen|tlene&s;&s;e, kindene&s;&s;e, bounty, power, and eternall goodne&s;&s;e, <HI>man</HI> participates thereof; the creature really and &s;en&s;ibly po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;eth and enjoys them in the unfeigned and ju&s;t confe&s;&s;ion of them; that is, the <HI>man of God, the new creature,</HI> which is that work-man&s;hip of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and <HI>man-like</HI> Son of God, &s;tan|ding
<PB N="169" REF="92">
in that one alone &s;on&s;hip of God not found extant but in Chri&s;t that annointed one.</P>
<P>But <HI>man,</HI> or the <HI>creature,</HI> that is, that <HI>man of &s;in, made to be taken and de&s;troyed, ungodlike men, that man of Beliall,</HI> that <HI>vaine and empty man of faith without works,</HI> of which beleife the Devill is, yea that Antichri&s;tian &s;pirit, wherever it is, that molds the wor&s;hip of God into a form, tying him to appear in the &s;ame figure and po&s;ture: Againe, we &s;ay that <HI>man</HI> or that <HI>creature</HI> hath no fellow&s;hip with the things proper to the Son of God, as peace, joy, love, nor any of the fruits of the &s;pirit, which are by Chri&s;t, he is a &s;tranger unto them all, and therfore <HI>intermeddles not with the joy of the &s;aints,</HI> though they be reall, forceable, and effectuall in the <HI>man of God,</HI> or &s;aint by calling, when ever they are uttred or expre&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Even &s;o there are the terrors of death, vexations of &s;pirit, guilt of &s;in, condemnatory &s;entence of con&s;cience, that ever accompa|nies the &s;ins confe&s;&s;ed by a Saint really beyond any &s;hadow, or &s;emblance, and that not bounded by time, but are eternall; and yet the <HI>man</HI> or the <HI>creature,</HI> that is, the <HI>man of God,</HI> or the <HI>new crea|ture</HI> participates not in the lea&s;t in any of their di&s;tre&s;&s;e, guilt, or fear, no more then the wicked partake in the joys of &s;alvation in Chri&s;t; he hath no taint or tincture of the enmity of the Serpent, nor &s;ence unto pangs and vexation of the guilt of corrupt and defiled con&s;cience, and yet &s;aith truly and unfeignedly, this is my &s;in, this is my death, and this abomination is in me; that is, <HI>in my fle&s;h,</HI> or in that carnall e&s;tate out of which I am taken, where <HI>dwels no good thing,</HI> but is a cage of all unclean and abominable fil|thine&s;&s;e, and wickedne&s;&s;e; So that in a true confe&s;&s;ion of &s;in ac|cording to faith; not onely it, but all its appurtenances are car|ried forth and &s;et upon their proper ba&s;e; that is, in that <HI>land of Shiner, which is Babylon,</HI> that confu&s;ion gone over all the earth, which is that &s;trict compo&s;ure of things by mans wi&s;dome, ac|cording to times, places, per&s;ons, and temporary re&s;pects what|&s;oever, which makes a nullity of Gods order, who is a God com|po&s;ed thereof, and all things therein are illimitted, not any thing tyed to time, place, per&s;on, or any temporary or fading bond what&s;oever, otherwi&s;e it is not the order of the Son of God, but a device and inventions of man unto confu&s;ion, whether the Epha of wickedne&s;&s;e is carried, and is the hou&s;e built for it where for
<PB N="170" REF="93">
ever it &s;hall remaine and abide.</P>
<P>Thither all &s;in and &s;orrow in true confe&s;&s;ion is carried, as ful|ly as all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and peace is carried onely into that hap|py e&s;tate and incomprehen&s;ible order, that is, of God by Je&s;us Chri&s;t; the carnall <HI>minde,</HI> or man therefore, is onely &s;en&s;ible of &s;in, in the way o&s; Gods di&s;plea&s;ure, but not of that vertue of re|conciliation; and the &s;pirituall <HI>minde,</HI> or man, is onely &s;enfible of all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in way of the peace of God, but not of that horror which comes through that breach of the everla&s;ting Co|venant.</P>
<P>And yet is neither the one nor the other voyd of &s;ence, with re&s;pect unto the others condition.</P>
<P>For the wicked from the &s;ight of the Saints being lifted up in that holy unction, and taken into an everla&s;ting reigne and au|thority, by unity with an omnipotent and all-&s;ufficient power, are filled with fear, and terror at the fight and apprehen&s;ion there|of, as having the glory of a righteous Judge; al&s;o the Saints of God beholding them&s;elves lifted up, and taken out of that fearful and abominable &s;tate and condition of the wicked, rejoice there|at <HI>with joy un&s;peakable and full of glory;</HI> even as <HI>Noah,</HI> when he &s;aw the waters over-whelm and de&s;troy the world, was by the &s;ame waters lifted up to heaven, as &s;a&s;e from all rocks, mountaines, or hills that might annoy him; &s;o the Saints &s;eeing how the Son of God hath given him&s;elfe unto death in the world (never to live the life of the Son of God in them) as a ran&s;ome, whereby he is lifted up unto the throne of Gods glory in the Saints everla&s;ting|ly, which carries with it a holy &s;hout, harmonious and melodi|ous &s;inging and rejoycing for ever, to &s;ee the terrors of death captivated under eternall darkne&s;&s;e, which can never &s;eize nor in|trench upon that Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which &s;hineth in the &s;aved of the Lord.</P>
<P>The &s;econd part of the exhortation is, <HI>to pray one for another,</HI> or appeal one to another; the word <HI>for,</HI> and <HI>to,</HI> are indifferently taken, as you may &s;ee by the difference of tran&s;lations. One &s;aith, a P&s;alm for the &s;ons of <HI>Corah;</HI> and another &s;aith, a P&s;alme to the &s;ons of <HI>Corah,</HI> &s;o that here it is taken for <HI>one to another;</HI> that is, in your confe&s;&s;ions of the nullity and breach of the law of the &s;pirit by that wicked one; do you appeal to the law of the carnall
<PB N="171" REF="93">
command which is of &s;in and death, which is thereby e&s;tabli&s;hed and confirmed in the world, whereby the men thereof are effectu|ally bound over (under that &s;pirit of bondage) to walk and work according to the letter that kills, and to emulate, decline, and reject (in all things) the &s;pirit that giveth life.</P>
<P>And at that Judgment-&s;eat, behold the &s;ummoning in, and the a&s;&s;embling of all &s;in in the fight of God, by the cruci&s;ication of Chri&s;t, together with the manner of Gods execution of wrath for your acquittance and e&s;cape: For in that throne is all &s;in &s;ummed up, as in that King of <HI>Tyrus,</HI> for corrupting the wi&s;dome and prophaning the holy things of God, &s;ee <HI>Ezek.</HI> 28.</P>
<P>Againe in the acknowledgement of the breach and nullity of the law of the fle&s;h, appeal to the law of the &s;pirit, for it is the per|fection and fulfilment thereof; for the disjunction from all carnal and diabolicall things, is the conjunction of God and man in Chri&s;t, the crucification of Chri&s;t by the mini&s;try of the letter in the world, is the rai&s;ing of him up from that death in the mini&s;try of the &s;pirit, in the Saints, for it is impo&s;&s;ible that the Sonne of God &s;hould be held of death, &s;o as not to live his proper and na|tive life.</P>
<P>If we expect unity with all the excellencies and virtues of God, we mu&s;t be loo&s;ned and di&s;united from all carnall relations and bonds, and we mu&s;t either have unity with all the things proper unto God, or none, for he cannot be devided, therefore we mu&s;t admit of a totall &s;eperation from all carnal things; that is, &s;uch as fade &amp; have an end; however we know that all things are law|ful with due re&s;pect unto Gods call in the u&s;e of them, yet are we not to be brought under the power of any thing as by a bond &s;ubjected unto it, but to u&s;e the world as though we u&s;ed it not, to marry as though we married not, and to buy as though we po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed not, for the Son of God never acknowledged conjuga|tion, or copulation, by any carnall tie, or bond; therefore when his mother told him at the fea&s;t, <HI>that they had no wine,</HI> he &s;aith unto her, <HI>woman what have I to do with thee, mine houre is not yet come,</HI> as to have my works and times &s;et and appointed unto me by vertue of any earthly or temporary relation, therefore &s;hee bids the &s;ervants look unto his time and his command, &s;aying, <HI>what &s;oever he commands you, that doe.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="172" REF="94">
Where the force of earthly relations takes place of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, that &s;tate or place of honour &s;hall never &s;ucceed well.</P>
<P>Againe, when one told Je&s;us that his mother and his brethren &s;tood without to &s;peak with him, he an&s;wered and &s;aid to him that told him, <HI>Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? and he &s;treched forth his hand towards his Di&s;ciples and &s;aid, behold my mother and my brethren; for who&s;oever &s;hall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the &s;ame is my brother, and &s;i&s;ter, and mother,</HI> all relations centred in one; al&s;o when his mother found him in the Temple Que&s;tioning the Doctors, &s;aying, <HI>why ha&s;t thou thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I have &s;ought thee, &s;orrowing:</HI> but he an&s;wers, <HI>how is it that yee &s;ought me, wi&s;t you not that I mu&s;t be about my fathers bu&s;ine&s;&s;e?</HI> as acknowledging none but that one father of eternity, and in &s;uch relations &s;tands the band of a Chri&s;tian, and therein is the acknowledgement of his ingagements.</P>
<P>But from this point it will be gathered by carnall &s;pirits as of old, <HI>then let us do evill that good may come thereby, who&s;e damnation is ju&s;t;</HI> if this be true, then let us endeavour to undermine, extir|pate, root out, and bring to nought all naturall relations and con&s;ociations among&s;t the &s;ons of men.</P>
<P N="1">1. To which we an&s;wer, that no &s;uch con&s;equence followes upon the &s;pirit of Chri&s;tianity, for the abrogation of the law of the fle&s;h is to repeal and aboli&s;h it compleatly, and it confi&s;ts of an affirmative and negative part; the affirmative is to &s;et up, adorne, and maintain all things honourable in the fight of man, according to the nature, manner, and con&s;titution of the place where it is exerci&s;ed, and to avoyd and abandon the contrary &s;hame, and this is but one admini&s;tration or law, for they are in|&s;eperably joyned together, even as the honourable &s;entence of the Judge of a Size unto death, and the &s;hame&s;ull office of the hang-man are but one admini&s;tration; So that from the office of the Judge, you bring in the office of the Hang-man; and from the act of the hang-man, you include the office of the Judge, or el&s;e the law is not compleated in that point; right &s;o in the aboli&s;hing and di&s;annulling of the law of the fle&s;h, that it takes not hold as being any yoak or bond upon the Saints, it is compleatly repealed and made voyd, both in re&s;pect of all things
<PB N="173" REF="94">
that the world makes and accounts honourable, and likewi&s;e of all things that are di&s;honourable and &s;hamefull in the &s;ame ac|count; &s;o that it becomes nothing el&s;e but a provocation unto them, to guard and fortifie them&s;elves again&s;t the one and the other, for they are one intire and undivided law or admini&s;tra|tion.</P>
<P>The Saints therefore cannot go about to e&s;tabli&s;h that which they aboli&s;h (for the &s;hamefull acts of the world are nulled unto them as well as the honourable) no more then the wicked in ma|king voyd unto them&s;elves the law of the &s;pirit, can po&s;&s;ibly go about to &s;et up or advance the cro&s;&s;e of our Lord Je&s;us in the true vertue and power of it.</P>
<P N="2">2. We an&s;wer, that to &s;uch a conclu&s;ion from our freedome from the carnall command, or way of the letter of the Scripture, is to lay a hard thought and deep cen&s;ure upon the &s;pirit and power of God; for &s;hall the wi&s;dome and in&s;titutions of man that &s;hall vani&s;h and come to naught, have power in them to pro|voke to dilligence? to pre&s;erve in peace? to keep in temporance, cha&s;tity, gravity, and moderation in all things? and &s;hall not the &s;pirit of God, or law of that &s;pirit be &s;ufficiently wi&s;e and able to pre&s;erve men in mode&s;tety, cha&s;tity, gravity, and moderation in all things? with wi&s;dome, care, and deligence to u&s;e the crea|ture of what kinde &s;oever, according to time, place, and occa&s;i|on, as becomes the nature end and u&s;e thereof, without li&s;enti|ous and la&s;civious liberty? &s;urely tho&s;e that &s;o judge never found nor felt the virtue, life, liberty, and power of the &s;pirit of our on|ly Lord&s;hip, and &s;alvation, Je&s;us: Therefore the rea&s;on of our thus appealing follows.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Namely that yee may be healed.</HEAD>
<P>The &s;pirit of God makes this manner of appeal the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion to purge out all &s;uperfluous humors, the &s;overaign &s;alve to cure all de&s;ea&s;es, the cordiall medicine again&s;t all crudities of &s;oule, and peccant humours of &s;pirit; this <HI>is health to thy navell, and mar|row unto thy bones:</HI> If when we &s;ee the breach o&s; the law of the &s;pi|rit of Chri&s;t, we carry it unto the law of the fle&s;h, and ob&s;erve how that is onely e&s;tabli&s;hed thereby: and when we ob&s;erve the repeal of the law of the fle&s;h as made of none effect, we carry it up into the law of the &s;pirit, and know that it is e&s;tabli&s;hed and
<PB N="174" REF="95">
confirmed for ever thereby. This is the <HI>Medicamento&s;us,</HI> without which no prayer can be made acceptable unto God; for if prayer confirme not the law of the &s;pirit, it bindes not over the Lord to be our &s;upply, if it comprize not his mercy within the bounds of its proper place, which is Chri&s;t our boundle&s;&s;e and common &s;al|vation.</P>
<P>This appeal or prayer mu&s;t al&s;o confirme the law of the fle&s;h, or el&s;e it carrieth not all &s;in and &s;orrow into its proper place of aboad, which is Antichri&s;t, or Satan that <HI>&s;layer of the Sonne of man from the beginning,</HI> even as <HI>Caine</HI> &s;lew his brother, becau&s;e his own works are evill, and the works of the Sonne of man good; and in the&s;e twain &s;tands the health of our &s;ouls, and is by them pre|&s;erved for ever, <HI>viz.</HI> a place of the reception of all wickedne&s;&s;e, where it abides exerci&s;ed in the cur&s;e for the acquitting of the Saints for ever.</P>
<P>And a place of reception into righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and re&s;idence of that ble&s;&s;ed e&s;tate of the Sonne of God in the love and delight of the father for ever, in the ju&s;t condemnation of all enmity.</P>
<P>The third point is the ground of this &s;ound and healthfull condition by this appeal, or prayer; and fir&s;t it is effectuall, or forceable, without let or hinderance; the appeal is made upon &s;uch grounds, as nothing can &s;top the bringing of the cau&s;e thi|ther, either for the &s;tating of &s;in, or of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; of the cur&s;e in the confirmation of the law of the fle&s;h, or of the ble&s;&s;ing in the law of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t in the one, and Antichri&s;t in the o|ther.</P>
<P>No Super&s;edias can be &s;ued out, no counter-command can be given, no ob&s;truction can be made, to &s;top or recall the &s;tating of all abominations in the exerci&s;e and practice of the carnall com|mand, and all the vertues, excellencies, and dignities of God in Chri&s;t in that law of the &s;pirit; for Satan the God of this world, which is the wi&s;dome of the world, the &s;ubtilty of the &s;erpent, as he is a murther our from the beginning, in &s;laying and putting to death the Lord of life and glory; &s;o is he a lyar, and abode not in the truth; &s;o is he &s;acrelegious, robing God of his glory, making him&s;elfe to be God, adulterating the word of God, tur|ning the glory of God into &s;hame, and is the &s;ole and proper oppo&s;er of God in all his excellencies; therefore nothing can
<PB N="175" REF="95">
hinder, no law or evidence gain-&s;ay, but that &s;tate is the pro|per &s;inck and center of all wickedne&s;&s;e, and &s;o of all wrath. Al&s;o in its appeal to the law of the &s;pirit, which is the proper order and compo&s;ure of the Son of God, what can ob&s;truct but that in him are all tho&s;e dementions of height, depth, length, and breadth, of the goodne&s;&s;e, mercy, truth, life, power, &s;pirit, and love of God for ever; therefore this prayer or appeal is mo&s;t forceable and effectuall, it pa&s;&s;eth through without let or hinde|rance, for the performance of its work, in rendring to each his right, in the perfecting of the cau&s;e of its appeal.</P>
<P>2. It is fervent, <HI>hot,</HI> without any intermixture of cold, the word &s;ignifies to <HI>boyle,</HI> which admits of no cooling thing to come there; &s;uch is the nature of true prayer, it admits no chilly or cold thing to be ca&s;t into the love and zeal of God in Chri&s;t, but findes <HI>the coles thereof to be fiery coles, yea to have a vehement flame.</HI></P>
<P>Neither can the &s;pirit of prayer admit of any cooling mixtures in the fume and heat of Gods wrath, in the wealthy of the world named above; for <HI>a fire is kindled in mine anger which &s;hall burn down to the nethermo&s;t hell.</HI></P>
<P>But the Academi&s;ts of our age, they know how to moderate the love of Chri&s;t in tho&s;e whom they call Saints, by &s;ome cold and decaying humor of the &s;pirit of the world; yet tradition is of that &s;trength in them that they dare not impute &s;uch to him that was borne of the Virgin: but for any &s;ound knowledg they have of him, they might as &s;oon do it to him as any of that my|&s;ticall body, and would for advantage, if they had been brought up in Schools of &s;uch principles, for they have nothing but what they receive from man.</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e they can cool Gods infinite di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t &s;in, with graduall di&s;tinctions of it as good part in nature, &s;ome good works wraught, &s;ome remainders of Gods image in the wicked, &s;uch &s;leights of Satan we skill not but are confident; the path of fervent prayer never lay in that way, nor &s;hall ever be beaten out or found in it, by all tho&s;e carnall and &s;uper&s;titious cuttings, and fle&s;hly laun&s;ings of the Prie&s;ts of <HI>Baall,</HI> to uphold <HI>Ahabs</HI> Throne in all the Statues of his Ance&s;tor <HI>Omry.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="176" REF="96">
The fourth point is the qualification of the per&s;on praying, and that is <HI>a righteous man.</HI></P>
<P>Now a righteous or ju&s;t man is he, who gives every thing its proper right and due, which appertains and belongs unto it; if we &s;peak of any thing of God, give unto it ari&s;e, arraign, and &s;cope appertaining to God; if we &s;peak of any of the ordinances of God, give them the vertue, property, duration, and continu|ance of the Son of God, who abides for ever, el&s;e we give not the Son of God that great ordinance and fountaine of all holy ordi|nances his right and due, who is holy, &s;pirituall, ju&s;t and good, otherwi&s;e they are human and peri&s;hing things, and we are found unju&s;t in not giving Chri&s;t his due, the &s;pirit of prayer and this effectuall appeal re&s;ides not there.</P>
<P>Againe, if we &s;peak of any thing as not having the Sonne of God in it, then give it the &s;pirit and power of the Prince of the aire, <HI>the &s;pirit that now works in the children of unbeleif,</HI> or di&s;obe|dience, for the &s;cope and end of all things is Chri&s;t, in the exer|ci&s;e of mercy in the faith of the Go&s;pel, or in the exerci&s;e of wrath in that way of Antichri&s;t, for <HI>we know that we are of God, and the world is of that wicked one,</HI> namely the Devil; therefore if we &s;peak of &s;in, give it its due, the guilt of making a nullity and falcificati|on of him that made all things in truth.</P>
<P>If we &s;peak of &s;inners, give them the &s;tate and condition of <HI>their father the Devill, who&s;e works they do and will doe.</HI></P>
<P>Either clear the innocent whom God in Chri&s;t ju&s;tifies once and for ever, and &s;o give them their due belonging unto them, and condemn the guilty, who reject the manner and way of his acquitting of his Saints, or el&s;e no per&s;on quallified for prayer; if you &s;peak of death, bring it unto the &s;cope, either death unto all tran&s;itory and carnall things in Chri&s;t, or el&s;e death unto all &s;pirituall and durable things in Antichri&s;t, or el&s;e we give not right unto it, and &s;o are not that righteous man who&s;e prayer a|vaileth, and is the event and i&s;&s;ue of this prayer, which is the fifth point, that is, <HI>it availeth much.</HI></P>
<P>Now for prayer to avail much, is as much as if he &s;aid in more words, it effecteth, accompli&s;heth, and brings to pa&s;&s;e all things, even as not to avayl is of none effect, worth, nor excellency: So it is &s;ayd, <HI>Circumci&s;ion or uncircumci&s;ion avayls nothing, but a new
<PB N="169" REF="96">
creature,</HI> that is all in all; for it hath the whole workman-&s;hip of the Son of God in it. Ob&s;erve the &s;peech of <HI>Haman,</HI> when he is nvited to the fea&s;t the Queen makes for the King, who calling his wife and his friends, tells them <HI>of the glory of his riches, and the mul|titude of his children, and all the things wherein the King had promoted him; and how he had advanced him above the Princes and &s;ervants of the King.</HI> Haman <HI>&s;aid moreover; yea</HI> He&s;ter <HI>the Queen did let no man come in with the King unto the banquet &s;hee had prepared, but my &s;elfe, and to morrow am I invited unto her al&s;o with the King; yet all this a|vaileth me nothing, &s;o long as I &s;ee Mordecai the Iew &s;itting at the Kings gate.</HI> A wicked State&s;-man cannot endure <HI>Mordecai,</HI> which ac|cording to the etymology of the word is pure myrrhe, or myrrhe of freedome, &s;ignifying the &s;weet liberty of the Go&s;pel, for it is the fir&s;t of the chiefe &s;pices in the annoynting oyle, to &s;hew the Princely dignity that is in the grace of the Go&s;pel, that bowes, nor is &s;ubject to any carnall thing what&s;oever; for there is but one <HI>primatus</HI> or <HI>&s;ummus</HI> which moves <HI>Haman</HI> try Ma&s;tery with <HI>Morde|cai,</HI> which &s;hall be lifted up the highe&s;t. There is not the mo&s;t ci|vilized man in the world, de&s;titute of the &s;pirit of God, put in place of dignity, that can admit of the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, to have &s;upremacy; for it is as a moth to carnall pomp, declaring it to be enmity, therefore carnall Kingdome mu&s;t ever have carnall Prie&s;t-hood to uphold it, by deifying of it, and it rewards them with tythes and protection.</P>
<P>But <HI>Mordecai</HI> (the Jew inward in heart) will not be endured by <HI>Haman;</HI> for the King repre&s;ents a &s;tranger wonne to the faith, as that <HI>Aegyptian</HI> King which acknowledged <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI> So that no|thing avayls, if <HI>Mordecai</HI> live, who is a worme unto all <HI>Hamans</HI> honour, that nothing is had nor done unto him, till <HI>Mordecai</HI> be taken out of the way: but to avail much, is to bring all things to pa&s;&s;e, to be, and to have the fulne&s;&s;e of the &s;oules de&s;ired, and im|power'd with vertue and &s;trength to perform and effect what hea|ven and earth can yeeld or deny to any, and therefore an in&s;tance is brought of <HI>Eliah</HI> for the proof hereof.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="170" REF="97">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 17. Elias was a man &s;ubject to like pa&s;&s;ions as wee are, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>In which in&s;tance or continued and per&s;evering exemplary vertue, ob&s;erve for order the&s;e things.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The party in&s;tanced in, that is <HI>Eliah.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. His condition; <HI>A man &s;ubject to pa&s;&s;ion;</HI> together with the con&s;imilitude, that is, <HI>as we are.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. His act, that is, <HI>He prayed.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The i&s;&s;ue or effect of his prayer; <HI>It rained not.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. The time how long; that is, <HI>for the &s;pace of three yeares and &s;ixe moneths.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>6. The renewing of his prayer, and the effect thereof; <HI>And hee prayed againe, and the heavens gave raine, and the earth brought forth her fruit.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. FRom the fir&s;t, the party in&s;tanced in is <HI>Eliah;</HI> ob&s;erve thus much, <HI>That it plea&s;eth God to memorize the names of his Saints, by acts of honour which he leads them through in the world.</HI> This is e|vident throughout the holy letters written from heaven unto us, &s;ee an epitomy hereof in that 11. <HI>Chap.</HI> to the <HI>Hebrews.</HI></P>
<P>The ground of it is, becau&s;e the acts of the Saints are the ope|rations of Chri&s;t: <HI>Now I live, yet not I, but Chri&s;t lives in me;</HI> which life is the root of all their motion, and the memorizing of him is Gods ayme and end in all his wayes and operations; hee it is whom he will make <HI>higher then Agag,</HI> greater in power and au|thority then all the Kings of the earth; His acts therefore mu&s;t be as <HI>monuments</HI> in the world, who <HI>ever is made marvellous in mercy, only in them that believe:</HI> Therefore God makes them as monu|ments thereof, &s;etting them as <HI>Cities upon a hill,</HI> to whom all &s;hall repayr for the riche&s;t merchandize; and as beakens upon a high mountayn, who only can give warning of the approach of the adver&s;ary: <HI>And as the lights of the world,</HI> without which no man can worke; however the Prophets and Apo&s;tles were under per&s;ecution, ignominy, and di&s;grace in the time of their &s;ojour|ning
<PB N="171" REF="97">
here; yet now <HI>where is the wi&s;e? where is the &s;cribe? where is the di&s;puter of this world,</HI> but &s;eeks to uphold and honour him&s;elfe by them? Yea, that very &s;pirit that &s;lew them, now builds their Sepulchres, and &s;aith, <HI>If they had lived in their fathers dayes, they would not have done as they did.</HI> Nay, God will regi&s;ter the names of his Saints in that book of life, in whom&s;oever the life of Chri&s;t is, there they &s;hall be memorized, and &s;et up by God as Stan|dard-bearers in their generations; before whom, if the enemy come in as a flood, the &s;pirit of the Lord &s;hall lift up a Standard again&s;t him, and cha&s;e him away.</P>
<P>Wonderfull is it to con&s;ider of this point, when we &s;ee &s;o ma|ny have gone down to the du&s;t by plague, famine, &s;word, and not a name of them left upon record in the world: but hee that once comes within the volume of that &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion, &s;hall remayn engraven as in a precious &s;tone upon the brea&s;t-plate, or heart-ornament of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, as a record or in&s;cription of ble&s;|&s;ed memory for ever.</P>
<P>Therefore the next words are brought in, <HI>viz. Is a man,</HI> or as the word will beare, <HI>Is a thing,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle affirms; <HI>Henceforth we know no man after the fle&s;h;</HI> or as the word is <HI>(nothing:)</HI> So here <HI>Eliah</HI> is a man, or thing, a matter, cau&s;e, condition, or deed, &s;uch as his name imports. <HI>Elijah,</HI> that is, my God <HI>Jah,</HI> or my &s;trong being, or the &s;trength of my exi&s;tance. Now if it be &s;uch a one, or &s;uch a matter or cau&s;e, &s;uch a condition or deed brought in as congruous to us, implying all the faithfull; how can it be, but that name, or that authority &s;hall be memorized for ever: If a word of <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;hall not fall to the ground, a deed of our <HI>Eliah</HI> &s;hall never be forgotten, when, or in whom&s;oever it appears.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;econd point is the state and condition of the party in&s;tanced in, together with the con&s;imilitude, that is, <HI>&s;ubject to pa&s;&s;ions as we are.</HI></HEAD>
<P>By pa&s;&s;ions here is meant &s;ufferings, for &s;o much the word im|ports; and to be &s;ubject, is to be under; that is, under like &s;uffe|rings <HI>that we are,</HI> that is, the faithfull in all ages.</P>
<P><PB N="172" REF="98">
Whence ob&s;erve;</P>
<P><HI>That the Saints of God are &s;ubject to like &s;ufferings:</HI> they all alike endure affliction, they all alike inherit the Cro&s;&s;e; it is not &s;ayd of any particular man, or particular Church (limmed out by the &s;pirit of man from &s;ome few particular expre&s;&s;ions or practi|ces manifected in the Scriptures) but of all the Sains of God that ever lived, or &s;hall, <HI>viz. For thy &s;ake are we killed all the day long, and counted as &s;heep for the &s;laughter.</HI></P>
<P>There is none of tho&s;e &s;everall afflictions which the Saints of God have undergone, but rightly under&s;tood, one of them is as exten&s;ive as another, and it mu&s;t needs be &s;o; for the &s;ufferings of the Saints is the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, and not the cro&s;&s;e of any par|ticular creature, but of the &s;on of God; therefore he &s;aith, <HI>In all their afflictions he was afflicted:</HI> and therefore he &s;aith al&s;o in the be|half of the believers and prayers in <HI>Dama&s;cus, Saul; Saul, why per|&s;ecute&s;t thou mee:</HI> Therefore it is, when the <HI>Corinthians</HI> &s;eemed to cleave one to one man, and another unto another, though all &s;ound men and good; one is of <HI>Paul,</HI> another of <HI>Apollo,</HI> another of <HI>Cephas,</HI> and another of Chri&s;t; that he calls them carnall, be|cau&s;e they take not every way or manner of the admini&s;tration of the grace of the Go&s;pel, to be the &s;ame univer&s;ally through the whole body; what &s;aith he, <HI>Is Chri&s;t divided? was Paul crucifi|ed for you? or were you baptized into the name of Paul? I thanke God</HI> that I performed no &s;uch particular act, but to &s;uch as under|&s;tood the my&s;tery of it, for that is the effect of his &s;peech, and cau&s;e of thank&s;giving.</P>
<P>The ground of the&s;e particular and nominall Religions (as Independent, Presbyterian, Anabapti&s;t, Papi&s;t, Generalli&s;t, for they all &s;tand on one root) is, becau&s;e they limit and infringe the grace of the Go&s;pel, both in way of the &s;entence of ab&s;olution and condemnation, mincing and fa&s;hioning things according to the judgment or di&s;cerning of man, and not according to the light and revelation of the Son of God: Hence they are affected with manlike expre&s;&s;ions, and &s;o cleave unto man, and not unto the Son of God: and if the mind of God be expre&s;&s;ed unto them, they hammer it into their own &s;hape, as the <HI>Corinthians</HI> did, and &s;o make rents and &s;chi&s;mes.</P>
<P>Now the grace of the Go&s;pel in what&s;oever it expre&s;&s;ed it &s;elf,
<PB N="173" REF="98">
as King or Prie&s;t, Prophet or Victor, father or &s;on, Ma&s;ter or &s;er|vant, Lord or Di&s;ciple, Apo&s;tle or follower) is as that leaven which the woman hid in three pecks of meal, whereby the whole lump was leavened: or like that unction poured on <HI>Aarons</HI> head, which run down unto the coller or hem of his garment; for the oyle contayned in that honourable ve&s;&s;ell of the Go&s;pel filleth compleatly all ve&s;&s;els that are brought into unity or love with it. Of &s;uch nature and extent are all things appertaining unto the Go&s;pel, and &s;o the afflictions of the Saints, the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t takes not its latitude nor longitude from the dimentions of a creature, but holds corre&s;pondency with the &s;on of God; for the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t is of the &s;ame extent and continuation that his Crown and kingdome is.</P>
<P>By this we may take notice of what nature the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t is that it &s;tands not in, or con&s;i&s;ts of any temporary relation or operation of the creature active or pa&s;&s;ive, but is the proper &s;uf|fering of the &s;on of God in the wicked, as deprived of all liveli|hood and proper operations of the &s;pirit in all wayes of motion and relation; and in the Saints, in being deprived of all liveli|hood and proper operations of the fle&s;h in all the wayes of its motion and relation.</P>
<P>It would &s;eem a great cro&s;s to a man, if the world were vacant of a rationall &s;pirit, and none but bea&s;ts to conver&s;e with: of no le&s;&s;e, but infinitely greater is the di&s;proportion of the wi&s;dome of God in a Chri&s;tian, and the wi&s;dome of this world in the wicked; yea if they be as crafty as <HI>Achitophel,</HI> or as &s;ubtill as the Serpent, the wi&s;e&s;t bea&s;t of the field. Yea, in the world we have lo&s;t our proper life, &s;pirit, and power, and all vertue proper to a Chri&s;ti|an in poynt of heavenly things.</P>
<P>Further, it would &s;eem a great affliction and &s;uffering unto us to &s;ee the world take all our &s;trength, our wi&s;dome, honour, riches, peace, friend&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and leave us nothing, but that wee &s;hould depart from, and for&s;ake father, mother, wife, children, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and thus it is with a Chri&s;tian; The world ingro&s;&s;eth power, authority, wi&s;dome, riches, <HI>&amp;c. and leaves us as the &s;cum and out|&s;weepings of all things.</HI> Nay we for&s;ake our neare&s;t relations in all re&s;pects, as the law of the fle&s;h in its true &s;en&s;e calls for, and go to a place we know not whether, by any wi&s;dome or under&s;tan|ding
<PB N="174" REF="99">
of the creature, which can never be done but by the in&s;tinct and operation of the &s;pirit of God, opening unto us the power, wi&s;dome, riches, and all relations that are reall, &s;ub&s;tantiall, and eternall: And if the &s;pirit of God be there, it never appears but in the faith and unity of Chri&s;t, therefore they are the proper &s;uffe|rings of Chri&s;t, and not of any particular creature: And when we know and judge of the &s;ufferings of the Saints, wee &s;hall not lament if the world take all temporary things from us, nor re|joyce in what it can ca&s;t upon us; for <HI>God forbid that I &s;hould rejoyce in any thing &s;ave in the cro&s;&s;e of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, whereby the world is kill'd and crucified in me, and I in the world.</HI> If once we know how to loo&s;e our lives in the world, in all things of the &s;pirit, and how to loo&s;e our lives in our &s;elves, and body my&s;ticall in all things pertayning to the fle&s;h, we &s;hall then take is lightly in what&s;oever the world can give, or take away from us.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>By the nature of the&s;e &s;ufferings we know of what &s;pirit and power, of what nature, vertue, and comprehen&s;ion this act of <HI>Eliah</HI> is, which is the third point; <HI>And hee prayed.</HI></HEAD>
<P>Whence we note;</P>
<P><HI>That the act or &s;pirit of prayer hath in it &s;ufficient honour, power, and authority to memorize and regi&s;ter the name of a chri&s;tian for ever, that it &s;hall never be put out, but continue in the records of the hou&s;e of God:</HI> For</P>
<P N="1">1. Prayer hath in it the vertue and power of prophe&s;ie; for in the hi&s;tory treating of the act of <HI>Eliah,</HI> he prophe&s;ies unto <HI>Ahab,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>As the Lord liveth there &s;hall be no raine nor dew for the&s;e years but according to my word:</HI> So that this prayer comprehends the whole Prophe&s;ie of <HI>Eliah,</HI> and <HI>Eliah</HI> is brought in as comprehen|ding all the Prophets, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> comprehending the whole law, in the transfiguration of Chri&s;ts appearing in the &s;ame form and glory that Chri&s;t doth, &s;o that all prophe&s;ie and noble acts of the Prophets are involved in the &s;pirit of prayer: By the &s;pirit of God in this place, his reproof of <HI>Ahabs</HI> wickedne&s;&s;e, his &s;laying of all the fal&s;e prophets of <HI>Baal,</HI> his bringing fire from heaven to
<PB N="175" REF="99">
&s;lay Captayns with their fifties, his dividing of the waters with his mantle, his giving of his &s;pirit to <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> his binding up and flopping the bottles of heaven, and loo&s;ing of them at his plea|&s;ure; his rebuking the earth, and drying it up to du&s;t, that it cannot yeeld fruit; his a&s;cending up into heaven in a fiery Cha|riot. The &s;pirit of God is plea&s;ed to commend all his honoura|ble deeds unto the world in this one act of prayer, to &s;tand and to be as his memoriall for ever. Prayer therefore is garni&s;hed with all the ornaments of a Prophet o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> God, and cannot be le&s;&s;e then a mo&s;t honcurable monument and memorizing of the Saints where-ever it is found extant.</P>
<P N="2">2. Prayer hath all the vertues and ornaments of Prie&s;t-hood in it: Never was <HI>Aaron</HI> fitted and adorned with greater variety of ve&s;tments and vertues, to mini&s;ter before God in the holy place (and according to the variety and change of the multitude of &s;a|crifices and offerings) then the &s;pirit of prayer contayns in it; and according to occa&s;ion puts on, and brings forth, when the vertue &amp; power of our great high Prie&s;t after the order of <HI>Melchi|&s;edech</HI> is brought in, it is all &s;ummed up in the &s;pirit of prayer, as he &s;aith al&s;o in another place, <HI>Thou art a Prie&s;t for ever after the order of Melchi&s;edech; who in the dayes of his fle&s;h when he offered up prayers and &s;upplications with &s;trong crying and teares unto him</HI> (or in him) <HI>that was able to &s;ave him from death, and was heard in that which be feared;</HI> That is, he was heard in all things, or for the accom|pli&s;hment and bringing to pa&s;&s;e all things that concern life and &s;alvation. Now that all things that concern the Kingdome of God is involved in this prayer, is thus proved.</P>
<P>The word tran&s;lated <HI>feared,</HI> is in the Greek <HI>di&s;paired,</HI> about which men have much contended how it may be &s;aid of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But the thing is really and &s;ub&s;tantially to be con&s;idered, though men do wre&s;t and bend, mince and &s;trayn the word, to &s;uit it to humane rea&s;on.</P>
<P>For it is as true that the Son of God in, and by the &s;pirit of the world, and principles proper to humane wi&s;dome, doth di&s;|pair and relir qui&s;h all hope and expectation of being delivered or &s;et at liberty from that infinite wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure of Al|mighty God; as it is true, that the &s;on of &s;orry man is in, and by the &s;pirit of God, and principles proper to the wi&s;dome of
<PB N="176" REF="100">
God e&s;tabli&s;hed and confirmed in the love, power, truth, righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e and glory of God, and of his Kingdome everla&s;tingly.</P>
<P>If men be ignorant hereof, how Chri&s;t is &s;aid to feare or di&s;|payr in all things, they may talk of eternall life, but they know not how a creature can live eternally, and be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of all things.</P>
<P>Want of this knowledg breeds your Mortalli&s;ts, that know not by vertue of what the &s;oule becomes eternall, either in life or death, as al&s;o your Generalli&s;ts, that &s;ay God will &s;ave all, whereas there may be as reall and undenyable arguments u&s;ed upon like ground, that God will de&s;troy all; and &s;o they mu&s;t be left to the height of their doctrine, which will amount to no more then the condition of a bea&s;t, yet doth it make them &s;uch men, as it had been good for them they had never been born.</P>
<P>For the re&s;t that have gotten a tract of &s;alvation and damnati|on by tradition from &s;chools, books, naturall phylo&s;ophy and ob&s;ervation, not having the knowledg of the nature of this Prie&s;t-hood, comprized in the &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion: They believe &s;uch things, but they mu&s;t not be curiou&s;ly &s;earcht into; that is, we cannot know them; of the&s;e we &s;ay, as the mind without know|is not good, &s;o the&s;e mens faith is dead: <HI>For wilt thou know oh emp|ty man that faith without works is dead?</HI> For the &s;pirit of God never works in way of life, but in its own light; therefore ignorance in any point mu&s;t be voyd of the work of <HI>faith,</HI> and &s;o of the &s;a|ving vertue that is in the life of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But prayer comprehending the whole Prie&s;t-hood of Chri&s;t, is a work of that honour and power, as to memorize the name of a Saint for ever, and to &s;et him up as a monument of the wi&s;dome and mercy of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. Prayer is a work that comprehends the Kingly authority of Chri&s;t; for when the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> had &s;haken off the traditions and rudiments of the carnall Jew, the power of the high Prie&s;t, in that pro&s;ecuting &s;pirit of binding and impri&s;oning all that were of the way of Je&s;us, calling on the name of the Lord: and when the Lord would proclaim him, and make it manife&s;t that he was <HI>a cho&s;en ve&s;&s;ell fitted to beare his name, or carry his authority before the Gentiles, Kings, and the children of I&s;rael.</HI> Yea, when he would put all that honour upon him which the P&s;almi&s;t foretells, &s;aying,
<PB N="177" REF="100">
<HI>There is little Benjamine their ruler,</HI> the head of the Tribe, a Prince of God, he comprehends and concludes all in this act of prayer, to give &s;atisfaction to <HI>Annanias, behold he prayeth:</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, it is enough to know that miraculous change from <HI>Saul</HI> un|to <HI>Paul;</HI> from the &s;ervice of the Synagogue of the Jewes, to be a ruler over Kings, the Gentiles, and children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> (for the name of God is by his word advanced over all, which he was to beare) this is &s;ufficient to give &s;atisfation to all, <HI>Behold he pray|eth:</HI> So that none can deny a Princely &s;pirit of power and autho|rity, where the &s;pirit of prayer bears &s;way, and a princely excel|lency is of honour &s;ufficient to eternize the record of a Chri&s;tians name.</P>
<P N="4">4. There is in prayer the power of victor, or a victorious re|nown, con&s;i&s;ting of the noble&s;t conque&s;t that ever was; <HI>Jacob</HI> by prayer overcame the man that wre&s;tled or combated with him, which man is &s;aid to be an Angell, but it is the Angell that ble&s;t him in the way, and therefore is declared to be God; for <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid, <HI>I have &s;een God face to face;</HI> in which act of prayer his name is changed from <HI>Jacob</HI> to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to declare a prince-like promi&s;e in prevailing with God, as the Prophet explayns his name and act, &s;aying, <HI>And by his &s;trength he had power with God, yea he had pow|er over the Angell, and prevailed; he wept and made &s;upplication, hee found him in Bethel, and there &s;pake with us</HI> (or in us) for if the &s;pi|rit of God had not &s;poke in our father <HI>Jacob,</HI> and &s;o in all of his race, he had never prevailed.</P>
<P>Was ever the like Conque&s;t made, as to overcome omnipoten|cy? which could never be, but through the reque&s;ts of his owne &s;pirit, which he cannot deny, but mu&s;t yeeld him&s;elf over there|unto.</P>
<P>Prayer therefore con&s;i&s;ts of a combate which ever hath con|que&s;t, therefore of &s;ufficient honour and renown to memorize a Saint, who-ever he be that exerci&s;eth the de&s;ign and skill there|of.</P>
<P N="5">5. Prayer hath &s;alvation contained in it, nay it is &s;alvation: <HI>For who&s;oever calls on the name of the Lord &s;hall be &s;aved:</HI> or in the pre&s;ent ten&s;e (as the word will admit) <HI>is &s;aved;</HI> for he that thinks he knows Chri&s;t any otherwi&s;e then in the vertue of an of|fice exerci&s;ed in &s;uch a &s;ub&s;i&s;tance, or by &s;uch a manner or &s;ub&s;i|&s;i&s;tance
<PB N="178" REF="101">
exerci&s;ed in &s;uch an office, that man may come to be de|ceived as the Jewes of old were, and Jewi&s;h Gentiles are at this day, and &s;o per&s;ecute Chri&s;t in &s;tead of receiving him, when or in whom&s;oever he appeareth. Let tho&s;e of that carnall opinion, that Chri&s;t &s;hall come and reign upon the earth as a great Mo|narch for a thou&s;and yeares, look into this point; for Chri&s;t was never known but in an office as afore&s;ayd, and every office of the &s;pirit in its proper way and manner of working, comprehends whole Chri&s;t: Now the office of interce&s;&s;ion is a work of the &s;pi|rit, <HI>for we know not how to pray as we ought, but the &s;pirit maketh in|terce&s;&s;ion for us,</HI> or in us; therefore it comprehends whole Chri&s;t, for he cannot be divided; and it being the &s;pirit of the Saviour, mu&s;t have, yea be &s;alvation; for where Chri&s;t the Son of God is, there is &s;alvation: In what grace, vertue, or office &s;oever he ap|pears, in or by, that tradition of tying &s;alvation to believing a|lone, is ridiculous; for can there be more in faith then in love, which is the fulfilling of the whole law, yea of that law of the &s;pirit of life in Chri&s;t? and are not we &s;aved by hope? Doth not <HI>Timothy</HI> &s;ave him&s;elfe and them that hear him by preaching &s;ound doctrine? Now to take faith according to that di&s;mition the A|po&s;tle gives, &s;aying, <HI>It is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of things hoped for:</HI> So faith is in every vertue, office and exerci&s;e of Chri&s;t; for the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance is the being of God and man in one, and that is to be held and had of Chri&s;tians in all things that can be &s;ayd of Chri&s;t, there|fore <HI>we acknowledg nothing but Je&s;us Chri&s;t and him crucified;</HI> There is both the unction and crucification in every thing a Chri&s;tian knows: but there is no unction but in the nature divine, nor &s;laying in a Chri&s;tan, but of the fle&s;h; which twayn are never &s;e|parated, neither in love nor hope, gentlene&s;&s;e, mercy, kindne&s;&s;e, wi&s;dome, truth, patience, and what&s;oever can be named of Chri&s;t, it is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance <HI>of twayn made one new man,</HI> that com|pleats it: and therefore &s;alvation is in all Chri&s;ts excellencies, and they are all as things hoped for, becau&s;e they are ever to come; that is, not only in pre&s;ent being and exerci&s;e, but &s;hall for ever &s;pring up unto a Chri&s;tian out of that living and everla&s;ting fountain.</P>
<P>All things of &s;alvation therefore are in prayer; for prayer con&s;i&s;ts of nece&s;&s;ity and &s;upply, but all nece&s;&s;ities and all &s;upplies
<PB N="179" REF="101">
are in prayer, therefore prayer contayns whole Chri&s;t, which is compleat &s;alvation; therefore a work of honour to eternize the memory of a Saint.</P>
<P>This point may fence a Chri&s;tian from di&s;couraging &amp; droo|ping thoughts, apt to &s;ieze upon all all fle&s;h, thinking him&s;elfe of no u&s;e in his age, nor of any performance befitting &s;uch a name, or calling, as to be entitled a Son of God, being de&s;titute of any power or authority, wi&s;dome or policy, device or invention, art or &s;cience, &s;uch as the &s;ons of men have gathered and encroached unto them&s;elves in all ages: By &s;word &amp; &s;tratagems; by Schools and Seminaries, by money and friend&s;hip, by travell and humane experiments and ob&s;ervations.</P>
<P>Poor heart that thou art (with re&s;pect unto the world) can&s;t thou pray? be of good comfort, it countervayls all, it is the re|nowned&s;t act that ever was wrought in the world; Get thee to thy Clo&s;et, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;hut up thy &s;elfe from the common cour&s;es and cu&s;toms of this world, <HI>and pray unto thy father in &s;ecret;</HI> or accor|ding unto, or in that &s;ecret and hidden my&s;tery of Chri&s;t, which is as &s;ecret and hidden from the world, as thy &s;elfe is hid from the wayes of the world in this thy clo&s;et or chamber of pre&s;ence: <HI>And thy father which &s;eeth in &s;eecret;</HI> that is, which beholds and approves of this my&s;tery of God in thee, <HI>will reward thee openly;</HI> that is, will make it manife&s;t that the reward or end of thine e|&s;tate and practice is to be made manife&s;t to the Son of God; and that the Heyr-&s;hip and inheritance of the Kingdome of God ap|pertayns and belongs unto thee.</P>
<P>2. Again, let &s;uch weigh this point that hold them&s;elves free from believing any doctrine in the world till they &s;ee it accompa|nyed with miraculous works, <HI>viz.</HI> works in like manner and form as they have beene done formerly, as to heale the &s;icke, re|&s;tore the lame, open the eyes of the blind, and rai&s;e up the dead, all the&s;e are taken in a bodily and corporeall re&s;pect. The&s;e men do not con&s;ider that the famous and miraculous works that <HI>Elia</HI> did, all of them are included in his prayer, and that is as miracu|lous as any of them; the miracles that Chri&s;t did, they are all in|cluded <HI>in his prayers, &s;upplications, and teares, with &s;trong cryes,</HI> which is no le&s;&s;e miraculous then any of the re&s;t: The wonders of <HI>Paul</HI> in doing and &s;uffering are all comprized in this, <HI>Behold he prayes.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="180" REF="102">
Now the miraculous vertue and power of prayer con&s;i&s;ts not in words, or any outward expre&s;&s;ion or bodily exerci&s;e in a form of words: but in humble petition, a lawfull &s;uing out of right, a ju&s;t and legall appeale and judgement given, according to the nature of the ca&s;e propounded, in which all accord and agree together to compleat the my&s;tery and miracle of prayer, having all the&s;e things in it, whereby according to the law of the &s;pirit, our right of inheritance is faithfully &s;ued out. Note further, that it is no more the form vi&s;ible of any miracle that ever was wrought, that is the proper &s;eal to confirm the Go&s;pel; no more then the Mini&s;try of the Letter that kills, is the proper path of the &s;pirit that gives life.</P>
<P>But it is the &s;cope, drift, ayme and end of the miracle in what it poynts unto, in that great and miraculous workman&s;hip of Chri&s;t the &s;on of the living God, which is the true and proper &s;eale of the Go&s;pel: and where&s;oever that is effectually wrought, there it is felt and approved, and there only the Go&s;pel or glad tidings of &s;alvation is really and miraculou&s;ly confirmed by a &s;igne and wonder, pa&s;&s;ing infinitely all momentany and corpore|all re&s;pects.</P>
<P>But the&s;e men think they honour the Go&s;pel, and lift it up to its proper height, and ancient dignity. In thus concluding, their opinion is no le&s;&s;e honourable then that of tho&s;e that have re&s;olved and decreed, that the pattering (over the words of that prayer which Chri&s;t taught his Di&s;ciples) as a &s;pell, is an effe|ctuall ordinance in the hou&s;e of God, never looking at the life, &s;pirit, and proper power of prayer, only the form of words. So the&s;e look at the form of the miracle wrought, as it appears to a naturall eye, as the other appears to the ear, and never look at the true wonder and &s;igne, only &s;ound in the &s;on of man, and el&s;e-where centred, is no better then the magick of <HI>Aegypt;</HI> for they may as well gape after the outward forms of words to be the prayer of the Go&s;pel, as the outward form of the work, to be the &s;eale of the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, and any particular, or all outward forms, which Religion is repre&s;ented unto us in, to be the Religion of God, as well as any or all of tho&s;e former mira|cles wrought, to be the &s;eale of God.</P>
<P>3. Furthermore, to conclude the hi&s;toricall act of wonders
<PB N="181" REF="102">
wrought, to be the &s;ign of confirmation, is to darken, yea to an|nihilate the vertue and power of the Go&s;pel; for in this wonder of <HI>Eliah,</HI> to make the heavens as bra&s;&s;e, and the earth as iron, is here a fit allu&s;ion in the judgement of the &s;pirit <HI>(and we are to heare what the &s;pirit &s;aith unto the Churches)</HI> in the teaching of the death of Chri&s;t, and the operations thereof con&s;idered in the world; and al&s;o in the hou&s;e of God, <HI>who&s;e hou&s;e we are, if we hold fa&s;t the confidence, and the rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end:</HI> And thus the allu&s;ion is unto a three yeares and &s;ixe moneths forbea|rance of raine, and afterwards to raynein great plenty.</P>
<P>This allu&s;ion is al&s;o u&s;ed not in the terme of yeares, but of two and forty moneths, which is the &s;ame length of time, but in a farre differing re&s;pect, and differing doctrine, in regard of the &s;everall beames and lu&s;tre of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>For there he teacheth, that in mea&s;uring of the Temple, the Court-yard is to be left out, and not to be mea&s;ured, becau&s;e it is given unto the Gentiles: <HI>And the holy Citie &s;hall they tread under foot two and forty moneths,</HI> which is this three years and &s;ix moneths.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o alluded unto in poynt of dayes, and &s;o the &s;ame my|&s;tery is called <HI>a thou&s;and two hundred and three&s;core dayes,</HI> which are not properly yeares of famine, but rather of fruit, for it is the time of the prophe&s;ie of the two witne&s;&s;es of the Go&s;pel; it is al|luded unto likewi&s;e, as con&s;i&s;ting of <HI>three dayes and a halfe,</HI> which is the time of the witne&s;&s;es <HI>dead bodies lying in the &s;treets of the great Citie, which is &s;piritually called Sodome and Aegypt, where al&s;o our Lord was crucified, not &s;uffered to be put in graves.</HI></P>
<P>This wonder wrought by <HI>Eliah,</HI> is alluded unto al&s;o, as points or monuments of time, in which the time of the womans being in the wilderne&s;&s;e is taught, a doctrine farre differing from any of the former, and that is <HI>for a time, times, and halfe a time,</HI> on the divi&s;ion of time. Now if the three yeares and &s;ixe moneths drought, and afterwards rayne, were the &s;ub&s;tance and intent of the miracle, and in that the wonder to lye for the confirmation of the Go&s;pel; how fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ly could the &s;pirit of God bring it in, as an elegant allu&s;ion in all the&s;e &s;everall re&s;pects.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e therefore that would have the Go&s;pel confirmed by mi|racles of like outward form as have been done in ages pa&s;t; they annihilate the Go&s;pel, by denying the truth, &s;ub&s;tance, and rea|lity
<PB N="182" REF="103">
of the &s;igne to be extant only in Chri&s;t. Like friends to the Go&s;pel are they, who look to &s;ee Chri&s;t coming from heaven, confined in one individuall man (as the Di&s;ciples &s;aw him go up) to reign on the earth as an only Monarch for the &s;pace of a thou&s;and yeares; and then, and not till then we &s;hall &s;ee good dayes, as tho&s;e Doctors affirm.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The fourth poynt is the effect of his prayer; <HI>And it ray|ned not.</HI></HEAD>
<P>Concerning the hi&s;toricall form of this wonder, all men know what it is to rayne, and not to rayn: But few know the my&s;tery thereof, which is &s;ub&s;tantiated in the Son of God, and con&s;i&s;ts in that death of his, reallized in the men of the world, and in the men of God.</P>
<P>The &s;pirit therefore and office of the interce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, centring in, and gathering it &s;elfe into that one holy and my&s;ti|call body, in the utterance and manife&s;tation of it &s;elfe, affords not any of the <HI>raine of Gods liberality and bounty;</HI> nor of that <HI>dew which cau&s;eth I&s;rael to grow as a lilly,</HI> unto that body of &s;inne, that &s;tate of <HI>Ahab, Jezebel,</HI> and apo&s;tatized <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> but leaves it fruit|le&s;&s;e and barren, like tho&s;e <HI>mountains of Gilboa, where Saul &s;law him|&s;elf,</HI> &amp;c. to declare that his unction according to the works of the Law of the carnall command, with all the glory ari&s;ing there-from: and the terrours of God are never &s;eparated, nor upon that height and dignity doth ever rayn, nor dew (according to the intent of our Apo&s;tle in this place) fall or de&s;cend to bring forth any fruit unto God, but are like the heath in the parched wilderne&s;&s;e, and as the dry du&s;t which the winde of Gods fury driveth away.</P>
<P>2. The &s;pirit of interce&s;&s;ion comprized and exerci&s;ing it &s;elfe in that <HI>Elijah,</HI> the &s;trength of our being or exi&s;tance, dryeth up that my&s;ticall body of Chri&s;t, that no rayne, nor dew, nor any moy&s;ture producing fruits according to the fle&s;h, falleth upon it, or de&s;cendeth thereon: And this is declared and &s;ignified unto us in <HI>Eliah,</HI> who goes to the brook <HI>Cherith,</HI> or the brook of <HI>&s;lay|ing,</HI> and <HI>mortification of the fle&s;h, with all the lu&s;ts and affections thereof,</HI> intimated unto us in the drying up of the brook by that drought,
<PB N="183" REF="103">
and he is fed by no earthly thing, but only by the fowls of hea|ven. Al&s;o when he &s;its under the Mulbery trees, <HI>as one bereaved of his life, as his fathers before him al&s;o were.</HI> To the things of this world, there al&s;o an Angel or Me&s;&s;enger heavenly only, makes provi&s;ion for him, in his a&s;cention to <HI>Horeb,</HI> the Mount of God; in the &s;trength of which food once received, though in a two-fold re&s;pect, he travels forty days and forty nights, the like time that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and our Lord fa&s;ted, where he complayns to God, that he only is left alone, de&s;titute of all help of man, as an out-ca&s;t from all claym or title to the Kingdome of <HI>Ahab,</HI> and back&s;liden <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to idolatry: For there is no rayn nor dew which makes that earthly condition fruitfull that falls upon him; for the Fa|mine is as great unto him in poynt of the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, yeelding any food to <HI>Eliah,</HI> as it is in re&s;pect of the wi&s;dome of the &s;pirit, in yeelding any refre&s;hment to <HI>Ahab;</HI> the one being the heaven of God, of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and the other the heaven, or god of the world.</P>
<P>To conclude this point, let us in&s;ert that word <HI>Selah,</HI> which hath the &s;ignification of lifting up, do but exalt the word of God, <HI>as it is in Je&s;us;</HI> and behold it is extant, and lives in both the&s;e re&s;|pects at this day, and thence comes in the time of this re&s;traynt of rayne.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>And this is the fifth poynt, which is for the &s;pace of <HI>three yeares and &s;ixe moneths.</HI></HEAD>
<P>For the opening of this point, we know that the number three as it hath the my&s;tery of a true and reall di&s;tinction in it, in the &s;ame individuall, as in the three <HI>that beare record in heaven, the fa|ther, the word, and the &s;pirit, and the&s;e three are one:</HI> So al&s;o <HI>the my|&s;tery of fulne&s;&s;e and perfection</HI> (as the number &s;even hath) for three witne&s;&s;es are as a thou&s;and, they an&s;wer the Law compleatly. Likewi&s;e it hath the my&s;tery of eternity in it, for they are heaven|ly, &s;uch as never fade away, nor faile to bring in their te&s;timony; therefore it is, that <HI>I&s;rael</HI> mu&s;t go three days journey into the wil|derne&s;&s;e to wor&s;hip the Lord; that is, there mu&s;t be a totall and finall departure from <HI>Aegypt,</HI> in regard of the ignorance or dark|ne&s;&s;e of it, from their governments, Ho&s;ts, and Armies, burdens,
<PB N="184" REF="104">
tasks, and cruelties, Magicyan-like wor&s;hips, lying wonders, and fauning flatteries, in the erecting and &s;etting up of the Ta|bernacle and wor&s;hip of God at <HI>Mount horeb,</HI> or <HI>Sinai.</HI></P>
<P>This is al&s;o the rea&s;on why the Ark mu&s;t go before them three days journey from <HI>Mount-Sinai,</HI> to &s;eek out a re&s;ting place, name|ly to &s;hew, that there mu&s;t be a totall and finall departure from the works of the Law, <HI>in our entring into that re&s;t that yet remaynes for the people of God.</HI> Of like &s;ignification is <HI>Jonas,</HI> being in the Whales belly, and the Son of man in the heart of the earth. <HI>Jonas</HI> is &s;wallowed up of the Whales in carnall and back&s;liding <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> who ob&s;erve lying vanities, and decline the word of God, but is ca&s;t up and made alive in the <HI>Ninivites</HI> beyond all rea&s;on, expecta|tion, or thought of heart, for the <HI>Publicans</HI> and <HI>Sinners</HI> enter be|fore the &s;trict <HI>Scribes and Phari&s;ees into heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t lyes three dayes and three nights in the grave, as buryed eternally, concerning any life of his &s;pirit, in <HI>Herod, Pontius Pi|late,</HI> and that wicked <HI>Judas,</HI> and the <HI>Jewes:</HI> but he ri&s;eth the third day <HI>in his Di&s;ciples, the Gentiles, and all Nations, never to dye any more,</HI> but only tho&s;e three dayes and three nights of eternity in the wicked of the world, unto which his life in the Saints is pro|portionable.</P>
<P>Even &s;o, here is three years voyd of rayn, or dew, or any fruit|fulne&s;&s;e of the earth, wherein both heaven and earth are in exer|ci&s;e, and are comprehended. So there is an eternall e&s;tate of the wicked that comprehends both God and man in that way of the Cur&s;e, and unity of the Harlot, wherein twayn are made one fle&s;h; for <HI>two</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;hall be one fle&s;h,</HI> in which e&s;tate there is no dew of heaven, nor fruit yielded by the earth; that is, of tho&s;e fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and vertues that are by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in tho&s;e three years, that is, unto eternity: There is al&s;o an eternall &s;ea&s;on of the Saints of God, wherein no dew nor rayn from hea|ven (or from that wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h) falls on them, to cau&s;e any fruits of the fle&s;h, or works of darkne&s;&s;e to be brought forth by them: So that as in a yeare wee &s;ee a perfect revolution of things not only earthly, but heavenly al&s;o, at lea&s;t in that great light and cour&s;e of the Sun: &s;o that the number three &s;ignifies a totall and finall revolution of all things that concern God and man, as two being joyned in way of fle&s;h: And all things al&s;o that
<PB N="185" REF="104">
concern God and man everla&s;tingly, in that way of being <HI>joyned unto the Lord, and made one &s;pirit with him.</HI></P>
<P>Further, we &s;ee that in a whole years &s;pace, there is a like time of night as there is of day, if we take the globe univer&s;ally; even &s;o there is a like eternity of darkne&s;&s;e and the power thereof, that there is of light in the Kingdome of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Moreover, take the whole circumference of heaven and earth, and there is a like time of Winter that there is of Sommer, even &s;o there is the &s;ame three-fold time of eternity in the kingdome of darkne&s;&s;e, of bla&s;ting, withering, &s;miting with chilly cold|ne&s;&s;e, and all unfruitfulne&s;&s;e, as there is in the kingdome of life and light, of the joy of harve&s;t, and plea&s;ure of the tree of life, <HI>which beares twelve manner of fruits,</HI> as being furni&s;hed for every Tribe of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and every moneth of the yeare; which tree is not <HI>afraid of drought, nor knowes when the heate comes.</HI></P>
<P>Concerning the &s;ixe moneths added, it is a rendring or con|&s;igning to each e&s;tate of eternity &s;uch a time; for the Prophet in the hi&s;tory is illimited in his expre&s;&s;ion, &s;aying, <HI>that it &s;hall be nei|ther raine nor dew for the&s;e yeares;</HI> which may be applyed to time pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, or to come; for it is <HI>according to my word,</HI> which is the word of the Lord, <HI>the word of eternity:</HI> &s;o that we can give no o|ther bounds to the time, but &s;uch as hold corre&s;pondency with the word of eternity: Our Apo&s;tle therefore brings it in by the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions, to declaring and di&s;tingui&s;h his meaning, namely the Prophets meaning.</P>
<P>This term of &s;ixe moneths then, is to be taken according to that di&s;tinction, when he &s;aith, <HI>that &s;ommer and winter, cold and heate, &s;eed-time and harve&s;t, night and day &s;hall not cea&s;e.</HI> This &s;ixe moneths properly &s;ets forth unto us the time of &s;eed-time and harve&s;t; which take it throughout the earth, with re&s;pect to all grayn, and it con&s;i&s;ts &s;o long time: Be&s;ides, the number &s;ixe hath in it the my&s;tery of meanes of increa&s;e; for increa&s;e, multi|plication, and fruitfulne&s;&s;e is not brought in in the creation, but with the ble&s;&s;ing, which is the meanes of it: So that &s;ix moneths in this place is the time and means of multiplication and increa&s;e, which is here fru&s;trate and hindered by the drought unto barren|ne&s;&s;e and famine.</P>
<P>In the my&s;tery of Chri&s;t, the Saints of God &s;ow unto the &s;pi|rit,
<PB N="186" REF="105">
but the &s;eed of immortality is lo&s;t in the wicked, they reap nothing unto eternall life. Al&s;o the wicked, they &s;ow unto the fle&s;h, but their &s;eed is lo&s;t in the Saints, and comes to nought, for they reap nothing of corruption: So that in the&s;e three years of eternity there is a fru&s;tration of &s;eed-time and harve&s;t; an ab&s;o|lute fruitle&s;ne&s;&s;e, barrenne&s;&s;e, and famine throughout the earth; the one unto ble&s;&s;ing, in bringing forth nothing unto the fle&s;h; the other unto a cur&s;e, in bringing forth nothing unto the &s;pirit.</P>
<P>Yet men beare men in hand, and vainly per&s;wade them&s;elves they can convert men, and turn them by their preaching, and make them other things then they are, whereas the Go&s;pel only declares and di&s;covers men to appear to be that which they are, no alteration of a work done once and for ever. They may as well &s;ay they can make the righteous and ju&s;t one a &s;inner, as to &s;ay the wicked may become holy, otherwi&s;e then as they are once and for ever; for Gods work in man-kind is an eternall act, not knowable, but as him&s;elfe con&s;idered one with it.</P>
<P>6. <HI>It follows, which is the renewing of his prayer, and the effect thereof;</HI> And he prayed againe, and the heavens gave raine, and the earth brought forth her fruit.</P>
<P>We are not here to take prayer as one being of a later produ|ction then the former, for they are but one continued and eter|nall act, as the doctrine of the Go&s;pel is, which is herein com|mended unto us; for the things of God are comprehended and involved one in another: and it is the skill of a Scribe taught un|to the Kingdome of God, to bring them out of the trea&s;ury, as things of old from eternity; and new, as in pre&s;ent u&s;e, fitting and be&s;eeming the pre&s;ent oration and opportunity. This phra&s;e therefore is like that, where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>My little children, of whom I travell in birth againe, till Chri&s;t be formed in you;</HI> not as though they had now defaced Chri&s;t, who before was formed in them: but he declares hereby the effect of his doctrine, from which &s;ome were turned a&s;ide unto the rudiments of the Law, as
<PB N="187" REF="105">
unto another Go&s;pel, which he &s;aith is not another, but the &s;ame Go&s;pel perverted by fal&s;e Teachers, telling them that &s;ome are entangled with the yoke of bondage thereby; for he that is bound to any particular of the carnall commandement, as to be circum|ci&s;ed, or any outward form of bodily action; <HI>He is bound to keepe the whole law,</HI> and &s;hews that <HI>&s;uch have aboli&s;hed Chri&s;t,</HI> and are faln from grace; &s;uch effect he &s;hews his Doctrine had of &s;ome, <HI>as a &s;a|vour of death unto death:</HI> but there were others unto whom hee there &s;peaks, on whom his doctrine had a more noble effect, as being a &s;avour of life; Therefore he &s;aith, <HI>My little children, of whom I travell in birth againe;</HI> or I have brought you forth, not in a &s;econd act, but in another manner and way, namely to the for|ming of Chri&s;t in you, or framing you into the &s;imilitude of the Son of God once and for ever.</P>
<P>Even &s;o it is here, <HI>He prayed againe;</HI> that is, the &s;pirit of inter|ce&s;&s;ion hath a &s;econdary, or other manner of effect then that which is before &s;pecified, not another prayer, but another man|ner of wonder accompli&s;hed by the &s;ame prayer, for <HI>now the hea|vens gave raine, and the earth brings forth her fruit.</HI></P>
<P>We are to know then, that as the Go&s;pel opens the trea&s;uries of the Kingdome of God unto an abundant freedome, liberty, and plenty of the going forth and exerci&s;e of the &s;pirit of grace in the Saints, even as <HI>water poured upon the thir&s;ty, and floods upon the dry ground,</HI> through that office of interce&s;&s;ion peculiar unto our <HI>Eliah,</HI> without any hinderance or engagement of any bond of the fle&s;h; when through the &s;pirit of prayer, that cloud of witne&s;&s;e or rayn of liberality ari&s;eth, as a hand or admini&s;tration thereof, even as the word of the Lord is &s;ayd to come by the hand of <HI>Hag|gie,</HI> and by the hand of <HI>Malachie,</HI> and by the hand of all the Pro|phets, which &s;o covereth the heavens, as no parching &s;un of the beams of mans wi&s;dome and device taketh place, no more then they doe in tho&s;e over-&s;hadowings of the Virgin, by that holy &s;pirit of God in the production of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Even &s;o doth Prayer &s;et at liberty the works of the fle&s;h in the men of the world, by opening the &s;luces and flood-gates thereof unto condemnation and de&s;truction; for the waters of the great deep, my&s;tery, or bottomle&s;&s;e pit, are opened for the de&s;truction of the world, as well as the flood-gates of heaven for the &s;afety of
<PB N="188" REF="106">
<HI>Noah</HI> and his hou&s;hold, in bearing up the Ark fifteen cubits above the great mountayns of the States of this earth, or of the world. And this prayer doth not &s;imply, accidentally, but mini&s;terially and effectually in the &s;ame &s;ence, <HI>That the Go&s;pell is a &s;avour of death unto death.</HI> Not only by gleaning of all the fruits of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e out of the wi&s;dome of the Serpent, or men of the world, which centred in the Saints, are the proper cau&s;e of the tran&s;cendencies of their e&s;tate above all humane excellencies, &s;o doth it al&s;o gleane all the vicious de&s;ires of the fle&s;h out of that &s;tate and condition of Chri&s;t, centring them in that &s;tate of un|beliefe, whereby man de&s;cends infinitely beneath a &s;tate of &s;im|ple, humane, or properties of a meer creature, and by fa&s;hioning and corrupting the holy things of God, becomes &s;atanicall, and diabolicall, and &s;uch as &s;eek to finde an excellent or commenda|ble betwixt the&s;e twayn, it cannot be better de&s;cribed or diciphe|red (for the &s;olidity of it) then by that partition that divides Purgatory and Hell, in tho&s;e of that mercinary conceipt.</P>
<P>The abundance of &s;pirit therefore in the Saints, and that plen|ty of the &s;pirit <HI>of the Prince of the power of the ayre which now works in the children of di&s;obedience,</HI> hold proportion in way of <HI>Antithe|&s;is,</HI> otherwi&s;e an infinite and an eternall wrath could not take place in the wicked, as an infinite and eternall glory doth in the Saints.</P>
<P><HI>For he made but one;</HI> &s;peaking of that &s;tate of Chri&s;t (with an elegant allu&s;ion unto the high Prie&s;t) <HI>and wherefore but one?</HI> &s;ee|ing he had abundance of &s;pirit, namely that there might be a ho|ly &s;eed; that what&s;oever the fruits are, that are by one Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of the &s;ame nature and dignity are all the fruits of happine&s;&s;e produced and brought forth by that one my&s;tical and &s;pirituall body, and &s;o in a diameter re&s;pect are all the fruits of &s;in in the wicked.</P>
<P>This plenty in this two-fold re&s;pect is &s;ignified by warning gi|ven to <HI>Ahab,</HI> to betake him&s;elfe to his Chariot, <HI>for I heare a noy&s;e of much raine,</HI> which <HI>Ahab</HI> flyes from as a terrible thing, as it contayns the &s;pirit of <HI>Eliah,</HI> betaking him&s;elfe to Chariot and hor&s;e in the furnitures of this world: and <HI>Eliah</HI> flyes from it, as it hath the &s;pirit of <HI>Ahab</HI> and <HI>Jezebel,</HI> as that which brings de&s;tru|ction upon them, only hee betakes him&s;elfe to the &s;trength of
<PB N="189" REF="106">
Gods &s;pirit to take the gates of <HI>Ie&s;reel.</HI></P>
<P>The plenty of <HI>Eliah's</HI> &s;pirit is &s;een and taught in that duration and plenty in the cru&s;e of oyle, and barrell of meale; rai&s;ing up the womans &s;onne from death to life, and annoynting <HI>Hazael</HI> and <HI>Jehu</HI> for the ruine of <HI>Ahabs</HI> hou&s;e; <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> to be a Prophet in his &s;tead, and in the de&s;truction of all tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets of <HI>Baal.</HI></P>
<P>And the plenty of the rayn of that &s;pirit of wickedne&s;&s;e appears in <HI>Ahab</HI> and <HI>Jezebel,</HI> their cruelty towards the Prophet of God, their mi&s;erable and horrible overthrow, and in their de&s;ire and endeavour to nouri&s;h and maintayn &s;uch plenty of a fal&s;e &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie upon the face of the earth, and in this plenty of rain, &s;eed-time, and harve&s;t are continued; for the world &s;ow unto the fle&s;h, and the fle&s;h they reap and inherit corruption; and the Saints &s;ow unto the &s;pirit, and inherit everla&s;ting life.</P>
<P>And from this power of prayer he a&s;&s;umes the power and ver|tue of doctrine, in which he concludes the Epi&s;tle, to &s;hew that where the power and vertue of the one re&s;ides, there is the power and vertue of the other. The prayer of Faith is never without the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie: and prophe&s;ie according to the &s;pirit, is never without the life and power of prayer; and where one of the&s;e is wanting, they are both ab&s;ent from that party, in the true exerci&s;e of them; for a formall prayer is never accompanyed with the life and power of &s;ound doctrine: but as they have compo&s;ed a prayer by mans invention, gathering up expre&s;&s;ions &s;utable in the under&s;tanding of a man, &s;o do they compo&s;e a do|ctrine from Libraries, School-di&s;tinctions, and from a &s;erious ob&s;ervation of the carriage and demeanour of one creature to|wards another, only bringing God into the account, by <HI>turning the glory of the incorruptible God into the &s;imilitude of a corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed bea&s;ts, and of creeping things.</HI> It is not Uni|ver&s;ities, books, and Libraries, that can transfer the &s;pirit of the Scriptures; no nor the skill in tho&s;e Languages wherein they were originally written, without the &s;ame &s;pirit comment upon them in our hearts, by which they were fir&s;t indited: It is the &s;pi|rit that indited them, that gives the meaning of them, and not the hand that writes or tran&s;lates, no more then paper and inke can doe it. Without which &s;pirit, let us u&s;e all meanes
<PB N="190" REF="107">
and indu&s;try that po&s;&s;ible we can, &amp; it is but to pick at the bark, and rinde of truths, and cracking of a &s;hell, voyd and de&s;titute of any kernell, better then a gale of bitterne&s;s to be found in it; and &s;uch as compo&s;e their Sermons of &s;uch &s;tuffe, their prayers are no better, however they may &s;hew the zeale of <HI>Baals</HI> Prie&s;ts in the ut|tering of them.</P>
<P>But true prayer carries the force of the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel in it, by judging of the want and &s;upply, according unto God, and true doctrine hath the power of prayer going forth in it for the effectuall performance of the things that are taught, and nei|ther the one nor the other con&s;i&s;t of any form or &s;tatue that any book or Library can po&s;&s;ibly bring and repre&s;ent unto us; for the vi&s;ions and operations of God are never found in the &s;ame form and time as at another, all circum&s;tances duely weighed and con|&s;idered.</P>
<P>Yet may we not deny, but the &s;ame words may be u&s;ed often and again in prayer or doctrine, but with a various re&s;pect, as this wonder of <HI>Eliah</HI> is brought in, with re&s;pect to years, months, dayes, and poynts of time: &s;o Chri&s;t prayed in the &s;ame words <HI>thrice,</HI> but with variety and eternity of re&s;pect, for the cup for e|ver pa&s;&s;eth by him, and toucheth him not, as man is eternally &s;a|ved in that ble&s;&s;ed condition of the Son of God, and it takes ef|fect, at the Sonne of God is transformed by the world into the cur&s;ed &s;tate and condition: For if we make the death of Chri&s;t according to the true my&s;tery of it, wherein &s;alvation doth con|&s;i&s;t, to be of le&s;&s;e continuance then eternity; wee &s;hall annihilate Chri&s;t, and make &s;alvation it &s;elfe of no longer continuance; for if Chri&s;t once dye unto the fle&s;h in the godly, he never lives unto it any more: And if he once be dead in the wicked, in re&s;pect of his proper &s;pirit and life, it is never repaired in them agayn, for then there were not eteranll perdition, which the word of God hath commended unto us upon like grounds of certainty, that it hath done everla&s;ting life: That word tran&s;lated, <HI>was dead and is alive,</HI> is read <HI>is dead and is alive;</HI> as the &s;ame word, <HI>I am an Apo&s;tle,</HI> is u&s;ed in the pre&s;ent tence. Doctrine and prayer are in&s;eparable companions, even as Kingdome and Prie&s;t hood are, as here in the way of Chri&s;t, even &s;o in the world in the way of Antichri&s;t, and thus the connexion of the next point is brought in.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19, 20" TYPE="verse">
<PB N="191" REF="107">
<HEAD><HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 19, 20. Brethren, if any of you have erred from the truth, and one hath converted him, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>In which words ob&s;erve;</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. A propo&s;ition con&s;i&s;ting of two points; <HI>As</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Errour from the truth.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A re&s;tauration.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Ob&s;erve an injunction, and that hath two parts al&s;o,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. To acknowledge or make a confe&s;&s;ion of an e&s;tate or act.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The party that is &s;o to do, and that is, <HI>He that hath turned from errour.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The &s;tate and condition, or act done, and that con&s;i&s;ts of two things.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Death.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The hiding of a multitude of &s;ins.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>BUt fir&s;t ob&s;erve the terme or appellation he gives as before he hath done, <HI>Brethren.</HI> By brethren here, is meant a like bro|ther-hood, as in <HI>E&s;au</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> which are often &s;o called: <HI>Was not,</HI> or <HI>is not E&s;au Jacobs brother, &s;aith the Lord? Yet I have loved Ja|cob, and hated E&s;au, and layd his mountaine wa&s;t for ever.</HI> So the Apo|&s;tle hath re&s;pect to the wicked, as <HI>brethren in a true &s;ence to the godly,</HI> becau&s;e they con&s;i&s;t of the &s;ame matter and &s;ub&s;tance; that is, God and man made one in the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h, as the Saints con|&s;i&s;t of God and man made one, but according to the wi&s;dome of the &s;pirit.</P>
<P><HI>If one of you,</HI> or <HI>if any of you;</HI> If one of you, that is, as a Nation con&s;idered collectively in <HI>E&s;au,</HI> as the Oracle &s;aid to <HI>Rebecka, Two nations are in thy womb:</HI> or <HI>any of you;</HI> that is, di&s;tributively, or di&s;tinctly, and &s;o it comprehends all the Apo&s;tates and Revol|ters from God, or all vertues or excellencies in the Saints, from which they are fallen, and have erred and gone a&s;tray. If any, that is, man and man, one or other, or thing and thing, one and other what&s;oever is in the Son of God.</P>
<P><PB N="192" REF="108">
<HI>Erred from the trueth;</HI> that is, gone a&s;tray, and wandred from that which is the reality and &s;ub&s;tance of all things, which is Chri&s;t the Son of God: And to erre in this place, is not &s;imply for a meer creature to declyne and go away from his Creator; but to pervert, mi&s;-apply, and wrongfully to interpret the very things of God them&s;elves, <HI>turning his glory into &s;hame, his truth into a lye;</HI> therefore they erre from truth, as having been in it; for that which was, is, and ever &s;hall be <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e of truth,</HI> they have perverted unto prophane&s;&s;e and wickedne&s;&s;e, by inter|preting the things of God to be &s;uch as the proper &s;pirit of a cre|ature naturally brings forth, &s;o that it is a diabolicall &s;pirit which this errour is formed into.</P>
<P>The particle <HI>(if)</HI> is not here to be taken as making que&s;tions, or doubt whether there be &s;uch a &s;werving from truth, but as a certaine affirmation, that &s;uch there are, as the Apo&s;tle explayns the Prophets meaning, where it is &s;ayd, <HI>&V;nto whom I &s;ware in my wrath</HI> (if) <HI>they &s;hall enter into my re&s;t:</HI> which the Apo&s;tle expounds, <HI>They &s;hall not enter into his re&s;t,</HI> as an ab&s;olute certainty: And &s;o there is of one converting or turning from errour into truth, in that wonderfull change that the Sonne of God makes in our na|ture, for it is impo&s;&s;ile that he &s;hould be held of death: but as certainly as he layes down his life in the wicked, &s;o mu&s;t he take it agayn in the godly, otherwi&s;e there were an annihilation of him who is the Author and &s;trength of all things, which is im|po&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P>And in this change or turning, we are not to take it as the &s;imple and &s;ingle &s;pirit of a creature turned, but the compleat &s;pirit of him who is the Son of God; for as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of prayer, <HI>We know not how to pray as we ought, but the &s;pirit maketh in|terce&s;&s;ion for us.</HI> It is not the &s;pirit of God, without the &s;pirit of the creature, for then there could be no want to be &s;upplyed: &s;o that the whole &s;pirit of Chri&s;tianity prayeth, <HI>viz.</HI> God and man in unity; &s;o it is here, the &s;pirit that turns, is God and man in unity, and is as true a change from that which is, and ever &s;hall be Satanicall, as the wicked erre from that which is, and ever &s;hall be holy and righteous, and they are both of one and the &s;ame time, in the ri&s;e of them: <HI>For in the beginning was the word, and that word is with God, and is God:</HI> And <HI>Satan is a lyar from the begin|ning,
<PB N="193" REF="108">
and abode not in truth,</HI> no more <HI>then Chri&s;ts &s;oule was left in hell, or that holy one &s;uffered to &s;ee corruption,</HI> but was ever taught in the way of life, and in that reall pre&s;ence, <HI>at who&s;e right hand there is fullne&s;&s;e of joy for evermore:</HI> Therefore the Prophet &s;aith, that Chri&s;t comes meek and lowly, &s;aving him&s;elfe, that is, compleat|ly, and not apart only: and therein the worth and dignity of &s;alvation &s;tands, that it hath that weight, &s;ub&s;tance of account, and reckoning in it; and upon this ground the Di&s;ciples are comforted again&s;t all feare what&s;oever, where it is &s;aid, <HI>Are not two &s;parrows &s;old for a farthing, and yet one of them falls not to the ground without the good will of your heavenly father? of how much more worth are ye then many &s;parrows?</HI> Can you &s;et a price and rate of &s;o mean a thing, and doth God take care for the pre&s;ervation of it? <HI>Of what e&s;teem, price, and re&s;pect then is the &s;tate of a Chri&s;tian?</HI> in which not a part, but the compleat &s;pirit of the Son of God is involved, and by a ran&s;ome given, and payd in the world pro|portionable thereunto purcha&s;ed. This point contains a my&s;te|ry, which the common Prie&s;t-hood of the world (&s;o far as I have heard or &s;een in books) is altogether ignorant of, though life and death, yea the &s;pring and originall fountaine of all things is involved in it: So much for the propo&s;ition, the injunction followes.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Le him know, or acknowledge, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>The word <HI>(let)</HI> is of like &s;ignification here, that it is in the be|ginning; <HI>Let there be light, let us make man,</HI> &amp;c. having the power of a command, and vertue of propagation to bring forth, being of the nature of the word <HI>Amen,</HI> &s;o be it; or &s;o it &s;hall be without all gain&s;aying or contradiction, having in it a creating power and vertue to give being to the thing uttered.</P>
<P>That is, that the party thus turning, or turned; for both are true, and the word implies both, one that turns, and one turn|ed, for both are in that &s;tate of Chri&s;t: and he that preacheth any thing but Chri&s;t and him crucified, he goes beyond our Apo&s;tle as far as the common apo&s;tacy.</P>
<P>The word <HI>Let,</HI> then, e&s;tabli&s;heth in the heart of him (and no other) that turneth a &s;inner from the errour of his way, a cer|taine
<PB N="194" REF="109">
power of acknowledgment of &s;uch a condition, or royall and noble acts, which here follows: but fir&s;t &s;ee here the nature of the confe&s;&s;ion or acknowledgment of &s;in, <HI>it is his way</HI> that tur|neth <HI>naturally,</HI> but it is confe&s;&s;ed to the change, or converting it unto the &s;tate of the Sonne of God; even as truth may be &s;ayd to be <HI>their way naturally,</HI> who are in errour, but they have perver|ted the &s;ame into fal&s;hood, <HI>turning the truth of God into a lye, and his grace into wantonne&s;&s;e:</HI> &s;o that their way (with re&s;pect to that which they have perverted) is holine&s;&s;e, and is, and ever &s;hall be &s;o in Chri&s;t; but there remayns nothing but &s;in and wickedne&s;&s;e in the perverters thereof.</P>
<P>So al&s;o a Chri&s;tian may confe&s;&s;e that the evill of &s;in and errour is his way, with re&s;pect to that which is converted, and is, and ever &s;hall be &s;o in the wicked: but in that &s;tate of the turned and converted, there is no &s;in nor errour to be found at all; there is then a reality of the Saints confe&s;&s;ion of their &s;in, but it is to the removing of it to another, where it abides for ever, as there is a reall confe&s;&s;ion of a holy one in the wicked, but it is ever in re|moving it unto another, which they are not, which is the pro|per &s;pirit of <HI>Python,</HI> that unper&s;waded or unfaithed one; as the Apo&s;tle gives the wicked the title of <HI>Apeitheis, unper&s;waded,</HI> or <HI>di&s;obedient:</HI> &s;o that their acknowledgment of holine&s;&s;e in another &s;ub&s;i&s;tance, is the unfaithing or unbetrothing of the &s;oule from God, it is its proper and perpetuall divorce.</P>
<P>So that he that knows not how to clear the &s;tate of Chri&s;tiani|ty from &s;in, and fill the world with wickedne&s;&s;e, he will come to make a bankrupt-like account, when ever his e&s;tate comes to be di&s;covered: Therefore the wealthy e&s;tate, noble acts, and royall prerogatives following, are only entailed and made over to him that turns the &s;inner from the errour of his way; errour colle|ctively, as all con&s;idered in one, otherwi&s;e Chri&s;t is not cleered, and made the holy one of God, and then not ri&s;en from the dead. We are yet in our &s;ins, the &s;ub&s;tance of the common doctrine at this day in the world.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t point or act of honour given to him that turns, is, <HI>that he &s;aves a &s;oule from death;</HI> not as the world thinks by preach|ing the terrours of the Law, and frighting men from &s;ome gro&s;&s;e and bruiti&s;h acts, they have thereby converted and &s;aved &s;ouls; the
<PB N="195" REF="109">
mo&s;t part of tho&s;e that thus &s;ave, did <HI>&s;trive</HI> to pluck men out of the hands of the Bi&s;hops, that the people might be in&s;truments to lift them up into the like &s;eat, if not wor&s;e; no &s;uch conver&s;ion coms in here, it is abhominable: but it is a true and faithfull di&s;tribu|tion and opening of Gods righteous and holy manner of work|ing, in the ab&s;olution of his holy &s;on made &s;in, in being acquit from all &s;in, and the ju&s;t condemnation of that wicked one, who in being made <HI>Lucifer, the morning &s;tarre,</HI> became the Prince and power of darkne&s;&s;e; From &s;uch an originall we mu&s;t fetch &s;alva|tion and de&s;truction, or el&s;e all our doctrine of the decree of ele|ction and reprobation, will prove no better then reprobate &s;il|ver, not pa&s;&s;ing for currant in the Kingdome of God.</P>
<P N="1">1. But the thing to be acknowledged by &s;uch a one, as turns, or is turned, is, <HI>he &s;aves;</HI> that is, the power and &s;pirit of the Savi|our is there: when once we know of what nature the &s;pirit of the world is, namely, <HI>that wee are of God, and the world is of that wicked one?</HI> then wee &s;hall learn to acknowledg, that &s;alvation never appears, but there is the Saviour; wee thinke to honour Chri&s;t by binding him up in one individuall man; in point of the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, it is a carnall and humane honour, not be&s;eeming the Son of God; the common Prie&s;t-hood hath blind|ed and be&s;otted the world in this point, &s;etting up an idoll in mens minds, and not the my&s;tery of life that is by Chri&s;t: but it is taken for bla&s;phemy in the&s;e dayes, to talk of the Son of God, or a Saviour any where, but as lockt up in a humane body in heaven, that men may &s;tand here in his room, till he return from thence, to &s;uck up all the glory of the earth.</P>
<P>It was not &s;o in ages pa&s;t, and men &s;pirituall; for <HI>Jo&s;huah, Mo|&s;es</HI> Mini&s;ter, was called <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> a Saviour, as the Apo&s;tle interprets his name, and the Lord acknowledgeth in rai&s;ing up Judges in <HI>I&s;raell,</HI> that he rai&s;ed up Saviours unto them. And <HI>Paul</HI> was not affraid to tell <HI>Timmothie,</HI> that <HI>in taking heed to him&s;elfe;</HI> that is, how God hath compo&s;ed &s;alvation in his con&s;i&s;ting in Chri&s;t, and <HI>unto learning or doctrine;</HI> that is, how it ought to be layd out and di&s;tributed to others, that in &s;o doing, <HI>he &s;hould be a Saviour of him&s;elfe, and them that heare him.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;econd point is, <HI>what he &s;aves;</HI> that is, a &s;oule, or a life; this is not meant of the life of a meer creature, but it is the life
<PB N="196" REF="110">
of the Son of God, as our Apo&s;tle affirms; <HI>Now I live, yet not I, but Chri&s;t lives in me; and the life which I now live, is by, or in the faith of the &s;onne of God.</HI> So that a Chri&s;tians life is the life of Chri&s;t: and there is no life of man-kind, but either the life of the Saviour, or el&s;e the life of Sathan, that de&s;troyer; for heaven and earth con|&s;pire together in the making of man. <HI>Let us</HI> (&s;peaking with re|&s;pect to that plurality) <HI>in our image;</HI> that is, in our image earth|ly, as well as heavenly; for there is a heavenly body, and there is an earthly body, and God is as ju&s;t and righteous in the ma|king of the one, as of the other, and every way as honourable, the one in mercy, and the other in &s;everity: And man cannot be known in a &s;imple act of creation, for that multiplies him not; but propagation or generation mu&s;t be brought in al&s;o, el&s;e the &s;on of God, nor the &s;eed of the Serpent can be known, &amp; &s;o both are brought forth in that fir&s;t act of generation in <HI>Cain</HI> and <HI>Abel,</HI> wherein the &s;eed of the Serpent appears in the &s;ame act as in <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au,</HI> together with Chri&s;t in <HI>Abel,</HI> dead by <HI>Caine</HI> in the &s;pi|rit, and in <HI>Seth, that &s;ett one</HI> in life for evermore, who is &s;et in the room of <HI>Abel,</HI> crucified in the world: So that the life of Chri&s;t, and of Antichri&s;t are both from one act, even from as early dayes the one as the other, and without the true knowledg of that, we know neither of them: and for other life in man-kind, we know none worthy the name of life beyond other creatures, but as it &s;erves to the &s;etting forth of the one or of the other of the&s;e, and &s;o they tran&s;cend the life of all other creatures, as far as the image of God did the frame of any other creature, or that earthly i|mage de&s;cends below them all, even to a bottomle&s;&s;e pit, which no other creature is &s;ubjected unto, but only man.</P>
<P N="3">3. There is a third point what he &s;aves from, that is, <HI>death,</HI> namely a death that holds corre&s;pondency with that infinite and eternall life of the Son of God, in way of Parathe&s;is in all points, for Chri&s;t is &s;aved from what&s;oever Sathan is, hath, or undergoes: and Sathan is de&s;troyed from what&s;oever Chri&s;t is, hath, or is ad|vanced unto; therefore that conceit that Sathan was an Angell, that is a meere creature at the fir&s;t, and in acceptation with God is a meer humane tradition, and philo&s;ophicall fiction, and is a point of greater concernment then men are aware of; for it is as &s;afe to &s;ay, that the &s;on of God was for a time out of the Fathers
<PB N="197" REF="110">
favour, as to hold that the Devill at any time was in acceptation with God, for what&s;oever is out of Gods favour, can never re|turn into againe; and what is accepted of him for a moment, ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> never be rejected.</P>
<P>2. A &s;econd royalty, or act of fame that is to be acknowledg|ed by him who turns the &s;inner from the errour of his way, chan|ging him into truth it &s;elfe, that is, the <HI>covering or hiding of a mul|titude of &s;ins.</HI></P>
<P>This is taken from the &s;peech of <HI>Solomon, Hatred &s;tirreth up &s;trife, but love covereth all &s;ins,</HI> which our Apo&s;tle calls <HI>a multitude of &s;ins:</HI> the word &s;ignifies the deep of the troubled ocean, intimating that huge multitude of torturing and troubling tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, proper to that great gulfe of the bottomle&s;&s;e pit.</P>
<P>Now to turn from the error of a mans way, is to turn to truth; and no man can turn to truth, but by that unity that is in Chri&s;t; none turns to truth, but hee that becomes truth; for there is no terme or title given in Scripture, but being rightly interpretted and rightly applyed, the truth, &s;ub&s;tance, and being of the thing is there; for God u&s;eth no expre&s;&s;ion, but he intends under that the truth and &s;ub&s;tance of the thing expre&s;&s;ed: To turn to <HI>truth,</HI> is not only <HI>truth</HI> in word, but <HI>truth</HI> in act al&s;o, yea to be that very thing as Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>I am the way, the truth, and the life.</HI></P>
<P>Now that unity that is in Chri&s;t is the fulfilment and complea|ting of the law of the Spirit; for if the love of Chri&s;t be in us, and con&s;trayn us to all acknowledgments of him, we know that love is the fulfilling of the Law: and where the Law is fulfilled, there &s;in utters not its voyce, nor hath it a face to appear, it is altoge|ther hid and covered for ever. Chri&s;t is the e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d and &s;cope of the law for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and more it aymes not at, nor more it cannot require; for <HI>it is the &s;onne of God that is ju&s;tified, who then &s;hall condemn him?</HI> The law is fully &s;atisfied, from what ground then &s;hall any accu&s;e? yea our Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>that the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law is fulfilled in us that walke not after the fle&s;h, but after the &s;pirit: No hiding of &s;in therefore but by fulfilling of the law:</HI> but what law? not the law of the carnall commandement, generally taught in the world, by which no fle&s;h can be ju&s;tified, but it is <HI>the law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> or which con&s;i&s;ts in that unction, office, or &s;pirit of the Saviour.</P>
<P><PB N="198" REF="111">
Againe, how do the wicked hide righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that none ap|pears in them but only the &s;pirit of the wicked one, namely by walking according to the law of the fle&s;h: For he that walks af|ter the law of the fle&s;h, he cannot plea&s;e God, &s;o that all righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e is hid and covered in them, yea even by fulfilling the law of the fle&s;h; for the more they conform them&s;elves thereunto, the more their condemnation doth appear: for it is not becau&s;e men cannot perform all the works of the law (in that re&s;pect) that they cannot be ju&s;tified thereby, but becau&s;e they do any of them; for it is again&s;t the nature of that law of the carnall Commande|ment and every part thereof to ju&s;tifie, for it is its proper nature and office to condemn; for we may as well &s;ay, <HI>that the law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> is a law of &s;in and death, as to &s;ay, <HI>the law of the carnall command can give life or peace, no not in the compleat performance of it.</HI> For every part thereof is a breach of <HI>the law of the &s;pirit:</HI> And what&s;oever is a breach of <HI>the law of the &s;pirit,</HI> is a crucifying of the Son of God afre&s;h, and putting of him to open &s;hame: &s;o that every performance of the law of the fle&s;h ac|cording to the intent thereof, is a breach of the &s;ame law of the &s;pirit; and he that breaks one, breaks all, therefore all righte|ou&s;ne&s;s is hid and covered in the wicked; even &s;o the true keeping of the law of the &s;pirit of faith in any part of it, is a nullifying of the whole law of the carnall Command; therefore no law of &s;in and death is found in them, all &s;ins and &s;orrows are hid and covered; therefore <HI>the man is ble&s;&s;ed who&s;e tre&s;pa&s;s is forgiven, who&s;e &s;in is covered: Ble&s;&s;ed is the man, and he only, unto whom the Lord im|puteth, accounteth, or reckoneth not iniquity, and in who&s;e &s;pirit there is no guile,</HI></P>
<CLOSER>Amen.</CLOSER>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>By</HI>
Sam: Gorton,
<HI>Profe&s;&s;or of Chri&s;t.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
