Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

foundation-stone; and meet together to wait upon, and worship the Father, in the light and Spirit which they have received from him. This is the holy church, or living affembly of the New Teftament; bleffed are they that are of it! For about this church is the wall of falvation; and they that are added by God's Spirit and power to this church, and abide in it, fhall certainly be saved.

XIV. Concerning the Way to Salvation.

Queft. Which is the certain and infallible way to falvation?

Anfw. It is a new and living way; it is fuch a way as none but the living can walk in. It is an holy way, which none but the cleansed, the ransomed, the redeemed of the Lord, can set one step in. The way, the life, and the truth are all one; blessed are they that find it, and walk in it! In plain and exprefs terms, it is the Lord Jefus, the light of the Lord Jefus, the life of the Lord Jefus, the Spirit of the Lord Jefus, the truth as it is in him, his wisdom, his power, he himself, the covenant or holy limit between God and the foul. He that comes into him, comes into the way; he that abides in him, abides in the way; he that walks in him, walks in the He that comes to his light, his life, his Spirit, his truth in the inward parts, comes to him; he that abides therein, abides in him; he that walks therein, walks in him: and he that walks out of the light and leadings of his Spirit, let him walk in what form he will, yet he walks not in him the way.

way.

XV. Concerning Christ's faving the Soul.

Queft. How doth Chrift fave the foul?

Anfw. By vifiting inwardly, knocking inwardly, appearing inwardly, caufing the light of life to thine inwardly, and fo enlightening and quickening inwardly, breaking the ftrength of the enemy inwardly, and bringing out of the region and shadow of darkness inwardly, into the region and path of light. By the light and power of his Spirit he begets a child of light; which child of light he brings out of Egypt, the dark land; out of Sodom, the filthy unclean land; out of Babylon, the land and city of confufion (where the Spirit of the living God, and the holy order of life, and his precious government in the heart, is not fo much as known), and brings him into the light, where he and his Father dwells. And this child of light is not of the nature of darkness, but light in the Lord, and walks in the light, as he is in the light; and by the further fhining and working of the light and life in him, he preferves and faves him daily more and more.

XVI.

XVI. Concerning Regeneration, or the New-Birth.

Queft. What is regeneration, or the new-birth?

Anfw. It is an inward change, by the Spirit and power of the living God, into his own nature. It is a being begotten of his Spirit, born of his Spirit; begotten into, and born of the very nature of his Spirit. (That which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit, John iii.) It is not every change of mind which is the right change; but only that which God, by the very fame power wherewith he raised our Lord Jefus Chrift from the grave, makes in the hearts of those whom he vifits; who are fenfible of, receive, and are fubject to his inward life, light, and power.

XVII. Concerning true Holiness.

Queft. What is true holiness?

Anfw. That holy nature, and thofe holy actions, which arise from the holy root; all elfe are but imitations of holiness, not the true holiness. The tree must be made good firft, and then the fruit will be good alfo. There are many likeneffes of the true holiness up and down in feveral profeffions; but there is no real holiness to be found, nor righteousness neither, but in the trees of God's planting, in the branches which are by him ingrafted into the true vine and olive-tree, whofe ftrength of virtue and holiness lies in the fap, which they daily receive from him.

XVIII. Concerning Chrift's Works outwardly in the Days of his Flesh, and inwardly in the Day and inward Shining of the Light of his Spirit in the Heart.

Queft. Which are greater, the works which Chrift did outwardly on the bodies of men in the days of his flesh, or which he doth inwardly in mens minds and spirits by the powerful appearance and operation of his Spirit? Because Chrift faid, the works that he did, thofe that believed on him should do, and greater also, becaufe he went to the Father, John xiv. 12.

Anfw. Doubtless to reach to the foul, and quicken the foul, and raise the foul out of the grave of death, and cure the blindness, deafnefs, hardnefs, and diseases of the foul, is greater than the outward, and was fignified by the outward.

XIX. Concerning the Yoke, or Cross of Chrift.

Quest. What is the yoke or cross of Chrift? Anfw. It is inward, as that which is to be crucified is chiefly inward. It is that gift of God, that light of his Spirit, which is contrary to the dark

nefs,

nefs, contrary to all that is corrupt; which wills and wars against it; and being received, fubjected to, and borne patiently, takes away the life of the flesh, the will and wisdom of the flesh, and all the fubtil reasonings and devices of the fleshly part; and fo that languishes and dies, and God's plant is eased of it; and the foul abiding under this crofs, comes into the true, pure, and perfect liberty, where it hath fcope unto holiness, freedom unto righteousness, and is in ftrait bonds and holy chains from all liberty to the flesh, and from all unholiness and unrighteousness of every kind.

XX. Concerning making our Calling and Election fure.

Queft. How may a man make his calling and election fure?

Anfw. By making the gift of God fure to him; by making that fure to him. wherein his calling and election is. For the choice is of the feed, the holy feed, the inward feed, the feed of God's Spirit, and of the creature as joined to the feed, God would have none to perifh; but would have all come to the knowledge of Chrift the truth, who is the feed, in whom the election ftands and his holy advice to men is, whom he begins to call and to lead towards the election, to make their calling and election fure. So that the way of making the calling and election fure is, to make the gift fure, the feed fure, the leaven fure, the pearl fure, which God will never reject, nor any that are found in true union with it, and in the love and obedience of it. Oh! therefore, as God vifits with power (with his powerful gift) and as thou receivest power, dominion, and authority over fin (for in this gift is God's dominion and authority revealed) be faithful to the gift, be faithful to the power, give up to the truth in the inward parts, come into it, dwell in it, that thou mayft feel its virtue and delivering nature from every enflaving and embondaging thing, and then stand fast in the liberty wherewith Chrift the Lord (by the life, virtue, and power of his truth) fets thee free. And fo here thou wilt read thy calling, and read thy election day by day; and find them fealed, and fure to thee, in that truth, in that gift, in that heavenly light, in that holy feed, which came from God, and is of him, and which he delights to own, and will never reject.

XXI. Concerning Prayer.

Queft. What is the true prayer?

Anfw. The breathings which arife from the true birth, from the living fense which God gives to the true birth; thefe are the true prayer. There is a Spirit of prayer and fupplication given by God to his children to wrestle and prevail with him by. All prayer that arifes from, and is given by, that Spirit, is true prayer; all other prayer is not right and true, but at beft but an imitation of the true. We know not what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit maketh interceffion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. VOL. II.

Ee

Mark:

Mark the very groanings that come from God's Spirit, from his breathing and work upon the heart, are right prayers in God's fight; but other fighs and groans are not fo.

XXII. Concerning Repentance.

Queft. Which is the true repentance?

Anfw. That which Chrift gives, whom God hath exalted to be the prince and Saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of fins, Acts v. 31. It is not in man's power to repent; his heart is hard and impenitent. It is God's power which melteth, tendereth, and changeth the heart. So that there is a great difference between the fenfe and forrow of man's nature, and the fenfe and forrow which God gives to the heart which he renews and changes. The one is of an earthly, the other of a heavenly, nature. The one is like the early dew, or morning cloud, it foon paffeth away; the other is written in the new heart, and abideth. So that in it there is a real forrow and mourning over the corrupt nature, and all the dead works of the flesh, and a turning from them, and meddling no more with them. This is the repentance of the renewed-ones, which is the gift of the Lord Jefus Chrift unto them, and is a godly forrow for fin not to be repented of.

XXIII. Concerning Faith.

Queft. What is the true faith?

Anfw. It is a belief in the power which faves, from a true fenfe and experience of it in the heart. For the power which faves must first manifeft itfelf, before it can be believed in; and how doth it manifeft itself, but by shining in the heart, which hath been darkened by tranfgreffion, to open the eye of the understanding, which the god of the world hath blinded, and to unstop the deaf ear, and so it begets and creates fomewhat capable to receive its further manifestation. The fcripture speaks of a new creation in Christ. Indeed all true believers are fo: and they have the ability, the faculty, the power of believing from him who creates them anew. There is that which is called faith in unregenerate men; but that is not the faith I am now speaking of, but that which is the gift of God to his own birth, to his own begotten. To you it is given not only to believe, &c. Phil. i. 29. Mark: it is given to believe. Oh! this holy gift! this faith of the new-birth is the faith which pleaseth God, prevaileth with him, purifieth the heart to which it is given, giveth access to God, intereft in his power and promises, and victory over the worldly nature, and over all the foul's enemies. Bleffed be the Lord for bestowing and increasing it in the hearts of his children.

XXIV. Concerning Obedience.

Quest. What is obedience?

Anfwer. The obedience which flows from the true understanding of God's will, and from the holy nature which he begets in the heart. It is the obedience which flows from true fenfe, true understanding, and true faith. There is no birth can believe aright but one; nor is there any birth can obey aright, but that birth which believes aright. The true believing is from the quickening virtue of God's Spirit (all other faith is but dead faith); and the true obedience is in the newness of the Spirit, Rom. vi. 4. and vii. 6. Man may strive to understand and obey all his days; but he can do neither, but as he is quickened, taught, and enabled of the Lord. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy ftatutes, Pfal. cxix. 33. There is a mystical path of life. The way of wisdom, the way of holiness, the holy fkill of obeying the truth, is hid from all living, from all mankind, but fuch as are begotten and brought up by him in the holy fkill and mystery of fubjection to the Lord. Thy people fhall be a willing people in the day of thy power. It is the power of God that works the will in the heart, and the fame power works to do alfo; and none can learn either to will or to do aright, but as they come to be acquainted with that power, joined to that power, and feel that power working in them. And here, in this power, to this new-birth, faith and the holy obedience are as natural, as unbelief and disobedience are to the birth of the flesh. It is frequently and abundantly experienced by his holy birth, by the child of his begetting. Bleffed be the name of the Lord.

XXV. Concerning Fuftification.

Queft. What is juftification, or how is a man juftified in the fight of God? Anfw. By a true fenfe of, and faith in, that which juftifies; which is the Spirit, the life, the water, the blood, the virtue, the power of the Lord Jefus. All these are one in nature, and they go together. Man is finful naturally, fallen from God, found a tranfgreffor against him. Now he needs juftification from his fins, and he needs juftification in refpect of what God hath intrusted him with, and requires of him; and in the newbirth, and joining to the Spirit of the Lord Jefus Chrift, he meets with both. Being quickened by his Holy Spirit, turned from the darkness, coming into the light, and walking in the light; there his fins are done away, blotted out, as if they had never been, for his name's fake; and there he receiveth a new ability, a new heart, a new Spirit, yea, the Spirit of the living God, to quicken him, and work in him; and whatever he doth in this Spirit (or rather what God doth by him, in and through this Spirit) is justified, owned, and accepted. God finds no fault in any of the fruits of

E e 2

his

« ElőzőTovább »