CHAPTERII.

CHAPTERII.Discovering the true way of turning toGod, and of finding the kingdom of heaven, the riches of eternity, in our souls.*ALL our salvation consists in themanifestation of the nature, life, and Spirit of Jesus Christ in us. Enter with all thy heart into this truth, let thy eye be always upon it, do every thing in view of it, try every thing by the truth of it, love nothing but for the sake of it. Wherever thou goest, whatever thou dost at home or abroad, in the field or at church, do all in a desire of union with Christ, in imitation of his tempers and inclinations, and look upon all as nothing, but that which exercises, and increases the Spirit and life of Christ in thy soul. From morning to night keep Jesus in thy heart, long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing, but to have all that is within thee, changed into the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus. Let this be thy Christianity, thy church, and thyreligion. For this new birth in Christ thus firmly believed, and continually desired, will do every thing that thou wantest to have done in thee, it will dry up all the springs of vice, stop all the workings of evil in thy nature, it will bring all that is good into thee, it will open all the gospel within thee, and thou wilt know what it is to be taught of God. This longing desire of thy heart to be one with Christ will soon put a stop to all the vanity of thy life, and nothing will be admitted to enter into thy heart, or proceed from it, but what comes from God and returns to God: thou wilt soon be, as it were, tied and bound in the chains of all holy affections, thymouthwill have awatchset upon it, thyearswould willingly hear nothing that does not tend to God, nor thy eyes be open, but to see and find occasions of doing good. In a word, when this faith has got both thy head and thyheart, it will then be with thee, as it was with themerchantwho found apearl of great price, it will make thee glad tosell all that thou hast, and buy it. For all that had seized and possessed the heart of any man, whatever themerchantof this world had got together, whether of riches, power, honour, learning, or reputation, loses all its value, is counted but asdung, and willingly parted with, as soon as this glorious pearl, the new birth in Christ Jesus, is discovered and found by him. This therefore may serve as a touchstone, whereby every onemay try the truth of his state; if the old man is still amerchantwithin thee, trading in worldly honour, power, or learning, if the wisdom of this world is not foolishness to thee, if earthly interests and sensual pleasures are still the desire of thy heart, and only covered under a form of godliness, a cloke of creeds, observances and institutions of religion, thou mayest be assured that the pearl of great price is not yet found by thee. For where Christ is in the soul, there all carnal wisdom, arts of advancement, with every pride and glory of this life, are as so manyHeathen idolswillingly renounced, and the man is not only content, but rejoices to say, thathis kingdom is not of this world.But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall this great work, the knowledge of Christ, be effected in me? It might rather be said, since Christ has an infinite power, and also an infinite desire to save mankind, how can any one miss of this salvation, but through hisown unwillingnessto be saved by him? Consider how was it, that the lame and blind, the lunatic and leper, the publican and sinner, found Christ to be their Saviour, and to do all that for them, which they wanted to be done to them? It was because they had areal desireof havingthat, which they asked for, and therefore in truefaithandprayer, applied to Christ, that his Spirit and power might enter into them, and heal that which they wanted, and desired to have healed in them. Every one ofthese said infaith and desire, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole. And the answer was always this,According to thy faith, so be it done unto thee. This is Christ’s answer now, and thus it is done to every one of us at this day, asour faith is, so is it done unto us. And here lies the whole reason of our falling short of the salvation of Christ, it is because we have no will to it.*But you will say, Do not all Christians desire to have Christ to be their Saviour? Yes. But here is the deceit; all would have Christ to be their Saviour in thenext world, and to help them into heaven when they die. But this is notwillingChrist to be thy Saviour; for his salvation, if it is had, must be had in this world, if he saves thee, it must be done in this life, by changing and alteringall that is within thee, by helping thee to a new heart, as he helped the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. For to have salvation from Christ, is to be made like unto him; it is to have his humility and meekness, his mortification and self-denial, his renunciation of the spirit, wisdom, and honours of this world, his love of God, his desire of doing God’s will, and seeking only his honour. To have these tempers formed in thy heart, is to have salvation from Christ; but if thou willest not to have these tempers, if thy faith does not seek, and cry to Christ for them in the same reality, as the lame asked to walk,and the blind to see, then thou artunwillingto have Christ to be thy Saviour.Again, consider, how was it, that the deep-readScribe, the learnedRabbi, the religiousPharisee, not only did not receive, butcrucifiedtheir Saviour? It was because they desired no such Saviour as he was, no suchinward salvationas he offered. They desired no change of their own nature, no destruction of their natural tempers, no deliverance from the love of themselves, and the enjoyments of their passions; they liked the gratifications of their old man, theirlong robes, theirbroad phylacteries, andgreetingsin the markets. They wanted not to have theirprideandself-lovedethroned, their covetousness, and sensuality subdued. Their only desire was the success ofJudaism, to have anoutwardsaviour, atemporalprince, that should establish theirlawand ceremonies over all the earth. And therefore they crucified their Redeemer, and would have none of his salvation, because it consisted in a change of their nature; a kingdom of heaven to be openedwithinthem by the Spirit of God.*Awake, thou that sleepest, thou art called a Christian, and Christ shall give thee light. Begin to search and dig for thispearl of eternity; it cannot cost thee too much, nor canst thou buy it too dear, for it isall, and when thou hast found it, thou wilt know, that all which thouhast sold or given away for it, is as meer a nothing, as a bubble upon the water.*But if thou turnest from this heavenly pearl, or tramplest it under thy feet, for the sake of being rich, or great, either in church or state, if death finds thee in this success, thou canst not then say, that though the pearl is lost, yet something has been gained instead of it. For in that parting moment, the things, and the sounds of this world, will be exactly alike; to have had an estate, or only to have heard of it, to have lived atLambethtwenty years, or only to have twenty times passed by the palace, will be the same good, or the same nothing to thee.I will now shew a little more distinctly, what thispearl of eternityis.First, It is the light and Spirit of God, which has hitherto done thee but little good, because the desire of thy heart has been after the light and spirit of this world. Thy reason, and senses, and passions, have turned all their attention to the poor concerns of this life, and therefore thou art a stranger to this principle of heaven, these riches of eternity. For as God is not, cannot be truly found by any worshippers, but those who worship him inspiritand intruth, so this light and spirit is not, cannot be found, or enjoyed, but by those, whose spirit is turned to it.When man first came into being, and stood before God as his own image and likeness, this light and Spirit of God were as natural to him, asthelight and airof this world is natural to other creatures. But when man, not content with the food of eternity, did eat of the earthly tree, this light and Spirit of heaven were no more natural to him; but instead thereof, he was left to the light and spirit of this world. And this is that death, which God, toldAdam, he should surely die, in the day that he ate of the forbidden tree.But the goodness of God would not leave man in this condition; a redemption from it was immediately granted, and a bruiser of the serpent to bring the light and Spirit of heaven once more into the human nature. This light and Spirit of God is calledgrace,free grace, or thesupernaturalgift, or power of God in the soul, because it is something, that the natural powers of the soul can no more obtain. Hence it is that every stirring of the soul, every tendency of the heart towards God and goodness, is justly ascribed to the Holy Spirit, or the grace of God. It is because this first seed of life, which is sown into the soul, is itself the light of God, and that every stirring, or opening of this seed of life, every awakening thought or desire that arises from it, must be called the moving, or the quickening of the Spirit of God. Hence also we have a plain declaration of the certain truth, of all those scriptures, which speak of the inspiration of God, the operation of the Holy Spirit, the power of the divine light, as the necessary agents in the renewal and sanctification of our souls. Hence also itis, that all men are exhorted not to quench, or resist, or grieve the Spirit, that is, thisseed of the Spirit and light ofGod that is in all men, as the only source of good. Again,the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. By the flesh and its lustings, are meant themere human nature, or thenatural man, as he is by the fall; by the Spirit is meant the bruiser of the serpent, that seed of the light and Spirit of God, which lieth as a treasure hid in the soul, in order to bring forth the life, that was lost inAdam. Now as the flesh hath its life, its lustings, whence all sorts of evil are truly said to be inspired, quickened, and stirred up in us; so the Spirit being a living principle within us, has its inspiration, its breathing, its moving, its quickening, from which alone the divine life, or the angel that died inAdam, can be born in us.When this Spirit is not resisted, grieved, and quenched, but its inspirations and motions suffered to grow and increase in us, to unite with God, and get power over all the lusts of the flesh, then the nature, Spirit, and tempers of Jesus Christ are opened in our souls. On the other hand, when the flesh, hath resisted and quenched this Spirit; then the works of the flesh, adultery, fornication, murders, lying, hatred, envy, wrath, pride, foolishness, worldly wisdom, carnal prudence, false religion, hypocritical holiness, and serpentine subtilty, set up their kingdom within us.Secondly, This pearl of eternity is the wisdom and love of God within thee. In this pearl, all the holy nature, spirit, tempers, and inclinations of Christ lie, and divine wisdom and heavenly love will grow up in thee, if thou givest but true attention to God. On the other hand, There is hidden also in the depth of thy nature the root, or possibility of all the hellish nature, spirit and tempers of the fallen angels. For heaven and hell have each of them their foundation within us, and spring up in us, according as our heart is turned, either to the light of God or the kingdom of darkness. But when this life, which is in the midst of these two eternities, is at an end, either an angel or a devil will be found to have a birth in us.Thou needest not therefore run here or there,saying, where is Christ? Thou needest not say, Who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring down Christ from above? Or who shall descend into the deep to bring up Christ from the dead?For behold the word, the wisdom of God is in thy heart, as a light unto thy feet and a lanthorn unto thy paths. It is there as an holy oil, to soften and overcome the wrathful properties of thy nature, and change them into the humble meekness of light and love. It is there as a speaking word of God in thy soul; and, as soon as thou art ready to hear, will speak wisdom and love in thy inward parts, and bring forth Christ with all his holy nature, spirit and tempers. Hence itis, that in the Christian church, there have been in all ages, amongst the most illiterate both men and women, who have attained to a deep understanding of the mysteries of the wisdom and love of God in Christ Jesus. And what wonder? Since it is not art or science, or skill in grammar or logic, but the opening of the divine life in the soul, that can give true understanding of the things of God. This life of God in the soul, which for its smallness at first, is by our Lord compared to a grain of mustard seed, may be, and too generally is suppressed, either by worldly cares or pleasures, by vain learning, sensuality, or ambition. And all this while, whatever church or profession a man is of, he is a mere natural man, unregenerate, unenlightened by the Spirit of God. And therefore his religion is no more from heaven, than his fine breeding; his cares have no more goodness in them than his pleasures; his love is worth no more than his hatred; his zeal for this, or against that form of religion, has only the nature of any other worldly contention in it. And thus it is, and must be with every mere natural man, whatever appearances he may put on, he may, if he pleases, know himself to be the slave, and machine of his own corrupt tempers and inclinations; to be enlightened, inspired, quickened and animated by self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking, which is the only life, and spirit of themere natural man, whether he be Heathen, Jew or Christian.On the other hand, wherever this seed is suffered to take root in the soul, there the man is justly said to be inspired, enlightened and moved by the Spirit of God, and all that is in him hath the nature, spirit, and tempers of heaven in it. As this life grows up in any man, so there grows up a true knowledge of the whole mystery of godliness. All that the gospel teaches of sin and grace, of the new and old man, of the light and Spirit of God, are things not got by hearsay, but inwardly known, felt and experienced. He has then an unction from above which teacheth him all things, a spirit thatknoweth what it ought to pray for, a spirit thatprays without ceasing, that is risen with Christ from the dead, and has all its conversation in heaven, a spirit that hathgroans and sighs that cannot be uttered, that travaileth and groaneth with the whole creation, to be delivered from vanity, and have its glorious liberty in that God, from whom it came forth.Again,Thirdly, thispearlof eternity, is thechurch, ortempleof Godwithin thee, where alone thou canst worship God inspirit and in truth. Inspirit, because thy spirit is that alone which can unite to God, and receive the workings of his Spirit upon thee: in truth, because this adoration in spirit, is that truth and reality, of which all outward forms and rites, tho’ instituted by God, are only the figure for a time; but thisworship is eternal. Accustom thyself to the holy service of this inward temple. In the midst of it is the fountain of living water, of which thou mayst drink and live for ever. There the birth, the life, the sufferings, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Christ, are not merely remembered, but inwardly found and enjoyed as the real states of thy soul, which has followed Christ in the regeneration. When once thou art well grounded in this inward worship; when God has all that he should have of thy heart, when renouncing thy natural will, judgment, tempers and inclinations, thou art wholly given up to the obedience of the light and Spirit of God, to will only in his will, to love only in his love, to be wise only in his wisdom, then it is, that every thing thou dost, is as a song of praise, and the common business of thy life is a conforming to God’s will on earth, as angels do in heaven.But this cannot be, till in obedience to his call,thou denied thyself, takest up thy daily cross, and followest him. This is peremptory, it admits of no reserve, or evasion, it is the one way to Christ and eternal life. Be where thou wilt, either here, or atRome, orGeneva, if thou livest to thine own will, to the pleasures of thy natural lust and appetites, senses and passions, and in conformity to the customs and spirit of this world, thou art dead while thou livest. Christ can profit thee nothing, thou art a stranger to allthat is holy and heavenly, and incapable of finding the peace and joy of God. And thus thou art poor, and blind, and naked, and empty, and livest a miserable life in the vanity of time; whilst all the riches of eternity, the light and Spirit, the peace and joy of God are waiting for thee. And thus it will always be with thee, there is no remedy, go where thou wilt, do what thou wilt, all is shut up, there is no open door of salvation, no deliverance from thy corrupt nature, no overcoming of the world, no solid joy above, till dying to thyself and the world, thou turnest to the light, and Spirit, and power of God.But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall I have these riches of eternity, this Spirit, and wisdom, and peace of God within me? Thyfirst thoughtof repentance, or desiring of turning to God, is thyfirst discoveryof this light and Spirit of God. It is the voice and language of God, tho’ thou knowest it not. It is the bruiser of the serpent’s head, who is beginning to preachwithinthee, what he first preached in public, saying,Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. When, therefore but the smallest desire calleth thee towards God, give it time and leave to speak; and take care thou refuse not him that speaketh. For it is not an angel from heaven that speaketh to thee, but it is the eternalwordof God, that word which at first created thee, is thus beginning to call thee unto righteousness, that a newman may be formed in thee in the image and likeness of God. But above all things, beware of taking this desire of repentance, to be the effect of thy own natural sense and reason; for in so doing, thou shuttest the door against God, turnest away from him, and thy repentance (if thou hast any) will be only a vain unprofitable work of thy own hands, that will do thee no more good, than a well that is without water. But if thou takest this desire of turning to God, to be, as in truth it is, theworking,redeemingpower of the holy Jesus, if thou dost reverence and adhere to it as such, thisfaith will make thee whole; and by thus believing in Christ, tho’ thou wert dead, yet shalt thou live.Now all dependeth upon thy right submission and obedience to this speaking of God in thy soul. Therefore listen not to the suggestions of thy own reason, run not on in thy own will, but be humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee; open thy heart, thy eyes, and ears to all its impressions. Let it enlighten, teach, frighten, torment, judge, and condemn thee, as it pleaseth; turn not away from it, hear all it saith, seek for no relief out of it, consult not with flesh and blood, but with a heart full of resignation to God, pray only this prayer, that God’s kingdom may come, and his will be done in thy soul. Stand faithfully in this state of preparation, thus given up to the Spirit of God, and then the work of thy repentance will bewrought, and thou wilt soon find, that he that is in thee, is much greater than all that are against thee.But that thou mayest be firmly assured, that this resignation to, and dependance upon the working of God’s Spirit, is right and sound, I shall lay before thee two fundamental truths.First, That thro’ the whole nature of things, nothing can do, or be a real good to thy soul, but theoperation of Godupon it.Secondly, That all the dispensations of God from the fall ofAdam, to the preaching of the gospel, were only for this one end, to prepare and dispose the soul for the operation of the Spirit of God upon it. These two great truths deeply apprehended, put the soul in its right state, in a continual dependance upon God, and a readiness to receive all good from him. They will keep thee safe from all errors, and false zeal in forms of religion, from a sectarian spirit, from bigotry and superstition; they will teach thee the true difference between the means and end of religion, and the regard thou shewest to the shell, will be only so far as the kernel is to be found in it.*Man, by his fall, had broke off from his true center, his proper place in God, and therefore the life and operation of God was no more in him. He was fallen from a life in God, into an animal life of self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking in the poor, perishing enjoyments of this world.This was thenatural stateof man by the fall. He was an apostate from God, and his natural life was all idolatry, whereselfwas the great idol, that was worshipped instead of God. All sin is nothing else but the various operations of self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking which separate the soul from God, and end in eternal death.*On the other hand, allgrace,redemption,salvation,sanctification,spiritual life, is nothing else but so much of the life, and operation of God found again in the soul. It is man come back again into his center or place in God, from whence he had broke off. The beginning of the life of God in the soul, was then first made, when the mercy of God promised a seed which should bruise the head of the serpent. Then was given a degree of the divine life, which if rightly cultivated, would make of every fallen man, a new-born Son of God.All the sacrifices and institutions of the antient patriarchs, the law ofMoses, with all its types and rites, and ceremonies, had this only end; they were the methods of divine wisdom for a time, to keep the hearts of men from the wanderings of idolatry, in a state of holy expectation: they were to make way for the farther operation of God upon the soul; or, as the apostle speaks, to be as a schoolmaster unto Christ. That is, till the birth, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Christ, should conquerdeath, and hell, open a new dispensation of God, and baptize mankind afresh with the Holy Ghost, and fire of heaven. Then, that is, on the day ofPentecost, anew dispensationof God came forth; which on God’s part, was the operation of the Holy Spirit in gifts and graces upon the whole church. And on man’s part, it was the adoration of God inspiritandin truth. Thus all that was done by God, from the promise given toAdam, to Christ’s sitting down on the right hand of God, was for this end, to remove all that stood between God and man, and to make way for the immediate and continual operation of God upon the soul: and that man, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and born again, should wholly give up his soul to the operation of God’s Spirit, to know, to love, to will, to pray, to worship, to preach, to exhort, to use all the faculties of his mind, and all the outward things of this world, as enlightened, inspired, moved and guided by the Holy Ghost: who by this last dispensation of God, was given to be a comforter, a teacher, and guide to the church, to abide with it for ever.This is Christianity, a spiritual society, not because it has no worldly concerns, but because all its members, as such are born of the Spirit, animated and governed by the Spirit of God. It is constantly called by our Lord the kingdom of God, or heaven, because all its ministry and service, all that is done in it, is done in obedienceand subjection tothat spiritby which angels live, and are governed in heaven. Hence our blessed Lord taught his disciples to pray, that this kingdom might come, that so God’s will might be done on earth, as it is in heaven; which could not be, but by that same spirit by which it is done in heaven. The short is this: The kingdom of self, is the great apostasy from the life of God in the soul, and every one wherever he be, that liveth unto himself, is still under the fall and apostasy from God. The kingdom of Christ is the Spirit and power of God, dwelling and manifesting itself in the inward man; and no one is a member of this kingdom, but so far as the Spirit reigns in him. These two kingdoms take in all mankind, he that is not of one, is certainly in the other; dying to one, is living to the other.Hence we may gather the following truths:First, That when the call of God to repentance first ariseth in thy soul, thou art wholly to disregard the workings of thy own will, reason and judgment. It is because all these are false counsellors, the sworn servants, bribed slaves of thy fallen nature; and therefore, if the operation of God is to have its effect in thee, all these are to be silenced, till they have learned obedience and subjection to the Spirit of God. Now this is not requiring thee to become a fool, or to give up thy sense and reason; but is the shortest wayto have thy sense and reason delivered from folly, and guided by that light which is wisdom itself.A child that denies his own will and reason, to be guided by the will and reason of a truly wise and understanding tutor, cannot be said to make himself a fool, and give up the benefit of his rational nature, but to take the shortest way to have his own will and reason made truly a blessing to him.*Secondly, Hence is to be seen the true ground of universal mortification and self-denial with regard to all our senses, appetites, tempers, passions and judgments. It is because our whole nature, as fallen from the life of God, is in a state of contrariety to the order and end of our creation, a continual source of disorderly appetites, corrupt tempers, and false judgments. And therefore every motion of it is to be mortified, changed and purified from its natural state, before we can enter into the kingdom of God. Thus when our Lord saith,Except a man hateth his father and mother, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple; it is because our best tempers are yet full of the imperfections of our fallen nature. Not as if father and mother were to be hated; butthat lovewhich an unregenerate person hath towards them, is to behated; as being a blind self-love, full of all theweaknessandpartialitywith which fallen man loves, honours, and cleaves to himself. This love, born from corrupt flesh and blood, is to behatedandpartedwith, that we may love them with such a love, and on such a motive, as Christ hath loved us. And then thediscipleof Christ far exceeds all others in the love of parents. Again, our own life is to be hated; the reason is plain, because there is nothing lovely in it. It is alegionof evil, anapostasyfrom thelifeandpowerof God in the soul; a life that isdeathto heaven, that is pure unmixedidolatry, that lives not to God, and thereforeall this own lifeis to be absolutelyhated, if the nature, spirit, tempers and inclinations of Christ are to be in us.*Thus when our Lord further saith, unless a man forsakeall that he hath he cannot be my disciple. The reason is plain; all that the natural man hath, is in the possession of self-love, and therefore this possession is to be absolutely forsaken, and parted with. All that he hath is to be put into other hands, to be given to divine love, or thisnatural mancannot be changed into a disciple of Christ. For self love inall that it hath, is earthly, sensual, and devilish, and therefore must havealltaken away from it; and then to the natural man all is lost, he hath nothing left, all is laid down at the feet of Jesus. Then all things are common, as soon as self-love has lost the possession of them. And then the disciple of Christ,though having nothing, yet possesseth all things, all that the natural man hath forsaken, is restored to the disciple of Christ an hundred fold. For self-love, the greatest of all thieves,being now cast out, and all that he had stolen and hidden, thus taken from him, and put into the hands of divine love, everymitebecometh a large treasure, and mammon openeth the door into everlasting habitations. This was the spirit or the first draught of a Christian church atJerusalem, a church made truly after the pattern of heaven, where the love that reigns in heaven reigned in it, where divine love broke down all the selfish fences, the locks and bolts ofme,mine, and laid all things common to the members of this new kingdom of God on earth.Now tho’ many years did not pass after the age of the apostles, beforeSatan, got footing in the church, and set up merchandize in the house of God; yet this one heart, and one spirit, which then appeared in theJerusalemchurch, is thatone heartandspiritof divine love, to which all are called, that would be true disciples of Christ. And tho’ the practice of it is lost as to the church in general, yet it ought not to have been lost: and therefore every Christian ought to make it his great care and prayer to have it restored in himself. And then tho’ born in the dregs of time, or living inBabylon, he will be as truly a member of the first church atJerusalem, as if he had lived in it in the days of the apostles. This spirit of love, born of that celestial fire, with which Christ baptizes his true disciples, is alone that spirit, which can enter into heaven, and therefore is that spirit which is to be in us, whilewe are on earth. For no one can enter into heaven till he is made heavenly, till the Spirit of heaven is entered into him. And therefore all that our Lord hath said of a man’s parting with all that he hath, is absolutely necessary from the nature of the thing.But thou wilt perhaps say, if all self-love is to be renounced, then all love of our neighbour is renounced, because the commandment is, onlyto love our neighbour as ourselves. The answer is easy. There is but one love in heaven, and yet the angels of God love one another in the same manner as they love themselves. The matter is thus; The one supremeruleof love, which is alawto all intelligent beings, and will be a law to all eternity, is this,God alone is to be loved for himself, andall other beings only in him, and for him. Whatever intelligent creature lives not under this rule, is so far fallen from the order of his creation, and is, till he returns to this eternal law of love, an apostate from God, and incapable of the kingdom of heaven.Now if God alone is to be loved for himself, then no creature is to be loved for itself: and so all self-love in every creature is absolutely condemned.And if all created beings are only to be loved in and for God, then my neighbour is to be loved as I love myself, and I am only to love myself as I love my neighbour, or any othercreated being, that is, only in and for God. And thus the command of loving our neighbour as ourselves stands firm, and yet all self-love is plucked up by the roots. But what is loving any creature, only in and for God? It is when we love it merely as it is God’s and belongs to him, this is loving itinGod. And when all that we wish, intend, or do to it, is done from a love of God, for the honour of God, and in conformity to the will of God, this is loving it for God. This is theone lovethat is, and must be the spirit of all creatures that live united to God. Now this is no speculative refinement, but the simple truth, a first law of nature, and a necessary band of union between God and the creature. The creature has lost the life of God whenever its love does not thus begin and end in God.Thirdly, Hence we may learn the true nature and worth of allself-denialandmortification. As to their nature, considered in themselves, they have nothing ofgoodnessorholiness, nor are any real parts of our sanctification, they have noquickening, sanctifying powerin them; their only worth consists in this, that they break down that which stands between God and us, and make way for thequickening, sanctifying Spiritof God to operate: which operation of God is theonlything that can raise the divine life in the soul, or help it to the smallest degree of real holiness. As in our creation we had onlythatdegreeof divine life, which the power of God derived into us; so in our redemption, or regainingthatfirst perfection, all must be again the operation of God.Hence also we may learn, why many people not only lose the benefit, but are even the worse for all their mortifications. It is because they mistake the whole nature of them. They practise them for theirown sakes, as things good in themselves, they think them to be real parts of holiness, and so rest in them, and grow full of self-esteem, and self-admiration for their progress in them. This makes them self-sufficient, morose, severe judges of all those that fall short of their mortification.And thus their self-denials do onlythatfor them, which indulgences do for other people, they withstand and hinder the operation of God upon their souls.There is no avoiding this fatal error, but by deeply entering into this great truth, that all our own working can do no good to us, but as it leads us in the best manner to the light and Spirit of God, which alone brings life and salvation into the soul.Stretch forth thy hand, said our Lord to the man,that had a withered hand; he did so, andit was immediately made whole as the other.Now had this man any ground for pride, for the share he had in the restoring of his hand? Yet just such is our share in the raising up ofthe spiritual life within us. All that we can do, is only like this man’s stretching out his hand; the rest is the work of Christ, the only giver of life to the withered hand, or the dead soul. When the VirginMaryconceived the holy Jesus, all that she did towards it herself, was only this single act of faith and resignation:Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word. This is all that we can do towards the conception of the new man in ourselves. Now this truth is easily consented to, and a man thinks he believes it, because he does not deny it. But this is not enough, it is to be apprehended in a deep, full, and practical assurance, in such a manner as a man knows that he did not create the stars, or cause life to rise up in himself. And then it is a belief that makes room for the operation of God upon it. His light then enters with full power into the soul, and his Holy Spirit directs all that is done in it, and so man lives again in God as a new creature. For this truth thus firmly believed, will have these two effects: *First, It will keep the soul continually turned towards God, in faith, prayer, desire, confidence, and resignation for all that it wants to have done in it, and to it; which will be a continual source of all divine graces. The soul thus turned to God, must be always receiving from him. It stands at the true door of all divine communications, and the light of God as freely enters into it, as the light of the sun enters into the air.Secondly,It will fix and ground the soul in a true and lasting self-denial. For by thus knowing our own nothingness and inability, that we have no other capacity for good, but that of receiving it from God alone; no room is left for spiritual pride; we are saved from a Pharisaical holiness, from wrong opinions of our own works and good deeds, and from a multitude of errors, the most dangerous to our souls, all which arise from the something that we take ourselves to be either in nature or grace. *But when we once apprehend but in some degree, the all of God, and the nothingness of ourselves, we have got a truth whose usefulness and benefit no words can express. It brings a kind of infallibility into the soul, in which it dwells; all that is vain, and false, and deceitful, is forced to vanish before it. When our religion is founded on this, it has the firmness of a rock, and its height reaches unto heaven. The world, the flesh and the devil can do no hurt to it; all enemies are known, and all disarmed by this great truth, dwelling in our souls. It is the knowledge of the all of God, that makes cherubim and seraphim to be flames of divine love. For where this all of God is truly known and felt in any creature, there its whole breath and Spirit is a fire of love, nothing but a pure, disinterested love can rise up in it, or come from it, a love that begins and ends in God. For this pure love introduces the creature into the all of God, all that is in God, is opened in the creature, it isunited with God, and hath the life of God manifested in it.*There is but one salvation for all mankind, and that is the life of God in the soul. God has but one design towards all mankind, and that is to generate his own life, light, and spirit in them, that all may be as so many images, temples, and habitations of the holy Trinity.Now there is but one possible way for man to attain this salvation, or life of God in the soul: and that is,the desire of the soul turned to God. Through this desire the poor prodigal son leaveth his husks and swine, and hasteth to his father; ’tis because ofthis desirethat the father seeth the son, while yet afar off, that he runs out to meet him, falleth on his neck, and kisseth him. No sooner is this desire in motion towards God, but the operation of God’s Spirit answers to it, cherishes and welcomes its first beginnings, signified by the Father’s seeing, and having compassion on his Son, whilst yet afar off, that is, in the first beginnings of his desire. Thus does this desire bring the soul to God, and God into the soul. Suppose this desire not to be alive, either in aJew, orChristian, and then all the sacrifices, the service, the worship either of the law or the gospel, are but dead works, that bring no life into the soul. Suppose this desire to be awakened, though in souls that never heard either of the law or gospel, and the operation of God enters intothem, and Christ blesses those that never heard of his name.Oh my God, just and good, how great is thy love and mercy to mankind, that heaven is thus every where open, and Christ thus the common Saviour, to all that turn the desire of their hearts to thee! Oh sweet power of the bruiser of the serpent, that stirs and works in every man, who has a desire, to find his happiness in God! O holy Jesus, heavenlylight, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that redeemeth every soul that followeth thy light: O holy Trinity, immense ocean of love, in which all mankind live, and move, and have their being! None live out of thy love, but all are embraced in the arms of thy mercy, as soon as their heart is turned to thee! Oh plain, and easy, and simple way of salvation, wanting no subtleties of art or science, no borrowed learning, no refinements of reason, but all done by the simple motion of every heart, that truly longs after God. For no sooner is the desire of the creature in motion towards God, but the desire of God co-operates with it. And in this united desire of God, and the creature, is the salvation of the soul brought forth. For the soul is shut out of God, and imprisoned in its own dark workings of flesh and blood, merely because it desires to live to the vanity of this world. This desire is its darkness, its death, its imprisonment, and separation from God.When therefore thefirst sparkof a desire after God arises in thy soul, cherish it with all thy care, it is nothing less than a touch of the divine loadstone, that is to draw thee out of the vanity of time, into the riches of eternity. Get up therefore and follow it as gladly as the wise-men of the East followed the star from heaven that appeared to them.Christ saith, “I am the light of the world, he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness.” He directs us only to himself. He is the morning star, and is generated and riseth in us, and shineth in the darkness of our nature. O how great a triumph is there in the soul, when he ariseth in it! Then a man knows, as he never knew before, that he is a stranger in a foreign land.*APRAYER.OH heavenly Father, infinite, fathomless depth of never ceasing love, save me from myself, from the disorderly workings of my fallen, corrupted nature, and let mine eyes see, my heart, and spirit feel and find thy salvation in Christ Jesus.O God, who madest me for thyself, to shew forth thy goodness in me, manifest, I humbly beseech thee, the life-giving power of thy holy nature within me; help me to such a true and living faith in thee, such hunger and thirst afterthe life of thy holy Jesus in my soul, that all that is within me, may be turned from every inward thought, or outward work, that is not thee, thy holy Jesus, and heavenly working in my soul.Amen.

Discovering the true way of turning toGod, and of finding the kingdom of heaven, the riches of eternity, in our souls.

*ALL our salvation consists in themanifestation of the nature, life, and Spirit of Jesus Christ in us. Enter with all thy heart into this truth, let thy eye be always upon it, do every thing in view of it, try every thing by the truth of it, love nothing but for the sake of it. Wherever thou goest, whatever thou dost at home or abroad, in the field or at church, do all in a desire of union with Christ, in imitation of his tempers and inclinations, and look upon all as nothing, but that which exercises, and increases the Spirit and life of Christ in thy soul. From morning to night keep Jesus in thy heart, long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing, but to have all that is within thee, changed into the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus. Let this be thy Christianity, thy church, and thyreligion. For this new birth in Christ thus firmly believed, and continually desired, will do every thing that thou wantest to have done in thee, it will dry up all the springs of vice, stop all the workings of evil in thy nature, it will bring all that is good into thee, it will open all the gospel within thee, and thou wilt know what it is to be taught of God. This longing desire of thy heart to be one with Christ will soon put a stop to all the vanity of thy life, and nothing will be admitted to enter into thy heart, or proceed from it, but what comes from God and returns to God: thou wilt soon be, as it were, tied and bound in the chains of all holy affections, thymouthwill have awatchset upon it, thyearswould willingly hear nothing that does not tend to God, nor thy eyes be open, but to see and find occasions of doing good. In a word, when this faith has got both thy head and thyheart, it will then be with thee, as it was with themerchantwho found apearl of great price, it will make thee glad tosell all that thou hast, and buy it. For all that had seized and possessed the heart of any man, whatever themerchantof this world had got together, whether of riches, power, honour, learning, or reputation, loses all its value, is counted but asdung, and willingly parted with, as soon as this glorious pearl, the new birth in Christ Jesus, is discovered and found by him. This therefore may serve as a touchstone, whereby every onemay try the truth of his state; if the old man is still amerchantwithin thee, trading in worldly honour, power, or learning, if the wisdom of this world is not foolishness to thee, if earthly interests and sensual pleasures are still the desire of thy heart, and only covered under a form of godliness, a cloke of creeds, observances and institutions of religion, thou mayest be assured that the pearl of great price is not yet found by thee. For where Christ is in the soul, there all carnal wisdom, arts of advancement, with every pride and glory of this life, are as so manyHeathen idolswillingly renounced, and the man is not only content, but rejoices to say, thathis kingdom is not of this world.

But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall this great work, the knowledge of Christ, be effected in me? It might rather be said, since Christ has an infinite power, and also an infinite desire to save mankind, how can any one miss of this salvation, but through hisown unwillingnessto be saved by him? Consider how was it, that the lame and blind, the lunatic and leper, the publican and sinner, found Christ to be their Saviour, and to do all that for them, which they wanted to be done to them? It was because they had areal desireof havingthat, which they asked for, and therefore in truefaithandprayer, applied to Christ, that his Spirit and power might enter into them, and heal that which they wanted, and desired to have healed in them. Every one ofthese said infaith and desire, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole. And the answer was always this,According to thy faith, so be it done unto thee. This is Christ’s answer now, and thus it is done to every one of us at this day, asour faith is, so is it done unto us. And here lies the whole reason of our falling short of the salvation of Christ, it is because we have no will to it.

*But you will say, Do not all Christians desire to have Christ to be their Saviour? Yes. But here is the deceit; all would have Christ to be their Saviour in thenext world, and to help them into heaven when they die. But this is notwillingChrist to be thy Saviour; for his salvation, if it is had, must be had in this world, if he saves thee, it must be done in this life, by changing and alteringall that is within thee, by helping thee to a new heart, as he helped the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. For to have salvation from Christ, is to be made like unto him; it is to have his humility and meekness, his mortification and self-denial, his renunciation of the spirit, wisdom, and honours of this world, his love of God, his desire of doing God’s will, and seeking only his honour. To have these tempers formed in thy heart, is to have salvation from Christ; but if thou willest not to have these tempers, if thy faith does not seek, and cry to Christ for them in the same reality, as the lame asked to walk,and the blind to see, then thou artunwillingto have Christ to be thy Saviour.

Again, consider, how was it, that the deep-readScribe, the learnedRabbi, the religiousPharisee, not only did not receive, butcrucifiedtheir Saviour? It was because they desired no such Saviour as he was, no suchinward salvationas he offered. They desired no change of their own nature, no destruction of their natural tempers, no deliverance from the love of themselves, and the enjoyments of their passions; they liked the gratifications of their old man, theirlong robes, theirbroad phylacteries, andgreetingsin the markets. They wanted not to have theirprideandself-lovedethroned, their covetousness, and sensuality subdued. Their only desire was the success ofJudaism, to have anoutwardsaviour, atemporalprince, that should establish theirlawand ceremonies over all the earth. And therefore they crucified their Redeemer, and would have none of his salvation, because it consisted in a change of their nature; a kingdom of heaven to be openedwithinthem by the Spirit of God.

*Awake, thou that sleepest, thou art called a Christian, and Christ shall give thee light. Begin to search and dig for thispearl of eternity; it cannot cost thee too much, nor canst thou buy it too dear, for it isall, and when thou hast found it, thou wilt know, that all which thouhast sold or given away for it, is as meer a nothing, as a bubble upon the water.

*But if thou turnest from this heavenly pearl, or tramplest it under thy feet, for the sake of being rich, or great, either in church or state, if death finds thee in this success, thou canst not then say, that though the pearl is lost, yet something has been gained instead of it. For in that parting moment, the things, and the sounds of this world, will be exactly alike; to have had an estate, or only to have heard of it, to have lived atLambethtwenty years, or only to have twenty times passed by the palace, will be the same good, or the same nothing to thee.

I will now shew a little more distinctly, what thispearl of eternityis.First, It is the light and Spirit of God, which has hitherto done thee but little good, because the desire of thy heart has been after the light and spirit of this world. Thy reason, and senses, and passions, have turned all their attention to the poor concerns of this life, and therefore thou art a stranger to this principle of heaven, these riches of eternity. For as God is not, cannot be truly found by any worshippers, but those who worship him inspiritand intruth, so this light and spirit is not, cannot be found, or enjoyed, but by those, whose spirit is turned to it.

When man first came into being, and stood before God as his own image and likeness, this light and Spirit of God were as natural to him, asthelight and airof this world is natural to other creatures. But when man, not content with the food of eternity, did eat of the earthly tree, this light and Spirit of heaven were no more natural to him; but instead thereof, he was left to the light and spirit of this world. And this is that death, which God, toldAdam, he should surely die, in the day that he ate of the forbidden tree.

But the goodness of God would not leave man in this condition; a redemption from it was immediately granted, and a bruiser of the serpent to bring the light and Spirit of heaven once more into the human nature. This light and Spirit of God is calledgrace,free grace, or thesupernaturalgift, or power of God in the soul, because it is something, that the natural powers of the soul can no more obtain. Hence it is that every stirring of the soul, every tendency of the heart towards God and goodness, is justly ascribed to the Holy Spirit, or the grace of God. It is because this first seed of life, which is sown into the soul, is itself the light of God, and that every stirring, or opening of this seed of life, every awakening thought or desire that arises from it, must be called the moving, or the quickening of the Spirit of God. Hence also we have a plain declaration of the certain truth, of all those scriptures, which speak of the inspiration of God, the operation of the Holy Spirit, the power of the divine light, as the necessary agents in the renewal and sanctification of our souls. Hence also itis, that all men are exhorted not to quench, or resist, or grieve the Spirit, that is, thisseed of the Spirit and light ofGod that is in all men, as the only source of good. Again,the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. By the flesh and its lustings, are meant themere human nature, or thenatural man, as he is by the fall; by the Spirit is meant the bruiser of the serpent, that seed of the light and Spirit of God, which lieth as a treasure hid in the soul, in order to bring forth the life, that was lost inAdam. Now as the flesh hath its life, its lustings, whence all sorts of evil are truly said to be inspired, quickened, and stirred up in us; so the Spirit being a living principle within us, has its inspiration, its breathing, its moving, its quickening, from which alone the divine life, or the angel that died inAdam, can be born in us.

When this Spirit is not resisted, grieved, and quenched, but its inspirations and motions suffered to grow and increase in us, to unite with God, and get power over all the lusts of the flesh, then the nature, Spirit, and tempers of Jesus Christ are opened in our souls. On the other hand, when the flesh, hath resisted and quenched this Spirit; then the works of the flesh, adultery, fornication, murders, lying, hatred, envy, wrath, pride, foolishness, worldly wisdom, carnal prudence, false religion, hypocritical holiness, and serpentine subtilty, set up their kingdom within us.

Secondly, This pearl of eternity is the wisdom and love of God within thee. In this pearl, all the holy nature, spirit, tempers, and inclinations of Christ lie, and divine wisdom and heavenly love will grow up in thee, if thou givest but true attention to God. On the other hand, There is hidden also in the depth of thy nature the root, or possibility of all the hellish nature, spirit and tempers of the fallen angels. For heaven and hell have each of them their foundation within us, and spring up in us, according as our heart is turned, either to the light of God or the kingdom of darkness. But when this life, which is in the midst of these two eternities, is at an end, either an angel or a devil will be found to have a birth in us.

Thou needest not therefore run here or there,saying, where is Christ? Thou needest not say, Who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring down Christ from above? Or who shall descend into the deep to bring up Christ from the dead?For behold the word, the wisdom of God is in thy heart, as a light unto thy feet and a lanthorn unto thy paths. It is there as an holy oil, to soften and overcome the wrathful properties of thy nature, and change them into the humble meekness of light and love. It is there as a speaking word of God in thy soul; and, as soon as thou art ready to hear, will speak wisdom and love in thy inward parts, and bring forth Christ with all his holy nature, spirit and tempers. Hence itis, that in the Christian church, there have been in all ages, amongst the most illiterate both men and women, who have attained to a deep understanding of the mysteries of the wisdom and love of God in Christ Jesus. And what wonder? Since it is not art or science, or skill in grammar or logic, but the opening of the divine life in the soul, that can give true understanding of the things of God. This life of God in the soul, which for its smallness at first, is by our Lord compared to a grain of mustard seed, may be, and too generally is suppressed, either by worldly cares or pleasures, by vain learning, sensuality, or ambition. And all this while, whatever church or profession a man is of, he is a mere natural man, unregenerate, unenlightened by the Spirit of God. And therefore his religion is no more from heaven, than his fine breeding; his cares have no more goodness in them than his pleasures; his love is worth no more than his hatred; his zeal for this, or against that form of religion, has only the nature of any other worldly contention in it. And thus it is, and must be with every mere natural man, whatever appearances he may put on, he may, if he pleases, know himself to be the slave, and machine of his own corrupt tempers and inclinations; to be enlightened, inspired, quickened and animated by self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking, which is the only life, and spirit of themere natural man, whether he be Heathen, Jew or Christian.

On the other hand, wherever this seed is suffered to take root in the soul, there the man is justly said to be inspired, enlightened and moved by the Spirit of God, and all that is in him hath the nature, spirit, and tempers of heaven in it. As this life grows up in any man, so there grows up a true knowledge of the whole mystery of godliness. All that the gospel teaches of sin and grace, of the new and old man, of the light and Spirit of God, are things not got by hearsay, but inwardly known, felt and experienced. He has then an unction from above which teacheth him all things, a spirit thatknoweth what it ought to pray for, a spirit thatprays without ceasing, that is risen with Christ from the dead, and has all its conversation in heaven, a spirit that hathgroans and sighs that cannot be uttered, that travaileth and groaneth with the whole creation, to be delivered from vanity, and have its glorious liberty in that God, from whom it came forth.

Again,Thirdly, thispearlof eternity, is thechurch, ortempleof Godwithin thee, where alone thou canst worship God inspirit and in truth. Inspirit, because thy spirit is that alone which can unite to God, and receive the workings of his Spirit upon thee: in truth, because this adoration in spirit, is that truth and reality, of which all outward forms and rites, tho’ instituted by God, are only the figure for a time; but thisworship is eternal. Accustom thyself to the holy service of this inward temple. In the midst of it is the fountain of living water, of which thou mayst drink and live for ever. There the birth, the life, the sufferings, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Christ, are not merely remembered, but inwardly found and enjoyed as the real states of thy soul, which has followed Christ in the regeneration. When once thou art well grounded in this inward worship; when God has all that he should have of thy heart, when renouncing thy natural will, judgment, tempers and inclinations, thou art wholly given up to the obedience of the light and Spirit of God, to will only in his will, to love only in his love, to be wise only in his wisdom, then it is, that every thing thou dost, is as a song of praise, and the common business of thy life is a conforming to God’s will on earth, as angels do in heaven.

But this cannot be, till in obedience to his call,thou denied thyself, takest up thy daily cross, and followest him. This is peremptory, it admits of no reserve, or evasion, it is the one way to Christ and eternal life. Be where thou wilt, either here, or atRome, orGeneva, if thou livest to thine own will, to the pleasures of thy natural lust and appetites, senses and passions, and in conformity to the customs and spirit of this world, thou art dead while thou livest. Christ can profit thee nothing, thou art a stranger to allthat is holy and heavenly, and incapable of finding the peace and joy of God. And thus thou art poor, and blind, and naked, and empty, and livest a miserable life in the vanity of time; whilst all the riches of eternity, the light and Spirit, the peace and joy of God are waiting for thee. And thus it will always be with thee, there is no remedy, go where thou wilt, do what thou wilt, all is shut up, there is no open door of salvation, no deliverance from thy corrupt nature, no overcoming of the world, no solid joy above, till dying to thyself and the world, thou turnest to the light, and Spirit, and power of God.

But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall I have these riches of eternity, this Spirit, and wisdom, and peace of God within me? Thyfirst thoughtof repentance, or desiring of turning to God, is thyfirst discoveryof this light and Spirit of God. It is the voice and language of God, tho’ thou knowest it not. It is the bruiser of the serpent’s head, who is beginning to preachwithinthee, what he first preached in public, saying,Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. When, therefore but the smallest desire calleth thee towards God, give it time and leave to speak; and take care thou refuse not him that speaketh. For it is not an angel from heaven that speaketh to thee, but it is the eternalwordof God, that word which at first created thee, is thus beginning to call thee unto righteousness, that a newman may be formed in thee in the image and likeness of God. But above all things, beware of taking this desire of repentance, to be the effect of thy own natural sense and reason; for in so doing, thou shuttest the door against God, turnest away from him, and thy repentance (if thou hast any) will be only a vain unprofitable work of thy own hands, that will do thee no more good, than a well that is without water. But if thou takest this desire of turning to God, to be, as in truth it is, theworking,redeemingpower of the holy Jesus, if thou dost reverence and adhere to it as such, thisfaith will make thee whole; and by thus believing in Christ, tho’ thou wert dead, yet shalt thou live.

Now all dependeth upon thy right submission and obedience to this speaking of God in thy soul. Therefore listen not to the suggestions of thy own reason, run not on in thy own will, but be humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee; open thy heart, thy eyes, and ears to all its impressions. Let it enlighten, teach, frighten, torment, judge, and condemn thee, as it pleaseth; turn not away from it, hear all it saith, seek for no relief out of it, consult not with flesh and blood, but with a heart full of resignation to God, pray only this prayer, that God’s kingdom may come, and his will be done in thy soul. Stand faithfully in this state of preparation, thus given up to the Spirit of God, and then the work of thy repentance will bewrought, and thou wilt soon find, that he that is in thee, is much greater than all that are against thee.

But that thou mayest be firmly assured, that this resignation to, and dependance upon the working of God’s Spirit, is right and sound, I shall lay before thee two fundamental truths.

First, That thro’ the whole nature of things, nothing can do, or be a real good to thy soul, but theoperation of Godupon it.

Secondly, That all the dispensations of God from the fall ofAdam, to the preaching of the gospel, were only for this one end, to prepare and dispose the soul for the operation of the Spirit of God upon it. These two great truths deeply apprehended, put the soul in its right state, in a continual dependance upon God, and a readiness to receive all good from him. They will keep thee safe from all errors, and false zeal in forms of religion, from a sectarian spirit, from bigotry and superstition; they will teach thee the true difference between the means and end of religion, and the regard thou shewest to the shell, will be only so far as the kernel is to be found in it.

*Man, by his fall, had broke off from his true center, his proper place in God, and therefore the life and operation of God was no more in him. He was fallen from a life in God, into an animal life of self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking in the poor, perishing enjoyments of this world.This was thenatural stateof man by the fall. He was an apostate from God, and his natural life was all idolatry, whereselfwas the great idol, that was worshipped instead of God. All sin is nothing else but the various operations of self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking which separate the soul from God, and end in eternal death.

*On the other hand, allgrace,redemption,salvation,sanctification,spiritual life, is nothing else but so much of the life, and operation of God found again in the soul. It is man come back again into his center or place in God, from whence he had broke off. The beginning of the life of God in the soul, was then first made, when the mercy of God promised a seed which should bruise the head of the serpent. Then was given a degree of the divine life, which if rightly cultivated, would make of every fallen man, a new-born Son of God.

All the sacrifices and institutions of the antient patriarchs, the law ofMoses, with all its types and rites, and ceremonies, had this only end; they were the methods of divine wisdom for a time, to keep the hearts of men from the wanderings of idolatry, in a state of holy expectation: they were to make way for the farther operation of God upon the soul; or, as the apostle speaks, to be as a schoolmaster unto Christ. That is, till the birth, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Christ, should conquerdeath, and hell, open a new dispensation of God, and baptize mankind afresh with the Holy Ghost, and fire of heaven. Then, that is, on the day ofPentecost, anew dispensationof God came forth; which on God’s part, was the operation of the Holy Spirit in gifts and graces upon the whole church. And on man’s part, it was the adoration of God inspiritandin truth. Thus all that was done by God, from the promise given toAdam, to Christ’s sitting down on the right hand of God, was for this end, to remove all that stood between God and man, and to make way for the immediate and continual operation of God upon the soul: and that man, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and born again, should wholly give up his soul to the operation of God’s Spirit, to know, to love, to will, to pray, to worship, to preach, to exhort, to use all the faculties of his mind, and all the outward things of this world, as enlightened, inspired, moved and guided by the Holy Ghost: who by this last dispensation of God, was given to be a comforter, a teacher, and guide to the church, to abide with it for ever.

This is Christianity, a spiritual society, not because it has no worldly concerns, but because all its members, as such are born of the Spirit, animated and governed by the Spirit of God. It is constantly called by our Lord the kingdom of God, or heaven, because all its ministry and service, all that is done in it, is done in obedienceand subjection tothat spiritby which angels live, and are governed in heaven. Hence our blessed Lord taught his disciples to pray, that this kingdom might come, that so God’s will might be done on earth, as it is in heaven; which could not be, but by that same spirit by which it is done in heaven. The short is this: The kingdom of self, is the great apostasy from the life of God in the soul, and every one wherever he be, that liveth unto himself, is still under the fall and apostasy from God. The kingdom of Christ is the Spirit and power of God, dwelling and manifesting itself in the inward man; and no one is a member of this kingdom, but so far as the Spirit reigns in him. These two kingdoms take in all mankind, he that is not of one, is certainly in the other; dying to one, is living to the other.

Hence we may gather the following truths:First, That when the call of God to repentance first ariseth in thy soul, thou art wholly to disregard the workings of thy own will, reason and judgment. It is because all these are false counsellors, the sworn servants, bribed slaves of thy fallen nature; and therefore, if the operation of God is to have its effect in thee, all these are to be silenced, till they have learned obedience and subjection to the Spirit of God. Now this is not requiring thee to become a fool, or to give up thy sense and reason; but is the shortest wayto have thy sense and reason delivered from folly, and guided by that light which is wisdom itself.

A child that denies his own will and reason, to be guided by the will and reason of a truly wise and understanding tutor, cannot be said to make himself a fool, and give up the benefit of his rational nature, but to take the shortest way to have his own will and reason made truly a blessing to him.

*Secondly, Hence is to be seen the true ground of universal mortification and self-denial with regard to all our senses, appetites, tempers, passions and judgments. It is because our whole nature, as fallen from the life of God, is in a state of contrariety to the order and end of our creation, a continual source of disorderly appetites, corrupt tempers, and false judgments. And therefore every motion of it is to be mortified, changed and purified from its natural state, before we can enter into the kingdom of God. Thus when our Lord saith,Except a man hateth his father and mother, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple; it is because our best tempers are yet full of the imperfections of our fallen nature. Not as if father and mother were to be hated; butthat lovewhich an unregenerate person hath towards them, is to behated; as being a blind self-love, full of all theweaknessandpartialitywith which fallen man loves, honours, and cleaves to himself. This love, born from corrupt flesh and blood, is to behatedandpartedwith, that we may love them with such a love, and on such a motive, as Christ hath loved us. And then thediscipleof Christ far exceeds all others in the love of parents. Again, our own life is to be hated; the reason is plain, because there is nothing lovely in it. It is alegionof evil, anapostasyfrom thelifeandpowerof God in the soul; a life that isdeathto heaven, that is pure unmixedidolatry, that lives not to God, and thereforeall this own lifeis to be absolutelyhated, if the nature, spirit, tempers and inclinations of Christ are to be in us.

*Thus when our Lord further saith, unless a man forsakeall that he hath he cannot be my disciple. The reason is plain; all that the natural man hath, is in the possession of self-love, and therefore this possession is to be absolutely forsaken, and parted with. All that he hath is to be put into other hands, to be given to divine love, or thisnatural mancannot be changed into a disciple of Christ. For self love inall that it hath, is earthly, sensual, and devilish, and therefore must havealltaken away from it; and then to the natural man all is lost, he hath nothing left, all is laid down at the feet of Jesus. Then all things are common, as soon as self-love has lost the possession of them. And then the disciple of Christ,though having nothing, yet possesseth all things, all that the natural man hath forsaken, is restored to the disciple of Christ an hundred fold. For self-love, the greatest of all thieves,being now cast out, and all that he had stolen and hidden, thus taken from him, and put into the hands of divine love, everymitebecometh a large treasure, and mammon openeth the door into everlasting habitations. This was the spirit or the first draught of a Christian church atJerusalem, a church made truly after the pattern of heaven, where the love that reigns in heaven reigned in it, where divine love broke down all the selfish fences, the locks and bolts ofme,mine, and laid all things common to the members of this new kingdom of God on earth.

Now tho’ many years did not pass after the age of the apostles, beforeSatan, got footing in the church, and set up merchandize in the house of God; yet this one heart, and one spirit, which then appeared in theJerusalemchurch, is thatone heartandspiritof divine love, to which all are called, that would be true disciples of Christ. And tho’ the practice of it is lost as to the church in general, yet it ought not to have been lost: and therefore every Christian ought to make it his great care and prayer to have it restored in himself. And then tho’ born in the dregs of time, or living inBabylon, he will be as truly a member of the first church atJerusalem, as if he had lived in it in the days of the apostles. This spirit of love, born of that celestial fire, with which Christ baptizes his true disciples, is alone that spirit, which can enter into heaven, and therefore is that spirit which is to be in us, whilewe are on earth. For no one can enter into heaven till he is made heavenly, till the Spirit of heaven is entered into him. And therefore all that our Lord hath said of a man’s parting with all that he hath, is absolutely necessary from the nature of the thing.

But thou wilt perhaps say, if all self-love is to be renounced, then all love of our neighbour is renounced, because the commandment is, onlyto love our neighbour as ourselves. The answer is easy. There is but one love in heaven, and yet the angels of God love one another in the same manner as they love themselves. The matter is thus; The one supremeruleof love, which is alawto all intelligent beings, and will be a law to all eternity, is this,God alone is to be loved for himself, andall other beings only in him, and for him. Whatever intelligent creature lives not under this rule, is so far fallen from the order of his creation, and is, till he returns to this eternal law of love, an apostate from God, and incapable of the kingdom of heaven.

Now if God alone is to be loved for himself, then no creature is to be loved for itself: and so all self-love in every creature is absolutely condemned.

And if all created beings are only to be loved in and for God, then my neighbour is to be loved as I love myself, and I am only to love myself as I love my neighbour, or any othercreated being, that is, only in and for God. And thus the command of loving our neighbour as ourselves stands firm, and yet all self-love is plucked up by the roots. But what is loving any creature, only in and for God? It is when we love it merely as it is God’s and belongs to him, this is loving itinGod. And when all that we wish, intend, or do to it, is done from a love of God, for the honour of God, and in conformity to the will of God, this is loving it for God. This is theone lovethat is, and must be the spirit of all creatures that live united to God. Now this is no speculative refinement, but the simple truth, a first law of nature, and a necessary band of union between God and the creature. The creature has lost the life of God whenever its love does not thus begin and end in God.

Thirdly, Hence we may learn the true nature and worth of allself-denialandmortification. As to their nature, considered in themselves, they have nothing ofgoodnessorholiness, nor are any real parts of our sanctification, they have noquickening, sanctifying powerin them; their only worth consists in this, that they break down that which stands between God and us, and make way for thequickening, sanctifying Spiritof God to operate: which operation of God is theonlything that can raise the divine life in the soul, or help it to the smallest degree of real holiness. As in our creation we had onlythatdegreeof divine life, which the power of God derived into us; so in our redemption, or regainingthatfirst perfection, all must be again the operation of God.

Hence also we may learn, why many people not only lose the benefit, but are even the worse for all their mortifications. It is because they mistake the whole nature of them. They practise them for theirown sakes, as things good in themselves, they think them to be real parts of holiness, and so rest in them, and grow full of self-esteem, and self-admiration for their progress in them. This makes them self-sufficient, morose, severe judges of all those that fall short of their mortification.

And thus their self-denials do onlythatfor them, which indulgences do for other people, they withstand and hinder the operation of God upon their souls.

There is no avoiding this fatal error, but by deeply entering into this great truth, that all our own working can do no good to us, but as it leads us in the best manner to the light and Spirit of God, which alone brings life and salvation into the soul.Stretch forth thy hand, said our Lord to the man,that had a withered hand; he did so, andit was immediately made whole as the other.

Now had this man any ground for pride, for the share he had in the restoring of his hand? Yet just such is our share in the raising up ofthe spiritual life within us. All that we can do, is only like this man’s stretching out his hand; the rest is the work of Christ, the only giver of life to the withered hand, or the dead soul. When the VirginMaryconceived the holy Jesus, all that she did towards it herself, was only this single act of faith and resignation:Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word. This is all that we can do towards the conception of the new man in ourselves. Now this truth is easily consented to, and a man thinks he believes it, because he does not deny it. But this is not enough, it is to be apprehended in a deep, full, and practical assurance, in such a manner as a man knows that he did not create the stars, or cause life to rise up in himself. And then it is a belief that makes room for the operation of God upon it. His light then enters with full power into the soul, and his Holy Spirit directs all that is done in it, and so man lives again in God as a new creature. For this truth thus firmly believed, will have these two effects: *First, It will keep the soul continually turned towards God, in faith, prayer, desire, confidence, and resignation for all that it wants to have done in it, and to it; which will be a continual source of all divine graces. The soul thus turned to God, must be always receiving from him. It stands at the true door of all divine communications, and the light of God as freely enters into it, as the light of the sun enters into the air.Secondly,It will fix and ground the soul in a true and lasting self-denial. For by thus knowing our own nothingness and inability, that we have no other capacity for good, but that of receiving it from God alone; no room is left for spiritual pride; we are saved from a Pharisaical holiness, from wrong opinions of our own works and good deeds, and from a multitude of errors, the most dangerous to our souls, all which arise from the something that we take ourselves to be either in nature or grace. *But when we once apprehend but in some degree, the all of God, and the nothingness of ourselves, we have got a truth whose usefulness and benefit no words can express. It brings a kind of infallibility into the soul, in which it dwells; all that is vain, and false, and deceitful, is forced to vanish before it. When our religion is founded on this, it has the firmness of a rock, and its height reaches unto heaven. The world, the flesh and the devil can do no hurt to it; all enemies are known, and all disarmed by this great truth, dwelling in our souls. It is the knowledge of the all of God, that makes cherubim and seraphim to be flames of divine love. For where this all of God is truly known and felt in any creature, there its whole breath and Spirit is a fire of love, nothing but a pure, disinterested love can rise up in it, or come from it, a love that begins and ends in God. For this pure love introduces the creature into the all of God, all that is in God, is opened in the creature, it isunited with God, and hath the life of God manifested in it.

*There is but one salvation for all mankind, and that is the life of God in the soul. God has but one design towards all mankind, and that is to generate his own life, light, and spirit in them, that all may be as so many images, temples, and habitations of the holy Trinity.

Now there is but one possible way for man to attain this salvation, or life of God in the soul: and that is,the desire of the soul turned to God. Through this desire the poor prodigal son leaveth his husks and swine, and hasteth to his father; ’tis because ofthis desirethat the father seeth the son, while yet afar off, that he runs out to meet him, falleth on his neck, and kisseth him. No sooner is this desire in motion towards God, but the operation of God’s Spirit answers to it, cherishes and welcomes its first beginnings, signified by the Father’s seeing, and having compassion on his Son, whilst yet afar off, that is, in the first beginnings of his desire. Thus does this desire bring the soul to God, and God into the soul. Suppose this desire not to be alive, either in aJew, orChristian, and then all the sacrifices, the service, the worship either of the law or the gospel, are but dead works, that bring no life into the soul. Suppose this desire to be awakened, though in souls that never heard either of the law or gospel, and the operation of God enters intothem, and Christ blesses those that never heard of his name.

Oh my God, just and good, how great is thy love and mercy to mankind, that heaven is thus every where open, and Christ thus the common Saviour, to all that turn the desire of their hearts to thee! Oh sweet power of the bruiser of the serpent, that stirs and works in every man, who has a desire, to find his happiness in God! O holy Jesus, heavenlylight, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that redeemeth every soul that followeth thy light: O holy Trinity, immense ocean of love, in which all mankind live, and move, and have their being! None live out of thy love, but all are embraced in the arms of thy mercy, as soon as their heart is turned to thee! Oh plain, and easy, and simple way of salvation, wanting no subtleties of art or science, no borrowed learning, no refinements of reason, but all done by the simple motion of every heart, that truly longs after God. For no sooner is the desire of the creature in motion towards God, but the desire of God co-operates with it. And in this united desire of God, and the creature, is the salvation of the soul brought forth. For the soul is shut out of God, and imprisoned in its own dark workings of flesh and blood, merely because it desires to live to the vanity of this world. This desire is its darkness, its death, its imprisonment, and separation from God.

When therefore thefirst sparkof a desire after God arises in thy soul, cherish it with all thy care, it is nothing less than a touch of the divine loadstone, that is to draw thee out of the vanity of time, into the riches of eternity. Get up therefore and follow it as gladly as the wise-men of the East followed the star from heaven that appeared to them.

Christ saith, “I am the light of the world, he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness.” He directs us only to himself. He is the morning star, and is generated and riseth in us, and shineth in the darkness of our nature. O how great a triumph is there in the soul, when he ariseth in it! Then a man knows, as he never knew before, that he is a stranger in a foreign land.

*APRAYER.

OH heavenly Father, infinite, fathomless depth of never ceasing love, save me from myself, from the disorderly workings of my fallen, corrupted nature, and let mine eyes see, my heart, and spirit feel and find thy salvation in Christ Jesus.

O God, who madest me for thyself, to shew forth thy goodness in me, manifest, I humbly beseech thee, the life-giving power of thy holy nature within me; help me to such a true and living faith in thee, such hunger and thirst afterthe life of thy holy Jesus in my soul, that all that is within me, may be turned from every inward thought, or outward work, that is not thee, thy holy Jesus, and heavenly working in my soul.Amen.

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