,the ,works of the ,rev4 ,john ,wesley1 ,m4,a4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,punctuation has been standardized4 ,most of the non-common abbreviations used to save space in printing have been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for easier reading4 ,the author has used an asterisk 7997 to indicate passages he considers most worthy of attention4 ,the text may show quotations within quotations1 all set off by similar quote marks4 ,the inner quotations have been changed to alternate quote marks for improved readability4 ,characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps4 ,non-printable characteristics have been given the following ,italic text3 -- text emphasized text within italics -- text ,this book was written in a period when many words had not become standardized in their spelling4 ,words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text4 ,these have been left unchanged unless indicated with a ,transcriber's ,note4 ,the symbol #8' indicates the description in parenthesis has been added to an illustration4 ,this may be needed if there is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image adequately4 ,footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which they appear4 ,transcriber's ,notes are used when making corrections to the text or to provide additional information for the modern reader4 ,these notes are identified by symbols in the text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which they appear4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,the ,rev4 ,,john ,,wesley1 ,m4,a4 ,late ,fellow of ,lincoln-,college1 ,,oxford4 ,,volume ,,vii4 ,,bristol3 ,printed by ,,william ,,pine1 in ,wine-,street4 ,,mdcclxxii4 ,,the ,,contents ,of the ,,seventh ,,volume4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,prayer4 ,,part ,i4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,treating of some matters preparatory to the ,spirit of ,prayer4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,discovering the true way of turning to ,god1 and of finding the kingdom of heaven1 the riches of eternity1 in our souls4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,the first ,dialogue between ,academicus1 ,rusticus and ,theophilus4 ,at which ,humanus was present4 ,the second dialogue4 ,the third dialogue4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,love4 ,part ,i4 ,part ,,ii4 ,part ,,iii4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,letters4 ,letter ,i4 ,letter ,,ii4 ,letter ,,iii4 ,letter ,,iv4 ,letter ,v4 ,letter ,,vi4 ,letter ,,vii4 ,letter ,v,i,ia4 ,letter ,,viii4 ,letter ,,ix4 ,letter ,x4 ,letter ,,xi4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,address to the ,clergy4 ,an ,extract from the ,christian ,pattern4 ,the ,preface4 ,,book ,i4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,of the imitation of ,christ and contempt of all the vanities of the world4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,of thinking humbly of ourselves4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,of the doctrine of truth4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,of prudence in our actions4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,of reading the holy scriptures4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,of avoiding vain hopes and pride4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,that too much familiarity is to be shunned4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,of avoiding superfluity of words4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,the obtaining of peace1 and zeal for improvement4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,of the usefulness of adversity4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,of avoiding rash judgment4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,of works done out of charity4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,of bearing with the defects of others4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,of the examples of the holy fathers4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,of the love of solitude and silence4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,of compunction of heart4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,of the meditation of death4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,of judgment and the punishment of sins4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,of the zealous amendment of our whole life4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,of the inward life4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,of humble submission4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,of a good and peaceable man4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,of a pure mind1 and simple intention4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,of the consideration of one's self4 ,illustration3 7 decoration7 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,,prayer4 ,,part ,i4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,treating of some matters preparatory to the ,spirit of ,prayer4 99,,the greatest part of mankind1 nay of ,christians1 may be said to be asleep2 and that particular way of life1 which takes up each man's mind1 thoughts1 and actions1 may well be called his particular dream4 ,this degree of vanity is equally visible in every form and order of life4 ,the learned and the ignorant1 the rich and the poor1 are all in the same state of slumber2 only passing away a short life in a different kind of dream4 ,but why so8 ,it is because man is born into this world1 not for the sake of living here1 not for any thing this world can give him1 but only to have time and place1 to become either an eternal partaker of a divine life with ,god1 or to have a hellish eternity amongst fallen angels3 and therefore1 every man who has not his eyes1 his heart1 and his hands1 continually governed by this twofold eternity1 may be justly said to be fast asleep4 ,and a life devoted to the interests and enjoyments of this world1 spent and wasted in the slavery of earthly desires1 may be truly called a dream1 as having all the shortness1 vanity1 and delusion of a dream2 only with this great difference1 that when a dream is over1 nothing is lost but fictions and fancies3 but when the dream of life is ended only by death1 all that eternity is lost1 for which we were brought into being4 ,now there is no misery in this world1 nothing that makes either the life or death of man to be full of calamity1 but this blindness and insensibility of his state1 into which he so willingly1 nay obstinately plunges himself4 ,every thing that has the nature of evil and distress in it1 takes its rise from hence4 ,do but suppose a man to know himself2 that he comes into this world on no other errand1 but to rise out of the vanity of time into the riches of eternity2 do but suppose him to govern his inward thoughts and outward actions by this view of himself1 and then to him every day has lost all its evil2 prosperity and adversity hath no difference1 because he receives and uses them both in the same spirit2 life and death are equally welcome1 because equally parts of his way to eternity4 ,for poor and miserable as this life is1 we have all of us free access to all that is great and good1 and happy2 and carry within ourselves a key to all the treasures that heaven has to bestow upon us4 ,we starve in the midst of plenty1 groan under infirmities1 with the remedy in our own hand3 live and die1 without knowing and feeling any thing of the one1 only good1 whilst we have it our power to know and enjoy it in as great a reality1 as we know and feel the power of this world over us3 for heaven is as near to our souls1 as this world is to our bodies2 and we are created1 we are redeemed1 to have our conversation in it4 ,god1 the only good of all intelligent natures1 is not an absent or distant ,god1 but is more present in and to our souls1 than our own bodies3 and we are strangers to heaven1 and without ,god in the world1 for this only reason1 because we are void of that spirit of prayer1 which alone can unite us with the one good and open heaven1 and the kingdom of ,god within us4 ,a root set in the finest soil1 in the best climate1 and blessed with all that sun1 and air1 and rain can do for it1 is not in so sure a way to perfection1 as a man whose spirit aspires after all that1 which ,god is ready and infinitely desirous to give him4 ,for the sun meets not the springing-bud that stretches towards him1 with half that certainty1 as ,god1 the source of all good1 communicates himself to the soul that longs to partake of him4 ,we are all of us the offspring of ,god1 more nearly related to him1 than we are to one another3 for in him we live1 and move1 and have our being4 ,the first man that was brought forth from ,god1 had the ,spirit of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost breathed into him1 and so he became a living soul4 ,thus was our first father born of ,god1 and stood in paradise in the image and likeness of ,god4 ,he was the image and likeness of ,god1 not with regard to his outward shape1 for no shape has any likeness to ,god2 but because the ,holy ,trinity had breathed their own nature and ,spirit into him4 ,and as the ,deity1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit1 are always in heaven1 and make heaven to be every where2 so this ,spirit1 breathed by them into man1 brought heaven into man along with it2 and so man was in heaven1 as well as on earth1 that is1 in paradise1 which signifies an heavenly state4 ,adam had all that divine nature1 which angels have3 ,but as he was brought forth to be a lord1 and ruler of a new world2 so it was necessary that he should also have the material nature of this new created world in himself4 ,his body was the medium or means thro' which he was to have commerce with this world1 become visible to its creatures1 and rule over it and them4 ,thus stood our first father2 an angel as to his spirit2 yet dwelling in a body taken from this new created world2 which however was as inferior to him1 as subject to him1 as the earth and all its creatures were4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,discovering the true way of turning to ,god1 and of finding the kingdom of heaven1 the riches of eternity1 in our souls4 99,,all our salvation consists in the manifestation of the nature1 life1 and ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ in us4 ,enter with all thy heart into this truth1 let thy eye be always upon it1 do every thing in view of it1 try every thing by the truth of it1 love nothing but for the sake of it4 ,wherever thou goest1 whatever thou dost at home or abroad1 in the field or at church1 do all in a desire of union with ,christ1 in imitation of his tempers and inclinations1 and look upon all as nothing1 but that which exercises1 and increases the ,spirit and life of ,christ in thy soul4 ,from morning to night keep ,jesus in thy heart1 long for nothing1 desire nothing1 hope for nothing1 but to have all that is within thee1 changed into the spirit and temper of the holy ,jesus4 ,let this be thy ,christianity1 thy church1 and thy religion4 ,for this new birth in ,christ thus firmly believed1 and continually desired1 will do every thing that thou wantest to have done in thee1 it will dry up all the springs of vice1 stop all the workings of evil in thy nature1 it will bring all that is good into thee1 it will open all the gospel within thee1 and thou wilt know what it is to be taught of ,god4 ,this longing desire of thy heart to be one with ,christ will soon put a stop to all the vanity of thy life1 and nothing will be admitted to enter into thy heart1 or proceed from it1 but what comes from ,god and returns to ,god3 thou wilt soon be1 as it were1 tied and bound in the chains of all holy affections1 thy mouth will have a watch set upon it1 thy ears would willingly hear nothing that does not tend to ,god1 nor thy eyes be open1 but to see and find occasions of doing good4 ,in a word1 when this faith has got both thy head and thy heart1 it will then be with thee1 as it was with the merchant who found a pearl of great price1 it will make thee glad to sell all that thou hast1 and buy it4 ,for all that had seized and possessed the heart of any man1 whatever the merchant of this world had got together1 whether of riches1 power1 honour1 learning1 or reputation1 loses all its value1 is counted but as dung1 and willingly parted with1 as soon as this glorious pearl1 the new birth in ,christ ,jesus1 is discovered and found by him4 ,this therefore may serve as a touchstone1 whereby every one may try the truth of his state2 if the old man is still a merchant within thee1 trading in worldly honour1 power1 or learning1 if the wisdom of this world is not foolishness to thee1 if earthly interests and sensual pleasures are still the desire of thy heart1 and only covered under a form of godliness1 a cloke of creeds1 observances and institutions of religion1 thou mayest be assured that the pearl of great price is not yet found by thee4 ,for where ,christ is in the soul1 there all carnal wisdom1 arts of advancement1 with every pride and glory of this life1 are as so many ,heathen idols willingly renounced1 and the man is not only content1 but rejoices to say1 that his kingdom is not of this world4 ,but thou wilt perhaps say1 ,how shall this great work1 the knowledge of ,christ1 be effected in me8 ,it might rather be said1 since ,christ has an infinite power1 and also an infinite desire to save mankind1 how can any one miss of this salvation1 but through his own unwillingness to be saved by him8 ,consider how was it1 that the lame and blind1 the lunatic and leper1 the publican and sinner1 found ,christ to be their ,saviour1 and to do all that for them1 which they wanted to be done to them8 ,it was because they had a real desire of having that1 which they asked for1 and therefore in true faith and prayer1 applied to ,christ1 that his ,spirit and power might enter into them1 and heal that which they wanted1 and desired to have healed in them4 ,every one of these said in faith and desire1 ,lord1 if thou wilt1 thou canst make me whole4 ,and the answer was always this1 ,according to thy faith1 so be it done unto thee4 ,this is ,christ's answer now1 and thus it is done to every one of us at this day1 as our faith is1 so is it done unto us4 ,and here lies the whole reason of our falling short of the salvation of ,christ1 it is because we have no will to it4 99,but you will say1 ,do not all ,christians desire to have ,christ to be their ,saviour8 ,yes4 ,but here is the deceit2 all would have ,christ to be their ,saviour in the next world1 and to help them into heaven when they die4 ,but this is not willing ,christ to be thy ,saviour2 for his salvation1 if it is had1 must be had in this world1 if he saves thee1 it must be done in this life1 by changing and altering all that is within thee1 by helping thee to a new heart1 as he helped the blind to see1 the lame to walk1 and the dumb to speak4 ,for to have salvation from ,christ1 is to be made like unto him2 it is to have his humility and meekness1 his mortification and self-denial1 his renunciation of the spirit1 wisdom1 and honours of this world1 his love of ,god1 his desire of doing ,god's will1 and seeking only his honour4 ,to have these tempers formed in thy heart1 is to have salvation from ,christ2 but if thou willest not to have these tempers1 if thy faith does not seek1 and cry to ,christ for them in the same reality1 as the lame asked to walk1 and the blind to see1 then thou art unwilling to have ,christ to be thy ,saviour4 ,again1 consider1 how was it1 that the deep-read ,scribe1 the learned ,rabbi1 the religious ,pharisee1 not only did not receive1 but crucified their ,saviour8 ,it was because they desired no such ,saviour as he was1 no such inward salvation as he offered4 ,they desired no change of their own nature1 no destruction of their natural tempers1 no deliverance from the love of themselves1 and the enjoyments of their passions2 they liked the gratifications of their old man1 their long robes1 their broad phylacteries1 and greetings in the markets4 ,they wanted not to have their pride and self-love dethroned1 their covetousness1 and sensuality subdued4 ,their only desire was the success of ,judaism1 to have an outward saviour1 a temporal prince1 that should establish their law and ceremonies over all the earth4 ,and therefore they crucified their ,redeemer1 and would have none of his salvation1 because it consisted in a change of their nature2 a kingdom of heaven to be opened within them by the ,spirit of ,god4 99,awake1 thou that sleepest1 thou art called a ,christian1 and ,christ shall give thee light4 ,begin to search and dig for this pearl of eternity2 it cannot cost thee too much1 nor canst thou buy it too dear1 for it is all1 and when thou hast found it1 thou wilt know1 that all which thou hast sold or given away for it1 is as meer a nothing1 as a bubble upon the water4 99,but if thou turnest from this heavenly pearl1 or tramplest it under thy feet1 for the sake of being rich1 or great1 either in church or state1 if death finds thee in this success1 thou canst not then say1 that though the pearl is lost1 yet something has been gained instead of it4 ,for in that parting moment1 the things1 and the sounds of this world1 will be exactly alike2 to have had an estate1 or only to have heard of it1 to have lived at ,lambeth twenty years1 or only to have twenty times passed by the palace1 will be the same good1 or the same nothing to thee4 ,i will now shew a little more distinctly1 what this pearl of eternity is4 ,first1 ,it is the light and ,spirit of ,god1 which has hitherto done thee but little good1 because the desire of thy heart has been after the light and spirit of this world4 ,thy reason1 and senses1 and passions1 have turned all their attention to the poor concerns of this life1 and therefore thou art a stranger to this principle of heaven1 these riches of eternity4 ,for as ,god is not1 cannot be truly found by any worshippers1 but those who worship him in spirit and in truth1 so this light and spirit is not1 cannot be found1 or enjoyed1 but by those1 whose spirit is turned to it4 ,when man first came into being1 and stood before ,god as his own image and likeness1 this light and ,spirit of ,god were as natural to him1 as the light and air of this world is natural to other creatures4 ,but when man1 not content with the food of eternity1 did eat of the earthly tree1 this light and ,spirit of heaven were no more natural to him2 but instead thereof1 he was left to the light and spirit of this world4 ,and this is that death1 which ,god1 told ,adam1 he should surely die1 in the day that he ate of the forbidden tree4 ,but the goodness of ,god would not leave man in this condition2 a redemption from it was immediately granted1 and a bruiser of the serpent to bring the light and ,spirit of heaven once more into the human nature4 ,this light and ,spirit of ,god is called grace1 free grace1 or the supernatural gift1 or power of ,god in the soul1 because it is something1 that the natural powers of the soul can no more obtain4 ,hence it is that every stirring of the soul1 every tendency of the heart towards ,god and goodness1 is justly ascribed to the ,holy ,spirit1 or the grace of ,god4 ,it is because this first seed of life1 which is sown into the soul1 is itself the light of ,god1 and that every stirring1 or opening of this seed of life1 every awakening thought or desire that arises from it1 must be called the moving1 or the quickening of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,hence also we have a plain declaration of the certain truth1 of all those scriptures1 which speak of the inspiration of ,god1 the operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 the power of the divine light1 as the necessary agents in the renewal and sanctification of our souls4 ,hence also it is1 that all men are exhorted not to quench1 or resist1 or grieve the ,spirit1 that is1 this seed of the ,spirit and light of ,god that is in all men1 as the only source of good4 ,again1 the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh4 ,by the flesh and its lustings1 are meant the mere human nature1 or the natural man1 as he is by the fall2 by the ,spirit is meant the bruiser of the serpent1 that seed of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 which lieth as a treasure hid in the soul1 in order to bring forth the life1 that was lost in ,adam4 ,now as the flesh hath its life1 its lustings1 whence all sorts of evil are truly said to be inspired1 quickened1 and stirred up in us2 so the ,spirit being a living principle within us1 has its inspiration1 its breathing1 its moving1 its quickening1 from which alone the divine life1 or the angel that died in ,adam1 can be born in us4 ,when this ,spirit is not resisted1 grieved1 and quenched1 but its inspirations and motions suffered to grow and increase in us1 to unite with ,god1 and get power over all the lusts of the flesh1 then the nature1 ,spirit1 and tempers of ,jesus ,christ are opened in our souls4 ,on the other hand1 when the flesh1 hath resisted and quenched this ,spirit2 then the works of the flesh1 adultery1 fornication1 murders1 lying1 hatred1 envy1 wrath1 pride1 foolishness1 worldly wisdom1 carnal prudence1 false religion1 hypocritical holiness1 and serpentine subtilty1 set up their kingdom within us4 ,secondly1 ,this pearl of eternity is the wisdom and love of ,god within thee4 ,in this pearl1 all the holy nature1 spirit1 tempers1 and inclinations of ,christ lie1 and divine wisdom and heavenly love will grow up in thee1 if thou givest but true attention to ,god4 ,on the other hand1 ,there is hidden also in the depth of thy nature the root1 or possibility of all the hellish nature1 spirit and tempers of the fallen angels4 ,for heaven and hell have each of them their foundation within us1 and spring up in us1 according as our heart is turned1 either to the light of ,god or the kingdom of darkness4 ,but when this life1 which is in the midst of these two eternities1 is at an end1 either an angel or a devil will be found to have a birth in us4 ,thou needest not therefore run here or there1 saying1 where is ,christ8 ,thou needest not say1 ,who shall ascend into heaven1 that is1 to bring down ,christ from above8 ,or who shall descend into the deep to bring up ,christ from the dead8 ,for behold the word1 the wisdom of ,god is in thy heart1 as a light unto thy feet and a lanthorn unto thy paths4 ,it is there as an holy oil1 to soften and overcome the wrathful properties of thy nature1 and change them into the humble meekness of light and love4 ,it is there as a speaking word of ,god in thy soul2 and1 as soon as thou art ready to hear1 will speak wisdom and love in thy inward parts1 and bring forth ,christ with all his holy nature1 spirit and tempers4 ,hence it is1 that in the ,christian church1 there have been in all ages1 amongst the most illiterate both men and women1 who have attained to a deep understanding of the mysteries of the wisdom and love of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4 ,and what wonder8 ,since it is not art or science1 or skill in grammar or logic1 but the opening of the divine life in the soul1 that can give true understanding of the things of ,god4 ,this life of ,god in the soul1 which for its smallness at first1 is by our ,lord compared to a grain of mustard seed1 may be1 and too generally is suppressed1 either by worldly cares or pleasures1 by vain learning1 sensuality1 or ambition4 ,and all this while1 whatever church or profession a man is of1 he is a mere natural man1 unregenerate1 unenlightened by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,and therefore his religion is no more from heaven1 than his fine breeding2 his cares have no more goodness in them than his pleasures2 his love is worth no more than his hatred2 his zeal for this1 or against that form of religion1 has only the nature of any other worldly contention in it4 ,and thus it is1 and must be with every mere natural man1 whatever appearances he may put on1 he may1 if he pleases1 know himself to be the slave1 and machine of his own corrupt tempers and inclinations2 to be enlightened1 inspired1 quickened and animated by self-love1 self-esteem1 and self-seeking1 which is the only life1 and spirit of the mere natural man1 whether he be ,heathen1 ,jew or ,christian4 ,on the other hand1 wherever this seed is suffered to take root in the soul1 there the man is justly said to be inspired1 enlightened and moved by the ,spirit of ,god1 and all that is in him hath the nature1 spirit1 and tempers of heaven in it4 ,as this life grows up in any man1 so there grows up a true knowledge of the whole mystery of godliness4 ,all that the gospel teaches of sin and grace1 of the new and old man1 of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 are things not got by hearsay1 but inwardly known1 felt and experienced4 ,he has then an unction from above which teacheth him all things1 a spirit that knoweth what it ought to pray for1 a spirit that prays without ceasing1 that is risen with ,christ from the dead1 and has all its conversation in heaven1 a spirit that hath groans and sighs that cannot be uttered1 that travaileth and groaneth with the whole creation1 to be delivered from vanity1 and have its glorious liberty in that ,god1 from whom it came forth4 ,again1 ,thirdly1 this pearl of eternity1 is the church1 or temple of ,god within thee1 where alone thou canst worship ,god in spirit and in truth4 ,in spirit1 because thy spirit is that alone which can unite to ,god1 and receive the workings of his ,spirit upon thee3 in truth1 because this adoration in spirit1 is that truth and reality1 of which all outward forms and rites1 tho' instituted by ,god1 are only the figure for a time2 but this worship is eternal4 ,accustom thyself to the holy service of this inward temple4 ,in the midst of it is the fountain of living water1 of which thou mayst drink and live for ever4 ,there the birth1 the life1 the sufferings1 the death1 the resurrection and ascension of ,christ1 are not merely remembered1 but inwardly found and enjoyed as the real states of thy soul1 which has followed ,christ in the regeneration4 ,when once thou art well grounded in this inward worship2 when ,god has all that he should have of thy heart1 when renouncing thy natural will1 judgment1 tempers and inclinations1 thou art wholly given up to the obedience of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 to will only in his will1 to love only in his love1 to be wise only in his wisdom1 then it is1 that every thing thou dost1 is as a song of praise1 and the common business of thy life is a conforming to ,god's will on earth1 as angels do in heaven4 ,but this cannot be1 till in obedience to his call1 thou denied thyself1 takest up thy daily cross1 and followest him4 ,this is peremptory1 it admits of no reserve1 or evasion1 it is the one way to ,christ and eternal life4 ,be where thou wilt1 either here1 or at ,rome1 or ,geneva1 if thou livest to thine own will1 to the pleasures of thy natural lust and appetites1 senses and passions1 and in conformity to the customs and spirit of this world1 thou art dead while thou livest4 ,christ can profit thee nothing1 thou art a stranger to all that is holy and heavenly1 and incapable of finding the peace and joy of ,god4 ,and thus thou art poor1 and blind1 and naked1 and empty1 and livest a miserable life in the vanity of time2 whilst all the riches of eternity1 the light and ,spirit1 the peace and joy of ,god are waiting for thee4 ,and thus it will always be with thee1 there is no remedy1 go where thou wilt1 do what thou wilt1 all is shut up1 there is no open door of salvation1 no deliverance from thy corrupt nature1 no overcoming of the world1 no solid joy above1 till dying to thyself and the world1 thou turnest to the light1 and ,spirit1 and power of ,god4 ,but thou wilt perhaps say1 ,how shall ,i have these riches of eternity1 this ,spirit1 and wisdom1 and peace of ,god within me8 ,thy first thought of repentance1 or desiring of turning to ,god1 is thy first discovery of this light and ,spirit of ,god4 ,it is the voice and language of ,god1 tho' thou knowest it not4 ,it is the bruiser of the serpent's head1 who is beginning to preach within thee1 what he first preached in public1 saying1 ,repent1 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,when1 therefore but the smallest desire calleth thee towards ,god1 give it time and leave to speak2 and take care thou refuse not him that speaketh4 ,for it is not an angel from heaven that speaketh to thee1 but it is the eternal word of ,god1 that word which at first created thee1 is thus beginning to call thee unto righteousness1 that a new man may be formed in thee in the image and likeness of ,god4 ,but above all things1 beware of taking this desire of repentance1 to be the effect of thy own natural sense and reason2 for in so doing1 thou shuttest the door against ,god1 turnest away from him1 and thy repentance 7if thou hast any7 will be only a vain unprofitable work of thy own hands1 that will do thee no more good1 than a well that is without water4 ,but if thou takest this desire of turning to ,god1 to be1 as in truth it is1 the working1 redeeming power of the holy ,jesus1 if thou dost reverence and adhere to it as such1 this faith will make thee whole2 and by thus believing in ,christ1 tho' thou wert dead1 yet shalt thou live4 ,now all dependeth upon thy right submission and obedience to this speaking of ,god in thy soul4 ,therefore listen not to the suggestions of thy own reason1 run not on in thy own will1 but be humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee2 open thy heart1 thy eyes1 and ears to all its impressions4 ,let it enlighten1 teach1 frighten1 torment1 judge1 and condemn thee1 as it pleaseth2 turn not away from it1 hear all it saith1 seek for no relief out of it1 consult not with flesh and blood1 but with a heart full of resignation to ,god1 pray only this prayer1 that ,god's kingdom may come1 and his will be done in thy soul4 ,stand faithfully in this state of preparation1 thus given up to the ,spirit of ,god1 and then the work of thy repentance will be wrought1 and thou wilt soon find1 that he that is in thee1 is much greater than all that are against thee4 ,but that thou mayest be firmly assured1 that this resignation to1 and dependance upon the working of ,god's ,spirit1 is right and sound1 ,i shall lay before thee two fundamental truths4 ,first1 ,that thro' the whole nature of things1 nothing can do1 or be a real good to thy soul1 but the operation of ,god upon it4 ,secondly1 ,that all the dispensations of ,god from the fall of ,adam1 to the preaching of the gospel1 were only for this one end1 to prepare and dispose the soul for the operation of the ,spirit of ,god upon it4 ,these two great truths deeply apprehended1 put the soul in its right state1 in a continual dependance upon ,god1 and a readiness to receive all good from him4 ,they will keep thee safe from all errors1 and false zeal in forms of religion1 from a sectarian spirit1 from bigotry and superstition2 they will teach thee the true difference between the means and end of religion1 and the regard thou shewest to the shell1 will be only so far as the kernel is to be found in it4 99,man1 by his fall1 had broke off from his true center1 his proper place in ,god1 and therefore the life and operation of ,god was no more in him4 ,he was fallen from a life in ,god1 into an animal life of self-love1 self-esteem1 and self-seeking in the poor1 perishing enjoyments of this world4 ,this was the natural state of man by the fall4 ,he was an apostate from ,god1 and his natural life was all idolatry1 where self was the great idol1 that was worshipped instead of ,god4 ,all sin is nothing else but the various operations of self-love1 self-esteem1 and self-seeking which separate the soul from ,god1 and end in eternal death4 99,on the other hand1 all grace1 redemption1 salvation1 sanctification1 spiritual life1 is nothing else but so much of the life1 and operation of ,god found again in the soul4 ,it is man come back again into his center or place in ,god1 from whence he had broke off4 ,the beginning of the life of ,god in the soul1 was then first made1 when the mercy of ,god promised a seed which should bruise the head of the serpent4 ,then was given a degree of the divine life1 which if rightly cultivated1 would make of every fallen man1 a new-born ,son of ,god4 ,all the sacrifices and institutions of the antient patriarchs1 the law of ,moses1 with all its types and rites1 and ceremonies1 had this only end2 they were the methods of divine wisdom for a time1 to keep the hearts of men from the wanderings of idolatry1 in a state of holy expectation3 they were to make way for the farther operation of ,god upon the soul2 or1 as the apostle speaks1 to be as a schoolmaster unto ,christ4 ,that is1 till the birth1 the death1 the resurrection and ascension of ,christ1 should conquer death1 and hell1 open a new dispensation of ,god1 and baptize mankind afresh with the ,holy ,ghost1 and fire of heaven4 ,then1 that is1 on the day of ,pentecost1 a new dispensation of ,god came forth2 which on ,god's part1 was the operation of the ,holy ,spirit in gifts and graces upon the whole church4 ,and on man's part1 it was the adoration of ,god in spirit and in truth4 ,thus all that was done by ,god1 from the promise given to ,adam1 to ,christ's sitting down on the right hand of ,god1 was for this end1 to remove all that stood between ,god and man1 and to make way for the immediate and continual operation of ,god upon the soul3 and that man1 baptized with the ,holy ,spirit1 and born again1 should wholly give up his soul to the operation of ,god's ,spirit1 to know1 to love1 to will1 to pray1 to worship1 to preach1 to exhort1 to use all the faculties of his mind1 and all the outward things of this world1 as enlightened1 inspired1 moved and guided by the ,holy ,ghost3 who by this last dispensation of ,god1 was given to be a comforter1 a teacher1 and guide to the church1 to abide with it for ever4 ,this is ,christianity1 a spiritual society1 not because it has no worldly concerns1 but because all its members1 as such are born of the ,spirit1 animated and governed by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,it is constantly called by our ,lord the kingdom of ,god1 or heaven1 because all its ministry and service1 all that is done in it1 is done in obedience and subjection to that spirit by which angels live1 and are governed in heaven4 ,hence our blessed ,lord taught his disciples to pray1 that this kingdom might come1 that so ,god's will might be done on earth1 as it is in heaven2 which could not be1 but by that same spirit by which it is done in heaven4 ,the short is this3 ,the kingdom of self1 is the great apostasy from the life of ,god in the soul1 and every one wherever he be1 that liveth unto himself1 is still under the fall and apostasy from ,god4 ,the kingdom of ,christ is the ,spirit and power of ,god1 dwelling and manifesting itself in the inward man2 and no one is a member of this kingdom1 but so far as the ,spirit reigns in him4 ,these two kingdoms take in all mankind1 he that is not of one1 is certainly in the other2 dying to one1 is living to the other4 ,hence we may gather the following truths3 ,first1 ,that when the call of ,god to repentance first ariseth in thy soul1 thou art wholly to disregard the workings of thy own will1 reason and judgment4 ,it is because all these are false counsellors1 the sworn servants1 bribed slaves of thy fallen nature2 and therefore1 if the operation of ,god is to have its effect in thee1 all these are to be silenced1 till they have learned obedience and subjection to the ,spirit of ,god4 ,now this is not requiring thee to become a fool1 or to give up thy sense and reason2 but is the shortest way to have thy sense and reason delivered from folly1 and guided by that light which is wisdom itself4 ,a child that denies his own will and reason1 to be guided by the will and reason of a truly wise and understanding tutor1 cannot be said to make himself a fool1 and give up the benefit of his rational nature1 but to take the shortest way to have his own will and reason made truly a blessing to him4 99,secondly1 ,hence is to be seen the true ground of universal mortification and self-denial with regard to all our senses1 appetites1 tempers1 passions and judgments4 ,it is because our whole nature1 as fallen from the life of ,god1 is in a state of contrariety to the order and end of our creation1 a continual source of disorderly appetites1 corrupt tempers1 and false judgments4 ,and therefore every motion of it is to be mortified1 changed and purified from its natural state1 before we can enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,thus when our ,lord saith1 ,except a man hateth his father and mother1 yea1 and his own life1 he cannot be my disciple2 it is because our best tempers are yet full of the imperfections of our fallen nature4 ,not as if father and mother were to be hated2 but that love which an unregenerate person hath towards them1 is to be hated2 as being a blind self-love1 full of all the weakness and partiality with which fallen man loves1 honours1 and cleaves to himself4 ,this love1 born from corrupt flesh and blood1 is to be hated and parted with1 that we may love them with such a love1 and on such a motive1 as ,christ hath loved us4 ,and then the disciple of ,christ far exceeds all others in the love of parents4 ,again1 our own life is to be hated2 the reason is plain1 because there is nothing lovely in it4 ,it is a legion of evil1 an apostasy from the life and power of ,god in the soul2 a life that is death to heaven1 that is pure unmixed idolatry1 that lives not to ,god1 and therefore all this own life is to be absolutely hated1 if the nature1 spirit1 tempers and inclinations of ,christ are to be in us4 99,thus when our ,lord further saith1 unless a man forsake all that he hath he cannot be my disciple4 ,the reason is plain2 all that the natural man hath1 is in the possession of self-love1 and therefore this possession is to be absolutely forsaken1 and parted with4 ,all that he hath is to be put into other hands1 to be given to divine love1 or this natural man cannot be changed into a disciple of ,christ4 ,for self love in all that it hath1 is earthly1 sensual1 and devilish1 and therefore must have all taken away from it2 and then to the natural man all is lost1 he hath nothing left1 all is laid down at the feet of ,jesus4 ,then all things are common1 as soon as self-love has lost the possession of them4 ,and then the disciple of ,christ1 though having nothing1 yet possesseth all things1 all that the natural man hath forsaken1 is restored to the disciple of ,christ an hundred fold4 ,for self-love1 the greatest of all thieves1 being now cast out1 and all that he had stolen and hidden1 thus taken from him1 and put into the hands of divine love1 every mite becometh a large treasure1 and mammon openeth the door into everlasting habitations4 ,this was the spirit or the first draught of a ,christian church at ,jerusalem1 a church made truly after the pattern of heaven1 where the love that reigns in heaven reigned in it1 where divine love broke down all the selfish fences1 the locks and bolts of me1 mine1 and laid all things common to the members of this new kingdom of ,god on earth4 ,now tho' many years did not pass after the age of the apostles1 before ,satan1 got footing in the church1 and set up merchandize in the house of ,god2 yet this one heart1 and one spirit1 which then appeared in the ,jerusalem church1 is that one heart and spirit of divine love1 to which all are called1 that would be true disciples of ,christ4 ,and tho' the practice of it is lost as to the church in general1 yet it ought not to have been lost3 and therefore every ,christian ought to make it his great care and prayer to have it restored in himself4 ,and then tho' born in the dregs of time1 or living in ,babylon1 he will be as truly a member of the first church at ,jerusalem1 as if he had lived in it in the days of the apostles4 ,this spirit of love1 born of that celestial fire1 with which ,christ baptizes his true disciples1 is alone that spirit1 which can enter into heaven1 and therefore is that spirit which is to be in us1 while we are on earth4 ,for no one can enter into heaven till he is made heavenly1 till the ,spirit of heaven is entered into him4 ,and therefore all that our ,lord hath said of a man's parting with all that he hath1 is absolutely necessary from the nature of the thing4 ,but thou wilt perhaps say1 if all self-love is to be renounced1 then all love of our neighbour is renounced1 because the commandment is1 only to love our neighbour as ourselves4 ,the answer is easy4 ,there is but one love in heaven1 and yet the angels of ,god love one another in the same manner as they love themselves4 ,the matter is thus2 ,the one supreme rule of love1 which is a law to all intelligent beings1 and will be a law to all eternity1 is this1 ,god alone is to be loved for himself1 and all other beings only in him1 and for him4 ,whatever intelligent creature lives not under this rule1 is so far fallen from the order of his creation1 and is1 till he returns to this eternal law of love1 an apostate from ,god1 and incapable of the kingdom of heaven4 ,now if ,god alone is to be loved for himself1 then no creature is to be loved for itself3 and so all self-love in every creature is absolutely condemned4 ,and if all created beings are only to be loved in and for ,god1 then my neighbour is to be loved as ,i love myself1 and ,i am only to love myself as ,i love my neighbour1 or any other created being1 that is1 only in and for ,god4 ,and thus the command of loving our neighbour as ourselves stands firm1 and yet all self-love is plucked up by the roots4 ,but what is loving any creature1 only in and for ,god8 ,it is when we love it merely as it is ,god's and belongs to him1 this is loving it in ,god4 ,and when all that we wish1 intend1 or do to it1 is done from a love of ,god1 for the honour of ,god1 and in conformity to the will of ,god1 this is loving it for ,god4 ,this is the one love that is1 and must be the spirit of all creatures that live united to ,god4 ,now this is no speculative refinement1 but the simple truth1 a first law of nature1 and a necessary band of union between ,god and the creature4 ,the creature has lost the life of ,god whenever its love does not thus begin and end in ,god4 ,thirdly1 ,hence we may learn the true nature and worth of all self-denial and mortification4 ,as to their nature1 considered in themselves1 they have nothing of goodness or holiness1 nor are any real parts of our sanctification1 they have no quickening1 sanctifying power in them2 their only worth consists in this1 that they break down that which stands between ,god and us1 and make way for the quickening1 sanctifying ,spirit of ,god to operate3 which operation of ,god is the only thing that can raise the divine life in the soul1 or help it to the smallest degree of real holiness4 ,as in our creation we had only that degree of divine life1 which the power of ,god derived into us2 so in our redemption1 or regaining that first perfection1 all must be again the operation of ,god4 ,hence also we may learn1 why many people not only lose the benefit1 but are even the worse for all their mortifications4 ,it is because they mistake the whole nature of them4 ,they practise them for their own sakes1 as things good in themselves1 they think them to be real parts of holiness1 and so rest in them1 and grow full of self-esteem1 and self-admiration for their progress in them4 ,this makes them self-sufficient1 morose1 severe judges of all those that fall short of their mortification4 ,and thus their self-denials do only that for them1 which indulgences do for other people1 they withstand and hinder the operation of ,god upon their souls4 ,there is no avoiding this fatal error1 but by deeply entering into this great truth1 that all our own working can do no good to us1 but as it leads us in the best manner to the light and ,spirit of ,god1 which alone brings life and salvation into the soul4 ,stretch forth thy hand1 said our ,lord to the man1 that had a withered hand2 he did so1 and it was immediately made whole as the other4 ,now had this man any ground for pride1 for the share he had in the restoring of his hand8 ,yet just such is our share in the raising up of the spiritual life within us4 ,all that we can do1 is only like this man's stretching out his hand2 the rest is the work of ,christ1 the only giver of life to the withered hand1 or the dead soul4 ,when the ,virgin ,mary conceived the holy ,jesus1 all that she did towards it herself1 was only this single act of faith and resignation3 ,behold the handmaid of the ,lord1 be it done unto me according to thy word4 ,this is all that we can do towards the conception of the new man in ourselves4 ,now this truth is easily consented to1 and a man thinks he believes it1 because he does not deny it4 ,but this is not enough1 it is to be apprehended in a deep1 full1 and practical assurance1 in such a manner as a man knows that he did not create the stars1 or cause life to rise up in himself4 ,and then it is a belief that makes room for the operation of ,god upon it4 ,his light then enters with full power into the soul1 and his ,holy ,spirit directs all that is done in it1 and so man lives again in ,god as a new creature4 ,for this truth thus firmly believed1 will have these two effects3 99,first1 ,it will keep the soul continually turned towards ,god1 in faith1 prayer1 desire1 confidence1 and resignation for all that it wants to have done in it1 and to it2 which will be a continual source of all divine graces4 ,the soul thus turned to ,god1 must be always receiving from him4 ,it stands at the true door of all divine communications1 and the light of ,god as freely enters into it1 as the light of the sun enters into the air4 ,secondly1 ,it will fix and ground the soul in a true and lasting self-denial4 ,for by thus knowing our own nothingness and inability1 that we have no other capacity for good1 but that of receiving it from ,god alone2 no room is left for spiritual pride2 we are saved from a ,pharisaical holiness1 from wrong opinions of our own works and good deeds1 and from a multitude of errors1 the most dangerous to our souls1 all which arise from the something that we take ourselves to be either in nature or grace4 99,but when we once apprehend but in some degree1 the all of ,god1 and the nothingness of ourselves1 we have got a truth whose usefulness and benefit no words can express4 ,it brings a kind of infallibility into the soul1 in which it dwells2 all that is vain1 and false1 and deceitful1 is forced to vanish before it4 ,when our religion is founded on this1 it has the firmness of a rock1 and its height reaches unto heaven4 ,the world1 the flesh and the devil can do no hurt to it2 all enemies are known1 and all disarmed by this great truth1 dwelling in our souls4 ,it is the knowledge of the all of ,god1 that makes cherubim and seraphim to be flames of divine love4 ,for where this all of ,god is truly known and felt in any creature1 there its whole breath and ,spirit is a fire of love1 nothing but a pure1 disinterested love can rise up in it1 or come from it1 a love that begins and ends in ,god4 ,for this pure love introduces the creature into the all of ,god1 all that is in ,god1 is opened in the creature1 it is united with ,god1 and hath the life of ,god manifested in it4 99,there is but one salvation for all mankind1 and that is the life of ,god in the soul4 ,god has but one design towards all mankind1 and that is to generate his own life1 light1 and spirit in them1 that all may be as so many images1 temples1 and habitations of the holy ,trinity4 ,now there is but one possible way for man to attain this salvation1 or life of ,god in the soul3 and that is1 the desire of the soul turned to ,god4 ,through this desire the poor prodigal son leaveth his husks and swine1 and hasteth to his father2 'tis because of this desire that the father seeth the son1 while yet afar off1 that he runs out to meet him1 falleth on his neck1 and kisseth him4 ,no sooner is this desire in motion towards ,god1 but the operation of ,god's ,spirit answers to it1 cherishes and welcomes its first beginnings1 signified by the ,father's seeing1 and having compassion on his ,son1 whilst yet afar off1 that is1 in the first beginnings of his desire4 ,thus does this desire bring the soul to ,god1 and ,god into the soul4 ,suppose this desire not to be alive1 either in a ,jew1 or ,christian1 and then all the sacrifices1 the service1 the worship either of the law or the gospel1 are but dead works1 that bring no life into the soul4 ,suppose this desire to be awakened1 though in souls that never heard either of the law or gospel1 and the operation of ,god enters into them1 and ,christ blesses those that never heard of his name4 ,oh my ,god1 just and good1 how great is thy love and mercy to mankind1 that heaven is thus every where open1 and ,christ thus the common ,saviour1 to all that turn the desire of their hearts to thee6 ,oh sweet power of the bruiser of the serpent1 that stirs and works in every man1 who has a desire1 to find his happiness in ,god6 ,o holy ,jesus1 heavenly light1 that lighteth every man that cometh into the world1 that redeemeth every soul that followeth thy light3 ,o holy ,trinity1 immense ocean of love1 in which all mankind live1 and move1 and have their being6 ,none live out of thy love1 but all are embraced in the arms of thy mercy1 as soon as their heart is turned to thee6 ,oh plain1 and easy1 and simple way of salvation1 wanting no subtleties of art or science1 no borrowed learning1 no refinements of reason1 but all done by the simple motion of every heart1 that truly longs after ,god4 ,for no sooner is the desire of the creature in motion towards ,god1 but the desire of ,god co-operates with it4 ,and in this united desire of ,god1 and the creature1 is the salvation of the soul brought forth4 ,for the soul is shut out of ,god1 and imprisoned in its own dark workings of flesh and blood1 merely because it desires to live to the vanity of this world4 ,this desire is its darkness1 its death1 its imprisonment1 and separation from ,god4 ,when therefore the first spark of a desire after ,god arises in thy soul1 cherish it with all thy care1 it is nothing less than a touch of the divine loadstone1 that is to draw thee out of the vanity of time1 into the riches of eternity4 ,get up therefore and follow it as gladly as the wise-men of the ,east followed the star from heaven that appeared to them4 ,christ saith1 8,i am the light of the world1 he that followeth me1 walketh not in darkness40 ,he directs us only to himself4 ,he is the morning star1 and is generated and riseth in us1 and shineth in the darkness of our nature4 ,o how great a triumph is there in the soul1 when he ariseth in it6 ,then a man knows1 as he never knew before1 that he is a stranger in a foreign land4 99 99 99 99 99 99,a ,,prayer4 ,,oh heavenly ,father1 infinite1 fathomless depth of never ceasing love1 save me from myself1 from the disorderly workings of my fallen1 corrupted nature1 and let mine eyes see1 my heart1 and spirit feel and find thy salvation in ,christ ,jesus4 ,o ,god1 who madest me for thyself1 to shew forth thy goodness in me1 manifest1 ,i humbly beseech thee1 the life-giving power of thy holy nature within me2 help me to such a true and living faith in thee1 such hunger and thirst after the life of thy holy ,jesus in my soul1 that all that is within me1 may be turned from every inward thought1 or outward work1 that is not thee1 thy holy ,jesus1 and heavenly working in my soul4 ,amen4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,,prayer4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,the first ,dialogue between ,academicus1 ,rusticus and ,theophilus4 ,at which ,humanus was present4 ,theophilus4 ,,academicus1 your education has so accustomed you to the pleasure of reading variety of books1 that you hardly propose any other end in reading1 than the entertainment of your mind3 thus the spirit of prayer has only awakened in you a desire to see another part upon the same subject4 ,this fault is very common to others1 as well as scholars1 and even to those who delight in reading good books4 ,philo for these twenty years has been collecting and reading all the spiritual books he can hear of4 ,he reads them1 as the critics read commentators and lexicons2 to be nice and exact in telling you the stile1 spirit1 and intent of this or that spiritual writer2 how one is more accurate in this1 and the other in that4 ,philo will ride you forty miles in winter to have a conversation about spiritual books1 or to see a collection larger than his own4 ,philo is amazed at the deadness and insensibility of the ,christian world1 that they are such strangers to the spiritual nature of the ,christian salvation2 he wonders how they can be so zealous for the outward letter and form of ordinances1 and so averse to that spiritual life1 that they all point at1 as the one thing needful4 ,but ,philo never thinks how wonderful it is1 that a man who knows regeneration to be the whole1 should yet content himself with the love of books upon the new birth1 instead of being born again himself4 ,for all that is changed in ,philo1 is his taste for books4 ,he is no more dead to the world1 no more delivered from himself1 is as fearful of adversity1 as fond of prosperity1 as easily provoked and pleased with trifles1 as much governed by his own will1 tempers and passions1 as unwilling to deny his appetites1 or enter into war with himself1 as he was twenty years ago4 ,yet all is well with ,philo2 he has no suspicion of himself2 he dates the newness of his life from the time that he discovered the pearl of eternity in spiritual authors4 ,all this1 ,academicus1 is said on your account1 that you may not lose the benefit of this spark of the divine life that is kindled in your soul4 ,it demands at present an eagerness of another kind1 than that of much reading1 even upon the most spiritual matters4 ,academicus4 ,i thank you1 ,theophilus2 but did not imagine my eagerness after such books to be so dangerous a mistake4 ,theophilus4 ,i have said nothing1 my friend1 with a design of hindering your acquaintance with all the truly spiritual writers4 ,i would rather in a right way help you to a true intimacy with them3 for he that converses rightly with them has an happiness1 that can hardly be overvalued4 ,my intention is only to abate1 for a time1 a spirit of eagerness after much reading1 which in your state rather gratifies curiosity1 than reforms the heart4 ,suppose you had seen an angel from heaven1 who had discovered to you a glimpse of that glorious union in which it lived with ,god4 ,suppose it had told you that your own soul was capable of all this1 but that your flesh and blood would not suffer it to be imparted to you4 ,suppose it had told you1 that all your life had been spent in helping this flesh and blood to more and more power over you1 to hinder you from knowing and feeling the divine life within you4 ,suppose it had told you1 that to this day1 you had lived in the grossest self-idolatry1 loving1 serving1 honouring1 and adoring yourself instead of loving1 serving1 and adoring ,god3 that all your intentions1 projects1 cares1 pleasures1 and indulgences1 had been only so much labour to bring you to the grave in a total ignorance of that great work1 for which alone you was born into the world4 ,suppose it had told you1 that all this insensibility of your state1 was wilfully brought upon yourself1 because you had boldly resisted all the inward and outward calls of ,god1 all the teachings1 doings1 and sufferings of the ,son of ,god4 99,suppose it left you with this farewell1 ,o man1 awake2 thy work is great1 thy time is short1 ,i am thy last trumpet2 the grave calls for thy flesh and blood1 thy soul must enter into a new lodging4 ,to be born again1 is to be an angel3 not to be born again1 is to become a devil4 ,tell me now1 ,academicus1 what would you expect from a man who had been thus awakened1 and pierced by the voice of an angel8 ,could you think he had any sense left1 if he was not cast into the deepest depth of self-dejection1 and self-abhorrence8 ,casting himself with a broken heart1 at the feet of the divine mercy1 desiring nothing but that1 from that time1 every moment of his life might be given unto ,god1 in the most perfect denial of every temper and inclination that nourished the corruption of his nature3 wishing and praying from the bottom of his heart1 that ,god would lead him into and thro' every thing inwardly and outwardly1 that might destroy the evil workings of his nature1 and awaken all that was holy and heavenly within him4 ,or would you think he was enough affected with this angelic visit1 if all that it had awakened in him1 was only a longing desire to hear the same1 or another angel talk again8 ,academicus4 ,oh ,theophilus1 you have said enough3 for all that is within me consents to the truth of what you have said4 ,i now feel in the strongest manner1 that ,i have been rather amused1 than edified1 by what ,i have read4 ,theophilus4 ,a spiritual book1 ,academicus1 is a call to as real and total a death to the life of corrupt nature1 as that which ,adam died in paradise1 was to the loss of heaven4 ,all our redemption consists in our regaining that first life of heaven1 to which ,adam died in paradise3 and the one work of redemption1 is the one work of raising up a life and spirit1 contrary to that we derive from our fallen parents4 ,to think therefore of any thing1 but the continual1 total denial of our earthly nature1 is to overlook the one thing on which all depends4 ,and to hope for any thing1 to trust or pray for any thing1 but the life of ,god1 in our souls1 is as useless to us1 as placing our hope and trust in a graven image4 ,now is your time1 ,academicus1 to enter deeply into this great truth4 ,you are just come out of the slumber of life1 and begin to see the nature of your salvation4 ,you are charmed with the discovery of a kingdom of heaven within you1 and long to be entertained more and more with the nature1 progress1 and perfection of this kingdom in your soul4 ,but1 my friend1 stop a little4 ,it is indeed great joy that the pearl of great price is found2 but take notice1 it is not your's till1 as the merchant did1 you sell all that you have1 and buy it4 ,think of a lower price1 or be unwilling to give thus much for it2 plead in your excuse1 that you keep the commandments1 and then you are that very rich young man in the gospel1 who went away sorrowful from our ,lord1 when he had said1 ,if thou wilt be perfect1 that is1 if thou wilt obtain the pearl1 sell all that thou hast1 and give to the poor2 that is1 die to thyself and then thou hast given all that thou hast to the poor1 all is devoted and used for the love of ,god and thy neighbour4 ,the apostate nature corrupts every thing it touches2 it defiles every thing it receives2 it turns all the gifts and blessings of ,god into coveteousness1 partiality1 pride1 hatred and envy4 99,hence it is that sin rides in triumph over church and state1 and from the court to the cottage all is over-run with sensuality1 guile1 falseness1 pride1 wrath1 selfishness1 and every form of corruption4 ,every one swims away in this torrent1 but he who hears and attends to the voice of the ,son of ,god1 calling him to die to this life1 to take up his cross and follow him4 ,much learned pains has been often taken to prove ,rome1 or ,constantinople1 to be the seat of the beast1 the antichrist1 the scarlet whore4 ,but1 alas6 they are not at such a distance from us1 they are the properties of fallen human nature1 and are all of them alive in our ownselves1 till we are dead to all the spirit and tempers of this world4 ,they are every where1 in every soul1 where the heavenly nature1 and the ,spirit of the holy ,jesus is not4 ,but when the human soul turns from itself1 and turns to ,god1 dies to itself1 and lives to ,god in the ,spirit1 tempers1 and inclinations of the holy ,jesus1 loving1 pitying1 suffering1 and praying for all its enemies1 and overcoming all evil with good1 as ,christ did2 then1 but not till then1 are these monsters separate from it4 ,this1 ,academicus1 is the fallen human nature1 which is alive in every one1 though in various manners1 till he is born again4 ,to think therefore of any religion1 or to pretend to real holiness without dying to this old man1 is building castles in the air2 and can bring forth nothing1 but ,satan in the form of an angel of light4 ,would you know1 ,academicus1 whence it is1 that so many false spirits have appeared in the world1 who have deceived themselves and others with false fire1 and false light8 ,it is this2 they endeavoured to have turned to ,god1 without turning from themselves2 would be alive in ,god1 before they were dead to their own nature2 a thing as impossible in itself1 as for a grain of wheat to be alive before it dies4 ,now religion in the hands of corrupt nature1 serves only to discover vices of a worse kind1 than in nature left to itself4 ,hence are all the disorderly passions of religious men1 which burn in a worse flame1 than passions only employed about worldly matters2 pride1 hatred1 and persecution1 under a cloak of religious zeal1 will sanctify actions1 which nature1 left to itself1 would start at4 ,observe1 ,sir1 the difference which cloaths make in those1 who have it in their power to dress as they please3 some are all for shew1 colours1 and glitters2 others are quite fantastical and affected in their dress3 some have a grave and solemn habit2 others are quite simple and plain in the whole manner4 ,but all this difference of dress is only an outward difference1 that covers the same poor carcase1 and leaves it full of all its own infirmities4 ,now all the truths of the gospel1 when possessed by the old man1 make just such a difference as is made by cloaths4 ,some put on a solemn1 formal1 prudent1 outside carriage2 others appear in all the glitter and shew of religious colouring1 and spiritual attainments2 but under all this outside difference1 there lies the poor soul1 unhelped1 in its own fallen state4 ,and1 it is not possible to be otherwise1 till the spiritual life begins at the true root1 grows out of death1 and is born in a broken heart4 ,self-contempt1 and self-denial1 are as suitable to this new-born spirit1 as self-esteem1 and self-seeking to the unregenerate man4 ,let me1 therefore1 my friend1 conjure you1 not to look forward1 or cast about for spiritual advancement1 till you have rightly taken this first step in the spiritual life4 ,all your future progress depends upon it3 for sin has its root in the bottom of your soul1 it comes to life with your flesh and blood1 and breathes in the breath of your natural life2 and therefore1 till you die to nature1 you live to sin2 and whilst this root of sin1 is alive in you1 all the virtues you put on1 are only like fine painted fruit hung on a dead tree4 ,academicus4 ,but how am ,i to take this first step1 which you so much insist upon8 ,theophilus4 ,you are to turn wholly from yourself1 and to give up yourself wholly unto ,god1 in this or the like manner4 ,amazing6 ,first step6 ,it is the very highest attainment of the greatest saint under heaven4 998,oh my ,god1 with all the strength of my soul1 assisted by thy grace1 ,i desire and resolve to resist and deny all my own will1 earthly tempers1 selfish views1 and inclinations2 every thing that the spirit of this world1 and the vanity of fallen nature1 prompt me to4 ,i give myself up wholly unto thee1 to be all thine1 to have1 and do1 and be1 inwardly and outwardly1 according to thy good pleasure4 ,i desire to live for no other ends1 with no other designs1 but to accomplish the work which thou requirest of me1 an humble1 obedient1 faithful1 thankful instrument in thy hands1 to be used as thou pleasest40 duplicate word 8to0 removed 99,you are not to content yourself with now and then making this oblation of yourself to ,god4 ,it must be the daily1 the hourly exercise of your mind2 till it is wrought into your very nature1 and becomes an essential state of your mind1 till you feel yourself as habitually turned from all your own will1 selfish ends1 and earthly desires1 as you are from stealing and murder2 till the whole turn and bent of your spirit points as constantly to ,god1 as the needle touched with the loadstone does to the north4 ,this1 ,sir1 is your first step in the spiritual life2 this is the key to all the treasures of heaven2 this unlocks the sealed book of your soul1 and makes room for the light and ,spirit of ,god to arise up in it4 ,without this1 the spiritual life is but spiritual talk1 and only assists nature to be pleased with a fancied holiness4 ,not so3 it is not the threshold1 but the whole building4 ,you may perhaps think this an hard saying4 ,but do not go away sorrowful1 like the young man in the gospel4 ,i shall now leave you to consider1 whether you will give up all the wealth of the old man for this heavenly pearl4 ,i do not expect your answer now1 but will stay for it till to-morrow4 ,but pray1 gentlemen1 who is this ,humanus8 ,i do not remember to have seen him before3 he seems not willing to speak1 yet is often biting his lips at what is said4 ,rusticus4 ,this ,humanus1 ,sir1 is my neighbour2 but so ignorant of the nature of the gospel1 that he is often trying to persuade me into a disbelief of it4 ,i say ignorant 7though he is a learned man7 because ,i am well assured1 that no man ever did or can oppose the gospel1 but through a total ignorance of what it is in itself3 for the gospel1 when rightly understood1 is irresistible3 it brings more good news to the human nature1 than sight to the blind1 limbs to the lame1 health to the sick1 or liberty to the condemned slave4 ,but this neighbour of mine has never yet been in sight of the real gospel2 he knows nothing of it1 but what he has picked up out of the books that have been written against it1 and for it4 ,but this is enough concerning the man4 ,he comes with me at his own desire1 and upon promise1 not to interrupt our conversation2 but to be a silent hearer1 till it is all over4 ,and therefore1 if you please1 ,sir1 ,i beg our conversation may for a while turn upon the chief points of religion1 that he may hear the whole nature1 the necessity and blessedness of the ,christian redemption4 99,theophilus4 ,your neighbour is welcome1 and ,i pray ,god to give him an heart attentive to those truths1 which have made so good an impression upon you4 ,your friend ,humanus lays claim to a religion of nature and reason3 ,i join with him1 with all my heart4 ,no other religion can be right but that which has its foundation in nature4 ,for the ,god of nature can require nothing of his creatures1 but what the state of their nature calls them to4 ,nature is his great law1 that speaks his whole will both in heaven and on earth2 and to obey nature1 is to obey the ,god of nature2 to please him1 and to live to him1 in the highest perfection4 ,god indeed has many after-laws2 but it is after his creatures have fallen from nature1 and lost its perfection4 ,but all these after-laws have no other end or intention1 but to repair nature1 and bring men back to their first natural state of perfection4 ,what say you now1 ,academicus1 to all these matters8 99,academicus4 ,you know1 how these matters have affected me1 ever since ,i read some books lately published4 ,from that time1 ,i have seen things in such a newness of light1 as makes me take my former knowledge for a dream4 ,a dream ,i may justly say1 since all my labour was taken up in teaching into a seventeen hundred years history of doctrines1 disputes1 decrees1 heresies1 schisms1 and sects1 wherever to be found1 in ,europe1 ,asia1 and ,africa4 ,from this goodly heap of stuff crouded into my mind1 ,i have been settling matters betwixt all the present ,christian divisions both at home and abroad1 according to the best rules of criticism2 having little or no other idea of a religious man1 than that of a stiff maintainer of certain points against all those that oppose them4 ,and in this respect1 ,i believe ,i may say1 that ,i only swam away in the common torrent4 99,and in this laborious dream ,i had in all likelihood ended my days2 had not those books shewn me1 that religion lay nearer home4 ,but however1 though ,i seem to be entered into a region of light1 yet ,i must not forget to tell you1 what some of my friends say3 that in those books1 there are many things asserted1 which have not scripture to support them4 ,theophilus4 ,is there not some reason ,academicus1 to take this objection of your learned friends to be a mere pretence8 ,for what is more fully grounded upon scripture1 than the doctrine of a real regeneration8 ,and yet the plain letter of scripture1 upon the most important of all points1 the very life and essence of our redemption1 is not only overlooked1 but openly opposed1 by the generality of men of sober learning4 ,but this point has not only the plain letter of scripture for it2 but what the letter asserts1 is absolutely required by the whole spirit and tenor of the ,new ,testament4 ,all the epistles of the apostles proceed upon the supposed certainty of this one great point4 ,a ,son of ,god1 united with1 and born in1 our nature1 that his nature may be produced in us2 an holy ,spirit1 breathing in our souls1 quickening the dead in sin1 is the letter and spirit of the apostles writings3 grounded upon the plain letter of our ,lord's own words1 that unless we are born again of water1 and the ,spirit we cannot see the kingdom of heaven4 8quickning0 replaced with 8quickening0 ,again3 ,is not the plain letter of scripture1 that ,adam died the day that he did eat of the earthly tree8 ,have we not the most solemn asseveration of ,god for the truth of this8 ,was not the change which ,adam found in himself1 a demonstration of the truth of this fact8 ,instead of the image and likeness of ,god which he was created1 he was stript of all his glory1 afraid of being seen1 and unable to see himself uncovered2 delivered up a slave to the rage of all the elements of this world1 not knowing which way to look1 or what to do in a world1 where he was dead to all that he formerly felt1 and alive only to a new and dreadful feeling of heat and cold1 shame and fear1 and horrible remorse of mind1 at his said entrance in a world1 whence ,god and his own glory1 was departed4 ,death enough surely6 ,death in its highest reality1 a much greater change1 than when an animal of flesh and blood is only changed into a cold lifeless carcase4 ,a death1 that in all nature has none equal to it1 none of the same nature with it1 but that which the angels died1 when1 from angels of ,god1 they became living devils1 and slaves to darkness4 ,say that the angels lost no life1 that they did not die a real death1 because they are yet alive in the horrors of darkness2 and then you may say1 with the same truth1 that ,adam did not die when he lost ,god1 and the first glory of his creation1 because he afterwards breathed in a world which was outwardly1 in all its parts1 full of the same curse that was within himself4 ,but farther1 not only the plain text1 and the change of state which ,adam found in himself1 demonstrated a real death to his former state2 but the whole tenor of scripture requires it2 all the system of our redemption proceeds upon it4 ,for what need of redemption1 if ,adam had not lost his first state8 ,what need of the ,deity to enter again into the human nature1 not only as acting1 but being born in it8 ,what need of all this mysterious method to bring the life from above again into man1 if the life from above had not been lost8 ,it is true indeed that ,adam1 in his death to the divine life1 was left in the possession of an earthly life4 ,but 'tis wonderful that any man should imagine ,adam did not die on the day of his sin1 because he had as good a life left in him as the beasts of the field have4 8aftewards0 replaced with 8afterwards0 ,for is this the life1 or is the death that such animals die1 the life and death with which our redemption is concerned8 ,are not all the scriptures full of a life and death of a much higher kind8 ,what ground or reason then can there be to think of the death of an animal of this world1 when we read of the death that ,adam was to die the day of his sin8 ,for does not all that befel him on the day of his sin shew that he lost a much greater life1 suffered a more dreadful change1 than that of giving up the breath of this world8 ,for in the day of his sin1 this angel of paradise2 this ,lord of the new creation1 fell from the throne of his glory 7like ,lucifer from heaven7 into the state of a poor1 naked1 distressed animal of flesh and blood2 inwardly and outwardly feeling the curse in himself1 and all the creation2 and reduced to have only the faith of the devils1 to believe and tremble4 ,proof enough1 surely1 that ,adam was dead to the life of ,god2 and that1 with his death1 all that was divine and heavenly in his soul1 was quite at an end4 ,now this life to which ,adam then died1 is that life which all his posterity are in want of4 ,and is there any reason to say1 that mankind1 in their natural state1 are not dead to that first life in which ,adam was created1 because they are alive to this world8 ,yet this is as well as to say1 that ,adam did not die a real death1 because he had afterwards an earthly life in him4 ,how comes our ,lord to say1 that unless ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the ,son of ,man1 ye have no life in you8 ,did he mean1 ye have no earthly life in you8 ,how comes the apostle to say1 he that hath the ,son of ,god has life1 but he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not life8 ,does he mean the life of this world8 ,no4 ,but both ,christ and his apostles assert this great truth1 that all mankind are in the state of ,adam's death1 till they are made alive again by the ,son and ,holy ,spirit4 ,so plain is it1 both from the letter and spirit of scripture1 that ,adam died a real death to the kingdom of ,god in the day of his sin4 ,take away this death1 and all the scheme of our redemption has no ground left to stand upon4 ,for without the reality of a new birth1 founded on a real death in the fall of ,adam1 the ,christian scheme is but a skeleton of empty words1 a detail of strange mysteries between ,god and man1 that do nothing1 and have nothing to do4 ,oh ,academicus1 what a blindness there is in the world6 ,what a stir is there among mankind about religion1 and yet almost all seem to be afraid of that1 in which alone is salvation6 ,poor mortals6 ,what is the one desire of your hearts8 ,what is it that you call happiness1 and matter of rejoicing8 ,is it not when every thing about you helps you to stand upon higher ground1 and gratifies every pride of life8 ,and yet life itself is the loss of every thing1 unless pride be overcome4 ,oh stop awhile in contemplation of this great truth4 ,it is a truth as unchangeable as ,god2 it is written and spoken thro' all nature2 heaven and earth1 fallen angels1 and redeemed men1 all bear witness to it4 ,the truth is this3 ,pride must die in you1 or nothing of heaven can live in you4 ,under the banner of this truth1 give up yourselves to the meek and humble ,spirit of the holy ,jesus4 ,this is the one way1 the one truth1 and the one life4 ,there is no other door into the sheepfold of ,god4 ,every thing else is the working of the devil in the fallen nature of man4 ,humility must sow the seed1 or there can be no reaping in heaven4 ,look not at pride only as an unbecoming temper2 or humility only as a decent virtue2 for the one is death1 and the other is life2 the one is all hell1 and the other is all heaven4 ,so much as you have of pride1 so much you have of the fallen angel in you3 so much as you have of true humility1 so much you have of the ,lamb of ,god4 ,could you see with your eyes what every stirring of pride does to your soul1 you would beg of every thing you meet to tear the viper from you2 tho' with the loss of an hand or an eye4 ,could you see what a sweet1 divine1 transforming power there is in humility1 how it expels the poison of your fallen nature1 and makes room for the ,spirit of ,god to live in you2 you would rather wish to be the footstool of all the world1 than to want the smallest degree of it4 ,my friends1 for this time1 adieu6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,second ,dialogue4 ,theophilus4 ,,from this view of things1 we see a spirit of longing after the life of this world1 made ,adam and us to be the poor pilgrims on earth that we are2 so the spirit of prayer1 or the longing desire of the heart after ,christ1 and ,god1 and heaven1 raises us out of the miseries of time into the riches of eternity4 ,thus seeing and knowing our first and our present state1 every thing calls us to prayer2 and the desire of our heart becomes the spirit of prayer4 ,and when the spirit of prayer is in us1 then prayer is no longer considered as only the business of this or that hour1 but is the continual panting or breathing of the heart after ,god4 ,its petitions are not picked out of manuals of devotion2 it loves its own language2 it speaks most when it says least4 ,if you ask what its words are1 they are spirit1 they are life1 they are love1 that unite with ,god4 duplicate word 8a0 removed ,academicus4 ,i apprehend1 ,sir1 that what you here say of the spirit of prayer1 will be taken by some for a censure upon hours and forms of prayer2 tho' ,i know you have no such meaning4 ,rusticus4 ,pray let me speak again to ,academicus3 ,his learning seems to be always upon the watch1 to find out some excuse for not receiving the whole truth4 ,does not ,theophilus here speak of the spirit of prayer1 as a state of the heart1 which is become the governing principle of the soul8 ,and if it is a living state of the heart1 must it not have its life in itself1 independent of every outward time and occasion8 ,and yet must it not1 at the same time1 be that alone which disposes the heart to delight in hours1 and times1 and occasions of prayer8 ,suppose he had said1 that honesty is an inward living principle of the heart1 a rectitude of the mind1 that has all its life and strength within itself4 ,could this be thought to censure all times and occasions of performing outward acts of honesty8 ,now the spirit of prayer differs from all outward acts and forms of prayer1 just as the honesty of the heart1 or a living rectitude of mind1 differs from outward and occasional acts of honesty4 ,and yet should a man disregard times and occasions of outward acts of honesty1 on pretence that true honesty was an inward living principle2 who would not see that such a one had as little of the inward spirit1 as of the outward acts of honesty8 ,st4 ,john saith1 ,if any man hath this world's goods1 and seeth his brother hath need1 and shutteth up his bowels of compassion to him1 how dwelleth the love of ,god in him8 ,just so1 it may be said1 if a man neglects times and hours of prayer1 how dwelleth the spirit of prayer in him8 ,and yet1 its own life and spirit is vastly superior to1 and stays for no particular hours1 or forms of words4 ,and in this sense it is truly said1 that it has its own language2 that it wants not to pick words out of manuals of devotion1 but is always speaking forth spirit and life1 and love towards ,god4 ,but pray1 ,theophilus1 do you go on as you intended4 99,theophilus4 ,i shall only add1 before we pass on to another point1 that1 from what has been said1 it plainly follows1 that the sin of all sins1 or the heresy of all heresies1 is a worldly spirit4 ,we are apt to consider this temper only as an infirmity1 or pardonable failure2 but it is indeed the great apostasy from ,god1 and the divine life4 ,it is not a single sin1 but the whole nature of sin1 that leaves no possibility of coming out of our fallen state1 till it be renounced with all the strength of our hearts4 ,every sin1 be it of what kind it will1 is only a branch of the worldly spirit that lives in us4 ,there is but one that is good1 saith our ,lord1 and that is ,god4 ,in the same strictness of expression it must be said1 there is but one life that is good1 and that is the life of ,god and heaven4 ,depart in the least degree from the goodness of ,god1 and you depart into evil2 because nothing is good but his goodness4 ,chuse any life1 but the life of ,god and heaven1 and you chuse death2 for death is nothing else but the loss of the life of ,god4 ,the creatures of this world have but one life1 and that is the life of this world3 this is their one life1 and one good4 ,eternal beings have but one life1 and one good2 and that is the life of ,god4 ,god could not create man to have a will of his own1 and a life of his own1 different from the life and will that is in himself2 this is more impossible than for a good tree to bring forth corrupt fruit4 ,god can only delight in his own life1 his own goodness1 and his own perfections2 and therefore cannot love1 or delight1 or dwell in any creatures1 but where his own goodness and perfections are to be found4 ,like can only unite with like1 heaven with heaven1 and hell with hell2 and therefore the life of ,god must be the life of the soul1 if the soul is to unite with ,god4 ,hence it is1 that all the methods of our redemption have only this one end1 to take from us that earthly life we have gotten by the fall1 and to kindle again the life of ,god and heaven in our souls4 ,not to deliver us from that gross and sordid vice called coveteousness1 which ,heathens can condemn1 but to take the whole spirit of this world entirely from us2 because all that is in the world1 the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life1 is not of the ,father2 that is1 is not that life1 which we had from ,god by our creation2 but is of this world2 is brought into us by our fall from ,god into the life of this world4 ,and therefore a worldly spirit is not to be considered as a single sin2 but as a state of real death to the kingdom and life of ,god in our souls4 ,management1 prudence1 or an artful trimming betwixt ,god and mammon1 are here all in vain2 it is not only the grossness of an outward1 worldly behaviour1 but the spirit1 the prudence1 the wisdom of this world1 that is our separation from the life of ,god4 ,hold this therefore1 ,academicus1 as a certain truth1 that the heresy of all heresies is a worldly spirit4 ,it is the whole nature and misery of our fall2 it keeps up the death of our souls2 and1 so long as it lasts1 makes it impossible for us to be born again4 ,it is the greatest blindness and darkness of our nature1 and keeps us in the grossest ignorance both of heaven and hell4 ,for we feel neither the one nor the other1 so long as the spirit of this world reigns in us4 ,light1 and truth1 and the gospel1 so far as they concern eternity1 are all empty sounds to the worldly spirit4 ,his own good1 and his own evil1 govern all his hopes and fears2 and therefore he can have no religion1 farther than as it can be made serviceable to the life of this world4 ,publicans and ,harlots are all of the spirit of this world2 but its highest birth are ,scribes1 the ,pharisees1 and ,hypocrites1 who turn godliness into gain1 and serve ,god for the sake of mammon2 these live1 and move1 and have their being in and from the spirit of this world4,of all things therefore my friends1 detest the spirit of this world1 or you must live and die an utter stranger to all that is divine and heavenly4 ,you will go out of the world in the same poverty and death in which you entered into it4 ,for a worldly spirit can know nothing1 feel nothing1 taste nothing1 delight in nothing but with earthly senses1 and after an earthly manner4 ,the natural man1 saith the apostle1 receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 they are foolishness unto him4 ,he cannot know them1 because they are spiritually discerned2 that is1 they can only be discerned by that ,spirit1 which he hath not4 ,now the true reason of the absolute impossibility of the natural man1 how polite1 and learned1 and acute soever he be1 is this2 so far as our life reaches1 so far we understand1 and feel1 and know1 and no farther4 ,all after this is1 only the play of our imagination1 amusing itself with the dead pictures of its own ideas4 ,now this is all that the natural man can possibly do with the things of ,god4 ,he can only contemplate them as so many dead ideas1 that he receives from books1 or hearsay2 and so can learnedly dispute and quarrel about them1 and laugh at those as ,enthusiasts1 who have a living sensibility of them4 ,he is only the worse for his dead ideas of divine truths2 they become bad nourishment to all his natural tempers3 he is proud of his ability to discourse about them1 and loses all humility1 thro' a vain and haughty contention for them4 ,his zeal for religion is envy and wrath1 his orthodoxy is pride and obstinacy1 his love of the truth is hatred and ill-will to those who dare to dissent from him4 ,this is the constant effect of the religion of the natural man1 who is under the dominion of the spirit of this world4 ,he cannot make a better use of his knowledge than this2 and all for this plain reason1 because he stands at the same distance from a living sensibility of the truth1 as the man that is born blind1 does from a living sensibility of light4 ,academicus4 ,you know1 ,sir1 that in the morning you told me of a first step1 that must be the beginning of a spiritual life2 you gave me till to-morrow to speak my mind and resolution about it4 ,but you have now extorted my answer from me3 with all the strength that ,i have1 ,i turn from every thing that is not ,god1 and his holy will2 with all the desire of my heart1 ,i give up myself wholly to the light and ,holy ,spirit of ,god2 pleased with nothing in this world1 but as it gives time and place1 and occasions of doing and being that1 which my heavenly ,father would have me to do and be2 seeking for no happiness from this earthly fallen life1 but that of overcoming all its spirit and tempers4 ,but ,i believe1 ,theophilus1 you had something farther to say4 ,theophilus4 ,indeed1 ,academicus1 there is hardly any knowing when one has said enough of the evil effects of a worldly spirit4 ,it is the canker that eateth up all the fruits of our other good tempers2 it leaves no degree of goodness in them1 but transforms all that we are to do1 into its own earthly nature4 ,the philosophers of old1 began all their virtue in a total renunciation of the spirit of this world4 ,they saw with the eyes of heaven1 that darkness was not more contrary to light1 than the wisdom of this world to the spirit of virtue2 therefore they allowed of no progress in virtue1 but so far as a man had overcome himself1 and the spirit of this world4 ,but the doctrine of the cross of ,christ1 the last1 the highest1 the most finishing stroke given to the spirit of this world1 that speaks more in one word than all the philosophy of voluminous writers1 is yet professed by those1 who are in more friendship with the world than was allowed to the disciples of ,pythagoras1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 or ,epictetus4 ,nay1 if those antient sages were to start up among us with their divine wisdom1 they would bid fair to be treated by the sons of the gospel1 if not by some fathers of the church1 as dreaming enthusiasts4 ,but1 ,academicus1 this is a standing truth1 the world can only love its own1 and wisdom can only be justified of her children4 ,the heaven-born ,epictetus told one of his scholars1 that then he might first look upon himself1 as having made some true proficiency in virtue1 when the world took him for a fool2 an oracle like that1 which said1 ,the wisdom of this world is foolishness with ,god4 ,if you was to ask me1 whence is all the degeneracy of the present ,christian church1 ,i should place it all in a worldly spirit4 ,if here you see open wickedness1 there only forms of godliness2 if here superficial holiness1 political piety1 crafty prudence2 there haughty sanctity1 partial zeal1 envious orthodoxy2 if almost every where you see a ,jewish blindness1 and hardness of heart1 and the church trading with the gospel1 as visibly1 as the old ,jews bought and sold beasts in their temple2 all this is only so many forms and proper fruits of the worldly spirit4 ,this is the great net1 with which the devil becomes a fisher of men2 and be assured of this1 that every son of man is in this net1 till1 thro' the ,spirit of ,christ1 he breaks out of it4 ,i say the ,spirit of ,christ1 for nothing else can deliver him from it4 ,trust to any kind1 or form of religious observances1 to any number of the most plausible virtues1 to any kinds of learning1 or efforts of human prudence1 and ,i will tell you what your case will be2 you will overcome one temper of the world1 merely by cleaving to another4 ,for nothing leaves the world1 nothing can possibly overcome it1 but the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,hence it is1 that many learned men1 with all the rich furniture of their brain1 live and die slaves to the spirit of this world2 and can only differ from gross worldlings1 as the ,scribes and ,pharisees differ from ,publicans and ,sinners3 it is because the ,spirit of ,christ is not the one thing that is the desire of their hearts2 and therefore their learning only works with the spirit of this world1 and becomes itself no small part of the vanity of vanities4 ,would you farther know1 the evil effects of a worldly spirit1 you need only look at the blessed effects of the spirit of prayer2 for the one goes downwards with the same strength as the other goes upwards2 the one weds you to an earthly nature1 as the other unites you to ,christ1 and ,god1 and heaven4 ,the spirit of prayer is a pressing forth of the soul out of this earthly life2 it is a stretching with all its desire after the life of ,god2 it is a leaving1 as far as it can1 all its own spirit1 to receive a spirit from above1 to be one life1 one love1 one ,spirit with ,christ in ,god4 ,this prayer1 which is an emptying itself of all its own natural tempers1 and an opening itself for the love of ,god to enter into it1 is the prayer in the name of ,christ1 to which nothing is denied4 ,for the love which ,god bears to the soul1 his eternal1 never-ceasing desire to enter into it1 dwell in it1 stays no longer1 than till the door of the heart opens for him4 ,for nothing can keep ,god out of the soul1 or hinder his union with it1 but the desire of the heart turned from him4 ,a will1 given up to earthly goods1 is at grass with ,nebuchadnezzar1 and has one life with the beasts of the field3 for earthly desires keep up the same life in a man and an ox4 ,when therefore a man wholly turneth his will to earthly desires1 he dies to the excellency of his natural state1 and may be said only to live1 and move1 and have his being in the life of this world1 as the beasts have4 ,earthy food1 only desired and used for the support of the earthly body1 is suitable to a man's present condition1 and the order of nature3 but when the desire of the soul is set upon earthly things1 then the humanity is degraded1 is fallen from ,god2 and the life of the soul is made as earthly and bestial1 as the life of the body4 99,and this is to be noted well1 that death can make no alteration in this state of the will2 it only takes off the outward covering of flesh and blood1 and forces the soul to see1 and feel1 and know1 what a life1 what a state1 food1 body1 and habitation1 its own will has brought forth for it4 ,oh ,academicus1 stop awhile1 and let your hearing be turned into feeling4 ,tell me1 is there any thing in life that deserves a thought1 but how to keep our will in a right state1 and to get that purity of heart1 which alone can see1 and know1 and find1 and possess ,god8 ,is there any thing so frightful as this worldly spirit1 which turns the soul from ,god1 makes it an house of darkness1 and feeds it with the food of time1 at the expence of all the riches of eternity4 ,on the other hand1 what can be so desirable a good as the spirit of prayer1 which empties the soul of all its evil2 separates death and darkness from it2 leaves time and the world2 and becomes one life1 one light1 one ,spirit with ,christ and ,god8 ,think1 my friends1 of these things1 with something more than thoughts2 let your hungry souls eat of the nourishment of them2 and desire only to live1 that with the whole spirit of your minds1 you may live and die united to ,god2 and thus let this conversation end1 till ,god gives us another meeting4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,third ,dialogue4 ,rusticus4 ,i ,,have brought again with me1 gentlemen1 my silent friend ,humanus1 and upon the same condition of being silent still4 ,but tho' his silence is the same1 yet he is quite altered4 ,for these twenty years ,i have known him to be of an even1 chearful temper1 full of good-nature1 and even quite calm and dispassionate in his attacks upon ,christianity2 never provoked by what was said either against his infidelity1 or in defence of the gospel4 ,he used to boast of his being free from those four passions1 which1 he said1 were so easy to be seen1 in most defenders of the gospel-meekness4 ,but now he is morose1 peevish1 and full of chagrin2 and seems to be as uneasy with himself1 as with every body else4 ,i tell him1 but he will not own it1 that his case is this3 the truth has touched him1 but it is only so far1 as to be his tormentor4 ,it is only as welcome to him1 as a thief that has taken from him all his riches1 goods1 and armour1 wherein he trusted4 ,the ,christianity he used to oppose is vanished2 and therefore all the weapons he had against it1 are dropt out of his hands4 ,it now appears to stand upon another ground1 to have a better nature1 than what he imagined2 and therefore he1 and his scheme of infidelity1 are quite disconcerted4 ,but tho' his arguments have lost their strength1 his heart is left in the state it was2 it stands in the same opposition to ,christianity as it did before1 and yet without any ideas of his brain to support it4 ,and this is the true ground of his present1 uneasy1 peevish state of mind4 ,he has nothing now to subsist upon1 but the resolute hardness of his heart1 his pride and obstinacy4 ,tho' it is with some reluctance1 yet ,i have chosen thus to make my neighbour known both to himself1 and to you1 that you may speak of such matters as may give the best relief to the state he is in4 ,theophilus4 ,his trial is the greatest and hardest that belongs to human nature3 and yet it is absolutely necessary to be undergone4 99,nature must become a torment and burden to itself1 before it can willingly give itself up to that death1 thro' which alone it can pass into life4 ,there is no real conversion1 whether it be from infidelity1 or any other life of sin1 till a man comes to know1 and feel1 that nothing less than his whole nature is to be parted with1 and yet finds in himself no possibility of doing it4 ,this is the despair by which we lose all our own life1 to find a new one in ,god4 ,for here1 in this place it is1 that faith1 and hope1 and true seeking to ,christ1 are born4 ,but till all is lost that we had any trust in2 faith and hope1 and turning to ,god in prayer1 are only things practised by rule and method2 but they are not in us1 till we have done feeling any trust or confidence in ourselves4 ,happy therefore is it for your friend1 that every thing is taken from him in which he trusted4 ,in this state1 one sigh or look to ,god for help1 would be the beginning of his salvation4 ,let us therefore try to improve this happy moment to him1 not so much by arguments1 as by the arrows of divine love4 99,for ,humanus1 tho' hitherto without ,christ1 is still within the reach of divine love3 he belongs to ,god2 ,god created him for himself1 to be an habitation of his own ,spirit2 and ,god has brought him and us together1 that the lost sheep may be found1 and brought back to its heavenly shepherd4 ,oh ,humanus1 love is my bait3 you must be caught by it2 it will put its hook into your heart1 and force you to know1 that of all strong things1 nothing is so strong1 so irresistible1 as divine love4 ,it brought forth all the creation2 it kindles all the life of heaven2 it is the song of all the angels of ,god4 ,it has redeemed all the world3 it seeks for every sinner upon earth2 it embraces all the enemies of ,god2 and1 from the beginning to the end of time1 the one work of providence1 is the one work of love4 ,moses and the prophets1 ,christ and his apostles1 were all of them messengers of divine love4 ,they came to kindle a fire on earth1 and the fire was the love which burns in heaven4 ,ask what ,god is8 ,his name is love2 he is the good1 the perfection1 the joy1 the glory1 and blessing of heaven and earth4 ,ask what ,christ is8 ,he is the universal remedy of all evil2 he is the destruction of misery1 sin1 death1 and hell4 ,he is the resurrection and life of all fallen nature4 ,he is the unwearied compassion1 the long-suffering pity1 the never-ceasing mercifulness of ,god to every want and infirmity of human nature4 ,he is the breathing forth of the heart1 and ,spirit of ,god1 into all the dead race of ,adam4 ,he is the seeker1 the finder1 the restorer1 of all that was lost and dead to the life of ,god4 ,he is the love1 that1 from ,cain to the end of time1 prays for all its murderers2 the love that willingly suffers and dies among thieves1 that thieves may have a life with him in paradise3 ,the love that visits publicans1 harlots1 and sinners1 that wants and seeks to forgive1 where most is to be forgiven4 ,oh1 my friends1 let us surround and incompass ,humanus with these flames of love1 till he cannot make his escape from them1 but must become a willing victim to their power4 ,for the universal ,god is universal love2 all is love1 but that which is hellish and earthly4 ,all religion is the spirit of love2 all its gifts and graces are the gifts and graces of love2 it has no breath1 no life1 but the life of love4 ,nothing exalts1 nothing purifies1 but the fire of love2 nothing changes death into life1 earth into heaven1 men into angels1 but love alone4 ,love breathes the ,spirit of ,god2 its words and works are the inspiration of ,god4 ,it speaketh not of itself1 but the word1 the eternal word of ,god speaketh in it2 for all that love speaketh1 that ,god speaketh1 because love is ,god4 ,love is heaven revealed in the soul2 it is light1 and truth1 it has no errors1 for all errors are the want of love4 ,love has no more of pride1 than light has of darkness2 it stands and bears all its fruits from a depth of humility4 ,love is no sect or party2 it neither makes1 nor admits of any bounds2 you may as easily inclose the light1 or shut up the air1 as confine love to a sect or party4 ,it lives in the liberty1 the universality1 and impartiality1 of heaven4 ,it believes in one1 holy1 catholic ,god1 the ,god of all spirits2 it joins with the catholic ,spirit of the one ,god1 who unites with all that is good1 and is meek1 patient1 well-wishing1 and long-suffering over all the evil that is in nature4 ,love1 like the ,spirit of ,god1 rideth upon the wings of the wind2 and is in communion with all the saints that are in heaven and on earth4 ,love is quite pure2 it hath no by-ends2 it seeks not its own2 it has but one will1 and that is1 to give itself into every thing1 and overcome all evil with good4 ,lastly1 love cometh down from heaven2 it regenerateth the soul from above2 it blotteth out all transgressions2 it taketh from death its sting1 from the devil his power1 and from the serpent his poison4 ,it healeth all the infirmities of our earthly birth2 it gives eyes to the blind1 ears to the deaf1 and makes the dumb to speak2 it cleanses the lepers1 and casts out devils1 and puts man in paradise before he dies4 ,it liveth wholly to the will of him1 of whom it is born2 its meat and drink is1 to do the will of ,god4 ,it is the resurrection and life of every divine virtue1 a fruitful mother of true humility1 boundless benevolence1 unwearied patience1 and bowels of compassion4 ,this ,rusticus1 is the religion of divine love1 the true church of ,god1 where the life of ,god is found1 and lived1 and to which your friend ,humanus is called by us4 ,we direct him to nothing but the inward life of ,christ1 to the working of the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 which alone can deliver him from the evil that is in his own nature1 and give him a power to become a ,son of ,god4 ,rusticus4 ,my neighbour has infinite reason to thank you1 for this lovely draught you have given of the spirit of religion4 ,but pray let us now hear1 how we are to enter into this love1 or rather what ,god has done to introduce us into it4 ,theophilus4 ,the beginning of this redeeming love of ,god1 is in that ,immanuel1 or ,god with us1 given to the first ,adam1 as the seed of the woman1 which in him1 and his posterity1 should bruise the head and overcome the life of the serpent4 ,this is love indeed1 because it is universal1 and reaches from the first to the last man4 ,miserably as mankind are divided1 and all at war with one another1 every one appropriating ,god to themselves1 yet they all have but one ,god1 who is the ,spirit of all1 the life of all1 and the lover of all4 ,men may divide themselves1 to have ,god to themselves2 they may hate and persecute one another for ,god's sake2 but this is a blessed truth1 that ,god with an unalterable meekness1 sweetness1 patience1 and good-will towards all1 waits for all1 calls them all1 redeems them all1 and comprehends all in the outstretched arms of his catholic love4 ,ask not therefore how we shall enter into this religion of salvation2 we have not far to go to find it4 ,it is every man's own treasure2 it is a root of heaven1 a seed of ,god1 sown into our souls2 and1 like a small grain of mustard-seed1 has a power of growing to be a tree of life4 ,here my friend1 you should once for all1 observe1 where and what the true nature of religion is1 its place is within2 its work and effect is within3 its glory1 its life1 its perfection1 is all within2 it is the raising a new life and new love in us4 ,this was the spiritual nature of religion in its beginning1 and this is its whole nature to the end of time2 it is nothing else but the power1 and life1 and ,spirit of ,god1 as ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit1 creating and reviving life in the fallen soul1 and driving all its evil out of it4 8catholick0 replaced with 8catholic0 ,here therefore we are come to this firm conclusion1 that let religion have ever so many shapes1 forms1 or reformations1 it is no true divine service1 no proper worship of ,god1 but so far as it serves1 worships1 conforms1 and gives itself up to this operation of the holy1 triune ,god1 as living and dwelling in the soul4 ,keep close to this idea of religion1 as an inward spiritual life in the soul2 observe all its works within you1 the death and life that are found there2 seek for no good1 no comfort1 but in the awakening of all that is holy and heavenly in your heart2 and then1 so much as you have of this inward religion1 so much you have of a real salvation4 ,for salvation is only a victory over nature2 so far as you resist and renounce your own selfish and earthly nature1 so far as you overcome all your own natural tempers1 so far ,god lives and operates in you2 he is the light1 the life1 and the spirit of your soul2 and you worship him in spirit and in truth4 ,for nothing worships ,god1 but the ,spirit of ,christ his beloved ,son1 in whom he is well pleased4 ,this is as true1 as that no man hath known the ,father but the ,son1 and he to whom the ,son revealeth him4 ,look now at any thing as religion1 but a strict conformity to the life and ,spirit of ,christ2 and then1 tho' every day was full of burnt-offerings1 and sacrifices1 yet you would be only like those religionists1 who drew near to ,god with their lips1 but their hearts were far from him4 ,for the heart is always far from ,god1 unless the ,spirit of ,christ be in it4 ,but no one has the living ,spirit of ,christ1 but he1 who in all his conversation walketh as he walked4 ,consider these words of the apostle1 ,my little children1 of whom ,i travail in birth1 till ,christ be formed in you4 ,this is the sum total of all1 and1 if this is wanting1 all is wanting4 ,thus saith he1 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his2 nay1 tho' he could say of himself1 7as our ,lord says many will7 ,have ,i not prophesied in the name of ,christ1 cast out devils1 and done many wonderful works8 ,yet such a one not being led by the ,spirit of ,christ1 is that very man1 whose high state the apostle makes to be a mere nothing1 because he hath not that spirit of charity1 which is the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,again1 ,there is no condemnation to those who are in ,christ ,jesus2 therefore to be in ,christ ,jesus1 is to have that spirit of charity1 which is the spirit and life of all virtues4 ,now here you are to observe1 that the apostle no more rejects all outward religion1 when he says circumcision is nothing1 than he rejects prophesying1 and faith1 and alms-giving1 when he says they profit nothing2 he only teaches this solid truth1 that the kingdom of ,god is within us1 and that it all conflicts in the state of our heart2 and that therefore all our outward observances1 all the most specious virtues1 profit nothing1 are of no value1 unless the hidden man of the heart1 the ,spirit of ,christ1 be the doer of them4 ,thus1 says he1 ,they who are led by the ,spirit of ,god1 are the sons of ,god4 ,and therefore none else1 be they who1 or where1 or what they will1 clergy or laity1 none are1 or can be1 sons of ,god1 but they who give up themselves to the leading and guidance of the ,spirit of ,god1 desiring to be moved1 inspired1 and governed solely by it4 ,indeed all scripture brings us to this conclusion1 that all religion is but a dead work1 unless it be the work of the ,spirit of ,god2 and that sacraments1 prayers1 singing1 preaching1 hearing1 are only so many ways of giving up ourselves more and more to the inward working1 enlightening1 quickening1 sanctifying ,spirit of ,god2 and for this end1 that the curse of the fall may be swallowed up in victory2 and a true1 real1 ,christ-like nature formed in us1 by the same ,spirit1 by which it was formed in the holy ,virgin ,mary4 ,now for the absolute necessity of this turning wholly to ,god1 the spirit of ,satan1 or the spirit of this world1 are1 and must be1 the one or the other of them1 the continual leader1 guide1 and inspirer of every thing that lives in nature4 ,the moment you cease to be moved1 inspired by ,god1 you are moved and directed by the spirit of ,satan1 or the world1 or both4 99,as creatures1 we are under an absolute necessity of being under the guidance and inspiration of some spirit1 that is greater than our own4 ,all that is in our power1 is only the choice of our leader2 but led and moved we must be1 and that by the ,spirit of ,god1 or the spirit of fallen nature4 ,to seek therefore to be always under the inspiration and guidance of ,god's ,holy ,spirit1 and to act by an immediate power from it1 is not enthusiasm1 but as sober a thought1 as to think of renouncing the world and the devil4 ,for they never can be renounced by us1 but so far as the ,spirit of ,god is living1 breathing1 and moving in us4 ,academicus4 ,you have taken from me every difficulty or perplexity that ,i had4 ,it now appears to me with the utmost clearness1 that to look for salvation in any thing else1 but the ,spirit of ,god working in us1 is to be as carnally minded1 as ignorant of ,god and salvation as the ,jews were1 when their hearts were set upon the glory of their temple-service1 and a temporal saviour to defend it1 by a temporal power4 ,for every thing but the ,spirit of ,god forming ,christ in the soul1 has and can have no more of salvation in it1 than a temporal1 fighting saviour4 ,upon this ground ,i stand in the utmost certainty1 looking wholly to the ,spirit of ,god for an inward redemption from all the inward evil that is in my fallen nature4 ,all that ,i now want to know is this1 what ,i am to do1 to procure this continual operation of the ,spirit of ,god within me4 ,theophilus4 ,ask not ,academicus1 what you are to do to obtain the ,spirit of ,god2 for your measure of receiving it1 is just according to your faith and desire to be led by it4 ,for to this faith1 all things are possible1 to which all nature1 tho' as high as mountains1 and as stiff as oaks1 must yield and obey4 ,it heals all diseases1 breaks the bands of death1 and calls the dead out of their graves4 ,it is strictly true1 that man's salvation dependeth upon himself2 and it is as strictly true1 that all the work of his salvation1 is solely the work of ,god in his soul4 ,all his salvation dependeth upon himself1 because his will has its power of motion in itself4 ,as a will1 it can only receive that which it willeth2 every thing else is absolutely shut out of it4 ,for it is the unalterable nature of the will1 that it cannot possibly receive any thing into it1 but that which it willeth2 its willing is its only power of receiving2 and therefore there can be no possible entrance for ,god or heaven into the soul1 till the will of the soul desireth it2 and thus all man's salvation dependeth upon himself4 ,on the other hand1 nothing can create1 effect1 the divine life in the soul1 but that ,spirit of ,god1 which brings forth the divine life in heaven4 ,and thus the work of our salvation is wholly and solely the work of ,god1 dwelling and operating in us4 ,thus1 you see that ,god is all2 that nothing but his life and working-power in us1 can be our salvation2 and yet that nothing but the spirit of prayer can make it possible for us to have it4 ,and therefore neither you1 nor any other human soul1 can be without the operation of the ,spirit of ,god in it1 but because its will or its spirit of prayer is turned towards something else2 for we are always in union with that1 with which our will is united4 ,again3 ,look at the light and air of this world1 you see with what a freedom of communication they overflow and enliven every thing2 they enter every where1 if not hindered by something that withstands their entrance4 ,this may represent to you the ever-overflowing1 free communication of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 to every human soul4 ,they are every where2 we are encompassed with them2 our souls are as near to them1 as our bodies are to the light and air of this world2 nothing shuts them out of us1 but the will and desire of our souls turned from them1 and praying for something else4 ,i say1 praying for something else2 for you are to notice this as a certain truth1 that every man's life is a continual state of prayer2 he is no moment free from it1 nor can possibly be so4 ,for all our natural tempers1 be they what they will1 ambition1 covetousness1 selfishness1 worldly-mindedness1 pride1 envy1 hatred1 malice1 or any other lust whatever1 are all of them in reality only so many different forms of a spirit of prayer1 which is as inseparable from the heart1 as weight is from the body4 ,for every natural temper is a manifestation of the desire and prayer of the heart1 and shews us1 how it works and wills4 ,and as the heart worketh1 and willeth1 such1 and no other1 is its prayer4 ,all else is only form and fiction1 and empty beating of the air4 ,if therefore the desire of the heart is not habitually turned towards ,god1 we are necessarily in a state of prayer towards something else1 that carries us from ,god4 ,for this is the necessity of our nature2 pray we must1 as sure as we are alive2 and therefore when the state of our heart is not a spirit of prayer to ,god1 we pray without ceasing to some or other part of the creation4 ,the man whose heart habitually tends towards the riches1 honours1 powers1 or pleasures of this life1 is in a continual state of prayer towards all these things4 ,his spirit stands always bent towards them2 they have his hope1 his love1 his faith1 and are the many gods that he worships3 ,and tho' when he is upon his knees1 and uses forms of prayer1 he directs them to the ,god of heaven2 yet these are in reality the gods of his heart1 and in a sad sense of the words1 he really worships them in spirit and in truth4 ,hence you may see how it comes to pass1 that there is so much praying1 and yet so little true piety amongst us4 ,the bells are daily calling us to church1 our closets abound with manuals of devotion1 yet how little fruit6 ,it is all for this reason1 because our prayers are not our own2 they are not the abundance of our own heart2 are not found and felt within us1 as we feel our own hunger and thirst2 but are only so many borrowed forms of speech1 which we use at certain times1 and occasions4 ,and therefore it is no wonder that little good comes of it4 ,what benefit could it have been to the ,pharisee1 if1 with an heart inwardly full of its own pride and self-exaltation1 he had outwardly hung down his head1 smote upon his breast1 and borrowed the ,publican's words1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner8 ,what greater good can be expected from our saying the words of ,david1 or singing his psalms seven times a day1 if our heart hath no more of the spirit of ,david in it1 than the heart of the ,pharisee had1 of the spirit of the humble ,publican8 ,academicus4 ,o ,theophilus1 ,i consent to what you say2 and yet ,i am afraid of following you3 for you seem to condemn forms of prayer in public1 and manuals of devotion in private4 ,theophilus4 ,dear ,academicus1 abate your fright4 ,can you think1 that ,i am against your praying in the words of ,david1 or breathing his spirit in your prayers1 or that ,i would censure your singing his psalms seven times a day8 ,at three several times we are told1 our ,lord prayed1 repeating the same form of words2 and therefore a set form of words are not only consistent with1 but may be highly suitable to1 the most divine spirit of prayer4 ,if your own heart1 for days and weeks1 were unable to alter1 or break off from inwardly thinking and saying1 ,hallowed be thy name1 thy kingdom come1 thy will be done2 if at other times1 it stood always inwardly in another form of prayer1 saying1 ,come1 ,lord ,jesus1 come quickly1 with all thy holy nature1 ,spirit1 and tempers1 into my soul2 that ,i may be born again of thee1 a new creature2 ,i should be so far from censuring this1 that ,i should say1 ,blessed are they whose hearts are tied to such a form of words4 ,it is not therefore a set form that is spoken against1 but an heartless form1 a form that has no relation to1 or correspondence with1 the state of the heart that uses it4 ,all that ,i have said is only to teach you the true nature of prayer1 that it is the work of the heart1 and that the heart only prays in reality 7whatever its words are7 for that which it habitually wills1 likes1 loves1 and longs to have4 ,it is not therefore the using the words of ,david1 or any other saint1 in your prayers1 that is censured1 but the using them without that state of heart1 which first spake them forth2 and the trusting to them1 because they are a good form2 tho' in our hearts we have nothing that is like them4 ,it would be good to say incessantly with holy ,david1 ,my heart is athirst for ,god4 ,as the hart desireth the water-brooks1 so longeth my soul after thee1 ,o ,god4 ,but there is no goodness in saying daily these words1 if no such thirst is felt in the heart4 ,and1 you may easily know that numbers of repeated forms1 keep men content with their state1 because they make use of such holy prayers2 tho' their hearts1 from morning to night1 are in a state quite contrary to them1 and join no farther in them1 than in liking to use them at certain times4 ,academicus4 ,i acquiesce1 ,theophilus1 in the truth of what you have said1 and plainly see the necessity of condemning what you have condemned2 which is not the form1 but the heartless form4 ,but still ,i have a scruple upon me3 ,i shall be almost afraid of going to church1 where there are so many good prayers offered up to ,god1 as suspecting they may not be the language of my own heart1 and so become only a lip-labour4 ,theophilus4 ,i do not dislike your scruple at all2 you do well to be afraid of saying any thing to ,god1 which your heart does not truly say4 ,it is also good for you to think1 that many of the prayers of the church may go higher1 than your heart can go along with them4 ,for this will put you upon a right care over yourself1 so to live1 that1 as a true son of your mother the church1 your heart may be able to speak her language1 and find delight in the spirit of her prayers4 ,but this will only then come to pass1 when the spirit of prayer is the spirit of your heart2 then every good word1 whether in a form1 or out of a form1 will be as suitable to your heart1 as gratifying to it1 as food is to the hungry1 and drink to the thirsty soul4 ,but till the spirit of the heart is thus renewed1 till it is emptied of all earthly desires1 and stands in an habitual hunger and thirst after ,god 7which is the true spirit of prayer7 all our forms of prayer will be1 more or less1 but too much like lessons that are given to scholars4 ,but be not discouraged1 ,academicus2 take the following advice1 and you may go to church without any danger of a mere lip-labour2 altho' there should be a psalm1 or a prayer1 whose language is higher than that of your own heart4 ,do this3 ,go to the church1 as the ,publican went into the temple2 stand inwardly in the spirit of your mind1 in that form which he outwardly expressed1 when he cast down his eyes1 smote upon his breast1 and could only say1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner6 ,stand unchangeably 7at least in your desire7 in this form and state of heart2 it will sanctify every petition that comes out of your mouth2 and when any thing is read1 or sung1 or prayed1 that is more exalted than your heart is1 if you make this an occasion of a farther sinking down in the spirit of the ,publican1 you will then be helped1 and highly blessed1 by those prayers and praises1 which seem only to fit a better heart than yours4 ,this1 my friend1 will help you to reap where you have not sown1 and be a continual source of grace in your soul4 ,this will not only help you to receive good from those prayers1 which seem too good for the state of your heart1 but will help you to find good from every thing else3 for every thing that inwardly stirs in you1 or outwardly happens to you1 becomes a real good to you1 if it either finds or excites in you this humble form of mind3 for nothing is in vain1 or without profit1 to the humble soul2 like the bee1 it takes its honey even from bitter herbs2 it stands always in a state of divine growth2 and every thing that falls upon it1 is like a dew of heaven to it4 ,shut up yourself therefore in this humility1 all good is inclosed in it4 ,let it be as a garment wherewith you are always covered1 and the girdle with which you are girt2 breathe nothing but in and from its spirit2 see nothing but with its eyes2 hear nothing but with its ears3 and then1 whether you are in the church1 or out of the church2 hearing the praises of ,god1 or receiving wrongs from men2 all will be edification1 and every thing will help forward your growth in the life of ,god4 ,academicus4 ,indeed1 ,theophilus1 this answer to my scruple is good4 ,all my desire now is1 to live no longer to the world1 to myself1 my natural tempers and passions1 but wholly to the will of the blessed and adorable ,god4 99,theophilus4 ,this resolution1 ,academicus1 only shews that you are just come to yourself2 for every thing short of this earnest desire to live wholly unto ,god1 may be called a most dreadful infatuation or madness1 and insensibility that cannot be described4 ,for what else is our life1 but a trial for the greatest evil1 or good that an eternity can give us8 ,what can be so dreadful1 as to die possessed of a wicked immortal nature1 or to go out of this world with tempers1 that must keep us for ever miserable8 ,what has ,god not done to prevent this8 ,his redeeming love began with our fall1 and calls every man to salvation1 and every man is forced to hear1 tho' he will not obey his voice4 ,god has so loved the world1 that his only ,son hung and expired1 bleeding on the cross for us4 ,are we yet sons of pride1 and led away with vanity8 ,do the powers of darkness rule over us8 ,do evil spirits possess and drive on our lives8 ,is remorse of conscience no longer felt8 ,are falshood1 guile1 debauchery1 profaneness1 perjury1 bribery1 corruption1 and adultery1 no longer seeking to hide themselves in corners1 but openly entering into all our high places1 giving battle to every virtue1 and laying claim to the government of the world8 ,are we thus near being swallowed up by a deluge of vice and impiety8 ,all this is not come upon us1 because ,god has left us without help from heaven1 or exposed us to the powers of hell2 but because we have rejected and despised the whole mystery of our salvation1 and trampled under foot the precious blood of ,christ1 which alone has that omnipotence that can either bring heaven into us1 or drive hell out of us4 ,o ,britain1 ,britain1 think that the ,son of ,god saith unto thee1 as he said1 ,o ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 how often would ,i have gathered thy children1 as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings1 and ye would not6 ,behold1 your house is left unto you desolate4 ,and now let me say1 what aileth thee1 ,o ,british earth1 that thou quakest1 and the foundations of thy churches that they totter8 ,just that same aileth thee1 as ailed ,judah's earth1 when the divine ,saviour of the world1 dying on the cross1 was reviled1 scorned1 and mocked1 by the inhabitants of ,jerusalem2 then the earth quaked1 the rocks rent1 and the sun refused to give its light4 ,nature again declares for ,god1 the earth and the elements can no longer bear our sins3 ,jerusalem's doom for ,jerusalem's sin1 may well be feared by us4 ,o ye miserable pens dipt in ,satan's ink1 that dare to publish the folly of believing in ,jesus ,christ1 where will you hide your guilty heads when nature dissolved1 shall shew you the rainbow1 on which the crucified ,saviour shall sit in judgment1 and every work receive its reward8 ,o tremble6 ye apostate sons1 that come out of the schools of ,christ1 to fight ,lucifer's battles1 and do that for him1 which neither he1 nor his legions can do for themselves4 ,their inward pride1 malice and rage against ,god1 and ,christ1 and human nature1 have no pens but yours1 no apostles but you4 ,they must be forced to work in the dark1 to steal privately into impure hearts1 could they not beguile you into a fond belief1 that you are lovers of truth1 friends of reason1 detectors of fraud1 great genius's1 and moral philosophers1 merely1 because ye blaspheme ,christ1 and the gospel of ,god4 ,poor deluded souls1 rescued from hell by the blood of ,christ1 called by ,god to possess the thrones of fallen angels1 permitted to live only by the mercy of ,god1 that ye may be born again1 my heart bleeds for you4 ,think1 ,i beseech you1 in time1 what mercies ye are trampling under your feet4 ,say not that reason1 and your intellectual faculties1 stand in your way2 that these are the best gifts which ,god has given you1 and that these suffer you not to come to ,christ4 ,all this is as vain a pretence1 and as gross a mistake as if ye were to say1 that you had nothing but your feet to carry you to heaven4 ,for your heart is the best and greatest gift of ,god to you2 it is the highest1 greatest1 and noblest power of your nature2 it forms your whole life1 be what it will2 all evil and all good comes from it2 your heart alone has the key of life and death2 it does all that it will2 reason is but its play-thing1 and whether in time or eternity1 can only be a mere beholder of the wonders of happiness1 or forms of misery1 which the right or wrong working of the heart has caused4 99,i will give you a touch-stone4 ,offer as continually as you can1 this following form of prayer to ,god4 ,offer it frequently on your knees2 but1 whether sitting1 standing1 or walking1 be always inwardly longing1 and earnestly praying this one prayer to ,god3 8,that1 of his great goodness1 he would make known to you1 and take from your heart1 every kind1 and form1 and degree of pride1 whether it be from evil spirits1 or your own corrupt nature2 and that he would awaken in you the depth and truth of all that humility1 which can make you capable of his light and ,holy ,spirit40 ,reject every thought1 but that of wishing1 and praying in this manner from the bottom of your heart1 with such truth and earnestness1 as people in torment wish and pray to be delivered from it4 ,now if ye dare not1 if your hearts will not1 cannot give themselves up in this manner to the spirit of this prayer1 then the touch-stone has done its work1 and ye may be as fully assured both what your infidelity is1 and from what it proceeds1 as ye can be of the plainest truth in nature4 ,this will shew you1 how vainly you appeal to your reason1 as the cause of your infidelity3 that it is full as false and absurd1 as if thieves and adulterers should say1 that their theft and adultery was entirely owing to their bodily eyes1 which shewed them external objects1 and not to any thing that was wrong in their hearts4 ,on the other hand1 if you can1 and will give yourselves up in sincerity to this spirit of prayer1 ,i will venture to affirm1 that if ye had twice as many evil spirits in you1 as ,mary ,magdalen had1 they will all be cast out of you1 and ye will be forced with her1 to weep with tears of love1 at the feet of the holy ,jesus4 ,but here1 my friends1 ,i stop1 that we may return to the matter we had in hand4 ,rusticus4 ,you have made no digression ,theophilus1 from our main point1 which was to recommend ,christianity to poor ,humanus4 ,he must1 ,i am sure1 have felt the death's-blows1 that you have here given to the infidel scheme4 ,their idol of reason1 which is the vain god they worship1 is here like ,dagon fallen to the ground4 ,humanus is caught by your bait of love1 and ,i dare say wants only to have this conversation ended1 that he may try himself1 by this divine touch-stone1 which you have put into his hands4 ,academicus4 ,give me leave1 gentlemen1 to add one word4 ,theophilus has fairly pulled reason out of its usurped throne1 and shewn it to be a powerless1 idle toy1 when compared to the royal strength of the heart1 which is the kingly power1 that has all the government of life in its hands4 ,but now1 ,theophilus1 ,i beg we may return to that very point concerning prayer1 where we left off4 ,i think my heart is entirely devoted to ,god3 and that ,i desire nothing but to live in such a state of prayer1 as may best keep me under the guidance and direction of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,assist me therefore1 in this important matter2 give me the fullest directions that you can2 and if you have any manual of devotion1 that you prefer1 or any method that you would put me in1 pray let me know it4 ,rusticus4 ,i beg leave to speak a word to ,academicus4 ,ask not ,academicus1 for a book of prayers2 but ask your heart what is within it1 what it feels1 how it stirs1 what it wants1 what it would have altered1 what it desires2 and then1 instead of calling upon ,theophilus for assistance1 stand in the same form of petition to ,god4 ,for this turning to ,god according to the inward feeling1 want1 and motion of your own heart1 in love1 in trust of having from him all that you want1 and wish1 is the best form of prayer in the world499,now no man can be ignorant of the state of his own heart1 or a stranger to those tempers1 that are stirring in him2 and what should be the form of his prayer1 but that which the state of his heart demands8 ,if you know of no trouble1 feel no burden1 want nothing to be altered1 or removed1 nothing to be increased or strengthened in you1 how can you pray for any thing of this kind8 ,but if your heart knows its own plague1 feels its inward evil1 knows what it wants to have removed1 will you not let your distress form the manner of your prayer8 ,or will you pray in a form of words1 that have no more agreement with your state1 than if a man walking above-ground1 should beg every man he met1 to pull him out of a deep pit8 ,for prayers not formed according to the real state of your heart1 are but like a prayer to be pulled out of a deep well1 when you are not in it4 ,hence you may see1 how unreasonable it is to make a mystery of prayer1 or an art1 that needs so much instruction2 since every man is1 and only can be1 directed by his own inward state1 and condition1 when and how1 and what he is to pray for1 as every man's outward state shews him what he outwardly wants4 ,academicus4 ,i did not imagine1 ,rusticus1 that you would have so openly declared against manuals of devotion1 since you know not only the most learned1 but the most pious doctors of the church1 consider them as necessary helps to devotion4 ,rusticus4 ,if you was obliged to go a long journey on foot1 and yet through a weakness in your legs could not set one foot before another1 you would do well to get the best travelling crutches that you could4 ,but if1 with sound and good legs1 you would not stir one step1 till you had got crutches to hop with2 surely a man might shew you the folly of not walking with your own legs1 without being thought an enemy to crutches1 or the makers of them4 ,now a manual is not so good an help1 as crutches1 and yet you see crutches are only proper1 when our legs cannot do their office4 ,it is1 ,i say1 not so good an help as crutches1 because that which you do with the crutches1 is that very same thing1 that you should have done with your legs3 you really travel2 but when the heart cannot take one step in prayer1 and you therefore read your manual1 you do not do that very same thing1 which your heart should have done1 that is1 really pray4 ,a fine manual therefore is not to be considered as a means of praying1 or as something that puts you in a state of prayer1 as crutches help you to travel2 but its chief use to a dead and hardened heart1 that has no prayer of its own1 is to shew it1 what a state and spirit of prayer it wants1 and at what a sad distance it is from feeling all that variety of humble1 penitent1 grateful1 fervent1 resigned1 loving sentiments1 which are described in the manual1 that so1 being touched with a view of its own miserable state1 it may begin its own prayer to ,god for help4 ,but ,i have done4 ,theophilus may now answer your earnest request4 ,theophilus4 ,your earnest desire1 ,academicus1 to live in the spirit of prayer1 and be truly governed by it1 is a most excellent desire2 for to be a man of prayer is that which the apostle means by living in the ,spirit1 and having our conversation in heaven4 ,it is to have done1 not only with the confessed vices1 but with the allowed follies and vanities of this world4 ,to tell such a soul of the innocency of levity1 that it need not run away from idle discourse1 vain gaiety1 and trifling mirth1 as being the harmless relief of our heavy natures1 is like telling the flame1 that it need not ascend upwards4 ,but here you are to observe1 that this spirit of prayer is not to be taught you by a book1 or brought into you by an art from without2 but must arise from within1 from the painful sense and feeling of what you are4 ,and its first prayer is nothing else but a sense of penitence1 self-condemnation1 confession1 and humility4 ,it feels nothing but its own misery1 and so is all humility4 ,this prayer of humility is met by the divine love1 the mercifulness of ,god embraces it2 and then its prayer is changed into hymns1 and songs1 and thanksgivings4 ,when this state of fervour has done its work1 has melted away all earthly passions and affections1 and left no inclination in the soul1 but to delight in ,god alone1 then its prayer changes again4 ,it is now come so near to ,god1 has found such union with him1 that it does not so much pray as live in ,god4 ,its prayer is not any particular faculty1 not confined to times1 or words1 or place1 but is the work of his whole being1 which continually stands in fulness of faith1 in purity of love1 in absolute resignation1 to do1 and be1 what and how his beloved pleaseth4 ,this is the last state of the spirit of prayer1 and is its highest union with ,god in this life4 ,each of these states has its time1 its variety of workings1 its trials1 temptations1 and purifications1 which can only be known by experience in the passage through them4 ,the one infallible way to go safely through all the difficulties1 trials1 temptations1 or opposition1 of our own evil tempers is this3 to expect nothing from ourselves1 to trust to nothing in ourselves1 but in every thing expect1 and depend upon ,god4 ,keep fast hold of this thread1 and then let your way be what it will1 darkness1 temptation1 or the rebellion of nature1 you will be led through all1 to an union with ,god3 for nothing hurts us in any state1 but an expectation of something in it1 and from it1 which we should only expect from ,god4 ,we are looking for our own virtue1 our own piety1 our own goodness1 and so live on and on in our own poverty and weakness2 to-day pleased and comforted with the seeming strength and firmness of our own pious tempers2 to-morrow1 fallen into our own mire1 we are dejected1 but not humbled2 we grieve1 but it is only the grief of pride1 at seeing our perfection not to be such as we vainly imagined4 ,and thus it will be1 till the whole turn of our minds is so changed1 that we as fully see and know our inability to have any goodness of our own1 as to have a life of our own4 99,when we are brought to this conviction1 then we have done with all thought of being our own builders2 the whole spirit of our mind is become a mere faith1 and hope1 and trust in the sole operation of ,god's ,spirit1 looking no more to any other power1 to become new creatures1 than we look to any other power for the resurrection of our bodies at the last day4 ,hence may be seen1 that the trials of every state are its greatest blessings2 they do that for us1 which we most of all want to have done1 they force us to know our own nothingness1 and the all of ,god4 99,the soul is always safe in every state1 if it makes every thing an occasion either of rising up1 or falling down into the hands of ,god1 and exercising faith1 and trust1 and resignation to him4 ,and therefore the pious soul that eyes only ,god1 that means nothing but being his alone1 can have no stop put to its progress2 joy and heaviness equally assist him2 in the joy he looks up to ,god2 in the heaviness he lays hold on ,god1 and so they both do him the same good4 ,the best instruction that ,i can give you1 as preparatory to the spirit of prayer1 is already fully given1 where we have set forth the original perfection1 the miserable fall1 and the glorious redemption of man4 ,it is the true knowledge of these great things that can do all for you1 which human instruction can do4 ,these things must fill you with a dislike of your present state1 and create an earnest longing after your first perfection4 ,for prayer cannot be taught you1 by giving you a book of prayers1 but by awakening in you a sense of what you are1 and what you should be2 that so you may see1 and know1 and feel1 what things you want1 and are to pray for4 ,for a man does not1 cannot pray for any thing because a fine petition for it is put into his hands1 but because his own condition is a reason and motive for his asking for it4 ,and therefore it is1 that this tract began with a discovery of these high and important matters1 at the sight of which the world1 and all that is in it1 shrinks into nothing1 and every thing past1 present1 and to come1 awakens in our hearts a continual prayer1 and longing desire1 after ,god and eternity4 ,academicus4 ,but surely you do not take this to be right in general1 that the common people1 who are mostly of low understandings1 should kneel down in private1 without any form of prayer1 saying only what comes into their own heads4 ,theophilus4 ,it would be wrong to condemn a manual as such1 or to say that none ought to make use of it2 but it cannot be wrong1 to shew1 that prayer is the natural language of the heart1 and such1 does not want any form or borrowed words4 ,now all that has been said of manuals of prayers1 only amounts to thus much2 that they are not necessary1 nor the most natural and excellent way of praying4 ,if they happen to be necessary to any person1 it is because the natural prayer of his heart is already engaged1 loving1 wishing1 and longing after1 the things of this life2 which makes him so insensible of his spiritual wants1 so blind and dead to the things of ,god1 that he cannot pray for them1 but so far as the words of other people are put into his mouth4 ,but when a man has had so much benefit from the gospel1 as to know his own want of a ,redeemer1 who he is1 and how he is to be found2 there every thing seems to be done1 both to awaken and direct his prayer1 and make it a true praying in and by the spirit4 ,for when the heart really pants after ,god1 its prayer is a praying1 as moved by the ,spirit of ,god2 it is the breath or inspiration of ,god1 stirring1 moving1 and opening itself in the heart4 ,nothing can have the least desire to ascend to heaven1 but that which came down from heaven2 and therefore nothing in the heart can pray1 and long after ,god1 but the ,spirit of ,god moving and stirring in it4 ,every breath therefore of the true spirit of prayer1 is nothing else but the ,spirit of ,god1 breathing1 inspiring1 and moving the heart1 in all its variety of motions and affections1 towards ,god4 ,and therefore every time a good desire stirs in the heart1 a good prayer goes out of it1 that reaches ,god1 as being the fruit and work of his holy ,spirit4 ,when any man1 feeling his corruption1 looks up to ,god1 with desire to be delivered from it1 whether with words or without words1 how can he pray better8 ,what need of any change of thoughts1 or words1 or any variety of expressions1 when the one desire of his heart made known to ,god1 and continued in1 is not only all1 but the most perfect prayer he can make8 ,again1 suppose the soul in another state1 feeling with joy its offered ,redeemer1 and opening its heart for the full reception of him2 if it stands in this state of wishing and longing for ,christ1 how can its prayer be in an higher degree8 ,or if it breaks out frequently in these words1 ,come ,lord ,jesus1 come quickly1 with all thy holy nature1 ,spirit1 and tempers into my soul1 is there any occasion to enlarge or alter these words into another form or expression8 ,can he do better1 or pray more1 than by continually standing from time to time in this state of wishing for ,christ8 ,nay1 is it not likely1 that his heart should be more divided and dissipated by a numerous change of expressions1 than by keeping united to one expression that sets forth all that he wants8 ,for it is the reality1 the steadiness1 and continuance of the desire1 that is the goodness of prayer4 ,our ,lord said to one that came to him1 ,what wilt thou that ,i should do unto thee8 ,he answered1 ,lord1 that ,i may receive my sight3 and he received it4 ,another said1 ,lord1 if thou wilt1 thou canst make me clean3 and he was cleansed4 ,tell me what learning1 or fine parts1 are required to make such prayers as these8 ,and yet what wonders of relief are recorded in scripture1 as given to such short prayers as these6 ,and what blessing may not now be obtained in the same way1 and with as few words8 ,every man therefore that has any feeling of the weight of his sin1 or any desire to be delivered from it by ,christ1 has learning and capacity enough to make his own prayer4 ,for praying is not speaking eloquently1 but simply1 the true desire of the heart2 and the heart1 simple and plain in good desires1 is in the truest preparation for all the gifts of ,god4 ,and the most simple souls1 that have accustomed themselves to speak their own desires and wants to ,god1 in such short1 but true breathings of their hearts1 will soon know more of prayer1 than any persons who have only their knowledge from learning1 and learned books4 99,and yet it is not either silence1 or a simple petition1 or a great variety of outward expressions1 that alters the nature of prayer1 or makes it to be good or better1 but only and solely the reality1 steadiness1 and continuance of the desire2 and therefore whether a man offer this desire to ,god in the silent longing of the heart1 or in simple1 short1 petitions1 or in a great variety of words1 is of no consequence2 but all are equally good1 when the true and right state of the heart is with them4 ,all that ,i have said of prayer1 has been only to this end3 to shew its real nature2 whence it is to arise2 where it is to be found3 and how you are to begin1 and become a true proficient in it4 ,if1 therefore1 you was at present to look no farther1 than how to begin to practise a prayer proceeding from your heart1 and continue in it1 leaving all that you are farther to know of prayer1 to be known in its time by experience3 this would be much better for you1 than to be asking before-hand about such things1 as are not your immediate concern4 ,begin to be a man of prayer1 in this easy1 simple1 and natural manner1 that has been set before you2 and when you are faithful to this method1 you will then need no other instructor in the art of prayer4 ,your own heart thus turned to ,god will want no one to tell it1 when it should be simple in its petitions1 or various in its expressions3 or prostrate itself in silence before ,god4 ,but this hastiness of knowing things1 before they belong to us1 is very common4 ,thus a man that has but just entered upon the reformation of his life1 shall want to read or hear a discourse upon perfection1 whether it be attainable or not2 and shall be more eager after what he can hear of this1 though at such a distance1 than of such things as concern the next step he is to take4 ,you1 my friend1 have taken the first step in the spiritual life2 you have devoted yourself absolutely to ,god1 to live wholly to his will1 under the light and guidance of his holy ,spirit1 intending1 seeking nothing in this world1 but such a passage thro' it as may tend to the glory of ,god1 and the recovery of your own fallen soul4 ,your next step is1 looking to the continuance of this resolution1 and donation of yourself to ,god1 to see that it be kept alive1 that every thing you do may be animated and directed by it1 and all the occurrences of every day1 from morning to night1 be received by you1 as becomes a spirit that is devoted to ,god4 ,now this second step cannot be taken but purely by prayer2 nothing else has the least power here but prayer2 ,i do not mean you must frequently read or say a number of prayers1 7tho' this in its turn may be good and useful to you7 but the prayer ,i mean1 and which you must practise1 if you would take this second step in the spiritual life1 is prayer of the heart1 or a prayer of your own1 proceeding from the state of your heart1 and its own tendency to ,god4 ,of all things therefore look to this prayer of the heart2 consider it as your infallible guide to heaven2 turn from every thing that is an hindrance of it1 that quenches or abates its fervour2 love and like nothing but that which is suitable to it2 and let every day begin1 go on1 and end in the spirit of it4 ,consider yourself1 as having gone aside and lost your right path1 when any delight1 desire1 or trouble is suffered to live in you1 that cannot be made a part of this prayer of the heart to ,god4 ,for nothing so infallibly shews us the true state of our heart1 as that which gives us either delight or trouble2 for as our delight and trouble is1 so is the state of our heart3 if therefore you are carried away with any trouble or delight1 that has not relation to your progress in the divine life1 you may be assured your heart is not in its right state of prayer to ,god4 ,look at a man who is devoted to some one thing1 or has some one great worldly matter at heart2 he stands turned from every thing that has not some relation to it2 he has no joy or trouble but what ariseth from it2 he has no eyes or ears but to see or hear something about it4 ,all else is a trifle1 but that which some way or other concerns this great matter4 ,you need not tell him of any rules or methods to keep it in his thoughts2 it goes with him into all places and companies2 it has his first thoughts in the morning2 and every day is good or bad1 as this great matter seems to succeed or not4 ,this may shew you how easily1 how naturally1 how constantly1 our heart will carry on its own state of prayer1 as soon as ,god is its great object1 or it is wholly given up to him4 ,this may also shew you1 that the heart cannot fully enter into the spirit of prayer1 till it takes ,god for its all1 or gives itself up wholly to ,god4 ,but when this foundation is laid1 the seed of prayer is sown1 and the heart is in a continual state of tendency to ,god2 having no other delight or trouble in things of any kind1 but as they help or hinder its union with ,god4 ,therefore1 the way to be a man of prayer1 and be governed by its spirit1 is not to get a book full of prayers2 but the best help you can have from a book1 is to read one full of such truths and awakening informations1 as force you to see and know who1 and what1 and where you are2 that ,god is your all2 and that all is misery1 but a heart and life devoted to him4 ,this is the best outward prayer-book you can have1 as it will turn you to an inward book and spirit of prayer in your heart1 which is a continual longing desire of the heart after ,god4 ,when1 for the sake of this inward prayer1 you retire at any time of the day1 never begin till you know and feel why and wherefore you are going to pray2 and let this why and wherefore1 form and direct every thing that comes from you1 whether it be in thought or word4 ,as you know your own state1 so it must be the easiest thing in the world to look up to ,god with such desires as suit the state you are in2 and praying in this manner1 whether it be in one1 or more1 or no words1 your prayer will be always highly beneficial to you4,thus praying1 you can never pray in vain2 but one month in the practise of it1 will do you more good1 make a greater change in your soul1 than twenty years of prayer only by books1 and forms of other peoples making4 ,surely1 one of the last steps4 8live0 replaced with 8life0 ,no vice can harbour in you1 no good desire languish1 when once your heart is in this method of prayer2 never beginning to pray1 till you first see how matters stand with you2 asking your heart what it wants1 and having nothing in your prayers1 but what the known state of your heart puts you upon demanding1 saying1 or offering unto ,god4 ,such a prayer gives new life and growth to all your virtues2 whereas1 overlooking this true prayer of your own heart1 and only at certain times taking a prayer that you find in a book1 you have nothing to wonder at1 if you are every day praying1 and yet every day sinking farther under your infirmities4 ,for your life can only be altered by that which is the real working of your heart4 ,and if your prayer is only a form of words1 made by the skill of other people1 such a prayer can no more change you into a good man1 than an actor upon the stage1 who speaks kingly language1 is thereby made a king4 ,again1 another great and infallible benefit of this kind of prayer is this2 it is the only way to be delivered from the deceitfulness of your own heart4 ,our hearts deceive us1 because we are absent from them1 taken up in outward things1 in outward rules and forms of living and praying4 ,but this kind of praying1 which takes all its thoughts from the state of our hearts1 makes it impossible for us to be strangers to ourselves4 ,the strength of every sin1 the power of every evil temper1 the most secret working of our hearts1 the weakness of any or all our virtues1 is seen with a noon-day clearness1 as soon as the heart is made our prayer-book1 and we pray for nothing1 but according to what we read and find there4 ,academicus4 ,o ,theophilus1 you have shewn me1 that the best prayer in the world is that which the heart sends forth from itself4 ,and yet ,i am not free from suspicions about it3 ,i apprehend it to be that very praying by the spirit1 or as moved by the spirit1 or from a light within1 which is condemned as ,quakerism4 ,theophilus4 ,there is but one good prayer that you can possibly make2 and that is a prayer as the ,spirit of ,god moves you in it1 or to it4 ,this alone is a divine prayer2 no other prayer can possibly have any communion with ,god4 ,therefore to ridicule praying by the ,spirit1 or as moved by the ,spirit1 is ridiculing the only prayer that is divine2 and to reject and oppose it as a vain conceit1 is to quench and suppress all that is holy1 heavenly1 and divine within us4 ,for if this ,holy ,spirit does not live and move in us1 and bring forth all the praying affections of our souls1 we may as well think of reaching heaven with our hands1 as with our prayers4 ,earnestly therefore to pray1 humbly to hope1 and faithfully to expect1 to be continually inspired and animated by the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 has no more of vanity1 fanaticism1 or enthusiastic wildness in it1 than to hope and pray1 to act in every thing from and by a good spirit4 ,for as sure as the lip of truth hath told us1 that there is but one that is good1 so sure is it1 that not a spark of goodness1 nor a breath of piety can be in any creature1 either in heaven or on earth1 but by that divine ,spirit4 ,the matter is not about forms of virtue1 rules of religion1 or a prudent piety1 suited to time1 and place1 and character2 all these are degrees of goodness that our old man can as easily trade in1 as in any other matters of this world4 ,but so much as we have of an heavenly and divine goodness1 so much we must have of a divine inspiration in us4 ,for as nothing can fall to the earth1 but because it has the nature of the earth in it3 so nothing can ascend towards heaven1 or unite with it1 but that very ,spirit which came down from heaven and has the nature of heaven in it4 ,this truth therefore1 that the kingdom of ,god is within us1 and that its spirit is the ,spirit of ,god1 stands upon a rock1 against which all attempts are in vain4 ,but how shall ,i know when1 and how far1 ,i am led and governed by the ,spirit of ,god8 99,theophilus4 8,god is unwearied patience1 an ever enduring mercifulness2 he is unmixed goodness1 impartial1 universal love2 his delight is in the communication of himself1 his own happiness to every thing according to its capacity4 ,he does everything that is good1 righteous1 and lovely1 for its own sake1 because it is good1 righteous1 and lovely4 ,he is the good from which nothing but good cometh1 and resisteth all evil1 only with goodness40 ,this is the nature and ,spirit of ,god1 and hereby you may know1 whether you are moved and led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,here is a proof that is always at hand4 ,if it be the earnest desire1 and longing of your heart1 to be merciful as he is merciful2 to be full of his unwearied patience1 to dwell in his unalterable meekness2 if you long to be like him in universal1 impartial love2 if you desire to communicate every good1 to every creature that you are able2 if you love and practise every thing that is good1 righteous1 and lovely1 for its own sake1 because it is good1 righteous1 and lovely2 and resist no evil1 but with goodness2 then you have the utmost certainty1 that the ,spirit of ,god liveth1 dwelleth1 and governeth in you4 ,but if you want any of these tempers1 at least if the whole bent of your heart and mind is not set upon them1 all pretences to an immediate inspiration1 and continual operation of the ,spirit of ,god are vain4 ,where his ,spirit dwells and governs1 there all these tempers spring1 as the certain fruits of it4 ,therefore keep but within the bounds here set you2 and you may safely say1 with ,st4 ,john1 ,hereby we know that he abideth in us1 by the ,spirit which he hath given us4 ,academicus4 ,but surely the ,spirit of ,god often discovers itself1 and operates in very extraordinary ways1 in uncommon illuminations and openings of divine light and knowledge1 in strong impulses and sallies of a wonderful zeal1 full of the highest gifts and graces of ,god3 and these have frequently been ,god's gracious methods of awakening a sinful world4 ,theophilus4 ,what you say1 ,academicus1 is very true2 and almost every age of the church is a sufficient proof of it4 ,but would you know the sublime1 the exalted1 the angelic1 in the ,christian life1 see what the ,son of ,god saith1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 with all thy soul1 with all thy mind1 and with all thy strength2 and thy neighbour as thyself4 ,on these two1 saith he1 hang all the law and the prophets4 ,and without these two things1 no good light ever can arise or enter into your soul4 ,take all the sciences1 shine in all the accomplishments of the lettered world1 they will only lead you from one vain passion to another2 every thing you send out from within you is selfish1 vain1 and bad2 every thing you see or receive from without1 will be received with a bad spirit2 till these two heavenly tempers have overcome the natural perverseness of fallen nature4 ,till then1 nothing pure can proceed from within1 nor any thing be received in purity from without4 ,think yourself therefore incapable of judging rightly1 or acting virtuously1 till these two tempers have the government of your heart4 ,then every truth will meet you2 no hurtful error can get entrance into your heart2 but you will have a better knowledge of all divine matters1 than all human learning can help you to4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,,love4 ,,part ,i4 ,my ,dear ,friend1 ,,you had no occasion to make any apology for the manner of your letter to me2 for tho' you very well know1 that ,i have as utter an aversion to waste my time and thoughts in matters of theological debate1 as in any contentions merely of a worldly nature1 as knowing that the former are generally as much1 if not more hurtful to the heart of man than the latter2 yet as your objections rather tend to stir up the powers of love1 than the wrangle of debate2 so ,i consider them only as occasions of edifying both you and myself with the divine blessedness of the spirit of love4 ,you say1 8,there is nothing in my writings that has more affected you than that spirit of love that breathes in them2 and that you wish for nothing so much as to have a living sensibility of the power1 life1 and religion of love4 ,but you have an objection often rising in your mind1 that this doctrine of pure and universal love may be too refined and imaginary2 because you find1 that however you like it1 yet you cannot attain to it40 ,thus stands your objection1 which will fall into nothing1 as soon as you look at it from a right point of view3 which will be1 as soon as you have found the true ground of the nature and necessity of the blessed spirit of love4 ,now1 the spirit of love has this original4 ,god1 as considered in himself1 before any thing is brought forth by him1 is only an eternal will to all goodness4 ,this is the one eternal1 immutable ,god1 that from eternity to eternity changeth not1 that can be neither more nor less1 nor any thing else1 but an eternal will to all the goodness that is in himself1 and can come from him4 ,the creation of ever so many creatures1 adds nothing to1 nor takes any thing from this immutable ,god3 he always was1 and always will be1 the same immutable will to all goodness4 ,so that as certainly as he is the creator1 so certainly is he the blesser of every created thing1 and can give nothing but blessing and happiness from himself1 because he has in himself nothing else to give4 ,it is much more possible for the sun to give forth darkness1 than for ,god to be1 or give forth1 any thing but blessing and goodness4 ,now this is the ground and original of the spirit of love in the creature3 it is and must be a will to all goodness1 and you have not this spirit of love but so far as you have this will to all goodness at all times1 and on all occasions4 ,you may indeed do many works of love1 especially at such times as they are not inconvenient to you4 ,yet the spirit of love is not in you1 but so far as it is the spirit of your life1 as you live freely1 willingly1 and universally1 according to it4 ,for every spirit acts with freedom and universality according to what it is4 ,it needs no command to be what it is1 no more than you need bid wrath be wrathful4 ,and therefore when love is the spirit of your life1 it will have freedom and universality2 it will always live and work in love1 not because of this or that1 here or there1 but because the spirit of love can only love1 wherever it is or goes1 or whatever is done to it4 ,as the sparks know no motion1 but that of flying upwards1 whether it be in the darkness of the night1 or in the light of the day2 so the spirit of love is always in the same course2 it knows no difference of time1 place1 or persons2 but whether it gives or forgives1 bears or forbears1 it is equally doing its own delightful work1 equally blessed from itself4 ,for the spirit of love1 wherever it is1 is its own blessing and happiness1 is in the same joy1 and is the same good to itself1 every where1 and on every occasion4 99,oh6 ,sir1 would you know the blessing of all blessings1 it is the ,god of love dwelling in your soul1 and killing every root of bitterness which is the pain and torment of every earthly love4 ,for all wants are satisfied1 all disorders are removed1 no life is any longer a burden1 every day is a day of peace1 every thing you meet becomes a help to you1 because every thing you see or do is all done in sweet1 gentle love4 ,for as love has no by-ends1 wills nothing but its own increase1 so every thing is as oil to its flame2 it must have that which it wills1 and cannot be disappointed1 because every thing naturally helps it to live in its own way4 ,the spirit of love does not want to be honoured1 or esteemed2 its only desire is to propagate itself1 and become the blessing and happiness of every thing that wants it4 ,and therefore it meets wrath1 and evil1 and hatred1 and opposition1 with the same one will1 as the light meets the darkness1 only to overcome it with all its blessings4 ,did you want to avoid the ill-will1 or to gain the favour of any persons1 you might easily miss of your ends2 but if you have no will but to all goodness1 every thing you meet must be assistant to you4 ,for the wrath of an enemy1 the treachery of a friend1 and every other evil1 only helps the spirit of love to be more triumphant1 to find all its blessings in a higher degree4 ,whether therefore you consider perfection or happiness1 it is all included in the spirit of love1 and must be so1 because the infinitely perfect and happy ,god is mere love1 an unchangeable will to all goodness3 and therefore every creature must be corrupt and unhappy1 so far as it is led by any other will4 ,thus you see the ground of the spirit of love4 ,let me now1 shew you the necessity of it3 no creature can have any union or communion with the ,deity1 but so far as its life is a spirit of love4 ,this is the one band of union betwixt ,god and the creature4 ,all besides this1 call it by what name you will1 is only so much error and corruption got into the creature2 and must be entirely separated from it1 before it can see ,god1 or find the divine life4 ,for as ,god is an immutable will to all goodness1 so the divine will can unite with no creatures will1 but that which willeth with him that which is good4 ,here the necessity is absolute2 nothing will do instead of this will2 all contrivances of holiness1 all forms of religious piety1 signify nothing without this will to all goodness4 ,for as the will to all goodness is the whole nature of ,god1 so it must be the whole nature of every service1 that can be acceptable to him4 ,and therefore every thing that followeth our own will1 forsaketh the one will to all goodness4 ,the necessity therefore of the spirit of love1 is what ,god cannot dispense with in the creature1 no more than he can deny himself1 or act contrary to his own holy being4 ,but as it was his will to all goodness1 that brought forth angels1 and the spirits of men1 so he can will nothing in their existence1 but that they should live and work1 and manifest that same spirit of love and goodness which brought them into being4 ,every thing therefore1 but the will to goodness1 is some degree of apostasy1 yea1 rebellion against the whole nature of ,god4 ,there is no peace1 nor ever can be1 for the soul of man1 but in the purity and perfection of its first-created nature2 nor can it have its purity and perfection in any other way1 than in and by the spirit of love4 ,for love is the purity1 the perfection of all created things2 and nothing can live in ,god but as it lives in love4 ,look at every vice1 pain1 and disorder1 in human nature1 it is in itself nothing but the spirit of the creature turned from the universality of love to some self-seeking in created things4 ,so that love alone is the cure of every evil2 and he that lives in the purity of love1 is risen out of the power of evil1 into the freedom of the one spirit of heaven4 ,the schools have given us very accurate definitions of every vice1 whether it be covetousness1 pride1 wrath1 or envy1 and shewn us how to conceive them as notionally distinguished from one another4 ,but the ,christian has a much shorter way of knowing them1 and what they all are1 and do1 in himself4 ,for1 call them by what names you will1 they are all1 that same one thing1 and all do that same one work1 as the ,scribes1 the ,pharisees1 and rabble of the ,jews1 who crucified ,christ1 were all but one and the same thing1 and all did one and the same work1 however different they were in outward names4 ,if you would therefore have a true sense of the nature and power of pride1 wrath1 covetousness1 envy1 they are in their whole nature nothing else but the murderers and crucifiers of the true ,christ of ,god2 not as the high-priests did many hundred years ago1 nailing his outward humanity to an outward cross1 but crucifying afresh the ,son of ,god1 who is the ,christ that every man crucifies as often as he gives way to wrath1 pride1 envy1 or covetousness4 ,for where pride1 and envy1 and hatred1 are wilfully indulged1 there the same thing is done1 as when ,christ was killed1 and ,barabbas was saved alive4 ,in all the universe1 nothing but heaven and heavenly creatures could have been known1 had every creature continued in that state in which it came forth from ,god4 ,for ,god can will nothing in the life of the creature but a manifestation of his own goodness1 happiness1 and perfection4 ,and therefore when this is wanted1 it is certain1 the creature hath lost its first state that it had from ,god4 ,every thing therefore1 which is the vanity1 the torment1 and evil1 of man1 or any intelligent creature1 is solely the effect of his will turned from ,god4 ,misery and wickedness can have no other root2 for whatever wills and works with ,god1 must partake of the happiness and perfection of ,god4 ,this therefore is a certain truth1 that hell and death1 curse and misery1 can never be removed from the creation1 till the will of the creature is again as it came from ,god1 a spirit of love1 that willeth nothing but goodness4 ,all the whole fallen creation1 stand it never so long1 must groan and travel in pain1 till every contrariety to the divine will is entirely taken from every creature4 ,thus1 ,sir1 you have seen the original1 immutable ground of the spirit of love4 ,it is no imaginary refinement1 or speculative curiosity2 but is of the highest reality4 ,it stands in the immutability and perfection of ,god2 and not only every intelligent creature1 be it what and where it will1 but every inanimate thing must work in vanity till it works under the spirit of love4 99,every son of fallen ,adam is under this same necessity of working and striving after something that he neither is nor hath4 ,all evil as well as good men1 all the wisdom and folly of this life1 are a proof of this4 ,for the vanity of wicked men in their various ways1 and the labours of good men in faith and hope1 proceed from the same cause1 viz4 from a want and desire of having and being something that they neither are nor have4 ,the evil seek wrong1 and the good seek right2 but they both are seekers1 and for the same reason2 because their present state has not that which it wants to have4 ,and this must be the state of every creature that has fallen from its first state4 ,it must do as the polluted fluid does2 it must ferment and work1 either right or wrong1 to mend its state4 ,the muddled wine always works right to the utmost of its power1 because it works according to nature2 but if it had an intelligent free will1 it might work as vainly as man does2 it might continually thicken itself1 be always stirring up its own dregs1 and then it would seek for its purity1 just as well as the soul of man seeks for its happiness in the lusts of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life4 ,all which must fall away from the heart of man before it can find its happiness in ,god1 as the dregs must separate from the wine before it can have its perfection and clearness4 99,purification therefore is so necessary1 that nothing will do in the stead of it4 ,but man is not purified1 till every earthly1 wrathful1 sensual1 selfish temper is taken from him4 ,he is not dying to himself1 till he is dying to these tempers2 and he is not alive in ,god1 but as he is dead to them4 ,it is the purity and perfection of the divine nature that must be brought again into him3 nor are you to think that these words1 the purity and perfection of ,god1 are too high to be used on this occasion2 for they only mean1 that the will of the creature must will and work with the will of ,god2 and whatever does not thus1 is at enmity with ,god1 and cannot have life and happiness with him4 ,now1 nothing wills and works with ,god but the spirit of love2 because nothing else works in ,god himself4 ,the ,almighty brought forth all nature for this only end1 that boundless love might have its infinity of height and depth to dwell and work in2 and all the properties of nature are only to give life and strength to the spirit of love1 that it may come forth into outward activity1 and manifest its blessed powers2 that all creatures may communicate the spirit of love and goodness1 give and receive delight to and from one another4 ,all below this state of love1 is a fall from the one life of ,god1 the only life in which the ,god of love can dwell4 ,now who can restore this life8 ,the unbelieving ,jews said of our ,lord1 ,how can this man forgive sins8 ,christ shewed them how1 by appealing to that power which they saw he had over the body3 whether1 says he1 is it easier to say1 ,thy sins are forgiven thee1 or to say1 ,arise1 take up thy bed1 and walk8 ,but the delusion of the unbelieving ,deist is greater than that of the ,jew4 ,for the ,deist sees1 that his reason has no power over his body2 can remove no disease1 blindness1 deafness1 or lameness1 from it2 and yet will pretend to have power enough from his reason1 to help the soul out of all its evil2 not knowing that he only1 who can say to the dead body of ,lazarus1 ,come forth1 can say to the soul1 ,be thou clean4 ,the ,deist therefore1 if he pleases1 may stile himself a natural1 or a moral philosopher1 but with no more truth1 than he can call himself an healer of all the maladies of the body4 ,and for a man to think himself a moral philosopher1 because he has made a choice collection of syllogisms1 in order to quicken and revive a divine goodness in the soul2 or that no ,redeemer need come from heaven1 because human reason1 when truly left to itself1 has great skill in chopping of logic2 may justly be deemed such an ignorance of the nature of things1 as is seldom found in the transactions of illiterate and vulgar life4 ,but this by the by4 ,to return to our chief subject3 the sum is this3 all evil1 all misery of every kind1 is nothing else but nature left to itself2 and therefore1 there is no possibility for the natural1 earthly man to escape eternal wrath1 but solely in the way the gospel teacheth1 by denying and dying to himself4 ,on the other hand1 all the goodness and perfection1 all the happiness1 glory1 and joy1 that any intelligent creature can be possessed of1 is1 and can be1 from nothing else1 but the invisible uncreated light and ,spirit of ,god manifesting itself in the creatures1 filling1 blessing1 and uniting them all in one love4 ,and thus again3 there is no possibility of man's attaining to any heavenly perfection and happiness1 but only in the way of the gospel1 by the union of the divine and human nature1 by man's being born again from above1 of the ,word and ,spirit of ,god4 ,there is no possibility of any other way1 because there is nothing that can possibly change us into an heavenly state1 but the presence and power of the ,deity united with1 and working in us4 ,and therefore the ,word was made flesh1 and must of all necessity be made flesh1 if man is to have an heavenly nature4 ,now as all evil1 sin1 and misery1 have no beginning1 nor power of working1 but in the manifestation of contrary properties2 so man has nothing to turn to1 seek1 or aspire after1 but the lost spirit of love4 ,and therefore it is1 that ,god only can be his ,redeemer2 because ,god only is love2 and love can be no where else1 but in ,god1 and where ,god dwelleth and worketh4 ,now the difficulty you find in attaining this spirit of love1 is because you seek for it1 in the way of reasoning3 you would be possessed of it only from a rational conviction of the fitness and amiableness of it4 ,and as this clear idea does not put you into the possession of it1 your reason begins to waver2 and suggests to you1 that it may be only a fine notion1 that has no ground but in the power of imagination4 ,but this1 ,sir1 is all your own error2 as if you would have your eyes do that1 which only your hands or feet can do for you4 ,the spirit of love is a spirit of nature and life2 and therefore can only be produced in you1 by that ,almighty power which produced all nature1 and gave life to every living thing4 ,life can only arise in its own time and place from its proper cause1 and as the genuine effect of it4 ,nature and life do nothing by chance1 or accidentally1 but every thing in one uniform way4 ,fire1 air1 and light1 do not proceed sometimes from one thing1 and sometimes from another3 but wherever they are1 they are always born in the same manner1 and from the same working in the properties of nature4 ,so in like manner1 love is an immutable birth1 always proceeding from the same cause1 and cannot be in existence till its own true parents have brought it forth4 99,how unreasonable would it be to doubt whether strength and health of body were real things1 or possible to be had1 because you could not by the power of your reason take possession of them8 ,yet this is as well as to suspect the purity and perfection of love to be only a notion1 because your reason cannot bring it forth in your soul4 ,for reason has no more power of altering the life and properties of the soul1 than of altering the life and properties of the body4 ,that1 and that only1 can cast devils1 and evil spirits1 out of the soul1 that can say to the storm1 ,be still2 and to the leper1 ,be thou clean4 ,and now1 ,sir1 you see the absolute necessity of the gospel-doctrine of the cross2 viz4 of dying to ourselves1 as the only way to life in ,god4 ,this is the one morality that does man any good4 ,fancy as many rules as you will1 of modelling the moral behaviour of man1 they all do nothing1 because they leave nature still alive2 and therefore can only help a man to an art of concealing his own inward evil4 ,but still nature can no more change from evil to good1 than darkness can work itself into light4 ,the one work therefore is to resist and deny nature1 that a supernatural power may take possession of it4 ,there is no standing still1 life goes on1 and is always bringing forth its realities1 which way soever it goeth4 ,you see the true state of every natural man1 whether he be ,csar or ,cato1 whether he gloriously murders others1 or only stabs himself2 blind nature does all the work1 and must be the doer of it1 till the light of ,god has helped them to one common good1 in which they all willingly unite1 rest1 and rejoice4 ,in a word1 goodness is only a sound1 and virtue a mere strife of natural passions1 till the spirit of love is the breath of every thing that lives1 and moves in the heart4 ,for love is the one only blessing1 and goodness1 and ,god of nature2 and you have no true religion1 are no worshipper of the one true ,god1 but in and by that ,spirit of love1 which is ,god himself living and working in you4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,,love4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,a dialogue between ,theogenes1 ,eusebius1 and ,theophilus4 ,theophilus4 ,,my heart embraces you both with the greatest affection1 and ,i am much pleased at the occasion of your coming1 which calls me to the most delightful subject in the world1 to help both you and myself1 to rejoice in that adorable ,deity1 whose infinite being is an infinity of mere love1 an unbeginning1 never-ceasing1 and for ever over-flowing ocean of meekness1 sweetness1 delight1 blessing1 goodness1 patience1 and mercy2 and all this1 as so many blessed streams breaking out of the abyss of universal love4 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 a triune infinity of love and goodness1 for ever and ever1 giving forth nothing but the same gifts of light and love1 of blessing and joy1 whether before or after the fall1 either of angels1 or men4 ,look at all nature1 through all its height and depth1 in all its variety of powers1 it is what it is1 for this only end1 that the hidden riches1 the invisible blessings1 glory and love of the unsearchable ,god1 may become visible1 sensible1 and manifest in it1 and by it4 ,look at all the variety of creatures1 they are what they are1 for this only end1 that in their infinite variety1 degrees1 and capacities1 they may be as so many speaking figures1 so many sounds and voices1 preachers and trumpets1 giving glory and praise1 and thanksgiving to that ,deity of love1 which gives life to all nature4 ,for every creature1 call it by what name you will1 had its form1 and power1 and state1 and place in nature for no other end1 but to open and enjoy1 to manifest and rejoice in some share of the love and happiness1 and goodness of the ,deity4 ,now this is the one will and work of ,god1 in1 and through all creatures4 ,from eternity to eternity he can will1 and intend nothing towards them1 in them1 or by them1 but the communication of various degrees of his own love1 goodness and happiness to them1 according to their state and place1 and capacity4 ,this is ,god's unchangeable disposition towards the creature2 he can be nothing else1 but all goodness towards it2 because he can be nothing towards the creature1 but that which he is1 and was1 and ever shall be in himself4 ,theogenes4 ,pray1 ,theophilus1 let me ask you1 ,does not patience and pity1 and mercy begin to be in ,god1 and only then begin1 when the creature has brought forth itself into misery8 ,they could have no existence in the ,deity before4 ,theophilus4 ',tis true1 ,theogenes1 that ,god can only then begin to make known his mercy and patience1 when the creature has lost its rectitude and happiness2 yet nothing then begins to be in ,god1 or to be found in him1 but that which was always in him1 in the same infinite state1 viz4 a will to all goodness1 and which can will nothing else4 ,and his patience and mercy1 which could not shew forth themselves1 till sin had brought forth misery1 were not new tempers1 or the beginning of some new disposition1 that was not in ,god before1 but only new and occasional manifestations of that boundless1 eternal will to all goodness1 which always was in ,god in the same height and depth4 ,the will to all goodness1 which is ,god himself1 began to display itself in a new way1 when it first gave birth to creatures4 ,the same will to all goodness began to manifest itself in another new way1 when it became patience and compassion towards fallen creatures4 ,but neither of these ways are the beginning of any new tempers or qualities in ,god1 but only new and occasional manifestations of that true eternal will to all goodness1 which always was1 and always will be1 in the same fulness in ,god4 ,and salvation is1 and can be nothing else1 but the manifestation of the life of ,god in the soul4 ,how clearly does this give the solid distinction between inward holiness1 and all outward practices4 ,all that ,god has done for man by any particular dispensations1 whether by the law or the prophets1 by the scriptures1 or ordinances of the church1 are only as helps to an holiness1 which they cannot give1 but are only suited to the death and darkness of the earthly life1 to turn it from itself1 from its own workings1 and awaken in it a faith and hope1 a hunger and thirst after that first union with the ,deity1 which was lost in the fall of the first father of mankind4 99,how unreasonable is it1 to call perpetual inspiration fanaticism1 and enthusiasm1 when there cannot be the least degree of goodness or happiness in any intelligent being1 but what is in its whole nature1 merely and truly the breathing1 the life1 and the operation of ,god in the life of the creature8 ,for if goodness can only be in ,god1 if it cannot exist separate from him1 if he can only bless and sanctify by himself becoming the blessing and sanctification of the creature1 then it is the highest degree of blindness to look for any goodness1 and happiness from any thing but the immediate indwelling1 union and operation of the ,deity in the creature4 ,perpetual inspiration1 therefore1 is in the nature of the thing as necessary to a life of goodness1 holiness1 and happiness1 as the perpetual respiration of the air is necessary to animal life4 99,for the life of the creature1 whilst possessing nothing but itself1 is hell2 that is1 it is all pain and want and distress4 ,now nothing can help it to be in light and love1 in peace and goodness1 but the union of ,god with it1 and the life of ,god working in it1 because nothing but ,god is light1 and love1 and heavenly goodness4 ,and1 therefore1 where the life of ,god is not become the life and goodness of the creature1 it cannot have the least degree of goodness in it4 ,what a mistake is it1 therefore1 to confine inspiration to particular times and occasions1 to prophets and apostles1 and extraordinary messengers of ,god6 and to call it enthusiasm1 when the common ,christian looks1 and trusts to be continually led and inspired by the ,spirit of ,god6 ,for tho' all are not called to be prophets1 or apostles1 yet all are called to be holy1 as he who has called them is holy1 to be perfect as their heavenly ,father is perfect1 to be like minded with ,christ1 to will only as ,god wills1 to do all to his honour and glory1 to renounce the spirit of this world1 to have their conversation in heaven1 to set their affections on things above1 to love ,god1 with all their heart1 soul1 and spirit1 and their neighbour as themselves4 ,behold a work as great1 as divine and supernatural1 as that of a prophet and an apostle4 ,but to suppose that we ought1 and may always be in this spirit of holiness1 and yet are not1 and ought not to be always moved and led by the ,spirit of ,god1 within us1 is to suppose1 that there is a holiness and goodness which comes not from ,god2 which is no better than supposing1 that there may be true prophets and apostles who have not their truth from ,god4 ,now the holiness of the common ,christian is not an occasional thing1 that begins and ends1 or is only for such a time1 or place1 or action1 but is the holiness of that1 which is always alive1 and stirring in us1 namely1 of our thoughts1 wills1 and affections4 ,if therefore these are always alive in us1 always governing our lives1 then a perpetual operation of the ,spirit of ,god within us1 is absolutely necessary4 ,for we cannot be inwardly led and governed by a spirit of goodness1 but by being governed by the ,spirit of ,god himself4 ,if our thoughts1 wills1 and affections1 need only be now and then holy and good1 then1 indeed1 the ,spirit of ,god need only now and then govern us4 ,but if our thoughts and affections are to be always holy1 then the holy ,spirit of ,god is to be always operating within us4 ,the scripture saith1 ,we are not sufficient of ourselves to think a good thought4 ,if so1 then we cannot be chargeable with not thinking1 and willing that which is good1 but upon this supposition1 that there is always a supernatural power ready1 and able to help us to the good1 which we cannot have from ourselves4 ,how firmly our established church adheres to this doctrine of the necessity of the perpetual operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 as the one only source of any degree of divine light1 wisdom1 virtue1 and goodness in the soul of man2 how earnestly she requires all her members to live in the most open profession of it1 and in the highest conformity to it1 may be seen by many such prayers as these in her ordinary1 public service4 ,o ,god for as much as without thee1 we are not able to please thee1 grant that thy ,holy ,spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts4 ,again we pray thee1 that thy grace may ,,always prevent and follow us1 and make us ,,continually to be given to all good works4 ,again1 ,grant to us1 ,lord1 we beseech thee1 the ,spirit to think and do ,,always such things as be rightful1 that we1 who cannot do ,,any ,,thing that is good1 ,,without thee1 may1 by thee1 be enabled to live according to thy will4 ,again1 ,because the frailty of man1 ,,without thee1 ,,cannot ,,but ,,fall1 keep us ,,ever1 by thy ,,help1 from all things hurtful1 and ,,lead us to all things profitable to our salvation1 c4 ,again1 ,o ,god from whom all good things do come1 grant to us1 thy humble servants1 that by ,,thy holy ,,inspiration1 we may ,,think those things that be good1 and1 by thy merciful ,,guiding1 may ,,perform the same4 ,and now1 ,eusebius1 how is the great controversy about religion1 and salvation1 shortened4 8shortned0 replaced with 8shortened0 ,for since the one work of ,christ as your ,redeemer1 is to take from the earthly life of flesh and blood1 its usurped power1 and to raise the smothered spark of heaven1 out of death1 into life1 your one work also1 under your ,redeemer is fully known4 ,and you have the utmost certainty1 what you are to do1 where you are to seek1 and in what you are to find your salvation4 ,all that you have to do1 is to oppose1 resist1 to renounce the evil tempers1 and workings of your earthly nature4 ,you want no deliverance1 but from the power of yourself4 ,this is the one murderer of the divine life within you4 ,and every thing that your earthly nature does1 is under the influence of self-will1 self-love1 and self-seeking1 whether it carries you to laudable1 or blameable practices1 all is done in the nature and spirit of ,cain1 and only helps you to such goodness1 as when ,cain slew his brother4 ,for every action and motion of self1 has the spirit of antichrist1 and murders the divine life within you4 ,judge not therefore of yourself1 by considering how many of those things you do1 which divines and moralists call virtue and goodness1 nor how much you abstain from those things1 which they call sin and vice4 ,but daily and hourly1 in every step that you take1 see to the spirit that is within you1 whether it be heaven1 or earth that guides you4 ,and judge every thing to be sin and ,satan1 in which your earthly nature1 has any share of life in you2 nor think that any goodness is in you1 but so far as it is an actual death to the pride1 the vanity1 the wrath1 and selfish tempers of your fallen1 earthly life4 ,again1 here you see1 where and how you are to seek your salvation1 not in taking up your travelling-staff1 or crossing the seas to find out a new ,luther or a new ,calvin1 to cloath yourself with their opinions4 ,no4 ,the oracle is at home1 that always speaks the truth to you2 nothing is your truth1 but that good and that evil which is within you4 ,for salvation or damnation is not an outward thing1 but springs up within you4 ,what you are in yourself1 what is doing in yourself1 is either your salvation or damnation4 ,again nothing that we do is bad1 but for this reason1 because it resists the power1 and working of ,god within us2 and nothing that we do1 can be good1 but because it conforms1 to the ,spirit of ,god within us4 ,and therefore1 you have the utmost certainty1 that ,god1 salvation and the kingdom of heaven1 are within you1 and that all outward religion1 from the fall of man to this day1 is not for itself1 but merely for the sake of an inward and divine life1 which was lost when ,adam died his first death in paradise4 ,so that it may well be said1 circumcision is nothing1 and uncircumcision is nothing1 because nothing is wanted1 but a new creature1 called out of the death and darkness of flesh and blood1 into the light1 life and perfection of its first creation4 ,and thus also1 you have the fullest proof in what your salvation precisely consists4 ,not in any historic faith1 or knowledge of any thing absent1 or distant from you1 not in any variety of restraints1 rules1 and methods of practising virtues1 not in any formality of opinion about faith and works1 repentance1 forgiveness of sins1 or justification1 and sanctification1 not in any truth1 or righteousness1 that you can have from yourself1 from the best of men or books1 but wholly and solely in the life of ,god4 ,theogenes4 ,i have not the least doubt about any of these things4 ,it is visible1 that there can be no medium in this matter1 either religion must be all spiritual1 or all carnal2 that is1 we must either take up with the grossness of the ,sadducees1 who say1 there is neither angel nor spirit1 or with such purification as the ,pharisees had from their washing of pots and vessels1 and tithing their mint and rue2 we must1 ,i say1 either acquiesce in this carnality1 or we must profess a religion1 that is all spirit and life1 and merely for the sake of raising up an inward spiritual life of heaven1 that fell into death in our first father4 99,theophilus4 ,oh ,theogenes6 ,what an eternity is that1 out of which1 and for which thy eternal soul was created8 ,what little1 crawling things are all that an earthly ambition can set before thee8 ,bear with patience for awhile the rags of thy earthly nature1 the veil and darkness of flesh and blood1 as the lot of thy inheritance from father ,adam1 but think nothing worth a thought but that which will bring thee back to thy first glory1 and land thee safe in the region of eternity4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,spirit of ,,love4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,a dialogue between ,theogenes1 ,eusebius1 and ,theophilus4 ,eusebius4 ,,the doctrine of the spirit of love1 cannot have more power over me1 or be more deeply rooted in me1 than it is already4 ,it has so gained possession of my whole heart1 that every thing else must be under its dominion4 ,i can do nothing else but love2 it is my whole nature1 ,i have no taste for any thing else4 ,can this matter be carried higher in practice8 ,theophilus4 ,no higher1 ,eusebius4 ,and was this the true state of your heart1 you would bid fair to leave the world as ,elijah did4 ,for was there nothing but this divine love alive in you1 your fallen flesh and blood would be in danger of being burnt up by it4 ,what you have said of yourself1 you have spoken in great sincerity1 but in a total ignorance of yourself1 and of the spirit of divine love4 ,you are as yet only charmed with the sight1 or rather the sound of it2 its real birth is as yet unfelt1 and unfound in you4 ,your natural complexion has a great deal of the animal meekness and softness of the lamb1 and the dove2 your blood and spirit are of this turn2 and therefore a ,god all love1 and a religion all love1 quite transport you2 and you are so delighted with it1 that you fancy you have nothing in you1 but this religion of love4 ,but1 my friend1 bear with me1 if ,i tell you1 that all this is only the good part of the spirit of this world1 and may be in any unregenerate man1 that is of your complexion4 ,it is so far from being a genuine fruit of divine love1 that if it be not well looked to1 it may prove a real hindrance of it1 as it oftentimes does1 by its appearing to be that which it is not4 ,you have quite forgot all that was said in the letter to you on the spirit of love4 ,you may love it as much as you please1 think it the most charming thing in the world1 fancy every thing but dross and dung1 in comparison of it1 and yet have no more of it in you1 than the blind man has of that light1 of which he has got a most charming notion4 ,eusebius4 ,but if ,i am got no farther than this1 what good have ,i from giving in so heartily to all that you have said of this doctrine8 ,theophilus4 ,your error lies in this2 you confound two things1 which are entirely distinct from each other4 ,you make no difference betwixt the doctrine1 that only sets forth the nature1 excellency1 and necessity of the spirit of love1 and the spirit of love itself2 which yet are two things so different1 that you may be quite full of the former1 and at the same time quite empty of the latter4 ,i have said every thing that ,i could1 to shew you the excellency and necessity of the spirit of love3 it is of infinite importance to you to be well established in the belief of this doctrine4 ,but all that ,i have said of it1 is only to encourage you to buy it1 at its own price1 and to give all that for it1 which alone can purchase it4 ,but if you think you have got it1 because you are so highly pleased with that which you have heard of it1 you only embrace the shadow1 instead of the substance4 ,eusebius4 ,what is the price that ,i must give for it8 ,theophilus4 ,you must give up all that you are1 and all that you have from fallen ,adam2 for all that you are and have from him1 is that life of flesh and blood1 which cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,adam1 after his fall1 had nothing that was good in him1 nothing that could inherit an eternal life in heaven1 but a seed of grace4 ,every thing else in him was devoted to death1 that this incorruptible seed might grow up in ,christ ,jesus4 ,theogenes4 ,i am afraid the matter is much worse with me1 than it is with ,eusebius4 ,for tho' this doctrine1 seems to have got all my heart1 as it is a doctrine2 yet ,i am continually thrown out of it in practice1 and find myself as much under the power of my old tempers and passions1 as ,i was before ,i was so full of this doctrine4 ,theophilus4 ,you are to know1 my friends1 that every kind of virtue and goodness1 may be brought into us1 by two different ways4 ,they may be taught us outwardly by men1 by rules and precepts2 and they may be inwardly wrought in us4 ,in the former way1 as we learn them only from men1 they at best1 only change our outward behaviour1 leave our heart in its natural state1 only put our passions under a forced restraint1 which will occasionally break forth1 in spite of precept and doctrine4 ,now this way of learning goodness1 tho' thus imperfect1 is yet absolutely necessary1 in the nature of the thing1 and must first have its time1 and place1 and work in us2 yet it is only for a time1 as the law was a school-master to the gospel4 ,we must first be babes in doctrine1 as well as in strength1 before we can be men4 ,but of all this outward instruction1 whether from good men1 or the letter of scripture1 it must be said1 as the apostle saith of the law1 that it maketh nothing perfect4 ,the true profitableness of the written word of ,god1 is fully set forth by ,st4 ,paul to ,timothy3 from a child1 saith he1 thou hast known the scriptures1 which are able to make thee wise unto salvation1 which is by faith in ,christ ,jesus4 ,now these scriptures were the law and the prophets1 for ,timothy had known no other from his youth4 ,and as they1 so all other scriptures since1 have no other good1 or benefit in them1 but as they lead us to a salvation1 that is not to be had in themselves1 but from faith in ,christ ,jesus4 ,their teaching is only to teach us1 where to seek and to find the fountain of all light and knowledge4 ,of the law saith the apostle1 it was a school-master to ,christ4 ,the same thing is to be affirmed of the letter of the ,new ,testament2 it is but our school-master unto ,christ4 ,nor can the thing possibly be otherwise2 no instruction that comes under the form of words can do more for us1 than sounds1 and words can do2 they can only direct us to something that is better than themselves1 that can be the true light1 life1 spirit1 and power of holiness in us4 8hoiliness0 replaced with 8holiness0 ,eusebius4 ,i cannot deny what you say1 and yet it seems to me to derogate from scripture4 ,theophilus4 ,would you then have me to say1 that the written word of ,god1 is that word of ,god1 which liveth1 and abideth for ever2 that word1 which was with ,god1 which was ,god1 by whom all things were made2 that word of ,god1 which was made flesh for the redemption of the world2 that word which lighteth every man1 that cometh into the world2 that word1 which in ,christ ,jesus is become wisdom1 and righteousness1 and sanctification in us2 would you have me say1 that all this is to be understood of the written word of ,god8 ,if this cannot possibly be1 then all that ,i have said is granted1 namely1 that ,jesus is alone that word of ,god1 that can be the light1 life1 and salvation of fallen man4 ,and how is it possible more to exalt the letter of scripture1 than by owning it to be a true1 outward direction to the one only true light1 and salvation of man4 ,suppose you had been a true disciple of ,john the ,baptist1 whose office was1 to prepare the way to ,christ1 how could you have more magnified his office1 than by going from his teaching1 to be taught by ,christ8 ,the ,baptist was indeed a burning and a shining light1 and so are the holy scriptures2 but he was not that light1 but was sent to bear witness of that light4 ,that was the true light1 which lighteth every man1 that cometh into the world4 ,what a folly would it be to say that you had undervalued the office1 and the character of ,john the ,baptist1 because he was not allowed to be the light itself1 but only a true witness of it1 and guide to it8 ,now if you can shew1 that the written word can have any other1 or higher office1 or power1 than such a ministerial one as the ,baptist had1 ,i am ready to hear you4 ,eusebius4 ,there is no possibility of doing that4 ,theophilus4 ,but if that is not possible to be done1 then you are to come to the full proof of this point1 viz4 that there are two ways of attaining knowledge1 goodness1 virtue1 the one by outward1 verbal instruction1 either by men or books1 and the other by inward light1 goodness1 and virtue1 in our own renewed spirit2 and that the former is only in order to the latter1 and of no benefit to us1 but as it carries us farther than itself1 to be united in heart and spirit with the light and ,spirit of ,god4 ,just as the ,baptist had been of no benefit to his disciples1 unless he had been their guide from himself to ,christ4 ,but to come closer to this subject4 ,from this twofold teaching1 there necessarily arises1 a twofold state of goodness4 ,for such as the teacher1 or teaching is1 such is the goodness that can be had from it4 ,every effect must be according to the cause that produces it4 ,if you learn goodness only from outward means1 from men or books1 you may be virtuous and good according to outward forms2 you may do works of humility1 works of love and benevolence1 use times and forms of prayer3 all this virtue and goodness is suitable to this kind of teaching4 ,but the spirit of prayer1 the spirit of love1 and the spirit of humility1 or of any other virtue1 are only to be attained by the operation of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 not outwardly teaching1 but awakening within us4 ,and now let me tell you both1 it is much to be feared1 you as yet stand only under this outward teaching2 your good works are only done under obedience to such rules and doctrines as your reason assents to1 but are not the fruits of a new-born spirit within you4 ,but till you are thus renewed in the spirit of your minds1 your virtues are only taught practices1 and grafted upon a corrupt bottom4 ,every thing you do1 will be a mixture of good or bad2 your humility will help you to pride1 your charity to others will give nourishment to your own self-love1 and as your prayers increase1 so will the opinion of your own sanctity4 ,because1 till the heart is purified1 and has felt the axe at the root of its evil1 7which cannot be done by outward instruction7 every thing that proceeds from it1 partakes of its impurity and corruption4 ,now that ,theogenes is only under the law1 or outward instruction1 is plain from the complaint he made of himself4 ,for notwithstanding his progress in the doctrine of love1 he finds all his corrupt nature still alive in him1 and himself only altered in opinion4 ,the same may be well suspected of you1 ,eusebius1 who are so mistaken in the spirit of love1 that you fancy yourself to be wholly possessed of it1 from no other ground1 but because you embrace it1 as it were with open arms1 and think of nothing but living under the power of it4 ,whereas1 if the spirit of love was really in you1 you would account for its birth1 and power in you1 in quite another manner1 you would have known the price that you had paid for it1 before the spirit of love was in you4 ,eusebius4 ,but1 surely1 ,sir1 imperfect as our virtues are1 we are under something more than mere outward instruction4 ,we expect all our goodness from the ,spirit of ,god dwelling and working in us4 ,we live in hope of the divine operation2 and therefore your censure upon us seems to be too severe4 ,theophilus4 ,dear ,eusebius1 ,i censure neither of you4 ,so far from it1 that ,i love and approve the state you are in4 ,it is good for ,theogenes1 that he feels and confesses his natural tempers are not yet subdued4 ,it is good for you also1 that you are so highly delighted with the doctrine of love1 for by this means1 both of you have your true preparation for farther advancement4 ,but tho' your state has this difference1 yet the same error was common to both of you4 ,you both thought you had as much of the spirit of love as you ought to have2 and therefore ,theogenes wondered he had no more benefit from it2 and you wondered that ,i should desire to lead you farther into it4 ,and therefore1 to deliver you from this error1 ,i have desired this conference upon the practical ground of the spirit of love1 that you may neither of you lose the benefit of that state in which you stand4 ,eusebius4 ,pray therefore proceed as you please4 ,for we have nothing so much at heart1 as to have the truth and purity of this divine love in us4 ,for as it is the highest perfection1 that ,i adore in ,god1 so ,i cannot desire any thing1 but to be totally governed by it4 ,i could as willingly consent to lose my being1 as to find the power of love lost in my soul4 ,neither doctrine1 nor mystery1 nor precept1 has any delight for me1 but as it calls forth that spirit1 which doth all that it doth1 towards ,god and man1 under the one law of love4 99,theophilus4 ,i apprehend that you don't yet know what divine love is in itself1 nor what is its nature and power in the soul of man4 ,for divine love brings perfect peace and joy1 a freedom from all disquiet1 all content and happiness4 ,love wherever it comes1 comes as the restorer of every lost perfection1 a redeemer from all evil1 a fulfiller of all righteousness4 ,thro' all the universe nothing is uneasy1 unsatisfied1 or restless1 but because it is not governed by love1 or because its nature has not reached or attained the full spirit of love4 ,for when that is done1 all complaining1 murmuring1 resenting1 revenging and striving are suppressed4 ,if you ask why the spirit of love cannot be displeased1 cannot be disappointed1 cannot complain1 resent or murmur1 it is because divine love desires nothing but itself2 it is its own good1 it has all1 when it has itself1 because nothing is good but itself1 and its own working2 for love is ,god1 and he that dwelleth in ,god1 dwelleth in love2 tell me now1 ,eusebius1 are you thus blessed in the spirit of love8 ,eusebius4 ,would you have me tell you1 that ,i am an angel8 ,and without the infirmities of human flesh and blood8 99,theophilus4 ,no2 but ,i would have you judge of your state of love1 by these angelical tempers1 and not by any transient fervour4 ,for just as far as you are freed from the folly of all earthly affections1 from all disquiet1 trouble and complaint about this or that1 just so far is the spirit of love in you4 ,for divine love is a new life1 and new nature1 and introduces you into a new world2 it puts an end to all your former opinions and tempers1 it opens new senses in you1 and makes you see high to be low1 and low to be high2 wisdom to be foolishness1 and foolishness wisdom2 it makes prosperity and adversity1 praise and dispraise1 to be equally nothing4 ,when ,i was a child1 saith the apostle1 ,i thought as a child1 ,i spake as a child1 but when ,i became a man1 ,i put away childish things4 ,whilst man is under the power of nature1 governed only by worldly wisdom1 his life 7however old he may be7 is quite childish2 every thing about him only awakens childish thoughts1 and pursuits in him3 all that he sees and hears1 all that he desires or fears1 likes or dislikes2 that which he gets1 and that which he loses2 that which he hath1 and that which he hath not1 serve only to carry him from this fiction of evil1 to that fiction of good1 from one vanity of peace1 to another vanity of trouble4 ,but when divine love is in the soul1 all childish images of good and evil are done away1 and all the sensibility of them is lost1 as the stars lose their visibility1 when the sun is risen4 ,and now we are fairly brought to the one great practical point1 on which our proficiency in the spirit of love depends4 ,namely1 that all we are1 and all we have from ,adam1 as fallen1 must be given up absolutely1 if divine love is to be brought forth in us4 ,for as all that we are by nature1 is in full contrariety to this divine love1 so a death to ourselves is its only cure1 and nothing else can make it subservient to good4 ,theogenes4 ,i now sufficiently see1 how man stands in the midst of heaven and hell1 under an absolute necessity of belonging wholly to the one1 or wholly to the other1 as soon as this cover of materiality is taken off from him4 ,for matter is his only wall of partition between them1 he is equally nigh to both of them3 and as light and love make all the difference there is between heaven and hell1 so nothing but light and love wrought in his soul1 can possibly keep hell out of it1 or bring heaven into it4 ,i now also see the full truth1 and certainty of what you said of the nature and power of divine love2 viz4 that it brings perfect peace and joy1 a freedom from all disquiet1 making every thing to rejoice in itself4 ,that wherever it comes1 it comes as the blessing and happiness of every natural life2 as the restorer of every lost perfection2 a redeemer from all evil2 a fulfiller of all righteousness4 ,so that ,i am now a thousand times more than ever athirst after the spirit of love4 ,i am willing to sell all1 and buy it2 its blessing is so great1 and the want of it so dreadful1 that ,i am even afraid of lying down in my bed1 till every power of my soul is given up to it1 wholly possessed and governed by it4 ,theophilus4 ,you have reason for all you say1 ,theogenes2 for were we truly affected with things1 as they are our real good or evil1 we should be much more afraid of having the serpents of covetousness1 envy1 pride1 and wrath1 kept alive within us1 than of being shut up in a pest-house1 or cast into a dungeon of venomous beasts4 ,on the other hand1 we should look upon the lofty eloquence1 and proud virtue of a ,cicero1 but as the blessing of storm and tempest1 when compared with the heavenly tranquility of that meek and lowly heart1 to which our ,redeemer has called us4 ,theogenes4 ,i could almost say1 that you have shewn me more than enough of this monster of self1 though ,i would not be without this knowledge of it for half the world4 ,but now1 ,sir1 what must ,i do to be saved from the mouth of this lion1 for he is the depth of all subtlety1 and deceiveth the whole world4 ,he can hide himself1 under all the forms of goodness1 he can watch and fast1 write and instruct1 pray much1 and preach long1 give alms to the poor1 visit the sick1 and yet often gets more life and strength1 and a more unmoveable abode1 in these forms of virtue1 than he has in publicans and sinners4 ,enjoin me therefore1 whatever you please1 all rules1 methods1 and practices will be welcome to me1 if you judge them to be necessary in this matter4 ,theophilus4 ,there is no need of a number of practices1 or methods4 ,for to die to self1 or to come from under its power1 is not1 cannot be done by any active resistance we can make to it by the powers of nature4 ,for nature can no more suppress itself1 than wrath can heal wrath4 ,so long as nature acts1 nothing but natural acts are brought forth1 and therefore the more labour of this kind1 the more nature is fed and strengthened1 with its own food4 ,but the one true way of dying to self1 is most simple and plain2 it wants no arts or methods1 no cells1 monasteries1 or pilgrimages1 it is equally practicable by every body1 it is always at hand1 it meets you in every thing1 it is free from all deceit1 and is never without success4 ,if you ask what this one1 true1 simple way is3 it is the way of patience1 meekness1 humility and resignation to ,god4 ,this is the truth and perfection of dying to oneself2 it is no where else1 but in this state of heart4 ,theogenes4 ,the excellency and perfection of these virtues1 ,i acknowledge2 but alas1 ,sir1 how will this prove the way of overcoming oneself to be so simple and immediate1 as you speak8 ,for is it not the doctrine of almost all men1 and all books1 and confirmed by our own woeful experience1 that much length of time1 and exercise1 and variety of practices and methods are necessary1 and scarce sufficient to the attainment of any one of these four virtues8 ,theophilus4 ,when ,christ our ,saviour was upon earth1 was there any thing more simple and plain1 than the way to him8 ,did ,scribes1 ,pharisees1 ,publicans1 and ,sinners want any length of time1 or exercise of rules and methods before they could have admission to him1 or have the benefit of faith in him8 ,theogenes4 ,i don't understand why you put this question1 nor do ,i see how it can relate to the matter before us4 ,theophilus4 ,it not only relates to1 but is the very truth of the matter before us3 for when ,i refer you to patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god1 as the one simple1 plain1 immediate1 way of dying to yourself4 ,i call it so1 for no other reason1 but because you can as easily and immediately1 without art or method1 have all the benefit of these virtues1 as ,publicans and ,sinners by their turning to ,christ1 could be helped1 and saved by him4 ,theogenes4 ,but1 good ,sir1 would you have me believe1 that my turning and giving up myself to these virtues1 is as certain and immediate a way of my being possessed of their power1 as when sinners turned to ,christ to be helped1 and saved by him8 ,surely this is too short a way1 and has too much of miracle in it1 to be now expected4 99,theophilus4 ,i would have you strictly believe all this1 in the fullest sense of the words4 ,and also to believe1 that the reasons why you1 or any one else1 are for a long time vainly endeavouring after1 and hardly ever attaining these virtues1 is because you seek them in the way they are not to be found1 in a multiplicity of human rules1 methods1 and contrivances1 and not in that simplicity of faith1 in which1 those who applied to ,christ1 immediately obtained that which they asked of him8 99,come unto me1 all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will refresh you4 ,how short and simple and certain a way to peace and comfort1 from the misery and burthen of sin6 ,what becomes now of your length of time1 and exercise1 your rules and methods1 and round-about ways1 to be delivered from the power of sin1 and find the redeeming power1 and virtue of ,christ8 ,will you say1 that turning to ,christ in faith was once indeed the way for ,jews and ,heathens to enter into life1 and be delivered from the power of their sins1 but that all this happiness was at an end1 as soon as ,pontius ,pilate had nailed this good ,redeemer to the cross1 and so broke off all immediate union and communion between faith and ,christ8 99,what a folly would it be to suppose that ,christ1 after his having finished his great work1 overcome death1 ascended into heaven1 with all power in heaven and on earth1 was become less a ,saviour1 and gave less certain and immediate helps to those that by faith turn to him now1 than when he was cloathed with the infirmity of our flesh and blood upon earth8 ,has he less power after he has conquered1 than whilst he was only resisting and fighting with our enemies8 ,or has he less good will to assist his church1 his own body1 now he is in heaven1 than he had to assist ,publicans1 ,sinners and ,heathens1 before he was glorified8 ,and yet this must be the case1 if our simply turning to him in faith1 is not as sure a way of obtaining immediate assistance from him now1 as when he was upon earth4 ,theogenes4 ,you seem1 ,sir1 to me1 to have stepped aside from the point1 which was not1 whether my giving myself up to ,christ in faith1 would not do me as much good1 as it did to them1 who turned to him when he was upon earth8 ,but whether my turning in faith and desire1 to patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god1 would do all that as fully for me now1 as faith in ,christ did for those who became his disciples8 ,theophilus4 ,i have stuck closely1 my friend1 to the point before us4 ,let it be supposed1 that ,i had given you a form of prayer in these words1 ,o ,lamb of ,god that takest away the sins of the world1 or1 ,o thou bread that comest down from heaven1 or1 ,thou that art the resurrection1 and the life1 the light and peace of all holy souls1 help me to a living faith in thee4 ,would you say1 that this was not a prayer of faith in1 and to ,christ1 because it did not call him ,jesus1 or the ,son of ,god8 ,answer me plainly4 ,theogenes4 ,what can ,i answer you1 but that this is a true prayer to ,jesus1 the ,son of the living ,god8 ,for who else but he1 was the ,lamb of ,god1 and the bread that came down4 ,theophilus4 ,well answered1 my friend4 ,when therefore1 ,i exhort you to give up yourself in faith and hope1 to patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god1 what else do ,i do1 but turn you directly to so much faith and hope in the true ,lamb of ,god8 ,must you not say1 that faith and desire of these virtues1 is the very same thing1 as faith and desire of salvation through the ,lamb of ,god8 ,and consequently1 that every sincere wish and desire that presses after these virtues1 and longs to be governed by them1 is an immediate1 direct application to ,christ1 is worshipping and falling down before him1 is giving up yourself unto him1 and the very perfection of faith in him8 ,if you distrust my words1 hear the words of ,christ himself2 ,learn of me1 says he1 for ,i am meek and lowly of heart1 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,here you have the plain truth of our two points1 fully asserted1 first1 that to be given up to1 patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god1 is strictly the same thing1 as to learn of ,christ1 or to have faith in him4 ,secondly1 that this is the one simple1 short1 and infallible way to overcome1 or be delivered from all the malignity and burden of sin expressed in these words2 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,and all this1 because this simple tendency of your heart1 to sink down into patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god1 is truly giving up all that you are1 and all that you have from fallen ,adam1 it is perfectly leaving all that you have1 to follow1 and be with ,christ1 it is your highest act of faith in him1 and love of him1 a declaration of your cleaving to him with all your heart1 and seeking for no salvation but in him1 and from him4 ,and therefore all the blessing and deliverance from sin1 that ever happened to any one from any kind or degree of faith1 and application to ,christ1 is sure to be had from this state of heart1 which stands continually turned to him in a desire of being led and governed by his spirit of patience1 meekness1 humility and resignation to ,god4 ,o ,theogenes1 could ,i help you to perceive what a good there is in this state of heart1 you would desire it with more eagerness1 that the thirsty hart desireth the water-brooks1 you would think of nothing1 desire nothing1 but constantly to live in it4 ,it is a security from all evil1 and all delusion2 no difficulty or trial1 either of body or mind1 no temptation either within you1 or without you1 but what has its full remedy in this state of heart4 ,you have no questions to ask of any body1 no new way that you need enquire after2 no oracle that you need to consult1 for whilst you shut up yourself in patience1 meekness1 humility and resignation to ,god1 you are in the very arms of ,christ1 your whole heart is his dwelling-place1 and he lives and works in you1 as certainly as he lived in1 and governed that body and soul1 which he took from the ,virgin ,mary4 ,learn whatever you will from men and books1 or even from ,christ himself1 besides1 or without these virtues1 and you are only a poor wanderer in a barren wilderness1 where no water of life is to be found4 ,for ,christ is no where1 but in these virtues1 and where they are1 there is he in his own kingdom4 ,from morning to night1 let this be the object you follow1 and then you will fully escape all the religious delusions that are in the world1 and what is more1 all the delusions of your own selfish heart4 ,for when these tempers live and abide in you1 as the spirit and aim of your life1 then ,christ is in you of a truth1 and the life that you then lead1 is not yours1 but ,christ liveth in you4 ,for this is following ,christ with all your power3 you cannot possibly make more haste after him1 you have no other way of walking as he walked1 no other way of being like him1 of truly believing in him1 but by wholly giving up yourself to patience1 meekness1 humility1 and resignation to ,god4 ,but observe4 ,there is no way to attain this without a total despair of all human help4 ,when a man is brought to such an inward1 full conviction1 as to have no more hope from all human means1 than he hopes to see with his hands1 or hear with his feet1 then it is1 that he is truly prepared to die to sin2 that is1 to give up all thoughts of having or doing any thing that is good1 in any other way but that of a meek1 humble1 patient1 total resignation of himself to ,god4 ,all that we do before this conviction is in great ignorance of ourselves1 and full of weakness and impurity4 ,let our zeal be ever so wonderful1 yet if it is not led and guided by this conviction1 it is full of delusion4 ,for ,god must do all1 or all is nothing2 but ,god cannot do all1 till all is expected from him2 and all is not expected from him1 till despairing of ever human help1 we trust in ,christ alone for a patient1 meek1 humble1 total resignation to ,god4 ,and now1 my dear friends1 ,i have brought you to the very place for which ,i desired this day's conversation2 which was1 to set your feet upon sure ground1 with regard to the spirit of love4 ,for all that variety of matters1 through which we have passed1 has been only a variety of proofs1 that the spirit of divine love can have no place1 in any fallen creature1 till it wills and chooses to be dead to all sin in a patient1 meek1 humble resignation to the power and mercy of ,god4 ,and from this state of heart also1 it is1 that the spirit of prayer is born1 which is the desire of the soul turned to ,god4 ,stand1 therefore1 steadfastly in this will1 let nothing else enter into your mind1 have no other contrivance1 but every where1 and in every thing to nourish1 and keep up this state of heart1 and then the light of heaven1 and the love of ,god1 will begin their work in you1 will bless and sanctify every power of your fallen soul1 you will be in a readiness for every kind of virtue and good work1 and will know what it is to be led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,theogenes4 ,but permit me to mention a fear that rises in me4 ,suppose ,i should find myself so overcome with my own selfish tempers1 as not to be able to sink from them1 into this meek1 humble1 patient1 full resignation to ,god2 what must ,i then do1 or how shall ,i have the benefit of what you have taught me8 99,theophilus4 ,you are then at the very time1 and place of receiving the fullest benefit from it4 ,for tho' this patient1 meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all outward things2 yet it chiefly respects our inward state1 the troubles1 perplexities1 weaknesses1 and disorders of our fallen souls4 ,when you are most sensible of these1 seek for help no other way1 but wholly leave and give up yourself to be helped by the mercy of ,god4 ,and thus1 be your state what it will1 you may always have the full benefit of this short1 and sure way of resigning yourself to ,god4 ,and the greater your distress is1 the nearer you are to the greatest and best relief1 provided you have but patience to expect it all from ,god4 ,for nothing brings you so near divine relief1 as the extremity of distress2 for the goodness of ,god hath no other name or nature1 but the helper of all that wants to be helped2 and nothing can possibly hinder your finding this goodness of ,god1 and every other gift and grace that you stand in need of2 nothing can hinder or delay it1 but your turning from the only fountain of living water1 to some broken cistern of your own making2 to this or that opinion1 division1 or subdivision amongst ,christians1 carnally expecting some mighty things either from ,samaria1 or ,jerusalem1 ,paul1 or ,apollos1 which are only to be had1 by worshipping the ,father in spirit and in truth2 which is then only done1 when your whole heart and soul and spirit trust wholly and solely to the operation of that ,god1 in whom we live1 move1 and have our being4 ,and be assured of this1 that we have neither more nor less of the divine operation within us1 because of this or that outward form1 but strictly in that degree1 as our faith1 and hope1 and trust1 and dependance upon ,god1 is more or less4 99,what a folly then to be so often perplexed about the way to ,god8 ,for nothing is the way to ,god1 but our heart2 ,god is no where else to be found2 and the heart itself cannot find him1 but by its own love of him1 faith in him1 dependance upon him1 resignation to him1 and expectation of all from him4 99,these are short but full articles of true religion1 which carry salvation along with them1 which make a true and full offering of our whole nature to the divine operation1 and also a true and full confession of the holy ,trinity in ,unity4 ,for as they look wholly to the ,father1 as blessing us with the operation of his own word1 and ,spirit1 so they truly confess1 and worship the holy ,trinity of ,god4 ,and as they ascribe all to1 and expect all from this ,deity alone1 so they make the truest and best of all confessions1 that there is no ,god but one4 99,let then ,arians1 ,semi-,arians1 and ,socinians1 who puzzle their laborious brains to make paper-images of a ,trinity for themselves2 have nothing from you1 but your pity and prayers2 your foundation standeth sure1 whilst you look for all your salvation through the ,father1 working life in your soul1 by his own word1 and ,spirit1 which dwell in him1 and are one life1 both in him and you4 ,theogenes4 ,i can never enough thank you1 ,theophilus1 for this comfortable answer to my scrupulous fear4 ,it seems now1 as if ,i could always know how to find full relief in this humble1 meek1 patient1 total resignation of myself to ,god4 ,it is1 as you said1 a remedy that is always at hand1 equally practicable at all times1 and never in greater reality1 than when my own tempers are making war against it in my heart4 ,you have quite carried your point with me2 the ,god of patience1 meekness1 and love1 is the one ,god of my heart4 ,it is now the whole bent1 and desire of my soul1 to seek for all my salvation in1 and thro' the merits and mediation of the meek1 humble1 patient1 resigned1 suffering ,lamb of ,god1 who alone hath power to bring forth these heavenly virtues in my soul4 ,he is the bread of ,god1 that came down from heaven1 of which the soul must eat1 or perish and pine in everlasting hunger4 ,he is the eternal love and meekness1 that left the bosom of his ,father1 to be himself the resurrection of meekness and love1 in all the darkened1 wrathful souls of fallen men4 ,what a comfort is it1 to think that this ,lamb of ,god1 ,son of the ,father1 light of the world1 who is the glory of heaven1 and the joy of angels1 is as near to us1 as truly in the midst of us1 as he is in the midst of heaven4 ,and that not a thought1 look1 and desire of our heart1 that presses towards him1 longing to catch1 as it were1 one small spark of his heavenly nature1 but is in as sure a way of finding him1 touching him1 and drawing virtue from him1 as the woman who was healed1 by longing but to touch the border of his garment4 99,this doctrine also makes me quite weary and ashamed of all my own natural tempers4 ,every whisper of impatience1 uneasiness1 resentment1 pride1 and wrath1 shall be rejected with a get thee behind me1 ,satan1 for it is his1 and has its whole nature from him4 ,to rejoice in a resentment gratified1 appears now to me1 to be quite frightful4 ,for what is it1 in reality1 but rejoicing that the precious ,lamb of ,god is denied entrance into my soul8 ,this is the strict truth of the matter4 ,and to give up all resentment of every kind1 and on every occasion1 however artfully1 beautifully1 coloured1 and to sink down into the humility of meekness under all contrariety1 contradiction and injustice1 always turning the other cheek to the smiter1 however haughty1 is the surest of all means1 to have nothing but ,christ living1 and working in you4 99,what a blindness was it in me1 to think that ,i had no covetousness1 because the love of pelf1 was not felt by me6 ,for to covet1 is to desire2 and what can it signify whether ,i desire this or that8 ,if ,i desire any thing1 but that which ,god would have me to be1 and do1 ,i stick in the mire of covetousness1 and must have all that evil1 and disquiet working in me1 which robs misers of their peace both with ,god and man4 99,oh sweet resignation of myself to ,god1 happy death of every selfish desire1 be thou my guide1 and governor wherever ,i go6 nothing but thee can take me from myself1 nothing but thee can lead me to ,god2 hell has no power1 where thou art2 nor can heaven hide itself from thee4 ,o may ,i never indulge a thought1 bring forth a word1 or do any thing for myself or others1 but under the influence of thy blessed inspiration4 ,the sight1 tho' distant1 of this heavenly ,canaan1 this sabbath of the soul1 resting in meekness1 humility1 patience and resignation1 under the ,spirit of ,god1 is like the joyful voice of the bridegroom to my soul1 and leaves no wish in me1 but to be at the marriage-feast of the ,lamb4 ,theophilus4 ,thither1 ,theogenes1 you must certainly come1 if you keep to the path of meekness1 humility1 patience1 and full resignation to ,god4 ,but if you go aside from it1 let the occasion seem ever so glorious1 or the effects ever so wonderful1 it is only preparing for yourself1 a harder death4 ,for die you must1 to every thing that you have worked or done under any other spirit1 but that of meekness1 humility and true resignation to ,god4 ,for these virtues are the only wedding garment2 they are the lamps1 and vessels well furnished with oil4 ,there is nothing that will do in the stead of them2 they must have their full and perfect work in you1 or the soul can never be delivered from its fallen1 wrathful state4 ,there is no possibility of salvation1 but in this4 ,and when the ,lamb of ,god has brought forth his own meekness1 humility and full resignation to ,god in our souls1 then are our lamps trimmed1 and our virgin-hearts made ready for the marriage-feast4 ,this marriage-feast signifies the entrance into the highest state of union1 that can be between ,god and the soul1 in this life4 ,this birth-day of the spirit of love in our souls1 whenever we attain1 will feast our souls with such peace1 and joy in ,god1 as will blot out the remembrance of every thing1 that we called peace1 or joy before4 ,need ,i say any more to shew you how to come out of the wrath of your evil1 earthly nature1 into the sweet peace and joy of the spirit of love8 ,neither notions1 nor speculations1 nor rules1 nor methods can bring it forth4 ,it is the child of light1 and cannot possibly spring up in in you1 but from the light of ,god rising in your soul1 as it rises in heavenly beings4 ,but the light of ,god cannot arise1 in you1 by any art or contrivance of your own1 but only in the way of that meekness1 humility and patience1 which waits1 trusts1 resigns to1 and expects all from the inward1 living1 life-giving operation of the triune ,god within you2 creating1 quickening1 and reviving in your fallen soul1 that image1 and likeness of the holy ,trinity1 in which the first father of mankind was created4 duplicate word 8in0 removed ,theogenes4 ,you need say no more ,theophilus2 you have confirmed us in a full belief of that great truth namely1 8,that there is but one salvation for all mankind1 and that is the life of ,god1 in the soul4 ,and also1 that there is but one possible way for man to attain this life of ,god1 not one for a ,jew1 another for a ,christian1 and a third for a ,heathen4 ,no1 ,god is one1 human nature is one1 salvation is one1 and the way to it is one1 and that is1 the desire of the soul turned to ,god40 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,,letters4 ,,letter ,i4 ,,in answer to your doubt1 concerning joining any church communion1 ,i will tell you what ,i would do myself4 ,first1 ,as to any defects in the outward form1 and performance of baptism and the supper of the ,lord in the church1 ,i am under little or no concern about them2,because all that is inwardly meant or intended by them1 as the life1 spirit1 and benefit of them1 is subject to no human power1 is wholly transacted between ,god and myself1 and cannot be taken from me1 by any alteration made by man1 in the outward celebration of them4 ,if the church1 in my baptism1 should sprinkle a little milk1 or wine1 instead of water1 upon my face1 it would be no defective baptism to me1 if ,i had all that inward disposition of repentance1 of faith in ,christ1 to be born again of him1 which was meant1 figured1 and implied by such immersion into water1 as was the first baptism4 ,the same may be said of the supper of the ,lord1 however varied in its outward manner from what it was at first1 if the inward truth1 pointed at by it1 is loved and adhered to by me1 ,i have all the benefit that could be had by it1 when it was kept in the same outward form1 in which the first church used it4 ,and therefore the outward celebration of these sacraments is reverenced by me1 wherever they are observed1 as standing in the same place1 and significant of the same inward blessing1 as in their first institution4 ,i join therefore in the public assemblies1 not because of the purity1 or perfection of that which is done2 but because of that which is meant and intended by them2 they mean the holy1 public worship of ,god2 they mean the edification of ,christians2 they are of great use to many people2 they keep the world from a total forgetfulness of ,god2 they help the ignorant and letterless to such a knowledge of ,god1 and the scriptures1 as they would not have without them4 ,and therefore1 fallen as these church assemblies are1 from their first spiritual state1 ,i reverence them1 as the venerable remains of all that1 which once was1 and will1 ,i hope1 be again1 the glory of church assemblies1 viz4 the ministration of the ,spirit1 and not of the letter4 ,and there are two great signs of the near approach of this day1 in two very numerous1 yet very different kinds of people in these kingdoms4 ,in the one sort1 an extraordinary increase of new opinions1 methods1 and religious distinctions1 is worked up to its utmost height4 ,and we see them almost every day running with eagerness from one method to another1 in quest of something1 which they have not been able to find4 ,now1 as the vanity and emptiness of any thing1 or way1 is then only fully discovered1 when it has run all its lengths1 so that nothing remains untried1 to keep up the deceit2 so when strife of opinions1 invented forms1 and all outward distinctions1 have done their utmost1 have no farther that they can go1 then if the zeal was simple and upright1 all must end in this full conviction1 that vanity and emptiness1 burden and deceit1 must follow us in every course we take1 till we expect all1 and receive all1 from the invisible ,god blessing our hearts with all heavenly gifts1 by his eternal1 all-creating word1 and life-giving spirit in our souls4 ,the other sign is to be found in another kind of people1 in most parts of these kingdoms1 who in the midst of the noise and multiplicity of church-strife1 having heard the still1 and secret voice of the true shepherd1 are turned inwards and are attentive to the inward truth1 spirit1 and life of religion1 searching after the spiritual instruction1 which leads them to seek ,christ1 and his redeeming ,spirit1 as the only safe guide from inward darkness to inward light2 and from outward shadows into the substantial1 ever enduring truth2 which truth is nothing else1 but the everlasting union of the soul with ,god1 as its only good1 through the ,spirit and nature of ,christ truly formed and fully revealed in it4,but to go no farther2 ,i shall only add1 that as yet1 ,i know no better way of thinking or acting1 than as above1 with regard to the universal fallen state of all churches3 for fallen they all are1 as certainly as they are divided4 99,and all that is wanting to be removed from every church1 or ,christian society1 in order to its being a part of the heavenly ,jerusalem1 is that which may be called its own human will1 and carnal wisdom2 which is all to be given up1 by turning the eyes and hearts of all its members1 to an inward adoration1 and total dependance upon the supernatural1 invisible1 omnipresent ,god of all spirits2 to the inward teachings of ,christ1 as the power1 the wisdom1 and the light of ,god1 working within them every good and blessing which they can ever receive1 either on earth1 or in heaven1 99,and therefore as the defects which1 some way or other1 are to be found in all churches1 hinder not my communion with that1 under which my lot is fallen1 so neither do they hinder my being in full union1 and hearty fellowship with all that is ,christian1 holy1 and good1 in every other church division4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,ii4 ,to the ,reverend ,mr4 ,s4 ,my dear ,friend and ,brother1 ,,it is a great pleasure to me to think 7as you you say7 that my letter to you1 will also be to two of your brethren1 who stand in the same state of earnestness to know how to be faithful and useful in their ministry1 as you do3 ,i hope ,god will increase your number4 duplicate word 8you0 removed ,the first business of a clergyman awakened by ,god into a sensibility1 and love of the truths of the gospel1 and making them equally felt1 and loved by others1 is thankfully1 and calmly1 to adhere to1 and give way to the increase of this new-risen light1 and by turning his heart to ,god1 as the sole author of it1 humbly to beg of him1 that all that1 which he feels a desire of doing to those under his cure1 may be first truly and fully done in himself4 ,now the way to become more and more awakened1 to feel more and more of this first conviction1 is not to reason yourself into a deeper sensibility of it by finding out arguments3 but the true way is1 to keep close to the presence and power of ,god1 which has manifested itself within you1 willingly resigned to1 and solely depending upon the one work of his all-creating word1 and all-quickening spirit1 which is always more or less powerful in us1 according as we more or less depend upon it4 ,and ,god is always ours1 in such proportion as we are his3 as our faith is in him1 such is his presence in us4 ,what an error therefore1 to turn one thought1 from him1 or cast a look after any help but his2 for1 if we ask all of him1 if we seek for all in him1 if we knock only at his own door for mercy in ,christ ,jesus1 and patiently wait there1 ,god's kingdom must come1 and his will must be done in us4 ,and therefore all the progress of your first conviction1 which by the grace of ,god you have had from above1 consists in the simplicity of your faith1 in adhering to it1 as the work of ,god in your soul1 which can only go on in ,god's way1 and can never cease to go on in you1 any more than ,god can cease to be that which he is1 but so far as it is stopped by your want of faith in it1 or trusting to something else along with it4 ,god is found1 as soon as he alone is sought2 but to seek ,god alone1 is nothing else but the giving up ourselves unto him4 ,for ,god is not absent from us in any other respect1 than as the spirit of our mind is turned from him1 and not left wholly to him4 99,this spirit of faith1 which not here or there1 or now and then1 but every where1 and in all things1 looks up to ,god alone1 trusts solely in him1 depends absolutely upon him1 expects all from him1 and does all it does for him1 is the utmost perfection of piety in this life4 ,and this is that union with ,god1 in which man was at first created1 and to which he is again called1 and will be fully restored by ,god and man being made one ,christ4 ,stephen was a man full of faith and the ,holy ,ghost4 ,these are always together1 the one can never be without the other4 ,this was ,stephen's qualification for the deaconship1 not because of any thing high or peculiar in that office1 but because the gospel dispensation was the opening a kingdom of ,god amongst men1 a spiritual theocracy1 in which as ,god1 and man fallen from ,god1 were united in ,christ1 so an union of immediate operation between ,god and man was restored4 ,hence this dispensation was called1 in distinction from all that went before it in outward types1 figures1 and shadows1 a ministration of the ,spirit1 that is1 an immediate operation of the ,spirit of ,god itself in man1 in which nothing human1 or depending upon the power of man's wit1 ability1 or natural powers1 had any place1 but all things begun in and under obedience to the ,spirit1 and all were done in the power of faith united with ,god4 ,therefore to be a faithful minister of this new covenant between ,god and man1 is to live by faith alone1 to act only1 and constantly under its power1 to desire no will1 understanding1 or ability as a labourer in ,christ's vineyard1 but what comes from faith1 and full dependance upon ,god's immediate operation in and upon us4 ,this is that very thing which is expressly commanded by ,st4 ,peter1 saying1 ,if any man speak1 let him speak as the oracles of ,god1 if any man minister1 let him do it as of the ability which ,god giveth4 ,for all which he giveth this reason1 which will be a reason as long as the world standeth1 viz4 ,that in all things ,god may be glorified thro' ,jesus ,christ4 ,a plain declaration1 that where this is not done1 there ,god is not glorified by ,christians through ,christ ,jesus4 99,god created men and angels solely for the glory of his love2 and therefore angels and men can give no other glory to ,god1 but that of yielding themselves up to the work of his creating love1 manifesting itself in the several powers of their natural life1 so that the first creating love1 which brought them into being1 may go on creating1 and working in them1 according to its own never-ceasing will1 to communicate good for ever and ever4 ,this is their living to the praise and glory of ,god1 namely by owning themselves1 in all that they are1 and have1 and do1 to be mere instruments of his power1 presence1 and goodness in them1 and to them2 which is all the glory they can return to their ,creator1 and all the glory for which he created them4 ,we can no otherwise worship ,god in spirit and in truth1 than as our spirit seeks only to1 depends only upon1 and in all things adores1 the life-giving power of his universal ,spirit2 as the creator1 upholder1 and doer of all that is or can be good1 either in time or eternity4 ,for nothing can be good1 but that which is according to the will of ,god1 and nothing can be according to the will of ,god1 but that which is done by his own ,spirit4 ,this is unchangeable1 whether in heaven1 or in earth4 ,and this is the one end of all the dispensations of ,god1 however various1 towards fallen man1 viz4 to bring man into an union with ,god4 ,comply with all the outward modes and institutions of religion1 believe the letter1 own the meaning of scripture facts1 symbols1 and doctrines2 but if you seek to gain some other good from them1 than that of being led from your own will1 and own spirit1 that the will of ,god1 and the ,spirit of ,god may do all that is willed1 and done by you2 however steadily you may adhere to such a religion1 you stand as fixed and steadily in your own fallen state4 ,for the restoration of fallen man1 is nothing else but the restoration of him to his first state1 under the will and ,spirit of ,god1 in and for which he was created4 ,you may here perhaps think that ,i am speaking too much at large1 and not closely to the particular matter of your enquiry4 ,but my intention hath been1 so to speak to you on this occasion1 as to lay a ground for a proper behaviour1 under every circumstance of the outward work of your ministry4 ,all things must be set right in yourself first1 before you can rightly assist others4 ,i do not mean1 that you must be first in a state of perfection1 before you can be fitted to teach others4 ,but ,i mean that you must first see1 in what to place your own perfection1 before you can rightly direct others in the way to it4 ,for this reason ,i have said all that is said above1 to help you to set out under a right sense of all that religion is to do for yourself4 ,when these things are not notionally1 but practically known1 then are you enabled1 according to your measure1 to speak of the truths of religion1 to those that are ignorant1 or insensible of them4 ,your work is1 to call every one home to himself1 and help every heart to know its own state1 to seek and find1 and feel his inward life and death1 which have their birth1 and growth1 and strife1 against one another1 in every son of ,adam4 ,and as this is the one good way of preaching1 so it is1 of all others1 the most powerful and penetrating into the hearts of all men1 let their condition be what it will4 ,their hearing ears1 though ever so sunk into dullness1 will be forced more or less1 to feel the power of that voice which speaks nothing but what is1 and must be in some sort within themselves4 ,and this is the great end of outward preaching1 to give loud notice of the call of ,god in their souls1 which though unheard1 or neglected by them1 is yet always subsisting within them4 ,it is to make such outward sounds1 as may reach and stir up the inward hearing of the heart4 ,it is so to strike all the outward senses of the soul1 that from sleeping in an inward insensibility of its own life and death1 it may be brought into an awakened perception of itself1 and be forced to know1 that the evil of death which is in it1 will be its eternal master1 unless it seeks for victory in the name1 and power1 and mediation of ,christ1 the only ,prince of life1 and ,lord of glory1 and who only hath the keys of heaven1 of death and hell1 in his hands4 ,hence you will be qualified1 to open in your hearers1 a right knowledge of the reality of every virtue and vice you are discoursing upon4 ,for since all that is good and evil1 is only so to them1 because it lives in their heart2 they may easily be taught1 that no virtue1 whether it be humility1 or charity1 has any goodness in it1 but as it springs in1 and from the heart1 nor any vice1 whether it be pride1 or wrath1 is any farther renounced1 than as its power1 and place in the heart is destroyed4 ,and thus the insignificancy and vanity of an outward formality of a virtuous behaviour1 and every thing short of a new heart1 and new spirit in1 and through the power of ,christ1 dwelling in them1 may be fully shewn to be self-delusion1 and self-destruction4 ,your next great point1 as a preacher1 should be to bring men to an entire faith in1 and absolute dependance upon1 the continual power and operation of the ,spirit of ,god in them4 ,all churches1 even down to the ,socinians1 are forced1 in obedience to the letter of scripture1 to hold something of this doctrine4 ,but as all churches1 for many ages1 have had as much recourse to learning1 art1 and science to qualify ministers for the preaching of the gospel1 as if it was merely a work of man's wisdom1 so ecclesiastics1 for the most part1 come forth in the power of human qualifications1 and more or less trust to their own ability1 according as they are more or less proficients in science and literature1 languages and rhetoric4 ,to this1 more than to any other cause1 is the great apostasy of all ,christendom to be attributed4 ,this was the door1 at which the whole spirit of the world entered into possession of the ,christian church4 ,worldly desires and interests1 vanity1 pride1 envy1 contention1 bitterness1 and ambition1 the death of all that is good in the soul1 have now1 and always had their chief nourishment and support1 from a sense of the merit1 and sufficiency of literal accomplishments4 ,humility1 meekness1 patience1 faith1 hope1 contempt of the world and heavenly affections 7the very life of ,jesus in the soul7 are by few people less desired1 or more hard to be practised1 than by great wits1 classical critics1 linguists1 historians and orators in holy orders4 ,now to bring a man to a full dependance upon1 and faith in the continual operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 as the only raiser and preserver of the life of ,god in their hearts1 it is not enough1 you sometimes1 or often preach upon the subject1 but every thing that you inculcate1 should be directed constantly to it1 and all that you exhort men to1 should be required1 only as a means of obtaining1 and concurring with1 that ,holy ,spirit1 which is1 and only can be1 the life and truth of goodness4 ,and all that you turn them from1 should be as from something that resists1 and grieves that blessed ,spirit of ,god1 which always wills to remove all evil out of our souls1 and make us again partakers of the divine nature4 ,for as they only are ,christians1 who are born of the ,spirit1 so nothing should be taught ,christians1 but as a work of the ,spirit2 nor any thing sought1 but by the power of the ,spirit1 as well in hearing as teaching4 ,it is owing to the want of this1 that there is so much preaching and hearing1 and so little benefit either of the preacher or hearer4 ,the labour of the preacher is1 for the most part1 to display logic1 argument1 and eloquence1 upon religious subjects2 and so he is just as much united to ,god by his own religious discourses1 as the pleader at the bar is1 by his law and oratory upon right and wrong4 ,and the hearers1 by their regarding such accomplishments1 go away just as much helped1 to be new men in ,christ ,jesus1 as by hearing a cause of great equity well pleaded at the bar4 ,now in both these cases1 with regard to preacher and people1 the error is1 trusting to a power in themselves2 the one in an ability1 to persuade powerfully2 the other in an ability1 to act according to that which they hear4 ,and so the natural man goes on preaching1 and the natural man goes on hearing the things of ,god1 in a fruitless course4 ,and thus it must be1 so long as either preacher or hearers1 seek any thing else but to edify1 and be edified in1 and through the immediate power and essential presence of the ,holy ,spirit1 working in them4 99,the way therefore to be a faithful1 and fruitful labourer in the vineyard of ,christ1 is to stand yourself in a full dependance on the ,spirit of ,god1 as having no power1 but as his instrument1 and by his influence1 in all that you do2 and to call others1 not to their own strength or rational powers1 but to a full hope and faith of having all that they want1 from ,god alone2 calling them to himself1 to a birth of essential1 inherent goodness1 wisdom and holiness from his own eternal word and ,holy ,spirit1 living and dwelling in them4 ,for as ,god is all that the fallen soul wants1 so nothing but ,god alone1 can communicate himself to it2 all therefore is lost labour1 but the total conversion of the soul1 to the immediate1 essential operation of ,god in it4 ,as to the other parts of your office1 whether they relate to things prescribed1 or to such as are to be done1 according to your best discretion1 there will not be much difficulty1 if you stand in the state above described4 ,as to several outward forms and orders in the church1 they must be supposed to partake1 in their degree1 of that ,spirit1 which has so long bore rule in all church divisions4 ,but the private man is not to consider1 how outward things should be1 according to the primitive plan1 but how the inward truth1 which is meant by them1 may be fully adhered to4 ,baptism and the ,lord's supper1 are differently practised in almost every particular church4 ,but the way to be free from scruples herein1 is to keep yourself1 and your people wholly intent on that spiritual good1 of which these institutions are the appointed outward figures1 namely that spiritual regeneration1 which is meant by baptism1 and that spiritual living in ,christ1 and ,christ in us1 which is meant by the supper of the ,lord4 ,and then1 though the sacraments practised by you should have any outward imperfection in them1 they would be of the same benefit to you1 as they were to those who used them in their first1 outwardly perfect form4 ,and thus you will be led neither to over-rate1 nor disregard such use of them1 as is according to the present state of the church4 ,it is only the inward regenerate ,christian1 that knows how to make a right use of all outward things4 ,his soul being in such a state of union with ,god and man1 as it ought to be1 takes every thing by the right handle1 and turns every thing into a means of carrying on his love towards ,god and man4 ,to the pure1 all things are pure4 ,when you visit the sick1 or well awakened1 or dully senseless1 go as in obedience to ,god1 as on his errand1 and say only what the love of ,god and man suggests to your heart1 without any anxiety about the success of it2 that is ,god's work4 ,only see that the love1 the tenderness1 and patience of ,god towards sinners1 be uppermost in all that you do to man4 ,nothing is to be shewn to man1 but his want of ,god2 nothing can shew him this so powerfully1 so convincingly1 as love4 ,and as love is the fulfilling of the whole law1 so love is the fulfilling of all the work of the ministry4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,iii4 ,to a ,clergyman of ,bucks4 ,i ,,am much surprised1 my friend1 that you should still want more to be said about the doctrine of imputation1 whether of ,adam's sin1 or the righteousness of ,christ to his followers4 ,cain could not possibly have any other natural life1 than that which was in ,adam2 and therefore so sure as ,adam in soul1 spirit1 and body1 was all sin and corruption1 so sure is it1 that all his offspring must come from him in the same depravity of soul1 spirit and body4 ,and to talk of their having this disordered fallen nature not from their natural birth1 but by an outward imputation1 is only as absurd as to say1 that they have their hands and feet1 or the whole form of their body1 not from their natural birth1 but by an outward imputation of such a form1 and members to them4 ,as in ,adam all die1 says the text3 ,is not this the same1 as saying1 that all men have their fallen nature1 because born of ,adam8 ,take now the other part of the text1 so in ,christ shall all be made alive4 ,is it not a flat denial of all this1 to say1 they are not made alive by a real new birth1 but are accounted as if they were alive1 by the imputation of ,christ's life to them8 ,could dead ,lazarus have been said to have been made alive again1 if still lying in the grave1 he had only been accounted as alive1 by having the nature of a living man1 imputed to him8 99,our ,lord said to a leper1 whom he had cleansed1 ,go1 shew thyself to the priest1 c4 ,but if instead of cleansing him1 he had bid him go to the priest1 to be accounted as a clean man1 had he not still been under all the evil of his own leprosy8 ,now this is strictly the case of the righteousness of ,christ1 only outwardly imputed to us4 ,a fiction1 that runs counter to all that ,christ and his apostles1 have said of the nature of our salvation4 ,we want ,christ's righteousness1 because by our natural birth1 we are inwardly full of evil2 therefore saith ,christ1 except a man be born again1 he cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,i am the vine1 saith ,christ1 ye are the branches4 ,now if this be a true representation of the matter1 then these two plain doctrines of ,christ1 affirming1 #a4 ,the absolute necessity of a new birth1 and #b4 ,that this birth is as really brought forth in us1 as the life of the vine is really in the branches1 entirely reject the notion of a righteousness imputed from without4 ,if ,christ's holy nature1 be not formed in us1 but only outwardly imputed to us1 then no virtue1 or power of an holy life1 can have any more real existence in us1 than in the devils1 but are only called ours1 and not theirs1 though we have no more of them within us1 than they have4 ,thus1 be ye holy1 for ,i am holy2 be ye perfect1 as your ,father1 which is in heaven1 is perfect2 thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 c4 all these are but vain exhortations4 ,for these virtues are1 in their whole nature1 nothing else but the very righteousness of ,christ1 therefore if that can be only outwardly imputed to us1 the same must be said of all these virtues4 ,and indeed1 unless ,christ be truly born in us1 we can have no more of any ,christian virtue1 but the empty name4 ,for neither man1 nor angel ever did1 or can thus love ,god with all his heart1 be holy because ,god is holy1 be perfect as he is perfect1 but because there is a spirit living in them1 which is of ,god1 from ,god1 and partakes of the divine nature4 ,further say1 that the holy ,spirit is not living in us1 that his operation is not inwardly in us1 but only outwardly imputed to us1 as if he was in us1 though he be not3 what a blasphemy would this be6 ,and yet full as well1 as to say the same of ,christ1 and his righteousness4 ,for if ,christ was only outwardly imputed to us1 the same must1 of all necessity be said of the holy ,spirit2 for where ,christ is1 there is the holy ,spirit4 ,take notice1 ,sir1 that if ,christ's righteousness1 is only imputed to ,christians1 then all of them1 whether they are called good1 or bad1 are without any difference as to their inward man1 and all under the same unaltered fallen nature1 as much after1 as they were before ,christ's righteousness was imputed4 ,to him that overcometh1 saith ,christ1 will ,i grant to sit with me on my throne1 ,n4 ,b4 even as ,i overcame1 and am set down with my ,father on his throne4 ,what becomes now of the vain fiction of an outward imputation8 ,is ,christ's victory here imputed to us8 ,is not the contrary as strongly taught us1 as words can do it8 ,to him that overcometh1 even as ,i also overcame4 ,n4 ,b4 ,this1 with several of the particulars that follow are probable1 but not supported by scripture4 ,this is the theory of ,jacob ,behme1 ingenious1 but quite incapable of proof4 7,from ,volume #f1 page #aei47 ,you tell me1 my friend1 that the seraphic ,aspasio is quite transported with the thought of the imputation of ,christ's righteousness to the sinner1 and that it should in the account of ,god be esteemed as his4,it may be so1 transport seems to be as natural to ,aspasio1 as flying is to a bird4 ,but surely1 a more transporting1 a more glorious thing it is1 both to the glory of ,god1 and the good of man1 that the sinner is1 through the righteous nature of ,christ1 formed in him1 set up again in his first likeness and image of ,god4 ,for if man's righteousness is not essentially restored in him1 as it was essentially in him at the first1 has he not less of ,god in him1 by his redemption1 than he had at his creation8 ,is it to the happiness of man1 and the glory of ,god1 that ,god has not obtained that dwelling in man1 for which he alone created him8 ,is it matter of transport to think1 that fallen man will to all eternity live destitute of his first heavenly nature1 his first divine life1 which he had in1 and from ,god8 ,but this must be the case1 if ,christ's righteousness is only outwardly imputed to him1 and not essentially wrought in him4 ,transports1 my friend1 are but poor proofs of truth1 or of the goodness of the heart1 from whence they proceed4 ,martyrdom has had its fools1 as well as its saints1 and zealots may live and die in a joy1 that has all its strength from delusion4 99,you may see a man drowned in tears1 at beholding a wooden crucifix1 and the same man condemning another1 as a wicked heretic1 who only honours the cross1 by being daily baptized into the death of ,christ4 ,nay1 so blind is opinion-zeal1 that some good ,christian pastors will not scruple to tell you1 that they could find no joy in their own state1 no strength1 or comfort in their labours of love towards their flocks1 but because they know1 and are assured from ,st4 ,paul1 that ,god never had1 nor ever will have1 mercy on all men1 but that an unknown multitude of them1 are through all ages of the world1 inevitably decreed by ,god to eternal damnation1 and an unknown number of others1 to an irresistible salvation4 99,wonder not then1 if the inquisition has its pious defenders1 for inquisition cruelty1 nay1 every barbarity that must have an end1 is mere mercy1 if compared with this doctrines4,and to be in love with it1 to draw sweet comfort from it1 and wish it ,god-speed1 is a love that absolutely forbids the loving our neighbour as ourselves1 and makes the wish1 that all men might be saved1 no less than rebellion against ,god4,it is a love1 with which1 the cursed hater of all men1 would willingly unite and take comfort2 for could he know from ,st4 ,paul1 that millions1 and millions of mankind1 are created and doomed to be his eternal slaves1 he might be as content with this doctrine1 as some good preachers are1 and cease going about1 as a roaring lion1 seeking whom he may devour2 as knowing1 that his kingdom1 was so sufficiently provided for1 without any labours of his own4 99,oh1 the sweetness of ,god's election1 crys out the ravished preacher6 ,oh1 the sweetness of ,god's reprobation6 might the hellish ,satan well say1 could he believe that ,god had made him a free gift of such myriads1 and myriads of men1 of all nations1 tongues and languages1 from the beginning to the end of the world1 and reserved so small a number for himself4 99,what a complaint1 and condemnation is there made in scripture1 of those who sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils8 ,and yet this reprobation doctrine1 represents ,god as sacrificing myriads of his own creatures1 made in his own image1 to an everlasting hell4 99,there is not an absurdity of heathenish faith and religion1 but what is less shocking than this doctrine4 ,and yet so blindly are some zealous doctors of the gospel bigotted to it1 as to set it forth1 as the glorious manifestation of the supreme sovereignty of ,god6 ,little children1 saith ,st4 ,john1 let no man deceive you2 ,n4 ,b4 ,he that doth righteousness1 is righteous1 ,n4 ,b4 even as he is righteous4 ,therefore to expect1 or trust to be made righteous1 merely by the righteousness of another1 outwardly imputed to us1 is1 according to the apostle1 deceiving ourselves4 ,so sure therefore1 as the mediation of ,christ1 is by himself declared to be for this end1 that they all may be one1 as thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and ,i in thee2 that they also may be one in us2 ,i in them1 and thou in me1 that they may be made perfect in one2 so sure is it1 that an outwardly imputed ,christ1 is as absurd in itself1 and as contrary to scripture1 as an outwardly imputed ,god4 duplicate word 8in0 removed ,farewell4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,iv4 ,to ,,when a man first finds himself stirred up with religious zeal1 what does he generally do8 ,he turns all his thoughts outwards1 he runs after this or that man1 he is at the beck of every new opinion1 and thinks only of finding the truth1 by resting in this or that society of ,christians4 ,could he find a man1 that did not want to have him of his opinion1 that turned him from himself to ,god1 not as historically read of in books1 but essentially living and working in every soul1 him he might call a man of ,god2 as saving him from many vain wanderings1 from fruitless searchings into a council of ,trent1 a synod of ,dort1 an ,augsburg confession1 an ,assembly's catechism1 or a thirty-nine ,articles4 ,for had he an hundred articles1 if they were any thing else but a hundred calls to ,christ1 as the only possible light1 and teacher of his mind1 it would be a hundred times better for him to be without them4,for all man's misery lies in this1 that he has lost the knowledge of ,god1 as living within him1 and by falling under the power of an earthly1 bestial life1 thinks only of ,god1 as living in some other world1 and so seeks only by notions1 to set up an image of an absent ,god1 instead of worshipping the ,god of life and power1 in whom he lives1 moves1 and has his being4,whoever therefore teaches you to expect great things from this1 or that sort of opinions1 or calls you to any thing as saving1 and redeeming1 but the manifestation of ,god in your own soul1 through ,christ1 is totally ignorant of the whole nature1 both of the fall1 and the redemption of man4 8,augsberg0 replaced with 8,augsburg0 ,the ,spirit of ,christ must live in you1 or all exhortations1 to walk as he walked1 are vain4 ,the natural man is in full separation from this holiness of life1 and though he had more wisdom of words1 more depth of literature1 than was in ,cicero or ,aristotle1 yet would ye have as much to die to1 as the greatest ,publican or vainest ,pharisee1 before he could be in ,christ a new creature4 ,for the highest improved natural abilities1 can as well ascend into heaven1 or cloath flesh and blood with immortality1 as make a man like-minded with ,christ in any one divine virtue4 ,and that for this one reason1 because ,god and divine goodness are inseparable4 ,no precept of the gospel supposes man to have any power to effect it1 or calls you to any natural ability1 or wisdom of your own to comply with it4 ,christ and his apostles called no man to overcome the corruption and blindness of fallen nature by a learned cultivation of the mind4 ,the wisdom of the learned world1 was the same pitiable foolishness with them1 as the grossest ignorance4 ,by them1 they only stand thus distinguished1 the one brings forth a ,publican1 which is often converted to ,christ1 the other a ,pharisee1 that for the most part condemns him to be crucified4 ,they 7,christ and his apostles7 taught nothing but death1 and denial to ourselves2 and the impossibility of having any one divine temper1 but through faith1 through a new nature1 not born of blood1 nor of the will of the flesh1 nor of the will of man1 but of ,god4 99,to speak of the operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 as only an assistance1 or an occasional assistance1 is as short of the truth1 as to say1 that ,christ shall only assist the resurrection of our bodies4 ,for not a spark of any divine virtue can arise up in us1 but what must wholly and solely be wrought by that same power1 which alone can call our dead bodies out of the dust and darkness of the grave4 ,if you turn to your own strength to have ,christian piety and goodness2 or are so deceived1 as to think that learning1 or local abilities1 critical acuteness1 skill in languages1 church systems1 rules and orders1 articles and opinions1 are to do that for you which the ,spirit of ,christ did1 and only could do for the first ,christians2 your diligent reading of the history of the gospel1 will leave you as poor1 and empty1 and dead to ,god1 as if you had been only a diligent reader of the history of all the religions in the world4 ,but if all that you trust to1 long after1 and depend upon1 is that ,holy ,spirit1 which alone made the scripture saints able to call ,jesus ,lord2 if this be your one faith and one hope1 the divine life1 which died in ,adam1 will be quickened again in ,christ ,jesus4 ,and be assured1 that nothing but this new birth can make a gospel ,christian1 because nothing else can possibly love1 do1 and be that which ,christ preached in his divine sermon on the ,mount4 ,be assured also1 that when the ,spirit of ,christ is the spirit that ruleth in you1 there will be no hard sayings in the gospel2 but all that ,christ taught in the flesh1 will be as meat and drink to you1 and you will have no joy1 but in walking as he walked1 in saying1 loving1 and doing1 that which he said1 loved1 and did4 ,ask then1 my friend1 no more where you shall go1 or what you shall do1 to be in the truth2 for you can have the truth no where but in ,jesus1 nor in him any farther than as his holy nature is born within you4 ,farewell4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,v4 ,to a ,person of ,quality4 ,madam1 ,,there is nothing more plain and simple than the way of religion4 ,but piety makes little progress till it has no schemes of its own1 no thoughts or contrivances to be any thing1 but a naked penitent1 left wholly and solely in faith and hope to the divine goodness4 ,nothing but the life of ,god1 wrought by his ,holy ,spirit within us1 can be the renewal of our souls1 and we shall want this renewal no longer1 than whilst we are seeking it in something that is not ,god4 ,the faith that ascribes all to ,god1 and expects all from him1 cannot be disappointed4 ,nothing could hinder the ,centurion from having that which he asked of ,christ1 because his heart could thus speak1 ,lord1 ,i am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof1 speak the word only1 and my servant shall be healed4 ,he that has this sense of himself1 and this faith in ,god1 is in the truth of religion3 if we knew the goodness of this state1 we should be always content with the simplicity of it1 and let every thing else come and go1 as it would2 all is well and safe so long as the heart rests all upon ,god alone4 ,i do not wonder that the audience of ,mr4 is so much increased1 since he has preached the doctrine of regeneration among them4 ,all other preaching passes away as a tale that is told1 and indeed is nothing better1 till it enters into the things within man1 brings him to a sensibility of the state of his heart1 and its want of ,god's ,holy ,spirit therein4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,vi4 ,to ,mr4 ,j4 ,t4 ,my dear worthy ,friend1 ,,your letter1 though full of complaints about the state of your heart1 was very much according to my mind1 and gives me great hopes that ,god will carry on the good work he has begun in you1 and lead you by his ,holy ,spirit through all those difficulties1 under which you at present labour4 ,the desire that you have to be better than you find yourself at present1 is ,god's call1 and will make itself to be more heard within you1 if you give but way to it1 and reverence it as such1 humbly believing that he that calls1 will1 and only can help you to pay right and full obedience to it4 ,you seem to yourself to be all infatuation and stupidity1 because your head and your heart are so contrary1 the one delighting in heavenly notions1 the other governed by earthly passions and pursuits4 ,it is happy for you1 that you know and acknowledge this3 for only through this truth1 through the full and deep perception of it1 can you have any entrance1 or so much as the beginning of an entrance into the liberty of the children of ,god4 ,god is in this respect dealing with you1 as he does with those1 whose darkness is to be changed into light4 ,which can never be done1 till you fully know #a4 the real badness of your own heart1 and #b4 your utter inability to deliver yourself from it1 by any sense or power of your own4 ,and was you in a better state1 as to your own thinking1 the matter would be worse with you4 ,for the badness in your heart1 though you had no sensibility of it1 would still be there1 and would only be concealed to your much greater hurt4 ,for there it certainly is1 whether it be seen and found1 or not1 and sooner or later1 must shew itself in its full deformity1 or the old man will never die the death which must be undergone1 before the new man can be formed in us4 ,all that you complain of in your heart is common to man1 as man4 ,there is no heart that is without it4 ,and this is the one ground1 why every man1 as such1 however different in temper1 complexion1 or natural endowments from others1 has one and the same reason1 and absolute necessity of being born again4 ,flesh and blood1 and the spirit of this world1 govern every spring in the heart of the natural man4 ,and therefore you can never enough adore the ray of divine light1 which breaking in upon your darkness1 has discovered this to be the state of your heart1 and raised even those faint wishes you feel to be delivered from it4 ,for faint as they are1 they as certainly proceed from the goodness of ,god working in your soul1 as the first dawning of the morning is wrought by the same sun1 which helps us to the noon-day light4 ,firmly1 therefore believe this1 as a certain truth1 that the present sensibility of your incapacity for goodness1 is to be cherished as a heavenly seed1 as the blessed work of ,god in your soul4 ,could you like any thing in your own heart1 or fancy any good to be in it1 or believe that you had any power of your own to embrace the following truth1 this comfortable opinion1 would be your turning away from ,god and all goodness1 and building iron walls of separation betwixt ,god and your soul4 ,for conversion to ,god1 only then begins to be in truth1 when we see nothing that can give us the least degree of hope1 of trust1 or comfort in any thing1 that we are of ourselves4 ,to see vanity of vanities in all outward things1 to loath and abhor certain sins1 is indeed something1 but yet as nothing in comparison of seeing and believing the vanity of vanities within us1 and ourselves as unable to take one single step in true goodness1 as to add one cubit to our stature4 ,under this conviction1 the gate of life is opened to us4 ,and therefore it is1 that all the preparatory parts of religion1 all the various proceedings of ,god either over our inward1 or outward state1 setting up and pulling down1 giving1 and taking away1 light and darkness1 comfort and distress1 are for this only end1 to bring us to this conviction1 that all that can be called life1 good1 and happiness1 is to come solely from ,god1 and not the smallest spark of it from ourselves4 ,when man was first created1 all the good that he had in him was from ,god alone4 ,this must be the state of man for ever4,from the beginning of time through all eternity1 the creature can have no goodness1 but that which ,god creates in it4 ,our first goodness is lost1 because our first father departed from a full1 absolute dependance upon ,god4 ,for a full1 continual1 unwavering dependance upon ,god1 is that alone which keeps ,god in the creature1 and the creature in ,god4 ,our lost goodness can never come again1 till by a power from ,christ1 we are brought out of ourselves1 into that full and blessed dependance upon ,god1 in which our first father should have lived4 ,what room now1 my dear friend1 for complaint at the sight1 sense1 and feeling of your inability to make yourself better8 ,did you want this sense1 every part of your religion would only have the nature and vanity of idolatry4 ,for you cannot come unto ,god1 you cannot believe in him1 you cannot worship him in spirit and truth1 till he is regarded as the only giver1 and you yourself as nothing else but the receiver of every heavenly good1 that can possibly be in you4 ,god must for ever be ,god alone2 heaven1 and the heavenly nature are his1 and must for ever be received only from him1 and preserved1 by an entire dependance upon1 and trust in him4 ,now as all the religion of fallen man1 fallen from ,god into himself1 and the spirit of this world1 has no other end1 but to bring us back to an entire dependance upon ,god2 so we may justly say1 ,blessed is that light1 happy is that conviction1 which brings us into a full and settled despair1 of ever having the least good from ourselves4 ,then we are truly brought1 and laid at the gate of mercy3 at which gate1 no soul ever did1 or can lie in vain4 ,a broken and contrite heart ,god will not despise4 ,that is1 ,god will not pass by1 overlook1 or disregard it4 ,but the heart is then only broken and contrite1 when all its strong holds are broken down1 and false coverings taken off1 and it sees1 with inwardly opened eyes1 every thing to be bad1 false1 and rotten1 that does1 or can proceed from it as its own4 ,but you will perhaps1 say1 that your conviction is only an uneasy sensibility of your own state1 and has not the goodness of a broken and contrite heart in it4 ,let it be so1 yet it is right in order to it1 and it can only begin1 as it begins at present4 ,your conviction is certainly not full and perfect2 for if it was1 you would patiently expect1 and look for help from ,god alone4 ,but whatever is wanting in your conviction1 be it what it will1 it cannot be added by yourself1 nor come any other way1 than as the highest degree of the divine life can come4 ,know therefore your want of this1 as of all other goodness4 ,but know also at the same time1 that it cannot be had through your own willing and running1 but through ,god that sheweth mercy2 that is to say1 through ,god who giveth us ,jesus ,christ4 ,for ,jesus ,christ is the one only mercy of ,god to all the fallen world4 ,now if all the mercy of ,god is only to be found in ,christ1 if he alone can save us from our sins2 if he alone has power to heal all our infirmities1 and restore original righteousness1 what room for any other pains1 labour1 or enquiry1 but where and how ,christ is to be found4 99,it matters not what our evils are1 deadness1 blindness1 infatuation1 hardness of heart1 covetousness1 wrath1 pride1 and ambition1 our remedy is always one and the same1 always at hand1 always certain and infallible4 ,seven devils are as easily cast out by ,christ as one4 ,he came into the world1 not to save from this1 or that disorder1 but to destroy all the power and works of the devil in man4 ,if you ask where1 and how ,christ is to be found8 ,i answer1 in your heart1 and no where else4 ,hear him1 reverence him1 submit to him as a discoverer and reprover of sin4 ,own his power and presence in the feeling of your guilt1 and then he that wounded1 will heal1 he that found out the sin1 will take it away1 and he who shewed you your den of thieves1 will turn it into a holy temple of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost4 ,and now1 ,sir1 you may see1 that your doubt whether your will was really free1 or not1 was groundless4 ,you have no freedom1 or power of will1 to assume any holy temper1 or take hold of such degrees of goodness1 as you have a mind to4 ,for nothing is1 or ever can be goodness in you1 but the one life1 light1 and spirit of ,christ1 revealed1 and formed in your soul4 ,christ in us1 is our only goodness1 as ,christ in us1 is our hope of glory4 ,but ,christ in us is the pure free gift of ,god to us4 ,but you have a freedom of will1 either to give up your helpless self1 to the operation of ,god on your soul1 or to rely upon your own rational industry1 and natural strength of mind4 ,this is the freedom in first setting out1 which no man wants1 or can want so long as he is in the body4 ,if therefore you have not that which you want to have of ,god1 or are not that which you ought to be in ,christ ,jesus1 it is not because you have no free power of leaving yourself in the hands1 and under the operation of ,god1 but because the same freedom of your will1 seeks for help where it cannot be had1 namely1 in some strength of your own4 8he0 replaced with 8be0 ,when this freedom of the will wholly leaves itself to ,god1 saying1 not mine1 but thy will be done1 then it hath that1 which it willeth4 ,the will of ,god is done in it4 ,it is in ,god4 ,it hath divine power4 ,it worketh with ,god1 and by ,god1 and comes at length to be that faith1 which can remove mountains2 and nothing is too hard for it4 ,and now1 my dear friend1 let me tell you1 that as here lies all the real freedom1 which cannot be taken from you1 so in the constant exercise of this freedom1 that is1 in a continual leaving yourself to1 and depending upon the operation of ,god in your soul1 lies all your road to heaven4 ,no divine virtue can be had any other way4 ,all the excellency and power of faith1 hope1 love1 patience1 and resignation1 have no other root but this free1 full leaving of yourself to ,god1 and are only so many different expressions of your willing nothing1 seeking nothing1 trusting to nothing1 but the life-giving power of his holy presence in your soul4 ,to sum up all in a word4 ,wait patiently1 trust humbly1 depend only upon1 seek solely to a ,god of light and love1 of mercy and goodness1 of glory and majesty1 dwelling in your heart by faith4 ,there you have the invisible upholder of all the creation1 whose blessed operation will always be found by a humble1 faithful1 loving1 calm1 patient introversion of your heart to him1 which will open itself to you1 as soon as your heart is left wholly to his eternal ever-speaking word1 and ever-sanctifying ,spirit4 ,beware of the eagerness of your own natural temper4 ,run not in any hasty ways of your own4 ,be patient under the sense of your own vanity and weakness2 and patiently wait for ,god to do his own work in his own way4 ,for you can go no faster than a full dependance upon ,god can carry you4 ,you will perhaps say1 ,am ,i then to be idle1 and do nothing towards the salvation of my soul8 ,no1 you must by no means be idle1 be but earnestly diligent1 according to your measure1 in all good works1 which the law and the gospel direct you to1 both with regard to yourself1 and other people4 ,outward good works to other people1 may be justly considered as ,god's errand on which you are sent1 and therefore to be done faithfully1 according to the will1 and in obedience to him that sent you4 ,but nothing that you do1 is in its proper state1 or reaches its true end1 till you do not depend upon any doing that which is good1 but by ,christ1 the wisdom and power of ,god4 ,i caution you only against all eagerness of spirit1 so far as it leads you to seek1 and trust to something that is not ,god4 ,i recommend to you stillness1 calmness1 patience1 not to make you lifeless1 and indifferent about good works1 or indeed with any regard to them1 but solely with regard to your faith1 that it may have its proper soil to grow in1 and because all eagerness1 restlessness1 haste1 and impatience1 either with regard to ,god1 or ourselves1 are not only great hindrances1 but real defects of our faith and dependance upon ,god4 ,lastly1 ,be courageous1 and full of hope1 not by looking at any strength of your own2 no1 this will only help you to find more and more defects and weakness in yourself2 but be courageous in faith1 and hope1 and dependance upon ,god4 ,and be assured1 that the one infallible way to all that is good1 is never to be weary in waiting1 trusting1 and depending upon ,god manifested in ,christ ,jesus4 ,i am your hearty friend and well-wisher4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,vii4 ,to a ,person burdened with inward and outward ,troubles4 ,worthy ,sir1 ,,my heart embraces you with all the tenderness and affection of ,christian love2 and ,i earnestly beg of ,god1 to make me a messenger of his peace to your soul4 ,you seem to apprehend1 ,i may be much surprized at the account you have given of yourself2 but ,i am neither surprized nor offended at it2 ,i neither condemn nor lament your estate1 but shall endeavour to shew you1 how soon it may be made a blessing and happiness to you4 ,in order to which1 ,i shall not enter into a consideration of the different kinds of trouble you have set forth at large4 ,i think it better to lay before you the ground and root1 from whence all the evils of human life have sprung4 ,this will make it easy for you to see what that is1 which only can be the full remedy for all4 ,the scripture has assured us1 that ,god made man in his own image and likeness2 a sufficient proof1 that man1 in his first state1 as he came forth from ,god1 must have been absolutely free from all vanity1 want1 or distress2 from any thing painful1 either within or without him4 ,it would be absurd to suppose1 that a creature beginning to exist in the image of ,god1 should have vanity of life1 or vexation of spirit3 a god-like perfection of nature1 and a painful1 distressed nature1 stand in the utmost contrariety to one another4 ,again1 the scripture has assured us1 that man that is born of a woman1 hath but a short time to live1 and is full of misery3 ,therefore man now is not the creature that he was by his creation4 ,the first god-like nature of ,adam1 which was to have been immortally holy in union with ,god1 is lost2 and instead of it1 a poor mortal of earthly flesh and blood1 born like a wild ass's colt1 of a short life1 and full of misery1 is going thro' a vain pilgrimage1 to end in dust and ashes4 ,therefore1 let every evil1 whether inward or outward1 teach you that man has lost his first life in ,god2 and that no comfort1 or deliverance is to be expected1 but only in this one thing1 that though man had lost his ,god1 yet ,god is become man1 that man may be again alive in ,god4 ,now here are two things raised up in man1 instead of the life of ,god3 ,first1 selfishness1 brought forth by his chusing to have a wisdom of his own2 contrary to the will and instruction of his ,creator4 ,secondly1 an earthly1 bestial life1 brought forth by his eating that food1 which was poison to his paradisaical nature4 ,both these must therefore be removed2 that is1 a man must totally die to himself1 and all earthly desires1 views1 and intentions1 before he can be again in ,god4 ,but now if this be an immutable truth1 that man1 so long as he is a selfish earthly-minded creature1 must be deprived of his true life1 the life of ,god1 in his soul2 then how is the face of things changed6 ,for then1 what life is so much dreaded as a life of worldly ease and prosperity8 ,what a curse is there in every thing that gratifies and nourishes our self-love1 self-esteem1 and self-seeking8 ,on the other hand1 what happiness is there in all inward and outward troubles1 when they force us to know the hell that is within us1 and the vanity of every thing without us1 when they turn all our self-love into self-abhorrence1 and force us to call upon ,god to save us from ourselves1 to give us a new life1 and new spirit in ,christ ,jesus4 8,o happy famine10 might the poor prodigal have said1 8which by reducing me to eat husks with swine1 brought me to myself1 and caused my return to my first happiness in my father's house40 ,now1 ,i will suppose your state to be as you represent it2 inwardly1 heaviness and confusion of thoughts and passions2 outwardly1 ill usage from friends1 relations1 and all the world2 with an inability to strike out the least spark of light or comfort1 by any thought or reasoning of your own4 ,o happy famine1 which leaves you not so much as the husk of one human comfort to feed upon6 ,for this is the time and place for all that life and salvation to happen to you1 which happened to the prodigal son4 ,your way is as short1 and your success as certain as his was3 you have no more to do than he had2 you need not call out for books1 or methods of devotion2 for1 in your present state1 much reading1 and borrowed prayers1 are not your best method2 all that you are to offer to ,god1 all that is to help you to find him to be your ,saviour and ,redeemer1 is best taught by the distressed state of your heart4 ,only let your present and past distress make you feel and acknowledge this two-fold great truth3 ,first1 ,that in and of yourself1 you are nothing but darkness1 vanity1 and misery4 ,secondly1 ,that of yourself1 you can no more help yourself to light and comfort1 than you can create an angel4 ,people at all times seem to assent to these truths2 but then it is an assent that has no depth or reality1 and so is of little or no use3 but your condition has opened your heart for a full conviction of them4 ,now give way1 ,i beseech you1 to this conviction1 and hold these two truths in the same degree of certainty as you know two and two to be four1 and then you are with the prodigal come to yourself1 and above half your work is done4 99,being now in the full possession of these two truths1 feeling them1 as you feel your own existence1 you are to give up yourself entirely to ,god in ,christ ,jesus1 as into the hands of infinite love2 firmly believing that ,god has no will towards you1 but that of infinite love1 and infinite desire to make you a partaker of his divine nature2 and that it is as impossible for the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 to refuse all that life and salvation which you want1 as it is for you to take it by your own power4 99,o drink deep of this cup6 for the precious water of eternal life is in it4 ,turn unto ,god with this faith2 cast yourself into this abyss of love3 and then you will be in that state the prodigal was in1 when he said1 ,i will arise1 and go to my father1 and will say unto him1 father1 ,i have sinned against heaven1 and before thee1 and am no more worthy to be called thy son2 and all that will be fulfilled in you1 which is related of him4 99,make this1 therefore1 the two-fold exercise of your heart3 now1 bowing yourself down before ,god1 in the deepest sense and acknowledgment of your own nothingness and vileness2 then1 looking up unto ,god in faith and love1 consider him as always extending the arms of his mercy towards you1 and full of an infinite desire to dwell in you1 as he dwells in angels in heaven4 ,content yourself with this simple exercise of your heart for awhile2 and seek nothing in any book1 but that which nourishes it4 99,come unto me1 says the holy ,jesus1 all ye that labour1 and are heavy laden1 and ,i will refresh you4 ,here is more for you to live upon1 more light for your mind1 more of unction for your heart1 than in volumes of human instruction4 ,pick up the words of the holy ,jesus1 and beg of him to be the light and life of your soul3 love the sound of his name3 for ,jesus is the love1 the sweetness1 the compassionate goodness1 of the ,deity itself2 which became man1 that so men might have power to become the sons of ,god4 ,love and pity and wish well to every soul in the world2 dwell in love1 and then you dwell in ,god2 hate nothing but the evil that stirs in your own heart4 99,teach your heart this prayer1 till your heart continually saith1 though not with outward words2 8,o holy ,jesus3 meek ,lamb of ,god6 ,bread that came down from heaven6 ,light and life of all holy souls6 help me to a true and living faith in thee4 ,o do thou open thyself within me1 with all thy holy nature1 spirit1 tempers1 and inclinations1 that ,i may be born again of thee1 quickened and revived1 led and governed by thy ,holy ,spirit40 ,prayer so practised1 becomes the life of the soul1 and the true food of eternity4 ,keep in this state of application to ,god2 and then you will infallibly find it to be the true way of rising out of the vanity of time1 into the riches of eternity4 ,the poverty of our fallen nature1 the depraved workings of flesh and blood1 cannot destroy us1 so long as the spirit of prayer works contrary to them1 and longs for the light and spirit of heaven4 ,our natural evil loses its poison and death1 and only becomes our holy cross1 on which we happily die from ourselves and this world1 into the kingdom of heaven4 ,would you have done with error1 scruple1 and delusion8 ,consider the ,deity to be the greatest love1 the greatest meekness1 the greatest sweetness1 the eternal unchangeable will to be a good and blessing to every creature2 and that all the misery1 darkness1 and death of fallen angels and fallen men1 consist in their having lost their likeness to this divine nature4 ,consider yourself and all the fallen world1 as having nothing to wish for1 but by the spirit of prayer to draw into your soul this divine1 meek1 loving1 nature of ,god4 ,consider the holy ,jesus as the gift of ,god to your soul1 to begin and finish this within you1 in spite of every inward or outward enemy4 ,these three infallible truths1 heartily embraced1 and made the nourishment of your soul1 shorten and secure the way to heaven1 and leave no room for error1 scruple1 or delusion4 ,expect no life1 strength1 or comfort1 but from the ,spirit of ,god1 dwelling and manifesting his own goodness in your soul4 ,the best of men1 and the best of books1 can only do you good1 so far as they turn you from themselves1 and every human thing1 to seek and receive every kind of good from ,god alone2 not a distant1 or an absent ,god1 but a ,god living1 moving1 and working in your inmost soul4 ,they never find ,god1 who seek for him by reasoning2 for since ,god is the highest spirit1 nothing but a like spirit can unite with him2 find or feel1 or know any thing of him4 ,hence it is1 that faith and hope1 turned towards ,god1 are the only possible means of obtaining a true knowledge of him4 ,and the reason is plain1 it is because by these holy tempers1 which are the workings of his spirit within us1 we seek the ,god of life where he is1 we call upon him with his own voice1 we draw near to him by his own spirit2 for nothing can breathe forth faith and hope1 but that ,spirit which is of ,god1 and which therefore through flesh and blood thus presses towards him1 and readily unites with him4 ,there is not a more infallible truth in the world than this1 that neither reasoning nor learning can ever introduce a spark of heaven into our souls3 but if this be so1 then you have nothing to seek1 nor any thing to fear1 from reason4 ,life and death are the things in question3 they are neither of them the growth of reasoning or learning1 but each of them is a state of the soul1 and only thus differ1 death is the want1 and life the enjoyment of its highest good4 ,reason1 therefore1 and learning1 have no power here2 but only by their vain activity to keep the soul insensible of that life and death1 one of which is always growing up in it1 according to the desire of the heart4 ,add reason to a vegetable1 and you add nothing to its life or death4 ,its life and fruitfulness lieth in the soundness of its root1 the goodness of the soil1 and the riches it derives from air and light4 ,heaven and hell grow thus in the soul of man3 his heart is his root2 if that is turned from all evil1 it is then like a plant in a good soil2 when it hungers and thirsts after the divine life1 it then infallibly draws the light and ,spirit of ,god into it1 which are infinitely more ready to live and fructify in the soul1 than light and air to enter into the plant that hungers after them4 ,for the soul hath its breath1 and being1 and life1 for no other end1 but that the triune ,god may manifest the riches and powers of his own life in it4 ,thus you see1 and feel1 that the spirit of prayer is your certain way of returning to ,god4 99,when1 therefore1 it is the one ruling desire of our hearts1 that ,god may be the beginning and end1 the reason and motive1 the rule and measure1 of our doing1 or not doing1 from morning to night2 then every where1 whether speaking or silent1 whether inwardly or outwardly employed1 we are equally offered up to the eternal ,spirit1 have our life in him1 and from him1 and are united to him by that spirit of prayer1 which is the comfort1 the support1 the strength and security of the soul1 travelling by the help of ,god1 through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity4 ,for this spirit of prayer1 let us willingly give up all that we inherit from our fallen father1 to be all hunger and thirst after ,god3 and to have no thought or care1 but how to be wholly his devoted instruments2 every where1 and in every thing1 his adoring1 joyful1 and thankful servants4 ,have your eyes shut1 and ears stopped to every thing1 that is not a step in that ladder that reaches from earth to heaven4 99,reading is good1 hearing is good1 conversation and meditation are good1 but then they are only good at proper times and occasions4 ,but the spirit of prayer is for all times1 and all occasions2 it is a lamp that is to be always burning1 a light to be ever shining2 every thing calls for it1 every thing is to be done in it1 and governed by it2 because it is1 and means1 and wills nothing else but the whole soul1 incessantly given up to ,god1 to be where1 and what1 and how he pleases4 99,this state of absolute resignation1 naked faith1 and pure love of ,god is the highest perfection1 of those who are born again1 and thro' the divine power become sons of ,god3 and it is neither more nor less1 than what our blessed ,redeemer has called us to in these words3 ,thy kingdom come2 thy will be done on earth1 as it is in heaven4 ,it is to be sought for in the simplicity of a little child1 without being captivated with any mysterious depths or heights of speculation2 without coveting any knowledge1 but so far as it brings us nearer to ,god1 forces us to forget and renounce every thing for him2 to do every thing in him1 with him1 and for him2 and to give every breathing1 moving1 intention1 and desire of our heart1 and life to him4 ,let every creature have your love4 ,love with its fruits of meekness1 patience1 and humility1 is all that we can wish for to ourselves1 and our fellow-creatures2 for this is to live in ,god1 united to him1 both for time and eternity4 8and time0 replaced with 8time and0 ,to desire to communicate good to every creature1 in the degree we can1 is a divine temper2 for thus ,god stands unchangeably disposed towards the whole creation2 but let me add my request1 as you value the peace which ,god has wrought by his ,holy ,spirit in you1 as you desire to be continually taught by an unction from above1 that you would on no account enter into any dispute with any one1 about the truths of salvation3 give them every help1 but that of debating with them2 for no man has fitness for the light of the gospel1 till he finds an hunger and thirst1 and want of something better1 than that which he has and is by nature4 ,yet we ought not to check our inclinations to help others in every way we can4 ,only do what you do1 as a work of ,god2 and then1 whatever may be the event1 you will have reason to be content with the success that ,god gives it4 ,the next thing that belongs to us1 and which is also godlike1 is a true patience and meekness1 shewing every kind of good-will and tender affection towards those that turn a deaf ear to us2 looking upon it to be full as contrary to ,god's method1 and the good state of our own heart1 to dispute with any one in contentious words1 as to fight with him for the truths of salvation4 ,we are apt to consider parts and abilities1 as the proper qualifications for the reception of divine truths2 and wonder that a man of a fine understanding should not immediately embrace just and solid doctrines3 but the matter is quite otherwise4 ,had man kept possession of his first glorious state1 there had been no foundation for the gospel redemption2 and the doctrine of the cross1 must have appeared quite unreasonable3 and therefore says our ,lord1 ,to the poor the gospel is preached4 ,it is to them1 and none else3 that is1 to poor fallen man1 that has lost all the riches of his first divine life4 99,but if a man knows and feels nothing of this poverty1 he is not that person to whom the gospel belongs3 it has no more suitableness to his state1 than it had to man unfallen3 and then the greater his parts1 the better is he qualified to shew the folly of that salvation1 whereof he has no want4 99,such a man1 though he may be of an humane1 generous nature1 of lively parts and much candour1 is nevertheless entirely ignorant of the depth of the heart of man1 and the necessities of human nature4 ,as yet 7though he knows it not7 he is only at play1 pleasing himself with supposed deep enquiries after truth1 whilst he is only sporting himself with lively1 wandring images of this1 and that1 just as they happen to start up in his mind4 ,could but he see himself in the state of the poor distressed prodigal son1 and find that himself is the very person there recorded1 he would then1 see the fitness of that redemption1 which is offered him by the mercy of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4 ,but such an one1 alas6 is rich2 he is sound2 light is in his own power1 goodness is in his own possession3 he feels no distress or darkness2 but has a crucible of reason and judgment1 that on every occasion separates gold from dross2 and1 therefore1 he must be left to himself1 to his own elysium1 till something more than argument awakens him out of these golden dreams4 ,all preachers of the true spiritual gospel1 of a birth1 and life from above1 by ,jesus ,christ1 ever were1 and will be1 treated by the reigning fashionable orthodoxy1 as enemies to the outward gospel1 and its services1 just as the prophets of ,god were by the then reigning orthodoxy1 condemned and despised1 for calling people to a spiritual meaning of the letter1 to a holiness infinitely greater than that of their outward sacrifices1 types1 and ceremonies4 ,the sect of the ,pharisees did not cease with the ,jewish church3 it only lost its old name2 it is still in being1 and springs now from the gospel1 as it did then from the law3 it has the same place1 lives the same life1 does the same work1 minds the same things1 has the same religious honour1 and claim to piety1 in the ,christian1 as it had in the ,jewish church1 and as much mistakes the depths of the gospel1 as that sect mistook the meaning of the law and the prophets4 ,it would be easy to shew how the leaven of that sect works among us1 just as it did among them4 ,have any of the rulers believed on him8 was the orthodox question of the antient ,pharisees4 ,now we readily condemn the folly of that question2 and yet who does not see1 that1 for the most part1 both priest and people1 in every ,christian country1 live and govern themselves by the folly of the very same spirit which put that question3 for when ,god1 as he has always done from the beginning of the world1 rises up private and illiterate persons1 full of light and wisdom from above1 so as to be able to discover the workings of the mystery of iniquity1 and to open the absolute necessity of such an inward spirit and life of ,christ1 as carnal wisdom1 and worldly policy have departed from2 when this is done1 by the weakest instruments in such simplicity and fulness1 as may be justly deemed a miracle3 do not clergy and laity get rid of it all1 merely by the strength of the good old question1 8,have any of the rulers believed and taught these things8 ,hath the church in council or convocation8 ,hath ,calvin1 ,luther1 ,zuinglius1 or any of our renowned system-makers1 ever taught or asserted these matters80 ,but hear what our blessed ,lord saith1 of the place and origin of truth3 he refers us not to the current doctrines of the times3 ,my sheep1 says he1 hear my voice4 ,here the whole matter is determined1 both where truth is1 and who they are that can have any knowledge of it4 ,heavenly truth is no where spoke but by the voice of ,christ1 nor heard but by a power of ,christ in the hearer4 ,as he is the only word of ,god1 that speaks forth all the wisdom1 and wonders of ,god2 so he alone is the word1 that speaks forth all the life1 wisdom1 and goodness1 that can be in any creature2 it can have none but what it has in him and from him3 this is the one unchangeable boundary of truth1 goodness1 and every perfection of men on earth1 or angels in heaven4 ,literary learning1 from the beginning to the end of time1 will have no more of heavenly wisdom1 nor any less of worldly foolishness in it1 at one time than at another2 its nature is the same through all ages2 what it was in the ,jew1 that same it is in the ,christian4 ,its name1 as well as nature1 is unalterable1 viz4 foolishness with ,god4 99,i shall add no more1 but the two or three following words4 ,i4 ,receive every inward and outward trouble1 every disappointment1 pain1 uneasiness1 temptation1 with both thy hands1 as a blessed occasion of dying to thyself1 and entering into a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying1 suffering ,saviour4 ,,ii4 ,look at no inward or outward trouble1 in any other view2 reject every other thought about it2 and then every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed day of thy prosperity4 ,,iii4 ,be afraid of seeking or finding comfort in any thing1 but ,god alone2 for that which gives thee comfort1 takes so much of thy heart from ,god4 8,what is a pure heart8 ,one to which ,god alone is totally1 and purely sufficient2 to which nothing relishes1 or gives delight1 but ,god alone40 ,,iv4 ,that state is best1 which exerciseth the highest faith in1 and fullest resignation to ,god4 ,v4 ,what is it you want and seek1 but that ,god may be all in all in you8 ,but how can this be1 unless all worldly good and evil become as nothing to you8 8,o my soul6 abstract thyself from every thing4 ,what hast thou to do with changeable creatures8 ,waiting and expecting thy bridegroom1 who is the author of all creatures1 let it be thy sole concern1 that he may find thy heart free and disengaged1 as often as it shall please him to visit thee40 ,be assured of this1 that sooner or later1 we must be brought to this conviction1 that every thing in ourselves by nature is evil1 and must be entirely given up2 and that nothing that is created1 can make us better than we are by nature4 ,happy1 therefore1 and blessed are all those inward or outward troubles1 that hasten this conviction in us2 that with the whole strength of our souls1 we may be driven to seek all from and in ,god1 without the least thought1 hope1 or contrivance after any other relief3 then it is1 that we are made truly partakers of the cross of ,christ2 and from the bottom of our hearts shall be enabled to say1 with ,st4 ,paul1 ,god forbid that ,i should glory in any thing1 save the cross of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 by which ,i am crucified to the world1 and the world is crucified to me4 99,give up yourself to ,god without reserve4 ,this implies such a state of heart1 as does nothing of itself1 from its own reason1 will or choice1 but stands always in an absolute dependance upon being led by the ,spirit of ,god into every thing that is according to his will2 in singleness of heart meeting every thing that every day brings forth1 as something that comes from ,god1 and is to be received1 and gone through by you1 in such an heavenly use of it1 as you would suppose the holy ,jesus would have done1 in such occurrences4,this is an attainable degree of perfection2 and by having ,christ and his ,spirit always in your eye1 and nothing else1 you will never be left to yourself1 nor without the full guidance of ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,v,i,ia4 second letter 8,,vii01 added 8a0 suffix ,to ,mr4 ,t4 ,l4 ,,it matters not my friend1 what you are upon1 whether you would save a man from deism1 debauchery1 or suicide2 you must begin in the same place1 from one and the same ground1 and this as unavoidably1 as every fruit must have its beginning from the root1 and from the root in its right state4 ,the amiableness of any virtue1 or the horrid nature of any vice1 whilst only considered as in themselves1 are but as pictures set before our eyes1 and have no other effect upon us4 ,and this is the unprofitableness of all moral instructions1 whether ,heathen or ,christian4 ,if you can help a man to seek1 and find1 and know himself1 and his real relation to ,god2 to know that he has neither inward nor outward evil1 but because he has lost his true state1 and place in ,god2 and that therefore nothing can be his peace and happiness1 but his first divine life restored again in him1 then you have done all that you can for him1 whatever his malady is4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,viii4 ,to the same4 ,my dear ,friend1 ,,the variety of trials you have lately met with1 are but a specimen of what you are to expect1 in some form or other1 so long as you breathe the air of this fallen world4,the longer we are without them1 the more our need of them is increased4 ,and they never give great smart1 but where something is to be torn off that sticks too close to us4,one reflection upon these sacred words1 8,my kingdom is not of this world3 ,the ,son of man hath not where to lay his head10 are sufficient to take not only the sting out of every cross that can here befall us1 but even to make us afraid and ashamed of being pleased with any thing1 that has the name of worldly honour and prosperity4 ,you have no reason to wonder at any thing you see or hear1 of the partiality1 selfishness1 envy1 and enmity1 that so soon breaks out between brothers and sisters of the same blood4,for if blood-relations1 considered as such1 could have any true goodness1 or unselfish regard to one another1 we should not be under the necessity of being born again4 ,will it do you any good to tell you1 that thus says my heart1 without speaking a word1 ,let nothing live in me1 but the redeeming power of thy ,holy ,jesus1 nothing pray in me but thy ,holy ,spirit4,this is my ship1 in which ,i would be always at sea4,all that ,i seek1 or mean1 either for myself or others1 by every height and depth of divine knowledge1 is only for this end1 that we may be more willing and glad to become such little children1 as our ,lord has told us1 are the only heirs of the kingdom of ,god4 ,the piercing critic may1 and naturally will grow in pride1 as fast as his skill in words discovers itself4 ,and every kind of knowledge that shews the scholar1 the orator1 the disputer1 the commentator1 the historian1 his own powers and abilities1 are the same temptation to him1 that ,eve had from the serpent2 and he will get no more good by the love and relish of such knowledge1 than she got by her love of the tree1 that was so desirable to make one wise4 ,but he whose eyes are opened to see into this mystery of all things1 sees nothing but death to himself1 and to every thing that he had called or delighted in as his own4 ,this is the bold depth of his knowledge4 ,and if you would know its aspiring height1 it consists in learning to know1 that which the angels and twenty-four elders about the throne of ,god knew1 when they cast down their crowns before him that sat on the throne1 saying1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 ,lord ,god ,almighty1 thou art worthy to receive glory1 and honour1 and power2 for thou hast created all things1 and for thy pleasure they are and were created4,it is to know1 that the triune majesty of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit1 are the three-fold power1 life1 glory1 and perfection of every creature that sings praises to ,god1 in heaven and in earth4 ,this is the proud knowledge of those1 who are let into the holy of holies4 ,which goes no deeper1 than to see the nothingness of man1 ascends no higher1 than to know that ,god is all2 which begets nothing in man1 but that which was begotten in ,paul1 when he cried out1 ,god forbid that ,i should glory in any thing1 but the cross of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,ix4 ,to ,g4 ,w4 ,,the large account you have given of yourself1 is very affecting1 and ,i hope ,god will turn all the variety of your past distress1 into means of a future solid peace1 and rest in his divine love4 ,to be weary and heavy laden1 is to have the highest fitness to receive that rest1 that ,christ alone can give4 ,these are the persons that he called to him1 when he was upon earth4 ,they who are content with themselves1 are in the utmost danger of never knowing that happiness1 for which they were created4 99,for a while1 consider yourself in such a solitude1 as if there was only ,god and you in the world1 free from every thought1 but that of desiring to be wholly and solely his1 and looking wholly to his goodness1 to be delivered out of the misery of your fallen state4 ,be not too eager about much reading3 nor read any thing but that which nourishes1 strengthens1 and establishes that faith in you1 of an inward ,saviour1 who is the life of your soul4 ,to grow up in this faith1 is taking the best means of attaining to knowledge in all divine matters4 ,cast away all reflections about the world4 ,and let all be swallowed up in this joyful thought1 that you had found the ,messiah1 the ,saviour of the world1 not in books1 but in your own soul4 ,give yourself up to this1 expect all from it1 let it be the humble1 faithful1 longing desire of your heart1 and desire no knowledge1 but that which proceeds from it4 ,stand only in this thirst of knowledge1 and then all that you know will be spirit and life4 ,with a heart full of good wishes to you1 ,i am1 ,your's1 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,x4 ,to ,mr4 ,t4 ,l4 ,my dear ,l4 ,,tamper with no physicians1 but content yourself1 to have that share of health1 which a regular and good life can help you to4,reflect not upon your predominant complexion1 or how long it will be before you get from under its power4 ,st4 ,paul wanted to be delivered from his thorn in the flesh4 ,he had all he prayed for1 though the thorn might continue1 when ,god said to him1 ,my grace is sufficient for thee2 this was better to him1 than if his thorn had been taken from him4 ,this enabled him to say1 ,i will glory in my infirmities2 for when ,i am weak1 then ,i am strong4 99,you believe1 that if it was not for earnest and continual prayer1 your turn to melancholy would get the better of you4 ,you cannot believe this too much1 for nothing else can preserve you from being led away by every other evil temper4 ,but let resignation to ,god be the predominant part of your spirit of prayer2 it is not so much ardent desires1 as humble resignation to be as ,god pleases1 that keeps the heart in the highest union with him4 ,faith and hope and love get their best strength1 when resignation is the salt wherewith they are seasoned4 ,you think1 if you was to live an hundred years in an abstracted contemplation1 some property of nature1 would still be occasionally breaking forth in you4 ,what occasion had you1 my friend1 to make this complaint about such a contemplation8 99,you have no business with it1 nor any reason to expect it should do any thing for you4 ,had you changed your words1 and said1 ,i believe if ,i was for a hundred years to be wholly trusting in1 and depending upon ,god1 to do that for me which he has promised to do for all that trust in him1 it would not be done3 had you expressed your complaint in these words1 you would have seen1 that neither faith1 nor hope1 nor love1 nor resignation would have allowed you to make it4 ,look at yourself1 at the power of time1 or any thing that this or that complexion does1 and then you may be afraid of every thing2 but look at ,god1 as him that is to do all for you1 and in you1 and then you need be afraid of nothing4 ,a thorn1 or no thorn1 bad or good blood1 with all its effects1 loose all their difference1 as soon as you know that you are not your own1 nor left to yourself to seek a physician1 that will not leave you unhealed4 ,we know that all things must work together for good to them that love ,god4 ,now what signifies what the things are1 if we are to have the same good from them1 be they what they will8 ,let complexion shew itself1 let the dead ashes of old sins seem to be ready to come to life again1 what is all this1 but helping us to be more alive unto ,god8 ,therefore rejoice evermore1 in every thing give thanks1 and call nothing but this1 abstracted contemplation4 ,farewell4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,letter ,,xi4 ,to a ,clergyman of ,westmoreland4 ,reverend ,sir1 ,,adam's turning from ,god1 to hear the voice of his own reason and imagination1 and the suggestions of a satanical serpent1 was that which created in him a new hardened heart1 bold enough to eat of the forbidden tree4 ,now this rise of the first sin1 demonstrates how the matter stands between ,god and every sinner1 to the end of the world4 ,the whole nature of ,god1 his one unalterable will and work1 stands in the same full opposition and contrariety to every work of sin in every man1 as it did to ,adam's first transgression4 ,and that which ,god did to prevent the first sin1 saying to ,adam1 ,eat not1 that same voice of love1 keeps saying1 to every son of ,adam1 ,sin not4 ,yet so wise in the ways of ,god1 are some divinity students1 as to teach and preach1 that the whole world through its thousands of years1 has been bringing forth its millions of myriads of sinners all round the globe1 who as soon as they have done with the vanity and misery of this world1 are to be roaring in the hottest fire of an eternal hell4 ,for what8 ,why1 because they have been just as wicked1 as the decrees of ,god required and forced them to be4 ,and also thro' every age of the world1 there hath always been a little number of righteous1 who were to go to heaven1 which number had no littleness in it1 but because ,god would not suffer it to be greater4 ,can a charge like this be brought against ,satan8 ,nay1 doth it not even free ,satan from all the evil that is charged upon him1 and make him1 though going about as a roaring lion1 to be as insignificant a tool in the work of sin1 as the preacher is in the work of godliness1 though with ever so loud a voice1 he beseeches the reprobate to be reconciled to ,god1 or with tears in his eyes1 exhorts the elect not to depart from him8 ,you once1 ,i remember1 said to me1 that you thought ,i over-did the matter1 in my censure upon learning4 ,let learning therefore speak for itself4 ,let its own works praise it4 ,what has it done8 ,what has brought forth a multiplicity of churches1 but that very same acuteness of learning1 which asserts and proves there is but one8 ,whence comes transubstantiation1 election1 reprobation1 insignificancy of works1 socinianism1 arianism1 but from that knowledge of history1 and critical skill in words1 which is the glory of the learned world4 ,without me ye can do nothing1 saith ,christ4 ,that which a man soweth1 that shall he reap1 saith the apostle4 ,truths like these1 of which the scripture is full1 would keep all believers in the true church1 attentive to the one thing needful1 had not a learning1 falsely so called1 filled all eyes with the dust of darkness4 ,now1 ,sir1 be as sober as you will about the use and power of learning1 logic1 and eloquence1 in the doctrines of salvation2 condemn the bad use that heretics1 schismatics1 arians and socinians have made of them2 yet let me whisper this truth into your ear1 that you will never be delivered from the delusion and cheat of your own learning1 till by a light risen up within you1 you come to see1 and know1 that you want no more learning1 to change you from a sinner into a saint1 than ,mary ,magdalen did4 99,god said to ,abraham1 ,walk before me1 and be thou perfect4 ,this was the ,hebrew school1 in which the father of the faithful1 was to learn to be perfect4 ,but here now comes the scholar-critic1 and finds that matters stand not thus now1 because the glorious light of the gospel 7he says7 has discovered that all lies in an election and reprobation1 and that salvation and damnation come from nothing else1 the apostle expressly saying1 ,it is not of him that willeth1 nor of him that runneth1 but of ,god that sheweth mercy4 ,what a learned strife has there been about the meaning of these words8 ,and yet they mean not one jot more or less1 than when the apostle saith1 ,the natural man knoweth not the things of the ,spirit1 neither can he know them4 ,all that is in the one text1 is in the other2 and both of them say only this one great and good truth1 that the creature can have no divine life1 light1 goodness1 and happiness1 but from that1 which the holy triune ,god is1 and operates in it4 ,farewell4 ,an ,extract from ,mr4 ,,law's ,address to the ,,clergy4 ,published a little after his ,death4 ,,the reason of my addressing this discourse to the clergy1 is not1 because it treats of things not of common concern to all ,christians1 but chiefly to induce them1 as far as ,i can1 to the serious perusal of it2 and because whatever is essential to ,christian salvation1 if either neglected1 or mistaken by them1 is of the saddest consequence both to themselves1 and the churches in which they minister4 ,i say essential to salvation1 for ,i would not turn my own thoughts1 or call the attention of ,christians to any thing1 but the one thing needful1 the one thing essential1 and only available1 to our rising out of our fallen state1 and becoming1 as we were at our creation1 an holy offspring of ,god1 and real partakers of of the divine nature4 duplicate word 8of0 removed ,if it be asked1 ,what this one thing is8 ,it is the ,,spirit ,,of ,,god ,,working ,,spiritual ,,life ,,in ,,us4 ,nothing else is wanted by us1 nothing else is intended for us by the law1 the prophets1 and the gospel4 ,nothing else is1 or can be effectual1 to the making sinful man become again a godly creature4 8,,wokking0 replaced with 8,,working0 ,every thing else1 however glorious and divine in outward appearance1 every thing that angels1 men1 churches or reformations1 can do for us1 is dead and helpless1 but so far as it is1 the immediate work of the ,spirit of ,god1 breathing1 and living in it4 ,all scripture bears full witness to this truth1 and the design of all that is written1 is only to call us back from the power of ,satan1 the flesh and the world1 to be again under full dependance upon1 and obedience to the ,spirit of ,god4 ,when this is done1 all is done1 that the scripture can do for us4 ,read what chapter1 or doctrine of scripture you will1 be ever so delighted with it1 it will leave you as poor1 as empty1 and unreformed1 as it found you1 unless it be a delight that has turned you to the ,spirit of ,god1 and strengthened your union with1 and dependance upon him4 ,for if it be an immutable truth1 that no man can call ,jesus1 ,lord1 but by the ,holy ,ghost1 it must be a truth equally immutable1 that no one can have any one ,christ-like temper1 but so far as he is immediately led1 and governed by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the reasons of which are as follow4 ,all possible goodness was in ,god from all eternity1 and must to all eternity be inseparable from him4 ,as therefore before ,god created any thing1 it was certainly true1 that there was but one that was good2 so it is just the same truth1 after ,god had created innumerable hosts of blessed1 holy1 and heavenly beings1 that there is but one that is good1 and that is ,god4 ,all that can be called goodness1 or holiness1 in the creatures1 is no more their own1 or the growth of their created powers1 than they were their own1 before they were created4 ,but all that is called goodness in the creature1 is nothing else but the one goodness of ,god manifesting itself in the creature1 according as its created nature is fitted to receive it4 ,this is the unalterable state between ,god and the creature3 goodness1 for ever and ever1 can only belong to ,god1 as essential to him1 and inseparable from him4 ,god could not make the creature to be great and glorious in itself2 this is as impossible1 as for ,god to create beings into a state of independance on himself4 ,the heavens1 saith ,david1 declare the glory of ,god2 and no creature1 any more than the heavens can declare any other glory1 but that of ,god4 ,and as well might it be said1 that the firmament sheweth forth its own handy-work1 as that a holy1 divine1 or heavenly creature1 sheweth forth its own natural power4 ,but if all that is great1 glorious1 and happy1 in the spirits1 tempers1 and enjoyments of the creature1 is only so much of the greatness1 glory1 majesty1 and blessedness of ,god1 dwelling in it1 and displaying his own triune light1 life1 and love1 in and through the manifold forms1 and capacities of the creature1 then we may infallibly see the true ground and nature of all true religion4 ,for the creatures true religion is its rendering to ,god all that is ,god's1 it is its continual acknowledging all that which it is1 and has1 and enjoys1 in and from ,god4 ,this is the one true religion of all intelligent creatures1 whether in heaven1 or on earth2 for as they all have the same relation to ,god1 so though ever so different in their states1 or offices1 they all have but one and the same true religion1 or right behaviour towards ,god4 ,now the one religion1 between ,god and all intelligent creatures1 is this1 a total1 unalterable dependance upon ,god1 an immediate1 continual receiving of every kind1 and degree of goodness1 blessing1 and happiness1 that ever was1 or can be found in them1 from ,god alone4 ,the highest angel has nothing of its own1 that it can offer to ,god1 no more light1 love1 purity1 perfection1 that spring from itself1 or its own powers1 than the poorest creature upon earth4 ,could the angel see a spark of wisdom1 goodness1 or excellence1 as coming from1 or belonging to itself1 its place in heaven would be lost1 as sure as ,lucifer lost his4 ,but they are ever abiding flames of pure love1 always ascending up to1 and uniting with ,god1 for this reason1 because the wisdom1 the power1 the glory1 the majesty1 the love1 and goodness of ,god alone1 is all that they see1 and feel1 and know1 either within1 or without themselves4,songs of praise to their heavenly ,father1 are their ravishing delight1 because they see1 and know1 and feel1 that it is the breath and spirit of their heavenly ,father that sings and rejoices in them4,their adoration in spirit and in truth never ceases1 because they never cease to acknowledge the ,,all of ,god2the ,,all of ,god in themselves1 and the ,,all of ,god in the whole creation4 ,this is the one religion of heaven1 and nothing else is the truth of religion on earth4 ,the matter plainly comes to this4 ,nothing can be religion to the intelligent creature1 but the power and presence of ,god1 really and essentially living and working in it4 ,but if this be the unchangeable nature of religion1 then of necessity the creature must have all its religious goodness1 as wholly and solely from ,god's immediate operation1 as it had its first goodness at its creation4 ,and it is the same impossibility for the creature to help itself to religion1 by any contrivance1 reasonings1 or workings of its own natural powers1 as to create itself4 ,for the creature after its creation1 can no more take any thing to itself1 that belongs to ,god1 than it could take it before it was created4 ,and as the natural powers of the creature could only come from the one power of ,god1 so that which comforts1 which enlightens1 which blesses1 which gives peace1 joy1 goodness1 and rest to its natural powers1 can be had in no other way1 nor by any other thing1 but from ,god's immediate1 holy operation in it4 ,all true religion is1 an essential union1 and communion of the spirit of the creature1 with the ,spirit of the ,creator3 ,god in it1 and it in ,god1 one life1 one light1 one love4 ,the ,spirit of ,god first sows the seed of divine union in the soul of every man2 and religion is1 that1 by which it is quickened1 and brought to a fullness of life in ,god4,take a similitude of this4,the beginning of animal breath1 springs in the creature from the ,spirit of this world1 and the respiration1 keeps up an essential union of the animal life with the spirit of this world4 ,in like manner1 faith1 hope1 love1 and resignation to ,god1 are in the religious life1 its acts of respiration1 which unite ,god and the creature1 in the same essential manner1 as animal respiration1 unites the breath of the animal1 with the breath of this world4 99,now as no animal could begin to respire1 but because it had its beginning to breathe1 from the air of this world1 so no creature1 angel or man1 could begin to be religious1 or breathe forth faith1 love1 and desire towards ,god1 but because these divine affections were by the ,spirit of ,god begotten in it4,and as a tree or plant can only grow1 and fructify by the same power1 that first gave birth to the seed1 so faith1 and hope1 and love towards ,god1 can only grow1 and fructify by the same power1 that begat the first seed of them in the soul4 ,therefore divine1 immediate inspiration1 and religion1 are inseparable in the nature of the thing4 ,take away inspiration1 or suppose it to cease1 and no religious acts1 or affections can remain4 ,for the creature can return nothing to ,god1 but that1 which it has first received from him2 therefore1 if it is to offer up to ,god1 affections and aspirations1 that are divine and godly1 it must of necessity have the divine nature living1 and breathing in it4,can any thing reflect light1 before it has received it1 or any other light1 than that which it has received8 ,can any creature breathe forth earthly or diabolical affections1 before it is possessed of an earthly1 or diabolical nature8 ,yet this is as possible1 as for any creature to have divine affections dwelling in it1 either before1 or any farther1 than it has1 the divine nature1 dwelling1 and operating in it4 ,a religious faith1 that is uninspired1 a hope1 or love1 that proceeds not from the immediate working of the divine nature within us1 can no more unite us with ,god1 than an hunger after earthly food1 can feed us with the bread of heaven4,all that the natural1 or uninspired man does1 or can do in the church has no more of the truth1 or power of divine worship in it1 than that1 which he does in the field1 or shop1 through a desire of riches4,and the reason is1 because all the acts of the natural man1 whether relating to matters of religion1 or the world1 must be equally selfish1 and there is no possibility of their being otherwise4 ,for self-love1 self-esteem1 self-seeking1 are as strictly the whole of all that is1 or can be1 in the natural man1 as in the natural beast3 the one can no more be better1 or act above his nature1 than the other4 ,neither can any creature be in a better1 or higher state than this1 till something supernatural is found in it3 and this supernatural something1 called in scripture1 the ,,word1 or ,,spirit1 or ,,inspiration of ,god1 is that alone1 from which man can have the first good thought about ,god1 or the least heavenly desire4 ,a religion that is not wholly built upon the supernatural ground1 but stands upon the powers1 and reasonings of the natural1 uninspired man1 has not so much as the shadow of true religion in it1 but is a mere nothing1 in the same sense1 as an idol is said to be nothing1 because the idol has nothing of that in it1 which is pretended by it4 ,for the work of religion has no divine good in it1 but as it brings forth1 and keeps up essential union of the spirit of man with the ,spirit of ,god2 which essential union cannot be made1 but through love on both sides1 nor by love1 but where the love that works on both sides1 is of the same nature4 ,no man therefore can love ,god1 or have unison with him1 but he who is inspired with the same spirit of love with which ,god loved himself from all eternity1 and before there was any creature4,infinite hosts of new created heavenly beings1 can begin no new kind of love of ,god1 nor have the least power of beginning to love him at all1 but by his own holy ,spirit of love4 ,this love that was then in ,god alone1 is the only love that can draw creatures to ,god2 they can have no power of cleaving to him1 or adoring the divine nature1 but by partaking of that eternal ,spirit of love2 and therefore the continual1 immediate inspiration1 or operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 is the only possible ground of our continually loving ,god4,as to the pride charged upon this enthusiasm1 so called2 ,christ saith1 without me ye can do nothing1 the same as if he had said1 ,as to yourselves1 ye are mere helpless sin and misery1 and nothing that is good1 can come from you1 but by the continual1 immediate breathing and inspiration of another spirit1 given by ,god1 to overrule your own4 ,now is there any pride1 in fully believing and acting in full conformity to it8 ,if so1 then he that confesses1 he neither hath1 nor can have a single farthing1 but as it is freely given him from charity1 thereby declares himself to be a purse-proud vain boaster of his own wealth4 ,such is the spiritual pride of him1 who fully acknowledges1 that he neither hath1 nor can have the least spark of goodness1 but what is freely breathed into him by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,again1 if it is spiritual pride1 to believe1 that nothing we think1 or say1 or do1 can have any goodness in it1 but that which is wrought immediately by the ,spirit of ,god1 then it must be said1 that in order to have humility1 we must take some share of our virtues to ourselves1 and not allow 7as ,christ hath said7 that without him1 we can do nothing that is good4 ,behold a pride1 and an humility1 the one as good as the other1 and both logically descended from a wisdom1 that confesses it cometh not from above4 ,it is in vain to think1 that there is a middle way1 and that rational divines have found it out1 as ,dr4 ,warburton has done1 who though denying immediate1 continual inspiration yet allows1 that the ,spirit's 8ordinary influence1 occasionally assists the faithful40 ,sermon4 ,volume ,i4 99,now this middle way1 hath neither scripture1 nor sense in it3 for an occasional influence1 or concurrence1 is as absurd1 as an occasional ,god4 ,for an occasional influence of the ,spirit upon us1 supposes an occasional absence of the spirit from us4 ,for there could be no such thing1 unless ,god was sometimes with us1 and sometimes not1 sometimes doing us good1 as the ,god of our life1 and sometimes doing us no good1 but leaving us to be good from ourselves4,occasional influence necessarily implies all this blasphemous absurdity4 ,again1 this middle way of an occasional influence supposes1 that there is something of man's own that is good4 ,but if there was any thing good in man1 it could not be true1 that there is only one that is good1 and that is ,god4 ,and was there any goodness in creatures1 either in heaven1 or on earth1 but the one goodness of the divine nature1 living1 working1 and manifesting itself in them1 as its created instruments1 then good creatures1 both in heaven and on earth1 would have something else to adore1 besides1 or along with ,god4 ,for goodness1 be it where it will1 is adorable for itself2 if therefore any degree of it belonged to the creature1 it ought to have a share of that same adoration1 that is paid to the ,creator4 ,all religion is of divine inspiration1 which being interpreted1 is ,immanuel1 or ,god with us4 ,every thing short of this1 is short of that religion1 which worships ,god in ,spirit and in truth4 ,and every religious trust or confidence in any thing else1 is but a sort of image-worship1 which though it may deny the form1 yet retains the power thereof in the heart4 ,and he that places any religious safety1 in theological decisions1 scholastic points1 in particular doctrines and opinions1 about faith1 justification1 sanctification1 or election1 so far departs from the true worship of the living ,god1 and sets up an idol of notions1 to be worshipped1 if not instead of1 yet along with him4 ,and ,i believe1 it may be taken for a certain truth1 that every society of ,christians1 whose religion stands upon this ground1 however ardent and laborious their zeal may be in such matters1 yet in spite of all1 sooner or later1 it will be found that nature is at the bottom1 and that a selfish1 earthly pride in their own definitions and doctrines1 will by degrees creep up to the same height1 and do those very same things1 which they exclaim against in ,popes1 ,cardinals1 and ,jesuits4 ,nor can it be otherwise2 for a letter-learned zeal has but one nature1 wherever it is2 it can only do that for ,christians1 which it did for ,jews2 as it antiently brought forth ,scribes1 ,pharisees1 ,hypocrites1 and ,crucifiers of ,christ1 as it afterwards brought forth ,popes1 ,papal decrees1 images1 anathemas1 transubstantiation2 so in ,protestant countries1 it will be doing the same thing1 only with other materials2 images of wood and clay1 will only be given up for images of doctrines2 grace and works1 imputed sin1 and imputed righteousness1 election and reprobation1 will have their synods of ,dort1 as truly evangelical1 as any council of ,trent4 ,this must be the case of all fallen ,christendom1 as well ,popish as ,protestant1 till single men1 and churches1 know1 confess1 and firmly adhere to this truth1 viz4 ,that our salvation is in the life of ,jesus ,christ in us4 ,every thing besides this1 or that is not leading to it1 is but mere ,babel in all sects1 and divisions of ,christians1 living to themselves1 under a seeming holiness of ,christian strife1 and contention about scripture words4 ,but this truth of truths1 fully possessed1 brings ,god and man together1 puts an end to every ,lo here1 and ,lo there1 and turns the whole faith of man to a ,christ1 that can no where be a ,saviour to him1 but in his inmost soul1 nor there1 by any other means1 but the immediate inspiration of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,to this man1 all scripture gives daily edification2 the words of ,christ and his apostles fall like a fire into him4 ,and what is it1 that they kindle there8 ,not notions1 not itching ears1 not rambling desires after new and new expounders of them1 but a holy flame of love1 to be always attending to ,christ1 and his ,holy ,spirit within him1 who alone can make him to be1 and do all that which the words of ,christ1 and his apostles have taught4 ,for there is no possibility of being like-minded with ,christ1 but by the nature and ,spirit of ,christ1 living in us4 ,read all our ,saviour's sermon on the mount1 consent to every part of it1 yet the time of practising it1 will never come1 till you have a new nature from ,christ1 and are as vitally in him1 and he in you1 as the vine in the branch1 and the branch in the vine4 ,for no blessedness can be found either in men or angels1 but where the ,spirit1 and life of ,god are within them4 ,and all men1 all churches1 not placing all in the life1 light1 and guidance of the ,holy ,spirit1 but pretending to act for the glory of ,god1 from opinions which their logic and learning have collected from scripture words1 or from what a ,calvin1 an ,arminus1 or some smaller name1 has told them1 are but where the apostles were1 when there was a strife amongst them1 who should be the greatest4 ,and how much soever they may say of their zeal for truth1 and the glory of ,god1 yet their behaviour towards one another1 is proof enough1 that the great strife among them is1 which shall have the greatest number of followers4 ,whereas not numbers of men1 or kingdoms professing ,christianity1 but numbers1 redeemed from the death of ,adam1 to the life of ,christ1 are the glory of the ,christian church4 ,and in whatever national ,christianity1 any thing else is sought after1 by the profession of the gospel1 but a new heavenly life1 through the eternal ,son of ,god1 wrought in the fallen soul2 there1 the spirit of satanic and worldly subtlety1 will be church1 and priest1 and supreme power1 in all that is called religion4 ,but to return to the doctrine of continual inspiration4 ,the natural man1 educated in ,pagan learning1 and scholastic theology1 seeing the strength of his genius in the search after knowledge1 how easy and learnedly he can talk1 and write1 criticise and determine upon all scripture words and facts1 looks at all this1 as a full proof of his own religious wisdom1 and calls immediate inspiration1 enthusiasm2 not considering1 that all the woes denounced by ,christ against ,scribes1 ,pharisees1 and ,hypocrites1 are so many woes1 denounced against every appearance and shew of religion1 that the natural man can practise4 ,and what is well to be noted1 every one1 however high in human literature1 is but this very natural man1 and can only have the goodness of a carnal religion1 till as empty of all1 as a new-born child1 the ,spirit of ,god becomes the inspirer and doer of all that he wills1 does1 and aims at1 in his whole course of religion4 99,but to all this1 it must be added1 that a religion of worldly glory and prosperity carried on1 under the gospel-state1 has more of a diabolical nature1 than that of the ,jewish ,pharisees4 ,it is the highest1 and last working of the mystery of iniquity1 because it lives to ,satan and the world1 in and by a daily profession of being crucified with ,christ1 of being led by his ,spirit1 of being risen from the world1 and set with him in heavenly places4 ,i would ask all writers against continual1 immediate divine inspiration1 how they could more effectually lead men1 into an habitual state of sinning against the ,holy ,ghost1 than by such doctrine8 ,for how can we possibly avoid the sin of grieving1 or quenching the ,spirit1 but by continually reverencing his holy presence in us2 by continually waiting for1 trusting1 and attending to that1 which the ,spirit of ,god1 wills1 works1 and manifests within us8 ,to turn men from this continual dependance upon the ,holy ,spirit1 is turning them from all true knowledge of ,god4 ,for without this1 there is no possibility of any edifying1 saving knowledge of ,god4 ,for tho' we have ever so many mathematical demonstrations of his being1 we are without all real knowledge of him1 till his own ,spirit manifests him1 as a power of life1 light1 and goodness1 vitally felt1 and adored in our souls4 ,this is the one knowledge of ,god1 which is eternal life2 this is that knowledge of which ,christ saith1 no one knoweth the ,father but the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the ,son revealeth him4 ,and if none belong to ,god1 but those who are led by the spirit of ,god1 if we are reprobates unless the ,spirit of ,christ be living in us1 who need be told1 that all we have to trust to1 as children of ,god1 is the continual1 immediate guidance1 unction1 and teaching of his ,holy ,spirit8 ,or how can we more profanely sin against this ,spirit1 or more expressly call men from the power of ,god unto ,satan1 than by ridiculing a faith and hope1 that look wholly to his continual1 immediate operations1 for all that can be holy and good in us8 ,this is the end of all scripture2 for all that is there said1 however learnedly read1 or studied by ,hebrew or ,greek skill1 fails of its end1 till it brings us to feel all that the scriptures speak of ,god and man1 verified in our own souls4 ,for all is within man1 that can be either good or evil to him3 ,god within him1 is his divine life2 ,satan within him is his life of earthly wisdom1 of diabolical falseness1 wrath1 pride1 and vanity of every kind4 ,there is no middle-way1 he that is not under the power of the one1 is under the power of the other2 so far therefore as man loses this life of ,god1 so far he falls under the power of ,satan and worldly wisdom4 ,when ,st4 ,peter1 full of an human love to ,christ1 advised him to avoid his sufferings1 ,christ rejected him with ,get thee behind me1 ,satan2 and only gave this reason for it1 thou savourest not the things that be of ,god1 but the things that be of men4 ,a plain proof that whatever is not from the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 however plausible it may seem to men1 is yet in itself1 nothing else but the power of ,satan in us4 99,christians1 seeking any thing else1 but to be inspired by the ,spirit of ,god1 will bring forth a ,christendom1 that in the sight of ,god will have no other name1 than a spiritual ,babylon1 a spiritual ,egypt1 a scarlet whore1 a devouring beast1 and red dragon4 ,for all these names belong to all men1 however learned1 and to all churches1 whether greater or less1 in which the spirit of this world hath any share of power4 ,this was the fall of the whole church1 soon after the apostolic ages2 and all human reformations1 begun by ecclesiastical learning1 and supported by civil power1 will signify little or nothing1 till all churches dying to their own will1 wisdom1 and own advancement1 seek for no reforming power1 but from that ,spirit of ,god1 which converted ,sinners1 ,publicans1 ,harlots1 ,jews and ,heathens1 into an holy1 apostolical church1 a church1 which knew they were of ,god1 that they belonged to ,god1 by that spirit which he had given them1 and which worked in them4 99,time1 and the things of time1 will soon have an end2 and he that trusts to any thing but the ,spirit of ,god working in his heart1 will be but ill fitted to enter into eternity2 ,god must be all in all in us here1 or we cannot be his hereafter4 ,time works only for eternity2 and poverty eternal must as certainly follow him1 who dies only stuffed with human learning1 as he who dies only full of worldly riches4 ,the folly of thinking to have any divine learning1 but that which the ,holy ,spirit teaches1 or to make ourselves rich in knowledge towards ,god1 by heaps of common place learning1 will leave us1 as dreadfully cheated1 as that rich builder of barns in the gospel1 to whom it was said1 ,thou fool1 this night shall thy soul be required of thee2 and then1 whose shall all these things be8 ,luke #ab4 ,so is every man that treasures up a religious learning1 that comes not wholly from the ,spirit of ,god4 ,farther1 what a blindness is it1 to charge persons with the enthusiasm of holding the necessity of continual1 immediate inspiration1 and to attack them as enemies to the established church1 when every body's eyes see1 that collect after collect in the established liturgy1 teaches1 and requires them to believe1 and pray for the continual inspiration of the ,spirit1 as that alone1 by which they can have the least good thought or desire8 ,thus1 8,o ,god1 forasmuch as without thee1 we are not able to please thee2 mercifully grant that thy ,holy ,spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts40 ,is it possible for words more strongly to express the necessity of a continual1 divine inspiration8 ,or can inspiration be higher1 or more immediate in prophets and apostles1 than that which directs1 that which rules our hearts1 not now and then1 but in all things8 ,or can the absolute necessity of this be more fully declared1 than by saying1 that if it is not in this degree both of height and continuance in our hearts1 nothing that is done by us1 can be pleasing to ,god8 ,now the matter is not at all about the different effects1 proceeding from inspiration1 as whether by it1 a man be made a saint in himself1 or sent by ,god with a prophetic message to others1 this affects not the nature and necessity of inspiration1 which is just as necessary to all true goodness1 as to all true prophecy4 ,all scripture is of divine inspiration4 ,but why so8 ,because holy men of old1 spake as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,now the above collect1 as well as ,christ and his apostles1 oblige us in like manner to hold1 that all holiness is by divine inspiration1 and that therefore there could have been no holy men of old1 or in any latter times1 but solely for this reason1 because they ,,lived1 as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,again1 the liturgy prays thus1 8,o ,god1 from whom all good things do come1 grant that by thy holy inspiration1 we may think those things that be good1 and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same40 ,now1 if ,i have ever said any thing higher of the nature1 and necessity of continual1 divine inspiration1 than this church-prayer does1 ,i refuse no censure4 ,but if ,i have1 from all that we know of ,god1 shewn the utter impossibility of any goodness in us1 but from the divine nature in us1 if ,i have shewn1 that ,christ and his apostles1 over and over say the same thing2 and that our church liturgy is daily praying according to it2 what kinder thing can ,i say of those churchmen1 who accuse me of enthusiasm1 than that which ,christ said of his blind crucifiers1 ,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do6 ,it is to no purpose to object to all this1 that these kingdoms are over-run with enthusiasts who are acting in the wildest manner1 under the pretence of being led by the ,spirit4 ,be it so1 or not so1 the doctrine ,i am upon is not in the least affected by it4 ,for what an argument would this be2 enthusiasts make a bad use of the doctrine of being led by the ,spirit of ,god1 ergo1 he is enthusiastical who preaches up the doctrine of being led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,now as absurd as this is1 was any of my accusers1 as high in genius1 as bulky in learning1 as ,colossus was in stature1 he would be at a loss to bring a stronger argument than this1 to prove me an enthusiast1 or an abettor of them4 ,except ye be converted1 and become as little children1 ye cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,now as sure as this is necessary1 so sure is it1 that no one can be thus converted1 till natural reason1 and his own will1 are equally denied4 ,now whether this reason1 broken off from ,god1 contendeth about the difference of scripture words and opinions1 or reasoneth against them1 the same evil state of fallen nature1 the same separation from ,god1 the same evil tempers of flesh and blood1 will be equally strengthened by the one1 as by the other4 ,hence it is1 that ,papists and ,protestants are hating1 fighting1 and killing one another for the sake of their different1 excellent opinions1 and yet1 as to the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eye1 and the pride of life1 they are in the highest union1 and communion with one another4 ,for if you expect a zealous ,protestant to be therefore alive to ,god1 or a zealous ,papist to be therefore dead to all goodness1 you may be said1 to have lived in the world without either eyes or ears4,and the reason why it must be so1 is because bad syllogisms for transubstantiation1 and better syllogisms against it1 signify no more towards the casting ,satan out of our souls1 than a bad1 or better taste for painting4 ,hence also it is1 that ,christendom1 full of the nicest decisions about faith1 grace1 works1 merits1 satisfaction1 c4 is full of all those evil tempers1 which prevailed in the ,heathen world1 when none of these things were thought of4 ,a scholar1 pitying the blindness and folly of those who live to themselves in the cares and pleasures of this vain life1 thinks himself to have escaped the pollutions of the world1 because he is day after day1 dividing1 dissecting1 and mending church opinions1 fixing heresies here1 schisms there2 forgetting all the while1 that carnal self-will and natural reason have the doing of all that is done by this learned zeal1 and are as busy and active in him1 as in the reasoning infidel1 or projecting worldling4 ,for where this is wholly denied1 there nothing can be called heresy1 or wickedness1 but the want of loving ,god with our whole heart1 and our neighbour as ourselves3 nor any thing be called life or salvation1 but the ,spirit and power of ,christ manifesting itself in us4 ,but where the natural man is become great in religious learning1 there the greater the scholar1 the more firmly will he be fixed in their religion1 whose ,god is their belly4 99,hence may be seen1 the great and like blindness both of ,infidels and ,christians2 the one in trusting to their own reason1 dwelling in its own logical conclusions2 the other in trusting to their own reason1 dwelling in learned opinions about scripture words and phrases1 and doctrines built upon them4 8,for as soon as it is known1 that ,god is all in all1 that in him we live and move and have our being2 that we can have nothing separately1 or out of him1 but every thing in him2 that we have no being1 or degree of being but in him2 that he can give us nothing as our good1 but himself1 nor any degree of salvation from our fallen nature1 but in such degree1 as he again communicates something more of himself to us3 as soon as this is known1 then it is known with the utmost evidence1 that to put a religious trust in our own reason1 whether confined to itself1 or working in doctrines about scripture words1 has the nature of that same idolatry1 that puts a religious trust in the sun1 a departed saint1 or a graven image40 ,and as image-worship has often boasted of its divine power1 because of the wonders of zeal and devotion1 that have been raised thereby in thousands1 and ten thousands of its followers2 so it is no marvel1 if opinion-worship should often have1 and boast of the same effects4 ,what poor divinity-knowledge comes from great scholars1 and great readers1 may be sufficiently seen from the two following quotations in a late dissertation on enthusiasm2 the one is taken from ,dr4 ,warburton's sermons1 the other from a pastoral letter of ,mr4 ,stinstra1 a preacher amongst the ,mennonists of ,friesland4 ,that from ,dr4 ,warburton1 stands thus3 8,by them 7that is1 by the writings of the ,new ,testament7 the prophetic promise of our ,saviour1 that the ,comforter should abide for ever2 was eminently fulfilled4 ,for tho' his ordinary influence occasionally assists the faithful1 yet his constant abode and supreme illumination is in the sacred scriptures40 ,dr4 ,warburton's doctrine is this1 that the inspired books of the ,new ,testament1 is that ,comforter1 or ,spirit of truth1 which is meant by ,christ's being always with his church4,let us put the ,doctor's doctrine into the letter of the text1 which will best shew how true1 or false it is4 ,dissertation1 page #aj4 99,our ,lord saith1 it is expedient for you that ,i go away1 or the ,comforter will not come3 that is1 it is expedient for you1 that ,i leave off teaching you in words1 that sound only into your outward ears1 that you may have the same words in writing1 for your outward eyes to look upon2 for if ,i do not depart from this vocal way of teaching you1 the ,comforter will not come1 that is1 ye will not have the comfort of my words written on paper4 ,but if ,i go away1 ,i will send written books1 which shall lead you into such a truth of words1 as ye could not have1 whilst they were only spoken from my mouth2 but being written on paper1 they will be my spiritual1 heavenly1 constant abode with you4 ,christ saith further2 ,i have many things to say unto you1 but ye cannot bear them now3 howbeit when he1 the ,spirit of truth1 is come1 he shall guide you into all truth2 for he shall not speak of himself1 for he shall receive of mine1 and shall shew it unto you3 that is1 though ye cannot be sufficiently instructed from my words at present1 yet when they shall hereafter come to you in written books1 they will give you a knowledge of all truth1 for they shall not speak of themselves1 but shall receive words from me1 and shew them unto you4 99,christ also saith1 if any man love me1 my ,father will love him1 and we will come unto him and make our abode with him3 that is1 according to the ,doctor's theology1 certain books of scripture will come to him1 and make their abode with him2 for he expressly confineth the constant abode1 and supreme illumination of ,god1 to the holy scriptures4 ,therefore 7horrible to say7 ,god's inward presence1 his operating power of life and light in our souls1 his dwelling in us1 and we in him1 is something of a lower nature1 that only may occasionally happen1 and has less of ,god in it1 than the dead letter of scripture1 which alone is his constant abode and supreme illumination,miserable fruits of a paradoxical genius6 ,rabbi1 saith ,nicodemus to ,christ1 we know that thou art a teacher come from ,god3 now this must be said of the scripture likewise2 it is a teacher from ,god1 and therefore fully to be believed1 highly reverenced1 and strictly followed4 ,but as ,christ's teaching in the flesh was only preparatory to his vital teaching by the ,spirit2 so the teaching of scripture by words written with ink and paper1 is only preparatory to the teaching of ,god1 by his ,spirit within us4 ,every other opinion of the holy scripture1 but that of an outward teacher and guide to ,god's inward teaching1 is but making an idol-god of it3 ,i say an idol-god2 for to those who rest in it as the constant abode and supreme illumination of ,god with them1 it can be nothing else4 ,for1 if nothing of divine faith1 love1 or goodness1 can have place in us1 but by divine inspiration1 they who think these virtues may be sufficiently raised in us by the letter of scripture1 do in truth make the letter of scripture their inspiring ,god4 ,the apostles preached1 and wrote to the people by divine inspiration4 ,but what do they say of their inspired doctrine1 and teachings8 ,what virtue was there in them8 ,do they say that their words1 and teachings1 was the very promised ,comforter1 the ,spirit of truth1 the true abode1 and supreme illumination of ,god in the souls of men8 ,so far from such a blasphemous thought1 that they affirm the direct contrary1 and compare all their inspired teachings to the dead works of bare planting and watering1 and which must continue dead1 till life come into them from much higher power4 ,i have planted1 saith ,st4 ,paul1 ,apollos hath watered1 but ,god gave the increase4 ,and then further to shew1 that this planting and watering1 which was the highest work that an inspired apostle could do1 was yet1 in itself1 to be considered1 as a lifeless1 powerless thing2 he adds1 ,so then1 neither is he that planteth any thing2 nor he that watereth2 but ,god that giveth the increase4 ,but if this must be said of all that1 which the inspired apostles taught in outward words1 that it was nothing in itself1 was without power1 without life1 and only such a preparation towards life1 as is that of planting and watering2 must not the same be said of their inspired teachings1 when left behind them in writing8 ,for what else are the apostolical scriptures1 but those very instructions put into writing1 which they affirmed to be bare planting and watering1 quite powerless in themselves1 till the living ,spirit of ,god worked with them8 ,or will any one say1 that what ,paul1 ,peter1 and ,john1 spoke by inspiration from their own mouths1 was indeed but bare planting and watering1 in order to be capable of receiving life from ,god3 but when these apostolical instructions1 were written on paper1 they were raised out of their first inability1 got the nature of ,god himself1 became spirit and life1 and might be called the great quickening power of ,god1 or1 as the ,doctor says1 the constant abode1 and supreme illumination of his ,spirit with us8 ,i exceedingly love and highly reverence the sacred writings of the apostles and evangelists1 and would gladly persuade every one to pay as profound a regard to them1 as they would to an ,elijah1 a ,john ,baptist1 or a ,paul1 whom they knew to be immediately sent from heaven with ,god's message to them4,i reverence them1 as fitted to do all that good amongst ,christians now1 which the apostles did in their day1 and as of the same benefit to the church of every age1 as their planting and watering was to the first4 ,but if this is not thought that fullness of regard1 that is due to the holy messengers of ,god2 if any one will still be so learnedly wise1 as to affirm1 that though ,paul's preaching in his epistles1 whilst he was alive1 was indeed only bare planting and watering1 but the same epistles being published after his death1 got another nature1 became full of divine and living power2 such a one hath no right to laugh 7as the ,doctor doth7 at the silly ,mahometan1 who believes the ,alcoran to be uncreated4 ,for wherever there is divine efficacy1 there must be an uncreated power4 ,and if1 as the ,doctor saith1 the scriptures of the ,new ,testament are the only constant abode1 and supreme illumination of the ,spirit of ,god with us1 all that is said of the eternal ,spirit of ,god1 of the uncreated light1 ought to be said of them2 that they are the ,,word that was ,god1 was with ,god1 and are our true ,immanuel1 or ,god with us4 ,i shall now only add this friendly hint to the ,doctor1 that he has a remedy at hand in his own sermon1 how he may be delivered from thus grossly mistaking the spirit of the gospel1 as well as the law of ,moses4 8,st4 ,paul 7saith the ,doctor7 had a quick and lively imagination1 and an extensive and intimate acquaintance with those masters in moral painting1 the classic writers2 7,n4 ,b47 all which he proudly sacrificed to the glory of the everlasting gospel40 ,sermon1 ,volume ,i4 page #bbi4 ,now if the ,doctor did that 7though it was only from humility7 which he says the apostle did proudly1 such humility might be as great a good to him1 as that pride was to the apostle4 ,and if the everlasting gospel is now as glorious a thing as it was in ,st4 ,paul's days2 if the highest classic knowledge is fit for nothing but to be all sacrificed to the glory of the gospel2 how wonderful is it that this should never come into his head1 from the beginning to the end of his three long legation-volumes1 or that he should come piping hot with fresh and fresh beauties found out by himself in a ,shakespeare1 a ,pope1 c4 to preach from the pulpit1 the divine wisdom of a ,paul1 in renouncing all his great classical attainments1 as mere loss and dung1 that by so doing1 he might win ,christ1 and be found in him6 ,let the ,doctor figure to himself the gaudy pageantry of a high mass in a ,romish cathedral2 let him wonder at that flagrant1 daring contrariety1 that it hath to the first gospel church of ,christ4 ,would he not still be fuller of wonder1 if he should hear the pope declaring1 that all this ,heathenish shew of invented fopperies1 was his projected defence of that first church of ,christ8 ,but if the ,doctor would see a ,protestant wonder1 full as great1 he need only look at his own theatrical parading show of ,heathen mysteries1 and ,heathenish learning1 set forth in the highest pomp4 ,to what end8 ,why to bring forth what he calls1 7as the pope above7 his projected defence of ,christianity4 ,i come now to the quotation from the pastoral letter of ,mr4 ,stinstra4 8,a judicious writer1 7says the dissertation7 observes1 that sound understanding1 and reason1 are that on which1 and by which1 ,god principally operates1 7,n4 ,b47 when he finds it proper to assist 7,n4 ,b47 our weakness by his ,spirit40 ,dissertation1 page #gc4 ,i cannot more illustrate the sense1 or extol the judgment1 both of the author and quoter of this striking passage1 than by the following words4 ,a judicious naturalist observes1 that sound and strong lungs1 are that1 on which1 and by which1 the air or spirit of this world principally operates1 when 7,n4 ,b47 he finds it proper to assist1 7,n4 ,b47 the weakness of our lungs1 by his breathing into them40 ,now if any man should find his heart edified1 his understanding enlightened1 by the above passage on divine inspiration1 he will be pleased at my assuring him1 that the pastoral letter of ,mr4 ,stinstra1 and the dissertation on enthusiasm1 by ,dr4 ,green1 are from the beginning to the end1 full as good in every respect1 as that is4 ,these two instances are proof enough1 that as soon as any man trusts to natural abilities1 skill in languages1 and common-place learning1 as the true means of entering into the kingdom of ,god1 a kingdom of ,god1 which is nothing but righteousness1 peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,ghost2 he gives himself up to certain delusion1 and can escape no error that is popular1 or that suits his state and situation in the learned1 religious world4 ,he has sold his birthright in the gospel-state of divine illumination1 to make a figure and noise1 with the sounding brass and tinkling cimbals of the natural man4 ,thus ,doctor ,green1 wanting to write on divine inspiration1 runs from book to book1 from country to country1 to pick up reports wherever he could find them1 concerning divine inspiration1 from this and that judicious author1 that so he might be sure of compiling a judicious dissertation on the subject4 ,all which he might have known to be mere delusion1 had he but remembered1 or regarded any one single saying either of ,christ or his apostles concerning the ,holy ,spirit1 and his operations4 ,for not a word is said by them1 but fully shews that all knowledge of the ,spirit1 is only that which the ,spirit manifests in man4 99,but there is a degree of delusion still higher to be noted1 in such writers1 as ,dr4 ,green2 for his collection of ingenious1 eminent1 rational authors1 of whom he asks counsel concerning the necessity1 or certainty of the immediate inspiration of the ,spirit1 are such as deny it1 and write against it4 ,therefore the proceeding is just as wise1 as if a man was to consult some ingenious1 and eminent ,atheists1 about the truth and certainty of ,god's immediate1 continual providence2 or ask a few select ,deists1 how1 or what he was to believe of the nature and power of gospel-faith4 ,now there are the ,holy ,spirit's own operations1 and there are reports about them4 ,the only true reports are those that are made by inspired persons2 and if there were no such persons1 there could be no true reports of the matter4 ,and therefore to consult uninspired persons1 and such as deny1 and reproach the pretence to inspiration1 to be rightly instructed about the truth of immediate1 continual divine inspiration1 is a degree of blindness1 greater than can be charged upon the old ,jewish ,scribes and ,pharisees4 ,the reports1 that are to be acknowledged as true1 concerning the ,holy ,spirit1 and his operations1 are those that are recorded in scripture2 that is1 the scriptures are an infallible history1 or relation of that which the ,holy ,spirit is1 and does1 and works in true believers2 and also an infallible direction how we are to seek1 and wait1 and trust in his good power over us4 ,but then the scriptures themselves1 though thus true1 and infallible in these reports about the ,holy ,spirit1 yet can go no farther1 than to be a true history2 they cannot give the reader the possession and enjoyment of that which they relate4 ,this is plain1 not only from the nature of a written history1 but from the express words of our ,lord1 ,except a man be born again1 he cannot see the kingdom of ,god4 ,therefore1 the new birth1 is that alone1 which gives true knowledge and perception of that which is the kingdom of ,god4 ,the history may relate truths about it2 but the kingdom of ,god1 being nothing else1 but the power and presence of ,god1 dwelling and ruling in our souls1 this can only manifest itself in man1 by the new birth4 99,poor1 miserable man6 that strives with all the sophistry of human wit1 to be delivered from the immediate1 continual operation and government of the ,spirit of ,god1 not considering1 that where ,god is not1 there is the devil1 and where the ,spirit rules not1 there all is the work of the flesh1 tho' nothing be talked of1 but spiritual and ,christian matters4 ,i say talked of2 for the best ability of the natural man1 can go no farther than talk1 and notions1 and opinions about scripture words and facts2 in these1 he may be a great critic1 an acute logician1 a powerful orator1 and know every thing of scripture1 except the spirit and the truth4 ,how much then is it to be lamented1 that though all scripture assures us1 the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 must to the end of the world1 be foolishness to the natural man2 yet from one end of learned ,christendom to the other1 nothing is thought of1 as the proper means of attaining divine knowledge1 but that which every natural1 proud1 envious1 false1 vain-glorious1 worldly man can do4 ,where is that divinity-student1 who thinks1 or was ever taught to think1 of partaking of the light of the gospel any other way1 than by doing with the scriptures1 that which he does with ,pagan writers1 whether poets1 orators1 or comedians1 viz4 exercising his logic1 rhetoric1 and critical skill1 in discanting upon them8 ,this done1 he is thought by himself1 and others1 to have a sufficiency of divine1 apostolical knowledge4 ,what wonder therefore if it should sometimes happen1 that the very same vain1 corrupt1 puffing literature1 that raises one man to be a poet-laureat1 should set another in a divinity chair8 ,how is it1 that the logical1 critical1 learned deist comes by his infidelity8 ,why by the same help of the same good powers of the natural man1 as many a learned ,christian comes to know1 and contend for the gospel4 ,for1 drop divine inspiration1 and all is dropt1 that can give the believer any godly difference from the infidel4 ,the ,christian therefore that rejects and writes against the necessity of immediate divine inspiration1 pleads the whole cause of infidelity3 he confirms the ground on which it stands2 and has nothing to prove the goodness of his own ,christianity1 but that which equally proves to the deist1 the goodness of his infidelity4 ,for without the new birth1 or which is the same thing1 without immediate1 continual divine inspiration1 the difference between the ,christian1 and the ,infidel1 is lost2 and whether the uninspired1 unregenerate son of ,adam1 be in the church1 or out of the church1 he is still that child of this world1 that mere natural man1 to whom the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 are and must be foolishness4,nothing but the loss of the light and ,spirit of ,god1 turned an order of angels into devils4,nothing but the loss of that same light and ,spirit1 took from ,adam1 his first crown of glory1 stript him more naked than the beasts1 and left him a prey to devils1 and in the jaws of eternal death4,what therefore can have the least power towards man's redemption1 but the light and ,spirit of ,god8 ,or what can begin1 or bring forth the return of his first state1 but this eternal light and ,spirit4,hence it is1 that the gospel-state is by our ,lord1 affirmed to be a kingdom of heaven1 because it has the nature of no worldly thing1 is to serve no worldly ends1 can be helped by no worldly power1 receives nothing from man1 but man's full denial of himself1 stands upon nothing that is finite or transitory1 has no existence but in that power of ,god1 that created and upholds heaven and earth2 and is a kingdom of ,god become man1 and a kingdom of men united to ,god1 through a continual1 immediate divine illumination4 ,what scripture of the ,new ,testament can you read1 that does not prove this to be the gospel-state1 a kingdom of ,god1 into which none can enter1 but by being born of the ,spirit1 none can continue1 but by being led by the ,spirit1 and in which not a thought1 or desire1 or action1 can be allowed to have any part1 but as it is a fruit of the ,spirit8 ,what now have parts1 and literature1 and the natural abilities of man1 that they can do here8 ,just as much as they can do at the resurrection of the dead2 for all that is to be done here1 is nothing else1 but resurrection and life4 ,therefore1 that which gave eyes to the blind1 cleansed the lepers1 cast out devils1 and raised the dead2 that alone can1 and must do all that is to be done in this gospel kingdom of ,god4 ,for the smallest work of grace must be as solely done by ,god1 as the greatest miracle in nature3 because every work of grace1 is the same overcoming of nature1 as when the dead are raised to life4 ,yet vain man would be thought to have great power in this kingdom of grace1 not because he happens to be born of noble parents1 but because he has happened to be made a scholar1 has run through all languages and histories1 has been long exercised in conjectures and criticisms1 and has his head as full of all notions1 theological1 poetical and philosophical1 as a dictionary is full of words4 ,now let this simple question decide the matter3 has this great scholar any more power of saying to this mountain1 be thou removed hence1 and cast into the sea1 than the illiterate ,christian8 ,if not1 he is just as weak1 as powerless1 and little in the kingdom of ,god1 as he is4 ,but if the illiterate man's faith1 should happen to be nearer to the bulk of a grain of mustard-seed1 than that of the prodigious scholar1 the illiterate ,christian stands much above him in the kingdom of ,god4 ,look now at the present state of ,christendom1 glorying in the light of ,greek and ,roman learning1 7lately broke forth7 as a light that has helped the gospel to shine with a lustre1 that it scarce ever had before4 ,look at this1 and you will see the fall of the present church from its first gospel state1 to have much likeness to the fall of the first divine man1 from the glory of innocence1 and heavenly purity1 into an earthly state of worldly craft and serpentine subtilty4 ,in the first gospel church1 ,heathen light had no other name1 than ,heathen darkness2 and the wisdom of words was no more sought after1 than that friendship of the world1 which is enmity with ,god4 ,in that new-born church1 the tree of life1 which grew in the midst of paradise1 took root and grew up again4 ,in the present church1 the tree of life is hissed at1 as the visionary food of deluded enthusiasts2 and the tree of death1 called the tree of knowledge of good and evil1 has the eyes and hearts of priest and people1 and is thought to do as much good to ,christians1 as it did evil to the first inhabitants of paradise4,this tree1 that brought death and corruption into human nature1 is now called a tree of light1 and is1 day and night1 well watered with every corrupt stream1 however distant or muddy with earth1 that can be drawn to it4 ,but now1 what follows from this new risen light8 ,why ,aristotle's atheism1 ,cicero's height of pride and depth of dissimulation1 and every refined or gross species of ,greek and ,roman vices1 are as glaring in this new enlightened ,christian church1 as ever they were in old pagan ,greece1 or ,rome4 ,would you find a gospel ,christian1 in all this mid-day glory of learning1 you may light a candle1 as the philosopher did in the mid-day sun1 to find an honest man4 ,how poorly was the gospel at first preached1 if the wisdom of words1 and if wit and imagination had been its genuine helps8 ,but alas they stand in the same contrariety to one another1 as self-denial and self-gratification4 ,to know the truth of gospel-salvation1 is to know that man's natural wisdom is to be equally sacrificed with his natural folly3 for they are but one and the same thing1 only called sometimes by one name1 and sometimes by the other4 ,his intellectual faculties are1 by the fall1 in a much worse state than his natural animal appetites1 and want a much greater self-denial4 ,and when our own will1 our own understanding and imagination have their natural strength indulged1 and are made rich and honourable with the treasures acquired from a study of the ,belles ,lettres1 they will just as much help poor fallen men to be like-minded with ,christ1 as the art of cookery1 well and daily studied1 will help a professor of the gospel1 to the spirit and practice of ,christian abstinence4 ,who then can enough wonder at that bulk of libraries1 which has taken place of the short gospel8 ,or at that number of champion disputants1 who from age to age have been all in arms to support a set of opinions and practices1 all which may be most cordially embraced without the least degree of self-denial1 and most firmly held without the least degree of humility4 ,what a grossness of ignorance1 both of man and his ,saviour1 to run to ,greek and ,roman schools1 to learn how to put off ,adam1 and to put on ,christ8 ,to drink at the fountains of ,pagan poets and orators1 in order more divinely to drink of the cup that ,christ drank of8,what can come of all this1 but that which is already too much come1 a ,ciceronian gospeller1 instead of a gospel penitent8 ,this will be more or less the case with all the doctrines of ,christ1 whilst under classical acquisition1 and administration4 ,those divine truths1 which are no farther good and redeeming1 but as they are spirit and life in us1 will serve only to help classic painters 7as ,dr4 ,w4 calls them7 to lavish out their colours on their own paper monuments of lifeless virtues4 ,as this address was wrote sometime ago1 in which are certain strictures upon ,dr4 ,warburton's writings1 who has lately been consecrated a ,right ,reverend ,lord ,bishop2 ,i thought it more candid not to alter my stile1 than to take the advantage of charging such gross errors1 on a ,bishop of ,glocester1 which ,i only found in ,mr4 and ,dr4 ,warburton4 ,the enemies to man's rising out of the fall of ,adam1 through the ,spirit and power of ,christ1 are many4 ,but the great enemy is ,,self-,,exaltation2 when self-exaltation ceases1 the last enemy is destroyed1 and all that came from the death of ,adam1 is swallowed up in victory4 ,what1 therefore1 has every one so much to fear and abhor1 as self-exaltation1 and every outward work that proceeds from it4 ,but at what things shall a man look1 to see that which raises pride to its strongest life1 and most of all hinders the life of the humble ,jesus in his soul8 ,shall he call the pomps and vanities of the world1 the highest works of self-adoration8 ,shall he look at fops and beaux1 and painted ladies1 to see the pride that has the most of ,antichrist in it8 ,no1 by no means4 ,these are1 indeed1 marks shameful enough1 of the vain1 foolish heart of man3 but yet1 comparatively speaking1 they are but the skin-deep follies of that pride1 which the fall of man hath brought forth in him4 ,would you see the deepest root1 and iron-strength of pride1 you must enter into the dark chamber of man's soul1 where the light of ,god 7which alone gives humility7 being extinguished by the death which ,adam died1 self-exaltation1 became the strong man that kept possession of the house1 till a stronger than he should come4 ,in this secret source a swelling kingdom of pomps and vanities is set up in the heart of man1 to which all outward pomps and vanities are but childish1 transitory play-things4 ,the inward strong man of pride1 has his higher works within2 and has every power of the soul1 offering continual incense to him4 ,his memory1 his will1 his understanding and imagination1 are always at work for him4,his memory is the faithful repository of all the fine things he hath done4 ,his will1 though it has all the world before it1 yet goes after nothing but as this sends it4 ,his understanding is ever upon the stretch for new projects to enlarge the dominions of it2 and if this fails1 imagination comes in1 to make him a king1 and mighty lord of castles in the air4 ,now what is it in the human soul1 that most of all hinders the death of this old man8 ,what is it1 that above all other things makes it the governor of all the powers of the heart and soul8 ,it is the fancied riches of parts1 the glitter of genius1 the flight of imagination1 the glory of learning1 and the self-conceited strength of natural reason3 these are the strong holds of fallen nature1 the master-builders of pride's temple in the heart of man4 ,and here let it be well observed1 that all these magnified talents of the natural man are started up through his miserable fall from the life of ,god in his soul4 ,wit1 genius1 learning1 and natural reason1 would have had no more a name amongst men1 than blindness1 ignorance1 and sickness1 had man continued1 as at first1 an holy image of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit4,every thing then that dwelt in him1 or came from him1 would have only said so much of ,god1 and nothing of himself1 have manifested nothing to him1 but the heavenly powers of the triune life of ,god dwelling in him4 ,he would have no more consciousness of his own wit1 or natural reason1 or goodness1 than of his own creating power1 at beholding the created heavens1 and earth4 ,it is his dreadful fall from ,god1 that has furnished him with these high intellectual riches1 just as it has furnished him with the substantial riches of his bestial appetites and lusts4 ,and when the lusts of the flesh have spent their life1 when flesh and blood shall be forced to let the soul go loose2 all these bright talents will end with that system of fleshly lusts in which they began2 and that of man1 which remains1 will have nothing of its own1 nothing that can say1 ,i do this1 or ,i do that1 but all that it hath1 or doth1 will be either the glory of ,god manifested in it1 or the power of hell in full possession of it4,the time of man's playing with parts1 wit1 and abilities1 and of fancying himself something in the intellectual world1 may be much shorter1 but can be no longer1 than he can eat1 and drink with the animals of this world4,when the time cometh1 that fine buildings1 rich settlements1 acquired honours1 and ,rabbi1 ,rabbi1 must take their leave of him1 all the stately structures1 which genius1 learning1 and imagination1 have painted inwardly on his brain and outwardly on paper1 must bear full witness to ,solomon's vanity of vanities4 8beastial0 replaced with 8bestial0 ,the intellectual power1 which has the best help in it1 towards bringing man again into the region of divine light1 is that poor1 despised thing1 called simplicity4 ,this is that1 which stops the workings of the fallen nature1 and leaves room for ,god to work again in the soul1 according to the good pleasure of his will4 ,it stands in such a waiting posture before ,god1 as the plants of the earth wait for the inflowing riches of the light and air4 ,but the self-assuming workings of man's natural powers1 shut him up in himself1 closely barred up against the inflowing riches of the light and ,spirit of ,god4 ,yet so it is1 in this fallen state of the gospel church1 that with these proud endowments of fallen nature1 the classic scholar1 full fraught with pagan light and skill1 comes forth to play the critic and orator with the simplicity of salvation mysteries2 mysteries which mean nothing else but the inward work of the triune ,god in the soul of man4 ,however1 to make way for parts1 criticism1 and language-learning1 to have the full management of salvation doctrines1 the well-read scholar gives out1 that the antient way of knowing the things of ,god1 taught1 and practised by fishermen-apostles1 is obsolete4 ,they indeed wanted to have divine knowledge from the immediate1 continual operation of the holy ,spirit2 but this state was only for a time1 till genius1 and learning entered into the pale of the church4,behold1 if ever1 the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place6,for as soon as this doctrine is set up1 that man's natural parts1 and acquired learning1 have full right and power to guide men into that truth1 which was once the office of the holy ,spirit2 it may with the greatest truth be said1 that the kingdom of ,god is shut up2 and only a kingdom of ,scribes1 ,pharisees1 and ,hypocrites come instead of it4 ,for by this doctrine the whole power of gospel religion1 is more denied1 than by setting up the infallibility of the ,pope2 for though his claim to infallibility is false1 yet he claims it under the holy ,spirit2 but the ,protestant scholar has his divinity knowledge from himself1 his own logic1 and learned reason4,christ has no where given the least power to logic1 learning1 or the natural powers of man1 in his kingdom3 he has never said to them1 ,whatsoever ye shall bind on earth1 shall be bound in heaven2 never said to them1 ,go ye and teach all nations1 no more than he hath said to wolves1 ,go and feed my sheep4 ,but the letter of scripture hath been so long the usurped province of school-critics1 and learned reasoners making their markets of it1 that the difference between notional1 and living1 divine knowledge1 is almost lost in the ,christian world4 ,so that if any awakened souls are here or there found among ,christians1 who think more must be known of ,god1 of ,christ1 and the powers of the world to come1 than every scholar can know1 by reading the letter of scripture1 immediately the cry of enthusiasm1 whether it be priest1 or people1 is sent after them4,a procedure1 which could only have some excuse1 if these critics could first prove1 that the apostle's text1 ought to be thus read1 ,the ,spirit killeth1 but the letter giveth life4 ,the kingdom of ,god is like a treasure in a field3 thus far1 is the true use1 and utmost power of the letter2 it can tell us of a treasure that we want1 and how and where it is to be found2 but a man goeth and selleth all that he hath1 and buyeth that field1 then beginneth the divine knowledge1 which is nothing else1 but the treasure possessed1 and enjoyed4 ,for except a man deny himself and forsake all that he hath1 saith ,christ1 he cannot be my disciple2 that is1 he cannot partake of my mind1 my spirit1 and my nature1 and therefore cannot know me2 he is only a hearer of a treasure1 without entering into the possession of it4 ,and thus it is with all scripture1 the letter can only direct to the doing of that which it cannot do1 and give notice of something that it cannot give4 ,good and evil1 the only objects of religious knowledge are in us1 are a part of us1 as seeing and hearing are in us1 and we can have no real knowledge of them any other way1 than as we have of our own seeing and hearing4 ,and as no man can get or lose his seeing or hearing1 or have less1 or more of them1 by any ideas1 or notions1 that he forms about them1 just so it is with real good and evil1 notions and ideas have no effect upon it4 ,yet no other knowledge is sought after1 or esteemed but that which is notional and the work of the brain4 ,thus1 as soon as a man of speculation can demonstrate that1 which he calls the being and attributes of ,god1 he thinks1 and others think1 that he truly knows ,god4 ,but what excuse can be made for such an imagination1 when plain scripture has told him1 that to know ,god is eternal life1 that is1 to know ,god1 is to have the life1 and the ,spirit of ,god manifested in him4 ,again1 another1 forming an opinion of faith from the letter of scripture1 straightway imagines1 that he knows what faith is1 and that he is in the faith4 ,sad delusion6 ,for to know what faith is1 or that we are in the faith1 is to know that ,christ is in us of a truth2 it is to know the power of his life1 his death1 his resurrection and ascension1 made good in our souls4 ,to be in the faith1 is to have done with notions about it1 because it is felt by its living power and fruits within us1 which are righteousness1 peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4 ,would you divinely know the mysteries of grace and salvation8 ,let divine love work within you4 ,without this1 be as learned and polite as you will1 your heart is but the dark heart of fallen ,adam1 and your knowledge of the kingdom of ,god1 will be only like that which murdering ,cain had4,if love is not the spirit that forms and governs every thing that proceeds from you1 every thing that has your labour1 your allowance and consent2 you are broken off from the works of ,god1 you are without ,god1 and your name and nature and works1 can have no other name1 or nature1 but pride1 wrath1 envy1 hypocrisy1 hatred1 revenge and self-exaltation4,nothing can possibly save you from being the certain prey of all these evil spirits1 but that love1 which is ,god himself1 his light1 and spirit within you4 ,but now1 since divine love can have no beginning1 but from the divine nature in us1 therefore saith ,st4 ,john1 we love him1 because he ,,first loved us3 the same as saying1 we desire ,god1 because he first desired us2 for we could not desire ,god1 but because he first desired us1 we could not turn to ,god1 but because he first turned to us4 99,believe me then1 thou great scholar1 that all thou hast got of wisdom or learning1 day after day1 in any other school but this1 will stand thee in as much stead1 fill thee with as high comfort at the hour of death1 as all the dreams which night after night1 thou hast ever had in thy sleep4,and till a man knows this1 with as much fullness of conviction1 as he knows the vanity of a dream1 he is not yet in the light of truth1 not yet taught of ,god4 ,behold your state ye ministers1 that wait at ,christian altars1 who have neither faith1 nor hope1 nor desire of heavenly fire kindled in your souls2 ye have a priesthood1 and an altar not fit to be named with that1 which in ,jewish days1 had an holy fire from ,god1 descending upon it1 which made priest and sacrifice acceptable to ,god1 though only a type of that inward celestial fire1 which ,christ would kindle into a never-ceasing burning1 in the living temples of his new-born children4 ,complain then no more of atheists1 infidels1 and open enemies to the gospel kingdom of ,god2 for whilst you call heavenly fire and spirit1 downright phrensy1 and mystic madness1 you do all that infidel work within the church1 which they do on the outside of it4,and if through a learned fear of having that done to your earthly reason1 which was done to ,enoch when ,god took him1 ye will own no higher a regeneration1 than a few cold drops of water sprinkled on the face1 any of the ,heathen gods of wood and stone1 are good enough for such an elementary priesthood4,for let this be told you1 as a truth from ,god1 that till heavenly fire and spirit are within you1 you can rise no higher by your highest learning1 than to be elegant orators about scripture words4 ,what wonder then1 if sacraments1 church-prayers1 and preachings1 leave high and low1 learned and unlearned1 priests and people1 as unaltered in all their aged vices1 as they leave children unchanged in their childish follies8 ,for where the only fountain of life and goodness is forsaken1 all the difference between man and man1 is as nothing with respect to the kingdom of ,god4,it matters not what name is given to the old man1 whether he be called a zealous churchman1 a stiff-necked ,jew1 a polite ,heathen1 or a grave infidel3 under all these names1 he has but one and the same nature1 without any other difference but that1 which time and place1 education1 complexion1 and worldly wisdom1 happen to make4 ,by such a one1 whether he be ,papist or ,protestant1 the gospel is only kept1 as a book1 and all that is within it1 is only so much condemnation to the keeper1 just as the old man1 a ,jew1 hath kept the book of the law and prophets1 only to be more fully condemned by them4 ,that the ,jewish and ,christian church1 stand at this day in the same kind of apostasy1 or fallen state1 must be manifest to every one that will not shut his eyes4 ,why are the ,jews in a fallen state8 ,it is because they have refused him1 who in his whole process1 was the truth1 the substance1 the life1 and fulfilling of all that1 which was outwardly taught1 in their law and prophets4 8apostacy0 replaced with 8apostasy0 ,but is it not as easy to see1 that the whole ,christian church are in a fallen state1 and for the same reason1 because they are turned away from that holy ,spirit who was given to be the only life1 and fulfilling of all that1 which was outwardly taught by the gospel4 ,for the holy ,spirit to come1 was the same ,,fulfilling of the whole gospel1 as a ,christ to come1 was the fulfilling of the law4,the ,jew therefore with his ,old ,testament1 not owning ,christ to be the truth and life1 and fulfiller of their law1 is in that same apostasy as the ,christian with his ,new ,testament1 not owning the holy ,spirit1 to be his only light1 guide1 and governor4,for as all types in the law1 were but empty shadows without ,christ's being the life and power of them1 so all that is written in the gospel is but dead letter1 unless the holy ,spirit be1 the living rememberer1 and the doer of them4 ,therefore where the holy ,spirit is not thus received1 as the whole power1 and life of the gospel-state1 it is no marvel1 that ,christians have no more of gospel virtues1 than the ,jews have of patriarchal holiness1 or that the same vices which prosper amongst ,jews1 should break forth with as much strength in fallen ,christendom4 ,for the ,new ,testament not ending in the coming of the holy ,spirit1 with fulness of power over sin and hell1 and the devil1 is no better a help to heaven1 than the ,old ,testament without the coming of a ,messiah4 ,but here lies the great mistake1 or rather idolatrous abuse of all ,god's outward dispensations4,they are taken for the thing itself1 for the truth and essence of religion4 ,that which the learned ,jews did with the outward letter of their law1 the learned ,christians do with the outward letter of their gospel4,why did the ,jewish church so furiously cry out against ,christ1 ,let him be crucified8 ,it was because their letter-learned ears1 their worldly ,spirit1 and temple orthodoxy1 would not bear to hear of an inward ,saviour1 of being born again of his ,spirit1 of his dwelling in them1 and they in him4,to have their law of ordinances1 their temple-pomp sunk into such a fulfilling ,saviour as this1 was such enthusiastic jargon to their ears1 as forced their sober1 rational theology1 to call ,christ1 ,beelzebub1 and his doctrine blasphemy4 ,our blessed ,lord in a parable sets forth the blind ,jews1 as saying of himself1 ,we will not have this man to reign ,,over us4,the sober minded ,christian scholar has none of this ,jewish blindness1 he only saith of ,christ1 we will not have this man to ,,reign ,,in ,,us1 and so keeps clear of such absurdity1 as ,st4 ,paul fell into1 when he enthusiastically said1 ,yet not ,i1 but ,christ that liveth in me4 ,christian doctors reproach the old learned rabbies1 for their vain faith1 and carnal desire of a glorious outward ,christ1 who should set up their temple-worship all over the world4,vanity indeed1 and blindness enough6 99,but nevertheless1 in these condemners of rabbinic blindness1 ,st4 ,paul's words are remarkably verified1 viz4 ,wherein thou judgest another1 thou condemnest thyself1 for thou that judgest1 dost the same thing4,for1 take away all that from ,christ1 which ,christian doctors call enthusiasm1 suppose him to be only an outward distant heavenly prince1 no more really in us1 than our high cathedrals are in the third heavens1 but only by an invisible hand from his throne on high1 some way or other raising and helping great scholars1 or great temporal powers1 to make a rock in every nation for his church to stand upon2 suppose all this 7which is the very marrow of modern divinity7 and then you have that very outward ,christ1 and that very outward kingdom2 which the carnal ,jew dreamed of1 and for the sake of which1 the spiritual ,christ was then nailed to the cross1 and is still crucified by the new-rising ,jew in the ,christian church4 ,let then the eager searcher into words for wisdom1 the book-devourer1 the opinion-broker1 the exalter of human reason1 and every projecting builder of religious systems1 be told1 that the thirst and pride of being learnedly wise in the things of ,god1 is keeping up the grossest ignorance of them1 and is nothing else but ,eve's old serpent1 and does no better work in the church of ,christ1 than her thirst after wisdom did in the paradise of ,god4,speak1 ,lord1 for thy servant heareth1 is the only way1 by which any man ever did1 or ever can attain divine knowledge1 and divine goodness4,to knock at any other door1 is like asking life of that1 which is itself dead1 or praying to him for bread1 who has nothing but stones to give4 ,say not1 that it is only the illiterate enthusiast1 that condemns human learning in the gospel kingdom of ,god4 ,for when he condemns the blindness and mischief of ,popish logic and criticism1 he has all the learned ,protestant world with him2 and when he lays the same charge to the ,protestant learning1 he has a much larger kingdom of ,popish great scholars1 affirming the same thing4 ,so that the private person1 charging human learning with so much mischief to the church1 is so far from being led by enthusiasm1 that he is led by all the church-learning that is in the world4 ,again1 all learned ,christendom agrees in the same charge against temporal power in the church1 as hurtful to every being1 of a kingdom that is not of this world1 as supporting doctrines that human learning has brought into it4,the ,protestant brings proof from a thousand years learning1 that the ,pope is an unjust usurper of temporal power in the church1 ,christ's spiritual spouse4,the ,papist brings the learning of as many ages1 to shew1 that a temporal head of the church1 is an ,anti-christian usurpation4,and yet 7,n4 ,b47 he who holds ,christ to be the only head1 heart and life of the church1 and that1 no man can call ,jesus1 ,lord1 but by the ,holy ,ghost1 passes with the learned of both these people1 for a brain-sick enthusiast4,is it not then high time1 to look out for some better ground to stand upon1 than such learning as this8 ,now look where you will1 through the whole nature of things1 no divine knowledge1 goodness1 and deliverance from sin1 are any where to be found for fallen man1 but in these two points2 7#a7 a total entrance into the whole process of ,christ2 7#b7 a total resignation to1 and dependance upon the continual operation of the ,holy ,ghost1 to be our never ceasing light1 teacher1 and guide into all those ways of virtue1 in which he himself walked in the flesh4,all besides this1 call it by what name you will1 is but dead work1 a vain labour of the old man1 to new create himself4,let the ,christian world depart from this one way of salvation1 let any thing else be trusted to1 but the cross of ,christ1 and the ,spirit of ,christ1 and then1 though churches1 and preachers and prayers1 and sacraments1 are every where in plenty1 yet nothing better can come of it than a ,christian kingdom of ,pagan vices1 along with a mouth-belief of an holy ,catholic church1 and communion of saints4,to this melancholy truth1 all ,christendom both at home and abroad1 bears full witness4 ,who need be told1 that there is no corruption of human nature1 no kind of pride1 wrath1 envy1 malice1 and self-love2 no sorts of hypocrisy1 falseness1 cursing1 swearing1 perjury1 and cheating1 no wantonness of lust in every kind of debauchery1 but are as common all over ,christendom1 as towns and villages4,but to pass these by1 ,i shall only instance in two or three particulars1 which though little observed1 and less condemned1 yet fully shew1 that the devil is in possession of ,protestant1 as well as ,popish churches4 ,and first1 can it be said1 that mammon is less served by ,christians1 than by ,jews and ,infidels8 ,or can there be a fuller proof1 that ,christians1 ,jews1 and ,infidels1 are equally fallen from ,god1 since truth itself hath told us1 ,that we cannot serve ,god and mammon8 ,is not this as unalterable a truth1 as if it had been said1 ,ye cannot serve ,god and ,baal8 ,or can it be affirmed1 that the ,mammonist has more of ,christ in him1 than the ,baalist1 or is more or less an idolater for being called a ,christian1 a ,jew1 or an ,infidel8 ,look now at all those particulars1 which ,christ charged upon the ,jewish priests1 ,scribes1 and ,pharisees1 and you will see them all acted over again in ,christendom4 ,and if ,god's prophets were again in the world1 they would have just the same complaints against the fallen ,christian church1 as they had against the old carnal stiff-necked ,jews1 namely1 that of their silver and gold1 they had made themselves idols1 ,hosea viii4 #d4 ,for though figured idol-gods of gold are not now worshipped either by ,jews or ,christians1 yet silver and gold1 with that which belongs to them1 is the mammon-god1 that sits and reigns in their hearts4 ,how else could be that universal strife through all ,christendom1 who should stand in the richest and highest place1 to preach up the humility of ,christ1 and offer spiritual sacrifices unto ,god8 ,what ,god but mammon could put into the hearts of ,christ's ambassadors1 to make1 or want to make a gain of that gospel1 which from the beginning to the end1 means nothing else but separation from every view1 temper and affection1 that has any connexion with the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life8 ,our blessed ,lord said a word to the ,jews1 that might well have made their ears to tingle1 when he told them1 that they had made his ,father's house a den of thieves2 because sheep and oxen were sold1 and money-changers sitting in the outer court of the temple4 ,now if you will say1 that mammon has brought forth no prophanation like this in our ,christian church1 your best proof must be this1 because our church-sale is not oxen and sheep1 but holy things1 cures of souls1 parsonages1 vicarages1 c4 and our money-changers1 our buyers and sellers1 are chiefly consecrated persons4 ,look at things spiritual1 and things temporal1 and say if you can1 that the same arts1 the same passions1 and worldly wisdom1 are not as active in the one1 as in the other4 ,for if ,christ at leaving the world1 had said to his disciples1 labour to be rich1 make full provision for the flesh1 be conformed to the world1 court the favour and interest of great men1 cloath yourselves with all the worldly honours1 distinctions1 and powers ye can get2 ,i appeal to every man1 whether ,popish and ,protestant churches need do any thing else1 than that which they now do1 to prove their faithfulness to such a master1 and their full obedience to his precepts4 8wordly0 replaced with 8worldly0 ,again1 ,secondly1 ,ye have heard1 saith our ,lord1 that it hath been said by them of old2 thou shalt not forswear thyself1 but shall perform unto the ,lord1 thine oaths4 ,but ,i say unto you1 swear not at all4 ,but notwithstanding this1 through town and country1 in all ignorant villages1 in all learned colleges1 in all courts spiritual and temporal1 what with law-oaths1 corporation-oaths1 office-oaths1 trade-oaths1 qualification-oaths1 simony-oaths1 bribery-oaths1 election-oaths1 c4 c4 c4 there is more swearing and for-swearing1 than all history reports of any idol-worshipping nations4 ,it was said of old1 because of swearing1 the land mourneth3 ,it is full as true to say now1 because of swearing1 the land rejoiceth in iniquity1 is full of prophaneness1 and without any fear or awe of the divine ,majesty1 daily swallowing down all manner of oaths1 with as much serious reflection1 as pot-companions swallow down their liquor4 ,but to proceed to a third instance of the full power of ,antichrist1 through every part of governing ,christendom4 ,in the darkest ages of ,romish superstition1 a martial spirit of zeal for the gospel1 broke forth in kings1 cardinals1 bishops1 monks1 and friars1 to lead the sheep of ,christ1 saints1 pilgrims1 penitents1 and sinners of all kinds1 to proceed in battle array1 to kill1 devour1 and drive the ,turks from the land of ,palestine1 and the old earthly ,jerusalem4 ,these blood-thirsty expeditions were called an holy war1 because it was a fighting for the holy land2 they were called also a croisade1 because crucifixes made the greatest glitter amongst the sharpened instruments of human murder4 ,thus under the banner of the cross1 went forth an army of church wolves1 to destroy the lives of those1 whom the ,lamb of ,god died on the cross to save4 ,the light which broke out at the reformation1 abhorred the bloody zeal of these ,catholic heroes4 ,but what followed from this new risen1 reforming light1 what came forth instead of these holy crusades8 ,why wars1 if possible1 still more diabolical4 ,christian kingdoms with blood-thirsty piety1 destroying1 devouring and burning one another1 for the sake of that which was called ,popery1 and that which was called ,protestantism4 ,now who can help seeing1 that ,satan1 had here a much greater triumph over ,christendom1 than in all the holy wars that went before8 ,for all that was then done1 by such high-spirited fighters for old ,jerusalem's earth1 could not be said to be done against gospel-light1 because not one in a thousand of these holy warriors was allowed to see what was in the gospel4 ,but now1 with the gospel open in every one's hands1 ,papists and ,protestants make open war against every divine virtue1 which can unite them with the ,lamb of ,god1 who taketh away the sins of the world2 ,i say1 against every divine virtue of the ,lamb of ,god1 for these are the enemies which ,christian war conquers4 ,for there is not a virtue of gospel-goodness1 but has its death-blow from it4 ,now fancy to yourself1 ,christ1 after his divine sermon on the mount1 putting himself at the head of a blood-thirsty army1 or ,st4 ,paul going forth with a squadron of fire and brimstone1 to make more havock in human lives1 than a devouring earthquake4 ,but if this be too blasphemous an absurdity to be supposed1 what follows1 but that the ,christian who acts in the fury of war1 acts in full contrariety to the whole nature of ,christ1 and can no more be said to be led by his ,spirit1 than those his enemies1 who came forth with swords and staves to take him4 ,when a ,most ,christian ,majesty with his ,catholic church1 sings a ,te ,deum at the high altar1 for rivers of ,protestant blood poured out2 or an evangelic church sings praise to the holy ,lamb of ,god1 for helping them from his holy throne in heaven1 to make ,popish towns like to ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 they blaspheme ,god1 as much as ,cain would have done1 had he offered a sacrifice of praise to ,god1 for helping him to murder his brother4 ,let such worshippers of ,god be told1 that the field of blood gives all its glory to ,satan1 who was a murderer from the beginning1 and will to the end of his reign1 be the only receiver of all the glory1 that can come from it4 ,a glorious ,alexander in the ,heathen world1 is a shame and reproach to human nature1 and does more mischief to mankind in a few years1 than all wild beasts have done from the beginning of the world4 ,but the same hero making the same ravage from country to country with ,christian soldiers1 has more thanks from the devil1 than twenty ,pagan ,alexanders4 ,to make men kill men1 is meat and drink to their roaring adversary1 who goeth about seeking whom he may devour4 ,but to make ,christians kill ,christians for the sake of ,christ's church1 is his highest triumph over the highest mark1 which ,christ hath set upon those whom he has purchased by his blood4 ,this commandment1 saith he1 ,i give unto you1 that ye love one another4 ,by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples1 if ye love one another as ,i have loved you4 ,can the duellist1 who had rather sheath his sword in the bowels of his brother1 than stifle that which he calls an affront1 can he be said to have this mark of his belonging to ,christ8 ,now1 what is the difference between the haughty duellist meeting his adversary with sword and pistol behind a hedge1 and two kingdoms with their high-spirited regiments slaughtering one another in the field of battle8 ,it is the difference that is between the murder of one man1 and the murder of an hundred thousand4 ,now imagine the duellist fasting and confessing his sins to ,god to-day1 because he is engaged to fight his brother to-morrow2 fancy again the conqueror got into his closet1 on his bended knees1 lifting up hands and heart to ,god1 for blessing his weapons with the death of his brother2 and then you have a pictured in little of great piety1 that begins and ends the wars all over heavenly ,christendom6 ,what blindness can be greater1 than to think that a ,christian kingdom1 can have any other goodness1 or union with ,christ1 but that very goodness1 which makes the private ,christian to be one with him1 and a partaker of the divine nature8 ,or that pride1 wrath1 ambition1 envy1 covetousness1 rapine1 revenge1 hatred1 and murder1 are only the works of the devil1 whilst they are committed by private1 or single men2 but when carried on by all the strength and authority1 all the hearts1 hands1 and voices of a whole nation1 that the devil is then quite driven out of them1 loses all his right and power in them1 and they become holy matter of church thanksgivings1 and the sacred oratory of pulpits8 ,look at that which the private ,christian is to do to his neighbour1 or his enemy1 and you see that very thing1 which one ,christian kingdom is to do to another4 ,now suppose a man1 redeemed from his fallen nature1 by ,christ formed in his soul1 and then he can no more be hired to kill men gloriously in the field1 than to carry a dark lanthorn by night to a powder-plot4 ,the temporal miseries which war carries along with it1 wherever it goes1 are neither to be numbered nor expressed4 ,what thievery bears any proportion to that1 which with the boldness of drum and trumpet1 plunders the innocent of all that they have8 ,and if themselves are left alive1 with all their limbs1 or their daughters unravished1 they have many times1 only the ashes of their consumed houses to lie down upon4 ,what honour has war not gotten1 from its tens and tens of hundreds of thousands of men slaughtered on heaps1 with as little regret or concern1 as at loads of rubbish thrown into a pit8 ,who1 but the fiery dragon1 would put wreaths of laurel1 on such heroes heads8 ,who but he1 could say unto them1 ,well done1 good and faithful servants8 ,but there is still an evil of war much greater1 though less regarded4 ,who reflects1 how many hundreds of thousands1 nay millions of young men1 born into this world for no other end1 but that they may be born again1 and from sons of ,adam's misery1 become sons of ,god1 and fellow-heirs with ,christ in everlasting glory2 who reflects1 ,i say1 what nameless numbers of these1 are robbed of ,god's precious gift of life1 before they have known the sole benefit of living2 who are not suffered to stay in this world1 till age and experience have done their best for them1 have helped them to know the inward voice of ,god's ,spirit1 helped them to find1 and feel that curse1 and sting of sin and death1 which must be taken from within them1 before they can die the death of the righteous2 but instead of this1 have been either forced1 or tempted in the fire of youth1 and full of strength of sinful lusts1 to forget ,god1 eternity1 and their own souls1 and rush into a kill or be killed1 with as much furious haste1 and goodness of spirit1 as tiger kills tiger for the sake of his prey8 ,that ,god's providence over his fallen creatures1 is a providence of love and salvation1 turning through ways of infinite wisdom1 sooner or later1 all kinds of evil into good1 making that which was lost to be found1 that which was dead1 to be alive again2 not willing that one single sinner should want that1 which can save him from eternal death1 is a truth as certain1 as that ,god's name is1 ,i ,,am that ,i ,,am4 ,amongst the unfallen creatures in heaven1 ,god's name and nature1 is ,,love1 ,,light1 and ,,glory4 ,to the fallen sons of ,adam1 that which was love1 light1 and glory in heaven1 becomes infinite ,,pity and ,,compassion on earth1 in a ,god1 cloathed with the nature of his fallen creature1 bearing all its infirmities1 entering into all its troubles1 and in meek innocence1 living a life1 and dying a death1 of all the sufferings due to sin4 ,hence it was1 that when this ,,divine ,,pity suffered its own life-giving blood to be poured on the ground1 all outward nature made full declaration of its atoning1 and redeeming power2 the strength of the earth did quake1 the hardness of rocks was forced to split1 and long-covered graves to give up their dead4 ,a certain presage1 that all kinds of hellish wrath1 malice1 pride1 envy1 and earthly passions1 which kept men under the power of ,satan1 must have the fullness of death1 from that all powerful1 all purifying blood of the ,lamb1 which will never cease washing ,,red into white1 till all the sons of ,adam are fit for their several mansions in their heavenly ,father's house4 ,sing1 ,o ye heavens1 and shout all the lower parts of the earth1 for this is ,,our ,,god that varies not1 whose first creating love knows no change1 but into a redeeming pity towards all his fallen creatures4 99,look now at warring ,christendom1 what smallest drop of pity towards sinners is to be found in it8 ,or how could a spirit all hellish1 more fully contrive and hasten their destruction8 ,it stirs up every passion of fallen nature1 that is contrary to the humble1 meek1 loving1 forgiving1 ,spirit of ,christ4 ,it drives1 and compels nameless numbers of unconverted sinners to fall1 murdering and murdered1 among flashes of fire1 with the wrath and swiftness of lightning1 into a fire infinitely worse than that in which they died4 ,o sad subject for thanksgiving days1 whether in ,popish1 or ,protestant churches6 ,for if there is a joy of all the angels in heaven1 for one sinner that repenteth1 what a joy must there be in hell over such multitudes of sinners1 not suffered to repent8 ,and if they who have converted many to righteousness1 shall shine as the stars in the firmament for ever1 what woe may they not fear1 whose proud wrath and vain glory1 have robbed such numberless troops of poor wretches1 of all time and place of knowing what righteousness they wanted1 for the salvation of their immortal souls6 99,here my pen trembles in my hand2 but when1 ,o when will one single ,christian church1 people1 or language1 tremble at the share they have in this death of sinners6 99,for the ,,glory ,,of ,,his ,,majesty',s ,,arms1 said once a ,most ,christian ,king3 ,now if1 at that time1 his ,catholic church had called a solemn assembly to unite hearts and voices in this pious prayer1 8,o blessed ,jesus1 dear redeeming ,lamb of ,god1 who camest down from heaven1 to save mens lives1 and not destroy them1 go along we humbly pray thee1 with our bomb-vessels and fire-ships1 suffer not our thundering cannon to roar in vain1 but let thy tender hand of love and mercy1 direct their balls to more heads and hearts of thine own redeemed creatures1 than the poor skill of man is able of itself to do40 ,had such prayers had more of the son of perdition in them1 than the ,most ,christian ,king's glorying in his arms8 99,again1 would you farther see the fall of the universal church1 look at all ,european ,christendom sailing round the globe1 with fire and sword1 and every murdering art of war1 to seize the possessions1 and kill the inhabitants of both the ,indies4 ,what natural right of man1 what supernatural virtue was not here trodden under foot8 ,all that you ever read or heard of ,heathen barbarity1 was here outdone by ,christian conquerors4 ,and to this day1 what wars of ,christians against ,christians1 blended with scalping ,heathens1 still keep staining the earth and the seas with human blood1 for a miserable share in the spoils of a plundered ,heathen world6 ,a world1 which should have heard1 or seen1 or felt nothing from the followers of ,christ1 but a divine love1 that had forced them from distant lands1 and through the perils of long seas1 to visit strangers with those glad tidings of peace and salvation to all the world1 which angels from heaven1 and shepherds on earth1 proclaimed at the birth of ,christ4 99,here now1 let the wisdom of this world from its learned throne condemn all this as enthusiasm2 it need be no trouble to anyone to be condemned by that wisdom1 which ,god himself hath condemned as foolishness4 ,for the wisdom of this world hath all the contrariety to divine wisdom1 that the flesh hath to the ,spirit1 earth to heaven1 or damnation to salvation4 ,it is a wisdom1 whose ,spirit and breath keep all the evil that is in fallen man alive1 and which in its highest excellence1 has only the full-grown nature of that carnal mind1 which is at enmity against ,god4 ,it is a wisdom1 that turns all salvation-truths into empty1 learned tales1 that instead of helping the sinner to confess his sins1 and feel the misery that is hid under them1 helps him to an art of hiding1 nay of defending them2 and so the poor blinded sinner1 lives and dies in a total ignorance of that light1 blessing1 and salvation1 which could only be had by a broken and contrite heart4 ,for ,n4 ,b4 with respect to conscience1 this is the chief office of worldly wisdom2 it is to keep all things quiet in the old man1 that whether busied in things spiritual or temporal1 he may keep up the lusts of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life1 without any disturbance from religious phantoms1 and dreams of idiots1 who for want of sober sense1 and sound learning1 think that ,christ really meant what he said in these words1 ,except a man be born again1 he cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,now join 7if you please7 learning and religion to act in fellowship with this worldly wisdom1 and then you will have a depravity of craft and subtlety1 as high as flesh and blood can carry it1 which will bring forth a glittering ,pharisee1 with a hardness of heart1 greater than that of the sinner-publican4 ,this wisdom hath asked me1 ,how it is possible for ,christian kingdoms in the neighbourhood of one another1 to preserve themselves1 unless the strength and weapons of war1 are every ones defence1 against such invasions1 incroachments1 and robberies1 as would otherwise be the fate of ,christian kingdoms from one another8 ,this question is so far from needing to be answered by me1 that it is wholly on my side2 it confesses all1 and proves all that ,i have said of the state of ,christendom4,for if this is the governing spirit of ,christian kingdoms1 that no one of them can subsist in safety from its neighbour1 but by its weapons of war1 are not all ,christian kingdoms equally in the same unchristian state1 as two neighbouring bloody knaves1 who cannot be safe from one another1 but as their murdering arms protect them8 ,this plea therefore for ,christendom's wars1 proves nothing else but the want of ,christianity all over the ,christian world1 and stands upon no better a foundation of righteousness1 than when one murdering knave kills another1 that would have killed him4 ,but to know whether ,christianity wants1 or admits of war1 ,christianity is to be considered in its right state4,now the true state of the world turned ,christian1 is thus described by the great gospel-prophet4 8,they shall beat their swords into plow-shares1 and their spears into pruning hooks3 nation shall not lift up its sword against nation1 7,n4 ,b47 neither shall they learn war any more40,this is the prophet's true ,christendom1 with the same essential mark set upon it1 as when the ,lamb of ,god said1 ,by this shall all men know1 ye are my disciples1 if ye love one another as ,i have loved you4 ,would you see when and where the kingdoms of this world are become a kingdom of ,god1 the prophet tells you that it is then and there where all enmity ceaseth48,the wolf1 saith he1 shall dwell with the lamb1 and the leopard shall lie down with the kid4 ,the calf and the young lion and the fatling together1 and a little child shall lead them4 ,the cow and the bear shall feed1 and their young ones shall lie down together1 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox4 ,the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp1 and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den40,for1 ,n4 ,b4 they shall not ,,hurt or ,,destroy in all my holy mountain1 that is1 through all holy ,christendom4 ,isaiah xi4 #f4 ,see here a kingdom of ,god on the earth2 is nothing else but a kingdom of mere love1 where all ,,hurt and ,,destroying is done away1 and every work of enmity changed into heavenly love4 ,as to the present state of ,christendom1 working under the spirit and power of the great fiery dragon1 it is not my intention1 to shew how any part of it can preserve itself from being devoured by every other part1 but by its own dragon weapons4 ,but the ,christendom ,i mean1 that neither wants1 nor allows of war1 is only that where ,christ is ,king1 and his holy ,spirit the governor of the wills1 affections1 and designs of all that belong to it4,it is my charge upon all the nations of ,christendom1 that this necessity of murdering arms1 is the dragon's monster1 that is equally brought forth by all and every part of fallen ,christendom2 and that therefore all and every part1 as well ,popish as ,protestant1 are at the same distance from the ,spirit of their ,lord1 and therefore all want the same entire reformation4 ,in these last ages of ,christendom1 many reformations have taken place2 but alas6 ,truth must be forced to say1 that they have been in all their variety1 little better than so many lesser ,babels come out of ,babylon the great4,for among all the reformers1 the one only true reformation hath never yet been thought of4 ,the wisdom of this world1 with its worldly spirit1 was the only thing that had overcome the church1 and had carried it into captivity4 ,for in captivity it certainly is1 as soon as it is turned into a kingdom of this world4 ,not a false doctrine1 not a bad discipline1 or corrupt practice ever prevailed in the church1 but had its birth from worldly wisdom4 ,this wisdom1 was the great evil root1 at which the reforming axe should have been laid and must be laid1 before the church can be again that virgin spouse of ,christ1 which it was at the beginning4 ,if therefore you take any thing to be church-reformation1 but a full departure from the wisdom of this world1 or any thing to be your entrance into a salvation-church1 but the nature and ,spirit of ,christ1 in you1 then1 whether ,papist or ,protestant1 all will be just as much good to you1 as when a ,sadducee turns ,publican1 or a ,publican a ,pharisee4,and here it is well to be observed1 that the church of ,christ is solely for this end1 to make us holy as he is holy4 ,but nothing can do this1 but that which hath power to change a sinner into a saint4 ,and he who has not found that power in the church1 may be assured1 that he is not yet a true son of the church4 ,but this can only be done1 just as the change of night into day is done1 or as the darkness is lost in the light4,something as contrary to the whole nature of sin1 as light is to darkness1 and as powerful over it1 as the light is powerful over darkness1 can alone do this4,creeds1 canons1 articles of religion1 stately churches1 learned priests1 singing1 preaching1 and praying in the best contrived form of words can no more raise a dead sinner into a living saint1 than a fine system of light and colours can change the night into day4 ,on this ground it is that the apostle said1 ,circumcision is nothing1 and uncircumcision is nothing2 and on the same ground it must be said1 that ,popery is nothing1 and ,protestantism is nothing1 because all is nothing1 as to salvation1 but a sinner changed into a saint1 or the apostle's new creature4 ,many are the marks which the learned have given us of the true church2 but be that as it will1 no man1 whether learned or unlearned1 can have any proof of his own true church-membership1 but his being dead unto all sin1 and alive unto all righteousness4,this cannot be more plainly told us1 than in these words of our ,lord1 ,he that committeth sin1 is the servant of sin2 but surely that servant of sin1 cannot at the same time be a living member of ,christ's body4,to suppose a man born again1 yet under a necessity of continuing to sin1 is as absurd as to suppose1 that the true ,christian is only to have so much of the nature of ,christ1 as is consistent with ,satan's still dwelling in him4,if the ,son1 saith ,christ1 shall make you free1 then ye shall be free indeed4 ,what is this1 but saying1 if ,christ is in you1 a true freedom from all necessity of sinning is given you4 ,now if this cannot come to pass in the faithful follower of ,christ1 it must be1 because both the willing and working of ,christ in man1 is too weak to overcome that which the devil willeth and worketh in him4,all this absurdity1 and even blasphemy1 is necessarily implied in that common doctrine of books and pulpits1 that the ,christian can never have done sinning1 as long as he lives4 99,preachers and writers comfort the half ,christians with telling them1 that ,god requireth not a perfect1 sinless obedience1 but accepteth the sincerity of our weak endeavours instead of it4 ,here1 if ever1 the blind lead the blind4 ,for ,st4 ,paul comparing the way of salvation to a race1 saith1 ,in a race all run1 but ,,one obtaineth the prize3 so run that ye may obtain4 ,now if ,paul had seeing eyes1 must not they be blind1 who teach1 that ,god accepteth of all that run in the religious race1 and requireth not that any should obtain the prize4 ,how easy was it to see1 that the sincerity of our weak endeavours1 was quite a different thing from that1 which alone is1 and can be the required perfection of our lives8 ,the first1 ,god accepteth1 that is1 beareth with4 ,but why or how8 ,not because he seeketh or requireth no more1 but he beareth with them1 because1 though at a great distance from1 they are making towards the perfection1 or new creature1 which he absolutely requires1 which is the fullness of the stature of ,christ1 and is that which ,paul saith1 is the ,,one that obtaineth the prize4 99,the pleader against perfection farther supports himself by saying1 no man in the world1 ,christ excepted1 was ever without sin4 ,and so say ,i too2 and with the apostle ,i also add1 ,that if we say we have not sinned1 we make him a liar4 ,but then it is as true to say1 that we make him a liar1 if we deny the possibility of our ever being freed from a necessity of sinning4 ,for the same word of ,god saith1 ,if we confess our sins1 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins1 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness4 99,but surely he that is under a necessity of sinning1 as long as he lives1 can no more be said to be cleansed from all unrighteousness1 than a man who must be a cripple to his dying day1 can be said to be cured of all his lameness4 ,what weaker conclusion can well be made1 than to infer1 that because ,christ was the only man1 that was born and lived free from sin1 therefore no man on earth can be raised to a freedom from sinning2 no better than concluding1 that because our ,redeemer could not find us any thing but sinners1 therefore he must of all necessity leave us sinners4 99,the sober divine1 who abhors the pride of ,enthusiasts1 saith of himself and all men1 ,we are poor1 blind1 imperfect creatures1 all our natural faculties are perverted1 corrupted1 and out of their right state1 and therefore nothing that is perfect can come from us1 or be done by us4 ,truth enough6 and the very same truth1 as when the apostle saith1 ,the natural man knoweth not the things that be of ,god4 ,but what scripture ever required perfect works from this man1 any more than it requires the ,ethiopian to change his skin8 ,or what an instructed divine must he be1 who considers this old natural man1 as the ,christian1 and therefore rejects ,christian perfection1 because this old man cannot attain to it8 ,what greater blindness than to appeal to our fallen state1 in proof of a corruption1 which we must have1 when we are redeemed from it8 ,is this any wiser1 than saying1 that sin and corruption must be there where ,christ is1 because it is there1 where he is not8 99,to what end do we pray1 that this day we may fall into no sin1 if no such day can be had8 ,but if sinning can be made to cease in us for one day1 what can do this for us1 but that which can do the same to-morrow8 ,what benefit in praying1 that ,god's will may be done on earth1 as it is in heaven1 if the earth as long as it lasts1 must have as many sinners1 as it has men upon it8 ,how vainly does the church pray for the baptized person1 that he may have power and strength to have victory1 and to triumph against the devil1 the world and the flesh1 if this victorious triumph can never be obtained8 ,if notwithstanding this baptism and prayer1 he must continue committing sin1 and so be a servant of sin1 as long as he lives8 ,see how ,st4 ,paul sets forth the true church4,know ye not1 that so many of us as were baptized into ,jesus ,christ1 were baptized into his death8 ,therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death1 that like as ,christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the ,father1 even so we also should walk in newness of life4,here we have the one true church infallibly described4,he goes on4 ,for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death1 we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection4 ,therefore to be in ,christ1 or in his church1 belongs to no one1 but because the old man is put off1 and the new man is put on4,the same thing is said again in these words2 ,knowing this1 that our old man is crucified with him1 that the body of sin might be destroyed1 ,that 7,n4 ,b47 ,,henceforth we should not serve sin4 ,away then with all the tedious volumes of church unity1 church power1 and church salvation4 ,ask neither a council of ,trent1 nor a synod of ,dort1 nor an assembly of divines1 for a definition of the church4 ,the apostle has given you1 not a definition1 but the unchangeable nature of it1 in these words4 ,but now being made free from sin1 and become servants to ,god1 ye have your fruit unto holiness1 and the end everlasting life4 ,therefore to be in the true church1 and to be in ,christ a new creature which sinneth not1 is the same thing4 99,look at all that is outward1 and all that you then see1 has no more of salvation in it1 than the stars and elements4 ,look at all the good works you can think of1 they have no goodness for you1 but when the good ,spirit of ,god is the doer of them4 ,for all the outward works of religion may be done by the natural man1 he can observe all church duties1 stick close to doctrines1 and put on the semblance of every outward virtue2 thus high can he go4 ,but no ,christian1 till led by the ,spirit of ,god1 can go any higher than this outward formality2 to which he can add nothing1 but his own natural1 fleshly zeal in the defence of it4 ,my little children1 saith ,st4 ,paul1 of whom ,i travail again in birth1 till ,christ be formed in you4 ,this is the whole labour of an apostle to the end of the world4 ,he has nothing to preach to sinners1 but the absolute necessity1 the true way1 and the certain means of being born again4 ,but if dropping this one thing he becomes a disputing reformer about words and opinions1 and helps ,christians to be zealously separated from one another1 for the sake of being saved by different notions of faith1 works1 justification1 or election1 he has forgot his errand1 and is become a blind leader of all who are blind enough to follow him4 ,the eternal ,son of ,god came into the world1 only for the sake of this new birth1 to give ,god the glory of restoring it to all the dead sons of fallen ,adam4 ,all the mysteries of this incarnate1 suffering1 dying ,son of ,god1 all the price that he paid for our redemption1 all the washings that we have from his all cleansing blood poured out for us1 all the life that we receive from eating his flesh and drinking his blood1 have their infinite value1 their high glory1 and amazing greatness in this1 because nothing less than these supernatural mysteries of a ,god-man could raise a new creature out of ,adam's death1 which could be again a living temple1 and habitation of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,all that ,christ was1 did1 suffered1 dying in the flesh1 and ascending into heaven1 was for this sole end1 to purchase for all his followers1 a new birth1 new life1 and new light1 in and by the ,spirit of ,god restored to them1 and living in them1 as their support1 comforter1 and guide into all truth4 ,and this was his word1 ,,lo1 ,i ,,am ,,with ,,you ,,alway1 ,,even ,,unto ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,an ,extract of the ,,christian ,,pattern3 ,or1 a treatise on the imitation of ,christ4 ,written in ,latin by ,thomas a ,kempis4 ,the ,,preface4 ,i4 ,,as it is impossible for any one to know the usefulness of this treatise1 till he has read it in such a manner as it deserves2 instead of heaping up commendations of it1 which those who have so read it do not want1 and those who have not will not believe2 ,i have transcribed a few plain directions1 how to read this 7or indeed any other religious book7 with improvement4 ,,ii4 ,assign some stated time every day for this pious employment4 ,if any indispensable business unexpectedly robs you of your hour of retirement1 take the next hour for it4 ,when such large portions of each day are so willingly bestowed on bodily refreshments1 can you scruple allotting some little time daily1 for the improvement of your immortal soul8 ,,iii4 ,prepare yourself for reading by purity of intention1 whereby you singly aim at your soul's benefit2 and then1 in a short ejaculation1 beg ,god's grace to enlighten your understanding1 and dispose your heart for receiving what you read2 and that you may both know what he requires of you1 and seriously resolve to execute his will when known4 ,,iv4 ,be sure to read not cursorily and hastily2 but leisurely1 seriously1 and with great attention2 with proper intervals and pauses1 that you may allow time for the enlightnings of ,divine ,grace4 ,stop every now and then to recollect what you have read1 and consider how to reduce it to practice4 ,farther1 let your reading be continued and regular1 not rambling and desultory4 ,it shews a vitiated palate1 to taste of many dishes1 without fixing upon1 or being satisfied with any3 not but that it will be of great service to read over and over those passages1 which more nearly concern yourself1 and more closely affect your own practice or inclinations2 especially if you add a particular examination upon each4 ,v4 ,labour for a temper correspondent to what you read2 otherwise it will prove empty and unprofitable1 while it only enlightens your understanding1 without influencing your will1 or inflaming your affections4 ,therefore intersperse here and there pious aspirations to ,god1 and petitions for his grace4 ,select also any remarkable sayings or advices1 treasuring them up in your memory to ruminate and consider on3 which you may either in time of need draw forth1 as arrows from a quiver against temptation1 against this or that vice which you are more particularly addicted to2 or make use of as incitements to humility1 patience1 the love of ,god1 or any other virtue4 ,,vi4 ,conclude all with short ejaculation to ,god3 that he would preserve and prosper this good seed sown in your heart1 that it may bring forth its fruit in due season4 ,and think not this will take up too much of your time1 for you can never bestow it to so good advantage4 ,an ,extract of the ,,christian ,,pattern4 ,,book ,i4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,of the imitation of ,christ and contempt of all the vanities of the world4 ,,he that followeth me walketh not in darkness1 saith the ,lord4 ,these are the words of ,christ1 by which we are admonished1 that we ought to imitate his life and manners1 if we would be truly enlightened1 and delivered from all blindness of heart4 ,let therefore our chief endeavour be to meditate upon the life of ,jesus ,christ4 #b4 ,what will it avail thee to dispute sublimely of the ,trinity1 if thou be void of humility1 and art thereby displeasing to the ,trinity8 ,truly1 sublime words do not make a man holy and just2 but a virtuous life maketh him dear to ,god4 ,i had rather feel compunction1 than know the definition thereof4 ,if thou didst know the whole bible1 and the sayings of all the philosophers by heart1 what would all that profit thee1 without the love of ,god8 99,vanity of vanities6 ,all is vanity1 but to love ,god1 and to serve him only4 #c4 ,it is therefore vanity to seek after perishing riches4 ,it is also vanity to seek honours4 ,it is vanity to follow the desires of the flesh1 and to labour for that for which thou must afterwards suffer grievous punishment4 ,it is vanity to wish to live long1 and to be careless to live well4 ,it is vanity to mind this present life1 and not those things which are to come4 ,it is vanity to set thy love on that which speedily passeth away1 and not to hasten thither1 where everlasting joys remain4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,of thinking humbly of ourselves4 99,,all men naturally desire to know2 but what availeth knowledge1 without the fear of ,god8 ,surely1 an humble husbandman that serveth ,god1 is better than a proud philosopher1 that neglecting himself1 studies the course of the heavens4 ,he that knoweth himself1 is vile in his own eyes1 and is not pleased with the praises of men4 ,if ,i understood all things in the world1 and had not charity1 what would that help me in the sight of ,god1 who will judge me according to my works8 #b4 ,cease from an inordinate desire of knowing1 for therein is much distraction and deceit4 ,there are many things1 to know which doth little profit the soul4 ,and he is very unwise1 that minds any other things than those that tend to the welfare of his soul4 ,many words do not satisfy the soul2 but a pure conscience giveth confidence towards ,god4 99,the more thou knowest1 and the better thou understandest1 the more grievously shalt thou be judged1 unless thy life be the more holy4 ,be not therefore lifted up2 but rather let the knowledge given thee make thee afraid4 ,if thou thinkest that thou knowest much2 yet there are many more things which thou knowest not4 ,be not over-wise1 but rather acknowledge thine own ignorance4 99,if thou wilt know any thing profitably1 love to be unknown1 and of no account4 #d4 ,the highest and most profitable lesson is1 the true knowledge of ourselves4 ,it is great wisdom to esteem ourselves nothing1 and to think always well and highly of others4 ,if thou shouldst see another openly sin1 yet oughtest thou not to esteem thyself better than him4 99,we are all frail1 but remember1 none more frail than thyself4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,of the doctrine of truth4 ,,happy is he1 whom truth itself teacheth1 not by figures1 and words that pass away2 but by an immediate communication of itself4 ,our own opinion and our own sense often deceive us1 and discern little4 ,what availeth it to dispute about hidden things1 for being ignorant of which we shall not be reproved at the day of judgment8 ,it is great folly to neglect things profitable1 and to think of curious or hurtful things4 #b4 ,and what have we to do with dry notions8 ,he to whom the ,eternal ,word speaketh1 is delivered from a world of vain notions4 ,from the ,one ,word are all things1 and all speak that one3 and this is he1 who also speaketh unto us4 ,no man understandeth or judgeth rightly without him4 99,he1 to whom all things are one1 who reduceth all things to one1 and seeth all things in one1 may be stable in heart1 and remain peaceable in ,god4 99,o ,god1 the truth1 make me one with thee in everlasting love4 ,i am weary of reading and hearing many things2 in thee is all that ,i desire4 99,let all creatures be silent in thy sight2 speak thou alone unto me4 #c4 ,the more simple anyone is1 the more doth he understand without labour3 because he receiveth the light of knowledge from above4 99,a pure1 simple1 and stable spirit is not dissipated1 tho' it be employed in many works2 because it does all to the glory of ,god1 and seeks not itself in any thing it doth4 ,what hinders and troubles thee but the unmortified affections of thine own heart8 ,who hath a sharper combat1 than he who laboured to overcome himself8 ,this ought to be our business1 to conquer ourselves1 and daily to advance in holiness4 #d4 ,all perfection in this life hath some imperfection mixed with it2 and no knowledge of ours is without some darkness4 ,an humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to ,god1 than a deep search after science4 ,yet knowledge is not to be blamed1 it being good in itself1 and ordained by ,god2 but a good conscience and a virtuous life is always to be preferred before it4 #e4 ,o ,if men bestowed as much labour in the rooting out of vices1 as they do in moving of questions1 there would not be so great wickedness1 nor so much hurt done in the world6 99,surely at the day of judgment we shall not be examined what we have read1 but what we have done3 not how well we have spoken1 but how religiously we have lived4 99,tell me1 where are now all those doctors and masters with whom thou wast well acquainted whilst they lived and flourished in learning8 ,now others possess their preferments1 and perhaps scarce ever think of them4 ,in their lifetime they seemed something1 but now they are not spoken of4 #f4 ,o how quickly doth the glory of the world pass away6 ,o that their life had been answerable to their learning6 then had their study been to good purpose4 ,how many perish in this world1 because they rather chuse to be great than humble8 ,therefore they become vain in their imaginations4 99,he is truly great1 that is great in love4 ,he is truly great that is little in his own eyes1 and that maketh no account of any height of honour4 99,he is truly wise1 that accounteth all earthly things as dung1 that he may win ,christ4 99,and he is truly learned1 that doth the will of ,god1 and forsaketh his own will4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,of prudence in our actions4 ,,we must not give ear to every saying or suggestion1 but warily and leisurely ponder things according to the will of ,god4 ,but alas6 such is our weakness1 that we often more easily believe and speak evil of others than good4 ,good men do not easily give credit to every thing one tells them2 because they know human frailty is prone to evil1 and very subject to fail in words4 #b4 ,it is great wisdom not to be rash in thy proceedings1 nor to stand stifly in thine own opinion4 ,it is wisdom not to believe every thing which thou hearest1 nor presently to relate again to others what thou hast heard1 or dost believe4 ,consult with a wise and conscientious man1 and seek to be instructed by a better than thyself1 rather than to follow thine own inventions4 99,a good life maketh a man wise according to ,god1 and giveth him experience in many things4 ,the humbler one is1 and more resigned unto ,god1 the more prudent and contented shall he be in all things4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,of reading the holy scriptures4 ,,truth1 not eloquence1 is to be sought for in holy scripture4 99,all scripture is to be read by the same spirit wherewith it was written4 ,we ought to read plain and devout books as willingly as high and profound ones4 ,let not the authority of the writer1 whether he be of great or small learning1 but the love of pure truth1 draw thee to read4 99,search not who spake this1 but mark what is spoken4 #b4 ,men pass away2 but the truth of the ,lord remaineth for ever4 ,god speaks unto us sundry ways1 without respect of persons4 ,our own curiosity often hindereth us in reading the scriptures1 when we will examine and discuss that which we should rather pass over without more ado4 ,if thou desire to profit1 read humbly1 simply1 and faithfully4 ,enquire willingly1 and hear with silence the words of holy men3 dislike not the parables of the elders1 for they are not spoken without cause4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,of avoiding vain hopes and pride4 ,,he is vain that putteth his trust in man or creatures4 ,be not ashamed to serve others for the love of ,jesus ,christ2 nor to be esteemed poor in this world4 ,presume not upon thyself1 but place thy hope in ,god4 99,do what lieth in thy power1 and ,god will assist thy good-will4 99,trust not in thy knowledge1 nor in any living creature2 but rather in the grace of ,god2 who helpeth the humble1 and humbleth the proud4 #b4 ,glory not in wealth1 nor in friends2 but in ,god1 who giveth all things1 and desireth to give thee himself above all4 ,value not thyself for the strength or beauty of thy body1 which is spoiled and disfigured with a little sickness4 ,pride not thyself in thy natural gifts or wit1 lest thereby thou displease ,god4 #c4 ,esteem not thyself better than others1 lest in the sight of ,god thou be accounted worse than they4 ,be not proud of thy good works3 for the judgment of ,god is far different from the judgment of men4 ,if there be any good in thee1 believe that there is much more in others4 ,it hurts thee not1 if thou thinkest thyself worse than all men3 but it hurts thee much1 to prefer thyself before any one man4 99,the humble enjoy continual peace2 but in the heart of the proud is envy and frequent indignation4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,that too much familiarity is to be shunned4 ,,lay not thy heart open to every one2 but treat of thy affairs with the wise and such as fear ,god4 ,converse not much with young people and strangers4 ,flatter not the rich2 neither do thou appear willingly before great persons4 ,keep company with the humble and simple1 with the devout and virtuous2 and confer with them of those things that may edify4 ,be not familiar with any woman2 but in general commend all good women to ,god4 ,desire to be familiar with ,god alone1 and his angels1 and fly the knowledge of men4 ,we must have charity towards all2 but familiarity with all is not expedient4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,of avoiding superfluity of words4 ,,fly the tumult of the world as much as thou canst3 ,for we are quickly defiled and enthralled with vanity4 ,i could wish that ,i had oftentimes held my peace1 and that ,i had not been in company4 99,why are we so fond of conversation1 when notwithstanding we seldom return to silence without hurt of conscience8 99,we willingly talk of those things which we most love or desire1 or of those which we feel most contrary and troublesome to us4 ,but alas6 often times in vain1 and to no end2 for this outward comfort doth obstruct the inward consolation4 ,therefore we must watch and pray1 lest our time pass away idly4 #b4 ,if it be lawful and expedient for thee to speak1 speak those things that may edify4 ,however1 devout conversation upon spiritual subjects1 doth greatly further our spiritual growth1 especially where persons of one mind and spirit are joined together in ,god4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,the obtaining of peace1 and zeal for improvement4 99,,we might enjoy much peace1 if we would not busy ourselves with the words and deeds of others1 in which we have no concern4 ,how can he live long in peace1 that meddles with the cares of others1 and little or seldom recollecteth himself within his own breast8 ,blessed are the single-hearted1 for they shall enjoy much peace4 #b4 ,we are too much taken up with our own passions1 and too solicitous for transitory things4 8sollicitous0 replaced with 8solicitous0 ,we are not inflamed with a fervent desire to grow better every day2 and therefore we remain cold and indifferent4 #c4 ,if we were dead unto ourselves1 and disengaged from low affections1 then we should relish divine things3 ,but when any adversity befalleth us1 we turn ourselves to human comforts4 #d4 ,if we would endeavour1 like men of courage1 to stand in the battle1 we should surely feel the assistance of ,god from heaven3 99,for he furnishes us with occasions of striving1 that we may conquer4 ,if we place our progress in religion1 only in outward observances1 our devotion will quickly be at an end4 ,but let us lay the axe to the root1 that being freed from passions1 we may find rest to our souls4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,of the usefulness of adversity4 ,,it is good that we have sometimes troubles and crosses2 for they often make a man enter into himself1 and consider that he ought not to place his trust in any worldly thing4 ,it is good that we be sometimes contradicted2 and that men think ill of us3 and this1 although we do1 and intend well4 ,for then we more diligently seek ,god for our inward witness1 when outwardly we are contemned by men4 99#b4 ,wherefore a man should settle himself so fully in ,god1 that he need not seek comforts of men4 ,when a man is afflicted1 tempted1 or troubled with evil thoughts2 then he understandeth better the great need he hath of ,god4 #c4 ,so long as we live in this world1 we cannot be without temptation4 ,hence it is written in ,job1 ,the life of man is a warfare upon earth4 ,every one therefore ought to take care as to his own temptations1 and to watch1 in prayer1 lest he be deceived by the devil2 who never sleepeth1 but goeth about seeking whom he may devour4 #d4 ,temptations are often very profitable to men1 though they be troublesome and grievous3 for in them a man is humbled1 purified1 and instructed4 ,all the saints have passed through1 and profited by many tribulations and temptations3 ,and they that could not bear temptations1 became reprobates and fell away4 99,there is no place so secret1 where there are no temptations4 #e4 ,there is no man that is altogether secure from temptations whilst he liveth4 99,when one temptation goeth away1 another cometh2 and we shall ever have something to suffer4 ,many seek to fly temptations1 and fall more grievously into them4 8grivously0 replaced with 8grievously0 ,by flight alone1 we cannot overcome1 but by patience and humility we conquer all our enemies4 #f4 ,he that only avoideth them outwardly1 and doth not pluck them up by the roots1 shall profit little2 yea1 temptations will soon return unto him1 and he shall feel them worse than before4 99,by patience 7through ,god's help7 thou shalt more easily overcome1 than by harsh and disquieting efforts in thy own strength4 ,often take counsel in temptations2 and deal not roughly with him that is tempted4 99#g4 ,the beginning of temptation is inconstancy of mind1 and little confidence in ,god4 99,for as a ship without a rudder is tossed to and fro with the waves2 so the man that is negligent is many ways tempted4 ,fire trieth iron1 and temptation a just man4 99,we know not often what we are able to do2 but temptations shew us what we are4 99,we must be watchful1 especially in the beginning of the temptation2 for the enemy is then more easily overcome1 if he be not suffered to enter the door of your hearts1 but be resisted without the gate at his first knock4 ,wherefore one said1 8,withstand the beginning2 for an after-remedy comes too late40 99,first there occurreth to the mind a simple evil thought2 then a strong imagination2 afterwards delight2 and lastly consent3 ,and so by little and little our malicious enemy getteth entrance1 whilst he is not resisted in the beginning4 ,and the longer one is slack in resisting1 the weaker he becomes daily1 and the enemy stronger against him4 99#h4 ,some suffer the greatest temptation in the beginning of their conversion2 others in the latter end4 99,others again are much troubled almost throughout their life4 ,some are but slightly tempted according to the wisdom which weigheth the states of men1 and ordereth all things for the good of his elect4 #i4 ,we ought therefore1 when we are tempted1 so much the more fervently to pray unto ,god1 who surely will give with the temptation a way to escape1 that we may be able to bear it4 ,let us therefore humble ourselves under the hand of ,god in all temptations and tribulations2 for he will exalt the humble in spirit4 #aj4 ,in temptations and afflictions man is proved how much he hath profited4 ,neither is it any such great thing if a man be devout and fervent1 when he feeleth no affliction2 but if in time of adversity he bear himself patiently1 there is hope then of great proficiency4 ,some are kept from great temptations1 and are overcame in small ones2 that being humbled1 they may never trust themselves in great matters1 who are baffled in so small things4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,of avoiding rash ,judgment4 ,,turn thine eyes unto thyself1 and beware thou judge not the deeds of other men4 ,in judging of others a man laboureth in vain1 often erreth1 and easily sinneth3 but in judging and examining himself he always laboureth fruitfully4 ,we often judge of things according as we fancy them3 for affection bereaves us easily of a right judgment4 ,if ,god were always our desire1 we should not be so much troubled when our inclinations are opposed4 #b4 ,but oftentimes something lurks within1 which draweth us after it4 ,many secretly seek themselves in their actions1 but know it not4 ,they live in peace of mind1 when things are done according to their will2 but if things succeed otherwise than they desire1 they are straightway troubled4 ,diversity of inclinations and opinions often cause dissentions between religious persons1 between friends and countrymen4 #c4 ,an old custom is hardly broken1 and no man is willing to be led farther than himself can see4 ,if thou dost more rely upon thine own reason1 than upon ,jesus ,christ1 late1 if ever1 shalt thou become illuminated4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,of works done out of charity4 ,,the outward work1 without charity1 profiteth nothing2 but whatsoever is done out of charity1 be it never so little and contemptible in the sight of the world1 is wholly fruitful4 99,for ,god weigheth more with how much love one worketh1 than how much he doth4 99,he doth much that loveth much4 #b4 ,he doth much1 that doth a thing well4 ,he doth well1 that serveth his neighbour1 and not his own will4 ,often it seemeth to be charity1 and it is rather carnality2 because natural inclination1 self-will1 hope of reward1 and desire of their own interest1 are motives that men are rarely free from4 #c4 ,he that hath true and perfect charity1 seeketh himself in nothing2 but only desireth in all things that ,god should be exalted4 ,he envieth none1 because he seeketh not his own satisfaction2 neither rejoiceth in himself1 but chuses ,god only for his portion4 ,he attributeth nothing that is good to any man1 but wholly refereth it unto ,god1 from whom1 as from the fountain1 all things proceed2 in whom finally all the saints rest4 ,o that we had but one spark of true charity1 we would certainly discern that all earthly things are full of vanity6 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,of bearing with the defects of others4 ,,those things that a man cannot amend in himself1 or in others1 he ought to suffer patiently1 until ,god orders things otherwise4 99,think1 that perhaps it is better so for thy trial and patience4 99#b4 ,if one that is once or twice warned will not give over1 contend not with him2 but commit all to ,god1 that his will may be done1 and his name honoured in all his servants1 who well knoweth how to turn evil into good4 ,study to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of others1 of what sort soever they be2 for that thou thyself also hast many1 which must be suffered by others4 99,if thou canst not make thyself such a one as thou wouldst1 how canst thou expect to have another in all things to thy liking8 ,we would willingly have others perfect1 and yet we amend not our own faults4 ,we would have others exactly corrected1 and will not be corrected ourselves4 ,the liberty of others displeaseth us1 and yet we will not have our desires denied4 ,thus it appears1 how seldom we weigh our neighbour in the same balance with ourselves4 #c4 ,if all men were perfect1 what should we have to suffer of our neighbour for ,god8 99,but now ,god hath thus ordered it1 that we may learn to bear one another's burdens3 for no man is without fault3 no man but hath his burden2 no man is self-sufficient2 no man has wisdom enough for himself3 but we ought to bear with one another1 comfort1 help1 instruct1 and admonish one another4 99,occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue each one hath3 99,for occasions make not a man frail1 but shew what he is4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,of the examples of the holy ,fathers4 ,,consider the lively examples of the holy fathers1 in whom true religion shone1 and thou shalt see how little it is and almost nothing1 which we do now4 ,alas6 what is our life1 if it be compared to theirs8 ,these saints and friends of ,christ1 served the ,lord in hunger and thirst1 in cold and nakedness1 in labour and weariness1 in watchings and fastings1 in persecutions1 and many reproaches4 #b4 ,o how many and grievous tribulations suffered the apostles1 martyrs1 confessors1 virgins1 and all the rest that would follow the steps of ,christ6 ,they hated their lives in this world1 that they might possess their souls in everlasting life6 ,o how strict and self-renouncing a life led those holy fathers in the wilderness6 ,how long and grievous temptations suffered they6 ,how often were they assaulted by the enemy6 ,what frequent and fervent prayers offered they to ,god6 ,how rigorous an abstinence did they dally use6 ,how great zeal and care had they of their spiritual proficiency6 ,how strong a combat had they for the overcoming of their lusts6 ,how pure and upright an intention did they preserve unto ,god6 ,all the day they laboured1 and spent part of the night in prayer2 although1 even while they laboured1 they did not cease from mental prayer4 #c4 ,they spent all their time usefully3 all their hours of devotion seemed short3 and1 by reason of the great sweetness they felt in contemplation1 they forgot the necessity of corporal refreshments4 ,they renounced all riches1 dignities1 honours1 friends and kinsfolk2 they desired to have nothing of the world3 they took no more of any thing than was necessary for the sustenance of life4 ,they were poor in earthly things1 but rich in grace4 ,outwardly they wanted1 but inwardly were refreshed with divine consolation4 #d4 ,they were strangers to the world1 but friends to ,god4 ,they seemed to themselves as nothing1 and were despised by the world3 but they were precious in the eyes of ,god4 ,they were grounded in humility1 walked in love and patience1 and therefore profited daily in spirit4 99,help me1 ,o ,lord ,god1 in thy holy service1 and grant that ,i may now this day begin perfectly2 for that which ,i have done hitherto is nothing4 ,much diligence is necessary to him that will profit much4 ,if he that firmly purposeth often faileth1 what shall he do that seldom1 or feebly purposeth any thing8 ,it may fall out sundry ways that we break our resolution1 and a little omission of spiritual exercises seldom passes without some loss4 ,the purpose of just men depends1 not so much upon their own wisdom1 as upon the grace of ,god1 on whom they always rely in whatsoever they take in hand4 99,for man doth propose1 but ,god doth dispose2 neither is the way of man in himself4 #e4 ,if any accustomed exercise be sometimes omitted1 either for some act of piety1 or profit to thy brother1 it may easily afterwards be recovered again4 ,but to omit it out of sloth1 or carelessness1 is very blameable1 and will be found pernicious4 ,we must diligently search into1 and regulate both the outward and inward man2 because both contribute to our advancement4 ,gird thy loins like a man against the assaults of the devil2 bridle thy appetite1 and thou shalt the more easily bridle all the motions of the flesh4 99,be thou at no time idle altogether2 but either reading1 or writing1 or praying1 or meditating1 or endeavouring something for the public good4 ,blessed is that servant whom1 when his ,lord cometh1 he shall find watching3 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,he shall make him ruler over all his goods ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,of the love of solitude and silence4 ,,seek a convenient time to retire into thyself4 ,meddle not with curiosities4 ,read such things as may rather yield compunction of heart1 than busy thy head4 ,if thou wilt withdraw thyself from superfluous talk and useless visits1 as also from hearkening after news and rumours1 thou shalt find sufficient leisure to meditate on good things4 99#b4 ,one said1 8,as often as ,i have been among men1 ,i returned less a man20 and this we often find true1 when we have been long in company4 ,it is easier not to speak at all1 than not to speak more than we should4 ,it is easier to keep at home1 than to be sufficiently upon our guard when we are abroad4 ,he therefore1 that intends to attain to inward and spiritual things1 must with ,jesus retire from the multitude4 ,no man safely goes abroad1 but he who is willing to stay at home4 ,no man can speak safely1 but he who is willing to hold his peace4 ,no man ruleth safely1 but he that is willing to be ruled4 99,no man safely commands1 but he that hath learned readily to obey4 ,no man safely rejoiceth1 unless he hath within him the testimony of a good conscience3 99,and yet the security of the saints was always full of the fear of ,god4 ,neither were they less careful and humble in themselves1 because they shone outwardly with grace and great virtues4 ,those have often through confidence in themselves fallen into the greatest dangers1 who have been in the greatest esteem among men4 99,wherefore it is more profitable to many1 not to be altogether free from temptations1 lest they should be too secure1 lest they should be puffed up with pride1 or too freely incline to worldly comforts4 99,o how good a conscience would he keep1 that would never seek after transitory joy1 nor entangle himself with the things of this world6 ,o how great peace and quietness would he possess1 that would cut off all vain solicitude1 and think only upon divine things1 and such as are profitable for his soul6 ,if thou desirest compunction of heart enter into thy closet1 and shut out the tumults of the world1 according to the advice of the ,psalmist1 7iv4 #d47 ,commune with your own heart1 and in your own chamber1 and be still4 ,in thy closet thou shalt find what abroad thou often losest4 ,the more thou frequented thy closet1 the more thou wilt like it2 the less thou comest thereunto1 the more thou wilt loath it4 ,if1 in the beginning of thy conversion1 thou passest much time in it1 it will afterward be to thee a dear friend and pleasant comfort4 #d4 ,in silence and in stillness a religious soul profiteth1 and learneth the hidden truths of holy scriptures4 ,there she findeth rivers of tears1 and may be so much the more familiar with her ,creator1 by how much the farther off she liveth from all worldly tumult4 #e4 ,why art thou desirous to see that which is unlawful for thee to enjoy8 ,for the world passeth away1 and the desire thereof4 ,our sinful desires draw us to rove abroad3 but when the time is passed1 what carriest thou home with thee1 but a burdened conscience1 and a dissipated heart6 ,a merry going out often bringeth a mournful return1 and a joyful evening a sad morning4 ,so all carnal joys enter pleasantly1 but in the end bite and sting to death4 ,what canst thou see elsewhere1 which thou canst not see here8 ,behold the heaven and the earth1 and all the elements2 for of these are all things created4 #f4 ,what canst thou see any where1 that can long continue under the sun8 ,thou thinkest perhaps to satisfy thyself1 but thou canst never attain it4 ,shouldst thou see all the things of this world1 what were it but a vain sight8 ,lift up thine eyes to ,god in the highest1 and pray to him to pardon all thy sins4 99,leave vain things to the vain1 but be thou intent upon those things which ,god commandeth thee4 ,shut thy door upon thee1 and call unto thee ,jesus thy beloved4 ,stay with him in thy closet2 for thou shalt not find so great peace any where else4 ,hadst thou not gone abroad1 and harkened to idle rumours1 thou mightest the better have remained in peace3 but so long as thou delightest to hear novelties1 thou must endure trouble of heart4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,of compunction of heart4 ,,if thou wilt make any progress1 keep thyself in the fear of ,god1 and use not too much liberty4 ,keep all thy senses under discipline1 and give not thyself over to trifling mirth4 #b4 ,the levity of our minds1 and want of concern for our faults1 make us lose the sense of our inward state1 and often laugh when we have cause to weep4 ,there is no true liberty1 nor right gladness1 but in the fear of ,god1 and a good conscience4 ,happy is he1 that can avoid all distracting impediments1 and recollect himself in holy compunction4 ,happy is he1 that can abandon all that may defile or burthen his conscience4 ,resist manfully3 one custom overcometh another4 #c4 ,busy not thyself in matters which appertain to others3 neither trouble thyself with the affairs of thy betters4 ,still have an eye to thyself first1 and be sure to admonish thyself before any of thy friends4 ,if thou hast not the favour of men1 be not grieved at it2 but grieve that thou dost not carry thyself so warily and circumspectly as becometh the servant of ,god4 99,it is often better and safer that a man hath not many consolations in this life1 especially worldly ones4 ,but that we have not at all1 or seldom1 divine consolations1 is our own fault1 because we do not altogether forsake vain comforts4 #d4 ,didst thou oftner think of thy death1 than of thy living long1 there is no question but thou wouldst be more zealous to amend4 ,i believe thou wouldst willingly undergo any labour1 or sorrow1 or austerity1 if thou didst consider within thyself the pains of a future state4 ,but because these things enter not into the heart1 and we still love the things of the world1 therefore we remain cold and slothful4 99,miserable thou art1 wheresoever thou be1 or whithersoever thou turnest1 unless thou turn thyself to ,god4 99,who is in the best case8 ,he who can suffer something for ,god4 ,o brother1 quit not thy hope of profiting in spiritual things3 there is yet time1 the hour is not yet past4 #e4 ,why wilt thou defer thy good purpose8 99,arise1 begin this instant1 and say1 ,now is the time to be doing1 now is the time to be striving1 now is the time to amend4 ,but unless thou dost violence to thyself1 thou shalt never get the victory over sin4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,of the meditation of death4 ,,this life will soon be at an end3 consider therefore how thy affairs stand as to the next4 ,man is here to-day2 to-morrow he is gone4 ,when he is out of sight1 he is soon forgotten4 99,thou shouldest so order thyself in all thy thoughts and all thy actions1 as if thou wert to die to-day4 ,hadst thou a clear conscience1 thou wouldst not fear death4 ,it were better to avoid sin1 than to fly death4 ,if thou art not prepared to-day1 how wilt thou be to-morrow8 ,to-morrow is uncertain1 and how knowest thou that thou shalt live till to-morrow8 #b4 ,what availeth to live long1 when we are so little the better8 ,alas6 long life doth not always mend us2 but often increaseth guilt4 99,o that we had spent but one day well in this world6 #c4 ,when it is morning1 think thou mayst die before night4 ,when evening comes1 dare not to promise thyself the next morning4 ,be therefore always in readiness2 and so live1 that death may never take thee unprepared4 ,many die suddenly1 and when they look not for it2 for in such an hour as you think not the ,son of man cometh1 ,matthew xxiv4 #dd4 ,when that last hour shall come1 thou wilt have a far different opinion of thy whole life4 99#d4 ,how wise and happy is he1 that laboureth to be such in his life1 as he would wish to be found at the hour of his death6 99,whilst thou art in health1 thou mayst do much good2 but when thou art sick1 ,i know not what thou wilt be able to do4 99,few by sickness grow better2 and they who travel much are seldom sanctified4 99#e4 ,trust not in friends and kindred1 neither put off the care of thy soul till hereafter2 for men will sooner forget thee1 than thou art aware of4 ,if thou art not careful for thyself now1 who will be careful for thee hereafter6 ,the time present is very precious2 now is the day of salvation1 now is the acceptable time4 99,but alas6 that thou shouldst spend thy time no better here1 where thou mightest purchase life eternal6 ,the time will come when thou shalt desire one day or hour to amend in1 and ,i cannot say it will be granted thee4 #f4 ,ah fool1 why dost thou think to live long1 when thou canst not promise to thyself one day6 ,how many have been deceived1 and suddenly snatched away8 ,how often dost thou hear1 such a man is slain1 another is drowned1 a third has broke his neck with a fall2 this man died eating1 and that playing8 ,one perished by fire1 another by sword1 another of the plague1 another was slain by thieves3 thus death is the end of all1 and man's life suddenly passeth away1 like a shadow4 99#g4 ,who shall remember thee when thou art dead8 ,do1 do now1 my beloved1 whatsoever thou art able to do3 for thou knowest not when thou shalt die1 nor yet what shall be after thy death4 ,now1 while thou hast time1 lay up for thyself everlasting riches4 ,think on nothing but the salvation of thy soul1 care for nothing but the things of ,god4 #h4 ,keep thyself as a stranger and pilgrim upon earth1 who hath nothing to do with the affairs of this world4 99,keep thy heart free1 and lifted up to ,god1 because thou hast here no abiding city4 99,send thither thy daily prayers and sighs and tears1 that after death thy ,spirit may happily pass to the ,lord4 ,amen4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,of judgment and the punishment of sins4 ,,in all things remember the end1 and how thou wilt be able to stand before that severe ,judge1 from whom nothing is hid3 who is not pacified with gifts1 nor admitteth any excuses2 but will judge according to right4 ,o wretched and foolish sinner1 who sometimes fearest the countenance of an angry man6 ,what answer wilt thou make to ,god1 who knoweth all thy wickedness8 ,why dost thou not provide for thyself against that great day of judgment1 when no man can excuse or answer for another1 but every one shall have enough to answer for himself8 #b4 ,what is it which that infernal fire feeds upon but thy sins8 ,the more thou sparest thyself now1 and followest the flesh1 so much the more hereafter shall be thy punishment1 and thou stowest up greater fuel for the flame4 99,in what thing a man hath sinned1 in the same shall he be punished4 ,there is no quiet1 no comfort for the damned there3 here we have some intermission of our labours1 and enjoy the comfort of our friends4 ,be now solicitous and sorrowful because of thy sins1 that at the day of judgment thou mayest be secure with the blessed4 ,for then shall the righteous stand with great boldness before such as have vexed and oppressed them4 ,then shall he stand to judge1 who doth now humbly submit himself to the judgment of others4 ,then shall the poor and humble have great confidence1 but the proud shall be compassed with fear on every side4 #c4 ,then will it appear1 that he was wise in this world1 who had learned to be a fool and despised for ,christ's sake4 ,then shall every affliction1 patiently undergone1 delight us2 and the mouth of iniquity shall be stopped4 ,then shall the devout rejoice1 and the profane mourn4 ,then shall he more rejoice that hath mortified his flesh1 than he that hath abounded in all pleasure4 ,then shall the poor attire shine gloriously1 and the precious robes appear vile4 #d4 ,suppose thou hadst hitherto lived always in honour and delights1 what would this avail thee1 if thou wert to die this instant8 ,all therefore is vanity1 but to love ,god1 and serve him only4 ,for he that loveth ,god with all his heart1 is neither afraid of death1 nor judgment1 nor hell4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,of the zealous amendment of our whole life4 99,,when one that was in great anxiety of mind1 often wavering between fear and hope1 once humbly prostrated himself in prayer1 and said1 ,o if ,i knew that ,i should persevere6 ,he presently heard within him an answer from ,god1 which said1 ,if thou didst know it1 what wouldst thou do8 ,do what thou wouldst do then1 and thou shalt be safe4 ,and being herewith comforted and strengthened1 he committed himself wholly to the will of ,god1 and his anxiety ceased3 ,neither had he any mind to search curiously farther what should befall him2 but rather laboured to understand what was the perfect and acceptable will of ,god1 for the beginning and accomplishing every good work4 #b4 ,hope in the ,lord1 and do good1 saith the prophet1 and inhabit the land1 and thou shalt be fed4 ,one thing there is that draweth many back from a spiritual progress1 and diligent amendment2 the dread of the difficulty1 or labour of the combat4 ,but they improve most that endeavour most to overcome those things1 which are grievous and contrary to them4 ,for there a man improveth more1 and obtaineth greater grace1 where he more overcometh himself and mortifieth himself in spirit4 #c4 ,gather some profit to thy soul wheresoever thou be2 so if thou seest or hearest of any good examples1 stir up thyself to the imitation thereof4 ,but if thou seest any thing worthy of reproof1 beware thou dost not the same4 ,and1 if at any time thou hast done it1 labour quickly to amend it4 #d4 ,be mindful of the profession thou hast made1 and have always before thine eyes the remembrance of thy ,saviour crucified4 ,thou hast good cause to be ashamed1 looking upon the life of ,jesus ,christ1 seeing thou hast as yet no more endeavoured to conform thyself unto him1 though thou hast walked a long time in the way of ,god4 ,a religious person that exerciseth himself seriously and devoutly in the most holy life and passion of our ,lord1 shall there abundantly find whatsoever is necessary and profitable for him2 neither shall he need seek any better thing out of ,jesus4 99,o if ,jesus crucified would come into our hearts1 how quickly and fully should we be instructed in all truth6 ,an ,extract of the ,,christian ,,pattern3 ,or1 a treatise on the imitation of ,christ4 ,written in ,latin by ,thomas a ,kempis4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,of the inward life4 ,,the kingdom of ,god is within you1 saith the ,lord4 ,turn thee with thy whole heart unto the ,lord1 and forsake this wretched world1 and thy soul shall find rest4 ,learn to despise exterior things1 and to give thyself to the interior1 and thou shalt perceive the kingdom of ,god to come into thee4 ,for the kingdom of ,god1 is righteousness1 and peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4 #b4 ,o faithful soul1 make ready thy heart for the ,bridegroom1 that he may vouchsafe to come unto thee1 and dwell within thee6 ,for he saith1 ,if any man love me1 he will keep my words1 and we will come unto him1 and will make our abode with him4 ,give therefore admittance unto ,christ1 and deny entrance to all others4 ,when thou hast ,christ thou art rich1 and he will suffice thee4 ,he will be thy faithful helper in all things1 so as thou shalt not need to trust in men4 99,for men are soon changed1 and quickly fail2 but ,christ remaineth for ever1 and is with us even unto the end4 #c4 ,we ought not to put trust in man1 frail and mortal as he is1 though he be friendly and serviceable3 nor should we be grieved1 although he cross and oppose us4 99,they1 that to-day take thy part1 to-morrow may be against thee1 and so on the contrary2 they often turn like the wind4 99,put thy whole trust in ,god1 let him be thy fear and thy love3 he will answer for thee1 and do in all things what is best4 ,thou hast not here an abiding city2 and wheresoever thou be1 thou art a stranger and pilgrim2 neither shalt thou ever have rest1 unless thou be intimately united unto ,christ4 99#d4 ,why dost thou here gaze about1 since this is not the place of thy rest8 ,in heaven ought to be thy dwelling1 and all earthly things are to be looked upon as they forward thy journey thither4 99,all things pass away1 and thou together with them4 99,beware thou cleave not unto them1 lest thou be entangled and perish4 ,let thy thoughts be on the highest1 and thy prayer directed unto ,christ1 without ceasing4 ,if thou canst not contemplate on high and heavenly things2 rest thyself in the passion of ,christ1 and dwell willingly in his holy wounds4 ,for if thou fly devoutly unto the ,lord ,jesus1 thou shalt feel great comfort in tribulation1 neither wilt thou regard being despised of men1 but wilt easily bear words of detraction4 #e4 ,christ was also despised of men and in his greatest necessity forsaken by his acquaintance and friends4 99,christ chose to suffer and be despised2 and darest thou complain of any thing8 ,christ had adversaries and slanderers2 and wilt thou have all men thy friends and benefactors8 ,how shall thy patience be crowned1 if no adversity happen unto thee8 99,if thou wilt suffer nothing1 how wilt thou be the friend of ,christ8 ,suffer with ,christ1 and for ,christ1 if thou desirest to reign with ,christ4 99#f4 ,if thou hadst but once entered into ,jesus1 then wouldest thou not be careful about thine own advantage or disadvantage2 but wouldst rather rejoice at slanders cast upon thee2 for the love of ,jesus maketh a man despise himself4 ,a lover of ,jesus1 a true inward ,christian1 free from inordinate affections1 can freely turn himself to ,god1 and lift himself above himself4 #g4 ,he that relishes all things as they are1 and not as they are esteemed1 is truly wise1 and taught by ,god4 ,he that can live inwardly1 and make small reckoning of outward things1 neither requireth places1 nor attendeth times1 for the exercise of his devotion4 99,an interior man soon recollecteth himself1 because he is never wholly intent upon outward things4 ,he is not hindered by outward labour or business2 but as things fall out1 so he suiteth himself unto them4 ,he that hath well ordered and disposed all things within1 careth not for the perverse carriage of men4 99,so much is a man hindered and distracted1 by how much he cleaveth to outward things4 #h4 ,if all went well with thee1 and if thou wert well purified1 all things would tend to thy good4 ,but therefore many things displease and trouble thee1 because thou art not yet dead unto thyself1 nor separated from all earthly things4 99,nothing so defileth and entangleth the heart of man1 as the impure love of creatures4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,of humble submission4 ,,mind not much who is with thee1 or who is against thee3 but endeavour and take care that ,god may be with thee in every thing thou dost4 ,keep a good conscience1 and ,god will defend thee4 ,for whom ,god will help1 no man can hurt4 ,if thou canst hold thy peace and suffer1 without doubt thou shalt see the salvation of the ,lord4 ,he knoweth the time and manner how to deliver thee1 and therefore thou oughtest to resign thyself unto him4 ,it belongs to ,god to help1 and deliver from all shame4 ,it is often profitable for the keeping us humble1 that others know and reprehend our faults4 #b4 ,when a man humbleth himself for his faults1 he easily pacifieth those that are offended with him4 ,god protecteth and delivereth the humble3 unto the humble man he inclineth himself2 unto the humble he giveth great grace2 and after his humiliation he raiseth him unto glory4 ,unto the humble he revealeth his secrets1 and sweetly draweth him unto himself4 ,the humble person though he suffer shame1 is yet in peace2 for that he resteth in ,god1 and not in the world4 99,do not think that thou hast profited any thing1 unless thou esteem thyself inferior to all4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,of a good and peaceable man4 ,,first keep thyself in peace1 and then mayst thou pacify others4 ,a peaceable man doth more good than a learned one4 ,a passionate man turneth good into evil1 and easily believeth the worst4 ,a peaceable man turneth all things into good4 ,he that is in peace1 is not suspicious of any3 ,but he that is discontented1 is neither quiet himself1 nor suffereth others to be quiet4 ,he often speaketh that which he ought not to speak1 and omitteth that which he ought to do4 ,he considereth what others are bound to do2 and neglects that which he is bound to do himself4 99,first therefore have a careful zeal over thyself1 and then shew thyself zealous for thy neighbour's good4 #b4 ,thou knowest well how to excuse thine own deeds1 and thou wilt not receive the excuses of others4 ,it were more just to accuse thyself1 and excuse thy brother4 ,if thou wilt be borne with1 bear also with another4 ,behold1 how far thou art yet from true charity and humility1 which knoweth not how to be angry with any1 but one's self4 ,it is no great matter to live peaceable with the good and gentle2 for every one willingly enjoyeth peace1 and loveth those that are of his own mind3 ,but to be able to live peaceably with unquiet and perverse men1 or with the disorderly1 or such as cross us1 is a great grace4 #c4 ,some there are that keep themselves in peace1 and are in peace also with others4 ,and there are some1 that neither are in peace themselves1 nor suffer others to be in peace2 who are troublesome to others1 but always more troublesome to themselves2 ,and others there are1 that keep themselves in peace1 and labour to bring others unto peace4 99,our whole peace in this life consisteth rather in humble suffering1 than in not feeling adversities4 99,he that knows best how to suffer1 will best keep himself in peace4 ,he is a conqueror of himself1 a lord of the world1 a friend of ,christ1 and an heir of heaven4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,of a pure mind1 and simple intention4 99,,simplicity and purity1 are the two wings by which a man is lifted up above all earthly things4 99,simplicity is in the intention2 purity in the affection3 simplicity tends to ,god2 purity apprehends and tastes him4 99,no good action will hinder thee1 if thou be inwardly free from inordinate affection4 ,if thou intend and seek nothing but the will of ,god1 and the good of thy neighbour1 thou shalt enjoy internal liberty4 99,if thy heart was right1 then every creature would be a looking-glass of life1 and a book of holy doctrine4 ,there is no creature so little and abject1 that represents not the goodness of ,god4 #b4 ,if thou wert inwardly pure1 thou wouldst see and understand all things without any impediment4 ,a pure heart penetrateth heaven and hell4 ,such as every one is inwardly1 so he judgeth outwardly4 ,if there be joy in the world1 surely a man of a pure heart possesseth it4 ,and if there be any where tribulation and affliction1 an evil conscience feels it4 99,as iron put into the fire loseth its rust1 and becometh all bright like fire2 so he1 that wholly turneth himself unto ,god1 is purified from all slothfulness1 and is changed into the likeness of ,god4 #c4 ,when a man beginneth to grow lukewarm1 then he is afraid of a little labour3 ,but when he once beginneth to overcome himself1 then he esteemeth those things light1 which before seemed grievous unto him4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,of the consideration of one's self4 ,,we should not trust too much to ourselves1 because we have often neither grace nor understanding4 ,there is but little light in us1 and that we quickly lose by negligence4 ,we reprehend small things in others1 and pass over greater in ourselves4 ,we quickly feel and weigh what we suffer from others1 but we mind not what others suffer from us4 ,he that rightly considers his own work1 will find little cause to judge hardly of another4 #b4 ,the inward ,christian prefereth the care of himself before all other cares4 99,he that diligently attendeth unto himself1 easily holds his peace concerning others4 ,thou wilt never be inwardly religious1 unless thou pass over other men's matters1 and look especially to thyself4 ,if thou attend wholly unto ,god and thyself1 thou wilt be little moved with whatsoever thou seest abroad4 ,where art thou1 when thou art not with thyself8 ,and when thou hast run over all1 what hast thou profited1 if thou hast neglected thyself8 ,if thou desirest peace of mind1 thou must reject all other cares1 and look only to thyself4 #c4 ,thou shalt profit much1 if thou keep thyself free from all temporal cares4 ,thou shalt greatly fail1 if thou esteem any thing of this world4 99,let nothing be great1 nothing high1 nothing pleasing to thee1 but only ,god himself1 or that which is of ,god4 99,esteem all comfort vain1 which proceedeth from any creature4 99,a soul that loveth ,god1 despiseth all things but ,god4 99,god alone1 who is everlasting1 immense1 filling all things1 is the comfort of the soul1 and the true joy of the heart4 ,the ,end of the ,,seventh ,volume4