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Show J67J. ~ Ch.XXII. •I ·' VPiol. ther can he put into their Mouths, but rellifies ogainR ~II fuch W3YS. Freely be receivriJ, freely be gives. . . , , I. Thus is this Man unravei'd, unrehg10n d, and unbottom d as to Jus for~ mer State, wherein he was re.ligi?us upon .Lerttr, Form, !J1en's Tradition!~ Edt«ation and his own lmtlAlflt~Jion. He 11-as a Man qune Undone, that be may b~ made what the ·f:b'rtf"Wo\Jid haVe him to be. Thus is h~ convincod of Sin and of Righmpfnifs too ; apd the Joy he once had when he girded himfelf jlnd went w~ither he lifted, is now ~Uf!JC4 into ~arrow, ond his Rejoycing, into liowlmg : He has beheld God In the L•ght of his Son and abhors himfelf m DPjl and -N/J" ; Sm, that was PltaJam on". in the 'Mouth he finds Biller now in the Belly, ,and th~t which tlt: World efieem; worthy of their Care, he jlie.s as a Man wo~ld do a Bear robbed of her W1Ielps. Sin is ~ecome t.1f&£Ct/nJg Jinful~ to h1m, inC?much that he cries- oJ.rt, Who jha1J Je?rv_u me? ~e laboll:rs Grea~ly~ . and lS very lleavy Laden: Yet he is not Wllhng ~O.fi.)'JJ!tbe n:uuer, but lSJ"efolved to !land the Triil· For this Man not only bnngs h1s former Deeds to the Light and thCr; Suffers Judgment to pafs upon them, /Jut Ptzrietttly latu Part ln that J¥agment, who was fo great an rlm.ffory ro them. Nor doth his Obedience conclude with rhe Sentence g;ven agamll pall S1ns, and hiinfelf that 'Committed them; bur moft patieqd,y ({ldures rbe Hand of tbf . Lord rill fJJr lndignat!on be over p41, and till th.at u.:JJ.ich condemned Sin ethe Fruit} hath defiroye~ the very RoDt of it whicQ hath taken fo deep hold in his Heart, and ibat the fame Spirit of J udgmcnt that condehlned Sin, is brought forth int~ perfea V 18:ory oyer the"\;'~ry Nature and fower of Sin. This Judgment 1$ found and felr m the L•ght, therefore do the Sons of the Night rejeE\ the Knowledge of it'S Ways, and the Chil· dren of the !>ay Rejoyce greatly in it's Appearance. But neither is this all that makes up that Good lllan, who obeys the Light; For a compleat Son of Light is one that has Conguer'4 an~ & Ephef. ~.... pel'd the Darknefs~ 'Tis true, he was once Dasknefs, but now L1ght m tbt • John 1, ~,6. Lprd becaufe he hath been turned from Datknefs to the .Light, and from Sata~'s Power unto God, who is Light it felf, and with him is his Fel•. lo'T~lfi~o;;,~n~;~"who in the Way of the Light of the Lnmb of God hath met with Inronrd Cknnjing; f6r having been purged by the Spirit of l•dt· me'llt and the Spirit of Bunting (othcrwife called the fevcre Rep1oojt, Stro;kt and Terron of the Light in .the Confdence) he has ever a Watch fer up in his Hearr. A Thought mull not pafs which has not the WatcbWord, but at e\'ery Appearanc~. to the Mind, he cries~ Stand; if a Friend, and oWned of the Light (who IS the great Leader, g1yen of God for that Porpofe) then he entertains it;_ otherwife, he brlngs 1t to rhe ~om~ander of the Confcience, who is t6 fa in Judgment upon It. Thus IS ChnR the Light, King, ]11dge al)d Lawgiver : And by this he grows (bong, and ~ncreafeth with the lncreafes of God. Yet he often reads the blelfed Scnptures, and thlt with much Delight ; greatly ~d'miring the exceedin_g L~\'C of God to former Ages, which he himfclf wttneffeth to be t~ue 1n t~IS i where alfo many Things are opened to ~is R~ftefb.m~nt; So IS t~e Lig~t the Jufl.Man's Parb, that in every Age ~tl! fbmetb brtgbrer and bnghtcr! i~ which the Cleanfing, l)lood of Jefus Chnlll> felt to cleanfe from all ~m • ]oam·3·'·2/3• Thus doth he bridle his Thoughts, fo that hts Words and Aa10n~ off~nd not. Above all, he is often Retired to .the Lord, LoYes Fellowfhtp W~tlt .him, \\.raits for daily Bread, which he aiks, not in his own Words, Srnvings o~r Will, bot ~s one empty of his Thoughts, an~ Jealous of the Pc:tce Or Comfort that is drawn from thence, he filently watts to feet the Heavenly Subftance brought into. bis Soul, by the Imme~iate Hand of the Lor~. for it is not Fetching in thiS Thought, or Remembnng the other Paffage m Scripture, or defignedly Calling to JUind _what has been formerly known, that gh1es Right Peace; but every lmmedzate Word that prctteds out. of tl~t .ll1outh of God. that can fatisfie him. In fhorr, He that obeys theL1g~t, 15 thereby taugbr' to deny VtrgqdJintji and fVqrJdly Lufls, and to he Saber) R rg~r;, VoL. I. f eltimony Stated and V.miicated. 589 o11s, Patient, Humble, J,fed., Uprigbr, 111erci/u!, Forbeaning Forgiving p611u 6 a~le C?entle, Self-denying, C011jlnnr, F,ritb[uland Holy, b;ca11fe rbe iord hi; ~ God uHa!y: " · Th_us have .I gi \"en a bri~f Acc~qn.t as w~ll w_bat He ;, not, m Pihat He H. who IS Obedient to the L1gbt wnbtn, which ts Cftrjft•s Spiritual Appearance in the Heart, wh_ofe Holy BlOod is fenfibly felt to Cieanft .Atone and Sav_e a11 th<;>fe who belreve and abide thereinj both from the G~ilr and' PoP /urron of Sm. C H A P. XXIII. The Difcourfe hitbtr_to fummed '!P.' and cottdMd~tl, rritban Exhort4tim to 41/ Prafe.ffort of Reltgton,. tfpe<iaUy oilr Oppiftrs. I Will fum up the whole of this Difco•Jtfe into thefe few Heads. I. That Salv_ariOn is to be fav~d ~rom Sin firft, and Wrath confequent!y \ Heftiallf4ve b11People/rom thezrSms, Matt. 1. .II. Th.at ~hrift, the Ward·God, has lighred all Mankind, not only after hiS Commg 111 the Flefh, but before: And that the Lighr tias ever been Sufficient, as weH as trniverfal, to lead to God, aU fuch aS ha,'e obeyed it as by its Propenies and Effe<ls is demonllrared. ! III. That the Difference benyixt the Time of the Law lnd th:u of the Gofpel, as ge~erally diftinguilh'd, Was rather in Manifefiation that in Nature. Go_d m1ght be as much more Propitious and Bountiful to the )aft Ages (be 1t that they were better able to receive fuch extrordinary Difcd-veries, or that it was the alone good Pleafure of his Sovereign Will) as he was to the former Ages; yet that he gave them a Sufficiency of the f:~me DivineLighr, to conduB: them through the World ro Eternal Bleffednefso IV. That Yews and Greeks, Hear bent and Chriflians ;~gree in this. V. That ftill the Preheminence is given to Cbrifi's ManifejltJtion in F!e./!J.' Both generallf and partico~arly, that being both the Fulnefs of Time, and Fulnefs of D1fcovery, wh1ch pu~ an End to the Types and Figures, and Carnal Commandments, by lhewmg forth an .Abrogation and Confummariori of them all, in Chrill, the SPbjlanrt it felf: In which Smte they are not needed J but in Comparifon thrrcof, they are (though once they were as Calendars, for weak People to read fome Myllical Glory by) but Beggarly Elements now. VI. That not only in that Flefh, did the Eternal Light preach forth it felf the End of thefe Things, by Revealing and Becoming the AuthO! of a more Plain and Perfell Way, though lefs eafie to Flelh and Blood (plac· ing the Stre~s ?f aU upon an Evan_.gel~eal Righteoufnefs, whereof he became the firjl llftnif/t'i and our moll Holy Example) but he alfo appear'd in that Publick Body, fo peculiarly prepared, a General Savio11r, by his Lift, DoUrine, Miracles, Deatb of the_ Crof1 and Rifurretlion; in and by all which he obtained a Name above every Name. Vll. That neverthelefs, nor to the Body, but the Holy Light of Life tl1ercin, is chiefly to be afcribed the Salvation, and to the Body, however eXcellent, but Infttumentally; for that it was the Erernal Light and Life, which ga~·e the Weight to all the AElions and Sufferings of the Body. VIU. That the Benefit then procuted is not witneffed by any, bqt 3S they come ro Believe in Chrift the Light as.hc doth appear ,in rhe aeut' :lnd Confcitynce to fave from Sin, deftroy r/Je TVor . .ts of the Depil,fini/h Tranfgrtffion, and bring in of his Ever!t~flinl RigbttcufNrft. Wherefore to 1 .. magine one"s felf intituled to 3 State of Salvation, whilft in RebeUion agahlit the Light wirhin, which is Chrifi's Inward Knocll.:ng tind .Apf!arance, muft needs be a Delufion moll: pernicious, and defiruflive to the Souls oF Men . . IX. That upon the whole it is determin'd and c:oocluded, that Cbrifl it ·rbat Light whirbjhinrtb in tbe Confdtnor. X. That CI!.XXlll: |
