Page images
PDF
EPUB

born principles of Spiritual life, and then begins to be in a capacity of profpering.

2. As the firft foundation is laid in these principles: So the growth and progress thereof confifts in their increase. As they increase, so the profperity of the Soul increafeth. So that if ye give up your felves to be guided by right reafon, your work for the fubftance of it, is firft to fee that your Souls are Spiritually alive. And fecondly, that they thrive and profper in that wherein they live.

In reference to the former of them, I have two things to say,

(1.) To all, and every one of you, that. you would fet fome time apart, feriously to debate the matter, between God, and your felves alone, and none elfe with you: whether ever ye felt the day of God's power upon your fpirits, to prevail so far As,

upon you.

1. To caft you down from the good opinion, which ye had of your felves, by a thorough conviction of the woful mistake wherein ye were, about the fate of your Souls. That ye thought them alive, when they were (as now we fee) dead in fin, pleafing your felves with the Religion of your Education, as Paul did before his Converfon. That ye thought, ye had good hearts toward God, whereas now ye fee, that

(as

(as Pfal. 5. 9.) your inward parts were ve ry wickedness. That whereas ye thought not of any danger ye were in of the wrath to come, now ye fee, ye are condemned by a holy, and righteous Law. And that,what by reafon of your Actual fins, and what by reafon of your Original fin, ye utterly defpair of Salvation in that state wherein ye pleased your felves, and fee clearly that outward Reformation will not ferve your turn, but ye must be inwardly changed into the Image of God, and be born again by the Spirit of God, elfe ye can never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is such a cafting down, as Paul experienced when he faid, Sin revived, and I died, Rom. 7. 9.

2. Whether, befides this cafting down, ye have also experienced the day of God's power, fo far to prevail upon you, as to raise up your hearts, to a willing, and hearty acceptance of Christ, to all intents and purposes, in order to Salvation. To kill, and destroy that enmity which you find in your hearts, against the ways of God, fo as to bring you into a state of Reconciliation with God, and to all the means of conformity to him, and Communion with him, to impute unto you the merits of Chrift's death, for a full and free discharge from the guilt of all your fins, and to impute unto you his Righteousness, that ye may be accepted as righteous, unto Eternal

Eternal life. To mortifie all your corruptions, to quicken your dead hearts, with the principles of Spiritual life; thofe principles of true holinefs, without which, ye know, ye fhall never fee God; with a fincere refolution, in his ftrength to wait upon him, and keep his way. That he would do all this for you, and work all this in you; and that ye are humbled for defects in living no more upon him, that he might be all this unto you. Verily, fo far as any perfon can really affert this, that thus he hath been caft down, and thus he hath been, and is raised up; though he may fometimes be in the dark, as to the fafety of his eftate for Eternity; he hath good Scripture ground (thò he may not fee it) to believe that he is called into fellowship with Chrift, 1 Cor. 1.9. And that his Soul begins to live, and is in a capacity of profpering: For when the Soul (it may be, after a long fhutting up under. unbelief) thus opens to Chrift, then Chrift comes into the Soul, as Rev.3.20. And when, he comes, he brings the principles of Spiri-, tual life with him, 1 Joh. 5. 12, He that hath the Son, hath Life.

This is the firft Particular. A word to all.

2. I have a word to fome, to thofe I mean, that know nothing, as yet, what either this cafting down, or lifting up, means. And it

is a word of advice, That as ever they de fire their Souls fhould live, and be in a capacity of profpering, that they would break off, from all their dead works, and refolve, for this end, that they may be thus caft down, and lifted up, To be fwift to hear, as Jam. 1. 19. And to attend unto the words of this life, fo as it is faid to be, Joh. 5. 20. The word, whereby dead Souls are quickened, Joh. 5. 25,-the dead fhall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And that in order hereunto, ye would take the right way of working what ye hear up. on your hearts; thus, or to this purpose, reason the cafe with your felves.

(1.) Soul-profperity, I am now convinced, is the most desirable profperity: And if my Soul profper not, all the fooner, poffibly, it may never profper, for, this night, it may be taken from me. And if it do not prof per, nothing will profper with me, fo as to turn to good, whilft I live: and when I am dead, I fhall be one of the moft woful, and miferable Creatures, to all Eternity, that ever God made, next to the Devils.

(2.) If my Soul be, as I have reafon to be afraid it is, ftill in its unregenerate ftate, then it is fpiritually dead in fin; and while it continues fo, it is in no more capacity of profpering, then a dead Tree, while it continues dead, is in a capacity of bringing forth

ripe fruit. This I now clearly fee, though I did not fo much as think on it before.

(3.) If I do not fo receive Jefus Christ, as that Jefus Chrift may receive me, into a state of Union with himself, my Soul can never live, for fo I hear from, 1 Joh. 5. 12. He that hath not the Son, hath not life.

(4) If I would fo receive Jefus Chrift, as that he may receive me, into Union with himself, and I receive life from him, I must

receive the word, as to be fo caft down, and fo lifted up, as I have heard. Therefore, by his help, I refolve for this end to hear, yea as I am commanded, Ifa. 55. 3. diligently to hear, to hearken, and to incline mine Ear: And to make application to my felf, of what may be for my cafting down, and for my lif ting up; that, according to the promife, in that Text, my Soul may live.

This do, and Live:

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »