maketh them daily fenfible that they are his fervants, children, and fpoufe, in whom is his great delight, and on whofe hearts and foreheads is written Holiness to the Lord. Yea, and the Lord will blefs thee for ever, O babitation of justice, and mountain of holiness! and every tongue that riseth up in judgment against thee will the Lord God condemn for evermore. the heritage of the fervants of the Lord, whom the Lord hath gathered by the arm of his mighty power (inwardly revealed and ftretched forth in them, and for them), and their righteousness is of me, faith the Lord. POSTSCRIPT. This is There is a Scripture now openeth in me, as it hath often done, and it hath been very sweet to my tafte; but I have not had freedom to give it forth to others, as at this time it is with me to do: it is that scripture Rom. ix. 18. Therefore bath he mercy on whom be will have mercy, and whom he will be hardeneth. N W many apprehend from this fcripture, as I also formerly did, that God hath chofen out a certain number of perfons on whom he will have mercy, and fave by Jefus Chrift the Lord; and that he hath paffed over the reft, fo that they were never intended to have any benefit by Christ's death as to their eternal falvation. This the wisdom of man, from the letter of the scripture and many other places, may easily apprehend and ftrongly reason for. But as the Lord openeth the mind, and men come to a sense of his nature and Spirit, and his intent in fending his Son, and receive the key which openeth the truth as it is in Jefus, they will eafily fee that this is contrary to God's nature, and his intent in fending his Son, and the universal covenant of light and life, and the manifest testimony of the fcriptures. First, As touching the nature of God. His nature is love; love to all his creatures. He would not have it go ill with any of them. He needeth not their misery to make himself happy. His nature is to love, to bless, to fave; not to destroy or cut off, nor to afflict or grieve the children of men; not to hurt either the body or foul of any he preserveth man and beast, Pfal. xxxvi. 6. Secondly, As touching his fending his Son. He fent him in his love to mankind, to fave mankind. His love was not to a few only; but he loved all his creatures, he loved all loft fouls, and he fent his Son to fave them all. He gave him light to enlighten them all, and he gave him life to quicken them all; only he difpenfeth this in different ways, according to the infinite wisdom and good pleasure of his Father. So So that, Thirdly, The covenant of light and life is univerfal, and nigh all mankind, by which the darkest parts and corners of the earth are at fome times enlightened, and feel fomewhat of the quickening life. For the life is the light of men, and the light comes from the life, and is a quick, piercing, quickening light, conveying warmth and life, yea, living virtue into the darkeft hearts, as it moves and finds entertainment in them. Laftly, As for the teftimony of the Scriptures, it is very clear that God would have none to perifh. All fouls are mine, faith the Lord, Ezek. xviii. 4. I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, ver. 32. And again, As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, chap. Xxxiii. II. I have fent my light to enlighten all men, and turn all men, and I would have all men receive it, and be turned by it. I have fhewed every man what is good, and what I the Lord require of him; and I would have every man answer the manifeftation of my light and Spirit in him. Do ye not read God's charge against the whole earth, Ifai. xxiv. 5. that they had tranfgreffed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant? Why then they all had the law, had the ordinance, had the everlafting covenant; and for this cause it is that the curfe and judgment comes upon them, ver. 6. So that this was the condemnation from the beginning, and this is the condemnation ftill, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Men are not condemned for want of light from Chrift Jefus; but because they do not believe in, and obey that light which they have from him; because they believe in the darkness, believe in the dark spirit, believe in the dark power, which rifeth up against the miniftration of light in the heart, and do not believe in that which is given of God to discover and work it out. What should I multiply fcriptures for? That common fcripture is abfolutely undeniable (as the Lord opens the heart unto the fimplicity of truth, and keeps it out of the fubtil enchanting wisdom) John iii. 16, 17. For God fa loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in bim should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God fent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through him, might be faved. What can be more naked and plain than thefe words of Chrift, who knew the very heart of God in this particular, and plainly declares what it is, even not to condemn, not to destroy, but to fave men from condemnation and deftruction? And would Chrift have: fo affectionately wept over Jerusalem, had he known it to be his Father's will and determinate counsel that they fhould have perished, and not have been gathered and faved by him? I fhall add but one place more, where the apoftle (who knew God's counfel, and understood the mystery of election and reprobation, and had the mind. of Christ) faith exprefly, that God will have all men to be faved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 4. What words can be spoken more plain and full? And let people mind that these words are far plainer and easier to be understood than thofe fcriptures which treat of election and VOL. II. C c repro reprobation; which is a deep mystery; and men must come to a growth in the truth, before they can receive that capacity which is neceffary towards the understanding of them. But to open the thing a little, as it is now in my heart. There hath been a three-fold difpenfation of God to mankind. A difpenfation of the law to the Jews; a difpenfation of the gospel (or promise, which was as well before the law as after it) to the called Jews and Gentiles; and a fecret hidden difpenfation of the mystery of grace, of the mystery of life and falvation, which the apoftle calls the mystery hid in the Gentiles, Coloff. i. 27. For fomewhat of God, fomewhat of the nature and Spirit of Chrift, the fouls of all mankind have had near them, to enlighten them, and to turn them from Satan's power to God; though it hath not been a thing known to them, but a mystery hid in them. Now that God did caft off any Jew under the law, or any whom he vifits with the grace and power of the gospel, from a mere abfolute will in himfelf, because he would deftroy them and have them perish, to fhew forth the praise of his juftice, and his abfolute fovereignty, this the true fenfe of life in me denies; but all have a vifit of that which faves heartily and in true good-will from God; and he that is turned to that which God hath fent to turn him, shall be owned and faved thereby. He that believeth in the truth, in the light, in the Word nigh, even in the very loweft appearance of it (for the loweft appearance is the fame thing in nature with the higheft, and the grace is faving in its very lowest appearance, as well as in its higheft) fhall be faved thereby. Now mark: God's grace, God's mercy, God's love, God's light, God's Spirit, God's power, &c. is his own, and he may do with his own what he pleaseth. Now it being by this that he strives, converts, and faves; and it being in his own will and good pleasure how long he will strive and contend to fave; it lieth therefore abfolutely in him, even in his own will, what he will do in this kind. He may take advantage against rebellious man, and cut him off when he will; and again, he may strive and raise true sense in a man's heart, and give repentance, and pardon his tranfgreffions, as long as he pleaseth; yea, he may fo change a man's heart, and fo create him a-new in Chrift Jefus, and fo bring him into unity with the pure feed, and to that eftate in the feed, as that he may have affurance he shall never be utterly caft off; but that though he should fin, and tranfgrefs the holy law of God's Spirit, his iniquity fhall be chaftifed with stripes, and his foul recovered and brought back thereby, but not utterly rejected by the Lord. Now it being thus, hath not God mercy on whom he will? And doth not he harden as he pleaseth? Did not God give up the Jews to hardness, after much striving with them? Did not God give up the Gentiles to hardness, and to vain imaginations concerning the true God, after they had rejected a measure of the true knowledge? Rom. i. 21. Have not the veffels of wrath, who are fitted to destruction, a day of much long-fuffering firft? Rom. ix. 22. Had not the the old world, who were fitted for that deftruction of the flood, a long day of patience and forbearance from God, his Spirit reproving of them, and ftriving with them? To what end did God forbear them, and cause his Spirit to ftrive with them? Was it not to lead them to repentance, that thereby they might have avoided that deftruction, which, by their rebellion and stiffness of spirit against God's good and tender Spirit, they were fitted for, and exposed to? See Rom. ii. 4. So for Cain, how tenderly did God deal with him! how uprightly did God feek his good! Would not God have had him come to a true fenfe and repentance? Would not God have had him believed and offered in the faith, and been accepted as his brother was? And for Pharaoh, God indeed was against that nature and spirit in him which oppreffed Ifrael; but would not the Lord have had him denied and turned from that nature and fpirit, and let Ifrael go? God would have no man do evil, and bring upon themselves deftruction; though in his just judgment he is many times provoked to give men up to that which leadeth into and hardeneth in evil. So not only Pharaoh, but Ifrael also, was given up to their own hearts lufts, when they would none of the Lord, nor hearken to his counsel, Pfal. lxxxi. 12. But faith the Lord, oh! that it had been otherwife! Oh! that my people had hearkened unto me! &c. it fhould then have been otherwife with them, ver. 13, &c. So that God of himself doth not defire the deftruction of his creature; nor doth he desire to harden them, or to give them up to a deluding Spirit, that they might be damned; but men first refuse the truth, and turn from it, or let it go; not receiving it in the love of it, or not liking to retain the knowledge of it (which is death to the man's corrupt nature, fpirit, will, and wisdom, and fuch a cross and yoke as he is in no-wife willing to bear); and then the Lord, in his juft judgment, gives them up to the deceitfulness of fin, to be hardened by it. Now this lifeth in God's own breaft when and to whom to do it, according to his own will, and according to his own wisdom and counfel; fo that it may be truly and properly faid, be bath mercy and compassion on whom he will, and whom he will be bardeneth. But that God hath determined to harden any, without giving them a day of mercy; or that it is God's will and determinate counsel that men fhould reject the day of his mercy and precious invitation, that they might be hardened by him and perifh; this is not God's truth, but men's mifapprehenfions upon true words, gathering meanings therefrom in their own wisdom, and not waiting upon God till he caufe the true light to fhine in them, and thereby give them the true knowledge and understanding. Therefore, fince there is fuch mercy in God towards all, and he hath given all men a day of vifitation, greater or leffer; yea, fince of late he hath caufed his light to fhine forth, and given this age fuch a vifitation as many ages have not had, oh! let men take heed how they clofe their eyes, ftop their ears, and harden their hearts against it, left they provoke God to give them up to their own imaginary, conceited, flefhly comprehensive Cc 2 know knowledge of the letter, and fo feal them up in that hardness of heart and deafness of fpirit which they firft gave themfelves up to. For the letter, without the Spirit, killeth; and fo doth all literal knowledge: and there needs no greater curfe from God (it will fufficiently avenge the cause of his reproached light, and holy covenant of life in Chrift Jefus, now abundantly revealed and made manifeft) than to clofe mens eyes, and stop their ears, and harden their hearts (in their literal knowledges and practices) from beholding and partaking of the precious life and virtue of the holy and living ministration in Chrift Jefus the Lord, wherewith God vifiteth and redeemeth his people. Indeed the phyfician is come inwardly and fpiritually, and he inwardly heals and reftoreth his people, faithfully feeking after the fick, the distressed, the broken, the wounded; pouring oil into their wounds, and healing them. But there are fome who are fo found and whole in their notional apprehenfions and practices, that they have no need of the physician, and them the physician paffeth by, as unworthy of him, and whom he intend-eth shall have no fhare with him. Ephraim is joined to idols (he is well, he hath enough, he hath no need of me) let him alone, faith the Lord. I will pour out the choice virtue of my fpiritual life and redeeming power among my gathered fheep and lambs, who have need thereof, and will rejoice therein. Thefe will know my voice; these will justify the appearance of my Spirit and power; thefe love the favour of my anointing and precious ointment, which runs down from the head upon all the living body, and thefe fhall have it. Thefe understand how I have mercy on whom I will, and whom I will I harden; and it is my will to have mercy on these my once-greatly-diftreffed-ones, and to destroy (inwardly to destroy, oh! who knows what that means!) the fat and the strong, and to feed them with judgment. Oh! that men did know to whom the mercy and to whom the judgment belongs! To the wisdom of the flesh, to the wife comprehenders of the things of God after the flesh, is the judgment: to the poor, to the diftreffed, to the broken in spirit (not to them that are at eafe in their literal knowledge, but to the mourners in Sion after the holy God, and his living power and righteousness) is the everlasting gofpel, the mercy, the love, the peace, the binding-up, the redemption which is by Christ Jefus, the living minifter in the holy fanctuary of our God. NAKED |