[Pryr-1.2-1] Thou hast seen, dear Reader, the Nature and
Necessity of Regeneration, be persuaded therefore fully to believe, and
firmly to settle in thy Mind this most certain Truth, that all our Salvation
consists in the Manifestation of the Nature, Life, and Spirit of
Jesus Christ, in our inward new Man. This alone is Christian Redemption,
this alone delivers from the Guilt and Power of Sin, this alone redeems,
renews, and regains the first Life of God in the Soul of Man. Every Thing
besides this, is Self, is Fiction, is Propriety, is
own Will, and however coloured, is only thy old Man, with all his
Deeds. Enter therefore with all thy Heart into this Truth, let thy Eye be
always upon it, do every Thing in View of it, try every Thing by the Truth of
it, love Nothing but for the Sake of it. Wherever thou goest, whatever thou
dost, at Home, or Abroad, in the Field, or at Church, do all in a Desire of
Union with Christ, in Imitation of his Tempers and Inclinations, and
look upon all as Nothing, but that which exercises, and increases the Spirit
and Life of Christ in thy Soul. From Morning to Night keep Jesus
in thy Heart, long for Nothing, desire Nothing, hope for Nothing, but to have
all this within Thee changed into the Spirit and Temper of the Holy
Jesus. Let this be thy Christianity, thy Church, and thy
Religion. For this new Birth in Christ thus firmly believed, and
continually desired, will do every Thing that thou wantest to have done in
Thee, it will dry up all the Springs of Vice, stop all the Workings of Evil in
thy Nature, it will bring all that is Good into Thee, it will open all the
Gospel within Thee, and thou wilt know what it is to be taught of God. This
longing Desire of thy Heart to be one with Christ will soon put
a stop to all the Vanity of thy Life, and nothing will be admitted to enter
into thy Heart, or proceed from it, but what comes from God and returns to
God: thou wilt soon be, as it were, tied and bound in the Chains of all holy
Affections and Desires, thy Mouth will have a Watch set upon it,
thy Ears would willingly hear nothing that does not tend to God, nor
thy Eyes be open, but to see, and find Occasions of doing Good. In a
Word, when this Faith has got both thy Head and thy Heart, it
will then be with thee, as it was with the Merchant who found a
Pearl of great Price, it will make thee gladly to sell all that thou
hast, and buy it. For all that had seized and possessed the Heart of any
Man, whatever the Merchant of this World had got together, whether of
Riches, Power, Honour, Learning, or Reputation, loses all its Value, is
counted but as Dung, and willingly parted with, as soon as this
glorious Pearl, the new Birth in Christ Jesus, is discovered and found
by him. This therefore may serve as a Touchstone, whereby every one may
try the Truth of his State; if the old Man is still a Merchant within
thee, trading in all sorts of worldly Honour, Power, or Learning, if the
Wisdom of this World is not Foolishness to thee, if earthly Interests, and
sensual Pleasures, are still the Desire of thy Heart, and only covered under a
Form of Godliness, a Cloak of Creeds, Observances, and
Institutions of Religion, thou mayest be assured, that the Pearl of great
Price is not yet found by thee. For where Christ is born, or his
Spirit rises up in the Soul, there all Self is denied, and obliged to
turn out; there all carnal Wisdom, Arts of Advancement, with every
Pride and Glory of this Life, are as so many heathen Idols all
willingly renounced, and the Man is not only content, but rejoices to say,
that his Kingdom is not of this World.
[Pryr-1.2-2] But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall this great
Work, the Birth of Christ, be effected in me? It might rather be said,
since Christ has an infinite Power, and also an infinite Desire to save
Mankind, how can anyone miss of this Salvation, but through his own
unwillingness to be saved by Him? Consider, how was it, that the
Lame and Blind, the Lunatic and Leper, the
Publican and Sinner, found Christ to be their Saviour, and to do
all That for them, which they wanted to be done to them? It was because
they had a real Desire of having That which they asked for, and
therefore in true Faith and Prayer applied to Christ, that his
Spirit and Power might enter into them, and heal That which they wanted, and
desired to be healed in them. Everyone of these said in Faith and
Desire, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole." And the Answer
was always this, "According to thy Faith, so be it done unto Thee." This is
Christ's Answer now, and thus it is done to every one of us at this
Day, as our Faith is, so is it done unto us. And here lies the whole
Reason of our falling short of the Salvation of Christ, it is because
we have No Will to it.
[Pryr-1.2-3] But you will say, Do not all Christians desire to
have Christ to be their Saviour? Yes. But here is the Deceit; all would have
Christ to be their Saviour in the next World, and to help them into
Heaven when they die, by his Power, and Merits with God. But this is not
willing Christ to be thy Saviour; for his Salvation, if it is had, must
be had in this World; if He saves Thee, it must be done in this Life, by
changing and altering all that is within Thee, by helping thee to a new
Heart, as He helped the Blind to see, the Lame to walk, and the Dumb to speak.
For to have Salvation from Christ, is nothing else but to be made like unto
Him; it is to have his Humility and Meekness, his Mortification and
Self-denial, his Renunciation of the Spirit, Wisdom, and Honours of this
World, his Love of God, his Desire of doing God's Will, and seeking only his
Honour. To have these Tempers formed and begotten in thy Heart, is to have
Salvation from Christ. But if thou willest not to have these Tempers
brought forth in thee, if thy Faith and Desire does not seek, and cry to
Christ for them in the same Reality, as the Lame asked to walk, and the
Blind to see, then thou must be said to be unwilling to have Christ to
be thy Saviour.
[Pryr-1.2-4] Again, Consider, How was it, that the carnal
Jew, the deep-read Scribe, the learned Rabbi, the
Religious Pharisee, not only did not receive, but crucified
their Saviour? It was because they willed, and desired no such
Saviour as He was, no such inward Salvation as He offered to them. They
desired no Change of their own Nature, no inward Destruction of their own
natural Tempers, no Deliverance from the Love of themselves, and the
Enjoyments of their Passions; they liked their State, the Gratifications of
their Old Man, their long Robes, their broad Phylacteries, and
Greetings in the Markets. They wanted not to have their Pride
and Self-love dethroned, their Covetousness and Sensuality to be
subdued by a new Nature from Heaven derived into them. Their only Desire was
the Success of Judaism, to have an outward Saviour, a
temporal Prince, that should establish their Law and Ceremonies
over all the Earth. And therefore they crucified their Dear Redeemer, and
would have none of his Salvation, because it all consisted in a Change of
their Nature, in a new Birth from above, and a Kingdom of Heaven to be
opened within them by the Spirit of God.
[Pryr-1.2-5] Oh Christendom, look not only at the old
Jews, but see thyself in this Glass. For at this Day (Oh sad Truth to be
told!) at this Day, a Christ within us, an inward Saviour
raising a Birth of his own Nature, Life and Spirit within us, is
rejected as gross Enthusiasm, the learned Rabbi’s take Counsel
against it. The Propagation of Popery, the Propagation of Protestantism, the
Success of some particular Church, is the Salvation which Priests and
People are chiefly concerned about.
[Pryr-1.2-6] But to return. It is manifest, that no one can
fail of the Benefit of Christ's Salvation, but through an
unwillingness to have it, and from the same Spirit and Tempers which
made the Jews unwilling to receive it. But if thou wouldst still
further know, how this great Work, the Birth of Christ, is to be
effected in thee, then let this joyful Truth be told thee, that this great
Work is already begun in every one of us. For this Holy Jesus, that is
to be formed in thee, that is to be the Saviour and new Life of thy Soul, that
is to raise thee out of the Darkness of Death into the Light of Life, and give
thee Power to become a Son of God, is already within thee, living,
stirring, calling, knocking at the Door of thy Heart, and wanting nothing but
thy own Faith and good Will, to have as real a Birth and Form in
thee, as He had in the Virgin Mary. For the eternal Word, or Son
of God, did not then first begin to be the Saviour of the World, when He was
Born in Bethlehem of Judea; but that Word which became Man in
the Virgin Mary, did, from the Beginning of the World, enter as a
Word of Life, a Seed of Salvation, into the first Father of
Mankind, was inspoken into him, as an ingrafted Word, under the Name and
Character of a Bruiser of the Serpent's Head. Hence it is, that Christ
said to his Disciples, "the Kingdom of God is within you"; that is, the Divine
Nature is within you, given unto your first Father, into the Light of his
Life, and from him, rising up in the Life of every Son of Adam. Hence
also the holy Jesus is said to be the "Light, which lighteth every Man that
cometh into the World." Not as He was born at Bethlehem, not as He had
an human Form upon Earth; in these Respects he could not be said to have been
the Light of every Man that cometh into the World; but as He was that
eternal Word, by which all Things were created, which was the
Life and Light of all Things, and which had as a second
Creator entered again into fallen Man, as a Bruiser of the Serpent; in this
Respect it was truly said of our Lord, when on Earth, that "He was that Light
which lighteth every Man, that cometh into the World." For he was really and
truly all this, as He was the Immanuel, the God with us, given
unto Adam, and in him to all his Offspring. See here the Beginning and
glorious Extent of the Catholic Church of Christ, it takes in all the
World. It is God's unlimited, universal Mercy to all Mankind; and every human
Creature, as sure as he is born of Adam, has a Birth of the Bruiser of
the Serpent within him, and so is infallibly in Covenant with God through
Jesus Christ. Hence also it is, that the Holy Jesus is appointed to be Judge
of all the World, it is because all Mankind, all Nations and Languages have in
him, and through him been put into Covenant with God, and made capable of
resisting the Evil of their fallen Nature.
[Pryr-1.2-7] When our blessed Lord conversed with the Woman at
Jacob's Well, he said unto her, "If thou knewest the Gift of God, and
who it is that talketh with thee, thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He
would have given Thee living Water." How happy (may anyone well say) was this
Woman of Samaria, to stand so near this Gift of God, from whom
she might have had living Water, had she but vouchsafed to have asked for it!
But, dear Christian, this Happiness is thine; for this Holy Jesus, the
Gift of God, first given into Adam, and in him to all that are
descended from him, is the Gift of God to Thee, as sure as thou
art born of Adam; nay, hast thou never yet owned him, art thou wandered from
him, as far as the Prodigal Son from his Father's House, yet is he still with
Thee, he is the Gift of God to Thee, and if thou wilt turn to Him, and ask of
Him, he has living Water for Thee.
[Pryr-1.2-8] Poor Sinner! consider the Treasure thou hast
within Thee, the Saviour of the World, the eternal Word of God lies hid in
Thee, as a Spark of the Divine Nature, which is to overcome Sin and Death, and
Hell within Thee, and generate the Life of Heaven again in thy Soul. Turn to
thy Heart, and thy Heart will find its Saviour, its God within itself. Thou
seest, hearest, and feelest nothing of God, because thou seekest for Him
abroad with thy outward Eyes, thou seekest for Him in Books, in
Controversies, in the Church, and outward Exercises, but there thou
wilt not find him, till thou hast first found Him in thy Heart. Seek
for Him in thy Heart, and thou wilt never seek in vain, for there He dwelleth,
there is the Seat of his Light and Holy Spirit.
[Pryr-1.2-9] For this turning to the Light and Spirit of God
within Thee, is thy only true turning unto God, there is no other Way
of finding Him, but in that Place where he dwelleth in Thee. For though God be
everywhere present, yet He is only present to Thee in the deepest, and most
central Part of thy Soul. Thy natural Senses cannot possess God, or
unite Thee to Him, nay thy inward Faculties of Understanding,
Will, and Memory, can only reach after God, but cannot be the
Place of his Habitation in Thee. But there is a Root, or
Depth in Thee, from whence all these Faculties come forth, as Lines
from a Centre, or as Branches from the Body of the Tree. This Depth is
called the Centre, the Fund or Bottom of the Soul. This
Depth is the Unity, the Eternity, I had almost said, the
Infinity of thy Soul; for it is so infinite, that nothing can satisfy
it, or give it any Rest, but the infinity of God. In this Depth of the
Soul, the Holy Trinity brought forth its own living Image in the first created
Man, bearing in Himself a living Representation of Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and this was his Dwelling in God and God in him. This was the Kingdom
of God within Him, and made Paradise without Him. But the Day
that Adam did eat of the forbidden earthly Tree, in that Day he absolutely
died to this Kingdom of God within Him. This Depth or
Centre of his Soul having lost its God, was shut up in Death and
Darkness, and became a Prisoner in an earthly Animal, that only excelled its
Brethren, the Beasts, in an upright Form, and serpentine Subtlety. Thus ended
the Fall of Man. But from that Moment that the God of Mercy inspoke into
Adam the Bruiser of the Serpent, from that Moment all the Riches and
Treasures of the Divine Nature came again into Man, as a Seed of
Salvation sown into the Centre of the Soul, and only lies hidden there
in every Man, till he desires to rise from his fallen State, and to be born
again from above.
[Pryr-1.2-10] Awake then, thou that Sleepest, and Christ, who
from all Eternity has been espoused to thy Soul, shall give Thee Light. Begin
to search and dig in thine own Field for this Pearl of Eternity, that
lieth hidden in it; it cannot cost Thee too much, nor canst thou buy it too
dear, for it is All, and when thou has found it, thou wilt know, that
all which thou hast sold or given away for it, is as mere a Nothing, as a
Bubble upon the Water.
[Pryr-1.2-11] But if thou turnest from this heavenly Pearl, or
tramplest it under thy Feet, for the sake of being Rich, or Great, either in
Church or State, if Death finds Thee in this Success, thou canst not
then say, that though the Pearl is lost, yet something has been
gained instead of it. For in that parting Moment, the Things, and the
Sounds of this World, will be exactly alike; to have had an
Estate, or only to have heard of it, to have lived at
Lambeth twenty Years, or only have twenty Times passed by the
Palace, will be the same Good, or the same Nothing to Thee.
[Pryr-1.2-12] But I will now show a little more distinctly,
what this Pearl of Eternity is. First, it is the Light
and Spirit of God within Thee, which has hitherto done Thee but little
Good, because all the Desire of thy Heart has been after the Light and Spirit
of this World. Thy Reason, and Senses, thy Heart and Passions, have turned all
their Attention to the poor Concerns of this Life, and therefore thou art a
Stranger to this Principle of Heaven, this Riches of Eternity within Thee. For
as God is not, cannot be truly found by any Worshippers, but those who worship
Him in Spirit and in Truth, so this Light and Spirit, though
always within us, is not, cannot be found, felt, or enjoyed, but by those
whose whole Spirit is turned to it.
[Pryr-1.2-13] When Man first came into Being, and stood before
God as his own Image and Likeness, this Light and Spirit of God
was as natural to him, as truly the Light of his Nature, as the
Light and Air of this World is natural to the Creatures that have their
Birth in it. But when Man, not content with the Food of Eternity, did eat of
the earthly Tree, this Light and Spirit of Heaven was no more natural
to him, no more rose up as a Birth of his Nature, but instead thereof, he was
left solely to the Light and Spirit of this World. And this is that
Death, which God told Adam, he should surely die, in the Day that
he should eat of the forbidden Tree.
[Pryr-1.2-14] But the Goodness of God would not leave Man in
this Condition. A Redemption from it was immediately granted, and the Bruiser
of the Serpent brought the Light and Spirit of Heaven once more into
the human Nature, not as it was in its first State, when Man was in Paradise,
but as a Treasure hidden in the Centre of our Souls, which should
discover, and open itself by Degrees, in such Proportion, as the Faith
and Desires of our Hearts were turned to it. This Light and Spirit of
God thus freely restored again to the Soul, and lying in it as a secret
Source of Heaven, is called Grace, Free Grace, or the Supernatural
Gift, or Power of God in the Soul, because it was something that the
Natural Powers of the Soul could no more obtain. Hence it is, that in the
greatest Truth, and highest Reality, every stirring of the Soul, every
Tendency of the Heart towards God and Goodness, is justly and
necessarily ascribed to the Holy Spirit, or the Grace of
God. It is because this first Seed of Life, which is sown into the
Soul, as the Gift or Grace of God to fallen Man, is itself the
Light and Spirit of God, and therefore every Stirring, or
Opening of this Seed of Life, every awakened Thought or Desire that
arises from it, must be called the Moving, or the Quickening of
the Spirit of God; and therefore that new Man which arises from it, must of
all Necessity be said to be solely the Work and Operation of God. Hence
also we have an easy and plain Declaration of the true Meaning, solid Sense,
and certain Truth, of all those Scriptures, which speak of the
Inspiration of God, the Operation of the Holy Spirit, the Power
of the Divine Light, as the sole and necessary Agents in
the Renewal and Sanctification of our Souls, and also as being Things
common to all Men. It is because this Seed of Life, or Bruiser
of the Serpent, is common to all Men, and has in all Men a
Degree of Life, which is in itself so much of the Inspiration,
or Life of God, the Spirit of God, the Light of God, which is in
every Soul, and is its Power of becoming born again of God. Hence also it is,
that all Men are exhorted not to quench, or resist, or
grieve the Spirit, that is, this Seed of the Spirit and Light of
God that is in all Men, as the only Source of Good. Again, the Flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the Flesh. By the Flesh
and its Lustings, are meant the mere human Nature, or the natural
Man, as He is by the Fall; by the Spirit is meant the Bruiser of
the Serpent, that Seed of the Light and Spirit of God, which lieth as a
Treasure hid in the Soul, in order to bring forth the Life that was lost in
Adam. Now as the Flesh has its Life, its Lustings, whence all sorts of
Evil are truly said to be inspired, quickened, and stirred up in us, so the
Spirit being a Living principle within us, has its Inspiration,
its Breathing, its Moving, its Quickening, from which
alone the Divine Life, or the Angel that died in Adam, can be born in
us.
[Pryr-1.2-15] When this Seed of the Spirit,
common to all Men, is not resisted, grieved, and quenched, but its
Inspirations and Motions suffered to grow and increase in us, to
unite with God, and get Power over all the Lusts of the Flesh, then we are
born again, the Nature, Spirit, and Tempers of Jesus Christ are opened
in our Souls, the Kingdom of God is come, and is found within us. On the other
Hand, when the Flesh, or the Natural Man has resisted and quenched this
Spirit or Seed of Life within us, then the works of the Flesh, Adultery,
Fornication, Murders, Lying, Hatred, Envy, Wrath, Pride, Foolishness, worldly
Wisdom, carnal Prudence, false Religion, hypocritical Holiness, and serpentine
Subtlety, have set up their Kingdom within us.
[Pryr-1.2-16] See here in short, the State of Man as redeemed.
He has a Spark of the Light and Spirit of God, as a Supernatural
Gift of God given into the Birth of his Soul, to bring forth by Degrees a
New Birth of that Life which was Lost in Paradise. This Holy Spark of
the Divine Nature within Him, has a natural, strong and almost infinite
Tendency, or Reaching after that eternal Light and Spirit of God, from whence
it came forth. It came forth from God, it came out of God, it
partaketh of the Divine Nature, and therefore it is always in a State
of Tendency and Return to God. And all this is called the Breathing,
the Moving, the Quickening of the Holy Spirit within us, which
are so many Operations of this Spark of Life tending towards God. On the other
Hand, The Deity as considered in itself, and without the Soul of Man,
has an infinite, unchangeable Tendency of Love, and Desire towards the
Soul of Man, to unite and communicate its own Riches and Glories to it, just
as the Spirit of the Air without Man, unites and communicates
its Riches and Virtues to the Spirit of the Air that is within Man.
This Love, or Desire of God towards the Soul of Man, is so great, that He gave
his only begotten Son, the Brightness of his Glory, to take the human Nature
upon him, in its fallen State, that by this mysterious Union of God and Man,
all the Enemies of the Soul of Man might be overcome, and every human Creature
might have a Power of being born again according to that Image of God, in
which he was first created. The Gospel is the History of this Love of God to
Man. Inwardly he has a Seed of the Divine Life given into the Birth of
his Soul, a Seed that has all the Riches of Eternity in it, and is
always wanting to come to the Birth in him, and be alive in God. Outwardly he
has Jesus Christ, who as a Sun of Righteousness, is always
casting forth his enlivening Beams on this inward Seed, to kindle and
call it forth to the Birth, doing that to this Seed of Heaven in Man, which
the Sun in the Firmament is always doing to the vegetable Seeds in the Earth.
[Pryr-1.2-17] Consider this Matter in the following
Similitude. A Grain of Wheat has the Air and Light of
this World enclosed, or incorporated in it: This is the Mystery of its Life,
this is its Power of Growing, by this it has a strong continual Tendency of
uniting again with that Ocean of Light and Air, from whence it came
forth, and so it helps to kindle its own Vegetable Life.
[Pryr-1.2-18] On the other Hand, That great Ocean of
Light and Air, having its own Offspring hidden in the Heart of the
Grain, has a perpetual strong Tendency to unite, and communicate with it
again. From this Desire of Union on both Sides, the Vegetable Life
arises, and all the Virtues and Powers contained in it.
[Pryr-1.2-19] But here let it be well observed, that this
Desire on both Sides cannot have its Effect, till the Husk and gross
Part of the Grain falls into a State of Corruption and Death, till this
begins, the Mystery of Life hidden in it, cannot come forth. The Application
here may be left to the Reader. I shall only observe, that we may here see the
true Ground, and absolute Necessity, of that dying to ourselves, and to the
World, to which our Blessed Lord so constantly calls all his Followers. An
universal Self-Denial, a perpetual Mortification of the Lust of the Flesh, the
Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life, is not a Thing imposed upon us by the
mere Will of God, is not required as a Punishment, is not an
Invention of dull and monkish Spirits, but has its Ground and
Reason in the Nature of the Thing, and is absolutely necessary to make
Way for the New Birth, as the Death of the Husk and gross Part of the
Grain, is necessary to make Way for its vegetable Life.
[Pryr-1.2-20] But Secondly, this Pearl of
Eternity is the Wisdom and Love of God within Thee. In this
Pearl of thy Serpent Bruiser, all the Holy Nature, Spirit, Tempers, and
Inclinations of Christ, lie as in a Seed in the Centre of thy Soul, and
Divine Wisdom and heavenly Love will grow up in Thee, if thou givest but true
Attention to God present in thy Soul. On the other Hand, There is hidden also
in the Depth of thy Nature the Root, or Possibility of all the
hellish Nature, Spirit, and Tempers of the fallen Angels. For Heaven and Hell
have each of them their Foundation within us, they come not into us
from without, but spring up in us, according as our Will and
Heart is turned either to the Light of God, or the Kingdom of Darkness.
But when this Life, which is in the midst of these two Eternities, is at an
End, either an Angel, or a Devil will be found to have a Birth in us.
[Pryr-1.2-21] Thou needest not therefore run here, or
there, saying, Where is Christ? Thou needest not say, Who shall ascend into
Heaven, that is, to bring down Christ from above? Or who shall descend into
the Deep, to bring Christ from the Dead? For behold the Word, which
is the Wisdom of God, is in thy Heart, it is there as a Bruiser of thy
Serpent, as a Light unto thy Feet and Lanthorn unto thy Paths. It is there as
an Holy Oil, to soften and overcome the wrathful fiery Properties of
thy Nature, and change them into the humble Meekness of Light and Love. It is
there as a speaking Word of God in thy Soul; and as soon as thou art
ready to hear, this eternal speaking Word will speak Wisdom and Love in thy
inward Parts, and bring forth the Birth of Christ, with all his Holy Nature,
Spirit, and Tempers, within Thee. Hence it was (that is, from this Principle
of Heaven, or Christ in the Soul) hence I say it was, that so many eminent
Spirits, Partakers of a Divine Life, have appeared in so many Parts of the
heathen World; glorious Names, Sons of Wisdom, that shone, as Lights hung out
by God, in the midst of idolatrous Darkness. These were the Apostles of a
Christ within, that were awakened and commissioned by the
inward Bruiser of the Serpent, to call Mankind from the blind Pursuits
of Flesh and Blood, to know themselves, the Dignity of their Nature, the
Immortality of their Souls, and the Necessity of Virtue to avoid eternal Shame
and Misery. These Apostles, though they had not the Law, or
written Gospel to urge upon their Hearers, yet having turned to God,
they found, and preached the Gospel, that was written in their Hearts. Hence
one of them could say this divine Truth, viz., That such only are
Priests and Prophets, who have God in themselves. Hence also it is, that
in the Christian Church, there have been in all Ages, amongst the most
illiterate, both Men and Women, who have attained to a deep Understanding of
the Mysteries of the Wisdom and Love of God in Christ Jesus. And what wonder?
Since it is not Art or Science, or Skill in Grammar or Logic, but the Opening
of Divine Life in the Soul, that can give true Understanding of the Things of
God. This Life of God in the Soul, which for its Smallness at first, and
Capacity for great Growth, is by our Lord compared to a Grain of Mustard Seed,
may be, and too generally is suppressed and kept under, either by worldly
Cares, or Pleasures, by vain Learning, Sensuality, or Ambition. And all this
while, whatever Church, or Profession any Man is of, he is a mere
Natural Man, unregenerate, unenlightened by the Spirit of God,
because this Seed of Heaven is choked, and not suffered to grow up in him. And
therefore his Religion is no more from Heaven than his fine Breeding;
his Cares have no more Goodness in them than his Pleasures; his Love is worth
no more than his Hatred; his Zeal for this, or against that Form of Religion,
has only the Nature of any other worldly Contention in it. And thus it is, and
must be with every mere natural Man, whatever Appearances he may put on, he
may, if he pleases, know himself to be the Slave, and Machine of his own
corrupt Tempers and Inclinations, to be enlightened, inspired, quickened and
animated by Self-love, Self-esteem, and Self-seeking, which is the only Life,
and Spirit of the mere natural Man, whether he be Heathen, Jew, or
Christian.
[Pryr-1.2-22] On the other Hand, wherever this Seed of Heaven
is suffered to take Root, to get Life and Breath in the Soul, whether it be in
Man, or Woman, young or old, there this new born inward Man is justly said to
be inspired, enlightened, and moved by the Spirit of God,
because his whole Birth and Life is a Birth from above, of the Light and
Spirit of God; and therefore all that is in him, has the Nature, Spirit, and
Tempers of Heaven in it. As this regenerate Life grows up in any Man, so there
grows up a true and real Knowledge of the whole Mystery of Godliness in
himself. All that the Gospel teaches of Sin and Grace, of Life and Death, of
Heaven and Hell, of the New and Old Man, of the Light and Spirit of God, are
Things not got by Hearsay, but inwardly known, felt and experienced in
the Growth of his own new born Life. He has then an Unction from above
which teaches him all Things, a Spirit that knoweth what it ought to pray
for, a Spirit that prays without ceasing, that is risen with Christ
from the Dead, and has all its Conversation in Heaven, a Spirit that hath
Groans and Sighs that cannot be uttered, that travaileth and groaneth
with the whole Creation, to be delivered from Vanity, and have its glorious
Liberty in that God, from whom it came forth.
[Pryr-1.2-23] Again, Thirdly, this Pearl of
Eternity is the Church, or Temple of God within Thee, the
consecrated Place of Divine Worship, where alone thou canst worship God in
Spirit, and in Truth. In Spirit, because thy Spirit is that alone in
Thee, which can unite, and cleave unto God, and receive the Workings of his
Divine Spirit upon Thee. In Truth, because this Adoration in
Spirit, is that Truth and Reality, of which all outward
Forms and Rites, though instituted by God, are only the
Figure for a Time, but this Worship is Eternal. Accustom thyself to the
Holy Service of this inward Temple. In the midst of it is the Fountain of
Living Water, of which thou mayest drink, and live forever. There the
Mysteries of thy Redemption are celebrated, or rather opened in Life and
Power. There the Supper of the Lamb is kept; the Bread that came down from
Heaven, that giveth Life to the World, is thy true Nourishment: all is
done, and known in real Experience, in a living Sensibility of the Work of God
on the Soul. There the Birth, the Life, the Sufferings, the Death, the
Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, are not merely remembered, but inwardly
found, and enjoyed as the real States of thy Soul, which has followed Christ
in the Regeneration. When once thou art well grounded in this inward
Worship, thou wilt have learnt to live unto God above Time, and
Place. For every Day will be Sunday to thee, and wherever thou
goest, thou wilt have a Priest, a Church, and an Altar
along with Thee. For when God has all that He should have of thy Heart, when
renouncing the Will, Judgment, Tempers and Inclinations of thy old Man,
thou art wholly given up to the Obedience of the Light and Spirit of God
within Thee, to Will only his Will, to Love only in his Love, to
be Wise only in his Wisdom, then it is, that every Thing thou doest is
as a song of Praise, and the common Business of thy Life is a conforming to
God's Will on Earth, as Angels do in Heaven.
[Pryr-1.2-24] Fourthly, and Lastly, this
Pearl of Eternity is the Peace and Joy of God within
Thee, but can only be found by the Manifestation of the Life and Power of
Jesus Christ in thy Soul. But Christ cannot be thy Power and thy Life, till in
Obedience to his Call, thou deniest thyself, takest up thy daily Cross, and
followest Him, in the Regeneration. This is peremptory, it admits of no
Reserve or Evasion, it is the one Way to Christ and Eternal Life. But be where
thou wilt, either here, or at Rome, or Geneva, if
Self is undenied, if thou livest to thine own Will, to the
Pleasures of thy natural Lust and Appetites, Senses and Passions, and in
Conformity to the vain Customs, and Spirit of this World, thou art dead whilst
thou livest, the Seed of the Woman is crucified within Thee, Christ can profit
thee Nothing, thou art a Stranger to all that is holy and heavenly within
Thee, and utterly incapable of finding the Peace and Joy of God
in thy Soul. And thus thou art Poor, and Blind, and
Naked, and Empty, and livest a miserable Life in the Vanity of
Time; whilst all the Riches of Eternity, the Light and Spirit, the Wisdom and
Love, the Peace and Joy of God are within Thee. And thus it will always be
with Thee, there is no Remedy, go where thou wilt, do what thou wilt, all is
shut up, there is no open Door of Salvation, no Awakening out of the Sleep of
Sin, no Deliverance from the Power of thy corrupt Nature, no Overcoming of the
World, no Revelation of Jesus Christ, no Joy of the New Birth from above, till
dying to thy Self and the World, thou turnest to the Light, and Spirit, and
Power of God in thy Soul. All is fruitless, and insignificant, all the Means
of thy Redemption are at a Stand, all outward Forms are but a dead Formality,
till this Fountain of living Water is found within Thee.
[Pryr-1.2-25] But thou wilt perhaps say, How shall I discover
this Riches of Eternity, this Light, and Spirit, and Wisdom, and Peace of God,
treasured up within me? Thy first Thought of Repentance, or
Desire of turning to God, is thy first Discovery of this Light
and Spirit of God within Thee. It is the Voice and Language of the Word
of God within Thee, though thou knowest it not. It is the Bruiser of thy
Serpent's Head, thy Dear Immanuel, who is beginning to preach
within Thee, that same which He first preached in public, saying,
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand." When therefore but the
smallest Instinct or Desire of thy Heart calleth Thee towards God, and a
newness of Life, give it Time and Leave to speak; and take care thou refuse
not Him that speaketh. For it is not an Angel from Heaven that speaketh to
Thee, but it is the eternal speaking Word of God in thy Heart, that
Word which at first created Thee, is thus beginning to create Thee a second
Time unto Righteousness, that a new Man may be formed again in Thee in the
Image and Likeness of God. But above all Things, beware of taking this
Desire of Repentance to be the Effect of thy own Natural Sense
and Reason, for in so doing thou losest the Key of all the
Heavenly Treasure that is in Thee, thou shuttest the Door against God, turnest
away from Him, and thy Repentance (if thou hast any) will be only a vain,
unprofitable Work of thy own Hands, that will do Thee no more Good, than a
Well that is without Water. But if thou takest this awakened
Desire of turning to God, to be, as in Truth it is, the coming of Christ
in thy Soul, the Working, Redeeming Power of the Light and Spirit of
the holy Jesus within Thee, if thou dost reverence and adhere to it, as such,
this Faith will save Thee, will make Thee whole; and by thus believing
in Christ, though thou wert dead, yet shalt thou live.
[Pryr-1.2-26] Now all dependeth on thy right Submission and
Obedience to this speaking of God in thy Soul. Stop therefore all
Self-activity, listen not to the Suggestions of thy own Reason, run not on in
thy own Will, but be retired, silent, passive, and humbly attentive to this
new risen Light within Thee. Open thy Heart, thy Eyes, and Ears, to all its
Impressions. Let it enlighten, teach, frighten, torment, judge, and condemn
Thee, as it pleaseth, turn not away from it, hear all it says, seek for no
Relief out of it, consult not with Flesh and Blood, but with a Heart full of
Faith and Resignation to God, pray only this Prayer, that God's Kingdom may
come, and his Will be done in thy Soul. Stand faithfully in this State of
Preparation, thus given up to the Spirit of God, and then the Work of thy
Repentance will be Wrought in God, and thou wilt soon find, that He that is in
Thee, is much greater than all that are against Thee.
[Pryr-1.2-27] But that thou mayest do all this the better, and
be more firmly assured, that this Resignation to, and Dependence
upon the working of God's Spirit within Thee, is right and sound, I shall lay
before Thee two great, and infallible, and fundamental Truths, which will be
as a Rock for thy Faith to stand upon.
[Pryr-1.2-28] First, That through all the whole Nature
of Things, nothing can do, or be a real Good to thy Soul, but
the Operation of God upon it. Secondly, that all the
Dispensations of God to Mankind, from the Fall of Adam, to the
preaching of the Gospel, were only for this one End, to fit, prepare,
and dispose the Soul for the Operation of the Spirit of God upon it.
These two great Truths well and deeply apprehended, put the Soul in its right
State, in a continual Dependence upon God, in a Readiness to receive all Good
from Him, and will be a continual Source of Light in thy Mind. They will keep
Thee safe from all Errors, and false Zeal in Things, and Forms of Religion,
from a Sectarian Spirit, from Bigotry, and Superstition; they will teach Thee
the true Difference between the Means and End of Religion; and the Regard thou
showest to the Shell, will be only so far, as the Kernel is to
be found in it.
[Pryr-1.2-29] Man, by his Fall, had broken off from his true
Centre, his proper Place in God, and therefore the Life and Operation of God
was no more in Him. He was fallen from a Life in God into a Life of
Self, into an animal Life of Self-love, Self-esteem, and Self-seeking
in the poor perishing Enjoyments of this World. This was the Natural
State of Man by the Fall. He was an Apostate from God, and his natural
Life was all Idolatry, where Self was the great Idol that was
worshipped instead of God. See here the whole Truth in short. All Sin, Death,
Damnation, and Hell is nothing else but this Kingdom of Self, or the various
Operations of Self-love, Self-esteem, and Self-seeking, which separate the
Soul from God, and end in eternal Death and Hell.
[Pryr-1.2-30] On the other Hand, all that is Grace,
Redemption, Salvation, Sanctification, Spiritual Life, and the New
Birth, is nothing else but so much of the Life and Operation of God found
again in the Soul. It is Man come back again into his Centre or
Place in God, from whence he had broken off. The Beginning again of the
Life of God in the Soul, was then first made, when the Mercy of God inspoke
into Adam a Seed of the Divine Life, which should bruise the
Head of the Serpent, which had wrought itself into the human Nature. Here the
Kingdom of God was again within us, though only as a Seed, yet small as
it was, it was yet a Degree of the Divine Life, which if rightly
cultivated, would overcome all the Evil that was in us, and make of every
fallen Man a new born Son of God.
[Pryr-1.2-31] All the Sacrifices and Institutions of the
ancient Patriarchs, the Law of Moses, with all its Types, and Rites,
and Ceremonies, had this only End; they were the Methods of Divine
Wisdom for a Time, to keep the Hearts of Men from the Wanderings of Idolatry,
in a State of Holy Expectation upon God, they were to keep the first
Seed of Life in a State of Growth, and make Way for the further Operation
of God upon the Soul; or, as the Apostle speaks, to be as a Schoolmaster
unto Christ, that is, till the Birth, the Death, the Resurrection and
Ascension of Christ, should conquer Death and Hell, open a new Dispensation of
God, and baptize Mankind afresh with the Holy Ghost, and Fire of Heaven. Then,
that is, on the Day of Pentecost, a new Dispensation of God came
forth; which on God's Part, was the Operation of the Holy Spirit in Gifts and
Graces upon the whole Church; and on Man's Part, it was the Adoration of God
in Spirit and in Truth. Thus all that was done by God, from the
Bruiser of the Serpent given to Adam, to Christ's sitting down on the
right Hand of God, was all for this End, to remove all that stood between God
and Man, and to make Way for the immediate and continual
Operation of God upon the Soul; and that Man, baptized with the Holy Spirit,
and born again from Above, should absolutely renounce Self, and wholly
give up his Soul to the Operation of God's Spirit, to know, to love, to will,
to pray, to worship, to preach, to exhort, to use all the Faculties of his
Mind, and all the outward Things of this World, as enlightened, inspired,
moved and guided by the Holy Ghost, who by this last Dispensation of God, was
given to be a Comforter, a Teacher, and Guide to the Church, who should abide
with it forever.
[Pryr-1.2-32] This is Christianity, a spiritual Society, not
because it has no worldly Concerns, but because all its Members, as such, are
born of the Spirit, kept alive, animated and governed by the Spirit of God. It
is constantly called by our Lord the Kingdom of God, or Heaven, because all
its Ministry and Service, all that is done in it, is done in
Obedience and Subjection to that Spirit, by which Angels live, and are
governed in Heaven. Hence our blessed Lord taught his Disciples to pray, that
this Kingdom might come, that so God's Will might be done on Earth, as it is
in Heaven; which could not be, but by that same Spirit, by which it is done in
Heaven. The short is this: The Kingdom of Self is the Fall of Man, or
the great Apostasy from the Life of God in the Soul; and everyone wherever he
be, that liveth unto Self, is still under the Fall and great Apostasy
from God. The Kingdom of Christ is the Spirit and Power of God dwelling and
manifesting itself in the Birth of a new inward Man; and no one is a Member of
this Kingdom, but so far as a true Birth of the Spirit is brought forth
in him. These two Kingdoms take in all Mankind, he that is not of one, is
certainly in the other; Dying to one is Living to the other.
[Pryr-1.2-33] Hence we may gather these following Truths:
First, Here is shown the true Ground and Reason of what was said above,
namely, That when the Call of God to Repentance first ariseth in thy
Soul, thou art to be retired, silent, passive, and humbly attentive to
this new risen Light within thee, by wholly stopping, or disregarding the
Workings of thy own Will, Reason, and Judgment. It is because all these are
false Counselors, the sworn Servants, bribed Slaves of thy fallen Nature, they
are all Born and Bred in thy Kingdom of Self; and therefore if a new
Kingdom is to be set up in thee, if the Operation of God is to have its Effect
in thee, all these natural Powers of Self are to be silenced and
suppressed, till they have learned Obedience and Subjection to the Spirit of
God. Now this is not requiring thee to become a Fool, or to give up thy
Claim to Sense and Reason, but is the shortest Way to have thy Sense and
Reason delivered from Folly, and thy whole rational Nature strengthened,
enlightened, and guided by that Light, which is Wisdom itself.
[Pryr-1.2-34] A child that obediently denies his own Will, and
own Reason, to be guided by the Will and Reason of a truly wise and
understanding Tutor, cannot be said to make himself a Fool, and give up the
Benefit of his rational Nature, but to have taken the shortest Way to have his
own Will and Reason made truly a Blessing to him.
[Pryr-1.2-35] Secondly, Hence is to be seen the true
Ground and Necessity of that universal Mortification and Self-denial with
regard to all our Senses, Appetites, Tempers, Passions and Judgments. It is
because all our whole Nature, as fallen from the Life of God, is in a State of
Contrariety to the Order and End of our Creation, a continual Source of
disorderly Appetites, corrupt Tempers, and false Judgments. And therefore
every Motion of it is to be mortified, changed and purified from its
natural State, before we can enter into the Kingdom of God. Thus when
our Lord saith, "Except a Man hateth his Father and Mother, yea, and his own
Life, he cannot be my Disciple"; it is because our best Tempers are yet
carnal, and full of the Imperfections of our fallen Nature. The
Doctrine is just and good; not as if Father and Mother were to
be hated; but that Love, which an unregenerate Person, or natural
Man, hath towards them, is to be hated, as being a blind Self-
love, full of all the Weakness and Partiality, with which
fallen Man loves, honours, esteems, and cleaves to himself. This Love,
born from corrupt Flesh and Blood, and polluted with Self, is to
be hated and parted with, that we may love them with a Love
born of God, with such a Love, and on such a Motive, as Christ has
loved us. And then the Disciple of Christ far exceeds all others in the
Love of Parents. Again, Our own Life is to be hated; and the
Reason is plain, it is because there is nothing lovely in it. It is a
Legion of Evil, a monstrous Birth of the Serpent, the
World, and the Flesh; it is an Apostasy from the
Life and Power of God in the Soul, a Life that is Death
to Heaven, that is pure unmixed Idolatry, that lives wholly to
Self, and not to God; and therefore all this own Life is to be
absolutely hated, all this Self is to be denied and
mortified, if the Nature, Spirit, Tempers and Inclinations of
Christ are to be brought to Life in us. For it is as impossible to live
to both these Lives at once, as for a Body to move two contrary Ways at
the same Time. And therefore all these Mortifications and Self-denials have an
absolute Necessity in the Nature of the Thing itself.
[Pryr-1.2-36] Thus when our Lord further saith, unless a Man
forsake all that he hath, he cannot be my Disciple; the Reason is
plain, and the Necessity absolute. It is because all that the natural
Man hath, is in the Possession of Self-love, and therefore this Possession is
to be absolutely forsaken, and parted with. All that he hath, is to be
put into other Hands, to be given to Divine Love, or this natural Man
cannot be changed into a Disciple of Christ. For Self-love in all
that it hath, is earthly, sensual, and devilish, and therefore must have
all taken away from it; and then to the natural Man all
is lost, he hath nothing left, all is laid down at the Feet of Jesus.
And then all Things are common, as soon as Self-love has lost the Possession
of them. And then the Disciple of Christ, though having nothing, yet
possesseth all Things, all that the natural Man has
forsaken, is restored to the Disciple of Christ an hundred-fold.
For Self-love, the greatest of all Thieves, being now cast out, and all
that he had stolen and hidden thus taken from him, and put into the Hands of
Divine Love, every Mite becomes a large Treasure, and Mammon opens the Door
into everlasting Habitations. This was the Spirit of the first Draught
of a Christian Church at Jerusalem, a Church made truly after the
Pattern of Heaven, where the Love that reigns in Heaven reigned in it, where
Divine Love broke down all the selfish Fences, the Locks and Bolts of me,
mine, my own, &c., and laid all Things common to the Members of this
new Kingdom of God on Earth.
[Pryr-1.2-37] Now though many Years did not pass after the Age
of the Apostles, before Satan and Self got footing in the
Church, and set up Merchandise in the House of God, yet this one Heart,
and one Spirit, which then first appeared in the Jerusalem
Church, is that one Heart and Spirit of Divine Love, to which
all are called, that would be true Disciples of Christ. And
though the Practice of it is lost as to the Church in general, yet it ought
not to have been lost; and therefore every Christian ought to make it his
great Care and Prayer, to have it restored in himself. And then, though born
in the Dregs of Time, or living in Babylon, he will be as truly a
Member of the first heavenly Church at Jerusalem, as if he had lived in
it, in the Days of the Apostles. This Spirit of Love, born of that celestial
Fire, with which Christ baptizes his true Disciples, is alone that
Spirit, which can enter into Heaven, and therefore is that Spirit which is to
be born in us, whilst we are on Earth. For no one can enter in Heaven, till he
is made heavenly, till the Spirit of Heaven is entered into him. And therefore
all that our Lord hath said of denying and dying to Self, and of his
parting with all that he has, are Practices absolutely necessary from the
Nature of the Thing.
[Pryr-1.2-38] Because all turning to Self is so far turning
from God, and so much as we have of Self-love, so much we have of a
hellish, earthly Weight, that must be taken off, or there can be no Ascension
into Heaven. But thou wilt perhaps say, If all Self-love is to be
renounced, then all Love of our Neighbour is renounced along with it, because
the Commandment is, only to love our Neighbour as ourselves. The Answer
here is easy, and yet no Quarter given to Self-love. There is but one
only Love in Heaven, and yet the Angels of God love one another in the
same manner, as they love themselves. The Matter is thus: The one
supreme, unchangeable Rule of Love, which is a Law to all
intelligent Beings of all Worlds, and will be a Law to all Eternity, is this,
viz., That God alone is to be loved for himself, and all other
Beings only in Him, and for Him. Whatever intelligent Creature
lives not under this Rule of Love, is so far fallen from the Order of his
Creation, and is, till He returns to this eternal Law of Love, an
Apostate from God, and incapable of the Kingdom of Heaven.
[Pryr-1.2-39] Now if God alone is to be loved for
Himself, then no Creature is to be loved for itself; and so all
Self-love in every Creature is absolutely condemned.
[Pryr-1.2-40] And if all created Beings are only to be loved
in and for God, then my Neighbour is to be loved, as I
love myself, and I am only to love myself, as I love my Neighbour, or any
other created Being, that is only in and for God. And thus the
Command of loving our Neighbour as ourselves, stands firm, and yet all
Self-love is plucked up by the Roots. But what is loving any Creature, only
in, and for God? It is when we love it only as it is God's
Work, Image, and Delight, when we love it merely as it is God's, and
belongs to him, this is loving it in God, and when all that we wish,
intend, or do to it, is done from a Love of God, for the Honour of God, and in
Conformity to the Will of God, this is loving it for God. This is the
one Love that is, and must be the Spirit of all Creatures that
live united to God. Now this is no speculative Refinement, or fine-spun
Fiction of the Brain, but the simple Truth, and a first Law of Nature, and a
necessary Band of Union between God and the Creature. The Creature is not in
God, is a Stranger to Him, has lost the Life of God in itself, whenever its
Love does not thus begin and end in God.
[Pryr-1.2-41] The Loss of this Love, was the Fall of
Man, as it opened in him a Kingdom of Self, in which Satan, the World,
and the Flesh, could all of them bring forth their own Works. If therefore Man
is to rise from his Fall, and return to his Life in God, there is an absolute
necessity that Self, with all his Brood of gross Affections, be
deposed, that his first Love in and for which he was created, may be born
again in him. Christ came into the World to save Sinners, to destroy
the Works of the Devil. Now Self is not only the Seat and Habitation,
but the very Life of Sin. The Works of the Devil are all wrought in
Self, it is his peculiar Workhouse, and therefore Christ is not
come as a Saviour from Sin, as a Destroyer of the Works of the Devil in any of
us, but so far as Self is beaten down, and overcome in us. If it is
literally true, what our Lord said, That his Kingdom was not of this World,
then it is a Truth of the same Certainty, that no one is a Member of this
Kingdom, but he that in the literal Sense of the Words renounces the Spirit of
this World. Christians might as well part with half the Articles of their
Creed, or but half believe them, as really to refuse, or but by halves enter
into these Self-denials.
[Pryr-1.2-42] For all that is in the Creed, is only to
bring forth this Dying and Death to all and every Part of the old Man, that
the Life and Spirit of Christ may be formed in us.
[Pryr-1.2-43] Our Redemption is this new Birth; if this
is not done, or doing in us, we are still unredeemed. And though the Saviour
of the World is come, He is not come in us, He is not received by us, is a
Stranger to us, is not ours, if his Life is not within us. His life is not,
cannot be within us, but so far as the Spirit of the World, Self-love,
Self-esteem, and Self-seeking, are renounced, and driven out of us.
[Pryr-1.2-44] Thirdly, Hence we may also learn the true Nature
and Worth of all Self-denials and Mortifications. As to their
Nature, considered in themselves, they have nothing of Goodness or
Holiness, nor are any real Parts of our Sanctification, they are not
the true Food or Nourishment of Divine Life in our Souls, they
have no Quickening, Sanctifying Power in them; their only Worth consists in
this, that they remove the Impediments of Holiness, break down that which
stands between God and us, and make Way for the Quickening, Sanctifying
Spirit of God to operate on our Souls. Which Operation of God is the one
only Thing that can raise the Divine Life in the Soul, or help it to the
smallest Degree of real Holiness, or Spiritual Life. As in our Creation, we
had only that Degree of a Divine Life, which the Power of God derived
into us; as then all that we had, and were, was the sole Operation of
God in the Creation of us; so in our Redemption, or regaining that first
Perfection, which we have lost, all must be again the Operation of God;
every Degree of the Divine Life restored in us, be it ever so small,
must and can be nothing else but so much of the Life and Operation of God
found again in the Soul. All the Activity of Man in the Works of Self-denial
has no Good in itself, but is only to open an Entrance for the one only
Good, the Light of God, to operate upon us.
[Pryr-1.2-45] Hence also we may learn the Reason, why many
People not only lose the Benefit, but are even worse for all their
Mortifications. It is because they mistake the whole Nature and Worth of them.
They practice them for their own Sakes, as Things good in themselves,
they think them to be real Parts of Holiness, and so rest in
them, and look no further, but grow full of Self-esteem, and
Self-admiration, for their own Progress in them. This makes them
Self-sufficient, morose, severe Judges of all those that fall short of their
Mortifications.
[Pryr-1.2-46] And thus their Self-denials do only
that for them, which Indulgences do for other People, they
withstand and hinder the Operation of God upon their Souls, and instead of
being really Self-denials, they strengthen and keep up the Kingdom of
Self.
[Pryr-1.2-47] There is no avoiding this fatal Error, but by
deeply entering into this great Truth, that all our own Activity and Working
has no Good in it, can do no Good to us, but as it leads and turns us in the
best Manner to the Light and Spirit of God, which alone brings Life and
Salvation into the Soul. Stretch forth thy Hand, said our Lord to the
Man that had a withered Hand; he did so, and it was immediately made
whole as the other.
[Pryr-1.2-48] Now had this Man any Ground for Pride, or a high
Opinion of himself, for the Share he had in the Restoring of his Hand? Yet
just such is our Share in the Raising up of the Spiritual Life within us. All
that we can do by our own Activity, is only like this Man's stretching out his
Hand; the rest is the Work of Christ, the only Giver of Life to the withered
Hand, or the dead Soul. We can only then do living Works, when we are so far
born again, as to be able to say with the Apostle, "Yet not I, but Christ that
liveth in me." But to return, and further show, how the Soul that feels the
Call of God to Repentance is to behave under it, that this stirring of the
Divine Power in the soul may have its full Effect, and bring forth the Birth
of the new Man in Christ Jesus. We are to consider it (as in Truth it is) as
the Seed of the Divine Nature within us, that can only grow by its
own Strength and Union with God. It is a Divine Life, and
therefore can grow from nothing but Divine Power. When the Virgin Mary
conceived the Birth of the holy Jesus, all that she did towards it herself,
was only this single Act of Faith and Resignation to God; "Behold the Handmaid
of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy Word." This is all that we can do
towards the Conception of that new Man that is to be born in ourselves. Now
this Truth is easily consented to, and a Man thinks he believes it, because he
consents to it, or rather, does not deny it. But this is not enough, it is to
be apprehended in a deep, full, and practical Assurance, in such a Manner as a
Man knows and believes that he did not create the Stars, or cause Life
to rise up in himself. And then it is a Belief, that puts the Soul into a
right State, that makes room for the Operation of God upon it. His Light then
enters with full Power into the Soul, and his holy Spirit moves and directs
all that is done in it, and so Man lives again in God as a new Creature. For
this Truth thus firmly believed, will have these two most excellent Effects:
First, It will keep the Soul fixed, and continually turned towards God,
in Faith, Prayer, Desire, Confidence, and Resignation to Him, for all that it
wants to have done in it, and to it; which will be a continual Source of all
Divine Virtues and Graces. The Soul thus turned to God must be always
receiving from Him. It stands at the true Door of all Divine Communications,
and the Light of God as freely enters into it, as the Light of the Sun
enters into the Air. Secondly, It will fix and ground the Soul
in a true and lasting Self-denial. For by thus knowing and owning our own
Nothingness and Inability, that we have no other Capacity for Good, but
that of receiving it from God alone, Self is wholly denied, its Kingdom
is destroyed; no room is left for spiritual Pride and Self-esteem; we are
saved from a Pharisaical Holiness, from wrong Opinions of our own Works and
good Deeds, and from a Multitude of Errors, the most dangerous to our Souls,
all which arise from the Something that we take ourselves to be either
in Nature or Grace. But when we once apprehend but in some good Degree, the
All of God, and the Nothingness of ourselves, we have got a
Truth, whose Usefulness and Benefit no Words can express. It brings a Kind of
Infallibility into the Soul in which it dwells; all that is vain, and false,
and deceitful, is forced to vanish and fly before it. When our Religion is
founded on this Rock, it has the Firmness of a Rock, and its Height reaches
unto Heaven. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil, can do no hurt to it; all
Enemies are known, and all disarmed by this great Truth dwelling in our Souls.
It is the Knowledge of the All of God, that makes Cherubims and
Seraphims to be Flames of Divine Love. For where this All of God
is truly known, and felt in any Creature, there its whole Breath and Spirit is
a Fire of Love, nothing but a pure disinterested Love can arise up in it, or
come from it, a Love that begins and ends in God. And where this Love is born
in any Creature, there a Seraphic Life is born along with it. For this pure
Love introduces the Creature into the All of God; all that is in God is
opened in the Creature, it is united with God, and has the Life of God
manifested in it.
[Pryr-1.2-49] There is but one Salvation for all
Mankind, and that is the Life of God in the Soul. God has but one
Design or Intent towards all Mankind, and that is to introduce or
generate his own Life, Light, and Spirit in them, that all may be as so
many Images, Temples, and Habitations of the Holy Trinity. This is God's good
Will to all Christians, Jews, and Heathens. They are all
equally the Desire of his Heart, his Light continually waits for
an Entrance into all of them, his Wisdom crieth, she putteth forth
her Voice, not here, or there, but everywhere, in all the Streets of all
the Parts of the World.
[Pryr-1.2-50] Now there is but one possible Way for Man
to attain this Salvation, or Life of God in the Soul. There is not one for the
Jew, another for a Christian, and a Third for the
Heathen. No; God is one, human Nature is one, Salvation is one, and the
Way to it is one; and that is, the Desire of the Soul turned to
God. When this Desire is alive and breaks forth in any Creature
under Heaven, then the lost Sheep is found, and the Shepherd has
it upon his Shoulders. Through this Desire the Poor prodigal Son
leaves his Husks and Swine, and hasteth to his Father: it is
because of this Desire, that the Father sees the Son, while yet afar
off, that he runs out to meet him, falleth on his Neck, and kisseth him.
See here how plainly we are taught, that no sooner is this Desire
arisen, and in Motion towards God, but the Operation of
God's Spirit answers to it, cherishes and welcomes its first
Beginnings, signified by the Father's seeing, and having Compassion on his
Son, whilst yet afar off, that is, in the first Beginnings of his
Desire. Thus does this Desire do all, it brings the Soul to God, and
God into the Soul, it unites with God, it co-operates with God, and is one
Life with God. Suppose this Desire not to be alive, not in Motion
either in a Jew, or a Christian, and then all the Sacrifices,
the Service, the Worship either of the Law, or the Gospel, are
but dead Works, that bring no Life into the Soul, nor beget any
Union between God and it. Suppose this Desire to be awakened, and fixed upon
God, though in Souls that never heard either of the Law or the Gospel, and
then the Divine Life, or Operation of God, enters into them, and the new Birth
in Christ is formed in those who never heard of his Name. And these are they
"that shall come from the East, and from the West and sit down with Abraham,
and Isaac, in the Kingdom of God."
[Pryr-1.2-51] Oh my God, just and good, how great is thy Love
and Mercy to Mankind, that Heaven is thus everywhere open, and Christ thus the
common Saviour to all that turn the Desire of their Hearts to thee! Oh
sweet Power of the Bruiser of the Serpent, born in every Son of Man,
that stirs and works in every Man, and gives every Man a Power, and Desire, to
find his Happiness in God! O holy Jesus, heavenly Light, that lightest
every Man that cometh into the World, that redeemeth every Soul that
follows thy Light, which is always within Him! O Holy Trinity, immense
Ocean of divine Love in which all Mankind live, and move, and have their
Being! None are separated from thee, none live out of thy Love, but all are
embraced in the Arms of thy Mercy, all are Partakers of thy Divine Life, the
Operation of thy holy Spirit, as soon as their Heart is turned to Thee! Oh
plain, and easy, and simple Way of Salvation, wanting no Subtleties of Art or
Science, no borrowed Learning, no Refinements of Reason, but all done by the
simple natural Motion of every Heart, that truly longs after God. For no
sooner is the finite Desire of the Creature in motion towards God, but the
infinite Desire of God is united with it, co-operates with it. And in this
united Desire of God and the Creature, is the Salvation and Life of the Soul
brought forth. For the Soul is shut out of God, and imprisoned in its own dark
Workings of Flesh and Blood, merely and solely, because it desires to live to
the Vanity of this World. This Desire is its Darkness, its Death, its
Imprisonment, and Separation from God.
[Pryr-1.2-52] When therefore the first Spark of a
Desire after God arises in thy Soul, cherish it with all thy Care, give all
thy Heart into it, it is nothing less than a Touch of the Divine
Loadstone, that is to draw Thee out of the Vanity of Time into the
Riches of Eternity. Get up therefore and follow it as gladly, as the Wise
Men of the East followed the Star from Heaven that appeared to
them. It will do for Thee, as the Star did for them, it will lead Thee to the
Birth of Jesus, not in a Stable at Bethlehem in Judea, but to
the Birth of Jesus in the dark Centre of thy own fallen Soul.
[Pryr-1.2-53] I shall conclude this first Part, with
the Words of the heavenly Illuminated, and blessed Jacob Behmen.
[Pryr-1.2-54] "It is much to be lamented, that we are so
blindly led, and the Truth withheld from us through imaginary Conceptions; for
if the Divine Power in the inward Ground of the Soul was manifest, and
working with its Lustre in us, then is the whole Triune God present in the
Life and Will of the Soul, and the Heaven, wherein God dwells,
is opened in the Soul, and There, in the Soul, is the Place
where the Father begets his Son, and where the Holy Ghost proceeds from the
Father and the Son.
[Pryr-1.2-55] "Christ saith, I am the Light of the World,
he that followeth me, walketh not in Darkness. He directs us only to
himself, He is the Morning Star, and is generated and riseth in us, and
shineth in the Darkness of our Nature. O how great a Triumph is there in the
Soul, when he ariseth in it! then a Man knows, as he never knew before, that
he is a Stranger in a foreign Land."
A PRAYER
[Pryr-1.2-56] Oh heavenly Father, infinite, fathomless Depth
of never- ceasing Love, save me from myself, from the disorderly Workings of
my fallen, long corrupted Nature, and let mine Eyes see, my Heart and Spirit
feel and find, thy Salvation in Christ Jesus.
[Pryr-1.2-57] O God, who madest me for thyself, to show forth
thy Goodness in me, manifest, I humbly beseech Thee, the Life-giving Power of
thy holy Nature within me; help me to such a true and living Faith in Thee,
such Strength of Hunger and Thirst after the Birth, Life, and Spirit of thy
Holy Jesus in my Soul, that all that is within me, may be turned from every
inward Thought, or outward Work, that is not Thee, thy holy Jesus, and
heavenly working in my Soul. Amen.
