Baxter - BJ1441 B3 1673

'Dire8ionr to tiJe U11renewed. 13elie'JJe 11ot ivick"ed enemies againft God. nefs, and Idolatry of his feu!, and his forfaking of God, and his falvation, for a thing of nought: It is that to his foul, whtch poyfon, and death, an~ fic~ncfs, and ~amencfs, an~ blmdne!s arc to hts body: Jt is fuch dealing with God, as that ·man IS gutlty of to hiS deare{\ fnend or father, who (hould hate him and his company, and love the company of a Dog or ~ Toad much better than hiS ; and obey his enemy again{\ him : And it is Iike a mad mans dealmg with.hiS Phyf,e~on, who fecks to J\ill him as his enemy, becaufe he croffeth hts appeute or Will to cure h1rn. Thmk of this well, and rhm tell me whether this be a O:ate to be continued in. This ftate of fin, is fornething worfe, than a 9 meer inconfidcrate aU of fin, inone that otherwife liveth an obedient holy life. , §. 6. On the other tide, a ftate of Holine[1, is nothing elfe but the Habitual and pre~minant ,de_vo- :V:1~a. R~litft tion and dctlication of fOJrl,. and body, and life, and aU that fl't l~ave to God: An efteemt.ng, a~d lovmg, 11 ,7: tJ;w~;~-2< and Jerving, and feePJng hnn, before all the pleafuresand profpcnty of the .fleih:. Makmg .hiS favour l•flhiL "'ff"· and everla!lingHappincfs in Heaven our End, and ]efus Chnfi our way, and referrmg al.! thmgs m the !d. ibid. world unto that end, and making this the fcope, defign and bufinefs of our lives. .It is a turning from a deceitful world to God; and prefening the Creator before the creature, and ~eaven before Earth, and Eternity before an inch of1ime, and our fouls before our corruptible b~dits, and theauthority atJd Laws of God the UniverfalGovernour of the world, before the word or Will of any m~n, how great foever ; and a fi.tb)dl:ing our fenfitive facultiu to our RttJfon, and advancing this Reafim by Divine Revelation ; and living by fait!J, and not by fight: In a word, it is a laying up our t~;eafure in Hca-: ven and ft:tting our hearts there:, and living in a Heavenly converfation, fetti(lg . our affed:ions on the ~hings above, and not on the things that are on earth: and a rejoki?g in hope of the glory to come, when fenfualifis have nothing but tranfitory bruiti!h pleafures to re)oyce in. This is a jlatt and life of Holine[s: when we perfwade you to be Holy, we perfwade you to nq worfe than this: when we commend a life of Godlinefs to your Choice, this is the Vfe that we mean and that we commend to you. And can you under{\and this well, and yet be u.uwilliog of it? I1 cannot be. Do but know well what Godlinifi and Vngodline[s is, what Grace and Sin are, and the work is almofi done. Pirection 3• TO k_now what a life of Holint[s if; belitve the Word of God, and thofe that have Ditcil. 3• trytd it, and believe not the Jlandett of t~e Droil and of ungodly men, th.t nevtr tryrd or kzrcr• the thingt which they reproach. , 9· 1. Rea[on cannot que(\ion the rtafonabltnrfl of thi.s advice. who is wifer than God? or who is to be believed before him ? And what men are Jiker to knbw what they talk of, then fuch as fpeak from their own experience? Nothing more familiar with wicked men, than to Oander and rtproach the holy wayes and ferv>nts of the Lord. No wifdom, no meafure of Holinels or righteoufnefs wili exempt the Godly from their malice. Otherwife Chri{\ himfelf at leafl would have been exempted if,not his Apoflles or. other Saints, whom they have Oandered and put to death. Chri{\ hath fore~ told us what to cxped: from them, John r 5· r8, r9, 20, 21. If the world hatt ) "'' ye k..•on> that it battd me before it hated ysu: Ifyou wm of the world, the world would lovt hi< mn: but hec<>ufe ye are not of the world, bnt I havt chofcn you out of the world, therefore the world hawb y•u : Rem<mber tht word t/Jat I f•id unto you, The fervant i< not greater than the Lord: If they have perfecuted me, they ,.id alfo per[ecute }"' : if they have f,rpt my fayingt they wiU f,rtp yourt •lfo. . 9· 2· The truth is, wicked men are the feed and children of the Devil, and have his image, and ohcy him, and think, and fpeak, and do as he would have them. And the Godly are .the feed artd UJ<mbers ofChritl, and bear his Image, and obey him: And do you think that the Devil will bid . . his children fpcak well of the wayes or followers of Chrifl ? I mull confefs, till! had found the truth r,•~" h"'''J. · of it byexPerience, I was not fenfible how Impudmt in belying, and cruel in abufiog the'fervants of ~~ria~ ~~tbse Chrifi, his worldly malicious enemies are. I had rtad oft how early an Enmity was put between the tormente.d the Womans and the Serpents feed, and I had read and wondered that the firfi: man that was born into d~voted Vir– the world did mu~der his ~rother, fo~ wodbipping God more acceptably th~n himfdf; btcaufo hH ~~~:;_tt~~o~~= owH worJv were evtl, and hzs brothtrt rtgbteo~es, 1 John 3· 12. I had read the mference, ver. r3• M3r- fcrs th:u t;heir vrl not my brrtbren if the world h•tc you. J But yet I did not fo fully undcr{\an·d, that wicf,rd mtn Pan,.., h'd and Devilt are fo very lif,r, and fo near of kin ; till the words of Chrifi, John 8. 44• expounded by commiitcd vifiblc demonfirations had taught it me. Indeed the Apollle faith, I John 3· r2. that Cain wat offornhca~on . that wick_cd ant, that is, the Devil : But Chrifi faith more plainly [ Ye are of yo1er {rlther the Devil, and ~~ n; ~=- · the lujft of yo~r Father 1: wi~ do: He was a murderer from the bcginniHg, and abode not in the truth, ment. prevli:J becaHfe there u no truth Jn btm: When he JPeal!,!th a lye, ht {ptal{,.etb of bU own ; for he Ha .ryar, and cd vt'uh them, tbc father of it. J Here note, that cruel murdering and lying are rhe principal actions of a Devil· and thoug~it~Y thal as the Father of lhefe he is the Father of the wicked, who are moll: notorioufly addicted to,thefe :i;~ ir: P:f.. 4j0],408. 6b.:.. ceptis. (tratibttt, ~~~ in mtdio P~tnial~r.~~ noft,ri 'u;U~te;u!s rtfPi.rarmt: .N_tq; .uf'H .'F~IIt tJraJtd; a:tt imtntJ!a'!Jdi ctJnwicrmr grmmtib 1 ;:r;:;:/'lf!;ram &. dwtrf~ calu~nu ntJn dm~11t quotldu, Wa>n Jlits Jacml0ttbll4, qu1 111IJU rq,twllus 'lllrfaban.tJJr, qutC. palatio rribUra ptn.'itba1lt. Et j;jMfui;r, 'f11if1ua'll 1 11l flO~H eft., .dt:m Du pop~ll1m a.d:nOllr:rtt, PhilraOiltm, Na~uchodtmofor, Rolo/t;nll!", aut a!iqHtm fimil!m 7J.INIIirtaJ!Ct, Qbjicitbar 1 ,r ilii, quod i.;r, '!1'/llltlTJ.Rfgt~ Jta..dJ:;ifft.~, & fl.~wn t~1l10 tra~rbatHr. H_o~. wm ttmpore ptr[ tldlom gt~tUJ agtiatur, hie aptrtC, l,!libi occu{tC, ut pior~m no– mm r.tUbtu Jnfiluu w nmt. . _N~· V18:or UtiCc~f. p. ( m1h1) JS:t. . AbumhnceofPa(lors Wf're then bllni{bcd fron) their Churches, and many tormented, and Allg~tfhne h1mfelf dyed WJth fear, fauh PlflQT1b. P· 316. Yl'htn he had wr~ott~n ( fai h he) two hUJldred thitty tVI'O &Qks, befidt.s innumerable EpiRks, Homilies, EJ.potitiom on the1'{afm11E.11Ang,tlijls, &c. c 2 t\'\"(J

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