Ambrose - Houston-Packer Collection BX5200 .A49 1674

<?hap. 2. sea. 9· JL.ooltmg unto jJefu.s. Book IV. (through his holy Spirit) into y_our QW!l. beambyw~y, of ~ovenam ( bath he not fom<time; whifpered to yol\r fouls , Thau llrt mme?; and have /]QC xou~; fou~s eccho,d b. .cl< again to the Lord , Tho~< 4rt. mine ? mqpl\ Qf t~~ cr!J.tl\. of. ~ll thts would •??Clf, if Chrill:iJns would bu,r dally obferve the llJOVt!'gs of .thetr own hearts. fJr a. he that bath the fpirit of SataQ /hall !l_ver find lum , pllttt~g on and provoki,, to evil, fo he that bath the Spirit of God lhaH moll-what (or at leall: frequently) finJ and feel it ~Clive, and (tirring in the hem, to the re(orDJing of the whole man; the holy Spirit is .not idle, but he rules, an~.gov.erns, and. ·m~tntain.s. his MonJrchy in us, and ever us, 10 fptght of the power of Satan', and pnvy confptracy r .xr: of a mans own fleilt. .· 5· It is a life of a new in-come; I mean of a faving in-corn~, as of grace, power, . ·' ljoht c;,"-c. Before vivification there was no fuch in-come; A man before I,Jis conver– fi~n .:Uight heJr, and pray, and do all duties; but alas! be feels no fweet, no power, no venue, no communion with Chrifl. If I might appeal. umo Juch, I befeech you ·I' tell me, you have been often at prayer, what have you gotten there i' what in-come bath appeared ? 'if you an(wer truly, you cannot but fay:,. I went to prayer, and I WM fap:';jird that I haci prayed ; I 'never obferved whether I hadgot.imy power , or Jlrength, any thing of mortification, or vivification ; I never found any lively wor~ of God on my fo~<l, either in prapr or after p>·ayer ; or you have b~en often.at thiS Ordm>n~e of hearing the Word, what have you gotten there i' what tn-come hatb appeareq? Why truly 110thing at all; it maybe a little more k.nowleige, but nothi"g that I can fay WM "faving work_ of God; fome one that fate with me in the fame fear,fo~<nd m11ch jli'"ings of Ood; Olnrh<t meltings, chearings, warmings of the Spirit had jiteh aone? and fi!ch a am l the Word wM to them M honey, and a; the honey-comb, but ta me it WM M dry bread; I found no (weet, I g.e notoodat a/1. Or you have been often roiling the Bible, and you bave obterved this or that Promife; but 0 what in-co.t:e hatb appeared? St<rely nothing at all; I wonder at Saints that tell of fa much j\Yeetmfs, '(tnd camfor.t·, andravifhing of heart, that with ioy they foould draw water out of thefe wells of falvation, wherea<] find therein no .joy, no refrefhing at all: Ab poor foul tbou art in a fad cafe, thou art not yet vivified, thou hafl not the life of God in thee. Aft<;r vivification th'ou wilt. in the ufe of Ordinances (at ieall: fometimes, if not frequently ) feel tbe faving in-comes of God. In prayer thou wilt f el the Spirit breathing in, and carrying u)? thy foul above it felf, plainly declaring there is another power than <hy own, which makes thee not only to exceed others, but thy felf alfo; in bearing of the Word thou wilt fee the windows of Heaven fer. wide open, and all manner.of Ipiritual comforts lhowred down upon thee ; thou wilt hear the rich treafury of everlall:ing glory and immortali. ry unlocked and OFened, fo that thou m:Lyfi tm1.ble th;· felf amid{\ the riJOuntains of heavenly. pearls, and golden pleafures, joyes that no heart can comprehend but that which is weaned from all worldly pleafw·es, .As it u written, ho1~ beamiful are the feet Rom. 10 • 15 • of them that preach the Gofpel of peace, and bring glad·tidings of good things? In meditation of r[,e Promifes, or of l)ivine love, thou wilt find meltings, quickenings, encouragings, filling thy heart with gladnefs, and glorying, and thy mourh with praifes and fongs o~ rejo , cings: Oh what foumains of life are the Pramifes to a living man, to a foul tlnt ts vivified? what food? what Hrengd1? what lifo is a thought of Chrift, of l'Ieav~n. and of God's love to a fpirirual man? whereas ail. thefe glorious things of the Gofpel are to the natural man but as a withered Rower, a feakd book, a dry and empty ciflern ; he hath no ufe of them. • 6. lt is a life of another kind, or manner. Before.vivificarion our life was but death, becaufe we our felves were but dead in fin even .wllil11: alive. She that liveth in 1 Tim. 5 • 6 • ~leafl.re u dea.d whde Jh~ ~tvetk; andy~u were dea~m your .Ji;u, an_drbc m!c~rcumcijion of Col. 2, 13 • your fltji>. But after vtvtficatron we ltve, how ltre? a fpmrual hfe, I l:ve by the faith G 1 of Jhe So~ of God? an heavenly life, for ~ur con~erfatio». UJn heav~n> f~om whencealfo P~ii. ;: ~~: we look_for the Sav:our, the Lord [efll! Chrift; an Immortal hfe, Chrijl bemg raifed from the dead dye~h no more, death hathno more dominion over him;--lik!wife reckgn your Rom. 6 ·9· 1 " [elves to be den~tndeed:mto.Jin, but alive :mto God through T'f"' Chrift our Lord. You know the mea:nrng of Chnil; Whofoever liveth, and believcth in me, ]hall never dye· he Jo!m lr i lliOII never dye a fpiritual d~ath, never come un~er t!Je dorr:it)ion of fin, never to~ally ' 2 • fall away.fl'om grace; that rncorruptible feed by whrch he ts regenerate /hall abide in h~m for ever. If Chrift be ;, you, t~e bodyi.s dea.d becaufe of fin, but the JPirit u life Rom. g, Io. b.c.wfe of nglwO!ifnefs; the body mdeed IS fubjeCl: tQ corporal death, through the C c c z remainders

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