Chap. 2. sea. 4· j!,.ootung unto ']Jefu.s. Book IV. 507 firll: nee in the link islove: by his Spirit we are t'aught to love God, not only for his benetts but in refpeCl:of his mture, for his goodnefs, mercy, jull:ice, holinefs, and all ,oth;r his faving attributes; by his Spirit we are taught to love any thmg that bath but the !tamp and Image of God upon it: Bm M touching brotherly love, ye need not I The. 4 . 2 , that J write unto you, for ye your ftives ,are 1a11ght of God to love one another ; the moll: of the Heretical fpirirs of thefe tunes do hereby ilJeW that they have not the Spirit, their very religion lyeth in raylin~ at Minillers, ~nd. repro~ching thofe that are not in their way ; this 1s far from the Spntt of .love that .1s m Gods ch1ldren. ;, certainly where there is malice, hatred, flnfe, bttter envymgs, .'•J:lmgs ~ rev1lrn~s '· for fuch kind of perfons to lay cla1m to the ~p1r1t of untty, te. IS a p1.ece of Impudent vanity, and a falfe Juggefhon. from their own corrupt ernng,fp1rtt, or from the fpirit of errour himfelf, who IS an hater, revtier, and the accufer of the brethren. 6. The Spirit of Chrifl: is a le~ding Spirit; As many M are led by the Spirit Rom. 8. 14. of Gorj they are the Sons of God, But what is this leading of the Spirit ? I Anfwer-- r. It is a drawing of the foul Chri!l-ward; Draw me (faith the Spoufe) and we cant. 1 , ~· will mn after thee. There mull: be a drawing of the foul in every duty to Jefus Chri!l:; I fay ro Jefus Chrill:; for a man may be furnilhed with eminent gifts, and with fuitable alllltance>in the laying out of thofe gifts from rhe Spirit, and yet he may be without the leadings of the Spirit; gifts exercifed cannot fup(lrefs corruptions in a man's own hearr, and hence they that ufed their g•fts, are called werk§rs •f iMiq~tity; gifts do not Mat. 7· 23. carry our the heart towards Chrifl:, but graces do; I will c.ufehim to druw near, and he Jer. 3o. 21. Jh~ll approach unto me, for who i; thi< thllt wgagcd hi< heart to Approach unto me, faith the Lord. , 2. It is a giving liberty to the foul to walk in the ways ofChri!l:. Where the Spirit of 2 Cor. 3· I7. the Lord i;, there u liberty; I mean not ahbmy to fin, but ·to duty, nor yet every liberty to duty ; for a !?an may exercife. himfelf in the external.part of all duties, and yet be without the leadtngs of the Spmt; but I mean fuch a hberry, as when a foul accounts it an high favour from the Lord, if he will but ufe him in any fervices for himfelf, when it finds more deleCtation in thefe, than in any other ways; I have choftn Pfal. " 9·3-4• the way of tmth (faith David) and therein umy delight. And I delight in the. Law of 173. I74• God; afttr the inner man ( faith Paul) for the law of the Spirit of life in Jefur Chriff, ~om. ~· 22 ' hathmade mefree from the law of fin and death, om. • 2 ' 3. It is acoiroberating, or ll:rengtbning of the foul again!l: all thQfe impediments that would hinderit in the ways of Chri!t ; Ifrael is faid to be led by the Spirit of the !fa. op I,I 2 , Lord'; and how did he lead them, but by.1/ividing the waters before them, tmdby k§eping I3•'+ 'the»> that they Jhould not Jlumble? many trmes God's holy ones are befet with temptatiens, they find their heartS full of deadnefs, hardnefs, unbelief, and all manner of difiempers; now if at fuch a time the mountains have been made planes, if at fuch a time corruptions have been born down, and thtir hearts have been let out towards Chri!l:, certainly thefe are the leadings of the Spirit, If ye through the Spirit domortifie the'Rom.8.I3,t~. deeds of the body,yejhalllive; f.r.umanytUareledby theSpiritof God, are the fons of God: the particle U•rJ argues mortification to appertain unto theleadings of theSpirir. There is in the Saints a conllam oppofition between the works of the flelh, and the works of ~heSpirit; now when the works of the fle01 are .kept underneath . and prevailed Gal.s.t 7 , 1 8, agam!l, then a foul enjoyetl.~ rhe leadings of the Spirit; I know fuch oppofitions are not in any but Saints ; carnal men would wonder that any llwuld complain for want of ftrength unto duties, why, they can eafily come up to them, and be in the exercife of them ; bm alas! this arifeth ei,her from Satans not molell:ing them in the perfom!ance of duty , becaufe they look llllt beyond the external part of it ; or from their .own infenfiblenefs of the workitJg of corruption, when yet_it doth ad: ?nly a graciOus heart findeth that if it be notlfrengthned by a power beyond its own, tt cannot aCl: any grace, or perform any duty as acceptable to God; and hence the Aponle prays, Th-•t the)' might be flrengthened with might by hir Spirit in the in- Eph. 3. 1 $, ner man. 4· It ;s an enabling of the foul to aCl: in · Gofpel-duries for Gofpel-ends; when the Splrtt leads, the foul never aims at fdf-advancement, it never looks at irs own name and glory, as ·they-did, in Mat .6.1 ,5. but it eyes in all, ~tl adings the mortifiHh h cation
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