Plantedby theHeavenly Father. 191 mentally, That we bearnot the root, but the root res ; And therefore men fhould be very tender and cautious, how they (peak in the difhonor of Chrift THE HEAD: doe the branches bear the root, or the root the branches ? haft thou a- ny flower, any bloffome, any fruit, any grace (in thy account) which is not from this Tree ? it mull all be cut off and wi- ther, and be burnt up : And ifthey all grow out of him and from him, why doff thou notafcribe all the power and glory to him alone ? why dolt thou Iook upon thy felfe as any thing, or as better then another i' if thou haft received it, why boafteft thouas if thou haditnot received it : and fo takeft away the glory fromhim, and giveft it unto man? Oh let men be afhamed thus to prof-tire Chrift in words, and difho- nour him inprance, to let himwear a Crown ofThorns, and theywear aCrown ofGold : for them to be feen to be Some- body, and Chrift as good as nothing : and therefore all their fayings and exhortations, and counfels, and preffingof natural men togrow and bearfruit, and walk holily and the like, they all proceed from ignorance of themfelves and of the workof Chrift:and indeed tis no leffe then Blafphemy againft thepower, wfdome, honour, Omnipotency, and Al/fufficiency of jefus Chrift. Tís no other but denying the Tree of Life, and living on the Tree oflnowledge ofGoodand Evil. All theSaints ofGod they have but one root, one life, one light, one language, as growing up and out ofthat one root: they haveno light, no life, no power, nowifdome, nogrowing, no watering but in this One root ; In thy Temple every one fpeaks of thy glory : they have nothing to fay in praife of any other. When men cry out Thoumuff do, and thou mui be holy, and thou mull be watchful, and thou muff grow, and thou mull walk exatWly, and thou mull keep cloJè to God: Oh Beloved ! this founds not like the Language of Saints ; this founds barb in their eares ; for they cannot endure to have their HEAD difhonoured. But when they hear that Jefus Chrift is all light, all life, all power, all glory : and man is nothing but fin, emptineffe, death, darkners, mifery, thefe are thefonts, and thefe are the voices, and the, melody in the Temple:This they know is thevoice of Chrift and of their i Cor. 4.7 Gen. 3. PC. 29.9.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=