Sect. 6. The work of apostleship, we are told by a prime labourer in it, was to turn people "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." That is, instead of yielding to the temptations and motions of Satan, who is the prince of darkness (or wickedness, the one being a metaphor to the other) by whose power their understandings were obscured, and their souls held in the service of sin, they should turn their minds to the appearance of Christ, the light and Saviour of the world; who by his light shines in their souls, and thereby gives them a sight of their sins, and discovers every temptation and motion in them unto evil, and reproves them when they give way thereunto; that so they might become the children of light, and walk in the path of righteousness. And for this blessed work of reformation, did Christ endue his apostles with his spirit and power, that so men might not longer sleep in a security of sin and ignorance of God, but awake to righteousness, that the Lord Jesus might give them life: that is, that they might leave off sinning, deny themselves the pleasure of wickedness, and by true repentance turn their hearts to God, in well-doing, in which is peace. And truly, God so blessed the faithful labours of these poor mechanics, yet his great ambassadors to mankind, that in a few years many thousands, that had lived without God in the world, without a sense or fear of him, lawlessly, very strangers to the work of his spirit in their hearts, being captivated by fleshly lusts, were inwardly struck and quickened by the word of life, and made sensible of the coming and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a judge and lawgiver in their souls; by whose holy light and spirit, the hidden things of darkness were brought to light and condemned, and pure repentance from those dead works begotten in them, that they might serve the living God in newness of spirit. So that thenceforward they lived not to themselves, neither were they carried away of those former divers Justs, by which they had been seduced from the true

Acts, xxvi. 18.

fear of God; but the law of the spirit of life, by which they overcame the law of sin and death, was their delight, and therein did they meditate day and night.1 Their regard towards God was not taught by the precepts of men any longer, but from the knowledge they had received by his own work and impressions in their souls. They had not quitted their old masters, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and delivered up themselves to the holy guidance of the grace of Christ, that taught them to deny ungodliness, and the world's lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present life; this is the Cross of Christ indeed; and here is the victory it gives to them that take it up: by this cross they died daily to the old life they had lived; and by holy watchfulness against the secret motions of evil in their hearts, they crushed sin in its conceptions, yea, in its temptations. So that they, as the apostle John advised them, kept themselves, and the evil one touched them not.1

For the light, which Satan cannot endure, and with which Christ had enlightened them, discovered him in all his approaches and assaults upon the mind, and the power they received through their inward obedience to the manifestations of that blessed light, enabled them to resist and vanquish him in all his stratagems. And thus it was, that where once nothing was examined, nothing went unexamined. Every thought must come to judg ment, and the rise and tendency of it be also well approved, before they allow it any room in their minds. There was no fear of entertaining enemies for friends, whilst this strict guard was kept upon the very wicket of their soul. Now the old heavens and earth, that is, the old earthly conversation, and old carnal, that is Jewish or shadowy worship, passed away apace, and every day all things became new. "He was no more a Jew, that was one outwardly, nor that circumcision that was in the flesh; but he was the Jew, that was one inwardly; and that circumcision, which was of the heart, in the

h Rom. viii. 2.

i Isa. xxix. 13.

* Tit. 11, 12.

1 1 John v. 18.

spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of man but of God."m

Sect. 7. Indeed the glory of the Cross shined so con> spicuously through the self-denial of their lives who daily bore it, that it struck the heathen with astonishment, and in a small time so shook their altars, discredited their oracles, struck the multitude, invaded the court and overcame their armies, that it led priests, magistrates, and generals, in triumph after it, as the trophies of its power and victory.

And while this integrity dwelt with christians, mighty was the presence and invincible that power that attended them it quenched fire, daunted lions, turned the edge of the sword, out-faced instruments of cruelty, convicted judges, and converted executioners. In fine, the ways their enemies took to destroy, increased them; and by the deep wisdom of God, they were made great promoters of the truth, who in all their designs endeavoured to extinguish it. Now not a vain thought nor an idle word, nor an unseemly action was permitted: no, not an immodest look; no courtly dress, gay apparel, complimental respects, or personal honours; much less those lewd immoralities, and scandalous vices now in vogue with christians, could find either example or connivance among them." Their care was not how to sport away their precarious time, but how to redeem it, that they might have enough to work out their great salvation, which they carefully did, with fear and trembling;° not with balls and masks, with play-houses, dancing, feasting, and gaming, no, not to make sure of their heavenly calling and election, was much dearer to them, than the poor and trifling joys of mortality. For they having with Moses seen him that is invisible, and found that his loving-kindness was better than life, the peace of his spirit than the favour of princes; as they feared not Cæsar's wrath, so they chose rather to sustain the afflictions of Christ's true pilgrims, than enjoy the plea

sures of sin, that were but for a season; esteeming his reproaches of more value than the perishing treasures of the earth. And if the tribulations of christianity were more eligible than the comforts of the world, and the reproaches of one than all the honour of the other; there was then surely no temptation in it, that could shake the integrity of Christendom.

Sect. 8. By this short draught of what Christendom was, thou mayest see, O Christendom, what thou art not, and consequently what thou onghtest to be. But how comes it, that from a Christendom that was thus meek, merciful, self-denying, suffering, temperate, holy, just, and good, so like to Christ, whose name she bore, we find a Christendom now, that is superstitious, idolatrous, persecuting, proud, passionate, envious, malicious, selfish, drunken, lascivious, unclean, lying, swearing, cursing, covetous, oppressing, defrauding, with all other abominations known in the earth, and that to an excess justly scandalous to the worst of heathen ages, surpassing them more in evil than in time; I say, how comes this lamentable defection?

I lay this down, as the undoubted reason of this degeneracy, to wit, the inward disregard of thy mind to the light of Christ shining in thee; that first shewed thee thy sins, and reproved them, and that taught and enabled thee to deny and resist them. For as thy fear towards God, and holy abstinence from unrighteousness was, at first, not taught by the precepts of men, but by that light and grace, which revealed the most secret thoughts and purposes of thine heart, and searched the most inward part of thy belly, setting thy sins in order before thee, and reproving thee for them, not suffering one unfruitful thought, word or work of darkness, to go unjudged, so when thou didst begin to disregard that light and grace, to be careless about that holy watch, that was once set up in thine heart, and didst not keep centinel there, as formerly, for God's glory and thy own peace; the restless enemy of man's good quickly took advantage of this slackness, and often surprised thee with

temptations, whose suitableness to thy inclinations made his conquest over thee not difficult.

In short, thou didst omit to take up Christ's holy yoke, to bear thy daily cross; thou wast careless of thy affections, and kept no journal or check upon thy actions; but didst decline to audit accounts, in thy own. conscience, with Christ thy light, the great bishop of thy soul, and judge of thy works, whereby the holy fear decayed, and love waxed cold; vanity abounded, and duty became burdensome. Then up came formality instead of the power of godliness; superstition, in place of Christ's institution: and whereas Christ's business was, to draw off the minds of his disciples from an outward temple, and carnal rites and services, to the inward and spiritual worship of God, suitable to the nature of divinity, a worldly, human, pompous worship is brought in again, and a worldly priesthood, temple and altar reestablished. Now it was that the "sons of God once more saw the daughters of men were fair :" that is, the pure eye grew dim, which repentance had opened, that saw no comeliness out of Christ; and the eye of lust became unclosed again, by the god of the world; and those worldly pleasures, that make such as love them forget God (though once despised for the sake of Christ) began now to recover their old beauty and interest in thy affections; and from liking them, to be the study, care, and pleasure of thy life.

True, there still remained the exterior forms of worship, and a nominal and oral reverence to God and Christ; but that was all: for the offence of the holy cross ceased, the power of godliness was denied, self-denial lost; and though fruitful in the invention of ceremonious ornaments, yet barren in the blessed fruits of the Spirit. And a thousand shells cannot make one kernel, or many dead corps one living man.

Sect. 9. Thus religion fell from experience to tradition, and worship from power to form, from life to letter;