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the voice behind thee, calling thee from every false way (which is polluted, and where thy foul's reft is not) and directing thee to the true way, to the way of holiness, livingly pointing out and faying to thee, "This is "the way, walk in it." This is the way of life, this is the way of truth, this is the way of peace, this is the way of holiness; here all the true travellers are to walk, with their faces Sion-wards, to obtain the kingdom and righteousness of the Lord Jefus Chrift. Now, Oh! every one that truly thirfts, why do ye not come to the waters? God hath opened the way, he heartily invites you; yea, the Spirit and the bride fay come, and take the waters of life freely. Oh! wait to know the inward holy power, and the inward birth, and the inward teaching, and the inward covenant, and this birth's overcoming, by the inward power, the inward enemies; that ye being delivered from them, may come to enjoy the well of life, and to fit down in the heavenly places in Chrift Jefus, where the true reft is; and in the ftrength, life, and virtue of his Spirit, may ferve the Lord in righteoufnefs and holiness, without fear of those enemies which the Lord hath delivered you from, and which his love, mercy, and power, is as a wing over you to preferve you for ever from; I fay, that ye may ferve the Lord your God out of the fear of these, and feed on his holy mountain, out of the reach of thofe, in the majefty of the name of the Lord your God, and these may not be able to make you afraid, or difturb your reft, or hinder your sweet enjoyment and precious fervice of your God any more! Oh! ye that are afraid of being deceived, take heed ye be not deceived inwardly in your hearts, about these things; and by the veil which the enemy fpreads there, hindered and deprived of your fhare in the bleffed administration of the Spirit, life, and power of our Lord Jefus, whom to know after the flesh (or as man can comprehend concerning him in his carnal mind) is of little value; but to know him inwardly and spiritually, to live and reign, and to exercise his dominion in the heart over every temptation, and over all that is contrary to God (whenever any fuch thing appears) is a pure, living, excellent, and fatisfactory knowledge of him; which the Lord lead every truly-hungering and thirsting foul towards the obtaining and full enjoyment of! Amen.

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CONCERNING THE

SEED of

OR THE

GOD,

SEED of the KINGDOM:

What it is: Where it is to be found: Who fowed it there: What is hid or wrapped up in it: What is its Nature: What its Effects: Of its Growth, and Hindrances thereof: Of its Bleffednefs, and how it makes Bleffed? How CHRIST is formed of this Seed; and how the Soul is Born of this Immortal Seed.

First,
Anfw.

W

HAT the feed is?

The feed of God is the word of God; the feed of the kingdom is the word of the kingdom. It is a measure of the light and life, of the grace and truth, which is by Jefus Chrift, whereof in him is the fulness. It is an heavenly talent, or manifeftation of his Spirit in the heart, which is given to man for him, in the virtue and strength of Christ, to improve for God. This which God hath placed in man, to witnefs for himself, and to guide man from evil unto good (in the pure breatheings, quickenings, and fhinings of it) this is the feed, which is freely beftowed on man, to fpring up and remain in him, and to gather him out of himself, into itself.

Secondly, Who is the fower of this feed?

Anfw. God, in and through Chrift. He is the good husbandman. He, by the word which created all in the beginning, creates a-new in Chrift Jefus, renews his workmanship in man, and puts a measure of this word or Spirit of life in man's heart, whereby he renews him; and they that are thus renewed by him, are his workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works.

Thirdly, Where is this feed to be found?

Anfo.

Anfw. Where God fows it, which is in the inward earth. It is an inward feed, and it is fowed in inward land or earth; that is, in the hearts of men. There the light of the word fhines, there the life of the word is felt, ftirring fecretly in and quickening thofe that were dead in trespasses and fins. There the voice and call of the word is heard, calling from unrighteousness and fin, to righteousness and holiness.

Fourthly, In what forts of earth is this heavenly feed fown?

Anfw. In all forts; in thorny ground, ftony ground, highway ground, and good ground. God's inward lightenings enlighten the inward world throughout; fo that God hath not left any man without a witness in his confcience against fin. So that, though man's confcience be corrupt, and his light become darkness, yet God's witness in his confcience can never be corrupted; but whenever it witneffeth there, it witneffeth the truth for God, and against man, and the corruption and fearedness of his heart and conscience.

Fifthly, In what fort of earth it brings forth good fruit to perfection.

Anfw. Only in the good ground. It brings forth fruit in other grounds, and the fruit it brings forth is good. The convictions are good, the defires begotten there by it, and that arife from it, are good. The leaving off of fome bad things, and doing fome good things, is good; but the thorns, the cares, the worldlinefs, the fear of perfecution, that fpring up from another root, and are of another nature, choak the good which the feed brings forth in the thorny ground, and stifle and choak the feed itself alfo, in fuch kind of grounds. But in the good ground which yields its whole nourishment to the good feed, and will not yield nourishment to any bad; the good feed not only springs up, but brings forth fruit to perfection.

Sixthly, How may the ground that is bad be made good? Was not the ground which is now good, once bad; and may not the ground which is now bad, be made good?

Anfw. God hath fhut up all men in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. The heart that is now foft, was once hard. The heart that is now believing, was once in the unbelief. The heart that now loves God, was once in the enmity. The plough of God, put into the thorny ground, tearing it up, and rooting out the thorns thereof, will change its nature, and make it become better.

Break up your fallow ground; fow not among thorns; faid God to his Ifrael of old. And the ftony ground, if the ftones be picked out of it, will be less stony; yea, not at all ftony, if all the ftones be picked out. And the highway ground, being inclofed, and dressed by God's Spirit and power, will be no longer common or highway ground. Doth not man, by care, art, and industry, change the nature of outward land or ground? Surely then the Lord, by the word of his power, by his inward deftroying of evil, and creating good anew, can change the nature of ground inwardly.

Now

Now for the clearer and plainer fignifying of what yet remains on my heart, concerning this precious feed of life, or feed of the kingdom of God; I fhall diftribute it under these three heads; under which the things mentioned in the foregoing title will be comprized.

Anfw.

I. What is hid or wrapped up in this feed,

II. The nature of it.

III. The effects of it.

I.

What is hid or wrapped up in this precious heavenly Seed.

IND

NDEED there is fo much wrapped up in it, as the heart of man cannot conceive, much lefs the tongue utter; yet somewhat have I felt, and fomewhat is upon my heart, to say in answer to this thing under thefe four heads following.

First, The glory of the kingdom of heaven, the glory of the everlasting kingdom, is hid and wrapped up in it as in a feed. Whatever Chrift appears, reigns, and fhines in, is there as in a feed. Oh! the fhootings forth, and spreadings abroad of it, are indeed glorious and excellent! How can a man almoft fpeak concerning it! the thing itself (being inwardly felt, known, and enjoyed) is fo far beyond all words! What doth the kingdom of God ftand in? It stands not in word, but in power. The power is hid and wrapped up in this feed. The pure power of life is in this feed. The fword that pierceth Leviathan, that woundeth the Serpent's head, that cutteth Rahab and the dragon, is in this feed. Doth the kingdom of God confift in righteoufnefs, peace, and joy in God's Spirit? This is all in this feed, and is partaken of and enjoyed, as this feed fprings up, and gains authority and dominion in the heart. Yea, the horn of God's anointed, the righteous and peaceable fcepter of the Saviour, is known and exalted in this feed, as it fprings up, and fpreads abroad in the life and virtue of

the Father.

Secondly, The divine nature of God Almighty is hid and wrapped up in it. It is the feed of God, and it is of the very nature of God; and he in whom it springs, and who is gathered into it, born of it, and one with it, partakes of the divine nature. Peter speaks of the great and precious promises, whereby the faints are made partakers of the divine nature. All the promises are to the feed of promife, to Chrift the Son of God, to the feed of God, to the heirs of life and falvation in Chrift; and they are all fulfilled to them, and enjoyed by them, who are ingrafted into, and one with Chrift the feed; which cannot be, but by the grace, by the truth, by the light, life, Spirit, and power, which he fows in the heart; which are not many things, but all contained and comprehended in the one feed.

Thirdly,

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Thirdly, All the graces and virtues of God's Holy Spirit are hid and wrapped up in this one feed. There is nothing God can require of the foul, nor nothing the foul can defire of God, but is hid and wrapped up in this feed. So that all that is needful, or all that can be defired, is the growing and fpreading of this feed in the foul, and the foul's gathering into it, and its living, dwelling, abiding, and acting in it. And oh! the great difference between the foul's felfifh ftriving and willing, and running, to join to God and Chrift, and to live in God and Chrift; and God's joining it to himself and his Son in this feed, and its living, willing, and acting, in the fpringing life of this feed! To make this a little more plain and evident to the hearts of those that defire the true understanding of this thing, I fhall inftance in fome particulars.

First, The pure, living, heavenly knowledge of the Father, and of his Son Christ Jefus, is wrapped up in this feed. God is light; and this feed, which comes from him, is not darkness, but light; and in the fpringing light of this feed, God and Chrift are revealed. The divine nature of them fprings up in the feed (and if I know their nature, I know them); yea, here we (whom the Lord hath vifited, and fhewn mercy to, though men defpife us) know the righteous Spirit of Chrift, the righteous nature of Christ, the righteous life of Chrift, and feel him to be one with the Father, who begets of the fame Spirit, nature, and life in us. And he that is born

of the Spirit, is Spirit, and he that is united to the Lord is one Spirit; and he that is united to the feed, to the measure of grace and truth from Christ (wherein and whereby the foul is united), is united to God, and ingrafted into Chrift; and as the feed is formed in him, Christ is formed in him; and as he is formed and new-created in the feed, he is the workmanship of God, formed and new-created in Christ.

Secondly, Faith, the true faith, the lively, effectual, faving, conquering faith, which gives victory over the world, and over the devil and his temptations, is contained or wrapped up in this feed. Faith is the gift of God, the precious gift of God; which is not found in man's nature, but fprings and grows from the precious feed of the kingdom, which God fows in man's heart. So that it is a gift to be waited for, and obtained from God. Therefore the apoftle Peter, writing to the faints in his time, directs his epiftle thus, To them who have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift, 2 Peter i. 1. Faith is a precious thing, a righteous thing, an holy thing, which God is the giver of, which Chrift is the author and finisher of; and it fprings from the holy root, from the holy feed of life and righteoufnefs, which God fows in the heart. This faith (I fpeak not of man's ability of believing, or the faith which is found in man's nature) is the faith of God's elect, Tit. i. 1. The faith which God gives to them that are born of him, John i. 12, 13. who are born of the feed incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever, 1 Peter i. 23. which word being nigh in the mouth and

heart,

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