church of God, which is truly and really so, must needs be a growing thing. All who are of it are born into it, and so become as it were naturally subjects; there is a new nature communicated to all who are in it; and therefore it being made up of the spiritual nature and life, will grow, till it comes to its maturity. Never fear but it will grow, behold it never so languishing; never so assaulted, struck at, and contested against. For all who are born into it consist of spirit and life; and therefore it is impossible, but it must become a mature thing, worthy both of the great Author and Founder of it; and of the great design for which he formed it; namely, that he might have a people to be eternally governed by a placid, gentle empire, and a delightful, easy sway; who should be ruled by a beck and a nod; and to whom every intimation of his will, should have the force of a perfect command, without any the least regret; and that all the subjects of this kingdom, should partake in the glory of it. And so it will be a living kingdom, and will be a growing thing, till it come to that glorious maturity, which will answer both the greatness of the Undertaker, and the excellency of the design, for which this new nature and life was given to it.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

IN asserting the office of the Holy Ghost, or that work which

it hath undertaken, in reference to the spirits of men; we have already spoken of one great act of that office; that is, the regenerating, and begetting anew of souls into God's kingdom; spirit of spirit. We have now two other acts before us in these words; that is, its maintaining the life, and causing all the right motion of regenerate souls. The former of these are contained in the supposition; "If we live in the Spirit :" the latter is intimated in the inferred precept; "Let us walk in the Spirit." Both are alike imputed to the Spirit of God here, and it is represented as the very element of life, and the spring of all holy motion to renewed souls; which fills the whole region, as it were, with vitality, in which they converse, and draw their continual breath. The case is in this respect, much like in the new creation, as in the old, and in the sphere of grace, as in that of nature. It is said concerning the natural world, that it doth, as it were, subsist in God; and it is spoken of the new creation here; and both in one

* Preached February 13th. 1677. at Cordwainer's Hall.

Being taught only signifies the acquisitions of art; but being born, and principled and constituted of such a complexion; signifies a stayed invariable principle of those actions which proceed from it.

A seventh inference is-That the constitution of God's kingdom must needs be spiritual; for men are born into it spirit of spirit,-It hath been a great modern controversy, as well as an ancient one, among philosophers, whether the constitution of the universe is of primordia, which are mechanical, or spermetical and vital. It is a dangerous thing when this comes to be a matter of doubt in religion, whether the constitution of this divine kingdom is mechanical, or vital. According as the greater part of men practise, and as their habitual temper is, it seems as if it were thought that Christianity is nothing else but a piece of mechanism. But certainly if you are born into this kingdom, as they who come truly into it spirit of spirit; then the constitution of this kingdom is not mechanical, or an artificial contexture of things; but a frame of things which doth in a spiritually-natural way, grow up towards that pitch it is designed to; and is that spirit of life which doth diffuse itself through all the mystical body of Christ; which makes the connection between part and part, and keeps the body entire and firm to itself, and makes it a consistent and stable thing. And hereupon it must needs be consequent

I. That whatever there is of disagreement among christians, who are the living members of this kingdom and body; it must needs be unnatural. The reason is, that all who are of this kingdom and truly belonging to it; are born into it, and in that birth partake of one and the same nature, by which they are connaturalized to one another, and to their common Lord and Head: He who sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one, (Heb. 2. 11.) or make one entire piece. Wherefore now what there is of disagreement among christians, must needs be preternatural, and beside nature. And hence it is consequent, that it must needs proceed from ill designs; that is, from the devil and his instruments, who make it their business what they can, to act persons diversly; when if these things be left to their natural course, and the new nature in men is permitted to act undisturbedly, and according to its genuine tendency; it would all run one way. It is needful to be well aware of this, whatever there is of disagreement is accidental to it, and certainly proceeds from a foreign enemy, and somewhat without it, which sets such things on foot, and keeps them on foot, with an ill design towards this kingdom. If the new nature did run its course, and were not accidentally disturbed, by what is not of the constitution of this kingdom,

it

would certainly run the same way. It is one thing to say what is the constitution of the persons; and another, what is the constitution of them as members of this kingdom and born into it. The corruption of their own hearts, is extrinsical to the constitution of this kingdom; for it is only so far as they are new born that they are members of this kingdom. The sphere and verge of this kingdom, doth properly and directly take in only the spiritual part. It is a sphere of spirituality; and what there is in it opposite thereunto, is alien to the constitution of it, and doth not belong to it. It is a great thing to be well possessed with this apprehension, that the great enemy of this kingdom, does certainly foment whatever there is of disagreement among them who are born the vital members of it; and it must be understood to proceed from an ill design. And

II. It must argue an evil state, and the prevalency of a contrary principle. If there be divisions among you, are you not carnal? 1 Cor. 3. 3. They who are of this kingdom are spiritual; they are born into it spirit of spirit; so they came into it. Therefore so far as there is a prevailing disagreement and dividedness in the state of things in the church of Christ; so far the persons who are of that state are in a decay, and lapsed into carnality, and things grow worse and worse, as the church grows more divided. That spiritual principle which agrees to every member of this kingdom, as he is born into it, drives all to oneness. It proceeds from God, and tends to him; all are children of the same Father, and they are all begotten to one and the same great and lively hope of an eternal and undefiled inheritance. The primordia of the new creature necessarily leads to unity, among all who are of this kingdom.

III. Where there is any departure from this said oneness, there is so much of the decay of the spiritual nature, by the communication whereof men are said to be born into this kingdom. So much disunion as there is, so much carnality; and the church is then in a languishing state spiritually, when it is in a divided state. The not considering this is attended with a double mischief very obvious; that is, that in different respects, the differences and disagreements among christians, are thought greater and less, than indeed they are. They are thought greater than they are, because it is not considered how the nature which is every where communicated among the true members of this kingdom, doth make them substantially one, in the great and main and more principal things. There is a

greater stress put upon the differences of those who are christians indeed, than there ought, or can be; in comparison of the small things wherein they differ. And they very much

form of expression: In him we live, and move, and have our being, Acts 17. 28. And here we read of living in the Spirit; and walking or moving in the Spirit. There is only this difference in the form of expression: that whereas we have three distinct phrases used to set forth the dependance of the natural creation upon God;-living and moving and having being in him ;-there are only the two former used here in reference to the new creation, living and moving; living in the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit. The reason of the difference is obvious, that we have in reference to the former, that superadded expression, "and have our being;" because in this natural, material, sensible world, there are many things which are, that do not live: but with the new creation it is not so; here, to live and to be, are one and the same thing; and it is entirely and wholly a being of life. A collection of all vital principles compose and make it up what it is; and there is nothing in the new creation concerning which it can be said, it is, but lives not: for it is all life throughout. And as philosophy has been wont to teach, even modern philosophy itself, that creation and conservation are not diverse acts, but the latter only the former continued; and that God doth by the continual communication of the same influence, by which he created and made this world, keep it in the state wherein it is, that it doth relapse back into its old nothing; that there would not need a positive act of God to destroy the world, if he would turn all things to nothing again, but only to suspend and withhold the influence by which every thing comes to be what it ́is; so it is in the new creation or in the new creature, too. The very suspension of that influence by which it began to be, or to live (which is all one) must certainly infer the failure and extinction of the whole.

Think therefore what it would be if all vital influence were suspended and withheld on a sudden from this material and sensible world in which we converse. You might hereupon frame the apprehension within yourselves of the face of the earth all in a sudden bestrewed with the dead carcasses of men and beasts, the beauty and pleasant verdure of it all vanished and gone, and nothing left in time but a great clod of dirt! This great temple of the Deity which he inhabits by a vital presence, that diffuses life up and down every where, all turned into a ruinous heap. If I say, there were a suspension of vital influence, supposing an influence continued by which this material world should still be. Why, so it must be, proportionably in reference unto the new creature too. There is the substratum to be considered, which is a part of the natural creation, the soul or the man himself; but, that vital influ