James Renwick

“ No, no, he must either have it all on his back, or else he will have none of it, therefore take heed to yourselves. Secondly, You must close with full Christ, as Prophet, Priest and King; as a Prophet to teach you his will; he must be your schoolmaster; as Priest, through whose sacrifice only, the Father must accept you, and who continually makes intercession at his right hand for you; and as King, to sway a sceptre in your souls to rule you according to his own law, and to cast down, and to cast out every thing exalting itself against his kingdom within you. ”

“ All that Christ hath, grace and goodness is all thine. Fourthly, Fruitful. He purgeth his branches. Fifthly, Safe. He takes all your quarrels upon him, your head will ay be above the water. Sixthly, It is the only state of perfection, which is in him, and derived to us. Seventhly, Then all the promises are yours. Eighthly, It is a sure state, in this life ye have strength against temptations; ‘my grace is sufficient for you.’ Ninthly, In death, assurance. They that sleep in Christ, perish not. ”

“ There are many of you that are suffering this day materially for Christ; materially, we say, and not formally; for hypocrites never win to sincerity in their doings and sufferings, nor to do them as to God; and yet ye will get hell to suffer in throughout all eternity; yea, a man when his credit is straitly engaged, he may give his life for the cause, and yet get hell for his reward. ”

“ Secondly, A sense of this, that there is nothing in you, or that ye can do, that will help you, it is beyond all created power to recover you, and so, not all seeking to establish a self-righteousness, it is, ‘Come unto me ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ Thirdly, A right sight of the all-sufficiency that is in Jesus Christ, and his excellency drawing the heart out after him, as all the desire of the soul, and so closing with him. Therefore, ye who remain senseless of your lost condition, have a care; ye are not yet in these chambers. ”

“ Secondly, If ye be come unto Christ, then ye will find this in you, a right and high esteem of the Lord’s mercy, he and his salvation will be only precious in your eyes, ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,’ Psal. ”

“ Now, why will ye be so ill to yourselves, as to debar yourselves? For he doth not do it; ye may as well, and as rationally say, that ye are not a body, as to say, he debars you. His invitation is to every one. Now, assent to this, and then, before you except yourself out thereof, you must first not have a being, neither of soul nor body. We say, for you to think that he excepts you, it is all one as to deny yourself to be the children of Adam. ”

“ Ninthly, When there is a serious wrestling against corruption, tho’ not meeting with any sensible victory, yet call not away your hope. Paul tells you, Rom. vii. How far a child of God may be enslaved by a body of sin.
Tenthly, Remember ye have to do with God in a covenant of grace. Now, What more shall we say? Must we end as we began! Oh! come away, come away to Christ, this Prince of delights, come, and enter into these chambers. Motive. First, Come away and enter, then your condition will be honourable with Christ. Secondly, Comfortable. All your debts are paid. Thirdly, Rich. ”

“ Fifthly, They walk justly, not wronging any: These are they who live righteously, who walk so as Christ walked: O! how few righteous livers are amongst you, and these only are his people, righteous persons, righteous livers, and it is these whom the Lord hath chambers for.
Now Sixthly, We proceed to the rules how to apply these evidence. First, Tho’ ye find them not all, yet if ye find one or more of them really, then comfort yourselves. Secondly, If ye find not what formerly ye have found, labour more to renew the same, than to seek a fight of the old. ”

“ Thirteenthly, If ye be come unto-Christ, then ye will find his Spirit ruling and commanding you, casting down all things exalted against Christ's kingdom.
Fourteenthly, If-ye be come unto Christ, then ye will find his Spirit in you by supplication, leading unto sense of sin, and apprehension of the necessity of mercy, which makes servency, letting the soul see God only appealed in Christ, and sealeth the truth of God’s promises and records. ”

“ God will give gifts unto persons, for the behoof and advantage of others; but when he gives grace, it is ay for their own advantage; yea, the devil is better gifted, and hath more knowledge than all of you have. ”

“ Tenthly, These come not unto Christ, who suffer many things materially for the truth, and have some seeming fruits thereof, and rest there; do not think that your suffering your goods to be spoiled, and yourselves cast out of your habitation before ye comply with the enemy is a ground, from which ye may conclude all to be right: Nay, I tell you, as the Apostle says, I Cor. xiii. ‘Tho’ ye should bestow all your goods to feed the poor, tho’ I gave my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing;’ Yea, the same Apostle supposeth, Gal. ”

“ Come, come, it is a rich commodity, and there is no sticking at the price, only receive and have, the easiest of all terms, there is no more required at your hands. But say ye, Ha Sir, ye go without your bounds, the invitation in your text, is to his people, ye are all wrong, we are not so far out, as ye trow; the invitation is to his people, to ‘enter into their chambers, and to all, who will come and become his people, to ‘enter into their chambers,’ and so this is a free market. We must invite all to come, ye who are enemies, lay down your arms against him, and come ”

“ THIS is the way that folk undo themselves, and forsake their own mercies; that which ought to chase them to God, chases them out from him. All hypocrital convictions only put them the further away from the physician ”

“ Iv, I. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price.” He opens up precious and rich ware, and says to his buyer and merchants, the commodity is good, come a way, we shall not cast out about the price; if you have hearts to receive, I have a heart to give. Come away then, hearty good fellows, we will never stand upon it; for ’tis not with him as with the men of the world, for they count them the best good-fellows, who give most and freeliest ”

“ First, They live righteously, beginning all things with God, referring all things to God. Secondly, They do all things by the warrant of the word, contemning their own wills, that they might do the Lord’s: ‘Not my will, but thy will be done,’ they must lose their life, before they lose their obedience. Thirdly, They walk holily, ‘Be ye holy, as I am holy,’ John iii. 3. ‘Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure.’ Fourthly, They walk fruitfully, they go about doing good ”

“ When the Lord is coming out of his place, to sit in judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth, and to give out sentence upon them, according to their doings, and to punish them for their iniquities, he calls his own people to himself, where they are to be hid and preserved. ”

“ O stand still amazed, and wonder at his tender love, and fatherly care of his children, who will not come with his cloke of zeal, and clothes of vengeance, to give out, and to execute his sentence of justice upon his enemies, until that he give his people fair warning thereof ”