eration, which was taken from his mouth in short-hand, and afterwards printed as underneath.* His intention was to have been at the

* A Sermon preached by William Dewsbury, at Gracechurch Street, the 6th of the 3d month 1688.

"My friends,

"Except you be regenerated and born again, ye cannot inherit the kingdom of God."

"This is the word of the Lord God to all people this day, this lies not in airy profession, and in vain imagination, and whatsoever else it is that you deck yourselves withal, you must every particular man and woman be born again, else you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. This was the doctrine of Christ in that prepared body wherein he appeared in the world, and preached to Nicodemus, that standing doctrine to this moment of time, and will be so while any man breathes upon the earth; there is no other way, no other gate to enter into life, but by this great work of regeneration. Now to enforce people to come to this great work, and to set forward from earth to heaven, all being driven out of Paradise by the cherubim set with a flaming sword, there is no returning to that blessed life, but by the loss of that life that did grieve the Spirit of God, and which did cause man to be driven out; there is no other way of return again but by this new birth. As you are all driven and forced out of Paradise, and the flaming sword and the cherubims are set to keep the way of the tree of life, so you must return into the favour of God again, by the light of Christ; and you have line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, to direct

yearly meeting of his friends; but by illness he was prevented; and therefore before he grew worse, he returned to Warwick where he lived.

your minds to the light of Christ Jesus. As the first Adam was made a living soul, so the second Adam is a quickening spirit. This know for certain, no man or woman can be quickened, and raised up into the life of the second Adam, till the life of the first Adam be taken away from them.

"So now, let every one of you deal plainly with your own hearts, how you came to be a slain people to the life of the first Adam, in which life there was a working of the mystery of iniquity in every part of man. One cries, Lo here is Christ, another, Lo there is Christ, and every one is following his own imagination about the letter of the Scripture; this is still but the vain spirit of man, running and striving to recover himself; and this is the cause there is so much profession of God, and so little of his nature appearing among the sons and daughters of men. Now all of you that come to be regenerated, you must come to the light of Christ, there is no other way to it. He will search your hearts, and try your reins, and set your sins in order before you, and trace out the iniquities that compass you about, therefore you must see yourselves a lost people, a sinful people, and so come to feel the weight of your sins upon your consciences, there is no other way to come to life : you will never complain of sin, till you be burthened with it, till you have a trumpet sounding in your ears, to awaken you, that you may arise from the dead, that Christ may give you light; there is no other way, dear people, you must bring your deeds to the light of Christ, and abide in the sentence of condemnation; if you save your lives, you lose them; if you will lose your lives for

Being come thither, his disease increased; and lying very s sick in bed, and being visited by some of his friends, he said to them, in great weakness of body, as followeth:

Christ's sake, there is no danger of your eternal_life. John the Baptist, Christ's forerunner, declared, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather his wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with un quenchable fire." What is it the better for you to read the Scripture, if you know not this fiery baptism, which all must know that are regenerated; deceive not yourselves, Christ will appear in flaming fire, and take vengeance on all them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"I stand here as a witness of the Lord of life this day, there is no way for people to come to salvation, but they must know Christ revealed in all their hearts. What is he doing but rendering vengeance upon the carnal mind, self-pleasing, and all inordinate affections; he comes with vengeance to take away thy life, he will baptize thee with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. If thou knowest not this, thou art not a true Christian, thou wilt never look death in the face with joy, nor go down to the grave with triumph. If thou livest at home in the body, and flyest for thy life, and wilt not be willing to lose thy life for Christ; if thou art called to it, and if thou wilt not have Christ to wash thee, (some for shyness, and some for self love will refuse this) if Christ doth not wash thee, thou hast no part in him; you must come to Christ to purify you in the fiery furnace; the day of the Lord

"My God hath yet put it in my heart to bear a testimony to his name and blessed truth, and I can never forget the day of his great power

shall burn as an oven, (as the prophet speaks :) this is a dreadful day, a day of vengeance, the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemeth his people from their sins. Sion is redeemed with judgment, and established with righteousness. Do not make the way to heaven easier in your minds and imaginations than indeed it is, and think it not sufficient to live in an outward observance of the ways of God. If your own wills be alive, and your corruptions remain unmortified, the judgment of God will be your portion, therefore in the Lord's name come along with me, I am come to declare what I have heard and seen of the Father. Come and examine thy conscience. Hast thou brought thy deeds to the light? Then thou hast received condemnation upon thyself, and thy haughtiness is bowed down, and laid low, and thou seest thyself a poor miserable wretch before the eternal God. Whatsoever thou knowest of the mind of God, hast thou reformed thy ways? come along with me, and tell me what is the ground of thy faith, and thy confidence; Is it thy obedience and qualifications? Because thy obedience is right, and thy qualifications right, what use dost thou make of them? Read the book of conscience, hast thou no ground for thy faith? Thou hast put on the reformed faith, and liveth an unreformed life; search and try thyself, man or woman. Dost thou watch over thyself, and keep in a sense of thy dissolution, notwithstanding all thy qualifications and partial reformation? Dost thou strive to enter in at the strait gate, and the narrow way? Here is the lost sheep thou seekest, the life of thy will, the life of the first Adam; the justice of God will not suffer thee to make a saviour of thy duties

and blessed appearance, when he first sent me to preach the everlasting gospel, and proclaim the day of the Lord to all people. Therefore,

and qualifications; and to take God's jewels, and to deck thyself with them, thou canst not be saved without the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. What saith thy conscience, art thou brought to this change of thy mind, and of thy conversation? Are you all willing to part with your sins, with your pride and haughtiness? Are you willing to part with your vile affections? This is the work of God's grace upon you. Dost thou place thy confidence in thy duties and qualifications, and takest God's jewels and ornaments, and deckest thyself with them? Thou tookest my jewels saith the Lord, and didst play the harlot; if thou return to the Lord, and humble thyself, and get through this difficulty, thou wilt be happy for ever. This judgment of God, this flaming sword that turns every way, will keep thee from returning to sin, and bring thee to Christ, and cut thee off from all hope of salvation but by him, and make thee to see the absolute need of a Saviour, and that thy life is hid with Christ in God.

"It is God's infinite goodness to men that he will hide pride from them, and humble them under his mighty hand. This is the condition of poor creatures that are slain by the hands of the most High. How may I know when I am slain and baptized, and come to have sincerity? They that have this baptism enter into the heavenly life; if you love the light of Christ Jesus, it will be thus with you; God will make short work in the earth. He will set thy sins in order before thee, and make thee watchful unto prayer, and lead thee to holiness of life and conversation, and make thee abhor thyself, and despise all the pomps and pleasures and vanities of this