The Life and Death of Sir Henry Vane, Part 1
Concerning ORDINANCES.
HAving already spoken joyntly concerning this Sufferers Principles and Doctrine, I come now to mention his way of worshiping God, and what his Judgement and Practice was, as to Ordinances.
After that way which men call Heresie did he worship the God of his believing Fathers, Abraham and the rest, Acts 24. 14. He was for worshipping God in spirit and in Truth; such the Father seeks to worship him, Joh. 4. 23. He lived, walked, worshipped, prayed, spake in the spirit, and so, as the oracles of God, (1 Pet. 4. 11.) ministring as of the ability that God gave him, that God in all things might be glorified. This language and way of Worshipping God, that is so despicable to man, is that onelyonly which hath the praise of God. He kept the true mystical Sabbath, not thinking his own thoughts, &c. Esay 58. 13. He was baptized with the holy Ghost, and with fire. He did in such sort eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, that he was thereby brought into a conformity with Christ in his death, and had etern…l Life abiding in him, Iohn 6. 54. This is satisfactory to God in this point; that that answers his well pleasing. What further shall be said, shall not be in order to please, but instruct, convince and stop the mou…hes of gainsaying men, Tit. 1. 9.
He that worships God in the power of the single or double portion of the spirit of Christ, does undeniably worship him in spirit and truth: The power of godliness comes in with this new creation Spirit. All Worship, Righteousness, Ordinances, or whatever, performed but in the ren…wed, reformed, enlightned, gifted, adorned state of our first-creation spirit, amounts but to the form of godliness, that faith that may be shipwrack'd, that interest in Christ, and that good conscience that may be lost, 1 Tim. 1. 19. They that have not the divine nature, in the sence above expressed, (2 Pet. 1. 4.) are blind and cannot see afar off, (vers. 9.) they discern not the land of distances, the new Ierusalem. They may have great illumination, excellent gifts, and in the confidence of these they say, they see, what get they by that? Therefore their sin remaineth, (Iohn 9. 41.) that is, is unpardonable; there remaineth no more benefit of Christ's sacrifice to them. There remaineth onelyonly at last, (upon final refusal and resistance of the new-creature life, spirit, and way of worship) nothing but a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery inignation, which shall devour the adversaries, Heb. 10. 27. and Chap. 6. 4, 8. Their light, their seeing, takes away all cloak for their sin, Iohn 15. 22, and 24. The warning which the true spiritual watchman gives them, if neglected and despised by them, does dangerously set forward this work, (through their miscarriage under it, and becomes a savour of death to them, (Act. 13. 40. 41.) but even so, a sweet savour to God, as prospering in the thing whereto he sends it, and accomplishing his pleasure, 2 Cor. 2. 16. Esay 55. 11.
These keen concisionists, that cannot afford a good word for the true circumcision, that worship God in the spirit, and have no confidence in the flesh, or in the knowledge of Christ after the flesh, they are hot about the outward circumstances of worship, time, place and the like. Christ reproves them in his answer to the woman of Samaria, at Iacobs Well; Neither in this Mountain, nor at Ierusalem, shall ye worship the Father, but in spirit and truth, Joh. 4. 23. Neither in this Form nor that, but excluded out of all Synagogues has the true Church and Spouse of Christ been worshipping God this twelve hundred Years and upwards, in her mourning persecuted wilderness-condition, out of which she is shortly to appear and speak for her self. By this Sufferers reckoning the time, times and half a time, or, three years and a half, are very near expired, those forty two moneths, and one thousand two hundred and sixty days, prophetical for years, all which do character and point out the same Epocha in Daniel and the Revelation, for the Churches abode in the Wilderness from the time of her flight, mentioned, Rev. 12. 6. She will very shortly be called up out of the wilderness, by the name of Shulamite, which comes from the same word that Solomon and Salem do, signifying Peace. This true peaceable Pilgrim and Spouse of Christ, that in her Life and Testimony hath been so disgustful to this world, out of which she is chosen, (as to be reputed by all the Inhabitants of the earth, a wrangling Heretick, a Blasphemer, and one that turns the World upside down) will shortly come up out af her political grave, or exclusion from all authority or allowance in Church and State, into the exercise of true Christian Polity in both, in association with the holy Angels, who with the risen Witnesses will make up the two hosts, before whom no opposite power of contradicting man wil be able to bear up. See for this, Cant. 6. 13. Return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee: What will ye see in the Shulamite? as it were the company, or dance of two Armies, Mahanaim; relating to Iacobs two hosts of Angels and Men, when he was to meet Esau, (Gen. 32. 1, 2.) and importing the victory these two obtain over all their enemies, as also their dance, or triumphant rejoycing after the victory. And all this yet amounts but to the preparatory work, for the second coming of Christ, by plucking up every thing that offends; so as at last there may be nothing to hurt in all the holy mountain, Mat. 13. 41. Esay 11. 9.
But how shall the risen Witnesses handle their enemies, when spirited and set upon their feet, as a Nation born at once, and in one day? Esay 66. 8. Rev. 11. 11. 'Tis answered, fire shall proceed out of their mouth to devour any that would hurt them, and in this manner must they be killed; that is, at the desire of the believing, risen witnesses, angels that are a flaming fire, (Psal. 104. 4.) will destroy any men that oppose them. Fire goes out of the saints mouth, that is by prayer to God, on which the angels are commissioned to do execution immediately and irresistibly, without more ado. Thus fire went out of Elias his mouth, to devour the two Captains and their fifties; Angels were the executioners, 2 King. 1. 9, 12. Those acts of Elias were but Types and shadows of what will be done in the end of the world, at the winding up of all dispensations, towards the highest, even the personal coming forth of Christ with all his New-Ierusalem Armies following him, Rev. 19. 14. As to what will be performed by the risen Witnesses, relation is had to Elias and to Moses, Rev. 11. 6. Where 'tis said, They shall have power (as Elias had) to shut heaven that it rain not, and to smite the earth with Plagues, as often as they will, as Moses did in Egypt: It may appear what work one Angel can make with whole Armies of men; a hundred fourescore and five thousand Assyrians were slain by an angel in one night, in the Leagure before Ierusalem, 2 King. 19. 35.
But to return from this Contempla…ion of the true New-Ierusalem spirited Church and Spouse of Christ, and what she will do when she comes out of the Wilderness, consider we a little the general posture of all visible Churches, even at this day, as this Sufferer hath left it represented to us, in writing.
There are many Churches in the World, that make a profession of the Name of Christ, under several Forms and Denominations, according to the variety of Judgements, and Interests of the Rulers & Members thereof. There is a Church called Catholick or Universal, headed by the Pope, who pretends to be Christs Vicar. There are also National Churches, he…ded either by a Civil Magistrate, as the Church of England, or by general Assemblies, as the Church of Scotland hath been, with other Reformed Churches. There are also particular, Independant, Congregational Churches, distinguishing themselves into variety of Sects, and diversity of Judgements and Opinions, as well about the way and order of the word of matters of worship, and the service of God, as in what they hold Fundamental in matters of Faith. These all make up one Body, as to the owning and upholding a Church in some outward visible Form, who notwithstanding all their differences and protestings against one another, do generally agree together in one mind, as to the preferring of the Church in Name, Shew, and outward Order, before what it is in Spirit and Truth, as it is the real and living Body of Christ.
Hence it is, that the true Church indeed, the very living, real, spiritual members of Christ's Body, have been for many hundred years a dispersed, captivated people, under all worldly powers, civil or Ecclesiastical, and never been suffered to use or enjoy a freedom in their Communion together, and the purity of God's Service and Worship, but are upon one pretence or other, restrained by Humane Lawes, and suppressed as Hereticks, Schismaticks, Fanaticks, and such as turn the World upside down, while those that have the repute and credit to be the Church, or Churches of Christ, under some one of the Formes, and outward Orders b…fore mentioned, have the Powers of the World on their side, and are contending one with another, who shall be uppermost, and give the Rule of Conformity in Doctrine, Worship, and Church Order, to all the rest, by Compulsion and Persecution. But the dayes are now h…stening apace, wherein the living Members of Christ's Body shall be made manifest, in distinction from all those that have the Name to live but are dead.
Thus in brief you see his Judgement concerning the Church.