is neither pruner nor knife at hand; and if
there is one he must be devoui'ed by the
dragon, or slain by the apocalyptical wom-
an, drunk with blood. O merciful, gracious
Father, how long will this great misery en-
dure? Our rulers are like voracious lions
and bears. Our fathers are our betrayers.
Our leaders, our deceivers. And those who
feign to be our pastors, are thieves and mui'-
derers of our souls. Well may we sigh and
lament from the inmost of oui- hearts; for
our house is left unto us desolate. For that
which was heretofore the church and kingdom
of Christ, is now, alas ! the churcli and king-
dom of anti-christ, and for no other reason
than because they ungratefully rejected the
word of grace, and will not have the riding-
Lord Jesus Christ, to rule over them with
the righteous sceptre of his holy word and
Spirit; nevertheless, this poor, blind people
hope to obtain the grace and promises of
God through their infant baptism, masses,
confession and the like superstitious cere-
monies and idolatries, which they call the
true, divine service, and use it as a remedy
for their sins. Ah! no, most beloved, no;
for, says Solomon, "The hope of the ungod-
ly is like dust, that is blown away with the
wind." I have said it once, and repeat it,
and that from the mouth of the Lord, who
can neither lie nor deceive, "Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
And " Except a man be born again, he can-
not see the kingdom of God," Matt. 18: 3;
John 3 : 3.
My beloved reader, take heed to the word of the Lord, and once learn to know the true God. I warn you faithfully to take heed ; he will not save you, nor pardon your sins, nor show you his mercy and grace, except according to his word, namely, If you repent, if you believe, if you are born of him, if you do what he has commanded, and walk even as he walked. For if he could save unjustified, carnal man, without regeneration, faith and repentance, he did not teach us the truth; but he is the truth, and there is no lie in him. Therefore, I tell you again, that you cannot be reconciled with all your masses, matins, vespers, cere- monies, sacraments, councils, statutes and commands tinder the whole heavens, together with all the popes and their adherents from the beginning; for I warn you, they are abominations and not reconciliations. Christ says, "In vain do they honor me," be- cause they teach commandments of men. But if you, by any means, wish to be saved, your earthly, carnal, ungodly life, must be reformed; for the Scriptures teach nothing but tiTie repentance and reformation, and present to us admonitions, threatenings, reprovings, miracles, examples, ceremonies and sacraments; and if you do not repent, there is nothing in lieaven or on earth that can save you; for without true repentance, we are comforted in vain. The xirojjhet says, "O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths," Isa. 3: 12. AYe must be born from above, must be changed and renewed in our hearts, transplanted from the unrighteous and evil nature of Adam, into the true and good nature of Christ, or we can never be saved by any means, whether human or di- vine. Wlierever true repentance and the new creature are not (I speak of adults), man must be eternally lost; this is incon- trovertibly clear. Upon this every one may confidently rely, who does not wish to de- ceive his soul.
That regeneration of which we %viite, from which comes the penitent, pious life having the jDromise, comes alone from the word of the Lord, if it be rightly taught, and if rightly understood and received in the heart by faith tlu-ough the Holy Ghost. / The fii'st birth of man, is out of the first, earthly Adam, and therefore its nature is earthly and Adamic, that is, carnal-minded, unbe- lieving, disobedient and blind in divine things, deaf and foolish, whose end, if not renewed by the word, will be damnation and eternal death. Would you, therefore, have your inbred, evil nature reformed, and be free from eternal death and damnation, so that you may obtain, with ail true chris- tians, what is promised them, you must be born again. For the regenerated are in grace, and have the promise, as you have heard. They, therefore, lead a penitent and new life, for they are renewed in Christ, and have received a new heart and spirit. Be- fore, they were earthly, carnally minded, but now, heavenly, spiritually ; before, un-
