death being such contraries as haue no third thing betweene them which doth partake in them both the one may be changed into the other without any thing preparatory All things which God doth prepare to the receiuing of Grace and comming to him they make not of themselues any thing to the introducing of Grace further then God intendeth this effect by them Feare of hell conscience of sinne neuer such afflictions morall parts and all gifts which may be without sanctifying Grace and true beliefe many haue all these who yet neuer turne vnfeignedly to God When the sicknesse is now growne greater in quantity this absolutely taken maketh the patient further of health But the Physitian may intend this because he doth see his medicine will the better worke on it and educe it when it is growne to such ripenesse If a man fall out of a dead Palsie into a light Phrensie phrensie of it selfe is no paration to health but to the physitian who can worke on him more fitly in this taking then in the other it may be a preparatiue to health Thus to be like an aguish man on his good dayes or like to some madde men in the time of their intermissions is in it selfe as farre from state of health as otherwise but yet the Physitian may vse such a state as a way to health choosing rather to deale with him in this taking then in the fitte Thus it is not the height of sinne it is not feare of hell though contrary to the Apoplexie of deep security it is not a morall course which commeth not from true sanctification that of themselues can make neerer the state of grace but only in regard of God who doth intend to turne them hereunto Thus if God stirre vp a man to liue according to the light of nature virtuously it may be in regard of Gods intention a preparing him to receiue further Grace of effectuall vocation but all a man can doe from naturall strength of it selfe profiteth nothing Fourthly that where effectuall raising vp the hart to faith beginneth there Gods preparatiue workes take an end for as that which prepares the ground for seed now ceaseth when the seed is to be sowne so all these things which as they are preparations doe nothing but fit the soyle of the heart for Gods effectuall calling to be giuen they haue their end when this immortall seed commeth to be sowne in vs beside that a man is no sooner called then hee receiueth a spirit of faith by which hee is as by a new heauenly forme in some manner quickned Fiftly The Papists doctrine is heere very defectiue and false in part Defectiue for they speake nothing of preparatory courses by which God doth bring vs to come vnto him by faith but of such like operations by which God prepareth vs and we prepare our selues to be iustified Now we prepare our selues to iustification when the spirit doth without any habit of Grace lift vs vp to supernaturall acts of beliefe hope in God loue sorrow for sinne and feare of hell in which many things are erroneous as first that they make vs lifted vp to acts of this nature without habits which is to make a blinde man see without giuing his eye new sight to make vs bring good fruits while yet we are not made good trees to make vs be iustified by our faith come into grace by our faith stand in grace by another The schoole not vnderstanding the doctrine of preparation consider of it philosophically as a thing betweene Nature and Grace Now betweene the things we worke out of naturall strength and those we do meritoriously from Grace now infused into vs and inherent in vs they deuise a third kinde of workes which neyther come from any power of ours meerely nor yet from any supernaturall Grace inherent in vs and these are workes done by eternall ayde of the spirit whereas all the Scripture make that faith which is required to iustification to be the same with that which worketh by loue to be a faith fully formed comming from a spirit of faith that is an habituall guilt wrought by the spirit to be a faith belieuing on God which the best pillars of popish learning confesse to be an act of formed faith Beside they erre when they make feare of hell a thing immediately disposing to iustification when the work of this is to mooue vs to seeke out of our selues after some word of faith and this is cast forth proportionably as faith and loue enters It may prepare to our conuersion not to our iustification immediately Againe when they make loue actuall to goe before iustification whereas loue doth follow For we loue because we haue found loue first now no loue is felt from God till remission of sin and acceptance to life in some measure are felt perceiued should God lift vs vp to loue him before his iustification he should by making vs loue him prepare vs to be loued of him Shee loueth much because much is forgiuen her In a word setting aside the act of a true faith comming from an inward gift of the spirit inclining the heart to belieue there is no other thing preparing to iustification immediately where this is there together in time iustification is receiued there the spirit of loue and hope are not wanting Hee who belieueth is passed from death to life Neuerthelesse wee doe long after not feele our selues iustified nor perceiue Grace to dwell in vs so fully and manifestly as wee desire Hence it is that sometimes wee are in feare sometime belieue hope sometime we are in repentant sorrow and by these wee are led both to the manifest perceiuing of that which is wrought in vs and to the more full measure of Peace and Grace which we much desire The second question then In what order Gods power doth bring vs to belieue is thus answered That most commonly hee doth in some kinde change vs and make vs more fit that so his word may be reuealed in vs which accompanied with his mighty power doth bring forth that supernaturall habit of faith by which he doth incline vs to moue vnto him Now for the third thing Whether this help doth leaue the will at liberty actually to resist it yea or no the answere is it doth not That which the omnipotency of God is put forth to worke in the creature that the creature cannot resist But God putteth forth his omnipotency and by the effectuall working of it he may bring vs to beleeue The first part is not denied The second is here plainly set downe viz. That God doth bring vs to beliefe by the effectuall working of no lesse power then that which raised Christ from the dead That which maketh Gods aide and Grace put vnder the power of man and not mans will to be vnder it that is a Pelagian heresie But to say that notwithstanding Gods helping Grace man may resist is to put Grace in mans power not to put
is testified to be a word of truth after an eminent manner for three causes First it is occupied about Christ who is the truth and substance of all the shadowes legall which now are vanished Secondly the truth of this word is further confirmed to vs then the truth of any other by word by oath by the testimony of the great Apostle Christ Iesus by a iewry of solemne witnesses chosen for this purpose by a multitude of miracles Thirdly this property is the rather annexed to this Doctrine of the Gospell that thus our vnbeliefe might be holpen for our minde is corrupted with errour prone to any vnbeleefe but hard to beleeue these points so high aboue the naturall reach and apprehension of it Now as a Physitian doth say of his medicine that it is excellent not that it needeth commendations but that he may induce his Patient the better to take it So God and his Embassadours doe testifie of these things that they are true that wee might thus be brought to yeelde them beleefe But it may be obiected that word which biddeth many reprobates beleeue the forgiuenesse of their sinnes and life euerlasting that is not a word of truth but the Gospell doth so The reason of the former proposition is because that which biddeth me beleeue a lie cannot be true but to bid a reprobate beleeue his sins are forgiuen is to bid him beleeue a lye The summe put together commeth to this That word which biddeth a man perswade himselfe of that which is vntrue that is a lying word To beleeue that my sinnes are now pardoned me and that I am saued this is not the first act of faith but followeth them when now a man doth see himselfe to be iustified in Christ First I say this may be denied vnlesse I bid him perswade himselfe so with a minde of deceiuing him Abraham by Gods command was bound to perswade himselfe that Isaac was to dye vnder his owne hand yet was not that a lying word by which God spake to him because the intent of it was butto proue him Some say he was bound to thinke so vnlesse God should countermand and reuerse his former command Ans Abraham did absolutely beleeue it and Ergo did not comfort himselfe by thinking God might call backe his former precept but by considering that God could raise him from the dead Much more may God bid the reprobate belieue this or that while hee doth it but to euince their contumacy and doth see well how farre they are from belieuing any such matter Secondly I answere that the second part of the first reason is not true God doth bid them belieue on Christ to forgiuenes of fin he doth not bid any reprobate directly belieue that his sin is forgiuen Vse O then let vs take heed that we do not giue God the lye in al these things which he promiseth to vs Euery man will blesse himselfe from this iniquity from charging God with falshood in word yet no man is afraid to doe that with his deede which he trembleth to pronounce with his lips as wee may deny God not by word onely but by worke so wee may make him a lyer not onely by charging falshood on him by word of mouth but by our deed going away and not heeding all the grace he offereth vs in Christ He that beleeueth not maketh God a lyar 1 Ioh. 5.10 Should one promise me an hundred pound doing this or that though I should not tell him hee did but gull mee with words yet should I goe my way neuer heeding what had beene promised neuer endeauouring performance of the condition on which I might claime the benefit offered by doing this I should shew plainly that I did not take for truth that I heard spoken so it is betweene God promising to vs on belieuing and repenting and our turning our backes on him without endeauouring after these things Vse 2 This must strengthen our faith toward the promises of God O they are purer then siluer seauen times fined Should an honest man in telling vs any thing when he came to this or that which hee saw vs not easie to belieue should he intersert but this protestation that what he would tell vs he knew it most true we would the easlier receiue it and giue credit to it how much more when God doth condescend so farre to our infirmity as not onely to tell vs these things but to testifie to vs that they are truth it selfe Secondly it might be noted here that the Gospell is such a doctrine as worketh saluation Gods power to saluation it may well be called a good spell or word for it bringeth vs the tidings of all our good First it bringeth immortality and life to light Secondly it offereth vs the grace of forgiuenesse and life euerlasting Thirdly It is Gods instrument whereby hee worketh faith receiuing these things Fourthly it is the word of Grace which must build vs vp and bring vs to that blessed inheritance Acts 20.32 But I hasten to the things remaining in this verse Doct. 3 The 3d. general doctrine is that it is not enough to heare but we must belieue before we can be partaker of the good spirit of Christ Gal. 3 14. By faith we receiue the spirit of promise The Gentiles hauing heard and belieued God did giue them his spirit Acts 15.7.8 Hee that belieueth riuers of water shall flow from him which is spoken of that spirit which they receiue who belieue on Christ Iohn 7.28 This fore-promised spirit is first in the fulnes of it receiued by Christ our head Acts 2.33 and from Christ it commeth to vs for from his fulnesse wee receiue Grace for Grace Now looke as a member cannot receiue those spirits from the head which cause sense and motion in the body but they must be vnited with the head so it is heere wee cannot haue this spirit from Christ our head but wee must by this sinew or nerue of faith be vnited to him But how can we receiue the spirit by faith when we cannot belieue before we haue the spirit Some thinke that wee haue first actuall grace that is that the spirit as an ayde without vs doth make vs actually belieue that so the spirit afterward by habit of faith and all other sanctifying graces may come to dwell in vs. Now they would answere that though wee cannot belieue without the outward aide of the spirit yet we might belieue without the spirit by any supernaturall habit dwelling in vs but this is the error of the schoole for wee are said to haue a spirit of faith before we can bring forth the act of faith 2 Cor. 4. hauing the sefe-same spirit of Faith wee speake Againe no externe helpe can make vs bring foorth good fruit till it make vs first good trees and a blinde man may be â—ifted vp to see without a faculty of seeing as well as an vnbeleeuing man lifted vp to an act of Faith without a faculty
to God ward is taken out of it as it is in the hanging due to a murtherer who heard before time of execution is conuerted and Baptized in which case if the abiding of the punishment doe not let but forgiuenesse may be full and free why should the remaining of punishment argue in the other a partiall remission onely Vse 2 Secondly this doth let vs see what thankfulnes we owe to God Should one forgiue vs some great debt or should one passe by some prouocations at our hands full of indignity as Dauid did at Shemeis sometimes how would we tell of their loue and set it forth But what indignities haue we offered our God what debt stand wee in to him the greatest debt of a thousand talents O then we should loue much be much thankfull The want of this maketh God sometime hide the sense of forgiuenesse from vs euen as when plenty maketh â—s blessings no dainties he doth take them from vs that wee may seeke after them and learne to enioy them with greater thankefulnesse Thirdly let vs like children imitate him forgiueing each the other as he for Christ his sake hath forgiuen vs. But of this hereafter Now he commeth to the second benefit which seemeth heere annexed not so much to begin a second branch of his enumeration as to make vs conceiue aright of the order in which wee come to receiue remission from grace viz. to preuent vs that wee may not thinke that in the first place forgiuenes is bestowed because that was first named but that we receiue pardon from grace when now that rich grace of God abounded toward vs in giuing vs wisedome and vnderstanding Thus I conceiue the coherence Now the points which are to be marked in this matter are these First the abundant Grace of God the principall cause of it Secondly the Persons to vs who haue found in him remission of sinne Thirdly the benefits in which this rich grace had formerly abounded in Wisedome and vnderstanding and these are in the 8. verse Fourthly the manner of working these benefits viz. the reuelation of the mystery of his will which is amplified partly from the efficient cause thereof Gods free pleasure and this is ver 9. partly from the ends vers 10. verse 8 To returne vnto the eight verse Before we can consider the doctrines it is fit to open the true meaning of it Our bookes read by which grace he abounded towards vs in wisedome As if this were the sense by which Grace hee did abundantly giue vs all wisedome but this is not the meaning For aboundance is not to be adioyned to the grace bestowed but to Gods Grace bestowing The Scripture placeth Wisedome not in knowing onely but in doing Let him who is wise shew it in conuersation him that heareth my words and doth them I liken him to a wise builder the aboundant measure of the gifts is sufficiently shewed by the note of quantity all wisedome and the phrase doth not signifie by which but in or with which for heere is no particle to intimate any such thing The second case noting the matter subiect wherein God is heere said to haue abounded the truth is as when we say such an one is aboundant to me in his loue our meaning is the loue of such a one was aboundant toward mee so when he saith God hath abounded towards vs in Grace or with Grace his meaning is the Grace of God had beene abundant toward vs towards vs who haue in him remission of sinnes In wisedome and vnderstanding These must further be opened Wisedome is put sometime generally thus S. Iames chap. 3. vseth it for a gift of the minde giuen vs from aboue which teacheth vs to know and inclineth vs to do that which is good and seruing to some good purpose It is taken more strictly and then sometime it signifieth the doctrine of wisedome the doctrine of Christ crucified sometime the Grace by which we know and belieue on Christ to saluation euen as faith is put sometime for the Doctrine of faith sometime for the grace and exercise of it as now it actually belieueth 1 Cor. 2. The Doctrine of Christ crucified it is called the wisedome of God predestinated to our glory so in the first it is called the wisedome of God now if the doctrin of knowing belieuing on Christ be wisdome needs must the Grace by which we know and rest on him be wisdome making wise to saluation this I take to be principally intended if not soly Vnderstanding is light supernatural of the minde whereby it conceiueth the meaning of God in his word and workes and pierceth into the nature of the things of God of things spirituall As wisedome is opposed to foolishnes so vnderstanding to dulnes and to the superficiall ouerture or childish shallownes of knowledge Be not children in vnderstanding but in maliciousnesse The old which boasted themselues of knowlege in the Law because they did abide in the Letter and not go to the inward meaning of it the Apostle saith they did not vnderstand the things they did speake of Israell knew what God had done yet not perceiuing the end to which his great workes tended so as to follow and to cleaue to it they are said not to haue an vnderstanding heart Knowledge is a gift of the minde which perceiueth the truth and falshood which is in things it is opposed to ignorance These two former words answere to Chockmah and Binah or Tebunah which in the Hebrew are of like importance for that note of quantity all wisdom it doth signifie a rich mesure in these things not absolute perfection Who enriched you with all speech all knowledge 1 Cor. 1. The summe briefly Wee haue found redemption in Christ through his rich grace which he had aboundantly shewed vs in as much as he hath giuen vs wisedome whereby wee know and rest on Christs saluation and vnderstanding which maketh vs see into the things of God yea both of them in plentifull measure Doct. 1 In which words marke 3. things 1. That God giueth pardon of sins to none to whom he hath not first giuen wisedome and vnderstanding Hee doth quit none from sinne in Christ whom he hath not taught to know belieue on his Christ 1 Cor. 1.31 God doth make Christ an author of righteousnes to none to whom he is not first wisedome that is who do not first receiue the gift of wisdome from Christ Acts 26. Paul is sent to bring men from darkenesse to light that so being brought to be light that is to haue wisedome and vnderstanding they may receiue remission of sinnes and inheritance with Saints Wee must learne from the Father that is wee must be made to vnderstand before wee can come to Christ My seruant by his knowledge shall bring many to remission of sinne shall iustifie many Looke as it was in the Type of Christ none were healed by that brazen serpent who did not first behold it so heere