to salvation The going out of the soul unto Christ and the whole application of it self to the promises of salvation made in and by him and whosoever doth this sincerely and with a faithfull heart is passed from death to life and shall never perish neither in this life nor in the life to come it puts its trust in him that never fails them that do so There is indeed a third Act of Faith Which is an act of assurance and full perswasion commonly called by Divines The reflex act of Faith Now this Act of Faith Is when the soul is fully and throughly perswaded that Iesus Christ hath actually pardoned all its sins and that it is his and he is hers This is not that Act of Faith concerning which the Apostle speaks Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by Faith we have peace with God It is rather a consequent of justifying Faith that peace which floweth to the soul as a fruit and a sweet effect of justification and that this is not that Act of Faith which justifieth is plain Because the soul must be justified before it can put forth it self in this Act. This is a comfortable but not a necessary Act of Faith and is more properly called fides justificati then fides justificans the Faith of a justified person then justifying Faith It is good and speciall justifying Faith for the soul heartily and sincerely to desire and thirst and hunger after the pardon and forgivenesse of its sins through the free grace of Iesus Christ and confidently to rest upon the promises of free remission and pardon But it is another pitch of Faith and of an higher nature to be confidently assured that all my sins are really and fully pardoned It is one thing to beleeve that my sins how many and how great soever shall be taken away and that God will smile upon me and we shall not finally perish And another thing to be fully assured that now God is well pleased with us and all our sins are blotted out Yea it is one thing to be perswaded that our names are in the white book of election and our sins decretally pardoned which was from eternity and meritoriously pardoned which was if ever in Christs death And another thing to beleeve that God hath acquitted us actually from the obligation to death that is in them God so pardons in time and in the Act of justification It is truth we ought to strive after a Faith of assurance but we are not necessarily obliged to an assurance upon our justification Faith precedes actuall and formall justification in our consciences it is the instrument to apprehend it Now the Gospel doth not when it calls to me to beleeve oblige me to a lye If before I am justified I should be tied to beleeve I am actually justified the Gospel would oblige me to that in order to my justification which I cannot upon warrantable grounds beleeve till after my justification So that we cannot conclude that we have not true justifying Faith that we do not beleeve because we cannot be confident God hath actually and formally in the court of our consciences acquitted us from the guilt of our sins for the essence of justifying Faith doth not consist in that And yet we may not altogether shut out confidence and perswasion out of the justifying Act of Faith give me therefore leave to adde a word or two concerning it The Seventh SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith YOu may remember that I have told you that in order to the increasing of faith we must labour to remove those blocks and scruples which hinder the progresse of faith in the Soule And to this end I have spent severall houres in satisfying poor souls in those scruples which often lye in faiths way in a gracious soule I have done with such as are previous to faith and make the soul think it dare not and ought not to beleeve The last day having set the soule so farre on of its way that it is convinced it ought to beleeve but complaines That it doth not it cannot beleeve I came to search out the cause of such complaints which I shewed was ordinarily either First a mistake of the nature and acts of faith or Secondly a misjudging it self from the effects of faith I began with the first and propounded to such Christians these two considerations First That faith hath divers acts and the highest was not necessary to a justifying faith Secondly That Faith is of so good a nature that it will consist with many doubtings and weaknesses and yet retaine its truth For the first of these I shewed you the last day what were the severall acts of true faith and what act was necessary to justification and what act was not necessary I shall repeat nothing of what I then said but go on CHAP. 7. How to satisfie such poor Christians as think they doe not truly beleeve because they have many doubtings and weaknesses ALas Complaint saith a poor Christian I am confident my faith is not true but false I am so full of doubtings and feares and every act which I should think an act of faith is so weak c. To this Complaint now I shall apply my second consideration viz. That true faith is of so good a nature that it will keeping its truth consist with much weaknesse in the severall acts and dwell in a soule where many doubts are This is my Thesis Now concerning this divers have treated so largly that I shall be very brief and rather repeat what they say following them then lead you a worse way of my own Sedgwicks doubting Christian I finde Mr. Sedgwick who hath made it his work in his Book called The doubting Christian to handle this very point and hath done it fully laying down foure or five conclusions by way of premise for the right understanding of this point I shall name them to you First It is without question that all Doubtings are â—infull they are the smoakings of our corruptions they are begotten of sinne the depravation of our originall light with which God in innocencie enlightned Adam that is the cause and they hinder grace and hinder us in our duty c. Secondly They be no part of faith in that a man doth beleeve he doth not doubt Faith and Doubting may dwell under the same roofe but they marry not nor mingle any bloods together they are not at all of a family Faith is of the family of Heaven Doubtings are of the family of Hell they are inmates but have little acquaintance one with another none at all with one anothers natures they are two things though in one soule Thirdly They cannot consist at the same instant with the act of faith Ib. p. 16. for it is impossible that Faith should formally doubt the beleever while he beleeveth and in what he beleeveth doth not doubt I cannot at the same time lay my hand upon the Rock and
pardon of our sins and of a pardon past and done c. I have already shewed you that the essence and marrow of justifying Faith consists in the soules rolling it selfe and relying upon God for eternall salvation not in the soules assurance that God is its God in the soules goings out not in its commings in in its direct act not in its reflect act And therefore our Divines make a distinction betwixt a soules application of its self to the promise and a soules application of the promise to it selfe and grant that there may bee in the soule a certainty of Faith in respect of the object though not an assurance of Faith in respect of the subject Wee will a little enquire how perswasion comes into the nature of justifying Faith There is a double distinction which I have noted before and shall here repeat would be observed concerning this perswasion First there is a difference betwixt a Perswasion and a beleeved Perswasion on a full Perswasion Secondly there is a great deale of difference betwixt a perswasion eying the future and relating to the present There may be in a gracious soule a perswasion though he sayes he is not perswaded There is a great deale of difference betwixt Faith and the Sense and feeling of Faith as I shall shew you more hereafter Secondly there may be in a soule a certain perswasion though not a full perswasion In all Faith there is a perswasion but in all Faith there is not a full perswasion the word in Scripture translated full perswasion is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 4. 21. It is said that Abraham was fully perswaded it is put in opposition to doubting of unbeliefe being so saith the text hee staggered not through unbeliefe and so Rom. 14. Let him that eateth be fully perswaded that is so perswaded that hee doth not eate with any scruple of mind or doubting of spirit I may be perswaded of a thing that yet I am not fully perswaded of but have some doubts of yet when my reasons for the affirmative are more then for the negative my mind begets a perswasion and enters a perswasion in my soule from the major vote of reason Now I cannot be said to bee fully perswaded unlesse my soule runs without a rubâ— as it is ordinary amongst us when wee are informed by credible Witnesses of such a thing done wee may bee perswaded it is true and really beleeve the truth of it and yet will not sweare it and perhaps shall have scruples and doubts unlesse we saw it our selves c. So a Christian may be perswaded that Gods love is towards him but till he feeles it as well as thinkes it he will hardly have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a full perswasion without any manner of doubts or scruples concerning it Again There is a great deale of difference betwixt a perswasion for the present and a perswasion for the future I am forced to put it in these Termes for want of other I meane betwixt an assurance that my sinnes are actually pardoned and a perswasion that they are pardonable and decretally and meâ—itoriously pardoned and I shall feel at last the seale of Gods love I must speake here according to the manner of men it is true it may sound harshly that a Christian should beleeve only that God will pardon his sins and will justify him I know there be some learned and pretious men that hold that the elected soule is pardoned and formally justifyed before he beleeves and so would make our justification as Master Burgesse saith wittily nothing but the fetching a Coppy out of the Courtrâ—ll but I am of his mind in his late Treatise of justification p. 17. 8. where hee gives severall Arguments against this opinion As First If it bee so then all the Elect were then made blessed and happy their sins not being imputed contrary to Eph. 2. 3. Secondly because this Doctrine would make justification onely to bee declarative when the Scriptures tell us that our sinnes are charged upon us till wee beleeve Thirdly because Christ cannot as an head represent those that are not his members now before actuall beleeving we are no members of Christ Indeed meritoriously and vertually our sinnes are pardoned before wee beleeve See the Arguments against this answered in Mr Burgesse his Treatise of justification p. 180 181. and our soules are justified before we beleeve but I with him cannot see how we are formally and actually justified before we beleeve and to his Arguments give me leave to add a fourth Fourthly Pardon of sin and justification it is an acquitting of the guilty soule before God for the righteousnesse of another now how the soule should be actually acquitted before it be actually and formally guilty I cannot understand And therefore I say a soule may be perswaded that its sins are pardonable and shall be pardoned and accordingly truly rely upon the Lord Iesus Christ for the pardon of them which is true Faith though it cannot be fully perswaded that its sinns are pardoned And thus much may briefly serve to have noted how far perswasion and assurance necessarily come into the nature of true and saving Faith and how not And concerning it I shall only nominate these conclusions to you as containing the whole truth concerning it First That a Christian may have saving Faith though he cannot be fully perswaded that God hath actually pardoned and blotted out his sins and formally justified him for a beleeving that my sins are formally pardoned is to beleeve I am justified and is the Faith of a justified person not justifying Faith properly so called Secondly That a Beleever may have true saving Faith though he could never yet at all be perswaded that God had actually and formally justified his soule by pardoning his sins This is still the application of the promise to the soule and a reflex act of Faith which conduceth more to the soules comfort then its formall justification Thirdly That a Christian may have true justifying Faith though he cannot at all times be fully and unquestionably perswaded that God will pardon his sins a rationall man in a Feaver may have lost his actings of reason though while he hath the being of a man reason hath a being in him the tongue may belye the heart when the actions cleer it A Christian may be at will God pardon me with his tongue when his heart really thinks he will and he manifestly shewes it by crying fasting fearing to sin lying groveling at the doore of free grace Fourthly That a Christian cannot have true saving justifying Faith unlesse he doth I doe not say unlesse hee think he doth or unlesse he sayes hee doth but unlesse he doth beleeve and is perswaded that God will pardon his sins it is easily perceived by its resolving not to leave crying praying walking holily and circumspectly that it is perswaded in this particular that it is best both simply and in comparison to draw near to God
as every thing that hangeth upon a pin or a peg is as sure as the pin or peg on which it hangeth So that soule that hangs upon the mercy and Free-grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rocky promises of salvation is as sure as the promise c. And thus I think I have sufficiently cleared the first thing that a Christian may have a true saving Faith yea and such a one as shall be strong and certain both in respect of the object and event that yet hath not this sublime act of Faith which is assurance I hasten to a second conclusion and all the rest of my Propositions with respect to a full perswasion that our sins already are actually and formally pardoned 2. Conclus Thy Assurance and perswasion that thy sins are pardoned may be a true perswasion and assurance though but weak or to speak more properly you may have this reflex act of faith and be perswaded that your sins are pardoned and this perswasion may be a true reflex act of faith and yet not constant in degrees Sometimes it may be weaker sometimes stronger I call the weakest perswasion wrought in the soul that its sins are pardoned a reflex act of faith for I doe not think that it is a piece of Faith necessary to the justification of a soule that it should believe that its sinnes are really and actually pardoned though it be a beame of grace that the soule should love and look after more then the world and it is and ought to bee more pretious to a believing soule then all the rocks of gold or mountaines of silver or beds of spices or ten thousand rivers of oyle yet I say I doe not take it to be an act of justifying Faith but of the justifyed soule Now this may be true in the soule though it be sometimes weaker and sometimes stronger That soule that all times is perswaded that its sins are pardoned and actually remitted is not alwayes a like perswaded of it It is a beame of Gods manifestative love which admirs of degrees Now as upon the earth in the day time there is alwayes some light though through some interpositions of clouds the light is not alwayes alike so in Christians that the Lord hath brought to this degree that they doe really believe that their sinnes are pardoned though through the sun-shines of Gods manifestative love upon their soules they for the most part think so yet they are not alwayes alike perswaded of it I doe verily believe that David generally was in this temper and who so peruses his pretious book of Psalmes will finde that he takes the pardon of sinnes for granted yet who so againe peruses the severall Psalms will easily perceive that Davids perswasion was not alwayes alike as any one may see by comparing Psal 6. and Psal 41. vers 11. you shall finde him in some Psalmes altogether singing and praysing and triumphing not a mention of a teare but in others declaring perswasion yet wants expressing confidence yet teares as in that sixth Psalme vers 1. 2 3 4. compared with vers 9. Sometimes the heavens are so cleare to gracious soules that the shinings of grace dazzle their soules so much that nothing will satisfie them but heaven Now Lord let thy servant depart in peace O that now I might dye and be incorporated into glory they are so wrapt into the third heavens that they cannot speak their joy another while it is lower water with their soules the Moones influence is not as it was David I am confident would have beene glad of an errand to have sent him out of the world to heaven Psal 34. But the good man again in the 39 Psalm prayes as heartily for his life as any poore wretch could have done that lay under an apprehension of a past sentence in hell against him 1 Pet. 1. 8. we read of a rejoycing with which believers should rejoyce even with joy unspeakable but there was not such a constant overflowing and full tide of joy alwayes sure It is a sure note that manifestative love hath its degrees and it is from a strong influence of Gods manifestative love to the soule that the soule hath such a perswasion now had I leasure I might at large here tell you at what times commonly the spring-tide of assurance flowes highest and on the contrary what may make the apprehension weaker and at what times it is ordinarily most weak 1. Commonly just upon Gods return after a long desertion and sad expectation the souls assurance is very great and its perswasion very high God turns mid-night into mid-day The soule then brings the Lord Jesus Christ into her mothers house into the chambes of her that conceived her commonly when the husband comes home after a long absence and long expectation more then ordinary tokens of love and passages of love are discerned betwixt him and the wife of his bosome Christ comes in then to make amends for his frowns and lowrings with the sweetest kisses and imbraces Mid-winter is turned into a Mid-sommer this you shall finde constantly in Davids Psalmes and so on the contrary when the soule is under desertions if there bee left yet a perswasion that though God doth hide his face yet hee doth not hide his heart yet it is but a weak and just living perswasion 2. And commonly at greatest distresse God comes in with strongest perswasions and fullest assurance as when the Christian is cal'd to Martyrdom or cal'd to dye or cal'd to do any great services that it distrusts its own strength and is ready to feare of faint that nothing but the most reviving quick and hot cordiall water can keep the soule cleane and able to undergoe that great and extraordinary service that God cals for at his hands ordinarily now at such times the Lord is pleased to come in with a fulnesse into the soul It was but yesterday you heard by my Reverend Brother that ordinarily God comes in with sighes which are evidences to sence when the soule is in greatest streights and we shall finde that Gods promise made to Abraham was often renewed to him and to Isaac and to Iacob but the diligent Reader shall observe that God pickt out that time or those times when he called his Saints to some hard work in doing of which their hearts might sink concerning the Lords promise The originall promise was in Gen. 12. 7. it was renewed to him chap. 13. v. 15. when he was to goe out of the land he scarce knew whither and leave it to others to possesse and to Isaac when he went to Gerar Gen. 26. 4. and to Iacob going down to Egypt Gen. 46. 4. At such times the children of God are to doe double work and had need of double strength and so a double subsistence when Eliah was to go in the strength of his meat forty dayes he had need eat a good meale the Angel therefore twice admonished him to arise and eat 1 Kings
God We are not to live by faith upon the incertainty of sense All that that speakes is not Gospel but we have a more sure and certain livelihood even the unchangeable goodnesse and infallible goodnesse of a God that cannot lie nor repent Sense is deceiving truth is infallible doth sense say God doth not strengthen me and doth Gods word say these things I could not doe if God did not strengthen me whither it be now better to believe God or deceivable sense judge thou Fourthly Learn to acknowledged Gods little finger thou doest not finde God lending his whole hand perhaps not strengthening thee in such a measure to act grace in such a degree but know the least stirring of the soul in a spirituall manner to a spirituall action is from God flesh and blood could not doe it find ouâ— out Gods little secret workings look for these thou wilt finde some of them in thy soule Fifthly and lastly Act contrary to thy minde we bid the sick man eat against his stomack thou sayest I cannot pray I cannot believe why I doe not find God giving me an heart to it doe it against thy minde thou shalt finde strength to doe it and comfort from doing of it This learned Mr Rutherford gives great Reason for as 1. Because it is ordinarily seen that a Christian may begin to pray with sad and fleshly complaints of unbeliefe yet going on the breathing of the holy Ghost will fill the sailes c. if we be doing the Lord will be with us 2. Our indisposition is a sinne and doth not free us from our duty 3. Ruth We are to pray against weaknesse and indisposition Christ dying and for strength and freedome of spirit 4. We are commanded in the day of trouble and temptation to pray Psal 50. 15. Math. 6. 13. â— 5. It is a sinfull omission in us not to pray and act not to doe what we can though we feele a weaknesse c. and severall other Reasons he gives p. 486. 487. c. Now doest thou not feele the strengthening influence of Gods Spirit carrying thee on to thy duty yet doe it that is the way to come to have a feeling stirre up the grace of God that is in thee 2. Tim. 1. 6. God complained Esay 64. v 7. That there was none that cal'd upon his name or stirred up himself to lay hold upon him It is the ordinary practice of Free-grace to send in sense and strength upon thy endeavours yet freely not as merited by them And thus I have shortly dispatcht all that I have to say to this scruple of conscience where the soule complaines for want of feeling c. The Fourteenth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith YOu may remember my design is to direct you to such meanes as may encrease your Faith The first which I propounded was To remove such scruples as hinder the progresse of our souls in the work of believing the soule conceiting either that it ought not to believe or else that it doth not believe The latter sort of which as I have shewed you ariseth either from an ignorant mistake of the nature and act and degrees of faith or from a mis-judging of the effects of faith Where a mistake of the nature and acts of faith is the cause by way of satisfaction I propounded to your consideration these two things 1. That there are divers acts of faith every of which is not necessary to Justification 2. That faith is of so good a nature that it will consist in the soule with many doubtings and weaknesses I have shewed you how true faith will and may consist with many doubtings and with what weaknesses it may consist in respect of knowledge assent reliance and assurance to summe up this businesse fully I have only by way of conclusion to discover to you in what the doubtings which may be in Gods dearest Saints differ from the doubtings of unbelievers and reprobates This is my work at this time Alas saith a poore soule but I am afraid that my doubting is not such a doubting as is incident to the Saints of God but such as Devils and reprobates have doubting of despaire not opposite only but contradictory to faith c. How shall I know whither my doubts bee such as may consist with faith in a gracious soule yea or no c CHAP. XIV How to know whither our doubtings be such as may consist with true faith in a gracious soule IN regard of this it will bee necessary that I should difference doubts and shew you wherein the Christian may be comforted being assured his doubts are not such as are inconsistent with true faith for thy comfort therefore know that there is a vaste difference betwixt the doubts of Gods people and the doubts of reprobates apparent in these five particulars First they differ in their ground and principle from which they arise The principle from which the doubts arise which are in the Saints of God is infirmity Rom. 4. 19. 20. The Apostle sayes Abraham staggered not at the Promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God He doubted not through infidelity saith Mr Ball but he doubted of infirmity when he took Hagar to his bed for the raising of him a seed Gen. 16. v. 2. 3. and God Gen. 15. v. 4. had directly promised him an Heire yea so many children that the Starres of heaven should be a lesser number yea did he not doubt Gen. 17. 17. when the Lord had promised him a sonne hee laughed and said in his heart shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninty yeares old beare I know St Austine sayes Abrahams laughing was risus exultantis non derisio diffidentis the laughing of one that rejoyced and not the scorning of one that distrusted but with all due reverence to that learned and pious man I doe not think that he hath fully solved the knot I doe not think it was a mocking of distrust nor yet that it was a bare laughter of rejoycing I humbly conceive there was an exulting but yet mixt with a little doubting or disputing he rejoyced considering the faithfulnesse of the word but yet his sence through infirmity quarrelled with his faith about it In the joy of his heart he said as Mary upon the like tidings Luk. 1. v 38. Behold the servant of the Lord let it bee now unto me according to thy word and yet through infirmity he said How can these things be and therefore in the very next words v. 18. he sayes unto God O that Ishmael might live before thee which words as they plainely expresse Abrahams good will and wishing to Ishmael yet under correction to better judgements I conceive also from a comparing of the words before and immediatly after that they intimate a kinde of doubting of Gods fulfilling his word As if Abraham should have said Lord I am
Master Shepheard Ib. Severall directions given by Doctor Preston in this case Ib. 3. Directions given in this case p. 53 1. Consider the nature of thy sinne in 6 particulars Ib. 2. Consider the mercy of God in 3 particulars Ib. 3. Fly to God by Prayer p. 53 54 SERM. III. CHAP. III. HOw to satisfie such Christians as thinke they ought not to beleeve because they doe not know they are elected The Complaint of the troubled soule p. 56 Something spoken to it by way of promise p. 57 The truth concerning Election premised in 5 Conclusions Papists and Arminians wound truth to heale conscience by lying charmes Ib. 8. Considerations propounded for soules thus troubled p. 58 59 c. 1. Consid Faith is not an apprehension of particular Election but an application of generall promises p. 59 60 61 62 2. Consid That thy faith only can discover to thee thy Election p. 62 The Covenant is only shewed by God to his Saints p. 62 63 3. Consider the phrase of Scripture expounding how our Election may be made knowne to us p. 63 4. Thou hast no ground to conclude against thy Election but thy unbeliefe p. 64 65 5. Cons Those that God elects to the end he elects to the means p. 65 66 We must have a sense of faith before we can have a sense of our Election p. 66 6. By this stumbling as we perplexe our selves so we call Gods wisdome in question a wayes and slander the charters of free grace p. 67 7. If we will beleeve Gods decrees cannot hinder us of heaven p. 68 8. Heaven and glory are worth an adventure whether we be elected or no. p. 68 69 Sâ—RM IV. CHAP. IV. HOw to comfort poore soules that dare not beleeve because of their unworthinesse in respect of their many and great sins 7. Considerations to comfort the soule under this affliction p. 72 73 c. 1. Gods grace is full enough of heighth and length and depth and breadth Christ cannot be brought to pant for breath of free grace p. 72 73 74 75 2. Consid There 's no defect of will in God to save the highest or greatest sinners p. 76 77 78 79 There is not only power but eagernesse in Christs will to save the greatest sinners p. 77 75 Christs eagernesse to save sinners proved by 12 particulars p. 77 78 79 1. He speaks 2. He sweares 3. He pleads 4. He expostulates with us upon denyals 5. He appeales 6. He wishes 7. He professeth he knowes not how to destroy them 8. He weeps 9. He invites 10. He comes from heaven to earth on this errand 11. He dyes for great sinners 12. He sends messengers to treat and parly with great sinners p. 77 78 79 3. Consid God hath pardoned and Christ hath washed as great sinners as thou art that were so either actually or habitually p. 80 4. Consid Infinite mercy never did its utmost yet God can pardon greater sinners then he hath pardoned p. 81 82 5. Consid There is as much reason on thy part why Christ should pardon thee as there was in any of the Saints why he pardoned them p. 83 6. Consid God never married any for a portion nor refused any for want of one p. 84 7. Consid Christ shall attaine his designe in pardoning sinners more fully by how much the greater sinner thou art p. 84 85 Christ gets most glory by pardoning great sinners p. 85 1. He glorifies his power and patience and riches of mercy p. 84 2. He gets glory from them They will love much p. 85 3. Others by their example will be perswaded to turne Ib. The whole case concluded with a story out of Eusebius p. 86 87 SERM. V. CHAP. V. HOw to satisfie a soule doubting that it hath sinned the sinne against the Holy-Ghost The complaint stated 89. Something spoken to it by way of premise 90. 1. There is such a sin 90. Why it is called the sinne against the Holy-Ghost 90. 2. It is unpardonable 91. 3. Elect ones cannot commit it p. 91 This scruple proceeds from ignorance p. 91 92 12. Considerations tending to comfort the soule under this wound and to informe us concerning the nature of this sinne p. 92 93 94 95 c. 1 Consid None could ever tell what this sinne was p. 9â— Various opinions of it 92. The Schoolmen and Papists opinion of it 92 Their 6 species of it disproved p. 92 93 How bsasphemy against the Holy-Ghost may be taken p. 93 How far we may discover what this sinne is p. 94 2. Consid None can be guilty of it but such as have had a great measure of knowledge p. 94 95 3. Consid It must be a setled sinne of our owne continued in without repentance not a transient suggested thought for which we grieve p. 96 97 4. Consid Every sin against knowledge is not this sin p. 97 What manner of sinning against knowledge it must be Ib. 5. Consid A bare deniall of the truth of God with which we are enlightened and the grace of God infused into us is not this unpardonable sin p. 98 What manner of deniall of truth is an ingredient into this sin Ib. 6. Consid Every envy at and hatred of our brethren and their goodnesse is not this sin p. 99 What manner of envy and hatred is an ingredient into this sin p. 100 7. Consid It must be joyned with a totall falling away from the truth Religion and profession of Jesus Christ Ib. 8. Consid Others would complaine of it as well as thy self if thou hadst sinned this sin p. 101 9 Consid Thy complaining and grieving for it is a signe thou art not guilty of it Ib. 10. Consid The sin against the Holy-Ghost is not unpardonable in respect of Gods mercy or its greatnesse p. 102 How and why it is said to be unpardonable Ib. 11. Consid It cannot be a block for thee in the way of beleevingly because though it doth take away from thee the power yet it doth not excuse thee from the duty of believing 103 12. Thou canst not conclude thy selfe to have sinn'd this sin if thou hast sinn'd it before thy dying houre Ib. The conclusion of the Case With a generall description of the sinne against the Holy-Ghost p. 104 105 SERM. VI. CHAP. VI. HOw to satisfie such poore soules as are conceited they doe not believe when they indeed doe 2 Causes of such Complaints 1. A mistake in the nature and Acts of faith p. 108 2. A misjudging of the effects of faith Ib. 2 Things propounded in order to satisfaction to such scruples as arise from the first cause Ib. 1 Thing viz. That there are many acts and degrees of faith and every act is not required to justifying faith Ib. 2 Thing That true faith is of so good a nature that it will consist in a soule with many doubts and weaknesses Ib. Various opinions concerning the justifying act of faith Knowledge is supposed to faith no
19. 11. By the judgement of the Lord David was made circumspect And Thirdly if we consider that the Christian is not self-opinionated He cares not for false glasses and is more apt to behold his graces in a diminishing then a multiplying glasse the sincere Christian concerning himself is as ready to miscall a mountain a mole-hill as the hypocrite is to misjudge every mole-hill a mountain almost as ready to miscall his good evill as the other to nickname his evill good And for the third Branch of the Doctrine That as it is the duty of Christians to be sensible and groan under the defect of Faith so it is their duty and they will not stand still but strive and pray for an increase of it Much reason might be given for that too As First From the nature of the spirit of God that worketh and dwelleth in them Faith is the spirits work 1 Cor. 12. 9. Flesh and blood never revealed it Now the spirit is a quickning spirit 1 Pet. 3. 18. It is life Rom. 8. 10. Now where there is a principle of life there will be growth It is a working spirit that phrase we have often The spirit which worketh in you c. Now the spirits work is not to undo what it hath done but to work further and more Secondly If we consider The end of the Christian in the acting of all his graces Phil. 3. 13. The Apostle expresseth it fully Perfection is his butt he knows he must draw his bow with all his strength and his arrow to the head if he means to reach the butt and he shall not hit it neither The Christians voice is Heb. 6. 1. Let us go unto perfection It is the hypocrite sets himself bounds in Religion and sayes hither will I go and no further And to adde no more Thirdly The Christian knows that the more he hath of Faith the more he hath of Christ he knows that there is a depth of sweetnesse in Christ that can never be â—adomed something more to be understood when he understands as much as he can of him when the soul hath as much as its narrow hand can grasp of him whole Christ is too big to be enclosed in mortall arms Now the soul knows that Faith is the hand must squeeze that essence of sweetnesse the arm that must claspe him and he knows that the longer his arm of Faith is the more he shall graspe of him though he shall never be able to comprehend immeasurable Christ Eph. 3. 16 17 18. This makes him alwayes complain of his dwarfishnesse that his hand of Faith is not big enough and his arm of Faith is not long enough he cannot get in so much of Christ into his soul as he would do this makes him pray for an increase of Faith and so often complain of the shortnesse of his arm he cannot beleeve as he would This makes him say with our Apostle here Lord increase my Faith I come now to the application and here is matter of Consolation and Exhortation For all Christians 1. Cons especially those that are most sensible of the weaknesse of their Faith There have been and are more dwarfs besides thee Christian Perfection is a white was never hit the best archers come an handfull short It is indeed the mark at which every one ought to levell his arrows but all the souls of Christians like the arrows of Ionathan have flown some over into glory some short some on this hand some on that none hath hit the mark Be of good comfort Christian weak Faith is Faith little ones are true children of the Father that casts none away that comes though creeping to him Heaven hath room for babes as well as men A childe may pull the latch of heavens door and go in and be welcome to the knee of the King of Glory to the bosome of him Isai 40. 11. Who feeds his flock like a shepheard and carries the lambs in his bosome Jesus Christ hath his arms full of tender sucking lambs or at least that were so upon the earth The youngest Christian if he be an heir is of age to take up his land in heaven nonage is no bar The Garden of God hath more slips then old stocks in it now indeed they are become stocks but here they were but tender slips while Christ took them up out of the land of grace and transplanted them But Secondly Eâ—hor Is it so that the best of Christians have but a weak Faith in comparison of that perfection we ought to aspire to and that it is the duty of Christians to be sensible of it and pray and strive against it Let us all then look upon it as our duty Let us pray Lord increase our Faith Let us strive after that we shall never attain to even perfection Heb. 6. 1. Now here many directions might be given The first I will give shall be to remove those things which hinder the growth of it as scruples cavillings c. From hence shall I take my rise for a subject which with the blessing of God I do intend for some time to insist upon to satisfie the souls of some poor Christians in those scruples which may perplex them touching this grace of Faith The removing of which will not a little conduce to the increasing of this grace in their souls I will begin with the first And here though I spend many Sermons I trust I shall not be tedious having intended to make it my work in these Lectures to satisfie doubting Christians in cases of conscience and to begin with those which concern this radical grace at which the Devill bends so much of his force and malice Therefore wouldest thou grow in Faith Direct 1. remove those scruples which hinder the beginning and progresse of Faith in thy soul There are two notes of a weak Faith in a gracious soul 1. A sence of no Faith 2. A fear of a false Faith First A sence of no Faith Many a soul doth beleeve that perswades it self it neither doth nor ought to beleeve you shall often meet with Christians and especially in the beginning of their conversion that will cry out O they cannot beleeve nay what have they to do to beleeve Faith were but a presumption in their soul if they could hatch it up Or if not so Secondly Yet you cannot make them think that they do beleeve no Faith and they are strangers c. Now as it is in the diseases of the body the cure is scarce wrought untill the cause be first discovered and removed so it is likewise in the troubles and disquietments of the soul we shall scarce be able to remove them out of the souls way unlesse we first finde how they came there and if we can but truely understand the cause we shall easily remove the effect In generall we must know these complaints are to be understood concerning the Acts of Faith I dare not or cannot or do
and fell down at their feet and said sirs what must I do to be saved Take the great convert Paul Act. 9. what astonishing sorrow was he swallowed up in he was even humbled to the grave before you read of his Faith Let every Christian examine his own experience whether ever he should have received or prized Christ if he had not first been strucken with the sence of his own misery Enough hath been said for it let us hear a little what can be said against it 1. Obj. No man will be humbled except he beleeve what shall make me run to God and mourn except I beleeve he will pardon Answ We do not dispute of any Faith but a justifying Faith To beleeve and be perswaded I may be pardoned is not a distinguishing act of a justifying Faith this was granted before t is one thing to beleeve I may be pardoned so may an hypocrite T is another thing to beleeve I am pardoned or to relye on Christ for pardon this is proper to a justified person nor can he beleeve he is pardoned till he is humbled 2. Obj. Repentance is the effect of Faith now the cause must alwayes go before the effect Answ We distinguished before of Repentance Repentance hath two parts The aversion of the soul from sin and the conversion of the soul to God the latter part of it is onely an effect of Faith the former part of it the turning of the soul from sin is also an effect but not onely an effect it is begun before Faith though it be not ended till our life be at an end Secondly The turning of the soul from sin and the imbittring sin to the soul is an effect of Faith or rather a consequent of Faith viz. a generall common Faith in the beginning but not alwayes a consequent of saving justifying Faith 3. Obj. Christ must work this humiliation or it is good for nothing now if Christ be in the soul working humiliation then there is Faith Therefore Faith must go before humiliation Ans First Though Christ work this humiliation in the soul yet it doth not follow that Christ is in the soul for it may be a work of common grace and Christ is not in every soul upon which his common grace works But secondly to answer more fully I am of the minde of Master Shepheard and Master Hooker that although there be an humiliation which is indeed the work of common grace which an hypocrite may have yet there is an humiliation which is the work of special grace and that this likewise precedes the exercise of Faith And although it is true that Christ cannot be in the soul but in the same instant the soul is in Christ for Faith is the marriage grace yet it doth not follow that the soul is inabled by an act of Faith to apply Christ to it self assoon as Christ is in the soul and the habit of Faith is infused into the soul and therefore the question is stated not concerning the habit of Faith but concerning the act of Faith viz. Whether God gives the soul power to receive relye upon and apply Christ or receive any comfortable apprehensions of Christ and the soul in respect of us who can onely judge of the habit by the act cannot be said to have Faith before it hath acted humiliation or repentance The question is not which the soul must have first in respect of Gods gift but which it acts first for our apprehension 4. Obj. The preaching of this puts souls upon diâ—pair and hinders Faith they do not beleeve because they cannot finde that they are so humbled as God requires Ans 1. The sun must not be hid because it hurts fore eyes What is the truth of God must not be concealed because wicked men and seducers grow worse and worse Secondly No â—oul that is elected can dispaire if God hath given them to Christ the Devil shall never pluck them out of his hand the word must be preached though to some it must prove the savour of death unto death To the Gentiles foolishnesse Thirdly We do not say they must repent to such and such a degree mourn so many tears we dispute not how much sorrow there must be but maintain there must be some Fourthly True sorrow ought not to hinder Faith for the end of it is onely to bring the soul to be willing to exercise the grace of Faith by comming to Christ resting and relying upon him for salvation c. 5. Obj. But God works not his acts of speciall grace after the manner of men he works them together therefore faith and repentance are together wrought Ans We dispute not how God works them but how the soul acts them not which is in the soul first but which appears out of the soul first Iacob and Esau may be twins and in their mothers womb together but shall it therefore follow that they shall come out together may not Esau put out his hand before Iacob and be seen first by the mother and world too 6. Obj. But this is to take away free grace to say God will not save a poor creature before it be thus and thus humbled Ans 1. It is not to take away the freenesse of grace but to teach men to take heed that they do not turn the grace of God into wantonnesse it does not destroy free grace to enjoin qualifications and conditions of Gods own making Secondly You may as well say it destroyes free grace to say none shall be saved but those that beleeve which is the expresse language of Scripture He that beleeveth not is damned already Thirdly Free grace is established hereby For 1. Is it not free grace to give a soul Christ if it will but mourn and be humbled and beleeve is it not a free gift to give a kingdom unto me upon condition I will throw away a knife with which I was about to cut my own throat 2. We do not say that this humiliation and precedent sorrow doth deserve any such free grace for the performance of the action therefore the grace is still free 3. We say that free grace works this humilation a man can as well break a rock as break his own heart without the work of this powerfull spirit and the spirits operations are free even like the winde that blows where it listeth Ioh. 3. 8. We exalt free grace and make it yet more free onely we would not have men turn the grace of God into wantonnesse to their own confusion and therefore their vain objection that this brings us again under the covenant of works do this and ye shall live falls in pieces of it self for we neither hold that it is in the power of any creature to do this to break his heart and mourn for sin nor yet that any shall merit any salvation by doing of it we abhor that doctrine of merits that God justifies either for any works of grace acted of our own or for the
merit of any graces which he hath infused into us 7. Obj. But when the Iaylor asked Paul what shall I do to be saved he doth not say mourn and be saved 〈◊〉 fast and pray and be saved but beleeve and be saved and when we read of the conversion of Lydia we do not read that she had any such humiliation as these Legallists talk of the text onely sayes that God opened the heart of Lydia Ans 1. To that of the Jaylor it is true that Paul doth not say mourn and be saved c. Paul had learned more wisedom then to afflict the afflicted the Text sayes He came trembling and fell at the Apostles feet Now the Apostle seeing him thus amazed with terrour bids him beleeve and though he knew not what to do yet he might be saved and how this proves that there is no need of humiliation let the discreet reader judge because when the Jaylor was so terrified that he was ready to dye Paul doth not bid him still be humbled but beleeve therefore there is no need of humiliation It is plain out of the Text that his humiliation although it was sudden and short yet it was strong First It made him tremble and fall down at the Apostles feet Secondly it wrought fully to its appointed end to beat the sinner out of himself Sirs saith he Wâ—at shall I do to be saved I know not what to do is implied for if he had known what to do he would never have askt what shall I do 8. Obj. But some will say his trembling and falling down was for fear the prisoners were gone Ans That is cleared out of the Text Paul had cried unto him Do thy self no harm for we are all here after all this cometh his trembling and crying what sall I do But secondly we may shape another answer to it Paul saith to the Jaylor only beleeve and thou shalt be saved beleeving doth here include humiliation Faith is an act of an humbled soul and no soul will or can beleeve that hath not been truly humbled therefore the great hurt that those do that preach down humiliation under a pretence of preaching up Faith is dealing too deceitfully with peoples souls First Preaching onely Faith Secondly Perswading them that a sinner as a sinner drunkard whoremunger c. is the subject of Faith and not a sinner as an humbled sinner For the example of Lydia and the Eunuch which is all that there is any pretence to boast of We answer First That God opened her heart without any knocking is easier for us to denye then for them to prove Secondly saith Master Shepheard These were examples of souls converted unto God before who did beleeve in the Messias but did not know that this Iesus was the Messias which they soon did when the Lord sent the means to reveal Christ so that it doth not follow she had never sorrowed because she did not theâ— sorrow vid. Shepheard Sound beleever p. 54. Thirdly In examples recorded in Scripture saith he of Gods converting grace do not think they had no sorrow for sin because it is not set down in all places and quoteth 1 Tim. 1. 13 14. Paul was a persecutor but the Lord received him to mercy doth it follow therefore he was received without humiliation see the contrary Act. 9. Fourthly Gods works are not alwayes alike in all therefore in stating the question I put in in Gods ordinary way of dispensations Elijah went to heaven in a fiery charriot but every one must not look to be coacht thither See Master Shepheards eight Rules concerning this in his Sound beleever a p. 48. ad pag. 57. And now I leave every Christian reader to determine by Reason Scripture and his own experience Whether Faith goes before Repentance or sorrow for sin or whether that goes before Faith SERM. II. LUKE 17. 5. Lord increase our Faith Cap. 2. The way of comforting a soul under that trouble of conscience I am not enough humbled c. THe last day you may remember I discust the question Whether humiliation goes before Faith or no which being premised I shall come now to speak something by way of satisfaction to such souls as labour under this perplexity of spirit Ah! saith a Christian I cannot beleeve I dare not rest my soul upon Christ nor upon the promises Alas I was never yet sufficiently humbled were my heart broken enough then I might be bound up by resting upon the premises World God lay me low enough then I might hope to be exalted but would you have such an hard flintâ—-hearted wretch as I think I beleeve what one that hath such a proud stiff-neck how is it possible that I should have any ground of Faith Faith they say is a flower that grows nowhere but just upon the brink of the lake that burns with fire and brimstone it must be bottomed upon the sense and pain of a lost condition the way to be found is to be lost could I be weary and heavy loaden once I might think to be cased by Faith This is the sad affliction that many a good but sadded poor soul groans under Now for my more methodicall proceedings in speaking something to the satisfaction of poor souls groaning under this trouble of spirit I will first speak a word by way of premise Then I will offer some considerations to comfort a soul under such a perplexity and distresse of spirit Lastly I shall speak something by way of direction and caution For the first of thâ—râ— by way of Premise Premise We use to say there is no errour but hath some truth in it no ore but hath something of gold as no field of wheat but hath some tares nor scarce a field of tares but there is some ear or two of wheat And so it is in this complaint of the soul here is something of truth as well as something of mistake upon what the complaint is grounded that therefore no soul might presume from what I shall speak by and by not to oil up a presumptuous soul but to establish a fainting soul Let me premise First That it is a truth and that which must stand if all the world be found liers to it That God seldom or never gives the soul power to apprehend and apply Iesus Christ and truly to rest upon him before that he hath first of all shewed the soul it s lost and undone condition God makes humiliation to act first in the soul in regard of our sight and hence are the promises made not to sinners as sinners but to sinners as humbled sinners I mean that God hath humbled and brought low I proved this sufficiently the last time Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance I say this is a truth and we must grant it yea and we must grant too that it is according to the ordinary dispensations of his grace and if any come
this sin how wilt thou know it is finall before thou diest canst thou not yet repent and beleeve strive then Christian God may give thee power and call thee in at the eleventh hour V. Aust T. 10 Ep. 11. de Verbis Domini p. 46. copiose just at thy dying hour as the theef upon the crosse which if he does thou hast unjustly and cruelly condemned thy self and belyed thy own soul To â—umme up therefore all in a word You hear Christians beleeving yet remains your great duty It stands firm beleeve and you shall be saved You have seen one block more thrown out of your way I have shewed you this temptation or suggestion cannot hinder where by the way you have accidentally heard something of the nature of this unpardonable which being well understood by Christians will be enough to satisfie Christians against this doubt And from all that hath been said concerning this You may gather this discription of the sin against the Holy-ghost which is consonant to the sense of most sober and Orthodox Divines concerning it and conteins the marrow of what most of our Divines have said concerning it Take it thus It is for a man that hath been first enlightened by the Holy-ghost A Discription of the sin against the Holy-ghost With secondly Fundamentall Gospel truths Thirdly 1. A subjecto Distinctly Against first knowledge And secondly Deliberation Thirdly Directly Fourthly From the degree Freely and wilfully Fifthly Openly Sixthly A causa procreante Maliciously Seventhly Desperately Without any provocation but the corrupt wickednesse of his own heart drawn out occasionally upon the making known of some Divine Evangelicall fundamentall truths or propagating of them he himself being convinced that they are the truths of God In his heart to envy the credit of the truth amongst others and out of his malice to God From the acts of it whose the truth is and to the truth because it is true to blaspheme and revile the truth of God and oppose it in others malitiously and to blaspheme those gifts of the Holy-ghost From the object of it and that truth which he had formerly been convinced of and received From the end of it and to set himself in such malicious opposition against it as to desire and do what in him lies to spoil the credit From the consequents of it and extinguish the light of the truth and destroy the friends of it because they are so and in this wickednesse to go on making a generall defection from God and the wayes of God and maliciously persisting in such opposition without any repentance and finally perishing in it despairing of Gods mercy if at any time he should have any kinde of remorse This I conceive is a full description of it which if such Christians as ordinarily complain of this burthen would learn they would quickly finde their complaint groundlesse If any yet remain unsatisfied in I shall refer them to a little but full Book concerning this subject called A Discourse of the sin against the Holy-ghost composed by Master Bradshaw in which they shall finde as much as can be said upon this subject Here I shall break off And now I have done with answering the Scruples of those that think they ought not and pretend they dare not beleeve Either 1. Conceiting they are not enough humbled Or 2. Because they do not know they are elected Or 3. Because they conceive themselves unworthy Or 4. Upon a conceit they have sinned the unpardonable sin against the Holy ghost I should now come to a second note of a weak Faith which is a fear of a false Faith which is ordinarily a note of a true Faith O they are confident they do not beleeve so many are their doubtings so little is their perswasion and assurance so weak the actings of their graces are but of this hereafter SERM. VI. LUKE 17. 5. Lord increase our Faith I Am still upon the work of removing such obstructions as hinder the work of Faith in the soul I have done with those of the first sort viz. such as are praevious that make the soul stumble at the threshold while it conceives it may not and pretends it dare not beleeve I am now come to a second sort that are gone a step further then these they will tell you that they are convinced beleeving is their duty and their great duty and the duty for the omission of which they fear they shall perish But they cannot they do not beleeve they may cheat themselves with a presumption but they want such a certainty of perswasion and such a fulnesse of assurance as is requisite to true Faith they are full of ignorance and weaknesses c. Cap. 6. How to satisfie those that are conceited against the work of Faith in their souls viz. against the truth of it NOw for satisfaction to such Christians let us search out the cause of such complaints I conceive there may be a double cause 1. A mistake in the nature and acts of Faith 2. A misjudging of the effects of Faith First The complaints of such a soul which yet all this time truely beleeves may arise from a mistake concerning the nature and acts of Faith and therefore the way to satisfie it will be rightly to inform it concerning them and to this end I shall but propound to such a soul to consider these two things 1. That there are many acts and more degrees then one of true saving Faith 2. That true Faith is of so good a nature that it will and may dwell with many doubtings and weaknesses in a poor soul These two things cleared I trust many souls will be satisfied for commonly the mistake is grounded upon ignorance conceiving there is no Faith but Faith of assurance and that Faith comes to be no Faith if but a dram of doubting be mingled with it c. Consider therefore I say First That true Faith hath severall acts and severall degrees A fulnesse of perswasion is not the least act or degree of Faith no not of true justifying Faith There are notes under that Ela. There is great quarrelling concerning the nature and essence of true justifying Faith some will have it to be a bare knowledge Thus saith the Apostle The devils beleeve and tremble Some will afford us a little more and tell us that Faith consists in an assent but beyond this they will not stride some in too full opposition to these denying any certainty of perswasion and assurance to be have described Faith by an assurance and full perswasion which is the highest and not the direct but the reflex act of Faith when indeed the very essence of justifying Faith lieth betwixt these in an act of adherence to and reliance upon Jesus Christ To Faith we grant a knowledge is required of Gods word But this we say is rather supposed to Faith then an act of true justifying Faith First The lowest act of Faith
is an assent a yielding in thy soul to the word of God an agreement to the truth of it Exod. 14. 31. Israel beleeved the Lord and his servant Moses viz. gave credence and assent agreed that it was just and good and true that the Lord spake and relied upon the authority of him that spake it So by this act of Faith doth the beleever when he hears the word of God revealed concerning his salvation he closeth with it as suppose that Ioh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever beleeves in him should not perish but have everlasting life Or that of the Apostle There is no other name under heaven whereby a man may be saved but the name of Iesus or that again This a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Faith now doth not onely know this but closeth with God in these truths And so concerning the promises of salvation when God sayes Though your sins were as scarlet I will make them as snow though they were as crimson yet they shall be white as wooll Faiths work now is to perswade the soul to an assent to and credence of the truth of this good word of God yea and it is not every assent that is an act of Faith neither First It must be a stedfast assent The beleever doth as verily beleeve the promise of God as that he doth live he sayes in his heart and with his whole heart First The word that tells me this is the world of an ever-living and unchangeable God and it is undoubtedly his Word Secondly It is the word of a true and faithfull God The Apostle calls Gods Word The word of truth And it is the word of truth either materially the matter of it is truth or objectively the object of it is truth It hath the God of truth for the Author It is whole truth for the matter And this the beleever gives full and stedfast credit unto Secondly Yea and he gives credit to every truth that the word of God holds out to him as truth Faith quickens the soul to thirst after full discoveries of truth and quickens the soul to receive every beam of the light of truth that shines into it The Hebrews say That there is not the least tittle of the law upon which great mountains do not depend The beleever saith there 's not the least jot in the word of God upon which great mountains of truth do not depend not any leaf but the God of truth is wrapt up in I remember that it was Gods command in the 28. cha of Deut. That when the severall curses were read all the people should say Amen and that not to this or that curse but at the denuntiation of every curse all the people said Amen I do not reade the like command when the blessings were pronounced yet without question their assent was required to them as well as the other But our hearts are ready enough to say Amen to blessings and promises but we would not say Amen to threatnings and curses Now the beleever gives assent and credence to the word of God V. Balls Treat of Faith 1. p. even there where it seemeth most to strike at his own interest and happinesse he beleeves all things that are written in the law and the Prophets Acts 24. 14. Yea and he gives thirdly a clear assent to the word of God and every portion of it He is not like him that saith Amen to any thing he will give his assent to every piece of the word of God and yet not a blinde assent to any piece of it but every truth that he assents unto shines into his soul with a light as clear as the suns at high-noon-day As Christ told the woman of Samaria Ioh. 4. 22. You worship you know not what but we know what we worship The discourse had been very high about very great mysteries Christ had told her of a strange gift he would give her Living water v. 10. That should have a strange quality even a quality to quench thirst for ever v. 14. She gave some assent to this the water pleased her tast but it was but a blinde assent for she dreamed of such a water as might satisfie her bodily thirst that she might no more come thither to draw And v. 20. When she made a confession of her Faith to Jesus Christ that it was just of the same length bredth of her fathers not an inch longer nor shorter a Faith of the same last with most now a dayes Christ told her that in the dayes to come there should be a strange kinde of worshipping the Father Neither at Ierusalem nor yet in that mountain Ye worship saith he you know not what but we know what we worship Many assent this day to the word of God They assent to it that there is a Christ come into the world to save sinners c. None will deny this but it is in their brains but as a dark notion or else they have received it as a tradition of their fathers Our forefathers religion is a great plea in these dayes The Samaritans they worshipped they gave a kinde of a blinde credence and assent to some things that were truths in the word But alas they worshipped they knew not what they had no clear distinct knowledge of those truths that they made an orall profession of and with their mouths did pretend assent to So wicked and profane men now a dayes give a kinde of an assent to the word of God and to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ but it is far from the meanest and lowest act of true Faith When they hear or have received it from tradition that Christ was born of a Virgin or that Christ though eternall God yet was also perfect man that he died for sinners c. The wretches will tell you they beleeve these things But alas they assent not to them as clear distinct truths made out evidently and convincingly to their souls they say they professe they worship they know not what They understand not these things The natural man receiveth not the things of God for they are foolishnesse unto him 1 Cor. 2. 14. nor can he know them for they are spiritually discerned He gives his blinde assent and perhaps will set his hand to them but he doth but set his hand to a blank if he does Nor can it be otherwise for the carnall man hath nothing but the bucket of carnall reason to draw with out of the unfadomable depth of the mysteries of salvation and while he hath nothing else thus reason disputes and cannot but dispute in his soul If Christ be God How could he be born or dye reason cannot answer these questions therefore they seem dark to the poor blinde wretch and though he professes he gives credence to the word of God in these particulars Yet his assent
the Spirit hath not the Spirit of prophesie For those Scriptures which it is necessary in point of salvation every beleever should know every beleever understands the nature of them God hath made the water shallow that the Lambs may wade but for those places through which the beleevers passages do not lie to Heaven in which the Elephants may swim God doth not require that every Lambe should sound those depths Fifthly A Christian may be so farre ignorant in the fundamentalls as that he cannot make them out and yet be a true beleever he may be ignorant in the particulars by which the generals are demonstrated as for example he may know that Christ dyed for him and rest upon the merits of his death for eternall life and so truly beleeve and yet not be able to make this out by reason of his ignorance how Christ being God should be capable of death how the humane and divine Nature were conjoyned hee may know that Christ satisfied by his active obedience for his actuall sinne and yet not perfectly understand how Christ being man should be free from sinne being conceived by the Holy Ghost The boyes Exercise may be true Latin though he cannot pierce every word The Disciples were beleevers yet were ignorant concerning the Resurrection yea concerning Christs union with the Father Luk. 24. 25. Ioh. 14. 4 5 6. The knowledge may bee cleare to them in the generall though through their infirmity and ignorance they be not able to cleare it up in the severall particulars Lastly They may bee so farre ignorant in the substantialls of Religion as that they cannot dispute them The faculty of beleeving and the art of disputing are two things I may know and beleeve that which I cannot maintaine upon dispute It is a knowne speech of that female Martyr I cannot dispute but I can dye for Christ if she had not beleeved she would not have dyed she could maintain her faith with her blood which shee could not maintaine with her tongue As every Scholler so every beleever is not a disputant It is good Logick in Divinity for the Christian to hold the conclusion though he knowes not what to say to the Sophisters premises But lest now some should thinke and say that I have laid Heaven a little too wide open I must limit what I have said with two Cautions To satisfie the poore doubting Christian in point of ignorance I have laid downe the truth in these Conclusions and shewed you how farre it is possible that a man may bee ignorant and yet a true Beleever But First It must bee provided hee bee not content with this ignorance but useth the meanes to increase knowledge searcheth the Scripture and heares the Word that this ignorance proceeds meerly out of infirmity not of wilfulnesse otherwise this knowledge will not bee sufficient It is given as the character of unbeleevers 2 Pet. 3. 5. 2 Pet. 3. That they were willingly ignorant Wee have an High-Priest who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for as much as hee also was compassed about with infirmity Heb. 5. 2. But for the wilfully ignorant the High-Priest was to offer no Sacrifice Know therefore Christian that thou canst have no comfort that thou beleevest though thou beest ignorant unlesse appealing to thine owne heart thou canst say I have done what I can to dispell these mists of ignorance and learne the whole truth of God Christ Jesus will take the blind man by the hand Mar. 8. 23 24 25. if he beseecheth him to touch him provided hee be willing to receive his sight And as hee did not cast off the blinde man that at first saw men walking like Trees So hee will not cast off the Christian that at his first illumination sees divine truths like Trees not clearely distinctly and fully but as he dealt with that blinde man hee left him not there but hee put his hands againe upon him and made him see every man clearly So if thou belongest to Christ hee will put his hands againe upon thee and make thee see every portion of his divine truth more clearely hee will make thy dawning twilight be growing up to a mid-day of knowledge â— Pet 3. 18. Therefore Saint Peter layes it as his necessary injunction upon Beleevers That they should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ That 's the first Caution Secondly this gnorance may bee consistent with true Faith in thee provided thou dost not deny the truth that thou dost not know Thou mayest have faith though thou dost not know what the Trinity is or how it is but if thou denyest the Trinity I make a question of thy truth of faith or possibility of salvation Ignorance of some truths is not damnable but the denyall of every truth when reveaâ—ed is damnable want of a cleare knowldge is not damnable but denyall of the truth because thou canst not clearely make it out is damnable Speak not evill of what thou knowest not but wait untill and pray that God would reveale it unto thee 1 Tim. 5. 8. 1 Tim. 5. 8. He hath denyed the Faith and is worse then an infidell There was a great difference betwixt the Disciples that had not yet learnt and the Sadduces that denyed the Resurrection I never yet learnt or read that any of the latter were beleevers the Disciple had not yet known the Father nor yet the son well Ioh. 14. 7 8 9. Io. 14 7 8 9. But the Apostle sayes He is Antichrist that denyeth the Father and the Sonne Ignorance of truth will be borne with but denyall of truth shall not Take heed of denying the truths thou dost not know Thus I have shewed you how true Faith may consist with doubtings concerning the point of knowledge which though it be not properly called an act of faith yet it is supposed in the lowest act and to satisfie you I have shewed you what ignorance may be consistent with true Faith and what not and with what Cauâ—ions a Christian may bee comforted concerning his faith notwithstanding his ignorance in some truths and some things not unnecessary to be known The Eighth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith CHAP. 9. Concerning those doubts and weaknesses which may consist with true Faith in respect to its act of Assent and how to comfort a soule under such troubles I Shall now go on to shew you what doubts a Christian that truely beleeves may have consistent with his Assent which I laid down as the first act of faith for knowledge is rather supposed to faith then an act of it You may remember I told you Assent is an act of faith whereby the Beleever doth firmly fully and clearly agree to the truth of God revealed in his Word Now sayes the doubting Christian Alas I have no faith I scarce assent to the Word of God at all or if I
unto severall truths which are in the word provided 1. That thou assentest to all truths that are necessarily to be beleeved to salvation and the foundations of Faith 2. Provided thou strivest against other doubtings and labourest to get a sense of Faith and a strength to resist the Devils temptations and to be convinced of every particular truth and of thy errour if it bee one which thou hast taken up from some mistaken portion of Scripture and labourest for a more cleare and distinct knowledge of every truth that so thy assent may be more cleare every day than other The Ninth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith I Am shewing you what doubts may consist in a gracious soule with true faith I have already shewed what weaknesse may consist with faith in respect of knowledge and what doubts in relation to the meanest and lowest act of faith which is assent It is my task at this time to shew you what doubts and weaknesses may consist with saving faith in a gracious soule in relation to the second act which is indeed the essence and marrow of justifying faith that is the act of adhering the soules rolling relying and wholly depending it selfe upon Jesus Christ for salvation for although the soules assenting to the promise and being perswaded of the promise as a sure and stedfast word of truth be an act of faith yet it is concluded by most or all godly and sober Divines that it is not the act of faith that justifies but as it is concluded against the Antinomians and Libertines on one side that it is not faith of assurance that onely justifies so it is also concluded against the Papists on the other side that it is not an assent to and perswasion of the truth of the Word that justifieth the soule but that true justifying faith though it doth suppose both knowledge and assent yet it doth especially consist in the soules rollings and throwing it selfe upon the Lord Jesus Christ for eternall salvation and adhering to the promises as its portion And therefore it is observed by learned and gracious Mr. Ball 1 Par. p. 24. in his Treatise of Faith that there are six words in Scripture by which the Holy Ghost doth in Scripture expresse to us true and saving faith This I have noted before every one of which doth denote unto us that the very essence and marrow of true and saving faith is a reliâ—nce and dependance of the soule upon Christ The first is Beleeve opposed to fainting Psal 27. 13. it argues a staying of the soule upon something when it was falling swooning fainting c. The second word is Trust his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. A third word is translated trust but signifies to betake to as a Castle Psal 2. 11. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him A fourth word signifies to leane upon as a man leanes himselfe upon a staffe 2 Chron. 16. v. 7 8. A fifth word signifies to stay and rest the minde upon Isa 48. 2. They stay themselves upon the God of Israel A sixth word signifies to roll a mans selfe upon a thing as a man in danger of drowning catcheth hold of a Willow and hang upon it all which words denote to us that the true and proper distinguishing act of true justifying faith is the soules rolling it selfe upon the promises of life and upon Christ for eternall salvation I take true justifying faith so far as it is the soules act by the vertue and strength of the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ infused in relation to this act to be this for a soul wholly and stedfastly and solely and obediently to rest and roll it self upon the Lord Iesus Christ for eternall life Now in this act of true and saving faith there may be a great deale of weaknesse and it may be accompanied with a great deale of doubting CHAP. X. Concerning those weaknesses which may consist with true faith in a gracious soule and how to satiisfie the soule that conceives it doth not truly rely upon Christ because it doth not finde that it can rely so fully and constantly as it desires nor upon all the promises alike ALas sayes a poor soul I cannot think that I do really rest and râ—l my self upon Iesus Christ and the promises for eternall life when I do rest as I think I am ready again to think I doe not and if I be in a frame of heart one day that I think that now I can roll my self upon Christ and trust his promises another day again I can trust nothing if sometimes I do cleave to the word of life as sweet and pretious and imbrace it as true and prize Christ and value his Word above all sensuall delights whatsoever and hunger and thirst after it and after Christ another while again I cleave to a sensuall good more then to a spirituall promise or an heavenly Christ and besides I cannot rely upon God for the fulfilling of every promise there are some of Gods promises that I think I could rest upon God for fulfilling of others again I cannot for my life though I am perswaded that they are equall words of truth with the other trust God for nor can I be fully perswaded that the promises do really and peculiarly belong to me Now to satisfie the soule in this particular I will shew you what doubtings and weaknesses may be in the soule and yet the soule at that time may have received and may rest and rely and roll it self upon the Lord Iesus Christ for the promises of salvation and may at the same time have true saving justifying faith this is my work to which I am to addresse my selfe Know for thy comfort First Thou mayest fully and wholly rely thy soule upon Iesus Christ and yet not beleeve thou dost fully and wholly rest Reliance and dependance is necessary to Faith not full perswasion of such a reliance I meane justifying faith Reliance is a necessary act of Faith full perswasion of such a reliance is a comfortable act of Faith depending and relying is the act of this hand helped by Gods Spirit full perswasion of this reliance is more the shining of Gods face then the act of our soules Labour more to get evidences of the truth of thy act of faith then of the degrees of it Christ may be in the room and yet not seen he may be in the midst of thy heart and saying Peace be to this soule and yet the doores of thy sense be shut Heaven is a thing unseen and he that measureth his faith by his eye may call an Ephah an Omer especially if thou wilt not think that thou hast faith unlesse thou canst see a truth of the very act and refuse to take an evidence for thy sense from the effects of faith The acts of the minde are secret acts of which as I said before we are very ill Judges Resting and relying upon Christ is
an act of the minde and is an hidden and mysticall act which we cannot weigh in any scales to try whether it be full weight yea or no here 's the trouble of many Christians ask them whether they rest and rely upon Jesus Christ for salvation yea or no they will tell you they cannot think they do yet they will confesse that if they do not rely upon him they rely upon nothing their sinnes and duties their morality and civility they have utterly disclaimed and will cry out of these as menstruous clothes and filthy rags yea and confesse that they would not they durst not sin against God for a world yet they cannot think they rest truly upon Christ for salvation though they will confesse they desire it and hope they do it and they make the Law of Christ the rule of their lives and they have a secret soule-enflaming love to Christ but because they cannot understand the secret mystery of the internal act therefore they will not they cannot flatter their souls into a faith and apprehension that they do truly beleeve when indeed there is no act of the mind the nature of which and truth of which we can discover from the knowledge of it clearly in it selfe but must be forced to examine the truth and falshood of it by the effects and it must be the infinite and rare work of God to perswade our sense of the truth of our faith may it not be possible think you to finde one that is beautifull very beautifull and yet all her friends shall not perswade her that she hath any beauty at all we may have that which we will be not known of The woman hath seen her face in a false glasse or doth not know what beauty is and therefore will not be perswaded by other mens eyes to rectifie her owne judgement So it is with Beleevers they may have a beautifull face of faith and yet not thinke so Secondly A Christian may have a true faith and truly rely upon Christ and really think he doth not at all trust and rely upon Iesus Christ Sense in a Christian may not onely have a mist cast before its eyes but have its eyes clearly put out Suppose a man had put up a Petition to the King for some place of honour and trust this Petition lyes unanswered a great while at last the King answers this Petition and grants that place or dignity to him the Subject being at a distance from the Prince may have this place or honour conferred and yet not know of any such matter but verily beleeve his Petition lies like a cast paper hath he not his dignity because he knows it not Christians are misjudging creatures and too ready to suspect their owne happinesse they may call their resting and beleeving presumption their faith boldnesse The Hypocrite calls his drosse Gold his Alchymie Silver and the self-suspecting Christian is as ready on the other hand to call his Gold Brasse and his Silver Lead It is a rare thing to finde a Christian that will look his gracious face in a true Glasse the modest creature is afraid he should be proud if hee should look upon his beauty Heaven may bee hid under the dark and cloudy apprehensions of a terrible dismall hell Christ may be saying in Heaven Thou art saved Thou art saved while thou art saying upon earth O I am damned I am damned The Angels may be keeping holy-day for thee there while thou art keeping Fridayes here There may be joy in heaven for the same cause and at the same time for which and in which there may be sorrow on earth thou mayest have more friends in Heaven then thou knowest of Christ at that very time may be pleading hard at Heavens Barre for thee while thou art thinking he is reading an Enditement against thee thou mayest at that time have Christ in thy armes when thou thinkest he is as far from thy soule as Heaven from Hell Fâ—om hence will follow Thirdly Thou mayest question and doubt whether thou doest truly rest or no and yet truly rest Disputing argues weaknesse of the act and want of sense but not a totall want of the act This is lesse then the other but I have mentioned it because I have found this to be the temper of many Christians pinch upon that piont ask them whether they wholly rest and rely upon Christ for salvation they dare not tell you they think they do not nor they think they doe but they cannot tell what to think they kâ—ow not whether they do or no though they dare not conclude the falshood and nullity yet they dare not assert the reality and verity of any act of Faith in their soules they live at great incertainties and this makes them think they do not beleeve They are sure disputing is no beleeving To this I answer in this conclusion That thou mayest make a question whether thou beleevest or no and yet truly beleeve It is true disputing is no beleeving but though they be not things of the same nature yet they are not so ill neighbours but they may dwell under the same roof of the soule First Thou mayest doubt whether thou beleevest or no and yet beleeve this is not a question about the object of faith in which thou mayest for all this remaine unshaken but meerly about thy act of faith thus disputing thou dost not dispute whether the promise be true or no but whether thou art as thou shouldest be perswaded of the truth of it and dost as thou oughtst rest upon it for a word of truth and yet some disputes and doubtings about the object are not inconsistent with faith as I have shewed before It is a soule-destroying opinion which some Libertines have hatched in these dayes that a Christian ought not to question the truth of his Faith Such an unbeleefe shuts not men out of Heaven nor argues a nullity of Faith Paul was wrapt up into the third Heaven whether in the body he could not tell or whether out of the body he could not tell yet without question Paul was wrapt up in the body if wrapt up at all The Beleever may be in the like doubt concerning his Faith that S. Paul was concerning his rapture and yet have reall true Faith though we ought not to content our selvs with it yet we may know for our comfort that we may go disputing our faith to Heaven and many a one hath such an hot dispute with his own soule that his death is forced to prove the Moderator when he receives his end of his Faith even the salvation of his soule And thus I have shewed you in three particulars how the Christian may doubt concerning his resting and relying upon Christ and yet truly rely 1. He may question whether he truly relies or not 2. He may not be able to affirm nor think that hee doth truly relie yea further he may through a misjudging himselfe think he doth not rely
were in his drowning danger though he be on the shore the terrours had surprized him before are not presently shaken of A second cause may be in regard of some holds that have already failed the soule Faith is when the soule layes hold upon Jesus Christ as the twig of salvation and hangs upon him for life and heaven and happinesse Now the soule hath had many twigs failed It is the nature of man to be timerous and as a drowning man will catch hold upon any thing which comes next hand to save his life on if he catcheth hold on one and that breaks he claps hold on another if that again breaks he claps hold on a third if that also breakes he still claps hold on a fourth beleeving it will hold otherwise he would never lay hold upon it yet so many having failed he cannot but feare lest that should faile him too So it is with a poor soule sin hath almost drowned him in terrour first he claps hold upon moralitie and civilitie resolving to live a sober and honest and vertuous life and thinks this will beare him well this twig breakes and will not hold when God hath a minde to work his work upon the the soule he quickly shewes the soule that this is a bruised reed and broken staffe the soule is plunged into a depth of horror and terror again well then hee claps hold of another twig and that is his duties he prayes and fasts and here he hangs this shall save me saith he this twig also breaks the Lord shews the poor wretch that all its righteousnesse is as a menstruous cloth and as filthy rags in his sight and here the soule is again plunged in feare at last God shews the soule the bough of Jesus Christs Righteousnesse the drowning sinking poor creature layes hold of this but with trembling lest this should also faile at first it feares A third cause may be in regard of the promise Faiths work is to lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ but now the soule doth not do this immediately but mediately Christ doth not appear and speak out of heaven to the soule and say I am thy salvation then the work of Faith would be more easie but Christ hath given the soul many both sweet and precious promises and these are the cords that the Lord Iesus Christ throwes out to the soule to pull it to the land with Now the soule takes this but with trembling untill it hath tryed the strength of them in regard it conceives the promises are lyable to many ambiguities bounded with many conditions and limitations and the soule conceives it selfe either not within the bounds of the promise or unable to fulfill the conditions of the promise or that it may make a false application of the promise And hence it is that come to a poor drooping soule that feares its condition and hath a true though a trembling hand of faith for Faith may have the palsey and urge the faithfulnesse of God in promising the surenesse of the promise once made the unchangeable nature of God they will tell you they do not a jot question this they know God is not man that he should lye nor yet as the son of man that he should repent they know that he is both faithfull and true but the promises they feare are not made to them they indeed rest upon them but whether rightly or no God knowes they conceive that either the promises were made to particular persons as to the Nation of the Jewes or they are sure to the particular number of Gods Elect of which they are none c. they will tell you that indeed the promises are true but they are conditionall and they feare that the conditions of the promise are not fulfilled in their soules so that the work lies another way not so much to perswade them of the truth of the promises in generall the cause of their trembling lies not here for feare that the promise should faile those to whom it belongs but for feare that they should misapply and misunderstand the faithfull and true promises of God And now although we must say concerning this trembling this is also our infirmity yet none can deny that it is an hereditary disease to the nature of man and will be in us more or lesse so long as any of us be in the flesh and so long as sinne remaines in our flesh and will be especially and most in those that have lien under greatest feares and terrours and are newly got out of them and begin to have a little of the light of comfort glimmer upon them even as a man that should come out of an horrid and dark dungeon where he hath been in darknesse thick darknesse into the glaring sight of the Sun in the top of the Meridian at the first will be dazeled and rub his eyes and apprehend himself in some darknesse though he be in the light He that had his eyes opened Ioh. 9. first thought he saw men like trees and this trembling may consist with true dependance Iob. 13. 15. Though he kill me yet I will trust in him the last words yet I will trust in him argued faith and a strong faith faith that he would trust a strong faith that yet hee would trust and yet whoso considereth the first words that Iob apprehended himself in a danger of killing will easily think that it was a trembling faith that Iob there acted And as it is ordinary with poor Christians through their infirmity to beleeve tremblingly in the beginning of their conversion so there is also another time when trembling doth ordinarily accompany true faith in the people of God and that is a time of desertion Secondly in time of desertion I think none will deny but Gods children have and act and must act true faith in this saving and justifying act of reliance and dependency but I am sure this they cannot doe without trembling Such was the condition of Iob in that place I before mentioned Iob 13. 15. David did rely and strongly rely in his time of desertion insomuch that in his 6. Psalm v. 8. he speakes confidently of a thing that he beleeved for as if it were already done The Lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping and yet whosoever readeth but the former part of that Psalm will finde that he was in a trembling temper His soule was sore vexed his bones were troubled he was weary with his groaning and he made his bed to swim with his teares c. Now the cause of this trembling ariseth First from the sense of the sinne The sinner saith Ah! the promises did belong to me but I have been a backslider and now what have I to doe with the promises What hath such a wretch as I to doe with these filthy unclean hands of mine to lay hold upon a clean Christ The sense of sin strikes a deep impression upon the soule and puts a shaking into the heart of
there is a waking heart though there be no waking eye the soule as well as the body in sleep is bereaved of sense wait but till the morning and the soule will confesse it seeth and hath recovered its senses again Thus for thy comfort know Christian that thou couldst not justly expect to feele alwayes alike for first God doth not dispense alwayes alike and secondly if he did dispense alwayes alike yet a benummed ashy winter-sleepy soule hath not that beauty â—or that sense which a lively healthy well-tempered clear-spring-awakened soule hath Fifthly consider That Gods strength may be then seen in thee when it is not seen and felt by thee The gracious soule is not alwayes nay is very seldome a competent Judge of it self the high Christian may often have a very low yea too low an opinion of himselfe the Christian is his own worst construing Book and especially too at some times if Paul may be judge of himself sometimes he is the least of Saints and the chiefest of sinners and unworthy to bee called an Apostle If David may be judge of himselfe Psal 22 v. 6. He is a worm and no man yea the very reproach of men So if many Christians may be judges of themselves Alas they cannot pray they cannot love God they cannot beleeve they feel nothing of the rength of God carrying them out when if standers by may be judges there is a great deale of the strength of God manifested in their hearts and carriages of their lives and God is gloriously discovered in carrying out their hearts so gloriously and sweetly and firmely for him as he doth take a true Christian and this is a sure rule that God and Gods people have far better opinions of him then he hath of himselfe now this may comfort thee when other better and more experienced Christians by thy own confession then thy self can see more in thee then thou canst feele the body in a dead swound feels no life in it selfe but all its vitall motions and functions are hindred now therefore at such a time others in the roome are Iudges of its life or death they by observing the warmth of the body the motions of the pulse or applying a glasse to the mouth of the swounding person do perceive life in the man that to his owne sense and perhaps to the sense of some others is a dead carkasse Sixthly and lastly consider that it is no Argument to warrant thee not to beleeve because thou doest not feele God carrying thee out by his armes of strength in such a manner to spirituall duties and the acts of spirituall and saving graces as thou desirest or perhaps expectest the reason of this is plain because it is my duty as well to beleeve for strength as for any thing else Sure I am Gods promises are as much for strength to act grace as for any thing else and the promises of God are the object of my Faith it is my duty to beleeve the promises I will strengthen thee saith God I will help thee and uphold thee with the hand of my righteousnesse thou sayest this cannot I believe Why because God doth not strengthen me and help me carry out my heart in an act of Faith Thus thou beggest the question the question is not whither thou oughtest to believe when thou feelest God carrying thee on to believing c. But whither thou oughtest not to believe that God will strengthen thee and carry thee out to acts of believing and loving c. But some may say What doth this differ from Free-will doctrine Can I believe unlesse God doth strengthen me to believe Why doe you call upon a man to lay hold when he complaineth that he wants hands or upon a man to walk when he tells you he cannot find that he hath any legs Mistake not Christian God hath said I will strengthen thee I will help thee and uphold thee with the hand of my righteousnesse Now I say it is thy duty to believe this promise of strength help and I confesse that it is not in thy power to believe this promise but God must strengthen thee and help thee before thou canst believe this promise that he will strengthen thee and help thee but yet I doe not call upon one that hath no hands to lay hold nor upon one that hath no legs to walk but upon one that saith he doth not feele his legs I call upon him to walk and I call upon one that doth not know and feele that hee hath hands to lay hold c. And this is sense and warrantable Divinity Faith is not sensible and visible to a Christian in the habit but only in the acts I call to thee to shew forth the habit of faith Now it shall not excuse thee from this duty that thou canst not feele thou hast any habite of Faith the habite of this pretious grace is invisible Thus have I given thee some considerations which duly weighed and considered may comfort thy soule under this perplexity I have only one thing more to doe and that is to speak a word or two of direction to such soules to shew them what to doe that they may be comforted in which I will be briefe First then by way of direction Finde out the cause and remove it the causes may bee various I cannot name them all but the great and ordinary causes may be first Gods will secondly thy own temper 1. Gods will he will not please perhaps to lead thee with so strong an arm at one time as at another hee will try how thou wilt live by faith sense is bread he will have thee not to live by bread only but by every word that commeth out of the mouth of God Now sence and feeling that is bread if this be the cause as it was in Peter thou must not dispute but submit to it 2. The cause may be in thy self it may be thou art under some violent temptations of Sathan or under the clouds and darknesses of some sinnes or corruptions or thy expectation of feeling or sense may be too high or thou mayest be wilfull and not feel when thou mayest These causes must bee removed by faith repentance endeavour obedience c. Hath sin benummed thee be humbled for this sinne and thou shalt feele Art thou in desertion believe and hope and thou shalt feele again It is a known maxime Take away the cause and the effect will cease But Secondly Wait for feeling this is is a part of thy duty in relation to this want especially caused by Gods will Is 40. 31. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength like the Eagle Psal 27. 14. Wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord wait with faith and hope and patience Thirdly Learn to live upon Gods Word Man shall not live by bread only but upon every Word that commeth out of the mouth of
decipere quia quicquid non intelligit plus miratur I would saith he that thou shouldst so preach in the Church not that the people should be provoked to humming but sighing that the tears of thy hearers may be the praise of thy Sermon The Sermon of a Minister saith he should be seasoned sale Scripturarum with the salt of Scripture he doth not salibus with idle querks And he goes â—n I would not have thee like a declamer in the schools or a brawler or one that should have a great deal of expression without the substance of reason but one that should be skild in the Word and Ordinances of God In short saith he It is the trick of dunces to rumble over words and by their meer expressions make people admire him For there is nothing so easie as to deceive a poor unlearned people with a voluble tongue for they by how much the lesse they understand by so much the more they admire Thus he And yet was not this the designe of our old Cathedrall and University Preachers nay is it not yet of many in this City that have not left making use of the Pulpit to tell us what they have of Greek and Latine Fathers in their common place book A generation of the worst of men Ministers of the Gospel I should lye to call them that go about to convert and heal souls as the Devil heals diseases by charms that the Patient understands not Their whole designe is to make people admire them To this end they preach as if the dayes of Pentecost were still continued The men are Galileans and their hearers too yet if Parthians Medes Elamites and the dwellers in Mesopotamia were there they might hear something of their own language and something possibly that neither the Preacher nor the hearers understand They are admired Verily they have their reward Observe how these men court an humme with their jests and spittings how ambitious they are to smooth up their sentences with an esse posse videatur Such Pulpit-monkies that bring the Ordinance of God into contempt and make the Word of God of none effect They may well be stiled opprobrium Evangelii Thus saith the Lord unto the shepheards Ezra 34. 2 3. Should not the shepheards feed the flock wo be to you shepheards that Feed your selves then that â—at the fat of applause and cloth your selves with the wooll of admiration The diseased have yee not strengthened neither have you healed that which was sick neither have you bound up that which was broken neither have you brought again that which was driven away neither have you sought that which was lost You shall one day without repentance for these Sermons hear your reward in plainer English Mat. 25. 41. While these wretches vend themselves the poor hungry soul starves at meat crying out Death is in the Pett These unnaturall Fathers while poor souls cry for Bread cheat them with Stones and while they call for Fish they beguile them with Scorpions My heart bears me witnesse that in these following leaves I have laboured not to smooth but to settle thy soul which must be by putting thee on to trust in the Lord. Isai 50. 10. If thou mislikest these Sermons for their plainnesse know that I had rather displease thy tast and teach thee to rectifie thy pallate then by studying to please thy childish tooth lose the advantage of speaking to many an others heart Read it thou shalt not leave it without learning something if thou gettest no good in relation to the intended end thou shalt learn yet a lesson of the poor creatures nothingnesse and give glory to God by looking to him and trusting in him for thy souls peace If from any thing in these Sermons thy soul by the blessing of God gets any comfort and settlement Let thy and my God have the glory and his soul the benefit of thy tears and prayers who is and shall be for ever The Worthlesse Ambassadour of Iesus Christ for thy souls good and peace IOH COLLINGS From my study in Chappel-field-house in Norwich August 17 1648. A short Table of those severall Cases of Conscience which in the following Treatise are spoken to more fully or Collaterally the Letter of which are noted with an Asteriske Ser. I. 1. VVHether it be necessary that humiliation should in a soule goe before faith Ser. II. 2. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I thinke I am not enough humbled Comfort and direction for a soul under that affliction Ser. III. 3. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I know not whether I am elected or no How to satisfie a Christian under that affliction Ser. IV. 4. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I am a great sinner and as I thinke too unworthy of mercy How to satisfie a Christian under that affliction Ser. V. 5. Whether I may refuse to beleeve upon a conceit that I have sinned the sin against the Holy-Ghost How to ease a spirit under that burthen Ib. * 6. Whether every sin against knowledge every denying of Christ every hating our brethrens goodnesse be this sin or no Ser. VI. 7. Whether a Christian may conclude he doth not beleeve because he cannot act every act of faith Ser. VII 8. Whether true faith may consist with doubting and how in the same soule Ib. 9. Whether a Christian may conclude he hath not true faith because for the present he is ignorant 1. in circumstantiall points 2. in the history of Scripture 3. in some fundamentals yea 4. in the necessary points of salvation so far as that he cannot make the generals out by particulars nor maintaine them upon dispute Ser. VIII 10. Whether a Christian may conclude his faith is not true because he thinks he doth not assent to the whole Word of God * 11. Whether the true beleever can at any time doubt whether the Scripture be the Word of God or no * 12. Whether a Christian may not be tempted to doubt it and yet not doubt it and how to know such a temptation from our owne corruption * 13. Whether a Christian can have true faith and not assent to every particular truth in the word of God nor to the true meaning of this or that portion of Scripture Ser. IX 14. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Jesus Christ for salvation and yet doubt whether he doth relye or no and not know he relyes but be strongly conceited he doth not * 15. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Christ and yet find an abatement sometimes of the strength of his relyance and to his owne thoughts relye sometimes more sometimes lesse * 16. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Christ and the promises and yet not at all times find an equall reliance upon all the promises but that he can at somtimes as he thinks more adhere to some promises then other and in generall better depend upon Gods spirituall promises for grace and heaven then his
and strong immediatly after a desertion In desertions ordinarily it is none or but weake p. 217 2. Ordinarily it is very high when his Saints are in greatest distresses call'd to suffer Martyrdome c. p. 218 219 3d. Concl. Thou mayest have had and again have a true assurance and full perswasion though thou for the present hast none at all p. 219 220 SERM. XIII CHAP. XIII HOw to comfort that soule that conceives it hath not true faith because it doth not feele Gods strength carrying it out to those duties and acts of grace which it ought to act A distinction of feeling It may be 1. Of Peace 221 2. Of Strength Ib. Something spoken by way of consolation to poor souls under this scruple of spirit 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 c. 1. Consid Not-feeling doth not argue a not-being p. 223 2d Consid The truth of Gods love to us is not so easily to be discerned in the very acting and working of God as in the effect of such acts and operations p. 235 236 237 3d. Consid Feeling at the best is but a deceivable or a disputable evidence p. 237 238 4. Consid No Christian feeles strength alwayes alike nor hath cause to doe it p. 239 That of God to the soule which is not seen is alwayes alike That which is seen not so Ib. Causes why God is not felt alwayes alike in the soule p. 240 1. Cause His soft goings sometimes in the cause Ib. 2. To trie whether a Christian can stand alone upon the true legges of faith without the woodden legs of sense Ib. 3. The soule may be benummed and have lost its feeling Ib. 5. Consid Gods strength may then be seen in thee when it is not seene or felt by thee p. 241 242 6. Consid It is no argument to warrant thee not to believe because thou dost not feele God carrying thee out by his armes of strength in such a manner to spirituall duties and to the acts of spirituall and saving graces as thou desirest and perhaps expectest p. 242 243 We must believe for strength as well any thing else p. 243 This diâ—â—ers from the Arminian Doctrine of free-will Ib. 5 Directions teaching Christians what to doe under this Affliction p. 244 1. Direct Find out the cause and remove it Ib. 2. Causes may be 1. Gods will Ib. Then submitting removes it Ib. 2. Thy own temper Ib. Under temptations 2. Some known sins 3. Thy expectations may be too high Ib 4. Thy wilfulnesse may be the cause These causes must be removed 1. Faith 2. Loving Expectations 3. Repentance c. 2. Direct Wait forfeeling p. 244 3 Direct Learn to live without bread on Gods Word p. 245. 4. Direct Learn to acknowledge Gods little finger Ib. 5. Direct Act contrary to thy mind Sick men must eat against their stomack p. 245 5 Reasons of Master Rutherfords why we ought to performe duties under an indisposition even against our mind p. 245 246 SERM. XIV CHAP. XIV HOw to know whether our doubtings be such as may consist with true faith in a gracious soule 5 Particulars in which the doubtings of believers differ from the doubtings of Unbelievers and Reprobates p. 248 249 250 251 1. They differ in the Principle unbeliefe is not the Principle of doubting in the Believer but Infirmity p. 249 250 251 The exposition of that place Rom. 4. 19 20. p. 250 251 252 2. They differ in the occasion from whence they arise p. 253 Severall occasions of doubting in Gods people different from the occasion of Unbelievers doubtings p. 253 254 3. They differ in the Object The Object of the Christians doubting is something in himselfe The Object of the Unbelievers doubting is ordinarily something in God p. 254 255 The Reasons of it p. 255 256 257 4. They differ in their duration and continuance p. 257 258 5 Notes concerning believers doubtings p. 259 260 261 1. They are most and strongest in the morning p. 258 2. They may be in the day time p. 259 3. If they be they are fewer and weaker The reasons of it p. 259 260 4. They are transient clouds that passe and return not p. 260 5. They have none but they conquer in fine p. 261 5. They differ in their Effects p. 262 263 The effect of Unbelievers doubting is a forsaking and declination from God p. 261 262 They commonly produce in Gods servants these five effects 1. A complaining unto God p. 263 2. A craving satisfaction from God p. 264 3. A striving against them Ib. 4. A waiting for God Ib. 5. A closer walking with and adhering unto God p. 264 265 LUKE 17. 5. And the Apostles said unto him Lord increase our faith WHen the Jaylor fell down at the Apostles feet Acts 16. 30. and said What shall I do to be saved The Apostle answers Beleeve in the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shall be saved When Ruler feared Christ saith Be not afraid onely beleeve Mar. 5. 36. When the poor man came for mercy for his son Mark 9. 32. Christs tells him If he could beleeve all things were possible to him When we pray if we can but beleeve we shall receive we shall surely not fail Many glorious things are spoken of this mother of graces that faith seems to be the whole duty of man Demosthenes was askt how many things were necessary for an Orator he answers three First action secondly action thirdly action meaning action was more than all And when a certain Prince askt a great Commander what was necessary for War He answers him three things money money money meaning that that is the ligaments and nerves of War And truely if any should ask me what is the unum necessarium the one thing necessary for a Christian I would say faith if he should ask me again I would say faith if the third time still I should say beleeve To the first pray for â—aith to the second use faith to the third grow and increase in faith Faith and beleeving is the whole duty of a Christian in a safe sence for it supposeth humiliation and it commandeth newnesse of life Preparatory qualifications are but faiths harbingers to prepare a room for faith and the works of sanctification are but faiths retinue fed from Faiths table and accordingly maintained as Faith is more or lesse strong and able to maintain them This hath made the Devil more beleaguer the castle of Faith then all the other petty holds comparatively that christian maintaineth against him That as the King of Aram 1 King 22. 31. said to his thirty and two Captains over his chariots Fight neither with small or great save onely against the King of Israel so the Devil seems to make it his great designe to fight and to have given it as his sole or chiefest injunction to the Captains of his Chariots to all his forces and all his instruments to fight neither with small nor great but onely against the King of graces
not beleeve that is apprehend and apply and rest upon Christ as my Saviour We speak not of Faith as it is an infused habit and the gift of God to us but as it is an inherent grace and operative in us Now then we will 1. Enquire what the causes of such complaints in gratious souls may be 2. We will consider how to satisfie the soul in such troubles and scruples For the first complaint I cannot I dare not rest upon Christ and beleeve in him There are many causes of it which I shall speak to One ordinary cause of it is Scrap 1. The souls to much eying of preparatory qualifications I do not say the souls eyeing but the souls too much eying of them Hence it is that if you ask a poor soul under that trouble what 's the reason thou darest not rest thy self upon Christ Faith is a pretious flower that grows as well in the poorest beggars as the greatest Princes garden The meanest arm may as boldly lean on Christs shoulder as that which is gayed with gold-lace Alas saith such a poor soul Gods justice proceeds according to method First he useth to pull down and then to exalt First to lay the soul low licking the dust then to say to it I am thy salvation Alas I was never enough humbled I never saw hell yet would God rend my heart in pieces I could beleeve he would bind it up would he humble me c. Now in order to the satisfaction of a soul under this trouble it would be first enquired 1. Whether humiliation goeth before Faith or no. 2. If it doth what may comfort a soul under this affliction of spirit and what it ought to do in relation to its peace For the first it is a question variously tossed and determined understood and concluded in these times in which God hath cast our lot some utterly denying any such work some too eagerly contending for measure some limitting Gods dealings others misinterpreting if not wilfully mistaking the terms It will not therefore I trust be a lost labour first to enquire the truth of that question which is ordinarily thus termed Quest Whether Faith goeth before Repentance or Repentance before Faith Now for the fuller determination of it I shall first explane the terms Then conclude the truth and prove it by Scripture and Reason And lastly answer those Objections ordinarily made against it First I will spend a little time to open the terms which when rightly explaned I am confident will put the question out of question to those Christians that have any experience of the Lords dealings for the ambiguity of every term hath onely darkned the clearnesse of this truth First let us understand what is meant by Faith both in the kinde and in the act There are divers kinds and divers acts of Faith There is an historicall Faith which consists onely in the knowledge and assent to the truth of an History There is a Faith of miracles There is a temporary Faith and there is a true justifying Faith The question is onely to be understood of the latter which hath also severall Acts. First 〈◊〉 Secondly Relyance Thirdly Perswasion The question is to be understood of the second Act Whether God gives the soul power comfortably and truely to relye upon Christ and the promises for salvation before he hath wrought repentance in the soul Secondly the term Repentance is subject to ambiguity too Repentance is sometimes taken largely for the whole work of conversion and so Godly sorrow is an effect of it sometimes strictly and when we speak of Repentance in the question we onely understand the first parts of it consisting in conviction contrition and humiliation by which the soul is carried out into a loathing of it self both for its sins and in its righteousness And the question is Whether God doth not work in a soul a sorrow of heart and loathing of it self for sin before the soul hath power to rest upon Christ for salvation and relye upon him as its Saviour Lastly we must safely understand what is also meant by going before First we do not understand by going before a precedency in Gods hidden operation he at once infuseth the habits of grace into the soul But secondly by going before we understand a going before in a gratious Act and in a comfortable apprehension Neither farther is the question to be understood as if we thought Humiliation went before Faith as a work wrought by our own strength We acknowledge Humiliation to be a work of Gods speciall grace in the soul And the question is plainly thus Whether God ordinarily gives a poor soul power to act Faith by relying upon Christ and the promises of life and salvation before in some measure he hath brought the soul to be sensible of its lost and undone condition We say he doth not We will grant to our Brethren that are unsatisfied concerning this truth First That a man must beleeve before he can mourn But how not by any saving act of justifying Faith He must beleeve there is a sin-pardoning Saviour that hath fulnesse and freenesse of mercy and enough in his fulnesse for him and that though he hath sinned yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing Then he puts his mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Secondly we will easily grant that a man must have saving and justifying Faith before the work of repentance and humiliation will be perfect in his soul As we maintain it to be a precedent work so we denye it not to be a subsequent effect Thirdly we will grant that it is not a work to be done by our own strength it is Gods work onely our dispute is concerning Gods usuall order in working The same spirit that works a power in the soul of dependence upon Christ takes also away the heart of stone and gives an heart of flesh Fourthly we will grant that the habits of these graces are both together in the soul We onely question which God gives the soul power to act first Fiftly We dispute not concerning the measure but concerning the thing We do not question whether the soul must be thus far or thus much or thus long humbled before God will give it power to act Faith by a comfortable reliance on Christ We onely say it must be humbled Sixtly We do not limit the workings of God and say it is so necessary on Gods part that he cannot give the soul power comfortably to apply Christ and the promises but we say it is not his usuall course and ordinary may of dispensing grace to do it Yet his dealings are various he works not alike to all he may and sometimes doth go out of his beaten road The question is not concerning a necessity on Gods part but onely concerning a necessity on our part not concerning his miraculous power but his gracious will nor concerning any extraordinary operation but concerning his ordinary way of dispensations
grain of dust discernable were thy mountain of sins that with their heighth seem not to threaten the clouds at all but God himself were I say that yea and another and a third thousands of them piled up and thrown into the ocean of infinite love the bottomlesse depth of his meritorious blood the waters of free grace would still be as much higher as the heavens are higher then the earth yea infinitely higher then the highest planet is above the lowest spring O the depth Suppose thou sawest the highest Cedar in Lebanon the highest Pyramide upon the earths Make thy self a ladder of ten thousand staves if thou canst and rear it up how much higher would the sun be thinkest thou infinite higher are the mercies of thy Saviour Christian above the heighth of thy transgressions There is mercy enough that 's the first But this is easie enough to be evinced a Christian will tell you he cannot dare not doth not doubt this he doubteth not of the power but of the will of God Secondly Consider therefore That there is will enough in the God of mercies as well as power enough to save thee if thou wilt but beleeve in him It is a note of Pious Master Rutherford That none can doubt or say they doubt of Gods will Rut. triall of Faith p. 128. but they must really doubt of Gods power for if thou beleevest his power thou must at the same time beleeve his will But for this it is easie enough to evince the good will of God to save the greatest of sinners Where shall we finde his will but in his word and how shall we judge of it but by his acts ☜ It is a known and certain rule That the Gospel shuts none out of heaven but those that by unbeliefe lock the gate against themselves Enquire but into Gods promises is there the least parenthesis of any exception in all the pages of free grace Isai 1. 18. Come now saith God Let us reason together Though your sins be as scarlet I will make them as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be white as wooll There is no sinners sin that is died in grain but such as have sinned the sin against the Holy-ghost hast thou been a murtherer thy sin is yet but a scarlet die I will make it as snow saith God hast thou been a blasphemer All sin and blaspemy shall be forgiven saith Christ Mat. 12. 31. Hast thou been an idolater an unclean wretch I will sprinkle clean water upon you saith God and you shall be clean from all your filthinesse and from all your idols will I cleanse you Eze. 36. 25. What hast thou abused Christ and spoken against him who is thy onely salvation Whosoever saith Christ speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him Matth. 12. 32. Heark Christian is there not as much infinitenesse in thy Christs will thinkest thou as in his power Secondly Nay consider his will is not onely full enough of power but there is an earnestnesse of desire in his will to save the greatest of sinners that leaving their sins will turn to him this will be easily enough evinced from his expressions and actions tending to that end He speaks he swears he pleades he eâ—postulates he weeps he invites he comes he dies 1. He speaks that you have heard he saith I will save scarlet crimson sinners I will say to them that are in their blood live I will powre out water upon the unclean 2. He swears and hath bid us to tell you his oath Ezek. 33. 61. say unto them As I live saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner but had rather that he should turn from his wickednesse and live Lo he could swear by no greater he swears by himself O happy creatures saith Tertullian for whom God is pleased to put himself to his oath O unbeleeving wretches if we will not trust our God swearing Yet further 3. He pleades Turn ye turn ye from your evill ways why will ye die O ye house of Israel Micah 6. 3. O my people what have I done to thee and wherein have I wearied thee testifie against me He expostulates Isai 5. 4. What could I have done more for my vineyard then I have done Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wilde grapes 4. He appeals to the mountains and foundations of the earth Mic. 6. 1 2 3. to the sinners themselves Isa 5. 3 4. Iudge now O ye inhabitants of Iudah and Ierusalem 5. He wishes groaning Deu. 5. 29. O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments alwayes that it might be well with them and their children for ever And again Deut. 32. 29. O that they were wise that they understood this and would consider their latter end 6. He professeth he knoweth not how to destroy them Hosea 11. 8. Hos 11. 8. How shall I give thee up Ephraim How shall I deliver thee O Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zeboim my heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together 7. He weeps when he came nigh Jerusalem he wept over it and said O Ierusalem Ierusalem how oft would I have gathered thee as an hen gathereth her chickens under her wings Mat. 23. 37 38. but thou wouldst not Mat. 23. 37 38. Christ would but the sinner would not 8. He invites Isa 55. 1 2 3. Isai 55. 1 2 3. Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat without money and without price and again vers 3. Incline your ear and come unto me and your soul shall live Heark how he calls Mat. 11. 29. Mat. 11. 29. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you The Father saith come the Son saith come the Spirit saith come you that are in the hedges come he sends out his servants to highway-people Mat. 22. 9. Matth. 22. 9. To as many as are found there why stay you disputing his will when he so often saith come Rev. 22. 17. come Rev. 22. 17. The Spirit and the Bride say come and let him that heareth say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him drink of the water of life freely Is not all this enough to let thee know God is willing and Christ is willing to receive thee Lo Christ will come to thee 9. See that essence of glory bowing the heavens and coming down laying aside his robes of Majesty and putting on thy filthy garments see him tiring himself in going about from place to place upon no other errand then this to cry at the markets Oh if any sinners love life happinesse if any will go to heaven let them come to me I will shew them the way to my
do many truths there are that I cannot assent unto and those which I doe assent to sometimes me thinks I do assent to them and sometimes again no and when I am at the best my assent is so misty and dark that I almost assent to I know not what Now I shall shew thee how much weaknesse and doubting in relation to this act of faith may yet be consistent with true justifying saith in thee I shall shew it for thy direction and establishment in these particulars First of all A Christian that is a true beleever may think that he doth not assent unto the Word of God when indeed he doth It is a known maxime in Divinity That faith may be true without sense of faith True Faith is one thing and sense of faith is another and as it is with the other acts of faith so it is with this also As a man may cheat himselfe that he doth assent and consequently truely beleeve though all the world may see that he doth nothing lesse by his irregular walking contrary to his professed assent So it is as true that a Christian may truly assent unto the truth of God though he conceits he doth not assent wee are ordinarily ill Judges of the acts of our mind because they are secret and occult acts which traffique between the soule and Heaven in an invisible way and therefore the truth or falshood of these acts is ordinarily discerned by the outward acts of our body as if I hear a man professing that his soule doth assent and close with that portion of Gods Word 1 Cor. 6. 9. Neither fornicators nor idolators nor adulterers nor effeminate persons nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor theeves nor covetous persons nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God yet at the same time see he lives in them very sinnes he shall pardon me if I do think that he doth not assent and whatsoever his tongue speaks yet his heart doth not close with it as a truth of Jesus Christ So on the contrary if I heare a true Christian complaining that he cannot get his heart to close with the Word of God and what ever the world thinks hee doth not assent to the truth yet if I see this man fearing to sin against God and trembling at the threatning Word of God and walking as even as he can set his feet according to the directive part of Gods Word that as David he makes the Word of God a light unto his feet and a lanthorn unto his paths Let them think what they will they shall give me leave to think that they doe assent unto and close with the Word of God Take a proof of it Ionas 3. v. 5. Ionas there had preached against Nineveh Ion. 3. v. 4. yet 40 dayes and Nineveh shall be destroyed v. 5. So the people of Nineveh beleeved God that is gave a full assent and â—redence to the Word of God were perswaded that that which Ionah spake to them in the Name of the Lord was true But how shall we know that the Holy Ghost tells us it was evident by the effects they proclaimed a fast and put on sack-cloth from the greatest of them to the least it was manifest by their actions in relation to this Sermon studying and labouring what they could to pacifie the wrath of God before the 40. dayes were come about that they did verily think it was a word of truth that Ionas spake to them and that they were perswaded and from this assertion of the Holy Ghost we may certainly conclude that when we see men living and acting according to the Word of God and squaring their lives by the compasse of it they do beleeve that is assent unto it as a word of truth whether they will confesse so much or no As when we see a man build houses purchase lands give great portions to his children keep a great house we may conclude he is rich though he goes as if he were not worth a groat and though he will tell you he is not worth a groat The heart is the seat of assent and the throne of faith confession is not essentiall nor sense materiall to it Sense of faith is comfortable but truth and sincere reality of faith is that which is necessary Confession of faith with our lips brings glory to God externally but it is the reality of faith in the heart which brings glory to God internally It is he that doth assent that doth the will of God not he alwayes that saith he doth it or thinks he doth it Mat. 21. 28. We have a parable propounded by Christ to his Disciples it was of a man that had two sonnes and hee came to first and said Son go work to day in my Vineyard he answered and said he would not but yet hee repented and went And he came to the second and said likewise and he answered and said I go Sir and went not whether of the twain saith Christ did the will of his Father They said unto him The first To apply it God sayes unto all men Beleeve and close with and be perswaded of my truth One sayes I do beleeve and assent but his irregular life is such that all the world â—ees he gives his tongue the lye Another sayes Lord I doe not assent to and beleeve it yet he dares not swerve a foot from it Which of these do you think does the will of Christ Surely the latter though he will not say nor think that he doth it but suffers his tongue to give his heart the lye indeed sense and perswasion of faith is that which we ought to strive after to be perswaded that we do close with the truth of Christ but yet many a one doth that which he doth not know he doth the Christian is his own worst Judge and doth and will do more a great deale for God then he will speak of But I hasten to the second Secondly A true beleever may sometimes doubt whether the Word of God be the Word of God or no or indeed may be tempted to do it rather then do it this is that which troubles many a gracious Christian Alas they do not beleeve the Word of God they are troubled with many Atheisticall and blasphemous thoughts that they cannot tell what to think whether the Word be the Word of God or onely as Atheists dreame a modell of Scripture drawn by some to keep mens consciences in awe c. and this makes them conclude Tush I cheat my own soule to think I have faith when I question even the principles of Christianity c. and shake the foundation with one shake and yet at the very same time they live close to the rule of it and it hath a strict and severe command over their consciences Now this I say is rather a temptation to doubt of the truth of Gods Word in their soules then a reall and positive doubt The Devill
as a truth and it hath the attest of my heart Now in this regard a Christian cannot be properly and positively said to assent unto any truth of God which he doth not know though it be contained in the Word of Truth to which hee doth fully and firmly assent As for example it was a truth that the beleeving Romanes were not after Christ was come tyed to dayes and meats it was a truth of Gods Word yet it is cleare â—4 Rom. 4 5 6. c that they did not know and were not convinced of this truth and so consequently did not could not assent unto this particular truth though in Gods Word yet it is clear that they were true beleevers and so consequently did assent unto the whole word of truth conjunctim though not to every particular portion and piece of truth contained in that word divisim Phil. 3. 15. there is a further revelation of truth for beleevers If any saith the Apostle be otherwise minded God shall reveale this to him but till that revelation there cannot be expected a full assent onely thus farre The Christian that is the true beleever doth not dissent from any truth in the Word of God but prayes for the increase of knowledge that so his faith also may increase in the closing with the truth and giving full assent unto the Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ 2. It may be occasioned through weaknesse Possibly something may be taught from the Word of God which is the Truth of God that I heare and cannot altogether and firmly assent unto and close with for truth As put case it be the baptizing of infants without question it is the truth of God and a truth revealed in his Word that infants ought to be baptized and it is a robbing of the child of its right not to bring it to that holy Sacrament yet through weaknesse some that yet do assent to the Word of God and would gladly close with every portion of truth revealed in it dare not assent to this particular portion of Truth but are grieved for their weaknesse in it and desire to walk up to every portion of truth they know in the word shall wee say their faith is not true in any clearely revealed piece of truth because to this they cannot declare a full assent though even froÌ„ this they do not dissent so as to deny this to be a truth but labour after a more cleare manifestation of it God forbid hee that conceales the Truth in unrighteousnesse indeed cannot bee said to beleeve but he that to some particular portion of truth not absolutely necessary to salvation is a debtor through weaknesse I conceive cannot come alwayes within the censure of an infidell 'T is one thing peremptorily to deny any particular portion of truth and another thing not to subscribe to it and by a present assent not to close with it Fourthly A Christian that is a true beleever may possibly not assent to the true meaning of Scripture yea close with a false meaning in this or that particular place Beleevers judgments are not all of a Last and many a one that doth fully and firmly assent to every tittle of Gods Word doth not cannot alwayes subscribe to the judgement of this or that man or to the ordinarily received opinion of godly men concerning such or such a portion of Scripture Scripture is very deep who can finde it out and though the Holy Ghost hath left some shallowes that the meanest Christian may wade through yet there are also some depths which are past finding out places about which the learned in the world have posed themselves VVe see it an ordinary experience even in the dayes wherein we live such or such an Exposition hath been received almost of all former Writers yet when one of us cometh to examine the grounds of such or such a sense and to weigh the context and compare it with other places of Scripture though we assent to the truth if it be one as wrapt up in some other portions of Scripture yet we cannot assent to it as the truth of that place and yet possibly it may be too that theirs is the truth of it and ours is the errour Every misbeleever is not an unbeleever nay yet further A man may misunderstand some places of Scripture and thereupon hold that to be truth which is not so it be not in the points that are necessary and fundamentall to salvation and yet have true faith and yeeld true assent unto the Word of God Every particular imperfection in a righteous mans life will not argue that a man is an unrighteous man in the generall nor every deviation from truth argue a man an heretick nor every mistake of truth argue that a man doth not assent unto the truth of Gods Word The Disciples did verily beleeve that Christ should have a reall Kingdome upon the face of the earth that should break in pieces all other Kingdomes and consume them utterly Acts 1. 6. as is cleare Acts 1. 6. They asked of him Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel And the mother of Zebedees children was speaking for Courtiers places for her sons which was but a plaine and cleare mistake of that place in the 2 of Daniel 44. yet who durst but say they had true faith 2 Dan. 44. So many in these dayes do clearly beleeve that Christ shall reign personally here upon earth a thousand years with his Saints it is the Millenaries opinion which for my part I do not think it is true and I think that is the opinion of the most and I think it is a cleare mistake of that place Rev. 20. 4. and other places Revel 20. v. 4. yet I would be loth to say that one cannot assent and truly assent to the Word of God that runs upon this mistake surely such an opinion is consistent with true faith indeed if a man doth not fully assent to those truths revealed in Scripture that hold the foundation of faith firm and stedfast then you may suspect the truth of his pretended faith I come to the last Conclusion Fifthly A Christian may truly beleeve and truly and clearly assent unto the truth of God though he cannot in all things give a cleare evidence for his assent This is that which puzleth many a Christian Alas I cannot clearly discern the truth of God in his Word I may think I assent but can I be said to assent to that which I cannot clearly see and comprehend and make out Yes without question there are but very few truths of God which the Christian hath a clear and full sight of and gives a cleare assent unto for a clearnesse of assent must proceed from a clearnesse of knowledge Now a truth may be cleare to a mans soule two wayes 1. To the eye of his Reason 2. To the eye of his Faith There are some truths which are clear even to the naturall man to
Christ pronounceth such blest as hunger and thirst after righteousnesse we say in that sense a sincere desire to pray and believe Ruth p. 14â— is materially and by concomitancy a neighbour and neere a kin to beleeving and praying A verball or seminaâ—â— intention to pray beleeve love Christ do his will is in the seed of praying beleeving c. when the intention is supernaturall and of the same kind with the act as the seed is the tree we say not so of naturall intentions or desires As Abrahams sincere intentions to offer up his sonne was the offring of his son c. But I go to a third consideration Thirdly therefore consider that feeling at the best is but a deceivable and disputable evidence ofttimes conclusions grounded upon sense are false and sink in time If thou judgest thy condition by feeling thou mayest ofttimes think God doth nothing for thee though he be at that instant fully enlivening thee c. and againe think that God is at peace with thee and that hee carrieth thee out to duties c. when there is no such matter and it is nothing but the strength of natuarall parts that carrieth thee out c. Saul thought he had a great deal of feeling 1 Sam. 15. 13. when he came to meet Gods messenger he cryes out Blessed be thou of the Lord I have kept the Commandments of the Lord But yet the following part of that story will tell you that Saul was far enough off from any true feeling of peace and comfort So without question those in Mat. 7. 22. judged themselves to have a great deale of feeling of Gods strength when they had prophesied in Gods name and in his name cast out Devils and in his name done many wonderfull workes yet Christ professeth he would say to many such I never knew you depart from me yee workers of iniquity thou cryest thou dost not feele God carrying thee out in duties as many other Christians are and that which thou callest Gods spirit in them or in thy selfe may be no such matter it is not the courting of God with elegant eâ—â—â—essions that argues the strength of God assisting there is many a stammering non-sence prayer that hath more of the sweet spirit of God in it there may be a full heart though it runs not out of the lips so fast yea oftentimes the fulnesse of the heart causeth the straitnesse of the lips just as the fulnesse of the vessell may occasion the water to run slowly out of the hole for want of vent or wind The Apostle sayes that the Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities with cryes and groanes which cannot be uttered it doth not say it helpeth our infirmities with courtly expressions that cannot be paâ—alleled thou mayest when thou thinkest that God carrryes thee out with more strength and enlargement to duties call and misconstrue that to be the strength and assistance of the spirit of God which is occasioned meerly from thy owne clearenesse of naturall spirit when thou art in a little better vein of Rhetorick then thou wert Mistake not there is a distinction betwixt Praying gifts and Praying graces I observe it is said Iacob wrestled with God by vertue of strength from him subintellige This is the strength of the spirit the spirits worke is not to carry out our tongue in expressions but our heart in zeale and importunity It is not said that Iacob scraped leggs with God no he wrestled wee are but ill ludges of feeling commonly which makes feeling but a deceivable and disputable evidence Fourthly consider that No Christian feeleth alwayes alike yea perhaps hath no cause to feele alwayes aliâ—e God to the best of his dearest servants doth sometimes measure but an Ephah and sometimes but an Omer distinguish alwayes betwixt the truth of Gods love to his deare children and the actings I meane the visible actings of his love that of God which is not seene is alwayes full and certain to Christians I meane his elective love the yernings of his heart towards his deare children there is of God also that may be seen Psal 68. 24. They have seen thy goings O God even the goings of my God in the Sanctuary Gods goings in a poor soule are sometimes very visible to a gracious soule but sometimes his goings are more secret and invisible yet he is alwaies going in acts of love and grace to his poore fervants only his goings are more mysterious and dark God sometimes goes a meere foot pace just sets one foot before another in them and towards them sometimes hee goes faster and more strongly in them and apparently towards them First Gods soft going in the soule may sometimes bee a cause why the soule cannot feel Peter had no reason to feel the strength of God alike when he shamefully denied his Master in the high Priests Hall as when hee durst venture to walke on the Sea towards him Secondly God withdrawes some degrees of his strength sometimes to try whether a Christian can stand upon the true legs of Faith as well as upon the wooden legs of sense the mother withdrawes her hand sometimes to see how the child can goe without trusting to the feeling of her hand guiding and supporting it Thirdly another cause may be in the Christian why he cannot feele God carrying him out to acts of his grace in his strength alwayes alike The soule may possibly have lost its feeling the benummed member doth not feele In sicknesses and deseases of the body Nature may sometimes bee so much infeebled that sometimes the party affected falls into a dead swound wherein he is deiprved for a time not only of the use of his understanding reason and memory but also of his sense motion and vitall functions So it may be with a Christian sin or the violence of some temptations of Sathan may bee such that the Christian cannot feele any thing the soule cast into a swound and deprived of all the spirituall faculties of it faith love life c. no wonder the soule for the present doth not feele the leg of the soule is asleep the whole soule is benummed how should it feel but let it alone a little as such body if not quite dead will quickly returne to its sense again and live and feele and move c. so likewise will the gracious soule quickly come to recover its life and sense and motion againe though the soule seemes to the judgement of sense to have no sap or principle of life in it yet consider it is winter-time with the soule stay but till the spring and summer while the frost hath done nipping and discolouring and the soule will have its sap visible and recover iâ—s beauty againe there is fire in the soule though it be caked up in the night wait but till the morning that the ashes be blown away you shall see the fire of Gods spirit is not extinguished in the soule I sleepe saith the Spouse but my heart waketh