Justification But here is a way for the most prophane and gracelesse to be Justified which we do not mention to foster prophanity or an indifferency as to the having or wanting of inherent Gâ—ace and Holinesse God forbid we should but to hold out the excellency of this way of Justification by Grâ—ce whereto if ye kindly submit ye may come to be Justified It 's not your own Righteousnesse whether ye have lesse or more of it that Justifies you for to that ye must be denyed and endeavour to make this sure and sicker Therefore let not this Grace be offered to you in vain if ye slight it it will be a fearful challenge and will make you one day stand with a silent mouth and an empty hand when ye shall be charged because ye have not laid hold on this Righteousness which only can answer all challenges and ye shall stand naked before God because ye had this Robe of Christ's imputed Righteousnesse for covering of your nakednesse in your offer and would not put It on This is it that bare through David Abraham and Paul and all other Believers yea that which to say so bare through Our Lord Jesus who was justified in the Spirit as He stood in the Room of Elect Sinners and Believers in Him may be fully assured of their Justification through His imputed Righteousnesse not that which is His Essential but Cautionary Righteousnesse therefore througâ— in to make use of it and let God Himself blesse through Christ what hath been said to you to this purpose SERMON LVI ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iâ—iquities THese Words shew the great Scope and Design of the Covenant of Râ—demption and of Christ's Sufferings agreed upon therein which have been so much insisted on in the former verses And that 's in a Word that there may be a ground laid down how a Sinner may be Justified therefore there is the greater need that this point be well studied in all the causes of it It follows now that we consider this part of the Words which holds out the mean by which this benefit is made ours and that is by his knowledge which holds out the Instrumental Cause of our Justification It 's ordinarly so called and we see no cogent reason inducing us to a change of the Designation Faith â—here is called Knowedge not as if it were a bare speculative notion such as Devils may have but because Knowledge is a notable antecedent to Faith and Faith is consâ—quent to and supposes preceeding Knowledge as we may see Rom. 10. How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard Thus Faith is exprest by Knowledge John 17.3 This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ c. Now it cannot be eternal life to know by a meer notional or speculative Knowledge For several reprobat men exceed many Believers in this but it 's to know so as to believe in God and to rest on the Mâ—diator for Life through Him as it is 2 Pet. 1.3 He hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godlinâ—ss through the knowledge of him c. Meer speculative knowledge cannot be the condition of the Promises For they are made to the Man that believes which believing takes in not only the Act of the mind knowing and assenting but of the will consenting and closing with the object known and this will be the more clear from these two 1. That by knowledge here is meaned that by which Justification is made ours or applyed to us and that which intitles us to it now meer sâ—eculative knowledge doth not that but it 's Faith embracing Him who is made known 2. If we compare that which is attributed to knowledge here with that which is attributed to Faith else where Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God and Rom. 3.25 He is the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus We wil find that what is called knowledge here is called Faith there So that we may without hesitation take the meaning of thâ— Words thus My righteous servant shall by faith in him justifie many who by His bearing of their iniquities shall be absolved and set free Therefore what is spoken of knowledge in the Doctrine we may look on it as agreeing to and meant of Faith We shall here insist a little on this Doctrine which is implyed in the Words that Justification through Faith or the obtaining of the Pardon of Sin through Christs Righteousnesse taken hold of by Faith doth necessarily presuppose knowledge in the person that may expect it Or thus Faith where it is Saving and such as Justifies hath alwayes Knowledge going along with it other wayes Faith could not be called Knowledge There may be Knowledge without Faith but there can be no Faith without Knowledge and so consequently a Sinner cannot expect Justification without Knowledge For making out of this ye may consider these things 1. Faith is of it self nothing but as it layes hold on some Object How can Faith lay hold on an Object except it know it as the Word is Rom. 10. How can they believe except they hear Can any person rest on an unknown Mediator that sure were not Faith but a blind guissing It 's just as if ye should say that ye believe such a thing when yet ye cannot at all tell what it is which is not Faith but as I said blind guissing and presumption 2. Faith as Justifying is alwayes holden forth as making use of and giving credit to that which is revealed in the Word hence we that hear the Gospel have that revealed to us therein binding us to the belief of it that Heathens have not as it is Rom. 1.17 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith Where it is necessarly presupposed that the revealing of the Righteousnesse of the Gospel which here comprehends the knowing of it must go before Faith and as a Person grows in Faith he grows in the knowledge of it hence also they are said to be strong in Faith who were strong in knowledge and they were said to be weak in Knowledge who are weak in Faith Rom 14.1 and 15.1 Because they knew not that the cerimonial Law was taken away and particularly the difference of Meats and so durst not hazard on some things which their Christian Liberty gave them accesse to 3. Consider that in Justification God would have a Sinner to proceed as a man doth who tables his defense before an earthly Tribunal of Justice who if he pleads well and on relevant grounds he comes the better to And as it is dangerous in a weighty cause depending to have an ignorant Advocat who puts in a wrong defence so is it here and in this case to be ignorant hence Rom 10. It 's given as the reason of
common favours that they have received as evidences of Gods care and kindnesse conclude their Justification It may be some have had now and then deep convictions or have win to Tears in Prayer or at a Sermon Others it may be have had some joy now and then at hearing the Word Others will it may be dream of such and such Heavenly things and have as they suppose a vision of them in their sleep and some joy will follow on it when they are awaked Others may have met with many deliveries by Sea and Land and God hath dealt wel with them and their Children in external things but alace these things may befall unbelievers not one of them nor all of them together if there be no more will Justifie ye would rather try these things whether they be found and evidences of special Love or not by your believing If they have Faith in Christ carried along with them It 's well If ye can say that after ye believed ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise and that your joy followed upon your closing with and resting upon Christ ye have no reason to question it but where such tastes goes before and are without believing it 's suspect-like there are many of you that have multitudes of things that ye lean to beside Christ and never seriously put your selves to the tryal whether ye be indeed fled to Him 2. Use We would commend this to you as a ground of Tryal of your selves if ye be Justified if ye have seriously taken with your sin and embraced God's offer of the Righteousnesse of Christ and rested on it make this once sure that ye have been sensible of Sin that ye have been beaten from your own Righteousnesse and that ye have fled to Jesus Christ and closed with His Righteousnesse offered in the Gospel then this will natively follow that by His Knowledge thou art Justified His Word speaks it out plain to thee It may be that some think this to be a broad mark and that others will think it narrow Yet it 's a solid mark and no other thing is or can be a mark but as it implyes this though some may presumptuously gather from it a broad conclusion yet it will be found to be as straining and searching a mark when well considered as other marks and evidences are that we cannot at first so easily lay hold upon and therefore we would say that it 's not every one that thinks he believes but it 's such as really believe who have this evidence and for preventing of mistakes we shall follow this evidence of Justification to wit Faith to the very rise of it 1. It supposes a Charge and Summonds as it were given to the Persons to appear before God 2. There is a Sentence discovered standing against them and over their heads by the Covenant of Works now what can ye say to these Two where I desire you not so much to speak your light as your practice and experience what a Charge or Summonds was put in your hands Have ye read the Lybel of your Sins And have ye seen the breaches of the Law and your lyableness to the Curse of God for the same If so then what means the good opinion that many of you have of your selves This is even the thing that the Apostle sayeth of himself before his conversion Rom. 7.9 Before the law came I was alive but when the commandement came sin revived and I died That is before the charge was put in my hand and I summoned to appear before Gods Bar I had a good opinion of my self and I thought that all was well but when I came to take up the Law in the Spiritual Meaning and broad extent of it I saw my self lost and gone and that conceat fell These Three then usually preceed Faith 1. That a person hath had a good opinion of himself 2. That this person is Summoned or Charged to answer at Gods Bar. 3. That the person is made to passe Sentence on himself as lost and undone by reason of the Laws Sentence and Curse standing over his head unrepealled Now how hath it been with you as to these The most part are quite of another disposition then Paul was They think they are well enough because they never discovered their rotten condition but try well how it is with you go in and see if ever ye discovered in your selves 1. An inclination to establish your own Righteousnesse 2. Was ye ever under a work of the Law humbling you and 3. Was ye ever in your own apprehension lost If so then ye are such as Christ came to call 2ly In the next room consider what ye betook your selves to for answering that Charge and for a remedy of that lost condition there is no remedy but the offer of Christ's Righteousnesse in the Gospel Some being charged wirh Guilt betakes themselves to Prayer and that is well done in so far but if ye hold there and go no further it 's not right It 's here as it was with these who lived under the Law who when they had Sinned made use of Sacrifices and the greatest part held there and went no further whereas the believer looked through the Sacrifices to Christ So if ye hold at Prayer and other Duties and go no further these will not profit you but know ye what it is to go to Prayer and in Prayer to go to Christ and rest on his Sacrifice for your acceptance I fear there be great ignorance here The most part know not what they have done when they were charged or if they did any thing they prayed or if they went any further on they looked to the promise of Gods mercy but that is not far enough gone How many such are there who have made their Prayer their only intercessour and have presumed to step in on God's mercy without a Mediator 3. Suppone that ye have betaken your selves to Christ as to the remedy come on and try how your union hath been made up with him where did ye seek and find him Christ Jesus is to be found in the Gospel in the Ministry of the Word Therefore that is put in on good reason in the definition of Faith given to us in the Catechism That its a resting on him as he is offered in the Gospel but I fear and suppose that many have another Christ to speak so whom they have gotten without knowing or making any use of the Word or offer of the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation to them that believe 4. Wherewith did ye take hold on him or how did ye act on him was it by Faith or not There are many who act on him as they think by Prayer not as the meritorious Cause but as the efficient cause of Justification praying for pity and pardon from Him but this is not to take hold of Christs Righteousnesse by Faith Others think that if they can love and serve Him
their Debt This will be clear if we consider all these Scriptures that make offer of the pardon of Sin for it 's offered not in the condition of Faith in a more general Notion of it but on condition of Faith in him So Rom. 5.22 24 25. The righteousnesse of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. John 1.12 To as many as received him he gave power to become the Sons of God even to as many as believe in his name Where the Faith that hath the Promise of Justification and the priviledge of Adoption annexed to it is called the receiving of Christ and believing on his name It may also be cleared and confirmed by good reason 1. Faith does not Justifie as it 's cosidered in it self as an Act but as it relates to and units with Christ as the meritorious cause of Justification 2. Neither does Faith Justifie as it looks to every Object which the Word holds forth But as it respects Christ offered in the Gospel whom it receiveth because there is no other thing that can bear the Souls weight and burden Therefore he as offered in the Gospel must be the Object of Faith as it 's saving and justifying 3. The terms of the Covenant and Gods offer clears it also For Gods offer of Justification is not on these terms that a Sinner shall believe his Word in the general but that he believe on His Son whom He hath sent and receive Him as these Scriptures cited before to wit John 3.16.18 and Mark 16.16 Shew where the terms are set down whereon God offers Life to Sinners 4. If we could imagine a man to have all Knowledge and all Faith if Faith Act not on Christ as Redeemer Cautioner and Surety for such as come to Him it will not avail us nor be counted to us for Righteousnesse which may also confirm this truth The Uses of this Doctrine are such as serve both to clear the nature of Faith and to direct us in our practice The 1. Use Then serves to clear the Truth as the Papists corrupt many Truths so they corrupt this Truth concerning the nature of Justifying and Saving Faith in these Three 1. In the Object 2. In the Subject 3. In the Act of it As for the Object of this Faith they make it to be every thing that God reveals and sometimes they take in their own Traditions the reason is because they give not Faith a Causality in Justification nor the capacity and place of a thing acting on Christ particularly but take it in as a common Grace or at the best as a Grace that is Radical and gives Life to other Graces but never as taking hold of Christs Righteousnesse which quite overturns the way of Justification through Faith in Him for Faith that layeth not hold on His Righteousnesse cannot Justifie and their making the Object of Faith to be so broad doth enervat both the immediat merit of Christs Righteousnesse and the exercise of Faith on it 1. Then we grant that there is a Historical Faith requisit as to the whole Word of God yet we say that the Faith that Justifies is properly that Faith that singles out the Righteousnesse of Christ and takes hold of it So that it 's not our believing that the World was made that there will be a day of Judgement nor our believing that a Saviour of Sinners is come into the World and hath suffered c. that Justifies but it 's a closing with a receiving of and a resting on that Saviour a singling out of the Promise that makes offer of him as for instance where it 's said If thou believe on the Lord Jesus thou shall be saved and pitching on that and resting on him holden out in the Promise Faith gives the Soul footing here whereas before it's case was very desperat 2. We may clear what we are to look to as the object of Justifying and Saving Faith by our putting in these Three Words or Expressions in the Doctrine to wit Christ Jesus his Righteousnesse holden forth in the promise of Gods free grace in the Gospel and which are needful to be taken in though it be not alwayes necessary that we be explicit ln the uptaking of them 1. There is need of taking in Christs righteousnesse because it 's our defence at the Bar of Gods Justiâ—e even as a Debitor whose Debt the Cautioner hath payed hath that to answer when he is charged for it that his Cautioner hath payed it 2. There is need to take in this Holden forth in Gods promise in the gospel because though Christ be the Object of Justifying Faith and His Righteousnesse be the ground of the Souls defence before God yet Gods Promise must be looked on by Faith for the use making of Christ and His Righteousnesse and as a warrand to rest on Him and to expect Justification through Him and thus Faith hath Christs fulnesse or His full and compleat Satisfaction for Righteousnesse and Gods Faithfulnesse impledged that the Believer shall be accepted through it And it s on this ground that Faith sometimes looks on God as Able sometimes as Faithful Therefore it 's said Heb. 7.25 He is able to save to the uttermost and Heb. 11. Sarah judged him faithful who had promised whereupon there is a closing with the offer in the Promise and a looking to obtain that which is Promised as if they had a Righteousnesse of their own and this the Apostle calls the law of faith Rom. 3.27 Because to Justification there is beside the payment of the Debt a Law declaring the man to be absolved requisit and the Sinner having Gods offer and Promise that upon his accepting of Christs Righteousnesse he shall be Justified instructs that his Debt is payed by his Cautioner and that therefore he ought to be and is accordingly absolved And though Gods Promise be not so properly a Law yet the Apostle calleth it so and it is a solid defence to the Soul that is fled to Christ Who may thus reason I have no Righteousnesse of my own but Christs Righteousnesse by Proclamation is offered to me in the Gospel and I have heartily received it and closed with it and God is faithfull to make good His Promise to me and this looks to Christ as He is revealed in the Gospel 3. There is need to put in this word The promise of Gods free grace because hereby the Sinner is made to see whence the Promise came and of what nature it is and gives ground to take hold of the Promise and of that which is made offer of in it the Promise is of free Grace therefore it 's alwayes called the Covenant of Grace So Rom.
4.16 It 's of faith that it might be by grace to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed For if it were not of Grace the Sinner would never think himself sure nor would he know if such a Sinner might take hold of such a Promise but considering that the Promise is of Grace and His acceptation is of Grace as is often repeated Eph. 1 2 and 3. Chapters These Three are the great warrand that a Sinner hath to roll himself over on a compleat Mediator a faithful God promising to answer all grounds of Fears Doubts and Jealousness and free Grace which answers all Challenges that may come in to hinder his closing with and his resting on the Promise for if it should be said How darest thou lay hold upon the Promise The answer is it 's free it 's not the mount that may not be touched but it 's Jesus the mediator of the new covenant c. It 's Grace that is the Rise the End and the Condition of it These are the Three on which Faith yeelds it self to Christ and which are the Object of it on which it dar hazard and on which it does hazard and these Three are revealled in the Gospel of the Grace of Him that is Faithful and cannot deny Himself May we not then say O! Sinners if ye will believe that ye have a good resting place a sure foundation a tryed corner-stone as it is Isaiah 28. cited Rom. 9. Where the Apostle hath it He that believes on him shall never be ashamed There is a suffiâ—ient surety a full Mediator there is a faithful God that will keep His Word and there is a free Covenant and Promise softer for a bruised Soul to roll it self over upon than any bed of the finest downs is for a wearie and crasie body this is a chariot paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem single out Christ from all that is in the Word without slighting any part of it and believe in Him and lippen to Him let Him have another weight and lift of you than ye give to any other thing he is able to bear it and God will never quarrel you for so doing but will keep His word to you that do betake your selves or that have betaken your selves to Him He that believes shall never perish nor come into condemnation O! know what a ground ye have to rest upon it 's even the substance and marrow of all the Word of God ye have Christ and His Fulnesse God and His Faithfulnesse Grace and it's Freeness and are there such Three things beside or is it imaginable or possible that there can be any beguile or failure here spare not then to lay the weight of your Souls upon it let it be the foundation of your peace and let it answer all challenges that may be whether for many or for great and grievously aggravated Sins only by Faith take hold of this Righteousnesse and rest upon Gods Faithfulnesse and free Promise to make it forthcoming to you but upon the other side O! how great will it aggrege your guilt that had such a remedy in your offer such a tryed corner-stone elect and precious to rest upon and yet made no use of it Let me exhort beseech and even obtest you That ye recieve not this grace in vain but as Christ is laid for a sure foundation so come to Him and build upon him that ye may not be ashamed in the day of the Lord when all that believe not how presumptuously so ever they may hold up their heads now shall be ashamed and confounded World without end O! happy thrice happy will they all be found to be then who have trusted in him SERMON LIX ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities THe Knowledge of Christ was wont to be much thought of by the People of God and to be in high estimation among them and we may say we wote well it was deservedly so considering that it is by His Knowledge that Justification was derived to them and is deryved to us This is that which the Lord is clearing by the Prophet here to wit how the benefit of Christs Sufferings and Purchase may be deryved and communicat unto a Sinner Which these words though but few as purposly made use of to clear even that His Sufferings should not be in vain but that He should sow a Seed and though that Seed should not be all Men yet they should be manie and the way how these many should come by the benefit of His Sufferings is also held forth and that is By his knowledge who is the Righteous Servant We shew you that this doth upon the matter look to Faith and is meant of it and confirmed it by other paralel Scriptures which say that through faith in him all that believe are justified we came also to speak of this Faith which Justifies and did propose Five things to be spoken of concerning it and indeed if any thing be of concerment this is if a right to Christ and His purchase be of concernment then sure it must be of concernment to know how we come by that Right 1. The necessity of it 2. The object of it 3. The act of it 4. The effects that flow from it 5. The manner of it's concurring in the attaining of Justification We spoke of the First to wit of the necessity of Faith and shew that though there be a full Satisfaction laid down to merit and procure Justification yet it 's applyed to none but to Believers and not till they believe 2. We spoke also to this That Faith as it Justifies looks not to all the Word of God as it 's Object but mainly and principally to Christ and to the Word only in so far as it holds out Christ in the Promises and Offers of Gods Grace as it 's here called the Knowledge of Him or Faith in Him We now proceed to hint a Word for clearing of a Question and it 's a new and very late one to wit whether Justifying Faith layes hold on Christ as a Saviour and Priest only or whether it layes hold on Him not only as a Priest to save but also as a King to command though this doth not look at first blush to be of any great moment and that such an inconsiderable-like difference is not to be stood upon yet we will find that this last wants not it's own influence on altering the common and ordinary and as we conceive the solid received Doctrine concerning the way of Justification if we should admit it And therefore we answer the Question from the Text. That Christ considered as suffering and bearing our Sins and so as offering Himself in a Sacrifice is the Object that Justifying Faith as such takes hold of Therefore the connexion of these two is clear in this verse He shall see of the travel of his soul and be satisfied
and by his knowledge shall many be justified and again it is subjoyned as the reason why many shall by Faith in Him be justified Because he shall bear their iniquities By the Knowledge of Him that Offered Himself in a Sacrifice many are Justified and many are Justified because He bears their iniquities which will infer this that Faith considers Him as satisfying for the iniquities of His People in it's acting on Him for Justification and Pardon of Sin it is true Christs Offices are not divided and it is not true Faith if it take not hold of Him and make not use of Him in all His Offices but as there are several evils in us which His Offices do meet with and are suited unto so should Faith take hold of them and make use of them for curing and removing of these evils He is King Priest and Prophet and Faith takes hold of Him as a King to command and subdue us to Himself as a Prophet to illuminat us and cure our blindnesse and as a Priest to satisfie Divine Justice and to procure the pardon of Sin as we are not to seperat so we are not to confound these we use not to say that Christ as a Prophet doth Justifie us nor that as a Priest He doth illuminat us no more should we nor can we well say that as a King He satisfied Justice for us The same blessed God is Wise Righteous Holy Faithful Just Merciful c. Yet He is diversly considered in respect of our conceiving and use-making according to our need so is it here For clearing whereof take these grounds 1. The Scripture speaks of and points Christ out in His Sufferings as the Object of Justifying Faith Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth for a propitiation through faith in his blood where the Blood of Christ and He as Suffering is proposed as Faiths Object so 1 Cor. 1. We preach Christ crucified 1 John 2. We have an advocat with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins where He is holden forth in His Sufferings as the propitiation that Faith layeth hold on John 3.14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him c. Where Christ lifted up and as dying on the Cross is made the Object of Justifying Faith even as the brazen Serpent lifted up was the Object that they looked to when they were stung and cured 2. It 's also clear from the Laws lybelling and charging us for the Debt of our Sin that makes us lyable to condemnation and Faith being the mean of our Justification and absolution from the Debt it must needs look to the Cautioners paying of our Debt and so answering the Charge which was done in His Death for He payed our Debt Satisfyed the Penalty of the Law and came under the Curse in suffering Death as is clear Gal. 3. the 10. v. being compared with v. 13. So Rom. 8.34 Who shall lay any thing to the Charge of Gods elect it is God that justifies who shall condemn it is Christ that died which is brought in as Faith's answer to the charge The charge cannot be denyed for we are guilty of so many Sins and therefore lyable to condemnation but saith Faith Christ hath died It proposes Him dying as a Satisfaction for answering the charge and for obtaining of absolution 3. Christ as Suffering and Satisfying Justice is our Righteousnesse and therefore must be the object of Faith as it 's Justifying whereupon it pleads an absolution before the Throne of God So that when we come to plead and found our Defence before Gods Throne it is not on this that Christ is a King and hath subdued us but it is on this groâ—â—d That He is our Priest and hath satisfied Justice for us and payed our Debt and procured a discharge to us So the Apostle speaking of Christs Sufferings Col. 2. Sayes That he blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross It 's Christ as Suffering that is the ground of our Peace and therefore Faith as Justifying must so consider Him Though we desire to move nothing needlesly yet laying it once for a ground That Justifying Faith layes hold on Christ as a King This will follow as a consequence and as we suppose as a reason That our obedience to Christ as a King hath the same influence and the same Causality in our Justification that Faith 's resting on Christ's Satisfying for as a Priest hath because as Christs Priestly Office gives us a warrand to rest upon Him for Justification so would His Kingly Office if it were the Object of Justifying Faith as such when taken hold of for our obedience We have touched on this 1. That ye may see the warrantableness of this Doctrine which is received in the Churches of Christ and that ye may consider Christ as the high priest of your profession and plead Justification from His Sacrifice acting Faith upon Him accordingly 2. That we may put a Bar against the introducing of Justification by Works under one pretext or another how specious soever seing the Scripture so directly opposes Faith and Works in our Justification For if we once admit that Christ as King is the Object of Justifying Faith as such it would overturn the distinct way of Faith's acting upon Christs Righteousnesse for answering the Charge put in the Sinners hand by the Law and when the soul getteth a challenge for Sin would put it to look what obedience it hath given to Christ as a King to answer that challenge or charge by and would in the same manner also put the Soul to gather the ground of it's peace from the one as well as from the other that is both from Christs Righteousness and from it's own obedience not only as an evidence but a social cause or not only to it 's own sense but as to the effect But we leave this as a â—hing to be regrated that when theâ—e is ground enough of stumbling because of our ignorance and blindness there should and that very unnecessarily be such new occasion of stumbling to Souls cast in the way of Faith We come now to speak of the Act of Faith as Justifying called here Knowledge and the knowledge of him to shew that it points at Justifying Faith for if it were not so it were the same with common Knowledge whereby we believe any History of the Bible but this being Justifying Knowledge it must be Knowledge of another kind We shall here clear 1. Wherein the Act of Justifying Faith consists 2. Remove some mistakes about it and make some Use of it For the First we suppose there are these Four requisit in or to Justifying Faith though not alwayes in the same degree 1. That there be distinct Knowledge in some measure of the Object an antecedent that Faith presupposes and
for which cause Faith gets the name of Knowledge here and elsewhere in Scripture the antecedent being put for the consequent For Faith hath alwayes Knowledge with it though Knowledge hath not alwayes Faith 2. That there be an assent to the thing known as when we know that we are Sinners and that it is the Blood of Christ that must cleanse us from Sin we must assent to the truth of these as Christ sayes John 8. If ye believe not Moses his writings how shall ye believe my Words If ye assent not to the truth of that he hath written how can ye believe my speaking both these are in the understanding and if there be no more this makes but Historical Faith 3. When the Soul knows it's a Sinner and under the Curse and that Christ is a Saviour and that there is Salvation to be gotten by such a Mean and that he an able Saviour and hath assented to the truth of these there is a consenting of the heart to that Truth conditionally proposed and made offer of that is to receive Christ as he is offered in the Gospel which in Scripture is called a receiving of Him John 1.12 To as many as received him c. And this is an Act of the Will respecting Christ as offered and a bargain proposed that will make the Soul happy where Faith accepts 4. There is a resting on Christ received as a good bargain which is also an Act of the heart or will called in Scripture a committing our selves to him a leaning on him or rolling our selves on him which we conceive to be the same that Paul hath Philip. 3.9 That I may be found in him When the Soul places it's safety here and lippens to Christs Righteousnesse alone as contradistinguished to it 's own These Two last Acts are properly the essence of Faith as Justifying and they are well holden out in the Catechism where Faith is described to be a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Christ as he is offered in the Gospel we shall illustrat it in a comparison made use of before to this purpose Suppose there were a number of Rebells that had incurred the Princes displeasure and were guilty of Treason by the Law suppose also the Princes Son or some Courtier hath satisfied for them and procured their Pardon and Peace upon which there comes out a Proclamation that if they will submit and yeeld themselves and lay down their Arms they shall be pardoned and admitted to friendship as if they had never Rebelled These Rebels must know 1. That there is an Act of Favour past and a Proclamation made on such Terms 2. They must have a general Faith and Assent to the thing and that there is no Question but such a thing is done 3. There is a consultation by the understanding with the will if they will admit of and receive it and trust themselves to it And then 4. There is the hearts consenting to accept of the offer of Grace on the Terms of the Proclamation and a resting on it which is a lippening of their Defence to it that if ever they should be called to an accompt they will make use of such an Act of Grace and of the Proclamation for their Defence and safety and lippen to it and to His Faithfulnesse who made the Proclamation believing that He will fulfil His Word and Promise It is just so here in a Sinners acting Faith for Justification We may instance and illustrat it also in the example of the Prodigal wherein we may find something of all this when he had been in the hight of his distraction and madness in his natural condition It 's said He came to himself he knew and believed that there was meat enough in his Fathers house and resolved to go home upon his knowledge follows his resolution and his will consents I will rise and go which supposes his Faith of an offer of meat on condition of his going and then there is that whereon he grounds his Defence I will say father I have sinned I will disclaim all and betake me to thy Grace implyed in the word Father he resolves to table his Defence on this ground and upon this comes home More particularly 1. Knowledge of the Object rested upon is necessary Rom. 10. How can they believe on him of whom they have not heard It is not possible we can believe what we know not And as every other step hath some doctrinal mistake and some practical so hath this The Doctrinal mistake is that Error of Papists unworthy to be refuted They say there is no Knowledge requisit to Faith Yea some of their prime men have said that Faith is rather Ignorance then Knowledge but surely then Faith would not be called Knowledge if it might rather be defined Ignorance but this they maintain to keep the People in Ignorance of the Gospel and it 's the ground of many moe Errors and much Delusion It 's even as a blind man could go well in a slippery place where are many Pits for Knowledge is no lesse necessary to Faith then eyes are to such a man The practical Errors in this are such as we find in many of you who think ye can believe well but ask and put you to it ye cannot tell what many of you are obstinat maintainers of implicit Faith while ye say ye have Faith and yet cannot tell what it is nor whereon it is grounded but we say that Knowledge is so necessary to Faith that if it be not a part of it yet it 's necessarly antecedanious to it and presupposed Therefore if ever ye would be accounted Believers study Knowledge and the Knowledge of Christ Crucified at least so far as to ground your Faith upon It 's sad that so many will maintain the reality of their Faith and yet are grosly Ignorant of the Fundamentaâ—s of Religion Knowledge is the very use of and first step to believing and yet it 's hardly possible to brangle the vain confidence of many whom it 's as impossible to bring to Knowledge 2. There is an Assent requisit to the Object Known which is that we call historical faith and this is to be confirmed in the general Truths contained in the Gospel as that Adam was made according to Gods Image that he fell and brake the Covenant of Works and made himself and all his lyable to Gods Curse That we are by that Covenant under Gods Curse That Christ Jesus the Son of God according to the Covenant of Redemption entered Himself Cautioner for the Elect that He really died and payed their Debt That His purchase is made offer of in the Gospel and that according to the Covenant of Grace there is an real absolution from Sin and an eternal happinesse to be had at the great Day through embracing of Him There must be an assent to the Truth of these things for it is impossible that they who think not themselves Sinners and that mind
's said to rest or rely as it respects Christ and his Satisfaction the thing offered and received with regard to the charge to which it is lyable It 's here that it rests and to this it betakes it self as to it's defence when challenged It 's difficult to difference these two or peremptorly to say whether Christs Righteousnesse be received or rested upon yet it 's made our defence because it 's closed with and we make them two Acts of the same Faith though it 's hard to make the one of them to be the effect of the other or the one of them to be antecedent to the other in respect of time at least As a Proclamation of Pardon being made to Rebells they say this Proclamation gives a freedom from the Laws pursuit because they have embraced it and these Rebells make that the ground if ever they be challenged whereon they found their Defence they have this to lippen to and upon this they rest Though none of these Acts can well be said to be before or after the other in respect of time For clearing of this a little more consider that this resting may be looked on either Passively or Actively Passively in respect of the Believers acquiescing in Christ and assuring himself that all shall be well This is not that Act of Faith that is called for to Justification but supposes the Person to be Justified for he must be Justified ere he can rest or acquiesce in it Actively in respect of our resting on him that we may be Justified as the Apostle hath it Gal. 2.16 And this Isaiah 5.6 Is called a taking hold of Gods covenant It is an actual committing of our selves to Him that we may win to peace or a leaning on Him as suppose one were to rest upon a Staff it doth not only imply the effect his having of ease but also and firstly his leaning to or resting on it in order to ease Therefore it 's said Math. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy loaden and ye shall find rest The Act that Justifies is this last and active Act the Act of coming or leaning or resting and the passive Act of acquiescing or assurance is that which follows upon it as a fruit and effect of it And therefore we humbly conceive that it is not safe to define Justifying Faith by Assurance or to say that where-ever Faith is there is Assurance It is rather a resting on Christ that we may have rest and a ground of Defence and reason to be proposed if we should be quarrelled for or charged with the Debt of Sin The Uses are 1. To remove the difficulties as namely it may be asked here is there no confidence not assurance in this Active Act of Faith which is the Essence of it we answer shortly There are Three sorts of confidence pleaded for that are far from the nature of Faith and yet Faith wants not it's own Confidence and Assurance if it be taken in a right sense The 1. is for a man to believe that Christ died for him in particular at the first hand and to think that he hath no more to do but to believe that Christ Died and Suffered for him and that thereupon he is Justified For this layeth a ground for universal Redemption against the current of the Scriptures and can never be a ground of interest in Christ's Righteousnesse It supposes that to be done already and admits not the Soul to concur by believing for coming to the application and yet this is very rise amongst People I believe that Christ died for me and shed His precious Blood for me and so long as they can maintain this presumption and not suffer themselves to admit of any debating and questioning whether they have ground and reason for it or not they think they have Faith enough but this is no Act of Faith nor of the nature of true Justifying Faith which is to take hold of Christ offered that we may come to be absolved through Him Therefore when ever the Scripture puts us to believe It commands us to take hold of Christ offered and not at first hand to believe that he died for us in particular I suppose many are carried away with this presumption that will to their cost at last find it to be otherwayes 2. Others think that all Faith consists in this to believe that God loved them from all Eternity and that they are already Justified which is the Antinomian way They believe not that they may be justified which was Pauls way Gal. 2.16 but they believe that they are Justified And this also presuppons an universal Redemption and to presse it upon you were to bid you all believe that God hath loved you and pardoned you from all Eternity which were to bid you believe a lie for we wot well from the Scriptures of Truth that God hath not loved all from Eternity and yet this is the Faith that many of you presumptuously practises we are all naturally some way Antinomians Papists and Arminians in our practice and the way of Error is more consistent and current with our nature then the way of Truth But O! presumptuous hypocrites will ye darringly and without any ground believe Gods Love to you God shall shake you out of that confidence and blow upon it and make it evanish ye cry out on them that live in Error yet ye practise these same Errors to speak so as fast as ye can we cannot by much Preaching get you brought to the Knowledge of the Truth but ye can drink in Error ere ye hear of it and it will ruin your Souls if Grace prevent not and many of you shall find that thus you have destroyed your selves A 3d. Sort of rotten confidence is that which some have who cannot say they are for the time Justified yet they have a perswasion to get Heaven and to be Justified ere they die or that at death they will be sure of it and they wote well they shall not despair This is also naughty presumption and continued in as hazardous as outer disperation and killeth moe Souls then dispair doth for such rest quietly in their hope of being fred from wrath and having their peace made with God and yet never go to Christ to have it done this is like that mans presumption that sayes tush I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my own heart God is gracious and merciful and I hope he will not be so severe as He is called The Lord calleth this a believing of Him for He sayes in His Word that there is no peace to the wicked and the foolish presumer sayes I shall have peace shall His Word or theirs stand they say Jer. 5.12 and 7 9. The temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord are these they make a fair shew of attendence on ordinances and yet steall murder and commit adultery and say we are delivered to do all these things
is not this a gross believing of the Lord God shall beat back many of your vain confidences in your faces and your hearts shall tremble and your faces wax pale when God shall cause your Charge and Summonds to come unto Judgement sound in your Ears These and such like confidences will never bear you through it is not these we speak of Yet 2ly We say that the right exercise of Faith wants not it's own confidence comfort and assurance when taken in a right sense much whereof is attributed by by some to the definition of Faith for some mistake Faith and others are mistaken or misunderstood in their speaking of Faith Some Divines that writ of Faith speak of it's being an assurance defining it at it's hight yet generally they take in and presuppose the active Act of Faith resting on Christ others define it by these two Acts a receiving of and resting upon Christ Therefore we would never conceive of them at least of many of them as making this assurance to our sense to be essential and absolutely necessary to the being of Justifying Faith much lesse would we think that they mistaken and passe by the true Acts of receiving and resting upon Christ only some of them which we humbly think is their mistake having to do with Papists who place Faith in the understanding adde an assurance of Faith to the Former Acts In which we say there is a ground of confidence or a conditional assurance upon supposition that Souls receive Christ and rest upon Him they may be confident that that is a ground that will not fail them They may be confident that He will not deceive them a confidence in this that they may step to or lean upon Christ and not fear that He fail them or that they may without all fear of hazard cast themselves on Christ Therefore He is called a tryed elect precious corner-stone a sure foundation and indeed that is no small ground of confidence That when a Soul comes to Christ by believing it may be sure He will not fail it 2. Being sure that we have committed our selves to Christ which supposes Faith's being put to exercise and practice there may be a confidence in this respect we may be sure He will not fail us in particular 2 Tim. 1.12 I know in whom I have believed and that he is able to keep that I have committed to him and that I shall not be ashamed He puts both these together I know that He is able and that He will not fail me I shall not be ashamed So Rom. 8. I am perswaded that neither death nor life c. shall be able to separat us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus If Souls have received the offer they may be sure it will not misgive them 3. Adde that this actual or active resting on Christ may be seperat from the sense of it or from the passive Act of Faith or quietnesse that follows on resting on Christ for there is a resting on Christ which is very Faith it self and not the effect come and ye shall find rest coming is before finding of rest to our sense at least we are not to knit this passive rest with the other active Act of resting as if it were impossible to rest on Christ without present sensible ease Beside it is this active resting that gives us right to Christ and not the passive Gal. 2.16 We believe that we may be justified This necessarily goes before our believing that we are Justified To close with a Word of more particular Use let me exhort you to lay lesse weight on your bare thinking that ye believe on your present ill grounded hope and peace Aim and endeavour to Act and exercise Faith on Christ actively receiving and resting on Him for winning to Peace This practice of Faith is the over word to say so of the Doctrine of Just fication That seing there is such ground of Justification laid down the Righteousnesse of Christ and that it is proposed to you and seing this is the very Act of Justifying Faith to receive and rest on Christ as He is proposed and offered when this offer is made to you let your Faith receive take hold of and consent to the bargain and ground and found your Defence here for answering all challenges that the Law and Justice may present against you That there was a Saviour offered to you and that ye received Him and rested upon Him will be a ground that shall bear you out when ye come before God and except this be made sure our speaking and your hearing of Faith will be to no purpose SERMON LX. ISAIAH LIII XI Vers 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many For he shall be or their iniquitâ—eâ— THis is a great assertion and of mighty moment wherâ—in to the Knowledge of Christ the Justification of many is attributed and indeed if we knew what an advantâ—ge and benefit it were there would be nothing more studied then how to obtain it For it is the vâ—ry in let and opens the door to Glorification and if to be happy in the enjoyment of God be a benefit of great concerment then this of Justification must be so We proposed to speak of the way how this benefit is applyed and that is by Faith set out under this expression His knowledge or the knowledge of him and touched on the benefit of Faith and the necessity thereof for attaining Justification God having so ordered it in the Covenant that none others should be Justified but such as have Faith 2. We spoke also to the Object of this Faith Christ Jesus as our Righteousnesse and Peace So that Christ becomes in a peculiar manner the Object of Faith beside any other thing Because it 's only in Christ it can find a shelter Therefore it 's only to Christ that it flâ—es when it is pursued 3. We spake likewise of the nature of this Faith or it's Act it being the hearts trusting it self to Christs Righteousnesse whereon it hazards the weight of it's Peace and relyes here And as all the Terms of Justification are borrowed from Law wherein there is supposed a Charge a Tribunal and a Judge So is this resting in like manner It 's in effect an arraigned Persons making of Christ's Righteousneesse his Legal Defence against all Challenges The substance of the phrase is in that of Philip. 3.9 That I may be found in him not having my righteousness c. Where presupposing a lybelling and Charge where to does the Apostle betake himself and what is his refuge It 's Christ and His Righteousnesse even to be found in Him as if the question were proposed Paul what wilt thou do in the day of Judgement what wilt thou lean to for a Defence in that day To which he answers not to my own Righteousnesse but this is it even to be found in Him which he expones to be the having on His Righteousness by Faith
tell you that remission of Sins is preached to you through Christ so we command and charge you to believe on Him and receive this Gospel wherein He is offered for the remission of Sins For clearing of this Use and that we may have the more ready access to Application We shall speak a word to these three First To several kinds of true Faith three whereof are noâ— saving or to the ordinary distinctions of Faith Secondly To the Scripture expressions that hold out the nature of saving Faith Thirdly To some differences betwixt this saving Faith and false and counterfite Faith or these acts of true Faith more generally taken which yet are not saving For the first of these When we speak of Faith we shall draw it to these four kinds ordinarily spoken of and shall noâ— alter nor add to the common distinctions of Faith though there may be moe given The first is Historical Faith which may be called true being it whereby we assent to the truth of a thing because of his supposed fidelity that telleth it as when an Author writes a History we give it credit upon report that he was an honest Man that wrot it So Historical Faith is when People hearing the Word preached or read they assent to the truth of it all and do not question but that Christ came to the World that He was God and Man in one Person that He died and rose the third day and ascended to Heaven that they that Believe on Him shall be saved c. and taking the Word to be God's Word they may give to it a higher assent then they give to any Mans word because God is worthy infinitly worthy of more credit than any Man yea then all Men and Angels too There may be I say in this Historical Faith of Divine Truths a higher or greater assent then there is in believing of any Humane History which may be the reason why many mistake Historical Faith and yet it is but of the same kind and a thing which mâ—ny Reprobates have as John 2. at the close it 's said Many believed on him when they saw the miracles which he did but Jesus did not commit himself unto them they were brought to believe from the Signs which they saw that He was more than a meer Man and that it was the Word of God which He spoke and yet it was but a Historical Faith yea this Faith may be and is in Devils who are said James 2.9 to believe and tremble there are many who if they believe Christ to be God and Man and the Word to be true think it enough yet James having to do with such tells them that the Devils believe as much as that and more thorowly then many that hâ—ve that Historâ—cal Faith he knows God to be true and One that cannot lie and he finds it to his cost he knows that such as Believe cannot Perish for he cannot get one of them to Hell he knows that there is a time set when Christ will come to judge the World and himself among the rest and therefore he says often to Him torment me not before the time and as the Devil hath this Faith so there are many in Hell that have it too the rich Glutton had it therefore he bids go tell his Brethren that they come not to that place of torment and it s told him they have Moses and the Prophets c. which says that he then felt the truth of many things he would not believe before This I speak that ye may know that this Historical Faith is the first step of Faith but it may be in Hell and so in many in whom saving Faith is not it s really a wonder that Folks that are called Christians should own this to be saving Faith and think they are well come too when they are only come the Devils length in Believing yea there are many that never came his length else they would tremble more The second sort of Faith is the Faith of Miracles which is often spoken of in the New Testament as when the Lord sayeth If ye had saith as a grain of mustard-seed ye should say to this mountain be thou removed and cast into the sea and it should be done there was an active Faith to work Miracles and a passiâ—e Faith to receive the particular effect the Mâ—racle did produce some had the Faith of Miracles to heal and others to be healed this is an extraordinary thing and Folks may go to Heaveâ— without it and go to Hell with it though they cannot go to Heaven without Historical Faith hence it 's said Many shall come to me in that day and shall say we have casten out devils in thy Name to whom he will say depart from me ye workers of iniquity And the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 13.2 If I had all faith and could remove mountains if I want charity it avails me nothing this Faith of Miracles availeth not alone to Salvation because it acts not on Christ holden out in the Promises as a Saviour to save from Sin but on Christ as having power and ability to produce such an Effect which may be where there is no quiting of a Man 's own Righteousness and if there be not Grace in the Person that hath it it is an occasion of Pride We call you then to Historical Faith as necessary though not sufficient but not to this Faith of Miracles it being neither necessary nor sufficient A third sort of Faith is Temporary Faith spoken of Matth. 13. and set out under the Parable of the Seed sowen on stony Ground which soon springs up but withers so some Hearers of the Gospel receive the Word with joy and are affected with it but endure not The difference betwixt this and Historical Faith is that Historical Faith as such consists in the Judgement and reaches not the Affections at best it reaches not the affection of Joy for though the Devils tremble yet they are never glad Temporary Faith reaches the Affections and will make a Man as to tremble at the Threatnings as Felix did so some way to delight himself in the Promises of the Gospel and to smack then as it were from the apprehension of the sweet taste and relish he finds in them It is even here as it were told a whole Man that a Physician is come to Town he is neither up nor down with it but tell it to a sick Man and he is fain from an apprehended possibility of a Cure yet the apprehended possibility of the Cure never sends him to the Physician nor puts him to apply the Cure The fourth sort is Saving Faith which goeth beyond all the rest and brings the sick Man to the Physician and to make use of the Cure there may be some measure of true Saving Faith where there is not much Temporary Faith or moving of the Affections and there may be a considerable measure of Temporary Faith where there is no Saving Faith
c. Faith differently acts on Christ and the Promise for obtaining of these Now the Faith that we would insist on is the Fâ—ith that rests on Christ for Pardon of Sin on which all the rest of the acts of Faith depend it 's that Faith whereby a Sinner receives Christ and casts himself over on Him that Faith whereby Union with Christ is made up Thirdly We would premit That there is a great difference betwixt Faith and the Effects of it as Peace Joy Assurance of God's Love and these other Spiritual Priviledges that follow Believing It 's one thing actually to Believe another thing to have the Peace and Joy that follows upon and flows from Believing the one being as the putting out of the Hand to receive the Meat and the other as the feeding on it It 's the first of these we mean and intend to speak of even that Faith whereby we grip Jesus Christ Himself and get a Right to all these Priviledges in and through Him Fourthly We premit That even this Saving Faith hath its degrees as all other Faith hath some have more weak Faith some stronger some have that full Assurance spoken of Heb. 10. or a Plerophory not only as to the Object that it 's sufficient but as to the apprehending and obtaining of Life through that Object so that they are able to say neither height nor depth nor any thing else shall be able to separate them from the Love of God in Christ Jesus we say then that Saving Faith hath its degrees though the degree be not that which we speak of but it 's the kind of this Faith whether weaker or more strong whereby a lost Sinner rolls it self over on Christ the Faith which puts the Sinner off the Ground it stood on ever on Him the Faith which brings the Soul from the Covenant of Works to a new holding of Life by Christ and His Righteousness We shall then speak a little 1. To what we conceive this act of Saving Faith is not for precaveating of mistakes 2. What way the Scripture expresses it when then we say that such a thing is not Saving Faith ye would know that thing is not it that ye must lippen to and when we say such a thing is Saving Faith ye would labour to act and exercise Faith according to it First For what Saving Faith is not 1. It is not the knowing that Christ is God and Man that He was Born was Crucified Dead and Buried and Rose again Ask some what true Saving Faith is they will say it 's a true Knowledge Ask them again how long is it since they Believed they will say since ever they knew Good by Ill ye would know that apprehensive or literal and speculative Knowledge is needful but it will not be taken for Saving Faith 2. It 's not a touch of warmness or liberty in the Affections in a natural way which may be in unregenerate Men yea possibly in Pagans as in a Felix who in the mean time have not so much as Temporary Faith because it rises not from the Word but from dispensations of Providence or from Temporary things and if it rise from the Promises of the Word if there be no more it 's but temporary Faith 3. It is not Convictions which many take for Faith and take it for granted if they be convinced of Sin they Believe and will say whom should they Believe on but Christ and yet they never follow the Conviction to put in practice what they are convinced of 4. It 's not simply a Resolution to Believe as others take Saving Faith to be who being convinced that their own Righteousness will not do their turn resolve to Believe on Christ for Righteousness but they will take a convenient time to do it and many maintain their Peace with this though it be no true Peace but a bare resolution to Believe is not Faith ye use to say there are many good Wishers in Hell I remember the words of a dying Man in this Place who thought he believed before and being asked what difference he conceived to be betwixt the Faith he had before and the Faith he now had attain'd to he answered before I thought or resolved to Believe but never practised it now I practise Believing There is such a subtilty and deceit in the Heart that if it resolve to Believe and if it observably thwart not with Faith it will sit down on that as if all were done therefore the Word is To day if ye will hear his voice that is to day if ye will Believe harden not your heart This resolving to Believe is like a Man sinking in the Water and having a Rope cast out to him he resolves to grip it but does it not So many think they have the Promise beside them and resolve to make use of it but do not presently make use of it and the Ship sinks down and they perish while the Promise abides and swims above 5. It is not Prayer There are many who think they Believe when they some way Repent Pray and put their Hand to other Duties and they know no more for Believing but something of that kind it is true indeed Prayer may help to Believe yet it 's not always with Faith it 's not every one that saith Lord Lord that believeth many will seek to enter that shall not be able Folks very often have these two miserable mistakes about Prayer either they put it in the room of Christ or in the room and place of Faith not considering that they are different things for Faith exerciseth it self on Christ as Mediator and Prayer taketh Him up as God the true Object of Divine Worship though if it be not founded on Christ as Mediator it hath no access the acting of Saving Faith is properly on Christ held forth in the Word and Prayer is a putting up of Suits according to the Word There are many that know no more what use to make of Christ then if He had never been incarnate nor had come under that relation of a Mediator and make their Prayers serve to make up all whereas Faith not only respects Christ as God but His Merits as Mediator and His Offices 6. Nor is Faith only a believing this Word of God to be true though we could wish many were come that length it would make a Man tremble to hear the blasphemous words that some will have when they are asked concerning their believing the truth of the Bible but though ye were that length it were not enough the Devils believe and tremble the Faith that we call you to is more then Historical it 's to resting on Christ to cordial receiving of the Message which He sends to you as suppose a King should send an embassage to a Person to woo her to be his Wife it 's one thing to know that there is such a King another thing to believe that he is real in his offer and that the
not mixed with Faith And that for making the Duty acceptable Faith is necessarily requisite we may clearly see Heb. 11.6 where it is expressly said that without Faith it is impossible to please God And how is it that Abel offers a more excellent Sacrifice than Cain it was nothing sure in Cain's Sacrifice it self that made it be casten nor any thing in Abel's that made it be received or acceptable but Faith in the Messiah to come that was found to be in the one and was a missing in the other Is there not reason then to press this Duty on you and to exhort you not to think this a common and easie thing though the most part think it to be so if we look to the benefites of it to the difficulty of it and to the rarity of it in the World there is no Duty had need more to be press'd than this even that Christ Jesus should get the Burthen of your immortal Souls cast on Him by this Saving Faith I shall therefore in the further prosecution of this First Shew what mainly ye would eshew and avoid as that whereat Folk more ordinarily stumble Secondly What it is we would press you to and on what Grounds For the first I know the deceits and mistakes in Men about the Exercise of Faith are so many that they are moe then can well or easily be reckoned up yet we shall in some generals spoken of before hint at a few of them for so long as ye continue in the same Snares they must be still pointed out to you and endeavours still used to undeceive and extract you out of them and therefore 1. Beware of resting on a Doctrinal Faith which before I called Historical We know it 's hard to convince some that they want Faith yet we would have you to consider that it is not every kind of Faith but Saving Faith that will do your turn it 's the want of that which the Prophet complains of And therefore to open this a little ye would consider That there may be really such a Faith as is an assent to the truth of the Word in a natural Man yea in a Reprobate but that Faith will never unite to Christ nor be waited with the Pardon of Sin First I do not say that every one that is in the visible Church hath this Doctrinal Faith to believe a Heaven and a Hell that the Scripture is the Word of God and that all that believe in Christ shall get Pardon of Sin and Life the carriage alace of many testifies that they have not this much whatever fleeting notions they may have of these things or whatever esteem they may seem to put on the Gospel and whatever profession they may make that they believe the truth of it yet in their deeds they deny it for if there were a fixedness in the Doctrinal Faith of the Gospel in Men they durst not for their Souls live as they do Neither yet Secondly Do we say that all they that have this Doctrinal Faith of the Gospel or somewhat of it do believe every passage in it alike but often as they please them they believe them Hence many believe what the Word speaks of Mercy and of Pardon of Sin and will not question that but what it speaks of Holiness and of the severity of God's reckoning with Men for Sin they do not so credit that part of the Word it 's true where the Faith of the one is the Faith of the other will some way be but because the one agrees better with their Corruption than the other therefore the one is not so so received as the other and it 's very frequent with such to be found diminishing from one place and adding to another of the Word of God Nor Thirdly Do we say that all Men do in a like and equal degree believe the truâ—h of the Word there is in some more Knowledge in some less in some moe Convictions in some fewer and though we preach to you all yet there are some that believe not this to be God's Ordinance albeit there are many who will not be saved that takes this Word to be the Word of God and believe what is the meaning of it because the Word it self says it is so And the reason of this is 1. Because there is nothing that is not Saving but a Natural Man may hâ—ve it now this Doctrinal Faith is not Saving and so a Natural Man may have it yea the Devils believe and tremble and James does not dispute with these to whom he writes on this account that they believe not thus but tells them that Historical Faith was not enough and we think a man in Nature may have a great perswasion of the truth of the Word of God and that what it says will come to pass and yet still continue but a Natural Man A second Reason is Because the Scripture speaks so often of many sorts of Faith that are not Saving as Exod. 14. at the close it 's said the People believed the Lord and Psal 106.12 then they believed His Word and sang His praise and John 2.23 many believed on Christ to whom He did not commit himself there was Faith in them which His Signs and Miracles extorted from them which was not Saving and Matth. 13. two or three such acts of Faith are spoken of in the Parable of the Sower that were not Saving however sound they might be in their own kind and 1 Cor. 13. we have such a Faith spoken of as a Man dare not deny the truth of the Word though he should bring his Body to be burnt by his avouching of the same A third Reason is Because as much credit may be given to the Word as is given to any other History that is creditably believed and it 's on this ground that we believe there was such Men as Cesar Pompey Wallace c. and it being certain that there may be impressions on the Consciences of Hearers that this is God's Word backed with some common work of the Spirit and that it is generally received to be the Word of God in the part of the World we live in what wonder is it that Folk believe thus and drink in this Historical or Doctrinal Faith of the Word so as they may even dare to suffer to Death for it and yet in the mean time they may want Saving Faith the Devils being as sure as any Natural Man is that God is true and that His Word will be performed and therefore they say to Christ Art thou come to torment us before the time the Paâ—gs of a Natural Conscience in Men will assure them of a Judgment coming though they tremble to think on it And therefore ere we proceed further take a word of Use from this and it may let you see the great and very general mistake of the most part of the Hearers of the Gospel in resting on this Doctrinal Faith If ye tell them that
God which should come into the world The 5th place is that of John 20.28 where when Christ bids Thomas reach hither his hand and put it into his side his glory shines so full in his face that he cryes out My Lord and my God and his faith is summed up and compended in that The last place that we shall name is that of Acts 8.37 and it s the Eunuchs confession I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God which is the sum of his faith The 4th and last way of confirmation of this great truth is drawen from the worship which is due unto him and hath been given unto him He is the object of Faith John 14.11 ye believe in God believe also in me He is the object of Prayer Acts 7.59 They stoned Stephen calling upon God saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit and frequently else-where in Scripture he is prayed unto though these two are not too curiously to be separated Use 1. The first Use serves to strengthen your Faith in this that our Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for sinners and is made offer of to them in the Gospel is God equal with the Father and so he is to be closed with and rested on as the brightness of the Fathers glory the reason why we would have you confirmed in the Faith of this is not small for its a most necessary thing and without the faith of it all the work of our salvation will hang louse neither can we have any claim to Eternal Life and therefore we desire you particularly who are ignorant Hearers and who have the name of Christ often in your mouths and yet know not what he is to know remember and believe that he that is the son of Mary is also the eternal son of God being God before he was incarnate and before the World was made and the Maker of all that was made Use 2. The second Use serves to let you know That though it be a most necessary thing to be confirmed in the faith of this Truth that Christ is God yet it 's a greater difficulty to believe and be perswaded of it then the most part take it to be many sad proofs whereof we have in Folks words and moe in their practice Flesh and blood saith Christ Matth. 16. hath not revealed this unto thee It 's a wonder whence many Folks faith comes who never found any the least difficulty in this and it 's a wonder that so few are through in the faith of it so that if they were called and put to it they durst not swear that he is God yea if we would look in a little further we would find that the faith of this is but scarce amongst us not to speak of the gross ignorance of many who will say when asked that he is not equal with the Father or that he was made God and other such like expressions will they have that are abominable to be once named amongst Christians Folks through their ignorance falling into damnable Heresies on the matter and yet not knowing that they do so As if our blessed Lord were a made god and not the same God with the Father For the proving of him to be God proves him to be the same God there being but one God Ye would consider for convincing you that it is thus with many of you 1. The little fear that is in men and women of the Majesty of Christ as God they durst not walk with so little fear of him if they believed indeed that he were God What made the Jews with the Scribes and Pharisees to spit upon him and despise him But because they wanted the Faith of his Godhead And have not ye the same nature in you Ye live in a place where the Faith of Christs Godhead is professed and is not questioned but your practice sayes to beholders that ye believe it not because ye fear him not 2. That your souls do so little welcome the offer of the Gospel that tells that ye believe him not to be God 3. That ye do not place your happiness in Believing on him and in the way of holiness ye say in effect wherefore serves Christ ye care not for him Hence it is that so many live contentedly without him and are not sollicitous about the enjoying of him 4. Even in Believers there is much unbelief of this truth which is sadly evidenced by this that they do not so bless themselves in him and that they do not so reckon themselves to have come well to and to be made up in him as David doth Psal 16. Where he saith and holily glorieth The lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place c. And by the frequent discouragement that is incident to Believers as if Christ had not the guiding of them and of what concerns them or could not guide all well enough for their good If he were believed to be God it would quash temptations banish discouragement comfort under crosses sweeten every condition induce to holiness restrain from sin And in a word it cannot be told what is in the bosome of this one truth when solidly believed For what can possibly be wanting to the Believer in him that is God He hath the fulness of the Godhead to supply what ever they want and sustains the relation of a Husband to the Believer to make it forth-coming And he is furnished with suitable qualifications to make the application thereof What then could be wanting if this were thorowly believed that he is God Let me say it to you the Faith of this would provoke to more holiness and to study more the power then the profession of Religion and would help to live a more comfortable life in every condition SERMON XXX ISAIAH LIII VIII Vers 8. He was taken from prison and from judgement and who shall declare his generation For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken THese words are a proof of that which we discoursed in the Lecture concerning Christs wonderful love to his pâ—ople Then which no man hath greater that a man should lay down his life for his friend But he hath commedned his love to us in that while we were yet enemies he died for us This is the great commendation of Christ's love and what will he refuse to his people who in his love hath come this length to them In the former part of this verse we shew that there was a hint given of Christ's Exaltation of the Exaltation and Glory of the Mediator following on the back of his lowest sufferings An ineffable and inexpressible Glory which the Prophet rather passeth with a sort of non-plussing silence then insisteth in the declaration of it Who shall declare his generation We come now to the last part of the words For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken They are added
others esteem not of it and therefore cannot make use of it 7ly They that are rightly making use of Christ's Sacrifice find it to be a difficult thing and that which will cost them wrastling to get it made use of aright they breath after it and yet win not to that which they would be at in it O! as David cryes Psal 51. purge me with hysop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be white as snow They know not well what way to make use of it to their Satisfaction they would make so much use of it or how to vent and exercise their Faith on it and when it comes to Actual Believing and to the Acting of their Faith they find it to be like a smooth and slippery Stone that they cannot easily hold their Feet on So Paul sayes Phil. 3. I count all things but dung that I may win Christ and that I may be found in him He cared not what he cast over board that he might win to that Land even to Christ and His Righteousness Like Sea men in great hazard who cast all over board to win the Shoar It 's even so with the Believer He sees that there is such hazard to go wrong and that It 's so difficult to be right even to make the heart submit to the way of Faith and to abide by it Singly that he is content to suffer the loss of all things if he may be right here But on the contrary a Man that rests on his own Righteousnesse be a difficultie what will to him Faith is no difficulty to him He may have fear to come short of Heaven sometimes but he thinks that he is alwayes exercising his Faith In a word the Believer ordinarly believes best when he hath the deepest and most kindly impression of his Sin as for the Legall Man he can believe well as he thinks when he hath no challenge for Sin but when he is challenged for Sin his Faith faills him Now from all that hath been said ye may see the necessity of making use of this Sacrifice And how warrily and cautiously it should be done that ye may steer a straight Course between gross Prophanity and Presumption either of which will ruine and destroy the Soul The Lord Jesus Himself be your Steers-man and Pilot that ye by His Skilfull Conduct may Stemme the Port and hold off these Rocks on which thousands of Souls Split and make Ship-wrack SERMON XXXVIII ISAIAH LIII X Verse 10. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin be shall see his seed he shall prolong his dayes and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand SIn was easily brought into the World a little businesse brought in Sin and the Curse and Wrath of God with it and without any great difficulty Men can continue in Sin and lye under Gods Wrath and Curse but the taking away of Sin and the Satisfying of the Justice of God for it is no easie matter that if we may so speak did put Heaven and Earth both to it There was such a contrivance of this way and such a mean chosen and made use of that Sin might be removed and the Curse taken away as the like was never heard of The Intimation and Manifestation of this Way is in the first part of this Verse Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him In Gods Council and by His Pleasure it was Contrived and the Way found out and the Mean is set down in these Words When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin The Mediator even he who was the Spotless Lamb of God in whose Mouth was found no Guile was bruised and put to sad Suffering to get this Effectuat That the Curse might be removed from Sinners He was made the Sin-offering We shew that Jesus Christ is the only Sin-offering by which Sin is taken away and that it is implyed here So that it is denyed to all other Things or Means to have any Effecacie Vertue or Merit in them as to the removing of Sin and the Curse brought on by it this is I say so peculiarly applyed to Christ's Offering that it is denyed to every thing else which shews 1. How much Sinners are oblidged to Christ who when no other thing could do it interposed Himself 2. The necessity of making use of this one Offering without which never Soul can be Perfected or Saved He is the alone Foundation of Sinners Peace and of all the Consolation that they can have in the Promises of God Now to proceed and to hint at some few things more from the Words wherein the End and Nature of Christ's Sufferings are set forth He in His Suffering and Offering up of Himself did step into the Room of the Sinfull Elect that by Justice exacting of Him the Debt that was due by them they might escape and be set free Hence Observe 1. That when there was no other Thing nor Mean that could sufficiently satisfie Divine Justice or be a Sacrifice for Sin Our Lord stepped to and undertook and became the Sacrifice to take away Sin according to that often cited Psal 40.7 8. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire in burnt offering thou hadst no pleasure He is not speaking of what God required in the Law as Typicall for He required Sacrifices and Offerings in that respect but not to be a Propitiation for the Sins of the Elect World because they could not do it and then follows Lo I come or I am here mine ear hast thou bored It is Heb. 10 A body hast thou given unto me which sets out His being put in a Capacity to be a Sacrifice I delight to do thy will O my God Here there are these Four Things implyed 1. A lyableness in the Elect to the Justice of God for Sin and as to all other Means and Wayes of Relief but by this One Sacrifice a Disperatness and Impossibility and considering the Sentence which God had Pronunced The day thou eats thou shalt surely die And cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the Law to do them No Sacrifice can be accepted but this only Thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl have no access He did not in that respect require these neither would He capitulat on these Terms 2. That when no other Sacrifice could do the turn Christ Jesus came in and was content to interpose and to be the Sacrifice for Sin Lo saith He I come I am here ready to Satisfie for my Elect People For this is an Old Design and He had undertaken from Eternity to carry it on 3. There is implyed here a great Willingnesse a Delightsome and Heartsome Condescending in the Mediator to be the Sacrifice He steps in affectionatly in the Room of the Elect as the Sacrifice for them to receive the Stroak of Justice that they may escape and go free I delight to do thy will O my God This is Gods Will as
will O! my God By which will saith the Apostle we are sanctified And had there not been such a Will His Sufferings had not been usefull to us 3. Consider the Offer that is made in the Gospel to Sinners which is the object of our Faith For the Covenant of Redemption is not the Ground and Object of our Faith though it clears the Ground and Reason of our Faith but it 's Gods Offer in the Gospel according to that place Mark 16.15 16. Go ye and preach the gospel to every creature he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved He warrands them to go and make it known to all to whom they shall Preach that there is Remission of Sinâ— to be had through Faith in Christ and this is a Ground to Faith when God makes offer of Christ's Satisfaction in the Gospel on condition that we believe and accept of Him When we by Faith close with the offer it gives us as it were an Assignation to Christs Purchase The Gospel sayes as Paul doth Acts 13.38 Be it known to you that through this man is preached to you remission of sins and by him all that believe are Justified And Faith consents to that as giving God credit and accordingly closes with and rests upon it as the ground of it's Plea before God So that when the Question comes to be asked What have ye to Answer the Law and to pay your Debt with Faith or the believing Sinners Answers I have nothing of my own but there is a Satisfaction in Christ according to the Covenant of Redemption which is holden out and made offer of to me in the Gospel and is given and allowed to me for defence against what the Law or Justice can say And I betake me to that And this is the native and kindly Act of Faith in Justification when it makes use of this Defence and Trusts to it alone This is even it that Paul hath Philip. 3.9 compared with v. 8. I count all things loss that I may win Christ and be found in him That when it shall be asked Paul where art thou I may have it to say I am here Lord even in Christ and in His Righteousness this is the ground of his Plea having given up with his own Righteousnesse as to his Justification before God and he will have no other defence but that 4. Consider the end of all these to wit of Christ's Sufferings of the Covenant of Redemption and of the Offer of the Gospel It 's the Praise of the Glory of His Grace that God may make it known that He is Gracious and freely Gracious without respect to any thing in in the Sinner This End is not only set out in these two peaces put together one is Rom. 3.26 To declare I say his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus That he might be Just That is one that will fulfill His threatnings and therefore He hath provided One to Satisfie His Justice and One that is Faithfull in keeping His Promises and therefore He is the Justifier of them that believe in Jesus The other place is Ephes 1.6 Where when the Apostle hath spoken of Election Predestination and Adoption he sets down the end of all to wit To the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved And this is a Ground that makes all sure For God cannot fail to Justifie the Sinner that believeth in Christ as He is offered in the Gospel because that is the very end of His Justifying Sinners the Praise of the Glory of Grace which He will not miss but most certainly and infrustrably come by The Uses are 4. in general The 1 whereof is for Information and it 's such a Lesson of Information as without it all the Preaching of the Gospel is to no purpose and the hope of Eternal Life were utterly desperat if such a Doctrine were not in the Gospel that through Faith in Christ a Sinner may be Justified would any know then how they may be Absolved this Answers the Question and tells us that it is through Faith in Christs Righteousness and no other way And if we digestedly believed the former two Doctrines 1. That we must all come before the tribunal of God And 2. That we are all obnoxious to the Curse of God we would think this were a very concerning Question to be put how such a guilty Sinner may be Absolved and Justified And indeed if we be not clear in this point It 's as to any Fruit in vain for us to Preach and for you to hear or to think of coming to Heaven Which is in a Word that a Sinner through resting on Christs Righteousness according to the Covenant of Grace may come to be absolved and fred from the Guilt of Sin and from the Curse as if he had never sinned nor been lyable to that Curse For further clearing of this Use Consider 1. What Justification is 2. What we mean by Faith And 3. What are the Causes of this Justification spoken of in the Text. 1. By Justification in this place is not to be understood the making of a Person perfectly holy nor to have Grace infused into him for that is Sanctification But it is to be absolved and declared free in respect of the Guilt of Sin and of the Curse as if a Man had never Sinned As it 's said Ephes 1.6 Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved It 's an Act of Gods free Grace whereby our Sins are pardoned and we accepted as Righteous in His sight c. as our Catechisme hath it as if our Sin had never been 2. When we speak of Faith we mean not a General Historical Faith that Devils or Reprobat Men may have and whereby an assent of the Judgement is given to the Truths of the Word though indeed Justifying Faith doth presuppose that neither by Faith do we mean such a Faith whereby a man doth at the very first believe that he is Pardoned and which puts away all doubting and lifts him in his own conceit to the hight of assurance about the obtaining of the thing It 's the Antinomian presumption to believe at first hand that I am Justified and Pardoned But it 's such a Faith that takes hold of Christs Righteousness made offer of in the Gospel that I may obtain Justification and pardon of Sin through Him According as it 's said Gal. 2.16 We believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the Faith of Christ It 's an actuall closing with the offer of Christs Righteousnesse and a submitting to the terms of it for Justification The Souls founding of all it's defence before God on Christs Righteousnesse and Purchase offered to it in the Gospel and resting on it for Life and Salvation As suppose there were a Multitude of Rebels to whom Pardon were by Proclamation offered on condition that at such a time they should
that way of Preaching most that layes open the mistery of Faith in Christ and of Hearers to love that way of Preaching best not so much that which fills the head with Notions as that which serves to help to close a Bargain betwixt God and you This was Pauls great design in Preaching as we see 1 Cor. 2.2 and 1 Cor. 1.23.24 He no doubt taâ—ght other things but he compended all in this or levelled all at this as the scope and this was his main Design in his Preaching and Pressing of other things The 3d. Use Serves To make a sad discovery of many of you is this Gospel the external mean of Justification Then see if ye ever knew any benefit ye got by it ye will belike say that ye are in friendship with God but how I pray you came ye by it There is little châ—nge to the better in your Knowledge and as little odds in your Practice ye are as much given to Covetousnesse Tipling Lying Swearing Pride Vanity c. as evâ—r and are these think ye the Fruits of Justification do ye think that to be Justification which is neither from the Word nor conform to it If God would commend this to your hearts I think it might alarm you to more serious thoughts of your Condition I put it to your Conscience if ye can conceive any difference betwixt you and these that never heard the Gospel ye are baptized and hear preachings c. But alace it 's none of these that Justifies they are only useful as they lead you forward to the use making of Jesus Christ Again let me ask you what effect hath Preaching upon you Hâ—th it convinced you of Sin â—o how then can it convince yâ—u of Righteousnesse Therefore if ye would make sure Justification indeed try it by the Word 1. What was it that put you to seek after Righteousnesse and Justification was ye ever convinced of the need of it and if ye have been convinced was it by Preaching of the Word 2. If ye have been convinced of your Sin and misery where sought ye for a remedy was ye led in through the Word to seek a Plaister to heal that wound of Conviction 3. What was it that warranted you to take hold of that Word or that gave you right to it I know that ye will say that it was Christ holden out in the Word that ye did betake your selves to but what weight laid ye on Gods call in the Gospel warranding you to lay hold on the Promise of Righteousnesse and Pardon of Sin through Christ I know there are many who though there had not been a call from God would have confidently stepped forward to the Promise but were ye ever like to Peters hearers pricked in your hearts and made to say men and brethren what shall we do Or being some way pricked was it Gods call holding out the Promise to be to you and your children and to as many as our God shall call that brought you to rest on the Promise God hath designed preaching for this end and ye would try if ever ye was put to it to look to Gods call that gâ—ve you warrand to believe for there is nothing more certain then this that wherever Faith is sicker and well built it 's grounded on Gods call and doth take His Faiâ—hfulnesse for it's Back-bond to say so and warrand More particularly we come to speake of this Word as it respects the inward mean or the inward instrumental cause of Justification which is Faith for there is this order and method 1. The Sinner is convinced and made sensible of Sin and brought to reckon for it in his own Conscience before God 2. There is Christs being holden forth interposing himself to take on Sinners Debt and satisfyâ—ng the Ju â—ice of God for it which is the meritorious Cause 3dly There is Gods Offer in the Gospel holding our Christs Righteousnesse to lost Sinners and calling them to make use of it 4ly Upon this there is Faith's receiving of the Offer and resting upon Christ and His Righteousnesse for Life which to speak so is the inward instrumental Cause taking hold of the external and as I said of Christ in it 5. And lasty follows Gods imputing the Righteousnesse of Christ to the Sinner and absolving him by vertue of that Righteousnesse from the guilt of his Sin as if he had never Sinned In speaking of this inward instrumental Cause Five things would be cleared which we suppose are implyed in the Words 1. The necessity of Faith holden out as the Mean by which Justification is come by 2. The immediat Object of Justifying Faith and that is Christs Sufferings or Jesus Christ as Suffering Travelling in Soul and paying our Debt 3. The Act of this Faith on this Object which is not a bare speculative Knowledge or a meer Historical Faith but something that really Acts on Christ with respect to His Sufferings 4. The effect of this Faith taking hold on Christ and His Sufferings and that is Justification which is not the making a Sinner to be Just by inherent Righteousnesse but the Actual absolving of him from the Guilt of Sin and from God's Curse the changing of his State and the bringing him from under the Curse into good terms with God 5. The manner how Faith concurres in proceeding or bringing about this effect wherein we have this general That Faith hath a peculiar influence in the Justification of a Sinner that no good work nor any other Grace hath There is none of all these things but it is in this miserably declined generation wherein the Devil sets himself mightily to obscure Truâ—h as the Lord by the Gospel doth clear it contraverted I shall only endeavour to clear the positive part and let you see what is Truth in these things whereby ye may be brought to discover and abhore the errors that are contrare thereto The 1. Doctrine than is this That before a man can be Justified and Absolved from the Curse of God due to him for Sin there is a necessity of Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ This is clear from the Words and from what hath been said in the opening of them up If it be by his knowledge or the knowledge of him that many are justified then it cannot be that they are Justified before they come to the Knowledge of Him or from Eternity only in passing take two or three words of Advertisement and then we shall confirm the Doctrine 1. When we speak of Justification it 's in respect of our being absolved and fred not from the pollution of Sin but from the guilt of it as it makes us obnoxious to the Curse the clearing of the effect will clear this more 2. When we speak of Faith it 's not to be understood as it were a Declaration or Manifestation of our Justification Or it is not to be understood of Faith in the hight of full assurance and as it is a plezophory but of
not a Day of Judgement and a reckoning will ever close with Christ and lippen to His Righteousnesse I fear there are but few hearers of the Gospel that come the length of Devils in believing and yet all will needs be counted Christians we would here upon the one hand disclaim the Popish Error that plâ—ceth all the essence of Faith in the understanding which is somewhat strange seing they scarce think Knowledge of the thing to be believed necessary The reason is because they know or at least own nothing more of the concurrence of Faith in Justification then is obedience to a Commandement they think it 's a duty obedience to a Commandment to assent to any Truth therefore they take this general historical Faith to be the only Faith as they take Holinesse to be the only ground of their Peace when they are called to an accompt and thus Faith as a part of their Holinesse comes in but they admit of no particular respect to Faiths taking hold of Christs Righteousnesse as the immediat ground of their Peace Upon the other hand we would seclude the vain Faith of many Professors who some way believe all that 's in the Bible so as they question nothing herein They know no other Faith but this yet if this were Justifying Faith the Devil should have it For they believe and tremble They believe there is a God that Christ is the Son of God that they that believe shall not perish that God is Faithful c. But this Historical Faith is not enough 1. Because as I just now said it may be in Reprobats and Devils 2. Because the Scripture expresly differenceth this sort of Faith from saving Faith many were called Believers to whom Christ would not commit himself as it is John 2.24 For though they believed it to be truth which He spake yet they rested not on Him So in the Parable of the Sower Math. 13. There are three grounds that receive the Seed which imports in two of them at least a kind of Believing but the fourth ground is only good 3. Because this Faith Acts upon every revealed Truth alike and assents to all Passages recorded in the Bible alike as one and to that Paul left his cloak at Troas and the like as it Acts on that this is a faithful saying that Christ came into the world to save sinners and such like But according to the ground formerly given Faith as it Justifies Acts on Christ only and therefore this bare assent to the Truth of the Word cannot be Justifying Faith because it Acts no otherways on Christ then it doth upon other things ye would therefore know a difference in your practice betwixt these two The crediting the truth of a thing and your actual receiving and resting upon that Truth As for Example a man proposeth Marriage to a woman and she believes that he is in earnest and not in scorn yet there is a great difference betwixt that and her actual consenting to marrie him So it is here the man may believe that Christ doth really make offer of Himself to him and yet be far from cordial receiving of Him or take it in the example made use of before suppose that some of the Rebells we spoke of believe the Proclamation to be a Truth yet thinking it hard to be under the bands of Government they do not embrace it If it be Objected here That the Scripture often calls Justifying Faith a believing that Christ is the Son of God which is no more then this assent of the Judgement or Historical Faith For Answer it would be considered of whom the Scripture there speaks 1. It is of Jews for the most part who had the Faith of the Messiah generally among them and no question the Believers of them such as the proselyted Eunuch Martha and Mary had the Faith of the Messiah satisfying Divine Justice and of their Justification through His Satisfaction But the great question of the Jews was whether Jesus the Son of Mary was the Messiah or not and it being revealed and believed that he was the other followed they rested on Him of will to say so as the Messiah 2. Believing of Christ to be the Son of God doth not exclude but include their consenting to the receiving of Christ but it holds forth also their assent to and perswasion of that Truth that was then debated that He was indeed the promised Messiah and the Son of God For the Devils confessed Him to be the Son of God and none will say but there was more in their believing Him to be the Son of God then in the Devils believing it who never believe unto Salvation as they did 3. Consider that as sometimes Knowledge is put for Faith so this assent may be put for Faith where yet more is implyed in it especially considering that Rom. 10. Faith is called Faith of the heart with the heart man believeth Now believing with the heart being an Act of the will these Testimonies setting out Faith to be a believing Christ to be the Son of God must imply a lippening to Him following upon it we are therefore never to look on these places as comprehending a bare assent only but as including also and carrying alongst with it the cordial receiving Him and of resting upon Him For the 3. to wit the receiving Act of Faith which differs from the former as we shew in the examples hinted at before It looks to the Covenant of Redemption betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator it accepts of the Terms of the Covenant as they are proposed in the Gospel and consents to the bargain and as God proposes the Righteousnesse of Christ it submits to the same which Paul 1 Tim. 1. calls a saying worthy of all acceptation to be welcomed and believed as such and the Believers mentioned Heb. 11. are said not to have received the promises but to have seen them afar off and to have embraced or saluted them This receiving is no Physical or Natural Act as if we were to receive such a thing by the mouth or bodily hand It 's an Act of Faith in the heart proportioned and suited to this Spiritual Bargain or Marriage proposed in the Covenant of Grace and it 's like a mans consenting to a civil bargain or like a womans consenting to marry a man As when it is said to Sinners ye are naturally dead in Sins and trespasses and under Gods Curse But be it known to you that we preach Remission of Sins to you through the Blood of Christ Faith considers this offer accepts of and welcomes it The 4th and last Act is a resting on him which is still the same Faith but another Act of it Not as if there might be a receiving and not a resting or a resting and not a receiving or as if we were to difference them in respect of time but Faith is said to receive as it respects the Gospel offer of Christ and his Satisfaction and it
Phrases that the Scripture useth to this purpose and where we are said to be Justified by faith There is a sort of causality attributed to Faith that can be attributed to no other Grace nor Works Hence the Righteousnesse of Christ is called the Righteousness of faith and we are said to be Justified by faith in his blood So Phil. 3.8 9. I count all things to be but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God bâ— faith and Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood many moe such Phrases there are And truly it would look very unlike the Scripture to expone these Scripture Phrases of a Righteousnesse of Works or by Works 3. Consider how the Apostle opposeth the two Covenants The Covenant of Works made with Adam and the Covenant of Grace made with Believers in Jesus Christ Rom. 10.5 6 7. Moses describeth the righteousness of the law that the man which doth these things shall live by them The Righteousnesse of the Law speaks of doing by which we come to be Justified But the righteousnesse of faith or the Covenant of Grace Speaketh on this wise The word is near thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Where the Apostle opposeth these two Covenants not in respect of merit only as if the one were inconsistent with Grace and not the other but he opposeth them in this that the Righteousnesse of the one Covenant is in doing and the Riâ—hteousness of the other Covenant is by believing And therefore according to this opposition whaâ—ever is a mans doing is not the ground of his Peace and Justification before God because the Righteousnesse of his doing is the condition of the Covenâ—nt of Works and the Righteousnesse of the Covenant of Grace is quite of another nature to wit Believing in him who justifieth the ungodly 4. Consider that the thing that is the ground of our Justification before God is Christ's Righteousness inherent in Himself and imputed to us for the covering of our nakedness because He is as our Cautioner hath payed our Debt Hence it follows that Faith hath another way of concurring in Justification then any other thing can have because it 's Faith which receives and puâ—s on that Righteousnesse which no other thing doth That I may be found in him saith the Apostle Philip. 3.9 not having my own righteousness but the righteousness which is by the faith of Christ So that to be in him is to hâ—ve His Righteousnesse and this Righteousnesse is put on by Faith Only take two words of Adverisement ere we come to clear the other branch of the Doctrine The 1. is this when we speak of the peculiarness of the way of Faith's concurring in Justification so as no other Grace or Work doth we design not to weaken or cry down the necessity of Repentance and of other Graces nor of good Works the very thoughts whereof we abhore but to give every one of them their own and the right place and therefore it 's a gross calumnie to say that we affirm that the study and practice of Holiness and good Works is not necessary we only cry them down on this account that when we come before God our Works or Holinesse aâ—e not to be presented to Him as the ground of our Justification and Absolution but the Righteousnesse of Christ that Faith takes hold of and in this we say that Faith peculiarly concurres as no other Grace doth because iâ—'s fitted with an aptitude to receive and apply Christs Righteousnesse which no other Grace is as we say iâ—'s by the eye that a man sees though if he had not a â—ead and brains he would not see So though Fai h and Hol nesse or good Works be not sepâ—rat yet Faith is as it were â—he eye of the Soul that discerns and takes hold of Christs Righteousnesse The 2. is this That when we speak of good Works we speak of tâ—â—m as the Apostle doth Tit. 3.5 where 〈◊〉 saith not â—y the works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us and by good Works denyed in the point of Justification we understand all that is our own doing not excluding â—nly some things that were so accounted iâ— the time of darkness as almesdeedâ— and the like but as we have said all that is our own doing The 2d Branch is that this peculiarness of Faiths concurring in Justification is not from any efficacy in Faith or from Faith considered as our Deed or Work but as it Acts on Christ as the Objâ—ct of it and therefore when it is said Rom. 4.3 That Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness The meaning is not as if God had accepted his believing as an Act or Work for his Righteousnesse and that it was accounted as a perfite Grace but the meaning is that Christ Jesus the promised Seed received by Faith or his betaking of himself to the Riâ—hteousness of Christ holden out to him in the Promise was accounted his Righteousnesse as if he had had an inherent Righteousnesse of his own and so Faith is imputed not in respect of it's Act but in respect of it's Object By his union with Christ through Faith Christs Satisfaction becomes his To clear it a little take these considerâ—tions 1. Consider Faith as a Grace in us and so it cannot be imputed for Righteousness for in that respect it 's a Work and is excluded by the Apostles opposition made of Grace and Works It must therefore be Faith considered as acting in it's Object 2. Consider that in Scripture to be Justified by Christ by his blood and by Faith are all one because when it is said we are justified by Christ or by His Blood it takes in Christ and His Blood laid hold on by Faith therefore sometimes Christ sometimes Faith is called our Righteousnesse because as Christ considered as suffering and satisfying is the meritorious cause of our Justification so Faith is the instrumental cause taking hold of His Satisfaction which is our Righteousnesse both are necessary in their own way and Christs Righteousnesse implyes Faith and Faith implyes Christ and His Righteousnesse the one implyes the other necessarily 3. Consider the Phrases used in Scripture to this purpose as where we are said to be justified by faith it ever respects Christ and where we are said by faith to put on Christ It is not Faith considered as Righteousness of it self but it 's Faith considered as Acting on Christ and His Righteousness Therefore it 's the Righteousness which is by Faith the Righteousnesse which is in Christ and by Faith taken hold of by us and
freely pardon you which gracious offer they most gladly accept of and submit themselves to it Submitting is an acquiescing in the terms of the Gospel as it is proposed It 's even as if ye should say we hold the Bargain and are well-content and satisfied with it In a word Faith carves not to God the way of Salvation but sweetly submitteth to the way He hath carved out A sixth Expression is Hiding of our selves in God or in Christ so the word trust in God signifies to hide our selves in Him as in a place of Refuge according to that Prov. 18. The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righetous run unto it and are preserved or hid or they flee to it as Doves do to their Windows and this is it the Apostle hath Phil. 3.9 That I may be found in him not having my own righteousness c. so that if ye ask What is Faith It 's a Man's betaking himself to Christ that when he shall be called for it may be answered Lord I am in Christ not having mine own Righteousness c. it is not to be lippenning to the Man 's good Hopes to his good Prayers or to his good Meaning but to Christ's Satisfaction and God's Promise By Faith when rightly exercised the Sinner holls and hydes himself in Christ till to speak so a bit of the Man cannot be seen and this is well set out by the Lord when He says Isa 23.26 Come my people enter into your chambers shut the doors about you hide your selves for a little while c. come in under the Mediator's Wings lock in your selves by Faith there and so make all sure A seventh Expression is 2 Chron. 30.8 Where when Hezekiah is writing to the degenerate Tribes to come home again he bids them yield themselves to the Lord in the Original it is give the hand to the Lord even as two Men who have been at odds and variance or have broken the tyes that were betwixt them come to renew the Friendship they chop Hands Now God is brought in stretching out His Hands to you Isa 65.2 therefore come and close with Him yield to Him give Him the Hand or chop Hands with Him and make the Bargain and Engagement sicker for the time to come all these Similitudes borrowed from Men are partly to make the Nature of Faith obvious and clear partly to strengthen and confirm Believers Faith An eighth Expression is that of opening to Christ Cant. 5.2 Open to me my dove c. Rev. 3.20 Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man open the door to me c. Acts. 16. it 's said the Lord opened the heart of Lydia When the Word comes Sinners Hearts are locked on God Christ comes by His Word and knocks hard to be in bids open and take in the Saviour and Faith discerns His Voice and gives Him entry it 's the letting of the Word sink the making of Him welcome it 's not only the crediting of the Word as true but the receiving of Him whom the Word offers for the End for which He is offered and this is when the work of the Spirit with the Word wakens up a stichilling or flightering to say so within and makes the Heart to open to take in Christ as one worded it well and significantly my Heart clecked as a Lintseed-Boll to Christ and wherever Christ hath a design of Grace on the Soul and comes with Powet He continues knocking rapping and calling hard and aloud till Doors and Gates be cast open to Him A ninth Expression or Similitude under which Faith is held forth is that which is ordinary of a Marriage or of covenanting or consenting whether in Marriage or otherwise but more especially in Marriage When Christ taketh on Him the place of an Wooer Ministers are His Embassadours the Word is their Instructions wherein He bids them go tell Sinners that all things are ready and to pray them to come to the Marriage or to marry and match with Him and Faith is a coming-away to this Husbâ—nd a receiving of the word of Invitation a consenting to the Marriage It 's not so much a local as a qualitative change or mutation we change Fashions we subscribe the Contract on the terms it is laid out to us In the Bargain of Grace something is offered by God and that is Christ and His Fulness and there is something done on our side and that is acccepting of Him by Faith and this is not so much a saying with the Tongue as it is a believing with the Heart as it is Rom. 10.10 With the heart man believes unto righteousness it 's the Hearts present subscribing the Marriage-Contract and going away with Christ to live and cohabit with Him though Confession will be readily with the Mouth also as He calls for it A tenth Expression or Similitude is that of buying Ho every one cryeth the Prophet Isa 55.1 that thirsts come to the waters and he that hath no money come buy c. so Rev. 3.18 Buy of me eye salve c. It sayes this much that God in the Gospel sets forth as in a Mercat to Sinners rich and rare Wares and good cheap or at very low and easie Rates and that Believing is like buying up of the Wares Life Eternal is holden out on condition of believing on Christ and the poor Sinner thinks that a good Bargain for it takes no Money from him Rev. 22.17 This is called willing whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely the Soul hath a good will to the thing It is held forth by several other Expressions in the Scripture it is called a cleaving to the Lord or sticking to him Josh 23.8 and Acts 11.23 it is called hearing hearkening and enclining of the ear Isa 55 2 3. an attentive concerned and holily greedy listening to and taking hold of this Offer it 's a cleaving to the Lord as Woodben or Ivy cleaves to an Oak because its life depends on it And Deut. 30. and Josh 24. it 's called a choosing of the Lord and that upon deliberation as knowing that we have need of Him that He is a Saviour suited compleatly to all the necessities of our Souls and that we are warranded to Believe on Him it 's the native act and exercise of Faith to choice Christ among all the Wooers that are courting the Soul So likewise it 's set out under trusting and committing Psal 37. Commit thy way to the Lord trust in Him I know saith Paul 2 Tim. 1.12 He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him it 's to give Christ the credit of your Salvation it 's one thing to give a Man the credit that He is true and another thing to concredit Him with our greatest concerns we will credit many whom we will not thus concredit our selves to nor commit our concerns to the former when these are applyed to God is Historical Faith but
own Insufficiency acknowledging God's Sufficiency which if we did we should find it go better with us and may not the same be expected in the matter of Believing as well as in other Duties 2. None that ever heard this Gospel shall in the Day of Judgement have this to Object none shall have it to say that they would fain have believed but their meer Infirmity Weakness and Inability did imped them for though it be our own Sin and Guilt that we are unable yet where the Gospel comes that is not the Contraversie But that Folks would not come to Christ would not be gathered that when He would they would not for where there is a will to will and to do go together But it 's Enmity at the way of Believing Security Stupidity Senselesness and Carelesness what become of the Immortal Soul that ruines Folks for the Soul that would fain be at Christ shall be helped to Believe the reason is because the nature of the Covenant of Grace and of the Mediator thereof is such that all to whom He gives to will He gives them also to perform and His Faithfulness is engaged so to do It must therefore return to one of these two That either ye will not receive Him or else ye are willing though weak and if ye be willing Faithful is He that hath called you who also will do it but if it halt at your Perversness and wilful Refusal of the Offer there is good reason that in God's Justice ye should never get good of the Gospel nay there is never one to whom the Gospel comes and who doeth not Believe but formally as it were he passeth a Sentence on himself as the word is Act. 13 46. Ye judge your selves unworthy of eternal life which the Apostle gathers from this ground that they did not neither would accept of Jesus Christ offered to them in the Gospel as the event is that follows on the Offer so will the Lord account of your receiving of it Fourthly As for Directions to help and further you to Believe it 's not easie but very difficult to give them it being impossible to satisfie the curiosity of Nature neither can any Directions be prescribed that without the special work of God's Spirit can effectuate the thing the renewing of the Will and the working of Faith being Effects and Fruits of omnipotent Grace yet because something lyes upon all the Hearers of the Gospel as Duty and it being more suitable and congruous that in the use of Means then when Means are neglected Believing should be attained And because oftentimes these that desire this Question to be answered to wit how they may win at Believing are such as have some beginnings of the work of Grace and of Faith We shall speak a few words to such as would be at believing and exercising of Faith on Jesus Christ And 1. Folk had need to be clear in the common fundamental Truths of the Gospel they would know what their Natural Estate is what their Sin and Misery is and they would know the way how to win out of that State Ignorance often obstructs us in the way of Believing How shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard Rom. 10.14 when Folks Believe not it is as if they had never heard 2. When ye have attained to the knowledge of the common Truths of the Gospel as of your Sin and Misery the nature of the Covenant the Mediator and His Fulness c. Labour to fix well the Historical Faith of them we are sure that many never come this length to believe the History of the Gospel and till that be they can advance no further for as the word is Heb. 11.6 He that comes to God must believe that He is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him I say these common simple Truths of the Gospel would well be fixed by a Historical Faith and yet this would not be rested on because though they be excellent Truths yet they may be known and historically believed where Saving Faith and Salvation follow not 3. Be much in Thinking Meditating and Pondering of and on these things let them sink down into your Hearts that the Meditation of them may fix the Faith of them and that they may deeply affect us we would seek to have a morally serious feeling of them as we have of the common works of the Spirit But there are many like the Way sidehearers who as soon as they hear the Word some Devil like a Crow comes and picks it up therefore to prevent this ye would seek to have the Word of God dwelling richly in you ye would meditate on it till ye be convinced of your hazard and get the Affections some way stirred according to the nature of the Word ye meditate upon whether Threatnings or Promises the most part are affected with nothing they know not what it is to tremble at a Threatning nor smile as it were on a Promise through their not dwelling on the thoughts of the Word that it may produce such an Effect 4. When this is done Folks would endeavour a full up-giving with the Law of Righteousness as to their Justification that if they cannot so positively and stayedly win to rest on Jesus Christ and His Righteousness yet they may lay the weight of their Peace with God on no other thing they would lay it down for a certain conclusion that by the works of the Law they can never be justified and would come with a stoped Mouth before God thus tender Christians will find it sometimes easier to give up with the Law then to close with the Gospel as to their distinct apprehension of the thing 5. When this is done Go as it were to the top of mount Nebo and take a look of the pleasant Land of Promises and of Christ held out in them and let your Soul say O! to have the Bargain well closed to have my Heart stirred up to love Him and to rest upon Him O! to have Faith and to discern it in its actings for when the Life of Faith is so weak that it cannot speak yet it may breath and though ye cannot exercise Faith as ye would so as to grip to and catch fast hold of the Object yet essay seriously to do that far as to esteem love and vehemently desire it In this respect the Will is said to go before the Deed though as to God's begetting of Faith there be a contemporariness of the Will and the Deed yet as to our sense the Will outruns the Deed even as in another sense though it makes well for this purpose the Apostle says To will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I know not for we ought to have our Will running after Christ and Believing on Him when we cannot attain to the distinct actings of it But it may be here objected and said Is not this Presumption Answ If this were Presumption then
Grace of God exercised within Mens Hearts as well as the Word is preached outwardly to the Ear wherever Faith is begotten these two go together the Word without and the power of Grace within the one of which is distinct from the other 2. That this powerful internal and immediate work of Grace within is not common to all the Hearers of the Gospel but a rare and peculiar thing to some to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed it's but one or few of many to whom it 's revealed To these we have spoken already 3. The third is which indeed holds out the scope of all that there is an inseparable connexion betwixt these two the begetting of Faith in the Hearers of the Gospel and the application of this powerful work of the Grace of God for working of it so that where this powerful work of Grace is not there is never Faith nor Conversion wrought and where this powerful work of Grace is there is Faith and Conversion The Prophet makes them reciprocal and commensurable who is the Believer he to whom the Arm of the Lord is revealed and who is the Unbeliever he to whom the Arm of the Lord is not revealed These two are so conjoyned and knit together as they are never separated and so they must stand or fall together That we may be the more clear we shall take up the Doctrine in two distinct Branches The first whereof is That except the powerful work of God's Grace concur the most powerful preaching of the Gospel will never beget Faith in the Hearts of the Hearers of it The second is That where-ever this powerful work of Grace goes along with the preaching of the Gospel or wherever the Lord applyes His Grace with the Word preached there Faith is begotten in the Heart and that Soul is effectually united to Christ and savingly changed The one of these Branches serves to shew the necessity of God's Grace from the consideration of our sinfulness and impotency or inability and of the emptiness and ineffectualness of all outward Means in themselves and so to stop all Mens Mouthes as being utterly unable to contribute any thing to their own spiritual Good or Conversion that being the product of the Grace of God The other Branch serves mightily to commend the Grace of God as being the powerful Arm of the Lord that brings to Believe that calls and converts such and such Persons according to a prior engagement and transaction betwixt the Father and the Son As for the first of these It will easily be believed among Men and Women that have any true sense and feeling of the Corruption of their Nature and find dayly somewhat of the Law of the Members warring against the Law of the Mind and we are perswaded if all that ever received Faith were brought to depone in this matter they would bear witness that there is no Mean that without the effectual Power of the Grace of God can bring a stranger Sinner to close with Christ and believe on Him and if all that are now before the Throne of God in Heaven were called to speak to this great Truth they would put their seal to it and say Not unto us but to thy Name be the glory of our believing we had never believed if it had been left to the power of our own Free-will and if the power of thy Grace had not wrought in us the very Will as well as the Deed or Act of believing Yet because this Doctrine as we said serves to discover the sinfulness and impotency of Nature and how little we are obliged to our selves in this great work and to hold forth the absolute necessity of the Grace of God and how much we are obliged to it in the work of Faith and Conversion and to hold forth withall the emptiness and ineffectualness of all outward Means without this Grace and because it wants not its own considerable opposition from the enemies of the Truth we shall give you some Grounds for confirmation of it The first whereof is drawen from these express instances of Scripture wherein it is clear That there hath been much powerful Preaching and by the most eminent Preachers and yet the generality of People have been fruitless under it and their fruitlesness hath been brought to this very Ground to wit that the work of God's Grace and His out-stretched Arm went not along with it The first instance is Deut. 29.4 That Moses was a skilled Preacher who will deny he being faithful in all the House of God yet says he after much and long Preaching and after many Signs and Wonders wrought the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day where he not only puts a difference betwixt the preaching of the Word without and the work of Grace within but shows the necessity of the concâ—rrence of the work of Grace and lays the great weight of the Peoples profiting or not profiting on the wanting or having of that A second instance is in this Prophet Isaiah were there any among all the Preachers before or since that preached in a more Evangelick strain then he did and yet when he hath complained of the paucity of Believers saying who hath believed our report he fixes and stays on this as the cause to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And Chap. 6.9 10. he gives an account of the sad Commission he had from the Lord who said to him Go and tell the people Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the heart of this people sat c. where there is also a clear distinction made betwixt the inward working of Grace and the outward Ministry A third instance and one that is beyond all exception is in our bless'd Lord Jesus who spake as never man spoke and preached with such power and life that even carnal Hearers wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth for he preached with Authority and not as the Scribes and yet Joh. 6.44 when they begin to murmure at Him what says He Murmure not at these things none can come to me except the Father draw him none can Believe except the powerful Grace of God work Faith in him there must be a higher hand then ought ye see or hear a more powerful work then any external Preaching of mine as Prophet of my Church ere a Soul can believe on me and though his Hearers were not free of the guilt of this their Unbelief but had their own sinful accession unto their continuing in it yet our Lord looks in on the soveraign way and work of Grace and holds there telling them that his external Ministry will not do the turn but there must be an inward powerful immediate work of Grace for the working of Faith We add a fourth instance and it is of that chosen Vessel Paul who laboured more abundantly then all the rest of
that he should be opp essâ—â— and afflicted and brought as a lamb to the slaughter that he should be numbred amongâ—t the transgressours and that he should die and be buried make his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death all which are clearly fulfille in him and the clearing of his Sufferings whereof we spoke before clears this that not only he suffered but that he was brought so low in suffering 2 For the ground of his Sufferings its â—aid to be the sins of his own Elect He bare our griefs and carried our sorrows he was wounded for our transgrâ—ssions and bruised for our iniquities there was no guile found in his mouth the greatest enemies of our Lord could impute nothing to him Pilat was forced to say that he found no fault in him all which shew that it was for the Transgressions of his People that he suffered 3. As for Mens little esteem of him it is also very clear for He was despised and rejected of men we hid as it were our faces from him He was despised and we esteemed him not the World thought little of him and we that are elect thought but little of him and what is more clear in the Gospel then this where it is told that he was reproached buffeted spitted on despised they criâ—d away with him crucifie him He trusted in God let him deliver him but God hath forsaken him 4. As for the Promises made to him He shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands He shâ—ll see of the travel of his soul and be satisfied and by his knowledge shall many be justified c. what mean all these but that he shall die and rise again and have many Converts that God's work shall thrive well in his hand and that he shall have a glorious Kingdom and many Subjects which is caâ—led afterward his having a portion with the great and his dividing of the sooil with the strong All this was accompl shed in Christ when after his Resurrectâ—on many were win and brought in by the Gospel to believe on him and though Jews and eathens concurred and conspired to cuâ— off all Christians yet his Kingdom spread and hath continued these sixteen hundred years and above 5. As for the effects that followed on his Sufferings or the influence they have on the elect People of God as mâ—ny Converts as have been and are in the World as many Witnesses are there that he is the Messiah every converted pardoned and reconciled Soul seals this truth Hence 1 John 5.7 8 it is said There are three that bear witness in heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one and there are three that bear witness on earth the Spirit in his efficacy the Water in the sanctifying vertue of it in changing and cleansing his People and the Blood in the satifying and justifying vertue of it and these three agree and concur in one even this one to wit that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and then it follows He that believeth hath the witness in himself because he hath gotten Pardon through him and therefore can set to his Seal to this truth and say truly Christ is the Messiah The Use is To exhort you to acquaint your selves with these things that serve to confirm this truth the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Hebrews are much spâ—nt upon it even to hold out and to prove Christ Jesus to be the true Messiah and Saviour of his People If this be not made sure and sicker we have an unstable ground for our Faith and though it be sure in it self yet so long as it is not so to us we want the consolation of it and there is a twofold prejudice that cometh through Folks want of thorow clearness in and assurance of this truth 1. To the generality of Hearers there is this prejudice that they are so careless and little solicitous to rest on him And as it made the Jews to râ—ject him who to this day stumbâ—e at him on this same very ground that they know him not to be the Messiah the Christ of God in whom is accomplished all that was spoken of the Messiah to Christians not being through in it they do not rest on him nor close with him as the true Messiah 2. There is a prejudice also from it to Believers who having only a glimring light of Christs being the Messiah come short of thar consolation that they might hâ—ve if they were through in the Fâ—ith oâ— it there is this great evil among Christians that they study not to be solidly clear and through in this point to that if they were puâ— to reason and debate with a Jew if there were not a witness within themsâ—lves of it the truth of the Faith of many would be exceedingly shaken 2. From this That he never speaks of Christs Sufferings but he makes applicâ—tion of them he carried our Griefs he was wounded for our Transgressions c. Observe That Believers would look on Christs Sufferings as undergone for them and in their rooms and place We cleared before 1. That Christ suffâ—red for some peculiarly and not for all And 2. Thâ—t Believers would endeavour the clearing of their own interest in his Sufferings and that they have a right to them Now we shortly add this 3d. of kin to the former That B lievers and such as are fled to Christ for refuge would look on his Suffâ—rings as come under for them and these same Scriptures which we cited to confirm these will confirm this The reason why we would have you confirmed in this is Because 1 It is only this that will make you suitably thankful it is this which is a notable ground of that Song of Praise Rev. 1.4 To him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood c. 2. This is a ground of true solid and strong consolation even to be comforted in the applicative Faith of Christs purchase 3. It is the Lords allowance on his People which they should reverently and thankfully make use of even to look on Jesus Christ as wounded pierced and lifted up on the Cross for them and by doing this according to his allowance there is a paved way made for application of all the benefites of his purchase 3. From the scope looking on the words as spoken to remove the scandal of the Cross Observe which may be a reason of the former that folk will never take up Christ rightly in his sufferings except they take him up as suffering for them and in their room This look of Christ leads 1. To take up much of the glory of grace and condescending love to sinners 2. It leads to take up Christs faithfulness that came to the world on sinners errand according to the ancient transaction in the Covenant of Redemption as he is brougbt in
present purpose is to shew how a guilty Sinner may be Justified And therefore we shall 1. Give you a general view of the Truth of the Doctrine by confirming it from Scripture in all the parts of it 2. We shall â—peak more paticularly to the severall branches of it And 3ly To the way of attaining Justification in the severall Causes of it as it is here holden forth For Confirmation of the General Doctrine ye shall 1. Look upon some Scriptures And 2. To some Grounds of Reason As for the Confirmation of it by Scripture If we look through the Gospel it is Our Lord Jesus Christ His own Doctrine which He preached and the way which He laid down therein for Justifying and saving a Sinner So John 3. Where it is three or four times repeated As v. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life v. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God v. 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him And v. 14 15. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life And that is all one as to say he that believes shall be Justified Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned These are the terms on which the Apostles are by Christ warranded to preach the Gospel and to make the offer of Life to every Creature And therefore if we look forward to their Preaching we will find it to run in the same sâ—rain A Acts 13.38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgivenness of sins and that by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses Where while Paul is summing up the whole Message that he had to deliver he goes upon the same ground And wherein we have these three clearly holden forth 1. That all Mâ—n are lyable as in their Natural Estate to God's Curse and by the Law cannot be Justified 2. That there is a way laid down through Jesus Christ to come by Justification and Remission of Sins 3. That the way how Sinners came by this is Faith in Christ All that believe are justified Look to the Epistles especially these written to the Romans and Galatians Where this question about Justification is exprâ—sly and of purpose handled and we will find that it is the sum of both As Rom. 3. Where having said v. 23 That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God And so that all are lyable to Gods Judgement he subjoyns v. 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ Where is the great mean of our Justification and then he adds v. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood Where we have the mean of Application to wit Faith and Chap. 4.5 To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Which place demonstrats this That an ungodly Person taking hold by Faith of Christs Righteousnesse may be and is Justified and Absolved and fred from the guilt of Sin as if he had never Sinned So Gal. 2.15 16. We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles or not without the Covenant as they are Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified Which place shews not only this that through Faith in Christ is Justification and Life to be had but it also excludes all other wayes of Justificâ—tion Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith But that which we are now speaking to is only the positive part of the Doctrine To shew that a Guilty Sinner obnoxious to the Curse May by Faith come to be Justified and made free from the Guilt of Sin and from the Curse as if he had never Sinned nor been under the Curse For further Confirmation of the Doctrine ye would consider these Four Grounds and ye will see from them good reason for it Only remember this That Justification looks alway to a Judicial Procedour as we hinted before Wherein the Lord is as it were on the Throne and the Guilty Sinner at the Bar pleading through Christs Righteousnesse and Satisfaction to be Absolved which is even as if a Debtor were arrested for Debt should plead for a Liberation not because he is not owing the Debt neither because he hath payed the Debt but because his Cautioner hath payed it for him This being supposed and remembred ye would we say consider these Grounds or Reasons for confirming the Doctrine 1. The Sufferings that Christ hath endured and the Satisfaction that He hath made in the Room of Sinners as the next Words hold out For he shall bear their iniquities And v. ult He bare the sin of many Nay this is the great scope of the Chapter Therefore it 's said That he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows and that the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all This makes a Ground of Confirmation 2. Consider How that there is not only a sufficient price payed but there is a Covenant of Redemption warranding Him to pay it and accepting it off His hand as compleat Payment and Satisfaction for the Elects Debt And except there be a look had to this Covenant Faith hath not a sufficient Ground to rest on for Justification through Jesus His Satisfaction because otherwayes we see not a Reason why His Sufferings can be accepted for us For suppose if such a supposition may warrantably be made Christ to have Suffered yet it was free for God to have accepted that as a Satisfaction for our Debt or not But the consideration of the Covenant of Redemption removes that Doubt and gives Faith a Ground to lay hold on Christ's Sufferings as Satisfactory to the Justice of God because in the Covenant of Redemption it 's so transacted and agreed upon betwixt God and the Mediator Therefore the Apostle speaking Heb. 10.8 9. and forward from Psal 40. of this Covenant shews That when Sacrifices and Offerings will not do the turn Christ comes in Saying Lo I come in the volume of thy book it is written of me I delight to do thy
the Lord doth so explain bound and inculcat this that there can be no rational exception against iâ— nor evasion from it He was made sin that is a Sin offering or an Oâ—â—ering for our Sin though there was no guide â—ound in His mouth though He had no Sin neither was capable of Sin yet He was made a Sacrifice for our Sin as He was made Sin so are we made the righteousness of God in him If any should ask what is it to be made righteous The Apostle answers even as Christ was made Sin the sâ—me way are we made righteous and that is by imputation of Christs Righteousnesse to us and not by our own merit we have no more merit then He had sin but as He was accounted to be the Sinner though free of Sin in His own Person so a believing Sinner is accounted righteous though without any merit in Himself because God hath ingaged in His Covenant to make Christ's Righteousnesse forth-coming to the Believer Though that were enough yet the Spirit of the Lord addeth a further Word in him to answer that question whether Christ hath procured inherent holinesse to us that thereby we may be Justified no sayeth he that is not the way Our Righteousnesse is in him and not inherent in us even as the sum imputed to Christ is inherently in us so the Righteousnesse whereby we are Justified is inherently in Him 4ly It may be clear from this That frequently it is called a Righteousnesse that is attained by Faith and that is opposed to our own Righteousnesse and working now it cannot be conceived how we can get a Righteousnesse by Faith but by pleading that His Righteousnesse may be imputed unto us Rom. 3.22 It is called the righteousness which is by faith and v. 25. Whom God hath set forth for a propitiation through faith in his blood and cap. 4. v. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Faith taking hold of His Righteousnesse offered to Sinners in the Gospel His Righteousnesse so taken hold of becomes a propitiation to pacifie God towards the Sinner as if He had satisfied in His own Person Even as if a company of men had been out in Rebellion and a Proclamation of Pardon comes forth from the King because he is Satisfied by a great friend who hath payed their Ransome Which Proclamation of Pardon runs on these Terms whoever will lay down Arms and come in and accept of the Kings Pardon that is procured and made offer of shall be acquitted of the guilt of Rebellion and received into favour Who when ever they are challenged will plead their Absolution on that friends procurement and offered such Terms in the Proclamation Now suppose as I hinted before not long agoe that when these Rebells have yeelded themselves and accepted of the Terms if any of them should be called to answer at the Bar or the Kings Bench as being challenged for his Rebellion his answer and defence would be that such a Proclamation was made to us and I said down my Arms and accepted of the Pardon this in Justice would be admitted and sustained as Relevant because that procurement or procured Pardon becomes the Persons according to the Terms of the Proclamation It is even so here we are Rebells to God Christ Jesus steps in as the great friend of Sinners and Satisfied Justice and thereupon the Proclamation comes out as it is Act. 13.38 39. Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses When the Sinner is arraigned before the Tribunal of God He hath two Acts of H s Faith One that submits to God and to His way of absolving Sinners and another that pleads for Absolution â—ot on the Terms of his own innocency but on the Terms on which Christs Satisfaction is made offer to him and so Faith Justifies as it takes hold of the Meritorious Cause and builds it's defence at Gods Bar on Christs Righteousnesse alone It 's the procurement of the Mediator that it pleads upon and in this sense the imputed Righteousnesse of Christ and the Righteousnesse of Faith are one and the same because Faith takes hold of the Righteousnesse without us which can be no other but the Righteousnesse of Christ 5ly It 's clear from the plain and direct expressions of Scripture to this purpose Take but these few as Rom. 4.3 and 22. compared with Gen. 15.6 Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse he had the promise of Christ to come and received and rested on it it was not his Faith but the promise of the Messiah rested on by Faith that was imputed to him for Righteousness and v. 6. Even as David described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works It is not blessed is the man who is holy though such a man is seriously studying to be holy albeit not in order to His Justification thereby but blessed is he to whom righteousness is imputed without works and he confirms it from Psal 32. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputs Righteousnesse though he have it not in himself and to whom he imputs not Sin though he have it in himself So 2 Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespassâ—s unto them Jesus Christ is the reconcileâ— of the World to God by His own Merit being God and Man in one Person the efficacy of His Sufferings reconcileth the World of the Elect and how is this purchased Reconciliation applyed By not imputing their trespasses unto them That which here is called Justification is there called not imputing of transgression through that Righteousnesse which Christ hath purchased or through off ring up of Himself in a Sacrifice to God to satisfie His Justice 6ly We might say That this way of Justification through the imputation of Christ's Righteousnesse ought to â—he admitted according to Papists own grounâ—â— For 1. They grant that young Children who cannot Merit are justified and admitted to glory by Christ's Merit as the immediat and proxime cause of their Justification and why not also of these that are at age Is He not the common Cause what absurdity is in the one more then in the other Is not the Justification of both alike free though there be a difference in the manner of Application yet in the Meritorious Cause there is no difference and seing to Children Christ is the Meritorious Cause of their Justification why not also to these come to Age 2. They will grant an imputation of the Righteousnesse and Merits of other Saints to them that want of
for ever possessed in that which eye hath not seen ear hath not heard neither hath it entered in the heart of man to conceive of 3. From the words as we exponed them Observe That our Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and was in suffering brought very low is God We find ordinarily in Scripture especially thorow the New Testament these three going together 1. Christs Humiliation 2. His Exaltation on the back of that And 3ly His Godhead His Humiliation is not readily spoken of without his Exaltation nor his Exaltation without his Godhead because it 's impossible to separate Christs Exaltation from his Godhead his Exaltation being the evidence of his Godhead and the Prophet's scope here being to set but Christ's Exaltation and Philip preaching of it to the Eunuch from this Text it 's doubtless the contemplation of Christ's Godhead that occasioneth this admiring-exclamation who shall declare his generation which we apply not so much to the ineffableness of his generation as to its being an evidence that he is God There are three or four ways whereby the Scripture confirms this let me desire you by the way not to look on this as a little momentuous or but a common Doctrine since there are many so ignorant that we would be ashamed to tell what we hear from some of you concerning the Godhead of Jesus Christ ye would take the better heed to it it being a main pillar of Christian Religion without which our Preaching and your Faith are vain for he is not believed on at all if ye rest not on him as God But to prosecute what we proposed to wit these several ways whereby the Scripture confirms this truth and to this purpose consider 1. The express Titles and Names that are given to him in Scripture and some Scripture-sayings of him which hold it out three whereof we shall instance The first is that of Isaiah 9.6 7. Where when Christ is prophesied of it 's said Unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and what is he He shall be called wonderful Counsellour the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end Here we have these three His Humiliation Exaltion and God-head His Humiliation Unto us a child is born unto us a son is given His Exaltation Of the increase of his governmentâ— and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice And his Godhead is interjected and put in between these two In the names and titles given to him Wonderful Counsellour the Mighty God the Everlasting Father not as personally taken but as the word signifies The Father of Eternity from whom all things have their Being and for the same reason Chap. 7.14 He is called Immanuel God with us A 2d place is that of Phil. 2.6 Who being in the form of God thought it no robbery he did God no wrong to be equal with God he made himself of no reputation and took on him the form of a servant c. wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name above every name c. A 3d. place is that of Heb. 1.2 3. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds what is he by whom he spake to us who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high there is here much of Christs excellency holden forth he is the brightness of the fathers glory and the express image of his person the beam of the Sun is not liker to the Suns light the impression of the seal on the wax is no liker to the seal then the Son is to the Father nay the livelyest resemblances fall infinitely short of a full and exact resemblance the Father and he being the same God and he being compared with the Father not simply as God essentially taken but as the second person of the Trinity compared with him who is the first person O deep and adorable mystery A 2d way to clear and confirm it is to consider his works oft-times joyned with his name The works of Creation Providence Redemption and guiding of his Church so we have it John 1.1 In the beginning was the word the substantial word of the Father the Son of his love called the word either as expressing the Fathers image as a mans word expresseth his mind or because as Prophet of the Church he hath revealed the Fathers will It s said that this word was not only with God but was God and then follows in several Verses together his Works the works of Creation all things were made by him c. the works of Providence are attributed to him John 5.17 My father worketh hitherto and I work and the work of Redemption and his glorious going thorow with it declare him to be the Son of God for none but God could redeem his Church 3ly For clearing and confirming of this truth we may take the express confession of the Saints in Scripture whereon there is much weight laid and I shall name but five or six of their confessions which to this purpose are expressly and fully recorded The 1. Is that of Matth. 16.16 Whom do men say that I am Peter answered thou art the son of the living God and Christ says Blessed art thou Simon Barjona flesh and blood hath not revealed that unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven to let us know that it is not such a little thing to believe Christs Godhead as many take it to be and then he calls himself the rock on which his Church is built Christ's Godhead is the foundation of Christianity A 2d is John 1.49 in Nathanaels words Christs tells him before Philip called thee when thou was under the fig-tree I saw thee and he having gotten this proof of Christs omniscience presently breaks out Rabbi thou art the son of God thou art the king of Israel and that is the first thing his faith evidenceth it self in A 3d. place is John 6.67 68 69. where when Christ is saying to the twelve will ye also leave me Simon answers Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ the son of the living God there is muâ—h in these words we believe and are sure that it is so A 4th place is John 11.27 and it is Martha her confession yea Lord I believe that thou art the Christ the son of