for us who knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him made the righteousness how come we to be made why by faith in him Phil. 3.9 and be found in him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God through faith So that the way for a soul that 's troubled with sin and guilt of sin and the like is to believe in the Lord Jesus and to rest upon him who takes away sin and brought in a righteousness that is sufficient for us Fifthly if we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and can never be truly setled in our comforts and peace without faith in him then let us fetch our comforts our peace our assurance from Christ by believing and not from any thing of our own not from our repentance and obedience and Sanctification for these are mixt with imperfections these are defiled with our corruptions these are ebbing and flowing so will your comforts and peace and assurance be so long as you feed them from these these do not make us righteous before God it may be before men or in our own eyes may make us righteous our repentance our obedience our holiness but they do not make us so before God if we raise our comforts and peace and assurance from these it is from our own actings and this savours too much of a legal spirit if we believe in Christ and fetch all from him it will be certain and lasting and solid and will be unshaken Isa 45.24 It 's a Prophesie of the Gospel times Verily shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength I have none in my self and I can draw none from what self doth but in the Lord have I righteousness and strength There is sufficient righteousness and there is sufficient strength to bear up my peace and comfort and assurance so that the way to have solid comfort peace and assurance is to believe in the Lord Jesus and to fetch all from him Sixthly If believing in the Son of God do lye under a command then I infer from hence that it will be our duty to enquire whether we have obeyed this command and do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe the right way for there is some kind of faith in Christ which is not a right faith the Gospel tells us of some that believed yet afterwards fell off from Christ Now how shall we come to know whether we do believe aright in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God or no this may be of use unto us I shall answer it in several particulars First that faith which is a true and right faith in the Lord Jesus Christ it follows conviction of unbelief Joh. 16.8 9. When he is come he will reprove or as it is in your Margins Convince the world of sin because they believe not on me that 's the Son The spirit of God when it comes convinces men and women of their unbelief convinces them of the evil of the greatness of this sin above all sins you think it may be other sins are very great and grievous sins Drunkenness Whordom Idolatry and the like yea but unbelief is the great sin of all that 's the soul damning sin and when faith comes all other sins are taken away but if you be unbelievers the guilt of all your other sins are bound upon you so that it convinces the soul of unlelief now have you had any conviction of what unbelieving hearts you have naturally how backward you are to believe how you put away promises and motions of the spirit well if you have a right faith it follows conviction of unbelief Secondly if you would know whether your faith be right or no in the Son of God then answer how you came by your faith How came you by your faith is it from your selves wrought by your own fancies from your reasonings is it a fillogistical faith only as thus he that believes shall be saved I believe and therefore I shall be saved this now is but a work of your own reasoning but the faith that is right is wrought by the power of God and is the gift of God Col. 2.12 Buried with him in Baptism wherein you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead There was the operation of God in raising Christ from the dead and the same operation of God is put forth in the hearts of those that do believe and the Ephesians they could witness unto it Eph. 1.19 And what saith he is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places Why there was power and greatness and exceeding greatness of power towards us who do believe yea according to the working of his mighty power the power that raised Christ from the dead even that mighty power was put forth in our souls to raise us out of the grave of unbelief to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so that in the 1 Thess 1.5 our Gospel saith he came not unto you in word onely but also in power and in the Holy-Ghost The power of the Holy-Ghost was put forth in working faith in the Thessalonians and so the power of God and his spirit is put forth in the working faith in any soul and usually some promise or some Gospel truth is set upon the heart in power where there is a right faith wrought as Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest and God so loved the world as he gave his onely begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and whoever will let him come without money and without price c. Gal. 4.28 29. Now we Brethren as Isaac was are the Children of promise Children that are born of the promise But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit c. so then they are born after the spirit the spirit sets on some promise some word of God which is a seed of faith and of grace and life in the soul and so you come by your faith that way Thirdly That faith which is right in the Son of God excludes all boasting Rom. 3.27 where is boasting then 't is excluded by what Law of works nay but by the Law of faith 't is faith that excludes boasting and Rom. 4.2 If Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God So the soul now if it were justified by its own actings it hath cause to boast but he that is justified in Christ he hath no cause to boast the soul sees it could never come to Christ except
his honour and glory Fifthly we should do all in the name of the Lord Jesus if we consider the near relation we are in to Christ First we are members of his body true believers are members of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and every member should act for the head and do all in the name of the head Secondly we are subjects to Christ he is their King and they must do all in the name of the King Subjects must act as Subjects in the name of the King and we as Christs Subjects must act in Christs name he is our King our Soveraign and our Commander Thirdly we are the Spouse of Christ and the Spouse must do all in the name of her Husband what she doth in her own name will not be warrantable in Law so what we do will not be warrantable in the Court of Heaven if it be not done in the name of Christ Sixthly Lastly we should do all in the name of the Lord Jesus because this is to live a Christian life indeed 't is said of all men that in God they live and move all men in the common providence of God they live and move but Christians live in Christ he is their life and hence Paul saith I live not but Christ lives in me I do not live as a man or as a learned man or as a Pharisee but I live as a Christian I live nay Christ lives in me I dont live upon the account of a learned man or a natural man and the like but Christ lives in me and I live in him in his life in his strength in his will in his mind as a servant a true servant when he comes to a house where he is to be a Servant he must lay down his own will and mind and his own hands and feet he must do nothing now in his own name and strength but he must live in his Masters will and in his Masters Commands and in his Masters authority so a Christian he lives in Christ when we lay down our own wills and reasons and the like and make the reason and end of all we do to be Christ then are we Christians indeed Christs reason is my reason Christs will is my will Christs glory is my end Christs word is my rule this now is true living the life of a Christian thus you see several reasons why we should do all in the name of Jesus Christ I shall now come to some inferences or improvements of the point Inf. First if we are to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus then I infer from hence here 's matter of humiliation to us all we have great cause to be humbled every one of us not only because we have done evil which calls for humbling to or because we have neglected good which calls for humbling also but humbled because we have done good done good the wrong way done good in our own names in our own strength and not in the name of the Lord Jesus who is there among us that can say he hath done and spoken all in the name of the Lord Jesus many talk they have done this good and that good but tell me hast thou done it in the name of the Lord Jesus if it shall be weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary there will be defects found and thy self will be too light and thy best actions will be defective and imperfect and call upon thee to be humbled even for thy righteousness for Preaching for Praying for Hearing for breaking bread for alms for all that ever we do there will be such gaps and such gulfs and failings as we have cause to be ashamed even of our righteousness saith the Prophet all our Righteousnesses are as filthy Rags what filthy Rags thy righteousness yea all our righteousnesses as filthy Rags why filthy Rags defile us many think O their good works do purifie and cleanse them and answer for their sins and are meritorious and the like no our best works do defile us because there are such defects in them and especially when they are not done in the name of the Lord Jesus according to his will and in his strength and for his honour and glory we have no cause then of being swell'd and puffed up with conceits of what we have done or ever shall do Secondly if all must be done in word and deed in the name of the Lord Jesus then I infer that no thoughts no words no actions are to be conceived uttered or done which are not authorized by the Lord Jesus which are not according to his will which Christ himself would not think and speak and do none should be used by us which dont manifest something of Jesus Christ which tend not to the glory of his name which we dare not pray unto him to give a blessing unto we have many vile thoughts in us many foolish words in our mouths and many acts are done which we dare hardly look up to Christ and say Lord bless this thought or Lord bless this word or Lord bless this act all such thoughts words and acts therefore are to be laid by you know what he saith here in the Chapter before Mortifie your members which are upon the earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence all our affections they should be look'd well unto and we should have no affection but that we may look unto Christ for a blessing upon it and so all the rest What abundance of fears are in men and women which they dare not look up to Christ to bless those fears they may look up to him to scatter those fears but not to bless them we should be in the fear of the Lord all the day a Godly fears so what doubts have we about the Scriptures about the Trinity about our salvation about our estate and condition but they are not such as are warranted by Christ and for his honour and glory Those that pray to Saints do they do it in the name of the Lord Jesus So those that worship and adore Images how dare they do it in the name of Christ so those that bow to an Altar how dare they do it in the name of Christ so those worship the Bread how dare they do it in the name of Christ Christ never will approve of such kind of actions or thoughts tending to such wayes and practices Whatever therefore is not according to Christ and may not be done in the name of the Lord Jesus which Christ would not do we should not dare to think speak or do Thirdly See hence two great evils among men even good men and good women First we may see here why many so oft miscarry in their undertakings they do not what they do in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ they do things in their own names and in their own strength and according to their own wills and for their own glory so Judas did
the Father had drawn it it sees that Christ hath done all for it taken away its sin and put upon it his righteousness so that the soul sees no cause to boast at all Fourthly Where there is true faith in the Son of God that soul sees a lustre in holiness in grace and glory in the person in the life in the sufferings in the doctrine in the ordinances of Jesus Christ others see no beauty nor worth in the Lord Jesus Christ Joh. 1.14 The word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the onely begtoten of the Father what a glory did we behold in the person of Christ though he was cloathed with flesh and had put on our Sack-cloth yet we beheld a glory in him even the glory of the Father full of grace and full of truth a believing soul sees a lustre in Jesus Christ more glorious than the Sun and so in his Life what a glorious sin-less life he liv'd and lead and so in his sufferings glorying in the Cross God forbid saith Paul that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ so in the Doctrine of Christ what a glorious Doctrine is it 2 Cor. 3. last but we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord that 's in the Gospel are changed into tho same Image from glory to glory In the Doctrine of the Gospel there is a glory a marvellous glory 'T is called marvellous light in Peter so in all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ there is a lustre a glory in every thing of Jesus Christ he hath stamp'd something of his own Image and glory and excellency upon it In 5 Cant. say the daughters of Jerusalem What is thy beloved more than anothers beloved they saw no great matter in him O my beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousand she saw a glory which they could not see Fifthly That faith which is right in the Son of God it interests the whole heart in Christ not a part but the whole heart Acts 8.37 Philip said if thou believest with all thine heart and he answered and said I believe that Jesus is the Son of God my whole heart runs out to this so that where faith in Christ is true there the whole heart is interested in Christ the understanding the will the affections they are taken up with Christ he is highly esteemed in the understanding he is fully closed with by the will he is greatly loved and delighted in by the affections the soul doth now love him and joy in him he is the exceeding joy of his heart When a woman is married to a rich man that is loving and suitable every way her whole heart is carried out to him so when the soul is married to Christ the whole heart is taken up with him and runs out strongly unto him Sixthly The soul that doth believe in Christ sets up Christ and all of Christ and nothing but Christ No King said the Jews but Caesar so saith the soul no King but Jesus Christ we have no King but Christ saith the believing soul it sets up the person of Christ it sets up the Laws of Christ it sets up the Ordinances of Christ no Prophet but Christ no High-Priest but Christ so saith the soul that is rightly united to Christ by faith believes aright in him yea it sets up the worst of Christ above the best of the world whatever place or profit or honour the world affords the soul that is rightly believing in Christ sets up the worst of Christ above it all Heb. 11.24 c By faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the Son of Pharoah's Danghten What Moses will you refuse to be Son to Pharoah's Daughter to be Heir to the Crown will you refuse that I he refuses to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season what will you refuse the pleasures of the Court the choicest pleasures that can be invented I let them go for the afflictions of Gods people and mark in the 26. v. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the Treasures in Egypt The reproach of Christ or reproach for Christ to be called a Phanatick a Seditious fellow a Schismatick and the like he did esteem that more than all the treasures in Egypt So that the worst of Christ which is reproaching and Persecution and Affliction and Imprisonment and Banishment it esteems all for Christ and therefore saith Paul Rom. 8.18 I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Alas what 's in these sufferings to the glory that is to be had by Jesus Christ Seventhly The soul that doth rightly believe in Christ doth bring its heart and will to be one with the will of Christ As Christ who had faith in God and said My God my God he said Not my will but thy will be done So the Soul that believes in Christ rightly saith not my will but thy will be done It 's brought over to the will of Christ I live not saith Paul but Christ lives in me Christ hath his will altogether in me I have no will but Christs will What do you weeping and breaking my heart I am ready not to be bound onely but to dye for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ he dyed for him and laid down his life to fulfill the will of God and Paul had the same will that he had and we have the mind of Christ saith he Eighthly Lastly You have here one note in the Text and that is Love faith in the Son of God doth work love in the Soul and therefore mind the connexion of these Commands this is his Commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ And Love one another as he gave us Commandment The more saith you have in Christ the more love you will have to others for we do see in Christ so much love to us that were so unworthy so sinful in so damnable an estate and condition that we will have love and pity towards the worst and those are Godly we shall have love to them because they are in the same condition with our selves we see that they are Brethren they are Members of Christ and they have the same precious faith with our selves that they are glorious through the Robe of Christs Righteousness put upon them I we see that they are Heirs together with our selves of the same grace and in time shall be of the same Glory that they are Heirs with Christ and Co-heirs with him and so upon this account they come to love them and faith works by love O the love that is in the Soul that hath a right saith in Jesus Christ it 's full of