He hath Attribute for Attribute He hath Excellency for Excellency with God the Father And every gracious godly soul he hath Grace for Grace from Jesus Christ Of his Fulness have we received Grace for Grace As the Fulness of God the Father dwels in Him bodily so the Fulness of Christ dwels in every Christian Spiritually And this fellwoship hath God the Father called you unto By whom we have fellowship 1 Cor. 1.9 this hath God the Father called you unto Oh! how infinitly are you bound unto God the Father to honor and bless the Father When ye look upon the Son me thinks you should bless the Father and when ye look upon the Pather you should love the Son As a mother does when she looks upon her Child she loves the father and when she looks upon the fatehr she loves the Child again So a Christian when he looks upon Jesus Christ he should bless the Father and when he looks upon the Father he should bless Jesus Christ and love Jesus Christ Dear Father thou hast not only given us thy Son but given us thy Son in such a way that we should have Grace for Grace Answerable to His Grace is this after the manner of men Oh! therefore why should we not all say Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Oh! you you that love Jesus Christ bless the Father and you that bless the Father love Jesus Christ take your selves to be infinitly bound unto god the Father who hath given you such a Christ as this of whom you should have Grace for Grace I have done Only I would leave one Exhortation whith the Saints that have received of Christs fulness thus Grace for Grace It 's thus mark it I pray Is this true That of His Fulness ye have all received Appli 4. Grace for Grace Answerableness of Grace that ye have fellowship with Jesus Christ in all His Graces Then be for ever contented to have fellowship with Jesus Christ in al his Sufferings And truly well may ye be contented if you have fellowship with Christ in His Sufferings if you have Suffering for Suffering ye shall have Grace for Grace and Glory for Glory if ye partake with Him in His Sufferings ye shall partake with Him in His Graces and partake with Him in His Glory I say well may ye be contented to have fellowship with Him in His Sufferings for if you have suffering for suffering you shall have Comfort for Comfort if you have fellowship with Him in His sufferings you shal have fellowship with Him in His Comforts too Mark ye When Jesus Christ Suffered Had He a Deity to support Him So shall you have When Jesus Christ Suffered Had He Angels to minister to Him So shal you have When Jesus Christ suffered Did He see the travaile of His Soul So shall you see it When Jesus Christ was lift up He drew al men after Him So shal you do when you are lift up for the Truth upon the cross you are apt to think now wil the Truth suffer now wil the Cause of God fall to the ground But remember if you have fellowship in His Graces if you have fellowship with Christ in His Sufferings you shal have fellowship with Christ in His Comforts This was one of His Comforts when He was lift up upon the Cross then He drew all men after Him So when you come to be lift up upon the Cross then shall men be drawn after the Truths that you suffer for and never shal men be more drawn after the Truths that you suffer for then when you come to be lift up upon the Cross to suffer for them Oh! who would not be willing to partake with the Lord Jesus Christ in His sufferings to have fellowship with Him in his sufferings to have suffering for suffering 'T is observed that our Savior never met with any great dobasement but at that time in the midst of that debasement there was some breakings forth of Golory He was born in a Stable He was laid in a Manger here was His first debasement Here glory breaks forth the Wise men come and fal down before Him and offer gifts frankincense and mirrhe Again He was Baptized He needed not to have been Baptized He was clean enough in his Nature He put our cloathes upon him stood in our nature Now He hears a Voice from Heaven Matt. 3.17 saying This is My Beloved Son Again You reade of Him riding upon an Ass Not riding in a Coach drawn with Lyons and drawn with Elephants Savior riding upon an Ass in a mean way a debased way now breaks forth some glory now they cry Hosanna Hosanna to him Again upon the Cross there he was most debased then breaks forth some glory The Sun that stands still and vails his face as one astonished at the worlds Savior Now does the vail of the Temple rend in sunder now Glory breaks forth in the midst of his debasement Thus it was with Christ Have you suffering with him for sufferings Have you fellowship with Christ in his sufferings you shall have fellowship with Christ in his Comforts Oh! therefore I beseech you be contented now to have suffering for suffering with Jesus Christ and whensoever any suffering comes especially for the Truth boggle not at it be content and say within your selves Oh! blessed be the Lord that hath called me out to this work I shall have this fellowship with Christ in his sufferings I shall now have suffering for suffering therefore I shall have Comfort for Comfort I shall have Grace for Grace I shall have Glory for Glory Oh! who would not be encouraged I leave this Exhortation with you comfort your selves in these words and never startle at suffering as herefore but make account of this That if you have Grace for Grace ye may meet with Suffering for Suffering but then you shall have Comfort for Comfort and ye shall have Glory for Glory Think on these things and the Lord give us to practise them THE SPIRITUALL-ACTINGS OF FAITH Through NATURALL-IMPOSSIBILITIES Rom. 4. vers 19. And being not weak in faith he considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe Rom. 4. vers 19. And being not weak or weakned in Faith c. IN this latter Part of the Chapter ye have the commendation of Abrahams faith Preached at Margarets New-fishstreet Fev 23. 1645. described from the Subject or Matter of that he beleeved in the 18. and 19. verses From the Manner of his beleeving He staggered not at the 20. verse at the promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith c. From the Cause of his faith the sight of Gods Al-sufficiency and faithfulnesse being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able also to performe From the Effect of his Faith He gave glory to God First of all for the Subject or the Matter
First Proposition The Second afforded this Observation That all the Saints and People of God do partake of the Fulness of Jesus Christ in a way of receiving This fals asunder into Two Parts or Two Branches First That there is a Communication of the Fulness of Jesus Christ unto all Beleevers Secondly That what ever Grace or Holiness the Saints have from Christ they have it in a way of receiving I have done also with the First of these And am now God willing to speak to the Second Whatsoever Grace or Holiness the Saints and People of God have from Christ they have it all in a way of receiving Of His Fulness all we have received The former Branch told us That Christ Communicates This tels us That we Receive There the Emphasis lay upon Christs Communicating And here the Accent is set upon our Receiving The Grace of Jesus Christ is not borne with us We do not go to Jesus Christ in the strength of our Nature to take of His Fulnesse to our selves But Jesus Christ gives out and we receive All in a way of Receiving The Grace and Mercy of our Justification and remission of Sins is by way of Receiving Rom. 5.11 Not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement Atonement is to be had it is to be had by Christ and this in a way of Receiving Again The Grace and Mercy of our Adoption is to be had in a way of Receiving Gal. 4.5 He came to redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons Adoption is a Blessing that is most desirable This Christ gives and this we receive Again The Grace of our Sanctification is to be had in a way of Receiving What is the Cause and Original of all our Grace or Holinesse but the Spirit of God And that is received Gal. 3.2 This only would I learn of you Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith The Schools say that the word Grace is either taken for The Gifts of the holy-Ghost or for Saving and Sanctifying Grace Take Grace for The gifts of the holy-Ghost as sometimes the Word is used in Scripture and that is in a way of Receiving Acts 10.47 They heard them speak with Tongues at the 46. ver Then answered Peter Can any man forbid water that these should not be Baptized which have received the holy-Ghost That is The Gift of the holy Ghost Take Grace for Holiness and Sanctification and that is also in a way of Receiving to be had in a way of Receiving Rom. 8.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear But ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father There are Gifts of Prayer And there is the Spirit of Prayer of Adoption crying Abba Father The First may be without Grace but the Second not where ever the Second is there is Grace And this is Received saith the Apostle here In general all is by way of Receiving Col. 2.6 As ye have Received the Lord Christ saies the Apostle see that ye walk in Him And in another place 1 Cor. 4.7 What hast thou that thou hast not Received What hast thou that thou hast not Received All in a way of Receiving He shall come down saies the Psalmist in the 72. Psalm speaking concerning our Lord and Savior Christ and His Grace at the 6. verse He shall come down like rain upon the mowen grass Or as some write it for so the Original will bear it He shall come down like rain upon the Fleece having relation to Gideons Fleece He shall come down like rain upon the mowen grass as showers that water the earth A Psalm for Solomon saies the Title But there are many things in this Psalm that cannot properly be understood of Solomon but in a type properly belonging to Jesus Christ For as Strigelius does well observe at the 7. verse the verse next following this text it is said In his daies shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth Solomon did not live so long as the moon endures This therefore is to be understood of Christ And at the 5. verse it is said They shall fear thee as long as the Sun and moon endure throughout all generations They did not fear Solomon men did not fear Solomon as long as the Sun and moon endures through all generations This therefore must be understood of Christ Now see therefore what is said of Christ and concerning His Grace saies the Text in the 6. verse He shall come down like rain upon the mowen grass Like rain rain you know is that that does make the earth fruitful Non ager sed annus facit fructum 'T is not the sowing but 't is the Year that causes fruit 't is the rain that causeth fruit And so 't is the Grace of Jesus Christ that does make us fruitful His Grace the cause of our Grace I will be as a dew saies the Lord in the 14. of Hosea unto Israel and then follows fruitfulness Again The rain cometh by special appointment from God Amos. 4.7 Judg. 6.38 39 40. with a kind of dis-crimination He maketh the rain to fall upon one City saith the Prophet and not upon another As wee reade concerning Gideons Fleece the dew fell upon the Fleece when all the earth was dry round about it And then the dew fell upon the ground when the Fleece was dry And this was a Type of the Grace of Christ when the Jewes were bedewed with the Grace of Christ then all the Nations round about they were dry And then when God bedewed the Gentiles the Nations round about with His Grace then the Jews were dry and they are dry to this day Again The rain falleth 't is the Scripture phrase the rain falleth and falleth upon the earth and the earth is a recipient to receive it it is meer recipient at the first and then brings forth it 's fruit the Rain falleth And so doth the Grace of Christ the Grace of Christ falls upon the souls of men and women saith the Text here He shall come down like the rain upon the mowne grass So doth the Grace of Jesus Christ it comes down upon a poor soul All in a way of receiving al in a way of receiving whatever grace or holiness a man hath on this side Heaven it is all in a way of Receiving And this will appear further to you if you consider The insufficiency of Nature The Supernaturallity of Grace The Shortness of all means that are appointed thereunto The work and nature of Faith And the posture and true behaviour of Prayer First of all There is a Natural inability in a man unto what is good truly Spiritually good First A man is unable by Nature to overcome any sin though it be never so small A man by Nature
Now though the Lord does give a Christian less grace in his hand for the present yet He hath laid it up in so safe a hand that though Satan a stronger than he does come down upon him he is not able to wrest it from him or beguile him of it because 't is in the hand of Christ that is a stronger than he And Jesus Christ by a Compact with the Father from all Eternity hath engaged Himselfe to do it to give forth Grace and Assistance to all the Elect according to all their needs So that I say now all Grace is from Jesus Christ in regard of fresh assistance Therfore the Psalmist prayes thus Lord open thou my lips Psal 51.15 and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Lord though thou hast given me habitual Grace yet if I have not fresh assistance from thee for to open my lips my mouth will not shew forth thy praise Psa 119.18 And so again Lord open mine eyes that I may see the wonders of thy Law And to this purpose 't is in the 17. Psalm and the 5. verse saies David Hold up my goings in thy paths that my foot-steps slip not Mark I pray David ye know was a godly man hee had a habit of grace Now Lord saies David as for the business that is between Saul and me thou knowest I am in thy way yet Lord saies he though I be in thy way and have a habit of Grace yet if thou dost not hold up my steps if thou dost not give me fresh assistance I shall fall I shall slip Hold up my going in thy paths that my foot-steps slip not Does not the Apostle say Phil. 2 13 The Will and the Deed is from God You may observe that the Graces of Gods People they are called in the new Testament Gal. 5.22 The fruits of the Spirit They are not called the fruits of a former habit but they are called The fruits of the Spirit And indeed if all grace were not from Jesus Christ in regard of fresh assistance truly then might a man have wherein to boast as Bradwardin reasons the case For saies he though a child have his being from his father his Education from his father Learning Military skill yet notwithstanding the valour of an action being his own he hath in opposition to his father wherin to boast True I confess indeed I had my being from my father I had my Nature from my father I had my Education from my father I had this Skill from my father But the prowess and the valour and the spirit of the action is all mine own and he hath wherein to boast So if he hath the Habit only from Christ he hath wherewith to boast True I had the Habit the Grace from God I but the spirit of the action that is mine own he had wherein to boast But there is no room for boasting and therefore all Grace is from Christ in regard of fresh assistance It will be yet said Obj. But if all Grace be from Christ in regard of fresh assistance too Why is it said that we Repent and we Beleeve and we Obey for if all Grace in regard of the very work be from Christ if Jesus Christ do work al our works Why is it not rather said That Christ does Repent and Christ does Beleeve and Christ does Obey I answer No. You know the Persons that are Responsal Ans If I owe a man a Thousand pounds and have never a penny to pay it and another man he comes and lends me the money and goes along with me to the Creditor the bond is taken up and acquittance made discharge made He is not said to have paid the money but I am said to pay the money that am Responsal So now you are Responsal and therefore though ye have all strength from Christ to do it yet you are said to Repent and Beleeve and Obey The Devil is not said to commit Adultery and commit Murder yet by his instigation 't is done The Sun does work with the Tree when the Tree does bring forth fruit and yet 't is not said that the Sun brings forth an apple or brings forth fruit because the Sun does work as a universal Cause and the Tree as a particular Cause So now though Jesus Christ does work in all your workings yet He is not said to Repent or Beleeve or to Obey because He works as a universal Cause and you work as a particular Cause Only behold here the mirrour of Grace All is of Christ and yet all is Ours all is ours in Denomination and al is Christs in Operation all is ours in regard of Incouragement and all is Christs in regard of Glory al is ours in regard of Reward and all is Christs in regard of Honor. Here 's Grace here 's the mystery of Grace but still all whatsoever Grace a man hath he hath it from Jesus Christ I but Quest will you say To what end is this Doctrine opened thus largely opened and prest What good is there that does come thereby What good Answ What good would you have What good would you do Would you have the Lord Jesus Christ to become your strength The way to have Him to become your strength is to count Him so Look I pray upon the 31. Psalm the 2. and 3. verse Be thou my strong Rock for an house of defence to save me for thou art my Rock and my Fortress Be thou my Rock for thou art my Rock What kinde of Argument is this Yes 't is a good argument The way to have Christ our Rock is to account Him our Rock My very resting upon the Promise does make it mine and your very resting upon Jesus Christ doth make Him yours and what will make you rest more upon Him then to see that all is from Him Again Would you have your hearts warmed with love unto Jesus Christ indeed our whol life should be nothing else but an expression of love to Christ as Christs life and death was nothing else but an expression of love to us Now saies a gracious soul Is this true indeed that all Grace is from Christ that whatsoever Grace the Saints have they have it from Jesus Christ that there is not a good thought in my heart but runs through the heart of Jesus Christ before it does come at mine what infinit cause then have I to love Jesus Christ Again Would you live in Dependance upon Christ for Grace for Truth the serious consideration of this truth will help you to it I confesse indeed will some say when I look upon my self I am a man or woman of such poor gifts or parts that I have no hope I am afraid I shall never attain to the Truth of the time but is it so that all is from Jesus Christ whatever Grace the Saints have they have it from Jesus Christ Why may not I know the Truth of the time as well as another I will
to Marah they could not drink of the waters of Marah for they were bitter therefore the name of it was called Marah And the people murmured against Moses saying what shall we drinke and he cried unto the Lord and the Lord shewed him a tree which when he had cast into the waters the waters were made sweet The speciall waters and blessings of Gods people come to them thus Againe the sentence of death may be put upon your mercy in another mans hand It was a great mercy even to Isaac that by him all the Nations of the world should be blest but the sentence of death was put upon this mercy in Abrahams hand as well as in his owne Thou comest it may be to the preaching of the word and thou art converted by such a sermon thou doest not see how the sentence of death was put upon this mercy before thou hadst it may be the sentence of death was put upon it in the Ministers hand in the Preachers hand may be he had laid aside those Doctrines and those Truths and thought to preach upon another matter may be the sentence of death was put upon thy mercy in his hand so sometimes it is in another mans hand Againe though the sentence of death be put upon a mercy before a beleever comes to it yet it is much according to the life of the mercy that is afterward If the life be great the death is great If the life be small the death is small And sometimes the sentence of death falls mostly upon the apprehension as it was with Hagar she was in the wildernesse and she thought she should die for want of water only said she I won't see my child die and there was a Well by So that now here the sentence of death lay mostly upon her own apprehension And thus you have it also with Joshua of whom you reade in the first of Ioshua the Lord makes him a great promise now therefore arise sayes he at the second verse go over this Iordan thou and all this people every place the sole of your foot shall tread upon that have I given unto you And at the latter and of the fift verse I will be with thee I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Now if you look into the seventh Chapter you find that Joshua had rent his clothes in the sixt verse and fell to the earth upon his face before the arke of the Lord untill even-tide and Ioshua said alas O Lord God wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Iordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side Jordan why what 's the matter you read there went up 3 thousand men of the Israelites and thirty six men of them were smote by the men of Ai. Here was cause now of fear but no cause of such expressions as did fall from Ioshua a sentence of death passes upon the mercy but it lay mostly upon the apprehension of Ioshua Sometimes it fals more upon the apprehension and lesse upon the thing sometimes it fals more upon the thing and lesse upon the apprehension but alwayes more or lesse when God intends any great or speciall mercy to his people to the children of Abraham he does first cause the sentence of death to passe upon it and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it You will say then Quest why does God give the promise I confesse this is true I seldome had any great mercy in all my dayes but first of all the sentence of death came upon it But one thing seemes very strange to me that the Lord should give out a promise first a promise given out and then comes the sentence of death upon the mercy and upon the meanes that do lead unto it What should be the meaning of this why does the Lord deal thus give out a promise first A promise is given out twice At the first Answ 1 before we do use the meanes to incourage us thereunto Afterwards upon some incouragements that we do meet with in the use of means When the Lord does first give out the promise a sentence of death then passes that he may shew you where the mercy lies As the mother does deale by her child showes the child where the meat stands child thou art not yet fit for it thou shalt have it in due time look here it stands Or as a father that showes the child where the money lies child time is not yet but there the money lies ther 's the bag it 's in none shall take it from thee So does God do you thinke that the Mercy lies in the second cause No sayes God here here 's the bag that it lies in Therefore he does first give out the promise that he may tell the soule where the Mercy lies show the soule where it is And then againe Answ 2 God does therefore give out the promise notwithstanding the sentence of death because he intends not to give the Mercy presently You think it may be that assoone as you have a promise set on upon your heart you shall presently injoy the Mercy Nay but God does therefore give you a promise because you shall not have it presently As for Example If I would pay a man my money down presently I would not give him a bond but my very giving him a bond argues I am not to pay him presently So the Lord he gives out a promise and you thinke now you must have it presently No sayes the Lord but because a sentence of death is to come and thou shalt not have it presently therefore I give out the promise And againe thirdly Answ 3 God does therefore give out the promise notwithstanding his sentence of death that your hearts may be borne up against all discouragements when the wombe of the second Cause shall be dead God sees that his child or servant is going to a great storme ther 's such a child of mine sayes God he is going into a great storme and his Faith will be put to a great stresse therefore I will furnish him with Cables and good Anchors I 'le throw him out a promise You thinke because God gives you a promise because God gives you Cables because God gives you Anchors therefore you shall come to land presently the Lord does therefore give you a promise because he does see that a storme is coming you mistake the way of God in his promise this is Gods way he gives out a promise and then causes the sentence of death to passe upon the businesse and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it I come unto the Application Whilst I stand upon this truth Applicat me thinkes I see matter of great and everlasting incouragement to all the Saints and people of God be not discouraged but rather keep silence waite and stay upon God when the darkest times go over your
saies the Lord wilt thou now rest upon mee now I frown now I chide now I have a rod in my hand now I have a sword in my hand to kill thee as it were wilt thou now rest upon mee Well be of good comfort thou art mine for ever Man or woman go in peace good is thy faith This resting thus upon God when all meanes faile it melts Gods anger into love And besides it is that faith that is most successefull the most speeding in prayer You may look into the second of Chronicles the thirteenth Chapter and you shall find there that Abijah going to warre with Jeroboam had not more then halfe so many as Jeroboam had Abijah set the battaile in array with an Army of valiant men of warre even foure hundred thousand chosen men A great Army But Jeroboam had as many againe And Jeroboam also set the battale in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men being mighty men of valour I pray now let us consider how went the day Reade the seventeenth verse Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter so there fell down of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men Five hundred thousand chosen men slaine How came this about Reade the eighteenth verse Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time and the children of Judah prevailed because they relyed upon the Lord God of their Fathers Or as some books have it because they stayed upon the Lord God of their father The meanes was too scanty it was short they rested upon God beyond the meanes and see what great successe they had upon this they were but foure hundred thousand against either hundred thousand and they slew five hundred thousand men So successefull is this worke and this way of beleeving It is this faith that now I am speaking of beleeving when all means faile and lye dead before us that does honour God especially which doth justify the soule It is the soule-saving faith of all Pray looke into the seventh of Luke and consider it well It is said at the last verse Jesus said to the woman they Faith hath saved thee go in peace but here 's no mention at all before of her Faith There 's mention of her love in the fourty seventh verse I say unto thee her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much There 's mention before of her teares at the eight and thirty verse A woman in the City which was a sinner brought an Alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feete behind him weeping and began to wash his feete with teares and did wipe them with the haires of her head and kissed his feete and annointed them with the ointment Here 's mention of her teares here 's mention of her Liberality and Bounty and Love to Jesus Christ and yet our Lord and Saviour Christ does not say thus woman thy teares hath saved thee go in peace Woman thy Repentance and thy Humiliation hath saved thee go in peace he doth not say thy Love to me and thy Bounty to me hath saved thee go in peace woman No but our Lord and Saviour he saw a secret worke of reliance upon himselfe in this woman for she was a great sinner and he sayes unto her woman Thy Faith hath saved thee goe in Peace This is the soule-saving faith thus to beleeve when all meanes faile and seeme to lye dead before you Surely therefore to do thus must needs be exceeding pleasing to God and most acceptable And so I have done with those three Propositions Applic. and now come to the Application If these things be so Oh! what manner of Faith should we have Will ye only beleeve when meanes are strong and have life in them Ye have read of the unbeliefe of the people of Israel when they were in the wildernesse being in the wildernesse they wanted much outward provision ordinary provision and by occasion thereof they murmured full of unbelief in so much as the Lord was angry with them and slew them so that they never came into the Land of promise But I pray what was their unbelief for which God did slay them Was it this that they did not beleeve when they had meanes No but that they did not beleeve when all means failed when all outward meanes failed that is their unbeliefe Beloved we have their promises we have their Example we have more meanes of faith then they and shall not our Faith rise higher then theirs Shall not we beleeve an inch beyond the meanes You have heard the Doctrine T is the duty of all the children of Abraham to beleeve when meanes faile 't is exceeding pleasing to God and 't is most acceptable Oh! What an incouragement is here to beleeve above hope and under hope and when death sits upon the lips of the second cause and speakes nothing but terror Some there are that say they can beleeve for their bodies but they cannot trust God for their Soules when meanes faile Some say they can trust God for their Soules when meanes faile but they cannot trust God for their Bodies some say they can trust God for Themselves but they cannot trust God for their Families what shall become of my wife and children Some say they can trust God for their Families but they cannot trust God for the Church when a strome rises they cry out and say Lord carest thou not that we perish though Jesus Christ be in the ship with them We are very ready and apt to hunt after the meanes when we want them and to rest upon them when we have them And there is a great propensnesse in us to doing rather then unto beleeving before conversion and in the point of conversion Before conversion sayes the young man Mat. 1916. What shall I do that I may inherite eternall life And in the point of Conversion in the second of the Acts What shall we do to be saved And Paul himselfe Act. 9.6 Act. 6.30 Lord what wilt thou have me to do The Jaylor too What shall I do to be saved What shall I do But I pray marke the Apostles answer to the Jaylor when he cryed out and said Oh! What shall I do The Apostle does not say go fast and pray though he had need to do that but the first worke that the Apostle does put him upon is Beleeve and thou shalt be saved This is the worke And therefore Iohn 6.28 29. when some came to Christ and ask't him this question Master what shall we do that we may work the works of God sayes Christ This is the work of God that ye beleeve in him whom he hath sent And of all workings of Faith this same beleeving when all means do faile and seeme to lie dead before us is that which is most pleasing to God Oh! that we could learne Oh! that we could learne this point to beleeve when the sentence of death is past upon a
that he beleeved more plainly expressed in the 18. v. Who aginst hope beleeved in hope that he should become the father of many Nations according to that which was spoken so shall thy seed be Aggravated and inlarged in this 19. verse The Matter that he beleeved was inclosed with many difficulties he beleeved that he should be the father of many Nations and that in his seed all the Nations of the world should be blessed herein he had an eye unto Jesus Christ but now his owne body was dead being about an hundred years old and Sarahs wombe dead yet notwithstanding sayes the text Being not weak in the faith he considered not his own body now dead nor yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe You will say Obj. How can this be tht the Apostle here sayes Abraham considered not his own body being now dead when we read in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and vers 17. unto which Story this Chapter relates it is said That Abraham fell upon his face and laught in his heart and said Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred yeares old and shall Sarah that is ninety yeares old beare Did not Abraham here consider the deadnesse of his own body and the deadness of Sarahs wombe why does the Apostle say thus then Some answer it thus Answ That the Apostle here speakes of the first giving out of the promise unto Abraham which we read of in the 12. of Genesis but that cannot be he was not then an hundred years old He considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old and so t' is said he was an hundred years old in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and the 17. verse therefore it must relate unto that Others they answer it thus That Abraham hideed at the first did consider his owne body and did doubt through unbeliefe but afterwards Abraham recollected himself and got over that unbeliefe but the Apostle he speakes the contrary in the 20. verse He staggered not at the promise through unbeliefe Others they answer it by labouring to sind out some mysticall interpretation of those words Shall a child be brone unto him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninety years old beare as if Abraham say they had said thus Lord thou hast some secret meaning in these words I pray thee speak it out unto me and tell me plainly thy meaning and therefore say they God answered to that purpose in the 19. verse And God said Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a son indeed I meane according to my words Sarah shall beare thee a Son indeed But we need not straine for any mysticall interpretation or expression when Abraham sayes Shall a child be bron unto him that is an hundred years old In that seventeenth of Genesis and the seventeenth they are words not of Doubting but words of Inquiring Abraham desiring to be further satisfied and rightly to understand the meaning of the promise and rightly understanding the meaning of the promise sayes the Apostle He did not much mind he did not throughly mind he did not stand poring upon or considering the deadnesse of his own body or the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe There are three things especially considerable in these words Frist of all That Abrahams body and Sarahs body are dead after God gives out a promise of a great seed of his Secondly That notwithstanding this yet Abraham beleeved is commended for it He being not weak in the faith considered not his own body being now dead And thirdly That in all this he had an eye unto Jesus Christ as I shall shew you afterward Accordingly I would take up three observations thus First When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham he does first of all put the sentence of death upon the blessing and upon all the means that do lead unto it Secondly That then and then especially it is the duty of all the children of Abraham to trust in God And thirdly That no difficulty can stand before faith true saving justifying faith carries the soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ I begin with the first at this time When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham Doct. to beleevers he does first put the sentence of deathupon it and upon all the means that do lead unto it A promise of a great seed like the starres of heaven and the sand upon the sea-shore is given to Abraham but before it is fulfilled Abrahams body is dead and Sarahs wombe dead the sentence of death put upon the mercy and the means that do lead unto it and herein Abraham is held forth for our example it was written not for his sake alone at the 23. verse but for us also to whom it shall be imputed at the 24. verse And as thus it fell out with Abraham so it falls out with all the children of Abraham with all beleevers when God intends to give any speciall or great mercy by fulfilling his promise he does first of all write down the sentence of death upon the mercy and upon the means that do tend unto it The Saints and People of God lsa 62 12. they are called the Redeemed of the Lord not onely because they are redeemed from hell and from wrath but because that they have their mercies and blessings in a way of Redemption there is a line of that great mercy of Redemption that runnes through all the mercies which they have they have Health redeemed our of the hand of Sicknesse they have Liberty redeemed out of the hand of Straitnesse they have peace redeemed out of the hand of Warre they have Assurance redeemed out of the hand of Doubting and Vnbeliefe they have Mercy redeemed out of the hand of Misery they have Joyes and Comforts redeemed out of the hand of Griefe they are the redeemed of the Lord whatsoever great Mercy or Blessing they have they have it in a way of Redemption Thus it was with Abraham And was it not thus with Joseph I shall not have time to speake of the Patriarchs all of them Joseph you know had a promise by way of vision Gen. 37. That his sheafe should be higher then all the sheaves and all the sheaves of his Brethren should bow down to his the Sunne and the Moone should bow down before him his Father and mother this promise was afterward fulfilled when his Brethren went down into Egypt and bowed before him there and his Father went down into Egypt but first of all Joseph is sould into Egypt the sentence of death put upon the Mercy the promise did bring forth but it had a sore and a hard labour first And was it not thus with the People of Israel they had a promise of great increase like the sands upon the sea and that they should be brought