to our owne selves 1 Cor. 1.29 The doctrine of the nevv Sectaries This is to reioyce in an arme of flesh and not in the mercy of God 1 Cor. 1.29 The new Sectaries teach that Election resteth and dependeth upon the foreknowledge of faith and that it is made for faith foreseene which the sounder sort of Papists begin to be ashamed of as appeareth in Bellarmine The Apostle teacheth plainely Ephes 1.3 4. that all spirituall blessings whatsoever are given us according to Election before the foundation of the world Ephes 1.3 4. and therefore Election must of necessity bee before those blessings Againe we are elected that we should be holy and without blame he saith to holinesse not for any holinesse and consequently to faith not for faith So Paul obtained mercy 1 Cor. 7.25 Acts 22.14 That he should be faithfull 1 Cor. 7.25 not because God considered him as already faithfull Christ Iesus chose his Disciples not already bearing fruit but that they should bring forth fruit Ioh. 15.16 Acts 13.48 Ioh. 15.16 This also Luke sheweth that such as were ordained to eternall life beleeved Act. 13. Election therefore is before faith and it is the cause why men doe beleeve whereas our new Sect-masters and Strife-makers set the Apostle and the rest of the Church to Schoole and teach him to speak as they do yong children that they beleeved afterward were ordained to eternall life Rom. 9.16 The words of Paul It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy could not be true if God had mercy on men for faith foreseene For what could he foresee but his owne gifts which himselfe determined to bestow upon us This teacheth us also to pull downe all high conceits of our owne worth as if our salvation depended upon our owne selves and that wee were able to guide our waies and order our steppes to life and on the other side admonisheth all Gods Children to thinke humbly of themselves and of all that they can doe or have done touching the cause and foundation of their salvation and withall to magnifie highly the riches of the mercy of God and the aboundance of the love of Iesus Christ our Saviour shed abroad in our hearts acknowledging the beginning proceeding continuing and finishing of our salvation to spring from him onely True it is our destruction is not of God Hos 13.9 Iam. 1.13 14 15. but of our owne selves but our salvation is not of our selves but of God Wherefore then hath God chosen us and refused others made us vessels to honour 2 Tim. 2.20 Rom. 2.5 and left others to be vessels to dishonour why hath hee taken away the hardnesse of our stony hearts and given over others to walke in their hardnesse and hearts that cannot repent as he did Pharaoh Wherefore hath he sanctified us with his Spirit and passed by many thousand others that they might worke out their owne destruction and damnation Doubtlesse he hath not done all these nor any one of all these things for any good he saw in us nor for any goodnesse he foresaw would be in us nor for any inclination to goodnesse hee could perceive in us nor for any workes of preparation to make us fit for grace for what could he see in us though he be of pure eyes but matter of his wrath to feed upon as the fire doth upon the fuell It was not greatnes of wealth noblenesse of birth highnesse of estate worthinesse of condition multitude of friends that hee respected who respecteth no mans person so that when we consider what we are of our selves and how graciously God hath dealt toward us we should cry out with the Apostle Rom. 11.33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his iudgements and his waies past finding out Rom. 11.33 Lastly seeing it is of Gods good pleasure that he saveth us and not any thing that is in our selves that moued him this ought to stirre us up to thankefulnesse and our thankefulnesse to dutifulnesse and obedience toward him The greater his mercy is and the more free his grace is the more wee ought to praise and magnifie his great Name It is he that hath given us all let him therefore have the praise of all We have nothing in our selves therefore let us challenge nothing to our selves The worke is his owne and properly belonging to him let us take heed we commit not sacriledge and robbe him of the glory due to his Name They are pure or rather impure naturall men that set up nature and they are destitute of grace that pull downe the post or piller of Gods grace which holdeth up the whole building We cannot ascribe too much to him wee cannot detract too much from our selves We cannot deny too much to Nature we cannot ascribe too much to grace Our good thoughts our good desires our good deeds our good words if we have any come from without Matth. 15.18 as evill thoughts come from within and doe defile us as water comming from an uncleane fountaine All our good is of his good pleasure and therefore it is good reason that hee should bee honoured and glorified in it and for it Hence it is that the Apostle saith What is it that thou hast not received Wee are so farre from comming to our iournyes end without his direction that we cannot set one foot forward in the right way Wee are so farre from being able to practise any thing that is good that wee haue no power to prepare our selves to it Psal 10.17 forasmuch as it is he that prepareth the heart Psal 10.17 And the Apostle saith We are not sufficient of our selves to thinke any thing as of our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 but all our sufficiency is of God This use doth Christ our Saviour point unto Mat. 11. I thanke thee O Father Matth. 11.25 26. Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes even so Father for it seemed good in thy sight That which Christ our Saviour doth ought we all to practise and performe It belongeth to all the Elect and godly to shew great love to him that hath loved us first and continuall thankefulnesse toward him because wee hold our selves and all that we have of his gracious favour We enjoy not any good through our owne deservings but all besides our merits nay directly against our merits For by the guilt of sinne we deserve to be in the same condition with the reprobate and it is the great goodnesse and mercy of God who hath separated us and allotted unto us a better estate and that it goeth better with us How often doe we requite his love with unkindnesse for wee give him nothing but he giveth us all neither doe we prevent his liberality but he preventeth our ability if
hold not thy peace for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for I have much people in this City shewing thereby that he continued his word among them a long time because he had much people there whom he meant to save So likewise wheresoever God sendeth his word and giveth gifts to his Ministers in some measure for who is sufficient for these things 2 Cor. 2.16 and a conscience to Preach the word truly diligently and faithfully it is a signe he favoureth and loveth them and will blesse them that he would have them converted and saved Not that every one that heareth beleeveth The word is sometimes senâ— for other ends then repentance or that commeth to the word repenteth of his sinnes for the word is sometimes sent for other end first to make them inexcusable that have the light yet shut their eyes that heare the sound yet stop their eares Ioh. 15.22 Therefore our Saviour sayd to his hearers Ioh. 15. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sinne but now they have no cloke for their sinne Secondly to harden them and so to increase their judgement and just condemnation For it shall goe worse with them than with the Turkes and infidels nay than with Sodome and Gomorrha that were overthrowne with fire and brimstone from heaven Ezek. 3.6 Hence it is that the Lord saith to the Prophet Thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech of an hard language surely if I had sent thee to them they would have hearkned unto thee And when our Saviour upbraided the Cities wherein most of his mighty workes were done he sheweth that if such had beene in Tyre and Sidon Math. 11.21 they would have repented long agoe in sackcloth and ashes Thirdly to justifie the Lord and to shew that he is just and holy in all his wayes Ezek. 2.5 and that it might appeare he desireth not the destruction of a sinner as Ezek. 2. whether they will heare or whether they will for beare for they are a rebellious house they shal know that there hath bin a Prophet among them But God openeth the hearts eares of such as he wil convert and call effectually We must acknowledge this mercy of God that hath sent his Gospell among us walke worthy of this benefit for diverse causes that we may have comfort in our owne hearts and assurance of our calling thereby by the holy and sanctified use of the meanes that we may thereby be provoked to thankfulnesse to Almighty God who as he raineth upon one field and not upon another and the place whereupon it rained not withered away so he causeth the Gospell to be preached upon one place and not upon another and where it was not preached they perished that we may leave it as a Iewel to our posterity which doubtlesse will be the best portion and possession we can conveigh to them and that it be not removed and taken away from us and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits thereof better fruits than we have done Lastly let us submit our selues to the word and regard it as Gods word otherwise it will never worke in us true conversion Iam. 1.19 The Apostle S. Iames brancheth out this point into three duties Chap. 1. My beloved brethren let every man be swift to heare slow to speake slow to wrath Swift to heare that is take all occasions and opportunities that we may entertaine and embrace the truth Slow to speake against the truth delivered and preached unto us slow to crosse and contradict it to resist it and reason against it Slow to wrath that is not to be ready to be offended nor easily provoked when our sinnes are reprooved But for the most part it goeth quite contrary with us we are slow to heare dull to hearken swift to speake against the truth and soone mooved to wrath against such as are the teachers Touching the first It is our duty to be swift to heare we must learne to take all occasions to heare the word and to attend unto it in season and out of season This is required of the Minister to take all occasions 2 Tim. 4.2 Eccl. 11.6 in season and out of season to be instant in preaching the Gospell as Eccl. 11. In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening let not thine hand rest for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be a like good We must be faithful in our places as we love the great Sheepheard so we should feed his sheepe we know not what time it may please the Lord to give them repentance to come out of the snare of Satan of whom they are taken captive Let us then sow morning and evening and let the people have the earely and the latter raine Be it we have here no good successe we shall find a reward else where Only let us doe our duty and watch all occasions to doe good leaving the successe to God So must it be with the hearers they must take all occasions to heare the word to learne it to understand it to receive it and to practise it and wherefore Ioh. 15.1 because we know not at what time the husbandman will make the seed of the word to grow and fructifie in our hearts Wherefore they are to be reproved that accuse the Lord of hard dealing like the evill servant in the Gospell when the fault was in himselfe and lay all the blame upon him that they are not converted saying Quest How can I beleeve except the Lord give me faith or how can I attaine to repentance except he give me to repent doe you not teach it is God must worke in us both the will and the deed at his good pleasure why then am I blamed for not beleeving and for not repenting and why am I stirred up to beleeve the Gospell and to turn to the Lord seeing they are not in my power and seeing he giveth me neither the one nor the other I may as well be stirred up and moved to stirre and remove a mountaine Answ I answer out of Ecclesiastes before rehearsed the sower must sow his seed in the morning and in the evening so they that are hearers must heare in the morning and hearken in the evening and the rather because they know not whether this or that shall prosper and bring forth fruit unto repentance and salvation Will we not cease or give over to plow our land but till it in the morning and afternoone and shall we not thinke the furrowes of our hearts have as much need to be striken Hath the earth need of the earely and latter raine and are not we as barren and dry wanting the morning and evening shewres to make our soules fruitfull It may well be when we pursued and sought after with greedinesse our worldly businesse
Master it is joyned with open contempt of him no marveil therefore if disobedience to God be also a contempt against God as the Prophet saith If I be a Master where is my feare saith the Lord of hostes This teacheth that doubtlesse many stand guilty of a multitude of sinnes which they never thought of Vse 1 neither once dreamed upon Many men happly will grant there is some conscience to be made of committing evill who never thinke it a sinne to omit a good duty Such will confesse it a sin to worship a false god but never consider they are commanded to vnite their affections to the true God to trust in him to beleeve him to love him to feare him and to depend upon him that it is an heinous Crime to pray to a strange God or to Saints and Angels or to bow downe to an image who regard not to worship God in truth and sincerity and to call upon him in the day of trouble Many will refraine from working on the Sabbath day and prophaning it by riding about their businesse or running after their sports and pastimes they would be loth to doe these but in the meane season how doe they sanctifie and keepe it holy when they care not to heare the word or to performe publike and private duties of religion upon it We must all give account at the great day of the Lord as well what good we have done as what evill we have done That good governour of the people Nehemiah desired the Lord to remember him concerning the good deedes which he had done for the house of his God Neh. 13.14 It had beene small comfort to him if he had onely done them no hurt and gone no farther for so much might be said of an image or of the bruit beast but his comfort was he had endeavoured and employed himselfe to doe them good And how did Obadiah shew his religious heart in the dayes of persecution toward the Lords Prophets what did he rest in this that he had done them no hurt No 1 King 18.13 he did an hundred of them by fifty in a cave and fedde them with bread and water Or how did Rahab the harlot testifie her faith toward the spies that were sent to search the land did she content her selfe to offer them no injury and to bewray them or deliver them into the hands of their enemie No doubtlesse she was justified by her workes Iam. 225. Heb. 11.31 when she had received the messengers with peace and had sent them out another way But the religion of most men in our dayes is a negative religion they have little positive you may sooner obserue what they doe not Gal. 6.10 then understand what they doe We must obserue the rule of the Apostle As we have opportunity let us doe good unto all men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith Secondly it reproveth such as content themselves with idle shewes and appearances of obedience and sincerity It will not serve our turne to be Christians onely in outward profession if we be fruitlesse and faulty in conversation It is not enough to make us sound Christians to come to Church to be at prayers to heare the word and receive the Sacraments when we yeeld no fruit of obedience as if it were sufficient that the fig-tree were planted in the Vineyard albeit it bare nothing but leaves Psal 1.3 but we must be as trees of righteousnesse planted by the rivers side which bring forth fruite in their season True it is the Church hath alwayes had such painted Sepulchers or gilded tombes outwardly as the Iewes that had the Temple of the Lord alwayes in their mouthes who yet remained wicked and prophane persons in their lives The sound Christian is not discerned by the leaves of outward appearance but by the precious fruits of the spirit not by his profession but by his practise and they are the true Israelites which are so within whose praise is of God and not of men The fig-tree had leaves good flore which were seene a farre off Mar. 11.13 and seemed to promise great store of fruit but when Christ drew neere and looked for fruit found none he said Never more fruit grow upon thee Let us take heed in time of such a wofull sentence For may not Christ Iesus trow you finde store of such fruitlesse fig-trees in this Vineyard of his nay when he commeth to looke upon his Vineyard will it not be a rare thing and an hard matter to see a fig-tree with any fruit upon it Nay are we not for the most part come to this passe that we have scarce any leave at all to be seene that a man may take a Candle and search for leaves and yet find none upon them This is the state and condition of sundry among us how neere are such to the curse and to be burned up which have neither fruit nor leaves neither substance nor shew neither body nor shadow neither truth nor appearance but openly and evidently make plaine Demonstration of wild and wicked fruit Deut. 32.32.33 their grapes are grapes of gall their clusters are bitter their wine is the poison of Dragons and the cruell venime of Aspes Such shall never be suffered to remaine within the Vineyard the axe is laid to the root of the tree to cut them downe Thirdly this checketh and controlleth the slanderous mouthes and pennes of the Romish Church opened wide and enlarged against our doctrine which they knew not or will not know who beare the world and their ignorant Disciples the multitude in hand that our religion destroyeth good works Math. 5.16 whereas we call upon the people to bring forth the fruits of the Gospel and to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good workes and glorifie our father which is heaven Nay we teach a necessity of good workes as well as they to be in all true beleevers that they which have beleeved in God might be carefull to maintaine good workes these things are good and profitable unto men Wherein then lyeth the difference between us they teach them to be the causes of our justification we that they be lively fruits and effects of faith they doe not goe before him that is to be justified but they follow him that is already justified they are not necessary in the act or office of justification but they are necessarily required to be in every justified person Lastly let us all be provoked to the diligent practise of good workes No man must thinke himselfe exempted or priviledged from good workes albeit he be never so poore or simple The most sort post over this duty from one to another and thinke when we call for good workes it is a doctrine that toucheth onely rich men and such as have the wealth of this world at will and none other as if there were no good workes of charity that did deserue the
6.6 The like we might say of Moses Exod. 4.10 13 Ier. 1.6 Dan. 9 8. I hn 1.27 Matth. 11.11 Exod. 4.10 13. of Jeremy chap. 1.6 and of Daniel chap. 9.8 John Baptist maketh it knowne that he was not worthy to unloose the shooes latchet of Christ that came after him albeit among them that were borne of women there hath not risen a greater then he The Prodigall Sonne being come to himselfe Luke 13.21 18.13 and to his Father confesseth Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight I am no more worthy to be called thy Sonne The Publican being come up to the Temple to pray stood a farre off and would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven but smote upon his brest saying O Lord be mercifull to me a sinner So Paul testifieth that he was as one borne out of due time 1 Cor. 15.8 9. not worthy to be called an Apostle not onely the least of the Apostles Ephes 3.8 1 Tim. 1.15 1 Cor. 15.8 but the least of all the Saints Ephes 3.8 and the greatest of all sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 The reasons are many and waighty Reas 1 For first what have we to be proud of or wherefore should we advance our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 we are not able of our selves to thinke any thing that is good and without the helpe and assistance of Christ we can doe nothing at all Joh. 6. so that to be proud of our selves is to be proud of nothing Secondly they know their sinnes to be moe in number then the haires of their head that they provoke him every day and are not able to answer him one of a thousand their iniquities are increased over their heads Ezra 9.6 Lam. 3.22 and their transgressions are gone up to the Heavens Ezra 9.6 so that it is his mercy that they are not utterly consumed The more the Lord vouchsafeth his grace unto them the more they behold their owne waies and are privy to their owne wants They know they have many knowne and open sinnes They know they stand in need to pray to God to clense them from their secret faults They know they must begge of him Psal 19.12 13. to keepe his servants from presumptuous sinnes that they may not have dominion over them They know they are daily to crave pardon for their errors ignorances and negligences for omitting good for committing evill They know their owne hearts smite them 1 Ioh. 3.20 and if their owne hearts condemne them God is greater then their hearts and knoweth all things And have they not therefore cause in all these respects to hang downe their heads and to humble themselves in the sight of God As for the ungodly it is not so with them they are blinde and can see nothing they are deafe and will learne nothing they are sencelesse and can feele nothing be it never so palpable Thirdly Christ Iesus hath left himselfe as a patterne and president unto us for he is meeke and lowly in heart Matth. 11.29 Matth. 11.29 who being in the forme of God and thinking it no robbery to bee equall with God tooke upon him the shape of a servant Phil. 2.6 7. and made himselfe of no reputation Thus he humbled himselfe and became obedient unto the death even the death of the Crosse Yea he disdained not to wash the feet of his Disciples Ioh. 13.5 15. and gave them an example what they should doe even as he had done to them Thus he that was both God and Man the Lord of Heaven and earth the eternall Sonne of the Father the brightnesse of his glory Heb. 1.3 the expresse Image of his person the Heire of all things upholding them by the Word of his power the King and Priest of his Church did stoope downe and abase himselfe for us even to the death and that also the cursed death of the Crosse Luke 21. 27. and was in the world as he that serveth Luke 22.27 Ought not we therefore to set evermore his example before our eyes as a glasse to looke upon and in lowlinesse of minde each one of us to esteeme of others better then of our selves that the same minde might be in us which was in him Fourthly wee are but dust and ashes whether we consider our rising or our falling our beginning or our ending Gen. 3.19 Iob 1.21 1 Tim. 6.7 our first or our last for dust we are and to dust shall we returne Gen. 3. We brought nothing with us in this world and it is certaine we can carry nothing out Is not the basenesse of the matter out of which we were formed and into which wee shall bee resolved argument waighty enough to pull downe every high conceit of our selves and to preach humility unto us Lastly God giveth all men somewhat to humble themselves in soule or in body or in name or in some that are neere unto them or in all these combined together at least if they know themselves It is an hard matter to know our selves aright for few doe it Wee are for the most part ignorant of our selves and strangers at home how quick-sighted soever we are abroad Wee cannot looke upon our selves or cast our eyes about us but we have causes and occasions of humiliation as Jacob after he had wrastled with God had his thigh out of joynt Gen. 32.25 31. 2 Cor. 12.7 8 9. and he halted of it all the dayes of his life afterward Gen. 32. So had the holy and blessed Apostle Paul asplinter in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations that were given unto him And albeit he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from him yet he obtained in not but received this gracious answer My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakenesse The best servants of God therefore have had something to cast them downe even to the ground and if wee have not eyes to see this which every where offereth it selfe before us we are blinde and can see nothing at all First of all this serveth for reproofe Vse 1 and that of sundry sorts of persons It giveth a checke to all Iusticiaries and Merit-mungers who like Pharises being ignorant of Gods righteousnesse Rom. 10.3 and going about to establish their owne righteousnesse have not submitted themselves to the righteousnesse of God Such men swelling very bigge with the winde of their owne workes are farre from the humility and humblenesse of minde which we read to have beene in all the Saints of God from the beginning The continuall song and saying that hath beene evermore in the mouthes of all the godly of the Patriarkes of the Princes of the Kings of the Captaines of the Priests of the Prophets of the Apostles and of all true Converts and penitent persons when they speake of themselves hath beene this I