that chastisement and wounds which brought peace to us And truly this is much to be meditated on For what man considering his sinfulness his unworthiness can perswade himself that God will have any peace with such as he is Do we not see what a laborious work it is to bring the troubled and loaden soul to Christ for ease How many times ready to despair What constant qualms and swoons of soul How often with the Disciples crying out I perish I perish And is not all this because they think their sinnes have so offended God he is so provoked against them that they can never obtain reconciliation Doth not this proneness to unbelief and despair arise from not considering that the chastisements of our peace are upon Christ Were we with our tears or graces to work our peace then our estate would be incurable But Christ is our peace-maker and if peace-makers among men are blessed How blessed is our Lord and Saviour Christ who made peace between man and God Fifthly Faith is the hand to receive and imbrace this peace by believing we come to have this heavenly tranquillity Those that are strangers to this life of faith are also strangers to this life of peace Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by faith we have peace with God It 's faith that prepareth the way for peace Isai 26. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee in perfect peace peace peace as in the original full and universal peace But how shall he thus be kept By trusting and staying his mind on God So Isai 27. 5. God there inviteth men to believe which is emphatically called a laying hold upon God Let him take hold on me that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me Take hold as we do upon a man that is turning away from us and seemeth to be offended with us but we lay hold on him intreating him to look upon us This doth faith and therefore by it we are said to have boldness Oh then acquaint thy self more with this life of faith If you see a tree wither in all its branches and boughs it is because it dieth at the root So if you see a Christian abating in his peace in his joy in his consolations it is because faith is weak within This is the breast that gives suck as it were to all the serenity we enjoy Sixthly This peace as it is thus wrought by God in us and received by faith so it is conserved and preserved by an holy and diligent attending to the exercise of all grace For although a godly life be not a cause of this peace yet it is alwayes conjoyned with it and our negligence and ungodliness will be like an Eclipse to this Sunne it will darken and obnubilate the whole soul Hence this peace and a wilfull course of wickedness can no more stand together than the Sunne and night The Apostle Peter 1 Pet. 1. biddeth us Give all diligence to make our calling and election sure which is by adding of one grace to another Hence Rom. 8. 6. To be spiritually minded is said to be life and peace No wonder then if Gods own children do so seldom attain to a calm and peaceable frame they are doubting and discouraged often they are cast down and hopeless often they are full of tormenting fears often for whence is this but because Gods own people are subject to dulness slothfulness they break their peace they interrupt this communion they do not keep the oil alwayes ready to keep the lamp burning Oh then say to thy soul why am I a man of so little peace within me Why do I find like Rehekkah two strugling within me faith against diffidence joy against sadnesse hope against fear Is not all this from my own folly and vanity The way then to keep this blessed peace is to walk with all diligence in the whole course of all godliness Seventhly This peaceable calme and joyfull disposition of the soul is the proper effect and fruit of the Gospel This is the fiâ—al and Evangelical temper we under the Gospel and the Spirit of Adoption ought to walk in We may stand and wonder to see what great expressions Paul useth Rom. 8. and in other places concerning the love of God in Christ how consident and assured of it how triumphing over all difficulties as if he were in Heaven already For the glorified Saints can scarce say more than he doth And this he speaketh not in his own behalf but in the name of all the children of God they ought to have such peace assurance and filial perswasions as he hath Now alas we are like worms crawling on the ground in comparison of him We spend our dayes in tumults fears and disquietness of heart We are tossed from one temptation to another and have not this peace this joy unspeakable this Evangelical perswasion and why but because the Gospel hath not had its full work upon us Doth not the Apostle 2 Cor. 3. and in other places speak of the Ministration of the Law killing and condemning Doth he not speak of a spirit of bondage and of servants as opposite to children And as the immediate contrary to this he tels us of the Ministration of the Gospel and the Spirit of Adoption accompanying it which Spirit we are to pray for and are to be transformed more and more from glory to glory by beholding of the glory of God revealed in the Gospel Therefore Ephes 6. 15. We are to have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace We tread among thorns and briars Now this Gospel munition is the only defence against all hinderances in our way to Heaven Oh beloved let us at last know that the Gospel doth not only consist in an holy exact and humble walking but in a chearfull peacefull and gladsome conversation arising from the sense of Gods grace to us in Christ The Apostle speaketh fully to this Rom. 14. 17. The Kingdome of God is not meat or drink but righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost You see here the Kingdome of God is not onely in righteousnesse but in this peace and joy Did the children of God possess their souls with this truth they would no more let in unbelief and discouragements into their soul then they would the prince of darkness and his Angels Know therfore that though thou hast lived so many years under the Gospel yet till thou obtainest this peaceable calm frame of soul coming from the love of God in Christ thou hast not the Gospel-work in its full upon thee Do not live as if thou hadst only received the Spirit of bondage to fear but the Spirit of adoption and consolation also And know this assuredly That the more any Christian groweth under the Gospel the more this dispensation affects him the nearer in communion and lovely imbracements by faith he cometh unto God as a
thousands abide under the power of Satan and sinne Therefore when Gods mercy is spoken of in pardoning of sinne it is perpetually in respect of us not of Christ Thus you see judging of Gods mercy without Scripture-light into how many Doctrinal errors it may plunge us 4. For want of Scripture-direction the Papist and Antinomian oppose the mercy of God but in extream contrary wayes Though God be mercifull yet he hath so ordained that none shall partake of his mercies in time but those who by his grace are inabled to believe and repent as the way to salvation Now the Papist injureth the mercy of God for he will have his Faith Repentance with other holy works the merit and cause of his salvation disdaining to have eternal life as meer alms from God But the Antinomian to avoid this Scilla falls into Charybdis he affirmeth a mercy and that of Justification even while we are sinners before we do either believe or repent But the Scripture-mercy lieth between both In the next place Let us consider What Practical Danger we are in by conceiving of God as a mercifull God without Scripture-information And First We are apt to flatter our selves with Gods mercy though we allow our selves in our sins and iniquities whereas the Scripture speaks not a drop of mercy to such Have you not many dreadfull examples of Gods anger and terrour as well as mercy What was the casting of all the Angels into eternal blackness for one sinfull thought and that the first which they were guilty of giving them no space to repent no day of grace affording no means for their recovery Is not this an instance of Gods severity But you will say This was to Angels he is more mercifull to man But consider that example of Gods Justice in drowning the whole world save eight persons Doth not that proclaim God is just and angry against sinne as well as mercifull not to spare the whole world because it had corrupted its wayes but to drown such an innumerable company of men women and children yea to destroy the whole earth as it were Oh who can stand before the anger of God! Have we not also a formidable demonstration of Gods anger against Sodome and Gomorrah when fire and brimstone was rained from Heaven to destroy those Cities and all that did belong to them What had the little children done They could not be guilty of those unclean vices but God cutteth off all Many other instances of Gods wrath we have in Scripture especially the day of Judgement will be a dreadfull manifestation of it to the wicked and therefore the Scripture will informe us in that as well as of Gods mercy A second Practical Errour I shall conclude with that necessarily accompanieth the thoughts of Gods mercy without Scripture-direction is to encourage a mans self in his sinnes because God is mercifull Every wicked person turneth this honey into gall Paul speaketh of some who made those wretched inferences Let us sinne that grace may abound Take heed then of having any such wicked thought arising in thy heart God is mercifull therefore I will go to my lusts again Oh no the Scripture represents Gods mercies for another end to repent and be converted from thy evil wayes Rom. 2 Knowest thou not the goodnesse of God would lead thee to repentance Oh then do not abuse the mercy of God! for there is a time coming when there will be no more mercy It 's called the day of wrath thou shalt meet with nothing but terrour Ezek. 8. 18. The Scripture speaks of vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath and there is no greater sign of a vessel of wrath one fitted and prepared for destruction then to grow wanton by the mercies of God to be evil because he is good so much mercy abused will one day be turned into so much vengeance SERM. XXXVI That God not only can but doth actually comfort his People and how he doth it 2 COR. 1. 4. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God IN the former verse we had the Reasons of our blessing of God set down by the description of that glorious attribute of his The Father of mercies c. In this verse the Apostle doth further amplifie the cause of this duty of Thanksgiving viz. from the effect and fruit of this property of his He is not only a God of consolation habitually and potentially as it were He is not a fountain sealed up but this Sunne doth alwayes irradiate its beams As he is a God of consolation so he doth comfort So that in the words we have the Effect or Causality attributed to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is comforting that doth never cease to do it that never withdraweth his consolations It 's his nature to be alwayes comforting As the Devil is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because he is alwayes tempting The word in humane Authors is used frequently of him who calleth another to him but in the New Testament either of him that intreateth and prayeth or of him that exhorteth or as in the Text of him that comforteth 2. The Subject of this consolation us That is either generally all believers or us Apostles and Officers in the Church For the Apostle might speak this to obviate that scandal which many were ready to take at the afflictions and persecutions of the Apostles as if they were hated of God and were nothing but impostors Therefore some part of this Chapter is a narrative of his pressures and apologetical in declaring the great goodness of God thereby to the Church 3. The particular wherein in tribulation Light can come into this dark dungeon 4. The Extent of this All our tribulation God can turn the hardest stones into bread All either of mind or body 5. The consequent Effect of this That we may be able to comfort them c. God many times doth in an exemplary manner exercise the Ministers of the Gospel that they may experimentally be able to instruct such who are tempted We begin with that efficiency given to God who comforteth is comforting and observe That as God is the God of all comfort so he doth actually put forth this comfort to those that are his Gods attributes may be truly affirmed of him though they never be put forth into act God would have been Omnipotent Mercifull Wise though he had not created the world only the creation of the world did demonstrate those Attributes Thus God may be called The God of comfort or a mercifull Father in respect of his Nature and Inclination though actually he doth not comfort any but God is a fountain communicating himself into streams of comfort he will make his people taste and feel what he is by Nature Now when it 's said That God comforteth you must understand this both in temporal and spiritual comforts
not perfect grace yet thou hast not perfect holinesse yet but thou waitest upon the Lord till it be accomplished and so do here Oh but I am afraid I shall never have it I shall dye without it that is more than thou knowest how suddenly and graciously doth God use to rebuke these windes and waves when we little think of it yet know thy interest to heaven is not shaken Thou wilt indeed want much comfort but not thy title to heaven Thou art as sure to go to heaven as if thou wert assured of it And withall remember that the faith of dependance and recumbency upon Christ only is more noble than assurance in that thou givest God most glory In this thy own interest is satisfied And lastly know that heaven is coming to thee and thou going to it when not only sin but all fears shall be removed away Thou shalt then dispute thy condition no more thou shalt not then question thy graces or Gods grace to thee but shall put on the Crown of glory never to be molested and disquieted any more SERM. CXXXVIII Of Grace as it is the Earnest of Eternall Glory 2 COR. 1. 22. And given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts THis is the third and last similitude by which that gracious confirmation of beleevers in Gods promises is declared and if we consider them relatively to the discourse precedent we shall easily see what great reason there is that the promises should not be only yea and Amen in themselves but in bs also Seeing we have this special work of Gods spirit anointing sealing and giving us an earnest of the things that are promised Now as you heard though the same prividedge be meant under this threefold similitude yet every one hath its proper notion and therefore the earnest here spoken of may differ from sealing thus That the sealing of Gods Spirit doth assure of us that which is already wrought in us as seals confirm contracts that are already made though hereby also is implyed a certain continuance and perseverance in that state which is sealed but the earnest spoken of in the text doth principally relate to the future So that whereas the childe of God might object what if I be sealed and assured for the present of my good condition yet who knoweth what may fall out thereafter I may apostatize I may provoke God to leave me and so this seal be as it were defaced But though the word sealing doth also imply continuance for it is till the day of redemption yet the word earnest doth more properly speak to that Objection Thou hast the earnest given thee of that inheritance which shall be hereafter So that in the words we may take notice of the mercy it self the efficient cause of it and the subject receiving it The mercy it self is said to be an earnest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is used in two other places in the New Testament as is to be shewed It is properly an Hebrew word though from the Hebrews communicated to the Phenicians which being great Merchants brought it into Greece so that the Grecians adopted it for their ordinary wood yea some Latinists as Plautus and Terentius do use it as Grotius on the place affirmeth Varro speaketh of it lib. 4. de ling. latinà where he saith the same mony for divers respects may be called dos merces arrabo and corollarium and addeth the word arrabo is brought from the Grecians but Scaliger in his Notes upon the place correcteth him for that saying Ne graecum verbum quidem sed merum Syriacum The Hebrew root from whence it groweth is gnarub to mingle and so by a metaphor it signifieth to buy and sell to make contracts and to assure them by earnests because in this action the buyer and the seller are as it were mingled together Some have translated it pignus which the Grecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a pledge pignus It is so called either à pugno say some because the pledge is delivered by the hand or else as Martinius Lexi pignus from pago or pango because in such covenants and contracts there is an agreement established But Hierom of old and others of late do no waies approve of rendring it a pledge but an earnest for there is this difference in the civil law between arra and pignus an earnest and a pledge an earnest is part of the price that is to be paid down and so goeth to make it up but a pledge is given for security by the debtor to the creditor and taken away again when the debt is paid Now this metaphor doth no waies hold in this case for God is not a debtor to us when he giveth us his grace he doth not borrow of us neither when the promise is fullfilled is this grace taken away for in heaven grace is not abolished but perfected Indeed Aquinas upon the place maketh this Observation That as a pledge must be saith he equivalently worth to the debt so it is here grace wrought in us especially the Spirit of God bestowed upon us is equivalent to glory But that is false that in our graces wrought by Gods Spirit there is an intrinsecall condignity and equality to everlasting glory It 's therefore more proper and suitable to call it an earnest which was commonly used two waies either in civill commerce or matrimoniall contracts called therefore in the latter subarrhatio The end and use of it was to secure the full payment of the debt or fullfilling of any promise made and in this sense it is true in the Text God knowing our pronenesse to doubt about his promises as also how uncertain and fearfull we are doth give us his grace here as a sure earnest of our eternal happinesse So that by this earnest we are not to understand extraordinary and miraculatous gifts of Gods Spirit for many had them who yet never could enter into glory but the special works of grace sanctifying These are fitly called an earnest though there be also some dissimilitudes as is to be shewed insomuch that he who findeth he hath grace here may certainly conclude he shall have glory hereafter for though there be some who hold that some may have true faith and yet totally fall off and that only the elected beleever shall persevere yet that is built upon a sandy foundation In the second place you have the efficient cause of this and that is the spirit of God Some indeed make this by way of apposition The earnest which is the spirit as if the spirit it self both in this and the other Text were the earnest which may be received provided that by the spirit we mean not only the person of the spirit but the gracious operations thereof for the people of God partake of both Eph. 1. 13. They are said to be sealed with that holy spirit of promise called so not because it is the spirit promised for that is too frigid though it be
the Gospel is though to some a savour of life yet to others a savour of death Thus afflictions and troubles to some do discover their hypocrisie and guile as winnowing doth the chaâ—â— but to others they are blessed either to conversion or to edification So that in all the sufferings of the Church we are by prayer to importune God that by these means greater glory may come to Christ and that these waters of persecution may be like those to the Ark which could not drown it but exalted it nearer to Heaven Hence Fourthly We may admire the wisdome power and goodnesse of God that wherein the enemies of Gods Church deal craftily and cruelly in that very thing he is above them working the contrary to that which they are intending For how many persecutors hath the Church had who like Haman resolved to root out the very name of Christianity and their persecutions have increased the number of Christians Thus it must needs be madness and torment to the Churches enemies to see that the wayes they take to demolish is indeed to build up the Church of God Even as it was with Pharaoh when he called a counsel to deal craftily with the Israelites to oppress and diminish them then they were the more multiplied Thus Act. 12. 24. when Herod set himself to kill the eminent servants of the Lord and thereby weaken the Church of God for when the shepherds were dissipated what would become of the flock it is said But the word of God grew and multiplied See how the contrary fell out to Herods design These things premised Let us consider What is the general good promoted by the Churches sufferings And 1. Hereby the glory of God and Christ is the more exalted amongst all that fear him For when the Churches of God shall see the wisdome and goodness of God thus to his people turning all the cruelty and craft of their adversaries to their own good that what they could never do their enemies do for them What glory and praise doth this cause in all Congregations How is the Church indeared hereby to God to trust in him to continue faithfull to him in all exercises God hath been good and will be good God hath turned the greatest evil of men to the greatest advantage and he will do it As Christs death is called a glorifying of him Thus also are the sufferings for Christ the believers glory and not only so but the glory of Christ also What saith Paul Phil. 1. 20. Christ shall be magnified in my body whether by life or death But 2. The great good overflowing to the Church by its sufferings are the propagation and enlargement of the Gospel thereby Phil. 1. 13. Paul there sheweth how his troubles fell out to the furtherance of the Gospel for his bonds were made manifest in Caesars palace and in all other places That of Tertullian is known The blood of Martyrs is the seed of the Church When men did behold their faith the râ—patience their constancy and courage it made them enquire into the cause of their sufferings what it was that could make them so constantly endure all kind of torments Insomuch that this was in stead of the working of miracles to bring men to faith So that as the shaking of a ripe flower maketh many seeds fall to the ground and in stead of that one flower many come up in the room of it or as when the Vine hath its branches cut off there come farre more in stead thereof Thus it hath also been by all the troubles on the Church of God by afflictions and by patience under them How numerous did the Church of God grow even like the stars in Heaven Let the Use be To consider those examples of all such worthies who have suffered for Christ whether recorded in Scripture or in Ecclesiastical History read them for thy comfort and thy salvation The word of God and the lives of Martyrs bearing witness to it may much prevail over a stony heart It hath been a good blessing of God that the Names and Histories of most Martyrs have been preserved and recorded for the good of the Church of God to come The lives and sufferings of our Martyrs here in England what influence may they not make upon thee What patience what heavenly mindedness what courage should this put into thee As Abel though dead speaketh Thus do all the godly Martyrs the Bradfords the Ridleys the Latimers they all speak still and God suffereth such persecutions to be as perpetual Sermons to teach us SERM. LI. The Afflictions which others suffer for Christ make much for our Comfort and Salvation 2 COR. 1. 6. And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation THe second particular in this Text as it stands divided is the Consequent or Effect of this tribulation which is set down in a particular and special manner above any other fruit of it and that is two-fold Consolation and Salvation Of the word Consolation enough hath already been said For the other viz. Salvation we shall remit it to the end of the verse where it is again specified So that our work is immediately to proceed to the Observation which is That sufferings for Christ should be so farre from disheartning and offending others that a true and right consideration of them may much provoke our comfort and salvation This truth is of great use For the afflictions accompanying the wayes of Christ have been an offence and a stumbling block to many Now when a curb shall be made a spur when an hinderance a furtherance and we shall be encouraged from those particulars which should drive back this consideration must be very profitable Before we come to amplifie in what manner in what respects persecutions are made thus serviceable to others Let us take notice First That the sufferings of others do work good only occasionally or by way of example We must not conceive any merit or causality as was declared before in Martyrs They are Examples not Mediators Their light did shine that we might thereby glorifie God So that we must take heed that the sufferings of the godly do not obscure the sufferings of Christ that they should not be accounted the only treasure of Christ But as Luther was afraid lest his books should take men off from meditating on the Bible Or as Paul was afraid men should judge of him as if he by his own power had done that miracle and therefore told them It was onely by the Name of Christ. So also it was with all the true Martyrs of Christ they were humble looking upon themselves as unworthy of the name of a Martyr neither would they have their blood derogate from the blood of Christ Hence Secondly We may greatly deplore and bewail the Apostasie of the Church concerning those that were Martyrs and sufferers for Christ in what superstition and sinfull devotion were they plunged in about
behalf It is good to consider how earnestly Paul though so eminent and choice a man in holinesse doth desire the prayers of others and therefore when he had spoken of that confidence he had in God who as he had so also would for the future deliver him he addeth vers 11. You also helping together by prayer for us as if none of those great mercies Paul looked for could be brought forth but by the help of their prayers This then is that which maketh the godly desirous that others who fear God may know how it is with them what temptations they lie under what afflictions they grapple with that so they may have the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man which availeth much Though the prophane deride and scoffe yet the prayer of any true godly man is greatly to be valued and much to be desired Secondly As such are thereby provoked to pray to God for them so when God shall mercifully deliver them and turn their afflictions for good then they will also be encouraged to blesse and praise God also in their behalf and thus more glory redoundeth still to God Thus also the Apostle vers 11. declareth That by the meanes of many persons thankes may be given to God on our behalf Thus you see no Christian is to live to himself but it is his duty to be praying to God for others and praising God in the behalf of others but how little are the people of God exercised in these communion duties How little zealous in prayer for others but farre more negligent in the praises of God for others When doest thou blesse God for the mercies deliverance vouchsafed to the afflicted Saints of God as if they were thy own This publick affection is greatly wanting in believers who do not consider they are of the body Thirdly By knowing the afflictions of others and their holy deportment under them thou mayest thereby learne patience zeal heavenly mindednesse and many other graces Afflictions are Gods schools and that whether on thy self or on others How much patience may we learn by the afflictions upon Job Thus James 5. 10 11. The Prophets who spake in the name of the Lord must be taken as an example of suffering affliction and of patience and ye have heard of the patience of Job How greatly did the waves of God passe over his head No Martyr as Chrysostome amplifieth it came near Job in all their sufferings and therefore the holy Ghost thought fit to have the History of Job recorded that all might know and learn by it Be not then a stranger to the sufferings of Gods people but inform thy self about them to imitate their graces to be encouraged to do the like when God shall call thee to fight his battels But you may say What use can be made from the preaching about such afflictions which Paul and the other primitive Christians suffered from Paganish and Heathenish enemies We have no Neroes or Diocletians neither are we called to prisons and Martyrdome To what purpose is it to preach of sufferings to those who live in all quietnesse and freedom What use or good improvement can we make of it Therefore it is necessary to answer this Objection And First By the same reason you may say To what purpose did the Spirit of God cause this Chapter to be written with many other passages of the like nature which treat of afflictions and that from Pagans Certainly though we be not for the present exercised as they are yet the record of this the Doctrine about this is of very great concernment Therefore Secondly Though thou art not called to be a Martyr or to suffer from such enemies yet there is none that will live godly but they shall meet with afflictions one way or other We read of no child of God without his tribulations None can come into Canaan but they must first go thorow a wildernesse They must first with Christ suffer and so enter into glory We told you that there are afflictions of divers sorts There are real and there are verbal afflictions Though thou doest not suffer in thy life and in thy liberty yet thou mayest in thy name and in thy outward comforts There is no man which liveth in a zealous lively manner for God and endeavouring to pull down the kingdom of Satan but the Devil and his instruments will raise opposition enough against him and therefore it is good to hear Sermons about sufferings for Christ For though thy troubles be not such great and bloody ones as the Martyrs have been yet thou art to drink part of this bitter cup The Lord he hath given thee a portion in these tribulations and truly there is not the least affliction befals us in the way of God but if God did not preserve us and keep us by his grace we should sinke under it The frowhe of a man the fear of a mock is enough to discourage us from our duty if God doth not corroborate us If therefore the world doth not hate us if that be not a professed enemy to us we may justly doubt whether we be the Womans seed or not rather the Serpents seed Seeing therefore thou hast thy tribulations more or lesse and that for righteousnesse thou mayest improve this truth for thy edification Secondly What though the Church of God meeteth not with persecutions and troubles from Pagans and Heathens yet those it suffereth from such who pretend to Christ and judge it special service of God so to afflict them have a sharper sting in them What miseries and bloudy cruelties have not many godly Protestants suffered from Papists who yet glory that they only are zealous for Christ that others are blasphemers and enemies to Christ and therefore ought to be punished with such severe censures Now may not such Martyrs and sufferers receive as much comfort as if they had been persecuted from Heathens Yea doubtless for in some respects their suffering is the greater and their constancy the more admirable When the holy Prophets were stoned to death by the people of the Jews that yet thought themselves to be the onely people of God this did not diminish but aggravate their glory The patience of Abel was more admirable in being slain by his brother Cain then if it had been by a stranger If therefore thy sufferings arise from such who highly pretend to the glory and truth of Christ Be not despondent for thy crown of glory will herein be greater than if it had been from open adversaries Hence it is observable how remarkably the Scripture speaketh of those who suffered by Antichrist Rev. 13. 10. Here is the patience and the faith of the Saints which is again mentioned Rev. 14. 12. A true Christian suffering from false Christians hath not the promises of God obscured or diminished hereby to him but rather enlarged for God considereth both from whom it is thou art troubled and the cause why and the
ability which a man hath to do any thing and some distinguish it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Right or Authority The one they call Potentia the other Potestas The one is Natural the other is Moral Many a man hath a power to do a thing when yet he hath no right or authority to do it But in the Scripture we may observe these words promiscuously used for one another yea sometimes they are put together as signifying the same thing Luke 4. 36. 1 Cor. 15. 24. In the Scripture we find this word often used for that power to work miracles yea and miracles themselves are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 2. 22. Rom. 15. 19. Sometimes the word is applied to Angels because of their great strength and power 1 Pet. 3. 22. In Heb. 6. 5. we have an expression of the powers of the world to come which some are said to have tasted of but what that is is greatly controverted As to our purpose we may take notice from the Scripture of a two-fold power 1. The power of God which is put forth in us by his grace which we receive and partake of and so in that sense may be called our power viz. objectively yea and in some sense subjectively though not efficiently Ephes 3. 20. According to his power which worketh in us Again saith Paul I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Phil. 4. 13. 2. There is our own humane and natural strength what we can do by our selves only Now the Question is Whether Paul mean that this affliction was above even his divine strength or that measure of grace and power which God had given him So that if the Lord had not come in with extraordinary supply and more than wonted grace this trouble had overcome him Or whether he mean only of his natural strength and power So that his meaning should be as a man he could not bear it though as a Christian he did It is very probable that both these are included So that neither the natural strength Paul had nor that divine strength which usually he enjoyed could have carried him through that difficulty Now to this expression which Paul useth in the Text we have another place in Paul which seemeth directly and in express words to contradict this it is 1 Cor. 10. 13. There hath no temptation taken you but what is common to man but God is faithfull who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able c. There Paul saith God will not let his people be tempted above what they are able And here Paul speaketh the contrary He is troubled above what he is able How can this be reconciled Some untie this knot from the difference between temptation and affliction There is no temptation say they befalleth the godly above what they are able but there may some trouble and affliction For it is a temptation when it doth induce us into sinne and maketh us to offend God Therefore we pray God would not lead us into temptation but it may be an affliction even when it is so farre from being a temptation that we do thereby more exercise and put forth our graces Thus say they it was with Paul It was an affliction above his strength but not a temptation above his strength For at that time Paul kept up his graces his faith and patience were made more illustrious as file getteth off rust I cannot say this is solid enough For the Text therefore though Expositors go several wayes yet I shall pitch on this as most probable The former part of the verse is a reason of that good exhortation and necessary to every one which he had given before Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall Why Because there hath no temptation as yet taken hold of you but such as all men are capable of An humane temptation that is little short and attemperated to mans strength or what is usual amongst men As the rod of a man And Isa 8. 1. The pen of a man Rom. 6. 19. I speak after the manner of men ye have not yet been afflicted for Christianity Nero hath not yet commanded the Christians to be vexed and tormented for the faith you professe Like that expression Heb. 12. 4. Ye have not yet resisted to blood So that they had just cause to walk humbly and to be afraid of falling because God had not put them yet upon any hard tryals for Christs sake What they hitherto suffered was such as other men though not Christians did endure as well as they But lest this should deject too much as if the time were coming when their persecutions should make them Apostates he giveth them this wine to comfort their hearts with This gracious promise which every Christian should call his promise a continual Antidote a daily Cordial God is faithfull c. where every thing ingredient to it is of admirable comfort God is faithfull It belongs to the faithfulness of God to preserve you he hath taken you for his and therefore his dishonour would be more than thy losse if thou shouldst perish No husbandman will lay a greater burden upon his beast than he can bear Shall man be pitifull to beasts and not God a gracious Father to his children The Artificer or Refiner likewise he will not suffer his gold to lie longer in the fire than the drosse will be purged away and shall not God so faithfull regard his children under their burdens Again He will not suffer you to be tempted No Devil no wicked man in the world can go further than God suffereth Further Not above that ye are able He knoweth your strength he knoweth what will hurt you he knoweth the time when he must take off the affliction Therefore the issue will be comfortable He will give to escape 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some make it a Metaphor from the souldier who escapes out of the warre with victory and conquest Others from one who is shut in in some place so that he is compassed about but at last finds a way to get out Yea the issue is not only to escape but God will so plentifully come in upon us as that we shall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more than suffer more than bear As a strong man that is not only able to carry his burden to such a place he is commanded but further also if need require Thus the godly have no more laid upon them than they can bear by this promise yea they can more than bear it how then was Paul's above his strength The Answer is That this promise is to be understood of the final issue of any affliction though for the present they may seem even to sink under it They cry out they cannot hold they cannot bear any longer yet God doth secretly support and at last will give them strength not only to bear but more than bear even to glory and rejoyce in it And thus
of death is thus sinfull when it putteth thee upon sinne so when it maketh thee omit any duty that God requireth thou darest not confess God and his truth in the midst of a perverse generation thou darest not be valiant for the truth nor plead for righteousness this fear is excessive Love to God love to his glory should cast out the fear of death Observe then thy self in dangers or temptations how thou findest thy fear to put thee upon sinfull compliances or omissions and presently as Jehoshaphat in the midst of a battel being in great danger cried out unto God for help so do thou to be delivered from this sinfull fear that is a deadly enemy encompassing thee about Secondly Thy fear about death is sinfull when it is immoderate and disquieting of thee so that thou doest not walk with a cheerfull quiet and calm spirit So that although it may not put thee upon any sinfull or unlawfull enterprize yet if it fill thee with anxieties with trepidations so that it depriveth thee of that Evangelical joy and peace in this excess it is a sinne All that are truly godly Being justified by faith they are to have peace in their hearts yea they are to rejoyce alwayes in the Lord but the inordinate fear of death causeth this Sunne to be in an eclipse and as men subject to swooning fits or convulsions cannot go with that courage and confidence up and down as those who are freed from such distempers Thus also the slavish and immoderate fear of death putteth millstones about our neck is a continual Ephialtes upon the soul filleth the spirit with heaviness whereby that Evangelical life and Gospel-conversation that we are called unto is seldome or never exercised Observe then thy self doth such fears of death make thy soul full of tumults and distractions Doth it oppose any Evangelical grace or retard the Spirit of Adoption upon thy soul Then humble thy self know thou sinnest against God and pray for the mortification of it and this thou art to do though it doth not make thee put out thy hand to any evil way though it doth not make thee omit any known duty For as worldly and distrustfull cares though lodging only in the heart are greatly displeasing to God though we do not thereby fall into covetous and unjust wayes yet the very cares and distractions of the heart are forbidden as appeareth by that reproof given to Martha by our Saviour himself Luke 10. 41. Martha Martha thou art troubled about many things but one thing is needfull Thus it is also in fears though thou art not instigated thereby to unlawfull wayes to preserve thy self yet the distractions and divisions of thy heart are offensive to God Therefore as the Apostle saith Phil. 4. 6. Be carefull in nothing but let your requests be made known to God Let prayer rebuke all storms and tempests of sinfull cares so in nothing be fearfull no not about death it self but commit thy self by prayer to God to whom the issues of life and death do belong Thirdly This fear of death is sinfull when it excludeth better and more profitable and seasonable fear The Scripture doth frequently command a fear of God and the serving of him with godly trembling Psal 2. 11. Yea the whole work of grace is expressed in this That God will put his fear in our hearts Jer. 32. 40. If then this fear of God did more prevail and rule in our hearts we should not fear diseases and death so much as we do The fear of God would put a due moderation upon all the powers of the soul This would regulate the fear of all other things so that we dare not fear otherwayes than God hath commanded then this natural fear is compatible with gracious fear For as our love to the creatures must be animated and regulated by our love to God so that we are never to love any thing that thereby our love to God may be abated or diminished Thus it must be in fear we are never to dread any thing further than it is consistent with the fear of God therefore it may fall out sometimes that the fear of God may justly put us upon the fear of death as when we walk negligently coldly and formally when we do not make up our daily accounts with God when we do not make our daily peace with God with renewed repentance and faith If we live in this manner then we have good cause to fear death because we are unprovided for it it seizeth on us before we are prepared and the fear of God may justly put us into this fear of death For we know how great holy and just God is how dreadfull his appearance will be at the day of judgement and all that we can do it must be done before death then the night is come and none can work To repent to bewail our unprofitableness our neglect of the seasons of grace in hell will then be as unprofitable as Esau's teares when he had lost his birth-right There is therefore a just and holy fear about death lest it should take us not doing the work of God lest it should come so unexpectedly that we be forced to cry out with him Inducias usque ad mane O spare me till to morrow Let one live another day to make peace with God and the fear of God will put us upon this fear as the Apostle said 2 Cor. 5. 11. Knowing the terrour of the Lord we perswade men Thus it is here Knowing the terrour of the Lord that he is greater than our hearts that if they condemn us then God will much more This will put a fear of death upon us because that is nothing but the presenting of our souls in his presence We read Judg. 6. 23. and in many other places when God made any glorious apparition the persons who beheld it were so amazed and stricken with the sense of their imbecillty that they thought they should die presently and shall not the thoughts about death that it 's the dislodging of the soul and bringing it immediately before God strike much terrour into us This holy and reverential fear about death is laudable and is the fruit of the fear of God but when this fear of death maketh thee fear God the less or hindereth thee in the service of him then cast this Hagar out of doors Fourthly The fear of death is sinfull when it doth proceed from a sinfull cause If the fountain be bitter then the stream is bitter Now there are these sinfull causes of the fear of death 1. When it proceedeth from an inordinate love of life An excessive love of life doth alwayes beget an immoderate fear of death So that we may judge of the sinfulness of fear by the sinfulness of love If thy heart be not mortified and crucified to the world if thy heart be not loosned and weaned from earthly comforts and this maketh thee afraid to die this is
Wilderness They grant he provided water for them even out of the Rock the streames overflowed But can he give bread can he give flesh also Oh blind and foolish unbelief Is it not as easie for God to provide bread as water in a dry Wilderness but they limited God to their own thoughts and wayes Now this sinne of limiting God to such humane helps and wayes as we propound to our selves doth insinuate very much into the hearts of those those that are godly What was that expression of David I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul but bitter fruite from that bitter root Oh how often do the people of God in their extremities say Can God furnish a Table in the Wilderness Those millions of thoughts which eat thee up in a dividing distrusting way how shall this difficulty be overcome how shall that want be supplyed what if God suffer such a thing to be then where am I Is not all this to say Cen God prepare bread in the Wilderness And this way Paul's desponding thought in this trouble The extremity is great death is at hand there is no way to escape it but that which deceiveth him is because he looketh only to sensible helps he considers the instruments not the hand in which they are This is a very secret insinuating sinne and therefore the godly are more diligently to watch and pray against it that it do not at any time overcome them Take heed of living by sense The Apostle disclaimeth such a life in the behalf of the godly 2 Cor. 5. 7. We walk by faith and not by sense Did faith make us overlooke instruments second causes and all Creatures how certain and constant would the hopes of the godly man be The Sun would alwayes go down upon a peaceable fixed serene frame of heat but when faith prevaileth and for that composeth the soul and maketh it like the Rock which though one wave after another fiercely assault yet that abideth in the same place still so though conditions alter though unheard causes and helps be mutable yet because God is the same and the promise is the same he therefore continueth the same Let then the Children of God examine and search their hearts more in this particular see if the cause of all thy disquietness of all thy troubles and feares do not arise from this that thou art deceived that thou passest false judgement upon thy self certainly the Devill is enemy enough to thy comfort he indeavours to seduce thee and deceive thee Do not thou joyn with him against thy own true and solid comfort But let us proceed to examine the grounds of this truth And The first is Because the godly are apt to be hasty and too quick in judgeing these things They do not consider and well weigh all things together They do not compare Gods promises and his providences together They do not set Gods word and his workes together Insipientis est aspicere ad pauca they cast their eyes only upon that which is discouraging They look upon the dead wombe and not on the power of God and this inconsiderateness makes them pass false judgement Psal 31. 22. I said in my haste I am cut off from before thy eyes and again Psal 116. 11. I said in my haste all men are liars You see what hasty and sudden thoughts and words may come from those that feare God Oh do not judge in thy rashness do not conclude this or that in thy haste but consider debate and compare all things together Moses though so meek a man and the faithfull Servant of God yet in a suddain haste spake unadvisedly with his lips Examine then whether most of those thoughts whereby thou hast wronged God and wronged thy self have not risen from unadvised hastiness Thou saist in thy haste God forsaketh thee thou saist in thy haste thou shalt be undone 2. Another reason why the godly are so apt to be deceived in Gods administrations is because they are apt to be passionately transported with anger and feare and these are like a misty foggy vapour to the Sun that doth obnubilate it and obscure the light When David doth conclude he is cast off and cut off he doth not only this in his haste but in his passions also It is anger maketh him say so it is grief maketh him say so his spirit is often troubled leavened and overwhelmed within so that as when the water is bemuddied we are not able to see those little stones in the bottome which when clear we might do Thus it is here when the heart is moved with fear and grief when it is in sad commotions then it is no wonder if it judge erroneously anima sedendo quiescendo sit sapiens Let reason and wisdome or faith rather meet thy passionate heart as Abigal did David and this may prevent many sad things which prove a trouble to thee afterwards let it therefore be thy wisdome when thou art ready to give this censure and pass that sentence about thy affaires or Gods dealings with thee to stay till the heat and commotions of thy soul be over fear and anger and grief these are ill counsellours erect such a Tribunall in thy self as they say that of the Areopagite was no man was to move the affections by any Rhetoricall indeavours least thereby the judgement might be perverted 3. Therefore the godly may misjudge and conclude contrary to what God intendeth because of the want of that spirituall skill and wisdome which is requisite when we are to inquire or determine about Gods proceedings Clouds and darkness saith the Psalmist Psal 29. 7. are round about his pavilion and as his essence is a light that none can draw nigh unto so also his administrations do far exceed our naturall capacity and therefore we are not able to comprehend his counsell and wayes Now although this be so yet as the Scripture is a Directory to us how we are to conceive of his nature so it doth also teach us how we are to understand his actions The Scripture is a Key that doth in some particulars even open the deep things of God and as Sampson out of love did disclose to Dalilah such secret things that none else did or could know so setting aside many imperfections in the comparison doth God out of his love to his Church reveale to them wherein his strength lyeth how she may prevaile with him which way if she take she is sure to have good acceptance with him but to receive this there is a Heavenly wisdome and skill required When the Apostle 1 Cor. 2. 14 15 16. made a distinction between a naturall man and a spirituall as to their judgement and discerning for by the naturall man cannot be meant a weake Christian as a late Writer would have it which is the greater wonder because those of his way I mean the Arminians think they strongly conclude Paul doth not speak Rom. 7. in
the discriminating mercy of God he killeth and maketh alive he maketh poor and maketh rich So that all these things are distributed according to the wisdome and pleasure of God If so how then cometh it about that thou escapest such a misery and another doth not Afflictions rise not out of the dust neither doth preferment and honour God then giveth a cup of gladness and joy or a cup of gall and wormwood to drink off Now then look about thee and behold how many sit in darkness and have no light how many are bereaved of senses of their understandings and of all comforts even brought to be like Dives in hell asking for a drop of water and cannot obtain it but it is light in thy Goshen while darknesse with others Doth not this preventing mercy melt thy soul Art thou not made of brasse and iron if thy preservation from the miseries of others especially the damnable and sinfull wayes do not exceedingly move thee How canst thou carry such live coales in thy bosome as these thoughts are and not be wholly inflamed with them 3. Acknowledge this likewise That whatsoever God in justice might inflict upon thee and yet doth not therein is also preventing mercy It may amaze us to consider what objects of wrath and examples of Gods vengeance there have been in the world Cain was in the beginning of the world God made him like an Anatomy-lecture for all succeeding evil men to beware of his impieties Pharaoh also God saith of him For this cause have I raised thee up or as some contend I have kept thee alive in the midst of those many judgements that destroyed round about him Rom. 9. 17. Exod. 9. 16. Now let any thankfull godly heart meditate on these Histories Consider these examples Why wast not thou a Cain thou a Pharaoh Why should not God make thee an example of his wrath to be a pillar of salt to season others as well as others are to thee Oh the depths of this preventing mercy how incomprehensible and unsearchable are they Must not this astonish thee to think that whatsoever God in the way of wrath hath done to any man in the world the same God might have done to thee and no more have wronged thee than he did them Account this therefore upon the riches of his mercy that these things have not come upon thee Look upon all such mercies as priviledges and exemptions God doth otherwise with thee than many others he punisheth their sins he animadverteth their iniquities they are howling under his anger and thou art preserved It is true God is no accepter of persons and therefore Cain cannot expostulate with God why he did not make him Abel nor can Pharaoh complain of God because he was not David nor yet can Judas find fault with the Lord because he was not Peter because as Aquinas observeth well in things of meer bounty and liberality there cannot be any accepting of persons seeing that if no munificence to any at all were extended there was no cause of grievance And thus it is wholly with God he is no debtor nor obliged in any way of justice to man and therefore if he do what he pleaseth with his own Shall thy eye be evil because he is good So that God must needs be justified by these different dispensations onely thou whom the Lord doth thus spare and exempt from his way of wrath look upon it as so much mercy as if God had said to the damned in hell as he did to Lazarus in the grave Come forth 4. Not onely whatsoever God doth in a way of justice but also in a providential way which we call chance bring upon others and not upon thee this also is a preventing mercy We reade that if a man were cutting a tree and the Axes head fall off and kill another it is said The Lord delivered that man into his hand Exod. 21. 13. compared with Deut. 13. 19. Although to man there be such a thing as contingency and casualty such sad things fall out many times that no wisdom of man could fore-see yet in respect both of Gods knowledge and providence no thing is uncertain to God and therefore those casual things are as much under Gods providence as necessary things What can be more inconsiderable than an hair Yet not one of these fals from the head without Gods will This being so let a godly man but think with himself How many casual murders how many sudden and unexpected deaths have many met withall in the world What sad changes have been made in families in relations by some accidents that were never thought of yea it may be the like never fall out again Now then cast up thy accounts ô child of God see how much is owing to God in this very particular Count every such preventing mercy as much as a positive one 5. Whatsoever the frailty imbecillity and weaknesse of man would cast him into yet God keepeth thee from know this is a preventing mercy Man is such a poor infirm creature so many things are requisite to keep up life that we may wonder every man who goeth from home alive is not brought home dead at night How is it that this candle under so many puffs of wind is not extinguished How cometh this spark of fire to be kept in a sea of water So that thou mayest justly account every dayes life a resurrection from the dead Had man no other keeper or preserver than himself both in temporals and spirituals every moment he would die both in soul and body Say then O Lord my heart is affected my soul suffers violence within me If I had the tongue of men and Angels I could not exalt thy mercy according to the nature of it I look upon my self as brought out of the grave yea brought out of hell many times a day The Papists have an opinion about the Virgin Mary That she was borne in no original sinne nor ever committed any actual sinne and therefore say they when she called Christ her Redeemer that is by way of preservation not that she was actually redeemed from sinne but would necessarily have been if Christ had not preserved her This is an absurd and a foolish opinion Onely in the general we may say That Christ as he is a Redeemer to his people by actual deliverance so also by preservation Christ is a Saviour in that he preserveth thee from the sinnes thou wouldest have committed as well as those thou hast committed Yea all those iniquities thy heart thy temptations would have carried thee unto if God had not prevented thou art to blesse God for as well as the pardon of those sinnes actually committed by thee Fill thy soul therefore with the meditation of these things Say Lord what I am is a mercy what I am not is a mercy The removing of evil is a mercy the keeping of it off is likewise a mercy SERM. LXXVI Of the Necessity of Gods
continued yea often to be repeated such as pardon of sinne the daily quicknings and excitings of grace It is true some have of late affirmed that sinne is pardoned from eternity and that we cannot pray for the pardon of it onely we may for the sense and assurance of the pardon But it is absurd to think a sinne should be remitted before committed and therefore as we multiply to offend so God is said to multiply to pardon Do not therefore think it enough that God hath once sanctified thee once justified thee and therefore thou needest not the help and daily succour of Gods grace for if the same grace did not preserve and keep thee which did at first regenerate thee thou wouldst fall into thy old Chaos thou wast once in We do not therefore fall from grace because man of himself if absolutely considered cannot throw himself out of it but because Christ will loose none of his Members and therefore he keepeth them united to him Even as we see it is in regard of the world it is not enough that God did once make it but it is necessary he should conserve and uphold it as Heb. 1. he keepeth up all things by his power hence conservation is called a Creation and they require the same infinite power for the one as as the other Thus it is also in the work of grace in the whole conduct to salvation An infinite power an infinite love must begin continue and at last consummate Thus by these Reasons you see why God that hath delivered doth continue to deliver Use 1. To reprove that unthankfullness and unworthiness which is in most men It is God that daily continueth their mercies to them It 's he that upholds the world He that keeps up the meanes of grace and yet we take these things as if they were so many debts to us How little doth it enter into our hearts to think if God withdraw it if God give but a blast all the world is but as dust before him It is God that hath continued thy health thy strength to thee this day more this week more It 's God continueth thy relations alive had not he done thus all had been broken in pieces before this time Use 2. Doth God thus continue deliverances and mercies then take heed of abusing them to wantonness of not improving them faithfully for God if he continues thy health and life lay it out to the Author thereof if he continueth thy wealth and greatness let not the Devill and sinne have the fruit of it Oh how unjustifiable is it what curses and torments do we deserve if when God continueth our mercies we thereby serve the Devill if the Devill did create thee if the Devill did preserve thee if you did live and move in him then you might pay him out of his own But oh the patience of God that suffereth so many wretched sinners to advance the Devils Kingdome by those good gifts he hath given to them SERM. LXXVII Former Experience should be a sufficient Argument for future Confidence 2 COR. 1. 10. In whom we trust that he will yet deliver In this last Clause we have Pauls confidence in the power and goodness of God for the future bottomed upon his former and present deliverances for were it not the duty of a believer quietly to repose his soul with a firme trusting in the truth and goodness of God he could not live an hour or a day without perpetuall hesitation and anxiety about what might befall him In the words we have 1. His trust professed 2. The matter or object thereof The profession of his confidence is in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in whom we have hoped Erasmus rendreth in whom we have fixed hope in opposition to that vain moveable and uncertain hope which men have in earthly and transitory things we render it trusting though it be not the same word with that used in the 9. Verse But we told you that faith hath its trusting and hope hath its trusting and these two graces are of so near affinity that they are often put for one another and indeed they both denote some recumbency and resting of the soul upon him whom they trust or hope in So that as we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so also of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Tim. 5. 5. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 4. 10. Which words denote that hope doth alwayes carry along with it some affections and cordiall adhesion to God So that as we reject the Popish distinction of fides informis and formata we do also of spes informis and formata because the grace of hope doth sanctifie the soul for its respective operations as well as love doth to its proper actings Concerning the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Favorinus saith it differeth thus from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is applyed to the expectation of evill things as well as of God although in the Scripture it is hardly used any where but concerning good things Whereas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is only used of good things the word coming either of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to draw because the things hoped for do draw and allure the soul towards them Among the Latins sperare is sometimes for timere but that is very abusively spoken You see then whom Paul maketh the object of his hope and trusting even God alone So that we may not place our hope in the wisdome or power of men nor in Angels or Saints no not as instrumentall causes to procure us our good we need For a divine hope must have for the motive of it divine truth and goodness divine power and help as well as assenting faith must have divine revelation and authority Besides second causes though causatively concurring to such effects yet because they have both their esse and operari dependently from God and so do not help in and of themselves it is vain to trust in them 2. There is the object trusted for and that is a temporall deliverance For although God himself and eternall glory be the principall objects of our hope and trust yet temporall mercies may be the secondary and less principall as they relate and conduce to this eternall blessedness for some are only to hope for outward mercies as thereby our everlasting happiness may be advanced Now Paul by trusting in God for future deliverances doth thereby suppose that he shall alwayes be in dangers and that though once or twice delivered yet new temptations will assault him But though they do he is not disheartned The sense he hath had of Gods former mercies doth incourage him for the future for seeing God doth help his people because they are in misery because they are his and he stands engaged in promise to them These Reasons being perpetuall and alwayes the same no wonder if Gods mercies and deliverances likewise be continuall Observe That the
You may read how happily the Apostle conjoyneth them together Phil. 2. 12 13. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do It is true the enemies of Gods grace who detract from it in whole or in part do gladly imbrace this truth and compel it to go two miles further than it would They force it so much that blood cometh out in stead of milk As Austin while he writeth against Manichees Pelagians did take some expressions of his commending them exceedingly as that all sinne must be voluntary else it could not be a sinne c. as if he had been on their party Then on the other side when he did valiantly write against the Pelagians they branded him for a Manichee So hard a matter is it to defend truth which lieth between two extreams but while we set against one we are thought to draw nigh to another And thus it is in the Doctrine now observed while we maintain the necessity of our duty as well as Gods grace we are thought to go into the Papists quarters Again while against them we set up the grace and power of God excluding though not the duties and means God hath appointed yet the merit and causality of them we are thought to joyn with the Antinomians whereas indeed we have no affinity with either Let us therefore labour after that spiritual skill and discerning whereby we may be able to know what God doth and what we are to do yet so as not to take off in the least manner from the glory of God First Therefore consider That all the great spiritual mercies which God doth vouchsafe in time to his people have many things concurrent before they be accomplished It is not the presence of one thing alone can effect that mercy unless all be present I say it is thus with these spiritual priviledges God vouchsafeth in time For as for predestination which is an immanent act and the purpose of God from eternity to prepare for glory There is nothing at all concurrent to that but the meer good pleasure of his will The Scripture alwayes resolveth it into that alone but it is otherwayes with justification and glorification For to justification many things are required there is the grace of God as the efficient cause the blood of Christ as the meritorious cause and faith as the instrument the hysop to sprinkle this blood upon the soul Now till all these meet together a man is not justified God indeed hath decreed to justifie thee from all eternity but the actual justification of thy person is in this order and method So for glorification the kingdom of glory is said to be prepared for the godly viz. from eternity they were before the foundations of the world were laid elected to this everlasting happiness but an holy life and a godly conversation is the way thereunto No unclean thing can enter there This being so Hence in the second place It hath alwayes bred much confusion and errour in Doctrine to oppose these requisites one against another To argue from the inclusion of some to the exclusion of others if duty then no Christ if Christ then no duty The Antinomian he argueth If Christ by his blood made atonement for our sinnes if our iniquities were laid upon him then we are justified from that time in the sight of God before we do believe or repent Now whence ariseth this errour Because they consider not that as Christ is required in a meritorious way so also faith in an instrumental way And though Christ do more principally concurre to our justification yet faith is required by necessity of precept and means also Christ without faith doth not justifie no more than faith without Christ Hence they are put together Rom. 3. 25. Whom God hath sit out to be a propitiation through faith in his blood The Papist on the other side though the Scripture mentioneth not the word merit and satisfaction yet by their forced consequences they would establish such a Doctrine Now in the sense they and others plead for works notwithstanding all their subtil distinctions The Apostle argueth infallibly Rom. 11. If of grace then not of works and if of works then grace is no longer grace Though therefore some do more grosly then others set up works against Christ yet they become guilty of dishonouring him who give him not the sole glory of our redemption But you will say If Gods grace and our duty must go together if we must look to Christ for salvation and yet to holiness to prayer and repentance as the means conducing thereunto How may we be directed so to live as that we shall give all to the glory of Gods grace and his power and yet to act in the duties God hath commanded without any negligence therein For seeing that Satan is very busie in his temptations on both sides either to be careless of prayer and other ordinances because we are to give all to Christ or because they are necessarily required to put our trust and confidence in the performance of them it is good to be informed wherein the way is clear for a believers avoiding all dangers To answer this which will indeed explicate the whole nature of the Doctrine consider these particulars First Then thou mayest relie on Christ and yet be diligent in the use of all Ordinances when thou doest acknowledge all the power thou hast both in whole or in part to the very beginning of godliness to come alone from him When whatsoever thou art able to do thou doest confess it is his gift thou hast received it from him so that it is not thou that doest it not thy power thy strength but the gift of God alone Thus Phil. 4. 12 13. when he had mentioned that excellent frame of heart That he knew how to abound and how to want yea that he could do all things he mollifieth this presently by adding Christ He could do all things through Christ that strengthned him Here Paul doth put forth the life of grace but the fountain of it is Christ So again 1 Cor. 15. 10. I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me or in me exciting of me and giving me strength to do it The trumpet of grace is often in these acknowledgements 2 Cor. 3. 5. We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves He doth not say to do but not so much as to think And he doth not say great things or high things but any thing Not the least good thing in his ministerial way but our sufficiency is of God Therefore to curb the insolency of such proud thoughts as if we cou'd do any thing of our selves see with what authority he speaketh 1 Cor. 4. 7. Who maketh thee to differ from another And what hast thou that thou diast not receive
we not to have done it 4. One chief motive which is to put us upon all holy obedience unto God is Thankfulness There are two great and principal parts of Divinity the one is De gratià Dei of the grace of God and the other De gratitudine hominis of mans thankfulnes There are indeed several reasons why we are commanded to abound in holy works but one of them is thereby to testifie our thankfulnes to God that though we cannot do anything to merit at his hands though Christ as Mediator hath purchased all spiritual priviledges so that we cannot do any holy duty as a cause to procure them yet to manifest our thankfulnes to God we are ready with delight to do his will 5. A thanksgiving heart is the most proper and sutable disposition to the Gospel dispensation wherein grace doth in so many wonderfull effects demonstrate it self Now praise doth properly answer to free grace and love Eph. 1. 16. Gods predestination and his adoption it is That we should be to the praise of the glory of his grace These new songs should alwayes be in our mouths And again v. 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory So that if you say Why did God predestinate thee It is to his praise Why doth he convert It is to his praise Thus he adopts he justifieth that we might be only to his praise Thus 1 Pet. 2. 9. we are a chosen generation a peculiar people that we should shew forth his praises The children then of free grace must be the children of praises and thanksgivings unto God Every power of the soul every part of the body should be a tongue as it were to glorifie God Were we more affected with the depth breadth and length of this grace of God we should be more abounding in this duty of blessing God David cals his tongue his glory though some apply it to the soul because of this work Lastly If we praise not God when mercies are obtained by prayer it discovereth a rotten and insincere heart It argued thou never didst pray for mercies upon right grounds to glorifie God to be thereby more instrumental in our service of him but only for our own ends and our own necessities For he that prayeth spiritually will praise God cheerfully he will more rejoyce in the favour of God because God heareth his prayers then the benefit obtained If then thou neglectest this duty of thanksgiving thou discoverest a prophane earthly heart that thou preferrest the mercy desired above the glory and honour of God and therefore it will be just with God never to hear thy prayers more For thankfulness is the only way to preserve mercies and to have more added SERM. LXXXII God is the fountain of all our Mercies they are his Gifts and why 2 COR. I. II. That for the gift bestowed upon us THe second part in order to be treated of is The Object matter for which or that for which Paul would have solemne thanksgiving after such solemn prayer The gift bestowed upon us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This temporal deliverance he calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it came from the favour of God not from any merits or deserts in Paul Some make a difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was applied onely to the common gifts of Gods Spirit especially those which Divines call Dona ministrantia Gifts of service and the Schools Gratiae gratis datae and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the grace and favour of God in a special manner or to the effect thereof which is inherent grace in the soul These graces are called Dona sanctificantia Gifts that doe truely sanctifie those that have them The Schooles falsly call them Gratiae gratum facientes But though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be often applied to such common spirituall gifts as 1 Cor. 12. alibi Yet sometimes we must thereby understand sanctifying grace and justifying grace Rom. 5. 16. Rom. 11. 28. And indeed if we will make any difference it seemeth to be this rather that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Effect and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Cause as Rom. 12. 6. Having gifts according to the grace that is given to us Hence it is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is generally translated gift in the New Testament So Favorinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that what the Scripture other where calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jac. 1. 17. Act. 8. 21. Psal 1. 17. it may be the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely it doth properly signifie such a gift as maketh to the publick and spiritual advantage of the Church onely in this Text it may have the general signification and the special The general Paul's Deliverance was a temporal gift It was a mercy in these outward things a preservation from death either violent as the common exposition you heard is or from natural For Baldwin the Lutheran Expositor thinketh it may well enough be understood of some desperate sicknesse Paul was afflicted with Howsoever this outward mercy of preservation is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it may have also the special signification of a Paul's life and preservation was a gift in this sense for hereby his ministerial labours might be more successefull But this latter consideration will come in in the close of this verse Let us take notice of the general one Paul's life and preservation it is a gift From whence observe That not onely spiritual mercies which are above natural causes but even our ordinary temporal enjoyments are the gift of God It 's not Gods gift onely to sanctifie us to justifie us but to give us our health our food our preservation so that we live wholly upon the meer bounty of God we are all so many Almes-men the world is an Almes-house Man doth not or cannot obtaine the least mercy with his owne wisdom and power without the blessing of God This is a necessary truth For we look more upon these ordinary mercies as the fruit of our own labour than as Gods meer free gift The Apostle Jam. 1. 17. saith Every good gift is from God Every gift whether natural or supernatural what have we that we have not received is true both in nature and grace For although in the sense that Pelagians did it was very erroneous to confound Creation and Nature with grace yet in this respect we may say That Creation and Preservation is of the grace and favour of God because he communicated of his goodnesse to the creature onely from his meer favour But to speake after the Scripture-language onely those spiritual favours and Church-priviledges which conduce to eternal blessednesse are called The grace of God So that health life and other mercies though they be The gifts of God yet are not called The grace of God However
of heart whereby we are enabled to know our condition is alwayes accompanied with a godly filial and holy fear That fear which is so often commanded in Scripture and with which we are to worke out our salvation Phil. 2. 12. It is true there is a slavish and servile feare tormenting us with daily doubts and this is properly expelled by this knowledge of our sincerity and there is no greater enemy to an Evangelical and Gospel life which is in faith peace and joy in the holy Ghost then these tormenting doubts about our selves And therefore the Papists who teach and encourage these doubtings under the colour of humility do thereby drive us from Christ Yea Luther said If there were no other cause then this we had ground enough to depart from the Church of Rome But though this Ishmael must be cast out yet not Isaac too There is a lawfull fear whereby as children we reverence God are afraid of any frowne from him and doe thereby diligently attend to all those duties he hath commanded and this is necessary to beget a true knowledge of our upright hearts and by this that rash presumption of Epicures of impenitent and secure sinnes is wholly excluded for they doe in a presumptuous manner indulge themselves in all sinnes having no holy fear in the godly use of all those means God hath commanded Fourthly To enable the soul of a believer thus to know and be assured of its sincerity there is above all required The helpe of Gods Spirit For the Texts above-mentioned doe attribute it to the Spirit of God dwelling in us whereby we come to know what God hath wrought in us It 's the Spirit of God which helpeth our infirmities in prayer and doth seale and witnesse unto us that we are the children of God Therefore though a godly mans soul be as fully bespangled with graces as the firmament with starres yet if the Spirit of God enable not to discerne of these we are in daily fluctuations of spirit As Hagar had a fountain of water by her but she was ready to perish with thirst till God opened her eyes to see it And as the Prophets man could not behold that great company which was on his side till his eyes were inabled thereunto so neither do we know what are the gracious workings of Gods Spirit in us without this sealing witnesse of Gods Spirit But of this more largely when we come to the 22th verse in this Chapter Now when all these are concurrent together Doth the godly soul with a certaine knowledge conclude that it is in a state of grace and so justified with God Whether this be a knowledge of faith or of sense or mixed of both is disputed But it seemeth to be the later For as faith in the assenting act is carried out to principles clearly revealed in the Word And then secondarily to conclusions by good and sure consequence deduced from them So is faith in the fiducial actings of it to the promises as laid downe in the general and then to the same as particularly applied So that faith and experience concurre to make up this certaine knowledge a glorious and rare priviledge For because men doe live so dissolutely and carelesly because they doe so little exercise themselves in holinesse and close walking with God therefore they thinke such a thing is impossible Yea because the people of God are so sensible of their infirmities and constant weaknesses they think it is no duty but sinfull presumption to believe any such thing concerning themselves But in the next place we are to shew you that it it is a duty which we ought to presse after SERM. LXXXVIII Of the Impediments which keep us from Assurance Commands for it and Cautions about it 2 COR. 1. 12. The testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity c. THe next thing to be pursued concerning the Doctrin already observed viz. That a believer may certainly know that he doth not onely do the duties God requireth but also that he doth them with a sincere and single heart The manner as well as the matter is manifested to him is to shew our duty herein that we are bound by Gods command not to rest till we come to some assured knowledge herein Therefore of all the Questions in Divinity thou art to study to exercise thy self most in this Whether doest thou know that thou art in a state of grace that thou art no hypocrite no self-deluded wretch in the wayes of Religion but that thou hast sincerity and truth in the inward parts How much more advantagious would it be to Christians if they studied the resolution of this case more It is strange that many can spend their time in disputes about either unnecessary things or too sublime for their capacities or such Questions that they are not concerned in And as for this which is the main fundamental one as to their particulars be wholly negligent about it Certainly a good resolution herein is of so great importance that we may wonder that we do not lay all other studies aside yea bid all other businesses stand alooff off till the Spirit of God upon sure grounds hath perswaded us herein If your temporal estate were questioned if all your livelihood were called into question and it began to be doubtfull whether the estate you enjoy were your own by the right of the Laws or no especially if others did sollicite and indeavour to take it from you Would not this make you runne and ride night and day till you had obtained such firm evidences that all your adversaries could not invalidate How then cometh it about that we will thus desperately put the state of our souls to a venture if I be regenerated I am regenerated if but a temporary believer I am no more I will put it to the event let it fall out how it will Oh the sad blindnesse and heavy judgements of men in this particular and yet thou that livest thus doubtfully and wilt die thus doubtfully How uncertain is thy life What a bubble and vapour art thou Oh remember that the time is coming that a godly ability to answer thy self in this doubt and temptation will be more worth then all the world when thou art to be snatched from this world to enjoy the comforts thereof no more when thou apprehendest thy self summoned by death to stand at Gods Tribunal where grace and only grace through the blood of Christ will be a sure plea. What agonies what perplexities what confusions will be upon thy soul If thou criest out then Oh I know not what I am what will become of me whether I am going Live I must not die I dare not Oh that I could hear a voice from Heaven immediately witnessing unto me that my spiritual estate is safe and good Be sure that of all the Questions in the world you will one day be put most to answer this Not so much what knowledge
because none believe enough none love enough none are heavenly enough Several wayes the best Hearers may grow First In the amplitude of their knowledg They may know more things in Christianity than they did for seing we know but in part 1 Cor. 13. this light in our mind may still encrease more and more not indeed in more necessaries and Fundamentalls for then none could be saved because still ignorant of some Fundamental or other but in the Additionalls and Superstructures which have also a special use and efficacy to carry on the work of Salvation Even a Godly man may live in many Errors in many sinnes and not know them to be so as we see in many Ages when clearer light hath discovered that to be Superstition and a dishonour to God which was accounted once the great onour due unto him When God dispelled the Egyptian darkness of Popery from of the face of the face of the Church their Image-Worship their Indulgences their vowed Obedience and poverty which were admired as such eminent acts of Religion were manifested to be contemptible as having no foundation upon the Scripture and also very injurious to the Offices of Christ and in how many things do the best of men still continue ignorant and therefore with David though he had more understadding than his teachers are to pray that God would open their eyes that they might understand the wonderfull things of Gods law Psal 119. 18 Davids eyes were opened yet they must be opened more all the scales are not fallen from his eyes and therefore the Apostle prayeth for those Ephesians whose understandings were already enlightened Ephes 1. 17. that their eyes might yet be more opened and that God would give unto them the spirit of wisdome and revelation in the knowledg of him 2. By the Ministry they are to grow in the efficacy and experimental power of their knowledg For these two differ exceedingly men may grow much in speculative knowledg understand controversies in Divinity and dispute much about the Doctrines of the times that are agitated but unless a man grow in the savoury power of it he is but a tinkling cymbal if he do notgrow in the love of the truth if that knowledg doth not make him more pure more sanctified more reformed this will turn to his greater condemnation Therefore Tit. 1. 1. It s called the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness Savanarola Hom. 3. p. 29. bringeth a distruction of Divinity out of Aquinas to this purpose a man may know a thing saith he either per modum studii or per modum inclinationis men may know many things by way of study in Divinity and yet not have the least knowledg of them by way of inclination to love and delight in them May not a man have obtained much discoursive knowledg about Christ in respect of his Person and Offices as to be able to confute Arrians and Socinians yet be far from that heavenly inclination which Paul found in himself to know nothing but Christ crucified and to judg all things dung and dross in comparison of this knowledg That knowledg then which doth bring a savoury tast and experimental inclination to the good things we know that is to be imbraced that we are to grow in more every day He that knoweth a Country or a City by a Map cannot be so affected as he that hath really seen it 3. We may by the Ministry have a continued benefit in respect of the firmness and strength of our faith It is noted sometimes of the Disciples that upon some miracle that was wrought by our Sauiour that then they believed Not but that they did so before onely their Faith was then more strengthened and confirmed and truly this firmness of Faith this steadfastness of it is a precious Antidote against all fickle and sceptical Opinions Men do not grow in Faith but fancy and that maketh inconstancy in Religion How can a man be a Martyr for Christs truth now can he lose all he hath rather than deny it unless he have this quieting and satisfying work of Faith upon the soul Hence Faith is called Heb. 11. 1. The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Those two words substance and evidence do denote the great power that Faith ought to have upon the soul Again this firmness of Faith is not onely seen in dogmatical Assent but in in fiducial Application of the Promises to our selves in which sense it is said twice or thrice The just shall live by his faith Such are the weak actings of our Faith so strong are our temptations so supernatural and mysterious is this way of believing that all have cause to cry out with the Apostles Lord increase our faith Lastly The best hearers need the Ministry for increase in Godliness to grow in grace more Thus the Apostle writeing to those whom he supposeth as converted already yet exhorteth to put off the old man and put on the new To be renewed in the spirit of their minde Epes 4. 23. 24. And our Saviour prayeth for the Apostles even in that Prayer wherein he acknowledgeth that they had believed and received the word of God That they were not of the world John 17. 17 That God would sanctifie them by his word which is to be understood of the progress therein There is no Doctrine so practically opposite to the Scripture as that of Perfection for every where the Godly are commanded to grow to be mortifying the body of sin to be perfecting holiness which were ridiculous Exhortations if we had already attained Perfection Hence we are compared to those who run in a race and therefore till death do not come to our prize Thus where the Minister may have little to do in respect of Conversion it may have very much to do in respect of Edification And the Godly are to Examine whether every Sabbath day the Minister doth not come with a new benefit a new advantage to them look for a new grace and favour in every new Sermon And so we proceed to the Use which is of Instruction What all people should look at under the Ministry Spiritual advantages spiritual light spiritual heat spiritual quickenings As where Christ went up and down he healed their diseased people so where the word of God is preached it should heal soul-diseases Thou art not to have the Pride the passions the worldly cares as thou usest to have but oh how rare are such Hearers who aimeth at this who prayeth for this in every Sermon he heareth Oh fear least some spiritual judgment upon thee deprive thee of this benefit If an Israelite had looked upon the Brazen serpent and yet not be healed If a diseased person had stepped first in order into the Pool of Bethesda and yet not have been recovered they would have been greatly troubled to see their hopes frustrated No less ought it to make thee grieve and tremble
but predictions yet the very tenour of them doth evidence it Now these do not suppose but work all conditions and qualifications in us for other mercies for it would be absurd to say God promiseth to give us faith if we do beleeve or to renew and change our wils if we will These absolute promises then are the executions of his decrees of grace and salvation upon the Elect. But then there are conditional promises and such are the promises of pardon to the beleever of eternal glory to him that is godly only you must know that they are conditions only in a large sence they are more properly called qualifications and determinations of those who are thus to be justified and saved faith indeed in our justification hath a peculiar notion of being an instrument or supernaturall means to lay hold on Christ and is not to be called a condition when we speak exactly You see then that there is no ground for licentiousnesse and dissolutenesse to venture all upon the gracious promises of God for they are determined and specified by such qualifications who shall have either pardon here or salvation hereafter Only you must know that when we call them conditionall promises the meaning is not as if we had power of our own to fullfill these conditions and so the promises remain suspense till we perform them no these conditions we are enabled to accomplish by the grace of God they are his gifts as well as our duties so that there are no conditions required of us which also we are not enabled unto by the grace of God that all may glory in Gods grace and not in themselves and therefore God hath appointed an order between his gracious gifts this godâ—nesse is for happinesse holinesse is for glory faith is for justification and if we speak exactly we cannot so well say Gods promises are conditionall as the things promised may be conditions to one another by Gods appointment Lastly There may be good reasons assigned why God is pleased thus to promise he might have given and never have made any promise at all but before he is pleased to bestow the actuall benefits he is pleased to give us many sure and gracious promises that he will do such things for us in time The reasons may be First Because hereby God would exercise our faith and teach us to live upon him only for when we cannot see any possibility in second causes when they with Sarah have a dead womb yet because of Gods promise we shall keep up our hearts as Abraham did Why is it then that the promises of God are in no more esteem and request with us were it not for them how many times might thy heart break Yea to put our faith to greater experiment hence it is that though he hath promised such things yet his providences seem to crosse all and after Gods promise as it was in the Israelites deliverance all things seem to be more unlikely than before A second Reason for I shall instance in no more may be to teach us humility and thankefulnesse acknowledging Gods promise alone to be the fountain of all the good we enjoy by the promise we are regenerated by the promise we are justified by the promise we are glorified we are what we are only by the promise hence all the godly are said with Isaac to be the children of the promise Gal. 4. 28. by the promise we had our spirituall being and by the promise we are Preserved in it but this deserveth more improvement SERM. CXXV A further Discovery of the Nature and Sorts of Gods Promises 2 COR. 1. 20. For all the promises of God are in Christ Yea and Amen c. OUr work is to enlarge more upon this usefull and necessary subject viz. The promises of God And In the first place we may give in divisions of the Promises or the distribution of them as there are Legal Promises and Evangelical Promises the ignorant confusion whereof hath caused much mischief in the Church of God The Legal Promise is nothing but the Covenant of works contained in that expression Do this and live For as they are cursed who continue not in all things that the Law requireth So again they are blessed and eternal life is promised to all such who perfectly obey the Law of God By this promise God dealt with Adam And although God never transacted with man when fallen by this way of promise yet he was pleased to have the Doctrine of the Law in its full perfection manifested to the people of Israel but in an Evangelical intention that so the Israelites being humbled under their utter impotency and inability ever to performe it might make their earnest applications unto Christ for help and succour For what was impossible by the Law through our weaknesse Christ made possible through his obedience Now this Legal Promise the Jewes generally attended unto neglecting the Evangelical consideration of promises in Christ The promises to works made unto Adam are not intended in this Text they were not Yea and Amen seeing there was no need of a Mediator if Adam had not fallen onely now all the promises of grace become firme and sure in him But naturally we regard the Legal promise more than Evangelical What labour did the Apostle shew to bring the Jewes off from the Covenant of works And whence is that Pharisaical and Popish principle of self-righteousnesse but because we trust in our works and not in the promise So that it is an excellent proficiency in Christianity when persons are taken off from being Legal to be Evangelical when they doe not slavishly relie upon their works done but filially depend upon the promise The Apostle doth excellently and at large declare the difference between these two Galat. 3. and 4. Chapters It is strange that any should desire to be under the Law rather than the promise yet all Pharisaical Justiciaries are propense that way What is this but to desire to be under a curse and perpetual malediction Whereas the Evangelical promise is like the City of refuge to the pursued malefactour It is better than Jonah's gourd against the scorching heat of Gods wrath because of sinne for no worme can arise and consume this So that the Evangelical promise being wholly of free-grace God thereby pardoning us freely sanctifying us freely justifying us freely is like the Land of promise flowing with milk and honey It 's to 〈◊〉 is promise that every humbled sinner must look as the Israelites stung did upon the brazen srepent Let therefore the people of God look more to the promise without them They poreupon their own hearts they perplex themselves with many doubts and feares but if thou didst consider what an Evangelical Promise meaneth this would be like oyle poured into thy wounds when temptations aggravated by Satan have left thee not so much halfe dead as halfe damned In the next place Promises are divided in respect of their
of God like Peters Angel doth break up all the strong bars of any prison we are in any difficulty we are afflicted with As Dalilah gathered Sampson loved her when he would manifest where his strength was so may we assure our selves of Gods love to us by revealing his promises oh if you bring the promises you binde the hands as it were of the Almighty he can do nothing against his promises when therefore any thoughts of Gods Majesty of Gods purity and holinesse may affright thee run to his promise and as the people of Israel when amazed under the terrible lightnings and thundrings at Gods presence in giving the Law cried out Let not God speak any more to us but Moses so do thou let not thy Majesty speak thy Justice speak thy Holinesse speak but thy Promise let that speak and we will hear Lastly The freenesse of Gods grace is made very glorious and resplendent in the promises of grace Free-grace is more than love or goodnesse and bounty for Adam while in the state of integrity had those but free-grace is only where a miserable and hopelesse sinner is Now to such an one belong only curses and threatnings when therefore in stead of a threatning like a roaring lion to devour thee thou meetest with a gracious promise to embrace thee this must needs rejoyce thy heart Go to the spring head of every promise and thou wilt finde it to be alone free-grace The Scripture useth these Arguments as equivalent to have a thing by grace to have it by a promise and to have it by faith for grace is the originall and fountain Promises are on Gods part the active and communicative means faith on our part is the receptive and applicative so that when we enjoy any mercy by Gods promise thereby is excluded all works and all boasting and thus God is altogether exalted and man debased Again if we come to the second particular there we shall see how that our Amen subscribed to the promises or our firm beleeving in them doth give glory to God and this is the more to be pressed because we are apt to have low thoughts of faith as we see in Popery where Charity is far preferred before it and withall to beleeve is accounted an easie thing Thus also the Papists charge us as if we made the way to heaven a broad way because we say they must beleeve that is the soul and life of all And further it is good to presse this because the people of God look upon faith as was hinted before only as their ease not as bringing any glory to God Hence though they never doubt whether they should repent of sinne or love God yet they do very much doubt about their duty of beleeving Now all this preposterousnesse ariseth from the want of consideration in this particular that Faith giveth glory to God as well as procureth mercies to our selves yea to beleeve in the promise is the great and signall eminent way of giving glory to God First because by beleeving in Gods promises we thereby proclaim our dependance upon him in all things that we live both spiritually and corporally upon him only so that faith in this consideration is the great duty of the first commandment That requireth us we should have no other Gods besides him Thus faith doth it taketh off from all supports of sence of second causes of all humane advancements and setleth us upon the promise of God alone Now must not this needs give glory to God when God alone is set up no creature no other help is looked upon This is that which maketh faith in the promises so difficult because it is so hard to be weaned from the breasts of the creature we know not how to swimme without these bladders Though we have ten thousand promises to support us yet one crosse providence doth more to unsettle us then all these promises to confirm and quiet us Some have observed that all the letters in the Name Jehovah are literae quiefcentes teaching us thereby to rest our souls alone upon him it may be that is too curious howsoever faith may be called the acquiescent or quietative grace therefore to beleeve in the promises is to give glory to God Secondly By beleeving in the promises we glorifie God because hereby we manifest him to be truth it self the supream and infallible truth Therefore the Scripture maketh the contrary to this a very hainous sinne highly dishonouring God as when it is said John 3. 33. He that receiveth the testimony of Christ which is by faith hath set to his seal that God is true Then on the contrary he that doth not receive it he setteth to his seal that God is a lyar Oh execrable blasphemy so much unbeleef is so much giving the lye to God and if this be so hainous a sinne then beleeving doth God as much honour And truly it must be unpardonable if we who do upon a mans promise rest our selves contented and never doubt of the performance especially when a just and honest man that we should not much rather rely upon God of whom the Scripture saith It is impossible he should lye Thirdly Herein doth beleeving in Gods promise so exceedingly glorifie God because it exalteth that Evangelicall way of our justification and salvation which God above all things purposed for his own glory The works of Creation are for the demonstration of Gods glory Whether we eat or drink we are to do all for the glory of God But the way of mans salvation is in a more signall and eminent manner ordered for Gods glory This is the mystery that hath astonished all the world This is that glorious truth which the Angels desire to search into more and more Now by faith this glory of God is published and acknowledged Take the despairing sinner look upon the damned in hell do they give God the glory of his grace and of his wisedom and mercy Do they with cordiall ravishments speak of the unsearchable riches of Gods grace in Christ No they cannot do it therefore the Beleever only is he who giveth God the glory due to him for all Gospel-wayes and all Evangelicall Priviledges Therefore hath God exalted Faith above all its fellow-graces because that above all graces doth give God the glory due to him Indeed in the state of Integrity their love of God had the preheminence as it shall also have in Heaven but in the state of grace there Faith hath the Excellency God hath taken off the royal Crown from that Vasthi and put it upon this Esther this despicable grace as it were and which hath no Pomp at all in it Only as it is said of Christ who being poor made many rich So this poor grace doth not onely enrich us but every way advanceth the Glory of God Insomuch that from the unbeleever God hath no more glory than if he had never sent his Sonne into the world No more
glory than if there were no promise no grace no mercy and pardon Let not then the People of God have low thoughts of Faith No thou dost more in beleeving and bâ—ingest more glory to God thereby than thou couldest do by all thy other obedience Shouldest thou mortifie sinne to thy desire Shouldest thou dye a Martyr for the Cause of God thou wouldest not so glorifie God as thou dost by beleeving I know this seemeth very Paradoxall to the humbled sinner I know he is difficultly perswaded that by trusting in God he doth thus glorifie God but if thou understandest the Scripture-way then thou wilt quickly see as to beleeve is the most difficult duty so it is the most consequentiall for Gods glory And indeed what have other Duties admirable in them that Faith it self in the Promise hath not in beleeving the understanding is mortified in beleeving the will is crucified in beleeving the Heart and Affections are martyred So that faith maketh a man to be offered up as an whole burnt-offering unto God Use of Instruction That the onely way to make a man live a joyfull life in himself and a glorifying life of God is by faith in the Promises This is that Faith by which a just man is said to live so that thy doubts thy fears thy unbeleeving thoughts these bring a dishonour to God these reproach the Gospel-way these obscure the honour of Christ Let then the godly soul take heed how it giveth way unto such temptations if your own consolation if the glory of God be dear unto you then bolt out unbeleef No wonder if the devil that is so great an enemy to the glory of God doth assault your souls most in this if he have broken down this part of the wall what legions of other sinnes may not he bring with them For this reason many Divines say Sola infidelit as damnat which is not to be understood as if other sinnes were not meritorious of damnation yea and did actually damn only that opposeth the Physician that would heal us that refuseth the atonement that is made for us Secondly As the Promises are thus to be improved for Gods glory by beleeving so also attend to another effect which the Scripture doth inferre from them and that is to cleanse our selves to be every day perfecting holinesse For so the Apostle notably exhorts us 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having these Promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit Promises are no waies incentives to sinne or encouragements to evil works No but a strong antidote against them Neither is faith in them a light superficiall assent swimming upon the heart as a fowl in the water said Luther but as water calefied doth no more manifest its own coldnesse but the heat of the water so doth faith fermentate and leaven the whole soul of a man that humane things do not so much appear as divine things in him As the Apostle expresseth the energy of it when he said I no longer live but Christ in me and that life is by faith in the Son of God Gal. 2. 20. Thou then that sayest all thy trust is in the Promises thou hopest in them for mercy and pardon Are they cleansing Promises purifying Promises Do they perfect holinesse every day in thee through the fear of God SERM. CXXIX Our Settlement and establishment in the faith of the Promises is the gracious work of God alone 2 COR. 1. 21. Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God THe Apostle having formerly spoken of his constancy and unchangeableness in the preaching of the Gospel lest this should be attributed to his own power he informeth them who is the fountain of this strength even God himself For the Apostle doth upon all occasions delight to exalt grace having experimentally found the mighty work of it upon his own soul Or we may make the coherence this The Apostle in the verse preceding spake of the certainty of Gods Promises in themselves they were in themselves Yea and Amen which is called certitudo objecti though some learned men think that it is not a proper expression Now in this Verse he cometh to the certitudo subjecti or to show whence it is that the children of God have this assured perswasion in their own hearts that they are true and constant whence it is that we are able to give our Amen as a note of confirmation to them and therefore in the words we may take notice of The blessed and happy Effect it self and that is 1. Confirmation he which stablisheth 2. The Subject of this us with you 3. The Object in whom in Christ 4. The efficient Cause of this is God 5. The Illustration of this Establishment by a threefold Similitude of anointing sealing and giving the earnest 6. By whom God doth this and that is by his Spirit as it followeth in the next verse So that in these two Verses is the proper seat of that excellent and precious Doctrine Which is The assuring and sealing of the Spirit of God that is given unto Believers But I begin with the First It is God that establisheth us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though we render it now yet some make it causal for he that stablisheth us c. and that seemeth more probable The Greek word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Varinus maketh the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the Adjective 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used by the Apostle 2 Pet. 1. 10. is made the same by Hesychius with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which cannot be shaken or altered this word is sometimes used of the Doctrine of Christ when that was confirmed and made sure by miracles or otherwise Mark 16. 20. Thus an oath is said to be the confirmation of the end of a strife Heb. 6. 16. or else of persons as here in the Text and Col. 2. 7. stablished in the Faith which being used passively denoteth that this strength and power we have cometh from God only That we of our selves are like reeds shaken with every winde It is the grace of God that maketh us pillars in his Church So that from the Text we may observe That our establishing and confirming in the faith of the promises is alone the gracious work of God Though the Promises be never so lovely and precious though never so profitable and necessary for us yet we are not able to rest our selves upon them but by the power of God strengthening us Our hearts do so quake and tremble with the consideration of our own sinnes and unworthiness that unless the Lord make it stedfast and immoveable we are tossed up and down like the leaves of a tree That it is God alone who doth thus preserve and confirm us is plain by that notable place 1 Pet. 5. 10. where the Apostle prayeth that God who had called them would make
so Is this lawfull To which Suarez answereth Disput. de Juramento saying That it is not onely an improper and absurd speech but also very ungodly and highly wicked It is improper and absurd for it confounds a vow with an oath A vow is not properly used to confirme a thing for that is the nature of an Oath But if there were impropriety onely in it that were not so hainous but it is abominable irreverence making such things the object of a vow which are light and triviall And thereupon some conclude There is more prophanenesse and irreverence in it then in using an oath yea they say it is a very great Oath But then secondly The great Question is Whether these expressions in faith and by faith are oaths or not To which I say First When there is a doubt and dispute whether such a forme of speech be an Oath then the safest way for thy conscience is to abstaine from expressions as the Apostle argueth Romans 14. Whatsoever is done doubting is a sinne If then there be a dispute and that amongst learned men Whether in faith for most grant by faith to be one be an Oath Is it not farre better for thee to leave off such forme of words If there were nothing but the scandall to others it is a just cause to make thee avoid such expressions So that the disputes about the thing is argument enough to make thee leave these words there being no necessity to use them But in the second place lest you might say Perhaps they are some Precisians and Doctors of that strictnesse that may thinke in faith to be Oaths Even amongst the Popish Authours there are those who judge so Onely they distinguish about faith What faith doe you meane say they when you say in faith If the Christian faith that is a sacred thing and so it 's an Oath if a moral faith that is nothing but humane veracity or a civil faith as we may call it the faith of a Nobleman or Gentleman then they say it is no Oath But who is there that saith in faith doth consider what faith he meaneth Nay some perhaps if they were asked that Question could not tell how to answer it Onely because not onely men of the greater ranke but of the inferiour sort doe use that expression and because they doe it for further confirmation it is to be presumed that they meane the Christian faith and if so according to some Popish Authours it is an Oath Neither is that any thing considerable to say we doe not use the Preposition by we doe not say by faith but in faith as Soto the Papist saith To say by faith is an Oath but not to say in faith For Suarez an acuter Jesuite saith Disp. de Juram That such an exception is vaine and that by faith and in faith is all one Neither doth the Preposition make an Oath We conclude then that in faith as well as by faith are Oaths It 's true Doctor Ames opinion is That in faith is no more than an asseveration Onely he addeth We must abstaine from the Preposition by But as I said in and by are all one in this case And if you say Why should in faith be more an Oath than in deed or in sincerity To this Doctor Sanderson giveth a considerable answer De Juram Praelect 1. Sect. 8. he maketh foure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or markes by which we may discover some formes of speech to be Oaths and one of them is The custome and use of the Countreyes language where we live So that although it may fall out that if we doe regard the words there is no reason why one should be not an Oath more than another yet the custome and use of the Countrey must carry it because words doe not signifie naturally but by meere institution So that as that may be money in one Countrey which may not be in another Thus that expression may signifie an Oath in one Countrey which doth not in another We grant therefore that if we doe respect the meere words there is no argument can be given why in deed should not be an Oath as well as in faith but the custome of speech in this Land at least amongst those who are more sober and desire to feare an Oath is to judge of it as an Oath And no doubt but those that use it doe for the most part intend so Yea why doe many use that expression in faith but because they would not be thought too precise For by this they would be distinguished from others who are more strict This is the Shibboleth as it were by which they would be notified Besides it is a Rule amongst Casuists That Juramentum est stricti juris because of the danger that may be therein And Quando verbum est ambiguum praesumendum est in salutem animae It being better if we doe erre to abstain from words that may be an Oath than to venture upon them because of our particular perswasion I shall therefore conclude this with that Authour above-mentioned He that while he doth attend onely to the forme or force of words indulgeth himselfe in a liberty of using such expressions in his common discourse without any choice or scruple which by long use have obtained with us the esteeme of an Oath doth violate the command of Christ concerning not swearing giveth a scandall to his brother and exposeth himselfe to the danger of perjury This is very good and grave counsell Therefore whatsoever the Dispute may be about these termes whether oaths or not let him who loveth his soule who would not give a just scandal to his brother and is knowne by his character that he feareth an Oath with all diligence and circumspection avoid such expressions for the future SERM. CXLII It is lawfull in some Cases to swear how and when it is thus lawfull 2 COR. 1. 23. Moreover I call God to record upon my soul c. THe definition of an oath being delivered we now come to satisfie that party which holdeth an oath is absolutely unlawfull under the Gospel as also to shew you how it is lawfull and when it is lawfull that so common swearers may be ashamed and confounded to see what guilt they daily bring upon themselves and yet never lay it to heart As for those who have abstained from an oath as unlawfull we finde the sect of Essen's among the Jews reckoned by learned men as remarkable This sect was at the same time with the Pharisees and Sadduces whose manners and way Josephus relateth at large yet say some our Saviour did not reprove their superstitions because they lived solitary in places remote from Towns and commerce of men Eusebius upon a mistake doth suppose them to be Christians Now their opinion was that it did not beseem a man to swear They thought a mans word should be as firm as an oath yet that they were not absoluely a-against swearing
against Christ 2. T is the grace of God◠alone that can open this door 3. Sometimes Ministers are called to a people of small hopes 4. A Ministers hope of doing good should be guided by the Word Reasons why a Ministers hope of doing good should be matter of of joy to him 1. The End of his Ministry is accomplished A constant Ministry is necessary to every Church And that for these Ends 1. To informe against Errors 2. To reform the corruptions that are in mens lives 3. To comfort the godly 4. To edifie and strengthen them How believers may and are to grow 1. In knowledg 2. In the experimental power of their knowledge 3. In Faith 4. In Grace 'T is the duty of all Christians especially Ministers to lay out themselves for the glory of God 1. For all Christians 1. There is none but have talents to be improved 2. All lawfull actions may be improved for Gods glory 3. Christians should often meditate upon the ultimate end of all their actions 2. Especially it belongs to Ministers What is required to enable us to do all things for Gods glory 1 A converted soul 2 A publick spirit 3. Heavenlyn indedness 4. Fervency and zeal The office of the Apostle and ordinary Pastors differs in that the one had an universal the other a particular charge 1. The Apostles had commission to preach to all Nations 2. Yet the office of the Apostles did virtually contain all other 3. The Apostles had in their office something ordinary and something extraordinary 5. Though a Pastor is ordinarily to reside amongst his flock yet he is a Minister of the whole Church of God Where the Ministry hath wrought spiritually the Minister is esteemed highly Lightness and inconstancy is a great sinne and reproach to all much more to Ministers Of the sinfulness of inconstancy in civil respects As 1. When we are not consistent with our selves in our assertions 2. In our promises 3. In our affections Of the aggravations of this sinne 1. 'T is contrary to the nature of God 2. 'T is a reproach to men 3. Hereby a man makes himself unfit for Gods service 4. 'T is an abuse of our tongue 5. God threatens lying but encourageth sincerity Of the sinfulness of Inconstancy in spiritual things as in 1. Faith 2. In our Conversion and Repentance Motives against this Inconstancy 1. There is the same Reason at all times against sin 2. Sinnes after Convictions are the greater 3. This Inconstancy is a mocking of God and a dallying in soul-matters 4. It may justly cause God for ever to forsake thee 3. This Inconstancy is a great sin in Promises and Resolutions Of the Phrase according to the flesh which is taken for 1. The humane Nature 2. External Priviledges 3. Corrupt Principles Walking by carnal Principals makes men unstable and inconstant Principles of flesh 1. Covetousness 2. Ambition 3. Pleasing of men 4. Time-serving 5. Self-pleasing Of Principles 1 Herein men differ from bruit beasts because they act from inward principles beasts by instinct 2. Principles are either speculative or practical 3. All the principles of natural men are sinfull and carnal 3. Principles are oft hidden 5. There are principles of flesh even in our holy duties 6. The principles of the carnal and of the spiritual are contrary Of the principles of a godly man There are two general principles 1. There is a principle of knowledge viz. the holy Scriptures 2. The principle of his acting viz. the Spirit of God Particular principles 1. Alwayes to keep a good conscience towards God and man 2. To make sure of his ultimate end and the necessary means to it 3. Daily to expect death and judgment 4. To judg sin the greatest evil and godliness the greatest good Lying is not consistent with godliness 1. There is a material and a formal lie 2. There are assertory and promissory lies 3. There is a pernicious sporting and officious lie 4. Lying is a sinne of the tongue 5. They that would not lie must study the government of the tongue He that would govern his tongue must first cleanse his heart The causes of lies 1. Natural inclination 2. Want of dependance upon God 3. Our captivity to Satan 4. Covetousnes 5. Fear God is true God is true 1. There is a Metaphysical and a moral Truth 2. There is an increated and created truth 3. In that God is true he differeth from men and devils 4. 'T is because of Gods truth that we are commanded to believe and trust in him 5. The truth of God is the Foundation of all Religion and godliness Wicked men usually cast the Imperfections of the Minister upon the Ministry 1. A people may have an holy Zeal againg a loose scandalous Minister 2. A people are oft prone to take offence at the Ministers when yet 't is their sin 1. When they dislike that which may be of great use 2. When they are offended at his reproveing sin 3. When they cast the saults of the persons upon their Office and Doctrine 4. When they refuse the Ministry upon false Rumors and Surmises 'T is a great reproach for a Minister to be mutable and contradictory in his doctrine 1. All changes are not bad 2. But 't is a sin and reproach to change from the truth 3. Even such a change supposeth imperfection 4. No man but may know more than he doth 5. We must distinguish betwixt what is and what is not fundamental 1. We must distinguish betwixt constancy and pertinancy 2. Then is it a reproach to change when we change from truth The causes of inconstancy 1. Ignorance 2. Affectation of singularity and vain-glory 4. Examples We must distinguish betwixt essentials and circumstantials in Religion Christ only is to be the subject of our preaching When is Christ preached 1. When he is declared to be the Messiah 2. When preached as God-man 3. When preached in his person and his offices 5. When he is set up as the head of his Church The Lord Christ is the son of God 1. He is truly God 2. He is not the son of God as others are called his sonnes as 1. By Creation 2. By Regeneration 3. Because of their dignity 3. He is therefore called the Son of God because begotten from eternity of the Father 4. He was begotten of the Father 5. In these Mysteries we must adhere wholly to the testimony of the word 6. He is Antichrist that denies the Son to be God 7. The spirit of giddiness hath justly fallen upon these that deny Christ to be God Christ is a Saviour to his people What is implyed in Christs being a Saviour 1. That all mankinde was lost 2. What kinde of Saviour is Christ Even a spiritual one 3. He is an effectual Saviour Who is Christ a Saviour to 1. Some of mankinde 2. The repenting believing sinner 3. They are saved from 〈◊〉 and the world 4. Christs people 5. The saved are but few in comparison of the