Wit to dispute and deride the most sublime and sacred Truths out of the World Their Faces are full of Death the Tokens of Reprobation are visible upon them The Issue will discover them to be the wretched Examples of that fearful Rule Those who are destin'd to final Ruin are infatuated Others are Believers in Profession and their own Conceit but Infidels in Practice Their Faith is but a vain Opinion a loose Assent to the Christian Doctrine because 't is the Religion of the Country but with our Radication and Establishment This is evident considering that the Doctrines of the Gospel are not meerly intellectual the Objects of Theory and Speculation but moral and practical the Objects of our choice and seeking This is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Jesus Christ is come into the World to save Sinners Accordingly the unfeigned belief of them is seated not only in the Mind but in the Heart and is correspondent to the infallible Truth and transcendent Goodness of the thing revealed they make such an Impression on the Soul that the value of them is above Life and whatever comes in Competition is with despising Disdain rejected But when Men seldom remember and little regard eternal Things how specious soever the Profession is can there be a reasonable Belief of their Words against their Works Therefore in the Language of the Scripture all that do not first seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof are Unbelievers it being morally impossible that Men should sincerely believe and have a due Apprehension of it but it must be the great Design of their Souls and the main Business of their Lives to obtain it 2. Security is the constant Effect of Infidelity and hardens Men in their Sins and the neglect of Salvation so dearly purchas'd and graciously offered to them in the Gospel Direct Infidels set their Mouth against Heaven and defy the Furnace of Hell They are blindly bold and fearless of that Judgment that makes the Devils tremble Others tho not open and palpable Infidels are in a dead Calm not sensible of their Sins and have slight Apprehensions of their great Danger Infidelity lies at the bottom of their Security As the Egyptians in the thick Darkness that covered the Land moved not from their Places so many in ignorant Darkness sit down and are at rest careless of the Saviour that can deliver from the Wrath to come Only those who have strong Apprehensions of Evils imminent and destructive will fly to Christ as a Sanctuary and Shelter and submit to his Terms of saving them Secondly The Corrupt Nature will not submit to the Sanctity and Purity of the Gospel The forecited Scripture tells us the Carnal Mind is Enmity against God and that Enmity is arm'd with many strong Lusts-opposing his Law The principal Cause of rejecting the Gospel is common to all We will not have this Man to reign over us 'T is observable that as Holiness is that Attribute wherein God doth most excel and Men are most defective so the corrupt Will is most opposite to it The Justice and Power of God in some cases Men do approve and apply themselves to if injuriously accused or opprest they desire his Justice to vindicate their Innocence and revenge their Wrongs if in Distress and Exigencies they pray that his powerful Providence may regard and relieve them but they are extreamly averse from his Holiness shining in his Laws which excites his Justice and Power to punish those who rebel against it They are ready to say to Christ what the rebellious Israelites said to Rehoboham Thy Father made our Yoke grievous now therefore make thou the grievous Service of thy Father and his heavy Yoke which he put upon us lighter and we will serve thee They will measure out the scantling of their Obedience how far he shall rule and farther they will not yield But our Saviour declares I am not come to destroy the Law but to fulfil it 'T is true the Gospel is a Covenant of Grace a soveraign Composition of precious Promises of recovering Grace and pardoning Mercy but 't is also a Law and enjoins Repentance towards God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As without Compensation to the Justice so without Conformity to the Holiness of God we can never be restored to his Favour and enjoy him as our Felicity Our Saviour prescribes this indispensable Rule to his Disciples If any Man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me This is a comprehensive Fundamental Duty and the natural Man has a strong Reluctancy to every part of it 1. Self-dependance upon our own Vertues and Duties for the obtaining the Favour of God and the Eternal Reward is very natural to Men it was the Condition of the first Covenant to which they cleave Men of a fair Conversation and unblemish'd in the Eyes of the World have some Sparks of the Pharisee in them who justified himself that he was no Extortioner nor Unjust nor an Adulterer nor as the profane Publican and that he fasted and paid Tithes Upon such Reasons many presume of the Goodness and Safety of their Spiritual State they take Pride and Content in themselves in their Moral Goodness and do not feel the want of a Saviour nor apply themselves with humble mournful Affections to him for Reconciliation to God Others think by the Worthiness of their Works to compensate for the Unworthiness of their Sins to commute one Duty for another and ballance their Accounts with Heaven not considering that if their Works were perfectly good they are but the Performance of their Duty if they had never sinn'd It was one great Obstruction that hinder'd the Jews from receiving the Gospel They being ignorant of God's Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness did not submit themselves to the Righteousness of God One of a high Spirit will rather wear a mean Garment of his own than a rich Livery the Mark of Servile Dependance Pride resists Grace and Grace resists Pride The Law of Faith requires us to renounce not only our Unrighteousness but our Righteousness even the most excellent Graces and the Fruits of them in comparison of Christ and as a Foundation of obtaining the Pardon of Sin and Salvation for ever Our Righteousness is defective and defiled and cannot endure the trial of God's inlightning Tribunal All our Doings and Sufferings cannot expiate the least Sin we must only rely upon the Lord our Righteousness to reconcile us to God and that we may stand in Judgment He was made Sin for us who knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him not in our selves How hard it is to awaken Men out of the Pharisaical Dream of their own Righteousness is evident both in the Doctrine and Practice of those of the Roman Communion They assert the formal Cause of our Justification in the sight of God is our inherent Holiness they blaspheme the imputed Righteousness of
some are denominated his Children for by this Evangelical Constitution God is pleased to receive Believers into a filial Relation Indeed where there is not a cordial Consent and Subjection to the Terms of the Covenant visible Profession and the receiving the External Seals of it will be of no advantage but the publick serious owning of the Gospel entitles a Person to be of the Society of Christians and Filius and Foederatus are all one Thirdly There is Sonship that arises from supernatural Regeneration that is the communicating a new Nature to Man whereby there is a holy and blessed Change in the directive and commanding Faculties the Understanding and Will and in the Affections and consequently in the whole Life This is wrought by the Efficacy of the Word and Spirit and is called by our Saviour Regeneration because it is not our Original Carnal Birth but a Second and Celestial 'T is with the new Man in Grace as with an Infant in Nature that has the essential Parts that compose a Man a Soul endowed with all its Faculties a Body with all its Organs and Parts but not in the Vigor of mature Age. Thus renewed Holiness in a Christian is compleat and entire in its Parts but not in Perfection of Degrees there is an universal Inclination to all that is holy just and good and a universal Aversion from Sin tho the Executive Power be not equal And regenerate Christians are truly called the Children of God for as in Natural Generation there is communicated a Principle of Life and sutable Operations from whence the Title and Relation of a Father arises so in Regeneration there are derived such holy and heavenly Qualities to the Soul as constitute a Divine Nature in Man whereby he is Partaker of the Life and Likeness of God himself from hence he is a Child of God and has an Interest and Propriety in his Favour Power and Promises and all the Good that flows from them and a Title to the Eternal Inheritance II. I will shew what is included in our Love to the Children of God First The Principle of this Love is Divine The Soul is purified through the Spirit to unfeigned Love of the Brethren Naturally the Judgment is corrupted and the Will depraved that carnal Respects either of Profit or Pleasure are the quick and sensible Incitements of Love and till the Soul be cured of the sensual Contagion the Inclination can never be directed and the Desires fastned on the supernatural Image of God in his Saints As Holiness in the Creature is a Ray derived from the infinite Beauty of God's Holiness so the Love of Holiness is a Spark from the sacred Fire of his Love St. John exhorts Christians Let us love one another for Love is of God Natural Love among Men is by his general Providence but a gracious Love to the Saints is by his special Influence The natural Affection must be baptized with the Holy Ghost as with Fire to refine it to a Divine Purity Secondly The Qualifications of this Love are as follow 1. It is sincere and cordial it does not appear only in Expressions from the Tongue and Countenance but springs from the Integrity of the Heart 'T is stiled unfeigned Love of the Brethren 't is a Love not in Word and Tongue only but in Deed and Truth A counterfeit formal Affection set off with artificial Colours is so far from being pleasing to God the Searcher and Judg of Hearts that 't is infinitely provoking to him 2. 'T is pure the attractive Cause of it is the Image of God appearing in them Our Saviour assures us that Love shall be gloriously rewarded that respects a Disciple upon that account as a Disciple and a righteous Man as a righteous Man The holy Love commanded in the Gospel is to Christians for their Divine Relation as the Children of God as the Members of Christ and Temples of the Holy Ghost 3. From hence it is universal extended to all the Saints The Church is composed of Christians that are different in their Gifts and Graces and in their external Order some excel in Knowledg and Zeal and Love in active Graces others in Humility Meekness and Patience that sustain and adorn them in Sufferings some are in a higher Rank others are in humble Circumstances as in the visible World things are placed sutably to their Natures the Stars in the Heavens Flowers in the Earth and our special Respects are due to those whom the Favour of God has dignified above others and in whom the Brightness and Power of Grace shines more clearly for according as there are more Reasons that make a Person deserving Love the degrees of Love should rise in proportion But a dear Affection is due even to the lowest Saints for all have Communion in the same holy Nature and are equally instated in the same blessed Alliance 4. It must be fervent not only in Truth but in a degree of Eminency St. Peter joins the two Qualifications See that ye love one another with a pure Heart fervently Our Saviour sets before us his own Pattern as a Pillar of Fire to direct and inflame us This is my Commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you As I have loved you Admirable Example His Love was singular and superlative a Love that saves and astonishes us at once for he willingly gave his precious Life for our Ransom This we should endeavour to resemble tho our highest Expressions of Love and Compassion to the Saints are but a weak and imperfect Imitation of his Divine Perfection I shall add farther This Love includes all kinds of Love 1. The Love of Esteem correspondent to the real Worth and special Goodness of the Saints 'T is one Character of a Citizen of Heaven that in his Eyes a vile Person is contemned however set off by the Glory of the World and the Ornaments of the present State that as a false Mask conceal their foul Deformity to carnal Persons but he honours them that fear the Lord tho disfigured by Calumnies tho obscur'd and depress'd by Afflictions and made like their blessed Head in whom there was no Form nor Comeliness in the Judgment of Fools In our Valuation Divine Grace should turn the Scales against all the natural or acquired Perfections of Body or Mind Beauty Strength Wit Eloquence human Wisdom against all the external Advantages of this Life Nobility Riches Power and whatever is admired by a carnal Eye The Judgment and Love of God should regulate ours A Saint is more valued by God than the highest Princes nay than the Angels themselves considered only with respect to their spiritual Nature He calls them his peculiar Treasure his Jewels the first-Fruits of the Creatures sacred for his Use and Glory in comparison of whom the rest of the World are but Dregs a corrupt Mass. They are stiled his Sons being Partakers of that Life of which he is the Author and
into Hell God tries them in the Furnace of Afflictions to purify and prepare them for Heaven 2. 'T is a strong Cordial against fainting to consider that by virtue of the Paternal Relation he scourges every Son whom he receives for no Troubles are more afflictive and stinging than those that are unexpected Now when we are assured that there is no Son whom the Heavenly Father doth not chasten we are less surprized when we meet with Crosses Indeed there is hardly any kind of Affliction that may befal us but we have some instance in Scripture of the Saints suffering the same Are we poor and mean in the World we should consider that Poverty with Holiness is a Divine Complexion Jesus Christ the holy and beloved Son of God had not where to lay his Head Are we under bodily Distempers good Hezekiah was struck with an uncomfortable Disease as to the Quality of it and Gaius had a flourishing Soul in a languishing Body Are our dear Relations taken away Aaron and David lost some of their Sons by terrible Strokes Are our Spirits wounded with the sense of God's Displeasure Job and Heman were under strong Terrors yet the Favourites of Heaven Briefly how many most dear to God were called forth to extream and bloody Trials for Defence of the Truth How many Deaths did they endure in one Torment How many Torments in one Death yet they were so far from fainting that the more their Pains were exasperated the more their Courage and Joy was shining and conspicuous as the Face of the Heavens is never more serene and clear than when the sharpest North Wind blows 'T is the Apostle's Inference Seeing we are compassed with such a Cloud of Witnesses let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us This is further enforc'd by the following words If ye be without Chastening whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards and not Sons If God doth not vouchsafe us the Mercy of his Rod 't is evident we are not part of his Fatherly Care The Bramble is neglected while the Vine is cut till it bleeds 'T is a miserable Privilege to be exempted from Divine Discipline and by Ease and Prosperity to be corrupted and made fit for Destruction St. Austin represents one expostulating with God O Deus ista est Justitia tua ut mali floreant boni laborent O God it is righteous with Thee that the Wicked should prosper and the Good suffer Dicis Deo ista est Justitia tua Deus tibi ista est Fides tua haec enim tibi promisi ad hoc Christianus factus es ut in seculo isto floreres in inferno postea torquereris God replies to him Is this your Faith Did I promise you Temporal Prosperity Were you a Christian for this that you might flourish in this World and be miserably tormented in Hell The Apostle represents the special Prerogative of God as the Father of Spirits and so hath a nearer Claim to us than the Fathers of our Flesh and that he is not liable to those Imperfections that attend the Earthly Relations They for a few days chastened us for their own Pleasure Human Love is a troubled irregular Passion mixt with Ignorance and prone to Error in the Excess or Defect Sometimes Parents are indulgent and by a cruel Compassion spare their Children when they are faulty sometimes they correct without Cause sometimes when the Reason is just yet they err in the manner or measure of the Correction so that their Children are discouraged But in God there is a perfect Union of Wisdom and Love of Discretion and Tenderness his Affection is without the least Imperfection His Will is always guided by infinite Wisdom If his Children offend he will chastise them with the Rod of Men that is moderately for as in Scripture things are magnified by the Epithet Divine or of God so they are lessened by the Epithet Human. Accordingly the Apostle declares to the Corinthians that no Temptation had befallen them but such as is common to Man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it As a prudent Physician consults the Strength of the Patient as well as the Quality of the Disease and proportions his Medicine so all the bitter Ingredients their Mixture and Measure are dispens'd by the wise Prescription of God according to the degrees of Strength that are in his People The Apostle specifies the immediate End of God in his Chastenings But he for our Profit that we may be partakers of his Holiness This is the supream Excellency of the Divine Nature and our Conformity to it is so valuable that it renders Afflictions not only tolerable but so far desirable as they contribute to it In the present State our Graces are imperfect and our Conformity to the Divine Purity is like the Resemblance of the Sun in a watry Cloud very much beneath the Perfection and Radiancy of that great Light Now God is pleased to fashion us according to his Image by Afflictions As a Statue is cut by the Artificer to bring it into a beautiful Form He is pleased to bring us into divers Temptations to try our Faith to work in us Patience to inflame our Prayers to mortify our Carnal Desires to break those voluntary Bonds whereby we are fettered to the Earth that we may live with those Affections wherewith others die And certainly if we make a true Judgment of things we have not the least cause to suspect the Love of God when he chastises us to take away Sin the only abominable Object of his Hatred and deep Detestation and to render us Partakers of the Divine Nature And the present peaceable Fruit of Righteousness is the Product in those who are duly exercised by their Troubles It is an Allusion to the Reward of the Conquerors in the Olympick Games who had a Crown of Olives the Emblem and Shadow of Peace But true Peace a Divine Calm in the Conscience shall be the Recompence of all that exercise their Graces sutable to an afflicted State In short the Apostle assures Believers that they are chastened of the Lord to prevent their Condemnation with the World The correcting Rod delivers them from Hell This Consideration changes Thorns into Roses and extracts Honey out of Wormwood if the way be stony or showery that leads to Blessedness a Christian should willingly walk in it To conclude from the Consideration of what the Scripture declares concerning Temporal Evils let us lift up the Hands that hang down and the feeble Knees and make streight Paths for our Feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but let it rather be healed i. e. In our Affliction let us take Courage and Resolution from the Promises and live in a holy Conformity to God's Will that