〈◊〉 onely his Protection and Preservation as Humane Law-givers onely do yet He was willing by Promises to bind Himself to reward him gloriously and after he had lost his power to send Christ to redeem him and give him a new power and first to promise to give him excellent Rewards and in the end actually to reward him for Christs sake with full and everlasting glory and that upon easie and fairest terms For this cause is his Mercy so often magnified in the Scriptures and especially in the Gospel Therefore is it said That God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith He loved us even then when we were dead in sins He quickned us by Grace we are saved and raised us up together and made us â—it in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the Ages to come He might shew the exceeding Riches of His Grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus Ephes. 2. 4 5 6 7. And it was His great mercy that He doth threaten no sinners and offenders with punishments unavoidable or unremoveable but final Impenitents and Unbelievers as such From all this His Promises may be described to be A part of the Laws of God-Redeemer whereby He freely bound Himself and did signifie that for Christ's sake He would give all Mercies to Man believing that may make him for ever fully blessed And his Threats are A signification of His Will whereby the party offending should be liable to punishments removeable or unavoible upon certain conditions and onely unremoveable or unavoidable upon â—â—nal unbelief There was one great Promise made presently upon the Fall to give Christ. And this was fully performed in the fulness of time and so to us it 's no Promise and this was not made in consideration of the merit and satisfaction of Christ and did at first include a Promise to call and afford the means of Conversion The rest of the Promises were grounded upon the Satisfaction and Merit of Christ and were better Promises then those of the Law of Works And they are better not onely in respect of the things pâ—omised but of the tearms upon which the Promises were to be performed They are exceeding great and precious that by them we might be partakers of the Divine Nature having escaped the corruption that is in the World through Lust 2 Pet. 1. 4. Some tell us § IV that the Gospel threatens not any sin with Death but final Unbelief And hereupon ariseth a Question about the Threats of the Gospel Whether there be any such Threats of the Gospel which make the Offender liable to Death but onely the final Unbeliever For Solution whereof we must consider 1. That if the Gospel were so strictly taken as it is by many as to contain and consist onely in Promises then it would follow that no sin no not final unbelief could be threatned with Death by the Laws of God-Redeemer as Redeemer 2. We must know that in Scripture by Death is meant punishment in general Whether it be Temporal or Eternal Bodily or Spirituall 3. That every sin deserves Death that is Punishment whether they be sins against the Law of Works or of Grace 4. That the same sins against the morall Law which were threatned with Death by the Law of Works are threatned with Death by the Law of Grace For as that Law bound to obedience or upon Disobedience unto Death so doth this Yet observe 1. That the sins against the Law of grace are sins formally against God-Redeemer as such and giving Laws unto sinful man 2. That these sins have not only the nature of sins as transgressions of a Law of God but also the nature of impenitency and unbelief For whosoever continues in sin or delays if but an hour his return to God Redeemer is not only a sinner against God but an impenitent Sinner against God-Redeemer in Christ requiring repentance and faith instantly and not granting the liberty to continue in sin and to delay repentance for a moment 3. Though the Law threatned every sin against it with punishment and death unremoveable or unavoydable yet the Gospel though it threaten every sin against it with punishment yet it threatens none with punishment unremoveable or unavoyable but finall unbelief or such sins as upon which by his ordination finall unbelief is necessarily consequent 4. This Law of grace threatens not only sins against the morall Law but against the very Ceremonialls of the Gospel How else could the Corinthians have bin guilty of the body and blood of Christ and have suffered so grievous a punishment as many of them did for the unworthy receiving the Lords Supper The rule of this judgment was neither the Law of works as given to Adam nor as given to Israel either in the moralls or positives If any say that Christ died not to satisfie for such sins as finall unbeâ—ief and â—ins unto Death as Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost or some kind of Apostacy it may be said that one immediate effect of Christs death was to satisfie Gods justice and make sin remissible in generall not that it was God's intention that all sins or any sin should be remitted absolutely but upon certain termes defined by his wisdome and justice In this regard these sins as sins in generall were made remissible by Christs Sacrifice Yet in respect of Divine ordination and the termes defined for remission they are irremissible So that as sins by Christs death they are remissible yet made irremissible Per accidens in another respect Yet here we must observe that not only finall unbeliefe and impenitency are sins against the Laws of Redemption and the precepts of the Gospel but every degree of them from the first to the last from the least to the greatest are so too Neither is finall unbelief merely as finall unpardonable but per accidens Because after a certain time granted by God for belief is expired he will never vouchsafe time nor meanes or power for it afterwards and belief he hath made a necessary condition of pardon and hath decree'd never to pardon but upon this condition These promises § V or threats may be considered either formally or materially and in respect of their matter and accordingly may be discovered and summed up in Scripture All such places of Scripture as command and require Repentance and Faith have some promise annexed and the same either expressed or implyed And to such places these promises of God do properly belong For Promises and Duties go together and therefore in most of the promises the duty is expressed And they are made to persons so and so qualified Insomuch that till the person be rightly qualified he hath no immediate right unto the thing promised nor can have any hope of performance For God is only bound to performe his promise when man hath performed his duty This was the Wisdome of God so to make his promises that man might have no cause to presume or deceive himself The
People which the Psalmist prayeth for Psal. 106. 4. The light of God's countenance whereby His frowns are turned into smiles and he looks chearfully upon us 4 This favour is not a fancy and conceit that God doth love us but it 's really and fully manifested in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which God hath given us Rom. 5. 5. 5 As this Emnity begins on Man's part turning away from his God and provoking him so this Peace and Reconciliation begins on God's part in mercy turning unto man 6 As the hatred and displeasure of God and the want of his favour maybe considered as a Penalty and the same removed by Reconciliation so it may belong to Justification and Remission as a branch thereof without which it cannot be perfect 3 The party reconciled is the justified by Faith For being justified by Faith we have peace with God Take this Peace Passively as a benefit and reward received by Man it 's an effect of Justification and may so be called but take it Actively as coming from God it may be a part or degree of Justification essentially included in it For God in justifying in that very act accepts him as a friend and looks not on him as an Enemy It presupposeth the taking away of the general guilt and the removing the great penalty of sin and corruption by restoring the regenerating Spirit For how can man as guilty and polluted with sin and under the dominion of Corruption be a subject of this special love and favour According to the Scriptures and His Eternal Laws He cannot possibly be such God may so love Man when he is his Enemy as to give his Son for him and his Spirit to take away the cause of this Emnity but to love him with this special love as such is impossible For this Reconciliation necessarily presupposth the cause of the Emnity not as to be taken away but as taken away already Otherwise God should love those whom He hates as He hates them and be well pleased with those that lye under his fearful displeasure 4 We have this peace by Jesus Christ our Lord for by whom we have Justification by Him we have Reconciliation We find two degrees of this Reconciliation and both by Christ. For so the Apostle informs us For saith He God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their Trespasses unto them and hath committed to us the Word of Reconciliation Now we are Embassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5. 19 20. By which words we easily understand that the Foundation of this Reconciliation was laid in Christ's suffering For even then God did not impute our sins to us but unto him and punished them in him for us For He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might be the Righteousness of God in him Ibid. ver 21. And if this first Reconciliation had not been made and so God made propitious the second had never followed Again if when we were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life And not onely so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the atonement Rom. 5. 10 11. Where we may observe that the first degree of Reconciliation 1 Was by Christ's Death The 2 By his life when we are justifyed For by His Death He merited it and by His life and intercession procures the actual enjoyment of it The first is Reconciliation made The second Reconciliation and Atonement received and both by Christ who reconciled us to God both Jew and Gentile in one Body by the Cross having slain the Emnity thereby And came and preached Peace to them which were afar off and to them that were nigh For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father Ephes. 2. 3 12. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by Faith in Him Ephes. 3. 12. So that by Christ we have this Peace with God For by his death he averts the Wrath and Displeasure of God and merits his favour He by his Ambassadours preacheth Peace and beseecheth us to be reconciled and so by his Word and Spirit converts us He by his intercession takes us by the hand and brings us before the Throne of Grace as though He were the Master of Ceremonies and Admissionate of Heaven and presents us holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight as washed in His Blood believed upon Col. 1. 22. Upon this Reconciliation it follows that we cease 1 To be Enemies 2 To be Strangers 3 To be Neutrals 4 We are Friends Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Family of God This Reconciliation makes the state of the Reconciled very happy and it 's an unspeakable mercy as may appear 1 From the sad condition of Cain when he was driven from God's presence and others in his case from the Lamentations and Complaints of God's Servants when he did hide his face absent himself withdraw his Spirit and in anger as it were cover himself with a Cloud that their Prayers could not pass through and be heard By their Deprecations of God's anger least they should be cast out of his presence and his Holy Spirit taken from them From the unspeakable joy and consolation which did diffuse it self and warm their hearts upon this Reconciliation and return of the Spirit after their penitent and importunate Prayers For as it 's lost by sin so it 's regained by Repentance and Faith We seek the love and favour of great ones and fear their frowns But what are their frowns to God's displeasure or their love unto his favour which is the Fountain of Eternal joy A third degree of Justification § III which reacheth Salvation and toucheth Eternal Life immediately is that which the Gospel calleth Adoption whereby those who were no Sons believing in Christ are made the Sons and Heirs of God and joint-Heirs with Christ of Glory Where we must observe 1 How this Adoption agrees with Justification and differs from Regeneration and Reconciliation 2 What the nature of this Adoption is 3 Who they are that are Adopted 4 What the condition of the Adopted is 1. It agrees with Justification as a part or degree thereof as it doth remove a great penalty and so the guilt which Justification properly doth The guilt and penalty you shall know hereafter It differs from Regeneration because that gives onely a nâ—w life of Grace and Sanctification altering our disposition And this new Being and Life might be given us without a further Dignity and Title to an Heavenly Inheritance It 's true that if God beget us again and renew us we may be said to be His Sons yet it doth not follow that if we be Sons only in that sense that therefore we are Heirs though if we be adopted Sons
before whose Throne of Grace we may approach without fear We are free Children of a free Mother We are not Servants born of Hagar the Bond-woman but free women of Jerusalem which is above and Mother of us all Gal. 4. 26. And as Jerusalem is our Mother so God is our Father who hath given us the Spirit of Adoption 3 We being adopted enjoy the Ministery of Angels those Blessed and Immortal Spirits who have a charge to keep us in all our ways guard us and pitch their Tents about us If we be in any place in any danger at any time they must be ready at hand If Jacob fear his Brother Esau two Armies of them shall meet him and secure him from danger When man by sin forsakes his God he 's out of God's special Protection and the Angels have no Commission to take care of him But if he return unto his God again they rejoyce upon his Conversion and upon God's Command do pitch their Tents about him And since Jesus Christ the Son of God was made Lord of Angels as soon as any do believe in him and are made the Sons of God he gives them special charge concerning his little Ones For they are all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them that shall be Heirs of Salvation Heb. 1. 14. 4 So soon as we are Sons we fall under God's special Providence and so He takes a far greater care of us than of others If we offend He in dearest love will chastise us not to destroy us but correct us because He will not suffer sinne to lye upon us He will try us not vex us but to exercise our Virtues and purifie our Faith that so we may come out of the Furnace of afflictions more pure then finest Gold If we fall He will raise us up again If we grow cold He will quicken us If we fall into danger He will deliver us if into want He will provide for us necessaries For our Heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of all these things 5 He in His excellent Wisdom out of greatest mercy so orders all events all conditions either of Prosperity or Adversity all his Works of Providence so that Heaven and Earth Men and Angels yea all Creatures and all things shall conspire and work together for our good and all shall unite Forces and full power which united as in one single cause shall further our Salvation 6 God loves them as his Children with a special love and pities them far more then any Father in the World pities his Child and nothing shall be able to separate from the love of that Father whom they love 7 He gives his Spirit of Adoption into their Hearts to anoint them seal them assure them of their present right unto and the full Possession in due time of their Heavenly Inheritance God their Father loves them and they must certainly know it Their estate therefore is an estate of unspeakable joy comfort Yet it requires that we should be obedient and dutiful Children and the love of God which is so great and advanceth them so high should deeply engage them to the love and obedience of their Heavenly Father This is the beginning of God's Judgment § VII in dispensing and disposing of his Spiritual Rewards of Conversion and Justification which include all the rest and bring them into an happy and blessed estate After this the continuance of this blessed estate is to be considered For God continues to judge and reward according to the continuance of their Faith and this in all parts of the World where any of his Saints shall be For all jointly and every one severally are the subjects of this Judgment which continually proceeds according to his Laws of Redemption As their Faith and Repentance are not made perfect at the first so their rewards joys and comforts are not consummate but by degrees And as their Faith may be sometimes greater sometimes less so this estate is better or worse or rather not so good Whilest Faith habitual remains rooted in 〈◊〉 heart they are virtually justified When it 's actual their Justification actual will follow When their Faith is lively and continues to act vigorously their estate is so much the more comfortable In this continuance of Rewards the same Rewards formerly given there is required a continuance of the grace of God's Spirit abiding in them to enable them to Duty and observance of his Laws and according to the continuance of this grace a continuance of performances without both which there can be no continuance of Rewards The grace of God is so continued that it doth not prevent all sin and disobedience and therefore we are not free from all punishments Yet as we contract new guilt every day so every day we should renew our Repentance and Faith and so present our selves before the Tribunal of this Heavenly Judge and sue for Pardon in the Name of Christ and suffer no guilt to lye long upon us And as this Court is continually open to dispense Rewards so it is to punish and chastise according as our deserts shall be If our sins shall be greater and our neglect of our renewing our Repentance and Faith longer the greater punishments both of loss and pain shall be as was evident in David This state of Conversion § VIII and Justification may be considered as continued in this Life or after Death until the Resurrection And it 's a continuance of it in the several Branches of Justification as in the continuance of Regeneration Reconciliation Adoption Regeneration which is commonly called Sanctification as continued is the first For that which they call Sanctification which follows Justification is the continuance of the first Regeneration which is a Bâ—anch of Juâ—â—ification and a removing of that great Penalty of loss of the sanctifying Spirit and the woful immediate consequent thereof as Blindness Perversness and the Dominion of Sin from which issue all Actual Transgressions which would multiply to a great number and rise to a higher degree of Malignancy if God by Reâ—â—raint or Renovation did not prevent both To understand this Sanctification continued the better we must distinguish of it as Active and Passive As Active it's an act of God sanctifying us Passive it 's those gifts and graces of the Spirit whereby we are enabled to avoid sin and obey God For though this be an active Power yet in respect of God giving it and us receiving it it may be called Passive though properly it be an effect of God the cause and a cause of an obedience following The active Sanctification is 1 The acting of the Spirit to prepare us convert us work Faith in us and by Faith unite us unto Christ. For all these may be called Acts of Sanctification in a large sense yet in Scripture they are called Vocation whereby God through the power of the Spirit accompanying the Word doth convert us and bring us to Christ. 2 This Sanctification active
ungodly wicked and to give them bad example and be patterns of impiety and iniquity unto them 6. To be found indulgent remisse in Discipline and correction and to bring them up idlely or delicately 7. To neglect their education in Religion and take no care of their poor Souls The sins of Tutours Guardians and such as are trusted with Orphans are carelessenesse or unfaithfulnesse And these must know that though these desolate and poor Creatures cannot or may not question them yet God will right them and will certainly call these unjust Stewards to account and severely punish them for their negligence and injustice And as he will blesse godly faithfull carefull parents and such as supply their place and comfort them in their Children or some other way So he will punish the negligent ungodly unfaithfull in their own Children and many other wayes and will require the blood of their Souls at their hands and their last reckoning will be sad and heavy Few Fathers endeavour the Regeneration of their Children Few Mothers travayl again of them that Christ may be formed and born in their hearts And one great cause of the corruption not onely of familyes but Church and state is the neglect of education When Parents do not use the power God hath put into their hands nor take the opportunity he hath given them to instil the principles of religion and piety into them in their tender yeares when they are so ready to receive the first impressions It 's a matter of sorrow and lamentation to consider how much Parents do neglect their duty and to see the sad events thereof For many of them transmit their sin and guilt and derive it to posterity who inherit their iniquity and misery Hitherto of this Commandement § X taken in the plain immediate sense Let 's proceed to those things which are reducible unto it by Analogie or deduction from it by more remote consequence Father and Mother are tearms of relation expresly named in the Text and these imply another Relation Husband and Wife who are the Foundation of a Family and were the beginning and first root of Mankind And after that Woman was once created and man had a fellow the relation of Husband and Wife followed and was the first relation according to God's Institution which requires that man and woman should be Husband and Wife before there be Father and Mother They are 1. Man and Woman of different Sex by Creation 2. Husband and Wife by God's Institution 3. Father and Mother by God's Blessing Yet there be many who violate this Institution and propagate the World with an illegitimate and spurious or incestuous Brood though by Repentance and Faith in Christ this sin may be pardoned and God's Judgment averted both from Parents and Children In this first Society there is an imparity though not so great as that of Parents and Children and the Duties thereof are two Subjection and Love For the Wife must be subject to her Husband and the Husband must love his Wife This is the Command of God by the Apostle Wives submit your selves unto your Husbands as unto the Lord For the Husband is the Head of the Wife c. This is the imparity of Superiour and Inferiour And Husbands love your Wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it Ephes. 5. 22 25. This subjection was due from the first Wife to the first Husband even in the estate of Innocency For even then Marriage was instituted and by it was constituted one of the nearest Societies in the World and the same indissoluble except by Death or Adultery and that not onely by Covenant but especially by God's Institution whose Will it was that they should be one flesh and that man should forsake Father and Mother that dear relation and cleave to his Wife This Subjection before the Fall was so a Duty as that it was not a punishment For then Man was the Head a Superiour because made first and Woman was made after Man of Man for Man and man was of the more noble Sex and it was God's Will he should be Superiour in the first Contract according to his Institution But after the Fall it was not onely a Duty to be performed willingly but a Penalty to be suffered patiently And a grievous Penalty it is when a Woman is married to a proud insolent imperious Fool and to such Women who are of the like temper and violently bent to have their own Will though never so unreasonable As the imparity between Man and Wife is less then that between Parents and Children so the subjection of the Wife to the husband is not so great as that which is due from Children to Parents much less then of Servants to their Masters The place of the Wife though inferiour to the Husband is honourable She is Partner with him and shares in the government of the Family and may command both Children and Servants He is the Master she is the Mistress though subordinate to him as her Head as the Body is to the Head The duty of the Husband is to love his Wife and that not with any kind or degree of love but with a dear tender special love He must love her as his Wife as one flesh with him his own body part of himself nearer to him then Father or Mother Yet as obedience of Children so both love of Husband and subjection of Wife is limited and must be in the Lord that is subordinate unto that love and subjection which is due to Christ and agreeable to the Will of His Command and not contrary unto it And both the Duties presuppose other Vertâ—es in both Parties or else they will be not onely imperfect and deficient but unlawful and not in the Lord but against the Will of the Lord. And this subjection of the one and love of the other Evangelically understood are more perfect and noble Vertues in true Christians then in others as the Bond of Marriage doth represent the Union of Christ and His Church who are contracted on Earth and the Marriage it self shall be solemnized in Heaven with great glory and full joy that shall never end The want of this subjection in the one and love in the other much more the contrary sins are forbidden in this Commandement and are the causes of many other sins confusions discomforts miseries ruines of Families And by these two and the contrary may be understood all other Duties here commanded and sins forbidden and all such as depend upon them or are necessarily joyned with them After the Relations and Societies of Husband and Wife § XI Parents and Children follows that of Masters and Servants For after that Mankind was multiplyed in a Family and their Estates and Goods increased their work was the greater and required more hands and the first that did the Work of Servants though they were not Servants were Children and after that besides irrational Servants as the Ox and the Ass there were
made some honest imployment to be used the Scripture and pious books to be read the reasons against this sin in Scripture to be remembered the motives unto chastity to be observed good examples of Chastity as that most excellent one of Joseph to be followed Yet we must know that in respect of persons its twofold 1. Of single persons 2. Of married persons Single persons are such as were never married or widows both these must be chast so as not onely to have pure and sanctified minds but also to forbear all kind of Carnall copulation Married persons may have the use of one anothers bodies without any sin but then they must be faithfull one unto another for onely they that have right unto their bodies must have the use of them And if they transgresse their sin is adultery and greater then that of simple fornication not only because it is an abuse of the body as simple fornication is but because it is against the marriage-contract and they have a remedy which single persons have not and many more mischiefs follow upon it In this condition of marriage many may think themselves safe yet no persons though married must neglect their watch presume upon their own strength contemne temptations for they may fail as well as others as wofull experience hath taught many Their secret carriage must be chast before God their outward behaviour must be modest before men the one that they may have a good conscience the other that they may give good example And single persons that have not the gift of continency must marry yet wisely and in the Lord lest that estate which was ordained for a comfort and help prove a discomfort and a snare They are happy in this respect and a great mercy of God it is who have their education in chast and modest families and fall not into familiarity with lewd persons For many who in chast Company would have been chast and would have abhorred this sin have bin defiled by lewd and ungodly persons Yet if we fear our God and trust in him he can preserve us pure in the most filthy societies as he did Lot in Sodom and deliver them in the strongest temptations as he did Joseph This Commandement certainly requires temperance § VII as an excellent preservation of Chastity And divers of the School-men and Casuists oppose it to Luxury which they make a generall under which they reduce and rank in a certain order 1. Simple fornication to which they referr whoredome and the use of Concubiâ—s 2. Incest 3. Adultery 4. Deflowring of Virgins in their parents power 5. Rapes 6. Uncleannesse against nature as Sodomy and Bestiality all which were mentioned formerly Yet this temperance more properly taken is opposed to luxury taken more strictly for excesse in diet and apparrel and such things as tend to the preservation of the body It 's contrary to drunkennesse and gluttony and all excesse in that kind and may include abstinence and fasting for we must keep the body under and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof The body must not be armed against the soul lest the flesh rebel against the spirit The pampering of it is like the warming a frozen Serpent in our bosome to sting us unto death We are commanded to abstain from fleshly lusts which fight against the Soul 1 Pet. 2. 11. Yet temperance is properly and strictly here commanded as tending unto Chastity yet it may come under another notion as it doth dispose us to Heavenly duties and prepare us for our last account There are intemperate persons who are lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God and surfetting and drunkennesse indispose us to divine performances and unprepare us for our latter end And in this respect intemperance is a sin against the first table Drunkennesse absolutely considered is not a sin against this commandement but as inclining and disposing to uncleannesse and in other severall respects against many other For there be divers sins and divers duties reducible to severall parts of this morall Law As there be many disswasives from the sins here forbidden § VIII so there be many Swasives and motives to the duties here Commanded Some are generall motives to Chastity in generall some to Chasity in single life some to Chastity in marriage in particular And every Disswasive in generall and in particular are Swasives either in generall or particular There are disswasives from 〈◊〉 fornication from incest from adultery from rapes and so from the rest whiâ—h are proper The reasons and motives to Chastity in generall especially to Christians are 1. Bâ—cause our bodies are the members of Christ 2. They are the temples of the Holy Ghost 3. We are bought with a price and cannot dispose of our selves as we please but must so use them as our Saviour hath Commanded and we must honour and glorifie him who hath bought them for his they are 4. We have consecrated both soul and body to his service 5. We are Regenerate and sanctified and as in soul so in body and have received a power to perform this duty of Chastity as well as other duties 6. We hope and expect that these bodies shall rise again unto eternall glory and how can we pollute them 7. One Reason in generall to all men Jews Christians Gentiles is that Chaâ—â—ity is the honour of these bodies of ours as uncleannesse is their dishonour For the bodies of all men being tabernacles of the immortall soul and created and redeemed to immortality are far more excellent then the bodies of beasts and therefore must not be abused and made like nay worse and more base then the bodies of brutes There are besides these common reasons others proper to incline married-parties to Conjugall Chastity and fidelity as the honour and Legitimation of our Children the mutuall content and comfort of man and wife the peace and welfare of our Families for the present and of posterity for time to come Gods institution the matrimoniall contract the conâ—inuance of the sacred bond and divers others which may be observed our or Scripture And both the parties must not only be chast and faithfull but wiâ—e in their carriage so as to give no occasion or just suspicion of jealously or be jealous when there is no sufficient cause We should know these things and learn out of Gods word how excellent a virtue Chastity is how pleasing to God how disposing to heavenly duties Out of this knowledge and love to God we should love this duty desire and endeavour to performe it and labour to be chast in our hearts not onely before men but God We must resist temptations and suppresse the first motions unto uncleannesse and with Job make a covenant with our eyes and not think upon a maid Job 31. 1 2 3. unto the 13th In this case if our right eye right hand right â—oot offend us we must cut it off and rather part with our choisest and rarest
and can in no wise Comprehend the Incomprehensible or apprehend that which is so far above our Sphear That God is will be granted of all a few grosse Atheists excepted Yet such is the want of due instruction in some the extinction of Nature's light by neglect and sin in many and the Judgment of Divine desertion whereby men are delivered up into a Reprobate mind that many do deny that God who made them and in whom they live move and have their Being and will not be convinced of the truth of his Eternall Existence So that the great Cardinal of Cumbray had some cause to say That by us it could not be evidently known that God is but only by the gratuitous union of God with our understanding representing himself as a Visible Object sufficiently clear and shining in his own light unto the understanding rightly disposed Bacon and Oâ—cam seem to be of this mind And surely if God withdraw his light man presently is so blind that no reason alleaged by any wit of man can make him see this truth that God is though it be the first of all truths Yea though we may know this that he is and doth exist yet no man can tell what he is Something the Heathens knew of God by Tradition and the light of Nature For his works did speak of his Eternal Power and God-head even unto them The Jews knew more for they had Moses and the Prophets The Christians most of all For they have not onely the light of nature the great Book and Volum of the World and Moses with the Prophâ—ts but also Christ and his Apostleâ— with the light of the Gospel Yet notwithstanding our knowledge is imperfect not only in respect of God who fully knows himself but in respect of Angels who know him clearly though not fully and infinitely The most accurate Logick in this particular can little advantage the most piercing understanding Yet so far God hath manifested himself unto us especially in the Gospel as will be sufficient for our eternall glorification in which estate we shall know him more fully even so much as will make us fully happy The manner whereby we know our God is by many Attributes § II whereby he represents himself sutably to our Capacity for seeing that we cannot apprehend that one Individuall Being by one act he hath given himself Severall and many attributes that so by many and severall acts we may know something of that which is one in it self Of these Attributes many things are observable as here they follow 1. It was Gods gracious condescension both to the manner and measure of our imperfect understanding to manifest himself by these Attributes 2. They are called Attributes because God attributes them to himself and affirms them of himself Properties because we conceive them as proper unto God and such as can be praedicated only of him So that by them we distinguish him from all other Beings Perfections not that they are perfections but because they are severall representations of that one perfection which is himself Names and Terms because they expresse and signifie something of his Essence Notions because they are so many apprehensions of his Being as we conceive of him imperfectly in our minds 3. These Attributes whether we call them names or notions do truly agree to God and by them we truly conceive of him 4. The reason hereof is because that one individual Being may be truly represented by severall distinct representations and so apprehended 5. There can be no inequality between these Attributes as considered in respect of God For they all signifie but one infinite Being Yet as they may be exercised not onely Severally but unequally So they may be apprehended as unequal in respect of the subject wherein they may be exercised For God may exercise his Justice in punishing the wicked more then his Mercy and his Mercy more then his Justice in the salvation of his people 6. Though the Unity immensity Eternity Understanding Will Wisdom Justice Mercy c of God in respect of their severall distinct Representations and our apprehensions do differ yet in respect of God they no ways differ either really or formally because they are one individual essence 7. Though Father Son Holy Ghost Creatour Preserver Lord Law-giver Judge be truly affirmed of God yet they are not properly Attributes as they are usually taken because Attributes are intended to represent the essence those other termes are Extrinsecal Denominations in respect unto the Creatures and are grounded upon his Works or else upon the intrinsecal acts of the Deity upon it Self To understand these things the better we must not be ignorant how our understanding acts upon things and beings intelligible § III It cannot touch and reach the things it self immediately but at the second hand as it is Cloathed with Logisms or Logical affections which we call Arguments For by these the thing irradiates and becomes visible to the Soul and so is perceivable These affections are like Colours upon the Surface of the thing without which it is not perceivable by the eye These affections and arguments upon the which the understanding so much depends are cause effect subject adjunct whole part and the rest God who knew this better then we our selves do was willing to represent this his glorious essence in such a manner as man by severall acts might know something of him For this purpose he in his blessed word did give himself these Attributes which are like unto Logical arguments but are not such for God hath no cause neither is his Being in its self a cause He is no effect no subject adjunct whole or part These do not agree to him The word of God therefore is the rule of our understanding and directing it in the knowledge of his essence is our Supernaturall Logick and the Attributes are our Divine Topicks For the Logick which we now have composed by man serves only for a rule in the understanding of things created We must have a far higher and more excellent Logick to understand the Being of our God These Attributes by some are numbred § IV but without any order By others they are reduced to a method but with some difference though not much materiall And in this particular every man may abound in his own sense so that he deliver the truth Some give a definition of God so as to include the Essence and Subsistences and make the Essence intelligible by his Names and Properties for so they call the Attributes which are either Incommunicable or Communicable by Analogy Some inquire what God is 1. In his Essence 2. In his Liâ—e And thereupon inform us that some Attributes agree unto him in respect of his Essence Some in respect of his Life Some rank them under 3 heads The first whereof agree unto him in respect of his Being The second in respect of his Life The third in respect of the perfection of his Life Some divide
severall persons may do the same act and yet not be equally sinfull there may be a great inequality in the sin 2. That there are degrees of sins as there shall be of punishments 3. That the more of will there is in any sin the more heynous the sin is and it 's the principall and intrinsecall aggravation of it This greater measure of Will appeares to be and manifests it self 1. In such as have helps meanes power to do that which is just and many and powerfull restraints from sin and yet commit it 2. In such as have many helps meanes motives to repentance and yet continue senslesse and secure 3. Those are most heynons which proceed not from ignorance and infirmity within nor from violence of temptation opposition and impediments without but from the pure and mere malignity of the Will Ignorance infirmity and strength of temptation make sin lesse the more excusable and pardonable Yet we may willfully or at least carelesly cast our selves upon temptation be ignorant through out negligence or willfulnesse we may go on in sin till it prove habitual and make us Slaves unto our own lust We may give way to one sin as Drunkennesse Covetousenesse or Ambition and so necessarily entangle our selves in other sins which those once having possessed our hearts make unavoydable In these cases sin is lesse excusable because we are the cause of our ignorance infirmity and disadvantage If any say that to intend murder and act it is more then barely to intend it the Answer is easy That if any not only intend it but proceed if not hindered to act it that doth manifest more of will and inclination to be in the heart then if he should only intend it and yet when he hath power doth not act it And so of Adultery and other sins 3. There be aggravations extrinsecal as from the qualification of the party offending from the party offended from the circumstances of time and place and such like which I passe by and come to the consequents of sin And they are of three sorts Such as follow 1. In respect of sin it self 2. In respect of the Law-giver and the Law 3. In respect of the Judge and judicial processe 1. In respect of sin it self the consequents are 1. Stain because it 's filthy 2. Shame because it 's base 3. Weakning the inclination to good because it 's contrary 2. In respect of the Law-giver and the law the Consequents are 1. Offence 2. Blame for it makes the party accusable and chargeable with it 3. Guilt because it makes liable to punishment 3. In respect of the Judge and judgement the consequents are fear sorrow conviction condemnation and suffering of punishment if not pardoned And the punishment deserved by mâ—n and inflicted by God is not only losse of that good which we enjoyed whilâ— obedient by obedience might have obtayned but the pressure of all evill threatned in the Law which the party hath justly deserved For God doth punish men in their Persons Bodyes Soules Name Friends Goods and other wayes and doth not onely take away blessings received but denyes and that justly mercyes promised but man suffers many positive evills even in this Life and yet all these are but the Beginning of Woe everlasting if not by mans timely repentance and Gods great mercy prevented These things concerning sin in generall premisd I proceed to the first sin of Adam in particular which was the subject of the first judgement passed upon Adam and all mankind And therein I will consider 1. The Sin it self 2. The causes of it 1. The sin it self was the disobedience to a Law of God and more particularly a positive Law that positive Law concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evill This sin in respect of the matter and the outward Act of eating the fruit of the tree seems not to be heynous And certainly if there had been no divine prohibition the act was in it self indifferent Morally and intrinsecally it was neither good nor evill But to eate of that fruit contrary to Gods prohibition and peremptory commination was heynous as being a contempt of Gods absolute powers and a breach of the first and great command from which all the rest derive their morality And it was a contempt not onely of his absolute power but of his severe justice And he that doth not regard the supreme and legislative power of any Prince will not feare to disobay any of his Lawes And it was more grievous for other reasons For the observation of that Law was very easie because the thing commanded was the forbearance of and abstinence from the fruit of one onely Tree whereof he had not the least need as having such plenty and variety of so many kinds of delicates He that will not yearly pay a pepper-corn in acknowledgment of the eminent dominion of a chief-Lord for a vast estate freely given him upon such easie termes is most unworthy of it Againe the law was cleare and easie to be understood and he knew it well and had full and perfect power to keep it and that without any difficulty Besides upon this petty act of obedience the eternall welfare of him and mankind his Posterity did depend and if he once tranâ—grest it he had not the least colour to expect any thing but absolute condemnation to eternal death Neither could all the Powers of darknesse force or necessitate him to touch â—ast the forbidden fruit To eare it therefore must be a complication of a multitude of heynous sins as ingratitude unbelief cruelty to himself and his posterity Yet though it was so heynous yet it came short of and was lesse grievous then the first revolt of Angels For he was tempted surprized circumvented but so they were not After that we know § VII what the first sin in particular is let 's consider the causes and they are 1. Blameable 2. Blamelesse Blameable were the persons tempting and the Persons tempted The partyes tempting were the Devills united in a body Politick under the Prince of Devills their Generall and Commander in chief To understand this better I will enquire into the nature of temptation examine Who the tempter and what this temptation in particular is 1. Temptation unto evill and Sin is opposed to the truth of God to his law and therein to his Precepts prohibitions promises threats as they are meanes to inform the understanding in the truth and move the Will unto obedience The end of it is to blind the understanding and pervert the Will It blinds the understanding either by taking away or hindering the clear light of the truth or deluding it with falshood or errours by representing that as good and just which is evill and unjust or that which is just and good as evill and unjust and if it once cause the mind to doubt of or deny the truth it 's likely to prevaylâ—e For by this meanes it takes away the feare of punishment
threatned and allures the heart with some hope of good which God did never promise and this is the way to deale with man being an intelligent and free creature whose will in matter of practice can neither be forced nor necessitated The weaknesse of the party tempted is from the imperfection of knowledge and integrity And the more 〈◊〉 active resolute importunate the tempter is the greater must needs be the danger of the party tempted Yet this is to be observed that no temptation though violent and subtile can necessitate the will of man Thus Bradwardine proves excellently and fully that Voluntas non potest necessitari à causa secunda No second cause no not the Devill himself can do it This is the generall nature of temptation § VIII but 2. Who was the Tempter The History Gen. 3. makes mention onely of a Serpent Yet no doubt the principall tempter was far above that Serpent which was a Bâ—ast of the Field and irrationall Yet from other places we are informed that there is a Dragon Captain-generall with his Angels Rev. 12. 7. And lest we should be ignorant who this Dragon is it followes that it was the old Serpenâ— the Devill and Sathan who deceives the whole earth verse 9. For he is the grand-impostor and cheater-generall as all his temptations are cunning cheats and juglings He it was who by his lyes deceived Eve at the first and by her enâ—iced and surprized Adam and so murdered all mankind For this cause is he said to be a Lyar and a murderer Joh. 8. 44. Though the great temper was the Devill yet in this temptation he used or rather abused a Serpent which was more subtile then any beast of the field In which respect our Saviour adviseth us to be as wise as Serpents Math. 10. 16. A Subtile Creature was a fit instrument of a subtile Devil Why he should not immediately tempt the Woman without making use of a Serpent is not mentioned in that short History where the heads of things are onely and that briefly related Whether it was because he being a Spirit could not so well converse with Woman a bodily Creature without a body assumed or because the Devills and so good Angels can do many things by bodyes assumed which without them they cannot as by man they act farr more upon man for good or evill then without them they could do Yet in this designe if he must make use of a bodily Creature and he was not permitted neither could it then be convenient to assume the body of man a Serpent of all other was the fittest for his turn And it is strange that in many places almost in all times he should be worshiped in the form of a Serpent as we are informed he is at this day in many parts of the East-Indian Countryes But in the Third place the temptation is chiefly to be considered It was a conflict and encounter between Angels and all mankind and the event was of greatest consequence and no battle like this till many generations after the Son of God made man did encounter the Prince of Devills and all his power of darknesse upon the Crosse gave him a fatall blow and foyled him for ever in revenge of this cursed design whereby he intended the eternall ruine of mankind This businesse was contrived and managed with greatest power and pollicy For 1. He makes use of a Serpent the most subtile beast of the field and though we do not understand it yet he certainly knew there was some special advantage in it 2. He doth not encounter Man and Woman joyntly and at once but severally 3. He begins with the Woman 4. He doth not single out any of Gods Moral precepts or prohibitions For these were too deeply imprinted in the soul and of clearer light but he makes choyce of that positive precept which was not so obvious to reason and seemed to have some mystery in it and to admit some latitude for a Subtile discourse 5. He doth not instantly deny this Positive Law but begins to question the sense of it till at length he caused the Woman to doubt 6. In the end he assures her there was no danger as she seated and fondly surmised in eating of that fruit but certain hope of some great good and therefore perswades her to look upon that goodly fruit and consider whether there was any probability of the least evill to follow thereupon 7. By the Woman he perswades the man who dearly loved her and according to his affection could suspect no evill in any wise from her And here it is observeable that the first advantage the Woman gave him was in that she did not strictly peremptorily insist upon the plain and simple sense of he Law For when we once forsake the simplicity of the Word of God the subtlety of Sathan is such that he will speedily and easily deceive us This was Paul's fear lest by any meanes as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety so the Corinthians minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ 2 Cor. 11. 3. And now it is the grand designe of Sathan by his Agents to detaine people in the ignorance of the Scriptures or if that cannot be to Question the Divine authority of them or if they be perswaded of it yet to put them to prove it and prove it evidently and demonstratively to them Yet if notwithstanding all this they will adhere to these records as Divine they will argue against the sufficiency of them without unwritten traditions But let the sufficiency be proved they will controvert the Transcripts and Translations and make the sense in plain and necessary things to be obscure or divert them from necessaryes to doubtfull disputations in things needlesse and no wayes conducing to Salvation The Scriptures are the great and mighty engine of God against all the power of Sathan and if we clearly understand certainely beleeve and constantly practise the Saving Truths thereof then we may foyle him he cannot prevayle against us His endeavour therefore is to puzzle our understanding shake our Faith hinder our practise and perswade us that there is no danger but safety and advantage in sin or at least tempt us to presume upon Gods mercy The inward motive which set the Devill on work in this cursed damned designe was envy malice and delight in doing mischief which presupposed his Revolt from and Rebellion against God And in this respect he is said to be a Lyat For this was the first grand lye and Sophism in the World and also a Murderer for by this meanes he slew mankind and had for ever undone him if God had not prevented it By this attempt the partyes tempting had made themselves deeply guilty § X though it had never taken effect Yet the cursed damned designe prevayled against the partyes tempted and first against the Woman For she admitted conference forsook the simplicity of the truth began to parly then to doubt and
tranâ—gressed by man at first could be no blameable cause of sin is evident because it was just easie to be observed man had power given him to keep it and the Law it self did express what and how great the evil would be whereunto man should certainly be liable if he transgressed and this was done to restrain man from sin for his own good By all this it 's evident that the first sin was neither from God nor the Law of God so as they could be blamed but from the Devil Woman Man who were justly chargable with it and punishable for it Let no man therefore charge God who is most holy nor the Decree of God nor the Law of God with sin as any ways a proper cause thereof Let God be true and every man a Lyaâ— as it is written That thou mightest be justified in thy saying and overcome when thou art judged Rom. 3. 4. But let every one charge his own heart and with all humility and grief confess his own sin It 's true that the temptation of the Devil tends directly to sin yet that could do us no hurt if we did resolutely reject it and not consent unto it CHAP. XIII Of God's Judicial Proceeding against Man upon the Commission of the first Sin HItherto § I I have spoken briefly of Sin in general and the first sin of man in particular as the Object of the Judgment of God which followed upon the perpetration of that sin In this Judgment God was the Judge Man the Party judged the Rule not onely the Moral but positive Law of God He was not bound to this Rule and therefore though in many things he observes it yet in some things he acts above it as supream Lord above his own Law and allays the severity of his Justice with abundance of Free-grace The Law promiâ—ed no mercy if man disobeyed yet he promiseth mercy even in the midst of Judgment and upon fairest terms This Judgment is described exactly in Gen. 3. Wherein we may observe the sin of man and the judgment of God The sin with the causes thereof and the first effects thereof before judgment the observant Reader will easily understand in the first part of that Chapter The Effects were two 1. Shame 2. Fear Shame for they saw their own Nakedness Fear For they heard the Voice of God and were afraid They sought to cover their shame and to hide themselves from God's Presence but both in vain In the Judgment or judicial proceedings â—ive things are most observable 1. The Summons 2. The Charge 3. The Conviction of the Parties summoned and convinced 4. God's Sentence 5. The Execution of the same God being Supream and absolute Lord was no ways bound to observe Formalities yet he omits nothing essential to judgment And this was the first great Court and Solemn Assizes kept on Earth 1. We have the Summons in these words Adam where art thou The end of Summons is Appearance which in respect of God was needless because of his Omnipresence And where could man disappear or hide himself from his All seeing Eye Yet because man had a foolish and fond conceit that he miâ—ht conceal himself God calls him out and by these words lets him know that 't was in vain to hide himself For let him be in the darkest and most secret place in the World yet there God was present and he did appear before his Tribunal For these words were not of ignorance as though God knew not where he was but a judicial Summons commanding him to appear before him where he should have full liberty to plead for himself Yet these words were not a bare Summons but a Charge For they implyed 1. That Adam did hide himself And 2. There must be some cause of it and there could be no cause but sin For why should an innocent person hide himself or seek to escape the presence of a just Judge The Righteous are as bold as a Lyon and dare look the greatest Judge in the face By this flying Gods presence he accused himself as guilty and sought to decline the Tryall This is a generall charge Adam upon this appeares and exuseth his hiding of himself but so that he rather accuseth himself by pretending that the cause of his hiding himself was his Nakednesse and the Presence of God whereas it was guilt of Conscience Therefore God taking hold of his own words proceeds to a Particular charge That surely he had transgressed the Law and had eaten of the Tree whereof God had commanded him that he should not eate Who should tell him that he was naked or how should he know it except he had offended This came so home and the crime was so evident and his own conscience so full a Witnesse that he could not deny it And therefore confesseth his offence yet so that he endeavours to attenuate it and excuse himself Thus the man was convicted yet so that he accuseth his Wife Sin is so odious filthy base that the Sinner himself is ashamed to own it but would charge it upon some other he cares not whom so that he might free himself And if man cannot deny his fact or prove it not to be a Sin yet he will endeavour to make it appeare lesse then it is that his shame and punishment may be lesse For we are not asham'd or affraid to Sin Yet when our Sin is charged upon us we are both ashamed of it and affraid of the punishment deserved Thus whilst Adam excuseth himself to no purpose he accuseth his dearly beloved Spouse and she indeed was two wayes guilty Not onely 1. Because she had eaten the forbidden fruit but 2. Because she had given it her husband to eate She therefor is summoned accused and convicted For she could no wayes plead Not guilty Yet she is willing to excuse her self and pleads she was deceived and the Serpent that is the Devill had deceived her Yet this could by no wayes clear and acquit her seeing she knew the Law and the words were plain and she had power not onely to resist but to overcome the Temptation For the controversie between the Devill and her if she had well considered proved in the issue to be this whether she should believe God saying If thou eate of that Tree thou shalt surely dye or the Devill saying Though thou eate thereof thou shalt not dye in plain contradiction to the Words of God The old Serpent the Devil and Sathan had no excuse none to cast the blame upon His crime was evident and notorious And thus the cause was evident and the partyes clearly convicted After conviction followes sentence § II declaring the Will of the supreme Judg concerning the Delinquents And 1. We must think and know that the Spirit in this History condescends unto our capacity and after the manner of humane judgements describes the judgement of God as in severall places of the new Testament our Saviour doth especially in Math. 25. 2. The order
when we are once in Christ we are not wholly freed from that Sentence because it continues partly in force untill the Resurrection But of these more fully hereafter CHAP. XIV Of the Penalties Executed on Mankind more Partiuclary As also to which the Sentence made it liable FOr the more full understanding of this Judgment § I it will be very convenient to declare 1. More particularly the punishments which were executed upon mankind and whereunto the Sentence made it liable 2. The extent of sin and death in respect of the subject and the Derivation of the same from Adam to his posterity Where something shall be said of Original sin 3. The Attributes of God chiefly manifested in this Judgment 1. For the punishments we must know they were lesse then the desert of this sin For in strict justice man had deserved far more and more grievous punishments then this Sentence did determine For as you shall hear hereafter God punished man Citra condignum far lesse then he deserved And he in great mercy ordained meanes whereby many of these Judgments might be prevented and all in the processe of time removed as he reserved a power to abate them or aggravate them at will and pleasure So that man hath cause to blesse God that though he might Yet he will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities Psal. 103. 9 10. Where we may observe the intermission interruption and mitigation of his Justice 1. The intermission of his chiding He sometimes chides but not alwayes as he might 2. The abruption of his anger He chides sometimes and is angry yet he breaks off and continues not his wrath as he might do for ever 3. The mitigation He punisheth and sometimes grievously yet not according to our sins and so much as we deserve And thus his Sentence is to be understood For his execution is the best intepretation of his own mind which he knew best himself when he passed this Judgment Besides the punishment formerly mention'd § II there be many others not there exepressed but either implied and that darkly in that Scripture or more fully expressed in others These are either spirituall and such as immediately affect the soul of man and tend to it's spirituall and eternall misery or such as referr unto his body and temporal estate in this life or such as afflict both body and soul for ever in the world to come if not prevented The first and great penalty spiritual was the losse of Original Righteousness and Holiness when God took away his sanctifying Spirit By this it came to passe that the active free power of man to do good and that which was pleasing to God was not onely weakned but wholly taken away For though the essence and faculties of man remained yet the Spirituall and divine vigour was lost A natural but not a spiritual free will he hath The Councel of Trent tells us that Liberum Arbitriâ—us fuit viribus attenuatum non penitus sublatum Free-will by the Fall was weakned but not wholly lost If they mean that it was so weakned that it lost all spiritual and supernaturall power clearly to understand and effectually to prosecute spirituall good or if any such strength doth remain yet it was given to man and left in his soul for the merit of Jesus Christ promised then they speak the truth otherwise they cannot be excused By this incomparable lâ—sse there followed in mans understanding ignorance and errour and in his wâ—ll perversnesse and a disorder in his faculties and a difference between the rational and sensitive appetite A pronesse or strong inclination to that God forbids and a disaffection to all Heavenly good The soul hath loâ—â— all rellish of heavenly things Besides this Man became subject and a slave to Sathan who thereupon could easily bâ—ind and delude his understanding and pervert his will so that nothing so heynous but he could perswade him unto it and work in his heart an hatred of the Power of Godlinesse That there was such a Penalty which passed upon Adam and Eve and all their Posterity may be made evident out of Gods word For 1. The nakednesse shame fear hiding from Gods presence false pretences of fear and slight and excuses of their sin in our first parents do imply this 2. What necessity is there of every son of Adam even the best to be born again and that of water and the spirit before he can enter into the kingdom of God if man by this fall had not lost the Sanctifying spirit How comes it to passe that except the spirit of Christ be in us we are carnally minded at enmity against God so that we are neither subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be 3. What necessity is there to turn men from the power of Satan to God Act. â—6 18. and to be deâ—â—â—ered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Gods Dear Son Col. 1. 13 To this purpose I might multdiply other 〈◊〉 of Scripture to prove that this was one great penalty consequent to the sin of Adam Another penalty was § III the loss of Gods comforting spirit For where the spirit doth ceaâ—e to sanctifie it doth cease to comfort And hence the losse of boâ—dnesse confidence peace heavenly joy sweet communion with God testimony of a good conâ—cience right to the life and all Solace that might arise from the hope and assurance thereof Instead of these succeeded horror grief anguish perplexity an â— despair so that he conceived and found himself cast out of Gods presence and favour This seems to be signified by Gods casting him out of Paradise denying him accesse to the Tree of Life and that must needs torment his soul grievously and perpetually the passage into that Holy happy place was guarded by Angels with a fiery sword This was the Sentence of Excommunication executed upon him signifying that seeing man had sinned and polluted himself there was no possibility of Life by the Law of works And except Christ by his blood had quenched the fire of Gods wrath and made a new passage to Life we had perished for evermore and to draw near to God was to approach to a consuming fire to our eternall destruction We must needs think that Adam looked back towards the Tree of Liâ—e with weeping eyes and an heavy heart especially when he considered the distance and the impossibility of accesse How grievously did wicked cursed Cain complain of this that he was cast out of Gods sight How importunately doth David deprecate this punishment saying Lord cast me not out of thy presence and take not thine Holy spirit from me Besides this he became timerous and of a dejected spirit 〈◊〉 having lost that Majesty whereby he awed the inferiour creatures and his dominion over them was much impaired The penalties § IV which referred unto his body
Attribute which God did exercise § III and manifest in this Judgment passed upon man was his Mercy which is his free love of man who had made himself unworthy For after that he had sinned and made himself miserable though his misery were an object of compassion yet his sin did provoke to anger and deserved vengeance God looking upon man in this condition was more willing to pitty him then to punish him to remove the sin then to destroy the sinner He was unwilling all Mankind should perish as they must needs have done if he had proceeded in strict justice against them The sin in it self was no fit subject of mercy yet seeing that Woman was deceived by the subtilty of the Devil and Man by Woman his dearest Wife brought into transgression God took occasion to pitty them yet there could be no mercy for them except it issue out of the abundant goodness of God who is slow to anger and so much inclined to compassion and willing in this particular rather to manifest the glory of his mercy then of his justice Man had made himself unworthy and liable to eternal misery and God might have eternally punisht him and that justly too yet mercy kept justice back mitigated the rigour of it and confined it in a narrow compass to inlarge her self more abundantly This mercy was the Fountain from which issued the Promise of Christ the ruine of Sathan's Kingdom the Redemption of Mankind the Relicks of God's Image the means of Conversion the patience long-suffering bounty and clemency of God the gifts of the Spirit the remission of sin and eternal life And that God might be placable Sin pardonable Man saveable he accepts Christ's propitiation reverseth the Law of Works as requiring and that strictly perfect and perpetual obedience as the condition of life and makes a new Law and Covenant which determines Faith to be the condition of life and that condition to be performed by the power of the Spirit merited by and restored for Christ's sake This mercy did appear in this great Judgment many ways § IV 1. God sentenced the Devils in the first place and that without any mercy and for this very cause even because they had attempted the eternal ruine of man which upon the success of their damned Design had proved unavoidable and the recovery of man impossible if God should not have done some extraordinary work to prevent it Upon this fiery indignation of God against these Liars and Murderers of Mankind expressed in this Sentence it did appear 1. That the punishment to be suffered by these cursed Fiends was grievous unavoidable and unremovable for ever 2. That God was highly displeased at their malice shewed against and the mischief done to Mankind in that he takes so fearful vengeance upon them 3. That there was some pitty in God towards poor man trembling at the Bar of God for though their folly was inexcusable yet their condition considering the temptation was lamentable 2. This mercy was manifest in an high and extraordinary degree and measure in that in this Sentence he promiseth or at least implies a most certain promise of Jesus Christ a Saviour and Redeemer It 's true that this great promise was folded and wrapt up in a few words and the same very mysterious as we read them in Moses Gen. 3. 15. But those very words inform us 1. That the Redeemer should be the Seed of the Woman that Woman whom the Serpent had so deluded and who now stood guilty before God's Tribunal 2. That this Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head and so be the ruine of his Kingdom and Dominion over Man 3. That he should not obtain this Victory without Blood for his Head must be bruised and he put to death And there is not onely an Emphasis but a Mystery in those words The Seed of the Woman The Emphasis is in this That God doth not say an Angel or Spirit or some man more excellent then Adam whom he should create instantly but the Seed a Child a Mortal Man born of that sinful Woman though now contemptible and miserable should encounter the Devil with that power and policy as to foil him The Mystery seems to be this That it 's not said the Seed of Man nor the Seed of Man and Woman but the Seed of the Woman signifying though darkly that Christ should be the Seed and Child immediate of a Woman but of no Man For as he was Man he had an immediate Mother who conceived bare him brought him forth but no immediate Father Upon these words as the condition of Man and Woman became more comfortable so the Kingdom and Government of Mankind began instantly to be altered and a second Adam was appointed their Head to redeem them as the first Adam had undone them We must needs think that our first Parents being sinful guilty and convicted before the Supream Judge of Heaven and Earth stood with sad and heavy hearts expecting their doom and condemnation to Eternal Death until they heard these words The Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents Head Then their Despair was turned into Hope and their sinking-dying-hearts began to revive For to them these were words far above all expectation of sweetest comfort Never better words spoken never better heard 3. This mercy was evident in that God did not send the Spirit of Despair nor of Slumber and Security upon them § V nor deliver them up to a reprobate mind as he might justly have done and so made their condition desperate and irrecoverable nor presently execute his judgment Eternal upon them either by taking away their lives in their sin or making their bodies immortal to punishment in body and soul for ever Neither did he take from them the Light of Nature and the sense and power of Conscience but gave them the saving-light of the Gospel and the means of Conversion with the promise of the Spirit All this is evident by the promise of Christ the ruine of Satan's Kingdom a final Victory after a Bloody War in this Sentence of the Devil and it doth further appear by the Education of Cain and Abel and especially in the Faith of Abel That the means of Conversion have been denied several persons whole Tribes many Nations and the greatest part of the World howsoever it might be deâ—erved by this sin of Adam yet usually it 's the punishment of Apostasie as of the generality of mankind before the â—lood of the Gentiles before Christ's incarnation and of the generality of the Jews and many of the Gentiles since the preaching of the Gospel to all Nations And the very Gentiles were not delivered up unto a Reprobate mind before they abused the Light of Nature Yet the very outward means of Conversion were a gift of Free grace for the merit of Christ who was promised of pure and abundant mercy The Sentence of Justice past upon them was allayed § VI and tempered with great mercy
the Scriptures make evident by Doctrine Threatnings Examples Eating the Forbidden Fruit was not the Personal Sin of any of Adam's Posterity and yet they all are punished for it For by one Man sin entred into the World and by sin Death and Death passed over all men c. Josuah and the Princes of the Congregation of Israel swear unto the Gibeonites not to put them to death Saul 450 years and more afterwards slays them and so violates that Oath For this sin of that King Israelâ—â—â—ers â—â—â—ers three years Famine and this sin is not expiated nor the Judgment turn'd away 〈◊〉 7. of Saul's Son long after were given to the Gibeonites and hanged up unto the Lord. Saul sins Israel suffers Famine and 7 of Saul's Sons are slain and this by the direction of God declaring the Perjury of Saul to be the cause of Israelsâ—â—sfering â—â—sfering Achan commits Sacriledge not onely He but his Sons and Daughters are stoned to death for it But I shall have occasion hereafter to say something more of this Particular The Socinians in opposing this truth deny plain Scriptures and charge God with injustice by consequence and whilest they deny Christ's Sufferings to be Punishments lest they should make God unjust they charge Him with injustice For if it be unjust to punish Christ being innocent for the sinnes of others for whom He voluntarily suffered according to the Appointment and Command of His Heavenly Father much more unjust it must needs be to afflict him and that so grievously without any cause at all or demerit of others And whereas they say That though some may suffer for the sins of others when they are sinful themselves and not otherwise they do but trifle For if one may justly be punished for the sin of another whereof he is not guilty then an innocent person may justly suffer for another who is guilty This was the case of Israel when David sinned He out of Pride numbers the People God is offended herewith and punisheth for this sin and that with death 70000 of his Subjects The King sins the People suffer and they suffer death for the Kings sin whereof they were not guilty as appears by those words of David's Repentance But these sheep what have they done 2 Sam. 24. 17. That is I not they have sinned They are innocent in this particular By all this we may understand how and how far Christ's Sacrifice is communicable to us How we come to be actuall Partakers of these Benefits shall be shewed hereafter Before I proceed § VIII I will take occasion to examine the Extent of Christ's Death Whether He died for all men and so Redemption be universal as some use to speak or no. 1. That Christ dyed for all in some sense must needs be granted because the Scripture expresly affirms it For by the Righteousness of One the free gift came upon All Men to justification of life Rom. 5. 18. And if One died for all then were all dead 2. That onely Believers actually enjoy the Benefit of this Death unto Salvation is as clear also 3. Neither God's love in giving Christ nor Christ's love dying for Man do exclude any as love 4. The benefit of Salvation is communicable to all upon certain tearms expressed in the Covenant which yet limits the actual benefit of Remission and Eternal Liâ—e by prescribing a qualification in the Parties to be saved by Christ's death 5. The Qualification is such that it excludes no man as a man or a sinful man but as impenitent and not believing at least So that it may truly be said that by Christ's Sacrifice all men are save-able some way though all shall not be saved And if any become not save-able it 's upon some demerit and speciall cause antecedent The immediate Effects called Satisfaction and Merit both signified by the word Propitiation make God propitious and in that respect man in a capacity of Salvation or save-able and do not precisely exclude or include any But Justification Reconciliation Adoption Glorification are so simiâ—ed by God's Promise that they formally and immediately belong to none but Believers This Question is needless if men would content themselves with the plain and simple truth of the Scriptures and rather use all means to believe then dispùte For if I once sincâ—rely believe I may be sure I have a right unto those Benefits If I believe not I can have no comâ—ort in this blessed and most meritorious Sacrifice There is another question and the same unprofitably handled Whether the Propitiation which includes both satisfaction and merit be to be ascribed to the active or passive obedience of Christ as their distinction and expression proposeth it For solution whereof it s to be observed 1. That both his active personal perfect and perpetual obedience which by reason of his humane nature assumed and subjection unto God was due and also that obedience unto the great and transcendent command of suffering the death of the Crosse both concur as causes of Remission and justification 2. The Scriptures usually ascribe it to the Blood Death and Sacrifice of Christ and never to the personall active obedience of Christ to the Morall law 3. That yet this active obedience is necessary because without it he could not have offered that great sacrifice of himself without spot unto God and if it had not been without spot it could not have been Propitiatory and effectuall for expiation 4. That if Christ as our surety had performed for us perfect and perpetual obedience so that we might have been judged to have perfectly and fully kept the law by him then no sin could have been chargeable upon us and the death of Christ had been needlesse and superfluous 5. Christs propitiation frees the Believer not onely from the obligation unto punishment of sense but of losse and procured for him not onely deliverance from evil deserved but the enjoyment of all good necessary to our full happinesse Therefore there is no ground of Scripture for that opinion That the death of Christ and his sufferings free us from punishment and by his active obedience imputed to us we are made righteous and the heyres of life 6. If Christ was bound to perform perfect and perpetuall obedience for us and he also performed it for us then we are freed not onely from sin but obedience too and this obedience as distinct and seperate from obedience unto death may be pleaded for justification of life and will be suffiâ—ient to carry the cause For the tenour of the law was this Do this and Live And if man do this by himself or surety so as that the law-giver and supreme Judge accept it the Law can require no more It could not bind to perfect obedience and to punishment too There never was any such law made by God or just men Before I conclude this particular concerning the extent of Christs merit propitiation I thought good to inform the Reader that as the
Propitiation of Christ makes no man absolutely but upon certain terms pardonable and savable so it was never made either to prevent all sin or all punishments For it presupposeth man both sinful and miserable And we know that the guilt and punishment of Adams sin lyes heavy upon all his posterity to this day And not onely that but the guilt of actual and personal sins lyes wholly upon us whilst impenitent and unbelieving and so out of Christ and the regenerate themselves are not fully freed from all punishments till the finall resurrection and judgement So that his propitiation doth not altogether prevent but remove sin and punishment by degees Many sins may be said to be remissible by vertue of this sacrifice which never shall be remitted In this sense it may be understood that some deny that Lord that bought them 2 Pet. â— 1. For Christ by his death acquired a right unto and so a power over all flesh but so that he must give eternall life onely to such as his Father gave him For one immediate effect of Christs death was to make God placable and sin pardoned yet he never merited that any sin should be actually pardoned but upon such terms as his heavenly Father should prescribe It may also in a sense be said that Christ dyed onely for the elect That is that onely they shall obtayn actual pardon Yet they who thus affirm must give us out of the Scriptures the true notion of Election and of the Elect and not seek to obtrude upon us their own false Conceits For the Elect as the elect in decree are no subject capable of actual Remission as such for they are no subject at all because they have no actual existence though they may be and are an object or Logicall subject of Gods decree And after that they have actual being yet they are not immediately capable of actual pardon before they are called and actually believe And whereas some affirm that Christ dyed onely for the Elect in their sense it cannot be proved Because they presupposing an order in the decrees of God take it for granted that the decrees of Election and Reprobation are antecedent to the decâ—ee of Redemption and â—o by these very decrees formally exclude the greatest part of mankind and include the rest which cannot stand with the plain texts of Scripture which signifie that we are predessinated to be conformed to the image of Christ That we are elected in Christ and predestinated to the Adoption of Children by Jesus Câ—rist unto himself The 4th and last thing in this discourse of Christs death § IX is to consider the attribuâ—es and perfections which were principally manifested in this work of Redemption For bâ—sides his absolute power by which he acted in this work above the lâ—w of Creation many of his perfections did most gloriously appeare And first his Wiâ—dom For this was one of the highest designes of God and this work of redemption was contrived and ordered in the highest degree of Wisdome that God did ever exercise out of Himself The Apostle determined to know nothing amongst the Corinthians but Christ Jesus and him crucified And though this Doctrin of the Crosse seem'd foolishnesse to men devoyd of the Spirit yet when he preached it he spake Wisdome to them who were perfect the Wisdome of God in a mystery evâ—n the hidâ—en Wisdome which God ordayned before the world was to our glory 1 Cor. 2. 2. 6 7. And by the preaching of the Gospel was made known to Principalityes and powers in heavenly places the manifold Wisdome of God Ephes. 3. 10. And the Doctrin of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow thereupon was such and so excellent for Wisdome that the very Angels desired to pry or look in it 1 Peter 1. 12. That Wisdome must needs be wonderfull which contrived such glorious things For the seed of â—rayl Woman deceived by the Devil and now guilty before the tribunall of God must bruise and break the head and power of the Devil and shake his Kingdome over mankind in pieces The Word and eternal Son of God must be made flesh as though mortality and eternity had been united together Weaknesse must vanquish strength Mortality must be away to immortality Death to eternal life the most cruel paines to full and everlasting pleaâ—ures the moâ— bitter sorrowes to the sweetest joyes the lowest humility to the highest honour and the greatest shame to the most excellent glory And which is strange that the Devil himself must use his utmost strength and policy to overthrow himself And his deepest Counsels must be the cause of his own ruine These are the wonderfull wayes of Gods unsearchable Wisdome discovered in the humiliation of the Son of God The Holinesse § X and Justice of God appeares in this work many wayes For though he be slow to anger inclined to forgive abundant in mercy and delighting in kindnesse and doing good unto his unworthy creatures and resolved to give his Son to remit sin and to save sinners yet he will not free any man from the guilt of sin nor yield that any sin should be pardonable without expiation be made his divine justice satisfied and the honour of his law violated be vindicated He will admit of no reconciliation except propitiation be made by blood to declare his righteouâ—nesse that he might be just and the justifier of him that beleeveth on Jesus Christ Rom. 3. 25. And this propitiation must be made by the Word made flesh Therefore he sends his son his dearly beloved his onely begotten son whom he esteemed above all men and Angells He smites him wounds him and layes on him the iniquityes of us all He must not only suffer but suffer death the death of the Crosse and he must for a time be a servant and lay aside 〈◊〉 his shining Robes of Glory be content to want the joyes and pleasures of Heaven and be deprived of God's sweetest comforts be exposed to the malice of the Devill and his malicious enemies ly under the pressure of most bitter pains sorrows and anguish and suffer and that from basest wretches the basâ—â— indignityes that ever any suffered And thus though he were a son must he learn obedience by suffering and before all these things were endured his Soul seperated from his Body and his Body layd in the Grave he must not rise again to Glory And he makes an unchangeable decree that whosoever will not be willing to deny himself take up his Crosse be obedient not onely in doing good but also in suffering evill even death the most cruell and tormenting death and that with patience for his sake shall derive no benefit from his Saviour who did not only expiate sin seal the Truth with his blood but also give us an example of most eminent humility patience meeknes charity obedience all other heavenly virtues that we might follow him if we will be saved And sinful man must know
4. It had annexed the whole Body of the Judicials and Ceremonials to continue in force whilest they should be a State Civil and Ecclesiastical even till the glorification of Christ and the Revelation of the Gospel 5. It had joyned with it many Temporal Promises and Curses Yet as before 1. It did minister no power of the Spirit to keep it 2. It promised no Pardon or Spiritual Blessing for those belonged unto the Law of grace in Christ who was promised to Abraham 3. It had no Priest that could expiate Sin or Sacrifice which could purge the Conscience from dead Works 4. It ran in strict tearms as Do this and live 5. It was given in such a manner as to strike a terrour into them as guilty Wretches who seemed to be summoned before God not so much to receive a Law as to hear the Sentence of Death passed upon them The special use therefore unto them was to give them a clearer and more perfect knowledge as of their duty so of their sin and misery Of their Sin by the Precepts of their misery by the threatnings And this to humble them cause them to desire a remedy and have recourse unto the Promise of Christ and that with a longing after his Exhibition And seeing there was no promise of power to keep it or of pardon and the Priesthood Sacrifices and other Services being in themselves an heavy burthen could no ways be able to free them from the guilt of sin they had the greater cause to rely upon him and expect his coming It was also a Rule of their lives both as single persons and as Members of a Body Politick that by obedience unto it they might live happily in that good Land of Canaan and not be obnoxious to those fearful judgments God had threatned and their Posterity for their sin did afterwards suffer Other uses of it as joyned with the Ceremonials I have formerly delivered That many of them sought Righteousness and Justification by this Law together with the Ceremonial was their great mistake For 1. There was no power in the Moral Law to justifie them except they could keep it but seeing they could not do it it was added for transgression Gal. 3. 19. 2. The Law Ceremonial had no power to sanctifie them and free them from sin For the Law was weak and unprofitable and made nothing perfect that is it justified and sanctified no man Heb. 7. 18 19. The Priests by their Offerings and Sacrifices could not take away sin Heb. 10. 11. The use of it to the Church § X especially Christian who have a clearer knowledge of Moral Duties by the example of our Blessed Saviour who was the perfect Mirrour of all Heavenly Virtues and by the Doctrine of the Gospel is 1. To discover Sin 2. To be a Rule of Obedience And of this use it was always both to Patriarchs to Israel and to all Christians The first end is to discover Sin For as where there is no Law there is no Sin so where there is no knowledge of the Law there is no knowledge of Sin Therefore it is said that by the Law is the knowledge of sin Rom. 3. 20. And the more clearly and distinctly God in his Law shall represent our Duty and that measure of Righteousness and Holiness which God requires at our hands and we by the Law of Creation were bound to perform or else suffer eternal death the more vile abominable and miserable we plainly see our selves to be We easily understand what need we have of Christ's death and intercession God's mercy and the Spirit of Regeneration lest we run on endlesly upon this heavy score The more we know our vile and sad condition the more we know the freeness of God's grace and the abundance of his mercy if He will be pleased to deliver us And lest the Law should work despair it was always in the Church joyned with Christ either to come or else exhibited Therefore it 's said That the Law entred that the offence might abound but where sin abounded grace did much more abound From which words we may understand 1. That the Law was not given to justifie us 2. It 's never to be separated from Christ and God's abundant grace in Jesus Christ our Lord. And this is one use to be made of the Law not onely before we are in Christ to prepare us for him but also after that we are in Him that we may renew our Faith and Repentance till we be fully sanctified Yet the Law without the power of the Divine Spirit can never so clearly and distinctly represent unto us our sins and make us sensible of them or keep us from despair In this respect the Law may be said to be Evangelical because subservient to the Gospel He that shall preach the Law without Christ is truly a legal Preacher And he that shall preach Christ without the Law to discover sin is an Antinomian This use cannot be made of the Law without Self-examination and a serious and distinct Review of our lives laid to the Line of this Law And though the Moral Law be the principal in this use yet all positive Laws in force serve to the same end This was not the proper and first intended end for as it found man holy and righteous at the first so it required he should continue Obedience and life were the end To discover disobedience and man's sad condition thereupon and to cause him to look and cast about for a Deliverance and desire Christ represented as a Saviour was not intended at the first but made an end by God-Redeemer in Christ to prepare him for Christ. This use was merely accidental to the Law and was super-added by the Divine Wisdom and Mercy and in this respect it can no ways belong to the first Covenant of Works To strike terrour into guilty man cause him to despair of life might be an effect of it according to that Covenant And now if it be represented as first given to Adam it can have no other effect But thus it was not to be understood after God had signified that He would provide a Redeemer Another use in the second place § XI is to be a Rule of Obedience But 1. It 's not a bare Rule to inform our Understanding of the Duty and so give direction but it 's a binding Rule as every Law is It 's not merely given us for Advice Exhortation Perswasion but with a strong Obligation 2. This Obedience is performed by sinful Man by way of Return For this Law finds man sinful guiltys and disobedient both by Nature and Practise Therefore the Scripture calls so often for turning to the Lord which implies two things 1. That turning from our sins we should for time to come subject our selves to God as our Redeemer and acknowledge Him 2. That being subjected we should be obedient unto His particular Commands And this Obedience by way of Return is called Repentance which cannot
may suffer and have a share in publick and general calamityes and ruins and sometimes may bear the sins of their Parents The performance of the promise doth most appear either in the times of peace and prosperity or in deliverances and comforts in the time of misery or in those fearfull curses which fall upon such as have been disobedient stubborn and undutifull Children who are punished sometimes with penâ—ry and want sometimes with crosses and discomforts in their own Children Sometimes with losse of their estates and banishment from their native soyl and place of inheritance sometimes with a violent and shamefull death or an ignominious life and all this for the violation of this precept besides other temporall and eternall punishments for their other sins Examples of those rewards and punishments we may read in Scripture and in other Historyes Hitherto I have explained the expresse words of the Commandement § VII There is something further implyed and that 's the duty of parents in respect of their Children For if they be in Gods place and must be honoured then they must be like unto God do good be beneficial to inferiours so as to deserve honour which unnatuall and carelesse parents cannot so much expect As God by the Apostle exhorts Children to obey their Parents so he forbids Parents to provoke their Children Ephes. 6. 4. Where we may observe that in duties the inferiour must be first The Wife must be subject to the Husband first The Children must be obedient to their Parents first Servants to their Mâ—sters first Subjects to the higher Powers first Yet so that superiours have their dutyes which they are bound to perform The dutyes of Parents are either negative or affirmative Negative are many as opposed to the Affirmative The Apostle in the former place expresseth onely one They must not provoke them This is done when they deny that which is necessary and convenient for them in respect of theiâ— ability and estate when they command them unjust or unreasonable things when in their rash passion they revile them and give them ignominious terms though they deserve them not When they use too much severity and sometimes plain cruelty not so much out of a desire to amend them as for to satisfie their own humours and fury as though they would revenge themselves upon them as enemyes To this purpose the Reverend and Learned Bishop Dâ—venant expounds those words Col. 3. 21. Parents must know that there is a great difference between Children and Slaves and a greaâ—er between Children and Enemyes If they will punish them they must be Judges not partyes know the cause and the merit of it be just and not cruel Correct them not Confound them The affirmative dutyes may be reduced to two 1. Preservation 2. Education 1. They must preserve them have a tender care of them maintayn them and provide for them according to their ability lest that life which God by them hath given be miserable or perish They must have a care of their education and bring them up for this life and that which is to come For this life they must train them and teach them or cause them to be taught in some honest kind of proâ—ession as in Husbandry trade or Merchandiâ—e or Learning according to their inclination and capacity Thus Adam and Eve brought up their Children Cain to be an Husband-man and tiâ—â—er of the ground and Abel to be a Shepherd They must not be suffered to spend their time in idlenesse playes sports and Vanity but must exercise themselves in some honest profession whereby they might benefit them and be usefull to their Countrey For the life to come so they must bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and learn them betimes even in their tender yeares so far as they shall be capable to serve their God know their Saviour and seek Eternall Life Ephes. 6. 4. Children have Souls as well as Bodyes and are capable not onely of a temporal but an eternal estate And Parents should endeavour to provide for both especially for the better that their Children might be the Sons and Daughters of the Living God and Heires of Eternall glory What comfort can it be to have Children miserable in this life or if in this life happy eternally miserable in the life to come as it often falls out through want of education To this education belong instruction example correction Familyes should be nurseryes and Seminaryes of Religion And if Parents for want of knowledge or leasure cannot thus educate them let them commit them to School-Masters Trades-men Ministers and others who are fit for that purpose What Parents in this Particular should do Tutours Guardians and such as are trusted with Orphans are bound to perform By this discourse we may easily understand § VIII what the sins both of Children and Parents against this Commandement be For they are contrary to the dutyes here commanded The sins of Children are disobedience to their Parents commands irreverence to their persons rebellion against their power ingratitude and neglect of them in their weaknesse want and misery when they shall take bad courses so as to be a shame grief and discomfort to their Parents who did carefully endeavour and seek their good God will surely punish them For the promise of life peace and prosperity to good Children implyes a commination of a curse against wicked and grace-lesse wretches who cannot be obedient to God when they are disobedient to Parents God high displeasure against incorrigible Children is signified by that law he gave to Israel If a man have a stubborn and rebellious Son which will not obey the voyce of his Father or the voyce of his Mother and that when they have chastned him will not hearken unto them Then shall his Father and Mother lay hold on him and bring him out to the Elders of his City unto the gates of his place and they shall say unto the Elders of his City this our son is stubborn and rebellious he will not obey our voyce He is a glutton and a Drunkard And all the men of his City shall stone him with stones that he dye So shalt thou put evil away from amongst you And all Israel shall hear and fear Deut. 21. 18 19 20 21. These are the sins of Parents § IX as Parents 1. To be unnatural Of this sin many Fornicatours and Adulterers are guilty For fearing shame or some other punishment from men more then from God they murder their Children either before or after their birth or desert them being born and leave them to perish 2. To take no care to maintayn them and provide for them or prodigally to wast that which should relieve them 3. To discourage them dul their Spirits provoke them use them as slaves or beasts or enemyes 4. To be ignorant or negligent so that they either cannot or will not instruct them or cause them to be instructed 5. To be prophane
God and Men agreeing with the Laws of God and so far as the Laws of Men are contrary and in this particular in determining man's right they are of no force neither can they bind any man 4. Seeing Justice commutative as some call it doth give Suum Cuique to every one his due Theft must needs be a not giving of every one that which is his own and due unto him by the Laws of God and the just Laws of men Not to give must be understood in a Latitude as to include unjust acquiring unjust detaining and keeping unjust disposing and wasting c. of that which is not our own And here the Question may be put Whether the Laws of that God who gave the Earth and the fulness thereof unto the Sons of Men hath made any goods so proper as that the use of them should not be common in cases of Necessity The Resolve seemeth to be made by our Saviour's words justifying the Disciples plucking the Ears of other men's corn and by the Example of David eating the Shew-bread sacred and proper to the Priests Whereas some put in the definition of Theft Invito Proprio Domino a taking away goods without the consent of the Owner this is not accurate For though Volenti non fit injuria and if the Owner be willing it 's no Injustice therefore no Theft yet goods may be justly taken away in divers cases without the Owners consent This word Stealing or Theft must be extended so far as to signifie not onely Furtum which is a secret and fraudulent Usurpation but also Rapinam which is a manifest and violent taking away another man 's right And this Injustice is opposed not onely to Justice determined by the Laws of men but unto Mercy and Liberality required by the Laws of God For men cannot detain or dispose of their goods but according to the Laws of the chief Lord and Proprietary who is God And we are here forbidden to wrong men not onely in their Propriety but their Possession Profit Use and Servitude Distinctions of Theft § III and so of Thieves are many both in regard of the matter and the manner 1. The matter may be sacred and given to God and for pious uses and to usurp these is called Sacriledge It may be common and so to usurp it is Ingrossing It may be publike and so the sin is Peculiatus a robbing or defrauding of the Common-wealth If the thing be of the Herd or Flock it 's Abigeatus driving away of Cattle If it be any person of man woman or child it 's Plagium Man-stealing If it be Use or Servitude it may be called Trespass If it be in time of War by Land and the War unjust or the Goods taken away or consumed without Commission or if they belong to such as are no Enemies it 's Plundring If it be in the time of War or Peace by Sea it 's Pyracie According to these several distinctions of the matter there be several kinds of Thieves and Persons guilty of Theft 2. Again they are distinguished for the manner As 1. The Causes conjoyned when several persons concur in the same Theft whereof some are principal others accessary and that by receiving concealing counsailing helping sharing or any other way consenting in this sin For as we are forbidden by God to concur actively with others to other sins so here to this We must do what we can to hinder and prevent this sin detect and use all lawful means to have the Offenders punished and so do our best not onely to maintain our own but preserve our Neighbours goods 2. They are such as are gross and palpable Thieves and condemned generally as those who are guilty of Burglary robbing by the High-way cutting Purses and of any kind of filching and stealing and of cogging and cheating Under this head come such as use Vivere ex Rapto as Borderers and Moss-Troopers To these we may add such as refuse to deliver goods found unto the right Owners when they are certainly known Thieves § IV not so gross and palpable are either publike and private Publike are 1. Such as make unjust Laws concerning new Estates to enrich themselves and oppress impoverish and undo their Subjects 2. Such as without Law by an Ariytrary Power lay heavy Taxes upon their Subjects sequestâ—r confiscate or charge their Estates without just cause 3. All covetous Judges who judge for Rewards and do wrong to such as being wronged by others seek to them for remedy And many times we find it true that Princes are Revolters and Judges are companions of Thieves love Gifts and follow after Rewards 4. All publike Auditors Treasurers Commissaries Collectors Publicans and other Officers trusted in the gathering keeping dispensing the Publike Revenue and yet give in false Accounts divert the Publike Treasure enhaunce Fees extort more then their due and oppress the People and rob the Common-wealth either in Peace or War by Sea or Land Private Thieves § V are either such as are false and unjust in their Trust or in their Contracts False in their trust as unjust Stewards Factors Sharers in a Common stock Tutors and Guardians trusted with the estate of Orphans and whosoever are any ways trusted with other mens goods and yet prove unfaithful Unjust and unfaithful in their Contracts are many according to the several kinds of Contracts whereof some are made without writing some are written Some of these Contracts I will mention to discover the several sorts of Thefts whereof men are guilty and give some Directions to reduce many places of Scripture to this Commandement 1. In lending and borrowing there is Injustice 1. In Lending some lend when they should give and to those who are in need and should be freely relieved Some will not lend at all when they might do it without any prejudice and are bound to it by the Laws of God Some will lend but not freely or upon reasonable but unreasonable hard tearms as upon more than ordinary Security by Pledges Morgages and such like to the great dammage or danger of the Borrowers These are contrary to that of our Saviour who best understood this Commandement Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away Math. 5. 42. Amongst other kinds of Lending that of Vsury is most to be considered as admitting of much debate and a subject of many Cases It 's lending of Money upon condition to receive the Principal with Interest for the use of it In respect of the Interest to be received over and above the Principal for the mere use it 's called Vsury Yet it 's to be observed that it 's not always a lending of money actually but sometimes virtually or as some Casuists use to speak Interpretativè Some contract all this in these few words Pactum ex mutuo Lucrum This Vsury thus defined is not absolutely unlawful For in divers â—ases a man may receive from some men gain
Sports Gaming For if any man take such a course of life as that his Expences shall exceed his Estate he must either reform his ways or if he continue his expensive course he must be a Beggar in time or fall upon some inordinate way or unjust means of acquiring that which is not his own Pride and Ambition are costly and will not be maintained with a little and most men spend their Estates either in Vanity or Iniquity Both these are grievous sins and the latter the rearer 4. Covetousness is a great cause of Theft and Injustice and it 's very unmerciful will pitty no man do right to none wrong to any use the basest and most sordid yea the most horrid means to gain It will not onely oppress but murder the Fatherless and Widow or any other to gain their Estates 5. Fear of want weakness of Faith whereby we should trust in God and cast our care upon him is a temptation to this sin as also discontentedness with that Estate God hath given us and too much love of our selves Lastly if we do not seriously consider and certainly believe that we are but Stewards of our goods and must dispose of them according to God's Will so as not onely to be just but also merciful and both just and merciful in thâ—â— degree not that the Laws of men but of God require we must needs be Transgressours of this Law The affirmative part follows § IX And by what is forbidden may be easily known what is commanded and in one word it's Justice not Justice measured by the Laws of men but the Laws of Christ which includes Equity Mercy Liberâ—lity according to our ability The particular Branches of this Justice may be understood by the several kinds of Injustice formerly mentioned and therefore I need not proceed to particulars The degrees also answer to the degrees of Theft For this Duty as all the rest begins in the Heart which must be resolved out of love to Justice to do no man wrong to do every one right not onely in paying Debts making Satisfaction and Restitution where Wrong hath been done to which he may be forced by the Laws of men but also he must be merciful and relieve the Poor and give to pious Uses and always rather ready to want and suffer wrong then to do wrong It goes on in Words and Writings in all which he must be plain honest faithful constant true and no ways chargeable with Deceit or Dishonesty and Double-dealing In our Deeds we must acquire justly use honestly give freely detain nothing that is due when it 's due nor take any advantage to the injury and dammage of another though it be in our own power and though we swear to our own hurt yet we must not change Psal. 15. 4. The means to the Observation of Justice § X are many For 1. We must consider that these Earthly Goods are given us to preserve our lives in this time of our Pilgrimage and a little will do it and when we come unto our abiding City which God hath prepared we shall not have any need of these things 2. We are but Stewards of our goods and are bound to give an account both how we get them and how we spend them to our God 3. They are given us to be used so as to seek God's Kingdom and lay up Treasure in Heaven where we must expect a glorious Inheritance and an Eternal Estate in comparison of which all the Treasurers of the World are but trash 4. We were not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold which cannot deliver us from Death much less from sin and the Eternal Punishments of Hell 5. Seeing we were redeemed by the precious bloud of Christ we must give our selves and goods wholly to him to be disposed of according to his Will Without the consideration of these things we cannot Evangelically as Christians obey this Commandement These are general means The particulars are 1. Contentedness with our estate which God hath given us be it more or less The Apostle tells us and we may believe him That godliness with contentment is great gain and he gives a reason to perswade us for we brought nothing into this World and it 's certain we can carry nothing out And having Food and Rayment let us therewith be content 1 Tim. 6. 6 7 8. And Experience will tell us that all the rest though never so much besides these are needless 2. We must not be idle but painful and laborious and use some honest Profession to maintain our selves and relieve others 3. We must be provident and wise in using and ordering that which we have 4. We must be frugal and sparing in an honest way not sordid and we must take heed of all expensive courses in things that are vain and sinful and keep within our compass 5. We must know that the way to thrive is to be honest and merciful and if we first of all seek God's Kingdom and His Righteousness trusting in our God we may be sure we shall be provided for To perswade us to the observation of this Law § XI besides the general Reason from the Command of God not onely Creatour but Redeemer the Eternal Punishments threatned and Rewards promised our own Vows and Promises to our God and the power of Grace given us for obedience There are many particular Disswasives from Theft and Injustice and Swasives to just Dealing Equity and Mercy 1. This is directly contrary to the peace and welfare of Humane Society which cannot be continued if Theft Rapine Injustice unmercifulness oppression be suffered For how many Dissentions Quarrels Miseries arise from this Sin 2. The folly of Injustice Oppression and Covetousness appears to be great if we consult the Scriptures For they inform us that whilest men seek to gain they lose whilest they enrich themselves unjustly they become poor For Goods and Estates acquired unjustly waste away the Curse of God consumes them their Lands Houses Treasures fall into the hands of others They â—â—ave them in the midst of their days and find little or no comfort in them And the more uncertain they are in themselves and corruptible the more uncertain the Possession and Enjoyment the more frail and mortal the Owners be the greater the â—olly is They do but load themselves with thick Clay and lay snares for their own lives and bring upon themselves Destruction 3. The Punishments threatned and executed by God and recorded in the Scripture are very fearful For not onely private Persons but great and noble Families and whole Nations have suffered for this sin And God hath many ways signified his detestation of Covetousness and indignation against Oppression hath promised to hear the Cries of the Oppressed and to revenge their cause and wrongs 4. It 's contrary and that directly unto Christianity insomuch as that Christ will punish with Eternal Fire not onely such as have been Thieves covetous Oppressours but even such
judiciall proceedings whether from Law-givers or Judges or Witnesses or Advocate or any person acting in judgment is prohibited and justice Distributive is commanded For the Judges of the Earth should be like unto God whose Deputyes they are and render to every one according to their Works This justice is necessary to the preservation of humane society all civil states which may subsist without this or that form of government so that they have a government but cannot continue long without the administration of justice which is in all Polities like the Sun in Heaven and the World cannot be withit And as Laws are in vain without judgement and execution so judgement is not onely vain but a mischief if it be not just Though the Commandement hath speciall reference to civil judgment in a Common-wealth constituted yet it may extend to all private families and societies Schooles and Colledges of Discipline and Corporations yea and to all Ecclesiasticall Courts And by â—alse Witnesse analogically may be understood all private rash and uncharitable censures whisperings false reports and too much Readinesse to Believe them This sin of false Witnesse § III as also unjust Judgment hath its root and beginning in the heart for out of the heart proceed not onely Murders Adulteries Theft but false Witnesse for the heart must needs be corrupt before the testimony can be false or the judgment unjust For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Therefore all such as have any desire resolution or intention to pervert and corrupt judgment must needs transgresse this law It goes on in words and writings and ends in actions all which as they tend to hinder just proceedings and promote injustice must needs be unlawfull And in this sin we must neither be principall nor accessary If in this particular our Neighbour suffer either by our silence or neglect or imprudency we cannot be excused By all which we learn that here we are commanded to desire and love justice in our hearts and endeavour by words writings and actions to promote the same And herein we must not be cold and carelesse spectators with Gallio not caring for such things when we see injustice done but we must be zealous and diligent to prevent it if we have power The sins here forbidden § IV and the dutyes commanded are many and may be reduced unto a certain order either according to the acts of judgement from the first information unto the last execution or according to the severall persons who in a certaine order act in judiciall processe as 1. Plaintiff and Defendant which are the parties litigant in the civil law called Actor et Reus 2. Sollicitours 3. Atturneys 4. Advocates and Lawyers who give Counsel or plead 5. Clarks and Notaries 6. Judges 7. Such as are trusted with the execution as Sheriffs Bayliffs Constables who are imployed in serving Writs Summoning Arresting Attaching Imprisoning and Executing of the sentence 8. Witnesses 9. With us Jurors They may be reduced to three sorts 1. The parties 2. The Judge 3. The assistants But before this Commandement can be obeyed the foundation must be well laid in the enacting of just laws Therefore the Law-givers and Supreme governours have two things to do 1. To enact good wise just laws and such as tend to the publick weale peace and prosperity of the subjects 2. To appoint good Judges and Officers and if this be not done and so sin prevented no justice can be expected And it 's a sad thing when these fail and neglect their duty rebel against God neglect the publick good and they which should reform others have need to be reformed themselves and there is none can reform them This foundation of just Laws and good Officers and Judges being laid and a right course taken for a true and faithfull information of publick crimes and private offences just Judgement will very much depend upon the Judges whose duty is after they are commission'd as inferiour or as supreme to be well skill'd in the laws make diligent search into the cause passe sentence impartially according to the merit or demerit thereof and see the same faithfully and fully executed But if they be insufficient negligent in the discussion of the cause corrupt covetous partial devoyd of the fear of God love gifts favour friends hate enemyes fear great ones or despise the poor Fatherlesse and Widdows their sin against this Commandement will be very great Before I proceed to other particulars § V I desire every subject to observe the former laws and love his Neighbour as himself live peaceably in the State where God hath cast him Love will do no evill and if we would thus do we need not feare the sword we should prevent Suites and many ungodly intentions and this should be the design of every good Christian. But seeing this will not be done and we can neither find any State free from evill doers nor Church without scandalous persons the duty of Informers Plaintiffs comes in first to be observed And as publick informers should accuse no man falsly either for gaines or out of spite and for revenge so their duty is to give-in true information and be able to make it good and they ought to spare no offendours whom they certainly know to be such What is to be done in the Church in this particular our Saviour hath informed us fully Math. 18. As for Plaintiffs and Prosecutors in Criminal causes against the publick we should ayme principally at reformation and in capitall at the publick good that others may heare and feare But in private wrongs whether they concern our credit or persons or goods it 's our duty first to seek satisfaction in private between our selves or upon a reference to others But if in this way we cannot prevayl and there is a necessity for in that case suits in law are lawfull though sometimes it will be better to sit down and suffer wrong pray and refer our cause to God then we must not be so unconscionable as to charge our adversary with any thing whereof he is not guilty nor so imprudent as to undertake the charge against him and not be able to make it good If after the suit is commenced and before it receive a finall determination the adversary be willing of transaction and there be any hope of good and it be not likely to prove prejudiciall the Plaintiff ought to accept it and all the time of the controversie and the duration of the tryall he ought to be in Charity As for the Defendant if he be wrongfully charged he may justly defend himself so that he do it not unjustly nor use any unlawfull meanes to free himself In this particular we find many guilty litigious delighting in suits loving to vex their Neighbours and many Defendants who have done wrong and are questioned yet will deny it and that upon Oath and will use the most cursed meanes to put the Plaintiff to the greater
charge to suborne or corrupt Witnesses and delay the finall decision which also is the sin of both partyes sometimes And few men continue charitable whilst they contend in law The many sins of the parties litigant are so well known that I need not give any further account of them As for Sollicitours and Atturneys § VI they must be skilfull allowed diligent faithfull perswading to peace and if that cannot be to be as carefull of their Clients cause as of their own Yet so as to do nothing against a good conscience and the rules of Christianity Their profession is lawfull and good but the design of many of them is to gaine and out of covetousnesse to enrich themselves Their end is not peace and justice They encourage men in their litigious suits perswade them of the justice and good issue of their cause and will undertake it though never so unjust They disswade men from agreement comply one with another to bring grift unto the Lawyers mill delay Judgement protract Suits give advantage to their Client's adversary either ignorantly or negligently or perfidiously They make large accounts exact immoderate fees and pick poor mens purses and so prove not onely Theeves against the former Commandement but enemyes to just Judgement against this The duty of Witnesses is to remember § VII and seriously consider their Oath and accordingly clearly and fully to declare the truth and all the truth they certainly know in that cause wherein they are produced And this must be done without any partiality or respect to any person with a desire to make way for and promote righteous Judgement Such as are willing to be suborned or corrupted and are ready contrary to their Oath and the true end of all judiciall testimonyes to testifie that which they know not or know not certainly or that which they know to be false or conceal any of their knowledge or use doubtfull expressions or equivocations or mentall reservations or contradict themselves or any wayes obscure the cause out of covetousnesse or fear or favour or hatred or any other inordinate passion and affection these directly transgresse against the expresse Words of the Commandement And further let every one know that as he is forbidden here to be a false Witnesse so he is commanded to testifie the truth certainly known unto him in any cause when he is called thereunto and the case of his Neighbour shall require it Nay in some cases we must willingly offer our selves when we understand that by our true and faithfull testimony we may prevent in justice either in clearing and righting the innocent or punishing the guilty The duty of Counsellours in Law § VIII and Advocates who ought to be skilfull in the Law so far as their place requires or else not to undertake the profession is to perswade men to peace if that cannot be done or be not expedient to take full and perfect information before either they give Counsail or undertake the cause If they find it to be unjust they must refuse to meddle in it or manage it They must give good and faithfull Counsail plead wisely justly effectually in a good cause be content with moderate fees remember the condition of poor Clients be faithfull do what they can to bring the matter to a due tryall and with as much expedition as conveniently may be The sins of these are many if they be corrupt or covetous Some take upon them the profession and practise in it though they have no sufficient skil They will undertake any cause though never so unjust their end is gaine not justice their God is their gold They give bad Counsell encourage the Clients to go on in an unjust cause or in such a matter as it 's more then probable they shall be cast if justice take effect They will plead against justice obscure a plaine truth puzzle and daunt a timerous witnesse are senslesse of their Clients condition perfidious will plead vehemently against justice and do what they can to pervert judgement will not use all diligence to promote justice In our judicial proceedings § IX according to the constitution of our government we have Juries or Jurors so called because they are sworn before they can act and in that respect also they are called Sacramentales These are either Delatory or Judiciall Delatory are for information and their businesse is to enquire after Delinquents and to certifie their names and their offences And they are either superiour or inferiour Superiours for a whole County at Assises or Sessions of the peace and this Jury is called the Grand-Inquest Inferiour are such as present and indite in inferiour Courts Judiciall are such as for the substance of the cause determine it for matter of fact before the Judges give the sentence for Law Their judgment is called a Veredict And these according to the causes are such as give their Veredict in civil or Criminal and capitall causes In civil causes belonging to the Common pleas the Judge between subject and subject in criminall betwixt King and subject And because some criminal causes are capiâ—al therefore such as are empaâ—eld and sworn for these are called the Jury for life and death All this makes it evident that amongst us judgement depends much upon these Jurours Their duty in this respect is that according to law they be Boni et legales homines and no wayes chargeable with such crimes as they accuse or judge which words according to the first institution did reach further then we ordinarily conceive It was the wisdome of our Ancestours to appoint these Juryes that every one might be judged per Pares by his Peers and such as were likely to know men best and their quality causes and offences The intention was the preservation ofliberty to prevent the impunity of offenders and to do every one righâ— These must be men of understanding and integrity and must endeavour to be fully informed make just and impartiall presentments and give just and impartiall Verdicts Yet many of these are either unskilfull or unconscionable pact up of such persons as are for the person not the cause wranglers rash carelesse or soul corrupt and so are a great cause why innocent persons are condemned or 〈◊〉 in their cause and the guilty and sometimes such as are polluted with blood are acquitted In judgement also we have Notaries § X and also such as are trusted with the execution The Notaries and keepers of records have their duty prescribed in this Commandement and as they ought to be just and understanding men fitly qualified for their places so they should faithfully and truly record all proceedings from first to last and carefully and safely keep the records They must not be carelesse and negligent much lesse false in altering omitting or falsifying any thing nor unfaithfull in embezeling or making away any thing trusted in their custody Sheriâ—s Bailiffs Pursevants Constables or any imployed in execution must be carefull to give true
be cleansed and purified before he could enter and be admitted into God's Kingdome Yet all the Water in the World had no power nor all the washing with Water could have any such effect as to cleanse from the guilt or stain of sin This power was merited by the Blood of Christ to be exercised by the Spirit Regeneration therefore iâ— signified by washing One end of washing is cleansing and washing may be by dipping diving powring on water The principall thing is washing whatsoever way it be done Therefore Baptism is said to be a washing of water Ephe. 5. 26. The putting away of the fiâ—th of the flesh 1 Pet. 3. 21. The washing of Regeneration Tit. 3. 5. The washing of our bodyes with pure water Heb. 10. 22. It cannot be denyed but that the whole body descending into the water and plunged wholly and after that ascending out of the water again might resemble Christs Death and Resurrection more perfectly Yet neither was this the principal signification nor the immediate end of Baptism But how will it be proved that in Baptism the whole body with the head and all parts were plunged under the waters And suppose some were Baptized so it doth not follow that all ought to be so by vertue of any command All the washings lustrations purifications mysticall and sacred in the Law were contracted in this washing of Baptism The words added to washing with water do complete the Rite § X and make it very solemn The words are these I Baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost In which words we have 1. The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost 2. The Baptizing into this name These words containe the Doctrin of One most Glorious God the Father the Son and Holy-Ghost with the great and stupendious works of creation redemption sanctification For that Great Almighty and ever Blessed God created the world by the Word made flesh dying and rising again redeemed mankind and by the Holy-Ghost sanctifies his people And by the Redemption of Christ and sanctification of the Spirit he is the Fountaine and cause of mans eternall happinesse and glorification This Doctrin must be preached heard received believed professed by the party to be baptized if at age by himself if not at age by some other representing him And he must further promise to renounce the Devill and all other Lords to subject himself unto this God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost to obey his Commandements By virtue of this profession and promise when nothing to the contrary is manifest the party is baptizable according to Christs commission But besides these words there must be baptizing in this Name which is understood severall wayes 1. With some in the Name is in and by the authority and power of the Father Son and Holy-Ghost With other it s in this name invocated and called upon And the truth is that Baptism ought to be administred by commission and command from God and with solemn invocation of and prayer unto God With others it is to be by baptizing devoted subjected to God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost as their onely Lord and King in whom the party baptized must believe whom he must worship and obey as his onely supreme Lord and Saviour expecting eternall life from him and him alone With this sense agrees that of such as understand it of baptizing in or unto the Faith which was professed and unto the worship and service of the true God which was promised These words do contain both the duty of man and the promise of God The duty of man is to believe and obey God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and the promise of God is to accept him as such and admit him as a subject of his Kingdome to receive the benefits of protection regeneration and eternall life After the Rite consummate § XI follows the effect and the end or according to some the act and that is the confirmation of Regeneration Where we may consider 1. What is confirmed 2. How it is confirmed 1. The thing confirmed is Regeneration By regeneration is meant our first insâ—tiâ— into Christ dying and rising again for us and our first receiving of the remission and the Spirit for sanctification that we may dye unto sin and live unto God and of adoption whereby we are made Sons of God and heires of glory For we are saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour that being justified by his grace we should be made heires according to the hope of eternall life Titus 3. 5 6 7. Where we have 1. Washing which is the baptismall rite 2. Regeneration the thing signified sealed or confirmed 3. This regeneration is by the renewing of the Holy-Ghost 4. We have justification by grace 5. Adoption whereby we are made heires of Glory It 's our first ingrafting into Christ for mortification of sin and newnesse of life Rom. 6. 4 5 6. Col. 2. 12. You must take notice that Regeneration Adoption and the state of Justification are onely begun upon our first faith and admission and not finished till the Resurrection And Johns Baptism was for remission upon Repentance and confession of sin Marke 1. 4. with Mat. 3. 6. The manner how this is confirmed is this 1. The party to be baptized by receiving Baptism doth solemnly testifie and as it were Seal and confirme that Faith which he had professed and that promise of submission and obedience he made 2. God by the party baptizing him doth solemnly testifie his admission of the party Baptized into his Kingdome as a Subject thereof to enjoy the priviledges thereof So that the administring on the one side and receiving of Baptism on the other is a deep and mutual engagement and makes the obligation strong on mans side to do his duty on Gods side to perform his promise This is an immediate confirmation of the covenant and promises as a covenant and promises and doth engage to mutual performance for time to come For if there be a performance on both sides there must needs be an actual possession which needs no confirmation If it be said that the performance on mans side is onely begun and so is the performance on Gods side but in part for it is onely full when we fully enjoy eternal glory It 's true that it is so and therefore it 's a confirmation of mans promise of faith and obedience to the end and of Gods promise that when mans performance is perfect His performance shall follow and in due time be full and perfect For the more full and clear understanding of the point we must observe 1. That the Covenant between God and man differs from other ordinary covenants In other covenants the partyes covenanting are equally free from any antecedent obligation in respect of the thing covenanted and the obligation of both partyes
or obligation to punishment and this it is properly and in strict sense and the word remit doth inform us and teach us that it is so and so far as the obligation is remitted so far sin is pardoned and no further If it be wholly remitted the party guilty is wholly freed but if the remission of the obligation be but in part as it may be the pardon is not full and consummate And it 's not to be doubted but if the obligation may be remitted in part and by degrees and is so many times and not wholly at an instant Simul Semel And so far as a guilty person is freed by the supreme Judge from the guilt so far he is freed from the punishment either present and lying upon him by removall or future by prevention And a judge or a party offended may pardon either ex nuda voluntate without requiring any satisfaction or upon satisfaction given and accepted And the satisfaction may be made either by the party offending or some other substituted and accepted The forgivenesse or pardon we here pray for is granted upon satisfaction made unto divine justice not by the sinner but by Jesus Christ substituted and accepted by God Yet this satisfaction must be acknowledged and pleaded in the Court of Heaven by the sinner confessing repenting believing in Christ not onely making satisfaction on earth by his blood but pleading his blood as a Propiâ—iation in Heaven And here forgivenesse Pardon Remission sparing not imputing justifying are all one By this discourse we understand what Forgivenesse is The Party that forgives sin is our Heavenly Father And it is an act of God not as Law-giver but as Judge yet not of him as Judge according to the law of works given to man at his Creation but according to the law of Redemption Whereas some think that pardon is not the act of a Judge as a Judge they surely meane it of an inferiour Judge bound to passe judgment according to the Law in force Otherwise a Judge Supream and above Law may pardon and as a Judge for Pardon actively considered is a Sentence The reason why a subordinate Judge by Commission cannot pardon is not because he is a Judge but because he is a Judge limited by his Commission which is not essential but accidental to a Judge Yet Absolution which declares a man to be innocent upon Proof may be an Act of an inferiour Jurisdiction But howsoever it be in Humane Courts yet it 's certain that Justification by Faith in Christ opposed in the Scripture to Condemnation is a Sentence according to the Law of Redemption in force Yet in many things it differs from all Humane Judgments and is called Pardon because the party pardoned is guilty and unjust in himself and it 's called Justification because the party pardoned is just in Christ. God onely being the Supream Law-giver and Judge can forgive sin in proper sense yet He may use the Ministery of others in doing this according to that measure of Jurisdiction He shall derive unto them Yet as He never gave either Men or Angels infallible Knowledge to know the secrets of men's hearts not power to inflict or remove Spiritual Judgments so He never gave them Authority abâ—olutely to forgive sin or pronounce Sentence in their own name For it 's onely valid and irrevocable so far as He shall by His own Name make it such Yet this Forgiveness is an Act of God as merciful yet just and as sitting in the Throne of Grace pâ—opitiated by the Bâ—oud of Christ upon a person penitent and believing in Christ and pleading his satisfaction or propitiation in â—is Prayers The Party pardoned is 1. Sinful Man § XII 2. Man confessing his guilt and desert of punishment 3. Hating sin and willing to forsake it 4. Believing 5. Pleading the propitiation of Christ as the onely meritorious cause and the Promise of God in Christ. 6. Ready to forgive others who have offended and wronged him This forgiving others is an act of private Jurisdiction for so the power of a private man to pass by offences done unto himself may be truly called Yet this Pardon cannot free him from the punishment due unto him either by the Law of God or Men if God or Man proceed to Judgment against him By this Petition when we say Forgive us our sins we acknowledge our selves and others for whom we pray to be guilty and by this Confession we accuse our selves as guilty justifie God if He should condemn us magnifie His Mercy if He pardon us It must be made with a bleeding heart and godly sorrow that we have offended so just so holy so good and merciful a Father with great humility and importunity not onely for our selves but others and because we daily sin we must daily pray Lord forgive us our trespasses We must not mention our own merits righteousness good works for all righteousness and merit in our selves must be renounced otherwise we lose the cause And if we from our hearts do not forgive others we plead against our selves and cannot obtain pardon This is the reason why our Saviour so much mentioneth and urgeth the Duty of forgiving others though 77 times a day And if we pray in this due manner Christ will plead and God will pardon and we shall depart justified For the most merciful God propitiated and pressed by Christ's Intercession cannot hide his face long from penitent and believing sinners His Promises to tâ—is purpose are many and firm and He is faithful and just and all of them in Christ are Yea and Amen The second Deprecation § XIII is of sin not yet committed yet so possible that it may be easily committed and there is great danger of it The words are Lead us not into Temptation For because it 's to little purpose to be pardoned and freed from the guilt of sin past if we continually return to sin again and so contract a new guilt therefore our Saviour taught us daily to tender this Petition to our Heavenly Father For if we were in Heaven all former sins pardoned yet if we were not fully freed from the danger of sinning again we could not be fully happy because we could not be fully secur'd in that estate of holiness and bliss God in his abundant mercy in Christ doth not pardon sin-past with any intention to give us liberty to sin again that Grace may abound and that we may make new Work for Mercy When He hath once healed and restored us He saith unto us as Christ did to the impotent man whom He had healed at the Pool of Bethesda Behold thou art made whole Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Joh. 5. 14. For we are delivered out of the hands of all our Enemies to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days Luke 1. 74 75. For as we have engaged our selves so it must be our special care to observe and not
subject § VI and makes the subject capable of the reward according to the eternall and unchangeable Laws of God-Redeemer It doth not justify but makes us justifiable To justify must be an act of the Judge To believe is the duty of the Subject To the duty man is bound by the command to render the reward God is bound by his promise But faith doth not only make him capacable and a fit subject to receive justification but upon it by vertue of the promise made in the blood of Christ the party thus as thus believing hath a right unto it The foundation of this right or the title which is sometimes taken for the right sometimes for the foundation of this right is faith but not faith as a duty performed or such a duty in particular but as it is specified and made a condition in the grant and promise made for Christs sake For a donation essentially includes the Donour the Donee and the Consideration if there be any as if it be nudum pactum there is none In this Grant God is Donour sinfull man believing the Donee the Consideration is the blood of Christ. If Christ have made no purchase there is nothing to be granted If He have purchased and there be no grant there is no conveyance If Christ hath purchased and God hath granted and yet the Donee be not specifyed it 's no grant no donation But in this donation man is the Donee and is specifyed as a Believer Yet the party doth not only believe but in and by the power of this faith doth confesse pray vow and Christ an Advocate in Heaven doth plead The Devil accuseth chargeth the sinner desires justice to be done upon the guilty wretch For why should he himself be guilty being condemned and punished and man being guilty as he is go unpunished Here Christ comes in confesseth his client guilty in himself yet just another way and though he deserve to be punished yet by law he ought not to be punished He Pleads three things 1. His own propitiation made 2. Gods promise as part of his Law 3. His clients unfeigned faith By this plea the charge of the Devil is make void the cause of his client made good and the judge effectually moved to pardon This pleading and intercession of Christ is necessary not onely because God ordained and required it but also because our prayer and pleading is very imperfect and His perfect And happy is he that hath such a Counsellour and Advocate in Heaven who is ever ready day and night before his Fathers Throne taking care of the cause of all his Clients pleading GRATIS without any Fee and ever carrying the cause Yet a sinner may be justifiable and yet not instantly actually justifyed For the sentence may be delayed for a certain time But this is the comfort of a true believer that the sentence will certainly be passed in Gods due time which in his wisdome he knoweth to be best Thus you have heard 1. Who is the Judge § VII 2. Who is the party judged Now 3. It 's high time to say something of the judiciall act which is the principall thing But before I proceed to unfold the nature of it I must digresse a little and examine the different opinions of men in this point For some question whether it be a sentence properly or no and if it be a sentence properly when and where it 's passed and if it be passed whether it be a bare sentence without any execution or with some execution 1. That t is a sentence most will grant but some distinguish of Sententia Legis and Sententia judicis The one is not the other is properly a sentence and this no doubt is an act of judgment not of Legislation For if it be an act of Legislation it 's then onely promise and that looks at none in particular but all in generall to whom the promise is made and presupposeth a duty to be performed But justification presupposeth a particular person a particular cause a duty performed and the performance as already past is pleaded and the Judge sollicited to passe judgment accordingly But let it be a sentence and that properly and of the Judge as it is When and where is it passed For passed if properly a sentence it must be For it 's not a sentence as conceived in the breast of the Judge but as judicially pronounced It 's not Sententia mere concepta sed prolata some wayes declared Whether for the time is it passed in eternity before time or in time For the place whether is it passed in man or out of man If out of man whether in Heauen or in Earth If on Earth whether by God and Man If by God whether by the promise of the Law that whosoever believeth is not condemned or some other thing If by man whether by the Minister or the Church binding or loosing so on earth as to be bound and loosed in Heaven If it be whether it be an act of conscience or the blessed spirit If the spirit whether it be by inspiration and enthusiasm or by some real operation Thus the wit of man forsaking the rule of Gods word will wander and ignorance joyned with curiosity will start many doubts puzzle a clear truth infinitely multiply questions not so much for edification as destruction and distraction 1. The sentence was not passed in eternity and onely manifested in time for if it were passed then and onely manifested now it might from hence be argued that the world was created from eternity and so is eternall and the glorious work of creation in the beginning had only been a manifestation of that which was from everlasting And how absurd if not blasphemous must such a fancy be It is trâ—e that as God before the foundation of the World did decree all things to be done in time so he decreed to passe this sentence But the decree it self without the issuing out and exercise of an almighty executive power is no sentence In eternity before time no man was created no sin committed no Saviour promised no law published no duty of faith performed no person convenâ—ed no promise pleaded and therefore no sinner believing justified 2. For the place 1. It 's not passed in Heaven and only there for no Scripture saith so neither is there any meanes discovered how the poor guilty sinner should know whether it be past or no and if past when and so till it be known to be passed and that certainly the believer must alwayes be in doubt The cause indeed is pleaded in Heaven by the great High Priest and his plea is effectual But that the sentence is always passed presently upon the cause pleaded cannot be proved It 's true that if a man doth certainly know his faith and the sincerity thereof he may certainly know his right unto justification and so he knows his cause to be good in Law He is justified in law-title that is he
Spiritual as opposed to Temporal For otherwise Bodily punishments which we call Temporal may by continuance be Eternal To pass by therefore these Temporal Penalties one Spiritual Punishment and the greatest is the want and loss of the Holy Spirit to be a continual and constant Principle and cause of Sanctification This Spirit was given Man in the day of his Creation and was taken away from Adam and in him from all his Posterity by the judgment of God and a Sentence yet in power and force and to continue to the end of the World The Law indeed of Works is abâ—ogated but it was in force at that very time when the Sentence was passed and upon the Promise of Christ the Law was abrogated as a Law of Works but the Sentence remained in force still Concerning the sanctifying Spirit we may observe and consider 1 That the loss and so the want of it is a punishment 2 This punishment lying upon every Man before this Spirit be restored presupposeth a guilt 3 This punishment and guilt is never taken away till this Spirit be restored 4 This Spirit may be testored for preparation of a sinner for justification or in and after to continue as a constant cause of Sanctification Or as others express it for perpetual Habitation to prevent the Dominion of Sin and Damnation for time to come It doth not prevent all sin and so the contracting of new guilt nor is given in that measure to us and this is the reason why your estate of Justification is not perfect at the first 5 God never justifies any man with that justification whereof Paul speaks in the Epistle to the Romans and Galatians and elsewhere but in justifying them He gave them instantly this Spirit as the Spirit of Christ to be in them a constant cause of Regeneration and Sanctification and therefore that Justification is not without some Execution 6 Consider this restoring of the Spirit as the removal of a Punishment and the loss and want of the Spirit as a Punishment it must needs be essentially included in Justification and Remission of Sin For that which 1 Takes away the Punishment of sin And 2 The Guilt and Obligation unto Punishment is properly remission of sin If the Punishment as a Punishment should remain so far as it doth remain it doth invincibly prove that the guilt is not taken away so far and in that respect If any distinguish of the Sentence and Execution and make the one the cause the other the effect I will not quarrel about words Onely I will demand Whether it 's not better to say in this particular judgment of God that the Sentence and Execution are really the same and differ onely in respect or at most in degree 7 The active sanctification of this Spirit taken in it self either habitually or actually and as inherent in us can in no wise be Justification or any Branch of Justification as Justification is a remission of sins For God gave this Spirit to Angels He gave it to Adam in the day of Creation and this Spirit did sanctifie and now doth sanctifie the blessed Angels yet this Sanctification is not reâ—mission But consider remission of sin as a removal of punishment as punishment whether of sense or loss deserved by sin and the loss of the Spirit and the blindness perversness and slavery under the power of Sathan following necessarily upon the taking away and denying the Spirit by a just Judgment as a Penalty then this restoring of the Spirit must needs put on another Notion as it hath another Nature This restoring of the Spirit is so necessary that a bare Sentence without it can give a man no comfort nay Heaven without it is no Heaven or place of Bliss and abode But lest I may be thought to agree with the Doctrine of the Councel of Trent or at least come too near it Let us consider what they say Their Doctrine Sess. 6. Cap. 7. is this That Justification is not onely remission of sins but also the sanctification and renovation of the Inner-Man by the susception of Grace and Gifts whereby or whereupon a man of unjust is made just and of an Enemy a Friend that he may be an Heir according to the hope of Eternal Life And afterwards The onely formal cause of Justification is the Righteousness of God not whereby he is just but whereby He makes us just They mean inherently just Thus far they Now let 's examine Whether there be any Agreement between the former Doctrine and this And 1 I grant with all our Divines that Justification and Sanctification go always inseparably together and this they of Rome know well enough to have been always the constant Doctrine of the Reformed Churches 2 They say that Justification is not onely remission of sins but Sanctification I say it 's onely remission 3 They assert that this Sanctification and Renovation is by voluntary Susception and so understand this Sanctification passively as formally inherent I make neither Sanctification active nor much less passive as considered in themselves to be justification nor any part of justification 4 They make the formal cause of Justification to be this Sanctification I utterly disclaim this I had said before that Sanctification in it self is no remission and is in Angels without any such thing and do affirm that this Sanctification as they understand it is no part of that justification which the Gospel speaks of and that the restoring of the sanctifying Spirit for Renovation as an act of God as Judge for to remove a punishment as a punishment and the obligation thereunto is properly remission And here I cannot but much wonder what these Tridentine Divines did understand by Remission For if the formal cause of Justification be Sanctification and inherent Righteousness as they make it so to be I find no place nor need of any place for remission Yet first they make it a part of Justification distinct from Sanctification It 's neither final nor efficient nor meritorious nor material neither by their own words can it enter the formal That this Sanctification considered in it self especially Passive and inherent cannot be Justification is evident For 1 Sanctification thus understood is not properly any act of God as a Judge much less a Sentence passed upon a guilty Wretch 2 That justification of Believers in this life whereof the Scripture speaks doth leave the party chargeable with no sin is perfect and bears out the severity of God's Justice before His Throne This our inherent Righteousness in this life can never do both because we are guilty before and also it 's imperfect 3 A man may be sanctifyed and that perfectly so as to prevent all sin for time to come and yet the party may remain guilty and liable to Eternal Death for the guilt of former sins committed before this Sanctification and not remitted by it Some make remission two-fold Remissio Culpae Remissio Poenae 1. Of Sin 2. Of
from all weariness faintings diseases annoyances and pains so that the loss of Sense is turned to a benefit though in it self it be a punishment As for the Soul the reward thereof is excellent though not perfect It hath obtained a final Victory over sin Sathan the World and is out of all danger of Hell It 's freed from all trouble and inconvenience that did arise from the Body and is delivered up with great peace and joy into the hands of a gracious Redeemer who sends his Angels to receive it guard it and set it in the Heavenly Paradise where Satan can never come near it or tempt it any more either to sin or despair And now it 's free from all sin all fear and sorrow and temptations and washed in Christ's bloud shall be presented pure and blameless before God's Throne The place whatsoever it is is full of comfort the Society excellent it 's secure of the great reward of Eternal Glory And that which is the accomplishment of all comforts it is with Jesus Christ it's blessed Saviour who takes the charge and protection of it Paul desired to depart and be with his Saviour which was far better Phil. 1. 23. Which words inform us 1 That the Soul lives after it is separated from the Body 2 That Death is not a destruction but departure 3 It 's departure from a worse place and condition to the better 4 Though it's absent from the Body yet it 's present with the Lord. 5 Though it had many sweet and excellent joys and comforts in Christ in this life yet now it hath more and greater CHAP. XXIIII Of the Universall and finall Judgment and the Eternall Rewards and punishments of the World to come AFter all the judgments past § I and executed from the beginning of the world to the last period and moment of the same there will be another and it shall be the last for none shall follow It 's final As it shall be the last so it will be the greatest Court that ever God did keep both in respect of the persons to be judged which shall be all men and Angels and in respect of the retributions which shall be Punishments and Rewards in the highest degree and everlasting Many Signes and Prodigies both in Heaven and Earth shall go before and prognosticate the approach thereof The world shall be consum'd by fire the dead shall be raised the living shall be changed and both shall be immortall The Judg is God who hath given commission to Iesus Christ to judge both Angels and men both quick and dead He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the World in Righteousnesse by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead Act. 17. 31. Yet of the day and hour when he shall come no man knoweth no not the Angels of Heaven He shall come in great glory all the holy Angels shall attend him a Cloud shall be his Chariot his Tribunal shall be high and dreadfull The Arch-Angel shall sound the Trumpet and make all the World to heare All shall be summond all shall appear All causes shall be evident The sentence shall be irrevocable the Punishments and Rewards great the execution certain and the estate of the partyes judged shall be unchangeable That such a day will come that it will be a great day that it will be dreadfull unto many and a day of unspeakable joy to true believers it 's certain For God hath said so and all his Saints believe him and long for that day and wait for their Saviours comming from Heaven That it will be a day of judgment and that Christ shall be the Universall judge we doubt not Yet the manner of his comming and the way of his proceeding we do not perfectly and distinctly for the particulars know Something of it God by his Son Jesus Christ hath signified unto us and informed us of as that an Eternall Kingdome upon a finall and totall absolution will be adjudged to some but others shall receive the doom of an eternall curse and excommunication to be cast out of Gods presence and condemned to suffer eternall Punishments with the Devill and his Angels All secrets shall then be brought to light and the judgment shall be exactly just according to mens works and the execution shall be answerable For the condemned shall go into everlasting Punishment but the righteous into life eternall Math. 25. 46. So that of this judgment and the execution thereof we have two parts 1. The Reward of the Righteous 2. The Punishment of the unrighteous according to their obedience or disobedience unto the Laws of God Redeemer The reward of the righteous shall be of the whole man § II both soul and body both united together and joyntly partakers in the reward as they were in obedience The body being raised shall be immortall free from all evils incident to a body free from all imperfections and defects and made glorious and perfect with all perfections a body can be capable of For from Heaven we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashion'd like unto his glorious body according to the Working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3. 21. The greatest perfection shall be this that it shall be united to a Soul fully sanctified from which it shall never any more be separated and both together shall be the Eternal Temple of the Holy Ghost The Soul it self shall be finally and totally justified fully sanctified and endued with all the graces of the Spirit requisite to happiness and then their Reconciliation and Adoption shall be consummate the whole man shall be firmly established in Righteousness and Holiness never to sin never to be in danger to sin again They shall be with their Saviour and behold his glory enjoy the clear Vision of God be ravished with his Beauty filled with Eternal Joy and Delights and be secure of their perpetual full Bliss All tears shall be wiped away from off all faces and they shall never sorrow any more No evil that can be feared shall come near them and all good that can be desired shall abound there As the Light of God's Eternal Favour shall ever shine upon them in full strength so the streams of Eternal goodness shall ever issue from the Throne of God and the Lamb so that they shall be fully satiated with all pleasures for evermore The place will be glorious the company excellent and no good thing that may add unto their happiness shall be wanting Then shall they know how much God loved them and how much Christ hath done for them They believe now that the Reward is great but then by the enjoyment they shall know it to be far greater then ever entred into the heart of Man As Camaracensts saith truly § III That we may know God to be
transgress the just and holy Laws of this Spiritual Kingdom That we may he better understand the words of this Petition we must enquire 1. What Temptation is 2. What it is to be â—ed into Temptation 3. What we pray for in these words Temptation morally and strictly taken may be said to be any thing which unduceth and moveth us to sin as of it 's own Nature tending thereunto For we must conceive Temptations as in themselves tending directly to pâ—oduce or cause actual sins Yet because many times they are not onely resistâ—d but overcome they are like Attempts Assaults Endeavours which aim at sin yet do not always take effect They may be actual causes of sin yet sometimes are not sometimes are essicients thereof A Temptation may be called not merely a thing but an act Binsfield the Sâ—ffragan of Triers defines it to be Assimulatio Boni ad fallendum His meaning is that it is a Representation of a thing as good though it be evil to incline us to it or of something that is good as evil to restrain us from it And the end of it is to deceive the party tempted For because the Will of Man is so created of God that it neither can be forced or necessitated to sin not approve like chuse desire love consent unto anything represented and apprehended as eâ—il therefore every Tempter goes about to delude the apprehension pervert the Judgment corrupt the Will and so entice incline and incite it freely unto evil The great Tempter is the Devil § XIV an implacable and eternal Enemy to the Subjects of God's Kingdom And if he can perswade them to sin and to transgress the Laws of their Soveraign he knows he doth them a mischief Because upon their obedience depends their Eternal Peace and Welfare He knows our Constitutions Inclinations Frailties and Imperfections He observes our security and negligence and takes all advantages against us as being active restless subtile strong vigilant raging and malicious ever seeking not onely our Temporal but Eternal Ruine The danger from him is the greater because of his boldness in that he durst attempt our Saviour the Son of God and of his success in that he prevailed not onely against Sampson David Solomon Peter and other great Worthies but also against Adam Innocent He tempts man sometimes immediately and that either invisibly or visibly by some Form or Bodily Shape assumed wherein he appears to Man as once he abused the Serpent to deceive Eve Yet often he doth his cursed Works by others mediately and his most effectual Instruments are the wicked of the world who by their evil example bad Custom false Doctrine pernicious Counsels impious and unjust Laws perverse Judgments Perswasions Menaces Promises Persecutions Gifts Allurements and other ways restraining thousands from doing good stirring them up and inclining them to evil He also takes advantage from the Sensitive Part from the Ignorance of the Understanding the Depravation of the Will the Flesh lusting against the Spirit and rebelling not onely against the Dictates of right Reason but the Illuminations and Motions of the Spirit and from the Violence of our Passions and Vehemency of our inordinate Affection The more of Flesh and Lust is in us the stronger he is against us because we carry in our Bosome nay in our Bowels a treacherous Enemy ready to confederate with him and betray us unto him and so makes our selves to tempt our selves For Man is tempted of himself when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed Jam. 1. 14. Thus you understand in some measure what Temptation is and that the parties tempting us without are the Devil and the World and within us the Flesh and Corruption But what is it To be led into Temptation It 's not merely to be tempted for so have many been and have not onely resisted but overcome the Tempter and that sometimes with ease And no Temptation except entertained and in some measure consented unto can do us any hurt And whatsoever God by His Almighty Power may do yet neither Man or Devil can necessitate us to sin To be led or brought into temptation therefore is so to be tempted as that there is great danger we shall be overcome For if we be surprized found neither watching nor armed nor any way prepared for Defence or if we be weak and the Temptation violent and above our strength or if we be deserted and left destitute of help and sufficient assistance or if Divine Providence leave us circumvented so that there is no ways to escape then are we led into Temptation and shall hardly escape The thing § XV therefore prayed for is Not to be led into Temptation It 's not that God would not suffer us to be tempted at all at any time but that He would be pleased when He sees us weak and not able to stand either to divert it or delay it and so for the time to prevent it Or if that it be His Will that we must be tempted that He would not desert us and deny His assistance or not suffer us to presume or despair or that He restrain the violence of the Tempter and abate the strength of the Temptation or proportion it to our strength and our strength to it lest it prove Superiour so that though the Temptation be continued long be violent and extraordinary we may have great and extraordinary power and assistance not onely to resist but conquer or that He would make a way to escape and that He would never suffer us to be secure but stir us up that we may be ever watchful In a word we pray for clearness of Understanding soundness of Judgment integrity of Heart a great measure of Confidence and Prudence in Heavenly Things and all the Graces of the Spirit strong Resolutions against Sin constancy in the profession and practice of His Truth power over Passions and Affections Noble and Divine Affections so that we may be above the fears and desires of the World whereby men are intangled in the snares of Sathan his continual care and assistance until the very hour of Death and that in our hardest and extream Conflicts He would stand at our right hand perfect stablish strengthen settle us and shortly tread Sathan under our feet that so we may obtain a final Victory and the state of safety and security wherein we shall never be in danger of sin and temptation any more We ought to be the more earnest and fervent in this Petition because we know our own weakness the strength and violence of temptation the sad condition of such as are foyled the glory joy and comfort of the Victory And this is our great advantage that Christ hath overcome the World cast out the Prince of Darkness and being tempted and that violently himself He pities us the more and hath the greater care of us Yet Importunity will little avail us except we stand continually upon our Watch strongly armed with the compleat
Armour of God use the strength God hath given us take all opportunity to do good avoid the causes and occasions of sin not presume upon our own power humbly rely upon God be patient and continue fighting defend our selves and resist the Enemy unto Death and if we be sometimes worsted and wounded presently renew our Repentance and Faith return unto the Fight again with greater Care and stronger Resolutions make no Truce with the Enemy give him no respight never faint nor intermit the War till Sin be fully and finally subdued in us The words of this Petition do seem to imply that God doth lead us sometimes into temptation and the expression seems strange For God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth He any man Jam. 1. 13. Therefore we must understand the words so As 1. In no wise to think that God doth or can move or induce any man to sin for this cannot any ways stand with His purest Holiness nor with His most Holy Law 2. Yet because nothing can be done or come to pass without His Divine Providence either effecting or permitting or ordering therefore God may be said to lead into temptation because He either permits us to be tempted and neither restrains the Tempter nor prevents the Temptation For if a Sparrow fall not to the ground much less is Man tempted without His Will and Providence 3. God doth put a Man in such a condition as wherein He shall be tempted and the condition it self is such as no ways in it self tends unto sin yet through Man's Negligence or Corruption may be a great occasion of Temptation And so He may be said to tempt per accidens An estate of Peace and Wealth is good yet such is the subtilty of Sathan and the corruption of Man that few in that condition but are tempted and overcome 4. God may be said to lead us into temptation when He for some just canses denies us deliverance from and out of the same For desertions denial of assistance strength and a competent Superiour Degree of both are many times just Juâ—gments of God 5. God many times brings his own Children into an estate of Temptation on purpose to try their Faith and excellent Vertues and so gives them a glorious Victory Yet we must know that God necessitates no Man to sin and if in temptation we be overcome it 's not His but our own fault The last Petition is § XVI Deliver us from evil Some understand this as a branch of the former Petition as indeed it may be in some sense For suppose it to be meant of the evil of afflictions yet even these are called Trials and Temptations Jam. 1. 2. and Satan from these takes occasion and sometimes advantage from them to tempt us Job's afflictions as from Sathan were temptations Some understand by that word Evil Sathan that great Enemy and terrible Adversary Some say that that Evil is the evil of Sin as though we should say unto our Heavenly Father Though thou suffer us to be tempted yet deliver us from the evil of temptation which is Sin Yet the evil of Affliction Tribulation Persecution and the Misery of this life is not in it self sin though Satan and wicked men may seek by these to draw us to sin And whether they be punishments according to the fifth Petition for former sins or chastisements and corrections for future Reformation or Trials of our Faith and Patience yet we must pray that God would sanctifie us in them sanctifie them unto us and wholly and for ever deliver us from them seeing God hath promised to wipe away all tears and make all things new For they are not good in themselves though He by His Wisdom turn them to our good But we cannot be fully happy till wholly freed from them After the Preface and the Body of the Prayer wherein our Saviour teacheth us by whom for whom to whom in what manner for what things we must pray and give thanks follows the Conclusion in these words For thine is the Kingdom Power and Glory Concerning these words § XVII divers things are to be noted 1. That as Grotius and divers others have observed they are not found in the most ancient Greek Copies in Matthew as they are not mentioned in Luke 2. Yet they are found in the Arabick Syriack and Vulgar Latine Translations whereupon He conceives those Translations to be made after the Liturgies of the Churches were brought unto a certain Form 3. Some understand these words so as to contain certain Reasons whereupon we ought to press our Petitions before the Throne of Grace and so move Him to give them For His is the Kingdom which they desire to come His Power alone which can effect these things and the granting of them tends unto and will end in His Glory We may observe in the Prayers of the Scripture that God's Saints did urge and press their Petitions upon God'â— Mercy His Justice His Power and Glory His place of Universal Judge His Promise and Covenant the Justice of their Cause the Iniquity and Cruelty of their Enemies their misery and sad condition their joy and comfort which would follow upon their Deliverance their Relation to Him His former Favours and such like And with these they added Solemn Vows of Reformation Praise and Thanksgiving 4. They may be understood as a Doxologie with which the Apostles and the Church did use to conclude their Prayers And hereof we have many Examples especially in the New Testament and in ancient Liturgies following the Scriptures And as the Preface and the words thereof spoken unto God with humble Aâ—oration is a fit Salutation of our Heavenly Father upon our entrance into His Preâ—ence by it to make way for our Prayers so a Doxologie is a very fit Valediction when we have ended our Prayers and depart as it were from His Presence 5. This Doxologie doth agree in general with others in the Scripture but it 's not to distinct and particular as many of them be which offer and ascribe praiâ—e and glory unto God either in the Name of or by Christ as Ephes. 3. 21. or unto Christ 1 Tim. 6. 16. or to God and the Lamb Christ Jesus Revel 5. 13. That Doxologie Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost c. was very agreeable to the Scriptures very ancient the Epitome of all other Doxologies and so a Doxologie that it was a Confession of our Faith in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost This seems to be essential to Prayer and to be either implyed or expressed in every Prayer The word Amen is the Epitome of the Prayer summing up the whole and praying it oveâ— again and repeating our desires jointly in one word and in publike Prayers it 's to be uttered by the people by way of answer not onely to signifie the former act of praying all again in one word but also their consent 1 Cor. 14. 16. And it may be