Power of God that he put the fear of man upon them and such was the Majesty of Man continuing in his Integrity that his Countenance and Presence did strike an awe into the greatest stronget and most comely Creatures Some make this Dominion a part of God's Image and it 's true that man in this resembled God as Lord and King and as God's Vice-gerent was a Petty God and Lord of the Lower-World The Second thing common to man with the Sensitive and generative Creature which propagate and perpetuate their kind by a successive generation is God's blessing of them whereby he gave them a generative power to multiply and replenish the Earth and the Waters This power of Generation is a wonderful and strange Vertue which God alone can give and take away at pleasure and if he take it away or deny it then it 's above the power of Nature to generate The Third thing is That general quality of all Creatures as they came from God For God saw every thing that he had made and it was very good Genes 1. 31. 1. Every thing was good beautiful and perfect in it's kind there was no defect or blemish in the Being and Constitution of it 2. Every thing was good and perfect for the end and use he had created them 3. Every thing was good in it's order by which all things were united and one subordinate to another and did compleat the Beauty of the whole and made up the great and glorious Frame which we call the World The reason of this goodness was because they were made by a perfect Rule and every thing severally and all things jointly did fully answer and were exactly conformable to that most excellent Model and Idea contrived by his Wisdom So that there was no need that God should continue this Work of Creation any longer but might rest and keep his Sabbath and take content in his Works If God § XVII in the Beginning thus created Heaven and Earth then it follows 1. That the World had a Beginning it was not from Everlasting For there was a moment a first point and period when it began and before which it did not exist and before which God onely had his Being from Everlasting fully perfect and happy in himself and could have no need of the World for it could add nothing to his happiness 2. That the World in this respect was a Work and an effect which must needs have a cause and depend upon it for its very first Being without which it had never been 3. The efficient cause and Work-man which did contrive and make this curious and excellent piece was God For nothing but God had any Being or Existence before this Work of Creation Neither could there be any Power of Wisdom but his sufficient to produce the least thing from nothing into Being 4. This great Work once made must needs manifest the glorious Power Wisdom and Perfections of thâ— Maker For The Heavens declare the glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work Psal. 19. 1. 5. By this Work God is sufficiently differenced from all other Things as of far more excellent and of a far more admirable power So that by this it 's evident there can be no other God but He For whatsoever cannot make a World is not God as he is 6. Therefore He and He alone must needs be God there neither is nor can be any other For He is great and doth wondrous things and is God alone Psal. 86. 10. And before Among the gods there is none like to thee O Lord neither are there any Works like unto thy Works 7. It 's the duty of Men and Angels to behold these glorious Works and seriously therein to observe his wonderful Power and Wisdom that so they may admire his glorious Excellency and with all Humility adore his Eternal Majesty who alone is worthy of all honour glory and power for evermore even for this Work of Creation 6. If he created all things and that first of nothing then all things are wholly his He hath an absolute Propriety in them and full power to order them and dispose of them at Will and Pleasure And by this we understand how he did acquire his Supream and Vniversal Power Hitherto Creation hath been considered § XVIII briefly in it self and as it is a Work and the first Work of God and now Order requires that we return unto the principal and intended consideration thereof according to tâ—e Method of my Discourse as it is the Foundation and first ground of that Regal Power whereby the World is governed This Consideration is expressed in the last conclusion concerning the Power acquired by Creation For the World was made that it might be governed and none was fit to govern it but he that made it and none can govern without Power acquired one way or other This Power was acquired by Creation because by it God obtained an absolute and perfect Propriety in the whole World and every part thereof Amongst men whosoever makes any thing by his own proper Art and Labour and that of his own stuff he must needs have a full right unto it and a full power to dispose of it yet no Workman ever made any Work without some matter yet God made all things without any matter Pre-existent And in this is far above all other Work-men who never made their stust or matter In this respect He is the sole and total cause of the whole world and every thing receiveth its whole Entity and every Particle of it from the Creatour From hence it follows that seeing the whole Entity is Gods therefore his Propriety is entire and absolute And if it be such he must needs have an absolute Power to dispose of all things and to order them as he thought good And because of this absolute Propriety it is that they wholly depend upon him for Being and all things else and are wholly subject unto him Therefore he may give them what Rules he pleaseth order them to what ends he thinks good and he hath made them capable of and also by these regulate all their inclinations and motions and bind them to observe his Order upon what terms he will This Power acquired by these means and grounded upon this Propriety is original absolute supream universal Monarchical everlasting It 's originally and primarily in him as in the Fountain it 's not in the least measure derived from any other It 's absolute and no ways limited It 's supream and no ways subordinate or dependent upon any higher and above it It 's univeral and extended to the whole World as his Territory It 's Monarchical because the Power wholly resides in one It's everlasting and after it 's once begun it continues and shall for ever abide In these respects it 's not only different from but most excellent and far above all other Power And as it 's acquired by Creation so it 's continued by Preservation which
better way to do it than by an Oath Otherwise an Oath is needlesse and such as be too hasty to swear when there is no necessity are to be suspected as false or prophane wretches 4. The party swearing must aime at that end for which an Oath was ordayned and take it so as that it may end in the glory of God and the good of man Besides the conditions required in an assertory Oath § XIII as that the matter must be of importance and there must be some necessity of it there are some other qualifications necessary in a promissory Oath For 1. The thing promised must be just and lawfull If a man may not do much lesse may he promise and swear to do that which is unjust Neither if in this case we swear can the Oath bind us but becomes ipso facto voyd For the â—bâ—gation of Man cannot be in force when it 's contrary unto and inconsisâ—ent with â—â—peâ—iour obligation of Gods Commandement Henâ—e that Axiom Juramentum non ligat ad illicitum No Oath can bind us to do that which 〈…〉 or not do that which he hath commanded For it 's contrary to 〈…〉 end of an Oath to be Vinculum Iniquitatis to bind to offend the supreme Loâ—d Therefore it 's a fearfull abuse and prophanation of an Oath when men swear to conceal Treason and bind themselves to do mischief as those 〈◊〉 men did who conspired to murder Paul Act. 23. 21. It 's true that by the variation of cirumstances and other accidents and events of divine providence that which was lawfull in the time of swearing may become unlawfuâ— beâ—ore the time of performance and in this case God doth free a man from his obligation 2. The thing promised by Oath must be possible not onely in it self but to the party swearing and so that prudent men may judge it to be in his power Yet if by providence it become impossible to the party before the time of performance he is free But he must be willing and surely endeavour the performance for if through his own folly negligence or wilfullnesse it become such so that the cause is in himself who might have prevented it he must needs be guilty Otherwise Nemo tenetur ad Impossibile 3. The party swearing must have a sincere intention to perform his Oath and must carefully remember how deeply â—e hath engaged himself and use his utmost enâ—eavour to be faithfull lest God be dishonoured his conscience wounded his neighbour deceived and disappointed And because an Oath taken before man should expresse the mind of the party swearing to them whom it concernes to beleeve him § XIV therefore both in an assertory and also a promissory Oath the words must be plain and full so that they may be understood for otherwise if they conceale that which should be expressed or expresse their mind doubtfully the Oath will be â—o little purpose and if this be done of purpose to deceive it 's abominable Therefore all Aequivocations and mental reservations are to be abhorred as contrary to the very end of an Oath If these be used all Oaths are Vselesse For the party swearing speaks one thing but meanes another and whosoever depends upon any such must needs be deceived Neither is it safe for any man after that he hath solemnly bound himself by a Promissory Oath to seek evasions to disoblige himself by Curious and nice distinctions or strayning or wresting the words For we must consider that God will judge us As in swearing § XV so in other things especially in Divine Worship we take up the Name of God And as in Oaths so in other things especially in religious services we must not take his name in vain but perform them so as that God with whom we have to do may be glorified As fasting and prayer for vaine glory to gaine an opinion of our holinesse and to think to be heard of God for our many words and repetitions are here prohibited as also all formalityes in divine Worship so the contrary is commanded And God requires a due disposition of heart and a preparation before this disposition continued in the act of performance and an holy carriage after our devotions are ended For as God is holy so must we when we draw nigh unto him be holy And this precept discovers an abundance of prophaness hypocrisie formality in most and many imperfections in the best when they worship before God CHAP. X. The Fourth Commandement BEfore I enter upon the explication of this commandement § I it will be requiâ—ite to premise some generals concerning the order and relation of it to the former concerning the reason and cause of a Sabbath and concerning the end 1. The order is clear enough For after that God had required subjection to himself and secured his soveraign power in the First instituted and appointed the services which man must perform unto him prohibiting all superstitious inventions of men in the Second and prescribed the manner how his institutions must be performed in the Third he determins a certaine time wherein all other businesse set aside religious dutyes ought to be performed unto him in a more solemn manner and that time consecrated in a special manner to his Divine Majesty in this Fourth This is the order and connexion of this part of the Law with the rest whereby we understand that this Commandemeâ—t presupposeth the former necessarily so that without them it s nothing but a bare duration and part of time no wayes different in it self from other times And for this reason must of necessity derive its morality so far as it is moral from some thing antecedent 2. The reason § II and cause why God did determin a certain portion of time for rest and sanctification followes in the second place to be considered and it 's the condition of man in this life which is such as that it did in some sort necessarily require it For man in innocency had his secular employment if we may so call it For he was put in Paradise and in that Garden God had planted Eastward in Eden to dresse it and keep it Gen. 2. 15. And this work must take up some time But since his Fall he must eat his bread in the sweat of his face and as his necessities so his worldly employments are not few but so much of his time is taken up in these earthly works that he cannot keep a perpetual Sabbath to his God as we hope to do in Heaven For this cause God in his Wisdome thought it fit to measure out of his time a determinate portion wherein man must sequester himself from the businesse of the World and spend the same in his better and diviner imployments What portion was fittest and sufficient neither too much nor too little he onely knew as He onely had power to limit it and bind man to the Sanctification of it The Jewes observed one day in seaven in a certain order so likewise
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
agreeable to his Counsel and that most exactly For as his Wisdom did dictate so his Will determined and no otherwise and without this will and determination nothing could have bin done or effected From it all things future recâ—ive their â—ututition according to the School-mens expression These Decrees are not strictly and properly eternall as was observed before Yet they are Antecedent to all time as it measures the Existence of things They are said to be many and may be conceived in a certain order according to the multitude and order of the things decreed That this Will should first decree the end and then the meanes is but a fancy and hath no ground either in Scripture or in solid reason Yet though they be many yet they may be reduced to two sorts for tâ—ey may be said to be generall or speciall The general Decrees are those which extend to all things For there neither was nor is nor shall be any thing which God did not Determine The special Decrees are such as are limited to Angels and Men in respect of their Spirituall and Eternall estate and especially to men These are called by a Synechdoche Predestination and Reprobation And these presuppose 1. Their Object intellectual and immortal Creatures especially men considered in a spirituall capacity as dirigible to an eternal estate 2. The Counsel of God contriving a certain order according to which men were to be directed to their final estate The nature of them in speciall is to determine and according to this order to direct certain individual persons unto their last end For in these decrees we may observe 1. Persons 2. Meanes 3. End The End is eternal Happinesse or Misery The Meanes Laws and Judgments The Persons such as are capable of Laws and Judgments But of these Decrees more particularly hereafter These Decrees are free § V For there was no Law to bind or morally necessitate him but his Wisdom and his Justice Neither did these bind him to decree any thing at all but onely if he did decree any thing to decree it wisely and justly Both the Creature and every thing in the Creature were nothing before they did Exist and as such could have no influence to move or incline the Will of God Neither could the Prevision of perfect obedience in the Angels or finall faith in man determin the Will of God much lesse necessitate it to give them eternall glory Neither can finall disobedience or unbelief do any such thing as fore-seen or actually existent determine much lesse necessitate God to passe the Sentence of Eternal Death upon them or to execute the same The determination of Gods will is freely from himself not from my thing without Himself God my foresee the highest degree of obedience in the Creature and yet be no wayes bound to reward it There is no necessary connexion between obedience and reward or between the foresight of obedience and the decree to reward onely the decree it self freely ties them together There can be no efficient cause out of God of the decree of God Some materiall objective Logicall cause there may be The decree to give Christ unto Death for enemies To call Wretched man dead in his sins and trespasses by repentance and saith unto eternall glory was not onely free but also the issue of unspeakable love and compassion and to destinate man upon faith in Christ fore-seen is an act of free grace Faith it self can be no efficient because it is not neither can the fore-knowledge or prevision of this faith though final be any such thing For God may foresee final faith and yet not determine to reward it though without prevision he cannot decree to do so The reason of all this is because nothing but the Being of God and the acting upon himself is or can be necessary These Decrees are not onely free § VI but also Wise Just and Stable They are wise because made according unto and directed by Wisdom His Wisdom and Knowledge are Antecedent to his Will and must be conceived by us so to be otherwise we should affirm that He decreed things ignorantly and rashly But so to think is impious and absurd There are many works and so decrees of God whereof we can give no reason but his absolute will and power He may love Iacob hate Esau without respect to any merit or demerit in the persons and decree the elder to serve the younger Yet thus As it was done so it was decreed wisely and according to Counsel We can give no reason of this yet He can The reason indeed is secret to us as not revealed yet known to Him And though many things may be done by him above the Laws given in Scripture yet they are not against them Though his decrees may be truly said to depend upon his knowledge yet they depend not upon the things known As they are wise so are they just though sometimes they seem to us to be otherwise The wicked prosper many times when the Righteous are afflicted and chastened very much And the innocent suffer and sometimes temporally perish with the Wicked and the children often beare the heavy burthen of their Fathers sins and yet are not guilty of their crimes These things may seem to be unjust yet are not so but exactly agreeable to the eternall rules of justice The reason why they must needs be just is because he is essentially and necessarily justice though his justice in his secret judgements doth not appear to us He made no Decree whereby man or Angels was necessitated to Sin He indeed did decree the freedome of their will their subjection to his power their obligation by his Lawes Yet as he did not Decree that they should sin so he did not decree to prevent all sin but decreed that if they should sin they should be liable to punishment He made as he decreed the Will of man mutable Yet this mutability was no disadvantage to him or any necessary cause of Sin And in the last judgement it will appear that Sin was from the Creature but not from the Decree of the Creator They are also stable For the Counsell of his Will standeth for ever and his thoughts to all generations Psal. 33. 11. And though there be many Devices in the heart of man yet the Counsell of the Lord shall stand Prov. 19. 21. The reason hereof is because they are made in Wisdome and Justice and there can be no cause of alteration Besides he is Almighty and cannot be hindered to do what he hath once determined Upon the stability of these decrees depends the stability of the world and stability of the Church and the certainty of our Eternall glorification The power of God is that whereby he is able to effect all according to the Counsell of his Will SECT VII This power is not Passive for God can neither receive nor suffer any thing It 's active and efficient yet truly Power because it was not is not
and the other parts no matter immediately capable of a â—orm to be either introduced into it or educed out of it by any agent but by God So that God supplyed wholly all the causes And when we say that God Created all things either mediately or immediately of nothing the word Nothing doth neither signifie the matter nor properly the term of that act but is a Negative and denyes all pre-existent matter in the first part of Creation Neither doth the word Create in Ancient authors signifie to make a thing of nothing as some think it doth Therefore we must learn what Creation is from the Scripture not from this or that word God by this Act did so clearly manifest his eternall power and God-head that it 's evident that he alone is the efficient cause and Maker of the World and that without the advice or assistance of any others and also without any tool or instrument It was a frâ—e act of God For he was no wayes necessitated to make the World or to make it before or after or at that time when he did make it or to produce it in this or that order or manner rather then another For he Created all things and for his pleasure they are and were Created Rev. 4. 11. He Created Heaven and Earth in the beginning The word may signifie the Beginning of time as its the measure of things existing and standing out of their causes in their proper entity Or it may referr to the first part of the Creation teaching us That in the beginning and first of all God created Heaven and Earth which was voyd and without form and afterwards he made Light the Firmament and other things or it may referr unto the whole Creation and signifyes unto us that the first Work of God was the Creation of the World in six dayes And in this sense Creation was the first issuing-forth of his Almighty Power to make and do some things out of Himself This was the Act of Creation § XI and the Effects were all things Created All things joyntly taken together are the World and the principall parts thereof are Heaven and Earth And because Heaven and Earth are not Vacant places as it is written that the Heavens and the Earth were finished with all the Host of them Gen. 2. â— Where the word Host signifies all things in Heaven and Earth And these are called The Host of them 1. Because they are Many 2. Because they were all Created in an excellent order So Paraeus on the place 3. Because they were the Ornament and beauty of Heaven and Earth Thus the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 uâ—ed by the Sepruaguit doth signifie By Heaven and Earth some understand by a Metonymie and Synechdoche all things Created as though these first words of the Scripture were an abridgement of the first Chapter of Genesis Others and upon better grounds do interpret Heaven to be the Heaven of Heavens and the Host thereof which is the innumerable multitude of Angells And Earth to be the Masse which was voyd and without form and the first rudiment and Seminary of all things Created-afterwards The first works of Creation therefore were Heaven and Angels The Scriptures tells us that there is an Heaven of Heavens which is sometimes called the Throne and Temple of God the third Heaven the place into which Christ ascended and where he will keep his residence till he come to judge the World No doubt its a Stately Glorious piece a place of Beauty and incomparable delight and therfore called Paradise In it are many Mansions where the Saints of God shall ever rest and enjoy their most excellent Inheritance Yet this highest place which is the Circumference of the World was not Created without the Host thereof which is the innumerable company of Angels These were concreated with the Heavens and are called the Angells of Heaven and by Creation as the Heavens so they are incorruptible and immortall Spirits which once began but shall never cease to live They are endued with a most piercing understanding free-Will and an admirable executive and active Power They were all at first righteous and holy like unto their God and had been for ever blessed as now the Holy Angels he if they had continued subject and obedient to the everlasting King who made them They were made and that in the Beginning as appeares from Psal. 104. 4. They were made before the foundation and Corner-stone of the earth was â—ay'd Job 38. 7. That they were Created long before the World was Jeroms groundlesse conceit And it was Austins fancy to think God made them when he said Let there be Light The Heaven of Heavens with their Host § XII was Created in the Beginning and with them the earth as co-aeval and concreated By Earth as appeares from the Text Gen. 1 2. was not meant this lowest part and Basis of the World as now it is for that was Created the third day but if we may so speak that first draught and imperfect Beeing which was as it were the rudiment and Seminary of this Lower world as distinct from the Heaven of Heavens and all things therein And if any thing may be called the first matter this surely is it which was so imperfect that only the skill and power of God could inform it And he did inform it and out of it made first the Elements and out of them all Mixt bodyes The first Elements was light which may be called the fire which is the purest the most subtil and active of all the rest and soared aloft into the highest place and the nature of it such that it hath great affinity with a Spirit and is next unto it The next was the Firmament which we call the Ayr And it was spread like a Curtain round about the Globe of the Earth and Water and takes up the space between them an the Aethereal light or fire a fit receptacle or subject to receive the Beames of light and being transparent to transmit them to the earth The third was the Water which first covered the earth and stood above the Mountaines but afterwards by the mighty power of God was reduced to the fluid substance which now we see it to be and gathered together into deep and Vast Channels of the earth whence the main Ocean and the narrow Seas and it s diffused into every part of the Earth through secret subterraneal Passages as through so many veines And hence our Springs Rivers Lakes The last the lowest and the dullest Element was the Earth And with it were created Minerals and Vegetables as Grasse Hearbs Plants and all Manner of Trees And with these he first furnished and beautified the earth the third day The Fourth he returns unto the Aetherial Part and creates the Sun Moon and Stars The two first as greater Lights the one for the Day the other for the Night together with the Stars These are the Lights and Lamps placed under the
some make a part of Providence as in some sense it may be For by whatsoever his Propriety and the dependency and subjection of the Creature is continued by the same his Power is continued And as by Creation all things were made so by Preservation which is a continued Creation all things continue his There is indeed some difference between Creation and Preservation not only in this that Preservation presupposeth and necessarily requireth the Creation and all things existent in their Actual Being But Creation presupposed nothing but his Almighty Power but also in this that in Creation he made no use of the secondary Causes and means as in Providence he doth yet these means and secondary causes are not used out of necessity For what he doth effect by them he can easily do without them Therefore the use of them is merely voluntary and to let us understand so much he many times omits them Some things are preserved by Food which is like Fuel to the fire which continually seeds upon it and when it 's wholly consumed or with-drawn it 's presently quenched Thus the life of man is preserved by Bread yet God makes this Bread gives it to whom he will and denies it when he will and his Blessings gives it Vertue to preserve that Life which it cannot restore once lost or give where it is not Yet man lives not by Bread alone but by every word which proceedeth out of God's mouth Where it 's had and used God is the principal cause and when life is preserved without it He is the sole Preserver The continuance of the Creature 's Being doth so necessarily always depend on God as well as his Powers and Operations that he need not let loose one contrary against another for their mutuall Destruction but if he once with-hold his hand the most excellent and incorruptible Creatures return to nothing and lose their entity they obtained by Creation For as 't is said of sensitive Creatures Thou takest away their breath they dye and return to their Dust Psal. 104. 29. So it 's true of all other things both severally and joyntly Thou deniest thy preserving Power wholly they cease to be and return to their former nothing Therefore God in the Holy Scriptures is so often said to uphold all things by the Word of his Power and it 's said that by him all things consist CHAP. IX Concerning the Exercise of God's Power in general GOD having thus acquired this transcendent Power § I he presently began to exercise the same in the Government of the World and as the power is continued perpetually by Preservation so it is continually exercised Government is an Act of Power as Power is a Right to govern and order those that are subject and it requires a Superiour Understanding a Superiour Will a Superiour Strength and the more excellent the Wisdom the more just the Will the more irresiâ—â—ible the strength of the Governour the more excellent the Government will be Seeing therefore all these concur most eminently in God His Government must needs be most perfect as no doubt it is This Government may be considered as General of all things Special of some special Creatures And in both we may observe the Constitution Administration For God first constituted an exact Order and after that administred and disposed of all things according to that Order This Order was ready immediatly upon the Creation For he did not first make the Creatures without any Order but in an excellent way For all and every one of them were made Ordinable to some certain end and to this they were inclined and set in direct Positure towards their Perfection Yet because Inclination was vain without Motion he gave them power to move But yet Motion without a Rule might wander and come short of the end he therefore gave every thing a Rule that the motion might be Regular tend directly to and so reach it's end and the Rule was imprinted in the Creature as the Pure Morals in Men and Angels As there were several and distinct Ranks and Degrees of Creatures so there were several ends And these ends were not separated at a distance nor contrary one unto another but were disposed in an excellent order and united like so many Links in one Chain Some were Superiour some Inferiour and one last and supream to which all the rest were subordinate yet like so many lines did tend unto and end in that highest as in one Center And that end was not the particular end of some particular Creature or Creatures but the universal end of all which some means did reach immediately others at a distance In the Administration the Rules were as Laws prefixed by God and the Events of every Motion were as Judgments and Determinations And there are some generals in Men and Angels which come within the compass of this general Administration And though the Supream Lord bound all Creatures by certain Rules and limited them yet be reserved a Power to himself to act above and besides these Rules at Will and Pleasure and if his Wisdom should think good to new-model the whole Frame of his Government Hence the Distinctions of mediate and immediate ordinary and extraordinary Providence under which last Head comes in that of Miracles which are works of transcendent Power above the activity of the Creature wherin God doth not observe the Order established in Creation whereunto he bound the Creature but not Himself They serve as they are fit for these ends to let men know that there is a great difference between his Works and those of inferiour Agents though he may use their petty efficiency in doing of them They rouz and quicken the dull and drowsie minds of Men who are not so much moved with ordinary Works though excellent The Sun it self that glorious Light of Heaven is no strange thing unto us because it gives us light every day whereas if it were newly made and we had never seen it before we should be amazed and wonder at the excellent beauty and brightness of so goodly a Creature They let men know that they have no need of â—econdary causes He can do as much and far more without them as with them They confirm the Doctrine of his Messengers and make those high and mysterious truths which are strange and above the Rules of Reason to be credible They are not frequent least they should prove ordinary and not so effectual to moâ—e the hearts of men And they are either Works of Mercy as those of our Saviour were or Works of Judgment and so they manifest not onely his wondrous Wisdom and transcendent Power but also his Justice and his Mercy They supply the deâ—ects of inferiour causes and manifest that God is not tyed to the Order prescribed to the Creatures in the Creation In this Providence § II which though excellent is inferiour to that which directs the most excellent Creatures to their eternal estate we might observe the
as one And so far as God judged him one and made Adam the Head and Representative of all so far in Adam all men might be bound to obedience or penalty and so far judgments or rewards might be transmitted from him to all and no further And if God had not considered Adam and all his posterity as one person By one man sin could not have entred into the World and by sin Death so as to pass upon all men That this derivation was an act of judgment is evident from the Apostle because Sin and Death which is punishment presupposed a Law To impute sin and punish for sin and that with Death are Acts of Judgment and that according to a Law which was in force when Adam sinned and long before Moses Otherwise how could sin have reigned even over Adam and that from Adam to Moses and this by a Sentence of Judgment in force to this day according to a Law in force when Adam transgressed it For upon that transgression God condemned Adam and in him all Mankind In this respect the doubt how the Soul being made by God becomes corrupted is vain and that conceit that it is polluted by entrance into the body or from the body is false For 1. God in the Creation of the Soul of every individual person is to be considered as a Creatour and a Judge As a Creatour he makes a Soul and gives it Essence and all things necessary flowing from the Essence and appertaining to it As a Judge he denies that person as one with Adam sinning his sanctifying Spirit which Adam received for him and his and in him sinning was lost to him and his 2. It is evident that the Soul is not so much polluted by the body as the body by it and it from it self For there are many Spiritual sins as Pride Envie Malice and such like which are purely from the Soul and in the Soul as they are in Angels who have no bodies but are spirits And those sins which have their Rise from the sensitive appetite could not pollute the Soul except it were depraved in it self And the first sin began in the Soul as may easily be understood from Gen. 3. and was there compleatly moulded before Eve looked upon the forbidden fruit to covet it and desire it as a bodily food Yet whilest we discourse of the Derivation of Original Sin as it is a Deprivation and a depravation following thereupon because man falls under the power of Death yet we must consider that Adam's Posterity derive not onely that original corruption from him but many other evils together with their Being All the evils are reduced to Sin and Death We participate with him in some manner in the first sin and in him sinning we sin and in him being guilty we are guilty in him dying we die And by Death all Punishments God sentenced us to in him are understood not onely that which we call Original Sin but all Actual Sins virtually included in it and issuing purely from it by vertue of the first Desertion And here we may wonder at the severity of God's Judgment yet we must in no wise question the Justice and Equity thereof CHAP. XVI Of the Attributes of God manifested in this Judgment of Men and Angels THE last thing to be considered in this Judgment and Execution is the manifestation of the Attributes § I and perfections of God and of his Supream Power judicial as well as Legislative The Attributes manifested are these His Wisdom his Holiness his Power his Knowledge but principally his Justice and Mercy His Wisdom was wonderful in this particular in that he laid the Foundation of man's Eternal Life to be recovered again in sentencing the Devil to Eternal Death and in a wonderful way so that the Devil himself should be powerfully active to the ruine of his own Kingdom whilest he â—eeks to confirm and enlarge it His Holiness was evident in this that he spared not sin in his most noble Creatures punishing the Devils without mercy as first in the sin not sparing man made in his own Image though tempted to sin and in accursing the Serpent though an irrational Creature and but onely an Instrument abused All this signifies that he detests and abominates sin and being holy Himself requires holiness in Men and Angels made holy and if by sin they pollute themselves he casts them out of his presence His Power appeared in that he so presently and so fully executed his Sentence and makes it good to this day and none can hinder him His Knowledge is as exact for he evidently knew the sin of Men and Angels with the measure and circumstances thereof and proportions his Judgment accordingly But principally his Justice and Mercy shined forth in this judicial Proceeding § II First his Justice must be considered The Justice of God is Legislative or judicial Legislative Justice determines man's duty and binds him unto the performance thereof and also defines the rewards and punishments which shall be due upon the Creatures obedience or disobedience His judicial Justice which is called distributive is that whereby he renders unto the intellectual Creatures according to their Works This is remunerative or vindictive For taking cognizance of their cause he rewards the obedient and punisheth the disobedient The justice manifested in this judgment was punitive and vindictive and it did appear in that 1. He spared not sinners much less rewarded them 2. He punished none but sinners and such as did concur in this sin 3. He punished onely for sin and not out of any absolute and arbitrary power Therefore God said to the Serpent Because thou hast done this therefore thus and thus shalt thou be punished The Woman suffered and is condemned because she hearkened and gave consent to the Serpents temptation The man is judged to death because he had hearkened to the voyce of his wiâ—e 4. The punishments determined and executed did not exceed the measure of their sin 5. The Devil sinned most and therefore his punishment is the greatest and no ways mitigated or allayed by mercy The Woman and Man sinned being tempted and their sin was less and it was allayed by mercy yet the womans sin was greater then Adam's though less then the Devils For she was first in the transgression and brought man into the snare being instrumental to the Devil and therefore she was adjudged to two punishments to which man was not liable This Justice is not an Attribute but the exercise and manifestation of an Attribute as here it 's taken It 's called Anger Wrath Fury Rage Jealousie Indignation as the sin is more or less heinous and he more or less displeased It 's called Revenge in that it renders the evil of punishment for the evil of sin It 's Judgment because he proceeds according to Law upon the evident knowledge of the violation of the same It 's punishment as God inflicts it and the Creatures suffer it The principal
preparation of the whole man with a desire and resolution to observe it 3. An actual application of that time to a performance of Religious Duties and whatsoever Works tend most to the glory of God those do most sanctifie the Day This is the reason why Christ's miraculous Cures did not prophane this day and that Works of Mercy are so suitable to this time Though publick and Congregational Duties are principally intended yet Family and Closet-Duties are required and though other days may be sanctified and observed as times of Humiliation or Thanksgiving yet this is done upon a more general ground and not by vertue of this Commandement which is confined to the Seventh Day What the particular services of the Sabbath be I need not mention For they are such as God hath instituted and the principal are Word and Prayer as you heard in the Explication of the second Precept The sins here forbidden are 1. All prophane and sinful thoughts § XIV words and deeds which unhallow all times and especially this These are sins in the six days but more heynous sins on the seventh 2. All secular thoughts words deeds which are contrary unto and non-consistent with the Rest and sanctification of this time and with Diviner Employments These are lawful at other times unlawful in this 3. The neglect of Holy Duties in this time of Rest. For though we should rest this day not onely from all secular labours and works but also from worldly thoughts and motions of the mind if it were possible and not apply our selves to Religious Worship yet the Day remains to us unsanctified 4. All prophane Sports yea and all Recreations which hinder and distract us in the service of our God 5. All Hypocritical all irreverent yea all imperfect performance of Holy Duties Men may be strict zealous devout in the outward parts of Religion and yet stand at a great distance from their God For God requires not any kind of Sanctification of this day but that which is hearty and sincere And because our best service is imperfect therefore we can keep no perfect Sabbath on Earth that is reserved for Heaven Let us therefore endeavour the best aim at perfection desire pardon of defects and long after the estate of glory wherein we shall perfectly hallow an Eternal Sabbath before the Eternal King There he many causes of the prophanation § XV and impediments of the Sanctification of this holy time and we should take notice of them 1. Some are Atheists who are devoid of Faith and the fear of God These believe not that there is a God who will judge the World and render to every one according to their Works They fear not His Divine Power and Majesty They have no care to worship Him They perswade themselves that all Religious Service is vain and that the Worship of a Deity hath no better reason and ground then the fancy and conceit of some precise superstitious Fools They think that the Rest and Sanctification of every 7th day is a needless expence and loss of time to the hinderance and neglect of many considerable businesses 2. Some though not so prophane do not consider how much the Preservation and continuance of Religion depends upon the observation of Holy Sabbaths Take these away you shall by Experience find that Religion will decay and that in a short time We by the Light of Nature may easily understand that there is a time necessarily required for the dispatch of all business and if so then the Religious Service of our God and the Salvation of our Souls are the greatest and most weighty businesse we have to do in this World and therefore do of necessity require and may justly challenge not onely some time but a competent and due proportion of time Yet we find that men of great understanding and very prudent in these Earthly things are very inconsiderate and imprudent in this particular 3. Some take no notice of those Characters God hath imprinted upon some days and by some glorious work done on them honoured them and made them more excellent then other days They do not consider that the Jews being the people of God from whom Salvation was observed and that according to God's Command and Example one day in seven and that Christians from the Apostles days have consecrated the 7th part of their time unto God and that by sufficient Warrant from Heaven And this forgetfulness and want of consideration is one cause of their neglect and dis-esteem of the Sabbath 4. Some do know believe and profess these things yet are Worldly-minded negâ—igent in matters of Religion and at all times and so on the Sabbath are indisposed to Heavenly Duties so that they hallow no time and unhallow this sacred time which God doth arrogate to himself And such as being Earthly minded are most active in secular business are most careless and negligent in the observation of God's Sabbath 5. The want of preparation before we enter upon the Sabbath and Divine Service our careless carriage in the performance of Holy Duties and our intermixing of secular business prophane thoughâ—s and discourses must needs abate and that very much of the sanctification of the Day 6. Some are perswaded that all days since the abolition of the Jewish Polity are alike and therefore it is Jewish or Superstitious to observe any determinate time and to prefer one day above another 7. Some out of a Spiritual Pride and high conceit of themselves as above all Ordinances neglect Sacraments and Sabbaths as far below their high attainments The Reasons to perswade us to sanctifie the Sabbath are many § XVI and in general the same with those which bound the Jews and therefore must be sought in the Old Testament in Moses and the Prophets 1. God commands us to sanctifie His Sabbath and repeats this Command many times And though their Weekly Sabbath was not the same with ours for the particular Day yet the end and many particular Duties of Sanctification are the same 2. As the Jewish Religion so the Christian depends much upon the Sabbath and as theirs was necessary for the continuance of their Religion so ours is for the continuance of ours 3. God did severely and many times prohibit the Prophanation of this sacred time 4. When and where it 's neglected and prophaned wholly or in part there Religion decays accordingly and that in a short time 5. He hath promised to such as shall observe his Sabbath many and great Blessings both Temporal and Spiritual publick and private to particular Persons Nations and Common-wealths And in these Promises he did not so much regard this or that 7th day as the continuance of Religion by the Sactification of such Times as he himself should determine 6. He hath threatned most fearful Judgments to be inflicted upon them who shall by neglect of Holy Duties or by Worldly and Bodily Labours and Employments or any other way prophane the same 7. According to these
kind and such as beaâ— Analogie or have Agreement with it are there by a Synechdoche forbidden Where the effect and the end there the causes and meanes are Prohibited And where the Principall there the Accessory are condemned Where the act or outward fact there the thoughts affections inclinations desires purposes gestures Words are determined to be unlawfull According to these rules besides Adultery many other sins which have some affinity and agreement therewith are here forbidden as fornication incest whoredome rapes deflowring of Virgins Sodomy and Bestiality which two lusts are not to be named but with detestation And all lasciviousnesse uncleannesse and abuse of the body in this kind The reason hereof is because God never gave any â—iberty to use their bodies in this kind out of Marriage For so soon as he had created man and given him a power and blessing of propagation and multiplication He brings the Woman to the Man gives her in marriage unto him before they had any warrant to have carnall knowledge one of another In this respect simple fornication as they term it between single Persons and the keeping of Concubins are unlawfull According to the second Rule of cause and effect because intemperance and excesse in eating § V drinking and pampering of the body and idlenesse are causes as of other sins so of these of uncleannesse therefore in that respect but no otherwise they are prohibited Fulnesse of bread and abundance of Idlenesse were two of the great iniquities of Sodom one of the filthiest and leudest places in the World Ezek. 16. 49. Yet intemperance luxury and excess in bodily pleasures may be reduced to this Commandement understood in a latitude as prohibiting all excessive and inordinate enjoyment of worldly and bodily pleasures And the Jews being as sed horses in the morning neighed after their neighbours wives Jer. 5. 8. Lewd company is also another cause Dinah Jacob's Daughter wanders and gads abroad to see the Daughters of the Land falls into lewd company and is deflowred For which sin the City of Shechem is destroyed To gaze unadvisedly upon beauties may kindle the flames of lust Immodest and wanton Apparrell Carriage Gestures Words filthy Communication Lewd Pictures filthy books too much familiarity of Men with Women or Women with Men who have not the gift of continency and converse with them without any calling especially with the temptations of the Devil who will take all advantages are dangerous Not to reckon up particulars which are many this we must know for certain that whatsoever is a cause or occasion of this sin of uncleannesse and gives advantage or opportunity to Sathan is forbidden as such in this place Yet the beginning of this sin as of all other is in the heart for as out of it evil thoughts and murders so adultery and fornication issue Mat. 15. 19. For whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart Mat. 5. 28. Till temptations come into the heart we are safe But when the heart begins to entertain unclean suggestions conceive and continue unclean thoughts desire unclean pleasures the devil hath insinuated himself and is entered already But if we yeild consent resolve to fulfill our lusts and deliberate how to accomplish our filthy design then he is fortified and will hardly be forced out we become his captives and slaves the sin is conceived and formed in us And this deliberate consent and resolution is the principal part of this sin and most properly contracts the guilt For where there is Reluctancy within and strong temptation without or a suddain surprizall the sin is not so heynous The inward disposition and willing inclination of the heart doth most offend God the outward act and the use of meanes to accomplish our desires do the greatest hurt to man Yet as there are degrees of these sins within so there be also without and that not onely in respect of the severall kinds of filthinesse for some are more abominable then other in their own nature some by complication because in one act Adultery and Incest may concurre but also in respect of the act and habit For the sins of adultery and murder were not habituall in David his constant temper was far different though some make a Constant practise of this sin Besides all these wayes of contracting guilt in this particular some are guilty though not as Principalls yet as Accessory For many are no better then Bawdes and Panders by being subservient and officious unto other in this sin Thus Jonadab contrives a meanes and gives advice to Amon how be might fulfill his lust upon his Sister Tamar 2 Sam. 13. 5. Thus far the negative part whereby we understand what sins are here forbidden and also how hard a thing it is to be pure and innocent from all uncleannesse for few are found who are not in some measure polluted For the causes and occasions are many and the temptations great and our frailty much and we have continuall need of Gods gracious assistance which without our own constant Vigilancy we cannot expect As for Polygamy and the severall cases of conscience and the distance of degrees in consanguinity and affinity to be observed to avoid incest I leave them to Casuists The affirmative part here implied § VI and often expressed in other places of Scripture is the Precept of Chastity for he that forbids impurity commands Chastity which is not a vertue as it ariseth from the constitution of the body or from some naturall or artificiall causes but as it s rooted in the heart and is Regulated by the Word of God For as the sin of uncleannesse is not in the outward Act of carnal knowledge which ordered according to Gods institution and Law is not only lawfull but a meanes ordained by God to propagate mankind and to continue a Church unto the end of the World So likewise Chastity is not the forbearance of the outward act but a right and constant temper of the heart hating the sin of uncleanness and preserving both Body and Mind pure in free obedience unto God And as the proper and principal subject both of all other also of this verâ—ue is the will So all this will avoids all causes and occasions of the sin here forbidden The inward thoughts desires resolutions deliberations are pure the words gestures apparrell and outward acts are modest and sober so that by a chast soul the Vessel and body is kept in Sanctification and honour And this is the duty here commanded But because there are many meanes to preserve Chastity these therefore ought to be used The fear of God which is the beginning of Wisdome and a Principle-generall of all vertues doth first dispose the soul to this particular duty and reigning in the soul commands all temptations to be resisted evil company and filthy persons to be avoided good and chast Society to be observed prayer frequent prayer against this sin to be
and instruments which have a promise annexed and that by vertue of the promise and Gods ordination I will not here assert that either the word SACRAMENTUM Latine or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greek doth properly signifie any such thing oâ— that the word is so used in Scripture Let it suffice that in this sense the words have bin used both by Latine and Greek writers and if any can find a better word I shall willingly accept it when I know it If any make question whether this definition doth agree to the Sacraments of the old testament as well as of the new as we use to speak it 's plain it doth For Circumcision was a sign and Seal of the righteousnesse of faith Rom. 4. 11. where we have Righteousnesse promised by God faith required from man which is the substance of the Covenant and Circumcision as a Ceremony was a sign to signify and represent the righteousnesse by faith and a Seal to confirme it Yet this faith then required was in Christ to come And Abraham had this faith before he was Circumcised which made the confirmation stronger yet it confirmed no righteousness but by faith The Celebration of the Sacraments is a profession of our Religion § VI a testimony of our union amongst our selves badges of our profession to distinguish us from others and a Solemn engagement to obedience yet these are generall accidents and are neither of the essence of them nor proper adjuncts to any one of them As the observation of them is a service to be performed unto God they are parts of his Worship As they are commanded by God they bind us as all other Laws do and the observation of them by that command becomes necessary so far as he intended them In this respect they agree with other Laws They are meanes of obtaining the benefits merited by Christ and promised by God as all other Laws obeyed are For God hath promised that upon obedience the benefit shall follow The observation of them is commanded joyntly with the observation of morall and other more excellent duties which more immediately and effectually conduce unto the main end as with repentance and faith without which they cannot be effectuall For the promise is not added to the Sacrament alone For he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved Mark 16. 16. It 's not said He that is baptized but he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved A man by faith without Baptism not by Baptism without faith may be saved Yet the contempt of these Sacraments may damn a man and deprive him of salvation because that contempt is inconsistent with faith For true faith and salvation have a necessary and inseperable connexion by the Divine ordination in so much as that He who believeth not shall be damned The efficacy of these Sacraments for the actuall enjoyment of grace requireth a right qualification in the party and depends upon the power of the holy Spirit For Baptism is the Laver of Regeneration by the renewing of the Holy Ghost Tit. 3. 5. As all other Laws have their promises and threats so these sacramentall ceremonialls likewise have From hence it followes that not onely they who neglect and omit the celebration of them but also the unworthy receivers are guilty and make themselves liable to punishment And they who observe them and observe them aright in God's good time though not alwayes at or in the time of the observation receive the benefit promised For though the benefit and the actuall enjoyment be from Christ and the Spirit yet it 's sometimes attributed to the observation of the Sacraments because they in some sort concurr in an inferiour manner to the collation of the same Therefore we are said to be ingraffed into Christ and saved by Baptism yet not by Baptism alone After these generals § VII concerning all the ceremonials and special Sacraments I proceed to speak of Sacraments in particular and bâ—bâ—cause we are freed from the Sacraments of former times by the death of Christ I will passe by Circumcision and the Passeover and come to the Sacraments of the Gospel which continue in full force and power unto this day and shall so continue unto the end of the World The Sacraments of the Gospell are two 1. Baptism 2. The Lord's Supper The first is the Sacrament of Regeneration and Admission into Christ's Kingdome and our ingrafting into Christ The second is the Sacrament of our continuance in this Kingdome and growing up in Christ. Baptism may be briefly therefore defined to be a Sacrament of our Regeneration But more particularly It is a Sacrament of the Gospel wherein by washing with Water in the name of the Father Son and holy Ghost Regeneration is confirmed to the party baptized As it is a Ceremony so it agrees with all the ceremonies of God Redeemer as a Sacrament with all other Sacraments thereof as a Sacrament of the Gospel it differs from all Sacraments annexed to the Promise For though they were instituted by God yet this with the Eucharist was instituted by God Redeemer exhibited The former presupposed Christ to come these Christ already come And also though it agree with Circumcision as being a Sacrament of initiation yet it differs both in the sign and in the thing signified in some respects The name of it is Baptism which comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which though it signifies to dip or dive yet often signifies to wash In the Gospel we read of John's Baptism which was from Heaven and Christ's Baptism as instituted by Christ after his Resurrection in a certain form different from that of John's In the speciall Nature § VIII we must consider 1. The Rite 2. The Effect In the Rite we have 1. The Element or the thing 2. The Action 3. The Words The Element or outward thing considered in it self is Water which hath many vertues or power to produce many Effects as to quench Thirst to cool to moisten to mollifie to heal to fructifie and also to cleanse In respect of this cleansing power which is most ordinary God singled it as common to be had and commonly used for that end in all Nations to whom the Apostles were sent to preach and baptize And in respect of this cleansing it was fit to signifie the cleansing and regenerating vertue of the Spirit This signification was not naturall but it was determined to it by divine institution For it was made a sign of this supernatural Grace by a supernatural power of Christ not onely exhibited but raised again and ready to ascend into Heaven For this was one difference between the Sacraments of the Law and the Gospel that these latter were instituted immediately by the Son of God inâ—arnate Besides there was another that the former were alterable these never shall be altered The Action is Washing § IX and this was part of the Rite This did imply that man by nature is unclean and polluted with sin and must
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
which doth not cannot rellish affect heavenly and spirituall things so as to be moved by them effectually Because the word finds the heart of man under the guilt and dominion of sin § V and his corrupt lusts therefore one of the first things man is made sensible of is his sinfull and miserable condition Upon this the heart begins to bleed grieve smart as being deeply and mortally wounded And it may be God doth not at the first represent unto man all his sin but it may be one and the same principall or more predominant or some other nor discover all the punishments due but some few or one especially the eternall This may be called that part of judgment which we tearme to be Conviction upon Summons and a charge and the same confessed For when God hath thus made the heart of man sensible he is convinced confesseth accuseth and condemneth himself And though at the first the work begins with the apprehension and sense of one sin yet afterwards he begins to see his sins to be many and heinous and so his condition to be very miserable And in this case a man may continue a longer or a shorter time as it shall please God and this his sad condition is sometimes made more sad by outward afflictions or inward terrours or both and all this while the sinfull wretch is in danger of dispair if God prevent it not by restraining Satans rage who then will be very busie Yet God gives man no occasion to cast away all hope because he doth not at the first represent sin as unpardonable but pardonable nor the punishment as unavoydable but avoydable Some say this is done by the Law and they meane the morall Law discovering unto man his sin by the precept and his misery by the commination But 1. God doth not use onely the morall law but all other laws or any law in force and he maketh use of the History of the first sin and â—all of man nay of the sufferings and death of Christ of his judgments executed upon others 2. No man ought to preach the law of works unto sinfull man as in force for that makes sin unpardonable and is the high way to cause dispaire He indeed that will onely threaten death and punishments according to the Law of works and silence and conceale the promise of the Gospel is a Legal-Preacher indeed and can be no faithfull Servant unto Christ in this work 3. It 's not the Law nor any other Doctrin preached by man which can break his stony heart without the Spirit and power of the Gospel That Doctrin which used by God in this work is most effectuall is the Doctrin of Christ Jesus crucified for our sins and it must be the law of the Spirit of life that must free us from the Law of sin and death In this sad condition § VI whilst man continues guilty and convicted by his own conscience at the bar of divine Justice he will begin to cast about and look on every side to see whether there be any help deliverance and hope of escape and he finds nothing in himself nothing in any Creature no not in Angels to help him and so despairs of any comfort in any thing excepting Christ and so casts away all confidence in any other things and with the Jews pricked in their hearts cryes out Men and Brethren what shall we do Acts 2. 37. And with the Jaylour Sirs what shall I do to be saved Act. 16. 30. To this question made in the anguish and bitternesse of Spirit the answer is Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the Remission of sins and ye shall receive the Holy-Ghost Act. 2. 38. And Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved Act. 16. 31 This implyes 1. That the Sinner is Savable and remission possible 2. That Remission and Salvation is onely by Jesus Christ. 3. That the meanes to obtaine both by Christ is repentance and faith Upon this follows an appeal from the Throne of Justice to the Throne of Grace and mercy Christ is pleaded the guilty person offers the sacrifice of a broken heart and bruised Spirit to the supreme Judge and earnest suit is made not onely for pardon of sin past but for power against sin for the time to come And though man desires and endeavours to repent and beleive and quiet his mind in Christ's merits and Gods promises yet he cannot do these things to purpose nor any man in the world can give him effectuall comfort by the application of the promises till God put his laws in his mind and write them in his heart by his Divine Spirit Thus to do is a work of the Divine Spirit who alone can write immedâ—ately and imprint the Divine precepts and promises of the Gospel upon the heart of man and so give him a divine power to repent to believe to understand to do the Laws of God and apply his promises The word now is no longer onely in books or in mens mouths or in their eares but also in the heart Yet it 's here to be noted 1. That this great promise of the Gospel is not absolute as though God pre-required no duty to be performed by man 2. That he doth not this work without the word both taught heard and learned 3. That this Law is not fully and perfectly written in any mans heart in this life 4. That therefore the most illuminated and sanctified man in this life hath need of the written Word This is not any precept or promise of the Law it 's a performance of a promise upon some precepts performed and so an act of judgment and the same not a bare sentence pronounced out of man but executed in the soul of man and not a punishment but a blessed reward Upon this follows another performance § VII and that is repentance and belief and the same of a far higher degree then can be performed by any strength natural and moral They are divine and supernaturall not performed by any acquired power but by a strength from Heaven For in writing these divine precepts in the heart of man God himself so immediately speaks to man that he receives the Word of God as the Word of God indeed is taught of God drawn to Christ and comes unto him never to depart from him again I will not deny but there may be some supernaturall illumination and alteration in the heart of man and some comforts thereupon in an heart not fully humbled But for God so to write his laws in our hearts as to cause us to walk in his statutes and keep his judgments to do them and that sincerely and constantly Ezek. 36. 27. is a far higher degree of grace in Christ and the duty performed thereupon is far more perfect and excellent In this repentance and faith there are severall branches The 1. Is a sincere and totall submission unto Christ alone as our onely Saviour and to
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
doth not hence follow that we shall be justified by our works In the matter of Judgment and the Cause to be tried there are two things the Merit and the Evidence And who dare say that good works are the merit of the cause which are only the Evidence Gregory the Great distinguisheth in this case saith we shall be judged and so rewarded Secundum sed non propter Opera Where Promises of Life Blessing Reward and of Glory and of Remission of Sin are made to such as do works of Mercy or suffer for Christ's sake or love God or serve and fear him we must observe that where any one of these is named all the rest are meant and that the Person qualified with one is qualified with all and the reason is because there is such a connexion between them that where one is predominant and in sincerity all the rest are inseparably joyned Yet none of these can be where faith in Christ is not neither can a living faith continue without all these or any of these and where such a faith is not none of these can be in such a Subject or if they could be without it yet without it they could not be acceptable nor rewardable Neither could this qualifie the Person aright nor faith qualify aright if it were not fixed on Christ. The Apostle James indeed saith that Abraham was justified by works and that by works a man is justified and not by faith onely Chap. 2. 23. Yet we must consider 1. That he speaks of the same justification of Abraham wherein Paul instanceth who affirmeth that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works and proves it out of Psal. 32. 12. 2. That James speaks against such as professe â—aith without practise and his principall Scope is to shew that a vain faith a dead faith a faith without works the faith of Devills which may be in Devills cannot justify nor can any man be justified by such a faith and implies that when Paul or any Apostle speaks of justifying faith they do not mean such a faith and that no Solifidian can be justified at all before God He speaks of such works as follow faith and Justification by saith which did evidently prove the sincerity of their faith and the certainty of their Justification One cause of this mistake both in them of Rome and others is 1. Because they do not consider that the Righteousnesse required before the Judgment Seat of God especially at last triall must be perfect and such as the party to be justified cannot by law that Law which should be the Rule of Judgment be chargeable with any the least Sin 2. They do not consider that the party to be justified is in himself a guilty Sinner and as such can in no wise be justifiable before the most just and sin-detesting Judge 3. That the Justification so much spoken of in Scripture especially in the Apostles writings is Remission and onely Remission of Sin in which respect no man guilty can be justified by Works For all the good works a man can do in a thousand years cannot expiate one Sin antecedent intervenient or consequent nor free him from the guilt of eternall death Austin saith truly that our righteousnesse is true because referred to the right end yet in this life it consists potius remissione Peccatorum quà m perfectione Virtutum rather in Remission of Sin then perfection of Virtue For as he manifestly shews our righteousnesse of good works is imperfect many wayes imperfect therefore he exhorts us to give thanks to God for our good works whereby he implies that they are God's gifts and more God's then ours And certainly they are so and God never gave them to us that we should stand upon Terms with God and plead that the Righteousnesse of them was such as that for them he in Justice was bound to justify them No penitent Sinner dare plead so No wise man will plead so and the best of men in that last day of Triall will wave the Plea of Works and will onely plead God'â— Mercy and Christ's Merit and his own faith in the one and the other onely What shall we plead Merit or righteouâ—ness of works or any title to reward by them because God hath freed us from the Dominion of Sin and the Power of Satan and by his Spirit enabled us to do a few good Works and the same through our own default imperfect whereas he might have bound us to a thousand years oâ— Penance and as many of service in good Works without promising any Reward the least Men may dispute acutely and subtilly for justification by Works now and here but then and there summond to be tried before the great glorious and most just King they will recant be ashamed of their arguments and abhor themselvs as in themselvs most sinfull and guilty wretches God did never ordain good works which are the fruits of a sincere faith in Christ to acquire a right unto Remission of Sin and eternall life but to be a means whereby we may obtain the Possession of these Rewards he hath promised And whosoever will take the words of St. James in proper Sense neglecting the true Scope of the Apostle can hardly avoid it but must contradict the Doctrine of St. Paul agree with the Papists in their Doctrine of justification by Works for the main use the same arguments to maintain it and give the same Answers to Objections against it which they do though in some Terms and Circumstances they may differ CHAP. XXIII Of the several Branches Parts and Degrees of Justification and the continuance of them unto us until the Final Judgment HItherto of Justification by Faith in Christ § I in general After which follow the several Branches or Parts and degrees thereof if we may so call them and the continuance of them to us till the final and universal Judgment of our great and glorious Lord and King-Redeemer These are Regeneration Reconciliation Adoption Ministery of Angels and the rest And they may be considered 1 As they free us from the guilt and punishment of sin Whether the punishment be privative or positive 2 As they make the estate of the justified person of miserable to be happy and blessed The first is Regeneration which in the Execution of this great and special Judgment frees us from that great Penalty of Original Unrighteousness the Dominion of sin and slavery under Sathan of this you have heard before and shall hear more distinctly and particularly of it in the continuance hereafter For the first thing in order though not in time seeing all go together is the restoring of the regenerating and sanctifying Spirit to abide in us after it hath prepared us and it is so necessary a part of Justification that if we distinguish between the Sentence removing the guilt and the Execution removing the punishment the Sentence without the Execution could be little advantage unto us nor could it minister any
comfort And God knowing this doth alwayes in this particular declare the Sentence by the Execution and never did justify and person and left him unsanctified And by this Sactification doth plainly testify unto the party justified that he hath freed him from the guilt and obligation to the greatest Punishment of all Yet this Regeneration is not perfect at the first neither shall be fully perfect in Body and Soul untill the Resurrection This must needs be the first part of branch because all that follow depend upon it and without it we are uncapable of them For as God for order so far as our shallow capacity will reach is first conceived to be holy before he be conceived as happy so man must needs be The greatest and first penalty for Sin was to take away the sanctifying Spirit and the greatest mercy is to restore it again And this as all the rest is derived immediatly from Christ believed upon For by faith we first have Union then Communion with him and derive both Grace and Peace from God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and are blessed in him with all spirituall Blessings It 's called Regeneration because we are by it delivered from that most fearfull death we call the death of Sin and receive a new and spirituall life being created anew according to his Image in Righteousnesse and true Holinesse It may be said to be begun though at some distance in Vocation when ouâ— Hearts are first prepared for then informed with Faith and so we are ingrafted into Christ and made one with him Yet all this was but a preparation for it and tending unto it to complete our union with our Saviour And when we are once united that Spirit which did onely prepare us is given to abide in us constantly and first as a Spirit of Sanctification In this the foundation of eternall Joy and Glory is laid and now we begin to move directly towards our full happinesse This not onely takes away former guilt but the very Root of former guilt of Sin The second Branch is our Reconciliation § XI for being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have accesse into the Grace wherein we stand This is said to be an effect of Justification strictly taken In the words of the Apostle Rom. 5. 1 2. we must consider 1. The Condition of the party to be reconciled before he be reconciled 2. What this Peace with God is 3. Who they are that are thus reconciled and have this Peace 4. How they have it through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1. Because Reconciliation presupposeth Emnity therefore the condition of the party to be reconciled must be that he is at Emnity with God and God at Emnity with him There is Emnity between them and this is a very sad condition to be at Emnity with that God in whom all our comfort is and upon whose favour depends our spirituall and eternall happinesse The cause of this Emnity is Sin considered either in the habit or in the act or guilt By the habit and the act we are contrary to God as just and holy and God must needs abhorr us Therefore the Scripture represents Sin as base and filthy polluting the Sinner and God as pure and holy hating detesting abominating sin For nothing is so contrary to God and so odious in his sight as sinne Therefore is it said Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in Wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee The foolish shall not stand in thy sight Thou hatest the Workers of Iniquity â— Psal. 5. 4 5. And thou art of purer eyes then to behold evil and canst not look upon Iniquity Hab. 1. 13. And there shall in no wise enter into the new and holy Jerusalem any thing that defileth Rev. 21. 27. And without as in no wise admitted to enter are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murderers and Idolaters and who so maketh a Lye Rev. 22. 15. That is men polluted and defiled with sin are uncapable of this Society and communion with the most holy God and his most holy people Nay we are commanded to be holy as He is holy and if we be not so He will not admit us into his presence hear our Prayers accept our Persons or our Service nay He will cast us out of His Presence And though He may love us as Men yet He cannot love us as polluted with sin As sin so the Emnity begins on our part for we first sin and so are alienated and Enemies in or by our mind by wicked Works Col. 1. 21. Where the Learned Bishop of Salisbury observes 1 The miserable estate of those Colossians before they were reconciled it was an estate of Emnity and Hostility And 2 The cause and that was the mind in sin set on sin so he with Beza understands it The first Emnity therefore is from sin as sin But this is not all for sin as a transgression of the Law of God threatning punishment offends God and provokes him to anger as it makes man liable to punishment So as that God who as merciful is inclined to reward as just is bent to punish and so not onely take away his mercies but inflict Positive Penalties to take vengeance upon the sinner for the Transgression and Contempt of His Law And he that continueth in his sin without repentance must needs be an Enemy and the subject of His Wrath. God is an enemy to him not as a man but as a sinful man continuing in sin and as he is unclean he can have no fellowship with God who is Light and in whom there is no Darkness because he walks in Darknessâ— and he is deprived of his special favour and love and lies under His heavy displeasure This is the condition of the party before He be reconciled The 2d Thing to be considered is What this peace with God should be And 1 It 's peace after Emnity Therefore called Reconciliation 2 It 's a removal and taking away the emnity by taking away the cause thereof as you shall hear hereafter 3 This Emnity is so taken away that the state of the Person reconciled is not a bare Neutrality between God and him but a state of special love and favour whereupon follows an acceptation of the person and an admittance into God's presence to come with boldness and confidence unto the Throne of Grace a delight in his Prayers and Service and a Peace and quiet calm of Conscience which cannot be without great joy God before did hate hide his face cast out of his presence and man once sensible of his sin doth fear and fly from God's preâ—ence as from a conâ—uming Fire As Adam hearing the voice of God was afraid and hid himself and Israel trembled before Mount Sinai burning with fire up to the midst of Heaven Now God loves and man is bold and confident This is a special favour God bears unto his
This Submission § IV is a free acknowledgment of God as our onely Lord Redeemer by Christ with a total resignation of our selves to Him alone for Righteousness and Eternal Life From this Description it 's evident that a Divine and Effectual Belief of Redemption by Christ alone and a total dependence upon Him for Salvation is necessarily required so that there can be no sincere submission without this Faith no sincere Faith without this Submission Therefore this Submission is sometimes taken for Faith and Faith for Submission because Faith is the Foundation of it And here we must note 1. That by Subjection we bind our selves to be His perpetual Servants and Vassals 2. By it we renounce all other Powers Lords Masters Redeemers and especially the Devil the World and the Flesh so as to account them our Eâ—emies 3. That we resign our own Understanding Will and Power to His Wisdom Will and Power in all matters of Eternal Salvation 4. That seeing the Party submitting is a guilty person this cannot be performed without an acknowledgment of his own sin guilt baseness misery with godly sorrow a detestation of sin and a returning to obedience again 5. That in this resignation we renounce all confidence in our selves and all other things so as wholly to rely upon his mercy and Christ's merit as without which we must perish everlastingly 6. That upon a clear and distinct knowledge and firm belief of the excellency sufficiency and perfection of power and readiness in Him to save sinful Wretches liable to Eternal Death the Soul doth rest in Him alone as a compleat Redeemer and doth love esteem and admire Him so that it accounts all things most vile and base in comparison of Him and is willing for His sake to lose the best and rarest contents the World can give and suffer the greatest evils and miseries the Devil or Man can inflict upon Him 7. That it 's the Root and Ground of all Obedience and Service All these things are plain from the Doctrine and Example of Christ and His Apostles For Christ denyed Himself and took up His Cross and informs us that we must do so too That we must forsake Father and Mother for His sake and whosoever hateth not Father and Mother and dearest Relations of this Woold for His sake is not worthy of Him He is that Pearl for which we must give all or else never purchase Him And the Apostles forsook all and followed Him Math. 19. 27. Paul counted all things loss and dung in comparison of Him We have the like Examples in Abraham Moses the Prophets and all the Saints of old Whom have I in Heaven but thee And there is none on Earth that I desire besides thee Psal. 73. 25. was the confession of them all In Christ Jesus we have Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification Redemption and all things to make sinful man fully and for ever blessed This Submission § V is the principal and proper Duty required in the first Commandement understood Evangelically Thou shalt have no Redeemer besides Me And it 's solemnly testified in Baptism Wherein we renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh and engage our selves to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost This is our Allegeance and Fealty whereby we give our selves wholly to our God who hath redeemed and bought us that He might give Himself to us for to make us Eternally Blessed Though this Duty was always the first and principal which God required yet it was more distinctly and clearly revealed and urged after the Exhibition and Glorification of Christ. The first Lesson that Christ taught His Disciples and Apostles was That He was the Son of the Living God and their first and chief Duty was To deny themselves take up their Cross and depend upon Him for everlasting life And that His own people might believe this Truth and perform this Duty John the Baptist was sent before Him He was manifested to the World by His Doctrine and Miracles But after He was once set down at the Right-Hand of God and the Gospel was preached the first thing taught was that He was the Universal Officer by whom God would administer His Spiritual Kingdom and dispose of Eternal Life And the first Duty pressed upon Jew and Gentile was to receive Him as their onely Priest Prophet King and depend upon God by Him to be for ever saved This might be made evident from many places For Peter in his first Sermon preached after he had received the Holy Ghost would have the house of Israel to know that God had made that same Jesus whom they had crucified both Lord and Christ Act. 2. 36. He was the Prince of Life and that Prophet whom God had promised to send and threatned with destruction every one that should not hearken unto Him Act. 3. 15 22 23. He is the Head of the Corner neither is there Salvation in any other For there is no other Name under Heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved Act. 4. 11 12. Him God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin Act. 5. 31. The Eunuch must believe and profess that Jesus is the Son of God before He could be baptized Act. 8. 37. This was the principal point which Paul converted did assert and prove That Christ is the Son of God Act. 9. 20. This was the principal truth proposed to the Gentiles That Jesus was He whom God ordained to be Judge of the Quick and Dead and that through His Name all such as believe in Him shall receive remission of their sins Act. 10. 42 43. This is the principal scope of the Apostle Paul in several passages of his Epistles and especially in the first and second Chapters of that to the Colossians to manifest the excellency and sufficiency of Christ. And in that to the Hebrews it 's made manifest that He was a Prophet far above all other Prophets above Angels and Moses and a Priest above all Priests and especially in this that by one Offering He had consecrated the Sanctified for ever By this we may understand § VI what this Subjection required by a Fundamental Law of the Kingdom of God-Redeemer is yet because the performance of this Duty is above the power of sinful Man as born of sinful Adam therefore in the second place we must consider by what meanes Man is reduced and brought back unto his God again The Scriptures inform us that we must be called and born quickned and raised up by some Divine Power given out of free mercy for Christ's sake Therefore this Subjection may be said to be a Work of Vocation or Calling This Vocation is sometimes taken for a Work of God's Power whereby He reduceth Man Sometimes for a gracious admission and acceptation of the sinner submitting himself for a Subject to enjoy the Rights and Priviledges of His Kingdom Sometimes for both In this place I take it
for an Act of Divine Power as it is a cause of subjection which must â—o before admission To understand this we must consider the Subject of it and that is Man as sub alienâ potestate under the power of Sin and Sathan and so out of God's Kingâ—om and as an Alien to this Heavenly Common-wealth and such is every one by Nature as he is out of Jesus Christ. Yet there are degrees of this distance some are further off some nearer to this Kingdom This is evident from the condition of Jews and Gentiles in former times and always especially since the times of the Gospel Because all men are either in the visible Church or out of it And men may be out of the Church two ways 1. As never admitted into the same Or 2. Such as being in the Church prove Apostates The Gentiles once were not Gentiles For their first Apostate Fathers were in the Church and the Jews in former times were God's people but for their unbelief are cast out and continue LO-AMMI none of God's people and this shall be their condition till such time as the fulness of the Gentiles be come in And we must distinguish of such as are in the visible Church for some are sincerely subjected unto God-Redeemer according to their Allegiance Some are Subjects onely by Name and Profession and by their ignorance unbelief disobedience are little better then Heathens and Aliens Some are subject in some measure but come short of that degree which is required to admission All these excepting one sort are out of this Kingdome as it consists of reall Saints and living members of Christ. Apostates shall never be called much lesse admitted if they be personally and wilfully such For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sins Heb. 10. 26. and if no more Sacrifice then calling is in vain and to no purpose Yet the posterity of Apostates may be and have been called And if once God vouchsafe the meanes of conversion to Idolators who have forsaken not only God as their Redeemer but as Creatour and Preserver he requires of them to renounce the Devil and turn from their Idols to the living God first and then unto him as Redeemer by Jesus Christ. They which have forsaken Jesus Christ or deny him as their Saviour and yet acknowledge and worship God alone as the Creatour of Heaven and Earth the Preserver and Governour of the World as Turks all Mahumetans and the unbelieving Jews do at this day are bound to acknowledge Christ as their Saviour and Redeemer and sure his incarnation and glorification as already come into the World The case of the Jew in the times of Christ and the Apostles was singular For the sincere Proselyte and Jew had onely this to do to believe in Christ already come as before they believed in him to come and so they became compleat members of the Church Christian and perfectly subjects of the Kingdome of Christ glorified The Ignorant and Prophane as also the Hypocrits must forsake their wicked wayes and sincerely submit themselves Yet none of these things can be done without a power from Heaven and a Vocation which is a gracious work of God Redeemer wherein he by his Word and Spirit reduceth man to subjection so that he is fitted to be a subject of his Blessed Kingdome For by Calling we are delivered from the power of darknesse and translated into the Kingdome of His Dear Son Col. 1. 13. Therefore said to be called out of darknesse into his marveylous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. And upon this they who were not a people are made the people of God verse 10. For God will put his lawes into their mind and write them in their hearts and thereupon He will be their God and they shall be to him a People Heb. 8. 10. In all these Passages and many more it 's evident 1. That by nature and as born of sinfull Adam we are in darknesse out of Gods Kingdome none of Gods People 2. That we passe out of darknesse into light and into Christs Kingdom 3. This is not a work of our own merit or power For it 's God that delivers us translates us writes his lawes in our hearts and this of his free mercy and by his great and wonderfull power 4. By this we become Gods people and subjects of Christ's Kingdom And all this is said to be by calling For he called us out of darknesse into his marvaylous light All these particulars are expressed or implyed in those words of the Apostle who signifies that God would send him to the Gentiles to open their eves and to turn them from darknesse to light and from the power of Sathan unto God that they may receive remission of sins and as inheritance among them which are sanctifyed by saith in Christ Act. 26. 17 18. This Vocation § VII as it is an act of power and great mercy and free grace for by grace we are saved so it s a work which is effected by the Word and Spirit For as we are regenerate so we are called and we are regenerate 1. By the Word 2. By the Spirit By the Word For of his own will he begat us with the word of truth Jam. 1. 18. By the Spirit For except a man be born again of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdome of God Joh. 3. 5. In the Word God commands and promiseth The command binds man to submit The promise is a motive to enforce the performance of the precept This we maâ— understand and observe in the Call of Abraham For 1. He is commanded to get him out of his Countrey and from his kindred and from his Fathers house unto a land that God would shew him and to perswade him God promiseth to make him a great nation and to blesse him c. But the principall promise was that in him all the familyes of the earth should be blessed Gen. 12. 1. 2 3. This precept implyes that man is under the domiâ—ion of sin and Sathan and therefore commands him to forsake his sin and Sathan and turn from Satan unto God In this God makes use of the Doctrine of the fall of Adam and the Morall Law as given unto him and binding him to perfect and perpetual obedience and upon disobedience threatning Death And by the precept is discovered mans sin and by threatning his misery to humble him break his heart make him weary of sin and desirous of deliverance and willing upon any termes to accept a Saviour Yet this gives him no Comfort nor any Power to do that which is his duty though God make use of it to prepare mans heart The first dutyes commanded are 1. A sight of sin as sin in our selves whereby we are miserable The 2. Is saith whereby we believe that God being satisfyed and attoned by the blood of Christ will be mercifull and pardon sin This faith
absolute Power might have done so yet His Wisdom did not think good to do it neither do we read that he doth it The principal thing to be noted is that this is the principal if not the onely place that speaks of Imputation of Righteousness and this Imputation is Remission of Sinne by a Sentence of the Supream Judge 3 Remission and Justification and Eternal Life is ascribed to the Sacrifice of Christ's Death as the meritorious cause thereof in many other places especially Heb. 9. And Christ is said by one Offering to have perfected that is consecrated the Sanctified for ever Hebr. 10. 14. To be consecrated for ever is to be made compleat Priest to serve the Living God in the Temple of Heaven and to be eternally glorified And this is ascribed to the Death and Offering of Christ. QUESTION III. Whether Justification continued and finally consummate be by Works and not by faith alone as the first Justification is MIne Answer hereunto is negative § XII that neither Justification continued nor finally consummate is by Works but faith onely though that faith be not alone For the Scriptures inform us that there is but one way of Justification of a sinfull man and that is by faith in Christ. For seeing the Apostle determines but two wayes possible the one by Works the other by faith and proves that no man living by Works can be justified in God's sight because all are sinfull no man no not the best without sin no man performs perfect and perpetuall Obedience it seems strange to me that any man should affirm that Justification either continued or finall should be by Works If it be by Works then the reward of Righteousnesse is of debt according to the Law of Works and then it 's not of Grace If it be by works then works must be perfect and such as can endure the severity of God's Justice at our last triall If by works then the worker is so righteous in himself by reason of them that no one can lay any thing to his charge For Justification first and last must look upon man as chargeable with no sin otherwise he will not be justifiable by the most just God But no works of man are such If by works then by faith as a work we may be justified but that cannot be If by works then works may receive Chirst as our Propitiatour and Intercessour But that 's the proper act of faith If by works then we receive not the reward of righteousnesse and eternall Glory as merited by Christ and derived immediately from Christ to us as believing on him and renouncing all righteousnesse in our selves If by works then our finall Justification is not a Remission of sin If by good works then our good works may be pleaded in the title unto righteousnesse and eternal life before the Tribunal of God But the Promise it self and the Reward promised were merited by Christ and God promiseth this righteousnesse and reward for Christ's sake and for his sake alone and he promiseth it unto him and onely unto him that resteth upon Christ and Christ alone for it and pleads Christ's merit and onely Christ's merit upon the promise of God If by good works then good works can expiate our sins and satisfy for our evill works If by works then there is some promise made in the Gospel to justifie us by them and as righteous through them and so righteous that we need not plead Christ or remission upon Christ's propitiation But there is no such promise in the Gospel The Law indeed saith Do this and live But the Gospel saith Confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead and thou shalt be saved Rom. 10. 9. If by works then why doth the Apostle say By Grace you are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works c. Why might he not as well have said By Grace ye are saved through faith and works It was as easy for him to say the one as the other The power to do good works and our doing of them is a reward derived from Christ by faith For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Ephes. 2 8 9 10. After that we are once ingrafted into Christ Jesus we derive all the good from first to last whether for duty or reward from him All the vertues which we have all the good works which we do on earth or in heaven presuppose us in Christ and justified by and for his merits All good works of regenerate persons are virtually in faith receiving Christ and no such faith continuing can be without good works It is certain that as God in the Gospell commands good works commends such as do them promiseth rewards unto Well-doers â—o he will in his last Judgment justifie good Works and the doers of them so as Wisdom is justified of her Children But this Justification is onely Approbation whereby man may justify God as well as God justify man in this manner Therefore we must needs say that as good Works are commanded by God pleasing unto God so they are approved and rewarded of God They so farr as good prevent future guilt take away no former guilt do evidence our faith and Title unto everlasting Glory strengthen our union with Christ because they strengthen faith confirm our hope glorify God give good example unto men make us more capable of Communion with God tend towards the possession of Glory distinguish us from the prophane and hypocrites give some content to our Consciences and there is a kind of happinesse in the doing of them and in the remembrance of them done Blessed are they who alwayes abound in them For they know that their labour is not in vain in the Lord. Yet Bellarmin though a great advancer of Merit thought it not onely safe but the safest Way to put our whole and sole trust not in these our good Works but in Christ. But it is not onely the safest but the onely way so to do if we would be justified before God To say that good Works are a condition of the Covenant of Grace we shall be judged according to our works remission of Sin is promised to such as forgive others and that such as love God fear him serve him do his commandements shall be rewarded and have eternall life therefore We are not justified by faith alone but by good works also is no good arguing If the Sequel be denied as it must be no wit of man can prove it and make it good They may be a condition of the Covenant yet not such a condition as faith receiving Christ as Propitiatour and Advocate and resting upon God's Promise in him alone and such must of necessity be that condition whereby we are justified and stand blamelesse and without Spot before the Throne of God Though we shall be judged according to our works it