hide from man not considering the judgment of God that hangs over thee But if not so yet a heart full of uncleanness envy wrath malice which our Lord Jesus Christ in his opening the Law in its spirituality Mat. 5.21 22 27 28. convinceth to be murder and adultery which it may be thou hast never considered of so thou hast not been an actual adulterer or murderer In a word There 's not a vain thought in thy heart the first rising of it but brings thee under the guilt of condemation of the Law and as thou art under the Law as if a transgressor in thought word and deed of the whole Law This may seem strange to thee but see it proved Jam. 2.10 For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all But it hath been proved that thou art guilty of the breach of every Commandment of God from thy youth up But see further sinner that some word of God or other may hit thee this Law could not condemn thee wouldst thou have been convinc'd of guilt and made in to grace by Jesus Christ but thou art under the guilt of Gospel-contempt Come sinner saith Jesus Christ see what I can and will do for thee I 'll save thee from this condemning Law I 'll take away the curse I 'll remove all thy guilt blot out all the charge that is against thee I 'll put a righteousness upon thee I 'll bestow my spirit upon thee I 'll give thee a heart to love God and his Law and in the inward man to delight to walk in it and then take thee to Heaven and fill thee with glory for ever All this Heaven of mercy and free grace thou hast sleighted and sinned against and brought thy self under greater condemnation than by the law And yet by the way Jesus Christ will do as much for thee still as I have spoken of and more Though thou hast thus sinned against Law and Gospel if thou wilt come a poor undone guilty soul unto him which is that I aim at in thus pressing upon thee and were the sense of guilt indeed upon thy soul thou wouldst seriously hearken to me Therefore yet further bear with me Take home this guilt to thy Conscience and say Oh guilty guilty of all that hath been this day charged from the righteous God upon me Oh may the Lord find thee out this day and lay in the fresh sense of the guilt of sins even of such thou hast long since committed do not justifie nor excuse thy self any longer for that 's the natural way of thy heart as thou hast been shewed Never did guilty prisoner at the bar find more shifts more subtle pleas than the proud and shameless heart of a sinner will do till God himself pronounce guilt in the conscience and then the guilt of one sin laid in brings in the guilt of all other and they sometimes come in like waves and billows upon thy soul Oh let the sense of thy lying swearing prophaning the Sabbath slighting the word refusing Jesus Christ out of thy secret hatred of holiness reproaching the people of God because in their practice they condemn thee Oh let this any all seize upon thee go and lye low before the great God judging charging condemning thy self and say God and his Word hath found me out this day and I go home with at arrow of God in my conscience I am the Man or Woman that am found the guiltiest soul in the Congregation how to be delivered and saved from it that 's my business now Blessed be the advice and counsel now which formerly I despised of any good man that speaks in the Name of the Lord unto me and will show me there is yet hope for so wretched a creature as I am Particularly these are the effects of the sense of the guilt of sin wrought by the Holy Ghost upon the conscience of a poor soul in order to his salvation 1. Fear of wrath to come more or less possesseth the heart can a man be guilty and not fear if truly sensible of it This was upon Adam after he had sinned and heard Gods voice which struck him with sense of guilt Gen. 3.10 I heard thy voice and was afraid so when guilt came upon Belshazzar his thoughts troubled him Dan. 5.6 Felix trembled Acts 24.25 The Jaylor came trembling Acts 16.29 The fear of wrath the fear of a miscarrying soul the fear of eternity seizeth upon the spirit of a poor creature and then 't is an infinite weighty matter with a poor soul to be saved 2. Shame is another effect of guilt brought in upon the conscience So Adam likewese was ashamed and hid himself because he was naked Gen. 3. What fruit had you in those things whereof you are now ashamed Rom. 6.21 So Ezek. 16. last That thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord See also Ezek. 43.10 11. Oh how is a sensible guilty soul ashamed before God Angels and men of such ways and carriages in which he impudently before delighted himself and lies down in his shame and confusion of face even covering his face before God and ashamed to look up unto him 3. The soul walks up and down with a burthened spirit those creature-comforts delights contentments which before would still the spirit now will not sense of guilt eats out the hearts of them the soul must now have something else than wind and vanity for so are creatures become to such a poor soul It may be the deceitful heart carries a poor creature to this thing and that but finds no satisfaction there the burden still remains the arrow that God hath shot sticks fast till Jesus Christ pluck it forth and heals all with his Blood and Spirit 4. Guilty souls make out for deliverence sue to Heaven are enquiring how the law may be satisfied how guilt may be removed how attonement may be had how bondage taken off in a word how he may come to see the face of a blessed God reconciled in Jesus Christ and so love him and bless him to eternity Why now careless sinner Is' t not better be thus than be hardening for Hell and have the guilt of sin as nothing to thee till the books shall be opened all thy sins written in Letters of Blood against thee Conscience accused charged and witnessing against thee and so away screeking to Hell without all remedy and canst not be heard a word for thy self nor any one Saint or Angel for thee Now thou mayst be heard if thou wilt speedily acknowledge thy guilt not cover thy transgression nor hide thy iniquity in thy bosom Job 31.33 but come with fear and shame burthen'd with thy guilt to him whose arms are yet open to receive thee and is ready to take away iniquity off thee and take off thy
that sleepest Ephes 5. The voice of the Spirit doth awake that Conscience that before was asleep in sinful security 4. A good Conscience is convinced that all the keepings of the Law and keeping a Conscience to men cannot justifie the soul before God cannot commend it to God which a Second table-Table-Conscience imagines it will and so in peace Paul kept a Conscience as to many things Acts 23.1 I have lived in all good Conscience before God unto this day meaning I conceive from his youth up when he was a Pharisee but when his Conscience was convinced and awakened and came to see Jesus Christ he saw that all his keeping a Conscience as to many sins and Duties could not in the least commend him to God A good Conscience is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.14 So that this is the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ upon the Conscience of a Believer it pacifies it in the sense of the forgiveness of sins towards God so as it can draw near to God and it purgeth it from dead works sin and pollution to serve God acceptably This is a good Conscience indeed 6. A good Conscience respects all the Precepts of God as well of Holiness to God as Goodness to Men which the Conscience we have been speaking of doth not Such a one makes not conscience of this great and absolute Precept Be ye holy 1 Pet. 1. It makes not conscience of purging the heart of secret mourning to God of the purity of God's Worship It makes no Conscience of lesser sins as we have shewed not of all sin as Herod heard the Word gladly but made no conscience of persecuting John to death when he stood in the way of his Lusts Now I say a good Conscience respects Precepts of Holiness secret as well as publick Duties inward as well as outward Sins lesser sins as well as greater 7. A Scripture good Conscience is much taken up about godly sincerity So Paul 2 Cor. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the Testimony of our Conscience that with simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but with the grace of God we have had our Conversation in the world c. Thus a soul that walks with a good Conscience towards God labours to approve it self in all things with a godly sincerity to do all as unto God Lastly a good Conscience labours to keep it self pure and undefiled it is accompanied with a pure heart 1 Tim. 1.5 Now the end of the Commandment is love out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned A Soul that would keep the Conscience good would keep it pure and the whole inward man pure as a Temple unto God Vse Now see how many ingredients go to make up a good Conscience in a Scripttre-sense and what a great mistake is in this weighty matter and how far abundance of people that make conscience of their dealings with men conclude thence they have a Scripture-good-Conscience to God when they are not savingly enlightned their Conscience never search'd by the power of the Word and throughly awakened out of a natural condition never humbled for resting in themselves and their Duties not having their Conscience sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ and purged thereby not having a tender respect to all the Precepts of God not to walk before him in godly sincerity nor with a pure heart You then that are short of these things you are wholly to seek in that which you so much pretend to and speak peace to your selves in the having or keeping a good Conscience you have as yet no part in this matter 2. What hath been spoken of a good Cnnscience may be for instruction and direction to the Called Ones of Christ how to preserve the Conscience good and peaceable and so to live and dye in the peace and comfort of it through Jesus Christ our Lord. Get it sprinkled with the Blood of Jesus Christ every day and under the searching of the Word and awake unto God and pure and undefiled respecting all the Holy Precepts of God as binding to your conscience so will the conscience be tender and peaceable and God will witness in your conences your acceptance with him in his Son Jesus Christ I would give out further some Notes of Tryal Whether you rest in false common grace or not as to what we have already spoken in so weighty a matter 1. By your never suspecting the truth of your grace but taking all upon trust never doubting but you have Faith and do repent and so of all the rest that soul that never suspected his grace may well fear that his pretended grace is no more than what a Hypocrite may reach unto The poor called children of God are exceedingly jealous their Faith is not sound that they are short in every grace because of the woful mixtures that they find more Unbelief than Faith more hardness of heart than softness more Pride than Humiliation and so of all Now that soul that goes away with an unsuspected confidence of every Grace sure flatters himself and his way will be found to be deceitful 2. That Soul that draws back his conscience from the searching power of the Word when it gives out ways of trial of Sincerity and truth of grace and puts it off as if not concerned in it this may well be speak a false heart A gracious heart would bring the Work over and over to the Touch-stone of the Word delivers up it self unto it yea is much with God to search him in point of a firm Work upon his Spirit as to any prevailing Iniquity in his heart as David Psal 139. When he was before the Lord appealing to him and opening his heart to him speaks thus ver 1. Oh Lord thou hast searched me c. thou hast And yet ver 23.24 begs of God yet further to search him Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me into the way everlasting 3. False Grace is discovered by its easie acting When you can easily believe easily repent easily be humble and so of all others Certainly 't is all naught There is great contradiction within and from the Tempter as to act Grace begun in a soul yea a daily supply from Jesus Christ must be to act any Grace livelily which the common pretending easie Believers are not sensible of It cannot be but every act of Grace must find more or less resistance from flesh and blood which is so vigorously opposite to the nature and acting of real grace in the Soul 4. Such as are
and by the same power doth uphold them to which first Being all the creatures must owe their homage and conformity Now though such a glimmering of light can never suffice to lead a soul to the true worshipping of God as the Apostle there argues yet it leaves the creature without excuse which is that I am proving from it 6. All the Children of men do sin presumptuously wilfully and obstinately against the Law of God mans sin being not so much from his weakness to obey the law though weak he is but from the rebellion of his will against God and his law as it is in the case of disobeying the call of the Gospel also Now whatsoever a man doth presumptuously and wilfully it leaves him without all excuse and this is it that is charged upon the Children of men by the holy Ghost in the word that their sin was obstinate rebellion against the great God From all these the truth of the Assertion doth appear that every Transgressor of the Law is without all excuse before God 7. As the Creature hath no excuse for his sin so it follows he hath no pretence against the righteous judgment of God We are sure the judgment of God is according to truth Rom. 2.2 and Chap. 3.4 That thou may'st be justified in thy savings and clear when thou art judged that is whatever any sinner may dispute to the contrary God is righteous when he judgeth if the Law be just and holy and good once written in his his heart and had a power to have kept it that God hath given out this law again to him the remnants of it in his heart so much to be known of God in the Creatures and that he sins presumptuously and wilfully against God and so blessed a law made for his own good certainly must every sinner conclude the Lord is righteous when he judgeth and every mouth must be stopped Vse 1. If it be so that no sinner in the world hath any justifiable excuse for his sin then let this truth come in into your consciences and strike off all vain pretences and wretched excuses when you have sinned against the Lord which usually are such as these when sinners break forth into this or that rebellious way they cry Oh! 't is my nature my natural disposition and then they think that excuseth or allayeth the matter whereas it aggravates for we our selves corrupted our natures Saith another I have been so accustomed to such a way to drink to excess sometimes to swear to use the Lords name vainly and as a by-word whereas the custom of sinning is the greatest and most grievous aggravation of it Saith another 't is my company that draws me or the example of others or 't is my temptation when they are under the Spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience Or that they do keep the Law as well as they can and think this will excuse Whereas nothing no plea that ever a sinful deceitful heart put up or that the Devil suggests can before God excuse any sinner in the world rich or poor knowing or ignorant from the exact and perfect keeeping of the Law if they are under the Law but upon one transgression of it the law doth most justly condemn and curse them Nothing is more natural to fallen man under sin than when having sinned to devise an excuse and thinks and surmiseth that because such an excuse will be taken by his own blinded Conscience therefore God will also accept of it and so flatters himself in his own eyes till his iniquity be found to be hateful Psal 36.2 Thus Adam as soon as he had sinn'd he thought how to excuse the matter puts it off to the woman and the woman to the Devil which trade sinners have well learnt and have driven it on ever since to their own damnation Observe this if every sinner yet under the law and the power of sin had not some vain pretence and excuse to ensilence conscience and foolishly thinks to insinuate unto God he or she must needs fall down before the Lord see all their pretences and coverts to be damnable flatteries and soul-cheatings and so Judge themselves and pronounce God most righteous if he damn them for ever Oh therefore Sinners Away with all your pretences no more excusing but judging and go to the great God and fall down at his feet crying out Oh I am a Transgressor the Law condemns me no excuse will be taken my mouth is now stopped whatever God do with me he is most holy and righteous If I were going to Hell I must justifie God and cannot say unto him why doest thou thus Thus 't is with a poor soul when the Lord by his word and spirit discovers sin reveals the law lays it in upon the conscience discovers the Holiness and Exactness of his Justice that the law shews no mercy but crys out for fulfilling or pronounceth absolute condemnation then I say a sinner crys out Oh I am cast by the Law I am gone by the Law All my Pleas are found too light All my endeavours to keep it is worth nothing if guilty in the least while I am under the law I must find out a righteousness elsewhere another way or Condemnation just condemnation is my portion for ever Here 's the first stroak of a convinced sinner when God is outing him from himself and all his Coverts or Excuses and brings him naked to put on the righteousness of his Son Jesus Christ freely held out in the Gospel which is the work in hand 2. If no excuse can be heard or taken for the the transgression of the Law for but one breach of it but every mouth is stopped how much less will any excuse be taken for withstanding the Gospel of grace by Jesus Christ Saith our blessed Lord If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin that is not so great sin and comdemnation but now they have no cloak nor excuse for their sin If a righteous law leave all the world without excuse much more a Gospel that offers free grace and pardon and righteousness by Jesus Christ to any sinner condemned by the Law that will come in as so condemn'd and accept of the free gift of Righteousness by him But that I may yet a little further labour to bring in the sense of Guilt upon the soul I shall prove every soul guilty before God of the transgression of the Law and shew what the sense of guilt is which few there are that have in a saving way Observ 3. Every soul in the world is guilty before God of the transgression of the Law And all the world may become guilty before God This hath been proved where we have shew'd that All have sinned and come short of the glory of God This guilt is threefold which is set home upon every sinners heart when convinc'd of sin by the spirit 1. The guilt of Adams sin which stands charg'd
and thence concludeth ver 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ purge the Conscience c. A much more upon that above all the Sacrifices that were offered up to God which will appear 1. Because of the eternal Godhead of Christ's Person by which he offer'd up his blood unto his Father Heb. 9.14 Who through the eternal Spirit offered up himself without spot to God Which put an infinite value and efficacy upon the offering of his blood inasmuch as Jesus Christ was God as well as Man though he could only dye in his humane nature yet the efficacy of his Godhead had an influence upon the price of his dying which put an infinite worth upon it and so renders it full and perfect Redemption 2. The price of the blood of Jesus Christ did not only give a bare Satisfaction to the justice of God but it had an infinite Merit in it a redundancy of Merit whereby it deserved at the hands of God that Sinners that are interessed in it should have remission of Sins grace the love of God and glory to come spiritual blessings which the death of Christ purchased for the elect which being also by the free purpose and compact of God there must necessarily arise an infinite Merit in it 3. The All-sufficiency of the price of Christ's blood is evidenced by his Resurrection and Ascension into Glory implying that he wrought forth full and perfect Redemption by his Death therefore he is said to rise again for our Justification Rom. 4. last and to be justified in the spirit 1 Tim. 3. last that is God by raising him from the dead justified him in the attonement he had made by his Death and that he did chearfully accept of satisfaction by it 4. The Blood of Christ procures boldness of access to God therefore there is an infinite worth in the price of it Heb. 10.19 Having therefore Brethren Boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus which boldness doth arise from the full satisfaction that is made to Divine Justice in as much as God upon the Acceptance of it hath nothing to charge upon the Sinner himself no quarrel against him having charged his sins upon Christ and therefore the poor sinner may come with an humble boldness into the Presence of God and this is that which puts boldness into the Conscience of a Believer when he appears before God 5. From the Experience of it the soulest Sinners that have come unto it have been washed from their sins by it as 1 Cor. 6.11 Idolaters Adulterers Sodomites Drunkards Revilers have been washed and justified and sanctified by it The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin 1 John 1.7 6. It cleanseth and perfects them for ever therefore called eternal Redemption once for all and for ever Heb. 10.10 19. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified once justified and for ever Now from this Satisfaction Merit All-sufficiency of the Sacrifice of the blood of Jesus to cleanse a sinner to commend him to God how safely may a sinner venture his Soul upon it which is the first act of Faith A poor sinner when under conviction and the terror of the Lord hath taken hold of him lies trembling before the Lord whether God will let out Justice or Mercy upon him he is ready to give glory to the justice of the Lord if he reject him for ever But now if a poor soul get a sight of the blood of Christ how it deals with the justice of God what full and all-sufficient Satisfaction it hath made to God for the sins of such as plead it to him how God more delights in it than in the condemning of the sinner what a stay is this to the wavering doubtful spirit of a poor sinner when he can come to see justice to have its due and so God can freely let out Remission to a poor Soul upon the very first Act of a poor sinners closing with it though not presently evidenced in his Conscience Oh sinner venture the Issue of all upon this price of the Blood of Jesus thou may'st see thou hast the greatest reason in the world to do so thou wilt never come to have a safe bottom for thy Soul till thou comest thus to deal with the justice of God as fully satisfied by the blood of Jesus Christ thou wilt still be off and on about Free-Mercy till thou come to fix here and be in some good measure established in it Be daily in exercising thy Soul in such ventures and castings upon it and the Spirit will at last witness Peace and Reconciliation to thy Conscience In a word Sinners you that have had no stay to your spirits for the forgiveness of your sins but a blind hope of Mercy look up look up to the justice of God and see this way of access to God for you by the blood of Jesus Oh! let not any prophane sinner trample it under foot cast it back upon the blessed face of God say not in thy heart Let God take the blood of his Son to himself I 'le not be washed from my Sins I 'le not be sanctified I 'le rest as I am Desperate Sinner of how much sorer punishment shalt thou be thought worthy than any Sinner under Heaven who rejectest the only worthy price of a Sinners Salvation Know the great God will let out all his justice upon thee to the utmost and Oceans of his Wrath shall fall upon thee if thou thus abuse the blood of his Son a greater guilt than all thy Ungodliness thou hast hitherto been wallowing in from thy youth up Oh! come thou despiser and cast thy soul under the droppings of this blood and it shall cleanse thee though thy soul were as black as Hell Zach. 13.1 And thou poor formal out-side Professor who never didst feel the vertue healing life and warmth of the blood of Christ upon thy heart Oh rest not in good thoughts of it only but come believingly to it as thou hast been exhorted Say and that with thy heart Now Lord I would know the power and efficacy of this Redemption upon my poor soul Wash me Lord wash me I renounce all but the blood of this Christ as to making way to God for me Oh! let it pacifie my Conscience and purge my Conscience and I shall be clean If the Spirit of the Lord shall work thy heart to come as a guilty helpless unholy sinner in thy self to this blood of Jesus and make thy approaches to God daily and argue for Grace and Remission upon it and purging thy Soul these inestimable blessings will be the issue of it which I will but name to thee 1. Thou shalt certainly find forgiveness of thy sins In whom we have Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our sins Ephes 1.7 God will remember them no more against thee and thou shalt have peace with thy God for ever 2. God will let forth
that this is a way of God's own ordaining Jesus Christ was set forth for this very end even by God himself and therefore the soul is brought to this conclusion to venture the Issue of its life and eternal salvation upon it and so throws it self as in a sinking condition upon the grace blood righteousness of Jesus Christ sink or swim live or perish saved or damned there the soul casts Anchor there it pitcheth to this it will stand or fall before the righteous God if there be not enough in the blood of Jesus to give it acceptance with God the Soul resolves to Hell it must There saith a poor self-emptied Soul I cast even away my self if it might be upon it Phil. 3.9 3. The soul is brought on to believe the report that God in his word makes concerning his Son Jesus Christ and of the price value merit and all-sufficiency of his blood to save a poor sinner even to the utmost that comes to God by him Heb. 7.25 to answer all the wants and distresses of a poor soul namely in pacifying the Justice of God fulfilling the Law making attonement removing guilt procuring remission of sins reconciling to God Rom. 5.9 10. Much more being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his Life In all which things the soul is enabled to believe the report of the Gospel that the blood and death of Jesus Christ can do all this for poor sinners that shall pitch upon it 4. In this working of faith the soul comes to see and fasten upon an absolue unlimited Free promise where any sinner that will may come to Jesus Christ and so have the vertue of his death and blood applied to it and therefore that he as well as any other sinner in the world may come to him and make claim to his blood and plead it before God whosoever will let him come Rev. 22. Now saith a poor self-emptied sinner I do not find that I am any where excluded but invited and called upon to come to the Lord Jesus and claim an interest in his blood and that I may plead it even at the throne of his Justice and that I may warrantably safely upon good grounds given out from the mouth of God himself take hold of the Lord Jesus in such a Promise and there is no sin or unworthiness can exclude me unless I will frowardly and wretchedly exclude my self I do not find saith the poor soul that any sin is too great for the Sacrifice of that blood of Jesus so the sinner will come to it yea that 't is the greatest sin and the top of condemnation not to come to it that I more injure God by standing off from Jesus Christ than by all the filthiness blasphemies ungodlinesses my Soul ever wallowed in Heb. 10.29 The Blood of Christ is a price sufficient for the sins of the whole World therefore saith a poor soul for mine He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world and therefore he can take away mine and I am freely called and invited to it and 't is my Rebellion not to come what can I have more And so sense of Peace and Reconciliation falls in upon the Soul 5. The Soul by its often renewing of such Acts of Believing comes at last to see the blood of Jesus Christ appropriated to him now it can stay it self upon the word of promise and can sometimes rejoyce in believing If I roll my self upon the blood of Jesus I have the Word of God for it that I shall be saved we shall be saved from Wrath through him not it may be but we shall be saved and all upon the account of being justified by his blood Rom. 5.9 which justification ariseth upon this believing we have mentioned Thus have I opened the nature of Faith as it is precisely justifying as it applies and appropriates the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus for Remission of sins and Justification unto eternal Life I might insist upon the discovery of the effectual operations of Faith in the Soul as may distinguish it from a meer belief of the History of the death of Jesus Christ take two or three 1. When the Soul by Faith doth act upon the blood of Jesus Christ for justification it doth also bring the power and efficacy of it for purging of the Soul Heb. 9.14 How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offer'd himself without spot to God purge your Conscience from dead works to serve the living God So Acts 15.9 Purifying your hearts by faith There is a purifying vertue in the blood of Jesus Christ upon the souls of Believers they are for the purging away the filth as well as the guilt of sin there 's no believing soul but crys out Purge me Oh Lord purge me and throughly from my filth 2. The soul hath a secret yet real fellowship with the death of Jesus Christ to crucifie and destroy the body of sin in a justified believer which ariseth from its union with Christ Rom. 6.5 6. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection knowing that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin Every true believer can really say I am or I would be Crucified with Christ Gal. 2.20 Which the Apostle there brings in as an effect of Justification by Faith 3. Every justified believer looks upon this as one great end of his Justification that he might live to God Gal. 2.19 That I might live unto God Likewise reckon ye your selves to be dead indeed unto him but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.11 Every justified Believer doth thus reckon of himself I am to be dead to sin but alive to God I am to yield my self to God verse 13. To have my fruit unto Holiness verse 22. 4. Faith that justifies doth through the Spirit work the Soul to Gospel-obedience to all the Laws and Ordinances of Jesus Christ which shall be revealed to be the Will of Christ from the Command of Jesus Christ and from a principle of love to Jesus Christ John 15.10 5. A justifi'd believer will deny himself for Christ take up his cross and follow him let any sufferings be proposed to a called believer and let him know it is for Jesus Christ and that soul unless under a temporary desertion or temptation will choose and embrace those sufferings and undergo them with some chearfulness Luke 14.26 27. 7. Every justified believer hath a Marriage Vnion with Jesus Christ Ephes 5.25 26 32. The soul hath chosen Jesus Christ having broken off from all other lovers hath betrothed it self unto Christ in an
1. From the tenour of the New Covenant in which way God hath obliged himself to give out mercy and in no other Now thus runs the New-Covenant this is the great Article of it Make you a new heart and a new Spirit Ezek. 11.31 Which God promiseth to give to all he takes into a Covenant of mercy and peace with himself I will put a new Spirit within you and a new heart will I give unto you Ezek. 11.19 And to the same purpose Ezek. 36.26 Wherein as we shall shew lies the special part of the New-Creature 2. Because the Old man all that is of the First Adam the whole frame thereof is corrupted and polluted therefore it must be repaired renewed be made new if ever it enter into glory Ephes 4.22 That ye put off concerning the Former Conversation the Old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the New man that after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness 3. Whosoever shall be saved shall be a New-Creature from the great design of God in giving out his Son Jesus Christ which was that all the Elect should be made conformable to the Image of his Son Rom. 8.29 For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the Image of his Son that he might be the first born among many Brethren Jesus Christ is called the express Image of the Father Heb. 1. And to that Image all Believers shall be conformed Jesus Christ the first-born and all his Brethren to be made conformable unto him God was infinitely pleased with such a Pattern and resolved all that he gave to him and designed for glory should be conformed to his likeness 4. All the services that a sinner offers to God are not accepted till a New Creature till a Soul shall act from a new living holy principle towards God Pray and hear and give Alms God regards it not till a New-Creature So the Word of the Lord often casts back the services of unregenerate men upon their faces as loathsom to the Lord because they proceed from the old corrupt Adam from unchanged Natures Isa 1.15 When you cry I will not hear you Why You are in your uncleanness therefore Wash you make you clean Vse Oh let this make for your Instruction and Conviction that if ever you come to God in glory you must first be New-Creatures If you will have mercy you must have it in the way of the New-Covenant and if so you must be made new While you have nothing but the Old Adam you are corrupt and polluted and abominable If you shall become the Brethren of the first-born Jesus Christ you must bear his Image and have it renewed upon you Oh you that are yet in your old sins and walk after your Old Lusts you are not New Creatures You will not think so thefore sit down with this conviction That as yet you have no part in this blessedness Oh! All of you who are the same that ever you were whether living in gross sins or sober and civil from your youth up you are yet of the Old Adam nothing but corrupt nature upon you Your hope is vain and you are blinded in your sins and the Grace of God is not in you 2. Oh! Let me before I go further put this to tryal and suffer the word of the Lord which shall one day judge you can you say in good earnest Old things are past away and all things are become new in me Now I am a Vessel in the hand of God wrought by his Spirit and there is through infinite grace a new workmanship upon my Soul I shall lay down rules for the particular discovery of this only at present yield up your conscience to the power of the Word do not slink from under it if it find you out in your sin in nature the same that ever you were give glory to God and say the word of the Lord is quick and powerful and go off with this conviction in power upon thy soul I never expect to go to Heaven and glory if I become not through Grace a New Creature But before I go further I would open that every soul that is a New Creature must be in Christ and why So saith the Apostle to these Corinths in this Epistle 13. Chap. 5. Examine your selves prove your own selves know you not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates ye are created into Christ Jesus Ephes 2.10 If a man abide not in me he is cast out as a Branch and is withered John 15.6 Now herein lies the great Mystery of Godliness unto which all our Evidences for Heaven are resolved and therefore this is a weighty enquiry I am to speak of it especially as it relates to the making and forming the New-Creature This being in Christ is expressed by being rooted into Christ Col. 2.7 Planted into him Rom. 6. Built up in him Col. 2. All which bespeaks a real union with him that this is not a meer imaginary thing but as true and real as the union between the root and the branches John 15. and the foundation and the building Ephes 2. which is wrought by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus drawing and uniting true believers unto him the same Spirit dwelling in them Rom. 8.9 10 11. By his Spirit that dwelleth in you Now to consider Why all that are New Creatures according to the Gospel must be so in Christ 1. Such as are Gospel New Creatures must be in Christ because if they be New Creatures they must be Living Creatures Now God hath laid up all life that shall be dispenced forth in his Son Jesus Christ John 5.21 26. The Son quickneth whom he will for as the Father hath life in himself So he hath given to the Son to have Life in himself Because I live ye shall live also John 14.19 Now naturally all sinners are dead in the old Adam and utterly unable to beget life in themselves Who can make alive his own soul but when they were New-born as new Creatures they are said to be quickned in Christ Ephes 2.5 As God breathed life into man at first and so he became a living soul so in the new Creation the soul is said to be created into Christ Ephes 2.10 and to be made Alive in him Rom. 6.11 2. If there were not a real union of the soul with Christ life if it should be given without it would not be preserved in the soul Thou holdest our Soul in life Psal 66.9 As the branch though it was once quickned cannot preserve its life if cut off from the root and therefore a continued supply of life from Jesus Christ to the soul is necessary as to all its spiritual actings as a new Creature 3. By being in Christ the Soul is made partaker of the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 by which the regenerate part all gracious
opened I Might here shew you how every faculty of the Soul is renewed as the understanding by the infusion of new and divine light into it which is stiled the Enlightning the eyes of the understanding Ephes 1.18 and to be renewed in the Spirit of the Mind Eph. 4.23 How the will is altered and changed the affections made new the conscience purged and sanctified with all the powers of the Soul but I shall not take this Method but rather pursue a more familiar way more particularly shewing the make of the New-Creature in reference still to its being so in Christ which is our principal scope First then 1. To the making and framing the New-Creature there must be a New-Nature if there be a New-Creature formed there must be a New-Nature to make it so hence believers that are in Christ are said to be partakers of the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 Which is wrought by the incorruptible seed of the word 1 Pet. 1.22 Whereby we are said to be born again And Jam. 1.18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth c. Which seed is the seed of God in believers the seed of every grace in the soul which is something of the likeness of God wrought in the soul and so acts the soul towards God which is stiled the infused habits of every grace in the soul this New-Nature works contrary to the old corrupt nature and it is stiled the regenerate part the new inward man Ephes 4.24 and as soon as it is wrought and formed in the soul it works against the sinful dispositions of the old Adam in us and there is a new war or conflict begun within us which is something more than the resistance of a natural conscience as we have shewed I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind Rom. 7.23 c. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these two are contrary to each other Gal. 5.17 And under this daily conflict and war within is every New-Creature while we abide in the fleshly Tabernacle This is the first peculiar distinguishing Workmanship of the New-Creatures there 's a new seed a new divine nature infused into the soul 2. As there is a New-Nature so it follows that this New-Creature hath a new life it is a Living New-Creature so regenerate persons are said to be quickned in Christ who were before dead in sins and trespasses Eph. 2.1 5. And The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live John 5. And they are said to be alive unto God Rom. 6.11 Christ liveth in me Gal. 20. Which new life must necessarily be because 1. Every natural man as hath been already hinted is dead in sin and is said to be without this life of God Eph. 4.18 The life of God departed from the soul whereby it had Communion with God upon our fall in the first Adam therefore if we are recovered we must have a new Life from God infused into us 2. If there be not a new life breathed in us we can put forth no spiritual vigour in any duty towards God and so all our duties services worship would he dead fleshly duties this I have also hinted in shewing the necessity of being in Christ if a New-Creature 3. As there is a new nature and a new life to begin the New-Creature so thence there 's a new breathing The Soul falls a breathing after God and after Jesus Christ As the Life which God breathed into Man at his first Creation is call'd the breath of life Gen. 2.7 And as soon as ever there is life this new life breath'd by the Holy Ghost in the New-Creature there 's presently a breathing of this life as indeed one of the first discoveries of it as breath is the most immediate acting of Life the Soul breaths and pants and crys after God himself Psal 42.1 As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee Oh God I opened my mouth and panted Psal 119.131 So that Prayer that is spiritual it is the breath of a living soul Paul that breath'd out cruelties against the Saints when converted and made alive he falls a breathing after God Acts 9. Behold he prayeth And this doth indeed arise from the very nature of saving grace which is to carry a soul to God through Jesus Christ to set it a longing not only after mercy and pardon and peace but after God himself Psal 63.1 My soul is athirst for God the living God c. As also from the dissatisfaction and emptiness the soul begins to find in all Creature-enjoyments which now it cannot having had a view of Christ be satisfied and contented with but the soul must have God must have Jesus Christ must have the likeness of Jesus Christ and so it breaths crys pants after God and the possession of him and communion with him as the Souls highest perfection 1. Now therefore before I go any further let this be well weighed Have you this breathing in you which when you were dead in sin you had not This is the least degree of Grace if the Soul be not thus breathing panting thirsting longing after Jesus Christ so that you cannot must not be satisfied but in the enjoyment of him verily you are dead and the grace of God is not in you so that it may be for a true discovery of your states Consider what your hearts do most breath after what they most earnestly Pant for Oh! Is it for Jesus Christ himself The hearts of Carnal Worldlings are said to pant after the dust of the Earth Amos 2.7 That is it the carnal mans heart thirsts after but a soul in Christ breaths upward the Treasures of Heaven it pants after and will never be at rest till satisfied with them 2. This may serve to distinguish formal praying from that which is of the Spirit in the Children of God There 's no such thing as the breathing panting crying longing of the Soul after God and Holiness and Communion with him in formal saying of prayers the thing done quiets the Conscience but for God himself the Soul thirsts not for Therefore you that pray in forms in secret and content your selves in saying and repeating such a form of words sure you have little or no breathing for Jesus Christ in such Duties the Heart is not exercised in longings and pantings for God ye Souls that pray out of forms upon terrours and no more upon the Conscience but you thirst not breath not after God himself you may be short of the life of God in you 3. This may also encourage weak Souls that have but broken words to express themselves to God yet your very Souls do breath and pant after the Lord verily the life of Christ is in you if it be indeed so with you and God will hear those breathings in you Lam. 3.56 Hide not thine ear at my breathings The blessed God
most design to my self among the Sons of men I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy And as if this had not been enough the heart of the blessed God was so infinitely taken with it Chap. 34.5 6. The Lord comes nearer to him descended in a Cloud and stood with him there and as if meerly to have spoken what he had before said to Moses Namely That he should have mercy had not been enough at verse 6. He proclaims it and makes it as his proper Name and most glorious Title The Lord the Lord God Merciful and Gracious c. verse 7. forgiving iniquity c. As if forgiving iniquity were the great design of glory he had upon the world his heart most affected and taken up with it this is the first reason poor sinners should have their hearts most taken up about the pardon of sins because the heart of the infinite wise and blessed God is most taken up about it 2. The pardon of sin should so greatly take up the heart of a poor guilty sinner because Nothing is a Blessing to a man till his sins are pardoned but All a curse The Scripture is well known that proves it among many Deut. 28.15 16. If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all his Commandments and his Statutes which I command thee this day that all those curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee Cursed shalt thou be in the City and cursed shalt thou be in the field Cursed shall be thy basket and thy Store Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy Land the encrease of thy kine and the flocks of thy sheep Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out the Lord shall send upon thee cursing vexation and rebuke in all that thou settest thine hand for to do c. Now that Soul that doth not hearken to the voice of God according to the tenour of the New Covenant to come unto Jesus Christ to have his sins pardoned to have the spirit given him to walk before God in all his ways is in an unpardoned condition and so liable to all these curses now under the old Testament God did more usually come forth in visible stroaks of punishment upon outward mercies But under the New Testament his judgments especially upon such as are under the Gospel are more spiritual as blessings to his people run in a more spiritual way as in cursing them with hardness and blindness of heart having resisted the truth but yet though such outward curses are not so visibly and frequently executed though sometimes they are yet unpardoned unconverted sinners enjoy not their outward good things as a blessing but they serve but to further their damnation if their hearts are not through infinite grace made soft and turn unto the Lord that they may be pardoned Now to have outward mercies and be hardened in an impenitent estate under them is a far greater curse than to have them smitten or imbittered from the Lord though with the heaviest hand This is the 2d Reason of the point Every thing is a curse while such to an unpardoned sinner therefore 't is of the greatest weight to have his heart taken up about it 3. The person of an unpardoned sinner is hated of the Lord therefore the weight of it is very great Psal 5.5 Thou hatest all workers of iniquity All be they what they will high or low rich or poor God hates them and while they are workers of iniquity they are certainly unpardoned what they may be in the decree of God is nothing to that sinner in this condition While he is a worker of iniquity he hath no ground for any other apprehension of God unless he turn in unto him now what a dreadful thing is it to be hated of that great and righteous God a drop of whose wrath is able to scortch the Soul with uspeakable torment yet such is the condition of a wretched unpardoned sinner therefore 't is his great concernment to look to it c. 4. While a sinner is unpardoned he is under the Law What that is I shall if God will further discover he stands bound over to the most exact fulfilling of it under the penalty of Hell bound to make God satisfaction to the utmost upon the least breach and being under transgression of it is under wrath and condemnation if he abide so without Remedy There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus but All condemnation to those that are out of Christ Jesus as all unpardoned sinners are therefore 't is a condition above all others to be weighed and considered and not to be rested in one moment 5. Neither the Prayers nor Alms nor any other duty of an unpardoned sinner are at all accepted with the Lord. This wretched sinners will not admit of but think if they perform any duty to God he accepts of it and that indeed it makes an attonement for their sins take that one eminent place in Isa 1.15 Though you make many prayers yet I will not hear you mark it you that think because you make or say as you style it many good prayers sure God hears you No saith God I will not hear why see verse 16. they were not washed from their sins therefore the Prophet calls them to come to the Lord that they might be pardoned verse 38. 'T is true when a poor sinner hath his heart smitten for sin and comes to the Lord upon the account of promises of grace and pardon through Jesus Christ with full purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord and so begs for pardon and all things that do accompany pardon and salvation then God hears his cryes at the very first breathing of his soul Lam. 3.56 but not till then doth God regard the multitude of his Prayers Alms Worship Keeping conscience to men therefore certainly if nothing be accepted with God till in a pardoned condition such an estate requires great and deep thoughts of heart of it 6. Upon all this it will follow That an unpardoned sinner will have no other word from the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming but go ye cursed Everlasting darkness and wrath and woes and all misery must be his portion for ever If he dye in his sins Joh. 8.29 his soul must be eternally damned without all remedy Live and dye unpardoned and be damned unpardoned When Jesus Christ shall come neither he himself nor Saint nor Angel will or can speak one word for a soul that dyes unpardoned though the soul screek out for a drop of mercy it will be answered with nothing but the Ecchoes of the screekings of other desperate souls ready to be hurled with it into the same everlasting burnings no eye to pitty there though Ministers and Saints did warn invite weep mourn pity when
upon every sinner in the world while under the law Rom. 5.18 2. The guilt of the corruption of our natures sin in the fountain as I have shewed which is likewise upon every Son or Daughter of Adam they are all corrupt Psal 14.1 wherein lies the exceeding sinfulness of sin 3. The guilt of actual rebellion against God sin brought forth and acted in the outward man against God Now under this threefold guilt is every sinner in the world while under the Law the effect of which if not reconciled is punishment suitable to the guilt which is Thou shalt surely dye And The wages of sin is death Eternal Death Rom. 6. last Vse 1. This may therefore inform and convince that every sin brings guilt upon the soul and so deserves death and everlasting wrath from God you that make light of sin to lye to prophane the Name of the Lord be in worldly discourses on the Lords day in any way of sin whatsoever weigh this in thy conscience there 's not the least sin but makes thee guilty before the Tribunal of God God the Law Angels Conscience are all witnesses against thee where 's the soul that will think to avoid this charge shall I prove every soul of you guilty and that before God If this were proved by the power of the word in the conscience I know what and I shall shew it you will be the effect of it lay your Consciences to the Word and if thou art found guilty before the Lord this day go home with the sense of it upon thy soul and do as a guilty sinner should do 1. Consider first as to what concerns God immediately the Law requires thou shouldst have no other Gods but him Exod. 20. which Jesus Christ interprets is to love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart with all thy Soul Now hath God had thy whole Heart and Soul darest thou say so Hath not the world had more of thy Heart than God Dost not thou love the World and the things of it Do not thy Affections Thoughts Desires of thy Heart even day and night go after it Yea you cannot but grant that 't is so Then God and Angels are witness that thou art guilty of the damnable sin of Idolatry And such a one shall not as such enter into the Kingdom of God Eph. 5.5 Know by that Scripture A covetous heart may send thee to Hell as well as any sin in the World No Covetous man who is an Idolater shall enter into the kingdom of God Read over the place every day and tremble at it Here 's guilt already enough to damn thee 2. Thou hast worshipped God superstitiously and idolatrously after the Traditions and Commandments of Men You that are elderly people are all guilty here in a grevious manner in the time of your ignorance and superstition coming to Sacraments with sins upon your Souls from which sins your are not converted and changed to this day which the Apostle calls eating and drinking damnation or judgment under which guilt you still lye and would heap up more of this guilt were not some more tender of your Souls than your selves Art thou not now ready to cry out Oh hold hold you need go no further my Conscience is smitten Oh! guilt great guilt lyes upon me Oh that 't were the cry of many Souls before the Lord how might it end in mercy that shall be for ever 3. But yet further to pursue thy Conscience for that 's the nature of guilt doth not the Lord require in his law that thou shouldst not take his Name in vain Exod. 20.7 Now sinner stave off this guilt if thou canst How oft hast thou abused and profaned this great and dreadful Name the Lord thy God by swearing or in thy by words crying Oh Lord Oh God for God's sake for Christ's sake upon every foolish vain occasion with no more reverence of His Name than the most common name in the World And some of you have as many days as you have lived since your Child-hood been frequently guilty of this great evil which thou hast made a small matter of which if ever God pardon it it will appear to be odious guilt from the height of thy Heart-Atheism How oft hast thou heard the Word and thy Heart been after the World and thine eyes gazing up and down that 't is easie to discern thou regardest not what is spoken from God to thee and the same in Prayer How oft hast thou babled over the Lords Prayer like a Charm with no reverence of Gods Majesty upon thy Soul In thy bed it may be in a drowsie manner or if otherwise not understanding the Words thou speakest much less thy Heart affected with them or it may be saying over the Creed and the Commandments or some Book of Prayers as abundance do grievously prophaning God's Name and offering Lip-labour which his soul abhorreth yea know what hath been often proved that thy prayers and all thy worship and good deeds as thou callest them are an abomination to the Lord while thou art in thy sin an unconverted and unholy person yea the way of thy worship in which thou placest thy greatest confidence hath been the highest aggravations of thy sin in offering up to God that which his soul hateth Isa 1.11 12 13 14 15. When you make many prayers saith the Lord I will not hear you c. And as to the sanctifying the Sabbath which thou shouldst make a holy rest unto God thou hast made it a meer fleshly rest consuming the day upon thy lusts in vanity idleness carnal and worldly discourses in families in the streets to the high dishonour of the Name of God and hardening of thy heart against the truths of God rendering thereby the preaching of the Gospel wholly unprofitable to thy soul A carriage far unlike a man that hath the grace of God upon him and a most invincible argument to thy Conscience that thou makest not God his word ordinances sabbaths a holy delight and knowest not the excellency and sweetness of Communion with him say sinner and lay thy Conscience to this conviction is hearing and that with love praying praising meditating conferring of holy things the very Heaven of thy soul and so longest for such Exercises as the joy and strength of thy heart Nothing less Thy own Conscience being Judge but hear drowsily and negligently it may be despisingly revile the Preacher speak evil of the word out of thy gross ignorance and hatred to be reformed speak vainly carnally worldly with such as are like thy self Here 's guilt enough to send thee to a thousand Hells if God smite not thy heart for it and thou turn not unto him for pardon and a better heart to be given to thee Add to all this an unthankful and unholy use of Gods good Creatures it may be thou hast been betray'd by the devil and thy own ready heart to some secret sins which thou thinkest enough if thou canst
burthens put his hand under thy soul And if thou wouldst know who it is 't is that blessed Jesus who loves to save such a sinner as he loves his life therefore away to him But the heart of a guilty sinner will now urge Well if it be so that some guilt is upon me yet I have done many things well or as well I could will not that take off my guilt and will not God impute the good to me and pass by the evil Or will not God acept of the will for the deed Or if I set my self for the time to come to keep the law as well as I can will not that make God amends Alas poor soul these refuges will undo thee if thou get not out of them No No Thy good shall not be imputed nor thy will accepted nor thy obedience for time to come satisfie I mean still as thou art under the law As well as thou canst will not be heard here If thou indeed gets justified in Christ and rooted in him and so from a new principle of life in thy soul thou bring forth new and holy obedience then thy will is accepted and thy new obedience but not upon this account as to justifie thee before God or as to expiate and take off guilt from the soul This therefore is the next thing I am to prove to thy Conscience if God will Namely Observ 4. No man or woman under Heaven can ever arrive at such a keeping of the law as to be accepted with God for and by such a keeping of it I would press this as plainly as I may for till this conviction be thoroughly and practically received into the Conscience a soul cannot make a saving close with Jesus Christ What I mean by these deeds of the Law is I presume understood I mean The professed owning the true God and frequenting his ordained worship and ordinances observing the Sabbath making good prayers doing some good as to helping thy Neighbour and giving of Alms making conscience of wronging or defrauding any man and refraining many gross sins I mention these things because most men that go thus far as your more civil sort of people think that it is impossible but God must accept them in and for all this that 't is for great sinners to be damned they thank God they are not so by the way soul I shall not doubt to prove that there 's more hope of the vilest drunkard in the Country than of such a one and that this thy good keeping of the law and that as well as thou canst will stand thee in no stead at all and God looks upon thee no more for it than if thou wert the greatest sinner in the world How sayest thou soul to this 1. From clear Scriptures I shall demonstrate it and Scriptural reasons and examples of such kind of persons rejected of God and so labour to drive this nail home upon thy conscience What need we go further than the words of my Text By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight The Apostle speaks of such who professed to own and make conscience of keeping the law as well as they could such as were within as you call it the pale of the Church and frequented the worship of God and were sober people See Act. 13.39 From which meaning their sins they could not be justified by the Law of Moses They could not an utter impossibility of it though they kept the law of God as well as they were able and hoped for pardon thereby yet saith Paul which exceedingly troubled them they could not be justified thereby Rom. 9.31 But Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness Though they followed after it and laboured to keep the Law of God to their utmost yet they fail'd of their purpose Gal. 3.10 11. c For as many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse that is such as insist upon works of the Law they are so far from being the more accepted for all the good they did and all the evil they refrained that they were under the curse as well as any sinners in the world besides Briefly Paul who well knew the experience of this it having been his own case as I shall shew spends two Epistles of the Romans and Galathians to convince chiefly what I am now upon therefore peruse them over and over Now the Reasons of it are these namely why any sinners keeping of the Law to his best power can not justifie him or make him the better or at all accepted with God for it This doctrine goes to the quick and I know naturally you do not love it and 't is irksom and disquieting the Lord make it disquieting and unsettling to purpose Reason 1. The best keeping of the Law cannot make a soul more accepted with God while under the Law and not in Christ because of the holiness of Gods Justice which being violated by sin it being also proved that all do sin cannot again be made up by any act of the Creature the severity of his justice cannot admit of it therefore if the Law be transgressed the sinner must dye as he is under the law and stands to the law or God is not righteous which to assert is execrable blasphemy And if your thoughts should prevent me with a general notion of mercy know and consider it well that the law shews no mercy but calls for justice and justice it shall have upon every transgressor whosoever if he stand to his endeavour to keep the Law The soul that sinneth it shall dye From whence by the law I say by the law there 's no appeal What you may do when you renounce the Law for righteousnes and fly wholly to a mercy-seat is another case This is the first reason 2. The best keeping of the Law will not accepted because of the exactness of the Law it requires full entire perfect fulfilling and obedience or all stands for nothing If this were throughly weighed and laid to heart we should come to an issue in the point Mark that Word Gal. 3.12 Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the law to do them I think I opened this place lately but mark it well the Law requires of every one and therefore of thee whoever thou art a continuance without intermission of doing not only purposing and endeavouring All things not keeping nine and breaking one Commandment not keeping it outwardly and breaking it in thy thoughts of sin but in All things or Cursed without remedy by the law the Law can give you no remedy see Rom. 10.5 For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law The man that doth these things shall live by them If he doth all things of the Law not purposeth them only but doth them he shall live by them but not otherwise but shall dye and that for ever by
forth as the mark of an Hypocrite Now you have heard the law requires inward as well as outward perfection perfect holiness within as well as righteousness in the outward man I verily believe want of this conviction upon the soul sends more souls to Hell than any other thing in the world besides how confident are poor Creatures if they are a little consciencious in dealing and sober and blameless to men this you may be and be no better than Devils as in your selves in Gods account and thy best Character from Jesus Christ Mat. 23.26 is a Blind Pharisee Every place I fear abounds with them therefore this inveterate cursed plea of being outwardly blameless in keeping the Law will not in the least render you more accepted with God but 't is at the best but painted Hypocrisie And yet wretched souls that you are none so well perswaded of themselves as these This is the fourth Reason 5. All the best keeping of the Law doth not cannot make satisfaction to God for one sin of thy soul therefore 't is worth nothing Gods Justice is wronged and if the sinner be remitted God must be satisfied by the sinner himself or by another Now all the obedience of a sinner cannot make satisfaction to God in the least if he had the whole world to offer up to God it could not satisfie him for the wrong of one Sin See that known place Micah 6.6 7. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl shall I give my first born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul Implying that there is nothing that a poor sinner of himself can offer up to God to make atonement of satisfaction to God for the least sin of his soul should he offer up thousands of prayers rivers of tears whole ages spent in services to God take up to a severe new obedience if you should so take to a new course as never to sin more all your days it would not make God satisfaction or atonement for one evil thought of thy soul Now observe this for if thou art not rightly convinced of this thing thou art lost for ever 'T is naturally upon every man and womans heart that hath sinned to imagine that when they have sinned they can put off God as to his displeasure with something or other they will reckon what good they have done gone to Church as you style it given Alms been just to Men or some such thing and the poor blind Creature imagines and pleaseth himself in it that this good thus done will well enough pacifie God for his sins or at least he will go over some prayers and be strict for a little while and then they doubt not but God because also he presently smites not with judgment is well enough appayed and he need no more trouble himself Is not this the very way of your hearts hath not the word found you out Object But you will say why cannot these duties and this obedience satisfie and pacifie God well enough for sin Answ 1. Because there is sin mixt in them they come from a prophane heart as is shew'd in the last reason thou thou ignorantly because thou knowest not thy heart call'st it a good heart Now that which is in it self sinful cannot sure satisfie for sin 2. Because of the infiniteness of God's justice as well as purity of it a finite creature cannot offer up a proportionable attonement to an infinite God Suppose a poor man were under the guilt of treason and condemn'd to dye and he should go and offer up a little course broken bread to the Prince would any one think that this would satisfie the Prince for his treason So poor deceived creature thou art guilty of treason and rebellion against the great and most high God and thou comest and offerest up to him thy poor polluted broked obedience and duties and thinkest he will be satisfied with this whereas God may in the same moment justly send thee to Hell for the iniquity of them A poor sinful soul thinks that because such doings and services do satisfie himself his own conscience therefore he thinks they will satisfie God also because they quiet him upon any trouble for guilt he thinks they will also quiet God and take off his anger and justice from punishing him Poor Creature this thy way is thy folly and the ready way to come under the severe justice of the Almighty who will not thus be dealt with nor be thus bribed with thy cursed sacrifices this is a further convincement of the point all the creature can do cannot pacifie God for one sin and therefore all his best keeping of the law cannot justifie a poor sinner before God nor give him acceptance in the least with him till he sees pacification another way and takes up obedience from another principle and to another end as we are to shew 6. All a mans endeavour in setting himself to keep the law to the utmost cannot give him acceptance with God because it cannot give life to the soul Gal. 3.21 For if there had been a law which would have given life verily righteousness had come by the law Man hath procured death and weakness upon his soul and the law cannot give life nor strength to obey it All that righteousness which leaves the soul dead comes to nothing while a soul is under the law and upon the fulfilling of it as he hopes in a good measure still the soul is as dead as sin left it and void of the life of God True a poor soul thinks himself alive by his legal performances as Paul thought Rom. 7.9 but he is dead in sin and under the sentence of death by the Law and all the performances towards the keeping of it can never give a drop of life to such a poor soul They are dead works and there 's no life in them or from them therefore they stand no soul instead while under the law as under it he is whiles he goes upon this account 7. The main reason of all which is now but to be touched is this If a soul endeavouring to keep the law of God as well as he can may be accepted of God thereby what need Jesus Christ to have dyed 'T is Pauls great argument Rom. 8.3 4. For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us c. Mark ye what the law could not do that it could not give us a righteousness whereby God might accept us therefore God sent his Son in the flesh and condemned sin upon him which otherwise had been condemned
upon the sinner himself Another place to this purpose is Gal. 2. last I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain If there were a possibility of a Creatures attaining to such a degree of keeping the law as well as he can that might render him accepted with God and procure pardon wherein he failed then the dying of Jesus Christ was in vain to no purpose at all Take heed you that are outwardly righteous that you do not frustrate the grace of God and the death of Jesus Christ for ever to your own souls by thinking you endeavour to keep Gods law as well as you can and make some conscience of it and there fix your hope wholly or in part and so be undone for ever Another place in the same Epistle Gal. 4.4 5. speaks out the same truth But when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons What need Jesus Christ to have dyed to redeem the elect from under the law if they had been able to reach forth to such a keeping of it that God might be well pleased with and with them in it Now Jesus Christ's being made under the Law implies these things which I now but hint forth 1. His being under the punishment of the Law which was due to such as were under it what ever the Law pronounced to the Transgressors of it Jesus Christ in effect did undergo it See Gal. 3. Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the law being made a curse for us If good prayers making a conscience in dealing outward sobriety harming no body giving of Alms to poor people could have taken away the curse did the wise and blessed God do well in giving out his Son to be made a curse were prayers righteousness good deeds made a Curse They will be indeed in another sense if thou thinkest to be accepted by them 2. Jesus Christ being made under the Law was to satisfie Gods offended justice for the breach of the Law for such as shall be saved to make attonement for God Rom. 5.11 If now all that thou hast done or shalt ever do could make the least satisfaction or attonement to God in thy good keeping the Commandments as well as thou canst as hath been shew'd God might have kept his Son in Heaven and not sent him to make attonement for any sinners 3. To reconcile sinners unto God Rom. 5.10 When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son c. If reconciliation to God can be had no other way but by the death of Jesus Christ will thy good endeavours for the time to come to keep the Law of God as well as thou canst and take up from a loose course will those I say reconcile thee to God See poor creature how little need thou thinkest thou hast of Jesus Christ and what a meer notion a Saviour is to thee when it comes to the Tryal 4. Jesus Christ died to work out Righteousness for all that shall be saved Now if thou could'st come up to such a degree of being righteous by thy fair and good carriage as thou thinkest to God and Man this righteousness of Jesus Christ was to little purpose Rom. 10.4 Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Now see mistaken Soul how they hope to please God well enough and make him amends for thy sin by thy good endeavours to serve him in his Law as well as thou may'st makes void the whole design of God in the glorious gift of his eternal Son as much as in thee lyeth and robs him of the Glory of his Grace and makes thy Salvation if it might be had in such a way not of Grace but of Debt Rom. 4.4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of debt but of grace and thus thou in effect becomest thy own Saviour Yet bear with me a little further because a sinner can never be too thoroughly convinced of this matter let me shew you some examples in the Scriptures of such that thought as you do and as all men naturally do that they by their honest and conscionable endeavour to worship God and harm no body they should be saved and yet were found light in the ballance The first is that Pharisee Luke 18.11 He thanks God he was not as other men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers c. Here was hope for his acceptance with God He was not so bad as others as many riotous prophane persons were not unjust in his dealings no Adulterer and should any one question his Salvation and going to Heaven Enough for great sinners to miss of Heaven and not such as he was reputed a good and honest man in his Country and amongst his Neighbours well thought of by most And yet for all this confidence and security a great sinner was accepted before him and he not justified in the sight of the God though he was in his own sight and the sight of others See another Mat. 19.20 which place hath been at large opened to you There came a young man a man of parts with the same confidence to reason with Jesus Christ about his condition the man conceived he wanted nothing that a man should have or do for Heaven All these things said he I have kept from my youth up meaning especially the second Table of the Law which Christ gave out not as thereby to put him upon the Law but to find him out and discover him under the Law When Jesus Christ searched the mans heart and finds him under the power of the love of the world as a reigning Soul damning Sin for all his outward blamelesness and so to discover his heart to himself puts him upon tryal of Self-denial away the man packs as mute as a fish and would hear no more as worldlings now of such Doctrine unless he could be a Disciple and part with nothing lose or venture nothing he would rest as he was and hope his being an honest sober man and well thought of would bring him to Heaven and so for ought appears cheated his Soul to Hell The case of Paul hath been often shew'd you he was as many of you think your selves blameless Phil. 3.6 lived in no known sin outwardly against the Law frequented the publick Worship made Conscience of his dealings was zealous of the traditions and customs of his Fathers and yet do you not hear him crying out of it all as loss ver 7. and 8. He thought it was his gain before that it would have gained him Heaven but now t is all loss his keeping the Church his outward blamelesness stands him not in the least stead but cryes out 't is All all loss for Jesus Christ the same Paul that before boasted and thought
very well of himself and was in much peace and persecuted all beyond his formal Profession now cryes out away with this figleaf-righteousness of mine own 't is as dung I tread it under my feet for Jesus Christ he that thought himself so blameless before now cryes out I am the Chief of sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 And I am carnal sold under sin Wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death A marvellous Change indeed and such that is made upon every Soul that is really brought off from the righteousness of the Law to that which is of Jesus Christ Now to bring what hath been spoken to this point to a more particular Application Vse 1. If it be so that the best endeavour of any mortal creature to keep the Law of God as well as they can will not give them acceptance with God then you that have so imagined and thereby spoken peace to your selves namely that you hope if you keep the Church as you use to speak and harm no body and do any body any good you can live not in gross sins be well thought of by your neighbours you shall do well enough for Heaven and you must hope well Ah poor creature thou errest not knowing the way of the Lord nor of thy own heart how art thou befooling thy self and deceiving thy own soul No sinner in so ready a way to Hell as thou if thou continue thus and let not go thy hold and get a new bottom for thy naked Soul which I am to shew thee Consider man or woman young or old whoever thou art thou hast been proved guilty of the breach of the whole Law of God thou hast been shewed of the exactness of the Justice of God and the spirituality of the Law how it reacheth the inmost motions of the heart thou hast been shewed the Tenour of it as it was given forth as a Covenant that the Law will not admit of the least breach though but in thought but it condemns as if the whole Law were transgressed even every soul that is under it here is the rigor of it and thou hast been shewed that the Law admits not of endeavours nor of the Will for the Deed if thou wert once in Christ indeed it would be so but not as now thou art thou hast been shew'd that there 's sin enough in every one of thy best performances to damn thee for ever that thy Righteousness reacheth but the outward Man within didst thou see it thou art full of iniquity that whatever thou hast done cannot make God the least satisfaction as thou flatterest thy self for the least sin All thy obedience and duties cannot give life to thy soul but still leave thee as a dead tree dead in thy sin that by this vain confidence thou dost utterly make void the death of Jesus Christ as to any vertue or effect to thy own Soul here is thy very case plainly set forth a thousand thousand sins to damn thee and that righteousness obedience good thou hopest thou hast done towards God and Man not in the least able to rescue thee cover thee deliver thee from the guilt of one of the least of these sins nor save thee from wrath to come but leave thy soul as sinful guilty naked wretched condemned as if thou hadst been nothing else but sinning all thy days Oh wretched condition that the Devil and thy own heart have flattered thee in Oh let this serve to convince unbottom legal Professors who have spoken peace to themselves in being as good as they can and obeying the Law as well as they can and so hope God pardons where they fail Oh you are ignorant of the righteousness of God Rom. 10.3 Either what righteousness God requires in the Law as to be justified by it or what is the Righteousness of the Gospel which is of Jesus Christ by Faith Oh you who like that young man have been righteous from your youth up brought up religiously look to this whether you make not this your confidence but though under some kind of sorrowings for sin and walking exactly yet never emptied of your selves and renouncing your selves and all that was of you and come poor and nothing to Jesus Christ to be found in him who have not trembled as much at being found in your own righteousness which is of the Law as at living in the greatest sin whatsoever You who have taken up from grosser sins of your life your youth and now think you are safe and bottom your hope upon your new outward obedience but have not the experience of your closing with Jesus Christ for righteousness in which alone you could stand before God nor rooted into Jesus Christ in the carrying on of your new obedience which I am also further to open Alas poor soul thou art yet to seek for a bottom for thy peace and for Heaven as much as the greatest sinner in the world and if you go no further you will certainly perish for ever I beseech you Souls Admit of this Conviction into your Consciences saith the first Covenant of the law A whole law kept or nothing saith the Gospel-Covenant which you are now to look after A whole Christ closed with or nothing Mind it most seriously you that stand upon your terms and will not endure any thing that may shake you and disturb your peace there 's more danger of your righteousness than your sin your sin it may be you would leave because it may damn you if continued in but your righteousness your confidence in it you would not leave because you hope that shall save you and pacifie God for you and this will be your ruine if you stick here But first to strike of some Objections that the heart of such a legal professor doth put forth Object 1. But you will object Why do I speak thus would I beat people off a good coversation Is not a blameless conversation and honest walking a good sign and ground for ones hope for Heaven Answ I answer not such a Conversation as you mean the formal Jews which Christ preacht to were outwardly righteous and yet 't was not a safe ground of Hope unto them as you have been shew'd a good conversation that witnesseth a hope for Heaven must be first of a soul that doth utterly renounce it as to commend him to God that when he looks up to God for his acceptance his justification he looks upon himself as nothing else but a sinner in that respect which poor soul thou doest not 2. A good conversation that witnesseth a hope of Heaven is also a holy conversation 1 Pet. 1.15 To be inwardly holy as well as outwardly righteous Now thy care lyeth mostly about thy outward blamelesness and not thy inward holiness therefore thy conversation which thou callest good is not a ground of hope to thee 3. Or if thou dost pretend to a little outward holiness and thinkest thou hast a good heart
more to live out of my self for my Justification and to be kept a poor empty nothing for ever before the Lord if this I say be thy experience then thou shalt have peace and joy in the Holy Ghost thou may'st rejoyce in a justified estate Christ his Righteousness Grace Spirit Heaven are thine Having now laid open the Sinner as under the Law excuseless guilty and under Condemnation under an impossibility of obtaining righteousness and acceptance with God by the best endeavours to keep the Law I would now set upon the opening the Gospel-Righteousness by Jesus Christ through which only a poor condemned Sinner can find acceptance but that I conceive it first needful to speak a word to those words in the close of the 22th verse viz. For there is no difference which may further help on the conviction we have been upon The Jew might object to the Apostle thus you by your Doctrine seem to conclude all under the Law equally and under guilt you make no difference between us Jews who have the Law and endeavour to keep it and the open prophane Gentiles and Sinners in this you do us wrong No saith the Apostle There 's no difference you who in part keep the Law are under the same condemnation as others that which I shall lay down will be this Observ There is no difference between the most prophane person and the righteous and sober as to justification or condemnation by the Law I mean this the just sober man as to his keeping of the Law outwardly or in part is in as damnable estate as the profanest wretch in the world This will hardly go down but 't is most clear from the Apostles words read unto you and hath been in part proved by shewing all the Sons and Daughters of Adam Jews and Gentiles sober and ungodly all under the Law But a little further to prosecute this Doctrine for where a man or woman who hath lived honestly or soberly in the eye of the world but yet out of Christ convinced that he or she were in as bad and damnable a condition as any great sinner in the world it might be a startling to them and a means through the Spirit 's working to bring them off their vain confidence and to lead them to Christ Now that I may clear this let us first consider what it was that might difference the sober Jew from the prophane idolatrous Gentile it being the same which such as conceive themselves sober harmless people in this day do put confidence in 1. The Jew was Circumcised which was the first Ordinance of the Old Testament-Church as Baptism is of the New and it doth appear this was much insisted on by the Jew by what the Apostle speaks Rom. 2. vers 18 19. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God 2. They had the Scriptures of God Rom. 3.2 Vnto them were committed the Oracles of God which indeed the Apostle calls an Advantage in the same place as it might be a means to lead them to the knowledge of God and to the Promise of Jesus Christ but no advantage at all as to the meer having them read and opened and in a general Faith believing them as the more to justifie them in the sight of God 3. The Jews were under the publick Service of God such as was ordained by God himself Rom. 9.4 5. 4. They were for the most part righteous to Men and sober and blameless in the outward man Ye indeed are they which are righteous before men as the Lord often speaks of them Now 't is most clear that these things did not difference the Jew as to acceptation with God and Jesus Christ from the most profane sinner for the Lord Jesus Christ rejected these and call'd to himself Publicans and Harlots and tells the Jews that such should enter into the Kingdom of God before them Matth. 21.31 As might be further instanc'd in the case of the Pharisee and Publican Luke 18.9 Now the Reasons of this point have been before hinted namely that a meer sober Man under Christian Priviledges is no more accepted with Christ nor in any nearer capacity to come to Christ than the greatest sinner because one sin puts a man under the condemnation of the Law as well as a million of sins against it one fellony condemns a man as well as a thousand and the Malefactor must dye by the Law for it All the good a man doth will not be imputed to him if he be found a transgressor in one part of the Law Ezek. 18.24 All men come short of the glory of God in the fulfilling of the Law and he that falls short but in one mile is in as bad a case as he that falls short twenty miles Jesus Christ accepts of no man for his righteousness but as a Sinner nothing else but a Sinner so that still the case of a just man in reference to the Law is as dangerous as the greatest sinners in the world Vse A little further to press this you who are baptized have a general belief of the Scriptures are under part of the publick service of God are just and harmless as to men but yet are under the power of Vnbelief and see it not are not born again of the Spirit are not in Christ Jesus You who rest satisfied in such a condition and think your hope for Heaven well-grounded and will not be beaten off it I must tell you and 't is proved unto your Consciences from the Word of the Lord that there 's no difference between you and the vilest sinners in the Country as to your acceptance with God Though it be thus with you yet as you have been shewed you may be under the Law condemned for one transgression and what can you be more than be condemned Neither doth all this as in it self any more prepare you for Jesus Christ and therefore let all the Convictions Arguments Demonstrations we have produced from the clear light of the Word of the Lord at last prevail with you that you who thus satisfie your selves because you are baptized believe the Scriptures frequent the service of God are just and sober therefore it is well with you and you will trouble your selves no further in the matter of your Salvation that the estate of your Souls is as unsafe and desperate how secure soever as the vilest Drunkard in the Country Therefore let this Conviction have force upon your Conscience that you must come anew to Jesus Christ as a meer sinner having nothing to commend you to him Say from the Light of the Word though I have thus satisfied my self pleas'd my self in these Duties and outward Priviledges yet there 's no difference between me and the
everlasting Bond and Covenant hath given it self to Christ as Jesus Christ bestows himself and all he hath upon the soul so doth the soul bestow it self and all it hath upon Jesus Christ and having so done resolves to be contented with him in every condition whom have I in Heaven but thee and none on earth in comparison of thee saith every gracious Believer 7. Every justified Believer lives by his Faith Gal. 2.20 lives upon Jesus Christ for all and fetcheth all from him sees him as a Treasury of all Grace hath recourse unto him this being the most proper act of Faith to make the soul live out of it self upon another Namely Jesus Christ for all 8. Faith that entitles the Soul to Jesus Christ works by love to all Saints Gal. 5.6 When the Soul closeth with Jesus Christ it will also close with his Disciples as distinguished from carnal unsavoury dead Professors What makes the living among the dead a living Soul alive in Christ highly priseth fellowship with such as are alive I might name many more particulars but these may suffice as the most distinguishing 1. Let what hath been spoken serve to discover to you Whether you have Faith that doth entitle you to the blood of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of your sins Can you say Your Souls are carried out after more purging and 't is your daily cry to Heaven Can you say that you are often crucifiing with Jesus Christ And Oh that I were that I were but crucifi'd with Jesus Christ that I might reckon of my self as dead to sin and oh that I might live to God and might walk in Gospel-obedience That I might throughly deny my self for Jesus Christ and choose to suffer with him and for him Oh I would more clearly see the Marriage-union between Christ and my poor Soul I would I do bestow my self upon him and all that 's mine I do give my self to him I will be content with him here and for ever Whom have I whom have I but him Oh have you found in some good degree such Workings of heart towards Jesus Christ And do you live by your Faith upon Christ upon Promises and do you maintain your Souls this way And do you love and delight in the Fellowship of living Souls savoury Souls or do you at least long that you may have some opportunity to do so If you cannot in some measure experience these things your Faith is a dead empty Speculation such a Faith that is so far from uniting you to Christ that indeed it keeps you on this side Jesus Christ And therefore say of it 't is a Faith that is in vain that keeps me dead in my sins Oh therefore say in thy heart I will now wait on the Word the Ministration of it that is ordained of God to beget Faith I will go and pray the Father to draw me to Jesus Christ and that my Soul may be united to him that I may have Fellowship in his Death and Resurrection that I may be made alive unto God that I may feel the pacifying purging vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus upon my poor Soul By what hath been said Believers may try their Faith and if they find their Souls to have experienced these things they may take comfort that they are justified by Faith in the blood of Jesus and therefore shall be saved by his Life To wind up all in a word of Exhortation 1. God hath set forth Jesus Christ to be a Propitiation that through Faith in his blood a sinner may become justified from his sin then what encouragement is there for sinners to come to him and believe on his Name to venture the Issue of Eternal Salvation upon him since God himself hath set him forth for that end and purpose that sinners might come unto him and be washed justified saved from their sins 'T is not then to be doubted but that God as he hath therein taken care for the Salvation of the sinner so for the glory of his own righteousness So that the sinner hath no reason to doubt that comes to Jesus in the way proposed but that God can take pleasure to accept of him through the blood of Jesus 'T was the most deliberate Act that ever the Wisdom of God was taken up about the setting forth of Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of Sinners through his Blood 'T was the first Foundation that God laid from all Eternity and after he had promised Jesus Christ it was some thousands of years before he set him forth to the world And therefore God cannot repent nor change his mind and purpose as to accepting pardoning justifying sanctifying poor sinners that cast their Souls upon it by the Blood of his Son Jesus Christ Upon which it is that blessed Souls are brought in in the Scriptures magnifying the grace of God for their cleansing by the blood of Jesus 1 John 1.7 The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin So are the Saints brought forth triumphing Revel 5.9 Thou wast slain and hath redeemed us to God by thy blood And Chap. 7.14 These are they who have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore I say with what boldness may poor sinners come unto it and how certainly are they in God's way to Salvation in which way blessed Souls have been ever found and none did ever miss of this end the Salvation of their Souls I have now dispatcht what I shall speak at this time as to the Doctrine of Justification by the Free-grace of God through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ and of saving Faith therein and shall commit it to the Lord to work it upon the Conscience I shall a little insist upon the last verse in the removal of that Objection which the heart puts up against this blessed Truth ROM 3. last Do we then make void the Law through Faith God forbid yea we establish the Law THE former Verses intermitted might have afforded us much choice matter in the opening the Doctrine of Grace and the Righteousness of Jesus Christ Namely that God is just in the remission of a Believer upon Faith in the Blood of Jesus from verse 26. And that the Doctrine of Grace excludes all boasting from the Creature from ver 27. That Jew and Gentile all that are saved must come to God and be justified in this way and no other from ver 29 30. But I must contract my self I come now to the Objection that the Heart so far as it is carnal doth naturally make against this Doctrine Namely If a Soul be only justified by Grace through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ doth not this then make void the Law and all Obedience to it What need then of our Obedience God forbid saith Paul we establish it that is the Doctrine of Justification by Faith doth rather establish it The Law doth stand establisht in a threefold sense First Jesus Christ hath establisht
habits are infused in the soul whereby the New Creature is formed up in believers Hence it is that all grace and holiness is infused into the Soul as distinguish'd from Common grace that at last withereth John 15.6 If a man abide not in me he he is cast forth as a branch and is withered c. therefore a necessity of being in Christ 4. Without being in Christ the power and reign of sin the body of sin will not be destroyed no destroying the body of sin by any possible endeavours but by the influence of the death of Jesus Christ and a real fellowship therewith which cannot be attained but by being planted into Christ Rom. 6.5 6. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we might not serve sin All the proper mortifying power that Believers have of the body of sin is drawn from fellowship with the death of Jesus Christ which fellowship ariseth only from being one with him 5. The Image of God cannot be renewed upon us but in Christ As we have born the images of the Earthly we shall also bear the Image of the heavenly 1 Cor. 15.19 So Rom. 8.29 we are made conformable to the Image of his Son by union a Soul is made partaker of the fulness of Jesus Christ as all grace is laid up in him and of that fulness partakes by measure of every grace from him John 1.16 And of his fulness have all we recieved and grace for grace that is Grace according to the pattern of Jesus Christ partaking of every grace in him according to the measure allowed to every Member and Branch in him 6. Without being in Christ no duty is accepted with God by being in Christ we are accepted in the Righteousness of Christ whereby all the duties of a child of God are accepted with the Father 1 Pet. 2.5 as performed by a Principle of life from Jesus Christ and offered up to God in the name and Righteousness of Christ otherwise let praying and all other duties be never so strictly frequently devoutly performed they find no accptance with God and the Soul is not bettered by them Without me ye can do nothing John 15. saith Jesus Christ 7. Without being in Jesus Christ there can be no holy fruit in conversation brought forth to God John 15.5 He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit All the fruit that is of our own stock comes to nought but the fruit that is brought forth in Christ from implantation into him is precious fruit unto Repentance Reformation Holiness and Righteousness and doing of any good unless it proceed from the life we have in Christ is Pharisaical and comes to nothing and will be burnt up in the day of the Lord wherefore sanctified believers are call'd the trees of Righteousness Isa 61. as planted engrafted into Jesus Christ whereby they bring forth all their savoury fruit unto God Vse See now the great and weighty and indispensable necessity of getting into Christ of having union with him the main pillar upon which hangs all your comfort do what ye will and be out of Jesus Christ and 't is an accursed loathed sacrifice do what thou wilt from thy own stock and 't is bitter fruit A dram of what is performed in Christ is of more worth than a mighty daily bulk of duties without it not hereby to lessen a believer as to muchness of duty but to shew the unacceptableness of all duties though never so many long devout till a poor soul performs all from a new principle and power of life in the soul from Jesus Christ and so a New-Creature Oh! that poor souls were throughly convinc'd of this who so they perform duties never consider this Oh! lay to heart thy dead condition and the infinite necessity of getting into Christ No life in thy soul no preserving of life till in Jesus Christ nothing of the divine nature upon thee no destroying of sin nothing of the Image of God upon thee that is saving no duty accepted no fruit unto God in thy conversation till thou hast the real experience of this blessed Mystery in thy soul of being one in Christ through the spirit till thy soul knoweth what union and fellowship with the Son of God meaneth Therefore souls that fall short here their knowledge profession conversation is lost labor as to the great matter of eternal life and salvation 2. If all that are truly and savingly New-Creatures are in Christ then a New Creature any other way is but a semblance and appearance of it and not so indeed and reallity if from our selves from the power of the Law upon the Conscience or upon any other account whatsoever And therefore I still say the more we consider of this matter of the more narrow enquiry do we find it to be There is a semblance and likeness of being New-Creatures which is not really so a semblance of Holiness a holy fruit which is not truly so but will at last wither and hence all the withered Professors in this day as we shall presently shew I shall not here speak of such as pretend to no manner of change inward or outward such as are in all things the same they ever were as such as live in known gross sins they have no appearance or pretence of claim to the Title and Character of the New Creature by their own concession and acknowledgment they are still the same as ever they were therefore not so much as pretend to be made new to such I shall if God will apply a further word before we have done Only now of the Semblance of the New Creature falsly so called but not really so 1. A soul being convinc'd of the damnableness of such and such a sin from the Law and the power of the Word upon the Conscience that a soul living continuing in it shall never enter into the Kingdom of God As from such a place as 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not enter into the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators Adulterers Idolaters nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you c. I say from this or the like Scripture a soul may be convinced that if he continued in any of these gross wickednesses he shall never see the face of God and so may take up from the gross outward Acts of them or at least from a frequent commiting them now this person may go no further and because he hath left some special gross sin he thinks himself a true Convert and a New-man and may flatter himself with the conceit of being the New-Creature we are to
set forth but no New inward man no coming to Christ not being in Christ and it may be feared many Souls are under this dreadful snare 2. Such a kind of outward Reformation may arise from special Judgment and Affliction upon a sinner trembling that God bath smitten him for such a sin and so may take up from it and this also often passeth for conversion not but that sometimes God begins the first stroke by laying his hand upon a sinner but I speak of a meer taking up from a prophane course and never getting into Jesus Christ which many rest themselves in 3. A sinner may leave some sins of youth as inconsistent with riper years and upon that may take himself to be a Convert or a kind of New-Creature to be changed and turned from what he was but no forsaking this sin with loathing of it as against God no brokenness of heart for it and the root of it still unsubdued in his heart 4. A sinner may take up from some gross sins as inconsistent with reputation credit in the World or his profit and wordly advantage so many debaucht persons turn to be great worldlings and yet take themselves to be good Converts when they have turned from a sin that would waste their Estates to be wretched worldlings yet these go away with a good opinion of themselves 5. Sinners may take up and reform to get the favour of some Religious Friend or great Person that doth countenance Religion in hope of some special preferment or honour by them and so get a form of Profession an Ability to speak of good things own the best people hear good men and yet all this proceed from a rotten heart as it was with Simon Magus Acts 1. Hoping after great gain by the gift of the Holy Ghost the gift of Miracles and yet was in the Gall of Bitterness and bond of Iniquity 6. Souls may have a kind of Conviction and taking up to some new duties in the sinful neglect of which they have long lived as to a kind of secret Prayer in observing the Sabbath more strictly read more hear more things good in themselves when used as means to find Jesus Christ in and yet may continue long in these and not a Gospel New-Creature in Christ never humbled so as to be emptied of themselves and come to Jesus Christ as for Righteousness so for life and strength for the performance of all duties and subduing of all Sin and therein chiefly the Legal New-Creature so called doth consist in taking up to most known outward duties something strictly and make Conscience of them as of gross outward sins and yet no Gospel New-Creature I wish there are not too many such 7. A Soul may take himself to be a New-Creature from some good liking that he hath of such as are better than himself and some purposes and resolutions to be better which purposes for a time carry a man forth till new Temptations and then they will not bear a man forth Thus you shall find many sinners purposing and strongly resolving to take up to avoid such courses they have found to end in trouble and yet fall back again because purposing in themselves and not getting into Christ for strength and these think themselves to be a kind of New-Creatures 8 Yea further a Soul may be under some terrors of Conscience for a time and yet heal and relieve himself by leaving the sin outwardly that occasioned such terror and taking up to a greater bulk and formal course and round of set duties under which such Souls ensafe themselves and settle in a kind of peace and take themselves to be New-Creatures because they were under terrors and forsake some sins and perform more duties and yet never healed by the Blood of Jesus Christ nor have taken root in him Before I go any further let me bring home if the Lord will these things to your Consciences and let it be a word to find out such whose conditions have been opened Such then of you who haply have left some gross sins some open prophane courses because the Word of God hath glared upon your Consciences and you could not commit such sins in Peace that upon some special affliction have taken up to a little stricter course that have left the sins of your youth only because they were youthful sins not suitable to riper age or have ceased from Lewd Courses because of your credit among men or your worldly profits sins in which you could not thrive in your Estates If this be all know it that you are not the New-Creatures we are speaking of you are far from the Kingdom of God and if you come no farther even to see your selves wholly at a loss and so get to Jesus Christ you are damned for ever Yea if any for the Favour of Men or some outward advantage have taken up a seeming profession of Religion above the ordinary rate and this be your main principle know thou art seven times the Child of the Devil more than thou wast to deal thus Atheistically and Hypocritically with the great God who will one day lay thee open to all the world and thou shalt be confounded in thy self because of this thy abominable iniquity And such as have come a little further that from some conviction of your shortness of what you should be have betaken your selves to a greater bulk of duties make Conscience of many sins and many duties and so you have setled your selves in your course know you also this you may do and be far from Gospel-New-Creatures Such also as rest in purposes and resolutions wishings and some wouldings to be better this will not do if it be no more or such as have heal'd your selves and have not been healed by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ by a more exact way of some outward duties know it and be convinc'd that the core will break out again and you are yet to seek for a well grounded peace and are none of the Gospel-New-Creatures Now another degree of Mistakes of the New-Creature doth arise from the taking of Common Grace which a Hypocrite may reach to for truth of renewing sanctifying Grace and know that every Hypocrite doth not know himself to be such but a Hypocrite is one that appears to himself and others to be what he is not he takes himself to be a good Christian a Believer a New Creature and is not so The ground of some of these great Mistakes I shall mention As first A poor Creature thinks himself safe because what he doth he thinks he doth it all with a good heart No one so confident of the goodness of his heart as a Hypocrite because he knows not his own heart in that great Reformation in Josiahs time Jeremiah speaks of Chap. 3.10 that Judah turned to the Lord but feignedly not with the whole Heart Yet the people thought otherwise with themselves as 't is likely when they entred into a Covenant with
from natural temper can bear much and it hath an appearance of of grace but yet here may be no work of the Spirit all this while humbling meekning the soul in its own vileness no mortification of contrary lusts no humbling for pride of heart without which no true gracious humility no meekning by the Gospel and the power of Christs love upon their Spirits and yet upon this account you shall have poor carnal souls pretend much as I have often heard it urged by them to the fruits of the Spirit mention'd Gal. 5.22 of love joy peace goodness patience temperance when t is nothing but disposition ingenuity or from civil education 10. As great a deceit there is about the fear of God many poor souls do fear the punishment and wrath of God which is all they do and then they think this is the fear of his Servant the fear of the Lord which God promiseth to put into the hearts of his own people Jer. 32.40 is a fear of God because he is holy because he is gracious because he hath pardoned iniquity They shall fear the Lord and his goodness Hos 3. last which fear is mixt with a sweet and blessed love to God and consolation of the Spirit at least a waiting for it 11. A misapprehension of good works causeth a mistake of the New-Creature many are convinc'd that works of Mercy and Charity and Justice are to be done and so from a pittiful nature or from vain-glory or from a secret thought to appeâ—se God or from Legal conviction at least they will be ready to do Charitable works things good in themselves and this they think discovers their Faith And herein lies a common deceit in the vulgar professors of the people of England Now all the good works falsly so called done out of Christ are fleshly and not accepted with God A Papist and many a carnal Protestant even also for the sin of his soul doth much this way but good works properly so called do flow from a living Faith from love to Jesus Christ and design not a self-justification but the glory of God And gracious Souls do find it very hard to perform them with holy ends 12. Mistake of a good conversation which may only be a moral conversation civil sober righteous as to Men but minds not Holiness to God which is the special part of a Gospel-Conversation And yet the most of people go away with this that they are believers and in a good state for Heaven because they have a good conversation which they greatly mistake That which the word of God calls a good conversation as an evidence of Faith is not only a meer outward blamelesness which the Pharisees had but to walk with God from a Gospel-principle from Gospel Grace and the love of God in the heart chiefly respecting holiness to the Lord and the fear of the Lord upon the heart now a soul that hath nothing of this may be outwardly blameless a Jew and Heathen may be so and nothing of the grace of God upon them Vse Now the Lord make this to be a convincing searching Word to you you that have left some gross sins from the word upon your consciences from afflictions from worldly advantages from age be it known unto you this you may do and more and be still the Children of Wrath in an unpardoned condition and not the New-Creatures we are speaking of yea though thou hast taken up to New-duties and makest conscience of many sins and many duties thou may'st still be out of Jesus Christ And you that call your daily sins which have dominion over you your infirmities when not humbled nor mourn for them nor cry for strength against them this your way is your folly and the Devil and your own hearts greatly deceive you yea you call such sins your infirmites meaning as if they were the infirmities of the children of God that cannot consist with truth of grace such as common lying and common prophaning the Lords Name in your mouths and neglecting to sanctifie his Sabbaths and living in the neglect of secret spiritual Prayer And such of you that have some striving in you consciences before and after the sin know it iâ— may be so and yet not a drop of saving grace in you no regenerate part wrought forth in you and yet how many bear up themselves upon this score and think thence they allow not themselves in the sins they commit in Paul's sense look to this or you may for ever perish in this snare I have given some marks how you may know it Take you heed also that you take not that which is called Common-Grace which is common to Reprobates for true grace There 's a false Faith a false Repentance a false Hope and so of the rest in which you may assuredly go to Hell you may have a harmless conversation and do some good works of Charity and yet perish for ever you may have nothing of the New-Creature in you and yet give all your goods to the poor In a word you may leave outward gross sins have convictions of wrath to come have purposes such as they are to be better take up to New Duties have common grace think you have Faith Repentance hope that you are humble patient have a good conversation and do good works and yet not be New-creatures in Jesus Christ as we shall further evince I have yet one more deceit to discover and that is the Mistake of a Scripture good conscience It is true that the Apostle in 1 Tim. 1.5 19. puts Faith and a good conscience as the great comprehensive Duties but there is not any one thing more mistaken than what this good conscience is too many Preachers press this carnally and carnal people go away with it that they have Faith yea they never doubt it and for a good conscience they discharge it I have spoken of Faith already but now that which such poor seduced souls take to be a good Conscience is only to wrong no body to be just to all not to purloin others goods to take and keep nothing but their own they take it to be chiefly conversant about the duties of the second Table concerning their Neighbour a little to rectifie this soul-damning mistake 1. A Scripture Conscience is an Enlightned Conscience which before was shut up in darkness Eph. 1.18 The light of the Word of God is set up in the conscience whereby it discovers those truths in their power and worth which before it was dark unto 2. A good Conscience is a Conscience searcht by the power of the Word convinc'd to be under sin and guilt and pollution whereby trouble doth arise in it God laying in the weight of guilt the damnableness of sin the pollution of it upon the Conscience so that the soul cries out what shall I do How shall God be pacified and the soul saved 3. And hence it is an awakened Conscience which before was asleep Awake thou
set the whole man on work to make provision and to effect it which though s being drawn forth by sinful objects or the working of the fancy and the Devil working by both do break forth into abominable practices unless restrained by the Lord for indeed the Fancy the imaginative Faculty is the very Forge of the Devil where he frames all the wickedness that is brought forth Now these being the natural actings of the thoughts of the heart as unchanged there must necessarily ensue a new working of thoughts upon the change 〈◊〉 Oâ—â—y observe by the way by this any sinner may know how it stands with his Soul If Atheistical prophane unclean worldly thoughts carry the heart an end and rove up and down at liberty and the heart even delightfully feeds on them without going to God and mourning over them for their purging and mortifying or no or but an unwilling resistance of them how dwelleth then the grace of God in thee verily not at all and therefore reflect upon thy self for by this thou mayst know the state of thy heart and thy lusts are yet in their strength and rule in thee and will post thee to Hell if the Lord meet not with thee A gracious heart hath bubling up of such thoughts and the Devil casts in suggestions to set them a work but they lodge not there long but they are resisted and purged Take therefore these Notes of a carnal unchanged heart 1. Such a soul makes little or no conscience of thoughts Thoughts are free say wretched souls but that 's a Proverb suggested by the Devil 2. Such a soul is not humbled doth not mourn for wicked thoughts but only looks to the outward man a little 3. Such a soul doth not bring them to the blood of Jesus Christ to be purged 4. He doth not conflict with them resist check hate them 5. He doth not watch the thoughts of the heart nor labour to set them upon holy Objects If it be thus with thee sinner thy heart works wickedness and thou art loathsom in the sight of the holy God who knoweth and observeth all thy thoughts afar off Psal 139. and will one day reckon with thee for them What dost thou but even deny God to be the great searcher of hearts the All-seeing God who carest not how vain vile wicked unclean prophane loathsom devilish the thoughts of thy heart are But wherein doth this newness of thoughts shew it self 1. The New-Creatures Thoughts are changed as to himself who thought well of himself as to Heaven and Happiness before but now seeth himself vile and hath worse thoughts of himself than any one in the world can have of him 2. He hath new thoughts of God New thoughts of his Holiness and Justice and Greatness and Glory Oh! how great is God how holy how just and so is greatly abased before him He hath new thoughts of his goodness grace and love to poor sinners upon which the thoughts do much work thoughts of admiration and praise and the soul delights in holy and gracious musings of it He hath New Thoughts of Jesus Christ of his Person Grace Blood Righteousness Spirit Word People Before he had poor low empty carnal unsavoury thoughts of Christ but the heart being changed and the Mind enlightned by the Holy Ghost the Thoughts work towards Jesus Christ the Soul hath deep and serious thoughts of his grace and love precious thoughts of him 4. He hath new thoughts of Eternity of an Eternal condition which much possess the Heart what may become of his Soul What will it profit to gain the World and lose his soul How he may treasure up for Heaven make sure work for Heaven whatever be his condition in this world and the serious and frequent thoughts of this do much poize the Spirit of a Believer 5. He hath new thoughts of the ways of God and Holiness before he thought basely or notionally of them now he hath real thoughts of Holiness and of the ways of Jesus Christ he doth believe and finds a reallity in them and hath good thoughts of them as to engage his soul to them 6. He hath New Thoughts of Holy People whom before he esteemed Hypocrites and Pharisees Factious and the like that their strictness was their Pride and Hypocrisie but now he honoureth them most is humbled greatly for such thoughts of them and prizeth them as the Excellent of the Earth and their company will be most desirable and most delightful to him Psal 16. Vse 1. To sinners that you do go to God and get your hearts possessed with such thoughts of God as these are how great how just how holy he is and this will make you tremble at going on in your pollutions any more Bethink your selves of the state of your souls and of an eternal condition Saith David I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto thy testimonies Psal 119.59 Bethink your selves how short a time it is e're an eternal condition shall pass upon you and how long the blessed God hath waited to be gracious to you and get new thoughts of Jesus Christ and get to his feet and make a resignment of your selves to him and then your thoughts will go after more excellent and soul-quieting and soul-delighting Objects than hitherto you have been exercised with 2. To such as are New-Creatures in Christ and have New Thoughts of themselves of God his Justice Holiness Greatness Graciousness of Christ of Eternity of the ways and people of the Lord let this be a word of Exhortarion to you to look to your Thoughts saith the Wisdom of God Prov. 23.7 As he thinketh in his heart so is he A Soul is before the Lord according to the thoughts of his heart Oh take heed of giving way to and feeding vain unclean unholy thoughts of any kind and let me press it upon you with these Motives 1. Consider that such thoughts are your sins lay that to heart God may justly damn a soul for unholy Thoughts Know thou may'st commit Adultery or Murder in thy Heart though it break not forth actually If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thy self or if thou hast thought evil lay thy hand upon thy mouth Prov. 30.32 This will help to keep thy heart in awe 2. That God's Eye is strictly and continually upon the Thoughts of thine Heart Psal 139.2 and therefore David cries out to God to search his heart for them Oh did a gracious Soul still consider this that the jealous Eye of God is upon every thought and motion of his heart to sin it would make him look closely to the Thoughts of his Heart 3. Consider that evil thoughts and musings of sin are the beginning of all open wickedness Jam. 1. 15. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and such thoughts are usually set on fire by the Devil 4. They do defile the soul Mat. 15.20 Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts c. These are the things