for Gold as Chrysostom's Thief did say of himself and he is a Pirate at Sea hanging out false Colours to get in with us he seeks not whom to bite out whom to devour 1 Pet. 5.8 the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to swallow up at one mouth-full and that no less than our precious and immortal Souls therefore is he called Abaddon Hebr. A bad one indeed or the wicked one and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greek Rev. 9.3 both which names signifie a Destroyer He is a broken Bankrupt himself and ordained for Destruction and therefore his whole work is to involve all Mankind in his own Misery accounting it some comfort to have Companions therein Solamen miseris socios adhibere Doloris He hunts not as Nimrod that Cruel Hunter for our moneys houses lands or liberties but for our very lives as the Harlot doth Prov. 7.23 yea to steal away our Souls from God and the Crown of Glory from us he is called in Scripture by such names as are all of a destroying nature as 1. A Draggon Rev. 12.7 2. A Lion 1 Pet. 5.8 3. A Serpent Isa 27.1 4. A Wolf Jobn 10.12 5. A Murderer John 8.44 6. A Tormentor Matth. 18.34 7. A Fowler and Hunter Psal 91.3 8. Beelzebub Mat. 10.25 12.24,27 9. Devil quasi Do evil often and therefore it is no less than a Miracle of Mercy that we are not all of us destroyed by him through his craft and cruelty his power and policy especially considering how he hath the upper ground of us as he is Prince of the Power of the Air Eph. 2.2 when we are but weak and worthless Worms crawling here below upon the Earth insomuch that his Territories lay betwixt us and Heaven which is our Fathers House therefore was Lazarus's Soul carried by Angels through the Regions of the Air into Abraham's bosom Luke 16.22 Beside it ought to be considered with seriousness how Satan our Adversary as it signifies proved too hard for the Innocentest Man Adam too hard for the Strongest Man Samson and too hard for the Wisest Man Solomon If he could over-master all these Three who were green Trees what can we dry Trees expect Luke 23.31 If this Strong Man yea and Armed too even with Armour of proof Luke 11.21 became a Conquerour over Adam in his state of Innocency how much more may he more easily master the best of us Si hoc Adamo in Paradiso contigisset quid nobis in sterquibunt saith Bernard If this foul fall befell Adam in the Garden of Eden oh what may befall us who are now cast out of Paradise upon the dirty Dunghill of this present evil World Gal. 1.4 It may be said of the best of us as it was said of young Troilus's grappling with great Achilles There was Impar congressus a very unfit and an unequal match betwixt them Yea so bold and daring is this Devil that he dared to Assault the Second Adam as he had done before the First Adam hoping for the same success Even the Son of God himself who only could indeed over-match him not only for himself but more especially for all his Redeemed Moreover Satan is a Restless Adversary out of his unspeakable hatred against God and all goodness as it is said of the Scorpion there is not one minute of Time wherein he doth not thrust out his Sting but keeps it in a continual and speedy motion of poisoning and destroying whatever he can reach even so and much more that Old Serpent will watch night and day to sting our Souls worse than the Fiery Serpents did the Bodies of Israel Numb 21. Consider also how Satan is an Ubiquitary Adversary his Circuit he walks is the whole Earth Job 1.7 2.2 he is call'd the God of this World 2. Cor. 4.4 which lays in wickedness 1 John 5.19 As the True God in the beginning did but speak the word by his Creating Power and every Creature in the whole Creation was perfectly wrought so if Satan do but hold up his finger or give but the least whisper to his Vassals they are at his beck and obedience he leads them captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 Yea and this he doth all over the World no Land or Island is free from him but the whole Universe may be called as one part of it is Terra Diaboli the Devil's Land he is the Ruler of the Darkness of this World Eph. 6.12 He is a God in this sense because there is no fleeing from his presence c. as Psa 139.7,8,9 our base hearts and a busie Devil will meet in all Lands Add likewise to the abovesaid how He is an Everlasting Adversary both 1. In respect of the great World He began betimes with the first Man and Woman in the World and he hath continued ever since to this present time and he will continue even to the end until our Lord lays hold on him and chain him up for a 1000 years Rev. 20. And 2. In respect of the little World Man who is as an Epitome of the great World c. Satan begins betimes even at our very Conception for as the Serpent was more subtle than all the Beasts of tbe Field Gen. 3.1 so Satan's subtlety was most manifest in this matter that when his Luciferian Pride had metamorphos'd him from a glorious Angel as he was created into a damned Devil and therefore was cast out of Heaven into Hell and understanding how God designed to fill up that Habitation which he had left with his Angels Jude verse 6. by a Remnant Redeemed out of Mankind Hereupon he is said to be come down or rather cast down having great Wrath and Malice against Mankind Rev. 12.12 hating Man's Redeemer with a perfect hatred and sinning that unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost every moment c. and that his Cruelty to us is managed with the profoundest Craft and Policy as is apparent in this that he stayed not to pour his poison into every Vessel as it was brought forth into the World but he pours it into the Fountain or Spring head of Mankind well knowing that in poisoning our first Parents he likewise poisoned all their Posterity in all succeeding Ages to the end of the World Thus saith the Apostle by one Man Sin entred into the World Rom. 5.12 and Death by Sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned and v. 14. Death hath Reigned from Adam to Moses and so down to us in our day c. even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression So that Infants are no Innocents being born with Original Sin the first Sheet wherein they are wrapped is woven of sin shame blood and filth Ezek. 16.4,6 c. They are said to sin as they were in the loins of Adam sust as Levi is said to pay Tithes to Melchisedech even in the loins of his Fore-father Abraham Heb. 7.9,10 otherwise Infants would not die for
Death is the wages of sin Rom. 6.23 and the Reign of Death is procured by the Reign of sin which hath reigned over all Mankind except Christ All are sinners infected with the guilt and filth of sin the Rot according to the Vulgar saying over-runneth the whole Flock Hence David reflects upon Original Sin as the Original cause of all his Actuals saying Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me Psal 51.5 Thus Man's Malady begins betimes even in our Conception this subtile Serpent sowed his Tares very early so that we are all born in our sin Joh. 9.34 Adam begat a Son in his own Image Gen. 5.3 and his Childrens Teeth are set on Edge after he had eaten the sour Fruit of the forbidden Tree Ezek. 18.2 The same Hand that was reached forth to that forbidden Fruit reached out both Sin and Death to the Fruit of his Loins wherein that Fruit was seminally as the Branches are in a Common Stock the actual Sin did not determine the bound of Misery in himself but it brought a second Misery with it even the Misery of the whole Nature of Mankind Adam was the Representative or publick Person representing the whole mass of Mankind as a Parliament-man represents the whole Country he is chosen for while Adam stood we all stood in him while he kept his Obedience in his state of Innocency he kept his whole Estate and Nature safe and entire but when he fell we all fell in him in Adam all die 1 Cor. 15.22 Tho' we did not choose him yet God did choose him for us as our Representative and his Sin was the greatest Sin next to that Sin against the Holy Ghost as it had many aggravations against the greatest Light and the greatest Love that ever was vouchsafed to any man and therefore it was just with God so to punish not only himself but his whole Nature also for that sinful Act. Hereby all the Sons and Daughters of Adam came to be deprived of Original Righteousness we are all alienated from the Life of God Eph. 4.18 born the Children of Wrath Eph. 2.3 and come short both of God's Glory and of our own Duty Rom. 3.23 Adam first defiled the Nature of Mankind and ever since the defiled Nature hath defiled the whole Off-spring thereof leaving them under the Curse of God and liable unto Death in the latitude of it even unto Death Temporal Spiritual and Eternal The Fall of Adam was the Death of himself and the Death of us yea and also it was the Death of our dear Redeemer to redeem us from Spiritual and Eternal Death Now as is the Root so are the Branches as is the Fountain so are the Waters that flow from it Generatum sequitur Naturam Generantis that which is begotten doth follow the Nature of that which begetteth who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one Job 14.4 that which is born of the Flesh is Flesh Joh. 3.6 Corruptus parit Corruptum one corrupt thing brings forth another yea the Sower soweth clean Grain yet even that brings forth Chaff as well as Wheat from which it was winnowed before it was Sown Father Augustin saith There is nothing more certain than Original Sin yet nothing more secret and hard to be understood how it is conveyed from Parents to Children Many Disputes there be about the manner how Sin is propagated from Adam to his Off-spring some of which deserve no better Character than that of Aristotle de Vacuo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such discourses upon the empty place are but empty things 'T is sufficient for us to know that God by a just imputation doth realize the Infection into the whole Race of Adam in whom we were as in a common lump and in his Leaven we are all sowred We know that leprous Parents do beget leprous Children and there be Diseases which are call'd hereditary and incurable by man we took this Infection from our Parents and we transmit it to our Children so come we to be called a Seed of Evil Doers Children that are Corrupters as well as corrupted Isai c. 1. v. 4. I have read the story of some foolish People who falling all together into a deep Pit fell a disputing one with another how they came there c. but one wiser than the rest advised them to lay aside those Niceties and rather consult about some proper means whereby they might all be delivered out of that danger without which they were in all probability like to perish Even such are those vain Ventilations about this abstruce point of Sins entrance into the World whether by that one person Adam's fall or by every ones fall in his own person the frothy Wits of the Arminians do fondly deny Original Sin But such as are wise to Salvation have learnt better Lessons in Christ's School and they feel otherwise in the School of their own smarting experience Therefore we ought all seriously to consider how the Greek Fathers call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Seed-plot of all Actual Transgressions c. and the Latin Fathers call it Fomes Peccati the lasting Fewel that feeds the Fire of our burning Lusts but above all how the Holy Scriptures doth Charactarize it calling it the Body of Sin Rom. 6.6 and the Sin that dwells in us Rom. 7.17 and the Law of the Members ver 23. and that which so easily besets us Hebr. 12.1 and David calls it the Iniquity of the Heels which was ready to trip him up and to lay him all along upon the ground at every turn and return of the Tempter upon him Psal 49.5 And if we do as little Zacheus did namely climb up the Sycamore Tree to take a full prospect of his lovely Lord from top to toe Luk. 19.3,4 c. so if we get up into the Mount of the Old and New Testament and take a full view of the foulness of Original Sin The right Scriptural Account of Original Sin is this 1. That man who had been God's delight before Prov. 8.31 became both hated of God Psal 5.5 and an hater of God Rom. 1.30 the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying to hate God as Hell 2. That faln man is become intensively evil protensively only evil and extensively always and continually evil in the thoughts and imaginations of his heart Gen. 6.5 3. That man's Heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked Jer. 17.9 4. His Thoughts are Thoughts of iniquity Isa 59.7 5. He walks in the vanity of his Mind Ephes 4.17 having his understanding darkned and his Heart blinded ver 18. 6. His Conscience is defiled Tit. 1.15 7. His Eyes are full of Adultery and he cannot cease from Sin 2 Pet. 2.14 8. His Throat an open Sepulchre the poison of Asps upon his Tongue and Lips c. Rom. 3.13,14 9. In a word all mans Members and Faculties are marr'd and maim'd by the fall of Adam as might more largely
namely of much smartings burning pains and sorrows if that Sting be not timely dâ—awn out by the Grâ—ce of true Repentance The Lord himselâ— pâ—…ed that Stinging Sermon unto Cain Iâ— thou dost well shalt thou not be accepâ—…d but if thou dost evil then sin lies at thy 〈◊〉 that is like a mighty Mastiff-Dâ—g whâ—ch lies sleeping at the Door and if once awakened he is there ready to pull out the Throat of the Soul Gen. 4.7 And Moses tells the People agreeable to this caution of the great God to Cain and surely your sin will find you out Numb 32.23 that is the Guilt of sin will haâ—… you at your Heels like a Blood-Hound and the punishment of it will ovâ—…ke you c. Yet such as do surely â—…nd â—t their sin by an unfeigned Repenâ—…ce before their sin thus fearfully find 〈◊〉 â—hem even all such as câ—nfesseth and â—…keth their sin shall fiâ—d 〈◊〉 Proâ— 28.13 Then if Death at 〈…〉 â—orth â—y Sting at us ' tiâ— no mâ—re harmâ—ul than an enchanâ—…d Stiâ—gâ— like those Serpents which th◠〈…〉 raised up by their Enâ—…ments Exod. â— 12 they were 〈◊〉 really Serpents but in appearanâ—… only and â—o thâ—ir Stings were like themselves more Phâ—…ms which could not 〈◊〉 sting any one true Israelite and as 〈◊〉 Mâ—…k-Serpents were swallowed up by Moses his real one even so Christ who is Life Essential hath swallowed up Death in Victory as before So that now through the Grace of Christ tho' Death may buzz about our Ears like a Drone-Bee that hath lost its Sting yet it cannot sting us with any mortal Sting for that is quite lost in the death of Christ for all his Redeemed as Christ hath taken away not sin it self but the Guilt of sin So nor hath he taken away Death it self but the Sting of it Thus Augustine doth phrase this double Purchase of Christ for us both in respect of Sin and in respect of Death saying Christus tollit Peccatum Mortem nonne sint sed ne obsint our Lord indeed doth take away both Sin and Death from us yet not that they should not be at all but that they should not be hurtful to those for whom he died And 't is for this glorious Priviledge that the Apostle Paul as one of Christ's chief Heraulds proclaimeth openly to the World and that with a world of Solemnity and Triumph his own Victory over Death by his dear Redeemer 1 Cor. 15.57 and therefore exhorts us to be always stedfast and unmoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord well-knowing that our Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord ver 58. The same Apostle saith with such a firm Faith which both took Root downward and brought forth Fruit upward that for him to live was Christ and to die was gain and he longed to be dissolved Phil. 1.21,22,23 5 thly 'T is his returning Home to his Father's House c. because death to a Good Man is the day-break of an eternal Brightness 't is as the Vally of Achor as a Door of Hope into the celestial Canaan Josh 7.24,27 and 15.7 Hos 2.15 even into that Heavenly Country unto which the Holy Patriarchs so earnestly pressed to enter Heb. 11.13,14,15 and as it were hastened Home thither where their Father was and their All also Hereupon for them to die was no more but repaterasse as Father Bernard phraseth it that is to go Home again to their Father's House whither when they come they are assured of a most hearty and of a most happy welcome The Parable of the penitent Prodigal and his compassionate Father's meeting together at Home with Feasting and exceeding great Joy Luke 15.20,23,24 doth illustrate this The Prodigal only came but the Father ran and fell upon his Neck and kissed him and killed the fatted Calf for him and put the best Robe upon him c. to make him welcome yet all this was but a dim shadow of that exceeding excessive and eternal meeting of our Heavenly Father with his dear Children to whom Christ most lovingly speaketh Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World Matth. 25.34 Oh the infinite Bowels of a Father yerning over his Adopted Sons and Daughters as if he had thus said Where have you been my dear Darlings all this time of my long absence from you and of yours from me come nâ—w and heartily welcome come now into my Bosom which is now wide open to receive you as the welcomest Guests that oâ—er accosted me ye shall lie warm in my Bosom to all Eternity c. and with Crowns of Glory upon your Heads ye shall sing Hallelujahs unto the Lord for ever and ever NB. Note well To know this upon a dying Bed câ—nnot but be a Rich Cordial to know that death is only Perta Coeli Janua Viâ—… the Postâ—rn Gate to the Heavenly City and the Narrow Door to Everlasting Life that it is our restoration into a better Paradise than that was out of which the first Adam was banished at first by his sinning but this Heavenly Paradise The Second Adam purchased for us by his suffering that death doth now by the purchase of Christ bring to us both Malorum omium Ademptionem Bonâ—rum omnium Adentionem that is the râ—moving of all that is evil and the receiving of all that is good This consideration brought Paul out of his Sâ—râ—it when he had been musing and â—…hting and knew not what he should châ—ose â—…ether Life or Death at last he 〈◊〉 â—orth into this resolve 〈…〉 I desire to be dissâ—lved and to return 〈◊〉 to my Father's House from whom I expect to hear Well done thâ—… good and faithful Servant enter 〈◊〉 into the Joy of thy Lord Matth. 24.21,23 which is a Joy so big so great that it cannâ—… enter into us Quicquid Recipitur recipitur ad Modum Recipientis saith the â—…losopher the Vessel receiving m◠〈…〉 Measure congruous to and c◠〈…〉 the Matter received Now 〈…〉 ouâ— Vessâ—ls are not large en◠〈…〉 Joy to enter into us th◠〈…〉 that we must enter int◠〈…〉 it is such a Joy as is more m◠〈…〉 Lord and Master than for 〈…〉 yet such a liberal Lord do w◠〈…〉 as will honour his Servants with 〈◊〉 matchless Joy We serve a most Honoâ—rable Master who employs us in most Honourable Work and will at last pay us with most Honourable Wages Unto all this aforesaid let me add the Christian's Charter as another pretious Cordial unto a dying Saint namely the large Inventory which the blessed Apostle distinctly describeth that belongeth to every true Believer saying all things are yours whether the World and so you lose nothing when you leave the World or Life or Death or things present or things to come all are yours and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's 1 Cor. 3.21,22,23 that is the World is theirs tho' not in possession yet by way of Reduction ye shall
be demonstrated from Scripture the first man defiled Nature and ever since Nature hath defiled every man his whole Frame is out of frame whole evil is in man and whole man is in evil As in Noah's Flood not any one part of the Earth could be seen dry So nor any one part of man can be found that is not infected with this Original Pollution and the chief cause of all our Actual Sins is charged not upon Satan but upon this Evil Concupiscence that is inbred in us Jam. 1.15 The Tempter might strike Fire long enough in vain if we did not find him dry Tinder for his Sparks to fall upon We cannot say as our sinless Lord said the Prince of this World cometh and finds nothing in me that is to favour his Temptation Joh. 14.30 But alas when he comes to tempt us he finds a Treacherous Party within this Birth-sin of ours which betrays us oftentimes into his hands as hath hapned unto some Cities besieged whose Gates have been opened by some Traiterous Citizens within for a free entrance of the Enemy that were besieging it round about Hence is it that all men are said in Holy Scripture to be dead in sin Ephes 2.1 and Bondslaves to Satan Heb. 2.15 and subject to all Calamities of this Life under the Curse of God Gal. 3.10 Yea and good men even the best of men are but men at the best for Original Sin in them is stronger than their Grace for if God should leave us with our stock of Grace that he hath graciously given us and let us be alone but a while in the hands of our own Counsels this sin of our Nature would easily swallow up our stock of Grace wo to us when God departs from us Hos 9.12 The Reason is because Grace given to us is like the putting of Hot Water into that which is Cold Tho' this will warm it for the present yet the Water will reduce it self into its own natural temper of Coldness unless Fire be kept continually under it Take another Example as a River would run caeterâ—…s paribus the nighest way to the Seaâ— which is the Receptacle of all Rivers were it let alone to its own tendency by nature but we see the various situation of the Earth in some places higher than others and by the Art and Industry of Man the most Rapid River is madd to run in crooked Streams in and out to break its forcible passage even so this Original Sin would drive all persons the nighest way to Hell were it not that it meets with not only the several Tempers and Dispositions of Nature in the Sons and Daughters of Mankind which makes it work variously according to their various Constitutions as David saith I have kept my self from my iniquity Psal 18.23 that is from my Constitution sin c. but also and that more especially through the over-ruling Power of God and that by two ways 1. Either by giving Restraining Grace even to Pagans as he did to that Pagan King Abimelech Gen. 20.6 whereby God kept him at a modest distance from medling with Sarah Abraham's wife which otherwise he would have undoubtedly defiled seeing so many Kings tho' called Christian make it their too common practice or 2. By giving Renewing Grace even to his own chosen and called ones whereby he changeth their Natures so that one of the Antient Fathers tells this Story of a Young Man who had been for some time intangled with an Harlot and meeting with some Remorse of Conscience he withdrew from her upom some occasions he had in another Country and after a â—ittle time returning home this impudent Whore meets him takes hold of him and said to him Ego sum Ego I am the same Woman I was when you left me at which he smartly replied to her sed ego non sum ego but I am not the same Man I was through the Grace of God whereby he said with David The Snare is broken and my Soul is delivered Psa 124.7 therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature old things are past away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 VVhere Christ comes he saith Behold I make all things new Rev. 21.5 both all the Members of the Body and all the Faculties of the Soul These all were formerly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 weapons of wickedness unto sin but now become weapons of Righteousness unto Holiness Rom. 6.13,17,18,19 so that Christ makes new understandings new wills new memories new consciences c. in the inner man yea and new tongues hands and feet c. to talk walk and work for God in the outward man ☞ Let this likewise be well weighed how this Original pollution of the faln Nature is like the first Confused Chaos at the Creation of the World which had the seeds of all several kinds of Creatures in it and that prolifick Vertue continues unto this day even so in Original Sin lays the Spawn of all several kinds of sins which lasteth all our lives until death destroy this body of Death at the last as the other will last while the World lasteth So This fretting Leprosie of sin is typically described in the Law of that Plague Levit. 14.41.43,44,45 The house which hath that Contagion all the scraping of the Walls within it will not cleanse it until the house it self with the Stones and Timber of it be broken down yea and it begins betimes as well as it lasts long This sour Leaven doth leaven the whole lump with its sowrness and spreads it self over all the Ages of Man as Infancy Childhood Youth and old Age. 1. Infancy Austin's story Vidi Zelantem parvulum I my self saw a little one rise up in Rage against his fellow-suckling for beguiling him of his Mothers Milk from whence that Antient Father proves and confesses that sin began betimes both in himself and in others 2. Childhood there is much folly bound up in the heart of a Child Prov. 22. v. 15. as fardles or packs are bound upon the Carriers Horses back and these bonds of Iniquity keeps him fast in the gall of bitterness Acts 8.23 so makes not only Childhood but also 3. Youth to be not only Vanity but likewise often abounds with Villany Eccles 11.9,10 with 12.1 where the Preacher presseth upon Youth to indulge themselves in their youthful lusts if they dare do so adding a stinging But which marrs the Yonkers mirth God will judge thee for all thy Tricks of youth account them not Trifles which both Job and David so bitterly bewailed Job 13.26 and Psal 25.7 Therefore he exhorts such to remember their Creators at that time as Psal 119.9 before 4 ly Old Age come which is an Evil Age both for sin and misery But more plainly this Truth of Man's Malady and Danger is held forth in that Text The strong Man armed c. which declares Man's Malady and Danger Luke 11.21 where Satan is described 1. By his
thee by little and little and not all at once c. Deut. 7.22 and the Lord did order and over-rule it there for Israels good Thus it is in our Spiritual Warfare tho' God's promise is to tread down Satan under our Feet shortly Rom. 16.20 yet God will not make his promises good too soon It was for their own good as in that fore-named Scripture lest the Beasts of the Field increase upon thee for he is a God of Judgment and waiteth to give us his Mercies when they may do us most good and therefore blessed are they that wait for him Isa 30.18 He gives his Mercy in the best Season tho' not so soon as we do desire we long to conquer our Corruptions those cursed Canaanites in one day which our Lord hath ordered and ordained to be the work of our whole Lives our Corruptions as the Canaanites are left yet unsubdued only to prove us in our owning God c. Judg. 2.21,22 and Judg. 3.4 This mortifying of sin as well as fortifying of grace is pensum Diurnum Perpeâ—uum both a daily and a perpetual Task God will keep a Tedder at our Foot to keep us humble Paul must have a Thorn in the Flesh a Messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he should be exalted above measure with his late Rapture into Paradise 2 Cor. 12.2,3,4,7 There will be work enough for the exercise of Grace till it be turned into Glory Notwithstanding the Canaanites with their Iron Chariots were so strong that Israel could not drive them out Josh 17.16 yet the faithful God as he is called Deut. 7.9 and who will not be slack ver 10. did promise that they should drive them out tho' they had Iron Chariots and tho' they were strong Josh 17.18 the Lord of Hosts was too mighty for them Thus we complain concerning our Corruptions that they fall not fast enough by mortifying Grace but we must know for our Comfort our Faithful God will not be slack as before for killing our cursed Canaanites He indeed may seem to be slow in our thoughts yet he is never slack but will be ever sure he will not suffer his faithfulness to fail nor alter the thing that is gone out of his Lips Psal 89.33 what he speaks with his Mouth he fulfils with his Hand 1 Kings 8.24 he will do what he hath said 2 Sam. 7.25 whether ancient promises Tit. 1.1,2 which never failed in any Age no nor his Menaces neither Zeph. 3.5 nor will he fail in this of treading Satan under our Feet shortly Prov. 16.20 In the mean time let us enquire Do we gain ground of our Spiritual Enemies doth the House of Saul in us wax weaker and weaker and the House of David in us grow stronger and stronger as 2 Sam. 3.1 can we feel our Lord a destroying the works of the Devil in us Heb. 2.14 1 John 3.8 tho' as yet they be not altogether destroyed Are we daily dying to sin tho' not as yet wholly dead to it even this may ensure us of Victory at last let us compare time with time may we but experience how heretofore the fleshly law in thee had thy Sabbaths thy Time thy Strength yea thy very Heart and Affections but now by the power of Renewing Grace the Law of the Spirit in thee hath rescued at laest a little of all the aforesaid and subjected that little under the Law of the Spirit so that thou finds those two contrary Laws now in thee to wit the Law of the Members and the Law of the Mind warring against each other c. Rom. 7.15 to 23. which makes thee cry out as the betrothed Damself did in the field when she was assaulted by a man too strong for her Deut. 22.27 as Amnon was too strong for Tamar 2 Sam. 13.14 so dost thou cry out with Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of Death and thank God with him that Jesus Christ our Lord is thy Deliverer saying likewise as he did so then with the Mind I my self do serve the Law of God but with the Flesh the Law of Sin Rom. 7.24,25 If we find our selves in no worse a condition than that of the Holy Apostle himself this cannot be uncomfortable and discouraging to us the same conflict betwixt two contrary Laws is common to all Christians For as Paul had informed the believing Romans of it as above So he affirms yea and Confirms the same Truth to the believing Galatians saying walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts thereof for the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would c. Gal. 5.16,17 The meaning whereof is that as we cannot do the good which we would do because the Flesh doth hinder us so we cannot do the evil which we would by the unrenewed part of our wills do because the Spirit hinders us Now may we but find by sound experience that the Law of the Spirit gains ground of the Law of the Flesh in us this is a comfortable Character that we shall be Conquerors in this Spiritual Conflict Thus Satan's Assaults now are feebler than heretofore against us like that of the old Gauls of whom it is said prior impetus est plusquam Virorum posterior minus quam faeminarum more than Men at first but less than Women at last The Third Comfortable Character of a Conqueror is that he is able to break the Ranks of the Van-guard or Fore-front of his Enemies and so force them to draw back 'T is a great encouragement to a General to set his Feet and the Feet of his Army upon the same ground where his Adversaries pitched their Battalia's against him he knows if once they begin to flinch they will soon also begin to flee especially if he can gain their most advantagious ground from which as from an higher standing they did mostly annoy him but much more if he can shatter and disorder their Front where the men of greatest Gallantry are ever most politickly placed if once they come into confusion and be as we say hand over head then he doth more easily break in upon them and so rout them out of the field It was once a notable stratagem of an English General that when he came up close to the face of his Foes he ordered his Army to make a loud and universal outcry they run in the Rear they run they run this Cry did so daunt the Front who feared it to be true that thereby both the Van and the Rear did run away indeed Thus is it with us in our Spiritual Warfare our Spiritual Enemies do not war against us as is done in a Duel but one to one but here is many against one those fleshly lusts that fight against our Souls are not one only but many in the plural number 1 Pet. 2.11 And
into the image of sin he cannot do wickedly with both hands earnestly Mic. 7.3 he is not past feeling to work all uncleanness with greediness for he hath not so learned Christ Ephes 4.19,20 Sin cannot carry it away without some Counter-Buffs So 't is farther said We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not to wit that sin unto Death the unpardonable sin no not other sins as other Sinners that are the Slaves of Satan but he keepeth himself so as that the wicked one cannot touch him that is with any of his deadly touches He cannot thrust in his venemous Sting so far as to destroy the Seed of God in him that is begotten of God as he doth into the very Spirits of those called the Serpents Seed even the World that lieth in wickedness 1 John 5.18,19 with ver 16. From whence we may argue and upon better grounds than that Pagan Dame before-named did that if the Seed of God be in us if we be begotten and born of God none of those Principalities and Powers of Hell nor any of those Rulers of the Darkness of this World nor any Spiritual Wickedness in high places as the phrase is Ephes 6.12 shall ever be able to prevail against us but they shall surely fall before us They may indeed sometimes in case of some Divine Desertion put us foully to the Foil but they can never give us a total and a final Fall for God so puts his fear into the hearts of his Covenanted People that they shall not depart from him but he will cause them to fear him for ever Jer. 32.39,40,41 for here lies the Riches of the Covenant of Grace that tho' for some glorious ends of unsearchable Divine Wisdom it sometimes doth permit a fall even in the choicest and chiefest of the Favourites of Heaven yet it always doth ensure Repentance after the Fall as it was in the case both of David and Peter they both did fall foully but neither of them did fall finally they both got up again by the helping hand of their Heavenly Father And this may be a little illustrated by the example afore-named of Mordecai and Haman If a Jew fall before a Persian as Mordecai did before Haman yet may he get up again and prevail as did Mordecai against Haman but if a Persian or any Gentile doth but begin to fall before a Jew he shall not be able to stop from falling down nor to rise up again as did Haman before Mordecai he did fall to the lowest and utmost ebb of disgrace and misery yea and tho' he was advanced on high upon the highest Gallows that we read or hear of which he had erected for the Jew Mordecai yet he did most fatally fall into the bottomless Pit of Hell also to be an eternal Companion with proud Lucifer and his faln Angels c. All this may afford matter of great encouragement to us in our Christian Warfare that the Seed of God in us will spring up gradually notwithstanding the many bitter Blasts of Hail and Snow that fall upon it and will in due season bring fortn a most happy Harvest as Psal 126.5,6 but we must be careful to war this good warfare 1 Tim. 1.18 and fight this good fight of Faith 1 Tim. 6.12 both in God's Arms which makes our Bow to abide in strength Gen. 49.24 and which strengthens us with a kind of omnipotency in doing all things Phil. 4.13 yea and in God's Armour also Ephes 6.12 to 19. whereby we may be able not only to stand our ground but also to quench all the fiery Darts of the Devil yea and if we resist him stedfast in the Faith we shall put him to the flight and win the Day and so wear the Crown of Conquerors Jam. 4.7 1 Pet. 5.8,9 Let us all along observe the Apostle's Rule Whatsoever we do in Word and Deed let all be done in the Name of the Lord Jesus Col. 3.17 David acknowledges it was by God's strength and not by his own c. In all those fore-named places of the Psalms and in 2 Sam. 22.30,33,34,35,36,37 c. wherein he saith that God was his strength and that girded him with strength so to rout the Ranks of his Enemies and so to beat them down that they could never rise up any more c. and this was when he hurl'd as it were the force of God himself at the Face of great Goliah he ascribes all the Glory both of his Valour and of his Victory unto God's strength and not unto his own c. The 4 th Character of a Conqueror is to take the Conquered captive and to clap them up close Prisoners as Joshuah did with his five conquered Kings shutting them up in the Cave at Makedah and rolling great Stones to the Mouth of the Cave that they might be kept there close Prisoners until the time of their execution Josh 10.18 and when he brought them to be executed he made his Captains to set their Feet upon the Necks of those five Kings and then he hanged them up upon five Trees ver 24 26 c. Even so our Joshuah or Jesus doth all those Offices of Love for us as that Joshuah did for Israel our Lord ascendeth up on high he leadeth captivity Captive c. Psal 68.18 and Ephes 4.8 and then he saith afterward as for those my Enemies that would not have me to reign over them bring them forth and slay them before me Luke 19.27 This phrase of leading captivity captive is an allusion to the Roman Conquerors who rode through the City Rome up to the Capitol in their Triumphant Chariots leading their conquered Captives all along with their Hands bound behind them to be disposed of afterwards according to the pleasure of the Conqueror either to present Death or to perpetual Imprisonment Thus likewise our Lord who rideth on Conquering and to Conquer upon the white Horse of the Gospel Rev. 6.2 doth lead Captivity Captive that is those Spiritual Enemies that formerly did captivate us Our Lord doth now through grace captivate them and they are principally Three which make up this Captivity that our Lord leads Captive for us The First is the Flesh whereof Paul complaineth that the Law of the Members did not only war against the Law of his Mind but it also brought him into Captivity to the Law of Sin and made him cry out Oh wretched man c. yet did he look through this Black Cloud at Christ his Deliverer Rom. 7.23,24,25 as it is said If we be in Christ and he in us then have we crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts Gal. 5.24 When Christ came into the World it was our sins that crucified Christ and so when Christ comes into our Hearts he likewise crucifies our sinful Flesh in us as the body of sin did crucifie Christ so Christ doth crucifie the body of sin Now to crucifie is not to kill outright at one blow but it is to put to
salvation of our Souls 1 Pet. 1.4,5,9 Insomuch that Death which is in it self no other than Nature's Divorce the Bodies Prison the Soul's Banishment the Arrest of Judgment the Curse of Sin and the King of Terrors as well as the Terror of Kings Job 18.14 unto all Mankind in General yet such a change doth the power of Godliness both in Young and Old that are chosen and called make in their Changes from one World to another that their Death's is only their 1. Harvest or Ingatherings into God's Garner c. 2 'T is the Joy of Marriage which is called a Rest in the House of the Husband Ruth 3.1 so Death is our Rest A Rest from their Labours Rev. 14.13 they shall Rest 1 st From their Labours of Necessity their Needs of Nature shall then cease for ever they shall Hunger no more they shall Thirst no more c. as they have done while in the Body 2 dly They shall Rest from their Labours of Infirmity they shall never complain of any more Aches and Pains in any one of the parts of the Body as they have done frequently heretofore in the time of their Mortality 3 dly From the Labours of their Callings c. they shall toil no more in the Sweats of either their Brows or their Brains c. And 4 thly Which is above all they shall Rest from their Labours of Iniquity a Laboribus Peccati as well as Officii they shall never sin any more whereas heretofore in the time of their sojourning upon Earth they had this weight upon them which they could never lay aside nor cast it off and sin did then easily beset them so that they could not run the Race that was set before them Heb. 12.1 Because of the Law of the Members that did continually war against the Law of their Minds and oft bringing them into Captivity yea and as oft making them to cry out Oh wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me c. Rom. 7.23,24 But now Christ is come to them and knock'd off all their Fetters which formerly clogg'd them c. and setteth them at perfect liberty Isai 61.1 and those whom the Son of God doth free they are free indeed John 8.36 3. Death to those that die in the Lord and in a Good Old Age also is not only the Christians Harvest Marriage and Rest as before but 't is likewise their Conquest over all their Spiritual Enemies so they have also the Joy of Victory as well as of Harvest of Marriage and of Rest They are become by their Holy Life and Happy Death more than Conquerors Rom. 8.37 even Triumphers in Christ 2 Cor. 2.14 and so as they have won the Crown of Glory by their overcoming the Wicked one through the strengthning Love of Christ upon them so they shall wear it as Kings Rev. 1.6 and as Conquerors for evermore 'T is said the last Enemy to be destroyed is Death 1 Cor. 15.26 Now to all true Believers Death is already swallowed up in Victory ver 55. as Fuel is swallowed up by the Fire and as the Sorcerers Serpents were swallowed up by Moses his Serpent so that they can say to Death when it comes to them as Jacob said to Esau surely I have seen thy Face as the Face of God Gen. 33.4,10 Thus that Esau Death doth meet a Member of Christ with Kissing rather than with Killing or so much as Frowns yea and guards him home to his Father's House as Esau guarded his Brother Jacob Home to Canaan after his long absence from it he went before Jacob as his Life-guard ver 12. Thus after a long Conflict by the Indwellings of Sin all our Life comes the Conquest at the last in our Death Alas we cannot beat sin out of Doors as Sarah did the Bond-woman Hagar but this Fretting Leprosie sin can never be either washed out or scraped off from the Walls of our Earthly Tabernacles until the House that is infected with that Plague be demolished by Death and the Stones and Timber thereof be altogether taken down As it was thus in the Type under the Law concerning the House of Leprosie Levit. 14.43,44 So it is with our Houses of Clay as the Antitype which can no way be Amended but must be Renewed and this is only done in part while we are in the Kingdom of Grace But this cleansing Work is compleatly perfected when Death gives us a dismission from hence into the Kingdom of Glory The belief of this made Old Simeon sing his Soul out of his Body and Paul the Aged Phil. v. 9. was not only a Conqueror but which was more even a Triumpher in Christ as before for he sang a Triumphant Song over Death and the Grave singing as well as saying Oh Death where is thy Sing and Oh Grave where is thy Victory 1 Cor 15.55 This is the boldest and the bravest Challenge that ever any Mortal Man did ring in the Ears of Death in which words he as it were out-braved it calling it Craven to its Face as the Vulgar saying is and bids it do its worst to him that it could do like the Philosopher Anaxarchus who with an undaunted Courage told the Tyrant who was beating his Body to pieces with a great Iron Pestle in a large Mortar made purposely for that Barbarous Butchery in the very Act of his Martyrdom he most confidently cryed out to his Tormentor Tunde Tunde Tyranne Vasculum frangis sed Anaxarchum non Laedis Beat on beat on thou Bruitish Tyrant thou indeed doth break the Vessel of the Man but thou can never hurt Anaxarchus the Man himself Much more might this blessed Apostle insult over this greatest of Tyrants that universal Destroyer of Mankind to wit Death with his Javelin in his hand seeing he was so able as to render such weighty Reasons for his Triumphing Insultation as he saith the Sting of Death is Sin c. ver 56. signifying hereby that our dear Redeemer had been the Death of Death by his Death Mors Mortis Morti Mortem quoque Morte dedisset The Death of Christ gave Death its Death as it was prophesied of him Oh Death I will be thy Death c. Hos 13.14 thus our Saviour did disarm Death and took out the Sting from this Venemous Serpent so that we may now as safely put Death into our Bosoms in a serious Meditation of dying Daily as some men whom I have seen have with enough of safety put into their Bosoms a Snake whose Sting was before pulled out If Death do now shoot out any Sting at us we may thank our selves for our not being more constantly sound in the way of Righteousness If at any time we turn aside to crâ—…ked Paths there will the old crooked Serpent meet us and he will not only sting us there but also leave his Sting behind him in us as the Bee doth to those that are stung by it and this may be the procuring Cause of many sad effects
it is indeed a Terror to Kings too the Philosopher calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the most formidable of Formidables and Nature in the best doth find it frightful enough yet our Lord saith I will not leave you Comfortless John 14.18 The First Comfort against the Fear of Death and that our Lord hath left us for our Relief is 1 Cor. 15.55 that Christ hath unstinged that Serpent and that now his Redeemed may triumph over it Moses first fled from the Serpent but being better informed he took it by the Tail and then it became an Useful Rod in his Hand Exod. 4.3,4 Thus Israel at first fled from Goliah as affrighted with the sight of such a Monster of Mankind but so soon as they understood that David had slain him and laid him along without his Head upon the ground then did they run as fast to him to trample upon him c. as they had before run away from him sore affrighted 1 Sam. 17.24,52 So could we but believe that Christ our Lord David had swallowed up Death in Victory as we are assured Isai 25.8 and that Christ's Death is the Death of Death Hos 13.14 then might we sing a Triumphant Song with the Apostle over both Death and the Grave c. A Second Breast of Comfort against the Fear of Death is that precious Promise of God Thou shalt not be afraid when Destruction or Death cometh Job 5.21 and thus God said to Old Jacob fear not to go down to Egypt for I will be with thee and I will bring thee back again c. Gen. 46.3,4 Accordingly our Saviour saith to his sanctified ones Isai 13.3 Fear not to go down among the Dead which is a going the way of all the Earth Josh 23.14 for I will go down with thee and I will assuredly also bring thee back again as one of my Children of the Resurrection Luke 20.36 as if he had said I will bring you without failure from the Jaws of Death to the Joys of Heaven as surely as Ezra and Nehemiah brought all the Captive Jews out of the Captivity of Babylon and we must consider for our Comfort that Death seizeth upon the Body only which we derive from the First Adam as Joseph's Mistress seized only upon Joseph's Garment his Person escaped so the pretious Soul is returned to God that gave it Eccles 12.7 A Third Breast of Consolation for Saints to suck against the Fear of Death is the Righteous hath Hope in his Death Prov. 14.32 Death to a Believer is as the Vally of Achor Josh 7.24,27 Israel's entrance into the Land of Promise a Door of Hope Hos 2.15 into the Heavenly Canaan there to sing Hallelujah's to the Lord for ever Death indeed to Sinners is but a Trap-door that drops them down into Hell Psal 9.17 When that Grim-Sergeant Arrests them by God's Permission and Commission in the Devil's Name and hurls them into an Infinite Ocean of Hell-fire Oh what Dreadful Skreaks doth that Guilty Soul give when it is hurried away and hurled into Everlasting Burnings Isai 33.14 and to swim naked as i◠Scalding Lead and Liquor for evermore But blessed be God 't is better with the Saints whose Debts are all paid by their Dear Redeemer they are not afraid of the Arrest of Death but looks upon it as God's Officer sent to give them possession of a Mansion of Glory and therefore their Hearts are not troubled when their Lord sends for them to be ever with him in Heavenly Happiness John 14.1,2,3,4 and 16.7 and 1 Thes 4.17.18 Oh how willing was Old Jacob to go down into Egypt when it was only to see his younger Son Joseph whom he had not seen for many years c. How much more willing yea desirous ought we to be to go up to Heaven a far better place than Egypt there to see our Elder Brother Jesus Christ How glad were those Three Wise Men of the East to take a long Journey when it was only to see the Babe of Bethlehem Christ in the Cradle c Now if we can but say as those Wise Men said We have seen his Star c. Matth. 2.2,11 how much more ought we to long for this Journey c. that we may behold our Lord Christ advanced upon the Throne of his Glory and to behold his Face in Righteousness Psal 17.15 c. which is a Beatifical Vision a Sight far exceeding those Three Romam in Flore Paulum in Ore Christum in Carne which Father Augustin so earnestly wished to see namely Rome in its Glory Paul in the Pulpit and Christ in the Flesh Alas all those Sights are infinitely below the beholding him in his Glory 1 John 3.2 It was a good Prayer of the same Augustin saying Lord can no Man see thy Face and live O then let me die that I may see it c. A Fourth Cordial against the Fear of Death is Better is the day of our Death than the day of our Birth Eccles 7.12 'T is better every way For 1. Our Birth begins our Miseries but our Death ends them if we die in the Lord we are blessed Rev. 14.13 Whereas Man born of a Woman is born to trouble c. Job 14.1 Yea miserable so soon as warm in the Womb at Conception Psal 51.5 Birth is our entrance into this lower present Evil World Gal. 1.4 but Death in Christ is our entrance into the best and blessed World 2. We come crying into this World c. but some Saints have gone singing and triumphing out of it into a better World hoping that their Death was but the Day-break of Eternal Brightness c. A Fifth Cordial is that Death cannot separate us from the Love of God Rom. 8.28 'T is so far from destroying the Union that it is called a sleeping in Jesus 1 Thes 4.14 And as by sleep the frame of the Body is refreshed so by Death the Union of the Soul is refined Now when we are wearied with our days Labour we are not afraid to go take our rest When Lazarus died our Lord said our Friend Lazarus sleepeth John 11.11 and he said the same of Jairus's Daughter Matth. 9.24 and this is the frequent Phrase in Scripture to call Death a Sleep Job 7.21 2 Sam. 7.12 1 Cor. 11.30 Now as Sleep doth not separate Friends but only for a time betwixt good Night and good Morrow so no more doth Death which is but a bidding good Night for after sleeping in the Grave as in a Bed Isai 57.2 the Morning comes to rise again The Sixth Cordial is 2 Cor. 5.1,2,3 to 9. We know 't is not we think or we hope only this is the true Triumph of our Trusting in Christ our leaning upon the Lord Isai 50.10 that when our Clayie Cottages moulder down we have a Mansion of Glory to go to While we abide in those tottering Tabernacles we groan earnestly being Burdened ver 2.4 that is both with Sin and Misery whereof we have here our