of happinesse but could not come at the Tree of Life the Lord Jesus Christ who is weak Saints compleat happinesse Rev. 14. 5. And in their mouths was found no guile for they were without fault before the Throne of God Though men may accuse you judge and condemne you yet know for your support that you are acquitted before the Throne of God However you may stand in the eyes of men as full of nothing but faults as persons made up of nothing but sin yet are you clear in the eyes of God So in Cant. 4. 7. Thou art all faire my Love and there is no spot in thee There 's none such as are the spots of wicked men nor no spot in mine account God looks upon weak Saints in the Son of his love and sees them all lovely they are as the Tree of Paradise Gen. 3. faire to his eye and pleasant to his tast Or as Absolom in whom there was no blemish from head to foot Ah poor soules you are apt to look upon your spots and blots and to cry out with the Leaper not onely unclean unclean but undone undone Well for ever remember this That your persons stand before God in the righteousnesse of Christ upon which account you alwayes appear before the Throne of God without fault you are all faire and there is no spot in you The eleventh Support is this Your sins shall never provoke Christ nor prevaile with Christ 11 Support so far as to give you a Bill of Divorce O there is much in it if the Lord would set it home upon your hearts your sins shall never prevaile so far with Christ nor never so far provoke him as to work him to give you a Read the 3d Chapter of Jeremiah Out of the most poysonfull druggs God distills his glory and our salvation Gallen speaks of a Maid called Nupella that was nourished by poyson God can and will turn the very sins of his people which are the worst poyson in all the world into his childrens advantage Bill of Divorce Your sins may provoke Christ to frowne upon you they may provoke Christ to chide with you they may provoke him gently to correct you but they shall never provoke Christ to give you a Bill of Divorce Psal 89. 30 31 32 33 34. If his Children forsake my Law and walke not in my Judgements If they breake my Statutes and keepe not my Commandements Then will I visite their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes Neverthelesse my loving kindnesse will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfullnesse to faile That 's a great Support to a weak Saint That his sin shall never separate him from God nor Christ Thou art many times afraid that this deadnesse this dullnesse this earthlinesse and these wandring thoughts c. that doe attend thee will provoke the Lord Jesus to sue out a Bill of Divorce against thee But remember this Thy sins shall never so far prevaile with Christ as to worke him to give thee a Bill of Divorce Mark There 's nothing can provoke Christ to give thee a Bill of Divorce but sin Now sin is slaine Ergo. I shall open this to you in three things First Sin is slaine Judicially for 't is condemned both by Christ and his people and so 't is dead according to Law A three-fold death of sin which is and may be a singular Comfort and Support to weak Saints that their greatest and worst Enemy Sin is condemned to dye and shall not for ever vex and torment their precious soules 'T is dead Judicially 't is under the sentence of condemnation 1 Cor. 15. 55 56. O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy Victory The sting of death is sin c. Vide Grotium and Voâ—stius on the words c. The Apostle here triumphs over it as a Thief condemned to death Sin is sentenc'd now though not fully put to death it 's dead judicially As when the sentence of death is past upon a Malefactor you say he is a dead man why he is judicially dead so is sin sin is judicially dead When a man that hath robbed and wounded another is taken and sentenc'd judicially we say he is a dead man and it 's often a great refreshing and satisfaction to a man that he is so Sin O weak soule is sentenc'd and judicially slaine and therefore that can never work the Lord Jesus to give thee a Bill of Divorce The thoughts of which should much refresh thee and support thee Secondly Sin is dead or slaine civilly as well as judicially 'T is civilly dead because the power of it is much abated and Rom. 6. 14. its Dominion and Tyranny over-powred as when a King or a Tyrant is whipt and stript of all power to domineere reigne 'T is with sin in the Saints as 't was with those Beasts Dan. 7. 12. who had their Dominions taken away though their lives were prolonged for a season and a time and play the Tyrant is civilly dead even whiles he lives So is sin in this sense dead even while it lives That Text is sutable to our purpose Hos 13. 1. When Ephraim spake trembling he exalted himselfe in Israel but when he offended in Baal he dyed What 's the meaning of these words The meaning is this When the King of Ephraim spake the people even trembled at his voyce such power once he had But when he offended in Baal by serving Baal by giving himselfe up to Idolatry he dyed in respect of obedience not yielded to him as formerly Time was that he was terrible but when he fell to Idolatry his strength and glory came downe so that now he became even like a dead Carcasse Adam dyed civilly the same day that he sinned The Creatures that before lovingly obeyed him as soon as he renounc't obedience to his God they renounc't all obedience to him or his Soveraignty so that he civilly dyed the very same day that he sinned That 's a sweet word that you have Rom. 6. 11. Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin Therefore Christ will never Divorce you for sin O what a support may this be to a weak Saint That sin that he fears above all other Where sinne sits in the soule as a King sins upon his throne and commands the heart as a King commands his subjects there is reigne of sin but grace frees the soule from this things in the world is slaine judicially and civilly the Lord hath whipt and stript it of all its ruling reigning domineering tyrannizing power O therefore Christians look upon sin as dead that is as not to be obeyed as not to be acknowledged no more then a Tyrant that 's stript of all his tyrannizing power People that are wise and understand their liberty look not upon such a one as fit to be obeyed and served but as one fit to be renounced and destroyed Doe
and the feare of the Lord are riches and honour c. The Hebrew is The heele of humility Riches and honour follow humility at the very heeles One of the Ancients used to say that Humility is the first second and third Grace of a Christian Humility is a very drawing grace it drawes men to think well and speak well of Christ the Gospel and the people of God It makes the very world to say I these are V is magnus esse incipe ab imâ— Wilt thou be great begin from below saith the Fathâ—r Christians indeed they are full of light and vet full of lowlinesse they are high in worth and yet humble in heart Oh these are the Crown and the glory of Religion An humble soule is like the Violet that by its fragrant smell drawes the eye and the hearts of others to him Mat. 18. 14. They are the greatest in the Kiâ—gdome of Heaven He that is least in his owne account is alwayes greatest in Gods and in good mens account The fourth Motive is this Consider All the world cannot 4 Motive keep him up that doth not keep down his owne spirit One ask't a Philosopher what God was a doing he answered * Totam ipsius occupationem esse in elevatione humilium superlorum dejectione That his whole worke was to lift up the humble and to cast downe the proud That man cannot possibly be kept up whose spirit is not kept downe as you may cleerly see in Pharoah Haman Herod and Nebuchadnezzar all the world could not keep them up because their spirit was not kept downe Prov. 29. 27. A mans pride shall bring him low for it sets God against him and Angels against him and men against him yea even those that are as proud as himselfe Dyonisius a proud King of Sicily fell from a King to a Schoolmaster History is full of such instances 'T is very observable that whereas one Drunkard loves another one Swearer loves another and one Thief loves another and one Unclean person loves another c. yet one proud person can't indure another but seeks to undermine him that he alone may bear the Bell and carry the commendations the praise the promotion It is storyed of the Romans that were the proudest people on the Earth that they reckoned it as a parcell of their praise that they brought down the proud All the world Sirs will not keep up those persons that doe not keep downe their spirits Proud Valerian the Roman Emperour fell from being an Emperour to be a foot-stoole to Sapor King of Persia as oft as he took Horse Henry the fourth Emperour in sixty-two Battels had generally the better and yet was deposed and driven to that misery that he desired onely a Clarkship in a house at Spira that himselfe had built And oh that Professors would think of this in these dayes in which we live All the world shall not keep up those which doe not keep downe their owne spirits The very designe of God is to staine the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt the honourable of the earth Therefore now if men in our dayes shall grow proud and Isa 23. 9. high under mercies and Divine appearances Justâ—ce will be above them and turne their glory into shame and lay their honour in the dust If your blood rises with your outward good you will certainly fall and great will be your fall The fifth Consideration to provoke us to be humble is 5 Motive this Let us have alwayes our eye fixed upon the example of Jesus Christ and his humble and lowly carriage Christ by his owne example labours to provoke his Disciples to keep humble and to walk lowly in John 13. 4 5 12 13 14 15 verses compared He rifes and washes his Disciples feet c. and mark what he aimes at in that carriage of his vers 12 13 14. Know ye what I have done unto you saith he Yee call me Master and Lord and yee say well for so I am if I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet yee also ought to wash one anothers feet for I have given you an example that you should doe as I have done to you I have given you an example saith Christ and I would have you to imitate my example Example is the most powerfull Rhetorick the highest and noblest example should be very quickning and provoking Oh here you have the greatest the noblest example of humility that was ever read or heard of Upon consideration of this great and eminent example of Christs humility Guericus a good man cryed out Thou hast overcome me O Lord thou hast overcome my pride this example of thine hath mastered me Oh that we could say with this good man Thou hast overcome O Lord thou hast overcome our proud hearts by this example thou hast over-mastered our lofty spirits This example of Christs humility you have further set forth Phil. 2. 6 7 8. Who being in the forme of God that is in the Nature and Essence of God being very God cloathed with Divine glory and Majesty as God thought it not robbery it being his right by Nature to be equall with God The Greek words that are rendred He thought it no robbery doe import He made it not a matter of Triumph or ostentation to be equall with God it being his right by nature and therefore the challenging of it could be no Usurpation of anothers right of taking to himselfe that which was not his owne He thought it no robbery to be equall with God The Greek is Equalls that is every way equall not a Secondary and inferiour God as the Arrians would have him But made himselfe of no reputation The Greek is Emptied himselfe Vers 7. that is he suspended and laid aside his glory and Majesty or dis-robed himselfe of his glory and dignity and became a sinner both by Imputation and by Reputation for our sakes And vers 8. He humbled himselfe This Son of Righteousnesse went ten degrees back in the Diall of his Father that he might come to us with healing under his wings And became obedient unto death even the death of the crosse In these words there is a kind of gradation for it is more to become obedient then to humble himselfe and more to yeeld unto death then to become obedient and yet more to be crucified then simply to dye for it was to submit himselfe to a most painfull ignominious and cursed death He became obedient that is saith Beza To his dying day his whole life being nothing but a continuall death I have read of an Earl called Eleazarus that being given to immoderate anger was cured of that disordered affection by studying of Christ and his patience he still dwelt upon the meditation of Christ and his patience till he found his heart transformed into the similitude of Jesus Christ And oh that you would never leave pondering upon that glorious
my selfe to differ to wit by the improvement of Nature This Age is full of such proud Monsters But an humble soule sees free grace to be the Spring and Fountaine of all his mercies and comforts he writes free Grace upon all his temporalls and upon all his spiritualls c. The Seventh Direction is Meditate much upon these two 7 Direction things First The great mischiefe that sinne hath done in the World It cast Angels out of Heaven and Adam out of Paradice it hath layen the first corner-stone in Hell and ushered in all the evils and miseries that be in the world It hath threw downe Abraham the best Believer in the world and Noah the most Righteous man in the world and Job the Uprightest man in the world and Moses the Meekest man in the world and Paul the greatest Apostle in the world Oh the Diseases the crosses the losses the miseries the deaths the hells that sin hath brought upon the world Bazill wept when he saw the Rose because it brought to to his mind the first sin from whence it had the prickles which it had not while man continued in Innocency as he thought Oh when he saw the prickles his soule wept So when we see heare or read of the blood misery warres and ruines that sin ha's brought upon us ler us weep and lye humble before the Lord. Secondly Mediate much on this That many wicked men Mat. 23. 15. take more paines to damne their soules and goe to Hell then thou doest to save thy soule and to get to Heaven Oh what paines doe wicked men take to damne their souls and goe to Hell Lanctantius saith of Lucian that he spared Such a mad Devil was Catalin neither God nor man He took paines to make himselfe twice told a Child of wrath It is said of Marcellus the Roman Generall That hee could not be quiet Nec victor nec victus neither Conquered nor Conquerour Such restlesse wretches are wicked men The Drunkard rises up in the morning and continues till Isa 5. 11. mid-night till wine inflame him The unclean person wasts his time and strength and estate and all to ruine his owne soule Theotimus being told by his Physitian that if he did not leave his lewd courses he would loose his sight answered Vale lumen amicum Then farewell sweet light What a deale of paines does the Worldling take He rises up early and goes to Bed late and leaves no stone unturn'd and all to make himselfe but the more miserable in the close Pambus in the Ecclesiasticall History wept when he saw a Harlot drest with much care and cost partly to see one Socrates Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 28. take so much paines to goe to Hell and partly because he had not been so carefull to please God as shee had been to please a wanton lover Oh Sirs what reason have you to spend your dayes in weeping when you look abroad and see what paines most men take to damne their soules and goe to Hell and then consider what little paines you take to escape Hell to save your soules and goe to Heaven Eighthly Get more internall and experimentall knowledge 8 Direction and acquaintance with God If ever you would keep humble no knowledge humbles and abases like that which is inward and experimentall We live in dayes wherein there is abundance of notionall light many Professors know much of God notionally but know nothing of God experimentally They know God in the History but know nothing of God in the Mystery They know 'T is a sad thing to be often eating of the Tree of Knowledg but never to tast of the Tree of Life much of God in the letter but little or nothing of God in the spirit and therefore 't is that they are so proud and high in their owne conceits when as he that experimentally knowes the Lord is a Worme and no man in his owne eyes As the Sun is necessary to the world the eye to the body the Pilate to the Ship the Generall to the Army So is experimentall knowledge to the humbling of the soule Who more experimentall in their knowledge then David Job Isaiah and Paul And who more humble then these Worthies Seneca observed of the Philosophers That when they grew more learned they were lesse morall So a growth in notions will bring a great decay in humility and zeale as it 's too evident in these dayes Well remember this a drop of experimentall knowledge will more humble a man then a sea of notionall knowledge Ninthly Looke up to a crucified Christ for speciall power 9 Direction and strength against the pride of your hearts 'T is sad in these knowing times to think how few there are that know the right way of bringing under the power of any sin Most men scarce look so high as a crucified Christ for power against their powerfull sins One soule sits downe and complaines Such a Psal 10. 4. It was the the blood of the Sacrifice and the Oyle that cleansed the Leper in the Law and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the grace of his Spirit is agreed by all lust haunts me I 'le pray it downe Another saith such a sin followes me and I 'le hear it downe or watch it downe or resolve it downe and so a crucified Christ is not in all their thoughts Not but that you are to hear pray watch and resolve against your sins but above all you should look to the acting of Faith upon a crucified Christ As he said of the sword of Goliah None like to that So I say none like to this for the bringing under the pride of mens hearts The weaker the House of Saul grew the stronger the House of David grew The weakning of your pride will be the increase and strengthening of your Humility and therefore what the King of Syria said unto his fifty Captaines Fight neither with small nor great but with the King of Israel So say I if you woulk keep humble if you would lye low draw forth your Artillery place your greatest strength against the pride of your soules The death of Pride will be the resurrection of Humility And that this may stick upon you I shall lay downe severall Propositions concerning Pride and I am so much the more willing to fall upon this work and to make it the subject of our discourse at this time because this horrid sin doth appeare so boldly and impudently and that not onely among prophane persons but Professors also There are ten Propositions that I shall lay downe concerning Pride And the first is this Of all sinnes Pride is most dangerous to the soules of Men. Pride is a sin that will put the soule upon the worst of sinnes Pride is a gilded misery a secret poyson a hidden plague 'T is the Ingeneere of deceipt the Mother of hypocrisie the Parent of envy the Moth of holinesse the
whose Chastisements thou hast slighted will blot out thy transgressions for my owne sake I even I is a passionate and emphaticall expression Gods goodnesse runs over to sinfull Creatures and Where sin abounds there grace doth super-abound If the Creditor himselfe blot out the debt and crosse the Mat. 6. 12 14 15. 18. 24 â—7 33. Luke 7. 41 to 4â— Book surely it shall never be remembred more Our sins are debts which God who hath the power of life and death of heaven and hell of condemning and absolving hath engaged himselfe to blot out as a thick cloud Isa 44. 22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions and as a cloud thy sins An under Officer may blot out an Indictment and yet the offendor may be never the better for it but if the King who is the supream Judge shall blot it out then the offendor is safe The Application is easie If the soule be diserted then that Promise relives it Mich. 7. 18 19. He will turne againe he will have compassion upon us c. If the soule be sliding and ready to fall then that Promise supports and upholds it Psal 37. 24. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast downe for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand â—i Jehâ—vah somech jâ—do Or as the Hebrew ha's it The Lord upholding him with his hand The Hebrew Participle Somech notes a continued act of God God ha's still his everlasting armes under his Deut. 33. 26. 22. people so that they shall never totally nor finally fall And the root Samuch from whence this word is derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to sustaine or uphold as the tender Mother doth the little Babe The safety and security of the Child lyes not so much in the Childs hanging about the Mothers neck as in the Mothers holding it fast in her armes So our safety and security lyes not so much in our weak holding upon Christ but in Christs holding of us fast in his everlasting armes This is our glory and our safety that Christs left hand is alwayes under us and his right hand does alwayes embrace us Cant. 2. 6. If the soule be forsaken by friends then that Promise relieves it Heb. 13. 5 6. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee There are five Negatives in the Greek to assure Gods people that he will never forsake them Five times this precious Promise is renewed in the Scripture that we might have the stronger Consolation and that we may presse and oppresse it till we have gotten all the sweetnesse out of it and verily many precious soules have suckt much sweetnesse out of the breasts of this Promise when their nearest relations and their dearest friends have forsaken them and forgotten them God loves that his people should put his Bonds his Promises in suite and he that does shall find God near him though friends should leave him and the world be in armes against him c. If the soule be tempted then that word of Promise relieves it 1 Cor. 10. 13. But God is faithfull who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able c. The Promises are a Christians Magna Charta they are his chief Evidences for heaven Men highly prize their Charters and Priviledges and carefully keep the Conveyances and Assurances of their Lands Oh! how should Saints then treasure up and keep these Precious Promises which the Lord ha's given them and which are to them instead of all Assurances for their protection maintenance deliverance comfort and everlasting happinesse And thus much for the sixth gift the Lord gives viz. The Promises Seventhly The Lord gives Grace Of his fullnesse we all John 1. 16. have received Grace for Grace The Lord gives that grace the least dram of which is more worth then Heaven and Earth It was an excellent saying of one of the Ancients I had Hierom. rather have St. Pauls Coat with his heavenly Graces then the Purple of Kings with their Kingdomes Grace is that A good symbole was atâ—â—buted to Emilian the Roman Emperour Non gens sed mens non genus sed genius Not race or place but grace truly sets forth a man which truly ennobles the soule it raises the soule up to converse with the highest and with the noblest objects and every man is as the objects are with which he converses if the objects are noble the man is so if the objects are base with which a man converses the man is base A man may better know what he is by eying the objects with which his soule does mostly converse then by observing his most glorious and pompious services The righteous is more excellent then his neighbour Abraham was a Prince of God among the Hittites The Jewes say That those seventy persons that went downe with Jacob into Aegypt were more Pro. 12. 26. Gen. 23. 6. worth then the seventy Nations of the world Indeed it 's onely grace that makes a man truly noble When one heard the King of Persia stil'd The Great King saith he I acknowledge none more excellent then my selfe unlesse more righteous nor none greater unlesse better Grace as it 's bred by the noblest means so 't is preserved and maintained in the soule by the choycest means viz. Vnion and Communion with God c. Grace is glory in the bud and glory is grace at the full Grace makes a man all glorious Psal 45. 13. within and without Grace is a ring of gold and Christ is the sparkling Diamond in that ring Eighthly He gives Peace John 14. 27. My peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world Rom. 5. 1. Hos 2. 21 22 23. Job 5. 19 to 25. giveth give I unto you Christ gives peace with God and peace with Conscience and peace with the Creatures Dulce nomen pacis The very name of Peace is sweet The Hebrews when they wished all happinesse to any used but this one word Peace be with you And the Ancients Martimus the Emperours Motto was Pax bello potior Give me peace and let others quarrell were wont to paint Peace in the forme of a Woman with a Horne of Plenty in her hand all blessings Ask a soule that ha's been under terrors of conscience and he will tell you that of all gifts inward Peace is the most Princely gift c. Ninthly He gives Glory John 10. 28. My sheep heare my voyce and they follow me and I give unto them eternall life Rom. 7. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternall life Now the glory that Christ gives is Reall glory 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. Henceforth is laid up for me a Crowne of Glory The Greek word Apokeitai signifies two things 1 A designation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a Crowne And 2 A reservation and safe keeping of it for him untill the Coronation day Againe the glory he