Saints do so often fall and slip is because they trust to their own strength and rest not on this power which they receive from Jesus Christ for he that hath this power in his soul and doth make use of it by Faith it may contend against Sin Corruption Death and Hell it self yea and overcome all as the Apostle saith I am able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me In him we are more then conquerors and certainly did we but know what comforts we lose and what foiles we receive in not making use of this power it would put us upon our Watch and Guard and make us careful to keep Centinel by this power in our souls Had David and others made use of this power and stood upon their Watch he had not committed Adultery Peter had not denied his Master Jacob got the Blessing by a lye Abraham denied his wife for fear of Pharoah and so divers others which I could wish might be as Landmarks unto us whilst we sail through the sea of this world Reas 3 Why godliness comes with power into the souls of the Saints is that it might put another frame of spirit into them then they had before as the Lord spake of Caleb Because he had another spirit with him therefore he shall see the Land yea I will bring him into it and his seed shall possess it Yea he followed me fully saith the Text now this Spirit was nothing else but the Spirit of Faith so he fulfilled after me as the Hebrew Word signifieth that is He was constant in obedience to Me or to my Commands Certainly where Grace raigns in the soul sin doth not onely decay but die the man is become another man as Paul when he was converted he was another man then he was before he was of a new mould a new temper before he persecuted the Saints but now he embraceth them and preacheth to them before he knew not who Christ was Who art thou Lord but now he doth not onely know Christ Ego non sum ego but preacheth Christ and suffereth for him yea now he is willing to die for him yea the Saints know this by experience that there is a certain vis a power infused into the soul from God which was not before in them otherwise they could never have had any dominion oversin never have been made new creatures but should have still remained under the power of darkness and in their natural estate they should never have known any difference betwixt themselves and the wickedest man on the earth but should have committed the same abominations with them they should never have been translated from death to life neither should their spot have been differenced or known from the spot of the wicked had not God made them experimentally to know and feel a mighty overawing and sin-conquering power sent and let in unto their souls from the Almighty Spirit of God which doth divide between the marrow and the bone between the Flesh and the Spirit Reas 4 That it may make us to carry on Gods great design in the advancing of the Lord Jesus for in such souls where this power comes Christ is greatly exalted in his Kingdom in his person and in his offices for he that believeth glorifieth the Father who hath sent his Son into the world and the Son who is the glory of the father these souls put to their seals that God is true such a soul gives a testimony unto the world that whatsoever God hath said of his Son in the word is the very truth of God yea it can freely adventure all and lay all upon Christ for life and salvation yea had it ten thousand souls it would cast them all into Christs arms it s resolved there to live and there to die its faith is surely fixt that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it come what will come he is confident that neither life nor death principalities nor powers shall be able to separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord thus is the soul sustained and upheld by the power of grace and acts couragiously to and for Christ and the exaltation of his glory Reas 5 That such a soul where this power comes may strongly hold its communion with Christ that as Christ gives out of himself and fulness unto the soul by a direct act so the soul may be somewhat enabled to retribute unto Christ of what he hath received by a reflect act as the beams of the Sun are made reflective by the earth unto us which is the cause of the heat we feel so the beams of the Sun of righteousness descending and coming into the soul make it warm vigorous and communicative to and for God and as it hath received mercies so it will be alwayes returning praises whereunto it would be altogether dead for by nature we are dead to every good work had it not first been enlivened and quickened with a power from above for we cannot stir nor move for God until he stirs and moves in us we are altogether senseless till made sensible by him t is in him we live we move and have our being we could not love God had not he loved us first nor could we give out our selves unto Christ did not Christ first breathe into our souls the spirit and power of grace and therefore we may well say that none can hold communion with Christ but those and those onely to whom Christ sends the power of godliness Reas 6 That godliness may predominate and bear rule and sway in the soul that it may be the Queen Regent and sole governess thereof that as sin hath formerly raigned to Gods dishonor so now grace may raigne to Christs glory That as sin hath raigned unto death Rom. 5.21 even so might grace raign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord so that as sin hath mastered and over-powred all the faculties of the soul and members of the body in bringing of them in subjection to Satan so now godliness sitting upon the throne exerciseth them for Christ and brings them into subjection unto him now grace and godliness stand Centinel in the soul and command all so that when any cavalering lust or corruption appears it may take them off or if they should prevaile through frequent assailings that then the soul may flee to Christ for more forces to incounter and cast them out for Christ he hath promised to assist his people against all their enemies who by the power of his death will bury all his and his Saints enemies in his grave so as they shall never prevaile against them here nor hereafter Reas 7 That it may continue a soul in that new nature whereunto it hath been begotten again unto Christ for were it not that there were a certain power in godliness to keep the soul from falling into its old natural condition and a spiritual physick to
thine own heart that God will not alwayes wait upon thee as he testifies my spirit shal not always strive with man for that he is flesh no God may come in an hour when thou thinkest not of it and cut thee off in a moment in the midst of thy security then thou shalt receive the fruit of thy own doings O consider this all you that forget God that walk and will walk in the by-pathes of sin lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you out of his hand but you must undergo his wrath to all eternity I have now a word or two more to you that will still keep profane wicked and ungodly company and that shall be by way of advice and counsel Endeavor to break off thy course of life take hold of all advantages to refrain their society thou knowest not what a blessing God may give in to thy endeavors First meditate upon Eternity in the morning when thou dost awake after this maner Lord I am now one day neerer to Eternity then I was yesterday O how stands the case with my soul am I a day neerer heaven or a day neerer hell Conscience speak am I the same man walking in my sinful courses as formerly I have been O then certainly I am neerer destruction neerer the stroke of divine Justice then I was yesterday neerer my coming to give an account for my sin and wickedness then ever I was my glass is neerer run my soul is neerer leaving this sinful body then ever it was be sure to spend some time in the morning upon such thoughts as these yea say to thy soul O remember Eternity When thou art going out of thy doors think with thy self whether am I now going every step I take this day is toward Eternity what am I going to my companions to the Tavern or Alehouse O certainly these paths lead to the chambers of death what am I going to poison my soul yet more and more to bring more guilt upon my spirit to wound my conscience yet more O this is not the way to take off that guilt that lies upon my spirit this is not the way to give thanks to God who hath kept me this night from danger who hath yet saved my soul from hell O thus far natural men may easily go who have not one dram of grace then covenant with thy self and say Well is it so I will not keep company this day I am resolved to gainsay all occasions to draw me to it This resolution being taken and kept for two dayes then for three dayes for a week then for a moneth so by degrees thou maist get the victory Then at night examine thy self Have I more peace now I keep not these sinful societies or no certainly if thy conscience be not dead and if the devil hath not blinded thy judgment thou wilt say thou hast more peace in turning from a way of sin then in walking in it thus I say compare a day spent in the company of sinful men in a way of prophaneness with a day wherein thou dost forbear and cast off such sinful companions and I am confident thou wilt have peace in the one but none in the other Rom. 2.14 15 16. see that Rom. 2.14 15 16. c. For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained by the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shewes the Law written in their hearts their consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another so by this thou mayest see if thou are not worse then a Heathen and if thy conscience be not seared with an hot Iron it will do its office in excusing thee when thou dost well and accusing thee when thou dost evil I wish thee well and my desire is that thou mightest think of these things and what ever else may do thee good and follow and embrace them that so thou mayest be one not having a form of godliness and denying the power thereof but having the power of godliness professing and evidencing the same in thy life and conversation turning thy back upon the counsels and fellowship of the ungodly and thirsting after and delighting in the Law of the Lord and in the company of the Saints FINIS
Salomons the King of Kings estimate the greatest things in the world nay the power of the whole world to be nothing yea less then nothing who of nothing raised the world and all created Beings therein and to the same nothing can reduce them at his will and pleasure This I say is that God which sendeth godliness with a power into the soul of his Saints The next thing that we must consider is The ends why God sends godliness into the souls of his people with such power By the way taking notice of godliness as it is observable in its Cause and Effect for godliness in this place is Metonimically spoken the Effect for the Cause now Grace is the cause of godliness and godliness is the effect of Grace for Grace is that which makes a man a godly man and its Grace that comes with power into the soul whereby the life of man is acted and carried on in the wayes of godliness These things thus premised we shall proceed to the aforesaid Ends or Reasons Reas 1 The first End or Reason that God hath in sending godliness into the soul with power is because of the great opposition it must encounter withall and that is from the devil the world the flesh and spirit of men The devil he is the strong man and hath taken possession of the soul and alwayes stand upon his guard to keep his ground with all the powers of hell and all the strength that he can possibly make yea he bids defiance against Heaven Satans plea. Men and Angels and maketh this or the like plea for himself This soul is mine it was born mine We were by nature the children of wrath Ephes 2.2 3. c. yea it hath lived mine I have had the possession of it these twenty or thirty years yea it may be forty or fifty years what power now shall snatch him out of my hands he is my bounden servant he is my ancient souldier he hath covenanted to fight under my banner he is a loyal subject of my Kingdom he is true to his trust he will oppose my opposers he will defend my right and interest he will not have me lose any footing he will rather perish then have me dispossessed why then should not I actuate all my power and force for him to keep him still my faithful servant rather die then part with him Now Christ he comes and laies claim to this soul and saith This soul is mine Christs plea. and it was given me of my Father yea Joh. 17.6.9.29 24. I have loved him more then mine own life I have shed my pretious blood for him that I might redeem him out of the jaws of hell and deliver him from the power of Satan I am the Captain of his deliverance yea Heb. 2.10 I have bought him at a dear rate and paid more for him then heaven and earth it self yea 1 Pet. 1.18 then all the createed power in both and I will have him and Christ enters this Fort binds the strong man and doth cast him out by the strength of those weapons which are not carnal but spiritual yea mighty through God to cast down strong holds this is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Saviour that can that will ransom and deliver his People maugre all oppositions whatsoever this is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Anointed one Ephes 4.8 that victorious King of Kings that leads captivity captive and gives gifts to men of whose power the Saints receive power 1 Joh. 2.13 and grace for grace whereby they are inabled to wrestle against pincipalities and powers Ephes 6.12 against the Rulers of the darkness of this world yea against spiritual wickednesses in high places As it must be powerful to stand in opposition against Satan so against the world for if Grace and Godliness were not powerful the world would soon repel and overcome it it would exclude and bar the door of the soul against them for the world doth as really fight against the soul as the devil doth now what is the world certainly all that is in the world that is the lust of the flesh 1 Joh. 2.16 the lust of the eyes and the pride of life the first and strong invaders of our first Parents that did invade and overcome that laid siege unto took possession of the strong-fortified and enabled-to-resist faculties of the soul of Adam and in him do still smite his loyns and ensnare and seize upon the power and strength of all his seed they plead a right and possession by antiquity and they will keep their hold until they be evinced and cast out by the power of Grace which is the onely weapon we have to ward off the assaults of these spiritual wickednesses 1 Joh. 5.4 Rev. 15.2 this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith and by the power that God put into those glorious Martyrs they overcame the world in all its persecutions imprisonments yea and death it self It comes with power that it might beat down the corruptions of flesh and spirit that daily rebel and rise up against the Saints and that made Paul say I beat down my body I club it down 1 Cor 9.27 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vi subjicio corpus meum I beat it black and blue as the Original word signifies and all yet all was little enough for Naturam expellas furcâ licet usque recurrit there are such imperfections in the perfectest Christians such reliques of Nature that there will be still continual buffetings and conflicts between the Spirit and the Flesh though the Spirit doth oppose and sometimes get ground yet the Flesh will be returning and getting head again so long as we are in the body little doth the world know what ado Grace hath with the Flesh and Spirit of the Saints there will be such reluctances such combates such heavy burthens upon the soul that oft times it makes the Saints go very heavy and sad most part of their dayes And therefore the Apostle exhorts us To cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Rom. 7.23 24. and this makes him cry out Who shall deliver me from the body of this death well I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that is by that power of Christ that he sends into his soul he was delivered and by that power alone are all the Saints delivered from these three great capital Enemies Reas 2 That it may make us stand strong against all our enemies that oppose whatsoever Stand fast saith Paul in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free Gal. 5.1 1 Cor. 16.13.15.57 Watch you stand fast in the faith and quit you like men and be strong for God he hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord and ye are kept by the power of God through faith to eternal salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 Now the reason why the
distance with the men of the world remember that old verse Os orare vale conviva mensa negatur With the secluded neither confer nor pray Salute nor Feast nor eat with day by day Thus you see the point confirmed by Scripture and reason now for the better unfolding of it these three things are required First What is meant by Saints Secondly What 's meant by wicked men Thirdly What 's meant by keeping company We shall dispatch them with all brevity that we may proceed By Saints most men understand onely those which are now in heaven departed out of this life indeed they are Saints but not these Saints here intended for they which are departed out of this life are so far secluded from men of this world that they know not what their company means they are alienated from their acquaintance By Saints then we are to understand holy men that is men who are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus Saints by calling such as the blessed Apostle Paul writes of to the Romans To them which are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be Saints Rom. 1.7 1 Cor. 1.2 such as walk in the ways of holiness whose conversation is in heaven where Christ their head is such as profess and obey the Gospel of Christ and are justified and acquitted from all sin by Jesus Christ their peace and of the Saints Christ hath thousands in this world a people contemptible in the eyes of the world hated and counted the off-scowring of this world By wicked men we are to understand all men in their natural estate wherein they were born for in their birth lies the spawne of all evil every prophane person every drunkard liar whoremonger adulterer Idolater and whosoever walks in these sins we may safely call wicked men yet all these sins with thousands more are but the fruits of that inbred corruption that men brought into the world with them I say they are but the fruits and effects of that cursed nature wherein every man is born O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death saith Paul Rom. 7.23 And in a word whosoever is not made righteous by Jesus Christ is a wicked man and that made Paul say when he considered of his miserable estate by nature and then knew who was his deliverer I thank God saith he thorow Jesus Christ our Lord so that by Christ only we are delivered Thirdly By not keeping company and by not being mingled with wicked men in society we are to understand not to be united unto them and incorporated into their fellowship and here might abundance of time be spent if we should reiterate or fall again upon communion in receiving the Lords Supper or communion in Church-fellowship but having formerly touched upon them and conceiving that this Text doth not properly intend such a non-communion or non-company-keeping I shall pass that by and unfold my thoughts with much brevity concerning the intention of the Holy Ghost in these words from such turn away First Then it is unlawful for any man that doth profess himself to be in Christ to make any wicked men whatsoever his companions his associates his familiars and his inward bosome friends Though men make a fair outside and shew in Religion yet being discovered to be wicked men by their conversation with these men thou oughtest not to have fellowship or keep company for to make such thy associates is to walk contrary to that counsel given to Timothy by the Apostle Paul I will not say but a man may buy and sell eat and drink as occasion shall be offered sometimes but chiefly take heed that these men be not thy familiar acquaintance nor thy intimate conversants such must not be thy companions such must not be of thy counsel thou art advanced to a correspondence with heaven and wilt thou joyn thy self with earth yea defiled earth O shun and avoid such company as the lothing and abhorring of thy heart Is it so That its the duty of the Saints not to keep company with wicked and ungodly men O then Christians learn your duties and be informed that God requires at your hands that you should make choice of your company take heed of joyning with polluted hands Similis simili gaudet you know the Proverb Evil company corrupts good manners And that Birds of a feather flock together you shall not finde Doves to fly with the birds of prey different natures different affections diversity of Judgments diversity of assemblings habituated sinners never break company drunkards with drunkards swearers with swearers whoremongers with their like and so through the whole course of sin every sinner with his confederate but Saints are of a more pure mettal their dross is now become fine gold their polluted streams are clarified and flow from the Fountain and well-spring of Life they must admit of no mixtures their association must be separated from the wicked they must be an unleavened lump pure and entire of themselves Saints must not do as the wicked do they have learned better things they profess to walk by another principle if thou shouldst see a Lamb upon the mountains walking in the midst of a company of Woolves wouldest thou not conclude certainly this Lamb will shortly become a prey unto them even so when thou art in the company of prophane and ungodly men think with thy self O I am now in the midst of Woolves certainly I shall be a prey to them and their sin for as the Woolves may fawne upon the Lamb not out of any love they bear unto it so may the wicked upon the godly yet the righteous is abomination to the wicked and he seeketh to insnare intrap and circumvent him every moment Then consider and know that God is angry with the wicked every day Psal 9.16 11.16 and that if Gods judgments fall down on their head when thou art present with them thou must look to partake of the same common jugdment even with them for upon the wicked Psal 37.32 God shall rain snares fire brimstone and an horrible tempest shall be their cup. Vers 12. Secondly The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay him yea the wicked plot against the Just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth Let a Lyon put on a Lambs skin yet he is a Lyon still yea and the more dangerous so though the wicked may carry themselves Saint-like yet they are wicked men still and the more dangerous is it for Saints to have to do with them Ps 97.10 God preserveth the righteous and delivereth him out of the hand of the wicked what hath God delivered you who are his Saints out of the snare of the wicked so that your soul hath escaped as a bird out of the snare and will you run into them again O take heed of abusing so great a mercy as to return unto that world out of which the Lord hath once chosen you lest he
none in his family that shall out of tenderness of conscience start disputations concerning matters of Religion nay there must be no reasonings no disputings no fightings nor contendings for the truth but as much as you will for the maintenance and defence of outward and formal Ceremonies this man is resolved to love quietness and ease he will not break his sleep nor trouble his thoughts with the mystery of the power of godliness yet let such as these know that this is a damnable security and that they will drop into hell before they are aware Quest .. 2 But those sins of pride blasphemy c. mentioned in the former Verses are such sons of the Gyant that the garment of hypocrisie though it be to the heels will hardly hide or cover them from the eyes of men how then can these great sins stand with a form of Religion Answ 1 A form of Religion serves for a Canopie to cover all these abominations it is one of the Fig-leaves to cover poor sinful mans nakedness it s made up by Satan and mans own base heart and it s of a crimson colour died in grain Isai 1.16.18 it s a crimson sin and double died Wo unto you Hypocrites Answ 2 A form of godliness is the Commander in Chief of all other sins other sins march after its Colours it s the devils Master-piece to make a man a grand hypocrite for he knows that an hypocrite is his principal Agent his Advocate his Apologist he shall have more service done by this man in one year then by open common profane persons which have not this form in many you know that which oft times cannot be obtained by force is gained by policy hypocrisie is the devils Fort-Royal it makes all other sins stoop to it Answ 3 It so blindes a mans eyes that it will not let him see that guilt that lies upon his spirit though his abominations be never so great and never so many yet this will keep all close from his eyes yea it will make a man believe he is in a good condition and walking in a good way when there is no such matter those wounds and sores which are fairly filmed over and have specious and visible appearances of sound and perfect cures are must desperate and incurable alas within they are full of festering and poysonous putrifections which will secretly exulcerate the flesh and corrode and eat into the bones and cause and precipitate a lingering death Answ 4 Hypocrisie or a form of godliness keeps the soul from self-inquisition and examination and so makes it insensible of its deplorable condition your formal professors eyes are alwayes abroad judging censuring and condemning others but never questioning themselves Luke 6.41 the Hypocrite in Lukes Gospel had two eyes to spy the Mote that was in his brothers eye but had not one eye to discern the Beam in his own eye they always lay heavy burthens on others Mat. 23.4 but will not touch them themselves with one of their fingers Answ 5 Fifthly Those that have onely a form of godliness walk in the broad way to condemnation and are in the same Center with all other damned sinners Hypocritae pierumque severissimi sunt eorum exactores quae ipsi maximè negligunt 1 Tim. 5.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely the ones sins go before to Judgment and the others follow after but the end of both is destruction and condemnation is their portion therefore he that is an hypocrite is not to be looked on to be in a better condition then open profane persons but in a worse for he that seems to others to be sound and yet within is nothing but rottenness eternal wretchedness will be his end so that thesâ— men are not onely guilty of all those greâ—â— abominations before mentioned but they take up this form to cover all their other sins withall so that they are both guilty of profaneness and hypocrisie for at the same time when the Apostle saith they are guilty of these sins he joyns this to the rest and that in the Present Tense Having a form of godliness they being guilty of that sin as of the former A form of godliness without the power of it may well be called the Devels Sin-Mould wherein he doth cast many sins at once do but read the former Verses and besides those the other sins that they are guilty of are innumerable If now we will suffer this Truth to speak to us it informs us of the deceitfulness and treachery of the hearts of men O take heed of your own hearts it is a dangerous thing to harbor a Traytor within your brest if thy heart be deceitful all thy actions wherein thou pretendest godliness will be so can ye expect good fruit of an evill Tree do men use to gather Grapes of Thorns or Lillies of Thistles can ye expect crystall Streames from impure and muddy Fountains a good heart produceth a good conversation and a bad heart an evill conversation there is nothing sooner discovers the heart then the life it is not that which goeth into the man defileth the man but that which cometh from within For out of the heart cometh blasphemies c. If thy heart be wicked so will all thy duties be thy Prayers thy Reading thy Conference about heavenly things all thy duties whatsoever to God and man will be abominable defiled corrupted and sinful A deceitful heart renders a man uncapable of receiving good and this is a most desperate condition that a man is not onely made unfit for doing any good but for receiving any good all the means of grace are inavailable to do him good the Word cannot reach him Prayer cannot fasten upon him the Spirit of God can finde no entertainment with him Mercies Judgments Corrections all are lost and he himself is lost so long as a deceitful heart dwels in him thus doth this leaven in the heart sowre and imbitter all good things to the soul Object If any question how if a deceitful heart be uncapable of receiving good from God and all men by nature have a deceitful heart then can any man be converted and saved Answ God did never nor ever will convert a deceitful heart for when God works upon any soul to conversion then and not till then doth he take away the decitfulness and uncleanness of the heart and immediatly gives a new heart and a new spirit Ezek. 36.26 A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit also I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes c He that hath onely a form of godliness doth not onely deceive others but himself his Saint seeming is his soul-damning his possessing of others with a false belief bereaves himself of true belief whilst he appears glorious to the worlds eye he remains most deformed and loathsome in the
sustaine and keep it from relapsing into its former fits it would soon be reduced into its former station and be visited with its old disease wherein it was seated and wherewith it was infected before grace entered into it and the ground is because of the abundance of strong corruptions inherent and accompanying the best regenerate for the flesh is still warring against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh for there was ever a strong antipathy between these two Now Christ who is the Captain of our Salvation make his graces powerful in his Saints that so they may not give ground but stand fast in that condition whereunto he hath called them for the Saints are kept through faith unto salvation by that power of grace which is given unto them of God the Father and and our Lord Jesus Christ otherwise were it not powerful all the grace the Saints had received was but in vain and so Christs death and resurrection had been to little purpose for one end of Christs death was to kill sin and so of his resurrection to raise us up to newness of life and so to keep us there that we should never be surprised and conquered by the old man but contiue in the new and walk as a people ransomed by the Lord. Reas 8 That by this power the soul might act for God for Christ the Gospel and the Saints in the performance of its duty to all that it might honor the Father with that honor that is due unto his name that it might suffer with and for Christ and that it might love embrace and defend the Gospel and the Saints against all oppositions whatsoever for had not the graces of the Spirit of Christ come into the soul with power the soul could never have performed any duty acceptable to God for God accepts of nothing unless it come first from his Spirit for its the voice of his own spirit whereby the Saints cry Abba Father for as on the one hand every good and perfect gift cometh from God who is the Father of lights so on the other hand no man of himself without this power is able to think a good thought or speak a good word much less do any good action man through his lost ability in Adam is spiritually dead but carnally living nothing that he can own or lay claim unto as his act but sin but when godliness comes into a soul with power O then the faculties of the soul are resuscitated and made alive again and the members of the body are regulated brought into conformity unto the spirit and made by it to act for God who before acted against God that before were the weapons of unrighteousness unto sin are now become the weapons of righteousness unto the glory of that God who by his power cast into the soul did change that vile and sinful body and made it glorious and instrumental for his praise hereby the understanding is unvailed it s now brought unto new discoveries its carnal foolishness is sanctified wisdom it 's now able to discern and know the wonderful mysteries of godliness this power of godliness is the Eye-salve of the soul which takes off the condense film of ignorance and works a sensible illumination in that faculty of the understanding also this is the restorer of the will it brings it from nature to grace from willing the things of the flesh to will the things of God it disingageth the affections it stops their pursuit after the world and causeth them to run after God and the things of God nay further this power of God is a new Heaven created in the soul it s the new birth it s the regneration it s the new nature it s the death of the first and the life of the second Adam it s the extirpation of nature and sin and the renovation and transplanting of grace and life in the soul hereby the eyes can see for God the ears hear for God the tongue speak for God and the feet walk for God in a word the whole man by vertue of this power is made serviceable for God which it could never have been had not this godliness come into the soul with power Reas 9 That the Saints might be made fit for a suffering condition Phil. 1.29 for it s not onely given to Saints to beleeve but also to suffer for his names sake The Saints they are Christs witnesses on earth against the world Act. 5.32 Rev. 11.3 how have the people of God stood as a wall of brass in witnessing for the truth of Christ in the times of those ten persecutions what wicked cruel and barbarous dealing did they finde and receive from this world was not all maner of cruelty exercised against them that hell and men could invent and yet by this power of godliness they were enabled to indure all yea and with rejoycing also that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ O ineffable support O glorious conquest the sense of pain was swallowed up of the sense of joy the torments of hell vanquished and slighted by the thoughts of Heaven whilest burning burnishing while extinguishing reviving whilest crucifying enjoying Paradise Do but look into the book of Martyrs and see what sawing asunder roasting ailve putting into boiling oil eyes burning out and what not and yet by this power God made them stand strong and oppose his and their enemies to their own shame and confusion so that the Saints slaughterings at length became their persecutors sufferings they were wearyed and tired out with afflicting and butchering of the Saints and as God by his Power did then make them couragiously to stand so is he still the same God nor is his hand shortned that he cannot help but still will continue this power unto his people that they shall stand for Christ and undergo any kinde of suffering with joy for we fight against principalities and powers yea against spirituall wickedness in high places and this is another end why godliness comes into the soul with power That it might make the Saints live above the world that is might elevate their affections and make them live in Heaven where Christ their head is that it might dispossess worldliness and enthrone heavenly-mindedness that it might glorifie the soul and take it off from poring on this dunghil the world and the seeming glory thereof and fix it upon a Kingdom Pecuniam quae permaneat ac continuo duret gloriam quae semper floreat Basil and the real and permanent glory thereof to be enamored of the ravishing beauties of God the King of that glory that so the temptations allurements of the world being slighted and the glory and excellency thereof counted as dirt and dung the eternal glory of God may be advanced and onely aimed at in that soul for it is the glory of the Church here to have the Sun upon her head and to be crowned with a crown of
of Godliness as fire is the cause of heat and yet as the cause is such is the effect for powerful causes make powerful effects that 's an undeniable truth in Philosophy and that 's the very reason why godliness is so powerful in the souls of men Now wouldst thou know the working of Grace or of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the soul First then I will set down some of these fundamental Graces which cause godliness and secondly how they are wrought in and upon the spirits of men First then Take these four Graces Faith Repentance Self-denial and Love not that I intend to speak of the Doctrine of Faith or the rest of the graces here mentioned but onely to speak a word or two to each and so proceed To shew how they are wrought and their footsteps in the souls of Believers And first to begin with Faith not to trouble you with that which is Historical Temporary or Legal but to speak of that True Evangelical Saving and Justifying Faith Faith then is a certain grace wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God Fides est actus intellectus and by the Word preached and its an act of the Understanding also now I put the Word and the Spirit together as they ordinarily are appointed to work together to make a man a Believer for I dare boldly say that the Word of it self never yet to this day wrought faith in any man without the Spirit of God working with it but I am confident that the Spirit may and doth where the Word preached is not to be had work this faith in the souls of the Elect 1 Cor. 3.6 Paul may plant Apollo may water but it is God that giveth the increase a man may live all dayes of his life under a powerful Ministry and stand by Christ and hear the joyful sound of the Gospel and yet never the neerer they shall count it but as thunder as those did in John 12.29 Joh. 12.29 unless the Spirit of God boreth the ears and sanctifieth their hearts to understand and believe the things of God and though Faith be the gift of God yet as God puts forth an hand in giving of Faith so he gives a hand to his Elect to receive Faith otherwise they could never have it thus God illuminates the Understanding whereby it comes to know that there is such a thing as Christ is Christ the object of Faith and then he convinceth the Judgment that this Christ is very excellent and that of necessity he must be had or else the soul is undone then comes the Will saying If Christ be so good and that of necessity I must have him O then I will receive him thus at length is faith begotten in the soul yet we must take heed of attributing any thing to man in this for all this is Gods own work and none of mans Now the other three graces may be stiled Faiths subsequents or concomitants Faiths companions or the fruits of Faith yet I shall speak a word to each of them and first to Repentance I say of the working of this grace in the souls of Gods Elect as I have said of Faith and in this work of Repentance we must note these four steps or degrees True Repentance There is a sight of the nature of sin A convinced judgment of the guilt of sin There is a cordial and hearty sorrow for sin There is a dislike of or an abhorring and forsaking of sin For the first of these namely The sight of sin in its own nature and proper colours now sins vail begins to be pluckt off before sin was pleasurable and delightful now it is odious and loathsom now the soul discovers sin to be a Scorpion a Serpent whose sting would have caused eternal death that which seemed to be the pleasantest and delightfullest companion is now the ugliest basest and contemptiblest thing that ever the soul beheld since it had a being that which formerly was embraced and hugged as a Dalilah is now thrown out of the windows as a Jezabel Gods enemie now the soul looks on sin as Gods greatest enemy yea as that whereby the soul hath cast dirt in the very face of God and hath grieved and done despight unto his holy Spirit and crucified the Lord of life and glory Again The souls greatest enemie the soul looks upon it as its own greatest enemy it did unparadise it it hath ever since blindfolded it and fettered it up amongst a legion of devils and hath made a separation between God and it it hath made it at emnity with God and hath brought it into a state of condemnation and was able to sink it into the very bottom of hell The soul is convinced of the guilt of sin and that by the same it s bound over to the Judgment Seat of Christ Rom. 3.19 there to answer the breach of all the Laws of God James 2.10 Moral and Evangelical yea and that this guilt lies so heavy on the soul that its able to press it down into destruction 2 Thess 1.8 and to banish it from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power for ever sin now is become a burden to purpose yea such a burden as David complaineth of in Psalm 38 4. Psal 38.4 saith he there Mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me that which once was so light that the soul could not feel it O now it is so heavy that its like to break the very heart of it now conscience is wakened and sin stands as a brasen wall in its order before the soul I will set his sin in order before him Psal 50.21 there is a Scripture to that purpose in the Psalmist There is a cordial and hearty sorrow for sin O saith the soul that I that such a wretch as I should sin against so great so good and so gratious a God now the soul begins to be cautious of sinning now its ready to say with Joseph Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God Now the soul is sensible of its indignity to God now it can grieve and rent its very heart for its unkinde dealing with God who hath dealt so kindely with it and by this means the soul is brought into contrition and godly sorrow never to be repented of Upon this the soul is brought into a dislike of sin yea to an abhorring hating and detesting of sin yea it hates the very thoughts of it not onely in others but much more in it self it s now more ugly then a Toade more bitter then Gall and Wormwood now the soul knows the fruits of sin how it leads unto destruction now it can say of it as Salomon said of the Harlot Pro 5.4 5. Her end is bitter as Wormwood sharp as a two edged sword her feet go down to death and
and arguings of the soul I may call the spirit of bondage under which the soul sinks and sees no way of hope of recovery but now Christ intervenes and darts the raies of his glory into such a lost soul resolves its doubtings calmes its frettings and disputings and come and makes his abode in that soul and takes it by the hand and saith Is there no deliverer for thee I will deliver thee I have satisfied divine justice I am thy surety and the propitiation for thy sin At this the soul begins to startle it s recovered from its lethargy now it ariseth from death to life and saith What voice is that I here What mercy for me A Christ for me for such a sinfull wretch as I am O how sweet is this voice how welcome is this Gospel How excellent is this Christ O the sweetest of ten thousand now the soul is humbled to purpose its fit to receive any impression to do to suffer any thing that Christ cals for now the soul flies to Christ as to a rock hangs about him like a burre closeth with him in what ever Christ commands Christs voice is a soul-humbling and a soul-melting voice more excellent then the law Object But some may say that surely many have believed that never came in such a legal way to Christ as Matthew Lydia and others Answ I answer that though it be not recorded of the grief and spirit of bondage that these underwent yet it s not safe to conclude they did not come to Christ that way seeing others came that way as the Jews at Peters Sermon Act. 2.37 the Jailor the woman that washed Christs feet with her tears and many others as David Peter c. Look upon that to the Romans where the Apostle saith ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear Rom. 8.15 which shewes cleerly that once they had received it before they came to Christ in their preparation to conversion And again Christ comes to call sinners to repentance yea those that finde sin to be a burden to them and such as are weary and heavy laden and prest down to hell in their own apprehensions by reason of their sins that they are guilty of The whole needeth not the Physitian but such as are sick saith Christ such as are sick at the heart of sin as are sensible of the pain and horror of sin I am somewhat the larger in this point because there is a generation of men in these days that deny the use of the moral law to be any means of driving the soul to Christ yea or so much as the use of it in any sense to the Saints that are brought to Christ let these remember that the Apostle saith the Law is a Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ not onely the Law Ceremonial but moral also See Rom. 3.31 Where he saith Do we make void the Law behold we establish the Law Rom. 3.31 And I suppose none dares say but he speaks there of the moral Law and again the Law is Just holy and good what then is there no use to be made of that which is just holy and good by beleevers under the Gospel surely yes and then Christ himself justifies maintains the Law moral in that of Matthew Mat. 5.17 18 19. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law no no I am come to fulfil it Therefore whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments and teach men to do so shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven The Law first breaks and kills us with the fight of sin before Christ cures us and binds us up The Holy Ghost worketh and maketh faith effectuall by these three acts It puts a power and authority in the Law whereby it makes a man poor in spirit Now blessed are poor in spirit What 's the reason Mat. 5. O it makes the soul in a fit temper to receive Jesus Christ in the Gospel preached for the spirit of bondage doth make the law effectual as the spirit of adoption maketh the Gospel The second work in the soul is to receive Christ being revealed in the Gospel O here he shewes the unsearchable riches of Gods love in Christ to poor creatures yea here he shews what is the hope of his calling and the glorious inheritance of the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to them that believe certainly the Saints of God need the Spirit of God to shew these glorious mysteries Thirdly The Spirit testifies with the Spirits of the Saints First that these are true Secondly that they belong to them O when the Spirit of Christ shall say These things are thine Christ is thine God is thy father that thou art now an heir and joynt-heir with Christ and hast right to life and glory by vertue of free grace then is the soul brought into a sweet and happy condition But I would not here be mistaken I do not say that the spirit of bondage works alike upon and in all that come to Christ but in some more and in some less neither dare I limit the Holy one of Israel who is tyed to no means or wayes to call home his Saints to himself But this I say that first its Gods ordinary way of working in and with his Saints Secondly it s a safe way for the Saints to know their estates by it being that way in which the Saints have been called home to Christ in general This may inform us if that godliness have such a power in it then there are but few in the world that are acquainted with it for godliness cannot lie hid but it will break forth wheresoever it cometh there is no fire but there will be some smoak there can be no moving or acting without life its impossible for a godly soul to be a liveless soul but the generality of men are ignorant of it because they are naturally dead godliness is an herb that grows not in every mans Garden a flower not in every mans garland a Crown not set upon every mans head a garment not fit for every mans wearing No no it s that which is onely given to Saints that are redeemed from the earth by the bloud of the Lamb Christ Jesus yea it s for those that are called and chosen and faithful O how few great men and rich men in this world participate of these high priviledges or are made possessors of these riches these onely true riches which neither Moth nor Rust can corrupt Mat. 6.19 nor theeves break thorow and steal How few come to have a taste or to meddle with the Saints joy which is communicable to none but them in Christ Where is the Wise 1 Cor. 1.20 21 22 26. where is the Scribe where is the Disputer of this world Not many wise men after the flesh not many noble not many mighty are called hath not God made foolish the wisdom
the Lord and consider the operation of his hands especially the dealing of God with his Saints in and through Jesus Christ if to know God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent into the world be life eternal O then not to know God nor Jesus Christ whom he hath sent into the world is eternal death men think that Ignorance shall Advocate and speak for them another day that want of Knowledg shall be the means of their absolution O vain thoughts O insufficient plea nay rather sufficient to destroy their own souls their main matter of excuse will be the sole matter of accusing them before Almighty God what they build upon for extenuation of their guilt Joh. 3.19 will prove the greatest aggravation For This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather then light though the Papists stile Ignorance the Mother of Devotion I am sure it is the mother of Perdition it s the devils Vizor it s his muffler with which he hood-winks the men of this world it s his Livery the which he gives unto his own subjects to hold them in bondage and keep them in blindness unto destruction Do but read and well weigh that Scripture that saith 2 Thess 1.8.9 Christ will come in flaming fire rendering vengeance on them that know him not and upon them that obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power It s in vain for men and women to say I am not Book-learned I believe as well as I can I will do what I can to go to heaven and God I hope will do the rest O this shews their ignorance and speaks down-right damnation O know you poor wretches that Christ alwayes gives wisdome and knowledg to all men and women which are called into fellowship with himself which shall live in life and glory with him there is no room in heaven for ignorant souls for they that come there must be conformable to Christ and to his Will who is unto all his Wisdom and Righteousness c. As Christ never sends Fools on his Errand so he never takes Fools for his Companions Wisdom teacheth all her sons to know God and Christ and then by the power of free Grace they come to have fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ Will a Prince make a Fool his companion surely no Mad men and Fools are no companions for Princes Achish the King of Gath could say of David when he feigned himself mad of like a fool What 1 Sam. 21.13 have I need of mad men that you bring this fellow into my presence shall he come into my house O then how think you will Christ indure that ignorant persons shall have communion with him for they are no better then fools or mad men for madness and solly are concomitants they dwell together in ignorant souls therefore know that untill God take away the scales of ignorance from the eyes of men they shall never see nor be in love with the power of godliness you know if a man should cast the finest gold and the most pretious stones in the world before Swine and at the same time cast some dung or stinking carrion the Swine would pass regardless of the gold and pretious stones and would see no worth in them but would run unto and seize upon the noisome carrion as most delightful consentaneous to their nature nor do they see any excellency in the one but they know what to do with the other the carrion is their food and delight the gold their wonder and disregard they know not what to do with that their sensuality cannot fancy it Even such is the condition of all the men of the world for they are but swine the dung and filth of the earth is their treasury on it they dote and pore and feed that is their Summum bonum there is their conversation their contemplation and study their eyes are downward fast fixt on this Treasury here they gaze here they imploy their knowledg their skill and their all disrespecting casting off and contemning the treasures of life and pleasures for evermore unto the attaining whereof they did never once so much as lift up an eye or breathe forth a desire solacing and satisfying themselves in the meer knowledg of Nature shew but these men heaven and heavenly things though it be Christ in an Ordinance so far as worldly men can see him they can discern or taste no sweetness or excellency in him There is no form or beauty in him Isai 53.3 that we should desire him he is despised rejected of men he is a man of sorrows he brings troubles with him which the world is not able to bear and therefore they are offended at him and his wayes and cast his Laws behinde their back and will not that he should raign over them though to the Saints he is the sweetest of ten thousand and his ways are the ways of pleasantness and peace and his Statutes are their delight to them His yoke is easie and his burden light men of the world look on Christ at a distance and then upon his outside too as the Jews did Is not this the Capenters son but the Saints they hug him in their bosomes they see an excellency in Christs poverty they see nothing contemptible in him for by his poverty they are made rich by his low estate they are exalted yea by his very stripes and reproaches are they healed Vse 2 Secondly It s for Examination Is it so That where godliness comes into the soul it comes with power O then consider with thy self how the case stands with thee in relation to godliness hath it been powerful in thy soul or no for where it comes it comes and overcomes it findes a man in the state of Nature and leaves him in the state of Grace it findes a man natural and leaves him spiritual it findes him blinde and a Heathen but it leaves him a seeing and a believing Christian Quest How shall I know whether the power of godliness dwel in me or no Answ 1 First Then we will give you some signs the preparations of it If then thou art convinced in Judgment and Conscience that there was a time in which godliness was far from thee thou art convinced that thou didst not bring it into the world with thee it came not to thee from thy Parents it s not hereditary Ephes 2.2 for all men by nature are the children of wrath Secondly Thou art convinced That men nor Angels were never able to purchase it for thee yea they were so far from it as that they could not open the book no not so much as look thereon which book was the Book of God Revel 5. wherein he is pleased to make himself known to the sons of men Thou art convinced that it s not to be gotten
his soul so much delights neither is there any affliction misery threats or death it self that can prevail or force his soul to forsake that sweetness that he tasteth in God and Jesus Christ When they threatned Basil with death if he would not forsake his Interest in God His answer was Death is a benefit to me it will send me sooner to God to whom I live and to whom I desire to hasten yea such a man prefers an hours communion with God before ten thousand worlds were they offered unto him he would slight and contemn them and count them as dung in comparison of God and Jesus Christ in whom his soul sees so much excellency and sweetness Now this communion is publike and private publike in the Congregation of the Saints which indeed may be called the greatest witness where the Saints have fellowship with Christ and one with another where their graces are communicable and their sweet injoyments free and common one with another where they jointly gather honey out of one Comb where they refreshed their thirsty spirits out of one Fountain where the members are sweetly compacted and joyned together to their head where they greet each other with reciprocal kisses where Christ is all in all and fully gives out himself unto his members this is a glorious communion the other is a private communion that the soul hath with Christ in its closet which is the best evidence when no eyes see where no ear hears what converse the soul hath with Christ her head what breathings of the Spirit she receives from him who is invisible and for all manner of excellencies beyond expression there the soul engrosseth Christ to its self there are private salutations each to other interchangeable embraces sweet fellowship ineffable communion superlative joyes and refreshments ravishing familiarities infinite soul-satisfying communities if the soul want power to kill any sin strength to withstand any corruption understanding in the mysteries of the Gospel supplies of grace resolutions in doubtings here she may have all in her Christ all is to be found in him in whom all fulness dwels Isa 45.11 the soul can no sooner speak but speed nay with an holy reverence may command and have for there is no good thing that he will with-hold from them that are in him It is not with Christ as with earthly Parents who give portions but once unto their children and then cut them off from any other afterwards here you cannot be welcome you cannot be heard if you come the second or third time but now the oftner you come to your Father to your elder Brother the better you are welcome the repetition of requests is most acceptable with Christ the more you ask the more he gives his Fountain is inexhaustible it is alwayes open for you to wash in for you to replenish your empty buckets if you wait at this Pool you shall be sure to be replenished come as often as you will if thou comest for Understanding to day for more Knowledg to morrow for Wisdom the third day for Meekness Patience Temperance and what other grace soever thou standest in need of thou shalt not onely be welcome but shalt certainly be supplied if these things thou askest be for thy good Psal 84.11 12. For he will give grace and glory and all other good things to them that walk uprightly yea he will be a Sun and a shield that 's the sum of all comforts whatsoever for Christ is the Sun of Righteousness Mal. 4 2. then he will defend his servants from all dangers he will carry them on his wings as the Eagle doth her young ones far above the reach of malice or all revengeful thoughts whatsoever for the Wings of Gods Protection do not onely bear up his Saints but cover them and preserve them from danger they cover them like a shield in the day of battel what injury is done unto the Saints God takes it as done unto himself and he will be their Avenger if they strike them they strike them as it were thorow God himself for he hath made known That they that touch them Zech. 2 8. touch the apple of his Eye It s no small matter to strike at the eye of a Prince but that man that striketh at the Saints strikes at the eye of the King of Kings and shall be sure to answer it another day in another place though for a while he may scape unpunished though God be now silent he will not be alwayes so you know what Christ saith Wo to him that offendeth one of these little ones it were better that a milstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea thus you may see as the Saints do prize God so God doth prize the Saints That man that hath the power of godliness dwelling in him he can trust God yea and rest upon him in the greatest difficulties yea where friends fail of the neerest relation yea where Reason and all outward probabilities are opposite Rom. 4.19 20 21. Thus did Abraham when he was promised a son he believed above Reason yea the text saith Above Hope Secondly against the deadness of his own body he being one hundred years old Thirdly against the deadness of Sarahs womb it was onely Faith and the power of godliness that carried him up far above all doubts being fully perswaded that he which had promised was able to perform it Again you know that the promise to Abraham was that in Isaac his seed should be called and yet in obedience to Gods Command he goes to offer up Isaac his onely son to cut up the root from whence this fruit should grow to destroy the ground-work on which this Fabrick should be built Heb. 11.19 and to blast the hopes of any further seed which in all reason should have made void the promise yet above all he believed that he being dead God was able to raise him up from the dead from whence he received him in a figure thus the three children believed beyond all reason that God would deliver them from the fiery furnace and Daniel from the den of Lyons and divers others O this is that which makes a man cast himself into the arms of God in the midst of the fire or what affliction can possibly come unto him he can enter into his chamber until the indignation be over-past that is into Christ who is a hiding place for and to his Saints at all times And as it makes the soul rest upon God in general so more especially for life and Salvation such a soul can freely venture it self upon a promise with as much confidence as if it did enjoy the performance it can as really live upon any word of God as a natural man can live upon his appointed food O saith the soul hath God said it its enough for me I desire no more you know what Christ said Man lives not by bread only but by every word
it was God that chose thee thou didst nor couldst not choose him O that an incomprehensible God should be comprehended by a poor wretched creature that he should bestow himself upon him and give him the riches of his grace O let the Saints for ever breath out thanks and praise to this gratious God and begin that work on earth which shall be their work for ever in the highest Heavens From the consideration of your redemption 3. Redemptio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is no less then a glorious redemption as being bought with a glorious price not with corruptible things as silver and gold but with the pretious blood of Jesus Christ of more worth and excellency then all the created powers in heaven and earth Consider what you are Redeemed from First From the curse of the Law Secondly From the wrath of an infinite God Thirdly From the power of sin Fourthly From a vain conversation Fifthly from the second death Sixthly Out of the jaws of Satan that great red dragon even from hell and condemnation What you are Redeemed to First To be in an estate of Son-ship to be the Sons of God Secondly To be heirs and joynt heirs with Jesus Christ Thirdly To have a sweet communion with God Christ and the Spirit of grace Fourthly To have communion with Saints Fifthly To enjoy life glory for ever where you shall sin no more where all teares shall be wiped from your eyes where you shall reign with God Christ Saints and Angels to all Eternity O this cals for thankfulness render unto him therefore the praises due unto his name 4. Justificatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est propria ipsa judicis de innocente reo pronunciatio significatione nimirum activa The consideration of your justification which is done by the merits of Christ that is to be fully acquitted of all sin as if a man had never sinned to stand right and just in the sight of God Christ having paid the debt to Divine Justice and blotted out the hand-writing against you so as now it s with the Saints as if they had never been defiled with sin you and onely you are they which stand justified in his sight in that fift to the Romans are these three words used viz. Justifying Justification Justice and they are thus distinguished The first Signifieth the merit of Christs Justice whereby the Saints are Justified The second The action it self of Justification whereby Christs Justice is communicated to the Saints The third the Justice it self which is imparted and communicated to the Saints you know by sin every man is bound over to the Judgment Seat there to answer before God for all things done against him in the flesh and to pay that debt that the Law requires now Christ is the Saints surety and in their behalf hath taken this debt upon himself and hath paid the utmost farthing that can be exacted by the Law he hath loosed the chains of darkness broken the strong holds and hath enlarged and set free the Saints in the sight of God so that neither the Law sin nor the devil can lay any charge or accusation against them they have their pardon written on their breast declaring there is no condemnation unto us because we are in Christ Jesus let the Saints therefore never cease to magnifie and praise the name of the God of their Salvation From the consideration of your vocation 5. Vocatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your calling out of darkness into the marvellous light whereby you can rejoyce in God your Saviour whereby your soul enjoyes the manifestation of all its comforts yea of its communion with God and Christ while its in the body God might have called his Saints at the last hour of their departure out of this life and so they might have lived without God in this world as every man doth before his calling and so without comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost now then if one hours communion with God be more worth then thousands of worlds O how are the Saints bound to bless God for so great a mercy as their enjoyment of communion with him here in this life for many days and yeers after they are called praise God therefore for your Vocation 6. Sanctificatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the consideration of your Sanctification and holiness a godly man ought to be as truly and really thankful that his sins are purged as that his sins are pardoned it is one of the greatest mercies that a soul can partake of to be purified washed and cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit to receive of Christs communicated holiness to be imputed holy for Christs sake so that he who hath this robe of righteousness is made pure yea so pure and holy as if he had never sinned the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin and this holiness and purity of spirit is a soul invested with by vertue of the blood of Christ flowing to it in the Covenant of Grace O this must needs be a strong motive to inlarge your hearts with gratitudes for so inestimable a mercy to be made pure as Christ is pure and holy as he is holy and for that this your holiness and Sanctification is not only universal but its perfect in its parts in every part of soul and body God doth not sanctifie one part now and another part at another time but he sanctifieth the soul thorowly at one the same time Therefore know that if thy heart be sanctified then thy judgment thy will thy understanding thy affections yea all the members of thy body and all the faculties of thy soul are sanctified also Yet you must know likewise that no man is perfect in the degrees of holiness on this side heaven yet bless God who ever thou art who knowest that sanctifying grace doth rest upon thy spirit here for though now it be in part yet it shall be made perfect in heaven for ever The seventh and last motive to stir up the Saints to thankfulness is this that thou who art a partaker of the power of godliness shalt be preserved to Eternal Life in spight of sin devil hell or any thing that can gainsay thou mayest slip and fail but never totally fall thou hast the spirit of God to guide and sustain thee thou art already passed from death to live with God eternally thou shalt never miscarry concerning thy eternal being thy trips and slidings shall but set thee forwarder on thy journey God will be thy God for evermore thou art safe for eternity and thy soul lieth in the bosome of Christ thou art given to Christ of the Father and those the Father hath given him he hath promised that none shall take them from him O bless the God of Gods whose mercy endureth for ever whose love is permanent whose purpose immutable and whose power All-sufficient to preserve thy soul and body unto eternal life Vse 6
her steps take hold on hell thus the soul by the power of grace being made acquainted with the loathsomness and bitterness of sin begins to be weaned from its brest and forsakes its embraces let God or man say what can be said of sin in respect of the vileness of it the soul can give its free assent and consent unto it yea it s so hateful to the soul that it hates the very name of any thing that doth but tend to sin yea it hates it in its most glorious robes of pleasures profits honors credits or what ever the world can afford it will shake them off as Paul did the Viper from his hand it knows sin to be viperous infective and stinging it looks upon it as its bane its poyson its undoing yea in the souls apprehension its worse then hell then the devil or all or any thing that can be thought upon The next thing is Self-denial that 's a soul that hath no Self no will when any thing comes in competition with God with Christ it owns its being from God it renounceth any self-existency its naked till cloathed from above its barren till made fruitful by Christ it stands in need of all things till supplied by that Fountain that openeth his hand and filleth all things with his blessing this Grace subjecteth the soul and makes it lie down at Christs feet it s alwayes lying under the droppings of Grace that it might receive replenishings from the Spirit this causeth the soul to look out of it self and to be carried out with an expectation hungering and thirsting after Christ and his righteousness this makes the soul to decrease that Christ may increase it debaseth it self that it might advance Christ its willing to part with all that Christ may be all in all it doth not onely make the soul to see emptiness in it self but to see emptiness in every thing besides In a word It s a soul-denying and a Christ-advancing Grace in whatever it doth it will not suffer the soul to aim at any thing which may tend to sinister ends it doth willingly cast off ease profit pleasure honor or what ever can be thought on before God and Christ shall lose their glory this Grace brings the soul into a right temper where this Grace hath its true working the bias of the soul runs from the world and runs heavenward God-ward and Christ-ward Self-denial as its Faith 's concomitant so it worketh with Faith in purifying the heart in mortifying of sin Matth. 12.37 39. and in following of Christ For he that will follow me saith Christ must first deny himself not regarding profits pleasures afflictions or what ever else lies in the way to life and glory For he that loveth any thing whether it be father or mother more then Christ is not worthy of Christ and he that will finde his life shall lose it but he that loseth his life for Christs sake shal finde it Fourthly Love its Gods will to man and it is a grace shed abroad into the hearts of the Saints by the holy Ghost in man it s a certain passion flowing from the Affections which are the souls wheels to carry it to its Object be it either God or man It may be stiled a characterizing grace whereby men may know God for God is love whereby men may know Saints from Reprobates 1 Joh. 4.8.3.14 the children of God from the children of the devil it s a sign that you are departed from death to life because you love the brethren he that loves not his brother is not born of God neither doth he know him to her much is forgiven because she loved much Love is of such an excellent nature that it transcends the tongues of men and Angels it excells the gifts of prophesie all mysteries 1 Cor. 13.1 2. all knowledg nay all faith it is of an enduring nature as Paul saith in the 1 Cor. 13.8 Charity never faileth it out-lives faith and hope 1 Cor. 13.8 for they shall cease but love shall be perfected and endure for ever Quest 2 Secondly how comes godliness into the soul and what are the steps thereof Answ 2 That as godliness is the fruit of grace and grace the cause of godliness as I have shewed before so are they made perfect in the soul at one and the same instant of time that is perfect in parts not in degrees for there are degrees of grace as well as glory one Christian more eminent in grace then another yet the least spark is as true as the greatest flame the whole man is at one and the same time changed and become new all the faculties of the soul all the members of the body are at once transformed and renewed the understanding that 's illuminated the Judgement rectified the will turned to that which is good the affections run after the right object conversion is not in part but in whole the feet cannot be washed alone but the hands and other members must be also cleansed for so said Christ unto Simon Peter one of his Disciples when he said unto him Lord wash not onely my feet Joh. 13.9 10. but also my hands and my head Jesus answering said unto him he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet but is clean every whit c. intimating that he that is washt by the blood of Jesus Christ is not onely cleansed from one sin but from all not onely purified in one member of his body but in all he is sanctified throughout both in soul and body but though this grace of sanctification or godliness be thus thorowly operative in it self yet oft times its not so to the souls apprehension that 's in Gods ordinary way of working now to open unto you in a word how to mans apprehension this great work of conversion grace and godliness is wrought First God by the preaching of his word together with the working of his spirit gives a touch to the conscience of an elect vessel which the Scripture cals a prick in the heart that 's in the ministery of the word as those in the Acts were pricked in their hearts saying Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved Act. 2.37 God doth here discover a mans condition to himself whereby he comes to see himself First To be a woful miserable and sinful creature Secondly that there is an exact satisfaction to be given to Divine Justice for those sins that he stands guilty of before God Thirdly that there is nothing in him that can possibly give satisfaction or make up that breach which he hath made by his sin there is no possibility in Angels or men in Heaven or earth that can take of the guilt of one sin And yet that divine justice must be satisfied or he is a lost man he is undone for ever yea he stands at the very brink of hell ready to be swallowed up every moment now these and the like reasonings