it breeds discomfort and is terrible that way Again in death we leave those that cast their care upon us we leave oft times Wives and Children without Husband or Father those that had dependance upon us and this must needs work upon nature upon a right principle of nature indeed the excesse of it is with corruption alway Again in death there is great pain They say Births are with great pangs and so they are Now death is a birth the birth of immortality no wonder then if it have great pangs therefore nature fears it even for the pangs the concomitants that are joyned with it And then in death nature considers the state of the body presently after death that that goodly body that strength and vigour I enjoyed before must now be wormes-meat I must say to the worm Thou art my brother and to corruption Thou art my mother and the like as it is in Job That head that perhaps hath ruled the Common-wealth the place where I lived it must lie level with others and that body that others were inamoured with it must now be so forlorn that the sight of it will not be indured of our best friends Nature considers what the estate will be there that it shall turn to rottenesse ere long that the goodliest persons shall be turned to dust and lie rotting there till the day of the Resurrection Faith and Grace looks higher but because we have nature as long as we are men these and such like respects work upon nature and make death grievous But besides the glasse of nature and these things here in the World look upon it in the Law of God in that glasse and so nature trembles and quarrels at death Death what is it It is the wages of sin it is the end of all comfort and nature cannot see any comfort after that it is beyond nature Nature teacheth us not that there will be a Resurrection of the body nature teacheth not that the soul goes to God here must be a great deal of Grace and a great deal of Faith to convince the soul of this nature teacheth it not Now when besides this the Law of God comes and faith Death came in by sin and sin is the sting of death death is armed with sin and sin comes in with the evidences of Gods anger here unlesse there be Faith and Grace a man is either as Nabal a stone and a fot in death or as Judas and Cain swallowed up with despaire It is impossible for a man that is not a true Christian that is not a good man but that either he shouldbe as a stone or desperate in sicknesse and Death without Grace he must be one of them If he be a wise man he cannot but despair in the hour of Death For is it a matter to be dallied with or to be carried bravely out as your Roman spirits and Atheists think they account it a Glory to die bravely in a stout manner Is it the terrible of terribles so to be put off when all the comforts in this world shall end and all imployments cease when there is eternity before a man and after death hell and eternall damnation of body and soul Are these matters to be slighted it would make a man look about him if a man have not faith and Grace he must eitherr despaire or die like a stone none but a good Christian can carrie himself well in the hour of death nay a good Christian is sensible of death and till he see Gods time is come he labours to avoid it by all meanes as St. Paul doth here But St. Paul had another ground beyond nature to avoid Death He knew himself ordained for the service of the Church therefore he desired to escape that he might serve God a longer time for the good of his Church Are Gods Children sensible of Death and the danger of it and out of a principle of nature and Grace too How then should carnall wretched men look about them that have not made their accounts even with God the report of Death to them should be like the hand-writing upon the wall to Belteshazer it should make their knees beat together and make their countenance pale it should strike them with terrour and like Nabal make their hearts to die as a stone within them But it is a Use of comfort to poore deluded Christians they think alas can my estate be good I am afraid of Death I tremble and quake at the name of Death I cannot endure to hear of it but it most of all affects me to see it therefore I fear I have no Grace in me I fear I have no faith in me Be not discomforted whosoever thou art that sayest so if thou labour to strengthen thy faith and to keep a good conscience for thou mayest do thus out of a principle of nature nature trembles at Death A man may do two things from diverse principles from diverse respects both without sin For example in fasting nature without sin desireth meat or else fasting were not an afflicting of a mans body but Grace that hath another principle and that desires to hold out without sustenance to be afflicted so here is both a desire and not a desire and both good in their kind So a man in the time of sicknesse and death he may by all meanes desire to escape it and tremble at it out of a principle of nature but out of a higher principle he may triumph O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory and they that believe in Christ shall never die We are in heavenly places together with Christ we are as sure of heaven as if we were there So out of such kind of principles we may triumph over Death by Faith and Grace So let none be discouraged nature goes one way and faith and grace another a man may know when it is nature and when it is grace when grace subdues nature and subordinates it to a higher principle a man need not be much troubled Christ himself our head he was afraid of death when he looked on death as death but when he looked upon death as a service as a redemption as a sweet sacrifice to God so with a thirsting I have thirsted saith he he thirsted after death in that respect looking to his humane nature to the truth of his manhood then saith he Oh that this cup might passe from me but in another consideration he willingly gave his soul a sacrifice for sin to God The desire is as the objects are presented let heaven and happinesse be presented so death is a passage to it so death is the end of misery and the beginning of happinesse so Gods Children desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ as St. Paul did But look upon death otherwise as it is an enemy to nature as it is a stop of all imployment in this world and of all service
the dead soul the despairing soul that it should trust in him Therefore retort the temptation upon Satan because I see my sins and despaire in my self therefore I trust in God He that is in darknesse and sees no light let him trust in the Lord his God Mark for thy comfort the Gospel calls men who in their own sense and feeling think themselves furthest off he that is poore and sees his want Blessed are the poore in Spirit But I have no Grace Oh that I had grace Blessed are they that hunger and thirst If thou mourn for thy sins Blessed are they that mourn Thou findest a heavy load of thy sins Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you The Gospel takes away all the objections and misdoubtings of the unbelieving heart God is so willing to come to him Therefore stand not cavilling interpret all to the best God will have us to despair in our selves that we may trust in him and then we are fittest to trust in God when we despaire in our selves then we make God all in all he hath righteousnesse enough holinesse enough satisfaction enough he hath all enough for thee And for men that are not yet believers how wondrously doth God labour to bring such men to a good hope If they yield themselves and come in there is an offer to every one that will come in and take the water of life There is a command he that hath commanded Thou shalt not murder Thou shalt not steal he layes a charge on thee that thou believe 1 John 3. This is his câ—…mmand that we believe in the Son of God And think with thy self thou committest a sin against the Gospel which is worse then a sin against the law for if a man sin against the law he may have help in the Gospel but if he sin against the Gospel there is not another Gospel to help him God offers thee comfor the commands thee to trust in him and thou rebellest thou offendest him if thou do not believe Is not here incouragement if thou be not more wedded to thy sinfull course then to the good of thy soule If thou wilt still live in thy sins and wilt not trust in God then thou shalt be damned there is no help for thee if thou believe not the wrath of God hangs over thy head Thou art condemned already by nature if thou believe not thou needest no further condemnation but only the execution of Gods justice Naturally thou art born the Child of wrath and God threateneth thee to stir thee up and to make thee come in he useth sweet allurements besides the commands and threatnings Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you And Why will ye perish O house of Israel And O Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft c God complaines of thee he allures thee he sends his Embassadours We are Ministers in Christs Name to beseech you to be reconciled to come in to cast down your weapons your sins to believe in God and trust in his mercy and to hope for all good from him What should keep thee off he is willing to have thee believe Oh if I were elected c. Trouble not thy self with dark scruples of his eternall decree obey the command obey the threaning and put that out of doubt if thou yield to the command if thou obey the threatning if thou be drawn by that undoubtedly thou art the child of God Put not in these doubts and janglings things that are too high for thee till thou believe Indeed when thou believest then thou mayst comfort thy self I believe therefore I know I shall be saved Whom he hath chosen them he calls and whom he calls hè justifies I find my self freed from the sentence of condemnation in my heart therefore I know I am called I know I am elected then with comfort thou mayest go to those disputes But not before a man obeys put those cavils out and obey the Gospel when salvation is offered when Satan puts these things to thee when thou art threatned and commanded How shall this justifie God at the day of judgment against damned wretches that have lived in the bosom of the Church and yet would not believe They will believe after their own fashion if God will save them and let them live in their sinful courses but they will rather be damned then they will part with them Are they not worthy to be damned judge thy self that rather then they will alter their course and receive mercy with it rather then they will receive Christ whole Christ as a King and a Priest to rule them as well as to satisfie for them they will gild over their wicked courses and will have none of him at all they will rather be damned then take another course their damnation is just If thou take whole Christ and yield to his government he useth all meanes to strengthen thy faith after thou believest and he useth all means to allure thee to believe It is a point of much consequence and all depends upon it it is the summe of the Gospel to trust in God in Christ therefore I have been a little the longer in it till we can bring our hearts to this we have nothing When we have this then when all shall be taken from us as it will ere long all the friends we have and all our comforts yet our trust shall not be taken from us nor our God in whom we trust shall be taken from us we shall have God left and a heart to trust in God that will stand us in stead when all other things shall fail That we might not trust in our selves but in God Which raiseth the dead These words have a double force in this place First St. Paul might reason thus I am brought to death as low as I can be even to receive the sentence of death but I trust in God who will raise me when I am dead therefote he can raise me out of sicknesse though there be no means no physick he can do it himself Or if it were persecution he might reason I am now persecuted but God will raise me out of the grave therefore he can raise me out of this trouble if it be for my good It hath the force of a strong argument that way And it hath another force that is put case the worst I received the sentence of death that is if I die as I look for no other yet I trust that God that raiseth the dead he will raise me the confidence of the resurrection makes me die comfortably As we sleep quietly because we hope to rise again and we put our seed into the ground with comfort why we hope to receive it in a more glorious manner in the harvest so though my body be sowen in the earth it shall rise a glorious body I trust in God though I receive the sentence of
and perhaps I shall have better occasion to speak of it afterward I onely apply it to the present purpose how it strengthens faith in misery and in the houre of death A man is strengthened in his faith when he thinks now I am going the way of all flesh I am to yield my soul to God and death is to close up mine eyes yet I have trusted in God and do trust in God that will raise my body from the grave This comforts the soul against the horrour of the grave against that confusion and darknesse that is after death Faith seeth things to come as present it sees the body after it hath a long time been in the dust clothed with flesh and made like the glorious bodie of Christ faith sees this and so a Christian soule dies in faith and sowes the body as good seed in the ground in hope of a glorious resurrection And that comforts a Christian soule in the losse of children of wife of friends that have been dearest and nearest to me I trust in God that raiseth the dead that he will raise them again and then we shall all be for ever with the Lord it is a point of singular comfort for the maine Articles of our faith they have a wondrous working upon us in all the passages of our lives it is good to think often upon the pillars of our faith as this is one That God will raise us from the dead But I go on to the next verse VERS 10. Who delivered us from so great a death who doth deliver us in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us SAint Paul sets down his troubles to the life that he might make himself and others more sensible of his comforts and of Gods grace and goodness in his deliverance These words contain his deliverance out of that trouble his particular deliverance out of a particular trouble And this deliverance is set down by a triple distinction of time as time is either past present or to come so God who is the deliverer for all times he hath delivered us for the time past he doth deliver us for the present in whom we trust that he will deliver us for the time to come Who delivered us from so great a death After St. Paul had learned to rrust in God after he had taken forth that lesson a hard lesson to learn that must be learned by bringing a man to such extremity I say after he had learned to trust in God that raiseth the dead God gave him this reward of his diligence in the blessed school of afflictions he delivered him who hath delivered us and who doth deliver us continually he will not take his hand from the work and for the time to come I hope he will do so still St. Paul here calls his trouble a death It was not a death properly it is but his aggravation of the trouble that calls it a death because Gods mercy onely hindred it from being a death it was onely not a death it was some desperate trouble some desperate sicknesse the particular is not set down in the Scripture We know what a tumult there was about Diana of Ephesus Acts 19. and in 1. Cor. 15. He fought with beasts at Ephesus which is in Asia after the manner of men Whether it were that or some other we know not whatsoever it was he calls it a death he doth not call it an affliction but a death a great death to make himself the more sensible VVherefore have we souls and understandings but to exercise them in setting forth our dangers and the deliverances of God to consider of things to affect us deeply The Apostle here to affect himself deeply he sets it down here by a death And oft-times in the Psalmes the Psalmist in Psalme 18. and Psal. 11. he calls his afflictions death and hell and so they had been indeed except God had delivered him But to come to the points that are considerable hence First of all we may observe this that God till he have wrought his own work he doth not deliver he brings men to a low ebbe to a very low estate before he will deliver Secondly After God hath wrought his own work then he delivers hischildren Thirdly he continues the work still he doth deliver me Fourthly That upon experience of Gods former deliverance Gods children have founded a blessed argument for the time to come He hath he will deliver me God is alway like himself he is never at a loss what he hath done he doth and will doe reserving the limitations as we shall see afterward God doth not at the first deliver his children He delivered St. Paul but it was after he had brought him to receive the sentence of death and after he had learned not to trust in himself but in God that raiseth the dead God deferres his deliverance for many reasons To name a few God doth deferre his deliverance when we are in dangers partly as you see here to perfect the work of mortification of self-confidence to subdue trust in any earthly thing St. Paul by this learned not to trust in himself And then to strengthen our faith and confidence in God when we are drawn from all creatures to learn to trust in him And to sweeten his deliverance when it comes to indear his favours for then they are sweet indeed after God hath beat us out of our selves Summer and Spring are sweet after Winter so it is in this vicissitude and intercourse that God useth favour after affliction and crosses is favour indeed That makes heaven so sweet to Gods Children when they come there because they go to Heaven out of a great deal of miserie in this world And partly likewise God defers it for his own glory that it may be known for his meer work for when we are at a losse and the soul can reason thus God must help or none can help then God hath the glory therefore in love to his own glory he defers it so long Again he useth to defer long that he might the more shame the enemies at length for if the affliction be from the insolencie and pride of the enemies he deferres deliverance till they be come to the highest pitch and then he ariseth as a Gyant refreshed with wine and smites his enemies in the hinder parts he is as it were refreshed on the sudden And as it is his greatest glory to raise his children when they are at the lowest so it is his glory to confound the pride of the enemies when it is at the highest if he should do it before his glory would not shine so much in the confusion of them and their enterprises against his children One would think he should not have let Pharaoh alone so long but he got him glory the more at the last in confounding him in the Red-sea So Haman came very farre almost to the execution of the decree he
the soul but that which is raised must be dead first they account not themselves dead and therefore oppose this resurrection And so when we are dead in grace or comfort let us trust in God that raiseth the dead And so for outward condition in this life and the estate of the Church The conversion of the Jewes which seems a thing so strange when a man thinks how they are dispersed and thinks of their poverty and disgrace he thinks Is this a likely matter Remember what God hath said he will raise the dead And because this is a work that seems as hard as the raysing of the dead therefore their calling and conversion is called a kind of resurrection Rom. 11. Let us hope for that He that raiseth the body will raise that people as despicable as they are to be a glorious people and Church And so for the confusion of the man of sin The revelation of the Gospel when it came out of the grave of darknesse out of the Egyptian darknesse of Popery was it not a raising of the dead When Luther arose for the defence of the truth a man might have said to him What doest thou set thy self against the whole World go to thy cloyster and say Lord have mercy upon us Doest thou hope to reform the World against all the World Alas he trusted in God that raiseth the dead that raiseth men to conversion when he pleaseth and that raiseth the Church when he pleaseth even from death He raised the Church out of Babylon And he will raise the Jewes that now are in a dead state why should we doubt of these things when we believe or professe to believe the main the resurrection from the dead And every day in the Church God is raising the dead spiritually the dead hear the voyce of Christ every day when the Ministery is in power when there is a blessing upon it conveying it to the heart then he is raising the dead So Wisdom is justified of her children the Gospel is justified to be a powerful doctrine having the Spirit of God clothing it to raise people from the dead those that are dead in sin There are none that ever are spiritually raised but those that see themselves dead And that is the reason why we are to abhor Popery because it teacheth us that we are not dead in our selves and then there can be no resurrection to grace for the resurrection is of the dead the more we see a contrarietie in Nature to Grace the more fit objects we are for the divine power of God to raise He raiseth the dead Thus we see how to go along with this in all troubles God will raise the dead therefore he will bring me out of this trouble if he see it good Therefore in extremity let us thus reason with our selves Now I know not which way to turn me there is but a step between me and death if God have any purpose to use my service furthet he that raiseth the dead will raise me from the grave to him belong the issues of death Psal. 67. he can give an evasion and escape if he will if not if he will not deliver me then I die in this faith that he will raise me from the dead This is that that upholds a Christian in extremity This made the Martyrs so confident this made those three young men so resolute that were cast into the fiery Furnace what was their comfort Surely this God can deliver us if he will say they he is able to deliver us now but if he will not do this for us he will raise our bodies if he will not deliver them here there will be a final deliverance at the resurrection So in Heb. 11. those blessed men they hoped for a better resurrection and this made them confident This makes us confident to stand out against all the threatnings and all the crosses of the world that we may hold our peace with God notwithstanding all the inticements and allurements to the contrary because we trust in God that raiseth the dead Again let us learn to extract contrary principles to Satan out of Gods proceedings What doth he reason when we are dead either in sin or in misery What hast thou to do with God God hath forsaken thee No saith faith God is a God raising the dead the more dead I am in the eye of the world and in my own sense the nearer I am to Gods help I am a despairing sinner a great sinner but the more God will magnifie his merey that where sin hath abounded grace may abound much more Retort home the argument draw contrary principles to him this is a divine Art which faith hath Oh but then you may presume and do what you list Not so retort the argument again upon him if I do so God will bring me to death he will bring me to despair and who is it that delights to have that course taken with him to be brought so low So every way we may retort temptations from this dealing of God If I be carelesse he will bring me as low as hell I shall have little joy to try conclusions with him And if thou be low despair not thou art the fitter object God raiseth the dead therefore I will not add to my sins legal I will not add this Evangelical sin this destroying sin of despair and unbelief but I will cast my self upon the mercy of God and believe in him that raiseth the dead and desire him to speak to my dead soul which is as rotten as Lazaru's body which had been so long in the grave that he would say to it Come forth of that cursed estate it is but for him to speak the word to blesse his word and then it will come out by faith It is the Art of faith to draw contrary arguments to Satan and those that belong to God do so in all temptations but those that do not they sink lower and lower having nothing to uphold their souls they have not learned to trust in God that raiseth the dead God is the God that raiseth the dead Therefore let us oft think of this think what God means to do with us that we may carry out selves answerably I trust in God that raiseth the dead Therefore let us honour God while we live with that body that he will raise let us be fruitful in our place Saint Paul drawes this conclusion 1 Cor. 15. from the resurrection Finally my brethren be constant unmoveable alway abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Especially considering that he will raise the dead bodies after a more glorious manner then they are now he will make a more glorious body For alway Gods second works are better then his first he raiseth the dead and will make our bodies like the glorious body of Christ. But the point of the resurrection is very large
hearts and wayes and presently to apply the balme of comfort the promise of pardon take the present when we have searched the wound to get pardon and forgivenesse daily as we sin daily Christ bids us ask it daily This will make us fit for comfort by discerning the estate of our souls and the remainders of corruption That which sharpens appetite and makes the balme of God to be sweet indeed is the sence of and the keeping open of our wound a daily search into our wants and weaknesses a daily fresh sight of the body of sin in us and experience how it is fruitful in ill thoughts and desires and actions this will drive us to a necessity of daily comfort And certainly a fresh sight of our corruptions it is never without some fresh comfort We see St. Paul Rom. 7. he sets himself to this work to complain of his indisposition by reason of sin in him and how doth he end that sight and search into his own estate he ends in a triumphing manner Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus After he had complained Oh miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this bodie of death There can be no danger in a deep search into our waies and hearts if this be laid as a ground before that there is more supplie and heavenly comfort in God and the promises of God then there can be ill in our souls then the more ill we find in our selves the more we are disposed to fetch grounds of comfort from God And together with this searching of our souls and asking daily pardon let us for the time to come renew our covenant with God that we may have the comfort of a good conscience to get pardon for our sins past and renew our resolutions for the time to come And withall that we may use an orderly course of comfort let us every day feed on Christ the food of life let us every day feed upon something in Christ consider the death of Christ the satisfaction he hath made by his death his intercession in Heaven his blood runs afresh that we may every day feed on it We may run every day into new offences against the law to new neglect of duty into new crosses let us feed upon Christ he came into the World to save sinners to make us happie with peace of conscience here and with Glorie afterward Let us feed on Christ daily as the bodie is fed with cordialls so this feeds and comforts and strengthens the soul. This is to live by faith to lead our lives by faith to feed on Christ every day And likewise if we will keep our souls in a perpetual temper of comfort let us every day meditate of some prerogatives of Christians that may raise our souls Let us single out some or other As for example that excellent prerogative to be the Sons of God What love saith the Apostle that we of Rebels and Traitors in Christ should be made the sons of God That of slaves we should be made Servants of servants sons of sons heires and of heires fellow-heires with Christ what prerogative is this that God should give his Son to mak us that were Rebels sons heires and fellow heires with Christ And to consider what follows upon this liberty that we have from the curse of the Law to goe to God boldly to go to the throne of Grace through Christ our elder brother by prayer to think of eternall life as our inheritance to think of God above as our Father Let us think of our prerogatives of Religion adoption and justification c. Upon necessity we are driven to it if we consider the grievances of this world together with our corruptions our corruptions and afflictions and temptations and desertions one thing or other will drive us to go out of our selves for comfort to feed on the benefits by Christ. And consider what he hath done it is for us the execution of his office and all for us what he is what he did what he suffered what procured all is for us The soul delighting it self in these prerogatives it will keep the soul in a perpetuall estate of comfort Therefore the Scripture sets forth Christ by all terms that may be comfortable he is the door to let us in He is the way the truth and the life the water and the bread c. In sinne he is our righteousness in death he is our life in our ignorance he is our way in spirituall hunger and thirst he is the bread and water of life he is all in all And if we cannot think of some prerogative of Christianity then think of some promise as I said before think of the Covenant of Grace there is a spring of comfort in that that God in Christ is our God to death and for ever and that promise I speak of that All things shall work for the best Let us every day think of these things and suggest them to our owne souls that our souls may be affected with them and digest them that our souls and they may be one as it were And every day stirre up our hearts to be thankfull a thankfull heart can never want comfort for it cannot be done without some comfort and chearefulness and when God receives any praise and glory he answers it with comfort a thankfull heart is alway comfortable And let us stirre up our hearts to be fruitfull in the holy actions the reward of a fruitfull life is a comfortable life besides Heaven God alway in this life gives a present reward to any good action it is rewarded with peace of conscience Besides it is a good foundation against the evil day every good action as the Apostle sayth to Timothie it layes up a good foundation The more good we do the more we are assured that our faith is not hypocritical but sound and good and will hold out in the time of tryall It will be a good foundation that we have had evidence before that we have a sound and fruitful faith What do wicked men carelesse sinful creatures that go on in a course of prophanenesse and blasphemie c they lay a ground of despaire a ground of discomfort to be swallowed up in the evil day then conscience will be awaked at the last and Satan will be ready to joyn with conscience and conscience will seal all the accusations that Satan layes against them and where is the poor soul then As it is with them so on the contrary the Christian soul that doth good besides the present comfort of a good conscience it layes a good foundation against the time to come for in the worst times it can reason with it self my faith is not fruitlesse I am not an hypocrite though the fruits of it be weak and mixed with corruptions yet there is truth in them this will comfort us when nothing
friends seeing he died for us when we were enemies I but the remainders of corruption in this world trouble us that troubles our comfort the combate between the flesh and the spirit would you see comfort for that you shall see it in Romans 7. Oh miserable man who shall deliver me from this body of death Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So he shewes there what way to have comfort in the combate between the flesh and the Spirit to search into our corruptions to lay them open to God by confession And then in the beginning of the eight Chapter saith he there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus though there be sin yet there is no condemnation though there be this conflict between the flesh and the spirit so he comforts them And for the afflictions that follow our corruptions in this life there is a treasure of comfort against them in that Chapter for doth he not say if we suffer with him we shall reign with him And the same spirit helps our infirmities and teacheth us how to pray We can never be uncomfortable if we can pray but there is a promise of the spirit that stirs up sighs and groanes that cannot be expressed and a Christian hath alway a spirit of prayer at the least of sighs and groanes and God hears the sighs of his own spirit And what a grand comfort is that that I named before vers 28. All things work for the best to them that love God And if God be with us who can be against us And he sends us to Christ if Christ be dead or rather risen again who shall lay any thing to our charge Christ is ascended to heaven and makes intercession at the right hand of God Though Satan lay our sins to our charge Christ makes intercession in heaven at the right hand of God he makes continuall intercession for our continuall breaches with God who shall lay any thing to our charge I but all that power of hell and sin and all labour to separate us from God to breed division between God and us In the later end of that Chapter he bids defiance to all what shall separate us from the love of God in Christ it shall separate his love from Christ first Gods love is found in Christ he shall cease to love Christ if he cease to love us I but we may afterward fall into an uncomfortable case For that he saith neither things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us What an excellent spring of comfort is there in that reasoning vers 32. If God spared not his own son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things eâ—…lse How many streames may be drawn from that spring if God spared not his own son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things else in this world necessar grace provision protection till he have brought us to heaven If he have given Christ he will give all whatsoever is written is written for our comfort I mean this epistle because I would name one instance for all All is written for our comfort as he saith after in the same Epistle The written word or the word unfolded the end of preaching is especially to comfort The Chirurgeon opens a wound and the Physitian gives a purge but all is to restore at the last all that the Chirurgeon aimes at is to close up the wound at the last so all our aime is to comfort We must cast you down and shew you your miserie that you are in and shew you that if you continue in that course hell and damnation belongs to you but this is to make you despaire in your selves and to flie to the God of comfort the law is for the Gospel all serve to bring the soul to comfort Therefore go to the word of God any portion the Psalmes or any special part of the scripture and that by the spirit of God will be a meanes to raise the soul the spirit in the word joyning with the spirit in us will make a sweet close together and comfort us in all tribulation And have recourse daily to common principles all the principles of religion serve for comfort especially the Articles of the Creed I believe in God the father Almightie What a spring of comfort is in that what can befall from a father but it shall turn to good and by a father Almightie though he be never so strongly opposed yet he will turn it to good he is a father Almightie and the Articles of Christ every article hath ground of daily comfort of his abasement in Christ I see my self he is my surety the second Adam I see my sins crucified with him This is the way to reape comfort when the conscience is disquieted when I look upon my sins not in my own conscience but take it out there and see it in Christ dying and crucified in the Articles of abasement to see our sin and miserie all in Christ. For he stood there as surety as a publick person for all What a comfort is this When I see how Christ was abased I see my own comfort for he was my surety if my sins being laid on him who was my surety could not condemne him or keep him in the grave but overcame sin that was laid to his charge surely I shall overcome my corruptions nothing that I have shall overcome mee because it could not overcome Christ my surety his victorie is mine And so if the soul be in any desolation and discomfort all the articles of his Glorification and exaltation his rising again acquits the soul therefore my sins are satisfied for because my surety is out of prison And his ascending into heaven shewes my triumph he lead captivity captive and the enemies that are left are for the tryal of my faith and not to conquer me for Christ hath Lead captivity captive and is ascended into heaven he led all in triumph and sits at the right hand of God to rule his Church to the end of the World he sits for me to overcome my enemies as St. Paul saith excellently Rom. 8. who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods people it is Christ that died or rather that is risen again who fits at the right hand of God And if we be troubled for the loss of a particular friend there is comfort in that article of the communion of Saints There are those that have more grace and that is for me If my own prayers be weak I believe the communion of Saints and have the benefit of their prayers every one that saith Our Father brings me in if I be in the Covenant of grace and of the Communion of Saints If I have weaknesses in my self I believe in the holy Ghost the comforter of Gods elect and my comforter If I fear death I believe the
Other reasons there may be given but these are sufficient If this be so then we ought from hence to learn that whatsoever we have we are debtors of it to others whatsoever comfort we have whether it be outward or inward comfort And even as God hath disposed and dispensed his benefits graces to us so let us be good stewards of it we shall give account of it ere long Let every man reason with himself why have I this comfort that another wants I am Gods Steward God hath not given it me to lay up but to lay out To speak a little of outward comforts It is cursed Athiesme in many rich Persons that think they are to live here only to scrape an estate for them and their children when in the mean time their Neighbour want and Gods Children want that are as dear to God as themselves and perish for want of comfort If they were not Athiests in this point they would think I am a steward and what comfort shall I have of scraping much that will but increase my account Such a Steward were mad that would desire a great account the more my account is the more I have to answer for and the more shall be my punishment if I quit not all well Now men out of Athiesme that they do not believe a day of Judgment a time of account they ingrosse comforts to them and theirs as if there were not a Church as if there were not an afflicted body of Christ they think not that they are Stewards Whereas the time will come when they shall have more comfort of that that they have bestowed then of that that they shall leave behind them to their children That which is wisely dispensed for the comfort of Gods people it will comfort us when all that we shall leave behind will not nay perhaps it will trouble us the ill getting of it And so whatsoever inward comforts we have it is for the comfort of others we are debtors of it whatsoever ability we have as occasion is ofâ—…ered if there be a necessity in those that are of the same body with our selves we ought to regard them in pitty and compassion If we should see a poor creature cast himself into a whirlpoole or plunge himself into some desperate pit were we not accessorie to his death if we should not help him if we would not pull one out of the fire Oh yes and is not the soul in as great danger and is not mercy to the soul the greatest mercy shall we see others ready to be swallowed up in the pit of despair with heaviness of spirit shall we see them dejected and not take it to heart but either we are unable to Minister a word of comfort to them or else unwilling as if we were of Cains disposition that we would look to our selves only we are none of their keepers It is a miserable thing to professe our selves to be members of that body whereof Christ is the Head to professe the communion of Saints and yet to be so dead hearted in these particular Exigences and occasions It lies upon us as a duty if God convey comfort to us from others and his end in comforting us any way of putting any comfort in our hands outward or inward it is to comfort others if we do it not we are liable to sin to the breach of Gods command and we frustrate Gods end But if this lie upon us as a duty to comfort others then it concerns us to know how to be able to do it That we may be able to comfort others let us be ready to take notice of the grievance of others as Moses went to see the afflictions of his brethren and when he saw it laid it to heart It is a good way to go to the house of mourning and not to balk and decline our Christian brethren in adversity God knowes our souls in adversitie so should we do the souls of others if they be knit to us in any bond of kindred or Nature or Neighbourhood or the like that bond should provoke us for bonds are as the veins and Arteries to derive comfort All bonds are to derive good whether bonds of Neighbourhood or acquaintance c. A man should think with himself I have this bond to do my Neighbour good It is Gods providence that I should be acquainted with him and do that to him that I cannot do to a stranger Let us consider all Bonds and let this work upon us let us consider their grievance is a bond to tie us And withall let us labour to put upon us the bowels of a father and mother tender bowels as God puts upon him bowels of compassion towards us So St. Paul being an excellent comforter of others in 1 Thess. 2. he shewes there how he carried himself as a Father or Mother or Nurse to them Those that will comfort others they must put upon them the affections of tender creatures as may be they must be patient they must be tenderly affected they must have love they must have the graces of communion What be the graces of communion The graces of Christian communion to fit us in the communion of Saints to do good they are a loving meek patient spirit Love makes patient as we see Mothers and Nurses what can they not endure of their câ—…ildren because they love them And they must be likewise wise and furnished they that will comfort others must get wisedom and abilityâ—… They must get Humility they must abase themselves that they may be comfortable to others and not stand upon terms these be the graces of communion that fit us for the communion of Saints What is the reason that many are so untoward to this duty and have no heart to it that they cannot indeed do it The reason is they consider not their Bonds they do not Consider the poor and needy Psal. 41. they have not the graces of communion they want loving spirits they want ability they are empty they are not furnished they have not knowledge laid up in store they want humble spirits the want of these graces makes us so barren in this practise of the communion of Saints Therefore we should bewaile our own barrennesse when we should do such duties and cannot And beg of God the spirit of love and wisedom that we may do things wisely that we may speak that which is fit a word in season is as apples of Gold with Pictures of Silver And let us beg a humble spirit that we may be abased to comfort others As Christ in love to us he abased himself he became man and when he was man he became a servant he abased himself to wash his Disciples feet talk with a silly woman and such base offices and if the Spirit of Christ be in us it will abase us to offices of love to support one another to bear one anothers burthens Again if we would comfort
is little hope of me Yes St. Paul will come and comfort thee by his example and experience this is a faithful saying that Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners of whom I am chief I he came to save such sinners as St Paul was I saith St. Paul and that I might be an example to all that shall believe in Christ to the end of the world he takes away that objection And the Apostle is so heavenly wise that where he speakes of priviledges he inlargeth it to others There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus And what shall separate us from the love of God But when he speaks of matter of abasement that we may see that he was in regard of his corruptions as much humbled as we then he speaks in his own person Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Therefore his comforts belong to thee Now as these examples in scripture and the experiences of Gods Children there be appliable to us so much more the experience of Gods Children that are alive Therefore we should be willing to do offices of comfort in this kind Those that are of abilitie either men or women they will have in their houses somewhat to comfort others they will have strong waters and cordials and medicines and they account it a glorie to have somewhat that their neighbours may be beholding to them for and though they bestow it freely yet they think and account it a sufficient recompence that they can be beneficial to others People do this for things of this life and think they deserve a great deal of respect for their goodnesse in this kind surely if we consider there is a life that needs comfort more then this faing life and there are miseries that pinch us more then the miseries of the bodie Every one should labour to have in the house of his soule somewhat some strong waters of comfort that he may be able to tell others this refreshed my soul this hath done me good I give you no worse then I took my self first this wondrously commends the comfort in the party that gives it and it commends it to the party that receives it to take benefit by the comforts of other men For is it not a strengthening to our case when another shall say to our comfort it was my case Is it not sealed by the evidence of two surely it is a great assurance when we have another to tell us his experience Again if this be Gods order that he will convey comfort to us by others then we ought to depend upon Gods Ordinance we ought to expect comfort one from another especially from the ministers who are messengers of comfort I speak it the rather because in what degree we neglect any one meanes that God hath ordained to comfort us though he be the God of comfort yet in that measure we are sure to want comfort and this is one principal ordinance the ministerie and the communion of Saints Some there be that will neglect the meanes of salvation they have dead spirits and live and die so for the most part they have much ado to recover comfort Those men that retire themselves that will work all out of the flint themselves they are commonly uncomfortable God hath ordained one to help another As in an Arch one stone strengtheneth another the ministery especially is ordained for comfort And likewise God hath ordained one Christian to comfort another as well as the ministers Let us therefore regard much the communion of Saints Let one Christian labour to comfort another and every one labour to be fit to receive comfort from others labour to have humble and willing spirits It is so true that God doth convey comfort even by common Christians as well as the ministers that St. Paul himself Rom. 1. 12. he desires to see the Romans that he might receive mutual comfort from them For a minister may have more knowledge and book-learning perhaps then another Christian that may have better experience then he especially in some things and there is not the meanest Christian but he may comfort the greatest Clerk in the world and help him by his experience that God hath shewed to him by declaring how God shewed him comfort at such a time and upon such an occasion The experience of Gods People the meanest of them may help the best Christians therefore he will have none to be neglected There is never a member of Christs body but hath some ability to comfort another for Christ hath no dead members God will have it so because he will have one Christian to honour another and to honour them from the knowledge of the use and necessity that one hath of another If God should not derive comfort from one to another in some degree and from the meanest to the greatest one would despise another but God will not have it so he will have the communion of Saints valued to the end of the world What will one Christian regard another what would weak Christians regard the strong and what would strong Christians regard the weak if there were not a continual supply one from another Therefore God hath ordained that by the ministery and by the communion of Saints we should comfort one another Let us not think that this doth not concern us it concerns us all therefore when we have any trouble in mind let us regard the communion of Saints let us regard acquaintance And let us know this that God will hold us in heavynesse till we have used all the meanes that he hath appointed if one help not perhaps another will perhaps the ministery will help perhaps acquaintance will help but if we find not comfort in one let us go over all And would you have more Christ himself did he not take two disciples into the garden with him when his spirit was heavy Did not he know that God had ordained one to comfort another Two are better then one if one be alone he shall be a cold but if there be two they heat one another if there be one alone there can hardly be true spiritual heat If two be together if one fall the other may raise him up but if one be alone and fall who shall raise him up It is meant spiritually as well as bodily and outwardly by Solomon We cannot have a better president then our blessed Saviour Solitarinesse in such times in Spiritual desertion it is the hour of temptation When did the divel set on Christ when he was alone it was the fittest time to tempt him when Christ was severed So the Divell sets on single persons when they are alone and tempts them and presseth them with variety of temptations Woe to him that is alone Christ sent his Disciples by two and two that one might comfort another and one might strengthen another Now though in particular it
despight of the world that will beare the cross of Christ For the other as their jollity increaseth in the world so their crosses and troubles shall increase As it is said Revel 18. 17. of mysticall Babylon the Church of Rome that hath flourished in the world a great while and sate as a Queen and blessed her self As she gloried herself and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her So it is true of every wicked man that is in an evill course and will be and as the Scripture phrase is blesseth himself in an evil course they shall be sure of the curse of God and not of comfort for in what proportion they have delighted themselves in this world in sin in that proportion they shall have torment of conscience if conscience be awaked in this world and in that proportion they shall have torment in the world to come As sin is growing so rods are growing for them wicked men saith St. Paul they grow worse and worse the more they sin the more they may they sink in rebellion and the more they sink in rebellion the more they sink in the state of damnation they fill up the measure of their sins and treasure up the wrath of God against the day of wrath Whosoever thou art that livest in a sinfull course and wilt do so in spight of Gods Ordinance in spight of the motions of the spirit that hast the good motions of the spirit knocking at thy soule and yet wilt rather refuse comfort then take comfort together with direction go on still in this thy wicked course but remember as thy comforts increase in this world so thy torment is increasing And here is the disproportion between Gods children and others they have their sufferings first and their comfort afterward but others have their pleasure first and their torment after theirs are for a time but others for ever Thus we see what we may comfortably observe from this that comforts increase as crosses increase A Word of the fourth and last point How comes this to pass that as our afflictions abound so our consolations abound They abound by Chrst saith the Apostle God the Father he is the God of comfort the Holy-Ghost is the Comforter but how comes this to pass that we that are not the Objects of comfort but of confusion should have God the Father to be the God of comfort and the Holy-Ghost to be our comforter Oh it is that Jesus Christ the great peace-maker hath satisfied God and procured the Holy-Ghost for the holy-Ghost is procured by the satisfaction and death of Christ and he was sent after the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Therefore Christ is called the consolation of Israel and those that waited for Christ waited for the consolation of Israel All comfort is hid in Christ he is the store-house of comfort we have it through him and by him and in him For that God is the Father of comfort it is because Christ is our Mediatour and Intercessour in Heaven that the Holy-Ghost is the comforter it is because Christ sent him and the comforts of the holy-Ghost are fetched from Christ from the death of Christ or the ascention of Christ from some argument from Christ. Whatsoever comforteth the soule the Holy-Ghost doth it by fetching some argument from Christ from his satisfaction from his worth from his intercession in Heaven something in Christ it is So Christ by his Spirit doth comfort and the reasons fetched by the Spirit are from Christ therefore it is by Christ. What is the reason that a Christian soule doth not feare God as a consuming fire but can look upon him with comfort It is because God hath received satisfaction by Christ. What is the reason that a Christian soule feares not Hell but thinks of it with comfort Christ hath conquered Hell and Satan What is the reason that a Christian feares not death Christ by death hath overcome death and him that had the power of death the Devill Christ is mine saith the Christian soule therefore I do not feare it but think of it with comfort because a Christian is more then a Conquerour over all these What is the reason that a Christian is not afraid of his corruptions and sins He knows that God for Christs sake will pardon them and that the remainder of his corruptions will worke to his humiliation and to his good All shall work for the best to them that love God What is the reason that there is not any thing in the world but it is comfortable to a Christian When he thinks of God he thinks of him as a Father of comfort when he thinks of the Holy-Ghost he thinks of him as a spirit of comfort when he thinks of Angels he thinks of them as his attendants when he thinks of Heaven he thinks of it as of his inheritance he thinks of Saints as a communion whereof he is partaker whence is all this By Christ who hath made God our Father the holy-Ghost our Comforter who hath made Angels ours Saints ours heaven ours earth ours Devils ours death ours all ours in issue For God being turned in love to us all is turned our crosses are no curses now but comforts and the bitterest crosses yield the sweetst comforts All this is by Christ that hath turned the course of things and hid blessings in the greatest crosses that ever were And this he did in himself before he doth it in us for did not his greatest crosses tend to his greatest glory who ever in the world was abased as our head Christ Jesus was that made him crie My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee All the Creatures in the world would have sunk under the sufferings that Christ indured what abasement to the abasement of Christ and what glorie to the glorie of Christ Phil 2. He humbled himself to the death of the cross wherefore God gave him a name above all names that at the name of Jesus euery knee should bow both of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth Now as it was in our head his greatest abasement ushered in his greatest glorie so it shall be in us our greatest crosses are before our greatest comforts he is our President he is the exemplarie cause as well as the efficient working cause it is by Christ all this that consolations abound in us it was performed first in him and shall be by him by his Spirit to the end of the world The use that we are to make of this is that in all our sufferings before we come to Heaven we should look to Christ he hath turned all things let us study Christ and fetch comfort from him our flesh was abased in him our flesh is glorified in him now in Heaven in his person And so it must be in our own persons our flesh must be abased and then as he is glorious in Heaven so shall we be in our selves That very
to be there then here and if it were not for crosses who would be of that minde Therfore have we not cause to suspect our selvs that we are in smooth ways and find no crosses God doth give respit to his children they have breathing times they are not alway under crosses he is mercifull perhaps they have not strength enough he will not bring them to the lists to the stage because they are not inabled they have not strength enough But they that have a continuall tenour of prosperity may well suspect themselves If one have direction to such a place and they tell him there are such ways deep waters that except he take heed he will be drowned and step into holes and they are craggie wayes and if he meet with none of these he may wel think he is not in his way So the way to Heaven it is through afflictions we must indure many afflictions saith the Apostle here Salvation is wrought by induring the same afflictions that you see in us Now if I suffer and indure nothing if I cannot indure so much as a Filip a disgrace a frowne a scorne for Christ if the way be over smooth it is not the way to heaven certainly the way is not strewed with roses we must have our Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel They must be well shod that go among thorns and they had need to be wel fenced that go the way to heaven it is a thorny rugged way but it is no matter what the way be so it bring us to Heaven but certainly if the way be too smooth we ought to suspect our selves Now because it may be objected many will say alas what doe we suffer and therefore our case is not good I answer Every Christian suffers one of these wayes at one time or other nay at all times either by sympathy with the Church put the case we have no afflictions of our own doe we not sympathise with the Church beyond the Seas When thou hearest ill news if thou be glad to heare it certainly thy case is bad there is a suffering by sympathy and that suffering is ours Then again There are afflictions and sufferings that arise upon scandals that men run into before our eyes which is a great grief Mine eyes gush out with rivers of waters because men keep not thy law saith David Is it not a matter of suffering to a Christian soule to see that he would not see and to hear blasphemies and oathes that he would not hear to have the understanding forced to understand that he would not living in a world of iniquity in the Kingdom of the Devill It is a great grievance Woe is me that I am forced to dwell in Meshech and to have my habitation with the Tents of Kedar It is a pittifull affliction to the Saints of God to him that hath the life of grace in his heart to have the wicked as goads and thornes as the Scripture saith the Jebusites should be to the Israelites to have thoughts forced upon us and things forced upon our soules that we would not see nor think nor hear of that which shall never be in Heaven Again Every one suffers the burthen of his calling which is a great suffering a man need not to whip himself as the Scottish Papists do if he be but faithfull in his calling it is a notable meanes of mortification God keeps a man from persecution many times because he hath burthens in his calling to exercise him he hath many crosses in his calling God hath joyned sweat to labour and trouble and paines and there is no man that is faithfull in his calling as he should be but he shall find many crosses And then that which afflicts most of all the affliction of all afflictions the inward combat between the flesh the spirit which God usually takes up in persecution and outward troubles Gods deare children in persecution find little molestation from their corruptions because God will not lay more upon them then he will give them strength to beare and now when he singles them out to outward crosses he subdues their corruptions that they do not vex them as before In the time of peace he lets loose their corruptions sometimes anger sometimes pride sometimes one base affection sometimes another and think you t his is no grief to them Oh yes it grie ves them and humbles them more then any cross would do St. Paul was grieved more at this then at all his sufferings it made him crie out Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death He doth not say oh wretched man who shall deliver me from crosses and afflictions though they made him wretched in the eye of the world yet he rejoyced in those but his griefe was that he could not doe the good that he would and that made him crie out Oh wretched mâ—…n that I am c. It is God that ties up our corruptions that they run not so violently on the soule at one time as they do at another for he hath the command of them by his spirit There is no Christian but one of these wayes he suffers in the greatest time of peace especially this way God exerciseth them that he makes them weary of their lives by this spirituall conflict if they know what the life of grace meanes he makes them know what it is to be absent from Heaven he makes them know that this life is a place of absence and all this is to help our disposition to salvation by helping mortification and by helping our desire to Heaven Those that go on in a smooth course that know not what this inward combate meanes and are carried away with their sins they are so farre from taking scandals to heart that if they see evill men they are ready to joyn with them to joyn with blasphemers and wicked persons And instead of sympathizing with the Church of God they are ready to joyn with them that censure them and so add affliction to the afflicted But to proceed Whether we be comforted it is for your consolation and salvation Of comfort I spake in the former verse Onely that note that I will briefly commend to you is this that Gods Children hap how it will they doe good Cast them into what estate you will they doe good they are good and doe good If they be afflicted they doe good by that if they have comfort they do good to others by that no estate is amisse to Gods Children And that is the reason of their perfect resignation The Child of God perfectly resignes himself into Gods hands Lord if thou wilt have me suffer I will suffer if thou wilt have me afflicted I yield my selfe if thou wilt have me injoy prosperity I will I know it shall be for my good and for the good of others There is an intercourse in the life of a
uncharitable men judge amiss of the generation of the righteous Whereas they should set the Court in their own hearts and begin to censure there and to examine themselves they goe out and keep their Court abroad but I say passe not a harsh censure upon others or on thy selfe no not for extream dangers for God now is making way for great comfort let God go on his way without thy censuring of him Again This should teach us that we should not build overmuch confidence on earthly things on the things of this world neither on health of body or on friends or on continuance of life alas it is Gods ordinary course to strip us of all in this world we think of great reputation but saith God I will take that from you you shall learn to trust in me You think you have strong and vigorous bodies and you shall live long and therefore you will venture upon such and such courses I but God suffers his children to come to extream dangers and hazards that they think the sentence of death is passed upon them And since this is Gods course with the body and with the Members and with our head Christ himself shall we think to have immunitie and to escape and not looke to Gods order The Church is in great miserie and we are negligent in prayer we think there are many good people and there is strong munition c. As if when Gods people are in security and forget him and his blessings it were not his course to strip them of all to suffer them to fal into extream dangers have we not the Church before our eyes to teach us Let us trust therefore in nothing in this world So much for that point The second thing in the first part is this that As Gods Children are brought to this estate so they are sensible of it They are flesh and not steele they have not the strength of steele as Job saith they are men they are not stones they are Christians they are not Stoicks Therefore St. Paul as he was in extremity so he apprehended his extremity and with all his heart he would have escaped if he could he looked about to all evasions how he might escape death Gods children are sensible of their crosses especially they are sensible of death as he speaks here of himself We despaired even of life it self The word is very significant in the originall we were in such a strait that we knew not how to escape with life so that we despaired of life we would have escaped with our lives but we saw no way to escape To make this clear there are 3. things in Gods Children There is Grace Nature Corrupt nature nature with the tang of Corruption Grace that looks upward to glorie and comfort Nature looks to the present grievance nature looks not to things to come to matters revealed in the Word to supernatural comforts nature looks to the present crosse even nature without sin Corrupt nature feeles and feeles with a secret murmuring and repining and heavinesse and dulnesse as indeed corrupt nature will alway have a bout in crosses it will alway play its part first or last There are alway these three works in the Children of God in all extremities Grace works and that carries up up still trust in God it looks to heaven it looks to the end and issue that all is for good Nature it fills full of sense and pain and makes a man desire remedy and ease Corrupt nature stirs a man up to fret and say what doth God mean to do thus it stirs a man oft-times to use ill meanes indirect courses St. Paul was sensible from a right principle of nature and no doubt here was some tang of corruption with it he was sensible of the fear of death Adam in innocencie would have been affected and exquisitly sensible no doubt if his body had been wronged for the more pure the complexion the more sensible of solution as Physicians say when that which should be knit together if any thing be loosed by sicknesse or by wounds that should by nature not be hurt but continue together it breeds exquisite pain As to cut that which should not be cut to disjoyn that which should be together this is in nature The Schoolemen say and the reason is good that Christs paines were the greatest paines because his senses were not dulled and stupified with sensuality or indirect courses he had a body of an excellent temper and he was in the perfection of his years when he died therefore he received such an impression of grief in his whipping and when he was crowned with thornes that was it that made him so sensible of grief that when he sweat he sweat drops of blood and upon the crosse it made him cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Gods Children out of a principle of nature are sensible of any grievance to this outward man of theirs to the body especially in death as we see here St. Paul And there is most patience where there is most sense it is stupidity and blockishnesse else Why are Gods Children so sensible in grief especially in death Oh there is a great cause indeed in some regards they are not afraid of it for death is an enemy to nature it is none to Grace but when I speake not of Grace and Glory but of nature hath not nature great cause to tremble at death when it is an enemy to nature even to right nature It is the King of fears as Job saith it is that Tyrant that makes all the Kings of the earth to tremble at him when death comes it is terrible why because it strips us of all the contentments of this life of all comforts whatsoever we have here Nature without â—…n is sensible of earthly comforts that God hath appointed for nature and when nature sees an end of them nature begins to give in and to grieve Again death parts the best friends we have in this world the body and the soul two old friends and they cannot be parted without exquisite grief If two friends that take contentment in each other common friends cannot part without grief how shall these bosom-friends these united friends body and soul part without grief This marriage between the soul and the body cannot be disunited without exquisite pain being old acquaintance Again nature abhors death it hinders us of all imployment it hinders of all service of God in Church and Common-wealth And so grace which is beyond nature doth a little desire the continuance of life But nature even out of no sinful principle it sees that now I can serve God no longer I can do God no more service I can do good no longer in this World and therefore it takes it to heart Our Savour saith While you have light walke the night cometh when no man is able to work the night of sicknesse and death So
the greatest excellencies are adds some imperfection to balance them Because they should not trust in themselves What is the reason that in the Church God chooseth men of meaner parts and sufficiencies the Disciples Fisher-men If they had been great men men would have said place had carried it if they had been Scholars men would have said that their learning had carried it if they had been witty men they would have said their wit had carried it it had been no marvell if they should win the world but when they saw they were mean men fisher-men sitters at the receit of custome and perhaps their parts were not great then they might attribute it to the divinenesse of the Gospel to the divinenesse of Gods truth and to Gods blessing upon it What is the reason that God suffers excellent men to fall foully sometimes St. Peter himself and David c. because they should not trust in themselves not trust in their grace not trust in any thing no not in the best things in themselves What is the reason that God goes by contraries in all the carriage of our salvation That we should not trust in our selves In our calling he calls men out of nothing He calls things that are not as if they were In Justification he justifies a sinner he that despaires of his own righteousness that no man should trust in any thing he hath or despaire if he want any perfection God justifies a sinner that despairs of himself In sanctification God sanctifies a man when he sees no goodness in himself most of all then he is a vessell fit to receive grace And he doth sanctifie him sometimes by his falls he makes him good by his slips which is a strange course to make a man better by Saith St. Austin I dare say and stand to it that it is profitable for some men to fall they grow more holy by their slips As Peter he grew stronger by his infirmitie this strange course God takes Why so That we should not trust in our selves In our calling in our justification from our sins that we should not trust in our selves nor despaire In Sanctification nay he takes a course that we shall grow better by our falls that we may be ashamed of them and be more cautelous and humble and more watchful for the time to come In glorification he will glorifie us but it shall be when we have been rotten in our graves before we must come to nothing So in every passage of salvation he goes by contraries and all to beate down confidence in our selves and that we should not distrust him in any extremity for then is the time for God to work his work most of all That we might not trust in our selves To help us further against this self-confidence let us labour to know our selves well what we are distinct from the new creature distinct from grace and glory Indeed in that respect we are something in God If we go out of our selves and see what we are in Christ we are some body for we are heires of heaven we are Kings and Rulers over all all things are subject to us hell and sinne and death we are some body there But in that wherein our nature is prone to put overmuch confidence what are we what are we as we are strong as we are rich as we are noble as we are in favour with great ones alas all is nothing because ere long it will be nothing What will all be in the houre of death when we must receive the sentence of death what will all favours do us good they will be gone What will all relations that we are stiled by this and that title what good will it do alas these end in death all earthly relations shall be laid in the dust All the honours in the earth all riches and contentments all the friends that we have what can they do nothing all shall leave us there And for us to trust in that which will faile us ere long and which being taken away we receive a great foile for he that leans to a thing if that be taken away down he falls what a shame will it be As the Heathen man said that great Emperour I have been all things and nothing doth me good now when he was to die indeed nothing could do him good Let not the rich man glorie in his riches nor the wise man glorie in his wisdom nor the strong man in his strength saith the Prophet Jer. 9. 22. but let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. Consider what the best thing is that we have of inward things our wisdom wisdom if it be not spirituall it is onely a thing for the things of this life and we are oft times deceived in it It makes God to disappont us oft times to make us go out of our selves an excellent place for this we have in Isa. 50. the last verse Behold all ye that kindle a fire and compasse your selves about with sparkes walk in the light of your own fire c. It is a kind of Ironia and the sparks that you have kindled this you shall have of my hand ye shall lie down in sorrow Walk in the light of your own fire walk according to your own devises and projects this ye shall have at my hand ye shall lie down in sorrow God catcheth the wise in the imagination of their own hearts he disappoints the counsel and the projects of Achitophel God takes a glory in it to shame the policies and projects of those that will be wittie in a distinct way against God the best policie is to serve God and to walk uprightly That we should not trust in our selves But in God who raiseth the dead This is the other branch what we should trust in In God all this humbling of the blessed Apostle even to deaths door that he received the sentence of death it was first to subdue carnall confidence in himself he was prone to think himself stronger then he was or that he should be upheld that something or other should keep him from death that he might subdue carnal confidence and then that he might trust in God it was all for these two ends That we might not trust in our selves or in any means but in God that raiseth the dead VVas St. Paul to learn to trust in God that had been so long a Scholar in Christs School nay a Master in Israel was he to learn to trust in God Yes doubtlesse he was it is a lesson that is hardly learned and it is a lesson that we shall be learning all our life to go out of our selves and out of the creature and to go further into God to relie more and more upon him it is a lesson that we can never learn as we ought Therefore weak Christians ought not to be discouraged when they find defects and weaknesse in their trust our hearts are false and prone to trust
be at the cost with us to exercise us It is a ground not onely of patience but of thankfulnesse when God humbles us be not discontent man grudge not murmur not God doth a work that seems strange to thee and which is not his own proper work that he may do his own work that he may bring thee nearer to himself why dost thou murmur at thy own good The Patient cries out of the Physitian that he torments him he hears him well enough but he will not be advised by his patient he means to advise him and to rule him he would faine have comfort he is in pain and cries for ease but his time is not yet come So let us wait and not murmur under crosses God is doing one work to bring to passe another he brings us out of our selves that he may bring us nearer to himself And another Use that we may make of it let us examine our selves whether our afflictions and crosses have had this effect in us to bring us to trust in him more if they have all is well but if they make us worse that we fret and murmur and feel no good by them it is an ill sign for God doth bring us low that we may not trust in our selves but in him Quem praesentia mala non corrigunt c. Whom the presence of ill and grievance amends not they bring to eternal grievance This is Ahaz saith the Scripture a strange man a wicked King that notwithstanding God followed him with judgements yet he grew worse and worse This is Ahaz he might well be branded When a man belongs to God every thing brings him nearer to God when a man is brought to be more humble and more careful and more watchful every way to be more zealous more heavenly minded it is a blessed sign that God then is working a blessed work to force him out of himself and to bring him nearer himself to trust in him This we cannot too much consider of It should teach us likewise this that we judge not amisse of the generation of the righteous when we see God much humbling them when we see him follow them with sicknesse with troubles and disgraces in the world perhaps with terrour of consience with descertions be not discouraged if he be thy friend censure him not add not affliction to his affliction is not his affliction enough thou needest not to add thy unjust censure as Job said to his friends The more we are afflicted of God the more good he intends to work to us the end is to bring us from our selves to trust in him It is a wicked disposition in men that know not the wayes of God they are ignorant of the wayes that he takes with his children when they see men that are Christians that they are humbled and cast down and troubled they think they are men forsaken of God c. alas they do not know Gods manner of dealing he casts them down that he may raise them up they receive the sentence of death against themselves that he may comfort them after that he may do them good in their latter end Let this therefore keep us from censuring of other men in our thoughts for this hard course which God seems to take with them And let us make this Use of it when we are in any grievance and God followes us still let us mourn and lament the stubbornsse of our hearts that will not yeeld God intends to draw us near to him to trust in him if we would do this the affliction would cease except it be for tryall and for the exercise of Grace and for witnesse to the truth When God afflicts sometime for tryall and for witnesse there is a spirit of Glory in such a case that a man is never afflicted in mind but I say when God followes us with sicknesse with crosses with loss of friends and we are not wrought upon let us censure our hard hearts that force God to take this course And justice God in all this Lord thou knowest I could not be good without this thou knowest I would not be drawn without this bring me near to thy self that thou mayest take away this heavy hand from me The intemperate man that is sick makes the Physitian seeme cruel It is because I set my affections too much on earthly things that thou followest me with these troubles we force God to do this A Physitian is forced to bring his Patient even to skin and bone an intemperate Patienr sometimes that hath surfetted upon a long distemper he must bring him to Deaths doore even almost to death because his distemper is so setled upon him that he cannot otherwise cure him So it is with God the Physitian of our souls he must bring us wondrous low we are so prone so desperately addicted to present things to trust to them and to be proud of them and confident in them that God must deal as a sharp Physitian he must bring us so low or else we should never be recovered of our perfect health again and all is that we might trust in God Observe we from hence another point that God in all outward things that are ill intends the good of the soul. He takes liberty to take away health and liberty and friends to take away comforts but whatsoever he takes away he intends the good of the soul in the first place And all the ills that he inflicts upon us they are to cure a worse ill the ill of the soul to cure an unbelieving heart a worldly proud carnal heart which is too much addicted to earthly things We see here how God dealt with St Paul all was to build up his soul in trust and confidence in God all was for the soul. The reason is other things are vanishing the soul is the better part the eternal part if all be well with the soul all shall be well otherwise at last If it be well with the soul the body shall do well though God take liberty to humble us with sicknesse and with death it self yet God will riase the body and make it glorious a good soul will draw it after it at last and move God to make the body glorious But if the soul be naught let us cherish and do what we will with the body both will be naught at last This life is not a life to regard the body we are dead in that while we live the sentence of death is passed we must die we are dying every day The body is dead because of sin we are going to our grave every day takes away a part of our life This is not a life for this body of ours it is a respite to get assurance of an eternal estate in heaven God takes our wealth and liberty and strength c. That he may help our souls that he may work his own blessed work in our souls that he may lay a foundation of
death yet I shall sleep in the Lord as when I goe to sleep I hope to rise again so I trust when the resurrection shall come that my body shall waken and arise I trust in God that raiseth the dead because he raiseth the dead he can recover me if he will if not he will make this body a glorious body afterward so every way it was a strong argument with Saint Paul I trust in God that raiseth the dead The Apostle draws an argument of comfort from Gods power in raising the dead And it is a true reason a good argument he that will raise the dead body out of the grave he can raise out of miserie out of captivity the argument is strong Thus God comforts his people in Ezek. 37. in that parable of the drie bones that he put life in So the blessed Apostle St. Paul he speaks of Abraham Rom. 4. 17. He looked to God who quickneth the dead who calleth things that are not as though they were What made Abraham to trust in God that he would give him Isaac again he considered if God can raise Isaac from the dead if he please he can give me Isaac back again and though Isaac were the sonne of promise yet he trusted Gods Word more then Isaac the sonne of his love Why he knew that God could raise him from the dead though he had sacrificed him he trusted in God who quickneth the dead The resurrection then is an argument to stengthen our faith in all miseries whatsoever It strengthens our faith before death and in death I will not enter into the common place of that point concerning the resurrection it would be tedious and unjust beause it is not intended here but onely it is used as a special argument Therefore I will but touch that point God will raise us from the dead Nature is more offended at this then any other thing But St. Paul makes it cleare that it is not against nature that God should raise the dead 1 Cor. 15. To speake a little of it and then to speake of the use the Apostle made of it and of the use that we may make of it Saith the Apostle in that place speaking to witty Atheists that thought to have cavilled out the resurrection from the dead Thou fool thou speakest against nature if thou think it altogether impossible Look to the seed do we not see that God every spring raiseth things that were dead We see in the silk-worm what an alteration there is from a flie to a worm c We see what men can doe by Art they make glasses of what of Ashes We see what nature can doe which is the ordinary providence of God we see what it can do in the bowels of the earth What is gold and silver and pearle is it not water and earth excellently digested exquisitely concocted and digested That there should be such excellent things of so base a creature We see what Art and nature can do If Art and nature can do so great things why do we call in question the power of God if God have revealed his Will to do so why do we doubt of this great point of Gods raising the dead The Ancients had much adoe with the Pagans about this point they handled it excellently as they were excellent in those points which they were forced to by the adversaries and indeed they were especially sound in those points I say they were excellent and large in the handling of this but I will not stand upon that it is an Article of our Creed I believe the resurrection of the body Indeed he that believeth the first Article of the Creed he will easily believe the last he that believes in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth he will easily believe the resurrection of the body But I will rather come to shew the Use of it God will raise the dead Therefore Gods manner of working is when there is no hope in extremity as I touched before he raiseth us but it is when we are dead he doth his greatest works when there is least hope So it is in the resurrection out of troubles as in the resurrection of the body when there is no hope at all no ground in nature but it must be his power altogether that must do it then he falls to work to raise the dead Therefore our faith must follow his working he raiseth the dead he justifies a sinner but it is when he is furthest from grace a sinner despairing of all mercie then he hath the most need of justification He raiseth the dead but it is then when they are nothing but dust then it is time for him to work to raise the dead He restores but it is that which is lost God never forgets his old work this was his old manner of working at the first still every day he useth it he made all of nothing order out of confusion light out of darkness This was in the creation and the like he doth still he never forgets his old work This St. Paul being acquainted with he fastneth his hope and trust upon such a God as will raise the dead Therefore make that use of it that the Apostle doth when the Church is in any calamity which is as it were a death when it is as in that 37. of Ezekiel drie bones Comfort your selves God comforted the Church there that he would raise the Church out of Babylon as he raised those dead bones the one is as easie as the other So in the government of the Church continually he brings order out of confusion light out of darkness and life out of death that is out of extream troubles when men think themselves dead when they think the Church dead past all hope then he will quicken and raise it so that he will never forget this course till he have raised our dead bodies and then he will finish that manner of dispensation This is Gods manner of working We must answer it with our faith that is in the greatest dejection that can be to trust in God that raiseth the dead Faith if it be true it will answer the ground of it but when it is carried to God it is carried to him that raiseth the dead therefore though it be desperate every way yet notwithstanding I hope above hope I hope in him whose course is to raise the dead who at the last will raise the dead and still delights in a proportion to raise men from death out of all troubles and miseries Well this God doth and therefore carrie it along in all miseries whatsoever in soul in body or estate or in the Church c. God raiseth from the dead therefore we must feel our selves dead before we can be raised by his grace What is the reason that a Papist cannot be a good Christian he opposeth his own conversion what is conversion It is the first resurrection the resurrection of
because men are ready to trample upon and to rase out the writing of conscience but the Book of God they cannot therefore that is added to help conscience And God adds his Spirit to his Word to convince conscience and to make the witnesse of the Word more effectuall for although the Word say thus and thus yet till the Spirit convince the soul and set it down that it is thus till it convince it with a heavenly light conscience will not be fully convict That conscience therefore may be able to witnesse well Let us regard the notions of nature preserve them if we do not God will give us up to grosse sins Let us labour to have right principles and grounds to cherish principles of nature common with the Heathens and to lay up principles out of the Word of God to preserve the admonitions and directions and rules of the Word And especially the sweet motions of Gods blessed Spirit For conscience alway supposeth a rule the rule of nature the rule of the Word and the suggestions of the blessed Spirit with the Word Therefore to note by the way an Ignorant man can never have a good conscience especially a man that affects Ignorance because he hath no rule he labours to have none It is not meerly ignorance but likewise obstinacy with ignorance He will not know what he should lest conscience force him to doe what he knowes What a sottish thing is this It will be the heaviest sin that can be laid ro our charge at the day of judgment not that we were Ignorant but that we refused to know we refused to have our conscience rectified and instructed And those that avoid knowledg because they will not do what they know they shall know one day that their wilful Ignorance will be laid to their charge as a heavy sin Labour to have right principles and grounds What is the reason that commonly men have such bad consciences They have false principles they conclude may I not do what I list may I not make of my own what I will and every man for himself and God for us all diabolicall principles And so commonly if a man examine men that live in wickednesse they have false principles God sees not God regards not and it is time enough to repent The cause that men live wickedly is false principles therefore they have so vile consciences as they have their hearts deceive them and they deceive their hearts They have false principles put into them by others they are deceived and they deceive their hearts they force false principles upon themselves Many study for false grounds to live by for their advantage There are many that are Atheisticall that live even under the Gospell and what rule have they the example of them by whom they hope to rife they study their manners they square their lives by them that is all the rule they have And again the multitude they do as the most do and custom and other false rules These rules will not comfort us to say I did it by such an example I did as others among whom I live did or I did it because it was the custom of the times these things being alledged will comfort nothing For who gave you these rules doth God say any where in his Word you shall be judged by the example of others you shall be judged by the custom of the times you live in No you shall be judged by my Word The Word that Moses spake and the Word that I speak shall judge you at the last day They that have not the Word shall be judged by the Word written in their hearts Those that have sinned without the Law shall be judged by that without the Law of Moses God hath acquainted us with other rules We must take heed of this therefore thatwe get good rules take heed that they be not false rules for the want of these directions men come to have ill consciences Where there is no good rule there is a blind conscience where there is no application of the rule there is a prophane conscience And where there is a false rule there is an erroneous a scrupulous a wicked conscience A Papist because he hath a false rule he cannot have a good conscience The abomination of Popery is that they sin against conscience and conscience indeed is even with them for it overthrowes the most of their principles They sin against conscience many wayes I mean not against their own conscience but they sin against the conscience of others For what do they That they may rule in the consciences of men for that is the end of their great Prelate the Tyrant of souls they have false rules that the Pope cannot erre their rule is the authority and judgement of him that cannot erre and he for the most part is an unlearned man in Divinity that never read over the Scriptures in all his life and he must judge all controversies Where this is granted that the Pope cannot erre he fits in the conscience to do what he list And he makes divine Lawes and cursed is he saith the Councel of Trent that doth not equalize those traditions with the VVord of God From this false rule comes all even rebellion it self If he give dispensation from the oath of Allegiance because he cannot erre therefore they ought to obey him and rebell against their Governours All rebellion is from that rebellious rebellion that comes from false principles These men talk of conscience and they come not to Church for conscience sake what conscience can they have when they have false rules To equivocate and lie sins against nature And other rules that give liberty against the Word that children may disobey their Parents and get into a Cloyster c. The most of Popery though there were no VVord of God it is against nature against conscience which God hath planted in man as his deputy his tenant And as they sin against conscience so as I said conscience is even with them For let a man trust to his conscience and he can never be a sound Papist except he leave that and go upon base false grounds because other great men do it and because his predecessours have done it c. I appeal to their own consciences if any man at the day of death think to be saved by his merits doth not Bellarmine after long dispute of salvation by merits disclaime it doth he not put away merits for the uncertainty of his own righteousnesse So their own consciences do wring away the testimony of trusting to merits Again that Original sin is no great sin it is but the cause of sin and it is lesse then any venial sin Oh but when conscience is awaked to know what a corrupt estate it is it will draw from them that which it drew from Saint Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Conscience when it is awaked
is alway in their eares an ill Conscience when it is mingled with ill newes when there are two feares together it must needs be a great fear And a good conscience when it hath laid up grounds of joy in life in the worst estate and condition of life then it makes use of joy in death for when all comforts are taken from a man when his friends cannot comfort him and all earthly things leave him then that conscience that hath gone along with him that hath been a Monitor and a witnesse all his life-time now it comes to speak good things to him now it comforts him now conscience is some body at the houre of death when nothing else will be regarded when nothing will comfort then conscience doth The righteous hath hope in his death as the Wise man saith Death is called the King of feares because it makes all afraid It is the terrible of terribles saith he Philosopher but here is a King above the King of feares a good conscience is above the King of feares death A good conscience is fo farre from being discouraged by this King of feares that it is joyfull even in death because it knowes that then it is near to the place where conscience shall be fully enlarged where there shall be no annoyance nor no grievance whatsoever Death is the end of misery and the beginning of happinesse therefore a good conscience is joyful in death And after death at the day of judgment there the witnesse of conscience is a wondrous cause of joy for there a man that hath a good conscience he looks upon the Judge his Brother he looks on him with whom he hath made his peace in his life-time before and now he receives that which he had the beginnings of before then he lifts up his head with joy and comfort So you see how the witnesse of conscience causeth glory and joy in all estates whatsoever in life in death after death it speaks for a man there it never leaves him till it have brought him to heaven it self where all things else leave a man Therefore how much should we prize and value the testimony and witnesse of a good conscience And what madnesse is it for a man to humour men and displease conscience his best friend Of all persons and all things in the world we should reverence our own conscience most of all Wretched men despise the inward witnesse of this inward friend this inward divine this inward Physician this inward Comforter this inward Counsellour It is no better then madnesse that men should regard that every thing else be good and clean and yet notwithstanding in the middest of all to have foul consciences But to answer an objection and to unloose some knots It may be said that when the Hearts of people are good yet there a good conscience concludes not alway for comfort VVhere there is faith in Christ and an honest life conscience should conclude comfort here is the Rule this I have obeyed therefore I should have comfort Now this we see crossed oft-times that Christians that live exact lives are often troubled in conscience how can trouble of conscience stand with joy upon the witnesse of conscience I answer the witnesse of Conscience when it is a good conscience it doth not alway breed joy It is because our estate is imperfect here and Conscience doth not alway witnesse out of the goodnesse of it sometimee conscience is misled and so sometimes good Christians take the errour of conscience for the witnesse of Conscience These things should be distinguished Conscience sometime in the best erres as well as gives a true witnesse If we take the errour of conscience for the witnesse of conscience there will come trouble of conscience and that deservedly through our own folly Now conscience doth erre in good men sometimes when they regard Rules which they should not or when they mistake the matter and doe not argue aright As for instance when they gather thus I have not grace in such a measure and therefore I have none I am not the Child of God What a rule is this This is the errour of conscience and therefore it must needs breed perplexitie of conscience A good conscience when it is right cannot witnesse thus because the Word doth not say thus Is a nullitie and an imperfection all one No there is much difference in the whole kind A nullitie is nothing an imperfection though it be but a little degree yet it is something This is the errour of conscience and from thence comes trouble of conscience which makes men reason ill many waies As for instance I have not so much grace as such a one hath and therefore I have no grace Now that is a false reasoning for every one hath his due measure If thou be not so great a rich man as the richest in the Towne yet thou mayest be rich in thy kind Again when conscience looks to the humour you are to live by faith and not by the humour of Melancholy When the Instrument of reason that should judge is distempered by melancholy it reasons from thence falsly Because melancholy perswades me that I am so therefore conscience being led by the humour of the body saith I am so Who bid thee live by humour thou must live by rule Melancholy may tell thee sometime when it is in strength that thou art made of glasse as it hath done some it will deceive thee in bodily things wherein sense can confute melancholy much more will it if we yield to it in matters of the soule it will perswade us that we are not the Children of God that we have not Grace and goodnesse when we have Again hence it is that conscience doth not conclude comfort in Gods Children because it looks to the ill and not to the good that is in them for there are those two things in Gods Children there is good and ill now in the time of temptation they look to the ill and think they have no good because they will not see any thing but ill They fix their eyes on the remainders of their rebellious lusts which are not fully subdued in them and they look wholly on them Whereas they should have two eyes one to look on that which is good that God may have glorie and they comfort Now they fixing their eyes altogether on that which is naught and because they doe not or will not see that which is good therefore they have no comfort because they suffer conscience to be ill led that it doth not its duty And conscience in good men it looks sometimes to that that it should not in others in regard of others It looks to the flourishing of wicked men and therefore it concludes Certainly I have washed my hands in vain since such men thrive and prosper in the world Psalme 37. and Psalme 73. VVho bade thee look to this and to be uncomfortable from thence that thy
good demand It is not baptisme but the demand of a good conscience When the conscience hath fed on Christ it demands boldly as it is Rom. 8. of Satan and all enemies Who shall lay any thing to our charge it is God that justifieth it is Christ that died or rather that is risen again It boldly demands of God who hath given his Son the bold demand of conscience prevails with God and this comes by faith in Christ. Now this is strengthened by the Sacrament here are the visible representations and seales that we are incorporate more and more into Christ and so feeding upon Christ once our conscience is pacified and purged from all dead works and we come to have a continuall feast Christ is first the Prince of righteousnesse the righteous King and then Prince of peace first he gives righteonsnesse and then he speaks peace to the conscience The Kingdom of God is righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost So that all our feast and joy and comfort that we have in our consciences it must be from righteousnesse A double righteousnesse the righteousnesse of Christ which hath satisfied and appeased the wrath of God fully and then we must have the righteousnesse of a good conscience sanctified by the Spirit of Christ we must put them together alway we can never have communion with Christ and have forgivenesse of sins but we must have a Spirit of sanctification There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared Where there is mercy in the forgivenesse of sin there is a disposition to fear it ever after Therefore if for the present you would have a good conscience desire God to strengthen your faith in the blood of Christ poured out for you desire God to strengthen your faith in the crucified bodie of Christ broken for you that so feeding on Christ who is your surety who himself is yours and all is yours you may ever have the feast of a good conscience that will comfort you in false imputations that will comfort you in life and in death and at the day of judgement This is our rejoycing in all things the testimony of our conscience first purged by the blood of Christ and then purged and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ that we have had our Conversation in simplicity and sincerity c. Our rejoycing is this that in simplicity and sincerity This is the matter of this testimonie of Conscience that is simplicity and sincerity Saint Paul glories in his simplieity and sincerity And mark that by the way it is no vain glorying but lawful upon such cautions as I named before but to add a little A man in some cases may glory in the Graces of God that are in him but with these cautions First if so be that he look on them as the gifts of God Secondly if he look on them as stained with his own defects and so in that respect be humbled Thirdly if he look upon them as fruits of his justification and as fruites of his assurance of his salvation and not as causes And then if it be before men that he glories not when he is to deale with God When men lay this and that imputation upon a man he may rejoyce as Saint Paul doth here in the testimony of his conscience in simplicity and sincerity The matter of the testimony of Conscience wherein he glories is simplicity and godly sincerity or as the words may well be read in the simplicity and sincerity of God such as proceeds from God and such as aimes at and looks to God and resembles God For both simplicity and sincerity come from God they are wrought by God and therein we resemble God and both of them have an eye to God a respect to God so it is in the originall in the simplicity and sincerity of God There is not much difference between simplicity and sincerity the one expresseth the other if you will have the difference simplicity especially respects men our conversation amongst men Simplicity hath an eye to God in all things in Religion opposite to hypocrisy in Religion Simplicity that is opposed to doublenesse where doublenesse is there is alway hypocrisy opposed to sincerity and where simplicity is there is alway sincerity truth to God But it is not good to be very exact and punctuall in the distinction of these things they may one expresse the other very well Simplicity Saint Paul's rejoycing was that his conscience witnessed to him his simplicity in his whole conversation in the world his whole course of life which the Scripture calls in other places a walking Saint Paul meanes this first of himself and then he propoundes himself an example to us How was St. Paul's conversation in simplicity Not onely if we consider Saint Paul as a Christian but consider him as an Apostle his conversarion was in simplicity It was without guile without seeking himself without seeking his owne for rather then he would be grievous to the Corinthians the man of God he wrought himself because he would not give any the least scandall to them being a rich people he had rather live by his own labour then to open his mouth he did not seek himself In a word he did not serve himself of the Gospell he served Christ he did not serve himself of Christ. There are many that serve themselves of the Gospell that serve themselves of religion they care no more for religion then will serve their owne turne Saint Paul's conversation was in simplicity he had no such aime he did not preach of envy orof malice or for gain as he taxeth some of the Philippian teachers Some preach Christ not of simplicity and sincerity but of envy c. Then again as an Apostle and a teacher his conversation was in simplicity because he mingled nothing with the Word of God in teaching his doctrine is pure What should the chaffe do with the wheat Jer. 20. What should the drosse do with the Gold he did not mingle his own conceits and devices with the Word for he taught the pure Word of God the simple Word of God simple without any mixture of any by-aimes So the blessed Apostle was simple both in his Doctrine and in his intentions Propounding himself herein exemplary to all us that as we look to hold up our heads with comfort and to glory in all estat es whatsoever so our consciences must bear us witnesse that we carry our selves in the simplicity and sincerity of God Now simplicity is when there is a conformity of pretention and intention when there is nothing double when there is not a contradiction in the spirit of a man and in his words and carriage outwardly That is simplicty when there is an exact conformity and correspondence in a mans judgement and speech in his affections and actions When a man judgeth simply as the truth of the thing is and when he affects as he judgeth when he loves
is unsettled Again by terrours of conscience a double-minded man that will please God and yet be a worldling is unconstant in all his wayes If his eye were single then all his body would be light that is if a man had a single judgment to know what is right to know what in life and in death to stick to all would be single the judgment and intentions go together when a mans judgment is convinced of the goodnesse of spiritual things upon judgment followes intention When a man desires and resolves to serve God and to please him in all things then all the body and his affections are lightsome his affections and his outward man goes with a single eye A man that hath a false weak judgment and thereupon a false weak double intention his body is dark he hath a darksome conversation A double-minded man is unconstant in all his wayes Therefore we should labour for this simplicity in all our conversation Again we should the rather labour for this simplicity because it is part of the Image of God therein we resemble God in whom is no mixture at all of contraries but all is alike And as it resembles God so it bears us out in the presence of God and our own conscience as he saith here Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity c. Now God is greater then conscience A man that carries himself in simplicity and in an uniform even manner to God and to men that man hath comfort in his conscience and comfort before God And of all other sins the time will come that none will lie heavier on us then doubling both with men and with God when it will appear that we have not been the men that we carried our selves to be The reason is the more will there is in a sin and the more advisednesse the greater is the sin and the greater the sin is the greater the terrour of conscience and the greater that is the more fear and trembling before God that knowes conscience better then we do Now where there is doubling where a man is not one in his outward and inward man in his conversation to men when there is a covering of hatred and of ill affections with contrary pretences there is advisement there is much will and little passion to bear a man out to excuse him but he doth it as we say in coole blood and that makes dissimulation so grosse hecause it is in cold blood The more will and advisement is in any sin the greater it is so the aggravation of sin is to be considered and where temptations are strong and the lesse a man is himself so there is a diminution and a lesse aggravation as when a man is carried with passion with infirmitie or the like But usually when men double they plot David he plotted before and after his sin he doubled before and after his sin that was laid to his charge more then all that ever he did in his life He was a man after Gods own heart except in the matter of Uriah Why Because in that he plotted We see before what many shifts and windings and turnings he had to accomplish it He sends Uriah to Joab and gives him a letter to place him in the fore front and useth many projects And after it was committed how did he cover it and when it was hid from men he would have hid it from God a great while till God pulled him from his hiding place and made him confesse roundly Psalme 32. till he dealt directly with God My bones were consumed and my moisture was turned into the drought of summer He did it from men and would have hid it from God Therefore because there was much plotting in that sin that is set down as the onely blemish in all his life He was a man after Gods own heart except in the matter of Uriah Many other faults are recorded in the Booke of God of David but because there might be some excuse they were from infirmity or out of passion or oversight c. they are not so charged on him But this was with plotting it was in cold blood there was much will and advice in it therefore this is doted for a great sin And if it be in our dealing amongst men we should consider who it is we deceive who it is we go beyond in doubling who it is that we circumvent and who it is that doth it Are we not all Christians we are or should be all new creatures And who do we do it to to our fellow-members and to our brethren Therefore in 1. Thess. 4. when the Apostle disswades the Thessalonians from this from double dealing and double carriage to men saith he You are members one of another Let us consider who we are and whom we deal with Now there be some persons and some courses that are likelier and more prone to this doubling then others for want of this grace of simplicity Wherethere is strength of parts there is oft-times a turning of them against God and against our brethren where Grace hath not subdued strong Imaginations strong thoughts and brought all under it there is a turning of those parts against God and against our brethren And as it is in particular persons So some callings are more prone to double-dealing to this carriage that is not fair and commendable before God nor comfortable to the conscience As we see now adaies it reigns every where in every street We see amongst men of Trade Merchants and the like there is not that direct dealing they know one thing and pretend another So likewise in the Lawes there are many imputations I would they were false that men set false colours upon ill causes to gild a rotten post as we say to call white black and black white There is a woe in Esay pronounced against such as justifie hard causes such as call evill good and good evil it is a greater sin then it is usually taken for So go to any rank of men they have learned the Art of dissimulation in their course they have learned to sell wind to sell words to sell nothing to sell pretexts to overthrow a man by way of commendations and flattery such tricks there are which are contrary to this simplicity To cover hatred with fair words to kill with kindnesse as we say to overthrow a man with commendations To commend a man before another who is jealous of the vertues he commends him for To commend a man for valour before a coward to commend a man and thereby to take occasion to send him out of the way To commend a man and then to come in with an exception to marre all To cover revenge and hatred with fair carriage thereby to get opportunity to revenge such tricks there are abroad which oft-times discover themselves at length For God is just he will discover all these
see our interest in his humiliation and exaltation in glory because he is the second Adam These things should raise up our thoughts wondrously to think of his humiliation and his exaltation and of the love and mercy of God in him And then think of what you will nothing is discouraging think of death of hell of the day of Judgment think of Satan of the curse of the Law they are terrible things I but think of the Son of God of Christ anointed of God the Father to satisfie the Law to satisfie his Justice to overcome Satan to crush his head to be our Saviour as well as our Judge at the day of Judgment these things will make all vanish Things that are most tetrible to the nature of man without the consideration of Jesus Christ the Son of God all are most comfortable when we think of him Now when we think of Satan we think of one crushed and trod under foot as he shall be ere long When we think of Judgment we think of a Saviour that shall be our Judge when we think of God we think of God reconciled in Christ. We have accesse by Christ to the Throne of grace he is now in heaven and makes intercession for us When we think of death we think of a passage to life where we shall be with him I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. So the things that are most uncomfortable yet bring the consideration of them to Christ exalted in heaven having triumphed over all these in our nature and sits at Gods right hand The thoughts of these things are comfortable meditations Nay think of that which is the most terrible of all the Justice of God his anger for sin it is a matter of comfort above all other God is just to punish and revenge sin what then because he is just he will not punish â—…hing twice but his justice is fully satisfied aad contented in his Son Christ Jesus whom he hath anointed and predestinate and sent himself and he must needs acknowledge that satisfaction that is done by him that he hath sent himself hereupon we come to think comfortably of Gods Justice God out of Christ is a consuming fire there is nothing more terrible then God without Christ but now in Christ we can think of the most terrible thing in God with comfort Therefore S. Paul makes it the main scope of his preaching and so should we of ours and you should make it your main desire in hearing and the main subject matter of your meditating something concerning Christ. Let us often think of our nature in him now exalted in heaven and that we shall follow him ere long our head is gone before and he will not suffer his body alwayes to rot in the earth let us think of his natures and his offices and all the blessed prerogatives that we have by him and all the enemies that are conquered by him that in him we have God reconciled and the Devil vanquished we have heaven opened and hell shut we have our sins pardoned and our imperfections by little and little cured in him we have all in all There are four things that the Apostle speaks of which includes all 1 Cor. 1. 30. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made to us wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption Christ Jesus is all in all if we be ignorant he is our wisdome if we want righteousnesse and holinesse to stand before God he is ouâ—… righteousnesse we stand righteous being cloathed with his righteousnesse If we want Grace Of his fulnesse we receive Grace for Grace he is sanctification to us If we be miserable as we shall be to our sense our bodies shall be turned to rottennesse he is our redemption not onely of the soul but of the body he shall make our bodies like his glorious body as he makes our soules glorious by his Spirit conforming them to his own Image here he means here redemption of our bodies from corruption as well as of our soules from sin He is all in all in sin he is sanctification in death he is life in ignorance he is wisdome there is nothing ill in us but there is abundant satisfaction and remedy in Christ. I speak this the rather to shew what reason S. Paul had to stand on this That all his preaching was to bring Christ Jesus among them I go on The Son of God Jesus Christ preached among you All the good we have by Christ is conveyed by the Ministery Despise that and despise Christ himself Therefore whatsoever benefits we have by Christ they are attributed to preaching they are attributed to the Gospel as it is preached and unfolded therefore it is called the Gospel of the Kingdome The Word of reconciliation The Word of life The Word of faith all these are by Christ but it is no matter whatsoever we have by Christ we must have it by Jesus Christ unfolded in the Ministery of the Word despise the Ministery that is contemptible to flesh and blood and despise Christ himself despise the Kingdome and life and all for Christ preached is that we must relie on Christ unfolded the bread of life must be broken the sacrifice must be anatomized and laid open Christ Jesus the Son of God must be preached he profits not but as he is preached his riches must be unfolded The unsearchable riches of Christ. Therefore God that hath appointed us to be saved by Christ hath appointed and ordained preaching to lay open Jesus Christ among us But to come to the third Point why doth he bring in consent to help By me and Silvanus and Timotheus would not his own authority serve the turn I answer no it would not sometimes In it self it will but in regard of the weaknesse of men it is necessary to joyn the consent of others S. Paul was an Apostle of Christ but he knew that they were so weak that they would regard his testimony the more for the joynt testimony of Timotheus and Silvanus and the rest God considers not so much what is true in it self as how to stablish our faith in it As in the Sacrament would not God give Christ and his benefits is he not true of his Word Yes but he gives the Sacrament for us his promises are sure enough yet he condescends to our weaknesse to adde Sacrament and oath and all the props that may be So the men of God that are led by the Spirit of God though their own authority were sufficient yet they condescend to the weaknesse of others Therefore S. Paul alledgeth with himself Silvanus and Timotheus to strengthen them the better Then again consent is a lovely thing and proceeds from love how sweet a thing is it for brethren to dwell together in unity therefore we ought to stand much upon consent if it may perswade us But as Cyprian saith well it must be consent in the truth Consent that is not
him mystically as the Son of his love so the promises are made and given over to him of all good he takes all the promises of good from God for us and then they are made to us as we are in him He himself is the first promise that runs along in all the Scripture and all the promises of Christ are yea for whatsoever was promised of Christ before he came it was fufilled when he came for all types were fulfilled in him and all Prophecies and all promises they were all accomplished in him All types whether personal or real For personall types he was the second Adam Adam was a type of him he is the true Adam He was the true Isaac the ground of laughter He is the true Joseph advanced now to the kingdome to the right hand of God he is the steward of his Church to feed his Church here and bring her to Heaven with himself afterward He is the true Joshua that brought Israel out of the wildernesse to Canaan he brings us from Moses from the law to heaven he is the true Joshua that brings us through Jordan from death and miseries in this world to heaven He is the true Solomon the Prince of peace so all personal types of Kings and Priests as Aaron was a type of him c. they were yea in him they were fulfilled in him And all reall types he is the true Mercie-seat wherein God would be heard and prayed unto for he covers the Law the curse of it as the Mercie-seat did He is the true brazen Serpent that whosoever looks on him with the eye of faith shall not perish but have everlasting life He is the true Mannah the bread of life that type had its yea in Christ. He is the true sacrifice the Passeover Lambe the Lambe of God that takes away the sins of the world if our hearts be sprinkled with his blood the destroying Angell hath nothing to do with us The Passeover hath its yea in him therefore that which is affirmed of the Passe-over is affirmed of him Not abone of it shall be broken that is attributed to Christ that was performed in the type that is applied to Christ that was spoken of the Passeover to signifie the identitie of the type and the thing signified He was the yea of that of all comfortable types that were real personal all have their yea in him Therefore saith our Saviour Christ the last words of his almost upon the crosse All is finished all the types real and personal And all promises and prophecies have their yea in Christ. The first promise what was it but Christ The seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head it was nothing but Christ it was yea when he was born and when he died he crushed the Serpents head By death he overcame him that had the power of death that is the divel So the promise that was renewed to Abraham In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed that is in Christ. And so to David that he should come out of his family And that particular promise of I say that a Virgin should conceive And the Baptist points him out Behold the Lamb of God All the particular things that befel Christ in time they were prophesied of before and Christ was the yea of all that is all had their determinate truth in Christ when he came This is one reason why S. Paul saith All the promises in Christ are yea whatsoever was promised concerning Christ or foretold it was yea in him concerning his birth and the place of it concerning his death and the manner of it concerning his resurrection and ascension concerning his offices all was foretold as we see in Scripture in the New Testament it is the foot of diverse verses that It might be fulfilled so this that was foretold in the Old it was fulfilled in the New So Christ is the first promise and whatsoever was said of him is Yea and Amen Whatsoever was spoken of Christ it was Yea in the Old Testament and Amen in the New it was made to them in the Old Testament and performed in the New And what is the Old and New Testament but this syllogisme He is the Blessed seed that is the Son of the Virgin Mary born in Bethlehem that shall come in the end of Daniels weeks that shall come when the Scepter shall be departed from Juda c. He is the true Messias the true Christ saith the Old Testament here is the yea Amen saith the New Testament to this But Christ is the Son of the Virgin Mary he suffered these things that it might be fulfilled so all is Amen in the New Testament I say this is the main reason that all is built on He in whom all these agree is the true Messias But saith the New Testament all these are Amen in Christ therefore Christ the Son of the Virgin Mary he is the true Messias We see whatsoever was prophesied concerning Christ himself was yea And not onely so but all the prerogatives and good things that come by Christ are yea they are undoubted in Christ and they were yea before he was he profitted before he was he was yea to Adam because however he that was the seed of the woman came not till the latter end of the World till 4000. years after the beginning or thereabouts yet the faith of Adam and of Abraham made him present Abraham saw Christs day and rejoyced There was a vertue from Christ to all former ages they all had benefit by Christ as it is proved at large Heb. 11. And in Acts 15. We hope to be saved by Christ as well as they insinuating that they hoped to be saved by Christ as well as we so he was yea for comfort to all that were before him as well as now all the promises were yea even to the Patriarchs and Prophets Even as if a man should undertake three or four years hence to pay a debt that is due by one that is subject to be carried to prison and on that condition that this man shall be freed I undertake at such a time to pay such a debt so though the debt be paid three or four years hence he is let go free that was obnoxious to go to prison for the debt though it be to be paid after So it was with Christ he the second person in the Trinity undertook being so appointed by God the Father the blessed Trinity stablished this that Christ should pay the debt by death the debt to divine justice should be satisfied by the cursed death of the crosse that those that before should have gone to hell else for the debt should be all freed that had any part and interest by faith in Christ who should pay the debt afterwards Christ undertook at such a time to be incarnate and to pay it for us God the Father to whom we were obnoxious that
was the creditor for the payment of that 4000 years after let them go so Christ was yea to them they had benefit by Christs death Hereupon the Prophets spake of him as a thing present To us a son is born to us a Child is given Faith mounts over many years 600 years before Christ in the Prophet it mounted and made the time of Christs coming and his death to be present because they had benefit by him as if he had been present Onely with this difference in the time present when Christ came in the flesh they had some comfortable inlargement of Grace When he came in the flesh I say there was a new world as it were there was grace poured out in abundance So you see that all the promises concerning Christ they were performed They were Yea and Amen and the good things by Christ. Saint Paul saith excellently Heb. 13. Christ yesterday to day and the same for ever Yesterday to the Patriachs to day for the present time he is Yea and for the time to come he is Yea the same alway He is yea to all ages he is yea to us as well as to those that were in Christs time Christ is then crucified to thee when thou believest in Christ crucified If we now by faith look to Christ crucified and sent from his Father to take our nature on him we have as much benefit by Christ as those that beheld him crucified As they before looked forwards by the eye of Faith so we look backward we have benefits by Christ he is yesterday to day and the same for ever All the promises are yea in him that is they are constantly yea for all ages The promises of Christ as the spirits in the body they run through all ages of the Church Without him there is no love nor mercie nor comfort from God as I said before God cannot look on our cursed nature out of Christ therefore whosoever will apprehend any thing mercifull in God must apprehend it in Christ the promised seed All the promises in him are yea He is called Logos the Word why is he so both actively and passively Actively the Word because how should we ever have known the mind in the breast of God hidden and sealed there unlesse Christ had been the Logos the Word For a word is exprest from reason and there is a word that is essentiall that is reason Logos and so the word coming from it speech the issue of reason So Christ is the essentiall Word by nature and by office the Word to discover the inward will and purpose of God to us All the promises of God are discovered by Christ as the Angel of the Covenant And passively he is the Word Logos of whom all the Prophets spake as Peter saith Act 3. who was fore-signified by all the types as I shewed Christ he is truly all in all It is a comfortable way to study Christ this way to see him foretold in the Old Testament and to see the accomplishment in the New to parallel the Old and New Testament it is an excellent way of studying the Gosspel For we know men are delighted to know divers things at once when a mans knowledge is inriched diverse waies at once it delights him as when a man knowes the history of a thing and the truth with it when he knowes a promise and the truth a type and the ttuth how doth it delight When a man sees the type in the Old and the truth in the New the history there the promise and the accomplishment here it is a wondrous delightfull thing For why doth proportion delight the eye but because it is an agreement of different things a sweet harmony of different things Why doth musick so please the ear because it is a harmonie of different things When we see a type different from the truth performed and a promise different from the performance and yet a sweet agreement from agreement a man is delighted A man is not delighted with colours at colours but as they hold proportion with the rest of the body he is not delighted with a limb as a limb but as it holds proportion with the man if there be no proportion and comelinesse it delights not So in this case it is good to consider both together God therefore for this end and purpose would have truths conveyed in the Old Testament by way of types and prophecies and promises that it might delight us now to hear them and to study them the more for as I said when we know many things at once it is delightful That is the reason why comparisons and allusions are so delightful because we know the comparison and the thing to which it is compared And that is the reason why our Saviour Christ besides types and figures and promises and prophecies is set out by whatsoever is excellent in nature in the Scriptures There is nothing in nature that is excellent but there is something taken from it to set forth the excellencie of Christ. He is the Sun of righteousnesse he is the water he is the way he is the bread he is the vine he is the tree of Life Whatsoever is excellent in nature either in heaven or earth it serves to set forth the excellencie of Christ why to delight us that we may be willing and chearful to think of Christ that together with the consideration of the excellencie of the creature some sweet meditation of Christ in whom all those excellencies are knit together might be presented to the soul. When we see the sun oft to think of that blessed Sun that quickens and enlivens all things and scatters the mists of Ignorance When we look on a tree to think of the tree of righteousness on the way to think of him the way of life of him that is the true life When we think of any thing that is excellent think of Gods love in Scripture to set out Christ that he would shadow him in all for he is the true Sun all creatures must vanish ere long and whatsoever is excellent in the creature and what will stand then only he in whom all these excellencies are comprised in one All the promises in him are Yea and Amen If this be true then that the promise of Christ himself who is the chief good promised is in the New Testament Amen all of him is Yea and Amen then comes this as a deducted truth all other promises must needs be Yea and Amen for God he that performed the grand promise in giving Christ in the fulness of time will for Christs sake perform all other promises Therefore the incarnation the life the death and resurrection of Christ our blessed Saviour it is a pawn and pledge to us of the performance of all things to come God promised to the Jewes that they should come out of Babylon he promised that he would deliver them from the enemy and he usually prefixeth
his bowels that is in his affections he can love and joy in God and hate sin and overcome revenge c. The Spirit sheweth him Divine things by a Divine light he sees heavenly things with a heavenly light and Divine spiritual knowledge is a working knowledge of the same nature with the things known The poorest Christian in the world having this anointing sees good things with such a convincing light and evill things with such a convincing hatred that he is doing and acting whereas a Christian that hath not the Spirit he may know heavenly things by a natural light by a discoursive knowledge he may know what he should do and so perhaps he may talk but he cannot do he may talk of death but he cannot dye he may talk and discourse of suffering but when it comes he cannot suffer he may speak much of patience but he cannot act patience when occasion is A true Christian hath the knowledge of doing things And likewise he is able to speak a word in due season to reprove to admonish to comfort Every member in the communion of Saints hath some qualification in regard of knowledge when he is put to it But especially he hath received this anointing as a Priest and a King As a Priest to stand before God and to offer up prayers for himself and others Every Christian is a Favourite in heaven he hath much credit there he hath Gods ear open at all times and he improves it for the good of the Church for the good of others as well as for his own And as to pray for our selves and others so to blesse our selves and others that was one part of the Priests Office and so as the Scipture saith we are called unto blessing and therefore those that are given unto cursing are not Priests And again a Christian that hath received this anointing as a Priest he keeps himself unspotted of the world You know the Priests were to touch no unclean thing nor to defile themselves with any manner of pollution so every Christian in some measure is enabled to abstain from the common pollutions of the times to hate even the garment spotted with the flesh he is not carried with the stream of the times he will not converse amiably with those that may stain him but as his calling leads him lest he contaminate his spirit And likewise a Christian hath his heart alwayes as the Holy of Holies that so he may offer up thanks and praise to God there is a disposition in him alwayes to praise God As the fire in the Sanctuary must never go out so the fire that is kindled by the Spirit of God in the heart of a Christian it never goes out the Holy Ghost maintains it continually he is ready to praise God upon all occasions ready to offer up himself unto God as a sacrifice The sacrifices of a Christian are a broken heart and as in the Law the sacrifices for sin must first be killed and then offered so now in the Gospel it is the work of every Christian to mortifie to kill and slay those beasts those corruptions that are in him contrary to God A Christian must not offer himself to God as a sinner but he must first slay his corruptions he must mortifie his sins and then offer up himself slain to God Therefore our care must be to mortifie every corruption every faculty of the soul and every part of the body we must circumcise our eyes that they behold not vanity and our eares that they hear not and delight not in unchaste things and our thoughts and every part our wills and affections and then offer up soul and body as a living sacrifice unto God that all may be dedicated and sanctified unto him and then it is a sweet sacrifice then when a Christian hath dedicated himself to God it is an easie matter to give him his goods when he calls for them then he will be ready to let all go as the Apostle saith of the Corinthians they first gave themselves to God and then to others other sacrifices will follow when we have first given our selves to God therefore the first sacrifice is to kill our corruptions to offer our selves to God and then we shall be ready to offer our estates and to have nothing but at Gods disposing Oh Lord of thy hand I have my body and my life and my goods and all I give them unto thee if thou wilt have me to enjoy them I do but if thou wilt have them sacrificed I am a Priest I am willing to offer my self as a burnt-sacrifice to thee even to the death and all other things when thou shalt be pleased to call for them and indeed all other sacrifices of our goods and thankfulnesse in words they will easily come off when we have offered our selves as I said before What is the reason that men will not part with a penny for good uses They have not given themselves as sacrifices unto God therefore in the Scripture we are pressed to give our selves unto God first and it useth arguments to that purpose as that we are not our own but bought with a price c. And so for the Kingly office Every Christian by this anointing is made a King Rev. 1. 6. He hath loved us and washed us and made us Kings c. But how are we Kings to take away an Objection that ariseth in the hearts of carnal men Oh say they they talk that they are Kings when perhaps they have not a penny in their purse they talk they are Kings when in the mean time they are underlings in the world here are Kings indeed think prophane conceited persons Indeed all other things are but shadowes these be realities this is a Kingdome to purpose Thou livest by sense and by fancy or else if thou haddest the spiritual eye-salve if thou haddest thine eyes open to see the dignity of a Christian thou wouldest judge him to be the onely King in the world and therefore I do not enlarge the Point to set colours upon matters but indeed I rather speak under there is no excellency that we can think of in this world that riseth high enough to set out the state of a Christian he is indeed a King For I beseech you what makes a King Victory and Conquest that makes a King Is not he a Conquerour that hath that in him that conquers the world and all things else others that are not Christians they are slaves to lusts and pleasures A Christian that is chief Conquerour in the world he conquers the world in his heart and all temptations are inferiour to him he sees them as things that he hath gotten the mastery of He subdues the principal enemy a Christian fears not death he fears not Judgment he fears not the wrath of God he knowes God is reconciled in Christ and so all things are reconciled with him God being at peace all things else are at peace so
love if he take any course contrary to love it is not his own work as he saith to punish man it is not his own work he is forced to that alway to shew love and mercy that is his work that that comes from his own principle from his mercy he is love he doth not say he is justice or rigour but he is love It agrees with the nature of God to deal mercifully if he deal otherwise it is forced from us It suits with the whole carrirge of our salvation these courses of love and gentlenesse first of all for we are saved by a manner of love we are saved by God giving his Son and by his Son giving himself We are saved by a course of intreaty the Ministers of God are Ambassadours to desire us to be reconciled to God God having saved us by a manner of love he will have us taught by a manner of love in the Gospel especially because Gods aim is to gain our love and which way can that be but by a way of love For the nature of man is such that it will never love till it know it be loved first Therefore God stoops to a way of love because he would have our love which he would never have by other courses because they are contrary to our nature It is the practice of God his custome is answerable for first he deales by gentle means alwayes and then after if those will not prevail he goes to severe means and in severe means he takes degrees first lesse and then more violent and then violent indeed God would never descend to sharper courses if milder would serve the turn You know he bade his own people before they set in hostile manner upon any to give them fair warning to offer them conditions of peace so it is his course to offer conditions of peace so he did to the old World and so he doth to us before he corrects he offers conditions of peace You see how sparing Christ was and how full of love O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. Again they are courses that promise best successe ordinarily for the proud nature of man will raise it self up and will harden it self against severe courses Man naturally as I said will be led and not forced his nature will rise against forced violent courses therefore for the event it self it is the best Again they are courses that are more lasting that that is gained by love is constant that that we prevail with men for by reason it will hold other courses are not so faithful they will not hold What we gain on men by fear there is shame in it that a man should be forced to any thing and nature will break out But it will hold best that is gained by way of love and reason Therefore let us imitate God in this when we are to deal with any not to take violent courses in the first place but to deal with men as men deal with them by love and reason and not stand upon our own stomach and greatnesse and take delight as it were in the commanding of others that we have a destructive power a power that can quash and crush men and shew it to the utmost and pride our selves in it If God should deal so with such where were those proud creatures If God were not a forbearing indulgent sparing God Therefore you may see what disposition those are of that are all for fire for violent courses rigorous courses That is not the way that God useth it is not the way that Christ used it is not the way that ministers do use that have the Spirit of God You have some kind of people that if a man be not alway in matters of damnation his Sermon is nothing So you have some that in their courses are so violent that they know nothing that is moderate and yet perhaps they are good too but they cherish too much a violent disposition Now St. Paul though he were a very zealous holy man yet notwithstanding he would not put himsef upon violent courses but when there was great necessity He is rather a Butcher then a Physician that loves to torment his Patient You see what course is first to be taken I need not be long in so clear a Point therefore I will spend no more time in it but come to the second that is more generally usefull because indeed men are so that gentle means will hardly prevail with them what must be done then not spare them When gentle means will not serve the turn then we must not spare S. Paul came not that he might spare them Now if they had not amended what would S. Paul have done think you would he have suffered them to have cherished the incestuous person among them that wicked person that had committed that which was intolerable amongst the Heathen would he have cherished proud factious men among them that would disgrace S. Pauls Doctrine to win authority to them selves would not he have told them to their face the danger of their sin and have made them ashamed undoubtedly he woud he would have spared So I say if gentle means will not prevail men must not be spared meither Minister nor Magistrate must spare especially in dangerous courses that are prejudicial to the souls of others Why We must spare none that God may spare all We that are Ministers must spare no sin that God may spare all Lift up thy voice like a Trumpet saith God and tell Israel of their sins If gentle means will not reform them lift up thy voice like a Trumpet Cast out Jezabel with her painted face though sin paint and colour it self it must be cast out Jonas must out of the ship the ship will perish else Achan must be stoned We must tell men of their danger not with hatred of their persons but to prevent an eternal punishment You know well that preventing justice is better then executing justice Is not discipline better then execution Is it not better to hear of our faults roundly when other means will not prevail then to cherish that that will be for our eternal destruction Is not searing and cutting better then killing Is it not better that a limb be seared and cut then that all be clear cut off and the whole body perish Is not the pain of Chirurgery or Physick that makes a man sick for a while better to be endured then the painse and terrours of death it self These preventing courses are the best courses therefore we must spare none but tell them of their danger faithfully Only liberty of speech must not be a cover for boistrousnesse or a cover for the venting of evil humors as sometimes it is For flesh will never prevail with flesh flesh and pride in the speaker will never prevail with pride in the hearer but it must be a spiritual kind of severity discovering the danger to them we speak to
resurrection of the body If I fear the day of judgment I believe that Christ shall be my judge he shall come to judge the quick and the dead In all the miseries of this life considering that they are but short I believe the life everlasting So that indeed if we would dig to our selves springs of comfort let us go to the Articles of our Faith and see how there are streams of comfort from every one answerable to all our particular exigences and necessities whatsoever And to close up this point remember whatsoever means we use what prerogative soever we think of whatsoever we do remember we go to the God of comfort and desire him to blesse his Word in the ministery and desire him to work in the Communion of Saints with his Spirit to warm our hearts alway remember to carry him along in all that we may have comfort from the God of Comfort who comforteth in all tribulations Next words are That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble These words shew the end why God doth comfort us in all tribulation One main end is that we should be comforted in our selves that is the first And then that we being comforted our selves from that ability should be able to derive comfort to others we are comforted in all tribulations that we should be able to comfort them that are in any tribulation It is not St. Pauls case only and great men in Religion Ministers and the like it is not their lot and portion alone to be persecuted and troubled but We are all in this life subject to disquiets and discomforts Every one whosoever will live Godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution Therefore the Apostle saith not onely our tribulation but that we may be able to comfort them that are in any trouble Trouble is the portion of all Gods Children one with another I do but touch that by the way But that which I shall more stand upon it is the end one main end why God comforteth especially Ministers it is that they should be able to comfort others with the comforts that God hath comforted them withall That we may be able c. Now you must conceive that this ability it is not ability alone without will and practise as if he meant God hath given me comfort that I might be able to comfort others if I will that is not Gods end only that we may be able but that we may exercise our ability that it may be ability in exercise As God doth not give a rich man riches to that end that he may be able to relieve others if he will No but if thou be a Child of God he gives thee ability and will too he gives an inward strength So the meaning here is not that we may be able to comfort others if we will but that we may be both able and willing to comfort others And to comfort others not only by our example that because we have been comforted of God so they shall be comforted it is good but it is not the full extent of the Apostles meaning for then the dead examples should comfort as well as the living And indeed that is one way of comfort to consider the examples of former times but the Apostles meaning is that I should comfort them not only by my example of Gods dealing with me that they should look for the like comfort that is but one degree His meaning is further therefore that we should be able to comfort them by Sympathizing with them as indeed it is a sweet comfort to those that are in distresse when others compassionate their estate And not only so by our example and sympathy with them but likewise that we may be able to comfort them by the inward support and strength and light that we have found by the Spirit of God in our selves that is that that will enable us to comfort others from that very support and inward strength that we have found from God by those graces and that particuliar strength and comfort that we have had When there is a sweet expressing of our inward comfort to them shewing something in our comfort that may raise them up in the like troubles that we were in then the comfort will not be a dead comfort when it comes from a man experienced Personated comfort when a man takes upon him to comfort that only speaks comfort but feels not what he speaks there is little life in it we are comforted that we may comfort others with feeling having been comforted our selves before with feeling and comfortable apprehensions in our selves The point considerable in the first place to make way to the rest is this that Gods Children they have all of them interest in diuine comforts St. Paul was comforted that he might comfort others Divine comforts belong to all they are the portion of all Gods people the meanest have interest as well the greatest There is the same spiritual Physick for the poorest subject and the greatest Monarch there is the same spiritual comfort for the meanest and for the greatest Christian in the World St. Paul hath the same comfort as St. Pauls children in the Faith VVhat is the reason that they are communicable thus to all that they lie open to all God is the God and Father of all light and comfort Christ is the Saviour of all all the priviledges of Religion belong to all equally all are Sons and Heirs and all are alike Redeemed the Brother of low degree and the Brother of hâ—…gh degree they may differ in the references and relations of this life but in Christ all are alike Besides it is the nature of spiritual priviledges and blessings they are communicable to all alike without impairing the more one hath the lesse another hath not all have an equal share every one hath interest intire every one hath all without losse or hinderance to others As for instance the Sun every particular man hath all the good the Sun can do as well as all the World hath it is peculiarly and intirely every mans own every man in soliduâ—…m hath the use of it the Sun is not one mans more then another As a publick fountain or Conduit every man hath as much right in it as another So in Religion the graces and priviledges and favours they lie open as the prerogatives and priviledges of all Gods children and that is the excellency of them In the things of this life it is not so they are not common to all alike there is a losse in the division the more one hath the lesse another hath and that is the reason why the things of this life breed a disposition of pride and envy one envies another because he wants that that another hath and one despiseth another because he hath more then another hath but in the comforts of Gods Spirit and the prerogatives that are the ground of those comforts