The necessity of believing this is evidenced by the sad consequence of the contrary for denying Christ Jesus to be a fleshly substance and converting him into a Spirit any Spirit or every Spirit and so in truth deny the Christ of God And then blind injudicious men may form to themselves and world what they will fancy to call their Christ This premised I shall now speak of offences what they are and what offences are not to hinder There are three sorts of Offences First Offences given and taken Secondly Offences given and not taken Thirdly Offences taken and not given First Offences given and taken are such as when Nations or Persons when not provoked by invasion to defend yet by invadeing others will offend now they that defend defending here Offences are given and taken Secondly Offences given and not taken when we bless them that curse us do good to them that do hurt to us pray for them that despightfully use us Thridly Ofâ—â—nces taken and not given are when at a seeming and no real cause persons are moved and disquieted Christ Jesus coming in the dayes of his humiliation not as he will come after the dayes of his exaltation or at his second coming proved a seeming cause was no real cause for the Jews to stumble at him his visage was marred more than any mans when they looked for him to come and presently restore Israel Now such Offences taken and not given is the intent of this sixt Sign under the terme Small so that when persons give way to their passions and are so moved at something which seems to be a just Offence to them from brethren or any other without or before they had duly weighed not suspending all kind of dislike till in the ballance they have tryed whether it be really an Offence or but seemingly so is a sign of great weakness proving that such are under some spiritual decay marked out though upon another account by Christ Jesus Mat. 13. 20 21. But he that received the seed into stony places the same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it but when tribulation and persecution ariseth because of the word by and by be is offended Now persecution and tribulation is no real cause of Offences but rather an encouragement to hold fast the word being one common mark such are in the truth the Apostle Paul makes it an argument of this kind 1 Thes 3. 5. For this cause when I could no longer forbear I sent to know your faith least by some means the tempter have tempted you and our labour be in vain We would have no man moved by these afflictions for your selves know we are appointed thereto and instead of being offended we are commanded to glory in tribulation this may teach us to bemoan such and beg them be warn'd not to keep themselves from Christs Table because of this or that seeming or real miscarriage in others if in order to their reducement from it we have done our duty For any therefore to estrange themselves from Christs Table it being no less than a refusing the food he hath prepared because things go not just as they would have them doth greatly argue the stop to be in themseves though not by such heeded they being great wanderers abroad into the wayes of others perhaps more busying themselves than they ought and yet as great strangers at home to self-examination and due personal preparation which where ever it is is that indeed that so warrantably cals persons to come to Christ Jesus Feast of Bread and Wine purchased with his blood that negligence therein will prove no less than their great sin What is it therefore that should keep us from that service wherein by faith we are to feed as it were upon the flesh of the Son of God Whose flesh is meat indeed and whose blood is drink indeed Truly nothing but self-unworthiness or unpreparedness Surely surely the spiritual growing Christian whose hungrings and thirstings are after hourly communion with Jesus Christ can better forgo his natural food a thousand times than yeild to a stop from this performance Let us therefore examine our selves that we are meet subjects discerning the Lords Body and so let us eat that Bread and drink that Cup. Now the Causes of this decay or yeilding upon small Offences to absent from Christs Table may be these three First Too great Ignorance who are the Subjects Christ calls to this Service Secondly Too too great aptness to be easily provoked Thirdly Want of Love to Jesus Christ the Author of this Service First Too great Ignorance who are the Subjects Christ calls to this Service which consists in a misconstruing his general invitation to all penitent believing baptized Disciples who have had an orderly admittance thus far and by way of Precept are injoyned both to come to this Service and continue in it The same day were added to the Church three thousand souls and they continued stedfast in the Apostles doctrine fellowship breaking of Bread and prayer it is peculiarly unto such appointed and sanctified that they may keep in remembrance their Lord and Saviour So often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew forth the Lords death till he come But I would not be mistaken here as that I mean the outward badge of these only makes right Subjects for Christs Call yet this outward must be but wo to it when it is alone The Kings daughter is to be all glorious within as well as her garment of pure gold The hungerer and thirster after his supply that sensibly sees all his springs to be in him and as the Hart panteth after the brooks of water hath his foul crying Oh when shall I come and appear before him negligence to be thus fitted causeth ignorance of Christs Call But Secondly Too too great aptness to be easily provoked Some Christians are so weak that they will be still forming discontent to themselves ill interpreting others actions and straining at every Gnat which generally comes through weakness in judgment and unaptness to be busying themselves with their high Calling the worth of Gods gracious priviledges afforded them by which means the inward man is too much raked or made raw and so apt to smart at every little touch as special care therefore must be had in Churches that none give just offence so that none upon too light account take offence for it doth but argue such Children or Babes in Christianity and greatly robs themselves of that spiritual refreshing strength that otherwise might be their present portion and fills their heart with disquieting thoughts to the hindring their spiritual appetite from taking in that rich refreshment Christ Jesus Table is furnisht with for every prepared guest But Thirdly Want of love to Jesus Christ the Author of this Service All those motives that provokes the heart to love Jesus Christ should be active now viz. The greatness of his love to purchase
and others in one of these cases As for matter will they not reply it is such as I know already as well as the Minister can tell me otherwise it is but poor weak ordinary matter and as to the manner will they not reply either he speakes too high or too loud that they like not or in their account not high enough too low that they like not otherwise in their account too fast or too slow and all this they like not Now as to the man this being first premised he is one that hath ordinary approbation and seale from heaven to his Ministry in the working through grace sinners to conversion why as to such a man they dislike him and manifest their dislike yet being asked can give no reason nay it is probable to say truly they cannot tell why they dislike him but yet they do they are not free to hear such a man Is not this a silly weakeness got among some professors the good Lord undeceive and humble such surely it 's possible for some to show deslike in some or all these cases and as little cause for â—t as Corah and his company had to dislike as they did Moses and Aaron Numb 16. 3. They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation is holy every one of them and the Lord is among them wherefore then lift ye up your selves above the congregation of the Lord. How causeless this carriage was from Corab Dathan Abiram with two hundred and fifty Princes the Lord from Heaven in a way not common discovers they that die die not the common death of all men as that Chapter fully shews so heinous was their sin in Gods account to murmur against his servants without a cause And is it then a new thing that such be in Churches now in this decaying Sign of dislâ—king matter manner or man was not this very Spirit got into the Corinth Church and bold even to shew it self against that holy man St. Paul that had begotten them to the faith 2 Epist 10 For his Letters say they are weighty and powerful but his bodily presence weak and his speech contemptible Here they was not sparing to vent themselves the small cause they had yea the unreasonableness of that their dislike let the considerate judge whose conscience is not asleep Again in 1 Cor. 4. such a like Spirit discovers it self after so ungratious a rate as that Wise-mans reply will evidence in vers 3. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or mans judgment they account the Apostles fools themselves wise the Apostles weak themselves strong by all this without adding what Scripaures more might be added it is very evident if we will take the holy Spirits testimony that such persons under this very Sign were in the Apostles dayes and doth not also the testimony of a good conscience say there are such even now Object But how comes this to pass Answ This defect seems to arise from this even selfe-conceitedness tall thoughts in some of their own great abilities comparing themselves with themselves and so think what they ought not of themselves But as a help against this disease I would remind what the Apostle writes to such like people or at least to prevent such a distemper Rom. 10. 3. For I say through the grace given unto me to every man which is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think But to think Soberly as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith Clearly implying that God hath not dealt to every man the same measure or knowledg or reach in Gospel truths And least they be hasty to pass Judgment upon others he would have them think soberly of themselves And when they are ready to manifest dislike rather to account it their weakness than strength and so to be silent CHAP. V. Containing five Causes of deceit fully thinking we know enough with four marks to know when we are under that deceit SIGN V. VVHen you think you know enough The greatness of this defect and the danger of it may be seen if something be premised and considered When you think you know enough that is you are grown so tall in the knowledge of God and the Ordinances of his House the way to his Kingdome the strength of your adversaries the Flesh World and Devil and the plague of your own heart for all this must be premised as being in such persons as think they know enough if their thoughts be not gross deceit and then what need of Hearing or Assembling or crying after knowledge or lifting up the voyce for understanding Is not this gross deceit grown somewhat common but of dangerous tendency to knock both heart and hand from off the means God hath ordained to encrease and sanctifie Knowledg Is not such a conceit the road way to Atheisme Were it not gotten among some sleepy Christians in the Apostles time Doth not that saying 1 Cor. 8. 2 3. directly aim at such If any man think that he knoweth any thing he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know But if any man love God the same is known of him As much as if the Apostle should say you think you know much truly if you know so much as that you love God you are known of him and if you know this you know what you can know in this life but if you know not this you know nothing yet as ye ought to know whatever you think of your selves and therefore look to it that you love God and dwell not about this or that tall conceit of your knowledge but if you or any man love him the same is known of him And this I shall humbly add if any man love God the same hath learned to think soberly or meanly of himself But the danger of this appears further if we consider that some for being under this Dying Sign were about to be spewed out of Gods mouth Revel 3. 17. Because thou saist I am rich and encreased with goods and have need of Nothing yet art so ignorant or knowest not that thou art wretched miserable poor blind and naked How doth the Holy Spirit illustrate to us the miserable estate of this People under this Dying Sign Wretched one would think that enough yet he adds Miserable and that is not enough to set it out but they are Poor Blind and naked in a word they are quite the contrary to what they think of themselves and what is in growing Christians Now I shall with Gods help show some Causes of this Deceit you may think you know enough First when you measure what you know by your own eyes or light you do think so not measuring what you know by the Rule of Knowledge the Word of God 1 Cor. 10. 12. For we dare not make our selves of the number or compare
he will take away the first born in Egypt that had not sinned and therein plagued Pharaoh and their Fathers that had sinned That this is mercy consider if David the sinner be cut off for his sin there was then no room left to manifest repentance either in David or the Egyptians yet death must come that God may be just and though nothing but Justice must take place yet in that he will be as merciful as possible to stand with Justice Therefore there is truly a Cause for God to impute death to Davids Child for Davids sin Object 2. The second Objection is grounded upon Job 2. 3. which seems also to complain against this Doctrine in these words Thou hast moved me against Job without a Cause he is a perfect and upright man one that feareth God and hateth evil Answ God goeth in this out of his ordinary way as in the case of St. Pauls conversion Acts 9. It will not be safe to imagin that others are unconverted because God meets not others so sometime God doth things to shew his Power and Majesty and greatness over all and his using instruments in an extraordinary case as his raising Lazarus from the grave and from death the widdows Son and others is no warrant for us to allude to cases ordinary Secondly here was a cause if not in Job and indeed necessity that this should come upon him if we consider Chap. 1. 9. There is none like Job saith God doth he serve thee for naught saith Satan put but forth thy hand he will curse thee to thy face Now that Job did not serve God just because God had dealt so well with him but would do it if God dealt other wayes with him shall now appear and the accuser of the brethren be put to the worst who complains against Job as envying his prosperity Thirdly in the strictest sense this carriage of God to Job can hardly be tearmed affliction but rather some gratious condition by God made with Job to this purpose Job thou art an upright man thou fearest me and hatest evil and Satan is still complaining on thee because he envies thy prosperity and tels me thou wouldst prove another man then I take thee to be if I should try thee by adversity and take from thee thy prosperity Now le ts stop the mouth of this great adversary and lend me thy Oxen and thy Asses thy servants and thy Cammels thy Children and all thy substance and thy body for my service I will pay thee with great advantage as appears by this following So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning for he had fourteen thousand sheep six thousand Cammels and a thousand yoak of Oxen and a thousand shee Asses and had also seven sons and three daughters so that the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before Job 42. 10 11 12. Object 3. The third Objection is grounded upon Isa 57. 1. The Righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart Good men here are taken away by death and no cause shewed they have the testimony of good men and yet taken away It will be granted they might have lived much longer for age the text implies it and the Objection is the stronger by it for it would be no matter of complaint had they lived till very age had took them away for then we know all must die Answ The time these good men lived in was a very evil time and God takes them away First in judgment to the People Secondly in mercy to themselves First in judgment Isa 5. 6 7 10. 11 12. He hath called upon them by the Righteous and warned them but it would do them no good now he will take away the Righteous from them to see if they will lay it to heart Secondly in mercy to themselves they are taken away First Because by long living with such they must needs be a weary even of their lives and their souls vexed from day to day Psal 120. 5. Wo is me that I dwell in the Tenis of Kedar So Jer. 4. 14. My bowels my bowels I am pained at my very heart my heart maketh a noise within me because thou hast heard in Jerusalem the sound of the Trumpet the Alarm of war Secondly in mercy to them because the continuance of this temptation upon them may at last so weary them out as they may give up all as Solomon did 1 Kings 11. 4. When he was old his Wives turned away his heart after other gods So Mat. 24. 21 22. Then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world nor ever shall be except those dayes shall be shortned there could no flesh be saved but for the elects sake it shall be shortned Even as our Proverb is A continual dropping will wear a hole in the stone so a continual oppression may turn the wise man out of all see for this Jer. 20. 14 c. He curseth the day of his birth and the man that brought tidings to his Father wisheth his Mother had been alwayes great with him saying Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow and that my dayes should be consumed with shame Clearly noting that any zealous heart is sorely touched when all he can do will not keep God from dishonour O blot me saith Moses out of thy book By this it may appear that Gods afflicting men is for some cause or other in them Object 4. Fourthly another Scripture that seems to complain by way of Objection is John 9. 1 2 3. in these words Who did sin this man or his Father that he is born blind For answer to which Christ saith Neither this man nor his Father but that the power of God might appear yet it is clear the Disciples understood this affliction in common must come for sin and Jesus Christ in his reply notes the case more than common saying He was born for this purpose that the work of God should be manifested in him It was mercy he was born and he was born that a wonder of heaven might be shewed upon him therefore we must distinguish between a case that is extraordinary and one that is common Again from the unwillingness that is in God to afflict as a confirming Answer to all the Objections it appears that high provocations in us procure Afflictions to us for till Justice cals so loud that God cannot be just except he doth afflict though in compassion he mixeth all with abundance of mercy 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. The Lord God of their Fathers sent to them by his Prophets rising up betimes and sending them because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place That is he was very pittiful loath to grieve or afflict them till there was no remedy Justice called so long and loud for vengeance upon them as Psal 106. 54. They did not destroy the Nations but were mingled among them