sin by the punishing of thy Son VI As Christs active and passive obedience is the meritorious cause so is Gods free mercy and grace the impulsive cause of our Justification and Salvation And although God was bound in justice to pardon our transgressions having received full satisfaction by his Sonnes death and mediation yet was he not bound in justice to send his Son into the world or to make him an attonement for our prevarications to send a Mediatour who by his obedience might make satisfaction and consequently save us was an act of his free grace and mercie to which he was not tied but having sent a Mediatour who by his obedience hath made satisfaction it is an act of justice now to save us and to this he is necessarily tied O my God how much am I bound to love and honour thee who hast bound thy selfe to justifie and save me I pray thee as thou hast divested thy self of thine own libertie in condemning me and hast freely subjected thy self to necessity that thou mightest save me so debarre me from all libertie in offending thee and impose on me this necessitie that all my dayes I may love and serve thee VII To shew mercy and to pardon sin are not of equall extent for God shewes mercy to all that are in miserie but he only pardons their sinnes whom he meanes to glorifie he is mercifull to the wicked in causing his sun to shine and his rain to fall and in bestowing of many outward blessings on them but he pardoneth only the sins of them who by repentance turn from sinne to him and by faith lay hold on Christ that died for them And although God be mercy it self or mercifull in the highest degree yet without satisfaction he will not pardon iniquitie because pardoning is an act rather of his free will then of his mercy neither is it essentiall to his mercy to pardon for so he should pardon all to whom he is mercifull which is not true and though he is mercifull to all those whom he pardoneth yet the act of pardoning is not mercy but the effect of mercy for his mercie is essentiall immutable necessarie but to pardon is a free and mutable act therefore as Gods justice is not prejudiced by punishing one for the sinnes of another seeing that other undertook voluntarily to suffer punishment so neither is Gods mercy wronged by pardoning that sin for which satisfaction is made because the satisfaction was not made by the party that offended it was justice then in God to punish Christ for our sinnes because voluntarily he took upon him our sinnes so it was mercy in God to pardon that sinne for which Christ had fully satisfied It was justice in God the Son having become our surety to satisfie for us so it was mercy in God the Father to apply and impute his Sonnes satisfaction to us I confesse Lord that though thou art bound in justice to pardon my sinne for which thou art fully satisfied yet thou art not bound in justice to impute that satisfaction or to account it mine seeing by my personall righteousnesse thou hast not been satisfied I will admire thy justice in punishing thy Sonne for the sins which by him were not committed and I will magnifie thy mercie in forgiving my sinnes for which I have no wayes satisfied VIII The highest degree of Gods mercy was in sending of his only begotten Sonne into the world to be our Jesus to procure Salvation for us which he did not by shewing us the way of Salvation onely or by declaring his Fathers will unto us or by shewing us the example of his life and death but by paying the price of our Redemption for we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son Rom. 5. 10. we are redeemed by the precious bloud of that immaculate Lamb 1 Pet. 1. 18. his bloud was given for the remission of sins Matth. 26. 28. we are justified by his bloud Rom. 5. 8. he was made a curse to free us from the curse of the law Gal. 3. 13. by his death he hath abolished death c. Heb. 2. 14. the Son of man came to give his life for the Redemption of many Mat. 20. 28. his bloud cleanseth us from all sin 1 Ioh. 1. 7. by his stripes we are healed Isai. 53. 5. he made himselfe a sacrifice for sin Isai. 53. 10. therefore it is by his bloud by his sacrifice by his death by his stripes that we are saved expiated justified redeemed cleansed healed and it was for our sinnes that he suffered Rom. 4. 25. for our iniquities that he was bruised Isai. 53. 5. our transgressions he bore in his body on the tree and upon him was laid the iniquitie of us all Isai. 53. 7. neither did he undertake this wretched condition for us forcedly but freely nor was the death temporall but eternall in the intention and greatnesse of the torments neither was Christs death a bare manifestation but a just price of our Redemption for in him we have Redemption by his bloud remission of sins c. Eph. 1. 5. we are redeemed by the precious bloud of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus 1 Pet. 1. 18. which was represented by the Leviticall sacrifices save onely that the Leviticall Priest offered for his own sinnes and for the sinnes of the people but Christ had no sins of his own for which he should offer And as the Priests office was to offer sacrifice and to make intercession Christ performed the one upon the Crosse when by his death he made satisfaction and blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances but the other Christ performes in Heaven interceding for us and applying his death unto us for we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous 1 Ioh. 2. 1. whose Intercession must not be confounded with his oblation because this was once performed and cannot be iterated for he cannot die often Heb. 9. 25. and with one oblation he hath consecrated for ever those that are sanctified Heb. 10. 14. but his Intercession is performed daily for he is entered into Heaven that he might appeare in the sight of God for us Heb. 9. 24. by vertue of whose propitiatorie sacrifice we are not taught the way to offer and reconcile our selves to God but by him we are reconciled redeemed justified saved O my God who is able to comprehend the height depth breadth and length of thy unspeakable mercy In height it reacheth to the heavens in confirming the Angels in depth it reacheth to hell for thou deliveredst David from the nethermost hell in breadth it extends from East to West over all the world even over all thy works and the length thereof is from generation to generation Therefore there is none of thy Attributes so gracious and admirable as thy mercy for as there is nothing greater in thee then that thou canst so there is nothing better then that thou wilt have mercy on those that are in misery FINIS †Supralapsarians * Sublapsarians * Consequentiae * Consequentis * Quoad speciem actus †Quoad exercitium actus * Voluntas placiti †Voluntas signi †Amor benevolentiae * Amor amicitiae * {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} †{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}
soul the cockatrice of Adams sin was first hatched I will not now dispute whether it was in the understanding being first blinded or in the will being first perverted this I know that the will is apt to be seduced by a blinde understanding and the understanding as apt to be clouded by a perverse will The understanding * moves the will by proposing the object which the will cannot affect except the understanding knowes it the will †moves the understanding to judge and consider the object which the understanding cannot consider except the will command it Lord illuminate my understanding that it may direct my will to affect the things that thou commandest and rectifie my will that it may command the understanding to exercise its act in meditating on the things which thou commandest LXIIII. If Christs obedience had been necessarie or naturall and not voluntarie he had not been like to us in all things except sin neither had he been subject to the tentation of disobedience nor had his obedience been meritorious nor had it been more excellent then the obedience of Angels but in this was his obedience more noble then theirs in that he yeelded that obedience willingly which they doe necessarily I will strive whilst I am here to obey willingly that hereafter I may obey necessarily for though voluntary obedience be the nobler yet necessarie obedience is the surer for I may disobey in the one I cannot but obey in the other LXV Though the sufficiencie of Christs death be extended to all yet the efficacie thereof is not applied to all nor did he pray and make intercession for all By his death he procured pardon for us and by his intercession he applies that pardon to us Lord in thy birth thou acceptedst my nature in thy death thou representedst my person by thy intercession put away my sins and pardon my offences that the mediation which thou begannest in thy birth and didst accomplish in thy sacrifice and passion may be fully made effectuall to me by thy prayers and intercession LXVI Action followes the affection therefore we love and hate actually because these affections are in us radically Though hatred be no affection in God yet we conceive it as an affection God therefore rejected Esau because he hated him but he did not hate him because he rejected him Lord I know thou maist justly reject me because in me there is that pravitie for which thou maist justly hate me repaire therefore in me the lost image of thy Son and so I shall escape thy just wrath and indignation LXVII The acts of Christs righteousnesse are ours not as they are performed by him but as they are imputed to us imputed I say by his merit and goodnesse and apprehended by our faith though in much weaknesse Then I see Lord that without faith thy righteousnesse will not availe me and without thy merit and goodnesse my faith cannot prevaile with thee give me then the hand of faith that with the Hemorroisse I may touch thee and by thy merit strengthen that hand that with Jacob I may hold thee LXVIII Christ first suffered before we could be redeemed and we are redeemed before it is applyed or can receive benefit by it then are we fully redeemed when we are from Satan and sin delivered Though Christ in suffering hath sufficiently paid the ransome yet whilst we are here subject to sin and Satan we are not fully partakers of redemption Heaven not earth is the place where that shall be perfected I will therefore lift up my head with joy because by death the day of my redemption draweth nigh LXIX A double benefit we have by Christ one that he hath purchased Redemption for us by his bloud the other that he hath applyed that Redemption to us by his Spirit if he had not died I could not have beleeved if I had not beleeved he had not applyed his death and merits to me Redemption is the cause of Faith and Faith the cause of Application Lord produce Faith in me by the vertue of thy passion that by Faith I may injoy thee in a true and spirituall Application LXX That the Church injoyes life eternall she is bound to Gods dilection but that she injoyes that life alone she is bound to his election because he loved her he hath bestowed this happinesse upon her because he chose her he hath appropriated this happinesse unto her Lord I will praise thy love by which I was elected and I will praise that election by which I am separated from the reprobate LXXI Gods will is the cause of preterition his justice is the cause of predemnation he was not bound to give grace to all therefore he passed by some without prejudice to his goodnesse he was bound to punish sin in all therefore he preordaines the death of his own Son and eternall paines for reprobates that he might not suffer prejudice in his justice Lord if thou hadst passed by me I could not have blamed thy goodnesse if thou shouldst punish me eternally I cannot blame thy justice for if thou givest grace to all where is thy libertie if thou forgivest all where is thy justice and equitie LXXII God is a most free Agent because he can doe what he pleaseth not because he can doe every thing his will is the supreme cause of all externall things but not of his justice which is internall as he cannot doe that which is evil so he cannot will that which is unjust as goodnesse is the object of his actions so justice is the rule of his will Lord make my actions subordinate to thy will as thy wil is subordinate to thy justice that as thou canst not will that which in justice thou maist not so I may not doe that which in wisedome thou wilst not LXXIII Though God foresaw sin in all yet he rejected not all sin was the occasion why he rejected some his will was the cause why he rejected but some his will was the cause of discrimination but sin of reprobation Lord I confesse it was not for want of sin in me that thou didst not reject me but because there was no want of goodnesse in thee therefore thou didst elect me my sin was the cause why I might have been rejected but thy mercie is the cause why I was not rejected LXXIIII God hindred Adams sin morally by his law not physically by his power he gave a law to guide him threatnings to affright him promises to induce him sufficient grace to strengthen him but used no violence or force to restraine him he would not thwart or destroy by any violent restriction that libertie which he gave him by Creation Thus we see his prudence in not restraining sin physically and withall his goodnesse in curbing it morally LXXV God willeth the death of a sinner because he foresaw the impenitencie of the sinner this is his consequent not his antecedent will in this his will depends not on the creatures
and the glory of thy truth in performing what thou hast promised though thus I have not deserved XCV All the afflictions of Gods people are either punishments chastisements or probations punishments for sins past chastisements to prevent sinnes to come probations to make triall of our Christian vertues and though Christ was punished for our sinnes to free us from eternall torments yet we are not thereby exempted from temporarie punishments he died to save us from death eternall not from death temporall he both suffered and satisfied we suffer though we cannot satisfie our sufferings are to shew our conformitie with Christ but not to shew any insufficiencie in the death of Christ Thou O Lord hast paid a plenarie ransome for sin and thou that knewest no sin becamest sinne and didst suffer death as a punishment for us that we who are born in sin might be free from sin that death might not be a punishment but a chastisement to us XCVI As by one simple act God knowes his own Essence so by one simple act he wils his own goodnesse which will whether we take it for an act or for an habit is eternally in God and differs but in some respects from his essence and therefore is immutable infinite and holy as his Essence and though many things are willed by him yet there is but one will in him which cannot be moved by any efficient end or object different from himself Lord though my will cannot attain that simplicitie infinitenesse and immutabilitie that is in thee yet let it obtain some measure of holinesse that in desiring of that only which is good it may in some measure resemble thine XCVII All have not had the happinesse to heare of Christ and yet there is no happinesse without Christ in this God is not unjust for they who either in themselves or in their parents have rejected him are not worthy of him besides God hath not left himself without a witnesse for he hath left a law written in all mens hearts and so much light of his goodnesse and justice as may make all men excuselesse If therefore they shall be rejected that had not that light of knowledge which we have how can we think we are elected who have even spurned at the knowledge of that light which they have not XCVIII Regeneration which is the killing of the old man and quickning of the new hath for her ushers Sorrow and Contrition for her Attendants Faith and Hope for her followers the works of Charitie if any of these be defective Generation will be little effective neither is this the work of nature but of grace for nature by generation can give us a mortall essence but grace by regeneration gives us an immortall existence in our first birth we had a new nature from our corporall parents in our second birth nature is renewed by our spirituall parents So easie is the work of physicall generation that it 's performed in the instant of our conception so difficult is the work of hyperphysicall regeneration that we cannot be consummately reformed till the instant of our dissolution Lord the great world was with greater facilitie by thee created then the little world of man could by thee be re-created that was done only by uttering thy externall word this could not be done but by the suffering of thy internall Word therefore as I am bound to thee for the tempor all life which in my generation by thy spirit thou breathedst in me much more am I bound for that eternall life which in my regeneration by thy Sonnes death thou hast purchased for me XCIX In thy sight O Lord no flesh can be justified if we consider the puritie of thy nature the rigour of thy justice the infirmities of our flesh and the imperfections of our righteousnesse For the first the Angels are not pure in thy sight much lesse we who dwell in houses of clay For the second if thou shouldst marke Lord what is done amisse who could abide it For the third there is no man that doth good no not one we are all gone out of the way For the fourth the justest man falleth seven times a day and our righteousness is like a menstruous cloath Therefore we acknowledge Lord there is no righteousnesse inherent in us by which we can be saved but that righteousnesse which is inherent in thee and imputed to us and by that we are justified and there is in thee exuberance of mercies by which we may be pardoned C. We are justified by grace formally by faith instrumentally by the word ministerially by good works demonstratively by sorrow and repentance preparatively by Christs death and obedience meritoriously and by God himself principally if then God be the efficient cause if Christs active and passive obedience be the materiall if grace be the formall if Gods glory be the finall cause of our justification how can we claime any share in it We are only subjects and patients no wayes agents our good works are but fruits and effects no wayes causes our sorrow and repentance are effects of preventing grace not of free-will our faith is from above not from our selves Therefore O Lord I disclaime all merit of congruitie and condignitie all efficacie of Sacraments all suffrages of Saints all power of Romane Prelates all absolution of Priests all observation of humane tradition and all will-worship from my justification I acknowledge no other merits but thy mercies by thy grace thou preventedst my merits my merits are thy suffrings my holinesse is thy goodnesse my righteousnesse is but a sparkle of thy brightnesse a drop of that Ocean a grain of that heap a stone of that immense mountain of thy incomprehensible goodnesse for which I am indebted to thee not thou to me Therefore not unto us O Lord not unto us but to thy Name we glve the glory DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON Gods Justice I. GOD will not pardon any sin except we repent of every sin for as he that breaks one command is guiltie of the breach of all so he that faileth in repenting of one sin repenteth of never a sin God loves not to doe things by halves he will pardon all or none and he will have us repent of all or none for as it stands not with his goodnesse and perfection to give an imperfect pardon so it consisteth not with the sinceritie of repentance to conceale any sin not repented as he ejected seven divels out of one and a legion out of another without leaving any behinde in the possessed so he will have us cast out all our sinnes without hiding of any unrepented What availes it to be freed from Satans power in casting us into the water of drunkennesse if he can when he pleaseth fling us into the fire of concupiscence O thou that art the great Physician of my soul to thee I open all my wounds and disclose all my maladies make me by the vomit of confession to cast up all my sinfull humours before
actions but on his own prescience his will may be Posterior to the foreseen sin of the creature but no wayes depending on the will of the creature In willing the death of sinners he shewes his justice in willing the death but of some sinners he shewes his goodnesse LXXVI All men may beleeve only some men will beleeve in all there is a possibilitie in some only a velleitie the possibilitie to beleeve is the gift of nature but the will to beleeve is the gift of grace the one we have by Creation the other by Regeneration Lord what is possibilitie without will and nature without grace As in Generation thou gavest me a reasonable soul that had a capabilitie to beleeve in thee so in my Regeneration give me a sanctified will that I may actually and constantly beleeve in thee LXXVII He that bestoweth Faith upon sinners bestoweth also Salvation upon repentant sinners by faith we are brought to repentance by repentance we are prepared for salvation Lord if thou hadst not bestowed faith upon Peter to beleeve in thee he had not repented for denying thee and if he had not repented he had not been saved lead me then by the hand of faith to the Iordan of repentance that being washed there from my spots I may see Heaven opened with Christ and with him injoy thy Spirit and light of thy Countenance LXXVIII There is in Gods will both a necessitie and a libertie he wills necessarily what concerns himself he wills freely what concerns other things besides himself he did necessarily will his own glorie he did freely will and decree my felicitie Lord thou couldst not but will thine own honour and goodnesse thou couldst not have willed my happinesse the more free thou wast from necessitie in willing my felicitie the more am I bound to praise the glorie of thy mercie LXXIX Gods will hath a two-fold consideration one as it is concealed another as it is revealed the former hath relation to his own actions the other to ours what he will doe himselfe is concealed what he will have us doe is revealed this will is not alwayes forcible the other is powerfull and irresistible Lord let me follow the directions of thy revealed will and not meddle with the hid secrets of thy concealed will I will not be too forward to know what thou hast not revealed nor will I be too backward to doe what thou hast commanded LXXX God hath decreed to bestow on man first grace then glory to the decree of giving grace preterition is opposite to the decree of giving glory reprobation no man is debarred from glory but he that was first deprived of grace preterition then is the antecedent to reprobation and the want of grace to the want of glory Thus they whom God doth here honour with the spirituall crown of grace shall be hereafter graced with the eternall crown of honour LXXXI That is a just law which is given by him that hath right to impose it and imposed on him who hath power to performe it such was the law that God gave to Adam the one had power to give the other power to keep it Lord thy law is just which thou hast given to me because thou hast power to impose it this law will not be the lesse just if thou wilt assist me and give me power to obey it LXXXII As Gods will hath relation to his own actions it is accompanied with omnipotencie as it hath relation to our actions it is regulated by justice for when he will doe what he hath determined he cannot be resisted so when he will have us doe what he hath commanded he cannot be unjust what he himself will doe is best known to him what he will have us do is not unknown to us Lord as it is thy will that I doe that which thou commandest wherein thou shewest thy justice so let it be thy will to command that which by thy help I can doe and therein shew thy goodnesse LXXXIII He that opposeth Gods revealed will which can be resisted deserveth to be hardned by Gods concealed will which cannot be resisted for that will of God which is not done by him shall be done on him Lord assist me to follow the direction of that will which is revealed that I may avoid the destruction which by that other will is decreed for although by the secret will of thy * pleasure thou hast determined death for obstinate sinners yet by the pleasure †of thy revealed will thou hast proposed life to penitent sinners LXXXIIII God in his goodnesse made man a vessell of mercy Satan in malice made him a vessell of miserie therefore God in his justice hath made him a vessell of his wrath and furie God made the vessell which whilst it staid in his hand remained sound falling from thence it hath received a crack therfore by this crack being made unserviceable it is rejected Lord the substance of the vessell is thine the crack is mine I have made my self unfit to serve thee therefore justly maist thou refuse to honour me LXXXV God hated Pharaoh not because he hardned him but because he obstinately resisted God therefore he hated him and consequently hardned him and that not by the force of his omnipotencie but by his patience and longanimitie Lord if I by thy goodnesse should take occasion to become obstinate in wickednesse why maist not thou take occasion by my perversenesse to obdurate me in my sins and to debarre me from grace and happinesse Therefore I pray thee keep me from obstinacie that thy patience by my sins may not be turned into fury LXXXVI There be two sorts of carnall men some are carnall in knowledge some in affections the former sort are children who are fed with milk and not yet with spirituall men able to judge of all things the other sort are wicked men who walk after the flesh not after the spirit and have not mortified the deeds of the flesh now God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in spirit Lord remove from me all fleshly understanding that I may conceive thee spiritually and remove from me all carnall affections that I may love thee spiritually Give me the love of knowledge that I may attain to the knowledge of thy love Make me by the spirit of understanding to come to the understanding of thy Spirit LXXXVII Goodnesse hath a two-fold residence one in the minde the other in the flesh when 't is there I will good when 't is here I doe good 't is good to have the knowledge of good and that is in the minde 't is good to subdue and mortifie sinfull lusts and that is in the flesh the former goodnesse is sometimes in wicked men the other is onely in good men Lord place in my minde the goodnesse of knowledge whereby I may see and understand thee and place in my flesh the goodnesse of holiness whereby I may love and injoy thee for what is knowledge without