propounds a third motive in these words taken from the benefit which by beleeving on Christ we shall in some measure be enabled and made capable of bestowing the like blessing upon our brethren and that by our prayers If such a man should see his Brother sin a sinne which is not unto death he shall aske and he shall give him life As an instrument God at his request shall give him life God will make him an instrument of conveying speciall favour to such a man First the words containe three parts First a promise of obtaining life for such of our brethren as we shall see sinne not unto death and shall aske life for him Secondly an acception from this generall promise he would have it understood of some speciall transgression of them that sinne not unto death he would be so understood and would not inlarge this promise so farre as that a faithful man by his prayers shal obtaine pardon of sinne for such as sin unto death but not for that that is the onely caution that he gives least this promise be taken to extend too far Thirdly A prevention of an objection or doubt that might hence arise For might some man say All unrighteousnesse is sinne and every sinne is a sinne to death and the wages of every sinne is death Rom. 6. ult And therefore if the promise extend only thus farre to procure peace and pardon for such as sinne not unto death then either you must grant some veniall sins or else this promise is of none effect for if every sin be mortall and you onely promise pardon of sin to such as is not unto death and no man sins but it is unto death this promise is of none effect Iohn Answers to this Objection vers 17. and saith though all unrighteousnosse be sin yet there is a sin that is not unto death It is true the deserved wages of al unrighteousnes is unto death but there is a sin that is not unto death not that there is any sin which doth not deserve death but not that which doth undoubtedly cut off a man from all hopes of life but notwithstanding that sin he may be converted As sometimes our Saviour said of the sicknesse of Lazarus he is sick but not irrecoverable Iohn 11.4 So that the meaning of the Holy ghost is that there is a finne unto death which doth not onely kil the soule but irrecoverably out of which there is no hope of recovery or salvation and that sin they must forbear to pray for This promise thus opened will afford us three notes First That a faithfull Christian or which is all one a beleever on the name of Christ is not to hide his eyes from observing and discerning the sinnes and slips of their brethren If any man see his brother sinne a sin which is not unto death which he cannot see if he neglect to observe them Secondly A faithfull Christian discerning the sinne of his brother is to pray for him Let him aske when he sees him sin not unto death Thirdly A faithfull man praying unto Christ for the sinne of his brother shall obtaine life at Gods hand for him pardon and peace and grace for him For the first of these Doct. A faithfull beleever is not to hide his eyes from observing the sinnes and failings of his brethren If any man see his brother sinne a sinne he must observe him else he cannot see him Gal. 2.14 When I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel c. he observed them and discerned their course hee turned not his eyes from beholding it but he did take notice of it Heb. 3.12 13. Take heed least there be in any of you an evill heart of unbeleefe in departing from the living God take heed hee doth not speak of himselfe onely though that principally but least there be in any of you an evil heart of unbeleefe that is not only for every man to take heed to himselfe but to his brethren also as appears by the following verse implying that a man should not only take heed to himself but as much as in him lyes take heed to his brethren And if you should aske how should I prevent another man from having an evill heart of unbeleefe he tells you how By exhorting one another daily while it is called to day looke to your selves and also to your brethren and shew your care of them by stirring them up daily And this is that the Apostle speakes of in Hebr. 10.24 Let us consider one another and provoke one another to love and good workes see therefore and observe one another and see where any thing is amisse and stir up one another to every holy performance Reas 1. It is first taken from the love we owe them Secondly from the love we owe our selves First The love we owe to our brethren God requires our love to our brethren yea towards our enemies Oxe or Asse we should not see one of them fall under their burden or goe astray and hide our face from them Deut. 22.24 If you should see the beast of your enemy to sink down you shall not passe by him and let him alone but you shall raise him up from under his burthen Now if God require so much love to our beasts and that to the beasts of our enemy how much more doth God require this love to our brethren that if we see them going out of the way we should call them back againe if we see them to sinke under the burthen of sinne not there to let them lye but though we could finde in our hearts there to let them lye yet we ought not so to satisfie our selves but to looke unto our brethren in such a case and doe the best we can to recover them from going astray And in respect of our selves this benefit we our selves shall have we shall learne a more holy feare of the Lord and have a more just jealousie over our selves we shall keep the better watch over our selves when we see our brethren fall before us Rom. 11.12 Be not high minded but feare to shew you that when we see other men through unbeleefe and corruption fall into any sinne we ought to benefit our selves thereby not to be high minded upon this occasion to blesse our selves and we thanke God it is not with us as it is with other men we are not such and such as these Publicans are wont to be but feare we in such a case the faylings of others should be the feares of Gods people the more they see others fall the more should they suspect their owne aptnesse to faile in the like kinde If such things doe befall the greene tree such as are full of the Oyntment of the Holy one how easily may the dry stubble kindle so that what out of respect to learne the more to watch our selves and out of compassion to our Brethren to restore them what by seasonable admonition Levit.
his Son to whom this eternall life is communicated and that is to all such as to whom the Son is communicated amplified by the contrary He that hath not the Son hath not life Doctrine According to or upon our having or not having of Christ depends our having or not having of life The note is of speciall weight in our Christian experience and therefore let us take so much the more care in opening of it He that findeth me which is all one with hee that hath me he hath life Prov. 8.34 but he that is estranged from me he loveth death ver 36. So that finde Christ and finde life Finde him not but be estranged from him and finde death So Eph. 2.12 In times past ye were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenant of promise having no hope and without God in the world and Eph. 4.18.19 There he speakes of some that were alienated from the life of God but in ver 20. Ye have not so learned Christ if so be you have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus For further clearing of this point let me shew you first the Reasons upon which it depends and then the uses of it Creatures broken Sisterns without Christ Reason 1. For the first The first reason arises from the insufficiency of all the body of the creature to give us life without Christ Heb. 10.1.4 It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should cleanse the conscience from sinne They are not a valuable recompence to God for the transgressions we have done by our transgressions we had deserved death for which the death of the beasts cannot make recompence Men cannot redeem themselves And besides should we dye for our sinnes our selves our death would not free us from the punishment for we are not able to overcome death but should for ever sinke under it If there had been a Law that could have given us life then wee might have lived by it but there is no such Law as can give us spirituall life David speakes in the name of Christ Psal 22.29 It is the speech of our Saviour or of David in his name No Man can keepe alive his owne soule It is beyond the power of the creature to keep alive his own soule no not so much as naturall life Psal 49.7.9 No man can give a ransome for the soule of his brother no man is able to ransome or redeem his owne life or anothers yea which is much Adam in innocency was taught to looke for the preservation of his inocent nature out of himself for to that end did God give him the tree of life Gen. 2.9 the tree of life grows not in Adam but in the Garden Now he that was to eat of the tree called the tree of life he was taught from thence that the maintenance and continuance of that life which he then lived a life of grace and glory was not to be expected from his owne strength but from something without himselfe The tree of life was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ the second person in Trinity 1 Joh. 3.4 Now if Adam could not keep alive his own soule but by that tree how much lesse Adam falne and corrupted being now become unable to keep that Law which in innocency he might have kept But more clearly see the grounds of this insufficiency in the creature to helpe it selfe The first is taken from the preciousnesse of the price of our redemption The costlinesse of it the matter of our justification is the price of our redemption and without justification no spirituall life at all Now the price of our redemption is our justification the forme of that justification is Gods accepting of it and imputing it to us but the matter of it is the price of our redemption and that is the root of all our spirituall life the price of our redemption given to God is accepted of him and by him given to us Psal 49.8 Precious is the redemption of soules it is farre beyond the power of the creature that which may be fit matter to give to God by way of satisfaction for a soule that is very precious and this was onely the obedience of Christ to the death he by suffering death for us and rising from the dead declared himselfe mightily to be the Son of God and he by his obedience to the death offered to God the price of our redemption He gave himselfe a ransome for many And this shews that it had beene impossible for any under the Sonne of God to have given a sufficient price for our redemption neither man nor Angels could doe it but he in giving a sufficient price for us did thereby mightily declare himselfe to be the Sonne of God he onely by his death is the matter of our justification and his rising is our life the Father himselfe it could not stand with his justice to give a price for our redemption he being the person offended but the Sonne taking upon him our nature that nature which had offended God he by this meanes made atonement betweene the Father and us and in making atonement declared himselfe mightily to be the Sonne of God none but he alone was able to tender to God such a recompence as might be a satisfaction for our sins 2. And as this is ground why there is no sufficiency in the creature to give us the life of our justification so it is also taken from the root of our sanctification and consolation for they spring both from one fountaine and that is the Spirit of Gods grace John 16.7 he is the comforter that is our sanctifier and this springs in us to everlasting life Joh. 4.14 Now he that can give a spirit of sanctification and consolation is onely the Lord Jesus Christ unlesse he goe away and send the Comforter to us he never comes If you would know who it is that can give this water of life you shal read Joh. 4.10 that it is only the Lord Jesus he it is only that goes to the Father and sends his Spirit of grace into our hearts unlesse he go to heaven and send it downe from heaven to us it is not given So that he being the root of the Spirit of consolation of sanctification all this life of consolation sanctification springing from the Spirit as from a fountain and Christ being he that sets open this fountain Zac. 1.13 Therefore it is that there is an insufficiency in the creature to shed abroad such a thing as this into our hearts Act. 2 33. when he was to give a reason of the spirit of Tongues he fetches it fom the resurrection of Christ that he by his ascending into heaven did shed abroad this word which you now see and heare so that by his death he gave to God not onely the price of our redemption but prevailed with the Father to bestow upon him the Spirit to
a spirit of liberty to have the heart set free from all feares it is the summe of all security he hath redeemed us That we might serve him without feare all the dayes of our lives Luk. 1.74 75.78 We are free from feare of Death and Hell and of the World and we doe not feare what flesh can doe unto us Psal 3.5 6. his meaning is That the feares of men should not breake his sleep but he would walke in a child-like confidence before God and man and he would lye him downe quietly and sleepe securely though ten thousand had compassed him round about and the like you read Psal 56.3 What time I am afraid I will trust in thee And vers 11. In God will I put my trust I will not be afraid what man can doe unto me It is an usuall phrase with David and the usuall frame of the spirits of Gods people and this kinde of holy tranquillity of heart and liberty to walk with even nesse and comfort of soule against all the feares of this and another world this kinde of inward liberty from all feare Naturall property of a son is the naturall property of a Sonne a sonne never greatly feares ill measures from his Father all his care is to approve himselfe to his Fathers will and then he knowes his Fathers care is more for his owne provision and protection then his owne can be and if at any time he fall short of doing his Fathers will he makes his peace with his father upon as good termes as he can and there he rests but this is his fathers will and you need not possesse him of that and if he be a sonne he will looke for protection from his father A childe of God knowes his heavenly Father will support him and he feares not what sinne and Hell and the Grave and Death can doe unto him he feares not persecution nor sword nor famine the Lord is with him and he feares none of them I am perswaded saith Paul that in all these we are more then conquerours Rom. 8.37 38. this is the liberty of the spirit of a sonne Now as there is by the Spirit in the heart of the Childe of God liberty from all feare of sinne Liberty from power of sin so he hath liberty from all the power and dominion of sinne he is not subject to the dominion and bondage of sinne sinne hath not that power over him as to carry him captive to it but he walkes at liberty Psal 119. and therefore at liberty because he is not under the law but under grace Rom. 6.14 And notable is that speech in Chap. 8.2 The law of the spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the law of sinne and of death The spirit of life viz. That spirit of life which hath a legall power in it a power like a law and hath a ruling power over me as the law hath and in both these respects called A Law of God A kinde of spirituall life because there is a lively spirit in him And this law of the Spirituall life of Grace hath freed me set me at liberty from the law and trade of sinne and of death sinne and death set him a course and trade which this Law of the Spirit of life hath set him free from so as that he is but a bungler in sin now not now learned in the law of sinne as sometimes he hath been but the Law of the Spirit of life hath freed him from the skill of sinne and from the command of sinne the law of sinne hath had a soveraigne power over him but now he is freed from the act and trade of sinne and now he walkes at liberty even from the dominion and usurpation of sinne time hath been when nothing would withhold him and he could have followed evil company and unlawfull games they were as lawfull to him as to any and he had no power to resist them but now the Law of the Spirit of life hath helped him against them all this is another part of the spirit of liberty a liberty from the bondage and dominion of sinne and it is a marvellous comfortable liberty indeed many a vallourous spirited man hath so little feare of death that he rushes upon the Pikes as the Horse into the Battell as if it were their meat and drinke but yet he wants this liberty he is not at liberty from feare of danger by the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ but as Aristotle saith valiant because ignorant of the danger And besides such a naturall man though he be of a magnanimous spirit in respect of fear of danger yet such a man is often captivated of many base lusts and sinfull courses and is not able to resist ill counsell nor ill company whereas a godly man is free from all these free from the bondage and dominion of sinne and all the law of sinne he looks at it as a cobweb-law which hee may easily breake through and accordingly doth so and overcomes all his former sinfull lusts Freedome from sins Service Thirdly There is another frame of this spirit of liberty as it is the Spirit of the Sonne it frees us from the service of men 1 Cor. 7.23 Not that it forbids civill subjection not so to make men free but if God have called you a servant live as a servant 1 Cor. 7.12 to 20. but use your liberty the rather if you can but if you must needs be a servant then know that he that is a servant is the Lords free man but be not ye the servants of men that is though you owe and doe your bodily service to men yet towards God walk at liberty and if thy labour be great and thy reward little yet doe thy service and looke for more wages at the hand of Christ Col. 3.23 then from men in serving men serve Christ and therefore goe about your Masters service not with eye service but in singlenesse of heart serving the Lord and not men in serving of men they do faithfull and diligent service to the Lord and therefore they do it willingly and not grudgingly but in much quietnesse of spirit and are more free for Christian duties and have more quiet time for seeking God then ever after 1 Cor. 7.22 He that is married careth for the things of the world And it is true he that is most free is but a servant to Christ but a free servant though But he that is a servant is the Lords free-man the meaning is not only to doe the worke of his owne service with a free spirit but he is not onely a free man when he is most bound but then hee goes about the service of God with much more liberty of spirit then when he is his own man It is oft times wonder to see servants being called what care they will have of Christian dutyes what time they will steal to call upon God and to examin
motions of Gods spirit and cannot indure that any Ordinance should bring us nearer to Christ Act. 7.51 Yee have always resisted the holy ghost expelled the blessed of God that if the holy ghost but dart any good councel into their hearts they cannot indure to hear it nor entertain any motion of it but grieve and vex the holy Spirit of God and they are not well till they quench it 1 Thess 5.19 Esa 5.3 we are alive to nothing but to run away from God alive to sinne alive to doe evill but to doe well we have no understanding Jer. 4.22 Apt to purge and cleanse our selves from all good things but wholly undisposed to doe any thing that is well this is the true estate of us all Look at us as we are by nature all of us without Christ cannot put forth one act of spirituall life not one good motion to be found in such a condition And in the first place for begetting any unto grace we rather doe the quite contrary we addict our selves to beget men to become the children of Hell worse then our selves Matth. 23.15 two-fold more the children of Hell and because that may be more proper to corrupt teachers Jeremy speakes it of all the sonnes of nature and those especially that had lived a while under the meanes and were not thereby brought on to an estate of grace those whom God had kindled some fire in their hearts and whom he would have brought on to grace even these They are all grievously revolted walking with slanders they are brasse and Iron they are all corrupters Jer. 6.28 He doth not say they are all corrupted but all corrupters that is such as are not only naught themselves but they corrupt others also they make others worse for their sakes No man that sets his face to God-ward but if he come among them he is the worse for them every man is kept off the more from goodnesse by their meanes they doe not love that men should be too forward or too precise nor to keep such a puleing nor such a praying we are all by nature corrupters Gen. 6.11 All flesh had corrupted their way even every man had done it every one is the worse for us that hath to doe with us if we see but any good disposition in them to be comming on in the waies of grace we doe as much as in us lyes to quench and damp and smother them and never rest by our good wills till we make them as ill as our selves and harden their hearts from Gods feare this is the true carriage of all those who are out of Christ He that hath not the Son he hath no life no motion of spirituall life no growing up in Christ no purging out of sinfull uncleannesse and therefore now to apply this conceive thus much First It applyes it selfe against the Church of Rome Application first who maintaine that men in the state of nature have free will to lay hold upon Christ and they conceive it is upon very faire termes but I would only demand of you this question Whether when they doe lay hold on Christ as they conceive whether they have him or they have him not they will say They have not Christ till they have received him for what hast thou that thou hast not received 1 Cor. 4.7 And till they have received him how shall they lay hold upon him and if not receive him they are dead men and when a man is dead what can he have by any benefit that is offered him Offer him never so largely and he can receive no benefit by it and if that any doe lay hold upon Christ were they not living when they so layed hold upon him so that when they doe lay hold upon Christ whether is it an action of life or no If not how shall they lay hold on Christ and without Christ no life A man in the state of nature neither doth good nor can he doe any good nor is he willing to doe good and therefore well doth the Apostle say It is God that workes in you both the will and the deed Phil. 2.12 13. Any thing that we doe that is good is wholly from the grace of Christ and this is just against the Papists Secondly It serves to teach us all to bemoane our owne estates or the estates of any of ours that we yet see in the gall of bitternesse lying in an estate of nature is it thy selfe or thy father or mother or thy children or servants whatever he be be he never so good a natured man if he be yet without Christ there is no life in him I say looke upon him as thy dead friend If thou didst look upon thy father and mother or children and see them lye dead before thee thou wouldest mourne bitterly for them you know what is said Zach. 12.10 As a man mournes for his first borne if our first borne or any that is neare to us dye we mourne bitterly for them and refuse to be comforted as was the case of Rachels mourning for her children and would not be comforted because they were not Matth. 2.18 they were all dead and therefore caused a bitter mourning it was the wounding and rending of her soule And may not this be the case of many a fruitfull mother many children and yet all of them dead in Gods sight not a soule living in the sight of God And is it not a farre more bitter death to be dead in sinne then to be dead in the body when it is a living soule in Gods sight then blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord for even so saith the Spirit that never spake words of falshood Revel 14.13 I say therefore if that our children live to God and have the life of grace in their hearts there is no danger of their death then thy children shall come againe to thy hearing at the resurrection of the just and thou shalt imbrace them with comfort and fill thy soule with unspeakable joy and fulnesse of glory if they dye in the favour and grace of God they shall rise to glory but if they be spiritually dead no goodnesse in the world in them no spirituall life at all no life of righteousnesse or holinesse which are the first fruits of the Spirit and of glory in this world then weep for these children and those friends that husband or wife or brother or sister weep for every soule that is in an estate of sinne and death they are as so many dead Corps you may sometimes see a whole house-full of dead creatures not one of them living to God not one of thy acquaintance not one of all thy brothers and sisters weep and mourne bitterly for them that are thus wounded with sinne and bleed deadly and gaspe for their last breath and it may be shall never finde grace from God in this world their present condition is fearefull and mourne thou for them in a godly manner that
upon them day and night and taken times to chew and digest them If thou hadst done thus then thou wouldest have beleeved more assuredly but if we be negligent in any of these kinds then wonder not if we take away bodily food we take away bodily heat take away the fuell that nourishes faith and then it must needs grow weake and infirme And therefore as you desire to grow in beleeving be diligent in these duties that you may beleeve on the name of Christ and in beleeving may beleeve much more And for you that doe not beleeve savingly whose faith will not put you in possession of eternall life though this Scripture was not so much written for your use and benefit Note this as for them that already beleeve yet since there is no meanes to come to faith but by the Word be not you wanting as ever you desire to come to that faith which accompanies salvation be not wanting diligently to heare the Word of God and conferre about it with those that beleeve already Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10.17 and it is the mighty power of God to salvation Be glad of any opportunity to heare the Word and waite at the posts of wisdomes gates Prov. 8.34 35. He that findeth me findeth life the promise is very plaine waiting daily at my gates Implying that in hearing we shall finde him and in finding Christ we shall finde life be diligent therefore to heare and when you have heard it goe home and search whether it be true or no and if you have liberty be doing this often be conferring about it as you can have any opportunity God hath sanctified these Ordinances to this end Be diligent in inquiring after wisdome after Christ in the Scripture there is a treasure lyes digge for it and you shall have it especially if with all these you joyne humble and hearty prayer to God for a blessing upon all these Ordinances for 1 Tim. 4.5 they are all sanctified by the Word and Prayer and Prov. 2.2 3. God would have you to use Prayer intreat him to open your eyes and hearts that you may beleeve and obey and that no Ordinance might be in vaine to you but might profit by them all and might grow up in beleeving SERMON XIV 1 JOHN 5.14 15. And this is the Confidence that we have in him that if we aske any thing according to his will he heareth us And if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we aske we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him IN the former Verse the Apostle described to us the maine scope of his writing this Epistle which was partly that Beleevers might know that they did beleeve and partly that they might beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God Now in this latter end Iohn aymes at in writing this Epistle he exhorts Beleevers to imbrace it by three severall Motives in the verses following the 14 15 16. verses Motive 1 The first Motive is taken from the confidence of such as beleeve on him for salvation for the obtaining of their Petitions This is the confidence that we have in him meaning we that beleeve on his name that if we aske any thing according to his will he heareth us Motive 2 Secondly Another motive or benefit that flowes from this is this That if we know he heareth us we know we have the things that we asked of him Motive 3 Thirdly here is likewise added another motive taken from the prevalency of his Prayers with God in such a point as wherein of all others we may finde this comfort and that is look as by beleeving on the name of Christ we shall finde comfort in respect of our everlasting estate so we shall finde this further benefit that if we see any Brother which hath sinned a sinne that is not unto death not a deadly sin that is not the sin against the Holy Ghost so mighty and prevalent shall our prayers be with God that in case we beleeve on the name of Christ and aske pardon of sinne for our brothers offence God will give him life so that if we beleeve on his name our prayers shall be heard and they have a prevailing power with God to obtaine at his hands the pardon of all our brothers sinnes that have not sinned unto death The Doctrines hence are these Doct. 1. First That a prayer that is made well never speeds ill Or thus A prayer that is made according to Gods will is ever granted according to our will or as the Apostle saith according to our desire vers 15. Doct. 2. Secondly Such as beleeve on the name of Christ for salvation may be confident and certaine of the hearing and granting their petitions Doct. 1. A prayer made according to Gods will shall be granted according to our will For so saith the words of the Text If we aske any thing according to his will he heareth us We praying according to Gods will shall finde acceptance according to our will Notable is that speech of encouragement and acceptance of our Saviour to the woman of Syrophenitia Matth. 15.28 O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt She had prayed as Christ would according to Gods will and shee received answer according to her desire As if a man that did beleeve and had a spirit of Prayer and had learning to pray according to Gods will he might be able to carve for himselfe in the treasures of Gods goodnesse as if God would let him into the chamber of his presence of his grace and favour and bid him take what he will take for himselfe and his friends and for his brethren as he will For opening of this point observe thus much First let us see what it is to pray according to Gods will and then secondly what is the ground of the point For the first to pray according to Gods will To pray according to Gods will in two things are contained in that Phrase and yet divers things besides those are comprehended in it First when he saith according to his wil it implyes first That we pray for such things as God wills such things as are not according to his secret will for so we cannot guide our actions for secret things belong to the Lord our God but of things revealed it is according to his revealed will and it implyes that we should aske him nothing but what hee gives us Commandement to aske all that he commands us to doe as to aske that we may aske and for that we are to pray for expresly As for the glory of his Name the comming of his Kingdome and the building up of his grace in any the doing of Gods will for our daily bread c. These are the things he hath given us warrant to pray for Secondly According to Gods will this is evident That whatsoever we aske we should aske it with submission to the will of God so our Saviour
Arts and Sciences whence is their knowledge but from their observation of many experiences Phisitians know it and they therefore set it downe in their bookes they know it is so Things that we gather from sence and experience we are said to have the knowledge of now this experience doth not only give us confidence but knowledge for by the unction that we have received we doe know the love of God that passeth knowledge Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith we come to know the love of God towards us Eph. 3.17.19 There is not any thing that concernes the love of God towards us but the Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts by faith it comes to passe that we are able to comprehend the height and depth length and breadth of the love of God towards us This Spirit of God in our hearts gives us sensible experience and knowledge of Gods love to us of his attonement and grace to us our Consciences that had hels in them before all such darksome evils are now vanisht and scattered and we know that sensibly we had power given us to pray and to beleeve that our prayers are granted and can wait upon God and feare God and make conscience of obeying his will Now this Spirit of prayer that discovers these things plainly to our inward man the sence and experience of it makes a Christian able to know what God hath done for him and makes him able to beleeve what God hath promised him and thus now when we aske any thing according to Gods will he doth not only say It is well said but he takes a course to answer our requests we have certaine grounds to move us in what we aske and the ends of our requests are right Now God considers not alwaies so much the letter of our prayers as the grounds and ends of them the scope we ayme at and God will so accordingly answer us Vse 1. Let it be first a ground of encouragement to every Christian soule that beleeves in the name of Jesus Christ trust not in your owne good parts and good gifts if any such things increase set not your hearts upon them trust not in any worldly blessing but beleeve on the name of Christ And therefore that you may beleeve humble your soules before him in regard of your sins and pray heartily in the faith of Christ And why so The ground is in the text you shall not only be confident and assured of your salvation which is a great mercy of God to my soule and a greater then all the whole Church of Rome would grant they may goe to Rome and from thence to Jerusalem and from one place to another to have sought for pardon of sin and yet not so much comfort promised them that after all this they shall finde it but in the end to Purgatory they must goe and that is as ill as Hell fire say they save only in durance and this is all the helpe they have they might whip and scourge themselves and give all their goods away to the poore and themselves goe in sackcloth and ashes all their dayes and when all comes to all they must not be sure of any mercy or favour from God which to beleeve would be Hereticall presumption but they must notwithstanding all this rest in Hell fire till the day of Judgement unlesse they will be at cost to purchase freedome from it and which is strange though they would not suffer them to beleeve a release by Christs pardon yet upon the Popes pardon they might have hope and so they take more pains for an uncertainty then we for certainty and knowledge but you shall not only attaine certainty of salvation but certainty of the granting of all your requests no peace to the peace of a Beleever and therefore lay aside all your confidence in the world but be confident in the name of the Lord Jesus and be certaine of Gods favour and goodnesse to you in him and then here is such blessings as will keep a mans heart warme in the worst houres Vse 2. To teach such as beleeve on the name of the Lord Jesus how you may come to be confident and certaine of the hearing and granting your petitions How may wee come to that Hast thou good evidence to thy soule of thy Adoption that God is thy Father then meditate well upon this point that Christ is thy Advocate to make intercession and Attonement for thee in case thou hast displeased thy heavenly Father These two things will much prevaile they be strong helps to a weake faith and then consider what unction thou hast received and look up to God that he would give thee a spirit of prayer to pray feelingly and fervently and humbly before him and then labour for a spirit of faith which if God give thee so much faith as to perswade thee thy requests are heard and to wrastle against discouragements and that the spirit of faith doth worke in thee grace to hope and waite upon God and withall an holy feare of his name and obedience to walke obediently in doing his will and patiently to suffer his will under his hand and observe how the Spirit speakes evidently in this and that kinde and it will be a notable means to helpe thee to grow confident and certaine that all thy prayers are heard Now many a Christian soule falls short of this he considers not the Attonement of Christ in his prayer but many times thus stands the case with them there is much desolutenesse in their lives and loosenesse and fearlesnesse in their hearts before God rejoyce not with trembling God sees his Servants loose in their obedience and when disobedient they seek not to Christ for Attonement whence it is that many times they are so full of doubts Vse 3. Of much consolation to all those that beleeve on the name of the Lord Jesus and make use of these blessed meanes this is our confidence that whatsoever petitions we aske he heareth us and we know it See how comfortable a Christians estate is he growes certaine not only of his owne salvation but he is certaine of the hearing and granting of all his petitions if he can but pray well he makes account all is well let his distresses be what they will be SERMON XVI 1 JOHN 5.16 17. If any man see his brother sinne a sinne which is not unto death he shall aske and he shall give him life for them that sinne not unto death There is a sinne unto death I doe not say that he shall pray for it THese words containe a third motive to encourage us unto that duty which is the maine scope of this Epistle to wit to beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God whereto the Apostle exhorts us vers 13. and propounds first this motive to wit A blessed confidence of the hearing of all our petitions Secondly a certaine knowledge verified that he not only heares but grants our desires Now he
give where and to whom he will 3 And for a third ground why eternall life cannot bee given by any but by Christ is taken from the invincible difficulty of the passage to eternall life from the hand of death and the grave there is no redemption What man is he that can deliver his soule from the hand of the grave Psal 49. And if the soule be severed from the body no man can quicken his owne soule that is beyond the power and reach of the creature death is the passage to eternall life and this passage is of invincible difficulty for a man to dye and then to translate himselfe from death to life is far beyond the capacity of the creature and therefore saith our Saviour I am the resurrection and the life Joh. 11.25 and hee speakes of it formally and properly as if he should say being risen from the dead my selfe I rise my selfe and therefore raise up others also so that if you looke at the invincible difficulty of it you shall see that it onely is the Lord Jesus that can give eternall life it is a signe of an hypocrite when with Simon Magus we thinke this gift may be bought with money Reas 2 It is taken from the good pleasure of the Father whom it hath pleased that in Christ all fulnesse of life should dwell Col. 1.19 And when he which is our life shall appeare wee shall appeare with him 1 Cor. 1.30 And therefore since God hath concluded and shut up all the springs of life in Christ and out of Christ there is nothing but death the good pleasure of the Father hath determined this point that he having given us this eternall life in his Son there is no deriving life from any fountaine but only from the Son Vse If upon our having or not having of Christ depends our having or not having of life then from hence you see an evident ground of triall of every one of our estates whether we be alive or dead would any man know whether he have or not have life consider then whether you have or not have Christ And from hence you may discerne three grounds of triall to discerne whether we have Christ or no. First consider what it is to have a Christ Secondly what it is to have the Son Thirdly what signes there be of life and hereby wee shall have direction whether we have Christ or no and by this we may informe our selves aright in this particular This point containes in it the pith and marrow of Christianity so far as any comfort of it may redound to us First then let us consider what signes the Holy Ghost hath given us of our having of Christ We are said to have Christ four wayes in Scripture First by the honour or service or worship of him Secondly in some sense wee are said to have Christ by purchase Thirdly by way of Covenant Fourthly by way of free acceptance when God offers him First a man is said to have God or to have Christ that worships him and the very worshipping of him is the having of him so you read Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other gods but me it is the expresse words of the Commandement And by having of God there he meanes thus much Thou shalt worship no other gods but me worship me and thou hast me worship any other and thou hast another god and not me So have the Lord Jesus Christ by worshipping of him and you have him fully Psal 45.10 11. He is the Lord thy God and worship thou him implying that as God hath set over his Son to us to be our Lord so we must receive accept and worship him this is that which Moses and the people of Israel sung He is my God and is become my salvation Exod. 15.2 He is my God and he is my Fathers God and therefore I will exalt him So that to set up and exalt God in our hearts and lives and to worship him is all one this sets up the Lord to worship him is to be our God Now a little better to understand this point that you may conceive what this worship of Christ is you are to conceive that worship is performed to Christ in minde in heart in life both in our obedience that wee performe in our life in suffering and patience which wee yeeld to God in our lives by all this we worship Christ and so have him 1 Part of the worship of Christ viz. in the mind and judgement First in our mindes we then indeed worship Christ when we have him in high estimation The worship and honour that we owe to Christ is to have him in high esteem Cant. 5 10. She the Spouse there may well call him her beloved Christ is my Christ when he is to me the chiefest of ten thousand Psal 89.6 Who among the sonnes of the mighty can be likened to the Lord. And Exod. 15.11 Who is a God like unto thee When the soule of a man doth esteem of Christ above all other things in the world when there is nothing that the soule so prizes as the Lord Jesus Christ then the soul hath him and herin lies the difference between spiritual earthly things you have an high esteem of an earthly thing and yet have it not a man may highly prize a good bargain and yet have it not but no man sets an high price upon Christ but hee that hath him spirituall things we wholly neglect untill we have them and when we have them then there oisn-thing with us comparable to them untill a man have his portion in the word of God it is but a thing of small value to him and so the Spirit of Gods grace and the blood of Christ untill a man have it it is but a light vaine thing to him yea till he have the Lord Jesus himselfe no spirituall thing is of any value with him but so soone as ever the heart begins to prize Jesus Christ as the chiefest of all the blessings that ever God bestowed upon the sonnes of men and if the soule thinke To prize Christ is to worship him that had he but his part in Christ he were the happiest man in the world in thus prizing him he worships him and in worshipping him hee hath him Now you must conceive that all worship stands in advancing another with the debasing of our selves we humble our selves that we may advance another Now if our debasement to them be such as is not compatible to a creature as when we subject our heart and spirits to them this is divine honour Now that soule that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ as the highest in his owne esteem he debases himself to the dust in his spirit before him John 1.27 It is the speech of John Baptist speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ He that commeth after me is preferred before me whose shooe latchet I am not worthy to loose This is a true worshipping of Christ when in
short Paul knew nothing wherein he had dealt unfaithfully and yet was he not thereby justified 1 Cor. 4.4 but he that justifies me is the Lord and therefore if you trust upon a gift and thereby to be justified and accepted you declare your graces to be but common and such as are but found among Hypocrites and in this the Papists have cause to groane under the burthen that lyes upon their religion they by looking for salvation and acceptance by common graces doe plainly shew that Christ profits them nothing And further as you are not to trust upon them for justification so neither are you to trust upon them for the life of your sanctification for though they be truly parts of sanctification faith hope love patience humility and every other grace of God which flowes from our fellowship with the death of Christ because these are parts of our sanctification you may looke at them as precious tallents received from God yet if you trust in these in preaching or praying or edefying your selves or families or neighbours and that in the strength of these you shall doe valiantly and bring mighty things to passe and be a fruitfull Christian you have truth of grace sound hearted saving grace and you doubt not but God will carry you an end in a comfortable Christian course if so you wil finde this to be true that you wil want Christ in the quickning and inlarging and thriving power of the life of your sanctification it cannot be but that where saving grace is there is Christ but you may have Christ and yet have but a dead Christ of him he may be so dead in your spirit that you shall cry out O what a dead heart and a dead spirit have I and yet I doubt not but Christ is in my heart true it may be thou hast received him but Christ can tell how to lye dead and to worke but little there where saving grace is layed up and therefore the life of Christ is not a life of grace but a life of faith I live not by all my zeale and humility and gifts of grace for I might have all these and make but dead work of them all How then By the faith of the Sonne of God Gal. 2.20 It is one of the chiefest points that concernes our Christian practise and therefore I pray you consider it Note this the life of Christianity is not a life of wisdome and graces but of faith if you would have Christ live in you and live so that he may shew his life in you you must then live by faith that is not only looke for your justification by faith in Christ but looke for your sanctification and consolation from Christ by faith that if you goe about any duty goe not about it in the strength of grace received preach not or pray not in the strength of your knowledge and love and zeale and humility but go about them all in faith in Jesus Christ that is by comming to him and being inwardly sensible that unlesse he put new life into us and make new worke in our soules we may have but a dead businesse of it all the graces of Gods Spirit in us but dead and herein it is wonder to see sometimes how Gods servants are straitned all for want of the life of faith in their soules if God cut short with us it is because we doe not live in Christ but in the spirit of grace and think to walke by the strength of grace received we loose by it and spend of the stock of grace and therefore remember that speech Esa 40.30 31. They that waite on the Lord shall renew their strength to shew you your duty it is a borrowed speech from young men going out to warre they goe out in the name of the Lord of Hosts as David went out against Goliah 1 Sam. 17. If we waite upon the Lord and be sensible of our owne Insufficiency and unworthinesse of doing any Christian duty and not depend upon our owne sufficiency then we shall finde God lifting us up farre beyond all our owne apprehensions and gifts God wil put a new life into us and in this case even the weakest gifts of Gods servants are sometimes much enlarged and the same Christians gifts farre more enlarged at some time above what they are at another only by waiting upon the Lord and that puts life into our duties therefore if you would finde Christ to be the life of your sanctification then you must put away all confidence in saving graces they are not able to make you bring forth any one lively fruit of Sanctification I mean in your owne estimation and you wil have little comfort in it There is in this case much difference between one Christian and another and between the same Christian and himselfe at one time and another according to his waiting on the Lord for the renewall of his strength therefore trust not in any grace if you doe you wil want it when you stand in most need of it SERMON III. 1 JOHN 5.12 He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life WE now come to speake of the third way of having Christ A third way of having Christ is by Covenant and that is by way of Covenant Esa 49.8 I will give thee for a Covenant of the people to establish the earth to cause to inherit the desolate heritages Psal 50.5 Gather my Saints together unto me those that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice so that would you know to whom God is a God and to whom it may be said He is my God Any of us that have made a Covenant with God by Sacrifice no man hath him unlesse by way of covenant for all these wayes though divers in explication yet all co-incident to this having of Christ And such as have made a covenant with God by Sacrifice they are his people of them it is said I am thy God vers 7. according to the tenour of the Covenant Gen. 17.7 Behold I make a Covenant with thee this day to be a God unto thee and to thy seed God becomes a God to me and to my seed by way of covenant so Deut. 29.10 to 13. both your Children of understanding and your little ones of no understanding you are all here before God this day to enter into a Covenant with him to keep his Commandements for ever you and yours enter into a Covenant with God and this is the way of having him for our God Deut. 26.17.18 This day thou hast avouched the Lord to be thy God and he hath avouched thee to be his people Junius translates the word Thou hast required by way of Covenant and he hath promised that he will be thy God in the originall it is he hath made thee to speake thou hast made God to speake this as men that make promises one to another so that when people give up themselves
obedient to his Lawes to whatever he declares to be the counsell of his will Againe there is a Covenant of Marriage between God and his people Ier. 3.14 so as the Wife promises to be to her Husband alone Hos 3.3 4. so the Church of God promiseth that she wil be for God alone and God wil be for us alone and we embrace the seed of his Word and grace in our hearts and bring forth fruit to God alone And there is also a Covenant of Friendship between God and us A covenant of Salt 2 Chron. 13.5 A covenant of Salt is to be fed with the same salt as it were to eate many a bushel of salt together that is a covenant of friendship Didst not thou give the Land to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever 2 Chron. 20.7 Covenant of Salt therein he fitly expresseth the nature of a covenant of salt by friendship for ever salt eaten together expresses familiarity and durablenesse now God expresseth himselfe thus to enter into a covenant with his people he takes Abraham as a friend for ever and Abraham takes God as his friend for ever and this league of friendship implyes not only preservation of affection but it requires a kinde of secret communication one to another and a doing one for another God he grants our Petitions for us as a friend and we doe his Commandements as a friend out of the integrity of our hearts John 15.14 Ye are my friends if ye doe whatsoever I command you I know that Abraham will command his houshold to feare mee Gen. 18.19 and therefore in vers 17. and 18. he saith How shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I am about to doe and it was concerning a secret counsell of God now when God undertakes to be our friend he undertakes to communicate sundry of his Counsels to us his secrets are to them that feare him Psal 25.14 Many secret passages shall their hearts be made privie to that others shall never be acquainted with he wil acquaint us with his secret purpose about a people sometimes in Prayer sometimes in Humiliation sometimes one way and sometimes another so as you may see he walkes towards us in a covenant of friendship and so he wil play a friends part he wil counsell us for the best he wil tell us this and that is the best course for us to take Psal 25.12 Him shall he teach He wil come and tell us what he would have us to doe Psal 32.8 Sometimes by his Word and sometimes by his Providence and when wee looke up to him as to a friend he wil doe a friends part And on the other side for our part we shall never take any businesse in hand but we shall sadly and seriously communicate all our affairs with God and think our selves bound to doe it not dare to rush upon any thing but upon consultation first with the Lord and acquainting him with such and such things We know not what to doe but our eyes are unto thee 2 Chron. 20.12 So we offer up our selves to be ready at his commandement to doe whatsoever he shall counsell us to doe let him but make our way plaine before us and we wil heare him in whatsoever he requires of us be it what it wil be if God lay it before us we wil doe it Psal 119. vers 1. of the fifth Part. Teach me thy statutes and I will keep it even to the end Observe then whether we have Christ for our Christ by way of covenant did there ever passe such a conveyance between Christ and you to God the Father about him and your soules that if God should looke upon you and consider your case your just and due desert is everlasting destruction and therefore you account your selves unworthy of an mercy from God but yet notwithstanding if he wil be but pleased to accept the death of Christ for you and to be-sprinkle you with the blessings of his grace you wil give up your selves to an acceptable service of him all your dayes and wil be ready to doe his wil and that he shall be to you as a King and Governour Have you ever passed over to him your preservation and protection and provision And looke what affection is between Husband and Wife hath there been the like affection in your soules towards the Lord Jesus Christ Have you a strong and hearty desire to meet him in the bed of loves when ever you come to the Congregation and desire you to have the seeds of his grace shed abroad in your hearts and bring forth the fruits of grace to him and desire that you may be for him and for none other and you desire to acquaint him with all your counsels and secrets and desire to doe nothing but as he shall counsell and direct you And have you therefore been willing to give up your selves you and yours to be ruled by Christ and is it the griefe of your soules if any of your Children and Servants shall not stoop to God and if you use the best meanes to draw them on to goodnesse truly then you have Christ for your Christ because you have him by way of covenant When God gives us hearts thus to agree with him he alwaies prevents us he is ever before us then Christ thou hast and in him thou hast life but if on the contrary we never come before God in acknowledgement that death was our portion and desired the bloud of Christ to be applyed to us not in an overture of speech but when it comes to the point what wil you doe Wil you accept him as your friend and as your Husband and wil you expect all good things from him and you wil not dare to venture upon any course or way further then the light and sinceritie of the Word gives liberty And if you never came to this nor was it ever your care whether your Houshold served God or no though they sin against God and sweare and lye yet all this is nothing to you but it is all one with you then there wants a covenant betweene God and you and then if you have him not by covenant you have him not at all he that hath him any way hath him every way though it be not so clearly seene every way if you have him then you have friends and enemies in common if it be not so with you that you observe not the counsels of God but you wil be at a loose end and doe what you thinke good in your owne eyes then there is no covenant between God and you and then you have not Christ and then no life much lesse in abundance Object But you say Who is there that so lookes to himselfe his Wife and Children and Servants so to his owne heart and others as that they are so wholly conformable to Gods will in all that he counsels and commands and who so expects such blessings but that they take from
of his hands upon any Tongues might have been given and Sicknesses healed he might have grown mighty in the world by that trade Act 8.18 19. And Balaam he was somewhat more upright in his desire then Simon Magus was one would thinke that he had sought after Christ for he wished not for any temporall thing in this world only that he might have a comfortable end he would feather his nest with Immortality and invest himselfe with the Robes of incorruption and such kinde of other glory as the Saints in light doe partake of but it was no more his desire then the other to desire Christ for himselfe but only a blessed end that he might be translated into immortality and glory and so might be kept from fellowship with those Devils and evil Spirits he had been acquainted with all his life long that he might not have fellowship with them when he departed hence but did not desire Christ for himselfe and therefore whatever gift he had as he had a notable spirit of Prophesie as the Spirit then came upon him speaking of the marvellous blessings reserved for Gods people yet notwithstanding he never sought Christ in any of them and therefore though he might have some glimpse of the Vision of God yet of Christ he had none whereas there is no true Christian that doth most esteeme the having of Christ but doth not only seeke Christ without respect of Loaves or Money or of a quiet Conscience in time of death but even in the very time of this life when he seekes after the Ordinances of God in this life there to live according to God and to finde pardon of sinne and peace of conscience and subduing of his lusts and strength of grace and power of godlinesse yet even in seeking the very Ordinances of God out of which these are not to be found yet in seeking of these he doth not so much seeke these or any blessing they doe afford as the finding Christ in them the story is notable and famous in 2 Sam. 15.25 26 27. When David fled from Jerusalem the Priests and Levites carried the Arke after him and when David saw them overtake him with the Arke of Gods presence in the enjoyment whereof stood the life of his life the assurance of the pardon of his sinne the assurance and presence of Gods favour strengthening of his spirit in grace and subduing his lusts yet saith he Carry it back againe to Jerusalem if I shall finde favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me backe againe and shew me both it and his habitation but if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him doe to me as seemeth good to him He would not wrong himselfe nor doe the Church of God so much prejudice as to wrong God and his Sacrifice they were not to offer sacrifice elsewhere nor could they finde any solemne presence of God any where but there there were they all to meet and it was the place where God had put his name and he considering that he could not have the Arke with him but Gods Name should be dishonoured and the Church of God would finde much prejudice with the losse of Gods Arke and therefore rather then God should be dishonoured and the people discouraged and prejudiced by the want of it he would send it back againe and is content to loose outward blessings his care was not so much about outward things his chiefest care was if he might have had his wish that he might all his time dwell in the house of the Lord Psal 23.4 and oh that he might be but a doore-keeper in this house rather then to rest in the tabernacle of wickednesse but yet when he could not have this great blessing but with dishonour to God and prejudice to the Church of God he rather layes downe the comfort that he might have from Gods Ordinances and the help he might have from them and those helps were very great as pardon of sinne and peace of conscience growth in grace subduing of lusts and establishment of his heart in assurance of his election and vocation yet he is content to let them all goe that he might have what he hath without sinne to himselfe and dishonour to God or wrong to the Church and this is a notable sign of a mans integrity and uprightnesse of heart he would not have any thing whereby God might have dishonour he would not have the Ordinances with the Churches losse but rather sit out and shift for himselfe as wel as he could and would adventure the losse of them all rather then he wil stand to contend for them with the losse of Christ himselfe And this kinde of frame of spirit was in Moses he intreates God that he would not destroy the Israelites in the Wildernesse least his name should be dishonoured but rather blot his name out of the Booke of Life then cut them all off Exod. 32.32 Such is the uprightnesse of the frame of the heart of a Childe of God that he desires not Spirituall blessings singly for himselfe not for the peace of his owne Conscience nor for the subduing of his lusts nor for the strengthening of his grace further then may stand with the glory of God and above all things else he seekes the honour of God the comming of his Kingdome and the doing of his will and if these concur not in his way he would rather loose them then dishonour Christ by having of them he hath a singlenesse of heart in seeking spirituall blessings he seekes them not for his owne ends as you see in Davids desire Psal 63.1 2 3. My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee to see thy power and thy glory as I have seene thee in the Sanctuary because thy loving kindnesse is better then life therefore my lips shall praise thee He desires not there the injoyment of the presence of God or the subduing of his lusts that he might live at more ease and have more comfort though that be a lawfull end but he would see the power of Christ more magnified in him he would see a mighty increase of the grace of God in him not that he might be more excellent then his neighbours more eminent in gifts and so be better then others or so esteemed but he desires that all his lusts may be swallowed up and that the life of Christ might more mightily over-rule and over-sway him and dwell mightily in him that he might not live after his owne wil nor to himselfe nor would he live by the graces of the Spirit in him but the life that he would live is by the faith of the Son of God Gal. 2.20 that Christ and his life in him might worke all his workes in him and for him and in that at any time he desires death it is not that he might be freed from evil and misery but that hee might be dissolved and be with Christ
Look what grace any where you see in Christ the resemblance of it is stamped upon every child of God by the spirit of Christ Hence it comes to passe that which is worth your observation those who have Christ they doe reason from the nature of Christ to justifie the temper of their owne spirits and the course of their own lives as is the Apostle Pauls owne Argument in 2 Corin. 1.17 18 19. Some of the false Apostles tooke up an Argument against the Apostle Paul to prove his levity and inconstancy and forgetfulnesse and how doth he free himselfe did I use lightnesse no saith he our words toward you was not yea and nay and thus he reasons from Christs nature The Sonne of God who was preached among you was not yea and nay but yea and amen Now he which establisheth us with you is Christ c. So that looke as Christ is yea and amen the faithfull and true witnesse of God what he speakes he confirmes and fulfills in due season Now saith he when Christ was preached among you it was not an uncertain Christ carryed about with lightnesse and unsettlednesse but what is once gone out of his lips It is yea and amen Therefore make account that God that hath poured the same spirit upon us hath established us together with you To shew you that by reason of the participation of the spirit of grace there is such a spirit in us as that you may argue all these the nature of Christ the nature of the Gospell and the nature of the frame of grace in the hearts of Gods people to be all alike they do mutually shew the face one of another in the frame and carriage one of another That as Christ is yea and amen so is the Gospell and such are they that beleeve the Gospell and are established by the Gospel in Christ Jesus v. 21.2 And he hath sealed us and given us the spirit in our hearts the same spirit of Christ that breathed in the Gospell and in the Preachers of the Gospell and the beleevers of it is yea and amen in them all a spirit of truth and innocency and gravity and purity whatsoever is the spirit of the one is the spirit of them all So that this is an evident signe that wee have Christ when we have the spirit of Christ when you may reason alike the one from the other though in us it be the weaker by reason of a spirit of corruption found in us and not in Christ Yet this is an evident argument of the stabillity and gravity of our hearts which though in regand of weaknesse we might think the Apostle might have been excepted against yet because there is no weaknesse in a child of God but if he have Christ his heart is in the same condition with Christ and with the Gospel also therefore he may comfortably argue a likenesse between them what he speakes that he thinkes in his heart and it is the desire of his soul that it may be effected And though he may be hindred yet his heart is still the same and he was by no meanes to bee taxed of any lightnesse because he did not performe his word the fault was not his levity his spirit was the same but some occasion fell out otherwise by the providence of God And so it is with every child of God if he have Christ the spirit of a Christian is ever the same if there should be any inclination to lying and inconstancy the frame of the spirit is altered but the true bent and frame of a Christian is to be one with Christ as Christ is one with him 2 Now as there is a likenesse and conformity The second conformity and unity in nature between Christ and a child of God so there is also in us a conformity to Christ in his Offices The meaning is Whosoever hath the Son he hath the offices which the Sonne hath As he was both King Priest and Prophet to God his Father so are we Rev. 1.6 As Kings to rule over all our lusts and to rule all those whom God commends to our Government according unto God As Kings to get victory and to conquer over the World and to over-wrastle any difficulty as we meete with As Kings anoynted with the spirit of a King of a royall spirit though not invested with fulnesse of glory till the last day yet of an heroyicke noble spirit can easily over-look all earthly drudgery and resist any enemy we meet with And Priests also we are so as we are able to offer up sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving to God A broken and an humble heart is a Sacrifice much set by of God Psalm 51.17 and Phil. 2.17 offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith We are now inabled to go to God and to offer up praises to him which are as insence before him and in offering up any other sacrifice of an holy life we are Priests unto God the Father And so are we also Prophets Acts 2.17 hee poures out his spirit in a rich and plentifull measure he poures out his spirit upon all flesh whence it comes to passe that the servants of God understand many secrets of Gods counsell Psalm 25.14 and whence also it comes to passe that many a godly man by the same spirit discernes many secret hidden mysteries and meanings of the Holy Ghost in Scripture more then ever he could by any reading or instruction and many times discernes some speciall work of the spirit of God which inables them to fore-see some speciall blessings most usefull for their spirituall estate and so leads them on to many good things which they did little thinke of and so makes them of Propheticall spirits and bowes them to teach others also to lead on others of their neighbours in the wayes of God And now I say that as these be the Offices of the Lord Jesus Christ so there is no child of God that hath the Son but he hath all these in him hee is now a man of a royall and Priestly and Prophetical spirit And you are hereby I meane by the spirit not onely called to these Offices but inabled to discharge them For that is the difference between a Christian in heart and a Christian in appearance fall short of ability to performe these Offices And as there is this conformity to the Nature and Offices of Christ in them that have the Sonne So Thirdly The third conformity there is a conformity in their Estates you know Christ waded through an Estate of humiliation and exaltation These bee the main Principles of Religion that looke as it was with Christs estate it was sometime the time wherein hee was humbled in this world all the course of his life was a time of humiliation and that unto the very death or else his state of exaltation in heaven that then when he was most mortified then was he most glorified triumphing openly and mightily shewing
doing and this is a great measure of liberty that a Childe of God can tell how to make an advantage of all the afflictions he meets with in this world these things doe but serve his turne and afterward he wil say he could have missed none of them so that this is a second worke of the spirit of the Sonne it is a spirit of liberty Onely take this word for a Conclusion And that is thus much Examine now and try whether you have the Son or no which you may know by your having or not having the spirit of the Son Say then have you the spirit of the Son viz. have you that spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes you to be of one and the same nature with him of the same Offices and same Estate with him can you find this in truth and that with comfort and honesty you may reason this is the frame of my spirit such is the Spirit of Christ And such is the spirit of the godly and if in any thing you faile your spirit is against it do you find that you are in some measure invested with a royall spirit that you can over-come your selves and the temptations of this world and are you able to offer up spirituall sacrifice to God of prayer and praises And doe you finde a spirit of Prophesie shed abroad into you that makes you sensible of and privie to the secret paths of God Doe you finde that Christ was most glorious when he was most humbled and so are you and when you enjoy outward blessings your hearts are not puffed up with them these are not the goodly stones that your hearts and eyes are set upon but you have greater matters then these to minde then I say it is the very Spirit of Christ that makes you to dye with Christ as well as Christ to dye for you he may dye for many men but he only dyes with those that are brought on to the fellowship of his grace if a Spirit of Christ so knit you together that he is yours and you are his then you have the Sonne because you have the spirit of the Sonne because you are sonnes God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Sonne into your hearts but now if there be no proportion no conformity to Christ in holinesse and righteousnesse not patient and meek as he is And though we be not such yet we allow our selves in not being such and are ever and anon starting aside from him And if we have not his Offices nor rule over our lusts nor over the world and we can neither pray nor prophesie and shew forth no spirituall life in our lives cannot deny our selves that wee may shew forth the hidden man of the heart then consider that for the present we have not yet Christ because we have not the spirit of Christ And also if we be not yet free from the fear of death And take no care to be free from the dominion and power of sinne but sinne hath still a power over us like a law and are not yet free from the service of men but as our Masters and Governours say so it must be if we yet know not how to rule men for our own advantage we have not yet received the spirit of Christ wee cannot tell how to serve our Masters with liberty of spirit we know not how to make advantage of them SERMON VI. 1 JOHN 5.12 He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life IT now remaines that we come to shew what it is to have the Sonne by a spirit of prayer but of this we shal have further occasion to speak in the 14 15 and 16 verses and therefore we shall leave it now and speak to it then You may remember we said there was three notes to discern whether we had the Son no. The first was if we desired not Christ for his benefits but cheifly for himselfe The second was If we have received the spirit of the Sonne We now come to speake of a third signe a point more easie to be gathered then the former but though most common yet not to be neglected but being well applyed will bee of speciall use to the edification and salvation of the hearers for every truth in his place is divine and precious The third signe He that hath the Sonne hath him for his Prince And therefore the next note is this He that hath the Son he hath him not only for a Saviour but for his Lord and the Prince A point which upon sundry occasions hath been touched but now to speake of it more fully There is no man that hath the Son but as he hath him for his Saviour so he hath him for his Prince Acts 3 3â— Him hath God exalted with his right hand whom they slew a Prince and a Saviour so that he that hath Christ hath him not only as a Saviour but as a Prince to whomsoever he is a Saviour to them he is also become a Prince it were a wonderfull dishonour to him to save them whom he doth not rule to save them from the power of the grave and to leave them still in their sinnes and unbroken off from their evill wayes it were much dishonor to him It is a dishonour to parents to have children and to have them untaught and unmannerly And God hath given the life blood of his owne Son to purchase us unto himselfe and therefore he would not onely save us but rule us or else we shall never have him for our Saviour So that here is two points to be opened Point 1 First Hee that hath the Sonne hath him for his Saviour Point 2 Secondly Hee that hath the Sonne hath him also for his Lord. It is an usuall saying every man would have Christ for a Saviour but rare are those that will have him for their Ruler and Governour But though the saying be true in respect of the common conceit of men yet in truth I say they are but rare Christians that wil have him for a Saviour so far off are they from desiring him as their Lord. For two things there be that goe to the having of Christ for a Saviour To have Christ for a Savior requires two things First He that will have Christ for a Saviour must look up to him for salvation in all his wayes and distresses we have other Saviours but not him if we looke for salvation else-where Esa 40.22 Look unto me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved there is no God nor Saviour besides me therefore look to me and be ye saved So that if a man wil have God for his Savior he must look to him from one end of the earth to the other we are at the utmost corner of the earth and if we will be saved we must looke up to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation as David looked towards the Temple at Jerusalem for salvation
Heaven and wil acquaint his deare Christian friends with it and say I am troubled with such thoughts of malice and pride and vanity that I know not in the world what to doe they lye downe with me and they rise up with me and therefore intreat their help and as they looke to Christian friends so wil they especially call to the Prince of their salvation to save them from their vaine thoughts and much more from these wicked speeches from these things they are most carefull to be delivered and therefore they stand not devising Plots against their Prince but he wil tell him that such wicked rebellious thoughts devise mischiefe against him and therefore he craves helpe against them so did David in the like case Psal 139.33 Search me and know my heart and see if there be any way of wickednesse in me As if he had sent to heaven for a privy search he would not have any one thought within him but he would that God should know it and therefore desires that God would try and search and know his thoughts he was not like them of whom you read Esa 29.15 That digge deepe to hide their counsells from the Lord but a child of God would have God to be well acquainted with his thoughts see if there be any way of wickednesse in me any wicked thought or vain affection in my heart I have laboured to find and to cast them out what I can but there may be many more that I know not but search and try thou me and lead me in the way that I shall goe Good thoughts are of everlasting use Good thoughts continue ever and of everlasting durance and they will continue to everlasting life Gods wayes are everlasting wayes lead mee in the way everlasting thus a man hath every thought brought into subjection though evill thoughts may come rushing in yet he will not give them entertainment but complaines of them to Christ and such a man hath the Lord Jesus for his Prince for hee is not a Prince that onely Governs the outward man as earthly Princes do who can take no hold of what we think but God takes notice of our thoughts And you may apply what I say of thoughts to words and actions and so make use of it to all There be many men that never think good thought but le ts wicked thoughts rest in them can be wanton and uncleane c. what ever it be that makes a thorow-fare in the heart let it there lodge let it come and go as it will and that is part of the meaning of the high-way-side ground it keeps and is a thorow-fare to all beasts to all sorts of Travailers to Theeves and Robbers takes no notice of them lets them come and goe and stay as they list then we have not Christ for our Governour we do not put the Government of our thoughts and actions upon his shoulders and are not in subjection to him but casts his cords from us Psalm 2.3 and say we will not have this man to reigne over us Lu. 19.22 what is not our thoughts free and are not our tongues our owne Psalm 12.4 David takes them for Atheists that say their tongues are their owne He prayes that God would keepe his lips Psalm 119. onely Gods people would have all that is in them bowed to the obedience of Gods will Some men there be that will not have God to rule over them so marvellous is the prophainnesse of our hearts while we are carnal that we that should be servants to God we are not ashamed to make him a Servant to us we were never subjet to any man nor doe we mean so to bee Pharoah-like Who is the Lord I know not who he is Notable is that you read Esa 43.34 besides that I had no service from you thou hast made me to serve with or under thy sins see the desperate spirits of the hearts of the sinful sons of men they draw in God to serve them and he complains that he is pressed under their sins as a Cart is pressed under sheaves men load the patience of God and lay upon him one bundell of wickednesse after another they lay so much wickednesse upon him till the patience of God will beare no longer as long as ever hee will beare and suffer us to live in this world we will load him with sheaves upon sheaves load the very majesty of God and his long sufferance and make use of his Providence many times to serve our owne lusts we will do that which is wicked in Godssight because we can doe it and because God hath given us means to do it we can maintain our pride and covetousnesse and God gives us these gifts and these liberties and we will make God to serve with them and here is a double service put upon God First we load his patience and forbearance by our continuance in sin but besides that we abuse the very gifts of God as our wealth and good parts of nature and our common graces And by your leave the very saving graces of Gods spirit wee will not stick to abuse them against God And is not this much rebellion that we should make God to serve such a wearisome service he is provoked every day and weary to suffer us in a sinfull course one day to an end but when day after day and year after yeare we lay load upon Gods patience and if he will suffer us long so he may and if we do set God at liberty from his drudgery it must be at the last gaspe and he shall be our Ruler then if hee will Wonder not therefore if sometime God say Rebellion is as the sinne of witch-craft 1 Sam. 15.23 And that is in a double respect First As you see a Witch gives her soule to the Devill that she may have her mind fulfilled for her life time so a Rebell deales with the devill to have his owne lusts fulfilled he makes a Covenant with Hell and with the Devill he is at an agreement he knowes he doth wickedly but to serve his owne turne hee is content to doe it But secondly As a Witch will have the Devill to wait upon her so at last she will wait upon the Devill so it is in this case The Devill must serve a Witch all her life time and she will serve the Devill at her death Far more monstruous is this wickednesse in this kind we will have God to serve us all our life time and when death comes wee will doe God this favour wee will serve him then As a Witch deales with the Devill so do we with God he shal supply our occasions and we will make use of his bounty to serve our selves but at last gaspe God shall rule us to doe him all the service we can and give him all good words there is great and plenteous mercy to be found in him and now we will doe him all the honour we can And will
is now peaceable quiet and assured that God hath wrought this and that grace in me which will abide in me for ever 2 2. Effect That you may be further instructed in this point see a second effect of this life of justification of the life of righteousnesse which is of speciall use for the right discerning of our Spirituall life and that is this Looke as in all naturall life no man hath received life but is carefull to preserve it Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give to save his life and if his life be struck at he will have his hand cut off rather then have his head wounded he will expose himselfe or any member to any danger rather then loose his life And so if God vouchsafe pardon of sinne and peace of conscience you wil find this an evident signe of pardon and peace together and an evident effect of them both a serious care and a constant endeavour to maintaine and keep that peace that as you see God hath been very gracious in speaking peace to you so you would preserve that peace above all the blessings in the world that whatsoever you loose else though you loose friends and goods and lands and trades health and liberty you would not loose your peace though you hazard the losse of them all to preserve and maintaine your peace that peace when it was given you was so unspeakable and glorious that life it selfe was not to be compared to this mercy which God hath vouchsafed us when he gave us peace Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindnesse is better then life A man that hath found something that is better then his life he will loose his life rather then it and much more any thing else and therefore if you see God incline your hearts to be tender and chary of your peace then God hath bestowed peace and pardon upon you and it is evident because you are so loath to breake it A man that never received this peace he makes no conscience of sinne unlesse it blemish him in the eye of the World he makes no great matter of conscience to run into any sinne because the old score is yet undischarged Christ is not wont to discharge that score which we make no conscience to run into againe And if they doe he can tell how to make them feele the smart of playing such Prodigalls but when God hath blotted all our sins out of his sight that there is no more mention of sinne between God and our souls that the heart of a Christian will be marvellous chary and solicitous that it sinne no more against God he that hath his sinne pardoned and knowes what it hath cost both on Gods part and on his own he is very carefull of running into sinne any more and is very careful to walk more holily for ever hereafter notable is that example Gen. 39.9 When Joseph was tempted to a pleasing sinne oh saith he How shall I commit this great wickednesse and so sinne against God how should hee now breake his peace with God and runne upon a new score with God It is certaine he had sinned before and he had found pardon of it And how should he now sinne any more against God this is the constant care of every Christian man he is fearful of every sin I grant you it is true that sometimes even those that have their sinnes pardoned and the writing of transgression by which they had ingaged themselves to everlasting torments hath been cancelled yet even they have afterwards turned the grace of God into wantonnesse through sinfull lusts As David and Peter c. through some corruption or other but you shall also find this to be true that as they have been over-taken and over-whelmed with such corruptions as those be so they have held forth as much repentance and affliction in this case that if you had taken many lives from them you could not have greived them so much as in this case they are put to The blotting out of the sence of this pardon hath been more bitter to them then death it selfe And if it be not so that Christian men in such a case doe not more shame themselves before God and loath themselves for all the evills they have done in Gods sight they will either lye downe seared and benumbed and their spirituall life will evaporate away and then it will argue it was never true and sincere and if it were true it will lye so close and hidden that you may plainly see what a slaughter Satan hath made and what heavy load hee hath put upon such as are carelesse to maintaine that peace with God which hee hath vouchsafed them And therefore if God give us hearts to keep our peace it is an evident signe God is at peace with us If we fly from sin as from the grave or hell then surely those sinnes are pardoned which we doe abhorre And that peace and reconsiliation is procured which wee desire That is the nature of Spirituall life Property of spirituall life it desires to maintaine it selfe and to expell all that is contrary to it if the body have taken any noysome and hurtfull thing it wil vomit and cast it out and will not let it rest there in quiet if it be an enemy to our life it will strive against it if there be any spirituall life in us it cannot let sin rest in us it will strive against it and never rest till it be shut of it any way some way or other out it must though he shame himselfe for it by an open confession and though it many wayes trouble him yet out it must it is an enemy to his life and out he must cast it and therefore if God give us hearts to be fearfull of sinne and carefull to maintaine our peace it is an evident signe of the truth of our Spirituall life and this is a signe of life for he feels not his peace because it is clouded in him he discernes no life in him and he feares what he had was but a delusion Why how stands thy care to preserve thy peace and to avoyd the danger of the losse of it If God give thee an heart desirous and carefull to maintaine thy peace though it be not so lively as sometimes it was yet it is certainly true and good A third signe and effect of the life of righteousnesse Love of God a signe of spirituall life is that which our Saviour gives Luk. 7.47 Her sins are forgiven her which are many for she loved much So then this is a third signe that our sins are pardoned and of the life of our justification our love of God Love of God proportionable and sutable according to the greatnesse of the sins that have been forgiven and pardoned to us this is a good evidence of the life of our justification this is not a dead and a livelesse pardon A Prince may pardon a Malefactor of his
many times conveys such a spirit of grace into us as gives us power to receive Christ what power had the Cripple to stand much lesse to walke Act. 3.6 7. he had no power to walke and it had been a vaine speech to him if there had not been a power in it to convey strength into him by his breath and the Lord Jesus working in it which did convey such strength into him as that presently he did walke And truly so is it with the Servants of God those that shal be saved we speake not in vaine to them the word that we speake conveyes spirit and life into them then they begin to receive life in him and are glad that they may finde Christ and for other men it leaves them without excuse if they do not use the meanes God appoints them to use And the means God prescribes to us are these Means of having Christ First as ever thou wouldest have Christ labour wisely to ponder upon and consider how dead thou art without Christ for thou shalt never find life by Christ unlesse thou find thy selfe lost without him Luke 10.10 Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost If thou seest thy self lost Christ will seek thee up be fully satisfied of this in thy judgement and mind that unlesse thou hast Christ thou hast no life and therefore mourn and pray The whole need not the Physitian but them that are sicke Matth. 9.12 13. See thy selfe a sinner and a perishing creature unlesse Christ seeke thee up Secondly Take this meanes as ever you desire to have life in Christ if thou knowest any sin by thy selfe thou art much to blame in thy selfe if thou dost not by any meanes wash thy hands of it Note this cleanse thy selfe from it There are many sins which a man lives in which he might avoid by very common gifts which would he renounce God would not be wantng to lead him on to further grace John 3.18 19. This is condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkenesse rather then light 2 Cor. 6.17 18. touch no unclean thing meddle not with vain company and have nothing to doe with the unfruitfull workes of darkenesse and then I wil be a father to you and you shall be my Sons and Daughters if wee would but abhor that which we know to be nought God promiseth to receive us And it is the same that you read Esay 1.16 17 18. to shew you that if men do begin to learn to be better if they cease to doe evill and learn to do well if they acknowledge their sins in the sight of God God wil so sprinkle the blood of Christ upon them as that their great sins shal be forgiven them and upon the same termes men might feed upon the paschal Lamb Exo. 12.15 they must put all leaven out of their houses purge out therefore the old leaven and ye shall become a new lumpe 1 Cor. 5.7 8. purge out the old and ye shall be new creatures in Christ purge out the leaven of maliciousnesse and wickednesse and whatever is sinfull before God away with it touch no uncleane thing and Esa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his wickednesse and the unrighteous his thoughts and then I am a God ready to pardon I will forgive all your iniquities Thirdly Seeke the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is nigh Esa 55.7 8. Seeke him and your soule shall live God is abundantly ready to pardon c. How shall I seeke him no man hath a desire to seeke but that which he hath a desire to finde and therefore hunger and thirst after him as it is in the first verse of that Chapter desire nothing so much as thy part in Christ and besides endeavour to finde him in the meanes vers 3. Heare and your soules shall live hearken diligently to the Word of God It is a notable promise that in Prov. 8.34 Blessed is the man that heareth me watching daily at the posts of my gates for he that findeth me findeth life Consider there is no man that heares Christ but hee findes him and if he finde him he shall have life by him And therefore how much cause have men to straighten themselves a little in their worldly businesse to heare daily for who so findeth me findeth life and he that hears me findes me Heare therefore diligently and your soules shall live Shake off all drowsinesse of flesh and spirit and be desirous to receive Christ in his Word that is spoken to you and so seeke him in calling upon him ver 7 8. Call upon him while he is nigh And when is he nigh Every day if you stay longer then the present day you have no further opportunity offered you call upon God now and wrastle with him in your prayers that that which you have heard may be life and the length of your dayes Vse 4. To teach every soule that hath already found Christ and yet complaines thou hast a dead heart and a dull minde an heavie spirit heavie affections nothing lively cannot expell thy corruptions cannot beget others to God and art not active in spirituall workes then if thou finde a want or decay of life then seeke for Christ againe labour for more Christ and thou shalt have more life rest not in having a good measure of grace for thou wilt finde a world of deadnesse and weaknesse in beginnings of grace but as thou wouldest have any further measures of life so looke for further measures of Christ for Christ dispenseth himselfe to us in measure by little and little and use the same meanes to increase him as thou didst to get him at the first see thy selfe lost without him and thirst after him and heare diligently and call earnestly upon him for more strength use Christ and have Christ use grace and have grace grow up in the use of him and thou shalt grow up in the possession of him and therefore as you have received Christ so walke in him Col. 2.7 8. As if that were the way to get more rooting in Christ labour to live by faith and walke to the glory of Christ and by the rules of Christ and by that meanes you will be more built up rooted and established in him Vse 5. Of comfort to every soule that hath any part in Christ thou hast life in him and that in abundance and favour with God having him thou hast life Prov. 8.34 35. They that hate me love death if you seek not Christ you seeke death and mischiefe and destruction to your owne soules and yours vers last and therefore as you desire to finde Christ seeke him and having found him rejoyce in him that God hath given you to finde him and then walke as those that desire for ever to have him as not to change your portion by any meanes If you have Christ you have enough and if you sit loose to Christ for the enjoyment