innocent therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ Isa. 53. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all Rom. 5. 15. Through the offence of one many are dead 16. And the judgement was by One to condemnation 17. By the offence of one death reigned by one 18. By the offence of one judgement came on all men to condemnation 19. By one mans disobedience many were made sinners Psal. 51. 4. We were shapen in iniquity and in sin did our mothers conceive us Eph. 2. 1 3. We were by nature the Children of wrath and dead in trespasses and sin 1 Cor. 15. 22. In Adam all die 2 Cor. 5. 14 We thus judge that if one dyed for all then were all dead Eph 5. 23. Christ is the Saviour of the Body v. 25 26 27. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious Church If Infants have no sin and misery then they are none of the Body the Church which Christ loved and gave himself for that he might cleanse it But what need we further proof when we have the common experience of all the world Would every man that is born of a woman without exception so early manifest sin in the life if there were no corrupt disposition at the heart And should all mankind without exception tast of the punishment of sin if they had no participation of the guilt Death is the wages of sin and by sin death entred into the world and it passeth upon all men for that all have sinned Rom. 5. 12. Infants have sickness and torments and death which are the fruits of sin And were they not presented to Christ as a Saviour when he took them in his arms and blessed them and said Of such is the Kingdom of God Certainly none that never were guilty or miserable are capable of a place in the Kingdom of the Mediator For to what end should he mediate for them or how can he Redeem them that need not a Redemption or how should he reconcile them to God that never were at enmity with him Or how can he wash them that were never unclean Or how can he be a Physicion to them that never were sick when the whole have no need of the Physicion Mat. 9. 12. He came to seek and to save that which was lost Luk. 19. 10. and to save his people from their sins Mat. 1. 21. They are none of his saved people therefore that had no sin He came to redeem those that were under the Law Gal. 4. 5. But it is most certain that Infants were under the Law as well as the adult And 〈…〉 a paâ—â— of his people Israel whom he visited and Re 〈…〉 1. 68. If ever they be admitted into Glory they 〈…〉 him that Redeemed 〈…〉 God doth first justifie those whom he Glorifieth Rom. 8. 30. And they must be born again that will enter into his Kingdom Jâ—h 3. 3 5. And there is no Regeneration or renovation but from sin Col. 3. 10. Eph. 4. 22. Nor any Justification but from sin and from what we could not be Justified from by the Law of Moses Act. 13. 30. Nor any Justification but what containeth a Remission of sin Rom. 3. 25. And where there is no sin there is none to be Remitted Nor is there any Justification but what is through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus and his propitiation Rom. 3. 24 25. He is made of God Redemption to us 1 Cor. 1. 30. And the Redemption that we have by him is Remission of sins by his blood Col. 1. 14. Eph. 1. 7. By his own blood entered he once into the holy place having obtained eternal Redemption for us The eternal inheritance is received by means of death for the Redemption of transgressions Heb. 9. 12 15. so that all Scripture speaks this truth aloud to us that there is now no salvation promised but to the Church the Justified the Regenerate the Redeemed and that none can be capable of these but sinners and such as are lost and miserable in themselves And till our necessity be understood Redemption cannot be well understood They that believe that Christ dyed not only for this or that man in particular but for the world methinks should believe that the world are sinners and need his death He is called the Saviour of the world Joh. 4. 42. and the Saviour of all men especially of believers 1 Tim. 4. 10. 1 Joh. 4. 14. We have seen and do testifie that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world And from what doth he save them From their sins Mat. 1. 21. and from the wrath to come 1 Thes. 1. 10. For this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Infants then are sinners or none of those that he came to save Christ hath made no man Righteous by his Obedience but such as Adam made sinners by his disobedience Rom. 5. 19. For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many shall be made Righteous Infants are not made Righteous by Christ if they were not sinners And sinners they cannot be by any but Original sin Rom. 5. 8 9 10. God commended his Love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us Much more being now Justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him When we were enemies we were Reconciled to God by the death of his Son so that it is sinners that Christ dyed for and sinners that are justified by his blood and sinners that are reconciled to God Infants therefore are sinners or they are none of the Redeemed Justified or reconciled And when Jesus Christ by the grace of God did taste death for every man Heb. 2. 9. Infants are sure included There is one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransom for all 1 Tim. 2. 5 6. therefore all had sin and misery and needed that ransome He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world And is it not plain then that the whole world are sinners I speak all this for the evincing of Original sin only because that only is denyed by such as yet pretend to Christianity For actual sin is commonly confessed and shews it self And truly so doth Original sin in our proneness to actual and in the earliness and commonness of such evil inclinations and in the remnants of it which the sanctified
wisdom that knows best how to use his own If he take our friends from us he taketh but his own If he deny his saving grace to our ungodly children a heavy judgement of which we must be sensible yet when we have devoted them to God and done our own part we must be silent as Aaron was when his sons were destroyed Lev. 10. 3. and confess that the Potter hath power over his own clay to make of the same lump ae vessel to honour and another to dishonour Rom. 9. 21. All his disposals shall work to that end which is the most universal perfect good and most denominateth all the means But those that are his own by consent and Covenant may be sure that all shall work to their own good Let us die with Christ and be buried to the world and know no Lord or Owner but our great Creatour and Redeemer except in a limited subservient sense and then we may boldly argue with him to the quiet of our souls from this Relation I am thine help me Psal. 35. 23. Stir up thy self and awake to my judgement even to my cause my Lord and my God when faith and love have first said as Thomas my Lord and my God Joh. 20. 28. CHAP. XIV 13. THE next Relation to be spoken of is Gods soveraignty both by Creation and Redemption he hath the Right of Governing us as our Soveraign King and we are obliged to be his willing subjects and as such to obey his holy laws He is the Lord or Owner of all the world even of Brutes as properly as of Man But he is the Soveraign King or Governour only of the Reasonable Creature because no other are capable of that proper Moral Government which now we speak of Vulgarly indeed his Physical motions and dispositions are called his Rule or Government and so God is said to Govern Brutes and inanimate creatures but that is but a Metaphorical expression as an Artificer Metaphorically Governeth his clock or engine or a Shepheard his sheep But we now speak of proper moral Government God having made man a Rational and free agent having an immortal soul and capable of everlasting happiness his very nature and the end of his creation required that he should be conducted to that end and happiness by means agreeable to his nature that is by the Revelation of the Reward before he seeth it that he may seek it and be fitted for it and by prescribed duties that are necessary to obtain it and to his living here according to his nature and by threatned penalties to quicken him to his duty so that he is naturally a creature to be Governed both as sociable and as one to be conducted to his end He therefore that created him having alone both sufficiency and Right doth by this very Creation become his Governour His Government hath two parts the world being thus constituted the Kingdom of God The first is by Legislation or making Laws and Officers for execution The second is by the procuring the execution of these Laws To which end he doth exhort and perswade the subjects to obedience and judge them according to their works and execute his judgement His first Law was to Adam the Law of Nature obliging him to adhere to his Creator and to love him trust him fear him honour him and obey him with all his might in order to the pleasing of his Creator and the attainment of everlasting life To which was added a positive Law against the eating of the tree of Knowledge and Death was the penalty due to the sinner This Law was quickly broken by man and God delayed not his judgement but sentenced the Tempter the Woman and the Man but not according to their merits but graciously providing a Redeemer he presently stopt the execution of the far greatest part of the penalty the Son of God undertaking as our surety to become a sacrifice and ransome for us Hereupon the Covenant of Grace was made and the Law of Grace enacted with mankind but more obscurely in the beginning being cleared up by degrees in the several Promises to the Fathers the types of the Law and the Prophecies of the Prophets of several ages the Law being interposed because of transgression In the fulness of time the Messiah was incarnate and the first promises concerning him fulfilled and after his holy life and preachings and conquests of the Tempter and the world he gave himself a Ransome for us and conquering Death he Rose again ascended into Heaven being possessed in his manhood of the fulness of his power and all things being delivered into his hands so that he was made the General Administrator and Lord of all And thus he more clearly revealing his Covenant of Grace and bringing life and immortality to light commissioned his Ministers to preach this Gospel to all the world And thus the Primitive Soveraign is God and the Soveraign by Derivation is Jesus the Mediator in his manhood united to the second person in the Godhead and the Laws that we are governed by are the Law of Nature with the superadded Covenant of Grace the subordinate officers are Angels Magistrates and Pastors of the Church having works distinct the society it self is called the Church and Kingdom of God the Reward is everlasting glory with the mercies of this life in order to it and the Punishment is everlasting misery with the preparatory judgements especially on the soul which are here inflicted Subjection is due upon our first being and is consented to or vowed in Baptisme and is to be manifested in holy obedience to the death This is the Soveraignty and Government of God And now let us see how God as our Soveraign must be known 1. The Princes and all the Rulers of the world must understand their Place and Duty They are first Gods subjects and then his officers and can have no power but from God Rom. 13. 3 4. nor hold any but in dependance on him and subordination to him Their power extendeth no further then the Heavenly Soveraign hath signified his pleasure and by commission to them or command to us conferred it on them As they have no strength or natural power but from the Omnipotent God so can they have no Authority or Governing Power or Right but from the Absolute King of all the world They can less pretend to a Right of Governing not derived from God then a Justice or Constable may to such Power not derived from the earthly soveraigns Princes and States also must hence understand their End and Work God who is the Beginning must be the End also of their Government Their Laws must be but by Laws subservient to his Laws to further mens obedience to them The Common Good which is their lower nearer End must be measured by his Interest in the Nations and mens Relations unto him The Common possession of his favour blessing and protection is the greatest Common Good His Interest in us
it should all be done to the Glory of God 1 Cor. 10. 31. He that regardeth a day or regardeth it not he that eateth or that eateth not must do it to the Lord And though a Good Intention will not sanctifie a forbidden action yet sins of Ignorance and meer Frailty are forborn and pardoned of God when it is his Glory and Service that is sincerely intended though there be a mistake in the choice of means None of us liveth to himself and no man dyeth to himself For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we dye we dye unto the Lord Whether we live therefore or dye we are the Lords For to this end Christ â—â—th dyed rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14. 6 7 8 9. Our walking with God is a serious Labouring that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him 2 Cor. 5. 9 To this the Love of our Redeemer must constrain us For he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him thâ—t dyed for them and rose again Vers. 14 15. Religion therefore is called the seeking of God because the soul doth press after him and labour tu enjoy him as the Runner seeks to reach the prize or as a Suiter seeketh the Love and fruition of the person beloved And all the particular acts of Religion are oft denominated from this intention of the End and following after it and are all called a seeking the Lord. Conversion is called a seeking the Lord Isa. 55. 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found Hos. 3. 5. The Children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God Hos. 7. 10. They do not return to the Lord their God nor seek him Men that are called to Conversion are called to seek God Hos. 10. 12. Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you The converted Children of Israel and Judah shall go weeping together to seek the Lord their God Jer. 50. 4. The wicked are described to be men that do not seek the Lord Isa. 9. 13. 31. 1. The holy Covenant 2 Chron. 15. 12 13. was to seek the Lord If therefore you would Walk with God let him be the mark the prize the treasure the happiness the Heaven it self which you aim at and sincerely seek 1 Chron. 22. 19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God Psal. 105. 3 4 Glory ye in his Holy Name Let the heart of them rejoyce that seek the Lord Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face for evermore As the life of a Covetous man is a seeking of Riches and the life of an ambitious man is a seeking of worldly honour and applause so the life of a man that liveth to God is a seeking Him to please him honour him and enjoy him And so much of this as he attaineth so much dotb he attain of satisfaction and content If you live to God and seek him as your End and All the want of any thing will be tolerable to you which is but consistent with the fruition of his Love If he be pleased mans displeasure may be borne The loss of all things if Christ be won will not undo us Mans condemnation of us signifieth but little if God the absolute Judge do justifie us He walketh not with God that Liveth not to him as his only Happiness and End 4. Moreover our Walking with God includeth our subjection to his Authority and our taking His Wisdom and Will to be our Guide and his Laws in Nature and Scripture for our Rule you must not walk with him as his Equals but as his Subjects nor give him the honour of an ordinary superior but of the universal King In our doubts he must resolve us and in our straits we must ask counsel of the Lord Lord what wouldst thou have me to do is one of the first words of a penitent soul Act. 9. 6. When sensual worldlings do first ask the flesh or those that can do it hurt or good what they would have them be or do None of Christs true Subjects do call any man Father or Master on earth but in subordination to their highest Lord Matth. 23. The Authority of God doth aw them and govern them more than the fear of the greatest upon earth Indeed they know no power but Gods and that which he committeth unto man And therefore they can obey no man against God what ever it cost them but under God they are most readily and faithfully subject to their Governours not meerly as to men that have power to hurt them if they disobey but as to the officers of the Lord whose Authority they discern and reverence in them But when they have to do with the enemies of Christ who usurp a power which he never gave them against his Kingdom and the souls of men they think it easie to resolve the question whether it be better to obey God or men As the commands of a rebellious Constable or other fellow-subject are of no authority against the Kings Commands so the commands of all the men on earth are of so small authority with them against the Laws of God that they fully approve of the ready and resolute answer of those Witnesses Dan. 3. 16 17 18. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us c. But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up Worldlings are ruled by their fleshly interest and wisdom and self-will and by the will of man so far as it doth comporte with these By these you may handle them and lead them up and down the world By these doth Satan hold them in captivity But believers feel themselves in subjection to a higher Lord and better Law which they faithfully though imperfectly observe Therefore our walking with God is called A walking in his Law Exod. 16. 4. A walking in his statutes and keeping and doing his commands Lev. 26. 3. A walking in his paths Mic. 4. 2. It is our following the Lamb which way soever he goeth To be given up to our own hearts lusts and to walk in our counsels is contrary to this holy walk with God Psal. 81. 12. and is the course of those that are departed from him And they that are far from him shall perish he destroyeth those that go a whoring from him But it is good for us to draw near to God Psal. 73. 27 28. 5. Our walking with God doth imply that as we are ruled by his Will so we fear no punishment like his threatned displeasure and that the threats of death from mortal men will not prevail with us so much as his threats of Hell Luk. 12. 4. If God
say I will condemn thee to everlasting punishment if thou wilt not keep my Laws And if men say We will condemn thee to imprisonment or death if thou keep them the believer more feareth God than man The Law of the King doth condemn Daniel to the Lyons den if he forbear not to pray for a certain time But he more feareth God that will deny those that deny him and forsake those that forsake him Therefore the forementioned witnesses ventured on the fiery furnace because God threatned a more dreadful fire Therefore a true believer dare not live when an unbeliever dare not die He dare not save his life from God lest he lose it but loseth it that he may save it But unbelievers that walk not with God but after the flesh do most fear them that they observe most powerful in the world and will more be moved with the penalty of some worldly loss or suffering then with Gods most dreadful threats of Hell For that which they see not is to them as nothing while they want that faith by which it is foreknown and must be escaped 6. Moreover he that walks with God doth from God expect his full reward He ceaseth not his holy course though no man observe him or none commend him or approve him though all about him hate him and condemn him though he be so far from gaining by it with men that it cost him all that he hath or hoped for in the world For he knoweth that Godliness is of it self great gain and that it hath the promise of this life and that to come and none can make Gods promise void He knoweth that his Father which seeth in secret will reward him openly Matth. 6. and that he shall have a treasure in heaven that parteth with all on earth for Christ Luk. 18. 22. And he hath such respect to this promised recompence of reward that for it he can suffer with the people of God and account the very reproach of Christ a greater treasure then Court or Country can afford him in a way of sin Heb. 11. 26. He accounteth them blessed that are persecuted for righteousness sake because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs He judgeth it a cause of exceeding joy to be reviled and persecuted and to have all manner of evil falsly spoken of us for the sake of Christ because our reward in Heaven is great Matth. 5. 10 11 12. For he verily believeth that as sure as these transitory pleasures will have an end and everlastingly forsake those miserable souls that were deluded by them so certainly is there a life of endless joyes to be possessed in Heaven with God and all the Holy ones and this he will trust to as that which will fully repair his losses and repay his cost and not deceive him Let others trust to what they will it is this that he is resolved to trust to and venture all to make it sure when he is sure that All is Nothing which he ventureth and that by the adventure he can never be a loser nor never save by choosing that which it self must perish Thus he that truly walks with God expecteth his Reward from God and with God and thence is encouraged in all his duty and thence is emboldned in all his conflicts and thence is upheld and comforted in his sufferings When Man is the Rewarder as well as the chief Ruler of the Hypocrite and earthly things are the poise and motives to his earthly mind 7. Our walking with God importeth that as we expect our Reward from him so also that we take his Promise for our security for that Reward Believing his Word and trusting his fidelity to the quieting and emboldening of the soul is part of our holy walking with him A promise of God is greater satisfaction and encouragement to a true believer than all the visible things on earth A promise of God can do more and prevail further with an upright soul than all the sensible objects in the world He will do more and go further upon such a promise then he will for all that man can give him Peruse the life of Christs Apostles and see what a promise of Christ can do How it made them forsake all earthly pleasures possessions and hopes and part with friends and houses and Country and travail up and down the world in dangers and sufferings and unwearied labours despised and abused by great and small and all this to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom which they had never seen and to attain that Everlasting Happiness and help others to attain it for which they had nothing but the promise of their Lord. See what a promise well believed will make a Christian do and suffer Believers did those noble acts and the Martyrs under went those torments which are mentioned Heb. 11. because they judged him faithful that had promised Heb. 11. 11. They considered not difficulties and defect of means and improbabilities as to second causes nor staggered at the promise of God through unbelief but being strong in faith gave glory to God being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was also able to perform As it is said of Abraham Rom. 4. 19 20 21. 8. To walk with God is to live as in his presence and that with desire and delight When we believe and apprehend that whereever we are we are before the Lord who seeth our hearts and all our waies who knoweth every thought we think and every word we speak and every secret thing which we do As verily to believe that God is here present and observeth all as we do that we our selves are here To compose our minds our thoughts our affections to that Holy reverence and seriousness as beseemeth man before his Maker To order our words with that care and gravity as beseems those that speak in the hearing of the Lord. That no mans presence do seem more considerable to us then his presence As we are not moved at the presence of a fly or worm or dog when persons of honour and reverence are present so should we not comparatively be moved at the presence of man how great or rich or terrible soever when we know that God himself is present to whom the greatest of the sons of men is more inconsiderable then a fly or worm is unto them As the presence of the King makes ordinary standers by to be unobserved and the discourses of the learned make us disregard the bablings of children so the presence of God should make the greatest to be scarce observed or regarded in comparison of him God who is still with us should so much take up our regard that all others in his presence should be but as a candle in the presence of the sun Therefore it is that a believer composeth himself to that behaviour which he knoweth God doth most expect and beseemeth those that stand before him when others accommodate themselves to the persons that are present observing