the good of his people lest they be drawn away by them by one means or other to discover themselves by their fruits either by superstitious and idolatrous practices thrusting in their own inventions into the Worship of God and persecuting all those that will not conform even to the death and that upon a pretence of zeal to the Churches peace for that is their sheeps cloathing they wear to hide their abominable wickedness Or else by their debauchery and prophaneness whereby they make it to appear as clear as the Sun at noon that notwithstanding they may appear zealous for Church-Reformation and plead the holiness of places Orders Canons Garments c. yet that they are perfect enemies to a holy life and to the power of Godliness Deceivers and Hereticks when they plead the Kingly Office of Christ in his Church and are holy in their lives are of all persons in the world most dangerous and fittest to propagate the design of the Devil who often appears as an Angel of Light that he may deceive For holiness in a Leader or Teacher is of a very drawing convincing Nature When therefore any new notion is delivered to us that is contrary to the ancient received faith of the Saints the more glorious the pretence is under which it comes the more should we fear it and the more carefully should we ponder it in the ballance of the Sanctuary But now when God shall suffer deceivers by their prophaneness and debauchery so to discover themselves as that he that runs may read of what kind of spirit they are and whose interest they are advancing wo to those that shall join with a generation thus discovered a generation upon whom the marks of God's wrath and displeasure are He walks not by this rule that can be content to hear his Parish-Minister though he be never so superstitious in his Worship or prophane in his life Also according to this Rule should Teachers walk with respect to their people Ver. 6. Give not that which is holy unto dogs neither cast ye the Pearls before Swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rent you Wherein Christ doth declare it to be lawful to call dogs dogs swine swine which cannot be meant of irrational creatures call'd by those Names but of men and women of prophane and wicked lives Now unto such must not be cast pearls which may have reference unto private reproof and admonition There is a great deal of Wisdom to be used in giving private and particular reproof to prophane persons for that Solomon saith Reprove not a scorner lest he hate thee He that reproveth a Proâ— 9 7. 8 scoruer getteth to himself shame and he that reproveth a wicked man getteth to himself a blot There was a time when David was silent because the wicked were present To admonish or reprove some wicked prophane wretches especially in some of their mad moods and fits or at such a time to be speaking to them concerning the excellency of Christ and concernments of Eternity would be but to expose the Truths of Christ to great contempt and reproach and to draw forth their cursed lusts and passions giving them thereby opportunity to vent that inward hatred they have against Christ and all his concernments Again by holy things and pearls may be understood the sacred and holy things of God's House such as the Body and Blood of Christ in the Lords Supper Indeed the preaching of the Gospel belongs to all It 's to be preach't to every creature Great difference between preaching administring the Lords Supper Mark 16. 15. Dogs and Swine to the vilest sinners in the world and it 's the duty of all that live within the sound of the Gospel to attend upon it But now the Lords Supper is a peculiar Ordinance appointed and instituted to be practised by and administred unto not Dogs and Swine but Sons Daughters It 's a wicked man's duty to hear the Word preacht but not to come to the Lords Supper Before he comes to this Ordinance he must look after repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ which Faith in Christ takes in not only the assent of the Judgement but also the consent of the will not onely the knowing but the loving and imbracing of truth Heb. 11. 13 were perswaded of the promises there was the assent of the Judgement and embraced them there was the consent of the will It 's the duty of a Minister by all means possible to entice and draw the people be they never so ignorant and prophane to the hearing of the Word but he greatly sins if he perswades draws much more if he shall compel an ignorant prophane people to come to the Lord's Table Object Some Ministers may here object and say Though I do perswade my people to come to the Lords Supper yet I discharge my self I tell them how they should be qualified and the danger of coming unprepared And so I am clear from the guâ—lt of their blood Ans 1. The Text saith Give not holy things to dogs How then canst thou discharge thy self when notwithstanding thou tellest the people they ought to be so and so qualified to have knowledge faith repentance love to God and his people c. and that if they come unprepared they make themselves guilty of the blood of Christ and eat and drink to themselves damnation which are very astonishing considerations and yet nevertheless dost receive such to this Ordinance as are known to be very ignorant and also very dissolute and prophane And unto every one of these thou saist delivering the bread The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee take and eat this in remembrance that Christ dyed for thee And delivering the Cup The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for thee drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for thee It was Gods command to Jeremiah that he should seperate the precious from the vile Jer. 15. 19. But contrariwise some men do separate the vile from the precious do by the vileness of their own lives and the corruptnesse of their communions forcibly as I may so speak keep off such as do truly fear the Lord from joining with them so become a seperated company of ignorant prophane vile persons Now whether in this practice thou canst so clear thy self as not to be guilty of the blood of those souls as shall be strengthened in a way of wickedness by their receiving the Lords Supper from thy hands and strengthened in their hope of Gods love and eternal life notwithstanding a wicked course for that thou dost tell them in the administration of that Ordinance that the Body of Christ was given for them and his blood shed for them I say this thing is worthy of thy serious consideration That expression of the Lord Chancellor in his speech on the 8th of May 1661. is very significant and will
bearing of the image of the Cross is a place of great honor among the Papists who do greatly adore and reverence the same And so also they do the Sign of the Cross giving the Signe no less honor then the Image but herein they are certainly as Paul said of the Athenians too superstitious there being no rule in the Word of God for such Adoration 2. Christ in propounding this term doth as it seemeth to me secretly inhibite his people the making creating a Cross to themselves As wicked men are apt to say Peace Peace when there is no Peace so Gods own people are apt to fear when no fear is and to create trouble and sorrow to themselves For the Devil if he can't intice the soul from the waies of God then will he endeavour to discourage it by perswading it that there is a Lion in the way That it will never be able to hold out and hold on in heavens way there is such vallies of death and mountains of difficulties to pass thorow go over Now though Christ would have the Soul to persevere in his commands whatever the difficulty be he meets withall yet he would not have it give heed to such amazing and perplexing suggestions but by faith to live above them And thus by way of Negation For the Affirmative I shall answer it in these four particulars 2. Affirmatively To take up the Cross is 1. For the Soul deliberately after serious debates in the heart about this matter to resolve in the strength of God to hold on in heavens-way let what will come Disgrace Poverty Imprisonment Fire and Fagot c. with Job to resolve Though he kill mee yet I 'le trust him * Iob 13. 15. A Hypocrite may resolve high but his resolves are usually sudden and passionate resolves and so come to little but now a Christians resolves when he acts like himself are deliberate and sincere resolves depending not upon his own but the strength of God and these resolves hold and though a Christian that hath so resolved may live and dye in a calm season and suffer little comparatively yet God who knoweth the heart accepteth the will for the deed and taketh it as kindely as if he had suffered abundantly more for his name and glory 2. It is to acquiesce in Gods pleasure to have our wills resolved into the will of God quietly to submit under all his dispensations and providences though seemingly they may contradict his promises and our expectations with the Church Micah 7. 9 to resolve the bearing his indignation untill he plead our cause c. That soul doth truly rightly bear his Cross that doth quietly submit himself to God under all afflictions being in Davids sense dumb not opening his mouth because it is the Lords doings * Psal 39. 9. 3. To take up this Cross is to do it cheerfully to do it upon choice for so Christ propoundeth this term that whosoever will choose him to be his Lord and Saviour must choose the Cross also will choose to reign with him must also choose to suffer with him A hypocrite may suffer much upon the account of Religion but he suffers not upon choice could he preserve his name or bring about some such sinister end he would never suffer his suffering for truth is not out of love to truth but upon some other base and low account But now Moses he suffered much and that upon choice he chose rather to suffer with Gods people then to enjoy sinfull pleasures * Heb. 11. 25. Christs yoke is not put on per force we are to take his yoke and burthen upon us Math. 11. 4. The last particular which acquainteth us rather with the manner then the matter of the duty is that to take up this Cross is to persevere to hold out to the end He must deny himself and take up his Cross daily We must not be weary of suffering for Christ or Truth but after we have suffered reproach and scorn then we must be willing to suffer confiscation of Goods after that Imprisonment and after that Banishment and after that cruel Death Math. 10. 22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my Names sake but he that endureth to the end shall be saved And thus I have dispatched the second term viz. The taking up the Cross The third and last is to follow Christ Now we are to follow We are to follow Christ Christ 1. In his Commands 2. Examples and 3. Providences 1. In his Commands to follow Christ is to obey him 1. In his Commands Joh. 10. 4 5 27. The true Sheep follow the true Shepherd and will not follow strangers that is they hear and obey the voice of Christ and his onely they will not hear neither obey the voice of Strangers In this term is required then that the soul do heartily and sincerely own Christ for it's Lord and Kâ—ng to be ruled and governed by him owning him alone for the Lord of it's conscience and obeying him at leâ—st in desire and affection in all his commands so farr as they are revealed and discovered unto the soul 2. We are to follow Christ in his Examples Christ was 2. In his Examples not in all things our Example for some things he did by the power of his God-head and therein he was not an Example to us and something he did as Mediator viz. satisfie his Fathers wrath and purchase eternal life for his people and herein he was not an Example Heb. 1. 3. When he had by himself purged our sins sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high but in that holiness and righteousness that did appear in him therein he was our Example Math. 11. 29. Learn of me What is it we should learn Not to raise the Dead open the eyes of the Blinde c. but to be meek and lowly Every true Christian was predestinated to be conformable to this Pattern Rom. 8. 29. and called unto it 1 Pet. 2. 21 22 23. For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps Who did no sin c. And therefore Whosoever saith he abideth in him ought himself so to walk even as he walked 1 Joh. 2. 6. A true Christian is then to take Christ for its great high Example to consider how Christ carried it first with respect to the world and all the enjoyments thereof how he debased and humbled himself and then secondly how he carryed it with respect to Satan when under his temptations how he defended Satan not with this or that notion nor yet with this or that experience but with a scriptum est Math. 4. It is written The sword of the Spirit is the best Weapon to fight the Devil with And then thirdly how Christ carried it towards men both Saints and Sinners how loving and meek and graciously disposed he was to
him Question Quest But how can we judge whether a man hath faith or no Answer Ans Jam. 2. A man is to shew his faith by his works Mind this as I have often told you though there may be good works as to visible appearance where there is no true Faith yet where true Faith is there the souls works I speak as to the general course of the conversation wil visibly appear to be good they cannot do otherwise for if the tree be good the fruit wil be good so that though a hearing praying person may be a hypocrite yet a swearing drunken prophane idolatrous person cannot be a Christian the one may be a hypocrite but the other can't be Christian Though I cannot say positively of a visibly holy person That he shall go to Heaven yet I may certainly say of a prophane man That he shall go to Hell if he dieth in that estate without repentance Question Quest But doth it not savour of pride for persons to judge themselves to be holy persons and good Christians and judge others to be outcasts and wicked persons Answer Ans It 's possible persons may judge themselves so when Prov. 13. 12. they are not so judge themselves to be pure and yet not washed from their filthiness Now for any notwithstanding their delight in secret sin and the indulging cursed lusts to judge themselves more holy then others this proceeds from pride and self-love and great blindness But now for persons that are sincere and upright towards God to judge themselves to be in the love and favour of God looking upon God as their Father and themselves as his sons and Daughters and also judging others to be wicked this is according to holy Scripture 1 Joh. 5. 19 20. And we know that We are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given Us an Understanding that we may know him that is true and We are in him that is true even in his Son Jesus Christ c. Objection Object This was the judgement of an Apostle Answer Answ 1. None knoweth the heart but God The Apostles themselves were not infallibile in their Judgements if they had Simon the Sorcerer had not been baptized They judged onely by what appeared to them those that appeared truly godly they judged so and those that appeared otherwise they judged otherwise But 2dly John speaks here in the plural number Us and We whereby is clearly intimated that others as well as Apostles may judge themselves to be of God Nay he saith in the 13th ver These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life that ye may be able to try and examine your own state and make a judgement of your selves whether you are the persons that have a title to eternal glory yea or no and accordingly you shall find that he doth for the furtherance of this work of self-examination in this Epistle characterize the Christian by his doing of righteousness and loving the Brethren But further this judgement is not onely lawful but there is Great reason for the passing of a Scriptuâ—â— judgement 1. Reas great ground and reason for it As 1. If God's people should not judge themselves to be so they would be guilty of very great ingratitude We ought to be thankful for all mercies but especially for spiritual mercies When God shal by a mighty hand have brought a soul out of the Devils Kingdom into the Kingdom of his dear Son and manifest his love and mercy to it what greater sin can such a soul be guilty of then the not taking notice of the exceeding riches of Grace so as to own it and acknowledge it to the glory and praise of God Col. 1. 12 13. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be maâ—e partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son 2dly From this springs all a Christians comfort Alas what 2. Reas comfort can a Christian have in this wicked miserable reproachful hateful world were it not for this God is mine Psal 48. ult For this God is our God for ever and ever c. Isa 25. 9. Lo this is our God we have waited for him c. Isa 41. 10. Be not dismayed for I am thy God c. Isa 63. 16. Doubtless thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not Thou Lord art our Father our Redeemer thy Name is from everlasting 3dly Wicked prophane men they do judge themselves to be 3. Reas the people of God and good Christians and thereupon do lay claim to the seals of the Covenant Baptism and the Lords Supper and do judge holy and religious persons to be a company of hypocrites which are the worst sort of wicked persons in the world and shall undergo the greatest torments in Hell Then surely the true sincere Christian may judge God to be its Father and Christ its Saviour and on the contrary judge prophane wicked men to be as the Scripture declareth them to be in a state of wrath without God in the world and strangers to the Covenant of promise Eph 2. 12. 4thly There are a several duties to be performed upon this 4. Reas Judgement as thus We are to do good to all but especially to them of the Houshold of Faith Now this cannot be done except Gal. 6. 10. we may judge some to be of the Houshold of Faith The wicked Prov. 29. 27. is an abomination to the just It follows thence that the just doth know him and judge him to be wicked The wicked are to be withdrawn from 2 Tim. 3. 5. then they must be first discovered known and judged to be so else we break the rule of Charity by withdrawing from them especially if they are persons with whom we have formerly had communion in spiritual matters for from such we ought not to withdraw without cause By all which it appears that notwithstanding Christ doth here forbid rash Judgement yet it hinders not that a Stripture Judgement may be made Nay our Lord Christ in this 7th ch doth plainly declare his Will to be that according to the Scripture-Judgement should all his people walk According to this Rule should Hearers walk with respect to Hearers may pass a Scripture judgment on their Teachers yea ought to do it their Teachers and also Teachers and Ministers with respect to their people First People with respect to their Teachers ver 15. Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravening Wolves But Lord might the Disciples have said How may we know them Know them saith Christ you may know them by their fruits ver 16. This generation of ravening Wolves and false prophets God doth generally suffer them for