Exhortation to three sorts of persons First To such as have this Grace and Peace Secondly To such as have this Grace and no Peace Thirdly To such as have neither Grace nor Peace First To such as have both Grace and Peace I 'le speak to them in two or three things First Admire thankfully the Father and the Son the Fathers Grace and the Sons Love for both had a hand in this therefore blesse both the Father for willing it to us and the Son for working it in us Grace and Peace are the fruits of Gods Eternal Election for this blessing the Father gives but the Application of it to us is the fruit of Christs Redemption and Intercession How can you think of Hell and damnation and see your self freed from it And how can you think of the dreadfull fury and vengeance of God your self not under it How can you look on your state changed your hearts renued grace ratified and reconciled and your Conscience quietted How can you think of these things but must admire the love of the Father in giving this to you and the love of the Son in purchasing this for you All the grace and mercy that is given to us is by Christ purchased for us Grace and Peace are the fruits of the redeeming blood of Christ purchased Secondly Do not envy the conditions or possessions of the men of the world they have Riches and Honours Profits and Pleasures but they neither have Grace nor Peace therefore do not envy their happinesse There is a story of a Romane that was condemned by the Court Martial to dye for breaking his rank to steal a bunch a grapes and as he was going to his Execution his fellow Souldiers laughed at him and others envyed at him that he should have grapes and they none Now sayes he do not envy me for my bunch of grapes for you would be loath to have them at the rate I must pay for them My Brethren You that are the Children of grace and peace dont envy at the men of the world at their Riches their Comforts their Pleasures for I am sure you would be loath to have them at the price they pay for them for the end of these things are Death Thirdly Don't complain of the worst condition that the providence of God shall cast you into in this world it may be you shall suffer hard things but remember so long as thy soul is secure never complain of hard things My Brethren As God your Father brought you into a state of grace and peace and thereby secured his love to your souls in Christ can you complain of hard things So let the joy of the Lord be your strength Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes and again I say rejoyce Phil. 4.4 The second Use is to such as have neither Grace nor Peace May I not say I speak to many such I would I might not Are not there many that are without Grace and therefore must needs be without Peace They may have the worlds Peace but they have none of this Peace let me beg of you to get out of this gracelesse condition if you love your Souls don't live one day nor one hour nor one moment longer in a gracelesse state Oh that you would believe the words of a dying man for so I am to you and such words use to be remembred Oh remember this as a testimony I leave with you that the love of Sin and lack of Grace will run and destroy every Soul at last But you will say How shall I get a share in this Grace and Peace I Answer First Break off all your false peace you can never have true peace with God when we content our selves with false peace you will never seek that peace which Christ has purchased for you while you content your selves with that cursed peace which the Old Man has wrought in you Oh therefore break off all false peace which is not the fruit of grace Secondly Labour to see and be convinced of the miserable and of the naked condition your Souls be in for want of the righteousnesse of Christ for a covering without this Soul thou art miserable wretched poor and naked be convinced also what a miserable thing it is to have God our Enemy God is the Sinners Enemy it s a featfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God Oh be convinced of thy nakednesse without Christs righteousnesse and thy emptinesse without his fullnesse Thirdly Labour to go out of your selves to Christ for grace and peace surely in the Lord shall one say I have righteousnesse and strength I there it s to be found Labour for a thirsty frame of Soul for the promises run farr to such that he will fill the hungry with good things Go to Christ soul begg pray never leave God till he hath given thee an interest in Christ for none can come to me except the father draw him there is no pardon for the least sin our of Christ but there is a pardon for the greatest sin in Christ one sin will damn the soul out of Christ but no sin can hurt the soul in Christ Oh go to Christ soul never give rest to thy eyes nor slumber to thy lidds till thou hast made peace with God in the bloud of Christ one sting of the fiery Serpent was mortal without looking upon the brazen Serpent So one sin will damn a soul out of Christ but no sin can damn a soul in Christ Thirdly To such as have grace but no sense of peace this is the counsell I would leave with all such Be much in the exercise of grace frame much believe much use grace much for the exercise and improving of grace will produce peace There are ten duties which are to be the sphere of grace in activity and in performing of them we shall have peace First make Religion your businesse the main design of your lives be Christians to purpose be not only Christians by the bye but let your conversations be as becometh the Gospel of Christ Phil. 1.27 Secondly Put forth renewed Acts of Faith on Christ every day and remember it s as much your duty to believe in Christ to day as if you had never believed before Oh live by Faith every day and this will bring peace to you Thirdly Maintain a constant communion with God daily this communion with God is mans chief good the happinesse of a Child is in communion with his Father and the happinesse of a Wife is in communion with her Husband and this is the happinesse of a Believers soul communion with God the Father through Christ our Head and Husband The seed of peace its true it is sown in the Soul in Union but then if takes root downward and brings forth fruit upward Spiritual peace will never be obtained if communion with God be not maintained that gives comfort in the midst of all sorrows and satifies all doubts and recompences all wants Lo this is
sum of all Mercy so our love to God is the sum of all Duty Grace is the new birth of the Soul whereby it takes up another Nature a new Nature a spiritual God-like Nature as Christ was born and thereby took on him the Nature of man and was made flesh so man is born by Grace and thereby takes upon him the Nature of God and is made Spirit and here you have at once the great mystery of Grace in the lowest debacement of a Saviour and the highest advancement of a Sinner for the Lord Christ could not be more debaced then to be born it was nothing so great an abatement for Christ to dye as for him to be born for being once made man it is no wonder for to dye but being the great God it s a wonder that ever he should be made man Lo here is the debacement of Christ Yet if he had been born to a Crown to Honour it had been something but he was born to shame to sorrow and death but man by Grace is born to a Crown to a Kingdom he has a title to all the glory and blessednesse of Heaven from the first moment of his new birth So 't is in the Text Grace be unto you and Peace Peace in Scripture is a very comprehensive terms it carries in it all happinesse It was the common greeting of the Jews Peace be unto you Thus David by his Proxy salutes Nabal Peace be to thee and thy house and the Apostle here alludes to this form of salutation that he might mix new Testament mercy to old Testament manners he first stiles grace before peace as Jacob did with his Venison he made it a savoury meat such as Isaack loved Peace is the glory of Heaven in the Bosome of God and brought into the world in the Arms of Angells The first peace you read of in the Gospel was peace by the administration of Angels Luke 2.13 14. And suddainly there was with the Angells a multitude of Heavenly host praising and saying Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace good will towards men And when our Lord Christ first sent out his Disciples this was the Doctrine that he bid them preach Math. 10.12 13. When you come into a house salute it and if it be worthy let grace peace come upon it Mark here by the way our Lord Jesus Christ is no enemy to good manners He would not have Christians to be Clowns which is the use of some among us who would have their Religion quarrell with good manners No but in whatsoever City or Town you enter salute it and let grace peace come upon it that is wish peace to them saying the peace of God be upon this place upon the heads and hearts of all in it So that Peace is both a Gospel-salutation when Ministers and people meet and it 's also a Gospel-valediction when the Minister and the people parts So did the Apostle and so do I now Grace be with you and peace I observe in Matth. 10.13 14. our Lord bids his Disciples when they enter into a house if the house be worthy to let their peace come upon it but if they be not worthy let grace peace return to you In stead of leaving peace with them to shake off the dust of their feet against them that is to shew that God will shake them off as dust and tread them under feet as fuell My Brethren your diligent attendance on the Word at this place hath comfortably prevented the part of my charge to shake off the dust of my feet for how beautifull have the feet of a poor worm been to you being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Christ And therefore seeing our Lord Christ saith if they be worthy of their peace abide with them on this accompt I wish to you Grace and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. But what is this peace It 's the beauty of Union the harmony of the Creation the pleasure of Life the feast of a good Conscience it s that which makes Life sweet and Death easie Peace sweetens all our possessions and all our afflictions without this the fullnesse of the World is a burden with this poverty and emptinesse is a pleasant companion without this our bread is gravelled with sowrenesse and our water mingled with bitternesse with this green herbs become a Feast and our Water is turned into Wine Peace it s the most beautifull Creature in the world and therefore it s beloved of all courted of all many seek her but few there be that enjoy her they do not go the right way to find her for in the wayes of righteousnesse is peace Peace is the seminary of all blessings Temporal as Grace is of all blessings Spiritual in Grace you have imployed all holinesse in Peace all happinesse in grace all inward in peace all outward blessings grace and peace are the Alpha and Omega of all Blessings as God is of all Beings no blessing comes before Grace and no blessing lasts longer Then see in this phrase of speech the Apostle wishes upon them as I do upon you all the blessings both of Time and Eternity and yet he wished no more to them then God promised to give them 1 Tim. 4.8 For godlinesse hath the promise of this life and that which is to come Grace be unto you and peace c. not one without the other though a man may have grace without peace as in a time of disertion or temptation and a man may have peace without grace as in a secure and unregenerate condition grace without peace is often found in a troubled conscience and peace without grace is often found in a seared conscience as grace without peace is very uncomfortable so peace without grace is very unprofitable like Rachel beautifull but barren therefore the Apostle desires ye should have both grace and peace and we say the Sun and Salt are the most usefull Creatures in the world the one for shining the other for seasoning My Brethren Grace and Peace are the Christians Sun and Salt Grace is the light of their souls and Peace is the savour of their comforts Grace shines through all their faculties and Peace seasons all their mercies The blessings of God are become as twins as Christ said of the Spouse Cant. 4.2 She is like a flock of sheep that are even shorn which came up from the washing whereof every one bear twins and none is barren among them Grace and peace here are knit together by the Spirit of God in a sacred knot not to be untied As Castor and Pollux when seen together portend happinesse to the Mariner so when grace and peace are found in a Soul together they portend the highest security and blessing to the Believer they are said in Scripture to be bound together where God gives the one he never denyes the other If he gives you the Upper Spring of grace he
the fruit of communion with God Fourthly Be good at all times but of all be best in bad times many Christians lose their peace by remitting of their grace and let loose their reines of Religion to avoid the censures of a crooked generation A Christians zeal should be like the Winter fire that burns the hottest when the Aire is coolest or like the Lilly that looketh beautifull though among Thorns so should a Child of God though among Sinners Fifthly In all conditions chuse Suffering rather then Sinning If ever you would have Peace chose Suffering rather then Sinning he that values Peace with God or Peace with Conscience he must make this his choyce thus Daniel rather chosed to be cast to Lions then to lose the Peace of his Conscience the three Children chose rather to burn in the Furnace then to bow to the Image One said He would rather go to Hell free from sin then to live in Heaven with guilt on his Conscience My Brethren let me a little inlarge because suffering may overtake us for Persecution is the genius of the Gospel therefore let me leave four short Rules with you concerning sufferings See that your Cause be good your Call be clear your Spirit meek and your End right Suffering cannot bring out peace without either of them but with them all our sufferings shall be peace First Let your cause be good it s not the bloud but the Cause that makes a Martyr it s not for every cause a Christian should engage to suffer every cause will no more bear suffering then every little stream will bear a ship nor will Christ let go sweetnesse to every suffering 1 Pet. 4.15 Let none of you suffer as a Murderer or as a Thief or as an Evil doer or as a busie body in other mens matters To suffer this is neither Christian-like nor comfortable Some suffer rather as Malefactors then as Christs Martyrs Secondly Let your call be clear it s not amisse to have a good cause without a call Some may suffer for the cause of God and yet sin in suffering for want of a call Christ calls not all to suffer to some it is given to others it is not If thy call be clear thy peace will be sweet though thy sufferings be never so great But you will say How shall I know when I am called to suffer I Answer First when Truth suffers by our silence then are we called to suffer Secondly when our lives will be the denyal of Christ then are we called to deny our lives for Christ Thirdly when sin and suffering surrounds us that we cannot get out but we must either run through sin or sufferings then I may safely conclude that Christ calleth me to suffer and in this cause we may expect the peace and sweetness of his presence Thirdly the third Direction for suffering is this our Spirit must be meek so was Christ he went as a Lamb to the slaughter It s possible a man may be right in his cause and yet sinfull in his carriage and if so no wonder if Christ be not sweet to us To be fierce and raging and reviling in suffering it s not becomming humanity and therefore much less like Christianity A Christian should be like Christ Acts 5.41 And they departed from the presence of the Council rejoycing that they were connted worthy to suffer shame for his name It becomes those that are found in the Spirit to give blessing for cursing the more of Christs spirit is in us in our sufferings the more comfort and joy we shall receive from our sufferings Fourthly See that your end in suffering be right if it be self or singular or schism then Christ cannot be sweet to thee Some have died that their ends live Socrates died in the defence of the truth and to prove that there is but one God but whether he died for honour applause or for Gods sake I think it is no hard thing to determin But let thy cause be good thy Call clear thy Spirit meek and thy end right and then you shall have peace in all your sufferings that is the 5th thing Choose suffering rather then sinning Sixthly If you would have peace be much in studying of the Scriptures for as God is the God of peace and Christ is the Prince of peace so the Gospel is the Gospel of peace which God hath given thee to lead thee into the wayes of peace Great peace have they that love thy lawes Seventhly Take heed of Apostacy either in doctrin or principles Though a beleever is freed from Apostacy in the state of grace yet he is not freed from Apostacy in the degrees of grace He may fall sinfully though he cannot fall finally Demas fell by one St. Peter by the other Pray with David Psalm 17.5 Hold up my goings in thy path that my footsteps slip not Eightly Make the word of God your rule in all things be sure you have a Scripture warrant for all your practises But especially keep close to Scripture in matters of Gods worship There are endlesse discourses about the Mode of Gods Worship I have no disputing time It is good in difficult cases all wayes to take the surest side for instance if I follow the Traditions of man for the worship of God I may sin but if I keep close to die directions of God in the Scripture I am sure I cannot sin for this is the sure word of Prophecy to which you do well to take heed therefore in such a doubtfull case Gods will is that we take the surest side go to the Law and to the Testament Labour to be fruitfull and grounded Christians Ninthly Keep up the power of godlinesse do not let Religion down into a lifelesse formality The righteous shall flourish like a Palm tree He shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of our God Psal 92.12 13. My Brethren it is as much a duty in them that have grace to improve it as for them that haue no grace for to get it If you fit under the daily means the daily waterings of God and do not grow do you think this will be peace in the latter end surely no my Brethren your fruitfullness under the Gospel is of very great concernment It is unfruitfullness that makes God lay his Vineyard waste It s unfruitfullness that procures the forwarding your accompt in the day of grace Tenthly observe that excellent rule of the Apostle in Phil 4.8 Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are houest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things And now my Brethren I commend you to God and to the Word of God that is infinitely able to make you wise to salvation with this Benediction which I shall make my Valediction Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ FINIS ADVERTISEMENT The God People among whom the Name of this Excellent man is deservedly precious may take notice that his last Sermon upon the five a Clock Lecture at Sepulchres will suddainly be Published for their Use Who hold the words of Gods Patience in the Hour of Temptation that is come upon the whole Earth