God and whose heart is sincere before God is an upright and righteous Soul In this Sense the upright heart is the Sincere heart Thus David saith of himself I was upright before him 2 Sam. 22. 24. And God saith of Job He is a perfect and an upright man The Proposition must be understood of the latter he that is Evangelically righteous or upright for there are none of the former upon the Earth none that are legally righteous 3. Thirdly As there are degrees of Sanctification so there are degrees of uprightness The text seems to speak of the highest degrees Uprightnesses It is very ordinary with the Hebrew to express the Superlative degree by the plural number besides this is Signified by putting the Abstract for the Concrete we usually call men notoriously vile and wicked by the Abstract names of vice and persons eminently good and virtuous by the Abstract Names of virtue and goodness Those that are highest in grace who do most excel in holiness are fullest of love to Christ Love teacheth every Child of God the weakest babe in grace to cry after Christ and the grown Christian to delight in him and to walk up and down in his name Every righteous every upright Soul loveth Christ and that with a true sincere love though not in an equal degree she saith our Saviour who hath much forgiven will love much Having premised these distinctions let me a little further inquire into the true Notion of these upright men upright by this Evangelical rectitude In short they are such as are justified and Sanctified made righteous through Christs righteousness imputed to them holy through the Sanctification of his Spirit 1. Such as are justified This is the first thing requisite to an upright right man let the unjustified Soul be what it will do what it can it cannot be upright either in heart or way Suppose a stick naturally crooked you may pare it and paint and colour it and cover its crookedness alittle but until it hath been in the fire and bended right it will be crooked still the natural man the Soul not justified by grace not washed with the blood of Christ may be pared by education and brought off from some flagitious and enormous practices he may be coloured and painted over by some acts of moral vertue and some formal performances of religious duties but still in Gods Eye the Soul is a crooked Soul until the Lord hath made it right till it be justified by faith 2. To this uprightness is required not only justification or the removal of the Souls guilt and imputation of a righteousness a perfect righteousness but the sanctification of the heart God never sanctifieth any whom he doth not justify hence no Soul can be said to be an upright Soul that is not justified nor doth the Lord at any time justify a Soul but he at the same time also reneweth and sanctifieth it hence the upright Soul must be a renewed Sanctified Soul But yet in regard our regeneration and sanctification is not as to degrees perfect though as to parts Divines say it is that is the whole man is renewed it may be yet worthy to be inquired from what degrees of Regeneration and Sanctification a man may be denominated an upright man the rectitude of any thing is to be judged from its conformity to some rule The rule of mans uprightness is the Lords Statutes which are right saith the Psalmist Psal 19. 8. holy and spiritual and just and good Rom. 7. Thy judgments are right saith David Psal 119. 75. 128. It is said so of nothing else so as from a conformity to this rule must rightness or uprightness be judged And thus 1. There is an uprightness of judgment when the Soul judgeth according to truth both concerning notions and practices when it judgeth aright concerning truth and is not warped by error and when it judgeth aright concerning the ways of God then the Soul is upright with respect to the understanding and judgment 2. There is an uprightness of the whole Soul with respect to the scope and bent of it when the heart of man doth not stand inclined and bent to sin but the Soul can say with David I hate vain thoughts but thy law do I love I hate every false way c. The man that in all his actions designeth and intendeth the honour and glory of God and obedience to his will though in many things he cometh short and offendeth yet this man is an upright man his end and general scope is right 3. There is an uprightness of will in this the uprightness of a mans intention discovereth itself when to will is present with the Soul as St. Paul saith Rom. 7. Though he wanteth a strength to perform the man or woman in heart willeth the honour and glory of God and this not by fits but steadily and certainly and is really unwilling to do any thing by which God may be dishonoured though through ignorance he may offend and through a natural impotency not being able to love the Lord with all his heart and strength yea and through moral impotency and a mixt infirmity through the great power of temptations whether from the seduction of lust or the violent motions and impressions of Satan 4. There is an uprightness of action which lieth in a true and sincere endeavour to do the will of God and by this both the uprightness of intention and will also is to be judged This is the upright man though he may stumble and fall and oft doth fail who liveth and sinneth not against God And as these holy dispositions are found in the Soul in more remiss or intense degrees so the Soul is more or less upright and the man deserves this honourable denomination less or more These now are the Souls that love Christ To love any object whether person or thing signifieth to take a delight and complacency in it Whether in the thoughts of it if absent as the Apostle saith whom we having not seen yet love or in the contemplation and fruition in converse and communion with it if more present This Praedicate concerning the upright that they love Christ is to be understood exclusively and inclusively concerning the Person of Christ and whatsoever beareth his image and superscription 1. Exclusively these and none but these love him Others may talk of loving Christ but it is but a talk and pretence they love but in word and tongue only not in deed and truth there is something else either lust or the world something or other that hath more of their affection more of their heart then Christ hath 2. Inclusively These and all these love Christ there is not an upright Soul in the world but loves Christ and takes a pleasure complacency in him and preferreth him before his chief joy 3. They love the person of Christ He is in their Eyes altogether desires the chiefest of ten thousand there is nothing in the
say some interpreters desires his manifestation in the Flesh the publication of the Doctrine of the Gospel together with the comfortable application of those Doctrines to her conscience I am sure there is a truth in that Let me therefore a little make use of their notion Take this for the Proposition Prop. It is of the nature of a believing Soul to thirst after a communion with Christ in his Word his Gospel especially and the teachings of his Spirit in and by that I here join two of those propositions together which I distinguished upon the opening of the words She desires the kisses of his Mouth 2. That he should kiss her with the kisses of his Mouth This Proposition will offer me an opportunity to discourse to you the affection of the believing Soul to the words of Christ both in the more external and more spiritual and internal teachings and ministrations of it The words of the Gospel are the words of Christ the kisses of his mouth whether they be applied and set home to the particular conscience yea or no. The ministration of the Gospel is in itself exceeding glorious Therein saith the Apostle is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith Rom. 1. 17. Therein in Gods way of Salvation revealed to lost sinners and by it life and immortality are brought to light Now this word of God is to be considered As written for our Instruction For saith the Apostle Rom. 15. 4. whatsoever things were written before were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope As preached So it is the Ordinance of God for our faith and therefore called The word of Faith Sanctification Consolation and Eternal Salvation for indeed the supply of all the spiritual wants and necessities of our Souls Hence there are three ways by which our Souls have a communion with God in his Word Reading Hearing and Meditation Reading is one means by which we come to the knowledg of the will of God in his Word The King of Israel was commanded to read in the Book of Gods Law all the days of his life that he might learn to keep the Law of his God and there is a blessing pronounced to him that readeth Indeed he that readeth the word as it lyeth before us in our Bibles hath this advantage that he is sure what is there plain to his understanding is the undoubted pure Word of God and while a man readeth the Scriptures he is but repeating of Gods Word to his own soul or hearing God immediately speaking to him Hearing the word preached is another means of communion with God in his Word This is an Ordinance of God and such a one as he honoureth with being the great means of calling and saving such as he hath ordained to life So as in that ordinance a soul hath an opportunity to meet God to draw nigh unto him to hear him speak unto it We must take heed that we do not think that all which we hear out of pulpits is spoken by God God no further speaketh by the Minister than the Minister keepeth unto his Text speaketh according to the Scriptures either by way of interpretation or application And therefore every good Christian is to search the Scriptures whether what their Preachers deliver be consonant to them Those noble Bereans mentioned Acts. 17. did so when St. Paul was the Preacher and are commended for it The Scriptures are to be judged by no other rule but Sermons are to be measured by the holy Scriptures No man hath communion with God by hearing further than so far as that is consonant to the will of God which he heareth But admitting the Minister of Christ answereth his name and Office and faithfully revealeth and applieth the will of God while we hear we have communion with God God communicateth his holy will unto us and we communicate with him by an obedient Ear who hath comanded us to hear that our souls may live A third way is by Meditation This is an act of our inward man standing upon the things which we have read or heard as necessary to the souls spiritual nourishment as Digestion is to the nourishment of our bodies by what is their proper food a duty much practised by David Psal 119. 97 99. And a good man is described by it Psal 1. 3. He meditateth in the law of the Lord night and day By this the soul doth not only fasten the word of God upon it self but it also dives deeper into the depths of it I say this communion with God in his word is very desirable to the spouse of Christ I added his gospel especially The Word of God in the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament is made up of several parts There is in it sacred history no unuseful part of holy Writ it being that which more than any other acquainteth us with Gods way of of providence with his people of old You have in it many Moral Instructions and Precepts of Christianity and Godliness an admirable part of Scripture that which makes the holy Scriptures to be what no other book in the world is a light to our feet and lanthorn to our paths Shewing us what we are to do what to decline and avoid but yet these are not properly called Gospel doctrines You have in it many Prophesies or predictions of what God intended to do in the world most of which are fulfilled some we yet live in the expectations of You have also in it many terrible threats and curses and many woes denounced against the violaters of the law of God these are excellent portions of holy Writ to keep your souls in awe and make us afraid of sinning against God but these are not properly Gospel Doctrines but properly belong to the Law which declareth and worketh wrath You have also in those sacred books many declarations of the good will and love of God to poor lost Sinners declared in and through Jesus Christ You have an historical part of the Gospel declaring what Christ hath done and Suffered for us a declarative and promissory part proclaiming Salvation to poor lost creatures and promising life and Salvation and all grace to some poor undone sinners promises for the conferring and increase of grace These and such like I principally understand by Gospel Doctrines The Doctrine of Gods free grace in the pardoning of sin and the imputation of Christs Righteousness to the soul Doctrines that reveal Christ and tend to bring the soul to Christ or direct the soul in walking with him Now I say tho the believing soul values every line of holy Writ and hath a reverence for the whole Word of God and desires a communion with God in reading and hearing and meditating in every part of his revealed will yet it hath a special thirst after those portions of it which contain these Revelations Other parts are
the Preachings of the Gospel which Teachings have such a constant presence of the Spirit of Grace with them that if a man will he may with those Aids and Assistances do what God requireth of him in order to his Eternal Salvation and avoid what God would have him to avoid We affirm they are and that there is no such power in the Will of Man in the use of those common Aids and Assistances and that there is a Teaching of the Spirit in the use of the Word far beyond the power and virtue of the Word The Object of this Teaching we make to be the Elect of God Reprobates as well as chosen Vessels may be taught by the Ministerial Teaching of the Word and have that external Communion with God in his Word which I before mentioned but the Elect of God and such as shall be eternally saved only know any thing of these Teachings and to such are restricted throughout all Scripture in such places as make any mention of them The more immediate Object is the Understanding Will and Affections The Ministerial Teaching reacheth the Eyes and Ears and exteriour senses and thence cometh into the thoughts and into the understanding more confusedly and imperfectly it reacheth not the more inward part of the Soul The things of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2. 10 12. are revealed to those who have received the Spirit V. 14. The Natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned I therefore call it an internal spiritual Communion with God in his Word But yet for the fuller understanding of this it is reasonable that I should shew you how the Spirit Teacheth the Elect Soul in and by the Ordinance that you may see and understand what there is more in this Spiritual Teaching in this internal Communion with God in his Word and Ordinances than in the meer Teaching of the Letter meer Ministerial Teaching separated from this I told you before these Teachings were not by immediate Enthusiasms Impressions or Revelations of new things for I pray observe there is a twofold Revelation the one I may call A simple immediate first Revelation Thus God of old taught the Patriarchs and Moses and the Prophets and the Apostles All Scripture was by inspiration from God and holy men spake as they were inspired by God Thus God was pleased to teach the Guides of his Church before the holy Scripture was written at least fully written and a Curse annexed as a Seal to that Book to them that should add any thing to it This is a Teaching some would be at but what need of it if the Scriptures as the Apostle tells us are able to make the man of God wise to salvation furnished to every good work Secondly There is another kind of Revelation which we may for distinction sake call a compounded mediate Revelation it is the further Revelation of what God hath revealed in his Word but we wanted a proper medium to see it in we were blind and dark and our Eyes stuck in the bark and surface of Scripture Thus it is yet true 1 Cor. 2. 10. That God revealeth to his People by his Spirit the deep things of God the things which Eye hath not seen nor hath Ear heard nor can it enter into the Heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love him But of this I shall speak more by and by That I may therefore give you at least my apprehension concerning the due notion of the Spirit 's Teaching so as it shall not be confounded with bare Ministerial Teachings which I take to be a great debasing of the notion of it on the one hand nor be made opposite to Ministerial Teaching and that made useless on the other hand I shall shew you that in order to the Salvation of a Soul there is a Teaching of the Spirit necessary added to or over and above Ministerial Teachings I shall open it in four or five particulars 1. The Spirit teacheth by special Illumination There is a common Illumination which is the Effect of the Spirit also but of the Spirit working in a way of common grace by which men receive the common notions of Religious Truths There are two diseases or faults in the Soul of a Christian which hinder its learning spiritual things 1. The first is a listlesness or indisposition to learn or hear any thing of that nature You may see this in mens slighting of the Word of God till God hath wrought some saving work in their hearts they have no mind to read the holy Scriptures nor yet to hear them faithfully opened and applied And could you but enter into peoples hearts which yet you may know by what was the temper of your own hearts before God wrought a change on them you would see this yet further confirmed unto you this God in conversion removes but this is not that which I have here to do with 2. There is besides this a natural blindness and deafness that a poor creature cannot see nor hear In Jer. 5. 21. you find these words Hear now this O you foolish people and void of understanding who have Eyes and see not Ears and hear not Every natural man is one of these who have Eyes and see not Ears and hear not The mysteries of the Kingdom of God are foolishness to the natural Soul what a notion of Regeneration had Nicodemus Joh. 3. what notions of Justification Union with Christ the indwelling of the Spirit Faith c. have some others discovered Natural men have rational Souls as well as others and by the workings of them understand many Propositions in Religion which shine in the light of Natural Reason but there are Mysteries of the Kingdom of God Doctrines that shine only in the light of Scripture of these they understand little or nothing Nay for the more common notions of Religion concerning the Immortality of the Soul the Nature of God the Doctrines of Faith Repentance Good works when once the heart is changed the Soul seeth them in quite another light and hath quite another notion of them than it had before while it was only under the instruction of Reason and the Ministerial instruction of Men. Paul prayeth for the Ephesians Ephes 1. 17 18. That the God of Glory would give them the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of him the Eyes of their understanding being inlightened c. It is the Spirit that inlighteneth the understanding and inableth it to a fuller and further comprehension of and insight into the Spiritual Mysteries of the Kingdom of God When the Disciples came to our Saviour Matth. 13. 10. and asked him why he spake to the multitude in Parables he tells them v. 11. because it was given to his Disciples to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God but to the multitude it was not given From hence have proceeded the vain speculations and
of the Spirit necessary and that both as to the Souls first coming to God and further walking with God tho as to the latter the Soul being renewed and sanctâ—fied there be a far less influence necessary than as to the former yet even after sanctification the Apostle tells us that we are kept by the power of God through Faith to Salvation and Christ tells his Disciples that without him they could do nothing Joh. 15. 3. And St. Paul saith 2 Gal. 20. I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God But indeed the great question is upon the first Arminians will grant special grace to believers but no more than common grace to all men in astate of unbelief Let us therefore first enquire 1. Whither there be not something of a divine power and influence necessary to cause any Soul to come to Christ beyond the Preaching of the Word and that common concurrence of the Spirit with the word Preached and all the suasions and arguments can be used by Ministers and of what nature this pâ—wer is We affirm it Jesuites and Arminians deny it let me shew you upon what arguments we assert it I shall not instance in all or the 4th part of what hath been or might be said only speak something to satisfy you remembring that I am now preaching a Sermon not writing a controversy 1. Those who assert that there needeth no such act of the divine power must necessarily make man a God to himself I mean the Author of the greatest Spiritual and Eternal good both in respect of action and fruition whatsoever is moved is moved from a living principle within self or from another Either man is moved to Christ as drawn by the Father or from a principle of life within himself I know they will say it is from his own power of willing now besides the multitude of Scriptures which this is opposed to Eph. 2. 1. You hath he quickned who were dead in Trespasses and Sins Psal 110. 3. The People shall be a willing People in the day of thy Power Phil. 2. 13. For it is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure I say besides these This opinion makes man the author of the greatest good to himself 1. In point of action it makes him the author of th se gracious acts and habits by which a Soul is made meet for the inheritance of the Saints of life repentance faith and new obedience expresly contrary to those Scriptures which tell us that it is given to us to believe Phil. 1. 29. That Faith is not of our selves it is the gift of God Eph. 2. God gives repentance unto life and a multitude of other Scriptures 2. And in point of fruition too man by this Doctrine is his own Saviour for Eternal life is every where promised to repentanâ—e faith and new obedience which according to this principle are all works proceeding from our selves so man is become a Saviour to himself by this new Divinity and the author of the highest good to himself and hath nothing to bless God for but only making him a Man not a Beast for being indued with a reasonable Soul and living under the Gospel he hath a power of himself to repent to believe in Christ to do whatsoever Eternal life is promised to in the Gospel unless they will say he is beholden to God for the Covenant of Grace annexing eternal life to these performances and accepting sincerity instead of perfect obedience which yet leaves the regenerate Soul no more to bless God for than the vilest and most profane Sinner that liveth where the Gospel is preach'd for he also hath a reasonable Soul a will equal with others there is a covenant of grace equally established for Judas as well as Peter according to this Doctrine One is under the means of Grace and the common aids and assistances of the Spirit as well as the other for the good inclination of his will to accept the terms of the Gospel which the profane person hath not the regenerate Soul hath no body to thank but himself and to applaud himself for the principle of goodness of which it seems he is an author to himself Secondly This Doctrine leaves the Soul something to glory in before God The Apostle treating of Justification by faith in opposition to that of works argueth thus Rom. 4. 2. If Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God The Proposition of that Text which alone in this case I will make use of is That God hath so ordered the causes in the Salvation of Man that man hath no cause of glorying before God to that purpose he speaks Rom. 3. 27. Where is boasting then it is excluded but admitting that there needed no power to change the heart but what is in mans will boasting is not excluded a man hath wherein to glory and that before God he shall say Lord it is true thou fixedst an eternal Covenant of Grace thou madest me a man thou gavest me the Gospel and the preaching of it but notwithstanding all that thou ever didst for me I might have gone to Hell as well as a thousand more for whom the same Covenant was made as well as me to whom thou gavest a Soul of the same species with mine the same Gospel the same Preaching the same common grace if I had not had a principle of goodness in my own will of which my self was the cause I had been damn'd notwithstanding all thou didst for me as many others shall be for whom thou didst as much as for me Is not here glorying before God Is boasting excluded by this Divinity The main parts here as to mans Salvation are given to a mans self For I pray observe a man cannot repent truly and believe and obey the Gospel and perish for ever now all these it seems a man may do from himself without any act of Divine power inabling him more than a reprobate to do them but he may have a common Covenant of Grace establish'd for him as well as others he may have a reasonable Soul he may have the Gospel preach'd to him and the common aids and assistances of the Spirit and yet perish for ever So as plainly all that necessarily brings Salvation makes the Soul meet for it and accompanieth it all this is from man nothing is from God but that notwithstanding which he might have perished for ever Thirdly This Doctrine most absurdly ascribes unequal vertues to Souls that are equal as to their species faculties and vertues All reasonable Souls are equal their faculties are the same their vertues and powers the same their Souls are under equal means motives aids assistances whence is it that one mans will is enclined to believe to receive Christ to obey his laws the others not Are not here inequal vertues ascribed to
to examine their Calling whether it be such as amounts to a Divine Drawing whether there be any thing wrought in your Souls which flesh and blood could not reveal to you any thing more than could be the effect of the will of the flesh or the will of man I have before enlarged upon this Theme shewing you how you may know whether your Faith be a Faith of the operation of God The work of God upon your Souls with power Whether what you take to be Holiness be the Sanctification of the Spirit You have heard that there is an Assent to the Gospel which may be given upon meer humane testimony or upon probable Arguments of Reason neither of which is true Faith that there may be a Moral Righteousness and a formal course of performing Religious Duties neither of which amount to the Sanctification of the Spirit or a running after Christ upon his drawings I shall here only add that there are two or three things which may draw men to some Reformation of life though Christ draweth not 1. The interests of mens bodily lives and healths and estates Temperance Sobriety Chastity are Virtues in the practice of which men are concerned as to these and though indeed lusts have so far fermented in some debaucht persons that these interests will not draw them to such a Reformation yet in many who have not been tainted by a vitious Education and in whom custom hath not begot a second nature these concerns will draw much as to which aactions Grace comes not in I mean special Graceâ— further than to direct men to do them from a Principle of Faith Love and Obedience to the Will of God and with an aim at glorifying God 2. The Examples of others especially such as are our Superiours whom we honour or reverence or our near friends and companions whom we love may have a great force upon us that we may please them or be like unto them to do many things It is of great concern with whom we converse Many persons in Religion write only by Copies and do acts because they see others do them whom they love admire or have in reverence These Examples alone will not only bring men to a conformity to them in a civil conversation but also to forms of Religion and Worship 3. The inter stâ—of mens credit and applause in the World will go a great way Saul begs of Samuel to honour him before the People The Pharisees sought the praise of men rather than that of God and indeed this is the general cause of Hypocrisie This happens more generally when Religion is in fashion and credit with the world I might instance in several other things but these are sufficient Try therefore and examine your Souls and rest not till you find what may evidence to you that you are indeed drawn by Christ Secondly This Doctrine calls to all the People of God for Humility indeed it evidenceth Humility a necessary ingredient into Saintship A proud Child of God is a contradiction Grace leaves the Soul nothing to boast in nothing to be proud of Is he come to Christ He had never come if the Father had not drawn him Doth he run after him faster than another he had never run if he had not been drawn There were some in the Church of Corinth who were puffed up who despised Paul and thought of themselves above what they ought to think they were full they were rich they had need of nothing Observe the Argument by which the Apostle humbleththem 1 Cor. 4. 7. Who hath made thee to differ from another Or What hast thou which thou hast not received And if thou hast received it why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it Art thou come to Christ and is not thy neighbour What follows from hence but as the Apostle to the Romans saith that to thee God hath been more good to him more severe Hast thou come of thy self or in thy own strength Christ hoth told us That no man cometh to the Son but he whom the Father draweth Every one as he is learned and taught of the Father cometh unto the Son He who is not drawn is the object of thy pity and deserveth thy prayers thy good counsel and exhortations all the help thou canst give him but thou hast no reason to triumph or boast or glory over him had not the Lord drawn thee thou hadst been in the same circumstances that he as as much a stranger to Christ as he is It is grace special grace which alone maketh the difference betwixt thee and him Dost thou find thy self more strong and able than another to resist a motion to sin whether from the lusts of thy own heart or from the suggestions of of the Devil or from the World Thou standest when another is overcome and falleth Dost thou find more ability to spiritual duties more freedom and liveliness in the performance of them still all this is from grace Without Christ thou couldest do nothing thou hast no reason to glory because what thou hast is received what thou dost is by grace which thou hast received I live saith Paul Gul. 2. 20. yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God So as the Child of God hath nothing to glory in nothing to boast and triumph over his weaker Brother for if he differs it is grace alone makes him to differ Thirdly This notion calleth upon the People of God to bless the Lord if at any time they find their hearts more inabled to run after God Psal 18. 29. By thee saith David I have run or I have broken through a Troop and by my God have I leaped over a wall David owns there to God his Victory over his fleshly enemies but a Christian's Warfare is more spiritual against Principalities and Powers against spiritual Enemies mighty Temptations strong Motions to sin doth he at any time get a Victory against them certainly he is obliged to give God the glory for it is by him that he breaketh through the Troops of the Prince of darkness Hath he difficult duties to perform and hath he found a strength to perform them still the glory is due unto God for by him he leapeth over the wall It is an expression of David's Psal 87. 7. All my springs are in thee Our spiritual life is maintained from many springs A spring of pardoning grace because of our renewing guilt A spring of renewing and sanctifying grace because of the frequent lustings of the flesh against the Spirit and our being brought so often into a captivity to the Law of our members Springs of strengthening quickening comforting grace because of accidents which weaken our strength make us dull and heavy in the service of God and often to walk in the dark and see no light Now all our fresh springs are in Christ whither then but to God
see your good works Shew me thy saith by thy works faith James Faith without works is dead It were endless to reckon up the several Texts of Scripture by which God hath directed the Government of our Tongues our Eyes our Ears our Hands our Feet In short the several Precepts for good works are all proofs of this 2. It must be so if we consider what influence the heart and will affections have upon our whole outward man commanding all the outward members out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh from the dictates of the heart the Eye looketh the hand moveth the mouth speaketh the Feet turn this or that way So that if the Tree be good the fruit must be good also the Fig-tree brings not forth thistles nor the Vine thorns A naughty tongue eye hand foot is a certain indication of a corrupt and naughty heart 3. The â—â—liever is made conformable to Christ He went up and down doing good finishing the work which his Father had given him to do glorifying his Father on Earth doing his will manifesting his name no guile was found in his mouth no iniquity in his hand No iniquity towards God no unrighteousness towards men 4. See the Patterns of holy men upon Scriptural record Abraham and David all the holy Servants of God you will find their holiness did not lye only in the obedience of their heart but of their whole external converse a strict walking with God in obedience to his will 5. Observe the promises of God they are not onely made to Faith and Love and the more inward habits of the mind but to external acts such as Prayer hearing the Word Sanctification of the Sabbath shewing mercy to the poor doing justly walking righteously 6. The descriptions of holy men also make out this They are described to be men fearing God and eschewing evil walking in the Commandments of God Working righteousness all which expressions signify that a believer must not only be internally holy but externally so also Lastly the end which they serve shews also a necessity of it they are lights to inlighten the World and therefore they must not be hid under bushels They are Salt to season the World and therefore must be exposed to their use their end is to glorify God before men which cannot be without an external as well as an internal holiness thus the first thing appeareth I have passed over these things easy enough to have been extended into a much larger discourse Because it is a point so exceeding obvious and indeed agreed by all men The 2d thing is that holiness is a believers beauty it is so in the Eyes of Christ which is here spoken of Nor is this of any thing more difficult demonstration then the other What is that which we call beauty but an amiable external appearance of a Person arising from a Symmetry of parts a due mixture and Proportion of colours in conformity to some Original Pattern or Idea A Christians Original Pattern is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be you holy at your Heavenly Father is holy As I am holy saith the holy Writ What can be a Christians beauty but his conformity to God and that amiableness which ariseth from that All Spiritual beauty is to be measured from the symmetry of the Soul to the divine law That which makes the Soul amiable to God and to all those who are like God This is holiness But I shall sum up all in some few Words of application I shall first observe from hence two or three Corollaries for our instruction then close all with a few words of exhortation Observe then That it is not enough for one that owneth the name of a believer to glory in a good inside There goeth a good outside as well as a good inside to make up a good Christian There are 2 Sorts of hypocrites and I am at loss with my self to determine which is worst The first sort glory in appearance but not in reality The Pharisees were of this Sort they were painted Sepulchers they made clean the outside of the platter of this Sort are men that pretend much to acts of devotion praying fasting hearing and acts of righteousness toward men and perhaps charity but are without any true faith in God or love to God full of malice and envy and cruelty and covetousness these are Pharisaical Hypocrites The 2d are such as will pretend to a good inside but they have a bad outside These men bite and devour their brethren lye and cheat and defraud and oppress neglect duties of Religion c. And yet tell you they have a good heart they have faith in God Love to God c. Thou Hypocrite shew me thy faith by thy works thy pretended Love to God by thy keeping his commandments Truly of the two these are the worst they pretend to holiness but which way will you look for it What notion of holiness have these men taken up Will you look for it in their conscientious constant attendance upon duties of publick Worship there you see their places empty or if they be filled observe their behaviour they are prating or sleeping or sporting or with their Eyes compassing the whole congregation Will you look for it in their private families There it may be you may hear the voice of Cursing or Swearing or reviling but the voice of Praying of reading the Word of those that sing praise unto God is seldom or never heard in their Houses Will you look for their holiness in their behaviour toward men you shall there find neither Justice nor Charity cheating defrauding Oppression cruelty hard-hearted behaviour c. Yet they will tell you they have good hearts Either now these men have Souls not like other mens Souls that have no command of their tongues and hands c. Or else they speak falsely I say these are of all others the Vilest Hypoerites 1. Because they have nothing good the first mentioned do some good things materially good they read fast pray walk justly give alms But these wretches have nothing do nothing at all that is good There is nothing good in their lives and that assureth us there 's nothing good in their hearts 2. These men do much more hurt then others do these are they that cause the name of God to be Blaâ—â—â—emed and evil spoken of Brethren be not deceived they are fifty men that you can impose upon but you cannot impose upon that God who searcheth the heart tryeth the reins Let none be deceived by the pretences of these Hypocrites The Spouse of Christ hath beautifull Cheeks and a beautiful Neck as well as a beautiful inside her Cheeks are comely betwixt rows of Jewels She hath a Chain of gold upon her Neck The laws and instructions of her Heavenly Father are an Ornament to her head and a Chain upon her Neck She durst not before men dishonour God Let this be the first
objects Christ now cannot shew his grace to such a Soul the bank hinders where he pleaseth indeed he worketh secretly takes away the heart of stone and makes it an heart of flesh takes away unbelief vanity earthly mindedness sensual affections and then he emptyeth the treasuries of grace upon the Soul In a word to apply this No wonder then to hear many a poor wretch complain that God never yet spake peace to his Soul others indeed have heard their beloved hath said to others behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair but they never yet heard such a voice Let me ask thee who thus complainest this question Did Christ ever yet hear thee say as a bundle of Myrrh is my beloved unto me he shall lye all night betwixt my breasts Hast thou served Christ with Ordinary expressions of duty How canst thou expect to be feasted by him with extraordinary returns of mercy If thy breathings after him have been faint and short what reason hast thou to expect that his breathings should be so full upon thee He is indeed a full ocean of free grace but it may be thou hast cast up a bank against him it may be thou hast clogg'd him with an hard heart and unbelieving heart a vain heart a filthy sensual heart Wonder not O Christian that he is so little towards thee in a way of mercy if thou beest scant towards him in thy way of duty There is a generation of men and women in the world who are taken notice of to behave themselves as if they thought that all the World were made to serve them and they not made to serve any but they are an unreasonable generation and sober persons so account of them and accordingly slight them Oh that there might not be such an unreasonable Christian found in the World who should so much as think in his heart that Christ stands concerned to open all his Treasuries of Love upon his Soul which in the mean time hath scarce a thought of doing any thing more than ordinary for the Lord Jesus Christ if thou findest thy heart cold in duty frozen in affections toward Christ wonder not at all if thou findest the bowels of thy Saviour which yern upon others tied up towards thee And I fear me this is the cause of most complaints of this nature although it may be possible that this is not the case of every such complaining Soul witness David Psal 22. 1 2 3 4. 2. What an ingagement doth this Notion of Truth lay upon the Sons and Daughters of men to stretch out their Souls for and towards God Certainly if there be any thing in the World of force to open a Soul for Christ this will do it to hear that Divine Grace keeps pace with our duty and that the proper way to have Christ speak to us and say Thou art fair my Love Thou art fair is for us to get up our hearts in a readiness to say and say it in truth As a bundle of Myrrh is my Beloved to me The Psalmist cries out Psal 34. 12. What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may see good Depart from evil and do good seek peace and pursue it Give me leave to speak to all you who fear the Lord in the same dialect What man is there amongst you who would not gladly have Christ speak peace unto your Souls and whisper the words of my Text in your Ears Thou art fair my Love thou art fair O let Christ be yet more and more precious to you let him have the strength of your Love that you may have the seal of his Love let the World know and let him know that he is dear in your Eyes that you may know that you are fair in his Eyes But this is enough for the second Circumstance which I observed I pass to a third Thou art fair my Love thou art fair It is not said thou O man or thou O woman art fair but thou my Love art fair It is both the observation of our own Annotators and some others Obs The Spouse of Christ is fair as she is His Love I observed to you before that the word signifies Amica Socia a Friend and a Companion the Object of ones love and the Companion of ones life This is not after the manner of the Children of men amongst them Beauty raiseth Love but with Christ it is Love that raiseth Beauty Locutio verbi infusio Doni Christ in calling her fair makes her fair Ezek. 16. 14. Thy Beauty was perfect through my comeliness which was put upon thee saith the Lord God A good complexion with a lovely air of the countenance and a due proportion of bodily parts makes the Children of men fair to a sensual Eye An head well furnished with Notions of Learning and a mind indued with vertuous generous dispositions makes a man fair and beautiful to a rational Eye But it is Grace alone that can make the Soul fair to the Divine Eye 1. Nature doth it not for all are by Nature Children of wrath Eph. 2. 3. like the Infant not cut not washed not swadled Ezek. 16. We are by Nature all Blackamores in the Eyes of God our Father an Amorite our Mother an Hittite 2. Art will not do it Though thou wash thee with Nitre and take thee much Sope yet thine iniquity is marked before me saith the Lord Jer. 2. 22. The Pharisees were men who used as much Art as others yet their Beauty to our Saviour's Eye rose no higher than to the Beauty of a Painted Sepâ—lchre that outwardly is beautiful but within full of rottenness so little that our Saviour saith Publicans and Harlots should as to the Kingdom of Heaven have the preheminence before them 3. Grace then alone must do it Those who are Christ's Love are fair only so far forth as they are his Love his Companions There is a double Grace the first of Justification the second of Sanotification according to the first the Believer is Christ's Love according to the second the Believer is Christ's Companion 1. I say first the Grace of Justification this is gratia gratum faciens that Grace by which the Soul is accepted of God It is the free Love of God shewn to the humbled Soul upon its exercise of Faith pardoning its sins reckoning over the Righteousness of Christ unto it and accepting it as righteous in and through Christ this changeth the Soul's state this is it which taketh away its filthy garments and covereth the Soul with Christ's Robes with this is conjoined the Grace of Regeneration by which God changeth the Soul's nature and disposition old things pass away with it and all things become new this is no quality infused into us or inherent in us but the free and pure love and good will of Christ imbracing us 2. The second is the Grace of Sanctification this makes the Believer the Companion of
Christ having both a fellowship with the death of Christ in dying to sin and with the life of Christ in living unto newness of life Upon these accounts and these only is the Believing Soul fair in the Eyes of Christ Before I part with this Observation Let every gracious Soul make a stand upon it and consider what it affords him for Consolation while he looks over his Soul and sees it full of spots and taking a review of his life he can find no ground of hope to his Soul that Christ should cast an Eye of love and pity upon him he sees there 's no proportion between his duties or any actions of his conversation and the holy Law of God Well yet the comfort lies here that the Lord hath not said Blessed is the man that hath no sin for who liveth and sinneth not against God but Blessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered and to whom the Lord imputeth no sin Psal 32. 1. If we once lose this great Truth of the Justification of a poor Soul by the Righteousness of Christ we have cut up a Bridge which we shall see a need of to go over as often as we enter into any serious thoughts of our own state the weight of all our Souls and all the comfort of them hangs upon this one pin That what the law could not do because it was weak through our flesh that God hath done sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for fin condemning fin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us We have lost all that day that we forsake that desire of St. Paul to be found in Christ not having our own righteousness which is of the law but that which is of God Even the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ But you will say How shall we know that Christ hath thus loved us That must be known by our loving him and so the matter will return to the same point We freely grant that our Justification is to be evidenced for our Sanctification and that even the witness of Gods Spirit is not a single but a joint Testimony together with our Spirits But yet there is a great difference as to Christians comfort in these things That Soul that looks to be made fair with his own works if he rightly understand himself shall never be Satisfied concerning his Spiritual beauty because his works must necessarily be compleatly perfect otherwise the law accuseth and curseth him But he who acknowledgeth that his beauty is meerly from grace freely justifying but yet his receiving of this grace is to be evidenced by his works stands concerned no further to enquire concerning the perfection of his works in order to this end then only to see if they be perfect according to Gospel allowances not according to lawstrictness And such are the Gospel terms that if there be a willing mind a presence to will a delight in the Law of God as to the inward man it is accepted of God Here 's a bottom for him I proceed to the 4th Circumstance which I observed relating to the first Proposition of the Text and that was the term Behold which is prefixed Behold thou art fair and doubled Behold Behold There is a threefold use of this particle in Scripture it denotes 1. presence of a thing 2. Certainty 3. Eminency It may in this Text denote all three 1. It may denote the present state of a believing Soul to be a beautiful state Behold thou art fair now in this life while thou art black with infirmities and corruptions black through afflictions and temptations yet even now thou art fair 1 Joh 3. 2. Beloved Now we are the Sons of God It doth not yet appear what we shall be This particle is often thus used in holy Writ Gen. 29. 2 25. and it is capable enough of this sense in this Text. Behold thou art fair thou shalt not only be hereafter beautiful when the Crown of glory shall be set upon thy head but thou art now beautiful thou doest not apprehend thy self so thou art bewailing thy spots and thy infirmities but I look upon thee as fair with all thy spots I look upon thee as beautiful even now 2. It denotes the certainty of a thing Behold is a particle of Demonstration and is often so used in Scripture There is nothing more certain then what we can behold Thus the particle is used Gen. 16. 2. Behold now the Lord hath restrained me from bearing they are the words of Sarah that is the Lord hath certainly restrained me see Gen. 18. 27. The believing Soul is certainly a beauteous Soul The Beauty of that Soul which truly believes in Jesus Christ is not an imaginary thing it is a true and real thing it is a certainty's Behold thou art fair c. 3. Lastly this particle Behold doth very often denote eminency and excellency When something is wonderful in Nature or otherwise the Scripture useth to make mention of it by prefixing this particle Behold to it So James 3. 3 4. It is a wonderful thing that the strength of an Horse should be ruled by a bit and that so great a bulk as a ship driven about with fierce winds should be turned about with a very small helm and thus it is a very often used in Scripture and it may have that use here Behold thou art fair My Love Behold thou art fair and so it may hint to us these two things 1. That the beauty of a believer is no ordinary beauty but a rare and eminent beauty not like the beauty of Woman not like that vain thing which we call beauty in a natural fense which is only the object of the lust of the Eye no it is a Spiritual beauty which age will not deface diseases will not spoil no outward accidents will hurt a beauty that is not exposed to wind and weather The Kings Daughter is all glorious within and yet so great is her glory that the King of Kings desires her beauty Or secondly it may denote this 2. That it is a wonderful thing that Christ should account a Child of Adam a poor believing Soul beauteous When David considered the Heavens and the Earth he cries out What is man O Lord that thou shouldest remember him or the Son of man that thou shouldest be mindful of him It is a matter of high admiration to any ingenuous Soul to sit down and think that Jesus Christ should account it beautiful But I hasten to the last Circumstance I observed to you that the phrase is doubled Christ doth not only say thou art fair my Love but he doubles the phrase Thou art fair thou art fair There is doubtless nothing superfluous in holy Writ though possibly there may be something both in the matter and stile of which we can give no Satisfactory account almost in all languages these repetitions and