or in us There shall be no war no unquietnesse no violence no fraud no sicknesse paine weaknesse old age no terrors no sorow 3. Because this happinesse shall never expire it is immortall there is no death there hence the word is rendred by some immortall 4. Because it is an estate of all perfection and blessednesse and so some thinke it is the genus to the two other words The second thing affirmed of this inheritance i◠〈◊〉 â—â—defiled and so it may be said to be in five respects 1. Because there we shall live separate from all polluted things such as are the devill the grave hell and wicked men all things that might offend shall then be removed from us no temptations no tares shall be there left 2. Because there we shall bejoyned to God that most undefiled essence the fountaine of all holinesse whence will flow two admirable felicities First the continuall Vision of God in respect of which we shall behold him immediately we shall converse with him no more by scriptures creatures signes or other meanes but by an admirable way not now revealed unto us There shall the pure in heart he perfectly blessed when they shall see God face to face as he is in his glory Secondly the participation of the divine nature not by a powring out of the divine essence but by the communication of divine qualities such as are immortality wisdome glory justice vertue c. Thirdly because we shall there enjoy the fellowship with unspotted Angells and blessed soules and that after an undefiled maner with all purity concord and quietnesse 4. Because we our selves shall be cloathed with perfection of nature being made like unto Christ-man and that both in soule and body In soule Gods image in undefiled graces being perfected without mixture either of defects or corruptions yea our very bodies shall be made like the Christâ— For they shall be without death shame weaknesse or trouble some drowsinesse or unweildinesse For so the Apostle to the Corinthians excellently sheweth by opening foure dissimilitudes betweene the sowing and the raising of the body It was sowen 1. in corruption 2. in dishonor 3. in weaknesse 4. a naturall body but it is raised 1. in incorruption so as it cannot putrifie or die any more 2. in glory so as it shall never be shamed or dishonoured either through deformity or reproch they shall â— shine as the sun in the firmament 3. in power being delivered from all weaknesse or infirmities 4. a spirituall body because in divers respects they shall be as the spirits or angells as 1. in continuing without meat or mariage 2. in swiftnesse or agility able with unconceivable nimblenesse to passe through the ayre or heaven 5. Because as our natures so our service shall be perfect we shall serve and worship and praise God day and night without either weaknesse or wearinesse The third thing affirmed of this inheritance is that it withereth or fadeth not and well is this happinesse praised for this For how should it wither 1. if we respect the presence of God and the Lambe who will be all in all Can the Sun in nature refresh the creatures and shall not the brightnesse of Gods presence doe it much more Was it such a priviledge to eate at Davids table or to sit downe in the kingdome with Abraham Isaac and Iacob what then shall it be to be refreshed with the fulnesse of the sweete presence of God 2. If we respect the fulnesse of all joyes and contentment which shall for ever support the hearts of the Elect their joyes shall never be dryed up nor grow into loathing as all earthly joyes doe 3. If we respect the perfection of all things round about them they shall inherit all things and those made new also The use is first for information For here is implyed the wretchednesse of our earthly condition there is nothing here in this world but it will corrupt and is defiled and will lose his glosse and beauty An estate that is incorruptible undefiled and that withers not wee shall never have till wee come to heaven Secondly for reproofe Oh doe not men now know what a kinde of place heaven is why then doe they turne the glory of such an incorruptible estate into the similitude of corruptible things while they prefer the thingâ— of this world before the glory of that which is to come and why do◠〈…〉 they not that the un 〈◊〉 shall not enter into heaven and this corruption shall not inherit incorruption Oh why doth silly man suffer himselfe so to be bewitched as with incurable doting to pursue these withering earthly things and neglect those immarcessâ—ole felicities in heaven Thirdly for instruction and so the thought hereof should espâ—â—ially affect us with a desire to seeke this immortall and undefiled happinesse and to this end we should first begin our separation here from the wicked â— 2. we should subject our selves to the incorrupt ordinances of Jesus Christ if we would have God to be a father of immortality we must acknowledge him first the king of all ages and let him make us and frame us by his ordinances 3. we must mortifie our corrupt natures and refraine from all things that may any way corrupt us 4. we must put on Christ for he onely hath immortality 5. and lastly we must continue in well-doing as the Apostle shewes Rom. 2.7 we must begin our incorruption hereby sincerity of life for so this word is â—endred Ephes. 6.24 Lastly it may serve for singular comfort to a Christian in all distresses but to thinke what a wonderfull glorious estate is provided for him yea even the more he hath experience of the vanity and wretchednesse of this world the more he should admire the happinesse he lookes for yea it may be one reason that the Lord will have his servants throughly tryed with the miseries of this life that so they might know the worth of that rest and glory they looke for in the life to come Oh what reason have men to desire to dye and to hast to the comming of Iesus Christ to long for it to pray for it to be even impatient in the fervent expectation of it to sigh after it But before I passe from this point one thing may in generall be noted that is that all these properties doe equally belong to all the Elect the whole inheritance and every part of it hath these praises which hinders not but there may be a proper reward unto every man but it is sure that the worâ—t lot in this inheritance shall have the fulnesse of the perfection of these praises Which is reserved c. We have the right and title in this world but the inheritance it selfe is in the fathers keeping and possessed as yet by some of our elder brethren wee are in our minority in this world if
verse 7 this effect is both propounded and amplified propounded in those words The tryall of your faith amplified 1. by comparison with goâ—d triâ—d in the fâ—rnace 2. by the event it will be found to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Iesus Christ. The second objection might be made thus Wee know not whether the former comforts belong to us to which the Apostle answers by giving three signes by which men may try themselves 1. The love of Christ whom they have not seene 2. Beleeving 3. The unspeakable and glorious joyes of the Holy Ghost verse 8. The end of all which is the salvation of their soules verse 9. Thus of the Prolepsis the testimonie of holy men foâ—â—owes where consider five things 1. Whâ—â—e sâ—â—i fie In generall Prophets In speciall those Prophets which were appâ—â—â—â—ed to testifie of the grace that should come unto us Christians 2. 〈…〉 precâ—â—â—nes to furnish themselves for the knowledg of the things they testified They searched inquired diligently 3. The question they studied or unto which they testifie In generall 〈…〉 of salvation verse 10. In speciall it was of the manner and time of the grace foretold 4. The 〈…〉 them to this earnest desire after this knowledge and that was the inspiration of the Holy Ghost driving them to foretell of the passion of Christ and glories that should follow 5. The successe and that is that they were answered of God where observe two things 1. The manner of the giving the answer it was by revelation Unto whom it was revealed 2. The matter of the answer which concernes both Persons and Things The persons are considered negatively and so they were resolved that they themselves were not the men to whom those glories did belong and affirmatively that they did minister those things unto us Christians Now the things promised are not onely propounded but commended and that two wayes 1. By the glory of their efficient causes which were lesse principall the Apostles and more principall the Holy Ghost sent downe from heaven 2. By the adjunct respect of the Angels which things the Angels desire to looke into Hitherto of the consolation The exhortation followes from ver 13. to the end where observe 1. The things unto which they are exhorted verse 13. 2. The reasons by which the exhortation is inforced The things to which he doth exhort are three 1. The first concernes the renovation of the mind Girde up the loynes of your minde 2. The second concernes the moderation of life be sober 3. The third concernes the confirmation of their hope Trust perfectly upon the grace to be brought c. ver 13. The reasons follow and they are 6. in number taken from the consideration 1. Of the Image of God verses 14 15 16. 2. Of the judgement of God verse 17. 3. Of the redemption in Christ verses 18 19 20 21. 4. Of the relation to the godly verse 22. 5. Of the immortality of the soule verse 23. 6. And sixtly of the mortality of the body verses 24 25. The first reason taken from the Image of God is both propounded and expounded propounded in these words as obedient children expounded two waies 1. by description 2. by testimonie By description 1. negatively shewing what they should shâ—nne Not fashioning your selves to the lusts of your former ignorance ver 14. 2. He sets it out affirmatively both by shewing the patterne to be imitated viz the holinesse of him that called them and also the manner of imitation viz to be holy in all manner of conversation ver 15. In the testimonie two things are to bee noted 1. Whence the proofe was fetched in these words As it is written and 2. what was alledged viz Be yee holy as I am holy ver 16. The second reason is taken from the judgement of God where note 1. The proposition of the reason viz Hee that yee call upon as Father c. 2. The inference or use of the same viz Passe the time of your sojourning in feare In the proposition consider 1. Who shall be judge viz he that was called upon as a Father 2. How he shall judge viz without respect of persons 3. Whom he shall judge viz every man 4. For what they shall be judged viz according to their workes verse 17. The third reason is taken from the consideration of our redemption and this reason should move the more 1. Because all the precious things in the world could not redeeme man verse 18. 2. Because the deliverance from our vaine conversation was one of the maine ends of our redemption verse 18. 3. Because our redemption was effected by a matchlesse price viz the passion of Christ which is increased 1. In that it was a suffering even to the effusion of blood 2. that it was a suffering of one that was so infinitely pure without spot or blemish verse 19. 4. Because our redemption was ordained in Gods counsell ver 20. 5. Because the honor of manifesting Christ in the cleare preaching of the Gospell is done now to us Christians and not to the Fathers of old verse 20. 6. Because our redemption was ratified by God the Father and that two waies 1. By raising Christ from the dead 2. By giving him glory verse 21. 7. Because all this was done that our faith and hope might be in God verse 21. The fourth reason is taken from our relation to the godly ver 22. In which reason observe 1. A proposition of doctrine 2. An exhortation by way of use The proposition in it selfe properly concernes sanctification which is described 1. By the nature of it imported in the mâ—taâ—horicall terme purified 2. The subject of it your soules 3. the forme of it in obeying the truth 4. The cause of it the spirit 5. The end of it which was brotherly love amplified by the property of it unfained The exhortation is therefore to love one another with a pure heart fervently The first reason is taken from the immortalitie of the soule which is considered two wayes 1. In respect of the fountaine of it which is the new birth 2. In respect of the meanes of it which is set downe 1. negatively not of corruptible seede 2. affirmatively where consider what the meanes is and by what it is What it is viz incorruptible seede By what it is the word which is praised for three things 1. It is of God 2 â—t liveth 3. It abideth for ever ver 23. The sixt reason is taken from the mortality of the body compared with the eternity of the word of God ver 24 25. Of the vanity of man ver 24 which is â—â—th propounded and repeated propounded as it concernes either the person of man All flesh is grasse or the condition of man All the glory thereof is as the flower of grasse The repâ—tition â—s it concerns both is in these words the grasse withereth and the flower falleth away The eternity of the word of God is propounded in
God hath given of his free grace and shall be fully brought upon you at the last day when Christ shall bee shewed in his glory to the world Now there are six reasons which may induce you to the care of a holy conversation intended in the former dutyes 1. The first concernes the image of God ye are the children of God and therefore you should live so as becomes Gods children and expresse in your cariage the resemblance of the nature of God not given your selves over onâ— of the liking of sinne to the service and obedience of any of those corruptions which either your selves lived in before your calling or are usually found in such onely as know not GOD. But as God who by the power of his word hath converted you is holy so should you strive with respect of all his commandements to resemble the praises of God in all your carâ—age striving in every duty to follow your patterne And the rather because this hath beene anciently required in the old Testament of Gods people to propound unto themselves the imitation of Gods holinesse and to detest sinne because they would not be unlike to God 2. A second reason may be taken from the judgment of God For the time must certainly come when God whom we call a Father and call upon as a Father in this life will summon us before his Tribunall certainly and speedily and then no man shall escape but shalt be dealt with without partiality or any corrupt respect according as mens workes have beene either good or evill and therefore it behoves us that are in this world but as sojourners for a time to spend our daies in all carefulnesse and godly feare 3. A third reason may be taken from the consideration of our redemption which hath many important motives in it For it cannot bee but yee all know that your misery by nature was so great that yee could not be ransomed if all the treasures of gold and silver in the world had been given for you and when you were redeemed a chiefe respect was had to the freeing of you from the viciousnesse of your conversation in which vainely yee spent your times and which corruption in many things yee sucked in from the sinfull examples and precepts and ill education of your Parents and ancestors But especially if yee consider what a matchlesse price was given for your ransome even the pretious blood of Christ who as a most absolute sacrifice for our sinnes was without all soule of nature or life and so the full substance of all the ceremoniall sacrifices and in particular was the true lambe without blemish or spot that makes attonement for the sinnes of the world And the rather if yee consider that from all eternity God had ordained that Christ should dye for you and when the fulnesse of time came that God was to reveale his Sonne as the Saviour of the world hee shewed him in the flesh and caused him to be preached unto you and for your sakes with far more evidence and clearnesse than in forâ—er ages To you and for your sakes I say that doe constantly put your trust in Gods mercy through his merits that God that to shew he was fully paid the uttermost farthing of our debts came to the prison doore and let him out which he did when he raised him from the dead and besides exalted him to wonderfull glory when hee ascended up into heaven that so for the time to come you might beleeve and trust upon Gods goodnesse and favour to you without all feare or doubting 4. And the rather in the fourth place should you be carefull of the former exhortation if you consider your relation to the godly to whom ye are 〈◊〉 For seeing that by the spirit of God your soules are purified from the leprosie of inward evills by the holy course you have held in clensing your hearts of those evills which might hinder your internall sanctification in that obedience you yeeld to the truth of God and inasmuch as the end of all this reformation was that there might be a holy communion and affection without hypocrisie and dissembling among such as feare God who are all the children of one Father therefore see to it by any meanes that yee order your lives and hearts so that you may love one another both with ardent affection pure sincere hearts which you never doe unlesse you gird up the loines of your mindes and live soberly be setled in the assurance that yee shall altogether one day raigne in heaven 5. And fiftly the immortality of your soules should perswade with you you were made new men not as you were made men by a naturall propagation but inspired with a life that should never cease having the seed of this eternall life cast into your hearts by the word of God which in it selfe and by effect in you liveth and abideth for ever And lastly if you consider the mortality of your bodies All in a mans outward estate is but vaine and transitory the bodies of all men are but as the grasse which is to day and tomorrow is cut downe and cast into the oven Man is quickly and suddenly gone nor is the glory of mens outward estate better than their bodies For all the riches pleasures c. of this life in which men glory most they are but as the ' flower of grasse His body withereth like the grasse decaying in a short time till he have nothing left but the very roote of life and as for his riches and pleasures they like the flower fall off so as they are never recovered againe many times in this life but alwaies in death But on the other side the word of God upon which men should set their hearts continueth in the efficacie of it in the sense of it and in the fruit of it for ever and that you may not be mistaken this is that word of God which is daily preached unto you AN EXPOSITION OF THE FIRST EPISTLE generall of PETER CHAP. I. verses 1 2. 1. Peter an Apostle of Iesus Christ to the strangers that dwell here and there throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father unto sanctification of the spirit through obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Iesus Christ Grace and peace be multiplied unto you THe purpose of the Apostle in this Epistle is to confirme the Christians to whom he writes in the faith and to assure them that it was the true grace of God they had received and to perswade them to all possible care of sincerity of life becomming the Gospell and to constancy in tryalls The Epistle stands of three parts 1. The salutation Chap. 1. ver 1 2. 2. The body of the Epistle Chap. 1. ver 3. to Chap. 5. ver 12. 3. The Epilogue or conclusion Chap. 5. ver 12.
and soberly in this present world else thou câ—â—st never meete with true peace further then thou art good and true in thy heart and as thou increasest in the care of reformation in thy life so shalt thou increase in every good and perfect â—ift till thou come to a ripe age in Iesus Christ Tit. 2.12 Esay 32.16 Psal. 125. ult This likewise may bee comfortable to a poore Christian and that two wayes 1. First If he consider that grace is not given all at once but by degrees and therefore hee must not bee discouraged though hee have many wants 2. Secondly if he consider the bountifulnesse of God to all that seeke grace and peace it may be had in abundance For the Apostle implies that God will multiply grace and peace if wee bee constant in the use of the meanes and glorifie him by seeking to him hee will give liberally and reproach no man And thus much of the salutation Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us againe unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead HItherto of the salutation the substance or the body of the Epistle followes the doctrine whereof is two wayes to be considered 1. as it is propounded 2. as it is repeated Three things are principally propounded and the same also repeated or gone over againe For there is first matter of consolation 2. Matter of exhortation 3. Matter of dehortation The consolation is from this third verse to the thirteenth of this Chapter The exhortation is from ver 13. of this Chapter to ver 8. of the 3. chap. The Dehortation is from ver 8. of the 3. chap. to the end of that chapter Then doth the Apostle a little changing the order goe over the same three things againe For he exhorts from ver 1. of chap. 4. to the 12. ver of the same chap. and then he comforts from ver 12. to the end of the 4. chap. and the Dehortation he lodgeth under request to the Elders and the people chap. 5.1 to 12. In this first part he intends to comfort where I consider first the Proposition of comfort ver 3 4 5. Secondly and the confirmation of that comfort ver 6 to the 13. In the Proposition I observe first the maner of propounding and the arguments themselves by which he would comfort The maner of the Proposition is that it is expressed in forme of thankesgiving in these words Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Iesus Christ. The arguments of consolation are 3. The first is taken from our Regeneration ver 3. the second from our Glorification ver 4. the third from our Preservation unto glory ver 5. Blessed be God c. Two things I observe from the coherence of these words First that a Christian can be in â—o such distresse but hee hath still cause to be thankfull to God for many blessings though he be a stranger and used like a stranger though he be scattered and driven to and fro yet in all the dayes of his dispersion hee may observe many memorable things for which he ought to blesse God Secondly that a Christian should never thinke of spirituall blessings but his heart should kindle in him with desire to praise God for them Blessing is diversly taken or caryed sometimes man blesseth man sometimes God blesseth man sometimes man is said to blesse God and so here Man blesseth God three wayes 1. In his heart when being refreshed with Gods favour and inflamed with the joyes of his presence and nourished with the sense of his blessings hee doth lift up his heart within him inwardly with affection striving to laâ—d God and acknowledge his mercy 2. In his tongue when he taketh to him words and openeth his lips to confesse and praise God either in secret or openly either privately or publikely 3. In his workes and that 4. wayes â— When hee sets up memorialls of Gods great workes or deliverances 2. When hee receives the Sacrament setting himselfe apart to celebrate the memory of Christs death by which the covenant of God was confirmed and the fountaine of all grace opened David when hee would render thankes unto God takes the cup of salvation And the Sacrament is called the Eucharist from giving of thankes and so the cup is called the cup of blessing 3. By the obedience of his life striving to glorifie God in a holy conversation 4. And lastly by shewing mercy and thereby causing the hearts and lives of others to blesse God Great reason hath man to blesse God 1. For God is blessednesse it selfe and whether should the water runne but into the sea from whence it is originally taken 2. Besides the Lord hath required our praise as the chiefe meanes of glorifying him 3. And thirdly he hath blessed us and therefore we have great reason to blesse him He hath blessed us in the creatures blessed the worke of our hands blessed the fruits of our loines blessed us in his sonne blessed us by his Angells blessed us by his Ministers blessed us in the blessings of the Gospell and blessed us in the fruits of the earth blessed us in his house and in our owne houses blessed us in our Sabbaths Sacraments the Word Prayer c. blessed us in our soules bodies states names c. And therefore let the people praise thee O God yea let all the people praise thee All thy workes praise thee and the Saints shall sing of thy praise and of the glory of thy power and the majesty of thy kingdomâ— The God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ c. This periphrasis is used to distinguish our God from the god of Turkes Jewes and Pagans The Lord was used to be knowne to the olde Church by the names of the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob but now in the Church of the Christians he is celebrated by the name of the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ. Two things are here affirmed 1. that God is the God of Christ. 2. that he is the Father of Christ It is not against the use of Scripture to say that God is the God of Christ for Iohn 20.1 Christ saith I goe to your God and to my God and Psal. 45.7 it is said of Christ God even tâ—y God hath annointed thee with the oyle of gladnesse above thy fellowes Now if any aske how this can be that God is the God of Christ I answer by distinguishing the natures in Christ. If you consider Christ in his divine nature he is God of himselfe but not sonne of himselfe His person is of the Father but his essence is of himselfe but I thinke that this is properly taken or meant of his humane nature for that he received from God by the mighty working and over shadowing power of the holy Ghost
may hence note one excellent pledge of Gods love and goodnesse he is not bound to give us any wages till the end yet see his mercy he doth recompence us every day 4. Fourthly woe unto wicked men their end is shame and confusion even the fruit of all their evill waies or as the Apostle saith their end is damnation Phil. 3.18 The salvation of your soules The soule is a spirituall substance within us by which we resemble God it can subsist of it selfe it hath neither matter nor end it was created of God of nothing and united to the body that God might be rightly knowne and worshipped The soule is a kind of picture of God within us that can live though the body were not when I say it is void of matter I meane it is not made of any other thing as our bodies be there is no metall as I may say of which it may consist and it is such a divine creature as it cannot die as the body doth and it was of purpose put into the body that so amongst the visible creatures God might be known and worshipped For if we had not a soule within us we could never attaine to any knowledge of God more than the bruit beasts For God cannot be knowne by bodily senses Now for the union how the body and soule are knit one to another I cannot expresse it Salvation notes especially that estate of excellency and glory which the faithfull have in another world though properly the word notes but onely what we are delivered and saved from in heaven This salvation excludes all misery and includes all happinesse All misery may be referred to foure heads 1. Sinne. 2. Infirmities 3. Adversaries And 4. Death none of these shall be in heaven All happinesse likewise may be referred to foure heads 1. Perfection of nature 2. Communion with the blessed viz. God Christ Angels and just men 3. And a glorious inheritance in the heaven of the blessed And 4. Immortality all these shall be enjoyed in that other world Now though the soule be taken synecdochically for the soule and body yet the salvation of the soule is principall and more glorious The use may be threefold 1. For information 2. For instruction 3. For reproofe 1. There are three things we may be informed in from the consideration of the salvation of the soules of the faithfull 1. First that godly men are in a wonderfull happy case whatsoever their outward estate be because their soules shall be saved there are springs of joy in the very hope of this immortall happinesse this salvation is so great a mercy as we may truely say his reward is with him 2. Secondly that there is a matchlesse love in God to man not onely in that he provides such an estate but first that he doth it freely without all respects of merit Tit. 3.4 and secondly because he sends up and downe the world to offer this salvation From hence ariseth the Phrase my salvation is gone forth 3. Thirdly that faith is wonderfull precious that brings us such a salvation 2. Further for the second there are divers instructions may be deduced from this doctrine as 1. First it should teach us to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts Tit. 2.12 the very thought of going to heaven should extinguish the desire of sinning 2. Secondly we would make God all our trust and our expectation Psal. 62.5 We should resolve to rest upon God For none else either will or can doe so much for us as he can Hee is well said to be the hope of Israel none have so great hopes as the faithfull 3. Thirdly we should labour for the assurance of salvation and lay hold upon it striving to get evidence for it Heaven should suffer violence seeing it may be had we should never be quiet till we can get it 4. Fourthly and lastly such as have attained some assurance of their salvation should looke to foure things 1. First they should strive for large affections to expresse the sense of so great salvation It is such an incomparable benefit as wee should be alwaies praising c. 2. Secondly it should quicken them to good works the remembrance that we shall be saved should be like a fire within us to inflame us to all possible care to please God and to be fruitfull in all well-doing Salvation should be as a burning lamp within us a Christian should never be without fire in his heart in respeâ—t of his care to maintaine good works 3. Thirdly shall wee not be content with any condition in this world seeing wee are so well-provided for in a better what should trouble us if we can remember that after a short time our soules must be saved 4. Fourthly shall we be so glorious in heaven why then our conversation should be in heaven we should be alwaies thinking of heaven our mindes should run upon it 3. Now as this doctrine may informe and teach so it may reprove whole troops of carnall Christians that never labour after this glorious estate that scarce ever aske what they should doe to be saved but sleepe it out in a Lethargie and never aske after nor remember their latter end Thus of the 9. Verse and so of the confirmation by prolepsis or the answer of their objections Verse 10. Of which salvation the Prophets searched and inquired diligently which prophesied of the grace that should come unto you THe consolation propounded verses 3 4 5. is confirmed first by Prolepsis or the answering of Objections verses 6 7 8 9. secondly by testimony of worthy and holy men verses 10 11 12. So that these words make good the consolation of Christians by setting before us what witnesse holy men of old have given of our happinesse that live now under the Gospell In the words five things are particularly to be noted 1. First who testifie or who are Gods witnesses and these are described 1. first more generally and so they were Prophets 2. secondly more specially and so they were those Prophets that were appointed of God to prophesie of the gracious priviledges should come unto us Christians 2. Secondly their adjunct paines and endeavors to furnish themselves in the knowledge of those things that concerne us They searched and inquired diligently 3. Thirdly the question they studied or unto which they testifie In generall it was of salvation ver 10. In speciall it was of the manner and time of the grace foretold 4. Fourthly the occasion that fiered them to this earnest desire after this knowledge and that was the inspiration of the holy Ghost driving them to foretell of the passion of Christ and glories that should follow Now they rightly conjectured that this glory did import some excellent estate of the Church then and that they would faine have knowne 5. Fiftly the successe and that was they were answered by revelation which answer is set downe verse 12. Prophets God hath revealed his will three waies 1. First
God and yet in Princes courts 1. Not entertained â— ut many times repulsed 2. Not knowne many times of any body 3. Not dwell there 4. Not favoured of the King or his sonne 5. The Lords will not attend us to carry us to the King or shew us all c. 6. Soone are we cloyed with the glory of it if we had all we would 7. In the Kings court we see the glory of others not â—ur owne But contrary to all these it is in heaven as it shall be with the righteous Which things the Angels desire to looke into In these words the grace brought unto us in the Gospell is commended by the adjunct desire the Angels have to looke into it if such glorious creatures see such worth in these things then they are certainly to be highly accounted of and rejoyced in but the Angels doe so as saith the holy Ghost who is acquainted with the desires of Angels as wel as with the thoughts of men Therefore c. Before I enter upon the particular consideration of these words I must in generall observe one doctrine from the coherence viz. that as any are more holy and happy so they doe more admire the grace brought unto us in the Gospell it is much that the Prophets give such testimony so is it that the Apostles and Ministers of the Gospell spake such glorious things of it but if that may not confirme us the holy Spirit of God and the Angels of God shal be brought in to deliver not their opinions onely but their desires also Which may serve 1. For singular reproofe of the madnesse of our natures that cannot be won to know or regard wherein the chiefe good lies but are so infinitely distracted with endlesse hunting after the riches or pleasures of life Oh how are our hearts sunke deepe in rebellion when neither the verity of these things nor our owne mortality nor such abundant testimonies from heaven can move us But woe unto us for two reasons from hence First wee shall be made inexcusable since God hath warned and instructed us with such undeniable testimonies Secondly here we see the cause why wee seek not after the grace of Christ in the Gospell it is because we are alienated both from holâ—nesse and happinesse For if we had experience in either we would judge as â—he Angels of heaven doe 2. For singular strengthning and incouragement to every one that hath true grace let him rejoyce in his portion the Gospell is the best riches it were â—ot bâ—ught deare if a man sold all he had to purchase it we should rather take the judgement and opinion of one Angell then of a thousand worldly persons 〈◊〉 is no matter what they say they know not their felicity flesh and bloud hath had no revelation in these things it is the Spirit of God onely thaâ— can shew us the things given us of God it is the scope of this place to confirme the consolations ver 3 4 5. Thus in generall now in particular there are foure things to be considered of 1. What these Angels are 2. What account God makes of them 3. What affection they beare to men in that they are said to desire c. 4. What their knowledge is in that they are said to looke into c. 1. Now for the first you must understand that all creatures are of one of tâ—eâ—e three sorts 1. Invisible 2. Visible 3. Both visible and invisible Man is both visible in respect of his body and invisible in respect of his soule The heaven and earth and seas and beasts and foules c. are visible the invisible creatures are these Angels The estate of this invisible world of glorious creatures is in the greatest part 〈◊〉 unrevealed to us yet some things the Scriptures for our good hath let fall and theâ—efore to this question I answer two waies 1. By considering what they are in name 2. What they be in nature 1. The names given them are of three sorts 1. Some expresse their nature and so they are spirits 2. Some expresse their excellency and dignity and so they are called principalities and powers c. 3. Some expresse their office and employment and so they are called Angels in this place which signifies Messengers because they are sent to minister to them which are heires of salvation Heb. 1.14 2. Now for their natures Angels are spirituall substances invisible and immortall subsisting of themselves indued with singular understanding and freedome of will created of God for his glory in his service in the world especially in the Church But why are they called by the name of office more usually then by the names that expresse their natures It is because God delights in them for their seâ—vice and they themselves are more glad of well-doing then of their happinesse in nature from whence we may learn that it is not enough to get singular gifts and excellent estates unlesse we be industrious in the use of them our glory lieth not in excellent parts but in the fruitfull use of them We should learn then of Gods Angels to obey as they obey that Gods will may be done on earth as it is in heaven that is 1 willingly 2 speedily 3 constantly For so the Angels obey else we may be as the Angels of God for gifts and yâ—t goe to hell But are all these incorporeall spirits here meant No for some of them fell away and stood not in the truth it is onely the good Angels called the elect Angels 1 Tim. 5.21 are here meant but it is worth the noting what sinne hath brought upon the Devils they have not onely lost their nature in respect of purity but their names to so as usually when the Scripture calleth Angels it meaneth it of good Angels they have lost the dignity of their very title this is the fruit of pride or envy or disobedience or whatsoever else was their sin Some say it was pride in affecting divinity some say it was envy stirred by the decree of exalting of mans nature above Angels in and by Christ some say a transgression of some commandements in particular not exprest as Adams was Thus of their names and natures 2. Now for the singular account God makes of them it may appeare divers waies 1. By the excellent titles given them aâ— are stars of the morning sons of God principalitieâ— and powers c. 2. By the place he sets them in hee placeth them next his owne person in the chamber of his owne presence to be alwaies about him even in heaven the fairest roome in the whole building of the world 3. By the trust he hath put in them hee hath committed the charge of his Elect unto their protection and care Psal. 34. 91 Heb. 1. 14 4. By the singular grace of confirmation that now in Christ they 〈◊〉 of all the creatures should never have experience in their own nature of any evill
assoone as he gives grace and favour I answer 1. That God thereby doth give way unto the kingdome of Christ for the exercise of it on earth in gathering the Elect and subduing his enemies which when it is done he will deliver the Kingdome into his Fathers hands and thâ—n God shall be all in all 2. It is deferred that so God might make evident proofe of the faith and patience of his servants and to shew that they stand by a better grace then they had in their creation But what should I wade into this point It is enough for us that it is the pleasure of Gods will it should be so and it is equall we should doe our work before we receive our wages 3. It shewes that the Maker and Builder of that happinesse is God and that our glory is made ready to our hands 4. It imports that as in the state of nature we cared not for grace so in the state of grace wee are not so carefull as wee should be of going to heaven whâ—n we are justified and sanctified we forget heaven it must be brought unto us we will scarce goe seeke it 5. It shews â—uâ— security and forgetfulnesse shall not make the faith of God of none â—ffect it shall câ—rtainly be brought unto us 6. Lastly wee may here gather one way of comforting our selves against the infirmitieâ— that accompany our natures that when we feele our weaknesses yet we shâ—uld be comforted in the hope of the strength wee shall have Art thâ—u humbled for thy ignorance why rejoyce in the knowledge thou shalt have And so I say of the untowardnesse of thy nature to good thinke of the time when Christ shall be perfectly formed in thee think of the grace shall be brought unto thee if thou be discouraged and never of 〈…〉 â—t the revelation of Iesus Christ. That iâ— at the day of judgement The day of judgement shall be a time of wonderfull revelation For then 1. 〈◊〉 glory of his person which he hath received of the Father in heaven shâ—ll â—e râ—vealed 2. The terror of Christ as a Judge shall then be fully exprest The world little knowâ— the terror of that day Hee came not at the first comming to judgâ— the world that is yet to be revealed 3. The gâ—â—ry of the body of Christ the Church shall then be revealed when we shall â—ee all the societies of all ages together in one armie 2. All the good they have all done shall be fully opened 3. All the glory of heaven shall then â—e eâ—â—ated upon them 4. The everlastiâ—g counsels of God shall then be broken open and explained to the eternall clearing of Gods justice and the exalting of the praise of his mercy The Use may be 1. For information we may see one reason why Christs Kingdome and the righteousnesse thereof is so securely contemned of the world It is because a vaile is as it were drawne over Christ that they cannot behold him and so we may see one reason why we are not more inflamed to the personall love of Christ it doth not yet appear what we shall be by his merits nor have we seen the exceeding glory of the onely begotten Son of God 2. For instruction we should long after that day if Christ be so good unto us now oh what will he be at that day If in this life holy men could say of him as Paul did Phil. 3.9 what shall we say or think of him but as worth ten thousand worlds in comparison In the meane while let us be content that our life be bid with Christ in God knowing that when he shall appeare we shall also appeare with him in glory Verse 14. c. As obedient children not fashioning your selves unto the former lusts of your ignorance HItherto of the three things to which the Apostle exhorts The reasons follow whereof the first is contained in these verses and it is taken from the image of God in which Gods children ought to resemble him they should strive against all inward evils and refraine all the excesses of life and addresse themselves with all care and confidence to the provision of a better life because they are begotten again unto God and it is required of them that they should be holy as he is holy This reason is both propounded and expounded propounded in these words as obedient children It is expounded two waies 1. By description 2. By proofe or testimony It is described negatively and affirmatively by negation he shewes what we should shun viz. fashioning your selves according to the lusts of your former ignorance Affirmatively he sets it out by shewing 1. the patterne to be imitated 2. and the manner of our imitation The patterne is the holinesse of him that called us The manner is to be holy in all manner of conversation Thus of the description For the proofe 2. things are to be considered 1. Whence the proofe is fetched â—n these word As it is written 2. What is alledged in these words Be ye holy as I am holy As obedient children These two words import a twofold consideration 1. they are the children of God 2. you must obey as children The first point gives an occasion to consider of three things 1. That God hath children not onely Christ his naturall Son and the Angels his sons by creation but the Saints also by adoption and regeneration 2. That it behoves Christians to seeke and know their adoption to be the sons of God It is wonderfull to think of the almost infinite carelesnesse of men that can heare of so great felicity as the adoption of sinfull men to be the sons of God and yet there is no heart in man to seeke after it 3. In that the Apostle applies the consideration hereof to perswade to holinesse of life it shews that the assurance of Gods favour as our Father doth kindle obedience and make us more fit for all well-doing as these places prove 1 Thes. 1.5 6 7. 2 Pet. 1.8 9 10. 1 Cor. 2.12 14. 2 Tim. 1.12 Heb. 10.22 The Use is First for confutation of their fancies that thinke assurance would breed security and that it is better to be a little doubtfull then fully resolved whereas both Scripture and experience is against it yea there is a secret corruption in the hearts of the very godly herein nourished perhaps by the devill But let us be fully perswaded to pray with all importunity that God would give us this knowledge But I have felt more hardnesse of heart and corruption of nature since assurance then I had before First examine thy heart whether thou call not peace of conscience by the name of hardnesse of heart 2. Know that hardnesse of heart and unfitnesse to holy duties is in us by nature and is not taken away by assurance neither is thy case the worse that thou feelest it more now then before For that may import more softnesse of heart 3. Consider
Psal. 31.22 Secondly this should teach us to looke to our faith and to provide for the daily use of it to live by it that if it might be we might be so ready and prepared that Christ when hee came at any time might find us so doing Now that we might attaine unto this daily use of our faith divers rules must be observed 1. We must be more afraid of doubts and cavils against our faith making conscience of unbeliefe to avoid it as a grievous sinne and to see manifest reason from the Word before we doubt 2. We must more study the promises of God and shake off the slaggishnesse of our natures especially wee should be more carefull to attend upon the carefull application of them 3. We should speedily run to Christ when we find any disease or neglect in our faith whose glory it is to be the finisher of our faith 4. We should often think of those that have been examples of much faith that have been full of faith Heb. 11. 12.1 5. We should watch against all things that might slacken our love to the meanes For it is certaine the love of the means is strong like death 6. If we find we have offended God let us not goe long without humiliation but quickly run and confesse our sins and not be quiet till we be reconciled It is dangerous to defer our repentance and neglect our communion with God long 7. Especially we should study for businesse to be imployed in well-doing in our generall or particular calling 1 Cor. 15.18 Hitherto of the sixt point Who raised him from the dead and gave him glory These words containe the seventh motive in the doctrine of redemption namely the ratification of it God himselfe was pleased after an admirable manner to ratifie the work of our redemption and therefore it should much work upon us for holinesse of life Now God ratified it two waies First by raising Christ from the dead Secondly by giving him glory in heaven 1. Of the resurrection of Christ from the dead divers things may be here noted 1. That Christ was amongst the dead this may shew the hatefulnesse of sin when Christ became a surety for it it divided his soule from his body and chased him downe among the dead Hath Christ been among the dead then let us beleeve him in all the comforts he hath taught us against death For he speaks by experience we may trust what he saies for he hath been there himselfe 2. Therefore dead men have a being it were good for us so to live as we may have comfort in our being after death For Christ found a world of dead men with whom he was after his death 3. How worthy is Christ to be loved that thus adventured himselfe for us how is it meet he should reap of the travailes of his soule 2. That Christ was raised from the dead Therefore it is not impossible for dead men to rise we see the proofe of it in Christ Secondly we should never be out of hope in the desperatest afflictions if we were brought as low as ever Christ was 3. God raised Christ from the dead Therefore it is wonderfull evident that our debt is paid in that the creditor came himselfe and set open the prison doore and released our surety especially in the time of distresse wee should know that God doth not require our debts at our hands For he hath hereby acknowledged ful payment by our Saviour and we did owe nothing but unto God Secondly this imports that the righteous God may sometime forsake us for a time and leave us to our thinking in unmedicinable distresses so as we should cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and yet hee will returne speedily to our succour and put to the proofe of his greatest power rather then abandon those whom he loves 4. That the resurrection of Christ is a great wonder therefore it is here mentioned as a marvellous course that God held in the ratification of our redemption The Use is Therefore cursed be those mockers that scoffe at the resurrection of the dead and let us glory in the faith knowing the victory of our Messias as also that the time will come that God will glorifie us also before men and Angels by mising our bodies also from the grave Rom. 8.11 1 Thes. 4.14 5. God lookes we should be specially affected with his glory in this great work of raising Christ from the dead The Use is Therefore let us be humbled before the Lord for the deadnesse of our spirits and slownesse of our hearts and beg of him pardon and the renting of the cursed vaile of ignorance that lets us from beholding the great glory of God herein 6. Lastly we see that the exaltation of Christ stands of two parts viz. Resurrection and Glorification and that all works of humiliation ended with his comming out of the sepulchre And thus of his resurrection And gave him glory This is the second part of the ratification The glory God gave unto Christ shewes that he is fully pleased with him and that Christ hath perfectly paid our ransome Quest. What glory did God give unto Christ upon his death for us Answ. Great and greatly to be praised and admired For 1. He assigned him all the honour of a triumph is his ascension when â—ee led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Eph. 4.7 Col. 2.15 2. He removed from him all infirmities both of body and mind 3. He gave him all power in heaven and earth even preeminence in all things Mat. 28. Col. 1.18 For he made him 1. Prince of Angels Col. 2.10 2. Head of the Church Col. 1.18 3. Heire of all things Heb. 1.3 4. Iugde of the world Act. 17.30 4. He assigned him his owne best house to dwell in and that with equall honour with himselfe at his right hand in heaven 5. He bestowed all the Elect upon him Ioh. 17. 6. He commanded all creatures to worship him This was the grace of adoration Phil. 2.10 7. He gave him promise to grant whatsoever he asked Psal. 2.8 9. 8. He proscribed all his enemies and undertooke to make them his footstoole Psal. 110.1 The Use may be first for consolation All these honours done to Christ may assure us of our reconciliation with God and that our redemption is accomplished and it may encourage us to goe unto God trusting in his mediation for God can deny him nothing yea his glory is our glory The crowne is set upon our head when Christ is exalted and therefore being his members we should rejoyce as if it had beene done to us and the rather when he appeares we shall appeare with him in glory Col. 3.4 Secondly in all affliction it should teach us to live by faith and with patience to run the race that is set before us thinking upon the end of our faith the salvation of our soules which
is the temptations of unbeliefe 2. Against present affliction when wee consider what wee are borne to 3. Against the scornes of the world we are borne not of blouds but which is better of the bloud of Christ Ioh. 1.12 2. For Instruction for the remembrance of our new birth quickens us to a care to live as becomes our new birth which is the true reason why it is mentioned here The Use is first 1. First for Ministers to bend the whole course of their ministery hitherto what doe we profit them if we gain them not to God Yea hereby the glory of many Ministers is to be judged He is the excellentest teacher that can convert most to God Here God will be free 2. For all sorts of men as 1. For all godly men 1. If they be strong to build themselves up in the contentment of their birth 2. If they be weake to looke to the establishing of their hearts in the assurance of it 2. For unregenerate men it should awaken them to a care to shake off their lamentable security procrastination prejudice silence sinfulnesse or what else hinders them from this glorious worke To this end Think of death and the threatnings and anger of God seriously Judge thy selfe for thy sinnes Pray with David for a cleane heart beg a new heart Ezech. 36. Parable Get out of ill company Be warned to fly from the wrath to come Neglect not so great salvation Be not deceived Gal. 6.7 1 Cor. 6.9 Take heed lest God leave you with the very discourse of regeneration What shall it profit to be borne of great bloud c. if thy soule perish for ever I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God save your soules that you perish not in the condemnation of the world Consider God would not have you die c. The second thing that may be noted from hence is that our blessed immortality begins at our new birth for by the Gospell God brings immortality to life and light 2 Tim. 1.10 and by the Spirit of Christ we are then quickned Eph. 2.1 4. being by nature dead in respect of true immortality For from this moment of time Christ lives in us Gal. 2.20 we are alive to God though we be dead to the world The Use should be first to put vs in mind of the marvellous power and glory of the Gospell that brings this life light unto us 2 Tim. 1.10 2. We should be comforted against all our feares and doubts and against all the afflictions or temptations of our naturall life for immortality is begun in us already Those divine sparks are so kindled as they shall never be quenched God hath kindled the light of heaven in us This is very eternal life we have here on earth Ioh. 17.3 God hath made us immortall creatures already for though we have not yet attained to the full degree of the shining brightnesse of our immortall happinesse yet from degree to degree wee shall proceed till we be like the aâ—â—ient of dayes Immortality may be distinguished into foure degrees or states 1. The first iâ— the life of the infant in grace and then we live as babes two things being eminent companions of that estate viz. weaknesse and crying that is many frailties and much griefe for sinne and wants 2. The second is the life of young men in grace 1 Ioh. 2.14 Heb. 5.13 and here two things are eminent 1. affections and 2. strength or might or power of gifts 3. The third is the life of them of ripe age or of fathers in grace 1 Ioh. 2. 14. Heb. 5.13 Here likewise two things more shine 1. greatnesse of judgment or experience 2. an habituall conquest over all sorts of sinnes so as the very taste of them or temptations to them are enseebled and more seldome These three are on earth 4. The fourth estate is that wherein we shall be like the anâ—ient of dayes even God himselfe in the perfection of all gifts and possession of all happinesse Lastly this doctrine may shew the miserable estate of all such as will not be informed by the Gospell They faile of immortality and must die in their sinnes for if they be not borne againe they perish for ever Thus much of the fountaine of new birth The manner followes considered 1. negatively 2. affirmatively Not of corruptible seed Two things are here imported concerning the naturall birth and propagation of all men The first is that our naturall birth doth not advance our immortality and everlasting happinesse we hold not our happinesse by any title from our carnall birth Mat. 3. Rom. 9. We are not borne heires of heaven In our birth we receive the beginning of naturall life from the seed of our naturall parents but not of eternall life The second is that this naturall seed is corruptible we so live that we must die we cannot hold out even in that estate for men will die and they come of men that have dyed Hâ—b 9. Iob 10. Ps. 89. and therefore the Use should be 1. To abate the great thoughts that arise in great persons about the noblenesse of their birth 2. We should all be thereby the more quickned to the care of new birth 3. Therefore we should looke for death and prepare for it and patiently beare the infirmities accompany our mortall bodies till the time of our change come 4. Impenitent sinners should awake to live righteously seeing their perfections must come all to an end they cannot long abide in the greatest glory of the world they can attaine to 5. Here is a manifest difference betweene the children of the two Adams the children of the first Adam are borne corruptible the children of Christ are borne incorruptible 6. Lastly here is a singular consolation to the godly about their perseverance They are confirmed as the Angels of heaven they cannot fall away they are not borne of corruptible seed Thus of the manner negatively considered In the affirmative observe two things 1. what the meanes is 2. and by what it is Or thus The meanes is seed described by the properties It is incorruptible and by the cause or instrument of generation viz. the word of God Seed To omit the usuall acceptation of the word seed It is taken in Scripture in a restrained sense many wayes Sometimes for Christ Hee is that seed in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed Sometimes for the godly The children of the promise are the â—eed Rom. 9.8 Sometimes for the body of man within the grave which is cast into the earth as seed in the day of buriall 1 Cor. 15.43 Sometimes spirituall things in generall 1 Cor. 9.11 Sometimes the fruits of righteousnesse or mercy Iames 3.18 2 Cor. 9.6 So there is sowing to the Spirit Gal. 6.7 8. Sometimes for the word of God Mat. 10.13 Sometimes for saving graces conceived in the hearts of the godly and so I take it here And thus grace is like seed either
of man is as the flower of grasse and so the proposition shewes that he is mortall The repetition shewes how he is so His body withereth as grasse and his glory falleth away as the flower From the coherence with the former verse I might note two things 1. That man is a creature both mortall and immortall mortall as he is borne of his Parents immortall as he is borne of God mortall in respect of his naturall life and immortall in respect of his spirituall life mortall in repect of his flesh and spirituall in respect of his soule 2. That the consideration of the mortality of our bodies will quicken man unto a care of the immortality of his soule But I passe from these All flesh is grasse The words of the proposition are all plaine taken in their proper signification save that by flesh is ment the nature of man in respect especially of his body but for the doctrine of these words three things would be weighed 1. The affirmation concerning the body of man that it is like grasse 2. The extent of the affirmation when he saith all flesh is grasse 3. The consideration of the time when he saith in the present time It is grasse not it shall be For the first the word rendred grasse is translated sometimes the blade of wheate as Mat. 13.26 sometimes hey as 1 Cor. 3.12 but most usually grasse and so the sense gives it here Now for the phrase of speech It is true that sometimes it is spoken in the praise of Gods Elect that they are like grasse viz. for their growing and flourishing in grace and happinesse as Esay 44 4. Psal. 72.16 Rev. 9.4 but usually in scripture it is taken to signifie the misery of all men by nature And so it notes especially the fraile condition of man in this life he is like grasse because as the grasse is to day and to morrow is cast into the oven so is man to day and to morrow is cast into the grave he is suddenly gone and in short time spoiled of all his earthly glory The world of men might be resembled to a field of grasse in many respects but this is that the Holy Ghost cheefely aimes at So then the first doctrine is that a man by nature is like grasse for the brevity of his life and the suddennesse many times of his death The Uses are divers First for reproofe of three sorts of men 1. Of all those that minde onely the things of the flesh why do men so studie for the provision of the flesh can men remember that their flesh is as grasse and yet seeke great things for this life onely let all men know that they that sow to the flesh shall certainly of the flesh reape corruption 2. Of such as place their trust and hopes in man for this reason he is cursed that maketh flesh his arme seeing all flesh is grasse 3. It reprooves divers of Gods children too for their too much feare of the rage of wicked men The Apostle when he said we wrastle not with flesh and blood meant to shew that we should not be so much distressed for that kinde of combat as teaching that it were better to wrastle with ten adversaries than with one temptation but most plainely Esay 51.12 Secondly there is matter of consolation too and that divers waies For first though our flesh be as grasse yet that hinders not Gods love to us for he clâ—theth the very grasse of the field and shall he not provide for us also Secondly the Lord is pleased to use the consideration of this doctrine as an argument to move him to pitty us he knowes our frailty and therefore will not deale rigorously with us as these places shew Ps. 103.13 90.6 78.39 Esay 40. c. Thirdly the mortality of the flesh should occasion us to rejoyceâ— in the immortality of our spirit and to bee glad at heart that we are borne againe not of the bloods of mortall men but by the will and word of the immortall God that so we may be comforted against the sense of the decaies of our bodies by remembring that we have a building made of God without hands e ternall in the heavens though the earthly house of our Tabernacle be dissolved Lastly it may comfort us if we consider that the Lord hath beene pleased to resolve with himselfe to take the care of us and our posterity after us because he knowes we cannot continue alwaies with our children for so the Prophet David assures the godly that though their flesh be but as the grasse yet God will establish his mercy to them that are left behinde them the Lord will deale righteously with their childrens children Ps. 10â— 15 18. Thirdly wee should all therefore learne to crucifie the bootlesse lusts of the flesh and to compell our selves so to thinke of saving our spirits in the day of Christ as to forbeare to entangle our selves with the cares of life seeing it is all in vaine we must dye and goe hence and that suddenly and shortly â—especially we should provide that Christ may live in us by faith that so we may be provided to continue when our flesh will faile us yea thirdly seeing in this world it will never be better with our bodies therefore wee should reach our flesh that great lesson of resting in hope even wee should learne to waâ—â— for the resurrection when even our flesh shall be made spirituall and this corruption shall put on incorruption Thus of the affirmation it selfe Now the extent of iâ— is in the second place to be considered viz. that all flesh is grasse All flesh Not onely the flesh of beasts of the field and sowles of the ayre but even the flesh of man is grasse and amongst men there is no difference The flesh of Princes is as mortall as well as the flesh of peasants the most mighty helpers must stoope to the power of death There is a great deale of difference in grasse a thousand formes in one medow or pasture yet all alike in this that they must wither The outward difference of mens places in the world makes no difference in death The rich and the poore both meet together in the grave as dies the begger so dies the King Riches will not ransome from death no price can be a redemption from the grave Healthfull bodies are as grasse as well as sickly bodies such as abound in the helps of physick must dye as well as they that are destitute of all meanes to preserve life The strongest must stoope to death as well as the weakest the longest livers must dye at last as well as the creature but of a dayes continuance If men then should live 900. yeeres and more yet at length it must be said of them they died yea godly men must die as well as wicked Psal. 102.12 The people are but grasse Esay 40.7 yea the flesh of the
son of God had no priviledge from death he was put to death in respect of the flesh 1 Pet. 3.21 Therefore this may serve first for singular reproofe of that unspeakable beastlinesse that is in wicked men that will not be moved with the contemplation of the ruine of the whole world oh the unutterable Lethargy of these mens hearts that will not consider their latter end when so unchangeable a decree is prest upon all men that at their appointed time they must once die This very doctrine may shew the horrible effect of sinne in the hearts of men that can extinguish a consideration so universally obvious to every mans sense oh yee brutish amongst the people when will yee understand Secondly this may informe us that multitude is no prerogative multitude cannot protect men against the stroke of God and death Though hand joyne in hand yet sinne cannot be unpunished It is as easie for God to smite all flesh as any flesh It is as easie for him to destroy the whole world as to destroy one man All flesh is grasse If the sithe can with few strokes move downe thousands of formes of grasse how much more easie is it for God with the sithe of his judgements to cut downe multitudes of men And besides that may informe us that the doctrine of death must be sounded in the eares of all men there is no man but this doctrine belongs to him and therefore woe unto him if he make no good use of it yea so necessary is this doctrine that the Ministers of the Gospell are commanded not to write it onely but to speake it nor that onely but to cry it out with all possible both affection and power of inforcement Cry all flesh is grassâ— Esay 40.6 Thirdly this may teach 1. Rich men in speciall to lay this to heart For God hath given them this doctrine to humble them and to teach them not to glory in their wealth but if they have gotten grace let them rejoyce that God hath provided better things than the things of this life for them They are more happy that God hath made them low by giving them a sight of their sins and so to be humbled for them then that he made them great in the world for their flesh is but grasse and all that glory must vanish as will be shewed afterwards The Use is urged Iam. 1.10 11. Ps. 49. 2. Strong men to whom God hath given helps of nature or arte Use thy strength but rejoyce not in it Use thy Physicke but trust not upon it For for all that thou must dye there is no arte nor remedy against death 3. All men and so we should all learne two things especially 1. To put our trust in God which liveth for ever since all men must perish and wee cannot continue here it is the best relying upon God and his favour and helpe who liveth ever to performe his promise and to provide for his servants thus David useth this consideration Ps. 102.12 13. 2. To be patient when we feele the walls of our earthly house begin to moulder down when we feele death beginning like a moth to feed upon us we should be patient seeing it is not onely unavoidable but that it is the case of all men as well as ours Thus of the extent of the affirmation The time followes Is grasse This mortality may be said to be so presently It is so in divers respects 1. It is so â—n the cause which is sin the cause of death is in us already it hath infected our very bones 2. It is so in the sentence the doome is already gone out upon all flesh It is appointed that all men shall once die The very sentence uttered in Paradise of dying the death stands still unrevoked in respect of our flesh 3. It is so in experience all flesh is dead never any scaped 4. It is so in respect of dâ—sposition to death we are all but dying men death hath taken hold of us and doth every day feed upon us insensibly To live is but to lie a dying The disposition to death is inflicted upon all men for all tend to death 5. Lastly it may be said all flesh is grasse for certainty that is we shall as certainely vanish hereafter as if it were now presently done The use should be the more to inforce upon us the care of providing for a change since death is so many waies made fast unto us and withall it may serve to confute the vaine hope of long life here seeing we are all but as so many dead men here to day and to morrow cast into the grave and wee should also learne hence to be continually thinking of death must we not do the worke that is present to us why death is before thine eyes why then dost thou not the thing of the day in the day It is thy every dayes worke to die to learne to die seeing we die daily Hitherto of that branch of the proposition that concerns the body of manâ—noâ— followeth the vanity of mans condition in this world The glory of man is as the flower of grasse Here first the sâ—â—se of the words is to be considered By the glory of man he meaneth whatsoever it is in outward things which man glorieth in any thing that man rejoyceth in admireth praiseth seeketh as an ornament or happinesse to himselfe such as are riches strength honour high places and command over others beauty praise of men excellency of naturall gifts noble birth calling multitude of attendants and such like By man he meaneth here the naturall man or the outward man for of the spirituall man it is not true because he glorieth in that shall never fade nor be taken away from him Now this glory is compared to the flower of grasse for transitorinesse because it will fade and fall away as the repetition sheweth and that speedily too as the uses of this similitude in divers scriptures shew as will afterwards more appeare The doctrine then is that all the outward glory of man in this world is exceeding vaine and so it may appeare for six causes or considerations for I omit many other reasons First for the most part these things so much desired cannot be had or not as they are desired and therefore their glory is vaine because they are sought in vaine 2. If they be obtained yet the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the eare with bearing of them they cannot fill the heart of man 3. Many times it fals alike in these things to the foole and to the wise both in having them and in losing them and this is a miserable vanity and vexation of spirit 4. The glory that is placed in these things is liable to be interrupted with a thousand crosses either they expire the vanity or are taken away by violence 5. If they could make us happy yet death will not let us enjoy them many men spend
necessity of the doctrine when God saith a thing over againe it shewes us that that point must be knowne we must take notice of it it is a doctrine cannot be missed in the Church no worke of God will well go forward without it He must cry aloud that all flesh is grasse God loâ—g◠〈◊〉 it were to have this doctrine take in our hearts He knowes a great part of the hardship of godlinesse were over if this were soundly digested oh that they were wise and would consider their latter end men would apply their hearts to wisdome if they had once learned to number their daies Thirdly it imports that God finds us wonderfull dull of hearing and forgetfull and carelesse of this doctrine and that naturally we are wonderfull impoâ—â—nt in these considerations The Lord doth reproach us as it were for negligence that a plaine point should need to be repeated And therefore we should examine our selves seriously herein and not vexe God with our unteachablenesse in this point Oh how might God be displeased with us if he should call us to account herein have we not heard have we not seene from the beginning that all flesh is grasse yea hath not God heard our attestations we shake our heads we confesse it is true we are sometimes comforted and conceive some weake resolutions to thinke better of it and provide for death when God hath us here in the Church as it were in his schoole wee seeme as if wee had learn'd this lesson perfectly and yet miserable wretches that the most of us are we go home and forget all as if wee had never bin taught it nay is it not needfull for the most of us to be taught againe the same doctrine which the very last Sabboth we heard of this argument oh who is effectually perswaded amongst us indeed to lay it to his heart doth not this repetion smite us all certainly if we be not warned death may come before wee are aware and surprise us when wee shall not have time to learne to die There are many incoveniences come from this forgetting of the doctrine of our latter end and suffering it to runne out 1. Mens sins cleave fast unto them their filthinesse is in their skirts because they remember not their latter end Lam. 1.9 men live securely while they keepe out the thought of death 2. This brings many miseries upon men For when God cannot prevaile by doctrine he wil set upon us by judgment and then we may come downe wonderfully Deut. 32.29 30. whereâ—s we might avoid our distresses by thinking of death voluntarily 3. We keep our spirits void of true magnanimity we can never tell our strength till we know whether we can die or no one would chase a thousand one I say of these that will consider of their latter end Deut. 32.30 4. We can never tell whether our knowledge bee right or no till wee have tryed it with thoughts of death they are a people without understanding that consider not their latter end Deut. 32.28 29. 5. Our hearts will grow harder and harder if we put out these remorses wrought in us concerning death as â—ron is harder the oftner it is heated and cooled 6. We keepe our selves without those joyes would come of the frequent contemplation of the glory of heaven we dare not thinke of heaven because we would avoid the thought of death 7. We give wonderfull advantage to the temptations of life 8. We keepe our selves without the comfort of one excellent signe of our salvation viz the love of the appearance of Christ we pray not that Gods kingdome may come wee desire not to be dissolved we dare not say with the Church Come Lord Iesus come quickly wee are loth to pray God to teach us to number our dayes for these things which have beene the excellent praises of the Saints we suffer not to be found in us 9. Lastly as I touched it before death may come suddenly and then what case are we in that suffer the thoughts of death thus to go out and be lost in us so as they produce no sound effect of preparation in us But what must we doe that wee might bring our selves to a more serious consideration of our mortality vanity how may this fault in us be helped Goe to God by prayer to forme this in thee strive with God by importuning his assistance in teaching thee to number thy dayes it is Gods worke we see the Israelites sentenced to death yet could not mind it and therefore Moses makes that prayer Ps. 90.12 2. It is an excellent helpe to inure our selves to die dayly to trie how wee could die by the most effectuall supposition of our present death compelling our selves to put the case what if I should now die 3. The thought of death would not be so put off if we had got a sound assurance of our salvation and of the remission of our sins it is want of assurance that makes many so afraid of dying And thus in generall In particular these words of the repetition afford us some observations that are common to both some speciall to each in which they differ one from another The observations that are common to both are these 1. That men both in their bodies and glory will decay man continueth not in one stay if you looke either upon his person or his estate 2. That man in both decaieth speedily he is of few daies in his body and full of trouble in his estate he commeth up like a flower and fleeth away as a shadow Ioh 14. 1 2. it shall be accomplished before his time that is before the time he fancieth to himselfe Ioh 15.33 The glory of may shall flee away as a bird from the birth and from the wombe and from the conception Hosh. 9.11 3. That man decaies insensibly he goes away by degrees both in his body and honor he declineth like a shadow and is consumed as it were by the moth 4. That man would come to this decay even without violence as the grasse and flowers perish though they were never cut downe 5. That when man is decaied either in body or estate he growes extreamely base vile he is but as a little stubble or as a rotten leafe or flower And all this should the more force upon man the care to provide for immortality and not to glory in or trust upon his outward condition especially it should make every one of us affraid of procrastination death doth not alwaies give warning nor can we alwaies foresee our ruine or losse of outward things And thus of what is common to both Now in speciall we may note 1. That the text acknowledgeth more stability in the body of man than in his glory For the flower falleth off or fadeth immediately after the spring usually whereas the stalke is greene long after and therefore it shews the vanity of such men as so greedily pursue the getting of outward
things that they have not their owne bodies in estimation nor allow themselves the fit use of the things they possesse Eccl. 6.2 2. That the bodies of men doe not utterly perish as doth the glory of men For the flower falleth off whereas the grasse onely withereth the roote is alive within the earth when a man dieth he shall never see his riches or pleasures of this life any more but yet his body hath a roote and when the spring of the last resurrection comes it will revive againe which should in force upon us a more through contempt of all these earthly things and the rather if we consider further what may be added concerning the glory of men For besides that once it must faile and that speedily First it is all stained and durtied already with mans sins and also the Lord usually sets himselfe so to staine the pride of all glory that it is scorned and despised even in the prime of it but especially when it begins a little to decay Besides who knowes how sudenly all may be gone the glory of many men we see is but as the hasty fruit before summer which while he that looketh upon it seeth it whilst it is yet in his hand he eateth it up Esay 28.4 Further we may observe the manner how the Lord doth bring downe the glorious beauty of many great men as it were with a tempâ—â—â— of â—aile their afflictions comming in as thick as haile and a destroying â—â—orms as a flood of mighty unresistable waters overflowing so doth the Lord cast them downe to the earth and tread their glory in the dust yea and many times turne their great glory into surpassing shame Esay 28.2 Ps. 7.5 Hos. 4.7 Verse 25. But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever and this is the word which is preached among you HItherto of the vanity of man in his flesh and outward condition The eternity of the word followeth in this verse The hearts of all men naturally tend to the admiration and care for the body onely and the things thereof yea in the Church of God the faith of Christians is wonderfully deformed and disgraced by such cares while men professe they beleeve in Christ for a better condition their practise continually proclaimes the flesh still for the idoll of their hearts therefore it is needfull that this wretched pertinacy should be disgraced by a discovery of their vanity therein which is done in the former verse Now if men be put out of their way in the projects of the flesh it is expedient they should bee informed what better things to settle their hearts upon else it will never perswade with them to leave the love of the flesh and this present life if no better happinesse bee set before them This therefore is intended in this verse briefely to tell men upon what they might spend their time better than in the cares of the flesh The question then is since nothing in mans flesh or outward estate is worth the care and labour of attendance what then is the chiefe thing in this life to be sought after If we marke the direct Antithesis to the former verse it should have beene thus Mans flesh is grasse c. but mans spirit endureth for ever and so the soule of man should have bin the maine thing his heart should have beene set upon But thus there had beene great danger of mistaking still for God would have the body saved as well as the soule and the holinesse of the body as well as the soule thought of and besides the soule naturally is as corrupt as the flesh and it is no more safe to follow the lusts of the soule then the appetites of the body For the spirit of man is as much polluted as the flesh and the body is but the instrument of the soule therefore the scripture leadeth man cleane out of himselfe considered as he is in his present state of nature that he may be fully humbled for his misery Quest. If yet any say what then is the maine object of our cares and service in this life Ans. I answer that it is diversly resolved in divers scriptures In Ps. 102. 11 12. it is thus Man fadeth and withereth like grasse but the Lord endureth for ever and so that place shewes us it is God we should know admire love care for provide for and set our hearts upon In the 103. Ps v. 15.17 it is thus The dayes of man are as grasse and as the flower of the field flourisheth but the love and kindnesse of the Lord endureth for ever to them that feare him where we are guided to know in particular what in God wee should most seeke and that is the assurance of Gods mercy which will stand us in stead for eternity Here it is the word of the Lord endureth for ever and this comprehendeth all the former It is the word of the Lord that revealeth God and directeth our hearts to the love of God and the assurance of his mercy It is the word of God that clenseth and sanctifieth the soules of men So that then the chiefe doctrine of this verse is that in this life we should especially set our hearts upon the word of God that should be our maine care It is the word we should be most busied about and our hearts should specially be set upon we should meditate in it day and night Ps. 1.2 It should be our portion and heritage It is that we should provide for whatsoever we want Ps. 119. For the word of God perfects our natures and sanctifies us Ioh. 17. By the word wee have communion and fellowship with God and Christ on earth Ioh. 14.21 Rev. 3.10 It is the word that comforts us in all tribulation Ps. 119. It is the word that directs us in all our waies It is the light to our feete and laâ—thorne to our paths Ps. 119. yea it is the word that maintaines our lives for man liveth not by bread but by the word and prayer It is the word that fits us for immortality and brings salvation to us and in the meane while nourisheth us up to eternity 1 Pet. 1.23 2.2 Act. 26.18 4.16 This may serve First for information concerning the estate of two sorts of men 1. Of such as want the word or the love of it what shall it profit them to winne all the glory of the world for the flesh when for want of the word their spirits and flesh must perish for ever 2. Of such as follow the word and search the scriptures and have nothing more in request this justifies them they have chosen the better part with Mary and it shall never be taken from them Secondly for instruction we should all learne to glorifie the word Act. 13. 48. to receive it with all meekenesse Iam. 1.21 to hunger and thirst after it as our appointed foode to embrace it presse to it and never be ashamed of it Ps.
are bound not onely to get grace but they must labour to encrease in the gifts they have received it is not enough to begin the worke of God but we must labour to abound in it and increase in well doing we must goe on and finish the measure of the worke required of us these places evidently prove that God looks for growth at our hands 2. Pet. 3.18.1 Cor. 15.58.1 Thessa. 4.1 Prov. 4.18.1 Cor. 14.12 Secondly for the second before I number particulars I might tell you of divers kindes of growth or increase in the kingdome of Christ. Christ himselfe is said to increase Ioh. 3.10 The word is said to grow Act. 6. and in other places and Christians are said to grow and so either first joyntly in the mysticall body Ephes. 4. 16. Col. 2. 19. or secondly severally every one by himselfe Christ was said to increase not onely in stature and the declaration of his gifts Luke 2. 40 but also in the glory of his kingdome and the advancing of his dominion amongst men The word grew when the number of faithful labourers was increased and when the light of the truth was more glorified received by the people Christians are said to grow chiefly in two respects First in the number of beleevers when there are daily added to the church Secondly in the power and practice of their gifts and this last is here intended the word rendred Thereby might be read either in him or in it or as it is thereby In him that is in Christ In it that is in the word or thereby that is by the word this last is intended here in all probability Now then to the point there are certaine things wherein a Christian should strive to grow it is true wee should grow in every good gift and worke but if we marke the Scriptures these things in particular are especially to be laboured after as being things that doe wonderfully honour God and credit the Gospell and bring a singular increase of happines to a Christian mans life and it is wonderfull profitable to keep a Catalogue of these particulars still before us that wee may every day bee put in mind of what we should especially labour after These are the things then we should distinctly labour to grow in First we should labour to grow in wisdome Gods people should appeare to be a wise people above all the people of the earth Christ grew in wisedome Luke 2.40 Now wisedome hath two things in it First knowledge and secondly discretion In both these we should grow For knowledge the word of God should dwell plentiously in us Col. 3. 16. and we should encrease in the knowledge of God Col. 1.10 and for discretion we should abound in knowledge yea and saith the Apostle in all judgement too Phili. 1.10 Secondly we should grow in faith that which is lacking to our faith must be made up 1. Thess. 3.10 and we should still bee praying with the Apostles Lord increase our faith Luke 17.5 2. Thess. 1.11 Now there bee two things distinctly which we should grow in about faith viz First assurance and secondly the exercise of it For assurance we should heâ—eunto give all diligence that we might get the full assurance of faith and hope to the end we should never be quiet till it bee established and rooted and soundly grounded in our particular assurance of Gods favour in Jesus Christ and our owne eternall salvation Heb. 6.11 Col. 2.6 7. And for the exercise of faith we should strive to learne every day to live by faith in all the occasions of our life spending the remainder of our lives in the faith of the Sonne of God holding fast our confidence and not withdrawing our selves Heb. 10. Gal. 2.20 yea we should strive to be examples one to another in our faith in God 1. Tim. 4.12 Thirdly we should abound in love one to another and towards all men this the Apostle praies earnestly for and this we should shew by all diligence in preserving peace and unity amongst our selves so as there should bee but one heart and mind amongst us to this end bearing and forbearing and supporting one another wee should grow also in the tendernesse and heartinesse of our affections one after another longing one for another and delighting one in another yea our love should grow even in seeking to enlarge our acquaintance with such as feare God but especially in the labour of our love to doe good to such as feare God should we grow c. Fourthly we should grow in mercy and that both in the bowels of pitty and in the abundance of the fruits of mercy Col. 3.12.2 Cor. 8.2 7. and 9.11 Iames 3.18 Fiftly we should grow in patience and meeknesse and lowlinesse of mind Patience should have his perfect work and it wonderfully would become us if we could increase in the image of Jesus Christ for meeknesse and lowlinesse to be free from passions and pride oh how it would adorne us It is that one grace Christ so much urgeth upon us and was most eminent in himselfe Matth. 11.29 Iames 1.4 Sixtly We should grow in praier and the gifts that concerne our communion with God we should labour to be mighty and powerfull in praier able to wrastle with God himselfe and overcome him as Iacob did and to this end we should pray alwaies and learne to pray all manner of praiers in all things making our requests knowne to God with supplication especially we should strive to abound in thanksgiving to God in all things giving thanks this is the greatest honor we can doe to God 1. Thessa. 5.18.19 Philip. 4.7 Psal. 50.23 Col. 1.11 Ephes. 6.18.2 Cor. 4.15 Seventhly we should grow in the contempt of the world and the lesser estimation of the things of this life we should strive more and more to expresse a mortified conversation using the world as if we used it not setting out affections on the things that are above and having our conversation in heaven confessing our selves to be strangers and pilgrims and with all eagernesse embracing the praises of a better life Hebrews 11.13 Philip. 3.20 in nothing being carefull Philip. 4.6 hastning to the comming of Jesus Christ. 2. Pet. 3.11 Eighthly We should exceedingly strive to grow in the holy and reverent use of Gods ordinances striving to come with more feare and sense of the glorious presence of God This is a wonderfull hard lesson and little heeded of the most Oh that we could get it to serve the Lord with feare and to rejoice but yet with trembling Oh blessed is the man that can feare alwaies and worke out his salvation with feare and trembling Ninthly there is another gift we should grow in and it is marvelously necessary and comely and yet extreamely neglected and that is utterance of which the Apostle makes mention in his short Catalogue 2. Cor. 8.7 Utterance I say to be able to speake one to another with profit and power
for ever because it is the forme of the body Though God for the time doe by his power and race provide for the soule in glory yet it is not at full happinesse till it bee joyned to the body againe For without the body it hath no use of vegetation or senses but onely of reason But for the Argument of the Apostle it holds good of that part of man which is in question which is the body of man for the bodies of godly men are more miserable than other men kept under and exposed to many restraints and paines either by mortification or persecution which the bodies of wicked men are not exposed unto Ob. 3. It is said of the spirit of Princes that it returneth to his earth and in the day of death his thoughts perish So the soule thinkes of nothing after death till the day of judgement Sol. The place is corruptly alledged two wayes One in the words the other in the sense for the text doth not say That his spirit returneth to his earth but thus His spirit returneth viz. out of his body to God and he not it returneth to the earth viz. in respect of his body for the other these words His thoughts perish must not be understood of his understanding after death but of his projects while he lived For men are exhorted not to trust in Princes for they may die and then all their promises and projects will bee of no use and come to nothing Ob. 4. It is said that the dead cannot praise God Psal. 87. and 113. and 30. Sol. That the soules of the godly in heaven do praise God is manifest Rev. 5.11 13 14. and 19.1 Now the Scriptures cannot be contrary one to another and therefore the places in the Psalmes must not bee taken simply but only in some respect The dead do praise God but not as the living did in their lives their praises cannot provoke other men to beleeve in God or serve him as in this life they might Thus of the immortality of the soule The next thing to be inquired after is about the originall of the soule and about this point in severall ages divers men have breathed divers and strange conceits erring because they knew not or regarded not the Scriptures First some conceived so highly of the soule as to thinke it was no creature but uncreated and eternall without beginning but this must needs be false 1 Because then the soule should bee God and infinite too for God onely is uncreated 2 Because then the soule had understanding and thoughts and willed from eternity whereas till it was in our bodies it did not worke and to imagine it should be as a dead lumpe all that while is monstrously absurd Secondly others have conceived that when men die their soules goe into the bodies of other men that be borne and so our soules heretofore were the soules of some men that be dead This was the opinion of divers of the Philosophers And it is apparent that divers of the Jewes were infected with it for about Christ they said Some that he was Elias some that he was Ieremias and some one of the Prophets and some Iohn Baptist. Now they saw that his body was not theirs and therefore they thought that his soule was the soule of some of them Now this opinion cannot be true 1 Because no Scripture gives any notice of it for in that place the conceit of the Jewes is told with dislike 2 Because the soules that were delivered out of the miseries of this life should be brought from their blessednesse into miserie againe which is most absurd Thirdly others have imagined that the Angels should beget our soules as our parents beget our bodies but this is extreamly absurd 1 Because then our soules should be in the Image of Angels whereas they were made in the Image of God 2 Because this was an heresie long since condemned and with hatred cast out of the Church Fourthly many Divines both of ancient and moderne Writers have declared themselves to be of the mind that the soule comes from the parents by generation per traducem and that the parents doe beget the whole man which consists of soule as well as body Now though it be true that this opinion hath had and still hath great patrons and that it may not be denied but that it is defended with marvellous great appearance of reason and truth yet it is rejected and hath beene by the greater part of sound Divines and by reasons unanswerable for if the soule come from the parents then it must come either from the body of the parents or from their soules Now it is apparent it cannot come from their bodies 1 Because a bodily substance cannot beget a spirituall substance because it cannot derive from it selfe that which it hath not 2 Because the soule must consist of the foure elements of which the body is compounded but it is apparent there are no bodily humours in the soule for it is not hot nor cold nor moist nor drie 3 Because nothing that is mortall can beget a thing that is immortall such as the soule hath been proved to bee Nor can the soule come from the soule of the parents First because if it did either the whole soule was derived of the parents or but a part of it If the whole soule was derived then the parents should die nor can a part of the soule be derived because the soule is indivisible there can be no partition in an essence which is simple and uncompounded Secondly we know that Angels produce not Angels nor can the soules of men produce soules because they are spirits as the Angels are Nor can the soule come from the whole man First because it is evident by experience that after the parents have done the worke of generation the first matter lies divers daies in the wombe in which the parts of the body are secretly formed before it have life or a living and quickning soule which is an evident demonstration that from the parents comes nothing but the bodily substance which is fashioned by degrees to be a meeâ—e Tabernacle for the soule afterwards to be infused into Secondly because if the parents did propagate the soule they must propagate such a soule as at that time they had which cannot be for then godly parents should derive a soule to their children which at the least in part was regenerate But this is evidently against all Scripture all confessing that the child is borne infected with originall sinne Thirdly because it is contrary to the Scriptures which acknowledge that the soule was formed by God himselfe which was true both of our first parent Adam Gen. 2.7 and of the soules of all his posterity which are expresly said to be made by God Esa. 57.16 Lastly it remaines then that the soules come from God Now if the soules come from God then it must needs be as God is the materiall cause or
without it it could never compasse things desired Hitherto of the working of the soule upon the body and those strange things it doth in the body by the faculties of vegetation and sense It is true that those things are done by the soules of brute creatures but as their soules differ exceedingly from the glory and excellency of the soules of men so are the effects upon their bodies but certaine glimpses of those things which are done exactly by the soules of men I meane in respect of the inward senses of phantasie and memory there is in beasts but onely a darke shadow of them in comparison of what is in men But for the third faculty of the soule which is reason therein men excell all creatures in this visible world and it is profitable for us to know what God hath done for us in our soules generally considered above all other creatures And so man excells in respect of his reasonable soule 1 In that he can conceive of things by the light of understanding as well as by sense This light is admirable whether we conceive of it as proceeding from God who shines upon the soule as the Sunne doth upon the body or whether wee beleeve it to be a light conferred upon the understanding by which from within it discernes things 2 In that it can conceive of things that never were in the senses as things absent that never were seene yea things altogether immateriall as Angels and vertues and vices 3 In that it can conceive of the nature of God and discerne God from his workes 4 In that it can conceive of things by a discerning reflexion as it can conceive of it selfe and understand that it doth understand 5 In that it can distinguish betweene good and evill truth and falshood I say of the morall goodnesse of things whereas the phantasie can judge onely of so much of the naturall goodnesse of things as they shew to the outward senses 6 In the largenes of the extent of our understanding For the understanding can in a small moment of time go almost over the whole world and view it all as it were at once whereas the senses are forced in within a narrow compasse 7 In that it can invent things that never were in beeing and thus wee see daily what strange things for number and skill are invented for the use of the life of man by art and skill of mans understanding in every calling of men 8 In that the reasonable soule governes and appoints and crosseth and fetters and alters and rectifies the other faculties of vegetation and sense and in respect thereof can turne and tame and rule and order all sorts of other creatures 9 In that by begetting with strange variety it can make knowne what images are within whether begotten by the senses or by the minde it selfe 10 In that it is the faculty by which onely true blessednesse is apprehended and attained 11 In that mans understanding is made after a sort all things For the understanding becomes the things understood in that it doth conceive a true and evident image of the thing to be understood so that as man is the Image of God so hath hee in him the images of all things printed as it were in his understanding This is a most dreadfull dignity in the soules of men yea herein he resembles God in the creation of the world for mans reasonable soule doth as it were forme worlds of things in it selfe If any object that the sensitive soule hath the images of things in it I answer two things First that the sense can receive only the images of a few things that is onely of such things as have colour found taste smell or touchable qualities but the minde can beget the images of all things Secondly that those images in the senses are dull and darke and confused in comparison of the likenesse of things in the minde 12 In that he hath a will in chosing or refusing things good or evill that cannot bee compelled The liberty of the will is inseparable to it in what it chooseth or refuseth for it implies a contradiction that the will should bee constrained 13 In that it hath in it that divine thing which we call conscience which is given to the soule as a guardian as it were to tend it from God the effects whereof are admirable in us for it testifies to our actions it accuseth or excuseth it comforts when we have well done above all outward comforts and it terrifieth and scourgeth the soule with unexpressible afflictions many times for sinne it is a Judge witnesse and executioner many times in us Now if the soule bee thus admirable in any estate for all these things are true of the reasonable soule even in the estate of corruption then how excellent was the estate of man in respect of his soule before the Fall and how doth it excell in the godly who have their soules enlightned with the light of faith and garnished with saving graces but especially how shall it exceed in glory when it shall be presented before God in the Kingdome of heaven So that as the whole man made in Gods image is as it were the visible God in this great world so the soule is as it were a little god in the lâ—sser world which is the body of man And thus much of the faculties of the soule Now the end of all this followes The Lord made the soule and endowed it with so excellent a being and so admirable faculties that so the Lord might in this visible world have a creature that would know him and serve him rightly The creatures without sense are Gods workmanship but discerne nothing of God or themselves or other things The creatures with sense discerne other things by sense but know nothing of God Now God made man as the abridgement of all he had made and gave him his soule of purpose that hee might discerne God aright and serve and worship and praise him Use 1. The consideration of the excellencie of the soule and of the end why it was created should stirre us up to make conscience of the service and knowledge of God it is as if we had never beene if wee answer not this end Wee should be fired to the observation and praise of God and of his love to man And withall it should make us wonderfull carefull of our soules since wee see they are such excellent creatures Our soule is more worth than all this visible world besides Especially it should fire us to a care of things that concerne the blessed immortality of our soules we should be forced to all possible care of all such things as might be provision for the eternall well-being of our soules And in particular the excellencie of the soule should disswade us from fleshly lusts and all inward impuritie by which the soule is defiled or wounded Hitherto of the description of the soule The warre against the soule is now
high in our unworthy conceptions of his Justice Power Eternity Wisedome and Mercy For the second way of glorifying God What heart could stand before his holy presence if he should examine us in justice 1 For our language What man is hee that hath not cause to mourne for his want of language daily in expressing of the praises of God! When did we make his praise glorious have our mouthes been filled with his praise all the day long 2 For our extreame unthankfulnesse when wee meet with God himselfe we have beene healed with the nine Lepers but which of us have returned to give glory to God in the sound acknowledgment of his goodnesse to us It is required we should in all things give thankes and yet we have scarce used one word of praise for a thousand benefits 3 Our slight acknowledgments of sin our backwardnesse to search our waies our carelesnesse when wee know divers grievous faults by our selves either avoiding Gods presence and making confession for fashions â—ake neither out of true griefe for our sinnes and in a speciall manner doe we faile in those cases of trespasse or sinne that comâ— to the knowledge of others Do we knowledge our sinnes one to another Oh how hard it is to bring us to bee easie to give glory to God herein What man is hee that liveth and hath not failed of the glory of God about the Sabbath Do wee delight in Gods work Have we consecrated that day as glorious to the Lord Have not our mindes run upon our own waies After what an unspeakable manner have we slighted God in his Ordinances Lastly what shall we answer to the Lord for our neglects of Jesus Christ Have we glorified the Son or rather have we not shamefull wants still in our faith Which of us can say that he lives by the faith of the Sonne of God And are not our affections to the Lord Jesus extreamly dull and adverse Where is the longing desire after him and the fervent love of his appearing And for the last way of glorifying God by effect How unprofitably and unfruitfully doe the most of us live Who hath praised God in our behalfe Whom have we won to the love of God and the truth Where are our witnesses that might testifie that our good works have caused them to glorifie God But especially woe be to scandalous Christians that have either caused wicked men to blaspheme or Gods little ones to take offence and conceive ill of the good way of God if they repent not it had beene better for them they had never beene borne And as for wicked men that are openly so to give a touch of them and their estate they have reason to repent in sackcloth and ashes if their eyes were but open to see what terrour is implied in this doctrine and how God will avenge himselfe upon them both for their not glorifying of him and for changing his glory and for the opposing of his glory 1 In not glorifying God they have spent their daies without God they have either not conceived of him at all or in a most meane and vile manner they have not honoured him in his ordinances or in his Sabbaths they never loved the Lord Jesus in their hearts c. 2 In changing the glory of God they have done shamefully Some of them have turned Gods glory into the similitude of an Oxe or a Calfe that eareth hay Some of them have given his praise to Images and the workes of their hands Some of them have fixed the glory of their affections upon riches pleasures and favour of men Some of them have made their belly their god and some have given their bodies to harlots Thirdly in opposing Gods glory they have likewise offended grievously they have spoken evill of the good way of God they have abused his servants and so despised him they have set themselves against his Sabbaths c. to omit that they have opposed Gods glory in their hearts by setting up Idols there by allowing striving to maintain Atheisticall conceits against God The second use should be therefore to beget in us a care to use all means to dispose of and fit our selves that we might make God glorious and so amend and redresse our waies herein and that wee may the more effectually bee wrought upon herein I will consider of two things First I will briefly shew the reasons should stirre us to all possible care and diligence herein Secondly I would shew how wee may distinctly attaine to the glorifying of God in all the three waies before mentioned For the first Divers considerations should move us to the care of magnifying or glorifying of God by all the waies we can First it is a great honour that God doth unto us to account himselfe to receive glory any way from our endeavours Shall the creature be admitted in any sense to that glory to make his Creator to make him I say in his excellencie or glory God doth account himselfe to receive a new Beeing as it were by those inward conceptions of his glory and by those outward honours done unto him Shall the King of glory vouchsafe to dwell in our hearts and shall we not be exceedingly desirous to entertaine him Secondly not to glorifie God is to sinne grievously it is not arbitrary but most dangerous to allow our selves either in inward neglects of God or in outward unfruitfulnesse Shall wee attribute so much every day to the creatures we deale with and shall we know or acknowledge so little of the Creator It cannot be safe to slight God Thirdly it is one of the first things that breakes out in the new Converts so soone as any of the Gentiles are visited of God in the same day they glorifie him by conceiving gloriously of him and by magnifying God in himselfe and his servants and service c. And therefore without singular danger of losing our evidence of our calling we must attend to this Doctrine how hard soever it seeme Fourthly wee are bought with a price and are Gods and therefore now both in soule and body we should be wholly devoted to his glory 1 Cor. 6 ult as God hath glorified us in our creation and the many treasures he hath given us in Jesus Christ and we hope the accomplishment of maâ—chlesse glory in heaven and shall wee not bee zealous for the glory of the Lord Many glorious things bee spoken of us through his grace and shall wee thinke or speake meanely of God Fifthly the Lord our God exceeds all things in glory and therefore wee should extoll his praise above the heavens and the whole earth should shew it selfe to be full of his glory Sixthly he is our heavenly Father and can we thinke too well of him or doe too much to win him praise Matth. 5.16 Lastly thinke with our selves What make wee in Gods Vineyard or Orchard If we be trees of his planting ought we not to be filled with the
evill of godly men as a dog or an oxe is when he is muzzled Doct. 9. That the good life of godly men may silence wicked men and yet not make them leave their wickednesse He doth not say that by well-doing they may win ignorant and foolish men It is true that sometimes a good conversation may win them as 1 Pet. 3.1 2. and before verse â—2 yet ordinarily they will doe wickedly even in the land of uprightnesse Esay 26.10 Verse 16. As free and not using your liberty for a cloake of maliciousnesse but as the servants of God IN the two former verses hee confirmes the exhortation by reasons in this he answers an objection The objection seemes to bee that Christians are made free by Christ and therefore are not to bee tied with the bonds of humane ordinances or subjection to men The Apostle answereth that it is true that Christians are made free-men but so as they must not use their freedome as a cloake of maliciousnesse and the liberty of sinning either against God or men for they are still Gods servants and bound to doe what hee would have them to doe and so consequently to obey Magistrates since God requires them so to doe So that in this verse he intreats of Christian liberty And so first he grants the use of it or the right of it in these words As free Secondly â—ee removes the abuse of it in these words Not using your liberty as a cloake of maliciousnesse And thirdly he gives a reason of his removall Because they are the servants of God still In the first part you must consider what hee granteth viz. that they are free Secondly how far he grants it viz. that they are as free Free Freedome is either civill or spirituall Civill freedome is when a servant is manumitted or made free that was an apprentice or bond-slave before so when a stranger is admitted to the right of a City or a Common-wealth or the like The spirituall freedome is that estate which Christians doe enjoy by Gods favour in Christ after their calling It is a spirituall manumission or freedome that is here meant and this is called Christian liberty partly because it is a freedome that wee have onely by Christ and partly because it is a freedome now onely enjoyed by Christians and no other men in the world Christian liberty is one of the great gifts or endowments bestowed upon the Church by Christ. It is not amisse to reckon up all the gifts in order that the relation which this gift hath to the rest may appeare The gifts then that Christ hath bestowed upon Christians are these First their ransome paid unto God for their redemption Secondly their vocation by the Gospell calling them out of the world into the Church Thirdly the holy Ghost which he sends into their hearts Fourthly their justification imputing his owne righteousnesse and procuring forgivenesse of all their sins Fifthly their sanctification by which he gives them new natures Sixthly their adoption by which they are made the sons of God Seventhly their Christian liberty by which they are freed from all former bondage and enjoy great priviledges this is a fruit of their adoption Eighthly consolation refreshing their hearts in all estates especially by the comforts of his Word Ninthly the gift of perseverance by which they are kept from falling away Lastly an immortall and undefiled inheritance in heaven after they are dead Christian liberty is either the liberty of grace in this life or the liberty of glory after this life The liberty of glory concernes either the soule or the body The glory or liberty of the soule is the freeing of it from all sinne and misery and the setting of it in the possession of that blessed immortality in heaven The liberty of the body is the freeing of it from the bonds of death and bowels of the earth by enduing it with a glorious resurrection part of which freedome they enjoy even in the grave For though they bee buried yet they are not damned to hell there but rest in hope of their finall deliverance and with this liberty of glory both soule and body are made heires of heaven Rom. 8.21 It is the liberty of grace is here meant And that this part of the Christian happinesse may the better appeare I will consider first what he is freed from and secondly what he is freed to For the first there are divers things he is freed from as First from the rigour of the morall Law hee is delivered from the most rigid and severe execution of absolute and perfect obedience so as being now under grace he is not bound to fulfill the Law perfectly but may be accepted of God if he obey it in the uprightnesse and sincerity of his heart though he have many frailties and infirmities God hath now tempered that rigour of exaction which he justly stood upon in his first agreement with man in Paradise and did with terrour againe proclaime in giving his Law in Sinai so as now in Christ our yoke is easie and our burden light Matth. 11.29 Rom. 6.14 Christ our surety hath fulfilled that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or exact righteousnesse of the Law for us Rom. 8.3 Gal. 4.24 26. Heb. 12.18 Rom. 7.6 c. Secondly for the execution and condemnation into which the Law for our sinnes hath cast us our expiation being made in the bloud of Christ who was made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a curse for us that wee might be justified from these things from which by the Law of Moses wee could never bee absolved Rom. 8.1 Gal. 3.13 Thirdly from the tyranny and damnation of sin that dwels in us the force of it being mortified by the spirit of Christ and so weakened that though it may rebell yet it cannot rage and rule as it did before Rom. 6.14 Ioh. 8.34 2 Cor. 3.17 Rom. 6.6 18. Fourthly from bondage under divels those spirituall wickednesses that had their strong holds in the hearts of every man by nature and ruled effectually in all the children of disobedience who had possession in our hearts and kept us in their power as most cruell Jaylers Ephes. 2.2 4. by Christ they are throwne out of possession they may tempt still but the gates of hell shall never prevaile againe over the godly Col. 2.15 Fifthly from the Lawes of Moses The ceremoniall and judiciall Lawes which Lawes were a yoke that neither the Jewes nor their fathers were ever able to beare Acts 15.10 The ceremoniall Lawes were a very seale of our condemnation a hand-writing against us wherein men many wayes acknowledge their guiltinesse besides they were extremely burthensome in respect of the rules of them and the strict observation required from them Our deliverance from these lawes these places prove Acts 15.1 Cor. 9.1 19. 2 Cor. 3.17 Heb. 9.10 Col. 2.17 There were foure respects which the ceremoniall Law had or foure uses First these ceremonies as I said
with what kinde of reviling he was 〈◊〉 and that was with most hatefull 〈◊〉 as deceiving working by the Divell blasphemy sedition treason c. The Use followes Use. Was Christ reviled Then it is most manifest that the world hates goodnesse incurably if that just One cannot scape reproach and slanders then may not any godly persons promise to themselves peace that wayes Therefore carnall friends of such as suffer reproach for Religion many times say It must needs be they are faulty some way or at least are not discreet whereas this instance of our Saviour shewes that wordly-minded men will reproach such as are godly though they were never so discreet or innocent Besides this should teach us patience under such indignities and wrongs Christ was reviled and shall we be so troubled and disquieted Christ did not revile againe And the reason was partly because reviling is a sin and partly because he suffered as our surety though he had deserved no such shame and we had and therefore holds his peace not onely from reviling but many times from just apologie confessing our guiltinesse by his silence The practice of our Saviour is here reported for our learning that all Christians might hence be warned not to render reviling for reviling 1 Pet. 3.9 There are many reasons to perswade us to patience and not to render reviling for reviling First the reproaches of unreasonable men cannot take away thy innocency Secondly better men than we have beene as vilely abused Thirdly as David said God may blesse thee for their cursing and honour thee for their disgracing of thee Fourthly because we are heires of blessing and therefore such foule language as cursing and reviling should not be found in our mouthes Fiftly though thou deserve not those reproaches from men yet thou art not innocent before God Sixtly herein thou shalt be conformed to the Patterne and Image of the Lord Jesus Christ not onely in suffering wrongfully but in forbearing reviling for Conscience sake He threatned not To threaten those that wrong us is usually a blemish and a fault First because usually it ariseth of passion and desire of revenge Secondly because oftentimes it is joyned with lying when such things are threatned as for matter or degree cannot be done or are not intended to be done Thirdly because by threatning so passionately we doe injury to God to whom vengeance belongs This condemnes the usuall practice of all sorts of men that sin fearfully in the customary practice of thwarting upon all occasions of discontent and displeasure Who is he that suffers now and in his heart or words threatens not Especially how exceeding common is this sin in the most families where parents and masters can hardly tell how to speake of the faults of servants and children but it is with foolish and passionate threatning contrary to the expresse prohibition Eph. 6.9 Masters use not threatnings But all such as would have the comfort of a sound conversation and desire to carry themselves as Christ hath left us a patterne must strive to breake off this wretched habit of threatning and if they be oppressed by Superiours or wronged by the incurable faults of Inferiours they must learne of Christ to commit all to him that judgeth righteously which is the affirmative part of the manner of Christs suffering But committed himselfe to him that judgeth righteously From these words divers things may be observed Doct. 1. First that in case of wrongs from other men it is not alwaies needfull or convenient to complaine to the Magistrate for redresse Christ here commits his cause to God but complaineth not nay though he were wronged almost continually and with grievous wrongs yet we read not that ever he complained against them that did him wrong Here two things are to be enquired after First in what cases it is not fit to complaine to men Secondly in what cases it may be lawfull and fit In these cases following it is not fit to complaine to the Magistrate First where redresse of the wrongs may be had by private and peacefull courses 1 Cor. 6. Secondly where the lawes of men doe not provide punishment some wrongs are offences and yet not punishable by mens lawes Thirdly where the offence is commited of meere frailty or ignorance Fourthly where the offence is grounded upon meere surmises which in the judgement of charity ought not to be conceived 1 Cor. 13. Fiftly where the injury is lesse and the party trespassing doth acknowledge the wrong in this case the rule of Christ holds If thy brother say It repenteth me thou must forgive him Luke 17.4 Sixtly where by the suit religion will receive greater dammage by the scandall than the party suffers by the wrong as in the case of the Corinthians where a brother went to law with a brother before Judges that were Infidels Seventhly where the Magistrates have declared themselves to be enemies to justice and just men as here in the case of Christ it was boot lesse to complaine because all the Rulers were his professed enemies Contrariwise in these and such like cases following men may lawfully seek justice from men in authority First where the offence is grievous and against the lawes of God and men Secondly where the offender persists in evill-doing without repentance Thirdly where the offence is against God and Religion as well as against the party wronged Fourthly where such wrongs are usually punishable Fiftly where the party complaining is bound to complaine by his office either by charge or oath provided that the party complaining first love his enemies and secondly prosecute with continuall respect to Gods glory and thirdly use the benefit of the Law with charity and mercy without cruelty or extremity Thus of the first Doctrine Doct. 2. The malice of wicked men against the godly is so great that when they begin to oppose them though it be but in their name they will never cease opposition if they have power till they have their lives too Thus I gather from hence that our Saviour being reviled doth not only commit his cause to God but commits himselfe to God as expecting the increase of their oppositions till they have put him to death This is the reason why God indites every man that hates his brother of murther 1 Iohn 3.15 And David so often complaines of his enemies that slandred him that they also sought his life yea his soule as if they were desirous not only to kill his body but damne his soule also Doct. 3. We may here also note that God is to be conceived of according to the occasion seeing we cannot comprehend God wholly as he is we ought to raise up such conceptions in our hearts of the glory of God as may with honour answer the occasion that presently concerns us as here in the case of wrongs God is conceived as a righteous Judge in the case of death he is called the God of the spirits of all flesh in
brought to light none can reach to it but such as God endues with speciall wisedome for Solomon long since had observed that life is above to the wise only Pro. 15.24 The things I would consider of about this life are these 1. The degrees of it 2. The originall of it 3. A ghesse at the nature of it 4. The things that nourish it 5. The differences betweene this life on earth and as it is in heaven 6. The meanes to attaine it or what we must doe if wee would enter into life 7. The signes to know whether it be in us 8. The properties of it 9. Lastly the Uses of it 1. For first we must understand that this life hath three degrees into which we enter in at three gates as it were The first degree of eternall life begins at the first spirituall acquaintance with God in this life when his favour is made knowne to us in Jesus Christ by the Gospel so as we are truely justified and sanctified being reconciled unto God having all our sins forgiven us and our natures made new and into this degree we enter by the gate of regeneration Thus our Saviour saith This is eternall life to know God and whom he hath sent Iesus Christ Iohn 17.3 Thus he that heareth Christs words and beleeveth is passed from death to life Iohn 5.24 The second degree begins at our death and continueth the life that the soule separated from the body enjoyes till the resurrection at the last day And concerning the estate of the soule in this degree of life we have no absolute revelation but yet are taught in Scripture that it returnes to God that gave it to the body at first Eccles. 12.7 and that it is with Christ Phil. 1.23 that it is in the hands of God and in Paradise Luke 23.43 and lives in unspeakable joy Luke 16.25 and is freed from all miseries of this life and enjoyes the honour of all good workes Rev. 14.13 the bodie resting in the grave from all paine and labour as in a bed of rest till the resurrection Esay 57.2 And into this degree of life eternall we enter in by the gate of death The third degree of life eternall begins at the resurrection of our bodies at the last day and is enjoyed by body and soule for ever comprehending all possible consummation of felicity and glory in the heavens And into this we enter by the gate of resurrection which is a kind of new begetting of us and therefore is called the resurrection of life Iohn 11.25 and so the blessed in heaven are called the children of the resurrection and by that way the children of God Luke 20.36 In the first degree life is imperfect in the second it is perfect in the third it is consummate And the Use of this first point should be to warne men to looke to it that they enter into the first degree of eternall life while they are in this world or else they shall never get to heaven when they die and therefore should strive for saving knowledge and to become new creatures or else it is in vain to hope for heaven 2. For the second which is the originall of life it is greatly for the praise of it that it flowes from that life which is in God himselfe which is an unspeakable glory to the creatures that enjoy it With thee is the fountaine of life saith David Psal. 36.9 So he calls him the God of his life Psal. 42.8 Naturall life is but a sparkle that flowes from the life of our Parents but spirituall and eternall life is kindled from that infinite light and life of God but yet not as Christ received we this life for he had it by naturall generation we have it by a way unspeakable from God but yet by Jesus Christ. In him was life as the life was the light of men Iohn 14. He that hath the Son hath life Iohn 5.12 and he it is that is eternall life viz. to us ver 20. As there is no light in the visible world but from the Sun in the firmament so there is no life in the spirituall world but from God in heaven which hath caused it to shine in our hearts by the Son of righteousnesse Christ Jesus Thus our life is called the life of God Ephes. 4.18 and Christ is said to live in us Gal. 2.20 Which should teach us greatly to admire and adore the excellency of Gods goodnesse and make us to rest our selves for ever under the shadow of his wings Psal. 36.7 8 9. But that this point may be more cleerely understood we must consider of the originall of this life from God three waies First in respect of ordination and so it flowes from Gods decree he hath ordained us unto life Acts 13.48 and our names are written in the booke of life Phil. 4.3 Secondly in respect of merit it was bought of God by the death of the flesh of Christ. I give my flesh for the life of the world Iohn 6.51 This life will not be had without his death that we might live in eternall life he must die a temporall death And shall not this greatly inflame our hearts to love the Lord Jesus that gave himselfe for us that we should not perish but have everlasting life Thirdly in respect of operation or inchoation and so the fountaine of life is either without us or within us without us is the Word of Christ that is the immortall seed by which we are begotten unto life 1 Pet. 1.24 and so is called the Word of life Phil. 2.15 And the Word is so as it is the Word of Christ that is Gospel My words saith he are spirit and life Iohn 6.63 And that Word considered as it is preached to the dead soules of men the dead shall heare the voice of Christ and live Shall heare it note that Iohn 5.25 which should make us greatly to esteeme the preaching of the Gospel Within us the fountaine of life is the Spirit of Christ which is called the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.2 Now the Spirit of Christ that we may live doth two things viz. it quickens the seed of the Word and unites us unto Christ as members of the mysticall body and then looke how the soule of man doth give life to every member of the body so doth the Spirit of Christ to every soule as a severall member of the mysticall body 3. For the third Wee shall not exactly know what the nature of eternall life is still it be perfected in us or consummate yet by divers words God hath let fal in Scripture we may ghesse at the nature of this life and in generall I thinke it is a kind of celestiall light falling into the soule that doth to it that which naturall life doth to the body This Saint Iohn shewing how Christ was the life of men saith he was the light of men Iohn 1.4 And David having said
creature Here while we are present with the bodie and the blessings of life we are absent from the Lord the infinite life of our lives but there we shall enjoy him as fully as our hearts can desire 2 Cor. 5.8 Here we want our crowne whatsoever else we enjoy but there our honour and glory and majestie shall be so great as if all the Kings of the earth did bring their glory to one man it would not equall what every one shall have there 2 Tim. 4.8 Rev. 2.24 3.21 we shall reigne in life Rom. 5. And this Crowne is the more glorious because it shall not consist of some precious thing without us but of royall excellency with which our soules and bodies shall shine as the Sun in the firmament our very bodies in qualitie being altered to such an expression of majestie and beautie and Angelicall excellencie as now exceeds all mortall language being rather like spirits than earthly bodies And for the measure now we have but little tastes of joy and if these tastes be unspeakable and glorious what are those rivers of joy at Gods right hand Psal. 16. ult And for continuance they are for evermore as the Psalmist there speakes whereas now they are gone from us like lightning in an instant and our lives are afterward assaulted almost continually with causes or occasion of sorrow so as the world in the best place is but like a vale of teares but there shall be no sorrow no death no crying nor paine but God shall wipe away all teares from our eyes for ever Rev. 21.4 6. Thus of the differences of life on earth and life in heaven What men must doe that they may enter into life followes And about this point our Saviour tells us two things before hand First that the way to life is a narrow way and the gate is exceeding strait men may be mis-led by a thousand by-wayes and the worke to be done is a very hard worke Secondly that there are but few that finde the right way yea but few amongst those that seeke it and seeme desirous to know what they should doe for either they understand not the directions when they are given or by taking time to thinke of them they forget them or else when they have the answer they goe their waies like the young man in the Gospel and are sorrie the conditions be so hard and so give over all further care and rest in the estate they were in before And therefore we had need to attend the more carefully and resolve to doe whatsoever God requires of us whatsoever it cost us and not be troubled at the difficulty of the worke considering the excellency of eternall life and the many helps we have to further the worke Of which afterwards This then is the question What should a man or woman doe that he might be sure to enter into life Answ. 1. Thou must lay the foundation of all in Jesus Christ thou must disclaime all trust in any thing in heaven or earth in thy selfe or thy owne workes or any other creature and relie upon the merits of Jesus Christ as the onely meanes of pacifying Gods anger or procuring eternall life Acts 4.12 Iohn 3.16 and thou must inwardly lay up Christ in thy heart so as spiritually ever to eat his flesh and drinke his bloud by applying all he hath done or suffered for thee in particular Iohn 6.53 1 Iohn 5.12 2. Thou must pray hard to the God of life Psal. 42.8 and with great importunity beseech him to give thee the spirit of life that is Jesus Christ and with the more encouragement because he hath promised to give even his holy Spirit to them that aske him Luke 11.13 3. There will be no life in the soule if thou dost not repent thee of thy sins Acts 11.18 And this is the harder worke because first to confesse thy sins will not serve turne unlesse thou forsake them and overcome them Rev. 2.7 so as the power of them be mastered and thou doe from thy heart desire and resolve to leave them If thy lusts passions disorders of life in drunkennesse swearing sinnes of deceit or the like be not mended thou canst not live this life 1 Cor. 6.9 Gal. 5.22 23. At the best without an apparent victorie there will be little comfort in life Secondly in turning thou must turne from all thy transgressions so as thou be sure thou leave no sin thou knowest but thou wilt endevour to judge thy selfe for it and strive to forsake it Thy heart must be turned from it Ezek. 18.21 Yea if some of thy sinnes for profit or pleasure be to thee like thy right eye or right hand thou must cut them off or pull them out or else thou canst never enter into life Mat. 18.8 9. As in the case of rich men the way of life is compared to the eye of a needle and their hearts to a great cable now there is no way for thee to enter into life but by untwisting the great cable till it be made like small threeds which is done by great humiliation Iames 1.10 And withall thy heart must continue affraid in the least thing to offeâ—d God This feare of the Lord is required to the very beginning of this life Pro. 14.27 4. Thou must deny thy selfe extremely in outward things thou must look for persecution yea and perhaps be put to it to forsake father and mother house and lands wife and children yea and life it selfe so as to hate and lose this naturall life in comparison of the gaining of eternall life Marke 10.30 Iohn 12.25 5. Thou must be tied to walke in a strict course of life all thy dayes resolving to walke in the way of righteousnesse and let the word of God be the rule of allâ—thy actions and by patient continuance in well-doing to seeke encrease of happinesse and holinesse for life is only in the way of righteousnesse Pro. 12.28 Rom. 2.7 8. Ezek. 33.15 16. Now though this worke be very hard yet thou hast many helps if thy heart be right and willing to obey for 1. God will give thee his holy Spirit to worke all thy worke for thee and to cause thee to walke in his statutes and keepe his judgements and to doe them and will mortifie the deeds of the flesh and teach thee in all truth and comfort and support thee and make thy workes acceptable to God as hath beene shewed before 2. Thou hast the help of spirituall armour that is mighty through God to cast downe strong holds 2 Cor. 10.3 4. thou wilt find a strong supply from every ordinance of God the Word and Prayer and Sacraments all sâ—rve to help against the difficultie of this worke and so will the societie of the godly as was shewed before 3. Thou wilt have the benefit of Christs prayers and intercession for thee in heaven Iohn 17.15 which is of unspeakable force and power to helpe thee 4. The greatnesse of
by the bodily eyes The fourth thing to be proved is that the soule is immortall it cannot die when it is once kindled it will never goe out or be extinct as the Sadducees wickedly imagined and some Athiefts still thinke the contrary This is a point necessary to be knowne as for the truth it selfe so for the use of it in our lives For to doubt of immortality makes us miserable and to beleeve the soules are mortall makes men Epicures Let us eate and drinke for to morrow we shall die But to be fully assured of an estate after life makes a man carefull so avoid sinne lest his soule live for ever miserably and to serve God that hee may live for ever happily Now things may be said to be immorrall two waies either absolutely and in their owne nature and so God onely is immortall or else they are so by the will and pleasure of God and not by their owne nature and so the soules of men and so the Angels are immortall There have beene two sorts of men that have denyed the immortality of the soule the one were the Sadducees among the Jews who held that in death the soule of man is utterly extinct as the soule of a beast the other were certaine Arabians of whom Eusebius and Saint Augustine make mention who said that the soule died with the body and so remained dead till the day of Judgement and then they revived with the resurrection of the body Now against the first sort may be produced many reasons as also evident Scriptures The reasons are such as these 1 The providence and justice of God proveth the immortality of the soule For here in this life good men have not all their happinesse and evill men live in prosperity so there must be another life where justice must be done 2 Religion confirmes this for to what end were religion and serving of God if the soule died like the soule of a beast seeing in this life the most godly are outwardly in great misery many times For if S. Paul say If the dead rise not then of all men are we most miserable it will hold much more strange if the soule live not at all after death 3 The wisedome of God proves it for else man were not in better case than the beast yea in some cases worse For man from his infancie to his death is liable to many diseases subject to cares and griefes which the beast is free from yea this addes to mans misery that he knowes he must die which the beast doth not Now shall man that was counted like God be thought to have no better end than the beast that did exalt himselfe so much in the glory of his beginning 4 The conscience of malefactors proves this who feare a judgement after this life and an estate of misery 5 The nature of the soule proves it for it is simple and void of all contrariety and accidents and causes of corruption or putrefaction and is besides the Image of God Now no mortall thing can be the image of that which is immortall These reasons make it exceeding probable But I am of their mindes that thinke it may be beleeved by faith but not be proved by reason The Scripture therefore onely makes this point cleere such as these First our Saviour proves it out of the Word of God saying I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob c. Secondly it is most plaine Mat. 10.28 Thirdly eternall life is every where promised to them that beleeve Fourthly such places as treat of the Resurrection last Judgement and the Glory of heaven prove it Now for the other sort that confesse the life of the soule after the last Judgement but deny that the soule lives after death till then there are divers Scriptures against their opinion As First the former Scriptures The soule cannot be killed at all Matth. 10. And God was presently the God of Abraham as then living and for eternall life it is not said He shall have but He hath eternall life that beleeveth Secondly Christ said to the theese This day thou shalt be with mee in Paradise not at the last day Thirdly Ro. 8.38 Death cannot separate us from God in Christ as it would if the soule were dead or a-sleepe and did not enjoy God Fourthly the dead that die in the Lord are forthwith blessed Rev. 14.14 Fifthly the soules of Abraham and Lazarus were in joy and alive after death so was the soule of Dives in hell Sixthly Iohn saw under the Altar the soules of them that were slaine for the testimony of Jesus and they cryed with a lowd voice O Lord how long c. Revel 6. Seventhly the soules of the wicked die not but are kept in prison and are now in prison too 1 Pet. 3.19 Before I leave this point of the immortality of the soule it is profitable briefly to answer certaine objections which may be brought out of some words in the Scriptures as Ob. 1. The soule that sinneth shall die Ezek. 18. Therefore it seemes the soule is mortall or at lest for sinne it must die and the rather because it was threatned in Paradise That day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death Sol. The Scriptures evidently shew that since the fall and sinne yet the soule doth not die as the places before alledged prove But the answer is That this death threatned or inflicted is not the destruction of the beeing of the soule but the depriving of it of the grace and savour and presence of God Ob. 2. Eccles. 3. It is said that there is one end of the man and of the beast As dieth the one so dieth the other Sol. These are not the words of Salomon but of the Epicure who is here as in other places of that booke brought in declaring his mind of things For Salomon himselfe concludeth evidently that the soule returneth unto God that gave it as in the last Chapter The other objections are the objections of the dreamers that is of such as imagine that the soule lieth a-sleepe till the day of Judgement and perceives nothing and is without operation which is to say it is dead seeing life is nothing else but the continuall motion and action of the soule Object 1. It is said that man when hee dies sleepeth as Christ said of Lazarus He sleepeth Ioh. 11. and Stephen slept in the Lord Act. 17. Sol. Other Scriptures adde another word viz. in the grave or in the dust Iob 7.21 and Psal. 78. sleeping in their graves but it is evident that the soule cannot sleepe in the grave but the body only And Stephen delivered his Spirit to Christ. Object 2. Paul saith that if the body rise not we are of all men most miserable That it seemes cannot be true if the soule enjoy blessednesse without the body Sol. The immortality of the soule and the resurrection of the body are conjoyned For the Soule without the body can bee
or contempt of others or hath the appearance of such evill in the judgement of others Esay 3. 1 Thes. 5. 8. When it becommeth not good workes or hindereth them 1 Tim. 2.9 as when men restraine mercie to the poore or oppresse their Tenants or defraud other men onely to mainetaine themselves or theirs in outward pompe and gallantnesse of apparell This is the horrible sin of the Gentry in many places of this kingdome 9. When it is condemned and reproved by godly Ministers that are both wise and learned for their testimony ought to be received 2 Thess. 1.10 and it is a vile sinne to vexe them and grieve them by our obstinacie yea though they were not able to make so full demonstration yet when they reprove such things out of a spirituall jealousie and feare they corrupt their hearers they ought to be heard Heb. 13.18 1 Cor. 11.2.3 10. When the time that might be profitably spent is consumed by the tedious curiositie of dressing Ephes. 5.16 as it is with those that have not time for Godâ— worship in private or cannot come time enough to the Church or neglect their calling by being so long in dressing 11. When it dishonours the body of a man Col. 2. ult as when it is slovenly or sluttish or is taken up of meere singularitie and affectation of the praise of mortification and tends to restraine Christian libertie in others For no pretence may uncomely apparell be used for 1 Tim. 2.9 it is required that the apparell of women be comely for so the originall word signifies But especially uncomely apparell is then most vile when it is worne with a purpose to deceive as the Prophet complained of such as weare a roâ—gh garment to deceive 12. The puritie of a Christian life should avoide all dressings or fashions which had their originall from infamous persons such as are the fashions of Whores or debauched creatures and such a beginning it is said commonly Yellow starch had What fellowship betweene light and darknesse righteousnesse and unrighteousnesse Christ and Belial If we would have God to love us we must separate and come out from amongst them and touch no uncleane thing 13. When such apparell is worne as is contrary to the wholesome lawes of men for we are bound to submit our selves to every ordinance of man for Gods sake 1 Pet. 2.13 14. Lastly when the partie that useth such apparell or dressing is condemned in himselfe and hath his owne conscience accusing or disliking it or is noâ— fully assured that he doth not sin Whatsoever is not of Faith in those things is sin Rom. 14. Verse 4. But let it be the hidden man of the heart c. HItherto of that adorning they should not be curious or costly in Now in this verse he shewes in the affirmative what apparell or dressing they sâ—ould be carefull of and that is the adorning of their soules and the apparelling of the inward man In the words three things may be noted 1. What must be apparelled viz. the hidden man of the heart 2. With what it must be adorned which he shewes both in generall and in particular in generall it must be with incorruptible things in particular it must be with a meeke and quiet spirit 3. The reason viz. because such apparell is very rich in Gods account The firâ—â— thing then is what must be apparelled viz. the man of the heart The man of the heart This is a kind of speaking not used in any place of Scriptuâ—e but this onely this Apostle onely useth this kinde of expressing himselfe Now concerning the man of the heart I would consider of sixe things 1. What he is 2. Whence he is or his originall 3. In what he excels the outward man 4. What condition he is in by nature 5. Hâ—w he may be mended or made better 6. How we may know when the man of the heart is right â—or the first by the man of the heart hee meanes the same the Apostle Paulâ—oth â—oth by the inward man 2 Cor. 4.16 and the inward man is the soule or heâ—rt of man Thus â—e speakes of a Jew that is outward and a Jew that is inâ—arâ— Rom. 2.28 29. Now the heart is and may well be called the man for divers reasons 1. In respect of definition For the definition of a man agrees to the heart of man though there were no body for God was the God of Abraham and Abraham was and was a living man many hundred yeeres after his body was in the grave Mat. 22. And hence it is that unto the soule or heart of man in Scriptures is attributed all things that the outward man can doe as life Psal. 22.27 language Eccles. 9.1 Psal. 14.1 36.1 praying to God Psal. 37.4 receiving messages from God as when the Prophet is bidden to speake to the heart of Jerusalem Esay 40. serving of God c. 2. In respect of dominion The heart is the man because it disposeth the way of man Pro. 16.9 and ruleth the outward man for out of the aboundance of the heart the mouth speaketh And therefore Solomon saith that from the heart comes life Pro. 4.23 3. In respect of acceptation The heart is that which God especially respects in man it is the heart he lookes upon 1 Sam. 17.7 He tries the heart and as Solomon saith He weighes the hearts of the children of men Pro. 21.2 and he will be served with our hearts Iosh. 24.14 and in all holy duties it is with us in Gods account according as he seeth the heart 1 Kings 8.39 so he requires the heart in repenting 1 Sam. 7.3 in praying 2 Tim. 2.22 Hos. 7.14 in hearing the Word Luke 8. and so in every good duty Thus of the first point For the second The man of the heart hath his originall from God himselfe He is the Father of Spirits Heb. 12.8 and it was his especiall glory to forme and fashion the heart in man as divers Scriptures shew Zech. 12.1 Psal. 33.15 and is therefore called the God of the heart Psal. 37. For the third The man of the heart excells the outward man exceedingly and that both in substance and in priviledges As for substance in the outward man we agree with beasts but in the inward man we agree with Angels in as much as the man of the heart consists of a spirituall and immateriall essence as well as the Angels And as in substance so in properties there is great difference for first the man of the heart is hidden it can be and doe all his worke and yet be invisible God himselfe hath variety of conversation with the man of the heart that no creature else knowes Secondly he is free and subject only to the God of his heart properly No man can come at or governe or command the heart of man Thirdly he is properly the seat of Gods image Wee are not properly like God in our bodies because God hath no body but in
our spirits though it be true that the glory of Gods image shines through the body of man as the light doth through the lanthorne in respect whereof the outward man is said to bee made after Gods image but else properly onely the man of the heart is capable of that preferment to be made like God For the fourth point The man of the heart by nature is in a most wofull condition though in those general things before mentioned he excels the outward His miserie will appear if we throughly consider either what he is in his qualities or what he doth in his worke or what he suffers in that estate If you inquire after his qualities by nature first he is vaine Ephes. 4.18 yea so vaine as the outward man dares not act what the man of the heart entertaines Secondly he is foule as Solomon saith Who can say I have made my heart cleane Yea he is so foule that it is as hard a worke to make the he art of one man cleane as to create a world anew Hence David said O Lord create in me a cleane heart Psal. 51. Thirdly he is uncircumcised and altogether indisposed to matters of religion he is slow and hard to beleeve uncapable and unteachable and makes not use of the very first businesse in the entrance into religion Ier. 9.26 1 Cor. 2.14 Fourthly hee is deceitfull above all things hee can bee trusted in nothing Ier. 17.9 Fiftly he is verie unquiet and never enjoyes any sound peace nor is pleased with any condition and oftentimes hee is like the raging Sea Isa. 57. These are his qualities some of them His workes he doth are most abominable for 1. Hee is alwaies imagining mischiefe the whole frame of his thoughts is onely evill continually Gen. 6. There is a world of wickednesse in him evâ—ry day 2. That hee may bee wicked the more securely he imprisons the truth and laies hold upon all the principles in his head that might any way disturbe his course in sin and locks them up in restraint Rom. 1.18 3. He resists the spirit and proclaimes enmitie to God and gets out of the way that so the heart may be farre from God and further the more to provoke God he chooseth strange gods which he daily entertaines and gives unto them what is due unto God These are they are called by the Prophet the Idols of the heart Ezech. 14. And finally he is the authour of all the mischiefes are done by the outward man for it is he that gives wicked lawes to the members and makes the outward man doe all the villanies we see are done in the world Mat. 15. Rom. 7. And as he is most wretched in what he is and doth so is hee in what he suffers for first he is smitten with a most wofull Lethargie alwaies given to sleeping and in danger to go to Hell in any of these sleepes And besides he lives in the darke it is alwaies night with him he never sees day Rom. 13.11 and besides the Divell possesseth him and hath raised strong Holds and fortified himselfe within him 2 Cor. 10.4 and lastly he is an abomination to the Lord. As nothing is more esteemed of God than the man of the Heart if hee bee right so nothing is more loathsome to God if he be wicked Prov. 11.20 Now for the fifth point If any aske what must be done that the man of the Heart may be mended and made right I answer 1. The heart most be prepared prepared I say to returne to God 1 Sam. 7.3 Now the heart is prepared two waies first by a sound confession of the sinnes of the heart when a man acknowledgeth the plague of his evill heart before God 1 Kings 8.38 secondly bâ— earnest prayer to God to direct the heart and set it in order and bow iâ— and incline it to goodnesse 2 Thes. 3.5 Now it is certaine that even these workes of preparation are not neglected of God for hee heareth the preparations of the heart Psal. 10.17 2. It must bee stored with sacred notions and knowledges out of the Word of God The Law must bee written in the heart the Word of God in the sound knowledge of it must be hidden there Psal. 119.11 Ier. 31.33 Esay 51.7 for these sacred notions have a power to master and order the heart 3. It must bee washed and purified It must bee soundly rinsed in the teares of true repentance and then it will become very acceptable to God through the merits of Christ aâ—d his mediation Iames 4.8 Ier. 4.14 God greatly delights in the heart when it is broken and contrite Psal. 34.19 147.3 51.17 Now for the last point The man of the heart is then right when 1. It is true Heb. 10.22 that is when it is without the guile of fraud and dissimulation when it is as it seemes to be in religion when it had rather be good than seeme so 2. It is cleane for Blessed are the pure in heart Mat. 5. Psal. 51.12 24.4 It is a signe the man of the heart is right when it is freed from the liking and residence of naturall filthinesse it was given to and when that continuall frame of vile thoughts and lusts is dissolved especially when it strives after inward purity as well as outward 3. When it is sound in Gods Statutes Psal. 119.80 And so it is first when it is carefull to get warrant for every action from the Word and seeketh doctrine and instruction and to that end comes to the light Pro. 15.14 18.15 Secondly when it submitteth it selfe to the forme of doctrine into which it is delivered The heart is sound in the Word when a man doth from his heart consent to obey and striveth to follow the directions daily given out of the Word Rom. 6.17 especially when it is perfect with God and so it is when it is a willing heart and hath respect to all Gods Commandements and desires to live in no sin 1 Chron. 28.9 4. When the full purpose of the heart is to cleave to God for ever Acts 11.23 And thus of the man of the heart or what is to be apparelled and adorned With what it must be adorned followeth and in generall it must be adorned with that which is incorruptible In that which is not corruptible Foure things may be noted in these words two of them are implied two of them more expresse Doct. 1. That the things belonging to the outward man are corruptible All things that concerne him are â—o for first his substance is corruptible All flesh is grasse 1 Pet. 1.24 so Iob 14.1.2 and besides all his glory is as thâ— flower of the field His riches pleasures honour strength beauty health and all he any way accounts his glory it all will corrupt for either vanitie will consume it or violence will take it away 1 Pet. 1.24 1 Iohn 2.17 Mat. 6.19 20. All earthly things are vanity and vexation of