thus made most glorious And when He had given forth a brief and blessed draught of the tenour of the New Covenant Ezek. 36.21 c. The Lord gives out this as the great reason often mentioned why he would take such a way of making another Covenant where in he wills all undertakes all does all works all as resolved it should be a Covenant and a way of grace that should surely hold he gives out this I say as the ground of all I had pity for mine own holy Name ver 21. Thus saith the Lord God I do not this for your sakes but for mine holy Names sake ver 22. I will sanctifie my great Name ver 23. And when the Lord had shewed what he would do for the poor Jewes in special and so for all sinners taken into Covenant with him that he would sprinkle clean water upon them cleanse them from their sins give them a new heart put his Spirit upon them write his Laws in their hearts and so take them to be his people he again concludes with the same ground as before that all this was still for his own Name ver 32. Not for your sakes do I do this be it known unto you c. And yet that he would as certainly and fully do it as if all the engagements from man in the world had been upon him as undoubtedly make good every part and article of the Covenant he adds ver 36. I the Lord have spoken it and I will do it you may safely abide by it Neither should his grace and power come hardly from him as poor doubting souls surmise as if 't were as much as ever the Lord could do to give out mercy and grace to poor sinners but saith the blessed God in another place upon the same account having given out the promises of grace in the New Covenant Jer. 32.37 and so on He subjoyns I will do it with my whole heart and my whole soul mark it poor souls with my whole soul will I pardon you love you never turn away from you to do you good and never suffer you to turn away from me If poor weak souls for whose sake I put it should here ask What is this Covenant what do you mean by it I have at large opened this to you only a word here God at first when he made man agreed with man to be his God to give him life for ever upon these tearms that man would keep the Law that God gave him which God also writ in his heart and 't was a Law that would have given all glory to the Creator preserved the creature in a holy and blessed order and been a blessing to the whole Creation but man transgressing here the blessed God from his own good pleasure for his Names sake gives out another Agreement or Covenant provides in it tearms of reconciliation for the first breach of the first Covenant sends his eternal blessed Son Jesus Christ to be a Mediatour of this new agreement gives him Commission to offer it to all and that freely and to let the World know that if any sinner in the world never so great come and put up his plea make his claim enter his claim accept of this Covenant and new agreement with God accept of the tearms of it give up himself mutually to God back again then will God be his God and that upon better tearms then before with Adam pardon own love blesse unite to himself never suffer him to fall mercy built upon an unmoveable foundation The foundation of God standeth sure 2 Tim. 2.19 This briefly is the meaning of the New Covenant upon which all our mercy is built now from first to last from the first to the top stone of it from Election to Glory all is done and made good for the Lords own glorious Names sake Souls elected the Covenant transacted between God and Christ Jesus Christ sent the sinner called forgiven justified sanctified adopted kept glorified All for his Names sake See the promises running thus in most places Esay 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions Why for my own sake Purge away our sins for thy Names sake Psa 79.9 This is the bottome of all Now because the further clearing of this blessed truth is my design through grace in the next discourse I shall speak but a word more by way of use only Use 1. If it be thus that what ever God gives out to poor souls is for his own Names sake that this is the plea a poor sinner hath let it then be for your information and instruction that you have no other plea to be heard in Heaven but this the plea of Jesus Christ being upon the same bottom Dont make a sorry pile of carnal duties and works and say for the sake of these Lord do me good and pardon where I have failed the Lord may send fire from Heaven to consume thee and them because of their pollution and that 't is a cursed offering but never hear thee and blesse thee upon such a plea No no say in thy soul and that from full conviction If ever I have any thing from God on this side hell it must be for his own Names sake I expect I plead I wait upon no other ground Use 2. If the Lord's Names sake be the only plea for grace then let poor sinners drawing near to God by Jesus Christ be perswaded that 't is a good plea and most acceptable before the Lord. Now this is the way of the heart of poor creatures from rooted self-love pride we think if God could give out good unto us for our sakes it were something if there were any thing to be beheld in us that were commendable to the Lord I could go with some confidence but seeing 't is thus that I am nothing else but vile before him how can I go to him with what face or how can he give out unto me Sinner be as low as thou wilt or canst but reason not so with thy self If God can as freely as fully do thee good all good for his own Names sake and hath thereby the more glory by it Why shouldst thou so stand upon thy tearms with God and not be as willing as contented to accept of mercy all mercy for Gods own Names sake as well as for thy sake 'T is thy pride be it known unto thee sinner as humble as thou thinkest thou art and not thy lowliness know for thy comfort God can more readily easily do thy soul good upon the tearms he now is for his own sake and so the thing be done thy soul pardoned blessed saved and all shall end in everlasting love upon thee let the Lord have all the glory though thou hast nothing to boast of for thy own sake And yet also know that when the Lord saith he doth it for his own sake he doth not exclude that he hath no respect and love unto thee but that the great
dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ for by grace ye are saved so ver 7. That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace and ver 8. For by grace ye are saved it is the gift of God Therefore the invitation of the Gospel to sinners runs upon this score Ho Every one that thirsteth come to the Waters of Life Isa 55.1 And Whosoever will let him come to the Water of Life freely Revel 22.17 I might illustrate this in all the particulars of a sinners salvation God's fore-ordaining and choosing any to salvation 't was to the praise of the glory of his grace Eph. 1.5 6. The gift of his Eternal Son Jesus Christ from free love and grace John 3.16 The New Covenant and all the Promises of it freely given out for his own Names sake Ezek. 36. Effectuall Calling from free grace 2 Tim. 1.9 The gift of Faith actual Justification Tit. 3.7 Sanctification Perseverance Eternal Life and Glory all flowing from the same Fountain of Free-grace Some Reasons of the Design of the Blessed God in this may be gathered from the Scriptures The Free-grace of God is the Fountain of all in any sinners salvation 1. Because There is nothing in the Creature that may move God to save him Nothing at all All we know or do could not move God to mercy Deut. 7.7 8. The Lord did not set his love upon you because you were more in number then any people but because he freely loved you c. Not for your sake do I do this c. Ezek. 36.32 2. As God saw nothing in him so the sinner is able to bring nothing to God to draw out mercy of his own Therefore saith the Lord Isa 55.1 let him come without his price As the sinner lost all his good so he can procure none a new to bring to God that may in the least move the heart of God to give out more to him 3. If it were not all of grace then the Creature would have occasion of boasting but the Lord in infinite wisdome so laid the Project of a sinners Salvation that no Creature should have the least ground of boasting So the Apostle having given out the Doctrine of grace in this Scripture we are upon draws this conclusion ver 27. Where is boasting then It is excluded c. So in the 1 of Cor. 1.29 the Holy Ghost lays down this as the main scope of God in the Gospel That No Flesh should glory in his presence Therefore Salvation is all of grace of Free-grace 4. If it were not so The glory of God would not be so great in the Salvation of a sinner 'T is now so laid that all might be to the praise of the glory of his grace Ephes 1.6 It being the highest piece of glory that the Wise and Blessed God did ever design unto himself that his free rich abundant infinite grace might be made known in the Salvation of a Sinner That he might make known the riches of his glory on the Vessels of Mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory Rom. 9.23 Vse 1. If Gods Free-grace be the Fountain of all in a poor sinners Salvation then let it establish our judgments in this Doctrine Therefore God had no respect to any fore-sight of Faith or Works in the Creature God had no respect to the freenesse of his Will for he knew he had none God had no respect to any conditions to be wrought in us but all he did and doth was from absolute Independing-grace Nothing moved him but his own Free-grace The same Free-grace that pardons gives and workes all in us All from the same Fountain 2. If all be of Free-grace then there is no meritorious-procuring Cause in us that moves the Lord to mercy Now the contrary is naturally rooted in our hearts poor Soules are most apt to conceive that if they can grieve for their sins repent and reform this will sure move God to mercy and pardon A most dangerous snare from which a Soul after much conviction is hardly wrought off Now though God in the way of a Sinners Salvation hath promised to give Repentance Act. 5.31 and a Spirit of mourning for sinne yet a poor Soul must take heed that he make not this a procuring cause of Pardon Many a Soul sticks here before emptyed of himself even of his very repenting and so come for grace and mercy upon the account of the Free-promise onely How many a Sinner might have been saved if he would have been saved freely 3. If God hath so laid the Design to save a Sinner freely then how great how just is the Condemnation of guilty sinners that will not hasten in unto it how could the Lord have laid it more freely then he hath Oh that any sinner for ever condemned to Hell without it should withstand it Why sinner Shall the Blessed God that might have much glory in condemning thee to all Eternity be willing to save thee freely and wilt thou not come and bow unto him accept of it All the contempt of God in all his Holy Commands is not like this to turn the back upon Free-Mercy Free-Salvation This will be the Worm that never dyes to any of your Soules that shall not come into and rightly accept of Gospel-salvation that you might have been saved freely have had grace remission of sins Jesus Christ the Spirit Eternal Life freely and yet turned your backs upon it But you may demand How is it that any sinner doth so What is it that causeth any Soul to forego Free-grace and mercy when held out unto him that we may beware of such hinderances I will therefore shew you such Hinderances that keep Soules from accepting of Gods free grace in Jesus Christ when held out unto them 1. Wilful Obstinacy Joh. 5.40 Ye will not come unto me that you might have life Ye will not such is the stubbornness rebellion of the heart of a sinner that he will not as we speak because he will not to such a height hath sinne raised the heart of the rebellious children of men for every natural man till made sensible of unbelief thinks he hath Power of himself though he hath not but his Rebellion lyes in his Will I would have gathered you and ye would not Mat. 23. last 2. A sinner doth not accept of Free-grace because he stands upon his self-justification as we use to speak he will not be perswaded he hath so much need of all Free-grace as the Gospel discovers as hath been shewed at large though he hath sinned yet also he hath obeyed and so he puts one against the other his obedience against his sin and so hopes to get that mercy he hath need of And upon this ground more sinners even that profess the Name of God do miss of Heaven then any other in the World 'T is not so easie a matter to submit to Gods Free-grace alone as many do imagine Upon
part in this blessed Redemption we have been treating of 6. Now to encourage a poor sinner to this coming to God with the Plea of Christ's bloud in his heart and mouth and to draw forth the Faith of a poor humbled doubting soul Consider the All-sufficiency and worth of the price of the death of Iesus Christ to satisfie the justice of God and procure pardon and sanctification for a poor sinner which may appear from such like Scriptures The Apostle in the 7th of the Hebrews having been opening the excellency of Christ's Priesthood which is chiefly conversant in this Work of Redemption in the offering up of himself a Sacrifice concludes v. 25. of that Chapter Wherefore he is able to save them to the utmost that come unto God by him To the utmost that is with a perfect Salvation that nothing more can be desired to it So in the 9th Chap. v. 11. c. the Apostle reasoning from the Levitical Sacrifices to this of the bloud of Christ argueth the full perfection of it By his own blood he entred in once into the holy place namely into Heaven having obtained eternall Redemption for us and thence concludeth verse 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ purge the conscience c A much more upon that above all the Sacrifices that were offered up to God Which will appear 1. Because of the eternall God-head of Christs person by which he offer'd up his bloud unto his Father Heb. 9.14 Who through the eternall Spirit offered up himself without spot to God Which put an infinite value and efficacy upon the offering of his bloud Inasmuch as Jesus Christ was God as well as Man though he could onely dye in his humane nature yet the efficacy of his God-head had an influence upon the price of his dying which put an infinite worth upon it and so renders it full and perfect redemption 2. The price of the bloud of Jesus Christ did not onely give a bare satisfaction to the justice of God but it had an infinite merit in it a redundancy of merit whereby it deserved at the hands of God that sinners that are interessed in it should have remission of sins grace the love of God and glory to come spirituall blessings which the death of Christ purchased for the elect which being also by the free purpose and Compact of God there must necessarily arise an infinite merit in it 3. The all-sufficiency of the price of Christs blood is evidenced by his resurrection ascension into glory implying that he wrought forth full and perfect Redemption by his death therefore he is said to rise again for our justification Rom. 4. last and to be justified in the Spirit 1 Tim. 3. last that is God by raising him from the dead justified him in the atonement he had made by his death and that he did chearfully accept of satisfaction by it 4. The blood of Christ procures boldnesse of accesse to God therefore there is an infinite worth in the price of it Heb. 10.19 Having therefore Bretheren boldnesse to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus which boldnesse doth arise from the full satisfaction that is made to Divine justice in as much as God upon the acceptance of it hath nothing to charge upon the sinner himself no quarrell against him having charged his sins upon Christ and therefore the poor sinner may come with an humble boldnesse into the presence of God and this is that which puts boldnesse into the Conscience of a believer when he appears before God 5. From the experience of it the foulest sinners that have come unto it have bin washed from their sins by it as 1 Cor. 6.11 Idolaters Adulterers Sodomites Drunkards Revilers have bin washed and justified and sanctified by it The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin 1 John 1.7 6. It cleanseth and perfects them for ever therefore call'd eternall redemption once for all and for ever Heb. 10 10 19. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified once justified and for ever Now from this satisfaction merit all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus to cleanse a sinner to commend him to God how safely may a sinner venture his soul upon it which is the first act of faith A poor sinner when under conviction and the terrour of the Lord hath taken hold of him lyes trembling before the Lord whether God will let out justice or mercy upon him he is ready to give glory to the Justice of the Lord if he reject him for ever But now if a poor soul get a sight of the blood of Christ how it deales with the justice of God what full and all-sufficient satisfaction it hath made to God for the sins of such as plead it to him how God more delights in it then in the condemning of the sinner what a stay is this to the wavering doubtfull Spirit of a poor sinner when he can come to see justice to have its due and so God can freely let out remission to a poor soul upon the very first Act of a poor sinners closing with it though not presently evidenced in his conscience Oh sinner venture the issue of all upon this price of the blood of Jesus thou mayst see thou hast the greatest reason in the world to do so thou wilt never come to have a safe bottome for thy soul till thou comest thus to deal with the justice of God as fully satisfied by the blood of Jesus Christ thou wilt still be off and on about free mercy till thou come to fix here and be in some good measure establisht in it Be daily in exercising thy soul in such ventures and castings upon it and the spirit will at last witnesse peace and reconciliation to thy conscience In a word sinners you that have had no stay to your spirits for the forgivenesse of your sins but a blind hope of mercy look up look up to the Justice of God and see this way of accesse to God for you by the blood of Jesus Oh! let not any profane sinner trample it under foot cast it back upon the blessed face of God Say not in thy heart let God take the blood of his Son to himself I le not be washed from my sins I le not be sanctified I le rest as I am Desperate sinner Of how much sorer punishment shalt thou be thought worthy then any sinner under Heaven who rejectest the onely worthy price of a sinners salvation Know the great God will let out all his Justice upon thee to the utmost and Oceans of his death shall fall upon thee if thou thus a-abuse the blood of his Son a greater guilt then all thy ungodlinesse thou hast hitherto bin wallowing in from thy youth up Oh! Come thou despiser and cast thy soul under the droppings of this blood and it shall cleanse thee though thy soul were as black as Hell Zach. 13.1 And
changed in thy self pray and be holy and obey God in all things yet canst thou not be hereby justified but still thy justifying righteousness is in Christ and not in thy self as the onely procuring-meritorious cause of pardon and peace with God Ierem. 33.16 Isa 54. last 3. The great question therefore that should come upon thy heart is Whether thou art in a state of condemnation or justification If not justified thou art still as I have shewed under the condemnation of the whole Law nothing thou hast yet done or shalt ever be able to do will stand between Wrath and Hell and thy poor soul till thou comest to be justified in the bloud and righteousness of Iesus Christ Oh sinners ponder of this great thing that is now laid before you Can you say from a Testimony within you Oh! I was thus and thus once under the reign power guilt condemnation of sin but now now blessed be rich and free grace I am washed justified in the Name of the Lord Iesus Christ See that Word 1 Cor. 6.10 11. And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of our Lord Iesus and by the Spirit of our God Or at least that I may speak to poor weak willing trembling soules Is this it that your soules are restless after Oh that I were that I were in such a blessed state Oh that I could but believingly say the righteousness of Iesus Christ were mine and that now I am I am justified Oh what peace and sweetness and joy would fill my heart Why Soul If this be indeed the breathing of thy Soul Iesus Christ is thine and thou art justified and pardoned and God will at last give in unto thee if thou continue to follow him the sense and comfort of it in thy poor Soul Onely by the way take a Discovery or two of the reality of thy Heart in this matter 1. If thy Soul from a Spiritual Conviction be under a real making out after justification by Iesus Christ then thou would'st also be as really sanctified be made holy 'T was as much in the purpose of God to call thee out of a state of sinne and to sanctifie thee as to pardon and justifie thee 1 Ep. John 5.6 2. If thou art brought into a justified state thy soul making out after it thou art made alive in the Spirit Rom. 8.1 Thou art in Iesus Christ and wouldst walk no more after the flesh and the lusts thereof but after the Spirit Gal. 5.18 If ye are led by the Spirit ye are not under the Law namely to condemn you but are freed from the curse of it and verse 23. Against such there is no Law that is such as would walk after the Spirit be led by the Spirit and shew forth the fruit of the Spirit And this is that which the Apostle intimateth 1 Ep. Joh. 5.10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Witness in himself namely of the Spirit So that every justified person hath the Spirit of Christ according to the measure of the grace of God dwelling in him is quickned in the Spirit being once dead prays in the Spirit mortifies sin through the Spirit is taught by the Spirit and so in all other saving and sanctifying vertues of it If it be not thus with thee thou as yet hast no part in this blessedness but art under condemnation unto death And therefore sinner come before God in the sense of thy condemned estate and give up thy self to Jesus Christ to be washed justified sanctified and then blessed for ever 3. Let called and sanctified Believers labour to live in the sense of a pardoned-justified state that God is not off and on with them in the matter of justification though it may be sometimes darkned and clouded as to the evidence of it Oh! do you labour to preserve the sense and sweet and blessed peace of it in your souls give glory to the riches of grace for now there is No No condemnation to you you are passed from Death to Life and the Blessed God imputes no sin unto you Let this be the highest and strongest Argument to Holiness and love to the glory that possibly may be and if indeed you walk in the comfort of it it will be so unto you Onely let me give caution here to young Converts whose hearts at the first discovery of the free and glorious grace of the Gospel and of Iesus Christ are wonderfully taken and affected with it but after a time are apt to want on with it unless the first humiliation be the deeper and to wax sleight in Duties and so their Lusts recover strength again and return upon them and either they fall or are near unto it to the fresh wounding of their Soules This hath been the condition of many therefore be well caution'd in it and walk with fear in the midst of your joyous apprehensions of the sweetness of grace and the endearing love of the Lord Iesus to you Having briefly shewed what the nature of justification is what it is to be in a justifyed state before God I now come to open more particularly how a Soul comes to be partaker of this justification through the redemption of Iesus Christ namely Through Faith in his bloud ver 25. of this 3d of Rom. Observ As God through Free-grace hath set forth Iesus Christ to work forth Redemption for sinners so there must be a special believing on and applying the bloud of Iesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins by every one that is saved Therefore justification is attributed to Faith Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ So Gal. 2.16 3.11 In all which places Faith is put in opposition to the Works of the Law And so the righteousness of Christ is called the righteousness of Faith Rom. 9.30 10.6 in opposition to righteousnesse by Works Not as if Faith were the matter of our justification that it did as an Act or Work in the Soul justifie before God but that God doth thus make over the bloud and righteousness of Iesus Christ to a Soul by inabling the Soul to come unto to take hold of to apply to it self to appropriate the merit of the bloud of Iesus Christ for its own Redemption and Salvation which may afford us a plain Description of justifying Faith precisely considered namely Faith is a work of the Holy Ghost in the Soul inabling it to appropriate or apply to it self the bloud and righteousness of Iesus Christ for the remission of sin and its justification unto eternal life So it is called the work of Faith with power 2 Thes 1.11 and 't is expressed by receiving of Iesus Christ Joh. 1. and believing on his Name coming unto him resting upon him So that plainly Faith is a going out to believing in trusting on another namely the Lord Iesus Christ for what it
from that which is called in appearance a Legal-New-Creature c. Now let a soul fail in either of these and lost for ever fail of a saving-cloze with Jesus Christ for righteousness or being a New Creature in Christ and you perish in your sins and the wrath of God will overtake you I shall not now take up time in opening the coherence of the words nor will it much be desired as to our Design I shall therefore draw this plain conclusion from them namely Observ There 's an absolute necessity in order to the Salvation of every soul to become a New Creature in Christ Having proved it we shall open the way of being a New-Creature and how in Christ Then how distinguisht from an appearing New-Creature but not so indeed and so give forth the Evidences of it Those Scriptures that speak of the necessity of being born again of the Spirit Ioh. 3.3 5. and of being converted Mal. 18.3 do evince the same truth Gal. 6.15 Neither Circumcision nor Vncircumcision avail any thing but a New Creature For we are his Work-manship created unto Christ Jesus c. Eph. 2.10 He that hath wrought us for this self-same thing is God and hath given us the Earnest of his Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 The necessity of this New-Creature doth arise 1. From the tenour of the New-Covenant in which way God hath obliged himself to give out mercy and in no other Now thus runs the New-Covenant this is the great Article of it Make you a new heart and a new Spirit Ezek. 18.31 Which God promiseth to give to all he takes into a Covenant of mercy and peace with himself I will put a new Spirit within you and a new Heart will I give unto you Ezek. 11.19 And to the same purpose Ezek. 36.26 Wherein as we shall shew lyes the special part of the New Creature 2. Because the Old-man all that is of the First Adam the whole frame thereof is corrupted and polluted therefore it must be repaired renewed be made new if ever it enter into glory Ephes 4.22 That ye put off concerning the former Conversation the Old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind And that ye put on the New-man that after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness 3. Whosoever shall be saved shall be a new Creature from the great Design of God in giving out his Son Jesus Christ which was that all the Elect should be made conformable to the Image of his Son Rom. 8.29 For whom he did fore-know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the Image of his Son that he might be the first-born among many Brethren Jesus Christ is called the express Image of the Father Hebr. 1. And to that Image all Believers shall be conformed Jesus Christ the first-born and all his Brethren to be made conformable unto him God was infinitely pleased with such a Pattern and resolved all that he gave to him and designed for glory should be conformed to his likeness 4. All the services that a sinner offers to God are not accepted till a New-Creature till a Soul shall act from a new-living holy-principle towards God Pray and hear and give Alms God regards it not till a New-Creature So the Word of the Lord often casts back the services of unregenerate men upon their faces as loathsome to the Lord because they proceed from the old corrupt Adam from unchanged Natures Isa 1.15 When you cry I will not hear you Why You are in your uncleanness therefore Wash you make you clean Vse Oh let this make for your instruction and conviction that if ever you come to God in glory you must first be New-Creatures If you will have mercy you must have it in the way of the New-Covenant and if so you must be made new While you have nothing but the Old-Adam you are corrupt and polluted and abominable If you shall become the Brethren of the first-born Jesus Christ you must bear his Image and have it renewed upon you Oh you that are yet in your old sins and walk after your Old-Lusts you are not New-Creatures You will not think so therefore sit down with this Conviction That as yet you have no part in this blessedness Oh! All of you who are the same that ever you were whether living in gross sins or sober and civil from your Youth up you are yet of the Old Adam nothing but corrupt Nature upon you your hope is vain and you are blinded in your sins and the grace of God is not in you 2. Oh! Let me before I go further put this to tryall and suffer the word of the Lord which shall one day judge you Can you say in good earnest Old things are past away and all things are become new in me Now I am a vessell in the hand of God wrought by his Spirit and there is through infinite grace a new work manship upon my soul I shall lay down rules for the particular discovery of this only at present yeild up your conscience to the power of the world do not slink from under it If it find you out in your sin in nature the same that ever you were give glory to God and say The word of the Lord is quick and powerfull and go off with this conviction in power upon thy soul I never expect to go to heaven and glory if I become not through grace a new Creature But before I go further I would open that every soul that is a new Creature must be in Christ and why So saith the Apostle to these Corinths in this Epistle 13. Chap. 5. Examine your selves prove your own selves know you not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates ye are created into Christ Jesus Eph. 2.10 If a man abide not in me he is cast out as a branch and is withered Joh. 15.6 Now herein lyes the great Mystery of Godlinesse into which all our evidences for Heaven are resolved and therefore this is a weighty enquiry I am to speak of it specially as it relates to the making and forming by the new Creature This being in Christ is expressed by being rooted into Christ Col. 2.7 Planted into him Rom. 6. Built up in him Col. 2. All which bespeak a reall union with him that this is not a mere imaginary thing but as true and reall as the union between the root and the branches Ioh. 15. and the foundation and the building Eph. 2. which is wrought by the Spirit of the Lord Iesus drawing and uniting true believers unto him The same Spirit dwelling in them Rom. 8.9 10 11. By his Sprit that dwelleth in you Now to consider Why all that are new Creatures according to the Gospell must be so in Christ 1. Such as are Gospell New-Creatures must be in Christ because if they be New-Creatures they must be Living Creatures Now God hath laid up all life that shall be
convey his grace to lost Sinners Iam. 5.22 23. That all men should honour the Son So the Apostle fully Col. 1.16 17 18 19 20. All things were for him And that in all things he might have the preheminence c. For by him and to him and for him are all things This honour the Father committed to the Son to bring about this great Contrivance of bringing Man back again unto God 4. God letting out his Grace by Iesus Christ renders his love more abundant and acceptable to poor sinners Ioh. 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Son c. So loved it that he could not give forth a greater manifestation of his love Now the Father purposed to render his love to sinners by the gift of his Son most full and glorious and therefore gave him out of his Bosome and all the Riches of his Love and Grace by him 5. This way of the Father's dispensation of grace by his Son Iesus Christ hath rendered the grace of God most sure and unchangeable to his own The Covenant of Grace being now establisht between the Father and Iesus Christ Iesus Christ being the Undertaker in it for all the Father gave him it is certainly founded upon a sure Bottome This was the Father's Promise Isa 42.6 I will give him for a Covenant to the People Iesus Christ as a common person did represent all the Elect in the Covenant as the first Adam in the first Covenant did represent all his and Iesus Christ did undertake to bring them to God to bring them into the Covenant and so to estate them in all the grace and mercy and blessing of it Therefore the mercies of the Covenant are stiled The sure mercies of David Isa 55.3 As a Type of Iesus Christ coming of the Seed of David wherein is set forth the excellency of the New Covenant the whole Transaction of it intrusted in the hands of Jesus Christ and therefore not one drop of the mercy of it can ever fail those that are taken into it 6. By the giving forth of Jesus Christ the whole of Gospel-Salvation is rendered more glorious The Wisdome Justice Holiness of God as well as mercy and love do shine forth in Jesus Christ And therefore the Gospel-mystery is styled The manifold Wisdome of God Ephes 3.10 Every Attribute of God is glorified in the giving out of Jesus Christ 7. Yea had not God taken this way of making out himself by Jesus Christ the World had dwelt in gross darkness of him Therefore Jesus Christ is styled The Image of the Invisible God Col. 1.15 The express Image of the Father The brightness of his glory Heb. 1. And in 2 Cor. 2.6 The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is said to shine in the face of Jesus Christ. The Creation is but a dark shadow of the glory of God as to what is revealed of God in the manifestation of Jesus Christ There are the Footsteps of God in the Creatures but his Character and Image in his Blessed Son Jesus Christ 8. There could not have been access to God but by Jesus Christ for through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father Eph. 1 18. How could polluted Dust draw nigh to the absolute majesty and glory of God had not he let forth himself in Jesus Christ as in our own Nature and so makes way for a poor sinner to come before him 9. Had God let forth mercy to sinners and not given out his Son Jesus Christ His justice must have been violated which is the main of all The word of the Lord was absolute In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye Gen. 2.17 which was meant of the Eternal Death of the Soul in its separation from the life of God as is clear in Rom. 5. last where grace unto eternal life by Jesus Christ is put in opposition to that death which was by sin which must therefore needs be meant of Eternal Death So Rom. 6. ver last Now this Death must be executed upon all the Posterity of Adam or else God must take some other way to satisfie his justice he will save the sinner which was upon his own son Jesus Christ as will further be evidenced in the following Discourse 10. The Blessed God took this way of letting out himself his grace by Jesus Christ that thereby Saints might have union with him which was a holy design of rhe Father in saving them That they may be one in us Ioh. 17.21 The deepest and most unconceiveable mystery in our Salvation Now Iesus Christ as the Eternal Son of God taking upon him our natures we became capable of being united to him through the Spirit and made one with the humane nature of Christ whereby we are also united to the God-head and so become one with the Father and the Son which is the top of the Saints perfection Use 1. Now what hath bin said as to the grounds and reasons of God in given out his eternall Son and letting forth all grace by him may serve to acquaint us with this rich and glorious Mystery as it is styled Col. 1.27 Namely God reconciling the word by Jesus Christ letting forth the knowledge of himself glorifying all his Attributes making such discoveries of his glory providing such a way of Mediation such a glorious Mediator laying the blessed project of a sinner's glorious salvation so sure rendring his love so acceptable and glorious making way for free accesse unto himself and how we might become one with him Oh! the depths of the wisdome and love of God which of them may we admire most well may Angels pry into this holy Mystery well may it be the astonishment of Heaven and Earth of the whole Creation How much more of a sinner for whose sake it was thus ordered Oh that we might fall upon our faces and adore the wisdom and grace of God in such a contrivance as this Oh! unmeasurable goodnesse unfathomed wisdom Eternity is but enough to admire it To behold God in Christ will be the vision which the souls of blessed Saints will be wrapt up into to all eternity 2. Oh! therefore what infinite mercy is it to be brought forth in new Testament-times when the Mystery hid in God hid from ages kept secret since the word began 1 Cor. 16.25 is brought to light and sparkling upon the darknesse of the world when the glory of God is risen upon the world Now If this Gospel be hid t is hid to them that are lost 2 Cor. 4.3 Woe unto them that close their eyes when the light shines round about them Oh! you that yet sit in darknesse and the shaddow of death Arise Awake look up that Gospel-light may shine into you Oh cry wait that your eyes may be opened to behold God coming forth in the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the glorious Gospel waite for the spirit and thar the Gospel in the preaching of it
this Redemption and the necessity of it and how it makes atonement merits mercy and pardon procures peace and reconciliation with God so they would come and accept of it and fall down before the righteous God and plead it to him Thou hast heard the way of Gods letting out mercy to sinners and no mercy but in that way but by justice being satisfied by the death and blood of Jesus Christ whereby he becomes the Saviour of sinners Now this bloud is offered up to God the price is paid and accepted with God and in the Gospel of God t is revealed and preacht to the guilty world and t is freely offered to any poor sinner that will come and accept of it and make claim to it and plead for mercy and forgivenesse upon the account of it and will come to the termes of it which is to be accepted and pardoned alone by vertue of it to be washed and sanctified and actually deliver'd not onely from the guilt and condemnation of sin but the power and reign and pollution of it Oh Sinner be awakened and stirred up by the word of the Lord to get actuall deliverance from the guilt bondage reign service of thy sin go and cry to God offer him up the blood of his own eternall Son tell him thou seest he may let out justice upon thee to destroy thee and damn thee for ever of thy self thou hast no plea against it But aske the blessed God if it may not be more glory to him and his grace mercy glorified by it if he will accept of satisfaction by his own Son Jesus Christ plead to him that thou hearest he dyed in the room of guilty condemned sinners such as thou art ungodly Rom. 5.6 yea tell him with an humble adoration of his mercy and love in it that thou hearest in his blessed Gospel that 't is offered to any sinner that will come and accept it and that 't is proclaimed from heaven that there 's satisfaction made by the blood of a Iesus for the greatest sinner such as thou art Oh! cry unto him that therefore thou comest and beggst to be heard in thy plea and that it may be entred in Heaven that thou comest for all the ends of his death thou art weary of the service of thy lusts and the pollution of thy nature and therefore thou wouldst have thy nature cleansed thy conscience purged all which thou findest the bloud of Jesus Christ is able to do yea tell him and plead it with some humble boldnesse that thou art acquainted that Jesus Christ prayes in Heaven for such sinners that come and plead his bloud to thee and that he is heard in what he prayes and that therefore forgivenesse must be had yea say thou will hold on thy plea thou hast no other and art resolved against any other If thou shalt to Hell pleading the bloud of a Saviour be it so but I am resolved to plead it to the utmost yea tell him cry to him that it cannot repent him that he hath ordained the sacrifice of the bloud of his own Son and therefore why shouldst thou be rejected Yea Come to this issue through the Spirit of faith upon thee that if it can be that a sinner crying out for pardon upon the account of the death and bloud of Jesus Christ and for sanctification may go to Hell then thou wilt willingly lay thy hand upon thy mouth and open it no more but sinke under divine vengeance to eternity Oh! That every poor sinner might go home with this plea in his heart written there by the holy Ghost and pierce Heaven with his or her cryes and groanes and put the bloud of Jesus Christ before him and plead for mercy and holinesse to be pardoned and sanctified till God say Go in peace thou art pardoned redeemed and blessed for ever Yet a little to excite a poor drowsie sinner to this eternall Concernment 1. Consider thou art under the guilt of thousands of sins one whereof is enough to sink thee to Hell Guilt if continued is Hell begun and wants nothing but the execution of vengeance upon thee Oh what should a guilty sinner do but close with a Saviour and get an interest in Redemption from it 2. Specially considering that all the Duties and Obedience thou hast performed towards God or ever shall have not made nor ever will the least payment to God for thy sins thou art as much in debt to God as ever thou wast as much behind with him All the Items for the sin of thy Nature thy Thoughts Words and Actual Wickedness and thy sinful Neglects stand uncancelled all ready to be charged upon thee And nought will be accepted for payment but the death of Jesus Christ the onely Price that God will hearken to Nothing will cancel the Book where all thy sins are recorded Nothing will blot out the Hand-writing that is against thee but the blood of Iesus Christ Col. 2.13 14. 3. God is resolved never to forgive you the Debt till you have put in this Plea and it be recorded in Heaven and you have it in a Gospel-way No forgiveness of sins but by Redemption pleaded claimed possessed and sealed by the Holy Spirit Ephes 1.7 14. 4. Thou art yet under the Bondage and Reign of thy sin and therefore under condemnation the Law is gone out against thee thy Sentence pronounced Cursed is every one that transgresseth c. saith the Law And thou art in bondage yet and hast not procured actual deliverance from it If a Prisoner be condemned and lye in Fetters in a Dungeon and hears of a Ransome paid for him What 's this to him till he have his liberty So for a sinner to be in the Fetters of his Lusts held fast by them a Bond-man to the Devil hear of a Christ laying down a Ransom What is this to him unless he sue it out and get actual deliverance and liberty the liberry of the Sons and Daughters of God and have a Spirit of Adoption to cry Abba Father Gal. 4.4 5. That being made free from sinne the Reign and Power of it by the power of the Lord Iesus revealed in him you may become servants to God and have your fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting life 5. Consider as thou standest in thy filth and uncleanness of thy sins thou art unfit for God either to please him in any thing thou doest or to be with him in Heaven hereafter thy person and services are loathsome to the Soul of God therefore get washed and purified in the bloud of Iesus Christ Go on to cry and wait and beg a heart to do it and that in Faith till thou shalt feel peace coming in by thy constant Plea of the bloud of Christ till thou shalt feel cleansing vertue of it upon thy Soul till thou shalt experience the power of his death destroying sin in thee and so shalt finde thou hast fellowship with him and so a
truth of grace and puts it off as if not concerned in it this may well bespeak a false heart A gracious heart would bring the Work over and over to the Touchstone of the Word delivers up it self unto it yea is much with God to search him in point of a firm Work upon his Spirit as to any prevailing iniquity in his heart as David Psal 139. When he was before the Lord appealing to him and opening his heart to him speaks thus ver 1. Oh Lord thou hast searched me c. thou hast And yet ver 23 24. begs of God yet further to search him Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me into the way everlasting 3. False grace is discovered by its easie acting When you can easily believe easily repent easily be humble and so of all others Certainly 't is all naught There is great contradiction within and from the Tempter as to act grace begun in a soul yea a daily supply from Jesus Christ must be to act any grace livelily which the common pretending easie Believers are not sensible of It cannot be but every act of grace must find more or less resistance from flesh and bloud which is so vigorously opposite to the nature and acting of real grace in the soul 4. Such as are never humbled for the spirituall wickednesses of their hearts I call them so in opposition to the more gross and fleshly wickednesses now these are hypocrisie selfishness spiritual pride vain-glory unbelief many that have had trouble for some gross sins will withstand some gross corruptions through common grace never come to be abased for these depths of the heart which are more hardly discerned I may well enough call that soul as yet a Hypocrite that is never humbled for the Hypocrisie of his heart for selfishness and the rest 5. Common-grace measures the soul chiefly by Negatives what it is not rather then what really it is as the Pharisee Luke 18. I am not as other men are pleaseth himself rather in what he is not then what he is I am not thus and thus as abundance of debaucht persons are but whether he be called of God emptyed of his own righteousness sanctified in Christ Jesus and a new Creature in him he puts off the Examination of 6. Common grace doth at best respect a mans self in all it does and not the glory of God which it sees not let others be as wicked as they will it is not much to such a soul let every one look to himself such a soul doth not avoid sin as sin but onely for fear it should damn him whereas the proper nature of grace is to respect God his holinesse name and glory Thus have I laid down some plain discoveries of the pretended New-Creature that which I have styled a Legall New-Creature I shall now proceed a little further to make discovery of a more seeming Gospel New-Creature yet but seeming That which hath the nearest resemblance of the New-Creature is when from some common enlightnings of the Gospel of grace and some overly tastings of the good word the affections being something stirrd therewith there is some affection expressed to the Gospel and some outward reformation upon it and a profession above the common formall rate taken up joyned also with common gifts of praying or prophesying knowledge c. Now all this may make so great a blaze and flourish that it shall be hardly discerned by such a professour himself or others that are spirituall That all this may be 't is clear from severall Scriptures Heb. 6.4 5. where mention is made of inlightning tasting gifts of the Holy Ghost and yet such to fall away and never to renew themselves again and to be nigh unto cursing verse 8. And verse 9. Beloved we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation c. Implying that these things may be but do not alwayes accompany salvation So the Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 2.20 speaks of such who had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and yet again entangled therein and overcome and their latter end worse then the beginning They shall escape many grosse pollutions and that through a kind of knowledge of Jesus Christ and yet be again overcome and return wholly to them So Math. 12.45 Our Lord Jesus speaks of the house swept and garnished the unclean Spirit cast out for a time some outward reformation a damp upon the lusts of the heart and knowledge and common gifts and yet the unclean spirit returning again Examples might be produced of such professours in the Gospell as that of Judas an eminent professour a forward follower of Christ suffered some persecution and gifted and yet proves a Reprobate Simon Magus baptized by Philip renounced his sorceries took upon him a forward profession of Christ accompanyed Philip and yet his heart not right in the sight of God Act. 8.13 21. It may be more then feared This age to the high scandall of Sinners and Saints hath produced many such that have bin much taken with the glorious grace of the Gospel their consciences something awakened for Heaven the affections stird have attained to flourishing gifts and yet returned to their first nothing turn'd blasphemers and professed Atheists And no doubt there is such a Majesty excellency sweetnesse in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that may for a time much affect a carnall heart and may be received with joy Mat. 13.20 The very History of Jesus Christ dying for sinners may much affect that he will freely save sinners the glory he hath provided for his own these and the like things may much take the affections for a time make a soul ashamed of grosse pollutions and yet no New-Creature all this while And of such as these it is that Christ doth Prophesie of Math. 25. who shall have Lamps Light and Profession go along with the wise Virgins wise and truly gracious professours not be discovered many of them till the Lords appearing and yet kept out of the Kingdome of Heaven Now of all others these have the most resemblance of a reall New-Creature and yet fall short and perish for ever I should prevent my self should I at large discover wherein such professours are short onely a word or two 1. Such souls are never emptyed of themselves and humble so come poor and nothing to Jesus Christ though hapdly they may be able to speak of it as many souls have a forme of Gospel-knowledge and can say we are nothing and yet never had the saving experience of it upon their own hearts 2. Such souls have no true brokenness of heart for sin they much slight it yea say many t is Legall brokennesse for sin is a low dispensation as they will style it without which in some measure no saving repentance which is as necessary to salvation as
full of dead mens bones rottenness and of all uncleanness But now when the new creature is forming up then the Heart is after purifying Purifie your hearts ye double-minded Jam. 4.8 Then what a blessedness would a pure heart be saith a poor Creature Oh! that my heart were cleansed Wash thine heart saith God Jer. 4.14 Oh! that it were washed saith the new creature And this is one of the most special Works a new Creature will be after as he is more formed up in Holiness to keep the Heart pure as a Temple for God 6. The Heart naturally is dead as already hinted and feels not its own deadness but when renewed then the heart doth live that seeks God Psal 22.26 It feels and mourns over its own deadness and cries out Quicken Oh quicken me oh God! No Duty is well performed then but as the Heart lives in some measure in that Duty Now it feels its own burdens pollutions lusts corruptions carnality earthiness and bewails it before the Lord. 7. The Heart is naturally divided between Christ and the World Christ and Lusts Hos 10.2 Their heart is divided But under its renewings the heart as to the main bent of it makes a whole close with Christ the great business of a soul then is to give the whole heart up to Christ and fears he can never do it fully and singly enough and when the heart lusteth after other things so far as it is renewed it is fetcht in again to Jesus Christ 8. The Heart of it self is unbelieving Take heed least there be in you a heart of unbelief Hebr. 3. Now when the heart is made new there is a Work of Faith with power 2 Thess 1.11 And then the soul is made sensible of that bitter Root of Unbelief that is naturally in their hearts and they finde it the hardest work in the world to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins to fix on Promises And that a believing heart is a special gift of God and a work of the Spirit which while a poor sinner was shut up under Unbelief he felt not Use 1. To unchanged persons who are the same in heart as ever they were Oh learn by what hath been opened what is the natural make and frame of them There is in you a Rebellious Heart against the Lord and wilfull obstinacy against his Word and Spirit and therefore 't is that you cast the Word of the Lord from you and in your hearts despise it and say This is not the Word of the Lord and we will not obey it You have hard and impenitent hearts and therefore you do not mourn for sin you have proud hearts and are well conceited of your condition though damnable and therefore you do not humble your selves to God you have hypocritiall hearts and see it not full of a Hell of Uncleanness dead in sin and without feeling the heart divided between Christ and the World unbelieving and yet say you have Faith If thou canst not make out a newness upon thy heart as we have shew'd thou hast still thine old heart with its Lusts and thy estate is as yet damnable let thy knowledge profession outward blamelessness be what it will 2. Oh therefore let this Word be yet for further tryal of your estate Can you say to the praise of free and rich grace that God hath in some measure taken away your Rebellious Heart from you and you can stoop and yield to the power of Truth and rejoyce in it that God hath made your heart soft in some measure and the pride of your hearts in the false conceit you had of your selves hath a stroak from God upon it that God hath shewed you your deep and cursed hypocrisie and how your heart was divided and was wholly unbelieving And that the Remnants of these wickednesses in you of heart-rebellion hardness pride hypocrisie pollution unbelief are your greatest burden and you mourn over them daily If this be not your Experience let that man or woman know he or she is a hypocrite and unbeliever and sees it not c. 3. Therefore let it convince you and exhort you to go and fall down before the Lord and beg him to open your hearts which naturally are shut up in darkness and to abase you in the sense of your Rebellion and that he would even do this for you in much mercy to take away a rebellious hard proud heart from you and would make your hearts pliable to the Word make them soft and humble before him and to close with the whole heart with Jesus Christ through a work of Faith upon you Do this in the fear of the Lord and through his grace coming upon you and see what God will do for you and you will be your own Wonders that ever such abominations should lye hid in your hearts yet you not be confounded in your selves in the sense of them 4. Let Souls that are through infinite grace under some heart-renewings know that they have never done with this Work till they come to glory yea Soul thou hast depths of rebellion price hypocrisie pollution unbelief which yet thou hast not reacht to and therefore as thou must ascribe all to Grace for what the Lord hath done upon thee and remembers to thy greater humbling how much a do the Lord had with thee to bring thy heart under so much as it is so to consider that the Candle of the Lord must more and more search thy dark and deep heart and 't is to be thy daily work or else all these evils will again much prevail upon thee Love therefore a searching Word from the Servants of Christ that are over you 6. The next Discovery of the Gospel New-Creature is this namely The Gospel New-Creature hath new affections Briefly to instance in some of the chief 1. The New-Creature hath new fear The fear of an Eternal Condition that first usually seizeth upon a convinced sinner the fear of a just and angry God against sin and at last upon its renewing a holy awful fear of God as great and holy and good a fear of sinning against him and that because he is gracious Naturally this affection of fear in a Carnal heart is conversant about the loss of outward things about shame in the World and the like and so far as it respects God his Soul 't is a slavish fear of breaking out of some grosser sins onely least God should damn him but not fearing the Lord with a gracious Son-like fear a fear that purifies the Heart a fear that is mixt with a blessed love of God and delight in his ways 2. The Heart is exercised with new sorrow A godly sorrowing for sin such sins which were once the delight of the Heart such a sorrowing that works an indignation against the Darling-sins a taking of a kind of Revenge of our selves for it a vehement desire after pleasing of God and Holiness 2 Cor. 7.11 There is a
a word of Exhortation to you to look to your Thoughts saith the Wisdome of God Prov. 23.7 As he thinketh in his heart so is he A Soul is before the Lord according to the thoughts of his heart Oh take heed of giving way to and feeding vain unclean unholy Thoughts of any kind and let me press it upon you with these Motives 1. Consider that such thoughts are your sins lay that to heart God may justly damn a Soul for unholy Thoughts Know thou mayst commit Adultery or Murder in thy Heart though it break not forth actually If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thy self or if thou hast thought evil lay thine hand upon thy mouth Prov. 30.32 This will help to keep thy Heart in awe 2. That God's Eye is strictly and continually upon the Thoughts of thine Heart Psal 139.2 and therefore David cryes out to God to search his Heart for them Oh did a gracious Soul still consider this that the jealous Eye of God is upon every Thought and Motion of his Heart to sinne it would make him look closely to the Thoughts of his Heart 3. Consider that evil Thoughts and Musings of sin are the beginning of all open wickedness Jam. 1.15 Then when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sinne and such Thoughts are usually set on fire by the Devil 4. They do defile the soul Mat. 15.20 Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts c. These are the things which defile a man Which defilement unfits the soul for communion with God they make a filthy puddle in the soul and what a case is a poor Creature in to come to God in Duty in such a pickle 5. Evil Thoughts do pervert the Heart from God which should be fixed upon him they draw away the strength of the Heart from God they suck up the juice and marrow of the Heart which should be spent in Spiritual things in Jesus Christ 6. Such Thoughts do grieve the Spirit Nothing more the Spirit cannot delight to teach and comfort when the Heart is mostly acted by foolish and unholy Thoughts 7. When such Thoughts are acted in the Soul God may leave you to the power of them to break out to some grievous fall and so may shipwrack your peace and comforts for a great while and go with broken bones and it may cost you much bitterness before you are healed 8. If vain carnal Thoughts are not resisted at first but given way to they are hardly checkt and subdued and turned upon other Objects and therefore to watch the first Risings of them Now not one of these Considerations but may make a Child of God to tremble how he lets forth his heart into vain carnal idle defiling-thoughts and musings which do so much waste a gracious spirit and lay him open to such woful dangers as these are To help a Child of God in this Spiritual Work of looking to and a holy ordering the Thoughts of his Heart 1. Be deeply humbled to God with abhorring and loathing for Atheistical unclean proud vain foolish worldly thoughts that croud in upon you when you make them your burden you will be the sooner eased 2. Delight thy self much in the Word of God not onely in Publique Hearing but Daily Reading and not onely Reading but getting some good word upon thy heart that may season thy Thoughts and Affections saith David I hate vain thoughts but thy Law do I love Psal 119.113 The love of the Word of God made him be so far from cherishing vain Thoughts that he did hate them It doth appear this was a special part of David's exercise of Spirit to get some blessed Word upon his heart and be thinking of it and so it did tu n into the sweet and wholesome nourishment of the New-Creature Oh how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day Blessed and holy practise worthy a gracious Saint indeed you have one word specially that David had much on his heart out of the Books of Moses for we know not whether any other Scriptures were then extant 't is that of Exod. 34.6 where the Lord saith he will proclaim his Name and Glory The Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering abundant in goodness and truth which you have in Psal 103.8 Psal 86.15 145.8 Happily one of those sweet words which he often magnifies how hath a single word dwelt upon the heart of a Child of God and hath kept the heart savoury for Christ 3. The next Remedy against such Thoughts is Much Prayer diligence fervency powring out the heart to God till the heart melts and runs forth sweetly spiritually and is engaged with God and hath a sight of him and a divine impression of God's Majesty left upon the Soul 4. Get more and more brokenness of heart for sin when the Heart hath been broken 't will not so easily get into Vanity again At least a Child of God should take care that it should not when the Heart is broken and mourning the Spirit doth wonderfully in that work refine the Heart All the sleightness vanity defilement distraction that comes upon the New-Creature is mostly for want of this 5. Mortification of that Corruption that is most apt to stirre doth much cure our thoughts Inordinate Affections are the Saints greatest Evils and do bespeak an unmortified heart as to what a Child of God should still be pressing after even to be dead and crucified with Christ Those that are Christs have crucified their Affections and Lusts Gal. 5.22 6. Contending for a Spiritual Heart So far as the Heart is spiritual it acts spiritually 'T is the carnality of Heart that works-up all those frothy distempers that defile us Paul's corruption was much let out upon him when he cryes out of the carnality of his Heart Rom. 7. which should be the daily complaint of God's poor children 7. A great help to the preserving the Thoughts of the Heart according to the New-Creature will be to consider How precious the thoughts of God are to his People Psal 139.17 How precious also are thy thoughts O God unto me How great is the sum of them If I should count them they are more in number then the sand c. David in v. 2. was considering how God's Eye was upon his Thoughts and 't was a means to rectifie them and then David's thoughts run forth in the sweet and blessed apprehension of the preciousness of God's thoughts to him from all Eternity and in the ways of his Covenant towards him If God's thoughts to us be holy and precious and ever towards us the thoughts of his servants should be so also and as little common and unsavoury as may be More particularly let us yet consider what blessed and excellent and glorious things such as are New-Creatures in Christ have to exercise their thoughts about 1. Gracious Soules have the Attributes of God to exercise the thoughts of their Hearts in the Infiniteness of God his Greatness Holiness Glory