the keeping of the law doth consist For when a woman out of the crowd cryed unto our Saviour blessed is the womb that bare thee and the papes that gave thee suck Our Saviour returned this answer Luke 11. 28. Yea rather blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it The same hath Salomon Prâ—v 29. 18. and who knoweth not that which the Apostle teach 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godlinesse hath the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come and consequently of the happinesse both of this life and of the other life 3 To the parts of Gods worship as namely to holiness Apoc. 20. 6. Blessed and holy is the man who hath his part in the first resurrection Which testimony yeeldeth unto us a double proof First because he useth the terms of 〈…〉 of life And not only to holiness in generall but to the severall branches thereof is blessedness ascribed as to saving knowledge Prov. 3. 13. Ioh. 17. 3. to faith Luke 1. 45. Ioh. 20. 29. to assiance Psal. 2. 12. 34. 8. 40. 4. 84. 12. to hope Esayâ—0 â—0 18. Ier. 17. 7. to obedience Apoâ— 22. 14. to the feare of God Psal. 112. 1. 128. 1. 4. to humilitie Mar. 5. 3. Ioh. 13. 17. to patience Iam. 1. 12. 5. 11. 4 To righteousness Ps. 106. 3. Es. 56. 1 2. and not only to righteousness it self but also to the true desire of it Mat. 5. 6. Yeâ— and to the several branches of it as to mercifulness Mat. 57. Psal. 40. 1. 2. Prov. 14. 21. to meekness Mat. 5. 4. to peace-making Mat. 5. 9. And not only to the parts of Gods worship but also to the properties Fiftly therefore to the worship of God without fear of our enemies that is in confidence Psal. 146. 5. Whether you understand it without cause of fear because there is no condemnation to theâ— that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. or without servile feâ—r in expectation of eterâ—al happiness Tiâ— 2. â—3 for this indeed is the top of our happiness in this life to worship God as without fear of damnation so in a found expectation of eternal life And this seemeth to be implyed in the Hebrew word Hithbaracu which being of a reciprocal signification signifieth that in Abrahams seed all Nations should not only be blessed but also should bless themselves that is esteem and accompt themselves blessed Sixtly To uprightness and integrity or to the worshipping of God in holiness and righteousness as before him Psal. 1 19. 1. Blessed are the upright in the way that is who walk uprightly So Psal. 84. 11. and not only the upright themselves but their children also after them are pronounced blessed Prov. â—0 7. If therefore blessedness be ascribed first of all to redemption 〈…〉 secondly to the true worship of God in general thirdly to holiness fourthly to righteousness fiftly to the worship of God without fear sixthly to integrity or to the worship of God as before him seventhly to perseverance or to the worship of God 〈…〉 days of our life Then seven times happy is that man who being delivered from the hand of his enemies hath grace given unto him to worship God without fear in holyness and righteousness before him all the days of his life By this conference of places we learn what the happiness of a Christian is in this life not to abound in wealth not to attain to great honours not to wallow in pleasures 〈…〉 graces above all the things in this world for what is our happiness that is our chief good esteeming all wordly things as dross and dâ—ng yea as loss in comparison thereof Phil. â— 8. 9 For as without these spiritual graces all wordly things are â—ain and unprofitable yea to them that set their hearts on them hurtful and peâ—â—icious So having fought and obtained these graces all temporal blessings shal be added unto us or if we seem to want any of them our seeming want thereof shall not hinder our happyness And therefore our Saviour pronounceth the faithful though living in poverty hunger sorrow and persecution happy and blessed Luke 6. 20. 21. 22. CHAP. IIII. Of the gift promised by this Oath in general and of the two parts thereof joyntly THus much of Zacharies exposition of Gods Oath now we come to the words thereof that he would give us c. The thing then promised in this Oath is a gift Of this gift we are to speak first in general and then in particular In general we may observe first the main difference between the Covenant of works made with all mankind and the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham and his seed the heires of promise In the former the Lord 〈◊〉 perfect obedience to the performed by our selves to our justification and salvation and denounceth his fearful câ—rse against those that do not continue in a total and perfect obedience In the latter the Lord iâ— in stead of requiring perfect obedience to be performed of us to our justification and salvation promiseth to those which believe redemption and justification without works and being redeemed and justified by faith he promiseth to give them grace to walk in new obedience as being an unseparable fruit of our redemption and justification and as the high-way wherein we are to walk towards our glorification Of this new Covenant the holy Ghost prophesieth by Ieremy Chap. 31. vers 31. 32 33. Behold the days come saith the Lord that I wil make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the Covenant which I made with their fathers when I brought them out of Aegypt which was the covenant of works but this shal be the Covenant that I wil make with them I wil put my law in their inward parts write it in their hearts c. which is the covenant of grace recited by the Apostle Heb. 8. v. 8. 9. 10 of which being a better Covenant Christ is the mediator v. 6. according to that Iohn 1. 17. This Law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Iesus Christ. The same Covenâ—nt repeated by Ezekiel Chap. 36. 26. 27. The Gospel therefore or Covenant of Grace is not a new law nor Christ a new law-giver as the Papists absurdly teach confounding the Law and the Gospel saving that they teach that the Gospel requireth more perfect obedience to be performed by our selves then the Law it self doth prescribe unto justification but to them that are redeemed and justified by faith it promiseth grace to walk in new obedience Howbeit this is true that as men deprived themselves of what was promised in the Old Covenant by disobedience So if men do live in sin without faith and without repentance not so much as desiring caring and endeavouring to worship God in holyness and righteousness they can have no assurance that they are within the Covenant of grace made only with those that truly beleeve God having promised
Prince Ioh. 12. 31 and God of this world 2 Cor. 4. 4. under whose subjection the whole world of the wicked lyeth 1 Ioh. 5. 19. who is the powerful Prince of the aire working effectually in the children of disobedience Ephes. 2. 2. carrying them away captive to do his wil. 2 Tim. 2. 26. This servitude to sin and Sathan the mystery of our redemption doth presuppose For if we were not captives we needed not to be redeemed And he doth therefore redeem us that we might serve him and therefore before he doth actually redeem us we cannot serve him in holyness and righteousness Socondly we are by nature the children of wrath Ephes. 2. 3. and enemies yea rebels against GOD. And therefore until we be reconciled unto him by the death of Christ and justified by faith through redemption wrought by Christ we cannot do any thing which may be acceptable to God for they that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 8. The person must be accepted before his actions can be accepted And without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11. 6. Now if this be so that we cannot serve God or do any thing that shal be accepted of him unleâ—s we be first redeemed justified and reconciled to him how doth it behoâ—e every one that hath not yet obtained these graces to labour for them above all thâ— things in this world For until then he doth nothing but sinn and by multiplying sinns he doth hoard up wrath against the day of wrath The means of Gods part is the preaching of the Gospel which is therefore called the ministry of reconciliation which God hath committed to the Preachers thereof by whom as his Embassadors in Christs steed he intreateth you to be reconciled unto God 2 Cor. 5. 18 20. The means on our part are faith prayeâ— and repentance For if thou dost truly and by a lively faith effectually believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Saviour of all that believe in him thou art bound to believe also or else thou makest God a lyar that he is thy Saviour and so believing thou art justified and being justified by faith thou shalt have peace with God Secondly if the Lord who is the party offended and needeth not thy friendship desiâ—eth thee to be reconciled unto him wilt not thou who art the offendor who also without his favour shalt perish eternally wilt not thou I say by hearty and earnest prayer deâ—iâ—e him to be reconciled unto thee Now if 〈◊〉 dost by the prayer of faith desire God to be reconciled unto thee what should hindâ—â— thy reconciliation when thou destrest 〈◊〉 of God which God by his Ministers desireth of thee But unto these two we must add the duty of repentance For if we continue in sinn without repentance and please our selves in â—â—â—pleasing God how can we perswade our sâ—lvâ—s that we desire to be reconciled unto him And if we do not desire to be reconciled then are we the professed enemies of God for whom remaineth the fearful expectation of that judgment which shaldestroy the adversaâ—â—â—â— of God Heb. 10. 27. So much of the order Now we are to speak of the concurâ—â—nce of these two graces For when the Lord sweareth that to those whom he redeemeth and justifieth he wil give grace to worship him in holyness and righteousness from hence we do necessarily collect that sanctification is an unseparable companion of justification and that no man can have assurance that he is justified unless he be in some measure sanctified Let no man therefore deceive himself with a vain profession of an idle and dead faith 〈◊〉 2. 14. for unlesse thou doest at the least desire and endevour to worship God in holnesse and righteousnesse it is as certain as the oath of the Lord is true that as yet thou art not justified nor actually made partaker of the redemption wrought by Christ. It is true that our Saviour Christ in the dayes of his flesh did redeem us meritoriously paying a ransome sufficient for all that should beleeve in him but none are actually made partakers of this Redemption but they to whom it is applyed and it is applyed only to those that truly believe and true faith purifieth the heart Act. 15. 9. and worketh by love Gal. 5 6. and is to be demonstrated by good works 〈…〉 faith as all those are which truly believe in him in them Christ dwelleth by his Spirit for Rom. 8. 9. they are not his who have not his Spirit applying unto them not only the merit of his death to their redemption and the benefit of his resurrection to their justification Rom. 4. 25. but also the vertue and efficacie of his death to mortifie their sinnes Phil. 3. 8 9. and of his resurrection to raise them to newnesse of life so that for whose sinnes Christ died they die to their sinne and for whose justification he arose they also rise to newnesse of life The Apostle Rom. 6. 3. 4. affirmeth that those who have been baptâ—zed into CHRIST were baptized into his death and resurrection that as CHRIST did die and rise againe so they also die to sinne and rise to a newnesse of life 2. CHRIST was given unto us by his Father not only to be our justification and redemption but also our Sanctification 1 Cor. 1. 30. Neither did hee come with blood alone or with water alone 1 Iohn 5. 6. But as Saint Iohn in his Gospell carefully observeth as a thing most remarkable Iohn 19. 34 35. He came both with water and with blood with the blood of redemption to expiate the guilt of our sins and with the water of ablution or sanctification to cleanse us from the corruption 1 Iohn 5. 6. And in respect of both his blood doth cleanse us from all our sins 1 Ioh. 1. 7. from the guilt perfectly in our justification from the corruption in part and by degrees in our sanctification See Hebr. 9. 14. 3. Whosoever are the sons of God by adoption as all those are Io. 1. 12 13. that truly believe they also are his sons by regeneration 4. The same is implied in the benefit of Redemption whereby Christ our blessed Saviour doth not only redeem us from the guilt of sin which bindeth men over to damnation but also from the bondage of sinne that howsoever sinne doth remaine in the faithfull yet it shall not reigne in them Rom. 6. 14. nor have dominion over them For they that practise sinne are the servants of sinne Iohn 8. 34. and of Satan 1 Ioh. 3. 8. in them sin reigneth and therefore they are not by Christ redeemed from the bondage of sinnâ— For whom the Sonne maketh free they are free indeed Ioh. 8. 36. 5. The same is proved by the nature and property of a true faith For faith is a grace of regeneration which the Spirit of God when he doth regenerate us ingenerateth in us wherby as we are justified alone because no other
which is in foro conscientiae it is not justification properly but the knowledge and assurance of it Neither is that to be accounted justifying faith properly by which we are not justified before God nor obtaine remission of sinnes But before and without this faith by which we are justified in our consciences that is assured of our justification we are as he truly saith justified before God The 4th error that all the elect before their conversion c. stand actually reconciled and justified The fourth that all the elect before their conversion and before they have faith stand actually reconciled unto God and justified before him may also seeme a strange assertion to be uttered by a godly man For if this were true then every one that will perswade himselfe that he is elected which most men are ready to do who will thank GOD for their election before they are called may cast off all care of converting unto God of repenting for his sins of suing unto God for the pardon of them of believing in Christ because without and before either faith or repentance he hath remission of his sins and standeth actually justifyed before GOD and reconciled unto him And this is the very ground whereupon carnall Gospellers who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse do build all their presumptuous licentiousnesse that Christ having dyed for their sins they need not to dye to them that Christ having freed them from sin and from damnation they may sinne freely and without danger that Christ having reconciled them to God and purchased Salvation for them they neither need to sue for reconciliation or pardon nor take care of their Salvation that Christ having fully satisfied the justice of God by his obedience and sufferings they neither are obnoxious to punishment nor tyed to obedience But this assertion is most evidently confuted by the Scriptures which do teach that the elect are by nature the children of wrath servants to sin and Sathan enemies against God obnoxioâ—s in themselves to the fearfull curse of God as well as others untill they turne unto God crave pardon of their sins and lay hold upon Christ by faith then indeed but not till then they are reconciled unto God Col. 1. 11. Rom. 5. 10. who before were enemies then but not untill then they are actually redeemed who were before bondslaves then but not untill then they are justified who before were guilty of sin and damnation then and not untill then their sins are actually pardoned For actuall pardon is of sins past Orig. in Rom. 3. Lib. 3. indulgentia non futurorum sed preteritorum criminum datur Rom. 3. 25. and we may not presume that our sins are pardoned before we repent of them and much lesse may we dreame that they are actually remitted before they be committed For the better understanding whereof we are to consider the merits of Christ and the benefits which we have therby according to his own intention expressed in the covenant of grace the condition whereof is faith and are not to extend them to those to whom they were not intended Christ is the Saviour of the world yet al are not saved nor to be saved for many still remain in the state of damnation he is the Redeemer of man-kind yet all are not actually redeemed for many still remaine in the servitude of sin and Sathan For they that commit sin are the servants of sin Whereas if the sonne had made them free they should have been free indeed 2 Cor. 5. 19 Joh 8. 34 36. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfe and yet very many as they continue in their rebellion against God so the wrath of God abideth upon them Joh. 3. 36. Neither ought this to seeme strange seeing the covenant of grace promiseth and assureth neither Salvation nor remission of sins nor other benefits of Christ to all but only to those that believe So God loved the world that he gave his onely begotten sonne that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have life everlasting John 3. 16. Mark 16. 16. he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be condemned To this purpose consider the diversifying of the phrase used by the Apostle in the comparison betwixt the first and the second Adam Rom 5. 19. As by the disobedience of one man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the many that is the multititude of them which shall be damned were made sinners so by the obedience of on 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the multitude of them that shall be saved he doth not say were made but shall be made righteous The reason of which diversity is this because the Apostle had respect to all those elect who as yet have not believed either because as yet they were not or as yet are not or because as yet they were not or yet are not called For it is necessary that all men should confesse and acknowledge themselves to be sinners in Adam ab origine from their first being For by generation the sinne of Adam is actually communicated to all his posterity and no sooner are they partakers of the humane nature then they do participate in his sinne But we may not say that the righteousnes or obedience of Christ is communicated to all from their beginning but onely I speak after the manner of the Scriptures of those which are adulti to those that believe Neither are they in their generation or before made partakers of Christs righteousnes but in their regeneration That no man therefore should neglect the benefit of justification as though he had already obtayned it before his conversion or effectuall calling or regeneration in which faith is ingenerated by the Holy Ghost in the soules of the elect he speaketh in the future tense that men should understand that they are not borne just or justifyed but that they shall be justified so soone as they turning unto GOD shall believe in Christ and that they are just nonnatâ—sed renati not born but born anew wherefore before we ought to presume that we are justified we must be called converted regenerated For whom GOD hath elected them hath he called according to his purpose and whom he hath so called them and no other hath he justified Rom. 8. 30. Thus then we are to conceive of Christs merits and the benefits which we have thereby that howsoever our Saviour Christ did in the dayes of his flesh meritoriously redeeme and save men paying a price of ransome sufficient for all and fully satisfying the justice of GOD in the behalfe of al that shall be saved yet notwithstanding none are actually redeemed or reconciâ—ed or justified but they only to whom the merits of Christ are applyed and they are applyed only to those that believe I speak of those which are adulti for to elect infants dying in their infancy they are applyed by the Holy Ghost neither can any be assured that they truely believe
but such as repent of their sinnes and make conscience of their wayes This learned man therefore should have distinguished betweenâ— the merâ—t of redemption and actuall redemption even as well as between the merit of Salvation and the actuall possession thereof Christ merited our redemption and Salvation long since yea his merit thereof hath ever been in force since the beginning of the world Apoc. 13. 8. but yet none are actually made partakers of redemption but such as to whom it is appyed that is to those that truely believe for they only receive it and to them onely according to the Covenant of grace it was intended Otherwise he might say that all the elect are actually saved for whom Christ purchased eternall life who notwithstanding are not saved so much as in hope untill they do truely believe And if all the elect be actually justified before God because Christ did merit their justification why doth he not say in like manner that all the elect are actually sanctifyed seeing Christ was made unto us of GOD not onely righteousnesse 1 Cor. 1. 30. and redemption but also sanctifycation and hath as well merited our sanctification for us as our justification Againe what benefits we obtaine by Christ we receive them by Faith and therefore in the Scriptures the same benefits which we receive from Christ are ascribed to Faith by which Christ and his merits are ours by which also Christ dwelleth in us Eph. 3 17. we live by Christ we live by Faith Gal 2. 20. by Christ we have remission of sinnes by Faith we obtaine remission Act. 10. 43. 26. 18. we are justified by Christ we are justified by Faith Rom. 3. 28. By Christ we are made the sonnes of God by faith we are made the sonnes of GOD Joh. 1. 12. and so in the rest and therefore to imagine that we are justified before GOD without Faith is a dreame Moreover this assertion cannot stand with the perpetuall Doctrine of the Apostle Paul who teacheth that we are justified before GOD by Faith therefore not before nor without Faith By faith saith he without workes that is by the righteousnesse of Christ apprended by Faith and not by inherent righteousnesse Neither doth he in those places speak of justification in the Court of Conscience whereby we are assured of our justification for as before men we are justified Jam. 2. â—4 that is declared and known to be just by good workes so much more by our good workes by which we are to make our election 2 Pet 1. 10. our calling our justification sure we are justified in our own Conscience that is assured of our justification And to conclude this assertion is such a 〈…〉 Protestant nor Papist did ever hold that a man who is come to yeeres is actually justified before GOD before and without faith The fifth erâ—our that Faith is not the mother grace 5. The fifth that faith is not the root nor the mother of other graces and that the soule is not disposed to believe sooner then to love GOD or our neighbour or to produce the act of any other grace But this I have sufficiently disproved in the discourse shewing evidently that as without faith there can be no other grace so not onely from it all other graces do spring but also according to the measure and degree of it is the measure and degree of all other graces We are not disposed to love GOD as we ought untill we be by faith perswaded of GODS love towards us we cannot hope for the performance of Gods promises to us unlesse by faith we are perswaded that they belong unto us we cannot trust in GOD nor rejoyce in him unlesse by faith we are perswaded of his goodnesse and bounty towards us and so â—n the rest and what is more plaine then that love which is the fulfilling in the whole law proceedeth from Faith unfained as being the fruit thereof 1 Tim 1. 5. Chrysostome and Theophilact call faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mother and fountaine of all graces and Calvin Justit l. 3. c. 2. sect 41. sect 42. c. 3. sect 1. sola est fic'es quae in nobis charitatem primum generat it is faith only which first ingendereth charity in us it begetteth also hope and newnesse of life as he saith But to omit other testimonies St. Peter seemeth to acknowledge this truth 2 Pet. 1. 2 3. where he prayeth for them to whom he wâ—iteth that grace and peace be multiplyed unto them by the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertaine to life and godlinesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the acknowledgement of him that hath called us c. that is by faith The sixt error that Faith is assiance 6. The sixt that faith is assiance and so to be defined and that trusting to the promise is the proper act of faith as it justifieth c. But I have proved that faith is not affiance nor affiance faith But a fruitâ— of faith as well as hope and that by faith we have affiance Eph. 3. 12. whereunto I adde that the trust in GODS promises to be in particular performed to us is not faith but â—ope Yea but promises faith he are both true and good therefore our assent to them is with adherence affiance and trust Answ. The promises are true the things promised are good we believe the promise we hope for the thing promised As contrarywise Gods threatnings are also true and the things threatned evill as therefore he that believeth the threatning to be true feareth if it be applyable to himselfe the thing threatned and yet this feare is not of the nature of faith but a fruit and consequent thereof so he that believeth a promise to be true and can apply it to himself trusteth hopeth for the thing promised which trust in respect of the promise is no more of the nature of faith then feare in respect of the threatning But that affiance is of the essence of justifying faith he will make good by divers reasons first from the phrases of believing Iohn 1. 12. Rom. 10. 1â— â—s Rom 4. 5. Act. 16. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Eph 1. 12. 〈◊〉 that is in or upon which imply affiance A. That as I said in the discourse affiance is such an unseperable fruite of faith that sometimes it is implyed in the phrase of bliâ—ving in Christ. For that phrase may and sometimes doth imply three acts the first of assent that he is the Saviâ—â—r of all that believe in him which ass 〈◊〉 it be lively and effectuall is the proper act of that faith whereby we are justified before God and in this sense the phrase of beliâ—ving in him is ordinarily used in the Scriptures yea sometimes it is attributed to those who have assented onely by a bare historicall and temporary Faith which is the Faith of hypocrites and all