every cranny and bring light heat and influence into every part of the soule And therefore Christ saith Let not your hearts be troubled Now for the wayes whereby we must labour to comfort our hearts amongst many that I might speak of I will name a few First of all there must be a due search into the heart of the grounds of our trouble for oftentimes Christians are troubled they cannot tell wherefore As children that Will complaine they know not why I speake not of hypocrites that will complaine of that which is not a true griefe to them like some Birds that make greatest noyse when they be furthest from their nests But of some poore Christians that are troubled but distinctly know not the ground of it But search the heart ingenuously and truly to the bottome of it and see if there be not some Achan in the Camp some sinne in the heart for sinne is like winde when it gets into the veines it will have vent and a troublesome one and so will sinne if it get into the soule it is that indeed which causeth all trouble And therefore search your hearts throughly what sinne lyeth there unrepented of and for which you have not beene humbled And when you have found out your sinne give it vent by confession of it to God and in some cases to others And when we have done so consider what promises and comforts in the word of God are fitted to that condition for we can be in no condition but there are comforts for it and promises fitted to yeeld comforts for every malady And it will be the wisedome of a Christian to accommodate the remedy to the sore of his heart And therefore we ought to be skilfull and well seene in the word of God that we may sore up comforts before-hand Our Saviour Christ tels them before-hand of the scandall of the Crosse and of Peters deniall that they might lay up strength and spirituall armour against the day of tryall Those comforts do not for the most part hold out in the day of adversity which were not procured in the day of prosperitie It is not wisedome to be to learne Religion when we should use it and therefore let us be spirituall good husbands for our soules by storing up comforts out of the Word of God and then we shall have no more to do then to remember the comforts that we did before-hand know And there be some promise of more generall use that are Catholica fitted for all sorts of grievances and of these wee must make use when we cannot think of particular ones As the promises that concerne forgivenesse of sinnes Thinke of Gods mercy in pardoning sinne with admiration because sinne will be presented us in such terrible colours that if God be not presented in as gracious colours wee shall sinke and therefore set out Christ in his mercies and all sufficiencie when sinne is aggravated to be in its hainousnesse and out of measure sinfulnesse as the Prophet Michah doth Who is a God like our God that pardoneth iniquitie transgression and sinne c. Likewise how many promises and comforts are there in that one promise Luk. 11. He will give his spirit to them that aske him And here our Saviour promiseth to send the Comforter all graces and all comforts are included in the Spirit of grace and comfort his Spirit is a Spirit of all grace and therefore our Saviour thought that the promised enough when be said he would send them the Comforter And so what a world of comfort is in that promise All things shall worke together for the best to them that love God yea those things that are worst shall work together though they be hostile and opposite one to another yet they joyne issue in this they be all for the good of Gods people As in a clocke the wheels go severall wayes but all joyne to make the Clocke strike And so in the carriage and ordering of things one passage crosses another but in the issue we shall be able to say all things worke together for the best I found God turning all things for my good And I could not have beene without such a crosse such an affliction And so for present assistance in your callings or straits remember that promise made to Iosuab which is repeated in the 13 of the Hebrews I will not faile thee nor for sake thee a promise which is five times renewed in Scripture and how much comfort is in that that he will vouchsafe by his spirit a gracious presence in all conditions whatsoever And likewise that of David Psalme 23. Though I walke in the valley of the shadow of death yet will I feare no ill for thou art with me It was a terrible supposition made that though he should walke in the valley of the shadow of death yet he would feare no evill These promises well digested will arme the soule with confidence that it shall be able to put any case of trouble As in the 27. Psalme David puts cases The Lord is my strength the Lord is the light of my countenance of whom shall I be afraid Though thousands shall rise against me yet in this I will be confident If our hearts be established by the word of God setled in the truth of such promises by the Spirit of God we may set God and his truth against all troubles that can arise from Sathan and hell and the instruments of Sathan or our owne hearts And therefore it is a great wrong to God and his truth if we know not our portion of comfort and use it as occasion serves More particulars I omit leaving them to your owne industry the Scripture being full of them When we have these promises let us labour to understand them throughly to understand the grounds of our comfort in them and to beleeve the truth of them which are as true as God who is truth it selfe And then to love them and digest them in our affections and so make them our owne and then to walk in the strength and comfort of them Labour likewise to have them fresh in memory it is a great defect of Christians they forget their consolation as it is in the Hebrews though we know many things yet we have the benefit of our comfort from no more then we remember But above all if we will keep our hearts from trouble let us labour to keepe unspotred consciences Innocencie and diligence are marvellous preservers of comfort And therefore if the conscience be sported and uncleane wash it in the bloud of Christ which is first purging and then purifying It first purgeth the soule being set aworke to search our sinnes and confesse them which maketh us see our need of Christ who dyed to satisfie divine justice Then God sprinkles our heart with this bloud which was shed for all penitent sinners by which when the heart is purged the conscience will be soone satisfied also by Christs bloud And
TVVO SERMONS VPON THE FIRST words of Christs last Sermon IOHN XIIII I. Being also the last Sermons of RICHARDS SIBBS D. D. Preached to the honourable society of Grayes Inne Iune the 21. and 28. 1635. Who the next Lords day following died and rested from all his labours 2. Sam. 23. 1. These are the last words of the sweet singer of Israel LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper for Lawrence Chapman and are to be sold at his shop in Holborne at Chancery lane end 1636. HONORATISSIMO DOMINO DOMINO ROBERTO COMITI WARVVICENSI HAS MELLITISSIMI THEOLOGI RICHARDI SIBBS S. THEOL DOCTORIS QUEM Percharum habuit cuiusque concionantis auditor erat assiduus unà cum nobilissima Familia CYGNEAS CONCIONES IN â—ENTISSIMI AVTHORIS AFFECTVS NEC NON IPSORVM SINGVLARIS OBSEQVII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 D. D. D. THOMAS GOODVVIN PHILIPPUS NYE Imprimatur Tho. Weekes R. P. EP. Lond. Capel Domest The first SERMON lOHN 14. chap. 1 verse Let not your hearts be troubled ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me HOly men as they be trees os righteousnesse and desire to be fruitfull at all times so most especially towards their end having but a short time to live in the world they be willing to leave the world with a good savour so it was with Iacob so with Moses as appeares in his excellent Song made before his death you may see it in King Salomon and David before their deaths but especially in our Saviour The nearer to heaven the more heavenly minded when grace and glory are ready to joyne the one to be swallowed up of the other then grace is most glorious All the passages of Christ are comfortable but none more comfortable then those Sermons of his that were delivered a little before his death of all words that come from loving men to those they love such are most remarkable as be spoken when they be ready to die because then men are most serious they being about the most serious businesse then they bee wisest and best able to judge for the consideration of their end makes them wise And therefore sayth God Oh that my people were wise to consider their latter end And Teach mee to number my dayes that I may apply my heart to wisedome sayth Moses And indeed there is no wisedome to that for it teacheth men to passe a right judgement upon all things in the world they be no longer drunke with the prosperity of the world they be no longer swayed with opinion but they passe an estimation of things as they are Besides love at that time is especially set on worke Therefore our blessed Saviour being now to offer himselfe a sacrifice on the Crosse he sweetly delivereth these words before his departure Let not your hearts be troubled Let us heare them therefore as the dying words of our Saviour to his Disciples and in his Disciples to us all as in the 17 of Saint Iohn I pray not for them onely but for all such as shall beleeve in me through their word for his comforts concerne us all as his prayers did This Chapter is sweetly mixt of comforts counsels and gratious promises but especially it affords matter of comfort mark who it is that gives this comfort our blessed Saviour And at what time when he was to sacrifice himselfe What admirable love and care and pitie is in this mercifull high Priest of ours that should so thinke of comforting his disciples as to forget hemselfe and his owne approaching death It is the nature of love so to do and we should imitate our blessed Saviour in it you see how he laboureth to strengthen them especially towards his end he knew they would then need it most and therfore he endeavoureth by all means to strengthen them both by counsell as here by the Passeover and by a newly instituted Sacrament But what need we wonder at this in our blessed Saviour who so regarded us as he left heaven took our nature became man put himselfe under the Law became sinne The words containe a disswasion from over-much trouble and then a direction to beleeve in God and Christ comforts must be founded on strong reasons For we are reasonable and understanding creatures and God works on us answerably to our principles He stayes our spirits by reasons stronger then the grievance For what is comfort but that which establisheth and upholds the soule against that evill which is feared or felt from a greater strength of reason which overmastreth the evill If the grievance bee but even with the comfort then the consolation workes not but Christs comforts are of an higher nature then any trouble can be for hee not onely disswades from trouble but also perswades to confidence Be of good comfort I have overcome the world The occasion of this comforting them and of remooving their discouragements was this In the former Chapter hee had told them that he should leave them and that they should leave him the best of them all even Peter should take offence at him and denie him and that all the rest should leave him From whence they might gather that the approaching trouble should be great That should cause Peter to deny him and them all to forsake him And thence must needes arise great scandalls Our Saviour saw by the power of his Godhead into their hearts and like enough in their lookeshee saw a spirit of discouragement seyzing on them for his departure and Peters fall their forsaking of him and the persecutions that would follow And therefore Christ discerning this dejection of their spirits he rayseth them by this Let not your hearts be troubled The heavenly Physition of our soules applieth then the remedy when it is the fittest season There was some good in their trouble something naturally and something spiritually good There was ground of naturall trouble at the departure of such a friend at the hearing of such persecutions For wee are flesh not steele and in that sence Christ was troubled himselfe to shew the truth of his manhood nay trouble is the seasoning of all heavenly comforts so as there were no comforts if there were no trouble and therefore this naturall trouble was not disallowed by Christ. There was likewise something spiritually good in this trouble they loved their Master who they saw was going away And they knew it was a shamefull thing for them to forsake him there was love in them towards him all this while Christ could discerne gold in â—oare some good in a great deale of ill and therefore loved them againe and manifested it by comforting them Let not your beares be troubled They were right in this principle that all comfort depends on the presence of Christ. And so the maine ground of the sorrow was good For as all heavenly light and heat and influence comes from the Sunne it being all gathered into that body so all heavenly comfort is gathered into Christ and therefore must come to us from Christs presence
much sorrow and griefe what a great deale of dishonour do we to God it proceeding from a mistake of his goodnesse and providence And with over much feare and sorrow there is alwayes ioyned murmuring and discontent and a spirit unsubdued to God and his Spirit There is a wronging as of his care in providence so of his gratiousnesse in his promises There is a grieving of his good Spirit a questioning of his government as if he did not dispose of things as he should when we will have it one way and God will have it another way There is likewise a great deale of pride in dejections and discontent The most discontented spirit in the world is the Devill and none prouder It argues a great deale of pride and sullennesse to be affectedly sad and deiected as if such worthy and excellent persons as we should not be so afflicted Or there were greater cause for us to be deiected then raised up Whereas if we ballance our grounds of comfort being Christians as we should do they would appeare incomparably above the grounds of our discouragements so it is a wrong to God and his truth and his gracious sweet government to yeeld to a dejected sullen disposition It is likewise a wrong to others for it maketh us unfit for any office of love to them when we plodde and pore so much upon our discontentments and drink up our spirits and eate up our hearts it disables the soule taking away not onely the strength but also the willingnesse of the soule Besides the scandal that it brings on Religion and the best wayes as if there were not enough in Religion to comfort the soule But you will say Religion breeds a great deale of trouble and pensivenesse It is indeed the speech of the shallow people of the world Religion makes men sad And it is true that as our Saviour Christ here had made his Disciples sad by telling them that they would leave him and that a great scandall would be taken at his Crosse and shamefull suffering but yet withall bids them not be troubled and gives you grounds of comfort so Religion will make men sadde For it discovers truths and sad truths I but the same Religion will cheare them up againe yea it casts them down that it may raise them up The uSnne in the morning raiseth clouds but when it hath strength it scatters them God intending solid and substantiall comfort doth first beget troubles and discovers true grounds of trouble he lets us see that all is not well but still as Religion brings any trouble so it brings with it greater remedies against thse troubles and that God that raiseth a soule to see just matter of griefe will by his spirit shew its due and right portion in comfort Thus to be sorrowfull and sad in some measure is from Religion but that which will prevent the excesse and over measure of it is from Religion likewise So that it is a scandall to Religion to be over much dejected Besides though we should be troubled for sinne yet to be over much troubled for sinne is a dishonour to Christ and to the love of God in Christ for it is as if we had not in him a sufficient remedy for that great maladie As be it griefe for the troubles of the Church as not to be troubled at the affliction of Ioseph is branded for a sinne So to be too much cast downe as if Christ had cast off the government from his shoulders or had not the name of the Church on his breast in heaven as the high Priest had the names of the 12 Tribes in his breast plate to be so cast downe as to be taken off from prayer and from the use of all good meanes to helpe the Church this is sinfull So also when griefe for sinne makes us forget the mercies of God in Christ to forget the healing vertue of him our brazen Serpent to neglect to search our grounds of comforts and to yeeld to Sathan to temptation Even over much sadnesse though it be for sinne or for the Church it is hurtfull and scandalous Iosuah was much cast downe when he saw it went not well with Israel but get thee up Iosuah saith God what doest thou lying here up and do thy duty consider what is amisse There is an Achan in the Campe and so when things go not well let not your thoughts be conversant about the matters of trouble so much as about your duty So we see it is incident to Gods people to be over much troubled and we see also the reasons why it should not be so because it is injurious to God to our selves and others every way And after all this there is much reason in this that Christ hath forbidden it let not your hearts be troubled But Christ could as well have cured it being God as easily as forbidden it It is true but he cures it by forbidding it with the words there went forth a spirit of comfort into their hearts an influence of grace accompanied his commands for the word and Spirit God together Christ deales with men by men The spirit of comfort is a spirit of truth and therefore God comforts by truths He gives us sanctified understandings and affections and then works on them by sanctified truths And sometimes Christ cures it by reall comforts for comforts are either rationall which are fetched frō grounds which faith ministers or reall from the presence of any thing which comforts as the sight of friends or the accommodating of us in any thing wherein we see the love of God conveighed how many reall comforts doth God bestow when he fitteth us with conveniencies in our way to heaven so that we may teade the love of God in them God doth not onely comfort us by his gracious promise by his Word and Sacraments administring heavenly comforts by them but also by the conveighing of himselfe and his love by outward comforts that we enjoy in the world howsoever carnall men abuse them making all things to work for the worst yet that love that intends heaven sweetens all things in the passage to heaven to his children because they see the love of God in the least comfort Againe observe from this here let not your hearts be troubled what is the seat of comfort the heart the seat of comfort is the fear of griese There must be an application of comfort suitable to the griefe and the heart must be comforted And therefore in Isa. 40. 1 2. Comfort ye comfort ye my people speake to the heart As the griefe sinks and soakes to the root of the heart so do Christs comforts like true cordials indeed that go as deepe as the grievance If the griefe goes to the heart the comfort must go as deepe Now God the Father of spirits and the holy Ghost the Comforter knows and searches our spirits they know all the corners of the heart they can banish feare and sorrow out of
faith is the grace that apprehends the joyes thereof and hope expects that which faith beleeves and that hope becomes an anchor to the soule that stayeth the soule in all the waves and troubels of the world and what is the ground of that hope but faith Faith stirreth up hope and hope pitcheth on the promise especially of life everlasting And thus faith becomes a quieting and a stilling grace because it raiseth the soule by representing and making reall to it better things then the world can give or take as it doth also at other times present heavier things then the world can threaten faith makes things present to the soule and because it layes hold on divine things greater then any thing here below therefore it overcomes the world and all things in the world yea hell it self because it layes hold on heaven and happinesse upon the power of God and the mercy of God in Christ and upon those rich promises What is in the world or in the rank of good things but faith out-bids it by setting heaven against it and what evill is there but faith overcomes the feare of it by setting hell against it I shall have such a good if I yeeld to such a lust I but what is that to heaven saith Faith For faith being the Hypostasis the substance of things to come makes them substantiall and evident to the soule as if they were alreadie subsistent being looked upon in the certaintie of the word and so it affects the soul deeply and upholds it strongly even as if the things themselves were present and so it banisheth and dispels all discomforts the 11. Chapter to the Hebrews is a Comment upon this truth in the example of Moses and many others What greater object of feare might be presented to a man then the angry face and countenance of a terrible Tyrant Yet when by the eye of faith he saw him that was invisible and then looked upon Pharaoh what was Pharaoh to God When Micaiah had seene God sitting on his Throne what was Ahab to him And when the soule hath entred into the vaile and sees the glorious things of heaven and happinesse what are all things below Faith sets the Soule on a Rocke above the reach of waves upon the love of God in Christ. And therefore set the grace of Faith on worke keepe it on the wing preserve it on exercise and faith exercised will be able to comfort the most dejected soule in the world and to raise it above all the troubels that can be imagined or befall us The Second SERMON IOHN Ch. 14. Ver. 1 Let not your hearts be tronbled ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me THe words of dying men departing out of the world as being most serious and weighty are most to be regarded The children of God the neerer they are to heaven the more suteable they are to their heavenly condition So was our Saviour Christ and therefore he labours to furnish his Disciples and in them us with good counsell to establish their hearts against the troubles and scandals to come If you consider the time when he spake these words it was when he himself was to be troubled more then ever was any creature yet ye forgets himselfe and his future troubles and thinks how to raise up and comfort them He foresaw that Peter would deny him that the rest would leave him he foresaw that they would be dejected when he was gone yet let not your hearts be troubled Oh what a blessed and sweet Saviour have we that thinks more of us then of himselfe that he forgets his own troubles and sufferings and extremities and thinks of the supporting and upholding of his Disciples This came from the same love that drew him from heaven to earth which moved him to take our nature and in that nature to dye for us and what may we not expect from that sweet and large love out of the same bowels of pittie and compassion was it that they should not be over much dejected that he saith Let not your hearts be troubled He knew his Disciples were in the state of grace already yet he foresaw they were such as would sinne Nay that Peter would deny him Yet the foresight of Peters and their unkindnesse did not take away his love and pittie and compassion towards them Yet notwithstanding he gives them sweet counsell nay after they had dealt unkindly with him and denyed and forsooke him Indeed he took no advantage of their weaknesse He knew they had a secret love to him that they had in them a root of affection and he was so farre from taking advantage for it that presently after he saith Tell my brethren that I ascend to my God and their God yea and tell Peter so too that hath dealt most unkindly of all with me What a gracious and mercifull Saviour have we that foresees what ill we will do and when we have done it takes no advantage against us but is carefull to keepe us from too much dejection though he knew we would deale so unkindly by him and indeed he did of purpose take our nature that he might be a mercifull high Priest Christians must distinguish bewixt dejection and griefe It had beene a sinne for them not to have grieved as well as it was a sinne for them to be over much troubled None are more sensible then a Christian Sentit dum vincit he feels troubles whiles he overcomes them Christ speakes to the heart because the heart is the seat of trouble Let not your hearts be troubled Christ could speake to the eares and heart at once his words were operative and conveighed comfort with them Together with his words he let in his holy Spirit that comforted them Gods commands in the ministery of his word suppose not that we have any abilitie to execute them but together with his word there comes forth a power As when Christ said Lazarus arise there went forth a power that caused Lazarus to arise As in the Creation he said Let there be light for the Word and the Spirit go together Having taken them off from trouble he shews a way how to raise them which is by faith Ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me The object in beleeving is God and Christ Mediator we must have both to found our faith upon We cannot beleeve in God except we beleeve in Christ for God must be satisfied by God and by him that is God must that satisfaction be applied the Spirit of God by working faith in the heart and for the raising of it up when it is dejected all is supernaturall in faith The things we beleeve are above nature the promises are above nature the worker of it the holy Ghost is above nature and every thing in faith is above nature there must be a God in whom we beleeve and a God through whom if God had not satisfied God the conscience would never have beene satisfied there would still have
yeeld to any quiet all these quarrels must be taken up 1 A peace must be made betwixt God us by the great peace-maker who is also called our peace and when we be justified and acquitted from our sins by the bloud of Christ sprinkled on our souls by faith that bloud of Christ speaks peace to the soule in the pardon of sinne being justified by faith we have peace with God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Then secondly there must be another peace setled in some degree and that is the peace of government in the soule grace must be above corruption They will be together in the soule whilest we are here but sinne must not have the dominion This is such a peace not as will admit of no conflict but a peace wherein grace may get the better and where grace gets the better it will keepe corruption under and God gives his Spirit to whom he gives his Sonne that as we be in good termes with God so our natures may be like his That we may love and delight in what he loves and delights in and so may be as friends enjoying acquaintance and communion together I but thirdly there is confusion in the world and many accidents may fall out that may disquiet us for time to come Now before the soule can be at peace in that respect it must know that being once in Christ reconciled to God and having the Spirit of God it is under a gracious government and providence that disposeth all things to good and maketh every thing peaceable Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia When God is at peace all is at peace yea so farre at peace that they have a blessing in them The curse and venome is taken out of them by Christ who took the curse on himselfe and satisfied the wrath of God and now they be not onely harmelesse but medicinall and helpfull so that they be all ours and made in some sort serviceable to further our spirituall good When our husband hath all things committed unto him in heaven or earth wil he suffer any thing to befall his dearly beloved Spouse that shall be disadvantagious and prejudiciall to the maine No no he will not suffer any thing to befall her which he will not rule and order and over-rule for the good of the Church and so there comes to be that third peace And for the time to come a Christian knows that whom Christ loves he loves to the end and the good work begun shall be perfected to the day of the Lord. He knoweth he is in heaven already in his head He that beleeves in Christ hath everlasting life and is triumphing in glory in his head And therefore nothing can dismay a Christian that is truly in Christ grant the first grant all stand upon good termes with Christ be reconciled to God and nothing can do thee hurt But when we at any time come to comfort such as have comfort for their portion it sticks here if I were a childe of God indeed or if I did beleeve it were something These be good comforts indeed and certaine and true for they be the word of God but what is this to me I finde universally that comfort sticks there and therefore we must labour to remove that objection First of all therfore labour to have a good judgement of maine truths that these comforts are the comforts of the holy Ghost and that the word is the word of God by a generall knowledge of the truth of the promises thou shalt be better able to apply them If thou sticke in the principles so as not to know them nor to beleeve them there is no talking of the application of faith upon them we must make that our owne in particular which we beleeve first in generall And therefore Christians must first be well seene in the Scriptures and in the promises there that they may know what belongs to them and apply them to themselues I but my faith is weake I answer The office of faith is to know Christ and the weakest faith will do that as well as the strongest And when we are once one with Christ then our perfection is to be found in him It is the office of Faith to bring us to Christ and then looke to him for all perfections and for thy title to him in heaven and not in thy faith And true faith is faith even in the least degree of it As we say of the elements every drop of water is water and every sparke of fire is fire And therefore the argument will not hold if we have not much faith we have no faith or if we have no feeling we have no faith There are many common errours which we must remove that they may not hinder us in the application of Christ by distinguishing betweene strong grace and true grace and above all labour to know and understand the covenant of grace The tenor of which requireth no set measures of grace but if we beleeve we shall not perish but have everlasting life under so gracious and mercifull a covenant are we 2 But this is not sufficient to satisfie the soule The very cleaving to Christ is indeed a sufficient ground of comfort but yet to obtaine actuall comfort there must be a knowledge that we do cleave to Christ and beleeve There may be adherence without evidence and there must be an act of reflexion to cause faith of evidence it must appeare to our selves that we do beleeve before we can have comfort though we may be true Christians and go to heaven without it Therefore let us labour to make our calling and election sure that is in our selves and in our owne apprehension though it be never so sure in it selfe and in Gods breast yet we must labour to make it sure in our owne breasts that sinne may be pardoned in our owne consciences that all may be reconciled in our owne hearts that what is done in heaven may be done in our hearts also being cleared to our owne assurance You see what advise the Apostle gives Give all diligence it is not got without diligence nor without all diligence to make our calling and election sure that is to make our election sure by our calling and to that end to adde grace to grace It is the growing Christian that is the assured Christian. Whilest we are yet adding to every heape we shall get more abundant entrance and further into the kingdome of Iesus Christ as the Apostle there speaks 3 And when we have attained any evidence of true faith labour to keepe that our evidence cleare let it not be spotted or defiled by any sinfull acts you have many a good evidence that is so blurred with negligences and daily errours in speeches and conversation that when they reflect upon themselves they conclude Can such a wretch as I that have so loose a tongue that have no more watchfulnesse over my heart have any faith at all And thus