must speak with him face to face as a man with his friend His word shall be as it were a Law with God Speak for whom he will they shal be spared though they seemed to be devoted to destruction But speak against him who durst he shall be sure to bear his iniquity Numb 12. 8. Forget self Renounce thine own wisdom thine own worthiness thine own will Bite in thy passions Curb thine appetite Bridle thy tongue This do and thou shalt be greatly accepted and shalt find that Gods favour will infinitely reward thee for all the murmuring oppositions and discontents of thy flesh which will be ready to be impatient to have the reins held so hard VII Maintain a spirit of resolution and constancy in the ways of God Heb. 10. 38. This was the renown of the three Worthies Dan. 3. They feared not the fierceness of Nebuchadnezzars rage nor the fire of the furnace all the world could not make them bow and how gloriously did God own them and miraculously evidence his pleasure in them Stand your ground Resolve to live and die by substantial godliness cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart Let no difficulties make you change your station then shall you be an honour and a pleasure to the God that made you Well then would you know what frame of heart is pleasing to God why this humble sincere zealous active frame this believing meek self-denying resolved frame this is the frame that is well pleasing in the sight of God Secondly As to your performances more briefly that those may please God you must heedfully look to these five things 1. That they be done by the right Rule which is Gods Word You must not follow the imaginations of your own hearts Numb 15. 39. you must not do that which is right in your own eyes In all sacred actions you must have Gods command to warrant you you may not offer to God of that of which you are not able to say Thou requirest these things at our hands Isa. 1. 12. In all civil actions you must have Gods allowance Be sure he will never accept that which his Word condemns under pains of Gods displeasure dare not to set your hands to what the Word forbids 2. That they be done to the right end which is Gods glory How damnably did the Pharisees erre How miserably did Iehu miscarry and both in acts for the matter commanded for want of aiming at this end 3. That they proceed from right Principles 1. Faith without which it is impossible to please God Prayer will not avail except it be the prayer of Faith Heb. 11. 6. We beleeve and therefore we speak 2. Love If we should give our goods to the poor and bodies to the fire and not from Love it would profit us nothing Where the slavish fear of hell only or of the lashes of conscience or the love of mans praise carries men to duties or where any other carnal principle is predominant in the act it cannot please God 3. Fear we cannot serve God acceptably without reverence and godly fear not slavish fear The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in them that hope in his mercy Observe the happy mixture where these two are conjoyned that is a true filial fear and faith Saith David I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy mercy Behold his faith and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy Temple there is his fear with faith Faith without fear were bold presumption Fear without faith is sinful despair joyn them together and God is well-pleased 4. That they be done in a right manner Preparedly not rashly and inconsiderately in the presence of so dreadful a Majesty prudently for lawful acts may be spoiled and be done unlawfully without consideration had to the offence that may in some cases attend them yea holy Duties as well as common Actions may be turned into sins by being ill-timed and for want of a due attending the present circumstances Holily not rashly uttering any thing with our mouths before God but behaving our selves as in his sight Heartily not feignedly with our lips going when our minds are gadding 5. That they be directed through the right means that is Iesus Christ the only way to the Father Bring all thy Sacrifices to the High Priest offer all upon this Altar else all is lost not that it is enough to say Through our Lord Iesus Christ Amen at the end but in every duty you must come with lively dependance on him for righteousness and strength for assistance and acceptance Remember to do all in the name of the Lord Iesus to come leaning upon his hand without this all your services will be rejected at last CHAP. II. A third Case of Conscience grounded upon the words of our Saviour John 8. 29. For I do alwayes those things that please him Qu. I. Is any man able in this life to come up to the Example of Christ in this To do alwayes those things that please God Ans. In regard there is none that doth good and finneth not and God is not nor can be pleased with sin no not in his own people but most of all hates it in them it cannot be that any man in this life should fully come up to Christs Example in this yet may we come so far on towards it as that not only in our immediate addresses to God but in the general course of our lives we may come to please God Thus Enoch and Noah walked with God i. e. in their general course they walked so as to please God and approve themselves in his sight Thus the meanest of actions if done by us as unto the Lord as the Servants of Christ have a promise of acceptance and reward Col. 3. 22 23 24. Q. II. How may we come in our measure to be followers of Christ in this to do always those things that please God Answ. In order to this there is something necessary with reference 1. To our Persons 2. To our Principles 3. To our Practices with reference to our Persons and here it is necessary 1. That there be an alteration of our natures by renewing grace for they that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 8. These wild Vines must needs bring forth sowre grapes Isa. 5. 4. The fruit that they bear how specious and fair soever to the eye is evil fruit Matth. 7. 17. Where there is not a good treasure of grace in the heart a man cannot in his actions bring forth good things Matth. 12. 36. Many enlightned sinners think by reading and praying forsaking some conscience-wasting sins to pacifie God and set all right Mistaken souls let me undeceive you you begin at the wrong end your first and greatest care must be to get your hearts and natures changed and renewed by the power of converting grace you labour in vain at the streams while the fountain of corruption in the heart remains in
one of another 1 Pet. 3. 8. Say not It is not my nature What doth grace serve for but to correct the evils of your temper Is not ours a Religion of self-denyal Do not the Rules of our Religion enjoyn us to be followers of whatsoever is lovely and of good report and may render Religion amiable to the world Phil. 4. 8. Rule 2 Vse a wise forecast that every duty may fall in in its time and order and every work may have its room It is not enough to do Gods work but it must be done in his order That which in it self is good and necessary may be so ill timed as to become a sin It is a duty to tell your Brother of his sin but to rip it up in your passion or to be retorting upon him when he is christianly admonishing you is a sin Your wordly business must not shut out Religion nor religious Duties take you so up as to neglect your callings But every duty must have its place But for the doing all in Gods order Take these Five Directions Direct 1. Begin at home in provoking to good Why should God plead with you Thou that teachest another teachest thou not thy self Rom. 2. 21. Be an example of thine own rule else the hypocrites charge will come in against thee Mat. 23. 4. They bind heavy burdens but will not touch them with one of their fingers Observe Gods order Deut. 6. 6 7. These words which I command thee shall be in thine heart That must be our first care And then having got our Lesson well our selves we must then Teach it to others And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children and tell of them when thou c. At least if thou hast not already attained it be sure to learn with the first and when thou pressest a duty intend thy self first and speak most to thine own heart 2. In reproving evil Otherwise thou wilt be branded for an hypocrite Matth. 7. 5. First cast the beam out of thine own eye We may not think as many do mistakingly that we must not reprove another when we are guilty of the same sin But we must in such a case be sure to cast the first stone at our selves Be soonest angry with thy self and more severe to thine own sins then any others 'T is strange to see the great censoriousness of Professours to others and how tender they are of their own corruptions and impatient of reproof Reader fear and avoid this sin Direct 2. Let God be first served Let God have the first of thy thoughts the first of the day the first of thy strength How heavily is God displeased with the prophane Priests because they will serve themselves first with the Sacrifices before him 1 Sam. 2. 15 16. And it is the holy Counsel that one gives Hold the door of thy heart fast against the world in the morning till thy heart hath been first in Heaven and seasoned and fortified from thence against the Temptations that thou art like to meet with assoon as thou comest down below Indeed all must be done as Gods service but so as that his immediate service must be done first It is the counsel of several Heathens That all our undertakeings should be begun with prayer Saith Aratus Let us begin with God And the very Mahumetans begin their Books alwayes as men do use to do their Wills In the Name of God Direct 3. First cleanse the inside Matth. 23. 26. Cleanse first that which is within the Cup. Though they are much out that live as if all their work did lie within door yet remember that it lies chiefly here It s a most preposterous course in religion to begin first with the out-side Jer. 4. 14. O Ierusalem wash thine heart when once this is done reformation will soon follow in the life but not otherwise Many are careful that all that appears to men should be beautiful but their hearts are neglected These carry upon them the marks of the hypocrite Matth. 23. 27 28. And what will it profit thee O vain man to have all kept secret from men since God knows and detests thee And hath appointed a day when he will rip open all thy pack and anatomize thy heart before the world 1 Cor. 4. 5. Eccles. 12. 14. Rom. 2. 16. Direct 4. Eye those duties most that are of most importance Matth. 23. 23. The hypocrite is very punctual in lesser matters but neglects the weightiest things of the Law Judgment and Mercy and Faith He is for a religion that will cost him little and therefore words being good cheap he will be as forward in talk as any mighty zealous in the circumstantials of Religion and marvellous censorious of others that come not up to this mind as men of wide principles and large consciences But in the mean time he is very negligent is secret duties a great stranger to self-denyal and walking humbly with God He strains wonderfully at a Ceremony but it may be he can swallow the gains of unrighteousness or the baits of intemperance fast enough It may be he will decry Superstition and never wants a stone to fling at a prophane Church-man But in the mean time walks loosly in his Family makes little conscience of his dealings or will take up his Cups as freely as another so he be not drunk Or if he will not take a penny of his neighbours estate he is most unmerciful to his good name and will take up any report that is going Brethren you must make conscience of the least sin and of the least duty But it is a fearful sign when men are zealous against lesser sins and yet connive at greater as these are Matth. 23. 24. Direct 5. Take the first opportunity when God gives a fit season for any duty Let not Satan beguile you by telling you of another or a better time It may be thou hast a purpose to reprove thy brother for his sin but how long wilt thou be a purposing Now God gives thee an opportuity it may be thy backward heart saith not now but another time And so it is put off till he or thy self are removed or he is hardned or at least thou art guilty of the sin that he commits in the mean while because thou hast not done thy duty to prevent it It is in thine heart to deal with thine unconverted friend or neighbour about his spiritual estate but it may be while thou art delaying death comes and snatches him away in his sins or takes thee off and so farewel for ever to any opportunity for doing the soul of thy Brother any good How often are our closet-duties hindred or miserably disturbed for want of care to lay hold on the first opportunity we think another hour in the day may do as well but then one thing or another unexpectedly falls in that nothing in done or nothing to purpose Therefore beware of this cheat A man can scarce peep into the
as the Sun of persecution is up We shall take pleasure in infirmities in tribulations and rejoyce that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ This is to do more then others When the servants of God shall not only patiently but triumphantly undergo the Crosses that crack the brains and break the hearts of others and shall shake off the Viper without receiving any hurt when Paul and Silas shall sing in the stocks and the resolved Martyrs shall embrace the Faggots kiss the Stake When the Valiant Philpot shall say of his Prison In the judgment of the world we are in Hell but I find in it the sweet consolations of Heaven and the Holy Bradford My Prison is sweeter to me then any Parlour then any pleasure I have had in all my life This is indeed to exceed others Rule VII To be good when we shall be evil spoken of for our labour A Pharisee will do those duties that will gain applause with men but to take up with despised duties disgraceful duties and with David to be religious when it will render him Vile this is to do more then others The Philosopher could say It is noble indeed for a man to do well when he knows he shall hear ill for it To take up Religion when every one kicks it off to stand up alone with Luther for the truth when the whole world is gone a wandring after the Whore To have his hand against every man and to be for Christ with Athanasius against the whole Universe this is indeed to do some singular thing Rule VIII To strike in with Gods interest when it is falling To joyn our selves to the Lords people when it s the weakest side To espouse their interest with Moses when they were in deep affliction Heb. 11. 25 26. To own our selves to be some of them undauntedly when this way is every where spoken against this is to tread Antipodes to the course of this world Rule IX To be most cruel to the sin that is naturally most dear The hypocrite hides his sweet morsels under his tongue he spares as it were the fattest of the Cattel he saith The Lord pardon his servant concerning this thing But when a man shall off with his right hand out with the right eye serve his Absolon as Ioab did when he took three darts and thrust thorow his heart this is to do more then others The sincere Christian is most angry with the sin of his temper against this he aims the arrows of all his prayers he keeps him from his iniquity he drives the whole herd of sin before him but especially shoots at and singles out this to run it down Rule X. To live upon the divine promises when others live upon their possessions Others are all for what is in hand with them words are but wind they cannot live upon them the promises are to them a barren heath and dry breasts but when we make the promises our heritage the staff of our life the life of our hearts when the promises are the bottle we run to in all our faintings and while others hope in their Wealth our hope is in the Word this is to do more then others Rule XI To love that best and choose it soonest which doth cross the flesh most The godly mans rule is to take the self-denying side so he be sure it be safe when others study is to please themselves his is to curb himself the life of others is a flesh-pleasing his a self-denying life others joy is when they can gratifie themselves his when he can get victory over himself Rule XII To be most hot in that wherein self is least concerned Paul is meek as a lamb under personal injuries 1 Cor. 4. 12. Acts 17. 16. but how is his spirit stirred when God is dishonoured A man of understanding is of a cool spirit that is in his own concerns but Moses the meek waxes hot with indignation at the sight of the calf To be hot and forward in those duties where the fleshes interest is concerned is to do no more then a Iehu 2 Kings 10. 16 30. Rule XIII To make true conscience of the least sins but most conscience of the greatest In one of these will the hyhocrite be found tardy It may be he will fly from open sins and startle at gross staring sins but of little sins he makes little conscience This he allows of and connives at Or else he will be very tender of little things scruple the picking the ears of corn on the Sabbath day or the curing of the sick and strain at the gnat when he will in other things swallow a camel devour widows houses The sincere will indulge no sin grieves for groans under cryes out feelingly against his very infirmities but most dreads what God most hates Rule XIV To allow your selves in the neglect of no duty but to reserve your zeal for the duties of most weight To tythe mint and cummin and neglect judgment mercy and faith to be zealous for humane Ceremonies Ordinances and mens Traditions and omit the weightier matters of the Law is right the Pharisees guise Matth. 23. 23. Matth. 15. 2. To eye both the Tables to joyn sweetly together morality and piety to be punctual with Men but not careless of God to give to Caesar the things that be Caesars but first to give to God the things that be Gods this is to do more then others The sincere Christian hath respect to all Gods Commandments walks in all his Statutes he is throughout with God but he is most zealous in those things that lie next the heart of religion Rule XV. To love your Reprovers Herein David doth more then Ahab see their contrary frames 1 Kings 22. 8. Psal. 141. 5. Rule XVI To subject all your worldly interest to your Makers glory and perform holy duties with holy ends and while others do their best actions with carnal aims you must do your common and civil actions with heavenly aims Q. How we may know whether we be and do more then others that are unsound I shall answer this Question by propounding eight Questions to you beseeching you to retire to the most solemn and strict examination and make conscience to give a clear answer to these few Interrogatories and that will resolve the Case Q. I. When others do pick and choose have you respect to all Gods Commandments The hypocrite may have great respect to the comforts but he hath little to the commands of Religion He is much for the priviledges and promises little for the Precepts and Duties He is partial in the Law he will take but here and there where he likes and where Gods commands will serve his interest or at least will not pinch too hard upon the flesh The sound Christian sets all Gods commands before him He eyes all his copy and heartily designs and studies a throughout conformity He hath no starting holes nor contrived
haunts nor doth he halt between the Lord and Baal nor serve two Masters He doth not fear the Lord and serve other Gods nor divides his service between God and Mammon but he is all for uniformity and entirely devoted to Gods service and fear alone He hath a good conscience willing in all things to live honestly and doth truly though not perfectly forsake all his sins and keep all Gods statutes that are known to him Let me therefore ask you two questions 1. When others divide the Tables do you sweetly conjoyn them in your practice The hypocrite it may be is just and square towards men but follow him to his family or closet you shall find but little of God His family is neglected his soul is neglected Or it may be he is a forward first-Table man but you shall find him tardy in the second He will make many prayers and long prayers yet make no conscience of devouring widdows houses He is a great pretender to piety but mean while neglects judgment and mercy The sincere joyn altogether He is so far careful of justice with men that mean while he will not neglect the first and great part of justice viz. to give God his due He doth justly he loves mercy but withall walks humbly with God He walketh soberly with respect to himself righteously towards his neighbour and godly towards his Maker He is not of those that are good only on their knees but you shall find him every where conscientious you shall have temperance at his table chastity and modesty in his behaviour grace and truth in his words charity in his deeds faithfulness in his trust justice in his dealings He doth not only seem to be religious but bridleth his tongue He is not only a good Christian but a good Neighbour not only a good Man but a good Husband a good Master a dutiful Child a diligent and faithful Servant a good Subject In a word he makes great conscience of discharging the duties of his relations among men 2. When others stick in externals do you look to the spiritual part of every command and principally mind the inwards and vitals of Religion Do you not only make conscience of performing duties but do you carefully look to the manner of performing of them and the ends for which you do perform them Do you not only make conscience of open but of secret sins Do you abound above all in secret duties Do you keep a watch upon your hearts and make conscience not only of the gross acts of sin but even of sinful thoughts inclinations and desires And are grieved even with your very infirmities and the corrupt disposition of your natures which you cannot help though you would Q. II. When others have their reserves in closing with Christ do you give up all to him entirely Have you taken Christ not hand over head but deliberately understandingly sitting down first and counting the cost Have you not secret reserves for your own ease safety estates esteem on some beloved sin Have you upon solemn consideration accepted Christ as the Lord your righteousness for better for worse for all changes of times and conditions to run all hazards with him and to take your lot with him fall as it will Q. III. When others are for a little of religion by the by do you make religion your business Do you not put off God with the worlds leavings and serve him when you are at leisure Must not God stand by while the world is first served and are not your souls the least of your cares and put off with some by scraps and ends of your time Is Religion your Trade and your conversation in Heaven do you walk with God or have you only now and then a turn with him When you have ended your prayers is there an end of your religion till you come to them again or do you carry on a design of religion throughout your whole course Have you only a list of religion at the outside the piece or is the woof of religion woven into the whole cloth into heart and life into your discourse and trades and tables do you first seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof Is it the chief care of your lives that God be served and your souls be saved and is this the one thing necessary with you that you chiefly mind and are most solicitous about Do your very hearts say with David one thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seek after c. Q. IV. When others are for the wages of religion are you for the work Can you say with David I have chosen thy precepts do your hearts come off freely in this choice Had you rather be holy than otherwise if you were at your choice had you rather be Gods servants and live at his command then at your own lusts Do you count the Laws of Christ your heritage or rather do you not count them your bondage Do you choose not only the wages of righteousness but the wayes of righteousness Are Gods Commandments your delight and are the sweetest hours of your lives the hours you spend with him Do you never injoy your selves so much as when you most injoy God Is his service the greatest comfort and is it meat and drink to you to do his will unless when you are not your selves in the time of temptation or desertion Do you make use of holy duties only as men do of Physick when they are ill at ease when conscience lasheth or affliction stings as it were to conjure down the frightful furies or to pacifie God that he may not hurt you or else do you use them as your daily bread the very staff of your life and means of your comforts Q. V. When others are for the cheap and easie religion are you for self-denial When others are for the religion that will serve them best are you for that which will serve God best When others are all upon the sparing hand and will spare what may be spared and study how they may best save charges in going to heaven are you of Princely spirits to resolve not to serve the Lord with that which will cost you nothing Is your course of religion such as doth put your flesh to it and cross and curb its desires Or do you love to give it what it craves and suffer it to take its own way Have you no enemy you dread so much as self Do you pamper and please it and make provision for it or do you pray and watch against it and grieve for its unhappy infirmities in your actions and had rather then all the world that this enemy were under your feet Q. VI. When others are for no more of religion then needs must are you for the height of religion The hypocrite as one well is very inquisitive what is the lowest pitch that a man may have and go to heaven and upon this design if he could find but
shall live or die If a man were upon a tryal for his life what would it avail him that all his fellow prisoners and the whole crowd about him were for him when the whole Bench and Jury were against him If your Lives and Estates were in question to whom would you go to make your friend the Iudge or the People Sirs be convinced that if God be against you t is as bad as if God and all the world were against you For all signifies nothing without him Oh whatever you do study to get in and keep in with him I tell you the time is coming when the breath of men will signifie nothing when their Commendation will do you no good O man though all the world should give thee their hands and subscribe thy Certificate it would signifie nothing in Gods account or his Court. Many build their hopes for Heaven upon the good opinion that others have of them But I tell thee man though thou couldst carry Letters of commendation with thee when thou diest and all the Ministers of the Gospel should give thee their Bene discessit all would be no more then a blank paper and he would not save thee a jot the sooner if he should find thee to have been but a secret hypocrite a rotten-hearted Professor all the while Pr. 5. That God would not be pleased with you in any thing except you make it your care to please him well in every thing You will be one day ashamed except you have respect to all Gods Commandments Psal. 119. 6. you have not a good conscience except it be your care in all things to live honestly Heb. 13. 18. If Naaman must be excused in one thing to bow in the house of Rimmon that he might not displease his Master this is enough to spoil every thing 2 Kings 5. 18. Some will needs keep Gods good will and the worlds too and so will give both their turns They will serve God at home and conform to the world abroad and it shall be a great thing indeed that they will not swallow rather then lose the good will of men especially great men These men have two faces and two tongues the one for the good and the other for the bad company that they come into Some held two first principles the one the common Fountain of all good which is God and the other the cause of all evil and they worshipped both the good principle for love and the evil for fear Just such a Religion are many among us now of But let them know whoever they are that while they grasp all they lose all For God will never own time-servers nor men-pleasers for the Servants of Christ Ephes. 6. 6. Gal. 1. 10. 3. With reference to your practices And here as ever you desire to come up to this blessed life of doing always those things that please God you must carefully follow these six Rules Rule 1. Look round about you to the whole latitude and compass of your duty Great is the latitude of Christianity The Commandment is exceeding broad Psal. 119. 96. And many Professors do scarce look more then one way but while they intensly mind one thing they neglect another It may be while they are taken up with the care of religious duties they forget relative duties Or they are careful of personal duties but very remiss in the duties that they owe to the souls of their families Or they complain and mourn over their own sins but lay not to heart others sins It may be they are more punctual in their more immediate duties towards God but are very negligent in their duties towards men or they will spend much time for their souls but do little lay to heart the case of the Church and the misery of perishing souls that are round about them Possible they keep the Sabbath strictly and pray and hear and fear an oath but in the mean time make little conscience of breaking their promises passing hasty and uncharitable censures spending time vainly being unprofitable in their discourse Close handed to godly uses suffering sin to go unreproved letting out their passions at every petty cross Many will mind their duty to them that are within and in the mean time are very short in their duties to them that are without This is too common a case Where is the Christian almost that seriously bethinks himself what might I do to win souls It may be you will go into the company of the godly where you may be edified but when do you go to your poor neighbours whom you see to live in a sinful state and tell him of his danger and labour to gain him unto Christ yea so much is this great duty neglected and out of fashion that I am afraid many question whether it be a duty or no. As if you might let sin lie upon the soul of your Brother and yet be innocent Levit. 19. 17. If it were but his Oxe or his Ass that lay ready to perish you would make no question but it were your duty to help him out of the ditch And do you think in earnest that you owe more to these then you do to his soul Is it to Ministers only or to all Believers that Scripture belongs Prov. 11. 30. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and be that winneth souls is wise Surely the lives of too many Christians do speak the same language that Cain spake with his mouth Am I my Brothers keeper Gen. 4. 9. 'T is true God will have you keep every one within the bounds of your proper stations but so as to take occasions yea to seek occasions as you are able to be doing good to others Do you not know how to get within your poor neighbours Carry an alms with you do him a kindness oblige him by your courteous and winning carriage Then I shall look to see the Kingdom of Christ flourish gloriously when every one that professeth godliness shall arise and take hold of the skirt of his neighbour Oh see your neglects in this Do not think it enough to keep your own Vineyard Let your Friends and Neighbours have no quiet for you till you see them setting in good earnest to seek after Heaven Oh if you might bring in but every one his man to Christ what a blessed thing were this I lose my self in this Argument but I am content to do so this duty being so miserably neglected Too many live as if Religion lay all in praying and hearing holy conference and the like forgetting that pure Religion and undefiled is this to visit the Fatherless and the Widow in their affliction Jam. 1. 27. The other should be so done as that this should not be left undone You make conscience of being just and true and faithful but do you not forget to win upon others by your kindness and affableness as if it were not written in your Bibles be pitiful be courteous having compassion
Cattel and Cattel I will feed my flock saith the Lord God and cause them to lie down I will seek that which is lost and bring again that which is driven away and bind up that which is broken and strengthen that which is sick but I will destroy the Fat and the strong and will feed them with judgment I will be a Physician to you I will heal your backslidings and cure all your diseases fear not never did soul miscarry that left it self in my hands and would but follow my prescriptions Well this is one of the Articles that God here sealeth to that he will be to you in the place of all Relations Silence thou quarelling unbelief methinks I hear thy whispers that this is too good to be true that it were presumption in us to count upon all this What shall they that must say to corruption thou art my father be able to say to the incorruptible God thou art my Father Shall they that must say to the worm thou art my mother and my sister be able to say to the Angels of Light ye are my fellow Servants And to the King of Glory Thou art my Brother and my Kinsman Shall Majesty espouse himself to misery and the worms meat be married to Immortallity and life How can these things be Nay but O heart of Infidelity who art thou that repliest against God Dost thou under a sly pretence of humility question with thy Maker and call his Veracity into doubt Is not this his Word his Promise his Covenant and is not here his Seal why then dost thou doubt O thou of little Faith Art II. That he will entitle you to all the Divine Persons and Perfections Gen. 17. 7. I will be a God unto thee mark God gives away himself and he gives his Son to you Isa. 42. 6. I will give thee for a Covenant of the people This is the Churches triumph Isa. 9. 6. unto us a Son is given And he gives his Spirit to you Iohn 14. 16. He shall give you another Comforter And Believers acknowledge the Receipt 1 Cor. 2. 12. We have received the Spirit which is of God Thus you see all the Persons of the God-head are made over to you and so are all the Perfections of the God-head for so the Covenant runs Gen. 17. 1. I am the All-mighty God or the All-sufficient God walk before me and be upright these are the terms between God and a believer Be thou upright before me and I will be All-sufficient to thee The All-sufficiency of God is the comprehension of all his Perfections Truth without Power or Power without Wisdome or both without Goodness would not be All-sufficiency All-sufficiency takes in all that is in God it we may speak of Gods most simple Essence according to the shallow reach of our present capacity yea it comprehends infinitely more then can be said or thought Why now this is the Covenant of grace which God establishes with you this day that he will be a God All-sufficient to you Christians rouse up your Faith Now appropriate and apply the Promises Now believe strongly and stedfastly and believing will fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory I do not wonder if your Faith be put to it in so high and great a mistery To draw nigh to the infinite Majesty and consideringly and without hesitancy to say Thou art mine and all that thou hast this is no easie thing But thou mayst not dare to doubt it Canst thou question him who is the Truth can the strength of Israel lie or his word deceive thee But the soul is ready to reply oh the thing is too high and too great for me to presume to believe and is ready with Peter astonied to cry out Depart Lord for I am a sinful man But why doth thine hand tremble and thy heart fail thee and thy feet with Peters when walking on the waters begin to sink What doest thou stick at Is it at the truth of the Promise No saith the trembling soul but sure so much can never belong to me so sinful I am afraid it is not mine why what saith the Promise onely be upright What though thou hast an hundred failings yet thy heart is upright the bent of thy heart is mainly for God and Holiness thou makest conscience of all sin little as well as great secret as well as open and doest not deliberately allow thy self in any thou doest in the settled frame of thy heart prefer the pleasing of God and value his favour and fellowship above all worldly good therefore thou art upright these marks are infalliable What doest thou object thy failings Art thou under a Covenant of works Do you think God now stands upon Perfection The Covenant is plain God conditions but for uprightness and God hath wrought in thee the condition that he requirts of thee What can be plainer wilt thou suffer the Devil and unbelief to catch the Bread out of thy hand when God tells thee it is thine wilt thou be against thy self and refuse thine own peace when God is come to Seal thee up to the day of Redemption This is that which the Lord here Seals to thee That he will be God All-sufficient to thee O believe and be thankful and rejoyce in thine own blessedness O happy thrice happy souls whom the living God thus Signeth and Sealeth to and Assignes over all his infinite Perfections as its everlasting possession Art III. That he will discharge you from all your Debts Heb. 8. 10 12. This is the Covenant I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more Isa. 1. 18. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as Snow Believest thou this Come near beloved Christian approach believingly and here thou shalt see the Lord Crossing our all thy Debts taking away the hand writing that is against thee declaring that he hath received a Ransome and is satisfied Content and Paid Oh happy man that shall leave all thy sins behind thee why this is the very thing that the faithful God doth here Seal unto thee Thy Pardon is writen in this Sacred bloud which is here shed for the remission of sins So that thou mayest triumph with the Apostle Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died Rom. 8. 34. Art IV. That he will save you from all your enemies not from the Combate but from the Conquest The victory shall be sure so far God is engaged So the Covenant runs in its first discovery That the Seed of the Woman should break the Serpents head though he should bruise his heel Gen. 3. 15. by the Seed of the Woman understand not Christ only but all Believers by the Serpent understand not Satan only but all his party the ungodly persecuting world which are his Children and all our Tyrannous Lusts which are his brood his works By his bruising our heel understand his molesting and wounding of