of Living under a Government wholly made up of manifold Graces and Favours having a most Gracious God governing us by most Gracious and Reasonable Laws The Kingdom of Grace the Gospel State affording us a plentiful Measure of Divine Grace and Assistance to perform these Laws and proposing to us most Encouraging Rewards in Heaven to stir us up to a diligent Observance of ' em It is this happy State of Things under the Title of the Kingdom of Heaven whose near Approach John the Baptist foretold in the Wilderness saying Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand that is the Kingdom of the Messiah or the State of the Gospel whose Great Fundamental and Gracious Law is this that all Sinners must Repent 'em of all their former Sins and upon their Repentance they shall have most Eminent Mercies bestowed upon ' em And it was this State also concerning the undue Entertainment of which by the Scribes and Pharisees our Saviour complain'd Matth. 11.12 saying that From the days of John the Baptist even till then the Kingdom of Heaven suffered Violence so that the Violent took it by force that is the Publicans and Sinners and Gentiles who were look'd upon by the Jews as those who had no Right to the Messiah and so as violent Persons as Invaders and Intruders did croud into the Church at the Preaching of the Gospel whilst the Scribes and Pharisees ungratefully and proudly stood off So again Matth. 13.24 The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good Seed in his Field that is the State of the Gospel or the Success of our Saviour's Preaching in the World is so resembled And so likewise in several other Parables of the like Nature by the Kingdom of Heaven is to be understood the State of the Gospel here on Earth which sure does shew the exceeding great Dignity Worth and Excellency of the Gospel State far beyond any other Dispensation either Patriarchal or Mosaical which the World had ever receiv'd from Heaven before The reason why the Gospel State should be dignified with the Title of the Kingdom of Heaven And indeed upon a near View of the Nature and Design of the Gospel Dispensation we shall see sufficient reason why that State above any other should be so Honourably Entitled the Kingdom of Heaven And the reason is not only because the same God governs us and that by the same Laws of Eternal Unalterable Righteousness and Goodness as in Heaven but also because this Blessed Government of God over us by the Laws of the Gospel does directly tend to render us so exactly like the Blessed Saints those Inhabitants of Heaven viz. Because it so directly tends to render Men so exactly like the Blessed Saints the Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Heaven for where the Gospel of Christ does so far prevail upon Men as through the Grace of God to make them diligent and careful to Obey him according as they have Covenanted with him it does bring in such an excellent State of Things as makes a kind of Heaven here upon Earth for where the Gospel does so far prevail as to be sincerely Obey'd it causes that The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lion and Fatling together and a young Child shall lead them and it causes that they shall not hurt nor destroy in all the holy Mountain for the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea as was long time since Prophecy'd Isa 11.6 7 8 9. concerning the State of the Gospel that is it files off the roughness and sweetens the cruel and savage Humours of Men so that instead of tearing and tormenting one another like Beasts and Devils it makes Men Gentle and Kind and good Natur'd like Angels like Gods to one another A State certainly which may very well deserve the glorious Title of the Kingdom of Heaven being so contrary to the Kingdom of Darkness and the State of Hell where there is nothing but Malice Rancour and Rage do reign among those unhappy Beings that do inhabit that Place And thus you see that in Scripture by the Kingdom of Heaven is sometimes meant the State of the Gospel the same God governing us therein and by the same everlasting Laws of Goodness as in Heaven and so as to render us of like Tempers and Dispositions with the Saints in Heaven A State so nearly resembling that of Heaven that the Condition of the meanest Christian now under the Gospel is for that reason prefer'd before that of the greatest of Prophets under the Law Verily I say unto you among them who are born of Women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven that is the Gospel State is greater than he Matth. 11.11 But tho' this be very frequently the meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven in the New Testament and for that reason This is not the meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven here in the Catechism I have took such particular Notice of it that so you may know how to understand that Metaphorical Expression in those many Scriptures where you will meet with it in that sence yet it is not the proper and immediate Meaning of the Word in Scripture nor is it so to be understood here in your Catechism But Secondly the Kingdom of Heaven does if not most frequently II. The Kingdom of Heaven signifies the Kingdom of Glory at least most properly signify in the Scripture the Kingdom of Glory and accordingly here in your Catechism it is solely to be understood of the glorious and happy State of Angels and Saints with God in Heaven For Instance In this sence it is to be understood Mat. 5.3 where the Kingdom of Heaven is promis'd as the Reward of the Poor in Spirit And so ver 20. where it is said that Except our Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees we shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven that is into the State of Glory And in this sence only it can be understood Mat. 7.21 where our Saviour declares that Not every one that saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of the Father which is in Heaven that is not those who barely profess Christianity but those who sincerely Practice according to such a Belief and Profession shall be received into Glory The Profession alone will gain Admittance into the Visible Church here on Earth but nothing less than a Living up to it will give an Entrance into the Kingdom and State of Glory with God and his Holy Angels and Saints in the highest Heavens And a most Noble and Glorious State we may be sure this is This a most noble and glorious State as being dignify'd with so honourable and
perswading themselves that a meer Assent of their minds to the Truth of these and other Evangelical Verities is the Faith to which the promised Justification and Salvation is made though it hath no such powerful operation upon their Wills as to make them new Creatures to make any thorow change in the temper of their Hearts and tenor of their Lives And many doubtless have been greatly strengthened in this delusive confidence by having been taught that Faith justifies without any VVorks at all And these again perswade themselves that they believe in Christ to the saving of their Souls because they rely on him alone for Salvation and upon what he hath done and suffered for them though they love their sins and live in them still Just like some Jews of old who though they were very bad in their Lives yet leaned upon the Lord and said is not the Lord among us None evil can come upon us Mich. 3.11 Isa 48.1 2 They leaned upon God's Promise of being their God as those do upon Christ's undertaking to be a Saviour although they overlooked the Condition to be performed by them in being a People unto him in loving and serving him as those Christians I speak of also do Though Christ alone is to be relyed on for Salvation as touching all that is proper to the Mediatory Office and VVork yet no Man is to rely on him so as to think he should excuse him if he do not Repent or be not Regenerate or as if he did Repent or were Regenerate for him If they do they promise themselves from him that which he never promised or undertook but hath told them plainly That except they themselves Repent they shall Perish and that except they themselves be Born again they cannot see the Kingdom of God 2 They deceive their own Hearts also in the nature of Repentance their Notion of it being one thing and the Scripture-Notion of it quite another So that tney perswade themselves they have Repented when indeed they have not They know and believe perhaps Repentance to be necessary to Salvation because Christ hath said that except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish But then they mistake in perswading themselves that they do repent because they are frequently sorry for what they have done tho' they cease not to do the same again Indeed when the pleasure of Sin is over and rebukes of Conscience come in the room of them these trouble their minds for what they have done which was the Repentance of Judas and there is no peace to the wicked who are like the troubled Sea Now this they count Repentance though it work no effectual and thorow change in Heart and Life but when that sad fit is over they appear to be the same Men they were before by returning to the same sins And herein the Romish Church hath most unhappily laid a Snare which as is to be feared catcheth multitudes of Souls to their Destruction in asserting Contrition yea Attrition with Confession to be Repentance sufficient to Salvation VVhereas sorrow alone though it be godly sorrow is not Repentance but as St. Paul saith Godly sorrow worketh Repentance 2 Cor. 7.10 But Repentance it self which is Saving consisteth chiefly in a real change in Mens apprehensions of and affections to both Sin and Duty and in ceasing to do evil and learning to do well Others again deceive themselves in taking a partial Reformation for true Repentance Because they have left some sins which they could best spare as blemishing their Reputation or impairing their Estates or their Health And because they have done many things which yet Herod also did Mar. 6. they think they have Repented and are Converted though they retain others which are more gainful or yield them more pleasure VVhereas the sincerity of Repentance can be nothing less then a hatred of and turning from sin as sin and so from all sin by diligent and careful endeavours 3. They deceive themselves by a false Notion of that Obedience which is necessary to Salvation They believe in the gross indeed that Obedience to the Commands of God to the Rules and Precepts of the Gospel is necessary to Salvation because the Scripture so plainly declareth it to be so But then they deceive their own Hearts in thinking and perswading themselves that they have performed this part of the Condition of the Promise when as they have not performed one half of it They have been it may be somewhat careful to be found in acts of External Worship and Devotion both publick and private and to keep themselves from Idolatry Swearing Cursing Sabbath-breaking Murder Adultery Stealing False-witness-bearing and the like in the outward and gross acts of them But all the while have made no conscience of governing their Thoughts Affections and Passions nor their Tongues neither as to many things And in all this wherein do they exceed the Pharisees whom if we exceed not in Righteousness Christ hath told us who best knows that we shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5.20 They were strict and zealous in the observation of the Laws for Circumcision Sacrifices Sabbaths Tythes and other positive Precepts and that to a tittle And Fasted often and made long Prayers and gave Alms and made Ostentation also that they were not as others were Extortioners Unjust Adutlerers nor as the Publicans And why would not all this bring them to Heaven Because all this notwithstanding as they had not Faith in Christ so they were Covetous Proud and Ambitious seeking Honour one of another contemning and despising others they were Envious and Malicious Cruel and Ill-natured Unmerciful and Persecuting such as faithfully reproved them They made clean the outside of the Cup and Platter and so far as they did so they did well But that for which Christ denounced Woe to them was that their inward part was full of ravening and wickedness and for want of love to God and of Judgment Mercy and Fidelity God is a Spirit and the Service that is acceptable to him as being most agreeable to his Nature is that which is done in Spirit and Truth And therefore his Precepts are given to govern the inward Man as well as the outward He that said Thou shalt not kill hath said also Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart nor be Angry with him without a cause or bear a grudge against him He that said Thou shalt not commit Adultery hath said also Thou shalt not lust after a Woman in thy heart And he that said Thou shalt not steal hath said also Thou shalt not covet and the like And therefore they that think themselves to be Obedient Children to God upon account of their abstaining from outward gross Sins and of being outwardly Righteous and do not truly endeavour and make a business of it to mortifie and subdue their Pride Covetousness love of the World Envy Hatred Malice thoughts of Revenge the unruliness of Passions and all
practical Faith which I have described eyes as well the condition upon which the saving Benefits are promised through Christ as the Promise it self of those benefits and expects the enjoyment of those benefits upon God's Promise and Christ's Purchase no otherwise than as he with the assistance of God's Grace is careful to perform the Condition Which belief of his makes him as careful to perform the Condition in discharge of his own duty therein as ever he hopes to enjoy the promised Pardon and Salvation by Christ and to escape the Damnation threatned against those who perform not the condition So that a Man by this practical Faith belives one part of God's Declaration in the Gospel as well as the other and his own duty to be as well necessary to his Justification as the condition appointed by God as the Grace of God through Christ it self is upon another account And by this belief he is effectually moved as well to act in a way of duty to God as to expect mercy from him considering how his Happiness is concerned in both when he hath the whole of God's Declaration in all the parts taken together in prospect as the Object of his Faith When he hears that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life When he hears that God hath set forth Christ to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood And when he hears again that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them he believes all this to be true as coming from God that cannot lye and accordingly is incouraged to hope in God's Mercy and is comforted thereby But then when he hears again that except we repent we shall all perish that except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God That without holiness no man shall see the Lord and that the pure in heart shall see God That not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angles in flaming fire to render vengeance to all those that know not God and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ But that he is the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him I say when he hears all this he as verily believes this part of God's Declaration in the Gospel to be the faithful and true Sayings of God as he acounted the other to be And accordingly doth as seriously and sincerely set upon the Work of Repentance and as carefully useth God's appointed means for the changing of his Heart and renewing of his Nature for the purifying of himself as God is pure and doth as carefully obey all the Precepts of the Gospel as he hopes upon the account of Christ's Sufferings and God's Promise to be Pardoned and Saved as beliving that those Benefits are neither promised nor can be obtained but in this way of performing the Condition And I doubt not to say that this practical Faith as it respects God's Declaration touching Man's duty in conjunction with his own Grace in Christ is where the Gospel comes the only saving justifying Faith 3. Come we now to shew Reason why Faith is made the Condition of the Promise 1. It is of Faith that it might be of Grace saith the Apostle Rom. 4.16 It is that the Grace of God to miserable Men might the more shew it self For so it doth not only in promising unspeakably great things through Christ to Man who is not only undeserving but illdeserving also but also in that these are promised upon such a possible practical easie Condition as Faith is considering the means and assistance promised by God to work it And considering also that the Promise is made to the truth unfeignedness and sincerity and not to perfection of Faith Repentance and new Obedience in their utmost degree So that Christ might well say my Yoke is easie and my Burden light Matth. 11.30 Whereas the old way of promising the Inheritance on the Law-terms would have been to have promised it upon impossible conditions as the case now is with fallen Man And if God should have promised never so great things to Man in his impotent and miserable state upon an impossible condition he would have been so far from manifesting abundance of Grace Compassion and Love to him in that condition as that he would rather have seemed to insult over him in it And therefore if the Promise should have run upon the Law-terms and not of Faith it would utterly have frustrated God's design of manifesting his Grace to Man and of recovering Man's Love and Loyalty to him thereby Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be Heirs Faith is made void and the Promise made of none effect But it is of Faith that it might be by Grace to the end the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham ver 16. 2. This may be another reason why such a Faith as I have described is made the condition of the Covenant of Salvation viz. Because it best answers God's design in this Covenant of renewing the Nature of Man in Holiness and Righteousness and by that means restoring it to Happiness For by Faith Men are born of God or made the Children of God Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Joh. 1.12 13. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to those that believe on his Name Which are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Now to be born of God or which is the same to be made the Child of God is to have ones Nature restored to the likeness of God in which Man was first made and is the same thing with that which is called Regeneration and a being born again and a new Creature Which new Creature or the Nature of Mâ—n renewed by Faith is also called the new Man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephes 4.24 To be born again is to have the Faculties of Mans Nature restored to a rectitude in their motions and operations in reference both to God and Man to be restored to their proper moral use for which they were made It is in a word that which is called a being made partakers of a Divine Nature For those which are begotten of God are begotten in or to his likeness Men can adopt those which are not their natural Children to inherit their Estates but they cannot adopt them to a participation of their Moral Endowments But God adopts his Children to a participation with him in the
like theirs for they said Let us make us Gods to go before us Exod. 32.1 and were in danger thereby of being drawn to Worship their Gods therefore to prevent this as Parents put their Children to School partly to keep them out of harms way the Lord by way of condescention to their childish humour did ordain a Worship consisting much in bodily Exercise and Instituted divers Laws which stood in Meats and Drinks and divers Washings and carnal Ordinances until the time of Reformation till he should by sending his Son appoint more excellent Laws for Reforming both them and the rest of the World Lev. 18.3 4 5. After the doings of the Land of Egypt wherein ye dwelt shall ye not do and after the doings of the Land of Canaan whither I bring you shall ye not do neither shall ye walk in their Ordinances Ye shall therefore keep my Statutes and my Judgments Which if a Man do he shall live in them Ezek. 20.6 11. 2. The Lord did Institute divers Temporary Laws for tryal and exercise of their Obedience in those lesser things for a time as being such as they were as yet best capable to receive thereby to lead them on to higher instances of Obedience afterward Those many Ceremonies which they were obliged to observe were not things of any natural or intrinsick Goodness but only made use of by God for a present turn which when that was served they as to practise were of no value but became beggerly Elements But yet while they continued commanded of God their Obedience in the use of them was Rewardable as well as their Obedience to any other Laws The other end and use of the Law as it was a Schoolmaster respected the time then to come For the High Priesthood and Sacrifices of the Law as they were Types of what Christ should be do and suffer as Mediator were of great use to the Jews after Christ had Suffered and was Risen again and Ascended into Heaven to facilitate both the knowledge and belief of the Mystery of Redemption by Christ 1. To facilitate the knowledge thereof and to beget in them a right Notion of those things in Christ by which forgiveness of sins and acceptance with God is obtained on our behalf For those who had long seen and known the effect of Legal Sacrifices as how they did procure Legal Impunity for Offences commited God accepting the Life of a Beast that had not sinned instead of the life of a Man that had might soon come to understand by parity of reason that God would much more accept of his own Sons offering himself in Sacrifice for us so as to excuse us from suffering Eternal Punishment for our sin For if the blood of Bulls and of Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Conscience from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.13 14. And so the High Priest's entering into the Holy of Holies in the behalf of the People with the Blood of the Sacrifice and burning Incense there doth greatly assist the mind in understanding the nature of Christ's Intercession for us in Heaven in virtue of his Bloodshed for us on Earth Heb. 9. 2. The Law in the Typical nature of it was of great use to the Jews to facilitate and strengthen their Belief in Christ and so were the Predictions of the Prophets in conjunction with it For these and the accomplishment of them in Christ did so answer each other as in Water Face answereth to Face that those who believed the Law and the Prophets had a great advantage by means thereof to believe in Christ And therefore our blessed Saviour when he would satisfie his Disciples touching himself that he was indeed the Christ and of the necessity of his Death which Death occasioned at first a staggering in their Faith beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself Luke 24.27 And St. Paul when he laboured the Conversion of the Jews at Rome to Christianity as the chiefest way to effect it he expounded to them and testified the Kingdom of God perswading them concerning Jesus both out of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets from morning to evening Acts 28.23 Had ye believed Moses Saith our Saviour to them ye would have believed me for he wrote of me But if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words Joh. 5.46 47. And thus in both the forementioned respects the Law was a Schoolmaster indeed to bring them to Christ that they might be Justified by Faith 5. The Law was given to the Jewish Nation not only for their behoof and benefit but also for a general Good to the World That the Nations round about hearing of such excellent Laws and percieving how happy and prosperous those People were so long as they observed them might thereby be invited to quit their Idol Gods and to take hold of the Covenant and to join themselves to the people of the God of Abraham even as it came to pass in such as were Proselited And upon this account it seems to be that the Psalmist prayed thus God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause thy Face to shine upon us That thy way may be known on Earth thy saving health unto all Nations Psal 67.1 2. and concludes ver 7. That if God should so do his fear would be propagated through the World God shall bless us and all the ends of the Earth shall fear him Deut. 4.6 7 8. Keep therefore and do them for this is your Wisdom and your Vnderstanding in the sight of the Nations who shall hear all these Statutes and say surely this great Nation is a Wise and an Vnderstanding People For what Nation is there so great that hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for And what Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so Righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day To them were committed the Oracles of God Rom. 3.2 They were committed in trust to them as Feoffees for the World to communicate the knowledge of God and of his Laws to the Nations to carry on further the Reformation of the World begun in their Father Abraham and which was promised to be more compleatly effected by the Messias in that all Nations of the Earth should be Blessed in him And as God's Judgments on the Jews for breaking his Laws was Admonitory to the Nations about them Deut. 29.24 28. so his famous Deliverances wrought for them upon their Repentance for breaking his Laws made God known abroad to be a great favourer of such as repent of their worshipping and serving other Gods and such a one as could and would Save
Deliver and Bless them that turned to him to serve him only Which seems to be his meaning when he saith he will be sanctified before the Heathen when he should gather them from among the people where they were Captives and that the Heathen should know that he was the the Lord Ezek. 20.41 and 36 23. And by this means he brought them to fear and worship the God of Israel Psal 102.13 15. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion So the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy glory When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Sion they said among the Heathen The Lord hath done great things for them Psal 126.1 2. 6. The whole Law was given to be a Political Instrument of Governing the Israelites according to that state of their minority as a peculiar Republick of which God himself was the Soveraign Legislator But of this more afterward CHAP. III. Shewing by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved I Come now to shew by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved And doubtless whatever it was it became available to that end upon the account of what Christ was to suffer when he should come For as I shewed before that God's Covenant with Abraham and his Seed by virtue of which the Faithful then were saved was confirmed in Christ was established with them in reference to what he was to do and suffer as Mediator afterwards Gal. 3.17 And by means of his Death there was Redemption for the transgressions that were under the first Testament Heb. 9.15 And the Sacrifices and Priesthood were a Figure for the time then present of what Christ should afterwards do and suffer and for what end But when I say so I do not say that all that were Saved did understand so much For we see the Apostles of Christ though they did believe him to be the Messias which the Jews expected yet they did not understand or expect that he should suffer Death as a Sacrifice till he told them so Nay the thing was so far from their thoughts as that they did not understand him when he plainly foretold them of his Death Luke 18.32 And if the Doctrine touching the resemblance that is between the Priesthood of Melchizedech and the Priesthood of Christ was not in the Apostles sense Meat which Babes in Christianity could well digest in their Understandings but was Meat for strong Men Heb. 5.10 14. we may well guess by that how little the Jews understood the Typical and Spiritual sense of those Types about which they were frequently conversant and therefore it 's said that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist though he was so great that there was none greater before him Hence we may see that one reason why those Jews were all their life-time under a Spirit of Bondage to fear was the great Obscurity of the Declaration of God's purpose of Grace to the World through Christ and the Way and Method of Salvation by him Moses was but a servant for a Testimony of those things which were after to be spoken and so declared afterwards as that the Typical meaning of them might be understood Heb. 3.5 In the mean while as touching those things they were shut up unto the Faith which should afterwards be revealed Gal. 3.23 It is said of the Prophets whereof Moses was one that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto us by them that have preached the Gospel to us 1 Pet. 1.12 Add we to all this Heb. 9.8 where having spoken in ver 7. of the High Priests entering alone into the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the Sacrifice in behalf of the People once every Year he saith The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first Tabernacle was yet standing By the Holiest of all here is meant Heaven signified of old by the Holy of Holies as appears ver 12 24. And the plain meaning seems to be this That the peoples entring into Heaven by the Sacrifice and Blood and Intercession of Christ was not made manifest while the Tabernacle-worship continued For Christ is our Way into Heaven to the place within the Veil by his Blood shed as a Sacrifice Heb. 10.19 20. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Veil that is to say his Flesh But this Way he tells us was not made manifest while the first Tabernacle was standing But as obscure as this way was as to what was to be done and suffered in particular by the Messias yet they had some general grounds of Faith and Hope That upon their Faith Repentance and sedulous Endeavours to walk in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord they should obtain remission of their sins and a future Happiness in another World Among which gounds these were not the least 1. They had the knowledge of the Promise of Blessedness to all Nations in Abraham's Seed and of the Promise of those other Benefits which were promised to Abraham and his Seed 2. They had an addition of several other Predictions concerning the Messias both by Moses and other Prophets that perhaps were somewhat more express such as in Deut. 18.16 Isa 53. Dan. 9. and others These Promises and Predictions put them in great expectations of Special Benefits by the Messias and wrought in them a longing after his Day Upon which account our Saviour said to his Disciples Blessed are your Eyes for they see and your Ears for they hear For I say unto you that many Prophets and Kings and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them Mat. 13.16 17. Luke 10.23 24. 3. They had large significations from God of his special Favour to them above all people as in chusing them to be his peculiar People and in declaring himself to be their God in giving visible signs of his Presence among them and excellent Laws and Promises to them and sending his Prophets amongst them and working many Wonders for them and casting out the Nations before them to make room for them and the like Deut. 7.6 7 8. and 26.18 19. Psal 147.19 20. Rom. 9.4 5. 4. They had express Declaration from God of the Goodness of his Nature and of his Compassion towards Sinners and of his readiness to Pardon such as should Repent and return to their Duty in loving him and keeping his Commandments As for instance Exod. 34.6 7. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed The Lord The Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and
in perfecting holiness in the fear of God And therefore there is great need for those that are Spiritual Guides to the People to insist much upon the necessity of Repentance Regeneration and a holy Life as well as Faith in order to their being justified and saved by Christ Jesus For the People yea the better sort of them stand most in need as of being well-grounded touching the Truth of the Christian Religion so especially of having the Doctrines of Morality inculcated upon them the Precepts of the Gospel being almost all of that Nature thought some speak diminutively of moral Preaching and tend to the perfecting of the Nature of Man in regulating the Internal Operations of the Soul and the External Actions of Life in reference both to God and Man our Selves and Others The recovering of Men to which is God's great Design by the Gospel in order to their being made perfectly Happy at last as I have shewed in Chap. 1. There is indeed an absolute necessity of Believing the Gospel in order to Christian Practice And therefore our blessed Saviour did not only Preach the necessity of Faith in him and his Doctrine but also wrought abundance of Miracles to beget this Faith in Men. And yet he knowing the great danger of Men's miscarrying in point of Morality in the disposition of Soul and actions of Life insisted chiefly in his Preaching upon Doctrines of that nature as you may see in his Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere He taught the necessity of being born again Of making the Tree good that the Fruit might be good And to inforce this Doctrine of his he was not wont to tell his Auditors that every Man shall be Rewarded according to his Belief but that when the Son of Man shall come every Man shall be rewarded according to his Works That those that have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation That by their words they shall be justified which are no more Faith than Works are and by Their words they shall be condemned That in the Great Day of the Tryal of all Nations every Man shall be Acquitted or Condemned according to the Good they have done or neglected to do Mat. 25 And that then not every Man that had Faith enough to Cry Lord Lord or to Prophesie cast out Devils or do wonders in his Name shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but such and such only as have done the will of his Father Great need there is therefore of Peoples examining themselves impartially and of being often admonished to take heed lest they mistake and decâ—ive themselves in the nature of Religion and in what is absâ—lutely necessary to be done on their part â—ecause Men are very aâ—t to flatter and deceive themselves in that and to think that whâ—n their Faith is right in the object of it as wâ—en they â—elieve in the true God and in his Son Jesus Christ and expect Salvation by him alone that then they are true Believers and such as shall be saved especially if therewith they joyn the frequenting of God's Ordinances and the paring off of some of the grosser Enormities of their Lives though in the mean while they make no Conscience of cleansing their Hearts and governing their Spirits of subduing their Passions and inordinate Affections and of bridling the Tongue For this cause it is that Christians are so often in Scripture cautioned to take heed lest they should be deceived Be not deceived God is not mocked For whatsoever a Man sows that also shall he reap Gal. 6.7 8. Little Children let no Man deceive you He that doth Righteousness is Righteous even as he is Righteous 1 Joh. 3.7 1 Cor. 6.9 Ephes 5.6 FINIS THE CONTENTS Of The Discourse of the Nature Ends and Difference of the Two Covenants INTRODUCTION THE Principal cause why the Jews rejected Christ and his Gospel To Remove which the Apostle St. Paul used various reasonings wherein some things are hard to be Vnderstood Which others mistaking ran into a Contrary extream The method which the Author proposes to remove mistakes CHAP. I. The Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham What is necessary to open the Nature of it Sect. 1. That it 's of the same Nature with the New Covenant tho' they differ in the Administration For First The Covenant delivered to Abraham was confirmed by Christ as well as the Gospel Secondly the Gospel was Preached to Abraham Thirdly he was Justified by Faith and therefore by a New Covenant Fourthly St. Paul Argues against the Jews from Abraham's being Justified by Faith That Abraham had not a distinct Notion of all that was imply'd in the Promise What the New Covenant is namely a New Law by way of Remedy against the Rigour and Extreamity of the Law of Nature under which Man was Created Page 1. 2. 3. This proved and Reasons for it p. 4. Sect. 2. God's design in the New Covenant or Promise made to Abraham next to his own Glory was the Recovery of Humane Nature from its degenerate State to a State of Holyness without which no Happiness p. 4. and 5. This proved p. 6. Sect. 3. The Benefits contain'd in the Promise made to Abraham First of sending the Messias and what a benefit this was p. 7. and 8. Secondly a Promise of Remission of Sin to all who would Believe in him Repent and become sincerely Obedient for the future ibid. Thirdly A Promise of Divine Assistance to Men in their faithful endeavours tho' tacitly ibid. Fourthly a Promise of Eternal Life tho' implicitly ibid. Sect. 4. The Extent of God's Promise to Abraham p. 9. That it did extend to all Nations of the Earth p. 10. Sect. 5. The Security given by God for the Performance of the Promise made to Abraham p. 10. The Reason why God gave such a Security ibid. Sect 6. That the Promise made to Abraham was Conditional ibid. That Repentance and Faith were to be performed by Man as his part of the Covenant p. 11. The Reason of this ibid. How God Works that change in Man's Nature designed in the New Covenant First by proposing important Truths to his Vnderstanding Secondly By proposing Motives to the Will to incline it to follow the Dictates of the Mind p. 12. Sect. 7. That the Condition of the Promise made to Abraham was a practical Faith p. 13. The Nature of Abraham's Faith p. 14 The difference of believing God and believing in God ibid. A Description of Faith in General ibid. Faith Strictly taken is an Assent unto the Truth of any proposiion upon the Credit of the Speaker ibid. Yet Saving Faith is of a more Comprehensive Nature If God 's Threatnings against Sinners be taken in the definition will be this Faith is such a hearty Belief of God's Declaration concerning his own Grace and Displeasure and Man's Duty as doth effectually cause a Man to expect from God and to act
Patriarchs of the Israelites equally with the rest And as to the like Custom of Adoption amongst the Gentiles The use of it amongst the Gentiles and the Rights it confer'd upon them you 'll see Act. 7.21 how that Moses when he was cast out Pharaoh's Daughter took him up and nourished him as her own Son that is Adopted him as such And by that Right of Adoption he would have Inherited the Crown of Pharaoh but that By Faith when he was come to Years he refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter esteeming the reproach of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt Heb. 11.24.26 Thus the Egyptians Adopted And how the same Custom did also prevail amongst both Greeks and Romans is a Thing well known to those who read their Authors but need not here be further mention'd the Scripture use of this Custom being what it does most concern you to know To hasten therefore How we Christians especially such who are descended from the Gentiles are according as has been spoke the Adopted Children of God Secondly I am now to shew you How we Christians especially such of us who are descended from the Gentiles are accordingly Adopted to be the Children of God I say how we Christians for to the Jews did once pertain the Adoption Rom. 9.4 and that whole Church and Nation were once His Children Deut. 14.1 To understand which you are to consider that the whole World who were the Sons of God by Creation having Revolted from God to serve strange Gods then did God choose Abraham and his Posterity to be a Holy Nation a peculiar People unto himself and to that purpose did Enter into Covenant with him and them and so Adopted them to be his Children instead of the rest of Mankind who had wholly forsaken him To the Israelites did once pertain the Adoption And hence it is said Rom. 9.4 that To the Israelites did once pertain the Adoption and the Glory and the Covenants and the giving of the Law and the service of God and the Promises Thus the Jews alone were once the Adopted Children of God And now the Question returns How we Christians especially such of us who are descended from the Gentiles are according as has been spoke But that Covenant by entering into which they were his Children was only Temporary Adopted to be the Children of God And you must know that the Covenant given to the Jews was but a Temporary Law to last only till they should be fit for and till the Son of God should descend from Heaven to Institute a better and more perfect One. Just as Children in their Minority are brought up under the Discipline of the Rod and Ferula and of certain outward Observances till such time as they shall be fit for a more Manly Government so Before that Faith To last only till the Publication of the Gospel or the Gospel came the Jews were kept under the Law which was their School-master to bring them to Christ But after that Faith or the Gospel was come they were to be no longer under a School-master but were to be the Children of God by Faith in Jesus Christ Gal. 3.23 24 25 26. that is after they were sometime Train'd up After which they and all Christians were to be Children of God by faith in Christ and exercis'd to Obedience by that severe Dispensation given by Moses God did design to prescribe 'em by his own Son a more Reasonable Service namely That contain'd in the Gospel Ordering that That should thenceforward be the Rule of Obedience to all such as would be his Adopted Children And accordingly When the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law that they might receive the Adoption of Sons Gal. 4.4 5. that is when that time was come wherein God saw it fit to lay that lower Discipline the Law of Moses aside then God sent his own Son in Humane Flesh who submitted to and perform'd the whole Law himself to redeem 'em out of that Slavery of Mosaical Performances and to receive them into the Participation of his Promises and to be his Children without those Legal Observances by Faith in Christ and Obedience to his Gospel But the Jews being still of a Childish Disposition and fond of their Chains as People long accustomed to Slavery commonly are would not forego their Legal Observances for the more Manly Religion and more Reasonable Service of the Gospel of the Blessed Jesus And thus refusing Christ But the Jews adhering to their Law and refusing Christ and his Gospel in whom God had predestinated all to be his Sons the Apostles turned unto Gentiles Preaching Christ and Salvation to them and to as many as receiv'd him to them gave he Power to be the Sons of God in whom God did predestinate us all into the Adoption of Children by himself according to the good Pleasure of his Will Eph. 1.5 the Apostles by the appointment of God did thereupon turn to the Gentiles Acts 13.46 47. Preaching Christ and Salvation by him unto them and to as many as Receiv'd him to them gave he power or the Right and Priviledge as it is in the Original to become the Sons of God Joh. 1.12 This is a remarkable Text to our Purpose In the Two Verses immediately before viz. The 10 and 11 it is said He was in the World and the World was made by him and the World knew him not he came unto his own and his own received him not but as many as received him to them gave he Power or the Right and Priviledge to be the Sons of God even to them who Believe in his Name So that by this time I hope it does fully appear to you what is meant by a Child of God especially in that sence wherein it is to be understood here in your Catechism And you see as he is not every Child by Creation which is a sence too wide so neither on the other side is he only One who is so by Regeneration which is a sence as much too narrow but every One is such who has Enter'd into Covenant with God and whom the Heavenly Father has thereupon Adopted into his Family to partake of the Priviledges which belong to his Adopted Sons which Secondly What are the Priviledges which do belong to the Children of God as such Brings me next to Enquire what a Vast Priviledge it is accordingly to be made the Children of God And truly upon Enquiry it will be found to be in general the very same Priviledge in Kind but infinitely greater in Degree as Heavenly Things are always greater than Earthly which the most Tender and Indulgent Father that is withal Wise as well as Good can be suppos'd to allow his own Children beyond what he will do to Strangers and Aliens In general such as an indulgent but
glorious a Title as the Kingdom of Heaven or else it would not be Dignify'd with so Honourable and Glorious a Title as the Kingdom of Heaven a Kingdom being the Top and Height of all Earthly Glories as Heaven is a Place which comprehends all future Excellencies To denote therefore that most exalted State of Bliss in Heaven it is that this State is call'd the Kingdom of Heaven And truly there is nothing in this World wherein we can imagine the greatest Glory and Happiness as a Kingdom a Crown a Throne a Marriage a Feast but are set forth as Emblems to represent to us the Joys and Glories of our future State And yet as if a Kingdom a Crown a Throne were infinitely too short to set forth the Joys and Glories of Heaven and those infinite Blessings Hence all those things in this world wherein we conceive the highest Glory and Happiness are us'd as Emblems to set off our future Glory that do await the Sons of God Saint John tells us It doth not yet appear what we shall be 1 Joh. 3.2 Beloved now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be only this we know says he that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Nay and as if the highest Contentments and Satisfactions of this Life were but meer Nothings as to any thing in 'em whereby they may represent the Joys above St. Paul tells us 1 Cor. 2.9 That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those that love him Nay and tho' he was caught up to the Third Heaven into Paradise and so did both see and hear the Glories and Triumphant Joys of that Place All which things come short of expressing it yet the Things which he saw and heard were unspeakable he tells us which it is not possible for man to utter for so it may be render'd 2 Cor. 12.4 So that in short the Kingdom of Heaven does import a State of the most excessive Glory and Happiness that our Natures can be capable of receiving A State so unspeakably Honourable and Delightful that tho' the choicest Things of this World those Things that yield the vastest Contentments are made use of in Scripture to represent them to us yet they are but the meer shadows of the Glories and Joys in the Kingdom of Heaven and after all there is abundantly more than can be Exprest or Imagin'd by us And therefore this must suffice here for the Explication of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven the particular Character of whose Joys being what more properly belongs to that Article of your Creed The Life Everlasting shall there be given you And now An Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven What Secondly Let us next see what it is to be an Inheritour of it An Inheritour or Heir both in Scripture and in common Language does import something of Priviledge more than ordinary Thus Gen. 21.10 we find that Sarah would not endure that the Son of the Bond-woman should enjoy the Priviledge to be Heir with her Son And as to common Account every Body knows that an Heir has a considerable Priviledge above the rest of the Children and what it is I shall Define as follows An Heir is one who has a legal Right and Title to a Possession made over to him An Heir amongst Men is one that receives from Parents or Predecessors either by Nearness of Blood or by Adoption by Entail or by Will or whatever other Method of Conveyance a sure Right and Title to a Possession And here perhaps it might not be difficult to shew how that an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven is made such by something that bears a near Resemblance at leastwise to all these Ways and Methods whereby Men become Heirs to Temporal Possessions But not to insist upon any nice Comparison in these Matters it is sufficient to Ensure unto us the Benefits of Heirship even to the Kingdom of Heaven that those who are in Covenant with God are frequently in Scripture styl'd Heirs and particularly Heb. 1.14 Heirs of Salvation and that they are in like manner and to all Intents and Purposes as much Heirs Such who have Enter'd into the Covenant of Grace are in like manner as Children are Heirs for thus the Apostle argues If Children then Heirs Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with Christ Rom. 8.17 And if a Son then an Heir through Christ Gal. 4.7 So that we may safely say That as an Heir is One whose Estate is not precariously depending upon the meer Will and Pleasure of another but so setled and secur'd to him Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven as Children are Heirs as to give him a Legal Claim and Title thereto so long as he does not forfeit his Title by not performing the Condition on which his Title depends so an Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven is One who does not depend meerly upon the Vncovenanted Goodness of God for his hopes of Heaven and Happiness but he is One to whom God through Christ has vouchsafed to grant a Legal Claim and Title thereto by giving his solemn Promise and engaging his Truth for the Performance that he will infallibly bestow upon him the most unspeakable Joys of Heaven provided he swerves not from his Allegiance and Obedience to him but Renouncing all God's Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil will Believe in him and Obey him truly and faithfully all the days of his Life I do say and pray mark it That God through Christ It is through Christ alone not owing to the Merit of our Obedience that we are Intitled to the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven has vouchsafed to grant us a Legal Claim and Title to this Inheritance for so it is said that we are Heirs through Christ Gal. 4.7 And far be it from any to imagine that there is any thing of Merit or Worth in our imperfect Obedience whereby of it self it should deserve such a precious Inheritance It would be an Arrogance and Presumption in the highest Saint that ever liv'd and such as would render him more liable to be Punisht for his Pride than rewarded for his Vertue should he pretend to Claim Heaven meerly upon the Score of his own Sanctity or should he pretend a Claim and Title to the Inheritance of Heaven at all otherwise than through Christ and because God has promis'd it However since God has been pleas'd to Ensure it to us by Covenant we may safely call it a Right which God who is Faithful in all his Promises and Just in all his Dealings will never debar us of except by our Disloyalty and Disobedience to him we forfeit all Right and Title to it Which brings me to my Third Proposal which was to lay before you the Vastness of our Priviledge in being
our way to Heaven and Happiness * So long as we wear these Earthly Bodies about us we are permitted the Vse and Enjoyment of worldly Things provided in Things lawful and in Degrees allowable So long as we live in this World and are Parts of it our selves and carry these Bodies of Earthly Materials about us there is no doubt but it is necessary for us and we are permitted to be concern'd in it and we may without scruple gratify our selves with the Enjoyments of it provided it be in Things lawful and in Degrees allowable and that we suffer not our Hearts and Affections to be too much fixt upon it But in regard our Souls the principal Part of us by far are the Natives of Heaven and are only as Pilgrims and Tenants here Below to stay but for a short Time For As the Dust shall return to the Earth as it was so the Spirit shall return to God But being our Souls our principal part are soon to remove to Heaven we must chiefly set our Affections on things above and mainly endeavour to attain them who gave it Eccl. 12.7 we must therefore Set our Affections chiefly on things above on God the Society Interests and Enjoyments of that Ever-Blessed State making it our main Business to Possess to Attain and Enjoy them and not on things below the foolish Interests and Satisfactions of this perishing and transitory State here on Earth Col. 3.2 And so far as the world or any thing it inveigles our Hearts and Affections to fix upon it and seduces us to commit any Thing sinful and hinders to mind the Business of Religion and the Performance of the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace our way to Happiness and everlasting Satisfaction it is to be Renounced Rejected and Overcome by us It is the Matter of a Christian's Warfare and the subject of his Victory And so far as this Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the World 1 Joh. 5.4 and in this sence St. Paul Professes Gal. 6.14 that The world was Crucified unto him and he unto the world And thus you see in General in what sence and how far we are to Renounce the World But Secondly II. Concerning the World consider'd in its Particulars those Temptations result both from the Good and the Evils thereof For the more full and compleat Explication of this Point of Renouncing the world it being a Matter wherein it concerns you to receive the most distinct Directions I will farther consider the Particulars of which this World is made up and will also shew you in what sence and how far you are to Renounce each of ' em And here it is observable that when we come to take a nearer View of the world in its Particulars it does not then appear as it does in the General to have nothing in it but Good but to contain withal a great mixture of Evil and indeed to be in the present State thereof almost wholly made up of Vanity and Vexation of Spirit And both the Good and the Evil Things thereof do give us considerable Temptations to Sin Now the Good Things of this world are summ'd up under these Heads The Riches Honours and the Pleasures it affords The good things of this World Riches Honours Pleasures the Evils Poverty Disgrace and Afflictions And Things of a middle Nature are the different Callings Conditions and Cares of this World And its Evils on the contrary may be reduc'd to Poverty Disgrace and those Afflictions of all sorts which in innumerable ways do assail us And there are also some Things therein of a middle Nature as different Callings Conditions or States of Life and the Cares of this World which are the Appurtenances to it and afford great matter of Temptation and Tryal to us therein And in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce it with reference to each of these I will endeavour to shew you And First As to the Riches of this World These are not in themselves Hurtful I. As to Riches these are not in themselves Hurtful but Good and are bestow'd upon us to good Ends and Purposes but Good and are bestowed by the Divine Providence upon those that have 'em to very excellent Purposes and Uses that they may do Good therewith and that not only in providing for their own Houshold but also by Stewarding them out to the Support and Advancement of Religion and Vertue to the Relieving the Poor and Distressed to the Encouragement of Industry and in many other ways which the Laws of Piety and Charity do direct * And those who enjoy 'em have great Advantages of doing Good therewith to others Comfort and the Benefit of their own Souls And those therefore on whom God has bestowed Wealth have admirable Advantages put into their Hands to do Good therewith to the Comfort of others and to lay up to themselves Treasures of Reward in Heaven by their good Works Nevertheless it was no hard Censure our Saviour pass'd upon Riches in saying That a Rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 19.23 For both Scripture and daily Experience tells us Nevertheless Riches are a mighty Temptation whether we consider Men as Getting Possessing or as Parting with or Losing of them that Riches are a very great Temptation to manifold Sins and Offences against God and that whether we consider Men with respect to their Getting Possessing or their Parting with or Losing of them First Consider Men in the State of getting Riches and St. Paul tells us 1 Tim. 6.9 That they who would be Rich fall into a Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition And our own Experience also gives us to see how many horrid and black Crimes and into what miserable Snares so as never to be able to disentangle themselves out of 'em do Men run themselves into by an over-eager Pursuit of Riches I. In the over-eager Pursuit of Riches men do run themselves into many grievous Sins A dividing betwixt God and Mammon is the lowest Degree of Sin that is occasion'd hereby which yet God will not endure as you will find Matth. 6.24 The Neglect of Religion and Contempt of Heavenly Things is the next And it is not seldom we see that Men to raise themselves Estates in this world will not stick at Oppressing the Poor at Cheating of Orphans and Widows at Corrupting of Witnesses and Juries and Forging of Evidences and to add Impiety to Injustice to get but a small Pittance of worldly Wealth they will Rob God in his Tythes and Offerings by Sacrilegiously detaining those Dues which were allotted both by the Laws of God and Man for the Maintenance of the Worship of God and his Ministers a Sin compar'd by St. Paul with Idolatry it self Rom. 2.22 As also into many miserable Snares so as to be hardly ever able to disentangle
put thine Hand into a Lion's Den but on no Hand enter the Society of those Sons of Belial who seem to defy Heaven with Oaths and Blasphemies strive to load themselves with so much of that Hellish Guilt as if they fear'd they should not sink deep enough into the bottomless Pit Beware of 'em their Houses are the way to Hell going down to the Chambers of Death I. Young women must shun the corrupt Conversation of young Men. And First Particularly you that are Young Women let me warn you to shun the Company of those Young Men be they who they will who shall offer to talk loosely and lewdly and wantonly before you I am afraid that Filthy Communication and foolish Jesting which are not convenient are too much the subject of Conversation when the Youth of both Sexes meet together especially amongst such of lower Rank and who have not been blest with the best Education and Breeding But as to offer at Filthiness and foolish Talking before you is the greatest Affront any can give you as signifying no good Opinion they have of you so Young Men will not have the Confidence to Entertain you so Indecently and Rudely if at the very first Offers of that Nature you shall appear to conceive that Anger and Indignation as infinitely becomes the modesty of your Sex to put on And I am sure you would both heartily detest such Conversation and not fail to shew your Detestation thereof if you would seriously consider what the Apostle says of it Eph. 5.3 4 5. Fornication and Vncleanness let it not be once Named amongst you as becometh Saints Neither Filthiness nor foolish Talking nor Jesting which are not convenient For this know that no Whoremongers nor unclean Person hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God and of Christ Let no man deceive you for because of these words cometh the wrath of God upon the Children of Disobedience Pray observe this whole Passage of St. Paul Wanton and lascivious Discourse is as infectious as the very Plague and kindles such a Fire of Lust as without Repentance will certainly bring you to the Fire of Hell Therefore fail not to express your utmost Abhorrence thereof and if you cannot stop it fly from those that utter it as from Persons infected with a Plague-Sore having such an Air of Anger and Indignation and Abhorrence as you go off as no Man dare thereafter disturb you with the like And indeed Secondly II. All Persons of either Sex both Young and Old as they will prevent the Infection of evil Company must take all possible Care to avoid it it concerns all sort of Persons of either Sex both Young and Old as they would prevent Infection of Evil Company and considering how dangerous it is to be taken therewith And how the Tincture of their Manners and Customs with whom we do frequently Converse is observ'd to slide insensibly into our Imitation so as to be hardly ever after wore off All these things consider'd It concerns you I say to take all possible care to avoid the Company of bad Men. I say to avoid it if it be possible for it is not always nay it is very rarely in this State of the World that it can be done For if ye must not Company with the Fornicators of this World or with the Covetous or Extortioners or with Idolaters then must ye needs go out of the world said St. Paul 1 Cor. 5.10 The Truth of it is your Employment and necessary Occasions as to most of you is or will be such that you will unavoidably be drawn forth into the World and the World we know is full of Atheistical and Profane Persons and common Swearers of Drunkards and riotous Livers of debauch'd and lewd Companions and lastly of the Contemners of God and Religion and I am afraid it is the general Conversation now a-days of those Companions to break Jests and laugh at one another upon these their Dishonours done to God and Religion whereby they Do not only do ill things themselves but have pleasure in them that do them which St. Paul does add Rom. 1.32 as the highest Aggravation of all Impiety To speak freely and not to flatter the present State of the World I am afraid you shall seldom go into Promiscuous Company but some such you shall meet withal And now the great Enquiry will be What shall be done in this Case Why Thirdly Truly when it thus happens to you that your Employment and necessary Occasions draw you forth into the World that which you have then to do is to refuse to Conform your selves to the Manners of such Company But Thirdly when Employment and necessary Occasions draw Men forth into the World they must refuse to Conform themselves to the Manners of ill Company * First By Discountenancing their Profaneness and Riot But First you must with all Wariness and Circumspection watch lest framing your selves to the Humours of profane Persons you countenance and encourage 'em in what is sinful and wicked and so partake with them in their Sins and make their Guilt your own Nay but on the contrary you must at least-wise by a pious and discreet Behaviour and by shewing a dislike and uneasiness at their Hellish Talk discountenance the Folly of those that do thus Offend II. By diverting 'em by useful Discourse from both Secondly You must not fail to do what you can to divert the Company you happen amongst from Riot and Excess and from vicious and filthy Talk by drawing 'em with what Dexterity possible into more Manly Discourse and into a more Christian sober rational Conversation III. If all Methods fail by openly Reproving them But Thirdly if after all if all these wise and modest Methods will not do but on they will go and good Sence must give way to such unsavoury Entertainment Why then there is no help but you must boldly and bravely Rebuke their impudent Folly and openly Reprove it To do this Service to God we are particularly Listed in our Baptism For why You must consider that you have Listed your selves in your Baptism the Souldiers of Jesus Christ and no faithful Souldier will patiently hear his General abus'd his Honour trampled upon his Commands slighted and scorn'd but will stoutly stand up in Vindication of him and his Orders As you will not therefore be accounted in the Day of Judgment such as have Deserted the Great Captain of our Salvation Jesus Christ you must not stand by and tamely suffer profane Wretches to Dishonour God's Holy Name and Word by their unsavoury Oaths and Speeches and you must not Cowardly permit 'em to Brag of their Contemptuous breaking of his sacred Laws without Rebuking their Wickedness and stoutly standing up in Defense of him and them We shall be much discouraged from this by Men. You must expect I will own it to meet with but rude Entertainment for such your Fidelity to your great Master
I have hitherto according to the best of my Skill been explaining to you And now if there be any thing farther necessary to a full and compleat Explication of the Nature of this Covenant it must be this in the second place to shew you How that thereby you are restored to a state of Salvation Thirdly By whose Mediation you obtained so gracious a Covenant and are put thereby into a state of Salvation It was through Jesus Christ our Saviour Fourthly By whom and how we have been Call'd to this state of Salvation It was our Heavenly Father who hath called us to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And lastly What infinite reason you have heartily to thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called you to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath Called me to this State c. And as all these Points are fairly taught you in these Words of your Catechism so in commenting upon these I will by God's Assistance open and explain these several Points to you To proceed therefore in order to a more compleat understanding of the whole Nature of the Covenant of Grace let us see Secondly How this Covenant whose Terms and Conditions I have been explaining to you does restore us to a State of Salvation That in the Covenant of Grace we are restored to a State of Salvation Salvation does import a Deliverance from Danger or Misery and a State of Salvation does import the being put into a Condition of Safety where one may be safe and secure from Danger and Misery if he please For our understanding therefore how this Covenant of Grace is a means of restoring us to a State of Salvation we must look back and consider how we brought our selves into a State of Danger and Misery before and how by the Covenant of Grace we are put again into a State of Safety and Security if we please How we brought our selves into a state of Misery before And to this purpose we must know That God Almighty created Man at first in such a state of Perfection with such an enlightned Mind such a regular Will to the Laws of right Reason and with such obedient Appetites and Affections that he might if he would have continued in perfect Innocency And now making him thus upright and capable to perform such an Obedience God did very reasonably make this Covenant with Man That he should perform a Perfect Exact Vnsinning Obedience and live for ever But upon the least Sin the eating of the Fruit of one Forbidden Tree he should surely Die The Event of which Proceeding was that Man hearkning to the Suggestions of the Devil did thereby Rebel against his Maker take part with Satan and so did forfeit all his Right and Hopes of Happiness which upon the faithful Performance of his Covenant he would have had was shut out of Paradise and condemn'd to Death as you will see largely described in the Third Chapter of Genesis Thus did Man by the breach of his Covenant with God bring himself into a state of Danger and extream Misery How by the Covenant of Grace we are put into a state of Security if we please And now here it comes in for us to consider the Second Covenant as that which restores us to a State of Salvation Had the First remained uncancelled and in full force we must have all perished without remedy upon a double account It required an unsinning Obedience and we had sinned It allowed no place for Repentance after Sin and yet we had brought our selves into that State that except we should repent and our Repentance be accepted we must all undoubtedly have perished We were unavoidably therefore bound up by that First Covenant as the case then stood with us to Death and Misery and it was not possible for the Wit of Man to contrive any way to escape it And now when we were in this irrepairable State was God of his own Goodness graciously pleased to cancel the First Covenant blotting out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to the Cross of Christ Col. 2.14 By which place is more immediately meant I must confess his cancelling and making void as to any condemning Power in it the Covenant of Works made with the Israelites by the hand of Moses but not so as to exclude his cancelling all former Covenants that were too rigorous and impossible for Man in his fallen State to perform I conclude therefore that God was graciously pleased to cancel and make void the First Covenant under which Man was created and which he was uncapable of performing and receiving Benefit by having forfeited that perfect Light and perfect Strength which should enable him to perform it and become very defective and weak both in Knowledge and Ability of performing his Duty towards his Creator And he was pleased to grant unto us and to establish with us a Second by way of Remedy against the Rigour and Extremity of the First wherein God as it were descending from his Majesty and Glory does oblige himself to make good to such as shall enter into it and continue faithful therein those inestimable Favours and Benefits which do vastly exceed those of the former For in the first place whereas the First Covenant did not as far as I can find in Scripture any where Expresly promise Eternal Life in Heaven to those that were faithful in it The Covenant of Grace whereunto you are called does in innumerable places propose immortal Life and Happiness to all those that do Believe its Doctrines and Articles and do sincerely Obey its Precepts as has been shewed you for it is Jesus Christ who hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 And then secondly whereas under the First there was no place for Repentance but nothing less than an Exact and Unsinning Obedience was the Condition of this Life and Happiness And upon the first and least Offence all was become forfeit and lost Herein we have this relaxation of Rigour and exceeding Favour That even the greatest Sinners upon their Repentance and Return to God should be saved and our Saviour therefore left Commission with his Disciples That Pardon and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name amongst all Nations Luk. 24.47 Thus in the Covenant of Grace is Repentance like a Plank thrown out which if Shipwrack'd Sinners lay hold on they may save themselves and the Covenant it self like a Ship like Noah's Ark whereinto those that enter and will continue in it may be landed safe in the Kingdom of Heaven So that the Covenant of Grace in whose Terms and Conditions you have been lately instructed does restore us you see into a state of Salvation whereby we are put again into a state of Safety and Security
shall obtain those Blessings and upon that Assurance the strongest Consolations and Comforts also to chear us in going through the Difficulties we shall meet with in performing those Conditions whereby only we shall obtain such unspeakable Blessings By having GOD in Covenant with us I say we have the greatest Assurance possible that we shall obtain his Favours To which purpose those words of St. Paul are very remarkable Gal. 3.15 16. Brethren says he I speak after the manner of Men tho' it be but a Man's Covenant yet if it be confirmed no Man disannulleth or addeth thereto now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises that is the Covenant made Which words do import that if deceitful Man will scarcely fail to perform what he has once obliged himself by Covenant to do it is impossible that the God of Truth should fail to make good to the utmost those Blessings he has ensured to Abraham and his Seed that is to all whom he has vouchsafed to enter into Covenant withal And such Assurance given by GOD does yield also the strongest Consolations and Comfort For why If you will compare one Scripture with another you will find that that which Gen. 17.2 GOD does call his Covenant Heb. 6.13 is called his Promise upon Oath And what says the Apostle in that Case Why GOD says he vers 17 18 19 20. willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by Oath or by Covenant that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have strong Consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us which Hope we have as an Anchor of the Soul sure and stedfast and which entereth into that within the Veil whither the FORE-RVNNER is for us entred even Jesus That is GOD having ascertained to us his Blessings by Promise upon Oath or which is tantamount by Covenant we cannot upon such Assurance but have the greatest Comfort and Hopes of obtaining those Blessings and so of following e're long that Jesus which is gone before us into Heaven To prepare a Place for us that where he is there we may be also Joh. 14.2 3. So that it is an invaluable Priviledge this of which the World can never be sufficiently sensible nor thankful to God for that he vouchsafed to ensure his Mercies to 'em by Covenant But Or secondly Our singular Happiness therein above the fallen Angels or the rest of Mankind Secondly The occasion of your Thankfulness is yet greater if you consider your own singular Happiness in being called into this Covenant of Grace and in having all God's Mercies thereby secured to you when so many Millions of his Creatures do want this Favour The words of your Catechism do teach every one of you to consider his own particular Interest in this Covenant as the proper matter of his Thanksgiving to God Every one of you is taught to answer for himself in particular I thank God our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And indeed if we are naturally most affected with and most sensible of those Benefits which we see so many besides our selves to want here is occasion for the deepest Sense and utmost Acknowledgments of GOD's Goodness to you that you have been called into this State of Salvation when so many millions besides both Angels and Men do want the Benefit of it As to the fallen Angels the Covenant of Grace was a Favour never afforded by God to them for Christ that he might deliver them who all their life-time were subject to Bondage verily took not on him the Nature of Angels but took upon him the Seed of Abraham Heb. 2.15 16. And as to Men alas there are many Nations now in the World who have not yet enjoyed so infinite a Blessing as this happy Call into a State of Salvation who have not yet heard of a Saviour nor the good Tidings of the Gospel or Covenant of Grace who have had no Apostles no Evangelists no Pastors nor Teachers amongst 'em and who therefore still lie groping in Darkness and the shadow of Death And perhaps amongst those Nations that are called there are not any that enjoy the Means of Salvation the Worship of GOD the Administration of Sacraments and the Preaching of the Word in that purity and force as we in this Church and Nation do It is indeed an unspeakable Blessing we enjoy above many other People For now in Jesus Christ we who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ who is our Peace Ephes 2.13 14. And are no more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God vers 19. It is counted a great Privilege amongst Men but to enjoy the Freedom of a City or Corporation as that which puts those who enjoy it above the Condition of Strangers and gives 'em to partake of many singular Advantages which Forreigners want But by being taken as Fellow-Citizens of the Saints and of the Houshold of God into Covenant with him we are Enfranchized Citizens of the New Jerusalem whereby we are entituled to all those Privileges which Christ has purchased for us which are unspeakable and invaluable and which does place us as has been often said in so much a better State and Condition than the rest of Mankind Such infinite reason have we heartily to Thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called us to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour THE XXV Lecture In my Baptism Wherein I was made AS to what concerns the Nature and Substance of the Covenant of Grace I have already opened and declared to you I have shewed First What are its Terms Secondly That it restores us to a State of Salvation Thirdly By whose Mediation we obtained so gracious a Covenant and were restored thereby into a State of Salvation Fourthly By whom we have been Called into it And Lastly What mighty Thanks we do owe unto God that we have been called into so gracious a Covenant and happy state of Salvation My next Business must be to treat upon the Sacrament or Solemnity by which you Entred therein For the declaring whereof and the full Explication of these Words In my Baptism wherein I was made it will be requisite That I should in some measure so far as relates to the Sealing of the Covenant of Grace open unto you the Nature and End of Baptism And not to give you now a full and particular account of the whole Nature and Meaning and End of Baptism which shall be more conveniently done when we come to the latter part of your Catechism where the whole Doctrine of that and the other Sacrament is taught you it may suffice to our present purpose to tell you That Baptism what Baptism is an outward Rite or Ceremony of our
World And so indispensible a Rite of our Initiation or Entrance into the Covenant of Grace And this he has enjoined as indispensably necessary to our initiation into the Covenant of Grace did our Saviour make it that he did not only Command his Apostles and all the succeeding Ministers of his Church to the End of the World to Baptize those whom they did proselyte over to his Religion Go says he Matth. 28.19 and teach or disciple by Baptizing 'em all Nations and lo I am with you always to the end of the World But he excludes all others from having any Interest in his Covenant of Grace which he vouchsafed unto us and from having any claim to the Promises of it who are not entred into it by the outward Rite and Solemnity or Ceremony of Baptism Thus he tells Nicodemus with a Verily verily that is with a solemn Asseveration which amounts almost to an Oath That Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God By the Kingdom of God is here meant the Church of Christ which is a Society of Men in Covenant with God enjoying certain inestimable Privileges under Christ their Supreme Head and is often in the New Testament called the Kingdom of God as Matth. 21.31 So that it is plain from hence that there is no admittance to the Privileges of the Gospel or New Covenant which are Grace Pardon and Happiness nor to the Enjoyment of those infinite Rewards in Heaven the chief of all the Mercies of the Covenant without being first entred into the Church by Baptism which is the Outward Seal and Confirmation of those Mercies to us Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And agreeably to this Doctrine of his Lord and Master did the Great St. Peter hold Baptism so indispensibly necessary that he ordered even those Persons upon whom at his Preaching of the Word the Holy Ghost had fallen which one would have thought might render Baptism unnecessary yet he ordered even those to be Baptized withal as you may see Acts 10.46 47 48. Then answered Peter Can any Man forbid Water that these should not be Baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we And he commanded them Commanded whom why those on whom the Holy Ghost had fallen vers 44. and who had received the Holy Ghost as well as he vers 47. he commanded even those to be Baptized in the Name of the Lord. Thus is Baptism you see an Outward Rite or Ceremony of our Saviour's own Appointment for the solemn admitting of Persons into the Covenant of Grace Secondly And thus our Saviour appointed us to be entered into the Covenant of Grace for the better Confirmation and Assurance of its Terms the Promises on God's part and the Conditions on ours it being thus mutually and interchangeably as it were Sealed to betwixt God and us Baptism appointed the Rite of Admission into the Covenant of Grace for the better Confirmation and assurance of its Terms the Promises on God's part and the Conditions on ours it being thus mutually and interchangeably Sealed to betwixt God and us As in this sacred Rite of Baptism there are two Parties concerned God who by his Minister or Ambassador and Agent as he is called 2 Cor. 5.20 does admit the Person Baptized to Covenant and does by him promise and engage to confer upon him particular Blessings and Favours and the Party Baptized who presents himself or is presented by others and does solemnly engage to Renounce GOD's Enemies the Flesh the World and the Devil to Believe in God and to Obey him As there are Two Parties I say God and Man thus transacting a Covenant together so the Minister God's Agent his Receiving the Party and Baptizing them in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost is the Sealing to it on God's Part who has promised to confirm in Heaven what they in his Name and by his Commission shall bind on Earth Matth. 16.19 And the Party presenting himself or being presented to Baptism and therein expresly vowing to perform the fore-mentioned Conditions and in token of that his being washed or sprinkled with Water is the putting to as it were his Seal to the Counterpart of the Covenant And farther as this mutual Covenanting and Sealing does give unto God besides his Right of Creation a farther Right by our own express Engagements to our Obedience and Service so to us it gives even that which we could otherwise have no not the least Pretensions to even a Legal Right and Title to all the most inestimable Blessings and Favours of the Covenant It gives great Assurance of mutual Performances barely to be in Covenant together It has been already more than once hinted and shall here be more fully declared how that it gives us mighty Assurance that the Mercies of God shall certainly be confer'd on us that he has vouchsafed to engage Himself in Covenant to make 'em good unto us and that because this way of proceeding gives us even a Legal Right and Title to All the most inestimable Blessings and Favours of the Covenant For this we are to consider that till such time as God has condescended to engage so and so the utmost Services that we can pay him cannot give us sure and certain grounds to hope for or expect such invaluable Benefits to be conferr'd upon us Though we should never so heartily repent us of our Sins there is not that in Repentance alone that it should be sufficient of it self to satisfy the Justice of God and to salve that infinite Dishonour we have done Him by our former Violations of his sacred Laws And tho' we should never so sincerely and faithfully Obey him for the future is it possible that such unprofitable Service as ours should merit and deserve of it self the unspeakable and unconceivable Joys of Heaven as a due Reward for such Obedient Service Pardon of our manifold Sins and Offences and eternal Joy and Happiness I say can never be expected meerly upon any Merit there is in our Repentance and Obedience nor at all till such time as he has graciously vouchsafed and freely condescended by Covenant to secure such Benefits unto us upon our serious Repentance and sincere Obedience But then when he has once condescended to ensure unto us by Covenant these unspeakable Benefits and we on the other side have also engaged our selves to the Performance of such Conditions then what our Repentance Faith and Obedience could not give us reason to expect or hope for meerly upon the account of their own desert shall however be ascertain'd to us by virtue of God's Covenant-Obligations which he has laid upon himself And Pardon and eternal Happiness shall be so far then the matter of our Hopes and Expectations that we shall have a Legal Claim and Title made over to us upon our Repentance Faith and
think Baptism as necessary now as Circumcision was then since the same Word of Truth hath told us except we be born of Water and of the Spirit we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Joh. 3.5 So that those misguided Parents do not know what infinite prejudice they do their Infant-Children in denying them the Privilege of baptizing them into the Covenant of Grace and whether they may not be a means of debarring them of all those inestimable Benefits Christ has purchased with his Blood for us and which he ensures only to those who are in Covenant with him 2. Because they were initiated both by Circumcision and Baptism into that legal one delivered by Moses II. And as Infants were circumcised into that Evangelical Covenant made with Abraham so they were both circumcised and also baptized into that legal one delivered by Moses The Legal Covenant delivered by Moses is frequently distinguish'd by St. Paul from the Covenant of Grace confirmed with Abraham Thus Gal. 3.17 This I say that the Covenant that was before confirmed of God with Abraham in Christ the Law which was 430 Years after cannot disanull that it should make the Promise or Covenant of Grace which is so call'd to signifie the gracious Nature of it as being made very much up of most gracious Promises of none effect Here the Legal Covenant is distinguish'd both in Time as being given 430 years after and in point of efficacy as that which is not of that force as to disanull the other more weighty and important Covenant made with Abraham It is usual sometimes for after-Covenants to disannul former ones but it seems it was not so here but this Legal Covenant given after was superinduc'd upon the other still remaining in force as the only one by which Salvation was to be expected And the Enquiry might well be to what End this Legal Covenant was added like an Appendix as it were and Codicill to the former Will And not here to give a full Account of all the Ends and Reasons of it which is besides our present purpose my Answer to the Question Wherefore then serveth the Law shall be with St. Paul Gal. 3.19 that it was added because of Transgressions until the Seed should come It was added because of Transgressions that is to discover the multitude and heinousness and guilt of Sin for the discovery of the perfect Rule of Righteousness made it easie for Persons comparing their own Lives therewith to find out how infinitely defective they were And it was added till the Seed should come It shewed them therefore by giving 'em a sight of their Sins how much they stood in need of a Saviour And the Sacrifices Offerings and Rituals of it which were very many were for the most part but Types and Shadows of this Saviour to come This may suffice at present as to the Legal Covenant and the Reasons of it That they were admitted by Circumcision â—ndisputable And now let us enquire whether Infants during the time of this Legal Covenant delivered by Moses were not admitted into it as well as grown Persons by some outward Rites and Solemnities And that we shall see they were both by Circumcision and Baptism That Infants of eight days old were of necessity to be circumcised was positively commanded Lev. 12.3 And in the eighth day the Flesh of his Fore-skin shall be circumcised which Circumcision was an Engagement upon them to keep the whole Law Gal. 5.3 But that the Infants in the Jewish Church were circumcised even at eight days old is so evident a Truth to those that do themselves read or hear the Scriptures read that I need not certainly spend time in proving of it But that they were baptized That they were also by Baptism asserted both by Scripture is not indeed so commonly understood and known but wants not its Evidence even from Scripture As 1 Cor. 10.1 2. where St. Paul tells us All our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all baptized unto Moses that is the Religion of Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea And that their very Infants as well as their Parents were so baptized is certain for that all were alike under the Cloud and in the Sea And I think it is generally agreed amongst the Learned And by Jewish Writers that as the Israelites during their whole Travels through the Red Sea and Wilderness were not circumcised because it would make them sore for travelling so instead thereof that they were baptized or admitted into Covenant by Baptism But especially they tell us it was used for the Admission of Proselytes or those who had been before Aliens and Strangers from the Commonwealth of Israel that it was especially used for the Admission of such into the Covenants and Promises And the Original use of it to this end some ascribe to the Patriarch Jacob when he chose into his Family and Church the young Women of Sichem and other Heathens who then lived with him Jacob said to his Family and to all who were with him put away from you the strange Gods and be you clean and change your Garments Gen. 35.2 By which Words Be ye clean some do interpret the washing of the Body or Baptism which Reason it self does also persuade us to believe as being very proper when they were to abandon their filthy Idolatry and to embrace the pure Worship of the true God And it is also well known to those who are skill'd in Jewish Customs that when any Parents Dr. Lightfoot Vol. 2. P. 1133. or Masters of Families were thus baptized that all who did belong to them their very Children and Servants and all those over whom they might be suppos'd to have any Authority and Power to bring 'em up in the Jewish Religion and Covenant were also baptized Nay all the Nation of Israel says Lightfoot do assert as it were with one Mouth Ib. Pag. 117. that all the Nation of Israel were brought into the Covenant among other things by Baptism Israel as he cites Maimonides in particular was admitted into the Covenant by three things namely by Circumcision Baptism and Sacrifice So that I hope it does sufficiently appear by what has been said that Infants in the Jewish Church were both circumcised and also baptized into the Legal Covenant Nor is it of little force to prove that Christian Infants under the Covenant of Grace may be baptized that the Jewish Infants were circumcised and baptized under the legal For not now to insist that circumcising and baptizing of Infants and that by God Almighty's own Appointment does demonstrate to us that there is no Incapacity in an Infant that he should be admitted into Covenant with God by some outward Solemnity even whilst an Infant for if there were any unreasonableness in the thing it self God would not have so order'd it But not now to insist on this I do humbly conceive it may be
should be dignify'd with the Title of the Kingdom of Heaven viz. Because it so directly tends to render Men so exactly like the Blessed Saints the Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Heaven 78 This is not the meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven here in the Catechism Secondly the Kingdom of Heaven signifies the Kingdom of Glory This a most noble and glorious State as being dignify'd with so honourable and glorious a Title as the Kingdom of Heaven 79 Hence all those things in this World wherein we conceive the highest Glory and Happiness are used as Emblems to set off our future Glory All which things come short of expressing it An Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven what An Heir is one who has a legal Right and Title to a Possession made over to him Such who have entred into the Covenant of Grace are in like manner Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven as Children are Heirs 80 It is through Christ alone not owing to the Merit of our Obedience that we are Intitled to the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven The vastness of a Christian's Priviledge in being made an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven First it is in it self a very great Priviledge to have the invaluable Possessions of Heaven so setled and ensur'd as to have a legal Claim and Title thereto made over to one 81 Secondly if compar'd with what others enjoy it is a singular Priviledge The best amongst the moral Heathens could have but faint Hopes built upon uncertain Conjectures of a future Happiness And their Hopes being faint they could not in the strength thereof overcome great Temptations But the Christian's Hopes are sure and stedfast being founded upon the express Promises and Covenant of the God of Truth And being such there is no Temptation so alluring nor Suffering so great which he may not overcome 82 And whatever Certainty an honest Pagan might have that God would reward his Vertue yet depending only on the Uncovenanted Goodness of God he could promise himself no greater a measure of Happiness than what his good Deeds did of themselves deserve which must fall vastly short of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven But a Christian to whom God has Covenanted to make sure a Crown of Glory may without Presumption rely upon him to make good the same As Life and Immortality is brought to light through the Gospel so by Embracing it and by coming into Covenant alone Salvation can be expected And to a sincere Christian who is faithful in the Covenant the Heavenly Inheritance is certain 83 Asumm of those invaluable Priviledges made over to us on God's Part in the Covenant of Grace 84 LECT IX Whereof the First is to Renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh 85 The Devil his Names and their Importance He was once one of the highest Angels and is now that Arch-Rebel againsts God He with many Legions of Inferiour Angels whom he drew into the same Conspiracy is Banisht Heaven 86 Being acted with a Spirit of Revenge against God he afterwards withdrew Mankind to join with him in his Rebellion And prevailed so far till God's Authority was almost utterly Banished from amongst Men. Which occasion'd the Son of God's coming into the World to recover Mankind The Works of the Devil in general are First Sin By Sin God's Authority is thrown off which is the Devil 's constant work 87 Whoever therefore does wilfully sin does strike at God's Authority For which Reason no Sin ought to be the Subject of any Man's Mirth Some Sins more particularly the works of the Devil First Such as are directly level'd against God's Authority viz. Idolatry Sorcery Charming Witch-craft and Conjuring as also Resorting to such as use those unlawful Arts. 88 Secondly Such as express more of the Devil's Temper than others viz. Pride Envy 89 Malice Thirdly Such as are more the Practice of Satan himself than other Sins viz. Murder Apostacy Lying and especially Calumniating and Evil-speaking 90 To Renounce a Word of various Importance according to the Renounced 91 To Renounce the Devil in the sence of the Ancient Church was to disclaim his Usurp'd Dominion and Authority over Mankind To Renounce his Works of Sin was in their sence to abandon and forsake every Sin as being the proper Service of the Devil 92 The Words are to be understood in much the same Sence at this day Satan having his Kingdom still in the World and even amongst Christians and the Laws of Sin which are the Laws of his Kingdom being still obey'd by the greatest Part of Mankind This Renunciation for the most part the same with Repentance 93 The Devil and all his Works of Sin must be absolutely and entirely Renounced because There is nothing but Evil proceeds from Satan And Sin whether we consider it in its original Cause and Nature or in its sad Effects and Consequents is the utmost Evil. Therefore no one Sin nor any thing the least of Sin must willingly be comply'd with 94 And indeed if the Nature of Satan and of Sin and the horrid Consequence of yielding to either be well consider'd it is hardly possible not absolutely and entirely to Renounce both However this if we do not do we shall forfeit all Right and Title to those infinite Blessings held forth in the Covenant of Grace 95 LECT X. To Tempt is to make a tryal of a Person To Tempt a thing morally Good or Evil according to the End thereof To Tempt a Person in order to prove his Vertue or discover his Corruption consistent with the Justice Wisdom and Goodness of a Governour and thus God does Tempt Men. 97 First Thus he tempted Abraham to try his Faith and to reward him for it Secondly Hezekiah to discover his Hypocrisy and to humble him in the sight thereof These Temptations of God are therefore in no sence to be Renounced but to be Rejoyced in because for our Good 98 A Temptation to ensnare a Person into some Sin that so God's Anger may be kindled against him And the Person punished for this Transgression is wicked and malicious and so the Devil together with the World and the Flesh do tempt us The vast Concernment it is to us to know his Temptations The several Heads of Satan's Temptations 99 By what Methods he first tempted our first Parents and still does continue to tempt us First By insinuating into the Minds of Adam and Eve false Notions of God and an ill Opinion of their Maker and Governour particularly with respect to his Justice and Mercy 100 And by Entertaining false Notions of God's Justice and Mercy do Men generally Encourage themselves in Sin at this Day But all such Conceits of God are to be utterly renounced and cast out of our Thoughts as Diabolical Suggestions most destructive to our Souls Secondly By Corrupting the Understanding and Reason of Man by putting him upon curious Enquiries after useless Matters and upon making a sinful Experiment of the differences
2. The faith without Works which we find mention made of in the Scriptures as that which will as little avail us as the former is a Dead Faith And this we are told in the same Scriptures what it is that it is also a bare Assent of the Mind only which does not stir up the Will to chuse nor the Affections to delight in the Laws of God but is utterly barren and fruitless in Good Works Faith if it hath not Works is dead being alone Jam. 2.17 And so far is such a Faith as this which does not move and stir us up to Good Works from being acceptable to God to our Justification and Salvation that v. 19 20. it is compared to the Faith of Devils and is reckon'd no better 3. A little Faith and Faith which has not taken deep root in the Heart 3. Again We find mention in the Scriptures of a Little Faith Matth. 6.30 and of Faith that has not taken root Luke 8.13 Either of which is a Faith which will carry Men to something of Religious Performances but is not strong enough to bear 'em up under the Difficulties of Religion and through all the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil Thus those who in the use of honest means cannot trust in God for the providing themselves of all things necessary for this Life but are full of carking Thoughts for the morrow that is for the future are upbraided by our Saviour Matth. 6.30 as Persons of Little Faith Why take you thought for Raiment If God so cloath the Grass of the Field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven shall he not much more cloath you O ye of little Faith And those who when shockt with any Temptations do thereupon yield because their Faith hath taken no root they are compared to stony Ground of which it is said that when they hear they receive the Word with Joy but not having root these do but for a while Believe and in time of Temptation fall away Luke 8.13 4. Even the Faith of Miracles will prove insufficient to Justification if not accompany'd with Obedience 4. As to that which may be defective and fall short of a Justifying and Saving Faith this we are told even the Faith of Miracles will do if it be not accompany'd with Good Works This Miraculous Faith we find often mention'd in the Scriptures And it was a strong Perswasion wrought in the Party by the Spirit of God that by the Power and Authority of Jesus he should do such a Miracle beyond the Power of Nature to be perform'd as the casting out Devils by the Word of his Mouth But even this Faith of Miracles if it is not accompany'd with Good Works of which Charity and Love to one another is the chief will signifie nothing so says St. Paul 1 Cor. 13.2 Tho' I have all Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have no Charity I am nothing Especially accompany'd with Pride Many we are told Matth. 7. will presume much upon their excellent Gifts of Prophecying or Preaching fluently and of their Power even to cast out Devils but yet our Saviour protests he will not so much as know them if they have been wicked Livers if proud and full of themselves and contemptuous of others as Gifted Persons are apt to be Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophecy'd in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work Iniquity vers 22 23. No nothing he assures us will ever avail us to Happiness and Salvation less than such a Faith as will procure a sincere Obedience to his Holy Will and Commandments Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will af my Father which is in Heaven v. 21. 5. The Faith of Hypocrites Lastly Another sort of Faith which will not Justifie nor Save us may be stiled the Faith of Hypocrites and this is the Faith of such who expect to be Justified and Sav'd meerly for Believing or rather for Relying and Recumbing upon Christ without performing the other Conditions of Repentance and Obedience which are the necessary Effects or Ingredients rather of Justifying and Saving Faith and without which it is not our Believing alone which will at all avail us Of this sort were many among the Jews of old of whom the Prophets do often complain that looking upon themselves as a Chosen Nation as a peculiar People whom God had Elected out of all the Nations of the Earth to bestow his Favours upon Such was the Faith of many among the Jews presuming that they were a chosen People they would confidently lean and depend upon him that he would assuredly be their God and that they should be his People notwithstanding that they gave themselves up to work all Unrighteousness and were cruel Extortioners Oppressors and the like Thus Micah 3.9 11. They abhor Judgment and pervert Equity yet they will lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us None Evil can come upon us And Isaiah complains that tho' they would swear falsly by the Name of the Lord yet they had the Confidence to call themselves the Holy City and to stay themselves upon the God of Israel Isai 48.1 2. And there are too many also amongst us Christians And such is the Faith also of many Christians presuming likewise that they are the Elect. who confidently presuming that they are the Elect Children of GOD do undoubtedly hope for all that Pardon and Happiness which Christ with the Price of his most Precious BLOOD hoth obtained for us meerly upon the account of their firmly Believing that Christ hath done all for 'em and if they can but Believe this they fondly perswade themselves they shall certainly be Justify'd let them be never so Wicked and Disobedient to God's most Righteous Laws yea tho' they are Proud Boasters Covetous Envious and Bitter Revilers of those who are much better than themselves And in this their wholly depending upon Christ without any Good in themselves they think they shall most Honour Christ and set forth the Greatness of his Redemption of us whereas to preach the necessity of our own Righteousness tho' wrought by his Grace and accompany'd with many Defects were to teach Men to depend as they foolishly enough imagine not upon the Merits of Christ but their own Deserts which are none at all and so would derogate from and lessen the Grace of Christ and the Greatness of that Redemption he hath wrought for us And this sort of Faith or Dependence upon Christ alone as those before mention'd Micah 3.11 and Isai 48.1 2. So our Christian Hypocrites likewise call Leaning upon the Lord and casting themselves upon the God of Israel a
Leaning and Rolling themselves upon the Promises of Christ for Salvation But for any to expect to be Justify'd and Accepted by God without forsaking their evil Ways and without working out also their own Salvation with fear and trembling that is without being extreamly careful themselves to be Obedient to God's most Holy Laws is gross Hypocrisie and will miserably deceive us Hypocrisie is with vain Shews and Pretences to deceive our selves or others and to be only Hearers or Believers of the Word and not Doers is to deceive our selves St. James tells us 1. 22. And a greater than he even our Blessed Saviour himself hath assured us Mat. 7.21 That not everyone who saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of his Father which is in Heaven And as for the Pretence they have to live securely in unrepented Habits of Sin that the Grace and Mercy of Christ is more Magnify'd the greater Sinners they are I answer That the greater Sinners they have been the greater is the Mercy which Forgives 'em when they do repent according to that of the Apostle Rom. 5.20 21. Where Sin abounded Grace did much more abound that as Sin hath reigned unto Death even so might Grace reign through Jesus Christ our Lord. But to make the Magnifying of God's Grace a Reason for Security whilst Men continue in Sin this indeed was a false Conclusion that some in the First Times as well as now were apt to draw from St. Paul's Doctrine of Justification but which that Great Apostle rejected with the utmost Indignation and Abhorrence in the next Chapter v. 1 2. What shall we say then Shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid How shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein No sure the Doctrine of Christianity tho' it lays aside the Original Law of Righteousness and the Law of Moses from being either of 'em a Rule of Righteousness in conforming to which we shall be Justify'd yet this Doctrine most strictly obliges us to a sincere Reformation from all former Sins and to a Newness of Life as the indispensible Condition of being Justify'd by God Nor is there the least occasion given us by this Doctrine to value our selves upon our own Righteous Performances when it is only of Grace that we are able to do any thing which is good and the Acceptance of the Good we do is owing to the Mediation of Christ who obtained such Gracious Terms and Conditions of Justification for us Which Considerations as I have already made appear do sufficiently shew that we are Justify'd freely by God's Grace in Christ and do exclude all Grounds and Occasion of Boasting A summary account of justifying Faith In a word and to conclude this whole Point the only Faith or Belief that will Justifie and Save us must be such a full Perswasion of the Truth of Christianity and all its Great Doctrines those I mean which are in a peculiar manner call'd the Articles of our Christian Faith it must be such a through Perswasion I say of those great and powerful Truths as will purifie us in Heart and Life and will effectually excite us to live up to the Rules of Christianity and make us sincerely and heartily to Obey God in all his most Holy and Righteous Laws And it must be such withal as will cause us to depend solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Righteousness to our Justification And all those kinds of Faith call 'em what you will which are barren of unfruitful in Good Works or if they stir us up to encounter some Difficulties do not bear us up under all Temptations nor enable us to perform the more difficult Instances of Christian Duty and Obedience those which are most contrary to our Lusts and Interests as well as the more easie which are agreeable to our Profit or Pleasure The Faith that is not powerful enough to carry us through all Temptations is defective to the great Purposes of Justifying and Saving us The necessity of our often incalculating such a Faith And moreover I must acquaint you that the necessity of a working Faith to that end as it is the great Doctrine of Christianity so it ought to be throughly explain'd and often insisted upon by us Ministers of the Gospel for fear of People's Mistakes in this matter which will be most dangerous to their Souls And accordingly St. Paul lays a solemn Charge upon us Tit. 3.8 that we should in the same manner I have already done explain and inculcate the Doctrine of Faith unto you This is a faithful Saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have Believed in God might be careful to maintain Good Works for these things or these Doctrines are profitable unto Men. THE XXXI Lecture I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth I Have already shew'd you what it is to Believe that our Faith must be such as rectifies and renews our Corrupt Nature as moves us to the performance of the most difficult Instances of Christian Duty and such as after all causes us to relie solely upon the Mercies of God in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Obedience to our Justification And now by the Divine Assistance I shall proceed to explain unto you all those sacred Truths contain'd in your Creed which are of such mighty Importance And there are not a few such powerful and practical Truths imply'd in this one Article I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth Towards the full Explication of which that it may effectually work a blessed Change both in our Hearts and Lives I will do these Things I. I will in some measure declare unto you the Nature and Infinite Perfections of that Divine Being which we call God I Believe in God II. I will prove to you that this Infinitely perfect Being out of his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness made the Heaven and the Earth and all Things both Visible and Invisible therein contain'd Maker of Heaven and Earth III. I will explain and prove that this same God who made the Heaven and the Earth does now exercise a most Wise Just and Good Providence over it and every thing therein contain'd which is the Importance of the Word Almighty in this Article as shall be shew'd hereafter IV. I might here demonstrate to you that there is but one God for so the Nicene Creed which is but a Paraphrase upon this does teach us I Believe in one God And Lastly that in the Vnity of the Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons Father Son and Holy Ghost I Believe in God the Father And the other two Persons are also mention'd in their proper place But because I would be as little guilty as possible in this Exposition of repeating hereafter what I have said before I shall referr the Doctrine of
Infection thereof is a great deal more taking when a many of those bad Men are met together in Company than when they remain asunder from one another And so much Charm there is to Bewitch The Company of the Wicked extreamly infections or Power in ill Company to Enforce others to sinful Compliances that even sober and good Men when it is their misfortune to fall amongst such shall hardly preserve their Integrity and come from amongst 'em with as much Innocence as they went in but either thro' the Noisiness of their Companions forgetting that Guard they have at other times over their Thoughts Words and Deeds or for fear of being Reproacht as morose dull or ill-natur'd shall too far many times comply with the rest of the Company both in speaking and acting what is not very consistent with the Duty and Reservedness of a Christian But as for the young ignorant and inconsiderate Part of Mankind Good God! What Mischiefs are such drawn into through the Enticements of Evil Company Your lewd Companions indeed as they are usually very buisy in doing Mischief and corrupting others and will wonderfully Triumph and Rejoice when they have Perverted a Sober Person and made him as bad as themselves So they are above all Industrious to Corrupt and Ensnare Youth that they may Propagate a Generation as Wicked as they have been And how will they Hug themselves when they have Debaucht an innocent Young Person and made him at any time Drunk or betray'd him into Lewdness or any other Wickedness especially if of promising Hopes and of ingenious Parts and how many Wiles shall be us'd to Ensnare him again Their Mouth is full of Deceit and Fraud under their Tongue is Vngodliness and Vanity they lie lurking in the Thievish corners of the Streets to wait for the Innocent to draw him into their Net Psal 10.7 8 9. If you look into the particular Miscarriages of Men in the World Most of the Miscarriages of Men owing thereunto what a lamentable thing it is to consider How many hopeful Youth have wofully Mis-carry'd through wicked Company How many have we known go abroad into the World the Hopes of their Families the Expectations of their Country and the most Promising Persons of the Nation but falling into ill Company have prov'd the most outragious Fiends on this side Hell And what Vices what Villanies are there that Evil Company has not drawn 'em into What shall I say It is Evil Company This makes Men Atheists that makes the Youth an Atheist Alas the unwary Stripling no sooner goes into the World but these Factors for the Devil lay hold on him and with all the wily Insinuations and cunning Artifices with Arguments best suited to the Temper of the Young Man they perswade him to join with 'em in their lewd Courses They do usually Enter him at first in your Taverns and those Places of Publick Entertainment that are something more remote from and lie as it were only on the High-way to Sin They next carry him from thence into the very Suburbs of Hell those Houses I mean where such Scenes of Lewdness are seen and acted as would Profane the Place we are in to mention as are not fit to be spoke to Chast Ears nor indeed can enter your Thoughts without leaving behind some base Defilement And now if he has that Talent which they call Wit such a share at least as will enable him to talk Profanely to break Jests upon Scripture and Oh Brutish Stupidity Oh Desperate Madness To Blaspheme and fly into the Face of God Almighty they feed his Vanity with loud Applauses and cry up to the Skies his Wit and Parts And by this he thinks himself sufficiently furnisht to be an Apostle of Satan's also himself and henceforwards you shall see him to be Intent wholly upon this very thing to draw all others into the same Damnation also along with him Alas It is nothing but Evil Company Libertines that Emboldens the Young Man for lewd Pranks At first he is asham'd to have his Name up amongst lewd Companions and his Natural Modesty will not let him look an Harlot in the Face but they soon Laugh him out of that Clownish Shamefac'dness so that he can at length Sin with Impudence enough can Glory in his Shame and Brag of more mad Exploits than he was ever guilty of Committing and is with the greatest Ease drawn aside to his Destruction by every lewd Harlot that lies in wait for him as Solomon most excellently observes Prov. 7. Thieves and Robbers It is Evil Company that draws so many into the sad Trade of Thievery and Robbery They entice and inveigle others to join with 'em in those desperate Undertakings in which so many miscarry that not One in a Hundred that being once Engag'd can rid himself of 'em or comes not at last to some End of Shame or Sorrow And there are few of those who are Condemn'd for Theft or Murder when they come to Die but wofully complain in their Confessions That it was Evil Company that brought them to it Come say they with those in the Prov. 1.11 12 13. Let us lay wait for Blood let us swallow them up as the Grave and whole as those that go down into the Pit we shall find all precious Substance fill our Houses with Spoil cast in thy Lot amongst us let us all have one Purse Drunkards It is Evil Company that makes Men Drunkards and Sots There is not One at first however that loves Drinking for Drinking sake 'T is the Witchery of good Fellowship as they falsly call it that first Enters 'em and afterwards holds 'em in that Course of Living to the Ruine of their Families their Estates their Health their Bodies their Souls and all that is Precious in this or the other World Withdraws from the worship of God It is Evil Company that often keeps some from Church and the Worship of God that perswades some to idle at Home others to wander in the Streets and Fields whilst they should be a serving of God in his House What shall I say It is Evil Company that discourages from all Good and hardens Men in all manner of Sin and Wickedness The fairest Vessels have split upon this Rock the most promising Hopes and Expectations of Families of their Countries have been Ship-wrackt have been lost in this Sea Evil Company therefore of all things to be abhor'd But let me add the Wise-man's Advice Prov. 1.10 11 c. My Son if Sinners entice thee consent thou not nay my Son walk not in the way with them refrain thy foot from their path No go not into their Company Evil Communications corrupt good Manners 1 Cor. 15.33 'T is dangerous even to Talk with 'em but Associate thy self to 'em upon no account There is Contagion and Infection where-ever they are Thou may'st enter a House infected with the Plague tread upon the Adder's Nest