the Scripture And this thing the Servants of the Lord witnessed as to their own condition as well as others We our selves saith the Apostle Tit. 3.3 4 5. were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hatefull and hating one another This was their state before the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared to them but after that appeared to them which is the very ground of Faith then came the washing from these things and Salvation But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by works of rightousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Here Faith is plainly implyed in this work For the kindness and love of God appearing is received and that 's Faith and in this receiving of the love and kindness of God comes the washing of regeneration without which washing we have no part in Christ Joh. 13.8 And so here comes the renewing of our Hearts by the Holy Spirit which the Apostle calls the renewing of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit That is the renewing of our Hearts by him who is let in by Faith for it s we that want renewing not the Holy Spirit So here the new Creature is begot by the Spirit which is created in Christ Jesus unto good works Mark In Christ Jesus that is in the ministration of the Gospel or of the kindness and love of God whereof Christ Jesus is the Minister not in Moses or in the ministery of the Law which consists in works But in Christ Jesus whose ministery is in Faith in this is the Creation unto good works that we should live in them and no longer to serve the evil and impure lusts of the Flesh For if we live after the Flesh we shall dye but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body we shall live Rom. 8.13 Now the Heart thus washed and renewed that which proceeds out of the Heart savours of cleannes and purity Out of the aboundance of the Heart the mouth speaks and so better language is hereby learn't Corrupt language comes under judgment being felt inwardly to be contrary or a burthen to thâ— Spirit of life now in measure received And thus the Lord fulfills hiâ— promise to his People in turning to them a pure language The leaâ—â— grain of Faith though it be but aâ— a grain of Mustardseed inclines thâ— Heart thus after righteousness anâ— Holyness And if through temptation the Heart be sometimes overtaken with evil yet it hath not rest there but it turnes again in pursuite of righteousness until it get Victory over the World and the lusts thereof and in Faith is the victory 1 Joh. 5.4 And here 's the Heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness which it hath received a taste of by the Holy Spirit shed abroad upon it And this is one inseparable Fruit of true Faith thus to work against sin and to thirst after rightousness from the seed of Sanctification sown in the Heart which springs up to eternal life Secondâ—y Another inseparable Fruit of true Faith is Love Gal. 5.6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but Faith which worketh by love Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision no outward badge or character is now available with God but Faith which worketh by love No outward distinction nor every Faith neither is available with God but that Faith which works by love Such a Faith as is of the true stamp which hath the nature of Christ Jesus in it which is love This is that Faith which pleases the Lord. And this therefore discovers all killing and destroying Faiths all persecuting and hurtfull Faiths to be ungrounded and false Faiths They are not right they bear not a resemblance with the Faith of the Apostles and ancient believers But such a Faith is a Heterodox Anti-christian Faith Its not of a right birth but spurious begot by thâ— Law of works or from the evil one and not from the kindness and love of God in Christ Jesus It s a kin to the faith of Devils The Devils believe and tremble but remain Murderers So these that believe and remain Mutherers and persecuters stand as yet ingrafted into the murthering and persecuting Spirit The works of their Fatheâ— they doe who was a Murderer from the beginning But he that come to the true Faith he works according to the nature of that Spirit that begets his Faith and that is to save life to doe good and not to destroy The destroying Faith is of Apollyon that is a destroyer but the saving Faith is of him that came to save mens lives and not to destroy That Faith that saves us teaches us to save or preserve others not to seek their destruction It matters not how zealous men be for their Faith if it carry the destroying nature in it it s not right in the sight of God it springs but from works at best not from grace nor is it according to knowledge The persecuting Jews had a Zeal of God but not according to knowledge and so may false Faiths have and hereby they are discovered to the true seed that they are not according to true knowledge This is the second Character of true Faith it works by love Thirdly It brings peace and consolation Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justifyed by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore saith the Apostle the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing Rom. 15.13 It must needs follow that he that sensibly believes this love of God in Christ Jesus to all men and to him in particular It must needs be I say that peace will spring up in his Heart thereby And so here 's the entrance into the Kingdom of God by Faith The Kingdom of God is within and it consists in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit And into this Kingdom or Heavenly Canaan we enter by Faith While unbelief and fears lye upon us and shut up our Spirits we are short yet of our possession of the Kingdom There are some to whom the Kingdom of Heaven belongs who are not fully entred into the possession of it as an inheritance may belong to an Heir before the time come that he possesseth it such are the poor in Spirit who go mourning under the sense of the body of sin not yet shaken off and who go hungring and thirsting after righteousness which they have not yet attained unto as their Souls desire Such I say are under a blessing and have right to the Kingdom of God though as yet they go mourning For Christ Jesus our Lord applyes the right of the Kingdom to them Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
And blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Matt. 5.3 4. Their mourning is while they are in travel but when they have brought forth then there is rejoycing when Faith hath overcome then joy and gladness And this is in some sooner in some later In the primitive times of the Apostles when the mystery of the Gospel or glad tydings was holden forth with open face as I may say and without a vail or myst many that received those tydings by Faith were immediatly filled with peace and consolation How quickly was the Jaylor that came in trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas crying out Syr's what must I doe to be saved How quickly I say was he raised up into peace and consolation after he had heard the joyfull tydings of Salvation by Christ Jesus plainly preached to him in few words and by Faith received it Act. 16.31 32 33 34. And they said Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy House And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his House And he took them the same hour of the night it was not a work of many hours but the same hour and washed their stripes and was Baptized he and all his straight way And when he had brought them into his House he set meat before them and rejoyced believing in God with all his House See how love and joy accompanied his Faith believing in God he rejoyced Therefore the Gospel is called glad tyding of great joy For who can believe that his sins are done away in Christ Jesus and that freely by grace or in love the Lord accepteth him in Christ Jesus and not therein rejoyce The Preaching of the Gospel is preaching peace by Jesus Christ Act. 10.26 Eph. 2.17 And therefore it s call'd the Gospel of Peace How beautifull are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tydings of good things Rom. 10.15 The Eunuch to whom Philip preached Christ and opened to him the way of Salvation by Christ and he by Faith had received this love of God in Christ the same day he was filled with joy and after Philip was caught away from him he went on his way rejoycing Act. 8.39 So at Samariâ— Philip having preached Christ unto them and working Miracles in his name there was great joy in that City Act. 8.8 So likewise that great multitude that was converted at Peters preaching the Gospel to them Act. 2. besides those eminent Fruits of love which sprang up in them in an extraordinary manner they also were filled with great joy and consolation which made them to eat their meat with gladness and singlenes of praising God This true Faith in Christ Jesus brings peace and consolation upon two principal accounts First because it receives the glad tydings of remission or forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ The guilt of sin or conscience of sin binds a man under the fear of condemnation and causes him to cry out in the bitterness of his Soul what shall I doe As it did these here in the 2d of the Acts when they were struck with a sense of their sin they cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we doe And so the Jaylor what shall I doe to be saved And this state the Apostle Paul personates Rom. 7.24 O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Now what can be more joyfull at such a time and to such a condition then to be satisfyed that their sins are forgiven them and that Christ Jesus the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the World hath borne their sin in his own body on the Tree And so to have their conscience sprinkled by his blood from an evil conscience and to be made clean by that blood of sprinkling Here 's cause indeed of rejoycing by Faith in him For now the chaine of darkness is unloosed and the liberty of the Sons of God begins to appear and he is translated out of darkness into marvellous light Even the light of life 1 Pet. 2.9 And then secondly in this faith there is also a measure of the Spirit received which is the comforter and brings his Testimony with him which is beyond all words for giving consolation and peace The Spirit witnessing with our Spirits that we are accepted into Sonship with God And therefore the joy received in believing is called the joy of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit 1 Thess 1.6 And ye became followers of us and of the Lord having received the word in much affliction and joy of the Holy Ghost That is joy which the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit ministred in their receiving the word There 's joy in Heaven over one sinner that truely repents and he also is made partaker of that joy Thus the Fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace to that man that receives the Testimony of the love of God in Christ Jesus and also it begets the same in that man towards others It begets love in him towards others and joy in their returning to God and makes him a man of Peace in the World Obj. It may be some may say how can this be seeing Christ said I came not to send peace on Earth but a Sword And to set one man at variance against another Answ That is occasionally because the Earthly Spirit will be opposing and persecuting the rightous seed although the righteous seed be a seed of peace and quietâ—ess in it self and to others Obj. Again some may say Christ â—ells of mourning ye shall mourn â—nd the World shall rejoyce c. How then doth this stand with that â—y which thou speaks of Answ A Woman while she is in â—ravel hath sorrow but when she hath brought forth she rejoyceth for joy that a man Childe is brought forth into the World so it is here And then again saith Christ Jesus In the World ye shall have tribulation but in me ye shall have peace Joh. 16.33 Forthly I come now to another Fruit or concomitant of this Faith and that is this it excludes boasting It cuts down vainglory Where is boasting then It is excluded By what Law Of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith Rom. 3.27 For what hath that man to glory in in respect of himself that sees himself wholy a receiver at the hands of the Lord When he rightly sees himself justifyed freely by grace and the superaboundant mercy oâ— God who hath revealed himself to him in Christ Jesus That is hath revealed his love to him in Chrisâ— Jesus for God is love And hath let him see that he is accepted freely in Christ Jesus He that hath the right sence of this upon his Spirit it draws his Heart into the admiration of the infinite love and mercy of God in deep humility And the more fully this is revealed to him or in him the greater is his admiration still of
of men but God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son Aâ— the Sun in the Firmament shineâ— upon all good and bad and as thâ— raine falls upon all both just and unjust so the love of God reaches tâ— all in sending his Son Thereforâ— the Angel that brought the glad tydings of the birth of Christ to thâ— Sheepherds said to them Feaâ— not for behold I bring you good tydings of great joy which shall be to aâ— People Luk. 2.10 And likewise thaâ— multitude of the Heavenly Host which appeared suddenly with thâ— Angel praised God saying Glorâ— to God in the highest and on Earâ— peace good will towards men ver 1 〈◊〉 towards men or towards maâ— kinde in the general and not onlâ— towards this Sect or that Sect oâ— this form or that form but towardâ— all men namely that creaturâ— which was made in his own imagâ— to bear a representation of him iâ— the Creation To this creature 〈◊〉 the love of God thus signified foâ— his restoration to that purity Majesty and dignity in which he was created and to an eternal felicity in that station with God So then This is the condemnation that light is come into the World and men love darkness rather then light because their deeds are evill Joh. 3.19 What light is this that 's come into the World that was not in the World before Verely the light of the love of God or of Salvation freely by grace which hath a glory in it that discovers and destroyes evill works and therefore where men love their evil works they love to cleave to the darkness in which they may enjoy their evil deeds and continue therein This is the condemnation not because they have done evil but because they chuse to continue therein For the love of God hath manifested it self unto all in sending his Son as a Sacrifice for all a Lamb without blemish to take away the Sin of the World Joh. 1. ver 29. 2. As the Father hath manifested his love to man so the Son likewise who is the only begotten Son of God the first born of every creature and the expresse image of the Father he hath shined forth in the glory of the same love We beheld his glory saith the Apostle wherein Even in this that he was full of grace and full of truth Grace is free gift bounty good will and this is glorious this we beheld in the Son of God saith the Apostle What love like this Or what favour like this To lay down ones life for another This our Lord hath done for us 1 Tim. 2.6 He gave himself 〈◊〉 ransome for all saith the Apostle and this is to be a Testimony iâ— due time for so the words signify 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He offered up himself a Sacrifice for us according to the will of God that hâ— might put away our sin by the Sacrifice of himself Heb. 9.26 and thaâ— was the will of God who layed oâ— him the iniquity of us all And this hâ— willingly underwent for us foâ— when burnt offerings and Sacrifices of the Law for sin could not purge the conscience so as to make the commers thereunto perfect as pertaining to the conscience and therefore God took no pleasure in them then said the Son Loe I come to doe thy will O God Heb. 10. That so a way might be made for reconciling our Hearts to God by laying a ground for faith in us He bare our sins in his own body on the Tree 1 Pet. 2.24 Here 's the ground for faith and a foundation layd for mans returning towards the Lord in Love for we cannot love him till we be made sensible of his love to us and understand that he loveth us And when this understanding and beliefe arises in our Hearts it drawes our Hearts to him in love again We love him because he first loved us saith the beloved Disciple 1 Joh. 4.19 He loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood Rev. 1.5 His love goes before our washing He loved us and washed us I said unto the when thou wast in thy blood live Ezek. 16.6 He that hath his Heart openeâ— to believe this Testimony of thâ— Love of God in Christ Jesus ouâ— Lord he shall finde the incomes oâ— the Spirit of Christ in some measure as they did who believeâ— these joyfull tydings at the foundinâ— forth of our Salvation by the blooâ— of Christ in the primitive time when the Gospel was first preached to them And this now is faith even to receive the Testimony of the Soâ— of God concerning the love of God and to believe in him for Salvation Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the Earth Isa 45.22 As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness so the Son of man was lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3.14 15 16. The words are doubled to confirm the certainty thereof And therefore seeing we have Salvation in him and by him and by no other he is called The Lord our Righteousness Jer. 23.6 For he is made of God unto us Wisdome and Righteousness and Sanctification and redemption that according as it is written he that gloryeth let him glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1.30 31. Let him glory in the Lord not in his own works for all glorying therein is cast out Therefore shall men say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength Isa 45.24 He that believeth this love of God in Christ therewith receiveth Christ and with him power to become a Son of God Joh. 1.12 As many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his name To believe on his name is to receive him and to receive him is to believe on his name So that by faiâ—â— Christ is received And by faith aâ— the Spirit of Christ is received Gal. â— 2 and 5. This only would I learn 〈◊〉 you received ye the Spirit by tâ— works of the Law or by the hearing 〈◊〉 faith that is of Salvation by faitâ— ver 5. He therefore that ministreâ— to you the Spirit doth he it the works of the Law or by the heariâ— of faith The Scripture many timâ— layes that down by way of questioâ— which is undenyable as it doâ— here as much as to say I'ts by faiâ— that the Spirit is received for heâ— by the hearing of faith we muâ— understand such a hearing as is a râ—ceiving or obeying the Gospel aâ—â— in this the Spirit is received And so by faith also we receive râ—mission of sins To him give all the Prâ—phets witnesse that through his namâ— whosoever believeth in him shall receiâ—â— remission of sinns Act. 10.43 Aâ—â— this was the Doctrine that Peter wâ—â— preaching to Cornelius and the