in being and well-being He that made the world is still upholding all things by the word of his power 2. Governing and disposing all Creatures and all their actions even the least and smallest of them all The LORD hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens and his Kingdome ruleth over all Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father but the very hairs of your head are all numbred 3. Oâ—dering and directing all creatures and al their actions to his own glory and his peoples good Ioseph said to his brethren God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance So now it was not you that sent me hither but God Ye thought evil against me but God mean't it unto good c. So didst thou lead thy people to make thy self a glorious name For of him and through him and to him are all things As for Gods special Creation of man and Providence over man in his fourefold state viz. of 1. Creation 2. Corruption 3. Restitution and 4. Perfection They will come farther to be considered in the next branch the knowledge of our selves Hitherto of the first branch of knowledge requisite in some competent sort before communicating viz. The Knowledge of God 2. Knowledge of our selves Knowledge of our selves is the next point of Knowledge necessary to a worthy Communicant Christians eyes and apprehensions should be like the windowes of the Temple widest inward narrowest outward far more dispoâ—ed to look home then abroad better acquainted with themselves then with others And not like Plutarch's Lamiae or Witches that put on their eyes when they went abroad but put up their eyes in boxes when they came home The necessity of this Self-Knowledge hath before been evidenced The particulars of Self-Knowledge follow We are principally to know our selves 1. What we were in Adam before the fall 2. What we are in Adam since the fall 3. What we should and may be in Iesus Christ the second Adam I. What were we in Adam before the fall Answ. Before the fall Adam was the happiest creature under the Sun enjoying many surpassing Priviledges And all mankind being then in his loyns enjoyed in him the same happinesse and Priviledges viz. 1. A reasonable and immortall soul personally joyned with a suitable body both of them fearfully and wonderfully made yea curiously wrought according to divine Consultation of the blessed Trinity Adams soul was so rationall that he knew the nature of all the creatures which God brought before him and named them accordingly And so immortal that it cannot die a natural death as many Scriptures intimate But the souls of all other sublunary creatures besides man are irrationall and die with their bodies 2. A most pleasant Habitation God planted a Garden Eastward in Eden and there he put the man A garden is the glory of the fields A garden of Gods planting the glory of all gardens Herein grew every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food And a Quadripartite or four-streamed river to water the garden Oh what a garden of delights what an earthly Paradise Here man was placed to dresse this Garden Man must not be idle no not in Paradise 3. Liberall Provision Man was allowed freely to eat of every herb and of the fruit of every tree in the Garden except only the tree of Knowledge of good and evil His food therefore was most various and delicious 4. Vniversal dominion over the creatures Let them have dominion over the fish of the Sea and over the fowle of the air and over the cattell and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth This dominion was not supreme but subordinate to Gods dominion Adam was Monarch of the earth God the sole Monarch of all the world Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him the Son of man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things under his feet So that all sublunary creatures were to do homage unto Adam 5 Conjugal society with his wife created out of Adams side while he was asleep She was thus taken out of man that she might be a meet help for man and become affectionately dear to man as bone of hâ—s bone and flesh of his flesh Man is naturally a sociable creature and loves society And Marriage-society is the sweetest of all natural societies 6. Innocency God made man upright As man came at first out of Gods hands he was spotlesse undefiled and wholly without sin Hence that state is stiled The state of innocency Except Christ never man on earth was perfectly without sin as Adam was in his first Creation The holiest Saints in this life have sinne in them though sin reigne not over them We were without sinne in the earthly Paradise and shall be without sin in the heavenly Paradise How happy is a sin-less state 7. The image of God God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him There was not only an utter absence of all sinfulnesse but also a presence of all due righteousnesse in him in which regard he was perfectly conformable to the will of God This image of God in man seems principally to consist in 1. Knowledge 2. Rigâ—teousnesse and 3. True holinesse or as the Greek phrase is Holinesse of truth This image of God in Adam made him ful of divine beauty whereby he was all glorious within surpassing all sublunary creatures 8. A Covenant-state with God In all times and states of the Church God hath pleased to deal with his people by way of Covenant Adam before the fall being perfect and without sin had perfect ability given him to keep that Covenant with God in which he was naturally enstated The Covenant into which Adam was admitted with God was the Covenant of Works the substance whereof is the Morall Law or Ten Commandements The Morall Law was perfectly written in Adams heart for the substance of it so that he was fully able to know and keep it for even since the fall the Gentiles which have not the written Law do by nature the things contained in the Law which shew the work of the Law written in their hearts Much more was the Law written in Adams heart before the fall This Covenant of Works the substance whereof is contained in the Morall Law required personal perfect and perpetual obedience under the severest penalties Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them Vnto this Covenant of Works with Adam seem to be annexed two Sacraments viz. The Tree of Life assuring him of life upon his keeping Covenant and eating of that
it in their hearts Hast thou now the Laws of God put into thy minde into thine inward parts are they written in thine heart But how shall I know whether Gods laws be written in mine heart c Answ. Thou mayst know God hath written his Law in thine heart and inward parts by these ensuing discoveries 1. By the conformity of thine heart and inwards to the Law of God When Gods law is writ in thine heart thou wilt have a Law within thy brest exactly answering to Gods Law written without in the Scriptures even as Tally answers to Tally Indenture to Indenture the face in the glasse to the face of a man or as the Counterpain exactly answers to the principal Deed or Conveyance there 's Article for Article Clause for Clause Covenant for Covenant Word for Word so will thine heart be to the Law of God Thine heart will forbid thee every thing Gods law forbids thee thine heart will command thee every thing Gods Law commands thee thine heart will comply to the whole Law 2. By the newnesse of thy heart and spirit The writing of Gods Law in the heart brings in a spiritual newnesse into the heart A new heart also will I give you saith God and a new spirit will I put within you New not for substance but for Qualities and Qualifications A new minde illuminated A new memory strengthened and sanctified A new Conscience quickened and purified A new Will subdued to the obedience of Christ New affections new grief for sinne new desires of grace new love of God Christ and his Members new joyes in the Holy Ghost and in a word the whole man is become a new Creature Old things are past away and all things are become new If thou findest this newnesse of heart then the new Covenant the Law of God is in thine heart 3. By the spiritual softnesse and tendernesse of thine heart Naturally every mans heart is stony a meer Stone hard inflexible and impenetrable when God writes his law in mans heart and admits him into Covenant with him he takes this stony heart away and gives him a supple fâ—eshy soft tender heart And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh An heart of flesh is of a tender temper flexible and easily wrought upon by God quickly wounded for sinne facile to melt and dissolve into penitential sorrows is thine heart such 4. By the Obedientialnesse of thine heart Where the Law is written in the heart there the heart becomes obedient to Gods Will and delights in that obedience So saith David I delight to do thy Will O my God yea thy Law is within mine heart or according to the Hebrew phrase thy law is in the midst of my bowels Because the Law was graven in his heart therefore he so delighted to do the Will of God Dost thou delight now to do thine own Will the Will of the flesh or the Will of the Lord 3. They that are Parties to the New Covenant have a Covenant-relation to God and a Covenant-interest in God and God in them This shall be the Covenant I will be their God and they shall be my people What greater blessing can God covenant to bestow on us then to give himselfe to be our God Had God covenanted to give Earth Heaven Grace Glory the whole world ten thousand worlds that were nothing comparable to God himselfe This then is the greatest promise in the World And on the other hand what greater duty can lie upon us then to ingage our selves to be Gods Covenant-people Consider now hath God given himselfe to thee as thy God in Covenant then thou art in Coâ—enant with God But how shall I know whether God is my God in Covenant Answ. By this Art thou one of Gods people by Coâ—enant Art thou thy whole selfe not onâ—y some part of thy selfe given up to God Thou must be wholly not partially his Is thy tongue his to praise him Thy hands his to work his Will thy feet his to walk in his paths thy Mind his to know him thy Conscience his to accuse or excuse under him thy Will his to obey him thy memory his to retain him thy heart his to desire and love him yea to embrace him with most ravish't affections beyond all and in a word is thy whole selfe soul and body with all that is within thee wholly his sincerely to serve him and to be a spiritual sacrifice to him Then thou art in New Covenant with God indeed and hast inward Right to the Lords Supper 4. They that are Parties to this New Covenant have their iniquities forgiven and forgotten of God So the Lord covenanteth I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more Or as the Apostle alledged it I will be merciful to their unrâ—ghteousnesse and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Hath the Lord now forgiven thine iniquities then thou art in Covenant with him indeed Thou wilt say O that mine iniquities were pardoned then should I be an happy soul. But how may I know that the Lord hath pardoned my sins and will remember mine iniquities no more Answer Thou majest know that God hath forgiven thy sins 1. If thou hast sincerely confessed bewailed and forsaken thy sins and turned from all thine evil wayes for thus hath God promised He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to doe evil Come now and let us reason together saith the LORD though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool And elsewhere most sweetly Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the LORD and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will multiply to pardon 2. If thine heart be calmed and quieted through faith in Christ so that thereby thou art at peace with God When we through faith have pardon and justification from God we consequently have peace with God Being justified by faith we have peace with God Is God pacified towards thee doth he smile upon thee doth he still thy soul with true peace this is an Argument of thy sins pardon 3. If thine heart be singularly inflamed with the love of Christ through whom thy sins are pardoned it 's a great evidence thy sins are forgiven The woman that had many sins forgiven her by Christ she loved him much upon that account She wept and washed his feet with tears she wiped them with the hairs of her head she kissed his feet and anointed them with oyntment Nothing was too good too dear for Christ that had paid all her debts forgiven all her sins 4. If
incarnation which were made first to Adam and renewed after to Abram Moses David and Israel These are called The Covenants of promise because they were made in Christ as then only promised not actually performed and Covenants not Covenant because though but one Covenant yet severall times renewed that with considerable enlargements from time to time Now this New Covenant is the same for substance with that Old Covenant called The Covenant of promise For 1. They are both of them the Covenant of â—race not of Nature 2. They are both of them the Covenant of Reconciliation with corrupted mankind not of amity and friendship with incorrupted mankind 3. Jesus Christ was the Mediatour of them both though with some difference Typically he was Mediatour of the Old Testament or Covenant but Truly of the New 4. The termes or conditions of them both were the same viz. faith in Jesus Christ the Mediatour not works 5. The benefits and spirituall advantages of both were the same in the blood of Christ. viz. Pardon of sinne Sanctification of our natures Enjoyment of gracious interest in and Communion with God Eternal happinesse at last with Christ in heaven as the tenour of them clearly evidenceth Herein the Old and New Couenant do notably agree But they differ only in some Circumstances and the manner of Administration For 1. The Old Covenant was dark and obscure All the spiritual mysteries therein being clouded in types and shadowes A typicall Priesthood typical Sacrifices typical Altar and Tabernacle typical blood typical Mediatour typical Sacraments typical Canaan all typical Hence in the promulgation of this Old Covenant in Sinai the Jews came unto blacknesse and darknesse But the new Covenant is bright and clear being administred without all types and shadowes Christ the body being comn already in open spiritual glory The Mosaical veile is done away in Christ And we all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord. 2. The Old Covenant was carnal and earthly in the administration of it They came to the Mount that mâ—ght be touched and to the sound of a Trumpet and the voice of words And it brought them to an earthly Canaan and an earthly Ierusalem But the New Covenant is dispenced spiritually bringing us to the spiritual Canaan To Mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem That we may worship God the God of Spirits in Spirit and Truth 3. The Old Covenant was more imperfect according to the imperfect state of the Church in those times which the Apostle compares to A child in his non-age and minority And so it was revealed more and more clearly by degrees as the Church grew riper and riper till Christs coming But the New Covenant is perfect and full never more to be enlarged or encreased till the end of the world it being revealed in Christ fulfilled and comne in the flesh already 4 The Old Covenant was terrible in the manner of its dispensation making not only the People tremble but even Moses himselfe exceedingly to fear and quake But the New Covenant is dispensed with all inviting amiableness and alluring sweetness every thing herein being sweet pleasant and delectable nothing at all terrible As appears in that admirable passage to the Hebrews And if it be said God the judge of all there mentioned is terrible I answer No God the judge of all is not terrible to them that come into Covenant with him for he is a Iudge absolvâ—ng them only a Iudge condemning His and all their enemies and that is most comfortable 5. That Old Covenant was limited and restrained to the people of the Jews onely and to those that became Jewish Proselytes Gentiles were all Strangers to the Covenant of Promise But the New Covenant is unlimited universally extended both to Jews and Gentiles â—f all sorts Thus the Old and New Covenant especially differ III. The New Covenant gloriously assures them that embrace it That God will write his law in their mindes and heart That he will be to them a God and they shall be to him a people That they all shall know him from the least to the greatest And that he will be merciful to their unrighteousness and remember their sins and iniquities no more This is the chief tenor and substance of the New Covenant Glorious Priviledges Here consider and admire them viz. 1. Gods Inscription of his Law Not in Tables of stone as of old but in the fleshy living Tables of his peoples mindes and hearts That writing was without this within That was broken this shall not be broken Hereby they shall be kept from back-sliding 2. Gods new relation to his people and theirs to him covenanted and promised He will be to them a God not onely a Portion a Protection a Friend a Redeemer a Savior a Comforter a Father an Hushand c. but beyond all these A God and beyond God there can be nothing This is the excellentest blâ—ssing that can be promised and the highest promise that can be made If God will be a God to his People consequently he will be All to his people And they shall be to him a People not only their thoughts words and actions his nor only their minds or wils or affections his nor only their senâ—es or members or bodies his c. But they whole they whatsoever they are can do or endure for him must be wholly his This is the greatest duty and the highest obligation that can be upon any people But this is the comfort God here undertakes for both sides for both Parties to the Covenant for Himself that he will be theirs for his people that they shall be his So that thâ—â—e shall be no failing on either side 3. Gods universâ—◠〈◊〉 â—ore perfect illumination of his people with the knowledge of himself They shall not be so dull of understanding as the Jewes of old nor divine knowledge be so restrained to one sort of people but more generally to all sorts of people and more compleatly in all degrees of knowledge The Knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters cover the Sea 4. Gods merciful and eternal Act of oblivion past upon their sins and iniquities There shall not be as of old under the Old Covenant a yearly and daily remembrance of their sins by their yearly and daily sacrifices repeated which in effect was a re-iteration or continuation of their arreignment indictment and condemnation for their sins But an utter blotting out of their iniquities by the blood of Christ once offered for ever so that they shall never be remembred more to their condemnation IV. The New Covenant-Priviledges can actually be claimed by none but those that are effectually made Partakers of the New Covenant-Grace None can say That God is their God in Covenant and he will remember their sins no more till they