some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ He gave gifts to men he did not only give extraordinary gifts such as Apostles and Prophets and Evangelists but ordinary gifts to Pastors and Teachers for the building up of his own body And as he feeds his sheep with his Word so with his Sacraments and here is such feeding as you did never hear the like for this blessed Shepherd feeds his sheep with his own flesh and blood his own flesh that was crucified to satisfie Divine Justice and his own blood that was shed to quench the fire of Gods wrath that was kindled against them this is that our Saviour tells you of in John 6.51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world And in Revel 1.5 He hath loved us and washt us from our sins in his blood As they say of the Pelican when her young ones are ready to die she opens her breast with her bill and feeds them with her blood so the Lord Jesus Christ feeds every one of his sheep with his flesh and blood Again He feeds the souls of his sheep with the graces of his own blessed Spirit as Faith Repentance Love Humility Sincerity and the like which are spiritual food suitable to the spiritual nature of the soul So he feeds his sheep with the Promises which are said to be breasts of consolation Isa 66.11 That ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory With the breasts of consolation that is with the precious promises And this is that which that good King Hezekiah intended in that speech of his Isa 38.16 Oh Lord by these things men live and in all these things is the life of my spirit so wilt thou recover me and make me to live These precious promises made good to my soul by these do men live and these are the life of my Spirit Thus you see how this blessed Shepherd feeds his Sheep But yet more He does not only feed his Sheep but he gives them Stomachs also look as it is in point of knowledg we are not able to see him of our selves we cannot see him without him for he is our Light and as in point of performance we are not able to believe on him nor come unto him without him for he is our strength so here neither can we feed on Jesus Christ nor the promises nor the graces of his Spirit until he gives us a mouth to taste these things therefore the Apostle exhorts us as new-born Babes desire the sincere Milk of the word that we may grow thereby if so be we have tasted that the Lord is gracious as if he should have said You cannot feed unless you have tasted of this blessed Saviour 1 Pet. 2.2 3. Secondly As he feeds so he cloaths his Sheep here amongst men the Sheep cloaths the Shepherd the Fleece of the sheep cloaths the Shepherd But here this blessed Shepherd cloaths every one of his Sheep he cloaths them with costly raiment indeed Ezck. 16.10 11 12 I cloathed thee also with broidered work and shod thee with Badgers skin and I girded thee about with fine linnen and I covered thee with Silk I decked thee also with ornaments and I put bracelets upon thy hands and a Chain upon thy neck and I put a Jewel on thy forehead and ear-rings in thine ears and a beautiful Crown upon thy head thus wast thou decked with Gold and Silver and thy rayment was of fine Linnen and Silk and broidred work Therefore it is that you read that the Apostle bids us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 13.14 He cloaths us with the Robe of his own Righteousness He covers us with the garments of Salvation as a Brridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels Isa 61.10 Thirdly He does protect his Sheep and watcheth over them from Morning to Evening he hath his eye continually upon them therefore David speaking of the Lord being his Shepherd then says he Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me Psal 23.4 Fourthly and lastly He gives to his Sheep Eternal Life John 10.28 And I give unto my Sheep Eternal Life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand Thus you have the Point opened That Jesus Christ is that Blessed Shepherd who is abundantly able to feed and protect his People here and to give them Eternal Life hereafter because he hath the greatest Care over them the greatest Love to them the greatest Power that ever Shepherd had and the greatest Reward to give them that can possibly be bestowed Now for the Uses of this Point and they are three by way of Instruction Examination or Tryal and Exhortation First By way of Instruction Oh see the Blessed the Happy the Comfortable Condition of all those that have a part and interest in the Lord Jesus Christ this Blessed Shepherd what tongue of Men or Angels is able to express the happy and blessed condition of that man that hath gotten Jesus Christ for his Portion such a one shall be sure of Food of Cloathing of Protection of Joy of Comfort of Happiness of Eternal Life and what not Oh how may that soul dance for joy that hath gotten Jesus Christ to be his Shepherd surely it is a comfortable and heart-chearing meditation in these turbulent and stormy times when the Church of God hath so many enemies and so sew friends when the Antichristian Faction roars against the little Flock of this blessed Shepherd like so many Bears to devour them here is the comfort Jesus Christ sticks as close to his Flock as ever David did to his Flock when the Lyon and the Bear came to make a prey of them Fear not little Flock says our Saviour it is your Fashers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luk. 12.32 As he said when he was sailing in the Boat with Cesar the Boatman beginning to be afraid because of the tempestuousness of the waters Fear not man thou carriest Cesar and all his Fortunes with him so may it be said of every one that hath Jesus Christ in the Boat with him Let him not fear true indeed the Ship wherein Christ and his Sheep are may be tossed but it can never be over-turned because the Shepherd and Pilot are in it therefore happy is the condition of all those that have an interest in this Blessed Shepherd But on the contrary Oh the deplorable and desperate condition of all those that have not Jesus Christ for their Shepherd
Tryals that are to be endured You have often heard and you will know it at one time or other you will not believe us but you will believe one day your own experience That through many Afflictions you must enter into the kingdom of God And 2 Tim. 3.12 Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution They must look for persecution in one kind or other And in the world you shall have tribulation saith our Saviour You must look for it says he if you be my disciples John 16.33 And says Luther If thou beest not a Cross-bearing Christian thou art no Christian indeed How is it possible now for a man to climb this rocky way if he hath not strength for the way to Heaven is like the way that Jonathan and his Armour-bearer had in climbing up a great Rock a sharp rock was on the one side and a sharp rock was on the other side 1 Sam. 14.4 How is it possible for a man to climb up this rocky way if he have not some considerable strength If Stephen for example had not had a great measure of strength how could he have lookt upon his persecutors so chearfully in the midst of all their threatnings when they were ready to stone him yet then they beheld his face as if it had been the face of an Angel Acts 6.15 And if Saint Paul had not had considerable strength how could he have have said True the holy Ghost witnesseth that bonds and afflictions wait for me in every place in every City where ever I go but none of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto my self so that I might finish my course with joy and the Ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the grace of God Acts 20.23 24. What a gallant answer was that which one made to Valentinian the Arrian Emperour that threatned him with Bonds Imprisonment Banishment and death Tush says he Let him scare children with such Bug-bears as these he cannot scare me with them he may take away my life but he cannot take away my love to the truth Here was a strong Christian Now I say if a man have not a considerable strength how can he be able to bear all the afflictions that he may meet with Can you drink of the cup says our Saviour that I shall drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with Matth. 20.22 He speaks there of the baptism of blood Can you be baptized with this bloody baptism can you be content to suffer for my sake Thirdly You have need of a great deal of strength in your souls in regard of the enemies that are to be encountred with spiritual enemies dangerous enemies deadly implacable enemies For example now One of the greatest Enemies you have to encounter with is an invisible enemy namely that Judas which you and I have in our hearts the cursed corruption in our Natures that works us more mischief than either the World or the Devil nay then all the Devils in Hell can do You see the whole world in a manner is subdued by this cursed enemy called Sin the whole World almost is brought into bondage to it and it is an enemy that you and I can never be rid of until our bodies drop down into the dust Then you have a flattering and bewitching World and the lusts and pleasures of it are its baits those baits and allurements of it do so Lime-twigg the soul it is not able to mount up oh how many are bewitched by it to their own destruction Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present World and he loves it because it is present What is the reason of all the Apostacy and Back-sliding and falling from the Profession and Principles and Practice of Godliness but only the love of this present world Men love the world because it is present they prefer a present possession before a future expectation Christs promise is for the future You shall be happy hereafter but say they the world pays down upon the nail You shall have it in hand not in hope says the world If you can but lye swear and cog and flatter and temporize and turn with every wind saith the world you shall have this preserment Now this is that which takes with many men the World is such an enemy while it kisses it kills the World like Dalilah while it dandles you upon its lap it betrays you to Satan How many are there at this day that will sacrifice the peace of a good conscience they will forsake and lose God and Christ and heaven and happiness and all rather than they will part with their present enjoyments Oh that such would consider the pleasures of sin are but for a season but the punishments for sin are for ever Again You have Satan to encounter with who is an implacable enemy a roaring Lion that walks about seeking whom he may devour and the dint of all his malice is against those that desire to walk most strictly most uprightly before God for the greater part of the world I mean them that are unregenerate those that are rockt asleep in the Cradle of security he never troubles them When the strong man armed keeps his Palace all his goods are in peace Satan never molests them these are his own houshold under his own power but the dint of all his malice is against those that have given up their names to Jesus Christ and the more holy and heavenly-minded and unblameable you desire to be in your Conversations the greater will be his rage and enmity against you Fourthly Another Enemy you have to encounter with and that is Death the last enemy that shall be destroyed which is called the King of fears and the fear of Kings of all terribles the most terrible as the Philosopher calls it Now you have all these enemies to conquer and how can you look the King of terrors in the face if you have not this spiritual strength Fifthly You have need of a great deal of strength in regard of the danger of Apostacy that must be prevented Oh great exceeding great greater than I am able to tell you is the danger of Apostacy Oh that I could speak it with all earnestness that if it might be you might take heed of it Those that turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity Oh they are lost and undone for ever Psalm 125.5 And if any man draws back saith God my soul shall have no pleasure in him A dreadful Scripture which may make Apostates quake and tremble God takes no pleasure in such as draw back and it had been better for a man never to have known the ways of God than having known them to turn aside from the holy commandment It s better to be an Atheist a Pagan a Turk an Insidel any thing rather than an Apostate
Secondly The Gospel may be said to reveal salvation in this regard because it is a means of conveying the spirit of grace into the soul who is the applier of this Salvation Hence it is the Gospel is called the Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious And you read in Acts 10.44 that while Peter was preaching to Cornelius and his Company the Holy Ghost fell upon them While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word so that the Holy Ghost was dispenced to them in the preaching of the Gospel Thirdly The Gospel may be said to reveal salvation in that it is an Instrument of begetting faith in the soul which is the hand whereby we lay hold on this salvation Faith comes by hearing of the Gospel Rom. 10.17 Fourthly The Gospel is ordained by God to be an Instrument of Regeneration and Sanctification and of Edification Of Regeneration 1 Cor. 4.15 For though you have ten thousand Instructors in Christ yet have you not many Fathers for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel And then it is the Instrument of our Sanctification too in John 17.17 Sanctifie them by thy truth saith our Saviour for thy word is truth And it is the Instrument of our Edification or building us up in our most holy faith Acts 20.32 And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that is the Gospel which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified Now then if the Gospel be the Instrument both of our Regeneration Sanctification and Edification it must needs be also the Instrument of our Salvation that is for the first Quaery How the Gospel may be said to reveal Salvation Because it reveals Jesus Christ who is the Author of this Salvation and it is an Instrument of conveying the spirit of Grace into the heart who is the applier of this Salvation and works faith which is the hand whereby we lay hold on this Salvation and it is the Instrument of working Regeneration Sanctification and Edification in us and therefore must be the Instrument of our Salvation The second Quaery is this But is the knowledg of Salvation revealed only by the Gospel may some say Does not the Law also reveal Salvation Does not the Law say Do this and live To this I answer Though the Law may be said in some sense to reveal the knowledge of Salvation Yet there is a very great difference between the Laws revealing and the Gospels revealing it and that in these two respects especially First the Law does not reveal the knowledg of salvation so clearly Secondly The Law does not reveal the knowledg of Salvation so effectually First The Law does not reveal the knowledg of salvarion so clearly for it reveals it only in types and shadows and resemblances therefore the Apostle says Heb. 10.1 The Law having the shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things He compares the Law to a shadow it had a shadow of good things to come For example The Law told us indeed of a Saviour that was to come into the World and the Law told us of the blood of Jesus Christ but it was typified in the multitude of those bloody Sacrifices that were offered from day to day and it told us of heaven and the heavenly inheritance but it was but obscurely it was shadowed out by an earthly Canaan or the Land of promise whereas now the Gospel brings in Jesus Christ fully and clearly exhibited it brings in Jesus Christ as the Day-star from on high which does enlighten us and the Son of Righteousness that does dispel all those clouds and shadows that were in the Ceremonial Law The Gospel does as it were draw the Curtain that now we may with open face behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. last verse therefore the Law does not discover the knowledg of salvation so clearly Secondly The Law does not discover the knowledg of Salvation so effectually True the Law hath told us of Salvation but it doth not shew us the means whereby we may attain it the Law shews us the way but it does not help us to walk in the way the Law hath commanded us to obey but it gives us no strength to perform therefore the Apostle says The Law was weak because of our flesh Rom. 8.3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh Again The Apostle tells us expresly Heb. 7.19 The Law made nothing perfect The Law could never bring Man to Heaven never was mortal man saved by the Law It is true indeed it required obedience but it gave us no strength to perform that obedience it exacted obedience upon the penalty of a dreadful curse but it did not enable us to avoid that curse for it s said Cursed be he that continueth not in all the words of this Law to do them Deut. 27.26 And it 's said the man that doth them shall live in them Gal. 3.12 Lev. 18.5 I but the Law gave no strength to do what it did enjoyn I but now the Gospel reveals the knowledg of Salvation more effectually because as it commands us to obey so it gives us strength to perform the Law commands but it is the Gospel that helps us How doth it help us it helps us thus Because it directs us to Jesus Christ by whom we may have strength Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength Isa 45.24 And says the Apostle I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Phil. 4.13 I but here it may be objected Does not the Apostle say That the Gospel is the savour of death unto death as well as the savour of life unto life 2 Cor. 2.16 Now if the Gospel be the savour of death unto death then how can it be said to bring Eternal Salvation To this I answer When the Gospel is said to be the savour of death unto death it is not spoken because the Gospel does kill and condemn simply and in its own nature but through the corruption of mens hearts that do not obey it but do reject it that do resist it A Kings pardon you know does not kill any by it self but by the contempt of a Malefactor that does reject it and so the pardon may double the Malefactors guilt and bring upon him a more speedy and fearful execution So here the Gracious pardon of God that is tendred in the Gospel does not kill or condemn any in it self or in is own nature but through the contempt of those that do disregard it in this regard not simply but accidentally through the corruptions of mens Hearts and Natures in this regard
the Gospel may be said to increase a mans curse and condemnation Whereas now the Law in its own nature is said to be a killing Letter because it leaves a man in a state of death and leaves him under a curse and does not shew him the way at all â—ow to avoid that curse as the Gospel does therefore the Apostle says The Law is a killing Letter of it self but the Spirit giveth life 2 Cor. 3.6 because in the preaching of the Gospel the Spirit of God is conveyed into our souls which enables us in some acceptable manner to perform what the Gospel enjoyns and thus you have the Point opened to you That the knowledg of Life and Immortality that Eternal Salvation that is laid up for the Saints in light is discovered and revealed by the Preaching of the Gospel For the Use of the Point now And the first is by way of Information and there are four Doctrinal Inferences or Lessons that we may learn fron this point thus opened 1. See how infinitely we stand indebted and ingaged to our gracious God that hath lookt upon us here in this Nation and in this City who hath brought us into the fellowship of th Gospel and hath kept us in that fellowship for so many years together Oh that we should live under the showres and Sun-shine of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ for almost a hundred years together without interruption What a singular mercy is this if we did but know how to prize it He hath scarce dealt so with any Nation under Heaven as he hath dealt with us What did God see more in us than in Turks Indians and Pagans that never heard of God nor Gospel He foresaw how we would despise this precious Pearl and how we would be ready to trample it under foot God foresaw how weary we would be of those glorious Gospel-mysteries that are discovered to us from day to day yet it did not hinder him from bestowing this precious Jewel upon us therefore not to us not to us but to his own Name be the Glory 2. A second Lesson we may learn by way of inference is this If the knowledg of eternal life be discovered in the Gospel then it follows Where-ever God hath a Church planted or a Church to be planted there will still be need of a powerful quickning soul-searching Ministry for the discovery and making known the Mysteries of Salvation The publick preaching Ministry of the Gospel is that standing Ordinance that must continue in the Church of Jesus Christ so long as he hath a Church here upon earth and this appears by that of the Apostle Ephes 4.11 12 13 And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the prefecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ How long till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledg of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ That is to the end of the World God will have a standing Ministry where-ever he hath a Church planted or to be planted God will have a Gospel standing Ministry till all the Saints be gathered If this be so then how justly are they to be reproved that think that a Gospel-ministry of all other things may be best spared if there be any such here mark what I say You could ill want any of the four Elements Earth Air Fire or Water You could ill want Salt Bread Drink Cloathing let me tell you a Gospel-ministry is as needful as any of these I have named as Earth Air Fire Water as Salt Bread Drink Cloathing for does not Solomon say Prov. 29.18 Where there is no vision the people perish and would you have your souls perish everlastingly Is not our soul worth a whole World It was a noble speech of Luther It were better that the whole World were in a Combustion and Confusion than that the Gospel should not be preached or that any one soul that belongs to Jesus Christ should be neglected And it was spoken concerning Chrysostom who was a famous Light in the Church It was better that the Sun should not shine than that Chrysostom should not preach and it was a witty observation of a Father speaking concerning the beheading of John Baptist Herod took off John Baptists head because of the promise he made to the Damosel Whatever she ask'd him to the half of his Kingdom should be granted says that Father speaking of this passage Herod might have kept his promise though he had not taken off John Baptists head for he promised the Damosel to give her to the half of his Kingdom But now says he John Baptists head was worth a whole Kingdom Pray tell me you that have slight thoughts of the Gospel or of a Gospel-ministry Does not the Scripture compare Ministers to Planters to Builders to Fathers to Remembrancers to Stars to spiritual Guides and to a City upon a Hill and the like If ever you be trees of Righteousness in Gods Garden it is a Ministry that hath planted you and if ever you be spiritual stones in Gods everlasting Building it must be the Ministry must build you if ever you be Sons and Daughters begotten to eternal Life it is the Ministry must beget you For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 says the Apostle and if ever your seet be guided into the way that leads into everlasting life it is a Gospel-ministry must guide you and if ever you be led to Jesus Christ as the Wise-men were by the Star in the East when Christ was born in Betlehem it must be these spiritual Stars that are in the firmament of Gods Church that must lead you Now judg in your selves therefore whether a Gospel-ministry can be spared 3. The third Doctrinal inference is this If the knowledg of eternal Salvation comes by the Gospel then it teacheth us this Lesson also How infinitely it does concern us to prize and fruitfully to improve our Gospel-seasons those opportunities God puts into our hands for the enriching of our souls but especially we should improve our Sabbath-day opportunities because Sabbaths are the Market-days of Eternity the Markets wherein we must make provision for Eternity Oh how careful should we be to improve these Gospel-seasons Let me tell you Gospel-seasons are very precious seasons because marvellous precious things are tendred to you in the preaching of the Gospel more precious than all the Gold of Ophir more precious than all the Kingdoms of the World if they were in your own power for in the preaching of the Gospel a precious Christ who is the Pearl of price worth ten thousand thousand Worlds and more worth this precious Christ this Pearl of Price may now be obtained and a precious Covenant a Covenant made between God and the soul this precious Covenant may
I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth Secondly Thou mayst know it by that spiritual strife and combat and conflict that is in thee certainly there will be a conflict in thy soul because there are two contrary principles there put water to water or fire to fire and there is no conflict but put water and fire together and there will be a great conflict So corruption will not strive with corruption but where there is Grace and corruption in one soul there will be a combat and conflict the Flesh will lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh Gal. 5.17 Thirdly Thou mayst know thou hast life in thee by thy spiritual crying thou wilt cry out for deliverance from danger and evil O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Thou wilt make this the chief subject of thy suit and supplication to God from day to day O that once I might be freed from a base whorish backsliding-heart that continually is departing from God Fourthly If thou hast life certainly that grace thou hast though it be but weak though it be but little though it be but as a spark yet it shall prevail against corruption for wherever the Lord Christ enters into the soul to dwell there he comes like a Conquerour and he brings forth Judgment unto victory Matth. 12.20 That is his Government shall be victorious over all the opposition of sin and Satan Grace like oyl will be uppermost if there be but a spark of Grace in thy heart it shall not be quenched but it shall rather increase more and more and at last shall grow up into a flame as the fire of the Lord that came upon Elijahs offering 1 Kings 18.38 consumed the burnt-sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench Grace is a fire that comes down from Heaven though there be but a little spark of it at first yet by little and little it will lick up all the water of our corruptions and consume our sins Grace will grow stronger and stronger and corruption weaker and weaker That is the first symptom of an infirmity If there be spiritual life in the soul but if there be not spiritual life there is no infirmity Secondly The second Sign or Symptom of an infirmity is this That may be said to be an infirmity when some particular action crosses the main intention of the heart If thine eye be single if thy heart be upright if the Byas and bent of thy soul be towards God then all the obliquity or all the swervings in thy life are but lookt upon as infirmities For example A good Archer that is handling his Bow may-be his eye is right and his aim is right but through the weakness of his hand or the distemper of his Bow he may miss the Mark that is an infirmity So here if thy eye be right towards Gods Commandments if thy intention be to please God if the bent and byas of thy soul be God-ward not sin-ward then all the rest of the obliquity or swervings that are in thy actions are lookt upon but as infirmities As a Traveller for example in his journey if he set his face the right way and he be enquiring the way and willing to follow the way or if when he goeth out of the way he check himself though he may miss of the way through ignorance or may be seduced by some that told him wrong yet that may be said to be but an infirmity So here when thou canst set thy face towards Heaven as the children of Israel and Judah are described Jer. 50.5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward saying Come let us joyn our selves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant that shall not be forgotten When a man thus sets his face towards Heaven then his wandrings out of the way if they be beside the intention of his purpose and mind are lookt upon but as infirmities David was out of his way when in a fury he would be avenged on Nabal for his churlishness when he said God do so to me and more also if I cut not off Nabal and every one that belongs to his Family yet when Abigail a wise Woman comes and tells him he was out of his way how glad was he and stops his course and said Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging my self with my own hand 1 Sam. 25.32 33. See the difference between the sin of Judas and the sin of Peter Judas you know he sinned with deliberation and his intention was stark naught his intention and purpose of betraying his Master was to inrich himself he was a Thief and nibled money out of his Masters Bag therefore his intention was naught But on the contrary look on Peter when he thrice denyed his Master it was a great sin too but it was without his intention or purpose certainly Peter had no intention at all to deny his Master but it fared with him as a man that is writing with his Pen in his hand and writing a straight Line but it may be some body comes and joggs him on the Elbow so he makes a crooked line against his will Or as a man that is shooting at a Mark but some body comes and joggs his Elbow and makes his Arrow to go awry thus was it with Peter This is the second Sign or Symptome of an infirmity Thirdly That is an Infirmity when a mans judgment is kept sound and upright that he does not approve of any sin when no sin hath any allowance or approbation in his heart this was the fruit of John Baptist his Preaching Isa 40.4 Every Valley shall be exalted and every Mountain and Hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain that is those that are converted by John Baptists preaching they would not look on crooked things as plain or plain things as crooked that is they would not defend or justifie themselves in sin but look upon sin as sin and duty as duty and they would not look upon the ways of God as crooked but straight they were indeed crooked to them before because their judgment was not sound but now they look upon them as straight and all his ways to be equal ways A child of God will be sure to commend that duty which yet he cannot practise and he will be sure to condemn that sin into which yet he often slips and falls and that because his judgment is right duty will be duty in his eye and sin will be sin in his eye though through infirmity he may fail in the one and fall into the
thee to prove thee and to teach thee to prise Jesus Christ so much the more It may be God le ts loose these infirmities as the avenger of blood was let loose upon the man slayer to force the man slayer to fly to the City of Refuge Numb 35 so these infirmities are let loose to force thee to fly to Jesus Christ the Refuge of thy soul Some there are that was it not for strong infirmities cleaving to them strong temptations meeting with them would never be beholding to Jesus Christ at all Look therefore in every infirmity not only at the evil of it but at the good God intends by it it may be God intends good to thy soul by them Whereas we as he said once many times make plaisters to become a poyson the Lord is able on the contrary to make a plaister of poyson We many times bring sin out of Grace God can bring grace out of sin he can bring Heaven out of Hell therefore as there is something against God so there is something from God in our infirmities therefore we should not be discouraged because of them Secondly Consider the great difference between thy self when thou wast in a state of nature and now when thou art a weak Christian and subject to infirmities did not God reject thee at that time and cast thee off when thou wast an open Traitor and Rebel marching on in a course of rebellion against him did he not cast thee off but had compassion on thee and did pity thee and spare thee then certainly he will not now cast thee off for some unvoluntary errour which thou bewailest and mournest for in his presence Did the Lord seek thee at that time when thou despisedst him certainly then he will not despise thee when thou feekest him That is a good argument of the Apostle to strengthen and support and comfort drooping spirits Rom. 5.10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life Certainly therefore God will not reject thee for an infirmity if he was so gracious to thee in thy state of sin and enmity to him there is as great a difference between a state of grace and a state of nature as there is between Heaven and Hell though grace be never so weak and imperfect Thirdly Consider the great danger of being pluckt away from Jesus Christ by giving too much way to despondency Satans main drift and great plot is to drive thee away from Jesus Christ by thy infirmities he labours to bring thee to despond and despair and to say there is no hope for thee because Satan knows the more he draws thee from Jesus Christ the weaker thou wilt be Thy infirmities should not drive thee from Christ but they should drive thee to Christ to improve and make use of his gracious disposition in helping and healing thee in thy miseries and distresses Fourthly Consider what may be the causes of thy infirmities those infirmities will be cured in the causes For example if thy infirmities arise from want of age or time to gather strength that will be cured because the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more to the perfect day Prov. 4.18 Or if from want of the means of grace or because the means of grace thou enjoyest are not such as others enjoy the Lord in such cases will have a tender respect to thee and measure to thee not according to what thou hast but according to what thou wouldst have Again if thy infirmities arise from some corruption that was not discovered to thee at thy first conversion thou must then pray and beg that the Lord would discover thy self to thy self more and more Again if thou hast forsaken some old truths of God and art grown weary of them and hankerest after Novelties and new Opinions then return from thy wandrings and prize solid meat above kickshaws beg that thy soul may taste once again the sweetness of Gospel-truths In a word what ever the cause of your infirmities be get the disease healed in the cause get thy heart more weaned from the World and stir up thy self to take hold of God remember thy former zeal and repent and do thy first works and this is the way to get thy infirmities healed That 's the first Use a Use of Comfort and Consolation The second Use is a Use of Caution The Lord Jesus Christ as you have heard hath a tender respect to his people a tender care of his people in respect of their infirmities let not a wicked man then apply this to himself and say the Lord Christ will have a tender respect to me that go on in the course of sin that live in sin and lye in sin and sleep in sin and wallow in sin No for there is a great deal of difference between the weakness of a Lamb and the wickedness of a Wolf the Lord Jesus Christ pities his Lambs for their weakness but he doth not pity a Wolf for his wickedness that is that man who is resolved to go on in a course of sin say a Minister what he can to the contrary if he is dead in trespasses and sins if he hath no spiritual life in him if there be no work of grace begun in him all that I have said concerning Christs tender care of his peoples infirmities doth not belong to him he hath no part in this Inheritance if thou beest a Wolf and not a Lamb the Lord Christ that hath a tender care of his Lambs will be sure to meet thee not as a Shepherd that carries his Lambs in his Arms but he will meet thee as a Lion Hosea 13.7 8 Therefore I will be unto them as a Lyon as a Leopard by the way will I observe them I will meet them as a Bear that is bereaved of her Whelps and I will rent the caul of their heart and there will I devour them like a Lyon the wild beasts shall tear them The same Christ that is a Shepherd to his People he knows how to be a Lyon a Leopard and a Bear to his Enemies That is an awakening Scripture Psalm 68.21 But God shall wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses If therefore thou art one that goest on in thy trespasses in an unreformed course if thou livest in sin and settest thy heart on wickedness and takest pleasure therein this doctrine doth not belong to thee thou art not a Lamb in Christs account he will not deal tenderly with thee nay he will deal most roughly with thee his wrath and fury will be powred out upon thee as the Prophet speaks That 's the second Use of Caution Lastly A word of Exhortation If the Lord Jesus Christ hath such a tender respect in his carriage to the infirmities of his People O then resolve to have no other
in the desolation which will come from far to whom will ye flee for help So say I to thee What wilt thou do in the day when that sentence passeth upon thee Whither wilt thou flee for help O the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that this coming short of Heaven will produce especially when thou shalt consider that God was every day dealing with thee stretching out his hand to have gathered thee and to have converted thee and to have brought thee home but thou wouldst not Jesus Christ offered me a plaister of his own heart-blood to heal me but I trampled it under-foot the Spirit of God was knocking at the door of my heart sometimes by the Hammer of the Law and sometimes by the Hammer of the Gospel the Spirit of God was hindering me from sin and was stirring up holy motions in my heart and those I quenched the Ministers of the Gospel they prest hard upon me to yield to those warnings frequent warnings that were tendred to me but the Ministers I despifed and I mockt the Messengers of God which he sent to me to warn me not to come into this place of torment O the horrible hellish hideous cryes the fearful and doleful screetches roarings and yellings that these considerations will fetch from thee when thou shalt consider that thou hast not obeyed the Gospel thou hast not known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but thou hast wilfully lost such a Crown such a Kingdom such happiness as will be matter of heart-tormenting sorrow and mourning to all eternity if the loss of the Ark which was but a type of Gods presence 1 Sam. 4.18 19 20 was so terrible to that good old man Eli that he fell down and brake his neck when he heard of the loss of it and to that good woman Phinehas in her Travel when the Ark was lost that she cryed out The glory is departed from Israel O what then think you will be the loss of Gods presence the loss of his Favour the loss of eternal Happiness the loss of this Crown and Kingdom which I have been speaking of Oh how will this make such damned wretches cry out in extream bitterness The Glory the Kingdom the happiness the Glory the everlasting Glory is departed from me and I must never see the face of God any more This is the first Exhortation Foresee this evil and tremble at it My second Exhortation is this Do not only foresee this danger but study with the utmost endeavours of your souls to prevent it Prevent it you will say How must I do that I will tell you that if God will but give you hearts to follow my counsel First Be sure to avoid those sins that clog and hamper and fetter thee as it were in the way to Heaven so that thou canst not with any patience run the Race that is set before thee such as these Pride Presumption Unbelief Apostacy Earthliness Selfishness Security and Sensuality O these are the sins that fetter thee and hamper thee away with them therefore Secondly Pluck up thy feet and resolve to run the ways of Gods Commandments pray with David that God would enlarge your hearts that you may run in the way of his Commandments Psal 119.32 He doth not beg that the way may be made large but that his heart may be enlarged I will walk in the way of thy Commandments though it be never so narrow though there be never so many crosses in it or thorns or difficulties or discouragements if thou wilt but enlarge my heart I will run in the ways of thy Commandments Thirdly Take heed of delays and procrastination of putting it off from day to day by saying there will be time enough hereafter it will be time enough for me to look after Heaven when I have got enough of the World If I do it the last year of my life in the last month of the last year in the last week of the last month it will serve O take heed of delays this putting off of Repentance hath ruined thousands of Souls shun that Pit whereinto many have fallen shun that Rock upon which many have suffered ship-wrack say with David I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandments Psal 119.60 Fourthly Look upon the Crown of Glory set before thee have the Goal in thy Eye just as Moses had he endured the frowns of Pharoah on the one hand and he scorned the flatteries and Riches of Egypt on the other hand Why because he had an Eye to the recompence of Reward O look upon the Crown and white Robe and let this quicken you Fifthly Be sure thou hold out unto the end if thou wouldst not come short of Heaven be not like many runners in a Race that sit down in the midst of the way Be thou faithful unto the death saith our Saviour to the Church of Smyrna Revel 2.10 and I will give thee a crown of life He that endures to the end shall be saved Matth. 24.13 Therefore be stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord abhor Apostacy as much as thou wouldst abhor Hell it self Now to press this Exhortation upon you take these Motives First If you have but willing minds it is accepted of God so saith the Apostle for if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 If thou usest the utmost endeavour of thy Soul the Lord will help thee if thou faint he will support thee if thou overcome he will Crown thee Secondly Consider that among runners in a Race here on Earth there is but one that will get the Goal I but here in the Race of Christianity if thou do but so run thou mayst obtain If thou do not sit down if thou art not weary of well-doing If thou by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortality there is eternal life for thee thou shalt have a Crown of glory Nay there are ten thousand thousand Crowns in Heaven The Lord Christ will give every one a Crown that holds out to the end 2 Tim. 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judg shall give me at that day But why doth he call it a Crown of Righteousness Answer It is called a Crown of Righteousness because it is a Crown purchased by the blood of Christ and a Crown that is promised Now saith the Apostle This righteous Crown or this Crown of Righteousness is laid up for me and not only for me there is not only one Crown and one Kingdom for me but it is laid up for all those that love the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ O this glorious Master He makes every one of his Servants to be crowned Kings He hath made us Kings unto God Rev.
they have received they lose all they have and all they hope for All they have viz. Their present endeavours and all they hope for their future Reward 1. They lofe all they have all their praying reading hearing and communicating and humbling themselves before God all this will be lost if they do not persevere does not God himself say so Ezek. 18.24 When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness he does not speak there of one truly and really righteous in a state of grace one that is savingly righteous when he turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live all the righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die So that a man loseth all he hath done in the business of Religion Saith Hierom We must be judged not by our past but by our present condition As the Tree falls so it lyes as death leaves us so shall judgment find us 2. He loseth all he hopes for too for the Crown is promised to none but to those that do hold out Be thou faithful to the death and thou shalt receive a Crown of life Rev. 2.10 Christianity is compared to a Race Let us run the race that is set before us Heb. 12.1 Now as in a Race it is not enough for a man to begin well but he must hold out else he loseth the Gole so is it in the Race of Christianity therefore saith the Apostle so run that you may obtain not only run but so run that you may not lose the Gole 1 Cor. 9.24 2. Such as Christs love is to us such must our love to Christ be Christs love to us is a constant and unchangeable love whom he loves he loves to the end John 13.1 The Lord Christ is not only the beginner but the finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 He did not leave the work of our Redemption imperfect but he held out until he came to consummatum est till he cryed out upon the Cross it is finished Reason Third may be this Christians must hold fast the grace they have received because Apostatizing and turning our backs upon God is a most dangerous damnable soul-destroying sin 1. It is dangerous in the Original of it it springs from four bitter roots 1. It springs from Infidenlity or Unbelief take heed saith the Apostle lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelies in departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 Unbelief is a damnable sin where it is not bemoaned bewailed and striven against but reigning unbelief is a damnable sin so saith our Saviour Mark 16. ult He that believes not shall be damned And he that believes not the wrath of God abides upon him for ever John 3. ult Now this Infidelity makes the soul depart from God and it makes God depart from the soul It was a great observation of an eminent Divine now with God Look as the first return of the soul to God is by Faith for Faith sets the Soul in joint it brings Christ and the Soul together so the first departing of the Soul from God is by unbelief for from thence comes a departing to other sins and this departing to other sins encreaseth our unbelief and unbelief being encreased the rent or breach between God and the Soul is made wider and wider till at last the Soul comes to a total departing from God and then God totally departs from the Soul and says Depart from me thou cursed wretch I know thee not Now this same Apostacy it springs from Unbelief 2. This Apostacy springs from Hypocrisie for usually Hypocrisie ends in Apostacy as I have told you often Judas the Hypocrite proved Judas the Apostate Amaziah did that that was right in the eyes of the Lord but not with a perfect heart 2 Chr. 25.2 therefore Amaziah the Hypocrite proved Amaziah the Apostate In Psal 78.37 it is said there Their hearts were not upright neither remained they stedfast in his Covenant Why were they not stedfast why did not they keep constant to the ways of God to the Vows and Covenants made with God their hearts were not upright where grace is sincere it will be lasting but that which is counterfeit will be lost whatever is counterfeit is fading 3. It springs from Pride and Presumption when men think they have grace enough and holiness enough and have gone far enough in the way to Heaven this is the root of Apostacy there is a gradual as well as a total Apostacy the Saints and Servants of God may be guilty of gradual Apostacy so Peter was though not of total Apostacy it was Peters presumption that was one principal cause of his fall lofty Cedars are thrown down with a Tempest when the lower Trees in the Valley stand firm and fast So likewise lofty Christians high in their own conceits many times nestle themselves on high and their fall is great whereas Christians that walk humbly are supported and preserved Look as a man that gazeth at the Stars looks up on high quickly catches a fall because he looks not to his feet So a man that is highly conceited in his own opinion lifts up his head on high many times catches a feaful fall it is just with God to leave such men to try them Hezekiah though a very gracious King yet when his heart was listed up with Pride 2 Chron. 32.25 the Text saith God left him to himself to try what was in his heart in ver 31. That Solomon speaks of falling into misery is as true of falling and declining in grace Prov. 16.18 Pride goes before destruction and a haughty Spirit before a fall 4. Apostacy springs from Covetousness and worldliness look as the seed in the thorny ground it brought nothing to perfection because it was choaked with the cares riches and pleasures of this world as you may read in the Parable of the Sower Luke 8.14 So it is here where the heart is stuft with covetousness and the cares of this life that is usually a forerunner of a fearful fall Demas hath forsaken me having embraced this present world what was the ground of his Apostacy but his worldliness and selfishness so that Apostacy is dangerous in the Original of it Secondly It is damnable in the effects of it for 1. This puts Jesus Christ to open shame in Heb. 6.6 Apostates crucifie Christ afresh and put him to open shame for by falling away from him we do as much as tell the world we have found his service that it was an unprofitable service the service of the world is better than his service and that we have not found in Christ what we expected when we turn our backs on Christ and go to the world we do as much as openly proclaim the world is a better Master than Christ is When Soldiers forsake their
General it is a dishonour to him 2. Then it is damnable in the effects of it because it puts Religion to open shame it makes the Name of God to be blasphemed Rom. 2.24 It is a scandal to the weak it staves men off from the profession of Religion and it opens the mouth of Adversaries to speak evil of the ways of God thus it is damnable in the effects Thirdly It is destructive in the end and issue of it for First God will reckon Apostates amongst Reprobates God will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity those that turn aside to their crooked ways Psal 125. ult Lead them forth that is put them in the same condition with the most profligate and scandalous sinner that is 2. Their latter end shall be worse than their beginning as our Saviour shews in the Parable Mat. 12.43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man and returns again he brings seven Devils more and the end of that man is worse than his beginning The Apostle tells us in 2 Pet. 2 and the two last Verses It had been better men had never known the way of holiness than having known it to turn aside from the holy commandment it fares with them according to the Proverb the Dog is turned to his vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire Before I come to make Application of this truth there is one doubt to be resolved You say Christians must hold fast the grace they have received Why may some say Can a man that hath received saving grace lose that grace he hath received To this I answer No He cannot lose saving-grace totally or finally this is Mary's part which cannot be taken away Mary hath chose that good part which cannot be taken away Luke 10.42 The Apostle saith he that is born of God sins not cannot sin to death because the seed of God as a principle of spiritual life abideth in him 1 John 3.9 therefore he cannot sin unto death the righteous are said to be built on an everlasting foundation Prov. 10.25 that is he abides unmovable in grace till grace be turned into glory and the reason of this is saving-grace bestowed upon the Elect is built on four immutable and unmovable Pillars 1. The love that God bares to his people it is an everlasting love Jer. 31.3 I have loved thee with an everlasting love we are very fickle and unconstant in our love to God but God is not fickle or unconstant in his love to us 2. The Covenant of grace is a stedfast Covenant so saith David in the last words of that sweet Singer of Israel when he was to leave the world He hath made with me an everlasting Covenant sure and stedfast and ordered in all things 2 Sam. 23.5 It is a Covenant sealed with the blood of Christ therefore it is called the blood of the everlasting Covenant Heb. 13.20 this everlasting Covenant cannot be broken True indeed sin may break the peace of the Covenant but it cannot break the bond of the Covenant of Grace it may break the peace of the Covenant Psal 89.31 If thy children break my statutes and keep not my commandments then will I visit their transgressions with a red and their iniquities with stripes but I will not suffer my faithfulness to fail my covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth 3. The third Pillar is this the Power of God which is irresistible and unconquerable on this Pillar our blessed Saviour builds the salvation of his Elect John 10.29 My father that gave me these sheep is greater than all and none can take them out of my fathers hand and on this Pillar St. Paul built his hope of Salvation He is able to keep that I have committed to him he is able to keep my depositum 2 Tim. 1.12 4. The fourth Pillar is the Intercession of Christ and his intercession is a prevailing intercession Heb. 7.25 Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by him seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them Whence was it that Peter though he fell fearfully yet he did not fall finally because our Saviour prayed for Peter I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not Luke 22.31 But mark though this be true That saving grace once wrought in the heart cannot be lost for it is built on these four immutable Pillars the Love of God the Covenant of Grace the Power of God and the intercession of Christ yet it is possible for a man in the state of grace to have his declinings as I shewed you not long ago he may have his declinings in regard of the measure of grace and the comfortable feeling of grace and in the operations and vigour of his grace First A child of God may lose the former heat and fervency that he had The Church of Ephesus fell from her first love Secondly He may lose the comfortable feeling of Grace David prays Restore to me the joy of thy salvation 3. Grace may be as a spark of fire covered over with a heap of ashes that yields neither light nor heat and so he may lose the vigour of his grace therefore Christians should take heed of these declinings and should hold fast the grace they have received Now to make some Application 1. By way of Reproof How justly taxable and reprovable are they that do not hold fast the grace they have received but fall from their first love Oh how many back-sliders are there many that did begin well but they are weary of well-doing the Lord awaken them out of their drowsiness know you not it will be bitterness in the latter end will you lose all you have and all you hope for God forbid Therefore to close up this Point with a word of Exhortation I beseech and exhort you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ That you will hold fast the grace you have received the savour of Religion that you have got the principles of Religion and the practice of a holy Conversation hold fast these Take heed of Apostacy as you love your God as you love your Souls as you tender your own everlasting Salvation be not found in the number of those that draw back to perdition but be stedfast and immoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. ult That you may persevere and not be weary Let me give you these three or four helps 1. Be not content with a notional and traditional Faith for such a Faith will change as the time changes but labour for a divine well-grounded lively working effectual Faith experimental Faith such as the Samaritans had Now do we believe say they not because thou toldst us this is the Christ but because we have heard him our selves and we know indeed this is the
work of Grace in us Thirdly The Graces of the Spirit which likewise are purchased by him are precious Graces Faith is a precious Grace as it is called 2 Pet. 1.2 Simon Peter a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious Faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ that the tryal of your Faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth The tryal of Gold is the worst thing that belongs to Gold and the tryal of Faith is the worst thing that belongs to Faith yet saith the Apostle The tryal of your Faith is much more precious than that of Gold 1 Pet. 1.7 So Repentance that is a precious Grace because it is Repentance unto life as the Apostle calls it Acts 11.18 When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God saying Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted Repentance unto life And Hope that is a stedfast Grace it is the Anchor of the Soul And Love that is a lovely Grace it brings the Soul into nearer Communion with God Then Wisdom that is a precious Grace a shining Grace A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine saith Solomon Eccles 8.1 And Job speaking of Wisdom saith he Job 28.12 13 But where shall Wisdom be sound and where is the place of Vnderstanding Man knoweth not the price thereof neither is it found in the Land of the Living it is of more price than Rubies it is of an invaluable price And Humility that is an honourable Grace And Fear that is a preserving Grace And Patience that is a supporting Grace And Perseverance that is a Crowning Grace All these Graces are precious Graces and they are all of them bestowed upon us meerly upon the account of Christs merits Fourthly The Priviledges that we have by Jesus Christ they are precious Priviledges U-union with him and Communion in his Life and Death and Resurrection and Comforts access to God the Father and that with boldness Fifthly The Promises that are sealed by his blood they are precious Promises promises for this life and promises for the life to come that Promise That all shall work together fer good to them that love God a big-bellied promise as I may so say All things work together for good and our prayers and our persons shall be accepted Lastly The Inheritance that he hath purchased for us is a precious Inheritance An incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven In brief Such is the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that compare him with the most precious things that can be named and you shall see they are but vile and base in comparison of him For Example 1. The Souls of men and women they are said to be precious but Oh how infinitely precious is Jesus Christ whose blood is a valuable and equivalent price for the Souls of all the men and women in the world 2. Light is said to be precious Christ said of himself I am the light of the world John 8.12 Light is precious to those that are in a Dungeon of darkness Now says Jesus Christ I am the light of the world 3. Truth is precious so precious that we are to buy it at any rate and sell it at no rate Jesus Christ says of himself I am the Truth John 14.6 4. Fountains and Springs of water are precious in hot and dry Countreys Oh the Lord Jesus Christ he is the Well of Salvation Isa 12.3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the Wells of Salvation 5. Bread is precious to those that are ready to perish a man will venture the getting of bread with the hazard of his life Lam. 5.9 We get our bread with the peril of our lives Now Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life John 6.48 6. Balm and Balsom is precious His blood is the only Balm that can cure wounded Souls so precious is the Lord Jesus Christ that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth are but a picture of that beauty and preciousness that is in him he is the Abstract and Epitome of all perfections how precious must he needs be to whom all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth do contribute all their Excellencies to make him excellent and glorious Thus you see the Point opened Now for the Uses of it First By way of Information Is the Lord Jesus Christ so infinitely precious you may see then why the Souls of men and women are so precious because they are purchased by a precious Saviour purchased by his precious blood Hearken O sons of men why are you tumbling up and down in dirt and clay why do you not raise your hearts and thoughts higher and higher seeing that you have such precious Souls that are capable of a precious Inheritance why do you not look after a precious Covenant of Grace â—ealed to you and precious Promises confirmed to you by the blood of Christ why do you not look after that precious Pearl the Lord Jesus Christ who is worth more than ten thousand worlds Oh the baseness of the heart of man that should prefer dirt and dross and dung before him who is so infinitely precious that they should so undervalue their precious Souls that cost such an invaluable rate for their Redemption Secondly By way of Information see the horrible greatness of the sin of Unbelief that makes the Sinner undervalue this precious Redeemer Says Jesus Christ You will not come to me that you might have life John 5.40 Oh bewail your Unbelief that keeps Christ and your Souls a precious Christ and your poor Souls at such a distance Thirdly By way of Information take notice what a blessed condition they are in that have gotten the Lord Jesus Christ into their Souls If the Lord bestows this gift of all gifts this precious Christ upon you Oh it is more than if he had given thee the World nay then if he had given thee ten thousand Worlds for thy portion O rejoyce in thy portion for as soon as ever thou art a Believer thy heart is made a Cabinet for this precious Pearl the Lord Christ for He dwells in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 Oh manifest to the World the brightness of this Pearl let some lustre of Jesus Christ shine in thy Conversation shine through this Cabinet as Light shines through a Lanthorn The second Use is by way of Exhortation And here I must but name some few particulars answerable to the Explication of the Doctrine I insisted on more largely and there are several Duties I would briefly commend to you and the Lord give you hearts and me a heart and every one a heart to close with this precious Truth tendred to you in reference to this precious Redeemer First If Jesus Christ be so precious in his person as being God and Man then learn to honour him admire and adore him for This is the will of God the Father that all should
Communion with him in his life and because he lives you may live also I mean the life of Grace and life more abundantly and communion in his Death because he died for sin you may die to sin and communion in his Resurrection because he rose from the Grave you may rise to holiness and newness of life And the like Again Hath he purchased such precious Promises and all those Promises are sealed in his blood 2 Cor. 1.20 For all the promises of God are in him Yea and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us O then do you labour to be made partakers of those Promises that you may know that you are Heirs of those Promises that you may look upon them as Legacies bequeathed to you by your dear Lord and Master by your Husband Jesus Christ who left these Legacies to you Lastly Hath he purchased a precious Inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled then I beseech you in the fear of Almighty God that you take heed that it fares not with you as it did with that unbelieving Prince that saw the plenty in Samaria but did not taste of it but died for all that so you to hear of a glorious Inheritance but to come short of it and so be undone to all Eternity according to my Afternoon Text Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entring into his Rest any of you should seem to come short of it Heb. 4.1 Oh hath he purchased this Inheritance and do not you long to be with him where you shall sin no more nor sorrow no more Thus you see what use may be made of the preciousness of Jesus Christ in all these respects as he is precious in his Person in his Titles in his Offices in his Kingly Priestly and Prophetical Offices in his Ordinances in his Prerogatives in the purchases of his Blood those precious Priviledges and Inheritance he hath purchased for us The Lord help us seriously to think on these things and to meditate upon them and to lay them up in our hearts as Cordials against a day wherein we may stand in need of them And so I have done with the first Point of Doctrine That Jesus Christ is infinitely precious in himself The other Doctrine is That the Lord Jesus Christ is exceeding precious to all Believers and is highly prized by them 1 Pet. II. 7. Vnto you therefore which believe he is precious I Made entrance into this Text the last time that we had this solemn occasion of drawing near to God in the use of this precious Ordinance of the Lords Supper I shewed you the Coherence Sense and scope of the words and there were two Points of Doctrine that I drew from them The first was this That Jesus Christ is infinitely precious in himself I now come to the second Doctrine drawn from these words and that is this As Jesus Christ is precious in himself so is he exceeding precious to all Believers and highly prized by them For the proof or setling of this Point before I come to open it to you I shall give you but two Testimonies for the Confirmation of it the one out of the Old Testament the other out of the New that out of the Old Testament is in Cant. 5.9 10 where you shall read the strangers enquiring of the Spouse that is the Church of Christ saying What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved O thou fairest among women What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved that thou dost so charge us The Church makes this answer My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand c. My Beloved is white and ruddy Jesus Christ he is white in respect of his Divine Nature Being the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express Image of his Person Heb. 1.3 And yet he is red in his Humane Nature being of the same substance with the first Adam that was made of red Earth He was white in his Holiness but yet he is red also in that bloody passion which he was contented to undertake for our sakes he was white in his unspotted Innocency but yet he is red withal by the imputation of our sins which are said to be Crimson and Scarlet sins Isa 1.18 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 Thus Jesus Christ is white and ruddy I but says the Church withal He is the chiefest among ten thousand or he is the Standard-bearer among ten thousand as the Hebrew word may be interpreted the Standard-bearer he is higher than the Kings of the Earth therefore called the Standard-bearer Psalm 89.27 Also I will make my first-born higher than the Kings of the Earth He guides and leads his people as being the Captain of their Salvation he leads them as a Standard-bearer leads an Army by his Colours Oh what a high price and value did the Church set upon Jesus Christ here He is white and ruddy the choicest among ten thousand Christ was very precious you see in her eyes The other testimony which I shall give you is in the New Testament Phil. 3.8 Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledg of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ I count all things but loss whatever I esteemed gain before all my outward Priviledges that I stood upon before I count them but as loss but that is not all I count all things says he dung dross and dung or as the Greek phrase there sigsignifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such things as we cast out to Dogs I account them but as scrapings as skins as parings as nothing worth in comparison of the Lord Jesus Christ If there had been presented to Paul a whole Mountain of Gold and Silver and precious Pearls in comparison of Jesus Christ it would have been but as a heap of dung to him I count all things says he but loss and dung in comparison of Christ Consider but what things they were that he did undervalue in comparison of Christ and consider who did undervalue them Consider what it was that Paul did undervalue all the Priviledges that he had for example He tells you in the 5th and 6th verses Circumcised the eighth day so outwardly in covenant with God bearing the Covenant of God in his flesh this was nothing in his esteem of the stook of Israel of the Tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of the Hebrews Of the Stock of Abraham this was his Birth-priviledg but this was nothing He was a man of Parts and Learning brought up at the feet of Gamaliel but all his natural parts abilities and endowments all these he esteemed nothing yea he was a man of a civil and unblameable conversation touching the righteousness which is
Lesson That such and so great is the indispensable need that we have of the Lord Jesus Christ that without him we are undone for ever In the 53d verse of this exeellent Chapter Verily verily I say unto you except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you He speaks there of eating of his flesh and drinking his blood in a spiritual manner You know there are many desires of the Soul that may be dispenced with but hunger is a desire that must be satisfied unless you have bread for your sustenance the body dies so unless you have Jesus Christ for your spiritual sustenance your Souls die and drop down into Hell for ever for look as the union of the Body with the Soul is the life of the Body so the union of the Soul with Jesus Christ is the life of the Soul O hearken to this thou that art yet in a natural and unregenerate estate uncalled unconverted that never was yet transplanted from off the old rotten stock of Adam and replanted into the true Vine the Lord Jesus Christ if thou livest in this estate and diest in this estate thou art undone for ever the poorest worm that crawls upon the ground is in a better condition than thou art in Acts 26.27 Believest thou the Prophets said St. Paul to King Agrippa I know that thou believest Believest thou this Doctrine say I to thee that art yet uncalled unconverted I know thou believest it not for if thou didst believe it thou couldest not rest contented in a Christless condition for one week no not for one day but wouldest by prayers and tears and supplications cry out Lord Jesus give me thy self whatever thou denyest me give me thy self though I be as poor as Job upon the Dunghil But we cannot perswade men that the danger of a natural estate and condition is so great as indeed it is but the Lord convince you and perswade you of it A second Doctrinal Inference that may be hence deduced is this If Jesus Christ be the living bread then it follows the vanity and emptiness and insufficiency of all Creature-accommodations is exceeding great name what you will of these outward accommodations that the World do so greedily gape after whether Riches or Honours or Pleasures or goodly brave Buildings this and that alas we may say of them they are not bread Isa 55.2 Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread Your money that is your precious opportunities your time that is your money to make your Markets for Eternity with for Moments are the Markets for Eternity Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Alas alas these outward things they are neither satisfactory nor permanent they are not satisfactory for Solomon tells us that He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with encrease Eccles 5.10 As soom may you hope to fill a Chest with Wisdom and Knowledg as to fill a Soul which is a spiritual substance with temporal things And as these outward things are are satisfactory so neither are they permanent or lasting 1 Cor. 6.13 Meats for the belly and the belly for meats but God shall deslroy both it and them Look as the belly devours the meat so the worms at last shall devour the belly and so both meat and belly perish together But if you can but once get this spiritual bread the Lord Christ you shall never perish Alas alas consider your own folly and brutishness in seeking for satisfaction here below where none is to be found your bread without Christ is but gravel in your throats your moral Vertues without Christ are but glittering sins your bodies without Christ are but dust and ashes dust that will drop down into the Grave and ashes that are fitted for the Furnace of Hell-fire your Souls without Christ are but the Devils Palace your lives without Christ is but the service of sin and your deaths without Christ will be nothing else but the wages of sin Oh who would rest then in a Christless condition Who would sit down contented with these poor transitory shadowy comforts A third Lesson we may learn by way of Inference is this If Jesus Christ be the living bread then our main end and errand in coming to the Lords Table is not to feed the Body but to feed the Soul 1 Cor. 11.21 What have you not Houses to eat and to drink in saith the Apostle So that it is not the end of your coming to the Lords Table therefore you eat but a little piece of Bread and drink but a little draught of Wine to put you in mind that it is not the Body that you come to feed but you come to feed the Soul and therefore you should labour to get a preparation suitable to that spiritual bread that you are to taste of But what is that you will say I answer There should be something done before your coming and something done in the Administration of the Elements and something done after the receiving of the Elements First There should be something done before you come Oh beg a blessing upon your spiritual bread Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Matth. 4.4 I may apply it thus Your Souls will not live by this Sacramental Bread but by the Word of Gods blessing If God will bless this spiritual food to you your Souls shall live On therefore beg the Blessing of God upon this Heavenly Bread Secondly And then there is something to be done while you are eating this Bread you should get your hearts all on fire with love to this blessed Redeemer that was contented to be made bread to be prepared food as I told you even now to be threshed and winnowed and ground and bak'd and scorch'd in the Oven of his Fathers Wrath Oh how should your hearts be all on a flame with Love as the two Disciples were going to Emaus As Jesus Christ brake bread and gave it to them and opened to them the Scriptures their hearts did burn within them Luke 24.32 they were as it were all on a fire So should it be with you when you come to the Lords Table you should have your meditations wholly taken up with that which is the life of the Sacrament even the death of our Saviour let not your hearts be roving and wandering about watch them narrowly you will hardly keep them close to a duty two Minutes without great watching Thirdly There is something to be done after when you have eaten of this living bread that is to be exceeding thankful study to walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing That 's the first Use of Information The second Vse is of Exhortation Is Jesus Christ that living bread that gives eternal life to all those that have a
practice what you know and you shall know more and you shall know in a better manner and know more assuredly than you do I conclude with an excellent Speech of a Reverend Divine that is now with God Men in matters of Religion do therefore become Scepticks because they are not Practicks that is men are ever doubting of Truth they will be Seekers Nullifidians they will believe nothing because they do not practice what they know It is the practical Christian that shall know much of God that shall have the mind of God made known to him shall have more of the incomes of the Spirit of God whereas if you will not be practical Christians you shall be always floating and wavering and double-minded and ready to be seduced and led into by-paths of Error which will endanger the Salvation of your immortal Souls The Lord help us to practice those Truths that we know that he may delight in us and do us good and lead our feet in the way of life FINIS Books printed for and sold by Dorman Newman at the Kings Arms in the Poultrey A Golden Key to open hidden Treasures or several great points that refer to the Saints Blessedness and future happiness with the resolution of several important Questions the active and passive Obedience of Christ vindicated and proved Eleven serious singular Pleas which all sincere Christians may fafely make to those ten Scriptures which speak of the general Judgment and the particular Judgment that most certainly must pass on all c. The works of Mr. James Janeway containing these six following Treatises Heaven on Earth or the best friend in the worst of times Death unstung being a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mr. Thomas Moseley an Apothecary with a Narrative of his Life and Death also the manner of Gods dealing with him before and after his Conversion A Sermon preached at the Funeral of Thomas Savage Invisible Realities demonstrated in the holy Life and triumphant Death of Mr. John Janeway The Saints encouragement to Diligence in Christs Service with Motives and means to Christian activity His last Legacy to his Friends containing 27 Sermons instances of Gods Providences in and about several dangers and deliverances with the names of several who were Eye witnesses to several of them Whereunto is added a Sermon on the same Subject Mr. Wadsworth's last Legacy being a serious Exhortation to an Holy Life or a Plea for the absolute necessity of Inherent Righteousness in those that hope to be saved with an Elegy on that Author's death Mr. Caryl's Exposition on the Book of Job Gospel Remission or a Treatise shewing that true Blessedness consists in the pardoning of sin by Jeremy Burroughs Mount Pisgah or a Prospect of Heaven being an Exposition of the 4th Chapter of the 2d Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians by Thomas Case The retired mans Meditations or the Mysterie and power of Godliness presenting to view the richness and fulness of Christs person as the Mediator or the Spiritual and Natural man in their proper distinctions c. by Sir Henry Vane Knight The Saints Triumph over the last Enemy in a Sermon preached at the Funeral of that zealous and painful Minister of Christ Mr. James Janeway by Nathaniel Vincent A Collection of Sermons preach'd at the Morning-Lecture in Southwark and elsewhere by N. Blakie The Morning-Seeker shewing the benefit of being good betimes with directions of making sure work about early Religion by John Ryther A Discourse of Evangelical Love Church-peace and Unity with the occasions and reasons of present differences and divisions about things Sacred and Religious by John Owen D. D. Saints Memorials being a Collection of Divine Sayings written and delivered by the late Reverend and Eminent Ministers of the Gospel Mr Edm. Calamy Mr. Joseph Caryl Mr. R. Venning Mr. James Janeway c. Heaven realized being some of the Experiences of a famous Christian Gentlewoman The Christians greatest Interest or a tryal of a Saving-interest in Christ the way how to attain it by W. Guthry late Minister in Scotland The Weavers Pocket-Book or Weaving spiritualized in a Discourse wherein men employed in that Occupation may be instructed how to raise heavenly Meditations from the several parts of their work by J Collins D. D. A Call to Prayer in two Sermon on that Subject lately preached to a Countrey Auditory with an account of the Principles and practice of the Quakers in the matter of Prayer The Life and Death of the godly Man exemplified in a Sermon preached at the Funeral of that Pious and faithful Minister of Christ Mr. Thomas Wadsworth by R. Bragg The History of the Wars in New England with an account of the several fights between the Joint-Forces of the United English Collonies and the Indians A Practical Expositon of the Ten Commandments with a Resolution of several Momentous Questions and Cases of Conscience by Mr. James Durham late Minister at Glasgow The Memorial of Gods Judgments Spiritual and Temporal in some Sermons of Mr. Nicholas Lockier Minister of the Gospel Godly fear or the Nature and Necessity of fear and its usefulness both to the driving Sinners to Christ and to the provoking Christians on in a godly Life through the several parts and duties of it till they come to Blessedness by R. A. Author of Vinditiae Pietatis
and they that shall put their hands to the Plow and look back are not fit for the Kingdom of God Oh great is the danger of Apostacy but now without some considerable strength you will not be kept from failing and those failings will turn to fallings and those fallings to fallings away and at last falling into everlasting destruction Now these fallings and fallings away do usually follow this want of spiritual strength not being strengthened with strength in our souls But may be you will say to me What course must we take that we may get this spiritual strength in our souls I answer briefly make use of these rules and helps First Be very sensible of your weakness and infirmity be humble be base in your own eyes be nothing in your selves that you may be able to say In Jesus Christ have I righteousness and strength Isa 45.24 It was a sweet Meditation of Saint Augustin Lord I will be weak in my self that I may be strong in thee And the Apostle hath such a phrase For when I am weak then am I strong 2 Cor. 12.10 that is when I am most weak in my self then am I most strong in a Saviour Secondly If you would have this strength in your souls be acting the Grace which you have received already for action increaseth strength and strength will help action forwards the more you are doing duty the more will you gather strength to do duty It was the Motto of an eminent Divine in this Nation now with God The way to Holiness lyes in the works of Holiness so the way to get spiritual strength lyes in doing the work you have to do with that strength you have use strength and you shall have more strength Thirdly If you would have strength in your souls grow especially in corroborating and strengthening Graces What are those strengthning Graces 1. Faith that is a very strengthning Grace you read of the strength of Faith Abraham was strong in Faith and that made him do great things that he could against hope believe in hope that is against hope of sense believe in hope of a promise Rom. 4.18 so be strong in Love Love to Jesus Christ Love is a very strengthening Grace Love is strong as death Cant. 8.6 7 Death you know is so strong that it hath conquered all men that ever were in the World never was there any Gyant so strong but could be conquered by Death there is no discharge in that War the meaning is this never any man encountred with Death that came off but Love is stronger than Death If thy heart be fired with Love to Jesus Christ it will carry you with a great deal of strength through all difficulties and sufferings with patience and perseverance 3. Again Get more sincerity Job 17.9 The righteous also shall hold on his way and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger Oh the more sincere you are the more strong you are For example Wherein consists the strenth of a Pillar it is in the uprightness of it if it begins to bow and bend and be crooked then it falls but the uprightness of it is the strength of it 4. Joy Joy that is another strengthening Grace Nehem. 8.10 Neither be ye sorry for the joy of the Lord shall be your strength Oh the more inward joy in the Holy Ghost you have the more chearful you are the more strong you are grow in these strengthening Graces Fourthly Would you have this strength in your souls then take heed of rushing into any known sin for sin as it wounds the conscience it weakens the soul also sins against conscience are like a thief in the Candle which weakens our strength and wasts our joy Nothing weakned Sampson so much as his sporting with his Dalilah Never had he lost his strength had it not been for his running into that sin take heed therefore of sins against conscience Fifthly If you would have strength in your souls take heed of evil company shun them as a Pest-house for many times evil company weakens the soul more than any outward temptation Psal 119.115 Depart from me ye wicked for I will keep the Commandements of my God It is as if he should say he could never set about the work of Obedience so long as he kept company with the wicked Sixthly If you would have strength in your souls then get more intimate and bosom-communion with Jesus Christ every day for the truth is all our strength is from him I am able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Phil. 4.13 The more you are acquainted with Christ the more will you have of this strength which David here in the Text speaks of Lastly If you would have this strength be much in prayer that is an excellent Scripture Psal 119.28 My soul melteth away for heaviness strengthen thou me according to thy word Oh the more we are in Prayer and Care and Watchfulness and Humility and Self-denial and in the exercise of Grace the more we shall find our spiritual strength increased then we shall experimentally say with David Thou hast strengthened me with strength in my soul LIGHT DISCOVERED AND MAN RECOVERED A SERMON Preach'd Augst 17. 1656. 2 Tim. 1.10 the latter part of the Verse And hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel THE Apostle in the beginning of this Chapter exhorting Timothy to a faithful discharge of his Ministerial Calling puts in this weighty caution in the 8 verse Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me his prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God that is be not ashamed of the Gospel that he calls there the Testimony of our Lord Jesus Though it may be thou maist meet with afflictions and oppositions in the profession of it yet seeing these afflictions are but sufferings for the Gospel-sake therefore bear them patiently it is better that thou shouldest suffer than that the Gospel should suffer This Caution or Exhortation the Apostle presses from an Argument drawn from the unspeakable benefit and advantage that comes streaming to us by the Gospel namely Eternal life and that the Apostle might be rightly understood he lays down the three causes of this Eternal life or Salvation First The principal and moving cause of this Salvation that is the Grace of God in the foregoing verse ver 9. Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began Secondly He lays down the meritorious cause of our salvation that is the Lord Jesus Christ who hath merited this salvation by dying for us in the middle part of the 10th verse who hath abolished death that is who hath taken away the sting and curse of Death Thirdly He lays down the instrumental cause of our salvation that is the
Gospel in the words that I have now read to you And hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel Let me first unlock the Cabinet of the Text and then shew you what treasure is laid up in it Briefly He hath brought life As Calvin well observes upon the Text It is an eminent and memorable Encomium of the Gospel that it brings life and what life not a temporal life but an eternal life therefore there is another weighty word added to express it life and immortality or an immortal life a life that is not capable of corruption an incorruptible life that never shall have end after as many millions of years as there are drops of water in the Ocean this eternal life and immortality shall be the same still He hath brought this life to light the Text says that is He hath revealed it and discovered it although before it was as it were in the dark it was a mystery unknown to us but now he hath revealed this mystery he hath revealed the way to eternal life and he hath revealed the unconceiveable joy and happiness that is wrapt up in it and all this is done by the Gospel the Text says that is by the preaching of the Gospel as is in the words following the Text ver 11 Whereunto I am appointed a Preacher and an Apostle and a Teacher of the Gentiles Now Gospel according to the acceptation of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gospel that is as if one should say a Good-spel that is good news that was the old antient word for good news The glad tidings of salvation was such a welcom message that it was fit for the mouth of an Angel to publish Luke 2.10 And the Angel said unto them Fear not Behold I do Gospel you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all Nations or I do preach the Gospel the welcome message of a Saviour being come into the World by whom eternal salvation may be obtained So then the words being thus opened the Doctrine I shall commend to you from them shall be this Doct. The knowledg of eternal life and salvation is discovered to the sons of men by the preaching of the Gospel God bring life and immortality to light he discovers it reveals it he makes it known but how says the Apostle it is by the preaching of the Gospel I shall not need to travel far to fetch in proof for this plain Doctrine that Scripture is very remarkable Rom. 16.25 26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began but now is made manifest and by the Scriptures of the Prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all Nations for the obedience of faith The Apostle says The mystery that is the mystery of mans salvation the mystery of our redemption by Jesus Christ it was kept secret from the beginning of the World but was now at last says he revealed by the Gospel the mystery of mans salvation and redemption had been a clasped book for ever if the Gospel had not been a key to open it What doth the Apostle mean by that Scripture 2 Cor. 4.3 4 But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are losi in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them As if he should say Whence it it men perish in death and destruction Whence is it they are lost quite lost and perish without hope surely it is because the Gospel is hidden from them either they want light or else want sight though the Gospel shines about them it shines not unto them into their hearts to give them the knowledg of God in the face of Jesus Christ If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost a sad speech Again Whence is it so many glorious Titles are given to the Gospel for example it is called the word of life Phil. 2.16 Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoyce in the day of Jesus Christ that I have not run in vain neither laboured in vain It is called the Gospel of the Kingdom Mat. 24.14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all the world for a witness unto all Nations and then shall the end come It is called the word of Gods grace Acts 14.3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord which gave testimony to the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands And it is called the word of Reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.19 To wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation Yea it is called the word of Salvation Acts 13.26 Men and Brethren Children of the Stock of Abraham and whosoever among you feareth God to you is the word of this salvation sent And it is called the Grace of God that bringeth salvation T it 2.11 Nay yet more it is called Salvation it self there cannot be a higher title given to it than to call it Salvation it self In Acts 28.28 Be it known therefore unto you says the Apostle speaking to those stubborn Jews That the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and that they will hear it The Salvation of God that is the Gospel called there the Salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles All these titles sufficiently clear this truth That the knowledg of eternal Salvation is discovered by the Gospel Now for the better explication of this point there are two Quaeries would be satisfied First How or in what respect the knowledg of Salvation may be said to be discovered by the Gospel Secondly Whether the knowledg of Salvation be discovered only by the Gospel First How or in what respect the knowledg of Salvation may be said to be discovered by the Gospel I answer in these three or four regards First the Gospel is said to reveal the knowledg of salvation because it reveals to us the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Author of this eternal salvation as he is called Heb. 5.9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him And he is called the rock of salvatiom 1 Cor. 10.4 Deut. 32.15 And he is called a Horn of Salvation Luke 1.69 And hath raised up an Horn of salvation for us in the house of his servamt David In this regard the Gospel may well be compared to the Star that led the wise men to Jesus Christ The Gospel is that Star that leads us to the Day-spring from on high to him that is the Morning-star indeed to him that is salvation it self cloathed in our flesh