the Plague By the late faithfull and worthy Minister of IESUS CHRIST IOHN PRESTON D. in Divinity Chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge and sometimes Preacher of Lincolns INNE LONDON Printed by R. B. for NICHOLAS BOURNE and are to be sold at his shop at the Royall Exchange 1633. A SERMON PREACHED AT A Generall Fast before the Commmons-house of Parliament Iuly 2. 1625. NUMBERS 25.10 11. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the son of Aaron the Priest hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel while he was zealous for my sake among them that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousie WE are met together you know to sanctifie a Fast to the Lord. I will therefore speake a word or two of that Dutie before I come to the Text which I have read to you But I will doe it briefly the Common place thereof being too large a subject at this time to enter into And first wee will say thus much to you That this duty is a necessary not an arbitrary thing which wee may doe or leave undone at our pleasures You know there be many examples of it many commands for it in Scripture but of them wee will onely repeate two The first is that in Ioel 2.15 a place you wel know Sanctifie to me a Fast call a solemne Assembly When the Lord began to send Iudgement on the Land he straitly enjoyned the performance of this dutie which showes that it may not be left undone at pleasure To which I will adde that in Esay 22.12 13 14. The Lord called in that day to weeping and mourning but because at that time they fell to rejoycing It was revealed by the Lord of hoasts that that sinne should not be purged away till their death When there is a time for Fasting and when there are Iust occasions for mourning and humiliation the Lord doth then so require it that if you doe it not but will doe the contrary the Lord will never forgive it it is a sinne that shall not be purged away till you die You will say then What is a Fast In a word a Fast is nothing else but the sanctifying or setting apart of a day for humiliation reconciliation and reformation I say it is to sanctifie a Day because the day of a Fast must be equall to the Sabbath the very word used in that place of Ioel Sanctifie to me a Fast shewes as much In that day you may doe no servile worke but must keepe it holy to the Lord. That you have to doe in that day is first to humble your selves as in that place of Ioel Turne to me with fasting mourning and weeping Secondly it is for Reconciliation Lev. 23.27 it is called a day of Atonement Lastly it is for Reformation and therefore in the day of fasting the whole people entred into covenant with God as in Nehem the ninth chapter and the beginning of the tenth verse you shall see the Princes and people came altogether and seale a Covenant to the Lord to reforme their sinne of taking strange wives and entered into a curse and an oath to walke in Gods law I will say no more of that but will onely tell you what are the failings which we are most subject to in this businesse for wee may know the disease by the medicine if God takes great care to prevent our falling into a sinne it argues that we are apt to fall into it And first we are very ready to rest in the worke done in opere operato to thinke that the very action will please GOD. Therefore it is carefully added in Ioel 2. Rend not your clothes but your hearts that is when you come to sanctifie a Fast doe not thinke that the very outward performance of the duty moves mee It is the heart that I looke to therefore you must take care that at this time your greatest businesse be with your hearts Lev. 23.29 He who in that day meaning the day of the annuall Fast which was then instituted doth not afflict his soule for so the word is to be translated shall be cut off from his people The outward performance is not the thing that God respects or accepts he doth not regard that for hee is a Spirit and beholds the behaviour of the spirit he considers how we are affected in secret before him A second thing werein we are apt to faile is to thinke that One day is enough and when that is done there is an end of the businesse but it is not so that is but the beginning of it Esay 58.5 Is this a Fast to hang downe your head for a day Is it to bow it downe as a Bulrush Bulrushes you know in a storme hang downe their heads but when faire weather comes they lift them up againe So when affliction is upon us we are apt to humble our soules for a time for a fit but when a little peace or prosperity comes we forget to be longer humbled whereas the end of a Fast is so to begin the worke of Humiliation that we may the better continue it afterwards A third defect is this we are perhaps content to doe the duty and with some affection too but there followes no reformation of life Therefore in the same Chapter see how carefully that is put in Is this an acceptable day to the Lord Will I accept such a Fast as this When you finde pleasure and continue in strife and debate That is the Lord regards not the bare performance of the duty unlesse the end of it be attaynd now the end of it is nothing else but that every man in particular reforme the evils he is subject to yea his particular weaknesses and personall infirmities the mending of which is carefully to bee endeavoured when we sanctifie a Fast to the Lord else we assemble together for Wine and for Oile Hos. 7.14 As if hee should say you have not sought Mee when you howled upon your beds but your Wine and your Oile That is men are affected with the Iudgements of the Lord they desire to have them removed they wish for ease and prosperity and for that they assemble themselves but to Me saith he ye returne not A beast will doe as much when it feeles any evill oppressing it and therefore God cals it howling on their beds an action proper to beasts but the Lord lookes that you seeke him in sincerity and that you labour to make your hearts perfect in him In a word to conclude this remember That there is a double performance of every holy duty one is when we doe the worke as a taske and are glad when it is over when we doe it as servants that doe eye-service to their masters another is when not onely the thing is done but your hearts also are wrought upon for that is the end of the outward performance and
is another Nature as well as other purposes then the purposes live there as Creatures live in their owne Element and as branches live and grow on their owne roots but when purposes are holy and good and the nature bad they are as Plants planted in a soile not proper to them where they will not grow nor prosper because the soile is not sutable to them therefore let us not content our selves with these good Purposes and Transient Acts there must bee another Nature For these good purposes what are they but as blossomes nipt with untimely frosts they may make a faire shew and come to nothing as a tree that promiseth largely hath blossomes very faire but you shall finde no fruit on it so it is when Nature is not good There is so much in Nature that is in a man not sanctified that hee hath thefe two things First hee may approve of the Law of GOD. And secondly have a desire to be saved Put these two together Approbation of the Law of GOD and Desire to bee saved they will bring forth a purpose of change of life they are able to doe that but now the heart is not changed As in Deutronomie the fifth chapter and the nine and twentieth verse you shall finde an expression of it there when Moses told the people that GOD would speake to them by a man like themselves they made a faire promise that they would doe all that the LORD commanded them Moses answered them You have said well But O that there were an heart in this people to keepe GODS Commandements and to doe them that it may goe well with them and their children As if he had said I know you speake no more than you thinke I know that you are resolved to doe what the LORD will appoint but you have your old hearts still O that there were an heart there So they that take new Purposes to themselves it is well but wee may say Oh that there were in them an heart For it fares with men in this case as with them spoken of in Scripture One said hee would goe into the Vineyard and did not It is a frequent case when men say they will goe into GODS Vineyard they doe not because they are not able till they have another Nature It is an intent above their strength therefore content not your selves with Purposes The end of the Fourth Sermon THE FIFTH SERMON VPON THE NEW CREATVRE 2 COR. 5.17 Therefore if any man be in Christ let him be a new Creature THirdly if this be required of every man that he have another Nature then we must lead you a step further than we did before you must not only not content your selves with good purposes and desires buâ— more than that with good and holy actâ—ons It is not enough that you doe the actions that are holy and good that your lives bee holy and good in great measure or for a fit but the Nature must bee altered that is it is not enough that thou exercisest meeknesse and temperance gentlenesse and humility but thou must be an humble man and a meeke man a man lowly in spirit of a sober and temperate disposition thy very nature must be turned into this that is these Graces must be so incorporated into thee as if they were con-naturall to thee therefore it is said of David not onely that hee did what was good and Gods will but he had an heart after Gods heart so it must be true of all the Saints for God delights not but in the heart Therefore in Psal. 51.6 Thou lovest truth in the inner parts therefore hast thou taught me wisdome in the secret of my heart that is though the outward performances be good in themselves yet thou delightest not in them that which thou delightest in is to have another Nature to have truth in the inward parts that is when the inward frame of the heart is altered when that is set right therefore thou hast taught me wisdome in my hidden parts in my heart thou hast not only given me wisdome to behave my selfe well abroad in my actions and carriage but thou hast made mee wise in the secret of my heart It is said of Ioshua he had another Spirit else he had not come into that Land therefore see if thou hast such a change in thy heart that thou doest not only doe good things but that thou doest them in that manner that thou doest naturall actions that is in such a manner that thou canst not but doe them as 1 Iohn 3.9 They cannot sinne for they are borne of God They have another Nature what followes on that therefore they cannot sin as a man cannot do against Nature they cannot doe any thing against the truth Againe on the other side they cannot chuse but doe good as a man cannot chuse but doe that which is naturall to him Doe not say This Rule is strict who can heare it Do we make it straiter than the Holy Ghost doth What else is the meaning of it Whosoever is in Christ is a New Creature that is hath another Nature all wee doe must come from another Principle which is the same to thee now which Nature was before all must be altered as wee say of Creatures that which is dogs-meat is a sheepes poyson so it is true of men when the Nature is changed there is not onely an alteration of acts but what was his meat before is now his poyson and what was poyson to him before is now his delight it is that he feeds on But you will say How shall I know when my Nature is altered It is a matter of great moment no man can be saved without it and it is nothing to have holy purposes desires and actions but the Nature must be altered therefore it stands us in hand to know it You shall know it briefly by this First what you doe naturally you doe it constantly you do it ordinarily for Nature is a constant thing In things not naturall there may bee much inequality they may continue for a time and be laid aside againe as a peece gilded over long wearing will weare off the gilt but what if the lead or silver be turned into gold then it will be still the same so it is with the man whose nature is changed he will be constant the same nature will hold out and continue A Wolfe that puts on a Sheepes cloathing may be like a Sheepe but is not turned into a Sheepe wee are turned into Sheepe as Christ turned Lions into Lambes Serpents into doves that is hee alters the very Nature when that is done then a man is alway like himselfe indeed he doth it by degrees as you shall heare hereafter but he is still the same Therefore consider what constancy what evennesse what equality is in your Nature for if there be another Nature given you if you be other men you doe not act another person for then you
imputed to us such a necessitie is there that men be humbled Now that you may a little better understand this point you must know that there are but two things that keepe men off from comming to Christ. One is unbeleefe when they do not beleeve that he is the Messiah or that they are to be saved by him This was the great hinderance in the Apostles time and that is the reason that you have faith in the Messiah pressed so much to beleeve that that was he But that is not the thing to be pressed so much in these Times But as you see in the Old Testament when the Prophets spake to a Church to confirme it in the truth they do not presse so much to beleeve there is a God and that hee is One God and that a God of Truth but to trust in God and to make use of their knowledge So must we doe There is therefore another thing that hinders from Christ and that is Negligence Men care not for Christ they are not affected with him and this is two-fold Totall or Partiall Totall is that which they were guiltie of that were bidden to the Feast and excused themselves and had bought a yoke of oxen another had married a wife another had taken a farme and therefore they could not come They were perswaded there was a Feast of fatlings provided but they minded other things for they were not hungry and therefore cared not for it And in this kind the greatest part of men of your common Protestants neglect the Gospell Tell them of Remission of sinnes and Iustification they minde it not Secondly there is a Partiall neglect And so many professe Christ do many things for him but regard him not And in this the second and third Ground failed the second did much but not so far regarded him as to endure persecution The third did respect him more but not so as to forgoe their lusts for him this is a partiall neglect And that that helpeth this double neglect is Humiliation Now to give a Reason or two of this point and so we will make use of it and come to the other which is the maine and that I most intend God will have it thus for these two Reasons First with reference to our Iustification he will justifie none till hee hath brought him to acknowledge both his Iustice and his Mercy he will have men know what he doth to them before he justifies them and receives them to favour I say he will have a man acknowledge his Iustice that is confesse himselfe to be a sinner to be ashamed of his sins to acknowledge himselfe worthy to be destroyed As in Ezek. 36. there you shall find how God justifies men and washes them with cleane water from their sinnes Then when I doe this whensoever I shall justifie any man then you shall remember your deeds that were not good and shall acknowledge your selves worthy to bee destroyed God will have this honour given him he will have men know that it is not done for any thing in themselves he will have the glory of his Iustice and Righteousnesse and that is the summe of the fourth verse of the one and fiftieth Psalme Against thee only have I sinned c. that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be cleare when thou judgest that glory may bee given to God and shame taken to himselfe This God will have done As in the worke of Redemption his Iustice and Mercy are both satisfied so in the application of it in taking hold of this Redemption God will have a worke wrought wherein his Iustice shall bee acknowledged Secondly hee will have his Mercy acknowledged as Princes when they will make a condemned man bee sensible of their mercy they will bring him to the uttermost they will bring his necke to the blocke then he will know that he was saved he shall have more sense of his pardon And so God in the worke of Humiliation humbles a man exceedingly and when that is done then Hee is seene in the Mount He is not seene till men be in extremitie that is he will have them on their knees and so be sensible of that mercy of his which otherwise they would not prize The end of all is Christ he will have Christ esteemed and knowne and this men will never doe till they be throughly humbled Secondly God will have it so with reference to Sanctification that is the second Reason and that for these Causes First because otherwise mens thoughts would never bee drawne inward men would never withdraw themselves from Covetousnesse and from regarding vanity but lusts of youth in them that be young and businesse and correspondencie in matters of State and one thing or other would take up the mindes of them that be old and would so occupie their thoughts that we might speake long enough but mens mindes would goe after an hundred severall vanities as the Psalmist saith God is not in all the thoughts of a wicked man before hee be humbled that is God is not there to any purpose nor the things belonging to the kingdome of God but vanity is in their thoughts and that raises such a Tumult and noise within that they attend not to what we say but locke up the doores of their heart that what we say can have no entrance We shall see it in 2 Chro. 33. when Manasses had corrupted himselfe with monstrous abominations there set down the Lord spake to him but hee regarded it not till hee was humbled but when being led into captivitie and bound in fetters he was humbled then hee besought God who was intreated of him In the fifteenth of Luke you shall find this phrase The Prodigall sonne came to himselfe It is Parable shewing every mans naturall condition he was not himselfe before hee was a drunken man or a mad man and that is the case of every man before hee be humbled hee is as a drunken man now come and speake to a drunken man as long as you will so long as he is in his drunkennesse and madnesse he heares not it is only this Humiliation that brings a man to himselfe In 2 Chron. 6.37 you shall finde this phrase If they shall turne with all their hearts in their captivitie and repent for their transgressions then doe thou heare in heaven c. I name it for the phrase if they shall turne with their heart which they will not doe till they be humbled till then they be busied about pleasures or profits or something else but they looke not into their hearts The phrase imports so much suppose a man be instant in some sport and recreation and one come and tell him in the midst of his sport there is an officer without ready to take you and carry you to prison such a message will turne to his heart and make him consider what he hath done and what a miserable
againe and so kindle the fire of Gods wrath which shall smoake to our destruction Thus by your words learne to know the sinfulnesse of your natures Lastly see it by your Actions Now sinnes in actions are of two sorts either sinnes of Commission and here you are to goe backe and consider what sinnes you have committed whether drunkennesse uncleannesse inordinate affections or injuries to men what provocations or rebellions against God and when you see them look on the number of them and on the greatnesse of them Consider their circumstances and among the rest the frequencie of them your relapses into them and that will make you with David Psal. 19. to cry out Lord who can understand his faults But we will not stand on this because iâ— is obvious every one knowes that actions are sinnes we will come to the second sort And that is sins of Omission which we are ready to slight and forget as no great matters but they are other things than wee take them to bee nothing hath more cause to humble us than they I say the sinnes of Omission the barrennesse and unfruitfulnesse of our lives may humble us as well as the rebellions and sinfulnesse of them We will run thorow them As first to be idle on the Sabbath-day is a sin of Omission and provokes God to anger as well as polluting it and breaking it with positive Acts. So the restraining of Prayer to neglect it to omit it or to performe it slightly for God takes prayers by weight and not by number this is not a small thing Againe to neglect the hearing of the Word to neglect the Sacraments a fault we have much cause to be blamed for in this place and thing you have often beene admonished to I beseech you learne by our Admonitions for they are the Admonitions of God let them I say learne that are guilty of it So Communion of Saints is a thing we thinke not of But Heb. 10.25 You shall see what a matter it was to neglect that Ordinance So Fasting and Prayer we thinke are not required at our hands and if nothing but the neglect of that were laid to our charge it were nothing But see what that is when the time is that God cals for it I say the very omission of that when God cals for it is a sin saith the Prophet which shall never be purged away by sacrifice but shall remaine to death Besides these omissions of Acts come to the omission of Graces I meane the want of them as the want of Love to Iesus Christ. Yet who confesses this want of love although 1 Cor. 16.22 Hee is pronounced accursed that loves not the Lord Iesus let him be had in execration to the death So the want of Delight in God who thinkes of it Come to our Callings and see our negligence and idlenesse in them shall we give account for every idle word we speake and not for every idle houre wee spend Let young Gentlemen looke to this that passe from vanity to vanity spending their time idly and unprofitably trifling out their Seed-time Consider what this sin of Omission is And so for growing in spirituall graces and knowledge that we gather not more knowledge it being the key of heaven that wee grow not in good workes but are poore in them omitting our times and opportunities Againe our sinfull silence not speaking when we should either out of sluggishnesse or feare of men or by-respects this is no small thing God will call thee to an account for it Consider whether you have let goe occasions of doing good denying of meat and drinke kils a man as well as poison so the neglecting of duties the omission of what tends to salvation shall be death as well as actuall sinnes by which you provoke the eyes of Gods glory to vengeance Therefore in that sentence of Christ he doth not tell them what they have done but what they have not done You have not clothed me you have not visited me Learne therefore to judge aright of these sinnes of omission that they may helpe to amaze us and so much for actuall sins And so much for the Law the first part of our rule wherein we have runne thorow the corruption of the Faculties and so have discovered our habituall sins and now thorow the three kinds of actuall sinnes in Thought in Word and in Action The second rule which I told you we are to observe is the Gospell And here you thinke you shall scape well enough for the Gospell brings damnation to no body But if you consider of it right you shall finde that the Gospell is much more terrible in this case than the Law that it will humble us more and that the sins against the Gospell are much greater than those against the Law Marke this in briefe The refusing of Iesus Christ when God offers him and remission of sins by him that you may have him when you will if you will have him on such consequent conditions as are required which is to deny your selves to take up your crosse and follow him this wee preach continually I say this contempt of the Gospell your unwillingnesse to take Christ is a great sin and that that should humble you above all the rest And that you may know that I have reason to say so consider Christs speech It shall be more easie for Sodome and Gomorrah than for such a people for such a City as when the Gospell of the Kingdome was preached to them neglected it so that the sin of Sodome is not so great a sin as the refusing of Christ. You know the greatnesse of that sin the punishment shewes it yet it is not so great as this Againe it is said of Moses and Christ being compared together That if they that sin against Moses Law are condemned how much sorer punishment shall they be worthy of that breake the Law of Christ that beleeve not the Gospell It exceeds the sinne against the other Againe consider is it a small thing to cause the bloud of Iesus Christ to be shed in vaine to trample it under foot and to count it a common thing But so doth every man that neglects it that hearkens not to it that is not ready to receive it that is not poore in spirit and so doth not hunger and thirst after Christ. Againe consider It is the chiefe Command and the breach of the chiefe Command must needs be the greatest sinne When the Disciples asked Christ what was the great Commandement he said This is the greatest of all To beleeve on him whom the Father had sent So 1 Ioh. 3.23 This is his Commandement that we should beleeve in the name of Iesus Christ. Againe the Gospell is the uttermost the Law makes way for the Gospell therefore the sentence and condemnation of the Gospell is peremptory and terrible and nothing beyond it Againe consider God was angry for the contempt
light in a darke Lanthorne that rake these sparkes in the ashes that as they would not have others see what they doe so neither would they have their own Consciences take notice of it that will sinne let men say what they will that live loosely that either heare not or regard not what they heare let them consider it for they doe in a speciall manner imprison the Truth they with-hold it in unrighteousnesse labour to know the sinne your miserable condition and learne to be humbled under it A second use we may make of this is from hence to discerne the condition of those men which are miserable but see not their miserie that are neare the kingdome of God but not in it Men that are meerly civill that heare much and doe much and goe far keeping their lights burning till the very point of the Bridegroomes comming and for want of a little more oyle are excluded as Ananias for a little reservation lost all and the young man in the Gospel that kept all the Commandements of the Lord from his youth up that came within a step but never into the mountaine of the Lord. This is a race many misse of as the Apostle 1 Cor. 9 speaking of many running in a race sayes Many run but all obtaine not that is there is a company of men run in the wayes of God as well as the Saints both run both doe very much if you looke on the wayes they goe you shall scarce finde difference in any outward action that they do yet many obtaine not and why they either runne not as they ought or else they hold not out to the end Amaziah and Ioash ran long almost to the end of the race but because they continued not faithfull to the death they received not the Crowne of life these bee the men that come neare the kingdome of heaven but never enter into it And the scope of the Text serves to discover these men when we heare therefore that there is such a Generation it concernes every man to desire to know his Condition lest hee should be of that number for that cause we will spend this use in discovering these three things First that the good things that these men have in them doe them no good Secondly that they doe them much hurt Thirdly I will set downe how far they goe and yet how far short they be of that which is proper to the godly First I say the good things in them do them no good for they are the gifts of the Holy Ghost and shall be found to the praise of the Holy Ghost and not to their owne advantage at all they are not their owne but the workes of the Spirit within them Hebr. 6. the Apostle speakes of men enlightned and that have tasted of the gift of the Holy Ghost that is there be gifts that the Holy Ghost puts into their heart as we lay flowers in the window which doe not grow there or as some Out-landish fruit which is brought over but it will not grow in our Countrey except the soile be altered and changed it will not thrive there nor bring forth fruit to any purpose So though these things be in them yet they are not theirs neither shall they be to their owne praise and advantage Againe they cannot doe them good because they doe not make them good they doe not as Divines say redundare in personam they make not any mans person better though a man not yet truly regenerate have never so many excellent things in him yet his person is never the better for them As we say of godly and regenerate men though they commit evill yet their persons are good in Gods sight God sees their evill but he scowres them by affliction and he hates the evill but loves the person which shewes that the person is not accounted evill for if the person were evill he must needs hate it On the other side they that have received common Graces though they have gone farre yet their persons are not the better but the same And there is good reason for it for it is not the person that doth the good thing But as Paul sayes of â—in It is no more I that doe it but sin that dwels in me so they may say It is not I that doe it but the good that is in me therefore it is reason it should not doe them good when it makes not their persons good but leaves them the same notwithstanding So that it may be said of the good things in them as is said of beauty in an evill woman or as of a pearle in a swines snout the things be good and precious the pearle is a pearle indeed yet notwithstanding they may be evill women in whom beauty and swine in whom the pearle is found So you see the first that though a man have excellent things in him before regeneration yet they shall doe him no good Secondly which may make every man look about him and to consider with feare and trembling if it be not his owne case If a man shall have these Truths revealed but he shall either let them lye still and rust or if he bring them to action shall checke and curbe them and not use them as he should they shall increase his Condemnation And that may be made evident from hence the sinnes such men commit are augmented and aggravated from hence they are committed against more light and the more their light is than others the greater their sin is than others Therefore that is to be marked Rom. 2.9 Tribulation and anguish on every soule that doth evill to whom To the Iew first and then to the Grecian Marke it They that doe evill are of two sorts Iewes or Grecians Iewes were they that knew and were acquainted with the Law and the Grecians were ignorant of it therefore Tribulation shall be first and in greatest measure on the Iew so that their knowledge aggravates their sin it had beene better for them that they had not had the Truth that they had never heard of the Gospell of Christ nor beene acquainted with the wayes of God because when they have light and sin against it the more light they have the more resistance there is and so the more inexcusable they are and the more inexcusable they be the greater is their sin Againe these men of all other are most apt to resist God to resist Christ and his righteousnesse and that doth exceedingly encrease their sin because they crosse God in his chiefest end and that must needs make their sin great and that they doe more than others for Gods chiefe end is to have Christs righteousnesse revealed but these men having a Conceit of their owne righteousnesse regard it not and so resist God What else is the reason of that in Luke 15.1 There resorted to him saith the Evangelist Publicans and sinners but the Pharisees murmure at him What is the meaning of
the worke is so farre accepted as it hath an operation on our hearts and affections It is so in every duty as in Prayer when you call on God in private doth God regard the words of a prayer No but ' its working on your hearts ' it s humbling of them ' it s bringing of them into frame and making them perfect with God every day by a thorow renewing of your repentance and this is the doing of the thing Amongst your selves if a servant doth onely make a show of doing a thing it is not regarded but hee that brings the thing to passe is accepted of you and that is it which the Lord requires and accepts in our performances Now we shall see that this Text will helpe us to all that is required in a Fast as will appeare in the particulars Phineas the sonne of Eleazar c. In the former part of the Chapter the disease is set downe and that is Sinne which is indeed the onely disease of the soule illustrated from two consequents First from the wrath of God who as the Text saith was very angry with Israel for they had committed whoredome and joyned with Baal-Peor That was the disease the sin for which they had brought on them Gods wrath And secondly from an effect of that wrath the Plague God struck them with pestilence that is the punishment In this verse is set downe the remedy and that is the turning away of Gods wrath For as the Physitian sayes Morbi curantur contrarijs so it is true in Divinity as the wrath of God was the cause of the Plague so the turning away thereof is the remedy This turning away of his wrath is set forth by the cause of its turning away and that was the zeale of Phineas while hee was zealous for my sake and that is made good by two reasons One is in the latter end of my Text therefore have I not consumed them in my jealousie As if hee had said If Phineas had not beene zealous my jealouâ— should have burned more and more and the jealousie of that should have beene utter destruction The second is Gods owne Testimony set downe before my Text. The Lord himselfe said unto Moses that his wrath was turned away I will say no more for opening the words but in them you shall see these five points lye evidently before you First in that the removall of the Plague is attributed to God and to the turning away of his anger this is clearely deduced That it is God only that doth good and evill for you see his anger brought the Plague on them and the turning away of his anger healed them againe Secondly it is sin that causes Gods anger anger in God hath alway relation to sinne for sinne is the cause of it Thirdly the way to turne away the Lords anger is zeale for his sake Fourthly if there be want of this zeale among us his jealousie shall grow hotter and hotter it shall encrease upon us more and more Fifthly and lastly the issue of this jealousie of his will be utter destruction Wee will begin with the first which is That it is God onely that doth good and evill to every Nation to every Church and Kingdome yea to every particular person As you see here it was not the corruption of the Aire that brought the Plague nor the clearing of it with fâ—ost and wind that turned it away but the cloud of the Lords wrath shed this storme on them and when he was appeased with them there followed health and peace The Lord wounds and the Lord heales For what is the Plague but a sword in the hand of an Angell who drawes it out and puts it into its sheath againe at his Masters appointment And is not there the same reason of all other evils Warre you know is a terrible thing when Enemies come as Bees on a Land but doth not the Lord hisse for them And againe they are driven away as with a breath at his appointment Famine is a leane devouring evill which causes the Land to eate up the inhabitants thereof but is not the Lord the onely cause of it Doth not he make the Heaven as Brasse and the Earth as Iron Doth not he when he will open the windowes of Heaven and unstop the bottels of the clouds and powre outraine unseasonably And is not hee the cause of death which is the journeys end of both the former To which every one of us is subject yet wee consider it not Though we see men fall from the Tree of Life every moment yet wee regard it not This the Lord takes onely to himselfe Psal. 68.20 To the Lord belong the issues from death and therefore let us give to the Lord this great Prerogative of his That he onely doth good and evill and let no man question it You will say who doth question it It is very true we doe not question it in words but if we question it in our deeds it is an argument that our hearts make a doubt of it though our tongues doe not question it Therefore let us examine the matter If wee thinke the Lord onely doth good and evill why then will not we obey him and serve him and please him in all things But provoke him to anger by our words and by our workes as the Prophet speakes Perhaps you will say to me as Saul answered Samuel when he came from the warre of the Amalekites Oh thou blessed of the Lord I have fully kept the Commandement of the Lord but saith Samuel If thou hast done so What meanes the bleating of the Sheepe and the lowing of the Oxen So I say to you if you obey the Lord what meanes so many sinnes amongst us What meanes Fornication and Whoredome which is so frequent What meane those Oathes amongst us for which the Land mournes Not onely greater oathes but smaller oathes which exceed the greater for frequency though the greater exceed them in that they take the Name of God in vaine Againe what meanes the breaches of the Sabbath Of which I will speake a word by the way and that you may know that I doe not blame you for that as a sinne which is no sinne I will make this digression Doe you not think that Sabbaths are to be kept and to be kept holy I will name but two reasons to make it good you shall finde them in Esay 57.30 It is My Holy Day First it is a Holy Day and if it be holy you may doe nothing thereon that is common A Vessell that is sanctified and made holy may not bee imployed to take up common water or used in common services for it is holy So the time of the Sabbath is holy therefore you must not spend it about common actions for if you doe you prophane that which is holy Seeondly it is My Day and if it be My Day rob mee
not of it every houre of that day that you spend in common speeches and actions you rob the Lord of that houre for all the day is his And doe not thinke that men were tied to this observance onely under the Old Testament but know that it continues still for doe but consider with your selves if the Lord should have left it meerely in the power of the Church to appoint a Sabbath day it might have been brought from a week to a moneth and from a moneth to a yeare and so if of meeting together had bin no necessity put upon us by God himseâ—fe where would religion have bin And do you think God would not have provided for his Church better than so Besides why should it be questioned when it is transmitted to us from the most ancient times Iustin Martyr sayes that on the day which we call Sunday the Christians met together to worship God and the people came out of the Countrey for that end and it was a Solemne day Tertullian in his Apologie saith as much and therefore because they spent that day in worshiping God all the Heathen called it Sunday And in all ancient times it was never controverted never called into question Againe doe we not need such a day Therefore the Lord saith Sabbath was made for man as if hee had said I could have spared the Sabbath It is not for my owne sake and for my worship sake but for mans sake that is lest he should forget God and bee a stranger to him which would redound to our own hurt And therefore shall not wee be willing to keepe it when it was for our owne sakes that the Lord appointed it What gainers might wee be in grace and holinesse if wee would sanctifie every Sabbath as we should Should we be losers by it but this is a digression and I speake it by the way But marke it I say if you keepe the Commandements of God What meanes this bleating of the sheepe These acts of disobedience on his owne Day We will goe on in the examination If indeed we thinke that it is the Lord that doth good and evill why are we so inobservant and negligent of him why do we reckon it a wearinesse to serve him why turne wee Religion into formalitie posting over holy duties in a carelesse and negligent maner when we should be carefull and fervent in the same Why is there so little growth in religion so much barrennesse in good workes the price whereof is more than gold and silver In a word Why doe we turne the maine into the by and the by into the maine That is why goe we about all other businesse as our maine and chiefe scope and take in holy duties by the way more to stop the mouth of naturall Conscience as carnall men may doe than for any delight weâ— have in them If we thinke God to be the Author of good and evill why are these things so Every man is ready to professe his faith in the Truth hereof but if wee did beleeve it wee should be more carefull to please the LORD in all things Againe if we thinke that God only doth good and evill why have not wee our eyes on him altogether why doe wee not feare him and nothing els trust in him and in nothing besides depend on him and upon no other In all our calamities and dangers why doe not wee seeke to him as to one that onely can helpe us and heale us You will say we doe depend on God wee trust in God and none but him It is very well if you doe but consider that to trust in God is to part with all for his sake and to have an eye only unto the recompence of reward to be willing to deny our selves in our profits and credits and pleasures to be content to have him alone Thus Saint Paul expresses it 2 Tim. 1.13 Therefore saith he have we suffered these things for we know whom wee have trusted As if he had said we have parted with all we are content to be led from prison to prison we are content with God alone for wee know the power and faithfulnesse of him whom we have trusted Againe to trust in God is then to rest on him when the case is such marke it that if we faile we are undone then to build on him as a sure rocke that is the nature of true holinesse and exact walking when God puts us into an exigent removes from us friends takes away worldly helpes yet in this case to trust him Thus Hester trusted God when she undertooke that dangerous enterprize If I perish I perish when if the Lord had failed her shee had lost her life So Daniel trusted God when he would put himselfe upon him being in such danger for the open profession of his Religion which by death they would have forced him to deny Thus Asa trusted God when hee went with a small number against a great multitude the Text saith of him That he trusted in God Now doe we thus trust him Surely we doe not but when faith and sense come into competition when they meet together on a narrow bridge we are readie to byas our conscience the wrong way to goe aside and decline the blow that is we are ready in such a case though with breach of a good conscience so to trust in God that withall we will keepe a sure foot on some outward probable sensible meanes that if God failes us yet wee may know what to trust to The truth is we doe not leane to the Lord. For what â—â— it to leane to him You know a man is then â—â—id to leane when hee stands not on his ownâ—â—eet but so rests the buâ—ke of his body on a raâ—â—e or staffe or the like that if it faile him he fals downe To rest on God in this manner is to leane to him and did wee thinke that hee had all power to doe good and hurt to the Creature we should thus trust in him but in that we doe it so little and so seldome it it an argument that whatsoever wee professe we doe not indeed beleeve it Last of all to make an end of this examination if we think indeed that the Lord only is able to doe good and evill why do we not that which is a necessary consequent thâ—râ—of which you shall finde in Gen. 17.1 it is Gods speech to Abraham I am God all-sufficient therefore walke before mee and bee perfect Marke that when any man thinkes God to be Al-sufficient that he hath all power in his hands that he is Almighty for so the word signifies that which will necessarily follow on this beliefe is this he will be perfect with the Lord. You will say I hope we are perfect with God But if we be why are our actions so dissonant why doe wee serve God so by halfes and by fits why are we
of chaffe preserv'd from burning Is it not because there is some Corne some Wheate mixed therewith If the Corne be once out will not the Lord as men use to doe after winnowing set the chaffe on fire As women with childe are grieved to be delivered so the Lord stayes till the world be delivered as it were of all his Elect ones of all the Saints of all his holy and zealous ones and then shall be brought forth the Iudgement of the great day The World may cast out these men as the Sea doth Pearles among mire and dirt but they are Pearles notwithstanding God knowes them to be so and wise-men know them to be so yea Pearles excelling other men as much as Iewels doe common stones as much as Lilies and Roses doe Thornes and Bryers among which they grow What 's the reason that Elijah is called the Chariot of Israel and the Horsemen thereof but because hee was an holy man that did much for Gods glory that did more advantage the State at home and did more prevaile abroad than all the Chariots and Horsemen And may not we apply this to the zealous among us Therefore when we injury any of them doe not wee cut off the haire from Sampsons head wherein the strength of every Countrey and Nation and every Citie and Towne consists Yea the cutting off of them is like the cutting off of his lockes which the more the grow the more strength a Kingdome hath I say no more but commend it to every man in his place wishing that you would let it be your generall care to encourage true Religion and Zeale the omitting whereof I am perswaded is one of those things which causeth the Lords hand to be stretched forth against us Secondly if it be Zeale that turnes away the LORDS wrath then where is the Zeale that should be among us Are wee not rather fallen into those later times the Apostle speakes of which should have a forme of Religion without the Zeale and Power and Life of it And if Zeale turnes away Gods wrath certainly then this formalitie this overlinesse of Religion this coldnesse without Zeale and Power is it that brings on his wrath It is true and we cannot deny but knowledge abounds amongst us as the waters in the Sea But where is the Salt That is where is that Zeale and holinesse that should season all our knowledge Where is the Fire that should adde practice to our knowledge and make it an acceptable sacrifice to GOD Wee have the light of former Times but not their heat As he complaines Ignis qui in Parentibus fuit calidus in nobis lucidus The Fire which in ancient Times was hot is now onely light We thinke it enough to goe to Church to receive the Sacrament and so to keepe a round as it were to doe as most doe being carried about with the generall course of the World as the Planets are with the rest of the Spheres contrary to that which should bee their proper motion But I beseech you consider it Is this Religion Is this the Power of Godlinesse is this to be Baptized with the Holy Ghost which is as Fire Surely Religion stands not in these outward formalities but in changing the heart in making us New Creatures in mortifying our Lusts and thorowly purging out the love of every corruption Therefore if you will turne away Gods wrath turne your formality into Zeale that is content not your selves with the performance of the duties of Religion externally but get that wherein the power of godlinesse consists else the outside of Duties will not divert Wrath. Againe did Zeale turne away the wrath of the Lord then where are our zealous affections Why are we not zealous for the Lord and zealous against sinne You know Christ died for this end that hee might purifie unto himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good workes Titus 2.14 Men doe good actions as a Taske they are glad when they be over but doe you them with much intention much fâ—rvencie much desire be you a people zealous of good workes Therefore in Rom. 12.11 They are put together be fervent in spirit and serving the Lord implying that the Lord respects no service but as it is joyned with fervencie Therefore know that it is not enough to serve the Lord in an ordinary Tract you must mend your pace to heaven it is not enough to goe but you must runne the way of Gods Commandements And as you must be zealous for him so you must be zealous against evill For you must know this and marke it well it is not enough to abstaine from sinne it is not that alone that God will accept but he lookes that you should hate sinne As it is said of Lot his righteous soule was vexed with the uncleane conversation of the Sodomites that is his heart rose against them there was an inward distaste against them the like you shall see in David and Moses You will say I hope I detest sinne and am angry with it It may be so perhaps you are angry with sinne but Zeale you know is an intention of the affection of hatred and it is required that you hate sinne Revel 2.6 This thou hast that thou hatest the worke of the Nicolaitans which I also hate You will say How doe they differ You shall know hatred by this First it is a constant affection it abides with us Anger goes away as all passions doe it is but for a fit for a flash on some occasion Againe hatred is alwayes of generals the sheepe hates all Wolves we hate all Toads all Serpents I say wheresoever there is hatred it turnes to the whole Species Now doe you hate all sinne all kindes of sinne one as well as another Doe you not only abstaine from them but also hate them of what sort soever they bee Lastly Hatred seekes the utter destruction of the thing hated Anger would have but a proportion of Iustice as Aristotle sayes Now is it so with you Doe you seeke the utter destruction of sinne abstaining not onely from grosse sinnes but from all dalliances from the least touch of sinne cleansing your selves from all pollusions of the flesh and spirit If you will be zealous for the Lord then know that this is required that you not onely doe things but that you doe them zealously that you not onely abstaine from sinne but that you hate it Againe if it be Zeale that turnes away the wrath of the Lord then where is our boldnesse our courage our forwardnesse for the Truth Why are we so fearefull and shie of doing the thing that otherwise we thinke meet to bee done For Zeale hath that prâ—pertie among the rest it makes men bold the Zeale of the Apostles was knowne by their boldnesse But you will say A man may be too bold It is very true when the horse runnes up and downe and is at libertie
the more mettle the worse but under the bridle and in the way there cannot be too much keepe the streame within the bankes and let it runne in a right Channell and then the stronger the better It is good therefore in this case to come to a disjunction which is the thing that Elijah advised If Baal be God follow him but if God be God follow him and follow him to purpose And as Luther wrote to Melancthon when he began to faint Why Melancthon if this be the Cause of God why should we be discouraged why should we goe coldly about it If it be not the Cause of God why doe not wee desist altogether This Disjunction put life into him I but discretion and moderation must bee used It is true but doth this crosse your zeale Doth one Grace crosse another Prudence doth not abate diligence but guides it in its worke It teaches not to do lesse but to doe better Therefore as for Moderation you must know it stands in avoiding the Rock in declining the extreme but Moderation in a right course is not moderation but lukewarmenesse and coldnesse Last of all to conclude this point and only to name the rest If Zeale turne away the wrath of God then where is our zeale for the Church of God Why doe not we take its case to heart why have not we the bowels of compassion to lament over its condition as if it were our own It was a most commendable thing in old Ely when he heard the newes that the battell was lost that his sons were slaine that moved him not so much but when he heard that the Arke of God was taken that amazed him so that hee fell from his seat and brake his necke Consider this and know that it is required that you be zealous for the Church Let our Gallants consider this that care not how things goe And those that will have the Church negligently regarded let them coÌ„sider that a curse abides him Who doth the worke of the Lord negligenâ—ly And know that though the Lord be angry with his Church as many times he is yet your zealâ— on its behalfe your prayers for it your cost upon it your labour about if yea whatsoever you doe for it is acceptable to God even then when he is angry with it when he afflicts i. David was angry with Absolom Ioab makes a suit to â—iâ— to call home his banished though David was angry with Absolom yet Ioabs suite to David was very acceptable he could not have come of a better message So you cannot doe a more acceptable worke than to seeke for the Churches good and to pray for its prosperity It is true indeed the Lord will take care of his Church and they that be enemies to it shall not be gainers as Zach. 12.6 They that seeke to hurt the Church of God shall be as a company of sheaves that goe about to suppresse a cole of fire which shall consume them all And they that goe about to devoure the Church shal be like a man that thinks to devoure a cup of poison but by it is killed himselfe or like a man that goes about to throw up a stone that is too heavie for him which fals backe and crushes him to powder All these expressions there be in that Chapter It is true he will not cast away the care of his Church he will defend it against them that oppose it but in the meane time if you doe not your part you shall lose your glory nay you shall be guilty of Negligence which will bring a Curse with it upon you But you will say What would you have us to doe for it I answer Wee must consider the Church abroad and at home For the Churches abroad we will not prescribe unto you any particular direction only wee will commend to you this generall That you seeke their safety and preservation and the propagation of Religion among them with all care and intention as you shall see occasions and circumstances to require But for the Church at home you see the Lord hath begunne to make a breach upon us And as it is in Ezek. 22.30 Hee seekes for a man among us that may stand in the Gappe It is well done that you have gone so farre as you have but remember that it is a thing that the Lord desires And know withall that the Lord markes what every man doth for his Church he observes who is zealous and who sits still hee takes notice who doth nothing who doth somthing and how much every man doth As in Malach. 3.16 The Lord harkened and heard and a Booke of Remembrance was written The Lord harkens and heares what every man speakes what every man doth yea to what end with what heart how his Church is thought upon Consider this therefore that you may be stirred up to doe more You will say What would you have us to doe more I will commend these three things unto you and so conclude this point First doe as Phineas is in the Text said to doe the thing he did to turne away the wrath of the Lord was executing of judgement in the punishment of Zâ—mri and Cosby that had committed that greaâ— siâ—ne And marke this when Phineas began to stirre the Lord ceased to strive And know that the Lord regards not so much what the particular sins of a Nation or Church are as what the action the behaviour the cariage of the Sâ—ate towâ—â—â—s them is Doubtlesse the action of both thâ— Houses of Parliament declaring thâ—ir zeal both â—â—w and heretofore hath â—â—â—ne a great meaâ—es of turning away the Lords wrath and will â—e more and more if you doe so more and more This is a thing I cannot bâ—â—lke seeing the Text casts me on it that this zeale of Phineas this act of his in punishing sinne turnd away the Lords wrath You will say what things should we punish Three things First Whoredome you see here â—he people committed whoredome as it is plainely mentioned by the Apostle Be not yee fornicators as some of them were and fell in one day so many thousands Another sin was Idolatry they joynd themselves with Baal-peor And there is a third sinne not mentioned here but is as frequently mentioned by the Prophets to have a hand in common judgements as any other and that is Injustice when righteousnessâ— is turned into Hemlocke and judgement into worme-wood that is a thing that must bee remembred among the rest Indeed there may be mistakes in the administration of Iustice which through ignorance and the not perfect knowledge of a cause may be fallen into but the Injustice that turnes righteousnesse into wormewood as I said before must be remembred and that is either Briberie or that respecting of persons in Iudgement which is equivalent thereunto and will come in among the rest These bee sinnes the punishment whereof
unlesse we give him an expected issue It cannot be What shall we then doe The way to stop his wrath is to stand in the gap when a breach is made in the Sea or in a River as long as the breach continues the waters come in upon the Land the way to prevent further inundation is to make up the breach This plague is but a gap a few may yet stand in the gap and stop it you see what Phineas did here alone and it is much what one man may doe therefore let every man for his owne part humble himselfe for his owne sinnes let him turne from them and be zealous with God by prayer by striving and contending with him for there bee but two wayes to stand in the gap one is faithfull and fervent Prayer the other is Zeale against sinne and in defence of that which is good I will say no more of this for I doe but name the point onely remember that except you doe thus this jealousie of GOD shall goe on grow upon us and wax hotter and hotter Now the last point of all is this that the effect of this jealousie if it goes on shall bee utter destruction therefore sayes the Text That I consumed them not in my jealousie as if hee had said else my jealousie should have gone on and that jealousie should have beene confusion It is yet but a plague the Land is yet safe wherein you may see the Lords great patience and long-suffering but if something be not done if this jealousie of his bee suffered to goe on if nothing bee done to prevent its further progresse his wrath will end in utter destruction you know I need not tell you how neare we were to this destruction in Eighty eight the Gunpowder-treason we were brought much nearer the Ax was then laid to the root this was twice I will say thus much unto you take heed of the third time The Lord sayes well let the Tree stand yet a while longer let no more blowes bee yet given it that I may see if it will bring forth any more fruit but as I said and remember it take heed of the third time the Lord hath appointed sinne to destruction and hee expects your execution of it I will put you in remembrance of the story of Ahab and Benhadad It were good that you would reade the whole story 1 Kings 20.26 you know what was Benhadads behaviour to him the LORD delivered him into his hand hee offered him what hee would have hee entred into Covenant with him spared him and sent him away but you shall see what message was sent afterwards Because thou hast spared him that was appointed for destruction therefore shall thy life goe for his life Sin is now in your hands let it not escape execution I doe not speake particularly of punishment that I leave to you to doe according to your wisdome and according to justice according to discretion and observance of all circumstances Onely I say this to you be zealous and remember yea let it remaine with you as an irreversable truth that this jealousie of GODS if it goes on will bee destruction Therefore learne hence to feare Securitie is like a Calme before an Earthquake you know it is said of Laish it was a secure people and you know how they fared They were so secure that when an enemie came against them it was like the shaking of a Fig-tree that hath ripe Figges on it which being shaken the Figges fall into their mouth Be not secure but feare which is both a signe and a meanes of safetie It is true there is a double feare One kinde of feare indeed brings evill on us and that wee shall finde was the feare of Ieroboam who being afraid that by occasion of the peoples going to Ierusalem the Kingdome would returne to the House of David therefore hee falls to indirect policie and out of that feare caused Golden-calves to be set up in Dan and Bethel Indeed a feare that sets us on wrong meanes is unlawfull as that very thing was the destruction of him and of his House for it lost them the Kingdome So Saul had a feare but that feare was his undoing because it set him a worke to use ill meanes for when hee was afraid hee went to the Witch of Endor which was his ruine whereas it may bee if hee had sought to the LORD hee might have obtained helpe But then there is the good feare that I commend to you which is opposite to security that is such a feare as sets you on worke to use good meanes You see David when Zigâ—ag was burnt with fire and his men were readie to stone him what his feare set him on worke to doe to pray to encourage himselfe in the Lord and this feare turn'd away the evill Such a feare was Iehosaphats when hee feared hee humbled himselfe before the LORD by fasting and prayer Let this bee your feare and let it have such an effect among you to use such meanes as shall turne away the Lords wrath And in a word to conclude and it shall be the last word I will speake to you marke it well and harken to it as newes from Heaven as a message from God When Asa came home with that great Victory the Spirit of God came upon Azariah And hee met Asa and said unto him Oh Asa and all Iudah and Benjamin heare mee If you bee with the Lord the Lord will bee with you but if you forsake the Lord the Lord shall also forsake you And this I say to you all If you will be with the Lord the Lord shall be with you and if you forsake the Lord he will reject you But you will say what great newes is there in this Marke it We are apt to thinke that to bee with the LORD is not enough but wee must have other meanes and proppes and helpes No saith hee it is enough for you to sticke close to the Lord and to take no other care for the Lord will be with you who is Almightie and able to defend you Againe we are apt to thinke that though we forsake the Lord yet hee will not forsake us else why are wee so bold in sinne Why are not wee more zealous against sinne Why mourne we not for the abominations that are amongst us But the Prophet answers us for that If you doe forsake the Lord the Lord will also forsake and depart from you Consider it and the Lord give you understanding FINIS THE NEW CREATVRE Or A TRATISE OF SANCTIFICATION Delivered in Nine Sermons upon 2 Cor. 5.17 By the late faithfull and worthy Minister of IESUS CHRIST IOHN PRESTON Doctor in Divinitie Chaplaine in Ordinary to his Majestie Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge and sometime Preacher of Lincolns INNE ROMANS 12.2 Be not conformed to this world but be yee transformed by the renewing of your minde GALATH. 6.15 For in
impossible he should deny you having made you a sure promise and confirmed it with a oath What the Lord sweares to he is sure to performe In all the Booke of God you shall not finde that he sware unto the first Covenant but there is an oath put to both parts of the second Heb. 6.13 Because he could not sweare by a greater he sware by himselfe that wee might have strong consolation and assurance of forgivenesse of sinnes And so the first part is confirmed And for the second Luke 1.73 The oath which he sware unto our Fathers that he would give us that we being delivered from our Enemies should walke before him in holinesse all the dayes of our life Why then will you not beleeve it Why will not you urge the Lord with this and by prayer desire the accomplishment of it As indeed though he gives holinesse of life yet you must pray for it as well as you must pray for the forgivenesse of sinnes It was Ananias his speech to Paul Act. 22.13 Rise Paul and wash away thy sinnes calling on the name of the LORD though his sinnes were forgiven yet hee could not have assurance of it without calling upon the Name of the LROD Christ promised to baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fire that is to sanctifie us in greater measure yet wee must call and call againe So Luke 11.5 6 7 8. You must knock as at a mans doore that is a sleepe with his children and loath to rise but if you knocke long and weary the Lord out and not suffer him to rest then he will give the Holy Ghost Therefore have you prayed and yet finde not your selves New Creatures You have your old hearts and old lusts prevailing yet you must at length wash away your sinnes by calling on the Name of the Lord. And hereto you may be stirred by the Sacrament which is not onely to give assurance that your sinnes are forgiven but likewise to draw more vertue from Christ to make up the breaches of our hearts and to get more grace and to be made New Creatures in a greater measure So that when a man comes hither he must consider wherein he is faultie what breaches there are in his heart and life what imperfection there is in grace and then hee must goe to Christ to repaire them And as you bring more faith with you so you shall carry more strength and comfort from the Sacrament So that thus much I can assure you of let any man come with a strong desire to receive Christ and to be a New Creature and let him bring faith in the promises of Sanctification and it cannot bee but hee shall be filled The LORD will send his Spirit into his heart and make him a New Creature Wheresoever God hath a mouth to speake Faith hath an eare to heare and an hâ—nd to take Men forgot this they thinke that Faith is onely occupied about promises of pardon and forgivenesse but it is not so you must set your faith on worke on the promises of Sanctification and when you come to receive the Sacrament you must know that you come to a table where you have fatlings where you have new Wines And thus you must feed on CHRIST not onely taking to your selves the promises of pardon but likewise of Sanctification that you may be filled with the Spirit which is as wine to quicken you and to strengthen you in the Inner man as well as the outward Elements of Bread and Wine strengthen thine outward man So that thou mayest not thinke thou receivest the Sacrament as thou oughtest when thou goest away as weake as when thou commest when there is no strength no vigour in the Inner man And so in all thy daily services when thou commest to Christ thou must eat the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his bloud as the Israelites did every day feed on the Mannah You must remember his Covenant not only to pardon but to sanctifie you and then you shall live thereby and every day grow stronger and stronger The end of the first Sermon CERTAINE SERMONS VPON THE NEW CREATVRE 2 COR. 5.17 Therefore if any man be in Christ let him be a new Creature THE Woman of Canaan though shee had no countetenance from Christ though he seemed not to heare her a long time though hee gave her crosse answers yet hee commends her faith in an extraordinary manner at the last She had never had that commendations if shee had not beene put to that difficulty a little therefore when you presse God when you doe stand it out and are not discouraged in the end you shall have it in a greater measure and it will be a greater commendations of your faith And so it was with Iacob if he had not wrestled as hee did hee had never had that great reward which he had he never had a greater reward for any thing that ever he did in his life than for his contending with God when God refused as it were when he strove with him when he would not doe it when he seemed to be of a contrary mind yet when he held out and did not give over till he had gotten it hee never got so much at Gods hands And so I say to every one of you if you finde it an hard taske to get this change to bee made New Creatures you pray and have sought and yet you have not gotten it yet be encouraged doe it still never give over you shall have a greater measure as your prayers are stronger for this you must know that when you make requests to God according to Gods will that then it is the voice of his Spirit therefore when you desire to be made New Creatures doe you thinke it is possible for God to deny you No because this desire comes from his Spirit Now it is true a man may desire to be made a New Creature he may desire grace and yet doe it in a carnall manner that is hee may desire it because he sees that he cannot be saved without it he may desire it as a thing of necessity that will make him safe and whole as a thing without which he shall perish Nature may goe thus far but to desire to be made a New Creature out of the beauty and taste of it out of a desire to please God and to glorifie him whose Name is called upon you out of a desire to please the Spirit that dwels in you this is proper to the Saints it is the voyce of the Spirit and therefore goe on boldly God hath promised to heare you hee cannot deny you See how Christ did when he was upon the earth those that were lame and blinde when they came and cried after him and would not give him over he did not refuse to heale every one there was not a man that was importunate with him but howsoever his Disciples slighted them Christ respected them Now do
you shall want that beauty which God only accepts Againe if you be out of Christ you shall be hungry you shall be wretched and miserable for I pitch on that generall one because that is one of the outward miseries when a man is hungry when he is starved when he wants that which should strengthen him and refresh him and maintaine his life This is the case of every man out of Christ he wants that which should feed him that which should strengthen him for you must know that the soule hath a meat as well as the body otherwise why doth Christ say I have a meat to eat that you know not of They wondred to see him neglect his dinner when hee stood talking with the woman of Samaria Iohn 4. Why saith he I have another meat to eat And why doth David say Thy Law is sweeter to mee than the honey if there were not somewhat that his soule did feed on And so why is it said that Manna was Angels food You know Manna was a materiall thing such as a spirituall substance cannot feed on but because by that Manna Christ was represented You know he is said to be the true Manna The true Bread that came down from heaven the Angels they feed on this and in that respect it is called Angels food they feed on the same spirituall meat 1 Cor. 10. Your Fathers did eat that spirituall meat that is the corporall meat did typifie the spiritual meat which is Angels food therefore there is a food thâ—t the soule feeds on out of Christ there is none of this but your soules are starved are miserable and wretched For what is it that food doth It maintains life in a man take away food and you die for it Now it is Christ that gives that His flesh is meat indeed and his bloud is drinke indeed that is Whosoever beleeves not in him whosoever partakes not of him he dies for ever Againe meat strengthneth and so doth the Lord when we come to him he gives spirituall strength Without him we are able to doe nothing As you have it Ioh. 15. Without me you are able to bring forth no fruit But as the Apostle speakes Phil. 4. Through Christ I am able to do every thing It is the Lord that giveth strength If you will come in you shall have strength given you which is the property of meat Againe meat refresheth and revives the spirits so doth the Lord by his graces by the joy of the Holy Ghost by peace of conscience by those things that he puts into the heart of every beleever I say they refresh the soule more than flaggons of wine and there is as evident refreshing and therefore you know that metaphor is used often in Esay 26. I will make a feast of fined wines and of fat things And in Mat. 22. he cals them to come in for his fatlings were prepared and all things were ready What is the reason that the Lord resembleth spirituall things by a Feast because they doe the same things as a Feast doth a Feast is a refreshing to a man a continuall feast is a continuall comfort and this you shall have if you will come in to the Lord if you will not come in you shall be starved you shall be wretched and miserable This you shall have by the Lord Iesus Let this move you to come in But now a man will be ready to object you tell us of these things and indeed these are goodly things if they were present if they were reall if they were not Imaginary things onely that consisted in notion and in speculation if they were things that were sensible but they are not so these things are future things they are remote things they are things but in Imagination they are things that we have no feeling of they are things that if we looke after them we shall lose other things in this life This objection all the world makes against such motives as these and therefore I will answer these briefly and proceed First whereas men say they are things that are farre off and indeed such things move not much I say they are already present they are a great part present we have the first fruits present though the harvest be deferred and wee may boldly say to you that those very gleanings for the present are beyond the vintage that the children of this world enjoy the peace of conscience the joy of the Spirit boldnesse in death security and freedome from all deaths and dangers familiarity and acquaintance with God to enjoy his favour with all that hee can doe the grace the prevent us the blessing that followes us in all our actions the comforts of the Saints whose hearts are made glad with the light of Gods countenance these things I say are beyond the wine and oile beyond the dainties and honours which they have who have their portion in this life therefore you have something for the present indeed the outside of these things are but base but the inside is precious This is the difference betweene heavenly things and earthly in heavenly the worst is first the best is last In outward things it is true the beginning is sweet but the latter end is bitterest but let that be one answer to it that you have much of it for the present And besides this remember though you have it not present yet you shall have it after and what great matter is it to want a little to enjoy more for the future Are we not content to buy great reversions with the losse of a little money for the present for we say it will come in Are we not content to endure an Apprentiship of seven or eight yeares for our greater advantage Doe not men willingly serve a Master or a Mistresse a long time for hopes hereafter Now what folly yea what Atheisme and unbeliefe is it for a man in things that concerne salvation not to be content to want a little for the present to enjoy happinesse for ever If a man should be put to his choise whether he would have five shillings to day or many thousands to morrow a man no question would have it to morrow You know this life is not so much to eternitie as to day is to the next day why should we not be content to want a little that we may have the more afterwards And besides if you consider what men are men are reasonable and to what end is reason given you but to looke on things past and future That is the part of a Beast only to look on present things you should doe more than the Beasts doe you should looke to things that are future and should order your lives according to that And what have you faith for For faith is that which distinguisheth a Christian from another man as reason distinguisheth a man from a beast surely this should teach you to goe beyond reason reason teacheth you to goe
and you know if the husband and the wife be a thousand miles asunder there might be such an union And partly it is reall a true reall unity when Christs Spirit dwels in us which may be done without the corporall presence of Christ And therefore certainly it is not needfull for the uniting of us to Christ because this union is spirituall it is done by faith by communicating the Spirit of Christ in us and therefore in this regard it is not necessary that there should be a corporall presence in the Sacrament Last of all is it necessary to encrease our faith for that likewise is one end of the Sacrament that our faith may be strengthned Why surely it is not needfull for this purpose no I say it cannot strengthen faith because the meanes you know is subordinate to the end it is lesse than the end whereas the faith that is required to beleeve Transubstantiation is far beyond the highest pitch of faith expressed in all Scripture I say it cannot be that that should be made a meanes to helpe faith that is beyond the thing that is to be beleeved marke it consider what it is we are to beleeve we are to beleeve that Christ tooke mans nature on him for us that his sufferings and crucifying belong unto us c. Is it not much easier to beleeve this than to beleeve that a peece of bread is turned into the body of CHRIST Though you see nothing though you taste nothing but bread I say it is much easier Now as we say we must not blow a sparke too much for putting it out now to have such meanes as these to helpe faith that cherisheth not the sparke of faith but blowes it out it doth not helpe faith but over-whelmes faith when the meanes used to strengthen are such as are beyond the thing to be strengthned Therefore in regard of the thing there is no necessity that there should bee any corporall presence of Christ in the Sacrament But let us consider whether there be any necessity in regard of the words This is my body Surely there is not any necessity here for the words may have another meaning This is my body that is this is the figure of my body or this is the Sacrament of my body and therefore it is not necessary specially seeing it is so frequent with Scripture to use metaphors in this kinde I need not name them to you you know Christ is called a Rock he is said to be a Lambe to be a Lion and in another case Iudas is said to be a Devill the Seed is said to be the Word nothing more frequent Christ is said to be a Vine I need not give you more instances Herod Christ cals him Fox The meaning of all this is that they are types and signes like such and such things But yet it is the manner of the Scriptures speech and therefore it is not of necessity that those words should be so taken for words are like cloaths that may fit more backes than the owners the words may agree to somewhat else there is not a word here but it may agree to divers things Body it signifies divers bodies the word This signifies as many things as you point to and therefore there is no necessity that they should signifie a corporall presence of Christ. But you will object I but in a matter of this moment as the Sacrament the Lord speakes distinctly and expresly there he useth no metaphor though in other cases he doe To this I answer briefly it is so farre from being true that he useth them not in the Sacrament that there are none of all the Sacraments but it is used In the Sacrament of Circumcision This the Covenant c. In the Sacrament of the Passeover which were the Sacraments of the old Law the Lambe is the Passeover in this very Sacrament To goe no further for instances take but the second part of it This is the Cup of the new Testament in my bloud where you shall finde two types and figures this Cup taken for this Wine This is the Cup of the new Testament that is the Sacrament of the new Testament And therefore we see there is no necessity in regard of the words And there is no necessity since with a little buckling and swarving This is my body that is this is the figure of my body we may have a convenient sense why should we faine such a monstrous thing that bread is turned into the very body of Christ and the wine into the very bloud What needs such a monstrous fetch as this to helpe the words to a meaning What need or necessity is there that they should be so interpreted And therefore we see in the first place that there is no necessity and if there be no necessity it is not to be put upon us for if that be an arbitrary thing we may aswell deny it Secondly as there is not necessitie so there is not possibilitie though it were possible they would not get much for there are many things that are possible that are not done But it is not possible if it were possible then it must stand with the power of God But the power of God is not used but where the glory and wisdome of God goe before for it is the harbinger of his glory and wisdome The power of God is not used but if it be for his honour therefore it is said God cannot lye because it is not for his honour and he cannot deny himselfe because it is not for his wisdome and his glory Now I say since this is not for the glory of God for it is against his glory that there should be such a conversion of the bread into the body of Christ and it is against his wisedome And if it be against these then certainly the power of God must not be called to it Now I say it is against his glory because whensoever the Lord appeared he appeared alway in glory though sometimes he appeared as a man yet there was such a majestie that caused them to tremble that beheld him Shall we see God and live You see when he appeared to Elias what majestie he came in what harbengers he sent before him the Wind that rent the Rockes and a Fire c. But you will say Christ humbled himselfe to death as a man therefore he doth not alwayes appeare in glory It is true and that was the lowest degree of Humiliation and yet when he appeared as man there was some sparke of his Divinitie appeared there But that Christ should appeare in the likenesse of a peece of bread that thou mayest put in thine owne mouth surely this is a monstrous thing it is against the glory of God Doe you thinke if Christ should come downe upon the earth after his Ascention and exhibite himselfe to be worshipped amongst us that he would present himselfe in the forme of a peece of bread It is impossible it is not
crosse that is upon us when conscience is troubled I say in these cases to doe it the Lord regards it not This therefore is the Condition that is required to be done out of love it is a rule in the Civill-law Contractus qui fit per minas nullus est The contracts that are gotten by threatnings are no contracts at all but if a Virgin consent when she is free when it is done without compulsion that makes the match So it is betweene Christ and us for us to take him and keepe his Commandements and to doe it out of feare and other respects this Christ regards not it is love that makes the match If we take him out of love if all we doe be done out of love then there is a match betweene us otherwise not And there is good reason for that because feare is of a fleeting nature it soone passes and vanishes away but when it is rooted and grounded in love when that which we doe comes from this principle then we hold out and cleave to Christ without separating againe when that proceeds from feare we doe it not with delight we doe it not with propensenesse with proclivity of minde with an inward willingnesse Now the Lord so loves a chearefull giver a chearefull servant and a chearefull performer that he loves no other And therefore that Condition is required to Delight in the Law in the inward man that we doe not only keepe his Commandements but that they be not grievous to us that what we doe be done out of love and therefore it is required when we doe this that we love the Lord Iesus Christ I will be bold to say a man may pray day and night as earnestly as Hannah did he may keep the Commandements of God without reproofe as Zachary and Elizabeth did for the outward act he may abound in the worke of the Lord but whatsoever he doth if he doe it not out of love God looks upon such workes as upon a dead carkase so they are called Hebr. 9. Dead workes that is workes that are good for substance and for circumstance too but yet they are dead because they come not from love there is no life in them Therefore in 1 Cor. 16.22 Whosoever loves not the Lord Iesus saith the Apostle let him be accursed Whosoever loves not the Lord Iesus that is whatsoever a man doth besides let him professe what he will and performe what he will if he love not the Lord Iesus he is accursed And that I speake not this without ground looke 1 Cor. 13. Take the most glorious actions that a man can performe if a man give his body to be burnt that is to be a Martyr if he gives his goods to the poore which is an high action for a man to part with all he hath if he doe that which Christ required of the young man to deny himselfe If a man were able to preach the Gospell if he had gifts as an Angell as the Apostle speakes If he were able to speake with the tongue of men and Angels and if it were without love God regards it not Love is a distinguishing Character an Hypocrite may goe very far but love he cannot it is love therefore that sets an high price upon all that we doe And therefore you shall finde from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelation the Promise is made still to the Affection and it is the Affection that makes a man a good man he that feares the Lord and he that loves the Lord and he that delights in the Commandements of God c. And therefore it is not enough that we take Christ and that we beleeve in him that we doe the workes that he commands us but that we doe them out of love And this is the Condition that is required on our part So you see now what the Gospell is what the summe of it is that is sealed in the holy Sacrament it is this Covenant on Gods part that he is ready to forgive us wherein you must strengthen your faith when you draw neare to him And againe this condition on your part Faith and obedience out of love as you have heard This is the first use that you are to make I should proceed The end of the First Sermon THE CUPPE OF BLESSING DELIVERED IN THREE Sermons upon 1 Cor. 10.16 The Second SERMON 1 CORINTH 10.16 The Cup of blessing that we blesse is it not the Communion of the bloud of Christ c. SEEING we have the same occasion for which I tooke this Text being to receive the Sacrament againe the next Sabbath and so along I thought it better to continue it than to divert to another When we handled it the last time we told you there were these three parts in the words First there is a true Communion of the body and bloud of Christ. Secondly the meanes by which it is conveyed to us the bread and wine the outward elements which God hath Sanctified to that purpose The third is the adopting or fitting these elements for such an end and that is by sanctifying them by blessing them by setting them apart The Cup of Blessing which we blesse c. The point we delivered was this â—hat in the Sacrament there is a reall and true Communion of the body and bloud of Christ to every Receiver We told you the difference betweene the Papists and us we both agree that Christ is really in the Sacrament they say it is corporally we say it is only done by faith But to use an expression of Augustine which he hath upon the very Text saith he Iohn Baptist said he was not Elias and yet Christ saith Iohn was Elias Why saith hee how shall wee reconcile these two they are thus reconciled Iohn speakes properly and Christ spake figuratively and therefore they crosse not one another he gives this very instance so saith he when Christ saith This is my body and we say it is not his body but bread they are Augustines owne words saith he the meaning is this It is the body if we take it figuratively and it is not his body if we speake properly so that as it was with the Temple of his body when he spake of it I will destroy this Temple and build it in three dayes they understood it of the materiall Temple and saith the Text They were reckoned as false witnesses against Christ So when Christ speaks thus of his body This is my body when they understood it materially and corporally when it is a thing so frequent and usuall with him to speake Metaphorically I say they shall be found false witnesses against him in applying this to his materiall and corporall body that he understands of his mysticall body which is received by faith I will not stand to repeat more of that I delivered then lest the time prevent us in that which remaines Onely one thing which I then omitted and that is a great objection of
the Papists out of the sixth Chapter of Saint Iohn where Christ speakes so much of eating his flesh and drinking his bloud which say they must needs be understood of a corporall manducation of eating his body and drinking his bloud in the Sacrament we will speake one word of this First that this cannot be the meaning of that clause is evident because the Supper of the Lord was not then instituted and therefore it could not be he should have relation to that because Christ spake to those that might understand him the words were intelligible at the least Now it was impossible that those that heard him should understand him of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper because it was a thing that was not and if they say that was their dulnesse I answer it is not dulnesse not to conceive that which simply could not be knowne This that had no being could not be knowne and therefore this is certaine he had not relation to that Besides that if you marke the course of the words you shall finde he saith there that rather the flesh is turned into bread than the bread to flesh saith he I am the true bread that came downe from heaven he repeats that often in the Chapter vers 51. I am the living bread and my flesh is bread and I give life to the world So that you shall finde more reason if you reade that Chapter why the flesh should be turned to bread than the bread into flesh But besides that the eating of Christs flesh and the drinking of his bloud is alwayes taken in a good sense and it is alwayes peculiar to the Saints And therefore verse 53 54. you shall finde both expressed Except a man eat his flesh and drinke his bloud he hath no life in him Againe Whosoever without exception eats his flesh and drinkes his bloud he hath eternall life and Christ will raise him up at the last day So if you take the words generally as Christ expresseth them and so they must needs be understood Then it is impossible that his flesh should be eaten in the Sacrament and his bloud drunke because many that should eat his flesh there in a corporall manner shall not be saved which you know themselves grant Besides there are many that never eat his flesh nor drinke his bloud in the Sacrament that are saved and have life in them as you know the Theefe on the Crosse went immediately to Paradice though he never eat the flesh of Christ in the Sacrament nor dranke his bloud All the Patriarkes before Christ Did not they drinke the same spirituall drinke did they not eat the same spirituall meat as we doe but they never eat it in the Sacrament Mary Magdalene when she had never tasted of the Sacrament saith CHRIST Goe thy way thy sinnes are forgiven thee What need I give you instances of children that die It is the opinion of the Councell of Trent they set it downe in plaine termes That children that are baptized though they eat not the Sacrament and drinke of the bloud of Christ and eat his flesh are saved And therefore Christs owne words must be meant in this sense and cannot be understood of a corporall eating of his flesh and drinking of his bloud But because those words Vnlesse yee eat my flesh and drinke my bloud yee cannot have life are a place which the Papists doe much urge as if it were impossible to be answered and appeale herein to the Fathers We will shew you briefly that it was so interpreted by the Fathers that lived neare the Apostles times as by us now before there were any Popish Doctors to corrupt the Glosse as Origen that was very ancient upon the fifth of Matthew saith this That if it could be that he that remaines an ill man could eat the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud then it could never be said Iohn 6. Whosoever eats my flesh and drinkes my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day Againe also Augustine in his 26. Tract upon the Gospell of Saint Iohn saith this Whosoever is not a member of Christ he eats not his flesh he drinkes not his bloud though visibly and corporally hee crush with his teeth the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ. Marke the words The Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ But it is vaine for me to insist upon the particular saying of Augustine because those that are acquainted with his sayings if they deale ingenuously they know they are every where scattered that he is very cleare and evident But I will name one that is exceeding perspicuous in his third booke De Doctrina Christiana cap. 13. he gives us this rule for the interpreting of Scripture If we finde that commanded that is flagitious and hurtfull and evill we must not interpret Scripture so that such a thing is to be done As for example he gives this instance Iohn 6. Christ speakes of eating his flesh and drinking his bloud saith he this is a flagitious an evill and an hainous thing that a man abhors when he thinkes of it and therefore the words are not so to be understood but you must understand them spiritually and figuratively you must when you heare those words remember that Christs flesh was crucified for you and that his bloud was shed and so the words are to be interpreted Ambrose upon the 118. Psal. having occasion to speake of the Sacrament hath reference to this Ioh. 6. saith he Christ is the bread of life he that eats life cannot die for how shall he saith he die Christ is the bread of life he that eats him therefore cannot die therefore saith hee none are said to eath the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud but they must needs live for ever for he eats that which is life Athanasius hath speeches as plaine as these It is not saith he corporall but it is spirituall that which Christ speakes concerning eating of his flesh and drinking of his bloud saith he that small bodie of his could that feed so many saith he is reckoned the meat of the whole world And therefore saith he in the latter end of that Chapter Iohn 6. When Christ had finished his speech of eating his flesh and drinking his bloud he speakes of his Ascension into heaven that he might draw us from carnall conceits to raise our minde to understand the thing spiritually to ascend to him by faith and to know the spirituall nourishment of the soule and not corporall of the bodie Besides him Tertullian in his booke De resurrectione carnis Eusebius contra Marcellium not to name other particulars they all interpret the place thus And therefore let not our Adversaries say it is a new interpretation it is fastned on the words by Calvin and Beza as they doe it is the interpretation of the Fathers nay I will goe further it is the interpretation not of the Fathers onely but of some
will come What will their condition be then when there is no sprinkling of the bloud on the doore-posts of thy soule It is the case of every man out of Christ What are we out of him when the avengers of bloud when the pursuers shall set on us and pursue us from whom we cannot flie And when we shall be shut out from the hornes of the Altar when we cannot come to Christ the Citie of Refuge it is a terrible thing if we consider it seriously It is said that Aaron when he caused the people to commit that sinne or was an instrument rather it is said that he left the people naked why because he deprived them of the presence of the Lord Now when Christ shall be taken from us when we are without him when we are deprived of him are we not naked is not the hedge broken downe there is nothing left to shelter us what are we without him but as the Conneyes out of the rockes that have nothing to shelter us from the devouring Lion Now Moses was but a type it is Christ that holds the hands of God that he cannot destroy us it is he that stands in the breach and keepes out the inundation of evils that we be not over-whelmed with them he is the Arke of God that causeth the house of Obed-Edom to be blessed and we have more cause to take to heart the want of him a thousand times than they had to lament the losse of the Arke when it was among the Philistims for the Arke was but a type of Christ This is the case of every man living out of Christ. I but you will say Christ is mercifull he is very ready to forgive I hope I am not out of him but he is ready to receive me It is very true he is mercifull but to whom surely not to the wicked he holds not the wicked innocent so speake plainly to you Whosoever continues in any knowne sinne be it never so small to such a man Christ will not be mercifull No sinne shall have dominion over you Rom. 6. for you are not under the Law but under Grace As if he should say there are none whom Christ takes to himselfe and puts into the condition of Grace but he frees them from the dominion of every sinne there is not one ruling lust there You know there are many paths that lead to hell the way that leads the right way is but one errour is manifold there are a thousand paths that lead the wrong way and will not one path lead to hell as well as a thousand He that is in Christ hath crucified the flesh and all the affections there is not one raigning lust there so that as Antichrist had his marke and they received the marke of the Beast So Christ hath his marke too as you have it Ezek. 9. The Writer marked all that mourned God set a marke upon them and he sets a marke upon all those that he is mercifull to You will say what is this mark of the Lord You shall finde 2 Cor. 5.17 Whosoever is in Christ he is a New Creature that is the marke of the LORD IESUS And therefore if thou wouldest know whether Christ will be mercifull to thee consider if thou finde that marke there Art thou a New Creature that is art thou made all New as if thou haddest another soule dwelling in thy body for thou must not be new by halfes thy whole spirit must be New Againe if you will come more properly to this marke you shall finde Ephes. 1. 2 Cor. 1. what it is The Seale and marke that Christ sets is his Spirit Whosoever hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his You know Merchants set seales upon their goods to know them that when they meet with their seale they may say This is my parcell of goods So it is in the multitudes of men All that Christ will be mercifull unto he sets his seale on them and where he finds his seale and his mark those he knowes to be his That Seale is his sanctifying Spirit that he hath given us it is as a Seale or earnest 2 Cor. 1. and Ephes. 1. He hath sealed us with the Spirit of Promise that is with the Spirit that he hath promised to us So consider if thou have that Spirit then to sanctifie and to change thy heart to make thee another man than thou art by nature to enable thee to do more than thou canst doe by nature If thou have not this seale of God thou art yet none of his But you will say I have the Seale I hope I have the Spirit Well it is well if thou hast but know this that Christ never gives that privie Seale and Signet of his that inward Seale that none knowes save those that have it but there is a Broad-seale likewise that followes that Seale spoken of 2 Tim. 2. This foundation of the Lord remaineth sure and hath this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his and let them depart from iniquity that call upon the name of the Lord hee addes to that other a parting from iniquitie from all kinde of iniquity there must be none exempt place in thine heart nor in thy life wherein thou wilt have a priviledge thou continuest not in the least sinne but departest from all iniquity then thou hast this Seale aswell as the other If thou want these two Seales if thou be not a New Creature if any sinne have dominion over thee if there be one living lust in thee that is not mortified that is not healed I assure thee thou never haddest yet any part in Christ and if thou be out of Christ thou seest what thou art subject to to the wrath of God and you see the particulars you are subject to death you are subject to the feare of death and to hell and this is the case of every man out of Christ and me thinkes this should somewhat move us to come in and to take him But this is not all that which we have by Christ may invite us a great deale more forcibly If we could but open the Casket and shew you the Iewels or if we could but unlocke the treasures that are hid in Christ it would bring a man in love with him it would make men doe as Paul Account all drosse and dung that they might have him Well though we cannot doe it fully yet we will endevour to doe it a little You will say What shall we have by Christ First you shall have life by him Iohn 6. the place spoken of in the beginning He that beleeves in me shall have eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day When he comes to speake of water to the woman of Samaria Iohn 4. when hee would commend to us a motive to stir us up to come and take him and to drinke c. he saith Hee that drinkes this water shall thirst no more That is he
with us for the present yet we know not what may befall us Things present therefore and things to come saith he all this is yours and if all this will not content you I will adde one thing more the Lord himselfe is yours so that take God and looke on him in his greatnesse in his mighty power God that is Lord of Heaven and Earth I say he is yours all that he hath is yours all that hee can doe is yours And therefore when hee speakes to Abraham Abraham saith he I will bee thine if thou wilt be mine I will be to thee an exceeding great reward you shall have God himselfe for your portion You will say how can God be your portion Yes he himselfe is yours for you must know that finding Mee are the best riches Loving favour Prov. 22. is better than life he that is rich in friends is better than he that is rich in money and among friends who is like to God It was the speech of the heathen when he was asked where his treasure was saith hee Where Cyrus my friend is that is I reckon my friend my chiefe treasure I say God is your friend as hee was the friend of Abraham so hee is the friend of all the Saints you have him and all that he can doe for that we may truly say there is no end of a Christians riches Paul when hee considered this Eph. 3. saith This is a glorious priviledge that I should preach among the Gentiles The unsercheable riches of Christ the unsercheable riches of Christ hee could finde no bottome hee knew not the measure the length the breadth the height of these riches and unsercheable riches of Christ. Wee give you but a little glimpse if God open a crevise of light to you to see these riches you will be content to doe as the Merchant to fell all for the pearle for it is worth all that you can sell for it I say if you could see what it were if you could discerne and judge of it with righteous judgement you would regard nothing in thâ— world besides but you would then say I will goe and take Christ for there is riches indeed and hee is a happy man of whom God saith as he saith of that Church I know thy poverty but thou art rich So you see you shall have a kingdome by Christ and you shall have riches But is this all No for I tell you the Scriptures present them to us under sensible things things that wee can feele because that we are lead with senses in this life he saith if you will come into Christ he will make you a feast Esay saith 25.16 In the Mount of the Lord he will provide a Feast of fined Wines of fat Wines fined and purified of fatlings full of marrow and frequently it is repeated in Scripture that Christ wil make you a feast They were sent to come unto the feast of the King Mat. 22 His Wine was drawne his Fatlings was prepared that is any thing you shall have by Christ you shall have a Feast What is this Looke what meat doth meat is called a feast because it maintaines life and so doth this it breeds and maintaines life yea immortall life as the food is of an immortall nature it is the bread of life Againe meat breeds strength so this strengthens you in the inward man to doe holy and spirituall duties as the corporal meat strengthens the outward man to labour and exercise Againe a Feast breeds joy and cheerefulnesse So doth this As the corporall feast cheeres the heart and refreshes the spirit so if you would know what this feast is it is that which breeds and maintaines spirituall life and strength and cheerfulnesse You will say what is that By induction of particulars what it is not you shall finde what it is First it is not that which continues you in a being for that stones have and yet are farre from having this life Againe it is not that which gives you vegetation and motion and sense for that Beasts have and that have not this life Againe it is not the exercise of reason and understanding for that reprobates and divels may have yet dye the second death What is it then It is that which breeds and maintaines that holy and regenerate men live heare and with the Angels live in Heaven for all eternity that which breeds that life for you must know that the soule that is within us hath its food to feed on as well as the body The soule hath its food that is whersoever there is the hidden man where there is the new man the hidden man of the heart as Peter cals it it must be fed as well as the outward man it must have dinners and suppers and break-fasts if there be life there it must have all this otherwise what is Christs saying when he said Ioh. 4. I have other meat that you know not of and what is Davids meaning when he saith Thy word is sweeter to mee than the honey or the honey combe If it bee not that the soule the regenerate man within is fed with a kinde of foode And what is Iobs meaning when he said Hee found it better than his appointed meales that is he would let his body starve it should want at least rather than his soule should be deprived of the ordinary meat it should have In this sense Manna is said to bee the food of Angels why could Manna bee the food of Angels If these materiall and substantiall soules and the Angels had not somewhat else to feed on Manna was Angels foode Angels have not mouthes to eate Manna therefore it is not the corporall Manna that is said to be Angels foode What then It was Christ that was typified by Manna as he saith Iohn 6. I am the true Manna the true bread that came downe from heaven The Fatheâ—s eate the same spirituall meate so it was then the spirituatll Manna that was Angels foode and if Angels foode then the foode of our soules for our soules and Angels feede alike You will say yet cleare unto us further what this is If wee come to eate Angels foode you shall finde in Iohn 6. Seek not for the meat that perisheth but for the meat that endures for ever saith Christ which the sonne of man shall give you for him hath God the Father sealed Marke Seeke the meat that endures for ever so then there is another feast another meate and if you would know what it is this is one property it is meat that endures for ever That is other men when they eate the sweetnesse is gone as soone as they have eaten but the sweetnesse of this continues that is what profit you have had from hearinâ— the word what comfort you have had from praying to God from serving God with a perfect heart these comforts continue for ever As twenty yeares after a man may feele the
much you shall have a kingdome you shall have riches you shall have a feast I will adde but one You shall have gorgeous apparell a thing that we prize to be somewhat out of the weakenesse of our flesh so trifling as that yet because we prize it it pleaseth God to set out the glorious condition we have by Christ under this notion In the second of the Revelation I will cloath you with white raiment and Rev. 3.2 To him that overcommeth will I give the morning-starre Buy of me white garments to cover your nakednesse So I say if you will come into Christ you shall have gorgeous apparell now every man naturally seekes some excellency in one kinde or other Now what is so excellent as this To have the image of God renewed in us that excels all others as the beauty of the morning-starre excels others This you shall have by Christ you shall have your soules cloathed with beauty you shall have them adorned with Rubies and Saphires that is with all the shining graces of the Spirit you shall be justified that is you shall be washed you shall bee sanctified so shall all the Saints be clad so shall all the Saints be cloathed that will come home to Christ. But you will say tell us in plainer tearmes what this cloathing is This white array partly is a signe of the dignity which you have by Christ as Kings in ancient time were wont to be cloathed with white apparell on solemne times which was a signe that they were Kings Againe as Tertullian reports Servants were wont to weare white array when they were set at liberty in token of manu-mission so it is a token of the freedome you have by Christ. Againe Christians as Tertullian reports were wont to weare white array all Easter weeke in token of the sincerity that Paul bids us keepe the Passover with 1 Cor. 5. So when he saith you shal be cloathed with white array the meaning is you shall have the dignity of Kings the freedome of Servants that are set at liberty you shall have sincerity given you you shall have in a word whatsoever may adorne the soule I will not hold you long This cloathing of the soule stands in two things In Iustification And Sanctification There is a cloathing of Iustification that you shall have if you will come into Christ. First we are said to put on the Lord Iesus that is you shall come cloathed with him and when you come cloathed with Christ come and welcome as you know Iacob got the blessing when hee came in his brothers cloathes In Rev. 12. there is mention of a woman cloathed with the Sunne what is that every man by nature is vile and base and miserable but when he is cloathed with Christ hee is like one cloathed with the Sunne Now you know the Sunne is a most glorious creature of all the creatures that God hath made that when hee would chuse a creature that was the most glorious that our eyes have seene hee pitcheth on that and such are we when we are cloathed with Christ that is God lookes on us as on men that are as glorious as the Sunne in his brightnesse and this you shall have by Christ. But is this all No although it were all it were much because by this you may bee admitted to the presence of the Lord without it you cannot But this is not all you shall be cloathed likewise with the graces of sanctification that is when you come to Christ that shall be purified which David saith of Saul Oh you daughters of Ierusalem weepe for Saul he cloatheth you with Scarlet and hung ornaments of gold on your apparell I say Christ cloathes the soule with Scarlet Psal. 45. The soule goeth cloathed in imbroidered gold in garments of needleworke that is when the Lord comes to a soule he comes as a King of glory other Kings bring their glory with them and when they goe they take it with them but when Christ comes to the soule hee makes it a glorious house for himselfe to dwell there the materiall Temple that was so stately and so glorious the Temple of the Iewes you know it was but a type of the Temple of the Holy Ghost that is of the soule of a Christian for indeed those are the Temples wherein the Lord delights to dwell it is certaine that Salomon in all his royalty was not cloathed like one of these for shall Christs power be lesse in grace than it was in nature Hee that cloathes the Lilies shall hee not cloathe his servants with beauty and consider this that this is not a small matter to be thus cloathed The great God of heaven and earth and not God onely but holy and wise Men that are able to see through these trappings regard not what cloathing the body hath but they looke how mens soules goe apparelled I say Christ will thus apparell the soules of all that come in to him that as Aaron had all variety of precious Pearles of gorgeous apparell such Priests will Christ make every one to God his Father and therefore if you will come in to Christ this wee can promise you you shall put on the Lord Iesus you shall put on the Sunne Againe you shall be cloathed with Diamonds that is with all the shining graces of the Spirit And now what will you doe when you come to a rich Wardrobe for such is Christs to us there you may sute your selves from top to toe You reckon it undecent for a man to weare some part of his apparell rich and precious when other parts are base and old and ragged why doe you not doe this with your soules Why doe you suffer your soules to goe ragged as it were to be so unequally so unreverently clad It may be thou hast the grace of bounty but not of chastity it may be thou hast the grace of governing thy hands but not of governing thy tongue it may bee thou hast the grace to speake well but not to pray fervently there is some unevennesse in the cloathing of thy soule What wilt thou doe then Goe to Christ there is change of raiment that is there is garments of all sorts to cover thy nakednesse and to adorne thy soule all these things you shall have by Christ you shall have a Kingdome you shall have Riches you shall have a Feast you shall be cloathed with white array So you have seene now the second consectary that riseth from this Doctrine wherein wee are exhorted to take Christ to invite us to it we have shewed you your misery out of him and the happinesse you shall have by him Now there remaines no more but that you be content to come in and take him and serve him for the future so you may have him therefore what should hinder you why doe you not come in and take Christ. Onely you must know this that you must take him for your Master so as to serve no other