left himself without witness As the Apostle saith Nor hath God left any word without witness There is never a truth never a promise in the Word but it hath been made good by a thousand experiences wee have a Book of Experiences to annex to the book of Promises of the many wonders which God hath in all ages wrought for his people all which doth discover the faithfulnesse and truth of God and the Promise to us 2. Information 2 Information This may inform us of the blessed and happy Condition of the Saints who have interest in such a God as can do wonders for them Propriety in all-sufficiency doth make the injoyer happy And what a blessed Condition is this to have interest in such a God who can do wonders for the relieving of us Though your troubles may bee too big for man yet not for God your miseries and extremities may bee above the supply of creatures but they cannot bee above the Power of God Hee can do wonders hee can do that which man cannot do Though you have no ordinary means of help yet you have interest in a God who can do extraordinary things yea and Extraordinary things in an ordinary way nay by Ordinary means if hee undertake the work I may say concerning such as the Psalmist Blessed are the people that are in such a case Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord Psal 144.15 3. Information This may inform us 3 Information How precious the Saints are in the esteem of God what love hee bears to his Church that hee will do wonders for them Wonders for their preservation from trouble and wonders for their deliverance out of trouble Men may do smaller curtesies for ordinary and common friends and they may give their dole to them they do not care for But if they will lay out the utmost of their power of their strength and estates to hold up or to do good to or to relieve one we must needs conclude they love such intirely Gods Dole his common blessings of this life Rex honores dignis congiarium et indignis Senec. will not bee enough to evidence his love Hee causeth his Sunne to shine and his rain to fall upon the good and bad promiscuously But when God doth exercise the greatness of his Power Wisdome Truth Mercy as he doth in the wonders hee doth for his Church this is an evident sign of that love he bears thereto Wicked men may bee subjects on whom he doth exercise the Wonders of his Justice and of his Power As Pharaoh But the Saints are they for whom hee doth exercise the wonders of his mercy in mercy Gods wonders are for the good or for them in a good way 4. Information This may inform us 4 Information that the Condition of the Church is oftentimes very sad very dark very evil because a wonder must bee expressed for relieving of them Ordinary reliefs may help ordinary distempers But when extraordinary must bee used it declares the conditions are exceeding sad The very doing of a wonder for relief implyes a condition to bee such as is beyond the helps and succours of humane and created Power If men could help if means could relieve it were no wonder to help Therefore this implies that the Condition of the Church in respect of things below may be oftentimes very sad very miserable yet 5 Information 5. This informs us again that the Conditions of Gods People Come never to bee so sad and uncomfortable as thereby to despair of help and relief seeing wee have a God who doth wonders for us Our Condition is not so low but a Wonder may raise us up again Wee may bee hopeless and helpless in respect of Creature supplyes and reliefs but wee can never be Hopeless never helpless in respect of Gods when Creature-helps fail God doth but turn us from sense to Faith from reasoning to beleeving from Creatures to himself Hee bids us shut our eyes to the things below and look altogether above as Jehoshaphat did Lord wee know not what to do but our eyes are up unto thee And David too when hee incouraged himself in the Lord his God In the most hopelesse condition there is a door of hope because deliverance is neerest when help seemes furthest off And Oh! that wee could learn at such a time as this to live by Faith and not by sense to shut our eyes to works and look upon the word of God we should then bee strong in God and find incouragement from him when we see nothing but discouragements from below Wee are too apt to live by sense and not by faith and therefore accordingly as God doth let out or restrain himself in the wayes of his providence so our faith doth wane or increase We are too like Hagar when the Bottle is dry sit down and Cry Whereas on the Contrary wee should trust in God 1. In the weakness of means Though there bee weakness below there 's strength above weakness and strength are all one with God Nay 2. In the want of means Though means bee wanting yet God can create means nay do his work without means Nay 3. In the Opposition of means When the Word saith Yea though works say Nay when the Promise saith It shall be Though all Secondary means whereby this Promise should bee effected saith It shall not bee yet are wee to rest upon God and the Promise God doth often speak one thing to sense and another thing to Faith Hee is not ever that in Appearance which hee is in Truth Hee may speak death to sense as you see hee did to the Children of Israel at the Red sea Had they consulted with sense and Reason they could see nothings but death when yet hee speaks life and deliverance to faith As you see Moses saith Fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God may in outward appearance speak evill when yet in the purposes of his heart he speaks good As God may seem to heal when he means to destroy to speak Peace in his Providence when hee speaks terror in his word so God may seem to kill when he intends to cure to destroy when hee intends to save Jer. 29.11 I know the thoughts I have thought toward you saith the Lord the thoughts of Peace and not of trouble even to give you a desired end Though my proceedings sem to bee evil yet my thoughts are good though my wayes are war yet my purposes are peace to give you at the last an expected end 6. Information This may inform us 6 Information That there is no ground for wicked men to insult and glory in any probable advantages which they may have against the Church and People of God God can work wonders for his Church and People You see in the verse before the Text the Egyptians had many advantages against the People of God and they promised to themselves certain and infallible
of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and stay or lean upon his God and Isa 26.3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is staid on thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because hee trusteth in thee which word in the matter of Justification designeth that Act whereby finding and feeling our own weakness as unable to support our selves wee do lean and rest on Christ as David Psal 28.7 The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 trusted in him and I am helped c. And to these words in the Old Testament wee may adde those forms of words in the New and so wee shall finde that what in the Old is expressed by some one of these words is in the New expressed by beleeving in and upon To instance in a few We trust in the name of his Holiness saith the Old Testament Psal 33.21 and He that believeth in his name saith the New John 1.12 13. Trust in the Lord with thy whole heart saith the Old Prov. 3.5 If thou believest with thy whole heart saith the New Acts 8.34 37. In thee O Lord have I trusted let me not be confounded saith the Old Psal 31.1 25.2 and He that believeth on him shall not be ashamed saith the New Rom. 10.11 So that you see that to Trust and to Believe are Synonima import the same things though they differ in name yet not in nature He that Trusteth Believeth and he that Believeth Trusteth In which sense we have the phrases of believing in or upon 1 Pet. 2.6 Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded Where by believing on him cannot be meant any thing but a laying and building our selves upon Christ as the foundation that we may be made a spiritual house as you have it in Verse 4 5. the like we have Rom. 10.10.11 He that believeth on him and so 2 Tim. 1.12 For I know in whom I have believed c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whence it is apparent that to believe in God is as much as to commit our selves to his trust for so it there followeth I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him or deposited with him or delivered up unto his keeping to that day that is his soul to everlasting life So that we see that to believe in Christ is with confidence and trust to rely upon him And thus much for the formal act of faith 2. For the formal object of faith and that not of faith at large for so the word of God is the objectum adaequatum of it but as it is particularly justifying faith quatenus justificat as it properly justifieth which is not the believing of every truth of God but that onely which by way of eminency is called The Truth that is Christ himself with all his merits John 14.6 and so here in the Text He that believeth in him Hence justifying faith is often called the Faith of Christ because he is the proper object of it Rom. 3 22 26. Gal. 2.16.20 And faith in Christ Acts 20.21 and Faith in the blood of Christ Whence I thus argue That Object to the Belief of which justification and salvation is promised that is the Object of justifying faith But to believe in Christ is Justification and Salvation promised Therefore Christ is the object of justifying faith Thus as briefly as I could having shewed what is the formal both act and object of justifying faith I shall now lay down this one Conclusion Doct. That the great thing which is required at our hands for Justification and Salvation is beleeving in Christ Hee that beleeves shall bee saved In the prosecution of this wee will shew 1 What Faith is 2 That Faith is the great requisite 3 Why God hath made choice of this to bee the instrument of Justification 4 How Faith doth justifie whether formally or instrumentally 5 What bee the Royalties of Faith 1 What Faith is For the first What Faith is Wee will not define the habit of Faith but the Act of Faith nor every Act but that only which justifieth Now according to the diversity of opinions herein such is the diversity of Definitions They who hold the Assent to bee the Act of Justifying Faith define it to bee a firm and willing Assent to the truth of God in generall and to this truth in particular that Christ is the Messiah and Saviour of the World They who hold it to bee a receiving of Christ define it to bee such an Act as whereby wee receive Christ in all his offices But not to trouble you with these That which I will give you is this Definition Faith is an Act of a regenerate person whereby knowing and assenting unto the Promises of God and to this Truth in particular that Christ is the Messiah or Saviour of the World doth rest upon him for Justification Sanctification and consequently for Salvation Now to explain this Definition 1 I say that Faith is an Act for wee speak not of Faith in actu primo as an habit infused and implanted in us but in actu secundo as an Act whereby wee are justified for wee are not justified by Faith as an habit or as a grace inherent in us but as I said by Faith as an Act as it goeth over to Christ as wee see here the Promise is not made to the Habit but to the Act of Faith Hee that beleeveth c. That is the first I call it an Act 2 The subject person so it is said to bee an Act of a regenerate person a man universally sanctified regenerated and born again for take Faith which way you please for the Act or for the Habit neither of them are before Regeneration 1 The Act of Faith that is not before the Habit of Faith a thing must bee in esse before it can bee in operari there must bee a Habit of Faith within before there can bee the exercise of Faith without 2 And this Habit of Faith is not infused before other graces it being part of our inherent Sanctification as infidelity is a part of our corruption nor is it again infused alone but together with the rest of the graces of Gods Spirit by which wee are regenerated So that Faith is an Act of a regenerated soul A man cannot beleeve till his understanding bee enlightened and his will changed and this is not before Grace Again to beleeve is an Act of a living man not of a soul dead in sin and therefore the soul must first bee indued with the life of Grace before it can perform this living action Indeed we are said to be sanctified by Faith and so it might seem that our Sanctification were a fruit of Faith an effect of Faith but wee are not to understand this as meant of the first work of Sanctification which is not acquired or put forth
punishment of his sin it is his mercy that wee are not consumed Thus Faith brings to remembrance our sins Such a time such a place c. It laies the finger on the sore place discovers the cause which causes a man to make himself the subject of Gods anger and turns a mans anger against himself This was some ground of Davids patience when Shimei cursed Go up thou Bloody man It made him smel his own sin his Blood and so became patient 3. Sometimes from the end of Gods dealings 1. In general And that is for good though it be not bonum yet it is in bonum Though it bee not good yet it is for good It is a Chastising-mercy not in vindictive-Justice There is a Misericordia-puniens and there is a Justitia-parcens A punishing-Mercy and a sparing-Justice As God doth exercise his Sparing-Justice towards the wicked when hee suffers them to go on in sin and doth not punish them as wee read Hos 4 14. I will not punish your Daughters when they commit Whoredome nor your Spouses when they commit Adultery the like Ezek. 16.42 I will cause my fury towards thee to rest and I will bee quiet and will bee no more angry Upon which one saith Solo auditu tremisco I tremble at the very hearing For if God will correct no more then hee will destroy next This is a Sparing-Justice And as God doth exercise this towards the wicked so hee exerciseth a punishing-mercy toward the good Hence the Apostle 1 Cor. 11.32 Wee are chastised of the Lord that wee might not bee condemned with the World That wee may not bee condemned with the World Hee suffers the World to condemn us That wee may not love the World hee suffers the World to hate us That wee may bee crucified to the World hee suffers the World to crucifie us Therefore wee meet with Crcrosses with abuses in the World because hee will not have us perish with the World God takes liberty to chastise our carkasses to heal our consciences to afflict our bodies to save our souls And wee have oftentimes occasion to bless God more for crosses than for comforts As there is a curse hid in the best things to the wicked so there is a blessing hid in the worst things to the Godly There is a blessing in sickness a blessing in crosses in losses c. Hence All his wayes are wayes of mercy His correcting and comforting wayes His scourging and solacing wayes The wayes of health and the wayes of sickness wayes of prosperity and wayes of adversity All are in Mercy All things shall work together for good unto them that love God Thus in the general Faith doth clear to the soul whereby it doth possess the Soul with patience under any evil and laies the tumults and quarrels of the Soul 2. In particular Faith discovers at what end God aims 1. It may bee the trial and exercise of our Graces as in Job 2. It may bee for the Destruction of sin and ruine thereof Either Pride Worldly-mindedness Adherency to the Creature with many more To humble us to wean us to win us to make us more thankful with many such ends All which discovered and cleared by Faith to the Soul do exceedingly calm and still the heart in every condition Fifth Royalty 5. Faith is a Soul-Securing-Grace It is such a Grace that doth shelter and secure the Soul from all evil Hence 5. Faith is a Soul-securing Grace Prov. 29.25 They who trust in the Lord shall bee safe or shall bee lifted up on high as the word signifies above men above the World above all storms above all troubles shall bee set out of danger out of Gunshot As Noahs Ark was carried above all waters So Faith shall carry the Soul above all dangers Hee that trusts shall bee safe So that you see Faith is an Heart-securing-Grace Wee may sit down securely under the shadow of Faith It is a Soul-Securing-Grace Nothing else will secure you but beleeving Build as many Towers of succour as you can Raise up as many Castles of strength as your provisions will reach yet all these are but Castles in the Air there 's no foundation for them nor shelter in them Beat and cast out as many Anchors as you can yet you will but Anchor on the waves you shall never finde a bottom to rest on to secure your souls from trouble All the provisions in the Creature All that thy power thy Policy can do and finde out will not compass thee with safety if thou do not trust There is nothing doth secure the Soul and set the Soul out of danger but a Resolved-Trust And no Trust but a Trust in God 1. Not a Trust in Riches The Rich mans wealth is his strong City but it 's so in his conceit only it is weak 2. Not a Trust in Friends Deceitful Friends Job calls them Waters that fail as Jeremy calls them But broken Walls and tottering Fences as the Psalmist stiles them Psal 62.3 3. Not a Trust in Princes If any could secure the Soul one would think they might but these cannot Psal 62. throughout Psal 146.3 4. Prov. 10.15 Nahum 3.12 13. Wee read the Children of Israel would trust in the shadow of Egypt Egypt was a Wel-spread-Tree it promised security under her boughs and branches but it could not there was no security Jer. 2.37 God threatens hee would reject their confidences and they should not prosper thereby So that no Trust but a Trust in God will compass the Soul with safety and this will it is an Heart-Securing-Grace 1. It sets a man upon a Soul-Security-Bottom which is God himself Christ himself This is that Bottom David cryed to bee set upon Set mee upon the Rock that is higher than I. Why one would have thought David had been secure enough upon his own Bottom Hee had a good bottom to stand on if there bee one in the World Hee was a King and had provisions for safety If any man might be secure then he But hee sees hee could not be secure in himself His feet began to sink And therefore crys out for a better bottom Oh! Set me upon the Rock that is higher than I. Time was a Man was his own bottome A bottome to himself But it was but a Sandy-bottome Even in his Innocency there was no Security in it But now God hath appointed our Bottome to bee out of our selves and to bee in him And therefore our conditions are secure the Soul that stands on this bottome is safe is secure This Christ sets down in the Parable of the Hoâ—se built upon a Rock that is upon himself Though The winds blow the waves and billows beat yet there is no danger of our fall We stand upon a Rock Why but may not a Weak and Tottering house bee built upon a strong foundation And what is it then the surer for the Foundation It may bee blown down though the foundation bee never so strong Yea But no
light into the world saith Christ that whosoever beleeveth in mee should not abide in darknesse The least touch of Christ by Faith doth raise up and revive the Soul in this sad Condition As the dead man was raised to life and revived but by touching the dead bones of Elisha 2 King 13.21 so the Dead Soul if it do but touch the Dead and crucified body of Christ by Faith is raised up and revived Such a vertue and influence comes from Christ as doth raise up and comfort the Soul Thus Faith doth raise the heart by laying hold of Christ He who raised up himself will raise up all his members If our head had been still under water wee had then perished but he being risen will raise us up also being his members 4 Faith inables a man to put up Soul-raising-prayers indites Soul-raising-prayers strong Prayers and cries to God As Prayer helps Faith So Faith helps Prayer It inables a man to wrestle with God now in the Dark of desertion as it did Jacob in the Dark of the Night Yea and to wrestle with him by his own strength the strength of his Covenant of his promise of his Christ In which Encounter Faith will take up arguments 1 From it self 2 From God 1 From it self By presenting its miserable Condition in the absence of God That all his own work is ready to sink and dy to come to nothing if hee help not Oh! will Faith say Lord my flesh fails my heart fails my strength fails my spirit fails Oh! Come down before I dye come strengthen the things that are ready to dye in me This argument David took up Psal 143.7 Hear me speedily O Lord my spirit fails Oh! Hide not thy face from mee lest I bee like unto them that go down into the Pit So Psal 39.10 12 13. Take thy plague from mee I am consumed by the stroke of thy hand c. Hear my prayer O Lord hearken to my cry Keep not silence at my tears for I am a stranger with thee a sojourner as all my Fathers were Oh! spare a little that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more 2 Faith will take up arguments from God 1 From the justice and truth of God He hath promised never to leave nor forsake his people 2 From the immutability of God Thou art JEHOVAH thou changest not therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed Mal. 3.6 Thou never repentest of thine own work Thou never hast wooed my heart to lose it again Thou never tookest my heart to leave it again and take thy heart clean away Thou never didst set thy heart on mee to take it off again 3 From the power of God Abraham at a plunge was supported with this strong staff of Comfort when though by Gods command hee was to sacrifice his Sonne Isaac yet hee accounted that God was able to raise him up even from the dead Heb. 11.19 Lord if thou wilt thou canst Mat. 8.2 4 From the mercy of God Lord thou art gracious and merciful ready to relieve It 's true I am a sinner but thou art a Saviour I am sinful but thou art mercifull I am impious but thou art gracious I have done that Ego admisi undè me damnare potes Tu non amisisti undè me salvare soles for which thou mightest damn mee but thou hast not lost that by which thou mayest save mee True I am not worthy of a smile from Heaven I have deserved to bee sent from darkness here to everlasting darkness hereafter from this partial to total and universal darkness But Lord proportion not thy dealings to mee according to my deservings from thee Let not the strong God take a pattern from my weakness good God do not ever remember my evil least thou forget thine own goodness thine own mercy O bone Do-â—â— mine noli recordare malum moum ne obliviscaris bonum tuum But thou who art found of them who seek thee not Oh! Be mercifully found of a soul who seeketh thee Thus will Faith work it self out of trouble and gather arguments to prevail with God for deliverance It will take up arguments From Soul-raising-Attributes From Soul-raising-Promises From Soul-raising-Relations From Soul-raising-Experiences It will incompass God with Gods own strength And God cannot because hee will not deny God will not reject his own strength not strive against his own mercy not resist his own Spirit not falsifie his own Truth but will raise up and revive the Soul Thus you see Faith is a Soul-raising-Grace Where Unbeleef holds the soul under water buries the soul in these sad conditions Faith raiseth up and reviveth it A beleeving soul cannot long lye under trouble If all the Power Truth and Mercy of God will fetch him out hee shall bee sure to bee delivered Faith ingages and sets a work all these to help Oh! The Reason my Brethren why you lye so long in spiritual Agonies buried up in spiritual troubles is because you let not Faith come in to work for you let Faith have her perfect work and it will raise you Sixteenth Royalty 16. Faith is an Heart-chearing-Grace 16. Royalty Faith is an Heart-chearing Grace Faith is such a Grace as doth chear and comfort the soul with unexpressible Consolations It is such a Grace as makes an inlet of all the Consolations of God into the Soul Faith brings a report to the Soul that God is his God Christ is his Christ that his Name is written in the Book of Life his sins are pardoned his soul shall bee saved And such news as this must needs fill the soul with unexpressible Consolations with joyes unspeakable and full of glory All other joyes are but mad and disorderly joyes They are carnal not spiritual outward not inward joyes they are but painted not true Joyes imaginary not real Joyes unsatisfying not tull Joyes inconstant not stable Joyes The best false Raptures Anabaptistical Illusions not true Joyes But this Joy The Joy of Faith it is grounded joy it is 1. A spiritual Joy for the Nature of it 2. A Hearty Joy for the Nature of it 3. A Satisfying Joy for the fulness of it 4. A Constant Permanent Joy for the duration of it My Joy shall no man take from you Alas what are all other joyes to the Joy of Faith The least morsel of this Joy is worth all the full meals of worldly delights The least gleaning of this Joy is worth the whole Harvest of carnal mirth The least drop of this is worth an Ocean of any other There is more moisture in one drop of this than in a flood of temporal and carnal delights True Joy grows upon the stock of Faith Where there is no Faith there is no true Joy Faith is the Root and Joy is the Fruit. It is call'd The Joy of Beleevers Beleevers are the Subjects of it and a Joy in Beleeving Beleeving is the Root of it Rom. 5.1.2 Being justified by Faith wee have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus
But Johanan wanted Faith to beleeve there was safety where was no means of safety And therefore hee chose rarher to go down to Egypt than to abide at Jerusalem And if that mans reason might direct it 't was the likeliest way for in Jerusalem was nothing but Penury Want Famine and War In Egypt there was Plenty Peace and all abundance But now observe Though the way were never so likely yet following his own wisdome and rejecting the counsel of God I say following his own wisdome and counsel and neglecting the direction of God hee ran upon his own ruine it was his utter undoing You see there the thing hee thought hee should avoid hee fell into Hee thought to have avoided the Sword Famine and Pestilence but all these followed him God would make him know it was better to follow the guidance of Faith though the way were never so dangerous unlikely to carnal wisdome than to bee led by his own wisdome though 't were never so likely Men that would avoid danger out of Gods way do surely run into it Hee that will follow his own wisdome not Gods shall run into mischief You see this in Jeroboam It was a likely project in carnal reason in mans way To continue his Throne and Kingdome by making of Calves that so the people might bee kept from Jerusalem and might not revolt back to Judah But in Gods way it was the way to his ruine the overthrow of him and all his house Eighteenth Royalty 18. Faith is an Heart-establishing-Grace 18. Royalty Faith is an Heart-establishing-Grace It settles a man upon such a Foundation as nothing can unsettle him Psal 125.1 They who trust in the Lord shall bee as Mount Sion which cannot bee removed but abideth for ever Such a man is Homo quadratus Fall hee which way hee will hee lights upon his square Psal 112. His heart is fixed trusting in the Lord his heart is established hee will not fear Whereas Unbeleef doth unsettle the soul fills a man with unsufferable perplexities sets a man upon the rack of fears It is that which keeps a man in fears and that which causeth a fresh return of doubts and fears If you do not beleeve yee shall not bee established And Unbeleeving man is an house without a foundation a man without a bottom like a ship unballassed in a Tempest tossed hither and thither Faith on the contrary doth make a man a rock in a storm doth stablish and settle the heart in the greatest Tempest The lesse Faith the more Fear the more Unsettledness The more Faith the lesse Fear the more Stability Faith doth unburden our hearts of all our fears and all our cares When a man beleeves not all the burden lies upon a mans self But when wee beleeve wee cast all the burden upon the Lord. Wee are troubled and affraid what shall become of our souls what of our bodies what of our Children But Faith doth unburden the soul of these cares and thoughts it doth quit and discharge the soul of these fears Faith casts the whole burden upon the Lord makes God to bear all the burden not only the burden of sins but the burden of cares and fears comming to him weary and heavy laden and by Faith casting our burden upon him hee bears all Pro. 16.2 Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall bee established Psal 55.22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord and hee shall sustain thee There are two things Faith establishes the soul against 1. Against Fears 2. Against Falling 1. Faith establisheth the heart against fears When a man beleeves not hee is nothing but fears and scruples But when once Faith comes it doth answer all cases silences all doubts stablisheth the heart against all fears There are five Fears which Faith doth establish the heart against 1. The Fear of Men. 2. The Fear of Want 3. The Fear of Death 4. The Fear of Hell 5. The Fear of Judgement 1. Faith establisheth the heart against humane Fears the fear of men Faith will banish these unlawful and tyrannical fears It will not suffer them to enter the Throne and take possession of the heart Psal 27.1.3 The Lord is my light and my Salvation There was his Faith Whom then shall I fear The Lord is the strength of my life Of whom then shall I bee affraid Though an host should incamp against mee my heart shall not fear in another Psalm God is our hope and strength a help in trouble ready to bee found Therefore will not wee fear though the Earth bee moved though the Mountains bee hurled into the midst of the Sea Psal 46.1 2. 2. Faith doth establish us against the Fear of Want Many there are that fear to out-live their labours to out-live their Riches their Comforts Oh! say they I shall one day want and bee in misery Now Faith settles the soul against these fears Why will Faith say hath not God said The Lions shall hunger and suffer want That is as the Septuagint read it the mighty Nimrods the great ones of the World who have their baggs full They shall sooner want than they that fear the Lord shall want any thing that 's good Why will Faith say Doth God cloathe the Lillies feed the Ravens and will hee not take care for thee Mat. 6.24 to the 34. what hath not God ingaged himself to bear thy charges to Heaven Hath hee not promised to give thee all things necessary both for life and godliness not only for Godliness for Spirituals but for Life too for Temporals Hath not Godliness the promise of this Life that now is and of that that is to come Doth God take care for Ravens for the Beasts of the field Doth hee feed his Enemies and will hee forget his friends Hath hee given thee a Christ and doubtest thou hee will give thee a crumb will hee not give us all things who hath not withheld himself from us Thus the Apostle doth reason Nonnè dabit sua qui non dâ—tinuit se Rom. 8.32 Hee that spared not his own Son but freely gave him for us how shall hee not with him freely also give us all things Sure hee who trusts God for his soul will trust God for his Body Faith doth not single and chuse out its Object to beleeve this not that but all comming from the same Truth Fides non eligit Objectum the same God it beleeves one as well as another Hee who depends on God for the many will depend on him for the less Hee who trusts God for pounds will trust him also for pence If I tell you earthly things saith Christ to Nicodemus and you beleeve not how will you beleeve if I tell you heavenly things So if you will not beleeve God for earthly things how can you beleeve him for heavenly things If not for sustentation how then for salvation 3. Faith doth stablish the heart against the Fear of Death the King of Fears as Job
sinner And you have seen the Excellency of this Grace laid down in many Glorious Priviledges and Royalties You have seen that God hath poured more honour upon the head of Faith than upon any other Grace Let all this perswade with us to put our selves upon the search and tryal whether wee have Faith or no. Put such a question as this to thy own soul Am I a Beleever yea or no Have I Faith yea or no It was a duty which the Apostle did commend to the Corinthians 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves whether yee bee in the Faith prove your own selves And it is that which after this long discourse of Faith I would commend to you all That you would put your selves to the Tryal Examine whether you have Faith or no. Therefore hath God given us a faculty different from all Creatures whereby wee may reflect upon our selves Many there are who will winnow others but not sift themselves spel others but not read themselves searching others rather than themselves But let it bee your care every one to prove and examine himself The incouragement to this duty I will take from these two grounds 1. It is a thing possible to bee known whether you are Beleevers yea or no. 2. It is a thing necessary to bee known 1. It is a thing possible to bee known Hence have wee so many exhortations to examine and search If it were not possible to bee known in vain were these exhortations God doth not use to put us upon Impossibilities Though God in the Law may require that of a natural man which is impossible for him to do Rom. 8.3 because hee gave man once ability to do whatever is commanded yet in the Gospel Christ doth require nothing of the faithful which by Grace is not possible to bee done Possible then it is There is light enough in the Word if a man will bring his heart unto it and deal impartially with himself in the search whether hee hath Faith or no. The Papists indeed do say It is a thing impossible to know whether hee bee a Beleever or no. If men did know they did beleeve then they might be assured of their own Salvation But this say they no man can bee assured of A Position clean against Scripture Authority and Reason The Scripture is plain the Precepts of the Scripture plain 2 Cor. 13.5 Gal. 6.4 Let every man prove his own work Let every man examine himself They who are commanded to try may upon Tryal know whether they have Faith or no. But every man is commanded to try God in the Gospel doth not put us upon Impossibilities Besides the examples of Scripture are plain The Eunuch a new Convert when Philip told him hee might bee baptized if hee did beleeve answered I beleeve that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Act. 8.37 The like of the Father of the possessed Child when having but a weak Faith yet could say Lord I do beleeve Mar. 9.23 So Joh. 6.69 Wee beleeve and know that thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God Joh. 11.26 27. Beleevest thou this saith our Saviour to Martha there Shee answers Yea Lord I beleeve thou art that Christ that should come into the World Hence saith Augustine The Beleever seeth his own Faith whereby hee doth beleeve Again as soon as Faith is in us Vide fidelis ipsam fidem suam Ipsam fidem quando inest in nobis videmus in nobis Mentis nostrae fides nostra conspicua wee see it in us The mind is not ignorant of its own actions When it understands it knows it self to understand When it discourseth it knows it self to discourse When it desires it knows it self to desire To take away this act of the soul whereby a man reflecting upon himself and his own actions is able to know and judge of them were to destroy the Prerogative royal of an intellectual nature Now if the naked spirit of a man bee able to judge of his own actions here how much more the spirit of a man being helped by the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2.12 If Faith it self bee a witness Hee that beleeveth hath the Witness in himself 1 John 5.10 How much more when the Witness of Gods Spirit joynes with us when the Spirit witnesseth what place is left for doubting If Faith it self bee a Light How much more Quando Spiritus testatur quaenam relinquatur ambiguitas Fides est lumen seipsum visibilem faciens when Gods Light comes in with ours The Light of the Spirit to the Light of our Spirit Besides How shall a man receive the comfort of his own Faith as Hezekiah did Isa 38.3 and Paul 2 Cor. 1.12 if it bee not possible for a man to evidence to himself that hee doth beleeve Is it possible for a man to know his vitious actions to his humiliation and not possible to know his vertuous actions to his consolation If it bee granted of the one why should it bee denyed of the other Indeed I will grant thus much though it bee possible yet it is exceeding difficult 1. In respect of the deceits 2. In respect of the doubts and mis-givings of our own hearts 1. In regard of the deceits of a mans own spirit The heart is deceitful above measure who can know it Jer. 17.9 And take heed lest the Light within you Or That Light you think to bee within you prove darkness They that are much vers'd with their own hearts do finde an Hell of deceit in them Mens hearts are like some pictures If you look on one side there 's an Angel but on the other a Devil There are depths of deceit in the hearts of men which makes the work exceeding difficult Every way of man is good in his own eyes There is a Generation of men saith Agur who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness Such deceits there are in the heart that if a man will take all of trust which comes up hee will surely bee deceived You see this in the Children of Israel Deut. 5.27 28. They said Whatever the Lord said unto them they would do it It is like they spake as they meant at that time But hee that searched the heart saw deeper into them than themselves into themselves Hee espied deceits to lye low which they were not perhaps aware of And therefore saith Oh! That there were such a heart in them that they might keep my Commandements alway Hee saw they wanted yet the Heart This was but self-deceiving I might instance also in Hazael when the Prophet told him what beastly cruelty hee should exercise toward the Children of Israel What! saith hee Is thy servant a Dog that hee should do such belluine and beastly cruelty It may bee hee spake what was uppermost hee spake as hee meant for the time hee was not aware nor did hee discern the deceit of his heart hee thought his heart to bee far from that now
Such a one cares but to have a pardon from him but not purging Glory but not Grace Such a one can say with David thus far Hide thy face from my sins But Create in mee a clean heart There hee leaves him Hee desires the end of a Christian but not his beginnings Extremâ— Christianorum desiderat non exordia 2. The desires of a wicked man of an Unbeleeving man after Christ they are transient not permanent desires which may bee in times of trouble in a storm cares not if hee have him as a shelter under some rack of conscience when hee lies on his sick-bed But these continue not No sooner the storm is blown over but the desire is gone Or in a passion when hee is in a good mood as Balaam desired to dye the death of the Righteous so hee after a Sermon c. 3 The desires of an Unbeleeving man are faint not strong and earnest desires They are but slight and superficial desires such as are put off with every thing They are not vehement and strong desires such as will not bee put off with any thing but with the thing desired like the desires of David after the Wells of Bethlehem Oh! That some would give mee to drink of the Waters of Bethlehem c. Like the desires of Christ Luk. 22.15 With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer That is with strong desires not a single but a double Desire a desiring Desire Such may have some slight and superficial Desires but they are put off with every thing As the Mother puts a toy into the Childs hand and the desire to the breast is gone So here The Devil hee puts a matter of profit or pleasure into their hands and then all their desire is lost True Desire is strong Desire that will not bee satisfied but with the thing desired as Rachel for Children Give mee Children or else I dye so here Give mee Christ or else I dye The soul is ready to faint and mis-carry with the longings it hath after Christ 4. They are idle not industrious Desires The Desires of the sluggard who will not put his hand to the use of the means for obtaining of his Desire who will not Hear Read Pray c. Where on the contrary a vehement intention after Christ is joyned with a vehement intention after the use of means for the getting of Christ True Desires after Christ are ever joyned with honest indeavours for Christ Hee who desires with an honest heart will labour with an industrious spirit 2. Weak Faith though it cannot close with the Promise yet will it close with the Precept Though not with the Priviledges of a Christian yet with the services of a Christian Though it cannot share in the Comforts yet it will side with the Duties of a Christian Though it cannot clear it whether God hath given Christ to him yet it will yeeld up the soul to him Though it know not whether hee will receive it when it commeth yet it will come Though with Mary it cannot say My Saviour yet with Thomas it will say My Lord. It wants strength to throw it self into the arms of Christ to save it Oh! but yet it will cast it self at the feet of Christ to serve him Though it want the Light of Comfort and Consolation yet it will walk in the Light of command and Direction There 's not one duty through the latitude and extent of a Christians walking but the soul desires and indeavours to walk in it 3 Weak Faith is joyned with mourning and sorrow for the weakness of it What it wants in Apprehension it makes up in Humiliation There is want of Sense but not of Sighs like the man in the Gospel It 's said Hee spake with tears Lord I beleeve Help my unbelief Lord I cannot lay hold on thee Oh! That thou wouldest lay hold on mee I cannot apprehend thee do thou apprehend mee Fold mee up in the arms of that mercy that never unfolds close mee up in the armes of that love that shall never unclose An humble wanter is better than a proud injoyer An humble craver than a proud haver 4. Weak Faith is an unfeigned Faith 1 Tim. 1.5 Not a Counterfeit and Hypocritical Faith Such an one as never comes to God for Love but in a Storm for shelter Psal 78.34 35 36 37. When hee slew them then they sought him and inquired early after God They remembred God was their strength and the most High God their Redeemer But they flattered him with their mouth and d ssembled with him with their Tongue for their heart was not upright with him nor were they stedfast in his Covenant But such a one as comes to him out of Love desires nothing more than to injoy him to injoy Him rather than His. 5. Weak Faith is an holy Faith Jude vers 20. Build up one another in your holy Faith c. Such a Faith as is accompanied 1. With Holiness of Heart 2. With Holiness in Life 1. With Holiness of the Heart The soul is universally sanctified Quantum credimus Tantum amamus Tantum speramus There 's a Treasury of Grace There are all Graces though as yet in weakness So much Faith as there is so much Love so much Hope so much sorrow for sin They are like the Fountain and the Flood whereof the one ariseth no higher than the other Thus where there is Faith there is Sanctification Though Sanctification bee no Ingredient to Justification yet Faith and Sanctification Faith and the new Creature never went asunder There is a new Judgement of things a new Will to things New Desires and Affections New Principles New Purposes New Practices Old things are past away behold All things are become new 2. With Holiness in Life Though it cannot bring forth as strong fruits of Holiness yet it will bring forth fruits according to its strength A little Tree a young Tree may bring forth some good fruits though not in equal quantity to another of greater growth So hee that hath the meanest Faith hee lives an holy Life brings forth some good fruits though not so plentiful in good works as they whose Faith is come to a more perfect growth 6. Weak Faith doth not rest in weaknesse but labours after strength Weak Faith is a growing Faith Though it begins in weakness yet it grows to strength which growth is a character of all true Grace And therefore doth it thirst after the Ordinances as a new born Babe that it may grow thereby As the Word was the Breeder of it so it thirsteth after it to bee the Feeder As it was the Begetter of it for true Faith is the Daughter of the Ministry Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10. so it thirsts after it for nourishment 7. Weak Faith will cleave to Christ will not forgo nor forsake Christ for any thing What it wants in Apprehension it hath in Adhesion what it wants in Evidence
as well as in broad waies in rugged waies as well as in plain smooth waies In difficult as well as in easie waies You see this in Abraham concerning the sacrificing of his son In which act hee might seem to disobey in his Obedience And the dutiful yeelding to it might seem to contradict duty There seemed not only Nature and reason to cry down this act of Obedience but even the word too The yeelding of Obedience did seem to justle against the Precept of Obedience Yet you see hee obeyed God It is said By Faith Abraham obeyed God By Faith indeed It was a strong Faith That strong Faith that beleeved hee should have a Son did now obey God in offering of his Son Strong Obedience proceeded from his strong Faith Strong Faith produceth strong Obedience 1. Strong for Active 2. Strong for Passive Obedience The same Faith doth supply the soul with Active strength for doing duties and with Passive strength for suffering duties 1. A strong Faith is strong to bear Reproaches for Christ As Moses Hee esteemed the Reproach of Christ greater riches than the Treasures of Egypt Heb. 11.26 And Paul Therefore wee labour and suffer Reproach because wee trust in the living God 1 Tim. 4.10 2. A strong Faith is strong to bear losses for Christ As they Heb. 10.34 Who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods as if the enemy had done them a great courtesie A strong Faith is strong to bear Persecutions Scourges Death it self for Christ You see what the Apostles indured what Stephen indured Why saith the Text Hee was a man full of Faith Act. 5.8 Strong Faith did inable them to suffer and bear and to go through difficulties prisons persecutions scourgings c. for Christ A strong Beleever doth rejoyce if hee can hold up God as it were though himself bee down if hee can raise up Gods Glory though it bee by the ruine of himself save his honour by losse of himself What Epaminondas said who having resolved concerning his Buckler either to defend it or to dye for it being wounded to death brake forth into these words Num salvus est Clypeus meus Is my Buckler safe If that bee safe I am well So the Beleever in the midst of all his sufferings if hee can keep his Buckler safe hold up God and his Glory All is well 3. A strong Faith will beleeve nothing contrary to his belief All the temptations of Satan all the arguments of men shall never bee able to reason him out of his Faith A weak Faith is quickly brought to deny his conclusion to yeeld up the cause Satan may make a man unsay what formerly hee hath said But a strong Faith will hold the conclusion against all Satans sophistry His Faith hath been gotten up by many invincible experiences from Gods behaviour to him as a Father from the souls behaviour to him as a Child And all that Satan can do shall not out-reason his Faith What a man saith by feeling a temptation may make him unsay but what a man saith by Faith nothing can make him unsay If Satan do assault such a man and tell him God doth not love him God is not his Father yet will the soul binde it self to this Mast and hold his conclusion against all with the Church Isa 63.16 Doubtless thou art our Father thou Lord art our Father our Redeemer Say Satan takes up arguments from Gods 1. Inward Or 2. Outward dealings with us 1. From his Inward dealings May bee a man is in some present Desertion and wants the clear Evidences which formerly hee had and Satan from thence doth argue That God is not our God hee is not our Father yet will not a strong Faith bee reasoned out of his Faith The soul will yet conclude it though it cannot clear it and beleeve it when it cannot see it The strong Christian lives by Faith not by feeling and knows God may bee His God though by sense it bee not discerned but that God is not his God You see this in Psal 22.1 My God! My God! There 's Faith Why hast thou forsaken mee There 's sense Faith held the conclusion against sense That God was his God though sense could not apprehend but that hee was forsaken of God And therefore when the eye of Sense and Evidence is put out yet hee hath the eyes of Faith to see and beleeve And Blessed is the man saith our Saviour to Thomas who beleeves and sees not Joh. 20.29 A strong Faith will trust God further than hee sees him Faith is the Evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 Faith will trust upon the Promise of Mercy in the want of Sense of Mercy Our Faith is not begotten by sense and feelings but by the Promise and therefore in the want of sense and feelings the soul may beleeve Isa 50.10 Though a man walk in darkness and sees no light yet may hee trust in the Lord and lean upon his God A weak Faith if it want feeling it is gone but the strong Faith will Hope against Hope Beleeve against Sense Reason and present Evidence and can say God is mine though it want the present Sense and Evidence of it It will trust in God a Father when his dealings seem to argue him an Enemy Faith will read Love in his angry looks and look through the mist of Desertion and see the affections of a Father under the expressions of an Enemy Thus did Job by Faith Though thou kill mee yet will I trust in thee Full well it knows Though God hide his face yet hee cannot deny himself 2. Say hee takes an argument from Gods outward dealings in chastising and afflicting of us and say If God loved thee hee would not so afflict thee If God were thy Father hee would not so chastise thee However the weak Faith may bee born down with such a temptation as this yet the strong Faith is not moved with such a temptation it is able to retort on Satan because God loves mee therefore hee scourgeth mee that I might not bee condemned with the World That I might not love the World therefore hee suffers the World to frown on mee That I might bee crucified to the World therefore hee suffers mee to bee crucified in the World Because I am a Child therefore hee afflicts mee Hee scourgeth every Son whom hee receiveth Rom. 12.6 7 8.9 c. God takes liberty to chastise our bodies to save our souls And God loves tenderly when hee corrects severely Job 5.17 Pro. 3.11 Thus doth a strong Faith hold up the conclusion of Faith against all the Reasonings of Satan against it Let him produce never so many Evidences to the contrary yet will hee not bee born down in it It 's a maxime of Faith hee will hold to against all opposition whatsoever You see it was thus in Job When God had taken away his goods when his hand was upon his body and upon his spirit too not only withdrawing himself from
earth fainteth not neither is weary hee giveth power to the faint c. Do you doubt of his power why hee is the everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth and hee can pardon c. What though thy sins bee great yet hee tells thee hee will abundantly pardon Isa 55.7 8 9. Let the wicked man forsake his wayes and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will abundantly pardon the word is multiply to pardon as thou hast to sin But you will say how can this bee this is far above the thoughts of a Creature Why but saith hee in the next verse My thoughts are not as your thoughts neither are your waies my wayes saith the Lord for as the Heavens are higher than the earth so are my wayes higher than your wayes and my thoughts than your thoughts But alas there are such and such conditions required Why but saith hee Ho! every one that thirsteth come Revel 22.17 Do you doubt of his will Why hee tells you It is not the will of your heavenly Father that any of these little ones should perish Matth. 18.14 You think it is but Christ saith it is not hee knows the thoughts hee thinks to thee they are thoughts of peace and not of evill c. Jer. 29.11 And how doth hee say As I live I do not delight in the death of him that dyes turn you turn you and live Oh why will yee dye Ezek. 18.31 32. And God would have all men saved by comming to the Knowledge c. 1 Tim. 2.4 Yea but this Covenant is not firm I may sin away mine own mercy See what God saith Isa 54.10 the Mountains shall depart and the hills shall bee removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenant of my Peace bee removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee It is more firm than the Covenant of the day and night Jer. 33.20 21. can a Woman forget her sucking child that shee should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will not I forget thee Isa 49.15 This with abundance such like Rhetorick God useth to draw a poor humbled doubting sinner to beleeve and why should God use such Rhetorick to perswade with men if it were so easy a matter as men make it to beleeve This shews the difficulty of Faith 4. If you consider the way that God takes to confirm the Covenant of mercy and pardon to Beleevers Hee gives you his Promise his Oath his Seal heaps Mountains upon Mountains and all to confirm it hee layes Heaven and Earth at stake nay hee pawns his Truth his very being and all to perswade with unbeleeving men to beleeve God needed not to do this in respect of himself his purpose was as good as his promise his Promise as good as his oath his oath as firm as his seal hee needed not to do this in respect of himself as if that his oath would binde him more than his promise But God hath done this in respect of us to strengthen our Faith that wee might bee stedfast in God when wee stagger in our selves that wee might bee strong in God when weak in our selves As the Apostle in Heb. 6.16 17 18. That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye c. God hath thus condescended to all this to beget Faith in unbeleevers that if his promise would not perswade with you then his oath if not that yet his seal The great Seal of Heaven You could not desire more of the most faithless and dishonest man in the World than God hath condescended to who is yet the faithfull and unchangeable God You have a Promise will not that do Vae nobis si nec juranti Deo tredimus you would have an Oath will not that do you have a Seal witness all And what doth all this but plainly demonstrate the greatness of the difficulty to beleeve Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciâ—ra Wee say it is in vain to do that by more which may bee as well done by lesse If Promise would have done it the Oath added had been in vain but shall wee think that any thing of this was in vain that wee cannot Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate And was all this then required would no lesse serve the turn Tell mee then whether this do not fully enough demonstrate the difficulty of Faith Thou that thinkest Faith so easy thou that never found the difficulty of it mayest well think thou hast no Faith In this God shews the difficulty of beleeving that his Promise his Oath c. are all ingaged to work and confirm it 5. If you consider the complaint of the Preacher You hear Isaiah complaining Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report or our Doctrin as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may import And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And Christ complains of the same Joh. 12.37 38. Though hee had done so many miracles before them yet they beleeved not on him that the saying of the Prophet might bee fulfilled viz. who hath beleeved our report And Paul hee takes up the same complaint as you see at large Rom. 10.16 17 18 c. And wee our selves may take up the same complaint Wee have spent our strength in vain and our labour for nought Though wee have declared the wonderfull things of the Gospel the freeness vastness greatness of the love of Christ the preciousness of Promises yet men beleeve not Oh that I could not complain of those c how many offers of Christ have you had how many tenders of mercy How often hath Christ unbowel'd himself to your souls in the Promise how often hath God invited intreated beseeched called Hoe every one that thirsteth come But yet senselesse people do not thirst and thirsty people do not come c. Oh! here is enough to demonstrate that wee are slow of heart to beleeve 2. Wee come to the second What are the grounds c. And wee will reduce them to these three general heads 1. There are some grounds from Satan 2. Some from our selves 3. Some which are taken from others which do foreslow the heart from beleeving in the Promise You must know I speak of men awakened and convinced of their miserable condition not such as go on with a high hand in their sins I speak of men humbled 1. Then the reasons or grounds why wee are so slow c. From Satan are the delusions and false suggestions of Satan You must know there are two main stratagems which hold up Satans Kingdome in the World 1. Is to keep presumptuous sinners from being humbled 2. The other is to keep humbled sinners from beleeving The first of these is by keeping of presumptuous sinners from being
a nobis accipiendo sed omnia nobis promittendâ— Aug. because he hath ingaged himself to us by many great and precious Promises Gods Promises are ingagements upon him God hath made himself our Debter Not by receiving any thing from us but by promising all things to us God hath made many precious promises to us 1 Promises of Preservation Isa 33.16 Hee shall dwell on high his place of defence shall bee the munition of rocks bread shall bee given to him his waters shall bee sure A Promise than which I know none more full in the Book of God wherein all Objections that a fearful heart might raise are answered and taken away Let us view it over 1 Hee shall dwell on high If hee were among his enemies hee might bee in danger But hee shall dwel on high nay on heights as the Word is many Ascents many Heights above the reach of danger out of Gun-shot 2 But suppose they could raise up Mounts and come as high as hee yet they shall not hurt him Hee is in a place of defence 3 But what then His defence is not so strong but it may bee broken thorough No saith the Text that is impossible for his place of defence shall bee the Munitions of Rocks many Rocks and many Munitions of Rocks and therefore impregnable to guard him 4 Why but hee may bee starved out his supply will not alway last There is no plowing and sowing upon Rocks hee may bee famisht out No saith the Text. Bread shall bee given him Hee shall bee provided for 5 But what shall wee do for Water There is no Water to be had out of Rocks You see it was that which posed the Faith of Moses to fetch Water out of a Rock But saith the Text hee shall have Water too 6 Yea but his Water may be spent It will not alway last No saith the Text His Waters shall be sure never failing Waters sure Waters Again in the same Chapter vers 21. The Lord will bee to us a place of broad Rivers and streams wherein shall go no Gallie with Oares nor shall gallant ship pass thereby Shewing the defence God would bee to his People Hee will bee a Stream nay a River between us and our enemies And a broad River a River that cannot bee passed over Why but they may use Oares No saith the Lord Hee will bee a River wherein no Gally with Oares shall pass But a Ship may No nor gallant ship shall pass thereby for the Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King hee will save us But what if any ship should attempt You shall see vers 23. God will untackle them Thy tacklings are loosed they could not well strengthen their Mast they could not spread the saile 2. And as hee hath made promises of Preservation from So hee hath made promises of Deliverance out of trouble Psal 34.19 Many are the troubles of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all So Psal 50.15 Call upon mee in the time of trouble I will deliver thee So Psal 91.15 I will bee with him in trouble and will deliver him So Isa 54.17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper And an excellent promise wee have Isa 43.3 4. I gave Egypt for thy ransome Ethiopia and Seba for thee God speaks here as the Lord and Possessor of the whole Earth Egypt was his and Ethiopia was his and both these hee gave for to redeem his Church The Church was in bondage and captivity you know in Egypt And God gave Egypt for her ransome And how because shee could not bee ransomed and delivered without the loss of Egypt Therefore God gave Egypt for her That is hee would rather lose all the Land of Egypt than his people should not bee ransomed hee would sink the whole Kingdome of Egypt if it stood betwixt his People and Deliverance And so it follows in the 4. vers I have loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life As if hee had said I love thee thou art more dear to mee than all the World and I do not stick to give the lives of thousands to uphold thine Multitudes shall bee destroyed rather than thou shalt not bee preserved I love thee and therefore I will give men for thee Thus you see God is ingaged to do wonderful things for his Church because of his Promise That love which hath moved him to make these precious promises to us will never give him rest till it hath caused him to make good those promises which hee hath made 3. A third loving Ingagement which causes God to do wonders for his People is because they trust in him Trust is a kinde of Ingagement upon a man although hee had made no promise A man will not deceive another who reposeth his whole trust in him though hee were not ingaged by Promise There is a kinde of Ingagement in Trust it self And shall wee then think that God will when hee hath made so many precious promises to us This were the greatest deceit in the World a Soul-deceit If God should call us off from all other succours from other shelters and tell us that if wee will trust in him hee will bee our succour our security And should God fail the soul this were an undoing-deceit the greatest deceit in the World No my Brethren there was never man who laid up his confidence in God but hee found God to bee that to him which hee expected Faith ingageth all the Power all the Wisdome all the Mercy and Truth of God to help us And if the Power Wisdome c. of God can do wonders for thee God will then do wonders for thee if thou beleeve in him Beleeve saith Christ and thou shalt see the wondrous works of God 4. A fourth Ingagement which causeth God to do wonders for his People is because they seeke him Hee doth not say to the seed of Jacob seek yee mee in vain Hee hath stiled himself The God hearing prayers and bids us call upon him in the day of trouble and hee will hear The Prayers of Gods People they are as so many Ingagements upon God to move him to do for them Faith and Prayer will set All-God awork It will set the Power Wisdome Mercy of God a work for you Faith and Prayer will remove Mountains Nothing shall bee too hard for that people to do whose hearts and spirits God holds up to beleeve and to pray Bee it to thee even as thou wilt Luther having been in his study and earnest with the Lord about the business of the Church receiving a gracious answer hee comes down and cryes Wee have overcome the day is ours And so it fell out saith the story For the Church prevailed There is a kinde of Omnipotency in Faith and Prayer because these two set the Omnipotent God and the Omnipotency of the Power of the Omnipotent God to work for us And I beleeve
fearful in praises doing wonders IN trouble God charges us with two things 1 Faith p. 335 2 Prayer Ibid. In deliverance with two things 1 Thankfulnesse p. 356 2 Obedience Ibid. The words opened Ibid. and p. 357. Doctrin The wonderful God doth do wonderful things for his Church and People The Doctrin proved and illustrated p. 358 1 That God doth great wonders Ibid. 2 That God hath done great wonders and that either p. 359 1 With small means Ibid 2 Without means p. 360 3 By contrary means Ibid. 2 Querie Is the Grounds and Reasons 1 Because he is a wonderful God p. 361 2 To get himself a wonderful name Ibid. 3 As to get so to uphold his great name p. 362 4 Reason God doth wonders for his People that hee might inherit wonderfull praises from his People p. 363. 5 Reason To add torture to the Devill and his Children p. 363. 6 Reason That so our selves and the Generations to come might bee stirred up to trust in him p. 364 365. 7 Reason Because his love and ingagements move him to it 4. Ingagements 1 They are his p. 366 2 He hath promised p. 366 367 3 They trust in him p. 368 4 They seek him ibid. 3 Query VVhat are those wonders God doth for his Church and People p. 369 1 Wonders for their souls p. 369. to 373 2 Wonders for their outward man p. 373 374 375 4 Query When is the time which God takes to do VVonders for his Church 1 When God shall get him most glory of the enemies p. 375. 2 VVhen God shall get most praise from his People p. 375 376 3 When God can â—â—â—â—e Church most good and work the compleatest â—â—â—â—â—erances p. 376 4 VVhen thâ—â—â—emies of the Church are carried with most 〈◊〉 â—nd promise themselves most successe p. 376 377 5 â—â—en Gods people are brought most low â— Two times Gods time Mans time p. 377 378 6 VVhen God holds up a spirit of Prayer p. 378 379 7 VVhen the glory of God is mightily concerned p. 379 5 Query How shall wee know God will work wonders for us if God do not wee shall bee made three wonders to all Nations ibid. 1 Of folly and madnesse 2 Of scorn and hissing 3 Of misery p. 380 Grounds of Fear that God will rather make us a wonder than work a wonder for us first Spiritual grounds 1 Universallity of sin p. 380 2 Impudency of sin p. 381 3 Obstinacy of sin amongst us ibid. Second natural grounds of Fear 1 The opposition of wicked men against indeavours of reformation ibid. 2 The schismes and divisions among us 382. 3 The wilful blindnesse and security among us 4 Missing of opportunities amongst us ibid. Two Grounds of hope first From God 1 From the goodnesse of his nature ibid. 2 Because Gods glory is much concerned p. 383 Two Grounds of Hope from the Church of God the good of most of the reformed Churches in the Christian world doth depend upon the welfare of England ibid. Three Arguments taken from our selves 1 Sins are not National nor untenanced by Law p. 383 384 2 Wee are now in reforming of them p. 384 3 From the beginnings of mercy p. 385 4 The stock of prayers laid up p. 386 5 God hath drawn out the graces of his people ibid. Four Arguments taken from our enemies 1 Their former wickednesse which shall hunt them and finde them out p. 387 2 Their present sinfulnesse ibid. Object God hath given up the godly into the hands of wicked men Four answers to this Objection p. 388 389 Five Arguments to induce us to hope that God will do wonders for us is taken from the consideration of those great things that God hath promised to do for his Church and People in this latter end of the World 389 to 393 Vse of Information To inform us of the greatnesse of our God 1 Of his Power 2 Wisdome 3 Mercy 4 Truth 394 2 It informs us of the happy condition of the Saints 3 How precious the Saints are in the esteem of God 4 That the condition of the Church is many times sad because a wonder must bee expressed for their relief p. 395 5 They must not thereby dispair of help p. 396 6 There is no ground for wicked men to insult p. 397 7 What ingagements lye upon them that God hath done wonders for ibid. 8 Information What grounds there is for us at this time 1 To trust in God 2 To pray to him 3 To hope in him 4 To wait upon him 1 From the Experience of God p. 398 399 2 From the Power of God 399 9 This informs us what is the reason that God lets wicked men bring up their designs to ripenesse because hee can do wonders p. 400 401 Second use of Advice to wicked men p. 401 402 403 Third Use for incouragement of Gods People 1 There is no cause of fear p. 403 Fear is unbeseeming 1 A Christian which is the souldier of Christ 2 Religion which is the cause of Christ p. 404 2 There is lesse cause of discouragement p. 405 406 407 Fourth Use To teach three lessons 1 Thankfulnesse p. 407 2 Obedience p. 408 3 Dependence p. 408 409 Two great enemies of Dependence upon God 1 Obliterating the notions of God p. 410 2 Burying the remembrance of his works p. 411 Fifth Use Then it is good being on the Churches side p. 412 Sixth Use Let us fall down and adore this great God who can do wonders Seventh Use Let us carry our selves in such department as is sutable for such as are Expectants that God should do wonders for them p. 413 Eight Use Doth God do wonders for his Church then learn 1 To trust in God unbeleef imprisons God faith sets him at liberty p. 414 2 Bee incouraged to Prayer Faith and Prayer have had a hand in most wonders p. 415 3 Bee incouraged to hope ibid. 4 Bee incouraged to wait p. 416 1 Would you ingage God to do wonders beleeve p. 417 The excellency of Faith in four Particulars Let no difficulty undermine your Faith no nor discouragement put you off from seeking p. 418 Supplication is nothing without Reformation p. 419 420 SUch was his Out-side But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That once within Thou may'st not yet behold For fear of Sin It 's Dan. 12 3. Dazeling Glory Mortal would amaze And make thee Idolize It 's * Sun-bright raies Thy Sin would Crucify what Grace hath Crown'd And Thou with shame It 's Glory quite Confound No Stay a while First Get to Heaven And than Gaze-on And view the In-side of the Man Then Love Adore Admire Triumph And Sing Eternal Hallelu-jahs to thy King That Pious Soul Rev. 19.10 22.9 disclaims thy Worship He Thy Fellow-Saint will worship God with thee But is there left no Tran-script here beneath Of that Fair-Copy Rent from us by Death Yes Turn these Pages Reader Thou wilt see His every-line Breaths Immortality Ferd. Archer SINNE THE GREATEST
EVIL 2 SAM 24.10 And now I beseech thee Take away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly THE occasion of these words was the hand of God upon the Children of Israel for Davids Sin of Numbring the people You read in Verse 2. That David commanded Joab to go and number the people and at the first Joab he disswaded him But you will say Was it not lawful to number the people Did not Moses the same in the Wilderness and Joshua and Nehemiah Yea But Joab saw the pride of Davids heart in it as appears by his answer in Verse 3. And Joab said unto the King Now the Lord thy God adde unto the people how many soever they be an hundred fold But why doth my Lord the King delight in this thing notwithstanding the Kings word prevailed against Joab though indeed to his trouble and Israels cost Happy had it been for David and Israel too if the work had not been done But Joab goes and the number is brought in There were Eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew sword and the men of Judah were Five hundred thousand Well But what was the Fruit what was the Effect of this 1. You read Davids heart smote him Verse 10. that is His Conscience accused him If Conscience be not a Bridle it will be a Whip if it be not a Curb it will be a Scourge if you will not hear the Warnings you shall feel the Lashings of Conscience if it do not restrain from sin Monendo by Admonition it will put us to Pain in sin Mordendo by Contrition 2. But there was not all God would punish him for the sin And you may read the Sin in the Punishment He had Gloried in the Number and therefore God would Lessen the Number Yet he puts it to his choice which of the Three judgements he propounds whether Seven years Famine or Three moneths flight before his Enemies or Three days Pestilence he would take Every one was Flagellum Mundans A sweeping Scourge But mark Davids behaviour God threatens judgâ—ment and David goes and Mourns for sin For Davids heart smiting and his Prayer though set before yet seem to be afterward and an effect of the Prophets discovery of sin as appears by the Verse following the Text For When David was up in the morning the word of the Lord came unto Gad Davids Seer where you see it is rendred as a reason why his heart smote him and why he prayed thus because the Prophet had been with him and had convinced him of his sin and denounced Gods judgements against him whereupon Davids heart smote him and he prays Take away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly But here it may be demanded Why when God threatned judgement David should go and pray for pardon of sin why did he not desire GOD rather To forbear his strokes To avert and turn away his wrath Than meerly To Beg pardon of sin or if he had desired this yet why did he not Beg the other as well as that and joyn them together in the same Petition Answ 1. To teach us in all the pressures and evils upon our Outward man to turn our thoughts Inward and lament sin 2. Because he saw sin the Cause of judgement and therefore desires the removing of this that so the other might be withdrawn also 3. Because he knew the judgement could never be removed in Mercy unless the sin were taken away Every Preservation is but a Reservation every Deliverance is in justice not in mercy if sin be not taken away 4. He was more apprehensive of the Dishonor of GOD by his sin than of any judgement that his sin had brought upon him Or 5. He sees sin The Greatest Evil and therefore seeks the redress of that rather than of any other Evil Take away the iniquity of thy servant In the Text you may observe Two Parts of Prayer I. Confession II. Petition 1. Confession with self-judging For I have done very foolishly 2. Petition Take away the iniquity of thy servant joyned with faith Or here you have 1. The Petitioner David set forth from his Relation Thy Servant 2. The Petitioned GOD. 3. The Petition it self Take away or Pardon the iniquity of thy servant for the phrase seems to have respect to the Scape-Goat a Type of Christ which was to Carry away the sins of the People into the wilderness Levit. 16.22 thereby signifying Christs taking away sin There is little difficulty in the words but what we may make a difficulty As indeed it would be a making of difficulties to go about to expound that which is so plain rather than an unsolding of them if I should tell you of the several distinctions men make of sin Three words in the Hebrew Exod. 34.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By one they will have to be meant Original Sin by another Infirmities by the other your Grosser Sins But upon examination I finde them used promiscuously and therefore such distinctions of them hath no bottom The letter of the words and outward face of the Text speaks Three Doctrines 1. That GODS servants may commit sin commit iniquity The iniquity of thy servant 2. Fresh sinnings must have Fresh repentings If you Renew your sins you must Renew your Sorrows 3. There needs fresh pardon for fresh revoltings Take away He doth not say Assure me it is taken away but Take away But this will not be the subject of my discourse now That which I intend to speak to shall be The Time and Occasion of these words which was when GODS judgements were threatned against him 1. Sin truly is and GODS peöple do apprehend it to be Doct. 1 The Greatest evil in the world He doth not say Take away the Plague take away the Judgement threatned but Take away this Sin He lookt upon sin as the Greatest Evil. 2. When GOD threatens to punish sin Doct. 2 it is the best way to run unto GOD to Take away sin Or When GODS hand is either Felt or Feared it should be a Christians wisdom To Repent of sin To Desire sin removed We begin with the first Doctr. That sin truly is and GODS people do apprehend it to be The Greatest Evil in the world We will take it 1. In its Pieces 2. We will close them 1. The Doctrine doth part it self into Two parts 1. That sin is the Greatest Evil in the world 2. That GODS people apprehend it to be the Greatest evill in the world 1. Sin the greatest evil in the world 1. For the first That sin is the greatest Evil in the world I may shew this 1. By Collation and Comparison of this with other evils 2. By Demonstration and Proof of it to you 1. If you Compare the Evil of sin with other evils you shall see how short All other kinde of Evils are to this Evil of Sin 1. Most of all other evils are but outward They are but such as
yet here hee that beleeves most and loves most makes most haste The more the soul beleeves and the more the heart is taken with Christ the greater are the desires to bee with him Till Simeon had gotten Christ into his armes hee was unwilling to dye but after hee had Christ in his armes Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation Indeed here are but the Espousals between Christ and the soul Some Broken-Rings Contracts Espousals betwixt Christ and us But then is the great Marriage-day the Solemnization of our Nuptials to all eternity Here wee do see him but dimly and darkly at the best and there are oftentimes clouds come in and interpose themselves between Christ and us but then wee shall see him face to face and never shall there cloud come between Christ and us to all eternity There wee shall see him in his Glory his full discoveries Here wee injoy him but in part The distance is great betwixt him and us All which distance doth arise from that within us Were it not for sin wee might bee in Glory even in Grace But then wee shall injoy him in fulness Heaven is the place which God hath intended to set forth himself to his People in his Glory to all eternity Where there shall bee no fears no sin never smoak of distrustfull thoughts shall arise more Where there shall bee no sorrow no tears All sighing and sobbing shall pass away and nothing but joy shall keep the house Wee are now the Sons of God But it doth not yet appear what wee shall bee for wee shall see him as hee is 7. Sign A heart taken with Christ thinks nothing too much to do nothing â—â—o much to suffer for Christ You know Love cannot bee posed Wee say there is no difficultie in Love Things impossible to others are easie to them who love And things burthensome to others delightfull to them who love If once thy heart bee taken with Christ thou wilt think nothing too much to do nothing too much to suffer for him As Christ thought nothing too much for us because his heart was taken with us neither shall wee think any thing too much for Christ Wee read how prodigal the Saints have been of their Riches their Blood their Lives for Christ because they loved him 1. They have not accounted their estates too dear for him Heb. 10.34 They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods 2. They have not accounted their lives too dear Rev. 12.11 They loved not their lives to death for him If they must dig in Mines or be cast to bee devoured by Wild-Beasts for Christ as it was the usual sentence of Christians Christiani ad nâ— talla ad Ecstias in the primitive times they were willing to do and suffer it See this in the Virgin of whom Basil speaks who was condemned to death because shee would not worship Idols And the like of old Polycarp and others This is certain A soul taken with Christ knows no difficulty in its love It loves him with an unlimited an uncircumscribed love which no duty no difficulty can pose 8. Sign A heart taken with Christ is exceedingly cast down with the withdrawings and absence of Christ The comforts of the soul are laid up in Christ and when hee is gone all is gone Comfort gone Joy gone the Heart gone with him As Mephibosheth said Take all now my Lord is come back so the soul saith Take all take the World take Riches take Heaven and Glory so far as Heaven and thou are two things That my Lord may return with my soul Datkness is terrible to the soul and this is thick darkness and therefore saith with Absolom let mee see his face mea non prosunt sine te nothing besides thee can either satisfie or profit mee 9. Sign A heart taken with Christ is fully content and satisfied with the injoyments and possession of Christ The possession of the thing beloved doth content the soul so far as there is satisfaction and contentment with it The reason why wee do not meet with full contentments and satisfactions here in the possession or our loves is because they want of fulness But now it is not so with Christ Hee is able to brim the soul to satisfie the spirit to answer all the desires of the heart and therefore the heart taken with him needs must rest satisfied and contented with him Such a gulf of desire is in the soul of men that if God should cast in a thousand worlds there would bee no contentment except Christ bee cast in And Christ is so full contentment that if God bestow him they will neither need nor desire any more And thus much shall serve for the use of tryal wee will now come to an use of Exhortation and conclude this Use of Exhortation 1. To them of his Church 2. To them who are not of the Church 1. To them of his Church Is it so that the heart of Christ is so much taken with his Church and People 1. Direction to them of the Church 1. Walk suitably to this love Dignities and suitable walkings to dignities must go together Now this suitable walking wee will express in these five things 1. Walk chearfully 2. Walk thankfully 3. Walk humbly 4. Walk watchfully 5. Walk obediently 1. Walk chearfully Walk as Heirs of such a Mercy Here is a truth speaks comfort when all the world speaks nothing but terrour 2. Direction to them of the Church 2. Beware of abusing this love Precious things are committed to us by a word of Caution This is a precious Truth and therefore let mee adde to it this word of Caution Beware of abusing this Love of Christ Christs Love are his bowels and hee will never indure to have his bowels injured his love abused You know a man will not have his Love injured the abuse of his power of his wisdome greatness doth not touch a man so nearly as the abuse of his Love This is an injury men cannot indure So to speak after the manner of men Christ can least indure his Love should bee abused There is no abuse like it Therefore beware of it Now this Love of Christ is injured these wayes and beware 1. When wee slight the intreaties reject the tenders cast aside the offers and beseeches of his Love When love stoops to you when the mercy and goodness of Christ doth as it were come on its knees to you and intreats you to do this or not to do that And yet you will stop your ears pull back your shoulder slight the intreaties This is an abuse 2. When the Love of Christ doth slacken our hearts to duty loosen our ingagements makes us more remiss to or in service This is to abuse his Love Wee should reason from Mercy to Duty and not from Mercy to Liberty Abundance of Grace calls in for abundance of Duty The Love of Christ should constrain us as
a glass the glory of the Lord wee are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 In nature the meat is digested into the nature of the eater Here the eater is turned into the nature of the meat The contemplation of his Glory makes you glorious They will bee 5. Soul-winning Thoughts Love you know is of an attractive nature Amor amoris Magnes Nothing wins more than Love Love is the Loadstone to draw Love again As the Sun shining upon a Glasse begets a reflection of the beams back again so the love of God shed abroad in our hearts begets a reflection of love back again toward God You see Mary Much was forgiven her shee had tasted of much love from God and shee returned much love again to him Shee loved much The Power of God doth shake the heart The Majesty of God doth dread the heart The Justice of God doth awe the heart But it is the Mercy of God the Love of God which doth perswade win and draw the heart Nothing wins a mans heart to God but his Love The fear of God dread of God may bring a mans feet into his wayes but it is the Love of God which brings his Heart into his wayes They are 6. Soul-quickening 7. Soul-comforting thoughts Oh then that wee were but wise to improve this Doctrin this truth to the good of our souls I tell thee Christian if thou wouldest give this truth but scope in thy heart it would help thee and relieve thee of all the burdens under which thou groanest 1. Dost thou labour under a proud heart this would humble thee 2. Dost thou labour under a dejected heart this would raise thee 3. Under a dark heart this would comfort revive thee 4. Under a dead heart this would quicken thee and put the Spirit of Heaven into thee whiles thou art on earth 5. Under an hard heart this would break thee Nay this would melt thee dissolve thee into waters I say the more thou gets up with Elijah into this Chariot of love the more would the mantle of sin and corruption depart from thee 6. Under a worldly heart This would dead thy heart for ever to the World and set thee all on flame with the fire of heavenly affections I am confident of it whatever a Christian desires to injoy whatever a Christian desires to bee rid of if hee can but dwell upon this truth and bee able to manage it Hee shall have it more fully hee shall have it more quickly than any other way Wouldest thou bee rid of a proud heart wouldest thou have an humble heart wouldest bee rid of a dead heart and desirest a quick heart wouldest bee rid of an hard heart and have a broken heart wouldest bee rid of an unbeleeving of a doubting of a dejected heart and wouldest bee mighty in Faith full of comfort Why do but let thy soul bee carried captive with this Truth bee but content this Truth should master thee bee but willing to entertain it beleeve it imbrace it I am confident on it all this will bee done I may set down a probatum est to it Oh! That wee were wise to manage this Truth There are many look upon this but as a pleasant dream a Chimera a fiction And some beleeve it but slightly there wants depth of earth And some there are poor souls to whom the comfort of this truth belongs who think this is too good news for them They think if they should own it it would bee but too great a sale for too small a Boat rather overturn them than do them good rather ruine them than help them And therefore they must feed upon black thoughts upon Hell upon justice upon sin upon their corruptions Ah! Poor souls Satan deludes you you take a way to undo your selves Either to discourage you to say there is no hope or else to break you that you shall never bee able to do God service Look as long as you will into Hell pry as long as you will into the dark vaults of your souls rake as long as you will into the kennel of your hearts You shall finde nothing in Hell but Hell in your hearts but sin and having found it run from him That man looks too much on sin who shutteth his eyes from a mutual interview of love between God and his soul And hither you must come at last Free-Grace must bee owned Free-Mercy must bee acknowledged and advanced by you if ever you would bee saved if ever you would bee comforted You mâ—y think what you will but sure I am 1. There are no Christians more chearfull 2. None are more thankfull 3. None are more humble 4. None are more beleeving 5. None are more active 6. None are more couragious 7. None more serviceable and usefull toward God and men than they who lye continually at the breast of the promise than they who set up Gods Free-Grace and own that good which God makes out to them Thou mayest bee a Christian but thou wilt bee a sad Christian an uncomfortable Christian a dark Christian a deserted Christian a dead Christian an unserviceable Christian if thou dost go on to feed upon black thoughts and wilt not own that comfort which Christ tenders imbrace that good which Christ speaks and beleeve the Riches of his Grace and Mercy to poor sinners Do but sit down and from the sight and sense of thine own unworthiness take but occasion to advance Free-Grace and Mercy Let there bee place for that to come in Let those thoughts finde entertainment And thou shalt quickly finde a strange change in thy spirit 1. Thou who couldest not mourn before shall now bee able to poure our tears as if thou wert all turned to water 2. Thou who before couldest not beleeve couldest not bee comforted wilt even think it a wonder that ever thy heart should bee so dark so doubtful 3. Thou who before wast dead shalt now finde a spirit of life come into thee and make thee active in the work of the Lord. Make but the Experiment and thou wilt converse more with the promise with the Love of Christ with the Free-Grace of God whiles thou livest if you would but remove your unbelief But who shall remove this stone God alone must do it But if this were done this truth would let in a flood of mercy upon you and even sink and over-whelm you in a Sea of mercy and glory where now you go drooping and hang down your heads because you will not own that portion which Christ hath left you nor that comfort which Christ doth tender and speak to you 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Labour for a reciprocall affection a mutual taking between Christ and us Is Christs heart taken with you Oh! let your hearts bee taken with him Doth Christ love you Oh! do you love Christ Are you
3. The Fruit and Benefit that comes in thereby 1. Negatively Should not perish 2. Positively But have Eternal life Now about the Act and the Object we shall make these two enquiries before we come to lay down the Conclusion 1. What act of faith that is whereby a sinner stands justified before God 2. Upon what Object this Act is to be terminated 1. For the first What Act that is You must know that faith in the general consideration hath divers acts and objects and that the acts are diversified according to the diversity of the objects so many particulars as are recorded in Scripture so many particular objects and accordingly so many particular acts there are of faith in general But our enquiry is what is the formal Act and Object of justifying faith Now for the first viz. What is the formal Act of Faith You must know that there is much difference amongst Divines about it 1. Some would have it to be a bare and naked assent to every truth revealed by God Thus the Papists 2. Some say it is a firm and radical assent to this great Proposition That Christ is Messiah and Saviour of the world 3. Others place it in a receiving of Christ in all his Offices as a King Priest and Prophet 4. Some in Assurance and Particular Knowledge or Perswasion that we are in the state of Grace and have an interest in Christ c. 5. Others do place it in rowling our selves upon Christ and resting in him when the soul assenting to that great Proposition that Christ is the Saviour the Mediator doth rowl and rest it self upon him and trusteth in him In most of which different opinions we finde this agreement 1 That it is an Act of Faith whereby wee are justified not Faith as an Habit of Grace inherent in us but Faith as an Act not Faith in actu primo as an Habit infused but in actu secundo 2 That it is such an Act as is not wrought out of our selves or our own Principles but such as is wrought by the Spirit of Christ and the mighty Power of God 3 That it is such an Act as bringeth over the soul to the true object to Christ by whom wee are justified 4 Such an one as all the benefits of Christ do belong unto accompany Christ in blood Christ in water Christ for Justification Christ for Sanctification Christ for Salvation in all these there is an exact agreement among them And therefore although there bee some difference in respect of that formall Act which justifieth yet seeing they preach and cry down themselves and advance and set up free grace and mercy both in the work and fruit of it The Papists have no cause to cry us down for dis-agreement which for their parts they are like the four winds blowing in the faces of one another in many points as might easily bee shewed if here it were pertinent Wee know that while wee are here differences there will bee for wee know in part and prophesy but in part It were an happy â—hing if wee could bee all of one heart and all of one mind but seeing it will not bee I could wish that although wee bee not all of one mind yet wee might bee all of one heart and that difference in judgement might not breed alienation in affection especially seeing wee all aime at one thing one mark one end All agree in hoc uno in this one to set up Christ the mercy of God free grace and by crying down our selves and why then should wee not agree amongst our selves And therefore in all these diversities of Judgements concerning the formal Act of Faith whereby wee stand justified before God I shall not deal so much in the throwing down of other mens opinions as in the establishing of mine own 1 Because I conceive there is little wisdome in it to uncover the nakedness of our Brethren by bringing them in contending with one another 2 Because I think there is little profit in it especially in promiscuous Congregations Such debates being fitter for the Schools than for the Pulpit Polemical and Controversal points may beget Notion little Motion fill our heads with Notions but not our hearts with sanctifyed affections And therefore I will break my self in as plain and modest a manner as I can amongst all these differences to declare what I adhear to and to establish it by some Scriptures and so passe it Now then I conceive that that formal act of Faith whereby wee are justifyed and instated into Christ is an Act of Affiance and recumbency rowling resting trusting or Christ for Justification and consequently for salvation For the proof whereof wee are to observe that the words both in the Old and New Testament by which the Act of Faith is expressed do import such an act as this In the Old Testament wee meet with three words especially which import this act of Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which being referred to Christ do express that Act whereby wee are justified 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first of them as Rabbi Kimchi observeth doth primitively and properly signifie to retire into some safe place for harbour or shelter So Judg. 9.15 come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Bramble shelter or cover you under my shadow and the Prophet useth the same word Psal 57.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my soul trusteth in thee I will retire my self under the shadow of thy wings and so it being referred to Christ betokeneth that Act whereby wee do betake our selves to him as to our Sanctuary where wee may bee preserved in safety from the tempest of Gods displeasure and so Psal 2.12 when his wrath is kindled yea but a little 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blessed are all they that put their trust in him or that retire themselves to him upon which place Junius noteth that that retyring unto God which is affirmed to bee the cause of our blessedness is no other than sincere Faith and what act of it but this of affiance 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The second word in the Old Testament signifieth to rowle and being joyned with the Praeposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to devolve and rowle something on another as Psal 37.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rowle thy way upon the Lord and trust in him c. and Prov. 16.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rowle thy works upon the Lord and thy thoughts shall bee established agreeable to which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cast thy burden upon the Lord c. And this word applyed to Christ imports that Act whereby being laden with sin and seeking ease wee at last discharge our load and cast it upon Christ 3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The third word signifieth to put confidence trust and affiance in any thing or person so as securely to lean and rest upon it So Isa 50.10 hee that walks in darkness and seeth no light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him trust in the name
will come whoever hath a mind let him come Bee his sins what they will bee for nature for number for continuance yet come and finde acceptance Who is a God like unto thee That pardonest iniquity and passest by the transgressions of the Remnant of thy heritage Thou reteinest not anger for ever for thou delightest to shew mercy Mic. 7.18 There are two things when men are humbled which keep them off from beleeving either 1. A doubt of Gods Power Lord if thou canst 2. A doubt of his Will Lord if thou wilt 1. Some doubt of his Power Oh! Is God able to pardon such a sinner as I have been Can hee pardon so great so bloudy so crimson sins If they were but such or such I should not doubt But being so great how can God pardon 2. Others doubt of his Will They will bee ready to say They know there is a fulness of Power in God hee is able to forgive my sins let them bee what they will bee hee hath a Sea of Mercy able to drown Mountains as well as Mole-hills But alas I doubt of his Will whether hee will shew mercy to such a sinner And therefore if ever you would beleeve you must get an heart convinced of the 1. Fulness and al-sufficiency of Christ to pardon 2. And of the freeness and willingness of Christ to shew mercy to such as do beleeve Dwell upon such considerations as these are being means to beget Faith When men are once convinced of the fulness of God they will come over to him if withall they bee fully convinced of their own need It is possible for a man to beleeve this fulness in Christ and yet not bee able to clear his acceptance Wee read of the Lepers who seeing nothing but death in their condition 2 King 7.3 4 resolved not to stay there but to go over to the Camp of the Assyrians If they save us alive say they wee shall live and if they kill us wee can but dye And there were many reasons which might cause them to expect no better but death from them 1. They were Jews and so their enemies 2. They might bee suspected for Spies 3. If not yet they were Lepers good for no service such as might infect the whole Camp Yet seeing their Misery in want of bread and knowing that there was bread to bee had they resolved to adventure So if there were but a through discovery 1. Of our own Misery a conviction of that 2. Of the fulness and all-sufficiency of Christ it were possible so far to prevail with a man as to throw himself on Christ though hee bee not yet able to clear whether God will ever accept him But when wee take that other consideration in and do think of the sweetness and freeness of Gods love and mercy to accept of poor returning sinners what should then hinder but the soul should come over and beleeve in him And therefore if ever thou wouldest have Faith cherish these thoughts dwell much upon such considerations as these Men say they would beleeve but in the mean time they never cherish such thoughts and considerations as may beget Faith If there bee any thing in the Word which makes against them this they will harbor and cherish they will feed upon the Wormwood and the Gall but if there bee any thing to nourish and cherish Faith this they will suppress They have an ear open to hear what the Law what sin what Satan saith but none to hear what God saith in the Promise They will promote the Devils cause his arguments sharpen his weapons against themselves But they will silence the pleadings of Gods Spirit in them They will look upon the dark side of the Cloud not the light side The threatnings of the Law they will apply and set on with all their might But if Promises come they finde no acceptance with them They will nourish considerations of their sins their guilt their misery by reason of sin and aggravate it to the utmost but the thoughts of Gods Love of the freeness of his Mercy of the promises of pardoning sins these they reject My Brethren This is not the way to get Faith If ever you would beleeve you must study the freeness of Gods Mercy in Christ his willingness to pardon and forgive poor sinners if they come over to him 2. The second means for the strengthening of Faith are these 1. Make use of the Ordinances 1. The Word 2. The Sacraments 3. Prayer 1. The Word Wee say The same way things are begotten the same way they are nourished Corpora naturalia eodem modo quo generantur nutriuntur Faith is begotten by the Word and Faith is nourished by the Word It is both the Begetter and the Nourisher both the Breeder and the Feeder of Faith Rom. 15.4 1 Joh. 4. 2. The Sacraments which were instituted and set up for this end to increase your Faith God knew hee had to deal with unbeleeving persons and therefore hee doth not only give the Promise his Covenant and Oath for the confirmation of us but to all these hee annexed his Seal the Sacraments Mountains upon Mountains to confirm us A man would not desire so much of any honest man as God hath here condiscended to for the confirmation of our Faith One would have thought his bare word had been enough considering the Truth and sufficiency of the Person that spake it But hee hath given his Oath Nay but hee rested not there but his Seal too The Sacraments And therefore make use of them 3. Bee much in Prayer that God would strengthen and increase thy Faith Prayer is the fuel of Faith the food of Faith A man may as well live without meat as Faith without Prayer As the soul lives by Faith so Faith lives by Prayer Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith again As there is a Communion among the Ordinances every Ordinance doth help another The Word helps Prayer and Prayer helps the Word So there 's a Communion between Ordinances and Graces Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith Prayer cannot say of Faith I have no need of thee nor Faith of Prayer What need have I of thee As there is a mutual dependence of one Christian on another a means to nourish Communion as Christians help one another One may say Help my Zeal and I will increase thy knowledge strengthen my Faith and I will inflame or kindle thy affections so here There is a mutual dependence between Faith and Prayer Faith saith to Prayer Help mee to beleeve and I will help thee to pray And Prayer to Faith Help mee to pray and I will help thee to beleeve Such a Communion there is And therefore bee much in prayer for strength 4. Live much in the Heaven of the Promise Feed upon the freeness and sweetness and fatness of the Promise Delight your selves in fatness Let your way lye much above live much out of your selves This is your way A man
greatest of difficulties this kinde came forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting which shews the work was of more than ordinary difficulty yet because their Faith was posed in it hee tells them they were a faithless Generation and hee was weary of them it put him to the utmost exercise of his patience to bear with them And you see the like of Peter whose Faith was so great as to carry him upon the waters to walk upon the waves upon a bare command and word of Christ yet afterwards the wind growing strong and corruption working hee was affraid and begins to sink and then cryed Lord save mee Mat. 14.30 31. And how much was Christ displeased at him who had put forth so glorious an act of Faith as to walk upon the waters upon a bare command yet because hee held not out Christ reproved him Oh thou of little Faith wherefore didst thou doubt was this a little Faith c. But wee will pass this and in the prosecution of this Doctrin wee will shew these eight things 1. That wee are slow of heart to beleeve 2. What are the grounds that wee are slow of heart to beleeve 3. What are the reasons why this slowness of heart is so offensive to God For the first that wee are slow of heart to beleeve This will bee demonstrated to you if you consider with mee these five particulars 1. The greatness of that power which God doth put forth in the working Faith in an unbeleeving heart Faith it self is called the work of Gods power nay of his almighty power The same power which God put forth in the raising of Christ from the dead even the same power hee doth put forth in the working of Faith in an unbeleeving heart Ephes 1.19 20. There are many mighty works of God which are not saving works As the works of Creation the works of Providence These are mighty works but they are not saving works But there are no saving works of God which are not mighty Every work of mercy is a work of might too every work of grace is a work of power too though every work of power bee not a work of grace yet every work of grace is a work of power And the work of an almighty power Actus omnipotentis Actus omnipotentioe Not only an Almighty God doth work but also according to the Almightiness of God when hee works Faith and Grace in a graceless heart There are two names given to this in Scripture both which speak the greatness of Gods power in the working of it 1. It is called a resurrection from death to life not of a dead body but a dead soul Psal 88.10 wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise to praise thee hee speaks not there of a natural death but of the condition which hee was in lying for the present slain and dead as it were under the apprehensions of God wrath Shall a soul that now lyes dead and slain with the apprehensions of thy wrath and displeasure arise by Faith to praise thee Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise to praise thee That is wilt thou shew the greatness of thy power in working Faith in an unbeleeving soul this is no less than a resurrection from the dead the dead arise c. And therefore this must needs require the greatness of Gods power to effect it It is a great work to recover a sick man but more to restore a dying man but to raise a dead man to life this is the work of God only Yet all this is nothing to the resurrection of a dead soul To raise our bodies when consumed by fire when vanished into air when corrupted in the water when turned into dust and rottenness is not so great a work as to raise a dead soul a soul dead in sin to work Faith in an unbeleeving heart This is the Almighty work of God 2. And hence Secondly It is called a work of Creation 2 Cor. 5.17 thus in Christ And you know Creation is the work of God only it is the production of something out of nothing Men may produce something out of something but to produce something out of nothing is proper to God alone There is lesse distance between the least dust and the most glorious Angel in Heaven than there is between it and nothing Wee say and its true inter ens non ens nulla proportio there is infinite distance between something and nothing Such a distance as none but a God can bring together Now this work of Faith and Grace in the heart in an unregenerate and unbeleeving man is a new Creation A Creation of light in a dark heart of life in a dead heart of Faith in an unbeleeving heart of Grace in a graceless heart which is a work which requires the almightiness of Gods power for the effecting of it And that is the first demonstration 2. If you do consider the complaints of Beleevers when they first come to beleeve What sighs what tears what groans what pains what struglings with unbeleef with doubts with fears Crying out with the man in the Gospel Lord I do beleeve help my unbeleef It may bee now the doubt of Gods power of Christs al-sufficiency to pardon sin to forgive so great and hainous wickednesse and say with him Lord if thou canst do any thing help Mark 9.22 or if not so yet they doubt of his wâ—ll whether God will pardon them yea or no and say with another in the Gospel Lord if thou wilt thou canst make mee clean Matth. 8.2 Every dayes experience tells us how hard a thing it is to cast a man out of himself and when that is done Oh how hard a thing is it to bring that soul over to Christ and the promise Now a thousand objections are raised the soul is now as full of scruples of doubts as the Sun is full of motes Oh what swarms of unbeleeving thoughts what multitudes of doubts and objections that it is beyond the power of any but of him alone that can deal with the heart either to discover them or answer them or if answered yet the soul is still unsetled till God come in This is plain in cast down and humbled souls 3. If you look upon the Rhetorick God useth to bring a poor humbled and cast down sinner to beleeve Read Isa 40. beginning Comfort you comfort yee my people saith my God Speak yee comfortably Say your warfare is accomplished your iniquities are pardoned c. But least any should say alas tell not mee of this no comfort belongs to mee hee is buried up in troubles God doth not regard him why see how hee saith in vers 27. Why sayest thou Oh Jacob and speakest Oh Israel my way is hid from the Lord and my Judgement is passed over from my God Hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the
is moved but doth not move hee is carried about with weights as a Clock or Watch hee hath no inward Principle of life to move him A Clock you know doth move or rather is moved but it is not from any Principle of Life It is the weights which carry it about Take off them and the Clock stands still so here They are moved but not by any Principle of Life within There are two great weights which carry him about 1. Fear of Hell 2. A Hope of Heaven Which weights if you take off then hee stands still Thus I have at last done with the Doctrinal part That it is possible for a man to do much in the wayes of God and yet have an unsound spirit and fall short of Heaven at last I come now to Application 1. Use If a man may do thus much and yet fall short of Heaven What then shall become of them who do nothing If a man may pray and perish hear and go to Hell do duty and bee damned then what shall become of them who swear and blaspheme I know it is the ordinary vaunt of carnal and unregenerate men who have no taste nor savour of the things of God They will say I thank God though I pray not so many Prayers nor hear so many Sermons as others do yet my heart is as sincere as the best of them all Alas poor man Though it bee possible for a man to do all this and yet not bee sincere yet it is impossible a man should bee sincere if hee do them not These things may bee done without sincerity but sincerity cannot bee without these Sincerity lies in labouring not in loitering in working not in lazying Where the heart is sincere it will put a man upon working and will make a man to work with all his strength to abound in the work of the Lord to eye the Manner as well as the Matter the Circumstance as well as the Substance It will put a man upon Prayer and make a man pray fervently faithfully humbly It will put a man upon hearing c. And therefore thou art mistaken Though a man may do these duties and not bee sincere yet thou canst not bee sincere if thou dost them not Though hee may do these things and perish yet thou must pray hear do duty Otherwise thou shalt perish These things are Necessary 1. Necessitate Praecepti God hath commanded them 2. Necessitate Medii they are the way to life You must not look to come to the end if you do not walk in the way Object But you will say This discourageth us If a man may do thus much and yet fall short of Heaven then it is as good to sit still and do nothing Ans I must tell you this is a sign of a low spirit to argue after this manner Wee should argue thus Because I may do all this and yet not bee sincere Therefore I will labour to bee sincere in the doing of them These things must bee done though all that did them fell short of Heaven God commands these things to bee done and his will must stand out against all If all that hear read pray c. do fall short of Heaven yet thou must hear read pray upon account of obedience to God The fault it lies in the Persons not in the Duties in the Workmen not in the Work The fault is not in the Matter but in the Men and the Manner of performance And mans fault must not cause us to neglect our duty Wee have an expression Micah 1.7 Is the Spirit of the Lord streightened do not my words do good to them who walk uprightly As if the Prophet had said The fault is not in the Word but in you who are the hearers of it You hear and hear and yet get no good by hearing And will you charge God with that will you blame the Word Others get good and Gods Spirit is not streightned to you more than to others You would finde good as well as others if you came with honest hearts Do not my words do good to them who walk uprightly And what wee say of this wee say of other Ordinances The fault is not in Prayer nor in Fasting but it is in you You walk with corrupt hearts in Gods wayes And therefore you get no good by them You have a sad place but full for this purpose Hos 14. verse last the last words of the book hee shuts up the Prophesy with it Whoso is wise shall know these things for the wayes of the Lord are right and the just shall walk in them but the transgressors shall fall therein A good heart shall stand and walk in holy wayes but a bad heart a corrupt heart shall fall and perish in them An unsound spirit shall fall in the wayes of duty in the wayes of prayer in the wayes of profession 2. Use If it bee possible for a man to do much in the wayes of God and yet bee unsound yet miss of Heaven Then this may discover to us the sandiness and unsafeness of these bottomes to rest a mans soul upon How many thousands who have no better evidences for Heaven than the bare performance of duties They come to Church they hear the Word they pray c. And therefore they hope all is well My Brethren It is true If the bare performance of duties were sufficient evidences to conclude our good condition then whoever did abound most in these things they had the surest bottomes to rest upon But alas You see it is possible for a man to abound in duty and yet his heart bee unsound And therefore the doing of these things will not bee sufficient to evidence to your selves that your condition is good If these Anchors should ever hold you need not to beat out any better Anchors for your souls But seeing these do not hold out ever you had need seek out for better Else you may miscarry at last These may hold in a Calm when they are put to no stress but will bee sure to break in a storm You see the house built upon the Sand it stood well enough and the structure was fair the sandiness of the foundation was not discovered whiles there was a Calm But saith Christ When the Rain fell and the Winds blew and the Waves did beat when the Storm arose then was the sandiness of the foundation discovered the house fell for it was built upon the Sand. So here While you have a Calm while you are in health injoy peace c. These bottomes seem firm enough you do not discover the sandiness of these foundations But a Storm doth arise when you come upon your sick-beds when you come to the day of death then you shall see the unsoundness of your bottomes All your buildings your fair structures all your works and walkings upon this foundation will bee surely blown down they will never abide the tryal And therefore let mee stir you up you who are
resolved for God you who are bound for Heaven that you would get better evidences than the bare and naked performance of duties will afford you All which may bee done and thou sink into Hell at the last Nay get better evidences than duty it self performed at the best is able to afford unto you 1. Because evidences of this kinde are obscure full of ambiguity full of intricate disputes and controversies There will bee Objection upon Objection and controversy upon controversy will arise And all must bee cleared and all Objections answered before ever wee can conclude our estates by them I say Evidences of this kinde they must bee put in suit and pass a long scrutiny and tryal where there must bee Evidences upon Evidences and no end of them before ever wee can have any comfort in them You will finde that the clearing of the truth of these Evidences will bee as difficult if not more than the compassing of the Evidences themselves 2. Wee are to seek out for better Evidences than duty performed at the best can afford us because these kinde of Evidences are not only obscure full of ambiguity and so uncertain But because these kinde of Evidences they are unconstant they are instable they may appear to day and vanish to morrow You know my Brethren that a man is not alwayes in the same temper of spirit his spirit is subject to varying and alteration in the performance of duties And therefore though a man may fetch an Evidence out of the Court of duty at this time yet it may bee at another time the Court will not afford it A man may bee cleared to day by duty and condemned to morrow This day hee may thence have an evidence and hee may bee cast in the same Court to morrow Our comforts fetcht hence are lyable to change They vary as wee vary change as wee change This is certain That the Peace which is wrought out of our selves is again lost by our selves And the comfort gotten by duty at one time is lost by duty at another time Well then I call you out to seek out for better evidences Such as will afford you more fulness of peace and will minister to you more stability of comfort than these can do Fetch your Evidences from your Justification your interest in Christ in the Covenant You will finde an emptiness in all only a fulness here Draw your waters of comfort from the highest springs the springs of Justification These are 1. The clearest 2. The purest 3. The most satisfying 4. The most constant Evidences 1. These are the clearest Evidences They are fetched from the Spring Other waters are muddy and disturbed but Spring-waters are clear So Evidences taken from other things often run muddy and are disturbed but those from Justification are the cleanest and run the clearest Though these kinde of Evidences are hardest to clear It will cost a man something before he reach to these Evidences before he can make out these Evidences to himself yet they are the most perspicuous being cleared The Testimony of blood is the hardest and darkest Testimony to make out but none is more clear than that when once you have made it out to your souls So that it is worth all your labour and pains you take in the clearing of it Other Evidences are liable to dispute But what can Satan dispute against this Doth hee say Thou art a sinner Yea but maist thou say God justifies sinners hee justifies the ungodly Though sin hath weakened the Law and made that unable to do us good yet it hath not weakened Christ and Free Grace nor should it weaken our Faith if now wee bee returning sinners If Sin it self were a just Obstacle then there could never bee any who could bee Justified or fetch comfort from their Justification because all were sinners I am a sinner so was Abraham the Father of the Faithful so the best of Gods worthies Doth hee say our sins are great Yet wee may say they are not greater than God can pardon They are not greater than 1. The Mercy of God to pardon them or 2. The Righteousness of Christ to cover them 1. For the Mercy of God The Apostle tells us there was more than enough to pardon him who was the greatest of sinners 1 Tim. 1.13 14 15 16. The Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Did superabound was more than enough more than might serve the turn for him who was the greatest of sinners 2. And for the Righteousness of Christ it is said to bee an everlasting Righteousness more than eternity of sinning is able to expend and draw drye It is a Righteousness which as it cannot bee over-clasped by any Faith So can it not bee posed non-plust by any sin You see Rom. 1.17 It is a Righteousness revealed from Faith to Faith The more Faith not the lesse but the more Righteousness is discovered And as it cannot bee over-clasped by any Faith so it cannot bee exceeded by any sin Thus you see Evidences from our Justification they are the clearest Evidences the freest from disputes and if any Objections do arise they may bee the more quickly laid But now it is not so with other kinde of Evidences If a man take an Evidence from Duty there will bee controversies Objection upon Objection will arise and there must bee Evidence upon that Evidence before ever a man can make out the truth of them Nay though Evidences bee taken from Graces themselves yet you will scarce finde a bottome without much search Suppose a man come to bring in his Love to Christ for an Evidence yet this is liable to dispute You know there is a False-Love as well as a True a counterfeit as well as a sound And therefore this must bee examined by the Nature of your Love the workings of your Love towards Christ the expressions of your Love in all the wayes of Obedience And I must tell you of great latitude and extent in this tryal There will bee long debates before you come to the utmost And the like I may say of any Grace besides Therefore these from Justification are the clearest Evidences from disputes and controversies 2. These are the purest Evidences Spring-waters are the purest waters so these Evidences fetched from the Spring scil from your Justification and interest in Christ these are the purest I say these kinde of Evidences are the purest and most unmixed Evidences You shall see all other kinde of Evidences they are not so pure they have mixtures in them 1. Are they taken from Prayer yea and Prayer at the best yet these are not pure they have mixtures in them Our best Duties are mingled with imperfections They have a tang and taste of the flesh in them You know there is much deadness with our chiefest Life much formality in our best Power much coldness with our heats much of the flesh in all the imployments
these performances is it sound in prayer in hearing if not all this something is nothing If you break the string that goes through a set of Beads they all fall to the ground Sincerity is the string which goes through all our Prayers our Duties and Graces if that bee broken all is broken Sincerity is the Evidence of all our Evidences taken from below It is that which makes every duty glorious every breathing of the spirit sweet every groan weighty every drop of tears a pearl and precious in Gods esteem Sincerity is all in all It is all in all our Prayers all in all our tears all in all our services It is all to God that which God accounts all Sincerity is Gospel perfection And perfection is all Let us then examine our hearts you that abound most in all outward performances clear the soundness and sincerity of your hearts in them 1. Clear the sincerity of your hearts in your obedience in general 2. Clear the sincerity of your hearts in your performances in particular Wee shall now insist upon the last first And that is Clear the sincerity of your hearts in your performances in particular Wee will instance in these three especially which wee single out First in your Hearing Secondly in your Praying Thirdly in your Mourning for sin 1. Clear the sincerity of your hearts in hearing the Word Wee will give you these characters of a sincere heart in hearing the Word 1. A sincere heart desires sincere preaching Such preaching wherein his heart is ripped up his corruptions discovered the most quickening and soul-searching ministry such a ministry as doth most unravel his heart and rip up his soul You see this 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word the preaching of the Word and the sincere preaching of the Word not the Word as it is sophisticated poisoned adulterated by mans invention As the Apostles phrase is but the Word as it comes sincerely from the Fountain Such a man hee desires killing as well as comforting truths searching as well as healing truthes breaking as well as binding And indeed hee desires no comforting but in killing no comforting of his soul but in killing of his sins no healing but in searching no binding but in breaking An unsound heart if hee desire to hear yet it should bee such as would preach placentia speak peace daube with untempered Morter And if a Minister do once preach to the quick If hee once enter upon the discovery of them their hearts rise against the truth they rebel against the Word and such are no Ministers for them They will finde out one that they can live in sin and yet live in peace under his Ministry We read in the 42. of Jer. read it throughout the Chapter is worth your taking notice of Let mee intreat you to read it when you come home you shall see there the depth of a self-deceiving spirit You shall read there the Children of Israel desired Jeremy to inquire of the Lord what they should do and they would assuredly do it but their hearts deceived them You see there that they thought Jeremy would have brought them an answer from God agreeable to their own spirits They did not think that their will must have come up to Gods will but that Gods will would have come down to their will Well Jeremy goes to God and hee brings them a message from God which was clean cross to their lusts And then the venome of their spirits which before lay hid appeared they brake out into open rebellion against the Word of the Lord and spake plain Wee will not hear the Word of the Lord which thou hast told us So it is with many unsound spirits self-deceiving spirits before a Minister come into a Parish Oh then say they let us have a good Minister one that may do our souls good one that may bring a message to us from the Lord discover to us Gods will And few there are but do thus far agree but if once a Minister rip up their sins search their wounds that they may bee healed of them if once hee come to discover their corruptions and indeavour to take them off their unsound bottomes whereon if they live and dye they will perish Then they flye out against the light and him that holds it forth to them Away with such a man from the earth Wee will not hear the Word of the Lord spoken Whereas a sincere heart doth side with the Word with light to fight against and destroy his corruptions These men they side with their corruptions and lusts to fight against the truth to blow out the light and oppose the preaching of the Word A sincere heart doth hold up the Law against his lust Let my lusts perish rather than thy Law bee destroyed But a corrupt heart doth hold up his lust against the Law And saith in his heart Let the Law rather than my lust bee destroyed There is not one corruption which thou keepest with love and liking but thou wishest in thy heart that there were no such Law against it The Drunkard wisheth there were no such Law against his Drunkenness The unclean person would bee glad there were no Law against his uncleanness rather part with so much of Gods Nature which the Law is a beam of than part with his lust Hence it is truly said peccatum est Dei Cidium sin is Gods slaughter because sin strikes against the very being of God the purity and holiness of God Hee that would not bee as God is would hee glad if God were as hee is That is a certain rule that hee that will favour himself in any corruption would bee glad if God would favour him too That there were no Law against it or that there were a Law to countenance it or no Law to punish it That God were not against it that God were of his mind or that there were no God or no God to punish it c. 2. A sincere heart in hearing the Word 1. Is willing to receive the truth of God 2. Is willing to receive every truth of God 3. Is willing to receive it as the truth of God 1. Hee receives the truth not into his head only his understanding to know it but into his heart his affections to love it Hee doth not imprison it in the head but lets it go down into the heart And the whole soul is made the residence and place of truth Lord how I love thy Law contrary hereto is that 2 Thes 2.10 2. Hee is willing to receive every truth Speak Lord for thy Servant heareth Hee looks upon every word of God as good every truth of God as comming in the image of God and comming with the authority of God and there is ready entertainment for all as well those which make against him as those which make for him though a truth appear never so formidable that the receiving may cost a man death 2.
as they spake for the time they were not aware of deceit in their hearts But hee that saw further into them than they into themselves discovered deceit to lye at the bottome below which they were not aware of and therefore it follows O that there were such an heart in my people alas it is but a present pang of conscience there is no such heart in them So it was well spoken of Hazael 2 King 8.12 13. when Elisha told him what bloody cruelties hee should exercise towards Israel Is thy servant a Dog saith hee hee thought the Prophet did him a great deal of wrong what should ever hee exercise such beastly cruelty but hee saw not the bottome of his heart as was seen after in the next Chapter So it was well spoken by them in Jer. 42.6 7.20 21. When the Princes desired Jeremy to inquire of the Lord whether they should go and bound themselves with an oath to obey whithersoever God bade them go they would go But there was a deceit lay low they had a secret resolution to go into Egypt and thought God would have sent them thither and then they would have been taken for an obedient people But when the message came contrary they shewed the falseness and hollowness of their spirit and fall into flat contradiction against the word of the Lord. The word that thou hast spoken wee will not do And therefore seeing the heart is so exceedingly deceitfull there is great need of thorough search and tryal of our spirits If you take the first verdict the heart gives up you are likely to bee deceived and therefore wee are to observe the Apostles Rule 2 Cor. 13.5 to examine and prove that is not only to examine and so take the first Evidence the heart gives up but prove the Evidence whether it bee true or no. Deceits lye low As for example Enquiry is made whether I have Faith c. 2. Rule 2. Labour to acquaint thy self with the most sure and clearing Evidences of sincerity and try thy heart by them It may bee thou hearest the Word and perhaps with joy thou bewailest sin and perhaps with tears thou avoidest gross sins with care thou opposest common corruptions with zeal All these are comfortable signes but they are not infallible evidences of Grace For what is in all this which Ahab which Saul which Herod which Judas had not It is a great deal of wisdome in the tryal of our selves to bee acquainted with those sorts of evidences which are of a clearing nature of which I will give you two properties 1. Those Evidences which are clearing are such as the Word doth countenance What ever evidences the Word doth not countenance they are but the presumptions of our own heart and never give us comfort in life or death It is the book must cast us or clear us at the last day A second property of clearing evidences They must bee such as are universally reciprocal distinctive evidences That is such evidences as are incompatible with any whose hearts are not sincere and concomitant with them whose hearts are sincere They must bee such as are essential to a Christian as a Christian If there bee any who hath them and is not a Christian is not sincere or any who is a Christian sincere and hath them not they are not right They must bee such as do manifest every person in whom they are to bee sincere and do discover where ever they are not what ever shews they have they are not sincere I have told you formerly on another subject that what ever another man may do or have and yet not bee in Christ yet not bee sincere will never bee a sufficient evidence to mee that having or doing that I am sincere And by these two properties there will bee a great deal cast down from being clearing evidences if I had time to insist on them Thou prayes thou hears thou dost much in the ways of God but this will not bee enough to clear thy sincerity for I have shewed you that a man may do all this and more too yet not sincere and therefore these will bee no clearing evidences And therefore let us go by this rule examine what are those clearing evidences of your sincerity and examine your selves by them Obj. But how shall I know what are those heart-clearing evidences that so I may examine my self by them Answ I have shewed you some properties you see of evidences of this nature I have also cast down many from being sufficient to clear your sincerity Wee will now give you some which are clearing evidences 1 Some taken from the disposition of mourning Demonstrations of sincerity in 1. Mourning in part of Sin 1 An Hypocrite cannot mourn for all sin it may be hee may mourn for general for common and sensuall sinnes but not for close spiritual and secret sinnes his unbeleef his hypocrisy pride 2 An hypocrite cannot mourn for sin as sin for sin in its own nature but as clad with wrath and punishment Now then if God have given thee a heart to mourn for all sins and for sin as sin it is an evidence of thy sincerity 1 An hypocrite cannot mourn for the want of fulness of ordinances 2 Of Ordinances want 2 Nor can hee mourn for want of any Ordinance out of discovery of the beauty and excellency in them Now then if God give thee a heart to mourn for c. 3 An Hypocrite cannot mourn for sins of others 3 In sin of others nor 2 for the want of growth in himself If therefore God hath given thee such a heart c. thou must conclude thine own sincerity Sincerity of Desires 2 For matter of desires 1 He cannot desire the death of all sin hee hath some darling c. 2 Hee cannot desire the death of any sin as sin but for other respects If therefore God hath given thee a heart desirous to bee purged as well as pardoned that desires the death of all and of sin as sin c. Again in point of desire of grace 1 An Hypocrite doth not desire all grace there are some he would not own hee loves not universal exactnesse 2 Hee desires not any grace as grace in its own native beauty and excellency but at times death c. and then as a stalking horse If therefore God hath given thee a heart to desire and thrist after all grace exact conformity to God in all things and to desire grace as grace c. Of Affections 1 To God 3 For matters of affections 1 An Hypocrite cannot love God for himself 2 Hee cannot love God as God as in his own nature so contrary If therefore God hath given thee a heart to love him for himself c. To Sainâ—s 2 Again towards the Saints 1 An Hypocrite hee loves not all the Saints some hee may not all 2 Hee loves not the Saints as the Saints but for other respects If therefore God
instance you see here it was the practise of Moses The former Chapter tells you of his Dangers and Fears The Egyptians pursued him vers 8 9 10. Together with Moses behaviour and demeanour in these straits vers 13 14 15. Where first you see his Faith vers 13 14. And the 15th verse implies his Prayer Though wee read of none expressed yet there is one implied The Lord said unto Moses wherefore cryest thou unto mee speak unto the Children of Israel that they go forward By which is implied that Moses his spirit did mightily wrestle with God in Prayer although wee read not of any words hee there uttered And in this Chapter you may read of his praises for that great deliverance which God had wrought for them No sooner was hee come to shoar but hee singeth forth the praises of God both for their own deliverance and the enemies destruction So that these words that I have read unto you they are a part of a Psalm of Thanksgiving for the glorious and wonderful deliverance of the Children of Israel from the host of Pharaoh The summe of all you shall see in the 9 10 11. verses where you may read these three things 1. Mans purposing 2. Gods disposing 3. The Churches retribution 1. Mans purposing in vers 9. which was bloody enough 1. The Enemy said I will pursue 2. I will overtake 3. I will divide the spoil 4. My lust shall be satisfied upon them 5. I will draw my sword 6. My hand shall destroy them Here was a bloody purpose and all was done in their thoughts 2 Wee have God disposing in the next vers Thou didst blow with thy wind the sea covered them and they sank as lead in the mighty waters And then 3 Here is The Churches Retribution set down in a way of Admiration of God excellencies Who is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods Who is like unto thee glorious in Holinesse fearful in Praises Doing wonders Here is the Church Riding in Tryumph in a majestick solemnity admiring of God and triumphing in him as she doth still in all her songs of praises for Deliverances See Judg. 5. and 1 Sam. 2. at the beginning and most elegantly in Isa 25.9 Lo this is our God we have waited for him and he will save us This is the Lord we have waited for him and wee will bee glad and rejoyce in his salvation Wee will hold you no longer in the Preface that which I shall commend unto you from the words is this Doct. The Wonderfull God doth do wonderfull things for his Church and people Hee doth not only do wonders simply but great wonders Psal 136.4 nay mighty wonders Dan. 4.3 Amazing astonishing wonders for his Church and people In the prosecution of this doctrin wee will go through these five things We will shew you 1 The truth of it That God doth do wonders 2 The ground and reason why God doth such wonders 3 What those wonders are which God doth 4 When is the time that God doth these wonders 5 Whether God will do a wonder for us 1. Quere 1 For the first of these That God doth do great wonders for his Church even such things as are above our thoughts above our hopes above our expectations above our reason to conceive above our faith to beleeve The whole Scriptures are but the Annals or the records of the wonders which God hath done for his Church and people You can all tell me what wonders God did for his people in Egypt The Psalmist tells you so Psal 78.12 Marvellous things did hee for them in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt And you know what wonders hee did for them at the Red-sea when there was nothing but death before them death behind them they were surrounded with death Yet then God unbared his arm and caused the Red-sea to divide it self Vehiculum Sepulchrum which became a passage to the one and a grave to the other And wonders hee did for them in the wilderness Not a day without a wonder Every day was the Birth of a wonder Hee gave them bread from heaven he gave them water out of the rock Read the 78 Psalm at your leasure and the 9. chap. of Nehemiah and in them you shall see a little Chronicle of the great wonders which God hath done for his Church and people But to the Doctrin That God doth do wonders for his Church and people 1 God hath wonderfully disappointed great plots and desperate counsels and designs against them Wee will give you an instance of this in Hamans time Haman had a desperate plot for the ruine of the Church and people of God you may read it in the 3d. of Esther 8 9 10. to the end In brief it was this To overthrow and put to death all the Jews upon pretence that they kept not the Kings laws Here was their plot The disappointment of it you shall read in the 6. 7 8. Chapters The means whereby this design was broken was but small and therefore the greater was the wonder the more visible was the hand of God The breaking of the Kings sleep was the breaking of this design as you read Elish 6. beginning The King could not sleep well what then Could hee not lye still in his bed No he must have a book and that book the book of Chronicles and that Book must bee opened where accidentally though surely guided by Providence hee opens and reads that passage recorded concerning Mordecai where was registred his faithfullnesse in discovering and disappointing of a murther intended against the King Wherupon God set this act of faithfulness so close upon the Kings heart that hee could not rest till Mordecai was rewarded for it And this reward must be Hamans ruine his advancement Hamans abasement And this was the rise of Hamans disappointment The like you have Dan. 6.4 5. There was a great design the Nobles had against Daniel They saw Daniel was faithfull to the King and they could find no way to insnare him unlesse it were in something that concerned the law of his God And therein if they could find any thing in his obedience to God that might render him disobedient to the King they should then have their desire of him And therefore their Plot was this To make a Decree that who ever should ask any Petition either of God or man for the space of thâ—â—â—y dayes save only of the King he was to be thrown into the den of Lyons Well the Plot took according to the Desire of their hearts for notwithstanding this decree Daniel made his Prayers and supplications to his God three times a day as you see in the 10 11. verses Upon this they go and tell the King Hast not thou O King made a Decree that none should ask any Petition of God or man save of thee c. Here is one Daniel of the Captivity who regards not thee O King nor the decree thou hast
ordinary paths of Providence and goes in Extraordinaries that hee might discover his Glory and Power and advance his own Name This know that it is Gods great design in the World to advance his own Name and make it glorious to the ends of the Earth This is one way God doth it by even doing wonderful things for his Church Hereby God wins a great deal of honour and praise from the Saints and dread and terror from the wicked as the Scriptures speak You know how terrible was the Name of the God of Israel to all the Earth by those great wonders God had done for Israel in Egypt And therefore this was the argument which David used why God should destroy such as were his enemies and work deliverances for such as were his people That men might know that thou whose Name alone is Jehovah art the most high over all the Earth Psal 83.18 Great Mercies and wonderful deliverances publish and set forth God when smaller cannot do it Great Deliverances publish great Power great Mercy great Wisdome and great Truth God is lost in smaller deliverances but visible in greater They who are unwilling to acknowledge God in lesser are forced to acknowledge him in greater deliverances and to say with them who without doubt were loath enough to acknowledge it Digitus Dei est hic The finger of God is here None but a God could have disappointed such Counsels None but a God could have discovered such Plots None but a God could have removed such Evils None but a God could have wrought such Deliverances 3. The third Reason why God doth wonderful things for his Church is as to get so to uphold his great Name You have an excellent place for this in Deut. 32.27 God was highly displeased with Israel for their provocations of him and hee threatned to destroy them yet after all this hee saith I said I would scatter them into corners and would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely and lest they should say our high hand and not the Lord hath done all this The like you have in 2 King 18.35 Who are there among the Gods of the Countries that can deliver out of my hand so hee vaunted and God suffered him to soare so high that hee might have the greater praise and his Glory bee higher advanced by the greater downfal of such a Lucifer And this was the Argument which Moses urged God withal when hee threatned to destroy the Children of Israel Numb 14.15 Now if thou kill this people then the Nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak saying Because the Lord was not able to bring this People into the Land which hee sware unto them therefore hath hee slain them in the Wilderness As if hee had said Thou hast gotten thy self a Name by the mighty wonders which thou hast done for thy people but if thou shouldest leave now and do no more thou wouldest lose thy glory which thou hast gotten and the Nations would bee ready to charge thee with weakness and impotency that thou wast not able to do what thou hast promised and purposed to do for thy People The like you have in Deut. 9.28 And in Exod. 32.12 And the same Argument you have in Jos 8.9 When God went not forth with the armies of Israel but suffered them to bee smitten by their enemies O Lord saith Joshua what shall I say when Israel turn their backs upon their enemies If it bee thus what will become of thy great Name Arguing by this that there was a necessity for God to do great things for his People still to uphold that great Name hee had gotten which otherwise would fall to the ground Psal 79.9 Help us for the glory of thy Name and deliver us for thy Names sake And an excellent place you have for this in Isa 48.9 10 11. For my Names sake will I defer my wrath and for my Praise will I refrain it from thee that I cut thee not off 4. Reas God doth wonderful things for his People that hee might inherit wonderful praises from his People Therefore doth God work wonderful deliverances for his Church that his Church might return sutable praises to God again Psal 111.4 Hee hath done his wonderful works to bee remembred As if hee had said it was for this end that God did those wonderful works wrought those great deliverances that they might bee remembred that they might bee kept upon the imagination of the thoughts of the heart for ever As in 1 Chron. 29.18 That wee might bee so many living Monuments of thankfulness so many Trumpets to sound forth the praise of his Greatness and Goodness from Generation to Generation And hee that forgets Thankfulness forgets the end of Gods bestowing of Mercy and robs himself of the fruit and effect of the present Mercy and hinders himself of future 5. Reas God doth wonderful things for his Church to adde torture to the Devil and his Children Gods mercies and deliverances to the Saints must needs inrage the Devil and wicked men When Haman had prevailed so far as to get a bloody decree against the Jews hee joyed exceedingly as one that promised to himself the utter ruine of them all Now God stepping in on a sudden and shewing a wonder to disappoint him in his design No man can conceive much less express how much this added to Hamans torture and vexation Hee goeth home and vexeth himself and vexeth in his bed and could have no rest Achitophel was so tortured that his design did not take that hee was impatient of his Life Hee could not ease himself but by destroying himself The like you have of Balak God hath his wayes to make wicked men gnash their teeth before they come to Hell and this is one way to put them in a kinde of hope of having their will upon the godly as they had in the verse before the Text I will pursue I will destroy I will divide the spoil And then on a sudden over-turning all blowing upon their projects bringing all their enterprizes to nought Oh! this doth make them vex and torture their own souls 6 Reason God doth wonderfull things for his Church and People That both our selves and the Generations to come might be quickned and stirred up to trust in him obey him 1. That wee our selves might bee quickned to trust in him And this you see was the fruit of that great deliverance in the text Exod. 14.31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord had done upon the Egyptians And the People feared the Lord and beleeved the Lord. And this use David made That God that hath delivered mee from the Lyon and the Bear hee will also deliver mee from this uncircumcised Philistine So Psal 63.7 Because thou hast been my helper therefore under the shaddow of thy wings I will rejoyce That
is because thou hast been my Helpe I have had experience of thy goodnesse to me in such and such straits Therefore under the shadow of thy wings I will rejoyce Not onely Trust in thee but Rejoyce as being assured thou wilt help me in time to come Men unmindful of former experiences are still to seek in every fresh difficulty Where Experiences are the Premises Assurance may be the Conclusion David was a man of many choice experiences of Gods goodness to him and hee was a man that was choice of them hee laid them up and made use of them at every need Hee did not only make use of the Experiences themselves but of every thing that came in to it or was a Trophee of it It is a passage not to bee neglected that when hee was forced to fly from Saul comming to Ahimelech the Priest hee desired a weapon of him for his defence and safeguard Hee told him that there was none save onely The Sword of Goliah whom hee had slain and David said there is none like that give it mee 1 Sam. 21.9 This was a Trophee of Gods goodnesse to him It was an Ensign of a former Experience of Gods love to him And there was no better weapon for his defence than such a one as was both an experience and a weapon In carrying this he carried an Experience with him which might Comfort him and incourage him too 2 Corin. 1.10 Saith the Apostle hee hath delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver In whom we trust he will yet deliver us Thus from the former Experiences of Gods goodness to him hee makes out an argument of future deliverances And if we were but thus wise to treasure up former Experiences the former parts of our lives would come in to help the latter And the longer wee live the richer in faith we should be Wee ought indeed to trust God though wee had never Tryed him but when hee helps our faith by former Experiences this should strengthen our Confidence and make us to go unto God as unto a Tryed friend If wee were well read in the History of our Lives wee might have a Bible of our own drawn out of the Experiences of Gods dealings with us and wee should be able to say in any difficulty and distresse I dare trust God in this difficulty I dare adventure on him in this present distress I have tryed him and found him true Hee never failed mee And because hee hath been my help therefore under the shadow of his wings will I rejoyce This is the first part of this Reason God doth wonders to quicken and incourage his Church and People to trust in him and obey him 2 God doth it that the very generations to come might be incouraged to trust in the same God in the like distresses This use the Church made of Former Experiences Psal 22.4 5. Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them they cryed unto thee and were delivered they trusted in thee and were not confounded And from hence the Church gathers an argument that that God that had delivered others would also deliver them The like you have Isa 51.9 11. Awake awake Put on strength O arm of the Lord Awake as in the Ancient days in the Generations of old Art not thou hee that wounded the Dragon who dryed up the Sea and made the depths a way for the ransomed to pass over As if he had said All those Former Experiences of thy Gracious dealings and wonderfull deliverances of thy Church they are as so many incouragements to us to beleeve thy goodnesse to us And therefore the Psalmist tells us Psal 9.10 They that know thy name will trust in thee And hee gives the reason For thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee Hee doth not say Thou Lord wilt not but thou Lord hast not Gods hath-not is his will-not too The Argument were not good would not hold in men They Have not therefore they Will not Men may change men may alter 1. Either they may repent of former curtesies 2. Or they may resolve to do no more Men wee see shut their hands because they Have opened them and their former curtesies are reasons of future denials But the argument is good here Hee hath-not therefore hee will not forsake his people Hee will bee gracious because hee hath been gracious Gods former dealings towards his Church and people do but publish to the world and inform us what his future behaviour shall bee to his Church and people Hee Hath not therefore he will not God blames the Israelites because hee had done so great works for them And yet they beleeved not 7. Reas God will do wonderfull things for his Church because His love and ingagements do move him unto it There are four loving ingagements of God which move him to do wonderful things for his Church 1. They are his 2. He hath promised 3. His people trust in him 4. They seek unto him 1. God is ingaged to do wonderful things for us Because wee are his We are his people hee is our God wee are his Spouse hee our husband wee are his children hee our father wee his Members hee our head wee are his portion his inheritance c. And this is a great ingagement for God to do great things for us what will not a loving father do for his child what will not a loving Husband do for his wife c. wee stand in the same relations with God He thought nothing too great to suffer for us Hee suffered great things and hee suffered cheerfully hee was in pain till the hour came And do you think hee will think any thing too much to do for you God doth what ever is done in the world And there is nothing that he doth that I may say his heart is more in that he doth with more Complacency and delight than those things he doth for his Church and People His whole heart is in them and therefore doth them cheerfully and doth them fully As you know whatever your heart is in that you do willingly that you do thoroughly c. Indeed there was Nothing to ingage him To make us his People before hee made us his People as Moses saith God chose you not because of thy righteousnesse the uprightness of thy heart for thou art a stif-necked People But because the Lord Loved you c. But there is something to ingage him To do for us now hee hath made us his People because wee are his People this is that that Samuel did comfort the Israelites withall 1 Sam. 12.22 The Lord will not forsake his people for his great Names sake And why what is the reason what is the ingagement why saith hee Because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people 2 A second loving ingagement which causeth God to do wonders for his People is Fidelis Dominus qui se nobis â—ecit debitorem non aliquid
evidences p. 293 1 Because evidences of this kinde are obscure full of ambiguity ibid. 2 Because they are unconstant and instable p. 294 Fetch your evidences from your Justification your interest in Christ in the Covenant These are 1 The clearest ibid. p. 295 2 The purest ibid. 3 The most satisfying p. 296 4 The most constant evidences p. 297 Third Use If it bee possible to do thus much and bee unsound then what care ought there to bee to clear the soundnesse of our spirits in our performances p. 298 First Clear the sincerity of your hearts in your performances in particular and that in three things 1 In your hearing p. 299 2 In your praying ibid. 3 In your mourning for sin ibid. First A sincere heart desires sincere preaching ibid. As 1 Hee desires to receive the truth of God p. 301 2 Hee is willing to receive every truth of God ibid. 3 Hee is willing to receive it as the truth of God ibid. But now an unsound spirit 1 Hee is not willing to receive the truth 2 Not every truth 3 Not as truth As not 1 For it self ibid. p. 302 2 Not to bee a King over them ibid. Thirdly Now an honest heart in hearing is such as 1 Hears the word as Gods word 2 Hee sides with the word of God against himself 3 Hee desires to profit by the word ibid. 4 Hee hears the word with reflection p. 303 Secondly To clear the sincerity of your hearts in matter of Prayer First Character First Where the heart is sincere in prayer there is a doing of the duty with all our strength ibid. Second Character There is no rest nor content to the soul till the heart bee wrought to the work p. 304 Third Character A heart sincere in Prayer doth thirst after communion with God in Prayer ibid. Object How shall a man know when hee hath communion with God in duty ibid. Answered p. 306 1 In general Thou meetest and hast communion with God in duty when God hath inabled thee to act grace in a duty ibid. 2 When the performance of a duty doth lead the soul into better freedome p. 307 Fourth Character A heart sincere in prayer doth rise up praying from prayer hee goes away with affection of and to prayer after the prayer is done ibid. p. 308 Fifth Character A heart sincere in prayer doth eye it self in prayer It is a heart that diligently observes it self in duty views all the workings of the soul and takes notice of all the imperfections of the soul in duty p. 308 309 Sixth Character A heart sincere in prayer is a praying heart p. 310 Object But you will say Then all our hearts are sincere for who is it that doth not desire the thing hee prayeth for Answered p. 310 1 Thou prayest for grace but thou dost not desire grace in the beauty and extent of it ibid. 2 Thou prayest for the subduing of thy lust but dost thou desire what thou prayest for p. 311 3 You pray for Heaven and one would think you did desire this but dost thou know what Heaven is when thou prayest for Heaven p. 312 Heaven not desirable to corrupt hearts in several particulars p. 313 Seventh Character A sincere heart in prayer doth not only desire but truly indeavour the thing prayed for p. 314 3 Part clears sincerity in matter of mourning ibid. Several Characters of true mourning p. 315 First Character A sincere mourning is a deep mourning ibid. Second Character A sincere mourning is an universal mourning ibid. Third Character A sincere mourning is a mourning for sin p. 317 Fourth Character Sincere mourning is proportionable and that in two things 1 Of the measure of sin ibid. 2 Of the merit of sin p. 318 Fifth Character Sincere mourning is a faithful mourning And that in three particulars p. 319 Sixth Character Sincere mourning is a filial mourning ibid. Which comes 1 From Gods love to the soul ibid. 2 From the love of the soul to God p. 321 Seventh Character Sincere mourning is a fruitful mourning and that in four particulars It is ibid. 1 Heart-humbling sorrow p. 322 2 Heart-fatning sorrow ibid. 3 Grace-strengthening sorrow ibid. 4 A divorcing sorrow ibid. Hypocrites mourning for sin in seven particulars p. 323 Clear sincerity in obedience in general illustrated in several Characters First Character Sincere obedience is universal obedience And that p. 324 1 In suffering as doing ibid. 2 In Relative commands as well as Absolute 3 In Affirmative as well as Negative p. 325 4 In the Spirit as well as in the Letter p. 326 Second Character Sincere obedience is such an obedience which doth 1 Come from a right spring p. 327 2 Is wrought by a right rule ibid. 3 In a right manner p. 328 4 To a right end ibid. Object It is also requisite to aime at Gods glory in every action Answered p. 329 Third Character Sincere obedience is fruitful obedience p. 330 Fourth Character Sincere obedience is filial obedience p. 331 In seven cases Children of God may bee cold in them p. 332 Second Use is an Use of Exhortation and that in four Branches First Branch Get a sincere heart p. 332 1 Motives 1 Because it sets a value on them p. 333 2 Distinguisheth our works from others Ibid. 3 Otherwise all are lost p. 334. 4 Sincerity is the chiefest thing God eyes in men Ibid. 5 Sincerity affords most comfort Ibid. 6 Sincerity fences the heart against Apostacy p. 335. Cure of Hypocrisy is 1 A difficult cure p. 336. 2 A painful cure p. 337 Means of cure 1 Convince thy heart of the evill of an unsound heart p. 338. 2 Consider there is a God p. 339 3 Thou must be new made p. 340. 4 Use Prayer Ibid. Rules for Preservatives Ibid. Uses that may be made of these Rules p. 341 Rules for clearing sincerity Ibid. 1 Make a through search Ibid. 2 Acquaint thy self with the most clear evidences p. 342 Objection But how shall I know what are those heart clearing evidences Answered p. 343 344. Second Rule is Take not up your evidences from the carriage of your spirits either when at best or at worst Ibid. and p. 445. 4 Rule Judge not thy sincerity by some particular acts p. 346 5. Rule Be careful to read your spirits p. 346. Five several times to read your spirits 1 In times of Darknesse p. 347 2 In times of Manifestation p. 348 3 In times of outward Distresse Ibid. 4 In times of Prosperity p. 349 5 In times of Danger Ibid. 4 Branch of Exhortation To declare the sincerity of the heart on all occasions p. 350 351. We are called to it 1 By God p. 352. 2 By our distressed brethren Ibid. 3 Our own Church and Nation Ibid. 4 Our Consciences Ibid. THE CONTENTS OF The wonderful workings of God FOR his Church and People EXOD. 15.11 Who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods Who is like thee glorious in holinesse
Christ by whom also through Faith wee have access into this Grace wherein wee stand rejoycing under the hope of the Glory of God Rom. 15.13 The God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in Beleeving Where there 's Faith there 's Joy If Faith of Evidence Ubi Fiducia ibi Laetitia there Joy doth naturally result and arise from it If but Faith of Adherence there Joy is hid and secret though it doth not appear The seed of Joy is hid as yet under the Clods of Faith but in time it will break forth and appear Joy is there though it bee not seen There may bee a divorce between Faith and actual rejoycing for a time but there can bee no divorce between Faith and the Matter and Ground of Rejoycing not between Faith and the Affection of Joy My Joy shall none take from you Thus you see Faith is an Heart-chearing-Grace It fills the soul with such a Joy as nothing is able to bereave the soul thereof It is not Losses Crosses Poverty Sickness Prisons Persecutions which are able to take away this Joy of Faith 1. Faith will inable a man to rejoyce in Bonds to rejoyce in Tribulations and Sufferings for Christ as the Apostle saith As Sufferings abound the Consolations shall superabound As if all the floods of Consolation did issue from the spring of Sufferings 2. It will inable a man to rejoyce in sicknesse Faith will bee our best Cordial and let in such a beam of Gods love into the Soul as will chear and comfort the heart in this condition warm and inlighten it not only inlighten but warm the heart in this condition 3. It will inable a man to Rejoyce in Poverty in Calamity in Famine You see Habakkuks confidence Hab. 3.17 18. Although the Figtree do not blossome nor shall there bee fruit in the Vines though the labour of the Olive shall fail and the field shall yeeld no meat though the sheep bee cut off from the Fold and there bee no Bullock in the stall yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Though the waters of Calamity should rise so high as to drown up all his comforts yet hee could rejoyce in God In the absence of all worldly comforts Faith can let in springs of Consolation from God to rejoyce the Soul If God if Christ if Glory can rejoyce the heart Faith will not want matter of Joy in the saddest condition It is an Heart-chearing Grace Faith will present to man Soul-rejoycing-grounds There are these five grounds of Rejoycing 1. Our Election Hence Christ saith Rejoyce that your Names are written in the Book of Life 2. Our Redemption 3. Our Justification 4. Our Sanctification 5. The Promises and Hopes of Glorification And Faith presents all these grounds of rejoycing It makes a discovery to the soul that wee are Gods chosen such as hee hath elected that wee are his Redeemed ones such as hee hath purchased that wee are his Justified ones such as hee hath pardoned that wee are his holy ones such as hee hath sanctified and shall bee hereafther glorified And when such a report is made to the soul from Heaven when Faith hath been in Heaven and brings this news down to the soul how can it bee but the Soul must rejoyce and bee filled with all Consolations Object But alas you will say Who are more sad who are more disconsolate than Beleevers are And therefore how is Faith an Heart-chearing-Grace Ans 1. Beleevers may rejoyce and thou not discern it It is a Joy which is not known but by experience Hence the Apostle saith It is a Joy that passeth all understanding None know it but they who feel it A stranger doth not intermeddle with this Joy As they cannot feel it so they cannot see it and therefore are no Competent Judges whether Gods people are joyfull or whether they bee sorrowfull 2. But to answer further You say Beleevers are sad and disconsolate people 1. All Beleevers are not so They are such as are 1. Under some present cross and affliction Gods hand is gone out against them though for good For all things work together for good to them that love God and are chosen according to his purpose But I say some present evil is upon them and this may sadden the spirits of the best for a time though this may bee their infirmity Paul had learned in all estates therein to bee content and if to bee content then to rejoyce unless it were Contentation by force sure not well pleasing to God If indeed their comfort did lye in the presence and injoyment of these outward things then no marvel if in the absence of them they were cast down I say If the floods of their comfort were maintained by such springs as these then no marvel if these being taken away they bee bereave of their Joy But seeing these things are too short either to breed or feed either to beget or fuel a Christians Joy why should the deprival of them so much affect the heart as to take away their Joy Have you not still the ground of Joy you have lost your goods but not your God You are deprived of your Comforts not of your Christ And therefore except you do make Gods of the Creature prize them too highly in your Judgement ingage your hearts and affections too much to them why should your Joy bee taken away You see Paul had learned in all estates to bee content and the Prophet Habakkuk before mentioned and why not you 2. Such they are as for the present are under some sad and sore Temptation combate with Satan and for the present their spirits are sadned and cast down 3. Such as are in deserted conditions God having withdrawn himself and hid his face from the Soul Than which there is no sadder condition in the World when not a Star but the Sun it self is rent from the Sky when not a single Comfort but the universal Comfort seems to bee gone This may sadden the spirit of Gods people for a time All Jobs crosses did not so much affect him as this The loss of his Goods of his Possession of his Children came not so neer him as the apprehension of the loss of his God Hee could lift up his head under all the other but here hee was ready to sink Such a Condition Gods people may bee in which may cause sadness of spirit as was David Heman Hezekiah and others 2. So secondly for those of Gods people that are thus sad and disconsolate it is not as they are Beleevers but as they are Doubters Their Trouble ariseth from Doubting not from Beleeving It is not Faith but the want of Faith which is the cause of their uncomfortable walking If Gods people would live more out of themselves and more in Christ if they would live more the Life of Faith and less the Life of Sense if they would