kinds of the promises whether to the promises for this life or the promises of Grace If they be promises of this life take heed we abuse not our selves in them There have been grosse miscarriages even from the beginning of the world will be to the end of the world in the false application of outward promises We see the Jews cryed The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Loed as if God had tied himself to that by a perpetual promise Trust not to lying words saith the Prophet you think you are Gods people and that he will alwayes keep you out of captivity challenge not temporal promises without reservation and subjection to Gods will as he shall see goood Babylon saith I sit as a Queen and I shall for ever So mystical Babylon in the Revelation saith I sit as a Queen till her Judgment and destruction come in one day because she trusted to her present temporal estate Let no man promise himself that that God doth not promise in his Word immunity from the crosse for whatsoever Promise of protection and provision we have all is with the exception of the Crosse remember therefore to construc the Promises aright Then again another rule about the Promises is That it is usual with God to perform them in a wonderful manner that men know not how he doth perform them notwithstanding take that for a rule How is that As Luther was wont to say Gods carriage is by contrary meanes he performs them wonderfully He promised Abraham a child but his body was dead in a manner first and Sarah's womb He promised Joseph to raise him up so high but alas the iron entred into his soul first He promised that Christ should come but all was desperate first The Scepter was departed from Judah So he hath promised that we shall rise from the dead but we must rot in our graves first He hath promised forgivenesse of sins that he will be mercifull to us but he will waken our consciences to see our desperate estate that we are forlorn creatures first and unworthy of any respect from him He hath promised us happinesse we that are Christians are the happiest creatures in the world yet in the sense and eye of the world for the present we are the most forlorn creatures that are yet he performes his promise with comfort here and at last will fully manifest his love to us So at the last his Promises shall be wonderfully performed God doth not perform his Promises according to humane policy he will not do thus because we look he should do thus and thus he will crosse our expectation and yet perform his promise Saint Paul looked to come to Rome but he thought not of coming to Cesar by whipping and perill and ship wrack Moses knew he should come to see Canaan did he think to have such a conflict in the Wildernesse alas he thought not of it God doth wondrous strangely perform his Promises by contraries he crosseth our imaginations and conceits directly and yet he is true of his promise Another branch of this is That though Gods Promises be Yea and Amen in his time yet he usually defers his promises for a time and why Among many other reasons To mortifie self-confidence to fit us for his blessings for except he deferred them we should not be fit for them he defers them that we may be fitted for them long before they come That we might mortifie self-confidence to see that he immediately and graciously performs his promise And in the mean time to exercise faith and repentance and desire and prayer therefore he defers them but yet they are Amen at last though he defer Gods time is better then ours he knowes better then we the Physician knowes his time better then the Patient Hereupon comes a duty consequently upon this dispensation of God if he perform his promises wondrously and unexpectedly and perform them in delay let thy duty be answerable to his dealing wait wait upon God tie him not to such and such courses he can transcend and go beyond thy imagination and do more then thou art able to conceive as the Apostle saith therefore wait his good time Hâ—… that shall come will come Stay Gods leisure prevent him not run not before him And as he doth things by contraries so when thou art in contraries look for contraries when thou art in fin and feelest it on thy conscience believe that he is made righteousnesse to thee he hath promised it it is Yea and Amen in Christ. When thou shalt be turned to dust in the grave believe that he will raise thy body this promise is Yea and Amen and as a pledge of it Christ is gone to heaven when thou art miserable remember the Promise thou shalt be glorious with Christ as he is glorious All his Promises are Yea and Amen in contraries believe contraries because in contraries he performs contraries and say as Job doth Though he kill me yet will I trust in him I know thou canst not deny thy self and thy Promises are Yea and Amen In the worst estate that befalls us let us learn to wrastle with God in the Promises and implead his Promises Why Lord thou hast promised forgivenesse of sins to them that ask it thou hast promised grace and mercy and favour remember thy promise thou canst not deny thy self thou canst not deny thy gracious promise thy Word is as thy self thou art Amen and thy Word is Yea and Amen onely give me grace to wait thy good leisure yet I will not let thee depart without a blessing I will hold thee till I have received a gracious answer as Jacob wrastled with him till he had the blessing Let us labour to answer the promise with our faith and labour to bring our soules to be like his Promises they are Yea and Amen though they be not presently performed let us constantly believe a constant Promise let us cleave to God let us have a Amen for Gods Amen Are the Promises Amen Amen let the soul say Lord So be it so it shall be I will seal thy Amen in thy promise with my Amen in my faith so let us have an Amen for Christs Amen They are all and will be all Amen in Christ in fit time all the gracious Promises will be Yea and Amen let our soules echo and say Amen For our faith must answer the Promises faith and the Promises be correlatives for the promise is not except it be applyed Let faith answer the promise let us labour to be established in the Promises in Gods Word Shall we have certain Promises and shall we waver and stagger Therefore let us complain Lord thy Promises are sure and certain as thou hast said what is the reason I cannot build on them Oh my unfaithful heart Let us condemn our unbelieving our lying hearts that call the truth of God into question and make that which is
certainly these promises being apprehended by faith as they have a quickning power to comfort so they purge with holinesse We may not think to carry our filthinesse to heaven Doth the swearer think to carry his blasphemies thither filthy persons and liars are banished thence there is no unclean thing He that hath these promises purgeth himself and perfecteth holinesse in the fear of God He that hath this hope purifieth himself as he is pure 1 Joh. 3. So these promises affect and quicken and purge And then the promises they do settle the soul because they be Yea and Amen they make the soul quiet If a man believe an honest man on his word he will be quiet if he be not quiet he doth not believe so much faith so much quiet Being iustified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So much faith so much peace Philip. 4. In nothing be carefull but let your desires be known to God in prayer supplication and thanksgiving and when you have done this The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall preserve your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus So where there is prayer and thanksgiving and doing of duty The peace of God which passeth all understanding will keep the mind in Christ and where there is not quiet and peace to preserve the heart mind there is neglect of duty before not committing our selves to Gods promises to build on them Again where there is a believing the promises there is not only a staying of the soul in generall but when all things are gone when all things are contrary that is the nature of faith in the promises Put the case that a Christian that is of the right stamp have nothing in the world to take to only Gods Word and Promises surely he knowes they are Yea and Amen It is the Word of God al-sufficient he is Jehovah he gives a being to his Word and to all things else therefore he hath the Name Jehovah therefore thinks the soul Though I have nothing yet I have him that is the substance of all things all other things are but shadowes God the Father Son and Holy Ghost are the substance that give all things a being and therefore I will cast my selfe on God here now is the Tryumph of faith when there is nothing else to trust to nay when all things else are contrary when it is faith against faith and hope against hope when there is such a conflict in a man that he sees nothing but the contrary here faith will shut the eye of sense and not look to present things too much though I see all things contrary though I see rather signes of anger then otherwise yet I will hope and believe in God for this or that Here is the wisdom of a believing Christian that believes the promises he will shut his eyes and not look on the waves on the troubles they will carry him away and dazle him but he looks to the constant love of God in Christ and to the constant promises of God his nature is constant and his truth is as his nature he cannot deny himself and his own Word when he hath made himself a debtor by his promise and bound himself by his Word Therefore in contraries say as Job Though he kill me yet will I trust in him True faith when it is in strength will uphold a man when all failes nay it will hold a man when all is contrary This our Saviour Christ in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen did excellently teach us by his own example For when all was contrary and our blessed Saviour felt the wrath of God which made him sweat drops of blood and made him cry out My God My God why hast thou for saken me yet here faith wrastled with My God my God still even under the wrath of God He brake through the seeming wrath of God into the heart of God Faith hath a piercing eye it will strive through the clouds though they be never so thick through all the clouds of temptation Christ had so piercing a faith it brake through all he saw a Fathers heart under an angry semblance So a Chistian triumphs by faith in oppositions to faith when all is contrary to faith yet notwithstanding he can say My God still This is an evidence of a strong faith in the promises Again an evidence of faith in the promises is faithfulnesse in our selves in our promises to God for surely the soul that expects any thing of God that he should be faithfull it studies to be faithful in the Covenant Psal. 25. All the wayes of God are mercy and truth All his dealings to his Children are mercy and truth to them that keep his Covenant For you know the promises have conditions annexed and where God fulfils his promise he gives grace to perform the condition to walk before him to allow our selves in no sin for if we allow our selves in any sin we perform not the Covenant on our part Now God will give grace to perform the Covenant where he will perform his own Therefore those that are unfaithful in their Covenant and yet think God will be faithfull to them it is presumption When we come to the Communion we think we do God a great deal of service but we must consider we enter into Covenant with God as well as he binds himself to us He gives us Christ all his blessings he reacheth forth Christ with all in him if we will receive him I but we bind our selves to God to lead a new life and to be thankful and to shew it in obedience And so in Baptisme we do not only receive in the Sacraments but we yield we bind our selves to God And we must be careful of what we promise to God as well as expect that which he promiseth to us if we expect his truth we must be faithful and careful of performing our Covenants to him Oh but how shall I do that saith the distressed soul I have no grace God knowes that well enough therefore he that promiseth he promiseth grace to perform the condition that is one part of the Covenant to give grace to fulfil the Covenant For he that saith If we believe and repent c. he will give us hearts to repent if we ask them he hath promised to circumcise our hearts to give us new hearts and to give us his holy Spirit if we ask him Why Lord thou knowest I have no grace in my self to fulfil the Covenant no but thou must perform both parts thou givest the grace and good thing promised and grace to keep the Covenant too therefore let none be discouraged Many things are required it is true but the things are promised that are required if in the use of means we depend on him by prayer For the promises are Legacies as well as promises what is the difference between a legacy and a
that we may make likewise of the story of our own lives as well as the story of others for consider the former times why Lord thy Promises heretofore have been Yea and Amen thou hast delivered me from such and such dangers thou hast been so good and so good to me thou art not changed Let us store up experience out of the story of our own lives God is Yea and Amen and his Promises are Yea and Amen constant to all his Children and to their children and they are alike in all ages from Generation to Generation as Moses saith Psal. 90. Thou art our God from Generation to Generation for ever Thus we see how to make use of the Promises for Promises we must know are either directly to particular persons or implyed A promise made to any directly to any in particular is an implyed promise to me in the general equity in matter of grace and glory or the removal of some true misery what was made to Joshua is applyed to all the Church Heb. 13. that which was directly promised to him is an implyed promise to all that will make use of that example Again if so be that all the Promises of God be Yea and Amen that is certain and constant in Christ this should comfort us when men deal loosely with us and fail in their Promises whereon we have perhaps builded too much when men deal falsly with us And indeed there is nothing that makes an honest heart wearier of this wicked world then the consideration of the falshood of men in whom they trust Oh it is a cruel thing to deceive him that unlesse he had trusted he had never been deceived by thee it is a treacherous thing but this world is full of such treacherous dealing that a man can scarce trust assurances much lesse words But there are things thou mayest trust if thou have a heart concerning the best good there are Promises that are Tea and Amen there is a God that keeps Covenant it is his glory to do so from Generation to Generation Here is the comfort of a Christian when he finds falsenesse in the world to retire to his God and hide himself there And in the uncertainty of all things below in all changes as this world is full of changes now poor now rich now in favour now out of favour why what hath a Christian to cast himself on The Promises of God in Christ they are Yea and Amen they are promises that never fail They that know thy Name will trust in thee Psal. 9. what is the reason it followes Thou never failest those that trust in thee Therefore in the vicissitude and intercourse of all earthly things under the Moon that are like the Moon changeable let us stablish our soules upon that which is unchangeable and that will make us unchangeable if we build on it For the Word of the Lord endures for ever Esay 40. which is alledged by Peter 1 Pet. 1. All flesh is grass and as the flower of the grasse that is it fades as the grasse and as the flower of the grasse all the excellency of wit and learning it is but as the flower of the grasse but the Word of the Lord endures for ever How doth the Word of the Lord endure for ever Saint John expounds it 1 Joh. 2. A true Christian endures for ever by the Word of the Lord he that believes in the Word he endures for ever because his comforts endure for ever they are Yea and Amen his grace endures for ever Gods love endures to him for ever Therefore by building upon that which is certain we make our selves certain too when the Word is ingraffed it is S. James his phrase when it is ingraffed into our hearts it turns our hearts to be like it self it is eternal it self and it makes us eternal He that doth the will of the Lord abides for ever saith S. John The world passeth and the lust thereof but he that doth the will of the Lord abides for ever And the Word of the Lord abides for ever as it is in another place the one expounds the other that is we by believing and doing the Word of the Lord abide for ever To stir us up to rely constantly upon this Word the promises and the grace of God brought to us by the promises As I said before Shall we have certain promises of God that never lie and shall we not build on them What is there in the world to build on if we cannot build on this and yet the froward heart of man will believe any thing rather then Gods truth The Merchant man he commits his estate his goods to the Sea he hath no promise that they shall come again it is onely in the providence of God he hath made no promise for it The Husbandman commits his seed to the ground though he have nothing left of his seed and though he sowe in tears yet he commits all to the earth in hope of a return and yet he hath no promise for this but Gods ordinary providence that may sometimes fail Are we in such hope when we commit our seed to the ground and when we commit our goods to the Sea to the Waves and yet have not a promise for this but Gods ordinary providence which oft-times failes having not bound himself that it shall be alway so because God will shew himself the God of nature that he can command nature and shall we not trust him when we have his providence and his promise too when he is bound by his Promise when he hath made himself a debtor to us when the free God who is most free hath made himself a debtor by his promise and hath sealed his promise by an oath and by Sacraments Alas God hath made all things faithful to us therefore we trust them but we trust not him that hath made other things so and is so faithful to us Therefore let us build on these Promises in Jesus Christ. Now to direct us a little further to train our selves up to make use of the Promises of God in Jesus Christ Observe every day how God fulfills his promises in lesser matters Parents train up their children by education that they may trust them for their inheritance So God traines us up to believe his providence that he will provide for us without cracking our consciences by ill means will we not believe his Promises for these things and will we believe him for life everlasting no certainly we cannot therefore let us exercise faith to believe the promises for provision that he will not fail us not forsake us but be with us in our callings using lawful means for the things of this life Sometimes again take another method when faith begins to stagger for the things of this life quicken it with the grand Promises Will God give me life everlasting and hath he given me Christ are his
their worst if you will needs fear I will tell you whom you shall fâ—…ar Fear him that can cast both body and soul into hell So if we be forced to suffer the losse of any thing that is good in the world or be cast into any ill condition what saith S. Paul The troubles and afflictions of the world are not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed Let us set that glory before us and that will prevail against that all the world can threaten or take from us what is all to it nothing Therefore by faith we stand we keep our own standing and withstand all oppositions whatsoever Oh but what if there come more subtile temptations end the Lord himself seemes to be our enemy that we have sinne and God is angry and we see he followes us with afflictions that are evidences of his anger how shall we stand now and keep our selves from despair This is a fiery dart of Satan when a man hath sinned and conscience is awakened to make him sink in despair O but faith will make the soul to stand in these great temptations against those fiery darts faith puts a shield into the hand of the soul to beat back all those fiery darts For faith will present Christ to God Indeed I have been a sinner but thou hast ordained a Saviour and he is of thine own appointing of thine own aâ—…ting a Saviour of thine own giving and thou hast made a promise that Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life I cast my self upon thy mercy in him hereupon faith comes to withstand all such fiery temptations whatsoever nay against God himself Lord thou canst not deny thine own Saviour thou â—…mest to be an enemy and though I be a sinner and have deserved to be cast into hell yet I come to thee in the Name of thy Son that is at thy right hand and pleads for me by vertue of his blood shed for me I came in his Name thou canst not refuse thy owne Son For all temptations when a man hath faith in him it will send Satan to Christ to answer for him Go to Christ he is my husband he hath paid my debts he hath satisfied for my sins So that whatsoever the temptation be make it as subtle as you will there is a skill in faith to stand against it and to beat back all the fiery darts of Satan Therefore to end all we see here what an excellent estate a Christian is in above all others that he hath a better standing then others have not onely a better standing in Religion then the Papists have but in the profession of Religion he hath a better standing then common professors why he stands by faith by sound faith He stands not upon opinion or because he hath been bred so he stands not upon his wit because he sees reason for it he stands upon faith and faith stands upon divine authority he stands partly upon his own experience that seconds faith Those then that care not for Religion what standing have they those that stand only in pleasures and profits and in the favour of great men what standing have they They stand as the Psalmist saith in slippery places There is no man but if he nave not faith he stands slippery though he be never so great if he be a Monarch alas what is it to stand a while all these things are but uncertain though they yield present content they are but uncertain contentments the Wise-man saith they are but vanity they are like the reed of Egypt that will not uphold they will not sustein the soul in the time of trouble there is nothing that a man can stand upon and fasten his soul upon if he be not Religious that will hold scarce the fit of an ague that will hold in the pangs of death even in the entrance of it that will hold in terrours of conscience How little a trouble will blow away all those that stand on so weak a foundation as an earthly thing is For they have but an Imaginary good to speak of and that Imagination is driven out by the sense of the contrary Let contrary troubles come and all their fooles Paradise and their happinesse they had before is at an end it goes no deeper then Imagination All the things in this world stablish not the heart Those that do not stand by faith in the favour of God in Christ let their standing be what it will it will soon be over turned by any temptation they can stand out against nothing Therefore let us labour above all things in the world to have that faith strengthened by which we stand and let us often be encouraged to strengthen our faith by all means that we may stand the better upon it and try our faith before we trust it it is that that we must trust to and stand to in life and death Therefore let us often think Is my faith good is it well built Let us oft put this query to our soules I believe the Religion I professe but upon what grounds I believe the truths in the Word of God but upon what grounds have I a clear understanding of them because they are divine doth the Spirit of God open them and shew a light in the Scripture that is divine doth the Spirit of God give me a relish of the Scriptures above all the pleasures in the world Do I find God speaking to my heart in the Word do I find the Spirit of God with his Ordinance then my knowledge and my faith will hold out I can stand by that faith in the Word that is wrought by the Spirit and fastened upon the Word with the Spirit But if I believe the Religion I professe only because the State doth so and if the King and State should do otherwise I would change my Religion or if it be because my parents were so or my friends and Patron is of that religion whom I depend upon or because I see greater seeming reason for this then for the other I can hold argument for this and not for the other Alas this will not hold But labour to know the truth of the Word of God by experience as much as we can and by the Spirit of God giving evidence to our soules from the inward grounds of Scripture that it is the Word I know whom I have trusted I know the promises are good I have felt them in my soul the Spirit hath reported them to my soul they are sweeter then all the things in the world It is a sure Word I bottome upon it I have found the comfort of it before therefore I will build upon it We can never stand unlesse we can make our knowledge spiritnal it is but acquisite knowledge else We fall in three things vilely we labour that our knowledge of Religion be spiritual and fetched divinely out of the Word of God together with the Spirit We
worthy pieces as a Monument of their graces and zeal for the publick welfare whether it be out of a modest sense of their own endeavours as being loath upon choice or of their own accord to venture abroad into the world or whether it be that being occupied and taken up with other labours or whether it be in a conformity to Christ who would not leave his Spirit till his Departure or whether it be out of an hope that their Works would find a more kindly reception after their death the living being more liable to envy and reproach but when the Authour is in heaven the work is more esteemed upon earth whether for this or that cause usually it is that not only the life but the death of Gods servants hath been profitable to his Church by that means many useful Treatises being freed from that privacy and obscurenesse to which by the modesty of the Authour they were formerly confined Which as it hath commonly falne out so especially in the Works of this Reverend Authour all which some few onely excepted saw the light after the Authours death which also hath been the lot of this usefull Comment onely it hath this advantage above the rest that it was perused by the Authour during life and corrected by his own hand and hath the plain signature and marks of his own spirit which will easily appear to those that have been any way conversant with his former Works this being signified for further commendation it needeth none I commend thee to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build thee up and to give thee an inheritance among the sanctified remaining Thy servant in the Lords work THOMAS MANTON A COMMENTARY upon the first CHAPTER of the second Epistle of S. PAUL to the CORINTHIANS 2 Cor. 1. 1. Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the Will of God and Timothy our Brother unto the Church of God which is at Corinth with all the Saints which are in all Achaia Grace be to you and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. THe Preface to this Epistle is the same with other Prefaces Our blessed Apostle had written a sharp Epistle to the Corinthians especially reproving their tolerating of the incestuous person that his first Epistle took effect though not so much as he desired yet it prevailed so far with them that they excommunicated the incestuous person and likewise reformed divers abuses Yet notwithstanding it being a proud factious rich City where there was confluence of many Nations being an excellent Port and Mart-Town there were many proud insolent teachers which thought basely of St. Paul and thereupon he writes this second Epistle the scope whereof is partly Apologetical Exhortatorie Apologetical to defend himself Exhortatorie to instruct them in several duties as we shall see in the passages of it The general scope of it is this to shew That the Ministerial labour is not in vain in the Lord. The fruit of the first Epistle to the Corinthians is seen in this second the first Epistle took effect Therefore we should not be discouraged neither we that are Ministers of the Church or those that are Ministers in their own families as every man should be be not discouraged at unlikelihood there is alway some successe to encourage us though not so much as we look for in this world because there is a reprobate Generation that are alway set upon Cavilling and opposing yet some successe there will be as there was here A second thing in general out of the whole scope is this to teach us to vindicate our credit when the truth may be wounded through us as the Apostle stands here upon his reputation and labours to free and to clear himself from all imputations but especially he doth this by his life for that is the best Apology But because that would not serve it would not speak loud enough therefore he makes an excellent apology in this Epistle But to come to the particulars Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God and Timothy our Brother THis Chapter is Apologetical especially after the Preface He stands in defence of himself against the imputations First that he was a man neglected of God he was so persecuted and oppressed with so many afflictions And the second is the imputation of inconstancie that he came not to them when he had made a promise to come This Chapter is especially in defence of these two In an excellent heavenly wisdome he turnes off the imputation of afflictions and inverts the imputation the clean contrary way and he begins with thanksgiving Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies the God of all comfort who hath comforted us in all our tribulations As if God had done him a great favour in them as we shall see when we come to those words For the Preface it is common with all his Epistles therefore we make it not a principal part of the Chapter yet because these Prefaces have the seeds of the Gospel in them the seeds of heavenly comfort and doctrine I will speak something of it Here is An Inscription and A Salutation In the Inscription there are the parties from whom this Epistle was written Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God and Timothy our Brother And the persons to whom To the Church of God at Corinth and all the Saints in Achaia The Salutation Grace and Peace in the form of a blessing Grace and Peace From whom From God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul an Apostle c. In this inscription he sets down his office an Apostle and an Apostle of Jesus Christ. How Apostles differ from other Ministers it is an ordinary point St. Paul was called to be an Apostle by Christ himself in 1 Cor. 9. 1. Am I not an Apostle have I not seen Christ It was the priviledge of the Apostles to see Christ they were taught immediately by Christ and they had a general commission to teach all and they had extraordinary gifts All these were in St. Paul eminently And this was his prerogative that he was chosen by Christ in heaven in glory the other were chosen by Christ when he was in abasement in a state of humiliation Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ. By the will of God By the appointment of God by the designment of Christ For every man in his particular calling is placed in it by the will of God St. Paul saith he was an Apostle by the will of God not by the will of man This is the same word as is in the beginning of the Epistle to the Philippians In a word it teacheth us this first Observation That we should think our selves in our standings and callings to be there by the will of God And therefore should serve him by whose will we are placed in that standing Let every man consider who placed me here God if
Christ the Father of mercies c. That which to the flesh is matter of scandall and offence that to the spirit and to a spirituall man is matter of glory so contrary is the flesh and the Spirit and so opposite is the disposition and the current of the fleshly man to the spirituall man Job was so farre from cursing God for taking away that he saith Blessed be the name of God not onely for giving but for taking away too What ground there is in troubles and persecutions to blesse God we shall see in the current and passages of the Chapter To come then to the very verse it selfe where there is a blessing and praysing of God first And in this praysing consider The Act Object Reasons The Act Blessed be God which is a praysing The Object is God the Father The Reasons are inwrapped in the Object Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because he is the God and Father of Iesus Christ therefore blessed be he Secondly another reason is because he is the Father of mercies Another reason is from the Act of this disposition of mercie in God he is the God of all comfort and as he is comfortable so he doth comfort Thou art good and doest good saith the Psalmist thou art a God of comfort and thou doest comfort For as he is so he doth he shews his Nature in his working Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and God of comfort of which I shall speake when I come to them Blessed be God the Father c. We see here the heart of the blessed Apostle being warmed with the sense and taste of the sweet mercy of God stirrs up his tongue to bless God a full heart and a full tongue We have here the exuberancie the abundance of his thankfulness breaking forth in his speech his heart had first tasted of the sweet mercies and comforts of God before he prayseth God The first thing that we will observe hence is that It is the disposition of Gods Children after they have tasted the sweet mercy and comfort and love of God to break forth into the praysing of God and to thanksgiving It is as naturall for the new creature to doe so as for the birds to sing in the Spring when the Sun hath warmed the poore creature it shews its thankfulnesse in singing and that little blood and spirits that it hath being warmed after winter it is natural for those creatures so to do and we delight in them It is as natural for the new creature when it feels the Sun of righteousness warming the soul when it tastes of the mercy of God in Christ to shew forth it self in thankfulnesse and praise and it can no more be kept from it then fire can keep from burning or water from cooling it is the nature of the new creature so to do The reason is every creature must do the the work for which God hath enabled it to the which God hath framed it the happinesse of the creature is in well doing in working according to its nature the heathen could see that Now all the creatures the new creature especially is for the glory of God in Christ Jesus All the new creature and what priviledges it hath and what graces it hath all is that God may have the glory of grace why then it must needs work answerable to that which God hath created it for therefore it must shew forth the praise and glorie of God Blessed be God saith the Apostle Ephes. 1. And the blessed Apostle St. Peter begins his Epistle Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us to an Inheritance Immortal and undefiled which fadeth not away reserved for us in Heaven I shall not need to set down with the exposition of the word Blessed How God blesseth us and how we blesse God His blessing is a conferring of blessing our blessing is a declaring of his goodnesse it is a thing well enough known Our blessing of God is a praising of God a setting out what is in him Onely one thing is to be cleared What good can we do to God in blessing of him he is blessed though we blesse him not and he is praised whether we praise him or no he had Glorie enough before he made the world he contented himself in the Trinity the blessed Trinity in it self before there were either Angels or men or other creatures to blesse him and now he can be blessed enough though we do not blesse him It is true he can be so and he can have heaven though thou hast it not but be a damned creature and he will be blessed whether thou blesse him or no. Our blessing of him is required as a dutie to make us more capable of his graces to him that hath shall be given To him that hath and useth that he hath to the Glorie of God shall be given more we give nothing The stream gives nothing to the fountain the beam gives nothing to the Sun for it issues from the Sun our very blessing of God is a blessing of his It is from his Grace that we can praise his Grace and we run still into a new debt when we have hearts enlarged to blesse him We ought to have our hearts more enlarged that we can be enlarged to prayse God And to others it is good for others are stirred up by it Gods goodnesse and mercy is enlarged in regard of the manifestation of it to others by our blessing of God Yea this good comes to our souls besides the increase of Grace we shall find an increase of joy and comfort that is one end why God requires it of us though he himself in his essence be alway alike blessed yet he requires that we should be thankful to him alway that we should blesse and praise him even in misery and affliction why then because if we can work upon our hearts a disposition to see Gods love and to praise and blesse him we can never be uncomfortable we have some comfort against all estates and conditions by studying to praise God by working of our hearts to a disposition to praise and bless God for then crosses are light crosses are no crosses then That is the reason that the Apostles and Holy men so stirred up their hearts to praise and thansgiving that they might feele their crosses the less that they might be lesse sensible of their discomforts for undoubtedly when we search for matter of praysing God in any afliction and when we see there is some mercy yet reserved that we are not consumed the consideration that there is alway some mercy that we are yet unthankfull for will inlarge our hearts and God when he hath thanks and praise from us he gives us still more matter of thankfulnesse and the more we thank him and praise him the more we have matter of praise
there is a presence of the Spirit that comforts As we see oft times a man is comforted with the very sight of his friend without discourse to a man indued with reason whose discomforts are spirituall for the most part in the soule the very presence of a man that he loves puts much delight into him What is God then the God of comfort his very presence must needs comfort Comfort is taken many other wayes but these are the principall to this purpose First Comfort is the thing it selfe there is comfort in every creature of God and God is the God of that comfort In hunger meate comforts in thirst drink comforts in cold garments comfort in want of advice friends comfort and it is a sweet comfort God is the God of all comfort of the comfortable things But besides the necessary things every sense hath somewhat to comfort it The eye besides ordinary colours hath delightfull colours to behold and so the eare besides ordinary noise and sounds it hath musick to delight it the smell besides ordinarie savours it hath sweet flowers to refresh it and so every part of the body besides that which is ordinarie it hath somewhat to comfort it Because God is nothing but comfort to his creature if it be as it should be he is God of these comforts the God of all comfort of the comfort of outward things of friends c. So he is the God of the second comfort of comfortable reasons and arguments for a man especially in inward troubles must have grounds of comfort from strong reasons God ministreth these he is the God of these for he hath given us his Scriptures his Word and the comforts that are fetched from thence are strong ones because they are his comforts it is his Word The word of a Prince comforts though he be not there to speake it though it be a letter or by a Messenger yet he whose word it is is one that is able to make his word good he is Lord and Master of his word The Word of God is comfortable and all the reasons that are in it and that are deduced from it upon good ground and consequence they are comfortable because it is Gods word he is the God of all And those comforts in Gods word and reasons from thence they are wonderfull in the variety of them there is comfort from the liberty of a Christian laid out there that he hath free access to the throne of Grace comfort from the Prerogatives of a Christian that he is the Child of God that he is justified that he is the heire of Heaven and such like Comforts from the Promises of Grace of the presence of God of assistance by his presence these things out of the Word of God are wondrous plentifull Indeed the Word of God is a breast of comfort as the Prophet cals it Suck comfort out of the breasts of comfort Isa. 66. The books of God are breasts of comfort wels of comfort Isa. 11. there are springs of comfort Gods word is a Paradise as it were in Paradise there were sweet streams that ran through and in Paradise stirred the voyce of God not onely calling Adam where art thou terrifying of him but the voyce of God promising Adam the blessed seed So in the Word of God there is God rouzing out of sinne and there is God speaking peace to the soule there is a sweet current of mercie runs from the Paradise of God and there is the Tree of life Christ himselfe and Trees of all manner of fruit comforts of all sorts whatsoever And there is no Angel there to keep the doore and gate of Paradise with a fierie flaming sword No this Paradise is open for all and they are cruell Tyrants that stop th is Paradise that stop this Fountain as the Papists doe As God is the God of comfort so he is the God of comfort in that respect But this is not enough to make him the God of comfort we may have the Word of God and all the reasons from thence from priviledges and prerogatives and examples and yet not be comfortable if we have not the God of comfort with the Word of comfort the Spirit of God that must apply the comfort to the soule and be the God of comfort there For there must be application and working of comfort out of Gods word upon the soule by the spirit the spirit must set it on strongly and sweetly that the soule may be affected You may have a carnall man he for fashion or custome reads the Scriptures and he is as dead-hearted when he hath done as when he began he never looks to the spirit of comfort there must be the spirit of God to work and to apply comfort to the heart and to teach us to discourse and to reason from the Word not onely to shew the reasons of the Word but to teach us to draw reasons from the Word and to apply them to our particular state and condition the spirit teacheth this wisedome And therefore it is well called the comforter I will send you the comforter The poore disciples had many comforts from Christ but because the Comforter was not come they were not comfortable but heavie what was the reason because the Comforter was not come when the holy Ghost was come after the resurrection and ascension of Christ when he had sent the Comforter then they were so full of comfort that they rejoyced that they were thought worthy to suffer any thing for Christ and the more they suffered the more joyfull and comfortable and glorious they were You see what a comfort is it is the things themselves and the word and reasons from it and likewise the spirit of God with the reasons and with presence sometimes without any reasons with present strength God doth establish the soule together with reasons there is a strengthning power of the spirit a vigour that goes with the spirit of God that joyns with the spirit of the afflicted person So whether it be the outward thing as reasons and discourse or the presence of the spirit God joyning with our spirit God is the God of that comfort the God of all comfort A comfort is any thing that allaies a maladie that either takes it away or allaies and mitigates it A comfort is any thing that raiseth up the soul The comforts that wee have in this life they are not such as doe altogether take away sorrow and griefe but they mitigate them Comfort is that which is above a maladie it is such a remedie as is stronger to support the soul from being cast down over much with the grievance whether it be grievance felt that we are in the sence of such a grievance as is feared when the soule apprehends any thing to set against the ill we feare that is stronger then it when the soule hath somewhat that it can set against the present sence of the grievance that is stronger
means of the execution of Gods decree and the decree it self of the thing they fall under the same decree when God hath decreed to do any thing he hath decreed to do it by these means so prayer comes as well within the decree as the thing prayed for In Ezek. 36. I will do this but I will be inquired of by the house of Judah I will do it but they shall aske me they shall seek to me first So there is a notable place Phil. 1. 19. I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayers We must not then so reason as to make the chief cause to take away the subordinate means but let us serve Gods purpose and providence let us serve Gods order he hath stablished this order and course let us serve it this is the obedience of faith the obedience of a Christian. The second thing is that Gods childrn are inabled to pray for themselves I observe this the rather because the vilest men that live when they are in trouble as Pharaoh O go to Moses let him pray for me he could not pray for himself he was such a desperate wretched creature he knew that God would not regard him therefore he saith Go to Moses And so Simon Magus who was a wretch yet when Peter denounced a judgment against him Pray thou that none of these things light upon me you are accepted of God my conscience is so full of terrour and horrour and so full of sin that I dare not pray A wicked man may desire others to pray for him but alas his conscience is surprized with horrour for his sins and his purposes are so cruel so earthly and so base that he knowes he cannot pray with acceptance for himself Gods Children as they desire the prayers of others so they can pray themselves they do not desire that others should do all but that they would help together with their prayers Now the reason of this that Gods Children can pray for themselves and must pray for themselves it is because they are children and as soon as ever they are new born they are known by their voyce by crying A Child as soon as he is born he cryes a new born Child cryes as soon as he is new born he cryes Abba Father he goes to his Father presently In Act. 9. as soon as Paul was converted he cryes he goes to God by prayer therefore God when he directs Ananias to him saith he Go to such a place and there thou shalt find Paul he is praying as soon as he is converted he is praying Gods children have the Spirit of Adoption the Spirit of sons God is their Father and they exercise the prerogative and priviledge they have they go to their Father cry to him In Zech. 12. you have there a promise that God would pour the spirit of supplication upon his children they cannot pray of themselves but God poures a Spirit of supplication into their hearts and his Spirit being poured into them they can pour forth their prayers to him again The use of this is not to content our selves to turn over this duty of prayer to the Minister and to good people O pray you for us I we do so but pray for thy self If thou wilt have another mans prayers do thee good thou must help with thy own prayers be good thy self Men turn it off with slight phrases and speeches You must pray for us c. Alas what will our prayes do thee good if thou be a gracelesse blasphemous carnal brutish person if thy conscience tell thee by the light of nature for the Word of God it may be thou doest not care for that thou art so what can our prayers do thee good If thou mean to be so Though Noah Daniel and Job saith God should stand before me for this people I would regard them for themselves I would not hear them for this people Let us be able and willing to help our selves and then we shall pray to some purpose God loves to hear the cries of his Children the very broken cries of a Child are more pleasing then the eloquent speech of a Servant Sometimes the Children of God have not the Spirit of prayer as at other times and then they must do as Ezechias did they must mourn as a Dove and chatter as a Swallow and as Moses at the Red-sea he cried and the Lord heard his prayer though he spake never a word so in Romans 8. The Spirit teacheth us to sigh and groane When we cannot pray we must strive with our selves against unbelief and deadnesse of heart by all meanes possible Sighs and groans are prayers to God My groanes and my sighs are not hid from thee saith the Prophet David And so in Lament 3. 56. The Church being in distresse saith she Thou hast heard my voice hide not thine ear at my breathing Sometime the Children of God can onely sigh and breath and groane to God for there is such a confusion in their thoughts they are so amazed at their troubles they are so surprized that they cannot utter a distinct prayer and then they sigh and breath and groane they help themselves one way or other If thou be a Child of God though thou be opprest with grief yet cry and groan to God strive against thy grief all thou canst and though thou canst not crie distinctly yet mourn as well as thou canst and God knowes the groanes of his own Spirit and those cries are eloquent in his eares they pierce Heaven But this being but supposed as a ground The third Observation is As God conveys all blessings by prayer And Gods Children have a Spirit of prayer So Gods Children desire the prayers of others and it is the duty of others to pray for them You also helping by your prayer for us Christians ought to help one another by prayer The holy and Blessed Apostle was sure of Gods love to him and of his care of him yet notwithstanding he was as sure that God would use both the prayers of himself and others to continue this his goodnesse to him and therefore the greater faith the greater care of prayer and where there is no care of prayer either of our own or of others for us there is no faith at all There is an article of our faith which I think is little believed thought it be said over-much and heard often yet it is little practised I believe the communion of Saints Is there a Communion of Saints wherein doth this Communion stand among many other things in this that one St. prayes for another This is one branch of the Communion of Saints as they communicate in priviledges for they are all the sons of God they are all heirs of heaven they are all members of Christ they are all redeemed by the blood of Christ and so all other priviledgeâ— belong to all alike as there is a communion in priviledges so there is a
a one as must relinquish in his purpose all wicked blasphemous scandalous unthrifty courses whatsoever he that purposeth to please God and to have his prayer accepted of God he must leave all For as the Psalmist saith If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer For a man to come with a petition to God with a purpose to offend him is to come to practise treason in the presence Chamber To come into the presence of God and to have a purpose to stab him with his sins Doest thou purpose to live in thy filthy courses in thy scandalous evill course of life to be a blasphemer a swearer and yet dost thou think that God will hear and regard thy prayer If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer That is another thing that thou mayest know it by whether thou be in such an estate as that thou mayest pray successefully for thy self and for others In Prov. 28. there is a third discovery He that turnes his eare from hearing the law even his prayer shall be abominable Thou mayest know it by this if thou be in such an estate as that God will regard thy prayers for thy self or for others that they may be prevailing prayers how standest thou affected to Gods Truth and Word how art thou acquainted with the reading of the Scriptures and with hearing the blessed Word of God unfolded and broken open by the blessed Ordinance of God How doest thou attend upon God Wouldest thou have him who is the great God of heaven and earth to hear thee and to regard thee when thou wilt not hear and regard him thou wouldest have him to regard thy prayers and thou regardest not him speaking by the Ministery of his Word thou despisest his ordinance which he hath left with thee he hath left thee the mysteries of his Word and thou regardest them not but spendest thy time altogether either about thy calling or about some trifling studies and neglectest the main the soul-saving truth will he hear thy prayer No saith the Wise man He that turnes his eare from hearing the Law that mans prayer shall be abominable Since prayer is so prevailing a thing so pleasing to God so helpfull to the Church and so helpfull to our selves who would be in such a case that he cannot pray or if he doth pray that his prayer should be abominable that God should turn his prayer into sin It is a miserable case that a man lives in that is in league with sin that allowes himself in any wicked course in rebellion to Gods Ordinance such men are in such a state that God doth not regard their prayers for themselves or for others Some do so exalt and lift up their pride against God that they do not regard the very Ordinance of God no not while they are hearing it but set themselves to be otherwise disposed at that very time How can such expect that God will regard them This shall be sufficient to presse that point saith Saint Paul I shall be delivered by your prayers God will deliver the Ministers by the peoples prayers God will be good to the Ministers for the prayers of the people This concerns us that are Ministers Prayer is prevailing even for us And as it is our duty to give our selves to Preaching and Prayer so it is the peoples duty to pray for us likewise and for these particulars as I named To pray for ability To pray for a willing mind to discharge that ability To pray for successe of that discharge for we must be able to Preach to the people of God and we must be willing and there must be successe It doth much discourage Gods people and those that are Ministers when they find no successe of their labours Isai. 49. saith the Prophet I have laboured in vain Elias was much discouraged in his time and Isaiah and Elias were good men yet they were much discouraged they saw little fruit of their labour Therefore let us help the Ministers with our prayers in this respect that God would enable them that God would enlarge their hearts with willingness For there are many that are of ability but they are so proud and so idle that they think themselves too good to Preach to them whom God and the Church hath called them to bestow their labours on they have ability but they want a large heart And those that have both ability and a large heart they want successe they see little fruit because the people pray not for them and they perhaps are negligent in the duty themselves their labours are not steeped in prayers Again a fourth thing that we ought to pray for for them is strength and ability of the outward man and all that fear God and have felt the benefit of the Ministery they do this and God doth answer it Likewise to pray for protection and deliverance from unreasonable men to pray for strength of spirit and likewise for protection For as St. Paul saith 2 Thess. 3. All men have not faith Pray for us that we may be delivered from unreasonable absurd men All have not Faith Men that believe not Gods truth that believe not Gods Word that are full of Atheisme full of contempt and scorn they are absurd men though they think themselves the witty men of the world yet they are unreasonable and absurd men pray for us that we may be delivered from unreasonable men Likewise from him that is the head of wicked men the Devil He sees that the Ministers they are the Standard-bearers they are the Captains of Gods Army they stand not alone and they fall not alone many others fall with them There is no calling under heaven by which God conveyes so much good as by the dispensation of his Ordinance in the Ministery therefore we should help them by our prayers There are no men better if they be good nor none more hurtfull if they be bad none worse As Christ saith They are the salt of the earth to season the unsavory world and if the salt have lost the savour it is good for nothing but to be cast on the dunghill Therefore pray that God would deliver them from the Devil who malignes them they are the Butt of his malice by his instruments There are many that come to hear the Word to carpe and to cavil and to sit as Judges to examine but how few are there that pray for the Ministers and surely because they pray not they profit not If we could pray more we should profit more I beseech you in the bowels of Christ put up your petitions to God that God would teach us that are inferiour to you in other respects setting aside our calling that we may teach you that we may instruct his people As John Baptist saith The friends of the Bride learn of the Bridegroom what to speake to the Spouse so we learn from prayer and from reading
things they set light by them Hosea 8. 12. He gave them the great things of his law and they accounted them as slight as strange things not worthy to be regarded Praise consists in taking notice and not onely in taking notice but in remembring and minding them as in Psal. 103. My soul praise the Lord and forget not all his benefits And likewise in an estimation of them and likewise in expressing this thankfulnesse in words Awake my glory our tongues are our glory especially as they are instruments to praise and glorifie God we cannot use our language better then to speak the language of Canaan in praising of God Likewise praise consists in doing good which is reall praise though we say nothing Moses cryed to God though he spake not a word Evill works have a crie although they say nothing Abels blood cried against Cain and as evill works so good works have a crie though a man praise not God with his tongue his works praise God Job saith The sides of the poore blessed him What could their sides speak No but there was a reall thanksgiving to God their sides blessed God so our good works may praise God as well as our tongues and hearts The heavens and the earth they praise God though they say nothing because they stir us up to say something Let men see your good workes that they may take occasion from thence to blesse God saith Christ. Or else your praising of God is but a meer complementing with God to give him thanks with the tongue and after to dishonour him with your lives Psal. 50. What hast thou to do to take my Name into thy mouth sith thou hatest to be reformed what hast thou to do to take my Name into thy mouth either in prayer or in praise when thou hatest to be reformed High words are unseemly for a foole saith the Wise man and what higher words then praise Therefore praise for a man that lives in a blasphemous course of life in a filthy course of life praise is too high a word for a fool we must praise God in our lives or else not at all God will not accept of it It consists in these things Now some directions how to perform it for our selves and others If we would praise God for our selves or for any then let us look about us let us looke above us and beneath us let us look backward look to the present look forward every thing puts songs of praise into our mouth Have we not matter enough of our own to praise God for let us look about us to the prosperity of others let us praise God for the Ministery praise God for the Magistracy praise God for the government wherein we live There are many grievances in the best government but a Christian heart considereth what good he hath by that government what good he hath by that ordinance and doth not onely delight to feed on the blemishes as flies do upon sores it is a sign of a naughty heart to do so Although a man should not be insensible of the ills of the times for else how should we pray against them yet he is not so sensible as to forget the good he hath by them If we would praise God let us look to the good and not so much upon the ill Look up to heaven look to the earth to the sea David occasions praise from every creature every creature ministers matter of praise from the stars to the dust from heaven to earth from the Cedar to the Hisop that growes by the wall Is there not a beam of Gods goodnesse in every creature have we not use of every creature we must praise God not only for the Majesty and order that shines in them but for the use of them in respect of us And so let us look to the works of Providence as well as to the works of Creation Look to Gods work in his Church his confounding of his enemies his deliverance of his Church the Churches abroad our owne Church our owne persons our friends thus we should feed our selves that we may have matter of praising God God gives us matter every day he renewes his favours upon the place wherein we live and upon us as itis Lam. 3. It is his mercy that we are not all consumed Let us look back to the favours that we have injoyed let us look for the present what doth he do for us The Apostle saith here God doth deliver us doth he not give deliverance and favour and grace inward grace for the time to come hath he not reserved an inheritance immortall and undefiled in the heavens for us Wherefore doth he bestow things present and wherefore doth he reveal things laid up for us for the time to come but that we should praise him but that we should praise him for that which he means to do afterwards Blessed be God the Father who hath begotten us to an inheritance immortall and undefiled c. saith St. Peter God reveals good things that are to come that we are heires apparent to the Crown of glory this is revealed that we might praise him now that we might begin the imployment of heaven upon earth Let us look upward and downward let us look about us look inward look backward look to the present look forward every thing ministreth matter of praise to God Yea our very crosses happie is he whom God vouchsafeth to be angry with that he doth not give him over to a Reprobate sense to fill up his sins but that he will correct him to pull him from ill courses happie is he that God vouchsafeth to be angry with in evill courses There is a blessing hid in ill in the Crosse. In all things give thanks saith the Apostle what in afflictions I not for the affliction it self but for the issue of it There is an effect in afflictions to draw us from the world to draw us to God to make us more heavenly-minded to make us see better into these earthly things to make us in love with heavenly things In all things give thanks When we want matter in our selves let us look abroad and give thanks to God for the prosperity of others And with all in the second place when we look about us let us dwell in the meditation of the usefulnesse of these things of the goodnesse of God in them till our Hearts be warmed It is not a slight God be thanked that will serve but we must dwell upon it let our hearts dwell so long on the favours and blessings of God till there be a blessed fire kindled in us The best bone-fire of all is to have our hearts kindled with love to God in the consideration of his mercy Let us dwell so long upon it till a flame be kindled in us A slight praise is neither acceptable to God nor man And then let us consider our own unworthinesse let us dwell upon
good behaviour Now when a man shall consider I have a witnesse within me my conscience and a witnesse without which is God who is my Judge who can strike me dead in the committing of a sin if he please this would make men if they were not atheists to fear to sin Let us labour therefore to approve our hearts to God as well as our conversations to men set our selves in the presence of God who is a discerner of our thoughts as well as of our actions and that which we should be ashamed to do before men let us be afraid to think before God that is another means to come to sincerity Another Direction to help us to walk sincerely is especially to look to the heart look to the beginning to the spring of all our desires thoughts affections and actions that is the heart the qualification of that is the qualification of the man If the heart be naught the man is naught if that be sincere the man is sincere Therefore look to the heart see what springs out thence if there spring out naughty thoughts and desires suppresse them in the beginning Let us examine every thought if we find that we do but think an evil thought execute it presently crush it for all that is naught comes from a thought and desire at the first therefore let us look to our thoughts and desires see if we have not false desires and intents and thoughts answerable God is a Spirit and he looks to our very spirits and what we are in our spirits in our hearts and affections that we are to him Therefore as a branch of this what ill we shun let us do it from the heart by hating it first A man may avoid an evil action from fear or out of other respects but that is not sincerity Therefore look to thy heart see that thou hate evil and let it come from sincere looking to God Ye that love the Lord hate the thing that is evil saith David not only avoid it but hate it and not onely hate it but hate it out of love to God And that which is good not only to do it but to labour to delight and joy in it For the outward action is not the thing that is regarded but when there is a resolution a desire and delight in it then God accounts it as done And so it is in evil if we delight in evil it is as if it were done already Therefore in doing good look to the heart joy in the good you do and then do it and in evil look to the heart judge it to be evil and then abstain from it This is the reason of all the errours in our lives because we have bad hearts we look not to God in sincerity Judas had a naughty heart he loved not the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore he had a naughty conclusion What the heart doth not is not done in Religion Thus we see how we may come to have our conversation in sincerity that we may rejoyce in the testimony of our conscience Therefore now to make an Use of Exhortation we should labour for sincerity and esteem highly of it because God so esteems of it Truth is all that we can alledge to God we cannot alledge perfection St. Paul himself saith not I have walked exactly or perfectly no but he saith This is our rejoycing that we have walked in sincerity So if a mans conscience can excuse him of hypocrisie and doubling though it cannot free him from imperfections God in the Covenant of Grace looks not so much at perfection as at truth Here I might answer an Objection of some Christians Oh but I cannot pray without distraction I cannot delight so in good things c. Though a Christians heart cannot free him from this yet his heart desires to approve it self to God in all things and his heart is ready to say to the Lord as David said Lord try me if there be any way of wickednesse in me And therefore he will attend upon all means to get this sincerity He will be diligent in the Word of God for therein the mind of God is manifestly seen The Word of God it is a begetting Word it makes us immortal it makes us new creatures it is truth and the instrument of truth Truth will make truth The true sincere Word of God not mingled with devices it will make what it is The Word of God being his Word who is Almighty it hath an Almighty transforming power from him It is accompanied and cloathed with his Almighty Spirit Truth will cause truth such as it is in it self it will work in our hearts In that mungrel false Religion Popery they have traditions and false devices of men and so they make false Christians such as they are they make strain them to the quintessence and they cannot make a true Christian Truth makes true Christians therefore attend upon Gods Ordinance with all reverence and it will make thee a sound heart it is a transforming Word Those that desire to hear the Word of God and to have their consciences to be informed by the hearing of it they are sincere Christians and those that labour to shut up the Word of God that it may not work upon the conscience they are false-hearted A heart that is sincere it prizeth the Word of God that makes us sincere the Word of God hath this effect especially being unfolded in the Ministery of it that a man may say as Jacob did Doubtlesse God is in this place It is all that is ours nothing runs upon our reckoning but sincerity For what I have not done truly Conscience saith I have not done to God and therefore I can expect no comfort for it but what I have done to God I look to have with comfort for I know that God regards not perfection but sincerity he requires not so much a great faith as a true faith not so much perfect love as true love and that I have in truth as S. Peter said Lord thou knowest that I love thee This will make us look God who is the Judge in the face It gives us not title to heaven for that is onely by Christ but it is a qualification required of us in the Gospel nothing is ours but what we do in truth And again consider That it will comfort us against Satan at the hour of death when Satan shall tempt us to despair for our sins as that he will do we may comfort our selves with this that we have been sincere We may send him to Christ for that must be the way who hath fulfilled Gods will and satisfied his Fathers wrath Satan will say This is true it is the Gospel and therefore it cannot be denied but it is for them that have walked according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh for those that have obeyed God in all things Now when our Conscience shall joyn with Satan and
the greatest judgement that God can shew in this world to give us up to our own wits to our own devices for we shall wind and turn and work our own ruine And that is the hell of Hell in hell when the soul there shall think with it self I brought my self hither God will be exceedingly justified when men by their own wit shall damne themselves When God hath revealed to man taught them this is the way O man I have shewed thee what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee he hath revealed it in his Word doe this and doe that and he hath given conscience to help and yet out of policie to contrive thy own pleasures and profits and advantages in the world thou hast done the contrary When a mans soul shall reason thus My owne wit brought me hither I am damned by wit I am damned by policie a poore policy it is that brings a man to damnation Therefore we should beg of God above all things that he would not deliver us up to our selves As Saint Austin hath a good speech Lord free me from my self from my own devices and policy The divell himself is not such an enemie as I said as our own carnal wit for it is that that betrayes us to Satan Satan could do us no harm unlesse he had a friend within us Therefore beg of God above all things Lord give me not up to my own brain to my own devices for man is a beast by his own knowledge but let thy wisdome and thy will be my rule Again if so be that we ought not to make this carnal fleshly wisdome the rule of our life then let us have a negative voyce ready presently for it whensoever we find any carnal suggestion in our hearts say nay to it presently deny it presently have a jealousie presently when any plot ariseth that is not warrantable by the Word of God and that is contrary to conscience and to simplicity and sincerity presently deny it consult not with flesh and blood as Saint Paul saith of himself Gal. 1. I consulted not with flesh and blood And when you have any thing to do Considering that this is not the rule you are to live by or when you have any thing to resist when you have any thing to suffer Consider what God requires consider what is for the peace of conscience consider what is for the good of your selves and for the good of the Church consult with these advisers with these intelligencers and not with flesh and blood Consider not what is for your profit for your pleasure for your ease but resolve against them Get the truth of God so planted in your hearts that it may carry you through all these impediments and all these suggestions whatsoever And because we cannot do this without a change we cannot have a disposition contrary to carnal wisdome without a change for except a man be born anew except he be a new creature he cannot have holy aimes you must labour therefore more and more to have the spirit of your mind renewed and to grow in assurance of a better estate for what makes men carnally to project for this world they are not sure of a better They reason thus with themselves It may be I may have heaven it may be not I am sure of the pleasures present of the profits present although alas it be but for a short time whereas if thy soul were enlightned with heavenly light and thou wert convinced of the excellent estate of Gods Children in this world in the state of grace That a Christian is incomparably above all men in the first-fruits of heaven in the peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost which is above all prosperity and all profit whatsoever And that in heaven which is above our capacity and reach every way they shall be happy if men were convinced of this certainly they would not prostitute their pates to work so worldly If they were sure of heaven they would not so plod for the earth Let us therefore labour to grow daily in the assurance of salvation beg of God his Spirit to have your minds enlightned And withal to joyn both together to see the vanity of all earthly things which set carnal wisdome on work For first outward things they work upon the sense upon the outward man profits and pleasures are outward things and therefore they work upon sense they work upon opinion in opinion they be so as indeed worldly things are more in opinion then in truth A carnal worldly man he thinks poverty a hell he thinks it is such a misery it is not so Labour to have a right judgmenr of the things of the earth that set carnal wisdome on work to avoid poverty to avoid suffering for a good cause The Devil inflames fancy fancy thinks it is a great hurt to be in poverty fancy thinks it is a great good to be in honour to be in credit to have great place that other men may be beholding to us Alas get a sanctified judgment to see what these things be that set our wits on work What are all these things Vanity and vexation of spirit Let our meditations walk between these two often think of the excellent estate of a Christian in this world and in the world to come and that will set heavenly wisdome on work it will make you plot and be politick for heaven And then withall see the vanity of all other things of pleasures and honours and profits and whatsoever that we may not prostitute our soules to them which are worse then our selves that our soules may not set themselves on work to project and proule for these things that are worse then themselves Let this be your daily practice the meditation of these two things is worthy to take up your cogitations every day To consider the vanity the vexation and uncertainty that accompanies all these things when you have got them as we see in Ahab when he had gotten the Vineyard Besides the vanity of thâ—… consider how you have gotten them and how miserable will you judge your selves presently How doth God meet with the carnal wits of men in the attaining of things The wicked man shall not roast that which he took in hunting He hunted after preferment he hunted after riches to scrape a great deal for his posterity how doth God deal with such he overthrowes them utterly and his posterity perhaps they spoyl all Himself roasted not that which he took in hunting Ahab got much by yielding to the carnal wisdome of Jezabel Hast thou gotten and also taken possession What became of Ahab with all his plots and devices Achitophel and others God may give them successe for a while but afterward he gives them the overthrow Herod he had successe a while in killing of James and therefore he thought to work wisely and get Peter too God struck him with Worms
that he possibly could fuffer and he laid in the other balance the things that he had in hope and promise and he resolves all that I can suffer that should shake me off from my course it is not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed saith he if you balance both you will conclude this There are many things that may shake us in our Christian course St. Paul thought of all Satans snares I am not ignorant of his enterprizes saith he And then for the world that might cast trumperie in his way saith he I am crucified to the world and the world is crucified to me And for any thing that might happen to him he knew that the issue of all things should work for the best to them that love God he includes himself Rom. 8. saith he We know it before-hand we believe before troubles or evills come come what will the issue of all things is in the regiment and power of God and as he pleaseth all shall work for the best to those that love God and therefore as I am so I will be What should hinder if all things help me nothing can hinder me And then Saint Paul took this course he looked forward still Philip 3. I presse forward to the price of the high calling he forgat that which was behind and he resolved to go forward he had a mind to grow better and better alway and this comforted him that he should hold out to the end For it is the reward of a growing Christian to have a sweet sense of his present state of Grace in Gods favour and to hold out to the end Such a man is like the Sun that growes up still till he come to high noon-day as Solomon saith Saint Paul took this course he strove for perfection he had a crown in his eye a crown of righteousnesse and glory and that will not suffer a man to be idle and cold that hath such a thing in his eye Saint Paul to whet his endeavour not onely looked forward but to glory for as Christ looked to the glorie and despised the shame so Saint Paul looked to the crown and despised all his sufferings Then besides Saint Paul was conscious of his own sincerity for grace carries its own witnesse with it self as he saith here I know my conversation This is the testimony of my conscience that in simplicity and sincerity I have walked before you He knew that sincerity is accompanied with constancie and perseverance It is a rule that alway constancie and perseverance are companions with simplicity and sincerity I have begun in sincerity hitherto now I am sincere and have expressed to you the truth of my heart and of my courses and as I am so I meane to be therefore having begun in sincerity I know I shall end in perseverance and constancy Truth of grace is accompanied with constancy all other things are but grasse they are but shewes they will vanish but sincerity the truth of grace is a Divine thing The Word of the Lord that is grace wrought by the Word of the Lord that endures for ever Where there is truth of grace though it be but as a grain of mustard-seed there is perseverance to the end S. Paul knew this well and therefore he builds his trust on these things on these courses that he took We should all take the like course look to S. Paul's grounds and take his courses those be they that will hold out to the end Judicious consideration of all the difficulties to put into the balance what impediments we shall have from the world and what will be great to us when it is ballanced with the glory to come And withall to aime forward still as S. Paul did And take another course that he took likewise to depend upon grace continually he knew there was a Throne of grace open to him alway for the time to come as well as for the time past and present He knew that Christ in heaven was alway full of grace he knew he should not want in any exigent when he should go to him he knew that God would not destitute or forsake any of his Children them that he hath called to see the necessity of wisdome and of courage and comfort Let us do therefore as S. Paul was answered from heaven say His Grace is sufficient for us if not to keep us from all sin yet to keep us in comfortable courses to keep us in sincerity and simplicity the Grace of God is sufficient to bring us to heaven Let us perswade our selves that if we go on in Christian courses in that confidence God will give us grace to bring us to heaven This was S. Paul's confidence therefore he saith I trust you shall acknowledge to the end because I know that I shall continue in simplicity and sincerity to the end God will keep me I shall have grace to beg and he will give me grace for his gifts in this kind can never be repented of Let us take from S. Paul this course and this comfort This course to trust in God for the time to come to have constant resolutions for the time to come to cleave to God and to good courses Let us every day renew our Covenants in this kind and our resolutions to do nothing against conscience to go on in Christian courses let it be our constant course For as Gods Children know they shall continue to the end so it is wrought from resolution so to do and this resolution stirres them up to depend upon God by prayer that he would knit their hearts to him that they may fear his Name that he would give them Grace sufficient c. that he would establish their hearts as David prayes This resolution it drives them to prayer and to all good courses that God would stablish them in every good work in every good thought and desire and that he would knit their hearts nearer to him Resolve therefore every day in dependance upon God to take good courses that so whensoever any Judgment of God shall come or when the hour of death shall light on us it may not come as a snare that it may take us in good resolutions it is no matter how we dye in outward respects if we dye in good resolutions As we resolve so we are for our resolutions are full of will wishes and resolutions they carry the whole man with them and God esteems a man by his will For if there be impediments that are not impossible to man resolution will break through all God judgeth men by their resolutions Teach me O Lord thy Statutes and I will keep them even to the end I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments every day take we these promises to our selves and bind our selves with them to God In vowes be chary I do not speak of them now I speak of purposes and resolutions alway take in
Christ. The best things are behind our chief rejoycing is behind our rejoycing now is our hope that we shall rejoyce then The Corinthians were S. Paul's joy now because he knew they should be his main rejoycing then If we rejoyce in any thing now let it be that our names are written in heaven in the testimony of our conscience that we are Gods that our hearts are wrought on that we have something that Christ will acknowledge when he sees his stamp and Image on us when he shall look on us and see his own Image upon our hearts there will be matter of joy in that day There will be joy in our selves and joy in all the blessed instruments that are under Christ the Ministers they shall rejoyce likewise in us and all of us shall joyn in joying in Christ all shall meet there For their joying in S. Paul and he in them it was that Christ was theirs And Christ shall come as it is in 2 Thess. 4. to be glorified in his Saints not onely in himself but in his believing members for his glory shall reflect upon them as the Sun reflects upon light bodies all light bodies are made light by the Sun So the Sun of Righteousnesse shall come and all them that have glory it shall be by reflexion from him they shall be glorious in him so he is both the Ministers joy and the peoples they shall all glory in Christ whose glory is their glory He shall come to be glorious in his Saints therefore frame your courses that way to have glory then to have comfort in the hour of death and at the day of Judgment And to end the point Let us labour to be acquainted with him now before that day we shall never have comfort in the day of the Lord Jesus except we be acquainted with him and acknowledge him in the Ministery now and in the Sacraments for none shall ever be acquainted with him there that have not been acquainted with him and known him in this world How do we come to be acquainted with Christ To be present where he is present and he is present where two or three are met together in his Name He is present now in our meetings he is present when we hear the Word He is present in the Sacrament more especially we have his very body and blood As verily as we take the outward signs so verily Christ is present to our hearts at the same time from heaven he reacheth us himself with all the benefits of his passion when the Minister reacheth the bread he reacheth his body As our outward man is refreshed with the elements so our soules are refreshed with the spiritual presence of Christ. Now he is excellently present in heaven he is present to our senses in the Sacrament and by his Spirit in the Word Would you have him then at his appearing come and own you and say then Come ye blessed be acquainted with him now upon all occasions hear the Word receive the Sacrament and come to the Sacrament as acknowledging him there How is that Why then you acknowledge the bread and wine to be Seales of him and of all the blessings by him when you come prepared when you come to them as his or else you do not acknowledge them you know them to be such and such things but you acknowledge them not to be set apart for such a holy use except you come with prepared hearts Will any body acknowledge him to go to a great person when he goes deformed and in rags do you know whither you go would some say to him He considers not whither he goes that comes to the Sacrament in his old sins Come acquainted therefore with Christ to acknowledge him that shall be your Judge at the latter day therefore come prepared And then because the Sacrament is a means to seal to us all the benefits we have by Christ and to incorporate us more nearly into Christ he that comes to the Sacrament as he should must come with joy Is it not a joyful thing to be united to Christ and to have further assurance of all the good things by him Yes it is a matter of great joy Therefore when you have repented of your sins come with joy And come with holinesse The things are holy as our Liturgy hath it let us give holy things to holy persons here is presented holy bread and wine and here you are to deal with Christ therefore come with holy reverence in the whole carriage of the businesse And come with faith and assurance and then you shall acknowledge Christ in this Ordinance in the Sacrament You shall acknowledge that he deales not complementally with you to feed you with empty signes but you shall have himself with his signs you shall have the Lord himself in the Word and in the Sacraments With the field you shall have the treasure in the field as the wise Merchant had With the Word you shall have Christ wrapped in the Word and in the Sacrament you shall have Christ and all his benefits Trust to it make it your weapon against Satan he will tempt you to doubt of your interest in Christ. Think with your selves Had I grace to receive Christ to be incorporate nearer into him why should I doubt to renew my Covenant And though I have fallen by weaknesse yet I have a gracious Intercessour in heaven that makes my peace continually Come in faith Know that God in good earnest here offers Christ with all his benefits And come with a purpose and resolution to be led by him You come to renew your Covenant here is the Covenant when Christ is given to you and you give your selves to Christ. Therefore as I said if you come with a purpose to live in sin come not at all Christ will not live in a heart where there is a purpose to sin therefore esolve to leave all sin or else you cannot receive him To move you to come and to come thus do but consider that it will be your joy in this world and in the world to come before Christ that you have been thus acquainted with him herc on earth acquainted with him in the Ministery acquainted with him in the Sacrament in private prayer and meditation in all the blessed means that he hath appointed and then he will look on you as upon his old friends But now he that is a Rebel that goes away or else comes not acknowledging with whom he hath to deal him that shall be his Judge ere long the Great God of Heaven and Earth that shall come in glory and majestie with thousands of his Angels Then he shall be Wonderfull indeed as his Name is Isai. 9. 6. and as the Apostle saith 2 Thess. 2. where he useth the word he shall be wonderful in his Saints Then all the world shall wonder at the glory of a poor Christian when he shall put down the Sun and all the
creatures in glory Consider with whom you have to deale him that ere long shall be wonderfull in his Saints Therefore come prepared come joyfully come faithfully come reverently and holy and you shall find a blessing answerable This I thought good to touch concerning the occasion of the Sacrament Ye are our rejoying At the day of the Lord Jesus Saint Paul esteemed of nothing but that which would comfort him at that day Therefore let us oft think of the day of the Lord Jesus Why what will make us digest labour and pains in dealing with the soules of others in doing good and being fruitful in our places The consideration of that Day there is a Day will come that will make amends for all and that is the day of the Lord Jesus And considering that there is such a day let us make much of the day of the Lord that is now left us what is that This day The Lords Day Revel 1. it is called The Lords Day And as I said labour to be acquainted with that Lord that must be Judge of quick and dead then The Lord hath a day now wherein we may be acquainted with him by hearing his Word by yielding obedience of his truth unfolded to us therefore let us make much of this day if we would have comfort at that Day Ye are our rejoycing in the Day of the Lord. VERSE XV. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that you might have a second benefit or Grace IN this confidence In this assurance in this perswasion I was minded to come to you That you might have a second benefit saith the last translation it doth diminish the strength of the word therefore go from the Text to the margin you have oft-times a fitter word in the margin Charis The word is pregnant in the Original it signifieth Grace if it signifie a benefit at all it signifies a benefit that issues from grace and favour benefit is a weaker word Grace though it be not so common is a fit word and reaches to the strength of the word in the Original to the meaning of the Apostle so it is better to read it so That you might have a second Grace Saint Paul in this Verse sets down what intention he had to come to them And likewise the end of his intention In the next Verse he sets down the manner how he would come to them Fourthly he shewes why he came not to them it was to spare them as he faith afterward Here in this Verse he shewes what his intention was My intention was to come to you In this confidence I was minded to come to you To what end That you might have a second benefit His intention is set down by the inward moving cause his confidence In this confidence I was minded to come to you I will speak of his intention and purpose of coming And of the end of it And in his purpose of coming of the moving cause his confidence In this confidence What is that In this confidence because I am assured that you are my rejoycing and I yours in the day of the Lord Jesus in this confidence that you will be so to me and I to you In this confidence Saint Paul had a good opinion of them The inward moving cause of S. Paul to come it was a good conceit of them It is good as far as possibly we can to cherish a good judgment and conceit of others Let others have as good place in our affections as possibly may be Why If they be good we wrong them else even in our conceit We do not onely wrong men in our speeches and actions but in our sinister judgments in the censures of our minds therefore we should have as good conceit of men as possibly we can in that regard And likewise because confidence and assurance that they have something in them that is good and it will be better with them after in the day of the Lord this will be a means to stir us up to deserve well of them Hope stirs up Will we have no mind to a thing that we have not hope of And likewise Hope stirs up endeavour And Hope keeps in endeavour What makes a man so long in endeavouring the good of others he hath some hope they are good and will be better So it stirres up our will the bent of it it stirres it stirres up endeavour upon will and it keeps us in endeavour when we hope for good at mens hands And therefore we ought not to cast off men especially those that are young for imperfections The Corinthians were weak and carnal as you may see in the former Epistle yet in this confidence that they had repented of their ill usage of S. Paul he was minded to come to them Persons that are the subjects of hope are not free from infirmities Novices cannot have that perfection that grown Christians have at the first Consider further what is of passion and what is of the poyson of nature consider what is of infirmity and what is of malice Consider what sins they have been longer accustomed to and how hardly such sins are suddenly broken off These considerations would mitigate something where we see any degree of goodnesse Oh this pleaseth now some vicious-disposed persons they think this makes for them Not at all what I speak is where there is any ground to hope well of S. Paul had some ground for he wrote a sharp Epistle to them and he saw they were amended on it he saw they yielded they acknowledged that is they reformed by his Ministery and by his Epistle So where we discern reformation that there is a willingnesse of amendment we must hope of such though they be sometimes overtaken And if they be overtaken we must construe it to the best the temptation perhaps was great and they were not watchful at that time the subtilty of the opposition and the malice of men was great and their caution was not so great thus we may construe to bear with them if upon the discovery of their fault they become pliable but otherwise if they arm themselves with malice and bitter poyson and resolve to be so still there is no hope no confidence of such Saint Paul's confidence here was with evidence from their carriage they gave him some cause to be so confident Therefore it is in vain to think that we are too censorious when we tell you of your faults that very conceit that you think bitterly and arm your selves with resolutions rather to vex those that inform you then to amend that which is amisse that is as ill a disposition as ill a state as can be We can hope for no good of such yet notwithstanding we ought so far to hope of them as nor to give them over as S. Paul saith 2 Tim. 2. To prove if at any time God will shew mercy to them to deliver them out of the
there is a God and God is unchangeably true there would be nothing true in the world for all truth is therefore true because it is answerable to that exemplar truth that is true in God answerable to Gods conceit and decree of things This I observe the rather because it is a fundamental thing it doth wondrously stablish our faith in Divine truths when we know it comes from God that is true If we would seek for evidences of our faith then we must go within us and see what love and what hope what combat between the flesh and spirit there is but if we look for any thing to stablish our faith go out of us consider the unchangeable truth of God whose truth it is God as God creating a reasonable creature he must give him some revealed truth he could not be worshipped else How must we know this revealed truth whereby he will be worshipped by the reasonable creature for no man will be served by his servant as he pleaseth how shll we know these certain truths because they come from his nature God is true and as God is true so our word to you was not you and way that is it was true There is the same ground of the certainty of Evangelicall truth as there is of God himself to be true To add a little further in the Point consider the truth of God every way the faithfulnesse of God as it signifies in the originall as God is faithful Consider what relations God hath put upon him in his divine truth how he will be thought on And then bring those relations to his nature for there we must pitch at last What is he to us and how hath he revealed himself to us Thus and thus What is he in his nature So and so and there we must rest For instance The Lord hath made many promises who is it that hath made them he that is true and unchangably true there the soul rests in the nature of God But what relations hath he put upon him he is a God and a Lord and a Judge and a Father c. Now as he is God he is true therefore he will do all things that a true God should doe he will uphold his creature while he will have his creature continue he will give it life and being and motion And as a Lord he will do with his own what he list and it is not for us to contend with him why he will do this or that why he makes one rich and another poore He is Lord of all and a true Lord therefore we must give authority to this true Lord. And then as he is a Judge he corrects men for sin and rewards them for the good they do As a Judge sometime he punisheth them inwardly in conscience sometimes outwardly All the good we have is from this that he is a faithful and true God therefore there we must rest He is a true Judge he rewards every man according to his works whether they be good or evill And so in the relation of a Father he is a true Father he corrects when time serves he rewards and encourageth when time serves he gives an inheritance to his Children and hath pity and compassion on his Children when time serves He is a true Father Other fathers do this and that out of passion not out of truth and goodnesse but he doth So when we consider God in his relations consider of the attribute of his truth All truth in his Word comes from this God is true This truth is sealed by this that our truth to you our word to you was not yea and nay uncertain Gods truth is not uncertain and variable There is no shadow of change in him and his Word is like himself We say usually in the word of an honest man and that is something In verbum Sâ—…rdotis in the word of a Priest it was accounted in former times a great matter it should be so indeed In the word of a King is a great matter But when God saith in the Word of a God The Word of the Lord hath spoken so It is not yea and nay it was not flexible and doubtful because it is the Word of him that hath the command of all that he saith it is his VVord that is Lord of Heaven and Earth Now when he that saith a thing is the Lord of Heaven and Earth he is Lord of his own Word therefore what he saith is not yea and nay uncertain for he can make good what he saith There is the same ground of Evangelicall truth as there is of God himself to be true I will speak no more in the unfolding of the Point it is plain that God is true Is this true that God is true that he is truth it self then many things issue from hence It is a ground of many other truths It was the ground of all the Uses that S. Paul makes of the Word of God it is profitable every way I will name some principall to avoid multiplicity in a plain Point God is true and his Word is true hereupon the threatenings of God must needs be true even as true as God himself If this be so then unlesse we will make another Scripture another Word this Word is yea That Word that threatens sin that Idolaters and covetous and wantons shall never enter into the Kingdome of heaven Be not deceived saith the Apostle that Word is yea it is true God is true this must follow therefore that whatsoever he saith is true therefore his threatenings are true It is a truth that hath influence into all other truths whatsoever that which is prefixed here by S. Paul not onely as an oath As Gad is true so his Word is not yea and nay but certain but I say it hath influence into all other truths whatsoever threatnings promises directions all are therefore true because God is true Therefore those that shuffle off the threatnings and think they shall do well and blesse themselves Gods wrath shall smoak against them for God must alter his nature and his Word must be altered or else his judgments must stick on them to death and damnation without repentance If God should not be avenged on ordinary swearers and blasphemers if adulterers should live in such sins and ever come to heaven they must have another God and another Word of God this hath said they shall not enter into heaven that live in these sins If it be true as God is true what horrible Atheisme is in the hearts of men to think that God will change his nature though they do not change their course and that the Word of God shall alter though they will not alter what hope can prophane blasphemous persons have that make but a trifle of swearing when God hath said they shall not go unpunished and those that live in a filthy course when God hath said Whor emongers and adulterers God will judge without horrible
atheisme how can these men hope for favour from God when he hath sealed his Word with this that as he is true and truth it self his Word is true they shall never enter into heaven So again if this be true that God is true and his Word thereupon is not yea and nay it serves to comfort us many wayes When we are oppressed in the sense of sin If we confesse our sins he is merciful to forgive our sins he that is true hath said it whose Word is not yea and nay but yea trust to it If we doubt of perseverance for the time to come he that hath begun a good work will perfect it to the day of the Lord. He is yea and his Word is yea he is true and his Word is true Again hence for our judgment we learn this truth That the Word of God hath the same ground of truth as God himself therefore it is the Judge of all Controversies of all things questionable in Religion the Word of God is Judge because it is not yea and nay but yea and it is true as God is true And it is Judge of this controversie too whether it be the Word of God The question between the Papists and us is whether the Epistles and the Prophets be the Word of God or no whether is it or no I answer from Apostolical testimony S. Paul saith As God is true his Word is true the true Word of God and All Scripture is given by inspiration The Word of God therefore is the Judge of all Divine truths because it is most certain even as certain as God himself What are the properties of a chief Judge He must be true without errour authentical without appeal such as can from himself without a higher determine He must be infallible without perill of errour All these belong to Gods truth It is yea it is true without errour it is alway yea And then it is authenticall there is nothing higher but God himself whose Word it is and it hath the same authority that himself hath As God is true so it is true It is authenticall without all appeal we cannot go higher then God himself in his Word We cannot call God or Christ from heaven he hath left us his VVord and therefore it is to be credited of it self And it is infallibly true without danger of errour one depends upon another As God is true so our Word is true If God be true infallibly this issues by consequence that the Scripture is the Judge and infallibly true without danger of errour Hence we may know what to judge of that Romish assertion There are no other Judges in the world can be said to be yea alway Councels are not alway yea they are yea and nay what one Councell hath set down another hath reversed In the Councel of Basile the Pope was above the Councel In another Councel that is above the Pope So one Popes decrees thwart another The Popes are yea and nay and not yea for many hundred years they laboured to crosse and thwart one another So Councels and Popes are yea and nay and not alway yea Traditions of the Fathers are yea and nay and not alway yea they thwart themselves S. Austin the best of the Fathers to whom the Church is most chiefly beholding of all the rest he was yea and nay Doth he not retract He wrote a book of Retractations of his former opinions then he was yea and nay and yet a holy man That which is the Judge of controversies must be yea that is infallibly true authentically true that there be not a higher From all others from Fathers and Councels there may be appeal to Scripture but from Scripture to none because it is the Voice and Word of God All things else are yea and nay they are changeable and they may be so without prejudice to the being of them A Councell may be a good Councel and unconstant in many things Fathers may be holy Fathers and uncertain it is onely the prerogative of God to be infallible like himself unchangeable in his nature and his Word is like himself Hence likewise issues this That whatsoever agrees not with the Word of God which is not yea and nay is false and naught Therefore those opinions of the Church of Rome that say they cannot erre if they be not yea with this yea then they are not yea for onely the Word of God is not yea and nay but onely yea that is onely certain and true All other Religions that are not Divine are yea and nay Popery is not grounded upon the Word of God because it is yea and nay that is it is uncertain See how they crosse many wayes this Word of God that is alwayes yea and true as God himself is true Is it yea that they saw no Image of God and therefore they must make and worship no Image Nay saith the Church of Rome they have a nay for this yea they will make Images and worship them the Image of Mary and other Saints Yea saith the Scripture drink ye all of this Nay saith the Church of Rome they have a nay for this yea only the Priest must drink the wine Let the Word dwell plenteously in you is the yea of Scripture The Church of Rome hath a nay for this yea it is dangerous for the people to read the Scripture and therefore they are forbidden it VVe must pray with the understanding as well as with a good affection 1 Cor. 14. that is we must know how we pray it is proved at large excellently Nay understand or not understand so the intention be good saith Rome pray in Latine or howsoever there is their nay to this yea Let every soul be subject to the higher Powers is the yea of Gods Book therefore the soules of the Clergy and whosoever The Church of Rome hath a nay for this yea therefore their doctrine is bad for only God is true and his VVord is only not yea and nay but alway yea infallible therefore that which is contrary to it must needs be false If onely yea be true then that which is contrary to it must needs be false And likewise again if Gods VVord be not yea and nay that is not unconstant then whatsoever is unconstant and thwarts it self in contradictions is not Gods VVord Popery is full of inconstancy full of contradictions to it self First besides inconstancy and uncertainty it is full of contradictions it is yea and nay for a body to be in many places at once and yet a true body to be in a hundred in a million of places at once as they would have Christs body to be in the Sacrament here is to be and not to be a body and no body for it hath not the properties and quantity of a body for a body can be but in one place at one time here is yea and nay For Christ to be a perfect
Word of God To tremble at the Word of God as it is Esay 66. To tremble at it as men do at thunder The thunder is said to be the voice of God The voice of God shakes the Cedars of Lebanon so it is with the voice of Gods Word Shall the Lion roar and the beasts of the Forrest not tremble Shall God threaten for sins that we are obnoxious to and shall we not tremble at his threatenings Therefore howsoever we hear it as if it were yea and nay yet it is yea therefore let us not think to go on in sin and escape and do well enough No it will not be so he that thinks it is the Word of God he trembles at his VVord and hath answerable affections to all the parts of Gods VVord If God direct he followes if God threaten he trembles if he promise he believes if he command he obeyes he hath a pliable disposition to every passage of Divine truth or else we do not believe it What shall we say then of those that come not so far as the Heathen man did VVe know Felix when he heard of justice and temperance and judgment to come he trembled VVhen he heard of things that he was loath to hear that he should be called to a reckoning for the course of his life he trembled and quaked If we hear these things and live in a course perhaps worse then he and do not tremble where is our faith that the VVord of God is yea that it is undoubtedly true Let us therefore examine our selves what power and efficacy the VVord hath it is a VVord that changeth and altereth the whole man it transforms the whole man It is a VVord of life if we find it hath so altered and changed us we can from experience say it is yea And likewise from particular Promises if we observe Gods Promises made good to us if we find peace of conscience upon the confession of our sins we can say Gods VVord is yea If upon the committing of sin we find God punishing and correcting us we can say Gods VVord is yea and it is a bitter thing to offend God I find carefulnesse is the best course to please God he finds me out in my sins and it is a bitter thing to offend God This is the best way to say in truth without hypocrisie that Gods Word is not yea and nay but yea Thus we see this truth that God is true and what followes thence his Word is true as himself and not inconstant yea and nay Besides all this that I have said Let us make this Use of it not to think Gods Word to be too good to be true but yield obedience to it yield the obedience of faith to it in the Promises Here is a foundation for faith the foundation of faith is without us the evidences of faith are within us by love by purging our hearts and stirring us up to pray c. but the foundation is out of our selves here is a foundation and pillar for faith to lean on God is true and his Word is true and not yea and nay it is eternally true Therefore apply all the Promises in the Old and New Testament to thy self It was not yea to Abraham and not to thee Gods Promises of forgivenesse of sins were not yea to David and not to thee they were not yea to Manasses and not to thee but Gods truth is yea eternally yea Whatsoever was written heretofore was written for our comfort and we are now the Davids and the Manasses and the Abrahams of God we are now the beloved of God for every one in their age are as they were in theirs and as the Promises of God were yea to them and saved their souls because they trusted on them so certainly every Promise of God is a shield for those that will have recourse to it The Name of God is a strong Tower and his Word is his Name whereby he will be known in his Promises Have recourse to it on all occasions relie on the Word wrastle with him when his dealings seem contrary though his dealings with us seem to be yea and nay We have been Gods Children he hath assured us that we were in the state of grace but now he deals with us as if we were not his children he afflicts us he suffers Satan to be let loose on us to tempt us here flesh and blood is ready to say Certainly I am not Gods child can I be thus and thus followed as I am No no Gods gifts are without repentance Hadst thou ever grace God hath said it who is truth it self that his gifts are without repentance Build on it therefore if thou hadst ever any grace where he hath begun he will make an end Where he hath begun a good work he will perfect it to the day of the Lord. Therefore wrastle with God in all temptations when things seem contrary yet alledge Gods nature to him and his Word for both are true and one is true because the other is true He is true in his Nature and true in his Word and free in his decree whatsoever his actions seem to be yet Lord thou canst not deny thy self thou art unchangeable thou art truth it self And thy Word that hath promised regard and respect to humble sinners that repâ—…t and come to thee it is unchangeably true as thy self therefore Lord I will not leave thee though thou kill me as Job saith Here is a ground of wraâ—…ng as Jobâ—…d â—…d alledge the Nature of God and the Word of God against his dealing Let his dealing be what it will his Nature is true and his Word is true therefore his Promises are true which is a branch of his Word that if we repent and confesse our sins he will be mercifull to us Therefore let us not forsake our own mercy This will uphold us as in all temptations so in Divine temptations when God seems to forsake us so Christ himself our blessed head did we cannot have a better pattern when God left him on the Crosse and left him to his humane nature to wrastle with the Devils temptations and the pains of his body and the sense of his wrath My God my God why hast thou for saken me yet he upheld himself that God was his God still and so likewise in the former example of Job I say it is a speciall comfort that Gods Word is not yea and nay as I said it is not doubtful as the Oracles of the Gentiles the Oracles of the Devill but Gods Word is certain Whatsoever it was to any Saint of God heretofore it is to every believing to every humble afflicted soul now and shall be to the end of the world So much for that VERSE XIX For the Son of God Jesus Christ who was preached among you by us by me and Sylvanus and Timotheus was not yea and nay but in him is yea IN the words the Apostle shews in particular
or whether I speak of my selfe Be true to known truths be not false in disobeying them To him that hath shall be given We have a little stablishing by an uniform obedience to the truth we shall have more God will increase it I say let us be faithful to the truths we have ' and not crosse them in any sinful course let us not keep the truth prisoner to any base affection as those in Rom. 1. that had but the light of nature yet because they imprisoned it and held it in unrighteousness and lived in sins contrary to that light rhat God had kindled in them though I say it were but the light of nature God gave them up to sins not to be named much more will he do to us if we withhold the light of the Gospel take heed therefore that we inthral not the truth to any base lust whatsoever and that is a means to be stablished in the truth And be oft in holy conference with others Conference if it be rightly used is a special means to stablish that is most certain which is certain after doubting and debate because that which is doubted of at the first we come to be resolved of at the last comparing reason with reason Remembring alwayes that of S. Ambrose That there must not be striving for victory but for truth And then when we have tryed all we must keep that which is good and not be alwayes as the Iron between two Loadstones haled this way and that way alwayes doubting and never resolved there must be a time of resolution This the Apostle observes to be an excellent way of stablishing oft to confer of things doubtful And labour to get experience of the truth in our selves nothing stablisheth more then experience Our Saviour Christ in Joh. 6. 68. when many left him out of dulnesse not understanding the spiritual things that he taught as many whose wits will serve for matters of the world and to make them great amongst men but when they come to heavenly things they have no understanding they cannot apprehend them he asks his Disciples Will you go away also Peter who had his heart opened by the Spirit of God saith he Lord whither shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life insinuating that the experience that he had of the power of that truth that Christ taught did so establish him in the present truth that with a holy kind of indignation at the question he replyes Whither shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life I have found thy words to have a spirituall life in them So when we come once to have an experimental knowledge of the truths we learn then our hearts are stablished indeed then it is an ingraffed Word as S. James saith then the Word is true leaven when it altereth and changeth the soul in such a case there is no separating from fundamentall truth when it is one with our selves and digested into us And pray to God oft as David did Psal. 86. to knit our hearts to fear his Name Lord my heart is loose and ready to fall off of it self Oh knit my heart it is unsettled Oh settle my unsettled heart settle my judgment and affections this should be our meditation And because it is God that stablisheth alway maintain spiritual poverty in the soul that is a perpetual dependance upon God see the insufficiency that is in our selves that we cannot stand out What is the reason that God suffers great men to fall from the defence of the truth and from the profession of it in their lives as we see it in the case of Peter to shew that we stand not by our own strength therefore we should be alwayes in this temper of spiritual poverty to know that as Samsons strength was in his Hair so our strength is in God God is my strength of my self I have no strength And therefore upon every new defence of the truth when we are called to it we should lift up ejaculations and dart up strong desires to God that God would strengthen and stablish our souls that we may not be traytors to the truth but that we may stand to it for in his owne strength shall no man be established And grow every day more and more in detestation of a luke-warme temper Your Ancipites as Cyprian calls them your doubtful flatterers of the times that have their Religion depending upon the State and the times that are neither fish nor flesh Bats as we say that are neither Mice nor Birds but of a doubtful Religion that out of carnal policy are fit to entertain any thing Oh this is a devilish temper Howsoever we in our luke-warm disposition value the truth God values it highly it was purchased by Christs blood and sealed by the blood of Martyrs and shall not we transmit it to our posterity as safe and as firm and retain it come what will Let us grow into dislike of this temper atemper that we should as much hate as God hates it such a temper as is in Popery they are in an adiaphorisme temper in Religion a luke-warm cold temper a temper of Religion according to reasons of flesh and reasons of policy this will make us be spued out of Gods mouth at the last Do we think to lose Religion alone Oh no never think to part with Religion alone it came with peace and prosperity and if we keep not this Depositum this truth delivered to us God will take it away and that which we betray it for Peace and Plenty Let us labour therefore to be radicated in our Judgment in our Affections in our Love in our Faith in our whole inward man in the truth revealed To be stablished in the truth it is our best inheritance it is that will stand by us when all leaves us What consistence hath a man out of the truth are you rich or honourable death will drive you out of all your riches and honours in the world and strip you of all What stablishing hath any man but in Christ in the truth Take a man that is not bottomed that is not fastened on Christ he is the changeablest creature in the world he is vanity he is nothing Oh love this state that we may say Though I be variable here though I be not so rich as I was or have not that favour of great ones that I have had or it is not with me as it hath been but in all changes I have somewhat that is unchangeable my soul is settled upon Christ and upon the truth in him which is certain As it is a glorious being to be found in Christ so it is an eternal and an everlasting being once Christs and for ever his he will never lose a member Labour we therefore to be stablished in Christ in all the changes and alterations in the world and then we shall have something that is unchangeable to fix and stay our selves upon
and troubled and we hear many comfortable truths let us lift up our prayers to God let there be ejaculations of spirit to God Now Lord by thy holy Spirit set and seal this truth to my soul that as it is true in it self so it may be true to me likewise This is a necessary Observation for us all Oh we desire all of us in the hour of death to find such comforts as may be standing comforts that may uphold us against the gates of Hell and against the temptations of Satan and terrours of Conscience why nothing will do this but spiritual truths spiritually known nothing but holy truths set on by the hoy Spirit of God But what course shall we take when we want comfort when we want joy and peace In the third of John there are three witnesses in heaven and three in earth to secure us of our state in grace and the certainty of our salvation The three witnesses upon earth are the Spirit the water and the blood and these three agree in one and the three that bear witnesse in heaven are the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and the three on earth and these three in heaven agree in one Now the Spirit is the feelings and the sweet motions of the Spirit The water may well be that washing of the Spirit sanctification The blood is the shedding of the blood of Christ and justification by it When therefore we find that part of the seal that extraordinary seal that I spake of before the joy of the Spirit of God that it is not in us what shall we do shall we despair No go to the water when we find not spiritual joy and comfort when the witnesse of the Spirit is silent go to the work of the Spirit in sanctification I but what shall we do if the waters be troubled in the soul as sometimes there is such a confusion in the soul that we cannot see the Image of God upon it in sanctification we cannot see the stamp of Gods Spirit there there is such a Chaos in the soul God can see somewhat of his own Spirit in that confusion but the Spirit it self cannot Then go to the blood of Christ there is alwayes comfort the fountain that is opened for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in is never dry go therefore to the blood of Christ that is if we find sin upon our consciences if we find not peace in our consciences nor sanctification in our hearts go to the blood of Christ which is shed for all those that confesse their sinnes and rely on him for pardon though we find no grace For howsoever as an evidence that we are in Christ we must find the work of the Spirit yet before we go to Christ it is sufficient that we see nothing in our selves no qualification for the graces of the Spirit they are not the condition of coming to Christ but the promise of those that receive Christ after Therefore go to Christ when thou feelest neither joy of the Spirit nor sanctification of the Spirit go to the blood of Christ and that will purge thee and wash thee from all thy sins This I onely touch for a direction what to do when our soules want comfort when perhaps we cannot see the seal of the Spirit in sanctification so clearly To go on now to the next And given us the Earnest of the Spirit Here is the third word borrowed from humane affaires to set out the work of the Spirit in our soules Anointing we had before and Sealing now here is Earnest The variety of the words shewes that there is a great remainder of unbelief in the soul of man that the Spirit of God is fain to use so many words to expresse Gods dealing to the soul to bring it to believe to be assured of salvation And indeed so it is howsoever we in the time of prosperity when all things go well with us we are prone wondrously to presume yet in the hour of death when conscience is awakened we are prone to nothing so much as to call all in question and to believe the doubts and fears of our own hearts more then the undoubted truth and promise of God therefore God takes all courses to stablish us he gives us rich and precious promises he gives us the holy Spirit to stablish us on the Promises he seales us with his Spirit and gives us the earnest of the Spirit and all to settle this wretched and unbelieving heart of ours So desirous is God that we should be well conceited of him he loves us better then we love our selves He so much prizeth our love that he labours by all means to secure us of his love to us because except we know his love to us we cannot love him again and we cannot joy in him c. But that onely in the general Here is earnest and the Earnest of the Spirit that is in plain termes he gives us the Spirit with the graces and comforts of it which doth in our hearts that which an earnest doth amongst men But what is this Spirit an earnest of It is an Earnest of our inheritance in heaven of our blessed estate there We are sons now but we are not heires invested into the blessed estate we have title to God leaves us not off in the mean time while we are in our Pilgrimage he keeps not all for heaven but he gives us somewhat to comfort us in our absence from our Husband from our Lord and King Christ he gives us the Earnest of the Spirit that is he gives the holy Ghost into our hearts which is the Earnest of that blessed everlasting glorious condition which we shall have in heaven hereafter that is the meaning of the words In what regard is the Spirit called an Earnest First of all an Earnest is for security of bargains and contracts so the Holy Ghost assures the soul of salvation being present with his graces and comforts the Holy Ghost is given for security Secondly an Earnest is part of the whole bargain though it be a very little part yet it is a part and so the Spirit of God here and the work of the Spirit and the graces and joy of the Spirit it is a part of that full joy and happinesse that shall be revealed The Spirit dwells not fully in any one he dwelleth no further then he sanctifieth and reviveth but that is an Earnest for the time to come that the Spirit shall be all in all wherein we shall have no reluctancy nor nothing to exalt it self against the sure regiment of the Spirit Thirdly an Earnest is little in comparison of the whole bargain so the work of the Spirit the comforts the joy the peace of the Spirit it is little in comparison of that which shall be in heaven in regard of the fulnesse of the Spirit which we shall have there An Earnest though it be little in quantity yet it
and delivers him from going to the pit I have found a ransome c. The messenger one of a thousand the man of God that hath the tongue of the learned he hath shewed him where his ransome is to be had he hath shewed him his righteousnesse Thus did S. Peter after he had brought them to Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved then he points them out to Jesus Christ. Therefore the Ministery is called the Ministery of reconciliation and the Ministery of peace they are called Messengers of peace You know joy comes from reconciliation with God in Christ joy comes from peace Now the Ministers they are Messengers of reconciliation and Messengers of peace and therefore Messengers of joy They bring glad tydings of joy You see how Ministers are helpers of joy by shewing to man his ill and then by shewing to man his good and comfort in Jesus Christ they shew that where sin hath abounded grace abounds much more They dig the Mine to let people see what riches what treasure they have in the Word of God and what comfort they have there And then in the continual course of life they are helpers of joy For what do Ministers if they be faithful in their places but advise in cases of conscience what people should do so their Office is to remove all scruples and hindrances and obstacles of spiritual joy by advising them what to avoid and what to do We know that light is a state of joy The Ministery of the Gospel is light it sets up the light of Gods truth it shewes them the way they should go in all the course of their life and thereupon it rejoyceth them The Word of God is a Lanthorn especially in the Ministery Spiritual liberty and freedome that doth make people joyful but the end of the Ministery is to set people more and more at liberty both from the former estate that I named and likewise daily by office to set them at liberty from corruptions and temptations and snares to bring them to an enlarged estate Victory and Triumph is a state of joy Now the Ministers of God teach Gods people how to fight Gods battels how to handle their weapons how to answer temptations how to conquer all and at length how to triumph therefore in that regard they are helpers of their joy they encourage them against discouragements against infirmities and afflictions against Satans temptations shewing them grounds of joy out of the Scriptures Then they are helpers of their joy by forcing it as a duty upon them Rejoyce evermore and again I say rejoyce saith S. Paul They are as guides among the rest of the Travellers that encourage them in the way to heaven Come on let us go chearfully As the Apostles in all their Epistles they stirre up to joy and chearfulnesse so should those do that are guides to Gods people Travellers they need refreshments of wine c. Now thus the Ministers of God help the people of God in their spiritual travel to heaven if the people of God faint at any time then as it is Cant. 2. they refresh them with apples and wine with the comforts of the Holy Ghost they are ready to support and comfort them in all their spiritual falls when they are ready to sink We see by experience in all places where the Ministery of the Word is established how comfortably people live and dye and end their dayes above other people that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death so we see this is true That the Ministers help joy because they help that that breeds joy not onely at the first but continually help the joy of the people of God even to death And then in death it self the end of the Ministery is to help joy to help them to heaven to help them to a joyful departure hence to give them a good and comfortable loose out of this world drawing comfort out of the Word for this purpose for whatsoever the Minister doth it is by drawing comfort out of the Word shewing them that the sting of death is taken away that now death is reconciled and become a friend to us in Christ that it is but a passage to heaven that now it is the end of all misery and the beginning of all happinesse Blessed are those that die in the Lord so they assist and help them in those last agonies There is special use of the dispensation of the Word in all conditions while we live and at the hour of death You see it is clear I need not further enlarge the Point that the Ministers by reason of the Word which indeed is the main thing that comforts they are helpers of the joy of Gods people But you will say They help Gods people to sorrow and they vex and trouble them oft-times Indeed carnal men think so as the two Witnesses in the Revelations it is said They vexed the men upon the earth so indeed the faithful witnesses of God they vex the earthly-minded base men as Ahab said of Elias Thou art he that troubleth Israel he accounted him as one that troubled Israel when it was himself that troubled Israel these Ministers they are accounted those that marre all the mirth in the world that a man that is given to pleasures and delights he trembles at the sight of them as men opposite to his delights and carnal course he cannot brook the very sight of them so it is with a carnal man But we may make an Use hence to judge of what spirit they are that judge and think so they are not true believers for there is no man that hath given his name to Christ and makes it good by his life that he is a good Christian but he accounts the Ministers helpers of his joy Those that do not so are in an ill course and which is worse they resolve to be in an ill course Therefore let us make much of the Ordinances of God as that which is the joy of our soules not onely make much of the Word of God but of the Word of God in the ministerial dispensation of it for oft-times we find that comfort by the opening of the Word of God that our own reading and private endeavours could never help us to experience shewes that We see when the Enuch was to be converted it was he that read but Philip was sent to open the Word to him and then he went away rejoycing And so the poor Jayler when the Word was opened and applyed to him then he rejoyced therefore as we intend our own comfort let us regard the Ministery Many object that that Naaman the Assyrian did I can have as much comfort by reading I would they were so well occupied but God gives a curse to private means when they are used with neglect of the publick And joy comes from Gods Spirit God will not attend our pleasure to giveus joy
or are profitable to others p. 109 Gods children partake of the sufferings of others how p. 115 Suffering must precâ—…de comfort and why p. 117 c. Those that suffer as they should are sure of comfort p. 118 See more in Affliction Persecution Tribulation Suspition Mans nature is proue to suspition pag. 356 506 Grounds of suspition from whence it ariseth p. 357 506 c. Suspition what p. 357 507 How to arm our selves against suspition p. 357 How to know when suspition is evil p. 358 Suspition is more then fear lesse then judgment p. 507 Suspition makes the worst construction ibid. Why the Devill cherisheth suspition ibid. Mischief from Suspition ibid. Swearing What meant by the prohibition Swear not at all p. 376 516 517 To swear by none but God p. 515 Swearing lawful p. 516 517 Ordinary swearing condemned p. 376 516 517 518 Objections for common and ordinary swearing answered p. 517 c. Original causes of ordinary swearing p. 518 519 Motives against ordinary swearing p. 519 520 Means against ordinary swearing pag. 519 Ordinary swearers curse themselvse p. 518 T. Thankfulnesse IT 's the disposition of Gods people to be thankfull for mercies received pag. 16 We are to be especially thankfull for spiritual favours p. 18 Meanes to become thankfull p. 18 19 20 208 209 A carnal man unthankful why pag. 19 Motives to thankfulnesse pag 20 210 211 212 Not onely verbal but real thanksgiving is required p. 212 See Blesse Praise Tradition Popish faith is built upon Traditions p. 345 346 Treasury The Popes Treasury what p 107 The Popes Treasury confuted ibid. Christ is the onely Treasury of the Church ibid. Tribulation Gods Children are subject to Tribulation p. 47 60 74 See Affliction Persecution Suffering Trust. Gods Children are prone to trust in themselves why p. 137 138 Not to trust in any thing but in God p. 139 142 143 144 Signes of trusting in these outward things as riches c. p. 139 140 It 's a dangerous thing to trust in our selves or in the creature why p. 141 Popery to be detested because it teacheth men to trust to their own works satisfactions c. p. 142 We must not trust our own graces pag. 142 Creatures may be trusted to subordinately p. 144 145 Worldlings trust in the creature above God yea against God p. 144 How to cure false confidence or trusting in ourselves and in the creature pag. 145 147 To trust in God a lesson hardly learn't p. 148 God to make us trust in him is fain to cast us out of our selves ibid. God is the sole and proper Object of trust p. 153 God in Christ the Object of trust ibid. It 's a mans duty to trust in God pag. 154 Trials of trust in God or Signes whereby to know whether we trust in God p. 155 156 157 Helps or Meanes to trust in God pag. 158 Trust in God how to be exercised in great afflictions p. 161 Trust in God how exercised in the hour of death p. 162 God to strengthen our trust hath given us his 1. Promise 2. Seal 3. Oath 4. Earnest 5. A pawn 6. Seizin p. 164 Objection against trusting in God answered ibid. A Christian may trust or rely on God for the time to come p. 178 Trust what p. 321 See Confidence Truth Truth may not be spoken at all times p. 246. God is true and faithful how p. 379 Objection against this answered pag. 380 How to know the Word of God to be true p. 386 392 It 's a matter of comfort to believe the Word of God to be true p. 377 c. The Word of God or Evangelical doctrine is most true and certain p 392 V. Vain MInisters labour is not in vain in the Lord p. 1 Vehement Carnal men are vehement p. 371 Unbelief The heart of man is full of unbelief and can hardly be settled in the perswasion of Divine truth p. 485 486 Uniformity A Christian is uniform p. 317 Union There is a threefold Union viz. 1. Of Christ and our nature 2. Of Christ and his members 3. Of one member with another p. 116 W. Wait. GRounds of waiting upon God for deliverance from trouble or Motives thereunto p. 173 c. 426 Way It 's a commendable custome for Christians to bring one another on their way p. 355 Weak The weakest creatures have the strongest shelters p. 448 Will. Every one in his calling placed by the Will of God p. 2 3 The more will advisednesse and deliberation in sin the greater the sin p. 249 Wisdome Wisdome manifold p. 274 275 Wisdome what p. 275 Carnal or fleshly wisdome described p. 275 276 277 Why called fleshly Wisdome p. 276 All carnal men have not fleshly wisdome p. 278 Fleshly wisdome is where there is no simplicity nor sincerity ibid. Gods children not ruled by fleshly wisdom why p. 279 288 289 Mischief of carnal wisdom pag. 280 281 Carnal or fleshly Wisdom hinders our joy and comfort p. 287 288 Popery is founded on carnal Wisdom p. 312 How to avoid fleshly Wisdom pag. 368 369 A Christian needs Wisdome why p. 291 Wisdom may be had p 292 We should go to God for Wisdome pag. 292 293 God gives Wisdom for the things of this life p. 293 True Wisdom toucheth conversation p. 299 Word The Preaching of the Word accompanied with Gods Spirit is able to convert and change the most wicked hearts â—…hat be pag. 4 5 See Ministery Preaching It 's a matter of consequence to believe the Word of God to be true certain and immutable p. 377 c. The Word of God is the Judge of all Controversies p. 382 Christ the Word how p. 409 467 The Word of God is most true certain and infallible p. 392 How to know the Word of God to be true p. 386 392 See Scripture World Christianity may stand with converse in the World p. 267 Religion makes a man converse in the world untainted ibid. Wicked men called the World why p. 275 4 365 Y. Yea and Nay GRounds of Yea and Nay p. 371 Dissemblers are Yea and Nay all at once p. 372 All Promises and Prophecies are Yea in Christ p. 407 408 409 c. Trin-uni Deo gloria * 1 Pet. 4. 10. Ubi Vulgat dispensatio multiformis gratiae * Isai. 54. 12. Varia gemmarum genera propter varia dona quae sunt in Ecclesiâ Sanct. * Gallica mirata est Calvinum Ecclesia nuper Quo nemo docuit doctius Est quoque te nuper mirata 〈◊〉 tonantem Quo nemo 〈◊〉 fortiùs Et miratur adhuc fundentem mella Viretum Quo nemo fatur dulcius Beza * Tunc bene multiformis Dei gratia dispensatur quando acceptum donum 〈◊〉 ejus qui hoc non habet creditur quando propter eum cui impenditur sibi datum putatur Gregâ—…r moral lib. 28. cap. 6. God scatters his Saints why Quest. Answ. The Church hath its name sometimes 1. from the mixture in it 2. from the better
when we are once in Christ believe in Christ all the Scripture speaks comfort to us if we come in and receive him as he is offered upon his terms to be our Governour our King our Priest and Prophet then all the promises are Yea and Amen to us As for instance forgivenesse of sins if we receive Christ God will forgive us our sins and be reconciled to us for Jesus Christs sake We have an advocate with the Father and he is the propitiation for our sins The blood of Christ shall cleanse us from all sins These promises shall be Yea and Amen to thee if thy sins trouble thee they shall be done away How many promises to this purpose have we of the forgivenesse of sins Again if so be thou find want of Grace all the promises in Christ are Yea and Amen he hath promised his holy Spirit to them that ask him Luke 11. There is a promise shall be Yea and Amen if thou beg it He hath promised the fundamentall graces He will put his fear in our hearts that we shall never depart from him He will teach us to love one another you are taught of God to love one another He hath promised private blessings in this kind to circumcise and cut off the fore-skin of our hearts If a naughty and stonie heart vex thee he will take away that and give thee an heart of flesh a tender heart So these promises in Christ shall be Yea and Amen if we apply and believe them to take away our corruption and subdue that and to give and plant Graces he hath promised to do this therefore make use of them not only of the promises of pardon and forgivenesse of sins but of grace necessary Art thou sensible of thy imperfections that thou canst not go about the duties of Religion and of thy particular calling what saith Moses Who gives a mouth is it no tGod that gives a mouth And Be not afraid saith Christ you shall have speech and a spirit given you that all shall not be able to withstand Be not afraid God that calls us he will enable us You have a promise of sufficiencie of gifts If any man lack wisdom let him ask it of God If any man lack wisdom to manage his affaires to beare crosses and afflictions let him ask it of God a rich promise in that kind And so art thou doubtful for the time to come what shall befall thee God in Christ Jesus hath made a Promise That where he hath begun he will make an end Philip. 1. 6. He that hath begun a good work will finish it to the day of the Lord. Christ is Alpha and Omega too and What shall separate us from the Love of God in Christ Neither things present nor things to come nor any thing else why because it is the love of God in Christ. Gods love is founded in Christ and he will love thee eternally There is a ground of perseverance Therefore be sure to take in trust the time to come as well as the present he will be thy God for the time to come as well as for the present he will be thy God to death Jesus Christ is yesterday to day and to morrow and the same for ever He was and is and is to come He was good to thee before he called thee he is good to thee now in the state of Grace and he will be for ever Why shouldest thou stagger for the time to come Take in trust all that shall befall thee for the time to come as well as for the present for he is Yea and Amen himself and all his Promises are Yea and Amen Christ is Amen the true witnesse Thus saith Amen Rev. 1. and all his Promises are like himself Amen Oh but I may fall away my grace is weak I stagger often But are the Promises founded upon thee No the Promises are founded in Christ. Christ receives Grace for thee and he is a King for ever and a Priest for ever to make intercession for thee and he is faithful He is beloved for ever and as long as he is beloved thou shalt be beloved because thou art in him God is in Christ and thou art in Christ how canst thou miscarry God is in Christ for ever and thou art in Christ will he lose a limb will he lose a member No the Promises in him are Yea and Amen and not in thee They are in thee Yea and Amen thou hast the benefit of them because they are in him Amen first I but for the troubles of this world for afflictions and crosses what promises have we to build on for them God in Christ is Yea and Amen to us and the promises are Yea and Amen in that kind In all things necessary for this life Heb. 13. Let yourconversation be without covetousnesse for he hath promised he will not fail thee nor for sake thee It is taken along from Joshuah's time it was a promise made to Joshuah and is enlarged to all Christians He hath promised he will not fail thee nor forsake thee Therefore Let your conversation be without covetousnesse Insinuating the reason why men are covetous because they do not trust that promise I will not fail thee nor for sake thee For if men in their calling as they should do would trust in God without putting forth their hands to ill meanes their conversation would be without shifting and covetousnesse Therefore covetous men are faithlesse men they believe not the Promise that God will not fail them nor forsake them for then they would not live by their wits and by their shifts but by faith in this very promise which is Yea and Amen to all that believe it God is a Sun and shield Psal. 84. and no good thing shall be wanting to those that lead a godly life Would you have more he is a Sun for all good he is a Shield to keep from all ill I am thy buckler and thy exceeding great reward saith God to Abraham I am thy buckler to keep thee from all ill and thy exceeding great reward to bestow all good having these promises why should we stagger they are Yea and Amen in Christ God is Al-sufficient in Christ. For the issue in our labours Oh what will become of it we take pains to no purpose we rise early and go to bed late what will become of all in the issue What saith Saint Paul 1 Cor. 15. Be constant alway abounding in the work of the Lord be ye abundant in the work of the Lord knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord therefore abound you in the work of the Lord let the issue go to God you have a rich promise Knowing this that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Therefore you know when Peter had fished all night and had caught nothing when Christ bids him cast the net into the Sea saith he We have fished all night
and catched nothing to what purpose should I cast it yet in thy Word in thy command I will cast it he obeyed and he drew so many that the net brake again with the fish So I say it is thy command Lord that I should go on in the duties of my calling that I should do that that belongs to me and in well doing to commit my self to thee as to a faithful Creator and a gracious Redeemer and to cast my self on thy Promises do what thou wilt you shall see then as the Apostle graciously speaks Your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Cast your care on him for he cares for you I but when we have done there are so many imperfections cleave to that we do that they discourage us Why look the Promise is Yea and Amen for acceptance a cup of cold water is accepted offer that thou doest in the mediation of Christ God will pardon that which is faulty and accept that which is good So we have Promises of acceptance in Christ God will pardon and spare us as a Father spares his child Doth not a father accept the endeavour of his poor child and pardon his weaknesse when he cannot do as he would God looks on us as a Father on his children Therefore let us not fear this we have a promise of acceptance of what we do though it be weak and maimed and lame obedience If we cannot do as much as others yet bring two Turtles They that could not bring an Oxe a great sacrifice a lesse was accepted two Pigeons if thou canst not do as much as others a little sacrifice shall be accepted Oh that we had faith we might run through all the passages of our life justification sanctification perseverance for the time to come the duties of our calling the issue of our labours whatever you can imagine There is no passage of our life but our soules would be supported if we could think that these promises are Yea and Amen in Jesus Christ. There is no estate that we are in but there are Promises made to it we want no good but we have a promise of supply we are under no ill but we have a promise either for the removall of it or for the sanctifying of it which is better We may enlarge it likewise to posterity If the Promises in Christ be Yea and Amen that is true to us and to them that succeed us for as I said Christ is yesterday to day and the same for ever He was yesterday to our ancestors to day to our selves to morrow to our posterity Therefore saith Peter to the believing Jewes Act. 2. The Promise is made to you and to your children your children are in the Covenant and God is the God of thee and of thy seed For the Promises in Christ are Yea and Amen they are constant to us and to our children to the end of the world It is a comfort to parents that can leave their children no inheritance they leave them God in Covenant and he is a good portion I will be thy God for the grand promise is the promise of the Father Son and Holy Ghost God hath promised to be a Father and the Father gives his Son and the Father and Son give the Holy Ghost Well then God is the God of us and of our children he is the Father of us and of our children Christ is the Christ of us and them the Holy Ghost is the Spirit that sanctifies us and them Is not this a comfort to those that can leave their children nothing else that they leave them God in Covenant And this is a comfort for children if they have good Parents that they may say when they pray O God of my father Abraham And as David Psal. 116. I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid I am thy servant my self and the son of one that was thy servant Is not this a comfort to a Christian to say I am thy servant and the son of thy servant therefore there is a double bond why thou shouldest respect me I cast my self on thee and I am the son of a believing father of a believing mother Oh it is a blessed thing to be in Covenant with God that those that can leave their children little else can leave them a place in the Covenant by their own goodnesse and faith Wicked Parents are cruel they damn their own soules and they are cruel to posterity Jeroboam hurt his posterity more then all the world besides for his sin God cursed his posterity They walked in the wayes of Jeroboam God many times will not punish men themselves but their posterity Wicked Kings God spares them themselves sometimes but he punisheth their posterity Jeroboam was spared for his own life but his posterity was punished when wicked men dye others applaud their wisdome they dye thus and thus c. and their posterity applaud their wisdome God therefore curseth their posterity walking in their wayes Jeroboam's children I say had cause to curse their father they had a prejudice in his example they thought him a very wise man that by setting up the Calves he could make such a rent but it turned to their destruction I say parents are cruel to posterity for God revengeth their sins on their posterity Let this be a strong motive to men to believe in Christ that they may leave a good posterity a posterity in Covenant with God Men are very Atheists in this point for they are more careful a great deal to leave them rich to leave them great then to leave them good and so they leave them a little goods perhaps but they leave the curse and vengeance of God with it I beseech you therefore enlarge this comfort that the Promises of God concerning all good things are made in Christ they are Yea and Amen to our selves and to all ours to our posterity Thus I have laboured to lay open a little to you the Promises you may enlarge them your selves Therefore take this course First consider your present estate if you would make use of this portion it is our portion our best inheritance are the Promises and indeed they are a good childs portion though the world take all from us though God strip us of all if he leave us his Promises we are rich men Therefore the Psalmist calls them his portion and his inheritance and indeed so they are because they are so many bonds whereby God is bound to us they are so many obligations And if a wretched exacting man think himself as rich as he hath bonds though he have not a penny in his purse He that hath a thousand pound in bonds thinks himself richer then he that hath an hundred pounds in money and he thinks he hath reason to be so because he hath good security Certainly a Christian that hath rich faith in the rich promises he is a rich man because he hath many
yea and amen to be yea and nay We make truth a lie and do rather believe our own lying hearts then Gods immutable and unchangeable Promises Therefore let us see the fulnesse of our hearts and complain of them to God and desire him to cure it and redresse it and he will do it This is to give glory to God indeed we cannot honour God more then to believe his Promises and build on him This will breed love when we feel the comfort of the Promises Foolish men think to honour God by complements by dead performances filly men consider that the principal honour in the world to God is to seal his truth that thou shouldest not make him a liar Hath he promised all things in the world get faith that will honour him and he will honour thy faith What makes God honour faith so much He that believes he will bring him to heaven Faith honours him it gives him the glory of his truth the glory of his goodnesse of his mercy of his truth c. as it honours him he honours it The Believer shall come to heaven when the idle fashionable Christian shall vanish with his conceits that thinks to serve God with empty vain shadowes Honour God with the obedience of faith man cast thy self upon him trust in him in life and death and then thou givest him the honour that he requireth at thy hands For as the honour of his mercy is the greatest honour he will have in this world more then that in the Creation so thou honourest him more in the Gospel to cast thy self on him for forgivenesse of sins and life everlasting and for the guidance of thy daily course of life thou honourest him more then by looking on the creature or by doing him any service He is honoured more by faith in Christ then by any other way Let faith go to him as faith honours him so he will honour it Let it be according to thy faith Let not all be lost let us bring vessels for the precious Promises the vessel of a believing heart Shall all this be lost for a vain heart that will not lodge up these promises shall we have a rich portion and neglect it shall we have so many promises and not improve them and make use of them Therefore I beseech you let it be our practice continually every day of all portions of Scripture make the Promises most familiar to us for duties follow promises if we believe the Promises with our heart they are quickning Promises we will love God and perform other duties Faith works by love If we believe love will come kindly off Therefore he saith here All the Promises are Yea and Amen insinuating that all is included in the Promises Let us empty our hearts of confidence in any thing and fill them with the Promises in Christ that are Yea and Amen Let us stablish our hearts with the Promises let us warm and season and refresh our hearts every day with these In these times of infection what do we those that are careful of themselves that go abroad in dangerous places they have Preservatives they take something to preserve their spirits and to strengthen them against the contagion abroad and it is wisdome so to do it is folly to neglect it and to tempt God not to be careful in this kind it is very well done But what is this if thou do not fence thy soul and thy spitit and take a draught of the Promises every day afresh Let us take out our pardon of course every day of the forgivenesse of sins We sin every day let us go for our pardon If we sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ and he is the propitiation for our sins And the blood of Jesus Christ shall purge us from all sin And he is in justifying us still every day he is acquitting our soules and there is a pardon of course to be taken out every day Let us renew and refresh our hearts with the Promises of pardon and forgivenesse of sins every day Let us strengthen our soules with renewing the Promises of grace for that day to walk comfortably before God that he will keep us by his Spirit from sin that he will be a shield and a Sun to us that he will give us wisdome to carry our selves as we should and he will give us his holy Spirit if we beg it Let us every day take these Promises to be Cordials in these dangerous times and then come life come death all shall be welcome why because we are in Christ and have imbraced the Promises and Christ and all in Christ is Yea and Amen it shall go well with us What a wondrous comfortable life would a Christians life be if he could yield the obedience faith answerable to the promises What a shame is it that having such rich promises we should be so loose so changeable that we should be cast down with crosses and lift up with prosperity It is because we believe not the promises of better things therefore we are proud of present things and cast down with present crosses and are fast and loose Now we have good things for the present afterward the devil comes between us and the promises and makes us let go our hold Religion stands on this which makes me to presse it the more If this were well taken to heart and digested we should know what Religion means if we know Christ and the promises all other things will come off All others are but formalities they will never comfort without the confideration of knowing God in Christ and the rich promises to us in Christ. Likewise if this be so that the promises of God in Christ are Yea and Amen This teacheth us how to make use of all former examples of others and of all former goodnesse to our selves Was God merciful to Abraham and to David Our father 's trusted in thee and were not confounded Psal. 22. Therefore he reasons If I trust in God I shall not be confounded for the Promises are Yea and Amen they are true to one as well as another And whatsoever was written afore was written for our comfort Rom. 15. And this is a singular good use we may make of reading of the stories of the Scripture and of holy men that the same God he lives for ever his arm is not shortened he that was is and is to come and therefore we should read histories with application Did God make sure his Promises to them surely he will make sure his Promises to us Had David forgivenesse of sins upon his confession surely so shall we Abraham believed and it was accâ—…ed to him for righteousnesse and â—…o it shall to us if we believe It is alledged for that end Rom. 4. And S. Paul prefixeth his example to all posterity God was mercifull to me and not so onely but to all that believe in him 2 Tim. 2. This is an Use