in this manner and yet this was not the saving grace that the Saints have and that the Saints only have Nay farther he may have many acts of humiliation 3 He may doe acts of humiliation or as it were that that is like it he may expresse humiliation he may hang downe his head as a bulrush for a day he may keepe monethly Fasts as constantly as any and be sorrowfull and heavy and yet he hath not true humiliation But as the Prophet saith of the Hypocrites they hang downe their heads for a day as a bulrush but the Lord abhors them and their Service But the likest thing that I know to true humiliation is that that wicked men shall have at the day judgement Then I finde that there will be somwhat like it I find then that the wicked man his mouth shall be stopped he shall be so farre humbled that he shall have no argument to plead for himselfe he shall have no cloake for his sinne then the pride of wicked men will be pulled downe in a great measure in a sort notwithstanding it is not true humiliation for even then and for ever in Hell the wicked will be grumbling against God and a man is not said to be humbled truly till he submit to God in any thing Therefore it is said in Mat. 22. in hell there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth There is gnashing of teeth for vexation and anguish There is no true humiliation or shall be in Hell world without end Nor there is no carnall man upon earth that is truly humbled Therfore to conclude do not wonder I say cease Not to wonder that the wicked grow worse wondring for indeed a man cannot choose but wonder but endeavour to cease wondring when you see carnall men and Hypocrites notwithstanding all those meanes wherein you see God comes clearly in the eyes of them yet notwithstanding they grow worse and worse prowder prowder and more hardened and more coveteous and more carnall wonder not at it because in all these though you see God and are bettered and more humbled as now in the carriage of things in these times every honest heart makes a holy use of it and God will discover himself to many of his people through that they shal be better for it But wonder not at worldly people that they are worse they never had a sight of God wonder not that sinners and wicked men under the meanes of grace are nothing better as I feare there are many in this and in other congregations that notwithstanding all the meanes of grace notwithstanding all the teaching and preaching and beseeching and exhorting yet they sometimes in secret can laugh and jeere at religion and persecute those that embrace it A man would wonder at this how men should be so sottish as to learne nothing how men should be so prophane under such meanes and ministerie and amend nothing I say a man would wonder but only that it comes from this God hath not shewed himselfe to them if they had but one sight of God as thou that art a Saint hast it were a wonderfull Carnall men see not God in Ordinances thing indeed but it is because the Lord never revealed himselfe to them they only see a poore weake creature weaker then themselves and they heare the Word read in the Bible or they read a Chapter but there is not one jot of the sight of God in it So the other Nor in mercies day we had abundance of Victories and strangely God came into the hearts of his Saints by it how gloriously did the Lord appeare in them and ravish their soules that their hearts are yet nearer to God and they walke more humbly and closely and thankfully But we see the gang of the world Magistrates and Ministers and all carnal people are more proud and wicked and carnall and ready to beat their Fellow Servants they are worse and worse and no wonder because God hath not discovered himself in these mercies they will not learne And then for corrections a man would think that Nor in corrections God did deale with us more palpably then he did with Aegypt they had ten plagues we had twenty or thirty God hath punished us and then God stops his hand and then we break out into mischeif and cruelty and oppression And then God turnes the scale another way and then we begin to amend a little The other day the Lord did begin very fairly the Lord turned the Scales divers wayes you know how it was with Scotland and with the King One would thinke that there were no Magistrate nor Minister nor no man that hath the name of a Professor but he would learne somewhat by all this yet how many are bettered nothing in the World Wonder not because God hath never shewed himselfe in mercy in any ordinance in any correction or affliction or judgement to any carnall man I conclude with this word carnall wicked men wicked men shall one day be humbled are never humbled in this world that is certaine unlesse the Lord change them and reveale himself to them but there is no wicked man in the world but he shall have a Humiliation such as it will be There will be a day when the worst man in the world shall in some part be humbled you shall read in Luke 2â— how men shall be at their wits ends for feare of what shall come upon them And in Revel 6 when the Lord Jesus shall come to judgement they shall runne to the Rocks and to the Caves and to the Mountains to hide them from the presence of God their pride shall be pulled downe there shall be a kinde of Humiliation but no true humiliation but even in hell they shall be there grumbling against God for evermore Be pleased to learn from these few broken words that it is the will and way of God that you get your soules humbled which is the thing that I and you principally it may be want you see it is by seeing of God in Jesus Christ therfore labour to see him and study this blessed skill of seeing him and though we know not how it is yet you shall finde that that grace and every other grace will come more and more into your Soules SERMON 5. Isaiah 6. 5. For mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts THe last lesson or doctrine that we were upon from these words was this that A saving sight of God in Christ is the right and ready way to true Gospell humiliation Woe is me for I am undone because I have seene the King the Lord of Hosts First I shewed you that Every true Saint hath a peculiar sight of God That was necessary to make way for this that every such peculiar sight is the meanes or way to true Gospell humiliation I proved it and gave you the Reasons and made some short Use of it The next Use that
but allas what simple people are we in the Countrie we know not what belongs to the Globe and compasses So a Christian when he is in affliction he doth not say God doth he knows not what and he plagueth me but sayth he God hath wisdome and love in all this only I am a simple poore creature that know not this So now there are two things I would have you to observe First if you have humbled hearts you will see God in the affliction And then you will have reverent and high thoughts of God in respect of his justice and his love and wisdome towards you In the third place a soule that is humbled I meane all this while as far as it is humbled it 3. A humble soule quietly submits in affliction doth quyetly and silently submit unto the Lord in all his afflictions that the Lord may doe with him what he will and truly he hath reason enough and it cannot be otherwise if he see God in the Instruments and see such thoughts of justice and love and wisdome in God he cannot but quyetly submit this will follow As you know in 1 Sam. 3. When God told Ely that he was comming to cut off his house and his Priesthood and his Sonnes Sayth he It is the Lord let him doe what semeeth good in his eyes It is the Lord I will not suffer my heart to grumble but it is the Lord and I will submit A man would have thought he had not offended he did chide his Sonnes and told them Ye doe not well but he should have corrected them they were wicked men and because he was too Indulgent to them God sent him word that he would cut them off both him and his Sonnes yet saith he It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth good in his eyes Nay let a man be never so stout otherwise in The stoutest heart humbled will submit to God his naturall constitution let him be of never so strong and sturdie a spirit yet iâ— he have this grace if he have the spirit of humiliation he shall notwithstanding submit like a Lambe when the Lord laies his hand on him I will give you one place to prove this Isa 29. 1. 2. Woe to Ariel to Ariel the City where David dwelt let them kill sacrifice yet I wil distresse Ariel What is that That is the Lion of God God calls Jerusalem the Lion and the Lion of God you know the Lion is a stout creature It is said of Saul and his Servants that they had hearts like Lions hearts And the Lion of God that adds somthing to it yet when the Lord coms upon this Lion of God Thou shalt sayth the Lord be brought downe mark that expression in Vers 4. Thy speech shall be low to the dust and thy voyce as one that hath a familiar spirit and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust Though thou be like a Lion that roares thou shalt goe and whisper in the dust and thy voyce shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit Thou shalt peepe or chirp as it is in the Originall The Lord will make a Lion to chirp and make a Lyon lye low in the dust and whisper And if you compare Lam. 3. 28. There is an expression that doth a little more cleare it It is good for a man to beare the yoak in his youth He shall sit alone and keep silence because he hath borne it he shall put his mouth in the dust if there may be hope When it is a man that is humbled he will put his mouth in the dust he will submit and lie downe if there may be hope though he know not whether there be or no this is plentifull in Scripture in every place the people of God though they were afflicted never so soare and did abide it never so long yea those that had humble hearts they used to submit patiently and quietly to it I held my peace and was dumb because it was thy doing sayth David Psal 39. Trie your hearts by these things how you are in afflictions doe you see God in the Instruments What kind of thoughts have you of God for as the mind is so is the man have you high reverent pretious thoughts of God And doe you submit can you stoop and quench the boylings of your hearts and the stirringe of your spirits Can you say as Eli did It is the Lord let him doe as he will He hath taken one child let him take the rest if he please he hath taken one of my Familie let him take more if he will He hath taken away some of my Trading let him take all if he will This is the frame of heart of a humble man In the Fourth place a humble soule that is savingly 4. A humble heart envies not the prosperity of others humbled in his afflictions for of such I speak all this while in the greatest afflictions that befall him he doth not use to envie the prosperity of others that frame of a humble heart I find in Jam. 4. 5. Pride and envie are as it were Synonomies they seem as it were the same thing The Scripture saith not in vaine the spirit that is in us lusteth after envy But he giveth more grace wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble He makes pride and envie one and the same And indeed so it is you shall never see them severed you shall never see a proud heart but it is envious Now one that is humbled is not so as you shall see Psal 37. David indeed was tempted to it but the Lord delivered him from it And in Psal 73. He speaks of the prosperity of the ungodly they flourished in the World and increased in riches and sayth he Verily I have cleansed my heart in vaine for all the day long I am plagued and whipped and chastned every morning It is a strange thing sayth he see how yonder wicked man flourisheth and prospers and for my part I am as sure to be whipped every morning as I am of my break-fast as they say But if I should say so sayth he I should offend against the Generation of thy Children I thought so till I went into the Sanctuary of God and then he understood their end and his owne folly indeed it was Davids weaknesse and it was that which his heart was not throughly humbled for as it should Therefore you see proud people in the Prophesie of Malachi Chap. 3. He more plainly describes them Vers 13. Your words have been stout against me sayth the Lord. They had stout words and stouter hearts for alway the heart is worse then the words You have said it is in vaine to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts Mark what doe we get by walking mournfully and by obeying the Commandements of God And now we call
thirdly there is another glorious way 3. By Jesus Christ that is in Jesus Christ Jesus Christ he hath kept the law and perfectly fulfilled it now a man by beleiving in Jesus Christ and by being unyted to him and married to him that in his owne person hath fulfilled the law being married to him whatsoever he hath is yours and whatsoever he hath done it is as if it had been done by you all shall be imputed to you and so the law of God may be fullfilled in you perfectly and you shall never goe to Hell and have nothing to doe or to suffer in that kind This being premised breifly the use of this may be twofold First to shew you what a vaine and foolish Vse The vanity of those that goe about to keepe the law thing it is for a man to goe about to keepe the law of God in his owne strength or in his owne person for you to think to save your soules or to fulfill the righteousnesse of the law by your owne doings Beloved it is a great matter to bring poore sinners to be awakened to see their sins or to break off their course in sin For there are many drunkards and swearers and jearers of Religion and prophaners of the Lords day that sit as sots all the yeare and are never awakned but generally when men are awakened Sinners awakened labour to fullfill the law out of their sins this is the resolution of all man kind of every man none excepted unlesse God have mercy on him he is ready to say I see I am in a damnable way and this course will bring me to hell by the grace of God I will turne over a new leafe and now I will heare Sermons I was wont to jeare at them and I will get me a practice of piety or some other good Book and I will have prayers in my house and I will be drunke no more and sweare no more I will be a new man I will avoyd that which is evill and doe that which is good And marke it this is more naturall to man then sin it is more naturall to man to be righteous then to be sinfull because he was righteous before he was sinfull The liquor that is put first into a vessell the vessell keeps the tast of that longer then of any that is put into it afterwards Now God at first made man righteous and man is more apt to fall to that kind of righteousnesse then to any sin And this is the great misery of people every one in some fashion or other this is his businesse he goes about to fulfill the law of God in his owne person and there you shall have one praying and another crying and another keeping so many fasts and dayes of humiliation upon humiliation and the end of all is if men had eyes to see it his endeavour is to fulfill the law of God he endeavours to scrape and to get up a righteousnesse to pay the law of God You cannot conceive and comprehend how subject you and I are to this misery and how this is in your very bones as it were and I feare truly it is the greatest part of your Religion and the most of your profession is nothing but to endeavour to get a righteousnesse to fulfill the law of God though some doe it in a closer siner way then others Now I beseech you consider this word lay No man can fulfill the law by doing downe this throughly in your hearts that it is a vaine thing so to doe and who would goe about a vaine thing a thing that he shall never bring to perfection For it is not every paltrie righteousnesse that can fulfill the law of God It is not ten thousand fastings that can fullfill the law of God it is not praying in your familie three times a day that can fullfill the law I speake not against these things in their right way and course but all will not doe in this respect for if you faile but once if you miss but one farthing you are gone if you have but one bad thought in all your life you are lost Therefore I would have you despaire of getting by your owne doing and suffering any righteousnesse to fulfill the law of God never goe about it No wise man will goe and buyld a Castle in the ayre It is reason and argument enough in any naturall busnesse to make a man desist to tell him it is a vayne thing it is a worke that will never come to perfection therefore desist and give over and thinke of some other course VVhy should we not prevaile in spirituall things as well as in naturall Let every man lay downe this for a certaine truth for a certaine conclusion in his soul that I were as good be a sinner as a righteous man in my owne person in respect of fulfilling the law I am sure I shall never doe it but as a snow-ball the more it is roled the bigger it growes so the more you goe on and indeavour to get a righteousnesse to fulfill the law the further off you will be for as I said if you faile but once you are guiltie of all And as you cannot reach it by doeing Nor by suffering so not by suffering for what men have mist in doing they shall be suffering to all eternity in hell but the law is so holy and God is so glorious whose law you have broken that when you have suffered millions yet the debt will be still unpaid Therefore who would be so mad as Paul calls the Gallathians mad Gallathians VVho hath bewitched you It is a kind of madnesse for any man to attempt in his owne person by doing or suffering to fulfill the righteousnesse of the law or to justifie and save his soul You will say we grant it is true and therefore Many seek to be justified by works besides Papists the Papists are much to blame that labour to be justified by their works They are so and so are many others much to blame besides them and blessed is that man or woman among you whosoever it be that doth not in some measure in his owne person endeavour to make up his owne righteousnesse It is a thing that sticks nearer to you then you are aware of though it may be at sometimes you see Christ and justification by him clearly yet at other times you know how many pangs and how may secret glances we have at our justication by our owne works take notice of the vanity of this That is one word Secondly me thinks this should move you above Vse 2. It should move us to come to Christ all things in the World if it were considered and O that the Lord would be pleased yet to open your eyes while it is called to day I say this should be one of the greatest motives in the World to come to Jesus Christ to get into Christ to receive Jesus Christ and in
Gospel-Holinesse OR The saving Sight of GOD. Laid open from Isa 6. 5. Together with The glorious Priviledge of the Saints From Rom. 8.4 5. Both worthily opened and applied By that Faithful Dispenser of the Mysteries of Christ WALTER CRADOCK late Preacher at Alhallowes the Great in London 2 Cor. 3.18 But we all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Rom. 10.3 For they being ignorant of Gods righteousnesse and going about to establish their own righteousnesse have not submitted themselves unto the righteousnesse of God Published and allowed by the Author's consent LONDON Printed by M. Simmons and are to be sold by Joseph Blaik-lock at his House in Ivie-lane 1651. To the Reader THESE Sermons being exactly penned from the Authors own mouth are now brought to publique view though when he preached them had not the least thought to suffer them to be Printed but since they were thus prepared to come abroad into the world the Pious Author finding so much of the sweetnesse of Christ in viewing of them could not turn his backe upon them As for this godly Author his worth and excellency is so eminently known it would be vanity in me to speake any thing in relation to his praise let this and other of his owne works praise him Yet thus much I shall say that I doe verily believe that he preached these Choise Lectures from the bosome of Jesus Christ that these things were the very experiments of his owne soule and the lively actings of the spirit of God within him What he hath seene and heard hee hath declared that we might have fellowship with him whose fellowship is with the Father and the 1 Iohn 1. 3. Sonne and therein shall our joy be full These Sermons are not cloathed with humane Art quaint expressions eloquent speculations but choose rather to come forth in the nakednesse of truth not with the enticing words of mans wisdome but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power here is nothing to fill thy head with barren notions fruitlesse opinions or meer speculations but here is that to fill thy heart with the glory of God the life of Christ and light of his spirit I shall in a few words hint out what thou shalt find in these ensuing discourses First a glorious discovery of a saving sight of God in Christ When Moses desired to see Gods face the Lord himselfe tels him that no man can see his face and live Yet the Lord proclaimed his mercie his patience his goodnesse his truth and his justice before him Now where was Moses all this while he was in the clift of the rock Now verily that Rock was Christ we see the glory of God in Christ per speculum as it were in a glasse Christ is that glasse in which wee see the image of the Fathers glory and that as with open face Christ is called the 2 Cor. 3. 18. Heb. 1. 3. brightnesse of his Father's glory so that the brightnesse of Gods glory is manifested by Christ as the Sunne is manifested by it's boames wee cannot see the Sunne in Rotà in his Charret or circumvolution but by it's beames so the Fathers glory is revealed Tanquam per radios ac splendorem as it were by beames and brightnesse shining most excellently in Christ The Apostle saith God who hath commanded light to shine out of darknesse hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ God is known by Christ as a man is known by his face it is only hee that came from the bosome of the Father that can open the secrets of his bosome and reveale the glory and brightnesse of Gods face unto us Secondly this glorious sight of God is that that humbles the soule Because mine eye hath seen thee saith Job I abhor my selfe in dust and ashes The greatest piece of self-denyall is to discard our own righteousnesse and formality 1. Mans fleshly righteousnesse is the great idoll of the world every one is ready to fall downe unto it and call it blessed This is Anti-Christ comming forth in the habit of Christ being arrayed and decked with gold precious stones and pearls whereby the Nations are deceived but when wee know the righteousnesse of the Lord wee shall cast away our owne righteousnesse and as the Prophet speakes say unto it get yee Isa 30. 22. hence 2. Formality is in no lesse esteeme among us then the former what is the Religion of most people but a meere forme without any life or power at all Astronomers tell us that the upper Planets have their Stations and Retrogradations as well as their direct Motions So 't is with most in their Religion sometimes they move forwards sometimes backward sometimes stand at a stay and thus they tread always in one circle or round turning like a doore upon the hinges but never from off the place where they were As for most mens hearing praying fasting what is it but as a taske performed so coldly that there is no principle of divine life in it and thus they goe on but are never at their journeys end Men commonly use what they should enjoy and enjoy that they should use they will use the Lord whom they should enjoy and they will enjoy their duties and performances that they should only use and thus they starve their soules by formality in religion The third thing we may take notice of is the righteousnesse of Christ commended to us before the righteousnesse of Adam Most of the worlds righteousnesse proceedes from the principles of the old Adam which is corrupt and fleshly what is this but to be born of Ishmael the son of the bond-woman to come unto Mount Sinai in Arabia viz. the Covenant of works but Jerusalem which is above is free which is the mother of all the first-born of God viz. the Covenant of grace Vain man thinks to climb to Heaven by his own righteousnesse when alas it is but of the first Adam naturall weake and fleshly All the wisdome knowledg invention of man as Tongues Arts and Sciences as Philosophy Logicke Rhetoricke c. All these are but to repaire those reliques of the first Adam's corrupted principles of reason and understanding therefore if wee goe to patch up a righteousnesse of these we doe but build what the Lord will have destroyed But that which is able to restore us is an establishment of the righteousnesse of Christ upon our hearts by the participation of the divine nature Christ performs all righteousnesse for his Saints and then works all righteousnesse in them The divine will of God is righteousnesse now Christ is that divine will brought forth in a Saint working after the Lords owne pleasure The Civill law doth account Elephants and Camels to have the nature of wild beasts though they
Isaiah wrote was Gospell he was an Evangelicall Prophet and in that description there are these things First the occasion of this great humiliation God humbleth his Ministers ere he send them of the Prophet and that was that God was now setting him forth in the Gospell to preach the will of God to the People God when he sends Ministers to his worke he doth first humble them They can never doe any thing to purpose for God till they be undone Woe is me I am undone saith the Prophet in this verse and then in the verses following God sends him to preach So that the maine cause why you have not Ministers according to God that he doth not blesse their worke according to your heart and desire it is not for want of parts or understanding or for want of Parts or degrees or the like but the generall the maine cause is because they are not humbled God hath not undone them Secondly there is the humiliation it self which consists First of an Act of the Understanding whereby the Prophet saw some thing more then he knew before and cries out I am undone he thought he was in a good condition before but now he doth not meerly say I am undone but woe is me woe is me I am undone Thirdly there is the Causes of it and the causes are twofold One is materiall as you call it that is sin woe is me I am undone Why Because I am a man saith the Septuagint Indeed a man as a man will be undone if Sin a cause of humiliation he see the glory of God if he were not a Sinner But saith he because I am a man of uncleane lips and because I dwell among a People of uncleane lips Because I see I have many sinns and because I see them now the least sin is exceeding sinfull even to dwell among wicked people a man cannot choose but be tainted with them Therefore woe is me I am undone The other cause is in these words I have seene the King the Lord of Hosts For a man may have sinenough and yet never be humbled or undone as you know wicked men now have and men and Devils The sight of God a humbling sight for ever will have hereafter in Hell and yet they will never be humbled they will never be undone in this sence but there was this thing to make it up mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts as wee see in the verse before in the Vision how he had seene the Lord. So now we come to these words For mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts From which words you are to observe two things The first is this that It is the peculiar priviledge of the Saints and ever was and ever will be to see God to see the King the Lord of Hosts Secondly that A true saving sight of the Lord of Hosts of God in Christ Jesus is that principally that undoes men or truly and savingly humbles men I shall speak more particulerly of the latter but we cannot well understand the latter without we have a little understanding in the former For if you would know how the sight of God humbleth men you must understand a little what this sight what this seeing of God is I shall speake briefly of the former Lesson which is this that Doct. 1. The peculiar priviledge of the Saints to see God It is a peculiar priviledge of a Saint and ever was and ever will he to see God to see the King of Glory the Lord of Hosts Wee doe not now speak of the sight of God that we call the beatificall Vision that sight of God we shall have in Heaven for every one of you know that wicked men shall never see God that way But I say there is a sight of God in this world that every A sight of God in this world Saint in all Ages hath had and no other Sonne or Daughter of man from the beginning to the end ever had or shal have but those that are reall S t s Concerning this sight or seeing of God we meane to speak if God will And that you may understand it you must Men are said to see God 〈◊〉 1 Corporeally know that there are divers sorts of sights of God Men are said many wayes to see God As First there is a corporeall sight a bodilie sight of God a seeing of God with bodilie eyes and so the Scripture doth often speak negatively that No man hath seene God at any time that way no man hath seene his shape that is no man in this world with bodilie eyes did ever see God as though he were a body or a corporeall substance Indeed men have seen Jesus Christ who was God and Christ Jesus saith Joh. 6 36. Yee have seene me and heard me and yet you believe not in me So that the Pharisees the proud Pharisees that never were humbled saw Jesus Christ that was God But yet that is not the sight here spoken of that peculiar sight which none but Saints have For the former no man ever had and the latter wicked men have as well as good that is wicked men saw Christ bodily as well as good men Secondly there is an other sight of God that is we 2. In works of creation or providence may be said to see God in his works of creation or providence or rather to speak more properly we see the things of God as the Apostle saith Rom. 1. they saw the invisible things of God in the things that were made that is a naturall man may see a great power in that finger which made the Moone and great Wisdome in him that contrived the Sun Moone Stars and all creatures from the beginning Now I say this may be said to be a seeing or a knowing of God for in Rom. 1. as it is said in one place they saw the invisible things of God so afterwards it is said they knew God who because they knew God and glorified him not as God God gave them up c. There was some thing some fashion that they did see God in the creation in the creatures but this sight of God is not that I meane to speak of that glorious and blessed sight of which Christ speakes Math. 5. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Thirdly besides the corporeall seeing and the naturall 3. By common illumination seeing there is a sight of God by the illumination of Gods spirit I say Gods spirit may raise a man up to see things which no man naturally ever did or could yet it is not this sight Now indeed that more properly as I said of the former is to see the things of God Only the former is a seeing of the things of God in the creature and this is a seeing the things of God in the Gospel So in Heb. 6. 6. where mention is made of Hypocrites that fall away
will and be it little or much yet it is all amiable in the eye of a Saint and operative in his soule my meaning is this you are not to conceive as though it were the glorious priviledge of a Saint to see one side of God as it were and not another but that that is most terrible in God to wicked men that is also I say amiable and lovely in the eye of a Saint As the power of God the greatnesse of God the Justice of God Even these things that the wicked abhorre and hate the Lord useth to reveale them to his Saints in Excellent Glory That is an other thing 3. God sheweth himself variously Then thirdly God doth shew himselfe to his children by various manifestations My meaning is this God doth not alway shew himselfe in the same manner and fashion to his child God as it were comes in a new dresse every day to the Soule of his Child all the dayes of his life in this world and for ought he knowes for ever in the world to come As it is unspeakable to say how God appeares to the soule of a Saint so the manifestations are innumerable the strange ways that God comes to the soule he shews himself to day this way to morrow after another and the third day after another The Lord manifests himself variously That is another thing Then fourthly it is by various means also that God 4 By various meanes comes in by You must understand he comes alwayes through Jesus Christ but then for other lower meanes he chooseth what meanes he pleaseth he comes in somtimes by afflictions and corrections somtimes by common providence sometimes in the word preached sometimes in meditation sometimes in prayer some times one way sometimes another The Lord can take any way any creature any providence any thing to convey himselfe by to the Soule of his Child in a saving way 5 It is not constant Then lastly this sight of God which is the priviledge of the Saints it is not constant for ought I know to any Saint no not under the New Testament much lesse under the Old but the Saints have their desertions in the new Testament God hides his face though not as oft as he did in the old Now let me desire you to lay up these things because they will be necessary when we come to speak of the other doctrine So much concerning the manner how God reveales himself to his children I shall now come to the Uses of this and then way will be made for the other point to shew how this sight of God doth truly kindly and savingly humble us For the Use of this First this shews the happy estate Use 1. The happy estate of a Saint in this world of a Saint in this world that he hath as it were a heaven upon earth because he sees God If thou wouldest consider seriously that there is such a glorious priviledge as this thou wouldest say blessed is the man that hath it and cursed and unhappy is the man that hath it not it is our Saviours word in the beginning of his Sermon Math. 5. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Now purity of heart is not the blessing properly but the seeing of God He that is pure in heart is a blessed man saith Christ for he shall see God So that if thou wilt believe Christ Jesus If thou be a Saint and see God and canst say the Lord hath revealed his glory to my soule in Jesus Christ then oppose that to any miserie that can be in this world Put any miserie that makes a man unhappy in this world in the one scale and that priviledge of seeing God in Christ in the other scale and surely thou wilt see that thou art a blessed and happy man As suppose thou art a poore man a plundred man a persecuted man or a sick man or woman be it what it will if thou canst see God in the face of Jesus Christ if thou wilt believe Christ who is the truth thou art a blessed man a blessed woman Suppose a man were sick and should never see health suppose he were weake and should never see strength suppose he were poore and should never see wealth suppose he were banished and should never see his Countrey or his Friends Nay suppose a man were starke blind and should never see the naturall Sun yet if he have a pure heart he shall see God and if thou wilt believe Christ Jesus thou art a blessed man or woman All the blessednesse in this world put together all that mankind ever enjoyed from the creation is not worthy to be compared with one glance of that sight that a Saint hath thousands of in his life of the glory of God in Jesus Christ We are wont to say that there is this difference The beatifical vision in this life and only this difference betweene heaven and earth that glory differs from grace but only in degrees that glory and grace are the same and that glory is the perfection of grace That is very true I deny it not for we shall be clothed upon with glorie But some conceive that the beatificall vision that blessed sight is not in this world we shall not have it till we come to Heaven It is true we shall not fully and perfectly but it is not true any otherwise then as the part differs from the whole For here even in this world a Saint in some measure hath it he sees God as truly and rightly as ever he shall hereafter in Heaven therefore you may see what it is to be a Saint If God should take a poor Drunkard or Swearer and but shew his Soule as it were through his fingers or through a gold ring one glance of this sight he would never be a Drunkard or Swearer he would never be a Railer and live as a Sott againe all the dayes of his life No it is a glorious condition that a Saint is in Therefore meet God and labour to know his glory in Christ And for shame be not discouraged for every trifle in the world When you heare that wicked men prosper that they have wealth and they see their children before their eyes and their Bull gendereth and their Cow calveth as it is in Job envy not their quality one glance of this blessed sight is worth more then all that ever they had or shall have therefore pitty them Nay if thou wert in prison to night and shouldest dye to morrow the most cruell death that ever was yet if the face of God shine on thee thou art a blessed man it is a glorious condition thou mayest say with David My lot is fallen in a good ground I have a goodly heritage The Lord hath denyed me worldly things wit and wealth and honour and credit but God hath been pleased to bestow this the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Therefore
passe it by Therefore consider what treasure there is in the Gospell there are unsearchable treasures in the Gospell but of all this is the Jewell of all the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ I shall leave other things for the next opportunity SERMON 2. Isaiah 6. 5. For mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts YOu remember the Lesson that God taught us from these words the last day that The Saints have a peculiar priviledge above all others that they can even in this world see God They can see God in Jesus Christ I did open this as farre as I could dive into the scriptures unto you and proved it and made some Uses of it There is somewhat yet remaines of it which I shall indeavour briefly to goe through and then we shall come to the next poynt which is that A right saving sight of God of the glory of God in Jesus Christ is the way to true Gospell humiliation We have made 3. uses of the former point First to shew the priviledge of the Saints that they and they only can see God Secondly that the sight of God should humble the Saints for their sins Thirdly it should teach us to prise the preaching of the word whereby this glorious priviledge is discovered and wherein this excellent treasure is contained There are two things that I shall endeavour this day as the Lord shall help me in this great misterie to make out to you The one is seeing there is such a glorious priviledge to be had and blessed is the man that hath it as I told you Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Purity of heart is the qualification and seeing of God is the reward the highest step of it And seeing there is such a Curse to a man that sees not God how shall we know whether ever we had this priviledge whether God hath vouchsafed to us this peculiar sight of him I have seene the King the Lord of Hosts Then secondly if I have it not what course I shal take to attaine it I shall speak of these two things only this day Concerning the former I need not give you This peculiar fight of God knowne signes or marks to know whether a Drunkard or a Whoremonger or a blind carnall creature that knows nothing of the will of God whether any of these see God But the busines comes to this Seeing there is a Gospell enlightning or illumination seeing there is a kind of sight of God in Christ that an Hypocrite hath and yet it is not the glorious sight that the Saints have the question wil be how we shall know the one from the other And then there will be a light whereby a sinner a carnall man may know his estate that will flow from the other For if wee discover the one it will be easie by that light to discover the other For your information in the former according as I understand by considering of the Scripture and seeking the Lord and searching mine owne heart I shall reduce all to these 3 heads You may know it 3 wayes First by your apprehensions of it Secondly by the impressions that this hath upon you Thirdly by the Expressions or Effects that it workes I shall endeavour to cleare these three things to you First I say by your apprehensions That is by 1 By our apprehension of God which are the manner of your apprehending God in Christ Because that I may speake punctually in the language of the Scriptures though another man may be said to see God and to know God yet he apprehends not God or Christ or any thing that belongs to either in that way and manner that an Elect Saint doth Now there are these 3 things in the apprehensions of a Saint that sees God aright The first is this these apprehensions of him they 1 Cleare apprehensions are cleare apprehensions of him the Hypocrites apprehensions they are darke and doubtfull they are mysty I say the apprehensions of a Saint they are cleare I doe not meane by cleare that they are full For I told you before as the Apostle saith why doe What meant by it we yet hope if we seen that is if wee did fully see Neither doe I meane by cleare that they are alwayes constant that we have them without any doubts or darknesse or mists especially in the old Testament the Saints were many times eclipsed and God hid his face and they were at a losse they knew not where to see him in the morning he was seene and he was gone at night and so for a little moment as it is said he would come and then be gone againe that is not the meaning But when I say they are cleare as it is 2 Cor. 3. We all with open face behold the glory of God With open face that is we doe not see God as a man sees through a handkerchiefe or through a Sieve or through a Skarfe or a Cloud but with open face we see him clearly our apprehensions are cleare that is there is an assurance going Assurance in the Saints apprehensions along with your apprehensions that doth certifie your Soules and assure your soules that it is God that you see it is a sight of God For as in naturall things you know that by the same light whereby I see the Sun by the same light I know that I see him So there is in the very manifestation of God to the soule it carries a witnesse in it self it is so cleare that when I have it though I never had it before and I cannot demonstratively speak a word what it is yet I know as it is Gods sight so I know I see him A Saint knows so surely and certainly as that there is not the least doubt to his soule of that sight As in 1 Cor. 2. which is worth observing you shall find that there is a great mystery that Paul saith that a Saint sees that a carnall naturall man cannot perceive there be the deep things of God and one of them he saith is Christ Jesus for the Pharisees the Princes of the world did not know him they did not know him and the Father to be one as it is Joh. 14 Now in that misticall knowledge in that 1. Cor. 2. observe two things First you shal see that there is a mistery in knowing A misterie in the manner of the Saints knowledge these things Not in the knowing of the things for the matter I told you they are not misticall in the matter for they are nothing but the death of Christ and the power of his resurrection and the like that he calls the deepe things of God that Christ dyed for us c. But the depth is in the manner of the knowing of them they that are Hypocrites know them for the matter they know Christ from top to toe they see him dead and buried and put in the
them no good In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not least the light of the glorious Gospell of Christ who is the image of God should shine upon them How came it to passe that the Gospell that Paul preached did the Soules of the People no more good Paul saith the fault was not in the Gospell the Gospell was pleasing to God however but the God of this world that is the Devill the Devill of Why the Devil is called the God of this world Hell as you call him God calls him the God of this world not because he is absolute and may doe what he will but he is under Gods power and God gives him such a stroake and power as if he were a God in the world he hath so many Subjects and such pollicie and spirits The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not that is they were blind before but he hath made them more blind O consider this thou wert blind before thou didst heare the Gospell but when a man heares the Gospell that Prince of darknesse that is the Devill the God of the world he blinds thy minde more and more he draws a new vaile over thy eyes Why so That the light of the glorious Gospell of Christ who is the image of God should not shine on them He drawes the Curtaine that the Sun may not come on them that the light of the knowledge of God in Christ may not come on them Therefore consider what a Monarch the Devill is and how great the Kingdom of the Devill is in thee And if ever thou come to the light desire God to translate thee into the Kingdome of his deare sonne that Kingdome is all light As far as there is a cleare light in my Soule so far Christ hath his Kingdome in me Then if thou wilt see God thou must labour 4 Purity of heart to be pure in heart as I told you for without holinesse no man shall see God Let a prophane man use all the meanes in the world as long as he is so he shall never see God Lastly thou must looke for the shining of this glorious Sun through the Word and by the spirit It must come through the VVord and expect the Spirit to bring it or else it will never shine upon thy Soule This in few words is the series or order in which God manifests himselfe to his people I will now conclude only with this word It may be thou wilt say I hope I have seene God and I remember the Lord did manifest himself to me but truly it is but a little I will speake but a word to you that have seene Use Those that have seen God should walke holily God I beseech you walk like People that are before God Gods eye is upon you and you have seene him walke uprightly walk not like the people of the world for ye are lyars if you doe if you say that you have seene God and walke in darknesse and walke in sinne you are lyars and there is no truth in you O! walke holily and labour more and more to see God as Paul did he forgate that which was behind and would see more of God more of his glory that is the meaning of that word in Joh. 14. saith Christ to his Disciples for he spake not to wicked People at that time He that hath my Commandements and keepeth them loveth me and he shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my selfe to him Without doubt God had manifested himselfe to these before they were Saints before but he meanes I will manifest my selfe more and more but they must love him and keepe his commandements The meaning is not that you shall finde the Commandements of God and the things of God are as a bottome of Thred that is all shufled together that you can finde no end of it you thinke to have an end and yet you cannot and you thinke to finde a place where to get all grace whereas notwithstanding if you had all the gifts in this world you cannot keepe the Commandements but the meaning is you shall finde in the things of God that God hath made one thing the condition of another if you love God you will keepe his Commandements and if you keepe his Commandements you love God I say God hath made one thing the condition of another to whet us on if you keep my Commandements you love me and if you love me I will manifest my selfe to you So I know by experience though all be by free grace yet the People of God by making one thing the condition of another it hath made their Journey that they have not been weary Though Heaven be the reward of all yet God hath made little baits for us The great reward is He that holds out to the end shall be saved but that is a great way off and we are weake and cannot see a farre off therefore God hath made little baits and little rewards He that loves me I will manifest my selfe to him A weake Saint may doe that so that is the meaning though God doth all by his free grace yet God doth use meanes to get us on Therefore that God may manifest himselfe more and more to thee labour to keepe his commandements labour to be more holy this weeke then the last Add to faith virtue to virtue patience to patience temperance c. God teacheth us as we teach our Children one letter after another add such a grace and such a grace If these things be in you and abound ye shall not be barren and unfruitfull but shall be able to see a farre off What a farre off Things that are farre off are hardly seene and of all things the glory of God in Christ is the hardest Now if you add one grace to another by the assistance of God and endeavouring to keepe his Commandements and to walke in your callings as you are Husband or VVife or Master or Servant or Tradesman c. if you endeavour to do that which is pleasing in Gods eye God will reveale himselfe more and more clearly and fully to your soules SERMON 4. Isaiah 6. 5. For mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts TWo lessons I observed from these words The first was that Every true Saint hath a peculiar sight of God even in this VVorld Secondly that A true saving sight of God is the way to true Humiliation Concerning the first I opened it and proved it to you and have already made severall uses of it The last use was to examine your selves whether God have bestowed this priviledge upon you or no. And that I shewed you is to be known By your apprehensions of it By the impressions it hath on you By the expressions of it as it shewes it selfe in your lives I have but two words of uses farther of that Doctrine and so I
while thou livest and to let Christ be wisedome in thee that thou wouldest be a poore infirme fraile creature and let Christ Jesus be thy righteousnesse that thou art content to walke in raggs and let Christ be thy riches This is one thing In that place Rom. 10. 3. It was the pride of the Jews that kept them from salvation by the righteousnesse of the Gospell they would not submit to the righteousnesse of God they were a proud people So that is it that keeps many a soule that hears the word it is that that keepes you weake What it is that keepes men in inward trouble and full of woe and sorrow all your dayes You thinke it is the want of this grace and the want of that grace and other things but it is nothing but your owne stubborne heart that you will not submit to the righteousnesse of Christ You would have this grace and that grace that is you would fill up every corner of your owne shop and you would amend your owne trading but you would not shut up shop and be journey-men as I may speake with reverence to Jesus Christ That is one thing Then againe the second particular I have to demonstrate 2. To take the righteousnes of Christ on his bare word that whether you be humbled or no is this whether the Lord have brought you to be content to take the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ upon his owne bare and naked word Whether now you can say there is Jesus Christ full of righteousnesse for me and my own righteousnesse is full of raggs What evidence have you for it Here is a word Jesus Christ is come to dye for sinners I find nothing in me but here is a bare word and hereupon I am content to take his righteousnesse and throw away mine owne I doe not say but that a good Christian may Christians may make use of signes make good use of signes and marks even in earthly things Christians see the love of God by temporall outward things for God useth what Pipes he pleaseth to convey his love But the question is in matter of believing whether I should not throw away my owne righteousnesse and wholly believe in Jesus Christs righteousnesse before I see any grace or any signe A humble heart can doe it and is content that marks should come after he believes after I believe God will sanctifie me and worke grace and then I shall see his love more But the first bargain betweene God and me is his bare word therefore that Rom. 10. is glorious and cleare and comfortable The Apostle lays downe the difference betweene salvation by the Law and by faith saith he the Righteousnesse of the Law speaketh on this wise The man that doth these things shall live by them but the righteousnesse which is of Faith speaketh on this wise say not in thy heart who shall ascend into Heaven or who shall descend into the Deepe but he that believeth shall be saved Marke it this is the straine and streame and language of the Gospell that is salvation by Jesus Christ and whosoever believeth on that salvation shall not be ashamed he shall be sure of it But how shall we come to believe and to be sure of this salvation Say not in thy heart who shall goe up to heaven or who shall descend into the deep but what saith it the word is nigh thee that is God hath given a word and he will give a spirit of faith with it and there are but two words to the bargaine there is the spirit in thee and the word without thee and this is the righteousnesse of God the righteousnesse of faith saith so Say not who shall goe up to heaven or downe to the earth For the eyes of a fool are scattered about the world And when men come to believe in Christ they aske who shall ascend into Heaven how shall I come to know that I am a Saint and that I am predestinated The Lord would have us believe the word that Christ Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am chiefe Here is a word if the heart now could apply this by the spirit of faith That is another thing I would have you thinke on Your ordinary Professors most of them they Why ordinary professors want assurance have not assurance of salvation why They cannot believe Why so because they finde so many corruptions in them and they finde so many graces wanting and they have ill memories and hard hearts and if it were not for these things they could believe What is the meaning of it It is as if they should say I will never trust God in the righteousnesse of the Gospell upon his bare word God will have us trust him ere he will trust us we must take God upon his word God wil bring every child of his to this to take his salvation upon a bare word and he will blesse his name for it I have but one soule and if I had a thousand I would venture them all upon his word and say there my soule lyes sinck or swim or goe to heaven or hell here is the word that Christ came to save sinners of whom I am chiefe Now if there be pride in the heart it will not come and rest on a bare word The Lord make you understand these things that they may not be lost Thirdly a humble heart will be content not only 3. With a generall word with a bare word but with the least word and the most generall word A proud heart will not be content unlesse he hath a perticular word For my part I may mistake but I will tell you my opinion that those men how Christ dyed not for all ever otherwise they be godly some of them that doe hold that Christ did dye for all men and that he came to save Judas as well as Peter If Christ came to save all and yet many shall goe to Hell how come they to be saved It is a proud thought in the heart that would teach God how to speake and how to make promises and we poore wretched damnable creatures must shew him what language he shall speake in whereas now a humble heart will take the least and most generall word and thanke God as we see in the woman of Canaan Christ gives her never a word a great while but frownes and then he gives her a terrible word and bids her goe he calls her Dogg why that was something a Dogg hath some priviledge he hath the crums that fall from the Table he looks for outward mercies and therefore in that he calls me Dogg I have so much of that word that I will follow him for the crums Saith Christ to her O Woman great is thy faith be it unto thee as thou wilt So Benhadads servants when they came with Halters about their necks saith the King Is my brother Benhadad alive that was a comfortable word they harpt upon
not willing to tell him being but a child he knew by his countenance it was not good tydings yet saith he I pray thee hide not from me what God hath told thee God doe so to thee and more also if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee O Blessed man he was willing to know it though it were a sore message that the Lord would take away the Preisthood and he should breake his neck and his Sons should be slaine in the Warrs So Cornelius Act. 10. 33. When Peter came to preach Wee are here all in the presence of God to heare all things that shall be commanded us of God We are not here that we may please our owne humours and suit our owne lusts but to heare all let it be rough or smooth with us or against us we are here to heare all that the Lord will say Canst thou say so when thou commest before the Lord and hearest the Word I am here to heare all the Lord will say Beloved I wish it were so but I seare that of all the People in England there are many in this Cittie that it may be are good People abundance of them and yet we are willing to learne nothing in the world but what we like and we crumble the bread of our salvation as children doe their bread and butter who eate one bit themselves and throw the rest to the dogs So many proud carnall sprits take a part of the word and they say that was a good note of Master such a ones and such a ones and so you call mens words and that was a good doctrine and pick out this and that and goe and tell it I never saw nor I thinke never any under the Cope of Heaven such spirits that doe so basly mince the Word of God and crumble it and take one piece and throw two away Therefore looke to that an honest heart will heare all that the Lord will say and be glad too that is one thing A second thing is this a proud carnall heart 2. A proud heart makes cavils against the truth that is not truly humbled it will appeare by this that if he cannot choose but know the truths of God as many times he cannot but he must know it if he live under the word God will make some men know it whether they will or no then the next worke of a proud heart will be to raise up cavils against the word and to make Pleas against the truth of God and arguments as much as may be when it comes in unto him Just as one man saith as we doe with a common enemy it we can we will keep him out of the country and it is safest to doe so So he will keepe out the truth if he can but if the truth come and he begin to see it and sees that it is the will of God then his next course is to levy forces to raise armes and thinks to put it out he thinks to put out the light that God hath put into his soule 2 â—â—m 3. 8. Men of corrupt minds men of rotten minds that like Jannes and Jambres resist the truth There is no mention of Jannes and â—ambres in the Old Testament but it is generally thought by learned men that the meaning is this When Moses came to Pharaoh at any time to speake of the things of God and of the will of God and that the People of Israell must goe free and he did worke miracles and that light came to Pharaoh to convince him presently he sent for Jannes and Jambres that were Southsayers and made them help him get arguments against Moses and they would argue like Moses to keep out the truth So carnall People when light comes into the soule and they cannot resist it this is their ordinary course to goe to their carnall neighbours like themselves or to a carnall Priest or Minister if they have any and get as many arguments as they can and then they will say the other was a Phancie it is not right it will not hold and so never leave till they get it out of their coasts as the Gadarens dealt with Christ Thirdly and lastly if he cannot doe this if he 3. A proud heart will shift off Gods truths cannot beat it out by violence he will endeavour to escape the edge of the toole by some shift he will use his wits and goe to pollicy and see if by any shift he can escape the power of the truth If he cannot beat it off he will labour to escape the power and the edge of it As a man that is in debt that is under an execution or an outlarie if he can he will keep far enough from the Sergeants and if they come he will shut his doore and keepe them off or if they come to take him he will throw them off But if they say if you stirre we will knock you down or kill you then he will say why I meane to pay and such a man knows it and he will give them faire words that so he may avoid the power and authority of the Law from comming upon him So carnall men desire to be ignorant of those truths that all their life time are contrary to them and if truths come in upon them they consult with all their carnall Neighbours and friends to get it out and if all will not doe then they goe to their shifts As for instance suppose a truth should come upon one of your soules that thou that art a drunkard or a whoremonger c. unlesse thou be borne againe thou shalt never enter into heaven and this truth hath seized on thee and God hath set it on thy soule that a man cannot get it out and then he goes to his shifts he saith it is true I must be borne againe or else I shall be damned but saith he I hope I was borne againe in baptisme and I hope that was a washing away of my sins And so put it on another it may be this truth comes into his soule that every man that lives in any knowne sinne shall be cast out of the Kingdome of God and of Christ 1 Cor. 6. Know ye not that neither Drunkards nor Swearers nor revilers nor extortiouers shall inherit the Kingdome of God and of Christ Suppose God set this truth home to thy soule It is true saith the man but I hope God hath given me repentance for it and all is well He hopes God hath given him repentance and he goes on in sinne then God comes and tells him that if he had repented he would leave his sinns and amend his course then saith he I hope I shall repent hereafter I shall repent sometime or other though I do not now If God tell him againe the day of salvation will be past and the doore will be shut and repentance will come too late then he shifts it off and saith I hope
I doe repent with all my heart and with all my soule But if God say if you did repent then you would leave all your sins He will say good Lord is there any man in the world without sinne and so it is endlesse the shifts and tricks and quillets whereby a man when he is Arrested by the truth all his life would avoyd the edge and power of the truth Now let us come to our owne soules you and I and see how it is with us in respect of all the blessed truths of God that are in this booke Are you willing and desirous to know them though they bring persecution And when a truth hath come that hath been crosse to you have you not taken Armes against it or contended with it as the Scripture speaks of those that obey not the truth but strive against it It is not said those that contend with their Neighbours but those that contend with the truth And so have you not used shifts What a world of endlesse shifts have men against plaine truthes There is no Drunkard nor Swearer but he knows that if he live in that sinne he shall be damned and he cannot deny but that he is a Drunkard or a Swearer or it may be a Whoremonger and yet you may talke with him two or three houres and he will goe from this to that and he hopes this and that and you shall never have him let the edge of truth come to him Thirdly and lastly and so I have done I have shewed you how you may know you are humbled by your carriage and deportment of your soules in respect of Gods justifying grace And secondly how to consider of your constant temper and carriage of your soules to the truths of God to the will of God revealed to you 3. By our carriage to Gods commands Now thirdly consider the carriage of your souls in respect of the injunctions or commands of God that are layd upon you the nature and property of a heart truly humbled by seeing of God in Jesus Christ is this to be willing to obey God in any thing that God layes upon him just as we see it was with Paul Acts 9. When he was humbled by seeing of God he cryes out saith he Lord what wilt thou have me to doe As if he had sayd I could have indented with thee formerly whether I should doe this or that and I would doe what I please and when I pleased but now Lord What wilt thou have me to doe Whatsoever it is it shall be all one only shew me what it is and I will obey it And then he bids him goe and have his eyes opened and then he must Preach and then he must be Persecuted and then he must goe into a Ship and be carried a Prisoner a great way by sea and there Souldiers were like to kill him and then the ship must be split and yet Paul was content Lord what wilt thou have me to doe he followed God in every thing so in Luke 3. 10. 11. When John Baptist did come and teach the will of God the people they cried What shall we doe and the Publicans VVhat shall we doe and the Souldiers and what shall we doe This is the disposition of a heart that is humbled he desires to know what the will and what the command of God is and he yeilds obedience to it Now on the other side it is not so with carnall Proud hearts disobey Gods commands proud people they are like those in Psal 12. 4. Our tongues are our owne we ought to speake what Lord shall controll us We will speake what we list and doe what we please we will goe our owne wayes and doe that which is right in our owne eyes As they say in Jer. 2 31. We are Lords and we will come no more unto thee We are Lords and we will goe our owne wayes Beloved every carnall man in the World though he think there is a God yet he thinks he was borne and brought into the World to doe his owne will and to please himselfe therefore as far as the will of God suits to that he will doe it but otherwise that is the maine streame of his life to doe his owne will Now as I told you in the former so in this there are three tempers in the heart of a carnall man concerning Gods commands that are contrary to the temper and posture of a gratious heart that is truely humbled The first thing that we finde in the word and by 1. A proud heart soone weary of Gods commands experience is That when the Lord lays a command upon a man that is not truely humbled it may be he doth not resist presently but he will be soon wearie and tyred and that is a base thing he will be jaded under it It may be at the first he will not fight against it as some do but he wil soon be jaded he will soon be tired There is many a man and many a woman that have taken pleasure in the will of God and in the commands of God in former time and have gloryed and rejoyced in it but now they begin to be wearie and to be jaded like tyred horses they are past their best they have no heart to it I feare it is so with too many of you Like the people in Mal. 1. 13. The Lord bids them to offer sacrifice and they say Behold what a wearinesse it is and they snuffed at it and they brought that which was torne and lame and sick So you need not wonder that God hath a quarrell with you when you say what a wearinesse is it to serve him what a wearinesse and tedious thing it is to hear the Preacher thus all day long and to be praying and hearing all the week what an endlesse thing it is to begin again to morrow and next day and every day and you snuffe at it and you are ready to loath it This is the disposition of a heart that God hath not truely humbled that hath never seen the face of God in Jesus Christ Looke in Rom. 1. The people that God layd those spirituall judgements upon to give them up to all uncleannesse to commit filthinesse man with man what was the reason of all this One was because when they knew God they did not glorifie him as God they had some knowledge but they did not improve it Another was they did resist the truth they did levie forces against it and they liked not to retaine the knowledge of God They had a little knowledge of God and that galled them because their practice was contrary therefore they liked not to retaine that knowledge they had no liking to keep that little knowledge of God they wished as Calvin sayth every wicked man in the World wisheth that he were wholly Ignorant of God for his knowledge doth but onely imhitter him and trouble him in his way That is the first thing
you and I have asked had we been in their condition O that God would deliver us that he would shew us an Iland where we might never be troubled more many of us would have done this out of weaknesse but what doe they doe Vers 29. And now Lord behold their threatnings And what then They doe not say Lord deliver us from their threatnings But grant unto thy servants that with all boldnesse they may speak thy word By stretching forth thine hand to heale and that signes and wonders may be done by the name of the holy child Jesus Lord say they thou hearest their threatnings and we feare that our base hearts will be fearfull and so we shall be loath to Preach the Gospell of Christ and to doe signes and wonders as thou hast commanded therefore good Lord give us boldnesse This is the carriage of an honest holy heart So you have it of Paul ordinarily in Phil. 1. 13. There he was in bonds And in Vers 19. He doth implicitly desire the Prayers of the People for him VVhat to doe For I know sayth he that this shall turne to my Salvation through your prayers and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all holdnesse as alwayes so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death I doe not pray you Phillippians that you would pray that God would bind the hands of Nero that he may not put me to death or that he would open the Prison gates to let me out but I pray that in nothing I may be ashamed but that with all boldnesse as alway so now Christ may be magnified in my body I care not whether it be by life or by death so God may be glorified that if I live I may doe good there and if I die I may die as a Saint and a Christian So in Ephes 6. 18. I beseech you sayth he give your selves much to prayer above all things and pray for me VVhat to doe That utterance may be given me that I may open my mouth boldly to make knowne the Mysteries of the Gospell for which I am an Ambassador in bonds that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak He was in bonds and he desires them not once to pray that God would break his bonds O but pray that I may open my mouth boldly I find feare comes upon me many times feare of Cesar and feare of the Sword and feare of putting me to death therefore Pray that I may open my mouth boldly This is the carriage of a heart that is truly humbled Another a Seaventh thing is this a humble 7. A humble heart more carefull of benefit then comfort in afflictions heart he is alway more carefull to reape benefit from afflictions then to fetch comfort to himselfe in afflictions A proud heart is altogether for comfort he will doe any thing for comfort As Saul he will goe to the VVitch if need be for to fetch comfort but he studies not how to pertake of Gods holinesse by his afflictions Eightly to draw to a conclusion a humble 8. He neglects not Gods commands in afflictions heart doth not remit one jot of his obedience to the commands of God notwithstanding all his afflictions Proud dogged spirits I have oft observed it in my selfe and others there are some hearts that will not serve God and take paines for him otherwise then when the Lord dandleth them and cockers them and feeds them with white bread and if he doe not they will give over their callings and sit mopeing in their Closets there are diverse VVomen and other Professors that will sit mopeing in their Chambers a whole week together and why Because God hath laid such afflictions upon their spirits they will doe nothing for God all the businesse of their generall and particular callings must lie at six and seavens they will doe nothing for God when his hand is on them Now a humble heart as Job said in another case Though he kill me yet will I trust in him So sayth a humble heart let him kill me yet I will obey him I believe that he loves me there is a designe of a great reach in it there is the glory of God and the wisdome of God and the greatnesse of God in it Let him doe his work let him doe what he will and by Gods helpe I will doe my work in my generall and particular calling notwithstanding all the task that he layes on me I will not abate any thing of the obedience I am to bring in Another thing is this a humble heart alway 9. Hee sticks close to the Covenant in afflictions sticks closer to the Covenant of God in affliction then otherwise and the more the Lord will afflict him the more he will stir up his soul as Isaiah sayth to lay hold upon the Covenant As a loving child the more you whipp him the more he will endeavour in love to close with you and cling to you and catch the rod in a reverent manner in a loving way so a humble heart will get to God in affliction and lay hold upon him And this was the fault as Isay sayth of that people Isa 64. VVhen the Lord had layd his hand on them and suffered others to be Lords over them Sayth he V. 7. There is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of thee for thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities Here was a great affliction on them they were consumed and God had hid his face yet there was none that did stir up himselfe to lay hold on God out of the pride of their owne hearts A proud heart alwayes goes from God in affliction As we see Judas he went not to God but to the halter and Caine he went to the Land of Nod when God was angrie he went to buyld Townes he did not goe to God and lay hold upon the Covenant so Saul he goes to Endor to the VVitch in stead of going to God and laying better hold of the Covenant So a proud heart departs from God and growes further off and looser from God whereas alway in afflictions a humble heart sticks closer to God and gets better hold of his blessed covenant Another thing is this that in afflictions a humble 10. A humble heart apt to pray in afflictions heart desires in nothing to be troubled but in every thing to make his requests knowne with thanksgiving and that implies two things First he doth not restrayne prayer as Jobâ— 1. To make requests friends sayd to him Thou art a wicked man for thou restraynest prayer before God in thy afflictions And indeed if they had sayd true of Job he had been so he had been proud at the least proud people they will not
call upon God ordinarily in afflictions and troubles Secondly it implies thankfullnesse In Phil. 4. 2. To give thankes Make your requests known with thankfullnesse A humble heart will alwayes pray and it will in the greatest affliction be praysing God why so Because a humble heart in the greatest affliction can spie somthing to prayse God for as well as to 〈◊〉 for that he wants Therefore sayth James If any be afflicted let him pray Sometimes a Saint is so afflicted that he can doe nothing else but pray and he is never better fitted to pray then when he is most afflicted Then lastly you shall discerne it by this that 11. Hee is not weary of waiting on God in his afflictions he will never be wearie of waiting upon the Lord till he have remooved it It is the pride of our hearts that makes us that we doe not wait on the Lord as the Prophet Habakkuk sayth His heart that is lifted up is not right in him but the just shall live by his faith In 2 Kings 6. 33. This evill is from the Lord sayth that wicked man VVhat should I wait on the Lord any longer A proud heart God must come in at his time and when he calls or else he will stay no longer but will be wearie As a godly man sayth what art thou that thou wilt not wait for God VVhy doest thou take such state upon thee Who shall waite God or thou Should the King waite upon the Subject or the Subject upon the King should the Master waite upon the Servant or the Servant upon the Master should the Judg wait on the Traytor or the Traytor on the Judg Such a one a humble heart sees himselfe to be he is a Servant and a Traytor if God should take him at the worst Therefore he blesseth God that he may waite for mercie O sayth he there are many thousands in Hell that shall waite for ever expecting more wrath and more flames of fire World without end and may not I blesse God that I have a little mercy though I have many sorrowes and that I may waite on the God of mercy for more mercies I will waite upon the Lord. Thus breifly I have poynted out the carriage of a soule that God hath humbled by a saving sight of himselfe in Jesus Christ I say his carriage in afflictions There is another word to shew you his carriage under the mercies of God but I cannot speake of it now without passing my owne strength and yours SERMON 7. Isaiah 6. 5. For mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts YOU remember the last doctrine that we had from these words that A true and saving sight of God in Jesus Christ is a principall meanes to humble a soule This I did open and proove fully to you out of the Scriptures And so as God led us we went along And came in the last place to examine our selves for that we were upon whether the Lord had truely humbled us by discovering himselfe to us For there is no soul that is truly humbled but he that hath seen God in Christ I speak not as I told you of a day of humiliation or of the dutie of humiliation or of a preparatory humiliation but of the Gospel grace of humiliation of that frame of heart that is or ought to be in a Saint at all times For the discovery of it I told you we should find much of it First by our carriage towards God Secondly by our carriage towards man Towards God I told you first in respect of his righteousnesse And indeed therein cheifly is discovered the pride of our hearts or the humility of our hearts by our receiving or not receiving the righteousnesse of God by faith Secondly by our carriage to the truths of God therein we may see how much of this grace God hath bestowed upon us Thirdly by the commands of God Fourthly and lastly by the corrections of God And therein I shewed you what the posture of the heart of a Christian is that is truly and savingly humbled by his carriage in afflictions For if there be pride in the soule usually affliction will bring it out I shall not repeat any thing but goe on a little further to that which remaines There is one thing more and but one thing 5. A humble hearts carriage towards God for mercies that I shall speake of in respect of our carriage towards God wherein you shall discover how much God hath given you of this grace and that is by your carriage towards God in the way of his mercies Truly mercies and afflictions are much like Summer and winter and sometimes our sicknesse will breake out in Winter that is concealed in Summer and sometimes it is discovered in Summer that is hid in Winter So in some soules the evills of the heart will breake out in afflictions more then in mercies and in some it is more discovered in a state of prosperitie in a way of mercie then in the way of afflictions As on the other side in some soules grace is more cleare and shining in afflictions then in prosperitie and truely I think that in some soules grace will shine more in the way of mercy And if God will come and have mercie upon poore England my hope is and it is my prayer and request to God that we may discover more godlinesse and more grace then in all this time We have discovered a great deale of pettishnesse and frowardnesse and pride and ambition and covetousnesse and cruelty and rashnesse but I hope there being diverse Saints among us that God will give us another frame of heart if he have mercy on us and turne away his wrath But that by the by But I was saying that the pride of the heart and other corruptions also are Corruptions discovered by Gods mercies sometimes discovered in a way of mercie that are not discovered in a way of affliction I will give you but one Scripture for it in Hosea 7. 1. VVhen I would have healed Israel then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered and the wickednesse of Samaria for they commit falshood c. Ephraim and Israel are two names almost of the same thing though Ephraim were but one tribe yet because it was a great tribe as York is a great Countie in England all Israell is often called by the name of Ephraim Now when God would heale Ephraim or Israell then their iniquity appeared So it is to be feared that if God come to heal England as he seemeth to smile on us sometimes and according to that word in Acts 7. Where he sayth I have seen I have seen the afflictions of my people in Aegypt So I hope God hath seen how the bread is done and the provision is gone and the people are ready to goe away themselves by reason of their miseries I hope God hath seen and will put an end to our miseries and I much feare that when mercie comes
with those that are in the light and not in darknesse I may and ought to love sinners so as to doe them all the good I can but not so as to make him my husband or her my wife And so there ought to be a care in the choyce of servants Not that it is utterly unlawfull there are but a Few things unlawfull few things that are unlawfull under the Gospell though some there are But I meane for servants though it may be lawfull yet it is very unnecessarie to have too near union with carnall men especially in spirituall things besides the unfaithfulnesse that may be found But especially take heed of having any thing to 4. Not to comply with sinners in sin doe with them in any of the works of darknesse If a sinner be excercised in a dutie that is naturall I may goe a long with him and joyne with him or if it be as I said in a winning Ordinance but I must take heed of joyning with him in any thing that is sinful as you have it set downe by the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. 17. 18. VVherefore come out from among them and be yee seperate sayth the Lord and touch not the uncleane thing and I will receive you And I will be a father unto you and yee shall be my sons and daughters sayth the Lord Almightie That place is mistaken by some who take it as if the Apostle meant that we should so come out from sinners as to have no manner of communion or fellowship with them We know the Apostle elsewhere teacheth us to shew all meeknesse to all men as I told you before And why doth he doe so I shall speake a few words of that and so have done for this time How is it possible that a Saint that is a New-testament Quest Saint that hath so much holinesse required of him that he should in any kind be a companion of sinners as the Scripture sayth our Saviour Christ was whence is it that he should carrie himselfe thus withall meeknesse towards them Truly there are these foure reasons for it there Answ Why Saints should bee meek to sinners are foure lessons written in the heart of an humble Saint that teach him to doe this First when he looks upon another that is a sinner he considereth that he hath been worse then 1. A Saint considers what he once was he whosoever he is Thinks he whosoever he is that is yonder that is a wretched man that even the boyes in the streets are ready to shout at and throw stones at yet I have been worse then he Beloved it is a strange thing that Paul should say that he was blamelesse for holinesse such as it was and yet that he should say after I am the worst of sinners the cheife of sinners Truly one cannot say I have been in every particular act as bad or worse then any other but yet in some sence or other in some respect or other any man may say he is the cheife of sinners Paul sayd so in regard of his persecution of the Church and though otherwise he was honest and better then most other men yet there he accounted himselfe the worst of sinners That is one thing that makes a Saint to be mild and affable in his carriage to sinners because he hath been as bad or worse then they And Secondly in some respect a humble heart 2. He thinks himselfe as bad still he thinks himselfe to be worse still Truly I will tell you a lesson that it may be is a mysterie to some of you Take the most glorious Saints that are and they will tell you that all the good that is in them it is rather passive then active that is he will say I am carried on by God meerly and by his spirit it is God that doth it I know not how nor why So that though God doth work much good in them yet they see themselves passive and not active and they can say it is God that doth it and not they And therefore when they look upon themselves in some respects they can put themselves below even the worst of sinners the vilest of sinners And so we see Paul in that place 1 Tim. 1. I am the cheife of sinners sayth he and yet to me was more mercie shewed then to all men that I might be a patterne of Gods mercie to all men therefore I have received more mercie and more riches of grace then any man And so a Saint may say I have had more mercies then that man but I was passive in it and if God did worke upon that man but halfe that which he hath done on me he would have been far better then I am Thirdly he thinks though there be a difference 3. He knowes God makes him to differ yet it is god that hath made it and not any thing in himselfe 4. The worst sinner may come to be as good as he Fourthly and lastly he considereth that the vilest sinner may be in Gods good time better then he Remember these foure rules that a humble heart hath to bring himselfe to be affable and meeke in his carriage to poore sinners And therefore you shall see in Mat. 19. Compared with Mark 10. VVhen the young man came to Christ that was rich and Christ bids him goe sell all and give to the poore he would not doe it but went away sorrowfull the Disciples came to Christ crying out as it were and insulting over him and say they Master we have left all and followed thee what shall we have As if they had sayd we see that yonder man is not so good as we he would not part with his riches but we have left all we have left our fathers and our mothers and our boates and our fishing and our nets and all and therefore we hope we shall have a good reward What sayth our Lord to them Many that are last shall be first and those that are first shall be last What is the meaning of that It is as if he had sayd you should rather have reasoned thus yonder is a man that is gone away for the present yet he may be in the Kingdome of God before me for ought I know he is now last but he may be first And indeed Beloved I doubt not but that there is many a poore sinner that now follows the ale-house and drinking and swearing and whoreing that yet may be in Heaven before thee and me The Apostle Peter wisheth Christians to walke honestly before all men to Let their light shine before sinners that they may glorifie God in the day of their visitation Remember that word what is the meaning of that That they may glorifie God in the day of their visitation Why thus we should conceive of every sinner that there is a day of visitation appoynted by the Lord for him not only Day of visitation what the generall day of Gods mercies towards
all sinners but there is some speciall time when God will make at his heart there is a time there is one day of peculiar grace that God hath reserved almost for every sinner which is called the day of his visitation Why now a poore humble hearted Saint thinks thus yonder is a man is now jeering of the people of God he is an enemie to all holinesse and sayth he yonder man his day of visitation is not yet come but then he will blesse God in that day and say O blessed be the Lord that sent me such a friend or such a neighbour he would oft come to call upon me to goe to Sermons and I did curse him when he intreated me to goe I would stay at home and drinke and sweare but now I remember his prayers and his instructions that I did then jeere at but now they are precious to my soul And therefore thinks a poore humbled Saint why is it that I am better then the worst sinner It is because God hath sent me the day of visitation before him When God shall send his day of visitation to him I have reason to think that he may be in the Kingdome of heaven before me and therefore let me be meeke and affable towards him Beloved that stir and rigour and ridgidnesse in Ridgidnesse to sinners ariseth from pride professors towards poore sinners it ariseth only from the pride of their hearts Now I say if thou have seene God in Jesus Christ thou shalt know it by thy humble carriage towards sinners There is but one thing more and so I shall have done with this text and that is how a heart that is rightly humbled by seeing of God in Jesus Christ doth carrie and behave it selfe towards other Saints But that I must leave to another opportunity SERMON 9. Isaiah 6. 5. For mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts THE last lesson that God taught us from these words you know was this that A saving sight of God in Christ is the principall meanes of the humiliation of the soule The last Use we were upon was of examination to know whether the Lord hath given us this grace or no. For the clearing of that I told you that we may know much of it by our carriage and demeanour First towards God Secondly towards man Concerning our carriage towards God I instanced in five perticulars which I shall not now repeat Secondly we may know it by our carriage towards men which is the last thing and so I shall finish what I have to say on these words I began to speake of this the last time I told you that men are of two sorts eyther Saints or sinners according to the Scripture language not according to the cursed language of these times that denominate men from every opinion and call them Seekers and Presbiterians and Anabaptists and Independents I know not what cursed languages but I say all men are eyther Saints or Sinners thou art eyther a Saint or a Sinner Christ hath but two names for men here and will have but two hands when he comes to judge his right hand and his left hand and there are but two places after judgement Heaven and Hell So by our carriage towards Saints and Sinners we may know whether we have this grace of humiliation or no. Of our carriage to sinners I spake somwhat the last time I shall now proceed to the last thing of all that is our carriage and demeanour to the Saints and therein because we are now upon examination I beseech you in a speciall manner to have an eye upon your hearts while I am speaking that God may make this as a lookinglasse to some proud souls that they may thereby see how it is with them I shall therefore endeavour to open this to you as I did the former Now I say thou mayest know if thy heart be humbled by the spirit of Christ in Quest Answ The carriage of a humble heart towards Saints the Gospell by thy carriage towards the Saints You will say how is that It will appeare these wayes First if thou be rightly humbled thou doest usually conceive thy selfe and thou art willing that 1. He thinks himselfe the least of Saints all men should so conceive of thee to be the least of Saints I pray thee remember that I say thou doest usually reflect upon thy selfe and doest conceive of thy selfe and art willing to be so conceived of and accounted of by others as the least of all Saints I will give you but a Scripture or two for it 1 Cor. 15. Paul you know was a glorious Saint and truly in many things as far as we may have leave to judg more glorious then any of the Apostles yet sayth he speaking of those that had seen our Lord meaning the Apostles He was seene of James and of Cephas c. And last of all he was seen of me as one borne out of due time for I am the least of all the Apostles and am not worthy to be called an Apostle The Greek word signifies a child that is borne dead or as it were into the World before the time We say somtimes of a child when it is borne there is the least child that ever was borne alive but yet it was borne alive and in season but an abortive is a child that is borne by miscarriage that is borne dead it is lesse then the least child and lesse esteemed Job sayth O that I had been an abortive that my mother had buried me in secret Paul could not compare himselfe to the least Saint but as it were to an abortive to a thing not worth the mentioning among the living I am an abortive sayth he not because of the time that I did come after them though it be true that Paul was made an Apostle after the rest but sayth he I am the least of all Saints this was the reason Take but one place more Ephes 3. 8. Unto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ To me that am lesse then the least The meaning of it is for in the Greek language in which the Apostles wrote they have six degrees of comparison now in English and in some other tongues there are but three as we say good better and best of all we goe no further a thing is little and lesse and least of all But they double it again and they say little and lesse and least and a thing lesse then the least and more little and lesse then the least of all Paul chose to goe to the lowest pin lesse then the least Saint Minor minimo lesse then the least As if he had sayd suppose we gather together all the tottered broken professors in the World that walke dishonourably to God the blind and the lame as it were that doe least resemble him yet let them
brother doth good and I strive and cannot doe so much as he therfore I am discouraged and will doe none at all that is emulation Emulation is taken in a good sence sometimes to do good before another but not to be discouraged because another can doe more good A Ninth thing is there is a constant sweetnesse 9. There is a sweetnesse in his heart to all Saints in the soul towards all the Saints where there is a humble heart I cannot expresse this sweetnesse but a little by the contrary 2 Cor. 12. 20. sayth the Apostle I am afraid when I come among you I shall find this and this among the rest he names swellings Now a swelling a boile or a plague sore where a swelling or any tumour is there is continuall aches and stitches and prickings and uneasinesse and the partie cannot sleep or wag or stir but is ankward and unquiet in his body So it is in the soul where there is pride there is swellings it is puffed up and blowne as a bladder And where there are swellings in the heart so much swelling so much uneasinesse and unquyet The Lord humble thee and me for it there are in our hearts stitches and aches many times towards this and that Saint I am unquyet I find fault with this and that and the other man I wrangle with him and I think the fault is in him but the swelling is in mine owne heart for we finde by experience if the Lord prick that bladder and let downe that swelling the heart will be sweet as a nut and looke on all Saints with joy Whereas take a proud professor put him into what assemblie of Saints you will he is alway jangling and wrangling there is a swelling and plague sore and prickings in the heart in Ephes 4. It is called bitternesse The Apostle may allude to a feaver when people are in a feaver there is a bitternesse on the tongue the man can take nothing in while he is in that disposition he is angrie with every thing his wife and his children cannot speake to him VVhat is the reason Not because his wife is not a loving wife and his children good children but there is a bitter humour on his tongue and the disease puts him into that aukardnesse So where there is pride in the heart there is bitternesse to the Saints we are mooved with this Saint and displeased with that and fall out with the other and we are well no where we like no way in Gods Kingdome but the reason is there is a bitternesse on thy tongue and there is a swelling in thee Therefore a humble heart hath the gallantest life of any man in the World it is full of sweetnesse there is no bitternesse nor swelling but it is alway filled with love and joy when he sees the least Saint notwithstanding all his owne graces In the Tenth place as he is not easily offended 10. He is carefull not to offend other Saints with others for I might speake much of that so he is carefull of avoyding the least offence to others Indeed a humble heart you cannot easily provoke him A hand that is full of swellings if you touch it you provoke it and make it burne or else if it be whole you cannot easily chafe and distemper it And he is very carefull also of avoyding just offence to others and therefore he doth these two things First he will if need be abate much of his light 1 In abating of his own light in his practice for offence sake There is a lesson for these times It may be some doe thus but not the Generalitie of these times Pray Evodiach and beseech Syntiche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. A humble heart will abate of his light and knowledge Paul knew many things that he did not preach nor practise We have men that say this is my light let all the World say as they will this is my light and I must contend for the faith O this is contending for corruption when there is not respect to all the Saints and a doing of our utmost to avoid offence And Secondly when he must practice any thing 2. He is sorry that he must do that which offends them that offends them there is a kind of sorrow at his heart unspeakable sorrow that he must doe any thing that shall give them offence I mean the doing of good things and his conscience foreeth him to it but he is sorry for it that he must doe them A proud heart is glad and joyfull of any new nik or notion whereby he may provoke the Saints I know diverse such that live upon found conceits as Taylors invent new fashions and though they provoke the generalitie of other Saints yet it must out every weeke or fortnight it is not so with a humble heart he will see two steps before he will tread one as we say in VVales and when he sees it and must goe a step that crosseth the light and spirit of the Saints it makes his heart ake though he must obey God The Eleaventh is this a humble heart in his demeanour 11. He is gentle to other Saints in their infirmities to the Saints is very gentle towards the Saints in their Infirmities and falls Gall. 5. 1. If any one be fallen by infirmitie ye that are spiritual restore such a one with the spirit of meeknesse He should be like a Phisitian or Chirurgeon that gently sets a bone Considering thy selfe When a man is rough to another he doth not consider himselfe what he hath been and what he may be how God may leave him or her to that corruption that he sees his brother or sister fall into it proceeds from a proud heart if a professor fall men are ready to say I expected no other I thought he was an Hypocrite and so farewell he No thou shouldst goe to him and with pitty and love labour to heale him it may be when you fall you will fall lower and worser then he This is the nature of an humble heart Another thing breiflly is this he is heartily 12. He is glad to doe any service for the Saints glad of any service he can doe for the Saints he rejoyceth in any service he can doe for the least Saint nay as he is glad to doe the service so he earnestly desires that his service may be accepted of the Saints he will blesse God if such a Saint will accept of such a service There is the strangest word one of them in the Book of God for ought I know Rom. 15. 30. I have oft wondred at it Now I beseech you brethren for the Lord Jesus sake and for the love of the spirit you would thinke there were some great businesse that you strive together with me in prayer to God for me Why what was the matter Paul did never more earnestly desire their prayers That I may be delivered from them that doe
7. Youâ— know how by the comparison of a man and his wife we are said to be dead to the law of God The meaning is not as though the substance and matter of the law were not eternall and a rule for all Saints doubtlesse it is in the New Testament as well as in the Old but the law as it is a contract a bond a bargaine as it is a Covenant of works betweene God and us it is perfectly fullfilled by Christ and we are dead to it we are free from it or delivered from it And that is the reason that in Heb. 12. It is sayd in Mount Sion we are come to the spirits of just men made perfect That is not of just men personally just in their dealings though that follow in a sort but the meaning is that every Saint that is in Jesus Christ is perfectly a just man or a just woman by reason of their morrtage with Jesus Christ who hath obtained a perfect righteousnesse or justice for them So in Rom. 3. You have there also a blessed place where the Apostle sayth we are saved not only by the mercie of God but by his righteousnesse Therfore it is three times repeated we are saved by the righteousnesse of God and againe by the righteousnesse and againe in Vers 2 c. the third time to declare I say at this time his righteousnesse What is the righteousnesse of God That is sayth he that he is just and a justifier of them that beleive in Jesus Christ It is just and righteous with God to save people that beleive in Jesus Christ VVhy so Because Jesus Christ hath fulfilled to a tittle all the law of God for them I shall give you but one word of Use and leave Vse 1. Upon what our Justification is built the reasons and the further inlarging of it till the afternoone And the word that I desire to make knowne to you from the Lord is this to instruct and helpe you a little to understand where your righteousnesse doth lie or upon what your Justification is buylt For this is the misery the generall misery of most Christians that they mislay their justification they doe lay it partly upon faith and partly upon their sanctification and holynesse And that is the reason that when a poore soul it may be is tempted to some sin and hath some strong lust he looseth his faith and his assurance and his peace of conscience because he grounds his Saint-ship and his justification upon his holinesse Now Beloved this is it that I would desire the Lord to bring you and me to to know that I am a just man only by the righteousnesse that is in Christ that the law is perfectly fulfilled for me by Jesus Christ and not partly by him and partly by me but only and perfectly by him and I am called just but only as or because I am unyted to him that hath gotten a perfect righteousnesse for me Then let me buyld my Justification upon that only and not upon what I am not upon my temper or upon my graces or my gifts or the like Take heed of that but let it be buylt wholly upon Jesus Christ his death and resurrection He was delivered for our offences and raysed againe for our Justification Let us buyld upon that that we may come to this temper once to have our justification We are not more or lesse justified by the good or evill we doe in a stock clearely in Jesus Christs hands that when we doe good we may not imagine that we are a jot the more justified or when we fall or faile in good we may not conceive that we are a jot more justified then before that though one day we have our hearts inlarged to doe good and to do more good in one day then it may be we did in a moneth before yet this goes not to the stock of my justification I am not one jot the more justified and sometimes God leaves the flesh and the remnants of sin that foile us I will mourne for it and be humbled for it as a transgression against my father but I am not a jot more unjustified then I was before in the sight of God in regard of the Covenant of works that Christ hath fulfilled So thus I would have you doe as your Merchants and Trades-men in your Cittie you have a certaine stock that you lock it may be in an iron chest and that stock is the quick as you call it and you have besides so many pounds or so many hundreds that you turne and wind about through all the year as you have occasion but from the stock the quick you will not lay any thing out of that you will not touch that but lay out in expences and wind and turne the rest Just so I would have it with you that seeing justification is only buylded on Christ and I have the word of faith to certifie me of it and the spirit of faith to shew it me within I would not have my good or evill to be an ingredient into that but leave that as a stock clearly in the hands of Jesus Christ Or as we see a maid or woman that spins shee holds one hand steddie and turnes about the wheele with the other so our justification we should hold it steddie for it is not buylt at all upon any thing that is in us but let us turne and wind the rest that is sanctification we must strive against sin and mourne for it but leave justification wholly to Christ for it is not buylt on me but is only by the death and resurrection of Christ Therfore as Christ sayth Luke 17. When we have done all the good we can say we are unprofitable servants I have not gotten one farthing to day nor in all my life to helpe to fulfill the law of God or to helpe to my justification that is only in the hands of Christ that is my quick my cash my stock and when thou failest and seest lusts and pride and wantonnesse arise in thee say this hath no influence to hinder my justification it is no ingredient into that that is buylt upon another thing it is wholly in Christ and his righteousnesse he hath fulfilled the law and I am just by marriage and by unyon with him Therefore I will goe and take my sins and mourne for them and desire God to cleanse me from them but I must hold the quick still hold justification untouched and unshaken and unmovable in the hands of Jesus Christ I shall leave the inlargment of this and other things till the afternoone SERMON II. Rom. 8. 4. That the righteousnesse of the law might be fullfilled in us who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit THere are three Lessons that wee should learne from these words The first is implied that The righteousnesse of the Law must be fulfilled Or Every man is bound to fulfill the Law of God That we have already
the transgression of the law So that a man that walks according to the law and not according to the way of the Gospell in spight of his heart he shall walk according to the flesh that is according to the lusts of nature he can never walk holily let him doe what he can A second reason why it is called flesh is in allusion 2. In allusion to the allegorie Gal. 4. to the two Sons of Abraham as we see in Gall. 4. 22. The Apostle there speaking of these two Covenants he sayth Abraham had two Sons â—he one by a bond-maid the other by a free Woman But hee who was of the bond-woman was borne afâ—er the flesh but he of the free Woman was by promise which things are an allegorie or a comparison â—r these are the two Covenants the one from Mount Sinai which gendereth to Bondage which is Agar â—r this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her Children But Jerusalem which is above is free which is the mother of us all He is proving that the old Covenant was to be done away Agar was to be throwen out with her Children He prooves that those two Sons of Abraham Ishmaell and Isaak were types of the two Covenants that Ishmaell and Isaak Types of the two Covenants God made with mankind the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of grace Now the Covenant of Works he compares to Ishmaell that was borne after the flesh as other Children were Abraham went in to Hagar and she conceived and bare a Child as other Women But Isaak was not borne after the flesh all Fleshly wayes could not produce Isaak he was a Child of promise and the spirit of God breathing in the promise and working mightily in Abraham and Sarah Isaak was produced This is an allegorie there is a great Mysterie that you think not of when you read of Ishmaell and Isaak By Ishmaell is meant the Covenant of works and the principles of it and the practicioners of it and they walk according to the flesh as Ishmaell did and by Isaak is meant the Covenant of grace and those that goe that way are Children of promise as Isaak was So God hath set this comparison and I conceive the Apostle alludes to it and calls it a walking according to the Flesh As if he had sayd thou shalt never have this righteousnesse by walking in the way of thy Father Ishmaell by Mount Sinai in Arabia by walking in the law to turne away the wrath of God but if thou wilt get this righteousnesse thou must walk according to the spirit thou must get the spirit and be a Child of promise The third and last reason that I shall give why it is called walking according to the Flesh is because of weaknesse for Flesh is put for weaknesse as the Scripture sayth They are Flesh and not spirit that is they are poore weak things so those that walk in that way in the way of the law they are weak creatures there is nothing but wishing and woulding and covenanting and promising and protesting and vexing and fretting but there is no strength Now one Saint that is truly planted in Christ and the Gospell hath truely taken place in his heart he hath more strength then five hundred of the other Sayth Paul I can doe all things I can want and I can abound I can goe to Prison freely I can rejoyce with them that rejoyce and mourne with them that mourne Because the spirit that dwells in Christ and works effectually the same spirit dwells in us and works in us Therfore that is the meaning of it they that walk after the Flesh that is they that goe after the law they are weake they tugg and are never the nearer Heaven and if they should live a thousand yeares they would be no better but wishers and woulders and say I have a good desire to doe as the Preacher sayth but I have no power Let me conclude with one word of Use from all this that hath been sayd which I hope you Vse That few shal be saved will consider of From this Doctrine thus opened you may hence see the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ verified and made good that few shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Doubtless Paul did not looke on sinners and Saints as we doe we account every Professor let his principles be what they will eyther from the first or second Adam if he begin to leave sin and to performe duties we account him a good man But the Lord when he comes to judge he will looke further and examine us and will I feare find abundance that shal never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven even of those that follow good old Adam I meane there are abundance of Professors that have left corrupt Adam in his grosnesse and follow good old Adam that is a sprig from that they will abstaine from sins and they will performe duties and they will doe no wrong and all is but old Adam still Now good or bad if it be old Adam it must perish the bond Woman must be cast out Therfore you that are Professors looke to your selves for the Lords sake I am mistaken if there be not many hundreds of us that will be found the Sons of Ishmaell at the last day many that make a great Profession and many that make a greater profession then others that are honest spirituall Saints before the World before men for when a man goes to keep the law every light that comes into his soule intends his resolution every thing intends it in that course he is in and he may goe to the highest and be the greatest Professor and be ready for all duties and yet be found a stranger to Jesus Christ therfore look to your selves I remember Mr. Belton that blessed man he divides the World for the fowness of them that shall be saved sayth he the greatest part of the World two or three parts of it are most intire Heathens In Europe here we have the most part Papists and but a few that are Protestants and among those parts there are few that profess Religion and among those that profess Religion there are very few that doe it in truth as another godly man sayth take a multitude of Professors that have been bred under the law that have been bred on Mount Sinai take a Congregation of such Professors as there be many such in Many legall Professors miscarry in their transplanting England and let the Gospell come and be Preached rightly among them to translate them let a Minister of the Gospell come and say there is no damnation to them that are in Christ Jesus and you are justified freely and Christ hath fulfilled the law and all is cleare whereas before there were feares least they were not righteous and they did work hard now let a man labour to draw them to the Gospell and to
is weake there is so much weaknesse and earthinesse and frailty sometimes a mans heart is right for God yet his head akes or his stomack is full of wind or he is weary and wants sleep there is some frailty or other This is all earthly Adam all this shall be gone and this kind of body and soule shall be altered and changed to the Image of the blessed second Adam we shall put off our earthynesse as well as our sinfulnesse and have his blessed compleat Image Now how glorious that shall be as you never The glory of Saints in Heaven unspeakable saw the first Adam but onely by hear-say and by reading of the Word of God so you have not seen the second Adam but you may partly know by the manifestation of his glory on earth you have heard much of his glory We saw his glory as of the onely begotten Son of God we shall then see him Phil. 3. 19. Our conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile bodies He meanes vile not onely in respect of sinfulnesse but of dustinesse of earthynesse and weaknesse that they may be like his glorious body according to his mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himselfe that is according to his usuall manner of working he can doe what he will in Heaven and Earth We cannot conceive what an Imnge we shall have upon our bodies and soules but according to his wisedome and mighty power whereby he is able to subdue all things he will doe it Therefore let me tell you this I finde few or Saints formerly had more lively expectations of glory by Christ none that have those live by expectations in these times of that glory that is to be revealed that the Saints of old had See how they speake of it What manner of love is this that we should be called the Sons of God But yet it doth not appeare what we shall be for we shall be like him And gird up the loynes of your minds be sober and watch for the glory that shall be revealed The Saints heretofore more then halfe their hearts were in Heaven before hand That is the meaning of that Our conversation is in Heaven Just as you see men that goe a long journey or as you see people that have been plundered that are returning to their owne homes their conversation is there halfe a yeare before their hearts and their thoughts are there and they wish they were there and think the time long and are thinking what they will doe and what they will be when they come there So our conversation is in Heaven the Saints doe so long after the glory that is to be revealed in the day of adoption and redemption of our bodies that the most part of them is there already Now we doe not consider of this because the new Jerusalem is not yet come into our hearts We have not that Gospel-temper and frame of spirit that the Saints had before That which remaines is a little to shew you what your duty is that the Lord hath brought up to walk according to the spirit And two or three words I have to shew you how you should every one endeavour to attaine to it or to attaine it more and more But I shall leave that till the after-noone SERMON V. Rom. 8. 4. Who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit IT is the Foundation of all our happinesse to have the righteousnesse The foundation of a Christians happinesse of the law fulfilled in us for thereby we are exempted from all misery freed from all our enemies and therby we are made capable to enjoy all happinesse and blessednesse For all the misery that man suffers here and hereafter is because he hath not a righteousnesse to fulfill the law And therefore whatsoever man or woman it is that the Lord hath bestowed this great priviledge upon they must needs be in a blessed condition Now that we may know whether we are of that number the Apostle tells us that they that have this priviledge they walk not according to the Flesh but according to the spirit which was the last thing I was upon I told you what was meant by walking after the flesh and what by walking after the spirit I gave the Reasons of it and made two or three Uses There are two things remaine which I shall endeavour to speake of at this time First you that have received the spirit of God Vse 4. Exhortation to those that have the spirit how to walke and in some measure doe walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh that the new-Jerusalem from Heaven is in some measure come into your hearts I will give you a few Exhortations from the Lord how you should carry your selves That is the first thing I shall doe and that shall be in four or five short words The first is this that the Lord having called 1. Not to abuse this liberty you to this glorious free estate to this free condition that you would take heed of abusing your liberty that you would take heed of turning the grace of God into wantonnesse as many doe And by that I meane but two things That you would take heed of using your liberty as an occasion for the flesh And Secondly of using your liberty so as to give offence to your Brethren or indeed to any I say first beware of using your liberty for an occasion 1. Not to use it as an occasion to the flesh to the flesh That you shall have Gall. 5. 13. For Brethren sayth the Apostle you have been called to liberty only use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another The Apostle shewes them in that Epistle the glorious condition and estate that they were in through grace And here in this Verse there are two things that he tells them the one is implied it is worth observing yee are called to liberty That The Gospell brings liberty is there is a freedome there is a liberty in the Gospell in diverse things that did seeme to be sinfull when ye were under the law for else what sence can you make of this ye are called to liberty onely use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh For we find that the people under the law eyther they made the law stricter or looser then it was And there is no man in the World that walks according to the law but he makes many lawes to himselfe that Christ hath not made Now when the Gospell coms in clearly all those lawes that you made of your owne head vanish Ye are called to liberty that is you see more freedome you are not bound to every thing that before you were Before you must not smile it was a sin if you seemed to laugh or smile and a hundred such things Now
you are called to Libertie but use it not as an occasion for the flesh That is take not occasion from your liberty to live more sinfully to say you are made free and others are tyed by the Law and therefore you will live more carelesly and loosely and sinfully take heed and beware of that There were some it seemes I am sure there are some now that all the liberty and freedome they heare off from the Gospel or by getting off from the Law it is nothing in the World but that they may goe on more in sin and enjoy their lusts more freely this is to pervert the Gospel And what the end of these people shall be you The danger of abusing gospel-liberty may see in 2 Pet. 1. and in the Epistle of Jude They are appointed to damnation And their damnation slumbereth and sleepeth not That is they are going on amaine they are going faster towards Hell then any Drunkard or Whormonger A Malefactor never goeth so fast to death as these doe to destruction when all the knowledge of liberty that they have is onely to give occasion to provide more for their lusts then before Let us consider and take heed of that Another thing is seeing you have liberty by 2. Not to use liberty for the offence of our Brethren walking according to the spirit for where the spirit is there is freedome that is certaine use it not for the offence of your Brethren As some there are that when they heare they are free are ready to say I care not what all the World say I know this is not a sin and therefore I will doe it Beloved that is farr from walking worthy according to the Gospel I became all things saith Paul to all men that I might win some I am under the Law to them that are under the Law and without Law to them that are without Law I became all things to all men that I might gaine some So we must not please our selves but one another for edification Rom. 15. and condescend to them of low sort Rom. 12. Who is weake saith the Apostle and I am not weake If thou see a man under the Law fumbling and wallowing upon Mount Sinai without the knowledge of the Gospel despise him not and say he is a Legallist and what have we to doe with him but endeavour to frame thy heart and thy language and carriage so suitable to him that thou mayst win upon him and so with others This is the language of the Gospell and the true way of the spirit of God when a man knowes his freedome and yet he becomes all things to all men that he may doe them good There is one word that I thinke is the word and will of God and I desire that thou mayst take it so and carry it with thee A second thing that I advise you to that are 2. To walke humbly spirituall that the Lord hath revealed a little of the Gospel to it is this that you would endeavour to walk humbly O walk humbly Why so I will tell you why because a man when he is under Because of the abundance of revelations in the Gospell the law he shall be twenty yeares striving for a little knowledge or grace and shall hardly get them but as soone as ever a man comes rightly to Christ and to know him then there is such a flood of grace and such abundance of Revelations it is the Scriptures word there is such abundance of manifestations of GOD and of the Image of GOD when they begin to come in that it is a hard thing then to keepe the soule downe for spirituall things when they come in rightly when the Floud-gates are open they come in as Waves one upon the back of another For spiritull Gospell truths multiplie in the soule a thousand fold one lesson from another and one Scripture opens another and then there is no end and then it is hard to keepe the soule humble Therfore in 2 Cor. 12. When Paul was wrapt into the third Heavens because of the abundance of Revelations that he had seene for he had seen and heard things that he could not utter and speake to others he was readie to be proud to be lifted up and least he should be so God sent a Messenger of Satan to buffet him It implies it was a hard thing for Paul the Apostle when abundance of Revelations came into his soule not to be lifted up And this spoyles some honest hearts I hope they are so and that God will bring them home that having been kept bare of food as some Souldiers that went to releive Glocester when they came home to the Cittie they killed themselves with eating full and good food So when poore soules have gone upon the bare Mountaines of Sinai and then have come to the Pastures of righteousnesse they goe so greedily and are so taken that if God be not wonderfull mercifull they will be undone by being lifted up Therfore beware of this learne from Pauls example to seeke to the Lord to keep your hearts humble A third thing is this endeavour to walk simplie 3. To walk simply I meane to keepe to the simplicity of the Gospell The Gospell though there be glorious mysteries in it to feed the soule yet notwithstanding it is a plaine simple thing Now here the Devill endeavours to undoe soules as it is ordinary in this City when men come once to understand a little of the Gospell and to tast the sweetnesse of it The Devill makes men sublimate Religion into notions the Devill screws them up to sublimate all Religion into notions to cleave a haire and Religion will be all in Ideas and conceits of the nature of God and of the creature Whereas the Gospell is a plaine thing Paul desired to know the death of Christ and the power of his Resurrection And Paul teacheth Servants how to obey their Masters and Masters how to carry themselves to their Servants and VVives to their Husbands and such simple plaine things Now these things are accounted nothing that is the Reason that many among us they doe more and more loose the Word of God unlesse it be about some sublime notions If a Minister be upon such poynts some high Ideas for they feed upon such that is worth the while but if a Minister speake of things that concerne their calling or their sex and condition that is plaine it hath no tast in it no more then the white of an Egg. It is a hard thing to keepe to the simplicity of the Gsopell As the Devill tempted our first Parents God gave Adam and Eve sufficient knowledge to doe his How the Devill tempted Eve will and they had sufficient naturall knowledge for they Named all the Creatures yet notwithstanding shee musts neds goe from the simplicity of Gods will and be curious and shee must know good and evill there was the distinction good and
evill thought shee what kind of good and evill shee goes to this sublime conceit and so was lost Now sayth Paul I am afraid of you least the Devill should beguile you so I am loath to offend you for I had rather win 4. To het the comfort of our priviledges you or else I could instance in twenty or forty conceits and distinctions of things Ideas that are above the simplicity of the Gospell and that is enough to make us leave them because they are above the simplicity of the Gospell and the excellency of the Gospell is not in those Ideas but in knowing the power of plaine things as the death of Jesus Christ Every man in Jerusalem knew the death of Christ but to know the power of that death keepe close to the simplicity of the Gospell Another thing is this you that have knowne a little of the spirit of God and have inlarged hearts and enlightned eyes Let not God rest till thou find the comfort and power of what thou knowest O we know that the righteousnesse of the law by Christ is fulfilled in us and the like but we have not the full comfort of such a truth and many others We know Christ hath paid our debt and that we are one with him as he is one with the Father but we have not the power and the comfort of these things Beloved for thy comfort know that Paul in a Pauls condition sort was in thy condition Phil. 3. Not as though I had attained or apprehended but I would apprehend him of whome I am apprehended and I would know the vertue of his death and the power of his Resurrection Paul saw something that he did not fully apprehend but he would feele more of the power of Gospell spirituall truthes and if he saw that he wanted it much more we O doe not content your selves to have an old frozen knowledge of Gospell truths whereby you are able to proove that men are legallists and that men are under Mount Sinai and yet have cold and frozen hearts cold truths without life therefore thinke of minding God of this Then lastly labour to take heed that you be 5. Not to fall back from the light of the Gospell not by any meanes bewitched so as to fall back from that little light in the Gospell that you have received it is an easie thing so to doe I doe beleive and it is my comfort and will be when I am farr from this place that the Lord hath enlightened diverse of you to know the Gospell to know Jesus Christ a little clearer Now I know not whaâ— the Lord may doe for you but I say it is wonderous easie you may under one quarter of a yeares fleshly Preaching lose that that you have been under two or three yeares Preaching a getting I have knowne after a quarter of a yeares buylding up of my soule in the knowledg of Christ and the setling of my faith and assurance I have heard one Sermon that hath routed and dasht all that work in my soule Therefore I beseech you beware faith is a tender thing especially the light we have that is but very weake and very tender therefore sayth Paul Who hath bewitched you you foolish Gallatians before whome Jesus Christ hath been lively painted As the word signifies Christ was drawne lively before the Gallatians and yet they did fall If Paul that was an Apostle and had the spirit of God in such a measure laying open the spirit of Christ and yet his people did goe back to Moses and to Sinai the Lord help and uphold us Therfore stand fast in your liberty in Jesus Christ This is all in short I have to say to you for that I hope you will lay up these words Now I have a few words of advice and counsell Vse 5. How those that walk after the flesh may come to walk spiritually to those poor souls that do yet in a great measure walk according to the flesh in one fashion or other Their religion is a fleshly Religion from old Adam and according to the law in a great measure Now the Question is what shall they doe that they may be spirituall Christians that they may walke according to the spirit I will only name a few things 1. Study the difference between the two Testaments The first is this I would desire you to endeavor to studie much the difference between the two Testaments the new and the old I meane not the two Bookes but the two Testaments that we read of in Heb. 8. Heb. 9. Whereof the one is faulty and the other is excellent the one is done away the other remaines Studie the difference between them for thereby you lay the foundation of your Gospell happinesse for there is the misery of many Professors and will be their misery if they should live a thousand yeares they jumble both Testaments without knowledge and distinction and so they will never be better Another thing that I would exhort you to is 2. To prize the spirit this to prize the spirit of Christ more then you doe There is nothing in the Gospel but it is a Mystery you cannot know it but by the spirit and there is no duty in the Gospell to be done that can be done but by the power of the spirit We may doe many things in the law by the strength of old Adam in the Gospell we can doe nothing but the spirit is all And that is the reason I think for I speake according to the grace given me why people now are left so bare and poore and confused and know not which way to goe or what to doe they doe not prize the spirit of God Many men extoll Learning mightily and it is Learning extolled to the disparagement of the spirit accounted almost Heresie to commend the spirit of God There are many men I and many Professors that doe not love to heare a man in a few modest words to commend the spirit of God but all must be by studie and reading and learning and for the spirit of God it is a plaine meere Cypher and there is an end But my life on it if I had a hundred I would say so they shal be beholding to the spirit of God and extoll him before they be taught spiritually they shall be willing to lay downe all their learning as I have seene a learned godly man of late even with the Plow-boy I do not say but that learning is good for some Learning of what use it is uses and God may blesse it to help a man to expresse what he knowes the better but as I told you Adam must die he cannot by it come to know one jot of the spirituall meaning of God in the Gospell or one jot of power or assurance to be happie or to doe any thing for God towards this all learning is not worth a straw therefore labour to extoll the spirit And
if any of you have a mind to learning goe on I discourage you not from it learning is a thing in another Element take paines and dilligence to be learned it is good to doe so But if thou wilt be a Gospell Christian thou must thank the spirit of God for all Sayth Paul for all his learning I am not sufficient to speake a good word and he was a learned man that Festus sayd Much learning had made him mad Beza in his Comment upon 2 Cor. 11. Where the Apostle sayth Are they Hebrews so am I. Are they Jewes so am I. Sayth he I never read in any Latine or Greek Author so much eloquence and elegancie of speech as Paul hath there and yet he Professeth he could not think a good thought for all he was learned so much much lesse doe a good worke The will of God not knowne till we extoll the spirit As long as thou keepest the spirit an underling as a Cypher as many of the clergie and learned men they extoll learning to the Heavens and many of them upon purpose to despight the spirit of God as long as they doe so they shall never know the will of God We are not debtors to the flesh but we must be debtors to the spirit if we will have one true thought of Jesus Christ O prayse the spirit and prize the spirit If you have any thought of Christ thank the spirit if you have any glimps of him in your soules worth any thing prayse the Spirit That is the reason that the Saints in the Booke How Saints of Old spake of the spirit of God speake not of the spirit of God without some speciall epithite of commendation Guid me by thy HOLY spirit and sayth another thy BLESSED spirit and thy GRACIOVS spirit and the spirit of GRACE sayth another They never speake of it without some word that shewed their love to it and their high esteeme of it When the Lord shall come and his spirit shall be advanced in the hearts of men we shall have glorious times and never before that and those times will come I remember Calvin on those Prophesies in I say and Joell The SVN shall be darkned and the MOONE shall be turned into blood in that day Sayth he the meaning is all the excellencie that a man naturally hath his learning and endowments in the dayes of the Gospell when the spirit shall come with his light when God shall exalt the spirit The Sun shall be turned into darkenesse and the Moone into blood Men shal not so much esteem learning from Books but learned and great men and Schollers shall come to one classis and one rank and forme with simple people all waiting on God by his VVord through the spirit A man can take his Boy from Schoole that hath his Lattine and Greeke and send him to the Universitie and he assures himselfe that he shall be as good a Minister as his other Sonne that it may be hath served the spirit seaven yeares this is our way and a hundred more whereby we basely slight and disdaine the spirit of God and doe not honour him and therefore he will not honour us Thirdly if ever you will be true Gospell Saints 3. To be led by the spirit you must suffer your selves to be lead by the spirit of God That phrase you find oft in Rom. 8. Gal. 5. If you live in the spirit walk in the spirit be lead by the spirit We are not complementary to commend the spirit of God c. But give it scope to lead us You must heed more what the spirit of God saith unto you and what he works on you If there come a place of Scripture in your mind heare and consider whether the spirit of God hath not put it in thy mind and would have thee studie it and would have thee compare Scriptures And when thou commest to doe any action whatsoever not so much to advice with this man or that man but what sayth the spirit I meane according to the light of the Scripturs harken to that more then what all the World faith Therefore I have knowne some men that in their whole lives have often mist the will of God in circumstantiall things usually it may be for a yeare or two or three and they have mist it againe in another thing and in another thing And when they have examined how this comes about they can say if they had hearkned to the spirit of God they had not done so but they hearkned to men and so went against the dictates of the spirit in their conscience they would heare what this man said and what the other man did But now the spirit will say to them you see I would have shewed you the right way but you would not give me scope but made a Cypher of me And for my one particular I doe not yet see how I should ever have mist the will of God since I knew him if I had hearkned to the spirit of God if I had but observed so much light as the spirit had put into my heart Now we Ballance the spirit with this mans example and with the other mans opinion and so come home by Weeping Cross Therefore give scope to the spirit I meane not against the word or above the word but still I meane the spirit of God working according to the Scriptures and no otherwise Another thing and a speciall one is I wish you for the mysteries of the Gospell to study the 4. To studie Scriptures without mens glosses Scriptures in the simplicity of them without the glosses of Men For a man in extremity must doe that that a man that is not in extremity would not doe We have brought our selves in such slavery to Men that we must take that course that another sober man should not I meane thus when ever we goe to look for any truth of God for the will of God we have notions in our minds before hand according to the times and places we live in As concerning Baptisme what need I goe to the Scriptures saith one we have it in such and such Mens Writings And so we forestall the will of God that we are blinded and cannot see it Therefore if you will see the wil of God I wish you for a while at least to look on the naked Three uses of other Books besides the Scriptures Scriptures And for my part I know but three uses to be made of other Books As first there is this use of Books you have 1. To set forth Scripture in diverse languages Books that will read the Scriptures in diverse languages and shew the Originall and open the tongues now when I see a word in English and doubt of the meaning of it then I will goe to the Greek or Hebrew as God hath endowed me with knowledge Then there is another use of Books when I 2. To open one Scripture by another
read one single Scripture it may be I have a book that will point out halfe a dozen Scriptures to open one Scripture by And it may be I have some books that take 3. To presse Scriptures on the soule some Scripture and presse it upon my soule as Doctor Prestons and other godly books But to take books and say Jerome thinks this and Austin that and fill our heads with notions they blind us that we cannot see the will of God Therefore in reading of Scriptures there should Difference in the learning of Christians and others be this difference from our reading of other Books I meane in respect of age When we are Children and young we use not Spectacles it may be at twenty or thirty or fourty yeares old we can read without Spectacles but when we come to fifty or sixty then we can see nothing but through Spectacles It should be just contrary with us when we are Christians When we are young we usually never read the Word of God but through the Spectacles of mens glosses but when we are older Christians and stronger Saints we should learne to read better without Spectacles wee should daily make lesse use of Mens Books and more of Gods Book That whereas before a man turned over twenty Authors upon a point Now he can goe humbly to God with his Bible and without Spectacles he can see what the will of God is Therefore lay aside Spectacles sometimes and onely take the spirit of God and compare Scipture with Scripture that you may come to know the mind of Christ Shall I name one thing more If you would 5. To be borne againe come to be spirituall Gospel-Saints you must be borne againe you must be borne from above A Gospell-profession is Jerusalem from above and there are none that can come into Jerusalem that is from above but those that are borne from above Therefore marke our Saviours reasoning John 3. Nicodemus asks Christ which was the way to Heaven And he tells him Verily thou must be borne againe or thou must be borne from above or else thou canst not see it Nichodemus wonders why hee must be borne from above saith he Shall I goe into my Mothers belly c. Saith Christ marvell not wonder not why should he not wonder at such a strange speech Here is the reason That which is borne of flesh is flesh therefore think it not strange that I say thou must be borne againe So I say whatsoever you do by the power of nature by your owne wisedome by your owne righteousnesse or your owne strength all comes but to this but to flesh and whatsoever comes of flesh is flesh Flesh cannot bring out the spirit no more then a thorne can bring out Grapes as Christ speak Therefore wonder not that thou must be borne from above that is thou must have the Lord from above to beget thee againe You have every one been borne once you must be borne once more you must have a new creation in you the Lord must create new strange properties and dispositions that no flesh and blood is able to comprehend Lastly take the councell of the Holy Ghost 6. To pray for the spirit of wisedome and revelation and that is in Ephes 1. 16 As Paul prayed for them so doe thou pray for thy selfe and there is all the reason in the World that thou shouldest I cease not sayth he to give thanks for you making mention of you in my Prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory would give to you the spirit of wisedome and revelation in the knowledge of him Pray for the spirit of wisedome and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Sleight not these words because some wicked men abuse them and others reproach them but because Paul saith so pray that the Lord would give thee the spirit of wisedome and revelation So much concerning the directions I had to give you There is one word of Information and with Vse 6. The true ground of persecutions and divisions that I will conclude From what I have said before concerning the flesh and the spirit learne this instruction more hence to see what is the true ground of all persecution nay even of all the divisions that are among us Men may pretend what they will and deceive themselves but all the strife and persecution in the World is meerly between the flesh and the spirit between the old and the new Adam There are two Princes in this World and these are contrary the one to the other The flesh lusteth against the spirit Old Adam seeks to get up and the new Adam will have him downe Therefore you shall have these two in every Towne in one Church in one Family in one soule and wheresoever they are the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary Are contrary what is that That is there is no true contrariety between any things in the World but between the old Adam and the new between the flesh and the spirit Now by Flesh I meane not onely corruption but whole flesh fleshly wisedome The wisedome of old Adam is enmity against the wisedome of the new the righteousnesse of old Adam is quite contrary to the righteousnesse of the new this is the cause of persecution Let people pretend what they will you shall see godly men persecuted you may see Christ in their soules as clearly as the Sun and people keep a coile about Independency and Presbytery but the truth is it is old Adam in those that persecute and the new Adam in the other a man with one eye may see it There are many pretences but all the strife is between the old Adam and the new For to give a little illustration take Gospell godly Saints that have the spirit of God in them they agree well enough they will not strive sometimes they may differ a little but for the generality they live well enough together nay take some Gospell Saints that are filled with the spirit of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ in these times and in this City which is the center of all division and they cannot attest divisions they cannot make a partie and give rayling for rayling and strife for strife they cannot but love their enemies and bless them that blaspheme them As James sayth Whence come all wars You think they come from your zeale for your way and yours for your way but it is from your lusts The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh It is from old Adam And I was going to say but I will but name it Cause of Saints weakness This is the cause also of the weaknesse generally that is among you It is not wickednesse that troubles a Saint but weaknesse it is not positive ills but weaknesse And whence is this weaknesse Because he walks after the flesh The spirit is powerfull but the
talke but little and though I sweare and be drunke somtimes yet I have a good mind to God I say that cannot be for if the Tree be naught the fruit cannot be good If I see a few sparks at the topp of the Chimny I am sure there is a greater fire within if wickednesse be in thy Tongue there is a treasure of wickednesse in thy heart If a man hath nothing but basenesse and wickednesse and sinfulnesse in his life and conversation I will never beleive that that man hath a good heart for if the heart were holie it would make the whole man holy and if the mind be naught it is impossible but that the man should be so too Another word you may learne from hence Use 4. Christ dyed not for all alike if you will give me leave to shew my judgement For I speake against no man but shew what God by his grace hath shewed to me as I conceive that it is not the will of God that we should conceive that Jesus Christ did equally dye for all men and redeeme all men To say nothing of other Scriptures for it is a great controversie and diverse godly men doe doubt of it from this Scripture If we say that Christ did die for all men equally or alike for those that shall be damned and those that shall be saved Then it may be asked who makes the difference how comes it to passe that he died for all seeing there are but some saved You will answer that some beleive and some doe not Then how is it that some doe beleive and some doe not Surely if Christ died for all men alike then it must follow that surely some men have power to beleive and some have not But this Scripture saith plainlie that the mind of a carnall man minds carnall things nay the mind of a carnall man his best part is open enmity to God it is contrary to God And the Scripture sayth that we are dead in sins therefore a carnall man cannot doe any thing that is spirituall a man that is dead is altogether fleshly he cannot beleive or receive Jesus Christ Therefore I say the Lord Christ he gives faith it is he that gives repentance unto Israelâ— and Christ Jesus he hath Purchased it consider of that as Christ Jesus hath Purchas'd Salvation for the soule so he hath Purchased faith for us to lay hold upon that Salvation And therefore besides all other inconveniences in that doctrine as I have told you before in my apprehension there is abundance of pride in it that we cannot be content to take Salvation on Gods tearmes so that it sets up a power in man that if Christ died for all alike then this makes the difference that one man beleives and another doth not and then a man hath power in himselfe to beleive whereas this Scripture saith that naturally we have fleshly minds and can mind nothing but fleshly things Therefore let us extoll God and goe to him and desire him to worke on us and acknowledge that naturally we are blind and dead and can doe nothing Then lastly let me shut up this point for I Use 5. Consider whether you be fleshly minded or no. shall omitt somewhat more that I had to say of it every one of you consider your owne soules whither you be fleshly minded people or no whither you mind the things of the flesh If you be I have a word a cold word from the Lord to you I say if you doe mind fleshly things consider of it the Lord saith you must die They that walk after the flesh must die whither you be prophane people as that is the ordinary distinction people that live in gross sins or whether you be Professors of godlinesse that mind earthly things as many Professors doe you are in a terrible condition For you shall find in Philip. 2. Even in Pauls time saith he I have no man like minded who will naturaly care for your estate for all seeke their owne All what all is this He doth not speake to carnall men for he wrote to the Phillippians that were good people but he saw among them abundance of Professors that did seeke their owne as where will you have a Professor that doth naturally care for the things of Jesus Christ that is as you see a loving Mother cares for her child naturally that you need not force her to it so where is there a man that naturally doth seek the good of the people of God and how he may advance the Name of God and releive the poore Saints and the like to doe it naturally and freely For all seeke their owne saith Paul that is we can shew you Professors enough in every Parish in every Congregation in every Regiment in every Companie that seeke themselves there are but few that are otherwise there are but few that naturally seeke the things of God And that you may see what a fearfull thing it is that you may looke to it you shall see in Chap. 3. 18. For many walke of whome I have told you often and now tell you weeping And so in 2 Cor. 12. Beloved I doe not read that Paul did write weeping to the Church about any thing but about this and what was it he wept for They are enemies to the Cross of Christ They were not prophane men but Professors Whose end is destruction who mind earthly things whose Belly is their God Who are they who mind earthly things whose Belly is their God They did not fall downe on their knees and worship their Belly but they were such as did take more care and paines for their Belly and did rise earlier to looke after the things of this life then after the glory of God and their end is destruction notwithstanding all their Profession and you shall know them by this they mind earthly things But our conversation is in Heaven from whence we looke for the Saviour c. Therefore to conclude this is my meaning that all that are Professors in this self-seeking age wherein one may goe with a Candle as the Prophet saith through Jerusalem a man may goe with a Candle from VVestminster to the Tower to looke for a man that naturally minds the things of God and the people of God and the honour of God and the like And if they be so scarce I beseech you consider what a fearfull thing it is and how the holy Ghost sets it out here that their end is destruction and Paule speaks of it weeping Therefore let it be thy worke now to looke to thy mind though thou profess to be a Saint whither it be naturall to thee to care for thy selfe but to doe for God but now and then and it may be after many perswasions thou mayest be brought to doe somthing for God and for the people of God but it is naturall to thee to look to thy selfe and to thine owne honour and thy owne place and preferment
ungodly and doth deale despightfully with us as Christ saith then to doe him good and blesse when he curseth and pray for him that injureth us Beloved this is Gospell goodnesse I have had many thoughts of it had I time to proove that this Gospell goodnesse is a peice of the new Creature that was not in old Adam There was goodnesse in Adam but not this as for instance there are diverse things we find among Professors that in the last day will be found to be nothing but the Old Adam but Ishmaells that are humbled to the height and ye shall see in them a great deale of diligence in Gods service but where will you finde a Professor one of 500. and I speake with the least that you may clearly reade Gospell goodnesse in him that you may say younder is a man that if you curse him he will love you and if you doe him hurt and that despitefully he will pray for you It is an easie thing to kindle a brand that hath been once lighted to doe that which Adam did but to doe this is a higher matter As man was created after the Image of God so the Creatures in a sort were created after the Image of man Now as in Creatures in a Dogg there is love and the like But where is there a Creature that if you doe him mischiefe will not endeavour to doe you the like againe or at least wise runne away But where is a piece in the Old creation that doth lâ—ve his enemies And whereas it is said Adam was created after the image of God and God loves his enmies I answer God then in that Covenant was not in a disposition to love his enemies but to hate his enemies and sinners and curse them and damne them but now in Jesus Christ he loves his Enemies and therefore according to his minde he revealed to Adam it was not so and many other reasons I had but this I present to you with submission I doe not speake curiosities but I finde and see very little of this scarcely any there was a candid goodnesse in the primitive Church which is not now to be which is not now to be found now nothing but biting and teareing and devouring one another well there is one word he doth it by a spirituall Creation 2. By spirituall illumination Then Secondly he brings the soule to this way of spirituall reasoning by spirituall illumination he created faculties before and now he casteth in light as he did in the old creation you know he made Heaven and Earth in the lumpe and then said let there be light Now that is the reason when the Gospell is Preched and there is the spirit of God going with the Word and thou are darke and canst not receive this light the new creature is not framed in thee if thou hast no eyes thou canst not see and if a man have eyes he cannot see in a darke roome Now when the new man is made then the Lord sends in light and it is not every light for there are many lights a blind man as it were hath an Hypocrite hath them but it is a powerfull light that God Saints have a powerfull light puts in for we doe finde that there is a kinde of light in Hypocrites but yet there is not power in them there is not light to bring them to such kinde of reasoning as will bring them to any good or from any evill they will talke of drunknesse and Whoredome and the like but have not power to bring them off from any of these things Indeed a Saint may be overcome of his lusts that warre in his Members but there is a law in his mindâ— that is there is a light that is like unto a Law that hath power in it that he seeth Christ doing them away I am sorry I have not time to open this unto you farther but remember it Thirdly the Lord will doe it by suggestion that is the spirit of God puts light into the soule he puts a measure of light to dwell in every new creature and that powerfully But because the way of of the Saints are so darke in this World and thorow so much difficulty the spirit of God prompts a Saint allwayes when he is at a loss As among Schollers we shall see somtimes a man is almost borne downe and then another giveth him an Argument or distinction to helpe him and then he carries it and so the flesh hath reasons and arguments as we are going along and now though there be a measure of light a stock of light dwelling in us yet we are nonplussed by the flesh and then the spirit of God suggesteth somwhat to us and we are carried thorow as you have it in Mat. 20. When you are brought before Governours it is not you that speake but the spirit of God that prompteth you Fourthly the spirit doth it by Conviction that 4. By conviction is another way we have it Joh. 16. Saith Christ when I goe I will send my spirit and my spirit shall convince the World of sin reproove you have it he shall convince the World of sin of righteousnesse judgement The word signifies when he saith the spirit will convince that is by way of Argument the meaning is that in every carnall mans heart there are arguments against faith and for his owne destruction and strong ones too And when we Preach to you ye bring reason against reason and so goe away unconvinced unconverted but the spirit will ronvince you that is he will bring such strong arguments as Doctor PRESTON saith from Heaven that will convince you As when a stronger man commeth he disarmeth the other as before we thought godlinesse nothing but Heresie and Puritansme and the like but now the spirit convinceth you you see this is the only way and out of this way I shall never see God and the like Another way I find the spirit doth it by is by 5. By commemoration commemoration by minding us of what we have heard or somthing we have knowne before it is our remembrance Therefore saith Christ I will send my spirit and he shall bring to your remembrance what you have heard not that you shall remember a whole Sermon and Repeate it every word but thus it is he will either suggest thoughts Nenever had before or bring to our remembrance a word we have heard of such a Preacher in such a place or Read in such a place or thought in such a walke or the like and so setteth on and carrieth on the worke And he doth it by consolation he is the Comforter 6. By consolation the consolation of the spirit Beloved this is certaine that ye know trouble of mind exceedingly hinders the acts of reason That 's the reason men are madd because some fumes rise up in the braine and trouble the mind that they cannot reason but are madd Beloved our troubles of mind and soule