besides the waiting of a Christian upon him who hath made the promises doth make him yet more patient and hopefull and this is a fourth use of conditional promises 5. They are of use to work all these qualifications in us to which the blessings are promised By the exceeding precious promises we are made partakers of the Divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 and this is no small work or use of these promises that from them should spring all our gracious qualifications for the Lord having promised such blessings in them these promises being received and enjoyed and meditated on by us we beholding them and the glory of the Lord Jesus in them are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 this great power there is in the promises to help an end the work of God in the soul of a Christian so that though they were never given to bring us to Christ yet to this end they were given to work all those qualifications in us to which the blessings are promised 6. They are of use to provoke and stirre up Christians to all such duties to which blessings are promised they stirre them up effectually The Lord maketh a Promise 2 Cor. 6.17 18. that such as touch no unclean thing he will receive them and be a father to them and they shall be his sons And mark what use the Apostle maketh of this conditional promise chap. 7.1 Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the fear of God Implying that the having of these promises stirreth up Gods people unto duties and the Lord is wont to breath in them and so to set forward the work of cleansing in the hearts and wayes of his servants 7. They are of use further to strengthen faith for the Lord that hath made such promises will accomplish them for his servants Genes 32.9 10. Jacob there putteth the Lord in minde of his promise and saith O God of my father Abraham God of my father Isaac and the Lord which said unto me Return unto thy Countrey and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee and he was now returned according to the appointment of God but what now doth he plead the condition minde in the next words I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant Yet now though hepleadeth not any worth at all yet seeing the Lord hath promised such a mercy to him he prayeth for it vers 11. Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my brother thus his faith is strengthened though he doth not plead his worthinesse to receive mercy So also do absolute promises strengthen faith and the prayer of faith 2 Sam. 7.13.14 c. the Lord there promiseth David that he would build him an house and that he would not take his mercy from his Children this stirreth up and strengtheneth the faith of David vers 28 29. Now O Lord thou art that God and thy words be true and thou hast promised this goodnesse unto thy servant therefore now let it please thee to blesse the house of thy servant c. this well ordered and sure Covenant of God was all his stay and all his salvation though his house was not so with God 2 Sam 23.5 So when the Lord promiseth to heal the back-slidings of his people Hosea 14.4 their hearts are strengthened to come unto the Lord and to say O Lord thy words are true let it please thee to heal the back-slidings of thy servants Thus by the promises of God the faith and faithfull prayers of Gods servants are both of them strengthned together Now let me further say thus much Let us rightly discerne what use to make of the principal part of the Scriptures take heed you do not close with promises before you have Jesus Christ specially take heed you make not use of promises to a qualification to give you your part in Jesus Christ neither be taken aside to make account that the Lord did give you himself gratiously in a conditional promise for these are aberrations from the Covenant of Grace Consider therefore well what the Promises be and what use the Lord would have us to make of them It is not for a woman to take her husbands inheritance before she take his person and you know that all the blessings and all the promises are as it were the Inheritance of the Lord Jesus given unto him and to no other but in his name and therefore there is not any Soul under Heaven that can challenge his right in Christ at the first by any promise till Christ first be given if you know that you are in Christ you may then know that the promises are yours otherwise you shall not be able to know your right in Christ by your right in the promises and therefore do not turn them upside down beyond the scope and intendment of the Covenant of Grace we may take occasion by them to admire the goodnesse and grace of God as David did Psal 31.19 O how great is thy goodnesse which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee thus ought we to consider of them and whither to look that we might enjoy them and the blessings in them If you shall say We have been converted and we have had gratious changes wrought within us be not deceived such work may reach no farther then conviction and you may come at the last to turn your backs upon Jesus Christ Consider therefore did ever the Lord give himself to be one with you whensoever the Lord doth strike up the bond of Union it is in an absolute and free-promise of his grace Trust not therefore unto every leaning of your Souls upon conditional promises for so you may build upon a Covenant made upon a work and in the end you and your Covevenant will fail together but when you read how the Lord hath made such promises to such and such qualifications then consider that those things are indeed requisite to be found in you but who is there in heaven or earth that is able to work them in you there is none but Jesus Christ and unlesse you have him to be in you you cannot have any of these things wrought in you But will a poor Soul say I am not able to reach the Lord Jesus Christ therefore all the promises of the Gospel do fall heavy upon a man and he seeth that they are too burdensome and weighty for him he doth not say Here is the qualification and here is the blessing promised to it and therefore I will take it to my self but one that is taught of God doth forthwith go and pray unto God that he will set him in the way of those blessings and that so he will make him partaker of them he prayeth that God will give him his
whatsoever we have to do in the things of God that we should soon be weary of reaching forth our hands all the day long unto the Lord and to be constantly for God from God and with God in all our Actions our base spirits are soon ready to be withdrawing from the Lord therefore the Apostle biddeth us follow after Peace and Holiness without which no man shall see God so that great is the necessity of Holiness and worthy to be followed after for though a mans own heart and the world and men and Satan withdraw us from it yet follow after it for without it no man shall see God There is a kind of holiness which some men have attained unto many a fair day ago but 't is a thousand to one whether it be the holiness which doth accompany salvation for that Holiness is not easily attained unto but the other will easily cleave close unto a man Now if you shall ask me Quest 1 wherefore the Lord will have us pursue after Holiness and what needeth it if the Spirit of Holiness dwell in me by an everlasting Covenant if it did withdraw from us as it did from Adam it was another matter but though it may be quenched in us yet abideth it for ever what need then of gifts of Holiness That one word may be sufficient Answ which we find in 2 Tim. 2.21 If any man purge himself from these evils he shall be a vessel unto honour sanctified and meet for the Masters use and prepared unto every good work This sheweth us why gifts of Holiness are requisite to be in Gods people namely that they might become meet instruments in the hands of God and fitted unto every good word and work therefore it is that the Lord will have us to be filled with all the gifts of Righteousness and fruits of his Spirit that we might be more fit Temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in and this is the principal Reason of the Point If then there be such gifts of holiness Quest 2 what need the Holy Ghost dwell in us is it not enough that he should shed abroad these things into our hearts cannot the Lord carry an end the work of our salvation by these gifts There is need that the Holy Ghost should dwell in us Answ notwithstanding 1. To keep these gifts in us 2. To act them in us 3. To witness these unto our souls for our comfort and the good one of another Some Scriptures for all these 1. That there is need of the Holy Ghost to keep these things in us 2 Tim. 1.14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us There is a very worthy thing committed to us how shall we keep it not by our own wit and wisdom careful watchfulness and faithfulness though such things ought not to be wanting but the charge is Keep those things by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us We stand in need of Gifts to be fit instruments in the hand of God we stand in need of the Spirit of God to maintain that which God giveth us and though Adams Gifts were in perfection yet not having the holy Ghost to keep them for him they all flie from him as soon as ever he had tasted of the forbidden fruit and left him naked and desperate Therefore in the Covenant of Grace the Lord giveth the Holy Ghost to keep strong possession in his servants against the strong man armed This is the first ground why the Holy Ghost dwelleth in us 2. It 's the Holy Ghost that acteth the gifts given to us and enableth them in us for the Holy Ghost who keepeth possession doth derive continued strength into our faith which putteth life into all the gifts of God And if you shall ask how love and patience and the rest of the gifts of God do work The Holy Ghost stirreth up faith to look unto Christ who returneth strength by his Spirit unto Faith and so faith worketh by love and by meekness and by all the rest of the fruits of the Spirit Thus the Spirit of God acteth according to what we read Rom. 8.14 As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God come to any holy duty and it is the Holy Ghost that leadeth you along and atteth in you so Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgements and do them And holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost It is the Spirit of God that moveth us to any good work and that acteth the gifts of his grace in us 3. The Spirit of God doth not only keep these gifts for us and act them in us but it is the same Spirit of God that witnesseth to these gifts and sheweth what gifts he hath given us for such is the blindness of the nature of all the sons of men and it is a wonder to see that generally Christians when the Lord first worketh these gifts in them not one of a thousand but they think they are in a sad and fearful condition and so they are very uncomfortable but now left that we should alwayes mistake that which the Lord hath given us we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things that are freely given unto us of God 1 Cor. 2.12 he indeed taketh his own time to discover it to some sooner to some later but this is his intendment that he might honor his grace unto us by all the rich and gracious gifts which he hath given us He doth also reveal unto us the duties which he helpeth us to do Rom. 9.1 I say the truth in Christ I lye not my conscience also bearing me witness in the holy Ghost That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in mine heart For I could wish that my self were accursed from Christ for my Brethren my Kinsmen according to the flesh The Holy Ghost that wrought in him this brotherly-love the same Holy Ghost beareth him witness that he doth not lie and that he had continual sorrow in his heart and that he could have wished to have been accursed from Christ that they might be saved it grieved him so much that the whole Nation should be destitute of the Lord Jesus Christ Thus wee see how great need there is of the Holy Ghost to dwell in us to keep all the gifts of his grace in us to act them according to his will and to discover to us what gracious gifts the Lord hath wrought in us and what duties he hath helped us to do that we may be able to give account of them by the Holy Ghost that dwelleth in us and beareth witness with us So there is necessity both of the gifts of grace that we may be fit Temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in and fit instruments for him to work by there is need also the Holy Ghost
greatest falls have been in their most exemplary gifts If you shall mark the sins of all the servants of God they have been chiefly found in the very exercise of their best gifts Let us take a little taste of them that we may learn to use our gifts in the strength of Jesus Christ Abraham a man full of faith none went beyond him in Old nor New Testament yet if you read of any failing in him it is in want of the acting of faith What made him afraid not once but the second time that his wife would be taken away from him by Pharaoh Gen. 12. by Abimelech chap. 20. had not the Lord promised that he would bless him wheresoever he came Gen. 12.2 He had so much of the knowledge and grace of God shining in him that Sarah needed not have dissembled and Abimelech a poor Heathen could say as much chap. 20.16 Behold thy husband it a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee and with all other thus she was reproved as if he should say Thou needest no shifts and lies for thy protections and to be a vail unto thee this a poor Heathen can discern that such a man as hath God with him needeth no other shifts nor covering to defend and shelter him Thus we see that these great failings of Abraham were proper acts of unbelief Moses a meek man none like him for meekness on the face of the earth there is but one sin storied of him after he was called to the Government of that State and this was his failing Hear now you rebels Must we fetch you water out of this rock so he lift up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice Numb 20.10 11. they provoked Moses as meek as he was sometimes when Aaron and Miriam dealt as peremptorily with him he was not moved from the meekness of his spirit but now he falleth into Passion and this was the very sin for which the Lord excluded him out of Canaan Numb 27.12 13 14. It was the breach of this royal grace chap. 20.12 Because ye believed me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the Land which I have given them which words shew us the reason of his failing in the grace wherein he so much abounded because ye believed me not The Lord will have him know that he must live by his fiath in his meekness If any man think himself to be a meek man and nothing shall over-wrastle him there if you believe not in God but in your meekness your confidence will soon fail you Peter a man full of courage and you read of two of his principal failings and both in point of courage he failed in the high Priests hall at the voice of a Damsel and in the porch at the speech of another Maid and the third time at the voice of one that stood by Mat. 26.69 c. whereas afterward when he lived by faith he became undaunted Another failing of his in point of courage we read of Gal. 2.12 He feared those of the circumcision and whereas before he did eat with the Gentiles when certain of the Circumcision came from James he withdrew and separated himself and so dissembled and others likewise with him insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulution Thus the Apostle Peter's most eminent gifts did not bring forth their fruits Know therefore that the best of all your gifts faith meekness courage wisdom love to your brethren will fail if you trust in them and you will be most apt to fail there wherein you do most excel If a man be wise he shall fail in that point and it may be in nothing so much as in that even in those things wherein he thinketh he walketh most wisely and such an one will find most trials in point of his wisdom and the like will be found in all other graces and all to this end to teach the Israel of God to know that no man liveth by his wisdom nor by any thing in himself but by faith in Jesus Christ whom God hath given unto his people and who is only able to give new supplies of his Spirit unto his servants to act every gift which he hath given them I might have mentioned the example of Sarab a meek and a quiet godly spirited woman subject and obedient to her husband and called him Lord whose daughters you are while you do well 1 Pet. 3.6 and yet you know one of her greatest failings was in point of Reverence to her husband Gen. 16.5 When she saw that she was despised in the eyes of her maid whom she had given unto her husband she said to Abraham My wrong be upon thee and the Lord judge between me and thee Where is the reverence of Sarah now Will you have the daughters of Sarah to imitate her herein What had her husband done There was no fault in him in this matter she had no reason to tax him upon this point it was her own counsel ver 2. that he should go in to her maid that I may obtain children by her therefore there was no colour of any just complaint on her part yet see this meek-spirited woman failed in the point of her meeknesse herein and did express no greater failing all her life long that we read of she was weak in faith once but there was great reason for that her womb was dead and her Lord as she called him was old also nor doth the Angel so much blame her about it but that action wherein she most failed was against that grace wherein she most abounded And though every grace of the Spirit be of great force when the Lord doth act and move it yet let a man go forth in the strength of his greatest gifts and if ever his heart fail him it will be in them Think not when you have done all you can that you are worthy of any thing but say that you are unprofitable servants for though Sanctification be the way wherein the Lord will pour out all his blessings upon his servants yet he doth require them to boast in none of their excellencies but look at them all as freely given them of God and consider that the right unto all springeth from fellowship with Jesus Christ that so not only the gift it self is grace but the blessing that followeth upon it is grace also And suppose that we have attained all that we pray for shall we then exalt our own gifts No but let us say with Jacob Gen. 32.10 I am less then the least of all the mercies and truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant Do not trust upon gifts nor upon duties performed by those gifts to reach the blessing so look not for your justification from thence at all for the Apostle is plain that he looked not for any thing for his righteousness before his conversion and after his
second in Trinity hereby laying a ground of a firm Mediation between God and us for Jesus Christ being of Gods Nature therefore he will be faithful unto God and being of our Nature therefore he will be compassionate towards us And here is the root of all the life and power of this Mediation to wit this Personal Union of the Son of man with the second Person in Trinity which is a firm and everlasting Union 2. By Gods giving him to be a Covenant Isa 42.6 I will give thee for a Covenant of the People for a Light of the Gentiles What is meant hereby the Lord meaneth that he giveth him to be a Mediator of this Covenant 1. To receive from God all the promises and gracious gifts whatsoever is requisite for him to be King Priest and Prophet and all these things he receiveth from the hand of the Father Col. 1.19 for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell thus he becometh a plentiful Redeemer And as the Lord gave him to be a Covenant so he giveth him also to work all things needful for our Redemption partly by his passion and obedience unto the Death of the Cross Phil. 2.8 and partly by fulfilling all the righteousness of the Law Mat. 3.15 The Lord Jesus Christ did fully accomplish whatsoever was requisite for him to accomplish in his own Person 2. He doth perform all things needful for the Application of this Redemption unto our souls Isa 26.12 And to this end he it is that sheadeth abroad his Spirit into our hearts Joh. 15.26 16.7 and when this blessed Spirit cometh he applieth unto the soul all this gracious Redemption of Jesus Christ by giving Jesus Christ and all the Fruits of his redemption and by working all those blessed works that the souls of his people come to be partakers of and so performeth all those conditions that are required on our parts if it be needful for us to have Faith he will work it in us if it be needful for us to live a life of Faith he will help us so to live for it is not of our selves it is the gift of God Eph. 2.9 Thus hath the Lord made him a compleat Mediator of this holy Covenant and whatsoever we receive we receive from him for unto him first as the head of the Church are all blessings given and unto us all promises in him are Yea and in him Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 for though Christ be not a sinner in his own Person yet in respect of his Members he is many times lost in them though not in himself and poor in them though not in himself for us therefore he receiveth the Promises of God and that is the great security of them that they are laid up safe in him and belong unto us if we have union with the Head and in him we perform whatsoever God requireth whether we pray or preach or hear we do all in the Name of Jesus Christ going forth in his strength and power Col. 3.17 Thus is the Lord Jesus Christ a firm surety of this better Covenant stablished upon better Promises Heb. 8.6 In the first place Use 1 This may teach us a broad difference between the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace In the Covenant of Works The Lord offereth Himself as a Father Diff. 1 his Son as a Redeemer his Spirit as a Sanctifier but this is still upon a condition of obedience if they shall keep his Laws and obey his voice then they shall be a peculiar treasure unto him above all people Exod. 19.5 6. This also they undertake to do Deut. 5.27 All that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee we will hear it and do it but O saith God that there was such an heart in them vers 29. When they rebelled he did not pardon them graciously but the Angel whom he sendeth with them he biddeth them beware of him and obey his voice and provoke him not for he will not pardon your transgressions for my Name is in him In the Covenant of Grace he will but not in this here is indeed a conditional Redeemer and Saviour and so it is expressed Isa 63.8 9 10. He was their Saviour in all their affliction he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them in his love c. But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them with many of them God was not well pleased almost with none of them but overthrew them in the wilderness Thus in the Covenant of Works all is given upon condition of obedience The Lord giving himself Diff. 2 his Son and Spirit upon condition though it be but to Works yet he is pleased to receive them into some kinde of Relative Vnion expressed Jer. 32.32 Which my Covenant they brake although I was an Husband to them He was married unto them in Church-Covenant this was some kinde of union He was their God and they were his peculiar people and yet the Lord cast them off a generation of his wrath from this Marriage-Covenant between them and him from this union there springeth a kinde of Faith by which the soul cleaveth unto the Lord in some measure else there could not be this Marriage-Union and this Faith is that of which you read Psal 106.12 13. They beleeved his words they sang his praise they soon forgat his works they waited not for his counsel So also Exod. 14.31 it is said They beleeved the Lord and his servant Moses this is that Faith which men may receive and yet may Apostate from it spoken of Heb. 6.3 to 6. For a while some do beleeve and in time of temptation fall away Luk. 8.13 But all that Faith was never grounded upon any free promise of Grace but all was built upon Ordinances and Duties and upon no higher ground In the 2 Chron. 13.8 to 12. marvellously strong are the expressions of Abijah when Jeroboam came against him You think to withstand the Kingdom of the Lord in the hand of David c. Have not you cast out the Priests of the Lord saith he c. But as for us the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken him and the Priests which minister unto the Lord are the Sons of Aaron and the Levites wait upon their business and they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening Burat-sacrifices and sweet Incense the Shew-bread also they set in order upon the pure Table and the Candlestick of gold with the Lamps thereof to burn every evening for we keep the charge of the Lord our God but ye have forsaken him And behold God himself is with us for our Captain and his Priests with sounding Trumpets to cry Alarm against you O ye children of Israel fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers for you shall not prosper Thus we see what Faith he did express and hereupon vers 18. the children of Israel
were brought under and the children of Judah prevailed and yet this Kings heart was not perfect with the Lord his God 2 King 15.3 and yet minde you a strong confidence he had that the Lord was with him and that he would be present with his own ordinances there Faith built upon fellowship with Ordinances like unto that Faith in the Scripture before alledged Luk. 8.13 Men are affected with the Word and beleeve and finde comfort and all this springeth from that Relative communion which they have with the Lord they finde refreshing in their way and work and many times take it for the very Seal of the Spirit of God all which may be and often is found in Hypocrites but here is the difference In a Covenant of Works God giveth himself conditionally in that of Grace absolutely in both he maketh a Covenant in the one of Grace the other of Works in which the voice of the Lord is If you be true to me then I will not renounce you and in this Covenant is Faith found but it is only built upon such changes as they finde in themselves and will in the end vanish utterly away There is a Difference also that springeth from the fruits of these two Covenants in their continuance Diff. 3 for though in the Covenant of Works there be a semblance of Justification and Adoption and a kinde of Sanctification yet they endure but for a season and therefore he calleth them Lo-ammi for ye are not my people and Lo-ruhamah for I will no more have mercy though sometimes they were his people and he then had mercy on them they may also have pardon of sin for a season Psal 78.37 38. Being full of compassion he forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not yet they were such whose heart was not upright with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant this is plainly held forth in the Parable Mat. 18.23 to the end when the servant had not wherewith to pay his Lord he fell down and worshipped him saying Lord have patience with me I will pay thee all his Lord was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the Debt but when he had not like compassion on his fellow servant then his Lord was wroth and charged all his iniquities upon him and cast him into prison until he should pay all that was due unto him So that this pardon is not everlasting but only respite from outward punishment and from inward pangs of conscience many times and this they take for pardon of sin and acceptance in Jesus Christ when indeed they are deluded So likewise their Sanctification is but for a moment they come at last some of them to tread under foot the Bloud of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified Heb. 10.29 For Christ was but a conditional Redeemer unto them they had only gifts of Tongues and utterance and wisdome and discerning of Spirits and a common Faith which things are not that Sanctification which is a fruit of Saving Faith but only such gifts as do sanctifie them unto the work of the Ministery perhaps or Magistracy and fit them for houshold-government or the like and so much positive work there is in them as doth make them in some measure fit for the work or service which they are called unto For a little more explaining of this Quest Is it the same with that Sanctification which is in Gods children God forbid Answ All the men in the world are divided into two Ranks Godly or Ungodly Righteous or Wicked of wicked men two sorts some are notoriously wicked others are Hypocrites of Hypocrites two sorts and you shall finde them in the Church of God some are washed Swine others are Goats 1. The Swine are those of whom our Saviour Christ saith that they return unto their wallowing in the myre like unto these are such men as at the hearing of some Sermon have been stomack-sick of their sins and have rejected their wicked courses but yet the swines heart remaineth in them and as a swine when he cometh where the puddle is will readily lie down in it so will these men wallow in the puddle of uncleanness when their conscience is not pricked for the present but these are a grosser kinde of Hypocrites 2. There is another sort that go far beyond these and those are Goats so called Mat. 25.32 33. and these are clean beasts such as chew the cud meditate upon ordinances and they divide the hoof they live both in a general and particular calling and will not be idle they are also fit for sacrifice what then is wanting Truly they are not Sheep all this while they are but Goats yet a Goat doth loath that which a Swine will readily break into but where then do they fall short of the nature of Sheep A difference there is which standeth principally in these Particulars 1. The Goat is of a capricious Nature and affecteth eminency his Gate also is stately Prov. 30.31 Agur reckoneth the Hee-Goat among the four things that are comly in going 2. And they are full of Ambition they cannot abide swamps and holes but will be climbing upon the tops of mountains there is not that plain lowly sheep-like frame that attendeth unto the voice of the shepherd to be led up and down into fresh pastures they attend upon their own ends and will outshoot God in his own bow and therefore when they have done many things for Christ he will say unto them Depart from me ye workers of iniquity more eminency they did affect then they were guided unto thus it was with Jehu who in his zeal for God thought to promote himself and herein he will not be perswaded of his sin and therefore walking along in crooked waies the Lord led him forth with evil doers he cometh at length to cleave unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin notwithstanding you may receive a Goat into Church-fellowship for all his capricious Nature and he will be a clean creature and of much good use the five foolish Mat. 25.2 were all of them virgins all of them abhorring Idolarry and all go forth to meet the Bridegroom and yet they are foolish and never shall you make them wise to be all for Christ in him and from him only hearing and obeying his voice 3. They are of a rankish nature all of them specially the old Goats will have an unsavoury relish far from the pleasant sweetness that is in a Sheep and herein hypocrites are greatly different from the Sheep of Christ and many times also they do push with the shoulder the poor sheep of Christ as the Prophet speaketh Ezek. 34.21 And they mar the pastures with their feet and will be at length mudling the fair waters of the Sanctuary also And in their best sanctification they fall far short of a sheep-like frame of spirit diligently to hear the voice of the shepherd this will not be found in the
God and they go so close together that you will say it is not an easie matter to discern Justification by Sanctification 1. For the Root of it The soul having fellowship with Christ by the Holy Ghost coming into the soul and working Faith in Jesus Christ This is the Root of all Christian Sanctification Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you c. And he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 and for Faith it is Faith that purifieth the heart Act. 15.9 and without Faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 So that Faith must concurre unto the rootedness of our Sanctification in Christ But the Apostle doth attribute both these Roots unto those Christians that shall afterwards fall away to sin the sin against the Holy Ghost Heb. 6. They have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost that heavenly gift was Faith which the Apostle reckoneth chiefly among the Principles of our Christian Religion vers 1. A taste they had of it yet from both these they fall away you know what was said of Saul 1 Sam. 10.10 The Spirit of God came upon him And so did it likewise upon Judas and Demas acting them mightily in their administrations and as they were thus carried along by the Spirit So likewise the Spirit of Bondage will marvellously prevail with the sons of men to draw them on to strong works of Reformation from whence they reap no small consolation but think and say as Abisah did that the Lord is with them whilest they are with him And as sometimes David said of himself I beleeved therefore I spake So the Israelites also Psal 106.12 beleeved and sang the praises of God upon the Red-sea-shore and yet were they but an hypocritical generation And if Hypocrites may work miracles in the Name of Christ as they did and expostulate with Christ about it Mat. 7.22 Have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out devils and in thy Name done many wondersul works then may a temporary Faith work ordinary works in Christianity also and therefore you shall read Mat. 13.22 that there is no fault found in the thorny soyl for their want of root or for their want of depth of earth for the want of both which the stony soyl was taxed but look as it is with the branâ—hes of a Vine what depth of earth the root hath they have it being graffed into the Vine though they be but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 branches of the wilde Olive and will bring forth but wilde Fruit for though the branch of the wilde Olive be graffed into the fat Olive and may flourish there yet will it bring forth its own fruit but in the root you will not finde a difference yet there is a difference but it is very hard to be discerned Yes Object will you say there is a plain difference for an Hypocrite is ever full of himself but a true Christian doth all in Faith he seeketh God daily and waiteth upon God daily and these are not the waies of Hypocrites Consider I pray you what the Word of the Lord holdeth forth as the Root of this Sanctification Answ and I will go no further then express Scriptures Isa 58.2 They seek me daily and this is spoken of hypocritical Israelites and for waiting we often hear it spoken of the five foolish Virgins they all went out to meet the Bridegroom Mat. 25.1 though whilest he tarried long they all fell asleep and so did the wise Virgins also And for more particular application of God unto themselves we finde that also Hos 8.2 Israel shall cry unto me My God we know thee and yet in the same Scripture this Israel had transgressed the Covenant and cast off the thing that is good And for a further act of Faith which is a staying a mans self upon God what saith the Text Isa 48.2 They stay themselves upon the God of Israel and yet these are obstinate their neck as an iron sinew and their brow as brass but it was not in truth and uprightness True it was not But how shall we know the difference Truly it is hard to perceive when men differ and therefore it is not an easie matter to make such use of Sanctification as by it to bear witness unto Justification and it will be a very hard case yea much more difficult when men cannot feel the presence of spiritual gifts but want spiritual light and when they do finde Faith in themselves they will finde it in Hypocrites also even Faith to seek the Lord and Faith to wait upon him and Faith to apply him saying My God and Faith to stay upon the God of Israel and yet these men do vanish away in hypocrisie This Hypocrites may do seeing therefore what easiness of error may befal Christians whether this or that Grace may be of the right stamp or no it will behoove Christians to be wary for even Eagle-eyed Christians will have much adoe so to discern of Sanctification in themselves before they see their Justification as to cut off all Hypocrites from having the like in them For the sanctified frame of life in Gods children and that which seemeth to be like it in Hypocrites both of them spring from the Holy Ghost and both from Faith but now the Spirit of God hath this farther work in his own people beyond what he worketh upon others though he melteth both yet Hypocrites are melted as iron which will return again to his hardness but his own people are melted into flesh which will never return to his hardness more neither can they rest in any measure of softness unto which they have attained but still are carried towards Jesus Christ So that the one is a Temporary Faith and the other Persevereth though both work in the Name of Jesus Christ yet this difference will be found between them not only when Hypocrites come to be blasted but even in the midst of their profession As for the Faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is not president of his own power but his strength lieth out of himself in Jesus Christ whereas hypocrites and legal Christians are confident of their Faith that they can make use of it unto such and such ends they think they need no more but look up to Jesus Christ their work is at an end and such strength they finde in themselves that they do not fear but that they shall carry an end all their work in a safe course to Gods glory and their own where as the strongest Faith even of the Thessalonians whose Faith was such as that none of all the Churches went before them if it be not supplied and strengthned they know and the Apostle Paul knoweth that it will warp this may we see by comparing 1 Thes 1.3 with chap. 3.2 10. and the Faithful people of God Isa 26.12 acknowledge him to work all their works for them and therefore
as there is a real difference in the presence of the Spirit so also in the work of Faith in hypocrites and the children of God for the one putteth confidence in himself and the other in Jehovah This is the first difference of Sanctification 2. There is difference also in the Rule whereby they are guided though both seek to the Word of God and take delight in that insomuch as you shall not be able to difference them there yet a great difference there is in the apprehension of the word the one is so confident of the strength and comfort that he hath in the word as he will be ready to take it ill at Gods hand if he finde not assistance from him and acceptance before him Now the other see their need they have of the Lord to maintain their strength and comfort for them this manner of affection we finde in David when as the Lord had brought him and his people into a sweet frame and temper of spirit to offer willingly towards the building of the Temple what saith David now doth he think this to be enough No no But he prayeth to the Lord 1 Chron. 29.18 O Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel our Fathers keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and prepare their heart unto thee thus is he sensible that these comforts and strength would soon fail them and they should again wax barren and uncomfortable if the Lord should not still keep them and here is the nature of true strength and consolation in Christ to look up unto the Lord to preserve and maintain it and so he is still drawn nearer and nearer unto Jesus Christ But now though both attend unto the Word as their Rule of Sanctification if you take it in the way in which the one and the other hold it forth yet there is a great difference Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments Psal 119.6 Here is a Rule what may not Hypocrites walk according to this Rule Truly they profess no less and they think it is enough if they have but a rule in their eye and therefore under a spirit of Bondage they are confident and say Whatsoever the Lord commandeth us we will hear it and do it Deut. 5.27 and what saith Balaam Though Balak would give me an house full of gold and silver I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord Numb 22.18 and yet he loved the wages of iniquity and indeed those that undertake so much in their own strength they come afterward to be weary of the Lord and weary of his commandments as Amos 8.5 When will the new Moon be gone that we may sell corn and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat c. and they say at last It is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances Mal. 3.14 These are but like washed Swine that will crop grass for a while in a fair pasture but if you keep them long there they will not delight in such manner of feeding but will rather choose to go into the myre and into a jakes that I may so speak with reverence to the Assembly but as for Goats they will delight in the commandments of the Lord Isa 58.2 They delight to know my ways and delight in approaching unto God It is not a very hard thing unto them nor grievous to keep solemn fasting-days together they come willingly they delight to come therefore the difference will hardly be discovered and unless you be a Christian of a very clear discerning you will not finde the difference But an Hypocrite will not delight in all Gods commandments if you take Herod Object he will delight in John Baptists preaching and reform many things but if it come to his not having his brother Philips wife then put John into prison and in the matter of Herodias off with Johns head We see what hypocrites profess Deut. 5.27 Answ Whatsoever the Lord commandeth us we will hear it and do it But you will say Not always It is true a difference in time will grow but whilest they hold forth universal obedience how will the difference be discerned Discerned it will be when the Lord leadeth them forth with workers of iniquity but many may be led on to their death before they can be discovered and therefore what will the servants of God say I have seen hypocrites to outward view well rooted and more comfortable then I my self and for zeal and love the Galatians would have plucked out their eyes to have done Paul good they thought themselves blessed in his ministery blessed souls they took themselves to be whereas the dear servants of God are slow to see so much goodness in themselves they see so much corruption But you will say Object An hypocrite cannot aim at God as his last end but will out-shoot God in his own bow and at the highest he seeketh no more but his own salvation without respect unto the glory of God in it It is true Answ and in time will appear that every hypocrite thinketh to out-reach God in all the gifts that he hath received but in the mean while it is much that an hypocrite will do and so much that a poor Christian will be put to much exercise to finde a difference between himself and them Jehu did not only think that he had zeal for the Lord as he said Come see my zeal for the Lord of Hosts but good Jonadab likewise did so perswade himself and therefore did readily joyn with him in his reformation and when he proclaimed a sacrifice for Baal he thought that Jehu would do no harm to himself in the Temple of Baal Thus therefore sometimes it cometh to passe because an hypocrite may for a long time finde all his own ends attained in seeking the glory of God as Jehu did but but in conclusion when a man and his own honour must part then either he must hold to his own glory or else he must neglect it and keep him close to the honour of God but in the mean time what can I tell but that I may shake hands with and bid farewell unto Gods glory when his and mine lie at stake together But may not a man perceive a plain difference when it cometh to persecution Object No Answ persecution will not clear the difference For though the stony ground indeed fell off upon point of persecution yet the thorny soyl did not so Many Papists have died for their Religion and how much more then may some hypocrite do it for the Truth yea even give his body to be burned and yet want Jesus Christ and everlasting salvation by him 1 Cor. 13.3 Now when a poor Christian cometh and seeth how much such an one doth magnifie God both in doing and suffering and yet falleth away It maketh him conclude Surely I also shall at length turn away from
the Lord. So that whether you look at the Root or Rule or Scope and bent of holiness an hypocrite will carry all things in so fair a way that you shall hardly discover him to his very death and when a Christian cometh to measure his own Sanctification by this mans sanctification he will verily think the one to be as light as the other and unless it be one that hath his wits well exercised marvelous much adoe he hath to clear himself in such a point as this There be that think there is no reality in hypocritical sanctification but certainly it is a real work the gifts be real though common Graces and not meer counterfeit pretences there are indeed some that do meerly pretend and do but outwardly make fair weather in their profession but beleeve it it is not so in all hypocrites there is a real work in some Heb. 6.4 5. They are enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and are made partakers of the holy Ghost c. these things are real and not imaginary God casting in their own ends and their own glory in their way the servants of God have given them the right hand of fellowship and so long they have held out that it was never known when they did apostate yea and so glorious may this common Sanctification be that it may dazle the eyes of the best of Gods children and especially of poor Christians and almost discourage them when they see such to fall away This very point hath been one principal root of Arminianism as another is that men receive Christ by their own Free-will they are able to prove that there is not only a pretence in hypocrites but a real work and so indeed the Scripture doth call it Sanctification Heb. 19.29 now hereupon they do beleeve that the very best of all the servants of God may depart from and forsake their Justifying Faith but there in they shew the bleat of a Goat in so saying they condemn the generation of the Righteous It is true that the best of their righteousness may dye for they have known no more but the way of works Thus much for the first Proposition That true Christian Sanctification Propos 2 which is a work of Faith is many times dark to a sincere Christian it is generally granted to be so in the first conversion and in time of Temptation and desertion as also when a man looketh at the Majesty and Purity and Glory of God Wo is me for I am unclean saith the Prophet Esay at such a time there is so much power of flesh even in spiritual Christians specially in young Christians so much power in their lusts and in their passions as will put their best friends to a stand what to think of them and much more themselves when as they come to be pressed with the power of their corruptions specially when they compare with such Hypocrites as run along with more freedom of spirit then themselves for sometimes their corruptions do less appear and they are more free from temptations and not exposed to such sinful courses as sometimes true-hearted Christians are subject unto so a poor Christian is discouraged and an hypocrite is imboldened seeing himself more sanctified in the outward view then the other That the true sanctification of a sincere Christian is not discerned by him Propos 3 nor is indeed discernable until he first discern his Justifying Faith A double ground of it and so leave it to your Christian disquisition and search they are both taken from the necessity of Faith both to the acceptance of a mans person and of his work there is a necessity of the activeness of Faith in a mans sanctification The Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering Gen. 4.4 a mans person must be first accepted otherwise all his work will not go beyond the work of a legal Christian and without Faith it is impossible to please God no acceptance therefore without faith It is also necessary to the performance of all spiritual and holy duties for all sanctification is from that faith which Christ doth convey into the soul Now if the just man live by his Faith whether it be the life of sanctification or consolation then no Christian can discern his sanctification to be lively but he must discern his faith living in it he must see his faith deriving strength and grace and life from Christ or else he cannot approve his sanctification to be the Sanctification of the Gospel for as there can be no true Sanctification unless there be Faith whereby the person is accepted and whereby life is received to act in all sanctification so there can be no knowledge of Sanctification but there must be knowledge of Faith whereby a mans person is accepted and whereby strength is conveyed to Sanctification for if a poor soul be doubtful of his acceptance with the Lord he is where he was notwithstanding his Sanctification and wanteth comfort for this doubt remaineth whether he be accepted or no which until the Lord do manifest a mans Faith unto him by the revelation of the holy Ghost he is still at a loss in for though true Sanctification be an evidence of Justification yet it self must be first evident Thus we see by this third Proposition that a further light is required to the sight of Sanctification Notwithstanding this neer resemblance between legal and Evangelical holiness Propos 4 yet there is a real difference between them and such a difference as is discernable to Christians whose wits are exercised in the waies of the spirit and Word of God and is discerned by the Revelation or manifestation of the Spirit of God both of the state and work of good Christians and that ordinarily also for I would not count it extraordinary being that which the Lord by his Spirit doth reveal unto his people A real difference there is both in the root and in the rule and in the scope which they aim at and so it will appear to be at the last day Mat. 2.23 Depart from me saith Christ you workers of iniquity I never knew you though they came and told him that they wrought by Faith in him indeed they stood in some relation to him but not as members to the head only as branches to the vine which may be cut off and yet the vine not maimed but if the members should be cut off any one from the other then is the body maimed and Christ will not suffer his body to be maimed but take you never so many branches from the vine and it is not maimed but will bring forth the more fruit if therefore there be no more fellowship between Christ and a Christian then between the branches and the vine you may take them away and yet not hurt the vine But wherein should this relation stand It is very hard to conceive in so much that those who have been most exact and diligent to enquire into it
have professed that it is Angels work very hard it is so to distinguish them from Gods own children as not to discomfort poor Christians nor to imbolden hypocrites we must be tender therefore that the least of Gods children may not want their bread Better leave 99. sheep then that one poor stray sheep should not be sought after and better an hundred hypocrites perish then that one poor Christian should want his portion and yet it is not meet that hypocrites should wallow themselves in the fellowship of the Saints and alwaies bless themselves in their carnal condition If you shal ask a difference in the Root both of them are partakers of the Holy Ghost Hypocrites may have a taste and a poor Christian will fear that his best fellowship with Christ is but a taste and that manifold experience maketh good Wherein then lieth the difference doth the Spirit of God leave the heart of an hypocrite stony and unmelted It is so indeed with the stony but not with the thorny soyl for the hearts of some hypocrites are melted as iron stones they may come to melt about their own estates through fear and sorrow and so all those melt that want not depth of earth as the thorny soyl did not but minde you they will grow hard again as iron or lead will do after it hath been melted Now look at the Spirit of God when he cometh to work effectually and he doth not only melt the heart but taketh away the heart of stone and giveth an heart of flesh for it is not enough to break a stone it will be a stone though it be broken but when the Lord changeth it into flesh then it will be hard no more but though a man may have many temptations yet the Lord will keep his heart soft for ever This is the first difference between hypocrites and Gods own servants in the root though both may work in the Name of Christ yet as the one is temporary and the other persevereth so this difference you shall finde between common and sincere Christians and that not only when legal Christians are blasted of God but even then when they do most flourish in their profession The true Faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is never president of his own strength but goeth out of himself and is dependent on Jesus Christ whereas the legal Christian is confident in his Faith that he can make use of it to these and these ends which are before him He thinketh there is no more needful but to look up unto Christ and so his work is done whereas take you the strongest Faith of the Thessalonians who were grown to such height that none of the Churches were before them yet the Apostle doth not think their Faith strong enough but prayeth for the supplying of something that is lacking in their Faith otherwise when it is at the best it will warp whereas one that hath but a temporary Faith he is confident in the strength of that Faith insomuch that he doth not fear but to carry an end his profession in a safe course to Gods glory and his own thus we see there is a real difference between the presence and work of the Spirit in an hypocrite and in a childe of God in particular we see there is a difference in the Faith which is given unto both of them the one hath confidence in himself the other in Jehovah Isa 26.12 13. This is the first Difference in the Root of their profession 2. There is difference also in the Rule by which they walk though both seek to the Word and delight in that you shall not difference them there yet this difference you shall finde in their apprehensions the one is confident of his comfort that he hath in the Word the other seeth need that the Lord should maintain his comfort for him 1 Chro. 29.18 David prayeth thus O Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel our Fathers keep this for ever in the thoughts of the hearts of thy people and prepare their hearts unto thee As being sensible that this their comfortable frame of spirit would soon fail them and they would quickly grow listless unto such spiritual work as then they had been about this is the nature of true consolation in Jesus Christ it maketh a man to have recourse unto the Author of it to preserve it Now though both attend unto the Word yet here they differ The one hath enough if he can see the Rule like to the Israelites Deut. 5.27 All that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee we will hear it and do it they have enough if they have the Rule but a Christian attending rightly unto his rule findeth it far off from him to walk according to it unless the Lord be pleased so to set it home unto him as that by his power he may be carried an end in obedience unto it for though he know and see his Rule yet he wanteth some body to rule his heart according to his Rule otherwise though the Rule be straight his walking will be crooked as a childe will write crookedly though his line be straight so a Christian man is sensible how his feet and hands will shake when he cometh to walk or do any thing by a rule therefore he doth wholly look unto Christ as being sensible of his own inability unless he finde help and strength from him 3. There is difference between hypocrites and Gods people in the scope and end which they aim at though both aim at the glory of God yet both cannot attain to this to make the glory of God their last end but the one of these do secretly winde about to their own glory in the end as Jehu doth 2 King 10.16 Come see my zeal that I have for the Lord but he bringeth about his own glory by it and here is the main deceit of the work he seeketh the glory of God in himself and in his own hand whereas the principal care of Gods own people is and â—ught to be the glory of God in Jesus Christ but the other his chief care is to have it seen that God is glorified by his hand Come see the zeal that I have You will say Object Is it not a great glory unto God to be glorified by my hand Yes brother Answ but there is a great deceit in it for many a man will work much so far as his own glory is wrapped up in his actions and like it well so long as God may be glorified in him but all this while he wanteth those single affections after the glory of God for Gods sake But how then should a man seek to promote the glory of God If it be the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ which a man seeketh after he will then rejoyce as much that God may be glorified by his brother as by himself and that is the spirit of a true Israelite indeed so that the name of
a second thing is expressed An Hypocrite may have a Taste of Jesus Christ in the Promises and be so affected with him that he doth despise all other things in comparison of him so as that he cometh to resolve for his part never to forgo him and hath so much confidence in God that he saith with Haman Whom will the King delight to honour more then my self and this illumination he taketh to be a strong and effectual conversion unto the Lord. 3. The Promises have a work of Conviction upon the Soul if any man refuse and despise them they leave him unexcusable Prov. 1.24 25 26. c. Because I have called and ye have refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but you have set at nought all my Counsels and would none of my reproof I will laugh at your calamity c. thus is their bloud justly upon their own head that refuse and despise his Promises and they aggravate their condemnation another day and to this end the Apostle maketh use of a precious Promise of God Acts 13.38 39 40 41. Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenesse of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses beware therefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of by the Prophets Behold you despisers wonder and perish c. A strange Application of such a gracious Promise a sign there is a power in the Promises even unto this end Thus we see there is a marvelous gracious use of Promises before Union with Christ as to help Ministers and people with matter of Doctrine and Instruction and Exhortation so also to awaken men unto Illumination and Affection and Conviction and to seal them up unto everlasting destruction if they turn their backs upon them As the Promises are of use before our Union with Christ Ben. 2 so In our Union with him they are of great use for when the Lord giveth himself to the Soul he doth it in a promise He cometh unto the Soul riding as it were upon the Chariot of a Promise and begetteth faith in the Soul by the Promise or some such word of grace as is equipollent to a promise Ezek. 37.11 whereby we receive Jesus Christ though before him we can have no Promise yet in a Promise we do receive him This is the very first stroke of closing with Jesus Christ he giveth himself and we take him as he offereth himself even in a Promise such a like Dispensation of himself we read of Acts 3.25 26. Ye are the Children of the Prophets and of the Covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham And in thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed unto you first God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to besse you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities Here is Christ offered in a Promise of free grace without any previous gracious qualification mentioned Howbeit many of them that heard the word believed and the number of the men was about 5000 about 3000 of them believed before so that here are 2000 that believe upon this gracious Promise the Lord Christ is offered to them and they receive him by faith Thus we see that Promises are not vain things but there are great use of them before our Union all Promises are of excellent use as also In our Union 3. After our Union with Christ they are of abundant useâ— They were of use before we were in Christ for Doctrine and for Instruction and for Exhortation but now they are of more efficacy in the same kinde and 1. They serve for Doctrine to teach us that there is not onely free grace in Christ but there are gifts of grace in Jesus Christ and all the Treasures of the good things of God are in him and all the blessings of the promises made unto qualifications are laid up in him also 2. They serve for instruction to direct us whither to look for qualifications and the blessings Promised unto them namely to the Lord Jesus Christ to receive the blessing through him and the qualification by the same hand for they are first fulfilled in him there is no good Condition but it is found in Jesus Christ no blessing belonging thereunto but it is found in Christ also in him therefore they are to be sought for so that though a poor Soul see himself wretched and blinde and naked yet he hath an husband in whom all riches is laid up this he is taught to know by the Promise and directed also to go to Jesus Christ that enjoying him he may enjoy all good things in him 3. They are of use to stirre up unto prayer for now I see that all these good things are in Christ and in him they must be enjoyed if they be enjoyed at all hereupon the Soul is set awork the holy Ghost concurring therewith to consider Is there so much grace in Christ and in him abundantly hath the Lord made so many gracious Promises unto such and such gracious qualifications whither then should I go either for the one or for the other but unto Christ that he may work in us a spirit of faith of love and of a sound mind and what else soever we stand in need of 4. They are of use to help us to know our spiritual state and means to discern thereof All these qualifications to which the Promises are made are fruits of the Spirit and will more or lesse declare unto you your sanctified state which is a marvellous blessing upon the promises made unto such conditions the Lord stirreth up the hearts of his people to seek for such conditions to which the promises are made and when the Lord hath given us them he then openeth our hearts to see what he hath given us and so to discern our sanctified estate Now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son thine onely Son from me so the Lord said to Abraham Gen. 22.12 wherein he bare witnesse to his work and this doth fill Abraham with strong Consolation together with the oath of God unto him for now the Lord doth not onely know it but causeth him to know it also so that if the Lord do but breath in such a fruit of the Spirit if he doth but give power to the Soul to do such a work unto which the promise is made and do make it appear unto the Soul to be indeed such by the revelation of his own blessed Spirit then doth the Lord fill the soul with consolation Psal 9.18 The patient expectation of the meek shall not perish for ever when the poor soul is meekned by Gods hand and the Lord letteth him so discern it that now he quietly resteth upon the Lord now the Spirit of God doth help David along to be supported with some stay and
is not a covenant of Works but a commandment of well-doing and he having given it we take our selves bound to be subject to it The Apostle also presseth the Moral Law upon several relations of men Ephes 6.1 2 3 c. It is an honour to Jesus Christ that his servants should be holy as he is holy it is for the glory of God and he requireth it The Apostle James presseth it Chap. 2.8 to the end of the chapter If you fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self ye do well And again Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all Thus we see the Apostles of Jesus Christ put it upon Christians to keep the Law of God and Christ himself beareth witness to the Law for God will never justifie sin to be no sin though he will justifie the person of a sinner Now as the Lord Jesus giveth the Law and as it were reneweth it so he doth also give his Spirit unto his servants enabling them to keep it Jer. 31.33 Ezek. 36.27 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgements and do them And again I will put my law in their hearts and write it in their inward parts Now this Law would he not write in the hearts of his people nor give unto them his holy Spirit enabling them to keep his Law were it not his will in Jesus Christ that the Law should be the rule of holiness and righteousness unto his people hence it is that the children of God though they be not under the Covenant of the Law yet take themselves to be bound to the obedience of it for if Jesus Christ have given the Law as well as Moses and if he have ratified it by giving them his Spirit to teach and strengthen them to keep it though not perfectly yet sincerely then they take themselves bound to obey the Law though they be under the Covenant of Grace for do we make void the law through saith God forbid yea we establish the law For what need have Christians of free Justification by Christ if they were not bound to obedience by the Commandment of the Law Therefore the free Justification of men under a free Covenant of Grace doth establish the obedience of the Law otherwise what need they run to Christ to save them from the curse of the Law Why do we still run to Christ for the continuance of our justification But that we find our selves ungodly creatures against the righteous and holy Law of God therefore if God have given men the Law and his holy Spirit to strengthen them in the obedience of it and his grace to save them from the curse of it then Christians are to know that they are bound to keep the Law they lie under the authority of it and dare not pluck their necks from under that yoke Now there are two Effects springing from the subjection of Gods people to the Commandment of the Law 1. As they take themselves bound to the obedience of it so they believe and many times feel the fatherly displeasure of God when they transgress the Law now the transgression of the Law could not bring them under Gods displeasure unless they were bound unto the Commandment of the Law this displeasure David was sensible of Psal 38.1 2 3. c. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin And many complaints of like nature doth he there make which do all of them spring from the conscience of the disobedience of the Law which God hath framed in the hearts of his servants whereby they reflect upon their sin as the ground of all the distempers which lie upon their bodies or minds This is the first effect of the subjection of Gods people to his Law they lie under the faith and sence of the danger of the disobedience of it 2. They are under the faith and sence also of Gods gracious acceptance of their waies when they are suitable to the blessed directions of his word not that they can raise therefrom the assurance of their justified estate but by the same Spirit of God whereby they are helped to obey the Commandment they do see the Lords gracious approbation of them in their poor and weak endeavours for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous that is acknowledgeth and approveth it Psal 1.6 when the Lord by his Spirit boweth the hearts of his servants to obedience then he knoweth and accepeth their obedience Gen. 22.12 Now I know that thou fearest me seeing thou hast not withheld thy son thine only son from me thus the Lord beareth witness to his servants that he doth accept their works so that they sensibly know and believe that the Lord doth acknowledge their poorest and weakest endeavours unto which they are carried forth by his Spirit in the obedience of his word This the Prophet David confirmeth Psal 18.20 to 26. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me for I kept the waies of the Lord have not wickedly departed from my God for all his judgements were before me and I did not put away his statutes from me I was also upright before him and kept my self from mine iniquity therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands in his eye-sight with the merciful thou wilt shew thy self merciful and with the upright man thou wilt shew thy self upright c. This David speaketh of his righteous dealing with Saul and whereas his enemies laid it to his charge that he was an enemy unto Saul the Lord beareth him witness that he had walked toward Saul with a good conscience now the Lord having led him an end to deal justly and righteously and purely with Saul having kept him from all the malice and outrage of Saul and maintained his cause against Saul and delivered him out of the hands of Saul whom the Lord had now rejected herein the Prophet seeth the Lord accepting him when in the name of his Son by the power of his Spirit he is helped to attend unto the Commandments of God This is comfortable unto a Christian spirit when the Lord beareth witness to his soul that he hath an eye to all the Commandments of God And all this argueth that the servants of God being in a state of grace in Jesus Christ have looked at themselves as bound by the Commandments of the Law and as being under the law to Christ who hath given the Law and power unto his servants sincerely to keep it both by writing in their hearts a law of obedience and by putting his holy Spirit within them for if the people of God were not sensible of their bounden duty to the observation
obedience unto it will supply comfort unto him but if we be dead unto the Law we have no life in it nor by it but only in Jesus Christ from whom we expect our comfort indeed we are troubled that we should sin against the grace of God otherwise we look not at our obedience or disobedience to make us accepted or rejected 4. And finally the soul doth not claim his right unto any conditional promise by his performance of the condition nor doth he deny himself the blessing that the promise may reach forth unto him though he be wanting in obedience to this or that Commandment pregnant for this purpose is the example of Jacob which we mentioned before Gen. 32.9 10. who though he had a plain and a full promise of God to do him good if he would return to his Country and to his kindred yet when he did return according to the word of God he claimed not his interest in that promise for that he had done as God commanded him but I am less then the least of thy mercies and yet he cometh unto the Lord for the performance of his promises but not upon this ground only for the sake of mercy and truth Deliver me I pray thee for thou saidest I will surely do thee good ver 11 12. so that mind you though the soul can make use of a conditional promise and come to God for the blessing of it yet not expecting it in the least manner by vertue of his obedience and truly this is the freedom of a Christian soul whereas another man if he have kept the Commandment and performed the condition he then looketh for acceptance from God as if the Lord make this promise that he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall find mercy this man confesseth his sin unto God and forsaketh it and therefore he looketh for mercy but this is not the manner of Gods people and yet if they look for any mercy it is in the way of God but not because of their own goodness their hope is in the faithfulness and free grace of God they may make mention to the praise of God how he hath guided them and carried them an end in his own waies yet they challenge nothing from any thing that they have done but put the Lord in mind of his free promise that as of his free grace he hath freely promised so from the same grace he may make good what he hath promised Vse 1 If any therefore shall accuse the Doctrine of the Covenant of free Grace of Antinomianism and say it teacheth men freedom from the Law of Moses and if they commit any sin they plead they are not bound unto the Law we see how false such an aspersion would be for all the people of God know that the Lord is an avenger of every such wickedness There is none under a Covenant of Grace that dare allow himself in any sin for if a man should negligently commit any sin the Lord will school him throughly and make him sadly to apprehend how he hath made bold with the treasures of the grace of God Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid none that have a portion in the grace of God dareth therefore allow himself in sin but if through strength of temptation he be at any time carried aside it is his greatest burthen 2 Sam. 12.8 9. compared 13. Hath not the Lord saith Nathan done these and these things for thee wherefore then hast thou despised the Commandment of the Lord then David confesseth I have sinned It pierced him to the heart to consider it that he should abuse his Neighbours wife and kill her husband and commit such wickedness against God that had dealt so graciously with him So that the children of the Covenant of grace will only tell you that they are free from the Covenant of the Law but not from the Commandment of it for as it is given by Jesus Christ and ratified in the Gospel and as Christ hath given us his Spirit enabling us to keep it we are under it so far as to take our selves bound by the authority of it and if we do transgress against it we know it is sin in the sight of God and therefore it is that the soul in such a case is sensible of the wrath and displeasure of God whether it be his own sin or the sin of his brethren therefore he runneth unto God for mercy which he would not do if he did not know that his desert according to the Law did utterly cut him off from mercy else would he never pray for pardon of sin nor rejoyce when the Lord helpeth him to do that which is right and just in his sight nor bless the Lord for strengthening him unto obedience unless he thought it to be his duty and therefore It is of use also to teach the servants of God how far they are freed from the Law Use 2 to wit from the Covenant of it so that they neither look for justification nor salvation from it And let it not be grievous to any soul that a Christian should say He doth not fear condemnation by his disobedience he will be apt to fear in this kind untill he be assured of the favour of God but when he knoweth his portion in the Covenant then indeed he doth not fear condemnation by his sin nor doth he think that the Lord will cleave unto him because of his fruitfulness he casteth not off his comfort nor looketh at himself as divorced from Christ because of his barrenness before the Lord nor doth he look for his daily bread from all his obedience but expecteth all goodness and blessing from the treasures of the free grace of God Use 3 This may also serve to teach men some kind of discernment of their own spirits and state if you look for justification no longer then you are obedient and fear eternal condemnation when you are disobedient if you be afraid of divorce from Christ because of your sins or if you look for any blessing and challenge right to any promise by vertue of any well-doing of your own in such a case either thou art under a Covenant of works or at the least thou art gone aside to a Covenant of works and if ever the Lord open your eyes and bestow his free grace upon you you will know your redemption from such dependances as these be I know a Christian man that hath not been clearly taught the distinct differences of the two Covenants may be misled into dangerous waies that might tend unto the utter undoing of his soul but it is a sin of ignorance and the Lord will not leave his servants but clear up his truth and grace unto them May serve to teach the servants of God Use 4 that desire to walk in a way of constant comfort how to build their faith and their hope truly if they be grounded upon your own obedience or righteousness or
sanctification if they depend upon you you will find your hearts ever unsettled you may find comfort as under the Law you shall for if a man be married to the Law the Law will cast in comforts upon him because of his obedience but if you shall believe that Christ is yours and comfort your selves because you have been by the power of the Law constrained to duties and restrained from sin and thereupon build your conjugal communion with Jesus Christ you will find your souls full of sadness and fear ere long specially if you have true grace in your hearts and therefore it is the faithfulness and tenderness of the grace of God unto his people that when Christians come into this Country though they have been marvelous eminent in our native Country they cannot pray fervently nor hear the word with profit nor receive the seals with comfort they wonder what is become of their old prayers and hearings and Sacraments and of their lively spirits in holy duties truly the Lord hath disenabled them as it were from such things because they did build their union and fellowship with Jesus Christ upon them that so they might know the freedom of the grace of God that justifieth the ungodly then will the poor soul be glad to seek after the Lord Jesus Christ and say as the people of God sometimes did Hos 2.7 I will go and return to my first husband for then was it better with me then now now the soul will plainly see and discern that he closed not with his true husband when as he built so much hope and comfort upon his duties therefore he will find himself weak and dead as it were to all spiritual duties and can find no life in them no comfort from them and it is the marvelous goodness and free grace of God unto such a soul whom the Lord will not suffer to bless himself in his works for if a man should lay the foundation of his comfort in them and be ready as it were to take it ill if he should not find God accepting his works Wherefore have we fasted and thou regardest it not Isa 58.3 If a man rejoyce in the sparks which he hath kindled this shall he receive at the hands of God to lie down in sorrow Isa 50.11 whereas the light of God shall graciously break forth unto the servants of God though they wait upon him though they be for present in darkness and see no light Trust not therefore in any legal comforts but wait upon the free grace of God both to justifie sanctifie comfort and glorifie your souls and this is the way of constant peace and if the Lord do at any time check his servants when they walk in by-waies it is that he may build them upon a surer foundation So that their salvation will not lie upon their obedience nor damnation be procured by their disobedience this is the way of constant peace and safety unto all the Israel of God This Doctrine may serve in the next place Quest 7 to answer a seventh Question touching the necessity of Sanctification For it may be demanded If the Lord will give himself unto the soul in the Covenant of his Grace not only his attributes but his person all that is God is given by vertue of this Covenant If God will give himself not only to choose us to life and glory but his Son to redeem us and his holy Spirit to sanctifie us Ezek. 36.27 what need is there of Sanctification for if the Holy Ghost will dwell in us he can take our wits and understanding and understand all our Meditations for us without any such actual concurrence of ours as might be requisite for that end if the Lord giveth himself to be my righteousness and holiness what need I then these gifts of holiness So that this in sum is the Question If the Lord will give unto us himself what need we these gifts to work any thing which God is much more able to perform then we can be This springeth naturally from the Doctrine Though the Lord giveth us himself Answ and his holy Spirit to dwell in us yet is it needful that we should be indued with all the gifts of the Spirit of Grace that do accompany-salvation You will say What need is there then that the Holy Ghost should dwell in us or will not these carry an end our souls unto immortality Truly we have need that the Lord should give us his holy Spirit to dwell in us notwithstanding all the gifts of his grace though they indeed are necessary conditions to be found in the souls of all Gods servants Heb. 12.14 Follow peace and holyness without which no man shall see the Lord. As if he made it of absolute necessity to salvation not onely in another world but for a comfortable condition in this world follow Peace and Holiness as if so be that they were ready to fly away from a man and indeed the word doth imply no less for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie the pursuit of something that fleeth from a man as peace will many times flee from one and a man will have much ado to attain unto it Psal 120.6 7. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace I am for peace but when I speak they are for war it is not easily attained unto therefore should not be suffered to depart but held fast when it is enjoyed And so for Holiness the Apostle would have us make an holy kind of pursuit after it as if it were still withdrawing from us which cometh through the corruptions of our heart for we are soon weary of holy Duties as Prayer or Conference or the like if Holiness be in any thing it soon groweth wearisome to flesh and blood but though our weak and feeble nature will be withdrawing us from Holiness yet the Lord would have us to follow it and pursue it and so shall a man be withdrawn from the world and from the temptations and bad examples thereof Do not say What shall we be wiser then our Fathers and Is not Moderation best in all things but consider what the Apostle saith Follow still after it even unto perfection and his words do intimate the reason of it without which no man shall see the Lord for what is Holiness in its own nature it is that which giveth God his due as Righteousness giveth man his due And this is a main ground why we are so slow in works of holiness for were they of another nature and did they serve our turns more as we think we should not then account them tedious If I were to sit and tell money all day long this is for my self saith a man and for my profit and if it were for another we should not think the time long it may be at that work neither but mind you when it cometh to any thing which doth concern the Lord then it 's so far above a mans reach
in his Son Rom. 8.32 for he that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things So then this is the first and the great work of God that he hath given his Son out of his own bosom to take our nature upon him to lead a miserable life and to die a cursed death and in him hath given all his attributes his mercy and power unto the sons of men an undoubted sign that God intendeth to give himself in the Covenant of Grace unto his people when he giveth Jesus Christ himself in that Covenant as he doth say expresly Isa 42.6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and will give thee for a Covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles Wherein we may see that God giveth another even that God the Father giveth God the Son thus it is a gift of the Covenant that the Lord giveth Christ to be the foundation of the Covenant and the chief blessing of it in chap. 49.8 He speaketh to the same purpose In an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of salvation have I helped thee and will preserve thee and give thee for a Covenant of the people c. No man hath seen God at any time Joh. 1.18 nor can see him nor will God the Father have immediate fellowship with any creature but the only begotten Son of the Father the Lord hath given him that he might reveal him Thus we may perceive that the Lord is gracious and marvelous gracious in that he giveth us his dear Son the second person in Trinity and thus he saith to his elect I will be a God unto thee and give thee my Son that shall redeem thee out of all distress and danger This doth the Lord for his people and it is a clear evidence of his grace and sheweth that his love unto his people is beyond all banks and bottoms for the Lord to give us his Son and this Son so soon as he was promised not the Lord only but his people saw him afar off Job 8.5 6. Your father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad For when the Lord Jesus Christ was promised unto him Gen. 17.16 17. and the Lord had said unto him I will bless Sarah and give thee a son of her yea I will bless her and she shall be a mother of many nations kings of people shall be of her then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed he did rejoyce that the Lord would give him a Saviour out of his loynes how it could be brought to passe it may be he knew not but by a Spirit of Prophecie did he discern it much no doubt This is the first work of God in giving himself by Covenant and this was done long ago before we were born he gave him in his eternal Counsel when he did elect us in him he gave him when he sent him into the world but this is more when he giveth us unto his Christ by Covenant and draweth us unto him and giveth Christ unto us also and this grace of God cometh neerer unto us the other did leave us like Lambs in a large pasture but now as he giveth us unto Christ so he giveth him to us and both in present possession and this the Father doth Joh. 6.44 for no man saith Christ can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and every one that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me Now this hearing and learning of the Father is a strange kind of learning which the Lord teacheth the soul by when he draweth him unto Christ an effectual Teaching and powerful 1 Cor. 1.9 God is faithful by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. This is our effectual calling and this is the Lords giving us unto his Son Joh. 6.37 All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me all this is properly the work of the Father Men are said to be well given when they give themselves to their Books to their Works and business but this we may well say that we are indeed well given when the Lord giveth us unto his Son for otherwise we are but in an ill state which way soever we are given Quest If you shall ask how the Father giveth us and calleth us and draweth us to fellowship with his Son for they are Scripture-phrases and all of them of like value in Scripture-sence Ans In a word The Lord draweth us unto his Son by his Spirit and calleth us as by his Word so by his Spirit also and giveth us by his Word and Spirit unto Jesus Christ In this thing I shall speak no more unto you then what you have often heard and I suppose long ago received as that the Lord calleth his people out of their sins by the light of the Law and by the spirit of bondage he setteth home the Law effectually unto the soul and thereby draweth us from sin and from the world in some measure that we have now no might to those things which before we were full of delight in whether they be sins against the Law or sins against the Gospel it is the Lords usual dealing by his Spirit to set home sins against both Insomuch that thereby we come to be afflicted with some kind of trembling and fear and torment about our spiritual estate and thus it was with Saul who afterwards was Paul Act. 9.3 4 5 6. when Jesus Christ called unto him out of heaven he all trembling and astonished said Lord what wilt thou have me to do So it was with the Jaylor Act. 16.29 after the Lord had shaken his heart with an earthquake which is a sanction of the Law and a ratification of it as all Gods Judgements are he called for a light and sprang in and came trembling to Paul and Silas Thus the Lord draweth men out of themselves and their sinful waies by a spirit of bondage whereby they are greatly and deeply afflicted with fear concerning which the Apostle Paul saith 2 Tim. 1.7 God hath not given us the spirit of fear or bondage but of power of love and of a sound mind c. such fear also the Apostle John speaketh of 1 Joh. 4.18 when he saith Perfect love casteth out fear for fear hath torment which cometh from the sence of a mans state whereby he is many times forced to cry out and to say Wo worth my soul that ever I was born for the Lord causeth me to possess all my sins and presseth me down to the nethermost hell this is one work of the spirit of bondage by which the Lord draweth the soul out of itself and its sins though of it self the spirit of fear goeth no further then to shake a mans carnal confidence but there is a further act of the spirit
of bondage according to that power which was given to the faithful witnesses Revel 11. Besides this spirit of bondage the Lord hath another work which is called a spirit of burning Mal. 4.1 The day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts and it shall leave them neither root nor branch This is a spirit of burning let us speak unto it a little The Prophet saith It shall leave them neither root nor branch There are two things in the root 1. First is the root of Abraham's Covenant which this people much trusted upon and that is it of which John Baptist speaketh Now the ax is laid to the root of the tree c. and this he spake Mat. 3.9 after he had said Think not to say with your selves We have Abraham to our father ver 8. So that all the confidence that they had in Abraham's Covenant and Temple and Tabernacle and such things is burnt up and so they have no root left them to stand upon And this is one thing intended by the root But 2. There is something more in it for with this spirit of burning the Lord by the power of his Spirit doth cut us off from any power of our own natural gifts or parts and spiritual gifts also whereby we thought to lay hold on Jesus Christ and we are cut off hereby from all that confidence that we have in our own sufficiency when once the Lord intendeth to bring a soul unto himself for there is an usual prefidence that we have of our own state though the Lord have cut us off from hope in the righteousness of our parents and from boasting of his Ordinances yet we think there is some power still left us and therefore we hope and will seek that the Lord may reveal himself to us in mercy and peace but when the Lord cometh neerer unto us he will shew us how unable we are to take up the least good resolution we shall be like bruised reeds and not find our selves able to hold up our heads for Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost So that Christ will not seek us until we be lost and therefore he saith Mat. 16.24 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and follow me and according hereunto it is that those converts Act. 2.37 do cry out when they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles Men and brethren what shall we do Hence it is also that the poor souls that came unto Christ Mat. 12.20 were like bruised reeds that could not hold up their heads for the Lord in this case bruiseth them and layeth them low that they see no more hope of mercy no likelihood that God should shew them any hope Thus doth the Lord burn up the root of Abraham's Covenant wherein men trust and the root of all our self-sufficiency that now we find our selves dried up and our strength consumed that now we are not able to think as of our selves a good thought And again The Lord by this spirit of burning doth burn up all our branches also how fair and green soever they have been all our fastings and humiliations and alms-deeds and prayers such things as the Pharisees much boasted in Mat. 6.1 2 3. c. but these things are all burnt up This is a spirit of bondage partly as it worketh a trembling and fear and partly as it worketh to the burning up of all the hope that we have in our selves There is a spirit of bondage I confess that only worketh unto fear and now all the hope is that a man setteth upon reformation but if the Lord love a mans soul he will not let him stay there but goeth further with him and sheweth him that his prayers fastings are all empty and fall short of the life and power of Jesus Christ I but yet the soul is not quite out of hope though the Law cannot save me if it cannot I must get me to Jesus Christ then and lay hold upon him for salvation as if all were to be had by faith in Jesus Christ if once he can lay hold upon him and nothing else were required but faith in Jesus Christ and my laying hold upon him I see plainly saith a man in this case that there is no hope in me as hath been rightly observed therefore he trusteth upon Jesus Christ and giveth himself to Jesus Christ but now if the Lord love thy soul he will not suffer thee there to rest the spirit of burning will not leave thee so How comest thou by faith in Jesus Christ Why Thou tookest it up of thy own accord thou thoughtest all thy gifts and duties were in vaine and therefore now thou wilt believe in Jesus Christ Is it so easie a matter Can any man come unto Christ except the Father draw him And is thy faith any more then a resolution of thine own when thou wast convinced of the emptiness of thine own gifts and abilities When this spirit of burning hath blasted this thy faith also and that by the clear evidence of the Gospel put upon it now saith the soul I see that I am not in Christ though I said I would trust in Christ yet I see it is not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven now I see it is not my faith that will reach Jesus Christ it is not a faith of my own undertaking that will serve the turn I see now Christ alone must work this great work in me and Christ in the way of his own Ordinances therefore I must look for it in his word and in the fellowship of the Sacraments therefore I will look up unto the Lord in all these and wait for him and seek him therein And so the poor soul maketh account that in time he shall find Jesus Christ in the Ordinances and so hammereth out a faith from thence and therein blesseth himself Now minde you the Spirit of God when the Lord God the Father will draw home the soul throughly to Jesus Christ will burn up all thy confidence for if thy soul be not utterly lost so long as it hath any root or power in it self though I cannot work I will believe and if I cannot believe I will wait that I may believe and so here is still the old root of Adam left alive in us whereby men seek to establish their own righteousness whereof the Apostle Paul often maketh mention This old root putteth forth it self and will not suffer the soul to be wholly for Christ and for Christ alone and all because there is a spring of Adam still in the soul whence it is that the soul is marvelous apt to have hope and confidence more or less from some vertue or power in himself therefore it is
is left utterly void and hath in himself neither root nor branch but seeth how unable he is to believe or wait nor can he tell whether Jesus Christ be his portion and now doth the Lord take possession and fill the empty soul If you shall ask me how this spirit cometh into the soul to make it thus to stoop unto Jesus Christ You shall find that the Lord useth to convey himself unto the soul in some word of promise of the Gospel that sheweth unto the soul the riches of the grace of God in Jesus Christ something or other is declared of Jesus Christ This word being taught in the publick Ministry of the Word or brought to remembrance in some spiritual duty as prayer or conference or the like for I will not limit the holy One of Israel yet usually it is done in the Ministry of the Gospel and though the Lord doth not limit himself yet he doth limit us to attend upon the means which he usually worketh by but whatsoever the way be this is the manner of Gods working he doth universally come into the soul in some word or other of his grace as for instance that in 2 Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself or that in 1 Tim. 1.15 Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of which I am chief In some such word of Gods grace he cometh and putteth life into the soul and maketh it somwhat quiet and causeth it to see that there is hope in Israel and the Lord is able to save me and there is riches enough in Jesus Christ to save me By such kind of work it is that the Lord bringeth the souls of his servants effectually to Jesus Christ And now hath God the Father given us unto Jesus Christ and until now thou never camest home savingly This is the second act whereby God the Father giveth himself unto the soul 3. The third Act or work of God the Father which followeth both these So soon as ever the Lord hath given this self-denying spirit unto the soul and hath made it like unto a bruised reed or like a Traveller that is out of his way and willing to take any man by the hand that will lead him into his way again when the soul is in such a frame now God the Father cometh by a third work of actual reconcilement The first work was of conviction The second was a work of subjection And the third of reconciliation This is the third work of the Father though there is in all these works a concurrence of the whole Trinity yet some are more proper unto each person as our Catechisms teach us and we are not wont to scruple such expressions in them God the Father created us and we cannot expound it but as God the Father created us at the first so he doth again create you or else if we acknowledge it in the one and not in the other we do God the Father wrong Well he is then reconciled unto us having given us the Spirit of his Son and now he doth pronounce us reconciled unto him this is the work which is spoken of Rom. 5.10 When we were enemies we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son And this is the work of God the Father according to that which is before alledged 2 Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ reconciling the world c. now there are two acts of God as fruits that follow hereupon and both of them done at once upon the soul 1. Act of God is Adoption whereby he maketh us his Children as Gal. 4.4 5 6. When the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons and because ye are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father And as many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God Joh. 1.12 So that now we are the brethren of Christ and the sons of the eternal God Adoption is properly the work of the Father but Jesus Christ being the natural Son of God we must be knit unto him before we can be accounted sons 2. Act of God is Justification It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth Rom. 8.33 34. This is the Fathers work and it is principally attributed unto him to forgive our iniquities and to reconcile us in Jesus Christ And look as it is in our natural being so soon as ever we have received natural life from Adam we become the sons of Adam and his sin is imputed unto us so it is in the new birth so soon as ever the life of Christ is shed abroad into our hearts so soon are we heirs with Christ and the righteousness of the second Adam is imputed unto us now to our justificacation as was the sin of Adam before to our condemnation The Doctrine it self is but an Use Vse 1 But I desire that we may all of us apply it unto our selves It will be helpful unto us for our instruction to teach us how we came to saving fellowship with God in Jesus Christ and wherein lieth our spiritual union with Jesus Christ how it is wrought and obtained and this is necessary for as it hath been observed by others so we may now gather it from what we have heard that there be four sorts of men that fall short of this union with Jesus Christ 1. You have some that bless themselves in their natural state it may be they are rich and honourable among men well they bless themselves in that state and will never go any further 2. There is another sort that are convinced of the danger of their natural estate they dare not rest there and hereupon they fall to reformations and so to duties of humiliation and the like wherein they find such a blessed change and so much comfort as doth satisfie them and indeed the Lord doth comfort men in their reformations for God will have no man lose by him Mat. 6.2 5. Hypocrites have their reward for their alms and for their prayers Herod when he heard John reformed many things and heard him gladly Mar. 6.20 here was a great change and doubtless much comfort yet these men never had the work of God the Father to burn up all that they have received by any strength of their own 3. A third sort go a step beyond these They have been convinced that they went forth to reformation in their own strength they plainly see it and discern it and therefore they know that it is impossible to be saved by the righteousness of the Law and that it is not of works neither of one kind nor of another They are convinced that faith only must do the deed and upon this ground they will take up faith to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation and that faith which
find that differences which tend unto the discerning of grace will be of much less dangerous consequence then the other for thereupon lieth the very foundation of a Christian mans safe estate How far there is difference in the Country I cannot give an account but I desire that you may all understand what I say If you demand Quest 1 upon what grounds cometh the soul to close with Christ aright whether upon a conditional or upon an absolute promise And are they not both free I answer Answ It is true they are both free but when God is said to do any thing to a work as to apply a promise to a work it is not so properly said to be a promise of grace but I will not enter into Dispute This you will find to be true that take a soul that is in union with Christ and apply all the Promises to him he will make you this answer before the Spirit of Grace cometh into him he is clear in this that there are none of all the Promises of God belonging unto him till the Lord who hath broken him do bind him up again for his heart will tell you that his duties and reformations have been such as have kept him from Christ You will say I hope you trust upon Christ I will he say with that faith by which I trusted upon works before If you tell him of promises made to faith he will say But not to mine that hath only sprung from my own reformations Consider all you that search the word of God this day when the soul cometh to deny that it hath true faith what promise can it apply unto that which it denieth it self to have A soul will be ready to refuse promises even when the Spirit of God hath taken possession but then it is his sin yet all the time before there is no reason but that the soul should refuse to apply Promises when there was nothing but a power of the spirit of Reformation and till we be cut off from the old Adam we shall be ready to quarrel and snarle that the Lord should deal thus with us and why did he suffer Adam to fall and put upon us such a Law to obey and then condemn us for that which we were never able to perform Truly there is nothing to help in this case but the Lord will take away thy crabbed spirit he will make thee to lie flat at his feet and to say If he will kill me here I am and if he will save thee he will make thee content to receive all from Christ and to be willing that he should do with thee that which is good in his own eyes And what can help a soul now but only an absolute promise Whereby the soul is raised to look to the Name of that Christ whom he hath all this while blasphemed and persecuted Thus we see upon what terms and grounds any one is jealous of building his comfort upon conditional promises and why we are so loath to say that sanctification is an evidence of a mans justification it is because men may produce sanctification and promises unto it when it is but legal righteousness Yet some men will say I have been driven out of my own legal righteousness and now I rest upon Jesus Christ and may I not take comfort in such faith and sanctification flowing therefrom I confess faith in Christ and sanctification flowing from it are precious treasures but how camest thou by them If thou knowest not how I cannot but think that thou stoalest them and camest not by them in the right way you will say Well though I have no righteousness nor faith of my own yet I can wait upon Christ How camest thou by power to wait upon Christ Here is a branch of the old Adam still springing forth afresh thou art confident in thine own strength and worth and if God deal otherwise with thee then thou expectest thou wilt be apt to wrangle with the Lord so far wilt thou be from stooping to his will Search the Scriptures and see if it be not the truth of God See whether it be thy qualifications taken up upon unjust grounds that will save thy soul thou hast not been drawn far enough all this while if thou sayest thou hast been drawn to reformation and faith and waiting If thou hast been indeed drawn it is a comfortable sign but truely the Promises do not belong unto thee until thou art brought unto a flat denial of thy self and thy will be made to lie prostrate before the will of God and is unable to satisfie it self in any thing besides Jesus Christ the want of either of which will leave a man still a member of old Adam that either he will cavil with God or else will go away and be jolly and frolick and free of spirit though he knoweth not what the Lord will do for him which is a plain sign that the Spirit of God is not there then there is no condition of which it can be said This is the spot of Gods children This is the seal of the servants of the Living God If then the Spirit of God come upon the wings of a promise it is an absolute promise and then you must not wonder if we be thus afraid that men should build their faith upon conditional promises if men build their consolation upon conditions of obedience hypocrites have gone beyond it if you have trusted in your own faith hypocrites will plead that they have gone beyond that also for they have waited upon God that they might believe And therefore see the reason why we do so much mistrust the building of our faith upon promises made unto conditions in us And I have given you the grounds from the word of God for I should be a Traitour to the Lord Jesus if I should speak from any other grounds And though it be true which I have formerly said that the fruits of the Spirir of grace in the heart of a Christian as Faith and Patience and Love cannot be denied to be evidences of a good estate yet let it first appear from whence they come first draw neer unto God in Jesus Christ and when any are brought on to Christ by self-denial such mens faith and love are indeed evident tokens of salvation and communion with Christ but until men be thus brought on they can have no Evidence from such graces Therefore you see why we are so fearful to build our faith upon qualifications for any self-denying soul will tell you that no promise will serve his turn to build his faith upon but some such as speaks of Gods wonderful and free grace if there be any promise made unto faith he will find himself very unable to apply it until the Lord by some word of his free grace hath wrought faith in him You may see here the unsafeness of any such building Use 3 as when we are convinced of our sins then we
seek for some qualification in our selves and think that the Holy Ghost applieth some promise made to such a qualification and so we lay hold upon Jesus Christ a most unsafe building in my understanding for we cannot reach any gracious qualification until we have first received Christ in the Promise and then we must look up unto him to bring us unto the promises and to apply them to us It is not possible that a corrupt tree should bring forth good fruit but first make the tree good and good trees we cannot be till we be ingrafted into Christ which is indeed the ground of my great fear and solicitude and the reason why I dare not be so unfaithful as to set men in a way of faith or any other qualifications thereby to conclude their safe estate before they have received Christ in a promise Indeed when a mans soul is wounded and convinced of some hainous sins the Promises of God in such a case may support his soul but do not lead a man in such a case to see his faith or any other qualification therein to satisfie himself but if I would help and comfort such a soul I would declare to him what the Lord hath done for us in Christ I would shew him all the treasures of the rich grace of Christ I would set in order before him how he loveth freely without any deserts in us I would tell him how freely the Lord Jesus Christ doth invite men to come to him that have neither money nor moneys worth and if the Lord take delight to do him good and to do him good by my mouth he will convey his Spirit of grace in some such word as I have spoken unto him but if the Lord do not breath by his Spirit in my words then I would advise him to go and talk with some other Christians I would not limit him to any one brother but let others also tell him what Christ hath done for their souls it may be the Lord may thereby convey himself and I have sometimes known this in experience that when some have spoken scornfully of the free grace of God yet when the same hath been held forth their spirits have been subdued to stoop unto it so great is the power of the word of Gods free grace set home by the Spirit of God and the meditation thereof doth serve greatly to the firm rooting of the peace of Gods people The fourth Use Use 4 is to such a soul who is brought home to fellowship with Jesus Christ and actually justified being first adopted he is reconciled to God and is become the son of the most High and hath all his sins pardoned both past present and to come It is a ground of much Consolation to such a soul who hath the Holy Ghost dwelling in him he cannot rest till he find the free grace of Jesus Christ revealed to him by his holy Spirit in some promise thereof for Christ himself hath said That the Spirit of truth will take of mine and shew it unto you Joh. 16.14 There is strong consolation laid up for all those that cannot rest without the manifestation of the free grace of God unto their souls other things will not satisfie them the Lord doubtless will withhold no good thing from such We now proceed unto the ninth Question Quest 9 which is How doth God the Son give himself unto Abraham and to his seed in an everlasting Covenant and union that shall never be dissolved In three acts or works about Abraham and his seed Answ 1. First in giving Christ God doth give himself and therefore here is the Son's work to come and take our nature upon him For the Father gave him for that end and the Son came to fulfil the will of the Father and that is the Son's work even the true distinct work of Christ It properly belongeth unto the Son to be our actual Redeemer from all sin and misery 2. As the Father draws us to the Son and reveals the Son unto the soul so doth the Son reveal the Father also Joh. 1.18 Mat. 11.27 3. As the Father doth accept us in his Son as justified by his righteousness so the Son doth preserve us in this estate even to his heavenly Kingdom These therefore are the three works of the Son in the Covenant of Grace He takes our nature upon him for our redemption He reveals the Father to us He preserveth us in the Father and in himself Let us speak something to each of these in particular 1. For the first of these That he took our nature upon him the Apostle saith Heb. 2.14 15. c. For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and bloud he also himself took part of the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage c. Therefore it was truly said Isa 9.6 Unto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given c. He took our nature upon him lived a miserable life died a cursed death this is the proper character and work of the Son and thus he is made an horn of salvation to us Luk. 1.69 and all this floweth from the everlasting Covenant as also Zachariah Prophesied Luk. 1.72 73. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath which he sware to our father Abraham By him we have redemption through his blood Eph. 1.7 Col. 1.14 He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2.14 This then is the first work of the Son to Redeem us And the very phrase of Redemption doth imply a double state of those that are redeemed without which it cannot be understood to wit The state whence and whereunto they are redeemed Even from a state of bondage unto Christian liberty this is found in all redemption properly so called It findeth us in bondage and setteth us in a state of liberty Heb. 2.14 15. He took our nature upon him that he might deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time made subject to bondage And this third thing also is implyed in the word Redemption with both the former namely a certain price by which we are redeemed from bondage unto liberty In a state of Bondage we were under the Law and curse of God but Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law Gal. 3.13 and now sin shall no more have dominion over us for we are not under the law Rom. 6.14 that is not under the Covenant of the Law though we lie under the Commandment of it in Christ we were sometime under the bondage of sin under the guilt and strength of sin but by Christ we have redemption even the forgiveness of our sin and as the Law was the
some peace unto the soul Thus the Father doth reveal the Son in us and in point of sanctification the Father doth regenerate us but it is by a spirit of regeneration the Son redeemeth us into liberty by a spirit of liberty he comes in the Fathers name and in the Sons name to carry on that work which they have in hand in the Saints Joh. 14.26 and chap. 15.26 the Father will send him and I will send him and the Holy Ghost doth kindly work all to make us regenerate sons unto the Lord these things he doth in their name he doth some things also in his own name though from their power also now though both these are sanctifying works there is a third work of sanctification which is proper to the Spirit this was foretold by Christ Act. 1.8 You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you they were the sons of God before and free sons before set at liberty by the Spirit of the Son but there is yet more to come You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you so this is the proper sanctifying work of the Spirit to give a further power in sanctification he doth imprint a character of power upon our sanctification that we have not only power to be called the sons of God nor to be free sons of God but powerful also 2 Tim. 1.7 the Lord hath given us the Spirit of power when the Spirit worketh this he worketh his own proper work And as there is such a kind of threefold degree in a spirit of sanctification so there is a kind of semblable work that is found in hypocrites in some measure for as you read of the Holy Ghost his coming upon them so shall you find mention made of their sanctification Heb. 10.29 they are said to tread under foot the bloud of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified so Mat. 20.16 Many are called but few are chosen doth he mean by the outward call of the word truly you shall find that the context will carry you much farther then so for consider upon what occasion our Saviour speaketh it there was a certain rich man that would have forsaken all and followed Christ but he found it too costly but Peter said We have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have therefore verily saith Christ Ye that have followed me in the regeneration meaning in the regeneration of the world shall sit upon twelve thrones c. but many of those that do forsake much shall be last and the last shall be first for the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain housholder that hired men into his vineyard and some he hired early in the morning some at the third hour some at the sixth some at the ninth some at the eleventh and when he comes to reckon he payeth every man a peny they that bore the heat of the day expected to have received more whereupon the Lord Jesus gives this as one answer Many are called but few are chosen they may be called to forsake brethren and sisters and fathers and mothers and that out of conscience unto Christ and much they have done for Christ they have laboured for Christ and born the burden and heat of the day they had a calling to come into the vineyard and there they have wrought and yet of these few are chosen so that it was not a meer verbal calling no here is a kind of strong spiritual calling which did prevail to withdraw them from all the comforts of this life so far it was effectual and yet these were not chosen so that there is a sanctification that doth not flow from Gods eternal election and therefore it is not to be despised that the Apostle doth add Rom. 8.28 To them that are called according to his purpose otherwise there is a calling that comes from Gods purpose of free grace and then it carrieth them along no farther then to do some outward service for God they may do much harvest-work and yet not be called according to purpose so then we see there is a calling and sanctification that reacheth unto them that are but common hypocrites whence it comes to pass they will work much according to it for sanctification is that which worketh from God the things of God and for the glory of God this is sanctification in the proper meaning of it and this you shall find in hypocrites For they will work from God Mat. 7.22 Have not we prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils they knew their own name would not reach it therefore they will make God their efficient cause and it is a great word which the Lord spake unto Jehu 2 King 10.30 Because thou hast done well in executing that which was right in my eyes and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart thus he wrought the things of God and pretended the glory of God vers 16. and which is more wonderful that they should for the sake of Jesus Christ do many things Mat. 19.29 and these not chosen and such as shall be last in the recompence and what is yet wanting in these mens sanctification is the change of their heart wanting truly not altogether for the Lord gave Saul another heart 2 Sam. 10.9 But mind it though it was somewhat altered in quality yet not in substance it was not a new heart not an heart of flesh for that is peculiar to the Covenant of Grace they want that self-denying faith that is found in all new-hearted Christians whereby they deny even themselves Luk. 9.23 for a man to be all from Christ and all in Christ and all for Christ this is wanting to these moral sanctifications that are found in men But wherein then is the defect of their sanctification discovered in this Take you a man sanctified as Saul Jehu Judas Demas these were men of good account Samuel had a good esteem of Saul and Jonadab bears Jehu record that his heart was upright with him the Disciples mistrust themselves rather then Judas and Paul ranketh Demas with Marcus and Aristarchus his fellow-labourers yet in all these here was no self-denying faith for he that comes to Christ and closeth with Christ must deny himself so then in this these men do shew themselves different from the chosen of God they come not to Christ with a self-denying heart they seem to work all in the name of Christ yet they still work in their own power and strength or at least they work for themselves You read of some that took delight in the Lord Isai 58.2 3. and yet if God do not hear their prayers they are offended a sign they wrought in the sence of the worth of their own works so also those in Mat. 7.22 Have not we prophesied in thy name they do expostulate with God why he should cast off them they expected a bountiful reward for the works they
liveth Touching our estate He is called a witness 1 Joh. 5.6 It is the Spirit that beareth witness because the Spirit is truth there are six witnesses mentioned in that text three in heaven the Father the word and the Holy Ghost three in earth the Spirit the water and the bloud but it is the Spirit that beareth witness in all these But doth not the water and the bloud bear witness truly they do but it is in the hands of the Spirit and that is plain by the 9. ver wherein the Apostle giveth us to understand that if any thing be confirmed by any of those witnesses it is the witness of God because indeed the Spirit witnesseth in them all You will say Object Doth not a Divine work yield a Divine Testimony and are not the water of sanctification and the bloud of justification Divine works and will they not reach a Divine Testimony It is not a Divine Testimony Answ unless the Spirit of God bear witness in and by it for are not the heavens and the earth Divine works which the power of the creature cannot reach unto all are Divine works even to the least hairs of our head for we cannot make one of them white or black and yet an argument from the creature is no Divine Testimony unless the Spirit of God set it home if it be from the least work when the Spirit of of God beareth witness in it there is a powerful Testimony the Magicians of Egypt do profess when Moses brought the Plague of Lice that it was the finger of God when as in greater works they did not acknowledge it but thought they could do the like and what was the reason that they were confounded in the Lice truly because the Spirit of God would on purpose breath in that work to confound them in so mean a creature all which sheweth us thus much that it is not in the power of Divine works though they be never so immediate that are able to work Divine faith in us unless the Holy Ghost breathe in them and then though it were but some creeping work or word it would breathe a strong testimony to some former work of God so that it is the Spirit of God that doth make Divine Testimony both in heaven and in earth otherwise howsoever the judgement may be by some means convinced yet a lively faith will not be wrought To speak something unto particulars the Father beareth witness and the Son beareth witness of himself and many great works which He wrought bear witness of him all his life long Take you now the Father's work which is to draw the soul unto Christ through a spirit of bondage to make us sensible of our need of him for every man that hath heard and learned of the Father comes unto Christ Joh. 6.44 and no man can come unto Christ except the Father draw him so Mat. 16.17 Flesh and bloud hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven so Gal. 1.15 16. When it pleased God to reveal his Son in me now though these be the work and witness of the Father yet doth he not work them immediately but by his Spirit as he saith expresly 1 Cor. 2.9 10. Eye hath not seen nor ear hath heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him but God hath revealed them unto us by the Spirit c. In like manner when the Father doth discover Christ unto us and draw us unto Christ it is by the Spirit that he doth these things When the Son bringeth on the soul unto Christian liberty for liberty is the property of the Son and reveals the Father's love unto the soul Joh. 16.27 a son-like spirit doth this it is the Spirit of his Son that maketh us cry Abba Father Gal. 4.9 7. Also the Spirit beareth witness by a testimony from it self which it doth set on more clearly then either of the former testimonies according to Joh. 16.25 The time comes when I shall speak no more to you in proverbs but I shall shew you plainly of the Father He comes with power and speaketh peace more plentifully unto the soul Act. 1.8 Psal 85.8 Isai 57.19 All which sheweth us that the Spirit setteth on his testimony with more clearness power and certainty unto the soul therefore he is called the unction by which the Saints know all things 1 Joh. 2.20 by his testimony we have more full assurance of all things concerning our spiritual estate It is he also that doth bear witness in the water and in the bloud for otherwise though the Spirit be never so much broken in the sence of sin as Davids was and he saw it Psal 51.17 it was the Spirit that gave him to see it and yet he still begs the upholding of the free spirit ver 12. for without him neither the water of sanctification nor the bloud of justification will clearly establish the heart in the peace of God Faith it self is not able to beget more assurance of faith nay it is not all the word of God that is able to put life into faith though the whole word of God beareth witness unto faith wherefore is the word excluded from the number of the witnesses all is certainly carried home unto the soul by the word whether the Father reveal the Son or the Son reveal the Father all is by the word likewise also whatsoever the Spirit doth reveal it is by the word Joh. 14.26 He shall bring all things unto your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you he makes the word take deep impression upon the soul but the word of God of it self doth not testifie though it be the counsel of God for the Lord would not have his people to scramble out a testimony from the word nor from his works for they will not afford it unless the Spirit be in them but when the Spirit doth accompany them then will the soul finde matter to build upon otherwise though sanctification may convince a gainsayer yet Divine faith is only wrought by the Spirit breathing in the word of life Thus have we seen that it is the Spirit that beareth witness in all the six Witnesses unto the state of a Christian It is the Spirit also that beareth witness unto all things else that are needful for us to know in our times 1 Joh. 2.20 Joh. 14.26 The anointing teacheth you all things the Comforter shall teach you all things Great is the power of the Spirit to beget and encrease faith by the word of God and by the works of his providence he causeth the soul to trust in God and to say He that hath delivered me out of six troubles will not he deliver me out of the seventh otherwise if the Spirit do not set in though judgement be convinced yet the heart is not enlarged to believe David could not gainsay Nathan when he told him from the Lord that God
had put away his sin he should not dye yet still he prayed for mercy Psal 51.1 and for establishment with Gods free Spirit ver 12. and Make me to hear the voice of joy and gladness ver 8. why had he not heard it already it was a most gracious word that Nathan spake true but he is not yet clear in it it is that Holy Ghost that must make him to hear the voice of joy and gladness otherwise though a man hath much experience of Gods goodness to him and sits and talks of the wonderful things that God hath done for him to the warming of the hearts of all that hear him yet the soul cannot reach that abundant satisfaction which he doth desire till at length the Lord comes in some Ordinance of his and beareth witness freely of love bestowed upon us and such a testimony will marvelously settle and establish any soul in the world so that it is the Spirit that beareth witness unto faith and nothing can do it but the Spirit only and yet if the Spirit should breath out of the word it were but a delusion Isai 8.20 To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to that it is because they have no light in them And therefore the Lord couples his word and his Spirit together Isai 57.19 I create the fruit of the lips peace peace though it be creating work yet it is by the fruit of the lips so likewise Isai 59.21 My Spirit that is upon thee and my words that I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed from henceforth and for ever Thus the Spirit of God in the word is mighty to begin and mighty to carry an end spiritual work in the soul Now the ordinary manner of the revelation of the Spirit is if he reveal Gods free justification of us it is by revealing his free grace in a promise not made to works no not to faith it self but rather as a thing to be created by the word of a free promise unto sanctification indeed he doth bear witness in any promise as if the question be about Abraham's sanctification how did the Lord reveal it we may see Gen. 22.12 By this I know that thou fearest me seeing thou hast not withheld thy son thine only son from me but for his justification the Lord had revealed that in another promise Gen. 15.5 6. wherein God brought him forth and bids him Look now towards heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them and he said unto him So shall thy seed be and among them he shews him that seed that shall be a blessing unto all nations this is a thing beyond his capacity but this he believed and it was counted unto him for righteousness now in this the Lord reveals nothing but his free grace without any respect unto any goodness in Abraham faith was in him before and had put forth it self by faith when he was called he went out not knowing whither he went Heb. 11.8 but a man is justified not by the habit of faith only but by every act of faith and as often as this is revealed so often is the grace of God revealed unto the soul for it is nothing that God seeth in Abraham for which he doth reveal his justification to him but this he doth freely of his grace and so Abraham receives it Rom. 4.4 5 6. c. To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted to him for righteousness which shews us that Abraham looks at himself as an ungodly man when he considereth his justification not but that Abraham was now godly in Scripture account before but he looketh at him that justifieth the ungodly as David describeth the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousnesse without works for thus the Lord setteth it home unto the heart without works saying Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered so it is free blessedness that the Lord reveals unto the soul and lest you should think that these things were peculiar to Abraham and David c. he tels us ver 23 24. that it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also c. As it was with the Father of the faithful so it is also with all believers which are his children that as he considered not his own body that was dead nor the deadness of Sarah's womb so neither should we consider this or that in our bodies or souls for if we were thus and thus fitted for justification then the reward would be of works and so a debt unto us now though works be there when justification is again and again revealed yet it comes not into sight for a double reason First Reas 1 Because when the Lord appears as justifying the soul he sits upon a throne of justice and a throne of grace together not accepting any righteousness but that which is compleat and adequate Rom. 3.26 To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus it is not justice for God to pronounce a man just upon any other righteousness besides the righteousness of his Son for if God should mark what we have done no flesh living should be justified in his sight Psa 143.2 but through the righteousness of Christ which is perfect the Lord justifies every one that believeth in him and that act of faith whereby a man taketh hold on Christ and receiveth Christ that is it which quieteth the soul for it is not meet that the Lord should justifie any simple work of mine for if the Lord should justifie me so mine own cloathes would defile me and if I should come before him with any work which he hath wrought in me to be accepted for it this would be preposterous and out of place for he will have a full righteousness to accept me before he will pronounce me righteous and therefore I am first called to his Son for as there is no more required to make me a sinful man but that I be found in Adam so there is no more required to my justification but that I should have union with the second Adam Secondly Reas 2 As the Lord doth sit upon a Throne of justice when he justifies a soul so he doth also upon a Throne of grace Rom. 3.24 We are justified freely by his grace therefore he will not justifie any man upon works lest they should boast before him and therefore you shall finde it to be true that if the Lord be to declare his acceptance of the sanctification of his people he will not do it in respect of the worth of their works but according to the grace of his promise But is not my sanctification a work of free
grace Object doth one grace hinder another such is Bellarmines reason against justification by grace what saith he doth grace fight against grace if we say We be justified by our works it is grace that gives us those works and a will unto them thus doth he confess Our Divines answer is That if our justification be of grace it is not of works and if it be of works it is not of grace so in like manner if the Lord do shew himself in a matter of grace let all our works be silent for if Abraham hath whereof to glory it is not before God so then if grace appear it is not in our works and therefore if God do speak any comfort unto sanctification he will put his servants quite off from the conceit of their own holiness Thus we finde it 2 Sam. 7.18 Lord saith David what am I or what is my fathers house c. though at that time the Lord took notice of his sanctification and so indeed it is usual with the faithful when the Lord pronounceth any mercy to them they see no reason in themselves why the Lord should vouchsafe it as you see when the light of the Sun shineth upon a candle it dampes the light thereof so it is in this case when the riches of Gods mercy shineth upon the soul he is not so taken up in the consideration of his own works and holiness because his heart is lifted up higher in the consideration of the grace of God and yet let me say thus much There is a kinde of revelation that is under the Law Ezek. 18.5 6. If a man be just and do that which is lawful and right and hath not eaten upon the mountains neither hath lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel c. he is just he shall surely live saith the Lord God Thus a man is pronounced just upon his righteousness that is to say so far just as the Law declares him just if either he keep the Commandment or if he break the Commandment and come and bring his Sacrifice then his sin shall be forgiven him Lev. 5.10 13 16. somewhat sutable unto what we read Mat. 18.23 24 25. c. when the servant was required to make payment to his Lord and had nothing to pay he falleth down and worshippeth his Lord saying Have patience with me and I will pay thee all so out of compassion he forgave him the debt just as when the Lord taketh hold of a man by sickness and is ready to expose him to death then he cryeth Lord be merciful to me and I will become a new man and all the world shall know it and all my friends shall see it then the Lord out of compassion delivereth him from his sickness according to Psal 78 34 35. c. when God slew them then they sought him and returned and required early after God and though they did but flatter him with their lips yet he being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not Thus the Lord may let men see that he doth forgive them and no small comfort sometime doth arise and all this from some works that they have done but when the Lord revealeth himself graciously by his Spirit in our justification he doth banish the sight of our works so that the soul doth look at himself as the chiefest of all sinners as not having so much as the crawling or creeping of any work of sanctification Yea when the Lord revealeth to his people their sanctification the manifestation of his love unto their souls upon that point doth take them off from the sight of their own works and move them to wonder that ever the Lord should manifest himself graciously to such as they are Now for the Use of this Use 1 Let me apply it to teach Christians not to be afraid of the word Revelation you have heard of many that have attended to Revelations that have been deceived it is true for the Devil himself will transform himself into an Angel of light he will be foisting in delusions yea many times when the soul waiteth for the revelation of Gods mercy the Devil will be apt to foist in such revelations from whence many delusions may grow but yet on the otherside let not men be afraid and say That we have no revelation but the word for I do believe and dare confidently affirme that if there were no revelation but the word there would be no spiritual grace revealed to the soul for it is more then the Letter of the Word that is required to it not that I look for any other matter besides the word But there is need of greater light then the word of it self is able to give for it is not all the promises in Scripture that have at any time wrought any gracious change in any soul or are able to beget the faith of Gods Elect true it is indeed whether the Father Son or Spirit reveal any thing it is in and according to the word but without the work of the Spirit there is no faith begotten by any promise the word of God and all his works may beget you some knowledge if you be not mistaken in them but to beget the faith of Gods elect that may be able to stand against all the powers of darkness and to crush all the temptations of that wicked one it is not all the works of God nor all the word of God of it self that is able to beget such faith if there be any it is but an historical faith a dead faith that is not able to bring the soul neerer to God I beseech you therefore consider of it as a mystery of God indeed yet marvelous plain in Scripture as I conceive That neither the word of grace nor all the works of grace are able to clear up the grace of God unto the soul it is the Spirit of God that must do it he must reveal the grace of God if ever we see it otherwise it is not possible that we should believe for though we should attain unto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fulness of knowledge we shall not attain unto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fulness of faith As for our works in justification the Lord will dash them to pieces and cast them out of his sight and though faith comes by hearing yet it is the Spirit in the word that maketh the New Testament a lively Letter otherwise as not the flesh of Christ so nor the word of Christ profiteth any thing it is the Spirit that quickeneth therefore look for this revelation of the Spirit to shew you the need of Christ and the Lords offering and presenting Christ unto you and his drawing your hearts to believe upon him otherwise you neither can have any faith nor can you discern any gift of God bestowed upon you In the second place Use 2 Let this teach and exhort us not to look for any revelation out of the Word for
the Spirit comes in the mouth of the Word and the Word in the mouth of the Spirit take heed therefore of all Revelations in which the Word of God is silent for the Spirit of God will speak Scripture to you when he comes he will not bring a new Gospel and new Revelations but he alwaies speaks in the Word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is given unto us therefore if any Spirit shall speak and not according to the Word it is but a delusion rest not therefore in any assurance nor revelation unless thou hast a word for it In the third and last place Use 3 This may teach and exhort us in Justification to look for no word but such as holdeth forth some absolute Promise of Free-grace for the Lord looketh for no work in our Justification but the Works of the Son it is the work of his free grace to justifie the ungodly therefore if any man having been in desperate anguish of soul have built his faith upon some Promise made unto some such work as he findeth in himself this is no other but a legal righteousness for when the Lord doth pronounce Grace in a way of Justice he will pronounce it unto that soul that he is most ungodly and that he himself doth justifie him freely for example take that promise which we read Acts 10.43 44. To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever beleeveth on him shall receive remission of sins there is a promise of remission of sins unto them which believe But was this faith in them before Nay but while he spake these words the Holy Ghost fell upon all them which heard the word and this Holy Ghost it was that did beget that Faith by this Promise whereby they did receive the Promise So in like manner if the Lord do promise that he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall finde mercy as Prov. 28.13 if he doth manifest his free grace in such a promise to any soul that soul will look at his old confessions as marvellous poor works and will not challenge this mercy promised by vertue of them for when the Holy Ghost doth apply a conditional promise to the soul he doth work the condition by the promise in the soul therefore when the Lord comes to testifie his acceptance of our persons it is freely of his Grace and thou canst not build any thing thereof upon any of thy works and if he do acknowledge our sanctification in any word of his grace he will let us see that every such gift or work of grace is freely given unto us so as that we shall be ready after all this to say with David Who are we or what are our fathers houses that the Lord should ever accept such as we are and such poor sacrifices as we offer unto him Thus having spoken of three distinct Works wherein the Holy Ghost doth give himself unto the soul to wit 1. In a work of Inhabitation 2. In a work of Sanctification 3. In a work of Revelation It now remaineth The fourth work of the Spirit that we speak unto the fourth work wherein the Holy Ghost gives himself unto the soul and that is a work of Consolation This is one of the great Characters of the Holy Ghost and this the Lord Jesus doth in special ascribe unto the Spirit Joh. 14.16 I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter so vers 26. and this is no other but the Spirit of Truth Joh. 15.26 thus doth he stile the Holy Ghost the Comforter Why had the disciples no comfort before think you was there no comfort in the Fathers drawing them to Christ and revealing Christ in them Mat. 16.17 Was there no comfort in Christ his revealing the Father to them doubtless there is comfort in all these works the work of the Father mentioned in Joh. 6.44 is the same with what we read Isai 54.13 All thy children shall be taught of God and great shall be the peace of thy Children though it be but peace for the future yet light is sowen for the righteous herein and gladness for the upright in heart Psal 97.11 there is some ground-work of light and comfort in the Fathers work and some sparkles of it do appear for the Father reveals the Son and the Son is no sooner seen but hope is seen for Jesus Christ is our hope 1 Tim. 1.1 and hope it self I mean the grace of hope is a comfortable blessing so that the soul hath supportance in the very work of our being drawn to Jesus Christ and moreover the Father addeth further comfort in his Justifying grace for by it we have peace with God Rom. 5.1 and chap. 8.34 it is God that justifies who shall condemn such gracious supports and more then transient tastings of his mercy not such as hypocrites may have but such as do more or less stay with the Saints and people of God so that at the least there doth ever remain a seed of consolation in the hearts of all those whom God hath by his Spirit drawn home unto his Son And when the Son receives the soul he doth amplifie this comfort he reveals the Fathers work unto the soul Mat. 16.16 17. Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jona flesh and bloud hath not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in heaven and Luk. 10.20 Rejoyce in this because your names are written in heaven So that there is consolation also in the work of the Son but you shall finde it true that it is by the Holy Ghost that both of them work and that either of them comfort the soul with those beginnings of consolation that afterwards break forth into more abundant riches of increase But what doth the Holy Ghost do more 1. For Answer He doth bear witness with a more abundant measure of consolation Rom. 14.17 The kingdome of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost He doth so clearly reveal our acceptance through the righteousness of Christ that from thence springeth peace unto the soul which groweth up until it passeth understanding and bringeth us unto joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 therefore he is called by way of eminency The Comforter because when he comes he doth so clearly ratifie unto you your righteousness to be in Jesus Christ 2. Secondly The comfort of the Holy Ghost is more constant and abiding as Christ speaking of the Comforter promiseth unto his Apostles Joh. 16.22 I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce and your joy shall no man take from you not but that God may sometimes eclipse it for the trial of his servants yet ordinarily it is more constant and leaveth faith even then more constant and firm Nehem. 8.10 The joy of the Lord is your strength when the Holy Ghost taketh in hand to comfort his people he doth abundantly strengthen them with his consolations 3. Thirdly As
unless the Lord come in with his immediate power above the power of any Ordinance all that you have received amounteth not to the faith of Gods elect and unless it be the Spirit of God that enlighteneth we have received no saving light and when he doth come to seal up Jesus Christ unto our souls he ever speaketh in some promise of the free grace of God for the Lord justifieth no man upon an imperfect righteousness but in that work doth ever declare himself to be just and a justifier of him that is of the faith of Jesus Rom. 3.26 therefore seeing in this work he sitteth upon a throne to declare his own righteousness there is no place now for our righteousness to appear hence it is that if he justifie it is freely by his grace Rom. 3.23 thus God dealt with Abraham when he shewed him the innumerable stars of heaven and told him So shall thy seed be He believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness Gen. 15.5 it was the free grace of God which he mentioneth unto him But suppose the Lord should reveal a work unto you as a work there is in every soul that is justified if you should see any work in your soul yet unless the Spirit of God should above the power of the work breathe in it it is not possible that it should beget a Divine Faith it is only the work of the Spirit of God it is he also that shews you your acceptance with God and that manifesteth your sanctification and makes it a sign unto you of your justification otherwise neither word nor work can set on a promise with power upon the soul until the Holy Ghost confirm it it is his immediate work What then Object doth the Spirit do this immediately without the word No Answ if he speak peace unto the soul he ever doth it in some word of promise and if he testifie our acceptance it is in some word and in that respect it is mediate but he doth set on a power above the word and in that respect I call it immediate and therefore if a man shall seek to hammer out any thing by his own knowledge though he may add to his knowledge yet he can do nothing to the begetting of faith unless the Lord come in by a power above the word and when he doth speak in any word of his grace he doth not in the first place speak to you of your own righteousness but first convinceth you that you are a chief sinner as when he said to Saul Why persecutest thou me when he sends his Spirit it is first to convince the world of sin Joh. 16.8 9 c. and what of your sanctification next no of your justification next he will convince the world of righteousness that is of his righteousness and afterward of judgement and that is sometimes put for sanctification Mat. 12.20 A bruised reed shall he not break and smoaking flax shall he not quench until he bring forth judgement into victory But it is the Spirit that doth all this and therefore let not men deceive themselves in any conclusions that they can make for their enlightened conscience is but a creature and unless the Lord come in with a greater light then your conscience will afford you all will be but lost work unto your souls you will build but castles in the air which in time of temptation will vanish away In the third place Use 3 this may teach all the servants of God that have received in any measure the first fruits of the Spirit to know that they have received an earnest of an everlasting possession that Spirit will never leave you till you become a full vessel and running over if he have given you one promise he will give you more and if he have given you Christ he will with him give you all things else In the fourth and last place Use 4 it may teach us That if we have received Christ and our hope be in him never to rest until we do more fully and clearly see that the Lord is our God until the Holy Ghost do fill your hearts with more power and stamp more of the image of Christ in you grow more and more sensible how dead and insufficient you are unto any thing that is good be meek and lowly in heart think meanly of your selves you cannot pray you cannot preach you cannot of your selves perform any Christian duty it is Christ that must work all our works for us know therefore that if you be lively and active it is because your life is hid with Christ in God he it is that stirreth up your faith to look up unto Christ to expect all help from his hand Sometimes you must look to be severed from the world and the more clear the truths of God are unto you the more they are hidden from the world for if a man cannot look upon a candle how shall he look upon a torch and much less upon the shining Sun Therefore it behoveth all the servants of God to grow up in the power of God and the strength of his might not holding forth insolency of Spirit nor uncharitable censoriousness such things are far off from expressing the Spirit of Christ but it is the part of the servants of Christ to be faithful meck lowly humble and couragious in the waies of the Lord and when you have done all be contented to be counted the off-scouring of the world as 1 Cor. 4.9 for it must be the part of all that fear God to take heed that you give none occasion to any to speak evil of us for if we do consider the great hope of our calling how should it cast holy shame upon our faces that we walk so unworthy of our calling for if there be any work of God upon our hearts it is no transient work if God begin He will perfect until the day of Christ the work of grace is an uncessant work but as in the first creation the Spirit of God hatched upon the face of the waters till the work of Creation was perfected so doth the Lord by his Spirit in his Saints he doth not leave hatching in their hearts till he hath separated light from darkness and made every thing fruitful in the soul We must not rest therefore in former weak beginnings but if we be born of God and under a Covenant of grace we must look to grow up in all well pleasing unto God that we may not be strangers to any of all the heavenly works of the grace of God but that we may grow up to abound in fruitfulness in them all Thus having explained Second Branch of the Doctrine how the Lord gives himself in a Covenant of grace unto Abraham and to his seed we now come unto the second part of the Doctrine which is that he received Abraham and his seed to be a peculiar people unto himself which although we have spoken somewhat unto in
your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David wherein you see the Lord putteth it upon such terms that if the soul come not by it it is because he would not not that any can come when they will as by the power of their own will but this the Lord will leave upon the children of Christian Parents that they shall not say that God forsook them until they have forsaken him and that when there lay no necessity upon them but voluntarily they did despise the grace of the Covenant for do but observe the causes wherefore the Lord hath discovenanted the children of gracious Parents 1. The first that ever fell off from the Covenant of grace made with Abraham it was Ishmael and what was the ground of it he mocked Isaac Gen. 21.9 10. what mocking was it in regard of humane frailty no no it was a plain persecution and that implies such a persecution as was cast upon him in respect of the Covenant of grace made with him as if he should say Here is the child of promise or the like insomuch that Sarah could not endure he should tarry any longer in the house for this was not humane frailty but humane insolency against the Covenant whereas happy he if he might have fallen under the wing of it 2. The second that you read of who fell from the Covenant fell not upon those terms but the love of worldly sensual blessings did choak the affections of Esau toward the Covenant of grace which was the chief blessing of the first born in the days of Abraham and Isaac but he coming in hungry selleth his birthright for a mess of red pottage Gen. 25.31 c. Thus Esau despised his birthright so this sort of children despise the grace of God not out of a malicious frame of spirit but they are choaked with the cares of this world and the best seed that was sown in them becomes unfruitful and this is the case of all the good husbands of the world that despise the Covenant of grace for when once a man is taken up with the profits and pleasures of this life he then cares not a rush for the Covenant of grace mount Sion is not now commodious for him so prophanely do they undervalue the Covenant of grace in comparison of sensual lusts and do men thus fall from the Covenant of grace because it is a duty above the power of nature no no the very common gifts they had might have restrained the one of these from mocking and the other from selling his birthright for a mess of pottage it is evident that the children of Christian Parents when as they come to fall off from God they do not fall upon such things as they are not able to prevent but either they scorn and persecute the things of God or else they prefer sensual lusts before them 3. A third way whereby the children of Christian Parents fall from the Covenant of grace is a self-confident cleaving unto those gifts of grace which by the Covenant they have received besides these causes of their falling from the Covenant of grace I have observed no more in Scripture nor have I found any more in mine own experience When men are invested with many spiritual blessings sweetly indowed with many sprinklings of the bloud of the Covenant whereby they come to be great in knowledge and sometime excel in a spirit of prayer and some are good at one thing and some at another and being full of such gifts it may easily come to pass that they may grow so confident of these that they will not subject themselves unto the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus And this was the rejection of the whole house of Israel Rom. 10.3 They being ignorant of Gods righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God and hence the Covenant of grace is unto them turned into a Covenant of works they are now become the children of the bond-woman and not the children of the free-woman for they that have their faith in themselves and not in Christ they fall under a Covenant of works So that minde you the Lord is just and righteous in all these his dispensations I said before God did receive Abraham and his seed into this Covenant I mean the faithful seed and they are received into the second sort of blessings of the Covenant which are truly saving for the Lord receives them into inward fellowship with his Son so as that they shall be justified sanctified and glorified But are the carnal seed then rejected no but they partake in many bounties of God and grow up and live in his sight what in the enjoyment of outward blessings only no of spiritual blessings also I but the Lord gives them not the spiritual blessing of saving grace by the Covenant doth he not and why is it not because he doth not offer it to them but because they fall off from it upon such terms wherein there lay no necessity upon them that they should so fall off Ishamel needed not have mocked Isaac Esau needed not have sold his birth-right for a mess of pottage never let them pretend the necessity of corrupt nature corrupt nature putteth no such necessity upon us to sell away such blessings upon such terms And for others that trusted in their own righteousness had not the Lord convinced them that it was not their own righteousness that could save them did not David say If thou Lord mark iniquity Lord who shall stand Psal 130.3 and in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified Psal 143.2 so that it is not the blindness of mans nature that excuseth but this flows from a malignant and affected self-confidence therefore now they are justly disinherited for the Jewes were not rejected until it was made plain to them that their righteousness would not stand before the Lord therefore saith the Apostle Act. 13.46 It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken unto you but seeing you put it from you c. and he had said before They contradicted and blasphemed and why was it necessary that the word should be spoken unto them truly that God might be faithful in his Covenant for if all the children of Christian Parents may not have liberty in the means of grace then the Lord should be wanting to his Covenant so that if they be Jewes by nature the Lord is bound by Covenant that they shall not for want of means perish nor upon such grounds as are far above the nature of creatures to reach unto for though it be above the power of the creature to repent and believe yet it is not above the power of nature to abstain from prophaneness and malignity and such strong confidence in their legal righteousness therefore doth he call them to Church-priviledges and common gifts and graces things that are
the Lord doth in giving himself give us all his Persons Attributes Ordinances Providences for he is the Lord of hosts and therefore all that is Gods is ours also It will follow semblably that we must be as God is and our children as his children and our servants as his servants and our wits and parts and authority and power and times must all be for God and not for our selves moreover all that is in our Churches is for God Cant. 7. ult At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits both new and old which I have laid up for thee O my beloved Now from hence two things follow 1. First Here is a ground for family-duties for if all that I have must be the Lords for he takes me as he gives himself then it is for us to give up all our relations unto him as much as lies in us we can do nothing but set them before the Lord but it will be requisite that we should constrain them to duty pray with our children and servants teach them the will of God restrain them from wickedness I know Abraham saith the Lord That he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord c. Gen. 18.18 and the Lord commandeth Parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Ephes 6.4 we must therefore teach them to know the God of their Fathers as David 1 Chron. 28.9 And thou Solomon my son know thou the God of thy father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing minde c. and so old Lois and Eunice were careful to train up Timothy in the knowledge of the Scriptures from a child this the Lord requireth of us as ever we look to have right in his Son he will have right in our sons if we have right in his Spirit he hath right in our spirit if you have any right in his servants he hath right in your servants and therefore use the means to draw them home to him and leave the blessing unto the Lord but if Parents be watchless in conveying the blessing to their children and children careless in receiving it God is faithful and his Covenant faithful though they fall short of it 2. Secondly This also follows that as God betrusteth us with any gifts or parts or talents with honour wealth health strength beauty liberty or what else soever if the Lord have given us any blessing it is wohlly his for we must be unto God as we would have him be unto us and therefore the Lord took it unkindly from his people Hos 2.8 That the corne and wine and oyl and silver and gold which he had given them they prepared for Baal Israel is an empty vine when he bringeth forth fruit unto himself Hos 10.1 so likewise he taketh it ill Ezek. 16.20 21. that they took his sons and his daughters and sacrified them unto Moloch so sometimes men count it a gentile thing to train up their children to idleness and other vanities whereas in truth it is as if they trained them up to Moloch and this the Lord doth abhor and will sadly require it in his own time If therefore we must give up our selves and ours unto God then here is a foundation for family-duties and also to improve our selves and all that we have wholly to advance the glory of the grace of God in Jesus Christ else we pluck asunder the Covenant of grace In the fourth place Use 4 If the Lord in this Covenant receive us to be a peculiar people unto himself something we are to learn in the manner of the performance of all holy duties for as we are still to be doing in the use of means to help our knowledge and faith so in all let us still be expecting from the Lord to lay hold upon us and ours and to receive us for our hope standeth more in Gods receiving us then in our giving our selves unto him rest not therefore in all the good means that you use for that will not hold unless the Lord be pleased to receive us and ours Joh. 6.37 All that the Father gives me shall come unto me so that unless the Lord give our children to his Son though we devote them to him it is a question whether he will take them or no look we up therefore unto the Lord that he may take them graciously unto himself the Prophet exhorteth Israel to return unto the Lord Hos 14.1 2. But how shall they return not unless the Lord take away their iniquity and receive them graciously and thus the Propher teacheth them to pray so that they do not stand upon their own reformations nor look to this and that which they can do no no take with you words and say Take thou away our iniquity otherwise we shall never get it out he also must receive us graciously and so shall we render unto him our selves and all that we can do This is the way of the Covenant of grace whatsoever duties the Lord requireth to be done on our parts let us look unto him in all to receive us and ours otherwise we and ours shall soon turn our backs upon God and upon his Covenant which he hath so graciously invited us unto in Jesus Christ We now come to the third and last Branch of the Doctrine Third Branch of the Doctrine which is That the Lord took the chief of Abrahams seed the Lord Jesus Christ to be the mediator and surety of the Covenant between God and Abraham this is expressed Gal. 3.16 To Abraham and his seed were the promises made he saith not And to his seeds as of many but as of one And to thy seed which is Christ so that he is the chiefest of the seed with whom the Covenant is established as also the Prophet Isaiah testifieth chap. 42.6 and 49.8 I will give thee for a covenant of the people and a light of the Gentiles c. and the Apostle speaketh fully when he saith Heb. 8.6 that he is the mediator of a better covenant and a surety of the Covenant Heb. 7.22 Christ is therefore the chiefest of the seed and the Mediatour and Surety of the Covenant Now a Mediatour he is between both parties partly in respect of his person and partly in respect of his Office 1. In respect of his person as he is God and man he is a fit person to be the ground of our union with God and to maintain our communion with him for what is a Mediator but a middle person to bring two persons that are at difference into one now Christ as he is God-man is most fit for this work 1. First To be the ground of our Union for being God-man he hath united both the differing natures into one so he is a middle person and fit to be the foundation of our union and therefore he is called Immanuel Isa 7.14 That is God with us 2.
Secondly By his person he is fit to maintain our communion and there are two things requisite unto that 1. First The removal of all offences and Christ is most fit for that for as he is the â—on of man he is most fit to suffer all punishment due unto sin and therefore as man he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5. ult And as he is God so he is fit to overcome sin and to prevail against the wrath of God 2. Secondly He is fit to communicate all the good things of God unto us as God he is fit to bestow upon us all spiritual comforts and heavenly gifts and blessings as man he knows what is most fit for the spirit of man and so he is fit to communicate unto us all the good things of God he hath suffered himself and hath been tempted and so he is fit to succour such as are tempted Heb. 2.17 18. thus he is a fit Mediatour in regard of his Person 2. Secondly He is fit to be a Mediatour in respect of his Offices he is a Priest a Prophet and a King and in all these Offices he doth properly and lively exercise the Office of a Mediatour 1. First As a Priest He doth offer Sacrifice for us Heb. 9.12 even himself Heb. 10.10 He gives his life a ransom for many Mat. 20.28 and he doth not only thus give all this but apply it also unto us as it belongs unto a Mediator for to do And as a Priest he doth sit at Gods right hand and makes intercession for us Rom. 8.34 and if any man man sin we have an advocate with the Father which is Christ the righteous by him God reconcileth the world unto himself 2 Cor. 5.19 thus he taketh away the sins of the world Joh. 1.29 and becomes a propitiation for us Rom. 3.24 25. these things he doth as he is a Priest 2. Secondly As he is a Prophet he teacheth us all things Acts 3.22 whatsoever things he hath done and suffered for us those things as a Prophet he teacheth us 3. Thirdly As a King he doth apply all this grace unto us subduing us by his Spirit unto himself and all the creatures unto us God by him as a Mediator doth bring us on effectually unto himself by the mighty power of his Word and Spirit and keepeth us with himself in spotless communion unto his heavenly kingdom These Offices give him power and authority to do it as also faithfulness and mercy according unto his tender compassion on our necessities Thus we see how the Lord Jesus is a Mediatour In particular he is a Mediatour of the Covenant between God and us and that in a threefold respect 1. First Because he is the Messenger of the Covenant thus he is called Mal. 3.1 he did first publish it unto our first Parents Gen. 3.15 and unto Abraham and by all the holy Prophets and in the daies of his flesh and by the Apostles and their successours unto the end of the world 2. Secondly He is called the Mediatour of the Covenant as he doth ratifie and confirm the Covenant by a threefold seal 1. First By his bloud for a Testament is confirmed by the death of him that made it Heb. 9.15 16 17. he is the mediatour of the new testament that by means of death c. that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance He made it sure on Gods part and on our parts he doth seal it up with his bloud that it might be confirmed unto all Generations and as no man altereth a Testament after a Testatours death so this is unalterable 2. Secondly As he hath confirmed it by his bloud so also by his Spirit Ephes 1.13 14. c. 4.30 Grieve not the holy Spirit whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption Christ is the Angel that ascended out of the East having the seal of the living God Rev. 7.2 3. And look as it was the manner of the Priest of old to sprinkle the bloud of the Covenant upon the book of the law and upon the people so doth the Lord Jesus besprinkle us and that which is taught us with his bloud and Spirit and thereby begetteth the experience of the savour of God in our hearts and sealeth it up unto us 3. Thirdly He doth seal it by the seals of the Covenant which are Baptism and the Lords Supper so it is here said He gave him the covenant of circumcision which was a seal of the righteousness of faith instead whereof he hath given us Baptism And by the Lords Supper he sealeth it for that is the bloud of the new Testament Mat 26.28 by all these means he doth confirm the Covenant Dan. 7.27 3. Thirdly He is not only the Publisher and confirmer but also the Prince and Head of it for you shall see that in all Covenants there are some that are Princes of the Covenant as we read Dan. 11.22 where speaking of the league between Egypt and Assyria he makes mention of the Princes of the Covenant So in this respect the Lord Jesus is called the Covenant it self Isai 42.6.49 8. as being the Head and Prince of it and that implyeth two or three things 1. First If he be the Prince of the Covenant then all the Covenant is first made with him Gal 3.16 To Abraham and to his seed even unto Christ and to the Church his mystical body in him and under him and therefore all the promises are in him yea and in him amenâ— 2 Cor. 1.20 that is to say all the Promises and all their conditions are fulfilled in him as he saith It behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness Mat. 3.15 2. Secondly He doth inherit the blessings of the Covenant so far as his blessed nature is capable of them he hath received the crown of inheritance of all the blessings both of this life and of another Mat. 28.18 he sitteth at Gods right hand having led captivity captive he treadeth down Satan under his feet therefore 1. First He hath fulfilled all the conditions of the Covenant as this is one part of the Covenant The redeemer shall come out of Sion and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob as the Apostle Rom. 11.26 expoundeth the words of the Prophet Isai 59.20 for he fulfilleth in us all the conditions of the Covenant he it is that turneth us to the Lord and undertaketh to do all things in us and for us 2. Secondly He doth communicate the blessings of the Covenant to us having himself exactly fulfilled all the Conditions of them 3. He doth apply the comfort of the Promises unto us and having done all these things he leadeth us still to wait upon him for further and further blessings in his Ordinances Thus we have seen in particulars how the Lord Jesus is the Mediatour of the Covenant He is the Publisher of it the confirmer of it by his bloud by his Spirit by the seals
imply that the Lord giveth himself to be the staffe and strength of them so that you shall see the presence of God in them he will not only give a man Wife and Children and Ordinances and Providences but he himself will be in all these and blesse his people in the enjoyment of them all so as that they shall enjoy God in all Psal 16.5 6. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance He saw the Lord in what he did enjoy and when he had any thing it was in God and when he wanted any thing it was supplied in him The like did Jacob finde when his brother Esau came against him with 400. men and the Lord turned him from the fierceness of his wrath here was the Covenant of Abraham the Lord gave him the mouth and arms and tears of his brother Esau what saith Jacob to all this Gen. 33.10 I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God He saw the power and mercy of God in changing the countenance of his elder Brother and that is it which sweetneth all that a man doth enjoy the loving kindness of God in all is the Blessing of all and this likewise doth Jacob acknowledge Gen. 33.5 These are the Children which God of his grace hath given me and so he looked at them as Gods wives and children and servants and cattel and this is the very life of the Covenant of Grace when as the Lord is wrapped up in all his Blessings when as he giveth himself and in himself his Christ and in Christ Peter and Paul and all things unto his Church This is the main thing given God himself the God of the Covenant his Persons Nature Ordinances Providences and now Abraham is made the Lord of the world and so the Apostle doth interpret it Rom. 4.13 The Promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham nor to his seed through the Law but through the righteousness of Faith and this is that which Abraham did receive in receiving the Lord to be his God 2. In the order of giving the Covenant there is something to be observed 1. God giveth first and not the Creature it was not Abraham that gave unto God first for which of all the creatures shall offer a Covenant unto the mighty God Rom. 11.35 Who hath given unto him first and it shall be recompensed unto him again the Lord hath the pre-eminence in giving for what should Abraham give unto God if God give not something unto him first he is the first giver 2. He is also the first thing in order that is given For doth he give the world first or ordinances first or any other spiritual or temporal blessings first No doubtless the Lord is the first thing that he giveth by his Covenant and with himself all things else also Rom. 8.32 and there is the precedency of Jesus Christ he is given and in him all spiritual blessings as the Apostle saith Eph. 1.3 Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus And this for the order in giving the Covenant not obedience first nor faith first nor any thing else first but Himself is Donum primum primarium and in him all his goodness 3. For the Manner of giving in that he giveth himself there is implied both the freedom and eternety of the gift Firmness therefore and that unto eternity In that he giveth himself it must of necessity be done freely for what can any creature give to purchase God if a man could give thousands of worlds they were not enough to redeem or purchase one soul and if he had millions of worlds to give what were they all to purchase so great a gift as God himself is therefore it must needs be of free gift for the creature can do nothing to prevent God God indeed may give with a purpose to receive back again but he looketh to receive no more then what he first giveth us and giveth us strength of Will and Deed to give him back again He required this of Abraham that he should walk before him and be upright Gen. 17.1 but the very truth is though Abraham shall perform these things in an Evangelical manner yet God himself doth undertake in this Covenant to be the Author and Finisher both of his Faith and Obedience Heb. 12.2 And this doth argue the marvelous freedome of the Covenant of Grace for the Lord offereth it out of his Grace without the foresight of Faith or Works for he undertaketh to give both Will and Deed of his good pleasure Phil. 2.13 But it may be said Object Did not the Lord except it that he should give himself back again or else the Lord would not give himself Truly then it had not been of Free-grace Answ But as you see sometimes great Princes will take in a neighbour-Nation into league with them and not tell them of it so doth the Lord deal with his elect ones he maketh a Covenant with Christ and taketh us into that Covenant otherwise he should not at all intend it effectually nor ever give himself unto us for we are not able to give our selves unto him till he first take us For if Abraham did give himself it was because God did take him first and therefore it is that the Apostle telleth us that the Lord took hold of Paul that he might take hold upon the Lord Phil. 3.12 I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus is not he the Father that hath bought us hath not he made us established us Deut. 32.6 If we give up our selves unto the Lord it is because the Lord hath taken hold upon our hearts first But doth not the Lord require of him to circumcise his seed the eighth day Object So he doth indeed Answ but the Lord giveth him that also God the Father seeth it needfull for their everlasting Salvation therefore he doth give him Circumcision and giveth him the grace to circumcise his children I know that the Lord doth call for many things under a covenant of Grace but then the Lord doth 1. Work those things in them And 2. He will have them know that those things are nothing without the working of his Grace It is true he may circumcise Isaac but who shall circumcise the heart of Isaac it is a small matter to circumcise the flesh so it is a small matter for us to baptize with water but who must wash us from our sins save only the Lord our God so that he doth secretly intimate that what his poor servants do outwardly he would do it inwardly and effectually The children of Israel shall at the Lords commandment march about the city Jericho seven daies together and not speak a word and hereby the wals of the city shall fall down flat of what use were these weapons to such an
end what would the Lord shew his people hereby hereby he teacheth them to know by what ability and power to bring mighty things to pass they shall do duties as the Lord commandeth them but he himself will breath in them to make them effectual For though we do never so much yet we cannot reach unto the accomplishment of any good thing not by might nor by strength but by my Spirit the Lord therefore by his Spirit must work all our works for us Here is the freeness of Gods Covenant in that the Lord giveth himself first Jer. 32.40 I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me You may speak of Conditions in this kinde but the Lord doth undertake both for his own part and for our parts also for as the Covenant is free so the Lord will freely maintain and preserve all his Elect and all from the immutable Nature of God it is not possible that God should lye I am Jehovah I change not Mal. 3.6 therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed Hence springeth our Eternity and perseverance unto it Rom. 11.29 for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance And I am perswaded saith the Apostle Paul that he that hath begun this work will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1.6 The Lord took your Father Abram and brought him from the other side of the floud Josh 24.3 and he being called obeyed Heb. 11.8 Thus mind ye the Lord dealeth in the Covenant of Grace he looketh towards those that look not towards him as is held forth Hos 3.3 where the Lord biddeth the Prophet love a woman that was an adulteress and say unto her Thou shalt be for me and I will be for thee this is a branch of the Covenant when the Lord doth undertake to receive Abraham and his seed unto himself his giving himself unto them doth breed a reciprocal returning of them unto him Now it may be demanded How the Lord did take Abraham and his seed to be his people Quest By a double Act As Answ 1. Of Preparation not on Abrahams part nor on his seeds part but on his own part the Lord prepared them 2. The Lord did invest him with the Blessings of this Covenant 1. For Preparation the Lord prepareth them by a double work of his Spirit which are manifest in all the seed of Abraham 1. By a spirit of bondage whereby he cutteth off the seed of Abraham from all worldly intanglements and delights thus God took Abraham and brought him from beyond the floud and so doth he take men off from their countreys and fathers houses he separates them from all such things that he might draw them unto himself thus he dealt with the children of Israel and called them to be a singular People unto himself Deut. 7.6 7 8. Thus doth the Lord deal with all those whom he receiveth to be a people unto himself by this spirit of Bondage he draweth them from all their sinful lusts and passions so as that they can finde no life in them nor any hope of mercy at all in any thing by this Bondage the Lord setteth home unto the consciences of men the weight and danof their sins and bindeth them under the sense of his wrath unto fear of Damnation The Romans first received the spirit of Bondage to fear before ever they came to receive the Spirit of Adoption Rom. 8.25 But thus the Lord doth even shut a Soul out of doors that he may open to him another and a better way 2. The Lord also prepareth his people by a Spirit of burning which upon a Spirit of Bondage he doth shed abroad into the hearts of men this we read of Mal. 4.1 Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up and it shall leave them neither root nor branch It is spoken of the Ministery of John Baptist which did burn like an oven against all the Scribes and Pharisees and left them neither the root of Abrahams Covenant nor the branch of their own good Works He cutteth them off from the Covenant of Abraham Mat. 3.9 Think not to say within your selves that you have Abraham to your Father for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham and so by cutting them off from the Root he leaveth them no ground to trust on From their good Works also the Lord Jesus Christ cutteth them off Mat. 6.2 When thou dost thine alms sound not a Trumpet before thee as the Hypocrites do that they may have the glory of men and vers 5. When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites are c. and vers 16. When ye Fast ye shall not be as the Hypocrites are of a sad countenance c. This was a Spirit of Burning which the Lord conveyed by the Ministry of Christ and of John Baptist to burn up all the Hypocrites like stubble and the beauty of their works were blasted by it and this is Gods usual manner of dealing Now there are many under a spirit of bondage that never came under a spirit of burning and they being convinced of sin and of the danger thereof yet hope to wrestle it out and work it out by their own performances till the spirit of Burning come and consume all that false confidence But when the spirit of Burning cometh he then blasteth all the fruits and branches of their righteousness and burns up all that a man hath wrought or can work And this is that which the Prophet Esay chap. 4.4 speaketh of that the Lord will purge away the filth of the Daughter of Zion with a Spirit of Judgment and of Burning the one is a spirit of Sanctification and the other is a consuming Fire which forceth them not to build any comfort upon any works that they have done this may Hypocrites reach unto in their judgments so as that they may be convinced that they have neither root within them nor branch growing upon them and yet in the mean while they may not come unto a Spirit of Adoption but hereby also the Lord useth to prepare his people Some bless themselves in worldly courses and never came unto a spirit of bondage Some do finde comfort in their performances and never saw the vanity of their own Righteousness But there are those whom the Lord doth carry further unto a spirit of burning even unto a sensible feeling of Gods wrath burning against whatsoever is as stubble and such is a mans own gifts and parts and worth so that now the poor soul findeth that he hath no Root not any sure mercy of the Covenant of Grace that he can rest upon no green branch of righteousness remaining but all
teacheth and none like him 1 Joh. 2.20 27. You have an unction from the holy One and ye know all things c. and in this respect every Christian is a sealed one of God more or less when as the Angel was sent to set the seal of God upon his servants Revel 7.2 3. he did not leave out weak Christians doubtless but did seal all the servants of God Christ is careful to keep his weak servants from inundations of evil as well as others so in Ezek. 9.4 The mark of God is set upon all that mourn for the sins of the times therefore in some work of this seal the Holy Ghost is not wanting to seal all believers otherwise thou couldest not believe that the Father hath drawn thee to Christ unless the Lord had revealed it nor couldest thou believe that the Father is thy Father unless the Holy Ghost hath sealed thee thou canst not know that thy faith is accepted of God that thy sanctification is in truth unless the Spirit of God do clear up these things unto thy soul though thou hadst many promises before thee yet unless the Lord by his Spirit apply them thou canst not see thy right in them But is not that my sin Object It is your sin Answ but it is such a sin as the power of the creature cannot help you out of for unless the Lord be pleased to discover Jesus Christ unto you and your faith in him and your deriving of your works from him you will neither know your justification nor your sanctification to be true therefore there is ever a sealing work of Gods Spirit upon the souls of his Saints though this may be done before the Holy Ghost come to seal you in his own proper work for you have many gracious workings of God about you before he come to seal his own work in your soul 2. The second work of the Spirit in respect whereof he is called a seal is his ingraving the likeness of Jesus Christ upon the soul for the Lord hath predestinated us to be conformed unto the image of his Son Rom. 8.29 and how come we to be so conformed even by the Spirit of God who writeth as it were Jesus Christ in our hearts as with the finger of the living God and hence Christ is formed in us Gal. 4.19 and this image of Christ the Holy Ghost writeth in us by making us conformable unto the death and resurrection of Christ and unto that end he doth breathe in both the Sacraments Rom. 6.4 5 6. for he is both a Spirit of mortification and vivification so as that through him we do not onely finde sin mortified but do live by the faith of the Son of God and the Spirit it is that doth preserve these gifts and acteth and stirreth up our faith to look unto Christ this is another use of the seal not only to confirm but to conform so that of his fulness we all receive grace for grace Joh. 1.16 and we live yet not we but Christ liveth in us and this seal the Holy Ghost doth set on more or less in every Christian but in his own proper work he doth it with more power 3. The third work whereby the Holy Ghost doth express the nature of a seal is in distinguishing the Saints from other men Rev. 7.2 3. the servants of God were sealed and in sealing them he doth conceal them as a seal doth so that the world knows them not Joh. 14.17 and 1 Joh. 3.1 we are called the sons of God therefore the world knows us not c. and the more the Spirit doth distinguish a man from the wicked of the world the less they do discern him to be a gracious man the more lively grace is the more it is hidden from the world as men grow more in godliness so they grow more and more to be suspected by the world this is sealing work to distinguish and yet to conceal these things doth the Spirit of God as a seal upon the hearts and consciences of his people he begetteth and confirmeth all their faith more or less he doth conform them to the image of Christ more or less he doth also conceal and distinguish them from the world The second Question needful for the clearing of this point Quest 2 is How is the Holy Ghost an earnest For Answer Answ He is called an earnest in two respects 1. First As he bindeth the bargain between God and the soul he doth confirm all the promises of God to us and fasteneth them upon our hearts and settleth our hearts with an unmovable faith God having given us his Spirit doth give us all in him for he bindeth our union with Christ and our relation to the Father the Covenant of Gods grace unto us and us unto it the Gospel to us and us unto the Gospel 2. Secondly He is an earnest as he is the first fruits of the payment if a man give a pledge he meaneth to take his pledge again but if he gives money in earnest he meaneth not to take that again for it is part of the payment and the whole is but a greater payment of the same kinde so in like manner what is all our inheritance surely a fulness of the fruition of God the Father and of Jesus Christ and of the blessed Spirit of God this is all our inheritance that we look for in another world Eph. 1.14 He is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory here we have but a little portion of the Spirit a little earnest-peny but this little portion is an assurance unto us that he will make it up until we be able to receive no more Now for Application of this Point Use 1 let it first teach us how to speak of the seal of the Spirit all those that desire to speak the language of Canaan no man hath part in Christ but he hath the seal of the Spirit also for if the Holy Ghost had not given thee Christ in this or that promise thou couldest never have believed it True it is indeed there are many Christians yea and sealed Christians which are not sealed with the proper work of the Spirit I mean with that full consolation and universal conformity to Gods image every Christian hath not received that measure of power but every Christian waiteth for it and is sealed by the blessed Spirit having set home some word of Gods grace wherein Jesus Christ is brought unto the soul In the second place Use 2 let it teach us thus much that it will come short of bringing us unto Christ if we lay claim to a promise of God by any work of grace such as we can have before we have the seal of the Spirit I mean such a work of the Spirit as wherein he doth come in with power upon the soul above the power of the word and works of God for they are both creatures and