his operation in them when their minds and spirits become purified and refined from inordinateness of affection and unruliness of passion until by degrees they are brought in some good measure unto a likeness and conformity to the spirit and temper of Jesus Christ whose Scholars they are They that are joined to the Lord are one spirit They mind love hate and design the same things which our Saviour doth They participate of that love gentleness benignity and goodness which was so eminent in him the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness righteousness and truth Ephes 5.9 by which means they come to be in the world as he was in the world as S. Johns phrase is Hereby saith S. John we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us Joh. 3.24 It is so like him that it must needs come from him and if it be in us it is because he dwells in us If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us 1 John 4.12 When we love one another as Christ hath loved us when we are merciful as our heavenly Father is mercciful his love and goodness is so resembled by us as that it is perfectly discernible in us Moreover the Holy Spirit is given to the Believers to be with them to strengthen them with resolution and courage to hold on their course of holy living and cleaving faithfully to Christ notwithstanding all opposition and discouragement they may meet with from the World in doing so To this end they are strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man Ephes 3.16 For God hath not given them the spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1.7 And not onely so but the Holy Spirit is given to the Believers to be always with them to maintain and uphold in them a comfortable and chearful frame of spirit and so to keep them from fainting when they are called to suffer for the sake of our Saviour or his truth or doctrine And it is doubtless from this effect among others of the Spirits abiding with the Believers that he is stiled the Comforter And for the same reason principally the joy which they have amidst their sufferings for righteousness sake is called the joy of the Holy Ghost 1 Thess 1.6 having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost And well may it be called the joy of the Holy Ghost because solid joy under such circumstances can proceed from no other cause but the Holy Spirits operation It is not the manner of the World as it is with Believers to rejoice in affliction in wrongs and injuries and hard usage from men but the contrary because they have no principle in them out of which such a thing should proceed And therefore our Savior saith to his Disciples My peace I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you Joh. 14.27 The Holy Spirit can raise joy yea great joy in the souls of the followers of Christ when they suffer never so hard measure from the hands of men so long as they know it is for their faithfulness to their blessed Lord and Master who hath suffered and done so much for them as he hath done The Spirit of God can so order their thoughts within them that they shall not look upon themselves as disgraced thereby but as highly honoured by their Master by giving them both opportunity and courage to do him that honour when his adversaries would cast reproach and shame upon him and his Cause and all that appear for it And thus the Apostles when they had been beaten departed from the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus their Lord Acts 5.41 The Holy Ghost can suggest to them also that a great deal of good by such sufferings may be done to others in causing them to think the more and the better of the Christian Religion when they see with what chearfulness the Professors of it can suffer for its sake When the Thessalonians received the Word in much affliction and yet with joy of the Holy Ghost they became thereby ensamples to all that believed in Macedonia and Achaia and from them and their deportment in suffering for the Gospel the word of the Lord sounded out not onely in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place their faith was spread abroad and talked of 1 Thess 1.6 7 8. It was this joyous deportment of the primitive Martyrs in their sufferings that tended so greatly to the increase and enlargement of the Church as History relates it did The Christians then were enabled to glory in tribulation of this kind in as much as they were guided to consider that this patient enduring without repining would give them experience of their sincerity and fidelity in cleaving to Christ and then this experience would give them hope such as should not make them ashamed through any disappointment but great confidence towards God of being accepted Rom. 5.3 4. And not onely so but also touching the greatness of the reward which is laid up in heaven for such a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Upon account whereof our Saviour bids them to rejoice and to be exceeding glad yea to leap for joy in that day when they should be persecuted for righteousness sake and have their name cast out as evil and the like When the Christians were enabled to suffer the spoiling of their goods yea and of their lives too not onely with patience but also with joyfulness when they were as sorrowing and yet always rejoycing whence was this And how can it be imagined that they should ever be able to do and to be so but that they were strengthened with all might according to Gods glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness as S. Paul speaks Col. 1.11 The Spirit of God and of glory then rested upon them as the other Apostle saith 1 Pet. 4.14 How came S. Stephen to stand with such an undaunted courage before the Council as if his face had been the face of an Angel Why it was because he was full of the Holy Ghost he had a mighty presence of the Spirit with him to enable him thereunto S. Paul learned by experience that as his sufferings did abound for Christ so his consolations by Christ did abound also 2 Cor. 1.5 that when he was weak then he was strong that he had a mightier presence a more powerful and comfortable influence of the Holy Spirit in times of great trials and sufferings for Christ than he had at other times And this experience of his made him so far from being afraid of suffering that for the sake of that wonderful comfort which was wont to come along with suffering he was rather glad when suffering came than any way dejected and cast down for it 2 Cor. 12.9 10. Most gladly therefore will I
not be in doubt of their own good estate Godward though they have not found in themselves so tormenting a sense of their spiritual danger as some others have done to prepare and dispose them to repent and believe the Gospel if they can but find and feel in themselves Repentance and Faith in the true nature and genuine effects of them No man need much to be concerned about the nature of the means as whether it be proportionate to the end after he once sees the end effected in himself His sense of danger is sufficient which causeth him to fly in due time to the place of refuge There needs a greater sense of danger and more affecting fears to make one willing to part with those sins and evil ways he hath been long accustomed to and hath had a strong affection for than there is to make another willing to forego those evils he never had much to do with nor much affection for An ordinary blast may throw down a Plant before it hath taken rooting when no less than a great tempest and strong blast will tear up a Tree of long standing and deep rooting Yet I must say that the greater sense men have of the greatness of the danger they were in and the more that sense hath afflicted their soul with fear and grief by so much the more they are likely to value and prize to love and honour that Saviour by whom they find themselves delivered from it Hence it is that such as have been greater sinners than others before conversion have many times proved more eminent Saints than others after fuller of love to Christ and zeal for him Thus it was with Mary Magdalen who loved much because much was forgiven her as our Saviour said Whereas as he observes likewise that he to whom but little is forgiven the same loveth but little Luke 27.47 And thus I have dispatched the first of the two things I proposed to insist on and to explain to wit what is done by God by way of preparation to dispose the minds of men to perform the condition of the promise I shall now proceed to the second which is to shew what is done by God to assist men in the actual performance of that condition on which pardon of sin and eternal life are promised CHAP. IV. How by the very Nature of the Gospel God does assist men in performing the condition of the Promise IN shewing what God does in assisting men in the performance of the condition of the promise of Pardon and Life two things will come under consideration I. What assistance is given by God by his very giving us the Gospel to this end and II. What by the influence and operation of his Spirit 1. That men are assisted by the Gospel in their performing the condition of the promise of pardon and life is very evident S. Paul saith it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth Rom. 1.16 That he had begotten the Christian Corinthians through the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 And S. James that God of his own will begat the Christians by the word of truth Jam. 1.18 And S. Peter that they were born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 Pet. 1.23 Supposing men to be prepared by such teaching of God the Father as hath been before described the Gospel it self is of such a nature as makes it very apt to attract and draw such men to the belief of it and obedience to it when attended to in which the performance of the condition of the promise doth consist and this in a double respect I. In respect of the subject matter of it or things contained in it II. In respect of the evidence by which it is confirmed to be from God and undoubtedly true 1. In respect of the subject matter of it or things contained in it As for instance it contains a Declaration who and what an one Jesus Christ is viz. the Son of God and Saviour of the World and what he hath suffered to make atonement for the sin of the World and to obtain reconciliation between God and men after their rebellion against him And the Gospel as such cannot but facilitate its own way into the minds of such men as are burdened and pained with the sense of their own guilt and liableness to Gods displeasure It being suited to their case and contrived on purpose to give to such ease and relief it cannot but render it self acceptable to them This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners saith S. Paul 1 Tim. 1.15 It is indeed a saying a doctrine worthy of acceptation if any thing is so which the World ever knew yea worthy of all acceptation to the highest degree And its being so makes sinners which are sensible of their very great need of a Saviour the more ready and willing to believe it and to hearken to any thing that tends to strengthen their belief of it We have a saying which is found true upon common observation That men are willing to believe that to be true which they would fain have to prove so and are inquisitive after the evidence of its truth that they may confidently believe it and rejoice in it I have shewed before with what joy the Gospel was entertained at its first going forth into the World by such as were to any considerable degree made sensible of the danger they were in by reason of sin and therefore I do not need to enlarge upon it farther here Again the Gospel contains great and precious promises of pardon of sin and eternal life upon condition of Repentance Faith and new Obedience and most dreadful threatnings against such as reject those terms Now the Gospel in these respects is of a persuasive nature and hath an aptness and fitness in it to prevail with men to use their endeavours of performing the condition of escaping the damnation of Hell and of obtaining the glory of Heaven First the terrible threatnings denounced against such as continue unreformed in their lives when these fall into minds already disquieted with fears for what is past are very apt to alienate mens minds from sin and so to help on the performance of that part of the condition of the promise which consisteth in Repentance or amendment of life The stronger sense men have of their danger by reason of sin formerly committed and also of running into greater danger if they continue in sin after pardon is offered upon condition of amendment the more easily will they be persuaded and prevailed upon to accept of the condition of pardon and to put forth their endeavour to perform it The sense of danger which divine threatnings do awake in men when any thing strong will cause them to enquire how they may escape it to the end they may speedily fall upon the use of
such means by which such an escape may be obtained Thus those pricked in their hearts Acts 2. cried out Men and brethren what shall we do And the Goaler when once in a trembling posture Sirs what shall I do to be saved Acts 16.30 These affectionate enquiries caused by a sense of their danger argued their willingness to do any thing they could to escape it of which they gave proof by setting immediately and without any delay upon what they were directed to do to that end This sense of danger awakened by divine threatnings so long as it lasteth will take off that pleasure which men before were wont to find in ways of sin and wickedness and make the taste of them bitter and by that means estrange their minds from them What is it that makes men at any time to fall out with their sins and turn them off but an awakened sense in themselves by which thy feel they have been betrayed by them into the snare of death into such danger as that the very sense and fear of it quite swallows up that pleasure which they were wont to take in those sins And under these circumstances it will be a matter of far less difficulty for men to perform the condition of the promise so far as that stands in forsaking of sin than it would be to continue in it For in this case they find the fear and trouble which still is at the heels of sin is far greater than any pleasure they can then find in it In vain is the Net spread in the sight of any Bird saith Solomon Prov. 1.17 Even so while men have their eye upon the present fear and future danger sin exposeth them to it disarms the temptation to it of its power and renders it too weak to prevail with them to run themselves into the torments of present fears and into eternal destruction for the future A Dog will forbear his otherwise desired morsel while his eye is upon the Cudgel which is held over him Secondly the promise through Christ of such inestimable benefits as the pardon of sin and the eternal glory of Heaven are upon condition as of Faith so of sincere Obedience hath a great tendency in it to reconcile our minds to our duty in particular acts of obedience It is inseparable from the nature of men to desire the happiness of their own Being in the general notion of it and for perpetuity also And the more desirable any object is and the more there is in it to make our happiness great the more powerfully are we drawn thereby to comply with the condition and to use the means of obtaining it when we hope it to be attainable The greater and more attractive the object of desire is by so much will the difficulty of the condition and means of obtaining it seem the less Jacobs serving seven years for Rachel seemed to him but a few days for the love wherewith he loved her All which shews that the immense greatness of the benefits promis'd in the Gospel does tend greatly to reconcile our minds to the condition of obtaining them notwithstanding some present difficulties do attend it Just as we see in other things Men would not cark and care moil and toil as they do nor undertake such wearisom journies and hazardous voyages as men commonly do were it not that the benefit they expect to obtain thereby does reconcile their minds to these difficulties What enabled Moses to forsake the treasures of Egypt and the honours of Pharaohs Court and to unite himself with an oppressed People when he could not otherwise avoid sin and serve his God as he had a mind to do Why it was the eye the respect he had therein unto the recompence of the reward Heb. 11.25 26. The hope of the recompence of reward made the difficulties of Gods service the reproach of Christ and suffering with the People of God more eligible and desirable than the pleasures of sin which were but for a season Hope of benefit we see then is a great and powerful principle of action in men and if the promise of the great things of the Gospel does but affect stir up and quicken our hope this will be enough to put those endeavours into motion by which the condition of obtaining them will be performed It is by the exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospel that men are made partakers of a divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 And the reason is because these promises do affect their hope this hope changeth the thoughts and purposes of men in order to the obtaining of the things promised and hoped for by all which they become new men restored to the image of God which had been lost by sin which is the divine nature The difficult part of performing the condition of the promise of pardon and life lies in mens forsaking the sins to which they had been accustomed and in practising the contrary Vertues from which they have been estranged But the Gospel we see enables men to do both by working upon their fears and hopes For when two such powerful principles of action concur and conspire together to promote the same end to produce the same effect as they do in this though in different respects the operation must needs be very great powerful and prevalent and the work like to go on with good success Fear and hope are the two handles of the Soul by which it is taken hold of and drawn 2. Having thus shewed how apt and fit the Gospel is in respect of the subject matter of it to draw men to such a belief of it and obedience to it as in which the performance of the condition of the promise of pardon and life doth consist I am now to shew in the next place its farther aptitude this way in respect of that evidence it hath of its Divinity Truth and Infallibility For indeed all the power it hath to work upon mens fears and hopes by its menaces and promises to the producing of their effects in mens lives and actions depends wholly upon the supposition of its truth and certainty Men would not be moved neither by the threatnings nor promises of the Gospel how great soever they be did they believe the Gospel to be but fabulous And therefore the All-wise God hath as much concerned himself to give sufficient attestation to the truth of the Gospel as he hath to acquaint men with the things reported in it To this end the Almighty Father hath by a voice from Heaven testified that Jesus Christ is his beloved Son and that his doctrine is to be attended to as to one whom he had sent into the World to declare his whole mind touching mens salvation Mat. 3.17 and 17.5 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him To the same purpose also served those numerous miracles which he wrought For these were signs to assure us that he was what he affirmed himself to be
their own hurt and to think it inconsistent with his natural goodness being infinite not to save them if he can And therefore to undeceive men in this matter I have insisted the more on these things and to shew how agreeable it is to the Divine Wisdom for God to withdraw his assistance from men after they have obstinatery persisted in refusing and opposing it in its design upon them And if it be agreeable to his wisdom it cannot be disagreeable to his goodness for it is as well goodness in God to controul Vice as it is for him to encourage Vertue in what way and by what methods seems best unto him There is a great deal of difference between true love and goodness and fondness Men by fondness love many times without reason and bestow their favours more than becomes them But true and generous goodness governs it self by wisdom and prudence and so it doth in God The wisdom of God will not suffer his goodness to throw away his saving benefits upon those who by incapacitating themselves to enjoy them have rendred themselves altogether unworthy of them For it would disparage the wisdom and so the goodness of God the donor in case he should confer them upon such because his different affection to evil and good would be thereby in a great measure obscured and the sinews of his Government weakned Honour is not seemly for a Fool saith the Wise-man Prov. 26.1 As it will not become the Fool himself so neither will it become the wisdom of him that confers it to place it on one so uncapable of it as a Fool is CHAP. VII Of the after-assistance of the Holy Spirit which those receive who have been assisted already to perform the condition of the promise as new beginners in doing so THose who have been assisted by God to repent believe and obey and therein to begin their performance of the condition of the promise of pardon and life do still stand in need of his further assistance to persevere and to continue to do so to their lives end and to do it more and more excellently For as Believers hold their title in the benefits promised no longer than they continue to perform the condition on which the promise of them is made so neither do they continue in the performance of that condition longer than they are assisted by God to do so Now to persevere in performing the condition of the promise is as necessary for men to continue their title to the benefits promised as their performance of that condition at the first was to begin it For the promise runs thus He that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved Mat. 24.13 And to him that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end will I give power over the Nations Rev. 2.26 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity all the righteousness which he hath done shall not be mentioned in the trespass which he hath trespassed and in the sin which he hath sinned in them he shall die Ezek. 18.24 And as this perseverance is necessary for the reason and end aforesaid so is a constant and continual assistance from God to enable the Disciples of Christ so to persevere As the same power is necessary to continue the natural life which first gave being to it so is it in the spiritual life and state also Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1.6 And that which is very remarkable touching this After-assistance of which I speak is That a greater presence and more constant assistance of the Spirit of God is promised and vouchsafed unto men after they believe than they had before This appears by having the Holy Spirit given them after in such a degree which they had not before and by Gods dwelling and the Spirits abiding in them after who did not do so before First those who have believed the Gospel and sincerely delivered up themselves to the conduct of it in their lives do thereby come under that special priviledge of having the Holy Spirit given them to assist influence and quicken them and to carry on the work of sanctification in them This our Saviour promised John 7.38 39. Jesus cried saying he that believeth on me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water this saith the Evangelist he spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive Acts 2.38 Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost Which promises we find made good afterwards in several instances Of the Believers it is said Acts 4.31 that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost And Acts 5.32 We saith S. Peter are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him And S. Paul to the Ephesians saith After ye believed ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise chap. 1.13 that is they were marked for his and distinguished from those that were not by his giving them the Spirit For if any man have not the Spirit of Chhist he is none of his Rom. 8.9 Sensual not having the Spirit Jude 19. It is true indeed those first Christians and others after for some time did receive the Holy Spirit in a sense that was peculiar to those times for the confirmation and propagation of the Christian Religion until it was well setled and had taken some rooting in the World As when they were in an extraordinary way enabled by the Spirit to speak with other tongues and to perform other miraculous operations as our Saviour had foretold they should For these signs said he shall follow them that believe in my name in my name they shall cast out Devils they shall speak with new tongues c. Mark 16.17 A more full and particular enumeration of which extraordinary gifts of the Spirit scattered among the Believers of those times we have in 1 Cor. 12. But besides these the Believers then received in receiving the Holy Spirit an increase of gracious qualifications called the fruit of the Spirit such as love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance as the Apostle reckons them up Gal. 5.22 And in this sense the Holy Spirit hath been given to all true Believers ever since and is now For if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his he is no true Christian Rom. 8.9 By mens having the Spirit then and by the Spirits being given them after they believe is meant I conceive a more constant and a more plentiful influence and effusion of the Spirit to change and renew them to restore them to the likeness of God to the spirit and temper of Jesus Christ than ever was vouchsafed them