contrarietie of Spirit unto it Jo. 14. 4. and 5. 14. Psal 5. 15. Rom. 7. 23. propension to any sin and unaptness to any good 2. So for the penalties a seed of utter impenitâ—nciâ— disobedience obstinacie apostasie excommunication from God From this fountain proceeded both actual sins and actual penaltiâ—s Sins of commission omission ignorance presumption inward habits as hypocrisie earthliness ignorance error prophaneness unthankfulness hardness of heart Outward acts impiousness unrighteousness intemperancie and the like So penalties actual as the impuritie and curs of conception and birth the loss of the right and dominion of the creatures the curs on God's blessings hellish terrors diseases povertie discredit imprisonment fear of death guiltiness of judgment and utter miserie of loss and sens in hell Such a penaltie upon Adam's nature as made it truly miserable in stead of beeing truly happie This miserie hath two branches 1. The miserie of sin 2. The miserie of punishment 1. Miserie of sin is either of the root Original or the branches Actual sin both makeing the Soul truly though not equally miserable The miserie of Original sin standeth in two things 1. Original guilt 2. Original stain or pollution both being the fountains of all actual guilt and pollution of conscience Original guilt is that privitie and reflection of conscience whereby hee told himself continnally that hee had fallen and therefore must die the death in each kinde of it bodie and Soul This perpetual Alarum of conscience in his nature was the first part of his finfull miserie And to say the truth what miserie is like to this to bee ever on the rack of a man 's own spirit suggesting and boading him sad things to com for his sin threatning him with perpetual ruine Original stain or pollution is set forth either in the whole or in the parts Touching the whole the holy Ghost expresseth it by the word Death for as death is the resolution of nature so is this death of the Soul a total abolishment and corruption of that blessed frame of creätion in Minde by light in Will by holiness Touching the parts in the minde there is a death of all pure light and knowledg in the will of subjection in the affections of direction to the right objects in the conscience of all welfare and pureness in the spirits senses and members there is a death of that abilitie and serviceableness to the Soul in good things and a proneness and tickling to bee imploied profanely and unholily To conclude there is a death of the Person in respect of that right and sovereigntie over the creatures with a slavish proneness rather to idolize them both in the worship of som and the love or use of others a declenfion from God and a revolt to the base creature as Eve did to the forbidden fruit The miserie of Actual sin is the depravedness of death of all the operations flowing from the soul within or the bodie without 11. The miserie of punishment stand's in the manifold penalties both of soul and bodie In the Soul first an aversness from God an uncapableness of admitting of any meanes to draw the Soul out of miserie to any better estate a spirit of resisting and opposition to any such a proneness to bee riveted more and more deeply into this wo with less or less feeling or believing it Touching the bodie what languors and diseases are incident to it what povertie baseness beggerie and want to the estate what reproach to the name and credit aspersions slanders dishonors what miserie in familie Church and Common-wealth Crosses streights pursuits losses forfeits death of friends imprisonment bad tideings famin war pestilence and a thousand waies for him to go wofullie out who came but one way into the World besides grief of minde melancholie passions and distempers of the spirit bad conscience ill marriage lewd children ill success ruine of estate and at last a miserable death and yet the upshot of all is worst after viz. a final separation from GOD and loss of his eternal presence with the sens of unutterable intolerable unavoidable wrath of God in Hell upon the whole man for ever without the least hope of help or redress in or from himself Vse I. To consute the Papists who denie this death of nature and say there bee left in the unregenerate such abilities and devotions as may congruously dispose God to pardon them and by som help of grace merit also full forgiveness It likewise reprov's natural Papilts who doat upon their civil moral or religious duties except yee also denie your selvs and behold the miseries of your natures yee will fare wors in time even by your righteousness then if ye had none For why do not ye graff upon a rotten stock and guild a rotten post So also such as commend men's natures saying oh such are so sweetly natur'd courteous loving milde and harmless that there is but little between them and heaven alas how many of those sweet creatures are as bitter enemies to God's grace as friends to civilitie and fair carriage And also such as defend their passions by their nature saying it 's my nature to bee so hot I have soon don fool think'st thou thy nature is more excusable then thy passion Men think the Minister should onely reproov gross sins but should not bee bitter against infirmities oh God would fain draw thee from the open to the secret sins of thy heart least thy freedom from the gorsser should destroy thee Vse II. This should caus thee to look upward and to gage the greatness of Christ's love which could sinde in his heart to satisfie for such a miserie to fetch happiness out of the depth of it The height depth of mercie cannot bee sounded till thou take measure of it by the depth of miserie Little sin to forgive will make Christ little loved Lett us not lessen and mince our sins in hope of more easie pardon but if wee should magnifie the grace of Christ lett us first magnifie and enlarge our sin to the uttermost if Christ see that wee rather hope in our small sin then his great grace wee are dead men The way to get pardon is to equal his price to all our miserie That love that would rather satisfie for all then any should condemn mee is of infinite dimensions Vse III. This should caus us to wonder at the goodness of Gods dispensation of this miserie that both in the sin and in the penaltie it should bee so mitigated by the providence of that God who for universal ends restraineth the force and violence of this miserie Let us acknowledg the singular patience of God to dispens so mercifully with man all save hell being meer indulgence of mercie Vse IV. It teacheth us to judg aright of sin to count our selvs miserable by it to judg of it not by the matter or act of it but by the villanie of it against the majestie of God his crown and
Mediator to stand between wrath and us not by arbitrement as in humane sequesterships but by paiment for us Lo therefore hee take's our person upon him becom's piacular that is first seazed with our sin by imputation that by his righteousness hee might deface it and fulfil the Law broken by us and secondly seazed with our curs that by his suffring death hee might quit us of the fear and punishment thereof His Suffering or Passion hath two parts the Sacrifice it self or Passion and the Conquest or Victorie ensuing it whereby hee gave the Passion a full power to becom or rather to bee declared satisfactory The Applying part is the act of his intercedeing Mediation here on earth and especially in heaven serveth to settle the merit of Redemption upon all the Elect in the due season thereof These are called well-springs of salvation Esay 12. 3. becaus they are so many grounds of justifying faith Their number is seaven 1. Incarnation 2. Divinitie 3. Personal union with anointing attending it 4. Actual obedience 5. Passive 6. Conquest 7. Applying all to the Elect. I Branch Incarnation By the power of the holy Ghost sanctifying the flesh of the Virgin the Lord Jesus beeing conceived in and born of the poor Virgin did submit himself to such unspeakable abasement as to take upon him the nature of man that in and by it hee might obey and suffer those things which the divine nature could not beee capable off Touching this point observ further three things 1. The realness of the flesh of the Lord Jesus hee took verie flesh of verie flesh and not as som Hereticks thought a similitude and shadow of it 2. The differences of his incarnnation I. In respect of his father hee was not ordinarily begotten by man but by the holie Ghost who fulfilled the work of a father 2. In regard of his mother a Virgin before and in and after his Incarnation Divines make the Four differences of Generation I. When man is made man without father or mother as Adam in his creätion 2. When man is made without a woman as Eve was 3. When man is made both by man and woman and so are all her posteritie made 4. The last when man is made without either man or woman and so was the flesh of Christ made Thirdly hee took our nature the seed of Adam and caused it to subsist in the second person of Godhead 3. Resolution of som doubts about it as I. Why was it necessarie that our Saviour Jesus should bee flesh That hee might thereby bee fitted and accommodated for the work of suffering The Godhead could not suffer the manhood could not merit infinitely the Godhead therefore must merit by a flesh that could suffer 2. Why must the flesh of a man and his nature bee taken to satisfie The flesh of a person could have reached onely to a personal satisfaction but the flesh of our nature might satisfie for natue it self and all persons contained under it 3. Why must the second person in Trinitie take flesh 1. becaus the word of creätion and first subsisting in creäted goodness must also bee the instrument of the uncreäted 2. It behooved that as Christ is the engraven form of his fathe'rs likeness and the brightness of his person therefore so hee should bee the instument to bring us to partake the same image after wee had lost it 3 It was fit that the righteous servant and naturural son of God should make us his servants and obedient children Vse 1. To confute Hereticks and Papists who destroy the realness and truth of the bodie of our satisfier by their Ubiquitie which destroye's the properties of the true bodie and so the bodie it self Vse 11. Of instruction teaching us to magnifie this mysterie of Godliness Jesus incarnate It 's a modell of the unspeakable justice love wisedom of God in one a far greater excellencie is in it then in the creation It was and is the song and wonderment of Angels it was then and still is that which bring 's glorie to God peace to the earth good will to men It caused Mary to exult and to magnifie God the Shepheards to report it the Wise-men to travail after it Herod and Jerusalem to tremble Simeon and Anna to rejoice and all the Church of God to triumph and and shall wee hold our peace and want affections and admirations Again it should teach us to cast off all base carnal reasons and distrusts either touching our salvation or protection Hereafter judg not God by outward apparences in the fulness of 4000 yeers flesh came If the bodie of all promises bee com how shall the branches bee performed Hee that hath given us this deliverance what can hee denie us Vse 111. Let us learn whither to go when wee want any preferment in priveledges or any grace to to furnish our hearts or lives or to fill us for our places duties and callings or for use of odinances especially when wee are under streights and bitter enemies Let us bee perswaded that our flesh glorified in heaven bear 's such stroak with the Father that hee will hear him in all his requests yea let us remember that hee therefore took flesh and felt all our ailes and infirmities that hee might pitie us and bee afflicted with us in all our affictions and temptations as Esay 63. 9. and will not let us lie under any streights which hee can rid us off For hee count's ours his and our selvs his and will do for us in this as in all other things as for his own flesh Vse IV. To exhort us to sundrie duties 1 In the difficultie which wee finde in the life of our faith let us draw neer to the flesh of our Mediator for influence and succor oh how far off do promises seem to bee unto us Christ is our peace in guilt of conscience strength to sustein us with patience in our crosses libertie from all bondage sufficiencie to enable us to walk with God to crucifie corruption to persevere to attain the resurrection of the dead 2. Again it should encourage our faint timorous hearts so many as are loden with our burden to com to the flesh of this Mediator for eas For first in this flesh of Christ there is a general fitness in him to receiv every one whose nature hee beareth for in that nature each person is enclosed Secondly it should help our weakness in coming to God the father by coming by this flesh of the Lord Jesus Thirdly let us com and plead our part in the Lord Jesus for our portion of forgiveness and mercie Fourthly by faith com and draw waters from this well-spring of salvation II Branch the Divinitie of Christ The Lord Jesus our Mediator was true God also It was not onely the second Person and no other who took flesh but a Divinitie which enabled an Humanitie to obey and suffer that God's justtce might except against neither as insufficient The Acts and sufferings
desperate and refractorie sinners that they may com under God's chain but as are bound in it already must not bee oppressed more as if there were no succor for them no Balm in Gilead Vse II. Let such as are to receiv their counsel beware of beeing stout and obstinate by melancholie and sullenness Many people make their chains heavier then God make's them and will not suffer a thought of hope to enter through the anguish of bondage All such as becaus they cannot feel so strong comforts as they fancie therefore quarrel with God and reject such as hee offer 's them No let not God bee tempted by thy frowardness when hee seek's to trie thy humilitie Vse III. It 's exhortation to all poor troubled souls First to get and pray for readie and willing hearts to hear and see God's voice and steps for for eas and do not devour their own flesh Prov. 9. 12. Get Abraham's wisedom Gen. 22 13. who although Isaac had the knife at his throat yet had an ear to hear the Angel and an eie to see the Ram caught in the bush instead of his son Secondly although your hope bee small yet becaus your streight is great consider whether it bee not better to venture upon uncertain hope then upon assured wo 2 King 7. 4. Vse IV. Suffer not bondage to swallow you up in legall sorrow think not hell an heaven custom but as speedily as you can get out at this privie door blessing God for such a mitigation of miserie that in the discharge of the duties of your places you may attend upon the further work of God abhorring to think your selvs well becaus the Law hath you under bondage till the Gospel hath comforted you THE SECOND PART ARTIC I. That there is a deliverance ordained and granted to miserable Man out of this thraldom TItus 3. 4 5 6 c. But after that the kindeness and love of GOD our Savior toward Man appeared not by works of righteousness which hee had don but according to his mercie hee saved us through the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holie-Ghost which hee shed on us abundantly by JESUS CHRIST our Savior Here is a cleer view of a deliverance of a Sinner from this miserie together with the use of it to all that want it The scope is to oppose deliverance to miserie q d. Thus indeed it was by our deservings and God's justice but yet the Lord could not finde in his heart to let us lie in this woful and shiftless estate but when hee saw none to save himself saved us as a man seeing a perishing creature in a ditch and readie to despair for lack of present help himself stepped forth to help it out hee of dutie the Lord of meer goodness hee found out a way to set man on drie land out of the gulf of miserie so that the one was not so hideous as this is pretious and gracious So that First note that in this woful ruine of man there is a deliverance Eph. 2. 1. 1 Thes 1. vlt. Luke 1. 74. Esay 63. 5. Secondly it is appointed by the LORD out of the uusearchable treasure of his wisedom And this appear's partly by his eternal purpose within himself and partly by that expression of himself to his Church and to his elect Both these the intention of his heart towards them and the declaration thereof to them in his word do shew that it was not the will of God that man sunk in the dungeon of wo should lie there still and perish but recover out of it and live and this hee would have no secret in his own bosom nor hidden from us but known and revealed The Lord from eternitie purposed with himself to exempt a number known to himself out of this destruction and out of his justice to pass by others as not bound to rescue them and leav them in their corruption still and this to manifest his infinite justice against sin The Covenant of Grace is the promulgation and publishing of this his purpose in and by his word i e. by his Son the eternal word of the Father And this Covenant reache's equally to Election and no further and the sum of it is that GOD will bee their God to pardon sanctifie protect and save them will not bee ashamed to bee so called by them nor of them to bee his own beloved but hold them in this everlasting Covenant of his till hee receive them to immediate fruition of himself There is another general Covenant of ordinary calling by the ofter of the Gospel and the common badg of Baptism which is made to all without exception who exclude not themselvs but differeth from the former and is much larger then Election This offer must bee universal 1. Because whom the Lord call's hee call's and cull's out of the universal world those who receiv it shew themselvs elect those who finally reject it perish by their own unbelief and shew themselvs to bee none of God's number 2. His Ministers beeing his ordinarie instruments cannot put difference between the elect and the not-elect therefore they are to publish it generally to all 3. If the Covenant should bee dispensed with restraint this might strengthen the rebellious in their cavilling against the decree and fasten the caus of their perdition upon God which is onely from themselvs Vse I. It should teach us to adore the wisedom of God in this manner of manifesting himself This Covenant was darkly before shadowed by ceremonies but in due time revealed clearly Vse II. Break off thy league with sin and embrace the Covenant of mercie the sure mercies of David Vse III. Thouh Redemption bee the undivided work of the whole Trinitie yet even in this there bee several and incommunicable works of everie person concurring The Son merit's and work 's out the way of redemption The holie-Ghost work 's the perswasion of it in the soul But God the Father is the first mover and ordainer of it as the wel-spring whence the purpose and also the manifestation thereof proceeded Beware then least wee either confound these three actions or yet exclude any of the persons from their own operations But let us adore them all The Spirit in the work of applying Christ and the Father in the work of giveing Christ and in that love of his from which both Christ and the satisfaction came Vse IV. Behold in the Father an infinite depth of love and mercie toward sunken man thus to repair him Here is love not that wee loved him first but hee loved us haveing nothing but odiousness in us even that hee might shew what was in his heart and what hee could do Therefore judg aright of this first love and secondly profit by the meditation of Judg of it to bee the very fulness of all in all to bee a length depth height and bredth neither to bee reached unto searched into comprehended or attained but onely by faith embraced and rested upon
men together to have had one father to have lyen in one womb to have dwelt in one town to have fed at one board to have been brought up in one familie or nurserie are bands of fellowship how much more all these spiritual ties in one 2. As begetters and nourishers of Communion First as for the Word preached how many thousands did one Sermon of Peter gain to this Communion And it no less preserveth and holdeth the faithful therein For eieher it finde's them staggering in this Communion and then it restore's them or sad and heavie and then it encourage's and comfort 's them or ignorant and then it enlighten's them or unruly and then it admonishe's them or standing and then it establishe's them So that it doth all offices of communion Secondly so the censures duly administred and the like Thirdly so the sacrament of the Supper how active an instrument it is to reconcile them that bee at odds and unite them more who are brethren Fourthly Prayer what office is there which it hath not don the Church what was the means of converting Paul what delivered Peter out of Herod's prison c. Fifthly Fasting joined with it what good thing hath it not don a key to open the treasure of heaven and to bring upon the bodies and souls of the faithful plentie in famin victorie in war protection in dangers eas in distress III. In duties and service These are of two sorts Som concern the bodie viz. Charitie Som the soul viz. Holie example savorie instruction admonition reproof correction of errors exhortation and quickning to holiness comfort in heaviness sickness and distress and in each spiritual respect wherein member may bee usefull to member Vse I. Warp from the Communion of all Popish prophane and excommunicate ones from this fellowship complie not with them turn from all inordinate malitious scandalous revolting and prophane ones true communion abhor's such Vse II. It 's Admonition to all of God's houshold to beware least any bitter root rise up in them to defile this communion When there were not above four or five in the Church how did Satan pollute them as Cain against Abel Ismael against Isaac Esau against Jacob to overthrow communion so doth hee still Again Let it admonish God's people also that if by any occasion Satan hath cast in any bone to divide them and to provoke them to wrath heart-burning distemper that they presently cast it out and repent least the breach grow greater And let the falling out of such bee the renewing of love Let them so much the more narrowly look to themselvs after to prevent the like that so they may nourish the communion of Saints in the bands of peace Vse III. Exhortation to couch in this building of communion to practice it to impart to each one his gift to the use of edifying the bodie let not this dead world cool grace in us ARTIC VII That every Soul make this deliverance his own in special Whosoever by the former part hath been convinced by that of his sin and been kindely pinched and prick't thereby by each of those Articles so let everie such soul be now also convinced of righteousness and believ himself to bee the partie to whom this deliverance of Christ belong's by each of these five Articles promised Quest What is it to believ this Answ To believ this is the Work of the Spirit of GOD by vertue of which a Soul under the condition of Faith doth cast it self and relie upon the offer of God for pardon of sin and for Eternal life The condition of Faith is such a qualification as God require's of one who may believ the promise of reconciliation to belong to him That which God aim'es at in offering mercie is the magnifying of his Attributes of Mercie Justice Wisdom and the rest which hee will have more to appear in man's Redemption then they could in Adam's Integritie Hee will have the eternall doors open themselvs as hee saith Psal 24. ult not that our own ends forgiveness and happiness but the King of glorie might enter in even as hee ordained our Lord JESUS not to obey and suffer for any ends of his own but meerly the Fathers to whom hee was subject as wee see in Rom. 15. 3. and therefore he would have him lose all glorie and emptie himself that hee might fulfill the ends of him that sent him The Lord usually proceed's by these step 's 1. Where the Lord will work kindely hee will so present the glorie of his grace to the soul in distress that whereas before it was under confused despair First it shall see a crevis of light and an hope a far off of a possible deliverance which hope shall melt and dissolv the heart into a spirit of mourning and breaking not so much for fear of hell as for the Lord himself See it in Jona 3. compare ver 9. with ver 6 7 8. when once hope began to spring up secretly who can tell whether God will repent him of his fierce anger that wee perish not Lo they melt into tears they fast put on sack-cloth on themselvs and their beasts and make a rufull spectacle So doth the soul here leav takeing thought for it self and take thought for the Lord saying O wofull man that I am whom the Lord should bee found of when I sought him not who had care of my happiness when I cared neither for him nor for my self 2. The Soul rest's not here but break 's out into desire that it might live to glorifie his grace and partake of it that it might magnifie it before all the world and give witness to it against all despisers of it 3. The Soul set's an high price upon this salvation and recount's the severals of it that it may see the unvaluableness of this pearl Matth. 12. 44. haveing spied the pearl withdrawe's it self hide 's it ponder's the worth of it viewe's the particulars of it as one would do of a purchase and by so museing of it set's the whole man a fire with it in the esteem and value thereof 4. It lastly emptie's the soul of herself Even as the Queen of Sheba beholding the glorie and wisdom of Solomon had no spirit left in her but was ashamed of her own silliness and as Peter Luk. 5. beholding the glorious power of Christ in bringing so many fishes into the net when hee could catch nothing was amazed so doth the Lord in this case Hee cause 's that loathness and resistance of that proud heart that savor's no grace or faith to quail and fail utterly take's away the corrupt self and self-love which is offended at his grace Especially it turn's away the soul from her own ends in seeking salvation shee dare's not now ascribe to her own duties hearings praiers affections preparations but cast's them into the sea that life may bee preserved Shee feel's the great ends of God's glorie to work all these in her but no way as
works commending her to God but as sparkles of the Spirit of Grace which by these steps drawe's her home to God becaus hee will save her Vse I. Terror to all that dream of their estate to bee good when yet they lie in their sins as whole men they think Christ is offered them barely Bee reconciled to God bee they what they will bee And in this they are the more strengthened by the opinion of such Divines as dislike these preparations The which opinion as it take's away the benefit of triall and comfort from many poor souls who would fain finde the least seed of faith to bee begun in them and keep 's them long at a dead point with themselvs for lack of faith it self so it nuzzle's many hypocrites in a conceit of themselvs that bee they what they will yet they may be reconcil'd at their pleasure Again all such as remain blinde and dead-hearted blocks in the midst of this grace of the Gospel they see no light nor feel any warmth therefrom but still are cold Snakes and are neither affected with good nor evil Where is the hope of your faith where no dram of the condition of it is wrought Thirdly to all dalliers with the season of this grace and putting off this rich offer of God pinn'd on their sleev thinking they might have God tied to them and becaus they have tasted of his grace with the tip of their tongue therefore they may have it at their command wheras haveing once despised it they grow further and further from it daily They should have learned that the condition of faith is the preparation to faith Dallie with the one and forego the other Fourthly to all hypocrites that rest in som appeareance of these preparations not wrought in them by the spirit of Grace but from their own principles which appear's in this that if they bee reprooved they cannot endure it dare not enter into the triall of their mournings desires and proov them to com from the spirit of Grace but love their own eas better then the rules of God and while their own pangs last who but they but when their own sparkles bee out then full of sorrow No constancy plainness self-denial can bee found in them grace is nothing worth of it self except som mixture of their own concur with it A sign they have felt little sweetness in it and therefore are far from beleeving it Vse II. Let this doctrine remove those fears objections which arise in weak consciences as touching the greatness measure of preparations But let them know first that in these stand not their happiness but in Christ beleeved in Secondly if they had these in the measure they would they would bee readie to rest too much in them as Peter in his tabernacles Thirdly that the truth of these not the greatness hath the promise even the smoaking flax and the bruised reed Yea commonly such honor God soonest by beleeving And with these cautions let them go on and prosper Vse III. Exhortation to poor souls whom God hath truly brought under the condition of faith to bless him for that handsel I say first to acknowledg it great mercie although they have many doubts and fears and distempers to hinder them and the divel to com between cup and lip that they might not drink of that cup of salvation Oh remember it 's mercie to bee brought within these suburbs of heaven Bee thankfull for any thing especially a pledg of faith nay bee humble and say Lord what ever is not hell is from mercie I will rather comfort my self that the Lord meane's mee the fulness of this earnest rather then grudg that presently I have not my will and so wax wearie of waiting And secondly this should expell slavish fear from them becaus the Lord hath given them a condition of faith Beware yee do not abuse it Pledges are well kept by honest men not spoiled Do not tempt God by your distrust nor suffer the good preparations of the Spirit to die or wane through boldness loosness worldliness pleasures least God make them as bitter to you as Samsons dallying with his harlot Vse IV. It discover's the ignorance and vanitie of such Ministers and people who though they bee not leavened with Poperie yet partly from confounding mourning and sorrow with repentance and partly from blindeness and error of the common sort teach and think that repentance must goe before faith and here they flourish exceedingly for say they What doth not Peter say Repent and believ Think you that Christ will dwel where corruption is Must wee not repent becaus the kingdom of heaven is near Will God meddle with such as live in their sins Hence they mightily urge mortification of Lusts before wee dare apply Christ c. But Oh yee blinde guides of the blinde See you not how under colour of your devotion you overthrow Christ What use is there of Christ if our sins before wee believ must first bee mortified shall Christ die for sin alreadie mortified can wee dispose our selvs to grace when as all that is in us is graceless No Christ must bee not onely before our mortification but also before our believing yea before our preparation to beleiv Oh! but John the Baptist bid's the people to repent becaus the Kingdom was at hand I answer This objection com's from meer ignorance of the text For that Repentance there signifieth onely a penitencie of heart irking the soul for sin And yet Christ onely is the worker of it And it is a preparing grace of the Kingdom raised in the hearts of all that God will save It confound's the order of sanctification w th the order of Regeneration For although Mortification go before Vivification yet repentance never goe's before faith Now to cast the soul upon a promise or to believ is the last work of the calling spirit of God whereby an humbled sinner doth cast himself upon this word of God Bee reconciled com and drink com and I will eas you or the like offer will charge or promise of God for pardon and life This point is of all others the chief and therefore I chuse to refer it to this place as the use of all that hath been spoken jointly considered for wee know a five-fold cord is not easily broken and yet no one twist thereof might well bee spared Five divers grounds have been handled in this second part 1. God the Father our enemie hath cut off his plea and found out our deliverance 2. The Lord Jesus accordingly hath satisfied the justice of God that mercie might have free cours by the procuring of a righteousness 3. God the Father accept's this for a poor sinner as if hee in person had satisfied and therefore offer 's it to the soul most unfeignedly without hook or crook 4. Hee offer 's him not nakedly but with all his rich furniture to draw the soul to fasten upon him 5. Hee offer 's
moral Law Gal. 3. 13. that immoderate impost of doing all according to the full matter manner and measure so that now the Law is qualified and is onely required of us as the obedience of faith and accounted unto us as full as if wee would wholy fulfill it 3. And especially hee hath rid us from that woful penaltie of Curs more heavie then all Gal. 3. 13. even eternal death of soul and bodie which throughout our life enthralled us Hebr. 2. 15. and that by his blood Gal. 4. 5. Further Hee hath taken away that strength of sin whereby the Law did excite and provoke sin in us so that now it provoke's to righteousness 4. Hee hath remooved that unwelcomness of our persons whereby all that came from us was irksom to God and made both us and our service accepted 5. Hee doth by his intercession procure acceptance still for us II. As a King two waies 1. Hee strengthen's and establisheth all those ties bands of obedience due to himself from us that the more freed we are from bondage the more wee may bee tied to the libertie of this royal law of his setting up his throne in the soul more fully thereby upon better prerogative To this end pertain's that Rom. 10. 4. Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to all that believ Meaning that the Law is fully satisfied in her scope of perfect obedience by Christ seeing faith in him hath obteined a full acceptance of obedience as if it were legally perfect 2. Hee doth by his Kingdom infuse strength into us to obey the Law incline's our wits thereunto make's it to us actually as Christ found it to himself and hath made to us even perfect freedom III. As a Prophet two waies 1. By a declareing work which is a witnessing to the soul that hee is the true Lord and commander of his people Esay 55. 4. that hee rule 's by his Law as by his Scepter that all his Priesthood and merit end 's in his Kingdom and obedience that it is his honor that all knees bow to him and that they kiss the Son that hee is object of it through whom the Father is honored that true libertie stand's not in haveing our will but in putting on this yoke and who so doth otherwise deceiv's himself 2. By his revealing work by this hee direct's the soul and set's the steps of it in peace by this hee use's his Law to bee a lively finger to point our dutie for everie occasion and to frame the soul to draw his Law to every need and use in the life according to that 1 Joh. 2. 20. Yee have an unction from the Holy One who telleth you all things Esay 30. 31. Their ears shall hear a voice behinde them saying This is the way walk in it This is a revealing with direction by which the soul see 's the use of Christ in every commandement and is led on by him as her Guide thereby as if an Oracle should speak from Heaven Esa 55. A leader and commander to his people ver 4. Directions themselvs concern either God himself in the first Table as his inward worship of fear confidence and setting him up to bee our God alone in the first Or our outward reasonable service and worship of him in pure manner in the second Or our faithfull abearing of our selvs in all holiness in such actions of common life as are not immediate worship in the third for I refer oathes and vows to the second which I desire the wise Reader to think of or the set day of our worship upon one day of seven since the eighth day was turned into God's day or the Christian Sabbath and that in the fourth Or els our neighbor and our selvs in the other Six Subjection to all Superioritie in the fifth Maintaining his precious life as being better then all that follow in the sixth Of his Chastitie in the seventh His Estate in the eighth His Name in the ninth The tenth forbidding not onely that concupiscence which reache's to the detriment of our neighbor but under that as most sensible to us all that wicked propension and bent of nature before actual sin whereby originally wee are prone to all injustice and impietie and intemperance Rules of direction for the clear understanding of the LAW 1. That all the Laws of Christ must bee understood to bee of another manner of force and autoritie than the Laws of men even the greatest for they are limited with exception in all kindes and do but reach to the outward man and penalties thereof But these do reach to the conscience and they binde the inner man 2. Let us know that his commands are not idle things and arbitrarie which wee may obey at our courtesie or if not yet God is as a weak King for whom his subjects are too strong as Joab and Abishai for David but real Laws from an autoritie that both know's offenders and can punish them yea which accurseth all transgressors and will not hold them guiltless 3. Observ that the commands of the second Table are the Edicts of the same God whose the First are Jam. 12. 11. and therefore in which the Lord take's himself as truly either honored or not as the first 4. The Law must bee alwaies understood according to the scope even as every other part of the Word as promises and threats Wee must not rest in the bare letter and so destroy the life and spirit of the Law Look what God aim's at under the grossest let us also aim at and both abhor each appearance of evil as well as the most odious and cleaving to good in the least as well as the greatest 5. Wee must conceiv the Commandements as importing no patch't or pieced obedience to one or a few charges but an entire and whole one as the coagmentation of the Laws of both Tables doth import Let us alway conceiv the scope of the Law to require integritie and all partiall service to bee a forfeit to the whole Law 6. The Laws of the former Table are generally to bee preferred to the duties of the Second yet with an exception that wee conceiv the rule upon equal tearms thus That the commands of the first rank in the former Table have precedencie over the second not each branch of the former above the second in their first rank It is generally more excellent that God have his due then man but not particularly for the neglect or contempt of a Sermon are not fouler sins then the murther of a man 7. Understand the Commandements to require at our hands the utmost of our wit device and courage to serv God 8. Let us observ the Commandements of God never cross each other if any such case occur as wherein one cannot stand with the the other let us know the one must alway yeeld to the other 9. Let us note this that duties of necessitie and mercie which cannot bee otherwise
reviveing of those truths wee have heard or the administrations of God towards us or others that both minde and heart beeing season'd with the savor thereof wee may bee furthered thereby to dutie 8. Conference is a wise and loveing laying together by two or more of such things as concern the glorie of God and our spiritual edifying for mutual information and quickning Rules concerning Fasting 1. Let us arm our selvs to the chief work which is soul-affliction Let us consider if wee were pined with necessitie of abstinence from meat and drink for any time what a fearful anguish would it bring us unto And is not think wee sin that deserv's it of more afflicting vexing nature Let us aim at it then much more that sin do humble us than any sorrow whatsoever Let us first Mic. 7. 9. bear the indignation of the Lord for our sin for the rest let God alone to plead our caus for what should it help us to berid of all other enemies while our own pride self-love hypocrisie vain-glorie worldliness and hardness of heart still grow at our hearts 2. Applie our selvs to all supports of a Fast which the Lord hath granted to keep us from deadness and weariness the Word I mean fitted to our occasions and the like yet as serving to the main of humiliation and confidence 3. Consider that the Scripture in no one thing afford's us greater consolation and hope than in this For there is scarce one example of a Fast which want's the experience of good success yea extraordinarie like it self as in Esther's Nehemiah's and Ezrae's Israel against Benjamin the Churche's Acts 12. doth appear 4. Considering it must bee no small grace either of mourning or faith which must prevail against those holds either without or within which wee pray against Let us know that our locks had need bee well grown with Sampsons for such a purpose Therefore let none dare to compass this Altar with unpreparedness of heart II. Rules concerning Thanksgiveing 1. Carrie a liveing memorial and catalogue of the chief publick mercies beeing the matter of our thanks and so of our own in particular Remember the great providence of setling the Gospel and banishing Poperie and since that the strange miraculous deliverances not once or twice from forrein enemies home judgments In secret rceord our own our first calling and since that our many staggers and revolts his renued mercies by occasion in our changes of estate in our streights in deep desertions when wee could no more sustein our selvs then if wee had hung in the ayr how hee hath ever been our portion when friends have forsaken us unthankfully and will bee so still our blessings above many in gifts of minde condition and calling graces of soul how God kept us from forsakeing his Covenant in our deepest temptations of Satan and enemies 2. Bee inlarged accordingly with due sympathie both for the Church and thy self rejoiceing with her with and for whom thou hast oft mourned and preferring her peace to thy chief joy Affection is the fire to the Sacrifice and know that psal 50. ult hee that praiseth God honoreth him and the asscent of praises shal bee the descent of blessings and happie is hee who may maintain this entercours with God for the enlargeing of him to more grace III. Rules concerning the Word preached 1. Bee sure thou hast right to the blessing of it the Word cannot build thee except it hath begot thee See 1 Pet. 2. 3. If yee have tasted how gracious the Lord is then com to the Word to grow by it 2. Prize and covet it Prize it as that Word which hath been the seed of immortalitie and glorie unto thee Now if it bee precious it will bee coveted hungred after attended with all heed yea snatch'd with violence as precious things are 1 Pet. 2. 2. Covet and cagerly tug at the Word as the childe at the breast Sleep not wander not gaze not but attend the gates and ports of wisdom and understanding if thou lookest they should preserv thee 3. Com from an holy cours and practice when thou comest to hear com not from thy own cours of wrath world self purge these first 1 Pet. 2. 1. and so com Repent of all old sins of hearing thy trifleings and dallyings with the Word thy base mixtures and com from a good cours and so the Word shall send thee back to it with more strength and grace then thou camest 4. Deny thy self and thine own wisdom partialities prejudices of man of gifts of ordinances 5. Believ God 1. That in his Word this direction to see life is to bee found Joh. 5. 2. That hee can guide his Word peculiarly to do thee good and speak to thy soul though thou bee but one of many hearers 3. Mix the Word with Faith believ it obey it fear it see God true in it in all his promises charges and threats and stand readily to catch that part of it which is thine as the tradesman stand's readie with his mould to catch the molten metall to frame his vessel 4. Depart from hearing as well apaid well fed keep your charge lose it not in the ayr of the world carrie it with you in each part of the world but let nothing rob you of it Take forth a new lesson daily have an ear to hear where God hath a tongue to speak IV. Rules concerning the sacrament of Baptism 1. As it should teach all that bring their infants to baptism to dedicate their children to God by praier so especially let all others recal to minde how the Lord hath been aforehand with them in like sort even hanging his badg upon them when they were cut off and knew it not 2. Let them hold the Lord sure to them in this covenant by this seal as a Corporation would hold their liberties by the King 's Broad Seal And when the Devil fill's thee with doubts about thy conversion the condition of faith the believing in the promise strength to a godly life flie to thy Baptism as thy uttermost assurance and say If the Lord were found of an Infant that could not seek him gave mee his seal that hee would save mee what will hee do now I seek him faithfully When thou lookest upon his Rain-bow in the clouds thou fearest no flood any more but Baptism is better 1 Pet. 3. 18. It 's God's Ark which by water save 's thee from perishing by the waters of Gods wrath Remember that that the Spirit by faith doth as really dip and drench thy soul with his pure water Ezek. 36. 25. to rins away thy guilt blemish and curs of sin and to quicken thee up to the life of the new Creature in righteousness as by his Ministers hand hee dip's thee into and take's thee out of the water V. Rules concerning the Lord's Supper 1. The soul knowing that God doth sustain her by the same whereby hee begat her doth upon this