by living upon Christ the head of the Church shall be so constant as if so be he had a spring of grace in himself It shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life it notes the constancy of supply that shall be to every believing soul that lives upon Christ as his head 4. Direct 4. Let us pray for the spirit and Divine grace much Ask and ye shall have seek and you shall find Mat. 7. God hath promised to give the spirit to them that ask him When Paul would obtain strength against his temptations what was the course that he took For this thing I besought the Lord thrice We may pray for temporal things and not always have what we would have because God doth not always see temporal things to be good for us But if we pray for Divine grace the Lord will be sure to hear us as to that and though we have not such measures of grace as we would have yet we shall have a sufficiency of grace such a measure of grace as God in his infinite wisdom thinks fit for us so the promise runs My grace shall be sufficient We may not have as much grace as we would but we shall have such a measure of grace as God sees best for us we shall have a sufficiency of grace 5. If we would obtain Divine grace Direct 5. let us labour for that holy skill of deriving grace from Christ the head of the Church Ephes 1. latter end God hath given him to be head over all things to his body the Church This is a mysterie though few Christians I am afraid understand it as they ought that Christ is appointed of God as head of the Church to dispense and give forth all grace to the Church and every member of it God hath given him to be head over all things that is a great expression over all things that is to all intents and purposes Christ is appointed head of the Church as to all ends and uses whatsoever that whatever grace we need we must receive it from Christ as our head and he is appointed of the Father to give it out Therefore here lies our great concernment to labour after a holy skill to derive grace from Christ as head of the Church I am afraid we are greatly defective here The greatest part of Christians I am apt to believe are more acquainted with living upon the righteousness of Christ for justification than they are acquainted with the way of deriving grace and spiritual influence from Christ the head of the Church for sanctification It is not enough that we know how to have recourse to Christ for pardon and justification but we should be acquainted with Christ as the head of the Church and live upon him for actual grace and spiritual influence John 15.4 Abide in me and I in you We must learn that skill to abide in Christ by the attractive acts of faith or we shall make little of sanctification Here it may be said Question wherein doth this skill consist of deriving actual grace from Christ the head of the Church Answer If we would be skilled in this mystery of drawing vertue from Christ the head of the Church we must attend to these two things 1. We must look to the humanity of Christ as the first receptacle of grace John 1.14 The word was made flesh full of grace and truth The word the second person in Trinity assuming our nature the humane nature in Christ by means of the personal union comes to be filled with all grace The humane nature I say by its personal conjunction with the word is filled with grace and therefore that immediately follows the word was made flesh full of grace and truth No sooner was our nature united to the second person in Trinity but by means of this union it comes to be filled with all grace So that the humane nature in Christ is the first receptacle of grace that is the first thing we are to attend unto 2. We must look to the divinity in Christ as replenishing his humanity with all grace and in the humane nature assumed becoming the fountain of grace to us Col. 2.9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily The fulness of the God-head by means of the personal union dwells in Christ and mark it by means of the personal union it becomes the fountain of grace to us First it fills the humanity of Christ The God-head fills the humanity and by the humanity and through the humanity it conveys grace to us So that faith in having recourse to Christ for actual grace hath to do with both natures in Christ the humane nature and the divine nature First Faith hath to do with the humane nature faith is to eye the humane nature as the first receptacle of grace and as the organ by which grace is conveyed to us Secondly Faith hath to do with the Divine nature as the principle efficient of all grace Joh. 1.16 Of his fulness we receive grace for grace This fulness here spoken of is primarily and originally in the God-head and then secondly this fulness is derivatively in the humane nature of Christ and that in these two respects 1. In that the humane nature in Christ hath all the habits and effects of grace imprest upon it that nature is capable of 2. That the humane nature is the organ of the Divinity in and by which all grace is diffused and communicated unto us Of his fulness we receive grace for grace Now we should study more the way of having recourse to Christ and drawing actual grace from him the more we can eye the Divinity in Christ as filling him with all Grace and lean upon him as our Head for all grace the more grace we shall receive from him 6. If we would obtain Divine grace Direct 6. let us be greatly thankful for what grace we have already received To him that hath shall more be given As we should be thankful for all the gifts of God so especially for the gift of grace because it is one of the choisest and best of all the gifts of God If we are bound to bless God for temporal mercies and favours much more for Divine grace Nothing will cause God sooner to suspend grace from us than unthankfulness for what grace we have received God would have us to know that grace is no small gift therefore when we are not deeply sensible of what mercy God hath shewn us in giving us what grace we have already received nothing is so likely to deprive us more of grace God sets a high price on his grace and he would have us do so too therefore if God have given us any grace we should be more thankful for that than for any temporal blessing And to him that hath shall more be given The end of the Twelfth Sermon SERMON XIII 2 Cor. 12.9 And he said unto me My
THE SAINTS TEMPTATIONS WHEREIN The NATURE KINDS OCCASION of TEMPTATION And the Duty of the Saints under Temptation are laid forth AS ALSO The Saints Great Fence against Temptation viz. Divine Grace WHEREIN The Nature Excellency and Necessity of the Grace of God is displayed in several Sermons By Iohn Rowe Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleet-street 1675. TO THE READER WHat the Power or rather Impotency of Free-will is may be clearly seen in the Angels that fell who being at first created with perfect freedom of will did not yet keep their first estate And also it may be seen in our first Parents who by ill using of Free-will lost themselves and their Free-will as Austin expresseth it Appareat itaque nobis in nostro capite ipse fons Gratiae unde secundum uniufcuju que mensuram se per cuncta ejus membra diffundit August de Praedest sanct cap. 15. On the other hand what the Power and Efficacy of Divine Grace is and the transcendent excellency of it above the will of man doth no where more clearly and illustriously appear than in our Head the Lord Jesus who as he was Man depending upon the Fountain of Grace in the Deity and living not meerly upon the stock of created principles Joh. 6.57 Propter unionem Divinitatis vitam vivebat gratiae Gloriae c. Tolet. in Joh. 6. In Christ anima quidem est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 carnis sed tamen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à Veâ—-Destate Damascen But as Himself telleth us living by the Father his humanity in its operations being influenced and governed by the Divinity inhabiting in him was kept from all sin and the least inclination to it and carried on in a way of perfect obedience unto the end of his life And as the holiness and happiness of Christ as he is man slows from the union of his humane nature with the Deity and the Grace which it receiveth from it so the holiness and happiness of Believers and their perseverance in both depends upon their spiritual and mystical union with Christ and the influence of Grace they receive from him Of his fulness have all we received Joh. 1.16 and Grace for Grace And the Text before in part hinted Joh. 6.57 speaks fully to this As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me shall live by me Hence also is that of Paul Christ liveth in me Gal. 2.20 And also those other words of our Saviour Joh. 17.23 I in them and thou in me It is too natural unto the sons of men as to seek a Righteousness in themselves so to suppose some strength and ability in themselves to work it out and to attain unto it But the Gospel is directly opposite unto this humour of corrupt nature the whole scope and design of it being to shew that both mans righteousness and strength lies perfectly out of himself Isa 45.24 Rom. 1.17 In the Lord have we righteousness and strength And In the Gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from Faith to Faith And 2 Cor. 3.5 We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God The principal thing intended in these Sermons is to commend the Grace of God and to set forth the excellency and necessity of it and what is treated of in the former Part of the Book is preparatory and leading thereunto And this I may say That what I have Preached and is here represented in these Sermons I have had experience of the Truth of throughout the greatest part of my life especially in several sicknesses and many infirmities with which the most wise and holy God hath pleased to exercise me in the course of my Pilgrimage For what ever we may suppose our own strength ability and attainments to be when we come to be under exercise and affliction then shall we soon perceive that we are Nothing without present actual Grace When the hand of God is upon us in any special Tryal then shall we find that we cannot fetch in that comfort from former experiences as we would think we might easily do nor support our selves under such a Tryal nor put forth any one Act of Faith or obedience without new supplies of present actual Grace And thus doth Christs strength come to be perfected in our infirmity It is confessed by a sober moderate Papist Alvarez de Auxiliis Gratiae libr. 6. Disp 54. That Man in his fallen estate cannot resist greater temptations without the special help of the Grace of God But the Scripture goes much farther when it telleth us That without Christ we can do nothing Joh. 15.5 No not so much as the least thing And when we are taught to pray Lead us not into temptation it is supposed that every Temptation will be too hard for us if Divine Grace do not help us Let no man therefore presume on his own sufficiency when an hour of temptation cometh he may soon experiment what his own strength or rather infirmity is He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool Prov 28.26 Joh. 17.9 But Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord our greatest strength and security lieth in dependence and he will be found the happiest person at last that depends most Abide in me is the Counsel of him who is Joh. 15.4 and is called the wisdom of God The Doctrine of Grace hath met with many Adversaries and many Controversies both formerly and of late thorough the malice and subtilty of him who is the Arch-enemy of Grace have been raised concerning it I have not lanched far into any Polemicaly Discourse about it but contented my self for the most part with asserting the Doctrine of Grace in General endeavouring to accommodate it unto practice this way of Handling it being most suit-table to the Auditory I was to Preach unto What is here Delivered in a plain and familiar manner such who are acquainted with their own hearts and who have their Senses exercised in spiritual things will I trust find to be the Truth of God And what ever Benefit any may receive by these Sermons of Grace the Design of which is to Commend and Illustrate the Grace of God that it may be wholly Ascribed to the Glory of Grace is earnestly desired by him who is Thine in the Lord Jesus John Rowe ERRATA PAge 102. line 28. read Soveraign p. 106. l. 9. for joyed r. joyned p. 138. l. 22. r. might depart p. 143. l. 29. r. proper p. 149. l. 23. r. apt to think p. 163. l. 28. r. actually p. 212. l. 15. r. elevates p. 241. l. 14. r. so vast a p. 242. l. 3. for dost r. doth p. 357. l. 23. for cause r. caused p. 366. l. 11. for you r. your p. 380. l. 5. for on r. once p. 393. l. 14. for Sperm
a means to fill him with a sense of his own infirmities and take down all high conceits of himself to shew him what he was in case he were left to himself Now if such a man as Paul was a man of his grace and experience no less than an Apostle if he were exercised with these temptations then we see it is the lot of the most eminent servants of God to be exercised with most grievous and sore temptations For the handling this point there are three things to be spoken unto in the Doctrinal part 1. I shall shew what Temptation is open a little the nature of Temptation 2. Shew you what the several sorts and kinds of Temptation are And then thirdly We shall come to the Grounds and Reasons of the Doctrine why it is that God trains up his Children under this discipline why it is that he suffers them to be exercised under grievous and sore Temptations 1. I shall open the nature of Temptations what is Temptation For the nature of it in General you may take it thus The Nature of Temptation Temptation it is that proof or experiment that is taken concerning a person for the discovery of mans weakness and the Illustration of Gods power This is the Definition of Temptation The nature of Temptation may be known by the consideration of the formal and final cause of it the formal cause of Temptation is the experiment or proof that is taken concerning a person To tempt Tentare est probare sive experimentum sumere de aliquo it is to prove or take an experiment concerning another to tempt it is to put things to the trial to make things evident concerning a person how things stand with him Now the end of Temptation being to make known something that was not made known before we must understand this aright That which is made known by Temptation it is not any thing to God for God knows all things from eternity he knew what was in man John 2.25 But that which is made known by Temptation it is something to our selves and others something by Temptation is made known to our selves and others that was not known before and this is the Nature of Temptation to discover something to our selves and others that was not so clearly known and understood before And Temptations give us an experimental knowledge of a thing that which we knew only conjecturally and opinionatively before when we come to be Tempted we have an experimental knowledge of that thing And hence it is that the Schoolmen distinguish between that knowledge which is acquired by reason and discourse and that which is gotten by experience We may know many things by reason and discourse now it is one thing to know things by reason and discourse and another thing to know things experimentally an experimental knowledge is the most certain knowledge of things Now this is the formal cause of Temptation that it is the experiment or proof which is taken concerning a person As for the final cause of Temptation that is two fold 1. The discovery of mans weakness or infirmity 2. The Illustration of Divine Power 1. One great end of Temptation is the discovery of our own infirmity we never come to know what we are till we come to be under Temptation we think our strength is greater than it is till we come to be tempted we think we can do more than we can do we think we can master such a difficulty overcome such a corruption perform such a duty withstand such an allurement but when a Temptation comes then our weakness and infirmity is soon seen Now this is one end of Temptation to discover to man his weakness and infirmity Thus we find how the Lord led his people through the wilderness to humble them and prove them Deut. 8.16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with Manna which thy Fathers knew not that he might humble thee and that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter end And so in the third verse of that Chapter and verse 2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these fourty years in the Wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee to know what was in thine heart c. Thus God proved Hezekiah that he might know what was in his heart 2 Chron 32.31 Howbeit in the business of the embassadors of the Princes of Babylon who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land God left him to try him that he might know all that was in his heart The meaning is that Hezekiah might know what was in his own heart God knew what was in his heart before but God left him under this Temptation that he might know all that was in his own heart 2. The other end of Temptation is the Illustration of Divine Power God therefore suffers us to be under Temptation that he might manifest his power in supporting us under Temptation this is exprest a little after the text my strength is perfected in infirmity By Temptations we have experience of our own weakness and of Divine Power when a Temptation comes then we find we have no ability in our selves to withstand it though before the Temptation came we thought we were strong enough and then God puts forth his power to inable us to do what we could not do of our selves and so Divine Power is Illustrated After God hath shewn us what we cannot do of our selves then he shews us what his Divine Grace can inable us to do hence is that expression that follows in the text most gladly will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me The sense of our infirmity makes way for the manifestation of Divine Power When God hath shewn us by Temptation what we cannot do then he shews us what his grace can do in us and for us and this is the nature of Temptation Temptation it is the proof or experiment that is taken concerning a person for the manisestation of his weakness and Illustration of Divine power The second thing to be spoken unto is to shew what are the several sorts or kinds of Temptation There are four sorts or kinds of Temptation that we may distinguish of 1. Some that we may call Divine Temptations 2. Carnal or Fleshly Temptations 3. There are worldly Temptations 4. and Lastly there are Satanical Temptations 1. There are some which are called Divine Temptations such as proceed immediately from God himself Gen. 22.1 After these things God did tempt Abraham here you see there was a Divine Temptation now these Temptations that we call Divine Temptations and do proceed from God are not to be understood so as if God did tempt to sin God cannot be tempted with evil neither doth he tempt any man that is he doth not tempt any man to sin Jam. 1.13 These Temptations therefore that we call Divine Temptations are nothing
for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness I Come now to propoun some remedies against this sin The disease of pride is such a disease as is hardly cured nay it is not wholly cured in the best of the Saints while they live in the body and all the remedies we can think of are little enough to heal this disease 1. Remedy Let us study much our own infirmities and imperfections It is a sure rule The foundation of humility F adamentum humilitatis cogni io proprii def ctus is the knowledge of our own defects Nothing laies so great a foundation of humility in us as the knowledge of our own defects We keep our eyes and pore upon our own supposed perfections but we sorget our infirmities and imperfections The true sense of our infirmities would strike a holy shame into us As the apprehension of what is good and excellent in us is apt to lift us up in pride So in order to the suppressing and keeping down our pride it is good to consider our natural infirmities and our sinful infirmities 1. Let us consider our natural infirmities we are but mutable dying creatures at best we are but poor pieces of clay What little reason hath he to be proud that remembers he is mortal and must shortly be turned into rottenness and dust We may say to every one that finds his heart lifted up in pride as one did that was appointed to come to Alexander and use these words Remember that thou art a man so may we say Remember that thou art a mortal creature As high as thou art and as much lifted up as thou art in thy own apprehension thou must shortly be turned into rottenness worms must feed upon thee 2. Let us consider our sinful infirmities 1. Consider our great defects in grace consider our great defects in knowledge 1 Cor. 8.2 If any man think he knows any thing he knows nothing as he ought to know How little is it that the best of us do know concerning the nature of God Concerning the Divine nature and attributes How little do we know concerning the Mysterie of the Trinity How little do we know concerning the union of the two natures in Christ the Hypostatical union as it is commonly called How little do we know of the mystical union the union of believers with Christ how little are we acquainted with any of these Articles of Faith In all these respects we may say with him I am more bruitish than any man I have not the understanding of a man Prov. 30.2 And as we are desective in knowledge so we are defective in faith in love in self-denial in heavenly mindedness and many other graces If some graces may seem to flourish in us yet are we not greatly defective in other graces And if there be some good in us is there not a great deal of evil mixed with that little good Are there not many sinful circumstances that do attend the best of our actions It was the speech of an eminently holy man There was not the best action that ever I did in my life but God shewed me some sinful circumstance attending it Consider what the wise man saith Eccles 10.1 Dead Flies cause the ointment of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking savour A little sin is like a little poyson mixed with the greatest delicacies it mars and spoils all It is true God out of his grace forgets the sinful circumstances that attend his peoples services but sin is of that nature that the least mixture of it is enough to stain and blemish the best action 2. Consider as there are great defects of grace in us so we all carry about with us the body of sin and death O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Rom. 7. In me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing Rom. 7.18 There is nothing that is truly and spiritually good that proceeds from our nature Whatsoever is good proceeds from the spirit of God and the grace of the spirit in us Corrupt nature that is in us is prone to evil and nothing else but evil and if we do not always perceive the buddings and puttings forth of this root yet it is in us that evil root sticks in us when it doth not always act in that sensible manner Now what a humbling consideration is this that we should carry such a root of evil in us that bears such a contrariety in it to the holiness of God The holy Angels never had such a root in them they never had their natures vitiated and tainted as we have and the glorified Saints though sometimes they had the root of original sin in them as we have yet now they have no such root remaining in them What matter of humiliation is this to us that we have that root remaining in us that is so contrary to the holiness of God The holy Angels have it not in them and the glorified Saints are delivered from it There is little cause for any creature the most perfect and innocent creature to be proud because he is but a creature and a dependant thing But how much less cause is there of pride in a sinful creature that carries the marks of his shame about him and hath lost that purity that was stampt upon him in his first creation When we have attained the highest measure of holiness upon earth yet remember it is not with us as in innocency we have the root of original sin still remaining in us 3. Consider what great eruptions of sin and corruption there have been in us Whatever we are at present we are by the grace of God It is by grace that we are what we are But whatever we are at present hath not the time been when there hath been great breakings out of corruption in us I was saith Paul a Blasphemer and a Persecutor 1 Tim. 1.16 Thou that thinkest thou hast received most grace and hast attained most holiness hast thou not been so and so If thou hast not been guilty of scandalous sins yet have there not many things fallen out in the course of thy conversation which thou hast cause to be asbamed of What fruit Rom. 7.21 saith the Apostle had ye in those things whereof you are now ashamed Let us remember the things that have fallen out in our conversation they will be matter of humiliation to us all our days This is the first Remedy against pride to study our own defects and imperfections The 2. great Remedy against pride and that which I take to be the main of all is this Let us study the humility of God-incarnate This is certain no such remedy against pride as the study of the humility of God incarnate Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart Matth. 11.29 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus Phil. 2.5 6. What was the mind
that was in Christ Jesus He was in the form of God and yet took on him the form of a servant and humbled himself to the death even the death of the Cross It is Austins observation That humility whereby God was born of a woman and by such great indignity and contumelies was brought by men unto death is the highest medicine by which the tumor of pride is subdued and killed in us O consider it The most Glorious God the most humble man God is humble and shall a worm be proud Now Christ was God and man in one person and Christs condescension and humility was exceeding great if we consider him in either of these respects as God or as man 1. Consider him as God and so his condescension is exceeding great 1. What condescension was it in God to come into the nature of man to come into the nature of his own creature a nature so inferiour to his own He was in the form of God saith the Apostle and counted it no robbery to be equal with God and yet he was made in the likeness of men and he was found in fashion as a man Phil. 2.6 Creator at Dominus omnium reram unus voleui esse mortalium Proinde qui manens in formá Dei fâ—cit ho ninem idem in formâ servi factus est homo Leo. 7 8. One of the ancients expresseth it thus He that was the Creator and Lord of all things would become one of mortal men He who being in the form of God did make man by assuming the form of a servant he himself was made man O what condescension was this 2. The humility and condescension of Christ as God appears in this That he was content to vail and hide his glory in our nature assumed He was content to have the glory of his Divinity covered and eclipsed by the vail of his humanity and that is the meaning of that expression Phil. 2.7 He emptied himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taking upon him the form of a servant How did the son of God empty himself Not by divesting himself of his Divinity that was impossible he remained to be God still It was not possible for him to cease to be God But the meaning is He laid aside the manifestation of his glory He did not divest himself of his essential glory that was impossible But he laid aside his manifestative glory for a time He was content to have his glory unseen for a time Sometimes indeed he did emit and send forth the raies of his glory in his miracles But otherwise he did for the most part keep in the raies of his glory during the time of his humiliation He was lookt upon as the Carpenters son He was hungry weary exposed to the same infirmities as we are only without sin All this was his voluntary condescension The Son of God when he was in our nature might always have let forth the bright beams of his Divinity such as should have dazelled the eyes of the beholders But he was content to have his glory unseen Now consider it If he who was the Son of God and God was content to have his glory vailed and unseen dot it become us to desire to be seen and admired 3. But then the depth of his humility lay in this That he humbled himself even to the death of the cross so the Apostle expresseth it Phil. 2. Consider it The person who gave himself to suffer was God though in the nature of man For their sakes I sanctifie my self John 17.19 The person that sanctifies himself is God So again I lay down my life for the sheep John 10.18 No man taketh it from me I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again Certainly he that hath power to lay down his life and take it up again was more than man No man that is a meer man can say thus I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again therefore he that spake these words was more than man Now what condescension was it for that person who was God as well as man to lay down his life for man 1 John 3.16 Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us And we may say hereby do we perceive the great humility and condescension of God that he laid down his life for us O what a spectacle of hamility was it to the holy Angels think you to see him hanging on the Cross whom they knew to be the Son of God and God although cloathed with our nature and whom in his Divine nature they had been inured for so long a time to worship in Heaven Here was a spectacle of humility indeed It is Austins expression Remedi m elationis est contuitus Dominicae Crucis Aug. The best remedy against pride is the beholding the Lords Cross Let us every day take a turn at the Cross of Christ and let us by the eye of faith behold the Son of God and God in our nature suffering the greatest torments to make expiation for our pride What should humble us more than this thought that God must become man suffer and die for man to expiate mans pride If the death of that person who was God and who died on purpose to expiate our pride will not humble us I know not what will I may say whilst I was meditating on these things I found my heart in some measure affected with these considerations and if you steep your hearts deeply in these meditations you may possibly find your hearts affected also O consider the humility of God incarnate 2. Consider him as man Remedy 2. so his humility was very great Never so humble a man as the man Christ Jesus Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart As a sheep before his shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth Matth. 11. One great argument of humility is submission when a person submits to bear all that is laid upon him this is one great argument of humility Christ was most patient and submissive to bear all that which God and man laid upon him He opened not his mouth but as a meek Lamb bare all 1 Pet. 2. 〈◊〉 When he was reviled he reviled not again And then as his humility appeared in his submission so his humility appeared in this that he attributes and ascribes all to the Father The Father in me doth the works John 14.10 I can of my self do nothing as I hear I judge John 6.30 Now the greatness of Christs humility as he was man appears from these three or four Considerations briefly I pray you weigh them and consider them deeply 1. In that he knew that he had the fulness of all habitual grace that was possible for a created nature to be filled with The spirit of the Lord did rest upon him the spirit of wisdom
and understanding the spirit of counsel and of might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord Isa 11.2 O consider it Christ was humble when he knew he had all that grace that it was possible for his humanity to be filled with and when he knew that he had not the least sin in him and shall we be proud who have so little grace and so much sin If Christ was humble when he had perfection of grace and no sin doth it become us to be proud who have so little grace and so much sin 2. Christ knew that his humane nature was personally united to the Divine And this he knew was such a dignity that no creature was or should be admitted to besides his humanity Now when Christ knew that he had attained that honour the grace of union which no creature was ever honoured with or ever shall be but his humanity yet he was most humble under this dignity 3. Christ knew that his humanity was to be used as a conjunct organ of the Divinity in the work of mediatorship It was by him as man that the Law was perfectly to be obeyed and fulfilled It was by him that the penalty of the Law was to be undergon he also as man was to make intercession for us This also was such an honour that no creature was admitted unto No creature was ever interested in the work of mediation with God but that humanity of his There is one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 He knew no creature should ever be interested in the work of mediatorship with God as his humane nature was and yet he was humble under this honour 4. He knew that after his humiliation after the work he had to do for the Father was finished he should be in the state of his exaltation be advanced above all creatures Ephes 1.20 He set him at his own right hand in the Heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but in that which is to come It was Christ-man that was thus to be exalted As he was the eternal Son of God so he needed no exaltation For being in the form of God he was equal with God But he that was thus to be exalted was he that was raised from the dead so we have it at vers 20. Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand c. Now according to his humanity was he raised and therefore according to his humanity was he exalted Now consider it He that knew he should be exalted above all creatures not only in this world but in that which is to come he was most humble though he foresaw his exaltation and that the dignity he should be advanced unto was such a dignity that no creature should be advanced unto yet no creature more humble than he Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart Oh let us study Christ much let us study the humility of God incarnate there is no means so effectual to humble us as this 3. Remedy 3. Let us study the greatness and majesty of God As the humility and condescension of God on the one hand so the majesty and greatness of God on the other hand may be a means to humble us Hâ—wilitas homiais allitude Deitatis Lâ—o. Now in Christ both of these met The humility of man and height of the Deity Therefore as his humility as man so the consideration of his highness and excellency as God may be a means to humble us All creatures compared to God are as nothing you know what the Prophet saith Isa 40.17 All nations before him are as the drop of the bucket less than nothing and vanity What do we account of a poor bubble that is blown up Truly all the creatures are but as so many bubbles blown up The same omnipotency which made all the creatures which we see and behold could make many more if he pleased We compare our selves with our selves we compare our selves with others but O if we did compare our selves with the Divine majesty then we should see all our wisdom was but folly our strength but weakness our utmost perfection but imperfection It is a known passage that of Job Job 42.56 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes This is a certain truth nothing so much humbles the soul as clear sights of God When Daniel had a sight of Christ in his majesty and glory what doth he say O saith he There remained no more strength in me â—aâ—iel 10.8 for my comeliness in me was turned into corruption and I retained no strength Had we right thoughts of Gods immensity it would reduce us to nothing it would certainly do so Take all the creatures and put them all together they are all as nothing in comparison of God Therefore there is little reason that one poor single dust as each one of us is should be proud Let us study therefore the greatness and majesty of God 4. Remedy 4. Consider whatever good or excellency there is in us it is the gift of God Have we wisdom parts grace estate dignity honour All these are the gists of God And is it reason that we should be proud of that which is anothers What hast thou O man that thou hast not received and if thou hast received it why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it again who made thee to differ Thou wert made of the same clay with other men and if God hath cast more honour upon thee than he hath upon others thou hast no reason to be proud who wast taken out of the common mass but to admire soveraign grace who hath bestowed that upon thee that he hath not upon others 5. As a Remedie against Pride Remedy 5. Consider pride is the perversion of the end of our being The creature as it was from another so it was made for another No creature was made for it self that is certain Rom. 11.36 All things were of him and by him and to him The creature was made for the glory of the Creator Therefore when the creature exalts it self and refers all things to it self it forgets the end of its creation In Heaven God shall be all in all this is the perfection of the next world that the glory of God shall shine forth through all creatures and by all creatures and we ought to account it our greatest perfection here on earth to be subordinate to God and to be used by him for his glory Now pride makes us distinct and separate from God who should be referred to the glory of God so that pride is the perversion of the end of our being 6. Let us mourn over the ebullitions
for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness THere are several other particulars that discover to us the excellency of Divine grace and you must carry this all along with you that I am not now speaking of that which Divines call habitual grace but I am speaking of the excellency of the influence of Divine grace or that which is commonly called actual grace Now I shall propound several things more concerning the excellency of grace over and above what I have already spoken of The 1. Particular is this It is by the help of Divine grace that we come to apprehend the reality the nature the beauty and excellency of spiritual things 1. It is grace that helps us to apprehend the reality of spiritual things Carnal men that are destitute of Divine grace hear of the things of God but they are only general notions swimming in their brain Carnal men may hear of Heaven and Hell they may hear of the preciousness of the soul they may hear of the excellency of Christ and the like but they are not acquainted with the reality of these things they have indeed some general confused notions of these things but these things are not represented to the mind of carnal men as real things Now here is one discovery of the excellency of Divine grace Divine grace discovers to the soul the reality of spiritual things it causeth a man to apprehend what is spoken concerning God to be real it causeth a man to apprehend that Heaven and the glory of it is a real thing and that the excellency of Christ is a real thing Heb. 11.1 Faith is the evidence of things not seen Faith causeth things that have a real being in themselves to have a real being and existence in a mans apprehension Faith makes things to be clear and plain and evident to the soul Those things that are dark obscure and uncertain to carnal men that have no grace these things appear with clearness and evidence to a man that hath Divine grace It is said of the antient Saints that They were perswaded of the promises Heb. 11.13 That is they were fully perswaded of the verity truth and certainty of the promises Other men have only some fluctuating wavering uncertain thoughts of spiritual things but they are not possest with the truth and reality of them It is Divine grace only that causeth spiritual things to appear to be real to the mind and apprehension of a man 2. It is Divine grace that causeth a man to apprehend the nature of spiritual things Other men hear of God and Christ and the mysteries of the Gospel but it is little they apprehend of the nature of these things 1 Cor. 2.14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned A man that hath not grace doth not know neither can he know spiritual things There must be a spiritual light let into the mind to cause a man to apprehend the nature of spiritual things otherwise he cannot understand them because as the Apostle saith they are spiritually discerned Now men that have no grace they are destitute of this light whereby they should apprehend spiritual things But now Divine grace that gives a spiritual apprehension of spiritual things To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom Matth. 13.11 It is a spicial gift of God to be acquainted with the nature of spiritual things for these things are riddles to other men A carnal man knows the outside of things but he is not led into the inside of truth as the Apostle speaks concerning the Law Heb. 10.1 That the Law had a shadow of things to come but it had not the very image of the things themselves So we may say a carnal man a man that is not illuminated by the light of Divine grace such a man may have a shadow of the knowledge of things in his mind he may have the form of knowledge in his mind but he hath not the very image and substance of things in his mind But now Divine grace makes spiritual things appear in some measure as they are By the help of Divine grace we are helped to see spiritual things as they are hence is that of the Apostle you received it not as the word of man but as it is in truth the word of God 1 Thes 2.13 Other men receive the word as the word of men O but grace makes a man to receive the word as the word of God it discovers to him the nature of the word that it comes from God and hath a Divine stamp and impress upon it 3. Grace causeth a man to apprehend the excellency of spiritual things As Divine grace helps a man to understand the reality and nature of spiritual things so it causeth a man to apprehend the excellency of spiritual things 1 Cor. 2.6 We speak wisdom among them that are perfect By perfect here the Apostle doth not understand such as are simply and absolutely perfect for there are none such in this world But he means comparatively perfect We speak wisdom among them that are perfect that is such as are perfect in comparison of other men We speak wisdom to them that are perfect that is unto enlightned souls We speak wisdom to them that are endowed with grace and the Spirit of God I suppose the Apostle by perfect here understands illuminated souls such as are illuminated by grace and the Spirit of God Now saith the Apostle We speak wisdom to them The Gospel and the Mysteries of it is the greatest and highest wisdom to illuminated souls to such as are enlightned by the Spirit of God however they may appear foolishness to other men who are not enlightned yet there is no such wisdom to an enlightned soul as there is in the mysteries of Christ The conjunction of the two natures in the person of Christ and the mysterie of Divine grace in carrying on the work of our Salvation by Christ in both his natures this is the greatest wisdom to an enlightned soul We speak wisdom to them that are perfect this is the wisdom the Apostle speaks of viz. The mysterie of Christ the mysterie of our salvation carried on by Christ this is the highest wisdom to an enlightned soul Divine grace makes a man to see the excellency of spiritual things An enlightned soul seeth the worth of pardon of sin the worth of Gods favour the beauty of holiness the preciousness of the promises whereas other men see no great excellency in these things Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive the things that God hath prepared for them that love him But God hath revealed them to us by the spirit 1 Cor. 2.9 10. The Spirit of God reveals the excellency of those things to the children of God that other men see no excellency in
washed my hands in innocency saith that holy man When he was under the power of temptation he was ready to give off his obedience to give up the course of his walking with God he began to repent he had been religious and walked with God But now it is by the help of Divine grace that we are kept from fainting in the course of our obedience The Lord hath promised that he will put his fear in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Jer. 32.40 Did not God put his fear into our hearts we should be ready to depart from him He also leadeth us in the paths of righteousness for his names sake Psal 23.3 It is grace causeth us to persevere It is Austins observation That grace is necessary for the elect when they are converted first of all Sive cum convertâ—ntur sive cum praeliantur sive cum coroâ—antur It is necessary for them when they war and combat and it is necessary for them when they are crowned at last It is Divine grace that converts and turns our hearts to God first of all It is grace upholds us in the spiritual conflict and enables us to sight the good fight of faith otherwise we thould be weary and faint in our minds and we should be ready to give up the field And then it is grace that crowns us at last so that all is of grace And it is another memorable speech of Austin After mans fall God would have it appertain to nothing but his grace that man should come to him at first and it doth also appertain to the same grace only to keep him that he should not depart from him So that after mans fall it is Divine grace that first brings man back to God and it is the same grace that holds man close to him in the course of obedience so that he never depart from God again but goes on to persevere in the way of faith and obedience to the end 9. Partic. 9. The Excellency of Divine grace appears in this that it carries a man above the sears of death It is grace only that carries a man above the fears of death and makes him willing to lay down this life and cauâ—eth him sweetly and placidly to resign up his soul into Gods hands Father into thy hands saith Christ I commit my spirit Act. 7 59. Lord Jesus saith Stephen receive my spirit Nature abhors the thoughts of dissolution nature cannot indure to think of parting with this life Not that we would be uncloathed saith Paul but that mortality might be swallowed up of life 2 Cor. 5.4 Paul himself found in himself an abhorrence in nature as to dissolution O but then the power of Divine grace in him made him to speak otherwise I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Here we see the different language of nature and grace in the same person Nature makes him say not that I would be uncloathed but grace makes him say I desire to be dissolved so that grace overcomes nature When nature abhors nothing more than death and dissolution yet such is the power of Divine grace that it makes a man freely to lay down his life and to surrender up his soul sweetly into the hands of God Lastly Partic. 10. The last particular I shall mention to shew the excellency of Divine grace is this It is the happiness of Heaven to be always acted by Divine grace to think to love to desire to will to speak to act nothing but as Divine grace would teach and incline us to do this is the perfection of Heaven it self What is the perfection of Heaven but that we shall be full of grace and of the spirit of God The perfection of Heaven consists in this that grace and the spirit of God shall act us universally always and in all things The happiness of Heaven is described by this that God shall be all in all 1 Cor. 15. And one way by which God is all in all is this that in Heaven we shall be full of the spirit of God and that we shall be purely and perfectly and eternally acted by the spirit of God Here nature and self sway us very much but the perfection of Heaven is this that we shall be purely and solely acted by the spirit of God and flesh and nature shall no more have the sway in us but we shall do every thing as the spirit of God acts us How excellent is a Saint here on earth What a beauty and majesty doth there appear in him here on earth so far as he is acted by the spirit of God and by Divine grace That which makes any thing uncomely in a Christian is that nature and corruption and self appears in him But so far as grace and the spirit of God acts him there is nothing but beauty loveliness and comeliness that appears in him How excellent I say is a Saint so far as he is acted by the grace of God here on earth Oh but there are many mixtures of corruption and imperfections in the best of the Saints here on earth there is none of the Saints so perfectly acted by Divine grace but something of self and corruption interposeth O but in Heaven he shall be purely and perfectly and eternally acted by the spirit of God nothing shall come from him then but what savours of the spirit of God Now if the perfection of grace be the perfection of Heaven it self how excellent then is Divine grace that brings us near to the life of Heaven Thus have I shewn the excellency of Divine grace in several particulars And what should all that that we have heard concerning the Doctrine of grace and the excellency of it teach us 1. It should cause us to love Divine grace to prize it and long after it more to covet it and pray for it more than we do for temporal things Had we spiritual eyes to see the beauty and excellency of Divine grace we should not be so fond of other things and neglect grace our main desires would run out after grace 2. We should make this Use from what we have heard of the Doctrine of Divine grace we should pray that we may feel the operations and effects of Divine grace put forth in our souls We have heard how that grace causeth a man to deny his own wisdom will affections inclinations and to resign himself wholly to Gods will We have heard how grace causeth a man to be satisfied in God and with God in the want of other things We have heard how grace elevates the soul to the desire of the Heavenly Country how it causeth a man to persevere in faith and obedience to the end to lay down this life when God calls him thereunto Now we should pray to seel and find that presence of Divine grace in our souls that we may be carried forth to all these things then and never till then shall we know the