is a Positive Unbelief and this is when men are ready to distrust Gods Power and his Providence and his Promises or when we do not so fiducially rest upon them as to obey the Gospel This is a Positive unbelief this is the sin which is so dangerous Now you must know this Positive Unbelief is twofold First Temporary Secondly Total or Final First There is a Temporary unbelief and this is that which may befall even Gods own Elect they may be under unbelief for a while True it is possible for an Elect Child of God to be under an act of unbelief though he cannot be brought into a state of unbelief for you must distinguish between these two between a state of unbelief and an act of unbelief A Child of God may be under an act of unbelief so you know was Godly Zachariah Elizabeth's husband he was under an act of unbelief And behold thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed because thou believedst not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season Luke 1.20 And Thomas one of the twelve Apostles he was under an act of unbelief when he said Vnless I shall see in his hands the print of the Nails and put my finger into the print of the Nails and thrust my hand into his fide I will not believe Joh. 20.25 So were all the rest of the Apostles under an act of unbelief for a while therefore our Saviour when he was risen again he upbraided them the Text says with their unbelief Mark 16.14 After he appeared to the Eleven as they sate at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen This is a Temporary Unbelief Secondly There is a Total or Final unbelief and that is the sin of those that live in a state of impenitency and abide in that condition those that abide in their unbelief until the wrath of God abides upon them You see what this unbelief is a distrusting of Gods Power and Providences and Promises and that not for a time which may be the condition of a Child of God but when it is a Total and Final unbelief That 's the first thing for Explication Secondly By way of Explication it may be demanded Why is this such a dangerous and destructive sin that it does debar men of this Heavenly Canaan I shall give you these three Reasons of it First Because you must know it is a sin that robs God of his Glory Look as by believing we do most of all honour God for by this we set to our Seal that he is true John 3.33 He that hath received his Testimony hath set to his Seal that God is true By believing we give him the honour of his Truth and Faithfulness and Mercy and Goodness and Power Thus Abraham by believing gave glory to God in Rom. 4.20 He staggered not at the Promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God So on the contrary by unbelief we dishonour him in a high degree nay in the highest degree that can be named because we make him a Liar 1 John 5.10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a Liar because he believeth not the Record that God gave him of his Son Now what greater reproach or dishonour can be cast upon a man of worth than to give him the lye Unbelief therefore is a bold sin it steps into Gods Cabinet as I may say and it robs him of the choicest Jewel that he hath namely his Glory which he hath said He will not give to another Isa 42.8 I am the Lord that is my Name and my Glory will I not give to another neither my praise to the graven Images The glory of God it is nothing else but the reputation that God hath in the World Take away Gods glory and the reputation that he hath among the Sons of men then with reverence be it spoken he is little worth in the eyes of men Now Unbelief is that that robs God of his Glory Secondly Unbelief is such a dangerous destructive sin because it is the first sin that ever was in the World As it is the mother of all other sins so it was the first sin whereby the Devil got entrance into the heart of man I know there is a dispute amongst Divines What was the first sin our first Parents were guilty of whether Pride or Unbelief without all doubt it was Unbelief for God told our first Parents expresly Whenever they did eat of the Tree of life they should die the death as sure as they lived they should die but the Devil he goes and tells them You shall not die Now mark they believed the Devil more than they believed God Unbelief therefore was the first sin that ever was committed in the World and as it was the first sin whereby the Devil got entrance into the heart of man so may it be said to be the root and mother of all other sins therefore says the Apostle Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 Look as Faith may be said to be the Mother of all other Graces because Faith lets in Jesus Christ into the Soul and so purifies the heart Act. 15.9 And put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by Faith it applyes the purifying-blood of Jesus Christ So on the other side Unbelief may be said to be the mother of all other sins because it keeps out Christ and keeps out Grace and polutes the heart and defiles it and makes it no better than a Den for Satan to lodg in It is a good observation of an eminent Divine whom for honour sake I mention namely Doctor Sibs Look as the first return of the Soul to God is by Faith so the first departing of the Soul from God is by Vnbelief for from thence comes a departing to other sins and so unbelief being encreased the rent that is made between God and the Soul the estrangement between God and the Soul is still made wider and wider and so the Soul departs further and further and is still departing and departing from one sin to another till at last it comes to hear that fatal and final sentence Matth. 25 Depart thou cursed wretch into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Well therefore may Unbelief be said to be the Mother of all other sins Unbelief and Apostacy are very near akin Unbelief may in some sense be said to be all disobedience The same Greek word that signifies unbelief signifies also disobedience Col. 3.6 For these things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of unbelief or children of disobedience And well may it be said to be the Mother of disobedience for
guilty of this sin of unbelief yea or no. I know every one of you will be ready to plead Not guilty Oh we do believe the Word of God and pity we should live if we did not believe the Word But let me tell you This is an inward secret lurking sin therefore not easily discerned But that you may know whether you be guilty of this sin or no I will give you these four plain undeniable Scripture-Evidences the Lord make you your own Judges in this particular First When men do slight the invitations of Jesus Christ slight the proffers of his Grace it is a token there is unbelief in the bottom for where Faith is once wrought in the heart there is instantly and readily a closing between Christ and the Soul there is a ready closure as there is between the Load-stone and the Iron When Jesus Christ says to a poor sinner Come to me though thou art weary and heavy laden the Believing Soul closes presently with Christ and answers Come thee Lord I I will creep to thee upon my hands and feet When Christ says to it again Do this or Do that the Soul says again O Lord give me strength to do what thou commandest and command what thou wilt But now when you find in you a backwardness to entertain Jesus Christ in your hearts this is a certain and undeniable evidence of your unbelief and is not this your sin Alas alas let Jesus Christ be tendred in the Ministry of the Word from day to day let him be proffered in the sweetest anst softest terms of Perswasions and Exhortations let Ministers use their best Art and Arguments to woo entreat invite and beseech you to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ as he is tendred to you in the Gospel and yet alas we poor Ministers can get no audience I speak of the most of you not of all scarce one of ten scarce one of a hundred will hearken to this Gospel-invitation to come unto Jesus Christ and to submit to him and to take him upon Gospel-terms Our Saviour complains in John 5.40 And ye will not come unto me that ye may have life Though I would give you life a life of Righteousness a life of Grace a life of Glory Yet you will not come to me that is You will not believe in me you will not embrace me you will not submit to me you will not solace your Souls in me Let the World call and you run straight let the flesh call and you obey it straight in the lusts of it nay let Satan call and you readily hearken to him but you will not hearken to me Just so may the Ministers of the Gospel at this day complain Lord Thou sendest us upon this Errand to bring Sinners in to thee thou sendest us upon the same Message Abraham sent his Servant to get a Wife for his Son Isaac Abraham gave his Servant Rings and Jewels and Bracelets to bestow upon her that would be Wife to Isaac So our Lord sends us with Rings and Jewels and Bracelets we have many Motives and Arguments to invite Sinners and to perswade and draw them But Lord we can do no good in our Ministry we tell men of the unsearchable Riches of Jesus Christ and what an unvaluable portion they shall have in him but they will not believe Lord Who hath believed our Report Now when there is a slighting of those invitations and proffers of Gospel-grace it is a certain token of Unbelief And that 's the first Sign or Character of Unbelief Secondly When men undervalue Christs Person and Portion this is a token of unbelief We tell men of the Beauty of Christs Person that he is white and ruddy white in his Innocency and ruddy in his Passion the choisest of ten thousand Cant. 5.10 and that there is nothing in him but brightness and sweetness and beauty and fulness and all sufficiency yet men believe it not They see no beauty in him why they should desire him Isa 53.3 Nay What is thy beloved more than other Beloveds say they Cant. 5.9 So when we tell men of the invaluable portion they shall have by the Lord Jesus Christ those unsearchable Riches the riches of his Merits and the riches of his Spirit and that rich and royal Redemption and that they shall have whatever their hearts can desire we tell them of this they shall have a portion of grace Jesus Christ will give them grace for grace for every grace in himself he will give them part of it by his Wisdom they shall be made wise by his Holiness they shall be made holy he will give them a portion of Glory a Crown of Eternal glory to them that love him but because they see not this Portion this Crown of glory they will not believe it they will not believe further than they see they are all for present pay Demas hath forsaken me having embraced this present world They will have good things for the present as for future expectations they regard them not Where there is an undervaluing of Christs person or portion there is a great deal of unbelief Thirdly When men are secure and fearless it is a certain effect and sign and symptom of unbelief for Faith breeds fear Heb. 11.7 By Faith Noah being wanned of God of things not seen as yet moved with fear prepared an Ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the World and became heir of the righteousness which is by Faith Faith makes men fear But now when men do nto stand in awe of God of the great God that is within us without us above us about us when we do not walk as in his eye nor walk as in his presence when men do not stand in awe of the Word of God and say with David Psalm 119 161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause but my heart standeth in awe of thy Word As if he should say I more stand in awe of thy Word than of all the Princes of the World When men are so over-awed by the Word of God as that they dare not sin against God for the Word of God stands as a Schoolmaster stands with a Rod in his hands over a Boy so that he dare not act any untowardness When men are not over-awed by the Word but they sin and spare not they sin and grieve not this is a token of their unbelief they do not believe God is Omniscient Omnipresent they do not believe his Justice they do not believe his Truth Where men are thus fearless and secure it is a plain token of their exceeding great unbelief Fourthly A fourth Sign of unbelief is this when men profess one thing and practice another thing when their practice crosses their Profession this is a certain token of reigning unbelief Let me give you some instances For example You profess God to be your Soveraign Lord and King and Law-giver and that you have but one Law-giver which is
Will but they shall know it more assuredly they shall be sure of what they know and shall attain to this certainty of Knowledg that I have been speaking of then it serves to let us see what is the reason of all the Errours that are broached and so greedily drunk in in these days in which we live what is the reason of that uncertainty and unconstancy that is in Religion that men are giddy-headed turned with every wind of Doctrine and new Opinion and suck in such strange and corrupt Doctrines and that there is so many Sects and Schisms the reason is because men never attained to this full assurance of Understanding this certainty of Knowledg that the Text speaks of If any man will do his will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self All the knowledg that they have of the Scripture it may be it is but an Opinion or a conjecture or a guess a notional knowledg a knowledg that is taken up upon tradition or trust not that they have any assurance of it in their own hearts and understandings All the knowledg of Scepticks those that you call Seekers Nullifidians that believe nothing all whose profession is to profess nothing all their knowledg is but a meer Opinion the truth is they have no knowledg at all If they did know the truth the truth would make them free If they had known the truth they would have been rooted and fetled and established in it they would part with their lives rather than part with the truth A second Lesson you may learn hence is this It lets us see what the reason is of all that Atheism and loosness and libertinism that is in the hearts of men and practises of men at this day the reason is because they never attained to any certainty of knowledg in the Doctrine of Christ and Mysteries of Religion they never did believe the Precepts and Promises nor Threatnings of God cordially For Example Did men but believe the threatnings of the Word to name two or three When God saith Vpon the wicked he will rain snares fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their Cup Psalm 11.6 Again when God saith that he will wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses Psalm â—8 21 And God saith expressly that no unrighteous person shall inherit the Kingdom of God neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 10. And that Text saith expresly That the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and Murderers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Rev. 21.8 Did men but know these truths were they but assured of them durst they do as they do durst they venture their immortal Souls that must sink or swim for ever that are capable of endless bliss or endless remidiless misery in Hell more days than there are drops of water in the whole Ocean Durst they venture their precious Souls for the satisfying of every base lust as they do No they durst not Men do not know these truths and because they do not know them therefore it is that they do not believe them and because they do not know and believe them therefore there is in them an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God The first step of the Souls departure from God is by unbelief so the first step of the Souls approach to God is by Faith Unbelief is the cause of all other sins A man that doth not believe the Promises of God to embrace them nor the Threatnings of God to fear them nor the Precepts of God to obey them when he departs from God by unbelief he departs to other sins and still departs further and further so that the breach between God and the Soul is never made up again but such a man departs from God step by step until at last he comes to hear that Thunder-striking sentence Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels A second Use is by way of Examination and I beseech you my Brethren to call your selves to an account and examine whether you have this certainty of understanding this assured Knowledg that I have discoursed of May be you will say to me But how shall we know whether we have it or no Answ I will tell you how you may know it these three ways First By the names or expressions that the Spirit of God gives it Secondly By the Properties of it Thirdly By the Effects of it First You may know it by the names or Expressions that the Spirit of God gives it such Expressions as these now First It is called a Knowledg of those things which are most surely believed Luke 1.1 Not barely believed but certainly believed A second Expression is a being taught of God John 6.45 And they shall be all taught of God Thirdly It is known by this Expression by writing the Law of God in our hearts upon the Tables of our hearts Jer. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 Fourthly By this Expression by receiving the anointing that teacheth you all things 1 Joh. 2.27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth Fifthly It is known by this expression By having the mind of Christ or knowing the mind of Christ 1 Cor. 2. ult Sixthly It is known by this expression by bringing high thoughts into the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 When there is such a light in a man that it can answer those Objections that are made against the truth when it can likewise so stifle those reasonings and cavils of his back-sliding heart that none of them shall be able to beat down the truth but he shall be able to stick to the truth notwithstanding such a man hath this certainty of Knowledg Lastly It is known by this expression the manifestation of the Spirit 1 Cor. 12.2 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal Secondly This certainty of knowledg may be known by the Properties of it I shall name but these four Properties First This assuring Knowledg is ever an heart-humbling knowledg Carnal knowledg natural knowledg unsanctifyed knowledg puffs a man up it makes him like a pair of Bellows as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Original signifies 1 Cor. 8.1 but this assuring Knowledg it ever makes a man base and humble in his own eyes the more you know of God and of the truths of God and of your own selves the more vile and base you will be in your own eyes I have
those glorious hopes that are laid up for the Saints in Light Fourthly Be contented to endure some hardship in the way Heaven will make amends for all all the costs discouragements and difficulties that you meet with in the pursuit of your hopes will be abundantly recompenced by one hours fruition of that eternal happiness Secondly If you would not despise or undervalue that heavenly Inheritance learn to live by Faith and not by sight and sense if you live by sight and sense you will look on the things that are seen and not on the things that are not seen the things that are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal 2 Cor. 4.18 If you live by Faith you will fetch your comforts from Christ more than from any thing in the Creature Thirdly If you would not despise this pleasant Land then beg of Jesus Christ that he would draw your Souls that you may run after him Quicken me with thy quickning-grace for thy Name sake Lord bestow thy quickning-grace upon me that I may mind the business of Eternity seriously Lord help me to set about the work vigorously that I may not trifle with thee in matters that are of infinite Concernment I remember the speech of a Martyr a good woman at that time when profession of the Gospel was enough to bring to the stake says she I hear there are Crowns and Kingdoms to be disposed of this day here take my child I will put in for one Crown for one Kingdom Oh that every one of us had hearts to do as she did let us be contented to suffer hardship for a while that we may enjoy the pleasant Land for ever and ever So much for the first Branch of the Text that is the horrible ingratitude of this people They despised the pleasant Land The ground of that ingratitude you have in the next words of the Text And believed not his Word But so much for this time PSAL. CVI. 24. And believed not his Word I Have spoken to this Text in one Sermon already as you may remember in it I took notice of two Branches First Israels horrible ingratitude in these words They despised the pleasant Land and that I finished last day Now I come to the second Branch of the Text that is the ground of their ingratitude in these words They believed not his Word What word They believed not the Promise that God had made unto them that he would bestow the Land of Canaan upon them nay God did not only promise it but he sware unto Abraham Isaac and Jacob Gen. 50.24 And Joseph said unto his Brethren I die and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this Land to the Land which he sware to Abraham to Isaac and Jacob. But because the Spies forsooth came and told them Oh there are walled Cities and Giants and Anakims to fight with and it is impossible for you to get possession of the Land therefore they believed the Spies but they would not believe God they believed the report of those that told them of the Giants but they would not believe Gods Report they would not believe Gods Promise So the Doctrine I shall commend to you from this second Branch of the Text is this Doct. One main Reason why men do undervalue the Heavenly Canaan and so come short of it is their Vnbelief Look as it was with the Children of Israel here spoken of in the Text the sin that made them despise and undervalue the Land of Canaan and so were debar'd and shut out of the Land of Canaan was their Unbelief as the Apostle shews expresly Heb. 3. ult So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief So here One main reason why men undervalue the Heavenly Canaan and so come short or are deprived of the Heavenly Canaan it is their Unbelief Men believe lyes but they will not believe the Truth they believe the Devil who is a lyar and tells them they may come to Heaven with a wet-finger and therefore they may live as they list but they will not believe the Lord Jesus Christ that tells them Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to life and few there be that find it Matth. 7.14 They believe the father of lyes but they will not believe him that is the God of Truth who says Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many I say unto you shall seek to enter in but shall not be able Luke 13.24 They believe the report of Satan but they will not believe the report of the word of God which tells us expresly 1 Pet. 4.18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and sinners appear They will not believe that Doctrine which you may remember proved out of Heb. 4.1 Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entring into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it Where I shewed you that the life of a Christian is a life of fear and that in matters of Soul-concernment Christians should not only be very jealous of themselves but of others also I also shewed you that it is possible for many that are professors of the Truth or true Religion to come short of Heaven and that it is possible for many that are confident that they are in a state of grace to come short of Heaven and that it is possible for many to come very near to Heaven and yet to come short of Heaven But men will not believe these Truths now their Unbelief is the cause why they slight Heaven and shall be deprived of Heaven For the better Explication of this Doctrine there are two things I shall open to you First What this Unbelief is that makes men so undervalue the Heavenly Canaan Secondly Why this Unbelief is such a great and grievous sin so dangerous and destructive that it deprives men of that Heavenly Canaan First What this Unbelief is that makes men slight the Heavenly Canaan For answer to this you must know there is a twofold Unbelief There is a Negative And There is a Positive Unbelief First There is a Negative Unbelief and that is the sin of Pagans and Heathens that never heard of God nor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ they believe not because they know not they know not God Rom. 10.14 How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard This is the sin of Pagans this ignorance it excuses in part though not in whole their sin is not so great by far as the sin of those that do profess the Gospel yet their Negative unbelief is a sin because Gods Commandment is That we should believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ 1 John 3.23 And this is his commandment that we believe in the Name of his Son Jesus Christ But this is the Negative unbelief this concerns not us but it concerns those that know not God Secondly There
what sin is there so gross and grievous that an unbeliever will not run into If a man believe not the threatnings he will practice no good For example if a man do but believe that terrble Scripture Rev. 21.8 But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and Murderers and Whoremongers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all Lyars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death If a man did believe that Scripture durst he be a Coward to betray the Truths of God God speaks of the fearful ones in that sense to be cowardly Christians did he believe this durst he be such an abominable wretch to run into such abominable blasphemies which are not to be named which are belched out against God in these days Durst he be an Idolater a Lyar a Swearer certainly he durst not but he does not believe the Threatnings of God If a Tyrant should threaten any of you with the Rack or Strapado which would break your bones Oh what terror and trembling would take hold of you how would you fall down at his feet and seek his face and favour yet that Tyrant could take away nothing but a poor miserable mortal life But the great God of Heaven he threatens Sinners with the punishment of loss the loss of his presence of his favour of fellowship with him in Glory nay he threatens with the punishment of Sense those unconceivable tortures and torments in Hell for ever to all Eternity and yet Sinners do not tremble at this great God they do not fall down and seek his face and savour What is the reason because they believe not If so be a faithful man that was never yet known to break his word and a man of a great Estate that was able to make good his promise if he should promise any of you an Inheritance of two or three hundred by the year you would believe that man on his word and you would seek to please him you would prize his favour but now the great God of Heaven and Earth that was never yet known to break his Word he tells you of an heavenly Inheritance incorruptible undefiled reserved in Heaven and yet do you not seek to please him or prize his favour or obey him what 's the reason Because you believe not his Word So the truth is unbelief is the Mother of all disobedience That 's the second Reason Thirdly Unbelief is a sin thus dangerous and destructive to the Soul because God hath provided more Antidotes and Remedies against this sin of unbelief than against any other sin to cure this sin of Unbelief First God hath given us his Word which is a most faithful Word Heaven and Earth shall pass away saith our Saviour but my words shall not pass away Matth. 24.35 Secondly God hath given us his Promises Now all his Promises are sure and certain Yea and Amen God is faithful and will make good his promises 2 Cor. 1.20 For all the promises of God in him are Yea and in him are Amen unto the glory of God by us Thirdly He hath given us his Covenant and this Covenant is sure and stedfast and ordered in all things an everlasting Covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ and cannot be altered 2 Sam. 23.5 Although my House be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my Salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow Fourthly He hath given us his Oath Ezek. 16.8 Yea I sware unto thee and entred into a Covenant with thee saith the Lord God and thou becamest mine Now an Oath you know is the strongest bond of assurance between man and man And the Apostle speaking of the Word of God and of the Oath of God that they are two immutable things wherein it is impossible for God to lye Heb. 6.17 18 Wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of the Promise the immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by an Oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us As it is impossible for God to die because he is life it self so it is impossible for God to lye because he is Truth it self Fifthly Because he hath given us his Seal also he hath given us his outward Seal which is the Sacrament both the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Lords Supper he hath given us also his inward Seal which is the Witness and Testimony of his own blessed Spirit sealing us up to the day of Redemption Sixthly He hath given us Experiences former Experiences and latter Experiences the Experience of all the Saints that have gone before us Psalm 22.4 Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them So in Psalm 34.6 This poor man cryed speaking of himself when he was in as low a condition as ever he was in scrabling on the ground and feigning himself mad 1 Sam. 21.13 says he This poor man cryed and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his trouble Therefore others will be exceeding glad when they hear how graciously he hath dealt with them So in Psalm 9.10 They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee for thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee Now God hath given us experiences he hath given us all these Antidotes and Preservatives against unbelief hearken therefore O Unbeliever Well If thou do not believe thou must perish everlastingly God remains faithful and cannot deny himself 2 Tim. 2.13 If we believe not yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself But if thou do believe and perish if thou do believe and yet art damned then God hath broken his Word and broken his Promise and broken his Covenants and broken his Oath and broken the Seals of his Covenant which is as impossible as for God to cease to be God You see God hath provided so many Remedies and Antidotes against Unbelief therefore unbelief is such a dangerous and destructive sin It is observable when our Saviour came to his own Countrey that was Nazareth and preach'd to his own Country-men and did Miracles among them they believed not The Text says Mark 6.6 He marvelled because of their unbelief You do not read he marvelled at other sins as Ignorance Hypocrisie Pride Covetousness c. but our Saviour marvelled at their unbelief Oh when men shall sin against the Word of God and the Promise of God and the Covenant of God and the Oath of God and the Seal of God Heaven and Earth may stand amazed at their incredible incredulity Thus you see the Point opened For the Vse and Application of the Point First By way of Examination I beseech you to bring your hearts to the Touch-stone and see whether you be
my self Hab. 3.16 If so be thou didst believe the Promises Oh thou wouldst embrace them thou wouldst suck and be satisfied with those Breasts of Consolation Isa 66.11 It is said of the Patriarchs They saw the Promises after off and embraced them Heb. 11.13 But now when thou sayest thou believest the Commands of God and yet never obeyest his Commands thou sayest thou believest his Threatnings and yet never tremblest at any Threatning thou sayest thou belivest the Promises and yet art no way thereby encouraged to a more active and fruitful and chearful walking with God then thy Belief crosses thy Profession And this is a certain and undeniable Evidence of Unbelief the Lord awaken some of you and convince you and send you home to your own hearts to see how deeply you stand guilty of this sin my Text speaks of for if there be not reigning unbelief in many of you for my part I do not understand the Scripture I shall close with a word of Exhortation Is it so That Vnbelief is one main cause why so many men despise and undervalue that Heavenly Canaan and are debar'd from that Heavenly Canaan Then I have a twofold Exhortation to tender to you The First is to those that are Regenerate Secondly To those that are Unregenerate First To those that are Regenerate And my Counsel to you is this Oh do not mourn for the dregs of this sin that yet remain in you there are dregs of Unbelief even in those that are true Believers That man or woman that is not sensible of the dregs of this sin in him I say then he is a stranger to his own heart In Heb. 13.5 says the Apostle Let your Conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee There you have a Promise He hath said Who is it that hath said it The Great God of Heaven and Earth that can make it good How hath he said it how with the greatest earnestness or asseveration that ever Promise was made for he that hath skill in the Greek Tongue shall find there five Negatives in that one Promise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will not forsake thee that is not enough but says God Be assured I will not forsake thee no no no no I will not forsake thee so many No's therefore be assured As if the Lord should say it as the greatest Asseveration and with the greatest earnestness that ever we read of any Promise made with Yet let me tell you and it is what you will find by your own experience Though in time of prosperity it is an easie matter to presume yet in time of adversity it is a hard matter to believe this Promise when we come into straitness to say God will not leave me nor forsake me he will not leave me in the Bryars nay though you and I have had experience of Gods faithfulness to this day we had experience of his faithfulness when we were in our Mothers womb As a learned man once said If a man should live to the days of Methuselah if he should live a thousand years he could never have that experience of Gods power and tender mercy to him as he had when God preserved him in his mothers womb and took him out of his mothers belly We have had experience of Gods preserving us then and we have lived upon him ever since some twenty some thirty some forty some fifty years all this time God did never leave us nor forsake us yet if we be in straits we find it a very hard matter to believe that one Promise I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Oh therefore bewail and bemoan the dregs of Unbelief cry out with that good man Lord I believe I would believe help my unbelief That is the first Exhortation Secondly I have an Exhortation to those that are in a state of unbelief unregenerate impenitent wretches that go on in sin and will not be reclaimed that slight the invitations of Jesus Christ and the proffers of his Grace My Counsel to you is this and I have but two words of Counsel to tender to you First Be sensible of this sin Secondly Labour to get this sin removed First Be sensible of this sin be sensible of the greatness of it be sensible of the hainous nature of it what to turn the Truth of God into a Lye what to make the great God of Heaven and Earth a Lyar what to rob him of his Glory what to go into his Cabinet and steal away his chiefest Jewel Can there be a greater sin Be sensible of the danger of this sin it brings imminent and unavoidable destruction along with it Tremble at that Scripture John 3.18 He that believeth not is condemnâ—d already because he hath not believed on the Name of the only begotten Son of God he is condemned a sentence of death is past upon thee if thou be in a state of Unbelief Secondly My other word of Counsel is this Oh labour labour to get this cursed sin of unbelief destroyed in you O let this sin be destroyed or else thou must be destroyed But you will say How shall we get this sin of unbelief cured I will tell you Will you hearken to me in four or five Rules and then I have done First Take heed of Atheism for I profess we are fallen into days of Atheism and all our Religion if the Lord be not merciful to us will end in Atheism Infidelism and Athesm there is but one step between them what is Atheism but when men will not believe there is a God all Insidelity springs from Aheism But you will say What do you think we are Atheists Do you think that we believe there is not a God Let me tell you There are Atheists in Opinion as well as Atheists in Language The Fool hath said in his heart there is no God there are Atheists in practice as well as Atheists in profession They profess they know God but in works they deny him Take heed therefore of this cursed sin of Atheism Secondly Would you have Unbelief removed then learn to know more of God to know more of his Goodness Wisdom Holiness Purity Perfection and other of his glorious Attributes They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee I am sure did you but know him you would believe in him you would obey him you would fear before him I know whom I have believed saith St. Paul 2 Tim. 1.12 Thirdly Resolve to practice what you do know if you would be Believers you must know that there are many things a man may believe notionally which he does not believe practically I shall give you an instance There is never a one of you that hears me this day but believes you are mortal you believe you shall die you verily believe that as you believe there is a Sun in the Firmament yet notwithstanding though you do
believe this yet many of you can live as securely as merrily and madly as if so be you should never drop down into the dust here now indeed is a notional Faith I but there is not a practical Faith it is one thing to believe a Truth notionally and another thing to believe it practically Fourthly Would you have Unbelief removed then Oh beg and beg earnestly that God would take away your hearts of stone and give you hearts of flesh let this be your Prayer every day Do you not remember how I opened that Text to you A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh Ezek. 36.26 What is a stony-heart but a sensless heart a heart sensless of sin and a heart fearless of wrath Now do but observe that unbelief and hardness of heart they still go together In Mark 16.14 Afterwards he appeared unto the eleven as they sate at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart Our Saviour upbraids them for their unbelief and hardness of heart Why are you so backward to believe it is because of the hardness of your hearts Fifthly I beseech you to meditate often of the danger of Unbelief meditate often what will be the woful Effects and Issues of your Unbelief consider the Threatnings the Precepts and the Promises of the Almighty In John 8.24 I said therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins for if you believe not that I am he you shall die in your sins What die in sin Oh what greater curse can possibly be uttered To die in sin to rot in sin to come out of your graves in sin to be presented before your Judg in your sins John 3. ult He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him The wrath of God abideth on him If it were only for a few days it might be born I but it will be abiding and abiding and abiding to all Eternity the wrath of God will abide upon that Soul that does not believe In a word and so I have done As God speaks to the Prophet in another case They will not see but they shall see I apply it thus You that will not believe I promise you you shall believe you that will not believe savingly you shall believe desperately you that will not believe that God is so just so strict so severe you shall believe when you feel the wrath of the Almighty seizing upon you never to be removed you that will not believe now to the saving of your Souls you shall believe as the Devils to believe and tremble you then will believe the torments of Hell in that day when you feel them in that place where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth It is better to believe these things now than believe them when you feel them The Lord work these things upon our hearts that this Soul-destroying sin may not be our ruin CHRISTS'S PRECIOUSNESS 1 PET. II. 7. Vnto you therefore which believe he is precious but unto them which are disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the Head of the Corner THE holy Apostle that he might the better draw Christians to believe in Jesus Christ to love him embrace him and obey him as the Captain of their Salvation in the beginning of this Chapter commends to them both the Word of Christ and Christ himself who is the Kirnel and Substance of the Word he commends the Word of Christ to them in the first and second verses of this Chapter Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings as new-born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby And he commends Jesus Christ himself to them two ways First By shewing what he is in himself Secondly By shewing what benefits Believers have by him First He shews what the Lord Jesus Christ is in himself in ver 4 To whom coming as to a living stone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious He is a living stone a stone that hath life in himself and a stone that gives life unto others For he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life 1 John 5.12 And not only a living stone but he is chosen of God and very precious the Pearl of the Gospel that precious only excellent one in comparison of whom all the Kingdoms of the World are but as a heap of dung But then as the Apostle commends him for what he is in himself so he commends Jesus Christ by what he hath done for all those that believe in him In the 5th ver Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual House an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ This invaluable benefit you shall have by him you shall not only be justified by him but you shall be sanctified you shall be made a holy Priesthood and all your services shall be made acceptable through him To confirm this weighty Truth the Apostle produces a Testimony out of the Prophet Isaiah Isa 28.16 Therefore saith the Lord God Behold I lay in Sion for a Foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste Having thus confirmed this Doctrine he makes Application of it in this Verse and this Application is by way of Comfort to Believers and discomfort to those that believe not First It is a Doctrine that affords a great deal of comfort to Believers For says he to you that believe Jesus Christ is precious But it administers a great deal of discomfort to Unbelievers To them that are disobedient to them that hearken not to the voice of Christ for says the Apostle Though this Christ be despised by them yet he shall be infinitely advanced he is become the Head the Corner-stone and they notwithstanding their despising of him shall be everlastingly ruined for he will be to them a stumbling-stone and a rock of offence even to them which stumble at the Word being disobedient This is the Connexion or Context of these words with the former It is the first Branch of the Text here that I principally aim at in these words To you therefore that believe he is precious The words therefore hath reference unto the fore-going verse wherein the Apostle tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is such a Foundation-stone such a Corner-stone such a rock of Salvation that whosoever believes in him shall not be confounded shall not be condemned For there is no condemnation to them that have a part and interest in him Rom. 8.1 Therefore saith the Apostle Certainly to you he must needs be
in the desolation which will come from far to whom will ye flee for help So say I to thee What wilt thou do in the day when that sentence passeth upon thee Whither wilt thou flee for help O the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that this coming short of Heaven will produce especially when thou shalt consider that God was every day dealing with thee stretching out his hand to have gathered thee and to have converted thee and to have brought thee home but thou wouldst not Jesus Christ offered me a plaister of his own heart-blood to heal me but I trampled it under-foot the Spirit of God was knocking at the door of my heart sometimes by the Hammer of the Law and sometimes by the Hammer of the Gospel the Spirit of God was hindering me from sin and was stirring up holy motions in my heart and those I quenched the Ministers of the Gospel they prest hard upon me to yield to those warnings frequent warnings that were tendred to me but the Ministers I despifed and I mockt the Messengers of God which he sent to me to warn me not to come into this place of torment O the horrible hellish hideous cryes the fearful and doleful screetches roarings and yellings that these considerations will fetch from thee when thou shalt consider that thou hast not obeyed the Gospel thou hast not known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but thou hast wilfully lost such a Crown such a Kingdom such happiness as will be matter of heart-tormenting sorrow and mourning to all eternity if the loss of the Ark which was but a type of Gods presence 1 Sam. 4.18 19 20 was so terrible to that good old man Eli that he fell down and brake his neck when he heard of the loss of it and to that good woman Phinehas in her Travel when the Ark was lost that she cryed out The glory is departed from Israel O what then think you will be the loss of Gods presence the loss of his Favour the loss of eternal Happiness the loss of this Crown and Kingdom which I have been speaking of Oh how will this make such damned wretches cry out in extream bitterness The Glory the Kingdom the happiness the Glory the everlasting Glory is departed from me and I must never see the face of God any more This is the first Exhortation Foresee this evil and tremble at it My second Exhortation is this Do not only foresee this danger but study with the utmost endeavours of your souls to prevent it Prevent it you will say How must I do that I will tell you that if God will but give you hearts to follow my counsel First Be sure to avoid those sins that clog and hamper and fetter thee as it were in the way to Heaven so that thou canst not with any patience run the Race that is set before thee such as these Pride Presumption Unbelief Apostacy Earthliness Selfishness Security and Sensuality O these are the sins that fetter thee and hamper thee away with them therefore Secondly Pluck up thy feet and resolve to run the ways of Gods Commandments pray with David that God would enlarge your hearts that you may run in the way of his Commandments Psal 119.32 He doth not beg that the way may be made large but that his heart may be enlarged I will walk in the way of thy Commandments though it be never so narrow though there be never so many crosses in it or thorns or difficulties or discouragements if thou wilt but enlarge my heart I will run in the ways of thy Commandments Thirdly Take heed of delays and procrastination of putting it off from day to day by saying there will be time enough hereafter it will be time enough for me to look after Heaven when I have got enough of the World If I do it the last year of my life in the last month of the last year in the last week of the last month it will serve O take heed of delays this putting off of Repentance hath ruined thousands of Souls shun that Pit whereinto many have fallen shun that Rock upon which many have suffered ship-wrack say with David I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandments Psal 119.60 Fourthly Look upon the Crown of Glory set before thee have the Goal in thy Eye just as Moses had he endured the frowns of Pharoah on the one hand and he scorned the flatteries and Riches of Egypt on the other hand Why because he had an Eye to the recompence of Reward O look upon the Crown and white Robe and let this quicken you Fifthly Be sure thou hold out unto the end if thou wouldst not come short of Heaven be not like many runners in a Race that sit down in the midst of the way Be thou faithful unto the death saith our Saviour to the Church of Smyrna Revel 2.10 and I will give thee a crown of life He that endures to the end shall be saved Matth. 24.13 Therefore be stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord abhor Apostacy as much as thou wouldst abhor Hell it self Now to press this Exhortation upon you take these Motives First If you have but willing minds it is accepted of God so saith the Apostle for if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 If thou usest the utmost endeavour of thy Soul the Lord will help thee if thou faint he will support thee if thou overcome he will Crown thee Secondly Consider that among runners in a Race here on Earth there is but one that will get the Goal I but here in the Race of Christianity if thou do but so run thou mayst obtain If thou do not sit down if thou art not weary of well-doing If thou by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortality there is eternal life for thee thou shalt have a Crown of glory Nay there are ten thousand thousand Crowns in Heaven The Lord Christ will give every one a Crown that holds out to the end 2 Tim. 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judg shall give me at that day But why doth he call it a Crown of Righteousness Answer It is called a Crown of Righteousness because it is a Crown purchased by the blood of Christ and a Crown that is promised Now saith the Apostle This righteous Crown or this Crown of Righteousness is laid up for me and not only for me there is not only one Crown and one Kingdom for me but it is laid up for all those that love the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ O this glorious Master He makes every one of his Servants to be crowned Kings He hath made us Kings unto God Rev.
they have received they lose all they have and all they hope for All they have viz. Their present endeavours and all they hope for their future Reward 1. They lofe all they have all their praying reading hearing and communicating and humbling themselves before God all this will be lost if they do not persevere does not God himself say so Ezek. 18.24 When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness he does not speak there of one truly and really righteous in a state of grace one that is savingly righteous when he turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live all the righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die So that a man loseth all he hath done in the business of Religion Saith Hierom We must be judged not by our past but by our present condition As the Tree falls so it lyes as death leaves us so shall judgment find us 2. He loseth all he hopes for too for the Crown is promised to none but to those that do hold out Be thou faithful to the death and thou shalt receive a Crown of life Rev. 2.10 Christianity is compared to a Race Let us run the race that is set before us Heb. 12.1 Now as in a Race it is not enough for a man to begin well but he must hold out else he loseth the Gole so is it in the Race of Christianity therefore saith the Apostle so run that you may obtain not only run but so run that you may not lose the Gole 1 Cor. 9.24 2. Such as Christs love is to us such must our love to Christ be Christs love to us is a constant and unchangeable love whom he loves he loves to the end John 13.1 The Lord Christ is not only the beginner but the finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 He did not leave the work of our Redemption imperfect but he held out until he came to consummatum est till he cryed out upon the Cross it is finished Reason Third may be this Christians must hold fast the grace they have received because Apostatizing and turning our backs upon God is a most dangerous damnable soul-destroying sin 1. It is dangerous in the Original of it it springs from four bitter roots 1. It springs from Infidenlity or Unbelief take heed saith the Apostle lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelies in departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 Unbelief is a damnable sin where it is not bemoaned bewailed and striven against but reigning unbelief is a damnable sin so saith our Saviour Mark 16. ult He that believes not shall be damned And he that believes not the wrath of God abides upon him for ever John 3. ult Now this Infidelity makes the soul depart from God and it makes God depart from the soul It was a great observation of an eminent Divine now with God Look as the first return of the soul to God is by Faith for Faith sets the Soul in joint it brings Christ and the Soul together so the first departing of the Soul from God is by unbelief for from thence comes a departing to other sins and this departing to other sins encreaseth our unbelief and unbelief being encreased the rent or breach between God and the Soul is made wider and wider till at last the Soul comes to a total departing from God and then God totally departs from the Soul and says Depart from me thou cursed wretch I know thee not Now this same Apostacy it springs from Unbelief 2. This Apostacy springs from Hypocrisie for usually Hypocrisie ends in Apostacy as I have told you often Judas the Hypocrite proved Judas the Apostate Amaziah did that that was right in the eyes of the Lord but not with a perfect heart 2 Chr. 25.2 therefore Amaziah the Hypocrite proved Amaziah the Apostate In Psal 78.37 it is said there Their hearts were not upright neither remained they stedfast in his Covenant Why were they not stedfast why did not they keep constant to the ways of God to the Vows and Covenants made with God their hearts were not upright where grace is sincere it will be lasting but that which is counterfeit will be lost whatever is counterfeit is fading 3. It springs from Pride and Presumption when men think they have grace enough and holiness enough and have gone far enough in the way to Heaven this is the root of Apostacy there is a gradual as well as a total Apostacy the Saints and Servants of God may be guilty of gradual Apostacy so Peter was though not of total Apostacy it was Peters presumption that was one principal cause of his fall lofty Cedars are thrown down with a Tempest when the lower Trees in the Valley stand firm and fast So likewise lofty Christians high in their own conceits many times nestle themselves on high and their fall is great whereas Christians that walk humbly are supported and preserved Look as a man that gazeth at the Stars looks up on high quickly catches a fall because he looks not to his feet So a man that is highly conceited in his own opinion lifts up his head on high many times catches a feaful fall it is just with God to leave such men to try them Hezekiah though a very gracious King yet when his heart was listed up with Pride 2 Chron. 32.25 the Text saith God left him to himself to try what was in his heart in ver 31. That Solomon speaks of falling into misery is as true of falling and declining in grace Prov. 16.18 Pride goes before destruction and a haughty Spirit before a fall 4. Apostacy springs from Covetousness and worldliness look as the seed in the thorny ground it brought nothing to perfection because it was choaked with the cares riches and pleasures of this world as you may read in the Parable of the Sower Luke 8.14 So it is here where the heart is stuft with covetousness and the cares of this life that is usually a forerunner of a fearful fall Demas hath forsaken me having embraced this present world what was the ground of his Apostacy but his worldliness and selfishness so that Apostacy is dangerous in the Original of it Secondly It is damnable in the effects of it for 1. This puts Jesus Christ to open shame in Heb. 6.6 Apostates crucifie Christ afresh and put him to open shame for by falling away from him we do as much as tell the world we have found his service that it was an unprofitable service the service of the world is better than his service and that we have not found in Christ what we expected when we turn our backs on Christ and go to the world we do as much as openly proclaim the world is a better Master than Christ is When Soldiers forsake their
with God be much in treasuring up grace against the day of glory as wicked men treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Study to be better acquainted not only with the principles of Religion but with the power of godliness Get more Communion with Christ and influence of grace from him get more conformity to him O mind this business of Eternity of getting this Crown that is laid up for those that hold out and persevere I conclude this Text with that in Rom. 2.7 To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality Eternal life MERCY DESPISED AND GOD PROVOKED thereby PSAL. CVI. 24. Yea they despised the pleasant Land and believed not his Word IN the last Sermons which I gave you out of Heb. 4.1 Let us therefore fear lest a Promise being left us of entring into his Rest any of you should seem to come short of it I shewed you what a dreadful invaluable unconceivable and irrecoverable loss it was to come short of that eternal Rest that God hath prepared for the Saints in Light In losing of Heaven you shall lose the presence of God in whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore In losing of Heaven you shall lose the favour of God never never to enjoy a smile of his Face never to lie under the hope of one drop of mercy In losing Heaven you shall lose fellowship and communion with God that eternal happiness which is the portion of the Saints such an invaluable loss that Eternity it self will be little enough to deplore it and bewail it My Design in the choice of this Text is to shew you from it what one main cause is why men come short of that eternal happiness namely their despising and undervaluing those glorious hopes that are laid up in Heaven as the despising the Land of Canaan was the main reason why so many thousands of the Israelites were excluded from the Land of Canaan as the Text here tells you Yea they despised the pleasant Land they believed not his Word Many were the provoking-provoking-sins that the people of Israel stood guilty of after that the Lord had wrought that glorious deliverance for them in bringing them out of the Land of Egypt as the Psalmist reckons up a whole Catalogue of them in this excellent Psalm wherein my Text lies As First Their Rebellion at the Red sea in the 7 verse Our Fathers understood not thy Wonders in Egypt they remembred not the multitude of thy mercies but provoked him at the Sea even at the red Sea where God had wrought that glorious deliverance for them for you know they were ready to distrust the Power of God and they murmured against Moses the Servant of God Exod. 14.11 And they said unto Moses Because there were no Graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the Wilderness Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt Secondly Another sin was their murmuring for want of flesh in the 14 ver of this Psalm But lusted exceedingly or they lusted with a very great lust Nothing but flesh forsooth would serve their turn they would not be contented with the provision that God made for them of Manna which was Angels Food which was called Angels food because that if so be the glorious Angels in Heaven should want bread for their entertainment and provision if they stood in need of bread they could not have better bread than that which God fed the Israelites with from Heaven every day but this would not content them they murmured and lusted exceedingly after flesh Thirdly Another sin was their Sedition and their Conspiracy against Moses and against Aaron in the 16 verse They envyed Moses also in the Camp and Aaron the Saint of the Lord You take too much upon you you sons of Levi why should you be more holy than we are not all the Congregation holy This was a horrible provocation that made the Lord to cause the earth to open and swallow up Corah Dathan and Abiram The fourth sin they were guilty of was their despising or undervaluing the pleasant Land that God gave them in the words of the Text Yea they despised the Pleasant Land they believed not his Word So then in the Text you may take notice of these two Particulars First Israels horrible ingratitude in this Phrase They despised the Pleasant Land Secondly The ground of that Ingratitude in these words They believed not his Word For the first First Israels horrible Ingratitude They despised the Pleasant Land By a pleasant Land here is meant the Land of Canaan that Land of Promise that God had promised to Abraham four hundred and thirty years before ever they did enjoy it and it is called in the Hebrew a Land of Desires or a desirable Land as dainty food is called Meat of Desires Job 33.20 in the Hebrew So that his Life abhorreth bread and his Soul dainty meat or meat of Desires This same dainty Land this same desirable Land this same pleasant Land this Land of Promise they despised they rejected they contemptuously scorned so the Original word properly signifies Now consider this Land of Canaan here which they despised in a two-fold Notion First As it was an earthly Possession Secondly As it was a Type or Pledg or Earnest-penny of that heavenly Inheritance laid up for the Saints in Light And you shall see in both these respects their despising this Land was horrible Ingratitude First Consider it in the first Notion namely as it was an earthly Possession it was very great Ingratitude But consider it in the second Notion namely as it was a Pledg and earnest-penny of the heavenly Inheritance so it was a far greater Ingratitude Take it in the first Notion for an earthly Possession so the Doctrine you may observe from thence is this Doct. That despising or undervaluing of those outward blessings and favours that God bestows upon a people is a God-provoking sin a sin of great Ingratitude This you see was the sin of Israel after they came out of the Land of Egypt to despise any Land that God should bestow upon them but especially considering that they had been bondmen in Egypt that they that had undergone such a base servitude that they had undergone-such burthens of Tyranny for God to bring them out of such a condition into a Land this had been a great mercy but to bring them into such a Land a Land flowing with Milk and Honey to bring them into a Land so desirable This certainly was a grievous provocation especially if you consider what Land this was for First It was very delightful in regard of the Scituation of it Canaan being scituated as Geographers observe in the midst or Center of the whole Earth for it had Asia upon the East and Europe upon the West and Africa upon the South and America and Scythia and Persia upon the North
will you not run do you not strive to enter Again You say you do not undervalue Heaven I beseech you consider What are you content to part with for Heaven will you sell all to buy this Pearl Will you part with any thing that stands in opposition to your hopes Will you take Christ in his own way and on his own terms and in his own time Can you be content to swallow down some discouragements and difficulties and temptations and bless God for them and say One smile of thy face will recompence a thousand years of adversity If I have Christ for my portion and Heaven in reversion though I carry a Rod of affliction at my back every day though I am fed with the water of affliction and with the bread of adversity Heaven will make amends for all But alas How many have weak hands and feeble knees and are not able to go on in the way of Salvation and will not come up to the price of Salvation Do not deceive your felves These are plain down-right Truths bottomed upon Scripture if I speak not the truth believe me not but if I do some of you have cause with serious self-reflection to smite upon your Thighs and you have cause greatly to fear this despising and undervaluing this heavenly Inheritance is your sin and Oh that it might be your sorrow and shame Secondly This Doctrine may justly serve for to reprove and I profess I know no reproof sharp enough for such persons as despise and undervalue that heavenly Inheritance that God hath prepared for the Saints in Light Let me say to some of you as God speaks Acts 15.41 Behold ye despisers and wonder and perish So say I Hearken ye despisers hearken ye secure careless sensless sottish Atheists I can call you no better Oh you that have such slight thoughts of Heaven you that look upon this heavenly Inheritance but as imaginary a Fools Paradise or as a meer conceit rather than any real existent thing you that never yet set your hearts and souls to seek the Lord Jesus Christ and his Kingdom you whose hearts are buried in Earth and Earthly things who mind nothing but Earth nothing in the World but raising great Estates and satisfying the brutish part of your selves Tell me Do you think that ever you shall enjoy this external Inheritance which you have despised Shall you ever taste of that everlasting happiness which you have so much undervalued Will the Lord cast Pearls before Swine Will he hang such a Jewel such an unvaluable Jewel which is better worth than ten thousand Worlds will be hang such a Jewel on a Swines snout No no you deceive your selves if you think so Do you think that Heaven will drop into your mouths as you lie a-dying Do you think our Saviour speaks in vain when he says Matth. 11.12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force If Heaven could be purchas'd with a Lord have mercy upon us if it could be procured in such a cold lazy luke-warm way as you walk in then certainly our blessed Saviour did not know what he said his exhorting to strive to enter in at the strait gate was to no purpose But if prizing of this Salvation and striving or this Salvation to the end of your lives if these must go before enjoying then as sure as the Lord lives you careless secure sottish Sinners that mind nothing less than that one thing necessary assure your selves you shall never have a portion in that Inheritance which is prepared for the Saints in Light no there is another place prepared for such Dogs and Swine as they are called that place without Rev. 22.15 For without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murtherers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lye You all cry out of Esau a prophane wretch the Spirit of God brands him for it a prophane Atheist that sold his Birth right for a Mess of Pottage he sold his Birth-right which was a Type of Heaven he sold this for an old Song as we say And you that neglect and undervalue and despise Heaven you are guilty of the same sin and have you not as prophane spirits as he You cry out of Judas because he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver Oh hearken impenitent sottish Sinner It may be thou sellest Christ and Heaven and Glory and all may be for a base lust a base lye thou sellest it for some considerable advantage as thou conceivest for the present though at last it will be like Gravel in the Throat Take home this reproof with you the Lord set it home upon your Souls you that never set your hearts souls to seek the Lord. I have done with a word of Exhortation That is I beseech you and exhort you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you would take heed of this God-provoking Soul-damning sin take heed of undervaluing this heavenly Inheritance Let it not be said of any of you that you despised the pleasant Land instead of despising it do you highly prise it and say as David Psalm 119.174 I have longed for thy salvation O Lord and thy Law is my delight And what a kind of longing was it Not a cold wish such a wish as Balaam had O that I might die the death of the Righteous that Heaven might drop into my mouth then but I would live as I list it was not such a desire no says David I have longed for thy salvation what then Thy Law is my delight That is a right longing that is accompanied with an endeavour he rightly longs for the Salvation of God that delights in the Commands of God In the 123 ver of the same Psalm Mine eyes fail in waiting for thy Salvation Look as the Lord Jesus Christ will never bestow himself upon that Soul that does not pant and breathe and break with longing desires after him So likewise he will never bestow this heavenly Inheritance upon that Soul that does not most earnestly wishfully and industriously pant after him and long for him and seek him that you may prize him Take heed in the fear of God of those four causes of undervaluing this Salvation First Take heed of Earthly-mindedness beg that you may be digged out of the thick Mire and Clay say Give me not my portion here O Lord How sad will it be with me if thou puttest me off only with these outward things Secondly Take heed of sloathfulness and sluggishness in the service of God and in seeking this Salvation Rom. 12.11 Not sloathful in business sèrvent in Spirit serving the Lord. Seek the Lord and seek his Salvation with all your might mind and strength Thirdly Be content to part with any thing for Christ take heed of placing your love upon the Creature be content to part with any thing that stands in opposition to or in competition with
work of Grace in us Thirdly The Graces of the Spirit which likewise are purchased by him are precious Graces Faith is a precious Grace as it is called 2 Pet. 1.2 Simon Peter a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious Faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ that the tryal of your Faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth The tryal of Gold is the worst thing that belongs to Gold and the tryal of Faith is the worst thing that belongs to Faith yet saith the Apostle The tryal of your Faith is much more precious than that of Gold 1 Pet. 1.7 So Repentance that is a precious Grace because it is Repentance unto life as the Apostle calls it Acts 11.18 When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God saying Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted Repentance unto life And Hope that is a stedfast Grace it is the Anchor of the Soul And Love that is a lovely Grace it brings the Soul into nearer Communion with God Then Wisdom that is a precious Grace a shining Grace A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine saith Solomon Eccles 8.1 And Job speaking of Wisdom saith he Job 28.12 13 But where shall Wisdom be sound and where is the place of Vnderstanding Man knoweth not the price thereof neither is it found in the Land of the Living it is of more price than Rubies it is of an invaluable price And Humility that is an honourable Grace And Fear that is a preserving Grace And Patience that is a supporting Grace And Perseverance that is a Crowning Grace All these Graces are precious Graces and they are all of them bestowed upon us meerly upon the account of Christs merits Fourthly The Priviledges that we have by Jesus Christ they are precious Priviledges U-union with him and Communion in his Life and Death and Resurrection and Comforts access to God the Father and that with boldness Fifthly The Promises that are sealed by his blood they are precious Promises promises for this life and promises for the life to come that Promise That all shall work together fer good to them that love God a big-bellied promise as I may so say All things work together for good and our prayers and our persons shall be accepted Lastly The Inheritance that he hath purchased for us is a precious Inheritance An incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven In brief Such is the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that compare him with the most precious things that can be named and you shall see they are but vile and base in comparison of him For Example 1. The Souls of men and women they are said to be precious but Oh how infinitely precious is Jesus Christ whose blood is a valuable and equivalent price for the Souls of all the men and women in the world 2. Light is said to be precious Christ said of himself I am the light of the world John 8.12 Light is precious to those that are in a Dungeon of darkness Now says Jesus Christ I am the light of the world 3. Truth is precious so precious that we are to buy it at any rate and sell it at no rate Jesus Christ says of himself I am the Truth John 14.6 4. Fountains and Springs of water are precious in hot and dry Countreys Oh the Lord Jesus Christ he is the Well of Salvation Isa 12.3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the Wells of Salvation 5. Bread is precious to those that are ready to perish a man will venture the getting of bread with the hazard of his life Lam. 5.9 We get our bread with the peril of our lives Now Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life John 6.48 6. Balm and Balsom is precious His blood is the only Balm that can cure wounded Souls so precious is the Lord Jesus Christ that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth are but a picture of that beauty and preciousness that is in him he is the Abstract and Epitome of all perfections how precious must he needs be to whom all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth do contribute all their Excellencies to make him excellent and glorious Thus you see the Point opened Now for the Uses of it First By way of Information Is the Lord Jesus Christ so infinitely precious you may see then why the Souls of men and women are so precious because they are purchased by a precious Saviour purchased by his precious blood Hearken O sons of men why are you tumbling up and down in dirt and clay why do you not raise your hearts and thoughts higher and higher seeing that you have such precious Souls that are capable of a precious Inheritance why do you not look after a precious Covenant of Grace â—ealed to you and precious Promises confirmed to you by the blood of Christ why do you not look after that precious Pearl the Lord Jesus Christ who is worth more than ten thousand worlds Oh the baseness of the heart of man that should prefer dirt and dross and dung before him who is so infinitely precious that they should so undervalue their precious Souls that cost such an invaluable rate for their Redemption Secondly By way of Information see the horrible greatness of the sin of Unbelief that makes the Sinner undervalue this precious Redeemer Says Jesus Christ You will not come to me that you might have life John 5.40 Oh bewail your Unbelief that keeps Christ and your Souls a precious Christ and your poor Souls at such a distance Thirdly By way of Information take notice what a blessed condition they are in that have gotten the Lord Jesus Christ into their Souls If the Lord bestows this gift of all gifts this precious Christ upon you Oh it is more than if he had given thee the World nay then if he had given thee ten thousand Worlds for thy portion O rejoyce in thy portion for as soon as ever thou art a Believer thy heart is made a Cabinet for this precious Pearl the Lord Christ for He dwells in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 Oh manifest to the World the brightness of this Pearl let some lustre of Jesus Christ shine in thy Conversation shine through this Cabinet as Light shines through a Lanthorn The second Use is by way of Exhortation And here I must but name some few particulars answerable to the Explication of the Doctrine I insisted on more largely and there are several Duties I would briefly commend to you and the Lord give you hearts and me a heart and every one a heart to close with this precious Truth tendred to you in reference to this precious Redeemer First If Jesus Christ be so precious in his person as being God and Man then learn to honour him admire and adore him for This is the will of God the Father that all should
of all Saints is this Grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the usearchable Riches of Christ O when a man once is gotten into Christ his Riches cannot be told he hath the Riches of Redemption the Riches of Christs Merits the Riches of Christs Spirit and he hath the rich and glorious Purchase of Christs blood he hath all these for his portion he may say all these are mine and can you name such Riches as these are they are called unsearchable Riches Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of Man to conceive what those unsearchable Riches are which a Believer receives by Christ therefore a Believer is infinitely Rich. And then A Believer is truly honourable by him the Lord Christ is not only a Price but an Honour to him he is a most glorious Redeemer Nay Christ is not only glorious but he is called Glory it self Isa 40.5 And the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it that is Christ shall be revealed The Prophet declares that John Baptist speaking of the coming of Christ says The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together Jesus Christ is called there the Glory of the Lord. So in the New Testament he is called the glory of his People Luke 2.32 A light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of thy people Israel Indeed no Glory can be put upon any one like this to be a Member of Christ to be the Spouse of Christ to be the Servant of Christ Theodosius that good Emperor esteemed it a greater honour to be Servus Christi than Caput Regni a greater honour to be a Servant to Christ than to be Head of the Empire Thirdly Learn this Lesson by way of Inference If Jesus Christ be so precious to Believers then certainly Unbelief is a most dangerous a most damnable a Soul-destroyiug sin why because Unbelief makes Jesus Christ to be of no worth no value no price no advantage at all To you that do believe he is precious I but says the Apostle in the next words to the Text To them which be disobedient that is to them that do not believe he is a Stone of stumbling a Rock of Offence to unbelievers the Lord Jesus Christ is as a thing of nought it is the Apostles own expression Saint Peter speaking of the Pharisees and the Rulers Acts 4.11 This is the Stone which was set at nought by you builders which is become the Head of the Corner They made nothing of Christ To an Unbeliever Christ is of no more worth than the dirt under his foot with Reverence be it spoken An Unbeliever he would sell Christ for thirty pieces of Silver with Judas nay he will prefer five shillings before him Of all sins take heed of this sin for this is the evil heart that is departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Hereby the Soul begins to depart to depart to depart till at last it hears that dreadful Sentence Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels As Faith is the first return of the Soul to God so Unbelief is the first departing of the Soul from God take heed therefore of Unbelief Fourthly Another Lesson by way of Inference is this If Jesus Christ be so precious to those that do believe in him O how infinitely precious will he be to them that do enjoy him If he be so precious to them that see him by the eye of Faith how infinitely precious will he be to them that see him face to face when our Faith is brought into fruition and our hope into our hand Abraham saw Jesus Christ afar off he faw him when he was to come two thousand years before he came into the World Abraham by an eye of Faith faw him and he rejoyced the Text says John 8.56 Your Father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad If he saw him when he was at such a distance and rejoyced how does Abraham rejoyce now when he sees him face to face Long for that time when you shall have a full sight of him which is called The Beatifical Vision that is the Vision that will make you everlastingly blessed One sight of Jesus Christ in Glory will so satisfie the Soul so beautifie it so rejoyce it that it is an expression that Austin used if so be a man were in Hell if you could suppose such a thing to be and had but one glimpse of the Beatifical Vision it would swallow up all the bitterness of Hell it self And this is that which Christ hath both promised and prayed for he hath promised We shall see him as he is and he hath prayed for it too John 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world Oh long for that day when you shall see Jesus Christ as he is see him in his Glory then he will be infinitely and unconceivably precious indeed and that to all Eternity That 's the third Use of Information in these four Lessons That Faith is a most precious Grace That Believers are rich and Honourable Persons That Unbelief is a dangerous and damnable and Soul-destroying sin and that the sight of Jesus Christ face to face in Glory will be infinitely and unconceivably precious and glorious indeed A fourth Vse it is for Exhortation If Jesus Christ be so precious to Believers then let me beseech you and perswade you and prevail with you and the Lord bow your hearts to hearken to this Exhortation this day As ever you desire to have a certain proof and evidence that you are true Believers and that you are true Members of Jesus Christ and that you are real Saints for there are many nominal but there are but few true Saints that you are true Servants of Jesus Christ and truly united to him and have communion with him and have infinite precious priviledges by him O then do you learn to prize Jesus Christ at a high rate set a high price upon this precious Redeemer let him be highest in your esteem do your labour every day that he may be more and more precious and amiable and beautiful in your eyes Remember but that speech of our Saviour Luke 14.26 If any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple He that does not hate Father c These words must not be understood simply as if our Saviour would have us to hate our Relations as Father Mother Wife Children and Brethren
and Comfort and Mercy and lead men to Heaven in a mild and meek and gentle way To this I Reply What would you have us apply a Plaister where there is no sore Would you have us apply a Cordial where they are not sick Would you have us pour in the Oil where there is no wound God himself pours not in the Oil of Mercy but into a broken Vessel Isa 61.1 The Lord knows we delight not in preaching any terrible Doctrines to you if you were but fitted for mercy but if you are not fitted for Mercy then as the pricking Needle makes way for the sewing of the Cloth together so this kind of Preaching convincing and humbling the Sinner makes way for the bringing of Christ and the Soul together and therefore you may well bear with it A second Instruction that we may learn from hence is this It serves to let us see what the reason is that there are so few Believers so few converted and convinced O Ministers cannot speak of this scarce without watery eyes Truly heretofore three thousand were converted at one Sermon but now there is scarce one that is converted with three thousand Sermons O whence is it that the work of Conversion is almost at an end in England in London It is rare to hear of a Soul converted we hear of many that are perverted that are led into by-paths of Error and Heresie and Blasphemy and Schism but it is a rare matter to hear of one converted they are but few that see the need they have of Christ that prize him that believe in him that obey him that constantly cleave to him but most men are very well contented to be in a natural condition they are secure and quiet without Christ but what is the Reason Because they do not see the need they have of Christ for if they did but see the need they have of him they would say They may better want light than want Jesus Christ who is the Light and by whom they may have the Light of Life John 8.12 They may better want Bread for their bodies than the Lord Jesus Christ who is the bread and spiritual food of the Soul I am the Bread of Life John 6. If they did but see the need they have of him doubtless they would close with him but why do not they see the need that they have of him The Reason is Because they are not humbled they were never yet stricken with the sense of sin they never yet saw the inside of themselves they never with the Jaylor in the Text were afrighted amazed stricken down in the sense of sin Oh this is the misery of all miseries which Ministers have most cause to complain of that men are not fitted enough for Jesus Christ they are not lost enough in themselves for a Saviour Hos 14.3 With thee the fatherless find mercy Were we more hopeless helpless and fatherless we should find more mercy from the hand of Jesus Christ O that God would awaken and shake some sin-sleeping Soul this day Oh that this Doctrine thus opened might be as a Thunderbolt to let some of you see the inside of your selves O poor Sinner thou hast an insupportable burden of sin and guilt lying on thy Soul ready to press thee down to Hell and yet thou feelest it not thou hast the wrath of God hanging over thy head by the twined thred of a short life which it may be thou mayst not be free from one year nay perhaps not one month but thou seest it not if thou didst but see it then thou wouldst cry out as he did in Bosworth field A Horse a Horse a Kingdom for a Horse so thou wouldst cry out None but Christ nothing but Christ ten thousand Worlds for Christ The second Use of Exhortation And I have but two Exhortations to tender to you First I beseech you and exhort you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ whose poor Messenger I am that you would labour to be convinced of the necessity of humiliation believe it be perswaded of it be convinced of it that thou must be broken if ever thou wouldst have Jesus Christ to bind thee up thou must be sick of sin if ever thou wouldst have Jesus Christ to heal thee thou must be dejected and cast down if ever thou wouldst have Jesus Christ to comfort thee if God therefore do not open thine eyes and awaken thy Conscience and touch thy heart I do pronounce against thee that there is no Christ no Heaven no Pardon no Peace no Comfort no Salvation for thee Oh the miserable deplorable condition of all you that were never yet humbled you that never yet were convinced of sin you that never tasted the bitterness of sin you that never felt the burden of sin that never yet complained with the Apostle Rom. 7 O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Some derive the word from a man that is troubled with the stone in the bladder O wretched man that I am O miserable is the condition that you are in you that never yet felt sin to be sin that have not felt the burden of it nor tasted the bitterness of it you are not fit to come to Jesus Christ you are out of his Commission for he is sent to the humble and broken hearted Sinner Isa 61. It may be thou knowest what sin is and Christ is and Grace is notionally but there is a great deal of difference between knowing and inward feeling wretched was thy condition if thou didst but feel it but a thousand times more wretched it is because thou feelest it not My second Exhortation to you is this If so be sound humiliation be a necessary Antecedent to Faith and Salvation then use the utmost of your endeavours that you may be humbled broken and bruised Sinners that you may be put into a capacity to close with a Saviour Now because I know this is but a harsh Exhortation give me leave to sweeten it with these three Considerations First Remember that the promises of Grace and Mercy are made to all humbled Sinners Levit. 26.41 If then their uncircumcised hearts shall be humbled and they accept of the punishment of their iniquities then will I remember my Covenant with Jacob and also my Covenant with Isaac and also my Covenant with Abraham will I remember and I will remember the Land Secondly Consider God never looks with so much mercy and compassion on any as those that are most humbled Jer. 31.18 20 When Ephraim bemoaned himself thus Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke I have been proud and stout and stubborn under all thy Rods Turn thou me and I shall be turned Surely after I was turned I repented after I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded Now in the 20 verse you have God bemoaning Ephraim Is Ephraim my dear
Heaven the red leaf that was the blood of Jesus Christ the black leaf that was the torments of Hell You may look into Hell by contemplation and meditation that you may prevent Hell to all Eternity you may meditate upon the blood of Christ and steep as it were your souls in it by meditation it may be it may soften them It is said of the Goats blood when nothing can soften an Adamant the blood of Goats can the blood of Christ that can soften your hard hearts when nothing else can Thirdly A third thing you can do you can sorrow more and mourn more than you do there is none of you but can sorrow and mourn for outward losses loss of Friends as Husband and Wife or Child perhaps for the loss of a Horse what canst thou mourn for the loss of a Child and canst thou not mourn for the loss of a Soul when one Soul is worth all the Kingdoms in the World If any of you have lost a good Bargain or mist a good Market you can grieve for this O methinks you should mourn for this how many Market days have I lost for my Soul I have burnt out many a precious light and spent out my precious time and can you not mourn for the loss of such a Bargain as this is Suppose one of you should be sent for before a mighty Monarch and should be impeach'd of high Treason before him how would you tremble to appear before so mighty a King that hath power in his hands to cut you off instantly O you and I must appear before the great Judg of Heaven and Earth the King of Kings that knows all the sins and Treasons that ever we have committed and you should bless God if you are cast into fear and thereby be brought to mourn and grieve and sorrow for your sins Job 23.16 For God maketh my heart soft and the Almighty troubleth me that is soft by troubling of me Fourthly There is never a one of you but may leave gross and scandalous sins which I prove thus you can do it for fear of men and you may do it much more for fear of God A prophane Swearer if he be in the company of a Godly grave Minister he can refrain his mouth from vile talk he can forbear his Oaths and blasphemous Speeches and obscene expressions An Adulterer if a boy be but in the Room of seven years old he will forbear to act his uncleanness until the boy be out of the Room If you can forbear gross sins for fear of men much more can you do it for fear of God If a boy can say his Lesson with a Rod certainly he can do it without a Rod if you can abstain from gross sins for fear certainly you can do it without You read of the hypocritical Pharisee he abstained from gross sins Luke 18 God I thank thee saith he I am not as other men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers c. Fifthly Though it is true a man in a state of Nature is dead in trespasses and sin yet then at that time he may do many good works works morally good works materially good he may fast and pray and give Alms therefore it is that Daniel speaks to Nebuchadnezzar Break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor Dan. 4.27 Certainly the Prophet Daniel would never have spoken so to him if it had not been in his power to do it The Apostle speaking of the Gentiles though they wanted the knowledg of the Law and had not the Law saith he Yet they did by Nature the things contained in the Law they were a Law to themselves which shews that the works of the Law are written in their hearts Rom. 2.13 14. They that are in an unregenerate estate they may pray they may make Conscience of praying in their Families though they cannot pray as they should yet they may pray as they are able they may fall down at the feet of God and say Lord I am a poor sinful wretch I cannot please thee praying or not praying thou hast promised to give the spirit of prayer to them that ask it Luke 11.13 If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Say Lord give me thy Spirit to break my hard heart take any way with me so my proud heart may be humbled and hard heart broken that I may welcom Jesus Christ to my Soul that I may believe in him and cast my Soul upon him So that Beloved I put you upon no more than you are able to do you may suffer the word of Exhortation you can ponder and weigh the Word in your own hearts you may sorrow and mourn for sin you may abstain from gross sins and you may do those works that are morally good do what you can do men are not damned because they can do no better but because they will do no better Matth. 23 O Jerusalem Jerusalem I would have gathered thee as a Hen her Chickens under her wings but ye would not If there were no will there would be no Hell saith St. Austin Do what you can set upon works of Holiness and Piety strive and put forth your strength to the uttermost endeavour of your Souls to get your hearts humbled to see sin and to sigh for it to grieve and groan for it lay your conditions to heart be feelingly apprehensive of that wrath that sin hath kindled of that Justice that sin hath provoked of that Mercy that sin hath abused of that vengeance and anger that sin hath deserved to be inflicted O were we but thus humbled we should have cause to bless God to all Eternity I shall close with one word to those that have been under a spirit of bondage that have been convinced awakened as this Jaylor was that have had their broken bones that have felt the burden of sin and it may be lie under that burden at this day O be you comforted it s better to be broken here than hereafter it is better to be convinced here than convinced hereafter it is better to be humbled here than for God to humble the Soul in Hell to all Eternity God will make thy Valley of Achor a Door of Hope Hos 2.15 Thou that art humbled now shalt be exalted and thou that mournest now shalt be comforted CHRIST THE Bread of Life John VI. 35. And Jesus said unto them I am the Bread of Life he that cometh unto me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst THis Chapter contains in it that admirable and Heavenly Sermon of our Saviour concerning the Bread of Life wherein you may take notice of three parts First The occasion of this Sermon that was the Peoples following of him because they did eat of the Loaves and were filled Verse 26. Secondly The Sermon it self and that is
part and interest in him Then let my counsel be accepted with you give no rest to your Eyes no satisfaction to your Souls in any condition with any portion or priviledg whatsoever until you have gotten this bread until you have gotten Jesus Christ to be your portion to be the food of your Souls That which Solomon speaks of Wisdom Prov. 4.7 Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get Wisdom and with all thy gettings get understanding So say I this is the principal Bread therefore get Christ and above all thy gettings get Christ I but may be you will say How shall we get him I answer First You must highly prize him esteeming all things but dross in comparison of him you must esteem all outward things but as Dogs meat in comparison of that bread which is in your Fathers House Secondly You must earnestly beg him you must pray as the Capernaites did Lord evermore give us this bread ver 34 of this Chapter Thirdly You must labour for him Labour not for that meat that perisheth but for that bread hat endures to eternal life John 6.27 But how must we labour for him You must labour for him in the use of his Ordinances as Praying Reading Hearing Communicating at the Lords Table and the like Fourthly When you have found him or know where this bread is to be had you must hunger and thirst for him for the Lord Christ will never bestow himself upon that Soul that doth not breathe and break with longing desires for him Fifthly You must be sure by Faith to apply him to your own Souls Bread when it stands upon the Table is common bread but when I have eaten it then it is my bread then it turns to my nourishment to my substance so you must make Application of Christ to your Souls Sixthly If you would have Christ you must learn to live upon him As a man lives upon bread so you must live upon Christ live upon him in point of Justification in point of Sanctification and Salvation As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me ver 57 of this Chapter If you live in him and live upon him you shall hereafter for ever live with him And so much of the first Branch of the Text the evident Proposition I come now to the comfortable Inference that is thence deduced He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst By coming to Christ is meant believing in Christ for the latter Phrase doth expound the former He that cometh to me that is he that believes in me Coming you know is a motion and in a motion there are two terms there is the terminus a quo and terminus ad quem something a man comes from and something a man comes to so believing is a motion of the Soul a man comes from himself from his own righteousness from his own ends he comes from the World and then he comes to Christ he comes to him as one that is able to give him fit and full satisfaction to his Soul He that comes to me shall never hunger and he that believes in me shall never thirst Christ speaks here of a spiritual hunger and of a spiritual thirst the meaning is this He that believes in me saith our Saviour he shall have all his wants supplied all his desires allayed and he shall have his Soul fully satisfied So then the Doctrine I shall give you from this second Branch of the Text is this Doct. Whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shall by Christ have all his spiritual wants supplyed and all his desires allayed and his soul fully satisfied Why is Jesus Christ not only compared to Bread but also to Water Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteh come to the waters of life By water is meant Jesus Christ Why is he compared not to Water but to Wine and Milk Come buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price but only to shew that he is able to give the Soul fit and full satisfaction Here are two Queries I shall speak to by way of Explication First How or in what sense this Doctrine is true He that believes in Christ shall have all his desires satisfied Secondly How it comes to pass or what is the reason that such a soul as believes in Christ shall have the spiritual desires of his soul satisfied First How or in what sense this Doctrine holds true That he that believes in Christ shall by Christ have all his desires answered In answer to this You must know the desires of the Soul are of three sorts there are sinful desires and sensual desires and spiritual desires First There are sinful desires of the Soul there is no man but naturally he doth as eagerly desire to sin as he desires to eat when he is hungry Prov. 4.17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the Wine of violence Naturally a man hath a Dog-like thirst after sin some after one lust some after another Do you think the Scripture saith in vain the spirit that is in us lusteth to envy James 4.5 That which is here spoken of Envy may be spoken of any other sin Some lust after covetousness some lust after pride some after envy some after one thing some after another But mark now as soon as the Soul comes to Jesus Christ and believes in him these desires and sinful lusts shall be quenched because the Lord Jesus Christ will make such a Soul to be dead to sin A dead man desireth nothing I know my Brethren that this is to be understood in part because our mortification is imperfect therefore all the sinful desires of the Soul will not be quenched in this life But thus far it holds true He that is born of God sinneth not 1 John 3.9 that is so far forth as a man is born of God he sinneth not there is a nature in him that sinneth not a Divine Nature for he is made partaker of the Divine Nature there is something in him that doth not sin that doth not lust after sin but lusteth against sin he hath something in him that doth not sin As the flesh lusteth against the Spirit so the Spirit lusteth against the Flesh Gal. 5.17 These sensual desires shall be quenched Secondly There are sensual desires that is a lusting after the lawful contentments of this life Some lust after one dish of the World and some after another Zacheus a pining Publican he lusted after the gain of the World I but when he comes to Christ this lustful desire of his is allayed for said he Lord now half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have done wrong I will make recompence fourfold Here is an admirable example for some to follow that make haste to be rich as Solomon hath it He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent Prov. 28.20 Such a one
vanity of it are ready to draw away our hearts to it O then have a care to do Gods will Deut. 6.11 12 When thou hast eaten and art full when thou art in a prosperous condition then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt c. The Apostle Saint Paul had learnt a great Lesson when he said I have learnt in whatsoever state I am in therewith to be content I know how to be abased and I know how to abound Phil. 4.11 12. There is more danger in prosperity than in adversity as in a croud a man is in danger to lose his Purse so in a croud of worldly businesses and prosperity a man is in greatest danger to lose his God Secondly In a time of danger then God calls you to do his will that you should not decline Duty for danger sake that you should not break a Hedg to miss a foul way See a singular example of this in Daniel when he knew the doing of his duty would be the hazard of his life when he knew the writing was sealed and that snares were laid for his life yet he would not omit duty for the saving of his life he prayed three times a day as he was wont to do his Window being open in his Chamber towards Jerusalem Dan. 6.10 So those three Noble Worthies who were so highly honoured by God as to be miraculously preserved they would not deeline duty for dangers sake Be it known unto thee O King our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from this burning Furnace but if not we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden Image which thou hast set up Dan. 3.17 18. So singular was the courage of Saint Peter and Saint John Acts 4.20 We cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard Threaten or not threaten imprison or not imprison we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard Thirdly A third Season when God calls us to do his will is this when he puts an opportunity into our hands of doing some special piece of service for him now is a price put into your hands now a man should do the will of God especially This is that which Mordecai told Esther Esther 4 Who knows whether thou art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this It is as if he should say It may be God hath put an opportunity into thy hand to help his Church at this time The third thing by way of Explication is this But why must the Disciples of Christ be Doers of Gods will The Reasons are these First Because the whole Body of Religion as I may say consists in these two things namely in Believing and Obeying take away one of these and Religion is a lame Religion Secondly By doing the will of our Father we shew our selves to be Disciples of Christ indeed because we now imitate our Lord and Master for thus did he see that remarkable Scripture John 6.38 I came from Heaven not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me Thirdly Because if we do not do the will of God we shall certainly do the will of a worse Master if we do not work in Gods service we shall do the Devils drudgery if we be not workers of righteousness we shall be workers of iniquity as appears by that in Matth. 7.21 23 He that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven compare it with verse 23 And then will I say unto them I never knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquity It is as if our Saviour should say Because you would not be workers of righteousness to do the will of my Father therefore it is that you are workers of iniquity Fourthly Christians must do the will of God because this is that which makes for the honour of God John 15.8 Herein is my Father glorified if ye bring forth much fruit Look as by believing we give honour to the Truth of God so by obeying we give God the honour of his Soveraignty As obedient Children we shall shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light 1 Pet. 2.9 Before I come to the Application there are two or three Objections that lie in the way which I shall endeavour to remove Object 1. It may be some will say You do so cry up Duty and doing the will of God that you infringe or eclipse the Free grace of God this is not Preaching Free grace Answ I answer This is not an infringing or an eclipsing of the free-grace of God because you must know Faith and good Works are not opposite one to another but they are subordinate they are consistent and may stand one with another very well Secondly I answer The grace of God doth not exclude all works but it excludes those works only that are meritorious Good works therefore we may say truly are Causes without which we cannot be saved though they are not Efficient Causes nor instrumental Causes yet they are Causes without which we cannot be saved as the Apostle saith Without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 So may I say here Though we be not saved for our good works yet we shall never be saved without good works I would have you to remember this Good works though they are not necessary to our Justification yet they are necessary to our Salvation there is a great deal of difference between these two to be saved by faith and saved for faith this is certain we are not saved for our faith this is the errour of the Socinians that say The Act of believing is our righteousness Though we are not saved for faith yet the Apostle saith We are saved by faith So here we are not saved for our good works yet we are not saved without good works as the Apostle saith He that is a Doer of the Word shall be blessed in his deed James 1.25 He doth not say for his deed so you may be blessed in your good works though not for your good works Thirdly I answer Although faith alone doth justifie yet that faith that is alone doth not justifie though no man is justified for his works yet that faith that is a justifying faith is a working faith Secondly It may be objected But why do you press us to do the will of God when of our selves we are not able to do it we cannot of our selves think a good thought nor speak a good word much less do the will of God in that manner as you have laid down how it must be done To this I answer Our inability doth not nullifie or make void the Commands of God God for example bids you believe 1 John 3.23 And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and yet Faith it is the gift of God
Eph. 2.8 and you cannot of your selves believe So Saint Peter he bid Simon Magus pray that his sins may be forgiven him and yet notwithstanding no man is able of himself to pray in an acceptable manner saith the Apostle We know not how to pray as we ought but the Spirit helps our infirmities Rom. 28.6 But the Arminians they stretch the Objection yet a little further and argue thus Object If God commands us to do what we are not able to perform then this is cruelty in God and they give you an instance For example say they If you tie a mans hands and bid him work or cut off his legs ard bid him walk this is a great deal of cruelty so say they If God bid us do his will and we have no freedom nor ability to do his will then this is cruelty in God To this I answer It is true indeed if God should tie our hands or cut off our legs then this Objection would be of some weight but God doth not do so God at first made man upright he gave us ability to do his will but if we have lost that ability we cannot blame God but our selves our destruction is from our selves our inability to do Duty is from our selves Secondly I answer Natural and unregenerate men though they cannot work grace in their own hearts yet they may do something in a tendency to grace they may wait on the means of grace they may hear as they are able and pray as they are able and do Duties as they are able they may wait upon God as they did in Acts 2 when they cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we do to be saved 1 Cor. 14.24 25. They may come to the Assemblies of Gods Saints as that ignorant and Unbeliever did though for the present he was in a state of ignorance and unbelief yet by hearing the Word preached he was convinced and converted Men are not damned for Can-nots but for Will-nots men are not damned because they can do no better but because they will do no better Thirdly I answer Though we do not work with God yet God will not work without us God saves no man against his will God carries no man to Heaven as a Sack is carried to the Market on Horse-back but God saves a man by bowing and bending his will and of unwilling making him willing Saint Austin saith Qui sine auxilio tuo te Creavit contra voluntatem tuam te non salvabit He that made thee without thee will not save thee without thee Fourthly I answer this Objection of the Arminians thus When our Saviour saith He that doth the will of my Father he shall know of the Doctrine and he supposeth that such a man hath grace in his heart that doth enable him to do the will of God Though it is true an unregenerate man hath no freedom of will to do good yet this is a certain truth that the regenerate so far as they are regenerate have freedom of will to do good Now for the Use and Application of this Point briefly First By way of Information If the Disciples of Christ are or should be Doers of Gods will then it follows he that would be a true Disciple of Christ must be a self-denying Christian it was that I proved to you at large in many Sermons upon Luke 9.23 He that will be a true Christian must be a self-denyer but why so it appears plainly If the Disciple of Christ must be a Doer of Gods will then First He must not do his own will but he must deny himself in that he must not walk in his own way he must not live by his own rule he must not prosecute his own ends but he must do all according to the will of his Lord and Master Secondly If he must do Gods will then he must not fulfil the will of the flesh and of the mind Ephes 2.3 They that are Christs Disciples have crucified the flesh together with the affections and lusts of it Gal. 5.24 Thirdly If he must do Gods will then he must not do the will of men he must not seek to please men Gal. 1.10 Or do I seek to please men for if I yet pleased men I should not be the servant of Christ Fourthly If he must make the will of God his Rule then he must not make Providence his Rule nor the impulse of the Spirit as they are usually called First He must not make Providence his Rule 1 Sam. 26.7 8 9 David he had opportunity of killing Saul who was his deadly enemy Saul was now asleep in the Cave he might have said Surely here is the Providence of God he hath put my enemy into my hand but David would not make Providence his Rule because he had not a Warrant from the Word of God to do any such thing I would have you to remember this Rule To follow Providence without the Word is dangerous to follow it against the Word is damnable but to follow Providence with the Word that is safe and warrantable Neither must the impulse of the Spirit be the Rule of your walking David had so strong impulse on his Spirit to destroy Nabal and his Family for his churlishness to his Soldiers being in distress because he would not spare them necessaries when he sent unto him that he said God do so to me and more also if I leave any of Nabals Family and not cut off all that pisseth against the Wall 1 Sam. 25. But upon the good counsel of Abigail Nabals Wife he recollected himself and saw that it was not the will of God that he should do so but he blessed God that he had diverted him from his purpose Secondly Learn another Lesson by way of Inserence and that is this The life of true Religion consists not in saying but in doing it consists not in profession but in practice When a man hath the Word of life in his mouth and the life of the Word in his Conversation then he is a Christian indeed It 's not the talking but the walking Christian not he that talks of the way to Heaven and that talks of Christianity but he that walks in the way that leads to Eternal life This will prove you to be Christians of a right stamp Thirdly Learn this Lesson That the will of God is the perfect Rule of Righteousness A thing is therefore good because God wills it for God cannot will any thing that is not good all his ways are equal though our ways are unequal all his paths are righteousness therefore whatever God commands it must therefore needs be good because he wills it Fourthly Learn this Lesson If Christians must be Doers of Gods will then it follows that whosoever is proud stubborn and disobedient willingly resisting the Commands of God such certainly cannot be the Disciples of Christ they that fulfil their own wills and they that walk in their own ways and after their own wills