forgettest thy Maker You have seen the main the ring â—â—aders which are these fearful faithlesse dastardly unbelieving men Now see what the filthy rabble is that followeth after and they are Abominable Murtherers c. Abominable that is unnatural such as pollute themselves with things not fit to be named but to be abhorred whether it be by themselves or with others They are the abominable here meant such as Sodome and Gomorrah who were set forth to such as an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire Jude v. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such are abominable being given up to unnatural lust Let them carry it never so secretly yet are they herâ— ranked amongst the rest and shall have their portion in the burning lake After these come Sorcerers Idolaters Lyars Though these may be spoken fairly of by men yet cannot that shelter them from the wrath of God they shall likewise have their part in this lake when they come to a reckoning If there be I say a generation of people that worship these say what you will of them when they come to receive their wages they shall receive their portion in that burning lake with hypocrites Those that make so fair a shew before men and yet nourish hypocrisie in their hearts these men though in regard of the outward man they so behave themselves that none can say to them black is their eye though they cannot be charged with those notorious things before mentioned yet if there be nothing but hypocrisie in their hearts let it be spun with never so fair a web never so fine a thred yet they shall have their portion in the lake they shall have their part their portion c. Then it seems these of this black guard have a peculiar interest unto this place And as it is said of Judas Acts 1.25 that he was gone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to his proper place So long as a man that is an enemy to Christ and yeilds him not obedience is out of hell so long is he out of his place Hell is the place assigned to him and prepared for him he hath a share there and his part and portion he must have till he come thither he is but a wanderer The Evangelist tells us that the Scribes and Pharisees went about to gain Profelytes and when they had all done they made them seven times more the children of hell then themselves filios Gehennae So that a Father hath not more right in his son then Hell hath in them He is a vessel of wrath fill'd top full of iniquity and a child of the Devils So that as we say the gallows will claim its right so hell will claim its due But mistake me not all this that I speak concerning Hell is not to terrifie and affright men but by forewarning them to keep them thence For after I have shewn you the danger I shall shew you a way to escape it and how the Lord Jesus was given to us to deliver us from this danger But if you will not hear but will try conclusions with God then you must to your proper place to the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone A Lake 't is a River a flaming River as Tophet is described to be a lake burning with fire and brimstone a Metaphor taken from the judgment of God on Sodome and Gomorrah as in that place of St. Jude before mentioned as also in 2 Pet. 2.6 where 't is said God turned the Cities of Sodom into ashes making them an example to all them that should after live ungodly Mark the judgment of God upon these abominable men the place where they dwelt is destroyed with fire and the situation is turn'd into a lake full of filthy bituminous stuff called Lâ—cus Asphaltites which was made by their burnings And this is made an instance of the vengeance of God and an Embleme of eternal fire therefore said he you shall have your portion with Sodome Nay shall I speak a greater word with Christ and tell you that though they were so abominable that the Lake was denominated from them yet it shall be easier for Sodome and Gomorrah then for you if you repent not while you may but goe on to despise Gods grace But can there be a greater sin then the sin of Sodome I answer yes For make the worst of the sin of Sodome it is but a sin against nature But thy impenitency is a sin against grace and against the Gospel and therefore deserves a hotter hell and an higher measure of judgment in this burning pit But what is this second death 2. Sure it hath reference to some first death or other going before A man would as it is commonly thought think that this second death is opposed to that first death which is the harbinger to the second and separates the soul from the body but it 's far otherwise That alas is but a petty thing and deserves not to be put in the number of deaths The second death in the Text hath relation to the first Resurrection Rev. 20 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath his portion in the first resurrection on such the second death shall have no power The first death is that from whence we are acquitted by the first resurrection and that is the death for that is a kind of death as S. Paul speaking of a wicked and voluptuous widow saith she is dead while she liveth and the time shall come and now is when they that are dead shall hear the voice of the Son of man and they that hear shall live And again Let the dead bury their dead So that the first resurrection is when a man hearing the voice of the Minister is rouzed up from the sleep of sin and carnal security and the first death is the opposite thereunto So that the death of the body is no death at all for if it were then this were the third death For there would be a death of sin a death of the body and a death of body and soul This death of the body is but a flea-biting in comparison of the other two This second death is the separation of the body and soul from God and this death is the wages of sin and God must not will not lie in arrear to sin but will pay its wages to the full All the afflictions a wicked man meeteth withal here are but as Gods press money and part of payment of that greater summe But when he dies the whole summe comes then to be paid Before he did but sip of the cup of Gods wrath but he must then drink up the dregs of it down to the bottome and this is the second death It 's called death Now death is a destruction of the parts compounded a man being compounded of body and soul both are by this death eternally destroyed That death like Sampson pulling down the pillars whereby it was sustained pulled down the house draws down the tabernacles
But let me in this particular unrip the heart of a natural man What 's the reason that when God gives men a day and cries out This is the day of salvation this is the accepted time what in the name of God or the Devils name rather should cause them to put salvation from them to defer and desire a longer time Thus a natural man reasons with himself I cannot so soon be taken off from the profits and pleasures of the world I hope to have a time when I shall with more ease and a greater composednesse of mind bring my self to it or if it be not with so much ease yet I trust in a sufficient manner I shall do it wherefore for the present I le enjoy the profits and delights of the state and condition wherein I am I will solace my self with the pleasures of sin for a season I hope true repentance will never be too late This is well weigh'd but consider whether these thoughts which poise down our hearts be not groundlesse see whether they will hold water at the last and whether in making such excuses to great presumption we add not the height of folly To pretend for our delay the profits and pleasures of sin and yet hope for heaven at the last as well as the generation of the righteous it 's but a meer fallacy and delusion of Satan to fill our hearts with such vanities Can it be expected that we should have our good in this world and in the world to come too This is well if it might be But let us try the matter and begin with your first branch You are loth to part with your profits and pleasures But consider what a grand iniquity this is Can you offer God a greater wrong and indignity Do you thus requite the Lord you foolish and unwise Dost thou think this the way to make thy peace with God whom thou hast offended as long as thou mayst to be a rebel against him What an high dishonour is it to him that thou shouldst give him thy feeble and doting old age and the Devil thy lively and vigorous youth thy strength and spirits Dost thou think he will drink the dregs and eat the orts will he accept thee in the next world when thou thus scornest him here If you offer the blind for sacrifice is it not an evil If you offer the lame and sick is it not evil Offer it now unto thy governor will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person saith the Lord of hosts Mal. 1.8 But mark how he goes on v. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing Mark God accounts such service a corrupt thing Never look for a blessing from God in heaven when thou sacrificest to him such corrupt things We are to offer and present our selves a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God Rom. 12.1 Now judge whether they offer God the living who say when my doting days come my lame days that I cannot go my blind dayes that I cannot see I le offer my self a sacrifice to God Will this be acceptable to him Is not this evil saith the Lord to offer me such a corrupt thing Nay more he 's accursed that offers such an offering such a polluted sacrifice God will not like with it when we serve our selves first with the best and choise Do you thus requite the Lord do you think he will accept it at your hands Go offer such a gift to thy Ruler to thy Prince will he accept it or be pleased with it No a Landlord will have the best and the choise and it must needs provoke God when we give him the refuse I am King of Kings saith the Lord my name is dreadful and I will look to be served after another manner Let no man then thus delude himself with vain hopes but let him consider how dishonourable a thing it will be to God 2. And how unprofitable to him whoever thou art 1. It 's the ready way to thy destruction Heaven and happinesse and eternal life are laid up for those that embrace the acceptable time death horrour and eternal misery for those that refuse it and wilt thou hazard soul and body on this Moses on this ground did rather choose to suffer affliction in this world with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a moment When these things are past what profit will you have of those things whereof then you will be ashamed When a man comes to see truly and throughly into himself he will find no profit of such things as these death will certainly follow us both temporal and eternal if we repent not the more speedily that 's all the profit we shall find 2 But suppose thou prevent everlasting death by repentance yet what profit is there of those things whereof we are now for the present ashamed The best can come is shame 3. Thou art loth to part with the pleasures of sin for a season and hereafter thou thinkest thou canst amend all But consider the particulars and then shall you see how you are befool'd in your hearts and soules Believe it for an undoubted truth there 's nothing in the world by which Satan more deludes a man then by this perswading him to neglect his day and repent well enough hereafter That you may expel this suggestion out of your soule pray unto God that he would go along with his Word and cause you to lay this to heart that by his Spirit your understanding may be enlightned to see the truth Though I make this as clear as the Sun that it is a false supposition and meer folly on which we build in deferring our return to God yet God from heaven must teach you or you will be never the wiser Know therefore that this very day God reaches out the golden Scepter to thee and what folly were it to neglect it since thou knowest not whether he will ever proffer it thee again And assure thy self that he is a lyar that tells thee thou mayst as well repent hereafter as now and this will appear whether we consider the order of outward things in the world or the nature of sin 1. For external things every Age after a man comes into the world if he embrace not the present opportunity for repentance is worse then other and are each of them as so many clogs which come one after another to hinder it As for thy childish Age that 's meer vanitie and thy riper Age will bring many impediments and hindrances that youth never thought of Thou art then troubled about many things and perplexed how to provide for maintenance in the midst whereof know that thou hast not a body of brass but a corruptible and fading body and yet such is the folly of the heart of man that the less ground he hath to go the fewer dayes to spend the
some shew of Religion in it He whipt both out not only those that had residence there but those that passed through he would suffer none but those that could justifie what they did by the Law Now as God would not have sin lodge make its abode in the soul so he would not have it made a thorow fare for sin he would not have vain thoughts come up and down in the hearts Now By the Law comes the knowledge of these secret sins Reason is a glasse much to be esteemed for what it can shew but it is not a perfect glasse sometimes it shewes a sin but mâ—ny times diminishes it that we cannot see it in full proportion The Apostle makes this use of the Law that by it sin became exceeding sinful Thou mayst see sin to be sin by natural reason but to see it exceeding sinful this morality comes short of thou must have this from the Law of God 5. There is another false glasse when the Devil transforms himself into an Angel of light when he preacheth Goâ—pel to a man Beware of â—he doctrine when the deceiver preacheth This may be his doctrine He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved From this by Satans cunning delusion the natural man thus concludes A meer heathen shall be shut out of Heaven gates but I believe in the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost therefore I am in a good condition Why then should I trouble my self any further there is no man can accuse me and my own good works will testifie unto me that I do enough Strâ—ctnesse in Religion is troublenesse and it is an unreasonable thing to do more but this is but a meer delusion of Satan for there is nothing more quiet and satisfies a man then Religion there 's nothing in the world more reasonable then the service of God First then know thy disease and then apply those sweet balms It is no easie matter for a man to believe we block out the strait wayes of God if we think it an easie matter to believe of our selves It must be done by the mighty power of God It 's as great a work of God as the Creation of the world to make a man believe It 's the mighty power of God to salvation Such a one must not receive Christ as a Saviour but as a Lord too He must renounce all to have him must take him on his own terms He must deny the world and all looking before hand what it will cost him Now for a man to take Christ as his Lord denying himself the world and all to resolve to pluck out his right eye cut off his right hand rather then to part with him and account nothing so dear to him as Christ is no small matter Thou canst not be Christs Spouse unlesse thou forsake all for him Thou must account all things as dung and drosse in comparison of him and is not this a difficult thing is this an easie task Easily spoken indeed not as easily done it must be here as in the case of mariage a man must forsake all others yea the whole world else Christ will not own him Observe the speech of the Apostle Eph. 1.19 What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward that believe c. Mark is to believe so easie a matter think you why unlesse the mighty power of God be engaged for it with that strength as it was engaged in raising Christ from the dead it cannot be When thou art to believe and be united unto Christ the agreement is not that thou shalt take him as thy wife and thou shalt be his husband No he must be thy husband and thou must obey him Now for a man to be brought out of his natural condition and to take Christ on any termes so he may be saved by him in the end is not so easie Canst thou think there is no more required but onely the outward Baptism or that there is no more in Baptism but the outward washing of the flesh No He 's not a Jew that is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is in the flesh but he 's a Jew that is so inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart Thou then entrest into Gods livery Mark this for by it I strive onely to bring thee back to thy self Thou entrest into covenant with him thou bindest thy self to forsake the world the flesh and the Devil and we should make this use of Baptism as now to put it in practice When we promised there were two things in the Indenture one that God will give Christ to us the other that we must forsake all the sinful lusts of the flesh this is that makes Baptism to be Baptism indeed to us The other thing required is that we forsake all Rom. 6.2 It is not confined to the very act but it hath a perpetual effect all the dayes of thy life I add it never hath its full effect till the day of our death till the abolition of the whole body of sin That which we seal is not compleat till then till we have final grace The water of Baptism quenches the fire of Purgatory for it is not accomplished till final grace is received We are now under the Physicians hands then shall we be cured Baptism is not done onely at the Font which is a thing deceives many for it runs through our whole life nor hath it consummation till our dying day till we receive final grace the force and efficacy of Baptism is for the washing away of sin to morrow as well as the day past the death of sin is not till the death of the body and therefore it s said we must be buried with him by Baptism into his death Now after death we receive final grace till when this washing and the vertue thereof hath not its consummation Let no man therefore deceive you with vain words take heed of looking on your selves in these false glasses think it not an easy thing to get Heaven the way is strait and the passage narrow There must be a striving to enter there must be an ascending into Heaven a motion contrary to nature And therefore it 's folly to think we shall drop into Heaven there must be a going upward if ever we will come thither EPH. 2.1 2 3. And you hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins where in times past you walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince that ruleth in the Aire the Spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience Amongst whom also c. THe last time I declared unto you the duty that was necessarily required of us if we look to be saved that we must not onely take the matter speedily into consideration and not be deluded by our own hearts and the wiles of Satan but that we must not do it superficially or perfunctorily but must bring our selves to the true touchstone and not look
jealousie shall smoke against that man c. We are but now entred into the point but it would make your hearts ake throb within you if you should hear the particulars of it All that I have done is to perswade you to make a right choise to take heed of Satans delusions Why will ye die Ezek. 33. Therefore cast away your sins and make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will you die Where the golden candlestick stands there Christ walks there he saith I am with you Where the word and Sacraments are there Christ is and when the woâ—d shakes thy heart take that time now choose life Why will you die Consider of the matter Moses put before the people life and death blessing and cursing We put life and death before you in a better manner He was a Minister of the letter we of the spirit Now choose life But if you will not hearken but will needs try conclusions with God therefore because you will choose your own confusions and will not hearken unto God because you will needs try conclusions with him will not obey him when he calls therefore he will turn his deaf ear unto you and when you call and cry he will not answer Prov. 1. I presse this the more to move you to make a right choise But now to turn to the other side as there is nothing but death the wages of sin and as I have shew'd you where death is so give me leave to direct you to the fountain of life There is life in our blessed Saviour if we have but an hand of faith to â—ouch him we shall draw vertue from him to raise us up from the death of sin to the liâ—e of righteousnesse 1 John 5.12 He that hath the Son hath life he that hath not the Son hath not life You have heard of a death that comes by the first Adam and sin and to that stock of original sin we had from him we have added a great heap of our own actual sins and so have treasured up unto our selves wrath against the day of wrath Now here is a great treasure of happiness on the other side in Christ have the Son and have life The question is now whether you will choose Christ and life or sin and death Consider now the Minister stands in Gods stead and beseeches you in his name he speaks not of himself but from Christ. When he draws near to thee with Christs broken body and his blood shed and thou receive Christ then as thy life and strength is preserved and encreased by these Elements so hast thou also life by Christ. If a man be kept from nourishment a while we know what death he must die If we receive not Christ we cannot have life we know that there is life to be had from Christ and he that shall by a true and lively faith receive Christ shall have life by him There is as it were a pair of Indentures drawn up between God and a mans soul there is blood shed and by it pardon of sin and life convey'd unto thee on Christs part Now if there be faith and repentance on thy part and thou accept of Christ as he is offered then thou mayst say I have the Son and as certainly as I have the bread in my hand I shall have life by him This I speak but by the way that the Sun might not set in a cloud that I might not end only in death but that I might shew that there is a way to recover out of that death to which we have all naturally praecipitated our selves ROM 6.23 The wages of sin is death THe last day I entred on the Declaration of the cursed effects and consequents of sin and in general shew'd that it is the wrath of God that where sin is there wrath must follow As the Apostle in the Epistle to the Galathians As many as are under the works of the Law are under the curse Now all that may be expected from a God highly offended is comprehended in Scripture by this term Death Wheresoever sin enters death must follow Rom. 5.2 Death passed over all men forasmuch as all had sinned If we are children of sin we must be children of wrath Eph. 1.3 We are then children of wrath even as others Now concerning death in general I shew'd you the last time that the state of an unconverted man is a dead and desperate estate He is a slave It would affright him if he did but know his own slavery and what it is that hangs over his head that there 's but a span betwixt him and death he could never breath any free aire he could never be at any rest he could never be free from fear Heb. 2.15 the Apostle saith that Christ came to deliver them that through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage This bondage is a deadly bondage that when we have done all that we can doe what 's the payment of the service Death And the fear of this deadly bondage if we were once sensible if God did open our eyes and shew us as he did Belshazzar our doom written did we but see it it would make our joynts loose and our knees knock one against another Every day thou livest thou approachest nearer to this death to the accomplishment and consummation of it death without and death within death in this world and in the world to come Not onely death thus in gross and in general but in particular also Now to unfold the particulars of death and to shew you the ingredients of this bitter cup that we may be weary of our estates that we may be drawn out of this death and be made to fly to the Son that we may be free indeed Observe that Death is not here to be understood of a separation of the soul from the body only but a greater death then that the death of the soul and body We have mention made of a first resurrection Rev. 20.6 Blessed and happy is he that hath his part in the first resurrection for on such the second death hath no power What is the first resurrection It is a rising from sin And what is the second death It is everlasting damnation The first death is a death unto sin and the first resurrection is a rising from sin And so again for all things the judgments or troubles that appertain to this death all a man suffers before It is not as fools think the last blow that fells the tree but every blow helps forward 'T is not the last blow that kills the man but every blow that goes before makes way unto it Every trouble of mind every anguish every sicknesse all these are as so many strokes that shorten our life and hasten our end and are as it were so many deaths Therefore however it is said by the Apostle It is appointed for all men once to die yet we see the Apostle to
and feet But that which he shed in the garden in the cold winter time when he shed great drops great clots of blood thickest blood that pierc'd his garment and ran down upon the ground Consider how much blood he lost when he was whipped and lashed when the spear came to the very Pericardium thus let us weigh his torments and it will be a means to make us much affected with his sufferings for us But this is not all there is another thing yet in the blood this was but the outward part of his sufferings Yet some there are who are against Christs sufferings in his soul If it were so say they then something either in the sacrifices of the old Testament or in the new Testament should signifie it What ever such persons object against it I am sure there was as much in the sacrifices of the old Testament as could possibly be in a Type to signifie it Now that I may make this to appear know that in every sacrifice there were two parts or two things considerable and those were the Body and the Blood the whole was to be made a sacrifice viz. both Body and blood the body was to be burned the blood to be poured forth Now nothing in a beast can signifie the sufferings of Christ in soul better then the pouring out of the blood Lev. 17.11 The blood was the life and this is that which had a relation to the soul and was therefore as in the same place appears poured out as an attonement for the soul And to this in our common prayers there is an allusion viz. Grant us gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of thy dear son Jesus Christ and to drink his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood And in Isa. 53.12 The Metaphor holds He poured out his soul unto death for us So that whatever some have fondly thought its evident and manifest that Christ suffered both in soul and body both soul and body were made an offering for sin who knew no sin I should have gone further but the time cuts me off FINIS HEB. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly ùnto the throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and finde grace to help in time of need IN handling heretofore the Doctrine of the conversion of a sinner I declar'd and shew'd you what mans misery was and what that great hope of mercy is that the Lord proposeth to the greatest sinner in the world I shew'd unto you the means whereby we may be made partakers of Christ and that was by the grace of faith which doth let fall all other things in a mans self and comes with an open and empty hand to lay hold on Christ and fill it self with him I shew'd you also the acts of Faith as it justifies And now because it is a point of high moment wherein all our comfort stands and in which it lies I thought good to resume it all again so farre as may concerne our practice that we may see what the work of Gods Spirit is from the first to the last in the conversion of a sinner from the corruptions and pollutions of the flesh in which he wallowed and to this purpose have I chosen this place of Scripture wherein we are encouraged by Gods blessed Word that what ever we are though accursed and the greatest sinners in the world and that whatever we want we should come to Gods throne of grace And we are to think that whatever sinnes are or have been committed and though our sinnes are never so great yet that they are not so great as the infinitenesse of Gods mercy especially having such not only an Intercessor but Advocate to plead the right of our cause so that Christ comes and he pleads payment and that however our debts are great and we runne farre in score yet he is our ransome and therefore now Gods justice being satisfied why should not his mercy have place and free course This is the great comfort that a Christian hath that he may come freely and boldly to God because he comes but as for an acquittance of what is already paid As a debtor will appear boldly before his creditor when he knows his debt is discharg'd he will not then be afraid to look him in the face Now we may come and say Blessed Father the debt is paid I pray give me pardon of my sinnes give me my acquittance And this is that boldnesse and accesse spoken of Rom. 5.2 In whom we have accesse by faith Now that I may not spend too much time needlesly come we to the ground and matter in the words Wherein there is 1. A preparative for grace 2. The act it self whereby we are made partakers of the grace of God First the preparatives are two The law and the Gospel and wrought by them The first preparative 1. Wrought by the Law The Law works in a time of great need this is the first preparative for a man to be brought to see he stands in great need of Gods mercy and Christs blood so that the sinner cries out Lord I stand in great want of mercy His eyes being thus opened he is no longer a stranger at home but he sees the case is wondrous hard with him so that he concludes Unlesse God be merciful unto me in Christ I am lost and undone for ever This is the first preparative and till we come to it we can never approach the throne of grace The second is 2. Wrought by the Gospel I see I stand in great need but by this second preparative we see a Throne of grace set up and that addes comfort unto me If God had onely a throne and seat of Justice I were utterly undone I see my debt is extreme great but the Gospel reveals unto me that God of his infinite mercy hath erected a Throne of grace a City of refuge that finding my self in need my soul may flie unto And now to fit us for this Gods blessed Spirit works by his Word to open unto us the Law and our wants to enlighten our understandings that we stand in great need to win our affection and open the Gospel and its comforts Therefore first for the time of need the Law reveals unto us our woful condition to be born in sin as the Pharisee said and yet not able to see it Every man may say in generalities I am a sinner yet to say and know himself to be such a sinner as indeed he is to stand in such need that he cannot do This one would think to be a matter of sence but unlesse Gods Spirit open our eyes we can never see our selvs to be such sinners as we are or else what is the reason that the child of God cries out more against his sinne and the weight thereof after his conversion than he did before What are his sinnes greater or more than they were
and ashes and yet darest thou thy Maker Dost thou saith God lift thy self up against him before whom all the powers of Heaven do tremble whom the Angels do adore Exaltest thou thy self against him who inhabiteth Eternity What oppose thy self a base creature to Almighty God thy Creator Consider this and let the basenesse of the delinquent and the Majesty and Glory of that God against whom he offends be the first aggravation of sin and thou shalt find sin out of measure sinful 2. Consider the smalnesse of the Motives and the littlenesse of the inducements that perswade thee so vile a creature to set thy self against so glorious a God If it were great matters set thee a work as the saving of thy life it were somewhat But see how small and little a thing does usually draw thee to sin A little profit it may be or pleasure It may be neither of these or not so much When thou breathest out oaths and belchest out fearful blasphemies against God when thou rendest and tearest his dreadful and terrible name what makes such a base and vile villain as thou thus to fly in Gods face Is there any profit or delight in breathing forth blasphemies Profit thou canst take none and if thou take pleasure in it then the Devil is in thee yea then thou art worse then the Devil himself This is the second Consideration which may make us to see the vilenesse of sin and abhor our selves for it to wit the slenderness of the temptations and smalnesse of the motives to it 3. Adde what strong helps and meanes God hath given thee to keep thee from sin As I say thou shouldst consider the basenesse of the delinquent the glory of the offended the mean motives which cause so base a creature to do so vile an act so also consider the great means God hath given thee to keep thee from sin He hath given thee his Word and this will greatly aggravate thy sins to sin against his word Gen. 3.11 When God convinces Adam he proceeds thus with him Hast thou saith he eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat What hast thou done it as if thou wouldst do it on purpose to cross God God hath given thee an express command to the contrary and yet hast thou done this Hast thou so often heard the Law and pray'd Lord have mercy on me and incline my heart to keep this law and yet wilt thou lye swear commit adultery and deal falsly and that contrary to the command of God obstinately disobey him Now God hath not onely given this great meanes of his Word and Commandement but great grace too Where understand that there is not onely final grace but degrees of grace else the Apostle would not have said receiv'd not the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain Consider then how much grace thou hast received in vain How many motions to good hast thou rejected Perhaps thy heart is touched at this Sermon though it is not my tongue nor the tongue of the most elegant in the world that can touch the heart but the Spirit that comes along with his word Now when thou findest wirh the Word a Spirit to goe with it it is a grace If thy conscience be enlightned and thy duty revealed to thee so that it tels thee what thou art what thou oughtst to doe and not to doe it is a grace Now if for all this thou blindly runnest through and art never the better but obstinately settest thy self against God and doest many things which others that have not received the same grace would not have done know then that thou receivest this grace in vain and thy case is lamentable 4. Consider Gods great goodnesse towards thee 1. First his goodnesse in himself There 's nothing but goodnesse infinite goodnesse in him and canst thou find in thy heart to sin against so good a God To offend and wrong a good disposition'd person one of a sweet nature and affection it aggravates the fault 't is pity to wrong or hurt such a one as injures no body Now such a one is God a good good infinite in goodness rich in mercy very goodnesse it self and therefore it must needs aggravate the foulnesse of sin to sin against him But now he is not onely thus in himself but 2. Secondly He 's good to thee Rom. 2. Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance c. What hast thou that thou hast not received from his bountiful hand Consider of this and let this be a meanes to draw thee off from thy sinfulnesse When David had greatly sinned against God and when God bringâ— his murther home to him he pleads thus with him When thou wert nothing in thine own eyes I brought thee saith God to the Kingdome I took thee from the sheepfold and exalted thee and brought thee to a plentiful house And may not God say the like to us and doe you thus requite the Lord O you foolish people and unwise that the more his mercy and goodnesse is to you the higher your sins should be against him 5. Besides Consider more then all this we have the examples of good men before our eyes God commands us not what we cannot doe If God had not set some before our eyes that walk in his wayes and doe his will then we might say that these are precepts that none can perform But we have patterns of whom we may say such a man I never knew to lye such a one never to swear and this should be a means to preserve us from sinning Heb. 11. Noah was a good man and being moved with fear set not at nought the threatning of God but built the Ark and thereby condemned the world His example condemned the world in that they followed it not although it were so good but continued in their great sins So art thou a wicked deboist person there is no good man but shall condemn thee by his example It 's a great crime in the land of uprightnesse to doe wickedly to be profane when the righteous by their blamelesse lives may teach thee otherwise 6. And lastly Adde to all the consideration of the multitude and weight of thy sins Hadst thou sinned but once or twice or in this or that it were somewhat tolerable But thy sins are great and many they are heavy and thou continually encreasest their weight and addest to their number Jer. 5.6 A lyon out of the forrest shall slay them and a wolf of the evening shall spoile them a leopard shall watch over their Cities and every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces Why Because their transgressions are many and their back-slidings are encreased If thou hadst committed but two or three or four sins thou mightst have hope of pardon but when thou shalt never have done with thy God but wilt be still encreasing still multiplying thy sins How can I pardon thee Thus David sets
Saviour did according to the external Passion but they led him whether he would not Our Saviour was an Actor in it Humbled himself A bare suffering God regards not so much but when it is done willingly and in obedience to God And as he was obedient in his death so also in his other passions In the Gospel according to St. John whereas the Text reads he was troubled the marginal note hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he troubled himself he was the Author of his own sufferings John 10.17 He was not humbled as a meer patient but he humbled himself and so it is said in Scripture oft He gave himself for us and in all his passive obedience he had an eye to do the Will of God The merit of his passive obedience ariseth from a mixture with his active This was a great part of his Priest-hood his humbling And how doth he take his Priest-hood upon him it was by his Fathers call He was cal'd unto it as was Aaron Heb. 5.4 No man saith the Apostle taketh this honor upon him but he that is called Now Christ being called to it he did it to follow his call And thus he did it actively it was not a bare suffering as those in hell suffer but according to his Fathers call Observe Heb. 10.9 That place taken out of the Psalm I am come to do thy Will O God c. What was it only in his active obedience No it was thy Will that he should suffer as the words following in the tenth verse import By the which Will we are sanctified and by the body of Jesus Christ once offered so that Christ offered up himself to do his Fathers Will so that his passive obedience was in his active So John 10.17 Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again no man taketh it from me but I lay it down Our Saviour when he laid down his life put it off as a man that puts off his cloak and layes it from him They wondred that he was dead so soon it was because himself laid down his life His soul then was not drag'd or forced out of his body It was not only passive but active obedience No man taketh it from me I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up This had I from my Father They are grosly deceived then that say Christs active obedience was not free and voluntary because he was commanded for as well may they say his passive is not voluntary and so not meritorious because it likewise was commanded which none can deny Thus Christs offering was a free-will offering though it was a most bitter one yet this being a part of his Fathers Will he went as voluntarily to the pains of the Cross as thou dost to thy dinner when thou art throughly hungry For his meat and his drink was to do his Fathers Will Jo. 4.34 And this makes it of such worth and efficacy that he did it willingly See it in the type that went before him in Isaac Isaac was grown up he was no Babe he was able to carry wood enough to burn himself when he went to be sacrificed and therefore sure he had strength if Isaac had pleased he might have ran away from the old man his Father yet he suffers himself to be bound and to be laid upon the wood a true type of our Saviour his also was a free-will offering and so a sweet smelling sacrifice unto God It being the highest active obedience it presently pacifieth the wrath of his Father He humbled himself and became obedient This obedience of our Saviour is the matter and ground of our Justification Rom. 5.18 As by the offence of one Judgement came on all unto condemnation so by the righteousness of one the free-gift came on all to Justification of life By the obedience of this blessed Saviour many are made righteous so that now our Saviours obedience followeth next Now this obedience is double Active or Passive 1. Active And this was that whereby he did all the Will of his Father The reason why he came into the world if we look the place before alledged will appear Heb. 10.5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith Sacrifice and burnt-offering thou wouldst not have but a body hast thou prepared me In burnt offerings and Sacrifice for sin thou hast no pleasure then said I Behold I come in the volumâ— of thy book it is written of me that I should do thy Will O God When he cometh into the world saith he Lo I come For what to do thy Will O God The reason why he came into the world was that he might be obedient unto his Father Thus it behoveth us saith he to John to fulfill all Righteousness John wondred that he that was pure and spotless should come to him to be baptized He knew Baptism presupposed some sin or blot some stain or corruption to be washed off and therefore it s said Mark 1.5 That there came unto him all the Land of Judea to be baptized confessing their sins And sure if one should come to John and say he had no sin and yet desired to have been baptized by him he had no right to Baptism yet our Saviour saith Let alone let it be so that we may fulfill all Righteousness I have no need indeed in regard of my self but I have taken upon me the form of a servant and therefore what the lowest of them must do that must I do therefore was I circumcised and therefore am I baptized I came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it And he fulfilled it to the utmost both in his active and passive obedience Now for his active Obedience it had a double 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or consummatum est First For his active Obedience in the whole course of his life I have glorified thy name and finished the work that thou gavest me to do Would you know what it is to glorifie God in this world It is to finish the work which he giveth us to do Art thou a Minister if thou wouldst glorifie God finish the work he gave thee to do then mayst thou say Glorifie thou me with thy Glory c. But now Christs work was not â—ll ended when he said he had finished it the greatest part was behind to wit his Passive obedience All the works of his life were done of which actions there Christ is to be understood but then cometh his Passion and that being finished there is something to do yet after that for he was to rise again to our Justification but for the oblation of the sacrifice it was fully finished If we look upon our blessed Saviour in the whole course of his life For 1. Though he lived in a whole world of sin yet he was free from all manner of sin 2. He was inriched with all manner of good works graces and
not nor begs so hard because he hath but little hope to attain any thing from him But I say let both these meet together first that the beggar is in great need then that he of whom he begs is very liberal it makes him beg hard but now cannot he pray without book Think not that I speak against praying by the book you are deceived if you think so but there must be words taken to us besides which perhaps a book will not yield us A beggars need will make him speak and he will not hide his sores but if he hath any sore more ugly or worse than another he will uncover it good Sir behold my woful and distressed case he layes all open to provoke pity So when thou comest before God in confession canst thou not finde out words to open thy self to Almighty God not one word whereby thou mayst unlap thy sores and beseech him to look on thee with an eye of pity I must not mince my sins but amplifie and aggravate them that God may be moved to pardon me till we do thus we cannot expect that God should forgive us A great ado there is about auricular confession but it s a meer bable It were better to cry out our sinnes at the high Crosse than to confesse in a Priests eare Thou whisperest in the Priests eare what if he never tell it or if he do art thou the better Come and poure out thy heart and soul before Almighty God confesse thy self to him as David did for that hath a promise made to it Psal. 51.4 Against thee thee onely have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mayst be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest Why so Why one main cause why we should confesse sinne is to justifie God When a sinner confesses I am a childe of wrath and of death if thou castest me into hell as justly thou mayst I have received but my due when a man does thus as the Kings Atturney may frame a Bill of Inditement against himself he justifies Almighty God Thus did David Against thee against thee c. Now when we have thus aggravated our misery comes the other part of begging to cry for mercy with earnestnesse and here 's the power of the Spirit It 's one thing for a man to pray and another thing for a man to say a prayer 'T is the easiest thing in the world to say a prayer but to pray and cry for mercy as David did in good earnest to wrestle with God to say Lord My life lies in it I will never give thee over I will not go with a denial this is termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is the work of Gods Spirit I named you a place in Jude ver 20. where the Apostle exhorts but ye beloved build up your selves in your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost there 's the prayer of the faithful to pray in the Holy Ghost And in the Ephesians we read of an Armour provided for all the parts of a mans body yet all will not serve the turn unlesse prayer come in as the chief Ephes. 6.18 Praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance c. This is the prayer of faith that procures forgivenesse of sinnes we must pray in faith and in the Spirit that is the language which God understands He knoweth the meaning of the Spirit and knoweth none else but that Many men are wondrously deceived in that which they call the Spirit of prayer One thinks it is a faculty to set out ones desires in fair words shewing earnestnesse and speaking much in an extemporary prayer This we think commendable yet this is not the Spirit of prayer One that shall never come to heaven may be more ready in this than the childe of God for it is a matter of skill and exercise the Spirit of prayer is another thing The Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought the Spirit it self makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 What shall we think then that the Holy Ghost groans or speaks in prayer No but it makes us groan and though we speak not a word yet it so enlarges our hearts as that we send up a volley of sighs and groans which fit the Throne of grace And this is the Spirit of prayer when with these sighs and groans I beg as it were for my life This is that ardent affection the Scripture speaks of A cold prayer will never get forgivenesse of sins it 's the prayer of faith which prevailes The prayer of the faithful availeth much if it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fervent In the Ancient Churches those that were possessed with an evil spirit were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because that caught them up and made them do actions not sutable to their nature Prayer is a fire from heaven which if thou hast it will carry all heaven before it there is nothing in the world so strong as a Christian thus praying Prayers that are kindled with such a zeal are compared to Jacobs wrestling with the Angel Hos. 12.4 whereby he had power over the Angel The Prophet expounds what this wrastling was he wept and made supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there he spake with him This is the wrestling with God when thou fillest heaven with thy sighs and sobs and bedewest thy couch with thy tears as David did and hast this resolution with Jacob I will not let thee go except thou blesse me God loves this kinde of boldnesse in a beggar that he will not go away without an answer As the poor Widow in the Parable that would not give over her suit so that the Judge though he feared not God nor cared for man by reason of her importunity granted her desire Mark the other thing in the Apostle he bids us pray with the Spirit and with perseverance and he that cometh thus hath a promise made to it He that calleth on the Name of the Lord shall be saved Call on me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee it 's set down fully Matth. 6.7 Ask and you shall have seek and you shall finde knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened One would think this were idem per idem but it is not so He bids us ask and it shall be given seek and you shall finde c. There is a promise annexed to asking seeking and knocking but it is also proved by universal experience for every one that asketh c. It 's every mans case never any man did it yet that hath lost his labour in not attaining what he asked If thou hast it not yet thou shalt have it in the end it is so fair a petition to
when I shâ—ll come at tâ—e day of judgment and have the benefit of my sanctification the last absolution such sinnes shall not be charged on me my sinnes and iniquities shall not be remembred I will remember their sinnes no more saith God it is a wonderâ—ul thing and a strange mistake in many men eâ—pecially the Papists Did they ever write comfortably of the day of judgment never they make that a terrible day Alas poor souls they knew not that justâ—fication is that that makes sinnâ—s that they shall never be remembred Mark it is said Thou shalt hear of all thy good deeds for thy honour and thy praise but for thy sinnes there shall search be made and they shall not be found when God forgives sinnes he doth it fully it shall never be cast in thy teeth again but thou shalt hear of all thy good deeds not of thy bad Then lift up your heads for your redemption draweth near here is the blessed grace of justâ—fication that we being justified by faith have not only no condemnation but no guilt whereas all the sinnes of the wicked man shall be set before his face and he shall stand quaking and trembling by reason thereof not one good thing that he hath done shall be remembred but in the iniquity that he hath committed in that shall he dye and so I have said somewhat of that point You may remember that I said a word perhaps that some think much of that the question betwixt us and Rome is not Whether we be justified by faith or no but Whether we be justified at all I will make it good Theâ—e are two graces righteouâ—nesse imputed which implies forgivenesse of sinnes and righteousnesse inherent which is that grace of sanctification begun They utterly â—eny that there is any righteousnesse but righteousnesse inherent They say forgivenesse of sinnes is nothing but sanctification A new doctrine never heard of in the Church of God till these last dayes till the spawn of the Jesuites devised it Forgivenesse of sinne is this that God will never charge me with it again They say that forgivenesse of sinne is an abolishing of sinne in the subject where is true remission as much as to say There is no justification distinct from sanctification whereas the Apostle distinguisheth them when as he saith The Sonne of God is made unto us wisdome righteousness sanctification and redemption He is made unto us of God By the way let me expound it unto you Christ hath three offices A Prophetical Regal and Sacerdotical office He exerciseth his Prophetical office to illuminate our understanding He exerciseth his Kingly office to work on our will and affections there are two branches of it the Kingdome of grace and the Kingdome of glory How am I made partaker of Christs Prophetical office He is made unto me wisdome before I was a fool but now by it I am made wise First he enlightens me and so he is made unto me wisdome well he is my Priest how so he is made an expiation for my sinne he is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Saint John A propitiation for our sinnes and not for ours only but for the sinnes of the whole world There is a difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a bare pardon but this is such a propitiation as the party offended is well-pleased with Christs being made a ransome he is made unto us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the oblation offered unto his Father He is righteousnesse imputed to us And as a King he rules me in the Kingdome of grace and in the Kingdome of glory in the Kingdome of grace he is made unto me sanctification and in the Kingdome of glory he is made unto me redemption it is called by the Apostle the redemption of our bodies these two are thus clearly distâ—nguished The work of Christs Priestly office is to be a propitiation for our sinnes sanctification proceeds from the Scepter of his Kingdome The one is without me the other within me The one receives degrees the other not As a man that is holy may be more holy but imputed righteousnesse doth not more forgive one man than another Imputation is without augmentation or diminution Those things which have divers contraries cannot be one and the same thing Justification and Sanctification have divers contraries The contrary to justification is condemnation but the contrary to sanctification is wickednesse and false-dealing c. Aristotle distinguisheth homonymous words and bids you consider their contraries thus you see the difference between these two I should now come and descend unto the dependence one hath on the other i. e. in what respect doth faith justifie Is faith an instrument to work justification or to receive it only The answer is clear it justifieth in regard of the object If you remember the two places I bid you compare Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood is that all compare this place with chap. 5.9 Much more then being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him we are justified by his blood and by faith in his blood here are two acts which signifie the same thing It is no more then to say I was cured by the Bath or by going to the Bath so that faith is the legs of the soul that bring a man to Christ. And so my faith is an instrument not to procure my justification but to receive it so then seeing faith is an instrument to receive justification and not to procure it then the weakest faith carrieth away as much forgivenesse as the strongest A strong faith rids a great deal of work because it is an active instrument The stronger faith worketh the greater work but in the point of justification it is an instrument whereby my justification is wrought an instrument whereby Christ is received And the weakest hand may receive a piece of gold as well as the strongest we must know that in the point of receiving we live on Gods almes All our justification is his free gift and faith is that Palsie hand which receives all our comfort It is not then a faith that justifieth but faith it is called by Peter a like precious faith Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousnesse of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the meanest Christian that hath a trembling hand to pitch on that and draw vertue from him it is a like precious faith in them as in the most great Apostle Peter and all the rest ROM 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Havâ— heretofore declared unto you that in theâ—e words and the words following thâ—re are set down these great graces and grâ—at blessings which you have in Christ in