your selves the Lord Jesus came into the world in an acceptable time and hee had this covenant made with him that he should draw poore soules out of darknesse and say to the prisoners come forth God the Father hath sent him for this end and hath promised to heare him when he calls for mercy in the behalfe of poore sinners you poore creatures remember this for I doubt not but here are some that have faith though no question there are many of you in this place that are yet unbeleevers and marke this if you were never yet sensible of your unbeleefe in some measure I say you never tooke one step towards grace nor Christ wee cannot helpe our selves wee cannot goe to Christ and Christ cannot come to us so long as this iron barre is betweene us therefore intreat him for his covenants sake to accomplish that he hath said and tell him that thou art a poore prisoner and that Christ came for this very end plead hard with him and say Blessed Redeemer it is but one word of thy mouth say to a poore prisoner and an unbeleeving heart rest thy selfe upon the promise plead thus with the Lord and this is the only way to obtaine this mercy of the Lord it is a sinne that undermines all our comforts and makes all meanes unprofitable whatsoever we have and yet we never looke after it nor care for it Oh hate all sinnes but hate this infidelitie above all other sinnes Vse 3 In the next place is it so that the Spirit of the Father must perswade the heart before it can rest upon the free riches of Gods mercie in Christ then here we collect the difficulty of the worke of faith the conclusion not onely followes apparantly but undeniably that the worke of faith is of marvellous difficulty and beyond the reach of all created power and beyond all the power of man to have power of himselfe to beleeve the promises of God the point followes thus if we cannot come to God further than God carrieâ— as and if we have not legs to goe to the Lord Jesus Christ no further than the Lord gives us legs I meane spirituall power then let us all know it and conclude it that it is not only hard and difficult but also impossible for man from any power of his owne to rest upon Gods promises by the worke of faith it is true indeed we can doe thus much wee can settle our selves upon our owne bottomes and rest our selves upon our owne sufficiencie and if a man have parts and gifts wee can wee doe naturally stay our selves upon these broken props and our soules goe that way naturally as heavie things naturally goe downward this we can doe out of the power of corrupt nature thus we are our selves and we rest upon our selves in a word when a man findes parts and gifts and meanes and then to rest upon God and to cast away all carnall confidence and to cast our selves upon the free grace of God it will cost us much worke to doe it nay it is beyond all our power it is the worke of God to doe it I speake this the rather for these two ends First to crush that vaine conceit of a company of poore ignorant creatures that make it a matter of nothing to beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ and thinke it is all one to beleeve as to say they beleeve Oh they beleeve in their sweet Saviour and man nor Devils shall not perswade them to the contrarie hence is that speech of a poore creature standing by a man ready to dye when a Minister of God who was there did exhort him to rest upon the promise and urging him to many things that way and the poore creature complaining much that hee could not beleeve here upon his carnall friend standing by said Beleeve thou foole canst thou not beleeve A man would not imagine it almost but that experience hath made it good and others have informed us of it that many wise judicious men are not ashamed to speake it that if people knew the current of the Scriptures and were able to understand the texts of Scripture it were not so hard a matter to beleeve as men would make it but men are not able to dive into the nature of Scriptures and to conceive of the mysteries thereof which if they did it were an easie matter to beleeve this is the conceit of a company of poore deluded creatures though otherwise learned and judicious follow these men home and you shall finde this true that either they are carelesse in their families or else they have some tang of some strong corruption now to overthrow these two let mee doe it upon these two grounds First see the difficulty of the worke of faith in regard of the feeblenesse of all that a man hath or doth to make him beleeve Secondly in regard of the extraordinary greatnesse of the worke that may hinder a man from doing what he may for the first that which may dis-inable all those things that a man expects comfort from there are but foure things that a man can put any confidence in first the excellencie of his parts or secondly the height of his privileges or thirdly the performance of his duties or fourthly the powerfulnesse of those meanes that he hath to summe up these briefly and to overthrow them first hadst thou that strength of judgement sharpnesse of wit and quicknesse of memorie and all naturall abilities none of all these can make thee able to worke faith in thy selfe Matth. 11.25 26 27. when Christ had considered the hardnesse and difficultie of the worke of faith and had upbraided the Pharisees because they beleeved not at last hee saith I thanke thee heavenly Father Lord because thou hast hid these things from the great and wise of the world and hast revealed them unto the babes it is so Oh Father because it seemed good in thy sight if wisedome and prudence and skill in arts and sciences would have carried men to Jesus Christ the Scribes and Pharisees would then have gone to him but God hath hid these things from the wise and prudent so it will be in every man bee his parts and abilities never so great for the worke of faith it is not in thy parts and gifts but in the Lords revealing it is not thy selfe but the Lord that must worke it babes themselves shall have these things revealed and shall be made able to beleeve when thou with all thy parts and gifts and wisdome shalt be cashiered and thrown downe to hell and then he shewes the reason of it All things are delivered to me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son but the Father and he to whom the Sonne will reveale him so then it is not what we have or doe but what the Lord Christ can and will doe for us all the wit in thy head and all thy skill and parts will never make thee able to know the Father
the word and the seed of the promise which is sowne in our hearts by the vertue of the seed and the Spirit of grace accompanying that seed wee have power to receive Christ and the Spirit of Christ and so to become the Sonnes of God This is the reason of that phrase in Scripture We are not children of the flesh but of the promise also of this in Gal. 3. last verse We are made heires by the promise it makes us heires that is looke whatever ground or hope or hold of eternall life and glory blessednesse you hold it by the vertue of the promise all is by a promise grace and goodnesse is communicated to us by a promise this is our life and all our hold therefore the Gospell is made to be the testament of Jesus Christ as by ones last will and testament a man leaves his goods and lands to his posteritie so the Lord Jesus Christ out of his free good will leaveth one legacie of mercie and grace and pardon and strength to all humble broken hearted spirits Galath 3.15 though it be but a mans covenant saith hee when it is confirmed no man doth abrogate it but if a man seale it and confirme it with his bloud then it is fully established no man will no man can disanull it So Christ leaves a Legacie of mercie to you and of favour and compassion to all broken hearted sinners by promise and therefore it is established nay it is the last promise the last Legacie and Testament therefore the promise no man can alter Ioh. 1.14 He doth not leave peace then as the world doth they wish it but cannot give it they wish it but cannot bestow it but Christ leaves a legacie of mercie and peace behind him nay he hath ratified it by his bloud and he will make it good to the soule for ever Partic. 3 The witnesse makes the soule yeeld unto what the spirit hath witnessed As the witnesses in open court in a matter of law they make the case cleare and evident the Jury they take it the Judge observes it you all know how the case goes the witnesse sufficient c. So when the witnesse of Gods Spirit comes bringing the hand of God the Father and the hand of the Sonne touching Gods acceptance it casts the cause clearely Now this judgement of the sinner yeelds and cannot but close and submit it selfe unto the truth this is the meaning of that phrase before the text they shall be taught of God they shall not only learne but they shall be taught they shall have their lesson without booke they shall be made to learne and therefore the tenor of the covenant is this I will write my Law in their inward parts and they shall all know mee from the highest to the least observe the 2 Pet. 1.3 it is a place of marvellous difficultie this I take to be the meaning there is enough to satisfie any man according to his divine power he hath given unto us all things that is the Lord by his almighty divine power hath given unto us all things either appertaining to this present life here or eternall life hereafter But how comes this to passe that God doth this the Text saith It is through knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and vertue the word in the originall is through their acknowledgement of him that hath called us The soule doth not onely barely know that this is grace and mercy in Christ the eye of the understanding is not only opened but hee now comes to acknowledge the same and subscribeth thereby thereunto God saith I will save thy soule I will be thy God the soule saith It is true Lord I will deny it no more I will gain-say it no longer In a word then gather up the point if it be so that the Spirit by the witnesse thereof doth discover the interest we have in grace if it doth ratifie the interest which it doth discover nay if it makes the judgement yeeld to what it hath ratified it certifies effectually and undeniably the truths of grace and mercy thus prepared and ratified to the soule and the soule saith I confesse it Lord and closeth therewith Quest Why may some say if this bee so how then comes it to passe that many of Gods deare children how comes it that many humble hearted creatures never knew they were called never had any speciall intimation of Gods favour they cannot say in truth they are the Lords Answ I speake of him that hath had the work of preparation fully and substantially upon his soule I speake this that no scrambling hypocrite nor sinfull wretch may come and scramble for comfort and so goe away and deceive himselfe in this kind know therefore for answer thereunto There is a double knowledge the first is this A naked simple apprehension of a truth a meere closure of a mans minde with a naked plaine truth revealed so that the judgement saith it is so Secondly there is a reflecting act when a man lookes over his understanding and labours to discerne the worke thereof not only apprehending what was laid before him but when he doth apprehend that he doth apprehend when he knowes that he doth know it marke that place for wee will carry Scripture with us 1 Ioh. 2.3 Hereby we know that we know him saith the Text if wee keepe his Commandements A man may know a thing and yet not know that he doth know so then it is cleare every Saint of God hath the first knowledge that is every man that is truly called in truth doth apprehend and undoubtedly close with the worke of the Spirit making knowne unto him the mercie of Christ many may worke and most men doe the second worke they doe not know that they know the Scripture saith that the Devill himselfe rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience that is he casts in a seed of errour and delusion and corruption into the hearts of wicked men and by his delusions they entertaine those errours embrace base courses Now not one among a thousand can say that the Devill doth thus this is done by vertue of Satan and yet he doth not see it nay there is a veile of Satan upon the soule there is a seed of Satan in the soule and the soule closeth with it and yet hee apprehends it not so every faithfull soule is ruled by Gods Spirit and the seed of Gods Spirit is flung into his minde and closeth therewith but hee cannot discerne the worke of the Spirit working upon him the one governed by Satan the other enlightned by the Spirit but neither can apprehend nor know what they doe know in this kinde Reas 1 Because onely the Spirit of the Lord knowes the Lords minde it is only privie to Gods counsels and it only understands the secrets of Gods love and therefore it only can reveale them and communicate them Matth. 11.27 Now because the holy Spirit proceedeth from
the Father and the Sonne he can nay he doth make knowne the Counsels of both and so removes all objections and cleares all cavils it is a point of consideration to you that are weake ones satisfaction is by the meanes of Christ the Sonne layeth downe the price and doth satisfie the Spirit doth certifie it unto the soule that the Son hath satisfied for the neglect of what God ever required at our hands and for the committing of what ever God hath forbidden now the soule is fully satisfied As for example Take a creditor to whom the debtor oweth money haply the debtor is arrested for his not paying the debt the surety he comes and layes downe the debt now the debtor is unacquainted with this unlesse there be a messenger that brings a certificat under the hand of the creditour that he is paid and the surety hath discharged the debt and hee is quitted when he heares this his heart is fully quieted So here the Lord Jesus is the Surety the Father is the Creditour our soules are the debt now the Spirit of God he is the Messenger and he brings under the hand of God of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ an acquittance to our soules that what ever sinnes wee have committed are pardoned through Christ and this fully contents the soule Marke 1 Cor. 2.10 yea the deepe things of God as who should say how can you tell that Gods minde is towards us and that hee will pardon why these are secrets aye but the Spirit of the Lord knowes and searcheth the deepe things of God that which eye never saw that which the Angels in heaven cannot tell you that which all the men in the world cannot reveale unto you without God be with them that your names are written in the Booke of Life you shall bee accepted these are deepe things but the Spirit reveales them This is the first Reason the Spirit onely knowes the minde therefore it only can give notice thereof unto the soule Reas 2 The Spirit only can break thorow al those mists and clouds of ignorance and blindnesse that are in our minds which oppose this worke nay it can beare downe all those distempers and discouragements which make us unfit and unable to receive the evidence of Gods love and goodnesse in the Lord Jesus Christ for these two things are in the heart of a sinner that marvellously oppose the evidence of Gods favour unto the soule Hindr. 1 That every man hath a veile of ignorance over his heart 2 Cor. 3.15 Now the veile of ignorance no hand can rend it none can remove it but only the Spirit of God The god of the world blindes the eyes of the wicked why then it must be the Spirit of God the Spirit of another world I meane the Spirit of Christ that must open the eyes and take away the veiles and clouds and mists that the god of the world casts before the eye Hindr. 2 Are desperate discouragements when a poore sinner is plunged in the apprehension of all the evill which he hath committed and in the aggravation of all those sins whereby God hath beene dishonoured when the soule observes this hee thinkes and sayes This proud heart will never be humbled this unregenerate heart will never be sanctified the Lord never intends good to my soule it is impossible that so many corrections so long continued should ever be pardoned here the soule sinkes downe in desperate discouragements now there is none but the Spirit of God that can let a light into the soule there is none but the hand of the Lord that can rend and pluck and pull a poore fainting despairing dying sinking heart under the burthen of his manifold abominations none but the Almighty hand of an Almighty God can doe this when it is night all the candles in the world cannot take away the darknesse so all the meanes of grace and salvation all the candle-light of the Ministery they are all good helps but the darknesse of the night will not be gone before the Sun of Righteousnesse arise in our hearts Hence it comes to passe that it is a very difficult matter to give comfort to a poore distressed soule Psal 40.1 Marke what a coâ—le there is to give comfort all the world cannot comfort them and perswade them I shall one day perish say they I shall one day goe downe to hell let all the Ministers under heaven say what they will Comfort yee comfort yee saith the Lord as who should say they will not be comforted they will not thinke nor be resolved of it I mercy and I comfort it is a likely matter it will never be it never can be I shall never see that day will the Lord pardon me I doe not thinke it I cannot beleeve it God is a just God and a righteous God and I am a vile wicked wretch it is mercy that I have despised and trampled under my feet and I mercy no certainly there is no such matter this makes the Lord have such a doe Comfort yee comfort yee the third time and yet they will receive none We Ministers of the Gospell observe by experience that we meet with some soules that are gone to the bottome of hell sometimes by their distempers and wee make knowne the promises propound arguments lay downe reasons but nothing takes place nothing prevailes all is presently forgotten and you had as good say nothing all is forgotten therefore none but Gods Spirit can doe it hee must come from heaven and say Comfort yee comfort yee my people let me therefore speake to you that are Ministers you doe well to labour to give comfort to a poore fainting soule but alwayes say Comfort Lord say unto this poore soule thou art his salvation Lord speake comfort and say to such a one his sinnes shall be pardoned mercy shall bee bestowed upon him his iniquities are forgiven it is that wee observe in the policie of Satan Satan hath two Policies Policie 1 First if he can hee will keepe a man that hee shall never see his sins therefore hee labours to doe away all plagues and judgements from the apprehension of the soule and therefore when the Minister comes home to the conscience and saith What you have heaven what proud and profane and oppose God and his ordinances and you goe to heaven No no such matter marke what the Devill suggests take thy pleasure it is but halfe an houres work when you lie upon your death-bed if you can but then cry to God for mercy and for forgivenes it is enough this is the first Policie to keepe a man from seeing his sins and thus the soule is content to carry hel-gates on his backe and a thousand abominations and is never troubled Well haply the Lord enlightens the soule of such a sinner and sets his sinnes before him and saith here are thy sins and for these thy sins thou shalt be sent packing to hell now he cannot look off
so mannaged as it is with a man that hath a faire estate and is left marvellous well if he would have the benefit of his estate first hee must mannage it secondly hee must maintaine him and his out of the gaine of it so mannaged Particular 1 First the Lord hath left you well and you have wherewithall to live like men and like Christian men too yea an happie life that you may go singing to your graves and goe rejoycing up to heaven and you have faith too only you want some skill to use it for it is not conceived that you are well stockt and stored but it is required that you should husband the promises well and injoy them as your owne and live by the comfort of the promises the promises are ours and we have them in hand if wee can but bring our hearts to approve them aright Now that wee must mannage the promises aright two things are mainly observable though there are many others ready at hand yet I will insist upon those that are most usefull for the benefit of the worke Rule 1 Take possession of the promises and value that good in the promise as thine nay further make it present and substantiall to thy soule as the Apostle saith Heb. 11.1 not only that good which the promise will yeeld for the present but eternall and everlasting good which every promise will make thy soule assured of if thou hast a heart to improve it aright and care to bestow thy selfe thereupon The only way for a man to thrive in his estate is this hee must dwell upon his owne meanes and have it all in his owne occupying for as we use to say If a man lease it out why may not he get something by keeping of it as another by hiring of it If he would doe thus say we he must needs get more than hee doth now so it ought to be in our spirituall estate and so faith will enable us that wee may doe not only to take the present benefit that the promise will afford in this life but the promise is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seene all that glory and happinesse in heaven not yet seene and not yet in fruition faith will make all that happinesse within view and puts us into possession of them and makes them have a being to our soules faith it is that brings Christ and makes Christ present and in Christ all presented all glorie is in Christ who is the Authour of it and faith makes all that glory present all happinesse in Christ who is the worker of it and faith makes all that happinesse to be present so that by faith laying hold on thy Saviour not only to take comfort but to make all that happinesse and good that is eternally to be present as Luke 12.32 Feare not little flock but might they not say How shall we chuse but feare seeing there is nothing but sinnes within that deserve punishment and enemies without that breath forth threatnings O but a Saviour saith Feare not little flock why it is your Fathers pleasure to give you a kingdome you are not in the kingdome as yet yet you are in the way to it and though you are now in the wildernesse leading to Canaan yet you shall come to Canaan and so you shall have a kingdome remember that and so you shall be comforted and refreshed live upon this when you looke only to the present benefit of the promise it is true this is more than wee can conceive yet wee let the better part of our stock and estate lye by us for there are two parts of the promise the present good and peace and the eternall and everlasting good and comfort of it now when we looke only to the present good of it this is ill husbandry for wee let the better part of the stocke lye dead by us and doe not trade with it as it is in the world for temporall meanes so it is for our spirituall estates for spirituall succour and supply though a man have little for the present yet if hee have some old reversions to come this beares up his heart in the time of poverty and misery and he saith if he can but make a scrambling shift for so long time then hee hopes to live as well as any man in the Country So that there is not some of the promise that we have in possession but there is the reversion of old rents as old rents of farmes that were let long agoe when the leases come out they are worth treble the rent they were let at the first So there are the old rents of comfort and mercie as Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the kingdome prepared for you then no more teares no more trouble no more sorrow no more sinne get those into your hands and have them in use and say The day will come when wee shall have happinesse blisse and joy beyond all that the tongue of man can expresse or the heart of man conceive though we are buffeted with many temptations and wearied with a world of corruptions yet we shall bee saved saith faith Thus a man may make a pretty good shift to live upon these termes though we have nothing else to live upon in the world therefore remember what now I speake Labour to fasten this truth upon thy heart that there is not onely present good in thy selfe but in another and reserved by another for thy comfort and be thou content that it should be so not only to looke what thou hast but consider that the greatest part of thy glory is in the glory of a Christ and the greatest part of thy wisdome is in the wisdome of a Christ and thy liberty in the liberty of a Christ and thy riches in the riches of a Christ and know that whatsoever is in Christ thou hast it all as thine Iohn 3.12 Behold what love the Father hath shewed to us that we are now the Sonnes of God I tell you brethren this is a marvellous privilege and if you had no more but this you had a childes portion but it appeares not what we shall have we have but a glimse now what will the harvest be and now we have only some sips of it what shall then the full cup be when we shall see Christ as he is thus Moses did improve his estate Heb. 11.26 he bare all afflictions comfortably yea he esteemed the rebukes of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt why because he had an eye to the recompence of the reward we account of a mans estate for what he hath for present possession but what is like to befall him and what hee is borne unto what Moses did doe thou that thou maist account the misery and disgrace of a Christ greater riches than all the pleasures of the world have all thy estate in thy owne hand if thou wilt be a good husband as it is with
deed there must be something else or the sinner will be at a stand and cannot come on cheerfully and receive the grace offered him therefore besides the meanes wee have the speciall cause expressed which is the Lord. For when a man hath heard that is one thing but that is not all for the principall cause is the Lord. God the Father alone can buckle the heart to receive the grace appointed and the mercy offered to the soule and without the principall cause all other meanes I meane the Ministers of the Gospell although it be a savour of life unto life yet it may be a savour of death unto death unlesse the Spirit of the Lord goes with it For when the Gospell is onely revealed to the understanding and that onely conceives of the letter thereof and it soakes not and sinkes not into the heart this we call an outward calling that is the phrase of Divines when some light flash is imparted and communicated unto the soule and is not set on sufficiently that is an outward calling But when God the Father doth accompany the dispensation of the Gospell with the powerfull operation of the Spirit and it puts its hand to the key of the Gospell and unlockes a blinde minde and a hard heart there the soule learnes throughly and effectually the way of salvation The Text saith there must not onely be hearing but learning of the Father else the soule will not nor cannot come Now before I can collect the severall passages out of the words there is some difficulty and obscurity in the phrase therefore give me leave as I am able to discover the meaning and sense of the words and then the collection will be cleere First for the explication of the phrase and I will discourse four questions unto you which will be usefull for the cleere explication of the Text. 4. Questions First what the lesson is that a man must learne before he come Secondly why the Father is said to teach and not the Sonne nor the holy Ghost Thirdly what is the manner how the Father doth teach the soule when he will call it home to himselfe Fourthly what is the frame and disposition of the soule how doth the heart behave it selfe when it hath in truth learned the lesson When the Lord will propound unto and learne the soules of his that belong to him you must not thinke the truth tedious because they will give us light into all the truth that shall bee hereafter discussed out of the word Quest 1 He that hath heard and learned of the Father what is the lesson that he must learne before hee can come that after he hath learned this lesson he may be able to see the path of salvation as propounded to him so also neere at hand that hee might walk therein and receive comfort thereby Answ For answer hereunto the lesson that the soule must learne is this namely the fulnesse of the mercy and grace and salvation that God the Father hath provided and also offered to the poore humbled sinner in and through the Lord Jesus Christ which in deed is able to doe that for a poore sinner which all the meanes and things in the world could not doe and yet notwithstanding he needs I have heretofore discussed the poore miserable plight which a sinner hath brought himselfe into by his manifold rebellions There is no helpe no hope of himselfe in what hee hath or doth to releeve and succour himselfe and therefore he fals flat at the footstoole of the Almighty and is content to be at his disposing Now the lesson that the soule must learne is the fulnesse greatnesse and freenesse of the perfect salvation which is brought unto us through the Lord Jesus Christ And that we may not learne this lesson by halfes but fully and perfectly and that your minds may conceive of the same give me leave to lay it out fully because it will be profitable for our ensuing discourse and this lesson discovers it selfe in three things as in three lines as I may so terme it The first is this that the soule may learne there is enough sufficiency in the mercy of God to fill up all the empty chinkes of the soule and supply all the wants that a sinner hath and releeve him in all those necessities that either doe or can befall him this is the condition of every sonne of man since the fall of Adam that there is not onely a great deale of weaknesse in the soule but there is a great deale of wants and emptinesse in the soule Now this is the fulnesse of the mercy of God that whatsoever our weaknesses wants or necessities bee there is full sufficiency enough in that masse to fill up all and to give the soule full content in every particular Hence the phrase of Scripture runnes thus when God propounds the fulnesse of mercy in Jesus Christ he calls it a treasury and all the treasures of wisedome and holinesse are in Christ not one treasure but all treasures not some treasures but all treasures Esay 61. When the Gospell was professed there was a fulnesse of mercy and there wee shall see a kinde of meeting and concurrency of all blessings together So that where the Gospell comes there is joy for the sorrowfull peace for the troubled strength for the weake be your miseries what they can be here is releefe seasonable and sutable to all your wants miseries and necessities Nay this is not onely for the present necessity Mercy is not only able to releeve your present necessity but your future also It is not with mercy as with the widow of Sarepta who thought when the meale in the barrell and the oyle in the cruse was spent she should then surely perish No it is not so in the fulnesse and sufficiency of this mercy it hath not onely enough to doe you good for the present and to succour you in all present wants but what miseries soever shall befall thee or what troubles shall betide thee for future times the fulnesse of Gods mercy laies in provision against such necessities and times of miseries and vexations For a poore sinner may be driven to a stand after this manner It is true saith the sinner I have heretofore committed many sinnes God hath sealed up the pardon of them unto me and those sins which have heretofore pleased me God hath given me a sight of them in some power and measure against them But what if more sins if more temptations if more corruptions if more guilt if more horror seize upon my heart how then shall I succour my selfe But now this is the fulnesse and sufficiency of mercy it doth not onely case a man in regard of present necessity but layes provision for all future wants and calamities that can befall the soule Psal 130.7 The text saith Let Israel hope in the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption The word in the originall is there is multiplying
will make with the house of Israel I write my lawes in their hearts and they shall not need to be taught Men must know God and beleeve in the Lord. Now as the Lord requires this as the condition of the covenant so the Lord will work this in them as he requires this of them Iohn 1.12 the text saith To them that beleeve he gave them power to be the sonnes of God Now if a man will beleeve he shall be saved Now then hee makes a man beleeve that he may be a sonne This is the second passage whereby the soule of a sinner comes to be cheered or that there is not onely abundance of sufficiency in the Lord Jesus Christ but that mercy as it is able to doe him good so it will make him partaker of the good The third particular is this That as mercy hath all good and will make us partakers of what it hath so also it will dispose of us and of that it bestoweth upon us Mercy will not onely have a sinner but it will rule and order that grace it hath bestowed upon the soule For if mercy purchase a soule at so high a rate as the blood of the Lord Jesus it is right that the soule purchased by grace and supplyed with grace that mercy should dispose it for the honour of God You are not your owne saith the Apostle but bought with a price therefore you must glorifie the Lord in body and soule Nay it is not onely right that mercy should doe it but reason and beneficiall to the soule that mercy should doe thus Nay I say unlesse that mercy should rule a man he had not beene able to give full content to the soule If the Lord should leave any poore soule to the destiny of his owne heart and the malice of Satan hee would runne to ruine presently he is not able to supply his owne wants and to dispose of his owne spirit and employ aright his owne soule For if Adam in his innocency had a stocke in his owne hands fell and perished then if mercy should put a man into the same estate that Adam was a man should bring himselfe into the same misery that Adam was brought into but there is that fulnesse of that mercy that is in Christ that it wil bestow all good needfull for me so also it will dispose of that good in me so that Satan shall never prevaile the world shall never overcome nor my corruptions beare sway in me but the Lord shall rule me for ever and this is the fulnesse of Gods mercy Gather up the point then that we may see what wee must learne There is sufficiency in mercy to supply all wants nay there is ability in mercy to communicate that it hath and we stand in need of Nay mercy will preserve us and that it giveth to us against all oppositions that can befall thee This is the lesson that the soule must learne that it may be able in some measure to see the way and learne the path that leadeth to everlasting happinesse This is the first lesson that the soule must learne of God the Father Vset For the use of this Is this the lesson the soule must learne then looke wisely upon it and when this comes upon thee and sorrow assailes thee heavily doe not looke into the blacke booke of conscience and thinke there to finde supply neither looke into the booke of the privileges and performances and thinke to finde power out of thy owne sufficiency Looke not on thy sinnes to pore upon them whereby thou shalt be discouraged neither look into thy owne sufficiency thinking thereby to procure any thing to thy selfe These are but lessons of the lower forme It is true thou must see thy sinnes and sorrow for them but this is for the lower forme and thou must get this lesson beforehand and when thou hast gotten this lesson of contrition and humiliation looke onely to Gods mercy and the riches of his grace and be sure as you take out this lesson take it not out by halves for then you wrong mercy and your selves too if you thinke that bare workes will serve and that is all No no mercy will rule you therefore take all the lesson out and then the heart will be cheered and thy soule in some measure enabled to come on to the Lord and will see some glimpses of consolation from the Spirit Quest 2 We see the lesson what must be learned now we must see the reason why the Lord must teach this lesson Answ I answer It is not appropriated to the Father alone for the Father teaches not alone but the Sonne and the holy Ghost teach too But why then doth the Text give it to the Father Here I answer directly because the Father was directly offended with the sinne of man 1 Iohn 1.7 If wee sinne wee have an advocate with the Father namely the Lord Jesus Christ to plead for us with the Father He doth not say wee take an advocate with an advocate that doth not plead with himselfe the reason is God the Father was directly offended though all the persons in the Trinity were offended yet the Father more directly Now he that is directly offended favour and mercy must come from him to the party that doth offend and that is the reason why Christ especially cast this upon the Father Take a creditor that hath money or creditors that are bankrupts now this is no meanes to helpe and succour these men but it lyeth upon the creditor that oweth the debt for he onely it is must come to forgive the debts for it is here God the Father being directly offended by the sonne of man therefore from him in the first place must proceed the pardon and mercy to the sonne of man Hence it comes to passe that the text saith the Father must teach this lesson Quest 3 The third question is this After what manner doth the Lord teach the soule Christ speakes now of the worke of the Spirit and that you may not be mistaken know this that the worke of the Spirit doth alwayes goe with and is communicated by the word therefore if the question be After what manner doth God teach the soule to spell out this lecture of mercy and pardon Answ I answer brieflâ— The Lord teacheth the soule by his Spirit I told you that before that not only the Father but the Sonne and holy Ghost also teacheth the Father from himselfe the Son from the Father and the holy Ghost from both Therefore understand what I say the Spirit of the Lord doth not onely in the generall make known Gods mercy but doth in particular with strength of evidence present to the broken hearted sinner the right of the freenesse of Gods grace to the soule nay it holds those speciall considerations to the heart and prefenâ—eth the heart with them not onely so but in the second place the Spirit doth forcibly soke in the reâ—â—ish of that grace
honourable let him be what he will be and let his parts be what they will if he hath not the Spirit hee is none of Christs his you are to whom you obey but pride and covetousnesse you obey and malice and spleene you obey you are therefore none of Christs Pride will say This heart is mine Lord I have domineered over it and I will torment it Corruptions will say Wee have owned this soule and wee will damne it You that heretofore have made a tush at the word this wind shakes no corne and these words breake no bones thinke what you have done little do you think you have opposed the Spirit Acts 7.5 what resist the Spirit Oh thinke of this Why what shall I say by what spirit wilt thou be sanctified by what spirit wilt thou be saved Can thy owne spirit save thee no the Spirit of God must save thee and have you resisted that Spirit me thinks it is enough to sinke any soule under heaven Hereafter therefore thinke this with thy selfe were hee but a man that speakes yet I ought not to despise him but that is not all there goeth Gods Spirit with the word and shall I despise it the Lord keepe me from this there is but one step betweene this and that unpardonable sinne against the holy Ghost onely adding malice to thy rage thou opposest thy Father haply the Son mediates for thee thou despisest the Sonne haply the holy Ghost pleads for the but if thou opposest the Spirit none can succour thee therefore looke to it Vse 3 Direction Hence we may observe the ground why many of Gods faithfull people understand not that they have the Spirit of God nor yet the increase of it they looke not to the promise by which it is conveyed but to corruption by which it is hindred you listen not to the verdict of the Gospell Let every one ask this great question How may I know when the Spirit is in me That you know it not the fault is your owne look into the word It is with a poore soule as with little children the childe in the night being hungry seekes for the dug but if he doth not lay hold of it he gets no good bâ— it so thou hast been a long time musling about a dry chip and hast got no comfort Be sure therefore to lay hold upon the promise hold it and thy spirit shall be filled with marrow and fatnesse If there be marrow in a bone thou must breake it before thou canst get any out So it is with the promises they are full of sweetnesse but you must chew them breake them and bestow thy heart on them An Alchimist that distils oyle doth draw out the spirit of metalls but it is by distillation so it is with the promises they are excellent metall there is a great deale of comfort in them but if you will have benefit by them you must distill them by meditation Obt. I but some soules may say We have done thus often but yet returne as emptie as before Answ I answer You should have staid longer upon the promise it must not bee at your carving and disposing in reason a man must swallow his pills and eat his cordials but wee should doe the contrarie we should chew the promises and that is done by meditating on them but we swallow the precious promises of Christ that should comfort us therefore chew them if you desire comfort over and over againe eat these daily and you shall finde much comfort and consolation therein and benefit thereby Vse 4 Terrour we may see the hopelesse condition of those men that live under the Gospell and their hearts are not wrought upon them If the Spirit of God and the Gospell of God will not worke upon thee if thou hast the eye of a man about thee thou maist see thy wofull and lamentable condition If a bungling servant cannot tell how to hew a peece of wood for a building it is no marvell but if it be such a peece that the master Carpenter cannot make it fit for the building then it is good for nothing but to be burned So it is here with the soule if the Spirit of God can doe thee no good who can if we a companie of bunglers cannot doe it no marvell but if our master Christ if he takes a stubborne sturdie heart in hand and cannot doe it it is fit to bee damned Is not that man miserably ignorant that wisedome it selfe cannot make wise is not he sicke of sinne whom the Gospell cannot cure 1 Cor. 4.3 I desire those whose conscience to this day accuse them that yet they are blinde and those that brave it out and say Shall I feare the face of a man no no I scorne it I beseech you let me deale with you doe not brave it out so for it is the greatest miserie under the Sunne for thou dost as good as to say thou wilt not have the word of God to worke upon thee Iames 1.21 The word of God is able to save thee and to sanctifie thee and art thou yet polluted and defiled Oh take heed of it goe and be moue thy soule to the Lord and say Good Lord such a drunkard thou hast met with such a proud heart thou hast humbled and such a stubborne heart thou hast pluckt upon his knees and if drunkards be humbled if the ignorant be instructed then what a cursed heart have I that was loose and vile and base and profane before and so I am now I tell thee what can you thinke of your selves if the Spirit goe with the word and thou mocke at it thy condition is lamentable Vse 5 Exhortation Then you are to be intreated in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ when ever you heare the word of the Lord and the Gospell of God you must come trembling and submit to that good word Exod. 23. When ever the word of the Lord is revealed the Spirit of God blessed for ever is there accompanying of it therefore good reason the creature should submit to the Creator Wee speake not a word for our selves we preach the good word of the Lord and how ever our selves have spoken this if you oppose it know it that it is the Lords word therefore when you heare the word doe what you will with us onely submit to the word of the Lord doe what you please with us as Ieremy saith onely embrace the word of the Lord. It is Gods word therefore take heed of opposing and gainsaying it labour to awe your soules to settle all distempers wipe out all carping and cavilling at the word as they presse in upon thee Obt. But how shall we bring our soules to doe this Answ By considering these two or three meanes Labour not onely to have thy soule convicted that the holy Ghost is there accompanying the word as it doth or else how could it reveale thy sinnes but also perswade thy heart that it is so apprehend the power
it hath beene prepared for them from the beginning of the world to this very day Now this gives a light into the businesse the evidence is sure that this man hath title to all the riches and compassion of the Lord Jesus Acts. 2.39 Every poore creature thinkes that God thinkes so of him as hee thinkes of himselfe and hee thinkes God intends marvellous grievous things against him and if there be any judgement denounced or any plague revealed the soule sits and sincks and thinkes with himselfe thus I wretch the Lord spake to mee and intended mee the Lord threatned mee and denounced judgement against mee and one day he will bring all these plagues upon mee all shall be made good upon this wretched heart of mine one day whereas the Spirit of the Lord judgeth otherwise and God meanes well towards him and intends good to all you that have beene broken for your sins and there is witnesse of it in heaven and it shall be made good to your owne consciences Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners broken abased vile wretched carnall sinners doe not thinke hee will keepe any old reckonings in minde Christ came into the world only to succour sinfull humbled wretches hee only came to call sinners not your proud haughty justiciaries that trust in their owne performances no but miserable vile broken abased sinners therefore now here is some ground and light come in that wee have to doe with mercy Psalm 80.3 Cause thy face to shine upon mee If a man be in a deepe darke dungeon he cannot tell when it is light hee may aske is it light but else hee cannot tell But an humbled sinner is like a man standing full upon the Sunne rising this face of Gods mercy shines full upon him the Lord lets in the inclination of his kindnesse and makes knowne the surenesse of his favour in the Lord Jesus Christ now the soule hath some apprehension that he hath to doe with mercy Partic. 2 The Spirit doth ratifie that interest as the soule now hath as intended towards him and prepared for him hee makes it good to the heart and establisheth it and makes it sure to the soule This is the nature of a witnesse if it be sufficient as the Lord provides That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall bee established so it is with the testimony or testification of Gods Spirit for the Spirit doth not beare witnesse alone but the Father from heaven and the Sonne in heaven doth joyne witnesse with the Spirit and the court is in heaven where this controversie must be scanned and now the Spirit doth by witnesse promise that all this mercy shall be made good and given the humbled heart shall be made possessor thereof hence it is that the soule comes to be deeply setled herein for God cannot deny himselfe nor his promise this is the maine ground and tenour whereupon wee hold everlasting happinesse you know in men of great estate if their lease had beene naught and their tenour false this staggers them deeply therfore every man labours to make his tenour as good as hee can thinke on it the maintainer of all this good that a Saint of God hath all his hope of life and salvation hangs upon the maine hold the free promise of the Lord the certaine faithfull promise of the Lord in through Jesus Christ by the testimony of the Spirit you that are sanctified by Christ know nothing unlesse you know how to live by a promise in some measure Now this promise is not only a bare word of God and a bare intimation of some will and intendment of good but it is a kind of ingagement when the Lord doth lay his truth to pawne here is good surety for a poore humbled soule it shall undoubtedly be bestowed upon him he doth not only intend well unto him hee doth not only prepare mercy for him but now he ties binds himselfe so that he cannot goe back you see now this is the bottome to beare up the truth when the Lord doth please to ingage himselfe to a broken hearted sinner that hee shall be made to beleeve and made to live by his beleeving I beseech you take notice of it this is the tenour and covenant of God with a broken sinner hee calls him graciously and then promises to bestow mercy upon him 2. Cor. 6.18 Come out from among them what then what shall I forsake all my old companions shall I renounce all commodities that I have coveted all the honour in the world which I have affected Yes saith the Lord come out from them all abandon them lose all riches and be impoverished lose all honour and be abased ah but what shall wee get by it why then I will be your God that is I will ingage my selfe and passe over the title of all my mercy and goodnesse and compassion and all that I have you shall have all is yours and what then You shall bee my people marke that hee is obliged to a poore humbled heart as if he had said I will be your God and supply your wants and work graciously for you as it was with Abraham the Father of the faithfull so it must be with the faithfull servants of God Gen. 12.3 Now what there is promised to Abraham he promiseth to all his children to all the faithfull it is thus with thee that is thou must bid adue to thy country and friends and though thou livest with thy Father yet thou hatest his base courses and though thou livest with thy friends yet thou hatest their wicked practices and thou hast forsaken thy god pride and thy god covetousnesse and thy god drunkennesse and the like thou knowest God will blesse thee he hath bound himselfe and cannot goe backe this is the ground of the speech 1 Iohn 2.25 Eternall life is the thing there promised but how can wee intitle ourselves in this the text saith this is the promise he hath promised that is he did freely and frankly and of himselfe and out of his owne good will ingage himselfe to give and bestow this promise upon us here is the root and ground of all his promise This is the difference betweene the first and second covenant God did covenant with Adam that he should live upon the ground that he should doe Now because the covenant of eternall life depended upon doing it was not certaine to him and his posterity but lost it but our eternall life dependeth upon the promise of God and therefore it is sure because God cannot faile cannot change his promise cannot be altred if we observe the conditions eternall life is sure unto a broken hearted sinner hence come all those phrases in this kind Wee are called children of the promise what is that why the very promise of God makes us children wee are begotten and made the Sonnes of God he is called in Esay The everlasting Father hee hath begotten us by
and peevishnesse but the Lord Christ will not cast thee away if thou come to him he will never doe it Object 4 Let me adde a fourth motive I confesse saith the soule there is no want of willingnesse on Gods part but I have a heart which cannot beleeve what is that to me to see provision of mercy and have no heart to receive it Oh this unwilling and distrustfull heart it cannot beleeve Answ If I finde a cure in the promise for this then I hope you will yeeld therefore know that the Lord hath provided in the promise a meanes whereby thou mayst bee made to beleeve and thou shalt be able to beleeve first that sufficiencie which is in the promise and which God intends for thee Now the Lord strikes up the match 2. Things and that the Lord doth this it shall appeare if you consider the manner of Gods worke in two things First God the Father in the promise gives an humble broken hearted sinner into the hands of â—esus Christ that hee may make him able to beâ—eeve Secondly he gives Jesus Christ into the hands of a poore sinner that hee may take him and receive mercy from him Now though thou canst not beleeve yet if Jesus Christ take that heart of thine in hand he can and will make thee beleeve This was the end of his office and comming Iohn 6.44 No man commeth unto me except the Father draw him and I will raise him up at the last day I will make him beleeve and in the grave I will love his poore body and not lose so much as his â—shes but will preserve them there and raise him up from thence and at last I will bring both body and soule to honour and make both happy in Heaven for ever for Christ his sake thinke on this earnestly that every broken hearted sinner is given to Christ as if God the Father had said Oh my Sonne looke well to such a man he lives in a base world and hath many corruptions in his heart but looke thou to him Iohn 10.16 Other sheâ—pe I have which are not of this fold and these I must bring home saith Christ there are many of Gods people called and converted but there are many yet which are in the gall of bitternesse and I know such a drunkard and though hee bee a woolfe now yet he is one of my sheepe and him I must bring home It doth my heart good to thinke that there is many an enemy of Jesus Christ and many that hates grace and goodnesse many a wretched drunkard many a covetous and uncleane wretch that shall bee brought home One goes up and downe this way and another that way as a company of poore sheepe that wander up and downe one falls into this ditch another into that and another in such a grove so there is many a poore sheepe that goes away from God and all goodnesse the Lord give us hearts to pitty them howsoever God hath opened your eyes and brought your hearts and my heart home to himselfe yet there are many other sheepe that as yet goe from God Oh what a blessed mercy is this If Christ hath once undertaken for you hee will seeke you out wheresoever you are The Lord seekes you out many times in the congregation you might come home then if you would well the Lord will make the fire of hell to flash upon the conscience of a man and drag him home but it is no matter which way the Lord brings him home so he come to heaven at last Iohn 17. Thou gavest them to me and I have given them eternall life There is no more difference than this the Father gives the sheep to Christ and saith looke to him and Christ saith you are given to me take you everlasting life betweene you and take eternall glory I give it to you as freely as ever God the Father gave your soules to me Secondly God the Father gives Jesus Christ to the poore soule and saith I give thee him freely with his bloud and all his merits his grace and goodnesse Oh saith the poore sinner blessed be God that Jesus Christ hath undertaken for me and that God the Father hath given mee Christ but alas I cannot pay the price I am notable to purchase the pearle as in a marriage when the parties are both agreed if there bee a quarrell about the feffment all breakes off so it is in this case the soule is now inabled to rest upon Christ but what will the Lord require for I am base and poore well saith God the Father I will not sell my Sonne but I give him to thee and thou must not thinke to purchase him Ioh. 19.26 27. when Christ would commend Marie to the care of Iohn hee saith Woman behold thy sonne and to Iohn he saith Behold thy mother so God the Father saith to Jesus Christ My blessed Sonne behold that poore broken humbled sighing sinner behold thy sonne take him for thy owne and thou poore sinner behold thy Saviour take him to thy selfe and the soule receives that gift at the hand of God the Father Ioh. 10. So God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Sonne c. that is God so set his heart upon those whom he would save that hee gave Jesus Christ to bee received from him and to doe all good for them according to all their necessities thus I hope the heart hath no starting holes the promise is sufficient saith the soule if I had it and God sadly intended it therefore I may take him and God hath given Christ the care of me to make me to beleeve now the will is fully perswaded and saith to hope and desire and all the other affections here is good enough and come hope expect it for ever and come desire here is mercy enough that thou hast desired and come love and joy here is that mercy whereof you have felt the sweetnesse nay saith the will let us rest here and settle our selves upon the freenesse and favour of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ as our Saviour said to the Disciples Ioh. 6.27.28 Will you also goe away oh saith Peter whither shall we goe thou hast then words of eternall life the world cals and our lusts call and pleasures call and the more they call for our hearts the more wee cry after thee out Christ whither shall we goe if not to thee for there is none so gracious none so mercifull to sinners none so ready to doe all good for us and as there is sufficient in the promise and as here is sufficient in thee and enough for sinners so upon thy mercie we will hang upon thee our Saviour wee will live and dye and upon the promises will we put our selves to receive all the comfort and good they will affoord and upon this will we feed for ever Thus much for the opening of the point Vse 1 The first use is for information to rectifie our
there is none equall to his to bee compared with this worke of beleeving I say of faith as Iacob did of Reuben Gen. 49.3 Reuben thou art my first borne my might and the beginning of my strength the excellency of dignities c. So I say of faith it is the first borne of all other graces it is the might of God and the beginning and the excellency of the might and power of God for as the first borne hath a double portion appointed by God so this is the first borne and hath a double portion of that Almighty Spirit of his So then if it be so that all the parts that ever a man had and all the highest privileges and meanes and duties cannot reach this worke and are not able to worke faith but are too feeble to worke faith and if it bee so that this worke is extraordinary great and so are the hindrances to be removed and none but Christ can doe it and if faith bee supernaturall the opposition against this worke of God bee so fierce let then every man that heares the word of God this day yeeld that it is unconceivable how it is done and therefore much more out of our power to worke it in our owne soules therefore you that have heard and understand the minde of God that out of ignorance have beene deceived to you I now speake you are to be intreated in the name of the Lord to goe home and say and take shame to your selves and confesse your owne folly thou that hast made it a easie worke to beleeve saying if people were but judicious to understand the Scriptures it were easie to beleeve now take shame to your selves and say thus Lord the truth is I condemned such and such a poore soule I heard such a man a mourning and saying hee could not beleeve in the meane time I thought it was easie or else they wanted wit but I thought that by my parts and abilities and because I was able to see the depth of Scriptures that therefore I could beleeve and that it was an easie matter to doe it but poore deluded creature that I was I see now that I am no more able to beleeve out of my owne power than to pull the sunne from the heavens consider it sadly and know that he that beleeves must beleeve through grace therefore parly with the promise and say Lord I must beleeve through grace it is not parts nor privileges meanes nor duties I must beleeve through grace if I could meditate till my eyes sunke into my head yet Lord it is through that grace that I must beleeve through that grace of thine inable thy servant and strengthen him in hearing prayer and all meanes that I may receive the good and benefit of faith to my comfort and brethren whensoever yee appeare before the Lord in the use of the meanes doe not sticke upon the meanes and say now I shall beleeve but looke to him that by all these can doe more than thou canst doe and say Good Lord thou hast appointed the ordinances to worke faith and the messengers have knockt at the doore of my heart and would faine have had me come home to the Lord Jesus but alas this heart would not yeeld I will not beleeve nor rest upon the promises nor goe to Jesus Christ nor denie all carnall confidence in parts and gifts and the like therefore good Lord thou that hast the keyes of hell and death doe not onely stand and knock but Lord shake off these iron gates of unbeleefe from the hinges it is thy owne worke doe it Lord for the good and comfort of thy servant this we must doe or else it will never be done it is the Lord that must doe it you know a little before my text the Scribes and Pharisees said How did he come downe from heaven Let no man saith Christ be offended with this for no man can come to mee except the Father draw him and in the 28 29. verses they said How shall we worke the worke of God This is the worke of God saith Christ that ye beleeve in the Sonne of God this is the Master peece and the first-borne of God and the exceeding greatnesse of his mightie power and in the text Hee that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth to me and Christ saith I have called you out of world the Disciples were setled upon the world and Christ calls them now if all the Angels in heaven had called they would not have heard but Christ saith I have called you from the world and from that evill and sinne in which ye were c. when you heare of there workes treasure them up in your heart and plead thus with the Lord and say Lord thou hast bidden us come unto thee and it is our dutie but no man can come unto thee though he have never so many parts and gifts except thou draw him Lord draw this heart of mine to beleeving no man can know the way to thee except thou teach him Oh therefore teach thou this blinde minde of mine it is not our worke can make us beleeve it is not in our power to frame our hearts to this blessed worke Lord doe thou it and let that excessive greatnesse of thy mighty power be manifested in making mee beleeve and draw home this soule by the greatnesse of thy power Lord here are great hinderances and great sinnes and mightie great basenesse and loosnesse of heart Lord thou hast that exceeding great power to doe it Lord worke mightily upon my heart and over-power this greatnesse of sinne with the greatnesse of thy power and over-power this mightinesse of corruption by that mightinesse of thy power you must goe to God for this power or else it will never bee for though you had all the meanes and helpes that ever any had yet this carnall confidence will never out before the almighty power of God come downe from heaven seeke for that power and never be in quiet till you have it that you may have this worke of faith to your comcomforts for ever Vse 4 Hence in the next place wee collect the exceeding great benefit that will come by beleeving to the soule the difficultie in getting of it cannot be so great but the benefit of it when it is gotten will bee as great every way and that is thus faith makes the life of every man that hath it most easie and brings full content to the soule of him that hath it these are the two heads to which I will referre the benefit of faith First it makes the life of a Christian most easie Secondly it gives full content to the heart of a poore Christian these follow from the former truth in this manner if this be the nature of faith to cause the soule to rest upon the free grace of God in Christ and to furnish the soule with a supply of spirituall wants from hence then this must needs make the life
of a Christian most easie if faith makes the life of a Christian so easie then the soule must needs bee contented but the nature of faith is this to cause the soule to rest upon God and his promise and therefore it makes the life easie Secondly it furnisheth the soule with all necessaries and therefore it gives the soule full content First of the former the life of the beleever is the life that hath most ease with it and brings most delight with it there is no life under heaven more free from tediousnesse and hath more ease and liberty than a Christian course let a mans condition bee what it will bee faith makes a mans life most easie I use to compare the conditions of them that want faith to the cart that is from his wheeles they draw heavily and they are in great extremitie and they tug and toile but it will not be drawne with any ease or good successe so unfaithfull soules sinck in their sorrowes upon every occasion and their lives are tedious and wearisome but faith sets the cart upon the wheeles and carries all away easily and comfortably you must know thus much it is the hardest matter in the world to get faith when we want it but it is the most easiest life in all the world and hath the most delight in all the world if wee have but skill to use it wisely when we have it and it gives most ease and quiet to a man in all his conversation and this faith doth two wayes First because faith hath a skill and a kinde of slight to put over all cares to another that whereas the unfaithfull heart beares all the cares in himselfe and so he sinckes under them this is the cunning of faith to put over all to another wee take up the crosse but faith hurls all the care on Christ as Matth. 11.29 Take my yoke upon you and you shall finde rest to your soules faith makes a man rest and goe on easily in a Christian course and all his troubles are removed and therefore he may goe on easily in a Christian course all his troubles are removed therefore he may goe on with ease whereas the unfaithfull heart is as Saint Iames speakes Chap. 1. 15. Like a wave of the sea tossed to and fro and Esa 57.20 There is no peace to the wicked but they are as a raging sea which cannot rest faith sets us to the worke but it layes all the weight of the worke upon another it is an easie matter to lye under the burthen when another beares all the weight of it this is the difference betweene a faithfull soule and a man that lives by his wits and shifts looke as it is with two ferry men the one of them hals his boat about the shoare and cannot get off but tugs and puls and never puts her forth to the tide but the other puts his boat upon the streame and sets up his saile and then hee may sit still in his boat the winde will carry him whither he is to goe Just thus it is with a faithfull soule and an unbeleever all the care of the faithfull soule is to put himselfe upon the streame of Gods providence and to set up the saile of faith and to take the gale of Gods mercie and providence and so he goes on cheerfully because it is not he that carries him but the Lord Jesus Christ whereas every unfaithfull soule tugs and puls at the businesse like the ferryman with his boat upon the shoare and can finde neither ease nor cheare nor successe because hee thinkes by his owne wits and power to doe what he would but faith will keepe a man upon the streame of Gods providence and labours for the blessing of God to carrie him along and so he rests himselfe upon the free grace of God this makes the life of faith marvellous easie and free from trouble and makes the soule goe on wonderfull cheerfully though the childe were naked yet if the father would buy cloth and see the garment fitted for him hee only to take it and put it on were not this easie and though the childe were even hungerstarved yet if the father would provide meat and drinke and set it before him hee only to eat it were not this easie when the Lord had made a marriage for his Sonne Luke 14. the text saith He hath killed his fatlings and drawne out his wines all things are ready come therefore to the marriage this is all that God lookes for at our hands all the dainties of life and salvation peace pardon power against corruption whatsoever we can want they are all prepared onely come unto the marriage take this mercie and feed upon these precious comforts that the Lord Jesus Christ offereth unto us if you want grace and if you want wisdome and power and holinesse and patience you may goe to Jesus Christ and take it it is bought and paid for already onely take it and put it on is not this an easie life what would you have brethren nay yet more if more may be added all that the Lord requires in this case is in a manner to stand still and see what the Lord will doe for him as in the 2 Chron. 20.15 to the 20. when Iehoshaphat was in a great straight and knew not what to doe the Lord saith to him The battle is not yours but Gods stand ye still and see the salvation of God it is easie conquering when a man may stand still and overcome by looking on the adversaries then in the 19. verse the Levites the Sonnes of the Kohathites fell to singing and to praising of God when as yet they had not strucke one stroke in the battle but the truth is they had the victorie by faith they beleeved the Prophets of God the Prophets had spoken it and therefore the King did beleeve it that it should be done and it was not only so in that extraordinary case of his wherein the power and life of faith was expressed but it is that which appertaines to all the Saints of God in their spirituall combats and what God did for the King in that case the same hee doth for all the Saints therefore Rom. 8.38 The beleevers are more than conquerers and why so there is no man can conquer before hee come into the field and contend with his enemies but wee overcome before wee fight how through him that loved us if wee looke upon the Lord Jesus Christ and keepe our hearts by a holy bent to the promises of life and salvation we shall overcome our enemies this is the first ground Secondly faith makes the life easie this way because it sweetens all our afflictions even those that are most hard and full of tediousnesse and withall faith apprehends all troubles and afflictions and faith apprehends the faithfulnesse of God ordering all for his good and that 's the reason why all troubles are digested comfortably without any harshnesse at all
looke at Hâ—â—â—â— and Mordecai Haman had the Kings favour and all his desires granted him and the postes were dispatched and yet he was more troubled in plotâ—ing this evill against the Jewes than Mordecai was in bearing it because faith made the life of Mordecai easie and comfortable and therefore â—e saith Salvation will come I see not the way â—or I know not the meanes how it should be but â—alvation will come therefore David in the 119. â—salme 75. verse saith I know that all thy judgeâ—ents are just and that thou of very faithfulnesse hast â—fflicted mee hee drunke nothing but mercy in â—hat bitter cup which God had tempered for â—im when the patient takes bitter pills if they â—ee well sugered they goe downe the easier and â—he bitternesse never troubles him so it is with â—aith it takes away the harshnesse of all inconveâ—iences which are bitter pills in themselves but â—hey are sweetned and sugered over by the â—aithfulnesse of God for the good of the soule â—nd therefore it goes on cheerfully so the issue of the point is this if the burthen of the worke â—e laid upon another and if all cares be put over â—o another and if all the harshnesse of all troubles â—e taken away by faith then faith must needs make the life of a Christian easie and comforâ—able The second thing wherein the excellencie and â—enefit of faith appeares is this it fils the soule of a beleever with full contentment and in truth â—ontentment commeth through beleeving for â—ee that doth partake of the mercie of God in Christ he cannot but partake of all the good that 〈◊〉 therein and so hee cannot but bee contented therewith Oh saith one I would faine have contentment in the world then the life of faith brings full content to the heart of a believer so that he shall say I can desire no more 1 Corin. 3.22 23. when the Apostle would still the divisions that were risen amongst the Corinths for every man was not content with what he had but would have even what hee list hee saith All is yours whether Paul or Apollos or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all is yours and will not all content you would you have the world it is yours would you have things present take them would you have things to come expect them they are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods Christ hath what God hath and the beleever hath what Christ hath nay sinne and hell and death they are but your servants and hee that hath Christ and all good in a Christ hee hath all working for his good therefore hee that hath a Saviour and all good in him he cannot be discontented Now faith workes a mans full content three wayes First faith supplies all wants Secondly it cures all feares Thirdly it inables a man to all duties and more than these cannot be added nor desired For the first faith supplies all wants faith plucks the soule and hales the heart of a poore Christian away from all those secret bosome distempers as pride and such like which breed any discontentment within a man as all curiositie and all pride and unquietnesse for these rack the soule with a restlesse discontent all the inordinate desires and the like these lusts and corruptions ought not to bee quieted nay it cannot bee for spirituall things will not satisfie a corrupt heart and worldly things cannot quiet it Now faith divorceth the soule and withdrawes the heart from under the power of those boysterous distempers and makes the soule resigne up it selfe to the good will of God and when faith hath done these then in the second place faith makes the soule say the good will of the Lord is better than any thing that hee shall deny or than all the good things that an inordinate sinfull heart can crave faith makes the soule apprehend that whatsoever God doth and whatsoever Gods pleasure is is better to him than whatsoever hee can desire though God deny what he desires if God will have a man poore faith sayes it is better than if he had given him riches and if it bee the will of God to lay shame and disgrace upon a man faith sayes it is better that God lay shame upon me than honours because it is his good will and pleasure so to have it and so the heart is quieted and fully contented and the want is supplied because the will of God is better than to have what wee desire The Patient that trusts to the skill and faithfulnesse of the Physitian is better content to take pills from him than all the best Cordials that can be desired Thirdly faith either obtaines what wee need and desire or else procures a farre better thing than what we desire art thou in trouble and misery faith will either fetch from God what thou needest or else bring that which is better from the hands of God by this means the Lord Christ cures all the discontentment that might creep in upon the hearts of his Disciples Matth. 19.29 There is no man which shall lose father or mother or wife or children or friends for my Names sake but he shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit eternall life whatsoever wee lose for a Christ we shall have a hundred fold recompence for it as if a man for the cause of Christ suffer persecution or imprisonment and loseth peace here thou thou shalt have peace with God and thy soule shall prosper in grace and if friends haply forsake thee and the father is against the sonne and the husband is set against the wife thou shalt have the favour of the Lord God of heaven which is better than the love of all earthly husbands or friends for all these things here below are but as it were the shell but this is the pith and kernell the love of God in Christ and if a man lose liberty for Christ he shall have a thousand times more libertie in the peace of a good conscience and a free heart to serve God and in the 63. Psalme in the beginning of the Psalme David was in the wildernesse of Iudah when Saul had banished him from his house and deprived him of friends and meanes and all yet see how David supplies all in the 3. verse because thy loving kindnesse is better than life my lips shall praise thee and in the 5. verse he saith My soule shall bee filled as with â—â—â—row and fatnesse now marrow and fatnesse is the chiefe of all you know as if he had said Saul hath taken away my meanes but thy loving kindnesse is better than all the world it is that which fully satisfieth me Saul hath taken away my liberty but thy loving kindnesse is better than life it selfe and therefore my soule shall bee fully quieted therein Thus faith brings a supply of all good to the soule In the 73. Psalme 25. and the last verse compare them both together and see
man well but hath he not given thee a heart to beleeve and to rest upon the riches of Gods free grace in Christ then goe thy way for ever cheared and know that thou hast a marvellous great childs part therefore be thankfull unto him and droope no more nor bee dismaid no more thou saist thou hast not riches nor honours nor parts and thou hast not what others have nor thou canst not doe what others can doe but hast thou a heart to beleeve be cheared then and snarle no more murmure no more thou hast a good part and wilt doe pretty well every day thou risest and every nighâ— thou goest to bed blesse God and downe upon thy knees and prayse him for ever that hath given thee a graine of this precious faith bee for ever thankfull and rejoyce as David saith Psalme 92.1 It becomes upright men to be thankfull Let the wicked those that have no share in these gâ—â—ces let them be discouraged but the Saints of God cannot go away dismaid it becomes the righteous to be thankfull If the soule be inwardly setled and established by faith in the promise there cannot but come some savour of comfort to it 1 Pet. 1.9 In whom though yee see him not yet have ye beleeved and rejoyce with joy unspeakable and glorious therefore observe it beleeving rejoyceth and saith Good Lord is Christ mine that have abased him and is Heaven and the Spirit mine that have so abused it and the heart leaps at the remembrance of it and wonders at it and can scarcely beleeve it to bee true but yet hee is wonderfully thankfull It is a duty to rejoyce for mercy and grace received as well as to be humbled for sinne committed all those phrases of Scripture run thus and those joyes that may make us rejoyce they all belong to that man that is brought home to beleeve Men rejoyce as those that divide the spoyle you know this gives much joy to the souldiers that overcome so when the rich merchant gets a prize what rejoycing is there So there was never any poore soule that beleeves in Christ and comes home to Christ by the promise but he is a great conquerour and hath gotten a rich spoyle one promise is better than all the Rubies and Diamonds of the Indies When the Prodigall had beene pinched with famine and poverty when he was returned from his misery to his father marke what a deale of mirth there was the friends were feasted and the father rejoyced but if they were so comforted what was the Prodigall then surely his joy was incomprehensible and unconceivable if they which were onely the beholders of the Prodigals good did so rejoyce then what was hee that was the gainer of all that good to come from such a deale of misery to such a father nay to come from such a base course not onely to be entertained to the family but to the affections of the father hee must needs bee full of joy for the same Oh then how great is that joy and that consolation which is spirituall and which every faithfull soule which hath beene a Prodigall now receives when hee is come home to God and is come home to him whoÌ„ he hath formerly dishonoured This Prodigall is nothing else but the picture of a poore sinner that runs riot from God and from his truth as 1 Pet. 2.25 We were as sheepe going astray we are the Prodigals naturally and wee follow our owne wayes and the corruption of our owne hearts and we have spent all our patrimony and are gone away from God and grace and life and all but the broken hearted sinner now comes home to God the Father by faith Now if the Prodigall when he found his home was so cheared and if his father rejoyced and the friends feasted much more then when a poore sinner comes home to God the Father there is joy in Heaven for one sinner that repenteth therefore thou maist justly rejoyce in earth God the Father rejoyceth to see thee comming home and God the Son rejoyceth to receive thee poore and meeke and the Spirit of God rejoyceth to welcome a poore sinner that art brought home by true repentance and faith to the Lord The Saints of God rejoyce to see thee and the Angels of Heaven glory in it and it is the greatest comfort that they have the Angels fing Hallelujahâ— when any poore Saint is humbled and brought home to the Lord and they make it holyday in Heaven It is a good day to those glorious Spirits nay all those that were friends and favourers of thy poore soule they all rejoyce wert thou a wife or a childe that went away from God and art thou now brought home to rest upon the Lords free grace in Christ thy tender hearted Father that hath often prayed for thee with many teares hee rejoyceth and thy mother that hath sighed many a groane for thee nay all the people of God with one joynt consent many of whose hearts thou hast sadded by thy ungodly practices they have sought for thee and said Lord breake the heart of that poore creature Lord humble that wife or that childe when they heare that God hath answered their prayers and humbled thy heart their soules leape within them to heare this and they say there was such a Prodigall such a wife such a childe such a vilde wretch but now he hath forsaken his vilde wicked courses and he is now come home to the Father and they all rejoyce at it Now doe all the Saints and all the Angels in Heaven rejoyce and all thy Friends thinke it a happy day tâ—at they live to see this day that thou art humbled and broken and brought home to the Lord Jesus Christ then goe thy wayes for shame and blesse God that ever thou hast lived to bee possest of all this goodnesse and mercy from God If the standers by doe so rejoyce how ought thy heart to be inlarged in thankfulnesse to that good God who hath beene so gracious to thee Let me perswade every faithfull soule who hath found this to humble himselfe before the Lord and to tell the Lord in this manner saying Lord I was vilde and ignorant and rebellious and went away from thee but now I am come from the world and from my lusts and all to a Saviour to a Father to a Spirit of comfort and blessed be this day that ever I came home to thee that I may receive this mercy at thy hands You know in Exodus 15.1 when as Pharaoh had pursued the children of Israel to the red sea and they drowned themselves in the red sea and that the Israelites were come safely upon the shore then the text saith they beleeved the Lord and feared him and hiâ— servant Moyses then Moyses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and said I will sing unto the Lord for hee hath triumphed gloriously so Revel 15.3 there the same song is recorded againe saying
he saith Though he kill me yet will I trust in him his faith was strong though his feeling were nothing trust to the goodnesse of the Lord and not to those shadowes and brittle bottomes that will breake under you Thirdly the Saints of God are deprived of comfort not because God will withhold it but because they will not take it Gods owne servants want the assurance of the freenesse of Gods love not because God will take it away from them but they will not take it when hee would give it them it is not because they may not have it but because they will not receive it Psal 77. My soule refused comfort like a little childe that will not eat his meat because it is not in a golden dish he doth not say God did not offer mee consolation but I refused consolation out of a discontented spirit because you cannot have comfort upon your owne termes and please your owne pallats because you cannot have a dish for your tooth you will have none at all you want comfort not because God will not give it but because you will not take it upon Gods termes these and many more are the hinderances One saith God hath followed mee with crosses in my life and estate another the wrath of the Lord lies heavy upon me I am still doubting and perplexed and I cannot beleeve The upshot of all these is upon one and the same ground these are hinderances which we out of our owne folly and the subtilty of Satan make to hinder us from comming so freely to Christ and beleeving in him as otherwise we might and yet in truth these are no hinderances we onely make them so Therefore we will now come to the cure of all these and shew how wee may take off these hinderances if it bee possible as in truth it is possible and not onely to remove these hinderances but all other of this kinde quality and condition if you will attend to the means that shall be propounded it is possible to cure them and the cures are these whereby the soule may bee fortified against these or passe by and leap over all these hinderances and notwithstanding all goe to Christ in the promise Cure 1 The first cure and helpe that I desire to propound is this namely we must not look too long the soule distressed and troubled should not sticke too long and looke too much and dwell unwarrantably and continually upon the sight and consideration of his owne sinnes upon his weaknesses and distempers so farre as to bee skared and altogether discouraged from comming to and depending upon the riches of Gods free grace The devill keeps us in our sinnes by poring continually upon our sinnes when we thinke to have our hearts carried against our corruptions we are more intangled in our corruptions by dwelling continually upon them This was the course that Abraham tooke that was the Father of all the faithfull Rom. 4.19 when God had promised him a sonne and not onely a naturall sonne but a sonne that should be a Type of Christ whereby he and all the faithfull should be saved Now this promise was made unto him when hee had a dead body and Sarah a barren wombe he unable to get and Sarah unable to beare now what course tooke he to heale this why the text saith He being not weake in faith considered not his owne body which was now dead nor Sarahs wombe which was now barren he knew his deadnesse and Sarahs barrennesse but he considered it not that is hee did not dayly pore thereupon and quarrell with himselfe and say how can Sarah beare a childe her wombe is barren and unable to beare my body is dead and unable to beget there is no ground here to beare up his confidence if hee considers Sarahs barrennesse there is no childe to be looked for if hee looke upon his owne deadnesse there is no childe to bee expected now therefore what doth hee doe hee lookes to the promise only and there rests and stayes himselfe though he had a dead body the promise was living and though Sarahs wombe was barren the promise was fruitfull and though he were weake the Lord was strong and able to performe whatsoever he had promised so we must see our sins and know our infirmities and consider our weaknesses but we must never settle our selves and sit downe in the consideration of our owne distempers and thereby be hindred from comming to the Lord and from receiving that mercy the Lord offers unto us in the Lord Jesus Christ and we may freely take for when a man is continually poring upon his sinnes and dayly meditating upon his corruptions two things follow First wee stop the streame and current of the promise that it cannot run into the soule wee turne the frame of the soule downward and the frame of the heart inward shut down the sluce whereas by beleeving wee open the flood-gates of the promise that the streames of mercy may flow a main in upon our soules when we returne inward and doe settle our hearts upon our owne distempers we shut downe the sluce of the promise and secondly set open the flood and stream of corruptions that they may run violently upon us to the overwhelming of us in conclusion and our distempers will take advantages against us by reason of our dayly consideration and attendance thereupon Meditation in this case I compare to distillation when a woman distils a kind of herbe or flower and when the Alchymist distils some kinde of metall there is an admirable water drawne out by distillation and an excellent oyle by Alchymie and this water and oyle were in the creatures before but they were not seene to be there before but they are of wonderfull force and strength when they are distilled so it is with the dayly poring setling and attending upon a mans distempers a man thereby distils a distemper and a discouragement and an infirmitie and drawes out the very life and sap and spirit of it and drawes out the very quintessence of a corruption and makes it dangerous nay he makes it deadly many times so that after a mans dayly poring upon and attending wholly to his sinnes he multiplies inconveniencies more than else would be so that the soule which before was troubled comes now to bee overwhelmed with the dayly poring and looking and attending to his owne wickednesse Therefore the wisedome of the woman of Canaan is to bee observed and her humiliation is to bee regarded by us observe the humiliation of her heart and the wisedome of her minde Matthew 15.27 she came to him to beseech him to heale her daughter that was possessed with a devill at the first hee would not listen unto her but shee would not be put off so but cried after him then hee answered I am not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel not to you that are Gentiles yet for all this shee would not leave him but
heart saith I shall not know what Gods minde is or I shall not doe what I know or it will not succeed or no it is not in my power Now we leave all these with God and meddle not with them but put them over to the Lord and meddle with thy owne duty and worke and let God alone with his and say thou unto the Lord In truth Lord it is not in my power it is not in my parts or worke either to compasse that wisedome that is able to direct my selfe or to have any power to doe all that is commanded much lesse to give good successe Lord I will not meddle with that but leave it to thy Majestie if thou in thy power canst not nor in thy faithfulnesse and goodnesse carest not for thy poore helplesse creature then I am content and if thou wilt not be faithfull then I am content to bee miserable and so thou maist suppose a man that hath promised to undertake some businesse for a friend and then in the end it proves somewhat troublesome and therefore he wisheth his friend to take it againe into his owne hands for it is very troublesome but a man will leave it unto him and say he hath ingaged himselfe to doe it and hee will not looke after it I will not meddle with it any more so what end it is that is in Gods royall prerogative leave it with God and doe not meddle with it let God looke to it leave it to Gods faithfulnesse and power to accomplish it So did Abraham Rom. 14.18 19 20 21. verses Abraham above hope beleeved under hope that he should be the Father of many Nations Sarahs wombe was barren and his body dead and yet he must have a sonne and therefore he sets Gods power on worke and saith in the 21. verse Lord this body is dead and Sarah is barren there is no helpe here but thou art able and thou hast ingaged thy selfe to doe it he sets Gods power to worke and puts over all the right and burthen of the care upon the Lord. Hester 4.14 Therefore Mordecay saith If thou hold thy peace at this time comfort and deliverance shall come from some other place hee was resolved that God had deliverance for his Church and would not deny his owne truth salvation will come saith the text he knowes not the place or by what means but he knowes that salvation will come So set thou Gods power and faithfulnesse to worke and not thy owne care commit it to the Lord and hurle thy care upon him so far as concernes the burthen of it Direction 2 Secondly by faith goe to the promise againe for helpe and power to wait upon God in that way and to looke towards God in the use of those means that hee hath appointed for the attaining of that good which his power will work for thee God will worke it and so thou must meet God in the course of his providence in the improvement of the means he hath appointed for thy good Observe thou his providence and doe thou what God requires for otherwise we live not by faith but tempt God and throw away the promise and all and deprive our selves of that good which God would bestow unlesse wee walke in that way which he hath appointed Luke 24.49 When our Saviour was to goe to Heaven he said Behold I send the promise of my Father amongst you but tarry you in the cittie of Ierusalem untill you bee indued with power from above Christ would endue them with the Spirit but they must tarry at Jerusalem and wait for it So I say wouldst thou have grace and the spirit from above and the wealth of the world then walke in that way which God hath appointed stay at Jerusalem and bee in the way and meet God in his providence and then receive from his power and faithfulnesse what thou needest Thou wouldst have God blesse thee in thy estate and yet thou wouldst bee idle and carelesse but this will not doe the deed God would give thee a blessing but thou art not there to take it this is the excellency of the promises of God as they require conditions before they bestow mercies so they make us able to be partakers of the conditions and give the conditions as for example Ezech. 36. The Lord in the former part of the Chapter promiseth to give many things to them but how It must bee by prayer and humbling themselves before him hee will give a blessing in thy family by prayer in it and a blessing in private by praying in private and strength against sinne and power against corruption but I will bee sought unto for all these saith the Lord and the text saith Blessed is the man that walketh in his integritie and his children after him therefore walke thou in the integrity that is the condition of a Christian in generall or as a husband or as a wife or as a servant in the particular this the promise requires but marke this now the same promise that requires the condition will help us to performe the conditions and the same Lord that saith I will bee intreated and sought to for all these the same Lord saith Psal 10.17 Hee prepareth their hearts to pray goe thou therefore to God to help thee to pray that he may bestow his blessing upon thee which he hath promised Ezech. 26.27 He will first give them a new heart and then teach them to walke in his wayes so if thou wilt walk in Gods wayes thou shalt have his blessings therefore go thou by the power of faith to the promise of God for strength and grace and that thou must use the means appointed and then expect a blessing from it in the course of his providence now is Gods power and faithfulnesse set a worke Direct 3 Thirdly we must set it downe and conclude it that God will doe and wee shall receive in the wayes of his providence whatsoever he hath promised to give that 's the worke of faith and that is to draw sap and vertue from the promise Iohn 3.33 There by leaning is called sealing to the promise this is the nature of sealing when a man hath drawen the articles of agreement and when they have sealed all is done so faith must make the promise authenticall and put a seale to it that is true and saith it is done in heaven and I am fully resolved and setledly perswaded thereof that I shall have whatsoever I have beleeved and thou hast promised and I have used meanes for in the way of thy providence famous is that of Abraham Gen. 22.5 the Lord had bidden him sacrifice his sonne and yet hee said that hee should live and therefore when hee came to the place he said to his servants Abide you herewith the asses for I and the childe will goe yonder and sacrifice and will come againe to you he thought to sacrifice him and yet by faith he beleeved that he should bring