for us with God and then what kind of help should we receive from him But then Secondly The Spirit is said to make intercession for us with groans which cannot be uttered Now though we should grant that groaning may in a metaphorical sense and unproperly be attributed unto the Spirit yet how any groans or groaning of his should be unutterable unto him who is the Lord of all Language and Speech is not easie to conceive Thirdly Whereas the Argument insisteth so rigidly upon these words in the end of ver 27. The Spirit it self maketh intercession for us according to the will of God As if they argued a distinct will of the Spirit from the will of God I reply that the words do not signifie according to the Will of God here is no word which signifieth Will But according unto God and they answer these words by way of Antithesis in the former verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we ought Thus the Apostle had there granted that the Saints did not indeed of themselves know how to pray as they ought here he tells them for their comfort that the Spirit will enable them to pray as they ought i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according unto God or the mind or will of God i. e. as they ought and as it becometh them to pray And here is a direct answer relating to those infirmities which our Apostle had expresly affirmed to be in the Saints Fourthly That the work of the Spirit on the behalf of the Saints doth not lie in this to pray for the Saints a part in heaven which is the sense of the Author of this Argument is evident from Joh. 14.16 where our Saviour saith that when he should go away he would pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of truth c. So that the work which the Spirit hath to do for the Saints is not in heaven since the Ascension of Christ into Heaven Heaven is not the Stage or Theatre where the Holy Ghost acteth and bestirs himself on the behalf of the Saints but now he is come down upon the earth and his great business which he hath to do lieth in the earth even with the hearts minds understandings and wills of men stirring and moving there But Fifthly and lastly Remember the Rule that we delivered unto you in the former Argument which will fully give you the sense wherein the Holy Ghost is said to intercede with groans we gave you many instances when we delivered this for a Rule that in many places Actions are ascribed unto him that doth assist and direct and help men in the performance of them and not unto him that is the formal and immediate Agent So here the Holy Ghost doth intercede with groans because he doth fill the Saints with his Wisdom and Power and so putteth them into a posture to conceive inward groans and secret motions and desires in the Soul which the Creature indeed is not able to utter or come to God withal in his lips the Creature cannot utter it self when the heart is full of the Spirit of God yet such persons are acted beyond their own ability and very well may be because the Spirit is directing guiding and strengthening unto this work And this is the property of an Intercessor To intercede doth not alwaies signifie to plead for us but sometimes to plead with us against any Enemy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this word in the rigour of the Grammatical signification of it is not alwaies used for interceding for another which he seemeth to catch at as I judge from the Latine word which signifieth to go between two but sometimes to go in opposition to an Enemy and sometimes it signifieth to expostulate and debate things with another Acts 25. So that all things being considered it is a clear case that this Argument is wholly defective And it may be seen further Rom. 8.15 it is expresly said that by means of the Spirit we cry Abba Father meaning that by the assistance and impulse of the Spirit we are able to call God Father which implieth the whole duty and management of this great service of Prayer and Invocation on the name of God And in the last place Jam. 16. speaking of the Prayer of the righteous man we translate it the effectual Prayer but the word properly signifieth that which is acted within a person by a power which is superiour to that which is natural in it We call those persons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who are acted by an unclean Spirit as when any person is made to speak a Language which he never understood we use to say such a person is inspired acted and carried out by a power superiour to his own And so that Prayer which can do so much with God The effectual fervent prayer of the Righteous it properly signifieth such a Prayer which is full of the Holy Ghost which is inspired into man or whereunto a man is carried out and thrust forward by a Divine Power greater than his own So that these things considered it is a clear case that the true sense and meaning of the place is only this That the Spirit of God relieveth our infirmities in Prayer that when as we know not how to pray as we ought and when the flesh sometimes cometh in and directeth and leadeth into such a method of Prayer which we ought not the Spirit now interposing and directing and leading us to such a method and way that now we pray according to the mind and will of God Now concerning the business it self Sect. 19 I mean the Controversie I would only say this before I leave it that if you mind it or shall please to go round about the matters in Controversie and weigh both these Doctrines First that which denieth the Holy Ghost to be God go I say round it and take all the Arguments and grounds which the Maintainers thereof are pleased to bring forth and weigh and consider their tendencies and operations upon the hearts and consciences of men and you shall find them altogether barren and flat and no waies calculated for the nourishment of men neither is there any thing in it that is any waies apt to quicken the hearts of men to the Service of God comparable to that Doctrine which doth oppose it viz. That the Holy Ghost is God truly God In this Doctrine and in the Arguments by which it is proved there is spirit and life there is as it were great strength which cometh forth from it which bears upon the Judgments and Consciences of men It rules like a King upon his Throne Whereas those other Doctrines viz. that deny the Spirit and so likewise Christ to be God are but of a dull and flat import there is no manner of spiritual power and vigour in them It may possibly be the sense of some that the time wherein we have been
This is a second thing by the way Thirdly We may add that likewise by the way that in reference to many persons the question now under consideration is Sect. 3 upon the matter no question at all I mean in this respect because they are so manifestly and so apparently filled with an unclean Spirit one or more that there is no place left for any considerable enquiry whether they be filled with the Spirit of God or no The reason is because they do plainly discover themselves to be filled with the spirit of the World Of this sort of persons are all those who live whether in the secret or open practice of those sins whether one or more which the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures expresly declares to be inconsistent with an estate of Grace and with Salvation and for which the Holy Ghost excludeth them out of heaven We have a list of several of these kinds of persons drawn up by the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Idolaters nor Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Railers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God meaning if they continue such But you are washed c. Some of these with a clause of enlargement which taketh in more than are here named we have elsewhere mentioned by the same Apostle Eph. 5 5 6. For this ye know that no Whoremonger nor Vnclean person nor the Covetous man who is an Idolater hath any c. Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the Children of disobedience It seemeth that there was in the Apostles daies such a Generation of men like unto which we have in these daies who are called Rantors who bear men in hand being first deceived themselves they labour to deceive others also that for such things as these are even all manner of abominations though they commit them yet there is no such thing as the wrath of God coming upon them no but they can follow these wicked practices with the greatest liberty and that they understand their liberty to be such that they may do such things as these without any regret So that concerning such persons as these we need not spend time in debating the case whether they be filled with the Spirit of God or with some other Spirit contrary unto him The case is evident enough without debate As a man needs not a touchstone for a Chip or a piece of brown Paper to try whether these be good Gold or no these plainly enough discover themselves to be no Gold without the Touchstone every mans sense will inform him of it So that the Question propounded lately is chiefly or only to be managed between persons that have some colourable or plausible pretense to a being filled with the Spirit of God and such who have a real and substantial ground for such a claim Fourthly Sect. 4 That also is to be premised and remembred by the way that we do not intend to sift or examine the difference between a regenerate and an unregenerate estate nor make a discovery of those who have the sanctifying Spirit of God in any degree from amongst those who totally want it but only to search after and if it may be find out who they are that are really filled with the Spirit of God amongst those who pretend to such a fulness and how these may be manifested from the other Fifthly and lastly This also would be taken along with us Sect. 5 that the Spirit of God being a voluntary Agent doth not utter himself in all or every person whom he filleth with his presence in all the variety of his gifts And from hence it followeth that men may be filled with the Spirit of God in respect of some one of his operations and yet make no appearance of the fulness of the Spirit in some other 1 Cor. 12.8 9 10. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of Wisdom to another the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit c. Here we may clearly see that one and the self same Spirit of God is able to fill several men with variety of gifts with several kinds of filling One may be filled with the Spirit of God in respect of Knowledge another may be filled with the Spirit of God in respect of Wisdom and yet may not be filled with him in some other consideration But if you ask me the difference between Wisdom and Knowledge you may conceive it thus Wisdom implieth a heavenly dexterity a faculty and ability to apply general Rules or Sayings to particular Cases to be able to find out Rules whereby to resolve Questions and Cases which another man who wanteth the Spirit of Wisdom will not be able to see As for instance Our Saviour when he was put to it by the Scribes and Pharisees to justifie the Fact of his Disciples in plucking the Ears of Corn against their unjust Clamours if he had not had a rich anointing of this gift of the Spirit of Wisdom he would not have been able to find out a passage of Scripture to have justified this Practice of theirs but you know where he findeth it and to prove the lawfulness of what his Disciples did Have ye not read saith he Mat. 12.3 4. what David did and those with him when they were hungry how that they went to the House of God and eat the Shew-bread which was not lawful for them to do And so he gives another instance of the Priests Circumcising on the Sabbath day and yet they pollute not the Sabbath Here he by the Spirit of Wisdom findeth the grounds that are contained in these passages of Scriptures laid up somewhat close out of the way of the ordinary thoughts of men It is like not any of the Apostles had been able to make use of these to plead their own cause but the Lord Jesus Christ by reason of that Spirit of Wisdom did it effectually There is the like gift of the Spirit to a degree which is discernable to those that have eyes to discern Men that are but of competent Judgments may clearly see that in some men the Spirit of God doth put forth himself in this great and happy gift of Wisdom making them able to find out grounds and passages of Scripture for the clearing and unfolding of such questions and difficulties which other men and men that are more excellent in their way in some other gifts of the Spirit are not able to do Now Knowledge noteth an understanding of the general Rules themselves and the things themselves which are delivered and asserted in the Scriptures A man may have all Knowledge as the Scriptures speak he may be able to repeat the whole Scriptures from first to last by heart and give an account of the sense and meaning of
rather be judged powerless and weak than powerful and glorious in efficacy and might because the greatest part of those who do partake of it are not effectually and savingly wrought upon by it nor made actually willing to be converted Take it in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ himself and in the times of the Apostles when the Ministry of the Gospel was in the heighth of its glory the greatest part of them that stood by and were under it remained still unsubdued unto it so that the efficacy of it is not to be estimated by the actual conversion no nor by the actual edification of men But Thirdly Sect. 20 The efficacy of the Ministry of the Gospel is to be considered and judged of partly in the weightiness or penetrating force of those Arguments or Motives which it layeth before men and presseth upon their souls and consciences to give up themselves unto God partly again in the demonstrative evidence of the reality and truth of the said Arguments and Motives partly also in its dispensing and deriving the Divine Spirit the Spirit of God unto those who hearken diligently and submit heartily unto it First The mighty efficacy of the Ministry we speak of stands in those stupendious formidable potent and mighty Arguments by which it urgeth and presseth and adjureth the Consciences of men to accept of those Articles or Terms of Peace and Reconciliation which the Gospel holdeth forth and calleth men unto They who attempt to perswade unto other Studies Practices or Engagements of themselves in one kind or other as some endeavour to perswade men to the study of Natural some of Moral Philosophy others to the study of the Mathematicks others to the studies of others Sciences some perswade men to good Husbandry some to Marry some to one Calling some to another but what Subject soever it be about which men treate or deal with men or seek to perswade men unto they have no such Motives or Grounds of Perswasion to make the hearts and minds of those with whom they have to do to embrace their Motions or advice The Weapons of their Warfare are but Stubble or Straw or rotten wood in comparison the nature of the Subjects doth not admit of any great Motives or any considerable Arguments to perswade unto them Whereas the Weapons of that Warfare which the Ministry of the Gospel manageth are sharp as a two edged Sword these are Arrows and Spears pointed with fire that will cut thorough and conquer the Souls and Consciences of men these will lie upon the Spirits of men like a great mountain of Lead that they shall not be able to get from under them The Ministry of the Gospel adjureth and chargeth by the love and by the tender mercies of God by the glory of the great things of the World to come by the saving of their Souls from the Wrath and Vengeance of Eternal fire these are mighty in operation they are high and terrible like fire in the bosome nor can men decline the force of them unless they will be Companions with the Horse and Mule and with the bruit Beast of the Field which have no understanding This is one things wherein the glorious efficacy of the Ministry of the Gospel consisteth and commendeth it self it hath mighty Engines and Screws whereby to manage and command the hearts and consciences of men and to lift them up to those practices and waies whereunto it exhorteth and perswadeth them In respect of the mighty efficacy and force of those great Engines Motives and Arguments we speak of the Ministers of the Gospel who are employed herein by a dexterous and faithful application or setting them home to the hearts and consciences of men are said to compel men to come in Luke 14.23 Not that all persons to whom these Engines are faithfully applied are removed from the World and carried home unto God Not that they should bring them in by head and shoulders whether they will or no as some interpret but they should compel i. e. they should make use of these kind of Arguments untill they had by an high hand of power and perswasion prevailed with them to believe and to come unto Christ Secondly Sect. 21 Another thing wherein the efficacy of the Ministry of the Gospel is considerable is that it is furnished by God with demonstrative Grounds and Arguments whereby to secure the Judgements and Consciences of men and women of the reality and truth of these Motives and Grounds of perswasion by which it manageth and carrieth on its great design viz. of bringing men from sin and from the World unto God For though these were such realities though they had as substantial and true existence and being as wither the Angels in Heaven or God himself yet if this their existence and being could not be demonstrated and made out unto men if the Ministry we speak of were not accomplished with light to convince and satisfie the Judgments and Consciences of men that the great things mentioned are no devised Fables or vain Speculations and Notions but are as real and certain in their being as things that may be seen heard or handled I say if the Ministry of the Gospel did bear it self upon no better terms than these and were not able to make good the reality and certainty of the things which it hath asserted the Consciences of men would very easily despise it as well they might do and cast it behind their backs But when it shall prove that there is such a misery and extremity that doth abide wicked and ungodly men that there is a fire that never goeth out and a worm that never dieth and that there are such things laid up in the Heavens for those that fear God that there is an equality with the holy Angels and eating of bread with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and a thousand expressions more of the same kind I say when the Ministry of the Gospel shall be able to fill the Judgements and Consciences of men with a certain knowledge and conviction of the reality and existency of such things as these this is that which furnisheth them with an executive power and maketh them Motives and Arguments of such a nature that men must be very desperate and turn-head upon nature and act contrary to their own peace safety and happiness otherwise they cannot withstand them nor go from them nor rise up against them these Chords are too strong and bind too fast and close so that unless men cease to be men they cannot burst them in sunder It is a saying in the Metaphysicks That which is not hath no manner of operation there is the same reason in Moralities or Moral Actions That which is not known and apprehended hath no influence no operation or work upon the mind or consciences of men And indeed if the Ministry of the Gospel were unprovided at this Point if it were not furnished with weight to make the great Engines move with which
for a reason or some short time only in the Ministry of John notwithstanding he was a light both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 burning and shining He was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing to rejoyce in his light John is here by our Saviour described or commended by two properties which in a Minister are most like to retain and keep as well as to procure and gain the affections and approbations of men The first is That he was a burning light secondly That he was a shining light Zeal accompanied with an excellency of knowledge are two most excellent and worthy qualifications in the Ministers of the Gospel and a man would think a Minister who is provided with these should so endear the hearts of men and women whom he serveth in the work of the Ministry that he should so captivate their hearts and affections that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come should be able to separate or to estrange such a man from the affections of his people Yet nevertheless this we see was John's case with the Jews he was a burning and shining light he had all the advantages that lightly could be found in a man to retain what he had gotten in the hearts and affections of his people and yet they who did mightly rejoyce in him for a season after a while saw no such matter in him John who was as an Angel of God for a season was but like another man soon after not that there was any alteration or change in John for doubtless he did not decline neither in his burning nor in his shining until the very day and hour of his death And therefore that there was such a change in the minds of the Jews towards him it proceeded from the levity of spirit and affection which was so incident unto them Ye were willing to rejoyce saith our Saviour the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth an excellent degree of rejoycing to dance and leap or spring for joy he doth not simply say that they did rejoyce but that they were willing to do it that they did it freely and of their own accord they were not importuned by any perswasion or prompting by any other man yet they had enough of John in a short time when once they had gone round about him and saw his gifts and abilities and what he was able to do when they had tasted thoroughly of his Doctrine they could as freely turn their backs upon him as upon any other man they would see whether there were any other Teacher that was of another spirit or of another method of Teaching or whose Doctrine or matter was of a higher and more sublime nature or consideration than his And so likewise it fared with the great Apostle Paul amongst the Corinthians and especially amongst the Galathians to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 9.2 He saith that though it were supposed that unto others he was not an Apostle yet to them he was meaning that however they might think that he did not acquit or approve himself as an Apostle amongst other people where he preached the Gospel as either by working signs or miracles amongst them or by the efficacy and success of his Doctrine in the Consciences of many yet certainly he had approved himself both these waies and every other way an Apostle unto them For saith he in the latter part of the verse the seal of mine Apostleship are ye in the Lord meaning that their being in Christ their conversion to the Faith was a seal i. e. a sure testimony and confirmation unto them that he had the Commission of an Apostle from Christ And elsewhere he saith 2 Cor. 12.12 that the signs of an Apostle were wrought amongst them meaning by himself As in all patience so in signs and wonders and mighty deeds Elsewhere he saith 1 Cor. 4.15 That in Christ Jesus he had begotten them through the Gospel In another place 2 Cor. 11.2 That he had espoused them to one Husband to present them a chaste Virgin unto Christ To pass by much more of like import Such things as these by which this people could not but be lifted up unto heaven as our Saviour speaks in the like case were sufficient in all likelihood of reason so to have endeared this Apostle unto them and to have engaged them unto him that he should have been in their hearts as he professeth they were in his even to die and to live together notwithstanding How soon was this Son of the Morning this glorious Apostle and heavenly Benefactor of this people fallen in their hearts and respects Other teachers who were not worthy to loose the lachets of his shooes coming in the way carried away the prize of their affections and esteem from him these were the men that were all in all with them Paul was but an underling in their thoughts a sorry fellow in comparison After al the Signs annd Wonders and mighty Works that he had wrought amongst them after all those gifts and heavenly endowments as of Wisdom Knowledge Utterance Tongues yet they sought a proof of Christ speaking in him 1 Cor. 13.3 They could not tell whether he was so much as a true Minister of Christ or no unless he should give them a good account of it It is somewhat strange to think how the generality of this People having such rational foundations to build themselves stable and steady upon should yet sink so low in their esteem of him But neither did this most worthy Person and Apostle speed any whit better amongst the Galatians than he had done amongst the Cerinthians he gained high respects and large affections he telleth them that at his first coming amongst them he was received by them as an Angel of God and as Jesus Christ they had such strong impressions upon them that they could have plucked out their eyes for him Gal. 4.14 15. but very quickly he became out of credit with them and his reputation was fallen in the dust they cared not they were Kings and reigned without Paul they knew how to want his Ministry and his counsel and direction they had found out men that pleased them better they had heaped up Teachers according to their humours they had itching ears and therefore they must have some that would scratch them and fall in with them and please their fansies and thus when they had met with such Preachers and Doctors Gal. 1.6 which were commensurable to their Notions or unto that Spirit which had now taken them these were the men now and the Heirs of Paul's Inheritance in their affections and in the respects which he received from them Yea the Lord Christ notwithstanding that as his Adversaries themselves bear him witness he spake as never man spake yea though for a time he so marvelously affected the People partly with his Miracles partly with his Doctrine that they were about to take him by force and make him a King Joh. 6.15 yet
Exhortation delivered and the Duty recommended therein you may please to consider this one thing farther which was lately touched on by the by that you may rise up early and go to bed late and eat the bread of much carefulness you may spend the strength of your minds and understandings to procure other accommodations and enjoyments such I mean which relate to the outer man only aad yet never eat the labour of your hand nor see the fruit of the travel of your souls or that which is little better if not rather worse ye may only taste of what you seek after in this kind that which you shall take in hunting and yet not be able to continue the enjoyment of it for any considerable space of time A day an hour yea possibly a moment may bereave you of what the care and labour of many years advanced you unto whereas first it hath been already shewed and proved unto you that whoever shall lay out themselves for this spiritual and heavenly accommodation of being filled with the Spirit shall most certainly obtain it Secondly In persevering in this course unto the end your attainments shall stand by you in glory and blessedness for ever But as the Prophet David saith Psal 34.10 The young Lions shall suffer hunger c. so it is with those that seek the glory and great things of this World that pursue the Honours and Wealth and Pleasures thereof these many times suffer hunger and want He that seeketh after Honour and Riches falleth short and so he that seeketh after Pleasures is disappointed But he that shall seek to be filled with the Spirit of God shall be filled therewith neither shall any thing be able to separate between him and it And as the Apostle reasoneth concerning the love of God Rom. 8. Even so it is in the case in hand neither life nor death nor any other thing neither Trouble nor Persecution nor Angels no nor Devils shall be able to separate and step in between those who shall engage themselves in a consciencious manner to be filled with the Spirit and the actual accomplishment and enjoyment of this felicity The Spirit of Ambition may work in you as the Grace of God did in Paul mightily and yet of this Spirit you may reap nothing but dishonour and disgrace and covering of the face with shame and confusion Absolom as we lately intimated ran with all his might and with all his strength for the Prize of a Kingdom but that which he got by his running was an ignominious and untimely death being hung by the hair of his head on the bough of a great Oak 2 Sam. 18.9 as he fled to save his life from the pursuit of Davids men in which posture three Darts were thrust through his heart by Joab Many ambitious Climers in all Ages have met with the like disasters and disappointments All Histories almost fill the World with examples in this kind that men before they come at the top of the Ladder fall down and are broken and crushed to pieces they wholly miscarry and get nothing but a covering of darkness instead of that grandeur or greatness which they lift up their hearts unto and many who did compass the grandeur and greatness in the World which they sought after were soon dispossessed The like may be said concerning Riches and of those that in the sweat of their brows and burning of their hearts have sought to sit down and rest themselves under the shadow of a great Estate As Paul said of his Country-men the Jews that following after the Law of Righteousness they attained not the Law of Righteousness so we may say of many that following after Riches they have not attained to be rich But whosoever follow after this being filled with the Spirit have and shall most certainly attain it Those carnal designs are meerly accidental and casual attempts which men often miscarry in The Scriptures are full of such Expressions which sufficiently confirm the truth of what we say I returned and saw an evil under the Sun saith Solomon Eccl. 9.11 the Race is not to the swift nor the Bâ—ttel to the strong neither yet bread to the wise nor yet Riches to men of understanding nor favour to men of skill but time and chance happens to all So elsewhere Prov. 28.22 11.24 you shall find that those who are great designers of Wealth many times are disappointed and senâ— empty away He that maketh haste to be rich hath an evil eye and knoweth not doth not consider that poverty is coming upon him And so There is that withholdeth more than is meet but it tendeth to poverty many times their Projects fail them and they come to poverty So that we see there is great uncertainty in all these things we do not know whether our design will prosper in our hand or no for God hath not made any such connexion between these carnal projects and their ends but that he can forbid their coming together But we have the Word of the Living God the security of Heaven that if any man will build a spiritual house carry on a heavenly design if they will lay out their hearts and spirits upon it God will stand by such men their labour shall not be in vain God hath established a Law that shall not be broken a Law like unto the Law of the Sun and Moon which shall be kept inviolable that he that desireth to eat of this bread shall have to eat abundantly he that shall run the course of this Design shall obtain He that giveth to every Seed his own body ordinarily in things natural will never fail here he hath put a Law upon himself neither will his nature give him leave to separate and divide between the means that are spiritual and the end to be attained by them He that soweth the Seed shall reap the Fruit whosoever shall ask in this kind shall receive and whosoever knocketh it shall be opened unto him Now if you please but to consider in a word the weight and import of this Motive you know that men do not love to sow their Seed in vain to part with their Silver and Gold for things that are of no use It is every mans case and they are accounted the wisest of men that can prevent such things the interposure whereof is apt to deprive them of that for which they have given their money Now then this is the case as to the business we have been exhorting you unto viz. A being filled with the Spirit it is a Commodity which if you will lay out your selves for it will most certainly be made good unto you it is not obnoxious to any disappointment either by God Angels or Men. Now then Why should any man bestow his time upon that which he may possibly not enjoy or in case he may enjoy it it will be but for a short season or if he should enjoy it for any long season yet at last it
will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you Page 164 Abide in me Ver. 15.4 5. and I in you he that abideth in me and I in him bringeth forth much fruit Page 197 198 But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father Ver. 15.26 even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testifie of me Page 164 c. He shall receive of mine and shew it unto you Ver. 16.14 Page 216 217 218 And now Father Ver. 17.5 glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the World was Page 136 c. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me Ver. 8. and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee and they believed that thou didst send me Page 516 c. And when he had said this Ver. 20.22 23. he breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained Page 173 c. Men and Brethren Acts 1.16 this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas Page 176 And when they heard that Acts 4.24 they lift up their voice to God with one accord and said Lord thou art God which hast made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and all that in them is who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said Why did the Heathen rage c. Page 176 Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost Acts 5.3 Page 42 177 Why have ye agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord Ver. 9. Page 177 For in him we live Ver. 17.28 and move and have our being Page 86 We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost Ver. 19.2 Page 228 Behold I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem Ver. 20.22 Page 43. c Because when they knew God they glorified him not as God Rom. 1.21 Page 68 Who against hope believed in hope that he might become the Father of many Nations Rom. 4.18 Page 105 Giving glory to God Ver. 20. Page 105 c. For I know that in me Ver. 7.18 that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing Page 299 But I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind Ver. 23. and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members Page 299 For as many as are led by the Spirit Ver. 8.14 c. Page 295 We have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Ver. 15. Abba Father Page 505 c. The Spirit it self bearing witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God Ver. 16. Page 504 c. And of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came Ver. 9.5 who is over all God blessed for ever Page 189 If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Ver. 10.9 c. Page 48 But fervent in Spirit serving the Lord Ver. 12.11 Page 14 Rulers are not a terror to good works Ver. 13.3 but to evil Page 68 Attending continually upon this very thing Ver. 6. Page 68 For the Spirit of God searcheth the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2.10 Page 171 231 232 233 For what man knoweth the things of a man save the Spirit of a man which is in him 1 Cor. 2.11 Page 171 For though I preach the Gospel I have nothing to glory of 1 Cor. 9.16 for necessity is laid upon me yea woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel Page 353 354 Wherefore Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe 1 Cor. 14.22 but to them that believe not but Prophesying serveth not for them that believe not but for them that believe Page 406 c. Therefore 1 Cor. 15.38 my Beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmovable alwaies abounding in the Work of the Lord for asmuch as you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord Page 112 113 Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 but our sufficiency is of God Page 242 For whether we be besides our selves it is to God 2 Cor. 5.13 or whether we be sober it is for your cause Page 43 44 Having therefore these Promises 2 Cor. 7.1 let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord Page 133 134 Your Zeal hath provoked very many 2 Cor. 9.2 Page 47 He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly 2 Cor. 9.6 and he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully Page 544 For the Weapons of our Warfare are not carnal 2 Cor. 10.4 but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong Holds Page 430 431 There was given to me a thorn in the flesh 2 Cor. 12.7 the Messenger of Sathan Page 492 For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit Gal. 5.17 c. so that ye cannot do the things that ye would Page 252 269 Bear ye on anothers burdens and so fulfil the Law of Christ Gal. 6.2 Page 50 51 For he that soweth to the Spirit Gal. 6.8 c. Page 290 Which is his body Eph. 1.23 the fulness of him that filleth all in all Page 131 For this cause I bow my knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 3.14 15 16. Of whom the whole Family of Heaven and Earth is named That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man Page 58 59 60 That ye might being rooted and grounded in love Ver. 17 18. may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the length and breadth and depth and height c. Page 71 72 73 Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your mouth Ver. 4.29 30. c. Grieve not the holy Spirit of God Page 12 13 304 305 Knowing whatsoever good thing any man doth Ver. 6.8 the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free Page 112 Many waxed confident by my bonds Phil. 1.14 Page 47 Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2.12 13. for it is God that worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure Page 158 Who shall change our vile body Phil. 3.21 c. Page 122 123 That in all things he might have the preeminence Col. 1.18 Page 122 Quench not the Spirit 1 Thes 5.19 Page 10 11 12 God who counted me faithful 1 Tim. 1.12 putting me into the Ministry Page 35 36 I obtained mercy 1 Tim. 1.16 that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern Page 33 For the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine 2 Tim. 4.3 but will heap up Teachers according to their own lusts
sixth Motive That the Reasons and Vnderstandings of men are not capable of being employed upon terms of greater benefit and advantage than in this engagement A seventh Consideration taken from the uncertainty of obtaining the things of this World by all the means that can be used and also from the uncertainty of the continuance of these things if gotten Whereas a being filled with the Spirit as it is attainable so by a perseverance in the use of means our attainments in this kind shall stand by us for ever Page 463 CHAP. XVIII The Eighth and last Motive That a being filled with the Spirit will render the Condition of men and women most desirable in this World and in that which is to come That no other course will do it but this or none without this Four things a concurrence whereof will render a man's Condition in this life most desirable 1. A freedom from all troublesome distracting and tormenting fears and cares 2. A heart and conscience abounding in Joy and Peace 3. A large and free Communion with God 4. And lastly A rich and large interest in God to be able to carry great Matters in Prayer with him Three of these insisted on 1. A being filled with the Spirit will discharge men from all troublesome and distracting fears and cares 2. The Peace and Joy of men will abound by a being filled with the Spirit 3. A third particular which renders mens Condition so desirable in the World is a free and large Communion with God 1. What is meant by Communion with God 2. What by a free Communion 3. What is meant by a large and full Communion with God 4. How this Communion renders man's Condition very desirable in the World 5. That this Priviledge must needs accompany a being filled with the Spirit What it is for God to dwell or abide in man How a man may know that God dwelleth in him by the Spirit which is given him How perfect love casteth out fear In what respect the Spirit may be said to witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God A well-grounded Confidence The Causes of a false Confidence enquired into A good Conscience a ground of Assurance Page 482 CHAP. XIX The Eighth Motive further opened in the fourth particular a being filled with the Spirit doth interest men with a rich and large Interest in God How this Interest doth arise by being filled with the Spirit of God Reasons why so little is done by Prayer now in comparison of what was done in the Primitive times Without being filled with the Spirit none of the great blessings formerly mentioned and which render a mans Condition so desirable in this World are to be obtained The Reasons whence it comes to pass And the equitableness of God's proceeding with men therein The difference between a fearless and dreadless frame of spirit that is counterfeit and that which is raised upon good Grounds A being filled with the Spirit is the only way to cause the Crown of glory to flourish on the head of a man And that with a greater measure of glory in the World which is to come Page 522 ERRATA PAge 8. Line 22. for te read to p. 14. l. 28. for of r. as p. 16. l. 23. for never r. ever p. 18. l. 23. for the inspiration thereof r. his inspiration p. 24. l. 20. for men r. man p. 60. l. 34. after on r. of p. 61. l. 8 for effecting r. affecting p. 63. l. 21 dele or doth Ibid. l. 4 r. for and r. of the. Ibid. l. 42. for of the r. and. p. 66. l. 11. for Princes r. Prophets p. 77. l. 16. for heavenly r. lovely p. 84. l 5. for it r. them p. 87. l. 10. for maniture r. manuducture p. 107. l. 2. for leaving r. left p. 109 l. 36. for of 1. as p. 121. l. last for most r. not p. 146. l. 2 for that r. though p. 162. l. 18. after whci r. it Ibid. l. 40. for in r. into p. 163. l. 41. for apparence r. appearance p. 165. l. 8. for it r. he p. 181. l. 24. for interest r. request p. 186. l. 2. r. it is the first born lb. dele it is p. 190. l. 18 for consent r. conceit p. 191. l. 10. for zealoufly r. jealously p. 213. l. 26. for or r. but. p. 216 l. 19. for undeceivedness r. underivedness p. 228. l. r. after Believer r. But. lb. 18. dele But p. 231. l. 19. for any r. an p. 236. l. 15. dele that p. 248. l. 28. add whereby p. 254. l. 34. for exhibiting r. excitings p. 268. l. 21. dele because p. 284. l. 23. for by r. for p. 289. l. 26. for having r. have p. 300. l. 21. for I r. A. p. 311. l. 25. for obtain r. attain p. 323. l. 6. dele of p. 346. l. 10. for grateful r. graceful p. 348. l. 17. for absolute r. obsolete p. 352. l. 24. for to r. who p. 354. l. 19. for picking r. higgling p. 364. l. 28. dele that p. 366. l. 25. for suits r. fruits p. 374. l. 27. dele judgeth that he p. 385. l. 8. for who r. we p. 396. l. 18. after seen r. in p. 397. l. 8 dele that p. 400. l. 24. dele of p. 423. l. 19. for chose r. choose p. 430. l. 41. for of r. for p. 445. l. 43. after yea r. there are p. 456. l. 6. for if r. which p. 375. l. 15. after sums r. are p. 484. l. 1. for where to be r. to be where p. 490. l. 11. for be r. he p. 506. l. 5. for as r. so as p. 538. l. 37. dele was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 OR A being filled with the Spirit Ephes 5. the latter part of the 18 verse But be filled with the SPIRIT CHAP. I. The coherence and sense of the words opened What it is to be filled with the Spirit Four Doctrines raised from the words Proved from the Scriptures that it is the duty of all Christians to be filled with the Spirit THe tenour of the former part of the verse is this Sect. 1 And be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit The Apostle having in the former part of this Epistle as his usual method was declared and laid down foundation-wise that great Doctrine of the Christian Religion namely justification by or through faith in Jesus Christ In the latter part thereof he builds upon this foundation Precepts and Exhortations to such duties and behaviours which may very justly and equitably be expected upon the account of such rich grace from God vouchsafed unto sinful men in their free justification by Christ Now in Precepts and Exhortations unto Christian duties there is not alwaies a dependence or relation of coherence between duty and duty or between that which goeth before and that which followeth after But Exhortations are many times like unto Solomons Proverbs which resemble Jewels or precious stones not set together in order
the being filled with the Spirit But the reason of this Connexion and Conjunction of these two things namely that upon the use of such means as we speak of this great effect shall be produced or end attained unto viz. a being filled with the Spirit The reason I say of this Connexion is the eternall Counsel the gracious Law and Decree of God and so of the Spirit of God himself He having set it down and determined it and accordingly revealed it That thus it shall be so that the effect of being filled with the Spirit of God is not the result of the means but the proper product of that Eternal Law and Decree which God himself hath made For otherwise if we shall suppose that there were no such Law or Decree of God in being if men should use never so much means do the same things a thousand times over it would never be accomplished so that the reason why men come to be filled with the Spirit of God upon the using such and such means is not because of the means but it ariseth from the mighty force and irresistible power of the Decree of God this is that which triumpheth over all the use of means The Decrees of God are so full of grace and bounty that they do not stand to measure inches as we use to speak in the things of men so that unless they find so much worth or goodness in them they shall never pass with God neither the performers of them be made partakers of any rich anoynting from him No This is not the tenour of the Decrees of God in general nor of that of which we are speaking particularly but it hath a more favourable aspect upon his Creature man and importeth such a thing as this I know the nature of my Creatures Men and Women and the utmost of what they are able to do their weaknesses and frailties being considered Yet let them but do what they can let them shew their willingness to comply with me and they shall have as much assistance from me and from my Spirit to help them on in this blessed design of being filled with my Spirit as their hearts can desire And indeed this is one of the highest and greatest vouchsafements of God unto the children of men that he hath opened unto them such an effectual door or way whereby they may fill themselves or be filled with the Spirit All other means which God by his providence hath vouchsafed unto men of another nature as to make them great rich honourable c. amongst them all there is none greater Nay none so great and of so sacred an import unto them as this which we are speaking of viz. That God hath shewed them a way and vouchsafed unto them means to be filled with the Spirit which hath this blessed tendency in it to raise them to the highest pitch they are capable of in the love and favour of God When men are filled with the Spirit they are no more like unto other men They are more excellent than their neighbours Prov. 12.26 For by this means as we shall hereafter shew more at large they shall be enabled to act in a peculiar Sphere by themselves leaving the world yea and the Saints themselves who have but a little or small proportion of the Spirit to move in a lower and more inferiour Region Whereas they shall mount up on high and be carried as it were on Eagles wings enabled to do worthily Great and excellent things shall put forth themselves in them things that shall have more of heaven more of glory more of beauty more matter for admiration than can be found in or raised from the stirrings movings and doings in the world round about them So that by this you may easily judge of what a blessed consequence it is unto men to be filled with the Spirit of God 3. The third and last particular Sect. 6 proposed for the opening of the words was to shew why the Apostle subjoyns this positive Exhortation or Precept concerning their being filled with the Spirit by way of Antithesis or opposition to the negative dehortation not to be drunken with wine I answer this seems to be the reason thereof because that which invites men to drunkenness is a certain kind of jollity lightness or freeness of spirit that is occasioned by the drinking of wine according to the judgments of many who write concerning the tempers of men who say that there is a kind of lightness and frenziness of Spirit which is occasioned by the drinking wine wherein some men take more content and satisfaction than they do in any other thing And therefore the Holy Ghost doth direct them to such a course wherein they shall have far better contentments not indeed of the same kind or flowing from the same cause but however they shall be satisfied in that which they so much desire they shall have jollity lightness and chearfulness of Spirit indeed of a far better nature and upon far better and more excellent terms than what they could expect from their being filled or drunken with wine That jollity or mirth of spirit which men please and solace themselves in when they are under the influence of wine is but melancholy and dull or dead in comparison of that mirth and rejoycing that pleasantness of mind and spirit which they shall certainly attain unto and be made partakers of if they would but take the same course to be filled with the Spirit which they do to be filled with Wine So that this is the reason as I conceive why the Apostle subjoyns this affirmative Precept unto the negative Dehortation The Doctrines which we shall raise from the words thus opened Sect. 7 are only these four First from the adversative Particle But which as hath been said notes an opposition between the latter part of the verse and the former Doctrine 1 This Doctrine springeth forth viz. That drunkenness with Wine or inordinate drinking is altogether inconsistent with a being filled with the Spirit Or if you will we may phrase it thus That inordinateness in drinking is inconsistent with a filling with the Spirit Secondly From the Phrase here used Be ye filled with the Spirit The Apostle's meaning only being as was shewed that he would have them use the means take such a course that they might be filled with the Spirit Doctr. 2 The Doctrine is That in matters of Religion and things appertaining unto Salvation to use the means and to obtain the end are interpretatively and in effect one and the same Or thus That in spiritual concernments a regular use of means and the obtaining the end are by the Counsel and Decree of God inseperably joyned together The Apostle had in vain exhorted the Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit if having used the best means they were able thus to be filled they might notwithstanding remain empty The Counsels and Exhortations of God in the Gospel are not like unto
therefore the duty of all Christians to be filled with the Spirit Sect. 1 because if they be not filled Reason 1 or do not endeavour to be filled with the Spirit of God they will certainly be filled with some one or other worse Spirit which will lead them aside into the waies of sin and vanity and of darkness and death And most certain it is the duty of all Christians to do all things that are requisite and necessary for the preventing of so great an evil and misery coming upon them as this namely of being filled with any spirit contrary to the Spirit of God and spirit of sin and wickedness whatsoever That it is simply necessary to prevent such a polution or defilement so miserable a state and condition as this is not or at least ought not to be a question unto any man who minds but to any degree the things of his peace Now that it is a duty lying upon all c. to be filled with the Spirit is evident if we shall consider that there are many other Spirits abroad in the world every one of which hath a direct antipathy to the holy Spirit of God That which the Apostle John speaketh more particularly of Doctrines Beloved believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God 1 Joh. 4.1 may be said of Spirits in general For there are many Spirits walking up and down in the World Isa 19 3. a spirit of perverseness Deut. 32.5 a spirit of whoredom Hos 4.12 a spirit of covetousness Ezek. 33.31 a spirit of slumber Rom. 11.8 a spirit of fear 2 Tim. 1.7 Now when principles or dispositions in men whether they be disposions unto vertue and holiness or unto sin and vice are grown up unto any fulness so that they put forth themselves with force and are vigorous and active in them It is usual in the Scripture language dialect or manner of speaking to express such or such principles or dispositions by the name of Spirit As when love acteth vigorously in men to express it by the name of the spirit of love So a meek and humble frame of heart by a spirit of meekness So on the other hand a perverse and froward spirit by a spirit of perverseness an inordinate love of money or inordinate coveting after riches by a spirit of covetousness Sect. 2 Now the reason of this denomination to call covetousness where it is strong and raised in men and when they favour strongly of it by the name of a spirit of covetousness and so of fear when it is active and vigorous in men by a spirit of fear There is the same consideration to be had of love meekness holiness c. for these principles or dispositions when they are active and vigorous are as well denominated unto us by the name of spirit as those which are of a contrary nature and import The reason hereof is First to shew that when principles and dispositions in men are raised to any great degree of strength and become vigorous and active and have gotten any considerable power in or over men if I may so speak they are hard to be resisted Even as Spirits or Angels who as the Psalmist saith excell or according to the Hebrew reading in the Margin are mighty in strength Psal 103.20 they are yery potent and powerful not easie to be resisted in their operations Even so it is with principles and dispositions when they are grown to any considerable height in men and become strong and potent they are hard to be resisted and therefore called by the Holy Ghost by the name of Spirit Or else happily the reason may be which I chiefly eye because all dispositions in men and principles of action whether good or evil when ever they are raised any whit high and have gotten strength within them there is some spirit or other good or evil that mingleth it self with them and by this means doth add vigour and strength unto them and doth raise them above that measure and pitch of strength and activity which they would never be raised unto without the interposure of some such Spirit good or evil properly so called It is true When holy dispositions in men are in their greatest strength and glory there is but one Spirit by which they are acted and that is the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost who through the infiniteness of his power doth answer yea more than anwer yea even far surpass in power the innumerable company of unclean Spirits and therefore when holy dispositions and inclinations are raised in men though they be many and various and spring from different principles in the heart and soul of a man Yet this one and indivisible spirit is able through or by means of his concurrence with them and influencing of them to add strength power and energie unto them and enable every one of them to fructifie and bring forth genuine fruit according unto its respective kind But now as concerning evil and sinful principles and dispositions it is very probable that the case is far otherwise For as there is a vast number and company of devils and unclean spirits so is it no waies dissonant unto reason to conceive that they have their distinct imployments and offices One sort of them may be employed to raise stir up and strengthen a spirit of uncleanness in men Another a spirit of covetousness A third a spirit of malice and revenge A fourth a spirit of gluttony and excess c. The * Eph. 1.21 Col. 2.15 Mat. 12.25 26. Scripture and that not obscurely seems to countenance this notion viz. that they are ranged into orders and are under a kind of regiment and that they are in a straight band league and confederacy to carry on one and the same grand design And if so their nature considered viz. their wisdom and subtilty it is most probable that every one of them is imployed according to his proper genius Some because they are of a more bloudy and cruel nature than others may be employed to stir up and to strengthen in men a spirit of malice and persecution Others that are otherwaies disposed may be imployed to stir up and cherish a spirit of pride and wantonness A third sort of them whose genius lyeth that way to strengthen and increase a spirit of error But we may have occasion to speak more of this afterwards In the mean season this is that which we say in the reason in hand Sect. 3 That unless men shall take a course to be filled with the Spirit of God they will by degrees at least and perhaps sooner than they are aware be filled with some evil and contrary spirit a spirit of some sin and wickedness one or other The reason hereof is plain and near at hand because the evil and unclean Spirit that is the old Serpent Job 1.7 commonly called the Devil who walketh up and down the world compassing the earth too and fro
Disciples did is because they did not see him neither know him Though he be near unto them yea though he be in their hearts by his word yet they not minding nor contemplating this word of his nor regarding his motions in their souls but suffering the eyes of their minds to be fixed upon this present world and the sins and vanities thereof do not see him though he be near unto them and ready to do great things for them had they a mind to imploy him But their thoughts and mind being otherwise engaged and entangled they do by this means and during the Regency of such principles render themseles upon the matter in an utter incapacity of receiving the Spirit because they favour so much of the Spirit of this world and render themselves such a kind of sinners and such an unworthy generation that the Spirit of God can have no will or lust can take no pleasure or content to manifest himself unto them This is the second consideration by which you may perceive that unless men shall take a course to be filled with the Spirit of God they will lay themselves open and obnoxious to be filled with some unclean spirit or other If it be here objected Sect. 7 and said Is not the Spirit of God a gracious and free-working Spirit Objection And will he not doth he not for his own name sake as the Scriptures often speak put forth his might and strength to aide and assist men and women against Sathan and his evil practices towards them when and where he pleaseth without any motive or inducement from them by way of compliance with him or any goodness of behaviour in one kind or other towards him How then can we say that it doth depend upon any compliance of the creature Man with him or any kind of behaviour of his towards him I answer Answer most true it is That the Spirit of God is a most gracious and free-working Spirit exerting and putting forth himself rising up in his might and heavenly vigour where when and in whom he pleaseth Nor doth he receive Laws Terms or Directions from men for any of his motions or actions in the world but from himself his own grace and wisdom only Secondly I answer further That though the Spirit of God be most gracious and free in all his operations and workings Yet as the Apostle Peter speaking of the Promise of the Lord Christ concerning his coming saith The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise as some men count stackness 2 Pet. 3.9 Even so say I of the Spirit of Christ That he is neither gracious nor free-working as some men count gracious and free-working he is neither the one nor the other in any way of contrariety unto himself I mean either to his own holiness or his love of holiness in men nor yet to his wisdom or the interest of his glory but only in a direct and clear consistency with these Some mens imagination or notion concerning the gracious and free working disposition of the Spirit of God is 1. That there have been and are some men to whom he never hath nor ever will vouchsafe his gracious presence to the least degree and meerly out of his freedom hath willed never to have to do with them little or much not because of any peculiar strain of wickedness in them but meerly and only as I even now said from his own will and pleasure 2. On the other hand they conceive That God vouchsafeth such a presence unto some others so powerful and effectual that they are not able to resist the motions influences and workings of it but are necessitated thereby to repent believe and work righteousness 3. And lastly Others notion of this grace and working of the Spirit is such as if no course or strain of sin and wickedness whatsoever in men though still persisted in no impenitency no neglect or contempt whether precedent or present of the Gospel and of the great Salvation offered therein were or are any way considerable as to the obstructing or hindering the Spirit of God from vouchsafing even the richest highest and fullest measure of himself and his gracious presence unto them Now that Neither the grace of God nor the freedom of the Spirit in working is to be estimated measured or computed by any such notions or principles as these hath been already sufficiently evinced and proved and might here be done again would it not occasion too long a digression That graciousness and freedom of working which the Scripture any where yea and sound reason it self asserts unto the Spirit of God consists and shews it self in these particulars First All men without exception having sinned in Adam and thereby justly deprived themselves of all friendly converse and communion with God yea and justly incurred his high displeasure hatred and indignation There was nothing of any engaging or inviting much less of any obliging import in man to move or encline the God of Heaven to have any thing more to do with him in any way of love favour mercy goodness or the like to the daies of Eternity So that God having been pleased notwithanding this low and despicable condition of his Creature man to comport with him again upon terms of grace and reconciliation and to offer himself unto him namely to be re-enjoyed upon terms and these very possible to be performed by him and to put him into a capacity of blessedness and glory his former provocations notwithstanding must needs be matter of pure and meer grace and consequently of free grace so far as it was matter of grace at all If any shall say The misery and sad extremity of the Creature man Sect. 8 in the condition wherein he had now plunged himself Objection might be some moving cause unto God or upon God to look back again in mercy towards him And so in this respect there might be somewhat in man inviting him unto that merciful compliance with him which now he hath vouchsafed and consequently his grace in this vouchsafement is not so absolutely and purely free To this I answer Answers That no man as I suppose ever oppoed misery unto grace or freeness of grace in him that sheweth mercy or relieveth It is not repugnant to the greatest freeness of grace that can be imagined that a man should be induced to vouchsafe help shew mercy and relieve a person that is in misery yea upon the occasion thereof or that his misery should be an inducement thereunto 2. That compliance which God vouchsafed unto his Creature man considered as now misrable is not properly matter of grace or an act of grace but of mercy so that though the mercy of God out of which he hath vouchsafed means of relief unto man may be said to have been invited or wrought upon by his misery and in this respect not so absolutely free Yet this hinders not but that the grace of God properly so called out of which he hath been
moved to do any thing for the good of this Creature of his may be absolute and in all respects every way free For the object or opportunity for grace to shew it self or for to act is not in strictness of consideration misery or extremity these are the appropriate objects and opportunities of mercy But the proper opportunity for grace to shew it self is either 1. A flat or dead irrelativeness in point of merit in him to whom grace is shewn or to be shewn in reference unto him that is supposed to shew grace so that the person is no waies beholding no waies debtor unto him to whom he is willing to shew himself gracious Or else 2. A relation of demerit injury or provocation in him to whom grace is shewed towards him that sheweth grace or dealeth graciously by him So that he that sheweth grace hath not only no tye or ingagement at all upon him to shew any such thing but on the other hand hath much before him to disswade and take him off from it Now if he shall be pleased to overlook all these injuries and shall these notwithstanding deal graciously and shew kindness this is properly an act of grace 3. Neither was it simply or only the misery wherein men lay plunged that wrought upon the mercy of God so far as to move and prevail with him to open that door of relief and deliverance unto him which now he hath done but it was his misery so and so circumstantiated in one respect or other as is evident from hence because otherwise the misery whereinto those more excellent Creatures of his the lapsed Angels are fallen being every whit as great if not far greater than that of man would have had the same motive or operation upon the mercy of God to do the like for them which the misery of man had and so have prevailed with him to have provided deliverance for them also But this only by the way 4. And lastly for this That which was properly matter of grace in God towards man being fallen was not procured or drawn from him by any thing in man any waies obliging him thereunto or by any consideration whatsoever relating unto man or his condition But was every way free meerly intirely and absolutely from himself And this is one thing and the first thing wherein the graciousness and freeness of acting in the Spirit of God consists viz. That without any moving or obliging cause whatsoever from without or on mans part He is pleased to intreat him sweetly and lovingly and to come unto him as it were from heaven to visit him to converse with the Children of men in the secret of their hearts and souls to instruct and teach them the things of their eternal peace to admonish and excite them to the imbracing and prosecuting of them yea and to follow them with his Promise to look after them and assist them And these things he doth to all men without exception to a certain degree when they first come by the use of their judgments and understanding and by the putting forth of their consciences to be capable of them yea and doth increase and advance these his gracious workings in them untill either by a long continued neglect of his presence with them or by some higher hand of sin and wickedness practiced in opposition to such gracious motions and transactions of his within them they weary him and quench those gracious operations which his presence affordeth unto them and bring it so to pass that he taketh no pleasure or delight in them Secondly Sect. 9 Another thing and that which already in part hath been mentioned wherein the graciousness and freedom of the Spirit of God in his working consists is this viz. That he is pleased sweetly and graciously to intreat men not only without any cause on their part moving or obliging him thereunto But against many provocations that might in reason have perswaded him to the contrary I mean to have absented himself from them and to have abandoned and abhorred them for ever and left them to have perished in their sin eternally Who can number all that variety of sins and provocations which centred and met together in and about that first and great transgression of Adam What strain of sin and wickedness was there wanting There was unthankfulness pride unbelief contempt of God sensuality murther of Posterity and that without end and what not almost of all that the soul of God abhorreth And all this great concourse and assembly of all sorts of Impieties and Provocations from the greatest to the least of them were as so many Orators and Pleaders against man before God and disswaders of him from ever respecting or taking the least care or thought what became of him and yet the grace of God and of the good Spirit as we have both heard and known to our comfort hath through that abundant freeness thereof magnified it self against them all It had been grace yea freeness of grace in the strictest consideration of both words if God or the Spirit of God should have moved in mercy or love towards his creature Man upon a level or plain ground I mean without any worthiness or desert or any inviting consideration in man But that the Spirit of God should be in his visiting of men like a river of water running up a steep hill my meaning is should vouchsafe to make applications of himself unto them in order to their eternal peace against such height and fierceness of demerit injury and provocation is indeed somewhat more than simply and meerly free grace if we had a word of more excellent signification to express it by and the truth is we want words to express it For that grace which God hath vouchsafed unto men in their salvation and in the means thereof and in the great condescension of the Spirit of God unto men is more and somewhat of a higher nature it carries a richer and more glorious notion in it than simply of grace of meer grace or of free grace because this free grace might have been shewed unto men in case they had never sinned It was the grace of God to create man upon those terms that he did to put him in a capacity of continuing in that honour and happiness wherein he was created and to adorn him with such rich and excellent qualifications because the Creature could deserve none of these things it could deserve nothing before it was But having sinned for God to exhibit such terms of love and goodness and bounty as he hath done this is somewhat more if we know what to call it than meer grace or free grace The Apostle Paul makes it more than so and an higher expression of it than his I think could not have been given down from Heaven at least 2 Amat compositiones Paulus cum Prepositione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that should in any degree have been intelligible by men a For he takes
his beloved Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and compounds it with a Verb which without it signified somewhat more than simply an abundance and so calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grace superabounding or rather grace superredounding But where sin aboundeth grace superaboundeth or abounded much more Rom. 5.20 Thirdly Sect. 10 A third thing wherein the graciousness and freeness of the Spirit consists Huge Grot. in Rom. 5.20 is that in all that he acts and moves and works in men according to all that variety and manifoldness of working which proceeds from him at any time he doth proceed by his own Laws and these every waies gracious full of equity and sweetness and not by any thing any Law engagement or terms imposed upon him by men When men by having as the Scripture expression is that is by imploying and improving what they have viz. from the Spirit for men have nothing of any spiritual or gracious import but from him come to have more given viz. by this gracious Spirit more light more knowledge more wisdom love zeal courage faithfulness c. they come by this means to have in abundance Now they that have in this sense according to our Saviours promise this advance of his presence and growing tenour of his operation do not procure or draw it from him by any vertue or engagement of merit nor by any terms imposed upon him by the endeavours actings or improvements of their own but only the rich efficacy and vertue of his most gracious good pleasure and will who was pleased to prescribe the Law of this grace and goodness unto himself As when God justifies and saves those that believe he doth it freely of himself and from himself because he hath made this Law unto himself and established it he hath published and declared That whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ shall be justified and consequently saved he doth it freely and of meer grace not by judging himself obliged to do it by any worth or merit found in mens believing and yet he doth it constantly toties quoties and without failing as oft as he meets with believers in Jesus Christ he justifieth them he saveth them And indeed it is impossible he should do otherwise because as the A postle informeth us he cannot lie neither can he deny himself in his truth and faithfulness In like manner the Spirit of God hath prescribed unto himself the like Laws and terms for all his transactions dealings and proceedings with men according to the tenour whereof he will inlarge and advance his presence in the hearts and souls and spirits of men and will not walk contrary to them nor advance or put forth himself in any eminency of working but only where his lower or former motions have been obeyed and consented unto Yet he doth not this because men regard his presence but because he regards his own righteous counsels and purposes That which the Creature doth in this case is but a weak and inconsiderable thing to ingage such an infinite Spirit as the Spirit of God is to do such great things as those in men And as God will not save those that believe because of any merit that is in their Faith but because the counsel of his will is so to do So the Spirit of God will not do as hath been said because of any worthiness in mens compliance with him but he hath made this for a Law unto himself and honoureth his own Law and himself too by observing it To him that hath shall be given and he shall have more abundantly but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath Now we shall prove from that very passage that it is a Law which the Holy Ghost hath made and declares that he would walk by it towards the Sons and Daughters of men in all their succeeding Generations to the worlds end To him that hath that is that shews that he hath that declares that he hath that improves and imploys that which he hath namely that which is given originally to him by way of stock from the Spirit of God to him that thus hath shall be given namely by way of addition he shall have more abundantly he shall still be going on and be having and having and having he shall have and have still At last he shall have abundance he shall have a full and glorious estate in Spiritual riches in wisdom in knowledge in understanding in Faith in humility in love in zeal in temperance in patience and whatever else is necessary to enrich the soul of a man and to prepare him and put him into a capacity of the richest and highest glory So that we see this is a clear and declared method by which the Holy Ghost will proceed with men and women in his communications of himself unto them And though their be nothing in the creature to invite and move him in this kind yet nevertheless there is his own wisdom his own righteousuess and goodness by which he made this Law and imposed it upon himself these are sacred ingagements upon him to do all that he doth in the case we speak of And doubtless there was abundance of reason which did induce him to it whereof though we be not so capable for his Counsels are very deep yet something in the business may with good probability be conceived by us But for the thing it self he it seems will do it as constantly as universally at least in his ordinary dispensations as if it were the greatest injustice in him and most inconsistent with the rectitude and purity of his nature not to do it It may be here objected Sect. 11 and said that the Holy Ghost doth not observe any such Law or Rule in his actings or workings in men as now you ascribe unto him or at least tell us that he hath prescribed unto himself For doth he not sometimes come upon such men that have been formerly prophane vain and sinful above measure Doth he not sometimes come upon such men after some such manner as he came upon the A postles at the time of Pentecost like a mighty rushing wind I mean with an high hand of power and conviction and so in short time works the great work of Conversion and Repentance in them Was not Paul a stiff-necked Pharisee and Blasphemer a Persecutor of the Gospel and of the Saints all his daies before Yea as himself saith the chiefest of sinners And did not the Spirit of God come upon him as a whirlwind with a strong and high hand in an irresistible and miraculous manner to effect his Conversion To this I answer First That when with the Holy Ghost himself we say that unto him that hath shall be given and interpret this to be meant of the Holy Ghost advancing his presence and operations in men even as they hearken unto him and respectively comport with him in his preventing and lower motions And so again on the other hand
the Faith of the greatest and best resolved Believers amongst the Children of men The second thing was this to display manage and act this Faith before the World that they may see it as it were face to face and that the fruit evidence testimony and account of it may be fully adaequate and Commensurable to the truth and all the degrees of the reality of it The third and last thing whereunto all men stand bound and by the performance whereof they must needs bless the World was the keeping of the Commands of God How and in what respects the performance of all these must needs stand the World in eminent stead was shewed formerly We have now only to shew how they cannot be performed without their being filled with the Spirit of God who shall perform them First Sect. 8 For that notable strain and generous kind of believing we spake of As no Faith no kind or degree of believing can be attained or raised in the soul but by the Holy Ghost so much less can any excellent or worthy strain hereof be raised or exerted in men but by the glorious might of the same Holy Ghost Doubtless there is no man believeth upon any other terms than those did who are said Acts 18.27 to have believed through grace that is through the gracious operation and assistance of the Holy Ghost So likewise 1 Pet. 1.22 Seeing you have purified your hearts or souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit c. implying that neither had they obeyed the truth meaning the Gospel that is believed it the Gospel being there under the notion of truth as elsewhere made the Object of Faith had not the Spirit of God done very graciously by them in awaking and exciting them hereunto They would never in any serious manner have so much as though upon this believing had not the Holy Ghost put them upon it The Gospel and mens hearts are commonly strangers the World and their sensuality and folly make them so They have little knowledge one of another and doubtless would never have been brought together but by the mediation of that most gracious and blessed Spirit Now the Spirit of God bringeth the hearts of men and the Gospel together by causing a kind of enterview to be between them for a while upon which if there be not an extream frowardness and desperateness of folly in the hearts of men the glory and beauty of the things to be believed being presented unto them by the Holy Ghost will overcome them and so there will follow a blessed union and agreement between them Now as the first and lowest greeting between the Souls and consciences of men and the Gospel was procured by the simple interposure of the Spirit of God so must that glorious and more near interview between them which we call face to face viz. such a Faith which giveth presentiality or real subsistence unto the great things of the Gospel in the spirits and souls of men which alone is the Faith that will bless the World by amazing it with its glory breaking forth in semblable actions this say we must be obtained not simply by the Holy Ghost but by him in his more sublime and raised actings Eph. 3.14 16. For this cause faith the Apostle bow I my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inward man c. The Apostle travelling in birth with a great matter of grace and spiritual blessing for this people and Church of God he telleth them he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named c. meaning by this Character and Consideration that he is the Root of all that Family that is worthy to be put into account that is of all that are holy and righteous where ever they be and that they take their denomination as well as their spiritual and happy being from him But for what did he bow his knees to the Father of c It was That he would grant them according to the riches of his glory see how he laboureth and toyleth to be delivered of what he had conceived to ask of God for them to be strengthened with might by his Spirit c. But why doth he insert this clause according to the riches of his glory Doubtless his meaning is to inform them that though the request which he was now making unto God for them was exceeding great viz. that they might be strengthened with might by his Spirit c. yet there was good ground of hope that he should obtain it because the grant of it was but according to the riches of his glory that is proportionable or sutable to that glorious abundance of Grace Love Bounty Power c. which reside in him and are his Glory So that he knew that God could very well afford it notwithstanding the greatness of it being so richly furnished with all things necessary for the performance of it So that it is as if he had said I know it were in vain for me to how my knees to God for any such benefit for you as your strengthening with might by his Spirit did not I know he is exceeding rich in Glory in Bounty in Grace in Love c. Therefore in this you may be comforted that I do not beg this heavenly bread for you out of any desolate place or at such a hand where it was not to be had or from any such heart which is shut up against you no but from him who is both able and willing to give unto all that ask Good measure heaped up pressed down and running over Luke 6.8 Yea and this in things of greatest consequence and value well knowing that it is his glory thus to do Now to be strengthened with might in the inner man signifies more than simply to believe Yea more than simply to be strengthened in or by believing it imports a powerful strengthening or an excellent and high degree of corroboration or stoutness in their spirits hearts and souls by means whereof they should be able both to do and to suffer and this without much regret or trouble greater things for God and for the Gospel than the common sort of Believers can But why doth pray that this mighty strengthening in the inner man might be wrought by the Spirit I answer Because it is the appropriate work of the Spirit thus to elevate and raise the hearts and spirits of men above fears and doubtings God never conferring this high Priviledge upon Believers themselves without his interposure And besides it is considerable that it is the manner of the Saints throughout the Scriptures and so it was observed by Christ himself in his Prayer Joh. 17.11 17 19 20. that whenever they make any great request unto
this affection as the Earth is to give unto the Trees fixedness and fastness of standing where its place at present is of standing when it hath once shot its roots into it and wrapped them about the stones of it as Job 8.17 When a tree is thus rooted it will bear a strong gust of wind without being borne down or overturned by it So when a man hath had his soul judgment and conscience much exercised with interessed and ingaged in when he hath throughly pondered and kindly digested those great and blessed truths which have a kind of imperious and commanding influence upon men to cause them to love God and men he will become one spirit with this heavenly affection and so as it were incorporated in soul with it that the strength of death it self will hardly be able to separate him from it much less is he in any great danger of being overcome by other temptations For the other Metaphor of being grounded or rather as the word signifies founded in love this I conceive notes the constant exercise or practice of the affection as the former of rooting pointed at the method or means of introducing and setting it in the soul And as an house or building for from these it is borrowed stands firm and fast upon its foundation and is not removed of and on at any time So he prayes for the Ephesians That in order to the end mentioned they may be and continue as uniform and constant in shewing love both unto God and men as well in doings as in sufferings without interruption or declining at any time But to come to the latter Question propounded how Sect. 5 or why a being rooted and grounded in love should make men capable or able to comprehend the love of Christ in the four Dimensions specified There are two things to be considered in the business First Love is of a dilating and enlarging nature it opens the heart to a greater wideness and makes it capacious to receive many things which otherwise it would not Charity or Love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Apostle believeth all things hopeth all things 1 Cor. 13.7 meaning that it disposeth and inclineth men to believe and hope the best in all things concerning others viz. where there is no apparent ground to judge otherwise Whilst the heart of a man is destitute of the love of God and men it is scant and narrow and as it were clung together there is no room in it for things of any great extent or compass to be received or entertained there Men that love none but themselves their hearts are shut up against God and men and they think that all other hearts are so likewise Whereas if a man be sensible that he himself hath a large heart can do and suffer thus and thus can spend and be spent upon the Service of God and the Generation of men round about him such a man will be ready to say of others it may very well be that they likewise are the same or rather greater in goodness with my self That men find themselves inclined by nature to give good things unto their Children that ask them is as Christ plainly intimateth Mat. 7.11 a rise and advantage unto their Faith to believe that God much more is ready and willing to give good things unto those that shall by prayer ask them of him Therefore when a man shall find his heart drawn out in this heavenly affection of Love far beyond his Children even unto God his Father and unto all his Brethren descending from the same Progenitors and partakers of the same flesh and bloud with him and shall for some space of time have had the experience of the real genuine and constant working of this affection in him this must needs facilitate and prepare the way of his Faith throughly to believe all that immense love which Christ bare and yet beareth unto the World as it is held forth and asserted in the Gospel And this is in the Apostles Phrase before us to comprehend the love of Christ in all the Dimensions of it This then is one Consideration in which to be rooted and grounded in love must needs be conceived to enable men to the said comprehension Or else another thing may be that God considering how highly he doth honour and prize this heavenly affection of Love where he findeth it how greatly he delighteth in it in his Creature therefore hath reserved such a great and excellent reward as that comprehension we speak of to stir up the hearts of men to desire and possess themselves of it And haply this may be the meaning 1 Cor. 2.9 As it is written eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him The place hath formerly been understood as if it were meant of the enjoyments in Heaven but now men more generally and more truly understand that by the things here spoken of are meant the hidden and secret things of the Gospel the several strains and contrivances of the manifold wisdom and counsel of the righteousness and love of God that are couched there Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things c. Some understand the heart of a natural man or of a person not yet converted But I conceive he means as well the heart of a man converted but meanly and weakly furnished with the Love of God as unconverted God is said to have prepared in the Gospel things of most rare and wonderful consideration for those that love him meaning those that love him like himself that love him as Peter speaketh with a pure heart fervently because he reserveth for and intendeth the discovery and revelation of His most wise and profound Counsels here unto such persons judging them the only meet and worthily qualified subjects for such Communications Love and true Friendship are the most reasonable and equitable grounds of imparting secrets unto men according to that of our Saviour to his Disciples Henceforth I call you not Servants for the Servant knoweth not what his Master doth but I have called you Friends that is have dealt with you as with Friends knowing that you truly love me for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you Joh. 15.15 The Gospel consists of the plain and easie things of God and of the deep things of God as the Apostle distinguisheth 1 Cor. 3.10 Now the spirit of a man by the ordinary assistance only of the Spirit of God may search and comprehend the easie and plain things of God in the Gospel but it must be the Spirit of God which he is wont in special manner to give to those that obey him Acts 5.32 that is who express their love to him by obeying him Joh. 14.21.23 which Spirit is called the Spirit of Revelation Eph. 1.17 that searcheth that enableth men to
Cor. 15.8 but certain it is that he was born an Apostle and came into the work of God some considerable space of time after all his fellows yet we know he laboured more abundantly there than they all 1 Cor. 15.10 In like manner they that were called at the eleventh hour might do as much good and acceptable service as those that were called early And therefore no marvel if they received equal consideration for their work with these Besides God represented by the Lord of the Vineyard estimateth as we know the frame of the heart and inward disposition of the mind into the outward works and services of men So that the body and bulk as it were of their services may be fair and large when as the spirit of their value and acceptation with God may not answer by much and yet their persons nor services be wholly rejected neither As on the other hand where the hidden man of the heart is beautiful and lovely in his sight a performance or service which is but slender and ordinary in appearance may be highly prized and accepted of by him and this according to the most exact Rules of Justice Reason and Equity Christ pronounced a just and true Sentence when he said that the poor Widow who cast in only two Mites into the Treasury had cast in more than all the rich men who yet are said to have cast in much Mar. 12.41 43. Now it is not improbable but that by the early-called into the Vineyard may be set forth such a kind of Christian or Believer who savours much of the justiciary and legal spirit and is commonly active and zealous enough in his way for God but inclined to a rugged harsh and peremptory temper which unpleasant complexion and frame of heart though it doth not make void their Faith nor exclude them from the saving love of God yet it much abates and brings down the value and esteem of their outward services and performances with him So that Believers of a more Evangelical sweet and Christian constitution and frame of soul may equalize them in acceptance with God although they have not had time or opportunity to equalize them in the one half of their external services If it be yet urged and said But the Lord of the Vineyard doth not alledge against the early-called either any defect in them or in their work or labour nor any thing more commendable in those called at the eleventh hour as any reason why he should make these equal in reward unto them but only his will and pleasure I will give unto this last even as unto thee c. ver 14. From whence it seems that the will and good pleasure of God is the only Rule by which the Saints are rewarded and that by this Rule they shall be rewarded equally whether their works have been more or fewer more or less excellent according to any computation I answer These words from the Lord of the Vineyard to one of the first-called in the name of them all I will give unto this last even as unto thee c. do not at all prove either that the Will of God is the sole Rule by which the Saints shall be rewarded or that no consideration to the difference of their works whether they have been more or fewer more or less excellent shall be had therein They only prove that God typified in the Lord of the Vineyard will not acquaint proud quarrelsome or high minded persons with the Counsels of his Will or Reasons of his Doings especially with such as are more secret but will put them off with telling them what his peremptory Will is and an asserting the justness and lawfulness of it even as men likewise are wont to do by persons of a like evil temper whereas they are willing and free to give account of matters unto those that are ingenuous and of good spirits And this disposition is found in God himself according to these sayings of David The meek he will guide in judgment that is he will acquaint him with the grounds and reasons of all that he requires of him to do the meek he will teach his way viz. by shewing him the goodness and desirableness of it Psal 25.9 So again The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ver 14. And Prov. 3.32 His secret is with the righteous God is most wont to communicate things of a more spiritual and mysterious cognizance but only unto those that are of meek and yielding spirits and reverently affected towards him So that it is no marvel if the Lord of the Vineyard would give no other reason but his will unto persons that were evil-spirited and contentious of such a dispensation as seemed hard unto them although he was able and ready to give reason enough thereof otherwise This for answer to the second Objection The third and last Objection Sect. 12 which pleads against all preheminence amongst the Saints in glory is taken from such Scriptures which intitle the Saints indefinitely taken or the whole species of them not only unto the same glory but unto such glory greater than which none can lightly be imagined The places of this import are these with others Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father Mat. 13.43 So where it is said of Christ Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body c. Phil. 3.21 So again to mention no more where the Apostle Paul having said Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that last day and not to me only but unto them also that love his appearance 2 Tim. 4.8 All these Texts of Scripture speak of the Saints in general and without any differencing some from others by way of greater excellency and yet they promise unto them all shining like the Sun in their Fathers Kingdom and having their vile bodies changed by Christ and fashioned like unto his own glorious body the receiving Crowns of righteousness from God as well as Paul himself Which all seem to be expressions of as great glory as the greatest of Saints are capable of Therefore it is not to be conceived that one Saint shall differ from another in glory But To this also I answer That these and the like places only prove an identity or sameness in the species or kind of that glory whereof all the Saints shall be partakers not that they shall all partake of this glory in the same degree They shall all shine with a Sun-like lustre and brightness and yet some out-shine others The Sun it self doth not alwaies shine forth with the same lustre and glory Debora Judg. 5.31 prayeth that those that love God may be as the Sun when he riseth or goeth forth in his might which supposeth that sometimes he riseth with a weaker and less glorious splendour Yea it is said that
is here plainly and in expressness of words attributed to the Holy Ghost or Spirit of God So Tit. 3.5 we are said to be saved by the washing of Regeneration and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost And 1 Cor. 6 11. we are said to be washed sanctified and justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God The parts likewise of Regeneration the several graces or holy dispositions of which the body of Regeneration is made up is attributed to the Holy Ghost Gal. 5.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering c. From the Scripture then propounded with the rest consorting as ye have heard with it I reason thus If the work of Regeneration be the appropriate work of God appropriate I mean so that it cannot be effected by any meer Creature without him then must the Holy Ghost to whom this work is attributed needs be God But such is the work of Regeneration Ergo. This latter Proposition I suppose will not be denied because evident it is both from the Scriptures and from the consideration of the nature of the work it self which we call Regeneration that it is not cannot be effected without the interposure of the hand and power of God True it is God may use Creature instruments about the raising and production of it as he commonly useth men his Ministers and their gifts together with his Word I mean his written Word but yet all these without his interposure will not do the deed will not reach the blessed effect of Regeneration The Scripture is very express and clear in this I have planted saith Paul and Apollo watered but God gave the increase So then neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the increase 1 Cor. 3.6 7. When he saith that neither is he that planteth nor he that watereth any thing he speaks not absolutely as if their agency in the business were simply nothing for he had said of himself and Apollo a little before that they were Ministers by whom they believed but he speaks this comparatively meaning that that which they did in the work of their conversion to the Faith was nothing in comparison of that which God did in it God could have effected it if he had so pleased without them but all that they did or were in a capacity of doing was nothing unless his hand had been with them Elsewhere those that are regenerate or born again are said to be born of God Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 Joh. 5.1 And again ver 4. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the World c. to omit many other places So that evident it is from the Scriptures that Regeneration is a work which is appropriate unto God and cannot take place without him The Minor Proposition then in the Argument last propounded is unquestionable But to the Major Proposition it is like it will be replied that though the work of Regeneration be attributed to the Holy Ghost and withal cannot be effected but by God himself yet it doth not necessarily follow from hence that the Holy Ghost should be God because the Holy Ghost may have an agency or efficacie in it in conjunction with and subordination unto God as Ministers of the Gospel and the Persons themselves who are regenerated have To this I reply If the operation or efficacy of the Holy Ghost in and about the work of Regeneration were subordinate or instrumental we could not be said to be begotten or born again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the spirit but only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by or through the Spirit as we are not said nor can in any tolerable propriety of speech be said to be begotten of men as of the Ministers of God though they be instrumental in our Regeneration but only by men according to the Apostles expression lately mentioned 1 Cor. 3.5 Who is Paul who is Apollo but Ministers BY whom ye believed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So as the Word of God is instrumental or subordinate to our Regeneration we are said to be begotten by it 1 Pet. 1.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by or through the Word of the living God And elsewhere Jam. 1.18 God is said to have begotten us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with or through the Word of truth The Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 still notes either the principle efficient cause or else the material cause of things produced but seldom or never the instrumental efficient cause Thus men are said to be begotten of their Parents You saith Christ to the wicked Jews are of your Father the Devil Joh. 8.44 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So the Angel to Joseph concerning Mary Mat. 1.20 That which is begotten in her is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to omit instances of this kind without number Therefore there is little question but that in the same sense wherein men are said to be born or born again of God they are said to be regenerate or born again of the Spirit It is true sometimes the Spirit is spoken of as instrumental or subservient in the works of believing mortification c. Peter tells the Saints unto whom he writes 1 Pet. 1.22 that they had purified their souls in obeying the truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Spirit i.e. by means or by the help of the Spirit So Paul to the Romans Rom. 8.13 If ye through the Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by or through the Spirit mortifie the deeds of the flesh ye shall live But first it is to be considered that that subserviency which in these or the like passages seems to be attributed to the Holy Ghost is attributed unto him in reference unto men not unto God and the reason of the attribution is not to imply that He the Holy Ghost is not the principal or prime cause both of our believing and so of our mortification but only that with his agency or interposure about these works he never effects them without the consent and compliance of men themselves therewith So that in this respect men are said to purifie their hearts in believing the Truth through the Spirit and so to mortifie the deeds of the flesh through the Spirit when they fall in and comport with the preventing motions of the Spirit in order to these great and blessed works which may well and with clearness of apprehension stand with the Spirits being the first Author of yea and the principal Actor in them only it implies that He works none of these spiritual or heavenly things within us irresistibly or whether we will or no. And therefore Secondly Such attributions of subserviency unto men as these do no waies prove or so much
Spirit the Holy Spirit so much spoken of in the Scriptures to be God The debate of this Question we have already finished Another of the three Questions was How or what course a Christian or any other Person Man or Woman may and ought to take to be filled with the Spirit i.e. How or after what manner the Exhortation imposed in the Text is to be obeyed or put in execution The third and last Question was How a man or woman may either come to discern and know themselves or how others may come to the like knowledge of them whether they be filled with the Spirit I mean the Spirit of God or some other Spirit of another nature and contrary to it I suppose much light will be given by the examination of the truth in the Former of the two Questions for the decision of the Latter so that we may be somewhat the briefer here To begin then with the former of these Questions Sect. 2 how a Christian or a Believer yea or any other person may be filled with the Spirit which the Text and Doctrine mention for it will appear by the way that any other Person as well as a Believer is in a capacity though somewhat more remote of being filled with the Spirit likewise What it is to be filled with the Spirit hath been formerly declared in the opening of the Doctrine notwithstanding I conceive it is necessary for the resolution of the Question in hand that we briefly remind you of what we delivered in that kind we signified unto you that to be filled with the Spirit doth not note and import an absolute and precise fulness that is a having of the Spirit in such a precise fulness and height that there is no capacity left of having more of him No but as in Scripture Phrase a Vessel is said to be full when there is a good and sufficient and competent proportion in it and so in ordinary discourse we say a Cup is full of drink not when it is full to the brim but if there be a good quantity and proportion in it just so a fulness with the Spirit doth not suppose or imply such a uniform kind of fulness as if no man could be said to be full of the Spirit but only he that is fullest of all But if any person be acted by the Spirit or doth quit himself like unto a man he in whom the Spirit hath any considerable power of command may be truly said to be filled with the Spirit as David had many Worthies in his Army and yet they did not reach or attain unto the three first though they were worthy in their way so there may be many Christians of several sizes and degrees who yet may be said to be filled with the Spirit of God So that in propriety of Phrase it signifieth to have an actuous vigorous and operative presence of the Holy Ghost in you to enjoy his grace love and favour upon such terms as to receive from him and from the glory of his power ever and anon upon all occasions excellent quicknings incitements impulses enlargements strengthnings of heart and soul unto every worthy way and every good work to have all contrary workings motions and risings of the flesh borne down with a strong hand and swallowed up in victory so that a man or woman shall find no great no considerable opposition or turmoile as formerly from any weakness or corruption within him in his way of well-doing but only such which he shall be enabled and this at a very good rate to overcome I say when this is found to be the case and condition of any Christian it is a sign of such a presence or fulness of the Spirit of God I here describe unto you only that kind of filling with the Spirit which is the duty of all Christians as of other persons also in their way to mind look after and be industriously careful to obtain and which only I conceive is intended by the Apostle in the Text. For I do not conceive that he doth admonish and exhort the Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit as if his meaning should be that he would have them be filled with such a kind of filling by which some were enabled to work miracles or reveal things secret and unrevealed in the Scriptures being yet future and to come Although I can easily believe that even such a filling with the Spirit as this at least to a considerable degree was within the reach of Christians in the Apostles daies yea and that the Apostle did exhort the Corinthians 1 Cor. 12.31 to seek after some such kind of filling as this in these words but covet earnestly after the best gifts Doubtless he would not have had them to lay out themselves with any desire after these extraordinary gifts of the Spirit as speaking with Tongues and Prophecying but that there was a means for the attaining of them But that filling with the Spirit which he commendeth to the Ephesians by way of duty in the words before us is only or at least principally such a filling as we have both formerly and even now described unto you which respecteth the effectual stirring up and strengthening of the hearts and souls of men unto waies and works of righteousness and these of the worthiest and most excellent kind and strain And yet it is not unlike but that if men and women should quit themselves worthily and with faithfulness in this Race I mean in their endeavours to be filled with the Spirit in that kind or sense we speak of there would be cast in unto them by way of heaped measure somewhat of that kind of filling also they should have a kind of first fruits of those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit also as of healing of the sick declaring things to come c. I could give an account of my apprehension in this kind and this in more particulars than one were it not for fear of lengthening out this Discourse in hand beyond what you are willing to bear Notwithstanding Sect. 3 there is one thing more necessary I conceive to be touched here also in order to your better satisfaction about the Question in hand though something as I remember hath been spoken to it formerly that is How it can stand with the weakness and unworthiness of the Creature man on the one hand and the incomprehensible Majesty and Glory of the Holy Ghost on the other hand that it should be in the power of man to procure or draw into himself i.e. into his heart and soul such a rich or glorious presence of the Spirit as that wherein our being filled with him consists Or whether in this case the Spirit may not be conceived to be obnoxious unto or in the power of man I am the rather desirous to remove this stumbling block out of the way before we go forward to give reply to the principal Question propounded because I conceive it must needs be
Spirit is in the Apostle's words in a like case 1 Cor. 12.31 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. zealously to cover or desire it to have a man's soul break within him as David's expression is with a longing desire after it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we translate the best gifts the better gifts saith the Original the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translated covet earnestly signifieth to desire with a zeal or emulation i. e. to desire after such a manner or upon such terms that we resolve that nothing shall interpose as far as we are able to prevent and hinder it between our desire and the thing desired viz. so as to bereave our desires of their object or cause them to cease from it Now evident it is that the Apostle in the place now cited prescribeth this same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This earnest or zealous coveting after the better gifts in order to the obtaining of them at the hand of God otherwise To what end or purpose should he enjoyn such a thing It is not to be imagined that he should exhort them zealously to covet such things which were not possible for them to obtain and enjoy No nor yet such things the enjoyment whereof were not to be obtained or procured by such their earnest coveting Now if this earnest or zealous coveting of those gifts of the Spirit which the Apostle there means and of which he had particularly spoken immediately before were a means either in whole or in part to attain them doubtless the same course the like zealous coveting is a proper means also though not an adequate or compleat means for the obtaining of such a fulness of the Spirit of which we speak For if God be enclined to hearken unto to accommodate the earnest desires of men when they are lifted up unto such objects such things that are of a perishing nature be they never so well used or managed for of this kind were those gifts of the Spirit of which the Apostle speaks in the place mentioned as himself also expresly testifieth and confesseth 1 Cor. 13.8 And consequently are of affinity with the outward perishable things of this World as Silver Gold Meats Drinks c. if then I say God were so far indulgent or respectful to the zealous desires of men after the transient gifts of the Spirit such whereof Persons who did not truly love God were capable that he was very propense to gratifie them much more have we reason to judge that he will look towards such desires of men especially if they be raised to any fervency or height when they are bent upon such a filling with the Spirit that will commend them in his sight and which being maintained and persevered in will make them great in the Kingdom of Heaven for ever Our Saviour speaking of things of a transient nature in reference to mens seeking of things that are permanent and enduring expresly informs the world that if men shall be diligent in seeking these latter those other shall collaterally and as it were on the by be cast upon them Mat. 6.33 First seek the Kingdom of God c. Indeed men and women generally go so to work as if the tenour of our Saviours Counsel ran counter and was quite contrary to what now it is That in case men would seek in the first place the things of this World and the conveniences thereof what they should eat or what they should drink or wherewith they should be cloathed that then all things appertaining to the Kingdom of God should be cast in unto them For there is an high seeking after these things almost on every hand as if God were so far from casting them in unto men upon the account our Saviour speaks of that men must deny themselves in the things of God and of their eternal peace to lay out themselves whole and entire with all their might and all their strength for the wresting of them out of his hand But whatsoever men think or do in this kind the word of the faithful Witness of Heaven remaineth firm and stedfast nor hath God made the least tittle or iota of any promise or overture of casting in spiritual things unto men upon their desires or endeavours after outward things but ever and anon labours to reduce men to sobriety and moderation in both these that so they may be found in a better capacity to receive spiritual things from him If you ask me Sect. 6 But what may be the reason that God should so graciously and highly esteem the zealous desires or covetings of men after spiritual things above the like desires in them after earthly things Or why considering that both kinds of things are good and from himself yet zealous covetings after the former take his heart and soul the like after these are an offence unto him and separate between him and his Creature To this I reply first Negatively the reason is not precisely because the former desires are commanded by him I mean zealous desires after spiritual things and the latter not commanded but forbidden The commanding of the former by God in conjunction with a prohibition of the latter is sufficient proof that he doth indeed accept the one and not the other but it is not the reason at least not the Adequate nor the principal reason why he doth so accept them A man may do that which is commanded by God and yet have little thank for his labour for doing it viz. when he knoweth not that it is commanded by him A stumbling as it were at unawares upon the Letter of commands is of no great acceptance with God which yet it would and must be if it were simply the Command of God that rendered an Act done according to the tenour of the Letter of it acceptable unto him Again some things commanded by God may accidentally fall in with mens carnal ends and desires and upon such an account as this they may do them As Children that have rich Parents from whom they expect great matters at their death or otherwise in the mean time to accommodate their hopes and expectations in this kind they may honour and obey them many the like cases might be readily put But now that which Children do in such cases though it be commanded at least in the Letter by God yet this renders it of a very slender acceptation with him Therefore most certain it is that the primary reason at least why any mans doing the Command of God is accepted with him is not this because he doth that which God hath commanded for then in what case soever men should do that which God hath commanded there would be acceptance which we have shewed is not true Therefore Secondly in the Affirmative the true reason or reasons for they are rather two than one why mens zealous desires after spiritual things and especially after a being filled with the Spirit are of such a high and soveraign acceptation with God as hath
contribute any thing towards the making of the joy of the Kingdom we speak of like unto a joy prepared by the infinite magnificence and bounty of the God of Heaven on purpose to shew his glory and power for his Sons and Daughters and those that have served him How exceeding great then above measure must this joy needs be That he will do no less but rather much more than yet hath been spoken of for the persons mentioned He hath given a sufficient assurance in the gift of his Son Jesus Christ unto them according to the express tenour of the Apostles reasoning Rom 8.32 He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things The strength of the Apostles arguing lieth in some such Principle or Notion as this viz. That no man of understanding and that is Master of his Engagements or undertakings will lay a foundation larger or wider or richer than the nature of what he intends by way of superstructure doth require Such a thing as this would render his work or building dishonourable and uncomely and indeed ridiculous if the Foundation do palpably and notoriously exceed the proportion and scantling of his Building From this Principle we may with the Apostle with the greatest confidence and assurance of heart and soul under Heaven conclude That in as much as God hath laid the foundation of the joy and happiness of those who shall love and believe on him so large and rich as he hath done in the gift of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for them that he will build upon it answerably and consequently raise the Fabrick of their blessedness and glory to the greatest height and and magnificence by all means by any thing that any where can be procured to advance it otherwise his Alpha and Omega would not agree So then this is that we say That if you shall be filled with the Spirit you shall have an entrance in abundance into this abundant joy we speak of The joy of the Everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ There is an entrance and an entrance in abundance as into the two former of those vast Priviledges of this Kingdom viz. Righteousness and Peace so also into this third Priviledge of the Joy thereof An entrance simply into this joy implies only some kind of lighter taste thereof less affecting the soul An entrance in abundance noteth such a state or condition wherin a man or woman shall be possessed of a good or Rich Proportion of this Joy viz. of a third or fourth part of it by means of which he shall find and feel and enjoy within himself to his own content and in his own sight as good and happy an estate and condition upon the matter as he would judge himself to be in in case he were actually invested with such a Kingdom and with the felicity and joy thereof the joy we speak of being of the same kind with that of the Everlasting Kingdom of Christ but only short in some degrees of it As a man whose estate is worth one thousand pounds by the year hath somewhat of the same satisfaction and contentment of him that hath four or five thousand pounds I mean when as well the one as the other knoweth how to take satisfaction in their estates respectively and neither more or less than what they are competent and proper to afford unto them Now that your being filled with the Spirit must needs give you such an entrance in abundance as hath been described into the joy of the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ may be well conceived by what hath already been delivered after such a manner as this the joy of this Kingdom is the highest and most contentful result in the soul of all those particular blessings and vouchsafements in the possession and enjoyment whereof the happiness of it consisteth The sense of the rich goodness and commodiousness of those things being enjoyed upon such terms as they will be in that Kingdom and known so to be is either formally or efficiently the joy thereof So then whatsoever createth a lively sense in the heart and soul of a man of the transcendent goodness and sweetness of those enjoyments must needs give an entrance in abundance into the joy thereof This a being filled with the Spirit must needs do because it cannot but fill you with a confident hope and earnest expectation to enjoy them in due time In this I â—imply one thing and affirm another The thing I plainly affirm lieth naked or open in the words themselves viz. that a being filled with the Spirit must needs fill men with a confident hope and expectation to enjoy these things in due time The thing I suppose is That a confident hope and rich expectation to enjoy these things in due time must needs give men an entrance in abundance into that joy which we are speaking of such an entrance in this kind as hath been described The first of these is evident from what was argued when we shewed and proved unto you That your being filled with the Spirit will not suffer you to be idle and unprofitable in the Knowledge and Profession of Jesus Christ but will cause you to abound in the fruits of righteousness and true holiness And secondly that such an abounding as this must needs raise an abundant confidence or assurance in the love and favour of God and consequently an assurance of enjoying all that is to be enjoyed in the Everlasting Kingdom of his dear Son So that we shall not need to insist upon the proof hereof any further Therefore secondly whereas I suppose that an abundant confidence or assurance and expectation of enjoying the great things of Christ's Kingdom in due time must needs amount to as much as this or produce at present such an entrance in abundance into the joy of this Ringdom as that lately described The truth hereof may be conceived upon this account The confident hope and earnest expectation of enjoying things in time which when they come to be actually enjoyed will be found to be exceeding great and yielding much satifaction and joy and are known to be such whilest they are yet only hoped and expected is and must needs be such an entrance into them as Peter calls abundant in the sense we have given Such an hope and expectation as we speak of is a kind or degree of enjoyment of the things themselves and may in propriety of speech and with truth enough be simply termed an enjoyment of them As she that is betroâ—hed or espoused to an Husband may truly and properly enough be termed a Wife So he that is under a pregnant and lively hope of enjoying such and such things may be said by means of such his hope to enjoy them Now you shall see that the Scripture useth thus to speak Rom. 8.24 For we are saved by hope that is that hope which we have of
and that in opposition unto others Secondly A second Property of the Spirit mentioned was his grace We read Heb. 10.29 of despighting the Spirit of grace And so God is called 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all grace meaning that he is a gracious Spirit Now grace as we have formerly opened the nature of it unto you importeth a readiness or great propenseness in the will and soul of a man to shew kindness or to do good where no engagement is from without from him unto whom kindness is shewn it differeth from mercy For the object of mercy alwaies is misery or persons in misery But the object of grace may as well be persons in a good condition and free from misery as those that are in misery for Grace only respects as it were an absence of all motives or engagements from those to whom we intend good and reacheth no further So then when the Spirit is called the Spirit of grace it doth import a freeness a readiness a willingness and propenseness of mind to do good unto such persons who never laid any engagement upon him to whom he is no waies Debtor by one Law or other When there is a propenseness in any person thus freely without engagement to deal courteously or kindly with others this is Grace truly so called Now the Spirit is said to be a gracious Spirit because he vouchsafeth to come unto men and to dwell with them and to couple and joyn himself with men whilest they are strangers unto him even whilest as yet he hath received to no kindness from them he is pleased to come unto them and to invite them Nay the truth is there is a more excellent degree of grace than this in the Spirits dealing with men when kindness is shewed not only where no engagement hath gone before but contrary to engagements on the other hand This is grace in abundance and in its exaltation when a person hath done us wrong or disgraced us unjustly and offered us injury and we notwithstanding such hard measure received from him shall yet be ready to stand by him and accommodate him then are we gracious in an excellent and eminent degree Now such lusts and sinful dispositions in men which are contrary to this Character or property of Grace in the Spirit are very distasteful unto him apt to grieve and obstruct him in his course as well as the former viz. uncleanness c. In that former place Eph. 4.30 where the Apostle had added And greive not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption meaning by corrupt communication He immediately addeth Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice c. The motive lieth in the middle between the two Exhortations and it enforceth them both it is a motive both to that which went before Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your mouth and unto that which followeth namely that all wrath and malice and the like should be put away Therefore this clearly shews that these kind of corruptions and distempers bitterness and malice c. are contrary to the Spirit of Grace and those gracious dispositions and inclinations of his to do good and to shew kindness and love where there is no merit yea even unto those men who have rather merited sorrow and hard measure from him But much more when men without any provocations shall be in bitterness of Spirit and full of wrath and anger and shall entertain and admit malice evil thoughts and intentions of hardness cruelty and bloud into their hearts this being so extremely contrary to that gracious and sweet property of the Spirit of God in reason must needs be signally obstructive unto him in his way of filling men with himself A third Property was the heavenliness of the Spirit of God Sect. 18 Joh. 3.31 He that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth He that cometh from heaven is above all Therefore that Lust that is contrary to this property in the Spirit of God heavenliness or heavenly mindedness this must in a way of reason be offensive unto the Spirit of God Of this kind are all lusts of Covetonsness inordinate Love unto this present World earthly mindedness when mens hearts savour the things of the earth only or mainly when the matters of this life eat out the very heart and sinews of a Man Such Lusting as these must needs likewise be of a very offensive nature unto the Spirit of God When the Holy Ghost shall come unto men and offer them life and shall be ready to lead them into the Faith Knowledge and Love of God when he shall talk and discourse with men and women about heavenly things and they answer him with their carnal and their sensual things when he discourseth unto them of Faith and Holiness and the things of their Eternal Peace and blessedness and they shall have cars only to hear of Silver and Gold and Wealth and Grandeur and Power and Honour and the like certainly if lusts of this nature be made much of and harboured in the soul of a man there can be no expectation that ever the Spirit of God should take pleasure or delight to put forth or to give out himself in his glory in such a soul A fourth and last particular was a disposition aptness Sect. 19 or readiness of mind to communicate the things of God matters of a spiritual import the Secrets of God unto the minds and consciences of men Therefore such kind of Lusts in men which are opposite to this property in the Spirit of God must needs be offensive unto him and obstruct him in this blessed work we are speaking of Which lusts and distempers are these and such like viz. such lusts by which men are invited tempted and carried away from the Ministry of the Spirit and those waies whereby the Spirit is wont to utter himself which are the Ordinances of God and especially that of the Ministry of the Gospel and more especially such a kind of Ministry which is prepared as it were by God on purpose to bring forth the mind of God unto men For as God of old appointed Moses and the People to meet at the door of the Tabernacle So now hath he appointed the World the Sons and Daughters of men to meet with him in these Ministrations of his House and to treat with him there about the great business and things of their peace If men and women therefore shall suffer the great Enemy of their peace so to bewitch them that they fall in their esteem of these appointments of his and look upon them as if there were no great matter in them this is another thing which hath a direct opposition unto and is a ready way to quench the Spirit of God Mind and compare these two verses together 1 Thes 5.19 20. Quench not the Spirit But how or which way should
are under the Law as under the Law to them that are without the Law as without the Law to the weak I became weak I became all things to all that by all means I might win some Paul had gone so to work with himself that he had brought himself to a conformity to all occasions and kinds of services and could comply with all for their benefit When men shall see the carriage and deportment of a man and shall not be able to see what the natural temper and genius of the man is when they shall see him in such variety of action and all that which he doth to become him to have beauty and reason in it this is a sign that the man thus endued hath a very rich and glorious anointing of the Spirit of God in him But when mens natural tempers do encrease in them so as that these will have part and share in their actings it is a sign that Nature is not thoroughly broken nor wholly subdued but that there is somewhat yet more for the Spirit of God to do Elsewhere he demandeth of these Corinthians 1 Cor. 4.21 What will you Shall I come unto you with a rod or in love and in the Spirit of meekness From whence it appears that Paul could upon occasion both use the rod of Apostolical Authority where he saw cause and take vengeance on disobedience as he speaketh elsewhere And could likewise demean himself with gentleness towards Christians even as a Nurse cherisheth and is tender over her Children as he speaketh of himself 1 Thes 2.7 In matters of outward estate he knew as he saith both how to be abased i. e. to want and how to abound Phil. 4.12 Meaning that he was able and knew how to manage both estates Adversity and Prosperity according to such Rules by which these conditions ought to be managed respectively yea and may be managed to the glory of God and likewise to the comfort and contentment of men that partake in either And as he saith he knew how to be abased and how to abound so likewise in his deportment he knew how to stoop to the ground and to sit upon a Dunghil with those that were Poor and weak and of Low degree in the Church of Christ And he knew likewise how to be a Companion for Princes and to stand up with the highest and greatest of all with persons of greatest esteem Paul we know had a spirit that was able to resist even Peter himself one of the greatest Pillars of the Christian Faith then in the World and to withstand him to his face when there was just occasion so to do My Brethren He that knew how to do this must needs have a mighty command of himself For take him at another turn when the state of businesses was altered and when he was in the presence of poor and weak Saints he could act another part and quit himself like a poor and weak man as if he had nothing of the carriage or of the resolution of a man in him Thus Jesus Christ himself to whom the Spirit was given not by measure as John speaketh Joh. 3.34 is compared in Scripture as well to a Lamb as to a Lion and is presented unto the World under both these Denominations one while he is called the Lamb of God another while he is called The Lion of the Tribe of Judah to shew that he knows how to act the properties of both according as he judgeth seasonable and meet When he cometh to those who are poor in Spirit he blesseth and speaketh in a still voice unto them and when he hath to do with the Scribes and Pharisees then he pronounceth with a loud voice Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees hyppocrites Now his Spirit was up on high and full of courage and undaunted resolution Yea now he is in heaven and ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 1.3 Yet doth he still retain the same qualifications or dispositions To many Persons he doth behave himself like a Lamb with much sweetness and great condescention and otherwhile he can roar like a Lion upon others and appear in judgment when he seeth his time and when the exigencies of the business which is before him requireth it Now the reason Sect. 8 why I conceive that such a sweet consorting of a mans spirit and behaviour to all variety of occasions which he can meet with from time to time must needs be a great Argument of a rich anointing of the Spirit is this partly because to distinguish exactly between the Exigencies of Occasions requireth a very excellent degree of Wisdom a much refined Understanding and partly also because it requireth a great command of a mans spirit a depressing or dissolution of a mans natural temper whatever it was to be able to apply himself only and conscienciously to all variety of occasions respectively both which argue a large and liberal presence of the Spirit of God in men partly also because it is so rare a sight to see a Person man or woman even amongst Believers themselves in whose Conversations and Deportments that savory wise and consciencious comportment with the various natures and Exigencies of occasions is to be found First I say to understand judgment as the Scripture Phrase is to know what is comely and worthy for a Christian to do at all times and cases requires a great spiritualness of understanding to apprehend how the feries and tenour of all a mans actions may be made spiritually harmonious when to rise and when to fall and when to keep a middle strain between high and low as every of these respective carriages may best accommodate the interest of God in the World I mean his honour and praise and the interest likewise of men this requireth an heart in some degree like unto Solomons which the Scriptures compare to the sands that are upon the Sea-shore 1 Kings 4.29 Now the heart of Solomon is said to be large like unto the sands of the Sea-shore which are not to be numbred because he had a world of notions and apprehensions in his mind or understanding by reason whereof he was able to understand most exactly how he ought to behave himself upon all occasions and how to sute himself with the Exigency of every affair he had all circumstances before him and he turned them and weighed them in his hand and therefore saith he Eccl. 3.1 2 c. There is a time for every purpose under the Sun A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted a time to build and a time to break down a time to weep and a time to rejoyce a time to cast away stones and a time to gather c. Now he must be a wise man indeed as he speaketh Chap. 8.5 6. Whose heart discerneth time and judgment i. e. that is able to discern the time and season for one Action or one kind of deportment from that which is proper
is much of the Spirit of God in him The reason of this is because the Spirit of God came down from heaven on purpose to make men heavenly minded and to negotiate the interest and affairs of his own Country much after the manner of Agents and Embassadours who come to treat about the things of their own Country So the Spirit doth come down from heaven he is the great Prince that doth negotiate the affairs thereof with men 1 Pet. 1.12 By them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven The Holy Ghost is come to preach the Gospel and the effect he desireth may be produced by it is that of earthly and carnal he might transform persons into heavenly and spiritual Now in whomsoever this is carried on to any sensible and notable degree insomuch that it is perceived by those that have to do with them that their minds are questionless much taken up much set upon the things of the World which is to come the things of heaven and that in comparison thereof the things of this World and the concernments hereof are undervalued and made to stand by when the other are in place that these are made to give way when the interest of the other requires it I say when any man is discerned by those with whom he converseth to be of such a frame and temper of spirit as this is it is a very promising sign and Character that this person is full of the Spirit of God Seventhly If we sow plentifully to the Spirit Sect. 17 this is another sign of a good import and very promising that men are filled with the Spirit What it is to sow to the Spirit we shewed you formerly when we prescribed a sowing unto the Spirit as a means whereby to be filled with the Spirit To sow to the Spirit we signified unto you was to live in such waies to perform such Actions and these frequently and constantly which the Spirit may reap i. e. from whence the Spirit of God may have acknowledgement honour and praise amongst men in the world In the same phrase of speech the Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 9.11 calls the preaching of the Gospel unto men the sowing of spiritual things unto them If we have sown unto you spiritual things is it a great matter for us to reap your carnal things The faithful Ministers of the Gospel are said to sow spiritual things unto men when they preach the Gospel truly and effectually unto them because they may reap spiritual benefit and advantage from what they sow it being the proper tendency of those things which they preach unto men to yield an encrease and harvest according to the nature and excellency of the Seed In like manner men may be said to sow unto the Spirit of God when they walk in such waies and in the performance of such Actions which are like to turn to an account of praise and glory or contentment unto the Spirit of God As on the contrary when men and women go so to work behave themselves so unworthily in the World that the Spirit is like to suffer prejudice or disparagement by them viz. when men shall be occasioned or tempted to think or say that the Spirit of God never regarded never looked graciously upon such a person that walketh and acteth so unworthily so wickedly in such cases as this men are said to grieve the Spirit of God they sow the seeds of Gall and Wormwood unto him If you ask me What are these waies or actions more particularly by which men and women may be said to sow unto the Spirit I reply They are such which give testimony both of the presence of the Spirit of God in them and likewise of the goodness of this Spirit Such as are waies of Righteousness Love Humility Patience Mercy Bounty c. such waies and actions as these may therefore be said to give testimony both of the presence of the Spirit in men and likewise of the goodness of this Spirit because first If he were not in men perswading unto aiding and assisting in such waies and actions as these they would never proceed from them but on the contrary the Flesh would prevail and bring forth fruits in its kind Again secondly If this Spirit were not a Spirit of Goodness he would not move and stir up men and women to such good and worthy waies and actions as these but to the contrary as the unclean Spirit Satan stirreth up many in his kind Now it is a worthy Testimony given to the Spirit not only when men testifie or assert his goodness unto the World but also when they assert his presence with men or in men this argues the exceeding graciousness and condescension of his nature So then Sect. 18 they who abound in such waies and works as these mentioned and walk with an high hand in them are hereby plainly discovered to be full of the Spirit of God The reason hereof is because as the lowest proportion of the fruits we speak of and the least and least considerable of them do argue that men have some kind or degree of the Spirit in them otherwise they would be wholly and totally barren in this kind So doth it argue a worthy and excellent proportion of the Spirit in men when they are full of such fruits especially when the fruits they bear in this kind are any thing more large or fair than ordinary As when a fruit bearing tree in one kind or other as suppose a Fig-tree or a Pear-tree c. beareth any proportion though never so small of the fruit that is proper to it this argues that there is a lively sap and moysture in the Tree in some degree or other but if this Tree shall be seen with boughs laden with Fruit and that of the largest and goodliest that is to be found this is a sign not simply that the Tree hath sap and moisture in it But that it is full of sap as the Psalmist speaks of the trees of the Lord Psal 104.16 i. e. according to the Hebrew Dialect Trees that are excellently thriving and flourishing in their kind In like manner when men and women shall sow plentifully unto the Spirit in the sense declared especially if the Seed which they sow in this kind shall be goodly fair and large this is an unquestionable demonstration that they are filled with the Spirit of God When men and women shall quit themselves above the ordinary rate of Professours and Believers in works of Love Faith Humility and Self-denial c. shall truly and without any tincture of ill will or hard thoughts forgive and pass by some great injury done unto them by men If thou beest able to pass by an eminent wrong and if thou canst upon the next opportunity as the next day or the like kindly intreat him that hath done it If thou canst deal freely and lovingly with him and this injury hath not at all weakened
or enfeebled thine hand now this doth argue a rich presence of the Spirit of God especially in conjunction with the other things mentioned And so again when the fruits and expressions of their love to Jesus Christ or his Saints and Followers shall be very large and fair such as shall be found in none but themselves and perhaps in here one and there one besides as when either with the poor Widow in the Gospel they shall cast in their whole substance or livelihood into the Treasury of God or else shall sacrifice some great and notable opportunity of worldly advantage upon the Service of God and of the People of God especially if they shall do this once and again and as often as any opportunity affords it self unto them this cannot but argue an excellent fulness of the Spirit of God The Tree saith our Saviour is known by the Fruit and this not only in respect of the kind or property of it which is the knowledge spoken of by our Saviour But likewise in the degree of it not only good in the kind and of the same nature but also the best of the kind for goodness Eighthly Sect. 19 Another discovering Character of a persons being filled with the Spirit of God is when he is able and willing they are both one in this case to take up any Cross though never so heavy that he shall meet withal in the way of Righteousness and of God without any declining or turning aside out of his way to avoid it This is a great sign and argument of conviction that certainly he is filled with the Spirit of God especially when he shall suffer Patience to have its perfect work as James speaks i. e. shall be content chearfully and without muttering or complaint to suffer all that God shall call him to suffer though the Iniquity of those who persecute in one kind or other abound never so much yet he will not so much as stoop or step out of the way for it but shall keep strait course in the waies of God in the view of the World there cannot be a more promising sign or symptome of a person being filled with the Spirit of God than this The reason of this is because all kinds of sufferings are contrary to the Flesh and destructive to the interest thereof and unless it be to accommodate the Flesh at some other turn and in some other way no man that can decline them will expose himself unto them but only such who are strengthened by the Spirit of God in the inward man The Apostle Paul in laying down the signs of his Apostleship 2 Cor. 12.12 presents patience under trouble a willingness to suffer all and all manner of afflictions for the Gospels sake For one among the rest If a man have a proportionable aid and assistance of the Spirit of God though he do put his shoulder under the burthen of affliction yet being acted and assisted by this Spirit the Flesh will not feel any bitterness or trouble in it Col. 1.11 Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all long suffering and patience with joyfulness 1 Thes 3.3 That no man should be moved by their afflictions He acquaints them in the precedent Verse that he had sent Timothy unto them to confirm and establish them in the Faith and in the things which they now had believed And that for this end that no man should be moved by any of those things which they suffered Therefore saith the Apostle I sent him unto you to hear of your faith lest that by any means you should be tempted implying that persecution is a sore kind of temptation this is like the Axe that is laid to the root of the Tree This he knew would put them to it and be a means even to endanger the shaking of their Faith and to tell the World that they did only make a shew of believing but were not established in the truth So again 1 Thes 1.3 5 6. Remembring without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and your patience of hope c. For our Gospel came not unto you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Ghost c. As ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake having received the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost Now this is that I say had they not had the Holy Ghost to stand by them as they would never have received the Gospel so neither without a rich presence of him would they ever have persevered therein in a day of persecution This then is the reason of the Character or sign in the eighth place Ninthly and lastly A fulness with the Spirit of God is discernable by a rich and inward acquaintance with the mind and will of God and of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures Sect. 20 When a man or woman knows more understands more of the mind of Christ in the Gospel hath more of things secret and hidden unto others discovered and made known unto them this argues that the Spirit dwelleth plentifully in them only there are two particulars to be considered and remembred First That for men and women to pretend to a knowledge of the mind of God in the Scriptures above other persons and to be confident of their own apprehensions and conceits in this kind is nothing is no Argument or proof at all that therefore they do know the mind of Christ in the Scriptures more or better than other men or consequently that they are persons filled with the Spirit of God For all this may be men and women may see the Visions of their own hearts as the Scripture speaketh and be as confident as confidence it self can make them that they are Visions of God and verily think as Paul himself sometimes did in like case that they see the Visions of God The false Prophets of old who walked in the Spirit of falshood or as some read the words in the wind of falshood Mic. 2.11 These were as confident of their Visions as the Prophets of God could be See an instance in Zedekiah the Son of Chenaanah 1 Kings 22.11 He was so confident that he would needs make himself two Iron horns to push the Syrians withal until they were consumed Michaiah the true Prophet of God was not more confident of the Vision which he had seen And so the Pharisees in the Gospel Joh. 9.40 Are we blind also As who should say If any men in all the World doth see and know and understand the mind of God we do we can well bear that thou shouldst look upon the rest of the World the ordinary sort of people as blind but we pray thee do not make us blind also clearly implying and that with the greatest indignation that whatsoever he should speak that should intimate in the least that they should not know the mind of God that that must be most false And in these daies
how many pretenders have we to little less than a Prophetick Unction to mystical discoveries to a deep and further insight into the mind of God in the Scriptures and to the understanding of things there whose Notions notwithstanding the pretended fruits of such their high Anointings and Revelations being weighed in the Balance of the Sanctuary are found light and to have nothing of the mind of God or of Christ in them Therefore in the first place unless these discoveries which are pretended unto and held forth with the greatest confidence shall commend themselves for truth unto the judgments and understandings of sober and judicious men much versed and exercised in the Scriptures either from their own light or evidence or else shall be made out by light of Argument and Demonstation Whether from the Scriptures or clear Principles in reason to be real truths and such things that are every waies worthy the Wisdom Righteousness and Holiness of God they are not to be looked upon as proceeding from any fulness of the Spirit in their Authors but as the exertions and puttings forth of a Spirit of vanity and delusion in men For certainly God would not have sent Christ Jesus in the end of the World to seal vp Revelations and Prophesies and to set bounds unto the Children of men and afterward send these men to gather up what Jesus Christ hath scattered and to make perfect what he hath left imperfect Wko knoweth not that the New Testament is sealed with a Curse with dread and terrour unto the man or woman that shall either make any breach upon that which is there delivered by diminishing ought thereof and so likewise unto any that shall bring any new or further Revelation than what is already brought in there Secondly In case by the opportunity and advantage of Education Sect. 21 liberty for Study and searching into Authors and Writers or the advantage of pregnancy of Wit quickness of Apprehensions or the like any man shall attain unto a greater dexterity or ability to unfold the Scriptures and to bring many of the secrets thereof to light which have been hidden from the eyes of others this doth not necessarily argue a fulness of or a being filled with the Spirit at least in the sense wherein we have prosecuted the Doctrine hitherto i. e. a filling with the Spirit as sanctifying unless it shall appear by their lives and waies that they are really and throughly perswaded of the truth and certainty of these things which they hold forth from the Scriptures It is true many men may do great Services for the Christian World and for the Saints and that by opening the great Deeps or Fountains of the Scriptures and may cause many beams of light and Spiritual understanding to break forth and many waies of Wisdom there to appear and yet may not believe As it is with a fained Story though there may be some kind of rationality in it yet the rationality of it doth not therefore argue its truth and verity just so men may maintain the reasonableness of the Scriptures and consequently many great truths therein contained they may argue excellently and shew how one thing giveth light unto another and yet nevertheless at the bottom there may be nothing else but uncertainties and doubtings of the truth of all the Story and this hollowness and defection at the bottom and core and root of the heart is like to break out and bewray it self in such a kind of life and conversation which is unsutable unto the tenour of Scripture and unto the Genius Nature and light of the glorious Gospel which they declare or preach unto men The Reason of the Character or sign last mentioned Sect. 22 whereby to judge of any mans being filled with the Spirit is because it is the proper work of the Spirit to open and reveal unto men the Scriptures and the mind of God there so that when any person man or woman shall be found to excell in such a way upon the terms and with the cautions lately specified I mean to be richly acquainted with the mind of God in the Scripture it must needs argue a great measure of the Spirit of God in them For it is I say the property of the Spirit of God to reveal the mind of God in the Scriptures and to reveal such and such truths which have lain dormant in the bodies of the Scriptures wound up and unpublished For the Spirit of God hath reserved and set apart some particular portion of truth which is appropriate to every Age and Generation that cometh over the World which is to be opened unto it Some conceive that the seven Seals do respect several Ages and times wherein several truths are to be revealed as that in such an Age and Time when one Seal was broken up there was such a part of the mind of God let out and so at the breaking up of a second then cometh forth another part of the mind of God This is clear and experience teacheth us that every Generation and every Age have had some sealed or fallow ground of Scripture broken up unto them some considerable passage of Scripture that hath never seen the Sun that hath never been so generally understood or known by men as in the present Generation so that it being the proper work of the Spirit of God to take away the vail and covering which hath been upon the Scriptures when he findeth some person whom he doth much delight in he will single him out for this service 1 Cor. 2.10 11 c. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God That is according to Scripture Language teacheth men to search and to find out by searching the deep things of God i. e. such Counsels of his which do not lie in the surface of the Scriptures such things which cannot be seen at the first cast of a mans eye For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of a man which is in him Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God Now the Notions which are bred in the Mind and in the Nature of God are of another sort of a quite different nature from those which are ingendred and conceived in the mind of men even as those impressions in bruit beasts are of a far other nature and kind from those which are in men and being of another nature and kind and also inferiour to those Notions or Impressions which are in man they cannot understand or comprehend those Notions or Impressions and those Principles of Action that are in men and by which they order and steere their course The Reason is because these Notions or Impressions that are in Men are of a superiour kind to those in Beasts and out of the reach of them or any other created being especially beneath themselves So that though it should be supposed that
Servant plowing or feeding Cattel will say to him by and by when he is came from the Field go and sit down to meat and will not rather say unto him make ready wherewith I may sup and gird thy self and serve me till I have eaten and drunken and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink Doth he thank that Servant because he did the things that were commanded him I trow not So likewise Ye when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable Servants Now compare that which was delivered and taught in the former Parable how the Lord Christ will gird himself and come forth and serve them with that which is promised here namely that when they had girded themselves and administred unto him the Master while he shall eat and drink then they shall sit down and eat and drink And withal Doth he thank such a Servant because he hath done thus I trow not saith he I suppose his meaning is that it is not the manner of men when Servants do but that which commanded them to do the Master doth not think himself beholding to them neither doth he thank them by the bestowing any signal or particular reward upon them But now there is a kind of Servant upon whom the Master doth intend to bestow very great and worthy things For it is said in the other Parable expresly he will gird himself and come forth and serve them He will do it in the sight of Heaven and Earth all the World shall take notice that he will account those Servants there spoken of worthy of double honour he himself will honour them But if the Question be But what is it that maketh the difference between these two kinds of services in point of Reward both of them were good Servants and typifies such persons who should be saved The business is this if you will but consider the nature of these Commands you will find a difference of these Servants They that do the things in the latter Parable which are commanded them that is which are properly and positively and strictly commanded them viz. when God shall pitch determinately that either they must do them or else suffer for it and be destroyed with the vengeance of Eternal fire Now they that go forth in their obedience in this kind so far as that they may escape these dangers they shall sit down when their Lord and Master hath eat and drank that is they shall receive the common reward of Salvation But there are another kind of Servants in another consideration very proper and passable too that serve not as Servants but rather as Sons namely those that shall set themselves and stir up their hearts to obedience unto God in these high Commands of his which are not things commanded after such a manner or with such a kind of Command as was mentioned formerly with threatnings of hell fire unto those who shall disobey them They who shall perform these high services and commands of his which are calculated on purpose for the spirits of those men who are Children who are of a filial spirit and ingenuous temper and who desire to communicate in the greatest and highest of the affairs and blessings of God they who shall not content themselves with the observation of the former kind of Laws but shall rise up in their obedience to the observation of the other these are they whom their great Lord and Master Jesus will gird himself and come forth and serve them That is will shew them signal and special grace and favour by themselves But that by the way The truth is that the performance of the latter kind of services viz. those that be not drawn out by the means of threatning of damnation are of the most noble and genuine kind and of highest acceptation with God yet notwithstanding there is no Law made against such persons who shall not be holy and exact as Noah Daniel and Job that shall not be as worthy excellent and heavenly as these were or as serviceable in their Generation but yet these are they whom their Lord and Master will gird himself and come forth and serve but will not do so by the other So that the Servants or Believers which are expressed in the Parable that shall eat and drink when their Lord and Master hath eaten and drank are these who do only the things which are expresly and particularly enjoyned and that upon such terms that except they do them they shall neither eat nor drink That is they shall never be saved And these compared with the others may well be termed unprofitable Servants Mat. 25.30 or rather as the word signifieth and so is translated ver 26. slothful or undiligent Servants Servants that will do no more nor stir one Inch beyond their prescribed task Now such kind of Servants the Holy Ghost calls idle or sluggish who will not bestir themselves in their Masters business as they ought to do This is that which I was saying unto you that it is the observation of this latter kind of Commands which are not threatned with destruction this is that which doth beget in men that Child-like Spirit and that confidence and boldness towards God whereas the observation of that inferiour kind of Commands doth rise no higher than deliverance from destruction but doth not advance them to use it to any special interest in the favour and love of God it riseth no higher nor begetteth nothing else in them but a kind of fear or servile spirit full of doubts and diffidence and distrustfulness and these are the proper and different effects of the obedience unto these two kinds of Commands To clear this a little further there are Instances in the Scriptures where we may observe both the one and the other and likewise the mind and intent of God in them Such Precepts without conformity unto which men cannot be saved either they are such which the Law of Nature doth impose upon men and condemn and judge them if they break and transgress them or else they are such Commands which by reason of some circumstances of time and place and some necessity do so bear upon the Consciences of men that a man cannot neglect them without a manifest contempt of the Divine Authority and Majesty of God As for example when God spake to Abraham and commanded him to go out of his own Country and so to Moses to go to Pharaoh or to Paul to go to preach the Gospel now disobedience in this kind would argue a great affront to the Majesty of God But there are other Commands though perperly enough Commands wherein men are much left at liberty and freedom viz. after what manner and with what hearts and affections they do perform these when men shall not only do simply and barely the thing that is expresly commanded but likewise shall give out their hearts to it and shall observe this after the best manner This is that
those Motives which were he intent upon would do the deed would amount to such a holy and sacred anointing as now we speak of your being filled with the Spirit of God whereby you would be made Priests of the Living God So much for the First Use of the Doctrine the Use of Instruction CHAP. XIII A Second Vse of the Doctrine being a Vse of Reproof unto all those who are Enemies unto this heavenly Exhortation and Counsel of the Holy Ghost administred unto men namely to be filled with the Spirit and who by any means obstruct the course of it A first sort are such who scoff at such a thing as a being filled with the Spirit of God A second sort of Offenders are such who perswade men that the Spirit which they are exhorted to be filled with is but a finite Spirit an Angel and not God Wherein many things are further argued proving the Holy Ghost to be the most High God THe second Use was a Use of Reproof Sect. 1 and this in the general of all those who are Enemies to this heavenly Exhortation this blessed Counsel administred by the Holy Ghost unto men of being filled with the Spirit of God who either by word or by deed or by both obstruct the course of it that it doth not run is not glorified in the World as it ought to be Of these kind of Offenders there are several Species or sorts highly censurable by the Divine Authority of the Doctrine and truth delivered The first are they who being strangers altogether to the Spirit of God the Spirit of which both the Text and and the Doctrine speaketh are full of the Spirit of the World or rather of the God of the World Sathan who instead of being full of the Spirit of God laugh at all Discourses of mens being filled with him yea or of so much as having the Spirit of God in them to scorn hearing from the mouths of faithful Ministers of God sometimes and it may be from the discourse of other Christians that the Saints and Servants of God such who truly believe in Jesus Christ are led by the Spirit of God and taught by him how to pray how to walk holily and soberly and righteously in the World they make a mock at it as some of the more ignorant and prophane Jews did at the Apostles being filled with the Spirit we speak of Acts 2.13 When they spake with strange Tongues Others mocking saith the Text said these men are full of New-wine When any thing of God or of the Spirit of God more than ordinary in one kind or other appeareth in any of the Saints or Servants of God they that are ignorant of God and of his waies will never own or acknowledge the procedure of it to be from God if they can but imagine any other cause though with never so slight appearance from whence there is the least probability that it may proceed yea if they can imagine any cause in this case which is worse than other and which is more disparaging unto the persons in whom that grace and power of God we speak of doth appear this shall be the cause unto which the excellent work of God in his Saints shall be imputed and ascribed How little reason or colour of reason was there to pretend or think that New Wine over-freely drank or taken by men should put them into a capacity of speaking with Tongues strange Tongues such as they never understood or were able to speak before They knew well enough many of the Company that were there or amongst them that every one that spake had a distinct knowledge of the Tongue of their own Nation We hear them speak all in our own Language said they Now I say let any sober and considering man think but a little of the business how impossible a thing it is that New Wine should invest men with a capacity and an ability to speak with strange Tongues in a strange language yet rather than they would acknowledge that the Spirit was the Author thereof they attribute it to New Wine New Wine may cause them to speak freely and at random but not in other Tongues they may indeed speak none-sense and not distinctly or else that which no man can understand but that it should enable and qualifie men for the speaking in strange Tongues distinctly and sensibly to the understanding of other men there is not the least colour or the lightest pretense thus to argue But ignorant persons and such as are prophane what will they not do to harden themselves though in the most irrational and senseless manner that may be And besides the things which the Apostles here spake and uttered and which were understood by those who so imputed the speaking of them in variety of Languages were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Magnalia the great and wonderful things of God If New Wine had been the inspirer these could not have been the great things of God that they had spoken but the great things of the Devil and of the World So when the Lord Christ cast out the unclean Spirit out of him that was possessed Mat. 12.24 it is said that the Pharisees presently charged this upon Sathan and upon his having to do with him because the Devil is a supernatural Agent in that sense which we usually take supernatural That is he is able to do things which are strange and out of the course of Nature therefore he is a kind of reserve for ignorant and wicked men when they meet with any thing of God and of the Spirit of God in the Saints they have the Devil in readiness to impute all these things unto As I remember I have read in the Story of Martyrs when any of the Martyrs shewed any invincible courage or patience in the midst of their torments the Priests that stood by would still perswade the People that the Devil had bereaved them of their senses and had distracted them before the fire came at them and by this kind of colour and feigned pretense they thought to way-lay and to stop the course of the apprehension of the common sort of People lest they should think that there was any great appearance of God in them So when the Lord Christ taught the People with so much wisdom and understanding that they were astonished and the greatest part of them began to admire how he that had not known a Letter should speak at such a rate as he did it is said they were offended at him Mat. 13.57 implying they thought that he came not by it lawfully but by the help of the Devil they could not make it out that he was a good man because they were ignorant of his gifts therefore they fall foul upon the Lord Christ So Paul in those high strains whether in teaching or rather in practice or acting in the World which the Corinthians could not comprehend nor reconcile with such Principles as they were acted by was
it matter of Conscience to turn their backs upon the Ministry of the Gospel which as the Apostle calleth it is the Ministration of the Spirit Secondly They who though they do not make it matter of Conscience to neglect or despise this Ministry yet make it no matter of Couscience diligently to attend upon it when they know otherwise how to bestow their time whether in the pursuit of their pleasures or recreation or in the service of Mammon and attending upon the World between these we might insert a third sort viz. such who though they have not turned their backs upon the Ministry and preaching of the Gospel but seem to make it some matter of Conscience to attend upon it yet have itching ears and cannot long together endure wholsome and sound Doctrine but run from Mountain to Hill from one Minister to another For the first We all know that of late years there is a strange spirit of Error and Ungodliness gone out into the World and walks up and down the Streets of your City and hath taken the heads or hearts rather of many who sometimes greatly loved or at least seemed thus to love the Assemblies of the Saints and those discoveries of himself which God is wont by his Word and the Ministry thereof to make from day to day unto them The Spirit we now speak of is a Spirit which teacheth men to say that the Tabernacles of the Lord of Hosts are vile and for the Ministry of the Gospel and the opening the Mysteries thereof by those that have an Anointing from heaven to do it Wherein is it to be esteemed This Spirit also reacheth and perswadeth those men to fortifie and strengthen or harden themselves in their way not only by Reasons and Arguments such as they are but by the Scriptures themselves also as if they were divided in themselves and destroyed with one hand what they build up with the other Do not men who suffer themselves to be lead by this superordinancing Spirit rather consult the emptying of themselves of the Spirit of God than their filling with him and take a course by degrees wholly to bereave and dispossess themselves of that presence of his in them which at present they do enjoy or have enjoyed formerly Where no wood is saith Solomon or as the Hebrew hath it Prov. 26.20 without wood the fire goeth out In like manner except the Spirit of God in men be fed and nourished with the fresh and new comings in of the light of the knowledge of God and of Christ his presence will languish and sink and die in a manner Hence it is that the Apostle having admonished the Thessalonians not to quench the Spirit 1 Thes 5.19 He immediately subjoyneth by way of caution ver 20. and presignification how they might and must prevent it Despise not Prophesying or as our last Translation with more agreeableness to the Original rendreth it Despise not Prophesyings in the plural number Prophesyings i.e. the opening and interpreting the Word of God by a proper gift of the Spirit for the work if this be despised i. e. made nothing of as the word signifieth then the Spirit in men and women will be quenched i. e. the vigour and activeness of his presence in men will abate and if the neglect and disesteem be long continued in will by degrees wholly cease The word Prophesyings in the Plural number seems to imply that not only or simply to despise Prophesying i. e. the Work or Ordinance it self in the general of Preaching or opening the Scriptures is the ready way to quench the Spirit but to despise the frequency of the opportunities vouchsafed by God in that kind viz. when the bountiful providence of God affordeth unto men and women frequent opportunities of attending upon the Spirit of God in the exercise of Prophesyings and when they may be diligence and wise ordering and disposing of their secular and worldly occasions without any considerable inconveniency frequently attend the openings of the mouth of God which we spake of and yet they shall frequently neglect to do it pleasing themselves with a conceipt that to attend on Prophesying on the Lord's day only is sufficient If the persons with whom we have to do in the reproof in hand Sect. 2 should ask me But why should the despising or neglecting of Prophesying or of the Ministry of the Word be the quenching of the Spirit or a way to empty us of the Spirit I reply First Suppose we could give no other reason of the thing now enquired into but only the Will and pleasure of God and could say no more in the case but this that it is the Counsel of the Will of God to make the attendance of the Creature man upon the Ministry of the Gospel where he vouchsafeth it the condition of the Spirits presence or abiding with him so that in case he doth neglect it his Spirit shall withdraw from him If there were nothing else but this Were not this enough to satisfie any man of Conscience But now the truth is that the reasons of this Counsel of the Will of God that the attendence upon the Ministry of the Gospel should be a standing means to preserve and maintain the presence of the Spirit of God the reasons I say are not so hard to come at in this case but that if the Minds Judgments and Understandings of men were impartially engaged in the enquiry after what the Scriptures speak as to matters of this nature they might be clearly discerned The reasons therefore why God hath made such a Connexion between the attending upon the Ministry of the Word and the presence of his Spirit are first because the word of God is as it were the materials or proper matter for the Holy Ghost to work on to work all his excellent and heavenly works in the hearts and souls of men As for example to work Faith Peace Joy and Righteousness and Holiness and Love c. The Holy Ghost produceth all these excellent works in the hearts of men by the truths of God in the Gospel As an Artificer worketh upon his materials and by his Art and Skil produceth his Artificial piece as a Carpenter upon his Timber or a Goldsmith upon his Metal so that if you do not furnish them with these materials they can do nothing As the Carpenter cannot work when he hath no Timber the Holy Ghost in like manner if there be no Vision no Truth no New Light coming in for him to work on he will take no pleasure nor delight to inhabit or continue there He shall saith our Saviour speaking to his Disciples of the Holy Ghost He shall receive or take of mine and shall shew it unto you Joh. 16.14 What things of his doth our Saviour mean the Holy shall take and shew Doubtless they are such things of his or relating unto him which are contained and asserted in the Gospel As his Divine Nature Humane Nature his Incarnation Conception
Restauration shall be or that there shall be some or some considerable numbers of them to whom this excellency of knowledge shall be vouchsafed by God But that the generality of this People or the common sort of them shall be thus enriched by him The earth saith the Prophet Isaiah speaking of the Land of Judeah and the Inhabitants of it when the time spoken of shall come shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea Isa 11.9 There shall be an universal deluge or overflowing of the knowledge of God over all the Land And elsewhere Thy people also shall be all righteous Isa 60.21 So then the Promise of the abundance of knowledge in the Scripture before us respecteth the Jews only in the sense which hath been declared there is no thing can be inferred from it by those that are not of this Nation but Gentiles as that they shall have the like abundance of knowledge given unto them But Secondly Suppose it should not be appropriable only to the Jews but equally appliable unto the Gentiles also yet neither upon this supposition will it follow that the time of the accomplishment of it either to the Jews or to the Gentiles is yet come First That the Jews have not yet attained the blessing promised therein who yet in all reason shall be first served though it should be supposed that the Gentiles shall sit down at the same Table with them is evident in that the generality of that Nation remaineth to this day in that blindness and ignorance which the Apostle Paul bewailed in them in his daies Secondly For the Gentiles the said Promises neither have been nor are performed as yet unto them is altogether as evident as the former the generality of these being so far from such a knowledge that they have no need that any should teach them that we know they stand in need to be taught the very first Principles or Foundations of Christian Religion Nor can it reasonably be here replied or said Sect. 7 that though the said Promise be not as yet fulfilled in the generality of the Gentiles yet it may be begun to be fulfilled in some of them and the fuller accomplishment of it may by degrees take place untill the times of the plenary and perfect fulfilling of it shall come for against this there are several Considerations 1. As you heard lately that the Promise is not made to the Gentiles but to the Jews 2. It hath not been made good no not in the sense now pleaded for unto the Jews themselves not so much as to a handful of them they generally remaining still in the hardness of thâ—â— hearts and in that blindness of their minds wherein they were in the Apostles daies they are so far from the knowledge of God and of the Gospel of his Son as ever they were and yet all or the most part of them will be first served and have the preeminency and first fruits of this glory 3. The Scriptures intimate as if this Promise were to be fulfilled suddenly and at once when it beginneth to be fulfilled Isa 66.7 8. It is made matter of high admiration Before she travelled she brought forth c. Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day Or shall a Nation be born at once c. The travel of Sion seemeth to note some such change and alteration in her condition which withall intimateth a strange and unexpected expedition and that she shall be raised and built up in a very short time unto a very glorious State and Nation and therefore the Prophet calls it the bringing forth of a Nation in one day So again Isa 60.22 I the Lord will hasten it in his time meaning that when the time should come then he would hasten it and would bring it into perfection very suddenly 4. If a few mens excelling in knowledge were the fulfilling of the said Prophesie and Promise then was it fulfilled in the Apostles daies for there were many 1 Cor. 1.5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge It seemeth that in this one Church there was a great floud of light insomuch that they had nothing now to learn but did wait for the full appearance of the Lord Christ and yet that these Promises of Christ were not fulfilled in those daies in the sense declared is evident because the Apostle pressed the duty of Preaching upon others and layeth a heavy curse upon himself Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel How many passages may we find in his Epistles of the same import 5. And lastly The persons themselves who do pretend this Promise and passage of Scripture to justifie them in their way do make use of somewhat like the Ministry and Preaching of the Gospel they have certain Methods which they pretend to edifie themselves by so that they do offer an affront to themselves and do condemn themselves in those things which they do allow And if they judge themselves capable of any benefit by these their meetings certainly there is a thousand times more reason why we should expect and look for more from the publick Ministry of the Gospel by such who have a competent anointing of the Spirit of God If they do interpret and give a sense of what they speak or affirm and produce from the Scriptures then as I say why should we not rather hearken unto the judgment and sense of them that attend upon the Word and Prayer as the Apostle speaks who are set apart as it were and who do separate themselves unto God and to his Service and of the Tabernacle That they should be likely to give out the mind and sense of the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures above others is reasonable to conceive The Eunuch was in all likelihood a great man and surely a man of more than ordinary parts and abilities and yet he professeth plainly unto Philip Acts 8.31 when he asked him if he understood what he read How saith he can I except some man should guide me or I have some one to interpret It is true it is one thing what the Spirit of God is able to do for men but it is another what he himself judgeth meet for him to do And certainly he doth not judge it meet to build with one hand and to pull down with the other hand which yet he should do having erected an Ordinance as he hath done giving some to be Pastors and Teachers for the work of the Ministry if these things might be gained otherwise I mean in an ordinary way and where the Ministry which Christ hath set on foot may be had and enjoyed But Thirdly and lastly To the Scripture before us although it should be granted to be already fulfilled yet it is not necessary to understand these Expressions They shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother literally but figuratively by an Hyperbole A figure
wherein the Holy Ghost much delighteth as Isa 60.6 22. For the other Scripture mentioned Sect. 8 1 Joh. 2.27 But the anointing which ye have received of him remaineth or abideth in you and ye need not that any man should teach you but as the anointing teacheth you c. implying that the former things which he had written to them concerning those that seduced them that is those men who went about to seduce them according to the Language of the Scripture wherein when any Impostor perswadeth or useth means to seduce he is said to seduce though the persons thus perswaded are not actually seduced As these Christians were not actually seduced and yet he writeth to them concerning those that seduced them and then he closeth his Admonition thus But saith he the anointing which ye have received of him meaning Christ abideth in you As if he had said it is true that which I have written is in order to fortifie and to strengthen you against those who go about to ensnare and entangle you but saith he you have another means and help in your selves by which to preserve your selves from them and from their snares Now by this anointing I suppose he means not properly the Holy Ghost though he was in them and according to Scripture-phrase may be very properly said to abide in them But by anointing I conceive he rather means the work of the Spirit which he had wrought in them that is the impressions of Holiness Righteousness and Goodness their love to God and Men. This is that anointing which they had received and saith he you need not that any man teach you but as this anointing teacheth you meaning that they needed not that any thing should be offered unto them but that whereof they might be competent Judges by means of those holy Principles of Righteousness and Love which the Holy Ghost had wrought and raised in them For the Gospel in the whole compass or circumference of it being a Doctrine according unto godliness men that have a Principle of Godliness rich and full and any whit raised may sent any Doctrine and if they will but consult with the Oracles in their own breasts they may find out and come to understand whether it be according unto Godliness yea or no. If it carrieth any repugnancy unto Godliness or unto Holiness then saith he you have no need of it you are better without it This anointing is truth and it is no lie As if he had said they themselves could not but know it for Godliness is a real Propensity of heart and soul unto that which is Good Just and Righteous and which maketh for the glory of God and well-being of men these are the Royal things of God not liable to any dispute whether they be true or whether they be false delusions therefore saith he having such an anointing within you you need not that any man should teach you any thing lying above the reach of this For let any Doctrine or Practice whatsoever come to you if it comport and fall in with this Principle then you may receive it And he plainly implieth here that though the same anointing teacheth all things yet they that had this anointing had need that men should teach them according as this teacheth them And the truth is that men and women that are godly and have this anointing in the fullest measure have need to be taught those things which are consonant and agreeable to this anointing and which will nourish enlarge quicken and revive it So that this place is so far from countenancing that Notion or Practice by which men turn aside from the Ministry of the Gospel that it proveth and that very clear that they indeed ought to attend upon it The persons now under reproof Sect. 9 besides what they pretend and plead directly and immediately from the Scriptures have other Arguments and Pleas to harden themselves in their Practice Let us therefore deal with them as sober men use to deal with them that are frantick and mad when they have gotten Knives or Swords wherewith they are like to do either themselves or others a mischief they wrest them out of their hands In like manner let us try by evidence and strength of reason and of truth to take away those weapons at least the chief of them wherein they put their trust One thing they pretend why they should not attend upon the Ministry of the Gospel is that the Ministers in these daies are not infallible We cannot safely depend upon them in what they teach us they may lead us into error as well as truth Is not this a Consideration sufficient to justifie us in our taking our selves off from hearing them To this I reply First By putting the question to them Whether they judge themselves to be infallible or no If they answer Affirmatively that they do judge themselves infallible which I suppose they will not then Why should not the Ministers of the Gospel be as infallible as they Besides if they be infallible What need they fear of being led aside into Error by the Ministers of the Gospel But it is like they will reply Negatively and grant that they are not infallible If so why then do they depend upon themselves or upon their own Notions or Apprehensions or upon their own senses and interpretations of Scripture May they not as well be mistaken and deceived by leaning unto these as unto such things which shall be by the Ministers of the Gospel delivered unto them Or will these persons themselves be only Sceptiques and profess that they are absolute Neutralists in all manner of Tenents and Opinions in matters of Religion or that they doubt of every thing and firmly believe nothing If they profess this they are more degenerate from men than the generality of the Heathen They firmly believe that there is one God and that he is good c. yea they are worse than the devils of whom James saith That they believe there is one God and tremble Besides such a Profession as this that men believe nothing in matters of Religion interfeers with it self for he that saith he believes nothing certainly pretends herein to know certainly that all things are doubtful yea and to know certainly that it is best for him to be of this Judgement that all things are uncertain and therefore nothing for him to believe Otherwise Why is he thus minded why doth he not rather submit to the contrary But this last Scepticism is a strain of folly not worth the contending against But to the Reason propounded Sect. 10 by which the seekers of superordinancers do make attempt to justifie their practice in giving over the Ministry of the Gospel I reply Secondly That the Scribes and Pharisees were doubtless every whit as far from being infallible as the Ministers of the Gospel now are yet our Saviour himself Mat. 23.2 3. counselled the people and his own Disciples too to hear them yea and
must go all the pain and labour all the care and travel of soul will perish together Oh how happy then above all worldly Projectors and Designers are they whose hearts are perswaded to hearken to the Counsel of God concerning a being filled with the Spirit even in this respect also besides many others that they are certain of a good reward for their labour They that run this Race shall certainly attain they that seek to be filled with the Spirit shall be filled whereas as I said all endeavours about worldly accommodations are but lost labour in comparison of this CHAP. XVIII The eighth and last Motive That a being filled with the Spirit will render the Condition of men and women most desirable in this World and in that which is to come That no other course will do it but this or none without this Four things a concurrence whereof will render a man's Condition in this life most desirable 1. A freedom from all troublesome distracting and tormenting fears and cares 2. A heart and conscience abounding in Joy and Peace 3. A large and free Communion with God 4. And lastly A rich and large interest in God to be able to carry great Matters in Prayer with him Three of these insisted on 1. A being filled with the Spirit will discharge men from all troublesome and distracting fears and cares 2. The Peace and Joy of men will abound by a being filled with the Spirit 3. A third particular which renders mens Condition so desirable in the World is a free and large Communion with God 1. What is meant by Commu-with God 2. What by a free Communion 3. What is meant by a large and full Communion with God 4. How this Communion renders man's Condition very desirable in the World 5. That this Priviledge must needs accompany a being filled with the Spirit What it is for God to dwell or abide in man How a man may know that God dwelleth in him by the Spirit which is given him How perfect love casteth out fear In what respest the Spirit may be said to witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God A well-grounded Confidence The Causes of a false Confidence enquired into A good Conscience a ground of Assurance EIghtly and lastly To promote the interest of the Exhortation delivered in your Judgments and Consciences Sect. 1 in your Hearts and Affections yet one degree further you may add to to all the former Motives laid before you to perswade you to yield Obedience unto it this one more which amounteth to more than all the rest That to be filled with the Spirit must needs render your Conditions as well in this World as in that which is to come the most blessed and desirable that Creatures made of flesh and bloud are capable of enjoying and that there is no other course will do but this only In this Motive there are three things contained First That a being filled with the Spirit will render the Condition of a man or woman in this life most desirable happy and blessed in the highest Secondly That it will do the like for them in the World which is to come it will render their Conditions and Beings here the best that this World also can afford unto the Sons and Daughters of Men. Thirdly and lastly That there is no other course no other engagement or employment that a man or woman can lay out themselves and their time and strength in that will do either First For the blessedness or desirableness of the Condition in the World that now is there are are four things a concurrent enjoyment of which must needs be conceived to make the State and Condition of a man or woman in the World very happy and desirable The first is A well-grounded Vacuity or freedom from all troublesome distracting and tormenting fears and cares Secondly An Heart and Conscience abounding in Peace and Joy upon the like terms The third A large and free Communion with God The fourth and last A large and rich and considerable interest in God that can carry all matters of request with him upon all occasions I suppose if any man were in the actual enjoyment of all these four particulars his Condition and State would be as desirable as the heart and soul of a man can reasonably or with a true understanding desire in this World Now he that is filled with the Spirit of God will be invested with these four great blessings First For a man or woman in this Vale of mortality and tears to be out of the reach of troublesome and tormenting fears and cares to enjoy a constant serenity and tranquillity of mind without being afraid either of what man can or God will do unto him How great and happy must such a mans condition be Surely it is one of the special ingredients in the felicity and blessedness of God himself as David taketh notice in Psal 2.4 He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision meaning his Enemies My Brethre For poor Creatures who dwell in houses of clay and are compassed about with mortality to be in respect of their inner man in reference to any troubles or things formidable that may assault them for them I say to have Communion with God in this heavenly priviledge to laugh all troubles to scorn to be like unto a Mountain or a great Rock before Storms and Tempests and Whirlwinds How glorious above measure must such a State and Condition be To have the heart and soul like the upper Region of the Air where there are no disturbances or commotions where to be as I said even now they may be able to laugh all Enemies to scorn Not to be afraid of what either men can or what God will do unto them this is a most Divine Priviledge especially the obnoxiousness and weakness in this kind of the generality of the hearts of men considered it must needs be a very rare and high attainment for any to live out of the reach of fears Fear as John saith hath torment and indeed upon the matter nothing else hath torment but fear neither is it simply any present sorrow or suffering though very grievous even as sharp as nature it self is well able to stand under that hath any torment in it but fear proceeding from the apprehension of the danger of some misery approaching in the future Now if we were but armed in our hearts by the fulness of the Spirit no fear would enter in there we should have no cause to fear any danger for the future and consequently sorrows and suffering would not much offend us they would be but of a very light and passable consideration we should not suffer any great matter upon the account of them Our Saviour Mat. 6.34 adviseth those that believe in him not to care for to morrow telling them the morrow shall care for it self c. if we would but cut asunder from us
notice before-hand that he was a man full of the Holy Ghost Acts 6.5 And they chose Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost lâ—st otherwise the greatness of the Actions might prejudice the belief of them in those that should read them Whereas the Reader taking notice that Stephen was a man endued with more than ordinary Power and Wisdom from on High full of the Holy Ghost they might upon this account look upon it as a thing no waies incredible that Stephen should do and speak and suffer for both 〈◊〉 did So likewise when Paul Acts 13.9 in the Condition of a stranger undertook the bold and high Contest against Elimas the Sorcerer as he is called a false Prophet being a great Favourite as it seemeth to Sergiue Paulus the chief Ruler of the Country in the Isle of Cyprus there is express mention made before-hand of his being full of the Holy Ghost Then Saul who also is called Paul filled with the Holy Ghost set his eyes upon him and said c. Implying that such a thing as this would hardly have been undertaken by Paul unless he had been carried on by the Spirit of God within him and that by some considerable fulness of him And this Paul we now speak of laboured we know in the work of the Lord more abundantly than they all he was as we may say the Lord Christ's right hand upon the Earth he drove Sathan the God of this World before him from place to place and triumphed over him every where where he came he was too hard for him and cast him down from heaven like lightning and turned the affairs of his Kingdom upside down and laid wast his power made havock and desolation in all the Territories which he had amongst the generality of men But how came it about what was the reason why this Apostle so much and to such an high degree over acted the Line of the Labours Zeal and Faithfulness of all his Follows Questionless the reason was he had a richer and fuller anointing of the Spirit than they the Sails of his soul were filled with a stronger gale of the Spirit of God than theirs himself doth in effect give this account of his heroick and high Actings for Jesus Christ in the World Col. 1.28 29. Whom we preach saith he warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus whereunto I also labour striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily he laboured for this very purpose to present every man perfect in Christ and he did it according to his working namely the Spirit of Christ which did work in him mightily or with power Where observe by the way that the Apostle saith that he did labour in conformity unto the mighty working of the grace of God or of the Spirit of God in him the meaning seems to be this that the Spirit of God that put him on and Paul were both agreed Paul as ready to go as the Spirit was to send By this means Paul went on in all those Heroick Actions which he did and made great havock and desolation among the powers of sin and darkness and unbelief in the World By means I say of the Spirit Paul submitting himself unto him and receiving his impressions and going along with them he was enabled to many great atchievements and to labour more abundantly in the Gospel and for the interest of God and his glory in the World and the good of men also than any nay all the rest of the Apostles though they were men who were also very serviceable in their Generation To instance no father the Lord Christ himself who was the Worthy of all Worthies that ever the great God of Heaven and Earth imployed in any service upon Earth who was the first-born Servant of God and Elder Brother to Paul himself who kindled a fire that never was yet quenched nor ever shall be until it hath consumed all his Enemies and laid a foundation in his own bloud to build up the Name of God in the greatest glory amongst Angels and Men to the daies of Eternity He I say was a man of these high and most transcendent Atchievements by the advantage he had of all other men in being filled with the Spirit above them all according to that of Joh. 3.34 where it is said that God gave him the Spirit without measure he was not only filled with the Spirit but had the over flowing of the Spirit never did any man attain unto his pitch of zeal and faithfulness to the service of God So that there is no question but that he that is filled with the Spirit is in a capacity to Act and cannot lightly but Act at a very high rate for God if be do but follow the motions of the Spirit of God and will go along with them then he cannot I say but be great in the sight of God great in the services of Christ and of his Saints If you desire to know the reason hereof it is because as the higher the wind bloweth that Ship whose Sails are duly trimmed runneth so much the faster and riddeth the more way upon the Seas Even so when the heart and soul of a man shall be full of the Spirit of God such a person must needs be acted and carried on with more power and vigour in a swifter manner or course and be enabled to do twice as much as another in the same compass of time who hath but a scanty presence of the Spirit of God with him You know it is our Saviours Expression Joh. 3.6 That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit I suppose he maketh mention of being born of the flesh only to shew and make things more passable to the understanding of Nicodomus to make way for that which he spake in the latter Now saith he that which is born of the flesh is flesh that thou and every man knows as the Parent that begetteth a Child is of a fleshly nature so that which is born must needs be flesh also And dost thou not know how a man shall be born again of the Spirit It is even as it is with those that be born of the flesh they partake of the same nature and receive the impressions of the flesh So it is with the Spirit that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Such as is the nature of the Spirit of God such also is that which is born or begotten of it that is those Principles whatsoever they are that he who is born of the Spirit doth receive by means of the Spirit of God must answer and be like unto those which the Spirit of God himself hath of which he is born or begotten Now you know that the Spirit of God is full of the Love of God and full of Zeal for God and set upon the magnifying of him in the World and promoting his Interest in the
dumpishness c. and so that which is begotten by the Spirit of God doth resemble that Spirit which doth produce it Now as the Spirit of God that begetteth this Spirit in a man is holy and pure a Spirit of Love and Meekness and Gentleness c. Even so is that Spirit which is begotten a Spirit of Meekness Love Holiness Humility c. The reason why I rather thus understand the word Spirit in the place before us is first because this spirit I mean the spirit of a man wrought and new framed within him by the Spirit of God is the more immediate principle of a mans actions and the Spirit of God in this respect the more remote because he produceth and worketh all our good works by the mediation of that Spirit or new frame of heart which he hath raised in us Now then that Spirit which hath the more immediate conjunction with or influence upon our actions is more easily discernable by us and consequently more proper to discover or make known that which is discoverable by it as the dwelling of God in us in this place Secondly The Holy Ghost doth not discover himself or his presence in a man at least not his sanctifying presence of which we now speak but only by that spirit which he begetteth in his own likeness as hath been said and by the Fruits or Works of the Spirit For who can say upon any competent grounds I have the Spirit of God in me unless he find the frame of his heart and the temper of his former spirit changed within him and this for the better He that saith he hath the Spirit of God in him upon any other ground or account speaketh he knows not what nor hath any man reason to believe him Now then if the Holy Ghost be not manifestive of himself or of his own presence in men but only by that spirit which he begets or creates in men and by the works which this Spirit produceth in them but this Spirit especially by the works which it produceth is plainly manifestive of it self and consequently of all other things which must of necessity accompany it amongst which the dwelling of God in men is one It clearly follows that this is the Spirit by which the Holy Ghost himself here saith that we know that God abideth or dwelleth in us Thirdly That Spirit in a man which must declare and evidence Gods dwelling or abiding in him must be a Spirit constantly or habitually abiding in him Now the constant and habitual abiding of the Spirit of God in those who have received him cannot be known but only by that habitual frame of heart out of which they act for otherwise there is a remaining of the Spirit of God in them which is not sanctifying many had the Holy Ghost in them to work Miracles but the sanctifying presence of the Holy Ghost in men cannot be known but only by the habitual and blessed frame of heart out of which they act in the waies of God and therefore in this respect also it is most likely that the Holy Ghost meaneth the spirit which is begotten in the hearts by this Spirit Fourthly and lastly This Spirit we speak of which is begotten in men by the Spirit of God may be said to be given unto us by God as well as the Holy Ghost himself For as God when he gave Christ unto men may be said to have given them all things appertaining unto life and bleâ—â—edness He that hath given the Fountain may be said to have given the streams So he that hath given the sanctifying Spirit may be also said to have given all other things and blessings that depend upon the same Thus then we see this clear before us that he that is filled with the Spirit cannot but know that God dwelleth and abideth in him and this was the first thing mentioned which must needs possess and fill men with a rich assurance that their attonement and peace is made with God by the bloud of Christ For most assuredly God dwells in no man but in him who believeth in him And secondly Whosoever believeth in him his attonement is compleat with God Thirdly and lastly the man or woman in whom God dwelleth either knoweth or readily may know that God dwelleth in him The second thing propounded Sect. 11 whereby a man or woman may know that their attonement or peace is made with God and they accepted was if they love God they that truly love God and know they love him may from hence readily conclude and take hold of an assurance that they have peace with God This is evident from that known passage 1 Joh. 4.18 There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in love There is no fear in love i. e. with love or where love is found The Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is oft used for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with as 2 Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith or with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus So again Mat. 16.27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory that is with the glory of his Father There is no fear in love meaning the love of God and the fear of God i. e. the fear of being hurt by God or of receiving evil from him as he explaineth himself immediately cannot stand together But saith he perfect love casteth out fear First It is evident that he speaks here principally and more particularly of the love of God in men Secondly By perfect love he means love grown to a good maturity and strength in the heart and soul of a man when it is active and bringeth forth a considerable proportion of fruit By perfect love here he cannot mean love which is absolutely and compleatly perfect which is not capable of any more intenseness or further enlargement for there is no such love of God to be found amongst men that dwell in houses of clay no not among the greatest of the Saints yea it is a question whether the love of the Angels themselves be perfect in this sense or no. The word perfect and perfection are most frequently used when applied to man or any other Creature not in a strict or absolute but a limited and diminutive sense Things are said to be perfect when they are grown to any good degree of perfection So he that offendeth not in word is said to be a perfect man Jam. 3.2 that is it is a sign that he is an able Christian so love to God when it is grown to a considerable strength in a man that it yieldeth forth fruit in abundance then it is called perfect love and I do not remember where the word is otherwise used when applied to the Creature or things relating to it Indeed when applied to God it is to be taken in the strictest sense but when applied
to be Errors Heresies Blasphemies c. and by riding over the heads of all those whom he calls Sectaries he shall set God upon the Throne and put an Iron Scepter into the hand of Jesus Christ wherewith to break all his Enemies in pieces like a Potters Vessel making full account that God will never have a Temple upon Earth unless it be of his building The Seeker whilest he throws the House of God out of the Windows as we use to say and makes an utter desolation in the Courts thereof casting out all the Ordinances and Ministrations of it as Menstruous and polluted Rags and makes an headless heartless and confused meeting of a few to speak what any Spirit one or other shall prompt them withall he conceipts and this with confidence enough too that he acts according to the heart of Jesus Christ and that persons of all other forms and waies do rather great disservice to Jesus Christ and the truth than otherwise and that he and men of his inspiration are the only persons that understand aright what makes for the lifting up of the Throne of Christ amongst men Yea the Rantor himself whose Principles and waies have no more Communion with the glory of God or of Jesus Christ than Light hath with Darkness or Christ himself with Belial yet he in his own conceipt is the first-born amongst the Friends of God and of Jesus Christ He alone it is that spreads abroad the sweet savour of Jesus Christ in the World whilest he pours out himself in all manner of abominations and sentenceth men of other Principles and Practices as strangers unto God and to the Gospel and obscurers and darkeners of the Grace of God and the fulness of Redemption purchased by Jesus Christ Yea there is another sort who is the last-born Son of Sathan that I know amongst us he finds false fire in the Zeal of all the former and therefore hath set up a new form or way for the worshipping and serving of God and though Sathan be more palpably visible in it than in any of the former yet he is confident that all other waies ought to cast down their Crowns to the ground at the feet of it yea and that they shall be made to do it Thus God hath many in the World that pretend high in Friendship to him and in Zeal for his glory who yet indeed trouble and disturbe the World And many of them labour in the very sire and some of them do as little spare their flesh as the Servants of Baal did who cut themselves with Knives and Lances which they needed not to do in case they were real Friends indeed unto God and worthy Imitators of the true Zeal and Christian fervour of Spirit which uttered themselves in the Primitive Christians So that as Solomon observing the common pretenses and professions of men one to another expresseth himself thus Prov 20.6 Mâ—st men will boast every man of his own goodness But who can find a faithful man That is a Friend indeed and indeed So may God altogether as truly say that there are many in the World men of this way and men of that way men of a third of a fourth and of a fifth who all boast of their goodness who pretend love to me and zeal for my glory but I can hardly find a faithful man amongst them a man who naturally careth for the things of my glory As the Apostle speaks concerning Timothy that did naturally mind his Affairs it is one of the hardest things in the World to find men especially any publick Society of men that do naturally mind the things of Jesus Christ But the thing I was saying unto you is that the reason why the interest of Prayer in the World I mean amongst Professors of Christianity is fallen so low as it is and is in a manner sunk in comparison of that which it was and appeared to be in the Christians of old is because that the Spirit of love to God that Heroick and vigorous Spirit is sunk in the Christian World It was upon the Wing in the times of the Apostles and some Ages after them but now among all pretenders to God certain it is that God amongst them all finds not many faithful Friends not many of that integrity and uprightness of heart and soul which was found in the Primitive Christians For as God reasoned the case with the Jews long since Isa 59.1 2. Behold the Lords hand is not shortened c. neither his ear heavy that he cannot hear So then this is a thing which needs be no mans doubt or question that to be great in the sight of God and to have his ear continually open unto a mans Prayer must needs be a treasure of comfort and peace unto him and so in consort with those three other Priviledges formerly opened renders a mans life and condition in the World as desirable as God judgeth meet to permit it to be here We further added Sect. 7 in the proposal of the Motive yet in hand that as a being filled with the Spirit would render a mans life in this World comfortable in respect of the four particulars mentioned yea most desirable So there is no other course that a man can take without this nothing that he can do besides or with a neglect of this will do it will interest a person man or woman in any or however not in all the particulars mentioned without a joynt concurrence of which there will be somewhat material and of moment wanting to the compleating of their condition in the World Let us speak a few words to this also and prove unto you that without a being filled with the Spirit none of the four particulars can be enjoyed or possessed by you at least upon any such terms on which they may be and are enjoyed by those that are filled with the Spirit and on which the desirableness of a mans life in the World is raised and maintained by them Now the reason briefly why none of the great Priviledges mentioned can be enjoyed like themselves by any other course taken or means used without a being filled with the Spirit is this because they all depend upon these cordial and high engagements for God and for the advancement of his interest in the World of which we have lately spoken and these are not likely to be found in any person or persons but in those only who are filled with the Spirit So that we have these two things to open and shew unto you First That the four particulars wherein as we have proved the life of a man in this World as to the greatest desirableness of it consists are not to be had or to be enjoyed either devisim but especially not conjunctim but only by a signal course of righteousness or a very considerable degree of activeness for God Secondly That no mans heart will ever be lifted up to such a course of righteousness as this to such