of Sardis containing a description of Christ from whom the Letter is sent Now Christ is here described according to the matter in hand from two royalties of his first That he hath the seven Spirits of God that is he hath the giving of the Holy Ghost and all his gifts and graces to whomsoever he pleaseth Secondly that He hath the seven Starres that is hee hath the disposing of the Ministers of the Church And this I told you is to bee meant divers wayes Christ is said to have the Ministers of the Church five wayes First hee hath the sending of them they have their Mission from him Secondly hee hath the delegating of them they have their Commission from him Thirdly bee hath the gifting of them they have their abilities from him Fourthly hee hath the prospering of them they have the successe of their labours from him Fifthly he hath the keeping of them they are put into a place continued or removed they have their liberty from him and when they are put downe or silenced it is he that does doe it The two first I have handled already first that he hath the sending of them Secondly that he hath the delegating of them I come now to the third Hee hath the gifting of them look what good gifts and abilities they have they have them all of him As Paul sayes Hee hath made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 6. and this was one of the ends of his Ascension as the Apostle sayes Hee ascended up on high and led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Ephes 4. 8. that is this was one end of his ascending up to Heaven that hee might send down gifts unto his Church Now what gifts does hee mean True hee sends gifts to all his true Members but he meanes the gifting of his Ministers as it follows And hee gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastours and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery and so forth ver 11 12. And the truth is it is not without cause for of all men wee that are the Ministers of Jesus Christ have need of singular and rare gifts and abilities First To open the Scriptures the Scriptures are a great deep and they have under the Letter much admirable spirituall matter encouched and many things are hard in them as Peter sayes And a Minister is to open them and to give out the sense as it is said of the Priests They read the Law distinctly and gave out the sense and made the people to understand the Reading Nehem. 8. 8. Now if a Minister have not gifts from Jesus Christ what madde work will hee make the Scripture will bee a clasped book unto him and a Fountain sealed up Like the Philistines that in three daies could not expound Sampsons Riddle It is said of Christ that he opened the Scriptures Luk. 24. 32. The Scriptures are shut and contain Mysteries folded and lapped up now the Minister had need of abilities to open them Secondly To Teach as a Minister is to open the Scriptures which requireth great gifts so he is to teach the people out of them to draw Doctrines out of the same and this requireth great gifts too to informe the judgement to let out the light of the Word to scatter the beames of the Sun of righteousnesse abroad to dispel the darknesse of mens minds to shine round about them in spirituall knowledge This is a work of much ability as the Apostle speaks to Timothy the things which thou hast heard of mee the same commit thou to faithfull men who shall bee able to teach others 2 Tim. 2. 2. and therefore it is called Prophecying Despise not Prophecying that is despise not Teaching a man had need of a speciall gift to be able to Prophesie so if a man would be a Teacher when Nicodemus would expresse what an able Teacher Christ was sayes hee Thou art a teacher come from God A man had need to be one that hath been with God that would teach aright There is a gift of fitnesse and aptnesse without which a man cannot doe it The servant of the Lord must bee apt to teach 2 Tim. 2. 24. the Apostle tells us there bee heapes of naughty teachers in the world a good teacher is a rare man it cannot bee without all wisdome as hee sayes Teaching every man in all wisdome Col. 1. 28. we are to teach people the learning of the holy how to know God how to fear him and love him Wee are to teach people how to pray how to walk in all holines and righteousnes of living the great things of Gods Law the deep things of the Spirit the mysteries of eternall life to open the wiles of Satan the mistakes of the hearts of men the many by-wayes of the soule ye know sin is covered over with pleasures and profits and carnall reasons and evasions and we are to lay it out naked as indeed it is Gracious and godly courses seem grievous and irksome and uncouth and vile and needlesse and we are to discover the inward pleasure and commodity and necessity and glory of them and therfore wee have need of abilities Thirdly to Convince yee know how the heart does use to put off the Word and if it meet with a doctrine or a reproof or a precept that it does not like it will deny it it will cavill and carp O it is false as Johanan and others said to Jeremiah it is false you doe not say true wee will never beleeve it When wee paint out a drunkards damned estate he is ready to gainsay it or an adulterers he is ready to except people contradict such passages of the Word as are against their lusts and they give us very little better then the lye many times therefore a Minister should bee able to convince that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gain-sayers Tit. 1. 9. when people are subject to condemn us for harshnesse and hard sayings and that we doe not preach placentia enough we must be able to use some speech that cannot be condemned Tit. 2. 8. when a Minister preaches weakly Sermons like wide nets or rotten threads that the Birds may get through or break this is not able preaching as Zwinglius said of Carolostadius when he heard him disputing weakly against consubstantiation O sayes he I am sorry that so good a cause should have such a weak defendant It is said of Apollos that hee mightily convinced the Jewes Stephen the University-men there that came huddling about him they were not able to withstand the Spirit and the wisdome by which hee spake Act. 6. 10. it is the promise of our Saviour I will give you a mouth and wisdome which all your adversaries shall not bee able to gainsay or resist Luk. 21. 15. Fourthly to move the affections Ministers have need
but now the Lord hath put a vaile of flesh upon himselfe by incarnating his owne Son now we may make bold The use of this is First Is it so that Christ hath the seven Spirits of God Then what hath he not He is an all sufficient Saviour He is Gods Steward God hath put all his goods into his hands No man can be assured of any thing that is good but by comming unto him All things are delivered to me of my Father Mat. 11. 27. That is I have all my fathers goods in my hand Favour Pardon Mercy Grace Comfort Heaven it selfe yea and his holy Spirit and all I have the distributing of them all He is the store-house whither all needy soules are to goe He is full of all manner of good things as John saies Of his fulnesse have we al received Joh. 1. 1â— Looke what grace any of the Saints have they have it all of him he is Gods Conduit-pipe the Lord opens himselfe only in him he is the tap he lets out Gods Blessings and Graces and Spirit like a sluce Hee is the Lord Treasurer of Heaven and Earth As Joseph in Egypt if any one would have Corne they must goe to Joseph for it if they came to Pharaoh but for a pecke or a gallon presently he sent them to Joseph so the Lord sends all that will have any drop of mercy to his Sonne if yee will not goe to my Sonne yee shall not have one drop yee shall dye in your sinnes This is my welbeloved Sonne sayes hee looke yee heare him hearken to him obey him be ruled by him bow down unto him doe as he bids you if ye anger him and will not stoop unto him if your hearts will not burst if your minds will not off from the world and other things and be wholly intent unto him if yee slight him and suffer vain things to draw away your affections and thoughts and meditations from him there is no redemption for you No Salvation but onely by beleeving in his name he hath all the seven Spirits of God no Spirit of Grace at all can be had but onely of him he was the Rocke that Moses must stand on that the glory of Gods goodnesse might passe before him Secondly Another use is hath Christ the seven Spirits of God then wee are without excuse if wee be without the Holy Spirit of God Christ hath him to give and yet how few will seeke him of Jesus Christ as Christ sayes Yee will not come unto me that yee might have life Joh. 5. 40. That is if yee would come unto me I would make your dead hearts to live I would quicken you to all goodnesse I would powre my Holy Spirit upon you But you will not come unto me for it This makes us without excuse That Christ hath the Spirit in him for all that have a minde to him and wee have no minde How few among you to this very day have gotten yet Gods Holy Spirit Yee pray but yee have not the spirit of supplieation to pray by to lift up your hearts to enliven your desires to be able to wrestle with God to any purpose no Spirit of grace stirring in you When ye come to the house of God ye heare Sermons but the Holy Ghost does not fall upon you to make them effectuall and mightie in operation to convert you to God to knocke off your base lusts yee are dead in all holy duties voide of all Heavenly graces dull to every good thing even as the Body without the spirit is dead Nay the Spirit of the world dwelleth in most men tying and glving them to the things here below and will not let them savor and rellish the things of Heaven Whereby they cannot cease from sinne nor work the works of God Rare is that man now-a-dayes that hath the Holy Spirit of God remaining in him in any measure nay if people were asked whether they have the Spirit of God yea or no their owne Conscience could answer No they have not they never felt any such Divine ghuest their earthlinesse and lumpishnesse of heart in all the ordinances of God their unaquaintednesse with God their unsettlednesse and nakednesse and blindnesse in all the wayes of peace plainely does declare it and yet they will not come unto Christ that they might have life he hath the seven Spirits of God and yet they cannot finde in their hearts to be instant and earnest with him when Pharaoh appointed Joseph to distribute corne to all comers Goe to Joseph sayes he Gen. 41. 55. the Text sayes all Countries came to Joseph for Corne because the famine was sore in all lands But God hath appointed his own Sonne to be a dispencer of the Spirit and there is a sore want of the spirit every where in all Townes and Parishes and yet hardly any will come in Certainely this is the condemnation that men intend their pleasure and their profits and every outward thing and never seeke to Jesus to have the Holy Spirit of God For First many of us have hard hearts that cannot melt at our owne sinnes nor the publike provocations whereby God is provoked nor the generall calamities of the Church our hearts are like a stone and wee are not affected nor can be affected no relenting at the Word no bleeding in any other good dutie nothing moves us the spirit could soften yea and take the stone away and Christ saies hee would give him unto us if we did desire him I will put a new Spirit within you and take the stony heart out of the flesh Ezek. 11. 19. Hee hath spirit enough in him to doe it and yet we will not sue to him but in a feigned manner and so a hard heart possesseth us still which marres all our familie-duties and all that wee doe in the publike assemblies nothing comes of all that wee doe If our foolish hearts would come downe to be fervent after Christ this might be be remedied He hath the seven Spirits of God for the nonce But a spirit of slumber bewitches us and and nothing can awaken us to this very day Never was there a more hard-hearted time never more hard-hearted Christians nummed and past feeling wishing indeed the things mought be mended but never putting forth our hand to have them mended Secondly scarce any of us can pray but in a blunt-hearted-wise our prayers never stirre Heaven never give so much as a lift to any of our lusts neither are they any whit answerable to the miseries that are on us whether Personall or Nationall the spirit could helpe us and enlarge us as Paul saies of the good Romans Yee have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby yee cry Abba Father Rom. 8. 15. and Christ hath this Spirit in his hand to give But we would rather sit woulding and yawning then be downe on our knees before God Every one almost hath heavy things that he is consciencious of terrible guiltines horrible
not signes there are foure signes that people take to bee signes and are not First a civill Life when a man is a mercifull man kind to the poore quiet and peaceable among his Neighbours gentle affable courteous well-conditioned These are no signes of having Gods holy Spirit True they are very commendable and they that have the Spirit of God must have them and better than them But a man may bee without the holy Spirit of God and yet have all these Paul shews that the very Barbarians shewed him no little kindnesse they kindled him a fire though they were meer naturall men Act. 28. 2. Our Saviour Christ shews that some are chaste by nature that are born so so many are temperate by nature and loving by nature and meek by nature patient by nature therefore these are no supernaturall graces these are no signes of the holy spirit Secondly the profession of Religion This is no signe of the Holy Spirit neither for many professe they know God and yee are reprobate to every good work Tit. 1. 16. that is many professe Religion they will heare the Word they will have prayers in their families they will be of the better side in their Parish where they are if there be any godly ones they will be of their Company if they can and seeme to to doe as they doe and yet they have a carnall heart they doe very good workes every day but they have a Reprobate and unapproved heart in them They doe not doe them right Thirdly Every kinde of repentance is not a signe neither we read that Pharaoh Confessed his sin and desired the prayers of Gods people Exod. 9. 27. Saul wept for his sinnes 1 Sam. 24. 16. Judas made restitution Esau bought repentance with teares The world think certainly these were times of Gods Spirit no no They were onely Common effects of the spirit The wicked may in a sort repent of their sinnes and beat them downe too but the truths is they doe not mortifie them Like as if a man should come into a garden and see how a mole hath cast up the earth and made a fowle stirre in the Alleyes and in the Garden knots if hee tread it onely downe with his foote and doe not kill the Mole anon after it will be as bad as before so many wicked men may doe they may beat downe their sinnes every day but they rise up still as bad as before now they beat them downe and so their lusts like the Mole cast up againe Thus the Mole is not killed This is no signe of the Spirit But a godly heart he kils the Mole he mortifies his sin indeed new Moles may breed and cast up again but he riddes his soule more and more Fourthly Every kind of faith neither is not a signe of Gods holy Spirit yee know the stony ground Believed Luk. 8. 13. Secondly Now for those signes that be First When a man is soundly convinced of his sinnes This is an act of Gods holy Spirit Joh. 16. 8. When a man hath the unction from the Holy one The Text sayes that abides for ever where it is The anointing which yee have received of him abideth in you 1 Joh. 2. 27. Secondly When a man hath had a sound prick for his sins this lets in the Holy Ghost as Peter told his hearers That were prickt in their hearts Act. 2. 37. he told them they should receive the Holy Ghost Thirdly When a man hath had an unsatisfiable desire of reconciliation with God as it is said of Paul that when hee was rightly toucht by the spirit indeed hee could neither eat nor drink Act. 9. 9. hee could not be quiet till Ananias came and told him hee was reconciled with God Fourthly When a man is another and a new creature Whosoever is in Christ is a new creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. the Spirit of God where ere Hee is Hee is a new spirit and Hee carries with him a new heart Ezek. 36. 26. Hee works a thorow change and hee renews minde will and affections inclinations memory appetite members and all Hee does not onely new-plaster them over but hee pulls a man quite down and builds him up a new habitation of God as Christ told the Centurion if I come I will heale thy servant so if Christ doe once come with his spirit into any mans heart hee heales it hee works a mighty mutation in that man into another man as Paul tels the Corinthians Yee were drunkards but now yee are washed yee were railers yee were adulterers yee were covetous yee were unrighteous But now yee are washed 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. As Paul sayes I was a blasphemer and I was a persecuter but blessed bee God now I have obtained mercy Now I am not the man that I was I was a lyer but now blessed bee God I have the lip of Truth I hated them that were godly but blessed bee God now they are the dearest people to mee in the world Fifthly when a man does supernaturall good things naturall good things a naturall man may doe without the holy spirit of grace when you see a man list up a hundred or two hundred pound weight you will say I this hee may do by nature But if you should see a man lift up five thousand pound weight you will say there is more then nature in him so beloved when you see a man loves sin and comes to bee vaine and cannot abide to bee strict if hee bee strict a little hee is soon weary of it and layes it aside you may know this man hath not the spirit of God in him but if yee see you love holinesse and hate every evill thing that nothing humbles you so much as sin nothing takes you up so much as how to please God now yee may know the spirit of God is in you Why This is above Nature This then is another Use Lastly Hath Christ the seven Spirits of God to give them to all that will come unto him then what may Christ say to them that are contented without him that have no care at all to come at him that like not his government that will not draw water at his Well Hee hath taken paines to procure a stock of grace for them to provide Merits enough for them a salve broad enough for all their sores spirit enough to powre into all their hearts and when hee hath done all this they regard other things more than him Truely he may say as David did when he was told of Nabals churlish answer Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the Wildernesse 1 Sam. 25. 21 Even so may Christ say surely in vain have I suffered for these men in vaine have I come out of my Fathers bosome for them in vain did I die upon the crosse They will have none of my ware they respect not my graces they will not come at mee for my holy Spirit c. Revel 3. 1. And