thou hast no reason to complain Seneca compares a a Christian that 's disconsolate for outward â—osses or crosses to a man that hath a fine Orchard the Trees whereof are richly laden with store of precious fruit and because the wind blows off some leaves the man sits down and takes on heavily he weeps and wailes and cryes out he is undone why what 's the matter why the wind hath taken off some leaves but the roots and trees and fruits are safe should not we judge that a fond and foolish man just thus is it with the Christian God and Christ promises and Gospel-mercies are sure and stedfast by an inviolable Gospel-Covenant yet the sinful silly soul lyes whining and complaining for the loss of some leaves of Worldly comforts which he may live well without Yea saith the poor soul but these outward things are not the chiefest cause of my trouble and discouragement did I know that these mercies were made sure to me I should be comfortable but alas I fear I have no share therein I shall answer this doubt afterwards at present I only say lay thy hand upon thy heart and deal ingeniously is this the ground of thy trouble is not this only pretended is not something else the real ground the heart is deceitful look again see what comforted thee before this outward trouble came and what chears thee when thy present pressure is removed but suppose it be jealousies about thy interest yet why shouldst thou be uncomfortable hast not thou ventured thy soul on a sure foundation what reason hast thou of discouragement a faith of adherence brings some settlement as well as a faith of evidence every act of faith brings some comfort whom having not seen saith the Apostle of a corporal sight so may I say of a kind of spiritual sense and assurance ye love in whom though now you see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 recumbency hath a kind of complacency it argues want of faith to want joy and unbelief is a shameful sin considering the assurances given us in the Gospel but more of this hereafter But oh consider sirs what wrong you do to your selves by uncomfortable walking you weaken and exhaust your strength and spirits what discredit you bring upon the ways of God rendring them soure and distastful in the account of others what opposition it expresseth both to many positive precepts and the spirit of comfort and to these sure mercies of David methinks I hear the God of Heaven thus bespeaking the gracious troubled heart soul what ailes thee what is it thou wouldst have I have given thee many glorious gifts pardon reconciliation adoption ordinances the benefit of all my works of Providence a title to the good things of Earth whiles thou livest and a free admission into Heaven when thou dyest nay I have given thee my self my Son my Spirit and that by the surest Marriage-Covenant and will not all this revive thy fainting spirit what wouldst thou have more and what canst thou desire to make it surer to thee speak but the word and it shall be done but I have gone beyond thy demands and why then art thou thus drooping and disconsolate is thy heart revived when mortal lying man makes thee a promise of some outward good and canst thou now faint when the eternal God hath taken all these pains to assure thy troubled heart of thy interest in these sure mercies of David Oh Christians shame your selves for your uncomfortableness are these consolations of God small unto you thank your selves for your discouragements and let it be matter of trouble that you have so many needless useless troubles in your souls 4. Another fault in the Heirs of the promises whereby they are unsuitable to these mercies is unfruitfulness herein they do not live up to these mercies and are exceeding defective and imperfect especially in two respects the fruit they bring forth is 1. Small 2. Soure fruit 1. 'T is usually but small in quantity short of that abundance and ripeness that should come of so good a soil as mercy is especially when mercy is the Tillage Gods Vineyard is in a very fruitful Hill Isa 5 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so we read it but in Heb. 't is the Horn of the Son of Oyle I know the Son of Oyle may import a very fat or rich soile as Son of the Morning for exceeding bright and illustrious and so Gods people were planted in Canaan which was an exceeding fruitful Countrey but may at least allusively affirm of real Saints that they are planted in the Horn of the Son of Oyle even in the Son of God who was annointed with the Oyle of gladness above his fellows and in whom true Believers are planted and from whom they may suck and draw abundant juice and fatness as branches do from the root of the Olive-tree Rom. 11.17 moreover what abundant pains doth God the Father the Husbandman take to make souls very fruitful he takes away such as bear no fruit at all and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit Joh. 15.2 Oh what mercies do the Saints partake of Gospel-priviledges Promises Providences Ordinances Experiences Comforts Corrections every thing that might make them fruitful in good works in Praying Reading Meditating Conferring exact Walking doth God distribute and where 's their answerable fruitfulness God expects more and riper fruit alas how short and defective are we how little glory do we bring to God how little profit unto others or comfort to our own souls Phil. 1.11.1 Thes 3.12 Mat. 3.8 Col. 1.10 we should be filled with the fruits of righteousness we should abound more and more and bring forth fruits meet for sincere repentance and truly fruitful in every good work but are we so yea or no I much suspect it and what a shame is it that we should lye under the warm influences of the Sun of Righteousness so long and be so unfruitful the God of Heaven humble us for this 2. I am afraid that the fruits we do bring forth are but sowr and bitter not so sweet and kindly as may be the genuine fruits and products of these sure mercies my meaning is that the obedience and performances of the Saints too often flow from a spirit of bondage fear and terrour and not from that filial Child-like disposition and the Evangelical spirit of Adoption that should be the principle and impulsive cause of Saints spiritual actings I know legal fears and terrours are good in their kind to drive the soul out of it self and unto Christ but afterwards a spirit of love best becomes a Child of God hence saith the Apostle Rom. 8.15 2 Tim. 1.7 ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father a Child-like boldness best befits a Son it 's more
in Heaven but thee and then saith my flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever God is fitly called the Saints portion for he is so one Saints portion as if no ones else and yet intirely every ones as if wholly theirs as indeed he is yet without division partition or diminution That 's a notable passage in that Gospel-Covenant at least one part of it the mercy in it we are speaking of Gen. 15.1 fear not Abram I am thy Shield and thy exceeding great reward 1. Thy reward as if it were as indeed it is reward enough to have God if we have nothing else 2. A great reward worth speaking of Christus Coelum non patiuntuâ— hyperboleâ— not an inconsiderable trifle but a great reward 3. An exceeding great reward no hyperbole can reach it much less exceed it none can express the goodness of God but those that experience it nor can they sufficiently declare it but is he mine Psal 144.15 Yes 4. By this Covenant he is thy exceeding great reward Blessed are they that are in such a case Happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Thus I have shewed what God is 2. I shall a little shew what God gives and grants to the covenanted soul there are many rich benefits and advantages which are indeed rich Covenant-mercies 1. Pardon of sin Jer. 31.34 for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more and oh what a mercy is pardon of sin ask David when he is roaring under his broken bones and disquiet spirit whether pardon of sin be a mercy he will answer yes O yes I know it and could even envy the happiness of a pardoned sinner blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven Psal 32.1 2. yea many times blessed is he to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity this is a mercy that cost a great rate even the blood of the immaculate Lamb of God 't is a mercy that God shews for his own sake a mercy that easeth the guilty soul of an heavy burden a mercy that hath sweet and satisfying concomitants Oh the riches of this mercy 2. Gods favour love and tender compassion Jer. 32.40 41. I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good Yea I will rejoyce over them to do them good q. d. now I am in Covenant with them I will seek and study by all means to promote their spiritual and eternal advantage yea and their temporal good also I will be a fast and faithful friend to them all my attributes shall contribute their assistance to help on the design of mercy towards them and what God doth for them is with his whole heart and with his whole soul he will in the relation of a Father take care of his Children and is not that a mercy 3. Gospel-Ordinances Ezek. 37.26 27. I will make a Covenant of peace with them and will set my Sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore my Tabernacle also shall be with them i. e. they shall have the means of Grace the visible tokens of Gods presence wayes of Communion with God and is not this a rich mercy David lookt upon it as so in his banishment from Gods house and every Child of God prizeth it at a very high rate this is one of the mercies of the Covenant 4. Seasonable afflictions with a sanctified use of them Psal 89.30 32 33. if his Children forsake my Law then will I visit their transgressions with the rod 't is infinite mercy that God will take the pains to whip the offending Children it is faithfulness to the great ends of the Covenant that God will fetch in his wandring sheep by sharpest means it is as it were a cruel mercy to let men alone in sin to hasten their ruine it is the Fathers care and kindness to chide and correct his son and it 's as needful as food and raiment a Child of God would rather be scourged to God than allured from God in the paths of honey and butter this Covenant-mercy doth change the nature of the affliction and makes every thing to work for the souls best God this bitter potion is an useful healing medicine this stinging Serpent is turned into an harmless nay helpful Rod with which the Lord works wonders of mercy upon and for the Covenanted soul But time would fail me to enumerate the large Catalogue of Covenant-mercies from this fountain stream those choice mercies of reconciliation with God filiation the spirit of adoption free admission to the Throne of Grace acceptance of their persons audience of their Prayers assurance of Gods love peace of Conscience communion of Saints the benefits of Christs Passion Resurrection Ascention Intercession an interest in all the Promises Christs purchases the spirits motions and comforts freedom from the wrath of God the curse of the Law and eternal death and lastly an interest in and at death a full possession of the inheritance of the Saints in light these and such like are the mercies of the Covenant in a word all the goodness that is in God and all the good things of the world that are communicable to the elect are to be accounted as the sure mercies of David That 's for the first general head CHAP. III. 2. IN what respects these mercies of the Covenant are made sure for this observe that there are some things absolutely and unchangeably sure as to their own nature by an intrinsecal necessity thus God immutable essence is fixed with him there is no variableness nor shadow of change thus though the Heavens perish yet God endures he is still the same and his years have no end Psal 102 24-27 thus God alone is the certain and unmoveable center of the whole Creation he is the Rocâ— of Ages originally infinitely and independently sure and so is nothing besides otheâ— things are sure jure positivo not of themselves but by vertue of Gods appointmenâ— and designation invariable irrevocable so as it shall not be altered otherwayes ordered no new way contrived to save losâ— man thus the Scriptures are sure for ever O Lord thy Word is setled in Heaven Psal 119.89 Mat. 5.18 and our Saviour saith till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled and this way is the Covenant of Grace sure not of any intrinsecal necessity resulting from its nature but free to be or not to be as the infinite God sees good as a Covenant it depends meerly on Gods free-grace for making it God might have forborn re-entring this New Covenant but have dealt with man as with the lapsed Angels or he might have reserved to himself a power of revocation to have called in his patent and shut up his Office of mercy but now God hath fixed this as the only and everlasting way of Salvation thus this
spirit substantially he is and hath the treasury of Grace a store-house of riches to supply indigent Creatures in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge Col. 2.3 therefore of his fulness do we receive grace for grace Joh. 1.16 it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell Col. 1.19 and this is laid up on purpose for the supply of his members that from the head may be conveyed influences through the whole body Ephes 4.13 14 15 16. besides he is annointed with authority for these supplies Ephes 1.22 23. he hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all hence he tells his Disciples that all power is given to him in Heaven and Earth Mat. 28.18 adde to all this his fidelity that as Moses was faithful as a steward much more is Christ as a Son faithful to him that appointed him Heb. 3 2-6 Well now lay all these together and surely we need not question the certainty of Covenant-mercies Since Christ hath sufficiency authority and fidelity and is thus abundantly qualified for carrying on this Gospel-design he both can and will make good the mercies of the Covenant to the heirs of the promise especially considering 3. The Covenant of Redemption which is an admirable insuring act of free-grace ingaging all the persons of the Sacred Trinity to carry on this work especially God the Son of whom we are now speaking this Covenant of Redemption is that mutual compact betwixt God the Father and the Son concerning the saving of lost man wherein each did undertake to act his part in this great affair as thus God the father doth elect a certain number whom Christ was to Redeem he was to part with his beloved Son out of his bosome whiles he came to the earth to do this great work Isa 42.1 4 6. he was to uphold him incourage him put his spirit into him call him in rightousness hold his hand keep him and give him for a Covenant of the people give him to see his seed Isa 53.10 11. Cap. 49.5 and though they be but few in comparison of the World yet he will make him glorious and in time he will satisfie him in giving him the Heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession Psal 2.8 this is the ingagement on the Fathers part and then the Lord Jesus the Son of God promised the Father that he would assume the humane nature and so become man putting himself into the sinners stead becoming his surety fulfill all righteousness by obeying the Moral Law suffering for our breach of it be betrayed imprisoned accused condemned crucified buried that he should rise from the dead ascend into Heaven sit at Gods right hand intercede for Saints c. this part that Christ acted is fully laid down in Isa 53. throughout this was the great transaction betwixt the Father and the Son from all Eternity that there was such a mutual agreement See Titus 1.2 That this is no singular Doctrine but opened before See Mr. Bulkly Gospel-Covenant part 1. ch 4. p. 31. to p. 46 where 't is fully opened A so Mr. David Dickson in his Therapentica sac Book 1. chap. 4. p. 23. to pag. 71. in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lye promised before the world began to whom did God promise any thing before man was Created certainly he promised something to Jesus Christ concerning mans Redemption as before-mentioned such a gracious plot was laid and compact made betwixt the Father and the Son and he cannot lye nor deny himself So 2 Tim. 1.9 who hath saved us according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began i. e. as Christ was a common person as head instead of the elect so we were given to him by this Covenant and that from all eternity but how come we to know this that are but of Yesterday and so dim-sighted that we cannot see afar off Why ver 10. it is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel for Christ revealeth all the secrets that were lockt up in the bosome of the Father Well then if this was the mutual stipulation betwixt the Father and the Son there is no question but they will be faithful to each other in the Old Testament God the Father trusted God the Son upon his promise to lay down his life and so brought thousands of souls to Heaven before ever Christ was incarnate or suffered and now when Christ hath gone through the greatest part of his task he trusteth God the Father to make good his part that he may fully see his seed prolong his dayes and that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in his hand and certainly there cannot be any failing on either part Now this Covenant of Redemption is the Plat-form and foundation of the Covenant of Grace betwixt God and the Elect there is the same number and the like terms proportionably in both hence it is that although a believer find an unfaithful treacherous and unbelieving heart in himself daily departing from the living God yet this Covenant is built upon an higher and firmer Covenant betwixt God the Father and God the Son which cannot be broken and disanulled the Father and Son cannot deceive or be unfaithful to each other hence then it cometh to pass that the Covenant and the mercies thereof are so sure I shall conclude this head with that notable passage of Christs to his Father upon this very account Joh. 17.4 I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do i. e. I have hitherto made good and performed the conditions of the agreement on my part ver 5. and now O Father glorifie me with thine own self i. e. make good thy part in my exaltation this with reference to Christs persen then for his seed and members he tells the Father that he had performed his part to them in manifesting his name to them praying for them preserving of them and now when he was to leave them he desires the Father to do his part of the work in keeping those whom he had given him ver 11. in sanctifying and saving them 17.24 and can we imagine but that God will be faithful to his Son on the behalf of his Saints certainly he will for as they were Redeemed by the Son so they were Elected by the Father and as God the Father gave them to Jesus Christ by election ver 6. and Jesus Christ dyed for them and so Redeemed them so God the Son resignes them up again to the Father who will certainly keep them by his power through faith unto salvation 4. Another thing considerable concerning the insuring of Covenant-mercies by and
questioned or denyed Well God hath his way and day to convince these wretched Atheists by real and unanswerable demonstrations so that all men shall say Verily there is a reward for the righteous verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth Psal 58.11 2. It notably confutes the Papists because all these good things of the Covenant are mercy not merit we are under a Covenant of Grace not of Works Dei miscricordia merita nostra the mercies of God are our merits We have cause to renounce our own righteousness alas what are our best works to obtain favour at the hands of God those before Conversion which they call meritorious de congruo are not truly good works wanting a Principle and those after Conversion which they call works of condignity these are not exactly good without the stain of imperfection and therefore cannot merit they hold two justifications according to these preparatories They acknowledged Christs Righteousness to be the only meritorious cause of this first justification i. e. he procureth the infusion of this grace all Papists assert roundly that man is justified per solum gratiam inhaerentem tanquà m per formam integram sine imputatione externae justitiae Christi Suarez l. 7. c. 7. p. 83. the first is when a sinner of an evil man is made a good man which is done by pardon of sin and infusion of inward righteousness i. e. the habit of Hope and Charity the second is when a man of a good man is made better and this say they may proceed from works of Grace because he which is righteous by the first justification can bring forth good works by merit whereof he is able to make himself more just and righteous but we assert that the very thing by which we are justified and accepted is only the mercy of God and the merits of Christs active and passive obedience which are imputed to us and received by faith alone and our obedience or performances cannot be satisfaction to Gods justice because they are imperfect and defective Isa 64.6 filthy rags a rag and cannot cover us and filthy therefore will rather defile than justifie us at the great day we must have something that can countervail the justice of God but Paul durst not appear in his own Righteousness but in Christs Phil 3.9 and how dare we Certainly Paul's Doctrine is an infallible truth of God Rom. 3.20 by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight And ver 24. being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ and though Papists deride imputed righteousness Yet 't is mentioned ten times in Rom. 4. and frequently asserted and proved through Paul's Epistles So 2 Cor. 5.21 as Christ was made sin for us so are we made the Righteousness of God in him now Christ was made sin for us no otherwayes than by God's imputing our sins to him for 't is Blasphemy to say Christ was sin by infusion of sin into him or inherency of sin in him Besides our justification comes to us as our condemnation which was not only by propagation but by the imputation of Adam's disobedience Rom. 5.19 all the mercies of the Covenant are to believers made over by a deed of gift indeed the wages of sin is death but eternal life is only the gift of God with all that leads thereunto Rom. 6.23 But however Papists may dispute in the Schools yet when they come to lye upon sick and death-beds they are glad to come off with Bellarmines tutissimum est it 's safest to rely only on the mercy of God and merits of Christ for justification let us still hold the safe way and leave them to their uncertain imperfect Righteousness Dr. Prideaux Lect. 5. De just fol. 64. But 't is easily discernable what is the reason of the Papists opposing free justification by grace only because it would demolish their Purgatory Masses for quick and dead Invocation of Saints Worshipping of Images Indulgences and their Treasures of Merits See this Doctrine stated and cleared in Durham on Rev. fol. 585 c Vid. fol. 590. to 594. Ipsa gloria Secundum totum suum esse ut ita dicam sâ—cundum substantiam tan â—â—aâ— merces meritorum â—â—mittitur Suarez lib. 12. cap. 28. page 222 223. hence a modern Divine hath laid down the grounds that render the Salvation of a Papist in a sort impossible and clears it in this about Justification and proves undeniably that their contrivance of the way of Justification doth overturn most if not all the truths of the Gospel and is utterly inconsistent with Gods way of saving sinners for it is the same for matter and form with the Covenant of works which they say Christ hath merited and strength anew to keep the same as Adam in innocency and now sinners are to stand and fall in the obtaining of life promised according to their own performing of the condition of works in the use of that first grace and by this they merit perseverance and Heaven and lest in-dwelling corruptions and defects in duties marr this they say concupiscence is not a sin against the Moral Law and there are many sins Venial and not Mortal which therefore do not hinder merit and acceptation alas what a new and Anti-evangelical way is this which confounds Justification and Sanctification derogates from the Nature of Grace enervateth the merit of Christ altereth the nature of the Gospel-covenant c. But I must not inlarge let us study this important subject and take heed of corrupting this Fountain or building on any other foundation besides Christ's sole righteousness 2. There 's another uncomfortable Doctrine of the Papists which is a denyal that a Christian can be assured of his interest in the Covenant and his eternal salvation We hold that a Christian may attain to assurance of faith without extraordinary Revelation they say a man may indeed attain to a conjectural certainty which only ariseth from hope in regard of God which promiseth but in regard of our selves and our indisposition so we are to be at uncertainties certainly a Child of God may not only be assured of Gods fidelity but his own sincerity these Mercies are Sure in respect of the Subject as well as the Object for the promises run in general and indefinite terms whosoever believeth shall be saved but I saith the soul truly believe therefore I shall be saved and this particular application and reflection is as much as if he said if thou John Thomas Peter do believe thou shalt be saved now though the heart be deceitful yet the Scripture hath laid down such Characters by which a man may try and discern the sincerity of his own act in closing with Christ for true believing is a receiving of him as he is offered to us in the Gospel Joh. 1.12 Besides the Saints receive the Spirit of Adoption which beareth witness with their spirits that