and treachery in the conscience For as that is the faculty which doth eye and observe a man in his wayes so whereby he is impowred to take an account of those wayes and to acquit or condemn himself according to the merits of the cause and as the matter doth require You read of the Apostle Paul that he had a witness on his side that he was a servant of God and walked in sincerity before the Lord whereupon his heart was filled with joy and gladness And what was that witness Why his conscience had examined and found it to be so 2 Cor. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world And both the business of accusing and absolving a sinner is attributed thereunto namely to the workings of conscience Rom. 2.15 Their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another Joh. 8.9 They went out one by one being convicted by their own consciences This you are sometimes to understand by the heart and spirit of a man when it is said to take cognizance of the things which are within him The heart knoweth its own bitterness Prov. 14.10 What man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him 1 Cor. 2.11 Again Eccl. 7.21 22. Also take no heed to all words that are spoken lest thou hear thy servant curse thee For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thy self likewise hast cursed others That is If you would set your consciences awork they would declare plainly what is the filthiness that cleaveth to you and the abominations that have been committed by you So that your care must be to keep life and vigour and activity in your consciences and you must take heed to your selves that no mistakes or falshoods or practical errors settle within your consciences Concl. 3. Although it be the conscience of a man by which he doth examine himself touching his union with Christ and passeth judgment upon himself in that case yet this work can never be performed effectually and to purpose without the concurrent assistance of the Spirit of God and the powerful inflâ—ence of the holy Ghost It is the Spirit of God by whom the conscience of a sinner is excited and stired up unto this work and directed and guided therein that it may see clearly into matters and may pass a right and convincing sentence thereupon It is the same Spirit alone which converteth a sinner from his natural estate that can convincingly shew him his sad estate in order to conversion And the same Spirit alone which planteth grace into the soul can discover that grace where it is planted that so a Believer may take comfort therein and conclude from thence that he is ingraffed into Christ And therefore when we attain any comfortable evidences of our estate Godward we are said to be sealed by the Spirit because it depends upon his assistance and testimony Eph. 1.13 14. In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance It is a manner of speech taken from the practise of men who for confirmation and assurance of a deed or grant give writings under seal so hath the Lord been pleased saith the Apostle to deal with you you have not only the promises of acceptance and pardon and eternal life made unto you but these promises are sealed How Why by the testimony of the Spirit Again in making of a bargain men are wont to give earnest to confirm it which is not only a part of payment but for assurance of the whole This earnest saith he you have received which is the witness of the holy Ghost It is not the testimony of conscience alone can make a man effectually to know his relation to Christ or separation from Christ without the concurrent operation of the Spirit There is a famous Text in reference to both Rom. 8.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba father Mark it If a man be brought into bondage by the knowledge of his undone condition by seeing himself to lie under the guilt of his sins and obnoxious to the insupportable wrath of God it is through the operation of the Spirit And if he be able to plead his adoption and to look up unto God as his Father in Christ it is by the efficacious workings of the same Spirit So that for the examination of your selves concerning your union with Christ and finding out whether you are knit unto him your work in this respect lieth in two things 1 In being earnest petitioners and supplicants at the throne of grace for the special assistance of the holy Ghost to make this discovery to you to strike in with your consciences in bearing witness unto your spiritual estate That the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him that the eyes of your understandings being enlightned ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints Eph. 1.17 18. 2 Your business lieth in a careful attendance upon the dictates of the Spirit and taking heed that you resist not the holy Ghost in these actings For it is an ordinary thing in many of the people of God to be accessary to the disconsolateness of their own souls by opposing the spirit of consolation They go on without that comfort which they might have in the knowledge of their union with Christ because they refuse to be comforted as the Psalmist speaketh of himself Psal 77.2 This is a common distemper in times of strong temptations As the ungodly resist the spirit of conviction and conversion so believers themselves are apt to withstand and strive against the spirit of consolation And therefore your work is to give diligent attendance upon the Spirit and to hear attentively what he shall speak unto you Concl. 4. The way of procedure in this business of self-examination or the means whereby it must be found out whether we are united to Christ is By consulting and enquiring into those marks and signs which are the evidencing characters and properties of that union For Sirs the change wrought upon a Believer by his oneness with Christ is a relative change and cannot be seen immediately in it self and of it self But it is discerned and discovered unto the spirit of a man by its properties and concomitants which are as certain characteristical marks and tokens whereby the state of union with Christ is differenced and distinguished from that of being strangers unto him As it is in natural things If I would know whether
never so zealous and forward in his worship Such actions may less displease the Lord than some others but at the best he cannot take pleasure in them And therefore the whole stress of the matter is laid upon the state of a man Prov. 21.27 The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination how much more when he brings it with a wicked mind Mark it though he come with a good intent and mean well as there is a kind of natural integrity yet it is an abomination This is plainly intimated if he come with a wicked mind making the duties of religion a cloak to cover his other horrid impieties then his sacrifice is most odious and abominable but however he cometh it is an abomination Why because the person sacrificing is a wicked ungodly sinner and the Lord judgeth mens actions by their state 2. This is a matter seriously to be weighâ—d because the greatest number of persons who call themselves Christians do seldom or never think of it They go on in sin and perish eternally for want of laying to heart this very thing And therefore we should give diligence the rather to study it because it is neglected by the most You may observe it as an ordinary thing with carnal people when conscience is a little awakened when they are brought into distress by sickness or some other sore affliction they will cry out with a kind of bitterness for their evil wayes and seemingly melt with sorrow for some actual miscarriages but not one of many will mind his spiritual state Thus it was with Micah the Idolater when he heard his mother curse and ban for the mony that was stollen from her these curses startled his conscience and made him to vomit up the sweet morsel wch he had swallowed down he minds that wicked action but never once considers his spiritual condition and so goeth on in other sins notwithstanding Judg. 17.2 3 5. Thus Saul was troubled in a reflection upon some of his evil ways and profane Esau grieved because he had displeased his Father by his sinful actions but scarce one of an hundred crieth out of his sad condition Nay commonly they are so far from it that they will be ready to fly in a mans face that doth but make mention thereof When you have convinced a wicked man of his evil life and brought him to an acknowledgment of a course of sin wherein he walketh if thence you begin to speak of his estate in sin of his being an enemy to God a child of his wrath and a wicked person he will defie the words No will he say I love the Lord and God knows my heart is good and the like See how fowl they fell upon Christ for touching upon this string When he told them of their wretched condition that they were not of God but of their father the devilâ— Thou art a Samaritan say they and hast a devil Joh. 8.44 47 48. They could not endure he should meddle with that matter 3. It concerneth you to be well instructed and settled in this particular of your spiritual state God-ward because when the spirit of conviction doth powerfully prevail upon a mans heart so as to turn him effectually from sin and to bring him to a sound and sincere conversion it doth ever end in conviction of the state of sin As conviction usually beginneth in some particular actual wickedness so it alwaies endeth in a discovery of that wicked and damnable condition into which the sinner is brought Thus it was with Paul Rom. 7.9 For I was alive without the Law once but when the commandment came sin revived and I died that is * Absentia legis faciebat ut viveyet hoc est inflatus justitiae suae fiducidâ vitam sibi arrogabat quum tamen esset mortuus c. Calv. I saw my self dead and undone I found that I was in a perishing conditione that unless the wonderful grace of God stept in for my deliverance I must perish and be lost irrecoverably Before I had a good conceit of my self as to my state and condition however conscience might now and then check me for some failings and actual miscarriages yet I was alive without the Law i.e. before I had a clear understanding of the Law in my own apprehension I was a child of life I thought my self sure of salvation but when the commandment came in the life and power and vigorous workings of it I found I was stark dead So in the return of the Prodigal mark how far the conviction proceedeth Luk. 15.17 I perish Not only I am a disobedient Son that have ran away from my father and wasted my Patrimony But if I continue in this condition I am undone for ever This is the spirit of bondage which the Apostle mentioneâ—â— as the fore runner of the spirit of adoption Rom. 8.15 You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear Mark it not again intimating that once they had received it that all who are savingly converted must first be under it When is the holy Ghost a spirit of bondage Why when he doth discover to a mans soul his wretched and miserable condition when he doth not only shew him his work wherein he hath exceeded but doth also make him sensible of the lost estate wherein he is involved when he causeth a sinner to see that he is a child of the wrath of God bound over to answer to the demands of the justice of God obnoxious to the everlasting and insupportable vengeance of the most high and raiseth fears and terrors in the soul in apprehension thereof so that he sees it necessary that his state be altered The holy Ghost Sirs may be a spirit of conviction as to sundry acts of sin when he is not a spirit of bondage for this relates to the state of sin which is alwayes an antecedent to sound a conversion And therefore as I said I will open this point of the change of a mans spiritual state in six particulars 1. There is a twofold state or condition of mens souls in reference to spiritual and eternal concernments The state of nature and the state of grace as they are usually called The state of condemnation and exposedness to the wrath of God and the state of favour and reconciliation with the Lord. That of alienation from God and that of friendship and fellowship with him A state of service to the Lord and of slavery to the devil Of liableness and obnoxiousness to everlasting death and the state of heirship and title to the kingdom of heaven You read often of them in the Scripture Joh. 3.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already So Rom. 6.17 18. But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin There 's the state of nature And v. 18. Being then made free from sin ye became servants of righteousness There 's the state of grace Eph. 2.19 Now therefore ye
Serviceable p. 154 3. Superlative p. 156 4. A love of complacency p. 157 Prop. 8. The Mystical Union of Believers with Christ and all the blessings which are the consequents thereof do originally flow from the merit of the death of Christ which in pursuance of the eternal covenant with the Father he suffered in their stead and whereby he gave satisfaction to divine Justice p. 159 This last proposition explicated under five heads p. 161 CHAP. VII The properties of a Believers Union with Christ 1. It is an immediate Union p. 168 2. It is a spiritual Vnion p. 169 3. It is an inseparable Vnion p. 170 The inseparableness of this Union built on six foundations 1. The Enchangeableness of the purpose of God p. 172 2. The nature of the covenant of Grace p. 173 3. The charge given to the Lord Jesus Christ and his faithfulness p. 175 4. The Advocateship and intercession of Christ p. 177 5. The mighty power by which Believers are preserved p. 178 6. The durable nature of the new creature p. 179 Those things which are most likely to make a separation betwixt Christ and a Believer shall not be able to effect it Not 1. The remainders of sin p. 181 2. The violent assaults of the devil p. 183 3. The allurements of the world p. 185 4. False Teachers the devils instruments p. 187 5. Troubles and persecutions for the sake of Christ p. 188 6. Death which is the great separating providence p. 190 The doctrine of the inseparableness of the Saints Union with Christ vindicated in two Rules Rule 1. This doctrine is so far from being an enemy to holiness that if rightly improved it will be a notable incentive and provocative thereto p. 192. This evidenced by four considerations p. 194 Rule 2. The many counsels and warnings which Christ hath given to his people to take heed that they lose not their hold of him are no proof at all that this Union may be dissolved p. 198 CHAP. VIII The spiritual blessings enumerated which flow from the grace of Union with Christ and have dependance thereon p. 200 1. The grace of justification in the sight of God p. 202 This particular opened under six Heads p. 203 2. Adoption or inrollment amongst the children of God 214 3. Participation of actual grace or the supplies of the Spirit p. 215 This a point well to be considered for three Reasons p. 218 This doctrine explained in three things p. 220 Seven sorts of actual grace instanced in p. 222 4. The fourth blessing arising from union with Christ is the gracious acceptation of all our duties p. 226 5. A title to the promises of the Gospel p. 228 6. Union with the Father and intimate acquaintance with him p. 229 7. Peace and joy in the holy Ghost p. 230 8. Deliverance from the sting and consequently the fear of death p. 232 9. A glorious Resurrection of the body p. 235 10. Boldness at the bar of Judgment p. 236 11. Actual admission into the kingdom of Heaven p. 237 CHAP. IX The special Scripture similitudes whereby the mystery of union with Christ is illustrated p. 238 1. The first similitude taken from the natural union betwixt the head and members of the body p. 239 1. Christ the head of Believers in a fivefold respect p. 240 2. The way of union with Christ is by being quickned through his Spirit p. 243 3. Believers must be in subjection to Christ and follow his conduct p. 244 4. This similitude holds forth also that unity love and concord which Christians should maintain amongst themselves p. id 5. As Christ is the head of the Church so he is constituted head of all things for the good of his Church p. 245 2. The second similitude drawn from the corporal union betwixt the Vine and the branches graffed into the Vine p. 246 This similitude holds forth four things 1. A Christians whole dependance is upon the Lord Jesus p. 247 2. The union of Believers with Christ is a closely compacted union p. 248 3. In order to union with Christ we must be taken off from all other dependances id 4. A Christians glory lieth in practical holiness or being fruitful p. 249 3. The third similitude taken from the nuptial union betwixt the Husband and Wife p. 250 1. This union is with the consent and according to the pleasure of the Father p. 251 2. Christ doth woo and intreat sinners to come unto him p. 252 3. Our faith in Christ is the consent of our hearts to take him p. 253 4. This consent must be a Marriage-consent In three respects p. 254 5. A Christians obedience must be service mingled with love p. 258 6. There is a mutual complacency and satisfaction between Christ and his people p. 259 4. The last similitude taken from the artificial union betwixt the Foundation and Building erected thereon 1. A twofold Foundation 1. Doctrinal 260 2. Personal 261 2. Believers must be conformable to Christ On a fivefold account p. 262 3. Our faith in Christ is a resting on him p. 265 CHAP. X. Inferences collected from the doctrine of Union 1. Inf. True believers are the most excellent persons p. 268 This Inference amplified in five respects p. 270 2. Inf. God hath a special regard to Believers and their concernments p. 276 The peculiarity of the providence of God towards them in four things p. 278 3. Inf. Christless sinners are in a state of death p. 281 In respect of 1. Abomination in the sight of God p. 283 2. Putrefaction and rottenness p. 284 3. Impotency and inability to what is spiritually good p. 286 4. Damnation and liableness to eternal death p. 288 This point pressed by two considerations p. 290 5. The abundant evils incident to that estate p. 294 Exemplified in five things p. 295 Obj. To what purpose are the unregenerate commanded to turn themselves and to walk in wayes of holiness if spiritually dead p. 299 Sol. In five things p. 300 CHAP. XI Use of Trial whether we are united to Christ p. 306 Self-examination necessary to attain the knowledge of our Union p. 307 1. Else we cannot pertinently apply the word of God to our selves p. 308 2. 'T is the means which God hath appointed to that end p. 310 3. Hereby we may find out the deceits and falshoods under which our spirits are apt to hide themselves p. 311 Wherein the work of self-examination consists In six Conclusions Concl. 1. Self-examination is a compounded duty made up of a threefold spiritual and reflexive action p. 314 1. Inspection or Retrospection into our selves p. 315 2. Probation or Trial of our selves p. 316 3. Conclusive determination or passing sentence upon our selves p. 318 Concl. 2. The special faculty by which the work of of self examination is performed is the practical judgment or conscience p. 319 Concl. 3. This work cannot be done effectually and successfully without the concurrent influence and witness of the spirit
broken and the cords of it snapt asunder If a dead branch stick to the Vine for a season yet at length the Gardiner cometh with his pruning-knife and catteth it away This is the very Metaphor whereby the dissolving of this Union is set forth John 15.2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away i.e. he cuts off with his pruning-hook and casteth them into the fire If they do not live through the vine they shall have no further being in the vine And there are three principal ways how this separation is made or this sort of union is dissolved 1. By their Apostacy and drawing back from the profession of the Faith in days of tribulation and trial for they are the usual seasons wherein carnal Professors discover themselves When God doth exercise his Church under discriminating providences as sore afflictions and persecutions for the truths sake then it appeareth who are his indeed and friends unfeigned to the truth Cum exurimur persecutiâ—â—â—ardare tunc probamur de fidei tonore Tertul. Then the living branches stick fast and such as are dead fall off and perish For this Sirs is one end which God aimeth at by bringing his Church into distress not as if he took pleasure in their smart and grief but to pare off their exuberancies and that such as are approved may be made manifest Then hypocrites mostly unstrip themselves of their covering and are discovered to be what they are Mat. 13.21 When tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by they are offended Mark it They were only united to Christ by external adhaesion when the winter cometh and the frost nippeth them they wither and fall away In this sense we hold falling away from grace and apostarizing from the faith Amici ob utilitatem una cum utilitate dissolvuntur namnon sui mutuo erant amici sed utilitatis that is from common grace and the profession oâ— of the Faith This may serve to direct you how to judge of Apostates and backsliders either they fall but partially and God in due time will restore and bring them back by weeping cross or if they depart totally and finally from Christ The reason is because they were but dead branches in Christ and so they drop off 2. This common union is dissolved by the execution of the spiritual judgments of God upon their souls by giving them up to themselves and delivering them over to the will of Satan When persons continue long unprofitable in the Church under the Ordinances and are not spiritualized nor bettered by them God is provoked thereby to withdraw the very strivings of his Spirit from such and to let loose the reins of their corruptions which formerly were kept under to give them up to vile affections and a reprobate mind that they may make it appear to whom they really belong even to the God of this world the spirit that ruleth in the children of disobedience You read that thus he dealt with the Heathen for not living up to the dictates of the light of nature Rom. 1.24 26 28 29. Much more may it be feared when persons abuse the light of the Gospel and receive the grace of God therein manifested in vain or turn it into wantonness For as it is Heb. 6.7 8. The earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God But that which beareth thorns and bryars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned By the earth understand the souls of men and women likened to the earth for their natural stupidity O earth earth earth hear the word of the Lord 2. Because of their tendency downwards unto earthly things But in this place especially because of the souls activity and fructifying vertue it will bring forth something either good or evil By the rain that cometh oft upon this earth is meant the doctrines of the word which fall as the rain and distil as the dew upon the face of the ground for the watering thereof Now that earth which drinks in this rain and beareth thorns and bryars i. e. if they live still in their sins defiled with their abominations and are not such as walk answerably in some measure to the means they are under is nigh unto cursing unto this spiritual curse of being given up to themselves to commit iniquity with greediness whereby they are sealed up to destruction to the curse of barrenness Never fruit grow upon these souls any more See also Hos 4.17 and Psal 81.8 11 12. This should have a mighty influence upon us to make us watchful over our hearts that we be not barren or unfruitful in the vineyard of Christ 3. This Union will be certainly and solemnly dissolved by pronouncing the sentence of eternal judgment If the hypocrisie of such be not discovered until the last then it will be made known in the face of all the world Christ will then rend them from him however they may hope to shelter themselves under his wings Then the Lord will judge between cattle and cattle between one branch and another Mat. 13.49 50. At the end of the world the Angels shall come and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire Mark it They shall be then severed from amongst the just intimating that now they are together as tares and wheat in the same field as good fish and bad in the same net as living branches and dead in the same vine but then the wicked shall be removed from their station and cast into hell That 's the third Position That this Union with Christ will sooner or later be dissolved 4. Pos 4. The state and condition of such persons as are thus united to Christ by way of external adhaerence only and do not aspire nor press after a further intimacy with him and a neerer conjunction that do not improve this priviledge that they may be indeed what they profess to be is a very wretched estate and a miserable condition It is worse than the condition of open enemies to Christ such as are grosly ignorant of the truths of the Gospel and that never professed to be his servants The Scripture calleth it a wretched and miserable condition that is very wretched exceeding miserable God doth hate them with a perfect hatred and loath them with a full abhorrence and detestation Rev. 3.16.17 So then because thou art luke-warm and neither hot no cold neither a sincere Professor of Religion nor a professed enemy to Religion neither faithful to Christ nor an open adversary against Christ I will spue thee out of my mouth Because thou sayest I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Better for such carnal Professors that continue in that estate and
damnation that will befal and the sore torments that will be inflicted upon such All ungodly sinners will be punished everlastingly but such as seemed to cleave unto Christ but yet served the devil will be punished most severely and made to drink of the dregs of the cup of God's indignation as sinning against most light Gospel-light and under means of grace denied to others which are the main aggravations of sin To them is reserved the myst of darkness for ever Genitivus reflexus super nominativum singularem importat eminentiam Ut coeli coelorum i.e. Altissimi Et sic in Synenimis ut iniquitas peccati i. e. maxime peccaminosa Sic caligo tenebrarum i. e. densissima that is the grossest darkness and sorest destruction 2 Pet. 2.17 You know our Lord Christ pronounceth the most terrible woes on this account Mat. 11.21 22 23. Wo to thee Chorazin wo to thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes But I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you And thou Capernaum which art exalted to heaven shalt be brought down to hell c. that is because thou art highly advanced in spiritual priviledges and hast not improved them thou shalt be destroyed with double destruction and made utterly desolate For as our Lord Jesus elsewhere concludes This is the condemnation that men live in sin under Gospel-light light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light Joh. 3.19 And besides I might have added that the torments of such will be the greater because of the reproach and scandal which they bring upon Christ and his ways As they dishonour him actively by their own transgressions so they give occasion to others to speak evil of him and his service For will wicked profane wretches be ready to say when they see the haltings and hypocrisie of these carnal Professors Lo these are your Saints that would be accounted more precise than others Here is their Religion and such they are all of them and the like It is because of the blots and blemishes of these counterfeit Christians that the name of Christ is blasphemed Rom. 2.24 compared with Ezek. 36.20 23. 3. Their condition is sad because of their more than ordinary inexcusableness in their eternal damnation They will have no manner of Apology or defence to make for themselves their mouths will be stopped to purpose for indeed they are condemned of themselves May Christ say unto them if my service were evil why did you call your selves may servants and go under my name and list your selves into my family and if it be excellent indeed why did not you serve me in truth and in sincerity Mat. 22.12 When the King came in to see the guests he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment And he saith unto him Friend how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment and he was speechless q. d. Why didst thou associate thy self with such company if thou wert resolved to continue in thy filthiness what an impudent wretch art thou to enter thy self into my houshold and family unless thou wert purposed to subject to the Laws and Discipline thereof How couldest thou for shame rank thy selfe amongst believers whilst thou liest polluted in thine impurity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi capistro injecto obmutuit And he was speechless he was muzzled as the word signifieth he had not a word to say in his own defence his own conscience silenced him For as the Apostle argueth If the light of nature will render the Heathen inexcusable and leave them without apology in the day of judgment how much more inexcusable are those who are brought within the pale of the visible Church of Christ and yet will not have that man to reign over them that call themselves Christians and partake of the priviledges of Christianity and yet serve the devil and are of his Synagogue Rom. 1.20 compared with Chap. 2.1 4. Their estate is sad bedanse of that vexation and horror which the very reflection up on this thing will bring to their spirits everlastingly How will the worm of conscience gnaw upon their hearts from this very consideration and the hypocritical wretches be ready to fear out their own bowels When they shall bethink themselves they were so neer to Christ and yet fell short of salvation by him that then took possibly a great deal of pains in the outward part of Religion to go on in a round of duties yet for want of truth and integrity in the inward parts must lose the benefit of all that ever they did that they were not far off from the kingdom of God and for want of going further must perish amongst the devils and damned for ever and make their bed in hell According to that in Luk. 13.28 There shall be weaping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out So much more will it bring vexation and anguish upon a mans spirit when he shall see such an acquaintance of his got to heaven that perhaps fate in the same seat with him who was wont to meet at the same religious exercises with him and himself excluded When he shall find such an one received into Abrahams bosom that possibly she fat outstript in commons gifts and qualifications a poor broken-hearted sinner whom he was aâ—â— to despise and himself tâ—rust into the chains of â—arkness amongst dogs and forcerâ—rs and whoremongers amongst professed Atheists and the profanest of men What bitterness will this bring to a mans thoughts O my friends think of this betimes ere it be too late and the Lord a waken your hearts that you may not rest on this side of a saving Vnion with the Lord Jesus So much for the first branch of the distinction viz. An Union with Christ by way of commoâ— profession or exceâ—nal adhâ—sion only 2. There is an Union or Onchess with Jesuâ— Christ my spiritual implantation and ingrature When a person is in him so as to receive life and nourishment from him as a quick fruit-bearing graff is in the stock as a living member is in the body and united unto the head When a soul is not only set upon the foundation but is also cemented to it by the cement of special grace the peculiar work of the spirit of holiness When he is a lively stone built upon the living foundation as the holy Ghost expresseth it 1 Pet. 2.4 5. To whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house It is this sort of union which the Scripture mentioneth as so great a mystery and to which eternal life
expressions it appeareth that these are two 〈◊〉 things Our being in Christ and Christ's being in us Burgess on Job 17. Serm. 126. the Lord Jesus cometh and taketh up his residence in them and they are inabled to go forth unto Christ and receive him as he is offered in the Gospel whereby they are in him and thus this Union is established These are matters distinct and accordingly the holy Ghost speaketh distinctly of them Joh. 14.20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my father and you in me and I in you See also Joh. 6.56 He that eateh my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him So that there are two great bonds or ligaments of this conjunction and of the union which followeth thereupon 1. The bond on Christ's part is the Spirit whereby the people of God are apprehended of him and he taketh up his abode in them For he dwelleth in them by his Spirit Rom. 8.9 10. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin c. Observe that what is called the Spirit dwelling in us in one verse is stiled Christ in us in the other because Christ seizeth on us by his Spirit and abideth in us through the Spirit 2. The bond of this Union on the Believers part is Faith whereby they do apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ and take him home as it were unto themselves Being apprehended by him they take hold of him and so they are knit together Eph. 3.16 17. That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith First Christ cometh by the holy Ghost and entereth into them and then they are inabled by faith to receive him unto themselves and to apply themselves unto him and so they are conjoyned and made one together From this mutual conjunction doth arise or spring a twofold Union or Oneness between Christ and Believers There is a 1. Natural 2. Legal Union the bond whereof is The Spirit dwelling in them Faith of the operation of the Spirit I will treat of each of them severally with as much clearness and succinctness as I can CHAP. VI. A natural and a legal Union with Christ Wherein they severally consist A moral Union proceeding from the former The last Proposition explained 1. THere is a natural Union or Oneness betwixt Believers and the Lord Jesus arising from the possession which he taketh of them and his residence in them whereupon they are partakers of the same heavenly and spiritual nature with him having Christ formed in them and dwelling with them Therefore I call it for distinctions sake a natural Union because herein they agree in the same divine and spiritual nature else for the manner of its effecting it is supernatural This you have mentioned abundantly in the Scriptures 2 Cor. 13.5 Christ is in you except ye be râ—â—probates that is If you are Christians in good earnest such as are sound in the faith unless you are persons unapproved * Si quid habent Christi sincerae pietatis Calv. Nisi forte reprobi estis i. e. improbi Marian. such as upon trial are found to deal falsely and unfaithfully in the Covenant of God except you are rotten at the heart gilded metal that will not abide the test and touchstone you must have Christ within you It is not enough that Christ be preached unto you but he must be revealed in you As the Apostle speaketh of his conversion and mission to preach the Gospel Gal. 1.16 When it pleased God who spearated me from my mothers womb and called me by his grace to reveal his Son in me Not only called me to be an Apostle and made known Christ unto me but also called me to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ revealing him in me The bond of this Union is the Spirit of Christ which is shed abroad in to the hearts of God's peculiar people and whereby the Lord Jesus taketh up his habitation in them For it is the Spirit that treateth with them in Christ's name and takes possession of them to his use and service For hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which be hath given us 1 Joh. 3.24 This is the first sort of Union betwixt Christ and Believers which we call a natural union and it is wrought by the Spirit of Christ that dwelleth in them Concerning which I will enlarge a little for the better clearing it to your understandings under five Heads 1. This dwelling of Christ in the souls of his people by his Spirit whereupon doth arise a natural union with him is the same thing for substance with the positive part of the grace of regeneration whereby the principles of holiness and new obedience are introduced into them and the image of God is restored upon their natures For it is hereby that the holy Ghost maketh his entrance into them and fixeth his settlement with him You know that regeneration or sanctification take it for the first saving change or distinguishing work upon the soul consisteth of two parts 1. There is a privative part or the mortification and subduing the principles and habits of sin 2. There is a positive part or the introduction of new principles of grace and holiness There is 1. A blotting out the image of the devil 2. Stamping upon a mans heart the divine nature again You read of them distinctly A taking away the heart of a stone and giving an heart of flesh Ezek. 11.19 There is a removing of the old man and a bringing in of the new man which is created after God Now Christ's being in his people by his Spirit is the same thing for substance with this positive part of regeneration By the mortification of sin Satan is outed of his possession of the soul and by the implantation of spiritual grace Christ enters and taketh possession of the soul by the renewing of the holy Ghost Thus you have it explained for one expression there seemeth to be exegetical of the other Ezek. 36.26 27. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I will put my Spirit within you Mark it by the renovation of the heart God's Spirit is said to be within us And by the washing of regeneration the holy Ghost is said to be shed upon us abundantly Tit. 3.5 6. In the new birth Christ is formed in the soul by the working of the Spirit 2. Where Christ doth come by the operations of his Spirit to dwell in the hearts of his people he doth
as he is pure 1 John 3.3 3. By the grace of Regeneration the Lord Christ is said to take up his abode in us because the Holy Ghost in that work doth act in his name as purchased by Christ and receiving commission from him and being sent by vertue of his Prayer and Intercession John 16.16 I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive In the transactions of the everlasting Covenant our Lord Jesus undertook to sanctifie and comfort and to quicken and stablish his people and by the Spirit of truth he doth accomplish that undertaking By his death the Spirit was purchased and in his name he is sent 4. The grace of Regeneration may be stiled Christ dwelling in us from the tendency of it which is to bring sinners in subjection to the Government of Christ and to make them ready to obey the Laws of Christ Hereby we become his Servants and possession is taken of us to his use and behoof that we may cleave unto him and be followers of him Col. 3.24 For ye serve the Lord Christ Mat. 19.28 Ye that have followed me in the Regeneration c. that is in your regenerate condition in the exercise of that grace which was bestowed upon you in your New-birth for so it may be well understood The grace of Regeneration plucketh sinners out of the Kingdom of Satan and seizeth on them for the service of Christ carryeth us out to him and maketh us obedient to his Laws and Dominion This may suffice to be spoken to the first branch of that Vnion which is between Christ and Believers or the first sort of Conjunction betwixt them 2. There is a legal Conjunction and oneness thereupon arising from a Believers reception of Christ closing with him and getting into him Such an Union as there is between the principal Debtor and the Surety who hath paid the debt for him and made over that payment unto him The Law reckoneth them as one what payment the Surety hath made for the Debtor in his name and firmly made over unto him the Law accounts it as if the Debtor himself had paid it and dischargeth him thereupon as if it had been his own personal Act and Deed because of that intimate relation or oneness that is betwixt them in the estimation of the Law Such an union there is between Christ and his people and therefore we call it a legal union because it hath a special reference unto the Law of God which acquitteth the person thus united to Christ by vertue of the sufferings and satisfaction of Jesus Christ as fully and firmly as if the party himself had suffered and satisfied And likewise we call it a legal union because of the analogy it beareth unto the proceedings of Law in Courts of Judicature amongst men The bond of this union is a saving faith whereby Believers receive Christ and take hold on him As by the Spirit of Regeneration Christ doth take hold of their souls so by a living faith of the operation of the Spirit they are inabled to take hold of the Lord Jesus and so they are compacted and knit together You know faith is set forth by such expressions a receiving of Christ and taking hold of him John 1.12 But to as many as received him to them he gave power to be the sons of God even to them that believe on his name Mark it we receive Jesus Christ and take him home to our selves by believing on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ As under the Law when a man q. d. ran for refuge and protection to the Altar he was wont to lay hold upon the horns of the Altar so by faith a sinner betaketh himself for shelter and security unto Christ and layeth hold upon Christ Heb. 6.18 That we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us * We who to flee from deserved wrath have taken our course towards Jesus in hope to get the Salvation offered to us in him Dicks in loc that is upon Jesus Christ the object of our hope and confidence who is set before us in the Gospel as the person in whom we are to trust and upon whom to rely and place our hope By faith we lay hold upon him and by this laying hold on Christ a Believer is joyned unto Christ and made one with him By faith we are in him and put on his righteousness Phil. 3.9 That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith It is of God he provided it for us and it is made over to us and becometh ours by faith in the Mediator This is the Second Branch of the mutual conjunction between Christ and a Believer and the union thereupon the bond whereof is faith in Christ Concerning which I will propose onely these four things to your serious perusal and meditations 1. That the Holy Ghost in the writings of the Scriptures doth distinctly speak of a fourfold faith There is 1. An Historical Faith 2. A Temporal Faith 3. A Faith of Miracles 4. A saving and justifying faith in Christ which is the bond of our union with the Lord Jesus As this is an ordinary School-distinction so it is a Scripture-distinction which hath its warrant from the word and its foundation in the word of God 1. There is an Historical Faith whereby we believe the Scriptures and the matters therein contained to be Divine Truths and to have proceeded from God * This is by some called a dogmatical faith such a faith the Apostle supposed to have been in Agrippa in respect to the writings of the Old Testament Acts 26.27 King Agrippa believest thou the Prophets I know that thou believest q.d. I am confident thou art perswaded of the truth of those things Agrippa being a Jew and always conversant in Judea could not be ignorant of the Scriptures and Paul takes it for granted that he who owned their Original to be of God and that in them was discovered nothing but the truths of God I know that thou believest I am well assured thou darest not deny their Divine Authority This we call an Historical Faith because it assenteth to the truth of the History of the Bible as it is a Narrative of things done and containeth Predictions of things to be done as it comprehends matters of fact mentioned to be performed Doctrines asserted Prophesies and Promises to be fulfilled and the like And pray mark it Sirs this faith is diversifyed according to the different testimony on which it is bottomed * Quia testes quibus fidem adhibemus ex lege ordine communi sunt homines vel Deus idcirco sicut testimonium sic etiam fides distinguitur in
knit and united unto him and so partake of the salvation which he purchased for them So that the mystical Vnion of Believers with Christ is a fruit of the fatisfaction and merit of his death for them 2 Cor. 5.21 He was made to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Therefore he died for us that we might be implanted into him and so made righteous on his account And therefore mark it Sirs Though the elect of God have no right or title to any laving mercy till they are one with Christ yet he hath a right to this Union for them and to all other blessings which are the concomitants or consequents thereof He prayeth for it on their behalf and upon his account it is given forth unto them Joh. 17.20 21. This is the fourth particular to â—â—e observed and it leadeth me to the last 5. This satisfaction and merit of the death of Christ although it was laid down for the benefit of such as the Father had given him and he suffered in their stead yet doth make no change upon them till they are drawn unto Christ and by the Spirit and faith made one with him Until this grace be wrought in them or conferred upon them they are still children of the wrath of God as well as others Eph. 2.3 The wrath of God abideth on them Joh. 3.36 They are amongst the unrighteous which remaining in that condition shall not inherit the kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 10 11. And if we could suppose them to die before conversion although indeed it is not to be supposed they would perish unavoidably even as others And the reason is this Although Christ died in their stead and laid down a price for purchase of their pardon and salvation and God the Father accepted thereof yet it was agreed between them in that everlasting Covenant that an order should be observed in conveying those mercies and making them actually partakers of the benefit thereof Which order is this First they must be sanctified by the Spirit of Christ and brought by faith unto him and made one with him and so receive salvation through his blood For till they have the Son they can have no life by the Son Thus I close my answer to the third general question propounded concerning the manner how this conjunction is made up or the way wherein this Union is wrought tual and their hearts are carnal * Ad claram rei intellectionem requiritur proportio inter potentiam apprehendentem rem apprehensam Intellectus assequitur scientiam secundum modum sui non secundum modum objecti Quia receptum est in recipiente per modum recipientis And as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 2.14 The natural maureceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned And of this sort is the grace of Union with Christ and all the transactions hereabouts are spiritual transactions And therefore when Christ preached this doctrine unto the people that if they would be blessed by him they must feed upon him and become one with him * Qualis est fames quâ cibum appetimus qualis cibus quem appetimus qualis vita ad quam pascimur talis quoque est manducatio cibi in nobis mansie Atqui fames ista est spiritualis c. his carnal Disciples knew not what to make of it This is an hard saying who can hear it and from that time many of his Disciples went away back and walked no more with him Joh. 6.60 66. That 's the second property It is a spiritual Union 3. And principally It is an inseparable and indissoluble Union such as shall never be broken asunder When Christ and a Believer are once knit together they shall never be parted any more When the Lord Jesus cometh by his Spirit and taketh up his abode in a mans soul he maketh that soul his eternal mansion and doth not at any time withdraw himself from it And when the sinner is by a living faith gotten into Christ he shall in no case be broken off from him A dead branch may fall off from the tree but the living branches will abide there for ever 1 Joh. 2.27 28. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth and is no lye and even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him And now little children abide in him c. As here is an exhortation pressing Believers to abide in Christ so here is a word of promise that they shall abide in him and that as to both the branches of this conjunction 1. The anointing which ye have received abideth in you that is The principle of grace infused into you which was typified by the unctions or anointings in the ceremonial Law which was signified by the precious ointment poured upon the head of Aaron that ran down to the skirts of his garments this principle will prove indefectible 2. On the other hand ye shall abide in him Your faith is a grace that shall not fail nor decay This is clear from the reason that is given of the apostacy of some That therefore they are separated from Christ because they were never spiritually ingraffed into Christ * Triticum non vapit vontus nec arborem solida radice fundatam procella subvertit Inant's paleae tempestate jactantur invalide arbores turbinis inoursione evertuntur Cypr. 1 John 2.19 They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us Had they been quickned by Christ's Spirit they would never have departed from him It is a matter q. d. without controversie no doubt of it This is usually called The Saints perseverance All natural unions must be dissolved the husband must be separated from the wife and children from the patents and one dear friend from another but here is a relation that will be everlasting This is a point of great concernment to the comfort of a child of God without which he could in no wise be assured of his safe arrival at the kingdom of heaven And therefore I will a little longer dwell upon this doctrine 1. By shewing you the principal fouâ—dations on which this inseparableness of union with Christ is bottomed 2. By propounding a consideration further to strengthen and confirm the truth of this point 3. By vindication of this doctrine of perseverance from the two grand exceptions that are made against it 1. For the foundations upon which this perseverance is built Whence doth it come to pass that a Believers union with Christ is of such duration and continuance that when a man is gotten into Christ he shall abide in him and persevere in that
derived namely from the Lord Jesus Christ who hath the fulness of the Spirit and is still following his people with fresh influences thereof Grace was poured forth into Adam as water into a cistern or vessel which being not carefully lookt to was by the heat of temptation dried away but it is issued forth into the hearts of Believers as a stream that cometh from a living fountain and is fed continually thereby as a spring from the Ocean whose current is never stopped and therefore cannot be drawn dry Joh. 7.38 He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water But this he spake of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive Joh. 4.14 Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst that is Not with a thirst of emptiness and indigence He shall thirst the more with a thirst of desire * Satietas ista non desiderio sed tantâ—m siccitati opponitur and earnest breathings after further communications thereof but he shall never thirst as a person deprived of it he shall have constant daily and continued supplies until his desires be swallowed up in full fruition and satisfaction For as it followeth The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into ever lasting life This is the first thing for the clearing of this property of our union with Christ to wit the inseparableness of it By shewing you the firm foundations whereupon it is built 2. For the further confirmation and strengthning of this point consider That as for those things which are most likely in the apprehensions of man to make a separation and disjunction between Christ and a Believer the holy Ghost hath expresly intimated concerning them that they shall in no case be able to do it And therefore certainly it is an indissoluble union * Si quod magis videtur posse nou potest tum quod minus videtur posse non poterit For if any thing could disunite them a man would think it should be one of these six things Either 1. The remainders of sin 2. The violent assaults of the devil 3. The allurements of the world 4. False teachers the devils instruments 5. Troubles and persecutions for the sake of Christ 6. Death which is the great separating providence 1. The first thing that is most likely to disunite a Believer from the Lord Jesus is the remainders of sin and that by way of provocation There are many corruptions left in the hearts of the children of God and thereupon frequent infirmities and failings in the course of their obedience sometimes foul miscarriages committed in their lives For although grace doth ever act like it self sin cannot grow upon that root yet a gracious man doth not alwayes act like himself Now the question may be Will not these pollutions provoke the Lord Christ to abandon their society Will he hold any intercourse and fellowship with them that are thus defiled May not they justly expect that this should separate between them Why mark it Sirs sin in the godly shall never come so high as to make a separation between them and their Redeemer It may somewhat interrupt their communion and hinder them from tasting that usual sweetness that is to be tasted in fellowship with Christ but it shall never break asunder their union with him For the power and dominion of sin over them when they lay we tring in their blood would rather have hindred the making them one at first than the presence of sin shall dissolve that union when it is made If Christ sent forth his Spirit to sanctifie them when they were slaves of the devil that he might dwell in them certainly he will not utterly reject them because of their infirmities when they are sanctified and become the children of God If he had mercy upon them when they were in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity and knit them unto himself surely he will not cast them off now they are members of his body The Apostle presseth it as a forcible argument Rom. 5.8 9 10. God commendeth his love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Much more then being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life As if he had said Undoubtedly our state of enmity against God would rather have prevented our reconciliation than the remainders of sin can now prevent our salvation There is nothing can be imagined to come in now as an obstacle in the way of our salvation but would have much more proved an obstacle to impede our conversion If we were ingraffed into Christ through the superabundant love of God notwithstanding our former walking in a course of sin without controversie we shall abide in Christ he will never withdraw from us because of some unallowed failings And besides remember that when Christ married believers unto himself and gave up himself unto them he did it in judgment He did not act rashly and in considerately but he knew well enough their frame what creatures they were to what failings they were subject and what remainders of corruption would still abide in them Hos 2.19 I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgment and in loving kindness and in mercies And that promise is observable Psal 89.30 31 32. If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments then will I visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take away from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail Mark it God doth own them as the children of Christ notwithstanding their manifold infirmities Though he may correct them in his fatherly displeasure for their sins yet he will never wholly forsake them The continuance of his love being not bottomed on their absolute perfection in the faith but upon his own faithfulness 2. A second thing which is most likely but shall not be able to prevail to dissolve this union is The violent assaults of the devil by way of temptation He is a potent and cunning adversary and will be ready to put forth all his strength and subtlety against the children of God to make them lose their hold of Christ and if it were possible to separate betwixt them and the Lord Jesus And this is the very ground of the despondency of poor afflicted spirits When they are strongly buffetted by Satan from without and find their lusts stirring within they are apt to yield up the cause and to say in their hearts We shall one day perish by the hands of Saul we shall never be able to hold out against
fundamental blessings that have dependance thereon 5. THe next question to be handled is concerning the necessity of this Union Qu. How doth it appear that it is a matter of such absolute and indispensable necessity that if we will have life from the Son we must have the Son or must be thus made one with our Lord Jesus For he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life Answ For answer hereunto I will shew you the necessity of this Union by recounting the blessings which are conveyed hereby and that have a necessary dependance hereupon which cannot be received by us except we are in Christ 1. First then in the general A Believers union with Christ or being in him is the foundation of all his communion with him or communications of grace out of his fulness in whatsoever doth appertain either to the quickning and comfort of our hearts here or making us meet to partake of the inheritance of the Saints hereafter In our Lord Jesus is stored up plentiful provision of all things needful to conduct a sinner to glory but it is dealt forth to them alone who are knit unto Jesus It is imparted unto them by vertue of their being in him Except the branch be and abide in the vine it cannot partake of the sâ—p and fatness of the vine so except you be implanted into Christ you cannot be made partakers of his grace or of the treasures of mercy and blessings that are hid in him It is in Christ we are compleat Col. 2.10 that is we have all things derived upon us to make us compleatly happy from the fulness that is in Christ and by vertue of our oneness with Christ The Apostle had laid down this assertion v. 9. That in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily i.e. essentially and substantially Yea but might believers say what is that unto us Yes saith he it is all for your comfort and benefit If you are in him you shall thereby attain from him whatsoever is requisite to make you perfectly blessed So that you need nothing else to each up any defect therein Thus only in the general 2. To descend unto particulars I shall enter upon the enumeration of the several covenant-blessings which flow from our union with the Lord Jesus And I find there are especially 11. fundamental mercies or blessings which are communicated unto the Saints by vertue of their being in Christ and which have a necessary dependance thereupon 1. The grace of justification in the sight of God through the righteousness of Christ imputed to us 2. The grace of adoption or our inrollment amongst the number of the children of God 3. The participation of the supplies of the Spirit to guide us in our journey to the kingdom of heaven 4. The gracious acceptation of our duties and performances 5. A title to the promises of the Gospel which concern this life or that which is to come 6. Vnion with the Father and an intimate acquaintance with him 7. That peace and joy in the holy Ghost which puts life and sweetness into every condition 8. Deliverance from the sting of death and consequently from the fear of that king of terrors 9. A glorious resurrection out of the dust of the earth 10. Boldness and comfort in our appearance at the bar of judgment 11. The actual possession and enjoyment of a crown of glory So that whatsoever grace or mercy is prepared for the Saints it is dealt out unto them in this way from their first entrance into the state of grace to their sitting down upon the throne of glory I will mainly enlarge upon the first and third of these glancing only upon the rest 1. The first blessing that I shall mention as depending upon Union with Jesus Christ is the justification of a sinner in the sight of God upon the account of Christ's righteousness imputed to him whereby the guilt of sin is removed and the person of the sinner is accepted as righteous with the God of heaven Here lieth one argument of the necessity of being thus ingraffed into Christ Because without union with him there can be no justification through his blood nor clothing with his righteousness for acceptance with the Lord. Our righteousness for pardon and justification is in the Lord and we our selves must be in him that we may partake of his righteousness For it will signifie nothing to us except we are in him Eph. 1.6 He hath made us accepted in the beloved And v. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace This is a fundamental leading mercy which maketh way for the conferring of other mercies * Doctrina justificationis est articulus stantis aut cadentis Heclesiae Luth. For till sin be pardoned the curse of the Law cannot be removed from the sinner and this pardon is given forth upon the account of Christ's righteousness imputed to us in order whereunto we must of necessity be in him For in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins I will open to you the force of this argument by taking it asunder into six branches and speaking distinctly to each of them 1. Observe That the grace of justification in the sight of God is made up of two parts 1. There is forgiveness of the offences committed against the Lord. 2. Acceptation of the person offending pronouncing him a righteous person and receiving him into favour again as if he had never offended This is clear from the Scriptures of truth 1. There is an act of absolution and acquital from the guilt of sin and freedom from the condemnation dedeserved by sin The desert of sin is an inseparable accident or concomitant of it * Reatus vel 1. Simplex 2. Redundans 〈◊〉 personam that can never be removed It may be said of the sins of a justified person that they deserve everlasting destruction But justification is the freeing a sinner from the guilt of his iniquity whereby he was actually bound over to condemnation so that the person justified may say Who is he that condemneth He may read over the most dreadful passages of the Law without being terrified as knowing the curse is removed from over his head his fins that brought him under the curse are forgiven and are in point of condemnation as if they had never been This is to be justified to have sin thus forgiven and the penalty remitted Rom. 4.5 6 7 8. But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works saying Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin Mark it what David calleth forgiveness of sin and not imputing of iniquity
way for your â—ture getting into Christ It is less dangerous for a â—an to be a stranger unto Christ and know that he is so â—an to be in that condition and not to know it This I â—dd to remove the main impediment that hindreth â—ens setting about the work of self-examination â—or I am verily perswaded herein lâ—eth a principal â—stacle They are loath to search themselves lest â—ey should find the worst by themselvs Just as some â—reless Shop-keepers that are run much behind â—nd they cannot endure to look into their books 〈◊〉 to cast up their accounts lest they should be â—quainted with their own poverty and see in â—â—at a low condition they are But mind it Sirs it â—better to trie and know that you are under the guilt of your sins and children of the wrath of God then to continue such and not to know it It is the knowledge of a sinners perishing condition will cause him to hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ and make him restless in his spirit till he get into Christ These are the people to whom Christ is sent to bring deliverance such as find they are sinners and are heavy laden under the burden of sin Isa 61.1 2 3. They are such lost sheep which the great Shepherd of souls will seek after that is such as are sensible of their lost condition Ezek. 34.16 I will seek that which is lost and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick But I will destroy the fat and the strong and feed them with judgment And it is ignorance of mens misery and wretchedness which is the devils great engine whereby he carrieth sinners blindfold and headlong into the pit of destruction As the knowledge of the disease is the first part of the cure so it is the knowledge of a mans damnable condition which is one of the first steps unto his conversion and salvation This is all I shall speak to the second head under the Use of Trial By way of motive and provocative thereunto 3. Let me close this Use with some special directions to guide you in the discharge of this work of self-examination That you may come to a right conclusion and resolution of the case Whether you are spiritually ingraffed into Christ and be such as have the Son and life through him or not And here I might give you a catalogue of Scripture-marks and evidences for trial upon this account But I shall not multiply particulars we will only insist upon the principal matter to be enquired into for proof of your union with the Son of God And a little to direct you in the method of your proceeding herein that it may be done effectually and successfully you must diligently heed and observe these following Rules of advice wherein I will proceed by way of gradation the better to help both your understandings and memories Direct 1. For the examination and trial of your selves and in order to the passing a righteous sentence upon your selves whether you are united to Christ You must firstly and fundamentally enquire if the grace of regeneration hath been poured out upon you and a sound conversion wrought within you This is the foundation evidence of a mans having the Son and other marks are made use of for discovery of this and in a subserviency to the manifestation hereof And the reason of it is obvious Because in the day of conversion this union is made up By the spirit of regeneration Christ doth take possession of sinners for himself and by a living faith which is one of the graces then planted in their souls they do receive Christ and embrace him as theirs and so are knit unto him as hath been largely opened By a through conversion the Lord Jesus doth cull out a people from the world and gather them unto himself So that this is primarily and chiefly to be sought into whether you are truly converted and made partakers of the renewing grace of the holy Ghost For if any man be in Christ he is a new creature 2 Cor. 5.17 Here is the grand question Are we new creatures Is there a through change wrought upon our spirits Is corruption mortified in us and the power of it subdued and a new principle of holiness put into and ingraven upon our hearts Thus it will be if you are one with Christ Except you are converted you are strangers to him and have no saving interest in him Rom. 8.10 If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness The body is dead that is the body of corruption is mortified and the force of it is taken away whereby it exercised dominion over you As before you were dead in sin so now you are dead unto sin and quickned and made alive unto righteousness Here is the failure of many and the occasion of their being deceived in this point of their belonging to Christ They sometimes look into the actions of their lives but never seriously consider whether the grace of conversion be shed abroad into their hearts They rest in a civil moral conversation and do not throughly weigh whether they are made partakers of the spirit of regeneration Whereas this is the fundamental evidence of our union with Christ 1 Joh. 4.13 Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his Spirit And Rom. 8.9 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his That is If he have not those gracious qualifications which are infused into the soul by the spirit in the work of conversion If he have not his heart moulded anew and fashioned aright by the holy Ghost If he have not the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord which was the spirit that rested upon Christ he is none of his Isa 11.2 This is firstly and fundamentally to be enquired after whether the work of conversion be wrought upon us and the grace of regeneration be formed in us Direct 2. If a person would be inabled to take cognizance of himself and to pass a right judgment upon himself whether he be converted and so knit to Jesus He must of necessity in order thereunto be well instructed in the nature and quality of conversion My meaning is this He must rightly understand wherein a sound and sincere conversion lieth and what a change it maketh upon the soul and what effects it produceth that so he may not mistake a feigned conversion for a true and a slight work upon the spirit which is common to the wicked for the grace of regeneration which is peculiar to the people of God For mark it Sirs There is a false conversion as well as a true and counterfeit grace as well as that which is grace indeed and in
God that it may prove a certain evidence of conversion and consequently of our union with Christ Jesus It must of necessity have these six properties and each of them must be enquired after in the business of self-examination It must be 1. Spiritual 2. Vniversal 3. Evangelical 4. Sincere 5. Thriving 6. Stedfast obedience 1. It must be spiritual obedience answerable to the nature of that God whom we wait upon and whose servants we are His essence is spiritual and such must our obedience to him be if we will serve the Lord acceptably and make it appear that we are of the number of his peculiar people Bodily exercise and a meer external devotion will strike a great stroke in making up the form of godliness but the power of it consisteth in that which is spiritual Joh. 4.23 The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him These are the true worshippers that is such as are so in Gods account whom he will graciously receive and own in their performances When people serve him in a bare external bodily manner he reckoneth them as his greatest enemies their service is but a piece of dissimulation which hath only the shadow of worship For the substance lieth in what is spiritual And such the Father seeketh to worship him i.e. such worship he commandeth and his soul is well pleased with Although it seemeth to be spoken here with a peculiar reference to instituted worship yet it holds strongly as to natural worship also even of all the parts and particulars of his service For the reason which is rendred v. 24. is comprehensive of all Because God is a Spirit So that our obedience if it prove us a chosen generation whom God hath set apart for himself must be spiritual And that in a threefold respect In respect of the 1. Principle from whence it floweth 2. Extent how far it reacheth 3. Subject whereon it is terminated 1. In respect of the principle from whence it proceedeth It must be such obedience as cometh from the heart and wherein the soul and spirit is ingaged Not an honouring him with the lips and drawing neer to him with the mouth when the heart is removed far from him Not a serving him only by a kind of compulsion under some terrible apprehensions of the judgments of God not in a slothful careless and lukewarm manner as if Religion were a weariness to us and we had no mind to our work But when we serve him aright our hearts must be ingaged to approach unto him Jer. 30.21 22. we must be fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 And our inward parts must be employed in the works of holiness When a mans tongue doth speak forth the praises of God and his heart joyneth with him in the business when his hands do act in the works of piety and his spirit concurreth in the action and carry him on thereunto this is to serve the Lord with the Spirit Although he calleth for the body also to be imployed in his service as indeed he deserveth the whole man yet not as a picture or image without life and soul but as animated by the heart Prov. 23.26 My son give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my wayes q.d. A slave will give me his hands and feet and the strength of his body an hypocrite will offer up the outward man but if thou be a son I must have the heart and spirit 2. It must be spiritual obedience in respect of the extent of it how far it reacheth Such as sets us in opposition against spiritual sins as well as fleshly such as causeth us to fight against secret pride and envy and earthliness and unbelief and malice and double-mindedness and the like as well as to obstain from rotten communication and gross outward pollutions It must be such obedience as is exercised in spiritual duties as meditation on the word of the Lord and frequent contemplation of the excellencies of God adoring his Majesty and admiring his works and setting the affections on things above as well as in pleading the cause of holiness and openly walking in the profession of it It must carry us to such works as are performed in the secret recesses of the Spirit and sets us a striving against such corruptions as are forged and fabricated in the spirit which no eye can observe but God and our own consciences 2 Cor. 7.1 Let us cleanse our selves from all the filthiness both of the flesh and spirit Rom. 8.5 They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit Psal 73.1 Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are clean of heart See further Psal 24.3 4. Mat. 6.21 3. In respect of the subject whereon it is terminated It endeth in the further renewing and purifying the spirit and getting more degrees of habitual grace into the heart When we are not only contented to be kept free from the acts of sin but do mourn and lament under the principle of sin and labour to deaden that principle When we do not think it enough to do much for God but fain would have our spirits transformed every day more and more into the image of God Thus it will be if you are converted If a carnal person resist the temptation he thinks his work is done and is apt to glory in himself as if the whole business were dispatched But a convert layeth the ax to the root of the tree he followeth the corrupt stream to the poysonous fountain whence it is derived and nothing will satisfie him but cleansing the fountain and taking revenge upon his lusts that lodge within him Rom. 7.23 24. Paul's actual sins cause him to have an eye upon his heart by which he was turned aside I see saith he another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity unto the law of sin which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death This is the first qualification It must be spiritual obedience 2. If you would prove your conversion and consequentially your union with Christ by your obedience It must be universal obedience Not a partial and restrictive serving of God but a following him fully as far as the whole circuit of holiness reacheth As it is said of Caleh Num. 14.24 He followed the Lord fully and that proved him to be a man of another spirit and of a gracious temper indeed sanctified by the holy Ghost because his obedience was universal There is a threefold universality must go to the right qualifying our obedience that it may be evidential of a converted estate It must be universal in relation to the 1. Agent or person obeying 2. Rule of obedience 3. Times and seasons of the performance 1. In relation to the agent or person