the Father to the Soul the other is a Spiritual loveliness in the heart of a Believer which is this love from the heart of the Father first shining into the Soul and so kindling it self to a holy love there which love at once carries the Soul out of it self to the bosome of God and changes the Soul to the likeness of God fills it with the grace joy glory of God The grace mentioned here in the Text is the first of these that which Divines rightly call free grace for you see 't is a grace that is antecedent to and transcendent over eternal life and Jesus Christ himself in his mediatory office for 't is a grace that reigns by all these as the Scepter Minister and effect of his reign The Doctrine which I intend to prosecute from these words is this the free grace of God is the Supream and Soveraign good in covenant of grace and in the Gospel 't is that from which all the good things of the Gospel flow on which they all depend and by which they are all dispens'd we see it lies plain in the Text 't is the great King that reigns the glorified person of our Lord Jesus Christ is but the Throne of this grace where it sits from which it reigns righteousness is the golden Scepter of this grace eternal life the fruit of this grace this free grace reigns to eternal life this grace must of necessity be Soveraignly supreamly absolutely every way infinitely free and full when 't is before eternal life it being the beautiful cause that produces this blessed effect eternal life which comprehends the life of grace and of glory in the whole compass of it Zach. 4.7 the Lord speak thus Who art thou O great Mountain before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a a Plain and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings crying grace grace unto it Zerubbabel is the figure of Jesus Christ the scatterer of Babel that spirit of heavenly beauty and order that takes away all confusion which saith O death I will be thy death so he calls himself Zerubbabel the confusion of all confusion 〈◊〉 brings out the head stone he brings out himself the head stone of the spiritual building with shouting and what doth he teach them to cry to it in the shouting Jesus Jesus no no they cry to Jesus himself as he brings out himself the head stone grace grace free grace love from eternity supream love soveraign love the most beautiful womb out of which Jesus Christ together with all his heavenly treasure and sweetness springs cry grace grace to it My beloved you know that the material Temple was but a figure of the spiritual and living Temple which is the Temple of the Lord Jesus and of every Saint O that your spiritual senses were awaked what melody should we hear at this building of grace of the spiritual Temple in every soul as begun in laying the head stone the foundation as carried on in rearing the walls as finish'd in laying on the roof of glory we should hear the heavenly company the blessed Angels and Spirits shouting with ravishing harmony crying to it grace grace free love supream soveraign love eternal love 't is this 't is this which layes it self as the foundation and head stone in the person of Christ this carries on the building in the walls and flores and layes it self the top stone in glory O my beloved that have this building though imperfect in you you that lye in the rubbish that have any sence of the beauty of this building of the glorious company that inhabit it there is no such way to have it begun carried on and finish'd as to cry continually to it grace grace as with a shout of ravishing affections from a sence of love love infinitely free transcending all your expectations with a shout of admiration cry continually with the language of all within you of all your parts powers senses grace grace O the infinite freedom of grace O the soveraignty and supremacy of grace of eternal love reigning through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord reigning over sin and death and even out of them from the blackest darkness raising the more beautifully the Temple of divine light and divine love I design to speak somewhat largely of Free Grace In the Porch of the Temple were two great Pillars Boaz and Jachin one signifying in strength the other he shall establish or he shall prepare O my beloved blessed are they whose heart whose hope whose grace whose glory doth go up as a heavenly Temple resting on these two Pillars which meet both in one free grace here 's the strength of the God-head his love God is love here 's the preparation and establishment the preparation from eternity free grace from eternity and the establishment is through all changes and storms of times to eternity There be three things in which in general I would open and confirm the nature of free grace First The grace of God free grace is the highest love Secondly 'T is the highest loveliness and Thirdly It is the highest joy First The grace of God is the highest love grace in the Hebrew tongue Kene from Kana signifies most properly a love condescending stooping from the greatest height with the greatest complacency bowing it self down so making it self one with the lowest object in its lowest estate and that to this end that it may raise this object and carry it to its own height to be one with its self in its own beauty and triumphant blessedness the force of the word according to some enforces thus much this is express'd by another word Psalm 63.3 Because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee 't is Keses here 's the grace of God express'd as the highest love better than life there be three excellent things light life and love life is an excellency of a higher kind than light is life is light in a transcendent perfection therefore called light of life and so is love above life 't is a higher kind of excellency than life 't is the perfection of life as life is better than single light because 't is light in a perfection in which it transcends it self so is love better than life because 't is life in a perfection in which it transcends it self the highest love is the love of God free grace what purity power pleasantness and glory is there in light what strength virtue sweetness and joy is there in life all these be comprehended in the love of God all these be comprehended in free grace with an eminency surmounting themselves The effect is in the cause after a more excellent manner love is the Fountain of life and so the Crown of life every thing that is desirable in light and life is more desirable in love as the cause exceeds the effect thus the loving kindness of God is better than life This love
is a consequent how full is this love which is anteceedent to the Union of Jesus Christ and a Soul out of which all good springs to a Soul is not this free grace that glory of God for which Jesus Christ lived and dyed that this truth might shine in the face of all his Saints this is that love in which the joy of all holy Angels and men is plac'd who art thou now when Jesus Christ lived and dyed to publish this joyful sound of free grace when the Ministers of Christ when Saints Baptised into the Spirit of Christ continually shout and cry concerning all good within them or round about them grace grace free grace love from eternity and to eternity who art thou that as Pilate negligently cryes what is this grace I understand it not and so goest away turning thy back on this grace on Jesus Christ on the glorious Ministry of this grace on the everlasting Father the Fountain of this grace this is the Prophane Heathen The second stranger and enemy to free grace is the pious Jew when Jesus Christ by his doctrine discovered his glory and the people believed on him the most religious Jews cryed out we know that God spake to Moses but whence this man came we know not Oh how many such Jewish devout spirits be among Christians when Jesus Christ in the Ministry of his Gospel shines out with the beams of free grace breaking out in their simplicity purity and unmix'd freedome see it not and know it not when Jesus Christ in his glorified face scatters those beams of grace into the bosome of many men they cry out this we know that Moses that the latter of the Scripture every where calls upon us to be doing to abound in good works to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling but what this doctrine of free grace is we know not nor whence it comes although there be no right doing or abounding in good works or working out Salvation but by the operation of this free grace for it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do how ignorant are many of the Religious Jews among us of the glory of this King of the power of his reign who reigns by a Scepter of righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh let no more thine own reason the free will or power of the creature or all works arising from these in opposition to the free grace of God 〈◊〉 contend with it for the preheminence or copartnership to take the Scepter of righteousness out of his hand no free grace hath a most glorious Minister by which he will reign to bring out eternal life through righteousness and that is Jesus Christ in the place of free will right reason so called and all created excellencies he sets up Jesus Christ free grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ. The third enemy and stranger to the grace of God is the Vain Christian and this is of two kinds first he that playes the wanton with the grace of God Oh that there were not too much of this when God rained to the Jews the bread of Angels in the wilderness they loathed it and said What is this manna how insipid is this we find no strength in it Oh that this were not the temper of many How is that rellish of free grace that savour and esteem of free grace that eager feeding of the soul on free grace as the delicacy of Heaven and Eternity which was among the Saints of old now almost quite lost how do we play the wanton with this grace of God that reigns so freely we find no rellish in it to satisfie our understanding or to feed and feast our will and affections tak heed I beseech you of thus playing the wanton with free grace whosoever he be that subordinates the free grace of God to any thing besides its self or bounds it in any thing besides it self he that gives it confinement to or dependance on any thing of the creature or subjects the free grace of God to mans reason or which is the other wantoness turns this grace of God into a liberty to sin and makes this high free love a pretence or cloak to licentiousness he is a stranger and enemy to the grace of God as 't is of God he that sees not God to be all in all sees nothing at all of God rightly so he that sets not up the grace of God in the infiniteness unlimitedness independency of its own freedome and sweetness transcendent over antecedent to all good in the creature he makes the grace of God nothing grace is no grace unless it be all grace abate any thing of the freedome of divine grace and 't is no more grace at all I conclude this Use with the last of the Revelations 18. For I testifie to every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this book If any man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the Plagues that are written in this book and if any man shall take away from the words of this book God shall take away his part out of the book of life See the danger of adding to or taking from the word of God now to bring this to my purpose you may see that this word of God is no other than the word of his grace no word comes from God to his people but the word of his grace it hath its beginning strength and end in this grace as appears 20 Acts 32. Now Brethren I commend you to God and the word of his grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified he takes from adds to the word of God that takes from and adds to the grace of God O my beloved let us all then as the glory of God is dear to us as the peace of our souls and bodies is dear to us le ts take heed of taking from or adding to the grace of God if we take from the grace of God any thing of its own freedome of its antecedence to all good in all creatures God certainly will take from us proportionably of the purity of the peace of the power of his spirit in our spirits of the comfort and prosperity of our lives of consolation and joy in death of our blessedness and glory after death If we add to the grace of God any power in the creature any free will in the creature any excellency in the creature God certainly will so withdraw from us that by it we shall find we add to our corruptions we add to our care fear grief doubt despair and anguish while we live and add to the blackness of darkness in death and add to everlasting torments after death if this free grace it self do not interpose and prevent it by its own freedome My next Use is to perswade all Heathens Jews and Christians to seek after this
grace of God to be acquainted with it and that their acquaintance may encrease seek acquaintance with the free grace of God with all your heart let all the desires of your heart be wrapt up in the search of free grace Psalm 27.8 My heart saith seek my face thy face will I seek free grace eternal love this is the naked face of God Oh seek let your heart with all within you say to you continually by day and by night seek the face of God the grace of God and let your heart answer again in the truth of your practice thy grace O God we will seek all good things of time and eternity are wrapt up in the grace of God wisdome is a tree of life to those that take hold of it 't is the Gospel is the Tree of life 't is grace is the Gospel the glad tydings from Heaven take hold of this grace of God by faith 't is a tree of life God is the root of this tree in thy spirit when you take hold of the grace of God you shall have the Father the Fountain of this grace the Son the Channel full of this grace the holy Spirit as the living Streams living Water and Floud of this grace pouring out it self into thee you shall have the new nature the spiritual man the budds of this tree springing out of this root and every spiritual grace as the branches of it and all joy and glory of the spirit as the fruit of free grace on which your soul shall feed as on the fruit of his own tree O then follow free grace wait for it seek acquaintance with it with all your understanding might and power My next Use is to warn all that profess the name of God to take heed of living under the law of abiding in a legal spirit you shall see how I come to this admonition from this doctrine if you consider that Text which loudly alarums us to hast from Sinai to Sion 6 Rom. 14. For Sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the Law but under grace O behold and tremble to see that the law and grace are inconsistent in their reign if you be under the law you cannot be under grace if you be under grace you are no more under the law if you be under the law sin domineers over you grace is no King to you O then be fearful to build Tabernacles on Mount Sinai in clouds and earth-quakes under the administration of the law but you will say how shall we know if we be under the law or no I shall at this time give you one character to know it by art thou still in thy natural estate of unregeneracy of unbelief then you are under the law and not under grace the Lord Jesus tells John 3.3 Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God and again Except a man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God art then acquainted but with a natural birth art thou a stranger to the new birth the second birth that from above where grace is a King whose Kingdome is righteousness peace and joy in the holy Ghost art not thou born of water and of the spirit of that spirit the spirit of grace of that water which is above the Firmament the grace of this spirit which flows for ever then you cannot see or enter into the Kingdome of grace there is a Cherub with a flaming sword the Ministry of the law that keeps the entrance that you cannot tast the sweetness joy and glory of this grace the law hath dominion over thee and sin death the devil and eternal wrath have dominion over thee according to thy present state Oh that you would lament this with tears of blood that your hearts would break with longings till grace according to its freedome translate from this Kingdome of the law to its own Kingdome and Dominion a Kingdome of Heaven upon Earth Alas while under the law in vain do you strive to break the chains of corruption and lust guilt and fear sin reigns powerfully and will reign to death to a first death a dark and melancholly state to the second death a long and endless night without any glimps of light or the least refreshment where you lye in torments unexpressible beyond that of the highest fear in unquenchable burnings where evil spirits and devils in this Kingdome of the law and wrath pour continually oyl to the fire and cry out where be the pleasures of sin the riches of the world where is your pomp happiness and joy now in all the things that were seen and be now vanished and be as fuel to heighten your flame O come to the Lord Jesus and be councelled by him we read when an Army of the Philistines lay between David and Bethlehem he cryed out Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the Well of Bethlehem which is by the gate and three mighty men brake through the Host and brought water to David but he poured it out unto the Lord and said far be it from me is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives Hear all you that are under the law the bosome of the Father is the true Bethlehem the house of bread Jesus Christ the bread of God is there in the gate of this Bethlehem is a fountain of grace O long day and night cry and say in the ear of the Lord Jesus who will give to drink of that Fountain in the gate of Bethlehem in the fountain of grace then I shall not be parch'd with the burning heat of lust of guilt of grief of pain then shall I thirst no more after the poysons of this world the least drop of that water would be an eternal solace to my soul Oh hear and see thou that thus longest and faintest to drink but cryest alass there be Armies between thee and this fountain Armies of corruptions of guilt of sin and wrath Armies of devils Oh who now shall give me to drink of this fountain Be not cast down look up behold and see and rejoyce to see Jesus Christ the mighty Worthy of God hath broke through all these Armies and in despight of all he brings of the living water of grace from the fountain of grace for thee to drink nay he brings thee to the fountain in the bosome of the Father Oh now in this moment thou that hast hitherto been in thy natural estate under the dominion of the law hear his voyce that by the Ministry brings thee to the fountain of grace that calls thee to come freely without money and without price to drink deep of this fountain this shall spring up to all righteousness holiness and joy in thee this shall spring up as streams to make thee flourish like the garden of God Oh that the Lord Jesus would be present with thee now to a new
birth to give thee a new heart a believing heart do not as hitherto pour out the precious water of this grace from this fountain on the ground by contempt of it but say now Shall I spill the water of this grace which is the blood of my Jesus the life of my Jesus that not only hazarded but poured out his blood to bring me to this fountain Oh drink then the spirit of grace give thee a new nature a new heart to drink deep to drink abundantly by day and by night of this free grace which reigns through righteousness by Jesus Christ our Lord. EVANGELICAL RULES CONCERNING SUFFERING In a Discourse May 10. 1670. Romans 5.21 the latter part So might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. I Have raised this Doctrine from these words That the Grace of God is the Supream good in the Gospel in the Covenant of Grace there is no good above it there is no good before it all the good of the Gospel comes from it all good depends on it and is dispens'd by it I have shewed that this Grace is sovereignly infinitely free sweet and irresistable I demonstrated this by three Arguments First That the grace of God is the highest love Secondly The grace of God is the highest loveliness and beauty Thirdly It is the highest joy This is the grace of God the love of the Father the loveliness of the Son God in all the three Persons at once shining out in each of them in the light of divine love heavenly beauty and incomprehensible joy and breaking out from God in the spirit of a Saint as a spiritual flame of divine love heavenly beauty and infinite joy inlightning inlivening the soul of a Saint teaching it and transforming it to one spiritual flame of the same love beauty and joy with it self My last Use was an Exhortation to glorifie the grace of God and thereby the God of grace First in our lives by living to this grace Secondly by suffering for this grace by this grace I spake of the first and shall by the assistance of God spend this time on this last part to glorifie the grace of God in your sufferings Here I began by the grace of God to deliver those things to you which I my self have sometimes received from Jesus Christ when I have seen his face and tasted his love by a spirit of faith and so do I hope and desire in the simplicity of my heart to lead you by the same anointing of the spirit of this grace of God shining in the face of Christ with this heavenly love beauty and joy as I hope I my self am led and taught to live upon them There be five Rules I would lay before you in the pursuit of this Exhortation First See that you suffer from the grace of God calling you to suffer Secondly Suffer only for the grace of God Thirdly Suffer with grace in your spirits Fourthly Suffer with grace in your outward behaviour Fifthly Let grace alone this grace of God be all your solace in all your sufferings First Suffer from the grace of God calling you to it Heb. 5.4 the Holy Ghost tells us No man takes this honour to himself as a Priest to God but he that is called of God as Aaron was when you suffer as Saints then you will by Jesus Christ become like him and be both the Priest and the Sacrifice but take heed you take not this honour to your selves to be Priests and Sacrifices to God except he call you to it as he did Aaron St. Paul layes this as the ground of all that spiritual light that flowed from him in his Epistle to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 1.1 Paul called to an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God then have you a sweetness and strength in your sufferings when you can say of your selves such an one is called to be a Sufferer when the grace of God calls you to be a Sufferer then the title of a Sufferer and the triumph will be great Paul when he stood before the Roman Governour makes this the ground of his confidence and consolation O King Agrippa I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision what a spring of fresh life will this be to say I have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision I have not been disobedient to the heavenly call the grace of God shining without me in his providences of grace and shining before me in his word of grace and shining within me from the spirit of that grace on my spirit O ye the Flock of Jesus Christ O ye little Flock keep your eye on your Shepheard the Lord Jesus especially when he leads you into the Wildernes and into the Storm see him going before you and hear his voyce calling to suffer and know his voyce then shall you go in and out and find pasture then in the valley of death you shall meet with green pastures then in the time of great tempests when the Sea roars you shall feed by the still water-brooks and rivers then in the hot noon of Persecution your Shepheard shall lay you in a shady grove under his own shadow in the tender grass in his own bosome and there and then your Conscience together with the spirit of grace the holy Angels all blessed Spirits shall be as so many Birds singing about you and you shall appear as a continual Spring God shall spring up in the beauty of his appearance in the manifestation of his love while you are obedient to the heavenly vision and follow the heavenly call of his grace in his Providences his Word and Spirit This is the first Rule See that you suffer only from grace calling you to it Second Rule is See that you suffer for the grace of God only but before I fall on the affirmative part of this Rule I have cautions to give to take heed of these things for which you are not to suffer First Suffer not for the favour of man to please any party or perswasion Saint Paul saith Do I perswade men or God or do I seek to please men for if I yet pleased men I should not be the servant of Christ Gal. 1.10 Oh suffer not to approve your selves to men the Scripture saith Judg. 9.13 That Wine cheareth the heart of God and man A learned Interpreter applies this to Christ and his Saints Christ the Vine and Saints the Branches the blood of Christ in his Saints poured out in sufferings makes glad the heart of God and man Oh pour not out this blood to make glad the heart of man alone how foolish be we to seek to please men with a false fleshly spirit Oh let this Wine be poured out to this end to make glad the heart of God and all that partake of the same divine joy with him A great King when he met with a great Philosopher said Oh what a Theatre have I lost by thy not seeing
my actions It was more to him to be applauded by this one man before all the world than all the benefit of his victories besides Beware of this to make any man any sort of men the Theatre of your Sufferings to be applauded by men let God alone be the Theatre of your Sufferings 't is a light thing with me saith the Apostle to be Judged in mans day let this be the beginning and end of all your suffering to be applauded by God approved of God and accepted by him Suffer not out of any humour or passion the Apostle exhorts 1 Cor. 5.8 Let us keep the feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth this relates to the Passeover 7th verse For Christ our Passeover is sacrificed for us there is to be a conformity between the sufferings of Christ and a Saint do you come to suffer with Christ let it be like Christ let it be a Passeover let it be a Sacrifice of a Lamb lay thy self down as a Lamb gentle innocent and meek and let this be a feast and cast out the old leaven all sour sullen cross perverse spirits keep this feast with the unleavened bread the sincerity truth simplicity of an innocent gentle meek spirit Suffer not for any earthly interest worldly power or earthly kingdom Saint Paul tells us 2 Cor. 3.17 18. that that which kept him from fainting in affliction we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen for the things that are seen are temporal now while the outward man perishes the inward man is renewed day by day if we suffer with our eyes on visible powers and interests we shall faint in our suffering when instead of having our expectations of great rewards answered we shall find our outward man and the interests thereof decay at what a loss shall we be Saint Paul joyns these two together minding earthly things and being enemies to the Cross of Christ Phil. 3.18 19. be not deceived it will be found an unhappy delusion while we think we are in conformity to the Cross of Christ for us to keep our eye mind and heart fix'd on earthly things we shall be found in truth enemies to the Cross of Christ. My fourth caution is this in my second Rule of suffering for grace suffer not for a wrathful spirit for a Ministry of wrath and of the Law this is the servile spirit the son of Hagar the bondwoman which is of Mount Sinai this spirit shall not inherit the promise or the kingdome of God that is reserved for the spirit of the freewoman for Isaak the seed of love of divine mirth and joy when Nadab and Abihis offer'd strange fire before the Lord the strange fire returns upon them and consumes them God calls his own works of wrath a strange work 't is a strange fire to God who is love If you come to suffer with the strange fire of a wrathfull spirit this fire will burn upon you till this wrathfull spirit hath consumed you Moses himself the meekest man on earth yet being a Minister of the law and of wrath for one wrathfull expression hear now ye Rebels he was not suffered to enter into the good land of Canaan David a man after Gods heart though he had fought the battels of the Lord for his wrath in murdering Vriah was not permitted to build the house of God the Temple When Christ was to suffer he bids Peter put up his sword for he that uses the sword shall perish by the sword If we suffer for a Ministry of wrath with a spirit of wrath we shall find the wrathfull sword turn it self against us 't is the spirit of grace alone 't is the spirit of love of faith and joy which brings to the good land of rest which builds up the heavenly Temple Now I come to my Rule it self which is Suffer alone for the grace of God I shall divide this Rule into four parts Suffer first for the Ministry of the grace of God For attendance to this Ministry of the grace of God For obedience to this grace For the kingdome of this grace First Suffer only for a Ministry of grace hast thou seen the beauty of Christ hast thou tasted the love of Christ hast thou known how sweet the Lord Jesus is to the poor soul of man to poor lost sinners and canst thou forbear to declare or hear those things which you have tasted and seen when they appertain to the glory of the King of grace when they appertain to all mankind when they are the joy of the whole earth and of heaven when they are the hope of all Nations and of every creature in its capacity I will publish the name of God sings Moses in Deut. 32.3 you to whom that name hath proclaimed it self in the Gospel publish that God is light in whom is no darkness a light of pure glory that God is love it self free absolute unmix'd that he is God Emmanuel this light this love with us for us in us in our stead springing up in us Oh pour out this name of God wherever you come as an oyntment that may fill all spirits round about you with a sweet smell to draw all souls by the sweet smell of Christs loveliness in thee to Jesus Christ and make them in love with him and now see what Saint Paul saith Phil. 2.17 Yea and if I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith I joy and rejoyce with you all for the same cause also do ye joy and rejoyce with me Doth the most high God in thy spirit shine out with the light of his blessed beauty and love doth he by thy spirit shed abroad his dearest love to many souls doth he by thee wooe souls and bring them into the bosome of his most heavenly love where they also become Children of light and love shining in the same beauty springing in the same sweetness If thou be offered up in any degree of suffering and made a sacrifice for this service of the faith of any for thus espousing Jesus Christ and the souls of Saints one to another in this golden band of incorruptible beauty and love Oh rejoyce and call all holy Angels and blessed Spirits to rejoyce with thee and be thereby helpers forward of your joy Thus suffer for the Ministry of grace Secondly Suffer for thine attendance on the Ministry of grace faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God Oh cursed saith that good and noble Italian Marquess be he that thinks all the treasures in the world to be worth one moments communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. David a great King saith One day in the house of the Lord to behold his glory is better than a thousand elsewhere Doth God by any Ministry through the outward word of his grace bring forth himself to thee as a heavenly Bridegroom comming out