must know that it is meere necessity that drives us we are by nature haters of God and cannot be brought to come to God in love before we perceive God to love us such is the malignant nature of man that if he could make any shift in the world hee would not bee beholding to God for helpe The prodigall sonne will never returne to his father so long as he can get cloaths for his backe and meate for his belly elsewhere but when he is brought to that passe that he would fain have filled his belly with husks which the swine did eate and no man gave unto him Luke 15.16 Then he is contented to thinke of submitting to his father but not before if he could have got a living by keeping of Hogs hee would not have returned Thus is it with man so long as he is in any hope to escape misery any other way there is no hope of his returning to God They that be whole need not the Physitian but they that are sick Mat. 9.12 The Pharisee thinketh himself able to establish his owne righteousnesse and therefore he will not submit to the righteousnesse of God Rom. 10.4 He cares not a pinne for Christ he is whole he cares not for the Physitian If any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and take up his crosse daily and follow me Luke 9.23 No man can follow Christ except he deny himselfe his own Righteousnesse and holinesse would you know a reason under the determinate counsell of God why the Publicans and Harlots received Christ but the holy Pharisees rejected him a true paterne of our dayes the Pharisees thought themselves able to stand upon their owne legs they were alive in their conceits and for them to heare of righteousnesse in another was too great a disparagement unto them and their holinesse when the publicans and strumpets being convinced of sinne and having no righteousnesse of their owne they are contented to accept it upon any terms A rich man he sometimes scorneth a gift and saith nay but I will buy it I will give satisfaction for it but the poor naked man is glad to receive what he wanteth Thus before the soule of man be brought to be reconciled unto God it is necessary that it see it selfe a sinfull creature yea so sinfull That neither crying nor howling can wash it away yea so sinfull that no correction or amendment of life is able to make satisfaction Thus farre of the antecedent conditions which as I said before are proper to all but not onely to them that are reconciled to God for these that I have shewed hitherto may be found in the not reconciled even as in the reconciled yea in the reprobate even as in the elect The second sort of conditions are present which go before reconciliation as the cause before the effect but is never separated from it as being the thing I say whereby the holy Spirit of God doth actually reconcile the soule to God Of this sort I finde but one only condition namely of faith or beleeving Here are two things to be pondered The first That without beleeving the soule remaining in the body cannot be reconciled unto God The second That by beleeving the soule is actually reconciled unto God For the first it is proved He that beleeveth not the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Iohn 3.36 To be reconciled to God is to see life therefore he that beleeveth not shall not be reconciled to God but the apprehension of the wrath of God shall torment his wakened conscience He that beleeveth not shall not see life he shall see nothing but wrath Secondly He that beleeveth not God hath made him a lyar 1 Iohn 5.10 That is hath accounted him a lyar Now who can finde in his heart to be reconciled to a lyar Wherby it is plain that without or before faith man cannot be reconciled unto God For the second that by beleeving the soule becomes to be reconsiled unto God is proved He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seale that God is true John 3.33 As many as received him to them he gave power to become the sonnes of God even to them that beleeve on his name Iohn 1.12 Whosoever beleeveth hath power to cry Abba Father And to this place we refer that knowne text Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ And this is the proper office of faith as it justifieth to reconcile the soule and conscience unto God and to make us at peace with him by assuring us of his favour and good will towards us in Jesus Christ manifested in that God gave his only Sonne to be a propitiation for our sinnes and to satisfie whatsoever the justice of God required at his hands And this is our receiving of Christ our putting on of Christ and our living by faith if we take faith for beleeving And thus much of the second condition which is present Now followes the third sort of conditions which are consequent unto our reconciliation and things that accompany our salvation These conditions are first Ioy in the Holy Ghost Secondly Love to God and his Church Thirdly New obedience in newnesse of spirit and not in oldnesse of the letter First Ioy in the Holy Ghost is a necessary consequent and an inseparble companion to our reconciliation by faith as appears by that which hath been spoken before touching joying in beleeving with joy unspeakable and full of glory And indeed how can it be that it should be otherwise can the men of this world hear of great possessions fallen unto them without joyfulnesse How then is it possible that the children of the living God can come to the apprehension of the fatherly love of God in Christ but they must needs sing a new song yea break forth into singing and cry aloud with the blessed Virgin saying My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour Luke 1.46 If I could this day bring you happy tydings of reconciliation betweene King and Parliament which the God of heaven effect what joy would this work in the hearts of every man here present How much more shall the tydings of eternall peace by Jesus Christ affect the soule with extraordinary comfort Here what the Lord speaks concerning the new Jerusalem God shal wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying c. Rev. 21.4 Let others think what they will I firmely beleeve the new Ierusalem to be the glorious kingdome of Iesus Christ which is righteousnesse and peace and joy in the holy Ghost advanced in the conscience and hither also are to be referred those glorious things that are spoken of the City of our God by the Gospell Prophet in these words The ransomed of the Lord shall returne and come to Sion with songs and everlasting joy upon
GRACE MERCY AND PEACE CONTEINING 1 Gods Reconciliation to Man 2 Mans Reconciliation to God By Henry Denne An unworthy servant of the Church Not by Arms nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of Hosts Zach 4.5 LONDON Printed for the Benefit of the City of Rochester A Prayer O Lord God Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hast given commandement unto thy Apostles and Ministers to preach the Gospell to every Creature Bel old O Lord the oppositions and threatnings which the enemyes of thy Grace have breathed forth against thy truth and thy seruants for thy truths sake How they gnaw their toungs for paine and blaspheme the God of 〈◊〉 not repenting them of their deeds Behold the troopes that are assembled together against the Lord and against his anointed sonne Iesus Christ for to to doe whatsoever thy hand and thy counsell hath determined before to be done Now let the Lord grant unto his seruants that with all boldnesse they may speake thy word being nothing terrified by the Adversarie That the light of the Grace of God may shine in the hearts of his people that the man of sin and sonne of perdition may be destroyed by the brightnesse of thy comming Amen Acts 10.36 Preaching Peace by Iesus Christ IT was our Saviours Commandement unto his Apostles Luke 10 into whatsoever City ye come say vnto them the Kingdome of God is come nigh unto you verse 9. And into whatsoever house ye enter first say peace be unto this house And if the sonne of peace be there your peace shall rest upon it if not it shall turne to you againe verse 5.6 I am this day by the providence of the Almighty comea stranger to your City And now what fitter subiect can I thinke of for a stranger to speake unto strangers than the glad tidings of Peace by Iesus Christ Cornelius the centurion with his kinsmen and neere Friends are the Auditors Peter is the preacher And this text a part of that sermon at the preaching whereof the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word verse 44. O that the Lord would vouchsafe that the like effect may this day follow the preaching of the word of this life That as many as heare me this day may goe away filled with the fullnesse of God Peter doth seem to say in effect thus much you are heere met together to attend unto the word of salvation delivered from my mouth I can preachto you no other gospel then that which was before by the Prophets declared unto the children of Israell in due time to be revealed that is to say Peace by Iesus Christ he is the Lord of all The Proposition from these words is that the Gospell is a Doctrine of Peace by Iesus Christ This Doctrine propounded needeth not soe much proofe as explication namely to shew unto you what manner of Peace this is which is holden forth unto you by the tender of the glorious Gospell I hope you doe not expect that I should this day declare unto you any outward temporall or worldly Peace in the middest of these distempers I would I might and be yet a true Prophet The Peace which is the subiect of the Gospell is like the Kingdom of Christ being indeed a part of it not of this world Iohn 18.46 The Peace which came by Iesus Christ is not an earthly Peace our blessed Saviour will not that you should entertaine or harbour such a thought as this Thinke not that I am come to send Peace on earth I came not to send Peace but the sword for I am come to set the daughter in law against her mother in law and a man 〈◊〉 shall be they of his owne houshould Math. 10.34 If any one then shall preach unto you that if you will imbrace the Gospell you shall have outward Peace and prosperity Is not this the presuptious man speaking His owne words Is not this the prophet prophesying in his own name whom the Lord hath not sent If any christian shall embrace the Gospell in hope to attain outward felicity and prosperity let me tell him his thoughts wander from the truth and he erreth not knowing the Scriptures for if any man will come after me let him deny himself take up his crosse and follow me Mat. 16.24 And all that will live godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 Heare we also what Paule saith 2. Cor. 11.23.24.25 verses In stripes above measure in prisons more frequent in deaths oft of the Iews five times received I fourty stripes save one that is in all 195. stripes thrice was I beaten with rods once was I stoned thrice I suffered shipwrack a night and a day have I been in the deep in iorneying often in perils of waters in perils of robbers in perils by mine owne countrymen in perils by the heathen in perils in the city in perils in the wildernesse in perils in the sea in perils amongst false brethren In wearines and painfullnesse in watchings often In hunger and thirst In fastings often In cold and nakednesse what a catalogue of evils what an inventory of afflictions have we here And yet all this and more is the portion of a laborious Apostle And if we will seek for a true and sincere Minister of the Gospel we shall assoon find him in poverty and nakednesse as jetting up and down the streets with attendants at his heels we shall assoon find him in the universitie of Newgate or some other prison as in great mens houses we shall assoon him in a cloud of reproach as in a fat benefice or Cathedrall dignity we shall assoon finde him at the Bar accused of heresie condemned for blasphemy as in the Courts of Kings or Princes for to the instruction and consolation of the people of God be it spoken they shall put you art of their Synagouges yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service John 16. Seing then that it is clear that it is no worldy peace it remaineth yet to shew you what peace this is which the Gospel preacheth It is not an externall peace but it is internall yea eternall It is a lasting yea an everlasting peace A peace which no tounge is sufficient to expresse nor heart to conceive it is even the love of Christ that passeth knowledge Eph. 3.19 It is even the peace of God which passeth al. yea angelicall understanding If some great and 〈◊〉 angell should undertake to declare this peace to you am consident he would confesse his abilities too weak how much more I that am but dust and ashes Surely when I shall have told you all that I am able I shall not tell you one hundredth part when you shall understand and believe all that you are able you shall not attain unto the least part of that glory which shall hereafter be revealed though I am not able to speak what you desire or the thing it self deserveth
of the place is that Christ will not only purge the conscience but the conversation also of al such as come to him that is beleeve in his name and that a reformed conversation shall though not goe before yet accompany a cleare apprehension of the grace of God in Christ lesus And thus wee give an answer unto that other portion of holy Scripture Fornicators shall not inherit the Kingdome of GOD not that it is to bee thought that men must first mortifie their sinnes before they can come to the Kingdome of God but that entring into the Kingdome of God the Lord would vouchsafe unto them power to reforme their lives And that this is the true sense of the place is plaine by the eleventh verse Such were some of you but yee are washed but yee are sanctified but yee are justified in the name of the Lord Iesus and by the spirit of our God They were such untill they were washt and how were they washt even in the name of the Lord Iesus and by the spirit of our God When the buyers and sellers had prophaned the Temple the Lord doth not stay while some body had cast them out and then goe into the Temple afterwards but he enters into the Temple first and making a scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the Temple Iohn 2.15 So fareth it with the Temple of thy body that is prophaned with sin and thy conscience that is defiled with iniquity Thou must not thinke that thy conscience must bee washed first and then the Lord to enter afterwards but the Lord must first entor and wash thee and purge thee by his blood which purgeth the conscience from dead workes to serve the living God Heb. 9.14 Therefore thou complainest thou canst not leave thy sinnes I say thou hadst the more need to beleeve in Christ that thou mightest have power to forsake them But poore soule thou dost obiect further and say I have beene an extortioner a grinder of the faces of the poore a theefe a purloyner and what shal I venture to beleeve in Christ before I have made restitution and satisfaction to them whom I have wronged Are we not taught out of the Father Non remittitur peccatum nisi restituatur oblatum without restitution no remission I answer first there are many things that are well spoken by the Fathers in one sense which are perversly applyed in another This sentence is true in respect of reconciliation of man to man but not true in respect of God to man or man to God As when a man shall by a lawfull Church bee for extortion excommunicated the Church ought not to receive him againe untill restitution bee made And thus may wee in good sense understand other passages of the Fathers which are otherwise perversly applyed by themselves others Wilt thou deserve pardon saith Ambrose wash away thy sinnes by teares This is good in my first sence of reconciliation of man to man as when the Church shall excommunicate an offendor and hee shall humble himselfe with teares in his eyes he ought again to be received But to apply this as a meares to reconcile God to man there can be nothing more abominable 〈…〉 by the way to give thee warning of the grost applications which are made 〈…〉 the Fathers by 〈…〉 nor what they 〈…〉 doubt Thou 〈…〉 use thou hast not 〈…〉 say beleeve first 〈…〉 forward for this 〈…〉 beyond all except 〈…〉 stood forth and said unto the Lord Behold Lord the halfe of my goods I give to the poore and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation I restore him fourefold If wee looke backe to the sixth verse there wee see that Zacheus received Christ ioyfully Zacheus was an arch-publican verse 2. a man that was a sinner verse 7. yet this sinner this arch-publican received Christ first not into his house onely but into his heart also and then he makes restitution afterward goe and doe likewise thou seest the abundant grace of God bove and beyond all obstacles if thou canst beleeve thou needest not feare though thou hast beene never so sinfull Thus much for the fourth Application Applicat 5. The fifth If God be so freely reconciled to us how ought we to be easie to be intreated to be reconciled one to another The Lord slow to wrath and full of compassion and loving kindnesse Take we heed that we bee not full of wrath and slow to compassion God is reconciled to us before wee aske how much more ought wee to bee reconciled to those that have offended us and say forgive us Oh that we had so much charitie in us as to beare one with another the stronger with the weaker that unhappy differences might have an end Secondly is God thus freely reconciled to us Oh let us be intreated to bee reconciled unto him which is the second generall I have to shew unto you What it is for man to bee reconciled to God FINIS RECONCILIATION OF MAN to GOD. By HENRY DENNE BEfore I enter to speake of Mans reconciliation to God It is necessary that I premise a distinction and shew you a two-fold reconciliation set out unto us in the Scriptures 1. Originall 2. Actuall Beare with the termes I confesse they are not altogether so fit as I could wish But I therefore thought fit to use these termes that I might paralell this distinction unto another used by Divines of Originall and Actuall sinne Originall reconciliation is wrought without us by another person yet for us you may call it the reconciliation of our nature Actual reconciliation is wrought within us although not by our owne power This you may call the reconciliation of our persons or consciences the one being the reconciliation of our nature to God the other the manifestation of that and the premised reconciliation to our soules That this is not an unnecessary distinction you shall find by comparing some Scriptures together the first is Rom. 5.10 When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Sonne Againe Eph. 2.16 That he might reconcile both unto God into one body by the Crosse having slaine the enmity thereby Col. 1.21.12 Thirdly consider what is written 2 Cor. 5.18 19. All things are of God who hath reconciled us to himselfe by Iesus Christ and hath given unto us the ministery of reconciliation To wit That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfe not imputing their trespasses unto them Now compare wee these three places forementioned with that which we find 2 Cor. 5 20. We are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be yee reconciled unto God In the former places the Apostle told us wee were reconciled and in this place he beseecheth us to be reconciled For to take up this difference I say that in the former he speaketh of our Originall reconciliation wherein our nature was reconciled to God by
grace Lord increase my faith and make my love and obedience my joy and peace to abound more and more through the spirit of our God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ And thus have I now done with the Antecedent the present and consequent conditions of our reconciliation to God The next thing that I intend is to make Application It hath been hitherto mine endeavour to declare unto you the misterie of salvation and to imitate the skilfull Limbner to give unto every Limbe and part not onely his due proportion but also his due place and not to set the head where the foot should be or the foot where the head I may peradventure to many seem guilty of that crime which was laid against the Apostle to turne the world upside downe and to place that in the bottome which others make the top of the building and to set that upon the roofe which others lay for a foundation But I submit my selfe to the judgement of the word Consider we what hath been spoken of Gods reconciliation to us without all conditions of our reconciliation to God originall and actuall and now let us see if these dstinctions be founded as it is before proved upon the holy Scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles whether they bee not blame-worthy that make no difference at all between these two but confounding heaven and earth together the Creature with the Creator doe most absurdly apply those things which are antecedents or causes of our reconciliation unto God to be causes of Gods reconciliation unto us drawing a vaile before the free grace of God and keeping the soule from setling upon a sure foundation The Lord complained of the Prophets of old the false Prophets that they pudled the waters with their feet When water is pudled it is not water but water and dirt mingled together In a puddle no man can discern whether it be deep or shallow water is Doctrine pudling is confounding of things together without division or separation O that our dayes were free from this complaint O yee Pastours of the Lords flock that feed his heritage Be you contented to beare the word of admonition from the meanest of the servants of God Look back upon the waters that yee have made the heritage of the Lord to drink Consider the pastures which you have set before them have you not made the LORDS sheep become a prey sometimes to presumption sometimes to despaire by your Doctrine Have you not made the soules of the righteous sad and the soule of the wicked to rejoyce Consider your wayes I pray you Have you not many a time confounded the conditions of our reconciliation to God making that to be the case which is the effect and that to be the effect which is the cause Let me beseech you to weigh these things and to endeavour that your Doctrine may be the light of the World that it may be cleare as the Christall proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb Rev. 22.1 You sheep of the pasture of the Lord the God of his inheritance know it your duty aptly to distinguish these things in your owne Consciences that you may enjoy the brightnesse of the glory of the grace of God set up in your soules if you search into the reason of your many years bondage of your miserable doubting you shall finde your disease in that which hath been spoken and I hope the remedy also The Lord give you understanding The second Application may shew unto us the difference between the reconciled and the not reconciled Although both may bee objects of the grace of God both beloved of the everlasting Father yet shall you finde a vast difference if you look either upon their Conversations or their Consciences The difference of Conscience is the not reconciled have a defiled and polluted Conscience A Conscience that is either seared and fitted with Atheisticall carelesnesse or at the best sitting in darknesse and the shadow of death seeing no light Matth. 4.16 when as the consciences of the reconciled doe enjoy the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Secondly the conversation of the people not reconciled is either a conversation polluted with Pharisaicall righteousnesse and blind zeale for all zealous persons are not reconciled to God seeking to establish its owne righteousnesse in the sight of God or else a conversation according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the ayre the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience A conversation in the lusts of the flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind Eph. 2.2 3. The third Application sheweth us an open doore for the easie understanding and plaine reconciliation of many places of Scripture which seem so exceeding different as if no way of reconciling could be found Let us learne to distinguish when God speaketh of his reconciliation to us and when hee speaketh of our reconciliation to him Let us learn to distinguish between the thing and the manifestation of the thing the want of which distinction breedeth an horrible confusion in the interpretation of holy Scripture To give an instance it is written Galat. 3.26 Yee are all the Children of God by faith in Jesus Christ It is written again Gal. 4.6 Because yee are sonnes God hath sent forth the spirit of his sonne into your hearts crying Abba Father In this last place the Holy ghost declares son-ship to be the cause of giving the Spirit as also he declareth it to bee an eternall grace of God communicated unto his people Having predestinated us unto the Adoption of sonnes by Iesus Christ Eph. 1.5 But then if this be so how are we said to be sons of God by faith c I answer the one speaketh of the thing it selfe or of Gods reconciliation to us The other of the manifestation of the thing or our reconciliation to God Againe if the grace of adoption be an eternall grace how is it said wee are borne againe by the Word 1 Pet. 1.23 and begotten by the Word Iames 1.18 I answer these places are to be understood of the manifestation of Adoption not of the act of Adoption it selfe And that this is so is plaine God hath begotten us againe unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead 1 Pet. 1.3 A lively hope is the thing unto which we are begotten And that it is ordinary in Scripture to call the manifestation of things by the names of the things themselves will be plaine by two places I might bring two hundred the first is Ierem. 1.10 I have this day set thee over the nations and over the Kingdomes to root out to put downe and to destroy and to throw downe and to build and to plant How doth poore Jeremy destroy Nations Even by declaring the judgements of God in the overthrow of Nations And thus doth he plant by declaring the mercifull promises of God in the restauration of Nations The second place is Ioh. 20.23 Whose sins ye remit they are remitted and whose sins ye retaine they are retained How do the Apostles remit and retaine sinnes but by declaring Gods gracious remission to every one that beleeveth c. But some may object and say why doth not the Lord speak in plain terms I answer who art thou that wilt correct the Lord and teach him to speak I answer againe in our Saviours words when his Disciples ask the question Why speakest thou unto them in Parables Mat. 13.10 His answer is Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdome of God but to them it is not given As if he should have said in respect of you that are my people I need not to speak more plaine for you being taught of God are able to understand the misteries of the kingdom In respect of others I will not speak more plaine because to them it is not given to understand the mysteries of the kingdome Thus far for the application I now draw to an end only I will give you the Skeleto or Map of that which hath beene delivered in a few words Consider we the causes of Gods reconciliation as it stands manifested to us in Christ Secondly the causes of our reconciliation to God Gods reconciliation to us 1 Efficient Gods love 2 Materiall Christs righteousnesse 3 Formall Imputation of righteousnesse 4 Finall Gods glory mans salvation Our recodciliation to God Efficient Principall H. Ghost instrumen tall faith Materiall Christs righteousnesse Formal Apprehension of Christs righteousness by faith Finall Gods glory mans consolation Consider we the difference of these two in their causes The finall cause of Gods reconciliation to us is salvation the finall cause of our reconciliation to God is consolation The Lord fill you with his Spirit that the apprehension of Gods salvation may fill you with eternall consolation Amen FINIS