ambages or circuit of words you are to break off their speech and to aske what they meane And if they goe on to draw forth their tale with the same length and circuit of words as their manner is to darken their speech by turning winding and wreathing their words as the Serpent doth his taile they are to be brought forth to the light as a thiefe and malefactor is brought out of his lurking-hole Chap. 11. They affirme that there is but one Spirit of God which is and liveth in all creatures destroying the souls of men and the being and essence of Angels They affirme that Angels are nothing else but inspirations and motions not creatures who have any being Chap. 12. They affirm that the Devill world and sin is an imagination which is nothing They affirme that Devils are nothing but vain thoughts which as dreams are to be buâ—â—ried in forgetfulness They hold that sin is nothing but an opination conceit or fancie Chap. 13. They hold that the Spirit doth all things not meaning what the Scripture doth when thus speaketh of him to wit That all thing subsist in him are governed by him are subject his providence and in their order are serviceable his will But whatsoever is done in the work they maintaine it to be his worke to the dâ—â—stroying of mans will as though hee were stone and to the taking away the different betwen good and evill so that nothing can 〈◊〉 done sinfully according to their judgment bâ—cause God is the Author of all things So Quintinus when hee came into a place where oâ— was murthered and being asked who did he presently replied I have done it Are you said the other such a wicked wretch and thâ—â— he answered it is not I but God Thou hâ— done it I have done it God hath done it câ— Chap. 14. They do not only confound earth and hâ—â—ven but God and the Devill Chap. 15. They hold that all things being done by 〈◊〉 will that nothing can displease him as though God were mutable or did contradict himself or were a dissembler if he should be displeased with any thing seeing all things according to them are done with his approbation They maintain that it is a foolish thing to be affraid lest we should offend him seeing we doe nothing good or evill but he doth all things in us Chap. 16. From the same principle they conclude that men doe evill who doe blame any man for doing any thing Chap. 17. Though they would seem to be extollers of Christ with excellent words yet they place our whole redemption in this that Christ was only a type image or patterne in whom wee may behold those things done which the Scripture requireth to our salvation They imagine that every St is Jesus Christ and that which was done in him is done in us When Quintin was asked how he did he usually answered How can Jesus Christ be sicke c. They hold that it is blasphemy for a man to be grieved or troubled for any thing Chap. 18. They acknowledge with us that a man cannot be the Son of God unlesse he be born again And at the first they seem to hold what we do if wee looke onely upon their words and doâ— make use of Scripture-expressions to this purpose But they hold that a man is regenerated when he seeth no difference between black and white good and evill for that say they is the sin of Adam So that if a man be grieved iâ— his spirit for doing any sin they use to say to him O Adam thou still seest something The old man is not yet crucified in thee Pomi gustum habes Thou hast the tast and rellish 〈◊〉 the apple in thy mouth stil take heed that that mouthfull doe not choak you They hold that our redemption by Christ is the destruction of the conceits which meâ— have by which they thinke that there is such thing as sin c. Eu in quo constituunt benefiâ—cium redemptionis per Christum factae nempe quâ— opinationem illam destruxit quae Adami culpâ â—mundum ingressa erat c. And for this reason they maintain that every regenerate maâ— is without sin in him When any man reprehendeth them for anâ— sin they make use of this proverb which theâ— have among them That it is not they but 〈◊〉 asse Although this be inconsistent with thâ—â— which they maintaine concerning the perfeâ—â— state of a Christian Chap. 19. They stretch Christian liberty to this That they maintain all things are lawful to a man without any exception They hold it lawfull for a man to bow his knee before an Idoll to offer candles to goe in pilgrimage to the temples of the Saints to celebrate masse and to feign that they doe consent to all the abominations of the Papists though they doe deride and laugh at them as fooles Chap. 20. Paul admonisheth Christians 1 Cor. 7.2 That they should abide in that calling unto which they are called These wretched men doe pervert this speech that they may perswade men that every man ought to follow his naturall inclination and so doe and live as he listeth or as it shall seeme good unto him in his owne eyes From whence approving all unlawfull callings of Monkes and Fryers When Quintin was present at the solemn Masse of a Cardinall hee said that he saw the glory of God And by this pretext they do not only approve all kind of callings which are repugnant to the truth of the holy Scripture but those which the Heathens condemned by the light of nature Let the Pander say they follow his employment let the thiefe steal boldly for it is consonant to reason that every man should follow his calling They allow men and women to joyn themselves to whom they please and that they call spirituall Matrimonie and such men and women new spirituall husbands and wives c. Chap. 21. They hold community to be the communion of Saints when no man possesseth any thing as his owne but when every one taketh that to himselfe which he can lay hold on Chap. 22. They laugh at all hopes which men have of a resurrection say that men have that which they expect If it be demanded how they understand that they say it is by believing his soule is an immortall Spirit alwaies living in heaven and that Christ by his death hath done away opination c. From Eccl. 12.7 they conclude that the soule doth returne to the essence of God and is joyned unto him so that there remaineth but one Spirit Chap. 23. They interpret that place Rom. 8.10 I Christ be in you the body is dead because of sinne but the spirit is life because of righteousnesse afteâ— this manner He justifieth us as we are the samâ— spirit Calvin saith of Pocquius who was onâ— of the heads of them that there is no sentencâ— so excellent in Scripture which hee doth noâ— wrest and draw to his beastly affection They
Noneges ullo doctore hac in re tantum consule tuum proprium cor hoc satis abunde docebit te ita diligendum esse tuum proximum ut teipsum Thou hast the fairest and best booke of all lawes in thine owne heart thou needest no other teacher in this matter only take counsell of thine owne heart that will sufficiently teach thee that thou shouldst love thy neighbour asthy selfe And in the same booke upon the second Chapter Quod spectaculum valde jucundum est proponit producit legem velut furem aut latronem aliquem jam damnatum adjudicatum morti Pingit enim per Prosopopeiam legem captivam teneri cui jam manus pedes juncti sunt omnisque potestas adempta ita ut amplius non possit exercere tyrannidem suam hoc est non possit accusare et condemnare Et hac jucundissimâ dissimâ picturâ reddit eam contemptibilem in conscientîa ut credens in Christum jam ausit legi sanctâ quadam superbià insultare all hunc modum Ego sum peccator si quid potes contra me lex facito tantum abest ut credenti sit lex nunc formidabilis It is a pleasant sight to behold how he bringeth forth the law as a thiefe or a robber adjudged to death For he painteth forth the law by a Prosopopeia as a Captive whose hands and feet are bound and all its power taken away so that it cannot exercise its tyranny any more over us that is it cannot accuse and condemn And by this pleasant picture he maketh it contemptible in the conscience so that he that believeth in Christ doth now dare to insult over the law by an holy kind of pride after this manner I am a sinner if law thou canst doe any thing against mee doe it so far is the formidability of the law from a believer The like speech is that of Zanchius in his booke of the law of God Constat legem solis Judaeis datam fuisse non autem gentibus It is manifest that the law was given only to the Jewes and not to the Gentiles A parallell place to this we have in Musculus Legem Mosaicam literis comprehensam non inter Christianos duntaxaat qui ex Israele Christum filium dei ac salvatorem mundi credendo receperunt sed et inter Judaeos admodum de lege gloriantes reipsà abrogatam esse constat It is evident saith he that the law of Moses written with letters is abbrogated not among the Christians only who by faith have received the Sonne of God and Saviour of the world but among the Jewes who glory in the law I could likewise produce specches out of the Scripture which may sound harsh to some eares and may seeme to be very darke to some if they should be taken out of the places where they are set by the holy Spirit from which they receive light that they may be more easily and plainly understood by us But leaving this grant me liberty to prove by spirituall reason and Scripture that in some cases it may be lawfull for a Minister of the Gospel to make use of such an expression as this is Away with the Law c. Reas 1. If we speak of the law as it is faedus legale a legall Covenant so I speaking unto believing Christians may say Away with it Put not your selves under the Jewish Covenant The Apostle will justifie this expression by his owne Gal. 4.30 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cast out saith he the bond woman Will you know what he meaneth by the bond-woman he himselfe will informe you and tell you that it is the Covenant of Sinai vers 24. which expression is most harsh to compare the Law or Covenant of Sinai to a bond-woman and to command us to cast her out or else to say Away with the law Reas 2. When wee speake of the law in opposition to the Covenant of grace as the Apostle doth Heb. 8. so I may say Away with the old Covenant that God may glorifie himselfe by revealing the new Covenant of grace unto you will not the word of truth likewise hold me guiltlesse in this expression if we consider what is spoken in the last verse of that chapter where the Apostle saith that it waxeth old is ready to vanish away From which words Mr. Dickson doth draw this conclusion that in the times of the Prophet Jeremiah the legall or Levitical Covenant was neare to death and vanishing away and by consequent after the comming of Christ under whom all things are become new it is expired Temporibus Jeremiae Prophetae prope erat ut moreretur evanesceret faedus legale seu Leviticum et per consequens post adventum Christi sub quo nova facta sunt omnia expiravit If I thus speake of the law Is there any greater absurdity to say Away with it than to say that it is vanished away Reas 3. When justification is preached and an experienced servant of Christ knowing that men naturally seeke righteousnesse by the law and the works of the law it is necessary for the Ministers of the Gospel to perswade their hearers not to looke to that law for Justification but to the grace of God in Jesus Christ Paul speaking of Saints saith that they are dead to the law by the body of Christ Rom. 7.4 May not a man bid people to put away the law in point of justification and salvation as well as to informe them that they must be dead unto it that they may live unto Christ Luther hath many expressions higher than mine in this point and yet you doe not looke upon him as an Heretique Will not the Spirit of God teach us to be as favourable to the living as dead servants of Christ in our Censures will not grace teach us to be as loving to those who are present with us as to those who are absent from us I shall for the satisfaction of the unpreingaged Reader set downe a few of his speeches Paulus est hic haereticus omnium haereticissimus estque haeresis ejus inaudita quia dicit mortuum legi vivere Deo Psuedo-apostoli docebant nisi vixeris legi non vixeris Deo Paul is here the most hereticall of all Hereticks his heresie is un-heard of heresie because he saith that he who is dead to the Law doth live to God The false Apostles taught unlesse ye live to the Law ye cannot live to God And afterwards If thou wilt live to God it behooveth thee to dye altogether to the law Reason and humane wisdome cannot receive this and therefore it alwayes teacheth the contrary unto it Si vis vivere Deo oportet te omnino mori legi Hanc doctrinam ratio et sapientia humana non capit ideo perpetuo contrarium docet Againe he hath these words When sophisters doe apprehend that the Ceremoniall law is only abrogated doe thou believe that Paul and every Christian is abrogated to
strength of that spirit that commands them from the grave of sinne to the land of the living While Ezekiel prophesied over the dead bones breath came into them and they lived Ezek. 37.10 So while the Prophets of the Lord do preach over their sinfull impenitent hearers who are like the Prophets drye bones the breath of Heaven the spirit of the most High in the Ministery of the Gospell enters in into them and not by working but believing they are made new creatures and see the Kingdome of God In the next place you see faith is not of our selves it is not in any thing in man or in mans wisdome that man is enabled to believe what is reported concerning Gods grace in Jesus Christ Therefore this may convince us that that faith which is of our selves is a false faith and not the true justifying faith of the Saints The good fruit of faith cannot grow out of a wicked heart And the heart of a man naturally is wickednesse and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is vanity and only evill continually Gen. 6.5 Psalm 94.11 When God lookes downe from Heaven upon the children of the first Adam hee seeth that there are not any that doe understand and seek God They are all gone aside they are all become filthy there is none that doth good no not one Psal 14.2.3 And the Lord Jesus dyed for us when wee were enemies unto him and without strength to do any thing for our owne salvation Rom. 5.6 That faith therefore which is wrought by the strength of nature is not that true faith of the Gospel which is only wrought by the spirit of the Gospel According to that of the Apostle where he affirmeth that the Saints are justified by the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6.11 Therefore if thy faith be a working or perswasion of thine own spirit If it be framed and hammered by thy selfe upon the anvile of thy owne spirit it is a counterfet perswasion and will not be able to advantage thee in the great day of the Lord Jesus As wee read in the Prophet Jeremiah of the visions of a mans owne heart and the visions of God So there is a two-fold faith there is the faith or perswasion of a mans own heart and a perswasion of the Spirit of God And as the visions of a mans owne heart are false dreames lies and deceits and are justly reprehended by the Prophet Jerem. 23.26 So the perswasions of a mans owne heart they are false dreames and lying perswasions we are to give no credite to them As we should not believe a common lyer So we are not to believe the perswasions of our own hearts The same Prophet in the 28. ver compareth lying Prophesies to chaffe and the Prophesies of truth to wheat what saith he is the chaffe to the wheat So true faith is like unto wheat and faith of our selves is like unto chaffe As the winde driveth away the chaffe Psalm 1.4 So the blasts of Gods wrath and the winds of temptation will blow away the chaff of a false faith while true faith shall be preserved by God and we through it shall be preserved unto the day of redemption Wherefore brethren we are to try whether or no we doe truly believe Examine your selves saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 13.5 Whether ye bee in the Faith As we have a touch-stone to trye gold so God hath left a spirituall touch-stone by which true faith may be tryed As there are counterfet pieces of gold which can bee hardly distinguished from true gold until they are brought to the touch-stone so there is a counterfeit faith which can hardly be distinguished from true faith untill it be brought unto the spiritual touch-stone Therefore it will be the wisedome of every one of you to try what faith you have It is not enough to be perswaded that you shall be saved and that Christ is yours and that your names are written in heaven Alas there are false perswasions as well as true There are multitudes of Libertines who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse and make their bellies their Gods and minde earthly things Phil. 3. And yet have strong perswasions that they are in the grace and favour of God There are Pharisees who are perswaded that they are in the love of God the Pharisee had an assurance and gave God thankes for it too Luke 18.11 God I thanke thee I am not as other men are And yet hee was but an hypocrite all the while deluded with the proud conceits of his owne righteousnesse The unbelieving Jewes professed with a great deale of boldnesse and confidence that God was their Father John 8.41 We have one Father even God And yet our Saviour tells them plainely that though they had these strong perswasions that God was their Father yet in truth the Devill was their Father Ye are saith he vers 44. of your Father the Devill A man may be perswaded that Christ will save him and goe to hell and be damned with that perswasion We see by experience that many Apostates who have made a profession of Christ have had strong perswasions of the love of God have fallen from the Gospell to prophanenesse Arminianisme and diabolicall Familisme Our blessed Emanuel doth plainly prove this truth unto us by acquainting us with some who when they shall be brought before his judgement-seate shall be confident of their interest in him whom neverthelesse hee will not own to be his Matth. 7.21 22. Not every on that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Many shall say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devills and in thy Name done many wonderfull workes Yet you see what Christ will professe unto them I never knew you depart from me yee workers of iniquity As if he had said It is true you had a strong perswasion that you should be heires in my Kingdome it is true you thought that you should be saved if any in the world were saved but I tell you for all that I know you not depart ye workers of iniquity Wherfore it concerns all men to know whether their faith be a right faith Self-ish faith is no right faith if it arise from no higher a fountaine then our own natural reasons wisdomes and understandings our faith is from our selves and we may carry it to hell with us and find as good faith there in the Devills as this is Though this which I have spoken concerning the tryall of faith doth chiefly concerne such who are deceived with a false faith of their owne making yet it will be very advantagious for the true Saints likewise to try their faith Wherefore before I presse this farther upon such who are under a spirit of delusion I shall speak a word unto the Saints unto
thy sight But suppose wee should grant you this it doth still stand true that our service is in holinesse and righteousnesse And can any man be so blinde to thinke that a man shall serve in righteousnesse under Gods protection that hee should not see the righteousnesse which iâ— wrought under his protection and if it be righteousnesse which he seeth then it is righteousnesse before him or in his sight Arg. 15. To deny the purity of the man born of God is to deny one end for which Christ dyed for Christ dyed to bring us to be partakers of a pure Divine nature in which pure nature we are to live move and act holily The place by which I shall confirme this is in Heb. 9.14 The blood of Christ who through the eternall spirit offered himselfe without spot God shall purge our consciences from dead workes to serve the living God We are therefore washed from sin in our Justification that we may serve God by Sanctification And what spirituall man will call that the service of God which is sin or sinfull For to doe that which is sin or sinfull is to doe the Devils service or else I am to learne that which we need not be taught to wit what it is to doe the Devils service Arg. 16. The resurrection of Christ doth teach spirituall men to act purely in their new nature to the glory of their Father Rom. 6.4 As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we should walke in newnesse of life To walk in newnesse of life is it to walk in the oldnesse of that which is sin or sinfull let any Spirituall man judge Arg. 17. We may draw another argument from the Kingly office of Christ He as a King hath a command over his Subjects but he hath not the command over us when we doe that which is sin or sinfull and therefore wee doe something good as his Subjects in obedience to his commands bona bene Good things must be done well And therefore Christ doth not onely enable us to doe that which is righteous but hee doth enable us to doe it righteously Why is Christ King but that we should live under his commands Why are we his subjects why are we his servants but because wee are under his commands and under his laws You know the Jewes said they would not have Christ to be their King but the voyce of every Christian is to cry up Christ to proclaime him King and to owne him only as their Ruler And Christ being King rules and reigns in the hearts of his people by lawes and commandements and precious statutes worthy of such a King Now Christ gives us not a law as Moses gave a law that was grievous to those that heard it but Christ gives a law of love a lawâ— of sweetnesse by which hee rules in the midst of his enemies in our hearts what is in the flesh in us is an enemie to Jesus Christ but Christ Jesus sitting upon his Throne as King in our renewed regenerated and enlightned spirit rules in the midst of our sins his enemies which oppose him Christ is not such a King as other Kings other Kings make lawes and adde penalties to their laws for those that break them but they have no power to enable their Subjects to keep them But here is the priviledge and prerogative of our King when Christ makes lawes he doth not only give us lawes and bid us keepe them but he hath power in himselfe by which he enableth us to do that which he commands us to doe If Christ should command us to love should not enable us to doe that which he commands he should be such a Law-giver as Moses that gave a Law but gave no power to doe it But Christ is not such a Law-giver as Moses As he is not a rigid Law-giver to bid Saints doe it upon penalty of damnation or to worke for life and salvation so neither is he like Moses who could give them no power but there is a power and strength goes with Christs commands to enable us to doe what Christ the King commands Therefore if any of you give Christ the glory of his grace by believing that he hath abolished all your sins by his death be not dismayed at the sight of your corruptions Fight the good fight of faith Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Christ that commands you to obey his Father will enable you to obey his Father Christ reignes in the hearts of his people not only by making known to them the covenant of his owne grace but by supplying them with strength to doe his will Lord give what thou commandest said one and command what thou wilt Christ commands us what to doe and gives us power to doe that which he commands Such a King is Christ that frees his people not onely from the condemnation of sin but from the power and dominion of sin in their spirits lives and conversations Blessed be God saith the Apostle that ye were the servants of sin Are they so still now they are under grace No but being made free from sin ye are the servants of righteousnesse sinne shall not have dominion over you why ye have a new King ye are under grace ye are under King Jesus If a Tyrant should tyrannize over Subjects and depose their lawfull King if this King afterwards should overthrow this Tyrant and deliver his Subjects from tyranny and bondage by overcomming the Tyrant would hee suffer this Tyrant to tyrannize over them or his people to be under the lawes of the Tyrant We were under Satan the Tyrant under his lawes and commands under the law of sinne and concupiscence but Christ comes and overcomes the Tyrant that ruled tyrannically in our hearts and will hee suffer that Tyrant still to rule us by those commands which he gave us when wee were in bondage to him No we shall not be under the bondage of the flesh if we understand the liberty of grace and of the Spirit The Apostle saith that we doe not live nor eate nor drinke nor doe any shing to our selves because Christ dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord of quicke and dead Rom. 14.8 9. Christ dyed and rose that he might be Lord and King and reigne and set up his Scepter of holinesse in the hearts of his people This was prophesied in Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power When Christ as King comes with power his people shall be willing Christ bids them believe and they believe he bids them love and they doe love they run through fire and water they lay downe their honours and riches at his feet and love not their lives unto the death Object The enabling of Christ in working is not of the same extent with his command Answ In the spirituall and regenerate part the power of Christ is as large as
of a man born of God are sin or sinfull doth overthrow the distinction which is warranted by many thousand places of Scripture between good works and bad works and doth draw a curse upon the doer of it Can evill be good or good evill Woe unto them that call evil good and good evill that put darknesse for light and light for darkenesse that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Isa 5.20 What else doe they doe who plainley averre that every good work is evill Object Doe we deny the difference betweene white and blacke because we say that in most white bodies there is a mixture of some blacknesse with the whitenesse c. Answ If it could be proved that there were a mixture of that which is of the spirit and that which is of the flesh that that which is spirituall should be made fleshly by it there would seeme to be some strength in this objection But untill that such a mixture bee proved by plaine Scriptures we shall think it sufficient to affirme that such similitudes which have not their foundation upon a principle of truth do prove nothing Arg. 21. It taketh away the difference between a sanctified and unsanctified man which is a distinction which doth stand firme upon the basis of the Scripture of truth The Apostle doth plainly lay downe this distinction 1 Cor. 6.11 Where hee informeth us of the condition of the Corinthians before conversion to wit that they were thieves adulteresses and the like such were some of you and then setteth forth their blessed condition after conversion But ye are washed but ye are sanctified And doth second this truth with his owne experience acknowledging that there was a real change wrought in himself after conversion by sanctification 2 Tim. 1. I was saith he a persecuter a blasphemer injurious but the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith love which is in Christ Jesus not with faith only but love also If God hath pulled you out of the fire of sinne and drawne you as fire-brands out of Hell and brought you into the glorious kingdome of his Son ye are able to professe the same sanctified change in your selves It is a dead faith which is not accompanied with sanctification and good works As soon may a dead horse carrie a man as a dead faith save him Object This is a slander wee doe not deny sanctification Answ If yee acknowledge sanctification and a sanctified change yee contradict your selves For how can that make a sanctified change in us which is nothing else but sin or sinfull I shall be glad if you will stand to an inward change by love and sanctification But some there are who have affirmed that the distinction between a regenerated an and unregenerated man is but a legall distinction Arg. 22. The holy Spirit which is promised to us and dwelleth in us doth plainly demonstrate this point For as the Spirit is holy formally in it selfe in its owne nature essence and being so it is effectively holy because it makes that man holy who was formerly sinfull If thou be nothing but darknesse if God convert thee thou wilt have a glorious light in thine understanding if thou have nothing but unholinesse in thy will if the Spirit of God live in thee it will be a Spirit of holinesse a Spirit that will shew thee what is of the flesh and what is of the spirit a spirit checking thee if thou step aside into the way of the flesh and a spirit leading thee into the paths of holiness As the Psalmist saith Thy Spirit is good lead me into the land of holinesse and uprightnesse Therefore those that doe not find that Spirit leading them into the paths and wayes of holinesse those men have received a counterfeit spirit to delude them and not the true Spirit of the Lord Jesus Object The spirit is good but our actions are evill by the adherence of sinne in us That holy things may be defiled is plaine by Exod. 28.36.38 Aaron having his plate upon his forehead was to beare the iniquity of the holy things Answ 1. Though sin and holinesse be in the same man yet I deny that sinne by any adhering to holinesse in us doth change holinesse into the nature of it But what is of the Spirit in us doth retaine its spirituall nature and what is of the flesh doth retaine its fleshly nature 2. The Scripture produced doth prove that in doing of holy duties we sin and that Jesus Christ doth beare those sins which wee have granted unto you before But that the fruits of the Spirit in us are those sinnes cannot be proved from this place of Scripture nor from anyother Scripture which I know this still doth remaine to be proved Arg. 23. There may bee another argument drawne from that place of the Apostle when hee saith The Spirit beareth witnesse with our spirits that we are the children of God Rom. 8.16 The Spirit cannot beare witnesse to our old darke prophane spirits for the naturall man receives not the things of the Spirit for they are foolishnesse to him therefore it must be to our spirit enlightned renewed and filled with the Spirit of God And therefore there is somthing in a Saint besides that which is sinne and sinfull Object This is true but we are not renewed perfectly which is the thing to be proved Answ Perfection in Scripture is opposed to that which is more perfect And in this sence wee doe not affirme that a man is so perfectly renewed as he shall be 1 Cor. 13. 2. Perfection is opposed to that which is sinfull Luke 1. And in this sence we say that he is perfectly renewed that is he is holily not sinfully renewed Arg. 24. I doe ground my next argument upon the words of the Apostle Rom. 14. last Whatsoever is not of faith is sinne And therefore that which is done in faith is not sin If we deny this we shall take away the difference between doing good works in faith and doing good works without faith if both of them be alike sinfull or sinne And therefore I conclude that the work of the Spirit which is done in faith is not sin Without faith it is impossible to please God and therefore by faith it is possible to please him by doing good works Arg. 25. Another argument may be drawn from that place 2 Cor. 13. where the Apostle makes the comparison betweene faith hope and love and prefers love before faith hope for this reason because love is more permanent and of longer continuance than faith and hope when a man comes to heaven hee ceaseth to live the life of faith for then he shall live the life of sight and vision he ceaseth to hope for he enjoyeth that which he hoped for but love shall continue Therefore he saith that love that is the fruit of faith is greater than faith in respect of its continuance That which remaines and endures after this life
men shall live that is all those Saints that shall die shall live againe by the power of Christ who shall be their life Thirdly Thy dead men shall live The Prophet doth not speak here of a resurrection of soules but when he saith Thy dead men he meanes onely the bodies of the Saints As our age hath been fertile to bring forth all monstrous tenents and opinions that other ages have exploded so it hath brought forth this abominable errour which many Heathens by the dimme light of nature have opposed that the soule is mortall They that are acquainted with people here in this City will meet with some that will affirme that the soule as well as the body is mortall and this is one of the places that they make use of Thy dead men Now they say man is a compositum of soule and body therefore seeing dead men must live it followes that the soule or humane spirit as well as the body must die But consider this is against other places of Scripture doth not the wise man tell us of the body returning to the dust and the spirit returning to God that gave it Eccles 12.7 Doth not Paul desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Phil. 1 23. It is evident therefore that he had a perswasion that as soon as his spirit did take leave of his body his Spirit should be happy in the enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Doth not our Saviour tell us that as soone as Lazarus died the Angels carried him into Abrahams bosome he came presently to the enjoyment of some happinesse in the enjoyment of God Therefore we are to know here in this place that God speaketh unto us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the manner of men God speaking to men speaketh unto them in the language of men And as we ordinarily call the carkasse of the dead a dead man so God when he saith thy dead men shall live his meaning is not that there shall be a resurrection of spirits as though the soule of man were mortall like the soule of a beast and did die with the body but the meaning is that the dead bodies of the Saints shall arise Thy dead men shall live For the proofe of this I will present you with places taken out of the Scripture of truth Hosea 13.14 there the Spirit by the Prophet speakes most plainly of the resurrection I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeeme them from death O death I will be thy plagues O grave I will be thy destruction c. which the Apostle 2 Cor. 15. cites and proves that this Promise shall be fully accomplished to the people of God at the generall resurrrection So likewise God teacheth his holy servant Ezekiel this lesson in a holy vision Ezek. 37. The hand of the Lord was upon mee and carryed me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me downe in the middest of the valley which was full of bones and caused me to passe by them round about and behold there were very many in the open valley and loe they were very dry And he said unto me Son of man can these bones live And I answered O Lord God thou knowest Againe he said unto me Prophecie upon these bones and say unto them O yee drie bones heare the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones Behold I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live And I will lay sinewes upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and ye shall live and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Ezek. 37.1 Here the Prophet doth speak of the resurrection and shewes that a Spirit of life and power shall come upon the drie bones and dust of the Saints and that they shall live againe in the presence of God What was Jobs Faith and confidence in the middest of his sufferings but in the resurrection Job 19.25 26. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin wormes shall destroy this body yet in my flesh I shall see God Here is a plaine place in which the Doctrine of the resurrection is held forth to us He professeth that he believed the resurrection of the dead and speaking by the Spirit of Christ who is eternall life the wisdome of the Father made flesh he saith I shall see him with what eyes with these eyes and no other with these very eyes I urged this place to two men and I had two severall Answers from them One that denyed the resurrection gave this Answer I might tremble to speake it Job spake as a crazie old man he knew not what and therefore this was no solid place to prove the resurrection The second said he did not speak of the resurrection because he saith in my flesh I shall see God now God is not seene with fleshly eyes But the Answer to this is easie he speaks of Christ as God-man so we are said to see God when we see God in Jesus Christ as it is Rev. 1.7 Behold he commeth with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him And all kindreds of the earth shall waile because of him With bodily eyes we may see the Lord Jesus Christ in his body and with that spirituall eye and in that spirituall body which we shal have given unto us at the resurrection with that spirituall eye and in that spiritual body we shall be able to see that spirituall body that the Lord Jesus Christ hath so seeing Christ we see God because Christ is God manifested in the flesh as the Apostle calls him 1 Tim. 3.16 The places are infinite almost in the New-Testament nothing being so much preached by the Apostles as the Doctrine of the resurrection Paul comes to Athens among the Epicures and Stoicks great Schollers that were fooles and ignorant in Religion he preacheth the resurrection that God would judge the world by the man Christ Jesus so they were to be witnesses of the resurrection and to preach Christ risen from the dead to give evidence and assurance to men that they should rise likewise as well as the Lord Jesus In the 1 Cor. 15. there were men crept into that Congregation that denyed the resurrection therefore what strong Arguments doth Paul lay downe to prove the resurrection He shewes that Christ dyed in vaine and that all Religion is in vaine that the Apostles were impostors and liers who preached that Christ was risen and that the Saints by the power of Christ should rise if there were no resurrection So in 1 Thess 4.17 The Apostle speaks of the same subject and shewes the manner of the resurrection and how Christ shall come from Heaven The Lord himselfe shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voyce of the Arch-angel and the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall
the third of the Eph. 6. doth teach us that Jewes and Gentiles are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Parts of the same body One that desired to moderate between the Calvinists and Lutherans wishing them not to be so bitter the one against the other made use of this Argument telling them that Luther and Calvin were reconciled in love together in heaven Let not strife hatred malice and bitternesse prevaile among you Christians for yee shall sweetly agree together as one body in one Spirit at the resurrection Vse 2. There being such a glorious union between us and Christ it should engage the spirits of Saints to be much in the contemplation of it As the bloud and spirits doe runne through the body so this Doctrine of union doth runne through the whole body of Christian Religion Our Justification in the person of Christ our own Justification in our owne persons by Christ cannot bee clearely understood if we be totally ignorant of union with Christ As the Philosopher saith that all morall vertues are linck'd together in justice so all the points of Christianity are concatenated and joyned together in this doctrine of union As the Starre did lead the wise men to Christ shining over the place where Christ was so this Doctrine of our union with Christ shining among other truths of Christ in the Scripture doth hold forth unto us a light to direct us through the grace of God into a perfect and comfortable knowledge of all other truths As it doth in an especiall manner beame forth light unto us to confirme us in the Doctrine of the resurrection For you see that the bodies of the Saints are to bee raised because they are united to Christ and one with him Therefore this may strengthen the Faith of every one of us concerning the certainty of the resurrection◠What saith the Apostle No man yet ever hated his owne flesh but nourished it and cherished it Eph. 5.29 The Lord Jesus Christ cannot hate his owne flesh nor forget his owne body the bodies of the Saints but in love will raise them even while they lie in the dust they are his body Our propriety in a thing doth draw out our affection to the thing Our bodies belong to the Lord and are in his heart and affections even while they moulder in the dust therefore let this truth pierce your understandings and sinke deepe into your memories and be fully perswaded that your bodies shall be raised because they are not so much your bodies as the body of the Lord Jesus The Scripture as you have heard speakes so gloriously of that union which all the Saints have with Jesus Christ in that one Spirit which is in Christ and in every Saint that it seemes to hold forth Christ as incompleat till he have gathered all his members into one body And certainly Christ will not appeare incompleat in his body at the resurrection which he should doe should hee not by his power command the bodies of the Saints to come out of the earth Therefore he will not suffer any part of himselfe to lie in the dust he will not appeare at the generall resurrection without a limb not without a hand not without a finger not without the least member Thou that art the meanest Christian that apprehendest thy selfe to be but as the toe of Christ mayst be strongly perswaded of thy resurrection for I tell thee when Christ shall appeare at the great resurrection he will not be without a toe not without the lowest and most inferiour member of his body He will appeare in his fulnesse and all the Saints gathered together and made one with him in body and spirit are his fulnesse and compleatnesse The King when he rides in triumph or to his great Counsell he rides in his Royall Robes and in all his glory When Christ shall appeare the second time he will ride in Triumph as a Conquerour of all Enemies and will ride to his great Counsell or Parliament of Saints who are to judge the Delinquents of the world And the Saints are his glory 2 Cor. 8.23 and therefore they must be raised that hee may be in his full glory If thou looke upon thy selfe and thy body and consider how thou hast dishonoured God in thy body it may bee thou mayst be startled in thy spirit and have such sad thoughts as these Will Christ ever raise this body as his that I have abused to sinne ◠shall this body be glorified which I have dishonoured by base and filthy lusts but when thou hast any such thoughts as these in which the Devill appeares to thee as an Angel of light to make thee question the truth of the glorious resurrection of thy body then looke beyond thy selfe beyond the sinnes that thou hast committed against God in thy body and spirit And think thus with thy selfe This body though I have abused it by lust and intemperance though I have dishonoured God by the sinnes which I have committed and acted as it were upon a stage in this body and flesh of mine yet now the property is altered I am not now to looke on it as my body I am to look on it as the body of the Lord Jesus it is that body that he hath washed from all sinne in his owne bloud it is that body that he died for that he might cleanse it from filthinesse and uncleannesse it is his body he hath right to it and a propriety in it it is his and none of mine Christ will not lose that which belongs to himselfe and therefore it shall be raised in glory We see how unwilling men are to part with that which is their possession and inheritance We know how Naboth answered Ahab who would have had his Vineyard 1 King 21.3 Should I give the inheritance of my Fathers unto thee we are the inheritance the possession of the Lord Jesus and he will not lose any part of his inheritance This Argument is of sufficient strength to silence carnall reason if it were throughly weighed by us in the ballance of the Sanctuary For if a man look on himselfe as out of himselfe and the being which he hath in the first Adam and behold himselfe as one with the Lord Jesus in a spirituall onenesse seeing himselfe as such a part of Christ as a hand or a foote may be said to be a part of the bodie and knowing Christ hath undertaken to provide for his body and to owne it for his owne this will establish him in an unshaken confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ intends to raise his body and to assure and ascertaine us that he will raise us he himselfe is risen in his own person If the head be above the water the whole body may be drawne out of the water without drowning Christ our head is above water above the billowes that overwhelmed him is above sinne that was charged on him is above the curses of the Law that came upon him when he was made
a sacrifice for sinne above the temptations of Satan above the weaknesse of the flesh Death could not hold him as her prisoner and this may ascertaine us that wee his members shall be drawne up out of the water wee shall be above all things that we may call sinne in our selves above the reach of Satans fiery darts we shall be above Death that will be fulfilled which is spoken in the 1 Cor. 15. Death is swallowed up in victory Christ hath already fully conquered Death in his owne person and will conquer it in the person of all those that are his members enabling them to believe in him Christ doth infuse spirit and fortitude into all his souldiers by enabling them to looke on him their Generall Respice ad Ducem Look unto your Captaine was the old Roman word of Command to the common souldiers to stirre them up to imitate the valour and fortitude of their Commanders And Christian souldiers are made truly valiant by looking upon the fortitude and conquests of him who is the Captaine of their salvation Heb. 2.10 And knowing their union with him they see their head Captaine risen whose they are which maketh them Conquerours of death as his valiant souldiers by a strong perswasion from him and in him of a future resurrection In the next place you see that the bodies of Saints shal be raised for heaven as his body Therefore this may teach us to glorifie God in our bodies and spirits while wee are here below If the Lord Jesus Christ will raise our bodies as his owne bodie it is consonant to reason that we should use our bodies as the bodies of Christ This consideration if God goe along with it will be marvellous powerfull to teach us to be holy not only in our spirits but in our bodies considering that they are the bodies of the Lord Jesus Christ will raise thy body at the last day as his owne it is his body and not thine his spirit informes it he is owner and possessor of it thou art not thine owne thou art bought with a price 1 Cor. 6.20 Thererefore glorifie God in thy body and in thy Spirit which are Gods Seeing Christ will raise thy body as his body when it is dead therefore behave thy selfe towards thy body as the body of Christ while thou art alive This is that that the Apostle presseth from this consideration 1 Cor. 6.15 Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot a Christian would not misdemeane himselfe toward his body if he did consider what his body is it is the house and Palace of the Lord Jesus the Temple of God It was accounted a great fault for any man to misbehave himselfe in the Temple of Solomon which was a place then by Gods appointment more holy then other places Our bodies are spirituall Temples therefore defile not the Temple of the Lord. Bring not in the abomination of desolation into the holy place bring not the filth of sinne into it suffer not lust to lie in thy body suffer not pride in thy flesh sinne not against thy owne body in any kind take heed of riot and drunkennesse take heed of those sins that are sinnes against the body because by them thou sinnest against the Temple and house of God thou sinnest against that that is not thine owne but is the Lord Jesus Christs Our bodies should not be like the Egyptian Temples that were stately Edifices and buildings but in them there was nothing but some noysome and filthy beasts Thy body is a stately Edifice O set not up thy beastly lusts as Idols to be worshipped there Galen that great Physitian when he came to anatomize mans body he stood in admiration of the workmanship wondring at the skilfull hand and finger of him that was the maker of it Thou must not only looke on thy body as it is a naturall Edifice but as it is a building for the Lord Jesus as a Temple that Christ hath made choyse of a Temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in Therefore suffer not Crocodiles and noysome beasts to sit there stoup not to lusts fall not downe on thy knees before thy corruptions sacrifice not to uncleannesse Suffer not any sinne to reigne in thy mortall body Rom. 6. thy body is the body of the Lord it is under the power of Christ therefore â—et Christ onely reigne in it Sinne shall not have dominion over you because you are not under the Law but under grace Rom. 6.19 As yee have yeelded your members servants unto uncle annesse and to iniquity unto iniquity even so now yeeld your members servants to righteousnesse unto holinesse If men did but consider the glory of their persons the glory that God hath put upon their spirits in making them one spirit with his owne and the glory that God hath put upon their bodies in making them his houses Temples and places of glory 〈◊〉 dwell in through the goodnesse of God iâ— would restraine them from sinne That thâ— high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity should come and dwell in these humble and low cottages of ours That the God oâ— glory should come and dwell in houses oâ— clay in houses of mud in houses that presently must be pulled downe and lye in the dust O how should the serious and spirituall meditation of this put bounds and limits yea a period to our corruptions As Luther doth report of one that being tempted to any sinne by the Devill would answer that she was Christian Thy body is Christs by conquest he hath dispossessed the Devill of the strong hold which he had in thy body and therefore suffer not the Devill to rule there as he did when he was Lord of thee If the Devill come and tempt thee to commit any sinne which is a sinne that thou mayst act with thy body answer him thus Satan away my eares cannot be open to thy temptations I cannot listen to thee to commit this sinne my body is not mine owne but the body of the Lord Jesus Christ And when thou findest thy selfe in thy body at any time unwilling for the service of Christ consider with thy selfe my body is not mine owne it belongs to the Lord Christ he will have a care of it at the resurrection he will not lose my earth or ashes he will preserve my dust and keep it as a precious Diamond in the casket of his owne love Therefore be willing to serve Christ in thy body he ownes the bodies of Saints here and will owne them hereafter he hath a speciall care of the bones of his Saints and though the limbes of their bodies be carried from one end of the world to the other and scattered in severall places and climates yet by his power he will bring one limb to another therefore glorifie Christ in your bodies who hath promised to quicken your mortall bodies by his spirit which he hath given unto you Rom. 8.11 In the
next place another use may be this to make us willing to sacrifice our bodies for the maintaining of the truths of Christ if Christ be pleased to call us to suffer for him We doe not know but this point may be very seasonable we know not how soone Christ may call for our bodies to lie in prison for some truthes he hath discovered to us which he hath not made known to others why should we be unwilling that Christ should suffer in his owne body Consider that the body which shall lie in prison it is not thy body thou art not able to raise it it is the body of Christ Therefore if it be the mind of Christ that this body shall lie in prison say not My will but thy will be done and if Christ will lead thee further if he will not onely lead thee to be imprisoned in thy body for the profession of the truth but if he call thee to give up thy life to loose it for him that thou mayst find it again in him let this consideration make thee willing to be a martyr and sufferer for the Lord Christ why should not he doe what he will with his owne If he will lead thee to a pillorie to an hot Iron to receive a marke in thy body for him to an halter fire and faggot be contented And bâ— confident that if Christ ever call the to suffer he will give thee power and strength for to suffer in thy body because he cannot forget to be mindfull of his owne body We know how Christ threatneth those that are ashamed of him and his word in an adulterous and sinfull generation Mark 8.38 Of him saith he shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of the Father with power and great glory As Christ will no owne but be ashamed of wicked ungodly and unbelieving men that make profession of his name in words without his power in their hearts so Christ will owne the bodies of his Saints and such who truly believe in him and have laid downe their lives for him and they shall find their lives againe at the resurrection of the dead Therefore let this make us willing to suffer I am the more willing to presse this point because I see a spirit of basenesse and cowardinesse in Christians I find not that courage in the hearts and spirits of Christians that should be in them The complaint of Jereniah may justly be taken up in our times he saith Jer. 9.3 None were valiant for the truth There is scarce a man that appeares for truth in the height of zeale Men will rather sinne against Conscience to comply with the world then oppose themselves against the corruptions of the world they will rather wimme down with the tyde and streame â—f the world then oppose the wicked streame â—f worldly corruptions And it is to be feared that many profesâ—rs have their eye so much upon the Civill â—agistrate from this corruption and unâ—undnesse in their hearts they will be of â—e same Religion with the Civill Magistrate because they will not suffer any thing for â—e Lord. They looke on Christ in their apprehensions as precious but when they are told of a crucified Christ of a persecuted Christ of Christ hanging on a tree a Christ to be spit upon condemned and persecuted to suffer in the world with the young man in the Gospel they goe away sorrowfull from such a Sermon they would have Christ and the world together but if they cannot have Christ but they must leave the world they had rather part with Christ then with the world They are like Joseph of Arimathea that tooke Christ and left the Crosse behind him So delicate Professors in our time they will take Christ but they will be sure to leave the Crosse they will be wise in their way they will professe Religion no further then they may hold the world and Religion together One reason of this cowardise and basenesse of spirit is this because they doe not consider that the bodies of Saints are under the care and in the possession of Jesus And that wee cannot glorifie God more then by lying in prison in love to Christ or dying for him if it be his pleasure to call us to seale his truths with our bloud And if we did consider what a holy flame and Heavenly sparke was in the hearts and spirits of primitive Christians in believing this truth that they accounted it their greatest honour to be dishonoured for Christ their greatest credit to be discredited by the world for him their Liberty to be imprisoned their life to die at a stake for professing this glorious truth of Christ discovered to their soules Phil. 1.21 it would put fire and spirit into us and this lethargie that is upon us would speedily be cured Indeed we are a luke-warme people the discretion and prudence of politick professors in our times hath swallowed up zeale In the times of Popery there was zeale without knowledge in this Kingdome and now wee have knowledge without Zeale And the ground of this is this because either wee doe not meditate on this truth or else because we are rather cold and formall then truly spirituall in the meditation of it which should engage us as we tender the glory of Christ to be more frequent and serious in our contemplations concerning it for the future I find that Christians made much use of this point in former dayes though I doe not wholly justifie their practise for as it is our custome to salute one another when we meete so it was the custome of some Christians when they met one another to â—â—tter these words Christus resurrexit Christ â—â—risen They apprehended it sa a point that came with such power on their spirits to enable them to be willing to suffer for the Lord that this was their salutation in the time of persecution assuring themselves that he which was risen in his owne person as head would arise in all Saints as his members And this was that that made them so willing to jeopard their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus We read of Paul Act. 21.13 that when they exhorted him not to goe to Jerusalem because the Spirit in Agabus had made it knowne that he should be persecuted and bound when he came thither Why doe you weep and break my heart saith he I am not onely willing to be bound at Jerusalem but to did there for the name of the Lord Jesus It was a heart-breaking to Paul to tell him that he should not goe to suffer at Jerusalem â— if it were his greatest suffering not 〈◊〉 suffer for the Gospel But we have learned this point by roate and it is a thing few understand wee talke of it in a Parrat-liâ—â— way and we have mumbled it over in oâ— Creed I believe the resurrection of the body but few have dived into the bottome it or suckt the sweetnesse and spiritualiâ—â—
which lies in it or else we should not be 〈◊〉 luke-warme in the cause of Christ but 〈◊〉 the future let us looke up to God that may give us spirituall and Heavenly wisdome that so we may have a more Divine and spirituall knowledge of it He that is the resurrection and the life of Saints is the onely teacher of the Doctrine of the resurrection It is reported of the Pelican that her young being poysoned by the Serpent she doth give them life by her own death and bloud so Christ doth quicken us his members to a life of immortality by his owne death and bloud And doth give us the knowledge of life in the knowledge of his death bloudshedding and resurrection which doth inforce the necessity of our resurrection from his who is our head And this is the perswasion of true Saints And as it is reported of the Phenix that when she is to die she brings spices into her nest which being set on fire she her selfe is burned in the fire and turned to ashes and out of her ashes comes a new Phenix so a true Christian knoweth that though he may be burned and turned into ashes yet out of his owne ashes his body shall be raised againe to a new life of glory which doth arme him against the feare of death and persecution in the cause of Christ Again this doth discover what enemies they are to Christ his Spirit and members who by their wiles subtilty and hellish Logick would destroy the Doctrine of the Resurrection They would rob Christ of his members who doth here lay claime to the bodies of dead Saints They would make the Spirit a lier who doth seale up Saints unto the day of Redemption Eph. 5.30 And in whom they wait for the redemption of their bodies Rom. 8.23 They would rob Saints of their comfort which God doth give them in the beleeving of the resurrection of the same body which is committed unto the earth I am the more earnest against these men because I know these factors for Antichrist are both active and subtle as the Serpent did indeavour to beguile Eve 2 Cor. 11.3 so these indeavour to undermine men and to draw them from the simplicity of the Gospel One and a chiefe part of Christs simple Gospel is the Doctrine of the resurrection of our bodies by the power of Christ when Paul preached this at Athens the Stoicks and Epicures did look upon him as a babler And this piece of the Gospel was alwayes accounted foolishnesse to the learned Greeks And as the Apostle was jealous of them for feare they should be drawne from the simplicity of the Gospel so am I jealous over poore Christians knowing that you shall meet with men that pretend to be spirituall men of great light wisdome knowledge and deep understandings and when you have dived into the bottome of their spirits this is all you shall find in them which they will labour to draw you to assent unto to wit that there is no resurrection but in the spirit no corporall resurrection of the body at all These are like those of whom the Apostle speaketh in his time that corrupt or deale deceitfully with the word of God The metaphor is borrowed from cheating Vintners or cousening Merchants that adulterate their commodities to make them vendible as Beza doth well observe so these that their horrid opinions and blasphemies may be vendible they endeavour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to sophisticate the word and adulterate it from the plaine and simple meaning of the Holy-Ghost Therefore let mee in love to your soules once more desire you that you would be watchfull that none of these draw you away from these truthes of God and the Lord Jesus which have been discovered to you and have been sealed upon your hearts and spirits by his owne blessed Spirit The Devill doth sow the tares of Familisme in mens hearts while they sleep But I am confident that you shall believe them though for a time you may be drawn to question them and the resurrection as those in the 1 Cor. 15. and may be deluded by Familisticall fancies and notions as some good Christians have been yet if God hath laid hold on you and drawne you to him in Christ he will not totally leave you to these damnable opinions If it were possible these Serpents would deceive even the Elect but Christ intimates that it is impossible that they should ever deceive the Elect. And the Apostle when he speakes of such men as these 2 Tim. 2.19 saith that the foundation of the Lord stands sure having this seale of his everlasting election the Lord knoweth who are his Therefore let not men deceive you but live in the light of the Gospel and in that Spirit that is given forth in the Gospel Take heed of these Impostors hug not the Devill in Samuels mantle suffer not the Devill to devoure you in a sheeps skin but walke in the plaine simple path of the Gospel of the Lord Christ And that you may doe this give me leave to give you some few directions for the preserving you in the truth and the securing of you from this infection of Familisme First I wish you to apply your selves to the reading of the Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through Faith which is in Christ 2 Tim. 5.15 When these men come unto you it may be they will present you with bookes written in a strange Language stuffed with swelling non-sense and affected phrases that none understand but those that are acquainted with their blasphemous horrid and damnable opinions And will indeavour to lead you from the Scriptures and if yous oppose the truth of Scripture against their delusion some of them will affirme that Peter and Paul when they wrote their Epistles had but a little light were but children they are enlightned men growne up unto the stature of perfection labouring to prove that the bright starre of truth doth shine no where so gloriously as in the old Popish Authors and new Familisticall scriblers which they will present unto you Therefore that you may not be drawne away by these keep to the Scriptures and know that there is no booke in which there is more light then in the Scripture or from which you may expect more light if you looke to God for his spirit to open the mind of God in the reading of it Dulcius ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquae Waters are sweetest at the well-head And truthes doe present themselves most sweetly unto us in the Scripture which is the Well and Fountaine from which other Writers doe fetch the truthes which we find in their writings He that addicts himselfe more to the reading of mens writings then the Scriptures is like one that leaving the Fountaine where the waters are pure had rather drink in the channell where they are impure and muddy Truly if you grow in grace you will grow in liking and approving the holy
The Prophet hath an expression that runnes this way speaking of righteous and mercifull men saith he they shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds And when Stephen was stoned to death the Holy Ghost telleth us that he fell asleep Act. 7.60 And the Primitive Christians called the places where they buried their dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sleeping places The Earth to every Saint is but a sleeping place Jesus Christ shall come downe from Heaven with a shout and with the voyce of the Arch-angel and with the Trump of God And this great Trumpet being blown the dead in Christ shall awake and rise He that dyeth in Christ and is one of his dead men doth not dye but sleep And at the resurrection shal in a moment awake out of his sleep When the Father Word and Spirit did make the Fabrick of the world all things were speedily and suddenly made for the making of any thing there was but verbum factum the word spoken and presently the thing was made Let there be Light and there was light let there be a firmament and there was a firmament so when the Lord Jesus Christ shall speake the word and bid us awake in a moment in the twinckling of an eye those that are dead in the Lord shall awake out of the sleep of death And here by the way let me give you another observation You see at the great day that the dead that lye in the dust shall be raised by the command of Christ who shall bid them come out of the dust Now as no rational man would conclude from this place that the dead who it may be have their dust lying in severall places in every part of the world a portion of their dust have any power to raise themselves though they are bid to awake even so when God speaking to souleâ— that heare the word preached doth command them to believe repent live holily and rejoyce we cannot conclude that there is any power strength and ability in the creature to doe what they are commanded to doe no more then the dead can awake of themselves though Christ commands them to awake As when Christ did bid Lazarus come forth of the grave he did presently come forth though he had not any power in himselfe to come forth but that power that bid him come forth enabled him to come forth so though Christ exhort us in the Gospel to believe and to doe good duties we have no power in our selves to doe good duties but that power that bids us doe good duties must inable us to doe them or else we are never able to doe them which moved Augustine to pray thus Da domine quod jubes jube quod vis give Lord what thou commandest and command what thou wilt Againe in the next place take notice that those who shall be raised are called the inhabitants of the dust yee that dwell in the dust the dust for a time is a habitation for the Saints in Eccles 12.5 It is said Man shall goe to his long home The grave is a home or house for a time which may assure us of the resurrection of the same bodies which are entrusted to the dust that which dwelleth in the dust and no other thing in stead of it must be be raised out of the dust Thirdly here is a reason laid downe in the next verse to assure us of our resurrection Thy dew is as the dew of Herbes The Lord Jesus in the power of his Spirit shall be as a heavenly dew upon the dead bodies and dust of the Saints to raise them up and quicken them to a new life Christ in the power of his Spirit may be compared to dew for three reasons first because as the dew comming downe upon the earth the earth bringeth forth grasse without the help and labour of man Mich. 5.7 so without the labour and strength of the creature the Lord Jesus the dew of Heaven coming down upon the dust and ashes of the Saints shall quicken them to a life and make them flourish after they have layen rotting and moldering in the grave Secondly as the dew doth come down speedily and suddenly upon the earth as you may gather from that expression of Hushaiâ— in that speech of his to Absalom concerning David 2 Sam. 17.12 We will come upon him in some place where he shall be found and light or him as the dew falleth upon the ground As the dew falls suddenly and unexpectedly so wâ—â— will surprise David So the Lord Jesus will come in the twinkling of an eye suddenly upon the bodies of the Saints Therefore hâ—â— compares his comming to the comming of a thiefe in the night and to lightning which we know is darted through the middest of Heaven with great volubilitie and swiftnesse In the third place Christ shall be as dew because as dew doth make the herbs on which it falls to be fruitfull and to waxe green and flourish after they have seemed to be dead So the Lord Jesus Christ shall quicken the dead carkasses of his Saints and put a life into their dust Thus Moses the holy servant of God speaking of his Doctrine in reference to the flourishing of it Deut. 32.2 saith that his Doctrine shall drop as the raine and his speech shall distill as the dew as the small raine upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grasse As the dew of Heaven makes the things upon which it falls fruitfull and fertile so the Lord Jesus Christ falling downe upon the dust and ashes upon the rotten bones putrifyed carcasses and skuls of the Saints shall cause them to flourish and to spring up and they shall have a new life put into them by his â—omming downe upon them Fourthly the Prophet saith that the â—arth shall cast out her dead from whence we may strongly conclude the resurrection â—f the same body which is cast into the earth That body which was dead and buried iâ— the earth shall be raised out of the earth But I have sufficiently spoken of these points iâ— my former discourses So that if I should speal from all these particulars I should rather repeat what I have said then present you with new matter The thing therefore that I shall open unto you to day for the furtherance of your joy shall be this to shew you what great joy there shall be at the resurrection of the dead which is held forth in these words Awake and sing I doe make bold to finish this subject her among you this day because I know noâ— whether I shall have an opportunity to speak to you againe from these words And seeing I have handled the two former parts in this place I had a desire to finish my discourse from this Text among you Another reason was because I did find some Familisticall spirits here that were troubled with what I delivered being enemies to that Christ who came in the flesh and dyed
firmament is a great glory to our eyes so there shall be a Celestiall Star-like glory upon the bodies of the Saints they shall not be grosse lumpish and heavie bodies as they are now but spirituall bodies as swift as a Seraphim The bodie is now a clog and weight to the soule it is ergastulum animae as the Platonists say it keepeth the spirit under and presseth it down with the weight of it but then the bodie shall be a spirituall body so that in this body the Saints shall ascend into the aire as in a Charriot of triumph and glory to meet the Lord Jesus As Elias was carried up to Heaven so shall the Saints in these bodies of theirs rife in glorie to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the ayre Now they are subject to diseases then they shall be freed from all diseases now they are subject to death then death shall be swallowed up and every Saint in his owne person shall appeare as a Conquerour of death and of the grave every Saint shall have this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this song of triumph in his mouth O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law but thanks he unto God who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Our bodies then shall be incorruptible wholly like the body of Christ therefore the Apostle saith that the bodie it must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 3. last conformable in likenesse to the glorious bodie of the Lord Jesus Christ himselfe you see what perfection there shall be in the bodies of the Saints though they be vile now they shall be honourable and glorious then though they be now as pieces of earth they shall be then more bright then the Starres of Heaven or the Sunne in the firmament This glorie God will put upon the bodies of the Saints and being thus made happy in their bodies and spirits when they shall see themselvs in this happy condition filled in their bodies and spirits with the glory of God it cannot but cause great joy If a man lye sick a long while and have a weake distempered crazie bodie when he is restored he rejoyceth that he hath health and strength and is freed from the weaknesse that was upon him shall not there be great joy then when the Saints shall rise when they that had weake crazie and vile mortall bodies here shall see themselves in bodies of glory in bodies as glorious as the body of the Lord Jesus Againe there will be great cause of joy to these Saints when they shall be thus united in their bodies and soules and shall meet the Lord Jesus Christ because they shall have great dignitie put upon their persons they shall bee raised as no meane persons As wicked ungodly and unbelieving men shall be raised as slaves and vassals and be brought forth in chaines and fetters before the dreadfull tribunall of the Lord Jesus Christ so the Saints shall all come forth a◠Kings every one of them shall be dignified with the glorie and Majestie of a King This is that that is spoken of in the Revelation where it is said that Christ hath made 〈◊〉 Kings and Priests and wee shall reigne upon earth We shall reigne in our bodies As a◠Ambassadour said of the Senate of Rome that he apprehended that there were as many Kings as Senators in the Senate-house Quo◠Senatores tot Reges So there shall be as many Kings as Saints at the resurrection and every one shall have Kingly glory and Majesty every one together with the Lord Jesus reigning as a King upon the earth Rev. 5.10 Therefore if men rejoyce in the enjoyment of earthly Kingdomes and Crowne◠which are lined with cares that a King professed that if men knew the troubles which attended upon a Crowne no man would stoop to take it up what joy will there be when wee shall reigne as spirituall and heavenly Kings with the Lord Jesus Againe there will be great joy because all things that may occasion any sorrow or sadnesse shall be quite removed away all teares must then be wiped from the eyes of all the Saints Rev. 7.17 there must be no more sighing no more griefe no more sorrow All earthly infirmities and weaknesses which are accompanied with griefe and paine shall be removed for our bodies shall be Celestiall bodies 1 Cor. 15.40 raised up in incorruption 1 Cor. 15.42 And there shall be no more blindnesse or blacknesse upon our spirits Here so long as wee carrie sinne about us though we know it is pardoned though we know it shall be remembred no more Heb. 8.12 though we know in point of Justification that it may be sought for and cannot be found Jer. 50.20 yet so long as wee feele it opposing the Spirit of glory and holinesse in us by the filthy nature of it so long it will occasion sorrow griefe and some trouble to the soule but at the generall resurrection as sinne is now compleatly taken away in our Justification to those that believe in the Lord Jesus such being those blessed ones spoken of in the 32. Psal whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sinnes are covered So then sinne shall be wholly taken away to our owne sense feeling and apprehension by the Spirit of Sanctification There shall be no corner then in the soule spirit or body for any lust or uncleannesse and consequently no place for sorrow Sinne is like the evill spirit that possessed Saul that made him melancholy and sad and afflicted him in his spirit But when the Lord Jesus Christ shall appeare then all sinne shall be done away to our sense and feeling as it is done away now in our Justification Then we shall be as perfectly sanctified throughout both in bodie and spirit as wee are now perfectly justified Now the life that wee live in the flesh is by Faith in the Sonne of God by seeing how compleatly we are justified from sinnes lusts corruptions those enemies to the Lord Jesus Christ that wee carrie in our bosomes but then wee shall be as perfect in respect of the life of sanctification as wee are now perfect and compleat in respect of our Justification So that the cause of sorrow and trouble shall quite be taken away There shall be no place then left for Evangelicall sorrow the sorrow that now is wrought in the Saints is Evangelicall not Legall but the joy and glory which doth remaine for the Saints hereafter shall be so great that there shall be no place then left for Evangelicall griefe for any sinne that we have committed And as sin shall not then bring any sorrow upon us so neither shall the Devill who is the troubler of the Israel of God be able to afflict us Here he is permitted to afflict us as he did Job for the tryall of our Faith and patience and though for the present when we looke on Christ
in his person we see that wee are conquerours over the Devill in him yet we meet with the Devill his fierie temptations darts and arrowes which he shooteth into our spirits so that he oft-times causeth us to walke something sadly occasioning troubles which Jerome calleth tempestates mentis the tempests of the mind As Paul tells us that he was buffeted by the messenger of Satan But then this wicked Fiend shall be so chained up that he shall never be let loose upon us again Then he shall be so under our feet that hee shall never have any liberty given him to tempt us any more The accuser of the Brethren is cast out of heaven Revelation 12.10 His accusations and complaints against them cannot be heard by the eare of God to prejudice their Justification but he doth persecute the woman upon the earth Rev. 12.13 He afflicts the Church and brings much trouble oft-times to the Saints but at the generall resurrection we shall be freed wholly from the Devill from all temptations from all troubles all enemies that can be thought upon so that then things shall be fully accomplished and compleated for our good The Apostle though he telleth us that Christ for the present hath abolished death and sinne to us 2 Tim. 1.10 and destroyed him who hath the power of death who is the Devill Heb. 2.14 yet he informeth us that the promises of God made to us in Christ are not fully accomplished compleated and perfected till the resurrection as wee may see by that place 1 Cor. 15.54 then shall be fulfilled that saying speaking of the resurrection day Death is swallowed up in victory then if shall be said O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then shall it be that is it shall be in the full accomplishment wee have now what is there promised in the promise of God by Faith then wee shall have what is in the promise in the actuall fruition of the thing promised So that in this respect there will be great joy because then every Saint shall ride in a Chariot of triumph as a Conquerour of all enemies in his own person And as Christ in his owne body and Spirit did ride to Heaven and triumph over the power of Hell Death sinne curse and condemnation and as the life that we live for the present is by beholding this victory of the Lord Jesus Christ with the eye of Faith so at the generall resurrection all the Saints shall imitate the Lord Jesus Christ and in their owne persons shall ride as Conquerours triumphing over all enemies and shall live the life of vision seeing the same thing done in their owne persons which now by Faith they see done for them in the person of Jesus So that all cause and occasion of trouble and sorrow being taken away there must needs be great joy at the resurrection of those who are raised by the Lord. In the next place as the occasions and causes of all sorrow shall be taken away so likewise all things all objects that may move spirituall joy shall be presented to the Saints to raise their spirits to a spirituall joy who shall be raised and made happy with the Lord Jesus whatsoever it be that can be thought upon that can make any one happy that the Saints shal enjoy they shal enjoy God in a full measure and the Lord Jesus Sweet streames of joy will flow into their spirits because God will make himselfe the Author and worker of their joy Sing O daughter os Sion saith the Prophet Zeph. 3.14 Be glad and rejoyce O daughter of Jerusalem But why must Zion sing and shout behold the reason in the 15. verse The Lord is in the midst of thee and in the 17. ver He will rejoyce over thee with singing There is the chiefe ground of their joy laid downe So the 12. of Neh. 43. it is said the people rejoyced for God made them rejoyce with great joy So at the resurrection God shall make them to rejoyce they shall be alway then at the Fountaine at the Well-head In thy presence is fulnesse of joy at thy right hand saith the Psalmist Psal 17.11 there are pleasures for evermore All the Saints shall then bee in the presence and at the right hand of God where there shall be pleasures for evermore they all shall be in the glory of the Lord Jesus God shall emptie himselfe and the rivers and streames of joy which are in himself into their hearts and spirits so that they shall be swallowed up into those streames and rivers of joy and pleasure which are in the enjoyment of a God Macarius speaketh of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ebriety of the Spirit They then shall be inebriated with the fulnesse of a spirituall joy If there be such rejoycing here in the spirit of a Saint when he hath a light from God to see something of God in the face of Christ what spirituall joy shall there be when our joy shall be at the full If there be such joy in the ebbing of the Spirit here what joy will there be when we shall enjoy the high-tyde of the Spirit in the vision of Gods grace and glory hereafter when wee shall eat of the tree of life when wee shall drinke our fill of those rivers of pleasures which runne in the Paradise of God And if there be so much sweetnesse in spirituall joy here what tongue can expresse or heart conceive what there shall be in that joy that shall be hereafter Great glorious and high are the expressions by which Saints doe set forth the joyes that they feele here but no Saint can tell what the joyes shall be hereafter at the resurrection Psal 94.19 In the multitude of my thoughts within mee thy comforts delight my soule the delight is such here that David had rather have the light of Gods countenance in a Spirit of joy upon him then to enjoy all the glory and great things in the world Thou hast put greater joy into my heart then when the corne and wine of wicked men is increased Psal 4. and in Psal 84. One day in thy house is worth a thousand If there be such joy in the presence of God here in the beholding of his grace in the kisses of his mouth in the imbraces of his Sonne when he doth now sprinkle us with his grace O what joy shall there be when God shall poure out the Spirit of grace and sweetnesse into our soules when he shall open all the treasures of his Spirit and love when hee shall more freely and fully shew us the things that neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what they are 1 Cor. 2. Wee have seene great things in the world Crownes Scepters riches worldly pomp and glory but what are all these things they doe not shadow forth the things that wee see here in the Spirit
the words untill I came and mine eyes had seene it and behold the halfe was not told me thy wisdome and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard Fame commonly exceeds the thing which is reported but Solomons glory exceeded the fame of it So we heare of great and glorious things which shall be at the resurrection the joy and glorie that the Saints shall have and we take paines to illustrate it by earthly joyes and spirituall comfort which is the best thing to shadow it But all that can be said is far short of setting forth to the full the glorie and joy of it And therefore seeing that the thing farre exceeds the discourse and apprehension of any man seeing words cannot set forth what glorie and joy this is I will not lay downe any more considerations to shadow forth to you this joy which I professe I want language fully to expresse Wherefore give me leave to make a little use and I shall put a period for the present of speaking of this joy which is unspeakable In the first place seeing there will be great joy at the resurrection therefore wee should rejoice in it before-hand God will not faile in giving you of any thing that he hath promised you will find the joy a hundred thousand times greater then any man on earth is able to expresse it to you As God when he promised the people of Israel the Land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey he did not faile of any thing he had promised to them all came to passe as you have the storie Joh. 21.45 So God hath promised a heavenly Canaan of glorie an everlasting Kingdome a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11.10 Palaces that shall stand fast and firme upon their basis and foundation to the dayes of Eternitie He hath promised to put Scepters into our hands Crowns of glory upon our heads And he that hath promised these things to his people will not faile it performance he is just and faithfull he iâ— not like man he cannot lie he cannot repent of the good he intends to doe for his people Therefore you that are his people rejyocein your portion and inheritance A the young Ward in his non-age or minority when little iâ— allowed him for the present doth rejoyce in foreseeing what large possessions he shall be master of for the future when the time of his Wardship shall be expired So let us who are the Heires of Heaven happinesse and glorie here though wee shall not have the fruition of it untill hereafter rejoyce here as though wee were in the full enjoyment and possession of it Suffer not any wicked unbelieving spirits to bereave you of your joy and comfort by leading you into errour concerning the resurrection O what enemies are these people to the spirituall joy of Gods people that goe about to sow this seed of false Doctrine among them by perswading them that there shall be no resurrection of the bodie but onely a spirituall resurrection here How doe these with specious shewes of truth bereave people of that spirituall joy comfort and contentment that they might take in believing the Doctrine of the resurrection Beloved you meet with many Arguments against the resurrection that baffle carnall reason I professe that if I should follow carnall reason I know there are such strong Arguments against the resurrection that I should easily yeild the bucklers and contend no more for the point but conclude that there would be no resurrection of the bodie but when I looke upon the power of him that hath promised when I consider that God hath said it it answers all objections of carnall reason Therefore shew your selves children of faithfull Abraham stagger not at this promise he believed above hope and against hope It is above hope and against the hope of naturall reason that this bodie should be raised yet give God the glory of his power God hath said that this bodie shall rise and rise as the body of his Sonne that we shall awake and sing and the Earth shall cast forth her dead Consider a authorem tolle dubitationem Ter. Consider the power of the agent and all doubting will be removed He that hath promised it is power love and faithfulnesse he will doe what he hath promised for his people what they expect and beyond their thoughts desires and expectations therefore 1 Thess 4. ult Comfort your selves with these words There is no Doctrine that brings so much spirituall consolation to the soule as this it is the spring of spirituall joy in the hearts of the Saints Take away the Doctrine of the resurrection of bodies and take away all spirituall joy and comfort And then look no longer upon the Saints as glorious and happie creatures but as the most miserable abjects that you behold upon the face of the earth If there be no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle We are of al men most miserable Saints professe themselvs the most happie and joyfull people in the world and rejoyce in their portion and blesse themselves in their happinesse and inheritance But take this Doctrine away let it be granted that there shall be no resurrection let it bee granted that Christ is not risen in his humane bodie and that the Saints shall not rise in their humane bodies as Christ did and be happie in their humane bodies it will damp all the joy of the Saints presently it will quench the Spirit of joy in the people of God For there can be no cause of rejoycing to the Saints but in this assurance that their sinnes are pardoned that they are in Covenant with God that God having loved them from eternitie will love them to eternitie and preserve them in happinesse with himselfe Therefore you that truly believe this Doctrine rejoyce in it and suffer not the scoffing enemies of this Doctrine to draw you from it and so from the comfort that will flow into your hearts while you believe it Take heed lest there be in any of you a heart of unbeliefe to depart from the living God And iâ— there be any poore weak Christians here that have been misled by these miscreants and ungodly men let them looke up to God beholding his power and faithfulnesse in their Redeemer that they may see all those objections of carnall reason by which they have been deluded and misled easily answered that so their former joy and consolation may returne to them by believing the Doctrine and joy of the resurrection And let me adde this also that as this is a Doctrine of great joy so it is a Doctrine that obligeth us to great holinesse The Doctrine of Christ in every part and branch of it leads to holinesse If thou meet with any tenent or opinion that furthereth not holinesse looke on that opinion as an errour for whatsoever is the truth of the Lord it is a truth that leads us to holinesse of life and conversation
the whole law Cum sophista intelligit legem abrogari eamque ceremonialem tu potius intellige Paulum quemlibet Christianum universae legi abrogari Simplicitur mortuus sum legi hoc est nihil plane commercij est mihi cum lege Luth. I am dead to the law that is I have nothing to doe with the law Est autem mori legi lege non tencri sed liberum esse a lege et nescire eam To be dead unto the law is not to be held by the law but to be free from the law and not to know it Reas 4. If we preach consolation and doe exhort people to expect comfort from God we may bid them put away the law and their confidence of expecting comfort by it The law worketh wrath Rom. 7. and therefore it doth not worke joy The spirit of joy is not received by the workes of the law but by the hearing of faith We receive the promise of the spirit through faith Gal. 3.14 Res 5. Though the law requireth holiness yet it doth not make us holy A man that will be truely fanctified must not live under the Law but under the Gospel This is the argument of the Apostle Rom. 6.14 Sinne shall not have dominion over you because ye are not under the law but under grace Must not the law in some sense be put away that we may not be under it Let my arguments be well weighed and I am contented to be censured In the meane while I shall comfort my selfe in this that I am not the first of Saints who have been reproached and persecuted as an enemy to the law The false witnesses which were set up against the Proto-martyr Stephen did bring in this against him that he spake blasphemous words against the law Acts 6.13 And it is probable that some such thing was charged upon Paul by the Jewes as we may gather by his defence for himselfe before Festus where he professeth that hee had not offended against the law of the Jewes Acts 25.8 His proposing and clearing objections so frequently in his Epistles when he speaketh of the Law and Gospel lest hee should be traduced as an enemie to the law doth sufficiently prove what was in the hearts and tongues of men who were opposers of that doctrine of free grace which he preached I shall shut up my reply to this Artitle with the words of this chosen Vessell spoken by him in the like case Acts 24.14 This I confesse that after the way which they call heresie so worship I the God of my Fathers believing all things which are written in the law and the Prophets Sect. 3. The next Article which the Subscribers doe bring against me as matter of errour which they have received from the penne of the same witnesse is that horrid speech of mine as they were pleased to call it The law cuts off a mans legs and then bids him walke Reply When these Articles were brought against me it being demanded of me whether I would owne them as my tenents and opinions I doe well remember that I gave them this answer after I had read them over That I had made use of some phrases and expressions which were in that paper and that some things which were therein being understood in a right sense sano sensu might passe for the blessed truths of the Lord Jesus But as they lay in the paper which was given unto me so I did not own them as my tenents and opinions because those things which were in my Sermons and discourses which held forth light for the understanding of them were not conjoyned with them in that paper And that answer may more especially reach these particular words I am not ashamed to acknowledge that in a Sermon I did make use of these expressions speaking of the impossibility of our fulfilling the law for justification the irritating power of the law by which sinne is stirred up in us we by accident being made worse by it and while the law commandeth men who are under it to yeild personall and perfect obedience unto it though it giveth us no power to doe what it commandeth us And I doe not doubt but in the strength of grace I shall free the expressions from that horridnesse which the Subscribers following Mr. Gataker have put upon it or else I shall willingly acknowledg that it was a rash inconsiderate yea horrid expression which fell from me But before I come to defend the innocency of the expression I cannot but stand still a little and pause upon it wondering that so many men who by their profession are tyed and engaged to the study of the Scriptures should be so little acquainted with the language of the Scriptures that they should not be able to remember one Scripture expression among so many which are like unto it to free it from that horridnesse which they would put upon it Friends consider what you doe If ye censure my expressions as horrid which the holy Spirit will justifie by the like expressions of his owne in Scripture take heed that ye doe not censure the Spirit as well as me and strike at the truth through my sides It is the speech of Plutark The thick clouds do often darken the Sun and the cloud of passions the light of reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus I am apt to think it is with you Your passions certainly are high or else how could you be so low in your reasons so unadvisedly to condemn that as an horrid speech which by warrant from Scripture I shall prove to be harmlesse But in the first place let us enquire where this horridnesse doth lie I am ready to believe that ye are not such enemies to the law to assert the latter part of the speech hath any thing horrid in it Yee will not say that it is horrid to say that the law bids men to walke The horrid treason then of the speech must lye in the former part of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have found I have found out the horridnesse of it It is horrid to affirme that the law doth cut off a mans legges Let us bring it to the bar of truth to be tryed and if it cannot bring speeches in Scripture like unto it where the Apostle is speaking of the same points which I handled when I delivered it let it be stil branded with the hot iron of the Subscribers and passe for an horrid errour 1. Let us compare this speech with that of Paul 2 Cor. 3.6 The letter kiâ—â—eth Which Expositors with one consent uno ore doe expound to be meant of the law and which the words following of the Apostle do so plainely prove that it is bootlesse and in vaine for any man to deny it wee shall take it therefore for granted That the law killeth and this is Pauls or rather Gods assertion who gave this law Now let the indifferent Reader judge whether it be more horrid to say
that the law killeth a man or cutteth off his legs Friends I am perswaded that some of you have experimentally found as I have done that the law killeth And when ye were slaine and killed by the law were you freed presently from the mandatory power of it I am perswaded that some of you can professe in truth with mee that ye were not The law then did command you to doe and walke What horridnesse is there more in this if I may make the comparison to affirme that the law cutteth off a mans legs and then biddeth him to walke then in this To affirme that the law killeth a man doth yet bid him to doe it and walke Object But some may say that Paul saith that the letter killeth because it giveth not strength to fulfill it Litera occidit nempe quia non consert vires ad praestandum Answ I spake it in this sense too and is it not lawfull for me to imitate Pauls expressions Unlesse the ignorant world must be made to believe that my speeches and exclamations are horrid and blasphemous I might multiply arguments from this Chapter if I should runne over all the expressions of the Apostle especially these where he calleth the law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A ministration of death a ministration of condemnation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a thing to be abolished or abolished and done away And whatsoever is spoken by any of the godly for the making good of these expressions I might make use of the same for the justifying of mine seeing I spake them in the same manner as Paul did But that it may appeare that I speake not this for the reproaching of you but the vindicating of wronged abused truth and knowing that a word is sufficient to a wise man when a thousand stripes will not enter into a foole I shall not insult over your weakenesse but rather cover it as farre as I may without injury to the truth Let mee only leave this word to your consideration which in this place is very seasonable to wit That it is the mind of God that we should be as favourable in interpreting the expressions of spirituall men in their writings and speakings now as in interpreting the expressions of those spirituall men who are now with the Lord knowing that they both speak by the same spirit which spirit doth retain his liberty to speake in us as it did in them 2. Compare this speech with that of the Apostle Rom. 7.5 The motions of sinne which were by the law which will sound as harsh as to affirme that the law doth cut off the legs of sinners But if some say this is only occasionally and accidentally men running the more into sinne by how much the more they are forbidden to commit sinne According to that of the Poet. Tendimus in vetitum wee have a tendency in us to that which is forbidden I answer that the same exposition will sufficiently qualifie my speech to take away from it the least appearance of evill The law doth cut off a mans legs occasionally and accidentally A man by reason of the corruption which is in him findeth by experience that he is of lesse strength to run in the wayes of God the more he doth endeavour to get strength by the law of workes Musculus compareth it in this respect to a chaste Matron in a Brothel-house which by her good advice doth prove an occasion to some impudent whores to be more bold and shamelesse in their impiety Had the spirit of love without which wee are nothing taught you something concerning this speech you would have been favourable in interpreting it and not rigidly censorious in condemning it Oh that you who seeme to he zealous for the law would consider that this commandement to wit that we should love our neighhour as our selves is one of the great Commandements upon which all the Law and Prophets doe hang Mat. 22.40 And then how would you dare to be so rigid and uncharitable in your censuring of your Brethren If indeed you have received the law from Moses may I not say as my Saviour did to the Jewes John 7.19 Did not Moses give you the law and yet none of you keepeth it And then remember what the Apostle saith Rom. 2.13 That not the hearers or preachers of the law are just before God but the doers of the law shall be justified Brethren I am not such an enemie to the law but I can with freedome of spirit make use of that pertinent portion of Scripture unto you Jam. 2.8 9. If yee fulfill the royall law according to the Scripture Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe yee doe well But if ye have respect to persons in your censuring judging them And the same thing in effect delivered by one man shall be accounted sound by you and shall be a horrid error if delivered by another man ye commit since and are convinced of the law as transgressors 3 dly Looke seriously upon those words of Paul Rom. 5.20 The law was given that the offence might abound And then tell me whether there be not the same figure in my expression which is in Pauls And why may I not make use of a figurative expression as well as Paul expounding my meaning more plainly afterwards as he doth which I also did in my discourse Calvin saith that by these words Paul doth simply signifie the encreasing of the knowledge and pervicacy Designatur hic simpliciter incrementum notitiae et pervicaciae And another saith that it it said that it aboundeth by the law because it aboundeth in our knowledge of it ut abundare agnoscetur And will not this which is usually spoken upon this place by Expositors make our speech passeable too And as Paul saith that the Commandement which was to life he found to be unto death Rom. 7.10 So may not I say that the law which was for holy walking I found to cut off my legs because being under it I was no more able to walke in the way of it than a man is able to walke without legs I leave it to the spirituall man who judgeth all things 1 Cor. 2.15 to judge of this thing betweene us And that you may not any farther to the dishonour of God and your profession the prejudicing of the worke of the Lord in my Ministery vent forth slanders and reproachas against me I do professe that I am not conscious to my selfe of denying the use of the law in any way in which it is held forth in the new Testament But know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully Knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man but for the lawlesse disobedient for the ungodly and for sinners for the unholy and prophane for murtherers of fathers and for man-slayers for whoremongers for perjured persons and lyars and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound
curse But for believers Christ was made a curse and hath freed them from the curse of the law Gal. 3.13 And therefore they are not lyable unto any punishment as it is a curse Arg. 9. Sin the cause of legall punishments being taken away the effects of it are taken away But Christ hath taken away finne which is the cause of legall punishments And therfore he hath taken away the effects which are legall punishments and therefore one speaking of the afflictions of Saints saith that they are medicines not punishments Medicinae non paena naturam obtinent The truth of this argument is built upon the known axiome The cause being taken away the effect is taken away Sublatâ causâ tollitur effectus Arg. 10. That being taken away which doth binde over a man to legall punishment the legall punishment is taken away But guilt which bindeth a man over to legall punishment is taken away And therefore the legall punishment is taken away Arg. 11. God doth as fully forgive us our trespasses as he would have us to forgive the trespasses of men against us But when we do forgive their trespasses we are not afterward to inflict any vindicative punishment upon them And therefore God doth so fully forgive us our trespasses that hee doth not afterward inflict any vindicative punishment This is the argument of a learned writer Deus debita nostra non minus gratuito et plene nobis dimittit quam docuit nos debitoribus nostris dimittere God saith he doth no lesse freely and sully forgive us our debts than he would have us to forgive our debters I might multiply sentences of Writers who with one consent do under-write to this truth Polanus saith That they who are temporally punished for sin here are to be punished to eternity Qui temporaliter puniuntur in aeternum puniendi sunt And that chastisement is not so much for the purging of sins past as to teach to avoid sin for the future Non adhibetur pro purgandis praeteritis peccatis sed pro futuris vitandis Pol. synt l. 6. c. 4. Willet hath many speeches to this purpose in his Synopsis Davenant writing on this point against the Papists saith what is it to remit the sin or the fault then not to punish a man any more for it Quid aliud est peccatum sive culpam remittere quam illud ad poenam hand amplius imputare But I study brevity knowing how distastfull long controversies are to the pallats of men of these times And therefore in few words to put a period to what I intend to speak concerning the first branch of this Article I conceive that man may be considered two manner of wayes First as hee is in the first Adam and so all afflictions are properly punishments and curses of the law unto him 2 dly In the second Adam and thus the nature of afflictions and chastisements for sinne are changed unto him The sting is taken out of death and every affliction Afflictions are benedictions to him Afflictiones benedictiones Bern. Not curses but blessings unto him And therefore 2 ly God will chasten his justified people in his fatherly love to them and displeasure against sinne that they may be partakers of his holinesse Heb. 12.10 by the spirit of sanctification as they are partakers of Christs righteousnesse in their Justification which maketh true Saints not only to beare afflictions patiently but to glory in tribulation Rom. 5.3 And though in a sence they are afflicted neither for sin that it is not to satisfie Gods justice which is already satisfied by Jesus Christ nor from sin as some speak for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin Yet God doth afflict us that in the afflictions he may powre forth his Spirit upon us for the removing of sin out of our spirits which doth grieve his Spirit and out of our conversations which doth dishonour his name And for the preventing of sinne for the future the Prodigall will take heed how hee doth runne from his Fathers house when hee hath beene among the Swine And the soule beloved of Christ when she is forsaken of all lovers and in misery will resolve to returne unto her first love and say for then was it better with me than now Hos 2.7 And thus much briefly by way of answer to the first branch of this Article The second branch of this article is this That the Land is not punished for the sins of Gods people What hath been spoken concerning the precedent branch of this Article for the clearing of this As no legall punishment properly so called can be inflicted upon the person of a believer for his sinne so no punishment can be inflicted upon the Land in which he liveth for his sinnes Yet I doe not deny but that God who punisheth the unjustified persons of a land in his wrath for their rebellions and transgressions may chastise some of his people by a nationall calamity and affliction for their humiliation and reformation But though in a nationall visitation the same affliction if it be materially considered may be laid upon a believer which is laid upon unbelievers yet the affliction which is laid upon a Saint is formally distinguished from that which is inflicted upon unjustified persons the one flowing from the love of a Father the other from the wrath of an enemie The least of these is properly materially formally a legall punishment the other materially a judgment or punishment but formally a fatherly chastisement and a pledg of Gods love to a Saint Sect. 5. THere is yet one Article more which the Subscribers have taken out of Mr. Gataker page 16. That if a man by the Spirit know himselfe to be in the state of grace though hee be drunke or commit murther God sees no sinne in him If I should but name the man who brought in this Article against me it were enough to acquit me from the charge in the judgment of those who know him But I am resolved that the world shall see that I study not revenge but the clearing and vindication of truth in my answer When one in the Star-chamber demanded of me whether an Article something like unto this were my tenet and whether I had delivered it in such words I did reply that I might affime of it what Martiall did of his poem that it was his as made composed and delivered by him but it ceased to be his and became the repeaters when it was evilly repeated by another Sed male dum recitas incipit esse tuum So the truth contained in this Article to wit That God sees no sinne in his justified children in the sence in which I delivered it it is my tenet or rather Gods truth But while it is repeated with some words of the accuser to bring an odium upon the truth and that being not mentioned which was largely laid downe in my discourse to give light unto it I doe affirm that
not seeing sin in his children yet I doe not deny but that in a sence God may be said to see sin in his justified children God though hee seeth us perfectly justified from all sin yet he seeth and knoweth that we are not perfectly sanctified And in this respect he may be said to see sinne in us And I doe apprehend it to be a grosse errour and destructive to the power of godlinesse to maintaine that God in no sense may be said to see sin in his people Reason 1. It is by the light of the Spirit that wee doe behold the sinne which is in our flesh when we doe believe that all our sins are pardoned and not seen by God in reference to our justification and therefore it is contrary to spirituall reason Scripture and the experience of all those who are truly faithful to assert That God in no sense may be said to see sin in his justified children Reason 2. If God did not see sinne in any sense he could not help us against our sinnes lusts and corruptions against which we goe unto him in the name of Christ for strength But hee doth give us helpe against particular lusts and corruptions as true Saints have found and doe finde by experience And therefore in a sense he may be said to see sinne in us Reason 3. His Spirit doth mortifie sinne in us and what an absurd thing is it for a man to affirme that God in no sence may be said to see that sin which hee doth mortifie in us by his own spirit Arg. 4. Saints may grieve the holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed unto the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 And therefore in a sense God may be said to see sin in them for how can wee imagine that the Spirit of God in a Saint should be grieved by sinne and yet that God should not see it Arg. 5. God doth inwardly checke us in the spirit for many frailties and infirmities which will sufficiently evidence the thing to every man who will not be captivated to errour in his understanding that God in a sence may be said to see sinne Though God doth not rebuke us in wrath as an enemie yet hee doth rebuke us in love for walking unworthy of his grace and favour in Christ Jesus Arg. 6. God doth work in us evangelicall sorrow and humiliation for sins which wee doe commit after our justification through faith And therefore it is evident that hee seeth and knoweth the sins which we commit after our Justification Arg. 7. God doth chasten his justified children for their profit that they may be partakers of his righteousnesse Heb. 12.10 And therefore it must be granted that God in a sence doth see sin in them Arg. 8. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit in Gods justified children Gal. 5.17 which is a sufficient demonstration of Gods seeing of sin in a sence in his justified children And by this you may perceive that by making use of distinctions grounded upon plaine Scripture it is warrantable to say that God doth see sin in his children and that he doth not see sin in his children which if it be well weighed may teach us not to censure our brethren in such points and controversies untill we have received their tenets from themselves which if it had beene granted unto mee it might have prevented many reproaches which I have lain under and prevented many sinnes in those who have rashly censured me I shall put a period to my reply to this answer with acquainting you with a story which I have read concerning that renowned servant and Martyr of Christ John Hus who comming to the Councell of Constance to answer to what was brought against him it is said that by the out-ragiousnesse of the Councell against him so many interrupting him at every word and some mocking and making mouths at him it was impossible for him to make a perfect answer to any thing Let it not be reported abroad for the shame of Religion that ever any man or men were so used in this Kingdom But let this be known that when I endeavoured to acquaint the Committee fully concerning my mind I was so interrupted that it was impossible that any man should clearly know my minde or judgment And that this was frequently added by my Brethren that that day was a day in which I was to heare the charge against me And that there would be a day appointed wherein I should have liberty to bring in my answer to the Committee of Parliament and why there is not such a day yet to be found will be a good Quaere when Astraea leaving the heavens shall again returne to the earth for to doe justice to the oppressed In the meane while though I am throughly acquainted with the carriage of things against mee I shall endeavour not to overcome evill with evill but overcome evill with good forgiving those who have wronged me even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven me Section 6. THus far in answer to the Subscribers of the new Province I might here make an end but that I finde something yet behind in their witnesse which they have not published upon what grounds I know not It may not be supposed that they are more affraid of this testimonie in these things than in those articles they have borrowed from him which he received from his fellow Subscribers of the Synod which may discover what an excellent and fit witnesse Mr. Gataker is in this businesse But to let that passe the next thing which I shall desire you to take notice of is that passage of his against mee in the 25. page of his booke where speaking of the 40. Psalm and the 12. and other typicall prophesies hee hath these words One thing I am sure of that those who gresly a buse them who taking their rise from Luthers application of them with some harsh expressions unto Christ strain them so farre as to disswade Christian people from troubling themselves about confession of their sins as being enough for them to believe that Christ here hath confessed them for them already Master Simpson preaching on that Text Sir If God had given you grace to have seriously thought upon that place in the Proverbs 25.18 A man that beareth false witnesse against his neighbour is a maul and a sword a sharp arrow You would not so suddenly and rashly have come forth as a witnesse against mee in print concerning this thing when you your selfe doe presently acknowledge that it is not so clear or certain as those others are before assedged Doe you walke according to the rules of purity to publish flying reports against the servants of Christ before you give them any notice of it or enquire fully concerning the truth of them Can you justifie your practise before the Lord Jesus before whom you and I must appear to defame me so much in print before you did endeavour to cure mee by one word of your mouth
me that I should deliver in a Sermon these words Let Believers sinne as fast as they will there is a fountaine open for them to wash in But it being demanded by some whether I did deliver it by way of exhortation the accuser was so ingenious to acknowledge that it was not delivered as an exhortation And therefore it is probable that your Brethren of the new Province have had so much grace to leave it out in their charge though it be in the same page in which they have taken out the other Articles and it will be for your credit more then for mine to leave it out in your next Edition You may as well take out that part of a verse in Revel 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him be filthy still and conclude that God in Scripture exhorteth men to be unjust and filthy as to draw out scraps and fragments out of my discourses to perswade the world that I in my preaching exhort people to commit sin which I doe desire to destroy in my selfe and those who heare mee by preaching the grace of God in Christ Your learning if not love might have taught you to have put a more favourable construction upon these words The word let is not always used by way of exhortation as appeares by those words Rev. 22.11 But sometimes by way of supposition and doth frequently signifie as much as the word though doth And take it in this sence it is as seasonable a truth as I can in desire of your good leave upon your spirit Though you who professe your selfe a believer have sinned as fast as you can in my apprehension against the lawes of love and the Commandements of the Lord Jesus yet there is a fountaine opened in which if God give you faith you may wash your selfe from these sins In the meane while I shall comfort my selfe that there is nothing charged upon mee but the same hath beene charged upon those who were more filled with the Spirit for preaching then I am They were charged with the same thing by some ignorant or malicious hearers as appeareth by Rom. 3 8. And not rather as we be slanderously reported and as some affirme that wee say Let us doe evill that good may come whose damnation is just You may now expect that before I put a period to my answer I should speak something to your reproachfull railing speeches against me But you know who said men have learned to reproach me and speak evill of me but I to suffer reproaches Didicerunt illi maledicere ego pati And I shall learn of the Angel to say this to all my defamers The Lord rebuke you Zech. 3.2 And shall intreate God for his Sons sake to give grace and patience to his afflicted and oppressed servant Amen Mans legall righteousnesse is no cause or part of his justification EPHES. 2.8 9. For by grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast THERE are two things which men ought chiefly to know Their misery by sin and their happinesse by the grace of God in Christ And by the wicked unfaithfulnesse of our memories wee are more apt to forget these two things then to forget any other points whatsoever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know thy selfe is a lesson as difficult as it is old and common How hard a matter is it for a man to remember himselfe as to know what he is in himselfe The King of Macedonia thought it needfull that his Page should every morning put him in remembrance that he was a mortall man And every spirituall man doth finde it necessary that the Spirit daily should become his remembrancer to put him in mind that he is a sinful man So likewise it is a hard matter without the power assistance of the Spirit alwayes to know the rich full and free grace of God as it is held forth in the Gospel to poore sinners The last of these as it is the most sweet and excellent lesson so with the greater difficultie it is retained in our memories This is a Doctrine which if it were preached unto us every day wee should forget it every day The daily teaching and hourely learning of it cannot wholly free us from the ignorance of this truth But as farre as we are carnall and fleshly wee are strangers to the knowledge of it So that he that thinkes he perfectly knowes the doctrine of justification by faith alone I dare professe to that man that he knows nothing of this doctrine of justification as he ought to know As long as we live upon the earth we may be learners of this doctrine Paul after he had been a scholler and an aged teacher in the schoole of Christ many yeares did then professe that he endeavoured to forget his own workes and legall righteousnesse in reference to his justification and pressed forward to know more of the mystery of Christ labouring to be found in the righteousnesse which is of God by faith Phil. 3.10 Therefore though I have formerly spoken of the chiefe point that lieth in these verses yet I know it is needfull and necessary for mee to speake of it againe that you that have heard it opened may heare more of it as well as for those who have not heard the point so clearly fully unfolded unto them to whom God may make my discourse beneficiall if he accompany mee with his presence Wherefore I have pitched upon this subject at this present in which the summe of all divinitie is comprized For faith and love is the summe of all that we preach Faith towards the Lord Jesus and love towards God and all those that are united to him in the same Spirit with our selves And the Apostle layeth down both these in these verses shewing first clearly the doctrine of justificatiō through faith alone without works and then shewing that though we are justified without workes yet how in the Spirit wee are carried forth to performe all good works for he saith Wee are created the workmanship of God unto good works ver 10. In these words these particulars present themselves to your best attentions First that salvation and justification is by grace that is by the free favour of God Tee are saved by grace Secondly He sheweth how we are saved by grace in a way of beleeving not working Yee are saved by grace through faith Many pretend that they look on grace but it is thorough the spectacles of their own works but he that doth truly eye grace he looks on grace in an act of beleeving and not through working Thirdly The Apostle discovers the nature of true faith which is the unfained faith of the Elect. First negatively he informeth us that this faith is not of our selves There is not a fountain in our selves from whence a true and lively faith springs it floweth not
the Scribes and Pharisees Joh. 7.19 Did not Moses give you a Law and none of you keepe it So I may speake to all men and women in the world the just and righteous God as the creator that may require obedience from his creature hath given us a just and holy Law all that he commands is consonant to reason and equitie Thou canst not deny but that it is equall that thou shouldest doe to all men as thou wouldest that they should doe to thee But we have all sinned and have broken this just and righteous Law of God therefore by this it appeares that there is no justification for a man by the Law or his own works Thirdly Another Consideration may be drawne from this it is not any whit necessary that any man should have any works at all to bring with him unto God for his justification There is a fulnesse and sufficiency in the grace of God and in Jesus Christ so that there is no need of any works that we should bring for our justification The robe of Christs righteousnesse is such a compleat garment that there needs no patches of our own to be sowed to it You shall find God speaking of his own grace in Isaiah Isa 43. For mine own Names sake I will forgive thy sinnes and will remember thy iniquities no more It is not for our works sake if it be onely of his grace He saith His arme is mightie and strong As the arme of Gods justice is a mightie arme by which he crushes and breaks in pieces all wicked and ungodly men so his arme is mightie to bring salvation And he hath laid help upon one that is mightie Psal 89. Seeing the mightinesse of Gods arme is to bring salvation to his people he is mightie to save Zeph. 3.17 and he will save to the utmost the worst and chiefe of sinners without any righteousnesse or holinesse of their owne Therefore it followes that it is not needfull nor necessary that a man doe good works that he may be justified and saved We have a rule in Philosophy that it is vaine frivolous to doe that by many things that may be done by few seeing God hath discovered an alsufficiency in his own grace it is vaine therefore to seek justification by many things Psal 130.7 There is mercy with God and plenteous redemption No need therefore of mans righteousnesse If thou hast been a slave to many sinnes to vile lusts and base corruptions pride vaine-glory hypocrisie swearing and uncleannesse c. There is plenteous redemption God can redeeme thee from all thy sinnes that thou hast been accustomed unto many yeares He is able to redeeme thee out of the hands of all thy corruptions that hold thee fast in bondage and slavery Wherefore there being such a sufficiency in grace it is not needfull or necessary that a man doe good works that he may be justified The fourth consideration may be this Almightie God doth not require us to doe good works that they should justifie or save us I confesse in the letter of the Word God seemes to require them When he speaks in the language of the Law he saith Doe this and live c. But in the Ministery of the Gospel which is the only Ministery of salvation God doth not require thee to do any thing that thou maist be saved or justified The Law sets thee to work and is never satisfied but the Gospel bids thee doe nothing at all This is the tenour of the Gospel Beleeve in the Name of the Lord Jesus and be confident to be justified onely by his Name The Apostles when they preached endeavoured to beat men off from their own works and performances in the point of justification When the Gaoler said What shall I do to be saved Paul bids him not to work but to beleeve in the Lord Jesus So in Isai 55.3 God reprehends men that spend their time for that which is worth nothing laying out so much time in acting doing for justification and salvation in the mean while neglecting the glorious and precious Gospel of grace by his Son Wherefore doe yee spend money for that which is not bread Wherefore doe yee spend the strength of your bodies spirits in working labouring and tyring out your dayes under the spirit of bondage that yee may be justified and saved You spend your money for that that is not bread you shall never have a piece of bread from the Law for this you shall never satisfie the Law it will not give you a crumb of comfort worke and doe what you can Hearken unto me and eat that which is good and let your soule delight it selfe in fatnesse Foolish and ignorant people they take paines to satisfie their spirits and to get comfort by making long prayers and observing fasting dayes and giving almes to the poore endeavouring to love God and Saints that they may be saved but they labour for that that will not profit for that that is not bread If duties could satisfie why did Christ die If we could be saved by the Law why was the Gospel made knowne Therefore he points them to the Gospel Heare and your soule shall live That is heare the Word of Gods grace beleeve that God will pardon your sinnes for his Name sake and not for any works or righteousnesse in your selves Beleeve that Christ came to save sinners ungodly sinners the worst of sinners the chiefe of them beleeve this and your soules shall live If any bid thee worke that thou maist be justified to get love to the brethren to get a good conscience to God and men he setteth you upon a labour that will not profit you The voyce of God is Heare and your soules shall live Beleeve that which is reported concerning this Christ who was borne of a woman though the eternall Son of God and was manifested in the flesh and hath borne the sinnes of sinfull flesh and hath made an end of all iniquitie and brought in everlasting righteousnesse In beleeving this doctrine we are assured of his love And this God bids us preach and nothing else for justification ceasing from our selves our works our righteousnesse our performances resting on his love setting foot on his grace disclaiming our doings not coming to him in the sight of our works and our love but of his goodnesse as it is displayed in Christ Fifthly It is positively forbidden and God reproves men for it he shews them that they undoe their soules to eternitie if in a secret way they rest upon their owne works Israd which followed after the Law of righteousnesse hath not attained to the Law of righteousnesse Wherefore Because they sought it not by faith but as it were by the works of the Law Rom. 9.31 32. He doth not say that they did directly seek salvation by the Law but indirectly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed tanquam operibus legis as it were by the works of the Law Works are not onely
purification He hath redeemed us from all iniquitie to purifie us to himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works Faith which looketh upon the grace of him who is invisible is the mother-grace Radix bonorum operum fides Faith is the roote good works are the fruit there must be the roote before the fruit But some man may say may wee not see the fruit before wee see the roote as wee see some fruit upon trees while the root lies hid and from the beholding of the fruit may wee not very rationally conclude that there is a root so from the beholding of our good works the fruit of true faith may wee not conclude that there is faith though it be not in it selfe visible unto us To this I answer That this similitude proves not the thing for though it be a truth that good works may appeare first to men yet faith is first visible to us in our own spirits and it is impossible that I should see the truth of good works except I first see the truth of faith Evident sanctification doth evidence unto us the truth of our justification but sanctification is not evident our justification being not evidenced to us in the first place If it be manifested in our spirits to us that our works are good it will presently be manifested unto us that we have true faith But this is not manifested in our spirits that our works are truly good works and such which cannot be done by an hypocrite untill the truth of our faith be manifested unto us I will make this evident by this reason A man must see his good works as done either under the Law or under the Gospel and look upon them either in the glasse of the Law or the glasse of the Gospel if a man look upon them in the glasse of the Law and doe rightly and spiritually understand the Law he shall be so farre from drawing an assurance of his justification from them that he shall behold himself cursed and damned with all his good works For the Law curseth every man that cōtinueth not in the doing of all things which are commanded by God It is indeed a divine looking-glasse in which things to be done or avoyded are discovered Lex est divinum speculū in quo facienda fugienda refulgent Aug. but it will sentence us to death for the least spot or wrinkle which it doth discover so that it is impossible that a man should see himselfe justified in the glasse of the Law But thou wilt say he may look upon his love sinceritie and works in the glasse of the Gospel And to this I answer that if he look upon them in the glasse of the Gospel which is Jesus Christ then he must put himselfe under the Gospel and look upon himselfe as a man in Christ that so he may see his works good by Jesus Christ which he will never be able to see without the eye of faith which seeth things invisible Heb. 11. and by which wee look upon Christ 1 Joh. 2.1 dwell in Christ Ephes 3.17 Live in Christ Gal. 2.19 And doe living works acceptable to God by the life of Christ in us Heb. 11.4 By faith with open face wee behold as in a glasse the glory of the Lord and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and see that our good works are the effects of Christs love discovered in himselfe and in his Gospel to our soules And therefore when John doth informe us that we shall know that wee know him if we keep his Commandement He doth propose beleeving as the first Commandement of God without which we cannot assure our selves that we are obedient to his other commands 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his commandement that we beleeve in him whom he hath sent Good works after a man hath faith are not the cause of justification but the consequent they follow a mans justification they doe not precede the act of justification they neither precede the act of Gods grace by which he justifieth a sinner neither doe they precede justification in the Court of Conscience But being justified by faith we have peace Rom. 5.1 in our Consciences This was the doctrine which was frequently preached by those heavenly Carpenters which did first strike at the hornes of the beast Vt dilectio oriatur necesse est praecedere fidem hoc est fiducia misericordiae It is necessary saith Melancthon that faith which is a confidence of Gods morcy doe precede love And in another place Non nititur fides nostra dilectione sed tantum misericordia promissa ut constat nec existere dilectio potest nisi sit apprehensa remissio Faith is not grounded upon our love but the promised mercy of God so that it is manifest that there cannot be true love unlesse remission of sinnes be first apprehended Another reason is from the imperfection of workes wrought by a man after he is justified If any man that is justified look on his works and doe not behold them in the glasse of the Gospel he shall reade his own condemnation for his works There is an imperfection in our works seeing wee doe not love God so perfectly as we should with all our heart all our minde and all our spirit but while the regenerate part through the power of the Spirit runs after God and loves God the fleshly part runneth after sinne and hates God Therefore seeing there is such imperfection in the works that we performe that the best of us are unprofitable servants and that the most holy amongst us doe that for which he may be damned every day if God should not deale with us in the Gospel but in the Law it will follow that a man cannot be justified by the works that he doth after he hath faith and is converted doth works which are wrought by the Spirit of grace It may here be objected that the good works of Saints are perfect For an answer to this I referre the Reader to what shall be delivered from those words That he which is borne of God sinneth not I come now to the next Consideration which is this That wee are not justified by the practise of any Gospel-Ordinances which are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ There are some who it may be are convinced that they are not justified by works yet I know not what new kinde of Popery they have found out for they thinke to please God by submitting to Ordinances and finding out the true Discipline and government of Christs Church therefore you shall finde a kinde of spirit of bondage in them if they be not satisfied concerning the true discipline government Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore I shall endeavour to demonstrate this and shew clearly that as we are not justified by works before or after conversion so we are not justified and saved by the submitting to any Ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ Salvation is not in
please God And as when wee see good fruit upon a tree we use to say this is a good tree Not that the good fruit doth make the tree good but the tree being good doth bring forth the good fruit So God having made us good trees by justifying of us by his Grace doth enable us to bring forth good fruit and speaking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the manner of men to us men doth approve us to be good trees bringing forth good fruit And thus much for the reproofe of these men and in answer to their objection Secondly This doth serve to discover and reprove such who would seeme to be no Papists who yet in a more refined and subtle way do preach forth the same doctrine which the others doe maintaine and preferre some Popish bookes which are wrought with a fine and curious thread before any bookes which have been published by any who have been eminent for the knowledge of Gods Grace in Christ through faith for justification These are they who if it were possible would deceive the very Elect laying siege against the Gospel and the doctrine of justification while they pretend that they are fighters for it And these preach that wee are not to locke so much upon a Christ without us for justification as a Christ within us And that we are not justified by a Christ that is in heaven but by Christ within us which Christ of theirs is nothing else when yee are well acquainted with him but the workings of their own spirits in zeale and love to God and when they have high thoughts of God their will is conformable to the will of God and they thinke the same things that God thinkes and submit to God in their wayes They looke upon these workings as their perfection and justification and this is Christ within them Such kinde of Doctrines as this is are the first rudiments and principles by which the Politique and Civilized Familists doe leaven their pupills leading them from the plaine and simple doctrine of the Gospel The spirit of error and delusion which was in H. N. the first father of the Familists which have lived of late or are yet living did worke mightily in him to pervert the Gospel and to bring in Antichristianisme in this way of flaming zeale love and holinesse And if he were now alive he would wonder at his numerous off-spring and progeny which he hath now amongst us But that you may avoid this first rock before yee be engulfed into the deepe and bottomlesse pit of Familisticall Atheisme and Antichristianisme let what hath been spoken to reprove them establish you in the truth of the Gospel and looke upon the best piece of Familisme but as upon refined Popery For wee are not saved by Christ working in us and making us obedient to his Fathers holy will but wee are saved by the righteousnesse of Christ who hath shed his bloud for us And though we deny not but that wee have Christ within us and the Spirit of Grace to subdue our sinnes Yet this is denied that the workings of the Spirit are our justification for wee are justified before wee have these workings which wee feele within us Wee are not justified because we love God and Christ and desire to walke in sinceritie to glorifie God but because wee apprehend the Grace of God in Christ and therefore we love God and Christ and desire in sincerity to walke in all the wayes that God hath made knowne to us in Christ Wee are not justified by the conformitie of our will to Gods will or the onenesse of our will with his but wee are justified by faith before any of those works are wrought in our hearts by the Spirit of Grace He that denies this is ignorant of Christ and the Gospel and is not an honourer of Christ but a Minister of Satan and Antichrist and a deluder of the people Thirdly This is for the reproofe of the hypocriticall Protestant who professeth the doctrine of justification by faith without works with his tongue but denieth it with his heart not daring to trust his soule in the armes of a Saviour unlesse he brings good works along with him to procure his welcome and entertainment This man stumbles at the thresh-hold of the doore of Grace being never able to enter into the house of love because he will not adventure his salvation upon the promises of Grace which are made to sinners that have no workes or righteousnesse inherently in themselves He will not goe to God or close with a promise of Grace unlesse he have the sight of righteousnesse in himselfe in the first place He will tell you that good works are not the matter of our justification and yet he will not conclude that he is a justified man untill he see good works in himselfe This man following the law of righteousnesse doth not attaine to the law of righteousnesse because he seeketh it not by faith but as it were by the works of the Law Rom. 9.31 32. The Apostle speaks against this pharisaicall opinion when he saith Wee are justified by Grace through beleeving not through working I am not bound to love God and the brethren that I may be beloved of God but I must beleeve that I may love God and my brother The preposterous preaching of sanctification before justification for the evidencing of justification is that which keepeth many poore creatures in bondage for many yeares and ruines many soules How many are gone to Hell who thought they were going to Heaven deceiving themselves with false and unsound assurances And fetching their comforts from the sight of their own works and not from the Grace of God in Christ by a pure act of beleeving If this were the right path to justification we should not be justified in beleeving but in loving and working For I seeing my love to God should conclude Gods love to me But herein is love not that wee loved God but that God loved us and sent his Sonne to be the propitiation for our sinnes 1 Joh. 4.10 And true love is wrought in us by the sight of Gods free love to us in an act of beleeving Therefore if thou hast no assurance of the love of God but that which thou hast gotten from the sight of thine own works and from the conclusions of thine own base and deceitfull heart as the ordinary way of some hath been thou hast no assurance at all When thou shalt lie under a great temptation thou wilt finde no comfort in this assurance And thou shalt finde at the great day when thou shalt appeare before God and Christ that this assurance will not be worth a Rush This building upon thy love to God and not upon Gods free love to thee is to build upon a sandy foundation and not upon Christ by faith And if the Lord convince thee of thy folly thou wilt lay a better foundation of joy and comfort then this can be unto
sight of himselfe his sonne and grace the mouth of conscience is stopped and wee see all our sins swallowed up in his love Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us saith Philip. Joh. 14.8 When God sheweth us himselfe our spirits are at rest When Grace is discovered and Gods light doth shine upon the soule Sin death damnation cannot terrifie the soule But they are filled with a spirit of joy in beleeving their free justification who before through feare of death were subject to bondage Heb. 2.15 Grace appeareth greater and stronger to bring salvation then sinne powerfull to bring damnation Our sins the sins of all the man of the world being the acts of creatures are finite but grace that justifieth us is the grace of an infinite God and is boundlesse and infinite Men are unassured of their salvation unlesse this Grace be presented to the eye of their spirits And men and Devills cannot prevaile against us to enforce us to question our justification and salvation when wee looke upon it That peace which the world cannot take from us nor give unto us that joy which neither the Law nor the workes of the Law can convery unto us nor bereave us off that salvation which damned Feinds can never rob us of is communicated to us by the beholding of Gods grace in the face of the Lord Jesus The soule when it hath a sight of this grace it stands with boldnesse at the Throne of Grace and though it feele hellish sin in it selfe yet it is able to dispute with all the Divels in Hell and to maintaine the freenesse fulnesse and compleatnesse of its own justification from all sin by the grace of God in Jesus Christ If the Divell shall then suggest this to a man that he is a sinner The beleeving soule will make this answer It is true I am a sinner but I am not terrified to desparation because I am ungodly but I rejoyce in this that God justifieth the ungodly by his grace Rom. 4.5 If the Divell shall reply But thou art a great sinner and there is a great damnation The believing soule will returne I am not tormented by the great damnation prepared for great sinners but comforted by the great salvation Heb. 2.3 which is for the greatest and cheifest of sinners by Gods grace in Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 1.15 If the Divell shall still assault a man to perswade him that he is a damned soule having mispent his time and strength in the service of sin having no good workes to commend him unto God that he may finde favour from him The beleeving soule will be easily able in the strength of God when it is upon the mountaine of his Grace to silence the Accuser by lying downe in the lap of that God who maketh him the object of his Grace who worketh not for justification Rom. 4. but beleiveth in God who justifieth sinners in his Grace without workes And because wee are justified and comforted in the Court of our owne Consciences by grace The spirit which is given forth in the Ministry of the Gospel is called a spirit of grace It being the worke of the Spirit to reveale the grace of the Father for the comfort of his children according to that of the Apostle 2 Thess 2.16 17. Our Lord Iesus Christ himselfe and God even our Father which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace comfort your hearts Heere the Apostle sheweth us that the Saints have consolation and that this consolation is everlasting and that this everlasting consolation is only by grace Goe to all the true Saints in the world and aske them how they received the Comforter whether by the observation of moral precepts or by the doctrine of grace they will informe you that they received him by the Gospel of grace and not by the law of works Some Saints are able to acquaint you with their own experience can tell you how they laboured for holiness to bring them to happinesse to love God that they might assure themselves that they were in the love of God and that they found darknesse instead of expected light death instead of life horrour bondage instead of joy and liberty untill they were enabled to come unto God as sinners without workes disclaming their owne righteousnesse deserts and endeavours and laying the head-stone of their peace and happinesse in the free favour of God crying Grace Grace Zech 4 7. Exalting the free grace of God in their justification and overthrowing overturning their own works and legal righteousnesse It is grace and grace alone which bringeth salvation Tit 2.11 and therefore not our workes Grace and workes are inconsistent in this point of justification they can no more stand together then the Arke of God and Dagon Let grace stand up in its glory workes will quickly be overthrown and set up works and yee destroy the doctrine of grace By eternall grace wee were elected and made vessells of mercy from eternitie by grace we were saved before God in heaven in the presence of the Lord Iesus by grace wee were saved in the person of Christ before faith By the revelation of grace unto us through faith wee are saved in foro conscientiae in the Court of our owne consciences By grace salvation is inchoated here and compleated and perfected hereafter Rom. 6. ult The gift of God is cternall life through Jesu Christ our Lord. The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a gift flowing from Grace or free favour In these severall acceptations of the word grace we are saved by grace I might now lay downe many reasons for the proofe of this poynt but those which I gave to proove that wee are not justified by workes will bee sufficient for the confirmation of this And when I shall handle the doctrine of beleiving some reasons will fall in which will more fully illustrate this truth I shall therefore for the present onely present unto you a reason or two and hasten to the use 1 Reason First it being supposed that man is a sinner it is impossible that man should bee saved by any thing but by the knowledge of Grace The Law in this particular would not deale with us considering what good hath bin done by us but what evill And therefore when the Apostle had proved Bom. 3.23 that devout Jews as well as prophane Gentiles had sinned and come short of the glory of God he takes it for granted as a thing undeniable and unquestionable that wee are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Iesus Christ And if we could bring our selves into a state of perfection after we have once sinned wee could not be justified by that perfection in us which is required by the Law but should be condemned for our sinnes and imperfections in breaking of the Law If a man have done good service for the Common-wealth and yet be found guilty
sinner faith hath made thee just it found thee wicked whom it should make just The second reason why it is thus by faith alone is because it is by grace unlesse we were justified by faith we were not we could not be justified by Grace This reason the Apostle lays downe Rom. 4.16 Therefore it is of faith that it might bee by Grace As if he should have said unlesse you hold that there is a justification by faith alone without workes you deny Grace if you will bee justified by faith and workes conjoyned you destroy Grace Therefore it is by faith alone that it may be by Grace When we have a true sight of Grace wee see a sufficiency in that Grace to doe us good for our justification and salvation soe that there is nothing needfull necessary besides grace In which respect Luther saith that workes are not necessary to justification but pernitious to salvation the gospell requiring faith only according to that of the Apostle Gal. 3.12 The Law is not of faith the law hath nothing to doe with beleeving that doctrine which bids a man to beleeve that he may bee saved that is the doctrine of the gospell the law biddeth us not to beleeve but the man that doth it shall live in it The law bids us worke but the Gospell bids us beleeve not worke and beleive but beleive only We confound the Covenant of workes and the Covenant of Grace if wee presse an absolute necessity of doing good workes for justification This was the Divinity of the blood-sucker Bishop Bonner who in a Sermon propounding this quest How grace is to be applyed to us for justification doth answer by beleeving rightly and living uprightly joyning faith and holinesse for justification by grace whereas by the Scripture of truth it is manifest that faith alone doth lay hold of Christ and doth appropriate him unto us And that holinesse doth flow and streame from the apprehension of our free justification by grace through faith alone though faith is not alone but is accompanyed with other fruits of the Spirit which follow it This must be well understood or else we shall nullifie the grace of God wherefore God enableth true beleevers to see this truth plainly and clearly Vilesceret redemptio sanguinis Christi nec miserecordiae dei humanorum operum praerogativa succumberet si justificatio quae sit per gratiam meretis precedentibus deberetur Ambros Redemption by the blood of Christ would be vilified the prerogative of mans workes would not stoop to Gods mercy if justification which is by grace were due to preceding workes A man that truely beleives he sees not any holinesse or qualification in himselfe that makes him more worthy of salvation then another man he sees that he hath deserved damnation as well as any one who is now in the place of torment and yet hee sees that such is the Grace the unspeakeable grace of God to his poore souâ—â— that though he deserve to lye as low in hell as Iudas for his sin yet he shall be raised as high as heaven by the grace of the father made knowne to him in Iesus Christ Brethren if upon examination you finde that your joy comfort and assurance have in the first place proceeded from any workes which you have in your selves which make you conclude that you shall rather be saved then another man your assurance is not a right assurance But if your assurance be right it is by beleeving that which is reported concerning the grace of God that so salvation may be by grace It is possible for men to deceive themselves in obtaining an assurance of Gods love and their happinesse therefore I will a little digresse to open this to the ignorant It may be thou takest comfort to thy selfe by looking on workes wrought by thy selfe and not by looking on Christ it may be thou conceivest that thou lovest God and from thence concludest that God loveth thee though thou hast not seen his free love to sinners this is a bastardly assurance brought forth by thine owne lying spirit and not the true assurance of the Spirit of grace in beleeving In a true assurance by faith God hath the glory of his grace But in this kind of assurance God hath not the glory of his grace therefore it is not a true assurance Another deceiveth his soule and thinketh hee is in a good condition because he resteth upon a promise of God Christ saith Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest A man doth apprehend himselfe to be heavy laden and from the sight of his burthen doth conclude hee hath rest and is in a good condition but hee deceiveth himselfe with a false perswasion for the promise is not made to the qualification of wearinesse but the promise is made to the commers to Jesus Christ Cain was heavy laden with his sin and it lay so heavy on him that he concluded that the punishment was greater then he was able to beare or else that his sin was greater then it could be forgiven and yet died miserable without mercy Wee find that the sin of Judas lay so heavy on him that he repented that he had shed innocent blood yet for all this hee went to his owne place Therefore if thy comfort and assurance come from a sight of what is in thy selfe and not from the discovery of grace as it is layd forth in the Spirit of grace thy assurance will not advantage thee in the day of wrath Though God hath convinced thee of sin and there may be some legall repentance reformetion wrought in thee and something which thou mayst miscall a true love to God thou canst not from the sight of these things rightly conclude that thou art in the love of God before a discovery of free love be made forth to thee a sinner For God doth not apply his grace or his Sonne to any man for justification but through beleeving that justification may evidently appeare to the sons of men to bee by his owne grace Which will appeare if in the third place we doe more fully consider that God doth save us through beleeving that hee may have the glory of his grace God as hee is glorious in his grace by which hee justifies sinners so he will be glorified in the hearts and consciences of those who are justified by grace that he may have the ful glory of his grace when he hath justified them Non est quò gratia intret ubi jam meritum occupavit Bern. There is no roome for the glory of Gods grace where the worthinesse of our workes hath filled up the place Where the creature may have glory in his owne workes there God loseth the glory of his grace Where God doth any thing for the creature by grace there it is not of our works otherwise grace is no more grace If it be of workes then it is no more of grace
all the Commandements of the Lord Jesus The cause of this legallnesse in their spirits is because they doe not see salvation firmly setled upon him that beleeveth The spirituall man beholdeth justifing grace in beleeving without his obedience to commands for externall worship and good workes and doth live joyfully and comfortably in the sight of his justification though he knoweth that it is possible that he may be ignorant of many things which other Christians may have the knowledge of And in these dayes of darkenesse contention confusion and disorder what man can have solid and lasting joy who is ignorant of free grace for justification If it were necessary to the assurance of justification to know whether the Episcopall Presbyteriall or Independent Government were the Ordinance of the Lord Jesus whether sprinckling of Children or dipping of professing beleevers were the institution of Christ in the Labyrinth of the controversies of our times how few would attaine to an assurance of their justification How would poore creatures be perplexed and disquieted in their consciences not certainly knowing in which of these wayes they should walke for their justification and salvation But that the promise might be sure to all the seed Rom. 4.16 to those who lived in the times of the Law as well as to those who live in these times of the Gospel salvation is promised not to workers but beleevers to all true beleevers in all ages and places to us who live in the time of the Babylonish-Apostacy as well as to those who were hearers of the Apostles and Members of those Congregations which were gathered and governed by them Sixtly By faith the grace of God in Christ is applyed unto us and we are justified by it as the spirituall instrument formed by God in the Spirit for the application of Christs benefits to our consciences A man that lived in the time of the Law looking upon the blood of his sacrifices did behold himselfe purged purified and sanctified in his flesh by it Heb. 9.13 So a sinner looking upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is applyed unto him and his conscience is purged from dead workes to serve the living God ver 14. Faith though it be called a worke 2 Thess 1.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet wee are not justified by it as it is a worke or gracious quality but as it is the hand of the Spirit by which wee receive and are made partakers of those treasures of grace which are freely given unto us in Christ Jesus Christ bath already done what is to be done by way of satisfaction to the justice of his Father and hath already made peace by the blood of his Crosse Col. 1.20 what he doth in us now is to satisfie our consciences concerning our full redemption by him that you in beleeving may be filled with peace of Conscience being perswaded that wee are of the Father in the Son who by the Father is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Faith being nothing but a light comming from God Christ discovering God and Christ to our spirits and uniting our spirits to God in Christ By faith we beleeve what is recorded concerning the grace of God in Christ As the Prophet to my apprehension holdeth it forth in those expressions of his Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed In the latter part of these words the Prophet doth interpret the former part he beleeveth the report of God to whom the arme of God that is his Sonne Jesus is revealed And when a man beleeveth in Christ Christ is revealed to that man Faith being the first thing that is wrought in the spirit of a man whom God doth justifie in his owne conscience by which the grace of God in Christ is revealed unto him for his justification Justifying faith when it is wrought by the powerfull operation of the Spirit in the heart doth remove prevailing doubts concerning our justification the faithfull beholding the all-righteousnesse of free grace applying to his conscience the clensing vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Faith is a gift of the Spirit establishing the soule Isa 7.9 If ye will not beleeve surely ye shal not be established The soule can never be firmely setled and quieted but by beleeving Unbeleife doth question and doubt of the promises of free grace for justification But when in the power of faith we are carried above it with Abraham Rom. 4.20 we stagger not at the promise through unbeleife but the spirit is fixed and stands immoveably upon the truth of grace God saith in the Covenant of his grace Heb. 8.12 I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnesse and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Hee that beleeveth doth set his Seale to the truth of God in beleeving the promise Iohn 3.33 He is confident that God is faithful who hath made this promise to the children of men and by beleeving the great and precious promises of grace he is made partaker of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 By an heart of unbeleefe wee depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 but by faith wee draw neere to God and apply Christ to our selves Faith being contrary to unbeleife as in the nature of it so in its operations An unbeleever doth not give credit to the truth of the generall promises of Gods grace and so remaineth unjustified in his conscience A beleever in faith nothing wavering James 1.6 doth give credit to what is reported And the Gospel commeth to him not in word only but in power and the holy Spirit and in much assurance 1. Thessalonians 1.5 Object But some may be ready here to object this against what I have delivered that though I doe acknowledge that by faith grace in Christ is applyed unto us yet in effect I say no more then what I delivered before when I proved that by faith the grace of God in Christ is first manifested and made over unto us Answ They misapprehend me when they conclude that I make faith onely an assurance of because I doe maintaine that it is the first evidence and witnesse of our justification Faith doth assure but it doth not onely assure us of Christ but doth apply Christ and makes a difference between assurance and application which I illustrate by this similitude Suppose one should lye in Prison for debt his debts being paid and he not knowing it and afterwards knowing that his debts were paid hee should rejoyce in the newes and enjoy his liberty this man doth not by the newes which he heareth enjoy only comfort but his liberty so it is with us before we beleeve we lie in prison and yet our debts are paid by Iesus Christ when the newes is brought by the spirit to the eare of the soule wee rejoyce in hearing the newes but besides this presently wee enjoy our liberty and all those riches which our
the world but that hee was a Saviour to them Thus Paul preached to the keeper of the prison Act. 16.31 Beleeve on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved and thy house As when they preached the doctrine of repentance or changednesse of the mind their meaning was that every man ought to be changed so when they urge beleeving for salvation their meaning is that wee should beleeve for our owne salvation in particular The generall truth of faith and repentance is to beleeve by a power enabling us in particular for our selves to beleeve and repent Lastly We are saved through faith Because by faith we heare the inward word of salvation The word which soundeth to the outward eare without this inward word bringeth no salvation As the Philosopher told him who reprehended him for publishing and divulging a booke of philosophy that he had published it and he had not published it his meaning was this that it was so darke and mysticall that though it were published yet it was not published to the ignorant and unlearned so the Gospel in the letter is published to men and not published they heare and doe not heare they see and doe not see But by faith wee so heare that our soules live by hearing Isa 55.3 The dead saith our Saviour shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and they that heare shall live Fidei oculi sunt spiritus per quem spiritualia videntur Cypr The Spirit is an eye to a beleeving man by which he seeth and enjoyeth spirituall things wee receive not the Spirit by hearing the Law or doing the workes of the Law but by the hearing of faith Gal. 3.2 Eternall life and Salvation is by hearing the inward word of life salvation and grace God bids the Prophet Ezech 38.5 to prophesie over the drie bones that they might live The Lord Jesus is the great invisible Prophet who prophesieth over drie bones and dead-hearted sinners and by hearing inwardly the inward word of this Prophet they live in hearing and believing And therefore it is said that wee are saved by faith Having by these particulars acquainted you with my Judgement concerning our salvation through faith I shall now by the same assistance of Gods grace draw some usefull conclusions from the premises and so put a period to my discourse for the present First this doth discover unto us the usefulnesse and excellency of the unfained faith of the elect As Noah was preserved from the destruction which came upon the old world by going for his safety into the Arke so by the foot of faith wee walke into our Arke Christ Jesus for the Salvation of our soules The world of sin is a dismall wildernesse full of fierie Serpents by faith we eye Jesus Christ as our brasen Serpent and set footing in the heavenly Canaan of gods grace while the sinfull Sodome of the world is destroyed with the raine of fire and brimstone by faith like Righteous Lot wee escape out of it when with Peter wee are readie to sinke and perish in the Sea of sinne by Faith we touch the saving arme of the Lord Jesus and are preserved when wee drinke the deadly poyson of sinne by faith we take in Jesus Christ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or antidote and the deadly poyson doth not hurt us but we are miraculously preserved Faith beholdeth Christ crucified before us Gal. 3.2 and evidently set forth who hath nailed the Law of workes our sinne and death to his owne crosse and wee who deserved damnation are saved through grace Christ is the man who is an hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest Isa 32.2 sin is a noxious and a destroying wind as wind in the cavernes of the earth is a cause of an Earth-quake so sinne is the cause of destroying Earthquakes in the earthly hearts of men but Christ is our hiding place in which through beleeving wee are safe The Devills infernall windes and blastes destroy many a soule with which he filleth it with hellish errours and impieties to its destruction Acts 5.3 Christ filleth his people by breathing upon them in the Spirit of grace for their salvation but Christ is a shelter from the infernall blastes of Satan And while carnall and unbeleeving men are as a ship under sayle and the Devill unto them is as a powerfull winde violently blowing them to destruction Acts 26.18 Christ by enabling his people to beleeve doth blow them with the pleasant gales of his sweet spirit to the havens of peace and safetie Though there are infectious and destroying windes upon earth yet there are none in Heaven so though the men of the earth are infected with the winds of sinne and Satan to their ruine yet they who live in the Heaven of Gods grace by faith Jesus Christ is a defence unto them When darknesse and tempests are in the Spirits of men from the Law which they have broken Christ who rebuked the tempests of the Sea Mat. 8.2 doth rebuke tempestates mentis Hier the tempests of our troubled minds and consciences and by beleeving there is a great calme in the soule Sinne in the soule is like Jonah in the ship which bringeth a tempest with it but Christ through faith doth cast this Tempest-raiser into the sea of his Fathers grace and the soule is quieted and filled with joy and peace in beleeving The Philosopher saith that Logick to a rationall and learned man is the instrument of instruments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without which he shall make little proficiencie in other Arts and Sciences So faith is the Organ or instrument to the spirituall man by which hee is made partaker of the wisdome and spirit of the Lord in which he is to doe all things and without which he can doe nothing Secondly this discovers the reason why the Devill and his agents doe so much oppose the Doctrine of faith and the preaching of it He is an enemie to mans salvation and therefore he is an enemy to the Doctrine of faith through which wee are saved The Devill doth what hee pleaseth to those who are without faith as being unable to resist him Unbeleeving men are like the Israelites without a shield or Speare to defend themselves Jude 5.7 And the Devill doth lead them captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as wild beasts are mastered and ruled by those who have taken them in a snare or net so the word fignifieth but when wee beleeve to Salvation we are furnished with power to oppose him who seeketh our damnation when we beleeve we are armed against his encounters and fitted against his opposition Faith is the soules defensive Shield by wich all his fierie darts are quenched Eph. 6.16 and therefore it is that he doth alwayes raise opposition persecution and reproaches against the Doctrine and professors of Faith Thirdly seeing salvation is by faith examine thy selfe concerning thy salvation by trying thy faith Men that are not
in the faith who have not Christ in them are not approved Christians 2 Cor. 13.5 Know yee not your owne selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except yee bee reprobates The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 except yee be unapproved It is possible that a man may be in a state of unbeliefe and yet no reprobate But he that cannot prove that he hath faith cannot prove himselfe to be a Christian or in a state of Salvation Querie it in thy soule whether thou hast such a faith as we have spoken of Yee have heard that wee are saved through faith which is a supernaturall gift of the Spirit by which those things which the naturall man cannot apprehend concerning salvation are made plaine to the soule Supernaturall things cannot be knowne but by something which is supernaturall As the things of nature are knowne by the light of nature things of reason by the light of reason So the things of eternall life and salvation by the supernaturall gift of faith which is the evidence of the supernaturall things of the Gospel which are invisible Heb 11.1 Abraham beleeved against hope Rom. 4.18 So a spirituall man beleeveth the things of Glory and eternall life which the short line of naturall reason cannot reach or fathome and which naturally he cannot hope for or expect Is thy faith who dost Professe thy selfe a child of Abraham such a faith as Abrahams faith was who is the Father of the faithfull Secondly true beleevers see their salvation by faith alone Though a man have many seeds together in his hand yet hee may know the various and diverse natures of those severall seeds So though a justified man have many precious seeds of the Holy Spirit in his heart yet he knoweth the severall natures of them all Though he hath love to God in his heart as well as faith in God yet hee knoweth the nature of Faith which alone is avaylable to Justification Trie whether thou hast been enabled to flie to the strong Tower of Gods grace for safety against Hell sinne and Devills by the silver wings of Faith without the helpe of workes for Justification Thirdly a beleever seeth justification cannot be by grace if workes and faith were to be conjoyned for justification Gratia non est gratia ullo modo si non sit gratuita omni modo Grace is not Grace in any way unlesse it be free and undeserved every way Grace is not free and undeserved unlesse it be reached forth without any consideration of our owne workes which is onely through faith trye whether God hath taught thee this lesson of truth Fourthly faith doth take the glory of justistification from the creature and giveth it unto grace Hast thou learned to sing the new song of the Saints and redeemed ones before the Throne crying Salvation onely to God who sitteth upon the Throne of grace and to the Lamb. Fifthly art thou fully perswaded of Gods power and faithfulnesse who hath left Promises of grace upon record for the salvation of poore sinners Art thou with Abraham suily perswaded of the truth of Gods Promises of grace in reference to thy selfe I remember what one of the Ancients saith That to professe Christ without assurance is to be without faith living in the houshold of faith Fidem in domo fidei non habere Cypr. A spirituall man is that which he believeth himselfe to be Id esse incipit quod se esse credit He beleeves that he is positively and negatively righteous in Christ freed from sinne and made a partaker of a glorious righteousnesse for his justification and so he is of a Leper by believing in an instant made whole Hee believeth that he oweth nothing to his creditour and his creditour believeth so too Sixthly A believing man is bone of the bone flesh of the flesh and one spirit with the Lord Jesus There is a close neere union application of Christ to the soule by faith Dost thou in believing see thy selfe a member of Christ as thy hand or foot is a part of thy body Is Christ the quickning spirit of thy spirit to enliven that as thy spirit is the spirit which doth enliven thy body 7 ly Dost thou so live by faith that thou lookest upon Christ as thy life and righteousnesse more then faith Not suffering any perswasion which thou callest thy righteousnesse to sit in the uppermost roome of thy heart to the prejudice of Gods glory in Christ A spirituall heart is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mac the throne of the Deity where God in Christ is exalted as the chiefe righteousnesse of the soule is it so in thine Iohn 14.1 8 ly Hast thou by faith as an instrument touched the hem of Christs garment for the healing of the bloudy issue of thy own soule Hee that is wise and good is wise and good for himselfe And if thou art truly wise and good thou art wise in applying Christ to make thy selfe wise and good Lastly Is thy faith such a faith through which Christ hath inwardly discovered himselfe unto thee formed and created himselfe in thee Job 32.8 The inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding If thy faith be true it is by inward inspiration Quer. But must we have such a faith if wee will be the children of believing Abraham Answ Every true believer hath such a faith for the nature of it though not for the perfection of the degrees of it There is a perfect faire copy of faith in those who have beene presented unto thee Thou art to have the same copy written forth upon thy heart though it may not be so fairly written forth at the first But if it be a true copy of faith thou hast no cause to question thy assurance though thou dost finde it very weake at the present A palsey-shaken hand may receive a gift and a weake faith may receive the grace of God in Jesus Christ A Dwarfe is a man as well as a Giant though not so tall and one who is but a dwarfe and low in Christianity by the weakenesse of his faith may be a Christian as well as those who are of a taller stature in the Schoole of Christ Thirdly this which hath been delivered may be for the strengthning of the faith and the encreasing the comforts of those who have laid hold of salvation by a lively faith on Jesus Christ Comforts are encreased by the same meanes by which they are wrought at the first And therefore the Apostle prayeth for the Romans that the Lord would fill them with all joy and peace in believing Rom. 15.13 Our comforts are low because our faith is weake Comfort floweth in by renewed acts of faith Sathan would rob us of our comfort by wresting faith which is our shield from us Ephes 6.16 And this is one way in which he doth labour to weaken the faith of the Saints by suggesting this unto the Saints that Salvation is not only through faith But against this
temptation and all his other fierie darts we may hold forth this buckler of truth That wee are saved by grace through faith Answer him therefore from this truth and he will be silenced Resist him in believing this trueth and hec will flee from thee Jam. 4.7 And the spirit will flie into thy soule to comfort thee So long as Abraham lived he lived as a justified man by faith So long as Paul lived he lived by faith in the Son of God Gal. 2. We dye rather then live when we are not under the power of the spirit enabling us to beleeve We lye downe either in the bed of carnall security or Familisticall Antichristianisme or fal under the bondage of the Law when we step aside from the plaine Doctrine of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus And therefore the flesh and the Devill the great enemies to a Saints comfort doe joyne themselves together to oppose the doctrine of faith Sathan knoweth that faith and works are inconsistent in point of justification And when hee observeth that we are in some measure convinced that salvation is by faith he endeavours to perswade us that it is by faith and workes And would divide our Justification between faith and works As the harlet cryed out 1 King 3.26 concerning the child Neither mine nor thine but divide it So the Devill would have us divide our Justification attribute halfe of it to faith and give the other part to workes But the beleeving man seeth that there is salvation in Christ and not in any other and that no other name under heaven is given among men whereby they must be saved Acts 4.12 And that we rest upon this name for salvation only by faith In Christ we have boldness accesse with confidence by the faith of him Ephesians 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wee are manuduced and lead by the hand as it were with perswasion of Christs goodness to us by faith in Christ Continue in that faith by which Paul was justified who believed that Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him and thy comforts and peace shall be continued unto the. It it Melancthons observation that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate faith doth most usually signifie a firme assent unto a thing usitatissimum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro firma ascensione dicere doubting is that which is contrary to faith Jam. 1.6 Believe therefore strongly and thou shalt have a strong peace Rom. 5. Beleeve that there is no remission of sinne but by Gods indulgence but beleeve this withall that by him thy sins are forgiven thee sed adde ut credas et hoc quod per ipsum peccata tibi donantur Bern. This is the faith which bringeth peace and consolation to the soule By this we are brought from fin to Christs righteousnesse from mount Sanai to mount Sion from the dominion of the Law to the region of grace from bondage to liberty from death to life from the feare of hell to the assurance of heaven and happinesse Archimedes was so delighted in the study of the Mathematiques that when the enemie who besieged the place where he lived broke in unto it he heard not the noyse and shouting of the souldiers nor the cries of the people So the soule that by faith liveth in Jesus Christ shall be carryed above the noise and troubles of the world and shall enjoy peace in Jesus Christ Let us therefore waite in the heavenly Hierusalem for more of the spirit by faith This lesson will appeare to be very necessary for the Saints if wee consider that the spirit of grace may be so quenched in Saints that they may not for the present be able to goe into the presence of God as Saints but as poore sinners And by the beliefe of this Doctrine a Saint doth easily get out of temptation For hee is taught of God in the Gospell to come unto him as a sinner without works when he cannot come as a Saint And in this way his joy with all the gifts of Gods grace are restored unto him And when they are restored hee doth keepe them by the resting upon God who saveth sinners by grace through faith And therefore the Apostle Peter when hee exhorted Saints to grow in grace doth adde and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 By which he doth seem to inform them that there can be no growing in grace unlesse there be a growing in faith which is the knowledge of Christ and the love of his Father in him In the last place here is a foundation of Salvation for all that have eares to heare and hearts to entertaine the report which you have heard of Gods grace which is manifested to sinners through faith Let not any man goe away with a heart of unbeliefe but the Lord open your eares and hearts as he did Lydia's that you may believe what is reported For truly if you believe what I have delivered you may goe away rejoycing and assured of Gods grace beholding your names written in the booke of life The true Gospell believed will remove all objections against your peace and all doubtings out of your spirit If as children of Abraham ye believe as he did Salvation will lye down in your bosomes and the true God in Jesus Christ will give you an answer to whatsoever you can object bring against your own salvation and justification It is not the sight of sinne that shall take away your comfort but you shall rejoyce that Iesus Christ did dye for sinners It is not the want of works that shall send you away without assurance or justification but you shall see that you have good right to lay hold upon Jesus Christ though you have no works because hee justifies none but those that have no works before justification The true God is not a justifier of the holy and righteous but of the ungodly God knoweth that the wisdome of the proud flesh doth strongly perswade sinners to seeke salvation in themselves and their own works The Jaylors question Acts 16. What shall I doe to be saved and the Rulers quaere Luke 18.18 What shall I doe to inherit eternall life is in the heart of every naturall man who is perswaded that there is an eternall life Man thinketh that as he became miserable by his evill works that so hee must be made happy by his good works And therefore God hath given his Law which requireth perfection to bring downe the pride of the flesh ad domandam Superbiam Aug. and confidence in our own works and discovered his free favour to the worst of sinners in the Gospel God hath blocked and stopped up all other ways to life besides the way of his grace in Christ and hath left this way open for the worst of sinners to turne in unto it for salvation So that as good works cannot save us without Christ being but glittering and gilded sins so evill works cannot prejudice the
grace of God could not keep that salvation which hee received how shall he be able without grace to regaine that salvation which he hath lost Cum igitur sine gratiâ dei salutem non posset Custodire quam accepit quomodo sine gratiâ dei potest reparare quam perdidit Aug. in Epist Secondly It may be for the convincing of men of their disability to will their own justification and salvation What God accounts wisdome that when man lookes on it by the eye of reason he acccounts it nothing but folly and madnesse How can a man be desirous of Christ who apprehends that the things of Christ are nothing but foolishnesse A prophane Pope sporting himselfe and rejoycing in the great riches he had gotten by professing the Gospell in a carnall way uttered these words What great riches have wee gotten to our selves by this fable of Iesus Christ Quantus divitias lucrati sumus ex hac fabulâ Christi So men that are not enlightned by the spirit of truth to behold the world of truth doe conalve the truths which men preach concerning Christ are meere fancies fables madnesse and that foolishnesse and that there is no truth at all in which is spoken in the word of truth I will instance but in one or two particulars to shew you how carnall reason opposeth grace Grace telleth us that God will have mercie on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth Rom. 9.18 Consider how carnall reason opposeth this truth of God suppose saith carnall reason that a King would hate some of his Subjects because hee would hate them and love others because he would love them and should give no other reason of his actions but his owne will were not such a King more fit to live among beasts then to reigne over men And shall wee then thinke that the wise God doth love and elect some because he will love them and hate and reprobate others because he will hate them Thus carnall men measuring the actions of God by the rule of their own reason they see nothing but folly and madnesse in that by which God discovers his greatest wisdome to those that are enlightned to behold the riches of his grace Secondly God in Christ doth present himselfe as having a sufficiency of grace for the salvation of the greatest of sinners without workes but how doth carnall reason strongly and vigorously fight against Gods goodnesse concluding that if there were any truth in this Doctrine that the law and good workes would presenly be destroyed A natural man cannot believe that God is so gracious as Gospel-Ministers would perswade the world that he is As the unbelieving Lord when the Prophet told him of the great plenty in Samaria said If God should open windowes in Heaven could this this thing be 1 King 7. So a naturall man when Christ is offered to sinners without any works unlesse God give grace to believe hee is ready to say If the windowes of Heaven were opened and all the grace and mercie in Heaven should come downe upon us if God should let out all the bowells of his pitty and compassion to poore sinners it cannot be so as you say and speak concerning free grace to sinners and ungodly ones So that if a naturall man should do nothing but heare Sermons and although Angells or Christ himselfe should come downe from heaven to preach unto him hee would be as able of himselfe to keepe the whole Law for justification as to beleeve truly and savingly in the Lord Jesus But some will say that if it be thus that a man may as easily in his owne strength keepe the Law as beleeve the Gospell why doth not God then rather enable us to keepe the Law that wee may be saved then bid us to beleeve the Gospel To this I answer that God saves us by enabling us to beleeve the Gospel and not by enabling us to keepe the Law for Justification because God will have the glory of his grace in our Salvation God will not save us in a way of working but in a way of beleeving that all the glory may be given to him The Apostle gives this as a reason why it is by faith and not by workes that no man might boast ver 9. Not of workes lest any man should boast By which argument he proveth that the Father of the faithfull was not justified by workes Rom. 4.2 If Abraham were justified by workes saith hee he hath whereof to glory As we may observe it in some people who are built upon legal principles like the Pharisee Luke 18.11 They are boasting that they are not as other men as though their good workes had made the difference betweene them and others This frame of spirit doth rob God of the glory of his grace who will not that any flesh should glory in his presence but that he that glorieth should glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1.29.3 And therefore wee are saved by grace through faith in the word made flesh and not by the workes of the Law But secondly some will object why doth God take this paines with men in the Ministery of the Word if they are able to doe no more to their owne conversion then a dead man to his owne resurrection To this objection I have already given an answer yet give me leave to adde this to what hath been already spoken for the fuller satisfaction of those that are weak Though we are able to doe nothing of our selves yet God entreates exhorts and beseecheth us to be reconciled to him in Jesus Christ because in exhorting intreating and beseeching of us to beleeve he puts forth his power and his owne strength to enable us to beleeve while Paul exhorted the Gaoler to believe in the Lord Jesus that hee might be saved God enabled the Gaoler to beleeve Life and power is conveyed to the soule in Gospel commands and exhortations When Christ raised the sonne of the Widow of Naim to life Luke 7.14 he speakes to him Young man I say to thee arise No man who hath not lost his reason will conclude from hence that it was by the power of the young man that was dead by which hee was raised from the dead but by the power of the Lord Jesus who did bid him arise So though God speak in the Ministry of the word to those that are dead in sinnes and trespasses and bids them arise from the dead that hee may give them light yet we cannot conclude from thence that it is by the power of men by which they doe believe but it is by the power of the spirit conveyed in the preaching of the Word Christ commanded Lazarus to come forth but he came not forth in his owne strength but in the power and strength of him that commanded him out of the grave So wee command men to come forth out of the grave of sinne but they come not forth in their owne strength but in the power and
words though I know that there are many adversaries and opposers of this truth 2 Cor. 4.13 We believe therefore we speak saith the Apostle So I doe in spirit belive what I shall speake and therefore I am resolved to speake it forth plainly and you are engaged to heare me patiently The words are a conclusion drawn from preceding premises In the precedent words the Apostle delivered two propositions First That hee that committeth sinne is of the Devill Secondly That Christ hath appeared to destroy the workes of the Devill from whence he concludeth that he which is born of God cannot sin not having his being in the Devill but in Christ who destroyeth sin In this verse there are these particular observations which at the first view may present themselves unto us 1. A character of a true Christian He is one who is borne of God 2. The property of this man who is borne of God He doth not commit sin 3. A reason why he cannot commit sin to wit because his seed remaineth in him 4. His purity He doth not only not commit sinne but he sinneth not at all 5. This asserted by laying down the impossibility of his sinning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He cannot possibly sinne 6. This is further proved by his excellent glorious condition He cannot sin because he is borne of God First From the person who is here spoken of The man who is borne of God We may take notice of the folly and Bedlam-madnesse of some who would be accounted professors and Preachers of a spirituall Gospel whose Gospel and mystery of error doth make the man born of God to be God Confounding the glorious nature of the Father Word and Spirit with the new Creature The Apostle doth plainly overthrow this Bedlam-Divinity by these expressions In which hee doth make a difference between God and the man who is born of him That which is born of God is borne in time But God is from eternity And therefore that which is born of God cannot be God The place which they pervert is in the 1 Cor. 6.17 He which is joyned to the Lord is one spirit Answ Christ and the man joyned unto him are one not by confounding of the person of Christ with the person of a Believer but by the union of these two in the Spirit As the members are one with the head and yet the head is not the members nor the members the head Secondly In this objection as they destroy the personall being of a Believer so they destroy the personall being of Christ as he is the Word made flesh There Christ is nothing but God they apprehending that Christ hath offered up his humane nature wisedome and righteousnesse as things of the first creation and that hee hath no being now but in spirit which they call Christ in the Spirit the spirituall man or God I shall therefore in few words deliver the truth of God concerning the man who is born of God This phrase is taken first largely and so every Creature may be said to be of God because every creature is the workmanship of God and hath its being from God And in this sence all wicked men are called the Off-spring of God Acts 17.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly It is taken strictly And so it is to be understood not of those who have their being from God by creation but by spirituall regeneration And thus it is here taken and in other places John 3.5 Except a man be borne of water the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God John 1 13. In this sence neither God Christ or the Spirit are the new man or the man born of God But the speciall and gracious presence of God through Christ by the spirit doth make a man a new Creature 1 Cor. 1.30 John 1.13 2 Cor. 5.17 If any man is in Christ he is a new Creature He doth not say that if any man is in Christ that then hee is Christ or that Christ is the new creature but that man who is in Christ he is the new creature Having shewed you who the new man or the man born of God is who is here spoken of and freed the Text from famelisticall blasphemies I shall desire that you may be acquainted with this truth Every true Saint is a man born of God 1 Consid It will not advantage a man to make a profession of Christ and to submit to all the outward Ordinances of Christ unlesse a man be made a new creature by Christ Gal. 6.15 In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncir cumcision but a new creature We must be borne againe or else it had been better for us never to have been borne Christ will not own any for his or approve them as his Disciples whatsoever prosession they doe make of him unlesse he be formed in them 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be unapproved They are the Devils children who are not borne of God John 8.44 2 Consid God hath engaged himselfe in the Covenant of grace that those who are his shall be borne of him Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you an heart of flesh As a Carver when he maketh an Image doth begin at the outside of the Timber and cuts shaves and smooths that So hypocrites doe begin at the outside and doe smooth themselves in their outward conversation to men-ward And so there is but an image insteed of a new creature But true Saints are made new inwardly Some say that the heart is the first thing which hath life Cor est primum vivens It is true in the new creation God doth give unto the vessels of his grace new hearts Rom. 10.10 With the heart man believeth unto righteousnesse Jer. 32.39 3. Consid Men who are not borne of God cannot haue fellowship with God If we say that we have fellow ship with him and walk in darknesse we lye 1 John 1.6 But true Saints have fellowship with the Father and his Sonne Jesus Christ 1 John 1.3 And therefore they are borne of God 4 Consid God is to be known served and worshipped by true Saints but we cannot truly know him serve or worship him so long as we are old creatures in the state of nature and therefore it cannot be denyed that true Saints are borne of him An old creature is spiritually dead and cannot see God A dead creature cannot performe the actions of a living creature And a sinner cannot serve the living God and performe that spirituall worship which God doth require of those who are quickned to spirituall worship by Jesus Christ 5. Consid The new Heaven and the new Earth is only provided for new creatures but it is provided for Saints and they expect it 2 Pet. 3.13 And therefore they are borne
believing from a dunghill to a Throne from everlasting wrath to never-ending glory and immortality I might speak more fully of this concerning which no man can speak sufficiently But my intention was not to speak of this but rather of that which is principally intended in the words to shew you the sinlesse condition of the man which is borne of God And therefore give me leave to leave this point that I may briefly open the words which follow in the Text that so I may draw the marrow and substance of them into a short conclusion the illustration confirmation and amplification of which by the grace of God shall be the subject of my ensuing discourse I doe finde that the godly-learned doe not agree in their expositions of these words I shall therefore acquaint you with their severall expositions and shall enlarge my thoughts in the amplifying of that which I doe apprehend in truth to be the meaning of the Apostle in these words First Some say that he cannot commit sin That is Non potest operam dare peceate He cannot make sin his work trade or employment and this is a truth The rode of prophanesse and wilfull sinning hath never been the way in the which the Saints have walked Their path is the path of purity and uprightnesse But this doth not seeme to be the meaning of the Spirit in this place For the Apostle doth not only say that he cannot commit sin but hee cannot sin Secondly Others say that he cannot commit sin as a servant of sin As though our Saviours words were a sufficient exposition of these Joh. 8.34 Whosoever committeth sinne is a servant of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth not doe sin as his worke as a servant doth work by the appointment and commandement of his Master I question not the truth of this Sinne shall not have dominion where Christ is Lord and Master in the soule He taketh our soules in unto himselfe by conquest and will not suffer those who commanded us before his conquest to rule over us now he hath subdued them As a conquering King will not suffer conquered Rebels to command his Subjects But the Apostle doth not seeme to drive only at this because as it hath been observed he saith afterwards that he cannot sin Thirdly Some say that he cannot sinne because he cannot commit the unpardonable sin And these goe as far as the end of the Epistle for an exposition Chap. 5.17.18 All iniquity is sinne and there is a sinne not unto death Wee know that whosoever is borne of God sinneth not But hee that is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Thus they affirme that he finneth not because hee sinneth not unto death This which they say is likewise an undenyable truth in it selfe but not all that the Apostle intendeth in these words Which will evidently appear if we look seriously upon the precedent words Where the Apostle doth set downe the Antithesis and opposition between the man borne of God and the naturall man And doth make this the characteristical difference between the man borne of God and the man of the Devill vers 6 7 8. That the one doth sinne and the other doth not sinne Every one that abideth in him sinneth not he that sinneth hath not known him or seene him And as no man will say that the difference in this place between the carnall and spirituall man is this That the one doth not commit the unpardonable sinne and the other doth For then this absurdity will necessarily follow that every carnall man doth commit the unpardonable sin For the Apostle saith that every carnal man is of the Devill and sinneth that is against the holy Ghost if we take their exposition So no man may affirme that this is the meaning of these words which are laid downe in way of opposition to the precedent that he that committeth not sin doth not commit the unpardonable sin for then this absurdity will follow that every man who committeth not the unpardonable sin is born of God And this is evident by the subsequent words where he saith vers 10. That in this the children of God and the children of the Devill are manifested To wit that the one doth not commit sin and the other doth commit sin Take the words according to their exposition and this is the sence of them In this the Saints and carnall men are distinguished that the Saints doe not commit the unpardonable sin and that all carnall men doe commit the unpardonable sin Of the absurdity of which tenet contrariety to Scripture and daily experience I leave the spirituall man a judge 4. Others say that he sinneth not That is in his justified state and condition he sinneth not Because he is free from sin and the condemnation of the Law And this is a truth likewise full of comfort and sweetnesse That the believer or man borne of God doth not sin in reference to justification Their meaning is that there is no sin from which a believer is not justified But the Apostle doth not speake only of this for he speaketh of his working of righteousnesse by love in this place and through the whole Epistle as well as of believing And of such workes which Saints are to doe by which they may be justified before men as these men doe grant themselves and therefore this is not to be taken so strictly in reference to our justification through faith only As these words do declare it sufficiently Every one that worketh not righteousnesse is not of God and hee that loveth not his brother vers 10. Doth he pray for such whom he thought were no where to be found or for all true Saints whom he did know did love the Lord Jesus in corruption Reply If they be considered as they ought to be done so they are not evill but as they be done by us So the holy Ghost is not affraid to call them menstruous rags even our very righteousnesse not our old man only Isa 64.6 from the better part And therefore the Scripture doth call us Saints or holy men Ephes 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because we are spiritually regenerated or made new creatures though much of the flesh doth remaine in the best of us And this I doe apprehend to be the meaning of God in this place So Cajetan upon the words Hee doth saith he understand it formally that is in as much as he is borne of God for our new creation from God doth not suffer us to sin Intelligit formaliter hoc est quatenus ex Deo natus Nativitas enim ex Deo non dat peccare So likewise that faithfull Martyr Tyndall speaketh in the opening of these words God and the Devill are two contrary Fathers two contrary fountaines two contrary causes the one of all goodnesse the other of all evill And they that doe evill are borne of the Devill and are first evill by that birth before they
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 will give you an heart of flesh And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walke in my Statutes and ye shall keepe my judgements and doe them The new heart of flesh is a good soile And because God doth promise his Spirit and a new heart therefore see what shall follow the good fruit spoken of We shall keep his judgements and doe them Arg. 2. God cannot be the Author worker of that which is sin but God doth professe himselfe to bee the Author of good workes wrought in the Saints and therefore these workes are not sin Isa 26.12 The Saints doe profes that God hath wrought all their works in them And this likewise is the argument of the Apostle who doth prove that doing of evill is sinne because it is of the Devill and that working of righteousnesse is good because it is of God Object These things are not sinne in their whole morall nature but per accidens by accident through the defect of some circumstance Answ Every morall action commanded or forbidden of God is either good or evill If these are good and no sinne then I have what I contend for If evill acquit God from being the author of evill who doth professe himselfe to be the Author of these things in opposition to Satan and his workes If you say that they are neither good nor evill or both good and evill and prove it by Scipture I shall hearken unto you But you say they are sin by accident and if they are so by accident they are sin and still you make God the Author of sin but I affirme that they are neither sin in their nature nor by accident but good and therefore untill you prove what you say I doe not see but that my argument is unshaken by this objection Object 2. Faith and love in their whole morall abstract nature are not sin but considered in the Concrete and acted by us Answ The Apostle doth speake of them in the Concrete as acted by us and doth bid us try our selves by our faith love and working of righteousnesse and saith vers 19. That hereby we assure our selves before God therefore this distinction is of no validity in this place though some thinke that it will answer all our arguments Argu. 3. The olde man and the new man are distinguished by their contrary natures and operations But if the new man were sinfull and his operations sinfull The new man would be confounded with the old man who is sinfull in himselfe and his operations but this is contrary to Scripture The old man is corrupt according to deceitfull lusts but the new man after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse Eph. 4.22.24 And speaking of these in the Concrete as in us Eph. 5.8 9. he saith to them Ye were sometimes darknesse but now are ye light in the Lord walke as children of the light For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodnesse and righteousnesse and truth Argu. 4. Those works which are commended by Jesus Christ for good works are good works but the workes of the Saints are commended for good works therefore they are good Revel 2.2 Our Saviour saith that he knoweth the workes of the Angel of the Church of Ephesus and his labour and patience that is he approveth or commendeth his workes and so Rev. 3.8 It would be a disparagement to the judgment of Christ to commend sin or sinfull works for good workes And therefore I conclude that they were good works And by consequence that the works which are wrought by a man borne of God are good works Obj. They were washed from their pollution in the blood of the Lamb. Answ When we speak of the new man and his works we look not upon him or his works but in Jesus Christ And thus he is washed from all the sins of the flesh and the works of God in us are well pleasing unto God the worker through Jesus Christ through whom hee did work them in us Arg. 5. Christ doth not present that which is sinne or sinfull to the Father to be accepted but he presentech our workes 1 Pet. 2.5 Wee offer up spirituall sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ If Christ did present any work that were sinfull he might present our sinful works It is evident therefore that there is something which is good which is presented as well as something in us which is sinfull which is forgiven Malum ex quolibet desectu The lesse defect doth make a thing evil and if there be such a defect in the work of the man who is born of God to make it sin and evill what reason can any man give from Scripture why every sinne should not be presented and accepted as well as those sins which they call good works Arg. 6. The Scripture calleth the works of the man born of God neither sinfull or sinne but works of righteousnesse Faith is called righteousnesse Rom. 4. and Rom. 5. the last Paul calleth the sincerity which was in him speaking of it in the Concrete godly sincerity 2 Cor. 1.12 Paul prayeth that grace may be with all them who love the Lord Jesus in corruption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doth he pray for such whom hee thought were no where to be found or for all true Saints whom he did know did love the Lord Jesus in incorruption Reply If they be considered as they ought to be done so they are not evill but as they be done by us so the holy Ghost is not affraid to call them menstruous rags even our very righteousnesse not our old man only Isa 64.6 Answ The Prophet doth not speak here of the righteousness of a man under the Covenant of grace considered under that Covenant For in the precedent verse he doth acknowledge that the righteousnesse of such a man is not as a menstruous ragge Thou meetest him that rejoyeth and worketh righteousnesse But he speaketh of men as looked upon under the olde Covenant and of their works as done under and to be judged by that Covenant which appeareth by the following words Our iniquities like the wind have taken us away And there is none that calleth upon thy Name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee For thou hast hid thy face from us and we are consumed because of our iniquities We must not judge of this truth by expressions which holy men have made use of in confessing the sins of the whole nation of the Jews in the language of the Jewish nationall Covenant but by those passages of Scripture in which God doth speake of a man as under the Covenant of grace with his works wrought by the spirit of grace 7 Arg. God doth remember the workes of his Saints Heb. 6.10 God is not unrighteous to forget your worke and labour of
love saith the Apostle He will remember the good works of men borne of God at the great day of judgement The good workes of some are manifest before-hand and they that are otherwise cannot be hid 1 Tim. 5.15 They cannot for ever be hid because God will make mention of them at that day But hee hath engaged himselfe by oath to remember our sins and sinfull actions Hebr. 8. And therefore the works of the spirituall man are not sin or sinfull Arg. 8. There is no law against the workes of a spirituall man or the fruits of the spirit of grace and therefore they are not sin because where there is no law there is no transgression But there is no law against these This is plain by that passage of the Apostle Gal. 5.22 The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Object They are here considered as they are precisely the fruits of the spirit and as they ought to be done by us and so they are no sins but consider them as acted by us even with the spirits assistance and so they are defective and sinfull Answ The Apostle doth not speake of the fruits of the spirit as Tully of his Oratour Plato of his Common-wealth Moor of his Utopia as of things no where to be found But be speaks of the spirit as in us and the fruits of it as in us And doth plainly tell us that if we are led by the spirit we are not under the law and that there is no law against the fruits of the spirit But I shall have occasion hereafter to speake more fully of some places where the Apostles and servants of God doe speak plainly of these works as done in us that so I may break the neck of this distinction which is made as a Catholicon or salve for every sore Arg. 9. God doth give a testimony concerning his Saints that they are righteous and holy which is spoken in reference to their spirituall nature and actings and therefore they are righteous and holy The judgment of God is according to truth hee being the God of truth Doth not God give this testimony of Job Job 1.1 That he was a perfect man and upright one that feared God and eschewed evill And though man may oppose this yet it feemeth by Gods speech to Sathan that the Devill could not contradict it Job 2.3 And the Lord said unto Sathan hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth a perfect man upright one that feareth God and escheweth evill Did any thing which was sin or sinful procure this honourable title to David that he was a man after Gods owne heart 1 Sam. 13.14 Doth not the Scripture of truth inform us concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife that they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandements of God blamelesse Luke 1.6 They did not onely walk in the great Commandement of God concerning faith for Justification but in all the Ordinances and Commandements of God Is not Lot called a just and righteous man who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked 2 Pet. 2.7 And was his sinfull soule vexed with their evill deeds or his righteous soul speak in the language of Gods Word and ye must acknowledge that it was his righteous soule vers 8. God is not like unto some indulgent parents who by their fond indulgency doe account that to be a vertue which is the fault of their children and them to be vertuous who are vile God calleth nothing righteousnesse which is sin or sinfull Nor those to be perfect and upright which are not so indeed and therefore seeing God doth call his children righteous holy and perfect wee may not be affraid to call them so unlesse wee will be affraid to follow his judgment Object They were righteous before God by Justification and before men by holy walking Ans We deny not their justification before God by faith but with all we affirme that they were righteous before him by their holy walkings As these places doe sufficiently prove with others which we shall hereafter speak of Let us not delude ous soules to think that righteousnesse sanctification is to the eye of men only The purest sanctification of a Saint is not so visible to men as unto God Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visite the fatherlesse and Widowes in their affliction and to keepe himselfe unspotted from the world which will be further manifested by our next argument Arg. 10. Almighty God is a God of pure eyes who cannot behold any iniquity any sinfull thing or sin with an eye of approbation But this God who cannot approve what is sin and sinfull this God approveth and professeth that he is well pleased with the performances of his Saints therefore the performance of the Saints cannot be sin or sinfull The Apostle in Philip. 4.18 Professeth that the worke of the Philippians in sending to relieve his wants was an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God God hath pure eyes and pure nostrils and therefore if it had been sin or sinfull it could not have pleased his eye nor have beene an odour of a sweete smell unto his nostrills Object They are so but not in their owne nature Answ If they be not so in their own nature they are filthy and odious in their own nature and yet accepted by grace If one thing which is filthy and odious in its owne nature be accepted why should not other things which are filthy and odious in their owne nature be accepted for good workes If this can be made good Whoredome and Adultery will prove good works which hath been asserted by some who have said that the filthinesse of whoredome being done away the action is well-pleasing to Almighty God as well as any good work Arg. 11. One end and intention of God in electing of us was that he might make us holy that he might make us good trees to bring forth good fruit Though God doth not elect us because wee doe believe or because wee doe love yet hee hath elected us that wee may believe and that we may love So that wee frustrate one end that God hath in electing us if we doe not grant that God gives us a new nature and new hearts According to that of the Apostle 2 Thes 2 13. We are chosen unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth And in Eph 1.4 He hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Object We doe apprehend our election imperfectly which is the cause of the sinfulness of our works Answ By reason of that which is in the flesh we cannot so perfectly see our election as wee shall doe hereafter Yet in the spirit for the present we doe so fully apprehend it
that by Gods grace in the apprehension of it wee are made unblameable and holy before him in love which is all that I contend for I may adde this that if God had chosen us to love joy sanctification and the like which are sin and sinfull that then he had chosen us to sin or to something sinfull which conceit in my apprehension doth carry such an absurdity in the face of it that it needeth not a Confutation Object They are not sin in their morall nature as they ought to be done but they are so as done by us Answ God hath not chosen us unto them as they are considered onely in his command But he hath chosen us unto them as they are to be acted and done by us as it is plain by the words of the Text and therefore this objection hath no strength in it to weaken our argument Arg. 12. If the new creature were sinfull worke his sinful or sin it would nullifie Gods intention in our Justification who doth justifie us when we are unholy that he may make us holy Ephes 2.10 Wee are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good workes which God bath before ordained that we should walke in them Wee are not ordained to walke in any thing which is sin or sinfull but to walke in good workes We are redeemed from sin that we might be purified unto himselfe a peculiar people And grace teacheth us to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world not sinfully but righteously God maketh us good trees by justification and then enables us to bring forth good fruit There must be a root before there can be fruit So God gives us a roote or seed of holinesse before wee can bring forth holy fruit and righteous actions And when the good seed is sown in good ground it cannot but bring forth good fruit Mat. 13.23 which place may give more light for the clearing of that objection where it was said that there could not bee good fruit though the seed were good because the ground is not good Arg. 13. God doth free us from the law of works and doth bring us under the covenant of grace that we may by grace be enabled to doe those works which we are not able to doe by vertue of morall commands The covenant of grace and Gospel-promises should be as ineffectuall for sanctification as the law if all that were wrought in us under that covenant were sin or sinfull And therefore it will follow that a man under grace hath a purity of sanctification in him God brings us from Moses who was the Law-giver and delivers us from the Covenant of works in giving us to Jesus Christ who is the giver of grace that he may make us holy in a gracious life and conversation The Apostle sets this forth unto us Rom. 7.6 But now wee are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newnesse of spirit and not in the oldnesse of the letter We are freed from the service of God in the law of works under which wee serve as slaves till wee be brought to Christ that wee may serve as sonnes in obedience to all morall commands under the sweet gracious glorious government of the Lord Jesus Christ who is as well a Law-giver Isa 33.22 to write his lawes of faith and love in our hearts Hebr. 8. As a Saviour to save us from our sins And to cut off all objections against this argument wee may take notice that the fruits of the spirit are not onely called good and holy as they are in the promise or command but they are good and holy and called fruits of righteousnesse as they are wrought in us and by us with the omnipotent help and assistance of the holy Spirit We are called the trees of righteousnesse Isa 61.3 and feare and love are fruits of righteousness as wrought in us Jer. 31. Hebr. 8. The 14th Argument may be drawn from the oath of God If God should not performe this for the Saints God should be perjured which is blasphemy to speak The oath of God binds him God in his word which is the character of his mind hath discovered his hatred of perjury and false swearing we cannot think that God who hates perjury in others should forsweare himselfe but we have not only the promise but the oath of God for this so that unlesse we will say that God for-sweares himself we must subscribe to this truth to witt that God gives his Saints his Spirit and in the Spirit holinesse and righteousnesse I will give you a place for this Lu. 1.73 74. The oath which be sware to our Father Abraham What hath he sworne That he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies here is our Justification we are delivered out of the hands of sin death and the Devill But is this all No He hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve him without fear that is without slavish fear in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life Some acknowledge that the people of God shall live holily and righteously to men-ward as they speake but that the righteousnesse of anctification is not to God-ward This place overthrowes this distinction he saith not that wee shall walk holily and righteously before men only as hypocrites may but he â—aith that we shall serve in holinesse and righteousnesse before him We shall not do such works which Luther and others have called vices vitia affirming that all the works of the regenerated man are vices nor such works which are sinfnl vitiata as some others speak buâ—uch workes which God who cannot lye cals righteous works nay righteousnesse in the abstract we shall serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse not only in the sight of men for oft-times they look on good works as though they were bad but good in the sight of God they come from a sweet fountain therefore the water cannot be bitter or brackish from the fountaine of his owne Spirit in his Saints If the works of the Saints were nothing but sin or sinfull how could the Oath of God be fulfilled that they shall serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Object Before him in this place as in other places doth meane under his protection Gen. 17.1 Answ Though it may be granted that sometimes before him may signifie under his protection yet it doth not appear that it should be the meaning of the holy Ghost in this place But he doth rather informe us how Saints doe approve themselves before God by sanctification As Paul laboured in godly sincerity to have his conscience void of offence towards God and towards men According to that speech of Hezekiah Isa 38.3 Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in
his command The fayling is not from the new but the olde man The whole man or person is under the command so that a man yea every man doth sin because he doth not doe in his person as he is a man what is commanded Charge the fault where it is to be charged upon the flesh which is the cause of a mans sin and then look upon grace which hath abolished sin and you shall finde the new man conformable to the will of God and the man good and holy in part to wit in his regenerated part It is further objected that Christ biddeth us to cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit which no man doth It is granted and therefore we deny not but that every man sinneth if we take him physically But as farre as we are in the Spirit Wee are cleansed from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit so that the new man doth fulfill it and Christ doth reign in him though the flesh prove a Traytor and rebellious against his commands Arg. 18. Another argument may be brought from the consideration of the Image of Christ If this were true that all the works of the Saints were in their formalitie sinne this would follow that the Image of Jesus Christ were an Image of unholinesse and sin I ground my argument upon that place of the Apostle 2 Cor. 3.18 Wee all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Here the Apostle shewes that the Saints are changed into the Image of Christ Now if there were nothing but sin and unholinesse sinfulnesse in those who are looked upon as spirituall as some conceive it wil follow that the Image of Christ into which they are changed must be an image of unholinesse If my love be unholinesse I am changed to that image of love which is in Christ and so it would follow that the Image of Christ doth consist in unholinesse Object If there be perfect sanctification in the new man then wee may bee justified by it Answ I deny that it doth not follow We shall have perfect sanctification at the resurrection and yet you will not say that we shall be acquitted from our sinnes by it which wee have committed upon earth but by the grace of God in the blood of Christ 2. We are justified before sancification and therefore it will not follow that we are justified by it Because that is done before the other is wrought in us 3. That a man may be justified by his sanctification It is necessary that a man should be so wholy sanctified that there should be no sin in the man Our good works will not make satisfaction for our bad works A Traytor for an act of treason might be condemned by his Prince though he hath done him much good service If a man would seeke justification by the law who is sanctified in part the law would condemn him for his sin in his unregenerated part taking no notice of any sufficiency in his sanctification to free him from condemnation for his sinne in the unregenerated part Arg. 19. This opinion that the good works of the justified man are sin or sinfull do make divers places of Scripture irreconcileable Men shall never be well able to reconcile many places of Scripture who swallow this as a trueth that whatsoever workes are now done in the Saints are nothing but sinne or sinfull For instance in one place we are bound to disclaime our works and to account all our righteousnesses as filthy ragges to believe in him that justifieth the ungodly And in another place we are said to be redeemed from all iniquity that we might be zealous of good workes Tit. 2. And we are the work manship of God created in Christ Jesus to good workes Eph. 2. By what I have delivered they are easily reconcileable To wit by distinguishing as the Scripture doth concerning good works thus That all the works of man under the Law are but splendid and shining sins and that the spirituall workes of a spirituall man are good and not sin or sinfull in their nature Not that the Scripture makes these good workes that flow from the spirituall man the cause or the matter of our justification but the fruits of the Spirit and the consequents of our justificationâ— It is a speech of Luthers worthy to be writteâ— in letters of gold that the whole world with all the riches of it are of no worth in comparison of good works flowing from faith and wrought by the Spirit of God in the hearts of his people Which how it can be made good I know not if that be true which he and some other Protestant Writers affirme that Omnâ— bonum secundum judicium dei est mortale peccatum every good worke of a regenerate man according to the judgment of God is a mortall sin That which is morally evill is not so good as any thing which is not morally evill That being the greatest evill which is morally evill I have known some professors of the Gospel who have fallen to Familisme and Atheisticall opinions and being asked why they did leave the Gospel they have answered that they could never reconcile the Scriptures concerning works to other places while they were professors of the Gospel Their meaning is while they were professors upon these principles by which they were taught to look upon the works of the spirit in them as sin and sinfull That which is frequently asserted by some Mr. Eatoon Honycomb and others that they are good to men-ward will not make up the breach The Apostle Peter speaking of a meeke quiet spirit which is the ornament of the hidden man of the heart saith that it is of great price in the sight of God 1 Pet. 3.4 The Apostle speaking of his sincerity in preaching the Gospel is not affraid to bring it into the sight of God 2 Cor. 2.17 And John saith 1 Joh. 3.22 That whatsoever we aske we receive of him because wee keepe his Commandements and doe those things which are pleasing in his sight And that he doth not meane believing only is plain by the next verse where he saith That this is his Commandement that wee believe on the name of his Sonne Jesus Christ and love one another And to stop the mouth of the objection which is usually brought against this truth to wit that he speaketh of doing as in Gods precept or command and not as done by us He saith that we receive what we aske because wee doe what is pleasing in his sight I must professe to the glory of God that this distinction hath given me a great light in the understanding of the Scripture And by this I am informed that I am justified without holiness or sanctification and yet that without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Arg. 20. This opinion that the good worke
confirmation of the truth Give mee leave to give an answer to their arguments as I have already presented unto you answers to their objections Arg. 1. Paul was a regenerated man yet he confesseth that he was not able to performe that which is good Rom. 7.18 Therefore no regenerate man is able to performe that which is good Answ Paul doth give a sufficient answer to this objection in the preceding words of the same verse where he saith in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing by which it is evident that he speaketh of himselfe in reference to his flesh And this is a truth which with all the faithfull I willingly subscribe unto But when he plainely speaketh of a man in the spirit freed from the clouds of temptations and power of the flesh in the last verse of the same Chapter he saith With the minde I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin It is good to serve the law of God but Paul in the Spirit had attained unto this and therefore Paul was enabled to performe that which is good According to that of the Apostle Phil. 2.13 It is God who worketh in us to will and to doe of his owne good pleasure Arg. 2. There is none that doth good no not one Rom. 3.9 10 11. which is meant aswell of the regenerate as unregenerate as is evident by vers 23 24. because it is meant of all who are justified freely by his grace as appears further by the instances of Abraham and David which were regenerated Ch. 4.2.6 Therefore no workes of the regenerate are without sinne Answ It is plain that the Apostle speaketh here of a man under the law and of an unregenerate man by the things which are spoken of him Hee saith that none seeketh after God can you affirme this of a regenerated man when the same Prophet who in the 14. Psame doth give us a character of a wicked man out of which this is taken in the 24. Psalme doth give us this character of a man truly godly that hee is one of the generation of those who seeke God 2. The Apostle saith that there is none that understandeth But blessed be God the sonne of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him 1 John 5.20 3. They are all gone out of the way But we can blesse God who through Jesus Christ hath brought us into the way of salvation 4. There is none that doth good no not one and there is none that is righteous But hearken unto the speech of John 1 John 3.7 Let no man deceive you hee that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous I might runne over all the other particulars there laid downe but I shall content my selfe with what is spoken in the 17.18 it s said that the way of peace have they not known and there is no feare of God before their eyes Is a regenerate man an enemie to the way of peace and doe not they feare God to whom God hath sworne Jer. 32.40 That he will put his feare in their hearts that they shall not depart from him Again secondly you would prove it by this argument because hee speaketh of all those who are justified But let me tell you that we must distinguish of a man before and after his Justification Every man is such a man before Justification and in this respect he speaketh of all men but after justification there is a charge wrought in a man as I have formerly proved at large unto which I refer the Reader But thirdly you instance in David and Abraham who were regenerated men Answ Wee are not to forget that the Scriprure dosh acquaint us that there is a two-fold righteousnesse of a regenerate man The righteousnesse of Justification and the righteousnesse of sanctification Of the first of these the Prophet speaking saith that a man is blessed to whom sin is not imputed of the latter where hee saith of the same verse And in whose spirit there is no guile which the learned Zanchius doth apprehend to be spoken in reference to that sanctification which is in the unregenerated part understand the distinction rightly and you cannot want an answer to this Objection Arg. 3. Wee believe not so stedfastly nor love so perfectly as we ought therefore is our faith love imperfect and sinfull Ans 1. If we should grant the antecedent we may deny the consequence It is true that if a man doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought that then the man doth sin consider him physically And this wee have alwayes granted but it doth not follow that his faith and love is sin but that which is in the flesh is sin which is the cause that he doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought Amesius doth give a sufficient answer to this in answering an argument which Bellarmine doth bring against the Protestants to wit that sins doe not please God in Christ It is true saith he that sin doth not please God but the stain of sin being done away the good which remaineth is pleasing unto God Sane quidem certe sedpeccati maculâ in Christo deletâ bonum substratum placet Tom. 4. l. 6. c. 8. 2ly We say that a regenerate man looked upon in the new Covenant doth believe stedfastly and love perfectly His unbeliefe and hatred of God which is in the flesh being covered with the rich mantle of Gods grace and mercy as far as he doth believe truly he doth believe stedfastly and as far as he doth love he doth love perfectly Let not this offend any man that I say he doth love perfectly It is granted by most Protestant writers that a regenerate man hath a perfection of parts though not of degrees A childe may have an humane nature and the parts of a man as well as a man of forty yeares old A sparke of fire hath the true nature of fire a drop of water hath the nature of water in it as wel as all the water in the Sea So a sparke or drop of love hath the divine nature of love in it as well as that which burnes in the breasts of a Seraphim and therefore is not sin or sinfull And for this reason it is said that Abraham was not weak in faith though it is unquestionable that hee had his weaknesse in the flesh as well as other men and that hee staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. And this is the meaning likewise of Amesius in the place formerly cited where hee saith That the good works of the faithfull are not only good by the object of them but in reference to all the causes of them the efficient materiall formall and finall cause Opera fidelium non tantum sunt bona ex objecto sed etiam quoad omnes causas efficientem materiam
was the speech of one of the Ancients that grace in some Saints is like a spark in the Ocean And thus I have apprehended it in my selfe Yet I see that as it is wrought by grace so it is accepted by grace being not under the law as delivered in the first covenant and yet not without the law to God but under the law to Christ 1 Cor. 9.21 And this hath been a strong motive unto mee to hunger and thirst after the righteousnesse of sanctification commanded and promised in the new Covenant which doth comfort mee with an assurance and confidence that that which is perfected here in part inchoatively shall be perfected in degrees consummatively I can say with David Psal 138.8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me he will not forsake the works of his owne hand And seeing the strength and power of the flesh in mee I am carried up in spirit to admire and wonder at Gods omnipotent grace by which through faith which worketh by love I am preserved together with all Saints unto the day of salvation in Christ Jesus who is over all Rom. 9.5 God blessed for ever Amen FINIS SERMON I. ESAY 26.19 Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise awake and sing yee that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast forth her dead THE beliefe of the resurrection is a present comfort in the midst of misery Resurrectio mortuorum fiducia Christianorun Tertul. The resurrection of the dead is the joy confidence and boasting of Christians And therefore when the people of God had made a sad complaint of their low condition in the words preceding my Text our Evangelicall Prophet for their comfort and consolation doth from the mouth of God present them with this sweet and precious promise of a glorious resurrection of their bodies Let poore Saints bee full of complaints let the billowes of misery and trouble be ready to overwhelme their soules and let God but breake in upon their spirits and give them assurance of a blessed resurrection by his grace and all their trouble all their discomforts all their miseries by the light of this Sunne will presently vanish away You may read the complaint in the precedent verse where the Church complaines that she had been like a woman with child in great paine verse 17. Like as a woman with Child that draweth neere the time of her delivery is in paine and crieth out in her pangs so have we been in thy sight O Lord We know the paines of a woman in travell are the greatest paines and the Church to set forth her trouble compares it to the paines and pangs of a woman in travell But that which doth heighten the trouble and misery of the Church is this that though she were thus like a woman in travell and paine and expected to bring forth some great thing and to doe something in the world which might be left as a lasting monument to the praise of God and be a refreshment to her selfe after her throwes and languishment She finds that all was a false conception therefore she saith in the next verse vers 18. We have been with child we have been in paine we have as it were brought forth the wind She swelled big with expectation and thought she should have brought forth some glorious birth into the world but alas all that she hath brought forth hath been but as it were wind we see nothing but a false conception We have not wrought any deliverance in the Earth neither have the Inhabitants of the world fallen ver 18. Here wee see the sad complaint of the Church And in the words I have read to you you may likewise read the Prophet laying downe that which might comfort and cheare the sad and drouping spirits of the people of God in this sad and lamentable complaint of theirs And that is drawne from a sweet promise that God makes to them of a resurrection as if the Prophet had said let it never trouble you though you be the poorest vilest and miserablest creatures here upon the Earth looke beyond the Earth looke for the accomplishment of Gods promise beyond this present life and then you shall see as much cause to rejoyce as you apprehended cause of mourning before What though you doe no great thing for the present on Earth what though your Enemies prevaile over you what though their cursed devices Counsells and Machinations doe take effect against you what though you fall by their hands and can doe no great things to set up Trophees of glory below remember this Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise c. Thus you see what coherence these words have with the context In the words be pleased to take notice of these parts First here is a promise made to the people of God of a blessed resurrection Thy dead men shall live Secondly the confirmation of this that is as some interpret it from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus My dead body shall rise therefore they shall not lye long in the dust together with my dead body shall they arise or else thus if wee leave out together and with which are not in the Originall then this is the meaning Thy dead men shall live my dead body shall they arise at the resurrection they shall rise as my very dead body I have consulted with the Hebrew text and I find no more but that I see no reason wee should put in together with seeing it is not found in the first copy Thirdly the nature of the resurrection is expressed to us Awake The Saints doe as it were awake out of their sleep Death is nothing but sleep to the people of God The Prophet here to take away the sharpnesse and bitternesse of death compares it to a bed wherein a man sweetly reposeth himselfe and after he is refreshed riseth out againe so after the Saints have layne a while in their beds in their graves they awake as the Psalmist saith As for mee I will behold thy face in righteousnesse I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likenesse Psal 17. ult that is at the resurrection when I awake then I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse I doe not enjoy so much of thee here as I desire to doe but then when I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse Fourthly here is the great joy set forth that shall be when the Saints doe arise and that is expressed in that they are bid to Awake and sing When the Saints are raised they are to have a song in their mouthes of joy and the glory of God in their hearts awake and sing But it is otherwise with wicked and ungodly ones they must awake and houle they must awake when they had rather sleepe an everlasting sleep and wish it might be a continuall and an ever induring midnight to their poore soules but
opinion of those that doe oppose this Doctrine of the resurrection There are two sorts of these First such who doe plainly deny the resurrection as Porphyrius and others whom we read of And secondly such who will not seeme to deny a resurrection but will pretend that they are risen already spiritually risen And they know no other resurrection The first of these are like those that are mentioned in the 2 Cor. 15. that say there is no resurrection The latter are like those 2 Tim. 2.18 Hymeneus and Philetus that said the resurrection was already past The latter of these are the more dangerous Come and ask them is there a resurrection Yes we are risen it is past you understand the Scripture carnally and not spiritually you looke on the history of the word whereas all the Scripture is mysticall and allegoricall Thus these in a more plausible way deny the truth of God and overthrow the Doctrine of the resurrection But these places of Scripture and sanctified reasons drawne from the word of truth sufficiently confute and overthrow this damnable cursed opinion of theirs that strikes at the very roote and raseth the foundation of all Religion This point of the resurrection is so cleerly held forth in Scripture that those that denie it either deny the Scripture to be the word of the Lord Jesus or else by their allegories and diabolicall interpretation of the word they pervert the truth of it Now the latter of these are the most dangerous for they seeme to carrie a great deale of glory spirituality and truth with them and make those that are not acquainted with their solecismes believe that they are very spirituall that they have some light and knowledge that men have not ordinarily attained to Whereas when you have studied well the depth of their notions you shall find this to be all if they acknowledge a God for I know that there are some of these that absolutely deny that there is a God that God was from all eternity and God shall indure to all eternitie and that being that they had in God from all eternitie that being they shall have in God to all eternitie but the body and the humane spirit shall die and be lost and come to nothing So all the happinesse they have is that eternall and everlasting being concludunt spiritum ad essentiam Dei redire eique jungi ita ut unicus spiritus maneat As Calvin reporteth of those Libertines which denyed the resurrection in his time They conclude saith he that the Spirit shall returne to the essence of God and shall be joyned to him so that one spirit shall onely remaine as if they should say there is a God that was for ever and shall indure for ever but all the creatures shall come to nothing when the body dies it shall returne to its dust never to be raysed and the spirit shall vanish away as the soft ayre as those miscreants in the booke of Wisdome speaks Wisd 2.3 which if it were a truth there should be no happinesse for the humane spirit of man or for the body after this life And I am confident that this is all their new Light affordeth to us and glorious spirituality or rather infernall spirituality as Calvin calleth it Infernalem spiritualitatem they boast of And this I gather by their owne discourses and words and likewise by searching their writings and reading their bookes that have formerly been written and that lately are brought into the world But me thinks there is one objection for the present comes to my mind which doth call for an answer before I proceede Object If there be such a generation of men as you speak of that denie the Doctrine of the resurrection and pervert the truth of God then we may see by this what inconvenience would follow if liberty should be granted to men to practise according to their owne judgements which are contrary to the judgements of the civill Magistrate in the worship of God Therefore it seemes there is a necessity laid upon Civill powers that men may be kept from these errours and damnable opinions to make strict Lawes and impose them upon all people And all sorts of professors to inforce them to come in and professe Christ in their way or else to confiscate their goods to banish them out of the Countrey or if need be to take away their lives Answ I answer this doth not follow there were such in the time of the Lord Jesus we find him oft disputing with the Sadduces yet we see the Lord Jesus Christ did not intend to overthrow the Sadduces that denyed the resurrection by such meanes but dealt with them onely by Scripture and reason as we see Matth. 22. And when James and John producing the example of Elias desired Christ to command fire to come from Heaven to destroy the discourteous Samaritans that refused to entertaine them He denyeth their request with a reproofe Luk. 9.55 He rebuked them and said Yee know not what manner of spirit ye are of and I thinke it is safe for us to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ But in the next place let me tell you that no Lawes Statutes constitutions or formes imposed by men or Directories or any thing you can think of Discipline or Government can extirpate this out of the hearts of these men For I assure you that few that are of this judgement will lose any thing for their Conscience Some of them if you bring in Popery before they will lose a haire of their head for that which they maintaine they will be professed Papists We may see the picture of these men in Quintinus who was the divells Embassadour in Calvins time to divulge Familisticall tenents of whom he thus speakes si hodiè Quintinus vinctus teneretur sive à Christianis sive à Papistis staretur ipsius confessioni non multum esset anxius Certus enim esset de suâ liberatione quod tum horum tum illorum voluntati assentiretur If Quintin were now imprisoned by Protestants or Papists and should be freed or condemned by his owne confession it would not much trouble him for he would be confident of his freedome Because he would assent to the will of either of them Calv. in his Instruc Adver Liber c. 8. If you threaten them that they shall suffer any thing they will presently tell you that they were overtaken with a fault and they will be of your mind if you have any power to punish them for what they professe Like him in the Comedian Ais aio negas nego Doe you assert it I assert it too doe you denie it I deny it too And why should a man be so foolish as to lose any thing for that which he professeth in his Conscience when he thinkes there shall be no resurrection He hath no reason he were mad that would part with Earth and earthly things that is not sure of Heaven he is a mad-man that will
lay downe his life that is not perswaded there will be a life after death Therefore I assure the Presbyterian Party if liberty of Conscience be not granted to Saints most or all these will fall in to them And before Liberty was thought of there were a great many of these in the City and they conformed to that which was then practised and they will conforme to any Government which shall be set up by the power of man It is not any Discipline or Government that can extirpate these cursed opinions out of the hearts of these men And though there be Discipline Government and strict Lawes yet in secret wayes they know how to insinuate poyson into the hearts and spirits of men to corrupt them from the truth and simplicity of the Lord Jesus Christ I know some of these that doe and have preached publickly undiscovered and some have now places and are turned Presbyterians who professed these tenents in the Citie of London that are now gone from the Citie and have Parochiall Congregations and are looked on as Presbyterians and Orthodox men and none speake against them they know how to cover their opinions well enough This mystery of iniquitie is not easily discovered so that this objection makes nothing against Liberty of Conscience I thinke it were better if it were the Lords will that these men of this wicked ungodly spirit might be knowne that so they may not draw many people into their sinne but that the truth of God may be held forth against them to overthrow their errours for nothing will overthrow errour but truth It is not a prison it is not the Sword it is not the power of man that can overthrow errour and root up false opinions out of the hearts of men it is only the power of the truth of the Lord Jesus As Dagon fell before the Arke so these cursed opinions must fall before the Arke of truth by the power of the Lord Jesus For if you threaten them that they shall suffer any thing they will presently tell you that they were overtaken with a fault and they will be of your mind If you have power to punish them for what they professe But lastly this should not be brought as an Argument to prejudice those in the enjoyment of their Libertie who are truly conscientious For it will have no more force then this Thieves and rogues swarme and abound in the Common-wealth while Liberty Priviledges and immunities are granted to honest men and they are countenanced Therefore suffer not honest men to live in the Common-wealth Thus having removed an objection which lay in my way which I perceived might be drawne from the licentiousnesse of these wicked men to the wronging of the true Saints and children of the most High in reference to their Liberties I shall now come to answer the Objections of these adversaries to the resurrection And first they that absolutely deny the resurrection doe thus argue Doe you think that this body after it is resolved into its first elements and that part of it is burned in the fire a part exhaled into the ayre a part converted into water and a part of it turned into earth that the same numericall body shall be raised againe Let a man one that you call a Saint be torne in pieces let the bird have her prey out of him let the fish have her share let the devouring beast likewise have his belly full of his flesh let the Caniball come and have his dinner out of another limbe and shall we believe after all this that this man shall rise againe What will you bereave us of reason you professe to be rationall men how can you subscribe to such a thing that a man should be burned in the fire his ashes cast into the sea And after these changes and transmutations that this man this same man the same body of this man should be raised againe how can any man that hath not put off all reason believe it Thus they contend by their carnall reason against the truth of the resurrection But let me answer though I grant all this which they say that the bodies of the Saints may be resolved into the first Elements out of which they were made yet for all this there shall be a resurrection of the very same numericall body For looke to God he that hath promised to doe this he is omniscient he knowes the dust of his Saints though it be carryed into the Sea if a piece of the body of a Saint be in the belly of a fish he knowes it there as well as he knew his servant Jonas in the belly of the Whale If it be resolved to dust and burned to ashes he knowes the dust of his Saints We know the Alchymist can convert one thing to another and afterward reduce it to the thing that formerly it was So shall not God though he suffer the bodies of his Saints to undergoe a hundred mutations and changes into fire and water after reduce us againe to the same bodies in which formerly we were God knowes where the dust of his people lies as well as the Citizens of China know where their earth lies that they lay up for some hundreds of yeares that they may make the purer vessels of it God doth but bury us a while in the earth that at the resurrection he may bring us forth as vessells of his owne prayse and glory and God knowes where he hath hid and laid us If one limbe be in Affrica another in Asia another in Europe another in America the Lord knowes how to bring limb to limb and bone to bone he is an omniscient God And as he is omniscient and knows every part of his people and the dust of his Saints and treasures up the dust of his Saints and keeps it in safety So he is a powerfull God and able to raise the bodies of his Saints As he knowes what dust and bones belong to a bodie so he is able to bring it againe to the same body which it was and to change it into a more glorious body He is able to change that same numericall mortall body into an immortall body And though we can find nothing in nature that can evidently prove this truth yet we find many sweet sigures shadowes and resemblances of this in nature Doth not the day die into night and afterward night rise againe into the day doth not Summer die into Autumne and Autumne into Winter and then the Spring brings the Summer in glory to us againe Are not some creatures which lie dead in Winter restored to life when Summer appeareth Doe we not see the seed that is buried in the earth and put into the furrowes againe to spring to a new life and to come forth with greater glory then when it was sowen in the earth If you take notice of the Gold-Smith you shall find that he keeps his fylings and his dust and though we looke on it as
a heap worth nothing yet he knoweth by the Art of the refyner to bring a choyse and precious vessell out of that dust So though the bodies of the Saints have laine as a heape of dust and wee see no glory in it yet God the refyner of Heaven by the power of his Arme is able to extract the filings and dust of his Saints out of the earth and to restore their dust to an immortall spirituall and glorious body Looke to the power of God nothing will be impossible Therefore when the Sadduces cavilled against the Doctrine of the resurrection our Saviour strikes at the root of their errour which was this because they questioned the power of God concerning this Ye erre saith he not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God Mat. 22. Qui potest facere potest reficere c. saith Tertullian he that was able to make the bodie out of nothing is able to remake it he that was able to give a being out of no being is able to give a being out of that that hath a being It is easier to make a thing out of that that hath a being then out of that that hath no being God hath done the first why should we distrust him concerning the second Therefore you shall find the Apostle when he preached this Doctrine that we shall be raised and in our bodies made like the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ and knowing that there would be carnall objections arise in the spirits of men against this Doctrine he presently fits and shapes an answer for it from the power of God Phil. 3. ult we looke for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shal change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue even all things to himselfe Here that the mouth of unbeliefe and carnall reason may be stopped he tells us that he will make our bodies like unto his glorious bodie and question not but he will doe it for he will doe it by his mighty power by which he is able to subdue all things to himselfe thus farre in answer to the first sort of Adversaries The objections of the spirituall Enemies or rather diabolicall Enemies though they pretend to spirituality are drawn from Scripture And this is no wonder for their Father the Devill doth quote Scripture sometimes too The first place which they alleadge is in the 1 Cor. 15.50 Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdome of God neither doth corruption inherit incorruption from whence they conclude that our corruptible and fleshly body shal not be raised And therefore that there is no such resurrection to be expected which we waite for But that the Apostle in this Chapter and all other places speaking of the resurrection doth treat of it spiritually allegorically And that he never did hold forth such a carnall and grosse resurrection as we in our muddie braines doe grossely apprehend he did In answer to which objection we shall grant that the Apostle in sundry places doth speake of a resurrection figuratively As in the 3. Col. 1. If ye be risen with Christ seelie those things which are above where he speaketh of a resurrection to a new life in the spirit by faith And in this sense we grant that Saints are already risen There being no happinesse for such at the second resurrection hereafter who are not first raised here and made partakers of the first resurrection Yet this doth not weaken our assertion nor overthrow our Faith And therefore give me leave to put in an answer to their objection First It is true flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdome of God What doth he meane he meanes sinfull flesh and bloud shall not inherit whatsoever is sinne and flesh in this respect shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Secondly flesh and blood may be taken for the weaknesses and infirmities that cleave to our bodies for the present and flesh and blood our bodies of flesh and blood if wee looke on them in their frailties infirmities and weaknesses so they shall not inherit the Kingdome of God But otherwise it is certaine these bodies which are flesh and blood shall inherit the Kingdome of God For as our Lord Christ is now in glory in the same body though it be a spirituall glorious body in Heaven in which he suffered on the Crosse so we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be raised goe to Heaven and enjoy God in happinesse in these very bodies that we carrie about us we shall see God with these eyes and no other we shall have the same feet hands and members c. And though there shall be no sinne frailty weaknesse or infirmitie no imperfection lamenesse deafnesse or blindnesse yet the same numericall body shall be raised againe And if God would but open their eyes to read and understand what is spoken they shall have an answer from the pen of him whom they through their blindnesse doe misunderstand in the 53. verse of the same chapter This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortall must put on immortality The same mortall body by him who is immortall must be made immortall and incorruptible This was the confession of the African Churches Credimus resurrectionem carnis hujus we believe the resurrection of this flesh which is consonant to the truth delivered by Paul 2 Cor. 5.10 We must all appeare before the judgement seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad The same persons must appeare we that consist of a materiall body and spirituall soule must appeare in the same body and soule or else it is not we that shall appeare but some body else which shall appeare which is contrary to the mind of God and his Apostle in this place The second objection which they bring is this that we that professe Christ and a resurrection by him in this way are carnall and know Christ after the flesh whereas the Apostle saith in the 2 Cor. 5.16 That he is to be knowne so no more To which I answer that this is one of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one of the things hard to be understood in Paul which Peter speaketh of 2 Pet. 3.16 which they being unstable wrest as they doe other Scriptures unto their owne destruction Paul hath no such meaning which they carnally draw from the letter of the word which will appeare if we consider the Christ which he preached who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh Rom. 1.3 crucified in the flesh for our sinnes 2. Cor. 13.4 risen from the dead for our Justification Rom. 4.25 1 Cor. 15.20 ascended in our humane nature in which he suffered and descended into the lower parts of the earth 4. Eph. and in that humane nature doth make Intercession for us at his Fathers right hand
that they were as willing to be devoured by the Lions as the people were desirous of their destruction by the Lyons Eusebius tells us that when as the Proconsul exhorted Germanicus to relent admonishing him of his tender yeares praying him to pitie his owne case being now in the flower of his youth he without intermission inticed the beast to devoure him Eusebius fourth book of the Eccl. Hist What steeled the spirits of these men and carried them above carnall reason and the weak principles of nature but a strong and powerfull perswasion in their spirits that they should have a glorious and joyfull resurrection at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ This is that that the Apostle proves to us Heb. 11.35 Some were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtaine a better resurrection He informeth us that when deliverance was offered they would not accept of it What was the reason they expected a resurrection Threatnings could not terrifie them from the truth nor promises draw them to errour because they were without wavering perswaded of a resurrection This was that that made Polycarpus the Martyr so willing todie for the Lord Jesus Christ which appeareth by his speech when he was tied at the stake I thanke thee that thou hast graciously vouchsafed this day to allot me a portion among the number of Martyrs among the people of Christ unto the resurrection of the everlasting life both of body and soule c. Euseb This was that likewise that made the Saints to be so merry and chearfull upon their death-beds When Hilarion lay sick and in his flesh did feele a little feare of death he presently reproves himselfe and breaketh forth into these words Egredere egredere anima goe forth goe forth my soule hast thou served Christ so many yeares and now art thou afraid to die What difference could there be between the death of Saints and of wicked prophane unbelieving men if there were no resurrection of the dead at all and therefore as you desire to live comfortably and to die happily in the bosome of Christ rejoycing upon your death-beds live constantly in the assurance of the truth of this Doctrine of the resurrection and while others that have seduced ignorant and poore people into Familisme with a brazen face all their dayes shall tremble upon their death-beds being afraid of death and dreading a judgement day which they have denyed like the Emperour Hadrian Animula vagula blandula Quae nunc abibis in loca Pallidula rigida nudula Poore wandring pale quivering soule whither shalt thou goe Platina in the lives of the Popes You shall call for death and not looke on death as a way to the infernall prison but as a passage to immortality in Heaven ye shall see the Lyon death slaine and find nothing but honey in the carkasse you shall rejoyce in confidence that your bodies shall be raised while they shall tremble for feare of a resurrection For I would have you to take notice that God seldome suffers men that are growne to this height of unbeliefe and ungodlinesse to deny the resurrection and Christs coming in the flesh to die without galled and troubled consciences As it is observed by some of many that were professed Atheists who when they came to their death beds though they in their health and strength swimming in a world of pleasure and contentments asserted that there was no god yet when they came to lie on their death-beds none seemed to be more afraid of a God and to tremble so much at his power as these men so none are more afraid of death Hell and a resurrection then some of these that have denyed that there is any Hell or a resurrection I remember the speech of Zeno the Philosopher if I would perswade any man frō Atheisme said he I would lead him to the death-bed of an Atheist when he is gasping out his last breath So if I had not sufficiently perswaded you that there shall be a resurrectiō of the body by what I have brought out of the word of truth if I knew where any of these did lie sick I would carry you to their death-beds and you might see some of them troubled and galled in their conscience that have blasphemously professed that there is no Christ come in the flesh and that there shal be no resurrection of the body hereafter I shall not need at the present to adde many more words for I hope better things of you and such things which accompanie salvation I hope there are few such spirits as these in this Congregation yet I know the Devill is so subtle that where he thinks people are most spirituall and know God most and are acquainted with Christ he sends his imps his Sadduces to trouble and assault them he doth not set so much upon any people to draw them away as upon those that make profession of the Gospel of Christ The Devill knowes such whom he hath safe within his owne command and many of these are not assaulted by these imps but when men seeme to be heirs and boast of the Lord Jesus and professe themselves to be in the spirit of glory and adoption and to have their names written in Heaven and that none are able to separate them from the love of God the Devill sends his evill Angells to such men as these Therefore knowing that you should meet with such spirits I thought good to speake somewhat before that being forewarned you might be fore-armed praemoniti praemuniti that you may goe on in the power of God and the strength of his might though the Devill may buffet you for a time by these wicked instruments and cast his fiery darts into your hearts and spirits to perswade you that there is no resurrection and may certainly know that if there be any truth in the history of the Gospel this is a truth concerning the resurrection And it is the desire of my soule that ye may live continually and constantly in the confidence and assurance of the resurrection of your bodies which being joyned with a lively Faith in Christs death and resurrection will sweeten your lives and crowne your deaths with happinesse Death which came in upon men as a legall curse shall be turned into a blessing unto you it shall not be your feare but desire with Paul ye shall desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ But this Doctrine being layd aside as of no worth or value Christ will appeare unto you but a shadow fancy and forged Chymera of mans braine As the wicked Pope was perswaded who did thus glory in his riches What great riches have we gotten by this fable of Christ Wherefore as you desire to breath forth your soules with joy into the bosome of the Lord Jesus live in the comforts of the resurrection through Christ That will make you say in the midst of the pangs of death with Simeon Lord let thy servant now depart for mine eyes
cadaver meum resurgent They shall arise as my carkasse or dead body which I shall enlarge by some considerations First consideration Christ and his members are one therefore the Saints shall be raised as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ The members of the body are the members of the head Christ Jesus he is the head of the body therefore the bodies of the Saints being raised they are raised as the body of the Lord Christ Ephes 5.30 We are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones The body of a Saint is the body of the Lord Jesus the flesh of a Saint is the flesh of the Lord Jesus and the spirit of a Saint is one with the spirit of Jesus Paul persecuted the Saints and cast their bodies into prison Christ calls to him from heaven Why persecutest thou me When the body of a Saint is imprisoned Christ is then shut up in prison so when the bodies of the Saints are raised the body of the Lord Jesus Christ is raised As the Animall spirits lie in the head by which motion is conveyed to the members so the spirit of power lies in the Lord Jesus Christ by which we are moved by which we are raised in which spirit we both in body and spirit are made one with the Lord Christ This Doctrine of our union with Christ is likewise set forth by Paul 1. Cor. 6.15 Know you not saith the Apostle that your bodies are the members of Christ shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot As the hand or foot of a man may be said to be part of the man so the bodies of the Saints may be said to be part of the Lord Jesus For as the head and all the members of the body make one naturall body in that one spirit that is in them all and acts in them all so Christ and all believers make one in flesh and spirit by that one spirit which dwells in the flesh of Christ and in the flesh and spirit of every true believer 1. Cor. 12.12 As the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body so also is Christ Here you see that the Apostle calls the members of Christ Christ mysticall so also is Christ saith he he gives the Church the name of Christ by reason of this neare union which is between Christ Jesus and all his members Againe the Saints they are married to the Lord Jesus as the body of the wise may be said to be the husbands so the bodies of the Saints as wel as their souls belong to the Lord Jesus and are one with him And as Adam when Eve was brought to him said This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh so Christ when the dead bodies of the Saints shall be raised raises his owne body and will say This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh then shall be the great marriage of the Lamb then it shall be solemnized in a most glorious manner and then Christ shall owne all those who were given to him by the Father and there in a solemne manner shall he marrie them to himselfe he shall owne them all for his own wife and they all shall be looked on as one in him Likewise the bodies of the Saints that are raised are the body of Christ as the sprigs of a tree or the branches of a vine may be said to be part of the tree or part of the vine Our Saviour sets forth this similie to us Joh. 15. where he compares himself to a vine and all believers to branches in this vine Christ shall be as the great vine in the resurrection and all believers shall be branches and sprigs sprouting out of this vine from that life power and spirit that God shall put forth through the body of the Lord Jesus This union is not by the confusion of things which are united as the ignorant Familists doe fondly conceive but by the union of things which are different in their personall beings and individuall natures which will appeare by the similitudes which God doth make use of for the illustrating of this truth unto us As of body and members though all the members doe make but one body yet every member doth retaine its proper place office and being in the body so that the hand is not the foot nor the foot the arme or head so it is between Christ and his people Christ still remaineth in his owne person as head and they as severall members belonging to that head The spirit and body make one man yet the spirit is not the body nor the body the spirit The vine and branches are one yet the vine is not the branch nor the branch the vine The Husband and wife are one yet the Husband is not the wife nor the wife the Husband The second consideration for the amplifying of this point may be this because that whatsoever he did or suffered was that he might bring all believers to an onenesse with himselfe and the Father and this is that he prayes for Joh. 17. The glory that thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one as we are one Christ did therefore beare our sinnes Christ did therefore put himselfe under all the curses due to us for our enormities he did therefore manifest himselfe as a conquerour over all the Enemies that opposed us that all things that might bee any hindrance to our union or hinder our spirituall communion with God being removed in him Eph. 12.14 we might be brought to an onenesse and see our selves as one body and one spirit with him Our happinesse lyeth in our onenesse with Father Word and Spirit which are but one Man made himselfe miserable by disuniting himselfe from God who is but one Mar. 12.29 and Christ doth make him happy by bringing him back again to that onenesse which he had with God It was the office and employment of Christ to bring all things from disunion to union and onenesse with himselfe and the Father which he hath effected for us and therefore they shall be raised as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ My dead body shall they rise The third consideration is this they shall rise as his dead body because they shall rise as the proper goods possession and inheritance of the Lord Jesus Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession they shall be raised as the body of Christ because Christ shall have a right propriety and Interest in them Ye are not your owne yee are bought with a price your bodies as well as your spirits are Gods c. 1 Cor. 6.20 the Apostle gives this reason why Christ died and revived and rose againe that he might be Lord of the quick and dead Rom. 14.9 that as a servant is more his
Masters then his owne so Christ being the Lord of the resurrection we shall be more his then our owne we shall be raised as those in whom Christ hath a propriety and Interest we shall be looked on as the inheritance of the Lord Jesus he shall be King and Lord over us all and rule over us His Scepter of glory shall be set up in every heart and his Throne shall be exalted in every spirit Thus My dead body they shall rise They shall rise as mine they are my dead men and they shall be my living men Here you see that Christ will owne them for his when they are in the dust There are some that shall speak to Christ at the resurrection as though they were familiarly acquainted with him whom he will not owne saving Depart from me I know you not yee workers of iniquitie But Christ will owne his Saints Mal. 3.17 They shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts when I make up my Jewells or speciall treasure and I will spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him As men will not part with their Jewells so Christ will not lose the bodies of his Saints they are part of his speciall treasure The fourth consideration is this the bodies of the Saints that shall be raised may be called the body of the Lord Jesus for this reason because Christ in the Spirit shall be the life soule and forme that shall give life and being to the bodies of the Saints at the resurrection As the body is called the body of the Spirit that dwells in it so Christ Jesus dwelling in the bodies of his Saints by his Spirit their bodies may be said to be his body And as a man may say this is my body it belongs to that humane spirit in me because his humane spirit moves lives in it and doth as a Divine power act in it so our bodies being raised may be said to be the bodies of Christ because he shall act as the Spirit forme and soule in them Christ shall be the soule which shall give life and being to all Saints which shall be raised by him The fifth consideration Death cannot dissolve the union which is between Christ and a believer The love of the Father is the urneinâ— which the ashes of dead Saints are preserved Rom. 8.38 39. I am perswaded saith Paul that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Man doth consist of a naturall body and humane spirit And death cannot make a separation between Gods love and our bodies no more then it can make a separation between his love and our soules Among the things which God hath bestowed upon us in Christ the Apostle doth reckon up death 1 Cor. 3.22 which sheweth that it is not a curse but a blessing to Saints It would be a curse unto us did it bring an irrecoverable ruine and destruction to our bodies Rev. 14.13 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Deaths disability to cast our bodies out of Gods love and protection is that which doth convert death through Christ into a blessing unto us Paul calleth Saints in respect of their bodily death 1 Thess 4.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those that sleep in Christ As leep doth not bereave men of life so death doth not take away from Saints their life which is in Christ As a Philosopher told a tyrant he might kill him but not hurt him so death may kill but cannot hurt a Saint because the union between God and him is in dissolvible Rom. 14.8 Whether we live or diâ— we are the Lords And therefore it may be truely said My dead body shall they arise Sixt consideration The bodies of Saint are sanctified by Christ and therefore he cannot but owne them Sanctification is the marke or seale of Christ As merchants doâ— set their seales and markes upon their good which they will owne so Christ will for ever owne that upon which he hath set the seaâ— and marke of his sanctifying Spirit The spirit of a Saint and Christ will never cease tâ— own his own house and the place which 〈◊〉 hath chosen for his habitation God doth nâ—â— only honour our bodies by calling them hâ—â— 19. Know yee not that your body is the Temple 〈◊〉 the holy Spirit It is not a paradoxe then in Dâ—vinity that Christ at the resurrection should owne them as his owne Seventh consideration Christ should 〈◊〉 incompleat A man that wanteth a membeâ— is incompleat and imperfect so Christ should be imperfect and incompleat were he defective in any of his members at the resurrection And therefore all the bodies of the Saints must be raised as his body It is an Argument that some of the Schoole-men make use of to prove the necessity of a resurrection of bodies from the incompleatnesse of the soule when it is separated from its proper body which it did informe and with which in union it made one compositum So the bodies of Saints must be raised that Christ may be compleat in his mysticall body as he is in his owne person The Church is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fulnesse of Christ Eph. 1. last because as a body is not full and compleat in his being that wants a member so Christ should not be compleat if any part of him were wanting And therefore the bodies of all Saints must be raised that Christ may appeare in his glory and compleatnesse at the resurrection And thus having opened this Doctrine and illustrated it by these considerations I shall draw some usefull conclusions from it Vse 1. Seeing Christians shall be one body at the resurrection this should teach us to be one here in the bond of love That one member should oppose and fight against another member is against nature And that one Christian should fight against another or take his fellow-member by the throat is against the principles of grace In the 13. of Gen. and the 8. ver Abram doth thus speake unto his brother Lot Let there be no strife I pray thee between mee and thee for we are Brethren Christians should not strive or contend one against another because they are fellow-members It is reported of John that in his old age being unable by weaknesse to speake long unto the Congregation he would stand up and in stead of a long Sermon ingeminate this Precept Diligite filioli diligite Litle Children love love one another There can be no stronger Argument to love then the consideration of our union Col. 3.15 Let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also yee are called in one body Warre among members is unnaturall that love and peace may reigne and rule in the hearts of Christians God doth make them all one body so the Apostle in
Familisticall spirits are puffed up with a conceit of their knowledge notions and speculations when indeed they are wholy carnall and understand not the deepe things of Gods grace in the face of Jesus Christ But he that truly walks with God faithfully that man walks humbly with his God True Faith as it exalts us and shewes us our priviledges and honour by the grace of God in Christ so it humbles us by the sight of what is in our selves The light of grace will as well discover what wee are in our fleshly part as what wee are by the grace of God in the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ And these that are thus enlightned shall never fall totally and finally from the pure and simple Gospel of Christ the Spirit in them doth assure them that they shall abide in him John 2.27 Therefore beware of pride the bane of Angels and the ruine of men and the mother of Familisme But grow in humility conceit not that you are full when you are empty As long as the Widow had empty vessels the oyle did still run so as long as there is an empty vessel in thy heart the oyle of grace shall flow in unto thee The fourth Direction Take heed that thou dost not embrace the Doctrines of free will and falling away from grace some of the Familists of the City have been great sticklers to uphold these points and to revive Arminian Tenets among Professors before they did arrive to the top and height of Familisme That man will not stand long who hath no strength but his owne legs to uphold him Neither will that man stand long for Christ who stands more by the strength of his owne will then by the power of Gods grace Adam standing in his owne strength lost his happinesse when he was wise and righteous and canst thou maintaine thy selfe in an happy condition by thine owne strength when thou art unrighteous True Saints are kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a keeping of any thing as by a Guard Gods grace is a guard by which he doth keepe all his in the way of salvation so that it is impossible they should fall away from his grace It is no wonder then if they fall way from grace to Familisme who doe maintaine that Saints may fall away from grace The fift Direction Be not loose or licentious in life or neglective of Sanctification under the profession of the Doctrines of Free-grace and Justification Many of the professed Familists which we meet with have been loose Professors of the Doctrine of Grace The Libertine doth live next dore to the Familist and Libertinisme is the broad road and high-way or beaten-path to Familisme Lastly take heed of vaine janglings and disputings in matters of Religion Religion is more in practise then Controversies or speculation Be more conscientious to practise what thou knowest then curious in disputing about things that thou knowest not And let thine eare be rather open to those that will instruct thee then to those that will dispute with thee The Disputes and Controversies of the times have made many Atheists and Familists in these times Origen speaking of these words in the 21. Exod. 22. If men strive and hurt a woman with child so that her fruit depart from her c. doth thus allegorize them The woman with child saith he are weake Christians who are with child and ready to bring forth truth The men that strive are Professors that with bitternesse and violence doe contend for their opinions and while they strive in heat and bitternesse for their opinions the Christian miscarries and doth not bring forth truth How many who did seeme to have Christ almost formed in them have miscarried and fallen to Familisme by the strivings and contentions of Professors that thou mayst therefore learne wisdome by their folly and stand more stedfastly by their fall treasure up the truths which have been delivered and imprint them upon your memories and because reasons precepts exhortations and Rules doe little advantage us to preserve us in the Profession of the Truth without the power of him who is truth looke unto him to preserve in the Faith of your union with himselfe and his Father in the Spirit and to ascertaine you of your resurrections as part of his body and to enable you as his members to glorifie him and his Father in the Spirit for evermore Amen The great Joy of Saints in the great Day of the Resurrection SERMON III. Preach'd on a Thanks-giving DAY ISAIAH 26.19 Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the Earth shall cast forth her dead I Have shewed unto you that these words are a present comfort or cordiall given by God unto his people for the refreshment of their languishing spirits and sad hearts in the midst of their afflictions And have proved that the bodies of the Saints shall arise and that they shall arise as the body of the Lord Jesus He is their head they shall rise as his menbers He dyed to bring his people to a sprituall onenesse with himselfe and his Father They are his possession and inheritance And as a body may properly be called the body of that soule which doth informe it so Christ shall be the spirituall forme and soule to those that shal be raised at the great day of the generall resurrection By these and other spirituall considerations I did evidence this truth that the bodies of the Saints shall he raised as the dead bodie of their blessed Siviour My dead body shall they rise I shall now by the Assistance of Gods grace briefly open unto you the words that follow in the Text and make choyse of one proposition from them which may heighten your spirituall joy this day upon which I shall enlarge my selfe and so shall commend you and what I shall deliver to you to the blessing of the Almighty The next word which doth present it selfe to us in the Text is this Awake which doth afford us this observation that Death is but a sleep It is night for a time with the Saints while they sleep in their graves but they shall awake at the morning of the resurrection The grave is a bed of rest perfumed and made sweet to all Saints by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ who hath taken away whatsoever is bitter and unpleasant in it It is no longer a curse to the Saints but rather a part of their happinesse Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord Rev. 14.4.13 As the Psalmist speakes Psal 17. When I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse that is at the great day of the resurrection after I have had a long sleep in the dust when the night is past and the day of the resurrection shall shine I shall awake and then I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse Isa 57.2
on the Crosse was raised from thâ— dead and enemies to the Doctrine of the resurrection which is to be wrought by his power and that you may see how little I regard the speeches of these enemies of Christ and the glorious resurrection of Saints I would not seeme for their sakes to desert my discourse therefore I did resolve to goe on with it this day Then thirdly I apprehend it may much further the worke of the day for if we have remembred God aright in our prayses having made mention of his goodnesse to the Land and Nation we have done it spiritually and have more rejoyced in spirituall then temporall mercies And if our joy should end in rejoycing only for teporal mercies we should rejoyce rather carnally then spiritually Therefore having in the beginning of the day rejoyced for the mercies that God hath shewed to the Land I thinke I shall doe well if I raise you in your spirits by what I shall speake from these words and from the sight of Nationall mercies and temporall deliverances take occasion to draw your eyes to behold by Faith how you and all Saints shall rejoyce when you are delivered from all enemies at the resurrection that so I may sublimate your joy by carrying you higher in â—he spirit to rejoice in the spirituall things spoken of in the text Awake and sing Ye know we expresse our joy by singing as we may gather from that place Psal 126.1 when the Lord turned againe the captivitie â—â— Sion we were like them that dreame then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing Singing in Scripture is an expression of great joy If any be merrie let him sing saith James So my Evangelicall Prophet to shew what great joy there shall bâ— at the resurrection when the bodies of thâ— Saints shal be raised he bids us awake and sing So that this is the point there will be great joy at the resurrection For the amplifying oâ— which point I shall shew you what cause oâ— rejoycing there will be at the resurrection The spirits and the bodies of the Saints will then be reunited together again which were disunited for many yeares And as the Spirit doth with some regret griefe and unwillingnesse leave the bodie having a natural desire and appetite being planted into it by the hand of the Creator after union with the bodie so the spirit cannot but rejoyce when it is united againe to the bodie Therefore you shall find the spirits of Saints under the Altar in the Revelation 6.10 crying How long holy and true intimating their desire to be reunited to their bodies And iâ— 2 Cor. 5.4 The Apostle there shewes us that though the Saints be willing to live with thâ— Lord Jesus Christ yet there is an unwilling nesse in them to leave their bodies therefore they had rather have â—â— mortalitie swallowed up of life then to lay downe their bodies in the grave if it were the will of God We that are in this Tabernacle saith he groane being burthened not for that we would be uncloathed but cloathed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life There seemes in these words to be held forth an unwillingnes in the Saints to be uncloathed of their bodies to put off the cloathing of the flesh We observe in Philosophie that there is a naturall appetite in the soule or forme to be united to that bodie that it once informed and as it leaves the bodie with some unwillingnesse so there is a desire of reunion when they are parted so that re-union will be a cause of joy For as there is joy at the meeting of friends so the body and soule that were long together in this world shall rejoyce when they shall meet together againe This is one ground of joy from their meeting the bodie and the spirit shall meet together there shall be a reunion after there hath been a disunion between them But in the next place there will be a cause of great joy because there will be an absolute perfection both in the body and in the soule God shall be perfection in the Spirit in every facultie of it and God in his glory shall dwell likewise in the body The soule shall be full of God here we have but an imperfect knowledge of God there the soule shall be free from all ignorance having the full vision of God Here we see as in a glasse darkly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enigmatically as the Apostle speaks there we shall see face to face Here we do but as it were see the back parts of God with Moses As the Kings of Persia in State used to keep themselves from the sight of the people God doth as it were hide his face here in comparison of the full discovery which hee will make of himselfe hereafter We doe but sip of the cup of spirituall joy here but there wee shall be filled with the rivers of the pleasures of God Here we have as Austin saith guttulas but little drops of joy but there we shall be filled with joy Here we have a sight of God which doth not fully satisfie but still we desire to know more of God and more of the Lord Jesus Christ but there wee shall be satisfied with the likenesse of God as the Apostle saith Col. 3. v. 4. When Christ which is our life shall appeare then we also shall appeare with him iâ— glorie The Apostle saith 1 Joh. 3.2 Yet it doth not appeare what we shall be it is not evident to us what glorie there shall be in oâ—â— understandings how our affections shall be ravished and enamoured with the love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ it doth not appear what shal be in our spirits but we know that when he shall appeare wee shall be like him for wee shall see him as he is O what tongue of Rhetorick can expresse this what it is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ to see him as he is there is more in it then the Eloquence of Angels can set forth unto you As they shall have such unspeakable glory in their spirits so likewise there shall be a glory on their bodies Alas our bodies now are but vile bodies weake bodies but what saith the Apostle Phil. 3. ult God shall change our vile bodies and make them like his glorious body or to his body of glory for so it is in the originall As the body of the Lord Jesus Christ at his transfiguration was changed and his face did shine and his whole body did shine with heavenly brightnesse and Celestiall glory so the bodies of the Saints shall be bodies of glory there shall be a heavenly brightnesse on them Therefore Daniel speaking of the Saints at the resurrection hee saith Dan. 12.3 that they that are wise shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament and they that turne many to righteousnesse as the Stars of Heaven As the Starres are glorious creatures and the brightnesse of the
So doth this Doctrine of the resurrection for if wee consider seriously that the bodie shall be raised and we shall be happie at the resurrection in enjoying of God will not this raise up the spirit of a man to thankfulnesse and where there is true thankfulnesse will not that thankfulnesse be legible in obedience Therefore seeing God intends to glorifie thee with himselfe in bodie and in spirit since thou shalt be ever happie with him shouldest thou not glorifie this God while thou art here in thy life and conversation As the Apostle saith 2 Pet. 3.13 14. We according to his promise looke for new Heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse What is the use of this Wherefore beloved seeing ye looke for such things be diligent that â—e may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse A true assurance of salvation given by the Spirit of grace doth not make us negligent in the performance of good duties it doth not make us loose and licentious in our lives but that assurance that is a right assurance which is wrought in us by the Spirit of grace will as well teach us to be holy as assure our hearts that we shall be happy Lucian speaking scoffingly of the zeale of Christians and their readinesse to help one another doth give this as the reason of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These miserable men saith he believe that in bodie and soule they shall be immortall The scoffing Atheist did speake truth in this and found out the true â—ause of the zeale which was in primitive Christians There can be no holinesse without a perswasion of happinesse for men after this life If there be no resurrection saith Paul Let us eat and drinke 1 Cor. 15. But when a man is perswaded of this He wil purifie himselfe as Christ is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 Againe this shewes the different condition between a Saint and a sinner Looke upon Saints and sinners eye them onely with carnall eye in respect of the present condition and it may be you shall apprehend a sinner in a better condition then a Saint Gâ—â— oft-times gives temporall blessings to them which he denies to his owne people they aâ— the worlds happie creatures But looke oâ— Saints in this condition and then you shaâ— see a vast difference between the condition of a believer and of a man that is an enemâ— to Christ the one shall awake and sing 〈◊〉 shall awake at the resurrection to be fillâ— with joy to be crowned as a King with in mortall glorie The other shall awake an houle As Agag when he thought and wâ— perswaded that the bitternesse of death wâ— past was hewen in pieces so Epicures anâ— prophane men that sing away sorrow feaâ— of Hell and damnation spending their dayes mirth in a moment they goe downe to the gravâ— Job 21.13 and are raised from thence 〈◊〉 suffer torments to eternitie But the Sainâ— sleeping for a while in the grave are raised felicitie This is elegantly set forth in the book of Wisdome 5. Chap. We fooles thought their lives madnesse and their end without honour and behold they are become the children of God speaking of the Saints vers 6. And in the 8. v. speaking of themselves they doe thus complaine What hath our pride profited us what hath our pomp and riches brought unto us The time will come that wicked men shall wish that they had never been else that some mountaine would be so propitious as to fall on them that they might never come into the presence of God and his Sonne Jesus Christ that shall sit upon the Throne O what a dolefull noyse will it make in the eares of wicked and ungodly men when they shall be called forth to the resurrection of Damnation while the Saints shall be bid to awake to the resurrection of life Who would bee envious at wicked men that grow rich and prosper and flourish in the world that get great estates and leave their estates and houses to their heires if they did but consider that at the resurrection they shall be enforced to take hell as part of their purchase and shall be drawne and dragged as slaves to eternall torments I remember what the Heathen said It is a miserable thing for a man to have been happie Fuisse faelicem miserrimum est Boeth It grieves a man when he comes to povertie to remember that he was once rich when a man is in a disgracefull condition to thinke with himselfe I was honourable this is double misery Remember saith Abraham to the rich man that thou in thy life time didst enjoy riches and poore Lazarus lying at thy gate was denied the crummes falling from thy Table This was the aggravation of the rich mans misery to be put in minde that he had been happy and rich upon the earth Consider this and you shall plainly see that rich and great men without Christ though they live happily to the eye of the world yet they are in a miserable condition and the meanest Sainâ— is in a farre better condition then they Thâ—â— wicked rich men shall awake to howling and screeching to misery and torment eternall the poore Saint to joy rejoycing and happâ—nesse for evermore Wicked men are like the Persians slave whâ— for a day was feasted and had all things provided to delight him that they used to provide for the Emperour and at night he wâ— put to death So wicked men God feaâ— them as slaves here they have furnished tablâ— and servants children and musicke bâ— poore wretches night comes upon them aâ— death takes off their heads and they are miserable to eternitie Therefore James saith They are nourished as against the day of slaughter God doth but fat them as men use to fat beasts for sacrifice or slaughter so God suffers them to swim in pleasures to live in vanities to get riches to grow fat in the earth but it is to destroy them they are fatted for the day of damnation In this glasse or mirrour see the difference between Saints and sinners Then in the next place seeing it is thus that the people of God shall be made partakers of such happinesse at the resurrection let me exhort you to waite in expectation and desire of it A Ward that knows that when he shall live beyond the dayes of his wardship he shall have his Lands and possessions in his own hands he desires that the time may be expired that he may have all in his own hands that now is in the hands of his Guardian who it may be keepes him to a short allowance though he be an heire to great possessions Wee are Wards as yee heard even now and wee are under a guardian though wee are rich in reversion happinesse and heaven and all things being â—urs yet God keepes us low here Let us desire that the time of our wardship may be exâ—ired that wee may come to that happinesse which he hath promised that wee may
happinesse by Jesus Christ at the resurrection thou shalt be happie with God and with Jesus Christ at the resurrection in body and spirit Which God of his infinite mercy grant unto us all Amen A POST-SCRIPT TO THE READER WHen one made a motion that a Law might be made and some great punishment inflicted upon Paricides another objected against him and said that such a Law would be uselesse because there were no Paricides in the Common-wealth neither would there be any here after to be punished by his Law So some may suppose that some passages in these Discourses are needlesse which have their point directed against the faces of blaspheming Familists and licentious Libertines apprehending that there are none such amongst us for the present and that there will not be any such who may come up as from hell amongst us hereafter And none will be so ready to lay this charge upon mee as those that are of this number themselves and whose consciences doe inwardly tell them that they are the men who are here painted forth and presented to the world Wherefore that those who are unacquainted with them may not be insnared by them unawares conceiving that there are none such to deceive them And that I may decline the hatred and reproaches which these enemies of the Lord may hope to bring upon mee for writing against them I have collected and translated some few passages of Mr. Calvins booke against the furious sect of Libertines wherein their opinions and practices are largely discovered which may perswade all men that there are such and may be such against whom I speake though they know them not and may prevent the slanders of those who are such Chap. 1. In ancient Histories wee doe never reade of any heresie that was so dangerous as the heresie of the Libertines Chap. 2. He proveth that they are those of whom Peter speaketh in the 2 Pet. 2.12.17 18 19 who shall allure men to error by their great swelling words and those spoken of in the 10. verse of the Epistle of Jude And doth affirme that he had never understood the things there spoken of unlesse he had seene them in those men of his time Concerning their swelling kinde of speaking tumidum dicendi genus he hath these expressions When thou shalt begin to heare them thou wilt be ready to thinke that they are snatched up in an extasie above the clouds For besides this that they alwayes speake of the Spirit their speech is in such a strange idiome that men when they first heare them doe stand still astonished in admiration of them He doth parallel them with some ancient Heretiques and farther enlarging himselfe concerning them doth give us this account of their proceedings At the first they rejected the Scriptures and scoffed at all the Apostles calling Paul a broken vessell Peter the denier of God John a stupid young man Matthew an usurer But afterwards when they perceived that all men abhorred them they concluded that they were to act more cautiously and obscurely And then they pretended that they did not reject the Scripture but changed it all into allegories and wrested it by strange and unheard of interpretations transforming an horse into a man and as wee vulgarly speake feigning a cloud to be the horn of a Lantern Of their subtlety which they make use of to deceive the simple he afterwards thus speaketh They doe not declare to men what is their judgement but hold them in suspence a long while and lead them about by ambages whom they doe desire to bring to their sect not revealing their secrets unto them before they are so deluded and bewitched by them that they see they can perswade them to what they shall please c. Whatsoever Christians doe professe concerning eternall life and a surrection to theâ— s a fable Chap. 4. He sheweth the authors and giveth his reason why he writeth against them Should I be silent when I see these men sâ— abusing the name of Christ that pretending to be for Christ and in his Name bring worse abomination into the world then ever was brought into it before Shall I speake against Papists and spare these who are more pernicious enemies to God then they and doe more overthrow the truth of God Chap. 5. Where he discovereth the followers of these deluders Some addicted to foolish curiositie doe apply their minds to vaine and superfluous questions when they should rather follow things which are profitable and for edification and being not contented with the simplicitie of the Scripture doe run to and fro in vaine and frivolous speculations either for the satisfying of their mad and wicked lusts or for the perswading of others that they are more wittie then other men and doe follow more sublime matters Some are prophane who being weary of the yoke of Christ are willing that their consciences should be rocked into a sleepe that without any Religion they may serve the Devill Chap. 6. He wisheth men to take heed of pride Rom. 12.3 and to rest satisfied with the pure and simple truth of the Gospel in which are locked up the infinite treasures of God Chap. 7. Of their idiome and manner of speaking They use a peculiar manner of speaking which is not understood of any but those of their own faction and fraternitie c. I deny not but that they use common words but they doe so deprave their signification that it is difficult to finde out what they affirme or what they deny Chap. 8. They will sometimes deny what at another time they affirme and doe transforme themselves according to the will and pleasure of their hearts c. The art of dissembling is one of the chiefe Chapters in their Divinitie They will conforme to all the superstitions of the Papists pretending that a Christian man hath libertie in all outward things For the justifying of their lying and dissembling they make use of this place that they must be as wise as serpents Chap. 9. They account the Scriptures fables yet they make use of such places which they can wrest to their sense Not that they beleeve them but that they may trouble and unsettle ignorant people If any place of Scripture be brought against them they say that wee stumble at the letter whereas wee should follow the quickning spirit Although they are more pernicious then the Papists yet this principle is common to them both that the Scripture is to be transformed into allegories affecting a better and more perfect wisdome then is contained in it Chap. 10. They have the Spirit alwayes in their mouths and can scarce speak two little sentences without the repetition of it perswading men that they are spirituall and altogether divine By which meanes it is an easie thing for them to deceive the best of Saints untill they come to understand unto what their spirituality tendeth And in the same chapter he giveth a good direction for dealing with them When they use a long