worke beleefe You will say this miracle confirmes it in generall if the Lord should speak personally to me and say I will be thy Husband this were to purpose Beloved consider it is all one because you have this generall He bids the Gospell be preached to every Creature therefore thou art sure thou art in that number consider that the word of promise also which word you all know that Whosoever beleives shall be saved that is whosoever will take his pardon shall be saved and nothing keepes men from salvation but the refusing it therefore say not he that commits such and such sinnes shall bee damned but he that takes not the pardon shall be damned Beloved this is a matter of great consolation this is that that is our Freehold we have a sure word and this is the Gospell that wee have to preach that whatsoever the rebels bee and whatsoever the sinnes are yet they may come in and be received I but my sinnes are great as red as skarlet What if they be they shall be as snow But I have often committed them What if thou have He that sayd to thee thou shalt forgive thy brother to seaventy times seaven times sure He is able to forgive to seaventy thousand times seaven times But my sinnes are exceeding great as the mighty mountaines They shal be drowned in the bottome of the Sea that is as able to drowne mountaines as the least hill Oh! but they are exceeding many I am guilty of all variety of sinnes there is scarce any grosse sinne but I have committed it There is as great variety and multitudes of mercie to cover and swallow them You will say This is possible if my heart were soft able to repent but I have a hard obdurate heart If thy heart be hard he can take away that stonie heart and give thee a fleshy heart this hee hath promised Why now what hast thou to doe even to lay fast hold on this word as they did on the hornes of the Altar and even goe and say to the Lord Lord I will hold me here Lord it is thy word thou canst not deny it Lord if thou wilt kill mee here I will dye I will not let my hold goe I say if thou doe but take hold of this word That He justifieth the ungodly and whosoever will beleeve shall be saved if thou take this hold I assure thee my life for thine it is impossible but the Lord should in the end give thee this answere Be of good comfort thy faith hath saved thee I deny not but that the Lord may hold off for a while for a time he may keepe off and give thee hard words and say as he did to the woman of Canaan that hee is not sent to such a dog as thou art but if thou persist as she did and keepe close to this word of promise then after thou shalt receive the same answer that shee did Thy faith hath saved thee be of good comfort But you will say if it be thus this seemeth to be a very easie thing Is there no more to doe I answer yes and thou must marke diligently that thou runne not away with a false conceit now First thou must take out this pardon You know a pardon in Law though the Prince give it if it be not taken and sued out it will doe a man no good Againe this pardon hath certaine conditions thou must remember the conditions if thou wilt have the pardon thou must observe the covenants and conditions Lastly know that this pardon may be for a certaine time after which the pardon may be out of date For the first of these you will say what is it to take out the pardon Beloved it is this when a man hath seene his sinnes and knowes his need and his rebellions for that is first required as you know whosoever pleads a pardon must know himselfe guilty and then seeketh a pardon prayeth earnestly day and night and giveth not over beseecheth the Lord to forgive his sinnes and also if he stay long as sometimes he doth as we see in that Parable of the man that was in bed with his children and loth to rise yet thou must continue knocking and not give over till he give thee What is it he will give me you will say That is till he give thee a secret assurance till hee send His Spirit from Heaven to say to thy soule in thee I am thy salvation till hee give thee some secret comfort when thou hast that once then thou hast taken out thy pardon But till there be some calming of thy conscience some secret answere of the Spirit though there bee a pardon contained in the Word thou hast not taken it out for thou takest it not out till the Lord gives it out and when thou once gettest this secret hint thou hast thy pardon sued out Now let Satan and thine enemies come thou mayst be bold to plead thou hast thy pardon and it shall never bee taken from thee that is the first thing To take out thy pardon The second is there is a condition required after taking it there is this condition in it you must bee no longer rebels you must come in and be subjects and serve and obey your King I say you must remember this therefore thou must goe to the Lord and say I know well there is such a condition in the pardon I am content to enter into covenant with thee so that that which is past may bee cleared I resolve for the time to come to serve thee and feare thee and obey thee I say if thou canst bring thy heart to this purpose and resolution thou hast kept the condition But you will say How shall we doe to keepe it it is one thing to purpose but to keepe it is hard I will be bold to say take no care for that if thy purpose be sincere I say this to any let his purpose be sincere and his resolution without deceit and pretences to serve the Lord to cleave to Him as an Husband then I say the Lord hath undertaken to give thee a new heart still and hee will enable thee to keepe it bring thou a well bottomed new resolution so as to say I will give up my selfe in obedience and the LORD hath promised it is one part of the Covenant wherein hee hath promised not onely to forgive but in Ezech. 36. He will give a new heart and a new spirit bee thou but willing to take him and thou shalt bee able to doe that which thou hast undertaken Well the last thing is the time of the pardon there may bee a time when the pardon is out of date You will say what is that time Know that there is a double time one is the time that is revealed to us that are the Ministers of the Gospell that is the time of this life for wee can
glory and yet as that is most tender to him so our fingers are more itching after that A man is greedy of applause and if hee looke not narrowly to himselfe is ready to take the glory to himselfe that belongs to the Lord. Thou must be the Lords glory but if thou take any to thy selfe and if thou stand on thy owne bottome thou art thy owne glory and not his therefore above all things take heede of being deceived and found guilty herein But you will say how may I come to know it First consider what thy end is in thy actions whether the demonstration of some gift God hath given thee or for his glory and if thou findest not out thy end yet consider whether in matter or manner of doing thou dost not steppe out of the way if not by this yet consider after the action is done when any thing is well performed by thee whether thy heart beginne not to swell in thee that is to thinke better of thy selfe than before that is a signe thou takest something to thy selfe that belongs to the Lord. And when a man takes that to himselfe which is the Lords hee is not the glory of the Lord. If not by this then Lastly consider whether thou art more troubled for that discredit that comes to thy selfe or the dishonour that redounds to the Lord upon thy miscariage at any time consider how thou art affected with any thing One step further you must goe and that is not onely to take nothing to your selves but likewise so behave your selves that you may be an honour to God by shewing forth the graces of Christ that the Lord may boast of you as he did of Iob Iob. 1. 8. I say thou must cary thy selfe so as the Lord may glory in thee say to Sathan of thee as he did to him of Iob seeest not such a man in such a towne in such a place how zealous he is how holy be not a shame and reproach to him but a praise hee lookes for this from his Saints and therefore weares them as signets on his right hand As great men weare diamonds and precious stones and jewels in their eares about their necks and in their rings to adorne and beautifie them so the servants of the Lord are his jewels that he weares to make him glorious in the eyes of men great men are known by their Iewells and so is the Lord by his Saints Therefore it is a great motive to keepe thy selfe unspotted of the world to cary thy selfe so that his name may be honoured and his Gospell well spoken of the glory of Christ is engaged in thy cariage let it be such as becommeth the Gospell Againe if Christ be the head of every man then try and consider from hence what thy condition is If he be the head of the Church no man within the compasse of the true Church but is a member of Christ. Consider whether thou be a member of his body one that is guided by his Spirit or no but how shall we know that First by this thou shalt find the same Spirit that is in Christ living and breathing in thee thou shalt finde the same disposition and antipathy and affections to be in thee that are in him abhorring that evill and cleaving to that good he doth for the body of the tree and the branches are not of different natures therefore consider what similitude is betweene the Lord and thee So soone as thou art a living member the same spirit is sent into thy heart and insinuates it selfe into thy soule and makes it conformable to Christ in all things As the fire insinuates it selfe into the iron and makes it like it self He that is in Christ is made a new creature and partakes of the divine nature and is like him in all things But if this be the rule I feare my condition for I finde many contrary dispositions in mee to his Word and contrary to Christ. Answ. Thou maist finde many rebellions in thee and yet the same disposition remaine in thee that is in Christ. There may be swellings in the members but yet there is a disposition of health and strength and vivacity that weares them out 1 Cor. 6. 15 16. Know you not that your bodies are members of Christ Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot God forbid c. that is it is impossible it should be so it is like that speech in Rom. 6. 1 2. Shall wee continue in sinne c. how shall wee that are dead c. live any longer therein That is as it is impossible for him that is dead to sinne to live therein so it is impossible for him that is a member of Christ to be made the member of an harlot Why what say you to Davids case that fell into adultery Answ. Though he did he was not made the member of an harlot For therefore you shall finde in the 16. verse bee that is glued for so the word in the originall signifies that is adhereth to an harlot out of the inward sway of his heart gives his minde to any sinne hee cannot be a member of Christ though he that is a member may fall into many sinnes yet hee is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glued nor knit to any sinne for then hee could not be a member of Christ for if hee bee so hee is of the same spirit or body Now it is impossible to be of the body of Christ and of a contrary body too If a man have his heart glued to any sinne he is not a member of Christ be it a matter of credit learning pleasure or delight any lust if thy heart be glued to it and thou canst not get them asunder thou art not a member of Christ. For they are not wedded to any sin but there is a divorce between every member of Christ and sinne though they may fall one upon another and touch each yet they are of a mouldering nature they will not cleave together For he that is of God is in Christ and hath the nature of Christ in him that will not suffer him to sin As take water and oyle they may violently be shaken together and they will seeme to be mixed together and to be one but they will not continue so long there is no coalition because they are of divers natures and the one remaines water still and the other oyle so he that is in Christ cannot cleave to any sinne though sin and he may touch sometime yet they are strangers they cannot stand together they cannot cleave one to another Besides consider the manner of thy obedience all that are Christs obey him after that manner that the members doe the head The headship of Christ is not an imaginary thing he is not like the politicke head of a body but he is like a naturall head that is there comes a naturall true living influence
and heavy laden c. and wee are Ambassadors beseeching you to bee reconciled These and the like are the sure Word of God upon which thy faith must bee grounded so that thou commest to say thus to thy selfe well whatsoever come of it I am sure there is a corner stone on which whosoever is built shall not be ashamed nor deceived I am sure of it from a word that the Lord hath confirmed with a seale and with an oath and therefore I rest upon it And it is not a bare word that Christ hath given to assure us of this which is a signe it is a hard thing for us to beleeve it it is no easie thing for there is added to the word a seale and it is confirmed with an oath so then that is the first thing thou art to consider whether thy faith hath beene pitcht upon som such word and whether thou hast applied that word to thy selfe or no. In the next place beside this word there is a witnesse from the spirit there is a wondrous worke of the Holy Ghost which saith to a mans heart bee of good comfort feare not I am thy salvation If you say to me what needs the witnesse of the spirit is not the Word enough if Christ declare himselfe so farre that in plaine tearmes he is willing to match with us what need the speciall witnesse of the Holy Ghost I answer there is very great neede of it because the Word of it selfe is not able to comfort and quicken and releeve us it is not able to beget in us peace and joy and righteousnesse but it is even like a dead letter it is a cold dead thing able to doe nothing with the heart of man without the Spirit this we finde by experience the clearest arguments and the most comfortable that the Scripture useth to comfort a man in distresse that hath his Conscience troubled with the apprehension of his sin and of Gods wrath they are all nothing till it please God to send his owne Spirit to beare witnes to a mans spirit You will say what is this witnesse of the Spirit I answer it is a certaine divine expression of Christ to the soule whereby a man is secretly assured without any argument or reason that hee is his salvation for you must know that there are indeede two things besides that confirme this truth to us that is the ground wee have in the Word and the effects and fruits of sanctification but both these doe it by way of argument for when a man argueth thus I see this generall proposition All that believe shall bee saved but I am one that believe therefore I am one that am contained under the generall pardon this I say is by way of argument So againe I finde in my selfe the fruits and effects of sanctification and I am sure none are sanctified but they are also justified and they have received the Spirit of Christ therefore I know I am one that belongs to him all this is but the witnesse of our owne spirits for these are but collections that our owne spirits gather as a conclusion from the premisses but now the witnesse of the Spirit the witnesse of the holy Ghost it is a distinct thing from this therefore Rom. 8. 16. it is said to witnesse together with our spirits and therefore is a distinct witnesse from our spirits that indeede witnesseth the same things but the witnesse is distinct from that of our owne spirit and that is without any argument or reason at all being a secret manifestation made to the soule whereby wee are comforted and assured that our sinnes are forgiven and that Christ is willing to match with us Now consider if thou wouldest know whether thou bee one that is matched with Iesus Christ whether thou have this double witnesse or no of the Word and of the Spirit You will say hath every one this secret testimony I answer that every one hath it in some degree more or lesse for that same in Rom. 8. 16. The Spirit witnesseth with our spirits is a generall proposition it concernes all beleevers even with every mans spirit the Holy Ghost beares witnesse but then wee must take the words in the right sense It is true in some the Spirit speakes more evidently and audibly with joy unspeakeable and glorious the flashes of comfort are much more bright and glorious to some then to others and such speciall witnesses of the HOLY GHOST are very rare and dispensed to us for some speciall purposes commonly after some great humilitation or prayer or to prepare us for some great enterprize or some speciall conflict they are even as the apparitions to Abraham and Iacob and Paul were Acts 23. 11. Be of good courage Paul thou must beare witnesse of mee at Rome c. so when he was at Corinth Paul bee of good comfort I am with thee Acts 18. 9. All these were on speciall occasions so I say there are some speciall witnesses of the HOLY GHOST when the HOLY GHOST speakes evidently and these are dispensed to us according to the good pleasure of God and commonly it is added for some speciall purpose now I say not that every one hath this kinde of testimony but every one hath so much witnesse from the HOLY GHOST as doth uphold his spirit that Christ is willing to match with him that hee hath or may have interest in him and in all the priviledges of his death this I say every one hath more or lesse although those speciall degrees of the evident speaking of the Holy Ghost are dispensed but to some and to those that have it but for a speciall time this is the first thing The second thing thou art to enquire into if thou wovldest know if there bee any such match betweene Christ Iesus and thee what thy owne consent hath beene and is which herein is not in words onely but is given then when they heart and affections doe or can make this answer that thou art willing to match with the Lord Iesus and this I give as a signe to examine thy heart by for it is not in the power of any man living to bring his heart to this consent nor is any creature able to doe it you may as well bring fire and water to agree together as to bring the heart of a naturall man to be willing to match with the Lord but it is a speciall worke of the holy Ghost that must mould the spirit a new and breake all in pieces and cast thee into a new frame that must make thee willing to come into so neare a Communion with the LORD IESUS for our spirits are quite contrary to it Onely concerning this take this caution that it is not so much what thou art willing to say in any case or condition for it may bee a man may bee willing sometimes to match out of feare or hope or out