odious and dangerous as the corruption of your souls and that which displeaseth the most Holy God 2. You see an excellency in Holiness of Heart and Life as the Image of God the rectitude of man and that which fits him for eternal blessedness and maketh him amiable in the eyes of God 3. You unfeignedly desire to be rid of your sin how dear soever it hath been to you and to be perfectly sanctifyed by the Holy Spirit by his degrees in the use of the means which he hath appointed and you consent that the Holy Ghost as your sanctifier do purifie you and kindle the Love of God in you and bring it to perfection 4. In Baptism you profess to renounce the world the flesh and the Devil that is as they stand for your Hearts against the Will and Love of God and against the Happiness of the unseen world and against your Faith in Christ your Saviour and against the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost If therefore you are sincere in this part of your Covenant you do upon deliberation perceive all the pleasures profits and honours of this world to be so vain and worthless that you are Habitually resolved to prefer the Love and favour of God and your salvation before them and to be Ruled by Jesus Christ and his Spirit and word rather then by the desires of the flesh or the worlds allurements or the will of man or the suggestions of the devil and to forsake all rather then forsake the Father the Saviour the Sanctifier to whom you are devoted and the everlasting life which upon his promise you have taken for your Hope and Portion This is the sense of Baptism and all this in profession being Essential to your Baptism must be Essential to your Christianity Your Parents Profession of it was necessary to your infant title to the outward priviledges of the Church Your own personal profession is necessary to your continuance of those priviledges and your visible Christianity and communion with the adult And the Truth of what you profess is necessary to your reall Christianity before God and to your title to salvation And this is it that is to be now enquired after You cannot hope to be admitted into Heaven upon lower terms then the sincerity of that profession with entereth you into the Church While we tell you of no higher matters necessary to your salvation then the sincerity of that which is necessary to Baptism and Christianity I hope you will not say we deal too strictly with you Enquire now by a diligent tryal of your hearts whether you truly consent to all these articles of your Baptismal Vow or Covenant If you do you are Regenerate by the Spirit If you do not you have but the Sacrament of Regeneration which aggravateth your guilt as a violated profession and Covenant must needs do And I do not think that any man worthy to be discoursed with will have the face to tell you that any man at the use of Reason is by his Baptism or any thing else in a state of Justification and Salvation whose heart doth not sincerely consent to the Covenant of Baptism and whose Life expresseth not that consent Hence therefore you may perceive that it is a thing unquestionable that all these persons are yet unregenerate and in the bond of their iniquity 1. All those that have not unfeignedly devoted themselves to God as being not their own but his His by the title of Creation Psal 100.3 Know ye that the Lord he is God it is he that hath made us and not we our selves we are his people and the sheep of his pasture And His by the title of Redemption for we are bought with a price 1 Cor. 7.23 And he that unfeignedly taketh God for his Owner and Absolute Lord will heartily give up himself unto him as Paul saith of the Corinthians 2 Cor. 8.5 They first gave up their own selves to the Lord and to us by the will of God And he that entirely giveth up himself to God doth with himself surrender all that he hath in desire and resolution As Christ with himself doth give us all things Rom. 8.32 and addeth other things to them that seek first his Kingdom and its Righteousness Matth. 6.33 so Christians with themselves do give up all they have to Christ And he that giveth up himself to God will live to God And he that taketh not himself to be his Own will take nothing for his Own but will study the interest of his Lord and think he is best disposed of when he honoureth him most and serveth him best 1 Cor. 6.19.20 Ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods If any of you devote not your selves unfeignedly to God and make it not your first enquiry what God would have you be and do but live to your selves and yet think your selves in a state of Life you are mistaken and do not know your selves What abundance might easily see their miserable condition in this discovery Who say in effect our lips are our own Who is Lord over us Psal 12.4 and rather hate and oppose the interest of God and Holiness in the world then devote themselves to the promoting of it Deut. 32.6 Do ye thus requite the Lord ye foolish people and unwise Is not he thy father that hath bought thee Hath he not made thee and established thee 2. All those are unregenerate and in a state of death that are not sincerely subjected to the Governing will of God but are Ruled by their carnal Interest and desires and the word of a man that can gratifie or hurt them can do more with them then the word of God To shew them the command of a man that they think can undo them if they disobey doth more prevail with them then to shew them the command of God that can condemn them unto endless misery They more fear men that can kill the body then God that can destroy both soul and body in Hell fire When the lust of the flesh and the will of man do bear more sway then the will of God its certain that such a soul is unregenerate Rom. 6.3 4 6. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin v. 16. Know ye not that to whom you yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness 1 Pet. 4.4.1 2. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh arm your selves
to be ignorant of our â—elves 3. What evils follow this Ignorance â—f our selves and what benefits self-knowâ—â—dge would procure 4. How we should â—â—prove this doctrine by Application and â—â—actice Of the first but briefly I. SElf-knowledge is thus distinguished according to the object 1. There is a Physical self knowledge when a man knows what he is as a man What his soul is and what his body and what the compound called man The Doctrine of Mans Nature or this part of Physicks is so necessary to all that it is first laid down even in the Holy Scriptures in Gen. ch 1 2 3. before his Duty is expressed And it is presupposed in all the moral passages of the word and in all the preaching of the gospel The Subject is presupposed to the Adjuncts The Subjects of Gods Kingdom belong to the Constitution and therefore to be known before the Legislation and Judgement which are the parts of the Administration Morality alway presupposeth nature The Species is in order before the separable Accidents Most ridiculously therefore doth Ignorance plead for it self against Knowledge in them that cry down this part of Physicks as Humane Learning unnecessary to the Disciplâ—â— of Christ What excellent holy Meditations of Humane nature do you find oft in 〈◊〉 and in Davids Psalms Ps 139. concluding 〈◊〉 the praise of the incomprehensible Creator ver 14. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well 2. There is a Moral Self-knowledge very necessary And this is The knowing of our selves in Relation to Gods Law or to his Judgement The former is the knowledge of our selves in respect of our Duty the second in respect of the Reward or Punishment And both of them have respect to the Law of Nature and Works or to the Remedying Law of Grace The Ethical knowledge of our selves or that which respecteth the Precept and our Duty is twofold The first is as we have performed that Duty The second as we have violated the Law by non-performance or transgression The first is the knowledge of our selves as Good the second as Evil. And both are either the knowledge of our Habits good or evil or of our Acts How we are Morally Inclined disposed or habituated or what and how we have Done We must know the Good estate of our Nature that we were created in the Bad estate of sinfull nature that we are fallen into the actual sin committed against the Law of nature and what sin we have committed against the Law of Grace and whether we have obeyed the call of the Gospel of salvation or not So that as mans state considered Ethically is threefold Institutus Destitutus Restitutus Infirmatus Deformatus Reformatus the state of Upright nature the State of Sin Original and Actual and the state of Grace we must know what we are in respect to every one of these And as to the Judicial knowledge of our selves that is as we stand related to the Promises and Threatnings the Judgement the Reward and Punishment we must know first what is due to us according to the Law of Nature and then what is due to us according to the tenour of the Law of Grace By the Law of Nature or of Works Death is the Due of fallen mankind but no man by it can lay claim to Heaven All men are under its curse or condemnation till pardoned by Christ but no man can be Justified by it By the Promise of the Gospel all true Believers renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ are Justified and made the sons of God and heirs of everlasting glory To know whether we are yet delivered from the condemnation of the Law and whether our sins are pardoned or not and whether we are the children of God and have any part in the Heavenly Glory is much of the self-knowledge that is here intended in the Text and that which most nearly concerneth the solid comfort of our souls II. BUt is all self-ignorance a shame or dangerous Answ 1. It is no other shame then what is common to humane frailty to be ignorant of much of the mystery of our Natural Generation Constitution Integrall parts and Temperament There is not a nerve or artery or vein nor the bredth of a hand from head to foot but hath something unknown to the most excellent Philosopher on Earth This little world called Man is a compound of wonders Both Soul and Body have afforded matter of endless controversie and voluminous Disputations to the most Learned men which will not admit of a full decision till we are past this state of darkness and mortality 2. There are many Controversies about the nature derivation and punishment of Original sin which a humble and diligent Christian may possibly be ignorant of 3. The degrees of Habitual sin considedered simply or proportionably and respectively to each other may be much unknown to many that are willing and diligent to know And so may divers actual sins such as we know not to be sin through our imperfect understanding of the Law and such as through frailty in a crowd of actions escape our particular observation And the sinfulness or Aggravations of every sin are but imperfectly known and observed by the best 4. The Nature and beauty of the Image of God as first planted on created man and since Restored to man Redeemed the manner of the Spirits acccess operation testimony and inhabitation are all but imperfectly known by the wisest of Believers The frame or admirable composure or contexture of the New-man in each of the renewed faculties the connexion order beauty and special use of each particular grace are observed but imperfectly by the best 5. The very uprightness and sincerity of our own hearts in Faith Hope Love Repentance and Obedience is usually unknown to Incipients or young beginners in Religion and to the weaker sort of Christians how old soever in profession and to melancholy persons who can have no thoughts of themselves but sad and fearfull tending to despair and to lapsed and declining Christians and also to many an upright soul from whom in some cases of special tryal God seems to hide his pleased face And though these infirmities are their shame yet are they not the Characters or Prognosticks of their misery and everlasting shame 6. The same persons must needs be unacquainted with their Justification Reconciliation Adoption and Title to everlasting blessedness as long as they are uncertain of theie sincerity Yea though they uprightly examine themselves and desire help of their Guides and watch and pore continually upon their hearts and wayes and daily beg of God to acquaint them with their spiritual condition they may yet be so far unacquainted with it as to pass an unrighteous judgement on themselves and condemn themselves when God hath justified them But 1. To be totally ignorant of the excellency and capacity of your immortal souls 2. To
terrible avenger and you may confess his judgements to be just but can you amicably embrace the consuming fire and love to dwell with the everlasting burnings O therefore as ever you would have the Love of God to animate and sanctifie and delight your souls study the greatness of his Love to you and labour with all possible speed and diligence to find that Christ by his spirit is within you It is the whole work of sanctification that Satan would destroy or weaken by your doubts And it is the whole work of sanctification that by Love would be promoted if you knew your interest in the Love of Christ 12. It is the knowledge of Christ dwelling in you and so of the special Love of God that must acquaint you with a life of holy Thankfulness and prase These highest and most acceptable duties will be out of your reach if Satan can hide from you that mercy which must be the chiefest matter of your Thanksgiving Will that soul be in tune for the high Praises of the Lord that thinks he meaneth to use him as an enemy Can you look for any cheerful thanksgiving from him that looks to lie in hell will he not rather cry with David Psal 6.5 In death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave who shall give thee thanks Psal 30.9 What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit shall the dust praise thee shall it declare thy truth shall the damned praise thee or shall they give thee thanks that must be scorched with the flames of thine indignation Can you expect that Joy should be in their hearts or cheerfulness in their countenances or praises in their mouths that think they are Reprobated to the fire of Hell Undoubtedly Satan is not ignorant that this is the way to deprive God of the Service which is most acceptable to him and you of the pleasures of so sweet a life And therefore he that envyeth both will do his worst to damp your spirits and breed uncomfortable doubts and fears and wrongful suspitions in your minds Whereas the Knowledge of your interest in Christ would be a continual storehouse of thanksgiving and praise and teach your hearts as well as your tongues to say with David Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye Righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart Psal 32.1 2 11. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Who forgiveth all thine iniquities Who healeth all thy diseases Who redeemeth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies Psal 103.1 2 3 4. O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me O Lord thou hast brought up my soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit sing unto the Lord O ye saints of his and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness for his anger endureth but for a moment in his favour is life Psal 30.2 3 4 5. Thanksgiving would be the very pulse and breath of your assurance of Christ dwelling in you You would say with Paul Eph. 1.3 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in celestials in Christ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in Love having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved In whom we have redemption through his blood the remission of sins according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded toward us c. Thus faith and assurance as they have an unspeakable store to work upon so it is natural to them to expatiate in the praise of our Redeemer and to delight in amplifications and commemorations of the ways of grace Just so doth Peter begin his first Epistle Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the power of Goâ— through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time wherein ye greatly rejoyce c. No wonder if the Heirs of Heaven be inclined to the language and the work of Heaven I think there are few of you that would not rejoice and by your speech and countenance express your joy if you had assurance but of the dignities and dominions of this world And can he choose but express his Joy and Thankfulness that hath assurance of the crown of life What fragrant thoughts should possess that mind that knoweth it self to be possessed by the Spirit of the living God! How thankfull will he be that knows he hath Christ and Heaven to be thankfull for What sweet delights should fill up the hours of that mans life that knows the son of God liveth in him and that he shall live in Joy with Christ for ever How gladly will he be exercised in the praises of his Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier that knows it must be his work for ever No wonder if this Joy be a stranger to their hearts that are strangers to Christ or strangers to their interest in his love No wonder if they have no hearts for these celestial works that have no part in the celestial inheritance or that know not that they have any part therein How can they joyfully give thanks for that which they know not that they have or ever shall have or have any probability to attain But to that man that is assured of Christ within him Heaven and Earth and all their store do offer themselves as the matter of his Thanks and do furnish him with provisions to feed his Praises What a shame is it that an assured heir of Heaven should be scant and barren in comfort to himself or in Thanks and Praise to Jesus Christ when he hath so full a heap of Love and mercy to fetch his motives from and hath two worlds to furnish him with the preciousest materials and hath no less then Infinite goodness even God himself to be the subject of his Praise O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good because his mercy endureth for ever what ever others do Let Israel say let the house of Aaron say let them that fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth for ever Psal 118.1 2 3 4. The
knowledge of our Interest sitteth us for his Praise Psal 118.28 Thou art my God and I will praise thee thou art 〈◊〉 God I will exalt thee Psal 116.16 17 O Lord truly I am thy servant I am thâ— servant and the son of thine handmaid thou hast â—â—â—sed my bonds I will offer 〈◊〉 thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and wiâ—â— call upon the name of the Lord His Praisâ— is for the Congregation of his Saintâ— Psal 141.1 2. Let Israel rejoyce in him thâ—â— made him let the children of Zion be joyâ—ful in their King Psal 148.13 14 Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is excellent his glory iâ— above the earth and heaven He also exalteth the horn of his people the Praise of all his Saints even of the children of Israel 〈◊〉 people near unto him Psal 132.16 I will also cloath his priests with salvation and his Saints shall shout aloud for joy Praise is a work so proper for the Saints and Thanksgiving must be fed with the knowledge of your mercies that Satan well knoweth what he shall get by it and what you will lose if he can but hide your mercies from you The height of his malice is against the Lord and the next is against you and how can he shew it more then by drawing you to rob God of his Thanks and Praise when he hath blessed and enriched you with the chiefest of his mercies Labour therefore Christians to know that you have that Grace that may be the Matter and Cause of so sweet and acceptable an employment as the Praises of your Lord. 13. Moreover you should consider that without the knowledge of your interest in Christ you cannot live to the honour of your Redeemer in such a measure as the Gospel doth require The excellency of Gospel mercies will be veiled and obscured by you and will not be revealed and honoured by your lives Your low and poor dejected spirits will be a dishonour to the faith and hope of the Saints and to the Glorious inheritance of which you have so full a prospect in the promises If you take the son of a Prince in his infancy and educate him as the son of a plowman he will not live to the honour of his birth which he is not acquainted with The heirs of Heaven that know not themselves to be such may live like the heirs of Heaven as to uprightness and humility but not in the triumphant Joy nor in the couragious boldness which becometh a Believer What an injury and dishonour is to our Redeemer that when he hath done and suffered so much to make us happy we should walk as heavily as he had done nothing for us at all Anâ— when he hath so fully secured us of eveâ—â—lasting happiness and told us of it so eâ—â—presly that our Joy may be full we shouâ—â— live as if the Gospel were not the Gospel 〈◊〉 such things had never been promised or râ—â—vealed When Heaven is the Object aâ—â— the promise of God is the groundwork 〈◊〉 our faith we should live above all earthâ—â— things as having the honours and pleasure of the world under our feet accountinâ— all as loss and dung for the excellency of 〈◊〉 knowledge of Jesus Christ Phil. 3.8 whoâ— we should love though we have not seen him in whom though now we see him not yet bâ—â—lieving we should rejoyce with joy unspeakaâ—ble and full of glory as those that 〈◊〉 receive the end of their faith the salvation oâ— our souls 1 Pet. 1.8 9. And how caâ— we do this if we are still questioning the Love of Christ or our interesâ— in it Believers should with undaunted resolution charge through the armies of temptation and conquer difficulties and suffer for the name of Christ with joy accounting it a bessed thing to be persecuted 〈◊〉 righteousness sake because that theirs iâ— the kingdom of Heaven Because of the greatness of the Reward they should rejoyce and be exceeding glad Matth. 5.10 12. And how can they do this that believe not that the Reward and Kingdom will be theirs The Joys of faith and confidence on the promise and strength of Christ should overcome all inordinate fears of man For he hath said I will never fail thee nor forsake thee So that we may boldly say The Lord is my helper and I wiâ—l not fear what man shall do unto me Heb. 13.5.6 And how can we do this while we are questioning our part in the Christ and promise that we should thus boldly trust upon 14. Lastly consider that the knowledge of your part in Christ may make all sufferings easie to you You will be so much satisfied in God your portion as will abate the desires and drown the Joys and sorrows of the world You will judge the sufferings of this present time unwâ—rthy to be compared to the Glory that shall be revealed in us Rom. 8.18 You will choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of the world as having respect to the recompence of reâ—ward Heb. 11.25 26. All this must bâ— done and will be done by true believers that have an assurance of their own sinceâ—rity They must and will forsake all and take up the Cross and follow Christ in hopâ— of a Reward in Heaven as it is offered theâ— in the Gospel when they know their speciaâ— interest in it For these are Christs termâ— which he imposeth on all that will be hiâ— Disciples Luk. 14.33 18.22 24 25. But you may certainly perceive that iâ— will be much more easie to part with all and undergoe and do all this wen we have the great encouragement of our assured inetrest then when we have no more but the common offer To instance in some particulars 1. Do you live where serious Godliness is derided and you cannot obey the word of God and seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness without being made the common scorn and the daily jeast and by-word of the company Let it be so If you know that you have Christ within you and are secured of the everlasting Joys will you feel will you regard such things as these â— shall the jeast of a distracted miserable fool abate the joy of your â—ssured happiness Princes and noblemen â—ill not forsake their dominions or Lord-ships nor cast away the esteem and â—omfort of all they have because the poor â—o ordinarily reproach them as Proud â—â—merciful oppressors They think they may bear the words of the miserable while â—hey have the the pleasure of prospe And shall not we give losers leave to â—alke We will not be mockt out of the comfort of our health or wealth our habitaâ—ions or our friends and shall we be mockt â—ut of the comfort of Christ and of the presence of the comforter himself If they that go naked deride you for having cloaths and they