love and free grace by a Covenant of grace sealed with the Bloud of Jesus Christ Guilt cannot looke on Majesty and Majesty is most terrible in an Enemy and a Judge but when Christ enterposes God is a reconciled God and tender Father in Jesus Christ In Christ Gods nature is lovely to us and our persons lovely to God God doth beseech you and Christ intreates you to be reconciled God shewes mercy to them that deserve no mercy There is an Heart-breaking and yet an Encouraging Secret a Gospell Secret these Secrets are usually the first ground of faith and hope Now faith and hope doe kindle in us a love to God and love doth most sweetely breake the heart and humble the soule My froward soule is now willing to abase it selfe before so good a God a God so willing to shew mercy to such a wretch as I am who deserve no mercy I see nothing in my selfe to encourage me to goe to God but I see enough in my selfe to drive me to him and I see enough in God for to encourage me to runne unto him I see mercy enough in God merit enough in Christ holinesse enough in the Spirit of holinesse to perswade me to runne to God for grace as well as mercy for faith and repentance as well as any other graces for pardon of sinne and power against it Come then be convinced of thine owne naughtinesse in spirituall respects humbly and yet chearefully cast thy selfe upon Gods free grace for pardon depend upon Christs obedience alone for righteousnesse upon his holy Spirit the Comforter for holinesse and comfort and say as Bradford did I am Hell but God is Heaven I am sinne but Christ is righteousnesse Blesse God for providing thee a Surety a Saviour who is able to pay all thy debts and to supply all thy wants I hope by this time thou art encouraged to trust Christ stedfastly and love him heartily and if thou findest thy heart overcome by the love of God in Christ then thou mayest goe to Christ not out of pure neede but pure love and Christ will give thee such liberall entertainement and hearty welcome that thou wilt prize and love Christ for himselfe and for his holinesse and all his excellencies as well as benefits and the more thou dost prize him the faster will thy devoute soule by a lively faith cleave unto him and the more thou dost cleave to him by faith the faster wilt thou adhere to him by love and the more thou dost love Christ the more wilt thou hate sin abhorre thy self for â—inne and deny thy selfe for Christ And the more thou art convinced of thy sinfulnesse and abased for thy sinne the more wilt thou prize Christ and love him and runne to him for grace and mercy and draw new vertue and fresh supplies from him that thou mayest every way expresse thy love unto him And beleeve it there will be no love lost between thee and Christ thou shalt be delighted with his presence satisfied with his love and acquainted with those other Secrets which God imparts to men after they are made Saints and freinds Not onely the wisedome of God hid in a Mystery of faith and godlinesse but the deepe things of God the Secrets of the Spirit of Adoption those Love-Secrets which Christ imparts to us when he comes in to suppe with us even Miracles of love and Treasures of glory And when Christ doth thus feast you with his love you will theâ— demonstrate your Spouse-like love to Jesus Christ you will be able to say that you love Christ for 〈…〉 for what you have from him or by him but you 〈…〉 in your love to him though you lose all you have for him When God doth bestow these loveâ—tokens and impart these Love-Secrets to his elect by a Spirit of Revelation Regeneration Adoption and hath taugh◠〈…〉 to know him love him and crie Abba Father to him the◠〈◊〉 ownes them for his sonnes and daughters and saith of them as he 〈◊〉 here of Abraham I know them I love them approve them because I chose them from all eternity Ob. But you will say the Secret imparted to Abraham seemes to be a Secular-Secret rather then a Religious-Secret Sol. I answer this Secret was imparted at least in Ordine ad Spiritualia for religious purposes and there are many edifying Secrets contained in it Abraham was not to repeate it as a story but as a Sermon to his Posterity that they might behold the Majesty of Jehovah in this great example of Divine vengeance and be perswaded to walke in the way of Jehovah as it is in my text This Secret was communicated before hand that the burning of Sodom might not be imputed to chance fortune or a violent tempest raised by the common course of nature but to the immediate hand of God That the sin-revenging Justice of God might be magnified and Posterity deterred from the sinnes of Sodom Pride fulnesse of bread abundance of Idlenesse unnaturall lust and base fornication Ezek. 16. 49. 2 Pet. 2. 6. Secondly This Secret was imparted to Abraham by way of Prolepsis for the preventing of an Objection which might have staggered his faith for God had given that Land to Abraham Lot had made choise of Sodom and Abrahams Portion bordered upon Lots and therefore Abraham would have beene exceedingly staggered at the Overthrow of Sodom if God had not acquainted him with this Secret before hand And therefore I have so freely discoursed of Encouraging Secrets that I might remove those blocks at which our faith is most apt to stumble Thirdly By the imparting of this Secret Lots policy is confuted and Abrahams selfe-denying faith commended Lot chooses the richer soyle but the fouler seate because of worldly accommodations but on a sudden the wickednesse of the place calls for a devouring fire which licks up all the wealth and buries all the glory of Sodom in dust andashes this Secret is not secular which takes off the heart from all secular accommodations and teaches men to choose their seate or dwelling not for secular advantages but for Spirituall Accommodations Fourthly It was requisite to shew you when a man is in an approved condition and how a man may be brought to lay hold upon the Covenant because when God speaking of Abraham saith I know him the meaning is I approve him as a man in Covenant with me he is a sincere upright man and will be true to me in the most declining times God takes notice of his Saints and Servants with a Knowledge of Approbation a sweete loving knowledge which implyes a deare and tender respect but God takes notice of every particular person with a Knowledge of Observation for God observes all our dispositions habits and inclinations all our thoughts plots designes all our desires intentions resolutions words and actions and will call us to an account for all in the presence of Saints and Angels before the Tribunall of Christ when Hypocrites and
and governe our families untill we have learned how to rule our selves we are not fit to command till we have put our spirits under an higher and better spirit then our owne He that rules his owne spirit is a better man then he that takes or rules a City Prov. 16. 32. If I my selfe doe not walke in the way of Jehovah I shall never get my family into it or keepe them in it Personall holinesse doth fit us for Houshold godlinesse Zacheus did not endeavour to bring his family into the way of faithfull Abraham till he himselfe became a Sonne of Abraham Luke 19. 9. Salvation comes to our hearts before we are seriously Instrumentall to bring it into our houses Christ said to Zacheus upon the day of his conversion This day is salvation come to this house for so much as he also is the Sonne of Abraham if you will be members of Christ you must be sonnes of Abraham Doe not say that I perswade you to be men of an Old Testament spirit sure the Old Testament and the New were written by the selfe same spirit and the selfe same Covenant of grace is propounded in both though under very different administrations Abraham was a man of an Evangelicall Spirit under the Old Testament nothing could satisfie his raised spirit and enlarged heart but Jesus Christ God made him a gracious promise Gen. 15. 1. but Lord God saith he what wilt thou give me since I goe childlesse ver. 2. as if he had said how shall I have thee for my God and Father reward and Saviour if the promised Seed who is to breake the head of the Serpent all the power and policy of the divell doe not spring from my loynes It is cleare and evident that Abrahams heart was not set upon any common seed but that promised seed in which all the Nations of the earth were to be blâ—ssed For the Apostle shewes that the promise Gen. 13. 15. is meant of Christ To thy Seed which is Christ Gal. 3. 16. Abraham was not justified by beleeving that he should have a numerous of spring but by beleeving in Christ he saw the day of Christ by faith reioyced in hope and beleeved against hope and if we will be his sonnes the Apostle shewes what we must beleeve in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans and the three last verses That by the way but if you will fully prove your selves to be sonnes of Abraham you must have the same minde and heart the same faith that Abraham had and walke in the same way and steps that Abraham did as farre as Evangelicall administrations will permit for you must observe that difference be pleased then sadly to consider these few Observations First Abraham was a man much given to Heavenly meditation a fundamentall duty of Religion which layes the ground-worke and contrives the Plat-forme of Houshold-godlinesse Abraham had his minde fixed and his heart warmed with meditation that he might be raised and enlarged for the highest strains of spirituall devotion when God gave him a promise that Sarah should have a son Abraham meditates upon the promise till his heart was even enravished with love and ioy The good man is pleased in his minde and laughes in his heart and breaketh forth into Soliloquies upon this occasion and when his heart is by these contemplations and solitary discourses put into a praying frame put into tune as it were O then he prayes Gen. 17. 17 18. Prayer is not the childe of wit and phantasie it is the rapture of an elevated spirit the heavenly dew of a broken heart I meane a spirit elevated by a spirit of faith and a heart broken with the spirit of love Would you be sons of Abraham learne this divine Logique this sacred Eloquence Let meditation fit you for Soliloquies and Soliloquies for Prayer Meditation helpes the memory purges the conscience purifies the heart reformes the life It makes all our knowledge to become practicall because it affects the heart with those truthes which we beleeve it kindles love inflames zeale and when our love burnes and our zeale flames we shall warme others by speaking from our owne hearts to the hearts of our family the convincing and quickning truth of God Secondly Abraham was an humble and mortified man When he received a gracious message from God in pretious promises he falls downe upon his face not out of a superstitious phantasie but out of a sweet selfe-abhorrency in adoration of Gods Maiesty and thankefulnesse for his mercy You may read of this Son-like reverence twice in one chapter Gen. 17. 3. 17. O let us consider Gods Maiesty and our basenesse Gods purity and our sinfulnesse Gods free-grace and our unworthynesse Gods rich bounty and our unthankfulnesse that we may learne to abase our selves and exalt our God Abraham his thoughts did assuredly dwell upon humbling and mortifying considerations he laid out his money upon a buryiâ—g place as if it had beene the most necessary purchase and when he was at prayer O saith he I am but dust and ashes Gen 18. 27. as if he had said what am I that I should approach into the presence of so great a Majesty Alas I am but dust and ashes and yet I take upon me to speake to Jehovah the God of glory Our blessed Saviour did more then once at the feast breake out into a discourse of his buriall once at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper Math. 26. 6. and another time in the city at the house of a Pharisee Luke 7. 36 37. Our deare Lord would teach us to be of such a composed spirit that the dainties of a feast or the fragrant smell of costly Oyntments may not tempt us to take off our thoughts from humbling and mortifying considerations Whilest we are feasting we may be dying Jobs children were strucke dead whilest they were feasting and drinking wine Consider it all you that sit in the Congregation of the mighty though you sit there as Gods you must dye like men Thirdly Abraham was a selfe-denying man at the Command of God he left his father forsook his country renounced his idols circumcised himselfe and his houshold though it was painefull to the flesh and seemed immodest nay ridiculous to carnall men and cost him his bloud he turned Hagar and Ismael out of doors and was ready to sacrifice his dearest Isaack though the Command seemed contrary to nature and religion to Gods promise and his owne salvation You may suppose him disputing with himselfe much after this manner What shall I sacrifice my sonne Isaack the sonne of my age and love my heart my bowels tell me that it is unnaturall what will my Sarah my servants the Heathens say who will ever live within my walls or be of my religion when I have cut the throat of my dearest sonne Lord where is my blessing where is thy promise nay where is my faith How shall the promised Seed spring from my loynes
if Isaack die En dignam Deo spectaculum this was a sight worthy of God to looke upon a worke worthy for God to performe God gave Abraham a selfe-denying spirit and that carried him through all We cannot be sonnes of Abraham Members or followers of Christ without selfe-deniall Marke 8. 34. I must deny my graces services sufferings my whole regenerate selfe in point of Justification as I must deny my corrupt selfe in point of mortification and must deny even my naturall selfe my naturall life and the comforts of it if I am called to suffer Martyrdome Luke 14. 26. 33. But alas how many are there that are more willing to deny Christ and deny the Scriptures then to deny themselves This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation Few men are willing to circumcise their hearts mortifie their lusts cast out their Ismaels offer up their Isaacks part with their estates and lives for Jesus Christ Come let us deny our reason and submit to Gods Counsell deny our wills and submit to Gods Will quiet our passions and submit to Gods Providence Fourthly Abraham was a man of faith the father of the faithfull he beleeved against sence against reason carnall reason nay against hope he beleeved in hope Rom. 4. 18. Was it reasonable to expect that a childe should spring from withered loynes from a dead body The Obiection was considerable but Abraham was so wise as not to consider it he considered not his owne body now dead ver. 19. The most plausible Objections in the world are not one whit considerable if framed against the plaine word of God It is the crying sinne of this age to set up the wit and fancies of men in competition with the Authority of God the Word of God and therefore I desire to speake freely I would I had time to speake fully men doe consider witty objections too much and the word of God too little If we were not benighted at high noon that is if we did not shut out the light it were impossible that so many rotten opinions should seeme beautifull nay glorious in the eyes of considerable men you know what the Philosopher saith Rotten things shine in the darke Plausible Objections are curious Copwebs I admire the art of them yet I know that they may be framed out of the bowels of a spider and they are the common habitation and Nest of spiders Come come let us learne of Abraham let us be fully perswaded and let us not be staggered Rom. 4. 20. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbeleefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully perswaded c. Let us be fully perswaded First That the God of Abraham the God who made heaven and earth is the onely true God Let us not worshippe First an Idoll of our owne braine Secondly an Inviduum vagum or an Vnknowne Diety as the Athenians did but let us fixe our beleefe upon the true and ever-living God and declare him to be our God as the Psalmist doth For this God saith he you see he fixes upon a certaine Diety This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death It is a short Creede but a very excellent one it stands upon record Psal. 48. 14. Reason tells us that this God is Optimus Maximus and summum bonum the best and the greatest infinite wise just and mercifull But what shall I call him Why Jehovah that is the title in the Text To note that he hath Being of himselfe gives being and well-being to all things else and more especially that he gives a subsistence to his promises That so our faith might prevent time and make those things present to our mindes for the comfort of our hearts which in themselves are future and have no being at all Let us fixe our faith in * Jehovah our God All other titles fall short of his excellency God cannot be reduced to the Praedicament of substance but the very substantiality of substance is reduced to him who gives subsistence to all substances If then you call God substance that word is not substantiall enough If you call him End that word hath not Being enough for he is Principium totius esse not as we say a point is Principuum lineae which is intrinsecally contained within the line for he is the Efficient and Exemplar of all Being and well-being Therefore some that have beene strict and accurate doe not onely say that God is most excellent but that he is super-excellent because he doth excell even excellency it selfe Reason tells us that this God deserves to be worshipped that he is wise enough to judge what worship is due to him and that it is certaine he hath revealed his Judgement somewhere that he may be served and worshipped according to his owne minde and will because otherwise our worshipping of him cannot be obedientiall And where hath God revealed this but in the Scripture therefore we must fixe our faith upon the Scripture and not onely beleeve that God hath revealed his minde somewhere but that he hath revealed it here in the Old and New Testament When God desires to make us sensible of our frailty by eclipsing all the glory of the world that he might reveale his owne glory what doth he bid the Prophet say Why cry saith he All flesh is grasse as the goodlinesse of the flower of grasse which is withering fading dying but saith he the Word of our God shall stand for ever Beloved let me freely speake to you let us builde our faith upon that which shall stand for ever upon the word of God onely Our faith builds for eternity and therefore we had neede build upon that which will stand for ever Our faith is not built upon the Votes of the Assembly the Ordinances of Parliament the Pleasure of Kings the Fancyes of the multitude the New light of Saints that are yet carnall or but comparatively perfect nay to goe higher yet my faith is not built upon the definitions of Councells or the Revelations of Angells but upon the Word of God that Word that stands for ever But you will say that place of Isaiah is meant onely of the Old Testament I will shew you the selfe same words in the New Testament 1 Pet. 1. and the three last verses Ye are borne againe Of what Seed Not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever For all flesh is grasse and all the glory of man as the flower of grasse the grasse withereth and the flower thereof fadeth away but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever But where is it saith some poore soule for I am to seeke where it is Why here it is saith the Apostle in this Gospell reade on the last words of the chapter will give thee full satisfaction And this is the Word which