no Sunne beames to comfort and refresh Secondly Here only is the Foundation of all graces or the Mediatour by whom God is gracious to us As they say in Aegypt there is never any rain from Heaven so all that part of mankind which is without Christ partaketh not of gracious influences of Heaven God is a consuming fire to them There is no death of Christ no Ascention no Intercession no pleading for them they come into Gods presence without Beniamin Thirdly Only in the Church are such persons who are qualified for gracious Priviledges Here only is true Piety here only is Faith Repentance Here only men do in a right manner pray to God All those moral vertues and excellent endowments amongst the Heathens though gilded over were nothing but drosse Vse of Instruction Are the Churches of God thus Temples of God and should every one of us be thus in particular Oh then how holy how godly how orderly should all our Assemblies be What Jeremy can make Lamentations bitter enough to see how this Temple of God is made a dunghill How comes so much ignorance and prophanenesse to be amongst us Are we not places prepared rather for the Devil and his evil Spirits to dwell with us then Temples of the Holy Ghost Know this that your defilements are worse then those of Heathens and therefore it 's said Judgment should begin at the House of God 1 Pet. 4.17 And in Ezechiel's Prophesse The destroying Angel is commanded to begin at the Sanctuary Ezek. 9.6 Yet we sit and hear these things and do not fear and tremble Where is Gods gracious presence discovering it self How few are the men that have God and his Spirit dwelling in them but rather their souls are possessed with Devils Hence cometh that pride that malice that opposition unto all godlinesse Oh then let us so live that we may say Such men have God and his Spirit dwelling in them Be men affected with understanding of these things To see nothing but a man in you nothing of God yea to see nothing but a Beast or a Devil in you how contrary is it to that holy relation we stand in And that the Spirit of God dwels in you We have considered what that is to which the Church of Corinth is compared viz. The Temple of God what more is to be said of that will come in the next verse I proceed to the ground and reason of the Comparison Why they were the Temple of God and that followeth in the next words And that the Spirit of God dwels in you The particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath many significations or uses in the Scripture Here it is Causall as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for ye are In many other places it 's so used Jere. 42. Thou art angry And We have sinned i. e. For Joh. 2. they staid not there many daies and the Passover was at hand i. e. For. So here you are the Temple of God for the Spirit of God dwels in you Thus you see it 's a causall Inference In the Reason consider the Person described Secondly His efficacy or operation The Person described is said to be the Spirit 2. The Relation to whom the Spirit of God Thirdly The operation or effect it dwels in you The Greek word Spirit as the Hebrew Ruach is of a vast signification in the Scripture I know none more boundlesse but when attributed to God it signifieth either absolutely the Divine Nature common to the three Persons Joh. 4. God is a Spirit because of his most pure and simple essence 2. It signifieth the Divine Nature of Christ as when it is said to be dead in the body but quickned in the Spirit 1 Pet. 3.18 3. Sometimes the anger of God and the effects of his wrath Thus we read of a Spirit of judgment and burning Isa 4. And a Spirit of giddinesse c. Lastly Relatively for the third Person in the holy Trinity Baptizing them in the Name of the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost Mat. 28.19 And thus it 's used here because it 's called the Spirit of God Now this Texe doth two waies prove the Divine Nature of the Holy Ghost 1. From the Manner of argunig They were the Temple of God because the Spirit did dwell in them which could be no sound Argument were not the Holy Ghost God And 2. Partly Because Temples wâ—re built to none but God even as Sacrifices were offered to God only And this is so ingrafted a truth in nature and acknowledged so professedly by Papists that when they are charged for Idolatry in dedicating their Temples to such and such Saints they say Temples indeed are to be built only to God but they name such a Saint only for memorial not as a Person they dedicate them to But that distinction is a meer fig leaf if you consider their practice So that we have two Doctrines 1. That the holy Spirit of God is God 2. This Spirit of God dwels in the Church These Points will be very profitable For the first The Holy Ghost is God There have not only Heretiques of old as the Macedonians or of late in other Countries as Polonia and Transilvana Servetus and the Socinians but even some in this land very lately not only maintained privately but have published Books on purpose to prove the Holy Ghost not to be God of the same essence with the Father and the Sonne Indeed there was a long contention whether verball or real it 's disputed between the Greek Churches and the Latin Churches about the procession of the Holy Ghost whether from the Father and the Sonne also or Father only but no doubt at all about the Deity of the Holy Ghost I intend to handle this point Practically yet so as first Doctrinally to inform your judgments about the truth of it and that I may do it the more orderly you must know that those who have denyed the holy Ghost to be God have been divided into two waies Either First Such who have thought him to be no Person but to be an attribute or operation in and from God which in man we would call an accident So that as Gods wisdome Gods anger and power they do not make a distinct Person they say So neither doth this concerning the holy Ghost but is no more than the mighty power of God putting forth it self Secondly Others make him a Person yet not a God but in the fore-front of the Angels they make him the chief Angel as they say there is a Prince of Devils But the Scripture is very clear to overthrow those damnable Heresies And 1. That he is a Person not an attribute appeareth by all those personal operations that are given to him So that by what arguments we can prove God the Father or any man to be a Person by the same we may prove the holy Ghost to be a Person as that form in which we are baptized Into the name
of the Father of the Sonne and of the Holy Ghost Mat. 28.19 To be baptized into the name of one argueth that one to be a Person And how absurd would it be to say the Father and the Sonne are Persons but the holy Ghost is an attribute or operation So There are three that dear witnesse in Heaven the Father the Sonne and the Spirit 1 John 5.7 Three he doth not say three things but three viz. Persons as appeareth by the personal operations These bare witnesse in Heaven Some reade The Spirit of God descended in the shape of a Dove which plainly denoteth a thing subsisting not an attribute We are said To sin against him which must needs imply a person Thou hast lied to God Act 5.4 That which is here said to be God is called the holy Ghost vers 3. Thou hast lied to the holy Ghost And the sinne against the holy Ghost shall never be forgiven Matth. 12.31 Lastly There is attributed understanding and will to him Vnderstanding the Spirit of God searcheth the deep things of God and the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2.11 And Will 1 Cor. 14. where he reckoneth up several operations Even as the same Spirit giveth to whom he pleaseth So that you see the Texts are so clear that were not men sadly forsaken by God they could not deny these things In the second place Let us prove that it 's not a chief spirit among Angels but in deed and in truth of the same Nature with God Now some choice Arguments to prove this may be reduced into these heads First The Name of God is directly and properly not metaphorically attributed to him Thus God is said to speak by the holy Prophets which have been ever since the world begun And if you ask What Person it is in the God-head 2 Pet. 1.21 The Prophets spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost So that the holy Ghost was that God who enlightened and moved all the Prophets that were from the beginning of the world Thus Acts 5.4 Why hath Satan filled thy heart thou hast not lied to man but to God Ananias he thought he had only to do with men but mark the opposition not man but God especially 1 Cor. 12.3 4. There are diversities of gifts but the same spirit the same Lord the same God Spirit Lord and God So that by what Texts we can prove God the Father to be God the same we can prove the holy Ghost to be God Secondly The holy Ghost hath those works attributed to him which do onely belong unto a God Such as God only can do as Creation Sanctification and Redemption and miraculous operations These things do demonstrate and prove a God Creation Psal 33 6. By the word of the Lord the Heavens were made and by the Spirit or breath of his mouth thâ—y were created Job 33.4 The Spirit of God made me Thus in the Creation at first The Spirâ—t moved on the waters as the Hen on the eggs giving vivifical influence For Redemption the holy Ghost concurreth to that in preparing and fitting the body of Christ and sanctifying it to be an oblation Hence Christ is said To be conceived of the holy Ghost which could not be an Angel for then an Angel would have been greater than Christ And secondly In the application of the Benefus of the Redemption to the godly The holy Ghost both applieth them and assureth thereof The Spirit of God that heareth witnesse with our spirit Rom. 8.16 And we are sealed by the holy Spirit of God Ephes 4.30 Thirdly In the works of miraculous operations So 1 Cor. 12. all those extraordinary and miraculous gifts are attributed to the holy Ghost Hence he is called The finger of God Luke 11.12 by which Christ is said to cast out Devils And on the Feast of Pentecost He descended in a mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire filling all the Apostles with miraculous gifts Acts 2.3 4. Lastly The works of Sanctification Faith Repentance and all other graces are wrought by him Yea he is called The holy Spirit because that is his peculiar Office to work holinesse and to sanctifie men by the Ministry Now Divines say It is a farre greater work and argueth more power to sanctifie the natures of men then to make a new world yet this is constantly applied to the holy Ghost though not so as to exclude the other Persons in their order Hence likewise all the means of Sanctification viz. the Ministry and the gifts thereof are also given to the same Spirit Acts 25. Over which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers Thirdly The attributes and properties of a God as well as the works of a God are also in Scripture given to the holy Ghost omnipresence filling the whole world Whither shall I go from thy Spirit None can flie from it Psal 139.7 His Omniscience in that he searcheth the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2.11 His Omnipotency as you heard His Eternity called the Eternal Spirit Heb. 9 14. Though some understand that of Christs Divine Nature and being before the world in that he made it Unity with the other Persons These three are one So that having the properties of God he must needs be God Lastly The religious worship that is given to the Holy Ghost doth not onely argue he is a Person but a Divine Person equal with God And 1. We have the Angels giving worship unto him whereas John when he would have worshipped the Angel he is forbidden Worship thou God Revel 19.10 So that religious worship is only to be given to God And thus the Angels in that glorious vision sang Holy holy holy unto God Now it 's worth your observing that this vision is attributed both to the Father to the Sonne and to the holy Ghost To the Father that is without doubt Isa 6. for there he is described as a glorious Judge in all Majesty To the Son John 12.41 This spake Esaias when he saw his glory and spake of him viz. of Christ as the Evangelist applieth it Lastly To the holy Ghost Act 28.25 That men also are to give religious worship to the holy Ghost appeareth in their baptismal profession Being baptized into the Name of the holy Ghost As also by that form of prayer and blessing The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and communion of the holy Ghost sometimes â—sed in the Epistles Thus you see the Scripture clearly determining this matter of faith And if we cannot comprehend how there should be one God and three Persons eveâ—y one of them God and yet but one God you must remember That faith is the captivating of the understanding unto a meer tâ—stimony It 's not science but faith that Christians professe In humane things Argumentum facit fidem in divine things Fides facit argumentum Neither is it any wonder that we cannot in the creatures find an exact comparison to
represâ—nt this though many learned men ancient and later have used similitudes because there is no such thing as a God besides the true God And therefore Basil said well to the Heâ—etique desiring a similitude to represent the Trinity Da mihi alium Deum aliam trinitatem tibi ostendam Thus we have laboured to establish your faith in this necessary point Now I shall shew Why the holy Ghost is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spirit The word at first did signifie wind Why then doth the Spirit of God assume this comparative expression of wind Or rather Why is he called a Spirit Even for these Reasons First Essentially For the simplicity and purity of his Essence and this is common to every other Person for God is a Spirit Secondly Hypostatically For his personal propriety because he proceeds from the Father and the Sonne by way of spiration the manner whereof we cannot comprehend no more than the generation of the Sonne Thirdly Effectively Many wayes 1. For the Incomprehensibility of the actions of the Spirit John 3. The wind bloweth where it lists and no man knoweth from whence it comes so is the Spirit 2. The Diversity of his operations As the breathings of the winde is from several corners the Spirits dispensations have not been alwayes alike 3. For the Efficacity moving the hearts of men to love good to hate evil 4. For the Impossibility of resisting this 5. For the Necessity of it to every good worke as the winde is to the ship Vse Is the holy Spirit God Then take heed of that blasphemous scoffing which many carnal and wicked people are guilty of which is to mock at the very name of the Spirit If a sinne against the holy Ghost be unpardonable and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace leaveth a man in an impossibility of recovering How darest thou let thy heart and tongue be thus set on hell fire Thy body and soul is to be the temple of the Spirit Thy duties are to come from this Spirit and doest thou deride it Vse of Admonition Take heed of entituling thy own fancies and delusions to the Spirit of God For seeing the holy Ghost is God it must be a capital crime to make such sinfull fancies and thoughts that come from thy corrupt heart to flow from the holy Spirit of God If to counterfeit the publick Seal or Coin of a Land be a capital crime How great a sinne is it to â—ake thy sinfull and carnal affections as if they were the workings of Gods Spirit And that the Spirit of God dwels in you Two Propositions you heard were contained in these words First That the Spirit of God is God which hath been demonstrated Secondly That the Spirit of God dwels in his Church We therefore proceed to this second Doctrine And now to open this let us consider First What the phrase to dwell in the Church implieth Secondly How he dwels there As the Spirit of God is said to dwell in us so in other places God promiseth to dwell in his people 2 Cor. 6 16. And Christ is said To dwell in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 All which are not to be understood of any visible or local habitation much lesse comprehensive that we cold comprehend God for he is as he said one whose circumference is every where and center no where The Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him but it is meant in a mystical and spiritual manner Now this phrase To have the Spirit dwell in us denoteth First The propriety that it hath to us that we are his possession as an house is a mans own where he is Lord and Master And this is worthy of consideration That we who once were the Devils he dwelt in us He ruleth in the hearts of the disobedient Ephes 2. have now him expelled from us and the Spirit of God taking us for his possession We pity persons bodily possessed that they foame and rore and are throwne sometimes into the fire and sometimes in the water but he who is a wicked man the Devil possesseth his soul more dreadfully he puts him upon anger malice upon unclean lusts and noisome filthy wayes and though many be of the Church visibly yet in regard of their own particular they are thus possessed by the Devil who hath their heart their eyes their tongues their whole body so that they seem to be a walking Hell So that herein is a wonderfull change when the Spirit of God comes and takes possession of a people who before were captives to Satan and led aside according to his will 2 Tim. 2.26 Secondly When it 's said The Spirit of God dwels in a people it supposeth That he doth fashion and prepare them for himself For every lodging is not fit for so noble a guest but as great men carry their rich furniture with them to have convenient lodgings so also doth the Spirit of God raise up a people by illumination and sanctification to be a fit habitation for him As they say Anima fabricat sibi domicilium The soulâ— makes the body so curiously organized and diversified for it's self to be in So much more doth the Spirit of God put spiritual life and quicken up our dead hearts that we may be prepared for the enjoyment of him It 's said The Spirit of God moved upon those waters Genes 1. that covered the deep when the earth was without forme or void Thus the Spirit of God doth take us out of our natural confusion and horrible darknesse and makes us comely with those ornaments he puts upon us So that as it is impossible to have the Sunne but withall we must enjoy glorious light So we cannot have the Spirit of God but withall many precious and heavenly gifts will be bestowed upon us Oh then how few persons how few Congregations can endure the lustre of this Doctrine What heavenly or precious jewels have they of Gods Spirit Thirdly When it 's said The Spirit of God dwels in us it denoteth The familiarity and condescending Communion that God vouchsafeth unto his children To dwell with one is an act of communion Hence 1 Peter 3.17 Husbands are commanded to dwell with their wives Our Savior expresseth this familiarity by John I will come in and sup with him and he with me Revel 3.20 So that what was spoken of Moses as so rare a priviledge He spake to God face to face as one friend speaketh to another in some kinde of sense though not after the same manner is true of every godly person Hence the Spirit of God is said to enable us to cry Abba Father Galat. 4 6. which though it suppose a filial reverential frame in us yet also godly boldnesse and confidence Hence he is also said To witnesse with our spirit that we are the children of God Rom. 8. So that children being admitted to sit at their Fathers Table have that bread which dogs may not eat of They have
in our hearts that our gifts may be successefull that our graces may flourish And that the Spirit of God dwels in you The first sort of the Spirits inhabitation in us viz. by Gifts hath been dispatched We now come to the more noble and excellent way which doth inseparably accompany salvation and that is the sanctifying graces of Gods Spirit By which indeed we may gather That God dwels in us For as when Daniel could so wonderfully open and interpret the Kings dreames they said The Spirit of the most high God was in him So if you see a people heavenly mortifying sinne walking in close communion with God you must needs conclude the Spirit of the most high God is in that man It 's not nature or moral virtues could raise him up to such an high Pinacle as this is And before we come to the particular effects of Gods in-dwelling after this manner it 's good to observe the Emphatical expressions that the Scripture useth equivalent to this of dwelling in us As Rom. 8. there it 's called Being in the Spirit as here The Spirit is in us So there we are in the Spirit Now that phrase is very emphatical and doth denote that all our lusts and sinnes yea our very selves are as it were swallowed up and nothing but the Spirit of God works and moveth in us To be in the Spirit denoteth the great efficacy and powerfull dominion in us as men are said to be in sinne because they no longer live but sinne nothing but sinne doth appear so it should be with the godly The Spirit of God not flesh not corruption not carnal or worldly principles should appear in them As the Prophets in the time of their Prophesie were said to be in the Spirit in an extasie minding no earthly or worldly thing Thus ought we to be emptied of our selves and filled with the Spirit of God Therefore John 3. it 's said Whatsoever is born of the Spirit is Spirit in the very abstract We have also Gal. 4 pregnant expressions To live in the Spirit to walk in the Spirit to be led by the Spirit Oh let such expressions as these make you ashamed to see so much of a man or carnal affections stirring in you What believer hath these things in the full power thereof But to the Particulars First The Spirit of God dwels in us after a saving manner in the general By way of sanctification of the Spirit soul and body even the whole man 1 Thess 5. This is the general Every man is all over unclean filthy polluted full of enmity to what is holy Now the Spirit of God that makes an universal sanctification of all these Hence by way of Office it 's called The Spirit of sanctification and the holy Spirit as Creation is appropriated to the Father and Redemption to the Sonne so Sanctification to the Holy Ghost So then as Christ in respect of his body is said to be conceived by the Holy Ghost there was a preparing and sanctifying of it for the Personal Union and the work of Redemption So the Spirit of God sanctifieth the soul of every godly man it makes every part and faculty prepared for holy Duties in an holy man for as the soul is the life of the body that can doe no vital action without it So the Spirit is the life of the soul and that can doe no spiritual action without it Oh then consider this all ye that heare and ponder it in your hearts Have you thus been conceived and borne of the Spirit of God Thy other birth will availe nothing though borne rich or noble Yea Couldst thou be borne a thousand times in a naturall way thou wouldst still be a miserable wretched man What is a good or ingenuous nature What are excellent and choice abilities if thou art not sanctified by the Spirit of God Doe not thinke these things are fancies and notions The Spirit of God may as well be called a fancy as his operations fancies But more particularly The Spirit of God dwels in a saving manner First By Illumination and opening of the darke minde of every man Every man is darknesse it selfe he cannot discerne of spiritual things revealed in the Word till the Spirit of God enlighten him Therefore the worke of Gods Spirit is great upon the minde and understanding of a man it convinceth the soul of a man of those things it never believed before John 16.9 of sinne it makes a man see the woefull and damnable estate he is in It 's so plaine that he cannot deny it he believed and judged no such thing once in him but now such light shineth in his breast that he is a very dung-hill a very hell to himself and then he convinceth of righteousnesse viz. a Gospel-righteousnesse by Christ Now all his workes all his good duties are dung and drosse all that Religion he put confidence in is abandoned by him the Spirit of God convinceth him of a glorious righteousnesse without him which onely is able to cover his nakednesse Againe Another special worke on the understanding is To teach to guide and leade into all truth We cannot say Jesus is the Christ without the Spirit as you heard 1 Corinth 12.3 Spiritual things must have a spirituall ability to discerne them It 's true he leadeth in and by the use of meanes appointed but yet he onely doth efficiently dispell the darknesse and worke faith to holy Truths So then we see it 's the speciall worke of Gods Spirit not humane ability to be directed into truth And we must not onely study Books but pray to God and take heed of such sinnes which may drive Gods Spirit from us for then we are as a wilde horse without a rider like a ship in the midst of the sea without a Pilot. Secondly The Spirit of God quickens and reviveth those graces that by Regeneration were infused to us compared therefore to the winde as the blowing of that makes the flowers of the Gardens to send forth their sweet smels So it 's here It 's not enough to have the habit and principles of grace within us but we need a fervent and vigorous actuating of them And therefore is the Holy Ghost compared to fire and hence that phrase To be filled with the Holy Ghost which is applied to the godly sometimes doth as learned men observe denote some actual and vigorous impression upon their hearts Their graces were now put forth in a lively vigorous way Oh this is a blessed life when a Christian is constantly filled with the Holy Ghost that doth actually make his heart fervent and burning in all its duties towards God! If this were the life of the godly man there would not be such complaints such feares such doubts Oh they cannot tell what to say to themselves They are dull heavy earthly Alas all this is because the Spirit of God filleth not thy heart if this were working thou wouldst be like Ezekiels wheeles that
moved so swiftly because the Spirit was in them Oh then as she said If thou hadst been here my brother had not died So doe thou Oh Lord if thy Spirit had inlivened me and moved in me I had not â—ad such dead duties such a dead profession Oh where is thy Spirit When will it breathe heavenly life and vigour into me Thirdly The Spirit of God doth enable us to kill and mortifie sinne Rom 8. If ye through the Spirit mortifie the deeds of the flesh Through the Spirit There is no sinne so deare and beloved to thee so strong and imbred in thee that is as thy owne soule to thee but by the Spirit of God thou mayest mortifie it Never then be afraid of those great Anakims Oh thou cryest out I cannot believe I cannot be heavenly minded Indeed thou canst not but the Spirit of God doth lift up his people to these things Men by natural conscience may leave many outward sinnes but they doe not or cannot mortifie them this is done by Gods Spirit onely As onely by him they could cast out Devils from the possessed thus onely by him can they subdue such sinnes We see then why it is that so many resolve never to sinne again to be such beasts any more and and yet are overcome Alas they goe out in their owne strength against these Goliahs Oh therefore pray and againe pray for the Spirit of God! O Lord here is a lust or a sinne dwels in me as the Jebusite in Canaan I know not how to be freed from it gladly would I be heavenly I cannot I would be believing I cannot give that holy Spirit of thine unto me Pray thus for the Spirit of God more than for health life or any worldly advantage whatsoever Fourthly The Spirit of God doth bestow a filial and ingenuous spirit upon believers whereby they are carried out upon Evangelical and Gospel grounds in their obedience to God And this is a most precious worke to be desired more than all the world An heart with slavish feares is an hell where a man is a tormenting Devil to himself and the guilt of sinne is a gnawing worme that never dieth but Galat. 4.6 He hath sent his Spirit in our hearts whereby we cry Abba Father There is earnestnesse and a Gospel holy boldnesse Hence it is called The Spirit of Adoption Now how admirable and desirable is this when we through feare were subject to bondage to have this Evangelical freedome of Spirit The people of God should pray and seek for this Spirit of Adoption as well as of Sanctification This would be oyle to the wheel this would be wings and legs to thee Fifthly The Spirit of God workes comfort and joy in the hearts of the godly Hence he is called The Comforter John 15.26 As the Devil delights to keepe us in darknesse and feares therefore he had almost swallowed up the incestuous person with immoderate grief 2 Corinth 2. So the Spirit of God delighteth to turne water into wine Joy is a fruit of the Spirit of God Galat. 5.22 Yea it 's called Vnspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost Doe not therefore thinke that the Kingdome of Grace and Godlinesse lieth in a dejected spirit in a troubled soule No it 's in joy as well as in righteousnesse Rom. 14.17 Those doubts and sad thoughts that do lie like a burden and load upon thee came not from the Spirit dwelling in thee Sixthly That we may have this boldnesse and joy the Spirit of God hath another effect which is To witnesse and seale unto our spirits that we are the children of God Grieve not the Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed Ephes 4.30 The Spirit beareth witnesse with our spirit that we are the sonnes of God Rom. 8.16 Oh what a blessed life is this when all these works of Gods Spirit go along together teaching sanctifying and comforting This is the Mount of Transfiguration It 's good to be here Doe not think these things are too great and too good to be had in this life For if we be not wanting to our selves if we bring our cruises he is ready to pour in his oyl Seventhly The Spirit of God worketh wonderfull support and even glorious rejoycing in all afflictions and tribulations Then if ever it 's admirable to see what the Spirit of God doth in believers The Spirit of glory shall rest upon you 1 Peter 4.14 If you reade of the Martyrs burning at the stake if of the persecutions and torments they did with such invincible joy and patience endure it was from the Spirit of glory resting on them Alas we think if God should exercise us with such straits bring us into such troubles we could never bear them Oh consider there is Gods Spirit as well as thy spirit Lastly The Spirit of God doth worke the prayers of Gods people Rom. 8. It 's a Spirit of prayer and mourning he teacheth what to pray and how to pray for spiritual and heavenly things with zeal faith and importunity It helps our infirmities many sins and corruptions are apt to spoil our prayers he helpeth against them yea he worketh groans unutterable he moveth the very foundations of the soul and those prayers cannot but speed because the Spirit knoweth the mind of God All prayers are dead carkasses without the Spirit moving upon them Vse of Examination Try whether thou art one who hast the Spirit of God thus dwelling in thee Oh where is the man or woman that heareth us that knoweth the meaning of these things When Christ spake about eating his body the Capernaites had a grosse understanding therein but saith our Saviour The flesh profiteth little the Spirit giveth life John 6.63 If Christ said thus of his own body than how much rather may we say parts duties an outward Religion profiteth little The Spirit giveth life Rom. 8. Paul saith If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Thou speakest of Christ and thou hopest he died for thee see what the Scripture saith If thou hast not his Spirit thou art none of his Verse 17. If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy THe Apostle in this seventeenth verse aggravates that Argument which before he had propounded viz. The temple of God wherein the Spirit of God dwels ought to be kept pure and not defiled by any corruptions of Doctrine or lives 1So that the Apostle makes all false Doctrines and corruptions in Gods worship to be a sacriledge And therefore in this verse he doth further amplifie the hainousnesse of this sinne wherein you have 1. The malum culpae supposed If any man defile the temple of God 2. The malum poenae proposed Him will God destroy For the sinne supposed If any man defile the temple This is an allusive expression to the custom among the Jews If any man defiled their Temple the crime was capital what accusations were brought against Paul because he brought in Greeks uncircumcised
spiritual man is he that hath attained to an higher degree both of knowledge in the understanding and sanctification in the heart of such the Apostle speaketh Gal. 6.1 This later is necessary For if a man have never such spiritual abilities if he abound in the knowledge of all mysteries can preach pray and do all things to the ravishment of the hearer yet if he be not sanctified in his heart he is carnal and not spiritual These Corinthians are said to abound in all utterance and they came behind no Church in any gift yet no Church so carnal and so full of the works of the flesh as this here were grosse heresies here were divisions and schismes among them and several grosse practices so that a spiritual people is not presently a people of parts and knowledge and abilities onely but of grace and raised sanctification also Now as there are these degrees and differences in the truly godly so there are peculiar and proper duties required of them The spiritual man he is first to be charitable and indulgent to those that are weaker not to despise and contemne them for they are those whom Christ also thought not his blood too dear for Thus Rom. 14. speaking of the weak and the strong he bids him receive the weak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into his bosome as it were with much pity and compassion he is to be the good Samaritan to pour oâ—l in his wounds Gal. 6.1 Ye that are spiritual restore such an one with compassion as we do rejoynt dislocated parts of the body It 's farre from the Spirit or Christ to contemn those that are weak in parts or graces Christ did not he would not breake the bruised reed Matth. 12.20 How patient and condescendâ—ng was he to his Disciples notwithstanding all their dulnesse and corruptions Therefore that opinion of some Anabaptists is full of pride and arrogancy that say The Church should consist of none but those that are as perfect as Angels As Jacob drove the sheep great with lamb with much tendernesse and ease So art thou to have great care of those weak Christians who have burdens upon them how thou puttest them beyond their strengâ—h and so they despair Secondly The spiritual man is to walk humbly and to be alwayes in an holy fear and trembling Their full is most grievous who fall from the pinacle of the Temple Satans greatest design is against the spiritual Christians those that are more eminent than others to throw into the mire for hereby Religion will have the greater wound and dishonour Thus Satan desired to winnow the Disciples Luke 22.31 And Thou that standest take heed lest thou fall 1 Cor. 10.11 And Gal. 6.1 Thou that are spiritual consider thy self also that thou mayest be tempted It 's wofull when a Christian of great parts and grace begins to have any confidence in himself as Peter had then you will quickly see these Cedars fall to the ground Grow therefore in grace yet keep up fear and trembling Thirdly The spiritual man is to consider God requireth more of him than of others his account will be the mâ—re terrible If God hath given thee ten or five talents know where God hath given more there he wâ—ll expect more increase See then how faithfull and fruitfull thou art in thy place Is thy mouth like a fountain of living water to others Art thou in thy house in thy neighbourhood as a tree of life Do the souls of others blesse thee for thy teaching reproving Yea such are to be great helpers in the Gospel Paul gives great commendation of many Christians men and women who did much further the successe of the Gospel Then as for the Carnal or Babes two things belong to them First That they be not dejected or quite out of hopes because they are babes Fathers have naturally tender and dear affections to those children that are most infirm and weak Christ had care of the bruised reed he rebuked those that would have kept little children from him how much rather these spiritual babes and the promise of pardon and glory is made to the least degree of grace Do not then judge that which is little nothing at all The least faith receiveth Christ as truly though not so firmly as the strongest The little pupill in a mans eye can receive the species of the great Mountains And though thou hast not such graces and parts as David and Paul yet thou hast the same God and Christ which they have Look to it therefore you that are babes in Christ you are apt to be discouraged and dejected remember the branch doth not bear the root but the root it and thou dost not so much lay hold on Christ as Christ layes hold on thee The little child in danger catcheth hold of his father and its safety is not so much that the child holds the father as the father it Thy safety and happinesse is not because thy grace joyns thee to Christ but because his Spirit knits thee to himself Secondly Take heed of resting in low things To be alwayes weak to be alwayes carnal doth highly provoke God and grieve a faithfull Ministry as appeareth by Paul to grow in grace and bring forth much fruit are made necessary to our continuance in the state of grace And if Paul and such Gyants thought themselves dwarfs and therefore they pressed forward Phil. 3.14 How much rather must dwarfs indeed make haste Oh say What a proficient might I have been if I had still pursued forward and forward If the rich man still increasing his wealth is desirous to adde to his treasure how much rather shouldst thou desire the growth of grace He that thinks he hath grace enough never had any grace at all And the rather we must grow because we hinder our selves of the chiefest truths and the choisest consolations in the Scripture which are commonly for those that are spiritual But of this enough here Vse 1. To confute that proud and arrogant Doctrine that will have none members of a Church but who are perfect and those also who arrogate perfection to themselves Where can such be found Must they not set ladders and climb up themselves alone to Heaven as Constantine told a Novatian We are not to encourage the weak in their weaknesse much lesse to comfort the heart of a sinner but yet we must not expect souls free from sinne here no more than bodies from pain and diseases That constant prayer to forgive us our sins argueth we have spots and blemishes in our lives Vse 2. Of Instruction If those that are truly godly yet imperfect retaining some ignorance and some infirmities on them are such a trouble unto the godly Ministers How unsufferable then are such as are altogether carnal If wheat because of some blemish in it be to be blamed What then is cockle and plain weeds If imperfect fruit displease the Gardener What then do brambles and weeds Oh that you would consider
I am of Christ Thus they expounded it thinking it not matter of reproof for any to say they were of Christ and they say Pauls arguments would hold for this as much as they did against glorying in men For though Paul was not crucified for them yet Christ was Though they were not baptized into Pauls name yet they were into Christs But to answer this It 's true absolutely and simply it 's not a sinne but a duty for every believer to say he is of Christ To call no man Master but Christ therefore he is called a Christian because a worshipper of Christ And the Apostle 1 Cor. 3.22 useth this Argument The believers were not Pauls or Apolloes but on the contrary Whether Paul or Apollo c. all are yours but then mark he doth not say Christ is yours but you are Christs So for believers to say They are Christs is in the general a duty but that which the Apostle here reproveth is such a setting up of Christ as doth oppose the Instruments that Christ also hath appointed and that the Apostle blameth those who said They were Christs it's plain by the Context It 's told me by the house of Chloe That there are divisions and contentions This was a fault complained of And then he instanceth in the matter of the contentions I am of Paul I am of Apollo I am of Christ This is in the same manner reckoned as the former whereas if the Interpretation of the Ancients were true the expression must have been adversative But I am of Christ And then the Argument following is plain Is Christ divided viz. Is the Doctrine or Person of Christ divided Hath Peter one Christ Apollo another or these immediate pretenders another Christ Now these that set up Christ thus in a sinfull way may be either those that pretended immediate teachings by Christ for such were in the Apostles dayes therefore he bids them Try the Spirits or such who happily might have heard Christ himself teaching in his own person and so did wrest those Doctrines that Christ taught and yet in their sense made Christ the teacher of them both may be included Although I must adde That a further thing also is to be comprehended in this factious exalting of Christ vâ—z not only thereby to exclude Instruments but also to conclude that they only had Christ amongst them For this is the property of many Sects to appropriate Christ to themselves as if none had Christ but they Thus the Donatists did monopolize the word Christians to themselves Observe That although Christ onely is to be relied upon as the Head of his Church yet it is not his will that under this pretence wee should despise or contemne his Ministry and the means of grace he hath appointed So that this Text with the former doth excellently bound the spirit of believers that though they delight and rejoyce in the gifts and office of the Ministry reaping much spiritual benefit by it yet they are still to look up to Christ in the Ministry as the author of all increase And on the other side Though the Ministry can do no good without Christs teaching and it 's the Spirit that giveth grace not the Ministers yet we must not so immediately depend on Christ and his Spirit as to neglect the instruments and means he hath appointed Our Saviour cleareth this when in one place He sends his Disciples to preach commanding all to hear them And yet again Bids us call no man master upon earth Here is no contradiction but if a Christian be wise he may excellently compose them No man is to be called Master principally and authoritatively yet Christ hath appointed Teachers and Doctors by whom we are to believe So that it 's the errour and foolishnesse of men when they runne into extreams even as in the Doctrine of Grace and Free-will The Marcionites and Manicâ—ees they denied the Natural Liberty of a man and the Pelagians on the contrary the efficacious grace of God To understand this Consider That there are principal and efficient causes of grace and salvation and there are subordinate and instrumental and these must not be confounded A sound mind must not make instrumentals principals as ignorant people doe thinking the very Sacrament will save them Nor yet must we exalt the principal to exclude the instrumental as Enthusihsts do The Efficient Cause of all grace is attributed onely to God or the three Persons the Father Sonne and holy Ghost in their appropriated way So that it 's true Every good and perfect gift comes from God the Father of lights Jam. 1. No man can come to Christ unlesse the Father draw him John 6.44 And Christ saith He will draw all men to him John 12.32 He is the chief shepherd of our souls He is the truth way and life John 14.6 The Spirit of God also that leadeth into all truth that sanctifieth that inlightneth the mind So that when we have to do with a people that do rest upon outward meanes As some thinke the Ministers gifts the Ministers parts or the very coming of a Minister to them and praying for them while sick is enough to send them to Heaven To such hearers we are much to preach of the efficient principal cause of grace We are to cry Sursum corda we are to say as the Angel to the women looking for Christ in the Sepulchre He is risen Look up to Heaven so to such who rest upon external meanes and Instruments Why look ye downwards look upwards We see among the people of Israel yea and Christians in the New Testament too so great a pronenesse to relie on Instruments but as in civil things we must not relie on an arme of flesh so neither in Church matters on a tongue or mouth of flesh as the Ministers are In the next place There are Subordinate and Instrumental means of Grace which God though he could doe all spiritual things immediately for us and in us yet he hath obliged us to the use of them So that it is an high contempt of God and such may never expect the workings of his Spirit or virtue from Christ that doth not use those instituted meanes he hath appointed Now there is a three-fold Instrumental cause of Grace When we call them a Cause we mean not a natural Cause producing Grace by any inherent power as fire doth burn no but onely instituted Causes God in the faithfull use of these will worke Grace in us And they are three especially First There is the Scripture the Word of God This as it is written and consigned into a Canon is a Rule by which all must believe worship and live Insomuch that if a man pretend any Revelations or teachings which are not warrantable by this written Word he is to be held as accursed To the Law and to the Testimony Isai 8.20 Christ himself still directeth to the Scripture Paul directs Timothy to the Scriptures and
no increase Oh! consider thy account is drawing on Thy decay and the Day of Judgment is approaching God will not let his Word fall to the ground It will be for life or for death Sigh then and strike upon the breast and thigh Cry out Oh! my leanness my leanness My barrenness my barrenness Help Lord for I am perishing Pray to God that the Blessing upon man kind to Increase and multiply may be fulfilled on every Sermon for thy good But God gave the increase We have out of the former part handled the two-fold ministerial Imployment of Church-Officers to Plant and Water We continue a further amplification of the peculiar Operation attributed unto God in all this with that opposite distinction But God gave the increase The Metaphor as you have heard is taken from natural things where though the industry and skill of the Gardener and Husbandman is required yet God gives all the Increase As is more to be shewed Now this followeth à minori ad majus If in natural things the Husbandman cannot make an Apple or Cherry or the least grain of Corn much less in spiritual things can he make the nature of Grace and goodness He cannot work the heart to believe though he make a sound in the ear Yea it 's good to observe that God in this spiritual industry doth more give the Increase then in natural For in all the fruit and profit of natural things God doth not exclude nature from some kind of co-efficiency as the earth hath some inward power to help to the producing of the fruit thereof But in this spiritual increase God doth wholly exclude all natural ability Grace doth not fructify by the Ministry as Herbs and Corn do in the ground for the ground is the Mother and hath a kind of vivifical influence into them But here God works all and solely So that neither the Ministry without or the natural power and freewill of man within hath any joynt efficacy with God And although the Apostle saith We are workers together with God 2 Cor. 6.1 that is not to be understood of the immediate efficiency of grace for that cometh from him only as the Beames of light comes immediately from the Sunne But in respect of the outward Ministry they make the external application of the remedy but the power of grace giveth the quickning Even as men may say on the contrary by sinne Original corruption that plants sinne temptations they water it and the Devil he giveth the increase So then it 's not the learning the eloquence the efficacy of the Ministers words but Gods secret and invisible power which doth accompany it that makes a glorious change From whence observe what was formerly taken notice off but further to be enlarged That it is God only who makes the Ministry and all Spiritual Meanes of Grace successfull and prosperous If God cloathe the grass of the field and make the Lillies to grow how much more doth he cause the Ministry to fructify and bear fruit At the first creation God gave the word of Command which worketh to this very day Increase and multiply So it is here God doth all from the beginning to the end of Grace If we cannot turn the colour of an hair much less the torrent and custom of lives If this had been in the Prophets power Jeremy Isay and others they had not made such complaint for their barren Ministry as they did To clear this Consider Wherein this work of God to give Increase doth consist And First In that spiritual Revelation and Illumination or opening of the eyes whereby the mind understands and perceiveth the things of God The word is compared to light only God by this works above all light For the Sunne though it gives light yet it doth not give a blind man eyes He that cannot see the Sunne the Sunne though never so visible will not give him eyes But now God by the Word doth not only propound light but gives inward light That the soul cryeth out with more joy then that blind man cured by Christ For now it knoweth what it did not know Now he seeth terrible objects before his eyes as Balaam at last did If he had gone further he had perished in the pit irrecoverably A greater work then it is and mighty from God the Father of Spirits when a man can say O Lord I was as blind as senseless as obstinate as any Yet Oh! the glorious light of the Gospel that hath shined in my dark heart This then is a part of Divine Increase when God maketh the morning Starre to rise in thy soul Thou that once didst not perceive thy own misery or Gods mercy Thou didst not either know thy Disease or the Remedy Hast now found God saying Let there be light upon the dark confusion of thy soul Should thou hear a thousand and thousand of powerfull Sermons yet thou perceivest knowest and understandest nothing at all experimentally till God give this seeing eve Therefore you must know the Scripture speaks a strange Paradox to humane reason Having eyes they see not ears they hear not hearts they perceive not That which the Scripture attributes to dumb Idols it applieth to every natural man Hath God given thee a spiritual sight Art thou not rather like the Owle that seeth in the night but not in the day Thou hast understanding in worldly earthly things Thou canst tell how to make thy wealth and earthly advantages to good but thou hast no knowledge in spiritual things Who would think it possible under so many Instructions Informations Convictions that thou shouldst be so blind so sottish but God hath not given any Increase to thee Oh! though God give thee outward increase he maketh the Lands and the Cattell and the Corn to yeeld increase but if not the Ministry to be likewise so to thee though thou blessest thy self yet God curseth thee Secondly Gods giving increase lyeth in removing the negative incapacity and the positive contrariety in all mens heart to the Word preached As the Husbandman he first prepareth the ground by stocking up all those Bryers and thornes and removing all the stones that lie in the way whâ—ch would hinder the Corns growth So it is here God takes away all that cursed and serpentine nature which is in thee Thou art naturally a Beast a Devil and till God change thy nature thou shewest thy self no better to the Meanes of Grace Look upon the Prophets and Apostles in their Ministry Were men any better then mad Dogs and Lyons against them till God changed them The Prophets did plough and sow upon rocks till God made their Hearers the good ground The Ministers of God cannot do otherwise All mens hearts are rocks You may sooner get water out of hard flints then any godly sorrow or compunction out of their hearts No wonder then if God only give the increase because he only can alter the nature of mens hearts He maketh the stony
to worship God any way a man pleaseth And the more waies he multiplyeth the worship of God may it not be the more acceptable to him Do not men hereby shew their good affections and zeal to hâ—m Can a man worship him too much Can we exceed in any way of worship of him As we cannot love him too much nor delight in him too much so neither can we worship him too much This doth satisfie some men in their multiplyed waies of worship The Answer is this There can be no excess in the formality of true and lawfull worship so a man is to worship God witâ— all his might and strength but in the matter of the worship there may be an excess That is a man may take up more means and parts of worship then God hath appointed and so thereby there is a sinfull excess So that all thy good intentions and zealous devotions they have no acceptance with God and whilest thou thinkest to honour him thou doest dishonour him Even a Platonist Philosopher said That a superstitious man was Gods flatterer not his friend Now this is the rather to be observed because there are few whom the simplicity of God pleaseth Oh that Text Joh. 4. My Father seeketh such as worship him in spirit and truth is worth the gold of Ophir See all Christs Institutions the administration of Baptism of the Lords Supper though they be full of majesty and gravity yet also full of plainness and simplicity Now instead of this true foundation there are three rotten ones First The imagination of a mans heart This God doth often and often forbid Oh it 's not enough to say Methinks this is very good worship Methinks this is excellent There must be more then a methinks Secondly A desire to satisfie and please the sense The Prophet cals them Their goodly Images As Eve saw the fruit that it was comely and good to eate O miserable delusion All worship of God is the exercise of thy faith to draw out spiritual Meditations not to please the eye Yet all those goodly Images and curious Ornaments were only to satisfie the eye Thirdly Antiquity Custom and tradition of Fathers Austin complained much of this Vah tibi flumen moris humani quis resistet Our father worshipped here saith the woman That of Cyprians is commended Antiquas mihi Jesus Christ and Christ said he was truth not Custom saith the Father This Argument all Jews Turks and Heathens pleaded against the Christians Vse of Instruction How necessary is it to be well setled in this foundation of Gods worship Oh where shall we find a spiritual people that delight in the simple pure and plain Institutions of Christ That say Hitherto I must go and no further That as the possessed party said Paul I know and Peter I know but who are you Thus this worship I know and that I know but who brought in this Who appointed this As a wise master-builder I have laid the foundation c. The third Foundation every faithfull Minister is to lay in the hearts of his people is for Comfort and Salvation But this I shall reserve as more properly to be handled in vers 11. The last therefore I shall insist on is The foundation for outward practice of holy actions It 's not enough to pray to hear It 's not enough to exercise the acts of any grace but we are still to consider upon what foundation these are built I shall therefore first lay down the foundation of all practised holinesse then the Necessity of this The foundation therefore of every good duty or work we do hath these parts First There is a foundation by way of a Direction or Rule to which every thing we do must be commensurate and by which it must be regulated now that is the Word of God For Gods word is not only a Rule of Faith but of Manners And as thou must be of no other Religion than the Word directs to so thou must do no other actions or live any other life than that guides thee too Therefore when it 's commended for a lamp or a light it is to a mans feet that they do not slip or fall By them thy servant is forewarned Psal 19. And as many as walk by this Rule peace on them Gal. 6.16 So that we shall never come to doe any truly good action all our life time unlesse we do it according to this Rule which doth not onely informe about the Duty but the manner end and all other qualifications So then whosoever doth not pray as the Scripture speaks of praying who doth not repent as the Scripture speaks of it he faileth in a very foundation he hath not laid as yet so much as an hopefull beginning for his salvation A second part of that foundation we must lay for the practice of holiness is The Justification and Reconciliation of our persons with God through Christ For till our persons be thus accepted of though we should give our bodies to be burnt for the Truth of Christ it would not be accepted of Thus God had respect to Abel and then to his offerings Heb. 11. We are by faith to be planted in Christ and then as his branches we are able to bring forth fruit Now this truth is very transcendent to our thoughts Who doth not think it is in Divinity as they speak in moral Philosophy Just a agendo sumus justi by doing good actions we come to be made good and acceptable with God This is that dangerous Position which the Apostle doth so often oppose shewing grace and works can never be brought together in the same subject We must therefore in this matter wholly goe out of our own selves we must attend to the acceptation of our persons first otherwise all our best workes are damnable and loathsome to God we are stubble and he is fire Though the Papists thinks it hard Doctrine yet it is sure enough that every man unjustified doth sinne and provoke God in every thing he doth Thirdly Another foundation he must lay is To receive power and strength from Christ onely both in the beginning and progresse of all good actions Without me ye can do nothing saith Christ John 15. The branch separated from the Vine is dried and withered James 1.17 Every good and perfect gift comes from God alone As all light is from the Sunne I can doe all things through Christ that strengthens me saith Paul Phil. 4.13 He is the Head and the Member receiveth all its vertue and power from it So then whosoever thinketh to set upon any good work by his own ability is like Samson when his hair was cut off alas those Philistims of lusts are too strong for him he cannot goe out against those Goliahs of temptations but in the Name of the Lord. Now here is the ignorance of most people they that should not resolve to say so much as that they will go to this or that
He that would come to God must believe that he is and a rewarder of those that seek him So that this foundation must be laid as well as about Christ And it 's made eternal life to know God the Father the only true God as well as Christ John 17.12 Where the object of our faith that is fundamental is divided into that of God and of Christ the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus also the Doctrine of the Trinity That there are three and these one God is a foundation because we are baptized into the Name of these three and the knowledge of them must needs be fundamental To answer this When we say Christ is to be laid as the only foundation that is exclusive of all humane foundations it doth not exclude God the Father or God the holy Ghost but incluâ—es them rather So then we are not to preach Jesus Christ as the foundation of all our comfort peace and salvation as that God the Father and the holy Ghost are to be shut out of this No they had all their appropriated working in this great Redemption of mankind And therefore as in those places where God the Father is said to be the only God and one God that is not exclusive of the other persons but of made and feigned gods of Idols made gods by men So it 's here Christ Jesus is preached as the foundation yet God the Father and the holy Ghost have their peculiar workings also though only the second Person is the Mediator And therefore secondly Christ Jesus cannot be preached as the foundation unless the Doctrine of God the Father and the holy Ghost be also made known Hence are those expressions He that knoweth the Sonne knoweth the Father also And He that denieth the Sonne denieth the Father And he that honoureth the Sonne honoureth the Father John 8.19 John 5.23 The Doctrine of Christ as Mediatour cannot be laid down without the Doctrine of God the Father giving his Sonne to be thus a Mediatour for us and the Spirit of God as applying working and sealing all those benefits that Christ hath purchased Hence Christ doth often acknowledge the Father in that work he came to do for mankind So that Christ Jesus is the foundation but there may be a more explicite revealing of what is necessarily implied in this foundation A second Objection is Is Christ only to be preached as the foundation And are people to be built upon him Then what need Ministers preach of any thing else but Christ What need they preach of faith and repentance Especially Why should they preach of the threatnings and the curse of the Law of the torments of Hell Doth it become the Ministers of the Gospel to be sonnes of thunder Have they any work to do but to offer Christ to every one Every Sermon should it not be an Ho to every one that is thirsty naked or miserable that is burdened and laden to come to Christ Thus indeed some have runne into extremity and thought Christ was not preached because he is not alwayes proffered as a Saviour to sinners but the Law and Duties and Hell torments are preached Now to this we say many things First When the Ministers of God preach duties the work of repentance or mortification they preach them not as foundations They do not lay them in Christs room and therefore they do not crosse this Text. Doth not this Paul who is so carefull to lay no other foundation but Christ diligently exhort in other places to avoid sinne to live in the fervent practice of holy duties Who is more zealous in this way than Paul Paul to these very Corinthians hath many severe admonitions to make them humble and sorrowfull for their sinnes yet he did not lay another foundation because these are preached only as the way whereby Christ may be obtained We do not then transgresse this Text when we preach repentance to the sinner humility to the proud man heavenly-mindedness to the earthly man righteousnnesse to the unjust man chastity to the unclean man We do not forget our Office we do not runne from our Text because we preach them not as a foundation Indeed if any preach them so as to rest on them to put confidence in them this man layeth another foundation but so do not the Orthodox we preach Christ the meritorious cause duties are the way not the cause And although Christ be said to be in a different sense the way yet duties are the way Christ is the way effectively and meritorious but so are not duties Secondly Though the Ministers are to lay no other foundation yet they are to build upon this they must enlarge themselves in the explication of this foundation They must not build hay or stubble but gold and precious stone So that we are not only to lay the foundation but to adde all other things that may make us a comely building upon Christ Thirdly To preach Christ is not only to preach Christ as the Object matter but all the things Christ would have us to preach That is to be observed we preach Christ when we preach all those things he hath commanded as well as when he is the subject matter of our Sermons When Paul about the Lords Supper said I delivered unto you that also which I received of the Lord Christ Here he preached Christ as well as when he said This is a faithfull saying Christ came into the world to save sinners So that here may be a great mistake thou thinkest Christ is never preached but when he is named when he is the matter of the Doctrine and Use Yet when we preach the whole counsel of God and deliver what ever he hath commanded us to reveal to our people then we preach Christ Thus the Apostles in their voyages and journeys where they went are said to preach Christ and in those Sermons they did not onely preach Jesus to be the Messias but also commanded all other duties of faith repentance love as the Auditories did require Fourthly We are to preach duties but in reference to Christ Take any particular grace that the Ministers of the Gospel provoke men to this cannot be done without bringing the soul to Christ and therefore though the Ministers of the Gospel do not in every Sermon name it yet it is to be supposed As for example take repentance we say every ungodly sinner unlesse he repent unlesse sinne be a burden an heavy bitternesse to him and he fully forsake it he must necessarily perish Now many wayes Christ is concerned in this For 1. He cannot repent and be humbled for sinne unlesse Christ give him strength Without me ye can do nothing The branch separated from the tree hath no moisture no juyce in it John 15. Thus a man without Christ hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an hard heart a withered heart an heart without any moisture any softnesse so then Christ is here
unthankfulnesse and disobedience with corrupt ends and practices As it 's said Because men did not receive the truth in love God gave them up to believe a lie 2 Thess 2.10 So that it 's hard to say whether is more sad to consider the nature of the errours that dishonour God or the cause of them which is Gods anger against a people for barrennesse and unthankfulnesse God then hath his times when for the sinnes of a people he lets Satan loose and suffers this red Dragon to vent his dreadfull poison Thirdly As the corrupt errours of men came from Gods anger so in mercy he hath appointed times wherein he will purge and take away their drosse For these Church-burthens and Church-corruptions have been farre more heavy upon Gods people than State-oppressions Therefore the first thing that Gideon did who was raised up by God to be a Judge to deliver Israel from their cruel oppressions was to remove their Altars and all their Idolatry he began with God first Judges 6.28 And so when Moses had gathered the people of Israel into a body and they were capable of a Civil Government yet the first thing he doth is to prescribe them Lawes concerning the worship of God and in the Decalogue the first Table is for the Duties relating to God By this you see That corruptions in Gods worship and truth as they are greater sinnes than others they are talents when others are pounds so they lie more heavily upon the people of God they bewail them more Rome as it was Aegypt did not so much trouble the godly as it was Sâ—dome the Idolatry more than the cruelty offended the people of God This being so God among temporal promises of deliverance of righteousnesse and peace doth also comfort the godly with times of Reformation in his Church that this hay end stubble shall no longer stand to dishonour his building Thus God by the Prophet Isaiah promiseth To purge away their drosse and to take away their tinne from them Isai 1.25 which doth relate to their Church-sinnes their Idolatries as well as State-sinnes And by Ezekiel you have a glorious promise concerning Church-Reformation Ezekiel 36.25 as well as temporal He will give them to see their Idolatries so that they shall be confounded and never open their mouths Especially God hath those times when people shall be ashamed of their errours of their superstitions and shall never open their mouths again to plead for them or justifie them When they shall see the patterne of the Mount Ezekiel 43.10 You have a notable promise Malachi 3 3 where upon Christs coming there is promised a glorious restauration He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he shall purifie the sonnes of Levi. Christ when he came into the world found all Gods worship grossely polluted all the Priests had defiled themselves Now this was one end of Christs preaching to purifie them to cleanse them from these defilements It 's true prophane and worldly men or meer Atheistical Politicians they make no matter about Gods truth they make advantage of any Religion that serveth a designe but this was the great worke of Christs Ministery to make a Reformation in Doctrine and Worship Though this was very unpleasing to corrupt men therefore it is said Who can abide the day of his coming It is even like a day of judgement to them It is observable what our Saviour saith as much to our purpose and parallel with the Text John 4.23 The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth You see how God hath his houre his time and season for such a thing and then when that is come they shall worship God will so over-rule enlighten and perswade mens hearts that they cannot but yeeld Such an hour or time God had when we recovered out of Popery Then darknesse covered the face of the earth The Sunne and the Moone and the Starres were turned into blood The Officers of the Church who should have had light to instruct did cruelly and bloodily persecute such as did hold the truth Now though all the world was thus in darknesse yet when God raised up those instruments of his truth Luther Melancthon Calvin and others They were no more able to stop the spreading of the Gospel then they could hinder the Sunne from running its race Gods hour was come and then the eyes of men would be opened There were many persons before Luther's time learned and godly men that did withstand Popish errours that died in contradiction of them but yet the world was not awakened they did not thinke of coming out of Aegypt till Gods time was come Fourthly This Day of Gods revealing may be a long while as to our expectation God may suffer corruptions to cover all the body of the Church You may see onely chaffe and no wheat and this may be a long while so that the godly doe even languish under their expectations Thus in Elijah's time 1 Kings 19 14. to his knowledge and according to visible appearance he onely was left to vindicate the pure Glory and Worship of God And in what a temptation was he about it It 's true God told him He had reserved seven thousand that had not bowed their knees to Baal that did not communicate in Idolatry But what was seven thousand to all the people of Israel No more than the gleanings of the Harvest And thus also we might shew how in the Christian Church when errours had once got possession in it they were like the Jebusites and the wilde beasts in the Land of Canaan which could hardly be destroyed Donatisme lasted above two hundred yeares Pelagianisme and Arianisme though but sparkes yet kindled such a fire that it was not extinguished in many generations So that we may say of this time as Christ to the Disciples It is not for us to know the times and seasons when God will restore his Church to her purity That is enough which our Saviour saith Every plant that is not of my Fathers planting shall be rooted out Matth. 15.13 That is an excellent place compared with this Text God hath his time when he will root out all the plants that he did not plant in his owne Vineyard But how long it will be ere this day breake forth God hath not discovered to us These things thus explained Let us consider the Reasons Why God will have a Day to declare mens workes in matter of false Doctrines And First Because the truth of God is deare and precious to him Christ himselfe makes it one main reason why he came into the world viz. To beare witnesse to Gods truth So that Divines say Though Christs death in respect of God the Father appointing him to be a Sacrifice for sinne was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an attonement or expiation yet if you doe respect men before whom he made a good Confession as Paul saith 1 Timothy 6.13 So it
that Pearle which must not be cast to swine But who are the people that God doth thus honour How few are such favourites How many are amongst us that are not admitted with Moses to come to the top of this Mount They know not what Communion with God meaneth what those filial cryes of Abba Father are Certainly a rational man doth not more differ from a beast than a spiritual man doth from the best rational man that is That as a worme knoweth not what reason and arguments are the best so learned and able men without grace do not know what this enjoying of Gods Spirit and communion with God is we speak though not in an unknown tongue yet unknown matter to such men Fourthly In that the Spirit of God is said to dwell it denoteth A permanent and constant abode in his people For this you must know The Spirit of God is many times working where yet he doth not dwell There is a great difference between transient motions and constant mansions of Gods Spirit Hypocrites and reprobates have the former but not the latter They that wrought miracles had the Spirit of God moving in them but not dwelling in them Even Balaam in that prophetical passage about Israel had a transient motion or a blast of this Spirit but the Spirit of God did not abide in him Yea hereby Caiaphas being high Priest that year was moved to say what he did It 's expedient for one to die for many but yet he knew not what he said So that there is a great difference between the transient motion of Gods Spirit and his constant inhabitation Thus many not truly sanctified have the common gifts of Gods Spirit they have abilities in prayer enlargements some joyes all which are of Gods Spirit moving in them not dwelling in them And truly this is a dangerous Rock upon which many split themselves taking transient gifts of Gods Spirit for permanent graces sometimes they are hardly discerned as the Rockes that are under water But of this neccessary point more Fifthly The Spirit dwelling in us doth denote The intimatenesse and inward efficacy it hath It doth not onely dwell with us but in us which denoteth great intimatenesse Thus the Apostle often complaineth of the Law of sinne that dwelt in him Romans 7. because of the inward natural power of it that whensoever he would doe good evil was present with him It was alwayes at hand to infect and pollute So that by this is declared how powerfull and inwardly efficacious the Spirit of God is in his people Hence he is said To make intercession with groanes unutterable Romans 8.26 which could not be without a wonderfull secret and hidden deep working of the Spirit even in the depths and bottome of our souls Thus you have heard what the phrase doth imply Now let us proceed to shew How the Spirit of God dwels in his Church and afterwards Wherein his dwelling doth manifest it self For as original corruption is alwayes breaking out it 's not a dull idle sinne it 's Peccatum actuosum though not actuale So the Spirit of God is compared to fire because of the powerfull and active nature it hath in the people of God Fire doth assimulate every thing to it self Thus men filled with the holy Ghost are made exceeding spiritual endeavouring to make all like themselves Now several wayes we may consider of the Spirits dwelling in the people of God First There is an essential dwelling or a gracious dwelling by a special manifestation of more peculiar favours we doe not speak here of an essential dwelling for so the Spirit of God is every where Whither can I flie from thy presence Psal 139.7 Thus he hath the same divine Attribute as God the Father and the Sonne have Thus he filleth the whole world But we speak of his gracious presence Now how to make a difference between his essential presence and his gracious presence is impossible for men to expresse because our knowledge of God is onely apprehensive not comprehensive We see all the Schoolmen labouring to this very day to shew how an Angel is present and yet they have not waded out of those deeps Onely thus much we may in sobriety say That though the Spirit of God be every where yet he is said to be in his Church because of those peculiar and gracious operations which he produceth in them and no where else Even as God is said to be in Heaven though he be in Earth and no where else because there is a peculiar manifestation of more glory and power from him Thus then we are first to conceive of his presence But. Secondly When the Spirit of God is said to dwell in his Church it may not onely be understood of the gracious effects thereof but also of his Person likewise And this indeed I finde a very sublime and mysterious Dispute both among Papists and Protestants Whether believers are made partakers of the Person of the holy Spirit or onely of his graces According to many all those places where we are said to receive the Spirit or to be full of the holy Ghost they are extended no further than the gifts and graces of the holy Ghost But certainly many places as this in my Text are to be understood of the Person of the holy Ghost For it 's the Spirit as we shewed that is the same with God Now the gifts and graces of the Spirit are not the same with God So we are said to be a Temple of this Spirit and a Temple doth relate to a God and to a Person not to graces meerly So that we conclude that opinion to be farre more true and consonant to Scripture which makes us partakers even of the Spirit it self as we also are of Christ himselfe and not of the benefits onely that come by him But the Scripture layeth downe this in a transcendent and mystical manner and it 's by faith onely So that those who have fancied a transubstantiation into the God-head To be Christed with Christ and Godded with God or to be made the Spirit with the Spirit have thought of a physical and natural union as if a drop of water were poured into the sea where as it is onely a moral union even as the wife is made partaker not only of the husbands wealth but the husband himself yet not turned into his nature and this comparison the Scripture doth often use Lastly The Spirit of God dwels two wayes in his Church 1. In respect of wonderfull and miraculous operations 2. In respect of saving and sanctifying graces The former way the Church of Corinth was admirable you may reade 1 Cor 14. alibi of the plenty of gifts and divers operations amongst them so that they seemed herein to excell all other Churches yet in respect of the sanctifying graces they seemed to be very defective for the Apostle cals them babes and complaineth he could not speak unto them as unto spiritual so that
this later way of Gods Spirit as formerly you heard dwelling in us is most comfortable and most to be regarded though the other be more admired The former did especially belong to the Church in its first plantation Hence Acts 2. we reade of the accomplishment of that glorious Prophecy Joel 2. To pour out his Spirit c. but now these miraculous operations are ceased Vse of Instruction What Congregations and what manner of persons we ought to be To be meer men cometh farre short of being spiritual men we ought to be above sense and all humane principles Take the most refined men for morality and civility the choisest for all humane abilities yet without the Spirit of God they are no more than Adams body till life was brethed into him no more than those bones in Ezekiel till the Spirit of God gathered them together Oh that our Congregations consisted of spiritual men Paul complained He could not preach to them but as carnal The Spirit of God would lift thee up to other affections other desires As the Spirit took some mens bodies and lifted them up into the air so would it doe to the soules of men they had the Spirit of God who said Our conversation is in Heaven They had the Spirit of God that did look for the coming of Christ They had the Spirit of God who had prayed with groanes unutterable and who had joy unspeakable But oh we poor worms and not spiritual men cold clods of earth destitute of Gods Spirit And that the Spirit of God dwels in you We have heard what this inhabitation of Gods Spirit in his Church doth imply and how he may be said to dwell in us In the next place let us consider the special Workes and Effects of Gods Spirit in his Church For therefore partly hath he the name Spirit because of that power and efficacy he hath in the Church Hence he came downe in a mighty rushing winde and cloven tongues of fire So that he is called the Spirit internally and externally internally for his personall character whereby he proceeds from the Father and the Sonne Externally because of those admirable effects and demonstrations of his presence in the Church Now I shall not speak of these operations which he hath as God in creating and conservating of the world but what are more peculiar to the Church in which sense he is called The Spirit of Christ Romans 8.9 because Christ by his death did purchase such gifts and graces for his people the efficient whereof in an appropriated manner is the Spirit of God And First The very ministerial functions and abilities to discharge them are of the Holy Ghost in the Church For although Ephesians 4.11 it 's said That Christ after his Ascension and triumph over Death and Hell Gave gifts unto men Even as great Emperours when they ride in glorious triumph after a final Conquest over their enemies use to distribute large favours and many bountifull signes of honour yet because upon his Ascension he promised the Spirit of God in his absence as the divine Vicar of Christ therefore 1 Cor. 12. we find all operations and diversities of them attributed to the holy Ghost And Acts 25. the holy Ghost is said To make those overseers in the Church of Ephesus So that what Church-officers or what Church-ordinances or order we have and what Gifts and Abilities likewise there are to discharge them These are all of the holy Ghost and of the holy Ghost three wayes 1. In respect of their Institution and being For although it 's by man that such and such persons are elected and ordained to this or that Office yet the Office of it self is of the holy Ghost They are not the Institutions of men nor may men appoint some Church-officers which God hath not because their end is wholly supernatural As it 's said 2 Cor. 12.28 God hath set in his Church such Officers even as he hath set the Sunne and starres in the firmament so that all Officers lawfully called are of the holy Ghost either immediately as at the beginning or else mediately by the order and designation of the Church And as for their gifts it 's plain the extraordinary and miraculous gifts in the primitive times were from Gods Spirit The Scripture often attributeth them to it Only now it may be doubted Whether we can say that the gifts and the abilities that Ministers have now are from the holy Ghost because they are got by humane study and industry And is there any more required to understand the Scripture than any other humane Authour Plato or Aristotle Those cursed wretches Julian and Porphyrius who wrote against the Scripture they understood what they were so invective against yet it cannot be thought they were inabled by the holy Ghost Now to answer this even those natural abilities and humane indowments that men obtain by study are a gift of God they are a blessing which we see God giveth to some and not to other It 's Gods mercy thou art not a natural fool a mad man but when thou hast more understanding and better intellectual abilities than other thou hast a greater gift from God than others Hence in our very ordinary phrase we say such an one hath an excellent gift in his memory in his elocution c. And the Scripture is clear James 1.17 Every good and perfect gift cometh from the Father of lights which is to be understood universally both of naturals and supernaturals And what hast thou thou hast not received 1 Cor. 4. Hence in the Parable all abilities whether gracious or natural are called Talents and are given by one Master That is the first thing even those excellent abilities which the greatest Heretiques and enemies to the Christian Religion had were of God though the sinfull use of them came from the Devil and their own corrupt hearts They were talents of gold and they made Idols of them 2. As the gifts and abilities Church-officers have are from God so the right understanding of the Scripture and believing the sense contained therein is in a more particular manner a gift of Gods Spirit For although the Spirit of God doth not give us the sense and meaning of the Scripture in an extraordinary manner viz. without the knowledge of the tongues the comparing of places together c. yet in and by these means the Spirit of God doth help us to understand the Scripture I do not here speak of a saving knowledge of the sense of the Scripture but a meer literal knowledge of the meaning thereof This is plain by the Apostle No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Spirit 1 Cor. 12 3 The very historical believing of Scripture truths is from the Spirit of God So that here is required a more peculiar and particular assistance of Gods Spirit in ministerial abilities for the opening of the Scripture then for any humane Authour because the matter
in this respect that he turneth to the creature too much leaving God Now as there is this in our corruption so in our Conversion or Regeneration there is the clean contrary there is aversion from the creature and conversion to God It doth not only make a man cast away his sinnes but also all creatures so farre as they hinder the love of God for now they are risen with Christ And as if a worm should be made a man it would no more crawle and creep on the ground thus when a divine Nature or a Nature from above is bestowed upon us Not only love to sinne but love to Father Mother or life it self is inconsistent with the grace of God in our hearts when it 's excessive Fifthly It is acknowledged by all that there is imbred in a man an appetite or desire after felicity and happinesse This Aristotle and others do abundantly confirm Man by nature hath such a capacious heart and the souls appetite is so vast that it 's more then the Horseleech or the Grave that sayeth alwaies Give The soul hath a Sheoll that is alwaies asking and never satisfyed Now then if there were a good regulated desire after this ultimate good where and in whom it was this were to be encouraged If the meaning of these in my text had been Who will shew us that which is indeed the chiefest and most reall good they might have been encouraged like those that asked what they should do to be saved But though there be in the generall an inclination to such a blessednesse yet wofull and dreadfull is the misapprehension and blindnesse of all men naturally about it so that mistaking the main end for which they came into the world it 's no wonder if at last they fall into the pit irrecoverably There were above an hundred Opinions amongst the Heathens in what true Felicity did consist but though some were not so grosse as others yet all come short of the true end That knowing of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent in the knowledg of whom is eternal life Neither are many Christians much better then the Heathens in this respect for although they know that God is the chiefest good in the enjoying of whom through Christ is only blessednesse yet practically in respect of their hearts and lives some place their happinesse in Riches some in Honours and some in Pleasures and these to whom David speaks here that did love vanity that cryed out for earthly comforts they were not Heathens destitute of the knowledge of the true God but such who lived in the Church of Israel only they were destitute of the sanctifying power of God within There is then acknowledged in all men some innate appetite whereby they would have a full and chief good which might compleatly satiate and fill the soul Sixthly The perswasion of what is the best good and which is chiefly to be desired is wounderfully diversifyed according to the several inclinations humours and conditions of men So that some place it in one thing and some in another One saith Give me this good there is none like that Another saith Give me that good there is none like that So that these many in the text do not all desire the same yea one matters not that which another would go through fire and water to obtain The voluptuous man he doth not matter wealth or riches let him enjoy his pleasures and he envyeth no rich worldling the earthly worldly man he matters not honour and credit let him get riches and he regards not a good Name Populus me sibilat at mhi plaudo The Apostle is thought to bring all that an earthly heart can desire into these three heads 1 Joh. 2.15 16 17. For speaking there terribly against the disposition of these in my text that they should not love the world he brings an Argument from the contraries The love of the Father cannot be in such an one They can be no more together then Dagon and the Ark The hand filled with dirt and stones cannot at the same time be filled with precious Pearles He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit with him and he that is joyned to the earth is made earth with it Si terram amas terra es said Austin And hereupon the Apostle giveth some examples and instances of the things of this world that are like Jaels milk to Sisera fairly inticing but afterwards mortally wounding and although some think there is not an exact and full partition yet others do judge so And by the lust of the flesh they understand all pleasures and delights by the lust of the eye all earthly and covetous desires as Achan saw the Babylonish garment and wedge of gold which made him sinfully covet it and the pride of life that is all ambition all proud and high desires after the great things of this world Haec tria pro trino numine mundus habet This is the worlds Trinity and there is no man inordinately addicted to any creature comfort but it may be comprehended under one of these three heads Now when the Apostle had given us an Instance of these things he giveth another Argument against immoderacy after them This world passeth away They will rot in the grave when holinesse will abide for ever Seventhly That the preferring of the creature above God though it be the sinne of all man-kind and as large as Original sinne it self yet like that it is hardly discerned and discovered It 's almost unperceivable unlesse we are enlightned by Gods Spirit when we set up the creature above him It 's true there is a grosse manifest and palpable way which is seen in every covetous and ambitious or lustfull man these do so plainly make either their belly their god or their gold their god or their preferment their god that all men can easily condemn them for it because what is in their heart empties it self into foul and shamefull practises But then there is the mentall and soul deifying of the creatures when the heart is secretly stolen away and doth insensibly depend on or excessively love such a thing and this is hardly to be discerned No doubt but the third kind of hearers and so Demas were farre from thinking that they loved the world more then God So that as the nature and operations of the soul are in their Physical consideration little known much lesse in their Theological Now although the tendencies of the soul may be various and multiforme some to one Object some to another yet self is that great Diana self is the Belzebub all things in Religion even God himself is referred to self till a man be sanctified So that the heart being herein thus desperately deceitfull we are often and often to commune with our own selves whether self be renounced whether self be subordinated to God whether we can say as Mephibasheth to David Let Ziba take all
the world Adulterers and Adulteresses Jam. 44. For the heart of a man should be kept as the chast Wife to Christ and love no other but him Therefore when it le ts loose her desires to the creatures then it becomes guilty of Adultery then God is jealous Oh then make more account where thy heart is placed Look to that more diligently for it 's not fit any creature should be placed nearer to that then God himself Doth not our Saviour say He that loveth Father or Mother or life it self more then me cannot be my Disciple Thirdly Meditate on this That all those who ever loved the creature immoderately have at last found the vanity and unprofitablenesse of it They have been wearied and glutted with it As he said to that Tyrant Satia te sanguine quem sitiisti He gave him blood enough at last So commonly God in anger doth give thee abundance of such things as thou desirest but they are for thy hurt Thou desirest them as the hydropical man water or as the feavourish man Wine which things if they obtain their disease is the more encreased and they become the more dangerous The wise man observeth it of riches Eccles Chap. 5.13 he calls it a sore evil That riches are kept for the owners thereof to their hurt Now then is not this very dangerous to thee to place thy heart upon that which will be poyson and bane to thee This is true of honours preferments any creature if excessively desired will do a man hurt It 's like surfetting upon Honey And this is the reason why God keepeth his own children in so many streights and difficulties he doth not give them the things they desire Yea commonly God doth crosse them in all their earthly affections and undertakings so that they cannot have those mercies they would have And the Lord is herein very mercifull to them for that which is inordinately desired would be also immoderately possessed and so like too much blood it would quickly breed mortal diseases in thee So that that very consideration which often makes thee grudging and discontented may justly put thee upon thankfulnesse Thou maiest blesse God that he doth these things for thee which are ad Sanitatem non ad voluptatem It's Gods goodnesse that I have not the mercies I would have for then I should be undone And that even the godly are apt to seek immoderately after these earthly comforts appeareth in that reproof to Baruch Jer. 45.5 Seekest thou great things for thy self Seek them not Baruch an eminent man in godlinesse even in those daies when there was nothing but destruction universal threatned even then he was apt to seek great things for himself Yea the Apostle complaineth of the whole Church of God almost at Philippi Phil. 2.22 For all seek their own and not the things of Jesus Christ. This disposition being thus in the godly did not the Lord both quench the fire within by sanctifying grace and remove the fewel from without he would quickly be all in a flame Fourthly Consider that therefore it is God hath mingled gall with the honey of every creature That therefore it is every thing is obtained with difficulty and possessed with cares that so we might not rest upon the creature As God made Aegypt a place of oppressiion and misery to the Israelites that so they might willingly go out and seek for Canaan Thus the Lord hath made the world a valley of teares He hath caused every relation every conditon to have its great exercise that so God might be all in all That as you see out of the same root groweth both the Rose and the Prickels about it so likewise out of same creature out of the same condition cometh both Honey and a sting both that which is comfortable and that which is molesting Now Gods end in this is to make thee not with Peter to say It 's good to be here but to seek out for a better good Thou must therefore be very foolish and bruitish if this experience doth not teach thee Hath not Solomon made this Motto upon all the creatures That they are vanity and vexation of spirit Not only vanity but vexation Wilt thou therefore lay thy self down to sleep when there are so many bryers and thornes under thee Oh say This is not my rest Here is not all good There is a better place then this world and a greater happinesse then the enjoying of the creature Even the wisest the richest and most potent in the world have not had their content but thornes have been in their sides and their hath been two drops of gall to one of Honey That Starre called wormwood hath fallen into our waters and made them bitter What then should we learn from this but that it 's our best wisdome and our safest undertaking to look up unto God as the fountain of all happinesse As of him in whom we shall not have any occasion of wearinesse There will never be cause to complain that I find not God so full of comfort and blessednesse to me as I expected Yea God will be unto us above all that we can expect For it cannot enter into the heart of a natural man to conceive the fulnesse and excellency of God And therefore the natural men of the world are commanded to taste and see how good God is It 's for want of this spiritual and heavenly experience that we are so apt to be affected too much with the creature and nothing at all with God Fifthly Remember That these creatures whatsoever they are for comfort they are not originally and of themselves so but are only Instruments and Conduit-Pipes And therefore they are defective in these Particulars 1. They cannot give them any comfort or content of themselves They are not able to satisfie and quiet the heart For how many have been under the greatest mercies in the world and have enjoyed all the outward abundance that their hearts could desire and yet for all that have an unquiet discontented spirit And the reason is because it 's God only that fashioneth the heart It 's he that formeth the spirit And therefore under the saddest afflictions that can possibly befall we see God made David of a quiet and satisfied â—pirit he could lie down and takâ— his rest when his own Son was up in armes against him and ready to deprive him both of life and Kingdom at once So it 's said David encouraged himself in his God when he was in that sad distresse at Zicklag So that it 's not the conditions without but the framing of the heart within that makes miserable or happy Is it not then folly as well as sinne to look after this or that creature inordinately which of it self cannot adde one Cubit to thy contentation Thou maiest be in a Prison yea in Hell while thou livest in a vast and large Palace and all this is because it 's not the creature not the
fiducial and confident resting upon God or Christ and this is indeed the most noble and excellent Act of Faith Even as reason and understand are the chiefest acts of man though he can also sentire Faith as it doth thus rely on Christ it Justifieth But not only in matter of Justification doth it thus depend on God but also in all outward calamities and streights it in ableth the soul to rest and leane on the Lord. This is that trusting which David doth so often exhort to in the Psalmes For as a man cannot walk without legs or a Bird fly without wings so the soul of a man being wholly unable and impotent cannot subsist of it self but it must have something to lean upon It 's like Ivy that cannot grow of it self Now if the heart of man be corrupt his trust is wholly carnal he beareth up his heart and supports himself with some bladders or stilts that the world affords him But if his heart be sanctified then he doth solely depend upon the Power and Promise of God Now this trusting in God is a special duty and David many times useth this Argument why God should help him because he trusted in him We cannot in an higher manner glorifie God then by trusting in him For hereby we acknowledge God to be the Jehovah that he alone doth all things Insomuch that this is one of the chiefest duties required in the first Commandement The grace then of Faith hath this peculiar effect upon a man that it lifteth up the soul to God and maketh it rest and solely depend on him It 's true even in natural men there seemeth to be a trust in God but that doth as much differ from this holy confidence as light from darknesse For no natural man can put his trust in God there being as much grace required to put forth this as any other holy duty Secondly This trusting in God hath Its general Object And It s more special and adaequate Object The general Object is Any good thing that we stand in need of So that whatsoever the soul wants or the body wants Whatsoever thy necessities are thou art to depend on God for the supply This our Saviour insinuateth Mat. 6. to his Disciples when he tels them they should not be doubtfull and distrustfull what they should eat or drink but rest satisfied wholly in Gods provision who is an heavenly Father And therefore there is not any grace hath such a peculiar property to allay the tempests and rebuke the stormes of the soul as this hath This is David's Harp to chase away the evil spirit Whence are all those soul dividing and tormenting cares but from want of trust in God It were not possible thy heart should be so disquieted and tossed up and down if thou didst thus rest on him For this trusting in God it is a Catholocum it 's a general Remedy to all Exercises to all Dejections And hence when the Prophet Habbakuk saith The Just shall live by Faith the great Act of Faith in that place is dependance on God But then Faith as it's trusting and relying on God hath a more special and noble Object and that is Christ our Mediatour In the sense of all our guilt and unworthinesse we are to throw our selves on him And this is like the looking on the Brazen Serpent by which we are healed It 's not working or labouring but resting of our souls on Christ that justifieth And indeed if we can trust on him for our Justification for our salvation what a shame is it we cannot depend on him for supply of all outward necessities Doth not the Apostle argue with the highest reason that can be Rom. 8. If he hath given us Christ how shall he not with him give all things else Will not this shame all thy distrustfull and dividing thoughts when thou shalt say I believe in God for the salvation of my soul yet I cannot trust him with my Children my health or any other streight I am in Thirdly The Motives to trust in God in the midst of all Exercises are two-fold Gods Promise And Gods Power For as our Saviour said concerning those who did not believe the Scripture They erred because they did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God Thus it 's here All thy dejected and repining thoughts arise within thee because thou art ignorant of his Truth his power First There must be Gods Promise otherwise it 's not trust in God but carnal presumption If a man should neither work nor eat or drink yet say He trusts in God for his life this would be desperate presumption for there is no Promise made to such Therefore whatsoever thy heart is born up with be sure thou hast a Promise for it And if there be a Promise then know Heaven and Earth will sooner fail then that Promise It 's true in the Old-Testament dispensation there were particular Promises made for many mercies so that they might the more boldly confide in God As David in this very particular he had a peculiar Promise that the Kingdom should be established to him and therefore he was assured that this Conspiracy of Absolom should not prevail Now although we have not such peculiar Promises made to us that God will remove such a calamity take away such an affliction yet we have a general Promise for every good thing and that all things shall turn to our good Which may make every Believer say I know either God will take this affliction away or it will be for my good That it is better for me to have it then to be without it And is not here ground of quietnesse enough within thee This makes the Apostle James give such a Proviso to all our Petitions Let him ask in Faith nothing doubting Chap. 1. for if he doubteth let him be assured he shall have nothing Now how must a Christian in every Prayer about temporal things pray without doubting I shall not say as some do That even in all temporal mercies we are to pray with the same assurance as for spiritual That temporal things are as absolutely promised as spiritual And therefore if any temporal mercy be not vouchsafed to us it 's wholly for want of Faith and Confidence But I rather joyn with those that say He must not doubt of Gods Truth and Goodnesse to help neither must he doubt whether he shall not have that or the equivalent This he must assure himself of And truly if a Christian would proceed thus farre he would find a world of ease and quietnesse in his mind And as Gods Promise so his Power also that is a second Motive for this trust in God For if we do not believe God is able to raise up the dead to call things as are not as if they were If we think the temptation too great the affliction too desperate then we cannot put any assurance in God Fourthly We adde in the Doctrine that Faith depending upon God
that to repine or to be discouraged is to say in effect Why is not God wiser Why doth he not order things with more perfect knowledge Oh but as long as faith worketh as long as that puts forth it self so long it beholds matter of wisdome and admiration in all Gods proceedings Secondly It represents the tender love and bowels of God as a Father so that all those strokes they come from love It 's his very pity for a while to break and bruise them that they may be healed more effectually Is the Artificer angry with his plate when he breakes it and throweth it into the fire No it 's for to make it more compleat If so be that we were wholly without corruption if we could walk without sinne then God would no more afflict us here on earth then he doth the glorified Saints and Angels in heaven but our corruption is such that God did not love us or regard us if he did not chastise us Thirdly Faith represents the soveraignty and supream dominion which God hath over the hearts of his children therefore he is called the Father of Spirits Now neither man himself nor all the Angels of heaven are able to give such a composed frame As God only knoweth the hearts of men so he only fashioneth and frameth them If you ask How is it possible that David should be thus immoveable What could keep in his corruption and flesh from repining and disturbing I answer it 's God with whom all things are possible It is this that faith suggests though thy heart be impatient though thou canst not command the waves thereof to be still yet God in heaven can Oh it 's easily confessed that it is not flesh and blood that can make such quiet calmness of soul No it must be an omnipotent work of the great God Did not God put terrour into Cain's heart that though he had built Cities though he did all he could to allay his spirit yet still he trembleth and cannot but tremble Thus on thâ— contrary God he puts joy into the heart of a believer he bids it lye down and be content and although never so many Hornets come buzzing to sting him yet faith keepeth them off â—o that that very frame of heart which even a godly man thinketh it impossible for himself ever to have that he finds sometimes and wonders how it should be so it's God that either layes load on or takes burdens off from the spirit So that the very same sinnes and temptations which formerly they could not apprehend without even faintings and swoundings of the soul now they can remember and bless God with joy for the pardoning of them Vse 1. of Instruction to distinguish between carnal security and godly confidence You have many a prophane man will say the words in my Text I will lye down and sleep it may be at the very Sermon time howsoever under the apprehension of their pleasures and profits they will with Dives bid their soul take its ease But can they say for the Lord taketh care of thee No but it may be this night the Devils will fetch thy soul It may be this night thou must be arraigned at Gods Tribunal Oh how many are sick of this spiritual lethargy How many men lye down securely to sleep that may awake in hell But the godly mans confidence ariseth from spiritual Motives insomuch that though death and the day of Judgement appear yet he may and ought to be thus affected The Difference between Carnal and Gratious Confidence We have heard that it is the property of faith depending on God in a vigorous manner to compose and quiet the heart in the midst of all calamities as if there were none aâ— all Now because even in wicked men there is a carnal senseless spirit that though the anger of God be upon them though their sinnes have found them out yet they can take their ease and pleasures and lay nothing to heart and this is an Epidemical disease It is good therefore to search into the bottome and difference of a gracious confidence from a carnal Now there are two sorts of these carnally confident and secure men under their troubles First There is the Stoical man of whom Senecae and others of that sect do much boast They speak great and swelling words about that man who shall fully have received their principles and confirme himself therein They commend in such a man an indolency and an impassibility that let him be dashed upon by never so many decumane waves yet for all that he stands immoveable like a rock and is not troubled Hence is that speech of theires so famous that their wise man if he were burning in Phalaris his Bull he would cry out Dulce est ad me nihil pertinet Thus the Stoical Philosophy would serve to set forth as admirable and composed a spirit under tribulations as the Christian Religion But Let us discover the sinfulness of such a Stoical stupid spirit And First Although the Stoicks did thus Thrasonically boast in their Books and Seneca speakes high and transcendent speeches in this matter yet when they came to practise they were feeble and effeminate So that they were nothing but words and empty expressions witness that Stoick who in his health had maintained that pain was nothing it was but a fancy when he was grievously tormented with the Gout cryed out of his errour acknowledging when he said so he did not know what pain meant But now if we look upon the godly in the midst of their exercises we shall find they did really put forth such calm and joyfull spirits under the heaviest pressures David you heard said he had done thus as well as he would do so and the Apostles went out rejoycing from the Councel where they had been persecuted because they were accounted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ Act. 5.41 And thus the many thousands of Martyrs they did though not in Phalaris his Bull yet in as great torments cry out Oh how sweet and comfortable is this So that no sect in Philosophy the Stoicks nor none else are able to bring such a multitude of Martyrs as the Christian Religion hath Therefore it 's only Gods Word and the Spirit of God that can enable us to rejoyce and take our rest under sad afflictions Secondly The Stoical discipline did teach a brutish stupidity and senslesness under miseries They would destroy the very passions of grief and fear from a man Thus they make a man to be no better then a stock or a stone that is sinking under the hammer and axe that comes upon it but Christian Religion doth not take away affections but it moderateth and ordereth them David you see though thus calme in his spirit yet he is affected with his calamity he goeth bare foot covereth his head and weepeth as he goeth and Christ himself wept at Lazarus his death It 's the Scriptures rule neither to despise