shall God judg the World He may as soon renounce his Nature and cease to be God for as such he is necessarily Judg of the World as violate his own Perfections in his judicial proceedings with us 4. God being invisible in his own Nature hath most wisely ordained the last Judgment of the World to be transacted by a visible Person because Men are to be judged and the whole process of Judgment with them will be for things done in the Body The Person appointed for this Great Work is Jesus Christ the Son of God united to the Humane Nature The Father judgeth no Man Not as if he descended from the Throne and devested himself of his Supremacy but not immediately but hath committed all Judgment to the Son And it follows As the Father hath Life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have Life in himself And hath given him Authority to execute Judgment also because he is the Son of Man that is in the quality of Mediator for the reward of his Sufferings The quality of this Office requires no less Person for the discharge of it than the Son of God 1. Upon the account of its superlative Dignity No mere Creature is capable of such a glorious Commission To pass a Sovereign Sentence upon Angels and Men is a Royalty reserv'd for God himself We read that no Man in Heaven or Earth was able to open the Sealed Book of his Eternal Counsels as unsearchable as deep only Jesus Christ who was in the Bosom of the Father the Seat of his Counsels and Compassions and was acquainted with all his Glorious Secrets could unfold the Order of the Divine Decrees about the Church And if no Creature was worthy to be admitted into God's Counsel much less to be taken into his Throne The Eternal Son the express Image of his Person is alone fit to be his authorised Representative in Judgment Our Saviour declares that the Father invested the Son with this Regal Power that all Men should honour the Son with the same religious Reverence and supreme Adoration as they honour the Father 2. Upon the account of the immense Difficulty no mere Creature is able to discharge it To judg the World includes two things 1. To pass a righteous and irrevocable Judgment upon Men for all Things done in this Life 2. The actual execution of the Sentence And for this no less than infinite Wisdom and infinite Power are necessary If a select number of Angels of the highest Order were deputed yet they could not manage the judicial Trial of one Man For besides the innumerable Acts and Omissions in one Life the Secrets of the Heart from whence the guilt or goodness of Moral Actions is principally derived are not open to them He alone that discerns all Things can require an account of all 3. The Son of Man is invested with this high Office as the Reward of his Sufferings We must distinguish between the essential and oeconomical Power of Christ. The Son of God considered in his Divine Nature has an original Power of Judgment equal with the Father but considered as Mediator has a Power by delegation In the quality of the Son of Man he is inferior in Dignity to the Father The Apostle declares this in that scale of Subordination of the Creatures to Believers and of Believers to Christ and of Christ to God All things are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's And observing the beautiful Order that arises from the superiority and dependance between Things he saith The Head of every Man is Christ and the Head of the Woman is the Man and the Head of Christ is God Now this Power by Commission was conferr'd upon him as the Reward of his Sufferings The Apostle expresly declares it that Christ being in the Form of God and without any usurpation truly equal to him in Divine Perfections and Majesty humbled himself and became obedient to the Death of the Cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a Name above every Name that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow of Things in Heaven and Things in Earth and Things under the Earth and that every Tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father His victorious Sufferings are the Titles to his Triumphs his being so ignominiously depress'd and condemn'd by Men is the just reason of his advancement to judg the World 5. There is a Day appointed wherein the Son of Man will appear in sensible Glory and exercise his judicial Power upon Angels and Men. He is now seated at the right Hand of the Majesty on High and the Celestial Spheres are under his Feet Universal Nature feels the power of his Scepter He reigns in the Hearts of the Saints by his Word and Spirit and restrains the Fury of his Enemies in what degrees he pleases but still his Servants are in distress and his rebellious Enemies insolently break his Laws and the Curtains of Heaven conceal his Glory from us therefore a Time is prefix'd when in the face of the World he will make an eternal difference by Rewards and Punishments between the Righteous and the Wicked and his Government shall have its compleat and glorious Issue This is stiled the Judgment of the Great Day 1. With respect to the appearance of the Judg. When the Law was given from Mount Sinai the Mountain was covered with Fire and the Voice of God as loud as Thunder proclaimed it from the midst of the Flames so that the whole Army of the Israelites was prostrate on the Plain struck with a sacred Horror and almost dead at the amazing Sights and Sounds From hence 't is said that in his right Hand was a fiery Law And if the Law-giver appear'd in such terrible Majesty at the proclaiming the Law how much more when he shall come to revenge the Transgressions of it 'T is set forth in Scripture in the most lofty and magnificent Expressions He shall come in his Father's Glory and his own Glory and the Glory of the Angels A devouring Fire shall go before him to consume all the Works of the Universe He shall descend from the highest Heavens glorious in the attendance of innumerable Angels but more in his own Majesty and sit on a radiant Throne high above all 2. 'T is great with respect to the appearance of those who are to be judg'd All the Apostate Angels and the universal Progeny of Adam The bowels of the Earth and the bottom of the Sea and all the Elements shall give up the Dead The mighty Angels the winged Ministers of Justice shall fly to all Parts and attach the Wicked to bring them as miserable Prisoners before that high Tribunal And those blessed powerful Spirits shall congregate the Righteous to present them at his right Hand 3. 'T is great with respect to what shall be then done He shall perform the most glorious and
alive As all that were naturally in and from Adam the corrupt Fountain of Mankind are under the sentence of Death so all that are in Christ the Head of the Regenerate shall partake of his blessed Life Others shall be raised by his Power as their Judg but not as their Head rais'd to be more miserable than Death can make them not be transform'd into his glorious Resemblance made capable of suffering an ever-dying Death not revived to eternal Life Now the Bond of our Union to Christ is the Holy Spirit derived from him as the Head of the Church and is the inward powerful and lasting Principle of Holiness and new Obedience in Believers He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit that is by the Spirit of Holiness has a real Participation of his Life is both quickned and united to him When the Prophet Elisha by the outward applying the parts of his Body to the dead Child inspir'd Life into him there was no real Union between them but Christ is by his Spirit so intimately united to Believers that he lives in them and they in him The sanctifying Spirit renews the directing and commanding Faculties the Fountains of moral Actions enlightens the Understanding with saving Knowledg rectifies the Obliquity of the Will purifies the Affections and reforms the Life so that the same Mind is in Christians as was in Christ and as his Conversation was such is theirs in the World This Divine Change is not wrought by natural Reason though assisted by the most powerful Arguments The Breath of a Man may as easily dispel a Mist or thaw a Frost as humane Directions and Motives to Vertue can renew the Mind and Heart and produce a Holy frame of Soul towards God Renewed Christians are said to be in the Spirit illuminated inclin'd and enabled by the Spirit to do God's Will and the Spirit of God to dwell in them by his peculiar and eminent Operations They live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit An Angel may assume a Body and act by it but the humane Soul enlivens it and performs sensible Operations by it And such a Principle is the Holy Spirit to the Soul gives it spiritual Life Activity and Power for good Works By what Application of the Spirit 's Power this is produc'd is mysterious and inexplicable but as the Apostle speaks of his Rapture into the third Heavens that he knew it was real and heard unutterable things though how it was performed whether in the Body or out of the Body he could not tell thus when a natural Man the current of whose Thoughts and Affections was to the things of this World becomes spiritual when the carnal Appetite is subdued and sanctified Reason has the Throne when he feels such strong and sweet Impulsives to Holiness as engage the Will when the Stream of his Desires ascend to the things above and his Life becomes Holy and Heavenly he feels and knows this wonderful Change though the manner how it was wrought he cannot tell I will shew more fully this sanctifying Work of the Spirit that we may the better understand our State The Spirit of God is denominated by various Titles the Spirit of Truth the Spirit of Holiness the Comforter and represented by various Types by an Ointment that clarifies the Eye to see things aright by cleansing refreshing Water by purifying refining Fire correspondent to his sacred Operations in the Soul As the Spirit of Truth he illuminates the Understanding to see the Reality and Excellency of supernatural and Heavenly things of the great Mysteries of Godliness of Eternal Glory so that a Christian in his most deliberate solemn and composed Thoughts in his exactest Valuation infinitely prefers them before the gaudy Vanities of this transient World When the Eyes of the Mind are truly enlightned present things appear or rather disappear as Shadows As the Spirit of Holiness he renews the Will and Affections inspires the Soul with Divine and unutterable Desires after the Favour and Grace of God and communicates spiritual Power for the Prosecution and obtaining those Desires The Holy Spirit raises such a Love to God that habitually and strongly inclines the Soul to obey his Commands This is the most clear and essential Character of a Christian the special and most excellent Property of a Saint upon which all other Holy Qualifications depend As Reason is the first and chief Excellence of Man from whence his other Perfections are derived that distinguish him from the Brutes and give him a natural and regular Preeminence and Dominion over them so that a Man is most properly defined a reasonable Creature Thus the Love of God is the most Divine Grace the true Form of Holiness the Root from whence all other Vertues spring and flourish and most peculiarly distinguish a Saint from unregenerate Men however adorn'd and accomplish'd so that a Saint is most properly defined to be a Lover of God This is the Principle of true Holiness inherent in the Soul and shining in the Conversation that distinguishes the Sincerity of a Saint from the Art of Hypocrisy an affected Appearance of Religion for carnal sordid respects and from civil Vertue that restrains from what is ignominious and disgraceful to our Reputation and makes obnoxious to Penalties of the Laws and excites to praise-worthy Actions upon worldly Motives and from Philosophical Morality that forbids Vice as contrary to Reason and commends Vertue as the chief Ornament and Perfection of humane Nature without a Regard to please and glorify God And Divine Love is the Principle of universal Holiness Love is called the fulfilling of the Law as 't is a comprehensive Grace and as it draws forth all the active Powers of the Soul to do God's Will in an exact manner Universal Obedience is the Exercise of Love in various Instances As the Spouse in the Song of Solomon is transform'd in divers Representations sometimes as a Sister sometimes as a Warriour sometimes as the Keeper of a Vineyard but she always acted as a Lover and her chief business was to please her Beloved This Allegorical Description of the Church signifies that when the Soul is inflamed with the Love of God that Affection will be active and discover it self in all it does or suffers in the Service of God This will make a Christian very desirous and diligent to please God in all things and careful not to displease him in any thing for that is the inseparable Effect of Love The Felicity of the natural temper and the force of Education may cause a loathing of some Evils and dispose to some good Works but with a reserved delight in other Sins and a secret Exception against other Duties Servile Fear is a partial Principle and causes an unequal respect to the Divine Precepts it restrains from Sins of greater Guilt at which Conscience takes fire it urges to some Duties the neglect of which causes Disquiet but the Love of
the Executioners and the Instruments of Torment they were pale and trembling The Flesh seem'd to cry out O let this Cup pass from me yet weak and faint it followed the Spirit that corrected the natural desire with not my Will but thine be done As the Moon in Eclipse though obscure yet goes on in a regular course as when 't is full of Light by the reflection of the Sun So those desolate Martyrs though as it were forsaken and deprived of the bright Beams of Comfort yet persever'd in their Profession of the Truth When one Word to renounce Christianity would have saved them no Torments could force it from them but they patiently endured all Now in these the Combat of Nature was visible and the admirable Power of Grace They first overcame their own Fears the reluctancy of the carnal part their Affection to whatever is desirable in the World which is the noblest Victory and then the Cruelty of their Persecutors In them was verified the Testimony of the Spirit Here is the patience of the Saints Here are they that keep the Command of God and the Faith of Jesus But how many appear faithful while their Faith is not to be shewed by difficult Works and proved by Sufferings The Seed that fell on the stony Ground sprang up as hopeful as the Seed in the good Ground at first but when Tribulation came it wither'd away wanting the Root of Sincerity And that which was sown among Thorns was choak'd by the Cares and Pleasures of the World Some Lust in the Heart interweaves with the Affections and causes Apostacy How many from glorious Beginnings have made a lamentable End not only Mercenaries in Religion whose Zeal is a foreign Complexion not springing from an inward Principle of Life and Health relinquish even the profession of Godliness when their Gain ceases but some who have thought themselves sincere yet in times of danger their Resolutions like the morning Dew have suddenly vanish'd As the foolish Builder that computed not the Charges of his designed Work began to raise a magnificent Structure but unable to finish it laid the Foundation in his own Shame They repented their Choice of Heaven when they saw what it must cost them and would save the World with the loss of their Souls Others that began in the Spirit and with raised Affections set out in the ways of Godliness yet by the allurements of sensual Lusts and Temptations and therefore with greater Guilt leave their first Love and end in the Flesh. They fall from high Professions but received by soft Pleasures feel not the Fall These were never sincere and never had a Right to Heaven They took up sudden Resolutions not grounded in serious and deep Thoughts and for a Flash were hot and active but with great levity return to their former Lusts. The Apostle tells us of such it had been better for them they had not known the Way of Righteousness than to turn back and voluntarily to forsake it 'T is observed that boiling Water taken off from the Fire congeals more strongly than that which was never heated because the subtile Parts being evaporated by the Fire the more terrestrial Parts remaining are more capable of Cold. So those who have felt the Power of the Word in their Affections and afterwards lose that holy heat become more harden'd in their Sins God justly withdraws his Grace and the evil Spirit that was expell'd for a time returns with seven worse and aggravates his Tyranny To conclude Since the certainty of Salvation is conditional if we persevere in a holy State let us beware of a corrupt Confidence and a vicious Dejection of Spirit the trusting in our selves or distrusting God To prevent the trusting in our selves consider 1. The most excellent Creatures are by the instability of Nature liable to defection subject to a corruptive change Of this the fallen Angels are a dreadful Example who of their own motion untempted sinned in Heaven 2. The Danger is greater of falling away when they are urged and solicited by a violent or grateful Temptation Thus our first Parents fell and lost more Grace in an Hour than can be recovered by their Posterity in all Ages to the end of the World 3. When there is supervenient Corruption in the Creature that inclines them with earnest propensity to forbidden Things and takes Flame from every Spark the Danger is extream Like a besieged City that is in great hazard of taking by Assaults from without and Conspiracies from within Let us therefore be very watchful over our Hearts and Senses and keep as much as is possible at a safe distance from Temptations And be very diligent in the use of all holy Means to confirm and fortify our Resolutions for Heaven God promised to Hezekiah 15 Years but not to preserve his Life by Miracle he was obliged to repair the wastings of Nature by daily Food and to abstain from what was noxious and destructive to his Body The Apostle excites Christians to work out their own Salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that works in them to will and to do of his good Pleasure Let him that stands take heed lest he fall None are a more easy Conquest to the Tempter than those who presume upon their own Strength We should be always jealous of our selves from the sad Examples of Apostacy in every Age. St. Ambrose testifies from his own knowledg that many after the couragious enduring of cruel Torments for Religion the tearing open their Sides that their Bowels appeared and the burning of some parts of their Bodies yet when led forth to finish the Victory of Faith to be a triumphant Spectacle to Angels and Men when the blessed Rewarder was ready to put the Martyrs Crown on their Heads at the sight of their mourning Wives and Children in the way were overcome by Pity the weakest Affection and fail'd in the last act of Christian Fortitude We must pray to be strengthned with all Might according to his glorious Power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness For some may vigorously resist one sort of Temptation and render themselves to others And if finally vanquish'd by one of those Enemies we lose our Victory and Crown And as Presumption betrays the Soul into the Devil's Snares so a vicious dejection of Spirit from a distrust of Relief from God in our Difficulties and his assistance with our unfeigned endeavours for Salvation is very pernicious For this damps Industry and causes either a total neglect or uncomfortable use of Means for that End Many Christians considering their Graces are weak their Nature fickle and apt to revolt are ready as David said One day I shall perish by the Hand of Saul to conclude sadly of the Issue of their Condition To encourage such let them consider that Perseverance is not only a Condition but a Privilege of the Covenant of Grace For that assures us of supply of spiritual Strength to the
Passions like Solomon's brazen Sea unmoveable by any Winds of Temptations Are they entirely exempted from the impression of Objects and the lower Affections No they are alive and sensible of those things that ravish the Affections of carnal Men but by the power of Grace despise and overcome them And this Grace is offered in the Gospel to all that sincerely desire it so that 't is a vain wretched pretence that Religion binds to hard Service To the other part of the Objection that sometimes Religion exposes the Professors of it to heavy Sufferings I answer Indeed the Gospel is plain and peremptory in this if we will reign with Christ we must suffer with him when we are called forth to give a noble testimony to his Truth 'T is no extraordinary Elevation no point of Perfection but the duty of every Christian to be always ready in the disposition and resolution of his Mind to sacrifice his Life when the honour of Christ requires it But 't is no hard condition to suffer transient Afflictions for the obtaining a Happy Immortality to be conformable to the Image of our suffering Redeemer that we may be crowned with his Glory How many Christians esteemed themselves honoured in the Disgrace and blessed in the Injuries they suffered for Christ and with an invincible Patience and astonishing Joy endured the most cruel Persecutions though yet the human Nature in them was as tender and sensible of Pains as in others but the natural aversion and repugnance to suffering was overruled by the determination of the rational Will upon the account of their Duty and the Reward attending it They gave a most convincing sensible Testimony how much more valuable Heaven is than this present World willingly exposing themselves to all Evil here and rejoicing in hope of a glorious issue In short the Reward of Obedience is a triumphal Crown and where there is no Victory there can be no Triumph and where no Combat no Victory and where no Enemy no Combat Therefore we are commanded to fight against our internal Enemies our corrupt Affections to kill the Lusts of the Flesh and to encounter and overcome by Humility and meek Submissions the Cruelty of malicious Enemies without us in order to obtain the Crown of Life And a Believer that has Heaven in taste and expectation will easily renounce the most pleasant and willingly endure the sharpest Temptations for the blessed Reward of his Obedience Lastly Fervent and constant Prayer is requisite for the Grace of God that we may fix our Aims aright upon eternal Happiness and use those sure Means that with divine Advantage are propos'd in the Scriptures that can make us wise to Salvation such is the depravation of Man since his Fall the Mind is diverted by vain Thoughts and the Heart prepossess'd with sensual Desires that 'till the Spirit of his Mind be renewed and his original Affections to the Supream Good be revived and restored by Divine Grace he is regardless of it and only applies himself to what is pleasing to Sense There may be some transient Glances and volatile Wishes of Heaven in Carnal Men but they are miserably weak and ineffectual Therefore a most necessary Duty incumbent upon us is by humble and fervent Prayer to address our selves to God for his Spirit to enlighten our Minds that we may believe the Reality and Greatness of the Eternal Reward and to reform our Wills that we may feel its attractive Force Both these Acts of the Spirit are requisite that the Love of God as our chief Felicity may be the regent Principle of our Hearts and Lives 1. For this end the Holy Spirit convinces Men thorowly of the Reality and Greatness of an invisible Happiness In the Light of the Gospel how many of eminent intellectual Faculties are stupid as to their great Interest and spend themselves about Trifles and are equally tractable to Eternal Ruin as the Ox to the Slaughter He that is destitute of the illuminating Grace of the Spirit is blind and cannot see afar off Now by the Analogy between the corporal and intellectual Faculties we may understand in some measure how the Mind is illuminated by the Spirit of God For as to the Act of Seeing two things are requisite 1. External Light in the Air without which the Colours Figures and Beauties of Objects are not visible to the sharpest Eye but lie obscur'd under impenetrable Darkness 2. Internal Light in the Eye in which the visive Power consists if this be extinguish'd the clearest Light of Heaven is of no use for the discovery of Things Thus the Understanding is enabled to see Spiritual things 1. By the Revelation of the Object In this respect Life and Immortality are brought to Light by the Gospel Till that bright Discovery was made of Eternal Blessedness it was above the desires and hopes of sinful Man Coelum homo nec optare poterat ex ignorantia nec sperare ex propriae miseriae conscientia 2. By the inward inlightning from the Spirit of Wisdom that removes the Ignorance Prejudice and Inadvertency of the Mind which as Scales darkned its Sight and disposes it to perceive the Verity and Excellency of spiritual and future Things tho not with comprehensive Evidence yet with that assurance that no doubtfulness or suspence remains concerning them 'T is observable that Faith is exprest in Scripture by Prudence Wisdom and Knowledg whereby a Man knows the Grounds and Motives of his Judgment and Actions And Sin is called Folly For as when the understanding Faculty either from the indisposedness of the Organs as in Idiots or from the disorder of Fancy by inflammation of the Humours as in distracted Persons cannot weigh and compare and therefore makes a perverse judgment of things so the carnal Mind by not due measuring and pondering judges falsly of spiritual Things If something no bigger than the Hand were put before the Eye it would intercept the sight of the Heavens and he that not considering the Properties of things near and distant should conclude that Piece to be bigger than the Heavens were justly reputed a Fool. And the folly of carnal Men is more gross who prefer things present to Sense before what is future and of everlasting consequence to the Soul But there are some Actions which if done by a Natural would be counted Folly yet being done by those who in the reputation of the World are Wise are esteemed Prudent but they are the most deplorable Folly Now as the restoring the Laesum principium the broken Mind to its sound state whereby 't is able to consider discern and conclude of things according to their Nature such is the action of God's Spirit upon the corrupt Mind clarifying and enlightning it so that it receives full conviction by the clearest Marks of divine Authority shining in the Gospel of the Truth of all the great and precious Promises therein contained and causing it by a steady application of the Thoughts to see the vast
and active to prevent a threatning Evil or to sustain it in the best manner 'T is observable in the brute Creatures that the Weak and Fearful are most subtile and ingenious to secure themselves and supply the want of Strength with Artifice But when Fear is inordinate 't is a tyrannous Master that vexes the weary Soul and hinders its free and noble Operations Cesar chose rather to be expos'd to sudden death than to be continually harrass'd with fears how to avoid it The Greek word implies the binding of the Spirit that causes an inward Slavery And in the Apostle's Writings the Spirit of Fear and the Spirit of Bondage are equivalent Ishbosheth when Abner provok'd by the Charge about Saul's Concubine imperiously threatned to translate the Kingdom to David was struck with such a fear that he could not answer Abner a word 2 Sam. 3.10 11. The sudden Passion stifled his Reply and reduc'd him to a defenceless Silence Now the fear of Death as 't is remiss or vehement such are the degrees of Bondage from it 1. It embitters the enjoyments of the present Life and makes the most prosperous in the World even in the fulness of their sufficiency to be in straits Though the Senses are pleased with the quick sweetness of Change from one Object to another yet the Soul cannot have a delightful undisturbed Fruition foreseeing that the stream of Pleasure will issue into the dead Sea Truly Light is sweet and 't is a pleasant thing to behold the Sun But how short is this Life with all its Pleasures in comparison of the Days of Darkness that follow Now though 't is our best Wisdom and truest Liberty to rejoice in this World as if we rejoiced not and frequently to meditate on the cooling Doctrines of Death and Judgment to repress the transports of the voluptuous Appetite yet since the Comforts of this Life are liberally indulged to us by the Love of God to be the Motives of our grateful and affectionate Obedience to sweeten our passage to Heaven we may with tranquillity of Spirit make a pure and chearful use of them in his Service and 't is an oppressing bondage when the disquieting anxious Fears of Death hinder our temperate enjoyment of his Favours and Blessings 2. The fear of Death oppresses the Souls of Men under a miserable Bondage to the Devil for his Dominion is maintain'd by the Allurements and Terrors of the World Though Men do not explicitly acknowledg his Soveraignty yet by voluntary yielding to his pleasing Temptations they are really his Slaves And the apprehension of temporal Evils especially of Death dress'd up in a frightful representation with its bloody Pomp is the strongest snare to the Soul The Faint-hearted prove false-hearted in the time of trial For the timerous Spirit being wholly intent how to avoid the incursion of a present Evil forgets or neglects what is indispensably to be done and thinks to find an excuse in the pretended necessity How many have been terrified from their clearest Duty and resolved Constancy To escape Death they have been guilty of the most insufferable Impieties by renouncing God their Maker and Saviour and worshipping the Devils for Deities Every Age presents sad Spectacles of many that choose Iniquity rather than Affliction that relinquish their Duty and by wicked Compliances save their Lives and lose their Souls Carnal Desires and carnal Fears are the Chains of Hell that retain Men Satan's Captives But what folly what madness is it for the avoiding the impotent fury of the Creature to venture on the powerful Wrath of God that exceeds all the Terrors that can be conceived by Fear This renders them more brutish than the Horse that starting at his Shadow springs over a desperate Precipice The Fearful are excluded from Heaven and cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone for ever 3. The extream fear of Death and Judgment dejects and discourages the Soul from the use of means to prevent eternal Misery and induces a most woful Bondage Fear anticipates and exasperates future Evils for as Knowledg excites Fear so Fear encreases Knowledg by the uncessant working of the Thoughts upon terrible Objects The fearful Mind aggravates the foreseen Evil and distils the Poison from all the Circumstances and Consequences of it And when the Evil is apprehended as insuperable and indeclinable all endeavours to escape are cut off What a Philosopher observes of an Earthquake compared with other destructive Evils is true in this case There may be a safe retreat from Fire from Inundations from Storms from War from Pestilence but an Earthquake astonishes with so violent a perturbation that stops our flight from the imminent Danger So the vehement impressions of Fear from the approaches of Death and the severe executions upon the Sinner after it distracts the Mind and disables from flying from the Wrath to come These Fears are more heavy by the suggestions of Satan who represents God so terrible in his Majesty inexorable in his Justice and unchangeable in his Threatnings that all Hopes of obtaining his Favour are lost As the Egyptian Darkness was not meerly from the absence of the Sun but from feculent Vapours condensing the Air that it might be felt So these dark and fearful expectations of the Divine Wrath are not only from the withdrawing the Light of God's Countenance but from the Prince of Darkness that foul Spirit And as we read of the Egyptians that no Man arose from his place for three days as if they had been buried in that Darkness and deprived of all active Power and Motion so the despairing Soul sits down mourning at the Gates of Death totally disabled from prosecuting the Things that belong to its Peace 'T is Hope inspires and warms us with alacrity encourages our Endeavours Despair blunts our edg and industry The Soul suffers the hardest Bondage and the Condition is unexpressibly sad under the tyranny of this Fear O how enthralled how desolately miserable Despair does meritoriously and effectually ruin the Soul For whereas there is no Attribute more Divine no clearer Notion of the Deity than Love and Mercy this Passion disparages his Mercy as if Sin were more omnipotent than his Power to pardon and all the Tears that flow from it are so far from expiating that they encrease Guilt and whereas the believing view of Christ would as compleatly and presently recover the Soul-wounded Sinner as the Israelites were by looking to the ordained visible Sign of their Salvation Despair turns away the Eye from our Deliverer and fixes it upon Misery as remediless and final 4. How comes it to pass that Men are not always under the actual fear of Death but subject to the revolutions of it all their Lives The Seeds of this Fear are hid in the guilty Breasts of Men and at times especially in their Calamities break forth and kindle upon them In their Leisure and Retirement intercurrent thoughts of
God causes the Hatred of Sin and therefore 't is against all Sin not only to prevent the Exercise of it but to eradicate it out of the Soul All the fearful consequences of Sin do not render it so odious to a gracious Spirit as its own proper Idea and intrinsick Evil as 't is contrary to the holy Nature and Law of God Love unites the Soul to God and turns the Thoughts continually to him and the lively sense of his Majesty and Presence who is so pure that he cannot behold Iniquity causes an aversion from all that is displeasing to his Divine Eyes And from hence it is that a zealous Lover of God is frequent and strict in reviewing his Heart and Ways and upon the discovery of sinful failings renews his Repentance which is the exercise of Grief and Love and renews his purposes of more care and circumspection for the future Love aspires to be like God in all possible degrees of Purity for it inflames our Desires after his Favour as that which is better than Life and all the sweetest enjoyments of it and Holiness is the powerful attractive of God's delightful Love to us Love is the Principle of free ingenuous and joyful Obedience 'T was our Saviour's Meat and Drink to do the Will of his Father For Love is the fountain of Pleasure it moves the Soul with Election and Liberty and makes every thing grateful that proceeds from it Therefore the Apostle declares that the Law is not made for a righteous Man that is as it is enforc'd by terrible penalties to constrain rebellious Sinners to Obedience for Love is an internal living Law in the Heart and has an Imperial Power over his Actions And this also distinguishes the renovation of one sanctified by the Spirit from the imperfect Change that is made in the Unregenerate They may stop the eruption of corrupt Nature but are Swine that being wash'd have an inclination to wallow in the Mire they may by strong impressions of Fear be urged to do many good things but in this they are like a Bowl that is thrown with such violence as controuls the drawing of the Bias and makes it run contrary to it But Love enclines the Soul to obey the holy Motions of the Spirit with facility as the Wheels in Ezekiel's Vision turned every way with readiness as the Spirit moved them And with holy Love there is a spiritual Power communicated that both the natural averseness and impotence to what is good may be healed By the virtue of the sanctifying Spirit the Soul that was dead absolutely unable to perform spiritual and supernatural Acts is revived to a kind of Omnipotence it can do all things required by the Evangelical Covenant by the new Law that is in the hands of our merciful Mediator for Salvation 'T is true there are relicks of Sin in the best and the Flesh and Spirit are repugnant Principles warring against one another but the holy Spirit will make no capitulation or composition with Sin but is so predominant that Sin is gradually subdued and does not so freely and frequently break forth as it does from the unrenewed By the accession of his Strength we are enabled to mortify the Deeds of the Body to crucify the Flesh with the Affections and Lust thereof And to perform holy Duties with freedom alacrity and zeal in such a manner as is acceptable to God In short saving Grace is distinguish'd from that which is common to the Unregenerate by its prevalency and constancy There may be a declination in the Saints tending to a downfal but the Seed of God that supernatural Grace that remains in them will by the Power of the holy Spirit recover the Supremacy Others may be enlightned and feel some good Motions and transient Touches as Saul had his rapture among the Prophets but they are not truly entirely and perseveringly converted to God they are not proof against the allurements or Terrors of the World They make a fair Profession till they are tried by Temptations Congealed drops of Water appear like solid Chrystal till the warm beams of the Sun dissolve them and discover the hypocrisy of the Chrystal False Jewels may seem to have the lustre of Diamonds till they are broke by a fall and discovered to be Glass Thus the Riches the Honours and Pleasures of the Flesh melt some and temporal Evils break the Resolutions of others and make it evident they were not sincere Converts But where the holy Spirit savingly works he is said to dwell he is not like a Passenger or a Tenant at will that neglects the House and suffers it to fall into ruine but as the Proprietary and Owner he keeps perpetual residence in true Christians and by his continual Influence preserves them from final Apostacy Now from hence we may judg whether we have an Interest in Christ and his Benefits For the Apostle clearly tells us That if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his By this sacred Signature we are appropriated to Christ and visibly distinguished from the World For though the secret and pure Influences of the Spirit in the Soul are only known to the Person that feels them yet his active Inspirations are declarative of his Presence and Power in the outward Conversation As the Wind that is of so thin and subtil a nature that 't is invisible in it self but we certainly know from what Point it blows by the course and way that the Ship makes thus the Spirit of God who is compared to the Wind is discovered by an infallible Indication his Fruits and Effects in a holy Life And those who have communion with Christ by his Spirit have a share in his Victories and may with confidence meet the last Enemy Death For we are assured If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in us he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortal Bodies by the Spirit that dwelleth in us A preparative conformity to Christ in Grace will be followed with a consummate in Glory But those who never felt the sanctifying efficacy of the Spirit in their Hearts and Lives though they are Christians in profession yet they have no other Union with Christ than a dead Branch with a Tree that receives no sap and virtue from it or an artificial Member joined to the Body that may have the outward clothing and ornaments proper to that part but derives no Life and Sense from it Whoever is in Christ is a new Creature And only those who partake in the first Resurrection from Sin shall be exempted from the Power of the second Death and upon just grounds are freed from the Terrors of the first To apply this Point let us 1. Consider our dear Obligations to our blessed Saviour who to free us from the sting and enslaving fear of Death submitted to it with all its Terrors from God and wicked Men. He felt a
that buy as though they possessed not and they that use the World as not abusing it for the fashion of the World passeth away To a wise and pondering Observer what comparison is there between Shadows and Dreams and substantial everlasting Blessedness If Men had the same opinion of this World whilst they live as they will have when they are to die they would not inordinately seek it They who have magnified temporal Honours and Riches and lived in Pleasures without Remorse yet in their dying Hours when Men speak with most Feeling and least Affectation how have they vilified those empty Appearances of Happiness with what moving Expressions declared the Vanity and Brevity of worldly things As when the Israelites were to go through the River Jordan that opened it self to make a free and dry Passage for them the lower part of its Waters ran into the Dead Sea and utterly fail'd but the Waters that came from above rose up and appear'd like a Mountain Thus when Men come to the universal Passage from this to the next Life inferiour things absolutely fail and are lost in the dead Sea but the things above that are eternal then appear in their true Greatness exceeding all humane Comprehension from hence is the change of Mind and Language concerning the one and other 5. Solemn affectionate and frequent Converse with God in religious Duties will render Death not fearful to us The whole Life of a Christian as such is a continual Communion with the Father and with Jesus Christ. For he performs all good Works by Divine Grace communicated from above and refers all to the Divine Honour As in a pair of Compasses one Foot is fix'd in the Center while the other moves in the Circumference so the Heart of a Christian is in Heaven his aims are for God whilst he is active here in the World His Natural and Civil Actions are heightened to a supernatural End And thus his Conversation is in Heaven But this was spoken of before and that which is now specified is the more immediate Service of God in Holy Meditation Prayer and the Ordinances of the Gospel which is the noblest part of the spiritual Life Our blessed Saviour who was a Comprehensor upon Earth always saw the Face of God and invariably sought his Glory in all things yet had his special times of Prayer and Heavenly Communion with God and the most glorious Testimonies of his Favour in those times Our Communion with God here is as true as in Heaven but the Influence and Fruition is different according to our Capacity When the Soul feels the vigorous Exercise of the Thoughts and Affections upon God and the raised Operations of Grace in Holy Duties 't is as certain a Sign of God's Favour and Acceptance as when Fire descended from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice And often our affectionate Duties are rewarded with sensible Consolations and holy Souls are dismiss'd from the Throne of Grace as they shall be received at the Throne of Glory with the reviving Testimonies of God's Approbation Now the Assurance of God's Love conquers the Fear of Death This Communion must be frequent As Love and Respects between Friends are maintained by constant Visits and Letters and mutual Confidence arises from Acquaintance so by the interchange of holy Duties and divine Favours we preserve a lively Sense of God's Love and an humble Familiarity with his Majesty that his Presence is not a Terror to us A Christian that walks with God here when he leaves the World to use the Words of a dying Saint changes his Room but not his Company God was always with him on Earth and he shall be ever with God in Heaven But cold and seldom Converse begets Strangeness and that makes us shy of God When religious Duties are performed as a complemental Visit without zealous Affections or used only in times of Affliction and Exigency as Cordial Waters in swooning Fits the Divine Presence is uncomfortable to us They who prefer carnal Sweets before Acquaintance with God cannot with Peace and Joy think of appearing before him O how unwelcome is Death to such for then the Spirit returns to God that gave it 6. Let us strengthen our Belief of the blessed State after Death Divine Truths lose their Influence and Efficacy when they are not stedfastly believed Faith is the substance of things not seen and the Evidence or Conviction of things hoped for The Spirit confirms our Faith not by a pure Physical Act but by convincing Reasons of the Truth of the Gospel The Life of Christ so glorious in Holiness his Doctrine so becoming the Wisdom and other excellent Attributes of the Deity his Miracles so great numerous open and beneficial not meerly to surprize the Spectators with Astonishment but to touch their Hearts his Death foretold by the Prophets and exactly agreeing in all the Circumstances of the Predictions his Resurrection the most noble Operation of the Divine Power are the strongest Proofs that what he has reveal'd as the Counsel of God for our Redemption and the Preparations of Glory for the Saints in Heaven are divine Truths And the Efficacy of the Spirit of Christ in sanctifying his Disciples in all Ages is a continual and as satisfying an Argument that the Gospel is derived from God the Fountain of Truth as extraordinary Miracles For Holiness is as inseparable a property of the Divine Nature as Omnipotence and the Sanctification of the Soul as divine an Effect as the Resurrection of the Body Now in the Gospel God enters into Covenant with obedient Believers to be their God a Title and Relation that supposing them the most happy here all the Enjoyments of this World cannot fulfil This Covenant is not dissolv'd by Death for he uses this Stile after the Death of his faithful Servants and from hence it follows they are Partakers of his Glory and Joys in the next Life For the Honour of his Veracity is most dear to him The Psalmist declares that he has magnified his Word above all his Name No Perfections of his Nature are more sacred and inviolable than his Truth The Foundations of Nature shall be overturn'd and the most solid parts of the Creation destroyed but his Promises shall be compleatly accomplish'd We are assured by his infallible Authority that there remains a Rest for the People of God And he that receives this Testimony sets to his Seal that God is true honours the Truth of God's Word and binds himself more firmly to his Service and is encouraged to leave this sensible World for that which is infinitely better Our Confidence and Patience in well-doing and in suffering the utmost Evil to Nature is from the pregnant Apprehensions of the Reality of eternal things We know saith the Apostle if our earthly Tabernacle be dissolved we have a Building not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens This fortified him against the Terrors of Death When Stephen saw the Heavens open
Order establish'd in the Gospel Thus the King at the last Day speaks to the Elect Come ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the Foundation of the World for I was hungry and ye fed me naked and ye clothed me And according as the Saints have excel'd in Fidelity Zeal in God's Service they shall be rewarded with a more excellent Glory The Stars of the supreme Heaven are of a different brightness and greatness as the Stars of the visible Firmament Indeed all are perfectly happy without jealousy that any is equal or superior to them in that Kingdom But God will crown his own Graces as the Saints have improved them Our Saviour valued the Widow's two Mites as transcending all the magnificent Gifts of others because of the degrees of Love in the Giver There was a richer Mine of Affection in her Heart Gold of a more noble Vein more pure and precious than all their Riches This was of greater price in God's Account who weighs the Spirits in his Ballance God will accept and reward according to what a Man has and not according to what he has not He that improves but two Talents with his best skill and diligence shall have a greater Reward than another that had ten Talents and was remiss and less careful to employ them for his Master's Profit The Rule will be exactly observed He that sows bountifully shall reap bountifully and he that sows sparingly shall reap sparingly And if God will be thus impartial in rewarding the Saints much more in punishing the Wicked For the remuneration of our Duty is the effect of his most free Favour but the recompences of Sin are due and decreed by Justice in Number Weight and Measure The severity of the Sentence will be in proportion as Mens Sins have been more numerous and heinous Although all the Damned shall be equally miserable in Despair all broken on an endless Wheel yet the degrees of their Torment are different Sins of Ignorance are extenuated in comparison of rebellious Sins against Knowledg The first are like a Servant's dashing against his Master in the dark the oother like the insolent striking of him in the light And as they incur greater Guilt will expose to greater Punishment Accordingly our Saviour predicts That the Servant which knew his Lord's Will and prepared not himself neither did according to his Will shall be beaten with many Stripes But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of Stripes shall be beaten with few Stripes Unactive Knowledg is worse than Ignorance For this reason the Case of Heathens will be more tolerable than of the Jews for though some natural Principles were strong and quick in their Minds that made them sensible of their Duty and Danger yet they were not so clear and perfect as the Law delivered by Moses Those Sins that were Infirmities in a Pagan were presumptuous in a Jew And the Case of the Jews will be more tolerable than of disobedient Christians who enjoy the Gospel less charged with Ceremonies and more abundant in Grace than the Mosaical Dispensation Those that have set before them the Life of Christ the Model of all Perfection that are excited by such loud Calls to flee from the Wrath to come and yet are deaf and regardless to the Commands nay to the melting Invitations and precious Promises of the Gospel shall have a more intolerable Judgment than the most guilty Sinners even the Sodomites and Sidonians that were Strangers to it The precious Blood of the Son of God despised induces a Crimson Guilt And as Sins are committed with Pride and Pleasure with eager Appetite and Obstinacy the revenge of Justice will be more heavy upon Persons More particularly Sins of Consesequence whereby others are drawn to Sin will heighten the Guilt and the retribution of Justice will be to every Man according to his Ways and according to the fruit of his Doings This will principally concern Superiours in eminency of Place whose Dignity has always a concomitant proportion of Duty Their vicious Actions are Examples and their Examples more powerful Rules than their Laws and give countenance to others to sin licentiously They sin with an high Hand and involve the Ruin of innumerable Persons that depend upon them As the Dragon in the Revelation whose Fall from Heaven drew a Train of lesser Stars with him And all inferiour Magistrates who by personal commission or partial connivance encourage and harden others in Sin and by their Power discountenance serious Religion and obstruct the Progress of it heap up Damnation to themselves And the Ministers of the Word who are obliged to watch for the Souls of Men and should like the Heavens by their Light Influence and Motion their Doctrine and Lives guide and quicken others in the Ways of Holiness if by their Neglect and Wickedness others are lost for ever their Account will be most heavy and undoing Of this Number are those who by their unholy Conversation weaken the Authority and Efficacy of the Word and more successfully perswade Men to do Evil than by their Preaching to do well for we are apt to take deeper impression through the Eye than thro' the Ear and to follow the Physician 's Practice rather than his Counsel These perish not alone in their Iniquity And such who are unfaithful Dispensers of the Treasures of their Lord and by loose Doctrines corrupt the Minds of Men to fancy a Mercy in God derogatory to his Holiness that although they live indulgently in Sin they may obtain an easy Pardon and Happiness at last And such who employ their high Commission for low and base Ends Those who instead of preaching Jesus Christ and him Crucified the pure and saving Truths derived from the Fountain of the Gospel entertain their Hearers with flashy Conceits and studied Vanities to give a relish to Curiosity and to have the applause of Fools and obscure the native Majesty of the Word enervate its Force and render it powerless to Conscience And those who spend their Zeal in things of no moment to Salvation and let fly bitter Invectives against those that dissent from them in unconcerning Matters by which they harden Atheistical Scorners in vilifying the Office of the Ministry as a Carnal Invention set up and used for Secular Ends and induce others to place Religion in Formalities and slight colours of it as if Conformity to needless Rites would exclude the Defects of substantial Holiness 'T is observ'd in the Chaldee Paraphrase when God was inquiring of Cain concerning Abel that he charges him The Voice of thy Brother's Blood cries unto me As if Cain were a Murderer not of a single Man only but of a numerous Race that might have descended from his Brother Thus a wicked Minister will be charg'd not only for murdering himself but as many precious Souls as might have been converted and saved if he had faithfully performed his Duty And
rejoice and triumph in the Happiness of one another With what an unimaginable tenderness do they embrace What Reciprocations of Endearments are between them O their ravishing Conversation and sweet Entercourse for their Presence together in Heaven is not a silent Show In the Transfiguration Moses and Elias talk'd with Christ We may understand a little of it by the sensible complacence that is among sincere Friends here In pure Amity there is a threefold Union a Union of Resemblance that is the principle of it likeness causes Love a Union of Affection that is its Essence 't is said of Jonathan that incomparable Friend his Soul was knit with the Soul of David and he loved him as his own Soul the Union of Conversation that is requisite to the satisfaction of Love What an entertainment of Love and Joy is there in the presence and discourses of dear Friends their mutual Aspects like a Chain compos'd of Spirits luminous and active draw and fasten their Souls to one another The Felicity of Love consists in their Conversation Now in Heaven whatever is pleasant in Friendship is in Perfection and whatever is distastful by Mens Folly and Weakness is abolish'd With what excellent Discourses do they entertain one another If David felt such inward Pleasure from the sense of God's Favours that he could not restrain the expression of it but invites the Saints Come and hear all ye that fear the Lord and I will tell you what he has done for my Soul Certainly in Heaven the Blessed with overflowing Affections recount the Divine Benefits the admirable Methods whereby the Life of Grace was begun preserv'd and carried on in the midst of Temptations the continual Succession of Mercies in the time of their Hopes and the Consummation of all in the time of their enjoyment How joyfully do they concur in their Thanksgivings to God for the Goodness of Creation in making them reasonable Creatures capable to know love and enjoy him when they might have been of the lowest Order in the whole Sphere of Beings for his compassionate Care and Providence over them in this World but especially for his sovereign and singular Mercy in electing them to be Vessels of Honour for his powerful Grace in rescuing them from the cruel and ignominious Bondage of Sin for his most free Love that justified them from all their Guilt by the Death of his only Son and glorified them with himself They are never weary in this delightful Exercise but continually bless him for his Mercy that endures for ever We may judg by the Saints here when they are in a fit disposition to praise God what Fervors they feel in their united Praises of him in Heaven The Psalmist in an Extasy calls to all the parts of the World to join with him The Lord reigns let the Heavens rejoice and the Earth be glad let the Sea roar let the Fields be joyful and all that dwell therein He desires that Nature should be elevated above it self that the dead parts be inspired with Life the insensible feel motions of Joy and those that want a Voice break forth in Praises to adorn the Divine Triumph With what Life and Alacrity will the Saints in their blessed Communion celebrate the Object of their Love and Praises The Seraphims about the Throne cried to one another to express their Zeal and Joy in celebrating his Eternal Purity and Power and the Glory of his Goodness O the unspeakable Pleasure of this Concert when every Soul is harmonious and contributes his part to the full Musick of Heaven O could we hear but some Eccho of those Songs wherewith the Heaven of Heavens resounds some remains of those Voices wherewith the Saints above triumph in the Praises in the solemn Adoration of the King of Spirits how would it inflame our Desires to be join'd with them Blessed are those that are in thy House they always praise thee 3. The fulness of Joy in Heaven is everlasting without defect and without end 1. 'T is undecaying the productive Causes are conservative of it being always equal Those are the beatifick Object and the continual fruition of it Whilst we are here below the Sun of Righteousness as to our perception and sense has Ascensions and Declinations Accesses and Recesses And our Earth is not so purified but some Vapours arise that intercept his chearful refreshing Light From hence there are alternate successions of Spiritual Comforts and Sorrows of Doubts and filial Confidence in the Saints 'T is a rare Favour of Heaven when an humble Believer in his whole course is so circumspect as not to provoke God to appear displeased against him When a Christian as those tutelar Angels spoken of in the Gospel always beholds the Face of his Heavenly Father and converses with him with an holy Liberty And what a torment the hiding of God's Face is to a deserted Soul only they know who feel it External troubles are many times attended with more Consolations to the Spirit than Afflictions to Sense but to love God with a transcendent Affection and to fear he is our Enemy no Punishment exceeds or is equal to it As his Loving-kindness in their esteem is better than Life so his Displeasure is worse than Death How do they wrestle with God by Prayers and Tears and offer as it were a holy Violence to the King of Heaven to recover their first serenity of Mind the lost Peace of Heart How passionately do they cry out with Job in the Book of his Patience O that I were as in months past as in the days when God preserved me when his Candle shin'd upon my head and when by his Light I walk'd through darkness As I was in the days of my youth when the Secret of God was upon my Tabernacle And sometimes God delays the revealing himself even to his dearest Children not that he does not see their Necessities and hears their Prayers or is so hard that till their Extremities he is not moved with Compassion but for wise and holy Reasons Either that they may not return to folly if by any presumptuous Sin they forfeited their Peace or if they have been careful to please him yet he may deprive them of Spiritual Comforts for a time to keep them humble and that with an obedient resignation to his Sovereign Pleasure they may wait for his reviving Presence And then Joy returns greater than before For thus God usually renders with interest what he suspended only for trial But the Saints above are for ever enlightned with the vital splendor and dear regards of his Countenance always enjoy his beamy smiles A continual effusion of Glory illustrates Heaven and all its blessed Inhabitants And their Contemplation of God is fixed If the Object though extraordinary glorious were transient or the Eye so weak that it could only see it but by glances the height of Joy would not be perpetual But the mind is prepar'd with supernatural vigour to see the brightness
partaker of the Divine Nature and elevates him above himself This holy Change is wrought by Divine Power Our Saviour tells Nicodemus Except a Man be born of Water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God The Analogy of a new Birth signifies that 't is entirely the Work of the sanctifying Spirit that conveys a Principle of Life in order to the Functions of it 'T is the living Impression of God the sole Efficient and Exemplar of it the Fruit and Image of the Divine Vertues 'T is exprest by the new Creature The production of it is attributed to God's Power displaying it self in a peculiar excellent way even in that precise manner as in making the World For as in the first Creation all things were made originally of nothing so in the second the Habit of Grace is infused into the Soul that was utterly void of it and in which there was as little preparation for true Holiness as of Nothing to produce this great and regular World And altho there is not only an absolute privation of Grace but a fierce resistance against it yet creating invincible Power does as infallibly and certainly produce its Effect in forming the new Creature as in making the World From hence it appears that preventing renewing Grace is so intirely the Work of God as his forming the humane Body from the Dust of Earth at first But with this difference the first Creation was done without any sense in the Subject of the efficiency of the Divine Power in producing it but in the new Creation Man feels the vital Influence of the Spirit applying it self to all his Faculties reforming and enabling them to act according to the quality of their Nature And by the way we may observe the admirable Grace shewed to Man in the renovation of his corrupted Nature In the composition of his Being are united a Spirit like the Angels and a Body like terrestrial Animals by which he partakes of the spiritual and natural Life but he has peculiar Favours conferred upon him For whereas his Soul sinn'd with the Angels and his Body dies with the Beasts yet God is pleased to restore them by his glorious Power An Angel after Sin never repents and is therefore incapable of Pardon and irrecoverably disinherited of Heaven a Beast after Death never revives but though Man sins and dies yet his Soul may be renewed by Divine Grace and his Body shall be raised in an incorruptible Glory Now the indispensable necessity of this holy Change is evident from the Words of our Saviour for he speaks universally Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God He does not simply declare that an unregenerate Man shall not but with the greatest Emphasis cannot to signify an absolute impossibility of it The Jews highly presumed of the priviledg of their carnal Birth they sprang from the pure and noble Blood of Abraham God's Friend they had the Seal of the Holy Covenant mark'd in their Flesh and hence it was proverbial amongst them that every Israelite should have a part in the World to come But our Saviour overthrows this vain conceit and tells them that the supernatural Birth entitles to the supernatural Inheritance Circumcision then and Baptism now without real Grace is an ineffectual sign of no avail to Salvation In the quality of Sons we are Heirs of God's Kingdom And that honourable Relation we have upon a double account by Adoption and Regeneration Divine Adoption is not a meer change of our state a naked Declaration that one shall be dignified with the Title of God's Son but a holy Nature is always infused into the Person whereby he is made like to God in his Excellencies In this it differs from humane Adoption that gives the Name and Arms the Honour and Estate of the Adopter to a Person without conveying any of his intellectual or moral Endowments Whom God adopts he begets to a Divine Life Besides our Saviour purchased this high Priviledg for us God sent his Son made of a Woman under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons By Union with him we receive the investiture of this Dignity Now whoever is in Christ is a new Creature For the quickning Spirit that is to the Soul what the Soul is to the Body the principle of Life and Strength of Beauty and Motion and an active purifying Faith that is influential upon all other Graces are the Band of that vital Union So that as all in Adam are universally corrupt by the first Birth all that are in Christ are made holy by a new Birth But of this I shall speak in the next Chapter more fully under a distinct Head Briefly the Spirit of Grace that sanctifies is the Spirit of Adoption that seals our Right to that Kingdom Now the Reasons why this Change must be in order to our obtaining of Heaven are these 1. There is an exquisite Wisdom shines in all God's Works in disposing them for the ends to which they are appointed and is it not monstrously absurd to imagin he will admit into his Presence and Kingdom those that are absolutely unqualified for its Blessedness and opposite to its Purity 2. His invariable Justice excludes for ever all unholy Persons from Heaven For in the last Judgment God will be glorified as a Governour in the distribution of Rewards with respect to the Obedience and Disobedience of Men. 'T is worthy of observation that the Actions of God on the reasonable Creatures are of two sorts Some proceed from his soveraign good Pleasure of which there is no motive or reason in the Subjects on which they are terminated Thus by a free and insuperable Decree when all Mankind laps'd and miserable was in his view he chose some to be Vessels of Mercy and by priviledg separated them from the rest that finally perish Now what induc'd him to place a singular Love on the Elect There was nothing in them to incline his Compassion being equally guilty and depraved with the rest of the Progeny of Adam This difference therefore is to be resolved into his unaccountable and adorable Will as the sole cause of it Thus God declares it to be his glorious Prerogative I will have Mercy on whom I will have Mercy and I will have Compassion on whom I will have Compassion And this is no unjust acceptance of Persons For as a Benefactor he may dispense his own Favours as he pleases A Gift from meer and arbitrary Bounty may be bestowed on some and not on others without injustice But there are other Actions of God for which there is an evident reason in Men on whom they are terminated Thus as the supreme Judg without respect of Persons he will judg and reward every Man according to his Works The Evangelical Law as was toucht on before is the rule of eternal Judgment and gives a right from the gracious