the Gospel may be said to increase a mans curse and condemnation Whereas now the Law in its own nature is said to be a killing Letter because it leaves a man in a state of death and leaves him under a curse and does not shew him the way at all â—ow to avoid that curse as the Gospel does therefore the Apostle says The Law is a killing Letter of it self but the Spirit giveth life 2 Cor. 3.6 because in the preaching of the Gospel the Spirit of God is conveyed into our souls which enables us in some acceptable manner to perform what the Gospel enjoyns and thus you have the Point opened to you That the knowledg of Life and Immortality that Eternal Salvation that is laid up for the Saints in light is discovered and revealed by the Preaching of the Gospel For the Use of the Point now And the first is by way of Information and there are four Doctrinal Inferences or Lessons that we may learn fron this point thus opened 1. See how infinitely we stand indebted and ingaged to our gracious God that hath lookt upon us here in this Nation and in this City who hath brought us into the fellowship of th Gospel and hath kept us in that fellowship for so many years together Oh that we should live under the showres and Sun-shine of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ for almost a hundred years together without interruption What a singular mercy is this if we did but know how to prize it He hath scarce dealt so with any Nation under Heaven as he hath dealt with us What did God see more in us than in Turks Indians and Pagans that never heard of God nor Gospel He foresaw how we would despise this precious Pearl and how we would be ready to trample it under foot God foresaw how weary we would be of those glorious Gospel-mysteries that are discovered to us from day to day yet it did not hinder him from bestowing this precious Jewel upon us therefore not to us not to us but to his own Name be the Glory 2. A second Lesson we may learn by way of inference is this If the knowledg of eternal life be discovered in the Gospel then it follows Where-ever God hath a Church planted or a Church to be planted there will still be need of a powerful quickning soul-searching Ministry for the discovery and making known the Mysteries of Salvation The publick preaching Ministry of the Gospel is that standing Ordinance that must continue in the Church of Jesus Christ so long as he hath a Church here upon earth and this appears by that of the Apostle Ephes 4.11 12 13 And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the prefecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ How long till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledg of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ That is to the end of the World God will have a standing Ministry where-ever he hath a Church planted or to be planted God will have a Gospel standing Ministry till all the Saints be gathered If this be so then how justly are they to be reproved that think that a Gospel-ministry of all other things may be best spared if there be any such here mark what I say You could ill want any of the four Elements Earth Air Fire or Water You could ill want Salt Bread Drink Cloathing let me tell you a Gospel-ministry is as needful as any of these I have named as Earth Air Fire Water as Salt Bread Drink Cloathing for does not Solomon say Prov. 29.18 Where there is no vision the people perish and would you have your souls perish everlastingly Is not our soul worth a whole World It was a noble speech of Luther It were better that the whole World were in a Combustion and Confusion than that the Gospel should not be preached or that any one soul that belongs to Jesus Christ should be neglected And it was spoken concerning Chrysostom who was a famous Light in the Church It was better that the Sun should not shine than that Chrysostom should not preach and it was a witty observation of a Father speaking concerning the beheading of John Baptist Herod took off John Baptists head because of the promise he made to the Damosel Whatever she ask'd him to the half of his Kingdom should be granted says that Father speaking of this passage Herod might have kept his promise though he had not taken off John Baptists head for he promised the Damosel to give her to the half of his Kingdom But now says he John Baptists head was worth a whole Kingdom Pray tell me you that have slight thoughts of the Gospel or of a Gospel-ministry Does not the Scripture compare Ministers to Planters to Builders to Fathers to Remembrancers to Stars to spiritual Guides and to a City upon a Hill and the like If ever you be trees of Righteousness in Gods Garden it is a Ministry that hath planted you and if ever you be spiritual stones in Gods everlasting Building it must be the Ministry must build you if ever you be Sons and Daughters begotten to eternal Life it is the Ministry must beget you For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 says the Apostle and if ever your seet be guided into the way that leads into everlasting life it is a Gospel-ministry must guide you and if ever you be led to Jesus Christ as the Wise-men were by the Star in the East when Christ was born in Betlehem it must be these spiritual Stars that are in the firmament of Gods Church that must lead you Now judg in your selves therefore whether a Gospel-ministry can be spared 3. The third Doctrinal inference is this If the knowledg of eternal Salvation comes by the Gospel then it teacheth us this Lesson also How infinitely it does concern us to prize and fruitfully to improve our Gospel-seasons those opportunities God puts into our hands for the enriching of our souls but especially we should improve our Sabbath-day opportunities because Sabbaths are the Market-days of Eternity the Markets wherein we must make provision for Eternity Oh how careful should we be to improve these Gospel-seasons Let me tell you Gospel-seasons are very precious seasons because marvellous precious things are tendred to you in the preaching of the Gospel more precious than all the Gold of Ophir more precious than all the Kingdoms of the World if they were in your own power for in the preaching of the Gospel a precious Christ who is the Pearl of price worth ten thousand thousand Worlds and more worth this precious Christ this Pearl of Price may now be obtained and a precious Covenant a Covenant made between God and the soul this precious Covenant may
in the desolation which will come from far to whom will ye flee for help So say I to thee What wilt thou do in the day when that sentence passeth upon thee Whither wilt thou flee for help O the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that this coming short of Heaven will produce especially when thou shalt consider that God was every day dealing with thee stretching out his hand to have gathered thee and to have converted thee and to have brought thee home but thou wouldst not Jesus Christ offered me a plaister of his own heart-blood to heal me but I trampled it under-foot the Spirit of God was knocking at the door of my heart sometimes by the Hammer of the Law and sometimes by the Hammer of the Gospel the Spirit of God was hindering me from sin and was stirring up holy motions in my heart and those I quenched the Ministers of the Gospel they prest hard upon me to yield to those warnings frequent warnings that were tendred to me but the Ministers I despifed and I mockt the Messengers of God which he sent to me to warn me not to come into this place of torment O the horrible hellish hideous cryes the fearful and doleful screetches roarings and yellings that these considerations will fetch from thee when thou shalt consider that thou hast not obeyed the Gospel thou hast not known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but thou hast wilfully lost such a Crown such a Kingdom such happiness as will be matter of heart-tormenting sorrow and mourning to all eternity if the loss of the Ark which was but a type of Gods presence 1 Sam. 4.18 19 20 was so terrible to that good old man Eli that he fell down and brake his neck when he heard of the loss of it and to that good woman Phinehas in her Travel when the Ark was lost that she cryed out The glory is departed from Israel O what then think you will be the loss of Gods presence the loss of his Favour the loss of eternal Happiness the loss of this Crown and Kingdom which I have been speaking of Oh how will this make such damned wretches cry out in extream bitterness The Glory the Kingdom the happiness the Glory the everlasting Glory is departed from me and I must never see the face of God any more This is the first Exhortation Foresee this evil and tremble at it My second Exhortation is this Do not only foresee this danger but study with the utmost endeavours of your souls to prevent it Prevent it you will say How must I do that I will tell you that if God will but give you hearts to follow my counsel First Be sure to avoid those sins that clog and hamper and fetter thee as it were in the way to Heaven so that thou canst not with any patience run the Race that is set before thee such as these Pride Presumption Unbelief Apostacy Earthliness Selfishness Security and Sensuality O these are the sins that fetter thee and hamper thee away with them therefore Secondly Pluck up thy feet and resolve to run the ways of Gods Commandments pray with David that God would enlarge your hearts that you may run in the way of his Commandments Psal 119.32 He doth not beg that the way may be made large but that his heart may be enlarged I will walk in the way of thy Commandments though it be never so narrow though there be never so many crosses in it or thorns or difficulties or discouragements if thou wilt but enlarge my heart I will run in the ways of thy Commandments Thirdly Take heed of delays and procrastination of putting it off from day to day by saying there will be time enough hereafter it will be time enough for me to look after Heaven when I have got enough of the World If I do it the last year of my life in the last month of the last year in the last week of the last month it will serve O take heed of delays this putting off of Repentance hath ruined thousands of Souls shun that Pit whereinto many have fallen shun that Rock upon which many have suffered ship-wrack say with David I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandments Psal 119.60 Fourthly Look upon the Crown of Glory set before thee have the Goal in thy Eye just as Moses had he endured the frowns of Pharoah on the one hand and he scorned the flatteries and Riches of Egypt on the other hand Why because he had an Eye to the recompence of Reward O look upon the Crown and white Robe and let this quicken you Fifthly Be sure thou hold out unto the end if thou wouldst not come short of Heaven be not like many runners in a Race that sit down in the midst of the way Be thou faithful unto the death saith our Saviour to the Church of Smyrna Revel 2.10 and I will give thee a crown of life He that endures to the end shall be saved Matth. 24.13 Therefore be stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord abhor Apostacy as much as thou wouldst abhor Hell it self Now to press this Exhortation upon you take these Motives First If you have but willing minds it is accepted of God so saith the Apostle for if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 If thou usest the utmost endeavour of thy Soul the Lord will help thee if thou faint he will support thee if thou overcome he will Crown thee Secondly Consider that among runners in a Race here on Earth there is but one that will get the Goal I but here in the Race of Christianity if thou do but so run thou mayst obtain If thou do not sit down if thou art not weary of well-doing If thou by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortality there is eternal life for thee thou shalt have a Crown of glory Nay there are ten thousand thousand Crowns in Heaven The Lord Christ will give every one a Crown that holds out to the end 2 Tim. 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judg shall give me at that day But why doth he call it a Crown of Righteousness Answer It is called a Crown of Righteousness because it is a Crown purchased by the blood of Christ and a Crown that is promised Now saith the Apostle This righteous Crown or this Crown of Righteousness is laid up for me and not only for me there is not only one Crown and one Kingdom for me but it is laid up for all those that love the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ O this glorious Master He makes every one of his Servants to be crowned Kings He hath made us Kings unto God Rev.
Secondly The Gospel may be said to reveal salvation in this regard because it is a means of conveying the spirit of grace into the soul who is the applier of this Salvation Hence it is the Gospel is called the Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious And you read in Acts 10.44 that while Peter was preaching to Cornelius and his Company the Holy Ghost fell upon them While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word so that the Holy Ghost was dispenced to them in the preaching of the Gospel Thirdly The Gospel may be said to reveal salvation in that it is an Instrument of begetting faith in the soul which is the hand whereby we lay hold on this salvation Faith comes by hearing of the Gospel Rom. 10.17 Fourthly The Gospel is ordained by God to be an Instrument of Regeneration and Sanctification and of Edification Of Regeneration 1 Cor. 4.15 For though you have ten thousand Instructors in Christ yet have you not many Fathers for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel And then it is the Instrument of our Sanctification too in John 17.17 Sanctifie them by thy truth saith our Saviour for thy word is truth And it is the Instrument of our Edification or building us up in our most holy faith Acts 20.32 And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that is the Gospel which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified Now then if the Gospel be the Instrument both of our Regeneration Sanctification and Edification it must needs be also the Instrument of our Salvation that is for the first Quaery How the Gospel may be said to reveal Salvation Because it reveals Jesus Christ who is the Author of this Salvation and it is an Instrument of conveying the spirit of Grace into the heart who is the applier of this Salvation and works faith which is the hand whereby we lay hold on this Salvation and it is the Instrument of working Regeneration Sanctification and Edification in us and therefore must be the Instrument of our Salvation The second Quaery is this But is the knowledg of Salvation revealed only by the Gospel may some say Does not the Law also reveal Salvation Does not the Law say Do this and live To this I answer Though the Law may be said in some sense to reveal the knowledge of Salvation Yet there is a very great difference between the Laws revealing and the Gospels revealing it and that in these two respects especially First the Law does not reveal the knowledg of salvation so clearly Secondly The Law does not reveal the knowledg of Salvation so effectually First The Law does not reveal the knowledg of salvarion so clearly for it reveals it only in types and shadows and resemblances therefore the Apostle says Heb. 10.1 The Law having the shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things He compares the Law to a shadow it had a shadow of good things to come For example The Law told us indeed of a Saviour that was to come into the World and the Law told us of the blood of Jesus Christ but it was typified in the multitude of those bloody Sacrifices that were offered from day to day and it told us of heaven and the heavenly inheritance but it was but obscurely it was shadowed out by an earthly Canaan or the Land of promise whereas now the Gospel brings in Jesus Christ fully and clearly exhibited it brings in Jesus Christ as the Day-star from on high which does enlighten us and the Son of Righteousness that does dispel all those clouds and shadows that were in the Ceremonial Law The Gospel does as it were draw the Curtain that now we may with open face behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. last verse therefore the Law does not discover the knowledg of salvation so clearly Secondly The Law does not discover the knowledg of Salvation so effectually True the Law hath told us of Salvation but it doth not shew us the means whereby we may attain it the Law shews us the way but it does not help us to walk in the way the Law hath commanded us to obey but it gives us no strength to perform therefore the Apostle says The Law was weak because of our flesh Rom. 8.3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh Again The Apostle tells us expresly Heb. 7.19 The Law made nothing perfect The Law could never bring Man to Heaven never was mortal man saved by the Law It is true indeed it required obedience but it gave us no strength to perform that obedience it exacted obedience upon the penalty of a dreadful curse but it did not enable us to avoid that curse for it s said Cursed be he that continueth not in all the words of this Law to do them Deut. 27.26 And it 's said the man that doth them shall live in them Gal. 3.12 Lev. 18.5 I but the Law gave no strength to do what it did enjoyn I but now the Gospel reveals the knowledg of Salvation more effectually because as it commands us to obey so it gives us strength to perform the Law commands but it is the Gospel that helps us How doth it help us it helps us thus Because it directs us to Jesus Christ by whom we may have strength Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength Isa 45.24 And says the Apostle I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Phil. 4.13 I but here it may be objected Does not the Apostle say That the Gospel is the savour of death unto death as well as the savour of life unto life 2 Cor. 2.16 Now if the Gospel be the savour of death unto death then how can it be said to bring Eternal Salvation To this I answer When the Gospel is said to be the savour of death unto death it is not spoken because the Gospel does kill and condemn simply and in its own nature but through the corruption of mens hearts that do not obey it but do reject it that do resist it A Kings pardon you know does not kill any by it self but by the contempt of a Malefactor that does reject it and so the pardon may double the Malefactors guilt and bring upon him a more speedy and fearful execution So here the Gracious pardon of God that is tendred in the Gospel does not kill or condemn any in it self or in is own nature but through the contempt of those that do disregard it in this regard not simply but accidentally through the corruptions of mens Hearts and Natures in this regard
now be confirmed and precious Evidences of Eternal Salvation may be now gained and likewise precious Graces and precious Faith and precious Hope and precious Love Humility Repentance and Self-denial these precious Graces may be now procured a precious soul may be saved a precious pardon may be sealed Oh what precious things then are tendred to you in the preaching of the Gospel these opportunities therefore are exceeding precious if Christ be thine now he is thine for ever Oh that you you did but know the price of these things that are tendred to you in the preaching of the Gospel if a condemned prisoner did know how precious the pardon that was brought to him was would he slight it Here is a precious Pardon Grace Mercy Peace all tendred to you in the preaching of the Gospel How infinitely then does it concern us to improve our Gospel-seasons 4. The fourth Lesson by way of inference is this It lets us see the contempt nay the neglect of the Gospel is a very dangerous sin for if the knowledg of Salvation be brought to the soul by the Gospel then certainly he that neglect the Gospel neglects Salvation and Salvation it self shall not save that man that despiseth the remedy yea that neglects Salvation says the Apostle How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation Heb. 2.3 As if he had said It is impossible to escape eternal Damnation if we do but neglect this eternal Salvation These are the Lessons from this Doctrine and that 's the first Use of Information The second Use I shall make of this Doctrine it is for Examination If so be the knowledg of eternal Life be brought by the Gospel be discovered and revealed by the Gospel then take occasion to call your selves to an account and see whether this eternal Salvation be so discovered to you that you may be partakers of it otherwise what advantage will it be to you to hear that Life and Immortality is brought to light unless this Light do shine into your souls But may be you will say to me How may we do to know that the Day-spring from on High hath shined into my soul that God hath called me out of darkness into his marvellous Light that he hath discovered the Mysteries of Salvation to me even to me I answer You may know it briefly thus If the Light of Life be revealed to thy Soul then certainly thy knowledg will not be a Notional knowledg only but an Experimental knowledg thou wilt not have a knowledg swimming in thy head only but a soaking and sinking knowledg in thy heart thou wilt not only know Christ but taste Christ thou wilt taste that hidden Manna Rev. 2.17 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna Thou wilt not only know but taste the bitterness of sin and thou wilt say Jer. 2.19 It is an evìl and bitter thing that I have for saken the Lord and that his fear is not in me A blind man may talk of Colours that never saw them and a hungry man may talk of a full dinner that never tasted it so a carnal man may have a great deal of knowledg in his head and never rellish nor taste it but he that hath the knowledg of Salvation revealed to his soul he hath a Light shining in his heart Jer. 31.34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord that is they shall not need to be taught those experimental truths that are written in their own hearts by the finger of the Spirit of God A man that hath this Life and Immortality brought to light by the Gospel will say You need not tell me that sin is a bitter thing I have tasted the bitterness of it You need not tell me the favour of God is sweet and lovely Oh it is sweeter to me than life it self You need not tell me that Jesus Christ is very Amiable and Beautiful I see him to be so with my eye of faith You need not tell me there is a marvellous power in the death of Christ for the crucifying of sin I do experimentally know it when a man hath this experimental knowledg he will say as the Apostle 1 Tim. 1.13 I was before a Blasphemer and a Persecutor and injurious but I obtained Mercy because I did it ignorantly When a man hath the feeling and experience of spiritual Truths in his own soul then may he be sure that Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel unto him A third Use I shall make of this Doctrine it is of Reproof Two sorts there are that are justly liable to the reproof of this Doctrine First It condemns and crys down that Hellish practice of the whore of Rome and the Popish Clergy who lock up the Scriptures and keep Millions of souls from the knowledg of Gospel from the knowledg of the mysteries of Salvation this is all one as if they should lock them up in the pit of Infernal darkness for if so be Salvation or Eternal Life be brought to light by the Gospel and this Gospel be to them but as a Light in a dark Lanthorn must not they needs inevitably perish Oh cruel bloody Butchers Oh merciless mischievous Soul-destroyers may we say of the Romish Synagogue well may the whore of Rome be said to be drunk with blood because she is drunk not only with the blood of the bodies of Men but with the blood of the Souls of men Oh the tender Mercies of God that hath opened our eyes to see better things and to free us from the bondage and slavery of that Antichristian yoke this is a great mercy to be delivered from the poyson of those serpents and a greater mercy than ever we can be thankful for But take this withal I beseech you Take heed that Popery do not creep in at a back-dore of Toleration let us bless God for that liberty that we have but take heed that you do not hanker after those Popish Doctrines that may poyson the soul and that will provoke God to remove his Candlestick from amongst us A second sort to be reproved are those that grow weary of the Gospel I but may be you will say Are there any so bad in our days as to be weary of the Gospel yea my brethren many there are that are weary of the Truths of it many that are weary of the Profession of it many that are weary of the Power and Practise of it First Many there are that are weary of the Truths of the Gospel that chuse rather to be raking in the stinking puddles of Popery Arminianism Socinianism and other damnable heresies as the Apostle calls them they chuse these rather than the clear fountain of truth revealed in the Gospel Oh these are in a very dangerous condition when men chuse rather to
be Masters of new opinions than to be disciples of old Truths these men may be said to be weary of the Gospel Secondly Are there not some that are weary of the Profession of the Gospel such as are Atheists and prophane Libertines Swearers Drunkards and others of that Gang that could be contented that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should be extinguished that the Candle might be put out so they may but sin more freely but our Saviour hath read their doom John 3.19 This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil Thirdly Are there not some weary of the Power and Practice of the Gospel such are Hypocrites Apostates luke-warm Professors and carnal Gospellers that have it is true a form of godliness but are as far from the power and practice of it as Pagans are from the profession of it Are not these worthy think you to be reproved yea God reproves them and his Word reproves them and their own consciences will one day reprove them nay that Gospel which now they despise and undervalue will then arraign indict and condemn them at that great day for if the Lord Jesus Christ will come in flames of fire to take vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not his Gospel as it is 2 Thes 1.8 What will become of them that are weary of it that despise it that do undervalue it The fourth and last Use to shut up this point is this If the knowledg of salvation be discovered by the preaching of the Gospel then let me press upon you three very necessary and seasonable Duties First Learn to prize the Gospel while you have it labour to know the worth of it now you have it lest God let you see the worth of it in the want of it when it is too late God will never hang a Jewel upon a swines snout God will never long continue the Gospel in mercy to a People that do not value it True indeed some there are that are ready to say of the Gospel as Naaman the Assyrian in like case Are not Abana and Pharphar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel may I not wash in them to be clean So some will say Are not the doctrines of Popery and other corrupt doctrines better than all the doctrines of the Gospel But I hope you have not so learnt Christ Oh learn to prize the Gospel as the doctrine of your salvation as the evidence of your inheritance Do you learn to prize it as the tree of life which is for the healing of the Nations as the pledg of the hope you have of eternal life Labour for such an esteem of the Gospel as David had Psal 119.111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart Oh do you now learn to prize the Gospel as the greatest priviledg that ever God did bestow upon you next to Jesus Christ and his Spirit A second Duty I would press upon you is this not only to prize the Gospel but to make use of it and improve it for your own spiritual advantage Yet a little while saith our Saviour is the light with you walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth John 12.35 Oh that you and I could learn to make hay while the Sun shines Oh that we could improve these opportunities while we do enjoy them If so be the Gospel should be taken away from you before your peace is made with God before you have gotten Jesus Christ into your hearts before the Covenant between God and your Souls be sealed Oh how sad and doleful would your conditions be sure I am we were never in so much danger of losing the Gospel as at this day for our barrenness and unfruitfulness and wearness of the Gospel We are ready to say Mal. 1.13 What a weariness is it to serve the Lord and for our contempt of the means of grace Now if such a day should come as God threatens Micah 3.6 Therefore night shall be unto you that ye shall not have a vision and it shall be dark unto you that ye shall not divine and the Sun shall go down over the Prophets and the day shall be dark over them If such a day should come as God threatens Amos 8.11 Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the Lord And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the North even to the East they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it Oh what a black doleful dismal day would this be Thirdly It should teach us to walk worthy of the Gospel Phil. 1.27 Only let your conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ Oh let us learn to lead Gospel-lives under Gospel-light let it never be said to us that the Gospel is a grace to us but we are a disgrace to the Gospel I beseech you my brethren study to live up to your light seeing God hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light walk as children of the light follow that golden Rule of the Apostle Phil. 4.8 Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things speak of these things Oh could we but once learn to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light could we once be brought to this to repent of our Gospel-sins may be the Lord may lengthen our tranquility may be God may revive his work in the midst of our days may be glory may yet dwell in our Land and make us a name and praise throughout the whole earth But if we go on in a course of Rebellion if we rebel against the light if we despise the means of grace if we undervalue those precious seasons of Salvation that are tendred to us if we grieve the holy Spirit of God from day to day and cause him to withdraw from us what a black and doleful day may seize upon us The Lord work these things upon every one or our hearts that still the Gospel in its power and purity may be continued to us CHRIST'S PROVISION FOR MANS DIRECTION Isaiah XL. 11. He shall feed his Flock like a Shepherd he shall gather his Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young THE first verse of this Chapter will tell you what the scope of the Chapter is namely to speak comfort to the poor captive Jews in their return
some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ He gave gifts to men he did not only give extraordinary gifts such as Apostles and Prophets and Evangelists but ordinary gifts to Pastors and Teachers for the building up of his own body And as he feeds his sheep with his Word so with his Sacraments and here is such feeding as you did never hear the like for this blessed Shepherd feeds his sheep with his own flesh and blood his own flesh that was crucified to satisfie Divine Justice and his own blood that was shed to quench the fire of Gods wrath that was kindled against them this is that our Saviour tells you of in John 6.51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world And in Revel 1.5 He hath loved us and washt us from our sins in his blood As they say of the Pelican when her young ones are ready to die she opens her breast with her bill and feeds them with her blood so the Lord Jesus Christ feeds every one of his sheep with his flesh and blood Again He feeds the souls of his sheep with the graces of his own blessed Spirit as Faith Repentance Love Humility Sincerity and the like which are spiritual food suitable to the spiritual nature of the soul So he feeds his sheep with the Promises which are said to be breasts of consolation Isa 66.11 That ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory With the breasts of consolation that is with the precious promises And this is that which that good King Hezekiah intended in that speech of his Isa 38.16 Oh Lord by these things men live and in all these things is the life of my spirit so wilt thou recover me and make me to live These precious promises made good to my soul by these do men live and these are the life of my Spirit Thus you see how this blessed Shepherd feeds his Sheep But yet more He does not only feed his Sheep but he gives them Stomachs also look as it is in point of knowledg we are not able to see him of our selves we cannot see him without him for he is our Light and as in point of performance we are not able to believe on him nor come unto him without him for he is our strength so here neither can we feed on Jesus Christ nor the promises nor the graces of his Spirit until he gives us a mouth to taste these things therefore the Apostle exhorts us as new-born Babes desire the sincere Milk of the word that we may grow thereby if so be we have tasted that the Lord is gracious as if he should have said You cannot feed unless you have tasted of this blessed Saviour 1 Pet. 2.2 3. Secondly As he feeds so he cloaths his Sheep here amongst men the Sheep cloaths the Shepherd the Fleece of the sheep cloaths the Shepherd But here this blessed Shepherd cloaths every one of his Sheep he cloaths them with costly raiment indeed Ezck. 16.10 11 12 I cloathed thee also with broidered work and shod thee with Badgers skin and I girded thee about with fine linnen and I covered thee with Silk I decked thee also with ornaments and I put bracelets upon thy hands and a Chain upon thy neck and I put a Jewel on thy forehead and ear-rings in thine ears and a beautiful Crown upon thy head thus wast thou decked with Gold and Silver and thy rayment was of fine Linnen and Silk and broidred work Therefore it is that you read that the Apostle bids us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 13.14 He cloaths us with the Robe of his own Righteousness He covers us with the garments of Salvation as a Brridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels Isa 61.10 Thirdly He does protect his Sheep and watcheth over them from Morning to Evening he hath his eye continually upon them therefore David speaking of the Lord being his Shepherd then says he Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me Psal 23.4 Fourthly and lastly He gives to his Sheep Eternal Life John 10.28 And I give unto my Sheep Eternal Life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand Thus you have the Point opened That Jesus Christ is that Blessed Shepherd who is abundantly able to feed and protect his People here and to give them Eternal Life hereafter because he hath the greatest Care over them the greatest Love to them the greatest Power that ever Shepherd had and the greatest Reward to give them that can possibly be bestowed Now for the Uses of this Point and they are three by way of Instruction Examination or Tryal and Exhortation First By way of Instruction Oh see the Blessed the Happy the Comfortable Condition of all those that have a part and interest in the Lord Jesus Christ this Blessed Shepherd what tongue of Men or Angels is able to express the happy and blessed condition of that man that hath gotten Jesus Christ for his Portion such a one shall be sure of Food of Cloathing of Protection of Joy of Comfort of Happiness of Eternal Life and what not Oh how may that soul dance for joy that hath gotten Jesus Christ to be his Shepherd surely it is a comfortable and heart-chearing meditation in these turbulent and stormy times when the Church of God hath so many enemies and so sew friends when the Antichristian Faction roars against the little Flock of this blessed Shepherd like so many Bears to devour them here is the comfort Jesus Christ sticks as close to his Flock as ever David did to his Flock when the Lyon and the Bear came to make a prey of them Fear not little Flock says our Saviour it is your Fashers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luk. 12.32 As he said when he was sailing in the Boat with Cesar the Boatman beginning to be afraid because of the tempestuousness of the waters Fear not man thou carriest Cesar and all his Fortunes with him so may it be said of every one that hath Jesus Christ in the Boat with him Let him not fear true indeed the Ship wherein Christ and his Sheep are may be tossed but it can never be over-turned because the Shepherd and Pilot are in it therefore happy is the condition of all those that have an interest in this Blessed Shepherd But on the contrary Oh the deplorable and desperate condition of all those that have not Jesus Christ for their Shepherd
what are they think you they are just in such a case as God threatneth Babylon shall be Isa 13.14 God says that Babylon shall be as the chased Roe and as a Sheep that no man taketh up This is the case of every one that is yet out of Christ exposed to be a prey to that roaring Lyon that walketh about seeking whom he may devour those that have not an interest in Christ God threatens them Hos 4.16 I will feed them as a Lamb in a large place I will feed them the same Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that signifies to feed signifies to let them wander Num. 14.33 God let the children of Israel wander in the wilderness for forty years together So God lets those that have not an interest in Christ to wander in the Wilderness to their own destruction Oh that God would open the eyes of those that have not yet secured their interest in Jesus Christ that they may see what they are and where they are and what danger they are exposed to So much of the first Use of Instruction The second Use is by way of Examination How nearly does it concern every one of us to call our selves to an account whether we be in the number of Christs Sheep or no otherwise we can have no comfort by this Doctrine But may be you will say to me How shall we do certainly to know that we are the Sheep of Christ and that Christ is that Shepherd that feeds us like a Flock For answer to this We cannot curiously pry into Gods decree to tell you who are not his Sheep for it may be there are many that belong to the Election of Grace that is many are the Sheep of Christ that are not yet called nor converted that are wandring in the Wildernes yet and though the Lord will not suffer them to wander to Destruction yet for the present they are not brought into the Folds therefore we cannot say who are not his Sheep we cannot say who are Reprobate we may know who are Elected but we cannot know who are Reprobated we can tell who are his Sheep but we cannot tell who are not his Sheep Now they that are his Sheep that are Converted and brought home to the Folds of Christ they may be known by these four signs First If thou art a Sheep of Jesus Christ certainly the Shepherd hath set his mark upon thee whereby he does know thee and will own thee at the great day of his appearing John 10.14 I am the good Shepherd and know my Sheep and am known of mine I know every one of my Sheep 2 Tim. 2. 19 The Lord knoweth them that are his he knows them with a distinguishing knowledg There are and will be at the great and dreadful day of Jesus Christ abundance that will claim acquaintance with Jesus Christ Oh what seeking will there be to find his favour at that great day seeking and suing and crying with tears of blood for his favour at that day many will claim acquaintance and say Lord Lord Matt. 7.22 23 Have not we prophesied in thy name have not we heard thee teach in our Synagogues have not we heard thy Messengers which thou hast sent in thy name teaching on the Lords day and on the week-day nay have not we sate at thy Table with thee in the use of the Sacrament of thy Body and Blood to whom the Lord Christ will say I know you not Why because he does not see his Mark upon them nay they themselves when their consciences are once awakened and they begin to look and search for the Mark they cannot find it upon themselves and therefore they will hear that dreadful sentence Matth. 25 Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels But you will say What is this mark whereby Jesus Christ knows his sheep and whereby they may know that they are his I answer This mark is the holy Spirit of God which he bestows upon every true believer 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit that is he that is united to Christ hath the same spirit that Christ hath hath one and the same spirit that Christ hath Rom. 8.9 Now if any man hath not the spirit of Christ he is none of his If any man have not this mark upon him the spirit of Christ our Saviour will never own that man for his Hence it is the Spirit of God is compared to a Seal or Mark Ephes 1.13 After ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise If thou hast received this mark this seal of the Spirit of God upon thy soul thou maist be as sure that thou art one of Christs sheep as if thou didst see thy name written in the Book of Life I but here it may be demanded But may not this Seal or this mark be counterfeited may not a man be mistaken and deceived in thinking he hath this mark the Spirit of God when indeed he hath it not To this I answer Yes it is possible for a man to be mistaken and therefore the Apostle so often presses this duty of Examination 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves whether you be in the faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you except you be reprobates And let every man prove his own works the work of grace in his heart let him prove it Gal. 6.4 Then shall he have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another he shall have rejoycing in the testimony of his own conscience and not in the witness of anothers tongue therefore we should be examining our hearts what operations the Spirit of God hath had upon our spirits whether it hath been an enlightning a quickning a convincing a heart-warming a sealing and a healing spirit certainly the healing and sealing-work of the Spirit goes together as I have formerly shewed you Many boast of the Spirit of God they question not but they have the Spirit of God but I told you the Spirit of God never sets his feal to a blank there is first some work of the Spirit of God upon the soul enlightning convincing quickning and drawing the heart to Jesus Christ So we should examine the fruits and effects of the Spirit of God upon our souls Now there are four fruits especially whereby a man may know he hath received not the spirit that is of the world but the spirit that is of God 1 Cor. 2.12 by these four effects First An unseigned love to the servants of Jesus Christ that is one effect of the Spirit of God that proves Jesus Christ hath set his mark upon him that hath it John 13.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another This is a mark I set upon my sheep So 1 John 4.7 8 12 Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth
I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth Secondly Thou mayst know it by that spiritual strife and combat and conflict that is in thee certainly there will be a conflict in thy soul because there are two contrary principles there put water to water or fire to fire and there is no conflict but put water and fire together and there will be a great conflict So corruption will not strive with corruption but where there is Grace and corruption in one soul there will be a combat and conflict the Flesh will lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh Gal. 5.17 Thirdly Thou mayst know thou hast life in thee by thy spiritual crying thou wilt cry out for deliverance from danger and evil O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Thou wilt make this the chief subject of thy suit and supplication to God from day to day O that once I might be freed from a base whorish backsliding-heart that continually is departing from God Fourthly If thou hast life certainly that grace thou hast though it be but weak though it be but little though it be but as a spark yet it shall prevail against corruption for wherever the Lord Christ enters into the soul to dwell there he comes like a Conquerour and he brings forth Judgment unto victory Matth. 12.20 That is his Government shall be victorious over all the opposition of sin and Satan Grace like oyl will be uppermost if there be but a spark of Grace in thy heart it shall not be quenched but it shall rather increase more and more and at last shall grow up into a flame as the fire of the Lord that came upon Elijahs offering 1 Kings 18.38 consumed the burnt-sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench Grace is a fire that comes down from Heaven though there be but a little spark of it at first yet by little and little it will lick up all the water of our corruptions and consume our sins Grace will grow stronger and stronger and corruption weaker and weaker That is the first symptom of an infirmity If there be spiritual life in the soul but if there be not spiritual life there is no infirmity Secondly The second Sign or Symptom of an infirmity is this That may be said to be an infirmity when some particular action crosses the main intention of the heart If thine eye be single if thy heart be upright if the Byas and bent of thy soul be towards God then all the obliquity or all the swervings in thy life are but lookt upon as infirmities For example A good Archer that is handling his Bow may-be his eye is right and his aim is right but through the weakness of his hand or the distemper of his Bow he may miss the Mark that is an infirmity So here if thy eye be right towards Gods Commandments if thy intention be to please God if the bent and byas of thy soul be God-ward not sin-ward then all the rest of the obliquity or swervings that are in thy actions are lookt upon but as infirmities As a Traveller for example in his journey if he set his face the right way and he be enquiring the way and willing to follow the way or if when he goeth out of the way he check himself though he may miss of the way through ignorance or may be seduced by some that told him wrong yet that may be said to be but an infirmity So here when thou canst set thy face towards Heaven as the children of Israel and Judah are described Jer. 50.5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward saying Come let us joyn our selves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant that shall not be forgotten When a man thus sets his face towards Heaven then his wandrings out of the way if they be beside the intention of his purpose and mind are lookt upon but as infirmities David was out of his way when in a fury he would be avenged on Nabal for his churlishness when he said God do so to me and more also if I cut not off Nabal and every one that belongs to his Family yet when Abigail a wise Woman comes and tells him he was out of his way how glad was he and stops his course and said Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging my self with my own hand 1 Sam. 25.32 33. See the difference between the sin of Judas and the sin of Peter Judas you know he sinned with deliberation and his intention was stark naught his intention and purpose of betraying his Master was to inrich himself he was a Thief and nibled money out of his Masters Bag therefore his intention was naught But on the contrary look on Peter when he thrice denyed his Master it was a great sin too but it was without his intention or purpose certainly Peter had no intention at all to deny his Master but it fared with him as a man that is writing with his Pen in his hand and writing a straight Line but it may be some body comes and joggs him on the Elbow so he makes a crooked line against his will Or as a man that is shooting at a Mark but some body comes and joggs his Elbow and makes his Arrow to go awry thus was it with Peter This is the second Sign or Symptome of an infirmity Thirdly That is an Infirmity when a mans judgment is kept sound and upright that he does not approve of any sin when no sin hath any allowance or approbation in his heart this was the fruit of John Baptist his Preaching Isa 40.4 Every Valley shall be exalted and every Mountain and Hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain that is those that are converted by John Baptists preaching they would not look on crooked things as plain or plain things as crooked that is they would not defend or justifie themselves in sin but look upon sin as sin and duty as duty and they would not look upon the ways of God as crooked but straight they were indeed crooked to them before because their judgment was not sound but now they look upon them as straight and all his ways to be equal ways A child of God will be sure to commend that duty which yet he cannot practise and he will be sure to condemn that sin into which yet he often slips and falls and that because his judgment is right duty will be duty in his eye and sin will be sin in his eye though through infirmity he may fail in the one and fall into the
thee to prove thee and to teach thee to prise Jesus Christ so much the more It may be God le ts loose these infirmities as the avenger of blood was let loose upon the man slayer to force the man slayer to fly to the City of Refuge Numb 35 so these infirmities are let loose to force thee to fly to Jesus Christ the Refuge of thy soul Some there are that was it not for strong infirmities cleaving to them strong temptations meeting with them would never be beholding to Jesus Christ at all Look therefore in every infirmity not only at the evil of it but at the good God intends by it it may be God intends good to thy soul by them Whereas we as he said once many times make plaisters to become a poyson the Lord is able on the contrary to make a plaister of poyson We many times bring sin out of Grace God can bring grace out of sin he can bring Heaven out of Hell therefore as there is something against God so there is something from God in our infirmities therefore we should not be discouraged because of them Secondly Consider the great difference between thy self when thou wast in a state of nature and now when thou art a weak Christian and subject to infirmities did not God reject thee at that time and cast thee off when thou wast an open Traitor and Rebel marching on in a course of rebellion against him did he not cast thee off but had compassion on thee and did pity thee and spare thee then certainly he will not now cast thee off for some unvoluntary errour which thou bewailest and mournest for in his presence Did the Lord seek thee at that time when thou despisedst him certainly then he will not despise thee when thou feekest him That is a good argument of the Apostle to strengthen and support and comfort drooping spirits Rom. 5.10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life Certainly therefore God will not reject thee for an infirmity if he was so gracious to thee in thy state of sin and enmity to him there is as great a difference between a state of grace and a state of nature as there is between Heaven and Hell though grace be never so weak and imperfect Thirdly Consider the great danger of being pluckt away from Jesus Christ by giving too much way to despondency Satans main drift and great plot is to drive thee away from Jesus Christ by thy infirmities he labours to bring thee to despond and despair and to say there is no hope for thee because Satan knows the more he draws thee from Jesus Christ the weaker thou wilt be Thy infirmities should not drive thee from Christ but they should drive thee to Christ to improve and make use of his gracious disposition in helping and healing thee in thy miseries and distresses Fourthly Consider what may be the causes of thy infirmities those infirmities will be cured in the causes For example if thy infirmities arise from want of age or time to gather strength that will be cured because the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more to the perfect day Prov. 4.18 Or if from want of the means of grace or because the means of grace thou enjoyest are not such as others enjoy the Lord in such cases will have a tender respect to thee and measure to thee not according to what thou hast but according to what thou wouldst have Again if thy infirmities arise from some corruption that was not discovered to thee at thy first conversion thou must then pray and beg that the Lord would discover thy self to thy self more and more Again if thou hast forsaken some old truths of God and art grown weary of them and hankerest after Novelties and new Opinions then return from thy wandrings and prize solid meat above kickshaws beg that thy soul may taste once again the sweetness of Gospel-truths In a word what ever the cause of your infirmities be get the disease healed in the cause get thy heart more weaned from the World and stir up thy self to take hold of God remember thy former zeal and repent and do thy first works and this is the way to get thy infirmities healed That 's the first Use a Use of Comfort and Consolation The second Use is a Use of Caution The Lord Jesus Christ as you have heard hath a tender respect to his people a tender care of his people in respect of their infirmities let not a wicked man then apply this to himself and say the Lord Christ will have a tender respect to me that go on in the course of sin that live in sin and lye in sin and sleep in sin and wallow in sin No for there is a great deal of difference between the weakness of a Lamb and the wickedness of a Wolf the Lord Jesus Christ pities his Lambs for their weakness but he doth not pity a Wolf for his wickedness that is that man who is resolved to go on in a course of sin say a Minister what he can to the contrary if he is dead in trespasses and sins if he hath no spiritual life in him if there be no work of grace begun in him all that I have said concerning Christs tender care of his peoples infirmities doth not belong to him he hath no part in this Inheritance if thou beest a Wolf and not a Lamb the Lord Christ that hath a tender care of his Lambs will be sure to meet thee not as a Shepherd that carries his Lambs in his Arms but he will meet thee as a Lion Hosea 13.7 8 Therefore I will be unto them as a Lyon as a Leopard by the way will I observe them I will meet them as a Bear that is bereaved of her Whelps and I will rent the caul of their heart and there will I devour them like a Lyon the wild beasts shall tear them The same Christ that is a Shepherd to his People he knows how to be a Lyon a Leopard and a Bear to his Enemies That is an awakening Scripture Psalm 68.21 But God shall wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses If therefore thou art one that goest on in thy trespasses in an unreformed course if thou livest in sin and settest thy heart on wickedness and takest pleasure therein this doctrine doth not belong to thee thou art not a Lamb in Christs account he will not deal tenderly with thee nay he will deal most roughly with thee his wrath and fury will be powred out upon thee as the Prophet speaks That 's the second Use of Caution Lastly A word of Exhortation If the Lord Jesus Christ hath such a tender respect in his carriage to the infirmities of his People O then resolve to have no other
the habitual receiving of Christ we are meerly passive a man does no more to his own regeneration than a dead man can do to his own resurrection But in the gradual receiving of Christ we are active we are co-workers with God 2 Cor. 6.1 as the Apostle speaks we move towards him when we are moved by him The child before it is born hath no nourishment but what it receives from the Mother but when the child is born then it hath a nutritive faculty and is able to feed and nourish it self So in the first work of conversion we are meerly passive and do nothing at all but receive all from Christ and do nothing in the carrying on the work of our salvation But when once we have received a life from Christ then we may act and exercise that life for our own good and the glory of God Now of both these receivings of Jesus Christ does the Apostle speak both of the habitual and gradual receiving of him As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him Walking is an active motion and when the Apostle says Walk in him it is as if he should say As you have received the truth of grace so also be acting of your grace to the glory of Christ So then this is the meaning of the Doctrine when I say it is not enough for a Christian to receive Christ but he must also walk in Christ the meaning of the Doctrine is this It is not enough for a Christian to receive grace from Christ but he must be also acting his grace For the proof of this truth let me give you two remarkable Scriptures 2 Tim. 1.6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God that is in thee I know the Apostle speaks of the Ministerial gift but it is as true of the work of grace for the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies grace as well as gift Stir up the grace of God in thee Mark the phrase it is a remarkable phrase for in the original it is to blow up thy grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 just as a man blows up a fire that grows dull or is hid under the ashes blow up the grace of God in thee The other Scripture which is parallel to this is that Text Gal. 5.25 If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit that is if we have received a spiritual life or influence from Christ let us walk in the spirit that is let us act that spiritual life that we have received by the operation of grace If we have received the life of grace let us also act the life of grace For the better explication of this point two things are to be briefly unfolded First What is required of a Christian that he may act his grace that he may walk in Christ Secondly Why must a Christian that hath received grace be acting his grace First What is required of a Christian that he may be acting of his grace In answer to this I shall lay down these five Propositions First No man can act that grace he hath received by his own strength without the help and assistance of Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me He does not say the grace of God which was in me that habitual grace which I had but the grace of God which was with me So then it is not the strength of habitual grace that carries a man through any duty but the auxiliary the assisting the concurring grace of Jesus Christ it is his grace with us more than his grace in us And says our Saviour speaking to his Disciples Without me ye can do nothing John 15.5 Ye that are my Disciples ye that have the spirit of grace without me ye can do nothing The habit of grace the acting of grace and the perfecting of grace are all from Jesus Christ If we cannot put forth a natural action without him for in him we live move and have our being Acts 17.28 how much more can we perform a spiritual act in a spiritual manner without him Phil. 2.13 says the Apostle For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure Yet take this caution with you When I say a man cannot act his own grace by his own strength you must not therefore be lazy and say I can do nothing without Christ for you must know the Lord Christ works grace in us by setting those faculties that are in us on work though we cannot work by our own strength yet we must be co-workers with Christ says the Apostle Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure Phil. 2.12 13. That which some persons make an argument of laziness We will do nothing say they in the business of Salvation for it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do The Apostle makes it rather an argument of diligence Nay therefore be you working as well as God though it is God that works in you both to will and to do yet do you work out your salvation if you put forth your strength to the utmost he will help you That 's the first Proposition Secondly Another Proposition is this It is not enough to act one Grace but Christians must be acting every grace for all graces proceed from the same fountain We receive from Christs fulness and grace for grace John 1.16 Jesus Christ is the fountain of all grace Col. 1.19 It pleaseth the Father that in him should all fulness dwell We must draw water from no other Fountain you must not look on Faith as a distinct habit or Love or Repentance as a distinct habit as if these were several branches proceeding from several roots they all proceed from one and the same root Faith is a habit of grace closing with Christ Repentance is a habit of grace receiving Christ Love is a habit of grace renewing and fitting the soul to receive Christ they all proceed therefore from one and the same root and every grace must be acted Thirdly The third Proposition is this It is not enough to act grace one way but Christians must act grace every way we must not only act grace invisibly and inwardly in reference to God but we must act grace outwardly and visibly in reference to men This is that our Saviour speaks of Let your light so shine before men he speaks of the light of grace Mat. 5.16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works glorifie your Father which is in heaven and says the Apostle James 2.18 Shew me thy faith by thy works Fourthly There are
conversation he was unblameable he came so near Heaven that as St. Mark relates the story Mar. 10.21 Jesus beholding him loved him that is he looked upon him in a very friendly manner and pitied him that such a one should come so near to Heaven and yet come short of it by resting on his own self-righteousness he came near Heaven but yet he came short of it so Herod came near Heaven Mar. 6.20 he heard John Baptist gladly and he did many things that John Baptist bid him and yet he came short of it So you read of a Scribe Mar. 12.34 that answered very discreetly to our Saviour our Saviour tells him Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God and yet he came short of it What a sad thing was that So Agrippa Almost thou perswadest me to be a Christian Act. 26.28 but yet he was not a whole Christian so he came near to Heaven but yet he came short of Heaven But here it may be demanded Quest But how far then may a man go on in the profession of the truth and true Religion and yet come short of Heaven To this I answer Truly a Professor may go so far that the hearing of it may make some of you tremble and to say What will become of me Now I shall shew you that in three particulars A man may have 1. A very glorious shew of grace and holiness and yet have no true grace at all 2. Admirable gifts and parts and qualifications and yet have no true grace at all 3. Some superficial beginnings and tasts of Grace and Holiness and yet have no truth of Grace but come short of Heaven First A man may have a very glorious shew of holiness and yet have no true grace and so come short of Heaven he may have something like grace as in a Garden Weeds may be so like good Herbs that it may be hard to know one from the other a man may have such a shew of grace that he may be thought to have grace in truth Let me give you instances in these four particulars First A man may be a fair civil carriaged man very innocent and inoffensive in his conversation one that doth not oppose the Gospel nor oppose the Truth this is something Some there are that are Lions of whom David complains Psalm 57.4 My soul is among Lions and I lye even among them that are set on fire Some there are that have Lion-like Spirits whose hearts are all set on fire that would overthrow Magistrates and Ministers and Sabbaths and Ordinances and all it is something for a man to be civil and inoffensive in his carriage that he is no Enemy to the Gospel Secondly A man may be a frequenter of Ordinances and a man may be a countenancer of Religion and an owner of Magistracy and Ministry and yet all this while have but a shew of grace and no true grace at all In Luke 13.26 27 there you have some that will say to our Saviour Lord we have eaten and drunk in thy presence and we have heard thee teach in our streets There are many that frequent Ordinances that come to the Assemblies of Gods people day after day and wait upon God in the use of his Ordinances some that honour the Ministers of God and yet for all that come short of Heaven Thirdly They may go farther they may be maintainers and supporter of Ministers both by their Persons and Purses and thus it was with Ananias and Sapphira they went and sold their possessions and laid them down at the Apostles feet and yet come short of Heaven Fourthly They may go so far not only to have a good opinion of themselves but they may gain the good opinion of others Nay they may be well thought of by those that are men of judgment those that are godly may think well of them that they are real Saints and that their names are written in the book of life as is meant by that Scripture in Psalm 69.28 where David saith Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous It cannot so be understood that a man that hath once his name written in the book of Life can have it blotted out but the meaning is this Blot them out of the book of Life that is discover their names were never written in that book discover them to be but Hypocrites though they carry themselves so fairly that for the present others do think that their names are written in the book of Life Judas carried the matter so fair that the rest of the Disciples questioned themselves rather than Judas Master is it I saith one of them Master is it I saith another they never dreamed that Judas should betray their Master Simon Magus carried the matter so fair that Philip that was one of the Deacons reckoned him to be a true Believer and was baptized and continued with Philip. This is the first particular That a man may have glorious shews of grace and holiness and yet have no true grace at all Secondly The second thing is to shew that a man may have admirable gifts and parts and qualifications that are like to grace and yet are not true grace For example A man may have an admirable gift in Preaching he may be a very able Preacher having a very acute and quick Invention a profound Judgment a retentive Memory a clear Elocution Judas I make no question was as good a Preacher as the rest of the eleven Apostles a man may preach to others and yet he himself in the mean while be a cast-away Oh we that are Preachers we may preach against Pride with proud hearts against Covetousness with covetous hearts press Self-denial with self-seeking hearts press Repentance with impenitent hearts we may preach these things and yet not feel them at all in our own hearts So a man may have an admirable gift in Prayer I do not say the grace of Prayer there is a great deal of difference between the gift and the grace of Prayer the gift of Prayer makes a man proud the grace of Prayer makes a man humble the gift of Prayer abounds in outward expressions the grace of Prayer consists in inward impressions upon the heart the gift of Prayer vents its self in publick but the grace of Prayer is most enlarged in private the gift of Prayer makes a man pray in his own strength but the grace of Prayer makes a man pray in the strength of Jesus Christ the gift of Prayer makes a man expect an eccho of praise from men but the grace of Prayer expects only the approbation of God the gift of prayer that may be lost but the grace of Prayer is never lost I say a man may have admirable gifts in Prayer excellent Expressions and seeming-impressions upon the heart some may pray like Saints and in the mean time live like Devils I am confident this deceives many Some there are that have
they should be your portion Are you contented to be banished from the presence of God and to be sent into a dungeon of darkness there to be and to be most miserable is all one Are you contented to be sent to that blackness of darkness for ever as the Apostle calls it Jude 12. I know you are not Oh then why do you not prize Jesus Christ by whom alone it is that you may escape eternal wrath and vengeance Isa 55. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which will not satisfie Why do you trifle away your time in impertinencies in things that will not profit why do you pour out your hearts on every lust and vanity and in the mean time neglect him who only can give you remission of sin and a right to the Promises and reconciliation with God and Eternal Salvation Thirdly Let me use one Motive more Do but consider how infinitely precious the Lord Jesus Christ is to God the Father O what account does he make of him He esteem him the Son of his Love the Son of his Bosom the Delight of his Soul My Servant in whom my Soul delighteth Jesus Christ was both a Son and a Servant in our flesh when he took our Nature and became our Surety Isa 42.1 Behold my Servant whom I uphold mine Elect in whom my Soul delighteth I have put my Spirit upon him he shall bring forth Judgment to the Gentiles What account do the Saints in Heaven make of Christ they look upon him as the life of their lives and the Soul of their Souls as the heaven of their Happiness as the joy of their Joy the Heaven that the Saints now enjoy it is the beholding of Jesus Christ now in Glory Nay do but consider what account Sinners will make of him they that now slight him that prefer every base lust before him that mind the getting of every thing but Christ Oh what account will they make at that great day when they shall call to the Mountains fall on them and the Hills to cover them Oh what would they give for a smile of his face at that day when if they had ten thousand Worlds in their possession they would give it for a smile of his face Will Christ be so precious hereafter and shall he not be precious now will not these Motives work upon you are they jests and fables If my Brethren such Arguments will not prevail for my part I am out of hope to prevail with you Thirdly Let me but shew you some Means that may help you to prize the Lord Christ to make him precious to your Souls The Means or Helps briefly are these four or five First The Soul must be convinced of the indispensable need that it hath of Jesus Christ it is necessity that does inhance the price for till the Soul be convinced of this all the Arguments and Motives that we can use are but like water that runs besides the Bottle because the Bottle is stopt all our Arguments prevail nothing they take no impression upon the heart at all but when a Soul once sees either I must have Christ or I must perish for ever I am lost damned and undone for ever I am a fire-brand of Hell for ever O Christ is now Christ indeed to such a Soul If ever therefore you desire to prize him according to his worth be much in the duty of self-examination turn your eyes inward to see the vileness of your Natures the sinfulness of your hearts and the manifold transgressions of your lives reason thus with thy own Soul What am I by Nature but a child of Wrath and an heir of Hell and a bondslave to Satan a stranger to God and an enemy to him without God and without Hope the number of my sins are more than the hairs of my head my heart fails me in the remembrance of them and one sin is enough to sink me into Hell because it is committed against an infinite Majesty and therefore it deserves an infinite punishment for where God does punish he does punish infinitely his Justice must have an infinite satisfaction and there is no satisfaction can be given to God without blood Heb. 9.22 For without blood there is no remission saith the Apostle and no blood can expiate sin can take away the guilt of sin but the blood of an infinite value and no blood is of an infinite value but the blood of this precious Redeemer that is that blood that is of invaluable and unconceivable worth for for the Son of God to shed his blood it is more than if all the Angels in Heaven and Potentates of the Earth had laid down their lives to purchase one of our Souls therefore I must have this blood sprinkled on my Soul or else I must resolve to perish everlastingly consider therefore of the need that you have of Jesus Christ Secondly Do you desire to prize Jesus Christ then labour to eat this blessed Passover with bitter herbs I mean labour to partake of this Sacrament with the bitter remembrance of all your former unkindnesses all your miscarriages failings wandrings and back-slidings Oh let the remembrance of these be as bitter to you as Gall and Wormwood Oh labour to say feelingly It is an evil and bitter thing that thou hast provoked the Lord Jer. 2.19 that thou hast grieved his Spirit that thou hast forfeited his Love that thou hast abused his kindness that thou hast turned his grace into wantonness O say I have done enough a thousand and a thousand times to damn my Soul if the mercy of God were one jot less than infinite if the blood of Jesus Christ should not quench the fire of his anger it would be burning and burning and burning against me to all Eternity even as long as God shall be God it is a bitter thing that I have provoked my God You should in this Sacrament look upon him whom you have pierced and mourn over him as one that mourns for the loss of his only Son and be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born Zech. 12.10 that is the Image of his Person and is as it were the prop and stay of his Family This is certain my Brethren there are none that do prize Jesus Christ so much as they that are stung with the sense of their own sinfulness of their own vileness none prize the Lord Jesus Christ so much as they that most of all feel the burthen of their own sins Let me give you two remarkable examples the one of a man the other of a woman Did ever man prize Jesus Christ more than St. Paul that counted all his Excellencies but as dirt under his feet in comparison of Christ he did esteem them as things that we cast to Dogs as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Did ever woman prize Jesus Christ more than Mary Magdalen who you know washt
because a man can never have too much grace and a man may have too much Legal humiliation Again some Reprobates have had a great measure of Legal humiliation and yet have perished and some that have been converted have had but a little measue of Legal humiliation and yet have been saved I say Legal humiliation though it makes a great noise is not absolutely needful But Evangelical humiliation though ir makes a less noise this is absolutely needful to every person because this drives a Sinner out of himself and causeth him to fly to Jesus Christ in a mild and melting way making him to look on him whom he hath pierced and to mourn for his sin as he that mourns for the loss of his only Son that serves him The third thing to be opened is this But why doth God take this course in bringing men to Faith and Salvation The reasons are these three First It is Equal Secondly It is Fitting Thirdly It is Necessary First It is Equal because it is Gods way and there is all the reason in the World that God should bring us to Heaven in his own way that it is Gods way appears Isa 61.1 2 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me saith Jesus Christ because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn So you see they are to be comforted that mourn and they are to be bound up that are broken-hearted so that till a man be meek and humble and have a broken heart he is out of Christs Cnmmission to comfort Christ will say to such I have nothing to do with thee I am sent to those that are meek and humble and broken-hearted Luke 19.10 In Matth. 18.11 The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost Then may some say he came to seek and to save all for all were lost in Adam but that is not the meaning but the meaning is All that feel themselves lost a man may be in a lost condition and yet never feel himself in a lost condition but when a man sees himself to be in a lost estate and in a damned and undone condition without Christ Christ came to seek and to save such Secondly It is Fitting that God should bring us to Faith and Salvation this way fitting you will say But how In reference to God In reference to Our selves In reference to Others First In reference to God because by this humiliation the Justice of God is acknowledged and the Mercy of God is magnified these are the two great Attributes that God will have magnified in the conversion of a Sinner The Justice of God is acknowledged when the Sinner falls down at the feet of God and saith Lord against thee against thee have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest Psalm 51.4 And the Mercy of God is wonderfully magnified when he hangs out a white Flag of Pardon after all the Sinners rebellions and provocations O now mercy is mercy indeed As a King when he is about to pardon a Traitor he suffers him to be brought to the place of Execution to have the Rope about his neck and the Handkerchief drawn over his face O how welcome is a pardon then to that Traitor So an humbled Sinner will say Mercy is mercy indeed when he is convinced of his desperate and undone estate and condition Secondly It is fitting in respect of our selves that we may know our selves know the plague of our hearts 1 Kings 8.38 God will have us to see and to feel that it is an evil and bitter thing that we have sinned against him Jer. 2 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy back slidings shall reprove thee know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God and that my fear is not in thee saith the Lord God of Hosts God would have the Sinner see his polution and to cry out with the Leper under the Law I am unclean I am unclean Levit. 13.45 As Miriam for her miscarriage towards Moses was smitten with a Leprosie Moses cryed to the Lord to heal her No stay saith God If her Father had but spit in her face should she not be ashamed seven days She must know her self before she be healed Numb 12.10 13 14. Thirdly It is fitting in respect of Others that they may not speak reproachfully of God and the ways of God If so be a Sinner could instantly step out of an Ale-house to Christ or out of a Whorehouse to Christ if there were no more required to get to Christ than the putting of meat out of one Dish into another carnal men would be ready to have very low thoughts of God that he is such a one as themselves that he doth patronize and approve their wicked courses but God will have the mouth of iniquity stop'd and carnal men themselves acknowledg that the ways of God are equal Thirdly It is necessary that the Soul be humbled I shall give you these five Reasons of the necessity of it First Because without this humiliation the Sinner can never highly prize God To an unhumbled Sinner Christ is no more esteemed with reverence be it spoken than the dirt under his feet Acts 4.11 This is the stone which was set at nought by you Builders they made no reckoning of Christ at all Tell an unhumbled Sinner of Justification of Sanctification of Adoption of the hope of Glory and the like he makes no more reckoning of them than the children of Israel did of the Manna who loathed it but now when a Sinner is smitten with the sense of sin and fear of wrath and knows the burden of guilt upon his Conscience now Christ is Christ indeed and he looks upon him with an admiring eye and cryes out O the dignity of his Person the preciousness of his Blood the value of his Merits the efficacy of his Intercession the comforts of his Spirit Oh the comforts and excellencies that are in this sweet and precious Saviour My Beloved saith such a Soul is the choisest of ten thousand The poor saith our Saviour receive the Gospel that is those that are poor in Spirit they like the wise Merchant will be contented to sell all to buy him who is the Pearl of invaluable Price an humbled Sinner will say Give me Christ though I have a Cross with him though I have a Prison with him nay though I die with him though I die for him Secondly Without humiliation the Sinner can never duly and diligently seek Christ You know The Law is a School-master to bring us unto Christ Gal.
from vers 27 to ver 59. Thirdly You have the issue or consequence of the Sermon some believed and some revolted some murmured and some marvelled The Text that I have now read unto you is part of the Sermon it self wherein our Lord and Saviour because of the stupidity and incredulity of his Auditors doth again and again both press and prove this Heavenly Doctrine that he himself was the Bread of Life I am says he the Bread of Life he that cometh to me shall not hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst In which Text you may take notice of these two parts First An undeniable Proposition I am the Bread of Life Secondly A comfortable Inference upon that Proposition He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall nevtr thirst I shall begin with the first the evident and undeniable Proposition I am the Bread of Life which words must not be understood literally as if our Saviour was such Corporal Bread as could be chewed in the mouth and digested in the stomach as the Capernaites did fondly conceive when they said How can this man give us his flesh to eat this was as gross a conceit as Nicodemus's who askt If he should go into his Mothers womb again and be born But the words must be understood in a Metaphorical sense That as Bread strengthens the body and revives the spirit and supports the nature of a man and enables him to perform natural actions with more vigour and vivacity so likewise the Lord Jesus Christ strengthens the Soul and revives the spirit and supports us in our spiritual life and helps us to perform spiritual duties in a spiritual manner therefore he saith I am the Bread of Life He is not only bread but the bread of life because it is he that gives us spiritual life here and preserves that life and will hereafter give to us Eternal lise in Glory and therefore he is called The Bread of Life So then the Doctrine I would commend to you from hence is this Doct. The Lord Jesus Christ is that living bread that gives Spiritual and Eternal life to all those that have a part and interest in him This is a Truth so unquestionable that it is no less than six times repeated in this one Chapter And for the better Confirmation of it it may be demanded First Wherein doth our Saviour resemble bread Secondly And how doth it appear that our Saviour is better than bread I shall speak briefly to them both First Wherein doth our Saviour resemble bread I will name but three particulars though I know more might be reckoned up First Bread you know it is prepared food the Corn must be threshed and winnowed and ground in a Mill and baked in an Oven before it can be bread for us to eat So the Lord Jesus Christ he was threshed as I may say by afflictions and tribulations He was a man of sorrows and he was winnowed by temptations he was baked and scorch'd as it were in the Oven of his Fathers wrath for it was he that trod the Winepress of his Fathers wrath alone for us and all this was done before he could be made fit Bread that is a fit Saviour for our Souls Secondly Bread you hnow it is common food it is common to the poor as well as to the rich for the foolish as well as the wise the poor have bread if they have any thing so the Lord Jesus Christ he is a common Saviour common for all ranks and conditions of men for high and low and rich and poor noble and ignoble all are beholding to Jesus Christ here There is neither Greek nor Jew Circumcision nor Vncircumcision Barbarian Scythian Bond nor Free but Christ is all and in all Col. 3.11 Thirdly Bread you know it is the principal food it is the stay and support of a mans life therefore it is called The staff of bread Isa 3.1 So the Lord Jesus Christ he is the principal portion of the Souls of all Believers He is the choicest of ten thousand Cant. 5.10 We may better want any thing than bread The Lord Jesus Christ is as I may say not only the food of our Souls but the Soul of our Souls and the Life of our Lives Secondly It may be demanded But wherein doth Jesus Christ excel this corporal bread I answer in these four respects First Corporal bread though it doth help to preserve life yet it cannot give life but now the Lord Jesus Christ is he that gives spiritual Life he begins it and begets it in his People Ephes 2.1 You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins And hence it is that the Lord Jesus Christ is called the second Adam The first man Adam was made a living Soul the last Adam was made a quickning Spirit 1 Cor. 15.45 And in John 5.21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickneth them even so the Son quickneth whom be will Secondly Bread doth satisfie but one appetite namely hunger never was it known that bread could satisfie thirst but now the Lord Jesus Christ he can satisfie all the desires of the Soul and supply all the wants of the Soul he is both the bread of life and the water of life nay not only bread and water but he is cloathing to the Soul as it is in Rom. 13. ult Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ So that he is both Food and Spiritual Cloathing Thirdly Bread though it satisfie your hunger for the present yet it cannot so take away your hunger that you shall hunger no more if it satisfie hunger to day you will be hungry again to morrow But now the Lord Jesus Christ doth so satisfie the hunger of our Souls that we shall never hunger nor thirst more for so the Text tells you He that comes to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst Fourthly Corporal bread you know is perishing and doth but nourish a perishing life John 6.27 Labour not for the meat that perisheth But now the Lord Jesus Christ is not perishing bread but that bread that endures for ever and that life that he gives is not a perishing life neither John 6.51 I am the living bread which came down from Heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world So you see the Point opened Let me briefly apply it because I principally aim at the second part of the Text the comfortable-Inference But for the improvement of this Point First By way of Information and then by way of Exhortation First By way of Information there are three Doctrinal Inferences from the Point thus opened that may be thence deduced First If the Lord Jesus Christ be that living bread that gives Spiritual and Eternal life to them that believe in him then you may learn this
part and interest in him Then let my counsel be accepted with you give no rest to your Eyes no satisfaction to your Souls in any condition with any portion or priviledg whatsoever until you have gotten this bread until you have gotten Jesus Christ to be your portion to be the food of your Souls That which Solomon speaks of Wisdom Prov. 4.7 Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get Wisdom and with all thy gettings get understanding So say I this is the principal Bread therefore get Christ and above all thy gettings get Christ I but may be you will say How shall we get him I answer First You must highly prize him esteeming all things but dross in comparison of him you must esteem all outward things but as Dogs meat in comparison of that bread which is in your Fathers House Secondly You must earnestly beg him you must pray as the Capernaites did Lord evermore give us this bread ver 34 of this Chapter Thirdly You must labour for him Labour not for that meat that perisheth but for that bread hat endures to eternal life John 6.27 But how must we labour for him You must labour for him in the use of his Ordinances as Praying Reading Hearing Communicating at the Lords Table and the like Fourthly When you have found him or know where this bread is to be had you must hunger and thirst for him for the Lord Christ will never bestow himself upon that Soul that doth not breathe and break with longing desires for him Fifthly You must be sure by Faith to apply him to your own Souls Bread when it stands upon the Table is common bread but when I have eaten it then it is my bread then it turns to my nourishment to my substance so you must make Application of Christ to your Souls Sixthly If you would have Christ you must learn to live upon him As a man lives upon bread so you must live upon Christ live upon him in point of Justification in point of Sanctification and Salvation As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me ver 57 of this Chapter If you live in him and live upon him you shall hereafter for ever live with him And so much of the first Branch of the Text the evident Proposition I come now to the comfortable Inference that is thence deduced He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst By coming to Christ is meant believing in Christ for the latter Phrase doth expound the former He that cometh to me that is he that believes in me Coming you know is a motion and in a motion there are two terms there is the terminus a quo and terminus ad quem something a man comes from and something a man comes to so believing is a motion of the Soul a man comes from himself from his own righteousness from his own ends he comes from the World and then he comes to Christ he comes to him as one that is able to give him fit and full satisfaction to his Soul He that comes to me shall never hunger and he that believes in me shall never thirst Christ speaks here of a spiritual hunger and of a spiritual thirst the meaning is this He that believes in me saith our Saviour he shall have all his wants supplied all his desires allayed and he shall have his Soul fully satisfied So then the Doctrine I shall give you from this second Branch of the Text is this Doct. Whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shall by Christ have all his spiritual wants supplyed and all his desires allayed and his soul fully satisfied Why is Jesus Christ not only compared to Bread but also to Water Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteh come to the waters of life By water is meant Jesus Christ Why is he compared not to Water but to Wine and Milk Come buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price but only to shew that he is able to give the Soul fit and full satisfaction Here are two Queries I shall speak to by way of Explication First How or in what sense this Doctrine is true He that believes in Christ shall have all his desires satisfied Secondly How it comes to pass or what is the reason that such a soul as believes in Christ shall have the spiritual desires of his soul satisfied First How or in what sense this Doctrine holds true That he that believes in Christ shall by Christ have all his desires answered In answer to this You must know the desires of the Soul are of three sorts there are sinful desires and sensual desires and spiritual desires First There are sinful desires of the Soul there is no man but naturally he doth as eagerly desire to sin as he desires to eat when he is hungry Prov. 4.17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the Wine of violence Naturally a man hath a Dog-like thirst after sin some after one lust some after another Do you think the Scripture saith in vain the spirit that is in us lusteth to envy James 4.5 That which is here spoken of Envy may be spoken of any other sin Some lust after covetousness some lust after pride some after envy some after one thing some after another But mark now as soon as the Soul comes to Jesus Christ and believes in him these desires and sinful lusts shall be quenched because the Lord Jesus Christ will make such a Soul to be dead to sin A dead man desireth nothing I know my Brethren that this is to be understood in part because our mortification is imperfect therefore all the sinful desires of the Soul will not be quenched in this life But thus far it holds true He that is born of God sinneth not 1 John 3.9 that is so far forth as a man is born of God he sinneth not there is a nature in him that sinneth not a Divine Nature for he is made partaker of the Divine Nature there is something in him that doth not sin that doth not lust after sin but lusteth against sin he hath something in him that doth not sin As the flesh lusteth against the Spirit so the Spirit lusteth against the Flesh Gal. 5.17 These sensual desires shall be quenched Secondly There are sensual desires that is a lusting after the lawful contentments of this life Some lust after one dish of the World and some after another Zacheus a pining Publican he lusted after the gain of the World I but when he comes to Christ this lustful desire of his is allayed for said he Lord now half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have done wrong I will make recompence fourfold Here is an admirable example for some to follow that make haste to be rich as Solomon hath it He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent Prov. 28.20 Such a one
Gospel in the words that I have now read to you And hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel Let me first unlock the Cabinet of the Text and then shew you what treasure is laid up in it Briefly He hath brought life As Calvin well observes upon the Text It is an eminent and memorable Encomium of the Gospel that it brings life and what life not a temporal life but an eternal life therefore there is another weighty word added to express it life and immortality or an immortal life a life that is not capable of corruption an incorruptible life that never shall have end after as many millions of years as there are drops of water in the Ocean this eternal life and immortality shall be the same still He hath brought this life to light the Text says that is He hath revealed it and discovered it although before it was as it were in the dark it was a mystery unknown to us but now he hath revealed this mystery he hath revealed the way to eternal life and he hath revealed the unconceiveable joy and happiness that is wrapt up in it and all this is done by the Gospel the Text says that is by the preaching of the Gospel as is in the words following the Text ver 11 Whereunto I am appointed a Preacher and an Apostle and a Teacher of the Gentiles Now Gospel according to the acceptation of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gospel that is as if one should say a Good-spel that is good news that was the old antient word for good news The glad tidings of salvation was such a welcom message that it was fit for the mouth of an Angel to publish Luke 2.10 And the Angel said unto them Fear not Behold I do Gospel you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all Nations or I do preach the Gospel the welcome message of a Saviour being come into the World by whom eternal salvation may be obtained So then the words being thus opened the Doctrine I shall commend to you from them shall be this Doct. The knowledg of eternal life and salvation is discovered to the sons of men by the preaching of the Gospel God bring life and immortality to light he discovers it reveals it he makes it known but how says the Apostle it is by the preaching of the Gospel I shall not need to travel far to fetch in proof for this plain Doctrine that Scripture is very remarkable Rom. 16.25 26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began but now is made manifest and by the Scriptures of the Prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all Nations for the obedience of faith The Apostle says The mystery that is the mystery of mans salvation the mystery of our redemption by Jesus Christ it was kept secret from the beginning of the World but was now at last says he revealed by the Gospel the mystery of mans salvation and redemption had been a clasped book for ever if the Gospel had not been a key to open it What doth the Apostle mean by that Scripture 2 Cor. 4.3 4 But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are losi in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them As if he should say Whence it it men perish in death and destruction Whence is it they are lost quite lost and perish without hope surely it is because the Gospel is hidden from them either they want light or else want sight though the Gospel shines about them it shines not unto them into their hearts to give them the knowledg of God in the face of Jesus Christ If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost a sad speech Again Whence is it so many glorious Titles are given to the Gospel for example it is called the word of life Phil. 2.16 Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoyce in the day of Jesus Christ that I have not run in vain neither laboured in vain It is called the Gospel of the Kingdom Mat. 24.14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all the world for a witness unto all Nations and then shall the end come It is called the word of Gods grace Acts 14.3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord which gave testimony to the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands And it is called the word of Reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.19 To wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation Yea it is called the word of Salvation Acts 13.26 Men and Brethren Children of the Stock of Abraham and whosoever among you feareth God to you is the word of this salvation sent And it is called the Grace of God that bringeth salvation T it 2.11 Nay yet more it is called Salvation it self there cannot be a higher title given to it than to call it Salvation it self In Acts 28.28 Be it known therefore unto you says the Apostle speaking to those stubborn Jews That the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and that they will hear it The Salvation of God that is the Gospel called there the Salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles All these titles sufficiently clear this truth That the knowledg of eternal Salvation is discovered by the Gospel Now for the better explication of this point there are two Quaeries would be satisfied First How or in what respect the knowledg of Salvation may be said to be discovered by the Gospel Secondly Whether the knowledg of Salvation be discovered only by the Gospel First How or in what respect the knowledg of Salvation may be said to be discovered by the Gospel I answer in these three or four regards First the Gospel is said to reveal the knowledg of salvation because it reveals to us the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Author of this eternal salvation as he is called Heb. 5.9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him And he is called the rock of salvatiom 1 Cor. 10.4 Deut. 32.15 And he is called a Horn of Salvation Luke 1.69 And hath raised up an Horn of salvation for us in the house of his servamt David In this regard the Gospel may well be compared to the Star that led the wise men to Jesus Christ The Gospel is that Star that leads us to the Day-spring from on high to him that is the Morning-star indeed to him that is salvation it self cloathed in our flesh