delights in and as to all Ordinances he values them not but as he meets with Jesus Christ in them if he finds not Christ in an Ordinance he counts the Ordinance as no Ordinance And if a Lord's Day doth pass without some communion with Christ he counts 't is no day to his Soul And the Gospel of Christ Jesus that he prizes so much it is because it is Christ's Gospel and the Truths of the Gospel that are so dear to to him that he can venture all for it is because they are Christ's Truths Now Christians examine your state and condition by this also what is it that you value your selves by Do you value your selves by your bare professions Do you value your selves by your enlargement Do you value your selves by your gifts Do you value your selves by the name that you have amongst men Those that are in Christ do not value themselves thus but by what they apprehend themselves to be in and to have received from Christ Jesus Thirteenthly Again The Soul that is interested in Christ rises and falls in its spirit according unto the sensible manifestations or withdrawings of Christ in his heart he rejoyces as Christ doth appear and he is saddened as Christ doth withdraw and his joy is coming and going as Christ is coming and going in his heart an appearance of Christ makes day in his heart and the withdrawings of Christ makes night in his Soul When there is a Curtain drawn between Christ and him then he is in the dark and then his Soul sits in sorrow then he is covered over with mourning but upon the return of Christ his Soul leaps within him and he is filled and satisfied as with marrow and fatness Isa 61.10 I will rejoyce in the Lord my Soul shall be joyful in my God Why so because Christ doth appear and puts on something of his own clothing and giveth out something of himself to me he comes as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and makes me as his Bride and decks me with his Jewels Now this doth cause me to rejoyce in the Lord and makes me joyful in my God Days of communion and seasons of manifestation they are the festival days that his Soul enjoys and nothing causes so great a damp upon his heart as when Christ draws off This was seen in David he rises and falls in his spirit as were the manifestations or the withdrawings of Christ there Lord says he thy loving kindness is better than life Ay there was his joy and gladness And Lord says he at another time thou didst but hide thy face and I was troubled there was his sorrow for Christ's absence And says the Spouse Cant. 1.2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth By kiss here is meant some visible manifestation of Christ unto his Soul some discernable token of his love Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love saies he is better than Wine Wine you know was to be given to those that were of a heavy heart by Solomons direction Proverbs 31.6 and Psal 104.15 Wine that maketh glad the heart of man and Oil to make his face to shine So as Wine it is to be given to those that are of a heavy heart it is that which is to make joyful and to exhilarate the Spirits Now saies David Lord thy love is better then Wine there is more in a little communication of Christ Jesus then in the greatest refreshment and heart chearing in the world for this love that is better then Wine is not love simply considered but the effects of love in gracicious manifestations as John 14.21 22. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self unto him and saies Judas not Iscariot Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self unto us and not unto the world This love was a love of manifestation now saies he Let him kiss me mith the kisses of his mouth Let love be manifested and this manifesting love is better than Wine O it will make all other things dainties to him and sweets to be bitter in his Spirit this is sweet indeed and an abiding ground of joy and comfort to his Soul upon the evidence of his love and upon the sight of his face and communion with him Now Christians examine your hearts by this if that your joy be determined upon something else then upon Christ and if that the withdrawments of Christ don't cause the greatest sadness unto your Spirits it is a shround sign that you have no interest in Christ But now where Christ Jesus is lookt upon as the very joy of your Souls and you most of all joy in his presence and you are most of all troubled at his departure and at the hidings of his face it is a sign of interest O it is a sign that that Woman doth intirely love her Husband that cannot bear that he should be long absent from her and is most of all pleased in his company so it is a sign that that Soul is married unto Christ Jesus that cannot bear the withdrawments of Christ and that is never so much troubled and tossed and discomforted and afflicted in his Spirit as when Jesus Christ stands behind the Curtain and refuseth to make answer to his Soul when he is crying after him SERMON VIII Habakkuk 3.18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will Joy in the God of my Salvation VVE proposed to give you some notes of evidence whereby you may come to know that this Jesus is your Jesus and that you are interesced in him We have already gone through 13 particulars and shall now proceed Fourteenthly The Soul that is interested in Christ hath constraining abiding endearments in his heart unto Jesus Christ so as no discouragement shall turn him off from Christ but he will cut the way through all opposition to come to the enjoyment of him My Friends if you are really interested in Christ and have upon an interest tasted how gracious the Lord is difficulties in your way to Christ will be no difficulties so you may enjoy him the Soul in Christ will be contented to be reproached for Christ so he may enjoy him and the reproaches that he meets withal in the way of Christ will be no great matter to him so Christ and he may keep together You may see what was the Spirit of an old Testament Saint in Heb. 11.24 25. By Faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the People of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season v. 26. Esteeming the reproaches of Christ greater riches then the Treasures of Egypt Persecutions won't part Christ and the real sincere Christian but though he shall be persecuted for Christ yet if Christ and he
Apostle Neither life nor death c. shall separate us from the love of Christ Rom. 8.38 The life of a Believer after grace is full of provocation and it may be he continues to provoke God as long as he lives There are provocations and unkindnesses in his way to the Lord all his life long till he come to the end of his daies and yet says the Apostle Life shall not separate Now this is a great ground of rejoycing that thou mayest look unto thy Jesus and see him alwaies loving of thee Thy waies are very uneven and unconstant and thou canst not keep in so good a frame as thou wouldest do yet still Jesus loves thee thou art full of wandrings still Jesus loves thee why here 's a love that marches through all opposings Secondly It is a Love that heightens under all our sorrows I mean as to the communications and dispenses of it or the actual and saving discoveries of it unto the Believer it heightens under all our sorrows that the greater our troubles are the more he loves and the more pitiful our state is the more compassionate he is he sees a Believer it may be lying under great distresses of body or in great Agonies of spirit why this draws out his love he loves thee more he is the more pitiful and the more compassionate to thee as he sees that thy state is a sorrowful state and thy condition a troubled condition and indeed the Believer never hath such discoveries and evidences of the love and kindness of God to him as when he is in a low condition Jesus Christ he did come you know into a wilderness to walk with Israel And let their troubles be never so many Jesus Christ would not leave them but the greater their troubles were the more was his love discovered and the more did his faithfulness to them appear and they never had such an eminent and signal appearances of God with them as when they were in their Wilderness Travels Jacob a holy man never had so much of God nor never had such a sight of God as when he was in a low condition Gen. 28.15 Behold I am with thee and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again to this Land and will not leave thee till I have done what I have spoken to thee of And Gen. 31.42 Here the good man was in a great strait he was afraid that he should be cut off Ay but says he The Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac he it was that rebuked thee yesternight He did charge thee that thou shouldest speak no hurt no evil unto me And when Israel Exod. 3. came into a groaning captivity and bondage when their bondage grew very great and unsufferable then did the Lord wonderfully discover himself v. 7. And the Lord said I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their Task-masters and am come down to deliver them c. And Psa 34.16 The Eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his Ears are open to their cry Here is a supposition of a condition that the Soul is in or may be brought into that makes it groan and cry Well for your comfort know that then in a special manner is the Eye of the Lord upon you and his Ear open to you And Psal 56.18 Thou tellest my wanderings c. Thou tellest my flights so some read it I have never an enemy to pursue me but the Lord takes notice of it and seeth whither the enemy hunts me and drives me he takes notice of the fury of the oppressor that comes out against me Thou tellest my wanderings and puttest my tears in thy bottle Every tear in a sorrowful condition Jesus Christ bottles up he keeps it in remembrance God's Peoples highest visits of favour and grace their choicest experiences and the most comfortable manifestations that they have of God have been when they have been in a low condition In prosperity there God many times lets the Soul walk more at liberty ay and he hath less of God in prosperity then in adversity there he is left to walk by his own light as I may so say and he bears up himself more upon his own comforts he stands then as it were more upon his own legs but in a weak condition and in an afflicted state in a time of trouble then is the Lord present discovering himself more fully to him and hence it is that the Saints have had their highest Joys in the prison and have been made to sing in the flames They have commended the sharpest distress that ever they were brought into in this world to be such as could never separate Christ and their Souls the love of your Jesus is so great that it will leap into a furnace to keep you company It is such as it will come into any strait and hazard to support and bear up your spirits Lo this is your friend your comforter that you have O believer to rejoyce in Jesus his heart is alwaies towards you and the love of his heart it heightens under all your sorrows let darkness grow upon your state the light of his love will shine through it and give you a light that you shall see your way let your disconsolations be never so many in the creature the love of Jesus Christ will countervail all for if the creature be taken away Jesus Christ will be the more and in the want of all things he will discover himself so as shall answer all to your Souls 3. As his love is such as heightens under all our sorrows so it abides unmixed in all seasons as it is a love that cannot be diverted so it is a love that cannot be adulterated but it is alwaies a sweet alwaies a pure love a heart easing a soul pacifying a soul rejoycing love none can throw any bitterness into the love of Jesus but it is alwaies a pure clear Chrystal love that hath no mixture in it it is not thus with the love of friends the sweetest the best the firmest friends that ever man had upon earth there is some mixture in their love They will sometimes rejoyce your hearts and sometimes they will make your hearts sad loving friends may sometimes frown and be churlish and unkind and you may go to them with your hopes and expectations and be disappointed you may soon weary out their love and they may discover such a mixture that their hearts seem sometimes to be alienated But it is not thus with the Lord Jesus but his love is alwaies a pure clear soul satisfying love there is light in him and no darkness at all there is sweetness in him and there is no bitterness at all There are as I said before things that may encourage you but there is nothing that will discourage you in Jesus no not unto eternity now believer this is
great reflection upon a passive captivity upon an active surrender he may when he hath sold himself to work wickedness he may be made ashamed of his folly Ay but a Hypocrite a false heart will never deeply mourn for a passive captivity but there he will say Well I could not help it it was not my fault and so will be excusing of it as the Woman did The Serpent beguiled me I intended no such thing I was seduced and overcome a passive Captivity bears no great sway in a false heart but an upright Soul he mourns over sin how passive soever he is in the prevailings of it when he cannot prevent sin he will mourn over the prevailings of it It will be his constant grief that he was led Captive and that when he would do good evil was present with him and that he is overcome when he strives to overcome And again consider Soul whether there be any thing less then the returns of death will satisfy thee in thy pursuits of sin for the gracious Soul that is interested in Christ will pursue sin unto death restraining grace will not serve him pardoning grace won't do but he will be for the crucifying of the lusts of the flesh for the mortifying of sin in his Soul for the utter ruine and extirpation of it Now Sirs if you can find those things in you it doth speak for you and will help to clear your interest in Christ Jesus Fifthly The Soul that is interested in Christ will prize the least of Christ above the greatest enjoyments out of Christ A little of Christ will be more to him then a great deal of the Creature nay a little of Christ will be more to him then all the Creature a little of Christs grace a little of Christs love a little of Christs Spirit a small income from Christ the least love token from Christ the least saving Gospel manifestation and discovery of Christ O 't is the sweetest discovery and the most blessed enjoyment that ever his Soul had Thus it was with David if he be the Author of Psal 73. and Asaph only the Pen-man David at once overlookt his Crown and his Kingdom and all his Treasures that he had in the world and the whole world that was before him and saies he Lord whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 And so the Apostle Paul saies he I count all things but dross and dung in comparison of Christ Jesus my Lord Phil. 3.8 Christ was more to him than all other things and verily Christians so will it be with you if your hearts be right a little of Christ will be more to you then all the treasures pleasures and the glories and enjoyments of this whole world and you will esteem your selves more honourable with a little grace in your hearts then with your Houses full of wealth Now to close do but bring thy heart to this touchstone and do but consider what it is that thy heart is most set upon and what it is that will satisfy thee if this world and the comforts of it can satisfy thee without Christ thou hast no part in Christ nay if thou preferrest other enjoyments before a participation in Christ thou hast none of Christ if thou hast a saving interest in Christ the manifestations of Christ to thy Soul will be the most blessed manifestations O the least incomes of Christ will be as life from the dead The least love token the least intimation of his love the least saving effect and operation of his grace upon thy heart and the encrease of communion with him These things will be the life and the joy of thy Spirit If thou canst find it thus with thee really and in truth that a little of Christ is prized in thy heart above the greatest enjoyments out of Christ it is a sign and evidence that thou art interested in Christ It may be Soul thou hast but a little of Christ in thy heart very little of Christ but a little of the grace of Christ and but a little of the Spirit of Christ and canst do but little for Christ ay but the least incomes of Christ they are the sweetest incomes to thee and thy enjoyments of Christ are the most satisfying enjoyments and thy Soul will prefer an opportunity of communion with the Lord Jesus before great advantages otherwise If it be thus with thee it is an evident sign that thou art interested in Christ and thou mayest take comfort in thy present standing in him SERMON VII Habakkuk 3.18 Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation THe Proposition is this Doct. That there is enough in Christ Jesus alone for the Souls full rejoycing and triumph whatsoever his condition and exigency is in this world This we have cleared to you and are now upon clearing up of the Souls state that he may know whether he hath interest in this full Jesus We have already given you five particulars that may be as so many evidences of a Christians interest in Christ and shall now proceed Sixthly In the sixth place The Soul that is interested in Christ is under an over-ruling influence from Christ that secures the habitual inclinations of his Soul for Christ against all contrary invitations and drawings Particular acts are not a sufficient conclusive ground of our state one way or another A Soul that hath no interest in Christ may seem choice and singular in some actions and there may be a seeming lovely desirable sanctity upon him and a Soul that is really interested in Christ may by the power of a temptation be drawn into some unbecoming acts so as particular acts are no sufficient ground of an interest and if you judge by them you may easily be deceived but he that is really united to Christ is under a divine influence from Christ that secures the habitual inclinations of his heart for him that so the blass of his heart is towards Christ and the full purpose of the Soul in its secret breathings and inclinings are after the Lord Jesus alone It may be when the temptation comes he may be almost staggered but yet his heart stands right for Christ in the main in whom he is interested and though temptations may have a great power upon him yet the biass of his heart will winde through all temptations unto Christ alone thus it was with Paul there were contrary drawings in the heart of Paul and the temptations that he met withal from the remains of indwelling sin were very great yet his heart under all stood right and the habitual inclinations of his heart were for and towards Christ Jesus and this was the Characteristical note of his in-being in Christ Romans 7.15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22. You may see it at large For that which I do saies he I allow not for what I would do I do not but what I
as it were a Confederacy against us to turn us out of all yet Ego exultabo in Deo I will rejoyce in my God even in the God of my Salvation And Calvin saith My joy is not founded upon the Creature nor upon external enjoyments therefore let all things be brought into confusion here below nay let God himself seem to stand frowning over us yet saies he will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Joy is the sweet motion of the Soul in a full contentment of heart and complacency of Spirit upon some good set before it Now here the Prophet sees all discouraging below he turns his Eyes up to Heaven and he sees a certainty there he sees stability there and therefore he rejoyces in the Lord and Joys in the God of his Salvation I will rejoice in the Lord. Who is meant by Lord here I will rejoyce in Jehovah the God of my Salvation Jehovah is a Title given unto God the Father setting forth his self-being and self-sufficiency and giving existence unto all Creatures but the Title Jehovah is attributed also unto the Son and so I understand it here in this Text I will rejoice in Jehovah that is in Christ Jesus who may be called Jehovah not only as he hath a sufficiency in himself but as he gives existence and being unto all the promises of the Covenant of Grace in whom they are yea and Amen and on this account I take it that the Title Jehovah is often given unto Jesus Christ the second Person I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation that is in my Lord my Saviour my dear Jesus and my Redeemer and so from the words you may observe this proposition Doct. That there is enough in Christ Jesus alone for the Souls full rejoycing and triumph in all cases and conditions Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Let things go how they will in the world as to my outward Concerns yet the ground of my joy that is never taken from me Although the Fig-tree do not blossom although there shall be no fruit in the Vine although the labour of the Olive shall fail and the Fields shall yield no meat the Flocks shall be cut off from the Fold and there shall be no Herd in the Stall yet my Joy that abides the ground of my Joy that cannot be taken from me 't is not in the Creature 't is not upon Earth but 't is in Heaven 't is not in Man 't is in the Lord 't is not in the confluence of these things that are coming and going and in an uncertain enjoyment but it is in the Lord who never fails saies David in the 2 Sam. 23.5 Though my House be not so with God my Family is not as I would have it to be I cannot rectify all the disorders of my House and settle things as I would my house is not with God as I would have it according to my hearts desire yet God hath made with me an everlasting Covenant of Grace and this is all my Salvation and all my desire The word that is translated desire here in the Hebrew signifies also delight this is all my Salvation and all my delight as we may read it here is the Joy of my heart my delight is here Gods Covenant of Grace stands sure with me and therein will I rejoyce as if David had said things go ill with me here below the Sword is threatned never to depart from my House while I live that I must be a man of trouble and of war to the end of my daies what breaches may be made upon my Kingdom and what breeches may be made in my Family the Lord only knows yet the Covenant that stands sure and that is all my delight my heart centers here and I will comfort my self in the Lord my God And if we search into the Psalms there we shall find that David does frequently under great disasters make his boast of God Providences were frowning and he seemed to be driven out of all yet saies he The Lord God is my refuge he is the Horn of my Salvation my Sanctuary and high Tower and I will rejoyce and let all the righteous rejoice and be glad in him In the handling of this proposition there are these things that we shall propose to consider and unfold to you First What Jesus Christ is Secondly What he hath and Thirdly What he will do for the believing Soul that the believer may take comfort and rejoyce in him at all times whatsoever his condition is First What Jesus Christ is that the Prophet doth here so comfort himself in and rejoice and make his boast of First He is glorious in his Person a very glorious person he is not one like him in Heaven nor in Earth what is said concerning Saul in the 1 Sam. 9.2 we may in allusion apply unto Christ that he was a choice young man a goodly there was not among the Children of Israel a goodlier Person then he from the shoulders upward he was higher than any of the People I only allude to it Jesus Christ is a most choice excellent one a very goodly and a very lovely Person he is higher both by head and shoulders than any of his Brethren a Person all glorious a Person all over lovely and beautiful in Can. 5.16 His mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether lovely this is my beloved c. But I shall descend into particulars and shew you wherein Jesus Christ is such a sufficient ground of rejoycing and of comfort to the believing Soul that hath an interest in him in all conditions and I shall here shew you wherein it appeareth that the glory of Christs Person is such a ground of rejoycing to us at all times And that will appear in his Mediatory Constitution as God-man in one Person Jesus is a Mediator a days Man an umpire between God and Man one that hath come between God and Man to make peace for us and the glory of his Person lies in his mediatory constitution as he is God-man so he is a most glorious Person Now this Title of Mediator is often given him in Scripture in Heb. 8.6 he is called the Mediator of a better Covenant Heb. 9.15 the Mediator of the New Testament and Heb. 12.24 To Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling So 1 Tim. 2.5 This was such a one as Job wished for in Job 9.33 Neither is there any days-man between us that might lay his hand upon us both Now there are two things that are requisite for the compleating and accomplishing of a Mediator First He must be equally related to the Persons between whom he comes Secondly He must be impartial and faithfully indifferent now both these are found in Jesus Christ First A Mediator I say must be equally stated between and
for a Christian the blood of Jesus is said to be a pleading blood Heb. 12.24 And to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things then the blood of Abel It is a pleading blood and it saies Father Remember the merits of the Sacrifice of my death remember the satisfaction that thou hast received and do thou continue to love and continue to bless and continue to delight in and to acknowledge these poor ones though they fail and though they provoke thee The believer it may be is so ashamed of himself upon an overcome that he hath not one word to say for himself he can give no reason why a decree of justice should not come out against him but the blood of Jesus that is alwaies speaking and alwaies interceeding whereby we are kept in that justified peace-state with God that in our first coming over to God we are stated in and this may satisfie the Christian under all the disquiets troubles turmoils and unsettlements that he meets withal in this world Secondly Jesus Christ is a powerful Intercessor in Heaven daily urging the merits of his Death and improving the Interest that he hath with God for the compleating of the work begun in the hearts of Believers whereby they are growing up to perfection Jesus Christ is not only an Advocate with the Father silencing and answering all accusations and charges and so maintaining of the Believer in his justified Peace-state with God but as a lively and living Intercessor he is alwaies urging the merits of his Death and improving the Interest that he hath with God for the compleating of the good work of his Grace that is begun Jesus Christ hath not only a Fountain of all Grace for your constant supply but he acts the part of an Intercessor and improves the merits of his Death for the managing of the work of Grace that is begun in your Souls This you have Heb. 9.24 Jesus Christ is gone into Heaven to appear in the presence of God for us And he is not there to appear only as an Advocate or an Attorney but he is there as a mighty Intercessor pleading with God in the strength of the merits of his own Death improving all his Interest with the Father for you Rev. 5.6 In the midst of the Elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain having seven Horns c. This Lamb is Christ Now Christ Jesus he is in Heaven advanced upon a Throne for you He is in the midst of the Throne near unto his Father and how doth he sit or how doth he appear Why says he he appears as a Lamb as it had been slain that is Christ he bears the marks of his Death before his Father upon the Throne he is there to make a fresh commemoration of his sufferings presenting his bloody death and his bloody Sacrifice before his Father As Jesus Christ after he was risen said unto Thomas Come says he behold my wounds and see the print of the Nails in my hands and in my feet So Jesus Christ saies as it were to his Father Father behold these wounds behold how I was pierced behold how I was wounded for these people and as one says so many wounds so many cries Every wound hath a crying mouth that is daily pleading with God for the Believer Jesus alwaies stands as a Lamb as it were slain urging his death urging his agony urging the greatness of his sufferings when justice had him under the lash when he trode the Wine-press of his Fathers wrath alone and he is urging the value of his death for the succeeding of the work of grace begun for the encreasing of strength for the carrying on of your Souls unto perfection Jesus Christ lives upon the Throne carrying on this work and for this great end he considers the Christians state in all his dangers and in all his weakness and under all his wants and he is improving his death for more grace and for an increase of spiritual blessings he knows your dangers by reason of your temptations in the world and he is praying for you there and improving his interest with his Father on that account John 17.15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil O Father saies he they cannot stand against the temptations of the world in their trades and concerns in the world not alone let thy grace be sufficient and let thy strength be sufficient to secure them in their dangers he sees that your grace is yet but small and will hardly stand against a small encounter and therefore he prays that it may be encreased as Luke 22.31 32. I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not as if he had said I know that thy grace will be sorely tryed and will meet with great opposition but I have prayed that it may not fail he pleads with the Father for a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit upon the hearts of his people John 14.16 17. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of Truth c. And when Jesus Christ does pray for the Spirit he prays that he may come in the royalties of his office into your hearts bringing in the fruits of grace of peace and of joy and of spiritual comfort And thus he in Heaven looks after the work that is begun and upon that account he is called not only the Author but the Finisher of our Faith Heb. 12.2 The intercessory work of Christ is not only at your first coming over to God to give you favour with God peace with God but it is a continued act over your whole state till you come in glory Heb. 7.25 He is able to save to the uttermost or to carry on salvation work till he hath compleated it Why because he ever liveth to make intercession for us Jesus Christ by his intercession does deliver out of one streight to day and he will continue in the same work and if a new streight does appear to morrow he will aid through that also and he will go on so until he hath setled thy Soul in a compleat salvation state Jesus Christ does daily exhibit and urge and present the merits of his death for the carrying on and managing of the work that he hâ—th begun And here take notice by the way that when we say Jesus Christ continueth to interceed you must know that he doth not interceed in a way of free Grace as we do at the throne of Grace he doth not interceed in a precarious way as believers do but he interceeds in the merit of his own sufferings his interceeding is an authoritative act he doth not only pray the Father for Grace and for acceptance for us but he urges the Father upon the account of the infinite price of his own sufferings that
and shall further be glorified upon him and in him I have thought sometimes that many a poor Believer is just as Hagar was when her Bottle was empty and she sate down weeping that now she must die Why she need not fear famishing when there was a well of water near her that she and the Lad might drink their fill Ay but she did not know this well of water to be so near her So the Believer's state is safe and good ay but he does not know it Jesus Christ deals with his People as Joseph did by his Brethren he fed them and nourished them and comforted them a great while but would not discover himself to them that he was Joseph their Brother A Believer that hath an Interest may yet want the evidence of that Interest Thirdly Evidence of Interest is attainable and it is the will of God that Believers should give all diligence to make it clear It is possible that a Soul may come to see his own standing in Christ Jesus and know unto his full satisfaction and rejoycing in all conditions that he is interested in him Many Scripture-Saints have delivered it to us upon record that they did attain to an evidence of their Interest The Spouse in the Cant. did attain an evidence of her Interest Cant. 2.16 My Beloved is mine and I am his Job had a clear sight of his Interest Job 19.25 I know that my Redeemer liveth c. David had his Interest cleared up to him The Lord is my Light and my Salvation whom shall I fear Psal 27.1 Paul was assured of his Interest in Christ 2 Cor. 5.1 2. For we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with our house which is from Heaven And it is the mind and will of God that Believers should give all diligence to clear their Interest 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves whether you be in the faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates And 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your calling and your election sure There is the command which implies a possibility of attaining it The possibility of it doth further appear in that the Father and the Son have both sent forth the Spirit to be a Comforter to be a Witnesser to those that are in Christ and his Office it is an Ensuring Office The Spirit he comes being sent forth by the Father and the Son into a poor heart that is full of fears doubts questionings and misgivings and doth settle this Soul in the stedfast belief of his abiding Interest in Christ Jesus and Christ's everlasting relation unto it This you may see Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God And Ephes 1.13 In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise And a considerable part of the Scripture is given forth to this end to clear up a Believers Interest in and Relation unto Christ that he may know his standing in him 1 John 5.12 13. There is Life in the Son says he and I write unto you that ye may know that ye have an Interest in the Son and so have life from him and this is that which the Lord's People have gloried in Isa 63.16 Doubtless thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledgeth ' us not c. And this is one end of that grand Ordinance of the Lord's Supper to seal and ensure Believers It is not only an Ordinance of Communion but it is a sealing Ordinance wherein the Lord Jesus does come and set upon the heart clearing up the Soul's Interest in himself and telling of him what he hath done for him and sealing all that hath past upon his Soul It is sometimes hereupon made a feast of fat things It is an Ordinance of Joy It is not a converting Ordinance but it is an Ordinance of comfort unto those that are converted being often owned by the Lord as a sealing Ordinance to confirm all that hath formerly past between God and the Soul So as an evidence of Interest is attainable and it is the will of God that Believers give all diligence to make it clear Fourthly The Interest and Relation that one Believer is owned in with Christ is not different in its nature and properties from what every Believer is owned in but all that are interested in Christ are equally interested in him If you speak of the Interest and Relation absolutely it is the same Jesus Christ is not more one believers than he is anothers Jesus Christ hath not given one believer a greater propriety in himself then he hath given another believer but all are equally interested in and related unto Christ all have an equal share in Christ All have an equal standing in Christ in point of interest and relation Indeed if you speak of interest and relation quo ad effectum as we say if you speak of it in reference to improvement and effects there indeed there is a difference between believer and believer One believer may improve Christ more than another and one believer may grow up in Christ more then another and one believer may in point of application and enjoyment possess more of Christ more of the Grace of Christ then another believer doth but they are all equally interested in and related unto Christ Jesus and the interest that one believer hath is as pleadable and as improvable as the interest that another believer hath Jesus Christ is equally a Head and a Husband and a Brother unto all his People and they are equally Members of the same body in point of interest though not in point of growth saies the Apostle in 1 Cor. 6.17 But he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit It is spoken in general let him be an Apostle let him be an eminent Saint or let him be a meaner or more obscure Saint let him be a strong believer or let him be a weak believer if he be joyned to the Lord he is one Spirit alike joyned alike related and alike interested Fifthly The believers interest in Christ is abiding and can never be crush't it can never be broken it can never be violated but the evidence of interest though once obtained and seem clear may be obscured and darkned A Christians joy that is passing away it is transient but as to his interest that is inviolable and inseparable none can disunite Christ and the believer being once Gospelly joined So you have it spoken out by the Apostle Rom. 8.35 and so on Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword No saies he they
shall not they cannot do it and Hosea 2.19 I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgment and in loving kindness and in mercy c. I know full well what I do saies the Lord I will betroth thee in judgment I know what the Soul is that I take I take him so as to keep him and to maintain him I will hold him and never lose him I will do it in judgment and it shall be a relation for ever I will betroth thee unto me for ever But now the evidence of the relation that is passable that may be clouded after you have had some clear discoveries of it A Soul that is brought into the light may be turned into the dark again thus it was with Job Job he had a very clear and full sight of his interest at one time that he glories in Christ Jesus I know that my Redeemer liveth and yet the same Job at another time Job 6.4 Tells us that the Arrows of the Almighty did set themselves in array against him the poyson whereof saies he drinketh up my Spirit It was not the terrours of men it was not the terrours of his condition of his poverty or of his sores or of his great disgrace but saies he the terrours of God they are entered into my Soul and so David at one time he rejoyceth in Christ Jesus saies then though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil Psal 23.4 and another time he cries out Why art thou cast down O my Soul why art thou disquiered within me And in another place hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious are his mercies clean gone he mourns after the Lord and complains as one that was banished from his face though your interest cannot be shaken Christians yet the evidence of your interest may be darkned the love of Christ Jesus to your souls may be so obscured as you may be left without the feelings of it And the Soul that is sometimes under comfortable manifestations and filled with joy with peace and with comfort may at another time be darkned with clouds with vails and with curtains and know not where he is the seal of the Spirit of the Lord may be so defaced as that you cannot tell what to make of it the believer that is built upon the rock can never be washt off the rock yet the wayes may dash against him upon the rock he may be sorely dasht upon the rock though he cannot be washt off though your interest stands sure yet the evidence of your interest is not sure it is a passable evidence 6. Sense of interest is in a soveraign hand and is given out to whom the Lord pleaseth and when the Lord pleaseth The Lord is pleased Soveraignly to act in the sealing and ensuring and comforting of his People sometimes he will come in upon a believer at his first conversion and will fill him with joy and gladness that shall abide upon his Soul many years and sometimes the believer shall wait upon God from ordinance to ordinance and follow him many years in the dark and not have a discovery of his love sometimes the Lord will give a Soul no sight of his interest nor evidence of his relation until he come to die and some believers have walked with the evidence of Gods love in their hearts almost all their daies and when they have come to die they have died in the dark Sense of interest is under a soveraign dispense both as to the persons to whom it is given out and as to the time when and as to the way and manner how 7. Though the interest that believers have and are owned in with the Lord is the same and is not different as to its nature and properties yet the evidence of the interest will admit of degrees in different persons and also in the same Persons at divers times those that are taken into relation with Christ Jesus they are all owned in a near blessed intimate relation as I told you before so that there is no difference in the relation neither is the relation an encreasing relation indeed the benefits of the relation they are encreasing but the relation it 's self is not encreasing A believer is not more a Child of God afterward then he was at first when the Spirit of adoption came upon him but the evidence of the interest that admits of degrees the relation its self is capable of an improvement as to the advantages of it but that is not all but the evidence of the relation is sometimes clearer fuller and more satisfying then at some other times It is said Prov. 4.18 That the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day A believer hath a little sight of Christ a glimmering of Christ through the cravis this may be improved and it is possible that the Soul may come into a full assurance of its interest in Christ Jesus ay and it is possible you may be assured more at one time then at another Therefore Christian the little joy that thou hast may grow to a great deal and the small apprehensions that thou hast of Christ may greatly encrease in thy Soul and in this respect the day of small things is not to be despised 8. It is possible that believers may disingenuously act upon low principles in their carnest pursuits after sealings and ensurings I pray mark it assurance it is the Flower of Faith it is the growth the improvement the flourishing of Faith it is the fragrancy the odour and the sweetness nay the very brightness of faith the sealings of the Spirit they are the high strains as I may call them of the Spirit in and upon the hearts of believers And yet it is possible that the believer may act upon low principles in his eager pursuits of the sealings of the Spirit that is such an high act Then does the believer act disingenuously in a pursuit after an evidence of his interest when he presseth after the sense of his interest more for peace and comfort then to improve his interest unto more grace and holiness Your interest in Christ hath two streams the one runs with grace and the other runs with peace and comfort now then does the Soul disingenuously act when he presseth more after the stream of peace comfort then he doth after the stream of grace and holiness then is the believer acted upon low principles when he advanceth the sense of interest above the interest or if you will thus when the desires of the sense of interest do over-ballance the desires of more grace and holiness upon the interest Therefore in all your eager pursuits after the sealings of the Spirit consider the principle Christians upon which you act search whether there be no disingenuous actings n your spirits in your eager desires after assurance 9.
full my Jesus is full though I am robbed he is not robbed though I have little or nothing Jesus Christ he hath all and Christ is all and all his fulness is mine Sense of Interest will raise your hopes and expectations upon Christ Jesus My friends now we look upon Christ and have low thoughts of him we look upon Christ and our expectations are not raised upon Christ We come to an Ordinance where Christ is discovered and displayed in the riches of his Death and in the glories of his Life and our hearts are not raised upon this why but because we have not the sense of our Interest The sense of Interest will raise your expectations and will comfort you against the thoughts of death Now Lord says good old Simeon lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation Luk. 2.29.30 And says the Apostle I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all The sense of Interest will lay you in against all fears of the approaching Judgment instead of being afraid of it it will make you long for it when the Soul comes to see and know and be ascertained that the judge of the Court is his friend and is in relation to him and hath loved him so as to lay down his life for him and hath ever been designing upon him in a way of love and grace this Soul will not be afraid to appear before him but will long for the day when he shall come to see his Jesus clothed with glory So as a clear evidence of interest in Christ obtained maintained and gospelly managed will be of singular advantage unto a Christian in his whole Christian course SERMON V. Habakkuk 3.18 Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation THe Proposition was this Doct. That there is enough in Jesus Christ alone for the Souls full rejoycing and triumph whatsoever his state and condition is in this world Now we proposed First To give you several introductory particulars by way of premise These we have dispatched And shall now proceed to consider what are the grounds of a believers darkness about his interest 2. It may be said in the second place if there be such solid and substantial grounds of joy in Christ Jesus for the believing Soul at all times and in all conditions what is the reason then that believers are so often in a dark dubious uncomfortable shattered state that they are seldom able in any stedfastness of spirit to look up unto Christ Jesus and glory in him Ans 1. I answer The darkness of the believers interest doth oft-times arise from a looking more unto such things in the examination of himself as argue the height of an interest then to such things as do discover the truth of an interest They do fix upon such things as are discoveries of a grown state in Christ when as they should fix upon such things as do discover an in-being in Christ they propose to themselves that corruption must be so and so brought under and mortifying work must be carried on to such a height or else they can have no grounds of their interest in Christ they propose to themselves such a measure of love as must be flaming to Christ at all times or else they think they have no love at all they think they must have such a measure of faith as to believe without staggering or else they have no part in Christ Now hereby they â—o ensnare their own Spirits and encrease their darkness But you should look more at such things as argue the truth of an interest then at those things that do argue the growth and improvement of that interest Secondly Darkness of evidence doth oft-times arise from the believers viewing his wants and overlooking his present receits Jesus Christ hath done a great deal for him and hath given out a great deal to him and hath made a wonderful change in him he cannot deny it if he be put to it but he overlooks all this and considers his present wants his weaknesses his short comings his failings his smallness of strength his staggering before a temptation the uncertainty of his Spirit in his walking with God and he bears the stress of his condition upon his present wants not considering what Jesus Christ hath already done nor considering that the work is gradually carried on Now Christians if you would lay your selves fair for the Spirits Gospel evidence in your souls then you must take in the encouragements of your condition as well as your discouragements you must not only insist upon your discouragements but consider also what Jesus Christ hath done and what a change he hath begun to work and what have been the movings of your souls towards him from divine influences upon your Spirits Thirdly The darkness of evidence or obscurity of interest do oft-times arise from the prevailings of sin in the heart upon which Christ suspends Sin that rallies that gathers head in the Soul that presses forward and the Soul gives way to the temptation and is overcome and upon it darkness does arise this was Davids case David was assured ay but sin prevailing in his heart drove him into the dark that all the joys of the holy Spirit were for a time taken from him 2 Sam. 12.7 8 9. And Nathan said unto David thou art the man thus saith the Lord God of Israel I anointed thee King over Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul c. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight I have done all this for thee saith the Lord thou hast despised my commandment and done evil in my sight So the Lord Jesus speaks unto the Soul I have thus and thus manifested my self to thee I thought it not too much to take thee into communion with my self I thought it not too much to dandle thee upon my knee and to give thee the assurance of all that I have done for thee But thou hast wickedly departed from me and broken my Commandments and it is just with the Lord now to suspend prevailings of sin will cause a suspense You know that Absolom upon his rebellion was excluded for a while from his Fathers House he must not see his Fathers face just thus it is with a Soul when it hath turned aside into some way of folly after it hath provoked the Lord the Lord he hides himself from him he won't let him see his face he must not come into his presence to see him and to rejoyce in the light of his countenance as formerly he had done The prevailings of sin after Grace do many times cause a suspense Fourthly Darkness of evidence is occasioned from the Souls crediting the reports of Satan that lead him to deny what Jesus Christ hath done for him and in him upon undenyable demonstrations of the power of his Grace in his
heart Satan he will be alwaies putting the Soul forward to entertain hard thoughts of God and will be making false reports in his heart contrary unto the experiences that his Soul hath had Now when the Soul will take up a report of Satan against a clear and visible demonstration of grace upon the heart and will joyn with Satan and say ay this is true there hath nothing past upon my Soul Christ hath not loved me Christ hath not taken me nigh unto himself neither hath he in truth and reality done any thing yet for me upon the Souls thus falling in with and arguing upon the reports of Satan does he help to darken his own state and to cloud his interest Satan is indefatigably industrious to obscure our interest and to keep us in the dark Now he will alwaies stand by you and be alwaies speaking to you if he see that his testimony is once received and credited Therefore beware how you hearken unto him who is ever an enemy unto your interest and unto your sense of interest Fifthly Darkness of evidence doth arise from our frequent neglects of the Spirit both in a way of duty and also in a way of comfort The Spirit of the Lord doth attend us and he is calling of us up to obedience and spurring of us forward to closer walking with God in obedience to his commands Now when the Soul doth refuse to comply with the Spirit and doth not observe his voice nor obey his commands but is silent unto his earnest motions in it upon this is the Soul more and more darkned for the Spirit does hereupon withdraw when we refuse his aids and assistances in the duties unto which we are called he offers us his help to stand by us and to lead us and to strengthen us and we set by his help and we will venture upon duties in our own strength not resting upon him for strength and power and the Spirit is hereby provoked Or when we neglect him in a way of comfort he would clear our condition to us but we wâ—ll not believe what reports he makes in our hearts he would settle us and we will not be settled he offers us consolation and we refuse his consolation and yet complain of our darkness Job 15.11 Are the consolations of the Lord small with thee Why the consolations of the Lord are small with many Souls for they refuse them and they think they do well to refuse the comforts that are offered them and yet they mourn over their want of comfort hereby they grieve the Spirit and they wound the Spirit and they quench the Spirit and it is not like then that the Soul should be assured You have these expressions in Scripture Ephes 4.30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption And 1 Thes 5.19 Quench not the Spirit And Isa 63.10 But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit wherefore he was turned to be their enemy c. Why my friends this is often our case we rebel against and vex the holy Spirit of God and he becomes our enemy that is he ceaseth to comfort us and he ceaseth to settle us and he ceaseth to establish us he ceaseth to fill us with joy and with comfort in and about our Interest Sixthly Darkness of evidence doth oftentimes arise from and is occasioned by remisness in holy duties wherein God useth to manifest himself unto us When we neglect our spiritual watch and lie under or act under the weight of spiritual sloth deadness of heart carelesness and slightiness of spirit in our waitings upon God This was the Spouses case Cant. 5.3 4. I have put off my Coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them My Beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved for him Verse 5. I arose to open to my Beloved but my Beloved had withdrawn himself Verse 6. Acts of communion were not ceased The Spouse did not decline Duties and Ordinances but grew remiss and sluggish and slighty and careless in the duties of communion She had put off her Coat and she could not put it on Her Beloved knocked but she could not open to him presently she must make him wait a while Here were some workings of heart and some genuine affections in the Spouse towards Christ for she said My Beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved for him There were some movings of heart towards Christ ay but she moved slowly and was careless in her spiritual frame and behold she looks and her Beloved was gone Here was a suspense and darkness grew upon her condition My friends this is often our case we let the fire of the Altar of our hearts go out and our affections they grow dead and we lose our spiritual fervency we lose the spiritual savour of communion with God in Ordinances of Communion and Christ Jesus withdraws There is a suspence of manifestations of favour and darkness encreaseth Seventhly Again Darkness of evidence doth sometimes arise from unkind and unworthy Jealousies of the love of Christ's heart to us notwithstanding long strivings with us The Soul knows not how to believe that Jesus Christ is in earnest with him when it comes unto his own particular case then he entertains hard thoughts of Christ O surely Christ doth not mean me surely Christ is not in the way of Grace with me although he cannot deny being put to it upon a serious examination but that there is a strange alteration in his Soul ay but he is alwaies questioning of the truth of Christ in his way to him not but that he believes that Christ is in good earnest in the design ay but he doth not know how to believe that Christ Jesus is really engaged in a design of love upon his heart no this he questions he thinks that the proposals that he makes are not in good earnest that Jesus Christ doth not mean him That Jesus Christ doth overlook and pass by his Soul and it is others that he is seeking after and others that he is designing upon and by these unworthy jealousies he does provoke Jesus Christ and it is just with Christ to leave the Soul a while to its self that will not be persuaded to have good thoughts of him 8. Again Darkness of evidence doth sometimes arise from and is occasioned by our inconsiderateness of the present state of our own hearts and inadvertency to what hath past vpon us There is a work wrought in him ay but he hath not been so wise as to observe the motions of Christ Jesus in his comings in and in his dealings with him he hath not kept an account of the goings of God with him but hath been very remiss in the observe of the state of his heart as he hath passed on in the way following of Christ and waiting upon him in
ordinances and hence he can make nothing of his condition he cannot say that the work of Grace is so and so wrought in him because he hath not been observant to gather up what hath past upon his Spirit 9. Again Darkness of evidence doth sometimes arise from an ungospel modesty that dares not believe such good things of its self There is a kind of ungospel modesty that some Christians do express wherein they would discover a great deal of unworthiness in themselves and a great deal of lowliness of Spirit but in it they do but deny what Jesus Christ hath done and wrong their own case O to think that Jesus Christ hath been dealing with them and hath made powerful applications of his blood unto them and hath united and reconciled them unto himself O they cannot tell how to believe this of themselves an interest in Christ is a great thing and a heart change is a mighty change I dare not think saies the Soul that the Lord hath done this for me who am so vile and so unworthy and thus the Soul stands reasons against all the experiences that he hath had of God and denies the comforts of it 10. Again In the last place Darkness of evidence doth sometimes arise from peremptory conclusions of the issues of our state upon the reports that sense makes upon all inquiries The reason of our darkness is because we lay the stress of our condition upon sense and upon what we can seel in our selves and not upon a naked venture upon Christ Jesus not upon a Gospel throw upon Christ Jesus whatever be the issue but the Soul goes to its feelings and makes a judgment of its state upon and from them when he can find his heart warmed for Christ when he can find his Spirit under any Gospel enlargement for Christ when he can find his Graces begin to grow and thrive and when he can find speedy returns made unto all his seekings after the Lord then he concludes now all is well here is an interest and behold the fruits of it But now when the Souls Graces are alittle clouded when he misses of that enlargement that sometimes he hath experienced And when he comes under some straitness and when Jesus Christ is a while silent unto his prayers why then he concludes against himself O here is no interest why if I were in Christ Jesus it would be otherwise with me Christ would answer me and Christ would enlarge me and Christ would heighten and brighten my Graces Christ would not leave me in such an uncomfortable condition he would fill me and lift me up and set me on high O surely there is nothing of truth and reality that hath passed upon my Soul Now Christians while you draw up peremptory conclusions of the issue of your state upon the reports of sense in your hearts you will never come to be setled and established while you are in this world conclusions drawn from changeable mutable principles will never be relieving nor comforting to you Well these things briefly may suffice for the second proposal what might be the grounds of a believers darkness in and about their interest and evidence Thirdly We shall proceed unto the third particular and that is this Qu. If it be thus that Believers are often times in the dark in and about their Interest and have not the evidence of their relation in Christ clear what should the Believer do in the interim until the Lord shall be pleased to discover and unfold himself to him and seal and confirm all that he hath done for him and bestowed upon him Ans There are nine or ten particulars that I shall lay down here in way of Direction First In case of darkness of evidence muck the root of faith Or if you will take it thus strengthen and double the direct act of faith when you are not able to put forth a reflex act of Faith There is a direct and there is a reflex act of Faith the direct act of Faith is an act of recumbence it is an act of relyance upon Jesus Christ the reflex act of Faith is the Soul 's glorying and triumphing in Christ Jesus that he hath made a close with Now Christian if thou hast not the assuring act of Faith then be sure that you strengthen Faith in its closing act and in its believing act wherein it rests on Christ Jesus alone go oftener unto Christ and there determine thy Soul and resolve ever to wait upon him and to abide at his footstool the believing act of Faith or the direct act of Faith that I may call the first act and the reflex act of Faith I may call the second act of Faith Now Christian if you be not able to come up to the second act of Faith then be often repeating the first act of Faith be often rolling your Souls upon Christ Jesus and by this means you may come to be assured for the direct act of Faith hath a tendency in it to carry thee up unto a full assurance in Christ Jesus and therefore be often redoubling that act thou doest not know how soon the joy of thy assurance may come in Secondly Upon the darkness of evidence take notice of and rejoyce in the strengthenings and upholdings of the Spirit though for the present you are without the sealings and ensurings of the Spirit Why let it not be a small thing unto thee that though thou art not comforted and though thy Interest is not cleared yet thou art kept waiting upon God Who is it that upholds thee against all thy discouragements Couldest thou hold out of thy self Couldest thou bear up when there seems to be no returns made nothing but discouragements in thy way Thou cryest again and again and hast no return but a seeming repulse who is it think you that upholds you doubtless it is the Spirit of the Lord Who was it that upheld the Woman of Canaan when Christ Jesus did chide her and seem'd to give her a repulse doubtless whilst he seemed outwardly to discountenance her he was secretly upholding and drawing her heart nearer to himself or else she had fainted Now if thou hast had a heart to continue waiting upon God and thy desires and resolutions are still to follow the Lord take notice of these upholds of the Spirit and bless God for these and it may be the Spirit in a little while may go on to assure thee Thirdly Again Upon the darkness of evidence and want of assurance labour to heighten true grace and holiness Strive to encrease to grow in grace for that will be more to thy advantage than to bend thy desires wholly for comfort and for assurance It is a greater mercy for God to give thee a new measure of grace than to give thee a new degree of comfort It is a higher priviledge There is more in grace than there is in comfort for grace hath a more immediate tendency to God's glory
Spirit is satisfied in the government of Christ he is reconciled unto all the commands of Christ and he delights in the dominion of Christ and he freely and chearfully resigns up himself unto the Scepter of Jesus Christ Lord saies the Soul here I am rule over me Christ never interests a Soul in himself that he doth not bear the sway in its heart and command the powers of its Soul Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be a willing people in the day of thy power When Jesus Christ makes a willing people that is displays the power of his Grace and brings home a Soul and gives it an interest in himself he subjects the heart unto his Government he makes the Soul freely willing to be ruled by the laws and by the Authority of Christ Jesus no laws seem so desirable unto him as the laws of Jesus no rule no Scepter so pleasant as the Scepter of Christ and all the commands of Christ are chosen by him as being equal righteous holy pleasant and good the Spirit is reconciled to Christ Jesus in the whole of his Gospel Government over the heart of the Christian My Lord and my God saies Thomas these alwaies go together My God and also my Lord. And this particular I ground upon and gather out of my Text he is become the God of my Salvation how shall I know that He is my Lord saies the Prophet I will rejoice in the Lord the title Lord notes Dominion and Soveraignty Now the Soul that is interested in Christ rejoyceth in the Dominion and Soveraignty of Christ Jesus I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation The inference that is drawn from this Scripture for our present purpose is this that the Soul that is interested in Christ will rejoyce in the dominion of Christ or doth receive Christ Jesus as a Lord and as a Lord doth rejoyce in and under him Indeed there may be much weakness in his obedience I don't say that he doth exactly and to a tittle walk up to the rule to fulfill every command of God No I know there is a great deal of weakness in the strongest believer upon earth and through the strength of corruption and the violence of temptation he may sometimes be fovled and born down ay but when he is so still his heart is right and he loves the commands of Christ that he cannot come up to and he honours the rule of Christ and to his utmost makes way for the sway of the Scepter of Christ in his Soul though he may be born down by temptation yet his love remains still unto every command of Jesus Rom. 7.25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord so then with my mind I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin Saies Paul I am born down I am overcome but I don't justify my self herein but I bless God saies he that my heart is secured my love doth not abate I have not waved a command through my dissatisfaction in it I have not been disobedient to a command because I judged it unreasonable or were dissatisfied in it No but my heart that stands right for those commands that I cannot reach in my life with my mind I my self serve the law of God So Romans 1.9 saies the Apostle For God is my witness whom I serve with my Spirit in the Gospel of his Son so as you see the Spirit that stands clear and is under a constant and full engagement though it may be the life doth not discover that evenness that it should with my Spirit saies he I serve the Lord. It may be said in the case of the temptation of a believer as was said concerning the Spouse I sleep but my heart awâ—kâ—th thus it is with many a poor Soul he may be brought into a sleepy condition and he staggers and stumbles in his way he finds it so difficult but saies he while I sleep my heart awaketh his declensions do not arise from dissatisfaction but his love is reconciled to the command still and he honours those precepts that he is not able to come up to Now Christian bring your condition to this touchstone if thou hast a heart that doth slight the government of Christ and if thou canst not bear the strict rule and dominion of Christ Jesus over thy Soul if that thou hast thy exceptions against the Scepter of Christ Jesus being lifted up in thy heart it is a sign that thou art not yet interested in Christ thou never didst bear rule over them they were not called by thy name I pray remember that that rule that thou despisest is the only saving rule and that power that thou refusest to stoop to is the only saving power the only blessed and blessing power But on the other side if thou canst find that thy heart is open unto the Lord Jesus Christ as he is the Lord as he is invested with all power as the Father hath given all Authority unto him if thy heart be open to him and thou dost love his Laws in their holiness and strictness and his Government and Rule for its closeness and if way be made in thy Soul for the Throne of Christ to be set up it argues thou art interested in Christ for those that are Christ's doth the Lord bear Rule over Fourthly The Soul's Interest in Christ may be known by the distance that the heart standeth in from the power and interest of his former state that Christ Jesus hath overturned The Soul before his coming over to Christ was under the Rule of another Lord and was in subjection to another Interest to the power and interest of sin and that bore sway in his heart and commanded his life he yielded up himself a servant to sin and devoted himself unto the service of sin This the Apostle speaks out Rom. 6.16 17. Know ye not that to whom ye yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness but God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart the form of Doctrine which was delivered to you And in 19 and 20 verses you have it again And says he When you were the servants of sin ye were free from righteousness He doth plainly shew that they were formerly servants to another Interest they were engaged in the service of sin they acted sin as in a service as a servant observes and respects and obeys his Master so doth the natural heart observe respect and obey sin and it is his Lord it hath the commanding power of his Soul and it is a most pleasant service to the sinner though he will find it a sad service in the latter end yet it is a most pleasant and a most delightful service therefore a sinner's walking in sin and gratifying the lusts of the flesh is called his pleasure the pleasures of
sin he takes pleasure therein O! it is his meat and drink to satisfie the lusts of his heart in gratifying this Lord that is over his Soul Now my Friends your Interest in Christ may be discovered by the distance that your hearts stand in from the power and interest of this Lord that Jesus Christ hath overthrown that is a constant enemy to your in-being and standing in Christ And that I may help you to make a right judgment of your state in reference to this particular I shall open to you in several particulars what this distance is that the Soul stands in unto the interest of sin that Jesus Christ hath overthrown in the heart upon his making over himself to the Soul First There is upon the Soul's Interest in Christ this distance unto sin his former Lord that he proclaims war against it and becomes its professed enemy It may be the life of a Christian is not at present a Conquering life ay but it is a Conflicting life Rom. 7.23 But I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members Well there is opposition for opposition as sin riseth up against him so he riseth up against sin And as sin upon his Interest in Christ declares against him so he declares against sin and he watcheth it as one enemy watcheth the motions of another and he taketh all waies and useth all endeavours to foil and bring under this enemy Secondly The opposition that is carryed on and managed in the heart against sin it is general It is not an opposition in one part only but it is an opposition that the whole Soul doth engage in and all the powers of the Soul are concerned in it It is not only an opposition in the Conscience but there is an opposition in the Affections as well as in the Conscience and there is an opposition in the Will as well as in the Conscience and Affections and also an opposition in the Judgment both the Conscience and the Affections the Will and the Understanding and Judgment do all discharge against sin and all the renewed powers of the Soul enter into a strict combination against the interest of sin The Conscience that lays loads upon it whenever it appears and the Affections they declare against it and the Will that resolves against it and the Understanding and Judgment do discover it and witness against it The opposition that is made it is general Thirdly In this distance that the heart stands in unto sin upon its Interest in Christ the heart in its most deliberate actings stands in an irreconcileableness unto it The opposition that is made is not upon a sudden motion it is not upon a passion of the Soul that in cool thoughts will be called in again but the Soul in its most deliberate actings stands in an irreconcileableness unto it That the Affections will never be enticed over to sin again the Love will never be invited over to sin again indeed he may be overpowered to sin but he will never be reconciled to sin more his Love and Affections can never be gained to sin again but the Affections are so broken that the distance will ever remain and the Soul will alwaies stand in and act upon an irreconcileableness to it Fourthly The distance of the heart unto the interest of sin upon the Soul's Interest in Christ is universal unto all sin It is not only alienated and drawn from notorious and gross sins that make a great noise in the world or against some particular sins that his walking in will turn to his disadvantage but it stands at a distance from all sin from heart-sins as well as from life sins from small sins as well as from great sins and from such sins as are connatural to us from inclination complexion and condition and employment and the like the heart stands at an universal distance from all sin Fifthly The distance of the heart from sin upon its Interest in Christ is unto sin as it hath a contrary nature in it to the Interest of Christ in him He doth oppose sin not upon a particular but upon a general account he opposeth sin as sin as it hath a contrariety in its nature unto the Lord and the Interest and Dominion of the Lord in his Soul and so he will oppose sin while sin is sin and whilst there is any sin remaining in him The distance that his heart stands in unto sin is unto it as it hath a contrary nature in it unto Christ's Interest in him and his Interest in Christ Sixthly The distance of the heart unto the Interest of sin that Christ hath overturned upon his having an interest in himself it is such as hates sin in the temptation It doth not only hate sin when it is committed and when Conscience lays hold upon him for the commitment of it but it sets the Soul at a distance from sin in the temptation whilst it is a great way off and hence we are commanded to abstain from the appearance of evil and the Saints they hate the appearance of evil that which looks like a disputable evil the gracious heart stands at a distance from it or that which hath a probability in it of being an occasion of sin to him that will the gracious heart stand off from he will oppose sin at a distance and he hates and watcheth against sin in the temptation the heart stands at such a distance from it Seventhly The distance of the heart from sin is such that it chuseth rather to suffer than to sin Nay it will chuse a great suffering before a little sin It will say Lord any thing rather than sin and no burthen will be like the burthen of sin to him no weight like the weight of sin upon his Conscience and therefore he says Lord any condition rather than to be driven upon a temptation whereby I shall sin any thing Lord but sin Eighthly The distance that the heart stands in unto sin upon its Interest in Christ is such as doth discover a great reluctancy of spirit and deep searchings of heart upon the invasions of sin and the Soul 's passive captivities by it Probably he may be foiled and overcome by sin and many times against his will he is overcome ay but when he is so he mourns and he weeps and that bitterly he doth not justifie the fault he doth not extenuate the offence he doth not hide his transgression but his Soul breaks out into mourning by reason of it and that upon the passive captivities of the Soul by it when the Soul against his will is overcome he watches and he strives to keep it under and yet sin is too hard for him and whether he will or no sometimes leads him captive and carries him out of the way he goes mourning into these captivities and he groans when he falls into the hands of sin
and when he is at any time taken a prisoner Thus it was with Paul Paul had an honest heart he did labour against sin what he could and yet says he I find that when I would do good evil is present with me and there is a cursed Law in my members that leads me captive to the Law of sin whether I will or no he strove and conflicted and watcht and did his utmost yet says he I find a Law that when I would do good evil is present and I am taken captive but he groans under it O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Rom. 7.24 It was one of the deepest and most sorrowful complaints that ever the Apostle Paul made and thus we find Scripture Saints upon Record when at any time they have been overcome and led captive it hath been a time of great sorrow darkness mourning and bitter complaint to them Now this is another part of the distance that the Soul stands in from sin Ninthly The heart stands upon his Interest in Christ at such a distance from sin that nothing will satisfie the Soul but the returns of death upon it Sin that seeks the ruine of grace and the destruction of the Soul and the Soul that is interested in Christ stands at such a distance from sin that he seeks and designs and labours to the utmost to hate sin and to pursue it unto death It is not the pardon of sin that will satisfie a true Believer Let me say thus much that if you be at no greater distance from sin than this that if the Lord will pardon you all is well and you will lay down the Cudgels it is a sign your heart is not right with Christ If you have an Interest in Christ you will be at a greater distance from sin than so the pardon of sin will not satisfie you if sin should be driven into the secret retirement of your Soul and should there remain among the stuff yet this will not satisfie you The Soul that is interested in Christ is set upon the death of sin as its enemy and that is the meaning of those Scriptures wherein we are called upon to mortifie sin and to crucifie sin that is to destroy sin to be the death of it Ephes 5.14 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts They are doing of it sin is dying and mortifying and crucifying and it shall be crucified and mortified and slain and appear to be wholly dead ere long This is that that the Soul is set upon the death of this body of death the utter ruine and destruction of it it will not be satisfied that sin is a mortifying and dying in it but the distance of the heart from it is such that it will not bear the being of it Though it cannot drive out all these cursed Canaanites to have the Land at rest and peace when it will yet it will maintain the war and abide the field and never give over till sin be wholly dead Now I beseech you Christians you who are desirous to clear your own state bring your condition to a tryal upon this head and examine what that distance is that your heart stands in unto the Interest and Power of your former state which Jesus Christ hath overthrown examine the distance that your hearts stand in unto sin in these nine particulars Is the distance such as that you have proclaimed engaged in an holy war against it Or do you only speak slightly of sin before men and hide it in your hearts Again consider Is the Conflict that you profest to be engaged in against sin general Or is your opposition against sin only in your Conscience Verily a natural man will oppose sin thus A Hypocrite's Conscience may check him for sin a carnal man's Conscience may sometimes wound him for sin and speak high against it but is the opposition from the Affections from the Will and from the Judgment as well as the Conscience Do all the powers of the Soul engage against it And do they all combine against sin to bring it under If so Christians though sin yet live in you and sometimes prevail over you to your grief and disadvantage yet you are of the better side and have a promising evidence of your Interest in Christ And again doth your heart in its most deliberate actings stand in an irreconcileableness unto sin It may be the opposition thou makest against sin is only in a passion or only some sudden motion upon a disadvantage that thou meetest with in thy sinful waies but consider whether your Souls do deliberately stand in an irreconcileableness unto sin and whether your Affections be so engaged that they refuse to receive this object because your Souls loath it Again Is this distance universal to all fin It may be Soul there are some sins that thou wouldest pick at and be willing to part with them but there are some others that you are ready to say of them O! they are but little ones Good Lord spare them Is the distance thy heart stands in to sin to all sin to heart-sins as well as to life-sins to little sins as well as to great sins to those sins that are most connatural and that thy heart and thy disposition doth most close with And then again Is thy distance to sin as sin as it hath a contrary nature in it to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his blessed Interest in thy heart then the Conflict will be abiding as long as there is sin remaining in thy Soul Again How stands thy heart unto sin in the temptation This verily is a discriminating Character of a Saint Those whose hearts are not rightly engaged they may oppose sin and speak highly against it when it is committed and when they have seen the ill consequents and effects of it but do you oppose sin in the temptation when it is a great way off And do you shun and avoid and flee from the occasions of sin that which may probably be an introducement unto sin do you avoid that and arm your selves against that This will be an evidence to you that you are interested in Christ And again Do you chuse rather to suffer than to sin Verily this is also a discriminating Character of the reality of your Interest in Christ Another man may chuse to avoid sin when he receives a prejudice by it or when he cannot apprehend an advantage to the lusts and desires of his own heart Ay but the gracious Soul that is interested in Christ it stands afar off from sin so as it says Lord any condition rather than sin any burthen rather than the burthen of sin any affliction any grief rather than sin And then Do you consider what reluctancies are in your spirits against the irruptions of sin and the passive captivities of the Soul by it Where the heart is not right it will have no
hate that do I if then I do that which I would not I consent unto the law that it is good c. The old man it was rising and rebelling in him and did improve all its strength and its whole interest in his heart to draw him aside now saies he at this time when I was under those shakings then my heart was in the way of Christ and I consented unto the law that it was good that which I did not was that which I would do And though I found a law in my Members that was warring against the law of my mind yet saies he I delight in the law of God after the inward man there is my delight the inclinations the habitual inclinations of my Soul were not changed nor turned but the secret workings and breathings of my Soul are towards the Lord Jesus Christ And thus it was with David David had many temptations and rubs in his way that had like to have turned him out of the way but yet saies he Psal 119.20 My Soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times and Psal 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God My Soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before him And saies the Prophet Isaiah 26.9 With my Soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early the night season was a dark time and it is probable his Spirit was very much endangered at that time by temptation dark times are times of temptation and his Soul at that time was almost overwhelmed in the conflicts of his Spirit with the divisions of his heart in the night season Now saies he when it was thus darkness about me temptation arose upon me with my Soul saies he have I desired thee Then did my heart stand clear for Christ though I could not discover my self as I would Now Christians if you would make a judgment of your own state do you fix your eye upon your hearts and consider how they stand and secretly observe the habitual inclinations of your hearts do you as the expression is Acts 11.23 Cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart Those that are interested in Christ do with purpose of heart cleave unto the Lord. There is not only some good thoughts rise in their hearts now and then they have not only some scant desires after Christ or some sudden motions upon their Spirits towards him but the bent of their heart is towards Christ at all times the breathings and longings of the heart is after Christ Now those that are under such an influence from above as to secure the habitual inclinations of their Souls for Christ against all contrary invitations and drawings these are such as have indeed an interest in Christ and this is the influence of the interest on Christs part upon your Souls Seventhly A Soul that is interested in Christ is so concerned in the concerns of Christ as dishonours unto and dishonourable reflections upon the Lord Jesus Christ bear hard upon his Spirit My Brethren the Souls interest in Christ is a oneing interest an interest that makes you one with Christ and the Soul will be a sharer and partner with Christ in all his dishonours in all his griefs and in all his afflictions Jesus Christ speaks sometimes of being wounded and of being grieved and of being offended Now the Soul that is really interested in Christ is offended where Christ is offended The Soul that is really interested in Christ will grieve over for whatsoever doth grieve Christ either in himself or others he will be wounded with that which doth wound Christ and will mourn over that which is an occasion or matter of mourning unto Christ and doth bear heavily upon his Spirit that which doth reflect dishonour upon the name and glory of the Lord Jesus I remember what was spoken of our Lord Jesus in reference unto his Father and the concerns that he was oned in Psal 69.9 For the zeal of thine House hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me both these passages are applied unto Christ Jesus in the New Testament John 2.16 17. there you may see the first passage applyed unto him And his disciples remembred that it was written the zeal of thine House hath eaten me up Jesus Christ you know came into the Temple that was his Fathers House of Worship and there he saw his Father dishonoured there he saw his Fathers Worship corrupted and adulterated and defiled and he saw there great reflections upon his Fathers glory and he was even eaten up with it his holy zeal and passion for his Fathers glory that he was concern'd in did carry him out even beyond himself to make him disregard and neglect himself The zeal of thine House hath eaten me up And saies he the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me This you have applied to Christ Rom. 15.3 For even Christ pleased not himself but as it is written the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen on me Jesus Christ he took up sin and he bore that sin upon himself that was a dishonour unto his Father and that was a wound unto his Father and that his Father said he was loaden and pressed with as a Cart is pressed with Sheaves he took up this dishonour and reproach and bore it upon himself he was wounded for our transgressions he was afflicted and chastened for our sins the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me Christ he came and he mourned over sin and he expressed the sorrow of his heart for that whereby his Father was dishonoured now the Soul that is really interested in Christ is so oned with Christ as he hath fellowship with him in his dishonour and in his reproaches and in all his sufferings he is a partner with Christ in his griefs he is a griever with Christ and a mourner with Christ and a complainer with Christ if there be any thing in his heart or waies that do offend Christ he is offended and disturbed with this as soon as he espies it and he cannot bear it because it offends the Lord Jesus that he is oned with and this is that that makes true Christians walk up and down with such sad hearts what is the matter Why there is something that they have espied in their hearts that is offensive to Christ and they cannot bear it and know not how to get rid of it and there is something in their walk and conversation that doth reflect upon the honour of the Lord Jesus and their Souls are wounded with it And as to the sins of others that which is a reflection upon the name upon the honour and glory of Christ lyes hard upon their Spirits saies David Psal 119.136 Rivers of water run down mine Eyes because they keep
stay upon any righteousness but upon Christ's righteousness in whom he is interested as you may see Phil. 3.8 9. Yea doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ c. Now Christians examine your own hearts by this also What is it that you live upon Is it upon Christ or Is it upon your selves If you can satisfie your selves with a righteousness short of Christ's that is a righteousness of your own it is a sign you are not yet interested in him if you do not go wholly out of your selves to make loss of all for Christ it is a fign you are not yet interested in him if you act by your own strength and do not look up to Christ for strength it is a sign you are your own men that you are not yet in Christ and if your greatest care be not to please Christ it is a sign you are not yet in Christ but those that are in Christ they live upon Christ they do not live upon duties they do not feed upon bare Ordinances but they feed upon Christ Jesus and they trust only to his righteousness and they eye his merits and consider his faithfulness and act Faith upon his Offices they trust in him and they have reference to Christ at all times Eleventhly Again The Souls that are interested in Christ will with boundless desires be alwaies pressing after Christ and never think they have enough of him Not only will they be restless in their pursuits after Christ till they can compass something of him but there are boundless desires in them after Christ and after more of Christ a little of Christ will not satisfie a soul that is interested in him but though he have a little of Christ he will still bepressing after more think all that he hath received is but little he must have more of him more communion with him and he must be brought into a higher conformity to him he cannot rest with a little of Christ his desires will be boundless that he will alwaies in his participation of Christ be still looking forward pressing after perfection and reaching and designing to apprehend as he is apprehended A Soul that is interested in Christ hath alwaies a rising reaching desire in him after Christ This you may see Phil. 3.12 13 14. Not as though says he I had already attained either were already perfect but I follow after c. I press towards the mark for the prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus What an enlarged heart had this man Paul he was come to a very high pitch in Christ Jesus to make loss of all for him and to glory in him and in his righteousness and yet Brethren says he I I count not my self to have apprehended O! says he What have I yet of Christ What have I received yet of the Spirit of Christ O how unlike am I yet unto Christ how unsuitable is my heart yet unto Christ how little of Christ is yet in my heart Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do I am reaching forward says he The Soul that is interested in Christ will have noble genuine workings of heart suitable to his inbeing in Christ he will alwaies be desirous of him and pressing after more of him never satisfied with any thing that he hath though he will bless God for the least he hath yet he will not be satisfied with any thing that he hath but will be pressing after more and his language is alwaies Give Give Now Christians do you examine your own hearts by this if you have really an interest in Christ it will have such an influence upon your Souls as alwaies to prompt you on to a pressing after more of Christ to get further into him and to know more of him and to be filled with the Spirit of Christ A little grace grace enough to carry you to Heaven will not satisfie you but your desire will be to be made to abound in all grace your desire will be to be holy as he is holy and to be pure as he is pure in all manner of conversation and you will never leave craving and desiring whilst there is a corner in your hearts to fill and whilst there is room for a hungring and thirsting desire to rise in your hearts after the Lord Jesus Now if that you can satisfie your selves with any thing of Christ and sit down with a bare profession of Christ without any thing of Christ in your hearts if you have not these holy hungrings and thirstings in your Souls after high measures and full enjoyments and manifestations of Christ it doth speak very sadly but if there be such boundless desires as we have told you after Christ it is some sign of Interest Twelfthly Again The Soul that is interested in Christ values himself persons and things as they are in or have of Christ in them He measures all persons and things by their reference to Christ and he judges that it is Christ Jesus only that makes them to differ and whatsoever is excellent in any person or in any thing it is from Christ Jesus and it hath no more excellency in it than what it hath in and from the Lord Jesus he doth not value himself by his outward enjoyments he doth not value himself by his gifts and by his natural accomplishments though they be very great and large he doth not value himself by his priviledges in his Gospel-state but he counts that he is what he is in Christ Jesus I am says he what I am by the grace of God and if he cannot espy the grace of Christ in him he yet counts that he hath nothing and if he cannot find some hopes of an Interest in Christ he counts that he is nothing he owns and makes reckoning of himself as he stands in and hath reference to Christ If Paul would have made a judgment of himself by his gifts who had greater If Paul would have judged himself by his priviledges who had higher but he judgeth these nothing By the grace of God says he I am what I am And so he reckons of all others he esteems of persons as they are in Christ and those that have most of Christ in them are most excellent he loves a poor mean Soul in Christ more than the greatest and richest man in the world out of Christ if any persons have more of his love more of his heart than others it is those that have most of Christ in them The most sincere Christians and the most growing Christians and the most upright Christians these are the persons that he most loves and values and
these things that we have laid down in truth though not in high degrees and measures you may be comforted Many Persons they wrong their case and so darken themselves thereupon by looking more unto the height of those things that are notes of evidence then the truth of them Now examine your selves I say by the truth of these things though you cannot yet find that you have overcome temptation that you have got into an holy triumph over temptation yet if that you can find that under all contrary inclinations and drawings the habitual frame and inclination of your heart is secured for Christ you may be comforted though you cannot find that you are able to do much towards the repairing of the glory of Christ in your place yet if you have a heart that is deeply affected with the dishonour that is done to Christ because Christ is dishonoured thereby you may be comfotted Though Christians you can find in your searches but very little of Christ in your hearts yet if your Souls are restlesly carried out after Christ in all your seekings of him that you must compass something of Christ or you cannot be satisfied this seeking heart and restless Spirit after Christ is a note of evidence to you and though you cannot live up to Christ as you would yet if your preparations and reformations be heart-preparations and heart-reformations that the work is begun and going on in you this may be matter of comfort to you and so you may go on to all the other particulars that I have given you look more to the truth of them then to the height and degree of them if you would upon them come to a right understanding of your present state Secondly If upon a search you can find but some of those things that have been given you as evidential of an interest you may be comforted though for the present you cannot speak of them all upon a particular experimental sense The Lord he speaks unto one Soul by one word and he speaks unto another Soul by another word and we don't know what particular word the Lord will make use of nor what particular of all these the Lord hath singled out and made of use advantage and comfort unto any of you but if the Spirit of the Lord hath singled out any one of them and given you a hint of interest thereupon you have cause to rejoice in the Lord and if the Lord hath given you but the least hint of his love and the least intimation by any word of Grace of your interest let not this be lookt upon as a small thing Take heed of refusing the consolations of the Lord when they are offered to you remember him of whom it is said Psal 77.2 My Soul refused to be comforted Thirdly Know this that full assurance and clear evidence of interest is gradually brought into the heart as the light of Grace comes in gradually so also does the light of comfort which is a light unto your Souls to discern Christ and to take comfort in him now the Lord it may be at first let in a little light as it were through the cravis don't set light by this thus doth the Lord work he gives in a little light at one time that doth as it were put the Soul between hope and fear and by and by he comes in with a little more light and then with a little more light and so gradually he carries on the Soul until he hath led him unto a clear evidence and given him a full assurance of interest so as if you have but yet the day star in your hearts don't despise it if you have yet but the beginnings of the light of consolation don't judge this small though comparatively to what some do enjoy it is but small yet let it not be small in your apprehensions but know that the light of interest gradually comes in encreases I may liken the light of interest unto the Prophets Cloud that was at first but like a mans hand and it was a great way off there was some hope of rain upon it but they did not know what would come of it but this was the beginning of such a Cloud that brought abundance of rain So thou hast Christian a little light that is glimmering in thy heart that sets thee it may be between hope and fear well let not this be small to thee for though for the present thou canst not come to a full assurance yet thou dost not know what this will come to thou doest not know what a growing light this is and how much it may encrease in thy heart Now unto those that have as yet but a little light in their Souls some small hopes through grace of an interest but they dare not positively conclude nor they dare not absolutely deny they have not that full assurance that some have neither are they left wholly in the dark unto these Souls I would speak something by way of encouragement and something by way of direction First By way of encouragement to those that have a little hope through grace and have some small glimmerings of their interest and some buddings of their evidence though it is not yet fully blown let such hearts consider First That if thou hast any thing that is a note of evidence or gives thee hope through grace any thing I mean that is in truth know that though it be never so small yet thy interest in Christ is as great as his is that dwells in the height of assurance my friends your interest in Christ is not the less because your evidence of interest is very small but your little evidence that is in truth or this little word of grace that the Spirit hath spoken that gives you some hopes about your condition doth give you as full an interest in Christ as he hath that hath the highest measures of assurance in this world The young Child that can but run to his Father and cry Father Father he hath as full an interest in and relation to his Father as the grown Child that in understanding and judgment is able to reflect upon and improve the relation and so it is with thy Soul in thy union with Christ though thou canst but look up unto the Lord and cry unto him that he would help thee though thou canst but just cry Father though thou art not able to improve thy interest as some others can yet if upon the least hint of grace from the Spirit thou art able to cry Father thy interest is as good and as great as that Souls that is able to rejoyce in Christ in full evidence Christ is yours and you are Sons you are heirs as well as others and you have the same Spirit and the same Fountain of Grace to go to under the smallness of the evidence of your interest Secondly You are under the same preservable maintainable care that those are that dwell upon the top of
pledge of it and he is reserved for eternal life and he is going on to perfection to enjoy eternal life The Lord is in grace and by grace fitting of him for a glorious enjoyment of himself for ever now these things are for thy comfort in thy present condition whilest the light of evidence is but glimmering in thy heart Secondly Some few things briefly I shall give you by way of direction First Have you the least intimation of the Lords love to you and of your standing in his love be thankful for these small appearances of light in your Souls I say be thankful Christians there is a great deal in a little and small word of evidence or in a small word of hope Therefore take every hint that the Lord gives and wear it with thankfulness bless his name for it that is the way to have it encreased Secondly Joy and triumph in the Lord upon the present evidence that you have living up to it I say live up to the light that you have in a holy joy and rejoycing in Christ Jesus get into the Prophets Spirit and into his frame here in the text To joy in the Lord and to rejojce in the God of your Salvation and learn Christian to live up unto a small measure of assurance and that is the way to have a greater Thirdly Acknowledge all sense of interest to be given forth in a way of grace I say acknowledge that not only the grace of your union but also the light and comfort of your union is dispensed in a way of free grace The Lord is pleased to give out all manifestations of interest in Christ in a way of grace John 14.22 Judas saith unto him not Iscariot Lord how is it that thou manifestest thy self unto us and not unto the world He must speak this upon a reflect act or else he could not speak with that confidence Lord that thou hast manifested thy self to us and not to others this is to be acknowledged unto free grace Fourthly Have you a little light of your Interest do you gather in upon Christ from that little that you have for more Christians though you have but a little light for the present and are weak in assurance for the present yet there is a full measure of assurance to be given out There is not only the Soul's comfort from a reflect act by the light of the Lord upon his own grace that is wrought but there is the immediate Testimony of the Spirit that is ready to be given out which is a Witness not argumentative or in a way of argumentation but it is a Witness and Evidence that is given in by and in the immediateness of his own presence in the heart of the Believer Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God He bears witness in some immediate act in the Soul It is a clear undeniable soul-satisfying Divine Testimony that the Spirit gives in the Soul that resolves all its doubts and clears his whole Interest and settles him in the full enjoyment of the Lord Jesus and enables him to act upon it And then Fifthly and lastly Have you a little evidence of your Interest for the present Christian do you improve this little unto the comforting of your Souls in Christ in all straits and unto a living upon him in all the necessities of your present condition Jesus is yours and you are interested in him the Lord hath given you some little hope of this this hope through grace Christians should be improved by you upon all occasions you should run out unto the Lord Jesus and have recourse to him and venture upon him you should glory in him and live upon his fulness and rely upon his power and faithfulness Jesus that is so full is your Jesus and Jesus that is so free is your Jesus and Jesus that is so faithful is your Jesus you have some sight of this and some hope of this through grace the Lord now expects that you should come and live upon him in all conditions and comfort your Souls in him in all disconsolations when you are weak and when you are tempted and when you are tryed and when you meet with discouragements from without then to retire to the Lord Jesus and act Faith upon him SERMON IX Habakkuk 3.18 Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation I Shall now proceed to help and direct those Souls that are able to reflect upon their own Interest and standing in Christ that they may live upon Christ and glory in him in all conditions and under all changes of Providence that though they have none else though they have nothing else in this world but the Lord Jesus Christ to live upon their hearts may be full of joy and comfort And before I come particularly to speak unto this I shall premise and propose several considerations that may help to clear the way to what we design to speak to and to encourage your hearts unto a living upon and glorying in Christ when you have nothing else to rejoyce in First Consider that all the comforts of an outward condition are held at great uncertainties and continued at the soveraign pleasure of the great disposer of Heaven The Lord hath not fixt us unchangeably in the enjoyments and comforts of an outward state but he reserves a soveraign power in his own hand to remand from us what at a time he was pleased to command down upon us And all the comforts of an outward condition they are mutable and we are exposed unto a variety of changes of condition in this world All our outward comforts they are exposable unto the spoil and the very foundation of our Joy in this world is avertable He that hath to his own apprehension a mountain that stands strong that he thinks can never be moved is exposed to the soveraign alterations of the great Ruler of Heaven that he may have his mountain overturned in a moment and he that is lifted up on high and seems to himself to be so upon the advance that he shall never fall The Lord can suddenly like unto Job lay him in the dust We are full one day and the Lord may empty us before the next we are rich to day and we may be poor before to morrow we are comforted to day on every side and we may be left naked destitute and broken before to morrow As to our Stocks they are losable and spendable and as to all Lands and Inheritances they are saleable and morgageable uncertain riches they make to themselves wings and flee away they have the wings of fire or the wings of Thieves or the wings of this providence and the other to flee away with The Lord he suffers one man to run away with so much of such a man's estate and suffers another to run away with another part of his estate that those that were
nothing but ruines that when he returned he found nothing but emptiness a heap of Ashes What does David do then he exercises Faith upon Jesus Christ and encouraged himself in the Lord his God And this is the exercise of Faith that the Prophet speaks of in our Text and that which he is driving Believers up to When the Figg-tree shall not blossom c. What is here left here is nothing for sense to live upon yet says he I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Such a noble exercise of Faith was found in the Woman of Canaan in the midst of all discouragements she had discouragements from the Disciples of Christ they were not so kind to her as they might have been but that was not all but she met with discouragements from the Lord Jesus Christ himself unto whom she made her applications he seems to give her a repulse and checks her forwardness and yet she goes over to the Lord Jesus and in a bold act ventures upon him alone Why Christians whatever are your discouragements from Sense yet in the face of all rebukes to cast your self upon the Lord Jesus and comfort your Souls in his All fulness is the most noble act of Faith that you can put forth 12. The great improbabilities of relief and succour after grace whatever your case is are not answerable to the improbabilities that your Souls were in before grace and Christ Jesus helped you then Christ came thorow them all and with ease removed them to do your Souls good Do but consider you that sit down with your hearts full of discouragement upon the loss of a creature or upon the emptyings of providence do but consider how unlikely and improbable your condition was of help and succour before you did believe on Christ you were then covered over with the shadow of death you were then in a hopeless condition Who had then any hope of you When you were seen marching in the fury of your spirits against the Lord Who would have thought that there were hope in the Lord for you You were at the very brink of Death and at the very brink of Hell there was as it were but a hairs breadth between you and Hell and who would have thought that you should have been recovered And then the Lord Jesus he broke thorough all the improbabilities of your state to save you and do you think that he cannot break thorough all the improbabilities of your present state to comfort you He came leaping over greater mountains of opposition and discouragement and impossibility I mean as to other help I say he came leaping over greater mountains of impossibility in his first dealings with you than there are for him to come thorough in his after-dealings with you Cant. 2.8 The voice of my Beloved behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills These mountains and these hills did lye between Christ and you that were the improbabilities or I may call them the impossibilities of your state as to help and relief in a rational consideration and apprehension Now Jesus Christ he skipt over this mountain and the other mountain that lay in his way and he came unto your Souls to do you good and if Jesus Christ hath done this do you think that he will not do the lesser When you were without grace did he bring grace into your Souls and do you think that he cannot comfort you now when you want comfort Do you think that he cannot bless you with the annexed blessings of your state when he hath brought in the great fundamental blessings of your state Christians you should reason thus I was once ready to die and the Lord Jesus came and saved me I was in a Soul-undone state and Jesus Christ hath set me up and what hath he set up my Soul and cannot he set up my Body Hath he made up the great breach that was upon my spiritual condition and cannot he make up the breaches that are in my outward condition Jesus Christ came and pluckt me out of the fire when I was burning and the fire was so hot that none could take me out but Jesus Christ he came and snatcht me out of the paw of the Lion and the Bear and none could rescue me but he and he that came over all these impossibilities to save you do you think that he cannot make up a breach in the loss of a relation or make up a distress in your outward condition the Lord that hath done the greater can easily do the lesser 13. Again To rejoyce only in visibles and sensibles is to go no further than those may go that have no interest in Christ I pray consider it To have your spirits born up only by sensible supports is not to exceed those that are strangers to Jesus Christ that have not an interest in Jesus Christ as you have For your spirits to rise and fall only as the creature ebbs and flows this is to do no more than a carnal man doth Is this living upon Christ Is this to make Christ your Joy and Christ the Peace and the Comfort of your Life Says Christ in another case To love those that love you and to do good to those that do good to you if you do no more Publicans and Sinners do this The Christian is under peculiar and distinguishing blessings and it is expected that he should peculiarly and distinguishingly live under the distinguishing blessings of his state Matth. 6.31 32. Wherefore take no thought saying What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek Why says Christ to be so thoughtful about our outward condition as others are is to place our selves in common with them Says he After these things do the Gentiles seek It is the case of a Gentile to say when his outward comforts are gone O now must I die now there is no further help for me I must now perish this is the language of a Gentile that hath no interest in Jesus Christ O you that have interest in Jesus Christ what will you take up the language of a Gentile O no! having a God to go to you must live upon that God that you have given up your selves to God doth expect a distinguishing acting under the distinguishing blessings that he hath brought into your condition therefore know that to rejoyce only in visibles is to set your selves in common with those that have no interest in Christ and is not this to dishonour your interest and to reflect upon the Lord of your interest to live in joy when the Creatures are about you and to sit down discouraged when Creatures are taken from you 14. Faith exercised upon the Lord Jesus will have an universal influence upon all other graces in your hearts Christians do but once exercise faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ under a sinking
recoilings and clashings of our will with our condition is a main hinderance unto our rejoycing in and acting Faith upon the Lord Jesus under a sad providence And the great reason why some persons are under such great dissatisfaction in their own spirits that they know not how to bear the troubles of their state is because their wills are not brought to their condition but they go about to bring their condition to their wills and when any thing considerable comes in upon them that doth not suit with their wills it causeth royls disquiets and disturbances of spirit and discomposure of heart and such a Soul will never rejoyce in Christ in an evil day Now Christians if you would get into the Life of Faith you must then bring your will to your condition be what it will own the disposing hand of God that makes the change whatever your change is and yield obedience to the Lord's will that hath the over-ruling power of your state and keep your spirits within the confines of the will of God otherwise a cross or a tryal in your outward condition will make a great alteration in the inward frame of your spirit I will give you a few Instances for the clearing of this Paul was a man that rejoyced and gloried in Christ Jesus when he had almost nothing else left him in this world many times his heart was made sad among the Churches of Christ that he came to make glad and as to losses who met with more says he I was in perils oft and in hunger and in distress and in nakedness and yet this man he glories in tribulations he counted it all joy when he fell into divers tribulations how came this about that this man was got thus into a rejoycing in Christ Jesus when the whole world frowned upon him He tells us Phil. 4.11 12. his will was brought unto his condition I speak not says he in a complaining way in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content for I know how to want and how to abound Says he if God empties me my will is brought to my condition I am willing to be emptied if the Lord will make me poor and take away what I have I am willing to be made poor my spirit is brought to my condition He that can live in the confines of the will of God will live comfortably and rejoyce in the Lord at all times Another instance for this is Job Job you know was a man that was sorely tryed I think as much as ever man was upon earth now Job's will was brought to his condition and hence came he to rejoyce in the Lord Job 1.21 Now Job's wife's spirit was not brought to her condition she could not tell how to be contented for she said unto him Chap. 2.10 Dost thou still retain thy integrity Curse God and die but he said unto her Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh what shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord and not evil As if he had said It was the Lord that filled me and shall not the Lord empty me We were satisfied when the Lord was filling of us and shall we not be satisfied now the Lord is emptying of us Another instance is that of good old Eli 1 Sam. 3.18 Samuel told him every whit and held nothing from him and he said It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good Why if the Lord will strip me says he I am willing to be stript if the Lord will take away my Children and take away my comforts and break up my house It is the Lord I am contented if the Lord will do so let him my will is brought to my condition Let him do as seemeth him good So David 2 Sam. 15.26 But if he say thus I have no delight in thee behold here I am let him do to me as seemeth good to him And thus it was with our Lord Jesus the greatest instance of all Father says he not my will but thy will be done Let my Father chuse for me I will not bring my will into competition with his If he will have me to drink off this Cup I will drink it if he will have me to lay down my life I will if he will have all my glory obscured it shall be so if he will have me a man of sorrows his will be done and not my will You do not know Christians what an alteration of heart and what an alteration of life this living in the will of God will make 8. Captivate and throw out all the suggestions of sense and reason upon the rising difficulties of your state If that reason speak over your hearts in a strait and sense give the ruling word over your spirits in your condition it will certainly cause you to repine and murmure and to sin against God Sense and reason are great enemies unto our peace and comfort If sense and reason have liberty to speak and to be heard in your hearts they will certainly lay your spirits under a discouragement and drive you off from the Lord. Thus it was with Israel when they were in the wilderness as soon as they were come out of Egypt where they had their Rivers and their Pools and their Ponds of Water and where they had their Flesh-pots and were fed to the full They came into a howling wilderness into a dry and barren place where they had no Wells of Water where there was no plowing nor sowing then they fell a murmuring and chiding of Moses and said Wherefore hast thou brought us hither into this place to slay us for it is not supposed to be rational that we can live here in this wilderness but if we abide here we must die Numb 11.4 5 6. And the mixt multitude that were among them fell a lusting and all the children of Israel wept again saying Who shall give us flesh to eat We remember the flesh that we ate in Egypt freely the Cucumbers and the Millons c. And Psal 78 19. Yea they spake against God They said Can God furnish a Table in the wilderness And Numb 20.12 Bebold there is no water for the Congregation and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and they chod with Moses saying would to God we had died when our Brethren died before the Lord and why have ye brought up the Congregation of the Lord into this wilderness that we and our Cattel should die there and wherefore have ye made us to come out of Egypt to bring us unto this evil place It is no place of sowing seed or of Fields or of Vineyards or of Pomegranats Here you see sense and reason spake over their condition and how did it lay their Souls under discouragement And if you do but review at your leisure the great murmurings of this people when they were in the wilderness it was something or other that sense and
in Isa 9.6 Vnto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given and his name shall be called Wonderful Counseller the mighty God the everlasting Father So Isaiah 8.18 Behold I and the Children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel behold I and the Children we are the Lords Children And Isaiah 63.16 Doubtless thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledgeth us not O Lord thou art our Father our Redeemer thy name is from everlasting this is spoken of Christ Jesus Now the relation of a Father it is a relation of pity it is a relation of love it is a relation of tenderness when the Lord tells us he stands in this relation unto us he tells us that he will exercise the tenderness the pity and the kindness of a Father unto his Child Now a Father a tender-hearted Father he will consider his Child in all conditions in all his streights and though it be a rebellious Child yet still he will consider it and he will exercise the pity and the tenderness of a Father to it this you may see in David to Absolom Absolom was a rebellious Son that proclaimed war against his Father and would have cut off his Father and yet see how Davids bowels did work towards his rebellious Son when he heard he was dead O Absolom my Son my Son would to God I had died for thee O Absolom my Son my Son these were the workings of his heart towards rebellious Absolom now if there be so much tenderness in a Father in the flesh towards his Children much more in Christ to his Children Saies Christ Luke 11.13 If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give his holy Spirit to them that ask him Why the Fathers in the flesh cannot out-out-love Jesus Christ they have not a larger heart for their Children then Christ hath for his again Jesus Christ he is stiled the Husband of Believers now that is a relation of great care and tenderness the faithful wise able loving Husband how will he defend his Wife and how will he provide for his Wife and how will he safeguard his Wife and how will he pity his Wife in all her exigencies she shall be as his own Soul Eph. 5.28 29 30. So ought men to love their Wives even as their own bodies he that loveth his Wife loveth himself and no man ever yet hated his own flesh this is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the Church So as all believers they are betrothed and married unto Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ as a loving able wise tender-hearted Husband will secure and defend and provide for those that are married to him much more then the Husbands in the flesh can do for their Wives Again Jesus Christ he is our Brother our elder Brother Now a Brother under the law was not to see any of his younger Brethren under decay and in a low condition but he was to relieve him if thy Brother be waxen poor and fall into decay then thou shalt relieve him was a Scripture law now saies Christ I am not ashamed to call thâ—m Brethren and he will be a most loving tender-hearted faithful Brother unto all his Brethren whatsoever their streights and their trials are Christians do but propose those aiding relieving auxiliary relations of grace that Christ stands in to your Souls and exercise faith upon them propose them I say to your faith and exercise faith upon them do you consider in your own imaginations what if you had such a Father so wise so able so loving so tender hearted how should your heart rejoice in him why Christian you have all that you can imagine in Christ as a Father to you O you would think if you had such a tender Husband such a kind hearted Husband how would you take comfort in him Christian thou hast all in Christ Jesus that thou canst imagine and much more abundantly imagine the lovingest faithfullest Brother that ever was upon earth and thou hast more in Christ Jesus then can be imagined Christ stands in all these relations to thee and these relations are obligations unto him according to the relation will he act and dispense and according to the obligation of every relation shall the dispense be so as he is not only a Husband but you may believe that he will do all for you being betrothed to him that the relation of a Husband obligeth him to and he will do all as a Father for you that the relation obligeth him to he will do all as a Brother that the relation binds him to And know Christians that you can never out-live the love and the grace of the relations of Christ neither can you ever burthen the love of any of his relations you can never overcharge his love there is a natural love arising in the heart of a Father towards his Children a growing springing love every day that notwithstanding many provocations still the Father keeps his heart upon his Child so though there are provocations in your way unto your heavenly Father yet his heart is kept towards you and his heart is the heart of a Father and his heart is the heart of a Husband and his heart is the heart of a Brother and you can never burthen his love nor out-live his grace nor over-believe the fulness of these relations of grace that he stands in to your Souls Now then if you would come to an exercise of faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ then consider the auxiliary relations of grace that he stands in to your Souls and what is dispensible upon those relations and wait upon him for the fulfilment of all 12. Again If you would come to live a life of faith upon Christ Jesus rejoycing in him under a strait and trial of providence then take up a promise and believe it upon the bare faithfulness of God and never dispute with the difficulty or apprehended impossibility of it There are sometimes great mountains of difficulty that lye before the promise you must not consult with these Christians but consult with the promises as they are in the hands of the faithfulness of God and believe the truth of every promise because God hath spoken it how unlikely and improbable soever unto sense and reason the accomplishment of it is don't say how can this be how can such a promise be fulfilled It is not likely it should be fulfilled to me so unsuitable and so unanswerable but eye the faithfulness of God that made the promise and believe it upon Gods bare truth because he hath spoken it when you have nothing else to encourage you to take it up Thus it was with Abraham the Father of believers Rom. 4.18 19 20 21. Who against hope believed in hope and being not weak in faith he considered not his own body now dead when he was about
an hundred years old neither yet the deadness of Sarahs Womb. There were unlikelyhoods of this promise ever being fulfilled and if Abraham would have reasoned according to sense why sense would have suggested to him that this promise was a meer fallacy a meer romance that there was no truth no certainty in it what he a hundred years old now a dead man almost his nature quite decayed and Sarah e'en going into the grave almost a dead Woman nature quite decayed in her and what shall Sarah conceive and have a Son 't is not likely nor probable Nay saies reason 't is an impossible thing now here had been a discouragement to his Spirit if he had called in sense and reason and considered and debated the matter therewith but he takes up the promise and believes it upon the bare Word of God upon his bare faithfulness well saies Abraham I am indeed an old Man and Sarah my Wife is an old woman but God hath said I shall have a Child and I believe it here is no hope in nature but I will believe it against hope against all discouragement to my hope I will believe God that hath spoken it is able to perform it surely it shall be so thus Christians when difficulties and discouragements incompass the promise don't dispute with the difficulties that lye in the way but keep your eye upon the faithfulness of God and believe the promise upon Gods bare word alone 13. Again Sute the promise to your present state whatever it be and set it at the head of your trial and then wait for an accomplishment I say single out a promise sutable to your state and set it at the head of your trial at the mouth of your trouble or temptation and then wait upon the Lord for the accomplishment of the promise Thou canst Christian be brought into no condition but there is some promise in the new Covenant that doth sute thy tryal whatever it be there is no burthen laid upon thy back but some promise sutes the burthen now you must single out a promise sutable to your present state and set that at the head of your tryal keep your eye there waiting for the accomplishment of the promise and hereby your hearts will be raised up to glory rejoyce in the Lord alone Suppose that you were in some considerable danger single out some Gospel delivering promise and set that at the head of your danger Suppose Christian that thou hast some great burthen upon thy Spirit single out some Soul reviving promise and set it at the head of thy burthen Suppose that you have met with some extraordinary loss single out some comforting reviving promise some promise of supplies that Jesus Christ hath made and set that at the door where your comfort went out and keep your eye upon the promise of your state and the promise of your present condition and wait upon the Lord for its accomplishment and by this means your hearts will in a little time come to be raised and you will see a new supply ready to come in upon your empty condition 14. Again Propose the communicable Attributes of Christ to your view as under an unchangeable reconciliation and obligation unto you My friends if Christ be yours then all Christ is yours when Christ gave you an interest in himself he made over all himself to you all the Attributes of his eternal glorious nature they are engaged to you they are reconciled to you and they are under an express Gospel Covenant obligation for you Now propose these and keep them in your view Consider the Power of Jesus Christ is under engagement for you Consider the Wisdom of Christ Jesus is engaged to you I speak to every Believer in particular for Christ makes over himself as fully to one Believer as if he had but one Believer to make over himself unto The Faithfulness of Christ Jesus is engaged to you the Love and the Grace of Christ Jesus is engaged to you Now Christians if you would come to rejoyce in Christ then often consider of these propose these Attributes as under a special unchangeable Covenant-reconciliation and obligation to you and consider also how much there is in every property of his Nature do but consider how much there is in the Power of Christ how much there is in the Love of Christ how much there is in the Grace of Christ how much there is in the Wisdom of Christ Christians there is a fountain in every Attribute of Christ there is a fountain of Power in Christ's Attribute of Power and there is a fountain of Love in Christ's Attribute of Love and there is a fountain of Grace in Christ's Attribute of Grace and these fountains they are set open for you Christians do but see then how many fountains you have to go unto you complain of want and emptiness that you have nothing why here are full fountains to go unto all these set open at all times for your relief do but propose these Christians to your consideration and your hearts will soon sally out to rejoyce in the Lord. 15. In the last place If you would come to live by Faith upon the Lord Jesus in all conditions then reckon that your All is in Christ and is alwaies sure in Christ though some outward comforts of your condition are coming and going Jesus Christ is the possessor of your blessedness your blessedness is not in your own hand nor in the hands of a stranger but in the hands of Christ and the outward comforts of your condition are not your portion Christians they are not your All but your All it lies in Christ and when you have lost an Estate your All is still sure in the hands of Christ When you have lost a friend and lost a relation your All is still in the hands of Christ untouched there 't is and 't is alwaies sure in the hand where 't is lodged Now do but reckon that your comforts lye here and that the Lord is the keeper and possessor of all your hopes of all your blessings and blessednesses of all your comforts and consolations of your whole treasure and your Souls will come to be drawn out after Christ to a rejoycing in him Says the Apostle in Col. 3.11 But Christ is All and in All. He sums up all in a few words all is in Christ why then you that have an interest in Christ reckon that your All lies there and then will your Souls be enlarged to look towards him And I might add unto this for a close That you should look up unto the Lord the Father in the sense of your weakness in Faith or want of Faith to encrease your Faith or to give you Faith The Disciples they went unto Christ Luke 17.5 and said Lord encrease our Faith So Christians you should do 't is an evil day a trying day 't is by Faith only that you will come to stand and 't is Faith
not for me only says he but for you also rest with us You shall come into the same Rest with us Ministers and People that are faithful in Christ Jesus shall all come into the same Rest a Rest that none of the troublers shall be able to disturb Rev. 14.13 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them The labours and the pains that you take here they are very many We were driven by God into this condition in the sweat of our faces to eat our bread Well but this is but for this life You have a Hope that is laid up in Heaven for you of a blessed and a glorious Rest wherein you shall have freedom from all your labours you shall have freedom from all the disturbances and pressures that you have here 4. There is a fulness of Joy that is laid up in Heaven for all Believers Says the Prophet Isa 66.11 That ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory If that there be such a time a coming wherein this may be true of the Saints here upon Earth it will be much more so in Heaven for Heaven will heighten all it will heighten all your joy and heighten all your comfort and not only heighten the joy and comfort that you have but that succeeding Saints shall have when the whole Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord still there shall be a disproportion between Earth and Heaven When the voice saith Come up hither that which follows is Enter into your Master's Joy Matth. 25.21 Here the Lord for the bearing up of the hearts of his People sends down a little joy into their spirits he sends down the Comforter unto them and he comes and now and then speaks a reviving word now and then he gives a drop of consolation and it may be it is upon the end of the Rod too and this is counted a great matter and truly it should be so with us But there is a hope of another manner of Joy or other measures laid up in Heaven for you Joy it shall be the Air that the Saints shall breath in it shall be the very Orb that they shall move in the very Elements that they shall dwell in their hearts cannot hold all it shall be overflowing it shall be round about them 1. The Joy that is laid up in Heaven for the Saints it is that that shall be fully satisfying They shall have enough of it they shall be filled with it to the full so as there shall be no room for more Psal 16.11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life in thy presence is fulness of Joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore But shall the Saints have enough of this yes Psal 17.16 As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness The Soul hath not its satisfaction here when it hath a little it is enlarged to bless God but it hath not enough it would have more still a little more communion with God But in Heaven there is satisfaction to the full When I awake that is in the morning of the resurrection when this mortality is blown out of his eyes when he comes to open his eyes in the other world then shall I be satisfied with thy likeness 2. The Joy that is laid up in Heaven is unmixed Here there is a mixture with your Joy you have a little joy and a great deal of sorrow you have a little peace and a great deal of trouble you have darkness with your light and you have vexation and crosses with your comforts But in Heaven there is nothing to cross there is nothing to grieve there is only joy there is no mixture with your joy It will be pure joy 3. And thirdly That Joy that is laid up in Heaven will be permanent It is such as you shall sit down in and that which you shall partake of to eternity Here your joy is not only mixed with sorrows but it meets with great overwhelmings it is coming and going it is partaken of here at great uncertainties but now in Heaven it will be alwaies the same 4. There is in Heaven laid up for you absolute freedom and full liberty of Soul in the Service of God Here 't is not so when the spirit is willing the flesh is weak and how often are our hearts ready to die within us The Spirit will not hold out we can hardly watch with Christ one hour bodies tire and spirits tire but now there will be a fulness of strength in Heaven and there will be liberty of spirit proportionable to all strength and to all grace the Soul will be in absolute freedom for God and the body under an absolute freedom too answerable unto all the freeness of the Soul now the body is a great clog to the Soul it is a great hinderance that you cannot do for God and you cannot lay out your selves for God as you would but there will be no weariness in Heaven in your Spirits though you shall serve night and day world without end the promise is Isaiah 40.31 That they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not be faint The Saints rejoyce as they can experience something of this here but the fulness of this promise will be in Heaven there you shall mount up indeed as with wings there Soul and Body shall be in all liberty in the service of God Now what would Saints give to have their Spirits in a freedom and full liberty for God but one day O they would count it a corner of Heaven if that they could have their Spirits set in full liberty for God but one of his daies that they may serve God and delight themselves fully in the service of God a whole day But Sirs in Heaven you shall be fully delighted in the service of God to eternity all clogs shall be taken off from your Spirits 5. The Saints have a hope laid up in Heaven for them of an eternal abode in the glorious pallace of their Father here their dwelling is uncertain they have no sure dwelling place upon earth their Landlords sometimes warn them out of their Houses and command them to seek a new dwelling sometimes God turns them out of their Houses they may be driven out of their Houses here by the Sword they may be driven out by fire but the Lord he hath chosen Heaven as the place of their perpetual residence Deut. 1.33 Who went in the way before you to search out a place The Lord went before Israel in the Wilderness by Fire and by the Cloud to search out a place for
he is not justified Gal. 3.22 The Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith on Jesus Christ might be given to those that believe All concluded under sin all under the sentence of condemnation every Child that is born into the world is concluded under sin concluded under the sentence of condemnation by reason of sin But now the promise of Salvation is by faith on Jesus Christ the promise of salvation and forgiveness the promise of righteousness and peace this is given unto them that believe So as when the sinner is translated when he is brought over to Christ when he hath faith wrought in him on the Lord Jesus Christ then is he pardoned And upon the loss of your pardon I mean the sense of it upon the renewal of faith and the stirring up of fresh acts of faith is the sense of the pardon returned and consolation and joy upon the pardon returned Use 1. In the first place If that God do thus discharge sinners in Christ then this calls upon all of you to study this discharge of the Gospel more fully that so you may understand this wonderful proceed of Gospel grace Sirs this point is a fundamental point it is one of the foundational truths and principles of the Gospel and therefore whatever you neglect do not neglect the study of this mystery There are other truths that are of great concernment There is no truth no principle of the Gospel but is worth your enquiring into But this is one of the main and if you be out here you are out in all and the more you know of this the more savingly you understand this priviledge the more will you be led into others and the higher will your consolation be This is even a Benjamin as I may so call it When Joseph came to serve his Brethren Gen. 43.34 He sent Messes to them from his board and Benjamin 's Mess was five times as much as any of the other Truly the importance and concernment of this truth is such that you had need study this point five times more than some others so much hath a dependance upon it Says the Apostle 1 Joh. 4.9 In this was the love of God manifested to provide a propitiation and atonement to provide a blood through which forgiveness of sins should be dispensed in this is the love of God manifest and you should study this truth that you may understand something of the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of God manifested unto you herein Dive into this mystery Use 2. Labour to clear up your own discharge unto your own Souls Many are the doubts and the fears that Believers labour under and they do arise from their darkness in this point Could they but make faith of this That there is no condemnation for them their fears would vanish their doubts would be answered and their Souls would be filled with the joy of God their Salvation Now there are some waies whereby this may be cleared up As 1. There is the Witness of the Spirit of God and this is a satisfying testimony unto all that have it It puts all out of doubt and answers a thousand scruples at once when once the testimony of the Spirit comes within all fears they vanish all mists and clouds that were about the understanding they all flee away and are scattered 2. It is evidenced by a lively faith in the promise of forgiveness and from thence the Soul is enabled to take in the comfort of the discharge And 3. Sometimes our Justification is cleared up unto us from our Sanctification But truly that satisfaction that comes in to a Soul through his searches into the work of Sanctification in the Soul that satisfaction it is but small it is coming going because the work of grace upon our hearts is under so much weakness and oftentimes cloudy and dark that a Believer many times can hardly tell whether he hath any grace or no in his heart but now that that comes in by the help of the Spirit of God through the actings of faith upon the promise of forgiveness that which comes in through the immediate testimony of the Spirit of God in our hearts this is far more refreshing and more satisfying to the Soul Well labour after the assurance of this discharge that you may know that you have a part in the promise of forgiveness Use 3. You that are forgiven you whom the Lord hath thus discharged you ought to walk thankfully and to live in the admiration of that grace that is glorified in this act of God towards you Psal 116.12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits We should say so upon all our common mercies though never so small What shall I render to the Lord I will take up the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. This is that we should say for ordinary mercies but what shall we say to the Lord for greater mercies Thou hast been brought up in a Land of Vision it may be under a religious education and hast sat under a powerful Gospel Ministry where thou hast been told of thy sins and invited and called to return to God and exhorted to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and yet it may be thou wentest on in a way of sinning against God ten twenty thirty years before God laid hold upon thee and after such a long course of rebellion and after that thou hadst run out in all manner of extravagancy or at least in thy heart didst commit all manner of iniquity and hadst it in thy heart to do a great deal more than the preventing grace of God would suffer thee and after all this disobedience and rebellion in a moment as it were God comes and pardons all The Prodigal a great rebel and yet received and embraced in his Father's arms and not one word objected against him but received as if he had never grieved his Father embraced as if he had never crost his Father as if he had never gone out of his Fathers house what wonderful grace is this Sirs it is stupendious grace for God to make his approach to a poor Soul and to press forgiveness upon it for God as a thick cloud to blot out thy transgressions as Isa 44. v. 22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions The Lord hath blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions and hath caused the Sun of his love to break through and to scatter all at once You should admire the greatness of God's grace that so many treasons should be forgiven at once that so many years transgression against God should be forgiven at once I remember when the sufferings of Jesus Christ were spoken of when he saw what a cup of wrath there was in his Fathers hand it is said he was amazed and astonished when he saw all the wrath that was to be poured out upon him And was
Mat. 18.23 c. The Lord there gives us a Parable of a Servant The Lord had compassion on him and forgave him the debt and the same servant went out to his fellow-servant that owed him an hundred pence and he took him by the throat saying pay me that thou owest me c. Here is set forth the spirit of the children of men they would have forgiveness from others but they will not forgive themselves Well but when Peter came to Christ and said Lord how often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times Jesus saith unto him I say not unto thee until seven times but until 70 times 7. As often as he doth offend so often thou shalt forgive Use 6. Again This Doctrine calls for an abhorrence of all Papal Masses as propitiatory Sacrifices for sin You that have heard any thing of the grace of God in the forgiveness of the New Covenant do you detest and defie the Idolatry and the abominations of the Church of Rome who would pretend to forgive sins What is this but to wrong the grace of God What is this but to trample upon the blood of the Covenant as an insufficient thing No pardon of sin doth not come in at so cheap a rate as to be bought with money but it comes in at the door of free Grace through the blood of Jesus Thousands of Rams ten thousand of Rivers of Oil the first-born of the body for the sin of the Soul will not satisfie for they and their money will perish together that would buy pardon of sin with such a price Bless God that you know better and let it raise up in you an abhorrence of that Religion that would thus corrupt you Quest Ay But some poor Soul will be saying Ah! But how shall I come to get God's discharge sealed upon my Soul O! had I but the evidence and witness of this all would be well Ans 1. In the first place Come before God with confessions in thy mouth Bewail and spread thy transgressions before him Psal 32.5 Says David I acknowledged my sin unto thee and my iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin I confest says he and I said I would confess He came and judged himself before God he came and lamented his sinful condition and his sin-guiltiness before God he lamented and bewailed he poured out his confessions before God and the Lord he came and visited his Soul with pardon with the sense of forgiveness 2. Plead with God for his pardon and urge his promise for forgiveness This is that which the servants of the Lord have done when they have wanted the sense of pardon Psal 51.1 Have mercy upon me O God! according to thy loving-kindness according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions When sin lay against Israel God began to threaten Moses steps up and pleads with God for pardon that God would pardon their sin So the Servants of the Lord have all along pleaded with God for pardon in the want of it Do you do thus and urge God with his promise of forgiveness 3. Have your Eye upon Jesus Christ Pardon comes through his blood it is merited it is purchased by Jesus Christ look unto him and put forth renewed acts of faith upon him and in the renewing of thy close with him and in the resignation of thy self by faith to him thou mayest come to have thy pardon sealed 4. Wait upon God in sealing Ordinances It may be thou hast wronged thy Soul to this day that thou hast walked at so great a distance from God in his sealing Ordinances if thou hadst gone thither and attended upon God it may be thou hadst had some hint of his pardoning love to thee that would have more satisfied thy Soul I remember what God said to Gideon I only allude to it Judg. 7.10 11. Go and listen says he and thou shalt hear something that will strengthen thee So I say wait upon God in those Ordinances where God gives out strengthening grace and where God seals up his love to his People and there thou mayest have something that may be a feast to thy Soul there mayest thou meet with something that may confirm this love of God to thy Soul and put all out of doubt more to thee than ever And you that have the sense of God's discharging love in your hearts I have two or three words to leave with you 1. Improve it improve the sense of it unto an influence to all duties and to all obedience to God Let the sense of his kindness to you be so improved and wrought upon your hearts as it may constrain you to devote and dedicate your selves to God in your whole course to lay out your selves in all duties of obedience to God more than ever And know that you can never serve this God enough you can never do for this God enough that hath done so much for you labour to do more for him than ever and to serve him with a better heart and with a better spirit to pray more in your prayers to pray with more fervency and to confess with more sincerity and to walk with God in more exactness lay out your selves to the utmost in this work 2. Extend your pity and compassion unto those that are yet in a condemned state Your Souls should mourn over those that are yet in their sins You know what it is to be under sin and you know what it is to be under grace and therefore your hearts should be full of compassion to those that are yet in that state that by grace you are delivered from Ebedmelech's compassion and tenderness to the Prophet is recorded Jer. 38.11 That he took men with him and went into the house of the King under the Treasury and took with him old cast clouts and old rotten raggs and let them down with Cords into the Dungeon to Jeremiah O Sirs your bowels should work towards those that are yet in their sins I remember what David promiseth to God Psal 51.12 13. Restore to me the Joy of thy Salvateon and uphold me with thy free Spirit then shall I teach transgressors thy waies and sinners shall be converted unto thee He would then make it his business to turn sinners to God he would make it his business to convince and awaken and draw others out of their sinful state that is to labour with them if by any means the Spirit of God may work upon them be you full of compassion to others in a state of condemnation And 3. And lastly Keep up a humble sense of your great transgressions that God hath forgiven you I say keep up and walk under a humble sense of those transgressions that God hath forgiven you Sirs though God hath forgiven your sins yet you should remember them you should remember them so as to walk humbly and softly before God all your daies that you did ever provoke so gracious a God by such heinous provocations and inormities FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for and are to be sold by Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market place A Discourse of Divine Providence A Word in Season Defensive Armour A Discourse of the Ordinary Matter of Prayer Sermons upon the whole first and second Chapters of the Canticles Allen's Way of the Spirit in bringing Souls to Christ The Glories of Christ set forth with the Necessity of Faith in several Sermons By Thomas Allen late of Norwich Several Sermons of Timothy Armitage late of Norwich Lougher's Precious Promises the Portion of Overcommers The Saint's Ebenezer By Francis English late of Norwich Directions for the Learned to Spell English right The History of the Protestant Reformation as it was begun by Luther The Dead Saints Speaking A Sermon Preached upon the Death of Mr. Newcomb The English Presbyterian
Lord Jesus Christ and this works up his heart to the frame he is in and causeth him to move towards the Lord and makes him unsatisfied without Jesus Christ Now my Friends bring your Soul-state into an examination by this What change is there wrought in your hearts Do not eye your profession so much as your hearts Consider what work hath past upon your Souls Are you spiritually renewed Have you received Life from Christ Is there such a real spiritual Change wrought in your Souls as doth amount to a New Creature And have you received of the Divine Nature from Christ And is there a living Spring that moves your Souls in all your motions towards Christ If so it argues an Interest but if the Spring of your motion be from without it is a sign that it is artificial and not living and so it argues no Interest in Christ Jesus Secondly Interest in Christ mixeth concerns and may be discovered by reciprocal acts in a mutual Interest The Interest that the Soul hath in Christ is never alone but the Soul that is interested in Christ Jesus hath Christ Jesus interested in him so as the Interest is mutual and upon a mutual Interest concerns are mixt so as Christ and the Believer have one concern between them Christ is interested in the Believer's concerns and the Believer is interested in Christ's concerns The Believer concerns himself for Christ and Christ concerns himself for the Believer The Believer is interested in all that Christ is and in all that Christ hath and Christ is interested in all that the Believer is and in all that the Believer hath The Believer hath a room in Christ's heart and Christ hath a room in the Believer's heart The believer hath a propriety in Christ and Christ hath a propriety in the believer saies the Spouse I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine the interest is mutual Jesus is my Jesus saies the believing Soul Christ is my Christ he is my Saviour and I have an interest in his love and grace and I have an interest in his life in his power in his strength fulness and Christ he hath an interest in me also he hath an interest in my love he hath an interest in my heart and in my strength and in all that have and am and the interest being mutual mixing concerns it may be discovered by reciprocal acts that is as Christ makes over himself to the Soul so the Soul makes over himself unto Christ 1 John 4.19 We love him because he first loved us he hath set his love upon us and there will be a reciprocal acting in the Soul towards him he will also set his love upon Christ Christ indeed is the first mover and so the glory must be given unto him but the interest it is mutual and the acting is reciprocal The Lord Jesus Christ he makes over himself to the Soul to be his The Soul he accepts of Christ when tendered and that is not all but he makes a return unto Christ devoting himself unto him yielding and resigning himself unto Christ to be his to walk in his waies Ezek. 16.18 there you may see the actings of Christ towards the Soul saies he I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness yea I sware unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee saith the Lord and thou becamest mine I sware unto thee there the Lord did pass over himself to the believer Now there are reciprocal actings in the Soul towards him Deut. 26.17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God to walk in his waies and to keep his Statutes c. and the Lord v. 18. hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people as he hath promised here are reciprocal acts now Christian if thou wouldst make a discovery of thy state to know whether thou art interested in Christ Consider what interest Christ hath in thee what interest he hath in thy heart what a share he hath in thy affections and what a place he hath in thy life is there a kind of sacredness in thy heart for the Lord Jesus Christ in a holy resignation to him So there is in the Soul that is interested in Christ Cant. 4.12 A Garden enclosed is my Sister my Spouse a Spring shut up a Fountain sealed She is under a peculiar dedication to and reserve for her Lord whom she hath devoted her self unto and is as a Garden enclosed Now Christian if thy heart lieth in common and there be no sacredness upon it and no secret reserve of it it speaks but sadly for thee but where there is a dedication unto Christ and if you can find Christ interested in you it is an evidence that your are interested in Christ for we can never move towards Christ till he first moveth towards us We can never choose Christ until Christ hath first chosen us If that thou canst find thy heart open for Christ and towards Christ it is a clear evidence that Christs heart hath been first opened to thee all our love to Christ is but the reflection of Christs love to us Mary did not call Raboni till Christ first called Mary So as if thou findest thy heart under a dedication to Christ that Christ is thy joy and delight and hath full rule and liberty in thy heart that thy heart is opened or at least opening and there are outgoings of Soul in thee towards the Lord Jesus Christ It doth argue that thou hast an interest in him and that he hath begun to draw thee that he hath cast the skirt of his Grace over thee and made thee his Thirdly The Soul that hath an interest in Christ is brought under the ruling power of Christ so as he chooseth him to be his only Lord. That Soul hath as yet no interest in Christ that despiseth the government of Christ that resuseth obedience unto the Scepter and dominion of Jesus Christ these you know are reckoned among Christs enemies that say concerning him this man shall not reign over us you have a clear Scripture for this Isaiah 63.19 We are thine How did it appear that they were the Lords Because it was implicitely and tacitly asserted that the Lord did bear rule over them And how did it appear that they were none of Christ's and Christ none of theirs Because he did never bear rule over them neither were they called by his name So then those that slight and despise the Scepter of Christ Jesus and refuse allegiance to this glorious King of Heaven are none of his Subjects and so have no part nor interest in him but now that Soul that hath an interest in Christ is brought under the rule of Christ and Christ doth exercise and display an over-ruling power in his heart that brings him unto his foot and he is enabled to live in a professed subjection to the Scepter and Kingly power of Christ Jesus upon this interest the Soul hath in Christ his
beloved Son of God all the while but yet there is a time a coming when all those that are discharged in Gods Court in Heaven shall be cleared both in the Court of their own consciences and also before the whole world We shall observe this method in our brief handling of it 1. To shew you the truth of it from Scripture 2. To give you the properties of this discharge that is given out by God to believers 3. The ground upon which God proceeds in the discharge 4. The time when the Soul is taken into this priviledge and hath the discharge given out to him And then the Application 1. Scripture clears this That there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ they are absolved they are discharged by God Believers are so but as for all those that are in their Sins they are under the sentence of condemnation it hangs over them and it follows them where-ever they go John 3.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already really condemned he hath the sentence really denounced against him he is really declared a dead man in the sense of the law as we say when the judge hath denounced sentence of death against a Malefactor he is a dead man so every one in his sins is a dead man he is condemned already There is indeed this difference between him and one that is in Hell he that is in Hell is condemned and executed but the sinner upon Earth is condemned and not executed The Sinner in Hell is condemned and executed and there remains no hope for him The Sinner upon Earth he is condemned and yet there is hope that comes in at the door of the Gospel which gives some probability that if he will bestir himself the sentence may be removed the patience of God is exercised and it is drawn out into a great length and it is to lead the Sinner to repentance Rom. 2.4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance After the Sentence God waits upon the Sinner and will not suffer the law presently to take hold and to do its work the hand of Justice that is held from smiting the Sinner is not presently executed and in the patience in the forbearance and long-suffering of God there is a pardon that is tendered and a way discovered whereby the Sinner may come to get free from the doom that was upon him but the sentence that hangs over the head of every unbeliever as John 3.36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not sâ—e life but the wrath of God abideth on him the wrath of God that hangs over his head it hangs over his head in that ancient sentence that was denounced against man upon his first transgression Gen. 2.17 In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die or thou shalt die the death here is the sentence here is the doom and God abideth by his word to this day hereupon saies the Apostle Gal. 3.10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse for it is written cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them being under the works of the law you are under the curse because the broken law doth denounce a curse against all the breakers of it so as all those that are unbelievers all those that are under the first Covenant all those that are in a state of sin before God they are condemned already But now all those that are in Christ Jesus have this sentence of death taken off they are absolved and discharged by the Lord saies the Prophet Isaiah 38.17 For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back It is spoken by God after the manner of men when a man gives out the bond of another and freely dischargeth him of the Debt the Bond is cancelled and thrown away it is cast behind his back for wast-paper never more to be made use of the Debt never more to be brought into question again nor yet the Debtor upon the account of the Debt Now says he thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back thou hast given me a discharge that they shall no more lie against me Rev. 2.17 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna Manna of old was a type of Christ The Apostle to the Corinthians clears it Now says he he shall eat of the hidden Manna he shall feed upon Christ every overcomer shall have communion and fellowship with Christ and that is not all but I will give him a white stone The Lord in this expression doth allude unto the Custom that was amongst the Romans when a person upon his tryal was found guilty he had a black stone given him in token of his condemnation and he that was discharged and cleared he had a white stone given him in token of his absolution Now says he I will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which none knows but he that receiveth it I will discharge him says the Lord Every overcomer every one in Christ he hath a white stone given him by the Lord. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus 2. We shall proceed to shew you what are the properties of this discharge that the Lord grants unto those that are in Christ First It is a real discharge It is no imaginary thing It is a real truth that the Apostle doth here affirm There is says he therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus The absolution of a Believer is as real as his sinning was real as his condemnation was real he was really a sinner and he was really condemned on the account of his sin and he is as really discharged You have the word of the Lord for it The same word of truth that tells us there is condemnation to every Unbeliever tells us that there is no condemnation to the Believer But you have not only the Word of God for it but you have your discharge under hand and seal And therefore the Apostle tells us that those that believe they are sealed by the Spirit of the Lord. The Seal of the Spirit it is God's Seal Eph. 1.13 In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the Word of Truth the Gospel of your Salvation in whom also after that you believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of Promise And again Eph. 4.30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed to the day of Redemption He comes and gives you a sealed pardon he gives you the Seal of God's pardon upon your own hearts And hence the Apostle speaks with as much confidence as man can speak upon a sure testimony 1 Joh. 3.14 We know that
we are passed from death to life we know it says he And the Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God Rom. 8.16 There is a report and a testimony of the Spirit of God within and there is by the work of the Spirit and by the hand of the Spirit the discharge and the work of God in the discharge sealed upon the Soul of the Believer so as he knows as really as he hath known that he was a sinner that he is discharged from his sins Though a person may be discharged and not know it for the Spirit of God doth not alwaies witness the Spirit of God doth not alwaies seal Nay he may seal and his Seal may be hid he may make report and give evidence and this evidence may be lost Those that have had the assurance of the pardon of their sins may lose it again or it may be some considerable time after the Soul hath been discharged before he is able to read his discharge but the Spirit of the Lord first or last will be a Witnesser and Sealer to all those that have their discharge and they shall know it and have the comfort of it It is a real discharge Secondly It is a free discharge God doth all that he doth for his People gratis there is nothing in them that hath procured and bought in the blessing at the hand of the Lord. But when he comes to discharge a Soul he doth it for his own Names sake As Isa 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins I will blot them out says God not for thy sake for thou hast deserved no such thing at my hand but I will blot them out for my own sake I do all that I do freely and therefore says he Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his grace We are justified freely by the grace of God When the sinner deserveth the full and the effectual execution of the sentence that was denounced against him then comes the Lord in a way of free and soveraign grace and he discharges and he pardons As Hos 14.4 I will heal their backslidings I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from them I will love them freely and I will pardon freely and I will pass by and I will forgive freely So Col. 2.13 And you being dead hath he quickened together with him having forgiven you all trespasses So we read it But it may be read Having freely forgiven you all trespasses God freely forgives the trespasses of his People those that he takes unto himself and those that are in Christ therefore we are called upon by the Lord for to come unto him without money and without price Come ye says he that thirst to the waters such as have no money such as have no price come and hearken diligently and your Souls shall live Isa 55.1 2 3. Thirdly It is a full discharge which the Lord grants unto his People a discharge that takes off all their sins at once Psal 103.3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases They are not hundreds and thousands only but all that you stand guilty of All sins of omission and all sins of commission all sins against the first Table and all sins against the second Table they are all at once forgiven all secret sins and all open sins all heart-sins and all life-sins they are all forgiven Hezekiah he made Faith of this Isa 38.17 For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back The sinner when he returns to God comes with a load of sins upon him thousands of thousands of sins he brings with him a multitude of sins and the Lord when he receives this guilty Soul he forgives them all at once Isa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his waies and the unrighteous man his thoughts Or the man of wickedness and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and unto our God for he will abundantly pardon Or as it may be read he will multiply pardons Sins have been multiplied in daies of ignorance and multiplied in daies of knowledge multiplied against all the strivings of the Spirit multiplied under many tenders of Christ multiplied under many of the beseechings of the Spirit multiplied in the clear Light of a Gospel-day But says he this shall not keep off for I will abundantly pardon God's pardon shall be as extensive as all his transgressions were Hereupon says the Apostle There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus There is no sin remaining to condemn him of all his repeated transgressions of all the thousands and ten thousands that he is guilty of there is no condemnation not one sin left upon the score to condemn him V. 33. Who shall lay any thing unto the charge of God's Elect it is God that justifieth Satan will heap up things against them but there shall not condemn them their own Consciences may bring in Indictment after Indictment against them but says he there is not any thing that shall stand in record against them not any thing that shall be laid to their charge to condemn them not any of their sins be they never so small not any of their sins be they never so great that shall remain against them Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect when God justifies Whereupon says the Prophet Jer. 50.20 The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sins of Judah and they shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve Their iniquity shall be sought for and there shall be none found why because the pardon of God reacheth every one Col. 2.13 Having forgiven you all trespasses And Heb. 8.12 I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more I will be merciful not to this unrighteousness or the other but to all their unrighteousnesses to their sins and to their iniquities It is spoken of in general terms that they might know it will reach every particular It is a full discharge in so much as the believer is counted righteous he is constituted righteous before God Heb. 11.4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice then Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous that is in his justification in Christ Jesus in which justification he had absolution and in the compleatness of his justification before God by Gods imputative act he was reckoned he was constituted righteous 4. The discharge that God gives out to those in Christ it is irrevocable It is such an act of grace as God will abide by as God will never recede from no not to eternity therefore he saies Jeremiah 31.34 I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more The believer he is afraid it may be that something may be brought