man is touched in conscience the heart is cast downe and as much as it can it withdrawes it selfe frō God For this cause if then there be any spirituall motions whereby the heart is lift vp vnto God they are without doubt from the spirit of God Thus then I auouch that the desire of reconciliation with God in Christ is reconciliation it selfe the desire to beleeue is faith indeede the desire to repent repentance it selfe But marke how A desire to be reconciled is not reconciliation in nature for the desire is one thing reconciliation is another but in Gods acceptation for if we being touched throughly for our sins do desire to haue them pardoned and to bee at one with god God accepts vs as reconciled Againe desire to beleeue it is not faith in nature but onely in Gods acceptation God accepting the will for the deede That this doctrine is the will and word of God it appeares by these reasons First of all God hath annexed a promise of blessednes of life euerlasting to the desire of grace Mat. 5. Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall bee satisfied Ioh. 7. 38. If any man thirst let him come to mee and drinke Reuel 2. 1. I will giue vnto him which is a thirst of the well of the water of life freely Now what is this to thirst properly it is when wee are in a drought or drines and want drinke to refresh vs desire it And therefore by all resemblance they are saide to thirst after righteousnes that want it and would faine haue it And they thirst after christ that feele themselues out of Christ and desire yea long after the blood of Christ that they might be refreshed with it in their consciences Here then we see that the desire of mercy in the want of mercy is the obtaining of mercie and the desire to beleeue in the want of faith is faith Marke then though as yet thou want firme and liuely grace yet art thou not altogether voide of grace if thou canst vnfainedly desire it thy desire is the seede conception or bud of that which thou wantest Now is the spring-time of the ingrafted word or the immortall seede cast into the furrowes of thy heart waite but a while vsing the good meanes to this ende appointed and thou shalt see the leaues blossomes fruit will shortly follow after Secōdly the desire of any good thing is accepted of God as the liuely inuocation of his holy name Psal. 10. God heareth the desire of the poore Psal. 145. He will fulfill the desire of him that feareth him When Moses said nothing but onely desired in heart the helpe and protection of God at the redde sea the Lord said vnto him Why criest thou vnto me Exod. 14. 15. And when wee know not to pray as wee ought Paul saith that the spirit maketh request by the inward groanes of the heart Rom. 8. 26. Hence I gather that when a man in his weaknesse praies with sighes and groanes for the gift of liuely faith the want whereof hee findes in himselfe his very praier on this manner made is as truly in acceptation with God as a praier made in liuely faith And here it is further to be considered that Paul calls these groanes vnspeakable and why Of most interpreters they are thought to be vnspeakable by reason of their greatnesse and this I will not denie it seemes neuerthelesse that they are so tearmed by reason of their weakenesse for they are commonly small weake and confused in the hearts of Gods children when they are distressed and the words following seeme to import thus much for when it had beene said that Gods spirit in vs makes request with grones not to be vttered some man might happily reply and say if we cannot discerne and vtter these grones in our selues what are we the better Paul addes therfore that although we know not yet God a searcher of all things hidden in the heart knowes the minde and meaning of the spirit And thus the wordes yet further afoard a comfortable instruction to the children of God namely that beeing in distresse whether in life or death if by grace we can but sigh or sob vnto God though it be weake and feeble like the faint pulse in the time of death we or the spirit of God in vs doe indeede make request vnto God that shall bee heard yea as the words are wee doe more then make request and though we do not alwaies see what Gods spirit makes vs to sigh after yet god doeth To the testimonie of Scripture I adde the testimonies of godly and learned men not to prooue the doctrine in hand but to shew a consent and to prooue thus much that the thing which I auouch is no priuate phantasie of any man Easily saith Ambrose of God is he reconciled if he be instantly intreated Augustine saith Let thy desire be before him and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly for thy desire is thy praier and if thy desire be continuall thy praier is continuall Hee addes further in the same place that the desire is a continuall voice and the cry of the heart and the inward inuocation of God which may be made without intermission Againe To desire the helpe of grace is the beginning of grace Againe The whole life of a good Christian is an holy will and desire And that which thou desirest thou seest not but by desiring art as it were inlarged and made capable that whē it shall come which thou shalt see thou maist bee filled Basil saith Onely thou must will and God will come of his owne accord Bernard saith what is not desire a voice Yea a very strong voice God heareth the desire of the poore and a continuall desire though wee speake nothing it is a voice continued Luther saith Christ is then truely omnipotent and then truly raignes in vs when wee are so weake that wee can scarce giue any groane For Paul saith that one such groane is a strong crie in the cares of God filling both heauen earth Againe Very fewe know how weake and small faith and hope is vnder the crosse and in temptation For it appeares then to bee as smoking flaxe which a good blast of winde would praesently put out but such as beleeue in these combates and terrours against hope vnder hope that is opposing themselues by faith in the promise of Christ against the feeling of sinne and the wrath of God doe finde afterward that this litle sparke of faith as it appeares to reason which hardly perceiueth it is peraduenture as the whole element of fire which filleth all heauen and swalloweth vp all terrours and sinnes Againe the more wee finde our vnworthinesse and the lesse wee finde the promises to belong vnto vs the more must wee desire them beeing assured that this desire doth greatly please God who desireth and
willeth that his grace should bee earnestly desired This doeth faith which iudgeth it a pretious thing and therefore greatly hungreth and thirsteth after it and so obtaines it For God is delighted to fill the hungrie with good things to send the rich emptie away Theodore Beza saith If thou finde not thine heart inwardly touched pray that it may bee touched for then must thou know that this desire is a pledge of the fathers will to thee Kēnitius saith When I haue a good desire though it do scarcely shew it selfe in some little and slender sigh I must be assured that the spirit of God is present and worketh his good worke Vrsinus saith Faith in the most holy men in this life is imperfect and weake Yet neuerthelesse whosoeuer fecles in his heart an earnest desire and a striuing against his naturall doubtings both can and must assure himselfe that he is indued with true faith Againe Wicked men doe not desire the grace of the holy spirit whereby they may resist sinne And therefore they are iustly depriued of it for hee that earnestly desireth the holy Ghost hath it alreadie because this desire of the spirit cannot be but from the spirit as it is saide Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall bee satisfied Bradford saith Thy sins are vndoubtedly pardoned c. for God hath giuen thee a penitent and beleeuing heart that is an heart which desireth to repent and beleeue for such an one is taken of him he accepting the will for thee deede for a penitent and beleeuing heart indeede Taffine saith Our faith may be so small and weake as it doth not yet bring forth fruits that may bee liuely felt of vs but if they which feele themselues in such estate desire to haue these feelings namely of Gods fauour and loue if they aske them at Gods hands by praier this desire and praier are testimonies that the spirit of God is in them and that they haue faith alreadie for is such a desire a fruit of the flesh or of the spirit it is of the holy spirit who bringeth it forth onely in such as hee dwells in c. Then these holy desires and praiers being the motions of the holy Ghost in vs are testimonies of our faith although they seeme to vs small and weake As the woman that feeleth the moouing of a childe in her body though very weake assureth her selfe that shee hath conceiued and that shee goeth with a liue child so if wee haue these motions these holy affections and desires beforementioned let vs not doubt but that wee haue the holy Ghost who is the author of them dwelling in vs and consequently that we haue also faith Again he saith 1. If thou hast begun to hate and she sinne 2. If thou feelest that thou art displeased at thine infirmities and corruptions 3. If hauing offended God thou feelest a griefe and a sorrow for it 4. If thou desire to abstaine 5. If thou auoidest the occasion 6. If thou trauailest to doe thy endeauour 7. If thou praiest to God to giue thee grace all these holy affections proceeding from none other then from the spirit of God ought to be so many pledges and testimonies that he is in thee n Masterknockes saith Albeit your paines sometimes be so horrible that you finde no release nor comfort neither in spirit nor bodie yet if they heart can onely sob vnto God despaire not you shall obtaine your hearts desire And destitute you are not of faith for at such a time as the flesh naturall reason the law of God the present torment the diuell at one doe crie God is angrie and therefore there is neither helpe nor remedie to be hoped for at his hāds at such time Isay to sob vnto God is the demonstration of the secret seede of God which is hidden in Gods elect children and that onely sob is vnto God a more acceptable sacrifice then without this crosse to giue our bodies to be burnt euen for the truthes sake More testimonies might be alleadged but these shall suffice Against this point of dotrine it may be alleadged that if desire to beleeue in our weakenesse be faith indeede then some are iustified and may be saued wanting a liuely apprehension and full perswasion of Gods mercie in Christ. Ans. Iustifying faith in regard of his nature is alwaies one and the same and the essentiall propertie thereof is to apprehend Christ with his benefites and to assure the very cōscience thereof And therefore without some apprehension and assurance there can bee no iustification or Saluation in them that for age are able to beleeue Yet there bee certaine degrees and measures of true faith There is a strong faith which causeth a full apprehension and perswasion of Gods mercie in Christ. This measure of faith the Lord vouchsafed Abraham Dauid Paul the Prophets Apostles and Martyrs of God It were a blessed thing if all beleeuers might attaine to this height of liuely faith to say with Paul I am perswaded that neither life nor death nor any thing else shal bee able to separate vs from the loue of God in Christ but all cannot therfore there is another degree of faith lower then the former and yet true faith called a litle or weake faith and it also hath a power to apprehend and applie the promise of saluation but as yet by reason of weaknes it is infolded as it were and wrapt vp in the heart as the leafe and blossome in the bud For such persons as haue this weake faith can say indeede that they beleeue their sinnes to be pardonable and that seriously in their hearts they desire to haue them pardoned but as yet they can not say that they are without all doubt pordoned And yet the mercie of God is not wāting vnto them For in that they doe and can desire and indeauour to apprehēd they doe indeed apprehend God accepting the desire to doe the thing for the thing done This which I say will the better appeare if the groundes thereof be considered Faith doth not iustifie in respect of it selfe because it is an action or vertue or because it is strong liuely and perfect but in respect of the obiect thereof namely Christ crucified whom faith apprehendeth as he is set forth vnto vs in the word and Sacraments It is Christ that is the author and matter of our iustice and it is he that applieth the same vnto vs as for faith in vs it is but an Instrument to apprehend receiue that which Christ for his part offereth and giueth Therefore if faith erre not in his proper obiect but follow the promise of God though it doe but weakely apprehend or at the least cause a man onely to Endeauour and Desire to apprehend it is true faith and iustifieth Though our apprehension be necessarie yet our saluation stands rather in this that God apprehends vs for his owne then that we
apprehend him for ours Phi. 3. v. 12. And rather in this that we are knowne of him then that we know him Gal. 4. 9. Out of this conclusion springs an other not to be omitted that God accepts the endeauour of the whole man to obey for perfect obedience it selfe THat is if men endeauour to please God in all things God will not iudge their doings by the rigour of his law but will accept their litle and weake endeauour to do that which they can do by his grace as if they had perfectly fulfilled the lawe But heere remember I put this caueat that this indeeuour must bee in and by the whole man the very minde conscience will and affections doing that which they can in their kindes and thus the endeauour to obey which is a fruit of the spirit shall bee distinguished from ciuil righteousnesse which may bee in heathen men and is onely in the outward and not in the inward man The trueth of this conclusion appeares by that which the Prophet Malachi saith that God will spare thē that feare him as a father spares his childe who accepts the thing done as well done if the child shew his good will to please his father and to doe what he can IV. Conclusion To see and feele in our selues the want of any grace pertaining to saluation and to be grieued therefore is the grace it selfe The Exposition VNderstand this conclusion as the former namely that griefe of the hart for the want of any grace necessarie to saluation is as much with god as the grace it selfe Whē beeing in distresse we cannot pray as we ought God accepts the very groanes sobs and sighes of the perplexed heart as the praier it selfe Rom. 8. 26. When we are grieued because we cannot be grieued for our sinnes it is a degree measure of godly sorrow before God Augustine saith well Sometimes our praier is lukewarme or rather cold and almost no praier nay sometime it is altogether no praier at all and yet we cannot with griefe perceiue this in our selues for if we can but grieue because we cannot pray we now pray indeede Hierom saith Then we are iust when we doe acknowledge our selues to be sinners Againe this is the true wisedome of man to know himselfe to be imperfect And that I may so speake the perfection of all iust men in the flesh is imperfect Augustine again saith That the vertue which is nowe in a iust man is thus farre forth perfect that vnto the perfection thereof there belongs a true acknowledgement and an humble confession of the imperfection thereof A broken and contrite heart after an offence is as much with God as if there had bin no offence at al. And therefore so soone as Dauid after his grieuous fall in heauinesse of heart confessed his sinne saying in effect but thus much I haue sinned the Prophet in the name of the Lord pronounceth the pardon of his sinne in heauen and that presently V. Conclusion He that hath begunne to subiect himselfe to Christ and his word though as yet hee bee ignorant in most points of religion yet if he haue a care to increase in knowledge and to practise that which he knoweth he is accepted of God as a true beleeuer The Exposition SVndry persons by the Euangelists are said to beleeue which had onely seene the miracles of Christ and as yet had made no further proceedings but to acknowledge Christ to be the Messias and to submit themselues to him his doctrine which afterward should be taught On this maner the woman of Samaria belieued and many of the Samaritans vpon her report and a certaine ruler by reason of a miracle wrought vpon his sonne is said to beleeue and all his houshold Ioh. 4. 42. 52. When our Sauiour Christ commended the faith of the Apostles terming it a rocke against which the gates of hell should not preuaile it was not the plentifull knowledge of the doctrine of saluation for they were ignorant of many articles of faith as namely of the death resurrection ascention and kingdome of Christ but because they beleeued him to be the sonne of God the sauiour of mankinde and they had withall resolued themselues to cleaue vnto him and the blessed doctrine of saluation which hee taught though as yet they were ignorant in many points The holy Ghost commendeth the faith of Rahab when shee receiued the spies Now this her faith was indeed but a seed and beginning of liuely faith for then shee had onely heard of the miracles done in Egypt and of the deliuerance of the Israelites and was thereupon smitten with feare and had conceiued a resolution with her selfe to ioyne her selfe to the Israelites and to worship the true God Now these and the like are tearmed beleeuers upon iust cause for though they bee ignorant as yet yet their ignorance shall bee no continuing or lasting ignorance and they haue excellent seedes of grace namely a purpose of hart to cleaue to Christ and a care to profit in the doctrine of saluation whereof they haue some litle knowledge VI. Conclusion The foresaid beginnings of grace are counterfeit vnlesse they encrease The Exposition THe wickednesse of mans nature and the depth of hypocrisie is such that a man may can easily transforme himselfe into the counterfeit and resemblance of any grace of God Therefore I put downe in this last conclusion a certaine note whereby the gifts of God may be discerned namely that they grow vp and increase as the graine of Musterd-seede to a great tree and beare fruit answerably The grace in the heart is like the graine of Musterd-seede in two things First it is small to see to at the beginning secondly after it is cast into the ground of the heart it increaseth speedily and spreads it selfe Therefore if a man at the first haue but some litle feeling of his wants some weake and faint desire some small obedience he must not let this sparke of grace goe out but these motions of the spirit must be increased by the vse of the word Sacraments and praier and they must daily bee stirred vp by meditating endeauouring striuing asking seeking knocking The master deliuering his talents to his seruants saith vnto them Occupie till I come aud not hide in the earth Matth. 25. 26 Paul vseth an excellent speech to Timothie I exhort thee to stirre vp the gift of God which is in thee namely as fire is stirred vp by often blowing and putting to of wood 2. Tim. 1. 6. As for such motions of the heart that last for a weeke or a moneth and after vanish away they are not to bee regarded the Lord by the Prophet Ose complaineth of them saying O Ephraim thy righteousnes is like the morning dewe chap. 6. Therefore considering grace vnlesse it be confirmed and exercised is indeede no grace I will heere adde certaine rules of direction that wee may the more easily put in practise the
thou hast loosed thy sinne And Ambrose saith If he said I will confesse and obtained pardon before he confessed how much more when he had confessed saying I know mine iniquitie was his sinne pardoned Gregorie on this Psal. saith Marke how speedily pardon comes and how great is the commendation of Gods mercie in that pardon comes together with the desire of confession and remission comes to the heart before confession breake forth in speech II. Conclusion The first materiall beginnings of the conuersion of a sinner ar the smallest measure ofrenewing grace haue the promises of this life and the life to come The Exposition THe beginnings of conuersion must be distinguished Some are beginnings of preparation some beginnings of composition Beginnings of preparation are such as bring vnder tame subdue the stubbernes of mans nature without making any change at all of this sort are the accusations of the conscience by the ministerie of the law feares and terrours arising thence compunction of heart which is the apprehension of Gods anger against sinne Nowe these and the like I exclude in the conclusion for though they goe before to prepare a sinner to his conuersion following yet are they no graces of God but fruits both of the law being the ministery of death as also of an accusing conscience Beginnings of composition I tearme all those inward motions and inclinations of Gods spirit that follow after the worke of the law vpon the conscience and rise vpon the meditation of the Gospell that promiseth righteousnes and life euerlasting by Christ out of which motions the conuersion of a sinner ariseth and of which it consisteth what these are it shall afterward appeare Againe grace must be distinguished it is two-fold restraining grace or renuing grace Restraining grace I tearme certaine common gifts of God seruing onely to order and frame the outward conuersation of men to the Law of God or seruing to bereaue men of excuse in the day of iudgement By this kind of grace heathen men haue bin liberall iust sober valiant mercifull By it men liuing in the Church of God haue beene inlightned and hauing tasted of the good word of God haue reioyced therein and for a time outwardly conformed themselues therto Renewing grace is not common to al men but proper to the elect it is a gift of Gods spirit whereby the corruption of a sinner is not only restrained but also mortified and the decaied image of God restored in righteousnes and true holines Now then the conclusiō must only be vnderstoode of the second and not of the first for though a man haue neuer so much of this restraining grace yet vnlesse he haue the spirit of Christ to create faith in the heart and to sanctifie him he is as farre from saluation as another Thus then the sense and meaning of the conclusion is that the verie lest measure of sauing grace and the verie beginning or seedes of regeneration doe declare and after a sort giue title to men of all the mercifull promises of God whether they concern this life or the life to come are therefore approoued of God if they be in truth and accepted as greater measures of grace That which our Sauiour Christ saith of the worke of miracles Math. 17. 20. If ye haue faith as a graine of Musterd-seede ye shall say vnto this mountaine remooue hence to yonder place and it shall remooue must by the law of equall proportion be applied to sauing faith repentance the feare of God and all other graces if they be truly wrought in the heart though they be but as smal as one little graine of Musterd-seede they shall be sufficiently effectuall to bring forth good workes for which they are ordained The prophet Esay 42. 3. saith that Christ shall not quench the smoking flaxe nor breake the bruised reede Let the comparison be marked fire in flaxe must be both little and weake in quātitie as a sparke or twain that cannot cause a flame but only a smoke specially in a matter so easie to burne Here thē is signified that the gifts and graces of Gods spirit that are both for measure strength as a sparke or twaine of fire shal not be neglected but rather accepted and cherished by Christ. When our Sauiour Christ heard the young man make a confession of a practise but of outward and ciuill righteousnesse he looked vpon him and loued him Mark 10. 21. and when he heard the scribe to speake discreetely but one good speech that to loue god with all the heart is aboue all sacrifices he said vnto him That he was not for from the kingdome of heauen Therefore no doubt he will loue with a more speciall loue and accept as the good subiects of his kingdome those that haue receiued a further mercie of God to be borne a new of water and the spirit III. Conclusion A constant and earnest desire to be reconciled to God to beleeue and to repent if it be in a touched heart is in acceptation with God as reconciliation faith repentance it selfe The Exposition LVst or desire is two folde naturall supernaturall Naturall is that whose beginnings and obiect is in nature that is which ariseth of the naturall will of man and affecteth such things as are thought to be good according to the light of nature And this kind of desire hath his degrees yet so as they are all limited within the compasse of nature Some desire riches honours pleasures some learning knowledge because it is the light and perfection of the minde some go further seeke after the vertues of iustice temperāce liberality c. and thus many heathen men haue excelled Some againe desire true happinesse as Balaam did who wished to die the death of the righteous because it is the propertie of nature to seeke the preseruation of it selfe But here nature staies it selfe for where the mind reueales not the will affects not Supernaturall desires are such as both for their beginning and obiect are aboue nature For their beginning is from the holy Ghost and the obiect or matter about which they are cōuersant are things diuine and spirituall which concerne the kingdome of heauen and of this kinde are the desires of which I speake in this place Againe that we may not be deceiued in our desires but may the better discerne thē from flittering and fleeting motions I adde three restraints First of all the desire of reconciliation the desire to beleeue or the desire to repent c. must be constant and haue continuance otherwise it may iustly be suspected Secōdly it must be earnest serious though not alwaies yet at somtimes that we may be able to say with Dauid My soule desireth after thee O Lord as the thirsty land And as the hart braieth after the riuers of water so panteth my soule after thee O God my soule thirsteth for God euen the liuing God Thirdly it must be in a touched heart for when a