them could be well spared but that they work together one for one good end another for another all jointly for his true happiness And if this be true with reference to single persons it must needs be so with respect to the Church or to any Body of Christians adhering to the true faith and obedience of the Gospel since the Providence of God is more watchful for a common than a particular Interest and since this truth was mentioned by the Apostle in behalf of Believers that felt the same troubles So that we are as to all Evils of this World to consider God not as arbitrarily disposing of our Concerns but rather as wisely chusing fit means for our happiness And this consideration will serve to repel all murmuring thoughts against his Providence and to dispose us not only to contentation but even to thankfulness under the Adversities of life and that because it seems they are so far from being ill meant by Providence towards us that they are chosen by God as proper means working for our good not only Adversities in general but those which happen in particular more than others would have done But then 2. There must be a concurrence of other causes to make them effectual for our good I cannot certainly tell whether that be meant by that phrase of working together for I do not know but the Apostle might mean no more in this place than that all things that happen to God's Servants shall work together that is one with another promote that which is best for them in the end But I am sure the thing is true that other causes must be present to work together with these and because the Apostle knew that they would be supposed therefore they are fit to be mentioned And 1. The Grace of God which is necessary to all good effects which his Providence designs to work in and for us that will not be wanting For if any thing that is grievous befals us by his Providence he will not deny us that inward assistance of his Holy Spirit towards a good use of it which is needful because the outward means of doing us good is not of our own chusing but his And this is one reasonable account of that saying of David In very faithfulness thou hast afflicted me For God hath promised to be good and gracious to him And this Promise was so made good by those Troubles that befel him and the supports he had under them and by that Grace of God which disposed him to make a good use of them that he could not but acknowledge the Truth and Fidelity of God upon this account as much as for all the Glories and Prosperities that ever fell to his share But then 2. Something is required of us to convert all Evils that do or may befal us into such advantages as may be made of them They indeed give us the opportunity and God give us the ability but then we must perform our duty They work as Occasions and Means God works as the Supream Director and Mover but it is our part to work as the immediate Instruments of our own good and that by more Consideration and more earnest Prayer and herein lies the tendency of Worldly Crosses to do us good that they do of themselves dispose a good man to those things more than ordinarily And it is in this sense that we are to understand the saying of the Wise-man Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better That is to say 1. It is disposed to consider more seriously for it takes away all that levity and ariness of thought which in some degree does almost necessarily attend an unmixed prosperity and it does also suggest many profitable thoughts which seldom come to our minds at another time This very Divine Truth That all things work together c. is not so often thought of when we need not the support of it as when we do nor the Infinite Wisdom and Goodness of the Divine Providence nor the rich Promise of being raised up to everlasting Life There must be the consideration of such things to make all things work for our good otherwise this Text were set here in vain nor need we to have known the truth it holds forth to us if without laying it and other things of the same nature to heart they would work good for us by themselves 2. Fervent Prayers are requisite for the same end for otherwise the Apostle needed not have told us in the foregoing Verse Likewise also the Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groans that cannot be uttered In which words as I have already intimated the Apostle encouraged his Christians to earnest Prayer assuring them That in their Circumstances the Holy Spirit of God would guide them to pray for things that were good for them though in all their Prayers for temporal things to submit their Desires intirely to the Will and good disposal of the Almighty who would accordingly answer them by doing what was best for them Now frequent and earnest Prayer does wonderfully dispose the mind of a good man to a strong dependance upon God and brings back great Consolations and Strength from him and confirms it in a stedfast and unmoveable resolution of keeping a good Conscience and looking for that Mercy of God unto Eternal Life It is by such Actions of our own that all things work together for good and all Evils of life do themselves work for it by disposing us to these things i.e. to Consideration and Devotion to consider the Soveraignty Wisdom and Goodness of God the Vanity of this World our infinite concerns in a better life more seriously and closely than we have done and to pray to God for all needful things more affectionately and heartily Now where such Dispositions as these are followed there all the good fruits of worldly Evils will grow plentifully which what they are comes next to be considered in the mean time we have gone thus far That there is nothing wanting in them as they are occasions and opportunities of doing good for our selves and that through the Grace of God and our own using them aright and cherishing those good inclinations and dispositions which they beget in our minds they will actually produce the good ends for which they are sent 3. Let us now consider what that good is for which it is said that all things shall work together what kind of good it is and what is the degree of it If we consider the kind it may be truly said in the first place that sometimes it is of the same kind with the evil and that God sends the temporal evil to bring about a temporal good Thus Joseph who was designed by Providence to be so great a Man in Egypt when it was to be the Granary of that part of
regard to each Consideration under these several Heads And 1. Let us consider the universality of the expression All things shall work together for good Now by all things we may understand 1. All that happens in this life whether it be good or evil which interpretation will be sufficiently justified by what the Apostle says in the two former Verses Likewise also the Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered for he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit c. The meaning of which is this That when we are under any Affliction we know not whether it be best for us to be delivered or to continue as we are but the Spirit of God disposeth our minds to submit to his pleasure and wisdom and whatever our particular desires are to wish in the general what God sees is best for us which we cannot utter in particular because we are ignorant what that is But God knows it and withal he knows our hearts and sees that by his Spirit we are wholly disposed to submit to his choice And then he adds And we know that all things c. i. e. though we do not know in particular what God will chuse for us yet we know that whatever our Lot shall be in this life it shall be for the best So that by all things we are led to understand all those things of which we know not what we should pray for as we ought and thus they take in the prosperous as well as the adverse part of our lives Now because there are dangerous temptations in prosperity which do often prove hurtful to men in their Souls and Bodies too it is therefore no small privilege of a good man that his Piety and sincere Love to God does not only keep him from the harm which may come of a plentiful enjoyment of worldly Blessings but also make them truly serviceable to him and to work for his good and that God will continue him in such a state as long as he sees it is best for him But then 2. Although this meaning is by no means to be excluded yet the principal sense seems to be this That even all those things which we are naturally afraid of and would willingly escape that is all the evils of this mortal life shall work together for good This I say is the principal sense because it was the Apostle's Design in this Chapter to support the minds of the Christians to whom he wrote under the troubles they endured for the sake of Christ And as this meaning was chiefly intended so it represents a truth which would be most desired For 1. Relief is needful only against causes of Fear and Sorrow such as the Evils of this World are and here 't is given The best men commonly have a mixture of good and evil for their portion in this life But we think that the prosperous part will take care of it self and that it is the other only that calls for assistance and comfort And therefore all will grant that this Divine Truth gives security where there is most need of security and administers ease and help in every case that requires it And then 2. because we lie open to innumerable Accidents and the kinds of misfortune to which we are liable are not to be counted particularly the universality of the expression makes our comfort and security equal to our dangers For the number of them cannot dismay us where without exception to any one provision is made a-against All where the remedy will not fail not only if any one but if every one of them should happen to which we are liable And 3. Because all things are not alike grievous to every man because all men have not the same tenderness in every part of their Natures but one thing affects this man with more grief and smart and another is more sensibly wounded by other Adversities therefore the consolation afforded by this Truth is still more desirable inasmuch as it brings remedy in this case also for where all Evils are said the worst is not excepted And lastly Because the affirmation is general it is an equal antidote against the fear of Evil and against the bitterness of Sorrow when it happens it suffers not our present Enjoyments to be killed with the fear of the future and it supplies us with hope and patience when Evil is present So that if we consider the universality of the Expression it is a very rich Promise which is supposed in the Text since as to the occasions upon which a good Christian may need comfort there is nothing wanting in it to satisfy him for all things shall work together for his good 2. We are likewise to consider the manner whereby these Evils of life produces good to them that love God which as I take it is intimated in that expression of working together All things shall work together for good c. For here are these two particulars to be observed 1. That there is a natural tendency in these Evils themselves to procure us some good 2. That nevertheless there must be a concurrence of other Causes to effect it 1. That they themselves do in their own nature tend to do us good and for this reason they are said to work for good not only that good is wrought out from them but that they work it for indeed they are in themselves not improper and unfit means for this end And therefore when God afflicts any good man we may be sure he delights not in the pain which he suffers no nor does he afflict him merely to shew his Soveraignty and Dominion over him nay not always so much as to shew how by his Power and Wisdom he can make things produce Effects contrary to their own nature but because he does in his Wisdom see that the Evils he sends will naturally lead towards a good end And we know it by undeniable experience that an uninterrupted prosperity in this life is that which the weakness of our Nature could bear as little as the other extreme and it would be a great deal worse for us than that mixture of one and the other which is the common portion of Mankind Now therefore because in chusing our Condition God has still a regard to that which is for our good every true Servant of God under distress may not only conclude in general that it is good for him to be afflicted but likewise in particular that that affliction which he is under is more for his good than another would have been that it is the proper means which God hath chosen for his improvement and the procuring of those effects which are most needful for him Therefore also if more burthens than one are upon him at the same time or if one follows upon the neck of another that none of
so called also and which the Scripture requires Either they want the Faith of assenting to some needful Truth which perhaps doth not often happen or they want the Faith of a distinct and particular persuasion and application to themselves which happens more often or they want the Faith of frequent assenting of a permanent persuasion fixt in their hearts by consideration which I doubt is the frequent defect But now the Scripture doth not barely require that we should once for all persuade our selves of the Truths of God's Word but moreover That the word of God should dwell richly in us and that we should be rooted and established in Faith that Christ should dwell in our hearts by Faith and the like which is plainly to require a fixed and lively sense of Divine Truths upon our souls caused by much conversation with them and thinking upon them Now this I say That every act of Meditation or Thought upon these things is a distinct Assent to them and is therefore truly and properly Faith Now because we are to interpret Scripture by Scripture therefore this Scripture That by Faith we are justified is to be interpreted by the aforesaid Exhortations and consequently by Justifying Faith we are to understand an habitual and permanent persuasion of the great Truths of Religion effected by a frequent and just consideration of them and such Faith will justify because it will sanctify it will procure the relative change of putting us into a state of Favour with God because it will procure the real or personal change of subduing our corrupt affections and making us obedient to God from the heart For suppose a man by constant consideration to have gained such a sense of Spiritual things as by assiduity men come to have in all matters they frequently think of and converse about how is it possible but he must be a good man in the rest of his life But men are but half persuaded that never think of these things but by chance or when they cannot help it So that this is the great point wherein we exercise liberty in matters of Religion viz. Whether we will consider or not i. e. Whether we will often persuade our selves of the great Truths of God and a World to come or but very rarely This is the main hinge upon which our state turns and here lies the principal power we have still under the Grace of God to help and reform our selves which seems to be suggested by the Scriptures insisting so much upon it That we are justified by Faith for this shews us where our strength lies Nay the just himself lives by his Faith and it is by Faith that he perseveres in Righteousness And where such Faith is as I have now described it will not fail to influence the mind and conversation For we are led by persuasion to evil as well as to good and when a man doth ill it cannot be that at the same time he should be persuaded to do well No wonder therefore that the Scripture concludes of all wicked men That they are not persuaded of the truth of those things which they profess to believe They profess says the Apostle to know God but in works they deny him Tit. 1.16 But works neither deny nor affirm any thing they only shew whether we our selves do one or the other If then all that are disobedient are in a true sense unbelievers then all who fully believe are holy By Faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac but if the command to offer up his Son was the Trial of his Faith then had he not obeyed his belief had not been true Therefore also where the belief is true where it is a fixed and lively sense of God and Religion where it doth not come in as a sojourner but dwelleth richly in the Soul it will sanctify and cleanse it In short This permanent persuasion of the Truths of the Gospel being that without which we cannot bring forth fruit unto God in all good works he hath required of us and with which we shall it must necessarily be the faith by which the just do live Finally therefore my Brethren Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil stand having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breast plate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace But above all take the shield of faith whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God By all which it appears That Christian Truth is our Armour against Sin and therefore let that humble man's Prayer be ours and our care answerable Lord we believe help thou our unbelief And may the God of Truth increase our faith in us that it may be fruitful in good works to the glory of his Name and our eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Second Sermon HEB. XI 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him THE words are the most comprehensive that I can find in all the Bible for bringing all that is necessary to be said concerning the true nature the full extent and proper use of Faith under one Text which possibly you will acknowledge if you consider with me the very deep and yet clear sense of these excellent Words The first clause of them contains a general Proposition But without faith it is impossible to please God The second contains a proof of that Proposition for he that cometh to God must c. By comparing the Proposition proved with the proof thereof we shall come to understand every phrase and word of the Text. For if we enquire 1. What is here meant by pleasing God in the general Proposition let us see what answers thereunto in the following words and we shall find by pleasing God is meant the doing of those things whereby God is pleased for saith the Apostle He that cometh to God must believe that he is Now to come to God is an obvious phrase signifying to worship God Wherefore it being supposed as the Apostle's form of arguing makes it necessary that to worship God or to come to him is to please him it must needs follow that to please God signifies the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that the worship of God properly so called is the only thing that is pleasing to God because the Apostle's intent in the proof of his general proposition is to give some particular instance of each part thereof as I shall shew all along in the Explication of these words There are other things which please God besides
do at last confess the plain truth of the Scriptures that without holiness no man shall see God And they say farther that 't is not only hard but impossible for a man left to that freedom which belongs to his Will to become regenerate But then what comfort does this persuasion leave Why they tell us that Regeneration and Holiness shall be wrought in our hearts by an Almighty operation of the Holy Spirit such as that whereby God will at last raise us from the dead Now I confess that nothing can be more easy than to become a good man this way because under the dispensation of irresistible Grace 't is impossible to be otherwise And I am not so vain as to refuse so great a blessing if it were in my power to refuse it But what if the Scripture hath no promise of such Grace Nay what if it had unless I knew how to obtain it or that I was one of a thousand and could not miss it What if I must be left to the common way of watching and praying and working out my Salvation And what if all this will be to as little purpose as if I had done nothing at all Is this the rest that Jesus hath promised we shall find to our Souls Let us therefore try another expedient what may be done by severe fasting and penance Will the punishing of my Body satisfy for the sin of my Soul This I think would almost do the business because 't is a greater pain to deny a craving Lust to stop a growing Passion and to resist a strong temptation to wicked Pleasure or unjust Gain or desired Revenge than to go through a reasonable course of outward mortification But can these things compensate for the omission of necessary duty or satisfy for the commission of known sin when under a more imperfect Law God refused harder things than these Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul No He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord c. Bodily Austerities no doubt are pleasing to God and profitable for our Souls when they are intended to express a just indignation at our selves for having sinned when to break the wicked custom they are imposed as penalties and revenges to be inflicted as soon as we have committed any wicked Action when they are added to the inward trouble of the mind to make us weary of sinning and us'd to starve and mortify the evil Appetite For such reasons as these 't is necessary to keep the body in subjection But if bodily exercise profiteth nothing unless it be profitable unto godliness and helpeth to make the Soul the better we are still driven back to that hard point which we would fain lose the sight of That without a new heart and a new life there is no hope of God's pardon I shall try but one refuge more which indeed gives a fair prospect of relief and that is what comfort may be had from the power of the keys wherewith Christ intrusted his Church when he said Whose sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose sins ye retain they are retained Now this assures me that when the Church received me by Baptism into her Communion she gave me a right to remission of sins and that if she deprives me of it by excommunication she can by absolution restore me to it And therefore I will never break the Peace of the Church by Schism nor lose it by contempt of her Censures But then I doubt the Church cannot forgive sins more effectually than God does who is thus represented to forgive in the Parable of the Lord that forgave his servant ten thousand talents He forgave him indeed and yet he required the Debt afterward upon his unmercifulness to his Fellow-servant which evidently shews that the Pardon was but conditional So likewise saith our Saviour shall your heavenly Father do unto you And the Church cannot do more than God does who himself requires Conditions and therefore has not given to man the power of dispensing absolute Pardons unless we can think that to ratify the word of a man he has obliged himself to disannul his own And because he has reserved to himself the final Judgment of all whose sins are either remitted or retained in this World by the Authority of the Church therefore the Kingdom of God that is the Church is compared to a Field where the tares and the wheat grow together the time not being yet come for an exact separation For these Reasons all are forced to confess that the peace of the Church does then only ensure the favour of God when the Key does not err But what if my Conscience tells me the Key doth err and that whilst I do not forfeit the Churches Peace by scandalous Crimes I do yet depart from God by hidden Iniquities Can the erring Key open to me the Gate of Everlasting Life I would fain believe that the bringing of these secret sins to light and purposing to offend no more would help at last and that a Death-bed Repentance could by the power of the Keys be made effectual to Salvation But O Blessed Jesus how can I believe that thy most holy Doctrine should be but a Rule whereby to confess sin and to purpose against it instead of a Rule obliging me to forsake it To conclude this matter If we leave that one path of Obedience we may try a thousand By-ways but the Truth which cannot be corrupted will send us back again to that plain truth of our Saviour If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments which like the flaming Sword that turns every way keeps the way of the Tree of Life against all ungodly and unrighteous men If therefore that Rest which our Lord promiseth is not to be had out of the way of Obedience it remains that we must find it in that way if we find it at all Let us therefore try for better success here than we have yet had Let us see whether the exactness of Rules and the indispensableness of Obedience must needs make us uneasy under the Discipline of Christianity or rather if the Grace of the Gospel doth not mitigate all the severity of its Laws without making any of them void Now the first mitigation I shall consider is this 1. That the Gospel leaves room for repentance of known and wilful Sins committed after Baptism a most remarkable instance of which Grace we have in the Discipline of the Church as it stood in the Apostle's days For when the Incestuous Corinthian was brought to Repentance St. Paul commanded the Church to forgive and comfort him lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow And surely as God forgives those open Scandals for which the Penitent was cut off from the Body of Christ so upon repentance he will forgive those secret Offences too which can make no forfeiture of Church-Communion If