of grace the thing that he doth is he presents unto the Father Christ bleeding gasping dying buried and conquering death and when he presents Christ to him he opens his case and confesses his sin to the full and says Lord this is my case As a beggar when he comes to ask an alms of you he will make a preface and tell you his extremity Sir I am in great want I have nor tasted a bit of bread in so many days and unless you help me by your charity I am utterly undone Now when these two concur that there is true need in the beggar and liberality in him of whom he begs it encourages the beggar to be importunate and he prevails you may know when the beggar hath need by his tone accent or language The needy beggars tone and accent is different from the sturdy beggars that hath no need but yet though the beggar be in great misery if he see a churlish Nabal go by him he hath no heart to beg and follows him not nor begs so hard because he hath but little hope to attain any thing from him But I say let both these meet together first that the beggar is in great need then that he of whom he begs is very liberal it makes him beg hard but now cannot he pray without book Think not that I speak against praying by the book you are deceived if you think so but there must be words taken to us besides which perhaps a book will not yield us A beggars need will make him speak and he will not hide his sores but if he hath any sore more ugly or worse than another he will uncover it good Sir behold my woful and distressed case he lays all open to provoke pity So when thou comest before God in confession canst thou not find out words to open thy self to Almighty God not one word whereby thou mayst unlap thy sores and beseech him to look on thee with an eye of pity I must not mince my sins but amplifie and aggravate them that God may be moved to pardon me till we do thus we cannot expect that God should forgive us A great ado there is about auricular confession but it 's a meer bable It were better to cry out our sins at the high Cross than the confess in a Priests ear Thou whisperest in the Priest's ear what if he never tell it or if he do art thou the better Come and pour out thy heart and soul before Almighty God confess thy self to him as David did for that hath a promise made to it Psal. 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou may be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest Why so Why one main cause why we should confess sin is to justifie God When a sinner confesses I am a child of wrath and of death if thou castest me into hell as justly thou mayst I have received but my due when a man does thus as the King's Attourney may frame a Bill of Inditement against himself he justifies Almighty God He gives God the honour of that justice which at the present he executes in pouring horrour into the conscience of the sinner and hath farther in store in providing the Lake of fire and brimstone for the impenitent Thus did David Against thee against thee c. Now when we have thus aggravated our misery comes the other part of begging to cry for mercy with earnestness and here 's the power of the Spirit It 's one thing for a man to pray and another thing for a man to say a prayer but to pray and cry for mercy as David did in good earnest to wrestle with God to say Lord My life lies in it I will never give thee over I will not go with a denial this is termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is the work of God's Spirit I named you a place in Jude ver 20. where the Apostle exhorts but ye beloved build up your selves in your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost there 's the prayer of the faithful to pray in the Holy Ghost And in the Ephesians we read of an Armour provided for all the parts of a man's body yet will not serve the turn unless prayer come in as the chief Ephes. 6.18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance c. This is the prayer of faith that procures forgiveness of sins we must pray in faith and in the Spirit that is the language which God understands He knoweth the meaning of the Spirit and knoweth none else but that Many men are wondrously deceived in that which they call the Spirit of prayer One thinks it is a faculty to set out ones desires in fair words shewing earnestness and speaking much in an extemporary prayer This we think commendable yet this is not the Spirit of prayer One that shall never come to Heaven may be more ready in this than the child of God for it is a matter of skill and exercise the Spirit of prayer is another thing The Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought the Spirit it self makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 What shall we think then that the Holy Ghost groans or speaks in prayer No but it makes us groan and though we speak not a word yet it so enlarges our hearts as that we send up a volley of sighs and groans which reach the Throne of grace And this is the Spirit of prayer when with these sighs and groans I beg as it were for my life This is that ardent affection the Scripture speaks of A cold prayer will never get forgiveness of sins it 's the prayer of faith which prevails The prayer of the people availeth much if it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fervent In the Ancient Churches those that were possessed with an evil spirit were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because that caught them up and made them do actions not sutable to their nature Prayer is a fire from Heaven which if thou hast it will carry all Heaven before it there is nothing in the world so strong as a Christian thus praying Prayers that are kindled with such a zeal are compared to Jacobs wrestling with the Angel Hos. 12.4 whereby he had power over the Angel The Prophet expounds what this wrestling was he wept and made supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there he spake with him This is the wrestling with God when thou fillest Heaven with thy sighs and sobs and bedewest thy couch with thy tears as David did and hast thy resolution with Jacob I will not let thee go except thou bless me God loves this kind of boldness in a beggar that he will not go away without an answer As the poor Widow in the Parable that would not give over her suit
all for Christ 96 97 Free grace in bringing sinners to Christ 84 No Free will to good 86 G. TO be given up to our selves a more fearful thing than to be given up to Satan 44 52 The Gospel not seasonable nor savoury till the Law hath been preached 33. How the Gospel differs from the Law 36 The fulness and freedom of the Grace of the Gospel not hindred by the conditions of Faith and Obedience 84 85 Guilt of sin taken away in Justification 133 134 H. HArdness of heart a hindrance to Conversion 2 3 Hell for whom provided 56 Hell described 157 c. That Christ suffered not the pains of Hell proved 80 Christians rejoyce in Hope 151 The Humiliation of Christ v. Christ. I. IMputation of Righteousness See Righteousness To be given up to Insensibleness a woful thing 52 53 Joy in the sense of God's love surpasseth all worldly joy 98. It is attainable ibid. The reason why many believers are strangers to it 98. Some Joy may be in a Temporary 121. How to try true Joy 151. Means to get it 151 152 Justification what it signifies 123. How the Fathers used the Word 123. Justification one simple act of God 124 How we are said to be justified by Faith and how by Christ's blood 93 134 In what sense we are Justified by Faith according to Paul and in what sense by Works according to James 124 Impossible to be justified but by imputed Righteousness 125 129 130. In the instant of Justification no sins are remitted but those that are past 130. A twofold Justification 127 Why a justified person may and must pray for the remission of sins past 131 Justification frees from the punishment and guilt too 133 134 Justification confounded by the Papists with sanctification 125. The difference between them 135 137 No Justification before Faith 142 How we are Justified by Faith alone 141 Judgment in Scripture sometime taken for Righteousness inherent 139 How men are deceived in Judging of of their spiritual estate 18 K. KNowledge one act of Faith 95 L. THe use of the Law 33 65 112 It is necessary to be preached before the Gospel 33 112 Men are under the Law till they come to Christ 35. how fearful a thing it is to be under the Law 35 36. the difference between the Law and the Gospel in three particulars 36 Love of God twofold 91. No temporary believer loves God 123 To be given up to our own Lusts a more fearful thing than to be given up to Satan 43 44 M WAnt of Meditation one cause most believers have so little joy in God 98 Mistakes in judging our spiritual estates See Judging Morality too much trusted to 21. It 's insufficient to bring men to heaven ibid. N. NAtural reason not to be trusted to 21. Too short to convince of sin throughly 22 Mans condition by Nature described 25. The Natural man dead in sin 29. His best works cannot please God and why 29.30 The Curses attending a Natural man in this world 49 c. Two blows that God gives a Natural mans soul in this life the one sensible 51. the other insensible 52. The Curses attending him at Death 53 c. O. CHrists active Obedience mixed with his passive 73 Wherein his active Obedience consisted 74 c. Wherein his passive 75 Partial Obedience a false glass to judge our estates by 21 To design only our Old age for God is dishonourable to him 9 10 Old age most unfit for Repentance 11 12 Men apt to have too good Opinion of themselves 17. The causes of it 1â— c. Men deceived in judging of their estates by the good Opinions of others 19 P. PArtial Obedience see Obedience Passive Obedience see Obedience Peace a fruit of Faith 143 147. Why many Christians want the sense of it 143 144 147 The differences between a true and a false Peace 148 The Causes of a Carnal Peace 147 148 Christ is our Peace 149 Spirit of Prayer what 115 116 1. The Importunity and efficacy of it 116 Why a person already justified may and must Pray for the forgiveness of sins past 130 131 R. NAtural Reason see Natural To Receive Christ what 85 What Reformation may be in a natural man 120 121 Repentance prevents ruine 3 Repentance not in our own power but in Gods gift 6. The sinfulness of deferring it 5 Death-bed Repentance the hindrances of it 13. Not to be trusted to 14. Hard to prove it sound 14 Superficial Repentance is vain 24 Repentance in what respects necessary to justification 132 Remission of sin See Forgiveness Resting or Relying upon God a proper Act of Faith 96 Righteousness two fold 123 129 Imputative Righteousness what it is 125 129. Impossible to be justified without it and why 129 130 S Sanctification a distinct thing from Justification 127 Satan See Devil A difficult thing to be Saved 22. Sealing a distinct thing from Faith 137. The Causes of Security 149. Self-Examination necessary to Conversion 17. a mark of a sound believer 128. Self flattery See flattery Self-Love how it deceives men in judging their estates 18. Sin continued in hastens Gods judgements 2.3 Sin compared to a weight 11. to Cords 12 Sin gets strength by continuance 12. The Sinfulness of Sin set forth in 6. considerations 37.38 c. The dreadful fruits and consequence of Sin It pollutes the Soul 41. It makes men loathsom to God 42 It brings the Devil into the heart 43. It calls for wages 45. The greatness of Sin should be no bar against believing in Christ 85. No Sin overtops the value of Christs blood ibid. Encouragements for Sinners to come to Christ 85. Sin not discovered throughly but by the spirit 109 Sin may be cast away and yet no true Conversion 121 Sin is only a Privation and no positive being 124 Sins not pardoned before they be committed 115. The guilt and punishment of Sin taken away in Justification 133 Spirit of Bondage what 109 Spirit of Prayer see Prayer T. A Temporary Faith how far it may go 117 c. How to know it from true faith 120 Temporary Believers desire Christ only in affliction 120. They do but only tast of Christ 121. They desire mercy but not grace 122. They do nothing out of love to God 122 The sinfulness of thoughts 42 The end of Gods Threatnings 3 U. UNregenerate Men See Natural Our unworthiness should not keep us from coming to Christ. 84 W. THe Will wrought by God as well as the deed 112. The Will more than the Deed 112. How God takes the Will for the deed 113 He that hath a Will to receive Christ hath a warrant to receive him 86 God alone enclines the Will to receive Christ ibid. A woful thing to be suffered by God to have our own Wills in this world 66 Our Wills must be crossed here or for ever hereafter ibid. The Willingness of Christs sufferings rendred them the more meritorious 74 The Word presented to our faith
but consider whether these thoughts which poise down our hearts be not groundless see whether they will hold water at the last and whether in making such excuses to great presumption we add not the height of folly To pretend for our delay the Profits and Pleasures of sin and yet hope for Heaven at the last as well as the generation of the righteous it 's but a meer fallacy and delusion of Satan to fill our hearts with such Vanities Can it be expected that we should have our good in this World and in the World to come too This is well if it might be But let us try the matter and begin with your first branch You are loth to part with your Profits and Pleasures But consider what a grand iniquity this is Can you offer God a greater wrong and indignity Do you thus requite the Lord you foolish and unwise Dost thou think this the way to make thy peace with God whom thou hast offended as long as thou mayst to be a Rebel against him What a high dishonour is it to him that thou shouldst give him thy feeble and doting old age and the Devil thy lively and vigorous youth thy strength and spirits Dost thou think he will drink the Dregs and eat the Orts Will he accept thee in the next World when thou thus scornest him in this If you offer the Blind for sacrifice is it not an evil If you offer â—he Lame and Sick is it not evil Offer it now unto thy governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person saith the Lord of Hosts Mal. 1.8 But mark how he goes on v. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing Mark God accounts such service a corrupt thing and the Person that offers it a mere Cheat a Deceiver Never look for a blessing from God in Heaven when thou sacrificest to him such corrupt things No thou art Cursed of God as long as thou continuest in this Hypocrisy We are to offer and present our selves a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God Rom. 12.1 Now judge whether they offer God the living who say when my doting days come my lame days thar I cannot go my blind dayes that I cannot see I le offer my self a sacrifice to God Will this be acceptable to him Is not this Evil saith the Lord to offer me such a corrupt thing Nay more he 's accursed that offers such an offering such a polluted sacrifice God will not like with it when we serve our selves first with the best and choise Do you thus requite the Lord Do you think he will accept it at your hands Go offer such a gift to thy Ruler to thy Prince will he accept it or be pleased with it No a Landlord will have the best and the choice and it must needs provoke God when we give him the refuse I am King of Kings saith the Lord my name is dreadful and I will look to be served after another manner Let no man then thus delude himself with vain hopes but let him consider how dishonourable a thing it will be to God 2. And how unprofitable to him whoever thou art Indeed we cannot be profitable unto Him Properly as he that is wise may be profitable to himself Job 22.2 But he is so gracious a master that he esteems our sincere and seasonable service to be his own gain and our sloth and neglect to be his detriment he accompts our destruction to be his own loss Now it s the ready way 1. It s the ready way to thy Destruction Heaven and happiness and eternal life are laid up for those that embrace the acceptable time death horrour and eternal misery for those that refuse it and wilt thou hazard Soul and Body on this Moses on this ground did rather choose to suffer affliction in this World with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Hebr. 11.25 When these things are past what profit will you have of those things whereof then you will be ashamed Nay whereof were thine eyes open thou wouldst now be ashamed and happy wouldst thou be if thou wert as the converted Romans were even now ashamed Rom. 6.21 Shame accompanies Sin so constantly and unavoidably that even repentance it self removes it not The Romans now Christians were ashamed for what they had done before they knew Christ. When a man comes to see truly and throughly into himself he will find no profit of such things as these Death will certainly follow us not only Temporal but Eternal also if we Repent not the more speedily that 's all the profit we shall find 2. But suppose thou prevent everlasting death by repentance yet what profit is there of those things whereof we are now for the present ashamed The best can come is shame 3. Thou art loth to part with the Pleasures of sin for a Season and hereafter thou thinkest thou canst amend all But consider the particulars and then shall you see how you are befool'd in your hearts and souls Believe it for an undoubted truth there 's nothing in the World by which Satan more deludes a man then by this perswading him to neglect his day and that he may repent well enough hereafter That you may expel this suggestion out of your Souls pray unto God that he would go along with his Word and cause you to lay this to heart that by his Spirit your understanding may be enlightned to see the truth Though I make this as clear as the Sun that it is a false supposition and mere folly on which we build in deferring our return to God yet God from Heaven must teach you or you will be never the wiser Know therefore that this very day God reaches out the Golden Scepter to thee and what folly were it no neglect it since thou knowest not whether he will ever proffer it thee again And assure thy self that he is a Lyar that tels thee thou mayst as well repent hereafter as now and this will appear whether we consider the order of outward things in the World or the nature of sin 1. For external things every Age after a man comes into the World if he embrace not the present opportunity for repentance is worse then other and are each of them as so many Clogs which come one after a another to hinder it As for thy Childish Age that 's mere Vanitie and thy riper Age will bring many Impediments and Hinderances that youth never thought of Thou art then troubled about many things and perplexed how to provide for maintenance in the midst whereof know that thou hast not a body of Brass but a Corruptible and Fading body and yet such is the Folly of the heart of man that the less Ground he hath to go the fewer Dayes to spend the more he often provides and is the more covetous Consider that
be married to me if we refuse the Son takes it wonderfully ill Therefore Psal. 2.12 he says Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are all those that put their trust in him So in the Hebrews God swore that because of infidelity those unbelieving Jews should never enter into his rest All the rest of the threatnings of the Law were not backed with an oath there was some secret reservation of mercy unto them upon the satisfaction of Divine Justice but here there is no reservation God hath sworn such shall never come into Heaven Look not for a third thing in God now as a mitigation of his oath it cannot be he hath sworn that an unbeliever shall never enter into his Rest. These five things are the grounds of Faith even unto the worst and unworthiest persons that may be and by all or some of them he creates Faith in us which once wrought in the heart by the spirit of God secretly and we discerning the same this is the witness of our spirit Now our spirit having viewed all these things and the promises upon which they are grounded thus it witnesseth as if one should demand of a man Are these things presented to thy view true Yes will he say true as true as the Gospel then the next thing is is all good and profitable O yes says he all is very good and desirable then the upshot is I but is this good for thee If your soul answer now Yes very good to me if then thou accept of this and wrap and fold thy self in the promises thou canst not wind thy self out of comfort and assurance to be Christ Jesus for pray what makes up a match but the consent of two agreeing so the consent of two parties agreeing upon this message makes up the match betwixt us and Christ uniting and knitting us unto him There are also being now incorporated other means to make us grow up him by which time discovers what manner of ingrafting we have had into him for we see four or five scions are ingrafted into a stock yet some of them may not be incorporated with the stock but wither So many are by the Word and Sacraments admitted as retainers and believers of the promises who shrink and hold not out because they never were throughly incorporated into Christ but imperfectly joyned unto him But howsoever all that come to life must pass this way if they look for sound comfort And thus much shall suffice for the witness of our Spirit in Justification But the testimony of our spirit goes further wherein I might shew how in sanctification our spirit saith Lord prove me if there be any evil in me and lead me in the way everlasting he loves the Brethren and desires to fear God as Nehemiah pleads Nehem. 1.11 Be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and of thy servants who desire to fear thy name This is the warrant that I am partaker of that inward true washing and not of that outward only of the Hog which being kept clean and in good company will be clean till there be an occasion offered of wallowing in the mire again But when I find that though there were neither Heaven to reward me nor Hell to punish me if opportunity were offered yet my heart riseth against sin because of him who hath forbidden it this is a sure evidence and testifies that I am a child of God This is for the first thing in bringing of a man in to survey the promises belonging to Justification and Sanctification wherein our spirit seeing it self to have interest doth truly and on sound judgment witness the assurance of our Salvation Secondly when I find Christ drawing me and changing my nature that upon the former reasonings view and laying hold of Christ making me now have supernatural thoughts and delights for this a man may have then certainly my spirit may conclude that I am blessed for saith the Scripture Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to come unto thee But some like Dreamers do dream of this only I know not on what grounds but do I this waking with my whole soul doth my spirit testifie it upon good grounds why then I may rest upon it it is as sure as may be Thus much is the testimony of our spirit Now it is clear how faith is wrought briefly two ways which the Lord useth to bring a man to the survey of those grounds upon which our spirit doth witness First he works upon the understanding Secondly On the will and affections It is a strange thing to consider how this work is begun and finished so that we may say hereof as the Lord poseth Job in Job 38.37 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts Or who hath given understanding to the heart And in another place Where is the way where light dwelleth and as for darkness where is the place thereof First God enlightens the understanding with the thunderings of the Law when he shews a man such a sight as he could not have believed and convinceth hem in general that his estate is not good that without mercy Hell attends him this is a flash of Lightning from Mount Sinai Secondly comes a Thunder-clap laying all down laying flat the will and affections dejecting a man so that this first secret work of faith is a captivating of the understanding will and affections Now the act both of the understanding and the will is set forth in this case Hebr. 11.13 These all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off were perswaded of them and embraced them c. In this Scripture is set down the two hands and arms of faith First believing Christ out of sight Secondly laying hold and embracing the promises They in the old Testament did not receive Christ in the flesh and so are said to look afar off as the Apostle speaks 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom ye having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce c. But the Apostle adds they were perswaded of the promises and embraced them This is the work of the spirit upon the understanding convincing the soul of sin shewing there is a remedy tells the soul all is marvellous true that God hath revealed in his word and then draws to this conclusion Christ came to save sinners whereof I am chief therefore he came to save me Yet all this while the will may be stubborn and rebellious and the affections disordered therefore here comes in the second arm of faith not only being perswaded of the word as a word of truth but as a good promise of good things to me so that here is another degree of the working of the spirit to compel the will and affections so sweetly grace having removed that perversness and disorder which governed them before Now this gentle enforcing and often
beating upon the will again and again what the understanding hath rightly conceived this at last works upon the will and moves it for we see the wickedest man in the world lays hold on the worst things as good and profitable unto him so when the best thing is presented to the will as the best thing and the necessity thereof urged by dangers ensuing inevitably if I will not then it apprehends that and says of it as Peter at the Transfiguration It is good for us to be here and let us build Tabernacles Hence you see what faith is in this working An act of the understanding forcing in that way of conviction which we mentioned the will and affections And thus when the understanding is captivated and the will brought to be willing then the first act of faith is past From whence we proceed to the second which is the running to the City of Refuge the application and believing of the promises and so to the apprehending of Christ surveying of the promises belonging to justification and sanctification and bringing them home to the soul from whence comes the witness of our spirit Before we come yet to speak of God's spirit witnessing with our spirit because betwixt this work there may be many times and is an interposing trial ere the spirit of God witness with our spirit we will first touch that When our spirit hath thus witnessed in Justification and Sanctification God may now write bitter things against me seem to cast me off and wound me with the wounds of an enemy remove the sense of the light of his countenance from me what then is to be done why yet I will trust in him though he kill me sure I am I have loved and esteemed the words of his mouth more than mine appointed food as Job speaks I have laid hold of Christ Jesus by the promises and believe them I have desired and do desire to fear him and yield obedience to all his Commandments if I must needs die I will yet wait on him and die at his feet Look here is the strength of faith Christ had faith without feeling when he cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me When sense is marvellous low then faith is at the strongest Here we must walk and live by faith we shall have sense and sight enough in another world The Apostle tells us Now we walk by faith and not by sight and by faith we stand As we may see a pattern of the woman of Canaan Matth. 15.22 First she was repulsed as a stranger yet she goes on then she was called a dog she might now have been discouraged so as to have given over her suit but see this is the nature of Faith to pick comfort out of discouragements to see out of a very small hole those things which raise and bring consolation she catches at this quickly Am I a dog why yet it is well for the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their Master's Table Thus Faith grew stronger in her and when this trial was past Christ says unto her O woman not O dog now great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And thus have I done with the testimony of our spirit Then from our believing of God in general believing and applying the promises and valourous trustings of God and restings upon God taking him at his word comes the testimony of Gods spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are the children of God I say this being done and God having let us see what his strength in us is he will not let us stand long in this uncomfortable state but will come again and speak peace to us that we may live in his sight as if he should say what hast thou believed me so on my bare word Hast thou honoured me so as to lay the blame and fault of all my trials on thy self for thy sins clearing my Justice in all things hast thou honoured me so as to magnifie mercy to wait and hope on it for all this hast thou trusted me so as to remain faithful in all thy miseries Then the Lord puts unto the witness of our spirit the seal of his spirit as we may read Ephes. 1.13 Says the Apostle In whom also ye trusted after that ye heard the word of truth the Gopel of your Salvation in whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance c. Here is the difference betwixt faith and sense faith takes hold of general promises draws then down to particulars applies them and makes them her own lives and walks by them squaring the whole life by them in all things But sense is another thing even that which is mentioned Psalm 35.3 When there is a full report made to the soul of its assured happiness Say unto my soul I am thy salvation When a man hath thus been gathered home by glorifying him and believing his truth then comes a special evidence to the soul with an unwonted joy and saith I am thy salvation which in effect is that which Christ in another place speaks John 14.21 He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my self unto him And as it is in the Canticles 1.2 Then he will kiss us with the kisses of his mouth so as we shall be able to say My beloved is mine and I am his When God hath heard us cry awhile till we be throughly humbled then he takes us up into his arms and dandles us So that a meditation of the word being past a man having viewed his Charter and the promises surveying Heaven the priviledges of Believers and the glory that is to come then comes in the Spirit and makes up a third with which comes joy unspeakable and glorious in such a measure that for the present we can neither wish nor desire any thing else the soul resting wonderfully ravished and contented This cannot nor shall not always continue but at sometimes we shall have it yet it remains always so as it can never finally be taken away as our Saviours promise is John 16 22. And ye now therefore have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce and your joy shall no man take from you This is the root of all consolation that God will not forsake for ever But will at last come again and have compassion on us according to the multitude of his mercies But here some may Object What Doth the spirit never seal but upon some such hard tryals after the witness of our Spirit I answer the sealing of Gods Spirit with our Spirit is not always tyed to hard foregoing tryals immediately for a man may be surveying Heaven and the glory to come or praying earnestly with a tender and melting heart applying the promises and wrastling with God and at the same time Gods seal many times may be and
walk or speak or do any act of a living man so these cannot do the actions of men that are quickned and enlivened they cannot pray with the spirit they cannot love God c. They cannot do those things that shall be done hereafter in Heaven There 's not one good duty which this natural man can do If it should be said unto him Think but one good thought and for it thou shalt go to Heaven he could not think it Till God raise him from the sink of sin as he did Lazarus from the grave he cannot do any thing that is well pleasing unto God He may do the works of a moral man but to do the works of a man quickned and enlightned it 's beyond his power For if he could do so he must then have some reward from God for however we deny the merit of good works yet we deny not the reward of good works to a man that is in Christ. There 's no proportionable merit in a cup of cold water and the Kingdome of Heaven yet he that gives a cup of cold water to a Disciple in the name of a Disciple shall not lose his reward Here then is the point The best that a natural man doth cannot so relish with God as that he should take delight in it or reward it whereas the least good thing that comes from another root from a quickned spirit is acceptable and well pleâ—sing to him Consider for this end that which is set down Prov. 15.8 Tâ—ke the best works of a natural man his prayers or sacrifice and see there what is said The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. It s said again Prov. 21.27 where there are additions The Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord How much more when he brings it with a wicked mind Suppose there should come upon this man a sit of devotion where he hath or should have some good motions is it then accepted no it is so far from being accepted that it is an Abomination to God how much more then if he brings it with wicked mind That is if he brings it not with a wicked mind it is an abomination how much more with it See the case set down in Haggai 2.12.13 14. If one bear holy flesh c. shall it be holy And the Priest answered no. Then said Haggai if an unclean person touch any of these shall it be unclean And he said it shall be unclean Then answered Haggai so is this people so is this nation before me saith the Lord and so is every work of their hands it is unclean A man may nor say prayer is a sin because it it is so in them no it 's a good duty but spoil'd in the carriage He marrs it in the carriage and therefore insteâ—d of doing a good work he spoils it and so in stead of a reward must look for punishment 1 Tim. 15. The end of the Commandment is love out of a â—ure hâ—art a good conscience and faith unfeigned Let the things thou dost be according to the Commandment Look what thou dost be in the middle end and beginning according to the Commandement If wrong in all these then though the work be never so materially good being faulty in the original middle or end it 's so far from being a good work that God will not accept of it and thou mayst rather expect a plague for spoiling it then a reward for doing it See then the beginning of a good work it must be from a pure heart A man not ingrafted into Christ is a dâ—filed polluted person his very mind and conscience are dâ—filed The conscâ—ence is the purest thing a man hath it holds out last and taketh part witâ— God that as Jobs messenger said I only am escâ—ped to tell theâ— Job 1 15. So conscience only remains to declare a mans faults to God and to witness against the man and yet this very light the eye of tâ—e soul is deâ—iled therefore if thou have a corrupt fâ—untain if the heart be naught the fountain muddy whatever stream comes from it cannot be pure Again the end of it is love Consider when thou dost any duty what puts thee on work Is it love doth constrain thee If love do not constrain thee it is manifest that thou dost not seek God but thy self and art to every good work a Reprobate Tit. 1.16 that is thou art not then able to do any thing that God will accept the best thing thou dost will not relish with God A hard estate indeed that when a man shall come to appear before God he shall not have one good thing that he hath done in all his life that God will own Some there be that take a great deal of pains in coming to the word in prayer publick and private in charity and giving to the poor Alas when thou shalt come to an account and none of these things shall stead thee not one of them shall speak for thee but all shall be lost How heavy will thy case be 2 John 8. Look to your selves that you lose not the thing that you have wrought By being indisposed to do the works of a living man we lose all that is to say God will never own nor accept them we shall never have reward for them So that here is the case thou being dead unable to perform the works of a living man canst have no reward from heaven at all until a man is quickned and hath life from Christ his works are dead as well as his person Without me saith our Saviour you can do nothing Ja. 15.5 St. Austin on this place observes that Christ saith not Without me ye can do no great matter No but unless you be cut off from your own stock taken from your own root and be ingrafted into me and have life from me and be quickned by me you can do nothing at all Nothing neither great nor small all that you do is lost So that if there were nothing but this being dead you could do no good action I know that in me that is in my flesh saith St. Paul there dwelleth no good thing Rom. 7.18 that is nothing spiritually good nothing for which I may look for a reward in heaven The Lord will say of such a man thou hast lived ten twenty forty or it may be fifty years under the Ministry and yet hast not done a good work or thought a good thought that I can own Cut down this fruitless tree why cumbers it the greund Luk. 13.7 And this is the case of every man of us while we continue in our naâ—ural condition till we be ingrafted into Christ and live by life God will own nothing we do But now we are not only dead and indisposed to the works of a living man though this be a very woful case and we need no more misery for this will bring us to be cut down and cast into the
fire if we continue so But this is not the only sad case of a natural man but he 's very active and fruitful in the works of darkness the others were sins of omission Here he is wholly set upon the commission of sins and trespasses Heb. 6 7.7 He not only brings not forth meet fruit or good fruit or no fruit but he brings forth thorns and briars and is therefore rejected and nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burnt Thou art not only found a barren tree and so deservest to be cut down but thou bringest forth thorns and briars and deservest to be burnt not only no good fruit but noxious bad and poyson'd fruit and this doth mightily aggravate the matter Now for us that have lived so long under the Ministry and the Lord hath watered and dressed and hedged us do we think the Lord expects from us no good fruit Had we lived among heathens or where the Word is not taught then so much would not be expected but we have heard the Word often and powerfully taught and therefore it is expected that we should not only bring forth fruit but meet fruit answerable to the means Where God affords greatest means there he expects most fruit If a man live thirty or forty years under powerful means the Lord expects answerable fruit which if he bring forth he shall have a blessing from the Lord. But when a man hath lived long under the means and brings forth no fruit pleasing to God but all Gods cost is lost when notwithstanding the dew and the rain which falls oft upon him he brings forth nothing but thorns and briars he is rejected and nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burnt The earth which drinketh in the former and the latter rain c. if it bring not forth fruit answerable to the labour of the dresser it 's nigh unto the curse Now if we consider but the particulars and search into Gods Testimonies we shall see how bâ—d this man is But who should this man be We have Gods own word for it It 's men generally all men Gen. 6.5 God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every thought and imagination of his heart was only evil continually Every word is as it were a thunder bolt and was it not time when it was thus with them for God to bring a flood The thoughts are the original from which the words and actions do usually proceed Now all their thoughts were evil What was there no kind of goodness in their thoughts No they were only evil continually and that was the reason the flood came Well but though it were so before the flood yet I hope they were better after the flood No God said again after the flood cap. 8. The thoughts of the hearts of men are evil c. Like will to like Men are of one kind till they receive grace from Christ. We are all one nature and naturally all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts are only evil continually See it in the understanding 1 Cor. 3.14 The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God neither can he know them for they are foolishness unto him c. Look upon his will Rom. 8. It is not subject to the will of God neither indeed can it be Our Saviour Mat. 15.8 doth anatomize the heart of such a man Those things that come out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile the man for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murthers adulteries c. these are they which defile the man because they come from his heart from within If a man go by a house and seeing great flakes of fire come out of the chimney though he see not the fire within yet he cannot know but there is fire within because he seeth the flakes without I am not able to see the heart of any man and to declare to you what I have seen with mine eyes but yet if I see such to come forth as murther thefts blasphemies lying and the like I may say there is hell-fire in the heart thy heart is a little hell within thee these manifestations from without make it appear to be so The words of this man are rotten words and stinking words and his heart is much more So this is the point we are utterly indispos'd aliens to all good and bent to all evil I am carnal saith the Apostle we are sold under sin slaves unto it sin is our Lord and we its slaves We have generally forfeited our happy estate and are servants to Sâ—tan whom we obey Therefore this is a thing not easily to be passed over this our condition of which if we were once truly perswaded we would never give our selves any rest till we were got out of it If the party that goes to the Physician could but know his disease and cause the Physician to know it and the causes of it whether it came from a hot cause or a cold it were easily cured it were as good as half done That is the chief reason why so many miscarry because their disease is not perfectly known That is the reason we are no better because our disease is not perfecâ—ly known That is the reason that we are no better because we know not flow bad we are If we did once know our disease and knew our selves to be heart-sick and not like the Laodiceans which thought themselves rich and wanted nothing when they were poor blind and naked then we would seek out and were in the way to be cured So much for this time but we will have another Lecture on this point GAL. 3.22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe YOu see in this excellent portion of Scripture the two Covenants of Almighty God to wit the Covenant of Nature and the Covenant of Grace The first of Nature which was written by God in mans heart and this is the holy Law of God by vertue whereof a man was to continue in that integrity holiness and uprightness in which God had first created him and to serve God according to that strength he first enabled him with that so he might live thereby But now when man had broken this Covenant and enter'd into a state of Rebellion against God he 's shut up in misery but not in misery for ever as the Angels that fell â—ere being reserved in chains till the judgement of the great day Jud. v. 6. No the Lord hath shut him up in prison only for a while that so he may the better make a way for their escape and deliverance and for their entrance into the second Covenant of Grace that so making him see his own misery wherein by nature he is and cutting him off from his own stock he may be ingrafted in Christ draw sap and sweetness from him and bring forth fruits to
the Law will execute Justice on him there is no benefit had by repentance the law will seize on him he should have looked to it before If thou committest Murther or Burglary it 's not enough to put one good deed for another to say I have done thus and thus for the King I kept such a Fort or I won such a Town this will not serve thy turn it will not save thy neck the law takes no knowledge of any good thing done or of any repentance This is thy estate Consider then what a case they are in that are shut up under the Law until a man hath saith it admits no exeuse requires things far above thy power to perform it will accept no repentance And therefore we may well make this Conclusion in the Galathians As many as are under the law are under the curse as it is written Cursed is every one that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them Gal. 3.10 But now where are we thus shut up It 's under sin as the Apostle â—ells us For the Law discovers sin to be sin indeed that sin by the commandment may become exceeding sinful Rom. 7.13 The Law makes us see more of it than we did or possibly could come to have seen Rom. 3.20 By the Law cometh the knowledge of sin I had not known sin but by the law Yes peradventure I might have known Murther Adultery c. to have been sins but to have known them to have been exceeding sinful I could not but by the law To know what a kind of plague sin is in it self so as not to make a game of it or a small matter as many usually make it to see the ugliness of it I cannot without the law But that we may know what sin is and that we may see it to be exceeding sinful I here bring you a few Considerations which I would have you ponder on and enlarge them to your selves when you come home 1. Consider the baseness of him that offends and the excellency of him that is offended You shall never know what sin is without this twofold Considerations lay them together and it will make sin out of measure sinful See in David The drunkards made songs and ballads of him He aggravates the indignity offered him in that he was their King yet that those wretched and filthy beasts the drunkards made songs of him See it likewise in Job Cap. 29. when he had declared unto them in what glory he once was that he was a King and Prince in the Country Then see Cap. 20. They that are younger than me have me in derision whose fathers I would have disdain'd to have set with the dogs of my flock He aggravates the offence First from the dignity of the persons wronged a King and a Prince Then from the baseness and vileness of those who derided him They were such as were younger than he such as whose fathers he would have disdain'd to have set with the dogs of his flocks A great indignity and mightily aggravated by these circumstances that a King should be abased by such vile persons Now some proportion there might be between David and the drunkards Job and these men but between thee and God what proportion can thâ—re be Who art thou therefore that darest set thy self in opposition and rebellion against God What a base worm that crawleth on the earth dust and ashes and yet darest thou thy Maker Dost thou saith God lift thy self up against him before whom all the powers of Heaven do tremble whom the Angels do adore Exaltest thou thy self against him who inhabiteth Eâ—ernity What oppose thy self a base creature to Almighty God thy Creator Consider this and let the baseness of the delinquent and the Majesty and Glory of that God against whom he offends be the first aggravation of sin and thou shalt find sin out of measure sinful 2. Consider the smalness of the Motives and the littleness of the inducements that perswade thee so vile a creature to set thy self against so glorious a God If it were great mâ—tters set thee a work as the saving of thy life it were somewhat But see how small and little a thing does usually draw thee to sin A little profit it may be or pleasure It may be neither of these or not so much When thou breathest out oaths and belchest out fearful blasphemies against God when thou rendest and tearest his dreadful and terrible name what makes such a base and vile villain as thou thus to fly in Gods face Is there any profit or delight in breathing forth blasphemies Profit thou canst take none and if thou take pleasure in it then the Devil is in thee yea then thou art worst than the Devil himself This is the second Consideration which may make us to see the vileness of sin and abhor our selves for it to wit the slenderness of the temptations and smalness of the motives to it 3. Add what strong helps and means God hath given thee to keep thee from sin As I say thou shouldst consider the bitterness of the delinquent the glory of the offended the mean motives whch cause so base a creature to do so vile an act so also consider the great means God hath given thee to keep thee from sin He hath given thee his Word and this will greatly aggravate thy sins to sin against his Word Gen. 3.11 When God convinces Adam he proceeds thus far with him Hast thou saith he eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat What hast thou done it as if thou wouldst do it on purpose to cross God God hath given thee an express command to the contrary and yet hast thou done this Hast thou so often heard the Law and pray'd Lord have mercy on me and incline my heart to keep this law and yet wilt thou lye swear commit adultery and deal falsly and that contrary to the command of God obstinately disobey him Now God hath not only given this great means of his Word and Commandment but great grace too Where understand that there is not only final grace but degrees of grace else the Apostle would not have said receive not the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain 2 Cor. 6.1 Consider then how much grace thou hast received in vain How many motions to good hast thou rejected Perhaps thy heart is touched at this Sermon though it is not my tongue nor the tongue of the most elegant in the world that can touch the heart but the Spirit that comes along with his Word Now when thou findst with the Word a Spirit to go with it it is a grace If thy conscience be enlightned and thy duty revealed to thee so that it tells thee what thou art what thou oughtest to do and not to do it is a grace Now if for all this thou blindly runnest through and art never the better but obstinately
it to hurt and wound us So that we may look on sin as the Barbarians looked on the viper on Pauls hand they expected continually when he would have swollen and burst Sin bites like a Snake which is called a fiery Serpent not that the Serpent is fiery but because it puts a man into such a flaming heat by their poyson And such is the sting of sin which carries poyson in it that had we but eyes to see our ugliness by it and how it inflames us we should continually every day look when we should burst with it The Apostle James 1.15 useth another metaphor Sin when it is accomplished bringeth forth death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Original sin goeth as it were with child with death The word is proper to Women in labour who are in torment till they are delivered Now as if sin were this Woman he useth it in the faeminine gender 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So it is with sin sin is in pain cries out hath no rest till it be delivered of this dead birth till it have brought forth death That is sin grows great with child with death and then it not only deserves death but it produceth and actually brings forth This is generally so Now consider with your selves death is a fearful thing When we come to talk of death how doth it amaze us The Priests of Nob are brought before Saul for relieving David and he saith Thou shalt surely die Ahimelech And this is your case you shall surely die death is terrible even to a good man As appears in Hezekiah who though he were a good man yet with how sad a heart doth he entertain the message of death The news of it affrighted him it went to his heart it made him turn to the wall and weep How cometh it to pass that we are so careless of death That we are so full of infidelity that when the word of God saith Thou shalt die Ahimelech we are not at all moved by it What can we think these are Fables Do we think God is not in earnest with us And by this means we fall into the temptation of Eve a questioning whether Gods threats are true or not That which was the deceit of our first Parents is ours Satan disputes not whether sin be lawful or not Whether eating the fruit were unlawful Whether Drunkenness c. Be lawful he 'l not deny but it is unlawful But when God saith If thou dost eat c. Thou shalt die he denies it and saith ye shall not die He would hide our eyes from the punishment of sin Thus we lost our selves at the first and the Floods of sin came on in this manner When we believed not God when he said If thou dost eat thou shalt surely die And shall we renew that Capital sin of our Parents and think if we do sin we shall not die If any thing in the World will move God to shew us no mercy it 's this when we sleight his Judgments or not believe them This adds to the height of all our sins that when God saith if thou dost live in sin thou shalt die and yet we will not believe him That when she shall come and threaten us as he doth Dâ—ut 29. v. 19. When he shall curse and we shall bless our selves in our hearts and say we shall have peace though we go on c. v. 20. The Lord will not spare that man but the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against him It is no small sin when we will not believe God This is as being thirsty before we now add Drunkenness to our thirst That is when God shall thus pronounce curses he shall yet bless himself and say I hope I shall do well enough for all that There are two words to that bargain Then see what follows The anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man c. We are but now entred into the point but it would make your hearts ake and throb within you if you should hear the particulars of it All that I have done is to perswade you to make a right choice to take heed of Satans delusions Why will ye die Ezek. 33.11 Therefore cast away your sins and make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will you die Ezek. 18.31 Where the Golded Candlestick stands there Christ walks there he saith I am with you Where the Word and Sacraments are there Christ is and when the Word shakes thy heart take that time now choose life Why will you die Consider of the matter Moses put before the people life and death blessing and cursing Deut. 30.15 19. We put life and death before you in a better manner He was a Minister of the letter we of the spirit 2 Cor. 3.6 Now choose life But if you will not hearken but will needs try conclusions with God therefore because you will choose your own conclusions and will not hearken unto God because you will needs try conclusions with him will not obey him when he calls therefore he will turn his deaf ear unto you and when you call and cry he will not answer Prov. 1.28 I press this the more to move you to make a right choice But now to turn to the other side as there is nothing but death for the wages of sin and as I have shewed you where death is So give me leave to direct you to the Fountain of life There is life in our blessed Saviour if we have but an hand of faith to touch him we shall draw vertue from him to raise us up from the death of sin to the life of righteousness 1 John 5.12 He that hath the Son hath life he that hath not the Son hath not life You have heard of a death that comes by the first Adam and sin and to that stock of Original sin we had from him we have added a great heap of our own actual sins and so have treasured up unto our selves wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 Now here is a great treasure of happiness on the other side in Christ have the Son and have life The question is now whether you will choose Christ and life or sin and death Consider now the Minister stands in Gods stead and beseeches you in his name he speaks not of himself but from Christ. When he draws near to thee with Christs broken body and his blood shed and thou receivest Christ then as thy natural life and strength is preserved and encreased by these Elements so hast thou also spiritual life by Christ. If a man be kept from nourishment a while we know what death he must die If we receive not Christ we cannot have life we know that there is life to be had from Christ and he that shall by a true and lively faith receive Christ shall have life by him There is as it were a pair of Indentures drawn up between God and a
so that the Judge though he feared not God nor cared for man by reason of her importunity granted her desire Mark the other thing in the Apostle he bids us pray with the Spirit and with perseverance and he that cometh thus hath a promise made to it He that calleth on the Name of the Lord shall be saved Call on me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee it 's set down fully Matth. 6.7 Ask and you shall have seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be as opened One would think this were idem per idem but it is not so He bids us ask and it shall be given seek and you shall find c. There is a promise annexed to asking seeking and knocking but it is also proved by universal experience for every one that asketh c. It 's very man's case never any man did it yet that hath lost his labour in not attaining what he asked If thou hast it not yet thou shalt have it in the end it is so fair a petition to ask to have thy sins pardoned that God would be friends with thee and that Christ would make thee love him and that God would be thy God that God delights in it This is the point then Suppose God answer not presently yet knock still seek still that is perseverance the thing whereby it is distinguished from temporary asking The hypocrite will pray in a time of need and adversity but his prayer is not constant Job 27.10 Will the hypocrite always call upon God If they come and seek God and he will not answer as Saul did they will try the Devil God would not answer Saul and he presently goes to the Devil It 's not so with God's children they pray and pray and wait still they pray with the Spirit and with perseverance God deals not always alike with his children but differently sometimes he answers presently sometimes he makes them wait his leisure Psal. 32.5 I said I would confess my sins says David and my transgressions and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin so Dan. 9.21 When he set himself to seek God even while he was speaking and praying the man Gabriel appeared unto him and touched him about the time of the evening oblation Before the word was out of his mouth God was at his heart and presently sends him a dispatch The like we see in Esay 65.24 Mark what a promise there is It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear This is a great encouragement but it may be God will not always do this and what 's the reason Why he hath a wonderful great delight to be wrestled withal and to hear the words of his own Spirit nothing is more delightful to him than this when the Spirit is earnest and will not give over I will not let thee go unless thou bless me Gen. 32.26 It 's said in the Canticles honey is under the lips of the Church Cant. 4.11 Why so it's because there is no honey sweeter to the palate than spiritual prayer to God And therefore God delays to answer thee because he would have more of it If the Musicians come and play at our doors or windows if we delight not in their Musick we throw them out money presently that they may be gone but if the Musick please us we forbear to give them money because we would keep them longer for we like the Musick So the Lord loves and delights in the sweet words of his children and therefore puts them off and answers them not presently Now God's children let him deny them never so long yet they will never leave knocking and begging they will pray and they will wait still till they receive an answer Many will pray to God as prayer is a duty but few use it as a means to attain a blessing Those who come to God in the use of it as a means to attain what they would have they will pray and not give over they will expect an Answer and never give over petitioning till they receive it ROM 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ c. HAving declared unto you the nature of faith and that point which concerns the practice of it in our near approach unto God I am now come to shew unto you the fruits and benefits Christians receive from this Mother-grace and that the Apostle sets down in these words He sets down 1. The Mother-Grace it self together with its principal benefit Justification or reconciliation with God that whereas we were afar off we are made near and of enemies made friends of God Then 2. There are the daughters or hand-maids of this grace For when we are justified by Faith then 1. We have peace with God that peace of conscience which passeth all understanding then 2. We have free access by faith unto the Throne of grace so that we need not look for any other Mediators Christ hath made way for us to God so that we may go boldly to the Throne of grace and find help at any time of need 3. There follows a joyful hope that a Christian hath by it a taste of Heaven before he come to enjoy it We rejoyce in hope saith the Apostle hope being as firm a thing as faith faith makes things absent as present hope hath patience with it and would have us wait We shall be sure of it but yet we must wait patiently 4. Not only rejoycing in hope but even in that which spoils a natural man's joy as in crosses troubles afflictions for even these are made the matter of this man's joy not delectable objects only Not in time to come after afflictions but in afflictions so as that which spoils the joy of a natural man is fuel to kindle this man's joy Now concerning justification by faith though it be an ordinary point yet there is nothing more needs Explication than to know how a man shall be justified by Faith It is easily spoken hardly explicated Therefore in this mother-Grace I shall shew you 1. What faith is that doth justifie And 2. What this justification is For it is not so easie a matter neither 1. Concerning the nature of faith I have spoken sufficiently already wherein it consists but yet notwithstanding there is a certain thing as like this faith as may be and yet comes short of it Many there are who are like the foolish Virgins that thought they were well enough and thought they should come time enough So many think verily that they have faith yea and perchance go with such a perswasion to their very graves and think they have grace and that they labour after Christ and lay hold on him and are free from worldly pollutions so as that they have a
taste and relish of the joy of the world to come and yet are carried all this while in a fool's Paradise and think there is no fear of their safety never knowing that they are cast-aways till they come to the gates of hell and find themselves by woful experience shut out of Heaven And their case is woful that are thus deceived Know then that it is not every faith that justifies a man a man may have faith and yet not be justified The Faith that justifies is the Faith of Gods Elect. Tit. 1.1 There is a faith that may belong to them that are not Gods elect but that faith does not justifie In the Epistle of Timothy that faith which justifies must be a faith unfegn'd 1 Tim. 1.5 2 Tim. 1.5 Now here 's the skill of a Christian to try what that faith is which justifies him Now this justifying faith is not every work of Gods Spirit in a mans heart For there are supernatural operations of the Spirit in a mans heart that are but temporary that carry him not thorow and therefore are ineffectual but the end of this faith is the salvation of our souls 1 Pet. 1.9 We read in the Scripture of Apostacy and falling back Now they cannot be Apostates that were never in the way of truth This being an accident we must have a subject for it Now there is a certain kind of people that have supernatural workings some that are drawn up and down with every wind of Doctrine these are they that have this cold and temporary faith temporary because in the end it discovers it self to be a thing not constant and permanent We read in John 11.26 That they that are born of God that is that live and believe in Christ never see death shall never perish eternally but yet we must know withal that there may be conceptions that will never come to the birth to a right and perfect delivery And thus it may be in the soul of a man there may be conceptions that will never come to a ripe birth but let a man be born of God and come to perfection of birth and the case is clear he shall never see death He that liveth and believeth in me shall not see death And this is made a point of faith Believest thou this There is another thing called conception and that is certain dispositions to a birth that come not to full perfection True a child that is born and liveth is a perfectly alive as he that liveth an hundred years yet I say there are conceptions that come not to a birth Now the faith that justifies is a living faith there is a certain kind of dead faith this is a feigned that an unfegned faith The life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God Dost thou think a dead faith can make a living soul It s against reason A man cannot live by a dead thing not by a dead faith Now a dead faith there is A faith that doth not work is a dead faith Jam. 2.22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by his works was faith made perfect for verse 26. As the body without the spirit is dead or without breath is dead so faith without works is dead also See how the Apostle compares it as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also The Apostle makes not works the form of faith as the soul is the form of the man But as the body without the spirit is dead so that faith that worketh not that hath no tokens of life is dead but then doth not the other word strike home Faith wrought with his works It seems here is as the Papists say fides informis and works make it up as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of it But compare this with the other places of the Scripture and the difficulty will be cleared for instance weigh that place 2 Cor. 12.9 Where the Apostle pray'd to God that the messenger of Satan might be removed from him and he said unto him My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness What Does our weakness make Gods strength more perfect to which nothing can be added No it is My strength and the perfection of it is made known in the weakness of the means that I made use of for the delivery of mans soul from death So here the excellency and perfection of our faith is made known by works when I see that it is not an idle but a working faith then I say it is made perfect by the work When it is a dead faith that puts not a man on work never believe that will make a liâ—ing soul. In St. Judes Epistle ver 20. it hath another Epithete viz. The most holy faith not holy only but most holy That faith which must bring a man to God the holy of holies must be most holy It 's said that God dwells in our hearts by faith Ephes. 3.17 Now God and faith dwelling in a heart together that heart must needs be pure and clean Faith makes the heart pure It were a most dishonourable thing to entertain God in a sty a filthy and unclean heart but if faith dwell there it makes a fit house for the habitation of the King of Saints therefore it purifieth the heart Well then dost thou think thy sins are forgiven thee and that thou hast a strong faith and yet art as prophane and as filthy as ever How can it be It is a most holy faith that justifieth it is not a faith that will suffer a man to lie on a dunghil or in the gutter with the hog There may be a faith which is somewhat like this but it is but temporary and cometh short of it But now there is another thing which distinguishes it it is the peculiar work of faith In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but the new creature Gal. 6.15 and again Gal. 5.6 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but faith which worketh by love It 's twice set down Now what is a new creature Why he that hath such a faith as works by love not a dead faith but a faith that works but how does it work it not only abstains from evil and does some good acts which a temporary may do but it s such a faith as works by love The love of God constrains him 2 Cor. 5.14 and he so loveth God as that he hates evil for Gods sake the other does it not out of love to God all the love he hath is self-love he serves his own turn on God rather than hath any true love to serve him Now that we may the better distinguish between these two I shall endeavour to shew you how far one may go farther than the other I know not a more difficult point then this nor a case more to be cut by a thread then this it being a
entire soul that hath no blot that one that hath no spot should be purged after final grace hath made him clear and whole this is against reason and common sense They might have learned better of their own Thomas all the fire in the world will never put away sin without the infusion of grace This by the way concerning them I shewed besides that these two being both righteousnesses the Church of Rome confounds them both together Saint James his justification with Saint Pauls They confound inherent righteousness which is begun and shall be perfected in final grace with the other so that the point is not between us and Rome Whether faith justifieth by works or no but Whether it justifieth at all In truth that is the state of it The question is this whether there be such a grace as justification that is distinguished from sanctification or whether there be another grace of sanctification Do not think that we are such block-heads as to deny faith and sanctification yet faith is but a piece or part of that train of vertues There justification is taken for sanctification we acknowledge a man is justified by faith and works but the question is between us and them whether there be any justification besides sanctification i. e. whether there be any justification at all or no we say sanctification is wrought by the Kingly office of Christ he is a King that rules in our hearts subdues our corruptions governs us by the Sceptre of his Word and Spirit but it is the fruit of his Priestly office which the Church of Rome strikes at i. e. whether Christ hath reserved another righteousness for us besides that which as a King he works in our hearts whether he hath wrought forgiveness of sins for us we say he hath and so saith all the Church till the new Spawn of Jesuits arose They distinguish not remission of sins from sanctification Bellarmine saith remission of sins is the extinguishing of sin in the soul as water though it be cold yet the bringing in of heat extinguishes the cold and so remission of sins is the bringing in of inherent righteousness which extinguisheth all sin which was before A strange thing and were it not that the Scripture does speak of a cup in the hand of the Harlot of Rome whereby she makes drunk the Inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her fornication Rev. 17.4 18.3 except the men of her communion were drunk it were impossible that a learned men should thus shake out an Article of our and their Creed which hath ever been believed by all the Churches When the Scripture speaks of forgiveness of sins see how it expresseth it Ephes. 4.32 Be ye kind one to another Brethren tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Observe in the Lord's Prayer we pray that the Lord would forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us Let him that hath common understanding judge Do we forgive our Neighbours by extinguishing sin in the subject I forgive you i. e. I take away the ill office you did me Doth he forgive thus Alas no! forgiveness is without a man I have an action against you perhaps an action at Law I will let fall my suit my charges I will forgive this is forgiveness God justifieth who shall condemn Though God has just cause to proceed against me as a Rebel yet he is content to let fall his action to fasten it upon the Cross of his Son there to fix the Chirographum the hand-writing against us Colos. 2.14 He will let fall that which was the ground of a suit against us all that he could say against us That you may understand the thing the better there are two things two kinds of righteousness the one of justification the other of sanctification The Holy Ghost distinguisheth them by several terms 1 Cor. 1.30 Of him are ye in Christ Jesus who is made unto us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption You see here are two distinct graces righteousness and sanctification they make them but one sanctification and remission of sins Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified Rom. 8.30 Here justification and glorification are nothing else but justification and sanctification St Paul speaks of a thing past not of the glory to come them he glorified not shall glorifie he means sanctification which is inchoate glory For what is the glory we shall have in heaven but the enlargement of those inherent graces God begins in this world Here is the seed there is the crop here thou hast a little knowledge but there it shall be enlarged now thou hast a little joy there thou shalt enter into thy Master's joy here some knowledge but there thou shalt have a full knowledge and a full measure Here glory dwelleth in our Land but there we shall with open faoe behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord and be changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 i. e. we are more and more conformed to the image of Almighty God by obedience and holy qualities infused into us that we grow from one degree of sanctification unto another And so you see how these are distinguished by their terms Justification and glorification justification and sanctification There is another place in St. John an hard place but yet as I take it these two righteousnesses that have the same name for justification and sanctification are righteousnesses both of them to be distinct in their terms in that place it is said Joh. 16.8 That when the Spirit shall come he shall reprove or as we should translate it and as you read it in the margin he shall convince the world concerning sin righteousness and judgment Thus I say it should be translated for it is of no sense to say that God should reprove the world of righteousness on what occasion this was spoken we must not stand to speak but righteousness and judgment is justification and sanctification And the drift of the place is this when the Spirit shall come how not upon me or thee but the Spirit here spoken of is that Spirit that should come upon the Apostles it shall begin at the day of Pentecost and these 1. should set forth like twelve Champions to conquer the world and to bring them unto the Sceptre of Christ. He shall convince the world i e. when the Spirit shall come on you and your tongues be tipped with that spiritual fire which shall be active it shall convince the world of three particulars of sin righteousness and judgment Of the point of humiliation for sins the point of justification by righteousness imputative and the glory of sanctification in judgment and righteousness inherent This method St. Paul useth in the Romans to stop every man's
mouth First He convinceth the Gentile which was easie to be done after he convinceth the Jew that there is righteousness to be had in another though none in my self He shall convince the world c. As if he should say To be shut up under unbelief is to be convinced of all sins Now consider what is the nature of unbelief it is to fasten all sins upon a man and when I have faith all my sins are put out of possession they are as if they were not but if we are shut up under unbelief we are dead The second work of God's Spirit is the Ministry of the Word He shall convince the world that there is righteousness to be had by a communion with another though we are guilty in our selves yet he will set us free and the reason is because I go to my Father As if he should say though you be convinced of your sins that you are wholly dead in trespasses and sins and have no means in the world to put that away yet notwithstanding the second work of God's Spirit is to convince of righteousness that there is a righteousness to be had in Christ because he was our Surety arrested for debt he was committed to prison where he could not come out till he had paid the utmost farthing There is a justification to be had in me I go to the Creditor I have made no escape not like one that brake the prison and ran away but I am now a free-man I have not made an escape before the debt is paid then I might be brought back again but the debt is discharged and therefore I go to my Father to maintain my plâ—ce and standing I was given unto death for your sins but I am risen again for your justification and I now sit at my Father's right hand this is the second thing But is there not a third thing that the work of the Ministry must do Yes to convince the world that there is judgment or righteousness inherent There is a hard place I shall speak of it it is usual in Scripture to joyn righteousness and judgment together The words of the Lord are righteousness and judgment And the integrity of a man's heart which is opposed to hypocrisie is called judgment as God liveth who hath taken away my judgment Job 27.2 How did God take away his judgment is it meant that he had taken away his wits No but he hath put his heavy hand on me that hath put a conceit in the mind of my friends that I am an hypocrite though to confront the error of his mis-judging friends he was resolved to persist in his integrity vers 8. My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live His judgment was taken away i. e. the opinion they had of his integrity And this will expound another place in Matth. 12.20 A bruised reed shall he not break and smoaking flax shall be not quench until he send forth judgment unto victory What is that until he send forth judgment This judgment signifies nothing but those inherent graces those infused qualities that God sends into the heart of a Christian which being produced in the children of God by the spirit of judgment through which they are eâ—abled to judge what is right and acceptable to God in Christ who is their wisdom are themselves called judgment You read therefore of washing away the filth of the Daughters of Sion and purging the blood of Jerusalem which is the sanctification of the Church by the spirit of judgment Isa. 4.4 In a man's first conversion there are but beginnings of grace what is faith hope patience and fear it is like a smoaking flax i. e. like the smoaking wick of a candle made of flax as when a candle burns in the socket it is now up now down you know not whether it be alive or dead so in the first conversion of a Christian infidelity and faith hope and despair mount up and down There is a conflict in the beginning of conversion but he will not give it over until he bring forth judgment until he get the victory of all opposition from the flesh And what is the reason Because the Prince of this world is judged He shall convince the world of an inherent righteousness in spite of the Devil's teeth because he is condemned He that before worked in the children of disobedience is now cast down The strong man is cast out and therefore upon that ground you have the third point Besides the grace of justification following upon Christ's death there is another the grace I mean of sanctification through which the Devil shall be dispossessed the Devil is strong where he doth wicked things but he shall be disarmed he shall not touch thee the wicked one shall not hurt thee thou shalt overcome him I now go forward The third thing I noted besides faith and justification was Thaâ— we must observe what relation one hath to the other and how it comes to pass that justification is attributed to faith there being more noble graces in us than faith I answer the reason is because faith is brought as the only instrument whereby we receive our justification purchased by the merits of Christ's death When we say faith is an instrument we must understand it right well we say not faith is an instrument to work my justification Christ alone must do that it is no act of ours nothing is in us faith is said to be an instrument whereby we get our justification in respect of the object it is a nearing us to Christ it is the instrument of application the only instrument whereby we apply the medicine and the plaister of Christ's blood whereby we that were strangers and afar off are made near faith is the only hand which receiveth Christ wâ—en the hand layeth hold on a thing it layeth hold on a thing without it self so is faith a naked hand not as a hand that gets a man's living but like a beggar's hand that receives a free alms given by the donor as the Apostle speaks Rom. 5.17 For if by one man's offence death raigned by one much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. There is abundance of grace and a gift of righteousness faith is the only means whereby we receive this gift Whereupon I inferred this which was of great consequence seeing faith did justifie not as an active instrument but as it did râ—ceive the gift of grace it did follow that the weakest faith that was did get as much justification as the strongest faith of any whatsoever because faith justifieth not as a work but as it did receive a gift therefore our Saviour saith O ye of little faith Matth. 8.26 yet as little as it was it was builded upon the Rock and though Satan desired to winnow them and fift them as
Kingdom Luk. 12.32 We are all the children of God but it doth not appear what we shall be when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.2 He shall change our vile bodies and make them like his glorious body We are here sons but yet but in a strange Country no body knoweth what he is and therefore he meets with many affronts The King when he was in France went for an attendant on the Duke and is he troubled at it No he knew that the world knew it not they knew not what he was and therefore he is not troubled at it So is it with children of God but when they shall appear they shall be advanced and their enemies ashamed By the way let not the people of God be discouraged by the taunts jeers and reproaches of wicked men they know not what you are and therefore make light of you as they did of Christ himself Well besides what we have in reversion the very present hope of it works wonderful joy in the heart of a Christian. David did not live to see the glory of Solomon's Temple but he made provision for it and cast the model of it and he took much delight in the contemplation of what it would be The consideration of these hopes makes my flesh rest in hope and my heart rejoyce Psal. 16.9 The consideration of the resurrection made David's heart rejoyce The consideration of that which is to come should bring abundance of joy unto a Christian these are strange things not like the joy of a natural man for his heart is sad in the midst of laughter Prov. 34.13 but these rejoyce with a joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 Here are some sparks some beginnings of the glory of heaven and of that great joy which we shall have hereafter but I cannot speak of these things in an hour But forasmuch as the Devil transforms himself into an Angel of light there is no work of God's Spirit in the hearts of his children but Satan like an Ape labours to imitate in the hearts of wicked men to make them secure we must know that there are joys in some who are not regenerate They that receive the Word on the Rock received it with joy The Word if it be apprehended and hath but the least footing brings joy with it But now to know how I may get this joy how beneficial a thing is it to have such a comfort on earth as to know that I have this true joy and to be able to distinguish this joy from the false joy from the flashes those fleeting joys of the wicked which are but as the crackling of thorns under a pot Eccles. 7.6 for theirs is but as a blaze that suddenly goeth out Now if thou wouldst know thy joy aright and whether it differ from that counterfeit joy which flesh and blood and the Devil suggests Look to the things that go before and produce this joy 1. The first thing that goeth before true joy and produceth it is an opening unto Christ when he knocks at the door of thy heart As in that famous place in Rev. 3.20 Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me There is if thou open a sweet and familiar communication between Christ and thee he communicates himself at dinner and supper A man comes not melancholy to meals Christ will come and make merry with thee he will sup with thee familiarly But how is it with thee Hath Christ knocked and thou hast given him a slieveless answer and hast thou joy it is a false joy But when Christ knocks at the door of thy heart there must be an opening the door on thy part when he knocks by his Word and Spirit And dost thou give such an answer as the Spouse in the Canticles Cant. 5. I am come into my garden my Sister my Spouse I have gathered my myrrhe with my spice I have eaten my honey-comb with my honey Now Christ coming to Supper knockt at the door and would bring in a great deal of joy I sleep saith the Spouse but my heart waketh it is the voice of my well-beloved that knocketh saying Open to me my Sister my Love my Dove my Vndefiled When God comes and wooes us and desires to communicate himself unto us and desires us to put off our cloaths dost thou look for comfort if thou openest not At last I opened to my Beloved vers 6. But he had withdrawn himself and was gone my soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no answer When thou givest not Christ entertainment when he comes thou mayest seek and not meet with him â—t is observed that the Keepers of the Wall are the greatest strikers Those whom God hath set to be Watchmen instead of comforting they smite vers 7. The Watch-men that went about the City they found me they smote me they wounded me they took my vail from me She gets raps from them who should protect her because she did not entertain Christ if thou findest any comfort after Christ hath knocked and thou hast opened unto him then it is true joy and thou mayest make much of it 2. If it be true joy there goeth faith before it for being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So that the exercising of the acts of faith is a spiritual means to raise comforts in our souls Joh. 6. I had need to speak of this for there is want of the exercises of faith Is it enough think you â—o have faith once exercised He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him It is not enough to eat once a year A man will not be in good liking that eats but once a year but a man must eat once a day at least A Christian should feed on Christ every day make him his ordinary food renewing every day the acts of faith receive Christ crucified by faith every day If a Christian would consider that God offers Christ unto him every day and thou renewest thy faith and claspest him every day it would be a special way whereby joy should be raised in the soul. It is said in Rom. 15.13 We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost Thus when thou hast exercised the acts of faith in believing and then upon that rejoycest then it is seasonable and true joy and not the counterfeit joy of the wicked when it arises and springs from believing when that procureth it it likewise distinguishes it from all false joys The Apostle tells us Philip. 1.24 Having this confidence I know that I
become guilty before God This is the end of the first part This being done in the latter end of the Chapter he proceeds to speak of the second work of the Comforter To convince the world of righteousness but on what grounds Because I go to my Father and ye see me no more that is he shall assure the conscience that now there is a righteousness of better things purchased for us that Christ was wounded arraigned and condemned for us that he was imprisoned but now he is free who was our surety yea and that he is not free as one escaped who hath broken prison and run away for then he could not have stayed in Heaven no more than Adam could stay in Paradise after his fall but now that Christ remains in Heaven perfectly and for ever reconciled with the Father this is a sure sign to us that the debt is payed and everlasting peace and righteousness brought in for our salvation This the Apostle enlargeth and shews this to be that righteousness which Adam had and which we must trust all unto And this he doth unto the sixth Chapter From whence the Apostle goes on to the third point convincin the world of judgment and of righteousness unto the ninth Chapter which are two words signifying one and the same thing but because he had named righteousness before which was the righteousness of justification without a man in Christ Jesus he calls the third judgment which is that integrity which is inherent bred and created in us to wit sanctification as we may see in Esay 42.3 where it is said of Christ A bruised reed shall be not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench till he bring forth judgment unto victory Where he shews judgment to be a beginning of righteousness in sanctification even such a one as can never be extinguished So Job 27.2 The word is taken where Job expostulateth the matter As the Lord liveth who hath taken away my judgment c. all the while my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils my lips shall not speak wickedness nor my tongue deceit God forbid that I should justifie you till I die I will not remove my integrity from me my righteousness I will hold fast and will not let it go c. Here you see by judgment is meant integrity and that righteousness which is created and inherent in us so that the substance of that place in Esay is that God will never give over so to advance and make effectual that weak righteousness and sanctification begun in us until it shall prevail against and master all our sins and corruptions making it in the end a victorious sanctification And the ground hereof is for the Prince of this world is judged he is like one manacled whose strength and power is limited So that now though he be strong yet he is cast out by a stronger than he so that he cannot nor shall he ever rule again as in times past This strain of Doctrine the Apostle follows in this Epistle shewing that as the righteousness of Justification by the blood of Christ is a thing without us so the righteousness of Sanctification is a thing created and inherent in us and the ground of the witness of our spirits as we shall shew in its own place So that the blood of Christ doth two things unto us in Justification it covers our sins and in Sanctification it heals our sins and sores that if there be any proud or dead flesh it eateth it out and then heals the wound Therefore the Apostle says You are not under the Law but under Grace He that sees the Law is satisfied by another and all to be of free grace he will not much stand on any thing in himself for his Justification but as a poor beggar be content all should be of mere grace Therefore he concludes Sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace After this the Apostle goes on to other particulars shewing divers things especially the twelfth Verse of this Chapter where he drives unto the point of sanctification as though he should say you are freed from the Law indeed as it is a Judge of Life and Death but yet the Law must be your Counsellors you are debtors of thankfulness seeing whence you are escaped that you may not live after the flesh and then he proceeds to shew them how they should walk that seeing they had received the spirit they should walk after the spirit now that they had received that which should subdue and mortifie the flesh and the lusts thereof they should be no more as dead men but quick and lively in operation by living after the spirit otherwise they could not be the Sons of God vers 16. and he comes to the words that I have now read For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father for the spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God Where the Apostle shews the ground of our Union and Communion with Christ because having his spirit we are of necessity his as S. John speaks 1 Joh. 3.24 Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath giveâ— us What ties together and makes one things far asunder but the same spirit and life in both so that spirit which is in Christ a full running over fountain descending down and being also infused into us unites us unto him yea that spirit communicated unto me in some measure which is in him such fulness that spirit doth tie me as fast unto Christ as any joynt ties member to member and so makes Christ to dwell in my heart as the Apostle speaks to this purpose Ephes. 2.21 That thus by one spirit we are built up and made the Temple of God and come to be the Habitation of God through the spirit so that by this means we are unseparably knit and united unto him for what iâ— it makes one member to be a member to another not the nearness of joyning or lying one to or upon another but the same quickening spirit and life which is in both and which causeth a like motion for otherwise if the same life were not in that member it would be dead and of no use to the other so that it is the same spirit and life in the things conjoyned which unites them together yet to explain this more as I have often in the like case said Imagine a man were as high as Heaven the same spirit and life being diffused into all his parts what is it now that can cause his toe to stir there being such a huge distance betwixt the head and it Even that self-same life which is in the head being in it no sooner doth the head will the toe to stir but it moves So is it with us
that very spirit which is in Christ being in us thereby we are united unto him grow in him live in him and he in us rejoyce in him and so are kept and preserved to be glorified with him He is the second Adam from whom we receive the influence of all good things showring down and distilling the graces of his spirit upon the least of all his members That look as it was said of Aaron who was a type of the second Adam and of that holy Oyl representing the graces of his spirit Which did not only run down his head and beard but the skirts of his garment also and all his rich attire about Psal. 133.2 So when I see the Oyl of Christ's graces and spirit not only rest upon the head but also descend and run down upon the lowest of his members making me now as one of them in some sort another man than I was or my natural state could make me by the same spirit I know I am united unto Christ. To this purpose is that which Christ to stands upon in Joh. 6. unto the Jews where speaking of the eating of his flesh and that bread of life which came down from heaven lest they should be mistaken he adds It is the spirit that quickneth the flâ—sh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life So that we see it is the spirit that gives a being to a thing And therefore the Apostle proceeds to shew As many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God Rom. 8.13 That look as Christ is the â—â—ue natural Son of God so we as truly by conveyance of the same spirit into us are his Sons by Adoption and so heirs with God yea and joynt heirs with Christ this he begins to shew vers 13. So that being in this excellent estate they were not only servants and friends a most high Prerogative but they were now the Sons of God having the spirit of Adoption whereby they might boldly call God Father In which Verse the Apostle opposeth the spirit of bondage which doth make a man fear again unto the spirit of Adoption which frees a man from fear Now two things may be observed hence 1. The order the spirit of God keeps e'er it comforts it shakes and makes us fear This the Apostle speaks to Heb. 2.14 where he shews that the end of Christ's coming was That because the children were partakers of flesh and blood he also himself took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject unto bondage The first work then of the comforter is to put a man in fear 2. Here is shewed that until the spirit doth work this fear the heart will not stoop The Obstinacy is great yea so great that if hell gates were open ready to swallow up a man he would not yield until the spirit set in to convince the heart Therefore St. John tells us Joh. 16. That when the spirit it come he will reprove the world of sin that is he will convince and shew a man that he is but a bond-man and so from this sight he makes us to fear No man must think this strange that God deals with men at first after this harsh manner to kill them as it were before he make them alive nor be discouraged as if God had now cast them off as none of his For this bondage and spirit of fear is a work of God's spirit and a preparative to the rest yet it is but a common work of the spirit and such a one that unless more follow it can afford us no comfort But why then doth God suffer his children to be first terrified with this fear I answer That in two respects this is the best and wisest course to deal with us or else many would put off the matter and never attain a sense of mercy First in respect of God's glory Secondly in regard of our good First in respect of God's glory and that first because as in the work of Creation so in the work of Redemption God will have the praise of all his attributes for as in the work of Creation there appeared the infinite wisdom goodness power justice mercy of God and the like so will he in the work of our Redemption have all these appear in their strength and brightness and when we see and acknowledge these things to be in Gâ—d in the highest perfection hereby we honour him as on the contrary when we will not see and acknowledge the excellency of God's infinite attributes we dishonour him yea and I may safely add that the work of Redemption was a greater work than the work of Creation for therein appeared all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge in the conveying of it unto the Church Herein appeared first infinite Wisdom in ordering the matter so as to find out such a way for the Redemption of Mankind as no created understanding could possibly imagine or think of And secondly for the Mercy of God there could be none comparable to this in not sparing his own Son the Son of his Love that so he might spare us who had so grievously provoked him And thirdly there could not be so much Justice seen in any thing as in sparing us not to spare his Son in laying his Son's head as it were upon the block and chopping it off indeed the death unto which he gave his Son was not only more vile than the loss of his head but far more painful and terrible to nature the death on the Cross in renting and tearing that blessed body of his even as the Veil of the temple was rent which was a type of him so was he rent and tore and broke for us when he made his soul an offering for sin This was the perfection of Justice And thus was he just as the Apostle speaks and the Justifyer of him him that believeth in Jesus God would have Justice and Mercy meet and kiss each other and that for two reasons for the magnifying of his Justice and for the magnifying of his Mercy First For the magnifying of his Justice The spirit must first become a spirit of bondage and fear for the magnifying of God's Justice Thus the Prophet David having sinned was driven to this practice Psal. 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest Thus he a holy man was brought to confess his sin to give God the glory of his Justice And so to this end that a man might pass through or by as it were the gates of hell unto heaven the Lord will have his Justice extended to the full for which cause lessening or altogether for a time abstracting all sight of mercy he turns the
Law loose to have its course And thus as in the work of Redemption he would have the height of Justice appear so would he have it appear in the application of our Redemption that Justice should not be swallowed up of Mercy But even as that woman 2 King 4. Who had nothing to pay was threatned by her Creditors to take away her two Sons to put them in prison So though we have nothing to pay the Law is let loose upon us to threaten Imprisonment and Damnation to affright and terrifie us and all for the magnifying of God's Justice which also we satisfie not by what we suffer yet it is meet we should acknowledge and learn thereby more highly to value the suffering of our Saviour But farther God hath set forth many terrible threatnings in his Word against sinners shall all these be to no purpose The wicked they are insensible of them must they therefore be in vain Some people there must be on whom they shall work Shall a Lyon roar saith the Prophet and we not be afraid Amos 3.8 Since then those who should will not some there be who must tremble and those even of God's own dear Children This the Prophet excellently sets forth Isa. 66.2 where the Lord sheweth who he will regard But to this man will I look even to him that is of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word So that you see even some of his own must tremble and be thus humbled of necessity and that it is not without a just cause that God doth deal with his own Children after this manner though it be sharp in the experience We must fear tremble and be humbled and then we shall receive a spirit not to fear again That vain courage which some brag they have so as not to fear Death is not it which is meant here fâ—â— alas such braggers out of ignorance of the thing and desire to be out of misery in this Life may embrace Death unwillingly hoping it may put an end to their sorrows But this spirit not to fear again is such a spirit that assures me of the forgiveness of all my sins shewing me my freedome by Christ Jesus from Hell and eternal Damnation making me live a holy Life and from hence not to fear and so sealing me up unto the day of Redemption as you shall hear more when we come to speak of the witness of the spirit This now is for the glory of Gods Justice Secondly it is requisite that the comforter should first work in men a fear for the glory of Gods mercy which would never be so sweet relish so well nor be so highly esteemed of by us if the awful terrour of Justice had not formerly made us smart As we may see in that parable whereunto our Saviour likeneth the Kingdom of Heaven of the man that owed ten thousand Talents unto the King his master he shews him mercy and forgives him all but what did he first Why first he requires the whole debt of him and because he had nothing to pay he commands him his Wife and Children and all that he had to be sold that payment might be made first he would have him pincht throughly that he might know much he was indebted and in that case how great that favour was which he received in having all that he owed forgiven him Thus a King many times casts men in Prison suffers the sentence of condemnation to pass on them and perhaps orders them to be brought to the place of execution before he pardons them and then mercy is mercy indeed and so God deals with us many times he puts his Children in fear shews them how much they owe him how unable they are to pay casts them into prison and threatens condemnation in Hell for ever after which when mercy comes to the Soul then it appears to be wonderful mercy indeed even the riches of exceeding mercy Why do so many find no savour in the Gospel Is it because there is no sweetness or matter of delight in it No it is because such have had no tast of the Law and of the spirit of bondage they have not smarted nor found a sense of the bitterness of sin nor of that just punishment that is due unto the same Even as the King will suffer the Law to pass on some greivous malefactor for high Treason bring him to the place of Execution and lay his head on the block before a pardon he produced as we have had experience in the Country of a man who otherwise would not cry nor shed a tear for any thing Despising Death and not affraid to meet an host of men Such a one having now at an instant a pardon brought from the King how wonderfully doth it work upon him causing softness of heart and tears to flow from his eyes when nothing else could whilest the wonder of this mercy which now appeareth so sweet and seaâ—onable is beheld and admired he is so struck that he knows not what to say for this cause therefore God shews us first a Spirit of bondage to prepare us to relish mercy and then he gives a Spirit of Adoption not to fear again And thus by this order the one is magnifyed and highly esteemed by the foregoing sense of the other If therefore this terrour and fear be hard and troublesome unto us yet if it be for Gods glory let us endure If he will give me over to a wounded terrified conscience to fears tremblings astonishments yea or to draw me into the fire it self or any other punishment so we see he dealt with his Church of old he brought her through the fire and water before she came into a wealthy place Psal. 66.12 Since it is for his glory I must be contended But what do I say He gets nothing by us of all that we do all is for our selves our Acknowledgments of him make him no stronger wiser juster or better then he is but in glorifying of him we do glorify our selves and so pass from glory to glory until we come to be fully transformed into his Image And herein consists our happiness in acknowledging of his wonderful Attributes that by the reflex and knowledge of them we grow up in them as much as may be God was as glorious powerful wise just happy and good before the World was made as now and if the case be put concerning glorifying of him the three persons of the Trinity were only fit and worthy of so great honour not we as we may read Prov. 8.30 There wisdom shews how it was with the Father before all time and that they did mutually solace themselves in the contemplations of one anothers glory Then says Wisdom Was I by him as one brought up with him and I was dayly his Delight rejoycing always before him and in 17 John There we read the same thing in effect where Christ prays And now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the
Christ Now when the spirit hath wrought this will in me and I come and take God at his word and believe in Christ laying hold by degrees on the other promises of life winding and wrapping my self in them as I am able it is faith But that perswasion only which many have that they shall go to heaven is not faith but rather a consequent hereof The promise is made unto those that believe in Christ For in him says the Apostle all the promises are yea and Amen If a man weep much and beg hard for the remission of sins he may weep and be without comfort unto the end of his life unless he have received Christ and applyed his vertues home unto his trembling soul. A man must first receive Christ and then he hath a warrant to interest himself in all the promises So that now this being done if such a man were asked hast thou a warrant to receive Christ Yes I have a warrant says the soul for he keeps open house unto all that come wellcoming all and I have a will to come this is a good and sufficient warrant for me to come if I have a will wrought in me and then if I do come this is the first thing to be observed in the witness of our Spirit Now if a man do stagger for all the King keeps open house so as he will not or does not come then in the second place comes Invitation because we are slow to believe therefore God invites us as in Matthew 11.28 Come unto me all ye that Labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Many object O I am not worthy to come but you see here is invitation to encourage me to come yea the sorer and heavier my load is I should come so much the rather So that in this case if the question should be asked of such a one friend how came you hither What warrant had you to be so bold Then he shews forth his ticket as if he should say Lord thou gavest me a word of comfort a warrant of thy invitation in obedience to thy word and faith in thy promise I come hither Now this invitation is directed to them who as yet have no goodness in them when then my Spirits warrants this much unto me that upon this word of promise and invitation I have come in for releif and ease of may miseries unto Christ Jesus the great Physician relying on him for cure and lying as it were at his feet for mercy this is the testimony of my Spirit that I do believe and a ground for me to rest on that now I am in the way of life and justified by his grace Thirdly sometimes Christ meets with a dull and slow heart lazy and careless in a manner what becomes of it not knowing or weighing the dangerous state it is in making excuses here Christ may justly leave us for is it not much that the King should invite us for our good as he did these in the Gospel who for refusing to come to his Supper were excluded from ever tasting thereof strangers being fetched in in their places God might so deal with us but you see in 2 Corinth 5.20 God sends as Embassage to entreat us erects as it were a new office for our sakes saith he Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead to be reconcile unto God This may seem to be needless we being weaker than he Ambassadours for the most part are sent unto those that are stronger The Apostle reasons the matter are we stronger than he do we provoke the Lord to anger But here we see and may admire his infinite rich goodness that he comes and sues to us to be reconciled as we see it is a kind of indignity for a great Monarch to sue for peace to them that are far below him and his inferiours This dishonour God is willing to put up at our hands and sues unto us first when it rather became us upon our knees to beg and sue first unto him The effect of the Embassy is that we would be friends with him and receive that which is so highly for our advancement when therefore I see that this quickens in my heart so that as S. James speaks of the engrafted word that is able to save our souls I can bring it home having some sweet relish and high estimation of it in my heart that it begins to be the square and rule of my life then I am safe If this or any of these fasten upon the soul and thereupon I yield and come in it is enough to shew that I am a justified person And from hence our spirit may witness and that truly this is a third thing in the witness of our spirit Fourthly if none of all this will do then comes a farther degree a command from the highest you shall do it as in 1 Joh. 3.23 And this is his commandment that we should believe on his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment In the Parliament of Grace there is a Law of Faith which binds me as strictly to believe as to keep any of the commandments Says the Apostle Rom. 3. Where is boasting then it is excluded by what Law of works nay but by the Law of Faith So that if I will not believe on the Lord Jesus who eases me of the vigour of the Law and so is my righteousness I must perish for ever What may one object must I needs believe Yes thou art as strictly bound to believe as not to murder or not to be an Idolater not to steal or commit adultery nay I will add more that thy infidelty and contempt of that gracious offer thy disobedience to the Law of Faith is greater than thy breach and disobedience to the Law of Works when thou dost fling God's grace in his face again and as it were trample under foot the blood of the Covenant See for this John 16.9 What is that great sin which Christ came to reprove even this infidelity saith he because they believe not in me which in two respects is a great sin First because it is a sin against God's mercy Secondly because it is a chain which links and binds all sins together Thus our Faith is sure when it relies on the word otherwise all other thoughts are but presumption and will fail a man in the time of need for what is faith but my assent to believe every word of God he hath commanded me to believe and so endeavour the practice of it Fifthly if none of these prevail there comes threatning then God swears that such as refuse shall never enter into his rest If a Prince should sue unto a Beggars Daughter for marriage and she should refuse and contemn him do you think he would be well pleased So it is with us when the King of Heavens Son sends unto us Will you
is put unto the same For as the Wind bloweth where it listeth and no man discerneth the coming thereof So may the Spirit seal at divers times and upon divers occasions yea and why may it not seal in time of some great suffering for the truth as we read of the Apostles in 5 Acts 41. Who went away from the Council rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name Lastly for tryal we must now see how to distinguish this Testimony of the true Spirit from the counterfeit Illumination of the Anabaptists and some Fryars who will have strange suddain Joys the Devil no question then transforming himself into an Angel of light unto them This tryall therefore is made by three things going before and three things following after For the things that go before First see that the ground-work be true If a man be in the faith and do believe the word if upon believing and meditation there be an opening unto the knock of Christ at the first and not a delaying him like the lazy spouse in the Canticles if in this case the spirit come and fill the heart with joy then all is sure and well it comes with a promise for then Christ promised to enter but if a man have a dull dead delaying ear and therewith great fantastick Joys he may assure himself the right Spirit hath not wrought them they are but idle speculations but if this joy comes upon the surveying of our Charter and evidences it is sure we may build upon it Secondly A man must consider if he hath as yet overcome strong passions and tentations and passed thorough much hazard and peril for Christ having been buffeted with divers temptations of which he hath obtained mastery for the seal of Gods Spirit with our Spirit comes as reward of service done as you may see Revelat. 3.17 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and I will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it Whereby he means he will give a secret love token to the soul whereby it rests assured of the unspeakable love of God and freedom from condemnation Now what was this white stone The Athenians had a custome when Malefactors were accused and arraigned to have black and white stones by them and so according to the sentence given those condemned had a black and the acquitted had a white stone given them unto this the Holy Ghost here alludes that this stone this seal shall assure them of absolute acquittance from condemnation and so free them of the cause of fear Again he tells us Christ will give a man a new Name that is write his Absolution in fair letters in the white stone with a clear evidence As if he should say when Christ hath seen a man overcoming and how he hath conflicted with tentations and yet holds out pressing for the Crown unto the end of the race Christ will come in then and stroak him on the head easing him of all his pains and sores with such a sweet refreshing as is unspeakable When a man hath won it he shews he then shall wear it Thirdly if the Spirit seal after Meditation on the word it is right the Apostle says in whom after that ye believed ye were sealed c. Examine the root of this joy the Spirit gives no comfort but by the word If a man do meditate on the promises and thereupon have a flame of love kindled this is sure a man may say the word did stir it up if it be Gods Comfort God will have his word to make way unto it some there are who find no sweetness in the word what is the cause thereof Because they chew not the word to imprint it on their memories and in their heart If comfort come whilst a man meditating on the promises doth wedge it home upon his heart it is of God otherwise it is counterfeit and false These are the forerunners to this seal In the next place there are three things that follow after this sealing which the Spirit leaves behind it As First humility as in his knowledge so in his sense it makes a man more humble There is naturally in all a certain pride which must be overcome says the Apostle What hast thou that thou hast not Received But by the contrary the nearer a man comes unto the glory of God he finds so much the more rottenness in his bones as we see in Job I have heard of thee say he unto God by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee his inference is therefore I abhor my self and Repent in dust and ashes Secondly another thing the Spirit leaves behind it if it seals rightly is a prevention of security for time to come In this case we must look for a new encounter a false perswasion makes a man to fall into security because Satan is then most malicious and busy a man must stand faster then ever The Devil hates them most that are most endued with Gods Image whom because he cannot reach he persecutes in his members And therefore in this case it must be with us as it was with Elias 1 Kings 10.8 After such an enlightning a man must now think that he hath a great Journey to go and so walk on in the strength of that a long time The Devil we see watcheth a man and when he is at the best then endeavours to overcome him As we may see in Adam and Eve no sooner were they placed in that estate of Innocency but he tempts them how much more a man having a sweeter tast of the Spirit and less strength now may he look to be set upon And therefore in these feasting days he had need to be more on his watch and pray more for we have more given us then Adam had we have a new Name given us a secret Love token further we see Christ says Rev. 3. Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man will open unto me I will come in and sup with him and he with me Now in this case if we be such persons who let our hearts fly open to let him in we are safe as if he should say if you would be sure of reconciliation to be at peace with me sup with me and I will sup with you For we know if men who were enemies be once brought to keep company together and to eat and drink one with another we use to say all is done and wrapped up in the table cloath all old reckonings are taken away now they are certainly become friends But if like the spouse in the Canticles we let him stand knocking and will not let him in we also may have great and sound knocks and blows our selves before we find him again as we read it befel the Church there whom the Watchmen found beat and took away her veil as she was seeking