Grace NOw I come to the third thing which in the beginning I propounded and that is to consider of the euidences of true sound grace the which before I come vnto it will not be amisse to let you know that the worke and truth of grace wrought in the heart of Gods childe hath in Scripture sundrie appellations though all signifying one and the same thing Sometime it is called Spirit as Gal. 5. 17. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh Sometimes it is called A new creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any man be in Christ let him be a new creature Sometimes Calling as in diuers places of Scripture Rom. 9. 24. Euen vs whom he hath called 2 Pet. 1. 10. Wherefore brethren giue rather diligence to make your calling and election sure Sometimes Sanctification as 1 Pet. 1. 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father vnto sanctification of the Spirit All which places tend to this purpose to let vs know that we are then spirituall renued or borne againe effectually called and sanctified when the work of grace is truly wrought in vs Which work sooner or later more or lesse is wrought in euery one of GODS elect whereby he becomes purged from the former filthinesse of his flesh and spirit and sanctified throughout for as sinne like an Epidemicall euill diffused it selfe into al parts of a man as Wine or Beere put into a mustie cask is all equally tainted so grace if it enter into any it sanctifies him throughout it puts a spirituall life not into one or two parts but into the whole man renewing euery part and faculty of body and soule For grace comes into the soule as the soule comes into the body not infused by degrees though it be a maxime in Philosophy that the heart first liues which is not so to be vnderstood as if life were some while there when it is wanting to all other parts of the body but because the heart is the seat as it were of life and first of all moues manifesting life aboue any other parts of the body So grace is wrought at once though it growes by degrees being first weak as is a babe before wee bee strong men in Christ Know also that though grace once wrought bee infused into the whole man yet it shewes it selfe not alike in all faculties at all times because of the contrary habit of corruption which is stronger in some part and faculty of the body and soule than in other some yet if the life of grace be inspired it shewes it selfe more or lesse in the whole man This much I thought fit to premise to let you vnderstand that if the truth of grace appeare in any one thing though not in another or but weakely you may assure your selues that you are truly regenerate and so members of the Lord Iesus by spiritual vnion neuer after to bee rent off from him as more largely hereafter shall bee proued Now to the Euidences The first Euidence of grace THe first euidence of sound grace is a sanctified and sauing knowledge of Gods will reuealed in his Word I call it sanctified because it helps froward our Sanctification Iohn 17. 17. Sanctifie them with thy truth thy Word is truth and I call it Sauing because it tendeth to our saluation as appears Coloss 1. 9 20. This Knowledge some Diuines vpō good groūd doe make the prime and first worke of grace in Gods childe and the foundation of all other Hence Coloss 3. 10. The new man is renewed in knowledge By new man you are to vnderstand as was said before the worke of grace Hence it is that the Gospel is called the Word of life Phil. 2. 16. because it is a meanes of working perfecting this life of grace as 1 Pet. 1. 23. No life of grace therefore can bee where this Word hath not been I vnderstand of those that be of yeeres and capacitie to worke the knowledge of God and Christ Not that euery knowledge of God is life eternal for there is a Knowledge of God which profits not as may easily be proued First all they which beleeue God to bee such an Essence as may be expressed by any bodily likenes or the similitude of any creature know not God aright for if we conceiue God to be like any thing that may be imagined we fancy to our selues an Idol we are to conceiue of God by way of negation and to abstract him from all similitudes Esay 46. 5 9. Therefore Papists and all other which conceiue of God in a carnall and grosse manner know not God aright so gaine little benefit by their knowledge of him Secondly they that beleeue not God to bee the chiefe Good and the only thing to be desired loued and feared know him not aright Such as cannot say as did Dauid of the Lord Psal 73. 25. Whom haue I in heauen but thee I haue none in the earth to be desired in comparison with thee receiue little benefit by their knowledge of God Therfore all Mammonists and couetous persons which prefer their riches before God all Epicures and Bacchanalls which make their belly their God all voluptuous and sensuall persons which make their pleasures and honors their god know not God aright to their benefit and comfort Lastly all that know not God in Christ receiue no benefit by their knowledge of God To know God out of Christ is to know him to be a terrible and angry God taking vengeance vpon vs for our iniquities and transgressions Therefore if thou wouldest haue comfort by thy knowledge of God behold him in Christ see his iustice satisfied and his wrath appeased by that satisfaction and atonement which Christ hath made for thee so trusting to him for saluation which knowledge because almost euery one that liues within the pale of the Church seemes to haue we are to vnderstand that this knowledge if it be meerely theoricall will not saue vs for it may be in the temporary beleeuer and hypocrite therefore vnlesse this knowledge be sanctified it is no euidence of grace it profits not How then may wee bee assured that our knowledge is sanctified sauing By these effects First Knowledge if it be sanctified is operatiue it is a working knowledge it is no idle knowledge but reduced into practice Psal 86. 11. Teach me thy wayes O Lord that I may walke in thy truth Grace teacheth a man to put his knowledge in practice A gracious heart had rather doe and not know if it could bee than to know and not to do he desires to be taught that he might walke not that he might talke as too many doe Hence Dauid Psal 119. 34. Giue me vnderstanding and I will keepe thy Law yea I will keepe it with my whole heart In saying he would keepe Gods Law it shewes he was no Temporizer in religion which turns with the wind and
not thou more strength vnto them by yeelding vnto them When thy knowledge telleth thee that these and these things must not be ioyne issue with thy knowledge and say as Ioseph did How can I doe this euill and sinne against God Gen. 39. 9. I tell thee it is a grieuous euill to sin against knowledge when a mans knowledge within cryes out to the contrary this will make bloudy wounds and strike deepe gashes one day into thy conscience In the mean time thou art in a fearefull condition if thou allowest thy selfe in the practice of any one sinne condemned by thy knowledge for thou lyest open vnto any kind of impiety yea to any error euen vnto Popery for that person which denyeth the power of godlinesse will easily be brought to forsake the profession thereof if one sinne loued and delighted in be enough to pull a man from God to the Deuill yea into hell may it not then pull a man into Popery A wicked gracelesse person is a fit piece of stuffe to make a Papist of He that will not bee perswaded nor brought to leaue his sinne for the truth sake will easily be perswaded to leaue the truth for his sinnes sake How much better had it been for such a one neuer to haue known the way of righteousnesse than to turne away from that holy commandement giuen vnto him 2 Pet. 2. 21. Thirdly be instant and earnest with the Lord in prayer that he would manifest his power in thy weaknesse that he by his holy Spirit would conuey some life and power into thy knowledge that by the practice therof thou maist manifest the life of thy knowledge in al obedience and good conscience To this purpose Dauid makes many petitions to the Lord Psal 119. 88. Quicken me according to thy louing kindnesse so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth The Scribes and Pharisees knew the letter of the Law and were perfect in the Scriptures but the Lord by his Spirit had not taught them and therfore there was no spirituall life nor power in their knowledge Howsoeuer they boasted of their knowledge and thought scorne to be taught of others yet their knowledge being but a dead knowledge did increase their iudgement as appeares by those words of Christ Ioh. 9. 41. If yee were blind ye should not haue sinne but now yee say We see therefore your sinne remaineth A second Euidence of Grace THe next Euidence of Grace is Faith which followeth Knowledge as the frame doth the foundation for vntil such time as the minde be inlightned with the truth no man can beleeue There must be knowledge or else there can be no faith Wee haue knowne and beleeued saith Iohn No man can beleeue in Christ without the knowledge of him For how shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard Rom. 10. 14. Faith must needs be an euidence of grace because it is a speciall and a principal part and member therof not the fountaine of all other graces as some doe hold nor the root out of which all fruits of sanctitie doe spring For the soule must first be endued with the life of grace before it can beleeue vnlesse we wil say that faith may be in a gracelesse heart which cannot bee because being regenerate and sanctified by the Spirit we come to beleeue and to rest vpon the promise for the remission of sinnes and saluation by Iesus Christ Saint Paul calls Faith a fruit of the Spirit by whom we are sanctified therefore it cannot be the efficient cause of our sanctification It is true that Paul hath a passage tending that way Act. 26. 18. That they may receiue forgiuenesse of sinnes and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith but by the Word sanctified we are to vnderstand the fruit not the grace of sanctification we are dead in sinnes vntill such time as wee come to be quickned by the Spirit Ioh. 6. 3. It is the Spirit which infuseth all diuine qualities into the soule The Apostle calleth them the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22 23. Amongst which fruits Faith is one of the principall as that which puts a kinde of liuelihood into all other graces and therefore after a certaine manner may bee said to sanctifie vs For according to the strength of faith will be the power of other graces hope loue c. If faith be weak hope and loue cannot be strong little faith little hope little loue no faith no hope no loue at all So that faith must needs be a sound euidence of grace for vntill such time as the heart bee purified and washed in the lauer of regeneration it is either Atheisticall to depraue the Word of God by doubting of diuine truths if not denying thē or else it is Sophisticall to peruert and wrest the Word so as oft-times bloud commeth out of it to choak strangle Gods people in stead of milke to feed and nourish them But if the heart be once sanctified by the Spirit then is faith wrought in vs which doth further and more effectually cleanse and purifie vs through the Word Ioh. 15. 3. Now because as in the former euidence of grace so in this also many a man and woman is mistaken the heart being so infinitely deceitfull it will bee no lost labour to examine the truth of our faith For you must know that it is possible for a wicked and gracelesse person to beleeue that Christ died for him yea to die in a strong perswasiō of Gods loue and fauour and so of his owne saluation Hath not experience taught vs thus much Who so confident who so full of faith if you will beleeue them as many vile wretches and gracelesse persons They wonder what people mean to doubt of Gods loue for their part they neuer as yet called it into question They thanke God they haue euer had as strong a faith as the best so they hope to continue This is euident by examples in the Scripture The Lord by the Prophet Ieremie speaks to the wicked Iews which had polluted the Land with their whoredomes and malice which had a vvhores fore-head and would not bee ashamed saying Did'st thou not still crie vnto mee Thou art my Father and the guide of my youth So in Mica 3. 11. The Lord speaking of corrupt Iudges of mercenary Priests merchandizing Prophets which set the Word to sale and prophecie for money saith that yet will they leane vpon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among vs no euill can come vpon vs. By which it appeares that wicked and gracelesse people may bee confident of Gods fauour How then may wee distinguish the faith of Gods children from the presumption of vnbeleeuers There lyes a great difference betwixt them The first difference is in the ground out of which true faith springs or the meanes by vvhich it is wrought in beleeuers True faith is wrought in all Gods children by the ministery of
God through Iesus Christ c. For is God the God of Paul only Is his grace sufficient only for Paul or some few other specially beloued indowed with supereminent graces Is he not also our helpe our strength hee that yeelds sufficiencie of grace to euerie poore sinner that trusteth in his goodnesse beleeueth in his promise Surely yes for the Lord is nigh vnto all that call vpon him hee also will heare their cry and will helpe them Psal 145. 18 19. Secondly this may wonderfully comfort vs against the outward crosse as well as the inward tentation The way to heauen we know is not strowed with rushes and violets but beset with thorns a rough narrow and troublesome way whereupon many of Gods childrē are disheartned and are ready to faint vnder the crosse when it lyes any thing heauie vpon them If these had eyes to see and hearts to consider of the excellency and sufficiency of grace which makes vs willing to vndergoe whatsoeuer the Lord will lay vpon vs well content with the Lords ordering and disposing of vs they would reioice in heauinesse and be comforted against the crosse It may be thou thinkest thy troubles are such as thou shalt neuer bee able to ouercome therfore art ready euen to faint vnder thē and giue ouer in the plain field Oh but consider the excellencie of grace wherewith the Lord hath hitherto supported thee in thy afflictions Hath not God said I will not faile thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13. 5. Hath he not said My grace shall be sufficient for thee What though thou beest plunged into a gulfe of sorrow through manifold afflictions which haue befallen thee so that for a season thou art in heauinesse through them yet through the power of grace thou shalt be able to hold vp thy head from sinking yea to reioyce in the end with ioy vnspeakable and glorious 1 Pet. 1. 8. What though the Deuill swell rage against thee What though his wicked instruments doe combine and bandie themselues against thee seeking to spoile thee of all outward and inward comfort What though thy neerest and dearest friends doe now turne away their faces from thee yea hate and abhorre thee as an out-cast alien Let Dauids comfort be thine who being in great sorrow because of the rage of the people which intended to stone him comforted himselfe in the Lord his God 1 Sam. 30. 6. So doe thou comfort thy selfe in the grace of God Hath he bestowed his loue vpō thee Hath he giuen thee of his grace Though thy outward calamities be neuer so many neuer so great though thine enemies be neuer so mighty neuer so powerfull yet stronger is he that is in thee than he that is in the world 1 Ioh. 4. 4. If God grace thee what though all the world should cast the dung of reproch in thy face to disgrace thee If he loue thee his loue is better than life and he will keepe thee from taking infection or hurt from the rage and malice of all the world that hate thee Last of all the consideration of that which hath beene spoken concerning the excellencie of Grace may comfort thee against the dregs and reliques of corruption and the remnants of the old man yet abiding in thee which it may be doe so perplex thy soule and wound thy conscience that thou gronest vnder this pressure and cryest out with Paul O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death Know thy condition is no other no worse than the best of Gods children who so long as they liue in this earthly tabernacle do carry about them the remainder of sin which wil defile their best actions oft blemish their profession yea grieue Gods holy Spirit and make their heauenly Father offended with thē yet comfort thy selfe and bee assured that though corruption may vex and molest thee it shall neuer subdue nor vanquish thee because of the grace of God abiding in thee For sinne shall not haue dominion ouer you for ye are not vnder the Law but vnder Grace Rom. 6. 14. It is a good signe there is life where wounds do bleed smart the griefe of thy soule for sin argues the life of grace abiding in thee for those that are dead in sins feele no smart are not grieued with corruption Sin is not ponderous in the heart and cōscience of gracelesse persons because it is in its proper elemēt place where it is welcomed and entertained where it liues and raignes Therfore if at any time thou feelest as which of Gods childrē feel not a rebellious law in thy mēbers rebelling against the law of thy minde and carrying thee into the practice of such euils as thou hatest and hast vowed against let not this perplex thy soule as if grace had forsaken thee because it is no better with thee but collect thy spirits call vpon grace and say Where art thou my friend my guide my hope my help stand by me and strengthen me against corruption which is too strong for me if thou help me not I am vndone I tell thee for truth for I know what I say to be true that by the vertue and strength of grace a poore distressed soul cleauing to the groūd abhorring its selfe and lying at the very brinke of despaire ready to be swallowed vp of Death and Hell consulting and resoluing to try whether hell torments or the hellish pangs of an afflicted conscience were more tolerable I say a poore soule in such a desperate condition hath by the strength of grace beene brought back from death to life and as it were from hell to heauen receiued new or reuiued againe its old comfort beene at defiance with sin and Satan challenged Hell and Death and bid them doe their worst saying Who shall separate me from the loue of God c. Therefore yeeld not either to thine owne corruptions or Satans tentations though they haue got thee on the hip giuen thee the foile Set speedily vpon the repairing of grace and making vp those breaches which sinne hath made in thy soule conscience A good husband as hee hath a care to keepe his house wind-tite and water-tite so if through the violence of any storme or tempest any thing be blowne down or rent he speedily sets vpon the repairing of it lest through negligence delayes things grow worse and worse euen so deales euery good man with his own soule if any thing be amisse or out of order he lets not all runne to ruine but speedily sets vpon the repairing and amending of that which is any way weakened in him Now vnto him that is able to keepe you that yee fall not and to present you faultlesse before the presence of his glory that is To God only wise our Sauiour bee Glory and Maiestie and Dominion and Power both now and for euer Amen FINIS Grace how taken in Scripture Iam. 1. 17. Grace
What no accusation in that black and terrible day lyable against thee All sinnes done away through his free grace O the deepenesse of the riches of his mercy How vn-vtterable is his goodnesse What wilt thou render vnto the Lord for his vnspeakable grace How should this inflame thy heart with the loue of God as Luk. 7. 47 Such as doe not heartily loue the Lord may feare they haue no part no share in his rich grace Vnthankfulnesse is a grieuous sinne and that which moues the Lord I am perswaded many times to hide away the ioy and comfort of the pardon of their sins from many of his children How ready are many if they be but a little crossed in some petty matter to swell and hang the lip yea with a little helpe could be perswaded to quarrell and be angry with the Lord as Ionas was If we fall short of our hopes in some good thing we haue promised to our selues or if God cut vs short of some outward comforts lent vnto vs what grumbling and repining is there against the wisedome and righteousnesse of our good God All sense of his infinite loue in forgiuing an infinite debt vnto vs is swallowed vp wee haue little ioy in it and God hath as little thankes from vs for it whereas better lose all the world than misse this grace for as Mat. 16. 20. What will it profit a man to gaine the whole world and lose his soule which doth perish without it partake of the grace of God It followes Giues vs his Spirit here This necessarily followes as Sanctification succeeds Iustification Ezek. 36. 25. I will powre cleane water vpon you and ye shall bee cleane from all your filthinesse Here is our Iustification Then followes in the next verse A new heart will I giue you and a new spirit wil I put within you And againe the 27. verse I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walke in my statutes and yee shall keepe my iudgements and do them Which words imply our Sanctification Gods Spirit is made manifest in vs by our walking in Gods Commandements which wee can neuer doe to any purpose vntill by the Spirit corruption be deaded and grace inviued in vs. Grace in the child of God workes in him more and more sanctificatiō through the Spirit that is a cleansing of our selues daily frō all filthinesse and neuer can we haue any euidence of the truth of grace as shall be made more plaine hereafter or of our iustification but by our sanctification vntill we see sinne purged we may not thinke that it is pardoned for whomsoeuer Christ frees from the damnation of sin he doth also deliuer from the dominion of sin From hence then we may be assured of the presence and abode of Gods Spirit in vs which whoso hath not partakes not of grace is none of Christs Rom. 8. 9. is none of Gods Gal. 4. 6. Because yee are sons God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts If the Spirit of God hath taken vp its abode in thee all the house shall fare the better for it it will worke a holy change in thee it will make thee a new creature changing thy thoughts words and workes from euill vnto good For as euery creature in nature hath a facultie to produce its kinde Doe men gather grapes of thornes or figges of thistles Matth. 6. 16. No Thornes produce thornes so a sanctified a gracious heart brings forth fruits of holinesse and righteousnesse fruits agreeable to the nature of the Spirit If the holy Spirit of God once takes footing in the heart of a man as the Idoll Dagon fell downe as soone as the Arke of God was brought neere vnto it so down goes Satans throne a man is no longer a slaue to his base lusts no longer vnder the bondage of any one sinne For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedome and libertie freedome from the slauery of any corruption freedome from the bondage of any ruling sinne And last of all eternall life hereafter Rome 6. 23. The gift of God is eternall life So 2 Thess 2. 16. Who hath giuen vs euerlasting saluation and good hope through grace Thus haue I presumed through your patience to tarry a while vpon the explanation of the definition of that grace which is the fountaine and well-head from whence all grace is deriued vnto vs. Now to proceed in the vnfolding of the Differences betwixt true and counterfeit grace The first difference as hath beene said lieth in the ground or root from whence true grace springeth If thou wouldest not be deceiued or mistaken about the truth of thy grace doe but seriously consider with thy selfe out of what soyle or from what roote that grace which appeareth and peraduenture thou beleeuest to bee in thee did spring and come forth whether from the seed of God frō the presence and working of the Spirit or out of Natures garden or from education or else out of some worldly carnall and by-respects if it came not from God it will quickly appeare in its proper colours it will ere long discouer its rottennesse it will vanish perish and come to nothing Some there be in whom the corruption of Nature is so restrained that they are of a very ingenious temper and disposition affable courteous gentle peaceable not giuen vp nor inclined vnto any exorbitant courses not affecting any notorious vices but rather hating and abhorring them who comparing themselues with grosse sinners and finding in themselues a freedome from those foule sinnes which others are defiled withall doe by and by blesse themselues in their owne hearts yea and it may be they are taken of others like or worse than themselues to be maruellous good people very religious and gracious persons whose grace is no other no better than meere ciuilitie which is as farre from sanctitie and true grace as chalke is from cheese as the old saying is Others also there be who hauing beene well bred piously and vertuously educated sucking it may be the Scriptures with their mothers milke as it is spoken of Timothy brought vp in a family where haply they had no euill example though this be very rare to corrupt them doe hold on still that course into which they were entred young and haue beene trained vp frō their childhood approuing of good duties frequenting Gods house vpon all good occasions vsing and which is more delighting in the society of the people of God and all this not by vertue or strength of sauing grace but through an habituated practice of godly exercises so that they can say as the young man in the Gospell I haue obserued all these frō my youth Are all these thinke you arguments strong enough to proue the truth of grace wrought in the heart of such a person Then Paul his condition was good enough before his conuersion for he was well educated brought vp and liued after
vse of this point Is it so that sanctified knowledge is a sure euidēce of true grace this then may speake heauily first to the heart of all ignorant persons they must know that their condition is dangerous deadly damnable because gracelesse and it is gracelesse because they are ignorant wanting sauing knowledge An ignorant heart must needs bee a naughty heart because without knowledge the minde cannot be good Prou. 19. 2. What goodnesse can possibly be where Gods Spirit is not Ignorance doth manifest the want of the Spirit For the Spirit is giuen vnto vs that we might know the things that are giuen to vs of God as 1 Cor. 2. 12. Therefore when any know not the things of God needfull to bee knowne it is euident that they want the Spirit of God And yet how hardly can this be beaten into an ignorant head They will not beleeue they want grace or that the Deuill hath them in his snare or that they are taken captiue by him at his will yet thus they are vntill they bee brought to repentance That they may know the truth 2 Tim. 2. 25 26. O the lamentable condition of ignorant persons especially such as are folded vp in the mantle of their own conceitednesse for many of these though they bee ignorant of the truth yet the Father of lyes their lord master hath taught them to cauill against the Word and to lay downe execuses for themselues that they are not booke-learned that they haue no leasure or that they haue a good heart though they cannot talke as many doe that so he may with-hold from them the truth in vnrighteousnesse O the heauie doome that belongs to those that haue eyes and see not eares but heare not harts and vnderstand not that they might conuert be healed Esay 6. 10. This is the condemnation that light is come amongst them and they loue darknesse rather than light Ioh. 3. 19. The Lord Iesus shall shew himselfe from heauen with his mighty Angels in flaming fire rendring vengeance to ignorant persons 2 Thess 1. 7 8. For as Hell is appointed to be the habitation of the wicked so this is the place of him that knoweth not God Iob 18. 21. Mee thinkes then this should set vp the price and worth of knowledge set an edge vpon our appetite and make vs call after knowledge and cry for vnderstanding To seeke her as siluer and search for her as for treasures as Prou. 2. 3 4. O the paines that men take the dangers they vndergoe in the mines to digge out and fetch forth siluer and treasure out of the earth vvhich vvhen they haue gotten they haue got iust nothing if we will credit Salomon nothing in comparison of knowledge For riches auaile not in the day of wrath Prou. 11. 4. Neither siluer nor gold shall be able to deliuer in the euill day Zeph 1. 18. Whereas if wisdome entreth into thy heart and knowledge delighteth thy soule then shall counsell preserue thee and vnderstanding shall keepe thee and deliuer thee from the euill way Prou. 2. 10 11 12. Therefore aboue all gettings get knowledge aboue all increasings grow in knowledge 2 Pet. 3. 18. Therefore make we triall of our knowledge whether it be rightly qualified what vse thou makest of thy knowledge and whether thou doest improue it to Gods glory others benefit and thine owne saluation If thy knowledge a be barren and gracelesse knowledge woe worth the time that euer thou knewest for in some sort it may be applied to thee which the Preacher speaks Eccle. 1. 18. He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow For thou shalt be beaten with many stripes Luke 12. 47. Consider therefore what life and power is in thy knowledge Many abound in knowledge but their knowledge is so weak and feeble that it is vnable to withstand any corruption or to keepe vnder any one sinne in them It is said of the Thessalonians That the Gospell was vnto them not in word onely but in power 1 Thess 1. 5. Would you know what is meant by power Euen that force wherwith God doth open the hearts of his Elect to beleeue and that strength of the Word wherby they are regenerate and made new creatures Hath thy knowledge manifested any such vertue and power in thee Then it is a sauing and sanctified knowledge else but a weak and vnprofitable knowledge Therefore that for time to come thou mayest haue thy knowledge more powerfull to subdue thy corruptions obserue these few directions following First consider with thy selfe wherefore God hath endued thee with knowledge euen to make thee to differ from others in thy life and practice and that thou shouldest bee a light vnto others Phil. 2. 15 16. That yee may bee blamelesse and pure and the sonnes of God without rebuke in the middest of a naughtie and crooked nation amongst whom yee shine as lights in the world holding forth the Word of life Thy knowledge should make thee a light Thrue light retaines its light in whatsoeuer darknesse it shines so thy knowledge if it be sanctified will teach thee to gouerne thy selfe to looke to thine owne feet and to direct thine owne wayes and if it fall out that thou beest cast amongst the children of darknesse yet their darknesse shall not be able to extinguish and put out thy light that is make thee goe or doe against thy knowledge but thy light will bee able to discouer their darknesse to guide and direct thee Againe true light as it hath light in it selfe and retaines that light not extinguished by others darknesse so doth it communicate light to others whersoeuer it shines others do or may partake of it receiuing benefit by it and comfort from it So thy knowledge if it bee sanctified will tend and bend it selfe to the edifying of others For the manifestation of the Spirit is giuen to euery man to profit withal 1 Cor. 12. 7. Euery good disposer of the grace of God as he hath receiued the gift will minister the same to others 1 Pet. 4. 10. Looke to it therefore thou hast much to answer for who hast receiued much knowledge and certainly if thou doest not good with thy knowledge thou wilt doe harme with it thy sin will be exemplary thou wilt draw on others vnto euill they taking heart and being emboldned by thine example as appeares 1 Cor. 8. 10 11. Now how will thy knowledge doe good to others if it doth thy selfe none as it doth not if sin be as powerfull in thee as if thou haddest no knowledge Secondly thou must side with thy knowledge against thy corruptions What good will a sword doe to any man if he take it not into his hand put strength vnto it Help thy knowledge to fight against thy corruptions take part with thy knowledge against thy lusts which fight against thy soule 1. Pet. 2. 11. Thy lusts are too strong of themselues adde
the Word as Rom. 10. 17. First the Law conuincing vs discouering vnto vs our sins Rom. 7. 7. shewing vs both the nature the danger of them and our misery into which sinne hath plunged vs and not onely so but an vtter impossibility of our selues either to satisfie the iustice of God for the least transgression or to bee freed from that wrath vengeance which hangs ouer our head by reason of our sins The consideration whereof terrifying and afflicting a poore sinner makes him to cry out as the Iews did Act. 2. 37. What shall I doe Then commeth in the Gospell the Word of comfort and the message of reconciliation which discouers and prescribes a remedie whereby a poore sinner may be brought into fauour with God and accepted with him come out of the snares of the Deuill and be freed from the curse and malediction of the Law and that is by receiuing of the Lord Christ in whom all the promises of God are yea and Amen And by whom wee haue redemption through his bloud euen the forgiuenesse of sins Ephes 1. 7. Whereupon he begins to hunger and thirst after Christ seeing and knowing no other way no other meanes whereby he may be saued or haue his spirituall wants supplied As the prodigall saw no meanes of comfort but starue he must vnlesse hee get home againe and bee receiued into his fathers family so the poore sinner knowes his soule will famish if he get not into Christ and therefore hee labours to bee made one with Christ his soule hungers and thirsts after nothing so much as Christ all the world is dung vnto him in comparison of Christ Oh that he may be found in Christ to liue or die Christ is all in all vnto him hee layes hold vpon his righteousnesse and shrowds himselfe for comfort vnder his wings and as Ioab laid hold vpon the horns of the Altar saying I will die heere 1 King 2. 30. So the poore beleeuer layes hold vpon the Lord Christ resteth onely vpon Christ and if he perish he will perish at the feet of Christ whereas the faith of vnbeleeuers and hypocrites ariseth either out of their education common illumination or from some vaine perswasion of some good in themselues for which they are perswaded God loues them or else hee would neuer haue bestowed so much vpon them haue done these or these things for them So that their faith is no other than a faithlesse cōfidence a vaine presumption or some Satanicall illusion neuer wrought in them by the Lord Christ the Author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12. 2. by the ministry of his Word For they were neuer throughly hūbled or if they were it was but for a while a little Sermon-sicke their consciences wambling while the Word was deliuered vnto them and no longer If this mans faith had bin begun or hee begotten again of the Word of God as a new borne babe hee would more and more desire it that hee might grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 2. for wee are nourished with that by which wee are begotten but he finds no sweetnesse takes no true content in the Word any further than he is sensible of some art or some noueltie in the same which doth affect and delight him Tell mee then thou that boastest or presumest so much of thy faith how thou diddest attaine vnto it when it was first wrought in thee which if thou canst not thou hast iust cause to fear thy faith is but thy fancie Heere a question will fall in very fit to be answered and that is whether euery one that beleeueth can tell when or how faith was wrought in him This scruple and scrutiny hath troubled many a deare childe of God who hath been ready to questiō the truth of their faith because they cannot precisely lay downe the time when or the meanes how faith was wrought in thē For their education and bringing vp was alwayes godly and religious from their child-hood they haue entertained the Word of God they haue alwayes borne a good will to godlinesse and loued the professours of the truth alwaies approued of the best things and therefore question the truth of faith and grace in them For the cōfort of such let me first of all tel them that if all were not well twenty to one the Deuil would not be so busie with them to perplex trouble them with these pious feares holy doubtings We seldome heare or reade of any but the Lords people that haue these troubles or that put these doubts questions But for the satisfying of thy scruple consider first what Christ said to Nicodemus Ioh. 3. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth c. The meaning of which words is to teach vs that the operations of grace are sometimes as it were hid from the regenerate themselues neither knowing the time when they first began to work nor whēce they sprung nor to what measure they will grow Therefore though thou canst not tell by what meanes or at what time the Spirit of God commeth into thine heart or how at first its quickning and sanctifying presence gaue spirituall life vnto thy soule yet blessed and happie is thy cōdition if thou now findest faith to bee wrought in thee which thou mayest be assured of if thou findest thy soule enlightned with the sauing knowledge and vnderstanding of the truth if thou hast been abased and humbled vnder the hand of God in the sight and sense of thy vnworthinesse and if thou prizest Christ aboue all the world labouring to winne him and desiring to be found in him not hauing thine owne righteousnesse but that which is through the faith of Christ euen the righteousnesse which is of God through faith Phil. 3. 9 10. But if thou findest not these to bee in thee then thou mayest well question the truth of thy faith A second difference lies in the fruits and effects of faith Where grace is faith workes by loue Gal. 5. 6. A heart knowing and beleeuing what the Lord hath done for it cannot but loue much Luke 7. 47. being so dearely beloued And this loue of God workes the heart to a hatred of all things displeasing vnto God Psal 97. 10. and to a practice of that which he requireth Psal 26. 3. Thy louing kindnesse is before mine eyes therefore haue I walked in thy truth Wheras the faith of the vnregenerate works no change in him makes him no better than hee was vnlesse it bee in shew and appearance Confidence of Gods loue emboldens him to wickednesse and makes him to sin more and more as Ier. 3. 4 5. rather then abate sin in him Certainly if euer the Lord speake peace to thy soule through Christ hee will so inflame thine heart with the loue of his truth his Image his ordinances that these will so take vp thy heart that thou shalt not turne againe vnto euill Psal 85. 8. Thirdly and lastly faith
in the regenerate makes the heart to stoope to Christs Scepter to heare his voice and follow him It is faith which apprehēds the authority and soueraigntie which Christ hath ouer vs and approues of the holines goodnes of his Cōmandements so inclines the heart vnto a willing and cheerefull obedience Whereas the hypocrites faith doth embolden him vnto liberty it makes him loose and licentious laying all vpon Christ back saying Christ dyed for vs his bloud shall cleanse vs c. Let the Ministers of Christ say what they can threaten what they wil they are resolued to hold on they will not shift one foot nor stir any further than they list Let iudgements bee threatned against them threatned folke they say liue long they can laugh in their sleeues at the zeale of Gods seruants no more moued or remoued with a Sermon than with the wagging of a straw Oh take heed therefore that thou beest not deceiued in the truth of thy faith Thou mayest haue a great deale of carnall confidence and bold presumption and yet not one dram of true sauing faith Take heed brethren lest at any time there be in any of you an euil heart and vnfaithfull to depart away from the liuing God Do not thinke that thy comming to Church thy hearing of Christ preached and receiuing of the Sacraments are infallible euidences of true faith for many thousands who take vp their religion vpō trust and take themselues to be sound beleeuers haue their hearts fraught with vnbeliefe their faith being no better nay scarce so good as the faith of deuils for they tremble at the power displeasure of the Lord whereas these are not once touched nor any thing affected therewith And this shall suffice to haue spoken of faith the second Euidence of true Grace A third Euidence of Grace NOw I come to the third Euidence of true Grace and that is the subduing of our Lusts and the conquering of our corruptions This is meant by those words of Paul I beat downe my body and bring it into subiection By body the Apostle doth mean the old mā sin corruptiō which doth lust against the spirit All such as are truly regenerate by the quickning power of the Spirit are sanctified as was said before in all the faculties of their soules members of their bodies not only inlightned in their iudgements to dislike that which is euill but their hearts also are set against it They know that all fleshly lusts doe fight against their soules and therefore they maintaine open warre with them and will not yeeld any voluntary obedience or subiection vnto them Grace cānot stād with the regiment of sin For as Paul saith Sinne shall not haue dominion ouer you for yee are not vnder the Law but vnder Grace Howsoeuer the Lord to checke the security presumption pride selfe-conceitednesse vnthankfulnesse of his children may for a while leaue them vnto themselues and with-draw as it were the powerfull presence of his grace wherby corruption may bustle swell yea and breake forth also yet by the power of grace they shall bee brought againe to mislike and condemn themselues for those euils wherewith they haue beene ouer-taken and crie out with Paul O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death Therefore the Anabaptists and others are foully mistaken who hold that after the work of grace is once truly wrought in a man sinne hath no being in him that is regenerate for you must know that in euery one that is regenerate there is flesh as well as the Spirit in euery faculty there is grace inclining the heart to goodnes and there is corruption like a back-byas drawing it the contrary way For grace and corruptiō in euery regenerate person as Iacob and Esau did striue in Rebeccaes womb are euermore strugling and striuing one with the other yea there is a cōtinuall war betwixt them as was between the House of Dauid and the House of Saul but as the House of Dauid waxed stronger and the House of Saul weaker So fares it betweene Grace corruptiō the flesh may striue but the Spirit ouercomes for by vertue of habituall grace infused the will is so sanctified the affections are so rectified the heart is so purified as the whole man resignes vp himselfe to be at Gods seruice imbraceth a holy and a heauenly life as the only true comfort and sound happinesse and desires and resolues so to hold on euen vnto the end Therefore they are grossely deceiued who hold that after the work of grace is wrought in the heart of Gods children the will hangs like a beame vpon the ballance equally inclining to one hand as well as to the other A foggie and a mistie errour contrary to the current of the Scriptures which teach vs that a regenerate person labours to keepe a good Conscience in all things desiring to liue honestly as Heb. 13. 18. That person in whom the work of grace is wrought desires and endeuours to be euermore furnished with the Panoply the compleat armour of God that so he may stand fast resist the Deuil be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked The strength and bent of his wil and affections are for God and goodnesse he chuseth holinesse with a full purpose and resolution to walke in it he turnes from his former euils with a detestation of them he leaues them with a resolution neuer to take them vp againe As Ephraim said Hos 14. 8. What haue I to doe any more with Idols So saith he of his old courses and companions Away from mee and as Christ to Peter Get thee behinde me thou art an offence vnto me Matth. 16. 23. He daily prayes and cries earnestly to God for strength against corruption and wisheth O that my wayes were so directed to keep thy Statues continually Psa 119. 5. He is not for God to day and the Deuill to morrow he is no morning Saint and euening Deuill but desires and endeuours to walke before the Lord in all pleasing and to serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the daies of his life Well then if the case so standeth consider with thy selfe what combate thou doest daily maintaine against thy corruptions Doest thou delight in the Law of God concerning the inner man as Rom. 7. 22. though thou seest another law in thy members rebelling against the law of thy minde Are thy failings matter of daily humiliation vnto thy soule Dost thou finde and feele that nothing vnder the Sun doth more sting and pierce thy heart than to be at any time ouertaken with passions or carried away with the swinge of any corruptions against thy godly purpose and holy resolutions Why then cheere vp thy drooping spirits the Lord by the power of his grace hath takē possessiō of thee for nothing but grace is able to keepe the loue of sin out
make sure the inheritance of Gods chosen All that partake of the couenant of grace are sealed with the holy Spirit of promise Ephes 1. 13. which sealing is not for a day a month or a yeare but for euer vnto the day of redemption Ephes 4. 30. The nature of a Seale all know is to make things sure The decree of the Medes and Persians that it might bee irreuocable was sealed with the Kings seale Dan. 6. 8. Lest the Disciples should come by night and steale Christ out of the sepulchre wherein hee was laid They went and made the sepulchre sure and sealed the stone Matth. 27. 66. When wee haue put our seale to a writing by the law of Nations it is firme Shall the Seale of a mortall man bee of that force that no law can alter it and shal the obsignation of the holy Spirit be of lesse vertue and power This were to make God lesse than man Againe it is the earnest of our inheritance vntill the redemption of the possession purchased vnto the praise of his glory Now the nature of an earnest we know is to binde any contract or bargain and to giue a kind of state and possession of the thing bargained for Gods Spirit is his earnest which he hath laid for his to assure the hearts of his children of their full possession of that inheritance which Christ hath purchased God hath prepared for them Now if any shal obiect that we may either lose or forfeit our earnest and so misse of the bargaine you must know that the Spirit of God doth neuer finally and wholly depart from those vnto whom it is once giuen as appeares Ioh. 14. 16 17. But had not Dauid lost the Spirit of God when he prayed so earnestly vnto the Lord that hee would restore vnto him the ioy of his saluation and stablish him with his free Spirit This obiection may be said to answer it selfe Could Dauid without the presence and assistance of the Spirit haue beene thus earnest with the Lord in prayer Again a difference must be put betwixt the presence of the Spirit and the feeling or comfort of the Spirit A hand benummed with cold or stunted with some blow may hold a thing and yet haue no feeling of it It doth not follow that therefore Gods Spirit hath vtterly forsaken a man because in his apprehension and feeling he takes it to be so Therefore in stead of perplexing and troubling thy selfe about needlesse feares of reiection and finall falling from grace labour to bee furnished with sound euidences of true grace and then my life for thine God who hath begun a good worke in thee will confirme it vntill the day of Iesus Christ Phil. 1. 6. Here some weake beleeuer may reply and say If I had as good a heart as many haue or if I were indowed with as much grace as some be I should then haue lesse feare and more hope of holding out vnto the end but alas I am a poore sinful creature full of frailties and compassed about with manifold infirmities and therefore feare my selfe For thy comfort thou must know that Gods grace is sufficient for thee and his power is made perfect through weaknesse It is not the greatnesse but the truth of grace which the Lord respects A bruised reed shall he not breake and smoking flax shall he not quench vntill he bring forth iudgement vnto victory If grace in thee be sound and true though it be no more than a graine of mustard-seed it shall bee able to bring thee vnto glory It may be so if I could beleeue this but I cannot be fully perswaded of this thing If thou beleeue not yet abideth God faithfull he cannot deny himselfe as the Apostle sayes 2 Tim. 2. 13. Let no man from this which hath beene spoken grow secure carelesse as if he were out of all feare and danger of losing his comfort or lessening that grace which he hath receiued For though it be true that true grace cannot bee vtterly lost yet through pride securitie earthly-mindednesse and the like the childe of God may fall into such languishing fits that the life of grace may appeare to bee vtterly extinct in him Suppose our bodies were of that temper and constitution that no poison or infection could make a rent betwixt the soule them were it not folly nay were it not madnesse for any one to cut wound himselfe or through mis-dieting of himselfe and surfets so to impaire his strength and health that his life should bee a continuall faintnesse and sicknesse Euen so it is with vs in respect of grace the life of our soules for that soule which is destitute of grace is dead whiles liueth as appeares 1 Tim. 5. 6. What though grace once seazing vpō the soule cannot be wholly separated from it yet may it through our spirituall distempers take such a surfet as little strength or power thereof may euer appeare in vs. Therefore that no man may bee settled vpon the lees of security or sing a requiem vnto his owne soule consider daily what strength and life is in that grace which God hath bestowed vpon thee lest before thou beest aware of it grace be cooled and declining in thee which if it be will appeare by these symptomes The first is an inordinate appetite vnto such things as are noxious and hurtfull vnto the soule For as our bodily health is impaired and weakened by feeding vpon such things as are in antipathie vnto our nature and constitution so it fares with our soules if wee bee bold with sinne the soules bane the strength of grace growes quickly feeble in vs. The second is the abating of our spirituall taste when wee finde not the sweetnesse and comfort in the Word which formerly we haue done when we feed not vpon the Word with that desire and appetite which once wee did this argues some distemper in the soule For as in bodily meates when they grow vnsauoury to our pallats it is most euident that our stomackes haue in them some distemper so it is with our soules if the same Word haue not the same rellish with vs now which sometime it had we may say there is some spirituall distemper Thirdly when we brook not when wee digest not the Word as well as formerly we haue done Euill concoction of onr meat argues a cold stomacke or at least an abatement of the natiue heat so when people digest not Gods Word the food of their soules but vomit it vp againe either by storming against it censuring of it or wilfully neglecting the power and practice of it it is a signe of declining in grace Fourthly and lastly if there bee a cold drowsie and formall performance of the duties of Gods worship and seruice when a man is not so cheerefull and liuely vnto in good duties as of old this argues a decaying of his spirituall strength
grace to bewaile the want of grace and to be earnest with the Lord for a supply thereof If thou wert in any bodily want or necessity Towne and Countrey peraduenture should heare if not ring of it Thou canst heartily pray for and earnestly seeke out for outward necessaries food clothing fire c. But to whom dost thou make thy complaint of the want of grace Whereas grace being the most excellēt thing should in the first place be desired for thy selfe thy wife thy husband thy children c. If thou hast grace thou hast gotten a rich portion a great possession thy line is falne in a faire ground If thou seest grace wrought in the hearts of thy children thou mayest be freed from carefulnesse or seeking great things for them they haue a great a rich portion The Heathen could say that Vertue was a sufficient Dowrie And the Scripture saith The Lord wil not famish the soule of the righteous But how hard a thing is it for a Minister of Christ to beat this into the heads of people especially the poorer sort who most neglect grace and therefore they can rise early lye downe late and eat the bread of carefulnesse they can call and crie for these outward things for themselues and theirs but how few will stirre one foot or wet a finger for the obtaining of grace How many poore soules neuer had any one thought tending that way not so much as once dreame of the necessitie of grace and therfore trouble not themselues about it Let all such beware lest as a Captaine who finding one of his watchmen which kept sentinell asleepe cut off his head saying Dead I found thee and dead I leaue thee so the Lord cut off these with the sword of his wrath and vengeance leauing them for euer dead in sinne as he found them Thirdly if Grace be the most excellent thing why should wee not labour and striue to grow in grace as we are exhorted 2 Pet. 3. 18 An honest and good heart is neuer weary of increasing its stock of grace as worldlings are vnwearied in heaping vp transitory riches and lading thēselues with clay though sometimes it falls out that outward things haue their satiety and wee may bee cloyed with them whereas in grace there is no nimiety a mans heart cannot be cloyed nor clog'd with it Our life is a wayfare a walke no time of standing we must still forwards on and on as those that haue a great iourney to goe As the Lord said to Elias when hee found him sitting and sleeping vnder a Iuniper tree Vp eat thou hast a great iourney to goe 1 King 19. 7. So we haue a long way a short day to finish it in and therfore had need bestirre our selues to purpose Therefore as Paul said to the Thessalonians 1 Thess 4. 1. so I to you Now I beseech you brethren and exhort you in the Lord Iesus that ye increase more and more Grace in the heart of Gods child should be like the waters flowing from the Sanctuarie Ezek. 47. 3 4. which were at the first to the ancles and after to the knees and so to the loynes and at last to a great deep that could not be passed ouer Though grace below and shallow at the first in vs we should so nourish and cherish it that it may grow to ripenesse and full holinesse in the feare of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. Which that wee may the better doe obserue these directions First we must be careful to remoue away all euil hindring grace and secondly set vpon the practice of that good which will further it First of all we must be carefull to plucke vp root and rinde of al such weeds as may ouer-grow choak and hinder the prospering of grace One maine and ranke weed is spirituall pride and selfe-conceitednesse which growes too fast in the best soile being watered and cherished by the Deuill who when he cannot procure the childe of God to stoope to his lure and bite at his bait of impietie and profanenesse then labours he to poison him with his owne venome to puffe him vp and make him swel with pride of his gifts He will make him proud of his knowledge proud of his preaching praying c. yea rather than faile hee will make him proud of his humility proud that he is not proud Pluck vp this weed therefore for it much hinders grace God resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the humble He fills the hungrie with good things and sends away the full emptie Luk. 1. 53. Humble your selues therfore and the Lord will exalt you The more humble and lowly thou art the freer thou art from shaking and ouer-turning for wee see low houses stand fast when many loftie and high buildings are blowne downe fall The higher any hill or mountaine is the more barren it is for the dew and raine which waters the earth to make it fruitfull tarries not vpon high hils but fals down into the valleyes makes them fruitfull euen so the meanes of grace lighting vpon an high and lofty spirit do fall from him without soaking or entring into him whereas lighting vpon the humble and lowly they make him fertile for the humble he will teach his way Psal 25. 9. Another weede which must bee pluckt vp is selfe-confidence or securitie When Christians begin to beare thēselues vpon their own strength and to grow presumptuous the Lord oft withdrawes from them the strength of his grace and then downe they fall Dauid was too selfe-confident when he said I shall neuer be moued therefore God soone hides away his face and Dauid was as quickly troubled But of all other examples there is none for our purpose more remarkable than that of Peter who took it in foule scorne to be thought to be such a dastard and white-liuerd souldier yea such a false-hearted seruant as to forsake his Lord Master in greatest extremitie and therefore if you will take his word he will neuer flinch hee will die for Christ before he will deny him But when Christ fore-told his Apostles of their flinching from him if Peter had thus replied Lord it may be thou seest more into me and know'st my heart better than I know my selfe we are of our selues weake and fraile ready to pull in our heads vpon euery storme but Lord the spirit is willing though the flesh be fraile of our selues we can do nothing any further than thou wilt assist vs strengthen vs therefore with thy grace and then we will neuer flie from thee If thus Peter had answered Christ all had been well but being foole-hardy and selfe-confident the Lord sets him vpon his owne legs leaues him vnto himselfe and what became of this boaster at the word of a Maiden he denyes and forsweares Christ curses and damnes himself if euer he knew him Thus when Gods children grow carelesse too confident or are ouer-takē with a dead sleep