Lord had given me efficacious grace I should have been converted yet it followes not therefore I am not the culpable cause of my own non-conversion or that the Lord is to be blamed therefore p. 360 Our sinful will not the Lords refusal of power is the culpable cause of non-conversion ib School-men make conversion the purchase of free will p. 362 Sin original must be pardoned to pagans in Christ of whom they never heard p. 364 Domiuicans no less gross then Jesuits in the matter of grace free will ib There may be much seeking and using of means and no influences p. 4. c. 1. p. 369 Vsing of means would be in humility ib Influences not entertained breed loathing of the Gospel p. 370 We may mar influences ib The Lords order in conferring of influences p. 372 A confluence of influences at one time and at one work ib Resisting of the word hinders influences and so doth resisting of ordinances p. 373 Resisting of the operation of the spirit obstructs influences ib Praying and praising promote the influences of the spirit p. 374 Despising of the Prophets and persecuting of them obstruct influences ib Hardning of the heart not profitting by means obstruct influences p. 375. Remaining in nature bitternesse wrath malice rancor obstruct influences ib Influences of the spirit are contempered according to the habit of grace p. 4. c. 2. p. 276 Wordly sorrow obstructs influences p. 377 The spirits motions are swift ib Plenty of means sweet dispositions and yet scarcity of influences p. 4. c. 3. p. 379 These are often together prayer and actual influences and duties following thereupon the former according to the Lords will of precept the latter according to his will of pleasure see Psal 119. p. 381 The nearness betwixt the love of the word or the hiding of it in the heart and spiritual influences p. 382 Impediments and helps of influences ib Of the word hidden in the heart p. 383 Many evils of the heart reckoned out to the number of it which obstruct influences and the contrary promote them p. 384 As the light of faith and softness admit influences so rockiness obstruct the same p. 385 2 Vnbelief obstructs influences p. 386 Influences of grace do no violence to the rational power of â—illing and willing ib 3 Deadness 4 Security 5 Athisme p. 387 388 6 Vnconstancy of the heart 7 Deceitfulnesse and falsness of the heart p. 396 Obstruct influences p. 390. 391 TO THE GODLY READER THis Subject of Divine Influences Christian Reader is most obvious to dayly practise but a path untrodden I conceive to the travels of the pens of the godly and experienced Divines who have written practical Divinity That is called the pillar of predetermination which is indeed new and wilde Divinity to some But it 's no other way new then the new trust which the Lord hath put upon the Mediator Christ whose it is to lose none to bring many Children to Glory to cast none away who comes to him for grant an efficacious and strong but sweet and none compelling yet a mighty drawing and love-forcing violence and dominion to Christ Jesus over the proudest piece of the six days works of creation to wit over mans free-will so as insuperably and without a miss he must drive his flock to their eternal green pastours and overdrive none And modest spirits and such as are in love with truth need not contend for me I shall desire none to be farther in love with the Lords strong flection bowing and turning of mans will whithersoever God will then we may save the holy and strong dominion of the soveraign Lord that he may have a more powerful mastery over the entrance of the free and contingent acts of the will of men and Angels then the creatures themselves have And reason would say that soveraigne and independent former of all of whom through whom for whom are all things Rom. 11. should be above the clay Hence these introductory considerations by way of preface 1. There cannot be a knocking without but there must be hearing within Cant. 5. 1. for the Lords knocking internal whether at first or renewed conversion hath something peculiar as hearing and learning of the Father John 5. 45. hath something of which a natural man is not capable and so hath instructing with a strong hand Isa 8. 11. If Christ had spoken to the graves and corps neer to Lazarus corps Come forth as he speaks indefinitly to all in the Gospel Come to me believe in Christ and rebuke such as will not come John 5. 40. yet all should not be raised out of the grave as Lazarus 2. It 's the same letter and sound of gracious word that comes to all the hearers Acts 16. and to Lydia but the same heart opening of the spirit goes not along as many externally hear the noise of the report of Gospel-tidings to whom the arm of the Lord is not revealed Acts 16. 13 14. it 's better experiencedly to feel then literally to search how the word is the chariot the Spirit the driver of the chariot 2. Such as receive the ingraffed word or the word and Spirit shall not much dispute how or by what clift quâ rimâ the Lord came in here he is now the word is the instrument the blind mans word John 9. 25. one thing I know that whereas I was blind now I see is enough though some cannot write a chronicle or tell the history or aim how place manner of their conversion 3. Some are troubled how Soveraignty of quickning influences in the gratious Lord who quickens hic nunc in every duty and withdraws his soveraign concurrence as he best pleaseth can consist with our debt of duty It 's safest to look to duty and the commanding will to rise up and be doing and not to dazle the wit with disputing the soveraignty of God nor to enquire into his latent decreeing will 4. A gracious heart is so taken up with care to pay the rent of commanded duties as he hath no leasure to argue why and if the Lord had decreed to give me quickning influences I should not thus decline The thesis of an heart of unbelief is a more edifying them to dispute against and to weep over then to quarrel with and agitate the question concerning the Lords withdrawing of his congruous applying of the word to the heart or his praescience and permissive decrees duty is mine Soveraignty is his 5. Faith supposeth this truth though saving influences be wanting and holy Soveraignty withdraw them for reasons far above the reach of Angels and mens capacities yet it is my sin that I lay under unresisted deadness It may be asserted that it is a sinful inclination in us to make the high decree of God our Bible and to be unwilling to be ruled by the revealed will of God So Evah was lesse willing to believe the revealed threatning in the day thou eatest thou shalt die and most bent to
iniquity then upon the account of a holy walk the Lord must bestow influences of grace to preserve men from doing acts of iniquity And there must be a promise of influences that such as walk in the Law of the Lord shall walk more in that Law Prov. 1. 5. A wise man will hear and encrease more in learning then to spiritual wisedome there must be a promise of influences to encrease spiritual wisedom Isa 40. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint Then waiting on the Lord shall fetch the wind of new quickening influences to wait more upon the Lord and to run and they that run shall run more and which falls not out in physical running when they are running Now fresh swiftness and recent vigour of speed shall be given to the runner and larger breath and spiritnesse then he had before None are thriving and growing men as the godly are Mal. 4. 2. But unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall goe forth and grow as calves in the stall Prov. 4. 18. But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day In which dispensation 1. Such as are more proud with plenty of means and plague themselves with abundance occasion the truth of this that Christ sends the rich empty away and throws the mighty down from their seats and their golden and silken chairs Luke 52. 53. And the rich and the full saith Hannah 1 Sam. 2. 5. have hired out themselves for bread And since men will be plagued and poysoned with plenty let it be so and that lie upon them as a word of chiding Deut. 29. 3. The great temptations which thine eyes have seen the signs and these great miracles Ver. 4. Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day And is the Lord complaining of himself in this place No he will not have them to search into the depth of soveraignty ver 29. because God gave them not an heart Nay but his scope is to complain of the peoples abusing of the plenty of means I gave you the grace of outward means but ye misgraced to speak so your own heart therefore it is just that ye be blind and deaf since ye wickedly wink and stop your ears though it cannot be denied that God would have them humbled by reflecting on their own wilful winking and blindness yet so as they should tremble and stoop at him who can give a new heart and eyes and ears but of soveraignty denies it to the reprobates of whom he complains that the chosen may tremble 2. We are hence led to consider the nature of God's promises that they are much unlike to the promises and covenants between man and man For it comes to this such as have influences from the Lord to run through his free grace the Lord of the same free grace giveth new influences to them to run more The Lord because he makes some rich in grace he makes them of rich in grace yet more rich in grace and whom he loves freely he yet more freely loves And the truth is the Lord makes himself debtor to his own grace not to our industry As Augustine the Lord gave being and milk to my Nurse to feed me thou gavest me nilling and willing where is my merit then 3. Free grace infused the first habit so by infusion of grace he adds parcels to the first habit so that the increase of the habit of grace is as free grace as the first habit and there is no earning nor hiring of grace or engaging of the Lord else grace should not be grace and works should not be works 4. By some hainous old and over years guiltiness we give place to the Divel and rotten talking and malice and wrath stealing in Paul is put to that necessary word Ephes 4. 26 27 28 29 30 31. Grieve not the Spirit of God by which ye are sealed to the day of redemption For such sins bring on withdrawing of influences Christ knocks and ye put a little stone in the Key-hole and the sprent is broken and the dore will neither open nor shut when the wheels of the Horologue are broke there is no sound of hours heard when the bones are crushed the man cannot walk the spiritual organs dispositions and powers of David's soul were blunted and out of frame by his adultery and bloud-guiltinesse No wonder then the Spirit was unwilling to dwell and act in his wonted lodging Psal 51. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not saith he thy holy Spirit from me 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit It s good to keep the wheels whole But sin cannot so interdict or lay an arrestment upon influences as to conclude and restrain the free grace of God nor does the Lord by the Saints falls fall from his soveraignty and princedom of grace yea rather from the heightning and abounding of sin does the reign and Kingly power of grace shine the more the more tumid the boyl is and the more the flesh about it burns and flames with the swelling of the humour the more it is ripened for breaking and healing A Feaver at the height begins to decline as the Sea full at the outmost point of the shore does reflow and ebb again See death and sin's reign and grace and Christ's reign Rom. 5. 15 17 21. See Ezech. 20. 23. Ezech. 16. 59 60. Ezech. 26. 21 22 23. 1 Tim. 1. 13 14 15 16 17. make some ripeness for fulness of grace Though Christ's reign cannot ebb or fall But no thanks to the sinner but great praise to him who makes medicine of the rotten and attry bloud of our wounds 5. It s considerable that gracious actings fetch influences for other gracious actings for grace is nearer of kin to grace then nature can be to grace Now as touching the Author of influences that we may come more particularly to the supernaturalness of influences we know the Father the Son the holy Spirit are all in Scripture said to act upon the soul in a gracious way It shall not be needful to speak much of the Father's influences upon the man Christ in sending and bestowing the Spirit and the anointing above his fellows upon him In the influences of the God-head in a personal union upon the Man Christ in filling him with the holy Ghost from the womb and especially the Lord was mighty in him in preaching with authority so that the hearers were astonished and all wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth in praying while his countenance shined And 2. The Lord's influences were evident in disputing with
to praise to submit to God to adore to walk humbly to walk circumspectly and tenderly and such like but most of them may be reduced to these NOw to speak of the burning of the heart the place Luke 24. 32. is clear The two disciples having parted with Christ now risen from the dead and not knowing him to be Christ 32. they say one to another Did not our hearts burn within us when he spake to us in the way and opened to us the Scriptures In which words the nature of heavenly heart-burning in the causes and properties thereof is laid open and the differences between the heat natural from natural influences from the lively heat spiritual In the words these particulars are to be observed 1. When the heat is gone and past 1. they perceive it they said one to another when he is gone our heart did burn in the past or preterite time 2. They accuse their own stupidity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did not our heart burn were we sleeping when he burnt us 3. The Author speaking Christ while he spake to us in the way 4. The fewel that made the fire and the burning coals the Scripture opened by Christ 5. The object of the burning or the subject recipient our heart was burning as an oven or a furnace They said one to another The coal of fire which Christ cast into the heart and is now smoaking among the fire-wood and on the heart leaves two things behind it 1. Telling of their experiences one to another 2. The feeling and perceiving of the heavenly heart-burning better when it 's gone then when it was on Then the heart-working of Christ will leave histories behind it as what is much of Solomons Song but a Narration of the daughters and virgins one to another of Christs actings upon the soul or a chronicle of Christs love and the Spouses sin as 1. Of Christs dispensation in withdrawing Cant. 3. I sought him but I found him not Cant. 5. 6. I opened to my beloved and my beloved had withdrawn himself 2. She tells his saving actings upon the soule be like to the virgins Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me unto his chambers Cant. 2. 4. He brought me into his banquetting-house and love was his banner over me 3. She tells over songs of Christs loveliness and excellency Cant. 5. 10 11 12. of the savouriness of his name of the memory of his love Cant. 1. 3 4. of the seat and room that Christ hath in her heart and betwixt her breasts Cant. 1. 13. all the night 4. She tells of her carnal drowsiness of her sinful refusing to open and let in Christ to the heart So does Jeremiah tell a sad experience of his own he had quit the prophecying trade and would speak no more in the name of the Lord and he was burnt with a fire in his breast he could not get the word housed in his heart but it did come abroad This shall be the first difference betwixt spiritual heart-burnings and the influences that the Spirit leaves and the natural heat The literal burning leaves no work upon the heart nor any impression of heavenly experiences Jehu his heat against Achab and Baal left no impression of God on him to hate the golden calves or the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin He did cleave to that way 2 Kings 10. 28 30. Let fiery professors shew any influence of a gratious work in the heart the flaming of thorns under a pot and the flashes of heat from burning straw leave no fire but ashes and much cold behind them in the cold winter frost and the generality of dead professors can say nothing to one another but I have long heard the Gospel and yet am without God and without Christ 2. I am convinced of the excellence of Christ and there yet is no fire or coal of heart-love to Christ in me and it were good such a missing there were 2. Did not our hearts burn This is convinced to be a disposition spiritual rather then a habit it s a burning of heart while Christ speakes that had a cooling before though they were believing Disciples But here observe they feel not so the burning of heart in the mean time as afterward when v. 31. Christ was vanished out of their sight and gone now they take special notice in a feeling way of the warmness of heart they felt while he opened the Scriptures to them The Lord preaches in a ladder reaching from earth to heaven Jacob sleeps and can give no judgement in the mean time but Gen. 28. 16. when the sweet vision and preaching is eâ—ded Jacob awaked out of his sleep and he said Surely the Lord was in this place and I knew not A strong impression of the presence and glory of God sometimes comes on after the Lord is away David desires and thirsts Psalm 63. 2. saith he in the wilderness of Judah that I may see thy power and thy glory as I have seen thee The enjoying of Zion and Zions songs while the people is at home in their own land hath not such influence on their spirit as when the Sancturies glory is removed then Psalm 137. 1. By the rivers of Babel there we sate down yea we wept when we remembred Zion While one is in a fever they may be ignorant that they are in a fever but when the cooling of health comes then he well remembers he was sick of a fever When there is a fever of glory on Peter he speaks he knows not what Mark 9. 6. yet after 2 Pet. 1. 16 17. he makes sweet comfortable use of that glory of Christ on the mount when the Lord waters the sown seed and sends down new influences of grace then doth it appear what warming hath been in the soul this is a second difference betwixt literal heat and spiritual burning of heart literal heat hath most sense when it is a dowing there are no spiritual reflexions upon that burning when it is gone and over except the Lord give repentance and that is accidental to all sinful fairds and flaming of the flesh or of a moral gift it dies with its flaming as fired powder that endures not long whereas its useful to call to mind the gracious burnings of heart yea or any of the Lords ancient paths according to that Psalm 119. 52. I remembred thy judgement of old and have comforted my self and its good to receive and lay up influences of heart warmings of Christ Isa 42. 23. Who among you will â—ear this who will hearken and hear for the time to come Did not our hearts burn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The godly reprove their not knowing and not discerning of Christ in his heart flamings of love godly and spiritual sense â—â—lengeth self-dulness Cant. 5. 6. I opened to my beâ—â—ved but my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone This is a sense of Christs withdrawing
with a challenge of her refusing to open Ah! why did I not opâ—n while he did â—ovingly 〈…〉 knock and lovingly speak Open 〈…〉 my â—â—ster my love c. sense of Christ with chalâ—â—â—â—â—d good 〈◊〉 with tears for 〈◊〉 in the woman thâ—◠〈…〉 his feet with tears sense with faith going along 〈…〉 is commendable it s a spiritual case 〈…〉 up our recâ—nnings what we have profited spiritually by the heart-â—â—â—ingâ— wrought by Christ and this is a third diffrence The moral and 〈◊〉 man 〈◊〉 so â—â—prove his hear as to call himself to a reckoning nor 〈…〉 say wheâ— neere am I to God for my stirring 〈◊〉 reforming religion its kindly life-heat that makes the man more lively and vigorous While he spake The third particular who works burning of heart in these men speaking Jesus Christ when Christ takes the bellows and the fan and stirs up the fire it must needâ— burn boldly and when Christ casts in a coal in the soul it must make heart-flamings John 4. I am he that speaks to thee that made a fire in the womans heart then she leaves well and water-pot and runs to the City So Matth. 9. 9. Matth. 4. 20 21 22. with a word he kindles a fire in the brests of fisher-men who knew nothing of him before and hath an inward work upon the heart Cant. 5. He put in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved for him that was fire in the bowels and what did Christ here but speak words and this is the fourth difference with little pain but a word speaking he makes a fire There is a huge deal of violence in Esaus running sweating hunting Jacob stirred not after works but staid at home and believed and faith made him blessed the spirit drives not but by the words leading and perswading But is there no violence in the natural and literal heat Yea for Bâ—als priests to cut and bleed themselves with knives and cry till noon and to shout to a deaf God must have in it much violence and it s a very unnatural fire and its a most unnatural wild-fire heat to slay their young children to Molech A man who forces a sigh when a sigh forces not him is a sufferer but what violence is in the constraining Gospel-promise what compulsion is there in love or love-sickness when Christ makes love a key that opens all doors how strongly and how sweetly doth the word of promise carried on by the spirit of Christ force thy soul there is a huge deal of force and violence in fairâ—heed sickness as when a man makes and counterfeits distraction and madness and runs naked While he opened the Scriptures The fourth particular is the fewel that makes the fire the Scriptures opened and opened by Christs key Is not my word like a fire saith the Lord Jer. 23. 15. Yea in Christs baptizing there is fire John baptizeth with water and no more as a cold and watry seal but Christ Matth. â— 11. batizeth with the holy Ghost and with fire The word of prophesie was in Jeremiahs bowels as a fire shut up and this is the fift difference betwixt the literal and spiritual heat the heavenly heart-burning goes along with the Scriptures 2. With the Scriptures so opened and applied by the spirit of Jesus as by a strong power burning coals are cast into the heart As touching the former the difference betwixt this and the Libertines spirit or the Enthusiasts are to be observed and the spirit of the children of God 1. Christs spirit extols the Scriptures It is written saith Christ against Satan Have ye not read in the Scriptures saith Christ against the Sadduces Matth. 22. Search the Scriptures saith Christ they bear witness of me He taught the multitude and disciples as it s written in the Scriptures He rebukes them Luke 24. v. 25. as fools and slow of heart for not believing the Scriptures When he would carry in real influences of grace to the heart he carries them along by the Scripture and opens the understanding that they may understand the Scripture Luke 24. 45. that is the spirit of Satan in some who boast that they are beyond and above the word of the Kingdom and such must be beyond and on the other side of heaven 2. They who wait for the Lord and whose soul waits for God they hope in his word Psalm 130. 5 6. Libertines souls cannot wait for the Lord as the watch for the morning 3. It s a work of the spirit strongly to convince the conscience of not believing in Christ John 16. 7 8. now to believe in him is the sum of the Scriptures of the Gospel Enthusiasts extol perswasions by raptures according to which the brother killeth the brother as Bullinger relates in place of the Scripture-convictions of the spirit 4. The work of the spirit is to comfort for its the spirits office and the sound comfort is patience and comfort of the Scriptures bringing hope Rom. 15. 4. The spirit of Enthusiasts perswades men of peace and comfort without and beside the promises of the Gospel 5. The words of the book of the Law melt the heart of godly Josiah 2 Kings 19. 22. and the Lord looks to him that trembles at his word to dwell with him Isa 66. 2. The Enthusiasts boldly mock the word as an instrument of carnal and fleshly regeneration and seek a new birth from a spirit alone separated from the word 6. Deep humiliation is wrought by the word 2 Kings 22. 14. the pride of Satan reigns in the spirits of Enthusiasts who despise Scripture humility and reproach tears and the work of repentance as a work of the Law and the flesh 7. Strong and couragious fighting even to overcoming gets for a reward the hid manna the white stone and the new name written thereon which no man can read but he that receives it now fighting and overcoming is by the word of the spirit Rev. 2. 17. Eph. 6. 17. and faith in the word 1 John 5. 4. Enthusiasts tell us of a dumb and Scriptureless perswasion by which men are perswaded they are chosen to salvation and can know others by the face that are so chosen 8. The true spirit leads unto all truth John 16. 13 and opens the true sense of the Scriptures and leads no man by a new wild-fire light nor doth the spirit of God sway and determin a topick conjectural way while there is a speculative doubting as touching any light from Scripture whether the course be lawful or warranted by the word or not for the spirit of God leads by Scriptures infallibility Isa 59. 20 21. 9. The actings of the true spirit are gentle civil human and he bids us follow whatsoever is of good report whatsoever things are pure Phil. 4. 8 9. The spirit of Enthusiasts leaving Scripture licences men to abominations which Heathens abhor 10. The actings of the spirit of Christ are seasonable Matth. 10. 19.
in that hour it shall be given you it is not ye that speake but the spirit of your Father speakes in you Enthusiasts spirit suggests night-night-works to be done in day light and many unseasonable actions contrary to godly prudence as to read godly Treatises when they should hear the Word preached the spirit that suggesteth this is not of God for the spirit of God cannot counter-counter-work himself 11. The spirit of God acts the soul and the man within his own orb and sphere of grace Nature acts not upon the Moon to move it up to the sphere of the Sun nor could it be called a kindly and connatural motion for the Sun to move down in the orb of the Moon It 's not the spirit of the Lord which acts the plow-man to move out of his element in the throne or in another calling in which God hath not placed him for it is not from the motion of the spirit of sanctification for David to go out of his element of grace and move in Satans orb of uncleanness and blood-shed the spirit of holiness is a friend to the holy Law of God all influences and actings of the spirit are to be tried by the same rules by which the spirit is tried some influences to Scriptural duties are from God and his spirit other influences from the Scriptureless spirit of Satan or corrupt man himself every stirring and impulsion must not be fathered upon the spirit of grace The fourth particular is the subject or seat of burning and its the heart did not our hearts burn within us the heart is the only seat of heavenly burnings not simply as the heart of man which is evil and only evil by nature in all its out-goings Gen. 6. 6. Gen. 8. 21. and supplanted and wicked Jer. 17. 9. But the new heart of man Ezek. 36. 26 27. the heart in which the love of God as a flood is spread abroad by the holy Ghost Rom. 5. 5. the heart and soul that loves the beloved Christ Cant. 3. 1 2 3. as for the unrenewed heart it is no more a hearth-stone or a seat to kindle this fire upon nor will it burn in this heart then if you would kindle a fire of coals and fewel and dry timber upon the superfice of the ocean sea for the heart of the unrenewed man would eat up and quench all this fire and the spirit does no more give influences for the heavenly burnings in the heart of an unrenewed man then he gives influences to the water to burn and cast out flamings as a huge fire doth or to the midnight darkness to shine as the Moon or Sun and this is the sixt difference The renewed heart is only the seat of this fire that comes down from heaven the natural heart is not capable thereof Q. Is there not an heart warmness in the natural and unrenewed man Answ Such as is the heart such is the heat such as is the hearth-stone such is the fire and the fewel that but as on it But the differences be these 1. The heat of the unrenewed man is strong and cannot be commanded they hasten as mad men after their idols who run after other gods Psalm 16. 4. And Paul says of his heat in persecuting the Saints Acts 26. 11. I compelled them to blaspheme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was abundantly and exceedingly mad and phrentick out of my wit in burning malice against them now the mad man can hardly command his madness yet upon other sinful and mad grounds Paul could have been perswaded on the contrary as the Pharisees were mad against Christ yet the fear of the people and of their own â—â—ns restrained them long from doing violence to him and in matters which neerly concern God the hear of â—n â—â—renewed man may be quenched as a man that counterfeitech himself to be mad can command his madness and 〈◊〉 who fains himself to be sick can command his sickness out one who is really possessed with a Divel and mad and one who is really sick of a raging fever cannot command either madness or sickness hypocrisie hath some dominion and empire over its own cursed heat and 〈…〉 â—ut say mountains on the love of Christ love breathes and lives under it devise torments lent burning quick 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 or in a seeâ—â—ing Caldron to the Marâ—â—rs of Christ in ten days out off the ten singers one by one and so the rest of the members in diverâ— days or some 〈…〉 devise hellith 〈◊〉 the witnesse of Jesus 〈…〉 and bounded hand and fooâ— as the word 〈…〉 is made use of by the commanding 〈◊〉 sweetly 〈◊〉 love of Christ to die an hundred deaths 〈…〉 rather 〈◊〉 deny Christ for such as so love not 〈◊〉 lives to 〈◊〉 are not their own nor hath a believer 〈…〉 his 〈◊〉 not can the word if 〈◊〉 could 〈…〉 and an â—â—rth of the gold of 〈…〉 of Christ and the strong inâ—â—ence thereof So true is that Cant. 8. 7. Many waters cannot quench love That is a strong fire which all the waters in the Sea cannot quench Nor can the floods drown it If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would utterly be contemned Then drowning and burning death fair allurements and gifts cannot counter-work the love of Christ What and are loves coales so hot yea he spoke to that v. 6. Love is strong as death jealousie is cruel as the grave the coals thereof are coals of fire which have a most vehement flame the flame of God But natural men for all their heat in the matters of God can let out and let in and stretch out the truth for all their heart-burnings as if it were kid-leather and they may take and give and borrow and lend upon Christs matters whereas the Saints are awed with that Buy the truth and sell it not Let indifferent and cold men who never felt the influences of loves fiery coals know this Ah the interests of Christ have been looked on in Scotland too indifferently and coldly the coales of self-interest burn strongly 2. The bare letter of the Gospel wins not in upon the heart it warmes the skin and not the heart whereas Christs speaking and opening the Scriptures with his Spirit and the key of David casteth not fire upon the heart the heat is all upon the letter and externals and upon Sacrifices New Moons Solemn Assemblies formes without taste All Pauls heat is about Christ and the hope of the resurrection the Jewes his adversaries heat could be nothing of this heart-burning but for Moses Law in the letter circumcision and other ceremonies now wanting their life Christ For Christ had now 1. removed from the letter of the ceremonial law and there is no life there as touching the observance thereof But Christ hath 2. not departed from and gone out of the ceremonial law as touching the doctrinal teaching thereof to lead us to Christ and therefore that law should be read preached
the Spirit in one and the same work the sounding of the word and the breathing of the Spirit may be attended Psalm 130. 5. I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait Whether in his real helping and hearing my crying out of the deeps or on his saving actings upon the dead heart and in his word do I hope there may be a casting of the goods in the sea to help the ship to land there is failing of the eyes in waiting for God Psalm 69. 3. Psalm 119. 8. My soul fainteth for thy salvation 13. I opened my mouth panted for I longed for thy salvation I cannot create breathings But the man in a pit or dungeon though he can make no help to himself yet he can cry and make use of arms and legs when a rope is cast down to him 4. Blowing of the bellows adds nothing to the fire yet it removes the ashes it fans away the earthy part and rarifies it and acts upon the smoke and adds quickning it 's fit to blow upon the habit of grace and heavenly disposition yea to blow in a sanctified way in a gift so Paul 2 Tim. 1. 6. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance to stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the laying on of my hands Erasmus saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an elegant metaphor from such as care for the fire which is as it were buried under ashes they blow with the bellows and revive and stir up the fire like to die out others think it an allusion to the Priests dayly watching to cherish and keep in the fire which the Lord sent down from heaven and to cast new fewel to it So is that 1 Tim. 4. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neglect not the gift that is in thee let it not rust self-sharping and self-impulsion upon the heart and acting upon the habit which is in worse case because it lodges in a lazy heart is required we may deaden and neglect both our souls and the new habit whereas that prayer Lord increase our faith teacheth that we by diligent acting add to the habit to the gift talent and dispensation and the improving of these are forcible means to draw down fresh influences of life the Lord of his grace having brought himself reserving actings of soveraignty and deep wisedom under a sort of promissory necessity to bestow influences and to give one talent to him who makes five talents ten idleness and sleeping then must be no small obstruction to new quickening influences 5. As the husbandman is a fellow-worker in his way with industry and art with the Lord and nature to fit his ridges by plowing and sowing to receive influences of dew and rain and impression from heaven and he works with God and nature who labours the vineyard purges out brambles briars stones prunes the young vine-trees that they may receive influences from Sunne Moon Heavens and Clouds Yet no husbandman no vinedresser can be Lord of the influences of heaven so hath the Lord commanded us to plow up the fallow-ground of our hearts and not to sow among thorns to lie under the husbandry of Ministers sent of God to frequent ordinances to yield up our hearts by willing consent to be acted on by God to resign them and put the heart out of our possession and yield to that suit My son give me thy heart else we mock God in suiting from him enlargedness of heart in a sort of compromising that we shall run if he shall draw and enlarge But we keep fast possession of our own hearts and doe not resign them to God Hence a word of wakening to cry to harp and psaltery to our gift and to our tongue and to our sleepy hearts Psal 57. 8. is requisite as also 2. that we chide with our unbelieving soules Psal 42. 5 11. and command the renewed part to act upon the heart to accuse and convince and rebuke the heart 1 Sam. 24. 5. 1 John 3. 20. 6. The soul can be in no such dead case but it 's capable of an Evangelick command Sardis hath a name they are living and yet are dead then is it useless to speak to Sardis now dead no Rev. 3. 2. Strengthen that which remaines There fly sparkles of fire from the red hot iron of the smith upon those about whether they will or no. From that charge Open to me my sister my love c. there came upon her whether she would or not flamings of love which brought influences on her bowels CHAP. IX The fifth Question is what is the enlarging of heart It is nothing but the wideness and fulness of the soul and powers thereof in its actings Hence these Propositions concerning enlargedness of heart Prop. 1. WHen the soul is widened and stretched out in its actings we are ready to say I shall never be moved Psal 30. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Psal 23. 6. which though true when he was banished from the Tabernacle Psal 42. Psal 84. Psal 63. he had uttered thoughts of his state Some say Shall I ever again be dead Shall I ever again doubt as a down-casting soul no I shall believe and hope under temptations to the end But we are no more to judge of our selves by our present enlargedness then we are to pass sentence of the multitude of people of a City by a solemn fair or great market the town is not every day so peopled nor are we to esteem of a river by its swelling and running over banks after a mighty long continued rain 2. Nor are we to judge of our selves according to our ebbing and deadness of disposition that we shall ever again believe Saith the doubting soul Shall I ever again see the beauty and glory of his power as sometimes I did in the Sanctuary Psal 63. The birds reason not so they say not in winter shall ever the Spring and the season of building our nests come again shall birds ever have Summer-singing again And we are ready to make a weapon-shew of grace when the heart is enlarged I 'le doe wonders as if the man were the Father who begat grace and the Lord of his own believing as some believe the horses swiftness is the swiftness of the rider Be humble and pull down the sail when the heart is enlarged Prop. 2. See in the Text enlargedness of heart and running are near of kindred and blood The disposition and the gracious acting by divine influences are near other as the powder and flamings the dry timber and the warm harth-stone to receive flamings There is a near disposition in the Embrio in the framed mass of the birth to receive by the Creators influences a living soul Psal 38. 1 2 3 4. So in Christ Psal 40. the law in the heart and preaching the Lords righteousness in the great congregations are near other 2. The enlarged heart is ripened to receive influences and quickening of grave for running The
meet with the Lord 's wrathful rebuke then with his softening and pitying mercy CHAP. II. The Lord keeps an order in sending influences 2. He maketh short work on some 3. There is a confluence of influences at one time and in one work 4. Despising of the Word 5. Refusing of Ordinances 6. Persecuting of the Prophets 7. Resisting of the operations of the spirit do all obstruct influences 8. Praying and praising promove influences 9. Hardening of the heart 10. Not profiting by means 11. Remaining in nature 12. Actings in wrath rancor malice bitternesse and inordinate passion obstruct influences 13. Keep the oyl of the spirit clean if ye would have influences 14. We are to act morally and physically with the spirit 15. Prayers obstruct not soveraigntys acting THe Lord 's ordinary way of working is here to be observing the spirit confers not upon Peter's hearers Acts 2. influences of faith and of gladly receiving of the word v. 41. at the first before he bestow influences to the pricking of the heart for sin v. 37. nor does the spirit act upon Saul Acts 9. and the Jayler Acts 16. for their rejoycing in the Holy Ghost and believing and applying Christ and the promises at the first until first a law-spirit humble and make the proud to tremble Then the spirit must use divers instruments and shoot arrowes and influences of law and wrath and wound the heart with arrows of love as the Artist the Carpenter useth sundry tools according to the diversity of timber that he works on and the Lord here accommodates his influences according to the nature of the soyl It 's like Christs spirit made shorter and more expedite work on the hearts of James John for when Christ said unto them Follow me Matth. 4. 19 22. they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 straigthway or immediately leave their nets and their father and follow him It 's as little time betwixt Christs word to the man sick of the palsie Arise take up thy bed and walk and his walking Mark 2. 12. for immediately 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he took up his bed and went forth before them all It 's like Matthew's conversion is of the same nature Matth. 9. 9. Luke 5. 27 28. in which the Lord gives proof that as some Castles fall at the first shooting of the Canon so there is no standing out nor resisting of Christ for when he adds strength of omnipotency the work of humiliation of conviction of saving faith or repenting are all quickly done as if tilling sowing and harvest were all in one day or one hour 2. We see also that gracious influences are threeded as it were upon gracious influences every beating of the smiths hammer brings forth at once many sparkles of fire and a shour of rain is the falling of millions and hosts of drops of rain at once So in fervent prayer there must be a cluster of gracious influences in every sigh and groan there is an acting of the spirit Rom. 8. 26. The work of the spirit must be maimed imperfect if godly watching 2. Prayer 3 Fervent desire 4. Humble sense of unworthiness 5. Faith on the promise 6. Love to our Father have not every one their several influences of grace When the seven stars arise above the Horizon if six ascend the seventh must also ascend in all which the poor sinner is far below the influences of grace they are sent out as soveraignty thinks fit and here the Lord rains down showrs of grace and a showre is made up of a multitude of drops yet in the general may sinners counter-work and restrain as it were the influences of grace they may resist the word Zech. 7. 12. They made their hearts like an Adamant stone lest they should hear the Law Now the Lord cannot give influences out with the preached word where men turn away their ears from the Law Prov. 28. 9. and Act. 7. 57. they stop their ears Wicked men cannot be avenged on the Spirit in his person or in his several operations of saving grace yet they avenge themselves on the message and break in pieces the chariot that carries the Spirits operations and trample upon his word be in love with the word to count it your heritage Sweeter then the honey and the honey-comb and you as David upon suit shall have influences to be kept from presumptuous sins Psal 19. 7 8 9. compared with v. 13. and Psalm 119. 40. Behold I have longed after thy precepts therefore Quicken me in thy righteousness 2. Men can refuse to come and partake of Ordinances and to be Baptized as the Pharisees do Luke 7. 29 30. and so reject the counsel of God and refusing to be among the golden Candlesticks and the Assembly of his Saints comes neer to trampling on the blood of the Covenant doing despite to the Spirit of grace Heb. 10. 25 26 29. Rejoyce to stand within Jerusalem Psal 122. for the Church is his vineyard love a room in his Church for it lies neer to the Sun and is under the watering and showres of grace So Christ speaks to the Spirit Cant. 4. 16. Awake O North-wind and come thou South blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out So there is a commission given that the Spirit in its efficacy blow upon the plants and flowers that grow there the Church is also his garden of red wine which he waters every moment Isa 27. 3. Acts 7. 51. Ye do alway resist the holy Ghost then must they obstruct the gracious actings of the holy Ghost this proves it to be true that Steven said that they resisted the holy Ghost Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of that just one of whom ye are murtherers saith he they who cast down the lodging they injure the indweller the godly prophet is the house and lodging of the holy Ghost 2 Chro. 36. 12. Zedekiah humbled not himself before Jeremiah the Prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Now the Spirit acted on the Prophets when they spoke 2 Pet. 1. 12. then esteem the feet of the messengers of God to be pleasant upon the mountains for they bring glad tidings of peace and that they only do who have these gifts of the Spirit to pray and believe Rom. 10. 14 15. 4. The speaking against the manifest operations of the Spirit of the Lord by which Christ cast out divels draws so deep as the sin against the holy Ghost Matth. 12. and such are deprived of pardon of faith to lay hold on pardon and such having done despite to the spirit of grace must indite war against the Spirit and all his operations therefore cherish and obey the Spirits actings be willing to be led by him close with the counsels and breathings of the Spirit speak to edification that which ministers grace to the hearers and that cherishes the
feet He saw a throne set in heaven and one sate on the throne and he that sate was to look upon like a Jasper and a Sardine-stone and there was a rainbow round about the throne and four and twenty seats round about the throne and four and twenty Elders who cast down their crowns before him that sate upon the throne c. 4. and the armies in heaven in earth and under the earth praising him He saw in the visions of God the seven Angels which poured the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth He saw Babylons fall the vision of the last Judgment the Bride the Lambs wife adorned with the glory of God He saw the new Jerusalem the golden structure of it the street of gold the twelve ports the wall the foundation of precious stones the river of water of life the tree of life Moses never saw such glory 3. Hence see we that there may be a sinful incapacity on our part and that the pure in spirit see God Mat. 5. and that grace keeps the soul like a calm sea without storm and wind and that if we would be near God we would keep the heart clean and pure We are to beware of grudging and act these three duties 1. Trust in the Lord. 2. Delight in the Lord. 3. Hope patiently for him Psalm 37. 1 2 3 4. There may be an earthquake in the zeal of a meekned Elias there was no godly men on earth left but himself as his angry zeal said to him and the Lord knew 7000. besides him The Lords way of appearing to Elias 1 Kin. 19. taught him some other thing for the Lord was neither in the strong wind that brake in pieces mountaines and rocks nor in the earthquake nor in the fire but in the still small voice v. 11 12. The Spirit was not of God which would call for fire from heaven in the disciples to burn villages and men women and children quick because they refuse lodging to Christ and his disciples for therefore meekly saith Christ and gravely Luke 9. 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of 56. For the Son of man came not to destroy mens lives but to save them You know not that these flamings of the fleshes wild-fire came not from heaven for they smell not of the meek Son of man nor savour they of his saving message No doubt the disciples thought their sparks were kindled at a fire from heaven but that fire came not from God seldom does the Lords Spirit dwell and act in his saving influences in an angry fiery spirit grace meekens hell and hellish passions in the renewed Saints There are no passions in the glorified and perfectly meekned ones who stand before the throne but such as are pure and unmixed fire for the everlasting praises of God Hence showres of influences eternally rain on them night and day without ceasing Isa 6. 2 3 4 Rev. 4. 8. The 6th impediment of heavenly influences is from fear 2 Tim. 1. 7. We are to stir up the grace of God in us and his gifts not from a legal fear For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1. 7. Then we take up the Spirit of law-bondage and law-fear of our own will that spirit of fear is not of Gods giving or choosing but it is of our choosing Rom. 8. Such as are led by the spirit of God are willing followers v. 15. For we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but we have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father It 's like the devils are uncapable of influences of grace because of the horrour and slavish trembling fear that is upon their conscience they be ever under the law of works never under grace no not so much as in offer Matth. 8. 29. Jam. 2. 19. Faith and the spirit of adoption to pray to believe influences of grace is the remedy of this So are we to believe perseverance and that God shall give influences of grace to the end Psalm 23. We shall have waterings and the believers well shall never run dry Psal 104. 33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live Psal 104. 33. Psal 146. 1. Psal 52. 8 9. Then he knew of a stock and a new furniture in heaven suppose his own well should go dry CHAP. V. Some properties of Influences of grace 1. That they are invincible and irresistible 2. Of free grace 3. Done by the Lord with a principality of causality 4. Immediately both by the immediation of vertue and of the Lords own presence Influences are considered 1. In the first moment of conversion 2. In perseverance 2. God seeks not our consent to our first conversion 3. We are maried to Christ before we consent to the mariage 4. How the Lord determines free-wil without offering violence to free wil. 5. Gods dominion is equally over free-wil and all natural causes 6. God acts in all both by the immediate influence of his power and also of his person 7. The Lord most particularly leads his own 8. What is the right missing of Influences 9. We are more our own by the Law and less our own by the Gospel 10. Christs care and the members care IT is easier here to know what is not to be said as touching the irresistibility and strength of gracious influences above our free-will then what to say But Influences are considered two wayes 1. Moral'y 2. Physically 1. As they are common to all who hear the word in the visible Church 2. As influences are peculiar to the elect in the business of conversion Assert 1. Common moral influences that goes along with the word preached may be resisted for the Jewes alwayes resisted the holy Ghost speaking in the Prophets Acts 7. 51 52. Zech. 7. 11. But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped the ear that they should not hear 12. Yea they made their hearts as an adamant-stone lest they should hear the Law and-the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his Spirit to the former Prophets Then the reprobate may and doe resist the immediately inspiring spirit in the men of God writing and speaking that word 1 Pet. 1. 20 21. and the assisting spirit also in the Pastors It 's dreadful in the lower actings of God in the word to despise the Spirit and to give him battel in his first approaches I called and ye refused Prov. 1. 24. Isa 65. 1 2 3. A contradicting of and a warring against the Spirit at the first face is much to be feared O tremble to speak against or to counter-counter-work the Spirit at all 2. Influences proper to the Elect are so also to be looked on 1. In the first moment of conversion 2. In the work of perseverance In the first moment of conversion the sinner prevents not Christ none dead in sins and trespasses ever sent or
that the Lord is to be blamed for my non-conversion Our sinfull will not not the Lord's refusal of a power is the culpable cause of our non-conversion The sinful cannot School-men make conversion to Christ the purchase of free will the absurdity thereof Sin original must be pardoned to Pagans in Christs blood of which they never heard say Dominicans Dominicans gross as Jesuits in the matter of grace and free will Cumel dico quinto Deus quantum in se paratus est aâ— dandum omnibus gratiam suam ad vocandum omnes adultos juxta illud Deus vult omnes salfâ—eri ac proinde dicitur communiter quod in potestate cujusvis hominis est salvari quia potest habere per divinum auxilium non quidem ex merito aut dispositione sua aut quia ex innatis viribus aut naturae conatibus ex lege obligetur Deus ad danda auxilia gratiae primam vocationem seu gratiam proveniâ—â—tem sed ex liberali magnisica largitione dei providentis Mat. 11. venite ad me omnes Ib. Qua-propter si homo peccator ita se gereret vitamtra duceret ut nullum novum impedimentum gratiae adhiberet aut obicem nullumque obstaculum tunc auxilium gratiae verè reciperet â—on quidem ex debito sed ex dei largitione qua ipse est ad omnium ostium pulsat unde non ponenti obicem cernimus Deum dare gratiam Conc. trid sess 6. 11. 13. Deus neminem deserit nisi prius deseratur ab ipso sed per hoc nihil tribuitur homini sed tantum quod possit illam gratiam impedire per peccatum vel quod possit vitare peccatum contra legem naturae quo possit illum impedire Prosper epist ad Aug. de Massiliensibus vide Jansenium cap. 18. ib. lib. 12. just c. 13. ad capessenda tam magnifica tamque praecelsa paritatis integritatis praemia quantuslibet jejuniorum vigiliarum lectionis solitudinis ac remotionis labor fuerit impensus condignus esse non poterit qui hoc industriae suae merito vel laboris obtineat Hilarius Epist dicunt hominem ad hanc gratiam qua in Christo renascimur pervenire posse per naturalem scilicet facultatem petendo quaerndo pulsando ut ideo accipiat ideo inveniat ideo introeat quia bono naturae bene usus ad istaÌ„ salvanteÌ„ gratiam initialis gratiae ope meruerit per venire Corn. Jans de haeres pela l. 8. c. 18. Item posse hominem exterrita supplici voluntate velle sanari supplex enim illa voluntas nihil est aliud quam voluntas ex fide supplicans deo pro sanitate et siquid fides non justificatorum petendo mereatur impetrationis quam meriti potius rationem habet unde cum in errore Massiliensium haereret Augustinus frequenter meriti rationem quam in fide oratione collocabat per impetrationem exponit putans inquit Augustinus lib. de praed 5. 5. c 3. fidem non esse donum dei sed à nobis esse in nobis per illam nos impetrare dei dona item ut per illam daretur quod posceremus utiliter Jansen in Aug. tom 1. lib. 8. c. 18. Vnde possit ratio reddi electorum rejectorum sive cur unus prae alio assumatur deo viz. sic habente occasionem sive colorem cur non irrationabiliter ut Cassilianus Coll. 13. loquitur sive caeco quasi modo irrefragabili aliqua constitutione inconsulta hominis voluntate gratiam salvantem uni prae aliis largiretur Hilarius in Epist ad August Prosp Epist ad August Qui autem credituri sunt quive in ea fide quae deinceps per dei gratiam sit juvanda mansuri sunt praestitisse ante mundi constitutionem There may be much seeking and using of mâ—ans and no influences Using of means would be in humility Influences not entertained breed loathâ—ng of the Gospel We may maâ—â—e influences of grace The order of the Lord in conferring of influences A confluence of heavenly influences at one time and in one work Resisting of the Word hinders not influences Refusing of Ordinances hâ—nders not influences Despising and persecuting of the Prophets obstruct influences Resisting of the operations of the Spirit is â—o obstruct influenences Praying and praising promove the Spirits influences Hardning of the heart obstructs influences Not profiting by means obstructs influences Remaining in nature obstructs influences Actings of bitterness wrath malice â—ancor sadden the spirit Influences of the spirit are contempered according to the habit of grace Sorrow worldly obstruct influences 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We cannot expeditely change our spirit from carnal dispositions to spiritual but the Spirit can go and come with great celerity How the soul is under plenty of means and possibly sweet dispositions and yet under scarcity of influences These are together often praying and actual influences and dâ—ties and influences the former according to the Lord's will of precept the latter according to his will of pleasure are interwoven all along Psal 119. Of the sweet nearness betwixt love of the word and the word hid in the heart Psalm 119. v. 11. and spiritual influences Of the word hidden in the heart Felt deliverance wants not influences As the light of faith and softness easily admits an influence of grace so hardnessâ—s and rockineâ—s hardly receive any such impression 2. Vnbelief obstructs influences Influences of grace do no violence to the rational power of nilling and willing 3. Deadness hinders influences 4. Security obstructs influences 5. Atheism obstructs influences 6. The hearts unconstancy doth much obstruct the influences of God 7. Heart-deceitfulness obstructs influences 8. Pride obstructs influences humility capacitates to receive them 9 Worldly mindedness obstructs influences and heavenly mindedness promoves it 10. Fiery bastard zeal hinder influences 11. An unclean heart cannot receive influences of the Spirit 12. Malice and bitterness obstructs the influences of God 13. Worldy sorrow obstructs influences 14. False joy obstructs influences 15. Self-love obstructs influences 16. Ignorance of the Gospel and hatred of Christ obstruct the influences of the Spirit 17. Wrestling against providence obstruct the influences of God God by his influences first acts and we in the same moment of time follow him and act under him and no violence is here 18. Heavenly thoughts and spiritual consideration draw along heavenly influences as earthly and unclean thoughts extinguish influences All actings of grace go thorow the channel of a sanctified judgement which wants not influences of grace Our drawing on of sinful dispositions Keep the oyl of the Spirit clean if you would have heavenly influences to fall on the Spirit We are to act both morally and physically with the Spirit Pâ—ayers conclude not Soveraignty Heretical light hinders the spirits breathings A corrupt will hinders the spirits breathings Hating of grace and of Christ hinders influences Divers actings of the spirit in the spouse sick of love for Christ in Solomon's song of songs speak and hold forth influences of the spirit Hating of Christ Soul-loathing of God obstructs influences The Spirit gives influences where there is no knowledge Influences of the spirit are connatural to the spiritual man Where there is soul-desiring of God there be many influences Sensuality and influences of the spirit cannot be together Spiritual joy speaks strong influences Literal crying should not exceed the impulsion of the spirit within Godly sorrow may help influences How hope and audacity promove or hinder influences One affection counter-works another and hinders faith Moral acting cannot avail us without real influences of the spirit Frequent acts of faith promove influences of the spirit Hope promoves influences Sinful boldness obstructs influences Anger hindereth influences How Elisha could not prophesie by reason of anger A meek spirit is a fit work-house of influences instanced in the man Christ in Meses John Vnbelieving fear an impediment of influences The Lord seekâ— not our consent to the first infusion of a new heart We are maried to Christ before we câ—â—sent to the mariage The Lord determines free-will and does no violence to it We are inexcusable in not doing our duty though the Lord deny his necessary influence God acts in all both by the immediate influence of his power and of his peâ—son The Lord particularly leads his own Two sorts of causes one in fieri for the producing of and giving being to a thing another in facto esse for the preserving of the same thing in being God is both wayes the cause of gracious actings The right missing of influences is to miss influences special The giving of the heart to God We are more our own by law and lesse our own by the Gospel Christ cares more for his own body then the members care for themselves Christs care is now rather more when he is glorified then less
mildly p. 1 c. 12. p. 101 Whether by prayer or any other way we may wrestle out from under Gods desertions p. 1. c. 12. p. 109 Influences are given of God to various temptation p. 1 c. 12. p. 110 It s a gracious temper to weep when the Lord is absent or angry p. 1. c. 13. p. 113 Christs absence is sometimes as good as his presence p. 1 c. 13. p. 118 Sâ—metimes we may pray again the degree of God but it s not lawfull to resist his commanding will p. 1. c. 13. p. 120 We may weep over our own dry hearts when we want Influences but we cannot weep against the Lord because he gives not those Influences p 1. c. 13. p. 121 We are to meet all conditions of life with cloasing with Gods holy dispensations p. 2. c. 1. p. 123 The word is the rule of doing the spirit the real efficient cause p. 2. c. 1. p. 127. How the Lord can lay by a command supernatural duties on men impotent and dead in sin p. 2. c. 2. p 129. God in creating man is both a Creator and also a law giver p. 2 c 2. p. 138 We are to be humbled for sin original p. 2. c. 2. p. 140 How to fetch Influences p. 2. c. 3. p. 142 The fetching of Influences is by supernatural actings by the word and spirit idem How the Lord brings himself under a sort of necessity of conferring gracious Influences p. 1. c. 2. p. 147 A considerable difference betwixt the Lords promise of grace and his practise of grace p. 2. c. 3. p. 148 Civil professors are nearer to conversion and to Christ then the openly profane and flagitious p. 2. c. 3. p. 149 It requires of the dead that they live and that we must not cease from running when the Lord ceases from drawing p. 2. c. 3. p. 152 It s a sinful shift to put away duties because of indisposition p. 2. c. 3. p. 154 We are to pray away indisposition as a great affliction p. 2. c. 3. p. 155 Influence of grace are due to the saints by promise p. 156 The Lord hath given Influences by necessity of a promise idem The three persons the Father the Son and Spirit give Influences p. 2. c. 5. p. 159 The fulnesse of Influences on the man Christ ib. fluences p. 2. c. 5. 159 Christ hath the dispensing of prederminating Influences by office and covenant p. 2. c. 5. p. 161 The Influences in the Son are all for our use and good p. 2. c. 5. p. 163 The Influences of the spirit are mainely to be eyed if any have the spirit he cannot want the Influences of God p. 2. c. 6. p. 164 The glorious things which the spirit of God shews p. 2. c. 6. p. 165 The Spirit prevents nature nature prevents not the Spirit p. 2. c. 6. p. 169 We are to pray for Influences p. 2. c. 6. p. 170 Obedience is to be yeilded to the Spirit as to the Father and the Son p 2. c. 7. p. 173 Much renewal will is a note of a spiritual disposition idem There is four expressions in Scripture of wrongs we do to the Spirit 1 Vexing 2. Quenching 3 Tempting 4. Resisting p. 2. c. 7. p. 176 How to improve spiritual feelings p. 2. c. 7. p. 183 Watching is a spiritual condition and near to receive gracious Influences p. 2. c. 7. p. 184 To converse with the Saints is a mark of a spiritual condition p. 2. c. 7. p. 186 Spiritual conference frequently used speaks a spiritual condition p. 2. c. 7. p. 189 The Contents of the third part SOme influences are from God some from Satan Part 3. Ch. 1. Pag. 189 Satan keeps correspondence with the heart p. 191 It s not lawful to dispute with Satan yet with his instrument we may p. 192 Christ sought neither the temptation nor the tempter p. 193 Difference betwixt Satans instruments and these of the Lord p. 194 Christ under a necessitie of giving sanctifying influences ib. Moral and physical influences 195 Moral influences that are only moral are weak ib. Ordinary and extraordinary influences 296 Prophetical influences ib. It is dangerous to resist strong light and the influences thereof p. 197 Private and publick Church-influences ib. Strong influences under the Messiah in the New Testament p. 199 Gospel-influences are strong p. 200 Some influences are for the habit some for the actings of grace some for both p. 201 Influences proper to the head Christ and influences on the members p. 202 Mediatory influences are some way due to the broken in heart and what sort they of right have thereto A four-fold right to influences is considerable p. 203 Strong and mighty influences in Christ p. 204 Gospel-providence how far above the Law-providence of Adam p. 205 Mr Gee treats of prayer Sect. 4. p. 187 188 195. p. 207 Influences of Christ fundamental and not fundamental ib. The comfortable necessity that lies on Christ to confer influences of grace p. 208 Influences not fundamental not simply necessary p. 209 Influences of grace for the habit of saving grace and influences for a gift p. 210 How we may know when we act pray or hear c. from a gift and when we act from a grace p. 210 Some pray from a meer gift when they mistakingly imagine they pray from the saving habit of grace the mistake is habitual in hypocrites only actual hic nunc to sound believers p. 211 Grace sanctifies the gift used in all due and spiritual circumstances but the gift can never sanctifie the grace p. 213 The same word but not the same influences act upon all within the visible Church p. 214 We are not to rest upon the actings from a gift but watchfully to try when we act from a gift and when from a grace ib. Differences from the influences of grace and these of glory p. 221 The habit of grace is a permanent disposition ch 2. p. 222 The habit of grace is given through the merit and grace of Christ p. 223 From the habit of grace we perform suitable actings p. 224 Vital actions flow from supernatural habits p. 225 The difference of the habit of grace from other habits p. 226 We are to follow holy resolutions with prayer 2 godly trembling 3 faith 227 The falshood of â—owes ib. A strong habit of grace produces easie and connatural and strong actings of grace p. 229 Actions supernatural and influences suitable are some way due to the habit of grace cap. 3. p. 232 Sometimes the habit of grace is qualified with heavenly dispositions p. 233 We should pursue the dispositions of grace when they are added to the habit with spiritual actings p. 234 We are to stir up the habit of grace though deadned ib. The Lord by infusing the habit of grace comes under some necessitie to give suitable influences thereunto cap. 4. p. 235 Divers necessities under which the Lord is to confer influences of grace p. 236 Christ advocates
make use of it as he pleaseth but the saving acting of the Spirit is not in every mans power 3. The command is a Rule and Object of our Faith and gives me not strength to obey but the heavenly disposition and saving acting are not the object but the efficient cause which addeth strength to obey the command craves the debt its true its impossible to pray in faith without the acting of the Spirit it follows only that it s so impossible that we are also guilty and unexcusable in our virtual desiring that it may be so We are wounded but we love to shed our own bloud As also in the Regenerate there is never an utter withdrawing the habit of grace keeps the heart warm and loves to be blown upon and stirred even under actual ceasing of breathings Obj. 2. When there is an utter ceasing of the spirit it would appear that the spirit forbids us to lift at his work until the Spirit the only Master of work be there himself Ans One of the three is ever a work either the Father is waiting till the Son pray John 14. or the Son is commanding the breathings of the Spirit It is some casual work that the sinner is the passive object of the Spirit there is never an utter ceasing of the Spirit There are some habitual stirrings of the Seed of God under the ceasing of actual influence as the ripe Apple enclines to fall off the Tree when there is no shaking of it the Ship is a mending in the Shore when she sails not and if it were no more but one of the three is a working about a Child of God it s not to be despised For who knows the thoughts of Christ and his pleading in Heaven for such as suffer the evil of affliction for Christ And if a believer wrestle under deadnesse Christ much more is a work to help a more spiritual sufferer to wit one that is as it were a patient under sin and flesh and the withdrawing of God Obj. 3. There is no Commandment in the New Testament for the doing of half a Duty to wit to pray and not to pray in Faith and Fervour therefore we cannot be commanded to pray when the Spirit withdraws his influence without which the Duty of necessity must be lame and broken Ans It follows not for there is less of the Gospel in the command as a command for in either Law-command or in Gospel-precept the Lord commands whole and unbroken obedience and in it God seeks somewhat which he lost in Adam which we are obliged to doe and he is under no Law to give us grace to obey And as is said we are willing to want his help where the command should put us to a humble missing and mourning for our wants and a distrusting of our own strength and a weeping over our broken condition and a high prizing of our surety and his strength 2. It s a part of command that we go about the bulk or body of the duty and gather together the dry bones and wait humbly until he command the Wind and Spirit to blow on them and we sin in omitting of half a command Obj. 4. His yoak is easie and his Commandments are not grievous but if it be not in our power to pray when he withdraws his Commandments shall be unpossible and his yoak heavy Ans His command is easie by the grace of God and love of Christ the Wheels move sweetly when Grace and Love oyls the Soul and yet it no more hinders that we cannot pray when he withdraws then the burning of the Fire and the rising of the Sun which are works of Nature most easie and sweet are possible when the Lord forbids the Fire to burn and the Sun to rise his Gospel commands actu primo of themselves are sweet but under withdrawings hard and legal Obj. 5. Praying and seeking of God at set and fixed hours were not lawful For if we cannot pray but when the Spirit moves us we cannot say we shall pray at any hour for we cannot tie the Spirit 's joyning to our hours and again if we are to pray at any hour we please we use the habit of grace and supplication when and as we will as a Musitian may sing when he will or not sing Ans 1. We have not any question now about religious set hours such as the morning and evening Sacrifice or the three hours of prayer used by David Morning Evening and at Noon Psal 55. 17. and Daniel chap. 6. 10 11. Acts 3. 1. Acts 10. 3 9 10. and the godly Jews for by no divine Precept are we tied to such hours Papists abuse the Scripture to Canonick hours But in Christian prudence we may fix a time to reading praying conferring on the Word and to other sacred duties yet do we not tie the Spirit 's joyning to our hour the man Christ set a night apart for praying and so did Jacob for wrestling by tears with the great Angel Genes 32. 24. Hos 12. 3 4. without limitting the Spirit in his influences to any time nor yet will it follow that we use the habit or spirit of grace and supplication when we will for sanctified will is to set the time and to actuate it self by the habit of grace And the same Argument shall conclude that the Husbandman who sets a time for plowing and sowing must limit the Lord to joyn his influences For except the Lord build the house they labour in vain who build it though they set days to the hired Masons Except the Lord keep the City the Watch-man watcheth but in vain though times be set to the hired Watchers It s in vain to rise up early Psal 127. 1 2. and it s as impossible to plow build watch rise early without the common influence of God the first cause as it is to pray in Faith without the special breathing of the Spirit of grace Yet Libertines and Antinomians will not say that they sin in setting a time for building plowing watching these seem considerable about hours of praying 1. Though we fix an hour it becomes Faith to await the Angels moving of the water and when the Lord adds his influences to step in and joyn our strength cheerfully and with humble praises to him who draws 2. When there is a bentness of heart such a day or such a fixed hour to pray build not too much upon the appointment and promises of our own heart to say to morrow I le do wonders by prayer remove mountains 1. It s good here as in a purpose of going to a City to continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain to say in a trembling subordination to God as James counselleth chap. 4. 13 15. If the Lord will we shall live so to say if the holy soveraignty of grace breath fairly and strongly I le do well in praying yet not I but his grace and if the wind of
complaint of the very malignant servant as also the rich Gluttons divinity reflects upon the gracious dispensation of God Luke 16. 30. Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent Which is as much as God is to be blamed that his five brethren repent not for he bestows not sufficient helps of salvation on them Q. 1. What is the book of Moses and the Prophets but a paper roll of letters and syllables would he send a Preacher from Hell and a Messenger from Heaven to give them sufficient warning and instruction of a Heaven and a Hell it were good but that he does not he then is to be blamed not my five brethren 2. He who shews mercy on whom he will and hardneth whom he will and that by a strong mighty will which no man can resist he can find fault with no man though he sin and harden his own heart For his absolute Soveraign will is far above me and my strength but so doth the Lord saith the carnal man Rom. 4. 18. 19. and the holy Ghost saith such an Objection is unworthy to be moved or answered nor becomes it base clay and the clay pot so to argue with the great potter and former of all things 2. Influences for getting of the habits or performing the acts of saving grace are the Lord 's own therefore Soveraignty is his Law he may bestow them or withhold them as he pleaseth especially if the Creature be willing to want these influences and if the Sun rejoyce with all his heart at the influences and concurring providences of God to the contrary sinful actings as he doth Exod. 5. 2 8 16 17 18. Psal 14. 4. Psal 10. 6 7 8. 4. 10 11. Psal 36. 3 4. Psal 84. 5 6 7 8. Prov. 1. 11 12. Prov. 2. 14. Prov. 4. 16. 17. Prov. 10. 23. Prov. 14. 9. Prov. 7. 18. Prov. 9. 17. Psal 49. 11. Luke 11. 39. Psal 5. 9. Psal 64. 6. 3. Though we could not conceal the Lord's concluding of all under unbelief and their guiltiness who are so concluded and the mystery of the Lord 's rejecting the Jews and calling the Gentiles with the free obedience of the one and free disobedience of the other and the Lord 's having mercy on whom he will and hardning whom he will with their willing running in ways of disobedience and rebellion and say as Paul Rom. 11. 33. O the depth c. yet adversaries have no cause of objecting this to us more then to the Scriptures of God 4. Prop. Gracelesness is satisfied with gracelesness and is no more desirous and thirsty for grace nor darkness after the Sun light or coldness desireth the fires heat yea as Satan cannot destroy Satan the body of sin cannot love to be subdued by grace and the man hating both Christ and his Father John 15. 24. and pleasing himself in that way who yet complains that God doth withdraw his grace and so cannot command us or exhort us to repentance is like to him who lies still in the furnace and loves to be burnt and complains that he is scorched and tormented and the Lord will not lift him out of the furnace 5. What a proud Pelagian nature is this for any to say had he the habit of grace which was in David he could act as David and could secure himself from adultery and murther but how did David who had David's heart fall in these horrid crimes can any interpose himself surety and put grace which he hath not or nature which he cannot command to undertake to obey God in all things were it not safer to be pained with the bondage of sin and be sick for Christ and his grace and never to interpose self to be surety for self but to be strong in free grace only Ephes 6. 10. CHAP. X. 1. Soveraignty in actings of grace 2. We are not to seek influences but such as are suitable to the Word 3. Of divers influences 4. How we complain of want of influences and how we may suit them 5. We are to act under indispositions 6. How we are to pray continualy 7. Not to act duties while we feel breathings of the Spirit is an unsafe Rule 8. Preparations before Duties 9. To wait on breathings before we act Duties how lawful how not LEt it be futher considered in these Particulars how unjust we are and how free the Lord is 1. Who ever complains of the want of grace and yet remains in the state of nature doth close with his want of grace For 1. The renewed mans complaining of the want of grace is neither in sense or godly feeling nor in faith and humble believing Nature can no more complain of the want of grace with any spiritual and godly sense then a sucking child can weep because he is not an understanding man of thirty years old for darkness cannot seek after the Sun light for so it should desire its own destruction nor can cold desire heat nor Satan be divided against Satan and therefore these are but feigned and counterfeit bemonings For the actings of sinful nature with delight say that the man hates grace which he professeth he so much desires for only grace can thirst after and long for grace Joh. 15. 24. If I had not done among them the works which no other man did they had not had sin but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father Such a hatred of the fulness of grace Jesus Christ cannot consist with a lively desire of grace Prop. 2. It is a right Rule not to separate Soveraignty from the Word or the Omnipotency of grace from the Promise otherwise we make a sort of Idol of Omnipotency seek we them and pray for influences of grace not peremptorily hic nunc to every single acting Psal 119. 2. My soul cleaveth to the dust quicken thou me according to thy word Ver. 28. My soul melteth for heaviness strengthen thou me according to thy word Ver. 107. I am afficted very much quicken thou me according to thy word v. 154. For 1. A gracious heart seeks no other out-lettings of grace to this or that duty but according to the promise Now the promise is not contrary to the Soveraign dispensation and there is no such Soveraignty but that there are many withdrawings of God whence follows deadness and the souls melting for heaviness Nor is there either promise or dispensation that the belever shall in every moment of time be lively and vigorous and have the heart lifted up in the ways of God except we would say Earth is Heaven and we are not for a time in heaviness if need be 2. There is a bastard literal heat and vigor of going about duties that comes not from the Word no bastardheat comes from the Word but by accident for the Spirit that speaks in the Word speaks his own spiritual and lively comforts and actings not that which may flow from a
letter which is common to Seneca and other humane Writers and the Prophets though even the style liveliness majesty and divinity that may be seen in the letter of the Scripture are eminently above the like in other Writers The Spirit immediately inspiring and the Spirit quickning in the Word are both the same Spirit that Christ promised to send John 16. of which Christ ver 14. He shall glorifie me he shall receive of mine a word most mysterious and shall shew it unto you and believers are afraid that their hearts receive some other quickning between the sound of the Word and the actings of the Lord upon their hearts which causeth them to pray for no quickning but according to the Word The like may 3. be said of the salvation of the Lord Psal 91. 16. I will shew him my salvation Isa 12. 2. For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song he also is become my salvation Psal 119. 170. Let my supplication come before thee deliver me according to thy word for we are apt to seek strange and whorish influences the like whereof the Lord bestows not upon his people Psal 119. 132. Look thou upon me and be merciful unto me as thou uses to doe to those that love thy name Psal 106. 4. Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest to thy people O visit me with thy salvation V. 5. That I may see the good of thy chosen that I may rejoyce in the gladness of thy Nation that I may glory with thine inheritance It s cold comfort we reap without the word its true his omnipotency was eternal before there was a Word or Promise made to us but now the Lord will have the Word or Promise to be the officina the work-house of his Spirit and of the quickning influences thereof 5. As also there is a salvation and escape out of prison by keys of our own making and by putting out the hand to iniquity Psal 125. and the heart is much for the bulk of a deliverance from Hell and for the body and lump of a mercy were it Heaven and Baalam's paradise or the end of the righteous whether it be purchased by the ransome of Christ's bloud or no and faith laying hold thereon or no. 6. And we love to have the remission and the righteousness of Christ in his bloud the separated from holiness and sanctification but the Scripture conjoyneth them 1 Cor. 1. 30. Gal. 1. 4. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Heb. 10. 10. Heb. 13. 12 13. 1 Pet. 2. 24. yea is a holy justification to speak so is the cleanly kindly sure absolution of the sinner for Christ loves noâ— and washes not in his bloud but such as he makes Kings and Priests unto God Rev. 1. 5. in so saying I honour good works more then Mr. Baxter doth who makes them as good as Christ's bloud even the price of pardon Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 14. Yea and 7. We could be satisfied with dumb and scrupulous influences and inspirations contrary unto and separated from the Word as Evah Gen. 3. 4 5 6. 1 Kings 13. 18. Matth. 4. 3 6 8 9. 8. What could the powerful influences of God Creator separated from Christ the treasure-house of love and mercy doe to us and if Omnipotency were separated from the promises of the Gospel could it save us in the Lord's way through the bloud of Christ for power in God cannot to speak so save men but by the Name of Jesus Christ the only saving Name under Heaven Acts 4. 12. nor can Omnipotency work a redemption now in this Gospel-dispensation but that which is by bloud Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 13. And that which is to declare the righteousness of God for the remission of sins Power acts by way of compleat satisfaction as the exceeding greatness of God's power to us-ward who believe is of the same size with the mighty power which raised Christ from the dead and set him on the right-hand of God in heavenly places Ephes 1. 14 20. The power of translating a sinner from Satans Kingdome to the Kingdom of the Son of his love works as acted as it were and set on work to act righteously to translate no man but the person for whom a ransome of bloud is given to justice as the Princes right power is only for the good of free and legal subjects Col. 1. 11 12 13. and that all power in Heaven and Earth to save Matth. 28. 18. John 17. 2. Matth. 11. 27. and that Kingly and Royal power to give repetance to Israel and forgiveness of sins Acts 5. 31. to forgive sins Matth. 9. 6. to raise and quicken the dead John 5. 26 28 29. is a power in a way purchased by the bloud of attonement Rom. 14. 9. For to this end Christ both dyed and rose that he might be Lord both of the dead and living And by the way it s a righteous power over all flesh and in Heaven and Earth though he died not for all flesh and for all the Angels in Heaven and all the men on Earth it were strange to say Christ died for the reprobate and not for their sins and final unbelief and rejecting of Christ to obtain a power to pardon some of their sins and not all and to give them repentance from some dead works and not from all dead works and to purge them from some but not from all their sins 3. It s most unjust to lay the blame of our sinful omissions upon holy Soveraignty because he withdraws influences For 1. That is to reproach God this is like the malecontentedness of Satan and of Hell for the damned complain that ever they were born and that they cannot be annihilated and that hils and mountains cover them not quick in soul and body yea they storm and rage because God gives them a being capable of eternal woe 2. The wakened consciences of men out of Christ often fall upon this recrimination the gnawing of conscience of Judas is I have sinned and of the young man Prov. 5. 12. How have I hated instruction and my heart dispised reproof Yet it is a more commendable complaining and more hopeful to complain of sinful neglect of means then of divine permissive providence of sin upon the Lord 's withdrawing of gracious influences but conscience in its kindly acting is the tormenting worm that eats self No Divel alledges this its true Satan bites at providence God hedges about a hypocrite Job and God commends him says he Christ torments us before the time Satan trembles and frets at the existence of God and that God is above him Joh 1. 9 10. Matth. 8. 29. Jam. 2. 19. and so all his words to Christ speak a barking at providence Matth. 4. its wrong that the Son of God should want bread it is an useless providence that the man Christ go down stairs for God saith he should save him though he throw himself down headlong Satan is a better
Master who gives all the Kingdomes of the World to his Worshippers then God who denies Bread to his own wel-beloved Son thus doth Satan but in another kind fret So Gen. 3. it s a bad providence that Adam and Evah are not as knowing as God and Luke 5. 34. What have we to doe with Christ But may not conscience accuse providence in the Lord 's withdrawing of grace especially being wakened Ans The Conscience of Divels and the Damned is awakned either penally or sinfully these may be distinguished here the Conscience as penally wakned by the Judge primarily gnaws and torments it self for sin as punished I have sinned saith Judas and he casts down the seven pieces feeling the worm but as the Conscience is sinfully wakned by it self in blaspheming the God of Heaven Rev. 16. 9 11. because of pain it also frets against providence but is is not pain'd for the want of saving grace and holy influences which might have prevented sin yea their blasphemings of God eternally is a seal and a closeing with the state of unrenewed nature which is never moved for sin but wrestles against the providence which sometime did permit sin which now hath such tormenting consequences though the conscience in the mean time being taken with the Iustre and apparent good in sin did also close with the opportunity of sin and with providence opening the way to tentations Prov. 7. 15. and seek such a providence Gen. 39. 11 12. and embrace it Mark 14. 10 11. yet is there saving good in a regulated spiritual complaining of the want of saving influences So as 1. They be not looked on as misdeeds of providence and we say not the Lord might have lent me the influence to such a self-denying death as Abraham's journey in aiming to sacrifice his only son for God but he would not 2. It s good if there be a holy submissive complaining of the want of gracious influences as terminated upon duties Isa 63. 17. O Lord why hast thou made us to erre from thy ways and hardened our hearts from thy fear and not looked on as withdrawings of meer providence Though there be a holy claimbring to God ver 19. we are thine yet we are so thine as thy grace is Soveraign Thou never bearest rule over them they were not called by thy name and yet no praise or thanks to Israel that they were called by his Name rather then the Heathen 3. We may pray for and so earnestly suit and desire influences as Draw me quicken me encline my heart unto thy testimonies Therefore we may pray against withdrawings of influences as sad privations of dreadful consequents and so much is held forth in that Petition lead us not unto temptation 4. Yet so as there is no deserving in us of having eyes to see and spiritual influences to see to hear to perceive with a new heart Deut. 29. 2 3. as its not the merit of one part of the Earth the South that it lie nearer the Sun then another Northern part nor the good deserving of one Horse that he wear a golden Saddle and a silken Bridle rather than another this would be minded What am I Lord as it was Christ's mind to cry down works in point of salvation yet not to cry down all actings by way of duty in the New-covenant way Therefore 5. since grace may be desired and all gracious influences are grace so is there a conformity betwixt the believers will suiting influences and the revealed and approving will of God I say not his high decree and ordaining will for sure New-Testament or New-Covenant prayers new oyl and new supply of grace do import a fresh supply and watering of influences to be furnished to believers especially since we may pray Hallowed be thy Name in me thy Kingdome come to me thy will be done by me in the Earth is it is in Heaven 5. We may and ought to suit of God what the Lord promiseth in the Covenant of grace but the Lord promiseth to bestow predeterminating grace in this Covenant as after shall be cleared Now the faultiness of this I will not pray untill the Spirit act upon me and move me to pray is seen in that it importeth that the moral ground of praying is not the command of God pray continually and that command call upon me in the day of trouble which is most false for another warrant for all moral obedience then precept promise or practise can no man give yea it supposeth that the warrant of prayer is the influence of grace Now the influence of grace is the efficient helping cause not the rule not the objective cause of either our praying or any acts of our obedience Yea it is the way of Enthysiasts to make divine impulsions and not the word of precept the Rule of our obedience 2. This I will not pray untill the Spirit first act upon me must have either this sense I will not pray untill the Lord first give a praying disposition or untill the Lord first actually breath upon me This latter saith indeed I will not pray until I pray for the Lord 's actual influence includes praying The former cannot be said For there is no warrant to disobey the command pray continually untill I get a new disposition from Heaven for then might all praying of the renewed be shifted and the three Disciples in the garden might have said to Christ our Master bids us pray but we are heavy with sleep and indisposed and cannot pray and so must we be excused 2. Upon the same account Magus Acts 8. 21. and other unrenewed men should shift the command of praying for while we be translated out of nature to the Kingdome of grace we want the habit of grace and spirit of adoption by which only we can pray acceptably 3. How unsavoury shall this be a man falls over a Bridge and is a drowning another is going to the place of Execution to die another is sick to death all of them may by this shift say we must not pray lest we take the Name of God in vain untill the Spirit breath upon us heavenly impressions of speaking in the Spirit to God 4. This shift cannot stand to suspend praying until the Spirit breath from on high for we are to pray for the spirit 's breathing and for teaching quickning enlarging of heart that we may pray and praise Psal 51. 15. Psal 119. 36 37 40 48. Wind fetches wind here and fire begets fire as cold flint creates hot fire so the Atheists let them pray that can pray I 'me no Minister But it hath this I am ready to pray but the blame of my not praying is to be laid on the Spirit for the wind blows not but this is but witty laziness as when the Sea-man will sleep and attempt no Sea-voyage and lay the blame which is his fall upon the wind which blows not after his mind it appears he is but a sleeper
not a Husband-man who for bears plowing and sowing upon the account only that he finds not a season so desirable as he craves and that he is indisposed to plow spiritually as a Christian He who observes the wind shall not sow and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap Eccl. 11. 4. So are we to refer to his holy Soveraignty the flowings of the Spirit and to set about holy duties as if these flowings were in our power We are to know that the command and precept of spiritual duties is laid on us as we are reasonable creatures as hearers of the Gospel not under the reduplication as spiritually or not spiritually disposed as the Creditor and the Law charge men to pay their just debts not as they are poor or rich but as they are debters yea precepts from the Lord bind the creature as the creature and moral precepts bind Men and Angels as capable to obey though not fit and disposed Therefore must we here distinguish betwixt nature capable or having at any time power to obey and the real or as it were the physical aptitude and idoneous disposition to obey The latter takes not away the obligation to pray or believe David's being overclouded with a temptation is not an excuse of adultery and murther nor is he thereby freed from praying Lord lead me not into temptation As 1. Under indispositions moral we rejoyce that sinful indispositions do befriend us and smile upon us to promote sin as some love them well who counsel them and joyn with them in drunkenness and are their brethren in iniquity so do we foment indispositions and welcome and fatten them and do not violence to our corruption and deadness and heardness and some expone false light to be God's secret and virtual approving Will they should commit the sin as Evah saw the fruit that it was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise Gen. 3. 6. Here Evah substitutes the tentation in place of the precept and false light fosters and cherisheth a sinful lust and a wicked disposition to sin It is a sort of tempting of the tempting disposition whereas is were good to complain under a sinful disposition as under the bondage of a part of the body of sin as Paul doth Rom. 7. for a sinful disposition is but a branch and bud of the body of sin which we are to wrestle against as a most dangerous opposite to spiritual obedience Indeed sometime a spiritual disposition to pray or praise or hope goes along with the command Now the obligation of the command to praise is ever one and its good when the man can say My heart is fixed I will praise Psal 5â— and the command to wait on the Lord lies ever on it is a rich mercy when the disposition goes along with the command as Psal 25. 15. Mine eyes are ever in the habit and holy disposition toward the Lord and Psal 130. 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more then they that watch for the morning Farther not to pray till the Spirit move us and simply to abstain from praying or any other spiritual duty upon simple ignorance that we are not obliged to pray except the spirit move us is weakness in some godly who may be overtaken with that error but in knowing and judicious men who are Libertines it is wickedness and somewhat more then weakness for it is to abstain from spiritual duties though not considering or without religious weighing the Commandment pray continually and is a making of the Spirit 's acting our Bible and to confound the Scripture and the Spirit as Libertines did so Calvin saith of them and so do others 2. The sense of this pray continually cannot be pray assiduously at all occasions except the Spirit withdraw his influences for here three things are considerable If 1. The providential call of God to pray suppose that sickness incursions of Divels or extreme suffering be on If 2. A more special supernatural providence of a heavenly fervor and stirring of the Spirit be on If 3. Only the obligation of a command be on to pray upon all occasions Christian prudence directing to obey affirmative Precepts Now as to the First Ass 1. Suppose there be some seeming contradiction betwixt extreme pain and absence or withdrawings yet a seeming contradiction only and not real it is and the man is called to an habitual praying disposition because what commands obligeth us to be renewed in the spirit of our mind Ephes 4. 23. lays a tie on us to doe it without delay Isa 55. 6. Psal 55. 7 8. Joel 2. 12. and consequenter ever to be in a savoury disposition and to savour of the things of the Spirit whether the spirit actually heat the soul with such savoriness for otherwise our Saviour rebukes the disciples on no just ground when they were sleepy for want of an actual heavenly disposition to pray Could ye not watch with me one hour The physical indisposition to pray does not take away the moral obligation to pray then 2. Though pain and extreme soul-heaviness that the man cannot speak Psal 77. 4. and Hezekiah can but chatter as a crane or a swallow Isa 38. 14. and the Church can scarce breath out a word of prayer Lam. 3. 36. yet doth not the Lord in sending on a physical or judicial indisposition contradict his own moral tie which he hath laid on by his command to pray at all times Ass 2. If a more spiritual heat of Spirit enclining to pray or prophecy or preach or praise be on David Psal 39. 1 2 3. on Ezekiel chap. 3. 14. on Paul Acts 17. 16 17 22 c. on the same Royal Prophet Psal 57. 7 8 9 10. Psal 45. 1 2. then two fires being stirred should flame more vehemently when to this fire there is a command added now though Oars be laid aside as uselesse when the wind is fair and favourable on the Sayls and it be not possible that a man can both ride on a spirited nimble horse and also walk the same time on foot yet here by no means must the word or conscience of the command of God be laid aside For as the physical facility comes from the spirit 's holy impulsion and spiritual warmness that is on so the savoury and gracious morality flows from the considered and believed precept and the sanctified heart would close sweetly both with the one and the other for specially the moral or obediential part is from the command and the most genuine and kindly obedience comes from the Word It is the real and physical part that comes from the Spirit and that is onely so far good and morally lawful as the Spirit and Word goe along together Ass 3. It must be holden that duty as duty is a moral motive we are to be led withal and we to look with fear and trembling to the command what
ever withdrawing of the Spirit or of his influences there be its true what promises of a richer dispensation of grace are made in the Messiah Zech. 12. 10. Ezech. 11. 19 20. Isa 55. 11 12. Isa 44. 1 2 3 4 c. are to be considered by us but yet so no Scripture saith Stand still and act no duties until the Spirit of grace first strongly breath upon the heart that is to say no obeying of God is to be gone about until feeling of the breathings of the Spirit go before faith and praying and all duties and what is this but a tying of the spirit to our spiritual senses men then cannot be accused nor condemned for not calling upon God and not believing because natural men truly can say we could not walk before on◠Guide nor sayl without our Steers-man the Spirit Now the Spirit 's drawings we never felt and this were to render the Word of God useless it s enough to us the command cries to the conscience the voice of the Lord sounds in the Word and none can alledge any contrary actings of the Spirit As also how shall the feelings of the Spirit be known but by the Word and the Spirit not simply but the spirit with the word is the only Guide since we are bidden try the spirits whether they are of God or not 1 John 4. 1. and as hard it were to put converted ones to such a method it were to render Duties suspicious and dangerous and to condemn Scripture-light as guilty of darkness 2. We are now after Scripture is closed and the compleat Canon given to us to follow no duty but what is warranted by the Word and that the Spirit alone works not by the Word it must then be wild-corn and no part of the Lord's husbandry and so not from the Lord that we are not to pray while first we feel the actings of the Spirit for that position is both beside and contrary to the Word Something might be said for this we are not to eat while we feel hunger nor to sleep while we feel drouziness though if eating and sleeping be looked on as duties it cannot bear the weight of Scriptural truth yet to look to feelings as a Rule before we obey a Command of God and to make the feelings of breathings our Rule hath no colour of truth Ass 4. It may be looked on as another extremity to look to no actings nor dispositions of the heart before we pray for though the disposition of the heart be no rule morally obliging us yet to fall upon duties looking only to the Rule knowing the duty is a duty and sutable to the Rule and no more but to flie to acting in our own strength is not good For 1. It is required that beside it be an uncontroverted duty other Spiritual and Evangelick circumstances would be considered as whether Jehu intend the honour of God in killing the Priests of Baal whether the intended honour of God breath upon Pharisees in praying and in almes-giving or if only a thirst to be seen of men do blow the trumpet and encourage men to the work 2. The frame of the heart in doing would be looked to as we suppose Elisha did right in that he would not prophecy while as a passion of Anger was upon him and therefore called for a Ministrel to sing a Psalm and then the Spirit of the Lord acted upon him and whether while wrath is on pure hands can be lifted up to God see 1 Tim. 2. 8. possible out of eager opposition to Enthysiasts and Libertines we run on another extreme that we rush on duties upon no other account but only the Scripture is clear Do this in remembrance of me and that warranted us to eat at the Lord's Supper prepared or not prepared but to rush on the dutie while some preparation or self-examination go before is clear against another command of God Let a man try and examine himself and so let him eat some duties are of that nature that ex natura rei of themselves they require fixed preparations as the Priests sanctifying of themselves and these who offered before they came to the Altar Psal 26. 6. Exod. 40. 31 but whether this may warrant none to pray while they first prepare themselves to pray before they pray by praying and so that prayer which is preparatory must be prepared by another preparatory prayer and so without end spiritual preparations must in infinitum go on before spiritual preparations is another question A fixed and set preparation before every duty is not requisite but sure a preparing of the heart to seek the Lord should go before solemn actions 1 Sam. 7. 3. Job 11. 13. 1 Chron. 29. 18. 2 Chron. 12. 13. and beyond all controversie we sin against God and stumble many in headlong rushing upon duties not looking to a spiritual frame of heart in comming to the house of God and not taking heed to the feet and in yoaking the Cart before the Horse When we first sacrifice and then hear Eccles 5. 1. godly prudence which dwels with wisedom saith both a fools bolt is soon shot and a fools sacrifice is soon offered Some receive the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 suddenly Mark 4. 16. 1. Sayling is more safely delay'd in the time of an extreme storm and sowing when the wind is mighty then attempted and if the affections be raveiled and the heart smoaking with some fiery disorders that distemper would be mourned for and prayed against headlong and precipitate duties done in hast argue great profanness and irreverence to the holy Lord whom we serve and worship 2. They speak an irreverent not eying of God 3. Want of bendedness of heart in holy duties I speak not this as if praying either set or instructed or ejaculatory suits were to be delayed Ass 5. To wait upon the flowings of the Spirit hath not one single meaning Libertines waiting on the actings of the spirit and there professed feriation and abstinence from praying hearing is a sad delusion 1. It s a hardning of the heart while it is to day and then the foolish Virgins had good reason to be foolish and to neglect the market and buy no Oyl while the market of Mercy was gone and over why the spirit blew never fair for their spiritual trading and therefore they are to be excused in that they sleeped all their life 2. It s a confounding of the Rule the Word of God and of the Spirit which quickens the Word and makes it effectual 3. It s to excuse all wicked men and to loose them from the law of God We can doe no better blame the Spirit say they which blows not and many other absurdities hence follow 2. To wait on the Spirit 's flowings that is with a lesse measure of the spirit to fetch more and by two talents to gain four is so lawful a waiting for the breathings of the spirit as to plow and wait
patiently for the harvest to sayl and wait till the Jewels and Gold come home and the Ship land is commendable this is to bring forth fruit with patience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. To wait upon the flowings of the Spirit which out of holy Soveraignty comes in a larger measure then is ordinary as an high spring-tyde as my heart is confirmed or prepared my heart is confirmed or prepared Is 1. To welcome and adore the Lord in these high manifestations and wisedom requires that the soul which is taken into the Kings chamber and finds many outlettings and sweet and rich accesse in praying should multiply bills and being heard for his own pardon as David was Psal 51. should put in a bill for building of the walls of Zion and so should the soul being in a higher strain and admitted to a more then ordinary feast of fat things eat and drink more abundantly Cant. 5. 1. as Esther finding the King on a strain of graciousness to her Esther what is thy Petition follows her suit and lays hold on the opportunity and her suit is not for the safety of one single man but for the lives of the whole Church of God even all the Jews 2. To leave off wrestling too soon is a sort of violence done and a damming up of the mighty flowings of the Spirit No doubt a lazy pursuing of the victory when we prevail with God is a mighty neglect 4. So to wait for the Spirit 's high manifestation as to set bounds to him and to look this shall be a great feast and the instruments are eminent is a limitting of God hope of that kind would be humble and submissive there being no word of promise as concerning the quantity and measure of the emanations and outlettings of the Spirit for that is his own Soveraignty to doe with his own as he thinks good we would be more careful to receive and believe and praise then to widen hope in order to instruments to wit such a shining Prophet beyond what is revealed sure believing his word is better then censuring Soveraignty Idolatry is here crafty and subtil Ass 6. If we speak of preparations going before the real and physical stirrings of saving grace there are not any upon our part except we say with Pelagians that we begin and the Spirit follows CHAP. XI 1. Our impotency to duties being reproved cannot excuse us in the omitting of them 2. The wicked habit in sleeping men is faulty 3. Therefore the withdrawing of influences excuses not 4. The Creatures sin is not from the Lord 's withdrawing of influences of grace formally but from our withdrawing of our hearts from his moral Commandment 5. The Objection of many if God would give me influences of grace as he did to Moses and David I would be as holy as any discussed the Objector and the Objection both answered 6. The non-sense of the Objection opened 7. A natural man hates influences both physical and moral though he wish physical influences 8. The Objection exalteth nature abuseth grace and many ways reproacheth God his Grace Soveraignty Wisedom c. Q. WHether or no doth our impotency to pray and believe clear and justifie us in that we believe not and pray not Ans Not at all for one and the same cannot be a just excuse and a due rebuke but the holy Ghost rebukes our cannot as a sinful cannot and so our impotency cannot be a just excuse So Joshua chap. 24. 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord. Isa 29. 11. I cannot read the book that is I am sinfully ignorant of prophecy Isa 44. 18. They cannot understand no more then blind men Jer. 6. Their ear is uncircumcised they cannot hearken The Lord grievously challengeth the people ver 11. I am full of the anger of the Lord and denounce wrath against this rebellious cannot for not only is the tree rejected as bearing evil fruit but also because the sap is sour and the bulk rotten Christ speaks rebukingly of some impotent cannot of the world Joh. 14. 17. I will send you the Spirit of truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the world cannot receive Rom. 8. 7. The wisedom of the flesh is not subject to the law of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither indeed can be Ver. 8. They that are in the flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot please God 1 Cor. 2. 14. The natural man cannot know the things of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a condemning of the natural man as he is opposed to the spiritual man who is praised as one who knows the secrets of God 2. And he is condemned as one who judgeth the things of the Gospel foolishness John 6. 44. No man can come to me except the father draw him And that is a most wicked shift of him who married a wife Luke 14. 20. therefore I cannot come we excuse such wicked weakness with this God help us we cannot without his grace doe better 3. The very sinful habit and power is reproved in the Word even the power as it is contra-distinguished from the sinful act Psal 14. 1. The habitual fool hath said in his heart there is not a God The habitual blindness and hardness of heart that may be in sleeping men the state of non-regeneration and the state of death and of uncircumcision of heart is condemned Eph. 2. 1 2. 3. Col. 1. 13. 14. Psal 14. 3. their poyson of nature Psal 58. 4. the uncircumcision of heart Jer. 9. 26. the sinful frame of the heart Gen. 6. 5. Gen. 8. 21. Hence of force it must follow that this is no good consequence the sleeping man or swooning man acting and committing no actual guiltiness and making no use of free-will is guilty and rebukable before God as the sleeping Wolf is bloudy the sleeping Lion is cruel because of the bloudy and cruel nature that is inherently in both when neither of them do actually devour so though influences to the material acts of sin be not in our power yet since we lodge that sinful power and virtually as is said consent to want the breathings of God and consent that the sinful acts have hous-room in the sleeping man we are thence guilty upon that account though we sleep and are patient in carrying sinful powers and sinful acts now inherent in us and the withdrawing of influences of grace upon the same account cannot be an honest excuse why I pray not yea the wicked impotency and indisposition and the three Disciples drouziness and sleepiness the same way physical being on them in the night Matth. 26. is a new guiltinesse moral for Christ commanded watching in vigorousnesse then and their actual not praying is another guiltiness 3. Under withdrawings of influences of grace we are guilty 1. In not considering the temptation signs and wonders we see and hear Deut. 29. 3. yea though the Lord 's not giving a new heart be not our sin formally yet our not having
yea and the holy Ghost from the womb as he did to John the Baptist but denies it But 1. God hath appointed no extraordinary way of healing our nature The Baptist was from the womb cured of the dominion of sin original it entered not with his life in its full reign as a King as in others and sin original was in the Baptist as in others as to the demerit if God should have entered in judgement with him Now the Objector would be free of original sin in his own way not in God's way 1. He condemns God in that ever he permitted such a sin to be what warrant is there in Scripture for striving with any providence or physical influences of God none at all 2. What warrant to complain that all from the womb have not the same influences of grace which the Lord graciously bestowed on John Baptist 3. What warrant to desire the extraordinary removal of sin original by annihilation for God hath appointed the Lamb of God to take away sin and to dissolve the work of the Divel The Lord's way is by praying Wash me and I shall be white as snow and the Lord will tie us not to the Socinian absolute taking away of sin without Christ's satisfaction but to an ordinance of the Law Psal 51. 7. Purge me with hysope Hence this deceit or sinful conceits in many If God would add stronger influences of grace I should be holy as an Angel But this he does not and so comes in a lazie dispairing if God will not give stronger influences physical I cannot help it I doe all that a man can doe I pray night and day tyde and time therefore if I perish I must perish if God will not save me I cannot be against his will I can doe no more then I doe but must refer my self to his will So we would consider well this sinful case of conscience When 1. the man wishes to be free of the inherency of sin because something that is penal in lust torments and hinders sleep some bodily pain goes along with night drinking but yet he sticks strongly to the sinful acting thereof 2. When the man should repent and mourn for his sinful delighting in sin he murmurs that God would not counter-work the being of it and that he so permitted it to be and so disposed of the place and strength of temptation since he could have made it never to have been And 3. The man wishes he might be a patient in the removing of it and frets that God will not take it away while he sleeps but withall he refuses to be an actor 1. In sorrowing according to God and in loathing it 2. In challenging himself Prov. 5. How have I hated instruction 3. In a godly improving of Jesus Christ as the ransome-payer and believing in him for the Lord's way of moral removing of sin by pardoning thereof Jer. 50. 20. But this is also a tempting of God 1. We are not to pray for influences physical simply and absolutely for all uses and ends to work miracles to remove mountains but especially we are to pray for more influences and such as are sutable to our ordinary duties Psal 119. 36. Incline my heart but he suits not of God every bowing of the heart abstracted from the word incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not to covetousness Ver. 133. Order my heart in thy sâ—eps let not any iniquity have dominion over me 2. David seeks not every sort of quickning influences but Psal 119. 25. Quicken thou me according to thy word Verse 40. Quicken me in thy righteousnesse Verse 88. Quicken me after thy loving kindness Ver. 149. O Lord quicken me according to thy judgement Ver. 156 and 116. Vphold me according to thy word that I may live Quakers and Familists seek after the furious wild-fire of hell skaddings and flammings of a spirit abstracted from the word Hence the brothers killing of the brother hath been father'd on the Spirit and railing bitter speaking blaspheming have been laid upon such a spirit 2. A spirit that suggests neglect of ordinances and means of salvation is not the Spirit of God Would God put forth more power and stronger influences I should be holy indeed in the mean time the man sleeps So would the Lord put forth stronger influences corn and wheat and vine-trees should grow without husbandry and sowing shall the husbandman plow not and pray for such an harvest so may the man say I le eat not God can nourish me without bread Influences in the fixed and ordinary providence of God are neither promised nor to be expected but in God's way of using means the hand of the diligent makes rich Should one step out of the Ship and attempt to walk on the Sea having no warrant but a spirit divided from the use of means and from hearing reading meditating praying were not this a proud tempting of God 3. Do not all the wretched and prophane practically contradict God the drunkard will draw and pull by head and hair influences to his drunken prayers the swearer the oppressor and the loos-liver will force influences to his empty faith I believe and am saved and there must be influences at these golden words Jam. 2. 16. spoken to the naked and hungry Depart in peace be thou warmed and filled There is some carnal fire and heat in their formalities and they look upon these influences of God and thank God for them Luke 18. 11 12. when as these influences are rather wrathful plagues of God joyning with our sinful acting of hypocrisie then favours and gracious concurrences of God But as to the lazie dispairing 1. It was the peoples way when they are exhorted to repent Jer. 18. 12. There is no hope but we will walk after our own devices and they were far from doing all that men can doe and praying night and day they were stealing murthering whoring following false gods night and day Jer. 7. 9. and yet they said they came to the Temple to pray and sacrifice night and day ver 10. 2. Is it not dreadful that when God refuses to rain down influences on sleepers and the Spirit breaths not upon dreamers and men are resolved to doe no more not to add a farthing more for the field and the precious pearl Christ if they perish they must submit themselves to the will of God they cannot force the Lord nill he will he to save them true all the Reprobates that cry to hills and mountains to cover them whether they will or no they must refer themselves to the will of God and this is a wicked chiding with God if God will not save me by such actings as may stand with mine ease and pleasure let him destroy me for I le doe no more then I doe 3. This is a murmuring at the very marrow and flower of the Gospel John 6. 43. Murmure not among your selves Ver. 44. No man can come to me except the Father
the Pharisees meets the words of rebuke in Christ's mouth and bitterness in Herod resounds when John Baptist does rebuke his incest and adultery Take it for a sad condition when there is a practical contrariety and hatred betwixt the heart and the word of the Lord a heart loathing of the word and a rejecting thereof is dreadful whereas the esteeming of the word sweeter then the honey or the honey comb more then thousands of silver and gold the mans treasure his heritage his souls delight and love night and day his work meditation study wisedom do proclaim much of the new creation the word being the seed of the new birth and new creations must love the mother seed it s own native beginning as the streams are of the same nature and likeness with the fountain the Word tries all mens hearts see Joh. 7. 40 41 42 43 44 45 46. Luk. 4. 21 22 23 24 25 28 29. Acts 2. 12 13 37 38 39. Acts 7. 54 55 c. Acts 13. 38 42 43 44 45 46. Acts 14. 1 2 3 4 5 c. Acts 17. 34 35 36. Some believe some mock the natural man cannot close with the word Now Christ is given as a Leader and Commander to the people Isa 55. 4. charge him not as a misleading and a rash guide because he carries you through a wildernesse where there is neither flood nor fountain on the Earth nor dew or rain from Heaven you are withered and no influences come from him let faith complain of the barrenness of the Earth but justifie the driness of the clouds it s the wisedom of God that teacheth the believer to weep because he wants rain and moistness and is sinfully dry and yet to submit to him who denies rain and dew for he gives not here upon just grounds and holily I want deservedly for my just demerit Part. II CHAP. I. 1. God acts upon the creature first and not the creature first upon God 2. The Lord's dominion of influences on free will 3. Nor are we to be idle and sleep because the Lord is Master of his own influences 4. The Lord commands not us to have or want influences 5. Influences are not our warrant to act but the efficient cause thereof HItherto much hath been said of the Soveraignty of the Lord in divine influences Now are we to speak of the way of getting these influences and of the necessity of them and how we may fetch the wind 1. By natural actings 2. By supernatural actings by the word and promise 3. By the efficient causes of influences especially by the Spirit Hence the division of influences 1. By the infused habit of grace 2. By spiritual dispositions In all which our faith praying using of grace have their several influences What we may doe to fetch heavenly influences from God is above my reach to determine only let these Propositions be considered Prop. 1. God by order of nature first acts upon the creature and gives his stirring up influence to it We cannot in genere causae physicae first breath upon God he prevenes the Sun and the Sun riseth or riseth not as the Lord pleaseth to act upon it but no second causes do prevene the first or universal cause the Sun and Heaven do act first upon the Rose but the Rose doth not first act upon the Sun and Heaven Job 37. 7. He sealeth up the hand of every man that all men may know his works c. By the breath of God frost is given this shows that the host of creatures in Heaven and in Earth and the Sea are all dead passive sleepy cyphers and can do nothing if the Lord do not stir them God must be Father Lord and Author of all created actings and faith would without carefulness or unbelief commit all to so wise a Steersman though Phil. 4. 6. the Sea shall drown me the Fire consume me the Air suffocate me yet I desire to hear and obey that Be careful in nothing but pray Matth. 6. I shall perish for want ver 25. Take no thought They will kill me if I confess Christ Fear not Matth. 10. 28 29. your Father cares for two sparrows and for every hair of your head O but the Ship I am in is a sinking Matth. 8. 26. Why are ye fearful waken Christ by praying ah my little daughter is dead Fear not only believe Mark 5. 36. ah they shall deliver us to synagogues and prisons and bring us before Kings and all men shall hate us for Christ's sake True But there shall not one hair of your head perish it s but our unbelief which sees God suffering all to roll and reel as Fortune Nature and Devils will which makes us sinfully care For the Lord and Father of Christ cannot vace and Christ's not working is contrary to John 5. 17. but all are in a good hand Obj. But Heman saith Psal 88. 13. In the morning shall my prayer prevent thee So the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in piel antecessit antevert it praeoccupavit anticipavit it s to go before in time in earliness Psal 119. 148. Mine eyes prevent the night watch Deut. 23. 4. The Amalekites prevented you not with bread it s to go before in place Psal 68. 26. The singers went before its strange that any prayer could prevent God Ans Not properly he saith himself JOb 41. 11. Who hath prevented me the same word that I should repay him then our preventing of God should lay some debt upon God which is unpossible and as Paul observes Rom. 11. 35. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who gave him first Therefore 1. He speaks Psal 88. of God after the manner of men as if Heman in a manner were more early up in the morning to pray then the Lord were ready to hear the contrary whereof is true as if Heman's early praying wakened God Psal 44. 23. Awake why sleepest thou 2. There is a preventing of God as a Deliverer and a Comforter God's order is that our praying makes an impulsion and stirring on the Lord first and then he delivers and comforts Psal 24. 6. Psal 18. 6 7 16. and so in order to comfort and deliverance in genere mediorum moralium prayer wakens Heaven and puts the Lord a working but as touching the order of real and physical actings the Lord prevents us the string of the Harp or Viol is not said to touch the hand of the Musician but the Musician's hand toucheth the string hence is Musick Nor does the Axe stir and lift up the arm of the Carpenter but the Carpenter's arm lifts up the Axe therefore they who teach that our prayer and the actings of our free will can and may prevent grace in place of preventing grace give us nature and the creature preventing God we read of the Father drawing us and the Son with the odour of his ointments drawing sinners but to teach that nature prevents grace is to say we are
before and above God whereas the Rose warms not the Sun but the Sun warms and nourishes the Rose and the corn and herbs do not refresh the Heaven and the Clouds but Heaven and Clouds nourish and refresh the corn and grass and it must be untoward and froward divinity that the sick man heals the Physician It is the grace to speak so of the Lord 's free grace that the Lord prevents us not we him its impossible that nature can prevent grace Prop. 2. Though the Lord's promise and his free decree hath tyed himself in a manner to be prevented by a moral cause yet that moral cause even the praying man stirs not until God first prevent him to pray Hence the Lord moves and wheels about the heart and will of the man who is most free and most absolute among all the sons of men even the King Prov. 21. 1. and that not if the King will and say amen with his prior or former or collateral consent but whithersoever Jehovah will Hence our prayers that God would incline our hearts to his testimonies Psal 119. 36. Not incline the heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 4. Vnite the heart to fear his name Psal 86. 11. So Jacob prays the Lord would give his sons favour in the eyes of the Governour of Egypt a Heathen man as to him Esther and her maids pray for grace in the eyes of Ahasuerus see Gen. 43. 14. The Lord Almighty give you mercy before the man If God could not indecliuably bow the will to his own way side or end be it by antecedent predetermination or what way else you shall call it so the Lord be the more Master of willing and nilling then the creature but in so doing he should destroy free will we should in all such petitions pray for the destroying of free will where sure we pray for perfecting and the sanctified bowing of free will to obey God 2. If the dominion of free acts remain strongly in the creatures power we must in these suits incline my heart unto thy testimonies lead us not into temptation pray the Lord for that which is not in his power to give 3. If God do carry free will whithersoever he pleaseth then we must not defer the only praise of our obedience and of our victory over temptations to the grace of God but to free will which made the discriminating difference 1. Hence we are to commit our free will to the Lord's dominion of grace and not to believe that such a tottering Goddesse as free will which hath lost and destroyed Angels and the first man Adam can guide well enough Yea 2. we are to bless the Lord for that impotency if so it may be called that the soveraign Lord's heavenly influences are not in the creatures coffers to be husbanded by the creature how false is it that Christ hath bought free will to himself 3. How sweet is it that our head Christ and we in him are more masters of mens hatred and favour then they are themselves Prov. 3. 1 4. Psal 106. 46. for would enemies and haters shew us favour and love if they were absolute Masters and Lords of their own hatred and love not at all we must thank and blesse an higher hand then such men 4. Should we pray more we should be more rained upon in our withered condition by showrs of influences of grace Object By your way we cannot pray for influences except the Lord bestow on us other foregoing influences Answ What follows but that we are to pray that we may pray and that we are to pray for our own prayers that they may be steeled with faith and strength of grace And David prays for his own prayers Psal 5. 2. Psal 28. 2. Psal 88. 2. Psal 141. 2. 2. Would the Objector relish prayers without influences of grace can nature pray in the holy Ghost can Christ intercede for the accepting of natures work Prop. 3. Because God only is Lord and Master of free-will and of the actings of all creatures we are not to be idle and upon that account to act nothing for then should not the husband-man plow sow and labour for God only is Lord and Master of the actings of the husband-man and without the influences and blessing from on high the husband-mans labours from the beginning of the year to the end were no better then to plant Vine-trees in the bottom of the river Euphrates or to sow Barley or Wheat in the Ocean sea And so should the Sea-man never sayl for God only can create winds and tide and God only is Master of the ebbing and flowing of the Sea and of sayling and of right steering of the Vessel for since the Lord declares not his mind on the contrary by forbidding men to pray and others to plow and sayl 2. Since the Lord offers no positive violence to hinder these actings And 3. because he commandeth us to doe them it becomes us to set to work and to act with and under him and to commit the event and blessing to him Indeed if the Lord were so Lord of our actings as he did all and whole the work and we did act nothing at all in praying yea and in plowing but were meer dead and useless patients as Libertines dream something might follow to justifie our idleness but our corruption following Satan teacheth us either to sacrifice to our own net and say vainly either we doe all and God does nothing and so we darken his glory who works all our works in us and for us or then we say on the other extreme we doe nothing and God does all and therefore must we say let God pray labour the earth trade and sayl and put our hand in our bosome and sleep but the former is sacriledge and idolatry and robs the Lord of his glory and the latter is proclaimed disobedience Yea and whether the influence of God antecedently master the creatures actings or we joyntly and collaterally be mastered and determined by the creature we are in both cases to act and doe what is good and are not to make God's influence our rule of doing or not doing Prop. 4. Hence to have or not to have the influence of God is not commanded in the Word nor have we any physical power over the Lord's acts of Omnipotency for we do not formally love God and keep his Commandments in a way commendable if we speak of the moral cause of obedience because he works in us both to will and to doe but because he hath commanded us to love him and to keep his Commandments John 14. 15. Psal 119. 4 5 6. Hence 1. The Libertine is blasphemously wide the creature can doe says he nothing good or evil God worketh all sin all obedience immediately in us it s in vain to read pray hear the word meditate confer or go about works of reforming abuses in religion because all these are to no purpose without the
spirit 2. We are not to do any thing because God in his word hath commanded us to doe it but because the Spirit immediately acts in us to doe and immediate impulsion of the Spirit is now instead of the Law and of the word of God either written or preached but this is a wicked confounding of the efficient real cause and the strength of which we obey with the objective cause and morally directing commanding and perswading rule according to which we are to regulate and order our obedience yea and children can contradict this who know that the Mason who imploys his strength to build must be differenced from the Masons Rule and the Art plummet and line according to which he works for otherwise it s all one as to say the power or faculty visive of seeing were light were colours that are seen and the souldiers force and strength of apprehending a man and Law and justice according to which they do it were all one a gracious soul doth all acts of obedience upon the account of a command of God and fetcheth his moral and godly delight from the command of God the facility and strength of doing is indeed from the Spirit for whose help he desires to be thankful and to whom he desires to give all the praise and glory 2. It s a false Spirit which is so contrary to the word of precept and command 3. It s fit to subscribe to that Psal 127. 1. Except the Lord build the house they build in vain that build except the Lord watch the City the watchman waketh but in vain 1 Cor. 3. 7. So then neither is he that planteth nor he that watereth any thing but God that giveth increase But the holy Ghost never dreamed of such an inference therefore let builders watchmen and Ministers of the Gospel go to bed and sleep for God he alone shall build Cities and Houses and watch over men and all societies and bring all souls to Christ yea he hath commanded us to act and to help the Lord so he speaketh Judges 5. 23. 1 Cor. 3. 9. 1 Cor. 4. 1. and it hath a real truth though he needs no help from the creature and we are for his holy commands sake to act and to eye and trust in him who in all the acts of nature and oeconomy and art leads the way and in all the acts of grace yea we are to rejoyce that the Lord Jesus is Master of work and only Steersman CHAP. II. 1. What the natural man can doe to get influences the natural man can doe more then he does and can exercise the natural powers to come within the bosome of the net though he cannot hale himself to land 2. How the Lord can command the naturally blind to see and believe 3. How sin original deserves eternal wrath 4. It s such a sin in infants 5. The want of original righteousnesse and a power of believing is a sin in us 5. How the Lord commands impotent men THe greater doubt is how the Lord can command supernatural acts to a man drowned in nature but it s not here as when a Tyrant commands a child to wheel about the first heaven else he shall kill him for the so moving of the heaven is neither a moral duty nor was it ever a duty compassible by the physical power of the arm of a child or a strong man But the main intent of our Lord in laying on supernatural commands upon man unable to believe is that men may know what they can pay and what they owe and can never pay but not of their own pay the debt of faith the precept is not unrational where the end is rational 2. Not that the natural man may satisfie but that he may come and compone and acquiesce to a friendly Gospel treaty for nothing heightneth the price and worth of Christ more in the shining of free grace nothing kills and renders self-condemned the man more then a seen necessity of forgiving love yea the reading of the writ of the Law-debt with tears when this is holden out to us the Lord gave a bill of grace to those who had nothing to pay and he forgave them frankly is a strongly convincing dispensation 2. Something which is really little or nothing a natural man may doe to fetch the wind when he cannot command it and cannot sayl he may and often doth exercise the natural faculty of moving from place to place and comes as a meer natural man upon a meer natural motive sinfull curiosity and a purpose violently to apprehend Christ as the souldiers doe John 7. 45 46 47. yea with bloudy hearts and a purpose to persecute as the hearers of Peter doe Acts 2. and yet beside and contrary to the will and intent the man is wrought upon and converted before he go away as some go to Sea and sayl to India poor with no intention to be enriched with gold but only to get bread and yet they come again from India rich with Indian gold and many precious stones far beside their intention A man rude and ignorant goes to Athens upon no purpose to become learned yet providence so disposeth that he falls in love with learning and studying many years he returns from Athens a most learned man Now no man can say that either the Indian gold or the learning of Athens did contribute any real or physical strength to his loco-motive and natural faculty of journeying to India or Athens so neither can it be said the Spirit of grace or the Gospel of grace did add any new real and physical strength to Peter's hearers to cause them to come in under the stroke of the preached Gospel Now the Gospel is the power of God to salvation the Apostle useth such spiritual weapons of warefare to cast down strong holds it s the arm of the Lord Rom. 1. 16. 2 Cor. 10. 56. Isa 53. 1. and the preached Gospel is the triumphing chariot of Christ conquering Christ's office-house of free grace Now a man on his own feet and by his own strength though sick may come to the Physicians office-house where all his medicine boxes and helps and remedies of health are and be cured ere he goe a way and may go away with perfect strength and health yet he came to the Physicians house in no strength nor health which he received from his art and medicine The Word is the net the Fish may come in its own natural motion within the bosome of the net but it s the strength of the arms of the Fisher that hales the Fish to land the Fish catcheth not it self The word of God is a sharp two-edged sword and doth the work by the Spiriâ—â— Heb. 4. 12. The mouth of Christ is like a sharp sword Isa 49. 2. His arrows are sharp in the heart of the Kings enemies whereby the people fall under him Isa 45. 5. A man may in his own natural strength come in within the shoot
the second death Infants then dying Infants are no debtors to the compleat ransome of blood that Christ gave to deliver them from the wrath And when our Saviour blessed Infants and said Of such is the kingdom of heaven his sense must be that infants departing this life in infancie hold heaven by no Charter of Christ the heir of all are not washed from sin are not delivered from wrath to come nor obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ as it is in 1 Thessal 5. 9. 3. What debt is this who of Angels or men can pay the hire of free love to Christ ye were born beasts Tigers Lions Dogs and broods of Satan and the Serpents seed and Christ hath made you sons of God Kings and Priests to God heirs of life co-heirs with Christ partakers of the divine nature the first-born of God written in heaven 4. Never dream that your own strength or good parts of nature can fit and spiritually capacitate you for receiving influences for spiritual duties nature cannot more prepare it self for grace and a gracious state then a Thistle can change it self into a Vine-tree Christ is good at all indispositions of deadnesse of a natural state whom he quickens that man and he only shall live who can help a dead heart but he that is the resurrection and the life and he who raises the dead only can quicken such dead ones 5. It s a bold and proud Pen that would plead and advocate for such a hellish nature and except Satan and his sons Pelagians what do they but depose Christ from his office of the Physician of sinners and bid him go back to Heaven with his Medicaments of free grace There be here no sick folks free will is strong enough new habits of grace are useless the letter and moral acting of the word can raise dead souls shall we thus requite Christ for his free grace 6. Though there be no merit in diligent seeking and hearing the preached Gospel its good to lie near the fountain for all that as motion begets and augments vital heat and activity to move frequent seeking brings home influences so we are here in using means compare Cant. 3. 1 2 3. with v. 4. and Psal 22. 2. with Psal 18. 6. Gen. 32. 26 27 28. But of this hereafter CHAP. III. The second particular of fetching influences is by supernatural actings by the word and spirit 1. It s a question whether justified ones perform any moral actions without any influence of the habit of grace 1. Some heat and warmness may arise materially from actings in duties though customary formal dead 3. The exercises of spiritual actions are the best preparations for spiritual actions 4. Influences of grace oyl the wheels of the soul for more spiritual acting 5. Natural and literal actings though void of grace because they are some way under the institution of a divine command are nearer to saving actings of grace then the contraries of these actions are 6. A practise of free grace in the Lord is to be differenced from a promise of grace 7. How the Lord is under a necessity of giving influences THere be some actings even in renewed men partly from the Spirit partly from nature custome or formality The question is thus framed because it is a disputable question Whether justified ones doe any actions morally good from an only principle natural without any influence of the indwelling spirit at all since their sins after their being in Christ are not committed with the full bensil of the will for the Spirit in some measure retards and weakens the motion of the flesh Rom. 7. and the habit of sin original is weakned and remitted or slacked in its strength in the regenerate and therefore it would seem if the spirit do weaken retard and blunt the actions of the flesh that far more there is in all moral actions that are good morally some influence of the Spirit less or more So the Question is whether or no the children of God may safely set to work though their actions proceed from conscience natural power custome or a meer office with little influence of habitual grace to works of grace that they may fetch influences of grace 1. It s not unlike it may be so for the godly who went to the morning and evening prayers and sacrifices as is clear Psal 141. 2. Acts 3. 1. Luke 1. 8 9. might go about these duties sometime upon meer custome and the children of God who know their own backdrawing hearts shall not denie this and they may pray from a natural conscience and not so much as is required and otherwise they do mind the duty as an Ordinance of God and yet be inflamed with spiritual duties ere they end this is confirmed by family praying at set times so may a Pastor by necessity of his office preach and pray at the beginning with much deadness and coldness and more then an ordinary straitning of spirit and yet a fire flaught of a heavenly kindling falls upon the spirit before the work be ended Any who believes that the wind blows where it lists and that the influences of the spirit are various as touching their degrees may see the truth of this 2. The children of God appear dead cold and unbelievingly to complain in the beginning of praying and of a Psalm as is clear in David Psal 22. 2. exponing that of him as some verity it hath in some points of him v. 2. and in Ezekiah in his song Isa 39. 10. in Jonah 2. 1 2 3. and in the same David Psal 6. Psal 38. in the Church Psal 77. 1 2 3 4 5 6 c. in the afflicted soul Psal 102. 1 2 3 4. and yet there is confidence of believing triumphing rejoycing in God and praising ere the Prayer and Psalm be ended 3. The prayers of the children of God Psal 22. Ps 6. Ps 38. Psal 116. Habak 1. 12. of Heman Psal 88. of Ezekiah Isa 38. of Jonah c. 2. of Moses Psal c. of the Church Psal 102. Psal 89. hold forth to us admirable variety of up-lifting and down-casting of joy of believing of sinking and doubting of hoping and legal fretting strong ebbing and flowing of faith and fainting of light and darknesse as Psal 22. 2. O my God I cry by day and thou hearest not and in the night season I am not silent yet arising ver 3. But thou art holy O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel Ver. 4. Our father 's trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them c. And again some fainting is in that v. 6. But I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the people Ver. 7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn c. At least this might brangle the faith of a sinful man such as David And again there is a rising v. 9 10. But thou art he that took me out of the womb thou didst make
the Doctors in the Temple when he was but twelve years of age in silencing the learned enemies in strongly convincing parables 3. God was mighty in miracles of all sorts in casting out Divels healing all manner of diseases instantly without medicine in raising the dead in rebuking the sea and the winds multiplying the loaves blasting the fig-trees Acts 16. 39. Isa 61. 1. John 3. 34. Isa 11. 1 2 3. 4. Influences more then ordinary were seen in his strength against the Divels and justice and wrath of God for our sins in praying strong believing in tears and cries in preaching and exhorting his Disciples converting the Thief that suffered with him 5. He must have had strong and mighty influences in the course of a holy and sinlesse conversation in a mortified walk refusing a Kingdom when it was offered to him John 6. though he could have born it out in being poor for us in having no hole nor lodging to hide his head in meek and patient forgiving of his enemies in being much in prayer spending whole nights in praying in praying and fasting forty dayes in obeying all lawes fulfilling all righteousnesse ceremonial moral natural in all works of mercie obedience to Caesar to Parents Brethren to soules of men in his vertues of faith lowlinesse meeknesse patience love zeal hope delighting in God Now though none can be so neer to God as the man Christ who in one person was not neer to God only but was God-man and Emanuel yet learn we hence the nearer we are to God the more are we under the showres of influences of grace It 's good to be holy and keep close communion with God and dwell hard by the Fountain and we shall be watered The tree planted by the rivers side hath most influences and the man that lies in a bed of roses and is neer to spikenard to mirrhe aloes and Cassia and is dayly among the heâ—bs and haunts in the garden of all fragrant smels will carry some sweet savour away The Lord Jesus his out-lettings of free love and grace must run much upon these who are daily neer to him Keep a distance from God and be much at cups at chambering and wantonnesse in the company of the whore of the profane of the swearer what hope of showres and waterings of influences of grace upon such a cursed soyle But 2. The Fathers drawing sinners to Christ Iohn 6. 44. the Fathers teaching men and causing them to hear the learning of the Father Iohn 6. 45. holds forth the influences of the Father upon sinners Christs word is remarkable Iohn 15. 1. My Father is the husband-man When Christs Father ploughs the sinner and breaks up the fallow ground of the heart there must be influences there for then is the Father fitting the soyle for Christ Col. 1. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darknesse and hath translated us to the kingdom of the Son of his love That must be a mighty strong influence of the Father that works the mans translation and the daily work of the care of the Father is much in promoving his work Iohn 15. 2. Every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit Let then the question be what talk ye to us of predeterminating influences that are above us in the hand of a Soveraign God How shall our short arme reach these influences We must have influences of the Father that are at our hand and under the power of our free-will Answ 1. The Adversaries here deny the freedome and soveraignty of grace in bestowing influences and submit the actings of grace to the industry of a soveraign man Bradwardin desired to worship no God who was under mans free-will I commend him for it 2. The question is soon answered The Father of Christ condescends to take on the person and as it were the office of a painful husband-man who intends to make some noble generous Vine-trees to be planted in the higher garden and shall an earthly husband-man plow delve ditch plant purge and do all that becomes his office so that it the Vine-tree had wit and reason it could not make a question will the husband-man care for me will he delve and dresse and purge me that I may bring forth more fruit Far more may the believer say Christs Father and my Father is the good husband-man and both have begun the good work in me Faith would say he will not be wanting in his office of husbandry he will send showers of blessings and influences upon his mount Sion and upon me a withered and dry twig 3. Christ saith Iohn 15. I am the Vine-tree ye are the branches Now look what influences of sap and life the Vine-tree sends to the branches and the head to the members so will the Lord for ever make that good Iohn 14. 19. Because I live ye shall live also 1. As King and Prince Christ must put out his influences for repentance and pardon Acts 5. 31. 2. He is Prophet of the Church Then opening the heart to understand the Scriptures is his office and to warm the heart by the word Luke 24. 32 45. 3. As High Priest he ascended on high and contributes his influences for sending down the Spirit Luke 24. 49. John 14. 16 17. John 16. 7. Yea and predeterminating influences to circumcise the heart to the Lord are promised by him Deut. 30. 6. Ezek. 18. 19. Isa 44. 1 2 3 4. 2. When a dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth is promised to him Psal 72. 8. and that all nations shall serve him v. 11. and that the heathen shall be his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth his possession Psal 2. 8. and when the incoming of the Gentiles in their fulness is promised to him Isa 55. 1 2 3 4 5 6. Isa 42. 8 9. Isa 11. 10 11. there must be promised a power of bowing their hearts to make them a willing people to follow Christ Psal 110. 1 2 3. Call this bowing of the heart predeterminating grace or give it another name I contend not or call it an impression of strong delectation on the will so it be invincible insuperable and above the power of free will to resist and oppose the call and drawing power of Christ no matter though it be not irresistible which includes the wills free consent 3. The promises of a seed given to Christ and that he should see of the travels of his soul and that the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand Isa 53. prove that influences of grace must be promised by which people should be made the seed of Christ and willing followers of him which is Christ's soul-travel and the good-will and pleasure of God prospering in his hand Isa 59. 20 21
22. Isa 49. 5 6 7 8 9. Psal 89. 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37. 4. The promises of the covenant between the Father and the Son prove the same for if God give many children to Christ and if Christ undertake for these many children to bring them to glory to cast none of them forth but to raise them up at the last day and to lose none of them Then must Christ be Master of their free will and he must have a bar of strong influences on their heart that it shall not be in the power of Satan the world or sinful flesh to pluck them out of his hand Hence against all trepidation of mind this is removed what warrant have we that we can make use of the influences of grace that are in the hands of the Son these are a fowl flying in the wood which we cannot command take these answers 1. What ever Mediatory grace is in the Son they are gracious influences laid by for our good as what sums of money a rich man is to give out for the profit of Minors he mixes it not with his own but looks on it as none of his but to be expended for the good of others and the Minors having assurance of the faithfulnesse and care of their Tutors look upon it as their own we are by faith to look upon the treasury of Christ that is begun to be bestowed on us and that Christ shall not withdraw being a most faithful Tutor what is necessary for our best life 2. Christ being the best of Kings the most faithful of Priests and above all the Prophets Moses and who ever they were by office is to give out influences If we believe that Christ shall acquit himself as a King then shall his subjects find the outlettings of grace for repentance and remission Acts 5. 31. for Christ is worthy of his throue and chair of Princely state We are to believe as our high Priest he shall by vertue of his office apply by the Spirit the bloud of attonement and sprinkle the nations therewith As also when we sin he gives out influences for believing that our Advocate lives and intercedes for us and the acts of opening the heart to believe the Scriptures to be guided in all truth to be comforted and quickned come from Christ the great Prophet and if he be God what the Governour of Heaven and Earth does by his office if he feed all living things the Ravens move not the question what they shall eat to morrow nor the Lillies of the field how they shall be cloathed far more believers are to rest upon this Christ shall fully execute all his offices in all parts towards them 3. The Vine-tree by a flux of nature sends sap to the branches and the head does not deliberate nor interpose freedome of will to send down life and influences of life to the members but nature hath a strong hand in this at least love is soon resolved in the husband what shall be the influences of good communicated by him to the Spouse The great thing Redemption is purchased and will Christ stand and doubt of influences of grace to compleat the Redemption and to make out the life of glory until it come to the fruition and enjoyment thereof CHAP. VI. The two spirits of the world and of God 1 Cor. 2 12. and the differences in order to influences opened 3. The characters of the spirit of God and the relation of the spirit to the word 3. The spirit of Antichrist 4. The more of the spirit the more activity in the ways of God 5. The Spirit of God a praying spirit 6. No praying without the spirit 7. The suspending of influences 8. We are to pray for influences 9. Two-fold power and efficacy 10. The difference betwixt the spirits acting and the literal acting of the word BUt influences of the Spirit are mainly here to be eyed and if any have the spirit he cannot want the influences of God The Spirit is as it were all saving influences and such as are void of the spirit know not any thing of saving influences Yea the Father and the Son let out all their influences in and by the Spirit Therefore to open this consider 1. That there are two sorts 2. The characters and differences of the Spirit of God which speak a spiritual man and spiritual influences 3. What are the divers influences to be taken notice of The two spirits are clear 1 Cor. 2. 12. But we have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God Paul had said that the world and the Princes of the world knew not the mystery of the Gospel why They had not crucified the Lord of glory had they known him As also the spirit teacheth it ver 10. how is that proved from the nature of an infinite spirit that searcheth all the things of the infinite God even as a mans spirit searcheth all the things of a man v. 12. How can we know the things of God they are far above us He answers we who have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God doe know the things that are graciously given us of God they know the things of God But v. 12. we are such Q. What is meant by the spirit of the world Ans It s the humane spirit by which we know Arts and Sciences and the things of a present world which is also the Spirit of God and a singular gift of God But there is somewhat more in this spirit a carnal spirit that is opposite to the Spirit that is of God a spirit that judges the depths of Gospel wisedom to be foolishnesse ver 13 14. Hence the differences of the two spirits 1. There are no saving influences due to the spirit of the world The worlds spirit sees the mysteries of Philosophy and Arts and the good things of a present flowing world and no more And as an old man sees all that a child can see and know and much more in a more solid way So the children of God often as Moses Solomon Daniel Paul see with the spirit of the world in this sense all which the men of the world see and in a more spiritual way and beside the Spirit of God in them knows higher things that are hid from the world and their spirit As 1. How Heaven lies how many Summers are in one year in that land 2. The rivers of wine and milk Isa 55. 1. the garden the second Paradise the tree of life that bears twelve manner of fruits every moneth and the leaves serve to heal the Nations and the pure river of water of life clear as chrystal proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb Rev. 22. 1 2. Rev. 2. 7. 3. What a plantation is there what streets of gold the rich citizens walk in with their feet Rev. 21. the structure of the new Jerusalem the
For the Spirit helps our infirmities And then praying is a mass of influences for faith for holy desires for sense of want yea and no man gets the spirit but the praying son Luke 11. 11. Only this shall bide a question How shall they pray for the Spirit that want the Spirit Answ Yea Magus though in the gall of bitternesse is commanded to pray Acts 8. 21. The Law commanded praying to God incarnate when he is revealed to be incarnate As the first command charges all to know the Lord practically in all the wayes of Law and Gospel by which he shal reveal himself and the Lord hath not abated a whit and come down from his holy rigorousnesse as if the Lord would make amends and give us as some Pelagians say a lower and milder Law which forbids not venials Et peccata quotidianae incursionis praecise sub periculo aeternae condemnationis Yea but there is not any Law nor Gospel which forbids not sin under the same penalty that the Law forbids and the Gospel forbids not adultery and murder in David but he is free from eternal punishment if he be humbled for these sins as he must be humbled for lesser and venial sins Psal 19. 12. Psal 51. 5. Psal 130. 3 4. God may strait all men to pay the very stock which he gave them in Adam 2. Are not men inexcusable when they will not await the wind and lie at the tide and use meanes but refuse to command body and legs to present themselves to the sea-side and the ship The body and legs have no influence on the winds so they declare that they hate the covenant and bargain of grace as well as the Law who refuse to stir in his ways 3. The first giving of the spirit is like the growing of lillies and flowers wilde on the mountaines plough or spade can do nothing to cause them so to grow in the garden and the infield Pelagians must not get their will their common universal grace is not the spirit of Adoption and those who say men can pray who never received the spirit of Adoption happily they may complement with the Lord in word but They deny prevening grace and in effect say that nature prevenes grace and men prevene God and not grace prevenes nature For if there be such a thing as prevening nature this were to say the child is born before the mother and the apple growes before the tree and the bloom is before the herb Nay to pray for the spirit and not to pray in the spirit shall never be my Divinity that were to buy Rubies and Jasper-stones with clay and common flints and rocks nay nature cannot trade without grace And while the Lord creates the rose-tree the rose-tree cannot seed nor bring forth rose-trees Oh but it concernes us much Ministers and Professors to have the spirit and to have more of it Too many Ministers in the Land cast never fire on the people they never warm hearts but by hewing and striking and hammering upon the Letter the fire of the Lord falls not down upon the sacrifice Ah our fleece is dry and we are like the Land not rained upon And let men speak Can ye live without the Spirit and his influences more then ye can live without God and without Christ in the world And who cries Lord can my dry bones live misse ye the anointing The complaining of the suspending of influences of the ebbing of the free manifestations flowings and out-lettings of free grace speaks a spiritual disposition For 1. The Church complains to God of it Isa 63. 17. 2. Yielding to a temptation is a pain to the Saints Psal 73. 21 22. 3. The Saints pray for influences of grace for teaching leading quickening inclining of the heart to the way of God uniting of the heart to fear the name of God then must the withdrawing of these be evil 4. When we pray against temptations to sin and not to be led into temptation 5. When we pray for the spirit of grace to be poured on us from on high we pray not for the giving of the bare habit for that could not hinder David Lot Peter Asa Iehoshaphat Aaron Hezekiah and others of the Saints to fall into sad and hainous transgressions but we suit also from the Lord the sanctified use and exercise of grace and so must suit influences 6. When we pray that God would not take his spirit from us Psal 51. 12. nor forsake us nor take the word of truth utterly out of our mouth Psal 119. 43. we then also pray that he would not withdraw gracious influences 7. A gracious finding how sweet safe and comfortable it is to be acted led moved guided by the sweet influences of the spirit cannot but be grieved at the departure of such a guide and counsellour 8. It 's lawful to seek sense of Gods loving countenance in joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. 1 Pet. 1. 7 8. in delighting in God and in duties relating to him and our brethren and in the consolations of the Holy Ghost and in the spirits work of sanctifying us then we may and are to be grieved at the withdrawings of God that we see not his power and glory in the Sanctuary as we have sometimes done Psal 63. 5. The spirit that is of God goes along with the word if we 1. consider the spirits relation to the word My spirit and my words Isa 59. 21. For the Gospel is the chief chair and seat of the spirit Rom. 1. 16. Isa 53. 1. The word is as it were the work-house and shop and the spirit the worker the word the ship or chariot and the spirit drives and stirs the promises The spirit honours so the word the spirit moves and acts when the word moves and acts the spirit utters not a groan but according to the will of God in the word Rom. 8. 26 27. Acts 10. 44. While Peter yet spake these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holy Ghost fell upon those that heard the word When the ship or the chariot moves the Pilot or Steers-man and the Coach-man are moved with them The poor Minister often drives an empty coach and carries but sounds and letters but when the spirit strikes in with the word and is steers-man in the ship the vessel is afloat and sayls gallantly before the wind 2. The word preached is the breathing of the spirit and the spirit speaks and breaths through the word and it is the word of the spirit the holy Ghost prophesied well of you c. 3. The spirit is referred to the word as the soul to the body the body is but a lump of dead clay if the soul be removed and the word is so many sounds syllables and letters if the spirit act not this is a similitude and would be well exponed There is a two-fold power one subjective and material which comes from the Author the holy Ghost
in which regard the word of God from the Author the Holy Ghost hath actu primo as touching the matter and efficient cause holiness liveliness divinity majesty of style even as contradistinguished from the spirit acting with it there is no word no book no speech of Angels or Men comparable to it There is 2. A formal power which agrees to the word actu secundo as the spirit going along with the word makes it effectual to enlighten to teach to rebuke to convince to perswade so our Divines say a modern Lutheran widely mistakes the efficacy of the word is from the spirit 2 Cor. 10. 4. the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty how mighty not of themselves but mighty through God We make not the word of it self a dead inky letter as Papists and Libertines both doe The like distinction is clear in a Sword or an Axe of steel both the one and the other from the matter and artificer that made them hath actu primo sharpness and aptness to cut Suppose the Artificer that made both be dead yet the sharpest two-edged sword that is except it be weelded by the arm of a valiant man can doe no good in war And the like may be said of the Axe both are dead things of themselves Hence 1. Since we are meer Messengers we cannot breath life in the word only like the Trumpeter that blows his warm breath through a dead trumpet of Brasse but he blows or breaths no valour or courage in the souldiers that was not in them before But if the spirit goe along and breath life in the hearers they shall live as speaking and acting are conjoyned Ezech. 2. 1. Son of man stand upon thy feet and I will speak to thee 2. Then the spirit entered into me when he spake to me and he set me on my feet So John 5. 25. Ezech. 37. 7 8. It not a little concerns Ministers and Hearers to pray that the spirit may go along with the word otherwise the shepherds singing through an â—aten reed shall never feed sheep or lambs and make them fat and people often receive in their ears a noise of words and syllables and are not fed with sounds It 's true Christ and the Prophets and Apostles preached in the spirit and in the lively power of God and yet nothing but the letter came to the ears of many of their hearers Isa 53. 1. Isa 28. 9. the hearers are but as weaned children Mat. 13. 13 14 15. the hearers are fatted hypocrites And a poor man speaks the letter of the word and happily deadly and weakly yet betwixt the speakers mouth and the hearers heart the spirit strikes in and the dead man lives 2. The letter of the word spoken by Christ lies dead until the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost come then he shall teach you all things in a lively way which the man Christ as man only did not and bring all things to your remembrance John 14. 26. 3. The light may remain only light and literal and uselesse the Disciples in the garden with Christ knew they should watch and pray yet they sleep The spirit brings not up literal light to spiritually quickning light John 16. 7. The spirit shall convince the world of sin because they believe not in me What did not all the Prophets convince the world of sinful unbelief Isa 7. If ye believe not ye shall not be established Isa 53. Who hath believed our report Did not Christ himself convince the world of sinful unbelief John 3. 18 36. John 5. 24. John 11. 26 27. and all the Ministers of the New Testament convince men that they ought to believe and receive Christ by faith But all these are but literal convictions until the spirit carry into the heart the marrow of the promises and threatnings of the Gospel with a strong hand and the natural man while he is in the mouth of Hell with Judas is convinced of the Law deserving and of unbeliefs desert but not of actual damnation The deceit of the conscience is this that all are under sin and the curse who believe not but God must give a general suspension against the Gospels decree and sentence of death for my unbelief and to most of mankind Ah this is not to be convinced of unbelief by the spirits working Nor in all this does the spirit adde any divine majesty and power to the word which was not in the word before when he effectually perswades and convinces As the hewer puts no metal in the Axe which was not in it before only he applies powerfully his strength and art to the effects which he produceth by the Axe and other tools by which he makes curious carved work Nor does the souldier adde any new sharpnesse to the Sword which it had not before only he useth the Sword for valorous exploits All that the spirit doth is in the powerful and effectual application of threatnings and promises in actual perswading to believe all the majesty and heavenly power the word hath actu primo from the immediately inspiring spirit and this is alike to all only much godly trembling is required that the spirit may in his mighty influences goe out with the word 2. Hence that is wild-fire and sparkles of hell not the spirit of Christ nor the influences of grace when a dumb spirit speaks not in the word but in signes images ceremonies devised by men as a dumb man speaks with his fingers The Spirit of God loves to work and act with his own tools in the testimonies and promises the Spirit of the Lord never bids burn the Bible Antiochus had such influences from hell and not from the Lord. Some make the Bible a horn-book for new beginners only as images are and the man must be all spirit turned into pure spirit why then do themselves speak write such fooleries why do they eat drink sleep hear such as are all spirit doe none of these But though holy men of God were far from making the spirit both Law and Gospel none had more of the secrets and mysterious visions of God revealed to him then John he saw Christ in his glory Rev. 1. 14 15 16. he saw Heaven open and the Throne and glorious company the new Jerusalem Yet Rev. 1. 3. he saith Blessed is he that readeth Can one that is all spirit speak of reading when he had seen all these visions of God Rev. 22. 18. he puts a seal of honour on Canonick Scripture he is charged to write in his divine Epistles These things I have written I write to you fathers c. When Christ is risen from the dead and entred in a most spiritual life Luk. 24. 27. he expones the Scriptures who so mock the Scriptures loath the Spirit also CHAP. VII Characters of a spiritual disposition are these 1. To be willing to be under the guidance of the spirit 2. Four expressions in the Scripture hold
forth opposing of the spirit 3. We are to acknowledge and adore the spirit in his actings and joyn hearty consent thereto 4. Self-denial 5. In a bewildered condition to desire to be led by the spirit 6. Spiritual facility in acting 7. To act much in publick works in the spirit 8. Much watching and praying 9. To converse with spiritual men 10. To be much in spiritual conference are all characters of a spiritual disposition THe third particular is what speaks a spiritual man and spiritual influences Ans He who puts himself under the guidance of the spirit is a spiritual man the will of the Guide should be master of the journey The Prophets Acts 13. Paul and Silas Acts 16. Philip Acts 8. accurately observe the command of the spirit as being as binding as the command of the Father and the Son The commands of God to the men of God were more legal in the Old Testament but the commands of the spirit now in the New Testament have more of free grace and perswasive leading Acts 10. 19. Acts 11. 12. Acts 18. 9 10 11. John 14. 16 26. John 16. 13. We shall speak hereafter of the lying under and obedient receiving of the breathings and influences of the spirit only here where there is a strong bensil of will and much freedom in obedience there is much of the spirit backdrawing in spiritual works proclaims much carnality but who had the anointing above measure was all will and all heart and all spirit to obey and suffer John 10. 17 18. Psal 40. 8 9. 2. The leading and drawing of the spirit when it bringeth forth running and is strongly closed with speaks a spiritual man Cant. 1. 4. Psal 119. 32. Cant. 3. 4. I held him and would not let him go Is not this violence sweet feelings and high commending of him follows when the spirits violence in drawing and the spouses violence in running meet there is a spiritual closing Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his chambers and what follows we will be glad and rejoyce in thee we will remember thy love more then wine See ver 12 13. Cant. 2. 3. I sate down under his shadow and his fruit was sweet in my mouth Delighting in him is followed with his delighting in the Spouse ver 6. His left hand is under mine head and his right hand doth embrace me 2. Here if in any it 's true to him that hath shall be given he that is willing to be led shall be led and keeping of the Commandments of Christ makes room for the Father and the Son to come hither and dwel fire makes more fire 3. A state of translation is to be gone about The man hath not the spirit till he be once over the water translated to the Kingdome of the dear Son of God Christ is not owner of the man that hath not the spirit If any have not the spirit he is none of Christ's Rom. 8. 9. Christ and the Spirit cannot be sever'd the spirit that is in the first heir is in all the rest and we should take it hard to be called or to be none of Christ's 3. Heed must be carefully taken that none of the Organs or parts of the new creation be broken A spiritual man cherisheth the spirit in all his operations he loves and honours his guide and leader The Scripture notes in four words the wrongs we doe to the spirit Isa 63. 10. They vexed his spirit of holiness the word is Psal 56. 6. they painfully wrested as they gave another figure or fashion to my words Ephes 4. 30. Grieve not the holy spirit The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to sadden rather then to anger Matth. 14. 9. Matth. 17. 23. Matth. 26. 22. Can a friend lodge in a house where he is every hour sadned is not this to chase him away and especially to sadden the King in the act of sealing your Writs and Evidences of Heaven is not this dreadful Ye shall know the spirit to be sadned when he acts deadly and lently as the man who rides on a lame and halting horse advances little in the way the fault is not in the Rider So when the man is straitned in praying and he knocks faintly life and liberty and godly boldnesse is away the tools of the worker being broken how unhandsome is the work 2. There should be an eike made to the working of the spirit there is needful a sort of helping of the spirit by widening opening and enlarging the heart the extending of love desires faith fear to their outmost borders there is an opening of the mouth wide commanded Psal 8. 10. Psal 24. 7. Lift up your heads and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors Cant. 5. 2. Open to me my sister my love my dove c. And this is needful under the actings of the spirit that we stretch the soul beyond it self and make an eike to the spirit of his own Hence that charge 1 Thes 5. 19. Quench not the spirit The word is Matth. 12. 20. Matth. 25. 8. Our lamps are out or quenched Mark 9. 44 46. Some cast water upon the fire and holy flamings of the spirit this makes a cold hearth-stone and mightily obstructs the working of God whereas we should adde new fewel to his fire and blow away the ashes and wrestle against deadnesse dulnesse faintnesse and stir up the grace of God 2 Tim. 1. 6. as smiths with the bellows blow up and quicken the flame do not quench it in your self by unbelief and uncheerful walking and break not one another know that so doe the enemies of Christ He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him Let him deliver him since he delighted in him Psal 22. 8. That is to act Satans office when men cast water on the flamings of the spirit and crush the spirit and his actings in others 3. Acknowledge and adore the holy spirit as God and follow not Ananias to play the divel to the Holy Ghost to try if the holy Spirit shall find out hypocrisie Acts 5. Satan is the great 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 4. 3. who tempted the Son And a man may ride so neer the rotten margin on the bank of a mighty River as he will try the highest of free grace why but I may doe this and be pardoned Nay the holy Spirit never said Sin at will with greediness thou wast once a believer It 's dreadful to put a tryal upon the worth of an infinite ransome 2. Upon the most noble and transcendent actings of the spirit this God hath done in me therefore I have liberty to sin Tempted free grace is a transgression with so loud a cry it s heard all Heaven over 4. Joyn hearty consent to all the actings and influences moral or physical of the Holy Ghost and be not beaten from that There is an anger outed in the Father as the offended Law-giver
pursuing all that are out of Christ Ah who can drink unmixt wrath as Christ did and live and who may stand when he is angry then resisting is terrible 2. There is vengeance in readinesse and grinding of men to powder and everlasting burning for such as so far resist the Son as they say This man shall not reign over us 3. But there is a vengeance beyond a vengeance and fiery indignation and more then an ordinary hell to such as resist the spirit in the Prophets and doe despight to the Spirit of grace Heb. 10. 28 29 30. Matth. 12. 31 32. Killing of the Prophets and slaying of them is a sort of killing of the spirit in men as the Jews killed the Lord of glory in the man Christ wished there were neither in the world God nor the Spirit nor God incarnate and this is just as if men would put hands in so much of God and of the Spirit as they find acting any thing of God in others or themselves this hateful persecuting of godlinesse is the dreadful national sin of this age Find ye not the actings of the spirit sweet and heaven-like if so it speaks a spiritual disposition 4. Much of self-denial speaks much of the spirit he who will be least his own is most God's and partakes most of the divine nature The spirit loves the room of self I live not but Christ by his Spirit lives in me Gal. 2. and the spirit to speak so is the full predominant element in the acting not that nature sinless is wholly dead and passive as Familists and others teaâ—h and self appears to be sunk into nothing and is denyed as Matth. 10. 20. It 's not ye that speak but the spirit of your Father that speaks in you Though they be living persons in their nature and being Peter and John speaks and yet the spirit so discourses and lays aside the creature called self and sets up God that as if self were annihilated and not there at al I mind no Libertine annihilation the spirit as the predominant speaks in the man and acts in him rather then the man And the Spirit of the Father prayeth preacheth reigneth actech disputeth confesseth in the believer 1 Cor. 15. 10. But I laboured more abundantly then they all then must I in Paul be preferred and exalted above John the beloved Disciple and all the eminent Apostles O not I laboured more abundantly yet not I but the grace of God which was with me Acts 6. 10. And they were not able to resist the wisedom and the spirit by which Steven spake He saith not they were not able to resist and dispute against the sinful man Steven Acts 4. 8. Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them made answer to the persecuting Rulers this is a far other thing then if he had said then answered Peter the Apostle for Peter was before this filled with the Holy Ghost but now the Holy Ghost in a new fulnesse and flowing of heavenly influences in the man Peter is Master-speaker In the Prophets this is cleer from 2 Pet. 1. 21. Prophecie came not of old by the will of man though the Prophet was not compelled to prophecie nor his will Physically sunken down to nothing but holy men of God spake as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 acted by the Holy Ghost 1 Pet. 1. 11. The Spirit of Christ spake in the Prophets before hand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow Though there be a difference betwixt the speaking of a Prophet and the acting of a believer there is much of self in the Prophets who bite with the teeth and cry peace Micah sets himself against such cap. 3. 8. But truly saith he I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord and of might and of judgement to declare unto Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sin 3. There is little of self in children the children of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word given to sucking children of two years old Matth 2. 18. Acts 21. 21. are like such as are learning to walk there is little self-wisedom or of self-designes in the motions of young children So doth the spirit act with facility and without resistence in the sons of God Who may not see the colour of self and feel some savour of the creature of self in men O if we could savour in looking speaking acting of the spirit The rivers loths and fountains issue themselves in the Sea and be mixed therewith it s the salt Sea and not the rivers which ebb and flow the under-acting of sinlesse nature in spiritual actings hindereth not the work to be denied of the man and affirmed of the spirit So as we say not the man but rather God in the man acts and speaks Indeed things are not denominate from their externals a vessel of copper washed over with silver or a cup of brasse over-gilded and lustered with gold is not nor is named a vessel of silver or a cup of gold Though we name things by their skin and out-side yet when the hypocrite prays the Lord says the man prays Psal 18. 41. but the Spirit of God prays not in him Nor doth the Lord name Magus a true believer from his profession only the Holy Ghost saith he believed It 's good when the conversation speaks heaven and the spirit is visibly seen acting in the behaviour and walk of men It 's true there is much of renewed self as 1 Cor. 15 9 10. Gal. 2. 20. Rom. 7. 17 22. 1 Cor. 9. 20 21. in spiritual actings and this heightens the excellency of the actions corrupt self renders the act of praying and preaching wider and bigger but not better and excellenter especially in publick renewed self rendereth it excellenter And 5. Not unlike unto that touched before is a character of a spiritual man when the man is spiritually bewildered and doubts of all ways he walks in except the way he is sure to be of God Psal 143. 10. Teach me to doe thy will thy spirit is good lead me into the land of uprightness Hence these three follow 1. The spiritual man doubts of all ways and knows that he is a bewildered and ignorant traveller of himself and knows not by his own light 1. The way 2. The home and lodging Or 3. The guide It saith the spiritual man judgeth the spirit of God a good leader and guide it 's no sophisme à divisis thy spirit is good thou art a leader therefore the spirit is a good leader and guide it 's much to have the faith fixed upon influences of dayly guiding by God 3. It says I am willing to commit my goings to thee Take the guiding of me be father guide leader tutor king to me All these speak spiritual bewilderednesse And those two are well joyned 1. Sense of bewilderednesse and 2. Praying to the one onely guide in heaven and earth Psal 119. 19. I am
puts in his hand by the hole of the door if this follow my bowels were moved for him And it 's a spiritual condition when the soul fails and the spouse falls a swoon at these words Open to me my sister my love c. Cant. 5. 2 6. And these lesser feelings would be turned into consent and into fixed resolutions as the spouse I opened to my welbeloved I sought him but I found him not I called him but he answered me not And that came from the feeling of his hand put in by the hole of the door ver 4. compared with ver 6. For that word Quench not the spirit 1 Thes 5. 19. includes an affirmative that is cherish kindly and yield sweetly unto the flowings and sweet influences of the spirit 8. A watching condition is a spiritual condition The Spirit of God is much seen in keeping the soul watching Ephes 6. 18. Praying with all prayer and supplication in the spirit is joyned with watching For it 's added and watching thereunto with all perseverance and Jude conjoynes praying in the Holy Ghost with ver 21. looking for or watching after the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life The spirit is willing Matth. 26. 4. forward watchful so is the â—enewed part but the flesh is weak sleepy and lazy And as much as the man hath of the spirit so much holy watchfulnesse hath he and Matth. 25. 26. the evil servant that digged his Masters talent in the earth is called wicked and slothful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sleepy in opposition to the watching and painful servant who ver 20. gained five talents to five talents Drowziness counter-works the knocking 's and gracious influences of the Spirit of Christ's calling Cant. 5. and answers Christ's piercing words Open to me my sister my love c. with a carnal excuse from drowzinesse it 's not time of night for Christ to seek lodging I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them Cant. 5. 3. The flesh is a sleeping thing and a dead were we more diligent and painful we might be richer lesser motions closed with become the seed of larger motions The moving of the bowels at Christ's spiritual stirrings that he makes upon the heart grows to this I rose to open to my welbeloved Watching guards against sleeping and watchfulnesse puts the soul upon a resolution to watch sleeping guards no more against watching then then the privation fences off the habit or doth set a man to work against life We sit not watchfully upon the motions of the spirit to warm them and to draw life out of them as the Hen by careful sitting upon dead Eggs bringeth forth living birds Who would think a tree and a huge tree can come from a sorry plant or sixty or an hundred grains of wheat in harvest to be in one single grain cast in the earth in sowing time Can the flesh wait for the Lord is not hope an act of life Yea it 's lively hope opposite to a dead and rotten hope and waking is nearer to life and influences of life then sleeping which is the death of the man as touching the exercise of the sensitive life Then since the spirit is a spirit of life and a quickning and living spirit Rom. 8. 1 Cor. 15. the more watchfulnesse in any the more of the spirit For when the spirit enters in the dry bones they become an army of living men whereas before they were farther from life and spirit then sleeping bones Let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober For they that sleep sleep in the night 2 Thes 5. 6 7. The night is far spent let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkennesse not in chambering and wantonnesse nor in strife and in envying Rom. 13. 13. This is like the putting on of the Lord Jesus which is a work of the spirit for sleeping men put not on their garments Ministers especially are to watch yea to watch in all things then in sleeping they must watch 2 Tim. 4. 5. And hardly can fighting and enduring hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ commended to the Minister 1 Tim. 6. 12. 2 Tim. 2. 3. consist with sleeping if we know how near Satan the roaring Lion who sleeps not is to our quarters and camp 1 Pet. 5. 8. Who can sleep and be secure and resist Satan or stand against him stedfast and fixed in the faith ver 9. Christ is much upon this by Matthew Marke and Luke Watch Watch and pray and lest it slip them again I say to you Watch Matth. 26. 38 40 45. Matth. 24. 42. Matth. 25. 13. Mark 13. 23. Mark 14. 38. Luke 17. 26 27 c. Luke 21. 8 38. cap. 2. 2 46. How can sleeping men receive influences of grace doth the Lord cast influences upon sleeping mens bosomes So are we to act as our acting way be fathered on the spirit as the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon upon Sampson and they fight and the Spirit of the Lord upon Zechariah the son of Jehojadah and he prophecied 2 Chro. 24. 20. Luke 1. 64. the father of John Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophecied Simeon came by the spirit into the Temple This acting in the spirit is opposed to acting in the flesh and in the spirit of Satan as Bullinger of one brother who slew his brother and pretended the spirit and Pareus tels us the like As the Lord the Father and Son never spake to Abraham Moses to Patriarks or Prophets but he made them know it was the Lord so neither does the spirit act in any though the way seem violent as in Phineas and Samuel their executing of justice but the Spirit makes it known that it is the Spirit and that he is not in the mighty wind nor in the fire but in the calm voice So Samuel leisurely and advisedly convinceth Agag ere he kill him and gives a reason to his conscience from divine justice 1 Sam. 35. 32 33. though Samuel then had laid down the sword It 's an useful word Jude 20. Praying in the Holy Ghost and Ephes 6. 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit What is there a praying in the flesh yea if preaching may be from a principle of the flesh out of envy and strife Phil. 1. 15. so may praying be from some rotten principle of fleshly presumption Lord Lord open to us Which us to us workers of iniquity Matth. 25. 11. Luke 13. 25 26. And 2. some prayer flows from fleshly despair and not from the spirit Rev. 6. 16. Mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne And 3. The enemies of David cry to the Lord out of fleshly fear and unbelief not in the spirit Psal 18. 41. There is a praying out of deadness and from the flesh
rejoyce and blossome as a rose 5. The eyes of the blind shall be opened and the eares of the deaf shall be unstopped 6. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb sing for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desart 7. And the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of waters in the habitation of dragons where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes And that all this is a prophecie of showres of influences of grace upon the holy people under the New Testament is clear v. 8. And an high-way shall be there and a way and it shall be called the way of holiness the unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for those the way faring men though fools shall not erre therein 9. No lion shall be there nor any ravenous beast shall goe up thereupon it shall not be found there but the redeemed shall walk there Were all the stones and rocks of a a Land turned into gold it should prove that the Sun had most strong influences on that land The stony hearts under the New Testament are changed into new hearts Ezek. 36. 26. and a people of hard mettal of iron and stone transformed into precious stones Carbuncles Agats Saphires and that made true All thy children shall be taught of God Isa 55. 11 12. This doth evince that the influences of God shall be mighty in those who believe under the New Testament even the exceeding greatness of his power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places Such things say that such as live under the Gospel would say what a change is made in them The Gospel finds you stones and iron and leaves you stones and iron O but that is sweet Christ found me clay and now I am gold as the man John 9. 25. One thing I know that where I was blind now I see 1 Tim. 1. 13. Once I was a blasphemer a persecutor an injurious person but I obtained mercy Ah it 's a hard condition born an heir of wrath dying worse then an heir of wrath for sin original and the habit of wickedness was but a little brook when the reprobate man was born but when he dies it 's a mighty river and a great sea What hath the Gospel done to you It 's more then the power of the Sun it 's a strong influence of God the first cause that makes clay gold and common earth silver and copper and brass Many cannot tell where Christ found them and where they are now 2. If there be such summer-showres of heavenly influences under Christ how is our fleece dry And many are rained upon green and the bones flourishing like an herb and a lilly and thou art dry This is not seen prophaneness is exceeding prophane and is twice yea seven times prophaneness under Gospel-influences The Gospel-devil is fiercer and more a devil to speak so then the Indian devil O but the Gospel makes a sad eik to wickedness Gospel-swearing Gospel-whoring Gospel-drunkenness are worse then Sodoms filthiness Matth. 10. 15. There is an unperceived vengeance that cleaves to every Judas the man who is long in Christs company and sees and heares what Christ does and what he sayes his traitory is twice yea seven times traitory Spilt and rotten wine is a worse liquor then fountain-water some water is better then some wine 3. How blessed then is that this man and this man was born in Sion To be born and dwell in a Land where Christ dwells speaks mercy To be a plant of a young Vine where the garden of red wine is must be a mercy to be a plot of ground that Christ plows to be a branch that the Father of Christ purges that it may bring forth more fruit is an incomparable mercy You might have been born in China in America in Brasilia where Satan dwels but ye were born in a land of Vine-trees and Olive-trees To be born in the Church though men despise it and in covenant with God and to be baptized is to be born in Paradise in the borders of heaven for there is the Gospel and the Prince who both can promise and give Heaven 6. Divis Some are influences for the habit others for the act of grace Influences for the habit as Isa 44. 3. I will pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thy off-spring A land that raines showres of rain and milk and raines down showres of glory and grace must be the glory of all lands and it must needs be an excellent and a glorious Sun that shines upon that land 2. There are influences for heavenly dispositions Christ speaks and opens the Scriptures to them and their hearts burn within them Luke 24. 32. Every word of Christ casts in a fiery coal of love Every fitting down under the Apple-tree brings sweetness he hath influences by which he brings on love-sickness Cant. 5. 7 8. Christ casteth in a praying disposition on Saul Behold he prayes Acts 8. and casts in a mourning disposition on the woman that washed his feet with teares and a disposition of love she loved much so she weeped over Christs feet and kissed them and wiped them with the hair of her head He cast in a hearing disposition in Mary Luke 10. A love-sickness after Christ in the Spouse Cant. 2. a mourning disposition on Peter he weeps bitterly 3. There are influences by which Christ acts in us and the spirit acts in us to will and to doe Phil. 2. 13. and the spirit groanes and prayes in the Saints Rom. 8. 26. Christ by his influences makes some one new work or other what he hath done in you Are ye a dry Eunuch and the heath in the wilderness and are ye the dried up fig-tree and withered up by the root neither leaves nor fruit God will blast brambles and cast them over the hedge and deny Sun and rain to them Some there be on whom Christ never acted as Christ they are in the shadow all their life and never saw nor felt the Sun 7. Divis There be some influences proper to the head Christ some peculiar to the members O what rare actings upon the Son Psal 45. 2. Grace is poured in thy lips v. 7. God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladness Isa 61. 1. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclame liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound 2. To proclame the acceptable year of the Lord. In which words are holden forth the influences of the Lord in their fulness the anointing of the spirit of the
the influence by which David should have been guarded against the tempration to adultery and murder the Lord may withdraw such influences that the fallen Saints may know that they stand by grace and therefore from the Lords withdrawings hic nunc let us not conclude we are out of Christ yet we are not to be slack but in trembling and godly fear to keep near to Christ and censure not the Lord for withdrawing of his influences since he stands obliged by his holy covenant not to deny the substantial and fundamental influences by which we shall be saved and persevere to the end 9. Divis There be some influences in which the Lord concurrs with the actings of saving grace as of faith love hope and other influences in which the Lord concurres with the actings of a meer gift or other principles possibly the flesh custome c. and it were good to know the difference betwixt the one and the other Psal 57. 8. Awake my glory awake psaltery and harp and so he speaks to the gift of musick to awake and be concurrent in the praising of God and stirs up the grace of God in himself to praise when he sayes I my self will awake early he teacheth that gift and grace should concur and be stirred up in spiritual duties of praying and praising hence how we may know when we act from a gift and when we act from saving grace these Assertions following Assert 1. Some sinful sleepiness of the flesh may concur in both the acting of the gift and of the grace for David bidding both his harp and so the gift of musick awake and himself awake teacheth some sinful dulness was upon both one and the other So when David excites his soul and all that is within him to bless the Lord Psal 103. 1. he insinuates that in praising of God fleshly dulness may come upon all that is within him both the powers of the soul and the habit of grace and gift and the skill of singing it 's much to get the fountain made clean in our actings 2. How condescending is his mercy who denies not his influences of grace to us though the flesh be acting often and retarding the spirit in our actings Assert 2. We are to take heed that we knock not at the wrong door we may pray and preach from a gift of praying and humane eloquence and a civilized and well-skilled fancy and a literal mind versed in the letter of the Scripture when we think that we are praying from the spirit of adoption and the gracious habit of praying So the like may be said of Preaching and singing praises how many prophecied and cast out Devils from a meer gift and die in that deluded condition and are possessed with that habitual mistake which is never tried that they prophecied and cast out Devils from a sanctified principle read Matth. 7. 22 23 24. Luke 13. 25. Matth. 25. 11 12. If any say May not sound believers also blow at the wrong harthstone and think the like Answ There may be a particular mistake in this or that act but not an habitual deluded condition all their life as sometimes the believer may pray from meer custome when there is little stirring of the spirit Assert 3. It 's not enough to doe the same that heathens doe for if ye love them that love you what reward have ye and if ye salute your brethren only not your enemies also what do ye more then others So Christ Matth. 5. to the multitude and to the disciples Matth. 5. 1 46. Believers then should not stint themselves to only publicans and heathens duties Samuel speaks as a man as Samuel when he calls Eliah the Lords anointed 1 Sam. 16. and supposeth that he speaks as a Prophet so doth Nathan 1 Sam. 16. 6 7. 2 Sam. 7. 3. There is a vast difference betwixt thus saith the Prophet by the Lord and thus saith the man and therefore where are we when our righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees The devils believe there is one God and they doe well James 2. 19. and we fooles say in our hearts there is no God Psal 14. 1. and do we well in so saying The devils do tremble when they believe there is one God ah Satan believes in sad earnest when he believes We sport yea doe not we laugh and mock at a Godhead or at the word of a hell The faith conveyed with godly trembling were good Ah that we know not the influences of God conjoyned with the out-lettings of a gift and of a temporary faith and the influences that goe along with the out-letting of saving grace as touching the matter Assert 4. Hardly can the use of a gift ascend above it self to intend God and his glory for the glory of God is graces end not gifts end Zech. 7. 5. When ye fasted did ye at all fast unto me 6. And when ye did eat and when ye did drink did ye not eat for your selves and did not ye drink for your selves Heb. did not ye your selves eat as carnal men did ye not eat and drink and feast and fast He meanes the spirit of grace in them did not keep these religious fasts and feasts but their own spirit and custome and self and did ye fast for me at all and he doubles the word that so he may the more convince them even for me So the Lord might say to the Pharisees who prayed in the streets Did ye at all pray to me even to me or did the gift and vain-glory in you or the spirit in you So he may say to us Doe ye preach hear swear a covenant for me at all Saving grace must sanctifie the gift in its use and end that it be for God but a gift can never sanctifie saving grace in its use and end As grace which is above nature sanctifies nature and heightens nature in its actings principles and end but nature that is below grace can never sanctisie and heighten grace in its actings principles and ends Assert 5. The same sun the same air and heaven send the same influences on the true and natural olive and on the wild olive the same clouds and rain act upon the vine-tree and the thorn-tree upon the rose and the briar and the nettle and so the same word comes to the ears of both elect and reprobate but not the same quickning influences of grace upon both Saul governes and leads the Armies of the Lord by a gift and David governes feeds and leads the Armies of the Lord by the grace of God and the same word of command layes an obligation upon both false Apostles preach Christ from a gift and labour by a gift but Paul labours not as Paul but the grace of God in him The virgins are drawn and run Cant. 1. and John is drawn and runneth but the same lively influences act not upon the one and other it is
a deluding conclusion we have eaten and drunken where Christ was present and his Saints present therefore the Lord should open to us and Christ hath preached and his faithful Prophets in our hearing in our streets therefore should we be admitted into the Bridegroomes chamber Luke 13. 25. What can then be builded on this I was at the Lords Supper where undoubtedly Christ was in his influences of life I did swear a covenant to God I preached the Gospel I heard ordinarily such a Preacher in whom undeniably the Spirit of God spoke and was intimately acquainted with him and loved him dearly and shall that man be saved and I thrust in hell The great errour is men try not their wayes principles motives and ends Now as touching influences of grace it is not as when the same hand smites upon the string of the harp well tuned and on another string of the harp that is mistuned it 's the same word that sounds in the ears of these in the visible Church but not the same spirit of grace in the same saving influences that act upon the heart yea the spirit leaves the heart of some to its own deadness and acts upon others to bring them to wonder to be amazed and astonished and leaves them there and acts upon a third sort to leave a strong conviction and a work of humiliation upon them but it does no good it 's nothing above a law-work mixt with some letter of the Gospel and the Spirit works in some a lively sound work of saving grace and the same word is the common instrument in all So our Saviours enumeration of four sorts of hearers takes in all Matth. 13. How many wonder and despise and persecute Luke 4. Mark 7. Mark 9. Matth. 12. John 11. Acts 3. Acts 4 c. 2. Influences of the spirit saving and lively are called by the names of the Fathers drawing of the Bridegroomes drawing John 6. 44. Cant. 1. 4. the Spirits leading Rom. 8. 14. the Lords teaching Isa 54. 13. John 6. 45. the blowing and breathing of the wind upon the garden Cant. 4. 16. the Lords quickening in his way Psal 119. 37. the Lords circumcising of the heart Deu. 30. 6. the Lords opening of the heart Acts 16. 14. the Lords instructing and speaking to men with a strong hand Isa 8. 11. the Lords power in believers not inferior to that by which he raised his Son from the dead and quickens the dead that are in the graves Eph. 1. 18 19 20. Joh. 5. 25. But no such showres of influences go along with a meer gift which is eminent in many exercised to the ful to the good of the Church yet such builders of the ark for saving of others perish themselves in the waters 3. If we consider the Lords intention this is clear Did ever the Lord decree or promise to bring any to heaven by the gift of prophecie of wisedome of learning and arts whether the men believe or not or does the husbandman so labour the ground for the growing of the bramble as for the growing and flourishing of the vine-tree or for the thistle and the briar as for the wheat What can Christ make out of a preaching Judas never given to him of the Father nothing he never believing but to send him to his place Assert 6. In one and the same spiritual acting of praying and believing the spirit and the flesh may concurre not as formal principles for the flesh and corrupt nature is no formal principle of praying in the spirit and of believing the holy Ghost useth no such tooles but the flesh concurres by way of retarding and weakening of the acts of praying for it is of the flesh onely that our praying is not with that deepness of humble sense of want with that strong desire with that fervour of believing that becomes So corruption concurs in the worke as the broken thigh or legge in the halting horse as halfe a tooth in eating not as a formal principle of motion Hence the influences of grace must be accommodate to our gracious actings that are mixt he is a meek Spirit who is willing to sigh in a Saint beside the body of sin which casts in something of our sinfull corruption to retard the work 2. In the same prayer the spirit and the flesh speak at once or by turnes Jer. 15. 15. prayes in the spirit O Lord thou knowest me remember me and visit me and revenge me of my persecuters take me not away in thy long-suffering know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke 16. Thy words weâ—e found and I did eat them and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoycing of my heart But in the same prayer the spirit in his suspended influences as it were resting lies by and the flesh mixes in it self v. 18. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable which refuseth to be healed wilt thou be altogether to me as a lyar and as waters that fail Calvin saith we must distinguish betwixt the doctrine yea I adde the prayer that is from the spirit and the sinful complaint in the prayer from the flesh So Job complains spiritually 10. he acknowledgeth and adoreth the power of God which poured him out as milk and crudled him like cheese cloathed him with skin and flesh and fenced him with bones and sinews and gave him life and favour v. 9 10 11 12. Yet the flesh almost casts all down and makes him to lose his thanks v. 18. Wherefore hast thou saith he brought me forth out of the womb O that I had given up the ghost and no eye had seen me Compare Jobs sad complaint with his triumphing faith in looking through so many hundred years to his living Redeemer and Kinsman who shall stand the last man upon the earth v. 25 26. Then are we taught to difference betwixt influences from our sinful flesh and his holy Spirit and to beware of mixing our clay with the Lords pure fountain actings of his Spirit and not to adulterate and vitiate his wine with our rotten water It looked like the zeal of God in the disciples to desire to call for fire from heaven to burn the Samaritans old and young it was a cruel end merciless thing to refuse Christ and his disciples lodging O but saith Christ rebuking them Luke 9. 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of Pray that God would rebuke the flesh while ye pray and try your own spirit and take heed to it 2. Rest not on a gift nor upon the literal stirring and bastard heat that comes from a gift or upon literal tears that often flow from a weakened fancy in prayer Esau both runs and was hot in his hunting for the blessing and sought the blessing with teares but there were here no influences of the spirit of grace Esau Heb. 12. was a prophane man Assert 7. It may be a child of God may be deluded in a particular thinking
no such sleeping but the heart is waking and breaks out in these acts first and misses him he knocks and says Open then she knew he was without They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him John 20. I sought him but I found him not Cant. 3. 2. there is a discerning that it was his knock and breathing And 2. his voice My heart waked at the voice of my Beloved 3. She knew his very words and repeats them Open to me my sister my love my dove c. though then sleeping 4. There is a spiritual wishing O! if I could open and overcome the temptation of carnal drowsiness this appears in the Spouses confession of the excuse he knocked and spake lovely and I refused rudely to open I have cast off my coat this is told by her by way of confession of sin I have put off my coat how shall I put it on for there may from the habit of grace arise an habitual and a conditional desire that the temptation had never assaulted and yet there is an absolute consent to the temptation and a wish that this sinful pleasure were not astray to the Law which is in effect a labouring to reconcile my carnal lust and the Lord 's holy Law and it is as if I should say Ah if I might enjoy my lawless pleasure and yet the Lord not be displeased some sick mans lusts after contradictions that in his fever he might drink wine and yet be free of a further pain of fever but all this is but a virtual fretting against God that ever he made such a Law Evah desired that the falsly supposed Godhead which Satan said should be the reward of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge should have been really and truly in eating that fruit and that was a clear fretting against the wisedom of God who made such a law as laies bands upon men and forbids them to eat of all fruit Gen. 3. 2 3. yet would difference be made betwixt the carnal mans wish that he might enjoy his sweet lusts and not feel the smart of the evil of punishment and the spiritual mans woulding not to do the evil that he hates Rom. 7. 15 16. and yet he does it and so virtually desires there were nothing offensive and displeasing to God in it 4. From this habit it is that the Spouse sends commendation to absent Christ to speak so and desires the daughters of Jerusalem to tell him that she is sick of love for him Cant. 5. 8. 5. There are checks and soul-sorrow at the thoughts of the words he once spake Cant. 5. 6. my soul failed when he spake hence there are godly reluctancies and spiritual propensions of the spirit and renewed man entering dissent and protestations on the contrary Rom. 7. 15. For that which I do I allow not for what I would that I do not but what I hate that I do Hence the spirits spiritual counter-workings contrary to the flesh and the gracious pleadings in favours of Christ What do you is not this against free love Ah will you grieve such a beloved hence the inward prickings and cuttings of the heart like the wane-rest of the Horologue ever stirring and checking the conscience if experience say nothing of this thorn in the soul and of the weakness of the bones little is known of the work of the spirit 6. There is ever an holy apology and clearing of the renewed part that the spirit doth his part Rom. 7. 22. I delight in the Law of God after the inward man v. 9. The renewed man would do good v. 16. consents to the Law that it is good and laies the blame upon the fleshly will and sin dwelling in the man v. 17. now it s no more I that do it but sin dwelling in me 7. From this habit it is that the renewed man is a captive a sufferer a complainer Rom. 7. 23 24. O wretched man that I am c. 8. The spirit is contrary to the flesh Gal. 5. 17. and when fire and water yoake in the cloud there is thunder and nature suffers pain and there are actions and passions and reactions on both sides and finally the habit of grace so far never rests as the flesh cannot get sin perfected without a battle and some thunder in the soul Hence we see did we improve the habit of grace how many spiritual actions we may set about and what wind and breathings we might fetch if we shouldâ—hoise up all the sails the very setting out to sea and laying all the sails open in their bredth and length to the heaven should create some wind we lay not open our affections in their length and bredth in the use of all the ordinances before the Lord Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it Psal 81. nor do we improve the stock of habitual grace the not improving of the stock in trading brings on poverty CHAP. V. The fourth particular by which we fetch influences of grace is by heavenly and spiritual dispositions hence in this we speak 1. Of heavenly dispositions in order to heavenly influences 2. Of our actings to come under the influences of grace 3. Of the obstructions and impediments of heavenly influences and the contrary cures AS touching dispositions 1. What dispositions are and how differenced 2. Of the division of good and evil dispositions 3. Get heavenly dispositions and influences connaturally follow 4. Evidences that dispositions go and come 5. Spiritual dispositions are different from the affections 6. There are heavenly dispositions through all the powers and affections of the soul 7. Sinful dispositions are in all and they latently creep in 8. Actings and life under deadness 9. Many sweet actings there are under deadness 10. It 's fit to go about duties under deadness 11. Less of strong real influences and more of moral influence prove the obedience to be more perfect 1. Dispositions are moveable qualities of the soul beyond and above the habit inabling us to act graciously and to perform actions suitable to those dispositions I speak now of gracious dispositions for there are wicked and sinful dispositions added to the habit of sin original 2. Gracious dispositions are moveable qualities this differenceth the disposition from the habit of grace and therefore know wherein spiritual dispositions and spiritual habits agree and 2. wherein they differ 1. Both are above nature for we being born in sin mind conscience will and affections being polluted and corrupt in such heirs of wrath no man is born with habits of grace or gracious disposition 2. Through the want of both all are alike unfit by nature to be the work-house of the holy Ghost 3. Both the habit of grace as it is proved Book 2. and much more gracious dispensations are the purchase of the merit of Christ 4. Both are the supernatural gifts of God infused from above and neither of them acquired or purchased by natural actings
speak at all Ezek. 2. 6. Self must be denied and shamefastness before Kings Psal 119. 46. see Psal 39. 1 2. laid aside Q. What then shall be done to be free of the indisposition of straitning and so to get influences of enlargement of heart Answ 1. Get and entertain large apprehension of God Who is a rock save our God Psal 18. 30 31. Be principled in the broad apprehensions of Christ he is altogether lovely all loves Cant. 5. 16. A touch of him can save 2. Rid marches betwixt the Law and grace some renewed ones must have their by past life and the strict law reconciled otherwise they but walk in the flesh and so live as they imagine in Law bondage and are sick of the old diseases and so weaken their faith Hence straitning Thou art under the Law and having made a bargain with the Law to keep it thou art in the flesh thou canst not speak to a strange King in another land a King of grace since thou hast fled back again to the old prison and if thou speak it is with much straitning and doubting thou art the Lawes man and not Christs 3. Keep near communion with God keep the vessel free of leaking and of under water sin weakens faith and saddens the spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 4. Improve much faith Frequent believing shall come up to full assurance and that makes strong and bold knocking for a Son who hath right to come where his own flesh is within the vail is vigorous the servants knock is weak unbelief knocks faintly Yet mistake not heaviness as if it were unbelief Christ had much heaviness even to death in his suffering but no weaknesse of faith But Matth. 26. these O my Father O my Father as that also my God my God speak strong faith much enlargement in his heaviest case These four being observed influences are near 5. Grow in sonly love as a child to cry Abba Father a word of a child learning to speak Rom. 8. 26. 6. Get and cherish the inward witnessing of the Spirit Rom. 8. 16 17. and the confirmed assurance of justification by faith hence access and boldness Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4. Eph. 3. 16 17 18 19. The third question How far David or a child of God may undertake to run upon the supposal of an enlarged heart Hence these Assert 1. There is an undertaking as if the child of God had influences at his hand Of this nature in Scripture Psal 51. 10. Create in me a clean heart 11. Cast me not away from thy presence 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit 13. Then will I teach sinners thy ways So v. 15. O Lord open thou my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Psal 119. 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous works 88. Quicken me after thy loving kindness so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth In which he lays it for a ground if God graciously give a new heart he will graciously give influences of grace to teach sinners If the Lord of free grace open the lips he will also give influences to make him shew forth the praises of God not that dispositions of grace doe necessarily determine us to gracious acts or can determine the Lord to bestow influences of grace but the Lords free promise determines him Where he opens one door he opens a second and then a third until his child be in his bosome when he gives one grace he gives another yea because he gives grace he layes holy bands on himself to give more grace the Lord of grace chooses some to savation and gives them to his son and because he chooses them he gives his Son to death for them and because the Lord redeems them by his Son therefore he gives to them strong faith and because he gives to them saving faith therefore he gives to them perseverance and glory and so gives influences of graces in a golden link and chain Rom. 8. 29 30. 2 Thess 2. 13. Acts 13. 48. Eph. 1. 4 5. 1 Pet. 1. 2 3. Assert 2. A believer under the sense of mercy and deliverance is to engage his soul to praise David delivered in the cave Psal 58. 7. I will sing and praise Psal 30. Thou hast turned from me my mourning into dancing v. 12. O Lord my God I will give thanks to thee for ever Psal 116. 8. Thou hast delivered my soul from death 9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living out of the sense of the Lords goodness to all Psa 104. 33. I shall sing unto the Lord in my lives or as long as I live Psal 63. 3. Because thy loving kindness is better then life my lips shall praise thee thus will I bless thee while I live Heb. in my lives Assert 3. The man Christ may absolutely undertake Psal 22. 22. I will declare thy name unto thy brethren I will praise thee in the midst of the congregation For he knows perfectly he neither can sin or come short of his vow nor can the Lord withdraw influences of grace from the man Christ but Peter had no assurance that under that particular temptation the Lord should not forsake him The general all the renewed have that the Lord will not suffer his own to be tempted above their strength Peter was obliged to watch and pray under all the particular temptations that could occur and especially under the trial of his suffering Saviour of which he was fore-warned by the mouth of Christ from that Prophecie Zech. 13. 7. I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered Obj. The faith of believers is to rely upon the promised help of Christ in every temptation Then may the believer pray to be delivered not in the general but in every particular not to be tempted above his strength Answ The promise of preserving the elect and of giving promised perseverance Isa 54. 10. Jer. 31. 25. 32. 40. to them now converted is absolute that the Lord will put his fear in their hearts that they shall never depart from him 2. That his grace shall fortifie them against attrocious sins committed with the full strength of consent and inconsistent with the seed of God and the inbiding of that seed in them with the holy anointing 1 Joh. 2. 20 27. c. 3. v. 9. But there is not any promise in the New Covenant that David and Peter shall be delivered from particular sins hic nunc such as may consist with the habit of grace and the seed of God There faith is to relie upon God and his grace that he shall not lead them into temptation hic nunc in such particular sins not absolutely but conditionally so the Lord in his wisedom and holy soveraignty shall
do Psalm 51. 5. Jer. 14. 4. Isa 64. 8 9. Dan. 9. 5 6 11. Psalm 116. 6 7. 3. Cain Pharaoh Saul Magus never complain of themselves Heathens complain of sin original not as mans sin but as Socinians and Pelagians complain of it as mans misery and the Lords fault and sin with reverence to his holiness in that God and the step-mother nature have dealt worse with man in bringing him into the world naked weeping weak sick dying then with bulls that are born with thick skins and have horns to defend them It s a shameful accusing of God to deny original sin to be a transgression of the Law such as deserveth death eternal Ah our pride who dare bark against God when we should weep over our own wolfish and beastly nature Assert 3. We do not so much in the use of means as our lameness doth permit The Lord hath drawn a bill in the conscience that the blind will not so much as open their eye-lids we may be a law to our selves Rom. 1. 14 15. we know God by nature and glorifie him not as God Rom. 1. 2. 15. we may go many miles farther toward God by Natures light but we sit still 2. Yea we blow out the candle and here the criple and lame man breaks his own legs and arms the second time and complains of the Physitian Christ that he will not heal him against his will he who adds to his sickness a poyson drink cannot father his death upon the Physitian Ah we stir not broken legs and arms upon and towards the Physitian Christ 3. The criple may move and creep toward the Physitian The motion of such as stepped in the pool immediately after the Angel troubled the water John 5. was not a motion of perfect nature nor a perfect motion but yet a means of health it was Christ rejects not criple and sickly motions in using means towards himself Assert 4. The motions of the Spirit to come to the renewed mans case serve as legs to bear the criple-man but not as eyes for Psalm 119. 105. Thy word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path Yea a doubt it is if the motions of the Spirit as the Spirit without the word lay an obligation on us to follow these motions except when the Spirit speaks to Paul and Barnabas to go to Macedonia not to Bythinia and then the word of the Spirit becomes formally the word of the Lord as the word of Christ from his mouth is the word of God but heed is to be taken in a special manner when the bastard spirit speaks to Becold to Hichol and such wizards for God speaks like God and his own know his voice and the children of the Divel know also their fathers voice learn to go as far as you can in the way to Christ 1. No violence but from your own heart stands in your way the birth helps it self in the womb to come out work with the tide or against it he who rowes with oars in a manner helps the wind they desire not to sail who will not stir a foot to the ship 2. Hearing in Lydia and the Gaoler reading in the Eunuch diligent taking heed to the word of the Gospel preached by Phillip in the Samaritans the woman of Samaria conferring with Christ have in them though they come not up to the nature of a perfect duty somewhat of the ordinance of Christ and Christ loves to be in his own ordinances pro tanto its true the unrenewed man cannot use the means formally as they are referred to Christ and for Christ until his will and intention be renewed yet he is in the way to Christ and materially he comes to Christ nor is walking to the ship on dry land an act of sailing nor the sick mans journeying to the Physitian or his simple receiving of medicine an act of healing its good to come to the work-house of the spirit the preached Gospel and to lie under the breathing of the Lord when the word is spoken lend the letter of the Gospel lodging in the outer house the ear and literal understanding go in to the Potters house and stand beside the furnace and behold what work the Lord hath 3. Upon the wheels towards others and how many he meets with in the way of his ordinances frames the new creature in them makes a real change in them that you wonder at them knowing thy were blind and now they see 2. As for renewed ones these cases are considerable 1. When the letter of the Law is granted there is something and a great something wanting Psal 119. 29. remove from me the way of lying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be grace over thy Law to me which is first a suit that deeper and deeper spiritual impressions of God in the Law may be engraven on him till he be filled with all the fulness of God and influences may amount to a strong habit following of hearing reading conferring meditating with much praying for spiritual teaching from him as all along through Psal 119. would make us rich in influences 2. The natural man never misses life and quickning influences in the word the spiritual doth Psalm 119. 50. This is my comfort in mine affliction for thy word hath quickned me It s not a bad property of the earth to gape and thirst for rain there is no such gaping and thirsting in the rock the stone is never parched for want of rain but this parchedness is a neerest disposition for influences of sope and moisture from the clouds and though the thirsty man pray not yet thirst it self calls for watering influences as the Lord disappoints not nature so uses he not to frustrate gracious thirst of suitable influences of grace and these are put together and both are satisfied Psalm 145. 15 16 19. So his way Matth. 5. 6. Luke 1. 53. if thirsts for life and not for the bare condemning letter 3. There is something which we call fetching of the wind and casting of a board again to wind to the right harbour and it is a sort of courting the wind and that is the case of the soul that would live upon influences its fit to pant and gape and carefully wait on for the holy breathings of the Lord could we wait in the way that the Spirit uses to come and attend him in ordinances he must come that way as Zacheus cast himself in that way of Christ providence places two blind beggars in Christs way the Lord thereby bestows the Son of Davids mercy on them and providence placed the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob and Christ must needs go thorow Samaria and her way she looked for water from Jacobs well and looked not for the Messiah yet she meets with him and feels his influences before she goes hence but we are with ordinances to lie at the tide and wait for and seek the flowings of
ship or bird for they are such principles as doe actively render the soul able for works of grace and in nothing doe we fail more then in not striking on the flint to bring out fire We improve not heavenly dispositions as the Prophet complaines Isa 64. 7. There is none that stirs up himself to take hold on thee Qu. But to act when the soul is under an indisposition is as if the bird should fly without wings Answ If we speak of the renewed ones that are in Christ when dispositions heavenly seem to be a fire quenched out and turned to cold ashes we are to stir up and awake the habit of grace and act thereby for the instinct and nature of the new man hath in it virtually gracious acts and we are to improve the habit of grace 2. When one disposition is smothered with the down-casting of unbelief yet is there an half of a contrary spiritual disposition alive working contrary to unbelief by reason whereof David chides his own soul Psal 42. 5. Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance Whether Davids soul pleads against Davids soul by the habit of grace or by an heavenly disposition or by both it sayes something to this that all dispositions spiritual are never so removed but there is a seed of God which may be wakened up 2. When the disposition is smoared with heaviness there is another counterworking heavenly disposition Psal 119. 28. My soul melteth for heaviness Then there hath been some disposition of deadnesse on yet behold a disposition to pray counterworking that disposition Strengthen me according to thy word v. 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation Fainting speaks some weaknesse yet there is a disposition to hope which counter-acts fainting But I hope in thy word v. 83. I am become like a bottle in the smoke which is some disposition to deadnesse on the spirit but see the counter-working disposition but I do not forget thy statutes 3. As the Spirit at length in the renewed prevailes over the flesh Rom. 7. 23 24. so the gracious disposition is victorious over and hath the better of the sinful disposition So whatsoever was Davids doubting disposition at another time or now when he is forced to flee to the cave and part with his few Souldiers his faith and believing disposition prevailes over his fears and doubting as is clear v. 1. My soul trusteth in thee 3. He shall send from heaven and save me 7. My heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Else could a slain man buried in the cave sing and give praise And let this be considered as the third property and character of heavenly dispositions Hence under indispositions we would doe as those who would be over the water if one foord be too deep try another and try every foord there is an indisposition to believe there may be a spiritual disposition to pray beside it set to praying there is a deadnesse that hinders praying that the Church cannot speak Psal 77. 4. yet there is in the Church a disposition to praise in the same Psalm v. 14. Thou art the God that dost wonders thou hast declared thy strength among the people 15. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people the sons of Jacob and Joseph Then set about praising there is nothing left but the habit of grace dispositions motions experiences are all gone turn over the promises and act upon the habit and blow upon the live coal and strengthen that which remaines when one instrument is broken the tradesman makes use of another 2. Though sinful dispositions for a while and the flesh have the better wait on the Lord and trust to his strength and act the heavenly flamings of God at length shall prevail The Spouse is drowsie for a while and refuses to open and shifts Christ of lodging Cant. 5. 2. yet at length when Christ puts in his hand by the hole of the door faith and heavenly dispositions are victorious and she rises and opens and misseth and seeks and prayes and becomes sick of love for him v. 6 7 8. and bursts out in a high song of extolling her beloved v. 10 11 12. Job is under much sadnesse of unbelief and dumpishness of spirit Job 19. 6. Know that God hath overthrown me and hath compassed me with his net 7. Behold I cry out of wrong but I am not heard I cry aloud but there is no judgment Hard words if there be no judgment for an oppressed man crying to God there is no providence no governing God who rules the world yet v. 25. I know that my Redeemer lives I know I shall see him Get any of the habit of grace and spiritual dispositions and act with them and ye shall not want victorious influences upon this ground because greater is he that is in you then he that is in the world 1 John 4. 4. 3. Get heavenly dispositions and God shall act upon his own work and bring forth all his own actings out of his own seed Now the way to get heavenly dispositions is 1. to be much in perusing the word and promises Davids meditating 2. Learning 3. Observing loving the testimonies of God prove that David was a heavenly disposed man Psal 119. 2. Keep communion with God in praying hearing reading conferring He who is much and daily among the oyntments of the Apothecaries smels shall cleave to him whether he will or not Luke 24. 34. John 7. 45 46. Cant. 2. 4 5 6. 7. 3. Mind much seek much the things that are above Col. 3. 1 2 3. 4. Cherish the Spirit obey him grieve him not work with him be instrumental under his breathings follow sweetly and willingly his drawings See Ephes 4. 29 30. 1 Thess 5. 19 20. Cant. 3. 4. Cant. 5. 8 9 10. 11 12 c. 5. Beware of frequent smoaring divine light deal tenderly with the light of the natural conscience and tenderly with convictions and warnings if so you can hardly want divine dispositions and suitable influences 1 Sam. 24. 4 5 6. My heart is fixed I will sing Awake up my glory See the touch of the Spirit in his heavenly dispositions set afloat the tongue 2. The Psaltery and Harp 3. David 4. Davids heart to sing and praise and though they were all sleeping they are all awakened out of their sleep As a great high Spring-tide set all the ships afloat though there were many hundreds of them And this is the Fourth Character of heavenly dispositions in which these are considerable 1. Such as are the dispositions such are the acts in their nature 2. Strong and mighty dispositions have strong and mighty actings 3. Smaller actings of dispositions waken up the soul to strong actings Sinful dispositions to the love of the world to vain-glory empty pleasures bring forth sinful actings the
a manner legal the Father made him ours by free gift the withdrawing of influences 2. The shining and smiling 3. the suspending of influences needful for the act of feeling is physical and real The Lords outward dispensations make no change of 1. Covenant-interest the Covenant is eternal the Lords absence from his own is not eternal Nor is there change in relation of interest no distance of miles no frowning or hiding of his face makes Christ leave off to be a husband a head a ransom-payer a Father 2. Faith layes hold on right and on propriety When the heirs possession is suspended and an out-lawed heir here is an heir the use of the breathings and influences is removed the mill stands and grindeth not the ground is plowed yet the same Lord and heritor of mill and land remaines Hang not your rights writs and charters upon your sense or upon the ups and downs of the Lords dispensation nor doth a believers heaven stand in the particular out-lettings of the Lords free grace or his withdrawings though the more of the Spirit any hath the more doth their spiritual life and being depend upon the operations of grace as all things that grow and have life depend upon the influences of the Sun and Heaven trees and plants and flowers and herbs suffer a sort of death by the departure of the Sun from them and they begin to live again when in the spring the Sun moves near toward them so are the out-goings and gracious influences of the Sun of righteousnesse to the renewed ones in whom is the life of Christ for Christ keeps in being his own life and cannot but keep it in being and operation Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness v. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwelleth in you See both the life of grace in this life is kept in being by the Spirit and the life of the body which shall be made spiritual in the resurrection is restored again by the Spirit of Christ 2. Deserted soules under the Lords withdrawing would neither cast away their confidence nor be too securely comforted when the Lord withdrawes to speak to the former the right in Christ is entire 2. The bargain of Redemption Christs act of buying and dying and paying a price for his own 3. The care of the trust and charge of redeemed soules committed to Christ 4. The act of Atonement made by Christ accepted by God by which justice and the law stands fully satisfied are all whole and untouched under desertion For our obedience is neither in whole nor in part neither in toto nor in tanto any penny of satisfaction to the law but payed upon another account All these 4. stand entire and the land and shore sail not and move not though the green Sailer judgeth so because he and the vessel are in sail 2. Nor is it safe to sleep and lie and be secure when the Spirit in his flowings withdraws It speaks some out-cast or out-lawry and the child should not be quiet when he knows the Father is displeased nor would Ministers heal them with all Gospel and hony and lay aside all Law for what cures help the disease and the first fever the same are good some way for the second fever and recidivation I am sick of love As Cant. 2. Greek wounded of love the Hebrew word imports weakness Judg. 16. 11. If they bind me with ropes I shall be weak as another man Hence it implies languishing pain through want of the feeling and enjoying of Christs presence Cant. 2. 5. Cant. 3. 1 2 3. Cant. 3. 6 8. 2. It implies sicknesse and weakening of the person as in Amnons love to his sister Tamar 2 Sam. 13. 1 2 3 4. It comes from apprehended wrath and the curse of the Law Psal 90. 8. Psal 32. 3 4. Psal 6. 1. Psal 38. 1 2 3 4 c. Dan. 9. 11. Rom. 7. 24. Isa 33. 24. Job 13. 24. Psal 77. 7 8. Psal 88. Psal 80. 7 19. 3. It imports the feeling of that pain The second act of sicknesse Matth. 9. 12. as to the pain through want of feeling and enjoying God 1. Two things are here 1. The want of the life though the believer be still loved chosen redeemed translated from death to life but the Lord who can put a check-lock and an iron bar on all our comforts withdrawes and lets the Spouse swoon and stayes not the heart with flagons of wine and apples that is with the effectual applying of the word of promise by which the heart is established or strengthened Jam. 5. 8. Rom. 1. 11. and by which we stay and rest our selves upon the word the Lord 2 Chron. 32. 6 7 8. Acts 14. 21 22. 2. There is here suspending and the want of the consolations of the Spirit the comforter which is the other want Now the Lord hath holy and necessary reasons why he suspends influences to the feeling and knowledge of these rich comforts 1. His holy Soveraignty Now soveraignty never acts separated from infinite wisedome when it 's most abstract from the object as in making a world or not creating any thing in ordaining of the same lump some to be vessels of honour and some of dishonour There is a reason of the object but never a reason concludent or so objectively binding and limiting the Lord but the contradicent to wit no created world no ordaining of some to honour and some to dishonour should be as good As we see in thousands and millions of possible worlds of other men other Angels and other creatures which he can create 2. Infinite wisedome judges it fitter that old Jacob weep and be not comforted that Joseph be sold into Egypt then be a rejoycing free Patriarch at home that the man Christ lie before him with tears and strong cries then that it be otherwise 3. To infinite wisedom it is clear that a creature and a sinful creature cannot so measure out sense and comfort as the only wise God as it is not so fit all the members of the house servants children strangers should be their own stewards of the bread wine and dainties of the house spices ointments myrrhe aloes and cassia as that there should be one wise and faithful servant over the family that all and every one hand over head run not to the heap Therefore is the Lord to be adored in his wisedome as much in withdrawing influences of sense and comforts as in bestowing them Judge if all the fatherless infants and pupils and minors of the earth were left to be fathers and tutors to themselves how would it be with their inheritances If all the sick on earth were their own only Physicians whether old or
peace between God and you ye are all of you old and young bought with a price ransomed by the blood of God ye are not your own Christ hath taken away your sins and does now begin upon a new score God hath exprest the greatest love imaginable he hath redeemed you his enemies this in the Old or New Testament is never told them for then the Ministers of the Gospel should find all the Pagans a Church bought with the blood of Christ and the reality of a Church should be in all societies of the earth But such glad news are preached to the chosen in the visible Church only never to Brasilians Paul preaches at Athens Acts 17. Creation not one word of Redemption as also Aristotle Plato and others should beget over again to God Creator all their disciples whom they find rude and ignorant and infuse by moral swasion and teaching a new life of learning and all rude and ignorant men before they be taught Methaphysick Mathematicks should be dead in ignorance enemies in their heart to knowledge and Philosophy and the same ground should make Ministers suppose there were no learning and teaching of the Father in drawing of men to Christ by that Omnipotency which raised Christ from the dead and created the world John 6. 44 45. Ephes 1. 17 18. 19. 2 Cor. 4. 4. as true real Fathers of the new-birth by only the letter of the Gospel as Aristotle and Plato are fathers to beget Philosophy in men Now for any remedying Gospel-promise that is made to Brasilians to purchase by way of merit we shall believe it when Mr. Baxter shall prove that to Indians and Brasilians who lived and dyed without the sound of the least notice or rumour of the Gospel Christ hath purchased and merited grace to believe the Gospel 2. That Christ by the blood of his Crosse hath made peace betwixt God and the Brasilians who so lived and dyed without the Gospel that Christ hath satisfied upon the Crosse for their sins against the Law and born their fins in his own body on the tree that Brasilians being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes Brasilians are healed 1 Pet. 2. 24. that Christ suffered for Brasilians to bring them to God 1 Pet. 3. 18. that Christ bought Brasilians from their vain conversation with his blood 1 Pet. 1. 18. that Christ gave himself for wild Indians that he might redeem them from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2. 14. And who so tell us of a general dubious and conditional intention in the Father giving his Son to death and of the Son's giving himself to death for all these poor savages to whom he would never send the air of a rumour that he so loved them and of a special intention going along with the free decree of Election to glory that so many only should live unto righteousnesse be redeemed from all iniquity are holden to prove two such redemptions two such loves of Christ dying two such intentions and decrees two such providences one special redemption one special greatest love one special intention one fatherly providence indeed toward the elect we find John 10. 10 11. John 3. 16. John 11. 51 52. 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. Rev. 1. 5 6. Rev. 5. 9 10. 1 Pet. 2. 24. 1 Pet. 3. 18. 1 Pet. 1. 18. Tit. 1. 14. Gal. 1. 4. John 15. 13. Rom. 8. 32 33. Isa 53. 4 5 6. Rev. 14. 4. all which places make the redeemed to be loved with the greatest love sanctified bought from their vain conversation redeemed from among men made Kings and Priests to God delivered from this present evil world redeemed from all iniquity c. we leave the other General dubious love intention and reconciliation of Brasilians to our Adversaries to be made out by Scripture And Q. What is the grace of Christ's meritorious blood if it be shed for all and every one if it put the nature and free will of all and every one in a better condition and if his merit restore not the image of God into a more firm and excellent condition then we had in the first Adam and what healing of nature and the restoring of the image of God is made to the savages who eat men as we do beevs kill their aged fathers use wives promiscuously and never heard one word of the Gospel CHAP. XIIII The Law discovereth the disease but heals it not 2. How nature begins and the spirit acts 3. We not God in withdrawing his grace must be the culpable cause of non conversion 4. Some truth we must first physically hear and consider before we believe KNowledge or the commanding Law strengthens the wicked desire by forbidding it A strong stream runs with more strength that a dike of stone and clay stands in its way I know not saith Augustine epist contra Hilarium 89 c. de spir lit 4. how that which is desired becomes more pleasant because it is forbidden Nescio quo enim modo hoc ipsum quod concupiscitur fit jucundius dum vetatur the letter of the Law or bare knowledge meets with unrenewed nature and then a severe master and a froward servant make no work betwixt them the Law came in that sin might abound Rom. 5. Jubet Lex magis quam juvat docet morbum esse non sanat imo ab eo quod non sanatur augetur ut attentius sollicitius gratiae medicina quaeratur The Law commands but it helps not it teacheth the disease to be there but heals it not There are two extremities here we love on the one hand the barbarous opus operatum the literal deed done in praying the charm of the external work is by hand if God sell not the blessing yet I have blown words of praying up to Heaven and told down the price It 's heavenly wisedom to go about praying and other means not as acts of trading for our nighest ends but as acts of serving and glorifying of God though no thing should redound to us but we use praying and hearing as a man doth his horse or his ship all for self-use and self-ends Ah can the man charm the blessing of the Holy Ghost with bare words when scarce the literal attention goes along and here our Idolatrry saith I buy and God will not sell I plow and God binds up the clouds the Lord pays not the reward of a rich harvest to the merit of plowing on the other hand let ordinances reading praying and hearing of the Bible sleep until the spirit blow and we forget it is not the Spirit of the Father which works without the word and the testimonies the tools of the Father is this God's Spirit or a delusion plow not sow not until it be first harvest blow not at the fire until it first flame boldly pray not until the Spirit breath strongly but first give words I pray you to be a
lodging to the spirit to breath in Let nature stir first in the using of means First bow the knee stretch out the hands should the Spirit from above first bow the knee and first physically act upon the hands to lift them up nay nature begins in its order before the heat and fire of the spirit come flaming goes not before smoking but contrarily smoking leads the way to flaming the flaming of faith of love of paining desires in their spiritual vigour go not before stirring of the lips and lifting of the eyes to Heaven to pray that is no more true then refreshing and cooling of the heart go before eating and drinking will ye say I will not pray while first the spirit flame I will not hear while first I believe and I will not lay up the promises in the heart while first the heart burns in heat of love with the promises You then say I will not throw about the key until the door be first opened I will not hear the word until the Lord give me faith whereas the way of God is that faith as the end comes by hearing as the means leading to the end Rom. 10. and Gal. 3. Ye received the Spirit by the hearing of faith then of necessity our hearing and lending attention to Christ by the outer entry the ear must go before faith as the mean before the end whereas faith comes by hearing as vital heat is stirred up by running so it is true some inward burnings and flamings of spirit begin like smoking before flaming Psal 39. 1. Psal 45. 1. Acts 17. and then follows spiritual acting of praising preaching praying in which case there is as it were in the soul a fever and an inward boyling of a pot that must run over or new wine that must break the vessel and force vent so that silence or no acting must torment and pain the poor man but that is not ordinary for the set way is that we set to acting and the spirit strikes in as he thinks fit and the believer is to blow and stir the fire under the ashes as if he were seeking the wind and must stir and dig some fire and warmnesse out of the letter and let the spirit blow and flame as he will If any say a preparing of the heart goes well before acting that is true also if any say God commands not simple hearing but hearing mixt with faith what ever truth were in that as hearing without faith is sinful formality yet he commands in a divine order that we should hear to the end we may believe and the Lord commands not that we may believe that we may hear as nature ordains not growing and nourishing that the living creature may eat and sleep but by the contrary nature appointeth eating and sleeping that we may grow and be nourished If any say the Lord commands not hearing as to the substance of the act but saving spiritual and humble trembling at the Word and hearing in faith and this he commands to be done in believing and trembling at the Word in the same act in which he commands hearing It shall be denyed that in the order of begetting faith this is necessary that they ever be on and the same act the Lord preached to Adam Gen. 3. 15. the seed of the woman shall break the head of the serpent Adam by the Law of God of nature was first to hear and consider this first Gospel-truth and then to believe it and receive it in faith he was a rational and moral agent in believing and was not obliged in one and the same to hear and believe but as a rational agent he was first to hear and then to believe after consideration of the Gospel now heard and received in the ear and mind And the like may be said of Pagans at the first hearing of the Gospel they must hear and literally consider the letter of the Gospel before they believe As for the Lord 's commanding to believe to pray to read to praise sure we are to begin our duty of natural stirring in these acts though in another kind of cause God must first act us thereunto nor is the Lord 's stirâ—ing of us by omnipotent grace enjoyned to us but we are commanded to doe our duty and to pray for his drawing that we may run but yet by order of nature we are to doe our parts first in our physical way before we feel the stirring of divine influences Obj. He cannot pray he cannot believe and yet God commands him to believe Answ But his cannot as Mr. Fenner saith does not hinder If a wicked mans cannot only did hinder him he might excuse himself before the tribunal of Christ Lord thou knowest I did my best I would have been ruled by thy Word but I could not I would have been humbled and reformed better then I was but I could not For the culpable only hindering cause is Prov. 1. 29. They hated knowledge the fear of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they chused not They would none of my counsel they despised all my rebuke These four acts of wicked will are set down as the only faulty cause of their non-conversion and their not hearkning to wisedoms cry But if God had given efficacious grace which he out of his absolute liberty denyed certainly they would have been converted true and who denyes that All that have heard and learned of the Father come to me John 6. 45. If all such come and none miscarry then thou would have come also to Christ Surely after I was turned I repented Jer. 31. 19. but that is the cause of non-conversion physical and leaves not the blame on the holy Lord for the wicked will not yet remains and the conscience lays not the blame there but loves to have a physical bar of non-conversion to block up the way of moral non-conversion and four times subscribeth and consenteth to the absence and want of the Lord 's saving influence therefore except the unbeliever could say I had a desire hic nunc to abandon my lusts and to believe only this hinders God refâ—sed the sowing of a gracious power in me to believe pray repent and as an austere master he reaps and exacts believing and praying from a man who doth his best and all that in reason and justice can be craved of a man lays upon me threatnings commandments punishments who am only fettered against my will from obeying Hence faithful Mr. Fenner pag. 8. the moral and faulty reason why the wicked do not repent and come out of their sins is not because they cannot though they cannot but because they will not His reasons are 1. The wicked think they have power and yet they will not doe according to their thoughts what is the reason they hope to repent on their dead beds but because they think they have power or at least they are able to beg power of Jesus Christ Now by their
own thoughts God will convince them that they do not give over their sins 2. Thou dost not so much as try whether thou canst doe or not when a Master bids a Servant carry a sack of corn to the Mill I cannot says he but cannot you try says his master cannot you go about it no he will not try why then he is wilfull if his master should see him sweating and striving to carry it it were something then he will say he stuck at a cannot but when he will not be at the pains to try he sticks at a will not pag. 10. God offers the good motions of power I will help thee and I will enable thee and thou wilt not be helped Jer. 6. 17. Hearken to the sound of the trumpet but they said they will not hearken O saist thou I do hear the word and I cannot hear it better I do pray dayly and I cannot pray better thus thou retortest upon God as the unprofitable servant Lo here thou hast what is thine lo here is the best faith thy spirit helps me to here is the best obedience that thy power enabled me to doe c. lo there thou hast that is thine thou helpest me with no more 3. God gives thee a talent a new power hath God given thee eyes thou hast more power to glorifie him then he that hath none give account for thy wit Lord I have contrived businesses and bargains with it I have jested quirped been merry with it but why wouldst thou not be witty for God and for the good of thy soul 4. The more power thou hast to repent the more thy will is against it the more your righteousness should encrease it goes the more away like the dew the more the Sun riseth the more it vanisheth away like many the more preaching the farther off 5. Thy cannot is a voluntary cannot I cannot give to the poor saist thou yea thou hadst once Lands and Means and comings in but thou hast spent all at the Ale-house 6. Thou art contented with thy cannot thou canst not be holy and thou art contented not to be thou canst not crucifie thy lust and thou art contented with this cannot nay thou wouldst not be able my people love to have it so Jer. 5. 31 c. A man can doe more good then then he does though not in a gracious manner yea and there be degrees more or lesse in both matter and manner yea and this cannot is the natural cannot of a broken will Lot preached to Sodome and they repent not Jonas preached to Nineveh and they repent though not soundly Christ a greater then Jonah preacheth to the Pharisees and they repent neither soundly nor any other way Sure more might be done in using of means though not without some common grace but so long as wicked will hath a nearest influence in all sinful omissions and transgressions there is no place left to this O God give me no power nor habits nor influences but would ye have done all required to be done with power habits and influences by your poor wicked wills Nay there is a wicked will not which is a pull-back and a sinful obstruction to gracious actings But to say nothing of this more may not believers so far command influences of grace as that they have in their power far off or near hand in potentiâ proximâ vel remotâ sufficient grace to believe and be saved See Cornelius Jansenius tom 3. de grat Chr. Salv. lib. 3. c. who citeth Vasquez 1 part disp 97. Suarez lib. 4. de praedest c. 3. num 19 20. But it is required that the party non ponat obicem lay not a block in the way of the Lord calling him and if he doe not God shall undoubtedly convert him say these men For if God should deny sufficient help of grace especially to Infants upon an intention to damn them saith Theo. Smizing tom 2. tract 3. disp 6. de provid num 179. such a denyal should be against the Covenant that the Father hath made with the Son that he hath accepted the death of the Son for the reconciliation of all mankind and their redemption none excepted And therefore he should 1. Doe a wrong to Christ And 2. to all mankind and sin against the justice of his fidelity if he should deny sufficient help of grace upon an intention of damning them for original sin 3. Such a sufficient grace is due to us not of our selves but in Christ yea but by this Christ hath merited sufficient grace to all and why not pardon of original sin to all and life eternal to all should it not be a wrong to all and a wrong to Jesus Christ and a wrong to free will if such a meritorious purchase of grace be made to all why are they called by nature the heirs of wrath for by this all the Pagans and Heathens by grace are also the reconciled heirs of glory the ransomed of the Lord. 2. Why doe not the Apostles first reveal the drawing and heart-breaking motive of obedience Christ hath dyed for you all and reconciled you to God from the womb 3. What news are these you all are in that blessed Covenant passed betwixt the Father and the Son and Christ hath given a dear ransome of blood to purchase grace to carry you either to Heaven or Hell but he hath purchased for you no glory except by the sweating of free will you make it your actual purchase 4. The Scripture tells us no where that Jesus Christ dyed to break the Decrees of Election and Reprobation and that Christ hath obtained that no man should be damned for Original sin as many as die in Adam Rom. 5. as many are justified and live in Christ both the life of grace and of glory 5. This is the far more wide and broad covenant of grace that the Gospel if men use the light of nature well who are and ever hath been in all ages since the creation the greatest part of mankind shall be sent to them and all shall be put in such a capacity to be saved by Christ and justified in him as Adam was in to be justified and saved by the works of the Law 6. Why doth sin original brook the name of sin of iniquity transgression and a sin for which all die as Psal 51. 5. Rom. 5. Rom. 7. Rom. 8. Heb. 12. c. which indeed it s no sin but pardoned taken away in all mankind and which brings damnation to no man for in justice none can be condemned to death temporal more then to death eternal for that which is no sin at all and such is sin original say they 7. It is without all authority of Scripture that the natural actings of Pagans are so washed in the blood of Christ that they never heard of that they are in their actings meriting the Gospel either of congruity or decency or of common justice or of free promise or by some
his will of precept Hence all along Psal 119. praying and influences of grace are woven through other ver 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust that is a work of the Lords gracious will of pleasure Quicken me according to thy word that is a duty of praying according to his will of precept 2. His gracious dealing of his will of pleasure is brought in as an argument to ingage the heart to pray for grace to a duty of the holy will of command 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me give me understanding that I may learn thy Commandments v. 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy commandments 3. The acting of a duty according to the gracious will of precept is made an argument why the Lord should bestow saving influences according to his will of pleasure to promote us in duties Psal 119. 40. Behold I have longed after thy precepts quicken me in thy righteousness 58. I intreated thy favour with my whole heart be mercifull to me according to thy word v. 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheepe seeke thy servant for I doe not forget thy commandements 4. Grace prayed for according to the will of pleasure kindles fire for an ingaged heart to do a duty according to the Lord 's holy will in his word 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I shall keepe it to the end 34. Give me understanding and I shall keepe thy Law Yea I shall observe it with my whole heart That is Lord lend me grace and by that grace I shall repay duty borrowed grace makes the soule a debter for duties 32. I will run the way of thy commandements when thou shalt enlarge my heart 5. It 's comfortable for strengthening of faith to lay before the Lord the victory of his grace and the strength of the temptation broken by going on a duty Hence a temptation 23. Princes did sit and speake against me but an influence of grace to do the duty broke the temptation But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes 69. The proud have forged a lie against me A strong temptation but it s broken but I shall keepe thy precepts with my whole heart 81. My soule fainteth for thy salvation but I hope in thy word So all along learn 1. That our free and voluntary trading with grace bringeth home new ships of gold and there is no danger of miscarrying and shipwrack 2. Being once by grace breathed on we are to hold the wheels a going grace puts the believer in a holy circle and running begets more running and the motion ends at us and begins at free grace 3. The nearest purchaser of influences is prayer ver 35. Make me to go in the path of thy Commandments 36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies 4. Grace given is a strong argument to get more grace as gold buyes more gold 5. Though grace begin and prevene us yet the Lord having once given the stock spiritual want comes from spiritual sluggishnesse we are willing to lose the tyde and complain without cause of the seas motion 6. The ordinary chariot and ship that carrieth the influences of grace is the Word of grace David Psal 119. is sick of love with the Word Law Testimonies ver 47. And I will delight my self in thy Commandments which I have loved 72. The law of thy mouth is better to me then thousands of silver and gold 97. O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then honey to my mouth ver 11 20 24 46 50 52 54 70 86 92 93 96 111 113 105 159 160 c. and in that Psalm the influences of the spirit go all along in every verse in a practical loving delightful panting lifting of the hands to the Commandments v. 32. I le run the ways of thy commandments 34. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart 45. I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts 44. I le keep thy law continually 60. I made hast and delayed not to keep thy Commandments 66. I have believed thy Commandments 74. I have hoped in thy Word 77. Thy Law is my delight 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation but I hope in thy Word 83. I forget not thy statutes 87. I forsook not thy precepts 93. I will never forget thy precepts for with them thou hast quickned me c. all which hold forth if you would have showrs of influences of grace be in love with the Word and let it dwell plentifully in you for look as influences of vigour and life and heat upon roses flowrs herbs grasse apple-trees vines corn go along with light and shining of the Sun so do the influences of the spirit and the spirit in his lively actings delights to be carried in the chariot of the Word Cant. 4. 11. Thy lips O my soul drop as the honey-comb honey and milk are under thy tongue in regard of the precious promises of the Gospel in the sound ministry of the Church and the savoury influences of the spirit that go along therewith therefore he adds the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon Cant. 7. 9. And the roof of thy mouth is like the best wine for my beloved that goeth down sweetly causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak influences of the spirit of grace must go along with speaking such as are ignorant of the Word and loath the precious Gospel and stumble at the Word cannot receive influences of the spirit 7. There is some admirable nearness of the word to influences Psal 119. 11. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee The word in the letter can keep no man from sinning against God For it is 1. common to all and if not received by saith convinces and condemns Nor 2. can the habit of grace in the heart prevent sinning except sinning unto death but not such sinning as David might or could yea or did fall unto adultery and murther of which he was most afraid Nor 3. can the literal memory of the word hinder sinning and yielding to dreadful temptations though it be treasured up in the memory Nor 4. speaks he of the spirit and inward word of the Swenckefieldians Libertines and the like who forsake the rule of faith the word and depend upon wicked inspirations but by the word hidden in the heart he must mean the Word of God and the engraven Law of God Psal 40. 8. Jer. 31. 33. not simply but as it includes the word dwelling in the heart plentifully Coloss 3. 16. loved Psal 116. 97 103. esteemed and prized highly Psal 119. 72 128. and believed 92 42 43. and so seldomeo â—never have any an high esteem or an habitual love and faith and hope in and to the word
unrenewed and full and extream at only that which is a worldly good thing the spirit is yet carnal and no saving influences can be there in the regenerate the affections are like two contrary rivers when the one river is full at the flowing in of the sea the river in the contrary coast is low and ebb so joy sorrow love desire c. as the Spirit prevails Rom. 7. as the flesh prevails in its motion so are they up in their fleshly exorbitancies and low in their motions and flowings toward God v. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24. but the joy spiritual at the coming and receiving of the Gospel Acts 8. 5 6 7 8. the joy of believing Rom. 15. 13. the joy of the hope of glory Rom. 5. 2. Matth. 5. 12. the Joy in the midest of heaviness if need be for a season which is unspeakeable and full of glory 1. Pet. 1. 6 7 8. the joy in suffering under reproaches and the spoyling of our goods Heb. 10. 33 34. Acts 5. 41. 1 Thes 3. 9. the Joyingin Christian walking Phil. 4. 4. the joy of the holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. and the like are all fruits of the spirit and have necessarily conjoyned with them heavenly influences to receive the Gospel Acts 8. to beleive with peace of mind Rom. 15. 13. to hope for glory Rom. 5. 2. Matth. 5. 12. to be comforted under heaviness even to love the holy afflicter 1 Pet. 1. 5 8. to all patience in suffering Heb. 10. 33 34. Acts 5. 41. to walke chearfully in our Christian course Phil. 4. 4 5. all which must be wanting in the false and bastard joy of the world and the like may be said of desire the more men waste their desires in worldly objects the less of the Spirit have they as these two are excellently conjoyned Psalm 73. 24. Thou shalt guide me by thy counsels and afterward receive me to glory Influences in perseverance in the way of God by Gods counselling and leading are here insinuated and beside that a spiritual desire v. 25. Whom have I in Heaven but thee and in the Earth there is none I desire beside thee 15. Self-love is a note of Apostates in the last days 2 Tim. 3. 2. and of men in the state of nature where self-love prevails above the love of God for natural men make themselves the god of gods and the god of their false gods Exod. 20. 4. Judg. 2. 19. Psalm 81. 8. Amos 5. 26. Hos 13. 2. there be men who make themselves their last end it 's contrary to all true holiness and sanctification and so to all acts and influences of the Spirit for it is the proper work of the Spirit to make us holy and he bears the name of the holy Ghost and of the spirit of sanctification upon that reason and therefore where self is the mans god what room is left to holiness and to the influences of grace and where the love of God is spread abroad in the heart by the holy Ghost which is given Rom. 5. 5. and hath a seat in the heart John 21. 15. John 14. 15. Deut. 10. 12. Deut. 6. 4 5 6. Deut. 30. 6. as the habitual fear of God hath also what doubt is there but the Lord shall joyn actual influences of grace to his owne spiritual habits which should put us to self-denial and to be less wedded to the love of our selves and more to love the Lords Word Law and Testimonies Psalm 119. 11 47 72 97 127 128 c. to love Jesus Christ his cause and Gospel more then our own life Matth. 16. 25 26. then houses brethren sisters father mother wife children or lands Matth. 19. 29. Matth. 10. 37. Luke 14. 26. and where this habit of love prevailing in the heart is the Lord denies not actual influences to his own sincere followers and strength of grace to seal his truth with their blood Rev. 12. 10 11. Heb. 11. 33 34 35. Heb. 10. 32 33 34. and when self-confidence and self-love and carnal fear of losing life present prevails by reason of a temptation as is clear in Peter and the Disciples who deny and forsake Christ contrary to their undertaking Matth. 26. 31 32 33 34 35 v. 56 69 70 71 c. the Lord justly withdraws the influences of his spirit 16. The ignorance of the Gospel and the loathing of Christ renders all Pagans who hear the rumour of Christ but receive him not and all Reprobates within the visible Church in a worse condition then rocks and desarts are in for Sun clouds and rain send influences in them but the malignity and driness and coldness of the soil is the cause why they do not spring and blossome as the gardens and meddows but though the Lord send common helps to such Pagans and unbelievers yet it is justice that the Spirit in his influences should be a stranger to such as live strangers to the Son of God for the Son and Spirit go not contrary ways to their operations Carnal professors who study only a form of godliness and aim not at the power of godliness and do but bear the bare letters and outward bulk of baptism and the sound of the word preached and hate Christ and persecute the godly that are chosen by him out of the world come under the name of the world who cannot receive the Spirit nor his influences John 14. 17. and have a spirit of their own the spirit of the world 1 Cor. 2. 12. this spirit is their tutor and guide and such as are out of Christ are led by the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience Ephes 2. 2. and are taken captive by him at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. Now can these two spirits the Spirit of God and the Divel lodge in one and the same dwelling and exercise their several operation on the same soul No. 17. The sad freatings and wrestlings at the providence of God incapacitates men for influences of grace thrice Psalm 78. the people are said to tempt the Lord and especially in asking meat for their lust v. 18. can he provide flesh for his people v. 20. and the Spirit of the Lord so tempted le ts not out his sweet and saving influences upon such as wrestle with his holy dispensations was there more of the Spirit letten out to Israel for murmuring at the red sea or less yea less Exod. 15. for after that they murmured again at Morat Exod. 14. and in the wilderness of Sin Exod. 16. 1. yea forty years in the wilderness Psal 95. 9 10. They tempted God and did erre in heart and that with their first murmuring in Egypt was a provoking cause of Gods withdrawing his Spirit all these forty years is called v. 8. The day of temptation for to tempt God is a great wickedness he who welcomes all dispensations with godly submission and can bow to his Lords will
obey the Scripture is clear and though we cannot give a natural and philosophick reason no matter 18. If we should distinguish betwixt thoughts and conquering and victorious thoughts 2. Betwixt fixed and wanton carelesly feeling thoughts 3. Betwixt guarded and well watched hearts and masterless hearts we should know that we hinder and obstruct influences though Soveraignty dispense gracious influences by sinful thoughts the thoughts being the wings of the soul can influences have a seat on thoughts marred by us surely no more then a bird can flie with broken wings and the God of nature doth not joyn his influences with causes impossible to act he concurs not with the bird to flie when the wings are broken nor the running of a dead horse though one should ride on a carrion and use spur and rod. But when the thoughts are seasoned with the heavenly disposition of a renewed heart as the buds and blossoms of the vine-tree are in a neerest way to receive influences from the God of nature to become excellent wine-berries and the most refined earth neer to be turned into gold and to receive influences for that effect so a heart gratified with heavenly dispositions must be a subject for heavenly thoughts and if there be a holy heart heavenly meditations come out in the night Psal 63. 6 7. Psalm 139. 17. Phil. 3. 19 20. 2. The Lord contempereth the actings of the spirit to the subject being a moral agent and all our gracious actings run through the channel of a spiritual judgement as running the race in Christ came from known and well considered joy set before him Heb. 12. 1. Moses chose Saints suffering more then Court-honour for heaven or the recompense of reward looked with another face and representation on the understanding then a poor time Court of clay did the superexcellent knowledge of Jesus Christ is so praised by Paul as his heavenly understanding looks on it as his all yea his only all and his all things beside are stated to his mind as loss and dung So to Abraham's mind a tent that shepheards sleep in is judged good enough and the world a bottomless lodging because there stands in the eye of his mind a rightly considered City that hath a foundation whose maker and builder is God Heb. 11. 18. And the cause of Christs bearing patiently the cross was his sanctified judgement of injuries and spitting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he under-judged and in his mind under-prised shame and reproach Heb. 12. 2. as a-very shaddow of a shaddow and as nothing and the glory of his Father in a redeemed and ransomed people looked braid and fair and great on his understanding Know and consider well 1. God an infinite fair transcendent God and the silly poor nothing and kindless nature 2. Judge rightly of time and how nothing yesterday and the last year is and weigh in your understanding vast high and braid and deep and long eternity if you have ballance with scales that can bear eternity 3. Understand well obedience faith the weight of the love of Christ never quenched with many floods and sin hatred of Christ and the horror thereof 4. Take a right view of heaven how it lies in length and bredth and a right impression of the fire that is never quenched and the habitual knowledge of the Lords name wants not influences for trusting in God Psalm 9. 10. knowledge where to find God in Christ hath actings of the Spirit to live and dwell with him to hold him Cant. 1. 7. Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. Joh. 4. 10. to pray to come to him Joh. 6. 45. a soâ—l in darkness and the gross ignorance of God is not capable of influences of grace as the centre and bowels of the earth and deep pits receive no Sun-light We can draw on sinful dispositions yea we created these dry clouds that are above our withered hearts by making our inordinate affections Stewards and Caterers to lay in provision for our flesh Rom. 13. 14. 2. We can ask leave at our flesh to take a little sleep and excuse it Prov. 6. 10. Yet a little flumber 3. Under drowsiness and security we can refuse to open and let Christ in Cant. 5. 3. and that brings on sad withdrawings of the actings of the Spirit v. 6. 4. Violence done to sweet dispositions when they give warning of our debt may draw to a wronging of the holy Ghost who is dreadfully jealous if we counter-work the actings and breathings of the spirit and react against the out-lettings and flowings of the anointing and of the well within springing up to eternal life he puts in his hand by the hole of the door the Spouse is convinced that it is Christ the beloveds voice and his knock and his very words and no other yet he is not yielded unto but resisted 2. We keep not the oyl clean that it may shine more clearly in the lamp inky blackness defaces the beauty of the white rose and the lilly the dustiness and filth of lusts dimness darkens the precious stone that it loseth lustre and colour when a judicial darkness even on a believer it covereth the habit of grace and darkens the spiritual strain the sin of the spirit is out of measure sinful the spirit judicially sleeping sees and hears less in the Prophet Jonah then carnal reason in the Heathen Mariners for Jonah sleeps the Heathen men do wake and fear when wrath from Heaven blows on their ship the lesser habit of grace that is young and green in the repenting theif doth more in adhering to Christ because actual breathing of the spirit is stronger and more vigorous then the more rooted and experienced habit of grace in the Apostles when it is now overwhelmed with the base fear of suffering for he confesses him to be a King on the Cross the Disciples fleeing forsake him and the Lord preaches that we are more debtors to the Spirit of Christ then to the habit of grace praying praising believing hoping loving joying as acts of kin to the Spirit gladden the Spirit what should we then do to fetch the wind grieve not the Spirit but keep the fountain pure and clean from the muddiness of lusts for in the light of the Spirit you see your own spots 1 Joh. 3. 3. He that hath this hope in him purifies himself as he also is pure 2. Yield not to indispositions complain of them to God and pray them away as Psalm 61. 2. Psalm 31. 22. Psalm 102. 3 4 5. Lam. 1. 2 3 4 5 c. 22 23. Obj. But it is easie so to say Be strong in the Lord I am at huge distance from the Lord Answ 1. The Lord speaks to believers as to moral agents the actings of faith is in us both moral and also physical or real though moral acting in some sense be real and not imaginary as the fowler with sweet songs works in a manner morally or by way of
allurement upon the phancy of the bird enticing it to the net and the bird also physically makes use of its wings God joyning his influence so would we looking to the command and promise of God be induced to bring will and affections under the acting and breathing of the spirit also physically act our faith in the mean time relying upon God for the flowings of his spirit 3. If any thing be said that Soveraignty does also hinder influences for God hides himself will your faith and prayers conclude him that he shall not hide himself but shine Answ Soveraignty should counter work Soveraignty if there were a law passed by the Lord that ever when we pray in faith in that same very nick and moment of time he must take off the arrestment of desertion as if prayer were to speak so a sort of charming of holy Soveraignty But the law is and the promise that when we pray in faith for shining influences he shall remove our night of the hiding of his face and the Spirits sad withdrawing not absolutely but in the way of his own holy and wise Soveraignty and also the prayer of faith hath some other effect then the present removal of desertion prayer keeps the soul under sufficient graces fresh showrings and stays the burnt man under patient induring of the fire in condition of a refreshing cooling and expelling of the heat The man Christ lies under forsaking but influences of the Spirit to pray to believe to submit to hope keeps him vigorous and green that gloriously and triumphingly he endures the Cross for suffering pain in faith and joy is more excellent then the removing of pain CHAP. IIII. Of other impediments of influences in particular coming from the mind will and some other considerable affections and their cures 1. False and heretical light 2. A corrupt will 3 From hatred of Christ 1. THe corrupt wisedom and the wicked learning of men who are carnal and destitute of the truth can produce nothing but doting about questions and strife of words whereof cometh envy strife railing or blasphemys evil-surmisings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perverse disputing these are the genuine fruits of the heretical spirit 1 Tim. 6. 3 4 5. and of the wisedom of men which neither is subject to the law of God and his truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither can be subject Rom. 8. 7 c. of the carnal man who neither receives the things of the Spirit of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither can he know them and observe that the Holy Ghost in both places denies both the act and the possibility of the minds subjection to the truth where the judgement is rotten Now as we may well say the rock hath no natural power to receive an influence from God for the growing of wheat on it nor a thorn-tree to bring forth wine grapes as our Saviour speaks Matth. 7. 16. so neither can the corrupt and heretical mind produce sound truths nor can the Lord give influences in a natural way to a thistle to bring forth figs indeed by a miracle the Lord caused Aaron's dead withered rod to blossome and bring forth almonds And Caiphas I say not by a miracle but in an extraordinary way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 11. 51. not of himself but by the Spirit prophesied and so did Balaam But they did not spiritually and with the light of faith know what they prophesied yea I would crave leave to doubt whether they literally knew that Christ God-man was the star of Jacob the light of the Gentiles and to die for the Elect as many Hereticks yea and the Divels literally know and believe these things with an Historical faith If you would have breathings of the Spirit to know savingly and to assent to divine truths motes and dirt and scales must be removed and the mind renewed then divine illumination is absolutely needful 2. Nor acts the Spirit in the polluted mind and conscience of the world which cannot receive the Spirit Now that power of receiving the Spirit denyed of the world John 14. 17. must be both a power natural and a power acquired by wicked actings for the elect redeemed world by a natural power cannot receive the Spirit of truth 2. If the will be corrupt that it will not come to Christ John 5. 40. and will not have Christ to reign Luke 19. 14. the man cannot lend a seat to the Spirit and his actings to obey and follow God until the fallow-ground of the rocky will be plowed and broken otherwise the man sows among thorns and labours a husbandry to the flesh and not to the Spirit as Paul speaks Gal. 6. 8. and the harvest must be corruption and rotten fruit judge then if the Spirit labours and tills a plot of ground to the flesh and if the Spirit from on high can send down influences and divine impressions of dew and warm sun-beams upon the fleshes plowed earth or if nature intend that rain and Sun-heat shall make the rocks bring forth wheat O how needful is a denyed will when Saul speaks of no will but Christ's and commits all to Christ's will as if his own will were annilâ—ilated though it was perfected Acts 9. the man is fallen to the earth And he trembling and astonished saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord what will thou have me to doe There is a strong Emphasis in Lord and in the word will His own wicked will was playing the King or the Tyrant over the Saints and when his will is down and the will of Christ up and the man hath been three days in this condition fasting and praying then comes the spirit to take his own chop and to act in Panl v. 17. Ananias saith Brother Saul the Lord even Jesus that appeared to thee in the way as thou camest hath sent me to thee that thou mayst receive thy sight and be filed mith the holy Ghost a humble broken will deadned to self and to all things shall be rained on and such as is rebellious shall be a land of drought Zech. 14. 16. And it shall come to passe that who so will not come up of all the familys of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the king the Lord of hosts even upon them shall be no rain 3. There be strong impediments that obstruct influences of the spirit of grace from all the affections if the heart be not with all watching watched over 1. The world that hates Christ John 15. 18 20. and persecutes him and his servants is the same world which cannot receive the spirit of truth John 14. 17. if ye hate Christ and the Godly no influences of grace for you Ye shal hew all your dayes be ye minister or professor upon hard timber without the Spirits tools ye shall pray preach professe hear sing praise in the letter with out the Spirit and his influences for ye can not receive the Spirit of truth John 14. 17.
of the Lord the husband act in a whorish spouse who grieves that spirit See Psalm 106. 39. Can refreshings come from the fountain of living waters to such as Jer. 2. 13. forsake the fountain and hew them out cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no waters or can the Spirit dwell and act in that soul which abhors God and the spirit of God and his operations no man will lodge in an Inne in which he knows they lie in wait for his life Isa 63. 10. They rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit 2. There are who say Job 21. 14. to God Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways and who Prov. 1. 29. hate knowledge Now the spirit of the Lord is a spirit of knowledge and needs none to counsel him and teach him knowledge Isa 40. 13 40. And to one is given by the same spirit saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 8. the word of wisedom to another a word of knowledge by the same spirit and he is Ephes 1. 17. the spirit of wisedom and revelation who gives the knowledge of Christ the Spirit then will not be a teacher to such as hate the master teacher and all his instructions Wil a man be an instructer to a Disciple or Apprentice who to his knowledge hates and flies from him and abhors him who abhors mocks and does despite to the Spirit and will the Spirits going forth be as the pleasant morning in such a man sure the Spirit teacheth not convinceth not guideth not in all truth any John 14. 26. John 16. 7 13. but such only as Christ sendeth him unto John 14. 16 17. 16. 7. I will send him unto you v. 13. He shall guide you He shall shew you things to come John 15. 26. And therefore he comes to this Psalm 73. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee What is such a man how is he known by another There be three notes by which he is known v. 23. 1. Nevertheless though I be a beast and a tempted fool doubting of a providence I am continually with thee O blessed company Then follow two observable actings and influences of the Spirit 1. The confirming and upholding influence the supernatural manutenentia upholding of the Spirit Thou wilt hold me fast by my right hand 2. There is the guiding John 16. 13. and leading of the Spirit Psal 143. 10. Psal 73. 14. Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel So every element acts and moves most connaturally in its own place the river moves most connaturally within its own channel it 's violent in its motion when it runs above and without its own banks the wind moves naturally in the air but most violently and unkindly in the bowels of the earth for there it causes earthquakes and swallows up houses and Cities The Spirit of the Lord acts and breaths sweetly in a believer but the spirit that moves in a possessed man is proven to be the spirit of the Divel not of God because he moves most connaturally and casteth the possessed one who is his house in fire and water Mark 9. he is not a gracious guest who sets on fire his own lodging Isa 26. 9. With my soul I have desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me early will I seek thee and that is a work of the spirit to learn righteousness when the Lords judgements are on the earth v. 12. Lord thou wilt ordain peace for us for thou also hast wrought all our works in us The Spirit refers all acting on earth to God for the good of his Church and there follow many expressions of faith and liveliness to the end of the Chapter v. 13 14. the Lords that ruled over us beside thee are dead the people v. 16. prayed to thee in trouble v. 19. Our dead men buried in Babylon shall live and be delivered Could we desire and thirst after God the Spirit should act more abundantly in us 3. From our joy or delight and our sadness and sorrow arise impediments of spiritual influences As 1. Carnal sensual delights and the Spirit cannot be together Jude v. 19. sensual not having the spirit The more men are drowned in sensual lusts the less of the Spirit they have or nothing at all The Apostle Phil 3. makes an opposition betwixt such whose God is their belly and mind earthly things corn wine and oyl and mind not spiritual things and so benow nothing of the Spirit and himself and sound believers who have their conversation in heaven which must speak much spiritual mindedness and mighty influences of the Spirit by which the mind the apprehensions and thoughts the affections hope faith love delight haunt heaven and eternity much The Scripture calls some swine 2 Pet. 2. 22. some other dogs Rev. 22. 15. Does the holy Spirit dwell and breath in and through a prophane and unclean man such as are swine and dogs It 's strange that the preaching of the Gospel and Satan lodge together in Judas Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil John 6. 7. Matth. 10. 1. And when he had called the twelve disciples he gave them power against unclean Spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness v. 7. Goe and preach 2. Influences of grace spiritual joy persevering to the end can no more find good soil to grow in a rocky stony proud and graceless heart then corn can grow on stones and rocks Matth. 13. 20 21. though there be a receiving of the word with joy and delight that joy is but false mettal The only cure of this is if we would have our spiritual desires as touching grace and glory and other things annexed to this is to listen to that Psalm 37. 4. Delight thy self also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart What was spoken of love-sickness after Christ the same is true of soul-delighting in Christ that in any precious actings of the Spirit goes along with both Psalm 63. 7. The soules following hard after God Psalm 63. is a fruit of the other v. 6. When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night-watches then v. 5. My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness my soul shall praise thee with joyful lips Psal 51. 11. Take not thy spirit of holiness from me Why what special fruit of that spirit doth he seek v. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and firmly sustain me with thy free spirit a willing a princely ruling spirit Joy hath a strong impulsion and hath vehement expressions as clapping of the hands Psalm 47. 1. Shouting Psal 63. 7. In the shadow of thy wings I rejoyced Heb. I shouted And Matth. 5. 12. Rejoyce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rejoyce and leap for joy as in a dance It 's excellent to strong impulsions of the Spirit to
joyn strong and vehement actings of ours High-bended and fervent acts of obedience come not but from strong habits of grace but here I speak of mighty stirrings of influences here we would beware of straining affectation of shouting and expression of delight some bring more out then is within when literal crying and shouting does exceed the inward impulsion of the Spirit it 's dreadful to lye of the Holy Ghost and of his impulsions but to the point Our actings would be proportioned to the Spirits stirring Mighty rivers come from a huge arm of the Sea some streams flowing from little small fountaines run scarce the fourth part of a mile 1 Cor. 15. 10. Strong labouring câ—mes from strong and abundant grace I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me A strong influence of the Spirit calls for a strong virtual consent especially when the Spirits impulsion of joy is strong Cant. 1. 12. While the King sitteth at his table and feasts the Spouse with quickening influences and satisfies her soul as with marrow and fatness my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof The spikenard is here the precious oyl or oyntment of spikenard John 12. 1 2 3. that is the smell of her actings of joy delight love were strong and exceeding savoury as his table was a Kings table and fat and the actings of his spirit strong then followes a suitable strong expression of delight v. 13. A bundle of myrrhe is my beloved unto me he shall lie or lodge all night betwixt my breasts And Cant. 2. 4. the King brought me into his house of wine that is into the chamber of the most spiritual and soul-delighting consolations of the Gospel that rejoyce and cheer the heart as excellent wine doth one that is fainting as Psal 104. 15. Prov. 31. 6 7. compared with 2 Cor. 1. 6. 2 Thess 2. 18 19. And the Spouse joynes to this a most vehement disposition of soul-sickness of love for Christ v. 5. Stay me with flagons and comfort me with apples for I am sick of love As also godly sorrow for sinne 2 Cor. 7. 10 11 15. a special work of the Spirit and princely and kingly gift of his Spirit who was raised from the dead to act this sorrow in us Acts 5. 31. as also swoooning and dying at the absence and withdrawing of Christ the beloved Cant. 5. 6. is a fruit of the Spirit and to sleep and eat and drink and rejoyce when the holy Spirit is saâ—ned and when he withdraws his actings is a dismal and sad token though there may some influence of corruption be in sorrowing because the Spirits actings are suspended as they are our comforts or apples to delight children and not as duties that we owe for Christs love to us and conscience of his command which saith Phil. 4. 4. Rejoyce alwayes in the Lord c. and here we would beware of worldly sorrow that causeth death Sorrow and heart-breaking because of the breaking of created comforts as if God were not the soules portion and the Saints all in all should be eschewed this sorrow blunts and deadens the soul from drinking in influences of glory as far Luke 9. v. 32. also Law-sadness dumpish servile down-casting because it deadens and kills as the Law doth must be eschewed indeed sadness that Evangelically mortifies and deadens to created spiritual comforts may quicken the believer to a more vigorous delighting in Christ himself who is more then comfort Psal 119. My soul droppeth away for heaviness and that puts fire in the soul to pray Strengthen thou me according to thy word It appears to be spiritual sorrow that breaks out in prayer Matth. 26. 38 39. Psal 18. 4 5 6. Psal 61. 2. Psal 102. 4. There are in the fourth Class two affections hope and audacity or fool-hardiness which would be taken heed unto Now with hope which looks to good to come and hardly attained we must take in faith one of the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. Sometimes one affection in its carnality will counterwork another Luke 24. 41. The disciples believe not for joy and wondering But the special ground is unbelief the wide desire of unbelief thinks God cannot be so abundantly good as to restore to them Christ from the dead and the carnal reasoning of wondring contradicts a possibility of the resurrection over-acting of one affection to wit of joy when it 's literal counter-works the actings of the Spirit in the faith of the promises Hence must Christ soften the heart with swasory actings before the man believe and consider what Christ does morally Luke 24. He opens the Scriptures to the two disciples Luke 24. 27. He rebukes their unbelief v. 25. and as to his own disciples he sent them word with eye-witnesses who saw him that he was risen again but their words seem idle tales to them Luke 24. 11. And he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart Mark 16. 14. 3. He appeared and spake to them 4. He made their senses witnesses by causing them see and touch his hands and feet 5. He did eat with them which was an action of life 6. He wrought a miracle of bringing multitudes of fish to their net but all is to little purpose until he take a real and effectual way by the working of the Spirit Luke 24. 45. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures Then the opening of the Scriptures though in the mouth of Christ avail little to faith except the Spirit of Christ open another lock even the heart This is one of the first works of the Spirit to convincethe conscience of unbelief John 16. 8 9. and when the Spirit hath taken that castle and brought the soul to be sensible of unbelief he can easily take in the rest of the works frequent casting to of new oyl to the lamp keeps it shining and new fewel causes the fire to flame Frequent repeated acts of believing bring the disciples to get the grace to doe greater works then Christ did because Christ went to the Father John 14. 14. Believe influences of grace and have influences of grace abundantly furnished to you ask the Spirit in faith and the Father is as willing to give the Spirit as a Father is to give bread to his hungry child so here faith makes a fair wind Luke 11. 9 10 11 12 13. It is not so in nature the husbandmans natural faith that it shall be a sweet warm fruitful Summer makes not a fruitful Summer The Sea-mans natural faith believing fair winds and no storms at all makes it not to be so for often faith here is but fancy but faith acting dayly upon the precious promises of the word brings strong gales and summer-influences of heart warmness of the Spirit and in a manner creates new blowings of the North and South-wind fainting under the breathings and knocking 's of
answered according to Scripture and sound reason disp Scholas de providentia Exercit. apolo pro gratai divian Christs dying and drawing Infinite almost influences of God We look not spiritually on influences What influences are Influences of God are suitable to Gods end Influences of God for nilling and willing most rare and excellent How Christ and the promised Spirit must be the causes of gracious influences We are to believe that he who purchased by his merit the habit of grace shall give suitable influences and to fear also our propension to fall The promise of influences in Christ Necessity of influences Reasons of renewed influences The first Adam might want influences the second cannot Satans actions always destitute of influences How God withdraws infâ—uences in particular acts hic nunc and yet hath promised to bestow influences on the regenerate by promise The Lord acts on us by his influences but we act not on him How we cannot pray away desertion and the trying withdrawings yet are we to pray submissively for the removal of desertion and are to pray against withdrawings The Lord 's withdrawing makes not the holy one the author of sin nor destroys liberty The cause why God is not chargeable with the act of disobedience and man is chargeable How we interpretatively yield to the want of influences of grace and sin formally in the same act Our interpretative wanting of influences and our formal sinning in the same act further clear'd The soveraignty of God is destroy'd by Pelagians to the end they may exa't mans Free-will Of our acts and spiritual duties under the spiritual withdrawings of God Something of the state of the question Our inability to do duties when the Spirit withdraws looseth us not from a moral obligation to perform the duties Aug. Epist 89. Jubet Deus continentiam dat continentia Jubet per Legem dat per Gratiam jubet per Literam dat per Spiritum Differences betwixt the command and the influences of the spirit clear that it is not formally sin to pray under withdrawings of influences of grace Vnder the ceasing of actual breathing we are to stir the remainders of the Seed of God We are to doe our part in duties under withdrawings Grace sweetens duties What Soveraignty is and how it differs from omnipotency Soveraignty is to be adored in the hardest conditions We storm more at permissive providences then at our own permitted sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are most graciously active to doe the will of God who are most graciously passive to suffer his will and on the contrary The unsearchableness of the Lord's dispensation into the eternal standing and falling of Angels and Men. It s vain to determine that the providence of never sinning is choicer then the providence of the inbringing of Christ God-man to die for sinners As Mr. Baxter The rightousness of God through faith is incomparably above our inherent righteousness Isa 42. 1 2. Isa 53. 11. Matth. 3. 17. Matth. 17. 5. John 3. 16. John 15. 13. Tit. 3. 45. Isa 62. 2 3. Eph. 3. 10. 1 Pet. 1. 12. It s a more â—minently declarative glory which is brought forth in the second Adam nor possibly could have been in the full and final obedience of the first Adam Not to sin by no Scripture is choicer then to seek pardon in Christ's bloud By justification we are not only negatively freed from guilt wrath but also positively righteous Inherent righteousness in glory is not the compleat and adequate end of Gospel justification or of the Lord's Gospel-dispensation in commanding us to believe and be holy How spiritual service to doe all because of the holy will of the Lord. We are not to struggle with permissive providence it s not our Rule but to be low because of the deep results of that providence our own permitted sins The soul-humbling thoughts that should flow from holy Soveraignty The number of things possible and impossible that are to fall out or exist is under holy Soveraignty The connection of things of which the extremes never shall come to pass as also the existence and co-existence of things must be under the holy Soveraignty of God Soveraignty shines in means and end things of rare providence and justice in administration of means of salvation to some not to others Soveraignty is eminent in holding of possible evils and in determining the measure of sufferings The due timeing of things is from Soveraignty Q. Whether and in what sense God can create things in better or worse case 1 Sam. 2. 7. Psal 75. 6. The shift of complaining of want of influences is refuted Who ever flatteringly complain of the want of influences of grace hate these influences Nature cannot complain of the want of gracious influences We are not to seek Influences of life separated from the word Calvin Com. 119. v. 28. absque verbo nobis fuget dei potentia Omnipotency joyned with the Word saves Influences of God as Creator only cannot save us How we may lawfully complain of withdrawing of Influences of grace and how we may lawfully desire Influences The faultiness in not praying is not because the holy Spirit moves us not to pray but because we stir not up our selvs to pray This I will not pray untill the Lord first breath on me by his Spirit is a wide mistake The precept chargeth us to obey as rational creatures not as disposed or indisposed What a delusion there is in not praying till the Lord breath on us There is no contradiction betwixt our physical indisposition to pray or to other duties and our moral obligation to perform these duties Both a spiritual disposition may be on and a conscience of obedience to pray at one time We are to act duties before we feel the actings of the Spirit Preparation before prayer To wait upon the breathings of the Spirit how it is lawful how not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is a wicked weaknesse and a sinfull Cannot as contradistinguished from sinful actings which the holy Ghost reproves and then must the indisposition to receive influences to pray be no excuse to shift the duty The Lord 's withdrawing of influences is conjoyned with our guiltiness and cannot found an honest excuse for not praying The Lord 's not giving a new heart is not our sin and yet our not having a new heart is our guiltiness The Lord's influences are connatural to all our actings and how Our actings have no dominion over the Lord's Soveraignty but contrarily The sin of the creature is not from the Lords withdrawing of his physical influences but from our withdrawing from his moral command Magnus D. Twissus contra Arnold Corvinum c. 13. sect 1â— p. 437. n. 2. col 1. Quare licet hominum malitiae tribuatur in solidum quod non credant tamen etiam defectui gratiae nihilominus tribuendum est quod non curetur mentis caecitas cordis insidelitas Nam si
affirmatio sit causa affirmationis etiam negatio erit causa negationis Sic Servator ipse Qui ex Deo est Vocem audit Dei vos autem propterea non auditis quia ex Deo non estis Joan. 8. 37. The objection of many if God would give me influences of grace as he did to David Moses c. I would be as holy as any discussed The non-sense of this had I more grace I should be more gracious If the â—bâ—ecto of this had I more grace I would 〈◊〉 gracious were a humble â—â—vert the objection should be more savoury yet not sounder O if I had more grace I would labour and run more is a contradictory speech in the sluggard One spece desires not to be turned into another nor does a natural man desire to be a convert Luke 14. 16 17 18 19. Natural men wish physical influences of God but they hate moral holiness Natural men love independency and hate to be under the Lord 's governing influences He that uses not a less power or gift of two degrees for God would not use a power of ten degrees for God as is cleared in instances of 1. Wisedom 2. Power of Magistracy 3. Of old age 4. Riches 5. Habit of grace c. Riches cannot add mercifulâ—ess to men The Objection opened If I had had the grace of David I would not have acted the wickedness which David acted The Objection had I more grace I would be more gracious may be retorted Faith and Grace doe not depend upon extraordinary means and teachers sent from hell and we are much deceived thinking Had we more grace we should be more gracious If free will be weak in the improving a natural power it will be so in the improving of supernatural grace Mr. Fenner's Wilful impenitency pag. 80. There is an extolling of nature in this had I more grace I would be more holy for I and self is separated from Christ The carnal Objection If God gave stronger influences I should be more holy is a sinful complaining against Soveraignty 2. Against infinite wisedom what a depth is here 3. The Objection is against the freedom of grace The Objection chargeth the holy Lord with envy The objection chargeth the holy Lord with unrighteousness It chargeth God with male-government It strives with holy providence in the point of original sin How we wish to be from under sin original and how not God ties us to his own way of removing of sin not to our empty wishing that it were removed What sort of influences we are to seek from God The using of means is an approved way of God How reformation of life goes not before remission as Mr. Baxter saith Some violently bâ—ought in to know Christ some more mildly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John not under the same dispensation with Peter Jonah strong in his passions Eliah's temper The Old Testament dispensations and the New are compared together and their differences 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Various kinds of desertions Various kinds of desertions on the Lord 's redeemed Whether by prayer or any other way we may wrestle out from under God's desertions To deprecate the anger of God how laudable how not Influences are given of God to various temptations It is a gracious temper to weep when the Lord is absent or angry A soveraignty in the Lord 's hearing or not hearing Strive not with soveraignty Divers kinds of striving with soveraignty Deadness and desertion may be on one way and much of God in other actings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 impegit offendit pede Christs absence is sometimes as good as his presence We are not to strive with the Law Sometime we may pray against the decree of God but it s never lawful to resist his commanding will It s good to answer every impression of his word 1 Pet. 1. 23. The new-birth We may weep over our own dry hearts when we want influences but we cannot weep against the Lord because he gives not these influences We are to meet all conditions of life with closing with his holy dispensation Luke 21. 12 17. Now we cannot prevent God The Lord strongly bows free will We are to pray for our own prayers There is no warrant for us not to act because God is Lord of our actings How we are to doe though God only work in us to doe The Word is the rule of doing the Spirit the real efficient cause How the Lord can lay by a command supernatural duties on men impotent and dead in sin We may use the loco-motive faculty in hearing and God convert men beyond their intention Gospel-commands stand well with divine justice Pelagius to heighten this said if our inability to obey be a punishment it s not a sin and if a sin it s no punishment for punishment cures sin Augustin de natura gratia cap. 29. Quid amplius dicam inquit Pelagius non ipse Augustinus ut pessime Jesuitae nisi quia potest credi quod ignes ignibus extinquuntur si credi potest quod peccata peccatis curentur Now we may believe said the Pelagians that fire may be extinguished by fire if sin be cured by sin and if God command both obedience and our impotency to obey be both a sin and a punishment so Julianus a disciple grosser then the master August lib. 5. contra Julian c. 4. So Pelagians taught that the godly before Moses Law were saved by the law of nature Epist ad Demetrium Hac lege naturae verba Pelagii sunt usi sunt omnes quos inter Adamum atque Mosem sancte vixisse atque placuisse Deo Scriptura commemorat August l. 2. imperfect operis cont Julianum Quid timetis magnum populum Christi Judicium magnum non timetis aperte dicite justificari natura justificari lege possumus gratis mortuus est Christus lib. 2. cont Juli c. 8. Epistol 95. Serm. 36. de verbis Domini Non solum ad facienda verumetiam ad perficienda mandata divina per liberum arbitrium humana sufficit natura Tu nos fecisti homines justos autem ipsi nos fecimus Aug. l. de Gestis Pelag. c. 14. Lib. 4. ad Bonefac c. 11. l. 2. imperf operis l. de spiritu litera c. 1. Pelagius l. 2. de lib. arb apud August l. de grat Christi c. 4. Nos sic tria ista distinguimus certum velut in ordinem digesta partimur priâ—o loco posse Cornel Jansen tom 1. de haeresi Pelag. l. 4. c. 13. p. 87. esse sine peccato statuimus secundo velle tertio esse primum illud id est posse ad Deum proprie pertinet qui illud creaturae suae contulit Duo vero reliqua hoc est velle esse ad hominem referenda sunt quia de arbitrii fonte descendunt Q What power of believing we want In what sense the Lord may charge men to believe who now in Adam have losed power of believing
Original sin is sin properly so called Author Imperf operis l. 1. cont Julianum nihil esse peccati in homine si nihil est propriae voluntais vel assensionis hoc mihi hominum genus quod vel leviter sapit sine dubitatatione consentit Lib. Imperfec operis 2. Quod admoneri non potest ut caveatur imputari non potest ut puniatur nunquam autem Legislator ad hanc venit amentiam ut praeceperit cuiquam noli ita vel ita nasci Lib. de peccato merit remis c. 9. c. 26. si peccator genuit peccatorem justum quoque justum gignere debuisse Item Deum qui propria peccata remittit aliena non imputare item parvulis melius esse ex parentibus non nasci Vt jure damnabiles esse imo comparari parricidis in quibus sit causa ut filii nascantur ad damnationem Vide l. 3. cont Julian c. ultimo Item lib. 5. cont Julian c. 11. lib. 5. 1. oper imperfec lib. 1. cae Mr. Baxter 's Preface to his Confession God will judge none on the meer terms of the law of nature nor condemn them only for original sin They that say otherwise do too injuriously extenuate both the grace of God and the sin of man Are not Infants condemned to death and condemned heirs of wrath Rom. 5. Eph. 2. 1 2. 3. 2. Where hath the grace of God made original sin to be no sin or pardoned sinne Hath Christ washed all Infants in his blood Is that a supposed wrath Eph. 2. Insants are not washed in Christs blood according to Pelagians and Arminians but must be saved by some other name then by the name of Jesus Infants are not washed in Christ's bloud according to Pelagians and Arminians but must be saved by some other name then by the name of Jesus God in creating man is both a creator and also a law-giver We are to be humbled for sin original No man can bring himself in a spiritual capacity to receive grace How to fetch influences The Spirit of grace hath his own influence in actions which the regenerate perform out of custome and formality at least in the progress of these actions 2. Sermon on Pray continually pag. 35. How the Lord brings himself under a sort of necessity of conferring gracious influences A practise of grace and a promise of grace in God A Considerable difference betwixt the Lord's promise of grace and his practise oâ— grace Civil professors are nearer to conversion and to Christ then the openly profane and flagitious and how they are also farther distant External use of means is to be gone about as nearer to conversion then no use of means or extreme prophaneness All even the most indisposed are under a command It s a sinful shift to put away duties because of indisposition We are to pray away indispositions as a great affliction The Lord hath given influences by necessity of a promise A clearing of the place Deu. 29. 3. the great temptations c. August lib. 1. con 6. Nec mater mea nec nutrices meae sibi ubera implebant sed tu mihi Domine per eas dabas mihi alimentum infantiae secundum institutionem tuam divitias usque ad fundum rerum dispositas tu etiam dabas nolle amplius quam dabas nutrientibus me dare mihi velle quod eis dabas dare enim mihi per ordinatum effectum volebant quo ex te abundabant Ripening of guiltinesse makes way to ripening of free grace The three persons the Father Son and Spirit give influences The fulness of influences on the man Christ Influences of the Father upon his own The Lord's beginning of a good work in us brings the Lord under a necessity of conferring influences to the end How shall our short arm reach these influences Christ hath the dispensing of predeterminating influences by office and covenant The influences in the Son are all for our use and good The spirit of the world The glorious things which the spirit of God shews How the spirit of God dwels in his own The spirit of the world in the Antichrist and divers other spirits lead the world Liberty of stirring follows the spirit Praying is proper to the spirit Baron de peccato mort veniali The spirit prevenes nature nature prevenes not the spirit Characters of a spiritual soul We are to pray for influences The spirit conveys the word the spirit's relations to the word A two-fold power of the word Of the power of the word and the power of the spirit and how they are differenced Speaking in the spirit is not ever saving to the hearers The spirit's convictions In the spirit's conviction there is some new strength added to the word A state of pure spirit and of all spirit beyond the word in this life is a fancy Obedience is to be yielded to the spirit as to the Father and the Son Much renewd will is a note of a spiritual disposition Four expressions in Scripture of wrongs we doe to the spirit Vexing of the spirit and violence done to his actings Saduing of the spirit and the signs of it Quenching of the spirit We are to make a sort of eike to the spirit Tempting of the spirit 4 Resisting of the spirit and persecuting of godliness The spirit above self speaks a spiritual one he who is least his own is most God's To doubt as a bewildered man of all ways and to desire to be led of God is a spiritual character Spiritual facility is a spiritual character A publick spirit declares a spiritual man How to improve spiritual feelings Watching is a spiritual condition and near to receive gracious influences To converse with the Saints is a mark of a spiritual condition Spiritual conference frequently used speaks a spiritual condition How Satan knows the actings of the heart Satan keeps correspondence with the heart It 's lawful to dispute with Satans instruments not with Satan Christ sought not the tempter nor the temptation but in a sort a patient in being tempted Differences between Satans influences and these of the Lord. Christ under a necessity of giving sanctifying influences Moral and physical influences Moral influences that are only moral are weak Ordinary and extraordinary influences Prophetical influences It 's dangerous to resist strong light and the influences thereof Private and publick Church influences Strong influences under the Messiah in the New Testament Gospel-influences are strong Some influences are for the habit some for the actings of grace some for both Influences proper to the head Christ and influences on the members Mediatory influences are some way due to the broken in heart and what sort of right they have thereunto A four-fold right to influences is considerable Strong and mighty influences in Christ Gospel-providence how far above the law-providence of Adam Mr Gee treats of prayer Sect. p. 187 188 195. Influences of Christ fundamental and not fundamental The
comfortable necessity which lies on Christ to confer influences of grace Influences not fundamental not simply necessary Influences of grace for the habit of saving grace and influences for a gift How we may know when we act pray or hear c. from a gift and when we act from a grace Some pray from a meer gift when they mistakingly imagine they pray from the saving habit of grace the mistake is habitual in hypocrites only actual hic nunc in sound Believers Grace sanctifies the gift used in all due and spiritual circumstances but the gift can never fanctifie grace The same word but not the same influences act upon all within the visible Church We are not to rest upon the actings from a gift but watchfully to try when we act from a gift and when we act from a grace Calvin praelect in Jerem. 15. 18. distinguendum inter ipsam doctrinam quae pura fuit inter ipsos homines prophetas nunc autem dum in seipsum descendit propheta fatetur se agitari multis cogitationibus quae carnis infirmitatem redoleant nec careant omni vitio Differences betwixt the influences of grace and these of glory The habit of grace is a permanent disposition The habit of grace is given through the merit and grace of Christ From the habit of grace we perform suitable actings Vital actions flow from supernatural habits The differences of the habit of grace from other habits We are to follow holy resolutions with prayer 2. Godly trembling and 3. Faith The falshood of vowes A strong habit of grace produces easy and connatural and strong acts of grace Actions supernatural and influences suitable are some way due to the habit of grace Sometimes the habit of grace is qualified with heavenly dispositions We should pursue the dispositions of grace when they are added to the habit with spiritual actings We are to stir up the habit of grace thoughâ— deadned The Lord by insusing the habit of grace comes under some necessity to give suitable influences thereunto Divers necessities under which the Lord is to confer influences of grace Christ advocates for the elect yet not converted to bring them in to himself John 17. 6 9 10. The Spirits office puts him under a necessity of giving influences Vses from the Lords necessity of giving gracious influences First to frame doubts about predestination tâ— life and to miss eternall love before we miss inherent saving grace is Satans method Whether the habit of grace may cease in the regenerate from all its operations The habit of grace is not eternal The habit of grace ceaseth not How many acts we may bring out of the habit of grace There is a consenting to the temptation which is a wishing that our lust and Gods Law might both stand and a virtual wishing that the Law of God had never had being Eight evidences that in the regenerate the saving habit of grace never ceaseth from omitting some influences What dispositions spiritual are and how they differ from the habits of grace Get heavenly dispositions and influences follow connaturally Dispositions are not ever alike but various and changeable Evidences that dispositions goe and come Spiritual dispositions are different from the affections There are heaven'y dispositions in the as well as in the affections Bad spiritual dispositions creep on on the children of God There is some acting and life under much deadness in the â—egenerate Many sweet spiritual actings may be under indispositions No agreement betwixt these two champions the flesh and the Spirit It 's fit to go about duties under indispositions Less of sweet real influences and more of moral influences from the word makes obedience the more perfect We can tell the actings of the spirit when they are on and after they are over and gone Differences betwixt spiritual heart-burnings of the love of Christ and literal heat 1. Difference Feeling may be stronger after actings of the spirit are gone 〈◊〉 Difference Spiritual â—arning of heart leaves some impression◠〈◊〉 which literal heat 〈…〉 〈…〉 4. Difference There is sweet leading no violence spiritual in heart-burnings for Christ it s not so in the literaâ— heart 5. Difference The heavenly beat goes along with the Scriptures open and applied not so the literal heat Hence considerable differences betwixt motions of the Spirit and loose Ensiasms Literal heat is all upon the letter and forms not so as the spiritual heat David was Ps 119. and a believer may be under some straitning A true and a false missing What straitning is and whence it is Divers sorts of straitnings Rules to be free of straitning and to get enlargement of spirit Every heaviness is not weakness of faith How far we may undertake obedience upon supposal of grace How dispositions necessarily fetch influences We have not assurance to be delivered from sin hic nunc How we are to rely on God for influences What enlarging of heart David speaks of Psal 119. 32. We cannot engage in our strength or habitual grace to run in the ways of the Lord. Isa 63. 17. O Lord why hast thou made us to erre c. opened What use we are to make of our inability to run except God enlarge the heart How men naturally complain of sin original We do not so much as by strength of nature we may do and we add to our own lameness and unjustly complain of God for our sinful impotency The Spirit as the Spirit lays no obligation on us but to move in Scriptural duties No violence but from our selves hinders us to believe God loves using of external meanes pro tanto How farre we may act to fetch the wind and to get influences Branches of enlargedness of heart Mr. Leigh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 active eructare evomere tanquam ebrium Metaph. depromere producere Influences on Angels and the glorified ones Many straitned and dead ones reproved Prayer begets heavenly dispositions to pray and heavenâ—y dispositions to pray beget prayer and faith c. Holy acts beget holy acts and holy dispositions beget holy dispositions The Lord so frames his precepts and promises as our actings are suitably required to his influences The differences of the 1 Spiritual state 2 Of the temper 3 Of the condition What Davids present disposition was The doubling of words or sentences noteth certainty 2. Addition of assurance 3. Freeness of affection It 's fit to make an eike to the holiness of influences which the Lord offerâ— to us We may speak to God and profess in prayer the sincerity of our heart to God and the causes why It 's hard to guide well grace and glory so long as sin dwells in us The Lords giving of grace laies bands on him to give more grace and to add new influences to old What a heart the repenting thief and what an heart Hezekiah brought out before the Lord in his dying 2. Property of holy dispositions Dispositions spiritual are seeds of holy actings Zeal