doe this though they can doe nothing else they cannot pray they cannot understand they cannot remember they cannot subdue their corruptions but they shall be taken away with company and fall into that sinne but they can beleeve in Christ with all their hearts thus we see that every man thinkes it in his power and within the compasse of his abilitie naturally to rest upon Christ Now marke what followeth why should a man desire that hee hath why should he seeke for that he hath attained why should he labour to be possessed of that which is in his owne power and he is possessed of already if I can beleeve naturally if it be in my power to goe to Christ when I list why shall I use all meanes and receive abilitie to doe that which I can doe by my owne power and this I take to be one maine ground why the endevours of men are taken off from attending and why the labours of Christians are taken off from seeking often this blessed precious grace of faith there are many grounds why men are driven to this kinde of conceit there are many reasons that make way for this conceit As first to beleeve is a spirituall thing betweene God and thy owne soule to pray and reforme belongs to the outward practice but to beleeve is a closure of the heart with an entertaining of the Lord and his truth and the giving way of our soules thereunto now because men cannot see their faith therefore no man will yeeld but he doth beleeve Secondly men conceive that it is an easie matter to take of mercie from Christ and say they is there any man that will not have mercie is it such a hard matter to receive favour offered or to take a gift when it is tendered unto us Thirdly these doe apprehend that the assenting to the Gospell of Christ wherein is revealed the riches of Gods mercie is all that is required in faith when the Lord saith He hath sent his Sonne into the world that he hath prepared salvation in him and wrougt redemption through him they acknowledge and assent to the truth and conceive this is whole to beleeve upon this ground poore creatures thinke it is in their power to beleeve and take grace and helpe from Christ though they cannot helpe themselves therefore they labour not to get grace from God to doe this worke because they thinke they can performe this worke by their owne abilitie and power The cure of this hindrance is this and it lieth specially in these three meditations First see thy selfe and convince thy owne heart how thou art cozened and thy conscience how thou art deceived in common sense when such thoughts creepe into thy minde and reason thus were it in my power alone to beleeve or in any mans power else would any man goe to hell for want of beleeving if it were in my power or any mans power else to get faith would any man perish for want of faith Take a little experience from those that lie on their death beds A riotous wretch that hath run headlong against the Lord and his truth a man that hath lived stubbornly and stoutly under the means of grace and hath taken up armes against God and his grace he lieth gasping and then hee lookes to Heaven and considers what shall become of him The Minister saith he must renounce himselfe and apply Christ and his promises to his soule Oh saith he I cannot beleeve the Lord will save mee and pardon me and comfort me I cannot rest upon the promises of God What I such a sinner and saved what I such a sinner and comforted I cannot beleeve it if all the Angels in Heaven tell it me is it in this mans power to beleeve now when he sees Hell open before him and the devils ready to receive him doe you thinke hee would rush into Hell if hee could beleeve and escape it Secondly looke into the depth of thine owne heart and weigh seriously thine owne weaknesse by the ballance of the Sanctuary and thine owne infirmities by the blessed Word of the Lord and see that thou must not onely have a gift from God to take it God must not onely give a man a gift but power to receive it Ioh. 3.27 No man can receive any thing unlesse it be given him from above therefore judge your owne abilities not according to your owne conceits and overweening imaginations but judge by the Word and judge righteous judgement that a man can receive no good thing unlesse God give him power The gift must come from above and the power must come from above whereby hee must receive it Thirdly consider and settle thine owne heart in this same determination and resolution that there must be a supernaturall power put forth to make thee beleeve or else all the power under Heaven cannot furnish thee with sufficiency thereunto a man is able to doe the condition of the first covenant as to observe the condition of the second covenant he is as well able to keepe the Law as to beleeve the Gospell unlesse there be a power to inable him Iames 1.18 Her hath begotten us according to his owne will by the Word of truth a childe cannot beget himselfe So it is here spiritually as there naturally the Lord doth beget us according to his owne will it is not in our owne will to beget our selves as the Pelagians dreamed it is not in our will to dispose of our hearts to take Christ when we will to let him stand at doore so long as we see fit and take him in when we see fit but it is the Will of the Lord that must beget us and not our will that can beget our selves Therefore that faith that groweth upon the ground of thy owne naturall abilitie it is a fancy it is no sound faith God must come down from heaven to thy soule before thou canst goe up to heaven againe faith must be first wrought in thy soule before thou canst be carried to God by faith there must bee a power in all means above all means there must be a spirit in all endevours above all endevours to helpe us to beleeve or else wee shall never beleeve while the world standeth therefore avoid those proud imaginations of heart when men thinke they may refuse grace take grace when they list shut Christ out of doores over night and take him in the morning it is against sense and there is nothing more crosse and contrary to the power of grace No goe secretly betweene God and thine owne soule and confute it what I Lord and my parts Lord what in my will Lord to beleeve and in my power and so forth no if all men and Angels should conspire together and all the Ministers under Heaven joyne together to work faith in my soule it will never bee the power of Angell Men or Word will never worke it but it must bee the power of the Lord that must worke it
538 The second sort of hinderances are the resting upon duties endevours and performances p. 546 The third sort of hinderances is the want of sense and feeling p. 549 The meanes or cures against these hinderances are especially three Cure I. A distressed soule is not to looke too long nor too much continually upon the sight and consideration of his owne sinnes p. 552 Cure II. Is this make conscience either not to attend to or not to judge thy selfe or thy estate by any carnall reason without a warrant p. 560 Cure III. Is this enter not into contention with Sathan concerning those things which belong not unto you p. 566 Cure IV. Is this in thy proceedings with thy selfe and in the judgement of thy selfe repaire unto the word of the Lord and passe no sentence but according to the evidence of the word p. 573 There are foure rules of direction to shew the soule how to repaire to the word Rule I. Is this thou art to looke into the uprightnesse and sinceritie of thine owne soule p. 577 Rule II. Is this labour to have thy conscience setled in the truth of grace which the word doth informe to be in thee p. 580 Rule III. Is this that we should strive mightily to have our hearts overpowred to entertaine that wee have that grace which the Word of truth doth manifest to bee in us Rule IIII. Is this maintaine in the last place the truth which upon these grounds thou hast received p. 592 The means to get faith are foure p. 598 Meanes I. Is this wee must labour to plucke away all props that the soule leanes upon p. 598 Means II. Is this labour to have your hearts established of the fulnesse of content that is in the promise p. 601 Means III. Is this expect all the good which thou needst and canst desire from that sufficiency of the promise p. 607 Means IIII. Is this labour to yeeld to the equall condition of the promise p. 608 The motives to stirre up the heart to seeke after faith are three Motive I. Is this because if you once get this grace you get all other graces with it p. 610 Motive II. Is this because by faith wee are delivered and made conquerours over all corruptions p. 611 Motive III. Is this because faith doth bring a blessing to all our blessings and graces p. 614 Use The second branch of the use of exhortation it is to those that have faith to live by their faith and to improve it for their best good p. 618 There are three particulars for to learne the heart how to live by faith 622 Partic. I. We must provide matter for our faith ibid. Partic. II. In providing matter of faith three rules are to bee observed Rule I. All the good promises are to bee stored up seasonably p. 623 Rule II. All the promises of all kindes and that abundantly are to be laid in p. 625 Rule III. All the promises are to bee laid up in the heart that we may have them at hand for our use p. 628 Particular II. We must labour to fit faith for the worke p. 630 Rule I. To maintaine the evidence of this grace of faith p. 630 Rule II. To labour to bring our hearts to a stilnesse or calmnesse that faith may have its full scope p. 634 Rule III. Not to looke first unto the means but to the promise for succour p. 637 Particular III. We must order faith in the worke p. 640 Rule I. To renounce all power and abilitie in our selves ibid. Rule II. To bring the promise home to our hearts p. 642 Rule III. We must be carried by the promise unto God p. 644 Passage II. How we may take and improve the good of the promise p. 645 Severall Treatises of this AUTHOUR 1 THE unbeleevers preparing for Christ out of Revelations 22.17 1 Corinth 2.14 Ezekiel 11.19 Luke 19.42 Matthew 20.3 4 5 6. Iohn 6.44 2 The soules preparation for Christ or a Treatise of Contrition on Acts 2.37 3 The Soules humiliation on Luke 15. verses 15 16 17 18. 4 The Soules vocation or effectuall calling to Christ on Iohn 6.45 5 The Soules union with Christ 1 Corin. 6.17 6 The Soules benefit from union with Christ on 1 Cor. 1.30 7 The Soules justification eleven Sermons on 2 Corin. 5.21 8 Sermons on Iudges 10.23 on Psalme 119.29 on Proverbs 1.28 29. on 2 Tim. 3.5 THE SOVLES EFFECTVALL CALLING TO CHRIST By T. H. LONDON Printed by J. H. for Andrew Crooke at the signe of the Beare in Pauls Church-yard 1637. The Soules effectuall calling to CHRIST JOHN 6.45 Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father commeth unto me THE ingrafting of the humble and broken hearted sinner into Christ as we have heard consists of two particular passages The first was being put into the stock Secondly the ingrafting into the some As in ingrafting naturally so of implanting spiritually of the soule into Christ When the soul is brought unto this then a sinner comes to be partaker of all the spiritual benefits all shall be communicated to us Now the point at this present to be handled is called by the streame of Divines Vocation and I tearme it the putting in of the soule when the soule is brought out of the world of sinne to lye upon and to close with the Lord Jesus Christ and this hath two particular passages in it partly the call on Gods part partly the answer on ours The call on Gods part is this when the Lord by the cal of his Gospell doth so cleerly reveale the fulnesse of mercy and certifies to the soule by the work of his spâ—rit that the soule humbled returnes answer to Gods call In the first observe two passages First the meanes whereby God will call the sinner unto him the sinner is afraid to appeare before God whom he hath offended and may therefore proceed in justice against him for those sinnes which have beene committed by him Now besides the Law which discovers a mans sinne unto him hee now prepares another meanes the voice of his Gospell hee lets in many sweet inklings into the soule of his love and kindnesse to allure him to call him and draw him to himselfe Secondly the Lord doth not onely appoint the meanes namely the ministery of his Gospel whereby the soule may be brought unto him and receive communion with him but by the worke of his Spirit hee doth bring all the riches of his grace into the soule truly humbled so that the heart cannot but receive the same and give answer thereto and give an eccho of the subjection of it selfe to be governed thereby that wee have finished already There must bee hearing before comming not of the Law to terrifie a man but of the Gospell to perswade and allure a man to come unto the Lord and receive mercy and kindnesse from him The Gospell is the meanes ordained by God to call home the soule unto him But this will not doe the
deed there must be something else or the sinner will be at a stand and cannot come on cheerfully and receive the grace offered him therefore besides the meanes wee have the speciall cause expressed which is the Lord. For when a man hath heard that is one thing but that is not all for the principall cause is the Lord. God the Father alone can buckle the heart to receive the grace appointed and the mercy offered to the soule and without the principall cause all other meanes I meane the Ministers of the Gospell although it be a savour of life unto life yet it may be a savour of death unto death unlesse the Spirit of the Lord goes with it For when the Gospell is onely revealed to the understanding and that onely conceives of the letter thereof and it soakes not and sinkes not into the heart this we call an outward calling that is the phrase of Divines when some light flash is imparted and communicated unto the soule and is not set on sufficiently that is an outward calling But when God the Father doth accompany the dispensation of the Gospell with the powerfull operation of the Spirit and it puts its hand to the key of the Gospell and unlockes a blinde minde and a hard heart there the soule learnes throughly and effectually the way of salvation The Text saith there must not onely be hearing but learning of the Father else the soule will not nor cannot come Now before I can collect the severall passages out of the words there is some difficulty and obscurity in the phrase therefore give me leave as I am able to discover the meaning and sense of the words and then the collection will be cleere First for the explication of the phrase and I will discourse four questions unto you which will be usefull for the cleere explication of the Text. 4. Questions First what the lesson is that a man must learne before he come Secondly why the Father is said to teach and not the Sonne nor the holy Ghost Thirdly what is the manner how the Father doth teach the soule when he will call it home to himselfe Fourthly what is the frame and disposition of the soule how doth the heart behave it selfe when it hath in truth learned the lesson When the Lord will propound unto and learne the soules of his that belong to him you must not thinke the truth tedious because they will give us light into all the truth that shall bee hereafter discussed out of the word Quest 1 He that hath heard and learned of the Father what is the lesson that he must learne before hee can come that after he hath learned this lesson he may be able to see the path of salvation as propounded to him so also neere at hand that hee might walk therein and receive comfort thereby Answ For answer hereunto the lesson that the soule must learne is this namely the fulnesse of the mercy and grace and salvation that God the Father hath provided and also offered to the poore humbled sinner in and through the Lord Jesus Christ which in deed is able to doe that for a poore sinner which all the meanes and things in the world could not doe and yet notwithstanding he needs I have heretofore discussed the poore miserable plight which a sinner hath brought himselfe into by his manifold rebellions There is no helpe no hope of himselfe in what hee hath or doth to releeve and succour himselfe and therefore he fals flat at the footstoole of the Almighty and is content to be at his disposing Now the lesson that the soule must learne is the fulnesse greatnesse and freenesse of the perfect salvation which is brought unto us through the Lord Jesus Christ And that we may not learne this lesson by halfes but fully and perfectly and that your minds may conceive of the same give me leave to lay it out fully because it will be profitable for our ensuing discourse and this lesson discovers it selfe in three things as in three lines as I may so terme it The first is this that the soule may learne there is enough sufficiency in the mercy of God to fill up all the empty chinkes of the soule and supply all the wants that a sinner hath and releeve him in all those necessities that either doe or can befall him this is the condition of every sonne of man since the fall of Adam that there is not onely a great deale of weaknesse in the soule but there is a great deale of wants and emptinesse in the soule Now this is the fulnesse of the mercy of God that whatsoever our weaknesses wants or necessities bee there is full sufficiency enough in that masse to fill up all and to give the soule full content in every particular Hence the phrase of Scripture runnes thus when God propounds the fulnesse of mercy in Jesus Christ he calls it a treasury and all the treasures of wisedome and holinesse are in Christ not one treasure but all treasures not some treasures but all treasures Esay 61. When the Gospell was professed there was a fulnesse of mercy and there wee shall see a kinde of meeting and concurrency of all blessings together So that where the Gospell comes there is joy for the sorrowfull peace for the troubled strength for the weake be your miseries what they can be here is releefe seasonable and sutable to all your wants miseries and necessities Nay this is not onely for the present necessity Mercy is not only able to releeve your present necessity but your future also It is not with mercy as with the widow of Sarepta who thought when the meale in the barrell and the oyle in the cruse was spent she should then surely perish No it is not so in the fulnesse and sufficiency of this mercy it hath not onely enough to doe you good for the present and to succour you in all present wants but what miseries soever shall befall thee or what troubles shall betide thee for future times the fulnesse of Gods mercy laies in provision against such necessities and times of miseries and vexations For a poore sinner may be driven to a stand after this manner It is true saith the sinner I have heretofore committed many sinnes God hath sealed up the pardon of them unto me and those sins which have heretofore pleased me God hath given me a sight of them in some power and measure against them But what if more sins if more temptations if more corruptions if more guilt if more horror seize upon my heart how then shall I succour my selfe But now this is the fulnesse and sufficiency of mercy it doth not onely case a man in regard of present necessity but layes provision for all future wants and calamities that can befall the soule Psal 130.7 The text saith Let Israel hope in the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption The word in the originall is there is multiplying
into the heart and by the over-piercing worke doth leave some dint of supernaturall and spirituall vertue on the heart The Spirit doth not onely with truth bring home the evidence to the heart but it iâ— stâ—ll whispering and calling and making knowne the same and forcibly soketh in the rellish of the freenesse of Gods grace and leaveth a dint of supernaturall vertue upon the soule We will expresse the points because it is somewhat difficult and is the scope of that place 2 Tim. 1.7 The Lord hath not given you the spirit of feare but of a sound minde The spirit of feare is the spirit of bondage in humiliation contrition When the Spirit sheweth a man his sinnes and sheweth him that he is in bondage and in fetters le ts him get out how he can this is the spirit of feare and of bondage In the second place there is the spirit of power But what is this spirit of power You must imagine this spirit of power doth not intimate any particular grace but as it were the sinewes and strength of the worke of the Spirit conveying it selfe through the frame of the heart and this I terme to bee the effectuall worke of the Spirit of God When the soule is humbled the Lord sweetly communicates into the soule a supernaturall and spirituall vertue Lastly as it is in nature take a knife if it be rubbed on a Loadstone it will draw iron unto it now it cannot doe that because it is a knife but because it is rubbed on a stone and receives vertue there from So it is with a heart humbled it is a fit subject for the grace of God to worke upon the love of God is like the loadstone and if the heart he rubbed thereupon and affected with the sweetnesse thereof it will bee able to close with that mercy and come to that mercy and goe to God from whence that mercy comes Quest 4 What is the behaviour of the soule when it hath learned this lesson from the Lord Answ I answer When these two things meet together in the soule then it hath learned this lesson The first is this when the soule having heard of that plentifull redemption that is in Christ as also having apprehended the revelation thereof it commeth to close with the worke of the Spirit revealing presenting and offering grace to the heart nay it comes to give entertainment to he riches of that mercy revealed to the soule There is in the mercy of God and in the blessed truth of the promises a great excellency Now when this is so plentifully brought home to the heart that it breakes through all oppositions which may hinder the worke of the Spirit upon the soule when it is brought home by the spirit of God and the heart gives way and closes with it so that there is nothing betweene that and the soule this I take to be the first frame of the soule that beginnes to learne this lesson it beginnes to close to the truth to give way to the sweetnesse that is in it and bids adieu to all delight and sinnes and whatsoever may be a hindrance unto it from receiving of this grace into the soule This is the first passage The second with which I will conclude is this that as the soule closeth with that mercy and welcommeth it and the heart is content to take up mercy upon those termes so in the second place there is an impression and disposition left upon the soule that it is framed and disposed there is a kinde of print which the soule hath with it so that as the mercy of God is revealed to the soule and communicated to the soule so there is a kind of impression frame and print which the heart retaineth and hath wrought upon it by this grace and free favour of God made knowne therefore that phrase Rom. 6.17 is a marvellous patterne to our purpose the Text saith they were delivered to this forme of doctrine Looke as it is with a seale if the seale be set to the wax and leave an impression just so many letters upon the wax as in the seale then it is wholly sealed So the Spirit of God through Christ in the promises doth reveale al the freenesse and grace of mercy in Christ Now when the Spirit doth leave an impression on the soule that man is delivered into the truth I conclude all in Acts 26.18 when Saul was sent to preach to the Gentiles the Text saith he was but to bring them out of darknesse into light mark when the Lord doth come to worke effectually upon the soule he brings men from under the power of darknesse whereas the understanding was darke and blinded when the Spirit comes it turnes it from the darknesse and power of sinne unto the power of light and grace Lastly the power of the heart doth these two things for not onely some of the heart must bee brought to God but the whole heart therefore in the precious promises of grace and savation there is fulnesse of all good to draw all the faculties of the soule unto the Lord and therefore the faithfulnesse and the truth of God is mainly revealed in the promises now that fits the understanding and makes it looke to God for pardon for power and mercy As the promise is a true word so it is a good word this answers all the will and affections there is a possibility in mercy to save a man hope expects it but then the soule must looke onely to Christ for mercy desire long for it for that there is a certainty that a man shall have mercy if he can desire it love doth welcome and delight in it nay the soule doth say The Lord hath said thou must be saved nay thou must looke to Christ for mercy it is no where else to be had nay if thou dost desire it thou shalt have it and then the Lord determines the point it is done mercy is thine and then the will addes full consent and sayes Amen Lord let it be as thou hast said Gather them up briefly When the Spirit of God doth so cleerly present mercy to the soule and doth leave by the over-powring worke thereof a supernaturall worke upon the soule that the spirit closeth therewith and receives the print and impression thereof now the lesson is fully learned this may suffice for the opening of the severall things now therefore we will addresse our selves to gather the doctrines out of the Text. And first for the generall in that the Father is said to teach Doct. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper taske and worke of God It is not you that can teach your selves neither can all the meanes and friends under heaven doe it no it is the work onely of the Father All these meanes and ministers are usefull but God is the chiefe master and all these are but underling ushers to convey the minde of God unto us but the master is God himselfe
canst lay down all thy owne conceits and captivate all thy carnall reasons then thou art like to be taught of the Lord But before these hinder the Lord from informing thee in the way of truth He that sets up his owne wit above the wisedome of the Lord he shall never be exalted by the Lord of heaven This I take to bee the reason why some men of deepe reaches and of great understandings are marvellously besotted in a christian course in the way of life salvation The reason is because they trust to their owne wisedome and rely upon the arme of flesh and upon their owne policy and upon the depth of their owne understandings and that is the reason why the Lord leaves them to their foolish imaginations and as the Text saith to the Romanes when they thought themselves wise they became fooles Iames 5. at the beginning If any man want wisedome let him aske of the Lord. The word in the Originall is if any man be like a begger that beggeth up and downe for bread when he is hungry for if thou beest empty of thy selfe and a begger in thine owne apprehension if thou dost lay down all they conceit of thy owne wisedome then the Lord will give thee wisedome abundantly Reason 2 Secondly doe what thou knowest and then the Lord will informe thee much more in what thou shouldest doe improve that little sparke and knowledge thou hast and then the Lord will increase that knowledge of thine Gen. 18.19 when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah Why saith he shall I hide this thing from my servant Abraham The end God teaches a man is to improve his knowledge and when God hath taught him one lesson perfectly then the Lord will teach him another presently When thou hearest the word doe that duty which God commands reforme that sinne and amend that course which God forbids and he will teach thee abundantly Iob 7.12 he that doth Gods will the Lord will instruct that man The master of a family will not give a man fire and candle to sit up and doe no worke by it it will not quit cost Wisedome and knowledge is the candle of God if thou wilt walk by this light and walke by this candle the Lord will increase thy knowledge till thou art become a perfect Christian Reason 3 Thirdly we must not onely doe what we know but must be marvellous painfull and study and indeavour to the uttermost of our power to get knowledge doe not make it onely a holy day taske but labour continually in the use of all meanes for to get knowledge You come here to the congregation and attend to the word you doe well but very few that will make this your taske and study at home to furnish his heart with spirituall understanding It is a shame that a man should alwayes be fed with a spoon and hold the spoone in his mouth as children use to doe that is to goe and come to the congregation and get little or nothing Hos 2.3 When you labour more and more pray more heartily study more diligently bee thinking men and meditating men and chewing men setting themselves upon the truth till this I never look that they should come to any saving or judicious knowledge of life and salvation Reason 4 Last meanes take heed of bearing any secret grudge against any word and truth of God bee it never so crosse to thy corruptions if you doe the Lord in stead of directing you will delude you and in stead of informing you will besot you and give you over to blind minds and hard hearts This we know by experience men of great knowledge great parts and abilities are taken aside with dotage and fall into those errours which a man would wonder how a man of judgement should fall into The reason is they will not entertaine the truth of the Lord Rom. 1.28 as who should say Oh this strict way and this teaching preaching and the thundring of judgements wee cannot beare them we cannot undergoe them we have no delight to these take heed lest the Lord say Blindnesse take him hardnesse take him reprobate sense let him never entertaine the word of God to informe him let him never know the wisedome of God to his comfort here and everlasting happinesse hereafter Vse 3 In the third place doth the Father teach you acknowledge you have it as from God labour so to improve this wisedome that God may get something by it you are but stewards of it and therefore you must improve it for his advantage as the steward that receives money from his master c. so hath the Lord given thee a stocke of wisedome and hath cleered that eye and that judgement of thine use it to his glory Therefore doe not lift up thy selfe in regard of thine owne parts and sufficiency but if you finde your hearts to swell and rise within you for knowledge is a very airy metall as the Apostle saith it puffes up a man therefore when thou findest thy heart thus bubling with those cursed distempers reason thus Why should I be proud of a borrowed suit my minde was as blinde as any under heaven therefore let basenesse bee mine let wisedome be the Lords Gal. 5. The apprentice that is taught by his master must not presently trade for himselfe but he workes for his master and gives him the commodity so let us doe we are Gods schollers and prentices we are now come into his schoole Hath the Lord taught thee any skill in prayer any wisedome to conceive doe not worke now for your selves doe not set up presently but labour to returne all to him and to make the Lord partaker of the good he hath bestowed upon thee Thus much in generall that the Lord is the author of this teaching but now we come to particulars to see how the Spirit in speciall manner doth this This I tell you that the whole soule must come to God For as the whole soule in this gracious call of God both the minde that discovers that mercy and hope and desire and love and joy have bad entertaining thereof and the wil which is the great wheele of the soule that falls on that mercy and rests thereupon and gives answer to the call of God therein Give mee leave to propound two things by way of preface for the cleering of the following truths they will be as a key to open the doore to all the following discourse Thing 1 First those faculties of the soule which especially goe out to God and carry the soule thereunto are especially to be considered in this great worke of going unto God and beleeving in him Now there are two things in the worke some evill and some good the evill to be refused the good to be embraced Now answerably to these 2. things the Lord hath placed in the soule of a man two sorts of feet some feet carry the soule from evill some feet againe carry the soule
towards good Now the affections of the soule that doe respect evill are especially three if any evill be comming first feare is a watchman and the heart trembles and shakes and gives in Hence comes palenesse in the face because feare goes downe into the very castle of a man which is the heart and then sorrow greeves and mournes and laments under the weight of that evill wee feare evill to come but we sorrow for evill that is come Thirdly hatred that carries it selfe with a kinde of indignation and takes up armes against that evill feare is preventing sorrow feeling hatred opposing any evil that comes Now these three affections that goe from evill have been wrought upon in contrition and humiliation namely when the Lord the eye of a poore sinner discovers unto him that hell is gaping for him and the God of justice preparing vengeance for him the soule staggers and shrinks in the apprehension of it then the Lord lets in the fire of indignation into the soule and makes the soule feele that before he threatned and then the soule grieves and because his sinnes have beene so tedious unto him his heart is brought to a hatred and indignation against those evils So that if any evill or provocation or temptation come to a soule broken if the old loose companions old corruptions old swearing old blaspheming old dalliances come to call upon the soule let us have our fill of love untill the morning let us take up our old delights when these call the soule and would plucke the soule home againe unto them then these foure fence the soule against all those inchantments in so much that when the drunkard seeth his company comming towards him hee thinkes that is my plague that is the man and his perswasions and counsels hee remembers his old corruptions and his old horrors and his old burthens and heavie loads that lay upon his heart and the soule hates the drunkard and will not yeeld to his perswasions they so fence the way that the voice of sinne cannot be heard it may call and call but the doore is shut they stop the currant that no streame of distempers may prevaile any more this now is done before so that now wee come to the second worke So there are other affections that carry the soule unto good if there be any good propounded or offered then there are foure other affections that the will sends out to entertaine that good hope and desire looke for the good that is absent hope saith I marvell it comes not desire saith I long after it when the goodnesse is neere then love welcomes it and delights in it and joy rejoyceth and all these hope desire love and joy all bring carry and convey all the good to the will which is the great commander of the soule Love and joy tell the will We have found much goodnesse and taken great delight and much content in the goodnesse and mercy of the Lord. The truth is wee have taken delight in sinne and base courses but oh the comfort but oh the consolation and goodnesse of mercy you cannot have a better good than mercy Then saith the will We will have grace mercy wee will rest here Thus wee see how the head and the foot of the affections doe come on to embrace that good now the understanding doth stand sentinell all the while and discovers all the good and musters up hope and desire and love and joy and these foure are the maine wee must meddle with all the other went from evill and they have their proper worke before we doe not hate and sorrow for mercy wee doe not feare to receive mercy but wee feare and withdraw our selves from sinne and corruptions that we may entertaine the call of mercy Thing 2 There is the promise of grace and mercy in Christ a fulnesse of mercy which doth so powerfully and effectually draw the soule by this good that it brings all these affections after it Therefore in this fulnesse of mercy and goodnesse of God there are these particulars that like so many claspes draw all these faculties to God to follow and close with God for their good The promise is a true one and truth is that which marvellously pleaseth the understanding as a mans palate tastes meat so the understanding tastes words There is nothing so pleasing to the understanding as the truth of God Now of all truth there is none like the truth of a promise therefore the evidence of it doth cleere the judgement and the certainty of it doth establish the judgement of a poore sinner Eph. 1.13 The promise of God is a good word Heb. 6.5 therefore as the truth of the Gospell fils the understanding so there is a goodnesse in the promise of grace and mercy which will answer all and satisfie all the faculties of the soule as in the good word of the Lord mercy is a proper object of hope that it may be sustained a proper object of desire that it may be supported there is a proper object for a mans love and delight that they may be cheered nay there is a full satisfactory sufficiency of all good in the Gospell that so the will of a man may take full repose and rest therein Therefore the Lord saith Come unto me all that are weary and heavy laden come hope and desire and love and will and heart they answer We come all the mind saith Let me know this mercy above all and desire to know nothing but Christ and him crucified let mee expect this mercy saith hope that belongs to me and will befall me desire saith Let me long after it nay saith love let me embrace and welcome it let me delight in it saith joy nay saith the heart let me lay hold on the handle of salvation here we will live and here we will dye at the footstoole of Gods mercy thus all goe minde hope desire love joy the will and all lay hold upon the promise and say Let us make the promise a prey let us prey upon mercy as the wilde beasts doe upon their provision Thus the faculties of the soule hunt and pursue this mercy and lay hold thereupon and satisfie themselves herein Hence wee will raise these two points Doct. 1 That the word of the Gospell and the word of the Spirit goe both together this is grounded in the Text they must first heare then learne heare the Gospell and learne by the Spirit Doct. 2 That Gods Spirit gives speciall notice of Gods acceptance to an enlightned soule and that is the first voice of the Spirit to the understanding Now to the first doctrine Doct. 1 The word of the Gospell and the worke of the Spirit alwayes goe together the point is grounded in the Text after this manner they must first heare then learne heare by the word and learne by the Spirit The hearing of the Gospell without the Spirit is nothing else but a beating of the ayre and a
of those gracious promises which God hath made to poore humbled sinners Now if we be not able to cast the sense and meaning of the promise it is like an uncertaine sound though the witnesse bee good and plaine yet I cannot be comforted thereby 2 Cor. 6.16 17. This is the language of the Spirit Now let a poore humble hearted soule come and lay his heart levell to the promise one saith it is true if it were so with mee then God would be my God that promise is made to them that touch no uncleane thing but I am defiled with sins and abominations and carried aside by them therefore no share in this promise Now the meaning of the testimony is mistaken the witnesse is as good as can be and will cast the cause on your side but you understand not the meaning of the witnesse therefore we will spell the words what is it to touch no uncleane thing it is not to bee lightly acquainted with it therefore art thou content to sue out a bill of divorce to all thy sins how ever heretofore thou wert married to them yet now thou art resolved to bed with them no more art thou contented God should make knowne what ever is amisse in thy soule and subdue every distemper that is the meaning of the promise and if it be thus with thee the promise belongs to thee Meanes 4 Labour to keepe the promise by you for ever and have a readie recourse thereunto upon all occasions forget not the promise be not a stranger to it be not unacquainted be not unaccustomed to have daily trading with the promise which is so profitable to us Prov. 3.3 marke what counsell God gives by wisdome Let not mercy and truth forsake thee mercy and truth will forsake a man Satan would plucke them away but suffer them not saith the Text to depart from thy soule Iob 22.21 so the originall hath it have a daily intercourse to the promise meditate therein and muse thereupon see thou looke a ready way and have recourse to the Lord upon all occasions Motive 1 To perswade us to use these meanes is this because this most concernes our good if a man had all the good things the world could afford and his hearts desire if he had friends to respect him wealth to enrich him and honour to promote him yet if the Lord should send this heavie Message into his conscience God will curse those blessings and dam thy soule and person that newes from heaven of Gods indignation would take away the sweetnesse of all the comforts of this life but had a man good tidings from heaven were the Lord pleased to give notice of his love and mercie in Jesus Christ it would support us in whatsoever miseries or troubles should befall us nay when our owne hearts and consciences tell us hard tidings these evils thou hast committed and they will be thy plague and for this thou shalt be damned and frie in hell this is ill newes but this will beare up a mans heart if hee can but looke up to heaven and take good tidings and notice of Gods favour this will joy and refresh a mans soule Motive 2 As this most concernes us so Satan is most cunning to deprive us of the same if hee can stop any intelligence and take away any evidence of Gods love and mercie to the soule this is that Satan labours for for if the heart gets evidence this way and have notice under the hand of the Spirit what love what joy what power and vertue will be in the soule what courage and undauntednesse will be in the heart to walke in the wayes of godlinesse then learne from the Devill himselfe he labours to keepe from you what will doe you most good therefore be you as carefull to get this notice of Gods love to your soules from the Spirit in the promise as Satan is to hinder you from the same Vse 3 Instruction Hence I conclude that the poorest humbled sinner of the meanâ—st capacity doth know more of spirituall truths concerning grace and salvation and Gods love in Christ than the most wise and learned in the world that are not humbled In a word take the meanest Saint that ever breathed on the earth and the greatest scholler for outward parts and learning and reach and policie the meanest ignorant soule that is almost a naturall foole that soule knowes and understands more of grace and mercy in Christ than all the wisest and learnedst in the world than all the greatest schollers and most pompous Cardinals these were never humbled How doe I conclude this why thus if Gods spirit onely give notice of this favor to the humble then all other bee their parts what they will bee God doth not informe them the humble are informed they not instructed therefore the other know not what they cannot conceive As suppose one dull blocke and a quicke wit are both set to one trade yet if the dullard had an expert master and did beat into him the skill of the trade and the quicke spirit was with a master that could not teach him his trade wee see that the dull blocke is more wise in his trade than the other so it is here they have the Lord for their master Vse 4 To shew us the certainty of the assurance of faith if the spirit of God gives notice and certifie a thing it must needs be certaine and hence it is that the assurance of faith must needs bee infallible and undeniable in those that have it I ground it thus That which commeth from the notice of the spirit is most undeniable but the assurance thereof commeth from the notice of the spirit that faith is most undeniable hence commeth those triumphs I know my Redeemer liveth I am perswaded that neither height nor depth c. shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ The worke of God upon the understanding we have spoken of at large now wee come to the worke of God upon the affections as the understanding apprehendeth the truth of the promise so the heart looketh at the goodnesse of the promise Now therefore the Lord he must teach all the affections to come unto the promise and the first affection that commeth next in order is the affection of hope Doctrine The Doctrine is this The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and inlightned sinner to hope for the goodnesse of the Lord The Lord calleth all the affections come joy come desire come love but the first voyce is to hope only observe this passage it must come from a heart humbled and inlightned for nothing commeth to the heart to be affected but onely by the head and understanding therefore before the soule can hope the heart must bee humbled and inlightned humbled in regard of preparation and inlightned in regard of the certification of Gods goodnesse Secondly it must be stirred up to doe it the spirit
the ambitious man his honour now Gods letting into the soule the sweetnesse of his grace doth turne the whole streame of the soule thitherward It is a reproofe and meeteth with two things in wicked carnall persons First those that will cast off all hope in point of desperation Secondly against those that will doe nothing but hope without ground and that is presumption both are here to be reproved and condemned If the Lord stirreth up the heart of his to hope groundedly for his mercy Oh then take heed of that fearefull and unconceiveable sinne of despaire despaire wee must in our selves and that is good but this despaire which wee now speake of is marvellous hainous in the eyes of God and marvellous hurtfull to thy owne soule therefore take heed of it for ever I say this sin of despaire when a man casteth away all hope casteth away all carnall confidence This thou must doe and yet thou must hope let Israel hope in the Lord for in the Lord c. O the Lord taketh this very ill at our hands thou goest to the deepe dungeon of thy corruption and there thou saist these sins can never be pardoned I am still proud and more stubborne this distresse God seeth not God succoureth not his hand cannot reach his mercy cannot save now marke what the Prophet Esay saith to such a perplexed soule Esay 40.27 Why saist thou thy way is hid from the Lord The Lord saith why saist thou so the young man shall faint and bee weary but they that wait upon the Lord shall renue their strength is any thing too hard for the Lord nay I say you wrong God exceedingly you thinke it is a matter of humility you count so vilely of your selves can God pardon sinne to such unworthy creatures marke that place of the Psalmist they spake against the Lord Can the Lord prepare a table in the wildernesse They spake not against themselves but against God so wee speake against God and charge God himselfe it is true saith the soule Manasses was pardoned it is true Paul was converted it is true Gods saints have beene received to mercy but can my sinne be pardoned can my soule be quickned No no my sinnes are greater than can be forgiven saith the despairing soule then mee thinketh Satan is stronger to overthrow thee than God to save thee then it seemeth sinne is stronger to condemne thee than God to doe good unto thee and thus you make God to be no God upon point nay you make him to be weaker than sinne than hell than the devill And this is most injurious to God to make the power of sinne greater to condemne thee than the power of God to save thee to make the power of Satan stronger to ruinate thee than the mercy of God to releeve and succour thee and what can you say more and what can you doe more against the Lord Is not this to make God an underling to Satan and to sinne this is to say the Almightinesse of God is weaker than the weaknesse of sinne the Sufficiency of God is weaker than the malice of Satan It is true a poore humble sinner many times will make bitter complaints this way and they thinke they speake against themselves No no they speake against the Lord they spake against God when they said Can the Lord prepare a table in the wildernesse So you that speake in this desperate manner why truth Lord this proud heart will never bee humbled if any thing would have wrought it would have beene done before this day How many sermons how many mercies how many judgements how many prayers and yet this proud heart this stubborne heart will not be reformed you thinke you speake against your selves now no no you speake against the Lord and brethren thinke much of this thou that thinkst so that saist so that concludest so this is one of the greatest sinnes thou committest to say thy sinnes cannot be forgiven thee Secondly This sinne of desperation as it is most injurious to God so in the second place it is extraordinary dangerous to thy owne soule It is that which taketh up the bridge and cutteth off all passages and there can no spirituall comfort and consolation come into the poore soule of a poore sinner Luk. 3.15 Luk. 3.15 Every ditch must be filled and then all flesh shall see the salvation of the Lord what are these ditches why nothing else but those deepe gulfs and ditches of despaire and unlesse these bee filled no man can see the Lord Jesus Christ In a word my brethren suffer me to open my selfe the truth is this despaire of the soule is that which cutteth the sinewes of all mans comfort and taketh off the power and edge of all the meanes of grace it daunteth all a mans endevours nay it plucketh up a mans endevours as it were quite by the rootes for that which a man despaireth off hee will never labour after It is here as with a man in pangs of death unto such a man all means are unavailable for his good his bed will not ease him meat will not refresh him chasing will not revive at the last we say he is gone he is a dead man friends leave him Physitians leave him they may goe and pray for him and mourne for him but they cannot recover him So this despaire of soule maketh a man cast off all hope and lie downe in a forlorne condition expecting no good to come alas saith a man what skilleth for a man to pray what profiteth a man to read what benefit in all the means of grace the truth of it is the stone is rolled upon me and my condemnation sealed for ever it is sure in heaven and therefore I will never looke after Christ grace and salvation any more and presse the means to him let him come to heare the Word marke how he casteth off all the benefit it was marvellous seasonable and profitable it was the good Word of the Lord very comfortable unto such as have any share therein Why may not you expect good why may not you receive benefit there from why no saith the soule the time of grace is past the day is gone and thus the soule sinketh in it selfe if Christians would pray for him and Ministers would labour to doe him good why hee biddeth them spare their labour for hell is his portion and his condemnation is sealed in heaven see now and consider what desperate danger of despaire bringeth to a poore heart and maketh him to be beyond the reach of mercie that no meanes can come at him It is a pretty passage of David Psal 77.7 Will the Lord cast me off ever and will he shew no favor I said this is my infirmitie saith the text the word in the original this is my sicknes as who should say this would be my death what is mercie gone for ever then my life is gone then is all my comfort and all my hope gone
finde my selfe I hope the Lord will save me though I cannot save my selfe But the hopes of the wicked hang like a cloud they are not grounded upon the evidence of the Scripture they crowd all in the generall I hope to fare as well as others and other had mercy and why not I And hence the hopes of the wicked are unstedfast and wavering but a man might here demand are not the hopes of the Saints so too Doe they not waver and stagger many a time Answer It is true but with this difference the hopes of Gods servants are like an anchor which though sometimes it is shaken yet it holdeth the faster but the hopes of the hypocrites are like the waves of the seas and they come to nothing Prov. 8.28 The hope of the righteous shall be glad but the expectation of the wicked shall perish as who should say though the waves be great and the stormes violent yet the anchor shall bee fast and the ship shall come safe to haven but it is otherwise with the wicked their hopes doe perish What is become of your hopes now you thought you should bee saved and that you should doe as well as others but when the day of judgement commeth and the last great day of account shall be what then shall become of all your hopes You shall see it is as if a man should plead for a mans inheritance because he did dwell in the same towne and were of the same name But now the Saints of God when they come to lay claime to mercy they bring a hold a word Isay 61.3 He appointeth them that mourne in Sion will you have a legacy of joy mercy and pitty here it is the Lord Christ left it you I bequeath this and leave it to all you broken hearted sinners to all you humble mourning sinners in Sion this is your legacy sue for it in the Court and you shall have it for ever Hence David ventureth all for this hope hee taketh this as a childs part Psal 33. the last verse Let thy mercy come unto us as our hope is in thee not according to our sense and assurance but according to our hope thy desires may faile and endevours faile and the means faile yet let thy mercy come unto me according to my hope The second is this a grounded hope is ever of great power and strength to hold the soule to the truth of the promise the Spirit you know wee shewed stirreth the heart to hope now hee turneth hope so to God that the eye of the soule goeth that way and cannot bee taken from it but it will goe promise-ward and God-ward Hence take a poore sinner when hee is at the weakest under water when all temptations oppositions corruptions grow strong against them the Lord letteth them loose against the soule nay letteth the poore soule come to joyne side with Satan against himselfe and the goodnesse of the Lord and hee saith the truth of it is I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul this proud foolish filthy heart of mine it will be my bane it had better for me never to have beene I shall never get power strength and grace against these sinnes here is the lowest under of a poore soule If a man should now reply why then cast off all hope and confidence reject the meanes and turne to your sins Marke how hope steppeth in and saith it is true what ever I am and doe what ever my condition is I will use the means I am sure all my helpe is in Christ all my hope is in the Lord Jesus and if I must perish I will perish seeking him and waiting upon him Why this is hope now and I warrant that soule shall never goe to hell Psal 119.81 My heart fainted and my hope was in thy salvation Isay 8.7 I will wait for the Lord who hath hid himselfe from the house of Iacob the Lord hideth himselfe he doth not shew himselfe he hath not manifested himselfe yet I will hope in the Lord that hideth his face Psal 69.3 But the hope of the wicked is not so 2 King 6. and the last verse this evill commeth of the Lord and why should I wait any longer Prov. 14.32 The hope of the wicked is driven away that though a man stood upon his bottome and all the world could not perswade him to the contrary but that he should be saved and hee should goe to heaven though proud still though vaine still but his hope shall bee driven away but the righteous shall have hope in his death friends faile life faile and wealth faile but yet he hath hope in his death Signe 3 As the strength of this hope is great in regard of all opposition that commeth to the contrary so also the excellency and surpassing worth of this hope which overshadoweth all the hopes in the world that can be offered propounded desired all seeme nothing to this hope which the soule hath to God that when the soule commeth to be drawne to God and to hope in him all other hopes hold no weight hopeth not for honour for profit nor liberty nor delight it discovereth the basenesse of these so that the soule careth not for any thing else in comparison It is in this case with the soule as with the hound the hound haply followeth the game untill hee bee spent and tyred yet if there come a fresh hare yet the very sent of a fresh one will make him leave all so it is here though heretofore hee hath had many games in the world he hoped for honour and profit and his soule run all amaine upon them but when the soule hath beene brought to know the riches of Gods mercy in Christ it leaveth the old profits the old contents the old delights that he had Heb. 11.13 All these died in the faith when they had saluted the promises And observe here a carnall hearted Hypocrite his hopes be vaine idle and uncertaine the truth is if the world giveth other hopes of honour and profits and delights he leaveth his hope and with Demas he embraceth the present world but the Saints of God are not so Heb. 11.25 Moses might have had great honour but he forsooke his honour and had an eye to the recompence of reward Signe 4 The last is taken from the vertue of hope and the speciall fruit and effect that it worketh in the soule A grounded hope it alwayes lendeth supply and succour when all the rest of a mans abilities faile and are not able to sustaine and support his soule when desire faileth and love faileth I meane in his owne sense and apprehension I say then hope supporteth the soule Psal 16.9 My flesh shall rest in hope that is hope will give a man rest in the most miserable forlorne condition that may be that when the heart is ready to say where is the meanes that I have had and the good dayes that I have seene this dead heart cannot
so loathsome is because hee is so sinfull Now marke what the text saith this is the condemnation Iohn 3.19 that light is come into the world and men loved darknesse more than the light the Lord revealed light that is Christ to the world but the world loved sin and the temptations of Satan and the corruptions of their owne hearts more than Christ and more than mercy that was tendered to them in the Lord Jesus it is cleere therefore it was so it will be so and it is so to this day Men love their base lusts and sinfull corruptions more than the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of his grace which he expresseth to their soules and consequently they love the delusions and suggestions of Satan more than the motions of Gods Spirit and the comfort thereof Thus now we have laid downe the Inditement let us also plead it a little wee see there be many in the Church that doe not loâ—e the Lord Jesus Christ but who are they of that we will now speake for when we lay the charge we must name the man the Inditement in generall is nothing we will therefore referre these men that love not Christ to three rankes The first are open enemies to Christ The second are the glozing newters of the world The third are the fawning Hypocrites that are faire in shew but false in heart all these are guilty of this Inditement wee will therefore plead it against them desiring the Lord to convince their consciences thereof Ranke 1 First for the former and they are open enemies to the Lord Jesus we will not spend much time here but stand longest there where is most need First therefore there are open enemies to Christ and they are many such as Isaiah speakes of ye stiffe necked and hardhearted ye have resisted the Spirit of the Lord Those which set their mouthes against Heaven and stand in open defiance against the Lord Iesus and against the power of his Grace and the worke of his Spirit in the hearts of his and in the ministery of the Word and these we referre to two heads Sort. 1 First such as are profest opposers of the evidence of the truth those whereof Christ spake the Housholder let out his Vineyard to Husbandmen Matth. 21.33 and when the time of the fruits drew neere hee sent his servants to the Husbandmen that he might receive the fruits of it and the Husbandmen tooke his servants and beat one and killed another and stoâ—â—â— another at last he sent his sonne and said surely they will reverence my sonne nay when hee came they all combined and conspired together and said this is the Heire come let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours this was an intimation of the Scribes and Pharisees the Chuch was the Vineyard and it was let out to them and God sent his Prophets among them they persecuted them then hee sent his Disciples they stoned them and when his Sonne came they conspired against the Lord Iesus with one open mouth with one joynt endevour Come said they this is the Heire let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours And doe you thinke that the Scribes and Pharisees are dead and have left none of their cursed brood and generation behinde them I tell you beloved there are many persecutors of Christ and his Gospell to this day which are the leaders of the campe which stand in open defiance of the God of Heaven but if you aske mee what entertainment their lusts have among these men they find all welcome possible temptations whisper not occasions come not corruptions stirre not so soone be the company never so base the course never so vile the practice never so wicked but these miserable sinfull creatures give audience and attendance and acceptance and entertainment to these base courses nay they invite them and provide for them nay they bestow a great deale of cost for the entertainment of their lusts they seeke out occasions to commit their sinnes the adulterer goeth in the twi-light to meet his queanes and the drunkard goes to the Ale-house to meet with his base companions thus they invite their lusts and provide for their lusts this is that the Apostle disswades us from Rom. 13.14 make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof yet these men make provision for their base lusts their mindes are plotting and their endevours labouring to provide all courses that may give entertainment to their lusts therefore no marvell they finde such long continuance in their sinnes because they make such provision for them but now if you will observe how these men entertaine Christ you may discover it by these two passages Passage 1 First observe how they entertaine the power of Christs Spirit in the ministerie of the word and secondly how they entertaine the presence of our Saviour in the graces of his children First concerning the ministerie of the word if it be so that the ministery of the word comes powerfully home to the conscience and would open the eyes and awaken the heart of ungodly men and would plucke them from their sinnes Oh what an uproare there is and how doe men take up armes against the truth and beat off the power of the word that it may not prevaile with the heart and awaken them and that it may not rule in their lives Christ notes such as these for opposers of goodnesse Luke 19.27 Bring hither mine enemies that would not that I should reigne over them and slay them before my face the word would plucke the cup from the drunkards mouth and the adulterer from enjoying his dalliances with his mate but their hearts swell and they groane to be under that truth and under the rule thereof and to be swayed thereby nay they doe not only withdraw themselves from yeelding obedience to the holinesse of the word but they will not so much â—s acknowledge the truth of the word which the Devill himselfe did when Paul was preaching the grace of life and salvation the text saith Acts 16.17 The damsell that had the spirit of divination met him and the Devill said These men are the servants of the most high God which shew unto us the way of salvation the Devill acknowledged that this was the word and the very truth the Devill acknowledged these were the services which God commands and these were the duties which ought to be discharged but wicked men will not be perswaded of this they will not beleeve that they must be holy as he is holy neither will they beleeve that they must be pure as he is pure these men doe not give God so much honour as the Devill did but die out and say I will never be of that opinion all the world shall not perswade mee to it five hundred Ministers shall not make me thinke so Beâ—oved this is profest opposition and desperate hatred against the Lord not onely to withdraw â—he
than God doth convey this and communicate to the soule a man naturally is as well able to keepe the law which is doe and live as hee is of himselfe in himselfe so considered to beleeve in the Gospell and to keepe the second covenant of grace which is beleeve and live but the difference is here the Gospell requires abilitie and gives it the Lord cals us to come and inables us to come whereas the law reveales a mans corruptions but never gives him power against them but as the Lord called Lazarus so the Lord gave Lazarus power to rise so when the Lord cals a poore sinner he gives strength and spirituall ability to come according to the call which the Lord reveales that he may come by that saving and precious faith as S. Peter cals it therefore it is of necessity required that as the soule beleeves the Lord must give strength that it may beleeve and therefore it is effectually perswaded Now that I might meet with that erronious opinion of Pelagians consider what I say they say it is of necessity required that a poore sinner have his minde inlightened but the will of man is unaltered and left free to refuse or chuse grace if it please so that they put a kinde of ability in the will to take or refuse Christ and grace when it is offered but here is a deepe mistake because the will of man is as farre averse from God as the minde is blinde nay it is more averse from God than the minde is blinde and it is more hard to be framed therefore there must be this effectuall perswading as the understanding must have the truth cleered to see a Christ so the will must be perswaded that it may receive power from him as it is with the sea and the thames there is ebbing and flowing now the natutall Philosophers observe that the ebbing and flowing comes not from any inward proper principle of it selfe but the light and heat of the moone leaves its beames upon the water and drawes the water after it this makes it to flow and when the moone is gone the water returnes backe againe and this is ebbing just so it is with the soule of a man humbled and enlightened there is no power in the soule to goe any further than it selfe to flow unto a Christ and to goe towards the promises further than the Lord lets in by the power of his Spirit the beames of his mercie upon the soule and sheds in the freenesse of his grace into the heart and that makes the soule flow againe so that as it ebbed and went away from God by sinne so it now flowes and comes to God againe but it is by the power and Spirit of God Quest. Now if you aske mee what it is to have the heart thus perswaded of Gods goodnesse in Christ Answ It is nothing else but this first as it is undeniably inlightened to see this mercie of God so there comes in a streame of the freenesse and riches of Gods grace and doth affect the heart with the sweetnesse and rellish of Gods grace that it findes a marvellous sweetnesse in it Quest Secondly what is it to be effectually perswaded Ans It is thus much not a touch and away and a little sip and begone nor a hourly kinde of tasting but take notice of these two things in it First when the prevailing sweetnesse in the promise and that goodnesse in the promise is let in by the Spirit of the Lord that it sinkes into the heart roots and it comes to take possession of the soule of an humble sinner and is next the soule there is nothing next the soule but that the world and pleasure c. are without the heart but the goodnesse of the promise and the freenesse of Gods grace hath its privie chamber in the heart of a man this I take to be the meaning of that phrase of rooting the promise in the heart and this was the fault of the stony ground-hearers Matth. 13.21 The seed grew up suddenly and perished suddenly why because it had not depth of earth the seed of the promise had not the depth of his heart but there was a stone in the heart and the world lay next the heart and a stone of lust and pride was betweene the word of the Lord and the heart so that the promise had not root and hence it was slightly affected with the truth but never thus powerfully to have it goe downe to the roots of the heart the good word of the Lord in this case comes to the heart not as an owner but as a travellour this is the meaning of that place Hosea 2.14 I will allure her and draw her into the wildernesse that is by preparation and then I will speake comfortably to her that is I will speake to her heart so it is in the originall there is a kinde of prevailing sweetnesse of the grace of God in Christ that will be at the roots of the heart that it may give allowance unto it now marke what followes from hence and this is the first part of the effectuall perswading of the heart when the heart saith away with profit and the world and all let me have the Lord and his grace Oh that goes to the bottome of the heart hence it is that the soule thus prevailingly is sweetned with the goodnesse of the promise can taste nothing in the world without this it is now out of love with all other things it had loved and doted on before most immoderatly the sweetnesse of the promise hath stolne away the heart of a poore sinner and gotten the good will of the soule to be only for Christ and to have his heart to close with Christ and to be nothing in the world without him this effectuall perswading it is the meaning of that place Act. 3.19 Amend your lives repent and turne that your sinnes may be done away repent and be converted that is be truly prepared in the worke of humiliation and be converted that is have a through heat of the heart for grace in vocation that your sinnes may be done away in justification so then when the soule is first humbled in preparation and the heart now all for the Lord Jesus Christ and can taste nothing but Christ and nothing in regard of him and God hath gotten his good will then followes justification that your sinnes may be blotted out this was the practice of the repenting Church when the Lord had hedged her way and built a wall that she could not finde her old lovers Hos 2.7 at last the Church saith I will returne to my first husband for then it was better with me than now as if the Church had said Oh the mercies of God and the consolation of Christ are better than all my delights in sinne the soule comes now to see a bettering in Christ Oh to have my heart purged and my sinnes remitted it were better than to wallow
from the Lord and his grace and his mercy and it preferres sinne and the Devill before the Lord and all that sufficiency of good that is in him and therefore the Prophet wisheth the Heavens to bee astonished at this weake things naturally incline to that which may strengthen them and heavy things will not rest untill they come to the earth because that will sustaine them Oh what a basenesse is this the Heavens are weary of a base wretch that will trust to his owne corrupt heart and renounce grace and Christ and happinesse and all this is the first passage Secondly unbeleefe it makes all means to bee unprofitable that is when a man is setled upon his folly and is resolved to rest upon his rebellious will and to bee ruled by that hee will not looke out nor attend nor give entertainment to whatsoever is revealed to the contrary This makes all meanes unprofitable bee the meanes never so precious and powerfull and though they have done never so much good in quickning the hearts of others yet they never doe these men good this unbeleefe makes all meanes to be spilt upon the ground and they never doe good to an unbeleeving heart as Heb. 4.12 let us feare therefore lest at any time by forsaking the promise of entring into his rest any of you should seeme to be deprived of the grace and mercy of God for the word was preached first to us as also unto them but it did not profit them that heard it because it was not mixed with faith there is the cause be the reproofes and threatnings never so fierce that it would almost affright the heart of a Devill and the comforts never so sweet and the heart of a poore Minister never so enlarged to worke upon the hard-hearted yet infidelity is as the buckler that beares off all and he saith I will never beleeve it all his words fall to the ground and enter not unto the heart no reproofe terrifies no exhortation prevailes the heart is unbeleeving it beats backe and shuts out all this is the reason why the Devill labours to make up this fortresse above all the rest because he knowes if any man have an unbeleeving heart it will make all meanes unprofitable the Devill is content that men have parts and gifts and these will carry a man to hell that hath an unbeleeving heart and therefore many wicked men that are the Devils factours and schoolmasters the first lecture they read to a poore soule that is comming on because they feare that hee will bee wrought upon by the word and the light of the word is come into his minde and his eyes are inlightned and hee saith If this bee true that the word saith then hee saith I am a miserable man the Lord be mercifull to me now see what the carnall wretch that is the Devils familiar saith to him I hope you have more wit than to bee perswaded of whatsoever he saith he speakes out of passion and he must say something and threatned men live long c. thus nothing workes upon him and the Minister had as good speake to the pillars for all comes to nothing and we finde it in nature thus that the not beleeving of any thing keepes the heart from being affected with it as for example thus let there bee never so many threatnings as that the Spanyard hath an invincible navie of so many ships set out the merchant that understands any thing knowes that the Spanyard cannot make such a navie and therefore they beleeve it not but in eighty eight every mans heart begins to shake and every man begins to bestirre himselfe nay let the promise be never so faire and sweet yet if wee are not perswaded of it we never care for his kindenesse and we looke not after it and say these are good words and faire words make fooles faine but wee beleeve it not just thus it is with an unbeleever when hee comes to receive all the meanes of grace from the Lords hands and when all judgements are denounced from heaven and the wrath of God against sinne and the word saith Be not deceived God is not mocked if you soâ— to the flesh and walke after it you shall reape everlasting perdition and againe No adulterer nor drunkard shall enter into the kingdome of heaven they heare these and consider of them and make a small mater of it and will not beleeve it and therefore they tremble not at it and are not affected with that cursed condition in which they are Deut. 29.18 19. when the Lord had denounced all the judgements that could be expressed all the mercies that could bee revealed in the end he saith Take heed lest there be in any of you any root of bitternesse so then when yee heare the words of this curse yee blesse your selves in this estate and say I shall have peace though I walke in mine owne wayes as if he had said if any man come to this that hee can heare all the flashes that come from hell and see hell gaping for him and here the thundering of Gods judgements and beleeves nothing but blesseth himselfe and saith the Prophets and Ministers must say something and they must have leave to speake but yet I shall bee blessed for all this this wipes of all the authority of the truth of God looke as it is in nature that physick which the stomack is not able to retaine though it bee never so good it will never purge and the meat though never so comfortable yet if the stomack cannot take it downe and digest it it will never nourish a man so be the word never so physicall and cordiall yet if a man have 〈◊〉 unbeleeving hâ—â—â—t that he will not take downe the truth it is marvellous certaine that that word cannot profit an unbeleeving heart and thatâ— the cause of that curse which Ieremiah speakes of chap. 17.5 Cursed bee the man that trusts in man and hee that maketh flesh his arme and withdraweth his heart from the Lord for hee shall bee like the barren heath in the wildernesse that it shall not see when good commeth as it is with a barren heath though the seed bee never so good and the seasons never so comfortable and though the sunne shine never so fairly upon it and though the dewes come from heaven never so sweetly yet there will not be a graine of good corne because it is a barren heath so it is with that unbeleeving heart of thine thy heart shall be like a barren heath and thou shalt never see when good commeth much good will come to thy family it may be there will one childe be humbled and it will come to the same chamber one servant is hardened and another saved the wife converted and the husband is hardned and the husband is converted and the wife is wayward and froward still now though the dewes of heaven bee never so comfortable so that one poore soule is strengthened and
another poore heart cheared yet thy unfaithfull heart is like a barren heath no good shall come to thee in it there is no mercy nor consolation for that soule in all the meanes that God continues and vouchsafes this is the maine cause of all the inconveniences that come upon us that after all the meanes continued and multiplied there is almost no good at all done every family is 〈◊〉 a barren heath there is no good comes to such a childe nor to such a servant they are all infidels I doe not meane Pagans but unbeleevers and they receive not that mercy which Christ offers nay it is just that it should bee so that thou shouldst never get good though all the Angels from heaven should come and reveale Gods minde and though all the Devils should come from hell to terrifie thee because unbeleefe drawes away thy heart and pluckes away the soule and makes the power of the truth not to prevaile with it so that when the Lord would come in upon the heart unbeleefe pulls away the heart from the truth of God Rom. 11.20 The Iewes were broken off because of unbeleefe they were cut off from bâ—ing Gods people and from enjoying the meanes of grace that when the Lord would lay hold upon a poore soule unbeleefe plucks the soule from the word that it may turne from it Quest But some will say if unbeleefe makes all meanes unprofitable then an unbeleever should use no meanes at all Answ I answer Yes use all the meanes as may be because the word may take away thy unbeleefe and as thou usest all meanes so labour to have thy heart subdued and overmastered the word tampers thy tongue and thy fingers but looke thou up to the Lord and say Good Lord let thy word be powerfull to come in upon my heart and to take away my unbeleefe Thirdly it is unbeleefe that maintaines all sinne in the heart of a sinner in the strength and power of it so much as may be in this case unbeleefe is the mother of all corruptions and breeds many it nurseth and nourisheth them so that they are fat and well liking and they come up marvellous well that 's the meaning of the Apostles phrase 2 Thess 3.2 That we may be delivered from the hands of unreasonable and absurd men how came they to bee so because all men have not faith that is he that wants faith will never want him and he that wants faith will ever be unreasonable and absurd drunkennesse stares men in the face and out-faces the officers and contempt of God and prophanation of the Lords day and the world carries all before them as if they were the only commanders of the world what 's the reason of it all men have not faith they doe not beleeve the word of God that condemneth those sinnes and which would direct them to cast away those sinnes and therefore they goe on with marvellous violence let the word of God come in publike or private they make nothing of all these but they will have their owne wayes I use to call unbeleefe the protectour of the estate of corruption as it is with some lower states and princes as in the Low-countries and in Germany they are not able to subsist of themselves and therefore they are in league with some other that they may be protected by them and receive succour from them and if they defend them they hope to make their parts good with any so this unbeleefe maintaines any sinne good in its rank and state indeed restraining grace may curbe corruption and keepe in the distempers of the heart but there is nothing that can kill corruption but onely the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of his grace Rom. 8.2 The law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Iesus hath freed mee from the law of sinne and of death sinne sets up a law and rules in the heart as you shall finde it in your owne hearts pride saith you shall bee proud there is a soveraigne rule and a tyranicall authority which pride expresseth in the heart now the Spirit of the Lord Iesus sets up another law and there is more commanding power in that than in the corruption of the soule and the law of the Spirit taketh away the power of sinne that would prevaile against a poore sinner the law of meeknesse in Christ takes away the law of anger in the heart and the law of patience in Christ takes away the law of impatience and the law of courage takes away the law of cowardize and the law of chastity takes a way the power of uncleannesse so that there is no sinne can be subdued but by the power of Christ and the work of his Spirit now unbeleefe keepes the heart wholly from Christ therefore it can receive no good from Christ and from hence it is that all sinne is maintained in the soule in the full vigour of it there is no unbeleever in all the world but he hath all sinne strongly in him and not one sinne that ever was slaine it is strange to see when unbeleefe previles but a little in the heart of a poore Saint how all other sinnes put out their heads and shew themselves a maine as Luke 22.32 Simon Simon Satan hath desired to sift thee as wheat but I have prayed that thy faith faile thee not Sathan laboured to shake the hold of Peters faith and thereupon many corruptions were expressed in his life because Peter did faile and did not beleeve that which Christ had said to him so soone as unbeleefe prevailes then false-heartednesse exprest it selfe and he presently denied his master and then base cowardlinesse sayes I know not the man and his want of reverence to the name of God discovers it selfe for hee fals to sweare that he knew him not and there was self-love in all these thus you see when a man will not beleeve every corruption breakes forth and that amaine and this unbeleefe will fat all corruptions in the soule and all cursed distempers and makes them fat and well-liking as it is of faith in the spirituall man so it is of flesh in the corrupt man 1 Pet. 2.11 The flesh lusteth against the soule there is a kinde of armour of the flesh and of corruption as well as the armour of the Spirit which procures comfort to the soule sinne hath its armour as well as grace now looke as it is in the spirituall armour of a Christian faith is a shield a shield defends not only the body but all the armour of the body so faith it defends not onely the body but the soule and all the graces of the soule so it is also with this infidelity in regard of a mans corrupt nature corruption it is maintained by infidelity as by a shield it is the shield of a mans corruptions as faith is the shield of the spirituall man I confesse that reformation and the meanes thereof out of the ordinances
of God and the powerfull worke thereof may marvellously snub and wound sinne but infidelitie will heale it againe and will restore life to it againe I compare reformation to the retreat of an army when one side is weake and the other side is too strong and they are not able to make their parts good then they make a retreat and goe home againe to their trenches and hee that wisely retreats himselfe though he may lose the day yet he loseth not a man and the Commander saith such a man was wounded and such a man was hurt a little but we came all well home they retreat into the trenches and get more strength and then they levy our their forces againe So it is with outward reformation haply a man lives under a powerfull Minister under a good master and in a good family and all these make sin retreat and hee dares not sweare and he cannot walke in his wicked wayes his master curbs him all this while his sinnes make a retreat but there is none of them gone the life of never a one of them is gone so long as he hath an unbeleeving heart let the unbeleever enjoy never such means and live in never so good a family yet he hath not one sinne killed they are onely retreated and so unbeleefe nurseth them and makes them grow out with greater violence This I take to be the reason why many a man that hath professed the Gospell and hath had much horror of heart and many good resolutions and much care expressed outwardly after many yeers his corruptions breake out againe and get ground and they are armed afresh and they run violently and for any thing a man knowes they goe downe to hell how many professours have turned to be uncleane persons and to be drunkards because their old sinnes were but onely snubbed by good company and the word c. But they never had their hearts throughly broken the root that nursed all was still the same and therefore they breake out notoriously to the dishonour of God the scandall of the Gospell and the confusion of their owne soules if God be not mercifull Fourthly as unbeleefe keepes God from the soule and makes all meanes unprofitable and maintaines all sinne in the strength and life of it So lastly it makes the soule of a poor sinner to be in a desperate estate and a man continuing in this condition is past hope help recovery beleeving is the last covenant that ever God hath exprest a man may be saved and not doe the law but a man cannot be saved if he doe not beleeve that 's the last covenant and condition of all and if hee stick here he is past all recovery without a wonderfull worke from Heaven Heb. 3.18 There the Lord takes a solemne oath that they that would not beleeve should never enter into his rest to whom did he sweare thus to them that beleeved not God never takes an oath that hee that keeps not the law shall not bee saved or that hee that cannot performe to keepe all the Commandements shall not be saved and never see happinesse no but he takes an oath that they that beleeve not shall never see happinesse and when God once sweares the thing is unchangeable God never swore that if Adam did not doe hee should not live but if he had not beleeved in that Christ that was promised hee had never beene saved but though we cannot live by exact doing yet we may live by beleeving and we may goe to another to doe what God requires of us and this is the reason of that peremptory curse which God sealâ—s downe upon the hearts of unbeleevers Iohn 3.18 He that beleeveth is not condemned but he that beleeveth not is condemned already hee hath one foot in hell but why is it so I answer looke as it is with a man that hath a case to be tried if it be tried in all the courts of England and he cast in them all there is no more trouble to bee made nor no more hope of recovery So it is in this hee that beleeveth not is cast in all Courts in Heaven and earth Law and Gospell both condemne him justice will not save him for it must bee satisfied and mercy will not save him for he is an unbeleever so that there is no trial to be lookt for the sentence is passed upon him in heaven and earth onely there wants a Jaylor to bring him to the gibbit that is death and the devill who is the hangman to turne him off into hell for ever there to plague him nay unbeleefe bindes Gods hand and hinders the power of God as may be said with reverence he may justifie a sinner but he will not justifie an unbeleever in his estate of unbeleefe Marke 6.5 He could doe no miracle there because of their unbeleefe the text doth not say hee did not great workes there So S. Matthew hath it but he could doe no great workes there so the Lord hee can doe mighty workes he can justifie a sinner and comfort the discomforted and cleanse the polluted and save the polluted but he will not save the unbeleever hee cannot worke this mighty worke upon him and therefore doe not trouble thy selfe so much for mercy towards thee if thou bee an unbeleever never dreame of comfort for God cannot save thee will God goe against his owne words then he should not bee truth hee hath sworne that an unbeleever shall not enter into his rest this word and oath shall stand for ever Therefore goe to God that hee may give thee a beleeving heart and then mercy will come and pardon and glory will come to the soule but remaining in unbeleefe hee cannot save thee hee will not deny his Word nor his oath for never an unbeleeving wretch under Heaven Now if you doe conceive the nature of your sinne and your misery thereby then for the Lords sake you that heare the Word this day all you unbeleevers that never had this worke of faith in your soules hie you out of this miserable condition goe your wayes and give no quiet to your soules nor no comfort to your consciences before the Lord shew mercy to you in removing this corruption from your soules and shew mercy to you Now whether you have true faith or no I shall shew afterwards when I shall come to trie every mans evidence and that yee may come out of this unbeleeving condition labour to see the danger of it in three particulars and establish thy heart with these considerations that thou maist never bee in quiet till thou have some power against them and grace to come out of them First know and consider seriously that whatsoever thou dost so long as thou art an unbeleever it is all unprofitable and to no purpose at al couldst thou heare with attention and remember sufficiently whatsoever is revealed and pray with abilitie and understanding beseeming a Christian man in that case didst thou reforme
is it thus with me Ans I answer the fault is not in faith that it doth not or cannot lend supply and succour to thee but the fault is in thy selfe either in thy carelesnesse and ignorance that knowest not when thou hast faith or else in thy unskilfulnesse that thou dost not imply that faith which thou hast faithfully for thine owne good I speake only of the beleever I goe not about to prove that he which hath not faith can be contented no hee hath a worme in his bosome a conscience which will plague him and torment him for ever Quest But to speake of one that hath faith if it be so that it bringeth such contentment how may a man that hath faith improve it to have this contentment from it Ans For answer hereunto the rules are foure which a man must use to have this contentment whereby he may be carried on in his course and goe on singing to Heaven remember still that I speake of a man that hath faith Rule 1 First labour to gaine some evidence to thy owne soule that thou hast a title to the promise make thy title good It is not enough for a malefactour in prison to have a pardon granted him but he must know that the pardon is granted before he can bee contented therewith haply the King hath granted it and the Prince hath begd it but the malefactour is not contented untill hee know it It is not enough that a poore begger hath a friend or a rich unkle that will doe much for him or that he hath setled a great estate upon him and his heires after him but hee must know it before he can be contented with it it may be he is not neere by a hundred miles and he is troubled with misery and poverty because hee knowes not of it just so it is with a faithfull soule there is never a poore beleever but hee is rich in faith though hee live in a smoaky cottage and lives meanly and goes barely yet all these revenues of faith are his Heaven and Earth and all is thine thou poore beleever But what is all this to the matter if thou hast no evidence that all this iâ— thine this is the fault why poore Christians goe drooping and are overburthened with their sins and their miseries because they see not their title to mercie nor their evidence of Gods love in 2 King 6.16 17. when Elisha was beset with an armie of his enemies the servant of the Prophet said good Master what shall we doe they are many and wee are few they are armed and wee are naked then said the Prophet Lord open his eyes that he may see and God did it and then hee saw those hils full of fierie charets and then hee saw that there were more with them than were against them and then hee was quiet now the armies and the chariots were there before but hee saw them not and therefore he could not be quieted so it is with every faithfull soule the Lord hath caused his Angels to pitch their tents about the elect wee have God on our side and Christ and the Angels but wee see not our privileges and the interest that wee have in the mercie and goodnesse of the Lord we crie out as he did good Master what shall we doe so many sinnes and so many corruptions how shall we be succoured the Lord open our eyes that we may see the free riches of his grace and the fulnesse of his mercie this is all ours that we may see his love to us and his Angels waiting upon us and his blessing going with us this would quiet our hearts I will not now adde how you may doe this and how you may make your evidence cleere that you have a title to mercie this were to multiply a division upon a division only judge your estate by the word and take one evidence from the word as good as ten thousand this is the fault of people it may bee some evidence fits them marvellous well but because they have not all they will have none at all in truth but throw away all and therefore I say judge your estates by the word and not by carnall reason and if you have but one promise for you you have all in truth though all be not so fully and cleerly perceived this is the first rule Rule 2 Secondly labour to set a high prize and a wonderfull great account of the precious promises of the Lord thus estated upon thee for thy good and make account of the least promise of grace above a thousand worlds looke what account you make of the sufficiencie of a thing so much content you have in that thing whose sufficiencie you see and doe esteeme of now because the promises of God and the riches of Gods love in Christ are most worthy of our love and most sufficient for us let us therefore be contented with them above all and then wee shall bee contented though wee want all Luke 12.32 when the Disciples were in great trouble and expected more and further miserie after the death of Christ the Lord Christ saith to them Feare not little flocke it is your fathers pleasure to give you a kingdome if you finde hand measures and feare troubles and expect persecutions on every side yet feare ye not you shall have a kingdome and that will carry you through all occasions are you imprisoned and persecuted and disquieted feare not you shall have a kingdome and then you shall bee comforted and quieted for ever you little ones that are poore and meane in the world and you lye as stepping stones for every base wretch to tread on you are persecuted and despised and scorned but feare not you shall have a kingdome the want of this is the cause of all that discontentment that is in the hearts of Gods owne people which are beloved of him and respected by him Take a poore man in misery his children crie for meat and the mother saith goe to bed poore babes you shall have meat when the Lord sends it brethren this is hard I confesse but now if a friend should come and give him two hundred pounds a yeare for ever this would make him goe away contented because this would provide for him and his now I propound a promise to this man the Lord hath said he will never faile thee nor forsake thee what is this worth of your money one man offers him two hundred pounds a yeare and I offer him a promise now couldst thou thou poore miserable creature bee content to take this two hundred pounds a yeare and leave the promise and bee content that the Lord should not pardon nor comfort nor save thee I presume thou wouldst not doe thus now will a thousand pounds content thee and will not the promise the reason is thou prisest the money because it is temporall and thou seest it and thou prisest not the promise because it is spirituall and thou seest
and it is ready to cousen the touch I meane of able judicious Christians but now this faith never came from the right place for if it were right it must come from the mine of mercie and from God and the worke of his Spirit from thence thou hast it if thy faith bee sound Rom. 10.17 Faith comes by hearing the word faith is not in us it comes to us it is not wrought or purchased by our owne worthinesse or power the word is the conduit to convey it but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is as the fountaine that sends it into the soule so that you must not thinke to have faith here first but hast thou found faith here first then it is not of the right but if the good Spirit of the Lord hath wrought upon thee if it be so then thy faith is right but some will say we heare the word diligently and we doe attend upon God in his ordinances and have wee not faith I answer hearing is the meanes to convey it but it is the Spirit of the Father that conveyes it by the meanes and that Spirit thou must receive by the meanes if ever thou have it there is the pitch of the point Object But how shall we know when the Spirit of God is pleased to worke this in our soules and to put it into our soules by hearing Ans There is all the difficultie and it is worth the while to consider sadly of it for I know the worke of Gods Spirit by the word in the soule by these particulars First the Spirit sheweth to the soule of a poore sinner that hee hath no faith nor no abilities 〈◊〉 worke it of himselfe this the word workes first but we are not yet at the bottome Secondly when the Spirit hath shewed thee that thou art an unfaithfull soule and that thou hast to power to worke it of thy selfe then the Spirit of the Lord by the word breathes upon the soule of a poore sinner and by the sweetnesse thereof overmasters and breakes downe all those secret cursed distempers of heart that brought under the soule and kept him in himselfe every man is brought in bed with his corruptions as Iob speakes namely thus The Spirit of God in the word drives the soule to a restlesse disquiet and makes him see that hâ—e must not stay here but hee must seeke out and goe from hence and seeke for another condition or else hee must perish for ever rest not here saith the Spirit you must bee gone and the soule saith If I rest here I am an undone man therefore hee will out and seeke for another condition Thirdly as the Spirit of God doth overpower those distempers and drives the soule to a restlesse condition till it looke out for a better condition so lastly the Spirit of God shewes that poore soule an impossibilitie of finding mercie but from God and therefore turnes the face and sets the frame of the heart that way to looke God-ward and to be for God and this is the meaning of that place Iohn 16.9 when the Spirit of God comes to bring faith and peace to the conscience the text saith Hee shall convince the world of sinne because they beleeved not on him this place implies two things First the Spirit of God sets downe all sinfull carnall pleas and pretences that the heart can make and perswades the heart that he is in a sinfull and most lamentable estate and condition and must change Secondly it convinceth the heart that there is good to be found in another and with that the heart is turned that way to looke towards a Saviour and to wait for him till mercie come from thence and then if thou canst say this to thy soule The truth is Lord I was an unbeleever and an unfaithfull creature and the Lord made mee see it and left me not there but by the power of his Spirit and the ministery of the word he drew me from thence and laid fast hold on me and left some remembrance of his indignation upon my soule and made me restlesse in myselfe and opened mine eyes to see a better way and said thou must goe on in another way and in a better way and so opened to me a glimpse of his mercie and goodnesse so that the foule is now comming on to God where this is it will never end but the Spirit of God will worke faith and faith is now comming home to the soule and the soule will come home to the flood oâ— conversion is nothing else but a setting of the soule for God as it is plaine in all the phrases of the Scripture this is the first triall Triall 2 Secondly if thou wilt judge thy faith whether it is true or noe doe thus faith makes choice wholly of Christ and resolves to match with Christ onely the meaning is this it chuseth Christ wholly for now the match is made up when once the soule comes to beleeve the preparation to the match was before in desire c. but now the match is made up and now the soule makes choice of Christ as he on whom he will bestow himselfe he chuseth Christ wholly and that you shall perceive thus when he is thus cald home by faith whatsoever it is that Christ brings the soule chuseth all of that whatsoever belongs to a Christ and is of Christ and in Christ he chuseth all Christ Christ is not only the Saviour of all his but hee is the God of all grace and hath grace to bestow upon the soules of all those that beleeve in him now faith chuseth the holinesse of a Christ and whatsoever grace is in Christ the soule chuseth that as much if not more than pâ—â—don of sinne and removing the guilt of sinnes there is the authority and rule of Christ and faith chuseth that and had rather to be under the government of Christ than under any other Scâ—pâ— in the world and faith chuseth the life of Christ whatsoever life Christ lives that life faith will chuse the woman is now content to conforme her selfe to the estate and condition of her husband she must not thinke to live as she list and to be in this place and that place and that fashion therefore thinke of it that thou didst never as yeâ— beleeve in a Christ except thou didst chuse the patience and holinesse and meeknesse of a Christ and the rule and life of Christ many Lords have ruled over us saith the text when thy cursed corruptions come and would rule thee if then thou art content to bee ruled by a Christ and to live and converse as he did this is an undoubted argument that thou chusest Christ aright nay thou must chuse the shame and disgraces and the crosse of Christ and the crowne of thornes too that is that whatsoever it is that comes with a Christ thou must make choice of it and say I will have Christ and all that comes with Christ as it is with a
cannot but confesse it Sort. 2 The second sort to be reproved are the carnall Gospellers which live scandalously and live and trade in their wickednesse they come and heare sometimes and they thinke that God is much beholden to them for it one man will sweare and another will be tipsee in a corner and beare some good will to the truth but fall off grosly another cheats and cousens and keeps false balances and yet professeth the Gospel and thinks it a high dishonour if hee be not respected now though these will come to the meanes of grace yet if the word of God doe but reveale these mens sinnes and sharpen a reproofe against them and come somewhat keenly upon their conscience they are all up in armes and make defiance for their sinnes and their great Diana of Ephesus is like to fall and they will rather part with Christ and Gospell and all than with their lusts these men thinke they have mercie in a string and Christ at command and power to beleeve and you cannot perswade them that they doe not beleeve What a swearing faith and a cheating faith and a drunken faith the Lord keepe mee and all Gods people from it you cannot perswade them but that they beleeve in a Saviour and Christ must save them this Doctrine will dash all their vaine hopes they that beleeve will submit to the Spirit of grace they that beleeve are effectually perswaded by the Spirit of the Father in the promise and they are pluckt away from their lusts and corruptions but these take up armes and are in open defiance for their sins they that beleeve are humbled for faith will not grow but in a heart that is humbled and contented to part with sinne and selfe and all but these keepe both sinne and selfe and all they that have faith rest upon the freenesse of Gods grace and depart from their corruptions and only cleave unto and rest upon Christ but these rest upon their corruptions and goe from God and Christ and grace few of these people come into the congregation but if there be such a fellow here this day Oh that God would meet with him and let him see that he hath no faith What thou faith faith comes by hearing and not by resisting faith comes by yeelding and submitting to the Spirit in the word and not by opposing it therefore know that faith never came in that wretched heart of thine 1 Iohn 3.6 Whosoever sinneth hath not knowne him nor seene him and in the 8. verse Hee that committeth sinne is of the Devill that is hee that makes a daily trade of sinne and whose occupation is nothing else but rebellion he that committeth drunkennesse and adultery and makes a trade of them shall never see God nay he is the childe of the Devill but he that beleeves is not the childe of the Devill all the world knowes that now if thou trade thus in sinne thou art the childe of the Devill and therefore never hadst faith and continuing thus thou shalt never have it Iohn 5.44 How can you beleeve saith our Saviour which seeke honour one of another and seeke not the honour that commeth of God so say thou to thy owne soule how can I beleeve and yet harbour my lusts and attend to them and doe not yeeld to the truth of God revealed and made knowne to mee mee thinkes these owles should not abide the light of the sunne brethren all that we intend towards you it is that you may see sinne and what mercie wee desire for our owne soules the same wee desire for you but you must see your want of faith before you can know the way to get faith therefore suffer us to trade freely with you Oh get you home and howle you drunkards and swearers and enemies of God and of his grace get you apart as the leper did and cry I am uncleane I am uncleane Oh that the Lord would worke upon thy conscience and make this truth good to thy soule this day get you now into your corners and there cry and say I have an unbeleeving husband you wives joyne with your husbands and cry with your children and say we are all unbeleevers and he that beleeveth not is condemned already Now if any cavill be cast in upon thee and if the devill would make thee presume and if some carnall friends come to thee and say if you beleeve the Minister he will make you goe out of your wits and no man must have faith but they that are of his sect therefore say as it is spoken of Esau Hebr. 12.16 He sold his birth-right for a few pottage and so Iudas he sold Christ for thirty peeces of silver so when the devill would cast in some temptations and make you to presume reason thus with thy owne heart and say Esau sold Christ and Heaven and Grace and all for a few pottage and Iudas was a wretch and is now in Hell this day and as his heart was full of covetousnesse here so it is full of horrour in hell but I have sold Christ for a base lust and for my pride and envy and abominable lusts and drunkennesse which I get nothing by What I faith nay the devils have as much faith as I have When Pilate said to the Jewes whether will you that 〈◊〉 let loose to you Barrabas or Iesus which is called Christ they said not Christ but Barrabas did they beleeve in Christ which would have a wretch and a murtherer before Christ let your consciences speak◠plainly nay they loathed and crucified Christ and did not beleeve in him thou saist true thou that dost refuse the Lord Christ and chusest thy murther and pride and spleene and envy and all dost thou embrace a Christ and rest upon him the Lord perswade your hearts and make you know that you are these carnall Gospellers and such as have no faith You that have beene brethren in iniquity and you that have beene drunke together and adulterous together if any of you have hearts to pray goe and pray together and if you cannot pray then cry together and say wee are these carnall Gospellers and these ignorant persons that have no faith If any of you have more gifts than others goe and pray for poore drunkards and say Good Lord we have beene led by our lusts and have made a trade of sinne and to this day we have no faith Oh goe home and as you have beene sinfull together so howle together who knowes but the Lord may be gracious to you If the Lord would but give you one dramme of faith it would save you from all that drunkennesse and adultery of yours is it not worthy the having Oh stirre stirre for the Lords sake and as you have provoked one another to sinne and wickednesse so now provoke one another to goodnesse and goe seeke God one for another and every morning and evening pray for those sinfull soules of yours that have beene polluted by others
Matth. 2.1 2. verses the Scribes and Pharisees could tell you where Christ was to bee borne and bid the wise men goe to Bethlem but they would not goe themselves so these men have wisedome enough to say here is the way to Heaven but their owne hearts are not humbled nor framed to walke in that way and to goe home to Christ nor to receive mercy from him Know therefore you that are weake that beleeving carries two things with it in the phrase of Scripture First the assent of a mans judgement to the truth when a man is so farre convinced that hee sits downe and acknowledgeth that whatsoever the Word hath revealed his judgement saith it is all true and yeelds fully with the whole streame of his minde this is that which the Scripture sometimes calls beleeving and it is nothing but the bare assent to the truth saying it is so Secondly when the will embraceth that good in the promise formerly revealed when the will of a man claimes Gods Statutes and casts his heart and hope upon the goodnesse of the promise Now the judicious professour hath faith in the first sense hee assents to all the truths of the Scriptures and acknowledgeth that they are true the devills in hell have this faith too and all that have no more than this faith shall goe to the devill too as Iames 2.19 in the 14. verse the Apostle saith if a man say hee hath faith and hath not workes will that profit him and in the 19. verse thou beleevest there is one God thou dost well the devils also beleeve and tremble that is they assent to all the truths of Scripture that God reveals and this is the beleeving of this great man which wee have discovered in his fashion when a man can dive deepe into the Scriptures and understand all the texts and unty every knot and dispute all questions and is able to judge of the reasons of them is this thy faith the devill himselfe will outbid this faith If cunning and judgement and knowledge be thy faith the devils have this faith they know the Lord Jesus Christ is the Sonne of the most high God they know that the mercy of the Lord Christ is great and that they shall never taste of it they know that the Lord Jesus shall bee the Judge of all the world and that hee shall condemne them they assent to it and tremble at it Marke 5.8 when our Saviour came amongst the devils they said We know thee who thou art even the holy one of God and Acts 16.17 there was a Devill in a woman which was a Diviner and a Witch and she said These men are the servants of the living God which shew unto us the way of salvation it was the Devill in the woman therefore the Apostle bad him goe out of her because he hindered their worke I wish that the Devils in hell might not rise up in judgement against many of our unbeleevers which will not yeeld to the truth of God this is the bottome which beares up that kinde of boldnesse which many carnall creatures have upon their death-beds which never had the power of grace in their soules Come to a carnall man that knowes nothing savingly and sanctifyingly and he will say I beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart I have admired at it and sought to know the bottome of it and it is this they thinke this is beleeving to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is come into the world and that they are not infidels they assent unto the truth and yeeld unto it in their judgements they thinke this is faith and that it is sufficient too Oh you poore creatures that have your friends or parents or husbands that thus lay hold upon Christ and are perswaded that this is faith understand what the meaning is they only assent to the truth but never make application to their owne soules What 's that to thee that thou knowest the way to life and salvation and never walkest in it and what 's that to thee to heare that the Lord Christ came to save sinners and to know that there is mercie enough in him and yet never partake of it Thirdly I come to the evidences which make it cleare to us that he hath no more than this and those evidences are two First you shall finde this man past feare and almost carelesse but he is without doubt of the difficultie either of getting or maintaining his faith hee never comes to question whether hee hath faith or no and he accounts them silly Christians that are so daily troubled and disquieted for their estates whereas he carries the matter very confidently and scarcely lookes after it but beares it out with marvellous boldnesse and confidence which in truth is an undoubted argument that this man never knew what this faith was our Saviour saith Strive to enter in at the straight gate for the gate is narrow that leadeth to life and few there are that finde it and so the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.5 Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure yet this man makes it a matter of nothing nay when many seeke and labour and take much paines and never attaine it by reason of their former strength of it as Prov. 1.28 They shall call upon me but I will not answer they shall seeke mee early but they shall not finde mee yet this man thinks to have it with a wet finger that faith which is wrought by the Spirit of God in the soule and is thereby kept it hath daily opposition in the soule so that every godly man that hath faith he must fight against the Devill and all enemies and oppositions yet this man never comes to blowes the Lord Christ found it thus by experience and thus the Apostles and the Saints of God found it yet this man hath found out a shorter cut and an easier way to heaven and he is not ashamed to confesse it and say If a man were exercised in the word and if men had but his skill and were but trained up in his schoole it were not such a hard matter to get faith and so it is true for they may easily get that faith which thou hast Secondly follow this man home and close with him in his private chamber and attend upon him in his other occasions and there he hath no power of godlinesse in his life he hath practice without any pith and a course without any kernell and hee performes superficiall duties without any strength all his duties are as dry as a chip only he carries all out with this he is wise and learned and judicious and this answers all if hee doe omit or neglect duties and doe them carelesly this comforts him that hee is a judicious man it is certaine this man wants that grace which he seemes to have hee that hath so much faith without wavering must needs have his conversation answerable he that hath so much faith in
his heart must needs have a gracious and a godly life if a man have much sap within and no signe of it without it is certaine it is no true faith as it is with a tree the tree that hath much sap in the root will have much fruit in the branches and the more sap it hath the more fruit it will have looke as it is with the floud-gates the wider the sloud-gate is the greater is the streame which comes thorow it so were thy faith the faith of Gods elect then the more faith a man had to lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ the more sap and grace he would receive from Christ and the greater would be the streame of grace that would run out in all holy obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ but when a man brags that he hath much faith within yet if his conversation be without pith and savour it is nothing but a conceit and an apprehension as for the power of Christ and the life of Christ this man never knew it nor never had it The fourth and last sort is the counterfeit that hath a forged kinde of faith in such a manner that they will sometimes bee ready to couzen a holy judicious man and themselves too they exceed all the former and there is no disputing of the difference betweene those two that are past and this man that followes I told you that hee was a Chynicall and an Alcumie man and one that hath something to say for himselfe hee hath the picture of faith drawne marvellous curiously and he hath the appearance of some plea for himselfe and he hath the resemblance of this blessed worke and that prettie lively too of these there are three sorts one exceeds the other in degrees and yet all fals short of this blessed work of faith First the temporarie beleever wee take him as the lowest forme a man is called a temporary bleever that beleeveth for a time and is hot at first hand and admirable fierce in the pursuit of the truth for the present push but hee slides off and goes away and you shall see him no more now that wee may deale home in the businesse for hee that will search in a narrow case cannot doe it suddenly therefore suffer mee to lay this man open in three particulars First we will give him audience and heare what he can say for himselfe hee shall come as it were into the open court and plead his owne cause Secondly I will shew where he failes Thirdly give you the reasons why he fals short For the first he shall discover it himselfe And for the second the word shall lay it open And for the third I will shew you how and what he is For the first of these let the temporary speake in his owne language and put his plea in his owne behalfe and give him but a faire hearing and you shall have thus much of him hee professeth clearly that hee hath not onely as the judicious man had an apprehension of the truth onely and an assent that the Scriptures are cleare and true but hee saith thus much that his affections are carried on in a kinde of longing after it and they are taken aside and stirred by the Word of the Lord and both his heart and affections have a rellish of the goodnesse of Gods word this is his profession and he will make it good to you too this comes something neere faith and there is some colour for him to plead that hee hath some confidence in God there are three things in Scripture that he saith for himselfe as Luke 8.13 the stony ground there is the temporarie and the text saith two things of him That he receives the word with joy and beleeveth for a time these two things are there averred and are in the heart of this man the receiving of the word with joy is the tickling of the affections with the apprehension of the sweetnesse of the truth and his beleeving is not onely a bare assent to the truth but a worke of the will in a kinde of hourlinesse in application these fall short of the spirituall worke namely thus when the treasures of wisdome and holinesse are laid open before the soule of a poore sinner and when the unsearchable riches of Gods love in Christ are let in and come home to the heart of a stony ground hearer the will is tickled therewith and his inward man is stirred and bedewed hourely with the sweetnesse thereof this is the beleeving for a time Iohn 15.35 our Saviour saith Iohn was a burning and a shining light and you were willing for a season to have rejoyced in his light one man that is at a losse and out of his way or another that is benummed and set with cold the one seeth the fire and is content to come to it to warme himselfe but when it burns him away goes he so they delighted in the ministery of Iohn and it was pretty good while it was new but when it begun to scorch then they would heare him no more thus it was with those temporaries that flew off from Christ Iohn 6.34 when Christ told them that Moses gave them not that bread from heaven but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven for the true bread is hee which came downe from heaven and giveth life to the world and they said Lord evermore give us this bread but they that would ever have of this bread they soone after vomitted him up againe and said This is an hard saying who can beare it the second instance of Scripture is this Heb. 6.4 5. It is impossible for those that were once inlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the holy Ghost and have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come c. this is such a kinde of taste as may be and is in such a man as shall never have share in life and salvation as the Apostle afterwards makes it cleare the heavenly gift is the grace of faith and the good word of the Lord is the goodnesse of the word I will open my selfe thus observe that this taste cannot be the taste of the understanding properly for if hee were once inlightened and hath tasted saith the text to say inlightened and inlightened is without sense and makes a kinde of unreasonablenesse in the dispute of the Apostle and therefore it is something more than the work of judging and assenting Secondly it is not the disgesting of the heavenly gift for this man hath onely the taste of the heavenly gift now a man may taste of a precious liquor and a man may sip of a cordiall that hath no power to make perfect use of it Againe thirdly it is a worke and stroke of the will and affections here you may see the carnall hypocrite even almost at heaven and yet he fals short and when he is in hell he shall say I had thought
I was in heaven and yet because I have no faith I am now cast downe to hell it is thus much when the Lord lets in a glimpse of the exelencie of the grace of faith and the glory of heaven and the sweetnesse of the pardon of all the sinnes of the faithfull and the Lord lets in a glimpse of all these which goes home to the top of the affections and will that the Lord by a spirituall kinde of flash suddenly passeth by the will so that he leaves some kinde of dew and some remembrance of those glorious things which are thus let in upon the minde of a poore sinner insomuch that his heart is marvellously tickled and ravished with it I expresse it thus as it is with the water in a standing poole and the water that runneth through a pipe the standing water soakes and goes down-ward and settles inwardly in the earth but the water that passeth by suddenly leaves only a little dew behinde it but soakes not at all so it is with this temporary beleever the streame of the heavenly truths of the Doctrine of Christ passeth by suddenly as namely that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and that Christ came to take away the iniquitie of his servant this doth passe by suddenly and leaves a little dew behinde it so that he saith Oh this is good this is sweet I may be saved too may I not Oh I never heard a man speake so comfortably this word bedewes the heart a little but it soakes not downe it goes not to the root of the soule therefore observe it this is a work which the hypocrite may have only observe thus much he sips of grace and salvation and makes a meale of his corruptions but the gracious man onely sips of his corruptions and makes a meale of grace of holines mercy in Christ Looke as it is with seed that is cast into the wombe of a woman the seed is enough to beget some fruit but if the wombe be a miscarrying wombe it comes to nothing so it is betweene the stirring of the Word in the heart of a poore Saint and in the heart of an Hypocrite the Spirit of the Lord workes in the heart of a Hypocrite by the Word and is able to moysten him but the heart miscarries in the worke and resists and gainsayes and never comes to any good hee never comes to bee a faithfull man rightly proportioned whereas the same Spirit of God working rightly upon the heart of a beleever it makes him a very proportionable Christian the other remaining but a confused lumpe Now see what this man may doe when he comes to this let him bee thus bedewed with this taste of the excellency of faith and never have faith strengthned and rooted in him yet hee will bee very eager in the pursuit of the Word and marvellous constant in attending upon the Word because it is his delight and hee will bee marvellous painfull to get the Word for a man will doe any thing to get his delight and he may bee angry with such as would hinder him in the pursuit of the Gospell which is his delight this a man may doe and yet all come to nothing and so may perish everlastingly for looke what joy and delight will doe for a push the same a carnall temporary may doe But that this man will doe all this it is plaine of this kinde was Balaam that wretched man of whom you may see divers passages in the 23. 24. chapters of Numbers hee was a witch as Divines hold and hee was going to curse the people of God but the Lord stopt him and how did he it why he let him see the excellency of the condition of the Saints of God and said Oh thou wretched man loe there and behold the happy condition of my people and see all the good that I have given them and wilt thou curse those that I love so dearly Now see how he was taken up with it Oh that I might die the death of the righteous this was a glimpse of the glory that was let in upon him to stop him and to awe his heart yet hee returned to his old byas againe the third Scripture is in Matthew 25.8 I know Interpreters vary in it but I will be bold to suggest what I thinke the five foolish virgins said give us of your oyle for our lampes are gone out they had lamps but no oyle how could they kindle their lamps except they had oyle they had a little oyle in their lampes but none in their vessels their lampes was their excellent and glorious profession and the oyle which they had was nothing but the taste of the heavenly gift they had so much stirring of the will and affections as might carry them on to professe the truth but they had not oyle in their vessels which might sink downe into their hearts to subdue their corruptions and to quicken up their grace they had not this power to frame their hearts strongly towards the Lord and to feed their profession with constancy and perseverance to the end so that you see what hee can say for himselfe and me thinkes he speakes marvellous probably The Lord bee mercifull to us if a man goe thus farre and come to nothing it is wonderfull he is farre beyond the judicious professor Oh saith he I had a rellish of the sweetnesse of the good Word of God and a taste of the heavenly gift and my heart was ravished with the sight of the glory of it and I could even have gone to Heaven now you see the best of him But now secondly what is the falsenesse of this man and wherein is his failing and why where he falls short of faith and what it is that would make him an honest man Now the second thing is this that notwithstanding the sudden push of this man hee will wither and will turne his backe upon the truth and commonly he is an enemy to that truth to which his love was carried and which was his chiefe delight and this hee doth upon these two grounds commonly First when he seâ—th the bitternesse and misery and affliction and vexation that accompanies the Word hee is weary of the Word rather than he will beare those afflictions that doe accompany the Word he will follow our Saviour no longer than prosperity follow him for he will rather forsake Christ than to forgoe these hee was made a professour all upon a sudden and hee receives the Word suddenly with joy when hee heares of the glorious grace and mercy of God he faith Oh that Jesus Christ should come from Heaven to save sinners and to wait upon poore drunkards and adulterers and vilde wretches Oh sweet and admirable mercy saith hee and so all upon a sudden he turnes Christian and Professour but if afflictions and trouble come for the truth then hee turnes off all Christ and truth and his profession and all Oh saith he
a full eare with all the graine of it and is as greene as a leeke but it continues not greene still and comes not to ripenesse and perfection because the thornes choake it so this man hath his full eare and is as greene as a leeke you will fast and pray so will he you will professe so will he you will conferre holily so will he in the outward appearance but he never comes to good because he bestowes the strength of his affections upon the world or upon some base lusts you cannot beat this man to lay downe his profession and to make him say I confesse I am dead and my heart is vilde and my profession is nothing but hypocrisie no hee will have his profession and his corruption too thus observe the chapman when a Christian comes into his shop hee will tell him a fine religious discourse and so in the end couzen him and if a vilde wretch comes in he hath another tale for him hee joynes with him onely that hee may put a crackt commodity into his hand and he joynes with the good man that hee may couzen him too so the Inkeeper when a Christian comes to his house hee tels him a fine religious tale and if a drunkard comes it he gives him his full measure thus his thornes grow and his corne too hee holds his profession and his corruptions too The second evidence of this mans falsnesse is this he is weather-wise that is he observes how the state of things stand and hee gives a shrewd guesse which way the winde and tide will goe and he will be sure to goe that way and to be on that side he sees the winde begin to rise and the stormes to bluster therefore he will provide and shift for one and doe any thing provided that his honour and ease may not be lost he will be of that side that the thornes of profit and pleasure may not be plowed up and therefore it is observable that those things which may hazzard his liberty he will not by his good will question them but he carries out the matter bravely before him so long as a man may have the substance saith he that is Christ and religion hee would not have men to trouble themselves about lesser matters but the Lord Christ saith hee that is unfaithfull in the least is unfaithfull in much and hee that makes not conscience of the smaller circumstances will not make conscience of the substance and if hee bee compeld to enquire and to make question of his course he will be satisfied by those shewes and that argument shall content him which may content his honour and maintaine his ease and honour and liberty and hee goes away well apaid and fully quieted and when this man is put to it and the dent of the truth dasheth all those probable truths of his then his last hold is this he doth not beleeve it and he cannot thinke it but if you cannot beleeve and entertaine that which you cannot answer then it is a signe that thy heart is naught and if a man follow him further and say if a man set himselfe and lift up himselfe and his conceits against the truth of God that mans heart is naught then saith he all the Ministers under heaven shall not make me beleeve it but when hee can say nothing against the truth he will keepe his hold still and he will not beleeve it thus you see this man at his full breadth and height as it is with a plow that goes to plow up a thorny tree they tug and pull and make the traces flye and breake the plow but the tree stands still it will not yeeld so it is with this wretched hypocrite all the reasons in the world and all the truths cannot prevaile with him he is resolved to stand to it and not to beleeve it wilt thou not now beleeve it well thou shalt beleeve it when thou art in hell past hope past helpe thou wilt beleeve it then thus the thornes choake the word that is strangle the truth and stop the breath of the truth so hee saith I passe not I beleeve it not this stifles all reasons and the power of all Scriptures that all prevailes not with him nor takes no place in him to make him know what it is to be a grower in the truth by this time I presume you may easily guesse at him what his fashion is and what hee can say for himselfe and wherein his falsenesse lyes and wheresoever you finde these that both the corne and the thornes grow together and that hee doth thus as in the former two then this man is one of the sturdy hypocrites Now I come to the third thing namely to shew wherein this man fals short of saving faith that a man that seeth it may amend when he comes after him and that he may not faile as the former have done the failing of this man appeares in two particulars First hee failes in the point of humiliation hee was not rightly humbled as in that place of the parable hee had horrour of heart enough for the measure of it but not enough for the uprightnesse and sincerity of it hee plowed deep enough but he left some thornes standing and hee had some lusts that his heart was more affected with hee would not be thus but there were some base inordinate earthly affections which were closely fastened to his heart and his heart glued to them hee would not plow them up and this was ill husbandry if he had done right he would have plowed up every thorne as well as some all the passages of Scripture run this way as Luke 3.5 Every valley shall be filled and every hill and mountaine shall bee brought low and every crooked thing shall bee made strait hee doth not say this or that mountaine but every mountaine not one sinne but every sinne not the heart to bee loosened from one particular sinne but from every sinne whatsoever if ever you bee humbled and that you make worke of it you must blow up all as Matth. 13.44 the wise merchant man went and sold all to buy the field not sold some but all so this sturdy hypocrite should have sold all his lusts and corruptions and every cursed haunt of heart and every sinfull withdrawing of soule you know the privie prankes of your hearts if there be but one sinfull lust maintained and continued in it will condemne you as well as an hundred thousand there is no bargaine to be made with Christ if you dally with him and stand dodging he will not yeeld to you no no you must sell all this man had his heart humbled in the consideration of some sinne and it was either for the feare of the punishment of his sinne in generall or else for feare of plague and of hell and of Gods wrath or else because of the shame and disgrace that would come thereby but if he had beene truly troubled for sinne
thinke hee will cast off you take heed of that depart not from the Lord for that is to follow lying vanities and that is to forsake your owne mercies so the soule of a poore sinner should reason thus T is true my sins are many my wants are exceedingly multiplied I have sinned against God and am discouraged and shall I be more discouraged and sinne more against God I am miserable by departing from God and shall I depart more from God and be more miserable thou darest not goe to Christ for mercie why because thou hast sinned and wilt thou depart from God still and be more sinfull that is against all reason Cure 2 The second cure is this all this while I speake to broken hearted sinners those that are obstinate wicked and ungodly men stand you by you must give mee leave to deale the childrens bread to them you had your portion formerly let the children have their bread also and take their share too the second cure therefore is this make conscience either not to attend to or not judge thy selfe or thy estate by any carnall reason without a warrant I will repeat it againe because I would not have you forget it make conscience I say either to attend to or judge thy selfe or thy estate by any carnall reason or carnall plea without reason or warrant as thus it is the fashion of poore distressed spirits to passe heavie doome and to set downe heavie sentences upon themselves upon false or weake or groundlesse arguments as I never found Gods mercie I never felt it I never was perswaded of it I feare it will not be so thus we have these carnall pleas which our mindes invent and Satan suggests and wee judge our selves by these as the witnesses that should warrant our estates as the Judge that should determine of our estates now make conscience of judging thy estate in this manner you that are broken hearted for to you I speake this kinde of course is naught and this sinne is more hainous than you imagine for when thou concludest certainly thy estate is naught and God hath given you no grace upon these grounds mark against how many Commandments thou sinnest first thou dost wrong thine owne honour that God hath put upon thee in giving thee grace thou sinnest also against the third Commandement in wanting that reverence which is due to Gods name and the worke of grace hee hath wrought in thy soule thou dampest thy owne heart and art a spirituall murtherer and so sinnest against the sixt Commandement thou robbest thy selfe of that comfort of heart and refreshment of minde that God hath prepared for thee and offered unto thee and so sinnest against the eighth commandement nay you doe beare false witnesse infinitely you speake against your selves to the overthrowing of your soules and you beare false witnesse against Christ and his Spirit and the worke of his grace whereby you are sealed up to the day of redemption and you joyne sides with the Devill in this case But you will say Object Truly I speake as I thinke and affirme as I am perswaded Answ I answer this hinders not but thou bearest false witnesse if thou affirmest a thing thou hast no ground for thou bearest false witnesse though it be true this is a rule which Divines hold if a man should affirme peremptorily such a man is a drunkard and yet he knowes it not though he be so yet hee beareth false witnesse because a mans witnesse must bee upon ground and knowledge so thou peremptorily affirmest what I grace no will God vouchsafe any good to mee I will never beleeve it now thou certainly affirmest of thy selfe that thou hast no true grace when there is no ground for it but suspition and feare and the like and therefore thou bearest false witnesse against thy soule observe this the rather because of the sinfull distempers that creep into the hearts of many Christians broken and humbled and it is usuall and common this is their guise out of a selfe will of carnall reasonings and out of a base haunt of heart they swell against themselves and their owne soules their hearts come to bee perswaded that they are not in a right course that they walke not in a right way unlesse they bee quarrelling and opposing the worke of Gods grace in their soules and out of a selfe conceit of theirs that they are moulded into by custome they thinke they have libertie to doe so and that they doe well in so doing now thinke of it you that are humble know that you sinne fearfully all this while and it is very remarkable to take notice of the soule in this kinde in a case of conscience when a poore broken hearted sinner hath his judgement informed when reasons are plaine and when the comforts are cleerly evidenced when Scriptures are undeniable these poore creatures now doe not so much attend what you speak and what the Minister saith and the Word delivers but all their care is how they may answer a mans reason and put off the force of an argument and they count it a matter of weaknesse if they cannot answer any thing that is propounded to them for their comfort it is admirable to consider and but that daily experience teacheth us wee would not speake it nor could we beleeve it therefore take notice of it and know that howsoever you give leave to your owne soules to doe this and have invented reasons and arguments to gainsay the power of the truth and to defeat the power of the Word goe aside and wonder that the Lord hath not taken away from thee all the worke of his grace and all the comfort of his Spirit admire at this that when thou hast cast off all grounds of comfort yet God doth vouchsafe it to thy soule the Prophet David prayeth that the Lord would turne away his eyes from beholding of vanitie now if a man must turne away his eyes from beholding of vanitie he must turne away his thoughts from attending to vanitie much more hath God ever given me a minde to consent to Satan hath God ever given me a tongue to parly with Satan I have something else to doe I must attend to the counsels of God I must attend and listen to the voice of God I must not listen to the suggestions of Satan that I have nothing to doe withall I sinne deeply in so doing no man in reason will deale with a cheator if hee know him to be a cheator unlesse he meane to be couzened so it ought to be our wisdome carnall reason is a cheator and an old deceiver let us not therefore attend thereunto nor be ruled thereby unlesse we resolve to be cheated but if the sinne cannot scare you yet let the miserie that will follow thereupon force you and drive your hearts from it in Esa 50.2 last verses the text saith Who is among you that feareth the Lord let him heare the voice of his servant he
wonders without number though you could never finde out such things yet God can doe them though the thing bee never so great he can doe it though the thing be never so hard he can accomplish it nay though thou canst not number and account them God can doe great things without number and work wonders beyond measure and therefore judge not God by what thou conceivest and imaginest judge not his infinitenesse according to the weak scantling of thy imaginations Cure 4 The fourth cure is this and it is specially to be observed above all the rest in thy proceeding with thy selfe and in thy judgement of thy selfe repaire unto the word of the Lord and passe not sentence upon thy owne soule but according to the evidence and verdict thereof you will certainly forget it I have had so much experience thereof but I beseech you thinke of it in all determinations of thy estate when thou consultest whether thou art in a good estate or in a bad estate let thy sentence and judgement upon thy selfe be passed by the word if thou art to bee approved let the Word of God approve thee if thou art to be condemned let the word of God condemne thee if thou art to be examined let the Word of God examine thee passe not care not what the world faith and what temptations suggest but heare what Christ saith and listen only what the Word of God saith and what verdict that passeth and if the Word of God speaks for thee no matter though men and Angels speake against thee and if the Word speake against thee no matter though all the friends in the world speake for thee but be sure alwayes to appeale to the Word if a man have a suit in law and some pettie lawyers would handle it if he be wise hee will not let them hee will stay till the Judge comes to the assizes then he will determine it so deale with thy soule doe not put thy estate to be tried and thy condition to be scanned with a companie of wrangling lawyers as imaginations of heart and vanities of minde and carnall reasonings but stay till the Judge comes and yeeld to the verdict of the truth Ephes 5.13 the text saith All things when they are reproved of the light shall be made manifest for it is light that makes all things manifest the light is the light of the word and the evidence of the truth now observe it all sense and feelings and carnall reasonings are like clouds and mists that a man cannot see his way but bring all to the light and then the case will be discovered and thy estate made manifest what it is Matth. 11.29 apply the counsell which Christ there gives and wee should follow Learne of me saith he for I am humble and meeke and you shall finderest unto your soules as the Psalmist observes it I will heare what the Lord saith to my soule so take Gods counsell and say I will heare what the Lord Jesus Christ will say and to him I will attend not what carnall reason or doubts or feares or suspitions will say but what the Lord will say this is the cause we want rest the cause why men have restlesse conditions and daily doubtings and quarrellings and can finde no soâ—ring for their soules to rest upon no bottome to beare no foundation to hold them up the caâ—â—e is because they will not learne of their Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ hence it is that distressed soules cast off comfort what I grace and what I ever receive good and I title to the promise that were strange no it belongs to humble and broken hearted ones were I so humbled as such and so inlarged as such Christians then there were some hope but I that am so full of weaknesses and of frailties and now and then overcome by distempers what I faith no I can never thinke it I suspect I never had it I doubt I never shall have it nay I conclude all is naught for the while who told you so where learned you that where learned you all these kindes of resolutions and conclusions why I feare it I suspect it and imagine it and the like why then feare told you so and not the Lord Jesus Christ this is the case and I exhort you that are servants of the Lord observe and take notice of this I say learne of the Lord and take notice of the truth of the Lord and then you shall finde rest to your soules you complaine you have not quiet and comfort and you shall never bee assured of Gods love but you shall goe with griefe and sorrow to your graves why it is your owne fault learne of your father and then you shall have rest you put your estates to be determined by carnall reason and your doubts and infirmities tell you so you shall never come to rest while the world stands why here is no rest to be had no ease to be expected learne of the Lord Jesus his word is sure himselfe faithfull and his promise true and when you repaire thither you shall finde rest if you rest upon a right bottome you shall have comfort and consolation vouchsafed unto you But you will say Object May not a man bee deceived and what if I should may not I as well as another and what if I should Ans Observe what now I say and I am fully perswaded that many poore soules are staggering and working with themselves about their owne estate I answer that it is possible for a man to bee couzened in regard of himselfe but I aske this question who shall teach thee and direct thee and establish thee upon a right bottome turne whither thou wilt and doe what thou canst thou must come to the word of God the word of God can only settle thy soule and establish thy conscience in the assurance of Gods love and therefore thou must come to this and before thou doest come to this thou canst never have establisht perswasions of Gods love and all those abilities thou dreamest of thou saist such a man is humbled and wert thou so gracious and so carried on in a good course it were somewhat why how doest thou know whether he be cozened or no how doest thou know his humiliation is sound and his consolation good but know that the word of God is the Judge I meane the law whereby thou shalt bee judged when all thy hopes and all thy sense and feelings and perswasions of others shall never bee heard but cast off the word of God must onely judge thee therefore now judge thy selfe by that which shall judge thee when this life shall not be Now for our direction herein foure things are observable how to order our selves aright to learne this skill to repaire to the word and to gaine evidence and cleare apprehension of our owne estates by attending to the truth these rules are especially observable and here lies the maine cure of carnall reason
that doth presse in upon the minde and dampes the heart thereof that we may so use the word that we may be established thereby Rule 1 The first rule is this as in all the conditions that concerne thy soule thou must first repaire to the word and attend thereunto daily so looke into the uprightnesse and sinceritie of thine owne soule which may in some measure answer the word heare what the word will say and see what worke of grace is in thy heart that will answer the word and joyne sides in the testimonie of the happinesse of thy estate and condition be sure to take thy soule at the best doe not alwayes consider what is the worst in thee and goe no farther doe not only see thy failings and infirmities on one side that accuse thee but see if there bee any soundnesse and uprightnesse any goodnesse and truth of heart that may speake for thee heare both sides it is injustice to heare one side and determine a cause thereby as the Lord deals with his servants so thou shouldst deale with thy selfe now the Lord doth not lye at a catch with his children to spie out their faults and so proceed against them accordingly but he takes them at the best hand Rom. 4.22 it is a thing very remarkable concerning Abraham Abraham beleeved and it was counted to him for righteousnesse when did God speake concerning Abrahams faith the time was when Abraham beleeved not his faith is discovered Genes 15. in the beginning we shall see he beleeved not but was doubting and staggering concerning Gods giving him a Sonne now God lookes not at his infirmities but God takes him at the best Abraham beleeved c. a little before Abraham doubted thou hast promised a Sonne but I perceive it not then God led him into the fields and discovered his power and goodnesse and then Abraham beleeved and this is still recorded and registred of Abraham to all posteritie so 1 Pet. 3.6 where Sarah is spoken of as a patterne to all holy women not for her broidered haire but the text saith Shee was clad with a meeke spirit and called her husband Lord Genes 18. there we shall read that she called him Lord and it was her dutie and she did well in so doing but there we shall read in the same place that shee denied the tidings of the Angell now the Lord buries her failings and doth not record and register that but hee tooke her at the best and recorded that so we must deale with our selves wee must not lye at the catch with our hearts and say this is naught and this is vile but observe what so ever is upright and sincere and blesse God for that and rejoyce in that and weigh that as well as the other nay that rather than the other if a man should have a case handled after this fashion and if the Judge should observe onely what is foule on one mans side and goe no further the most upright man might be cast in the best case therefore the course of the court is he will heare the reasons and witnesses on both sides if there be any bonds or evidences brought in or any argument to be made he will heare all read there must be an equall proceeding should a man have a suit with another about the forfeiture of a bond or indenture if the Judge heare one and not the other he might carry the cause against the most upright man therefore the other cries out and saith good my Lord heare all and let all be read one saith you may see the falsnesse of this man aye saith the other but heare all my Lord and then the Judge is sufficiently satisfied before witnesses whereas if the Judge had but heard the first part and not the second the case would have gone against the man though never so good so many Saints deale with their soules what a wretched heart what pride and stubbornnesse have I my heart will not leave the world it is unfit for service and dead in service but heare all read all is not thy soule burthened with these and is not thy heart troubled with those is it not a griefe to thy soule and doth it not lye heavie upon thy heart that thou canst not walke exactly before God Oh saith the soule it is the greatest evill that ever befell me and I would be content almost not to be that I might not be so sinfull why then thou art an upright hearted man now take thy soule on this side and heare the best of it looke as it is with a mans hand the backe of his hand cannot take hold of a staffe but his palme can if a man complaine that hee cannot hold a staffe and turne the backe of his hand no wonder turne the right side of your hand and then you will graspe it and hold it easily so turne the right side of your soule to the promise the promises of God are the staffe that upholds our soules and our soules should rest thereupon and trust thereunto now wee turne the backside of our hearts to the promise stubbornnesse great and doubtings many and corruptions fierce the wrong side of the heart is to the promise and this will hinder thee from comming to and receiving good from the word but thy soule seeth these and is willing to bee freed from these thy soule hates these and thy selfe for these this is the right side of the heart that lyes levell to the promise therefore attend the word and repaire daily thereto and attend the better side doe not attend to weaknesse and feeblenesse but to soundnesse and sinceritie that is the first rule Rule 2 The second rule is this labour to have thy conscience setled and convictingly established of that truth of that grace which reason now informed doth entertaine and the Word doth witnesse to bee in thee labour to get thy conscience setled and established powerfully touching the truth that out of the word and the evidence thereof thou hast seene marke I say if there be any want of the assurance of Gods love and setling thereof to thy soule so that the evidence of the worke of grace doth not come powerfully in upon thy heart but there is some guilt of sinne still remaining and conscience still begins to accuse thee and condemne thee the truth is though reason be informed yet haply conscience will breed new broyles at every turne and put in new pleas and so nip disquiet and torment our hearts in staggering our hearts therefore as we must have our judgements informed out of the Word that there is some good and soundnesse in our soules so wee must get conscience perswaded of it that conscience may be on our side and speake for us A man must deale in this case as a debtor if he bee ingaged to many creditors the onely way to get safety is to agree not with some but with all for if hee agree with all but one that one may imprison
him and undoe him as well as ten thousand therefore take order with all creditors that is the wisest way so it is with the soule that lies at the mercy of the Lord that is in so deepe arrerages that it cannot helpe it selfe the onely way is to take order with all occasions not onely answer judgement that it may not object against us but labour to still conscience that it may not accuse us but bee on our side and then all will bee on our side The want of this is the cause why new suits are made and new bills put up against the soule the want of satisfying conscience as experience teacheth us in cases of conscience take a poore sinner that hath all objections and cavils answered fully aske a poore distressed soule are these all the doubts you have and objections that you have yes and are they all answered aye have you any thing to object against the answers no therefore now doth conscience say it is a sinne to deny you have any grace here he stounds and staggers and demurs upon the matter and shakes his head and saith Alas I dare not say so nay I rather say the contrary marke how reasons were answered the bookes drawne the accounts made up and yet conscience is not satisfied but puts in a new plea therefore call a court and trace the businesse againe hath not God wrought this in you that though you are now and then captived by sin yet you say you are willing to be deterred from it willing that God should take possession of you and rule you is not this in your heart the soule saith I should deny the worke of Gods grace to say the contrary why then this is the worke of grace then it is against conscience to deny this therefore conscience give up your bill and cancell all this for I say hath not this man grace yea I affirme he hath let conscience be fully satisfied in this case and when conscience is brought on our side and speaks for us all the cavils that Satan casts and the heart makes conscience will cleare the heart and stands by a man and cleareth all these cavils 1 Iohn 3.12 For if our conscience condemne us not then have wee boldnesse before God the meaning is if our conscience acquit us and speake for us then we are bold before God I know the man he is yet alive that in the extremity of horrour of heart and desperate feare said that hee had sinned against the holy Ghost and therefore would make away himselfe now that which kept him from that wicked attempt was this his conscience told him before that at such a time his heart was sincere before the Lord and that restrained him from that attempt and sustained him against the fiery push of temptation and God afterward blest him with the assurance of his love and favour Rule 3 The third rule is this wee should strive mightily to have our hearts overpowred by the evidence of the truth which reason and conscience make good to us that it may quietly entertaine it and humbly and calmly welcome it that what reason saith and conscience concludes the heart may say Amen and set his seale to that and yeeld and subject it selfe to it This is the third thing and here we sticke for these three things are in the soule of a man that doth as it were maintaine opposition against the evidence of the Word and the verdict of God therein First reason objects secondly conscience accuseth and the heart that is the will gaine-saith the will of a man will not come under submission but it is still on the thwarting hand and wee finde it by experience in the course of temptation when a man hath attended all that can be when a man hath stilled conscience and that is brought on our side yet notwithstanding the heart out of a stubbornnesse not being fully mastered and out of a stoutnesse not fully conquered it gaine-sayes it and raiseth up new and keeps the old quarrells those old quarrels that have beene answered long agoe that a man would have thought they had beene dead long agoe a mans stout heart will bring those in afresh againe it is in this case with a poore sinner as it is with a man that hath a contentious adversary that delights in wrangling the case haply hath beene tried in all the courts in England at last it comes into the Chancery and there it is concluded against him and the decree passed so that now all the businesse is established the Lawyers have pleaded it the Judge determined it and the man is overthrown and therefore now in reason he should sit downe and yeeld but the wrangling party perswades him that hee will not yeeld but hee will goe to law againe and sell all he hath before hee will let let it goe thus therefore hee begins the suit againe and puts in the old plea till at last the Judge knowing the man casts off his plea and flings off his cause and puts him in prison How dare you against the court and the sentence set downe put in the old plea and trouble the court and the law in this nature so it is with the soule the heart of a gracious man humbled in some meaâ—ure and in truth could be content now and then to yeeld to the evidence of reason and verdict of conscience and the soule comes to bee cheered Blessed be God my estate is better than I thought but there is an old breed-bate and proud stout heart a sturdy selfe-wild heart and that begins to bring in the old plea and will maintaine the old quarrell though reason confuted them and conscience condemned the weaknesse thereof and they have beene answered from day to day yet against knowledge and conscience and truth and reason and all the sinner you shall finde out of his distemper of spirit will keep his old objections and maintaine his old cavils and if they were answered over night hee will have them againe in the morning whereas a man would have thought they would never have durst appeared before the evidence of the truth any more because the case was so fully answered and so fully satisfied therefore the wound is here labour therefore to cure it namely get thy heart so far awed get thy soule so far overpowerd with the soveraigne command royall authority of the truth that it may submit it selfe and yeeld to what ever word the Lord reveals to what ever truth the Lord discovers to the soule and beware especially that thou dost not out of a selfe-wild waywardnesse reject and refuse the evidence of the truth and the verdict that the Word passeth upon thy soule for thy everlasting good that because thou hast not comfort as thou wilt therefore thou wilt have none at all it is not so much because thou canst not receive the promise but because out of a waywardnesse of heart thou wilt not entertaine the promise that causeth
all this debate here lies the root of this bitternesse and the ground of this wretched estate wee will expresse our selves by practice hence it is 〈◊〉 when the Word hath beene cleerely discovered to the soule all objections are blowne away and reason is satisfied and conscience convinced yet aske the soule are you perswaded that God hath accepted of you in Christ and intended good unto you no all the world cannot make me beleeve it I cannot bee perswaded of it Ministers are mercifull and Christians are compassionate and they speake charitably and will not discourage me but did they see that which I see did they but know those weaknesses and take notice of those distempers that are in my heart they would never thinke it what I grace it is a thing I could never perswade my heart of nay I doubt I shall never bee perswaded of it I cannot thinke it all the world cannot make mee beleeve it reason is answered and the conscience is satisfied but the heart will not yeeld it is out of stubbornnes of soule that you will not take that mercy that God offers and that grace God propounds for your good and it is horrible it is hellish it is devillish pride If there be any such spirit in the congregation let them know it and take this home with them it is infinite pride But you will say Object How can that be I cannot thinke that they are broken hearted Christians and are overwhelmed with sorrow they are ever mourning and sinke downe in sorrow in this nature and therefore it cannot bee pride in this case what ever it bee Answ I say it is devillish pride against the Majestie of Heaven and that I will shew in two particulars For a man to follow his owne conceit and selfe wildnesse of spirit against the light of the truth against the force of reason against the testimony of conscience against the judgement of all faithfull Ministers out of the Word to bee above the Word and reason and conscience and to bee above the judgement of all Gods faithfull servants is not this infinite pride this is your condition just the Word hath cast you and reason and conscience have cast you and yet you will maintaine your owne conceits of that proud heart of yours I say againe this pride appeares in this That because we have not what we would and because we have it not in that measure we desire because we finde not that sweetnesse in grace that others have and we covet therefore we cast away all this is infinite pride to fling Gods favour in his face you have not this and that and God hath done nothing for you and never vouchsafed any good unto you it is wonderfull mercy that God hath not cast off that soule of thine because God will not follow your conceits and goe your way you will have no grace at all As it is with a Client that hath a suit in law hee hath the cause determined and the conveyance made and his estate setled by the verdict of the Judge but because his evidences and conveyances are not written in great Roman letters as he would have them he flings all away and saith they will not stand in law will not all the world count him a miserable foole this is your case you have no grace because you have not so much grace you have no zeale because you have not so hor zeale you have no humiliation because not so great humiliation this is nothing but pride and a world of pride therefore marke what I shall say labour to bring thy soule to this passe and to this humble submission and subjection to the truth of God take it as well a duty to receive comfort when God gives it as to entertaine duty of love when God requires it Answerably know it is a sinne to refuse mercy when God offers it and thou hast title thereunto It is as well a sinne though not so much a sin perswade thy heart of this and bring thy soule to yeeld to this And therefore learne this lesson you poore Saints of God that have beene pestered marvellously in this kinde and have beene enemies to your owne comfort labour to eye your owne soules when they begin to slide away from the authority of the truth when reasons are sound arguments cleere and conscience satisfied and yet the heart slides off from the Lord and from under the covert of Gods wings Reason thus This is the proud surly dogged way-ward disposition of my heart what would I have what can I desire is not the Word cleere are not reasons sound and is not conscience satisfied and shall I deny this and so wrong the glory of God and the worke of his blessed Spirit in my heart the Lord forbid but the heart pleads Must I eat my owne words and never cavill more and never complaine more and must I confesse I have grace when I never thought I had grace Answ Must you say so aye and blesse God you may say so and be thankfull for ever that thou mayest upon good grounds say thus and bring under these distempers of your soule and make them yeeld and submit to the blessed truth of God you had better a great deale crosse your owne humours than crosse the good Spirit of the Lord and grieve it Esay 7.13 when the Lord offered a great offer to Ahaz to aske a signe in heaven or in earth the text saith he cast off Gods kindnesse God bids him aske a signe hee saith I will not tempt God hee refused Gods kindnesse with marvellous stubbornnesse now marke what God answers Is it a small thing for thee not onely to grieve man but the good Spirit of the Lord so thinke you with your selves when the Lord bids you take comfort comfort yee comfort yee saith my God You that have beene wearied come and bee refreshed you that have beene lost shall be found the soule faith I dare not take it I will not entertaine it doe you thinke it a small thing not only to grieve man and the heart of a poore Minister but to grieve the Lord and his Spirit Iob 15.11 Seemes the consolation of the Lord a small thing unto you that God stoopes to your meannesse and condescends to your weaknesse and supports your hearts and restores comfort to your soules that you trample his kindnesse under your feet and make nothing of it take heed of it lest that stubborne soule of thine that now refuseth consolation when God offers it thou shalt creep upon thy hands and knees and eat thy flesh and beg one offer of grace which thou hast denied often Iohn 13.8 see how Christ doth schoole the humble pride of Peter for so I terme it our Saviour Christ rose from supper and bound himselfe with a towell and went to wash his Disciples feet but when he came to Peter he was very squamish he was loth Christ should stoope so low what wash my feet thou shalt