discovery and application of his grace unto our own souls As no rational man when he readeth those words of our Saviour to the woman who was diseased with an issue of blood Mat. 9.22 Daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole would conclude that because our Saviour saith that her faith did make her whole that therefore she was not made whole by Jesus Christ as the principall cause So no spirituall man should conclude that we are not saved by grace as the principall cause because the Apostle saith wee are saved through faith Desireing therefore that that crowne may stand fast which God hath set upon the head of his owne grace I shall endeavour to shew you that wee are saved by faith or through faith Wee are not saved in a way of working but beleeving Thus God saved and justified the Father of the faithfull to teach his sonnes in what way they are to expect salvation God in a vision informeth Abraham that he was his shield and exceeding great reward Gen. 15.6 And he beleeved in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousnesse This was the Oracle of truth which Habakkuk standing upon his watch received from the Lord Hab. 2.4 Behold his soule who is lifted up in him is not upright but the just shall live by faith It is by beleeving and not by working that wee are made just Fides justos ab injustis non operum sed ipsa fidei lege discernit Aug. Truth doth make a difference betwixt the just and the unjust not by the Law of workes but by the law of faith The naturall man knoweth no righteousnesse but what is by his own workes The spirituall man doth see himselfe righteous in beleeving Thus our Saviour directed the ignorant Jewes to the right way of righteousnesse when they asked him what they should do that they might work the works of God Io. 6.28 This is the work of God saith he that ye beleeve on him whom he hath sent If any enquire after salvation let him know it is not by works The plaine way to salvation and justification is only by beleeving Tit. 2. The grace of God bringeth salvation teaching us to deny all ungodlinesse wordly lusts He doth not say that grace in the first place teaches us to deny ungodlines worldly lusts but in the first place it brings justificatiō salvation through beleeving then secondarily the same grace teacheth us to deny ungodlines worldly lusts After we have believed for salvation the holy spirit is given Ephes 1.13 In beleeving we enter into our rest Heb. 4.3 keep the yeare of Iubile see our selves unstated in happines and keep a christian Sabbath It is only in beleeving that wee are brought to the enjoyment of that felicity which is by the grace of God in Jesus Christ The Apostles in their Epistles doe not hold forth any truth more frequently then this Gal 5.6 In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by Love And Ro. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. When the Keeper of the Prison asked Paul Silas what they should doe to be saved supposing salvation was only attainable by working they did at one discover unto him his error blindnesse acquainted him with the soul-saving truth of the Gospel assuring him that if he beleeved on the Lord Jesus he should be saved Acts 16.31 We find not rest in our spirits by the sight of our works love sincerity labours endeavours but by the sight of Gods grace in Christ Having by these places of Scripture confirmed to you this truth I shall now amplyfie it by shewing unto you more fully how it may be in truth affirmed that we are saved through faith In the first place it is by faith and by faith alone not by faith joyned with workes but by faith without workes I deny not but where true faith is workes will follow yet salvation is through faith without workes When wee are brought into the bosome of the Lord Iesus wee enter not into the bosome of his love by our love and faith together but by faith which produceth Love Our eyes are shut to the beholding all things in our selves and the eyes of our spirits are enlightned to behold what is in Gods Grace and the Lord Iesus Consonant to this is Pauls sweete and comfortable conclusion Rom. 3.28 Wee conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law Love to God and his people is a worke commanded by the Law but according to Pauls conclusion of truth wee are justified by faith without the deedes of the Law therefore we are justified by faith without love to God or his people When God discovers his Grace to a man for his justification hee shewes him that as his evill workes cannot bring damnation unto him so his good workes cannot bee availeable for his justification That assurance of Gods love which some professors have got by the sight of their owne workes being never illuminated in their understandings to behold Gods Grace in the light and beames of Grace is not the true assurance of the gospell but the deceit and lying divination of their owne spirits concerning their owne happinesse for salvation is by faith without workes God doth not require us to doe good workes for salvation in the conscience but doth positively and absolutely exclude them as things which have no influence at al upon that first assurance which he doth give unto his people of his love which is by a pure simple unmixed act of faith The spirit of Grace is never given to comfort us untill God hath stripped us of our owne righteousnesse workes and performances and hath brought us to the Throne of Grace to bee justified by free Grace without any thing in our selves that may make us fit for justification and salvation The Apostle doth lay downe this as a truth seconded by his owne experience and the experience of all true Saints Gal. 2.16 asserting that a man is not justified by the workes of the Law but by the faith of Iesus Christ even wee saith he have beleeved in Iesus Christ that we might bee justified by the faith of Christ and not by the workes of the Law for by the workes of the Law shall no flesh bee justified It is not as the Papists say that faith which hath love joyned with it which they make the forme of faith by which wee are justified but it is by faith without any workes at all by which wee are justified and have peace of conscience Augustine doth plainely lay downe his judgement in this point according to truth Noli presumere de operibus ante fidem quia peccatorem te fides invenit etsi te fides data facit justum impium invenit quem faceret justum Presume not upon thy workes done before faith because faith findeth thee a
doe evill And on the other side they that doe good are first borne of God and receive of his nature and seed and by the reason of that nature and seed are first good before they doe good by the same rule And Christ who is contrary to the Devill came to destroy the works of the Devill in us and to give us a new birth a new nature and to sow new seed in us that we should by reason of that birth sinne no more And he hath a paralell place to this in the same exposition of this Epistle As there is no sin saith he in Christ the stock so can there be none in the quicke members that live and grow in him by faith Calvin in his instruction against the Libertines bringing in this place of John as an argument of theirs to prove that they doe never sin doth answer them by this exposition of the words Johns words doe signifie nothing else but this That a man as farre as he is regenerated of God cannot sin Johannis verba nihil aliud significant quam hominem quatenus regeneratus est a Deo non peccare I might multiply Authors speaking sometimes to this purpose but for my part I doe not approve this way of Preaching or frequent quoting of Authors in Sermons yet sometimes I am necessitated unto it and for the hardnesse of hearts of hearers doe thinke that something may be done in this way for the gaining of them in unto truth As Amesius doth deliver his judgment in his cases of conscience But secondly I must professe ingenuously that most men whom I might bring in to speake to this truth doe seeme to contradict in other places of their writings what they have delivered concerning this truth And therefore I shall only bring Scripture to prove what I doe desire to desend for the truth of God knowing that Scripture is sufficient of it self for the confirmation of truth And that the judgements and opinions of all the learned men that ever were or shall be are nothing at all without it As David said of the sword of Goliah 1 Sam. 21.9 There is none like that So no sword or bow of men is like unto the Scripture by which errour is hewen down and truth exalted Wherfore I shall give you more fully my plaine and naked meaning in this point and then shall shew you what Scripture will come in to beare witnesse to the truth which I have received from the Lord. First We are to take notice that man in Scripture is considered physically as he hath a rationall spirit joyned to an humane body And when we thus speake of man wee doe acknowledge that every man sinneth Lot David Peter Paul and the like according to that of James Jam. 3.2 In many things we offend all Secondly We may looke upon man theologically And if we thus consider him wee shall finde that in a spirituall sense every Christian man hath two men in him a new man and and an olde man and these two of contrary natures and operations And as sometimes we speake of a man as having two physicall beings in him and doe attribute unto him what is proper to his corporall and spirituall part as when we say a man heareth seeth walketh understandeth and the like And then again doe distinguish these two attributing to the body what is proper to the body and to the soule what is proper to the soule So somtimes the Scripture doth speak of man as having two contrary natures and then doth againe attribute that to the new or divine nature which is proper unto that and that unto the sinfull and fleshly nature which is proper unto it In the olde and unregenerated nature there is nothing but sin and the seed and spawn of all filthinesse and uncleannesse And in the regenerated part or new man there is nothing but purity and holinesse In this nature he doth no sin nor cannot sin as he cannot doe good it the other nature So that I apprehend that the man borne of God is not sinfull in his nature or in any of his actings workings or operations Hee is light in his understanding holy in his will pure in his thoughts sanctified in his affections It is well observed by Bullinger That God doth allude to the nature of seede the nature of which is retained by those things which spring out of it Alludit ad seminis naturam quamea referunt quae ex eo nascuntur The seed being holy that which ariseth from it is likewise holy as our Saviour doth informe us John 3.6 That which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that which is borne of the spirit iâ— spirit Not that the new-born man is wholly turned into the eternall spirit and is nothing else but the spirit as some deluded and deluding spirits have affirmed but the abstract is taken for the concrete which manner of speech is very frequent in Scripture That which is borne of the Spirit is said to be spirit because it is made spirituall by the presence of the holy Spirit in it Having acquainted you with my meaning and given you the spirituall interpretation of the words I shall draw the marrow and substance of the particulars which I named into one Conclusion which I shall endeavour to make good by spirituall arguments which I shall draw from Scripture and spirituall reason The conclusion is this The spiritual man or the man born of God in his spirituall and godly nature motions actings towards God in Christ doth not nor cannot sin Arg. 1. His seed is holy in him therefore his fruit is holy this is the argument of the Apostle His seed abideth in him and therefore he cannot sin Christ is the seed in us 1 Pet. 1.23 Every true Christian can say with Paul Gal. 2.20 That Christ liveth in him and Christ in us doth not suffer us to live sinfully but maketh us to live holily he becomming the principle of an holy life and sanctification in us A Christian is powerfully acted by an holy principle and therefore his actings are holy Christ is a pure fountaine of holinesse in us as well to fill our souls with the streames of holinesse by the Spirit as to wash away the uncleaness of our souls in our Justification And this sountaine cannot send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter Jam. 3.11 The streames doe retaine the pure nature of the fountain from whence they flow Reader I must inform thee that since I Preached this Sermon I received objections from my learned friend Mr. R. L. against my arguments which I thought good to print with my Arguments Ob. Against this argument this is objected The argument from the seed to the fruit wil not follow unlesse the soyl be also answerable otherwise sorry fruit may come from good seed Answ As there is good seed so there is a good soile the spirituall heart and therefore the argument will follow This I prove Ezek. 36.26
Scripture though it be written in a plaine style and though there be not that humane Eloquence and Rhetorick in it which you shall find in the preaching of some men who preach themselves rather then the Lord Jesus and the simplicity of the Gospel That man is a good proficient in the Schoole of Christ that every day growes more and more in love with the blessed and holy Scripture I remember what an Orator speaking in the commendation of Cicero faith he is a good proficient in Oratorie that delights to read the Orations of Cicero so he is a good proficient in Christianity that in believing delights in the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament Therefore you shall find that men that fall off to these opinions presently they slight the Scripture and either wholly deny the word of God or else they overthrow the truth of it by allegorizing those things that have a plain simple historicall meaning in them That is the first Rule Search the Scriptures and there you shall see no such fancies and fond notions as these men have The second direction is this take heed of those that preach not the Gospel in a plaine familiar way you may know some Familists by their bombastick language they speake not in the language of Canaan in their Sermons but they have an affected language of their owne that few understand but those that have applyed themselves much to the studie of their writings and are well acquainted with their opinions And by their chymical darke expressions and fond notions they delude poore soules that thinke they are spirituall men and that great things are revealed to them which are not discovered to other Saints when there is nothing but horrid Antichristianisme or Atheisme lies at the bottome of their hearts which shall be evident when according to the truth of God 2 Tim. 3.9 Their folly shall be manifest unt all men Paul saith when he came to preach at Corinth 1 Cor. 2.4 That it was not in the excellency of speech nor in the enticing words of mans wisdome but in plainnesse of speech in demonstration of the Spirit and power And it is the command of God that if any man speake he should speake as the Oracles of God 1 Pet. 4.11 The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or As doth relate to the manner of speaking as well as to the matter which is to be delivered Men are to speake as the Oracles of God speaking nothing but truth and as the Oracles of God for plainnesse of speech St. Paul speaking of true Gospel-Preachers saith we use great plainnesse of speech The Scripture is in a plaine familiar style the Sermons of our Saviour are plaine familiar Sermons adorned with plaine similies And the Apostles were not ashamed to imitate their Master so should our discourses be with all plainnes of speech demonstration of the spirit power that the glory may be given not to the Eloquence of our tongues but to the power of Christ in converting of soules Therefore take heed of those that lead you from the plainnesse of preaching hiding their cursed errours in a thicket and cloud of darke workes and unscripture-like expressions not holding fast the forme of sound words according to Gods precept 2 Tim. 1.13 2 Cor. 3.12 Looke on the Scripture and see how Paul speakes of Justification of remission of sinnes of the resurrection and so let us preach the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of Christ But those that have language not like the language of Scripture suspect them they make a faire shew there is great glory and outward pompe in their words but latet anguis there is a snake that lies under these fine greene herbes take heed of such men and looke more for the inward power and Spirit of God in the speaking of men then for fine words phrases notions and similies that men may make use of to winne you to the approbation of their errours The third direction which I shall present unto you is this take heed of spirituall pride for one reason why so many fall off from the truth to these horrid opinions is from a principle of spirituall pride some of these thought that they had a great deale of knowledge wisdome and understanding and that they understood as much of the Doctrine of Christ and mysteries of the Gospel as was necessary that they had heard as much of the Doctrine of Justification as any could preach of it and of the resurrection as any could speake they knew as they supposed what this man spake and what the other preached what this mans judgement was what Authors did write and they knew perfectly as they imagined whatsoever lies in the Scripture to be embraced for truth And by their pride did surfeit of their knowledge supposing that they knew all points of the Gospel when in deed and in truth they knew nothing of the Gospel savingly spiritually or practically so that as the people of Israel came to loath Manna and lusted after other food so these being puffed up with spirituall pride begin to loath the Heavenly Manna of the Gospel and disesteeme it for the plainnesse and simplicity that is in it And nothing now will please them but new fancies therefore they must have Sermons dressed in another fashion new cooked new notions and new conceits and any thing that is new pleaseth them better then the old and ancient truths of the Lord Jesus But when God teacheth a man to understand the Gospel aright the more he knowes the Gospel the more he sees his ignorance of the Gospel â— that man sees he never learned the Doctrinâ— of Justification fully that man sees that hâ—â— hath not sufficiently learned the Doctrine oâ— Sanctification this man lookes not on his knowledge meerely as it is speculative but as it is practicall when he sees any unbeliefe in his heart he saith within himselfe I have not sufficiently learned the Doctrine of Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ when he sees any hatred in his spirit to that which is good and any inclination to that which is evill he wisely concludeth I have not sufficiently learned the Doctrine of Sanctification when he finds sadnesse in his spirit O saith he there is more in the Gospel concerning the spirit of joy and consolation then I have attained to when he reads sundry enigmaticall and difficult places of the Prophets and in the Revelation and hath not attained to the spirituall meaning of them O saith he I am not sufficiently acquainted with the truths which lie hidden in the word though I may have knowledge enough to carrie me to Heaven yet I am very ignorant of many truths of Christ Thus a man that truely lives the life of Faith he is not puffed up as these are that fall to these hideous and blasphemous notions and opinions Hab. 2. He that is lifted up his heart is not upright but the just shall live by his Faith You shall find that
doctrine 1 Tim. 1.9 10. And am likewise perswaded that he who loveth Christ will keepe his Commandements John 14.15 and Phil. 4.8 will follow things honest pure lovely and of a good report in the Spirit desiring holinesse as well as happinesse by Christ and as much longing to be in Heaven because it is a place of holinesse as because it is a place of glory and happinesse And am also confident that if we speake with the tongues of Angels and have all faith so that we could remove mountaines by the name of Christ and have not that faith which worketh by love it will not advantage us at all for our Justification Salvation before that God who doth justifie us without love To whose grace alone let salvation be ascribed for ever Amen Section 4. MAster Gatakers fourth Article unto which he is brought in as a witnesse by the Subscribers in the 17 th page of their booke is this That God doth not chastise any of his children for sinne nor is it for the sins of Gods people that the Land is punished Some few weekes for want of experimentall knowledge I was a little clouded in my spirit concerning the doctrine of affliction And though God did shine into my soule at that time to give me a wonderfull light concerning the doctrine of free grace yet I had not such a cleer and truely spirituall knowledge of this point as God did afterwards in the houre of tryall temptation and affliction give unto me But though there was some hay and stubble in mee in this particular and some mis-apprehensions concerning a place or two of Scripture which I have publiquely to my shame Gods glory acknowledged though my mistake was never charged upon me by my accusers yet in my darkest and most cloudy discourses I held forth enough to charitable and loving hearers to free me from this charge and more fully to informe them of the difference between legall punishments and fatherly chastisements I then did preach that afflictions were Gods fornace in which he did take away that drosse out of our lives and conversations which he had taken away before by his grace through faith in our Justification And afterward while I yet continued my preaching at Algate before I was ejected from thence by the potency and prevalency of my oppposers in the Citie that I may speake favourably of them To satisfie those whom I did conceive did mis-apprehend me I did speak from those words of our Saviour Rev. 3. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and amend In the handling of which words for the better clearing of my meaning I took liberty to handle two propositions seemingly contradictory First That God doth not chastise his people for sin or from sin 2 dly That God doth chastise his people for sinue and from sin And this was the reason of my action Not long before this I had preached that God doth not punish his justified people for sinne From whence some concluded that I denied fatherly chastisements to be for sin Wherefore that it might appear unto them that they had not drawn good consequences from my premises I proved that these two Propositions seemingly contradictory might stand well together as two blessed truths of the Lord Jesus which thing I can prove by many witnesses and by some who did take the same Sermons verbatim in short-hand And I shall observe the same method in clearing of this thing which is here charged upon me for my reproach And that my meaning may more plainely appear this Article having two branches in it I shal speak of them severally The first branch is That God doth not chastise any of his children for sin The word which I did usually make use of was punish and not chastise But if the word be taken in a large sence as sometimes it is in Scripture in which it signifieth as much as a legall punishment properly so called according to Isaiah's acception of it Isa 53. The chastisement of our peace is upon him I am willing to let it passe and in this sence hold it for a truth That God doth not punish or chastise his people for sin which I shall further briefly prove for the satisfaction of the Reader by these arguments Arg. 1. The chastisements or legall punishments due unto us for our sins cannot be laid upon us which are laid upon Jesus Christ for us But these chastisements or legall punishments due unto us for our sins are laid upon Jesus Christ and therefore they cannot be laid upon us The first proposition is evident because Justice doth not twice require satisfaction for the same fault as the learned Davenant doth well prove it against the Papists in his determinations Upon this position that the sinne being forgiven the punishment is also forgiven Remissâ culpâ remittitur paena where he affirmeth that if God should punish sin after it is pardodoned he should not exercise an act of Justice but severity or his absolute power Is non justitiae sed saevitiae aut saltem absolutae potentiae actum exerceret The second proposition is plainly proved by Isa 53.4.5 Arg. 2. God hath sworn that he will not be wroth with us or rebuke us Isa 54.9 And therefore hee doth not punish us with a legall punishment For a legall punishment or chastisement is an effect of his wrath Arg. 3. When God doth remember sin no more he doth not punish sin with a legall punishment properly so called But God doth not remember our sins any more Jer 31. Heb. 8. And therefore he doth not punish us with any legall punishment properly so called Arg. 4. God doth not punish us for those sins from which we are cleansed and purged by grace But we are purged and cleansed from our sinnes by grace 1 John 1.7 Heb. 1.3 Apoc. 1.5 And therefore we are not punished for our sinnes Arg. 5. Believers when they are without fault blame and reproofe in the sight of God cannot be punished with any legall punishment But Believers are without fault blame and reproofe in the sight of God Col. 1.22 And therefore they cannot be punished with any legall punishment Arg. 6. Beleivers cannot be punished by God in his justice as under the law when nothing can be charged upon them But nothing can be charged upon them Rom. 8.33 Therefore they cannot be punished by the justice of God as under the law Arg. 7. When God is fully appeased and satisfied for the sins of believers by the sacrifice of the death of Christ he cannot then punish them with any legall chastisement properly so called But God is fully appeased and satisfied for the sins of believers by the sacrifice of the death of Christ Rom. 3.25 And therefore they cannot be punished with any legal punishment properly so called Arg. 8. They for whom Christ is made a curse and hath freed from the curse of the law are not lyable to any punishment as a
or line of your hand if I had been infected with errour The Apostle commandeth us who are spirituall That if any man be overtaken with a fault to restore such a one in the spirit of meekenesse Gal. 6.1 When the cry of Sodome and Gomorrah was great and grievous the Lord went down to see whether they had done according to the cry of it And when this cry came unto you concerning me you might have done well according to the will of God to have imitated God and to have queried whether it were according to the cry and I could have sent you divers godly people at that time who should have taken an oath of it if it had been lawfully given them that I delivered things opposite and contrary to what you have presented to the world rather then what you affirme that I said I shall therefore crave leave to give a true report unto the world of that which I have delivered concerning this thing not seeking your discredit but endeavouring to free my selfe and the truth from the discredit which you have brought upon us by your false relation 1. I doe acknowledge that at Wapping I spake from these words of the Psalmist Psal 40.12 Innumerable evills have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to looke up they are more than the haires of my head therefore my heart faileth mee And in the opening of them I did affirme that if any should aske me as the Eunuch did Philip Acts 8.34 Of whom speaketh the Prophet this of himselfe or of some other man I should answer that it would be plain that he did prophetically speak of Jesus Christ if the Holy-Ghost might be heard as an Expositor and if wee did interpret Scripture by Scripture which is the best way of interpreting Scripture The place which I made use of for the proofe of this is in Heb. 10.5 where the Apostle doth apply the precedent words unto Jesus Christ And whereas you say that I did take my rise from Luthers application of them with some harsh expressions unto Christ I doe affirme that this is altogether false For it was then unknowne unto mee that Luther had ever expounded them so God hath taught me better then that I should make Luther my rule for interpreting of Scripture I have learned to call no man master but Jesus Christ Nullius astrictus jurare in verba Magistri Luther is not of greater authority with me than Master Gataker farther than I doe apprehend that he speaketh according to the truth of God and meaning of Scripture If I had had a desire to have perswaded the people that I preached the truth of God unto them from the authority of Expositors it had been an easie thing to have stuffed my discourse with quotations drawn from them and not to have made use of Luthers only Ancient and moderne Writers have usually expounded the words as I did Musculus saith that all the Ancients doe expound this of Christ not that our sins are properly his but by dispensation as hee was a Mediatour between us and the Father Hoc veteres omnes ita de Christo exponunt ut nostra peccata sint ipsius non proprie sed dispensatione quâ se mediatorem inter nos et patrem obtulit Pomeranus saith that iniquities take hold of Christ not which he himselfe had committed but which he had taken upon himselfe Christum comprehenderunt iniquitates suae non quas fecerat sed quas pro nobis susceperat diluendas And thus I then expounded the words according to that of Fulgentius Hee that had no sinne of his owne did beare ours Qui non habuit propria portavit aliena Christ did acknowledg that they were his sinnes not because they were inhesively in him but because they were imputed unto him Hee was contented that they should be charged upon him that wee might be discharged from them I am not the first who have asserted that Christ hath confessed that our sinnes are his 2 Cor. 5. Isa 53 c. But whereas you would make your Reader believe that upon this account I would wholly take away confession of sinne this I doe deny And I can prove that the maine use of this Sermon was to teach believers how they should in an Evangelicall way confesse sinne over the head of the Scape-goat Levit. 16.21 to wit in faith beholding them laid and charged upon Jesus Christ that being the best confession of our sinnes in which wee doe confesse and acknowledge to the glory of Gods grace and Christs goodnesse that our siâ—s are laid upon Jesus Christ But you are not the first who have endeavoured to perswade the world that I am against the confession of sin though about the same time I preached publiquely at Coleman-street upon these words 1 John 1.9 If we confesse our sins he is just and faithfull to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse And in Gracious-streete and at Algate upon the same Text which Sermons are not out of the memory of many who heard me who therefore will not believe you if you should get the whole Province to sweare that you have spoken truth And that I may declare my selfe to be no enemie to confession of sin I doe beseech you in the bowels of Christ to confesse your owne sinnes and faults in faith and sincerity to your owne shame and Gods glory Confesse them not only as Pharaoh Exod. 9.27 who confessed his owne sin and the sinne of his people And Saul 1 Sam. 27.17 And Judas who went from his confession to an halter and so to his owne place But confesse them with the beliefe of this truth in your heart That Christ with one offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Heb. 10.14 Confesse them for your owne humiliation and for the elevation of free grace Ezek. 16. last Job 42.6 And as you doe professe your selfe a friend to confession of sinne in your judgment to shew your self to be a friend to confession and forsaking of sin by your practise Prov. 28.13 Or else you may lay a stumbling blocke in the way of the weake who may be apt to looke upon you as one of the Pharisees who say and doe not Section 4. SIr I am inforced to begin again with that exhortation with which I did shut up the former Section Beseeching you that in the confession of your sin you would not forget to confesse this great and horrid sin of yours in charging mee for exhorting people to sinne as fast as they will because there is a fountaine open for them to wash in I doe think that if the Devill himselfe should get up into a Pulpit to preach who doth often preach by his Vicars and Curates that he would not make use of any such exhortation Neither did ever any man but your selfe aver the same thing against mee I doe confesse that this Article was brought in against
men out of their wits cannot restore to themselves the use of reason so men spiritually mad cannot bring themselves to the light of grace By which expressioons it is plain that faith is not of our selves My last argument to prove that true faith is not of our selves is derived from the Word in which it doth acquaint us with the wickednesse and deceitfulnesse of mans naturall heart Our hearts are deceitfull and hypocriticall and therfore unfeigned faith cannot come from them and no credite is to be given to the perswasions of them our spirits they will deceive us therefore we are not to give any credite to any perswasion that comes from them a perswasion that is a perswasion meerely of our owne spirit is not a true faith or perswasion Who will believe a common cheater cozener lyar or impostor that cares not what he saith or speaks The heart naturally is like unto such an impostor or deceiver according to that of Jeremiah Ier. 17.9 The heart is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked who can know it That faith therefore cannot be true which proceedeth from a naturall heart and that comfort cannot be sound which springeth from such a faith By which and the preceding arguments it doth appeare that the true faith of the Gospell is not of our selves Give mee leave now in a few words to make some deductions from this and so I shall commend what I have delivered and you to the blessing of she Almighty In the first place this may confute the Doctrine of Papists Arminians and Popish protestants that conceive that a man is able to do something to the furtherance of his owne justification and salvation This that hath been delivered being seriously weighed in our spirits is sufficient to overthrow this lying Doctrine which would attribute any thing to man or to the strength wisdome understanding will or affections of the naturall man in point of conversion justification and spirituall renovation One of the Ancients who was more enlightned by the spirit then any of his fellowes for the beholding of the truth of GODS grace doth as boldly as truly assert that whosoever shall pull downe the Doctrine of free grace by exalting mans free will is deceived with an haereticall spirit Haeretico fallitur spiritu Aug. And who will suffer himselfe to be so farre blinded as not to see that magnifiers of free-will doe overthrow the Doctrine of Gods grace and mercy which Paul preached when they shall hear him plainly concluding against all the free willers in the world Rom. 9.16 That it is not in him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy The free grace and mercy which the Scripture acquainteth us with is inconsistent with mans free will to doe good of himselfe As Dagon was tumbled down when the Arke which was a type of Christ and Gods grace in him was brought into the place where Dagon was set up so when Gods grace by the power of the spirit appeareth it tumbleth downe and overthroweth the dagonish conceits Idolatrous apprehensions which men have of the strength which is of themselves to make themselves happy The spirits of men truly perswaded of the strength of grace and their owne weakenesse disclaime their owne strength and selfe-confidences for the making of themselves good And crye out with those in the Prophet Lam. 5.2 Turne thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned But that these men may not say that wee deale unjustly with them in condemning them and not hearing what they can say for themselves let us heare what they doe usually thinke for themselves that so their mouths may be stopped by the truth of God And thus light may shine more gloriously by the dispelling those mists foggs and clouds of errour which would darken it The Scripture that some of them object against this truth is Revel 22.17 The spirit and the Bride say come And let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely From whence they conclude that there is a power in free will to take Christ and that if a man will he may take the water of life freely To this I thus answer that they draw more from the words then the words do hold forth The words say whosoever will may take the water of life freely but the word doth not tell us that any man is able to will this of himselfe It is true whosoever will may take the water of life freely but it is as true that a man of himselfe is not willing God alone enabling us to be willing to take this water of life freely Phil. 2.13 And thus yee see that if this argument be well weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary it will be found too light to prove that for which it is alleadged But they are ready to reply againe and to demand of us the reason why God doth finde fault with men for unbeliefe reproving them for not comming unto Christ if they are not able of themselves to believe and come to Christ Answ Why should these men thus cavil against the goodnesse of God May not God with good reason and without offence inform us of our sinne though we are not able of our selves to forsake it It is a conclusion spiritually irrationall to say that we have power to amend our fault because God doth reprove us for our fault In these reproofes and the like God sheweth unto us his goodnesse in reproving us for our conviction he doth not inform us of our ability savingly to believe for our conversion But me-thinkes I see them returning upon us againe and making a new assault by another argument with which they thus oppose us or rather the truth and power of Gods grace Why doth God command entreat beseech the creature to beleeve if the creature have no power of himselfe to beleeve Ans Passages to this purpose which wee fiind in Scripture do acquaint us with Gods goodnesse to the creature in his revealed will and the creatures duty towards God they do not acquaint us with the secret effectuall and irrectable Rev. 9.19 will of God concerning the salvation of a creature nor of the creatures power in himselfe to believe of himselfe The conclusions of these men from such precepts exhortations and entreaties are very absurd and irrationall If wee shall seriously weigh them in the scales of right and sanctified reason God say they doth command exhort and entreat men to believe therefore men are able of themselves by some power in themselves to believe May they not upon as good grounds conclude that a carnall man may fulfill the whole Law and be saved by doing of the Law seeing hee is commanded in Scripture to fulfill the whole Law and exhorted and intreated to doe it I shall shut up this use with a sweet speech of a devout and spirituall man seeing man without the
that by Gods grace in the apprehension of it wee are made unblameable and holy before him in love which is all that I contend for I may adde this that if God had chosen us to love joy sanctification and the like which are sin and sinfull that then he had chosen us to sin or to something sinfull which conceit in my apprehension doth carry such an absurdity in the face of it that it needeth not a Confutation Object They are not sin in their morall nature as they ought to be done but they are so as done by us Answ God hath not chosen us unto them as they are considered onely in his command But he hath chosen us unto them as they are to be acted and done by us as it is plain by the words of the Text and therefore this objection hath no strength in it to weaken our argument Arg. 12. If the new creature were sinfull worke his sinful or sin it would nullifie Gods intention in our Justification who doth justifie us when we are unholy that he may make us holy Ephes 2.10 Wee are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good workes which God bath before ordained that we should walke in them Wee are not ordained to walke in any thing which is sin or sinfull but to walke in good workes We are redeemed from sin that we might be purified unto himselfe a peculiar people And grace teacheth us to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world not sinfully but righteously God maketh us good trees by justification and then enables us to bring forth good fruit There must be a root before there can be fruit So God gives us a roote or seed of holinesse before wee can bring forth holy fruit and righteous actions And when the good seed is sown in good ground it cannot but bring forth good fruit Mat. 13.23 which place may give more light for the clearing of that objection where it was said that there could not bee good fruit though the seed were good because the ground is not good Arg. 13. God doth free us from the law of works and doth bring us under the covenant of grace that we may by grace be enabled to doe those works which we are not able to doe by vertue of morall commands The covenant of grace and Gospel-promises should be as ineffectuall for sanctification as the law if all that were wrought in us under that covenant were sin or sinfull And therefore it will follow that a man under grace hath a purity of sanctification in him God brings us from Moses who was the Law-giver and delivers us from the Covenant of works in giving us to Jesus Christ who is the giver of grace that he may make us holy in a gracious life and conversation The Apostle sets this forth unto us Rom. 7.6 But now wee are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newnesse of spirit and not in the oldnesse of the letter We are freed from the service of God in the law of works under which wee serve as slaves till wee be brought to Christ that wee may serve as sonnes in obedience to all morall commands under the sweet gracious glorious government of the Lord Jesus Christ who is as well a Law-giver Isa 33.22 to write his lawes of faith and love in our hearts Hebr. 8. As a Saviour to save us from our sins And to cut off all objections against this argument wee may take notice that the fruits of the spirit are not onely called good and holy as they are in the promise or command but they are good and holy and called fruits of righteousnesse as they are wrought in us and by us with the omnipotent help and assistance of the holy Spirit We are called the trees of righteousnesse Isa 61.3 and feare and love are fruits of righteousness as wrought in us Jer. 31. Hebr. 8. The 14th Argument may be drawn from the oath of God If God should not performe this for the Saints God should be perjured which is blasphemy to speak The oath of God binds him God in his word which is the character of his mind hath discovered his hatred of perjury and false swearing we cannot think that God who hates perjury in others should forsweare himselfe but we have not only the promise but the oath of God for this so that unlesse we will say that God for-sweares himself we must subscribe to this truth to witt that God gives his Saints his Spirit and in the Spirit holinesse and righteousnesse I will give you a place for this Lu. 1.73 74. The oath which be sware to our Father Abraham What hath he sworne That he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies here is our Justification we are delivered out of the hands of sin death and the Devill But is this all No He hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve him without fear that is without slavish fear in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life Some acknowledge that the people of God shall live holily and righteously to men-ward as they speake but that the righteousnesse of anctification is not to God-ward This place overthrowes this distinction he saith not that wee shall walk holily and righteously before men only as hypocrites may but he â—aith that we shall serve in holinesse and righteousnesse before him We shall not do such works which Luther and others have called vices vitia affirming that all the works of the regenerated man are vices nor such works which are sinfnl vitiata as some others speak buâ—uch workes which God who cannot lye cals righteous works nay righteousnesse in the abstract we shall serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse not only in the sight of men for oft-times they look on good works as though they were bad but good in the sight of God they come from a sweet fountain therefore the water cannot be bitter or brackish from the fountaine of his owne Spirit in his Saints If the works of the Saints were nothing but sin or sinfull how could the Oath of God be fulfilled that they shall serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Object Before him in this place as in other places doth meane under his protection Gen. 17.1 Answ Though it may be granted that sometimes before him may signifie under his protection yet it doth not appear that it should be the meaning of the holy Ghost in this place But he doth rather informe us how Saints doe approve themselves before God by sanctification As Paul laboured in godly sincerity to have his conscience void of offence towards God and towards men According to that speech of Hezekiah Isa 38.3 Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in
folly and curiosity of my nature I have beene tempted to reach forth my hand unto it I have rune over the bogges of Familisme but have not beene swallowed up in them Yet that I may not be mistaken in this relation notwithstanding all this By the grace of God I am what I am And though the world hath looked upon mee as an Heretique I have seene my selfe so fast in the armes of God that I am confident that neither men Devills Errours sinnes nor temptations shall ever be able to pull mee thence I have beene dead by the law to the law and am alive by the Gospell I have ceased from works and yet am created to good workes I am not under the Law and yet in my minde I serve the Law of GOD. I can doe nothing and yet can doe all things in CHRIST which strengthneth me And though I can doe all things I am an unprofitable servant I care not much what men can say of mee seeing GOD doth daily assure mee in the Spirit of Christ that I am his Sonne It doth not too much afflict mee if any men refuse to have fellowship with mee as a SAINT seeing I have fellowship with the Father and his Sonne JESVS and thy selfe and have liberty in my Conscience to have fellowship with all SAINTS My greatest sorrow and most delightfull griefe at this present is this That I am not more holy being so strongly assured by truth that I am happy I hope that thou wilt further this worke of purity in mee by thy spirituall prayers presented to the Throne of our FATHERS grace for mee where I doe desire that thou wouldst know mee one with thy selfe being one SPIRIT with JESVS though I cannot but subscribe my selfe The greatest of SINNERS and lesse then then the least of all SAINTS John Simpson TO The two and fifty Parish-Ministers within the new Province of London who have subscribed unto that Pamphlet which is wickedly and unjustly called by them A Testimonie to the truth of Jesus Christ and to our solemn League and Covenant SIRS WHen I reade your un-scripture-like termes which you make use of in presenting your new modalled Government to the world as the government of Jesus Christ I wonder with what faces in these times of light ye should dare to hold it forth as the unquestionable government of CHRIST by divine right and should so uncharitably censure all men as Schismaticks or superstitious persons who doe expresse their dislike of it or refuse to be conformable unto the same Not to runne farre for an instance of one of these termes It seemeth that the strange and hidden vertue of your Presbyterian-government hath suddenly turned our famous Citie into a Province and made you Ministers of this Presbyterian Province Did ever CHRIST or his Apostles turne free Cites or Countreyes into Provinces by bringing in any Ecclesiasticall government upon those who were converted to the faith What is any Province to speake properly but a Region or Countrey subdued by force of Armes and kept under jurisdiction by a Lieutenant sent thither with Commission to governe as the Schoole-boyes know very well who know the meaning of that phrase in Caesare Commentaries in provinciam redigere To turne such a free Countrey into a Province to the Romans I know that it is the designe of some to turne our Shires and Countreyes into Provinces and to wrest power from the Civill Magistrate by which they may set up their Lieutenants to enslave the Magistrates and all the people of the Kingdome to their Preabyterian Command and Dominion But I cannot yet remember when London was turned into a Province unlesse some of you did secretly and cunningly contrive the plot with some of the Armie that the Armie should march throughout the Citie for the bringing of LONDON into the condition of a Presbyterian Province Friends finde words in Scripture for your government by Parochiall and Classicall Presbyteriall Provinciall and National Assemblies or else the people of England will not believe that your government is by divine right untill you shall make Captaines over them and inforce them to returne againe into Aegypt Where this shall he all the liberty of the King Princes Nobles Parliament and people of England to believe that every thing is schisme or Heresie which doth oppose that as erâ—rour which the children of the Adulterer and Whore I mean the sonnes and posterity of the Pope and Popish Bishops shall enjoyne thonto receive as the truths of the Lord Jesus But I touch now upon an unpleasing string I shall therefore leave it with a sad Aposiopesis and shall entreate you seriously to consider some things which I shall acquaint you with in relation to my selfe and your dealing with mee willingly acquitting those among you and as farre as I may who having subscribed to those Articles against mee and yet never read or heard of my name in the Booke Among whom Master Downham doth acknowledge himselfe to be one who doth professe that if hee had seene mee there among the impeached Delinquents and Heretiques that he would rather for what he hath heard and known of me have pleaded my excuse then have subscribed to my censure And shall leave it to your selves to enquire among your selves concerning the miscarriage in this particular In the first place I doe suppose that some of you upon mature deliberation may apprehend that you have beene too rash in censuring mee upon Master Gatakers testimonie if it shall appeare unto you that I was freed by Master Marshall whom I name in thankefulnesse unto him for his love unto mee and to let men know that I have found more of the Spirit of Christ sincerity and love in him then in any who have beene favourers of the Presbyterian government To shew my willingnesse and readinesse to free my selfe from misapprehensions which men had entertained concerning those things which I held I did voluntarily goe unto him and discoursed with him concerning my judgement in the things with which I had beene charged who did receive such fâ—ll satisfaction from mee that upon my request bee was willing to write unto Master White the Chaire-man that though I did differ from him in my phrases and expressions concerning the Law Justification and free grace yet that I held nothing but what was maintained by many godly and faithfull men concerning those points And this was done many months before Master Gataker did fling his fire-brands at me to charge me with those things in which in his judgement I had cleared my selfe And lest any should make nothing of this uncharitably supposing that I might hold one thing in my heart and write another thing to him I am willing if he please that he shall Print what I delivered unto him and make it publique If this be considered by men of tender consciences if that character of a good man be not odious unto you some of you who knew of this may read your maliciousnesse
not seeing sin in his children yet I doe not deny but that in a sence God may be said to see sin in his justified children God though hee seeth us perfectly justified from all sin yet he seeth and knoweth that we are not perfectly sanctified And in this respect he may be said to see sinne in us And I doe apprehend it to be a grosse errour and destructive to the power of godlinesse to maintaine that God in no sense may be said to see sin in his people Reason 1. It is by the light of the Spirit that wee doe behold the sinne which is in our flesh when we doe believe that all our sins are pardoned and not seen by God in reference to our justification and therefore it is contrary to spirituall reason Scripture and the experience of all those who are truly faithful to assert That God in no sense may be said to see sin in his justified children Reason 2. If God did not see sinne in any sense he could not help us against our sinnes lusts and corruptions against which we goe unto him in the name of Christ for strength But hee doth give us helpe against particular lusts and corruptions as true Saints have found and doe finde by experience And therefore in a sense he may be said to see sinne in us Reason 3. His Spirit doth mortifie sinne in us and what an absurd thing is it for a man to affirme that God in no sence may be said to see that sin which hee doth mortifie in us by his own spirit Arg. 4. Saints may grieve the holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed unto the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 And therefore in a sense God may be said to see sin in them for how can wee imagine that the Spirit of God in a Saint should be grieved by sinne and yet that God should not see it Arg. 5. God doth inwardly checke us in the spirit for many frailties and infirmities which will sufficiently evidence the thing to every man who will not be captivated to errour in his understanding that God in a sence may be said to see sinne Though God doth not rebuke us in wrath as an enemie yet hee doth rebuke us in love for walking unworthy of his grace and favour in Christ Jesus Arg. 6. God doth work in us evangelicall sorrow and humiliation for sins which wee doe commit after our justification through faith And therefore it is evident that hee seeth and knoweth the sins which we commit after our Justification Arg. 7. God doth chasten his justified children for their profit that they may be partakers of his righteousnesse Heb. 12.10 And therefore it must be granted that God in a sence doth see sin in them Arg. 8. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit in Gods justified children Gal. 5.17 which is a sufficient demonstration of Gods seeing of sin in a sence in his justified children And by this you may perceive that by making use of distinctions grounded upon plaine Scripture it is warrantable to say that God doth see sin in his children and that he doth not see sin in his children which if it be well weighed may teach us not to censure our brethren in such points and controversies untill we have received their tenets from themselves which if it had beene granted unto mee it might have prevented many reproaches which I have lain under and prevented many sinnes in those who have rashly censured me I shall put a period to my reply to this answer with acquainting you with a story which I have read concerning that renowned servant and Martyr of Christ John Hus who comming to the Councell of Constance to answer to what was brought against him it is said that by the out-ragiousnesse of the Councell against him so many interrupting him at every word and some mocking and making mouths at him it was impossible for him to make a perfect answer to any thing Let it not be reported abroad for the shame of Religion that ever any man or men were so used in this Kingdom But let this be known that when I endeavoured to acquaint the Committee fully concerning my mind I was so interrupted that it was impossible that any man should clearly know my minde or judgment And that this was frequently added by my Brethren that that day was a day in which I was to heare the charge against me And that there would be a day appointed wherein I should have liberty to bring in my answer to the Committee of Parliament and why there is not such a day yet to be found will be a good Quaere when Astraea leaving the heavens shall again returne to the earth for to doe justice to the oppressed In the meane while though I am throughly acquainted with the carriage of things against mee I shall endeavour not to overcome evill with evill but overcome evill with good forgiving those who have wronged me even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven me Section 6. THus far in answer to the Subscribers of the new Province I might here make an end but that I finde something yet behind in their witnesse which they have not published upon what grounds I know not It may not be supposed that they are more affraid of this testimonie in these things than in those articles they have borrowed from him which he received from his fellow Subscribers of the Synod which may discover what an excellent and fit witnesse Mr. Gataker is in this businesse But to let that passe the next thing which I shall desire you to take notice of is that passage of his against mee in the 25. page of his booke where speaking of the 40. Psalm and the 12. and other typicall prophesies hee hath these words One thing I am sure of that those who gresly a buse them who taking their rise from Luthers application of them with some harsh expressions unto Christ strain them so farre as to disswade Christian people from troubling themselves about confession of their sins as being enough for them to believe that Christ here hath confessed them for them already Master Simpson preaching on that Text Sir If God had given you grace to have seriously thought upon that place in the Proverbs 25.18 A man that beareth false witnesse against his neighbour is a maul and a sword a sharp arrow You would not so suddenly and rashly have come forth as a witnesse against mee in print concerning this thing when you your selfe doe presently acknowledge that it is not so clear or certain as those others are before assedged Doe you walke according to the rules of purity to publish flying reports against the servants of Christ before you give them any notice of it or enquire fully concerning the truth of them Can you justifie your practise before the Lord Jesus before whom you and I must appear to defame me so much in print before you did endeavour to cure mee by one word of your mouth
me that I should deliver in a Sermon these words Let Believers sinne as fast as they will there is a fountaine open for them to wash in But it being demanded by some whether I did deliver it by way of exhortation the accuser was so ingenious to acknowledge that it was not delivered as an exhortation And therefore it is probable that your Brethren of the new Province have had so much grace to leave it out in their charge though it be in the same page in which they have taken out the other Articles and it will be for your credit more then for mine to leave it out in your next Edition You may as well take out that part of a verse in Revel 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him be filthy still and conclude that God in Scripture exhorteth men to be unjust and filthy as to draw out scraps and fragments out of my discourses to perswade the world that I in my preaching exhort people to commit sin which I doe desire to destroy in my selfe and those who heare mee by preaching the grace of God in Christ Your learning if not love might have taught you to have put a more favourable construction upon these words The word let is not always used by way of exhortation as appeares by those words Rev. 22.11 But sometimes by way of supposition and doth frequently signifie as much as the word though doth And take it in this sence it is as seasonable a truth as I can in desire of your good leave upon your spirit Though you who professe your selfe a believer have sinned as fast as you can in my apprehension against the lawes of love and the Commandements of the Lord Jesus yet there is a fountaine opened in which if God give you faith you may wash your selfe from these sins In the meane while I shall comfort my selfe that there is nothing charged upon mee but the same hath beene charged upon those who were more filled with the Spirit for preaching then I am They were charged with the same thing by some ignorant or malicious hearers as appeareth by Rom. 3 8. And not rather as we be slanderously reported and as some affirme that wee say Let us doe evill that good may come whose damnation is just You may now expect that before I put a period to my answer I should speak something to your reproachfull railing speeches against me But you know who said men have learned to reproach me and speak evill of me but I to suffer reproaches Didicerunt illi maledicere ego pati And I shall learn of the Angel to say this to all my defamers The Lord rebuke you Zech. 3.2 And shall intreate God for his Sons sake to give grace and patience to his afflicted and oppressed servant Amen Mans legall righteousnesse is no cause or part of his justification EPHES. 2.8 9. For by grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast THERE are two things which men ought chiefly to know Their misery by sin and their happinesse by the grace of God in Christ And by the wicked unfaithfulnesse of our memories wee are more apt to forget these two things then to forget any other points whatsoever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know thy selfe is a lesson as difficult as it is old and common How hard a matter is it for a man to remember himselfe as to know what he is in himselfe The King of Macedonia thought it needfull that his Page should every morning put him in remembrance that he was a mortall man And every spirituall man doth finde it necessary that the Spirit daily should become his remembrancer to put him in mind that he is a sinful man So likewise it is a hard matter without the power assistance of the Spirit alwayes to know the rich full and free grace of God as it is held forth in the Gospel to poore sinners The last of these as it is the most sweet and excellent lesson so with the greater difficultie it is retained in our memories This is a Doctrine which if it were preached unto us every day wee should forget it every day The daily teaching and hourely learning of it cannot wholly free us from the ignorance of this truth But as farre as we are carnall and fleshly wee are strangers to the knowledge of it So that he that thinkes he perfectly knowes the doctrine of justification by faith alone I dare professe to that man that he knows nothing of this doctrine of justification as he ought to know As long as we live upon the earth we may be learners of this doctrine Paul after he had been a scholler and an aged teacher in the schoole of Christ many yeares did then professe that he endeavoured to forget his own workes and legall righteousnesse in reference to his justification and pressed forward to know more of the mystery of Christ labouring to be found in the righteousnesse which is of God by faith Phil. 3.10 Therefore though I have formerly spoken of the chiefe point that lieth in these verses yet I know it is needfull and necessary for mee to speake of it againe that you that have heard it opened may heare more of it as well as for those who have not heard the point so clearly fully unfolded unto them to whom God may make my discourse beneficiall if he accompany mee with his presence Wherefore I have pitched upon this subject at this present in which the summe of all divinitie is comprized For faith and love is the summe of all that we preach Faith towards the Lord Jesus and love towards God and all those that are united to him in the same Spirit with our selves And the Apostle layeth down both these in these verses shewing first clearly the doctrine of justificatiō through faith alone without works and then shewing that though we are justified without workes yet how in the Spirit wee are carried forth to performe all good works for he saith Wee are created the workmanship of God unto good works ver 10. In these words these particulars present themselves to your best attentions First that salvation and justification is by grace that is by the free favour of God Tee are saved by grace Secondly He sheweth how we are saved by grace in a way of beleeving not working Yee are saved by grace through faith Many pretend that they look on grace but it is thorough the spectacles of their own works but he that doth truly eye grace he looks on grace in an act of beleeving and not through working Thirdly The Apostle discovers the nature of true faith which is the unfained faith of the Elect. First negatively he informeth us that this faith is not of our selves There is not a fountain in our selves from whence a true and lively faith springs it floweth not
purification He hath redeemed us from all iniquitie to purifie us to himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works Faith which looketh upon the grace of him who is invisible is the mother-grace Radix bonorum operum fides Faith is the roote good works are the fruit there must be the roote before the fruit But some man may say may wee not see the fruit before wee see the roote as wee see some fruit upon trees while the root lies hid and from the beholding of the fruit may wee not very rationally conclude that there is a root so from the beholding of our good works the fruit of true faith may wee not conclude that there is faith though it be not in it selfe visible unto us To this I answer That this similitude proves not the thing for though it be a truth that good works may appeare first to men yet faith is first visible to us in our own spirits and it is impossible that I should see the truth of good works except I first see the truth of faith Evident sanctification doth evidence unto us the truth of our justification but sanctification is not evident our justification being not evidenced to us in the first place If it be manifested in our spirits to us that our works are good it will presently be manifested unto us that we have true faith But this is not manifested in our spirits that our works are truly good works and such which cannot be done by an hypocrite untill the truth of our faith be manifested unto us I will make this evident by this reason A man must see his good works as done either under the Law or under the Gospel and look upon them either in the glasse of the Law or the glasse of the Gospel if a man look upon them in the glasse of the Law and doe rightly and spiritually understand the Law he shall be so farre from drawing an assurance of his justification from them that he shall behold himself cursed and damned with all his good works For the Law curseth every man that cōtinueth not in the doing of all things which are commanded by God It is indeed a divine looking-glasse in which things to be done or avoyded are discovered Lex est divinum speculū in quo facienda fugienda refulgent Aug. but it will sentence us to death for the least spot or wrinkle which it doth discover so that it is impossible that a man should see himselfe justified in the glasse of the Law But thou wilt say he may look upon his love sinceritie and works in the glasse of the Gospel And to this I answer that if he look upon them in the glasse of the Gospel which is Jesus Christ then he must put himselfe under the Gospel and look upon himselfe as a man in Christ that so he may see his works good by Jesus Christ which he will never be able to see without the eye of faith which seeth things invisible Heb. 11. and by which wee look upon Christ 1 Joh. 2.1 dwell in Christ Ephes 3.17 Live in Christ Gal. 2.19 And doe living works acceptable to God by the life of Christ in us Heb. 11.4 By faith with open face wee behold as in a glasse the glory of the Lord and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and see that our good works are the effects of Christs love discovered in himselfe and in his Gospel to our soules And therefore when John doth informe us that we shall know that wee know him if we keep his Commandement He doth propose beleeving as the first Commandement of God without which we cannot assure our selves that we are obedient to his other commands 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his commandement that we beleeve in him whom he hath sent Good works after a man hath faith are not the cause of justification but the consequent they follow a mans justification they doe not precede the act of justification they neither precede the act of Gods grace by which he justifieth a sinner neither doe they precede justification in the Court of Conscience But being justified by faith we have peace Rom. 5.1 in our Consciences This was the doctrine which was frequently preached by those heavenly Carpenters which did first strike at the hornes of the beast Vt dilectio oriatur necesse est praecedere fidem hoc est fiducia misericordiae It is necessary saith Melancthon that faith which is a confidence of Gods morcy doe precede love And in another place Non nititur fides nostra dilectione sed tantum misericordia promissa ut constat nec existere dilectio potest nisi sit apprehensa remissio Faith is not grounded upon our love but the promised mercy of God so that it is manifest that there cannot be true love unlesse remission of sinnes be first apprehended Another reason is from the imperfection of workes wrought by a man after he is justified If any man that is justified look on his works and doe not behold them in the glasse of the Gospel he shall reade his own condemnation for his works There is an imperfection in our works seeing wee doe not love God so perfectly as we should with all our heart all our minde and all our spirit but while the regenerate part through the power of the Spirit runs after God and loves God the fleshly part runneth after sinne and hates God Therefore seeing there is such imperfection in the works that we performe that the best of us are unprofitable servants and that the most holy amongst us doe that for which he may be damned every day if God should not deale with us in the Gospel but in the Law it will follow that a man cannot be justified by the works that he doth after he hath faith and is converted doth works which are wrought by the Spirit of grace It may here be objected that the good works of Saints are perfect For an answer to this I referre the Reader to what shall be delivered from those words That he which is borne of God sinneth not I come now to the next Consideration which is this That wee are not justified by the practise of any Gospel-Ordinances which are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ There are some who it may be are convinced that they are not justified by works yet I know not what new kinde of Popery they have found out for they thinke to please God by submitting to Ordinances and finding out the true Discipline and government of Christs Church therefore you shall finde a kinde of spirit of bondage in them if they be not satisfied concerning the true discipline government Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore I shall endeavour to demonstrate this and shew clearly that as we are not justified by works before or after conversion so we are not justified and saved by the submitting to any Ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ Salvation is not in
thee For other foundation can no man lay then that which is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3. Though a spirituall man can make a good use of marks and signes as of love to God and Saints when he seeth them in the light of the Spirit as fruits proceeding from faith as the roote yet by drawing a conclusion from the sight of such things which we apprehend to be in our selves of our happinesse and good estate before God wee shall not so truely comfort as certainly deceive our selves Fourthly This is for the reprehension of blind ignorant Formalists who place Religion rather in conformity to outward formes of Government and submission to externall Ordinances then in the faith of the Gospel which is operative by love Justification doth not lye in our obedience to the Ordinances of Jesus Christ but in Jesus Christ Wee are not made Saints by being made members of any Church or Congregation but by faith in the head of the Church Woe to him that maketh his obedience and submission to any Ordinance the ground of his comfort as too many zealous Formalists do who run from Congregation to Congregation from one Ordinance to another to get solid comfort to their soules apprehending that they are undone creatures and cannot be true Saints unlesse they be under the true practise of all Ordinances whereas it is a plaine truth revealed in the Gospel of truth that neither submitting to an Ordinance can make a true Saint nor the want of Ordinances un-saint any man that is made one with Christ in beleeving He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. So he is a true Saint who is not a visible member of a Congregation but he whose life of faith is hidden in Jesus Christ He is baptized not whose body is washed with water but whose soule is washed in the bloud of Christ 1 Pet. 3.21 He is a good Communicant and breaks bread who doth not breake bread outwardly but by faith doth inwardly feed upon the bread of life Wee are not justified by works of the Law done before or after justification nor by yeelding obedience to any command concerning outward Ordinances but by our submitting in our Judgements to the truth of Gods Grace in Jesus Christ for justification without these I would not here be mistaken as though I did speake against any Saints or any who are spirituall and faithfull in the observation of any externall Ordinances But against zealous Formalists who doe make Saintship and fellowship to depend upon these things and are not spiritually acquainted with the truth of Gods Grace but are perverters of the Gospel In the next place here lyeth Consolation for all that heare me this day in that which I have delivered if God shall give unto them beleeving hearts Hast thou never done any good worke hast thou hated the wayes of God and his people hast thou never looked after the discipline government and ordinances of Christ Yet here is a ground for thee to come in unto Christ we are justified by grace through believing not through working Therefore let it be supposed that thou art without works yet thou hast good ground to take comfort in that which hath bin delivered believe and thou art in a happy condition though thou hast never done a good worke Thou art not to come to Jesus Christ as a righteous man But thou are to come unto him that thou maist be made a righteous man If thou seest thy selfe a vile sinner cast thy selfe into the armes of the grace of the Father by Jesus Christ and thou shalt be made the righteousnesse of God in him 2 Cor. 5. Promises of Grace are left by God upon record in the Scripture of truth for sinners for ignorant sinners Isa 29.24 They that erred in Spirit shall come to understanding For sinners that murmure against him his wayes truths Prophets as it followeth in the same verse They that murmured shall learne Doctrine For backsliding sinners Hosea 14.4 I will heale their back flidings I will love them freely Him that cometh unto him he will in nowise cast out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here are two Negatives in the Greeke which doe strengthen the Negation Iohn 6.37 By which speech our Saviour doth assure poore sinfull creatures that if in truth they come unto him they shall not be rejected by him or ejected from the armes of his love and mercy Christ's invitation is to all sinners All that will may lay hold of him not only the righteous but the unrighteous If thou canst not love God thou maist looke on the Grace of God and take comfort that God loves thee Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners the cheifest and vilest of sinners to repentance Therefore come as a sinner as the cheifest of sinners come I say and welcome The Lord Jesus keeps open-house for all commers the blinde the lame shall not finde the doores shut upon them They shall be wellcome as sinners that cannot be entertained as Saints It is reported of Romes first Founder that wanting Subjects he sent forth some to make known his will to all people who lived about him that if any malefactors or such who were oppressed in the places where they lived did come in unto him they should live peaceably in his Kingdome and he would protect them against any that should pursue them and by this meanes he became suddenly the King of a numerous people So Christ doth send forth his Proclamations to assure sinners and vile malefactors that if they will come under his Scepter they shall live peaceably under his Government and that hee will safe-guard them from all their enemies which shall pursue them and by this meanes his dominions are enlarged from Sea to Sea and sinners doe rejoyce in the King of Sion This doctrine if it were received would answer all the objections which are raised in the hearts of men against their happinesse by Jesus Christ Is there any sad comfortlesse soule which would not be comforted if this truth were received What canst thou object against thy selfe to bereave thy selfe of peace which would not be removed if this were throughly believed Art thou a sinner Christ offereth himselfe to sinners Art thou an old sinner An old sinner is but a sinner Hast thou bin a Pharisee like Paul persecuting Christ and the doctrine of Grace A persecuting Pharisee is but a sinner And Paul was received to mercy that such might not be without hope of mercy 1 Tim. 1.16 Art thou an Hypocrite An Hypocrite may come as a sinner to Christ Bring what objection thou canst and a perswasion concerning the truth of Gods grace shall answer it and if thou doest believe thou hast as good
an assurance as any is in Heaven which will hold good when the hope of the Hypocrite will come to nothing Let no objection keepe thee from comfort but believe what thou hast heard if thou art a sinner conclude not that Christ belongs not to thee because thou art a sinner but say I am a sinner therfore Christ belongs to me Christ came to save sinners As the bright beames of the Sun dispell all mists and clouds so the truth of this doctrine if thou understand it in the light of the Spirit will dispell all thy doubts and objections of unbeliefe They will vanish and thou that camest hether under a spirit of bondage shalt goe away with a spirit of adoption and assurance The true Gospel believed will quickly bring true comfort to thy soule If any of you want comfort and assurance it is because you believe not Christ doth knock at the doore of our hearts and if by believing the doore be opened He will feast with us It is unbeliefe which doth bolt the doore doth keepe him out and doth keepe joy from us The gates of Heaven are shut upon workers and open to believers shut to those who come with money in their hands but open to those who are content to enter without paying any thing for their entrance The gift of God is eternall life through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6. ult Whosoever will may drinke of the waters of life freely Rev 22.21 But if wee will not drinke without money wee shall not drinke one drop of the water of life We see that at a play-house they will not open the doore and let people in without they give mony But it were a disgrace for a King if none should see his Pallace but such who would give money If wee thinke to enter into heaven by doing good workes that wee may be saved by what we doe wee make heaven like a play-house but if wee looke on heaven as the Pallace of the great King of heaven and earth let us know that wee may enter without money It were a disgrace to the King of heaven if he should suffer none to come within his doores to come into his Pallace but those that would give something to come into it if wee have nothing to give for heaven wee have as much as God demands if wee doe nothing wee doe as much as God requires Manifestè beati sunt quibus sine labore vel opere aliquo remittuntur iniquitates et peccata teguntur Nulla ab his requiruntur paenitentiae opera nisi tantum ut credant Ambrose It is plaine that they are blessed unto whom without any labour or paines sinnes are remitted and iniquities covered No workes of repentance are required of these this is onely required of them that they doe believe For he that worketh not but beliveth in him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse Rom. 4.5 So much for this time Salvation is only by Gods grace SERMON II. Ephesians 1.8 For by grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves c. I proved the last day that there is no salvation for any man by any workes or righteousnesse of his owne I shall now proceed in the next place to prove that Wee are saved by grace onely By grace in this place wee are to understand the free favour of God to his poore undeserving creatures That which is translated grace here in other places is translated ravour So it is said that our blessed Lord and Saviour increased in wisdome and stature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in favour with God and men Luke 2. ult So it is said that Joseph found favour in the sight of Pharaoh King of Egypt Act. 7.10 And it is said that David found favour before God ver 46. The grace of God is the same with his favour This grace or free favour of God to poore creatures is held forth to us in Scripture First as it is in God and so it is set forth to us as that grace and favour of his which is as eternall as himselfe And in this respect we are said to be saved from eternitie in this eternall grace and favour of his as the Apostle sets it forth 2 Tim. 1.9 where he saith that wee are saved not according to our works but according to his owne purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began This grace is the primary cause of our justification God justifies and saves none in time but those who were justified and saved before him from eternity It is said of Abraham that hee was the Father of many Nations Rom. 4.17 He was not then the father of many nations if we look upon his progenie posteritie for he had not a grand-child then but he was the Father of many Nations before him whom he believed even God that quickenth the dead and calleth things that are not as if they were So wee were saved before God in the eternall grace of God before we had a being among the creatures In the same sense that God is said to determine the times and the bounds of all mens habitations from eternity Act. 17.26 So wee are said to be saved by the grace of God Because God from eternity loved us in Christ and saw us in his own eternall grace and favour Otherwise wee should make God like unto the creature which seeth things when they are done and are visible among the creatures but God hee foresaw things from eternity He speakes of things as being when indeed they have not a being among the creatures but have a being in his owne eye And so wee had a being in the grace of God and in the eye and sight of God before wee had a being in our selves and a being among the creatures And we are in this grace of God from eternity not for any works that God foresaw would be done by us God did not love us from eternity because he foresaw that wee would be industrious painfull and zealous to glorify his name There was nothing at all in the eye of God from eternity that moved God to set his grace and favour upon us but his grace It is contrary to truth which is affirmed by some that God foreseeing that some men would be industrious painefull doe good workes and live holily and righteously did therefore make choice of them and set his grace on them And that foreseeing the idlenesse sloath prophanenesse ungodlinesse and impenitencie of others he rejected them God as hee loves us in his grace from eternity so this grace was placed upon us without any foresight or prevision of our own workes The Apostle doth clear this plainly to us in the forementioned place where he saith not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose and grace intimating thus much to us that it was onely the eternall grace of God which moved God to be good and gracious to us
9.20 O man who art thou that repliest against God who hath mercy on whom be will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth And though men unacquainted with this truth may account this rather a shift or evasion then an answer to their carnall objections against election and reprobation yet I shall not be ashamed of my answer It is an excellent Speech of Augustine Christs great Champion against Antigratians in his time Absit ut pudeat nos hoc respondere quod respondisse videmus Apostolum Far be it from us to be ashamed to give the same answer which was given by the Apostle Who art thou that repliest against God c. In the next place wee are to consider that in Scripture salvation is taken either negatively or affirmatively And take salvation in either of these acceptions And it will be evident that wee are saved by grace In the first place if we take salvation negatively as it is a deliverance or freedome from all evill and in this sence wee are freed from evill onely by grace It is a true rule Gratiam Christi nihil praecedit humani Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the Grace of God The light and beames of Grace do dispell the clouds of our sins Not for our sakes but for his Name sake he covereth our sins It is Gods prerogative to free us from sin by Grace and to remove them far from us Psal 103.12 As far as the East is from the West so far he removed our transgressions from us He onely can remove sin against whom it is committed He onely can cast sin into the depths of the Sea who hath an Ocean of Grace in himselfe in which he swalloweth them up Micah is spiritually transported beyond himselfe in admiring this incommunicable prerogative of the God of Grace Micah 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity c And who can think that he will part with this priviledge which is his delight For so it followeth in the same verse He retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy Secondly If wee take salvation affirmatively for the instating of men into a condition and enjoyment of all happiness and felicity so wee are saved by grace Wee are made happy brought from a cursed condition into a blissfull condition from horror to joy from hell to heaven from the state of nature to the state of Glory onely by the grace of God It is onely by Grace that wee are what wee are By Grace our sins are pardoned by Grace wee have an inheritance with the Saints by Grace wee are the high born sonnes of the great King of heaven and earth by Grace wee are blessed and loaded with all spirituall and temporall blessings in Jesus Christ and are brought to the enjoyment of eternall felicity happinesse and blissfulnesse Thus wee are saved by grace and by grace alone One of the Ancients doth speake excellently to this purpose Nemo se palpet de suo Satanas est de deo beatus est quid est enim de suo nisi peccatum suum Let no man boast of himselfe for of a mans selfe he is a Devill by God a man is made happy What is a man of himselfe but sin Yee are saved by grace Againe salvation in Scripture is taken for salvation before God in the Court of heaven And it is taken for the saving of a partie in his own spirit and conscience if wee take it in the first sence a man is saved in the Court of heaven onely by grace What is the Reason that the accusing mouth of the Law being stopped no Bill no enditement can be brought against the Elect in the Court of Heaven Is it not this because God in his grace justifieth them This is the Apostles argument Rom. 8.33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that justifieth them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who can implead or bring an action against them before God for breaking his Law He that is the Judge of the Elect is their justifier Grace hath cast out of Heaven the accuser of the Brethren which accused them before God night and day Rev. 12.10 The accuser can bring no enditement complaint or accusation against the Saints there There is no sin in our consciences that can be heard to accuse us in heaven because there is grace for our justification God beholds his Sonne Jesus Christ before his eye upon whom he hath laid all our sins The bloud of Christ doth with powerfull and undeniable arguments plead for those for whom it was shed The straying and stragling sheep which are within the reach of Gods eternall Grace cannot be condemned because the good Shepheard hath given his life for the sheep Joh. 10.11 God knoweth that he hath received satisfaction before hand for their sins by the hand of the Lord Jesus who is not now to pay any thing but hath already made payment for all their debts and is become the Mediator of the new Covenant of Grace which is sealed in his own bloud under which Covenant upon this consideration there can be no remembrance of sin Heb. 10.14 God beholding his Elect in their propitiation and alwayes hearing the sweet voice of their wrath-appeasing advocate making an heavenly melody in his eares And alwayes beholding our happinesse before himselfe in heaven lying wrapt up in his own grace doth acquaint us in his word of truth That wee are saved by grace Secondly If we take salvation in the other sence for salvation in our spirits and consciences and in this sence we are saved by grace There can be no salvation brought home to our hearts but by the sight of grace If wee had the sanctification of all the Saints which have lived since the fall of Man and should looke upon it all as ours to give comfort to our soules and to assure us that wee are in a state of salvation and should not looke above it to behold Gods grace and our sanctification in it and from it it would not give us any solid comfort or assurance of our falvation Nothing can shine in the heart to give it any comfort but what doth shine and give light in the light and beames of this grace Wee never come to see our selves in a condition of safety till wee see the grace of God Looke unto mee and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else Isaiah 45.22 None but God can save us and nothing but the sight of God can bring salvation to us Still wee have some objection or other against salvation and justification till God silence all objections by the sight of his own grace There is that onely in God and in Jesus Christ that will silence all objections If our conscience flie in our faces and tell us that wee have committed many thousands of sins more then wee can reckon or number up yet when God gives us a
grace who hath bestowed spirituall life light and operations upon us The Apostle hath an high expression to raise our spirits to this purpose 2 Cor. 2.14 Now thanks be to God which alwayes causeth us to triumph in Christ When men triumph there is great joy rejoycing and showâ—ing Wee are not onely to rejoyce in his Grace but wee should triumph in it A Christian may ride in a Chariott of triumph every day he may see his sinnes curse hell and damnation subdued and overcome when he beholds God in the looking glasse of his owne grace What though we have many sinnes yet for all this wee may triumph because the grace of God hath saved us from our sinnes by Christ What though wee have no works yet wee may triumph if wee know grace there is enough for us in the fulnesse of grace There is no way to peace here or glory hereafter but by grace Let grace therefore be thy glory As the Apostle doth double his exhortation when he exhorteth them to rejoyce that they might double their diligence and care in practise of their duty Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord alway and againe I say rejoyce So suffer me to double and treble my exhortation Yee have nothing to boast in but grace boast therefore and againe I say boast in the grace of God God seemes in the Prophet Isaiah to speake to an Hypocriticall proud people and he bids them bring forth their arguments and put him in Remembrance if there were any thing to be brought before him for which they should be justified Isa 43.26 Let us plead together declare thou that thou mayest be justified As if he should have said If you have any works bring them out use all your arguments skill and Rhetoricke say what you can for your selves to plead your justification But to convince them that they could not stand before him with their workes for justification he puts them in minde of their sinnes Thy first Father hath sinned and thy Teachers have transgressed against me ver 27. to this end and purpose that they should believe what was promised in the 25th verse that he would blot out their sinnes for his own sake So it is with us Brethren as we have heard Wee cannot bring forth sufficient reasons and arguments to make good our salvation by our works If we have nothing to comfort us but our owne works wee shall have no comfort at all in his presence Let us therefore as we are ingaged Trumpet out the praise of God for the manifestation of his rich and precious grace to us in the face of Jesus for justification and salvation Thirdly Let me exhort you to abide in the. profession of grace to the end of your dayes Hypocrites may professe grace for a time but true Saints shall hold fast the doctrine of grace to the end Joh. 8.31 If yee continue in my word then are yee my Disciples indeed Paul and Barnabas exhorted the religious Proselites of Antioch Acts 13.43 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to continue or abide in Grace Looke up to God for grace and power according to his promise to enable you to hold fast the truth of his grace Let not the wise and learned of the world cryed up for godlinesse Religion and devotion draw you from this grace of God We live in dangerous in perilous times and there were never such underminers of grace as have appeared in these sinfull dayes some that deny the Lord that bought them But let us not be discouraged because some who have professed grace have fallen from their profession to fancy frothy Notions Anti-Christian absurdities and Familisticall speculations Consider rather what the Apostle affirmeth 1 Cor. 11.19 that there must be Hersies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is needfull that there should be such that they which are approved may be made manifest The Divell hath his Chapalines as well as God his Ministers and Embassadors As some shall bee sent of God to hold forth grace for the conversion of sinners to the righteousnesse of the just So some will vent there blasphemous conceits and cursed impostures to pervert men to destruction If the good God sow good seed the wicked one will sow Tares among the wheate Mat. 13.24 When the Gospel is preached with power there are multitudes come to the profession of it but after a while many of these fall to philosophicall fancies foolish dreames vaine fables and idle speculations loathing the plain Gospel the heavenly Manna as the Israelites did the Manna that came downe from Heaven this wee begin to finde by experience But let not this shake us from our stedfastnesse in the profession of the Gospel God hath appointed it to be so Paul was confident that after his departure from the Congregation in Miletus grievous wolves would enter in among them not sparing the flock and that of their own selves should men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them Act. 20.29 If the Apostle were coÌ„fident in his time that it would be so when he saw them under the pure Discipline and Government of Christ under the charge of those Ministers Teachers and Officers whom the Lord Jesus Christ appointed over them filled with those gifts of the Spirit which were the fruit of his Ascension what wonder is it if wee meet with the Devills Hee-Apostles and She-Apostles in these sinfull times who vomit forth boldly to their own shame and Gods dishonor hellish and pestiferous Doctrines for the most high spirituall Truths of the Lord Jesus if wee consider what confusion and disorder is among the best of Saints now and are enlightned to see our want of many spirituall gifts and favours which they enjoyed which for the present God doth not bestow upon us Againe Let not the Abusers of grace cause you to dislike grace or the Doctrine of grace By this the Divell may take great advantage against thee for thy hurt thou maist have injurious thoughts of the grace of God when thou eyest some who abuse grace but continue thou in grace fall not from thy profession nor dislike the preaching of it because thou observest some who abuse the grace of God turning it into wantonnesse Remember that in the times of the Apostle some Gospel Professors did walke so contrary to the Gospel that tender-eyed Paul could not speake of them without teares in his eyes whose end was destruction whose God was their belly whose glory was there shame who minded earthly things Phil. 3. Yet these vile wretches would talke of grace and the Doctrine of Christ knowing nothing rightly of grace or Christ And Jude doth acquaint us with some in his time that were crept in unawares turning the grace of our God into lasciviousnesse And he saith that they were ordained to this condemnation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 written downe long before to this condemnation so the word signifieth for as God hath appointed some to salvation so he hath appointed some to damnation
sinner faith hath made thee just it found thee wicked whom it should make just The second reason why it is thus by faith alone is because it is by grace unlesse we were justified by faith we were not we could not be justified by Grace This reason the Apostle lays downe Rom. 4.16 Therefore it is of faith that it might bee by Grace As if he should have said unlesse you hold that there is a justification by faith alone without workes you deny Grace if you will bee justified by faith and workes conjoyned you destroy Grace Therefore it is by faith alone that it may be by Grace When we have a true sight of Grace wee see a sufficiency in that Grace to doe us good for our justification and salvation soe that there is nothing needfull necessary besides grace In which respect Luther saith that workes are not necessary to justification but pernitious to salvation the gospell requiring faith only according to that of the Apostle Gal. 3.12 The Law is not of faith the law hath nothing to doe with beleeving that doctrine which bids a man to beleeve that he may bee saved that is the doctrine of the gospell the law biddeth us not to beleeve but the man that doth it shall live in it The law bids us worke but the Gospell bids us beleeve not worke and beleive but beleive only We confound the Covenant of workes and the Covenant of Grace if wee presse an absolute necessity of doing good workes for justification This was the Divinity of the blood-sucker Bishop Bonner who in a Sermon propounding this quest How grace is to be applyed to us for justification doth answer by beleeving rightly and living uprightly joyning faith and holinesse for justification by grace whereas by the Scripture of truth it is manifest that faith alone doth lay hold of Christ and doth appropriate him unto us And that holinesse doth flow and streame from the apprehension of our free justification by grace through faith alone though faith is not alone but is accompanyed with other fruits of the Spirit which follow it This must be well understood or else we shall nullifie the grace of God wherefore God enableth true beleevers to see this truth plainly and clearly Vilesceret redemptio sanguinis Christi nec miserecordiae dei humanorum operum praerogativa succumberet si justificatio quae sit per gratiam meretis precedentibus deberetur Ambros Redemption by the blood of Christ would be vilified the prerogative of mans workes would not stoop to Gods mercy if justification which is by grace were due to preceding workes A man that truely beleives he sees not any holinesse or qualification in himselfe that makes him more worthy of salvation then another man he sees that he hath deserved damnation as well as any one who is now in the place of torment and yet hee sees that such is the Grace the unspeakeable grace of God to his poore souâ—â— that though he deserve to lye as low in hell as Iudas for his sin yet he shall be raised as high as heaven by the grace of the father made knowne to him in Iesus Christ Brethren if upon examination you finde that your joy comfort and assurance have in the first place proceeded from any workes which you have in your selves which make you conclude that you shall rather be saved then another man your assurance is not a right assurance But if your assurance be right it is by beleeving that which is reported concerning the grace of God that so salvation may be by grace It is possible for men to deceive themselves in obtaining an assurance of Gods love and their happinesse therefore I will a little digresse to open this to the ignorant It may be thou takest comfort to thy selfe by looking on workes wrought by thy selfe and not by looking on Christ it may be thou conceivest that thou lovest God and from thence concludest that God loveth thee though thou hast not seen his free love to sinners this is a bastardly assurance brought forth by thine owne lying spirit and not the true assurance of the Spirit of grace in beleeving In a true assurance by faith God hath the glory of his grace But in this kind of assurance God hath not the glory of his grace therefore it is not a true assurance Another deceiveth his soule and thinketh hee is in a good condition because he resteth upon a promise of God Christ saith Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest A man doth apprehend himselfe to be heavy laden and from the sight of his burthen doth conclude hee hath rest and is in a good condition but hee deceiveth himselfe with a false perswasion for the promise is not made to the qualification of wearinesse but the promise is made to the commers to Jesus Christ Cain was heavy laden with his sin and it lay so heavy on him that he concluded that the punishment was greater then he was able to beare or else that his sin was greater then it could be forgiven and yet died miserable without mercy Wee find that the sin of Judas lay so heavy on him that he repented that he had shed innocent blood yet for all this hee went to his owne place Therefore if thy comfort and assurance come from a sight of what is in thy selfe and not from the discovery of grace as it is layd forth in the Spirit of grace thy assurance will not advantage thee in the day of wrath Though God hath convinced thee of sin and there may be some legall repentance reformetion wrought in thee and something which thou mayst miscall a true love to God thou canst not from the sight of these things rightly conclude that thou art in the love of God before a discovery of free love be made forth to thee a sinner For God doth not apply his grace or his Sonne to any man for justification but through beleeving that justification may evidently appeare to the sons of men to bee by his owne grace Which will appeare if in the third place we doe more fully consider that God doth save us through beleeving that hee may have the glory of his grace God as hee is glorious in his grace by which hee justifies sinners so he will be glorified in the hearts and consciences of those who are justified by grace that he may have the ful glory of his grace when he hath justified them Non est quò gratia intret ubi jam meritum occupavit Bern. There is no roome for the glory of Gods grace where the worthinesse of our workes hath filled up the place Where the creature may have glory in his owne workes there God loseth the glory of his grace Where God doth any thing for the creature by grace there it is not of our works otherwise grace is no more grace If it be of workes then it is no more of grace
all the Commandements of the Lord Jesus The cause of this legallnesse in their spirits is because they doe not see salvation firmly setled upon him that beleeveth The spirituall man beholdeth justifing grace in beleeving without his obedience to commands for externall worship and good workes and doth live joyfully and comfortably in the sight of his justification though he knoweth that it is possible that he may be ignorant of many things which other Christians may have the knowledge of And in these dayes of darkenesse contention confusion and disorder what man can have solid and lasting joy who is ignorant of free grace for justification If it were necessary to the assurance of justification to know whether the Episcopall Presbyteriall or Independent Government were the Ordinance of the Lord Jesus whether sprinckling of Children or dipping of professing beleevers were the institution of Christ in the Labyrinth of the controversies of our times how few would attaine to an assurance of their justification How would poore creatures be perplexed and disquieted in their consciences not certainly knowing in which of these wayes they should walke for their justification and salvation But that the promise might be sure to all the seed Rom. 4.16 to those who lived in the times of the Law as well as to those who live in these times of the Gospel salvation is promised not to workers but beleevers to all true beleevers in all ages and places to us who live in the time of the Babylonish-Apostacy as well as to those who were hearers of the Apostles and Members of those Congregations which were gathered and governed by them Sixtly By faith the grace of God in Christ is applyed unto us and we are justified by it as the spirituall instrument formed by God in the Spirit for the application of Christs benefits to our consciences A man that lived in the time of the Law looking upon the blood of his sacrifices did behold himselfe purged purified and sanctified in his flesh by it Heb. 9.13 So a sinner looking upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is applyed unto him and his conscience is purged from dead workes to serve the living God ver 14. Faith though it be called a worke 2 Thess 1.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet wee are not justified by it as it is a worke or gracious quality but as it is the hand of the Spirit by which wee receive and are made partakers of those treasures of grace which are freely given unto us in Christ Jesus Christ bath already done what is to be done by way of satisfaction to the justice of his Father and hath already made peace by the blood of his Crosse Col. 1.20 what he doth in us now is to satisfie our consciences concerning our full redemption by him that you in beleeving may be filled with peace of Conscience being perswaded that wee are of the Father in the Son who by the Father is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Faith being nothing but a light comming from God Christ discovering God and Christ to our spirits and uniting our spirits to God in Christ By faith we beleeve what is recorded concerning the grace of God in Christ As the Prophet to my apprehension holdeth it forth in those expressions of his Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed In the latter part of these words the Prophet doth interpret the former part he beleeveth the report of God to whom the arme of God that is his Sonne Jesus is revealed And when a man beleeveth in Christ Christ is revealed to that man Faith being the first thing that is wrought in the spirit of a man whom God doth justifie in his owne conscience by which the grace of God in Christ is revealed unto him for his justification Justifying faith when it is wrought by the powerfull operation of the Spirit in the heart doth remove prevailing doubts concerning our justification the faithfull beholding the all-righteousnesse of free grace applying to his conscience the clensing vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Faith is a gift of the Spirit establishing the soule Isa 7.9 If ye will not beleeve surely ye shal not be established The soule can never be firmely setled and quieted but by beleeving Unbeleife doth question and doubt of the promises of free grace for justification But when in the power of faith we are carried above it with Abraham Rom. 4.20 we stagger not at the promise through unbeleife but the spirit is fixed and stands immoveably upon the truth of grace God saith in the Covenant of his grace Heb. 8.12 I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnesse and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Hee that beleeveth doth set his Seale to the truth of God in beleeving the promise Iohn 3.33 He is confident that God is faithful who hath made this promise to the children of men and by beleeving the great and precious promises of grace he is made partaker of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 By an heart of unbeleefe wee depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 but by faith wee draw neere to God and apply Christ to our selves Faith being contrary to unbeleife as in the nature of it so in its operations An unbeleever doth not give credit to the truth of the generall promises of Gods grace and so remaineth unjustified in his conscience A beleever in faith nothing wavering James 1.6 doth give credit to what is reported And the Gospel commeth to him not in word only but in power and the holy Spirit and in much assurance 1. Thessalonians 1.5 Object But some may be ready here to object this against what I have delivered that though I doe acknowledge that by faith grace in Christ is applyed unto us yet in effect I say no more then what I delivered before when I proved that by faith the grace of God in Christ is first manifested and made over unto us Answ They misapprehend me when they conclude that I make faith onely an assurance of because I doe maintaine that it is the first evidence and witnesse of our justification Faith doth assure but it doth not onely assure us of Christ but doth apply Christ and makes a difference between assurance and application which I illustrate by this similitude Suppose one should lye in Prison for debt his debts being paid and he not knowing it and afterwards knowing that his debts were paid hee should rejoyce in the newes and enjoy his liberty this man doth not by the newes which he heareth enjoy only comfort but his liberty so it is with us before we beleeve we lie in prison and yet our debts are paid by Iesus Christ when the newes is brought by the spirit to the eare of the soule wee rejoyce in hearing the newes but besides this presently wee enjoy our liberty and all those riches which our
temptation and all his other fierie darts we may hold forth this buckler of truth That wee are saved by grace through faith Answer him therefore from this truth and he will be silenced Resist him in believing this trueth and hec will flee from thee Jam. 4.7 And the spirit will flie into thy soule to comfort thee So long as Abraham lived he lived as a justified man by faith So long as Paul lived he lived by faith in the Son of God Gal. 2. We dye rather then live when we are not under the power of the spirit enabling us to beleeve We lye downe either in the bed of carnall security or Familisticall Antichristianisme or fal under the bondage of the Law when we step aside from the plaine Doctrine of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus And therefore the flesh and the Devill the great enemies to a Saints comfort doe joyne themselves together to oppose the doctrine of faith Sathan knoweth that faith and works are inconsistent in point of justification And when hee observeth that we are in some measure convinced that salvation is by faith he endeavours to perswade us that it is by faith and workes And would divide our Justification between faith and works As the harlet cryed out 1 King 3.26 concerning the child Neither mine nor thine but divide it So the Devill would have us divide our Justification attribute halfe of it to faith and give the other part to workes But the beleeving man seeth that there is salvation in Christ and not in any other and that no other name under heaven is given among men whereby they must be saved Acts 4.12 And that we rest upon this name for salvation only by faith In Christ we have boldness accesse with confidence by the faith of him Ephesians 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wee are manuduced and lead by the hand as it were with perswasion of Christs goodness to us by faith in Christ Continue in that faith by which Paul was justified who believed that Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him and thy comforts and peace shall be continued unto the. It it Melancthons observation that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate faith doth most usually signifie a firme assent unto a thing usitatissimum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro firma ascensione dicere doubting is that which is contrary to faith Jam. 1.6 Believe therefore strongly and thou shalt have a strong peace Rom. 5. Beleeve that there is no remission of sinne but by Gods indulgence but beleeve this withall that by him thy sins are forgiven thee sed adde ut credas et hoc quod per ipsum peccata tibi donantur Bern. This is the faith which bringeth peace and consolation to the soule By this we are brought from fin to Christs righteousnesse from mount Sanai to mount Sion from the dominion of the Law to the region of grace from bondage to liberty from death to life from the feare of hell to the assurance of heaven and happinesse Archimedes was so delighted in the study of the Mathematiques that when the enemie who besieged the place where he lived broke in unto it he heard not the noyse and shouting of the souldiers nor the cries of the people So the soule that by faith liveth in Jesus Christ shall be carryed above the noise and troubles of the world and shall enjoy peace in Jesus Christ Let us therefore waite in the heavenly Hierusalem for more of the spirit by faith This lesson will appeare to be very necessary for the Saints if wee consider that the spirit of grace may be so quenched in Saints that they may not for the present be able to goe into the presence of God as Saints but as poore sinners And by the beliefe of this Doctrine a Saint doth easily get out of temptation For hee is taught of God in the Gospell to come unto him as a sinner without works when he cannot come as a Saint And in this way his joy with all the gifts of Gods grace are restored unto him And when they are restored hee doth keepe them by the resting upon God who saveth sinners by grace through faith And therefore the Apostle Peter when hee exhorted Saints to grow in grace doth adde and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 By which he doth seem to inform them that there can be no growing in grace unlesse there be a growing in faith which is the knowledge of Christ and the love of his Father in him In the last place here is a foundation of Salvation for all that have eares to heare and hearts to entertaine the report which you have heard of Gods grace which is manifested to sinners through faith Let not any man goe away with a heart of unbeliefe but the Lord open your eares and hearts as he did Lydia's that you may believe what is reported For truly if you believe what I have delivered you may goe away rejoycing and assured of Gods grace beholding your names written in the booke of life The true Gospell believed will remove all objections against your peace and all doubtings out of your spirit If as children of Abraham ye believe as he did Salvation will lye down in your bosomes and the true God in Jesus Christ will give you an answer to whatsoever you can object bring against your own salvation and justification It is not the sight of sinne that shall take away your comfort but you shall rejoyce that Iesus Christ did dye for sinners It is not the want of works that shall send you away without assurance or justification but you shall see that you have good right to lay hold upon Jesus Christ though you have no works because hee justifies none but those that have no works before justification The true God is not a justifier of the holy and righteous but of the ungodly God knoweth that the wisdome of the proud flesh doth strongly perswade sinners to seeke salvation in themselves and their own works The Jaylors question Acts 16. What shall I doe to be saved and the Rulers quaere Luke 18.18 What shall I doe to inherit eternall life is in the heart of every naturall man who is perswaded that there is an eternall life Man thinketh that as he became miserable by his evill works that so hee must be made happy by his good works And therefore God hath given his Law which requireth perfection to bring downe the pride of the flesh ad domandam Superbiam Aug. and confidence in our own works and discovered his free favour to the worst of sinners in the Gospel God hath blocked and stopped up all other ways to life besides the way of his grace in Christ and hath left this way open for the worst of sinners to turne in unto it for salvation So that as good works cannot save us without Christ being but glittering and gilded sins so evill works cannot prejudice the
this purpose Consider that that man who hath true faith may likewise have much false faith There may bee a great deale of dead faith in him who hath a living faith Where there is true gold there may be much drosse and in that Professor in whom there is the golden faith of the Gospell there may be a great deal of drossie faith which is nothing worth A Christian hath two contrary natures in him Hee hath flesh as well as spirit And as there are perswasions in him flowing from the spirit so there may be perswasions flowing from the flesh Saints sometimes when they are in a luke-warm and back-sliding condition are apt to please and content themselves with the workings and perswasions of their owne spirits And they may finde that much of their joy and comfort doth not proceed from true faith wrought by the operation of God but from the lying cheating counterfeit working and operation of their owne spirits Will you know one principall ground and reason why some true Saints are so unfruitfull dead-hearted formall and luke-warm in the profession of the Gospell it is because the Devil cheats them with the workings and perswasions of their own spirits When God perswades the heart of his love our hearts are inflamed with an holy love to God and are willing to doe or suffer for the glory of God but when wee content our selves with the working of our owne spirits there is idlenesse sloath neglect of Christian duties coldnesse formality and lukewarmness so that there is little difference between us others Again it concerns you all to try your perswasions For if any of you cozen and cheate your selves with the perswasions of your owne spirits the time will come that you who kindle these sparks and walke in the light of your owne fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled This shall ye receive from the hand of the Lord ye shall lye down in sorrow Isa 50.11 When you expect heaven you will be cast downe to hell when you shall be confident that Christ is yours and shall bee ready to plead the goodnesse of your cause in the face of Jesus you shall finde that you were deceived by the false perswasions and workings of your owne humane spirits A faith of your selves by which ye have been perswaded of those things which ye have received by the relation of things to the eare will not save you but that faith which is wrought by the Spirit giving an heavenly revelation of Christ to the heart Therefore try whether your faith be from your owne humane spirits and naturall understandings or whether it proceed from the power and spirit of the most high God mightily working in you for the salvation of your soules But you will say How shall we be resolved in our spirits that our faith hath not proceeded from our owne spirits but that it is a work of God in us 1. When God works faith he gives an evident light by which wee see the truth of our faith and thus the faithfull are in the first place assured of salvation in believing The just doth live by faith Heb. 2.4 and hath his life and righteousnesse by faith If any man be in Christ he is a new creature 2 Cor. 5.17 The speciall presence of Christ in the soule doth make a man a new creature and by faith the new creation in us is discovered unto us and therefore Christ is said to bee formed in us by faith Gal. 4.19 So many as receive him by faith are born not of flesh nor of the will of man but of God and have power to be the sons of God 1 John 12 13. By faith wee are the children of God Gal. 3.26 and know that we are the children of God 1 John 5.10 Hee that believeth on the Sonne of God hath the witnesse in himselfe By which words it appeareth how true faith differeth from a wavering opinion unde apparet quantum differat à fide fluxa opinio Marlor It is the office of faith to beare witnesse to the certainty of our salvation and to give in a testimony of our happinesse by Christ Jesus The blood of Christ doth purge the conscience from dead workes Heb. 9.14 By faith we drink this blood of the Sonne of God Iohn 6.53 and look upon him who is invisible to the eye of reason by this eye of faith which is the evidence of things not seene Heb. 11.1 Christ is set forth as a propitiation and object of our justification by the Father Rom. 3.25 And by faith wee looke upon him who is set forth unto us to be looked upon It is life eternall to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent John 17.3 And true faith is nothing else but the true knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ Fides quid aliud est quam vera de deo cognitio Cyr. Hee that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not shall not see life John 3.36 In which words our Saviour doth seeme to put a difference between a believer and an unbeliever The unbelieving man seeth not eternall life but the believing man seeth eternall life and hath eternall life abiding in him by which he knoweth that he is freed from the death of sin and from the temporall and eternall death for sin and shall not come into condemnation For when a man truly believeth heaven is opened unto him and he hath a spirituall discovery of Christ made unto his soule But it is not so with a man who hath a perswasion formed in himselfe by himselfe As John said that what hee had seene hee declared unto them 1 John 1. so every spirituall man may say that he hath seene Jesus Christ With Stephen by faith he seeth God and his Son Jesus standing on his right hand Christ is so perfectly presented to the eye of faith that the believer doth by faith looke upon a crucified Christ as though he were present before him Gal. 3. The Apostle to prove the effectuall calling justification of the Thessalonians doth affirm that the Gospell came unto them in much assurance 2 Thes 1.5 Enquire now in thy owne spirit whether thy faith is such a faith as this which the Scripture doth call the unfeigned faith of the elect and if it be such a faith it is not of thy selfe but it is the gift of God 2ly The Kingdome of God being not in word but in power thou that dost truly believe hast found the word of salvation to come unto thee with a mighty power This was an evidence to Paul of the truth of the conversion of the Thessalonians because the Word came in power unto them 1 Thes 1.5 Thou that hast trusted to a perswasion of the grace and favour of God to thee in Christ wrought in thee by thy own spirit thou hast had no heavenly power in this perswasion But he that hath faith wrought by the spirit of God
there is a mighty power of God comes downe upon him when hee is enabled to believe Thou that hast a false faith apprehendest it an easie thing to believe because thou didst never feel a power from above comming upon thee to enable thee to believe Whereas the true believer knoweth that it is a difficult thing to believe Because the work of faith is the work of â—mâ—ipotency According to that of our Savior Io. 6 29. This is the worke of God that ye believe in him whoÌ„ he hath sent Therefore if upon examination thou dost find that thou art only pertwaded concerning the mysteries of Christ and the grace of God as thou art perswaded of naturall things in a naturall way and hast not felt the power of heaven enabling thee to believe thy faith is a false faith For where there is true faith a man feeles the power of God enabling him to believe the testimony that God gives of his Son Christ I will give you a plain place to confirm this Ephes 1.19 20. where hee praying for them that they might see the mighty power by which they were enabled to believe doth make use of many very emphaticall expressions that ye may know saith he what is the exceeding greatnesse of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead There hee speakes not only of a power but the greatnesse of power and not only the greatnesse of power but the supereminent greatnes of his power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And as though hee had not spoken enough to set out the Almightinesse of the power by which we are enabled to believe hee doth inform us that such an operation of the power of the vertue of God for so the words may be translated by which Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and declared to be the Sonne of God is put forth for the enabling of us to believe Thou that hast not this power in thy soule thy perswasion is wrought in thy spirit not by the spirit of grace truth but it flowes from thy own naturall and carnall spirit and it is a perswasion that will never doe thee good it will never bring thee true comfort A man that hath not a better perswasion than this shall never see the face of God with joy 3dly Faith which is not of our selves doth carry us out of our selves A faithful man hat his life not in himselfe but in Jesus Christ He liveth not by the principles of the first but second Adam He hath his spirituall being in the Father and in his Sonne Jesus Christ He is joyned to the Lord and is one spirit Hee seeth the Father in the Son and the Sonne in him and the Father in him through his Son According to the promise of our Saviour John 14.20 Ye shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you Paul speaking of the spirituall Thessalonians affirmeth that they are in the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 1.1 By faith we enjoy the glory of union The glory which thou hast given me I have given them that they be one even as we are one John 17. Though we have not the glory of equality 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet we have the glory of likenesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Though we are not united to the Father to immediately as Christ is by himselfe and in himselfe yet we are united to him mediante Christo by the meanes and mediation of Christ Jesus This is the honour which is given to those who trust by a lively faith in the name of the Sonne of God 4 ly Faith which is not of our selves doth carry us beyond the world A believer looking upon Christ overcomming the world for him doth through faith overcome the world by him 1 John 5.4 Whatsoever is born of God overcommeth the world and this is the victory that overcommeth the world even your faith Therefore the Saints are said to be cloathed with the Sun and to have the Moon under their seet Rev. 12. Because being through saith cloathed with the righteousnesse of Christ who is called the Sun of righteousnesse Mal. 4.2 They trample upon all sublunary things as worth nothing in comparison of Jesus Christ Fifthly He that truly believeth in Christ is anointed with the spirit of Christ and assured of his abiding for ever in Christ 1 John 2.27 The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him God should lose his earnest if it were possible for us to miscarry to the losing of our soules after wee have this earnest from him which bindeth him to bring us to heaven and happinesse This spirit perswades us that we are the sons of God that God will lose none of his sons Hee that hath this spirit knoweth that no man that hath the spirit can speake what he feeles from the work of the spirit of adoption in his owne heart Hee admires grace when hee lookes on God reconciled in Christ to sinners lookes on himselfe reconciled to God in believing and when he feeleth the spirit of God witnessing with his spirit that he is the childe of God hee can goe boldly to the Throne of grace knowing Christ as his elder brother God his Father in him Selfe-deceiving hypocrite dost thou not begin to be convinced that thy faith is not the true faith of the Gospell by that which hath been spoken concerning this faith which is not of our selves but the gift of God 6. As I told you even now There is never true faith but true love follows it Love is an ndividual companion of faith Therefore such as have faith andnever have love accompanying of it may be confident that their perswasion concerning the grace and goodnesse God in Christ is but a carnal and not a spirituall perswasion True faith worketh by love therefore if mine work not by love it is a false faith this is an undenyable argument Brethren mistake me not in this point unto which I now am speaking mis-apprehending my meaning as if Ibid you love God the brethren that you may believe be justified no but I tell you now that where true lively and justifying faith is there love will follow When we doe in the light of the spirit apprehend Gods love to us and the love of Christ in giving himselfe for us wee cannot but love God againe and love Christ who hath loved us and given himselfe for us So that where there is no true love there is no true faith If it be truth that where fire is there will be heat it will necessarily follow that where there is no heat there is no fire So if where true faith is love will follow it will necessarily follow that where true love doth not follow there true faith did not precede 1 John 4.19 Wee
words though I know that there are many adversaries and opposers of this truth 2 Cor. 4.13 We believe therefore we speak saith the Apostle So I doe in spirit belive what I shall speake and therefore I am resolved to speake it forth plainly and you are engaged to heare me patiently The words are a conclusion drawn from preceding premises In the precedent words the Apostle delivered two propositions First That hee that committeth sinne is of the Devill Secondly That Christ hath appeared to destroy the workes of the Devill from whence he concludeth that he which is born of God cannot sin not having his being in the Devill but in Christ who destroyeth sin In this verse there are these particular observations which at the first view may present themselves unto us 1. A character of a true Christian He is one who is borne of God 2. The property of this man who is borne of God He doth not commit sin 3. A reason why he cannot commit sin to wit because his seed remaineth in him 4. His purity He doth not only not commit sinne but he sinneth not at all 5. This asserted by laying down the impossibility of his sinning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He cannot possibly sinne 6. This is further proved by his excellent glorious condition He cannot sin because he is borne of God First From the person who is here spoken of The man who is borne of God We may take notice of the folly and Bedlam-madnesse of some who would be accounted professors and Preachers of a spirituall Gospel whose Gospel and mystery of error doth make the man born of God to be God Confounding the glorious nature of the Father Word and Spirit with the new Creature The Apostle doth plainly overthrow this Bedlam-Divinity by these expressions In which hee doth make a difference between God and the man who is born of him That which is born of God is borne in time But God is from eternity And therefore that which is born of God cannot be God The place which they pervert is in the 1 Cor. 6.17 He which is joyned to the Lord is one spirit Answ Christ and the man joyned unto him are one not by confounding of the person of Christ with the person of a Believer but by the union of these two in the Spirit As the members are one with the head and yet the head is not the members nor the members the head Secondly In this objection as they destroy the personall being of a Believer so they destroy the personall being of Christ as he is the Word made flesh There Christ is nothing but God they apprehending that Christ hath offered up his humane nature wisedome and righteousnesse as things of the first creation and that hee hath no being now but in spirit which they call Christ in the Spirit the spirituall man or God I shall therefore in few words deliver the truth of God concerning the man who is born of God This phrase is taken first largely and so every Creature may be said to be of God because every creature is the workmanship of God and hath its being from God And in this sence all wicked men are called the Off-spring of God Acts 17.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly It is taken strictly And so it is to be understood not of those who have their being from God by creation but by spirituall regeneration And thus it is here taken and in other places John 3.5 Except a man be borne of water the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God John 1 13. In this sence neither God Christ or the Spirit are the new man or the man born of God But the speciall and gracious presence of God through Christ by the spirit doth make a man a new Creature 1 Cor. 1.30 John 1.13 2 Cor. 5.17 If any man is in Christ he is a new Creature He doth not say that if any man is in Christ that then hee is Christ or that Christ is the new creature but that man who is in Christ he is the new creature Having shewed you who the new man or the man born of God is who is here spoken of and freed the Text from famelisticall blasphemies I shall desire that you may be acquainted with this truth Every true Saint is a man born of God 1 Consid It will not advantage a man to make a profession of Christ and to submit to all the outward Ordinances of Christ unlesse a man be made a new creature by Christ Gal. 6.15 In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncir cumcision but a new creature We must be borne againe or else it had been better for us never to have been borne Christ will not own any for his or approve them as his Disciples whatsoever prosession they doe make of him unlesse he be formed in them 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be unapproved They are the Devils children who are not borne of God John 8.44 2 Consid God hath engaged himselfe in the Covenant of grace that those who are his shall be borne of him Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you an heart of flesh As a Carver when he maketh an Image doth begin at the outside of the Timber and cuts shaves and smooths that So hypocrites doe begin at the outside and doe smooth themselves in their outward conversation to men-ward And so there is but an image insteed of a new creature But true Saints are made new inwardly Some say that the heart is the first thing which hath life Cor est primum vivens It is true in the new creation God doth give unto the vessels of his grace new hearts Rom. 10.10 With the heart man believeth unto righteousnesse Jer. 32.39 3. Consid Men who are not borne of God cannot haue fellowship with God If we say that we have fellow ship with him and walk in darknesse we lye 1 John 1.6 But true Saints have fellowship with the Father and his Sonne Jesus Christ 1 John 1.3 And therefore they are borne of God 4 Consid God is to be known served and worshipped by true Saints but we cannot truly know him serve or worship him so long as we are old creatures in the state of nature and therefore it cannot be denyed that true Saints are borne of him An old creature is spiritually dead and cannot see God A dead creature cannot performe the actions of a living creature And a sinner cannot serve the living God and performe that spirituall worship which God doth require of those who are quickned to spirituall worship by Jesus Christ 5. Consid The new Heaven and the new Earth is only provided for new creatures but it is provided for Saints and they expect it 2 Pet. 3.13 And therefore they are borne
believing from a dunghill to a Throne from everlasting wrath to never-ending glory and immortality I might speak more fully of this concerning which no man can speak sufficiently But my intention was not to speak of this but rather of that which is principally intended in the words to shew you the sinlesse condition of the man which is borne of God And therefore give me leave to leave this point that I may briefly open the words which follow in the Text that so I may draw the marrow and substance of them into a short conclusion the illustration confirmation and amplification of which by the grace of God shall be the subject of my ensuing discourse I doe finde that the godly-learned doe not agree in their expositions of these words I shall therefore acquaint you with their severall expositions and shall enlarge my thoughts in the amplifying of that which I doe apprehend in truth to be the meaning of the Apostle in these words First Some say that he cannot commit sin That is Non potest operam dare peceate He cannot make sin his work trade or employment and this is a truth The rode of prophanesse and wilfull sinning hath never been the way in the which the Saints have walked Their path is the path of purity and uprightnesse But this doth not seeme to be the meaning of the Spirit in this place For the Apostle doth not only say that he cannot commit sin but hee cannot sin Secondly Others say that he cannot commit sin as a servant of sin As though our Saviours words were a sufficient exposition of these Joh. 8.34 Whosoever committeth sinne is a servant of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth not doe sin as his worke as a servant doth work by the appointment and commandement of his Master I question not the truth of this Sinne shall not have dominion where Christ is Lord and Master in the soule He taketh our soules in unto himselfe by conquest and will not suffer those who commanded us before his conquest to rule over us now he hath subdued them As a conquering King will not suffer conquered Rebels to command his Subjects But the Apostle doth not seeme to drive only at this because as it hath been observed he saith afterwards that he cannot sin Thirdly Some say that he cannot sinne because he cannot commit the unpardonable sin And these goe as far as the end of the Epistle for an exposition Chap. 5.17.18 All iniquity is sinne and there is a sinne not unto death Wee know that whosoever is borne of God sinneth not But hee that is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Thus they affirme that he finneth not because hee sinneth not unto death This which they say is likewise an undenyable truth in it selfe but not all that the Apostle intendeth in these words Which will evidently appear if we look seriously upon the precedent words Where the Apostle doth set downe the Antithesis and opposition between the man borne of God and the naturall man And doth make this the characteristical difference between the man borne of God and the man of the Devill vers 6 7 8. That the one doth sinne and the other doth not sinne Every one that abideth in him sinneth not he that sinneth hath not known him or seene him And as no man will say that the difference in this place between the carnall and spirituall man is this That the one doth not commit the unpardonable sinne and the other doth For then this absurdity will necessarily follow that every carnall man doth commit the unpardonable sin For the Apostle saith that every carnal man is of the Devill and sinneth that is against the holy Ghost if we take their exposition So no man may affirme that this is the meaning of these words which are laid downe in way of opposition to the precedent that he that committeth not sin doth not commit the unpardonable sin for then this absurdity will follow that every man who committeth not the unpardonable sin is born of God And this is evident by the subsequent words where he saith vers 10. That in this the children of God and the children of the Devill are manifested To wit that the one doth not commit sin and the other doth commit sin Take the words according to their exposition and this is the sence of them In this the Saints and carnall men are distinguished that the Saints doe not commit the unpardonable sin and that all carnall men doe commit the unpardonable sin Of the absurdity of which tenet contrariety to Scripture and daily experience I leave the spirituall man a judge 4. Others say that he sinneth not That is in his justified state and condition he sinneth not Because he is free from sin and the condemnation of the Law And this is a truth likewise full of comfort and sweetnesse That the believer or man borne of God doth not sin in reference to justification Their meaning is that there is no sin from which a believer is not justified But the Apostle doth not speake only of this for he speaketh of his working of righteousnesse by love in this place and through the whole Epistle as well as of believing And of such workes which Saints are to doe by which they may be justified before men as these men doe grant themselves and therefore this is not to be taken so strictly in reference to our justification through faith only As these words do declare it sufficiently Every one that worketh not righteousnesse is not of God and hee that loveth not his brother vers 10. Doth he pray for such whom he thought were no where to be found or for all true Saints whom he did know did love the Lord Jesus in corruption Reply If they be considered as they ought to be done so they are not evill but as they be done by us So the holy Ghost is not affraid to call them menstruous rags even our very righteousnesse not our old man only Isa 64.6 from the better part And therefore the Scripture doth call us Saints or holy men Ephes 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because we are spiritually regenerated or made new creatures though much of the flesh doth remaine in the best of us And this I doe apprehend to be the meaning of God in this place So Cajetan upon the words Hee doth saith he understand it formally that is in as much as he is borne of God for our new creation from God doth not suffer us to sin Intelligit formaliter hoc est quatenus ex Deo natus Nativitas enim ex Deo non dat peccare So likewise that faithfull Martyr Tyndall speaketh in the opening of these words God and the Devill are two contrary Fathers two contrary fountaines two contrary causes the one of all goodnesse the other of all evill And they that doe evill are borne of the Devill and are first evill by that birth before they
love saith the Apostle He will remember the good works of men borne of God at the great day of judgement The good workes of some are manifest before-hand and they that are otherwise cannot be hid 1 Tim. 5.15 They cannot for ever be hid because God will make mention of them at that day But hee hath engaged himselfe by oath to remember our sins and sinfull actions Hebr. 8. And therefore the works of the spirituall man are not sin or sinfull Arg. 8. There is no law against the workes of a spirituall man or the fruits of the spirit of grace and therefore they are not sin because where there is no law there is no transgression But there is no law against these This is plain by that passage of the Apostle Gal. 5.22 The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Object They are here considered as they are precisely the fruits of the spirit and as they ought to be done by us and so they are no sins but consider them as acted by us even with the spirits assistance and so they are defective and sinfull Answ The Apostle doth not speake of the fruits of the spirit as Tully of his Oratour Plato of his Common-wealth Moor of his Utopia as of things no where to be found But be speaks of the spirit as in us and the fruits of it as in us And doth plainly tell us that if we are led by the spirit we are not under the law and that there is no law against the fruits of the spirit But I shall have occasion hereafter to speake more fully of some places where the Apostles and servants of God doe speak plainly of these works as done in us that so I may break the neck of this distinction which is made as a Catholicon or salve for every sore Arg. 9. God doth give a testimony concerning his Saints that they are righteous and holy which is spoken in reference to their spirituall nature and actings and therefore they are righteous and holy The judgment of God is according to truth hee being the God of truth Doth not God give this testimony of Job Job 1.1 That he was a perfect man and upright one that feared God and eschewed evill And though man may oppose this yet it feemeth by Gods speech to Sathan that the Devill could not contradict it Job 2.3 And the Lord said unto Sathan hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth a perfect man upright one that feareth God and escheweth evill Did any thing which was sin or sinful procure this honourable title to David that he was a man after Gods owne heart 1 Sam. 13.14 Doth not the Scripture of truth inform us concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife that they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandements of God blamelesse Luke 1.6 They did not onely walk in the great Commandement of God concerning faith for Justification but in all the Ordinances and Commandements of God Is not Lot called a just and righteous man who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked 2 Pet. 2.7 And was his sinfull soule vexed with their evill deeds or his righteous soul speak in the language of Gods Word and ye must acknowledge that it was his righteous soule vers 8. God is not like unto some indulgent parents who by their fond indulgency doe account that to be a vertue which is the fault of their children and them to be vertuous who are vile God calleth nothing righteousnesse which is sin or sinfull Nor those to be perfect and upright which are not so indeed and therefore seeing God doth call his children righteous holy and perfect wee may not be affraid to call them so unlesse wee will be affraid to follow his judgment Object They were righteous before God by Justification and before men by holy walking Ans We deny not their justification before God by faith but with all we affirme that they were righteous before him by their holy walkings As these places doe sufficiently prove with others which we shall hereafter speak of Let us not delude ous soules to think that righteousnesse sanctification is to the eye of men only The purest sanctification of a Saint is not so visible to men as unto God Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visite the fatherlesse and Widowes in their affliction and to keepe himselfe unspotted from the world which will be further manifested by our next argument Arg. 10. Almighty God is a God of pure eyes who cannot behold any iniquity any sinfull thing or sin with an eye of approbation But this God who cannot approve what is sin and sinfull this God approveth and professeth that he is well pleased with the performances of his Saints therefore the performance of the Saints cannot be sin or sinfull The Apostle in Philip. 4.18 Professeth that the worke of the Philippians in sending to relieve his wants was an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God God hath pure eyes and pure nostrils and therefore if it had been sin or sinfull it could not have pleased his eye nor have beene an odour of a sweete smell unto his nostrills Object They are so but not in their owne nature Answ If they be not so in their own nature they are filthy and odious in their own nature and yet accepted by grace If one thing which is filthy and odious in its owne nature be accepted why should not other things which are filthy and odious in their owne nature be accepted for good workes If this can be made good Whoredome and Adultery will prove good works which hath been asserted by some who have said that the filthinesse of whoredome being done away the action is well-pleasing to Almighty God as well as any good work Arg. 11. One end and intention of God in electing of us was that he might make us holy that he might make us good trees to bring forth good fruit Though God doth not elect us because wee doe believe or because wee doe love yet hee hath elected us that wee may believe and that we may love So that wee frustrate one end that God hath in electing us if we doe not grant that God gives us a new nature and new hearts According to that of the Apostle 2 Thes 2 13. We are chosen unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth And in Eph 1.4 He hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Object We doe apprehend our election imperfectly which is the cause of the sinfulness of our works Answ By reason of that which is in the flesh we cannot so perfectly see our election as wee shall doe hereafter Yet in the spirit for the present we doe so fully apprehend it
confirmation of the truth Give mee leave to give an answer to their arguments as I have already presented unto you answers to their objections Arg. 1. Paul was a regenerated man yet he confesseth that he was not able to performe that which is good Rom. 7.18 Therefore no regenerate man is able to performe that which is good Answ Paul doth give a sufficient answer to this objection in the preceding words of the same verse where he saith in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing by which it is evident that he speaketh of himselfe in reference to his flesh And this is a truth which with all the faithfull I willingly subscribe unto But when he plainely speaketh of a man in the spirit freed from the clouds of temptations and power of the flesh in the last verse of the same Chapter he saith With the minde I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin It is good to serve the law of God but Paul in the Spirit had attained unto this and therefore Paul was enabled to performe that which is good According to that of the Apostle Phil. 2.13 It is God who worketh in us to will and to doe of his owne good pleasure Arg. 2. There is none that doth good no not one Rom. 3.9 10 11. which is meant aswell of the regenerate as unregenerate as is evident by vers 23 24. because it is meant of all who are justified freely by his grace as appears further by the instances of Abraham and David which were regenerated Ch. 4.2.6 Therefore no workes of the regenerate are without sinne Answ It is plain that the Apostle speaketh here of a man under the law and of an unregenerate man by the things which are spoken of him Hee saith that none seeketh after God can you affirme this of a regenerated man when the same Prophet who in the 14. Psame doth give us a character of a wicked man out of which this is taken in the 24. Psalme doth give us this character of a man truly godly that hee is one of the generation of those who seeke God 2. The Apostle saith that there is none that understandeth But blessed be God the sonne of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him 1 John 5.20 3. They are all gone out of the way But we can blesse God who through Jesus Christ hath brought us into the way of salvation 4. There is none that doth good no not one and there is none that is righteous But hearken unto the speech of John 1 John 3.7 Let no man deceive you hee that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous I might runne over all the other particulars there laid downe but I shall content my selfe with what is spoken in the 17.18 it s said that the way of peace have they not known and there is no feare of God before their eyes Is a regenerate man an enemie to the way of peace and doe not they feare God to whom God hath sworne Jer. 32.40 That he will put his feare in their hearts that they shall not depart from him Again secondly you would prove it by this argument because hee speaketh of all those who are justified But let me tell you that we must distinguish of a man before and after his Justification Every man is such a man before Justification and in this respect he speaketh of all men but after justification there is a charge wrought in a man as I have formerly proved at large unto which I refer the Reader But thirdly you instance in David and Abraham who were regenerated men Answ Wee are not to forget that the Scriprure dosh acquaint us that there is a two-fold righteousnesse of a regenerate man The righteousnesse of Justification and the righteousnesse of sanctification Of the first of these the Prophet speaking saith that a man is blessed to whom sin is not imputed of the latter where hee saith of the same verse And in whose spirit there is no guile which the learned Zanchius doth apprehend to be spoken in reference to that sanctification which is in the unregenerated part understand the distinction rightly and you cannot want an answer to this Objection Arg. 3. Wee believe not so stedfastly nor love so perfectly as we ought therefore is our faith love imperfect and sinfull Ans 1. If we should grant the antecedent we may deny the consequence It is true that if a man doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought that then the man doth sin consider him physically And this wee have alwayes granted but it doth not follow that his faith and love is sin but that which is in the flesh is sin which is the cause that he doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought Amesius doth give a sufficient answer to this in answering an argument which Bellarmine doth bring against the Protestants to wit that sins doe not please God in Christ It is true saith he that sin doth not please God but the stain of sin being done away the good which remaineth is pleasing unto God Sane quidem certe sedpeccati maculâ in Christo deletâ bonum substratum placet Tom. 4. l. 6. c. 8. 2ly We say that a regenerate man looked upon in the new Covenant doth believe stedfastly and love perfectly His unbeliefe and hatred of God which is in the flesh being covered with the rich mantle of Gods grace and mercy as far as he doth believe truly he doth believe stedfastly and as far as he doth love he doth love perfectly Let not this offend any man that I say he doth love perfectly It is granted by most Protestant writers that a regenerate man hath a perfection of parts though not of degrees A childe may have an humane nature and the parts of a man as well as a man of forty yeares old A sparke of fire hath the true nature of fire a drop of water hath the nature of water in it as wel as all the water in the Sea So a sparke or drop of love hath the divine nature of love in it as well as that which burnes in the breasts of a Seraphim and therefore is not sin or sinfull And for this reason it is said that Abraham was not weak in faith though it is unquestionable that hee had his weaknesse in the flesh as well as other men and that hee staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. And this is the meaning likewise of Amesius in the place formerly cited where hee saith That the good works of the faithfull are not only good by the object of them but in reference to all the causes of them the efficient materiall formall and finall cause Opera fidelium non tantum sunt bona ex objecto sed etiam quoad omnes causas efficientem materiam
formam et finem Arg. 4. Sanctification in the feare of God is alwayes perfecting whilest we live here in this life 2 Cor. 7.1 and therefore it is not perfected untill the life to come Answ Sanctification is said to be perfecting here in reference to that which is in the flesh which is to be put off that sanctificaiion may come in the place of it not in reference unto that which is already wrought as though that sanctification were not already perfect if we take perfection as it is opposed to that which is sinfull 2. It is said that our Saviour encreased in wisdome Luk. 2.52 will you say that his wisedome was sinfull at first because he did encrease and grow in it You may as well say so as conclude that our sanctification is sinne or sinfull because it doth grow or increase to a greater perfection Arg. 5. If our workes be in themselves perfect then might Paul have desired to have been found in them before God Answ I deny the consequence For these good workes are not wrought in us that they may be the cause or matter of our Justification and therefore Paul will not appeare before God in them for Justification But Paul and every true Saint being justified by faith without them doth dare to bring them in the presence of God as secondary evidences of Gods love to him According to that of John 1 John 3.14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the Brethren hee that loveth not his brother abideth in death ver 19. And hereby wet know that we are of the truth and shall perswade our hearts before him Which you maintaining them to be sin and sinful doe not doe Arg. 6. If the new man doth not sinne then he is not the man who is pronounced to bee a blessed man Psal 32. Rom. 4. Answ This is a plaine fallacy You take the new man here physically whom wee take according to Scripture Spiritually and Theologically Justification to speak properly is neither of the new man nor old man but of the person in whom there is an old man and a new man And this man is justified from the sinnes of the old man by the work of the spirit in the new man which doth carry him to the grace of God in Jesus Christ Arg. 7. Pauls best workes were accounted by him but as drosse dung therfore they were not perfect Phil. 3. Answ 1. This may be very well understood of his workes done under the Law As the preceding words do seeme to hold it forth where he speaketh of his Jewish priviledges and Pharisaicall righteousnesse And secondly the words following will seem to carry it this way because hee saith that hee accounteth all things dung for the excellent knoweldg of Christ by which is evident that he speaketh of all things as they stand in opposition to the knowledge of Christ 3. This argument maketh nothing for you because you account this knowledge sinfull But let us take it as you do and an answer is presently at hand to wit that the Apostle doth not speake these words absolutely but comparatively They are all dung in comparison of Christ and in reference to their uselesnesse to justification Dung will as soone justifie a man from sin as that love which floweth from faith Arg. 8. This that the new man sinneth not doth in a very high measure if not altogether overthrow all the offices of Christ 1. His Kingly office as having none to rule not the old man for hee savoureth not thet hings of God he is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be not the new man for he needs not the government of Christ hee is already perfect and cannot sin 2. His Priestly office which is to make propitiation for the sins of those which shall be saved now the new man who only shal be saved never did nor could not commit any sinne 3. His Propheticall office For whom should he teach the new man needs not his teaching seeing he with all his works is already perfect and can be no otherwise The olde man is not capable of his teaching Answ I have already detected the fallaciousnesse of this argument in answering to the 6th Argument Yet give mee leave to prove in few words that this doctrine doth magnifie Christ in the glory of his spirituall offices First in his Kingly office the glory of a king doth lye in subduing his enemies And in this the glory of Christ considered as a King doth appeare that hee doth vanquish the enemies of us his Subjects by ruling in our hearts with his Scepter of righteousnesse According to that of the Psalmist that hee shall rule in the midst of his enemies By this wee see his regall power over the old man Again the glory of a King is wrapt up in the willing obedience of his Subjects and this is made good in the new man His people being made willing in the day of his power For what is here objected that the new man needs not the government of Christ It is as if one should say that a man doth make void and overthrow royall government because he maintaineth that the Kings Subjects are willingly obedient unto him But you say that they are perfect and therefore his government is needlesse The spirits of just men are made perfect Heb. 12. And will you therefore conclude that the government of Christ over them is needlesse But to passe this by 2. It will appeare that the Priestly office of Christ is not overthrown but established rather by this doctrine for first we hold that no man liveth as a new man who doth live under the guilt of sin and therefore by the eye of the new man wee are daily to looke upon Christ as a Priest in whom is no finne who by one offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Heb. 10.14 Again the Priest was to offer up the sacrifices of the people for them and by this doctrine we establish Christ in his Priestly office which we could not do if we should say that there were nothing in us but what is sinne and sinfull in us The people were to bring something which was good to be offered up by the Priest to God The blinde lame and sicke were not to be offered unto God Mal. 1.8 Neither is that which we doe that is sin or sinfull offered up by Jesus Christ to the Father but that which is good And thus wee establish Christ in his Priestly office by affirming that there is something good in the new man which is the matter of acceptance 3. Wee doe not overthrow his Propheticall office by this truth For he doth daily teach us in the new man Whereas you say that he needs not his teaching wee say that the new man hath his dependance upon Christ for wisedome knowledg and understanding And as a burning Lampe doth daily stand in need of oyle to be powred into
men shall live that is all those Saints that shall die shall live againe by the power of Christ who shall be their life Thirdly Thy dead men shall live The Prophet doth not speak here of a resurrection of soules but when he saith Thy dead men he meanes onely the bodies of the Saints As our age hath been fertile to bring forth all monstrous tenents and opinions that other ages have exploded so it hath brought forth this abominable errour which many Heathens by the dimme light of nature have opposed that the soule is mortall They that are acquainted with people here in this City will meet with some that will affirme that the soule as well as the body is mortall and this is one of the places that they make use of Thy dead men Now they say man is a compositum of soule and body therefore seeing dead men must live it followes that the soule or humane spirit as well as the body must die But consider this is against other places of Scripture doth not the wise man tell us of the body returning to the dust and the spirit returning to God that gave it Eccles 12.7 Doth not Paul desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Phil. 1 23. It is evident therefore that he had a perswasion that as soon as his spirit did take leave of his body his Spirit should be happy in the enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Doth not our Saviour tell us that as soone as Lazarus died the Angels carried him into Abrahams bosome he came presently to the enjoyment of some happinesse in the enjoyment of God Therefore we are to know here in this place that God speaketh unto us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the manner of men God speaking to men speaketh unto them in the language of men And as we ordinarily call the carkasse of the dead a dead man so God when he saith thy dead men shall live his meaning is not that there shall be a resurrection of spirits as though the soule of man were mortall like the soule of a beast and did die with the body but the meaning is that the dead bodies of the Saints shall arise Thy dead men shall live For the proofe of this I will present you with places taken out of the Scripture of truth Hosea 13.14 there the Spirit by the Prophet speakes most plainly of the resurrection I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeeme them from death O death I will be thy plagues O grave I will be thy destruction c. which the Apostle 2 Cor. 15. cites and proves that this Promise shall be fully accomplished to the people of God at the generall resurrrection So likewise God teacheth his holy servant Ezekiel this lesson in a holy vision Ezek. 37. The hand of the Lord was upon mee and carryed me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me downe in the middest of the valley which was full of bones and caused me to passe by them round about and behold there were very many in the open valley and loe they were very dry And he said unto me Son of man can these bones live And I answered O Lord God thou knowest Againe he said unto me Prophecie upon these bones and say unto them O yee drie bones heare the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones Behold I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live And I will lay sinewes upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and ye shall live and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Ezek. 37.1 Here the Prophet doth speak of the resurrection and shewes that a Spirit of life and power shall come upon the drie bones and dust of the Saints and that they shall live againe in the presence of God What was Jobs Faith and confidence in the middest of his sufferings but in the resurrection Job 19.25 26. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin wormes shall destroy this body yet in my flesh I shall see God Here is a plaine place in which the Doctrine of the resurrection is held forth to us He professeth that he believed the resurrection of the dead and speaking by the Spirit of Christ who is eternall life the wisdome of the Father made flesh he saith I shall see him with what eyes with these eyes and no other with these very eyes I urged this place to two men and I had two severall Answers from them One that denyed the resurrection gave this Answer I might tremble to speake it Job spake as a crazie old man he knew not what and therefore this was no solid place to prove the resurrection The second said he did not speak of the resurrection because he saith in my flesh I shall see God now God is not seene with fleshly eyes But the Answer to this is easie he speaks of Christ as God-man so we are said to see God when we see God in Jesus Christ as it is Rev. 1.7 Behold he commeth with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him And all kindreds of the earth shall waile because of him With bodily eyes we may see the Lord Jesus Christ in his body and with that spirituall eye and in that spirituall body which we shal have given unto us at the resurrection with that spirituall eye and in that spiritual body we shall be able to see that spirituall body that the Lord Jesus Christ hath so seeing Christ we see God because Christ is God manifested in the flesh as the Apostle calls him 1 Tim. 3.16 The places are infinite almost in the New-Testament nothing being so much preached by the Apostles as the Doctrine of the resurrection Paul comes to Athens among the Epicures and Stoicks great Schollers that were fooles and ignorant in Religion he preacheth the resurrection that God would judge the world by the man Christ Jesus so they were to be witnesses of the resurrection and to preach Christ risen from the dead to give evidence and assurance to men that they should rise likewise as well as the Lord Jesus In the 1 Cor. 15. there were men crept into that Congregation that denyed the resurrection therefore what strong Arguments doth Paul lay downe to prove the resurrection He shewes that Christ dyed in vaine and that all Religion is in vaine that the Apostles were impostors and liers who preached that Christ was risen and that the Saints by the power of Christ should rise if there were no resurrection So in 1 Thess 4.17 The Apostle speaks of the same subject and shewes the manner of the resurrection and how Christ shall come from Heaven The Lord himselfe shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voyce of the Arch-angel and the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall
opinion of those that doe oppose this Doctrine of the resurrection There are two sorts of these First such who doe plainly deny the resurrection as Porphyrius and others whom we read of And secondly such who will not seeme to deny a resurrection but will pretend that they are risen already spiritually risen And they know no other resurrection The first of these are like those that are mentioned in the 2 Cor. 15. that say there is no resurrection The latter are like those 2 Tim. 2.18 Hymeneus and Philetus that said the resurrection was already past The latter of these are the more dangerous Come and ask them is there a resurrection Yes we are risen it is past you understand the Scripture carnally and not spiritually you looke on the history of the word whereas all the Scripture is mysticall and allegoricall Thus these in a more plausible way deny the truth of God and overthrow the Doctrine of the resurrection But these places of Scripture and sanctified reasons drawne from the word of truth sufficiently confute and overthrow this damnable cursed opinion of theirs that strikes at the very roote and raseth the foundation of all Religion This point of the resurrection is so cleerly held forth in Scripture that those that denie it either deny the Scripture to be the word of the Lord Jesus or else by their allegories and diabolicall interpretation of the word they pervert the truth of it Now the latter of these are the most dangerous for they seeme to carrie a great deale of glory spirituality and truth with them and make those that are not acquainted with their solecismes believe that they are very spirituall that they have some light and knowledge that men have not ordinarily attained to Whereas when you have studied well the depth of their notions you shall find this to be all if they acknowledge a God for I know that there are some of these that absolutely deny that there is a God that God was from all eternity and God shall indure to all eternitie and that being that they had in God from all eternitie that being they shall have in God to all eternitie but the body and the humane spirit shall die and be lost and come to nothing So all the happinesse they have is that eternall and everlasting being concludunt spiritum ad essentiam Dei redire eique jungi ita ut unicus spiritus maneat As Calvin reporteth of those Libertines which denyed the resurrection in his time They conclude saith he that the Spirit shall returne to the essence of God and shall be joyned to him so that one spirit shall onely remaine as if they should say there is a God that was for ever and shall indure for ever but all the creatures shall come to nothing when the body dies it shall returne to its dust never to be raysed and the spirit shall vanish away as the soft ayre as those miscreants in the booke of Wisdome speaks Wisd 2.3 which if it were a truth there should be no happinesse for the humane spirit of man or for the body after this life And I am confident that this is all their new Light affordeth to us and glorious spirituality or rather infernall spirituality as Calvin calleth it Infernalem spiritualitatem they boast of And this I gather by their owne discourses and words and likewise by searching their writings and reading their bookes that have formerly been written and that lately are brought into the world But me thinks there is one objection for the present comes to my mind which doth call for an answer before I proceede Object If there be such a generation of men as you speak of that denie the Doctrine of the resurrection and pervert the truth of God then we may see by this what inconvenience would follow if liberty should be granted to men to practise according to their owne judgements which are contrary to the judgements of the civill Magistrate in the worship of God Therefore it seemes there is a necessity laid upon Civill powers that men may be kept from these errours and damnable opinions to make strict Lawes and impose them upon all people And all sorts of professors to inforce them to come in and professe Christ in their way or else to confiscate their goods to banish them out of the Countrey or if need be to take away their lives Answ I answer this doth not follow there were such in the time of the Lord Jesus we find him oft disputing with the Sadduces yet we see the Lord Jesus Christ did not intend to overthrow the Sadduces that denyed the resurrection by such meanes but dealt with them onely by Scripture and reason as we see Matth. 22. And when James and John producing the example of Elias desired Christ to command fire to come from Heaven to destroy the discourteous Samaritans that refused to entertaine them He denyeth their request with a reproofe Luk. 9.55 He rebuked them and said Yee know not what manner of spirit ye are of and I thinke it is safe for us to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ But in the next place let me tell you that no Lawes Statutes constitutions or formes imposed by men or Directories or any thing you can think of Discipline or Government can extirpate this out of the hearts of these men For I assure you that few that are of this judgement will lose any thing for their Conscience Some of them if you bring in Popery before they will lose a haire of their head for that which they maintaine they will be professed Papists We may see the picture of these men in Quintinus who was the divells Embassadour in Calvins time to divulge Familisticall tenents of whom he thus speakes si hodiè Quintinus vinctus teneretur sive à Christianis sive à Papistis staretur ipsius confessioni non multum esset anxius Certus enim esset de suâ liberatione quod tum horum tum illorum voluntati assentiretur If Quintin were now imprisoned by Protestants or Papists and should be freed or condemned by his owne confession it would not much trouble him for he would be confident of his freedome Because he would assent to the will of either of them Calv. in his Instruc Adver Liber c. 8. If you threaten them that they shall suffer any thing they will presently tell you that they were overtaken with a fault and they will be of your mind if you have any power to punish them for what they professe Like him in the Comedian Ais aio negas nego Doe you assert it I assert it too doe you denie it I deny it too And why should a man be so foolish as to lose any thing for that which he professeth in his Conscience when he thinkes there shall be no resurrection He hath no reason he were mad that would part with Earth and earthly things that is not sure of Heaven he is a mad-man that will
as our Mediatour 1 Tim. 2.5 If he meanes that which they draw from his words he knew Christ after the flesh in all his Sermons and his Faith was a knowledge of Christ after the flesh And therefore that which they wrest from his words is not his meaning Secondly Pauls meaning is this that Christ is not to be knowne after the flesh As though any men should conceive that they should have any priviledge or prerogative above another in Christ because they are his kinsmen or Countrey-men according to the flesh or of the same stock with Christ being descended from Abraham or David according to the flesh Thus Christ is not to be knowne after the flesh It will availe men nothing that they are neere to Christ in the flesh by their naturall birth unlesse they be neare to Christ and one with Christ by their new birth So that the Apostle doth in this place take away the difference which some might apprehend to be between the Jew and the Gentile It is parallel to that place Gal. 3.28 There is neither Jew nor Greek there is neither bond nor free there is neither male nor female for yee are all one in Christ Jesus And this is evident by the precedent verse where he saith that Christ died for all for Gentiles as well as for Jewes so that a Jew may as soone be saved by Christ as a Gentile if he rest upon the grace of the Father through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus his Sonne for Justification and Salvation It will likewise appeare to be the plain and naked meaning of the Apostle if we consider the subsequent words where he doth publish forth the same thing and explaineth his meaning telling us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himselfe not imputing their trespasses unto them The sinfull Gentiles who are called the world in opposition to the Jewes that were Gods peculiar and selected people gathered out of the world from other Nations God is reconciled to this world to sinfull Gentiles as well as to Gods owne people the Jewes And therefore Christ is not to be knowne among Christians in any carnall or fleshly relations as though he were a Saviour more to the Jewes then to the Gentiles This were to know Christ after the flesh but we that know him spiritually know him so no more for in the Spirit we see the partition wall which was between Jewes and Gentiles pulled down and know Christ the common Saviour both to Jewes and Gentiles which shall believe in his name And thus I have given you an answer fully satisfactory to their second objection The third place from which they frame an objection is in Eccles 3.19 That which befalleth unto the Sonnes of men befalleth beasts even one thing befalleth them as the one dieth so dieth the other yea they have all one breath so that a man hath no preheminence above a beast To this I thus answer that Solomon here doth not propose this as his owne judgement but rather doth represent unto us the opinion of carnall men who have no greater light then the dimme eye of reason And doth acquaint us with their folly and ignorance by communicating his owne experience unto us I said in my heart ver 18. He spake this in his heart when the darknesse of his spirit did as a thick cloud hide the light of the Spirit of God from him He doth not speak this from his heart and spirit inlightned with the truth of God But from his heart under a mist of errour being surrounded with great temptations And this will appeare by many passages which he uttereth in this booke which doe wholly contradict that which they would gather from these words as the meaning of Solomon for the overthrowing of the Doctrine of the resurrection and the day of judgement For instance Ecc 11.9 How doth he labour to draw young men from the pursuit of the worlds pleasures and vanities by putting them in mind that God will bring them unto judgement And what a plaine place is that against Sadduces Familists and Libertines that deny a judgement day and a resurrection with which he doth put a period to this booke Ecc 12. and the last God shall bring every worke into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill I shall not trouble you with any more of their Arguments Because they are of the same nature with those which have been brought already And the same Answers which have been given unto these will give sufficient satisfaction to any other objections which may be brought against this truth 2. Vse from this errour Againe since the truth of God appeares so cleare in Scripture that there shall be a resurrection of body and of the same body let us abhorre and abandon the grosse fanaticall conceits of all that we meet with that professe themselves open enemies to the Doctrine of the resurrection Brethren I beseech you loath abhorre and detest this hellish diabolicall Doctrine For as Christians are to imbrace the truth of God with all zeale and affection of spirit so we are to detest and abhor all errours that oppose the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ with all zeale and fervency of spirit though these are much offended with the zeale and sharpnesse of the Saints supposing that such heat and holy anger is inconsistent with the spirit of meeknesse and therefore if a man though in the Spirit witnesse against these conceits and atheisticall opinions of theirs presently they say that though he pretend to be the servant of Christ and to have the Spirit of Christ yet he hath not the Spirit of Christ because he is so sharp in his speech But consider how our blessed Saviour oft in his preaching and discourses thunders and lightens in the faces of men that opposed the truth Did he not call the Scribes and Pharisees a Generation of Vipers and Adulterers to their faces and hath not Paul and Peter expressions to this purpose Peter tells Simon Magus he was in the very gall of bitternesse Did not Paul call Elymas the child of the Devill and enemy of all righteousnesse Act. 13.10 and our Saviour tells the Hypocrites that he preached to Joh. 8. Ye are of your father the Devill Therefore know that as Christ though he had the holy Spirit in him yet he made use of such sharp and bitter speeches so a man may have such speeches in his mouth and yet he may be in the spirit of God and speak to Gods glory when he thus speaks The Angel of the Church of Ephesus is commended that he could not beare with those that were evill And that he hated the workes of the Nicolaitans himselfe and our Saviour doth professe his hatred to the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans And why should a Christian be afraid to imitate his Saviour though these will censure him for it If this be to be vile and without love to speak bitterly
against such bitter enemies of Christ should not a zealous Christian say as David said to Michal when she scoffed him for his devotion to his God 2 Sam. 6.22 I will be yet more vile then thus Therefore let me desire you that you will abhorre these tenents and opinions of theirs which doe overthrow the whole Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ If this that they hold be a truth which we denie there is no truth in this booke that we hold if this be a truth that they professe there is no truth in Jesus Christ that professeth himselfe the way the truth and the life And as the Apostle preacheth 1 Cor. 15. The Apostles shall be found false witnesses of God for they preached that Christ though he suffered on the Crosse his body was raised and in it he ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father and mediates and intercedes as an Advocate for us If Christ be not risen then we are false witnesses of God 1 Cor. 15.15 because we have testified that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up if the dead rise not and if they shall be found false witnesses and Imposters who then are the men that we must looke on as Divine men as knowing understanding men We must looke on these as a Generation of liers that have deceived us and made us believe that Christ is risen and that we shall rise by his power and there is no such matter who are to be eyed as men of truth we must looke on Lucian that in his Dialogues and other bookes jeeres those that expect happinesse after this life or feare misery and calls our blessed Jesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sophister that was hanged upon a Crosse We must looke on him as an Orthodox man as a Divine writer Pliny that writes of the soules immortality and denies that resurrection of the body we must looke on him as Canonicall Julian the Apostate must be admired for his wisdome To throw away our Bibles or burne them as those in the 19. Acts 19. did burne their Bookes of curious Arts will be a point of wisdome and discretion It will be no impiety to deny the truths that Peter Paul and other servants of the Lord Jesus Christ have preached and sealed with their bloods O Brethren take heed of this hellish hellish Doctrine take heede of these seducers Beware of these Wolves that come in sheeps clothing See how this tenent plants its Ordnance to batter downe all goodnesse all the hope of Christians and strength of Christianity 3. Vse The beliefe of this truth may bring in streames of joy to our soules and spirits in the middest of the greatest troubles and miseries that can come upon us Therefore the Apostle when he had laid down this point 1 Thess 4.1 see what use he makes of it in the 18. ver for their consolation bidding them to comfort one another with those words In your weaknesses and sicknesse consider that these bodies that are fraile mortall and must after a while moulder into dust shall at the resurrection be made like unto the glorious body of Christ Phil. 3. last Is death approching doth the King of feares Job 18.14 knock at the doores of your cottages of clay Let the feare of death be killed by the meditation of this that the Lord Jesus by his death and resurrection hath abolished our death and brought life and immortality to light through his glorious Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 Christ cujus victoria nostra est whose victory is ours hath overcome sinne the grave Death Hell and he arising as a publick person his glorious resurrection may be a pledge unto us of our future resurrection in glory Our bodies are called in Scripture the Temples of God Let me tell you that God will not pull downe his Temples unlesse he intended to build them up againe He will set up these Temples in glory which he puls downe and layes in the dust with dishonour I remember what a divine Poet saith speaking of the resurrection Pellite corde metum mea membra credite vosmet Cum Christo reditura deo Atra sepulcra respuite Prudentius My limbes drive away from you the feare of death ye shall with Christ returne to God sleight the blacknesse and horrour of the grave which doth sweetly accord with the divine rapture of Paul 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law But thanks be to God which giveth us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. The full perswasion of this is that which hath filled the spirits of Christians with joy and fortitude in their sufferings The heavenly company of Martyrs that sacrificed their lives for Christ doe deserve rather to be registred in the Catalogue of fooles then to be dignified or innobled as Saints with the Crowne of Martyrdome had they suffered and questioned the truth of the resurrection This hath made their sufferings comfortable to them and glorious to us as our patterne and example for imitation This hath made them so willing to hazard their lives for the truth of Christ It is this that hath made them so prodigall of their blood that I remember it is reported of one of the heathen persecutors that he said he thought the Christians delighted in torments they seemed to sleight all punishments and tortures that the witty malice of their adversaries could invent or their cruelty inflict This carried them forth in that height of spirit that they rejoyced in the middest of tortures It was this that cheered the heart of a Martyr that was troubled a little before his suffering the Comforter coming and assuring him of happinesse at the resurrection Gregorius Nazianzenus in his third Oration tells us of Theclas and some other Martyrs that were observed by the spectators 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be very merry in the extremity of torments Marcus of Arethusa when the bloody persecutors had exercised his Faith and patience with several sorts of tortures and did afterwards draw him through draughts and other noysome places he accounted it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather his pomp and glory then his misery and calamity Women have discovered masculine and heroicall spirits when they were called to suffer for the Lord. Nostri pueri mulierculae tortores suos taciti vincunt exprimere illis gemitum nec ignis potest Lactantius saith that the Christian children and women did by their silence over come their tormentors and the flames of firt could not make them weepe Austin tells of a poore weak maid that went to suffer for Christ tanquam ad epulas invitata a◠though she had been invited to a banquet We read of some when they came to lay downe their lives they were sorrie that they had no more lives to lose for the Lord Jesus Tertullian saith that the Christians were so ready to suffer
the third of the Eph. 6. doth teach us that Jewes and Gentiles are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Parts of the same body One that desired to moderate between the Calvinists and Lutherans wishing them not to be so bitter the one against the other made use of this Argument telling them that Luther and Calvin were reconciled in love together in heaven Let not strife hatred malice and bitternesse prevaile among you Christians for yee shall sweetly agree together as one body in one Spirit at the resurrection Vse 2. There being such a glorious union between us and Christ it should engage the spirits of Saints to be much in the contemplation of it As the bloud and spirits doe runne through the body so this Doctrine of union doth runne through the whole body of Christian Religion Our Justification in the person of Christ our own Justification in our owne persons by Christ cannot bee clearely understood if we be totally ignorant of union with Christ As the Philosopher saith that all morall vertues are linck'd together in justice so all the points of Christianity are concatenated and joyned together in this doctrine of union As the Starre did lead the wise men to Christ shining over the place where Christ was so this Doctrine of our union with Christ shining among other truths of Christ in the Scripture doth hold forth unto us a light to direct us through the grace of God into a perfect and comfortable knowledge of all other truths As it doth in an especiall manner beame forth light unto us to confirme us in the Doctrine of the resurrection For you see that the bodies of the Saints are to bee raised because they are united to Christ and one with him Therefore this may strengthen the Faith of every one of us concerning the certainty of the resurrection◠What saith the Apostle No man yet ever hated his owne flesh but nourished it and cherished it Eph. 5.29 The Lord Jesus Christ cannot hate his owne flesh nor forget his owne body the bodies of the Saints but in love will raise them even while they lie in the dust they are his body Our propriety in a thing doth draw out our affection to the thing Our bodies belong to the Lord and are in his heart and affections even while they moulder in the dust therefore let this truth pierce your understandings and sinke deepe into your memories and be fully perswaded that your bodies shall be raised because they are not so much your bodies as the body of the Lord Jesus The Scripture as you have heard speakes so gloriously of that union which all the Saints have with Jesus Christ in that one Spirit which is in Christ and in every Saint that it seemes to hold forth Christ as incompleat till he have gathered all his members into one body And certainly Christ will not appeare incompleat in his body at the resurrection which he should doe should hee not by his power command the bodies of the Saints to come out of the earth Therefore he will not suffer any part of himselfe to lie in the dust he will not appeare at the generall resurrection without a limb not without a hand not without a finger not without the least member Thou that art the meanest Christian that apprehendest thy selfe to be but as the toe of Christ mayst be strongly perswaded of thy resurrection for I tell thee when Christ shall appeare at the great resurrection he will not be without a toe not without the lowest and most inferiour member of his body He will appeare in his fulnesse and all the Saints gathered together and made one with him in body and spirit are his fulnesse and compleatnesse The King when he rides in triumph or to his great Counsell he rides in his Royall Robes and in all his glory When Christ shall appeare the second time he will ride in Triumph as a Conquerour of all Enemies and will ride to his great Counsell or Parliament of Saints who are to judge the Delinquents of the world And the Saints are his glory 2 Cor. 8.23 and therefore they must be raised that hee may be in his full glory If thou looke upon thy selfe and thy body and consider how thou hast dishonoured God in thy body it may bee thou mayst be startled in thy spirit and have such sad thoughts as these Will Christ ever raise this body as his that I have abused to sinne ◠shall this body be glorified which I have dishonoured by base and filthy lusts but when thou hast any such thoughts as these in which the Devill appeares to thee as an Angel of light to make thee question the truth of the glorious resurrection of thy body then looke beyond thy selfe beyond the sinnes that thou hast committed against God in thy body and spirit And think thus with thy selfe This body though I have abused it by lust and intemperance though I have dishonoured God by the sinnes which I have committed and acted as it were upon a stage in this body and flesh of mine yet now the property is altered I am not now to looke on it as my body I am to look on it as the body of the Lord Jesus it is that body that he hath washed from all sinne in his owne bloud it is that body that he died for that he might cleanse it from filthinesse and uncleannesse it is his body he hath right to it and a propriety in it it is his and none of mine Christ will not lose that which belongs to himselfe and therefore it shall be raised in glory We see how unwilling men are to part with that which is their possession and inheritance We know how Naboth answered Ahab who would have had his Vineyard 1 King 21.3 Should I give the inheritance of my Fathers unto thee we are the inheritance the possession of the Lord Jesus and he will not lose any part of his inheritance This Argument is of sufficient strength to silence carnall reason if it were throughly weighed by us in the ballance of the Sanctuary For if a man look on himselfe as out of himselfe and the being which he hath in the first Adam and behold himselfe as one with the Lord Jesus in a spirituall onenesse seeing himselfe as such a part of Christ as a hand or a foote may be said to be a part of the bodie and knowing Christ hath undertaken to provide for his body and to owne it for his owne this will establish him in an unshaken confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ intends to raise his body and to assure and ascertaine us that he will raise us he himselfe is risen in his own person If the head be above the water the whole body may be drawne out of the water without drowning Christ our head is above water above the billowes that overwhelmed him is above sinne that was charged on him is above the curses of the Law that came upon him when he was made
next place another use may be this to make us willing to sacrifice our bodies for the maintaining of the truths of Christ if Christ be pleased to call us to suffer for him We doe not know but this point may be very seasonable we know not how soone Christ may call for our bodies to lie in prison for some truthes he hath discovered to us which he hath not made known to others why should we be unwilling that Christ should suffer in his owne body Consider that the body which shall lie in prison it is not thy body thou art not able to raise it it is the body of Christ Therefore if it be the mind of Christ that this body shall lie in prison say not My will but thy will be done and if Christ will lead thee further if he will not onely lead thee to be imprisoned in thy body for the profession of the truth but if he call thee to give up thy life to loose it for him that thou mayst find it again in him let this consideration make thee willing to be a martyr and sufferer for the Lord Christ why should not he doe what he will with his owne If he will lead thee to a pillorie to an hot Iron to receive a marke in thy body for him to an halter fire and faggot be contented And bâ— confident that if Christ ever call the to suffer he will give thee power and strength for to suffer in thy body because he cannot forget to be mindfull of his owne body We know how Christ threatneth those that are ashamed of him and his word in an adulterous and sinfull generation Mark 8.38 Of him saith he shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of the Father with power and great glory As Christ will no owne but be ashamed of wicked ungodly and unbelieving men that make profession of his name in words without his power in their hearts so Christ will owne the bodies of his Saints and such who truly believe in him and have laid downe their lives for him and they shall find their lives againe at the resurrection of the dead Therefore let this make us willing to suffer I am the more willing to presse this point because I see a spirit of basenesse and cowardinesse in Christians I find not that courage in the hearts and spirits of Christians that should be in them The complaint of Jereniah may justly be taken up in our times he saith Jer. 9.3 None were valiant for the truth There is scarce a man that appeares for truth in the height of zeale Men will rather sinne against Conscience to comply with the world then oppose themselves against the corruptions of the world they will rather wimme down with the tyde and streame â—f the world then oppose the wicked streame â—f worldly corruptions And it is to be feared that many profesâ—rs have their eye so much upon the Civill â—agistrate from this corruption and unâ—undnesse in their hearts they will be of â—e same Religion with the Civill Magistrate because they will not suffer any thing for â—e Lord. They looke on Christ in their apprehensions as precious but when they are told of a crucified Christ of a persecuted Christ of Christ hanging on a tree a Christ to be spit upon condemned and persecuted to suffer in the world with the young man in the Gospel they goe away sorrowfull from such a Sermon they would have Christ and the world together but if they cannot have Christ but they must leave the world they had rather part with Christ then with the world They are like Joseph of Arimathea that tooke Christ and left the Crosse behind him So delicate Professors in our time they will take Christ but they will be sure to leave the Crosse they will be wise in their way they will professe Religion no further then they may hold the world and Religion together One reason of this cowardise and basenesse of spirit is this because they doe not consider that the bodies of Saints are under the care and in the possession of Jesus And that wee cannot glorifie God more then by lying in prison in love to Christ or dying for him if it be his pleasure to call us to seale his truths with our bloud And if we did consider what a holy flame and Heavenly sparke was in the hearts and spirits of primitive Christians in believing this truth that they accounted it their greatest honour to be dishonoured for Christ their greatest credit to be discredited by the world for him their Liberty to be imprisoned their life to die at a stake for professing this glorious truth of Christ discovered to their soules Phil. 1.21 it would put fire and spirit into us and this lethargie that is upon us would speedily be cured Indeed we are a luke-warme people the discretion and prudence of politick professors in our times hath swallowed up zeale In the times of Popery there was zeale without knowledge in this Kingdome and now wee have knowledge without Zeale And the ground of this is this because either wee doe not meditate on this truth or else because we are rather cold and formall then truly spirituall in the meditation of it which should engage us as we tender the glory of Christ to be more frequent and serious in our contemplations concerning it for the future I find that Christians made much use of this point in former dayes though I doe not wholly justifie their practise for as it is our custome to salute one another when we meete so it was the custome of some Christians when they met one another to â—â—tter these words Christus resurrexit Christ â—â—risen They apprehended it sa a point that came with such power on their spirits to enable them to be willing to suffer for the Lord that this was their salutation in the time of persecution assuring themselves that he which was risen in his owne person as head would arise in all Saints as his members And this was that that made them so willing to jeopard their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus We read of Paul Act. 21.13 that when they exhorted him not to goe to Jerusalem because the Spirit in Agabus had made it knowne that he should be persecuted and bound when he came thither Why doe you weep and break my heart saith he I am not onely willing to be bound at Jerusalem but to did there for the name of the Lord Jesus It was a heart-breaking to Paul to tell him that he should not goe to suffer at Jerusalem â— if it were his greatest suffering not 〈◊〉 suffer for the Gospel But we have learned this point by roate and it is a thing few understand wee talke of it in a Parrat-liâ—â— way and we have mumbled it over in oâ— Creed I believe the resurrection of the body but few have dived into the bottome it or suckt the sweetnesse and spiritualiâ—â—
which lies in it or else we should not be 〈◊〉 luke-warme in the cause of Christ but 〈◊〉 the future let us looke up to God that may give us spirituall and Heavenly wisdome that so we may have a more Divine and spirituall knowledge of it He that is the resurrection and the life of Saints is the onely teacher of the Doctrine of the resurrection It is reported of the Pelican that her young being poysoned by the Serpent she doth give them life by her own death and bloud so Christ doth quicken us his members to a life of immortality by his owne death and bloud And doth give us the knowledge of life in the knowledge of his death bloudshedding and resurrection which doth inforce the necessity of our resurrection from his who is our head And this is the perswasion of true Saints And as it is reported of the Phenix that when she is to die she brings spices into her nest which being set on fire she her selfe is burned in the fire and turned to ashes and out of her ashes comes a new Phenix so a true Christian knoweth that though he may be burned and turned into ashes yet out of his owne ashes his body shall be raised againe to a new life of glory which doth arme him against the feare of death and persecution in the cause of Christ Again this doth discover what enemies they are to Christ his Spirit and members who by their wiles subtilty and hellish Logick would destroy the Doctrine of the Resurrection They would rob Christ of his members who doth here lay claime to the bodies of dead Saints They would make the Spirit a lier who doth seale up Saints unto the day of Redemption Eph. 5.30 And in whom they wait for the redemption of their bodies Rom. 8.23 They would rob Saints of their comfort which God doth give them in the beleeving of the resurrection of the same body which is committed unto the earth I am the more earnest against these men because I know these factors for Antichrist are both active and subtle as the Serpent did indeavour to beguile Eve 2 Cor. 11.3 so these indeavour to undermine men and to draw them from the simplicity of the Gospel One and a chiefe part of Christs simple Gospel is the Doctrine of the resurrection of our bodies by the power of Christ when Paul preached this at Athens the Stoicks and Epicures did look upon him as a babler And this piece of the Gospel was alwayes accounted foolishnesse to the learned Greeks And as the Apostle was jealous of them for feare they should be drawne from the simplicity of the Gospel so am I jealous over poore Christians knowing that you shall meet with men that pretend to be spirituall men of great light wisdome knowledge and deep understandings and when you have dived into the bottome of their spirits this is all you shall find in them which they will labour to draw you to assent unto to wit that there is no resurrection but in the spirit no corporall resurrection of the body at all These are like those of whom the Apostle speaketh in his time that corrupt or deale deceitfully with the word of God The metaphor is borrowed from cheating Vintners or cousening Merchants that adulterate their commodities to make them vendible as Beza doth well observe so these that their horrid opinions and blasphemies may be vendible they endeavour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to sophisticate the word and adulterate it from the plaine and simple meaning of the Holy-Ghost Therefore let mee in love to your soules once more desire you that you would be watchfull that none of these draw you away from these truthes of God and the Lord Jesus which have been discovered to you and have been sealed upon your hearts and spirits by his owne blessed Spirit The Devill doth sow the tares of Familisme in mens hearts while they sleep But I am confident that you shall believe them though for a time you may be drawn to question them and the resurrection as those in the 1 Cor. 15. and may be deluded by Familisticall fancies and notions as some good Christians have been yet if God hath laid hold on you and drawne you to him in Christ he will not totally leave you to these damnable opinions If it were possible these Serpents would deceive even the Elect but Christ intimates that it is impossible that they should ever deceive the Elect. And the Apostle when he speakes of such men as these 2 Tim. 2.19 saith that the foundation of the Lord stands sure having this seale of his everlasting election the Lord knoweth who are his Therefore let not men deceive you but live in the light of the Gospel and in that Spirit that is given forth in the Gospel Take heed of these Impostors hug not the Devill in Samuels mantle suffer not the Devill to devoure you in a sheeps skin but walke in the plaine simple path of the Gospel of the Lord Christ And that you may doe this give me leave to give you some few directions for the preserving you in the truth and the securing of you from this infection of Familisme First I wish you to apply your selves to the reading of the Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through Faith which is in Christ 2 Tim. 5.15 When these men come unto you it may be they will present you with bookes written in a strange Language stuffed with swelling non-sense and affected phrases that none understand but those that are acquainted with their blasphemous horrid and damnable opinions And will indeavour to lead you from the Scriptures and if yous oppose the truth of Scripture against their delusion some of them will affirme that Peter and Paul when they wrote their Epistles had but a little light were but children they are enlightned men growne up unto the stature of perfection labouring to prove that the bright starre of truth doth shine no where so gloriously as in the old Popish Authors and new Familisticall scriblers which they will present unto you Therefore that you may not be drawne away by these keep to the Scriptures and know that there is no booke in which there is more light then in the Scripture or from which you may expect more light if you looke to God for his spirit to open the mind of God in the reading of it Dulcius ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquae Waters are sweetest at the well-head And truthes doe present themselves most sweetly unto us in the Scripture which is the Well and Fountaine from which other Writers doe fetch the truthes which we find in their writings He that addicts himselfe more to the reading of mens writings then the Scriptures is like one that leaving the Fountaine where the waters are pure had rather drink in the channell where they are impure and muddy Truly if you grow in grace you will grow in liking and approving the holy
Familisticall spirits are puffed up with a conceit of their knowledge notions and speculations when indeed they are wholy carnall and understand not the deepe things of Gods grace in the face of Jesus Christ But he that truly walks with God faithfully that man walks humbly with his God True Faith as it exalts us and shewes us our priviledges and honour by the grace of God in Christ so it humbles us by the sight of what is in our selves The light of grace will as well discover what wee are in our fleshly part as what wee are by the grace of God in the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ And these that are thus enlightned shall never fall totally and finally from the pure and simple Gospel of Christ the Spirit in them doth assure them that they shall abide in him John 2.27 Therefore beware of pride the bane of Angels and the ruine of men and the mother of Familisme But grow in humility conceit not that you are full when you are empty As long as the Widow had empty vessels the oyle did still run so as long as there is an empty vessel in thy heart the oyle of grace shall flow in unto thee The fourth Direction Take heed that thou dost not embrace the Doctrines of free will and falling away from grace some of the Familists of the City have been great sticklers to uphold these points and to revive Arminian Tenets among Professors before they did arrive to the top and height of Familisme That man will not stand long who hath no strength but his owne legs to uphold him Neither will that man stand long for Christ who stands more by the strength of his owne will then by the power of Gods grace Adam standing in his owne strength lost his happinesse when he was wise and righteous and canst thou maintaine thy selfe in an happy condition by thine owne strength when thou art unrighteous True Saints are kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a keeping of any thing as by a Guard Gods grace is a guard by which he doth keepe all his in the way of salvation so that it is impossible they should fall away from his grace It is no wonder then if they fall way from grace to Familisme who doe maintaine that Saints may fall away from grace The fift Direction Be not loose or licentious in life or neglective of Sanctification under the profession of the Doctrines of Free-grace and Justification Many of the professed Familists which we meet with have been loose Professors of the Doctrine of Grace The Libertine doth live next dore to the Familist and Libertinisme is the broad road and high-way or beaten-path to Familisme Lastly take heed of vaine janglings and disputings in matters of Religion Religion is more in practise then Controversies or speculation Be more conscientious to practise what thou knowest then curious in disputing about things that thou knowest not And let thine eare be rather open to those that will instruct thee then to those that will dispute with thee The Disputes and Controversies of the times have made many Atheists and Familists in these times Origen speaking of these words in the 21. Exod. 22. If men strive and hurt a woman with child so that her fruit depart from her c. doth thus allegorize them The woman with child saith he are weake Christians who are with child and ready to bring forth truth The men that strive are Professors that with bitternesse and violence doe contend for their opinions and while they strive in heat and bitternesse for their opinions the Christian miscarries and doth not bring forth truth How many who did seeme to have Christ almost formed in them have miscarried and fallen to Familisme by the strivings and contentions of Professors that thou mayst therefore learne wisdome by their folly and stand more stedfastly by their fall treasure up the truths which have been delivered and imprint them upon your memories and because reasons precepts exhortations and Rules doe little advantage us to preserve us in the Profession of the Truth without the power of him who is truth looke unto him to preserve in the Faith of your union with himselfe and his Father in the Spirit and to ascertaine you of your resurrections as part of his body and to enable you as his members to glorifie him and his Father in the Spirit for evermore Amen The great Joy of Saints in the great Day of the Resurrection SERMON III. Preach'd on a Thanks-giving DAY ISAIAH 26.19 Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the Earth shall cast forth her dead I Have shewed unto you that these words are a present comfort or cordiall given by God unto his people for the refreshment of their languishing spirits and sad hearts in the midst of their afflictions And have proved that the bodies of the Saints shall arise and that they shall arise as the body of the Lord Jesus He is their head they shall rise as his menbers He dyed to bring his people to a sprituall onenesse with himselfe and his Father They are his possession and inheritance And as a body may properly be called the body of that soule which doth informe it so Christ shall be the spirituall forme and soule to those that shal be raised at the great day of the generall resurrection By these and other spirituall considerations I did evidence this truth that the bodies of the Saints shall he raised as the dead bodie of their blessed Siviour My dead body shall they rise I shall now by the Assistance of Gods grace briefly open unto you the words that follow in the Text and make choyse of one proposition from them which may heighten your spirituall joy this day upon which I shall enlarge my selfe and so shall commend you and what I shall deliver to you to the blessing of the Almighty The next word which doth present it selfe to us in the Text is this Awake which doth afford us this observation that Death is but a sleep It is night for a time with the Saints while they sleep in their graves but they shall awake at the morning of the resurrection The grave is a bed of rest perfumed and made sweet to all Saints by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ who hath taken away whatsoever is bitter and unpleasant in it It is no longer a curse to the Saints but rather a part of their happinesse Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord Rev. 14.4.13 As the Psalmist speakes Psal 17. When I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse that is at the great day of the resurrection after I have had a long sleep in the dust when the night is past and the day of the resurrection shall shine I shall awake and then I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse Isa 57.2
of high Treason against the State the Law will condemne him for the Treason his good service not being availeable to make satisfaction to the justice of the Law for this Treason So if it were possible for us to keepe the Law for a time wee should be condemned if it can be proved that wee have broken it at any time Acts of obedience will not make satisfaction for acts of disobedience We cannot satisfie the justice of the Law by doing what the Law requires if we have once broken it If we could sometimes doe what the Law requires us we should not be able to free our selves from the guilt and punishment for doing that which it forbiddeth us at all times because it requireth obedience from us at all times And it is unreasonable to thinke that God if he deale with us as under the Law and not under Grace should give us a pardon of our disobedience in consideration of our obedience If a wife live honestly as becomes a wife some few yeares if her huband finde that she committed Adultery some yeares before the time of her honesty obedience the Law takes no notice at all that she hath lived in her latter time as became a wife but condemnes her she must be divourced from her husband for her adultrous act committed before her obedience So if it were possible that wee could keepe the Law and doe what is required in it and live under the obedience of it in every branch and point of it yet if we have once broken the Law the Law taking no notice of our obedience would condemne us for our disobedience What the Roman hystorian saith of the Roman Law that it is dura et inexorabilis severe and inexorable it is true of Gods Law The Law heareth no cry or begging for mercy No man shall finde favour or pardon from the Law by any acts of obedience to the Law who hath once disobeyed the Law The paying of a new debt will not make satisfaction to a man to whom an old debt is owing so if wee could pay the debt that the Law requires for the present it makes no satisfaction at all for our breaking it before for our old debt By this consideration in the first place it will be evident to every man who hath any spirituall knowledge of the purity and justice of the Law that it is impossible for sinfull man to finde out any way but the good old way of Grace to happinesse and salvation Secondly wee are justified by grace that God may have the glory of his grace Man fell by pride therefore God will not estate him in happinesse but by humbling him by bringing him upon his knees to the Throne of Grace that he may have the glory of his grace Naturally we are full of pride and would rise by that by which wee fell wee would be made happy by workes as wee are made unhappy by workes Every man that sees himselfe sees how that the whole streame of corrupt nature runs this way man will be doing working and acting that he may be justified But God will not suffer sinfull man to glory before him in his owne workes least he should loose the glory of grace Rom. 4.2 and therefore there is no salvation for us untill wee lie downe at the doore of grace If God enter into judgement no man living shall be justified in his sight Psal 143.2 God doth stop up all other waies to salvation but the way of grace that he may have the glory of his grace in justifing the objects and vessells of his grace God doth not so much intend mans salvation by grace as his owne glory and praise He formeth his people for himselfe that they may be happy in himselfe and with himselfe and they may shew forth his praise Psal 43.21 It is the minde and pleasure of God that every man should glory in himselfe therefore he justifies and saves us onely by that Grace which is in himselfe In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory And the Apostle when he had dicoursed of the grace of God in our election predestination and adoption doth sweetly acknowledge that grace doth streame forth unto us in all these particulars that it may be to the praise of the glory of his grace Ephes 1.5 6. He maketh us objects of grace that he may receive from us and wee be enabled to give unto him the glory of his grace All the Saints are brought forth standing before the Throne and singing forth this truth Rev. 7.10 Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lambe They ascribe salvation not to their owne workes merits deservings or worthynesse but to the grace of God and blood of the Lambe As earthly and grose bodies cannot mount up to Heaven which is a place of puritie and perfection but they fall downe by their owne weight to the earth unable to ascend thether So our works fall downe to the ground as unable to ascend up to the place of Gods purity and glory to justifie us in his sight that salvation may be attributed onely to his owne grace And he will not justifie us in the court of our owne consciences wee shall not read our names written in heaven till hee bring us from our owne workes righteousnesse performances and endeavours to rest upon the strong arme of his grace that we may give him the glory of his grace in our free justification and salvation Thirdly God saves us by Grace because if it were not by grace it had beene needlesse that the Lord Iesus Christ should have beene given to us If it had been possible for man to have wrought out his owne salvation by his own workes there had been no need that the Son of God should have disroabed himselfe of his glory and been made man like us Why should he have lived a life of sorrow and died a death of shame had it been possible for us to have gotten salvation by our own works Therefore the Apostle concludes that if righteousnesse had been by the Law then Christ had dyed in vaine And thus have I opened to you and shewed you the reasons why wee are saved by grace In aword now to make a little use of it and so I shall conclude for the present In the first place that which I have delivered concerning the eternall grace of God sufficiently confutes that error which is in the spirits of many men who thinke that workes and actings of the creature is the cause of Gods love to the creature God doth not love us because wee love him but we love God because he first loved us from eternity God doth not begin to love us when wee are made new creatures but God loveth us that we may be new creatures Faith is not the Antecedent cause but consequent of election Tit. 3.5 Not by workes of righteousnesse which wee have done but according to his mercy he
saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Spirit By this passage it is evident that mercy doth precede regeneration and is the cause of spirituall renovation Vocation and justification by faith doe follow predestination if Paul speake the truth Rom. 8.30 Whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justfied them he also glorified God loved us when wee had no beings in our selves or among any creatures to assure us that he did not love us for any thing in us there being nothing at all in us when God first loved us The love of God is not like the love of man man loves something which he sees lovely but God sees nothing in the object which he loves but all the motives and arguments lie in the bosome and breast of God which move him to love his creature Man cannot love before he have some lovely object proposed to him but God loves before we have either being or holinesse Wee beleive in God love him and are made lovely before him in time because he loved us before all time The man spiritually wise doth see his happynesse wrapt up in the eternall bowells of Grace and laid up in the everlasting bosome of unchangeable love for him Fond therefore is there conceit shallow there apprehension and understandings dull who beleeve that any thing done or beleeved by the creature in time can be the primary cause of the creatures salvation to whom grace was given for salvation from eternity 2 Tim. 1.2 c. This doctrine of free grace doth overthrow and annihilate the wisdome of the wise the learning of the learned the righteousnesse of him who is most righteous and a stranger to grace The naturall man with his best sight seeth not a righteousnesse beyond the righteousnesse of his own righteousnesse As the wisdome of the spirit is foolishnesse to the naturall man so the wisdome of the flesh is foolishnesse with God Though there be a spirit in a man by which he may have great knowledge and understanding in the things of nature and reason yet it is the spirit of the Almighty which giveth understanding Job 32.8 Untill this spirit and power from above come upon us wee call light darknesse and darknesse light sinfulnesse purity purity imperfection But when this doth enter into us all our righteousnesses appeare as filthy raggs and we are made willing to rest upon that grace for righteousnesse which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began 2 Tim. 1.9 Then wee clearly see the wisdome of God in shewing mercy on whom he will shew mercy and having compassion on whome he will have compassion Then we cannot but acknowledge that it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Then the objections of camall reason are fully answered the acute arguments of the wordly wise and learned against free grace are dissolved the Sophismes of the Antigratians are sufficiently confuted and we are saved and satisfied with the glorious discoveries of Gods eternall grace in Christ Jesus Againe this should engage us all that know this saving grace to exalt and extoll this grace of our heavenly Father Grace apprehended by us doth oblige us unto thankfulnesse It is fit that they should glorifie God for his grace who see themselves glorified by grace The Prophet Isaiah setteth forth this unto us Isa 45. last In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory He that is justified in the grace of Jehovah will certainly glory in the grace of Jehovah Let us therefore glory not in our selves not in our labours sufferings actings or endeavours but in this grace of the Father according to the advice of the Prophet Jeremiah 9.23 24. Thus saith the Lord Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome neither let the mighty man glory in his might Let not the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindnesse judgement and righteousnesse in the earth Let our holy boasting be in this righteousnesse Let the resolution of the sweet Singer of Israel be the resolution of every one of us Psal 71.16 I will make mention of thy righteousnesse even of thine onely God forbid saith Paul that I should glory in any thing save in the Crosse of the Lord Jesus Christ So let every good Christian say God forbid that I should glory save in the grace of God Let Pharisees and Hypocriter boast of their owne workes and legall righteousnesse But let true Saints boast onely of the grace of the mercifull and favourable Jebovah What is ingenuously acknowledged concerning himselfe by Paul 1 Cor. 15.10 By the grace of God I am what I am may be acknowledged by all Saints By grace wee are what we are and therefore glory is to be given to grace Gods gracious love was placed upon us before wee were lovely Jer. 31.3 He loved us with an everlasting love He loved us when we were unlovely when he saw us polluted in our blood then was the time of his love Ezek. 16.6.8 His grace and love hath made us lovely what cause then is there that wee should glory in this grace and love It is an excellent speech of Bernard to this purpose Tibi illibata maneat gloria meum benè agitur si pacem habuero Take thou all the glory it is enough for us that wee have the peace In Psal 130.3 the Psalmist professeth that if the Lord should marke iniquities no man should be able to stand before him If thou Lord shouldest marke iniquities O Lord who shall stand The interrogation is equivalent to a negation who shall stand that is no man shall stand Wee that should quickly fall to ruine had wee no better ground to stand upon then our owne workes what reason have we to blesse God for grace who onely stand by grace If we could stand before the judgement Seate of God standing cloathed in the menstruous raggs of our owne workes righteousnesse performances there were some ground for us to glory in our owne works but seeing it is thus that if God enter into Judgement and deale with us by the Law we cannot stand before him therefore let us glory onely in him With heart and tongue give him praise for what he hath done for thee by his grace who hast cause to be ashamed for what thou hast done against his grace A King of France thought himself bound to praise God that God had made him a King and not a begger What cause have wee to praise him for his grace who of sinners hath made us Saints If devout Bradford when he saw a blinde or a lame man did take occasion to blesse God for the use of his limbes eye-sight is it not consonant to reason that wee should publish forth the praises of Gods
29.11 Wherefore let us be willing to receive Christ by faith and to receive faith as a gift God must cloath thee with his Sonne and give thee faith to put him on Refuse not this glorious garment because God will give it thee freely But bee contented to be made partaker of Christ and faith according to Gods own pleasure Think not with Simon Magus to buy the gifts of the Spirit faith is a free gift God will not sell a Diamond for dung Faith is a precious Diamond in a Christians crown workes before faith but dung Phil. 3. Cease then from thinking by thine owne workes to purchase that faith which God doth intend freely to give unto men because men can give no considerable price for it Make no more words in bargaining with God for faith He will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely Rev. 21.6 Let no man be kept back by his old age or sinnes from hoping to obtaine salvation through faith While we are in this world no repentance is too late there is a way to mercy Nec quisquam aut peccatis retardebitur aut annis ad salutem consequendam In isto adhuc mundo manenti paenitentia nulla sera est Patet ad indulgentiam additus Ciprian Object But if faith be such a free gift why doth not God give the same measure of faith unto all believers Answ Hee may doe what hee will with his owne He may give him the greatest measure of faith who deserves faith lest Ephes 4.7 Vnto every one of us is given faith according to the measure of the gift of Christ As a man that giveth measures of wheate freely to beggars may give one more and another lesse without doing any wrong So God may measure forth faith unto us largely according to his owne will wlthout wronging those who have done more for him and receive lesse We have no cause to complaine or murmure against God because hee is abundantly gracious to whom he pleaseth but should rather admire his free grace And seeing faith with every act and degree of it is a gift of unmerited grace let us who doe believe waite for the encrease of faith as a gift ceasing from our own workes understanding and abilities Yet here lest I should be mistaken let me adde this caution That we should not neglect Gospel-duties by hearing of Gospel-promises Promises should not prove occasions of sloth to to the faithfull but should be arguments and incentives to spirituall activity 2 Cor. 7.1 Having these promises let us clense our selves from all filthiuesse c. Seventhly Let us prize faith as a gift wee prize gifts because there is usually some preciousnesse and goodnesse in them or else for the givers sake Faith is precious in it selfe 1 Pet. 1.1 Gods gifts have something of his owne goodnesse in them and faith is to be prized because it is from him It is said of Elkanah that he gave portions to Peninnah and her sonnes and daughteas but unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion for he loved her 1 Sam. 1.4 5. So God doth give portions to the men of the world but his worthy portion of love to his Saints through faith and therefore prize it Imitate those blessed soules who have shewed unto us by their good examples how they prized faith who were contented to part rather with their honours pleasures riches preserments yea their owne lives then the faith of the glorious Gospel of Christ They loved not their lives unto the death Rev. 8ly Faith is a great gift which if thou hast it thou knowest that thou hast freely received it Fides magnum aliquid est quam si habes profecto accepisti Aug. And therefore look up unto God for wretched unbelieving creatures think that they may recâ—ve faith as a gift which they will never be able to deserve as a reward This may strengthen faith much when we are before the Throne of grace begging faith for poore sinners if wee consider that faith is a free gift Jeremiah made use of such an argument to strengthen his faith Jer. 14.7 Though our iniquities doe testifie against us doe for thy Names sake O the happinesse of those who are acquainted with free grace they may expect all things for themselves and others as free gifts to be given unto them though they can expect nothing as deserved wages Lastly Give glory to God for his unspcakable grace in giving faith unto thee My faith O Lord saith one hath called upon thee which thou hast given unto mee and which thou hast inspired into me Invoeavit te demine fides mea quam dedisti mihi quam inspirasti mihi Aug. Cons So blesse God with that faith and for that faith which God hath freely given thee The Sonne of God hath given us an understanding to know God 1 Joh. 5.20 And this knowledg is the gift of faith Quid aliud est fides quam vera de Deo cognitio Cyp. And therefore blesse God in the Sonne for this faith Thou mightest have laine in the darke dungeon of an unbelieving heart to this day and thou art brought into the wonderful light of the liberty of the Gospell through faith The Soune hath made thee free and thou art free indeed by believing Be free in rendring largely the tribute of praise to him who through faith hath knocked off the shackles setters of bondage from thy soule Give thy selfe to him who hath given himselfe and his Sonne to thee through faith And begin to live the heavenly life of glory in giving glory and praise to him who hath given thee the glory of union with himselfe in his Sonne through faith Joh. 17. Give praise to the King of Zion who hath redeemed thee to God by his own blood and made thee a King and Priest and hath assured thee that thou shalt reigne upon the earth Say of faith and all the gifts of his Spirit as Iacob of his children these are children which God hath graciously given unto his servant Ascribe nothing to thy selfe but all to him from whom are all things Crye with a loud voyce Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lambe and sing in faith with all Saints who love Christ in sincerity Revel 6.12 Blessing and Glory and Wisedome and Thankes giving and Honour and Power and Might be unto our God for ever and ever Amen SERMON VI. The Heaven-borne man sinneth not 1 JOHN 3.9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God GOd in his grace hath shined into my spirit by reading of these words which hath inclined my spirit to speake from these words The truths of Christ are likely to prove powerfull upon the hearts of the hearers when they are seconded with the experience of the speaker I am therefore emboldned to acquaint you with the truth which is wrapt up in these
the words untill I came and mine eyes had seene it and behold the halfe was not told me thy wisdome and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard Fame commonly exceeds the thing which is reported but Solomons glory exceeded the fame of it So we heare of great and glorious things which shall be at the resurrection the joy and glorie that the Saints shall have and we take paines to illustrate it by earthly joyes and spirituall comfort which is the best thing to shadow it But all that can be said is far short of setting forth to the full the glorie and joy of it And therefore seeing that the thing farre exceeds the discourse and apprehension of any man seeing words cannot set forth what glorie and joy this is I will not lay downe any more considerations to shadow forth to you this joy which I professe I want language fully to expresse Wherefore give me leave to make a little use and I shall put a period for the present of speaking of this joy which is unspeakable In the first place seeing there will be great joy at the resurrection therefore wee should rejoice in it before-hand God will not faile in giving you of any thing that he hath promised you will find the joy a hundred thousand times greater then any man on earth is able to expresse it to you As God when he promised the people of Israel the Land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey he did not faile of any thing he had promised to them all came to passe as you have the storie Joh. 21.45 So God hath promised a heavenly Canaan of glorie an everlasting Kingdome a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11.10 Palaces that shall stand fast and firme upon their basis and foundation to the dayes of Eternitie He hath promised to put Scepters into our hands Crowns of glory upon our heads And he that hath promised these things to his people will not faile it performance he is just and faithfull he iâ— not like man he cannot lie he cannot repent of the good he intends to doe for his people Therefore you that are his people rejyocein your portion and inheritance A the young Ward in his non-age or minority when little iâ— allowed him for the present doth rejoyce in foreseeing what large possessions he shall be master of for the future when the time of his Wardship shall be expired So let us who are the Heires of Heaven happinesse and glorie here though wee shall not have the fruition of it untill hereafter rejoyce here as though wee were in the full enjoyment and possession of it Suffer not any wicked unbelieving spirits to bereave you of your joy and comfort by leading you into errour concerning the resurrection O what enemies are these people to the spirituall joy of Gods people that goe about to sow this seed of false Doctrine among them by perswading them that there shall be no resurrection of the bodie but onely a spirituall resurrection here How doe these with specious shewes of truth bereave people of that spirituall joy comfort and contentment that they might take in believing the Doctrine of the resurrection Beloved you meet with many Arguments against the resurrection that baffle carnall reason I professe that if I should follow carnall reason I know there are such strong Arguments against the resurrection that I should easily yeild the bucklers and contend no more for the point but conclude that there would be no resurrection of the bodie but when I looke upon the power of him that hath promised when I consider that God hath said it it answers all objections of carnall reason Therefore shew your selves children of faithfull Abraham stagger not at this promise he believed above hope and against hope It is above hope and against the hope of naturall reason that this bodie should be raised yet give God the glory of his power God hath said that this bodie shall rise and rise as the body of his Sonne that we shall awake and sing and the Earth shall cast forth her dead Consider a authorem tolle dubitationem Ter. Consider the power of the agent and all doubting will be removed He that hath promised it is power love and faithfulnesse he will doe what he hath promised for his people what they expect and beyond their thoughts desires and expectations therefore 1 Thess 4. ult Comfort your selves with these words There is no Doctrine that brings so much spirituall consolation to the soule as this it is the spring of spirituall joy in the hearts of the Saints Take away the Doctrine of the resurrection of bodies and take away all spirituall joy and comfort And then look no longer upon the Saints as glorious and happie creatures but as the most miserable abjects that you behold upon the face of the earth If there be no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle We are of al men most miserable Saints professe themselvs the most happie and joyfull people in the world and rejoyce in their portion and blesse themselves in their happinesse and inheritance But take this Doctrine away let it be granted that there shall be no resurrection let it bee granted that Christ is not risen in his humane bodie and that the Saints shall not rise in their humane bodies as Christ did and be happie in their humane bodies it will damp all the joy of the Saints presently it will quench the Spirit of joy in the people of God For there can be no cause of rejoycing to the Saints but in this assurance that their sinnes are pardoned that they are in Covenant with God that God having loved them from eternitie will love them to eternitie and preserve them in happinesse with himselfe Therefore you that truly believe this Doctrine rejoyce in it and suffer not the scoffing enemies of this Doctrine to draw you from it and so from the comfort that will flow into your hearts while you believe it Take heed lest there be in any of you a heart of unbeliefe to depart from the living God And iâ— there be any poore weak Christians here that have been misled by these miscreants and ungodly men let them looke up to God beholding his power and faithfulnesse in their Redeemer that they may see all those objections of carnall reason by which they have been deluded and misled easily answered that so their former joy and consolation may returne to them by believing the Doctrine and joy of the resurrection And let me adde this also that as this is a Doctrine of great joy so it is a Doctrine that obligeth us to great holinesse The Doctrine of Christ in every part and branch of it leads to holinesse If thou meet with any tenent or opinion that furthereth not holinesse looke on that opinion as an errour for whatsoever is the truth of the Lord it is a truth that leads us to holinesse of life and conversation
So doth this Doctrine of the resurrection for if wee consider seriously that the bodie shall be raised and we shall be happie at the resurrection in enjoying of God will not this raise up the spirit of a man to thankfulnesse and where there is true thankfulnesse will not that thankfulnesse be legible in obedience Therefore seeing God intends to glorifie thee with himselfe in bodie and in spirit since thou shalt be ever happie with him shouldest thou not glorifie this God while thou art here in thy life and conversation As the Apostle saith 2 Pet. 3.13 14. We according to his promise looke for new Heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse What is the use of this Wherefore beloved seeing ye looke for such things be diligent that â—e may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse A true assurance of salvation given by the Spirit of grace doth not make us negligent in the performance of good duties it doth not make us loose and licentious in our lives but that assurance that is a right assurance which is wrought in us by the Spirit of grace will as well teach us to be holy as assure our hearts that we shall be happy Lucian speaking scoffingly of the zeale of Christians and their readinesse to help one another doth give this as the reason of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These miserable men saith he believe that in bodie and soule they shall be immortall The scoffing Atheist did speake truth in this and found out the true â—ause of the zeale which was in primitive Christians There can be no holinesse without a perswasion of happinesse for men after this life If there be no resurrection saith Paul Let us eat and drinke 1 Cor. 15. But when a man is perswaded of this He wil purifie himselfe as Christ is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 Againe this shewes the different condition between a Saint and a sinner Looke upon Saints and sinners eye them onely with carnall eye in respect of the present condition and it may be you shall apprehend a sinner in a better condition then a Saint Gâ—â— oft-times gives temporall blessings to them which he denies to his owne people they aâ— the worlds happie creatures But looke oâ— Saints in this condition and then you shaâ— see a vast difference between the condition of a believer and of a man that is an enemâ— to Christ the one shall awake and sing 〈◊〉 shall awake at the resurrection to be fillâ— with joy to be crowned as a King with in mortall glorie The other shall awake an houle As Agag when he thought and wâ— perswaded that the bitternesse of death wâ— past was hewen in pieces so Epicures anâ— prophane men that sing away sorrow feaâ— of Hell and damnation spending their dayes mirth in a moment they goe downe to the gravâ— Job 21.13 and are raised from thence 〈◊〉 suffer torments to eternitie But the Sainâ— sleeping for a while in the grave are raised felicitie This is elegantly set forth in the book of Wisdome 5. Chap. We fooles thought their lives madnesse and their end without honour and behold they are become the children of God speaking of the Saints vers 6. And in the 8. v. speaking of themselves they doe thus complaine What hath our pride profited us what hath our pomp and riches brought unto us The time will come that wicked men shall wish that they had never been else that some mountaine would be so propitious as to fall on them that they might never come into the presence of God and his Sonne Jesus Christ that shall sit upon the Throne O what a dolefull noyse will it make in the eares of wicked and ungodly men when they shall be called forth to the resurrection of Damnation while the Saints shall be bid to awake to the resurrection of life Who would bee envious at wicked men that grow rich and prosper and flourish in the world that get great estates and leave their estates and houses to their heires if they did but consider that at the resurrection they shall be enforced to take hell as part of their purchase and shall be drawne and dragged as slaves to eternall torments I remember what the Heathen said It is a miserable thing for a man to have been happie Fuisse faelicem miserrimum est Boeth It grieves a man when he comes to povertie to remember that he was once rich when a man is in a disgracefull condition to thinke with himselfe I was honourable this is double misery Remember saith Abraham to the rich man that thou in thy life time didst enjoy riches and poore Lazarus lying at thy gate was denied the crummes falling from thy Table This was the aggravation of the rich mans misery to be put in minde that he had been happy and rich upon the earth Consider this and you shall plainly see that rich and great men without Christ though they live happily to the eye of the world yet they are in a miserable condition and the meanest Sainâ— is in a farre better condition then they Thâ—â— wicked rich men shall awake to howling and screeching to misery and torment eternall the poore Saint to joy rejoycing and happâ—nesse for evermore Wicked men are like the Persians slave whâ— for a day was feasted and had all things provided to delight him that they used to provide for the Emperour and at night he wâ— put to death So wicked men God feaâ— them as slaves here they have furnished tablâ— and servants children and musicke bâ— poore wretches night comes upon them aâ— death takes off their heads and they are miserable to eternitie Therefore James saith They are nourished as against the day of slaughter God doth but fat them as men use to fat beasts for sacrifice or slaughter so God suffers them to swim in pleasures to live in vanities to get riches to grow fat in the earth but it is to destroy them they are fatted for the day of damnation In this glasse or mirrour see the difference between Saints and sinners Then in the next place seeing it is thus that the people of God shall be made partakers of such happinesse at the resurrection let me exhort you to waite in expectation and desire of it A Ward that knows that when he shall live beyond the dayes of his wardship he shall have his Lands and possessions in his own hands he desires that the time may be expired that he may have all in his own hands that now is in the hands of his Guardian who it may be keepes him to a short allowance though he be an heire to great possessions Wee are Wards as yee heard even now and wee are under a guardian though wee are rich in reversion happinesse and heaven and all things being â—urs yet God keepes us low here Let us desire that the time of our wardship may be exâ—ired that wee may come to that happinesse which he hath promised that wee may