of the Church They include and suppose the publick receiving of it by the people yea some do clearly expresse it By this pure and true preaching of the Word we may discern the true Church from Jewes and Pagans as also from Heretical and Idololatrical Societies yet pretending to a Church Fourthly When these Notes especially the former are said to be proper and inseparable to the Church of God You must alwayes remember here is a latitude in the application of these Notes For some Churches may have the Word more soundly preached and the Sacraments more dispensed than another and yet for all that not to be denied to be Churches This Church of Corinth was foully out of order And so most of those Churches in Asia were sharply reproved yet they did not cease to be a Church Yea the Church of Israel had many corruptions both in worship and life yet it was a long while ere God did cast her off So that we must not for some defilements either in the Doctrine Worship or Manners of a Church presently deny her to be a Church and separate from her for this is against Scripture information Yea there is no Church so perfect but needeth some Reformation They may build hay and stubble though they keep the foundation So that he must go out of the world that would live in a Church where nothing is amiss Even that Church of Smyrna the Apostle mentioneth Revel 2. 8. that was as her Name signifying sweet smelling and fragrant like a Garden or bed of Spices yet she was troubled with some who said They were Jews but were not but were of the Synagogue of Satan But of this more when we come to the next Doctrine Fifthly These then being the visible Marks of a visible Church we must not confound them with the properties of the Church invisible The Church of God hath as it were a two-fold Form one Internal and Essential which consists in their Union with Christ and communion with his benefits Now none but those that are truly godly are of the Church in this invisible manner he must be regenerated and graffed into Christ that can have any saving benefit by Christ But then 2. The Church of God hath an External and outward Form which consists in the external profession of faith and observance of Christs Ordinances Now a man may be of the Church in respect of this outward standing though he be not truly godly Therefore Dr Ames said well That it was a false thing which Bellarmine objected to us about the constitution of a Church as if we required internal graces to the making of a man a member of the Church in respect of the visible state of it We read in the New Testament that upon the outward profession of their faith they were baptized and received into the Church though it 's plain all of them had not true internal grace So then when the Question is put Whether may a man that is not truly godly be of the Church or no You must distinguish between the inward form of the Church which is union with Christ the Head and so he is not no more than a wooden leg is a member of the body that is not animated by the soul and the External visible state of it and so he is of the Church till by his obstinacy in wickedness he be cast out as unworthy We must not therefore give those Notes of the Church as visible which belong to it only as invisible viz. Election Vocation and Justification c. Sixthly The Papist to avoid this extream he giveth such Marks of a Church as savour rather of worldly ambition and pride Yea the true Church of God many times is known by the contrary Marks they give amplitude and universality as also temporal felicity Now this is rather a Description of some worldly Monarchy than Gods Church For as for the Churches amplitude though absolutely in it self it may be sometimes numerous yet at other times it hath been brought into a narrow compasse Elijah thought none was left and God speaks of but seven thousand that did not how the knee to Baal which was a very inconsiderable number to the Idolaters Therefore respectively to the wicked of the world even when they are most ample they are but a little flock And as for any glorious felicity though the Church of God hath sometimes had her respite and halcyon dayes yet for the most part a crown of thorns hath been on her head and therefore she is justly called the Militant Church while in this world because of her spiritual conflict with all sorts of enemies So that the Church of Christ may sometimes say as Christ once did The Foxes have their holes and the Birds of the air their nests but the Sonne of man hath not where to lay his head Thus the Foxes of the world the crafty subtil men have great abundance many times when the Church hath hid her self in the wildernesse And Fowls of the air men of proud and lofty minds have their nests when the Church like Noah's Dove hath not where to set her foot Seventhly I shall not enlarge my self to prove these only to be the proper Notes of the Church only consider that place Act. 2. 41 42. where you have all of them conjoyned together 1. They received the Word gladly There is a solemn profession of it 2. There is the administration of the Sacraments They were baptized and continued in breaking of bread with prayers There is the solemn calling upon God And as an epitomizing of all this it 's said Then were added unto the Church about three thousand souls Thus 1 Tim. 3. 15. the Church is called The pillar and foundation of the truth that is by the Ministeries preservation of it and the peoples submitting unto it Lastly If to this it be objected as Socinians do who hold this way of Notes to find out a Church to be useless and vain That true Doctrine cannot be a sign of the Church because it 's the Form and Essence of it Now that which notifieth the essence of a thing must be distinct from it To this it is answered That the form as it giveth being to a thing so it giveth to distinguish from others Forma dat esse distingui Although we do not say True Doctrine is the Note of a Church but the external preaching and receiving of it that is a Note incurring into our senses Even as Reason though it give a man his rational being yet speaking is the proper and true sign that manifests this So let true Doctrine or a true faith be the soul and life of a Church yet the external profession is the outward Note and Sign of it And if further it be said That every Sect doth claim to it self the pure preaching of the Word and the right administration of Ordinances Therefore these cannot be a sign It 's answered The consequence is denied for true preaching and
when an adult person so did God with his Church But then if we come to the Doctrinals we shall finde that the same truths necessary to salvation were in the Old Testament as the New Abraham David and all the Godly were justified by faith in Christ as well as the Believers in the Gospel This indeed is that which the Socinians pertinaciously deny they think that the Godly in the Old Testament did not believe in Christ that this is a peculiar new duty required under the Gospel and never before viz. to believe in Christ But the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews doth admirably open the mysterious signification of those Jewish ceremonies and sacrifices shewing that Christ was represented therein and that it was not the blood of Rams and goats but of Christ that did take away sin Hence Abraham is said to see Christs day and rejoyce 1 Cor. 10. they are said to drink of the spiritual rock which was Christ and Act. 15. 10 11. Peter and the Councel speaking of the yoke laid upon our fathers addeth But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they The Doctrine then of Jesus Christ of the Trinity of eternal Life were in the old Testament as well as the New only more implicitely and obscurely the Old Testament being the New hidden and covered the New being the Old revealed and explained so that the Old and New Testament do not contain old and new Doctrine essentially but gradually as we say the old and new moon not meaning two moons but distinct discoveries of light therein 2. We are to distinguish between progress and growth in the same truth and the alteration or change of truth into errour And truly this is of great consideration for this very particular will obviate all the calumnies of the Papist Let it be granted that the first Reformers did not did not at first view see all the truths of the Christian Religion but that by degrees they had scales fall off from their eyes and some things that at first they thought true or tolerable afterwards they rejected as false and abominable And thus Calvin de scandalis answereth the Papists who calumniate us saying If you had the spirit of God why did ye not see all truth presently Why was it that some things did appear false to you afterwards which did not so at first This saith he is to envy us proficiency in the truth and to expect that the Sun in the morning should shine as gloriously as at noon day So that it is one thing addere aedificium fundamento as Austin calleth it and another thing to make a new Foundation Thus Lyrinensis when he made this Objection To what use are Doctors and Officers of the Church if so be they must only receive the Doctrine delivered and not excogitate new by their own wit He answereth There is profectus but not permutatio allowed a growth but not a change The work of the Ministers of the Gospel is not to finde out new real fundamental truths no more than a new Christ or a new Bible he that cannot see by one Sun would not by twenty and he that will not be convinced by one Bible would not if there were more Yet they are not useless for these Fundamentals they are dayly to confirm to explain to polish and affectionately to improve for Sanctification more and more so that as he saith they must not deliver nova yet they may nova not new things but in a new manner When a childe groweth up into a man he still retaineth his humane nature though there be an increase in his stature but if this childe should grow into a horse or a bear then this would be a change of his species and his naâuâe Thus the Church and her Officers they are to grow in more light in more knowledg in more faith but still in the same truth whereas if they degenerate into Errors and false Doctrines then the species is altered now it is not hony but gall it is not gold but dross not meat but poyson So that if we see eminent men growing out of those errors and those Superstitions they were once intangled in you must not call this yea and nay but a laudable duty for we see the spirit of God communicating it self by degrees Even as the Sun doth not presently arise to its vertical point so neither doth the spirit of God reveal all things at once It cometh in by degrees he could perfect our understandings even in this life as much as they shall be in heaven so that we shall no longer know in part but he is pleased to work gradually even as he did make the world not in an instant but successively Thus we see he did to the very Apostles they were under his Instruction and Government a good while and yet were ignorant in many particulars till at last he confirmed them from his spirit from above The Protestants then are not guilty of yea and nay though they did not at first dâscover all the abominations of Popery Neither may we charge any particular Minister for yea and nay if out of error he proceed to truth if from darkness he attaineth to more light For although many Heretical persons may shrowd themselves under the serious name of new light yet it is plain that both Pastors and people are to grow in new light gradually though not specifically Thus the Apostle Peter 1 Pet. 1. 19. commendeth the believers for attending unto the word of God as unto a light that shineth in a dark place untill the day dawn and the day-starre arise in their hearts not as if ever they could come to light enough that they need not to attend to Scripture any further that they may throw away the Bible as useless having light enough within them No but that donec that until is continual and alwayes as sometimes it is used 3. We are to distinguish between Yea and Nay indeed and a seeming yea and nay between ãâã constant new Doctrines indeed and those that are apparently so We grant that such corruptions such darkness may cover the face of the Church that the true Doctrines of Christ may seem new and be condemned for novelllsm and the Doctor who preached them be thought to come with his yea and nay And thus again Luther and Melancthon with many others are condemned for their inconstancy They were once ours say the Papists they did once believe as we believed worship as we worshipped but now they are a nay to their yea This calumny will easily vanish if you distinguish between new things indeed and new things appearingly so The Protestant Doctrine was not new indeed if you look to the Scripture and Christ it is old as they are but then we grant that if we consider the Chaos the Church was in at that time what superstitious abominations did then prevail we grant what the Reformers
his Epistle shews it to be of Divine Authority though of it self not a sufficient argument to prove it The Penmen were only Instruments God the principal Authour of the Scriptures and therefore we should rest satisfied with their style and method and not question their Authority How to arme our selves against the Devil and all Hereticks opposing the Divinity of the Scriptures SERM. IV. What an Apostle was Christ in the building of his Church used extraordinary Officers but did not follow the Model of the Jewish Government What were the Properties and Qualifications of an Apostle SERM. V. The Divine Call of Church-officers is clearly to be known and faithfully to be improved What advantages will follow upon a true Call both to the Officers themselves and the People SERM. VI. Of the proper and appellative Names of our Saviour Jesus and Christ In what sense he is Jesus a Saviour and how Christ the anointed of the Lord. SERM. VII Church-officers are appointed by Christ and all Church-power radically seated in him as King What Duties follow thence to be practised by Church-officers and People Some things are highly esteemed in the Church which are much despised by the world SERM. VIII In what sense Paul saith of himself He was an Apostle by the will of God Shewing likewise how all Church-offices and Priviledges come meerly from the will and good pleasure of God SERM. IX Paul's mentioning of Timothy shews That the godly though exalted above others in Office and Gifts yet are humble towards them SERM. X. There is a great deal of difference betwixt the Persons whom God calls and also in the manner of his calling them Education under godly Parents not to be rested upon but our hearts are to be sought into whether they be really changed or no. SERM. XI How much it concerns Church-officers to agree in matters of Religion What means may conduce to it Universities and Nurseries of Religion of how great use they are to the Church of Christ SERM. XII Of the Name and Nature of a Church SERM. XIII Concerning the efficient instrumental formal and final cause of a Church SERM. XIV Of the Notes and Signes of a true Church SERM. XV. Why Paul writeth to the Church not the Churches of Corinth What is implied in the Churches being called the Church of God SERM. XVI Of the City of Corinth God sometimes gathers a Church amongst the most prophane people A Church though many wayes defiled may be a Church still as it was with the Corinthians SERM. XVII A further Discovery of the truth of this Assertion that a Church may be a true Church though much defiled both in Doctrine and Manners SERM. XVIII The Preheminence of the Church of God above all Civil Societies As likewise concerning Paul's writing this second Epistle to the Corinthians how hard a thing it is for Churches to keep within their proper bounds and what great care Ministers ought to have to use all means lawfull to promote the Churches which they have relation to SERM. XIX Of the Name and Nature of a Church-Saint SERM. XX. External Holiness is not enough to bring us to Heaven without the inward renovation of the Heart SERM. XXI Wherefore 't is a Christians Duty to joyn himself to Church-society and in what cases he may be excused What are the false grounds why some neglect this Duty The soul of the poorest Saint is to be regarded as well as of the richest SERM. XXII 2 Cor. 1. 2. Grace be to you and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ How Grace and Peace and such like spiritual Mercies and Priviledges are to be desired before any temporal Mercies whatsoever SERM. XXIII Of the Name Nature and Preheminence of the Grace of God above all other things SERM. XXIV Who are fit subjects to partake of the Grace of God As likewise Rules and Scripture-characters of the Grace of God by which we may rightly understand and judge of it SERM. XXV Of the Nature of true Gospel-peace and wherein it chiefly consisteth SERM. XXVI A further Discovery of the Nature of true Gospel-peace with the Effects of it and some Directions how to attain it SERM. XXVII Of the Names of God 't is he alone who can give Grace and Peace to his People He is a Father to all Believers even the weakest as well as the strongest SERM. XXVIII Of the Dominion and Lordship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ SERM. XXIX 2 Cor. 1. 3. Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort Of the Duty of Thankfulness Blessing and Praising God for all his Mercies SERM. XXX Of Praising God and that for all but especially for spiritual Mercies SERM. XXXI How Christ is the Sonne of God and how the consideration thereof is the foundation of all a Christians comfort SERM. XXXII How God is a mercifull Father the Father of all mercies to his children SERM. XXXIII Of the mulitude variety properties and objects of Gods mercies SERM. XXXIV How God is the God of comfort yea of all comfort and consolations to all those that are his SERM. XXXV Some Propositions clearing the Doctrine of Gods mercy from both Doctrinal and Practical Objections SERM. XXXVI 2 Cor. 1. 4. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God That God not only can but doth actually comfort his People and how he doth it SERM. XXXVII That Believers only are the Subjects of the comforts and consolations of God SERM. XXXVIII How God will comfort his People in all both their spiritual and temporal Afflictions which all the Art of Philosophy can never do SERM. XXXIX What are these Apples which Christ refresheth his Spouse with Or what are those Scripture-grounds of comfort which support the hearts of Gods children under all their afflictions SERM. XL. How God may be said to comfort his children in all their tribulations though many of them may live very disconsolate SERM. XLI The works of Gods Spirit upon his People are not only for their good but likewise for the advantage of others SERM. XLII That those only can make fit applications of spiritual things to others who have an Experimental knowledge of them in their own souls SERM. XLIII It is a special Duty incumbent upon every one both Minister and Christian to apply comforts to the Afflicted in a right manner SERM. XLIV That the same grounds of comfort which revive the hearts of one godly man may do the same likewise to another SERM. XLV 2 Cor. 1. 5. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation aboundeth by Christ The true and unfeigned owning of Christ is alwayes accompanied with some sometimes with great Afflictions SERM. XLVI The same Doctrine prosecuted shewing the Object for which Christians are to suffer if they would suffer
against God when grace comes to convert them Therefore let the Use be of Exhortation to all such who have felt this lively power of God raising them out of the grave of sinne who have been taught of God inwardly as well as by the outward Ministry with all joy and thankfulness be astonished at the free and unsearchable riches of Gods grace to thee How many doth God passe by of better parts of greater abilities of higher conditions in the world that might have done him more service and pitch his love upon thee Oh do thou abhorre all those presumptuous and proud opinions of Free-will and power to make Gods grace effectual to thee Do not bid such as bring such Doctrines God speed What doth not thy own experience doth not the wonderfull power of God upon thee subduing and overcoming thy heart when thou wast full of carnal prejudices and sinfull reasonings abundantly convince thee of this Let thy own heart and experience confirm thee more than all their subtill distinctions can unfettle thee But I pass from this and come to a second Observation which Calvin on the place takes notice of He calls it a Church saith he though it were so greatly polluted though both for Doctrine and practice there were such great disorders yet for all that he doth not unchurch it he owneth them still for the people of God though they were greatly to be reformed as to the Church administrations neither are his exhortations to the godly to separate and leave the Church-communions though thus defiled he giveth no command to such a thing but rather exhorts them all in their places to amend and reform To purge out the old leaven that was amongst them Therefore to forsake polluted Assemblies and leave them hopeless seemeth to be a great neglect of our duty we are rather to stay that by our abode and presence we may rectifie things that are crooked The Doctrine is That a Church may be a true Church of God although it be defiled with many corruptions several wayes As a godly man may be truly godly and yet subject to many failings Thus a Church also may be truly Gods Church the Body of Christ yet many distempers and sad confusions amongst them This truth is worthy of all diligent prosecution because many men though otherwise good out of a tenderness and misguided zeal may separate from our Congregations deny them to be true Churches and all because they see many things amongst us that are matter of grief and a great stumbling block to them This I confess is and hath been a sad temptation but a particular Christian is is not to excommunicate and unchurch a Church till God hath given a Bill of Divorce to it and hath cast it quite off An impatiency to bear any evil or disorders in a Church is not presently to be commended and yielded to to the utmost A Christian must have wisdom and a sound mind as well as zeal and a tender conscience Even the Reformed Churches did not wilfully and voluntarily depart from the Church of Rome but did stay to cure and heal Babylon untill they drave them away with fire and sword So that our leaving the Roman Church was not a Schismatical separation but a forced discession or departure from them But of this it may be more afterwards Let us for the present take notice of what corruptions and disorders were here at Corinth which yet he calls the Church of God And First Whereas the Apostle comprehends all Religion in these things Tit. 2. 12. Righteously soberly and godly Righteously in respect of religious duties towards God We may see how the Corinthians were blame-worthy in all And 1. For their sinnes of unrighteousnesse The Apostle sharply reproveth them for their contentions and quarrellings even so farre that they went to Law with one another and that in the Heathen Judicatories which was a great and grievous reproach to the Christian Religion How would the Heathens deride and scoff to see those that were Christians and out of appearance from love to heavenly things forsaking the world and earthly advantages thus to implead one another about meum and tuum about money matters or other civil rights to sue one another before Heathens Judges What could this produce but to make the Heathens say They talk of leaving all and following a crucified Christ but they will not abate of their earthly rights to one another not in the least measure Which did so grieve the Apostle that he conjureth them What have ye never a wise man to be an arbitrator amongst you Why doe ye not rather suffer wrong Nay they were so farre from such meek self-denying spirits that they rather did wrong and defraud one another Now see how zealous the Apostle is in this 1 Cor. 6. 1 2 3. he saith Dare any of you having a matter against another goe to Law Dare any of you supposing the Gospel the meekness of Christ the self-denial and contempt of earthly things with the scandal redounding to Religion would sufficiently awe their consciences Again vers 4. he tells them that the things pertaining to this life ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for about them they quarrelled so much were so inconsiderable that they should appoint the least esteemed in the Church for to end such inferiour work Again vers 5. I speak it to your shame And vers 7. There is utterly a fault amongst you Thus you see that in matters of Justice between man and man there were great offences Only by the way let none gather from these expressions of Paul that it is unlawfull to go to Law or appeal to the Civil Magistrate to know his due right when that is detained from him For that is many times so farre from being a sinne that it 's a duty it would be a sinne not to pursue it as you see Paul pleaded his right and would not go out of prison when they had done it against Law till the Magistrates came to intreat him provided that there be those qualifications which Paul insinuateth 1. That this impleading be not before Heathens and Pagans who hate the Christian Religion 2. That we have such Meeknesse of spirit as willingly to suffer wrong did not the Gospel of Christ or the Law of the Land or the good of others require it of us And Lastly That we be willing to referre all our controversies to any just and wise arbitratours If these things be premised and yet unreasonable and absurd men will make a spoil and a scoff of men then both Religion and Justice calls them to defend themselves and it would be a sin to neglect it In the second place for Sobriety which is the expression of such graces as belong to our selves viz. Temperance and Chastity How grosly did the Corinthians offend here There were some that had repented of their fornication and uncleanness and for drunkenness some did presume to come to the Lords Table not
freed from it Thus you see many of them were rather beasts than a Church Lastly For Godlinesse or Religion there were also sad disorders about that There were some that denied the Resurrection that said Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die these were Atheists And certainly had this been the Assertion of the whole Church and not some few only amongst them if it had been their Catholick and Universal Doctrine maintained by all they had ceased to be a Church they had degenerated into meer Atheism but it was some only that were thus infected Again Another offence in Religion was their great Church-divisions some exalting Paul some Apollo insomuch that in stead of edifying and building up one another they were divided into as many Sects almost as they had Teachers And then lastly There was horrible confusion and ungodliness in respect of Church-order All godly Discipline was laid aside the administration of the Sacraments was promiscuous come who would come though in their unworthiness they might receive it And although Gods judgment was upon them either the Plague or some general disease and that because no better order was about the Sacrament yet for all that they did not judge or condemn themselves Thus this Church was like a very Chaos and yet a Church still SERM. XVII A further Discovery of the truth of this Assertion that a Church may be a true Church though much defiled both in Doctrine and Manners 2 COR. 1. 1. To the Church of God which is at Corinth c. THis Church of Corinth is dignified as you heard with this glorious Title of the Church of God notwithstanding those manifest and notorious depravations that were amongst them and that of all sorts This truth we entred upon and before we give you some demonstrations to evidence it it is good to take notice of some observable particulars which tend to the clearing of it Only this must be premised that whereas a Church may be denied to be so either from its constitution or from its conversation We are speaking of the later way and so consider First That the soundness and purity of Churches doth admit of degrees That as one Starre doth excell another in glory yet both Starres So one Church may greatly transcend another in orthodoxy and purity and yet both be Churches In those seven Churches of Asia there were some reproved more than others We cannot expect that all Churches should be of the same measure in knowledge and grace no mor than particular Christians and therefore we are not to conclude such a Church is no Church because not so pure as another Church no more than such a man is not a godly man because he hath not such a measure of Illumination and Sanctification as another And to say in the general That it is a Christians duty to find out the purest Church in the world and there to associate himself with it must needs fill a Christian with infinite perplexities of conscience as also to expose him to insupportable outward inconveniencies Let us not therefore do with a Church as a godly tender heart is apt to do with himself because he finds many failings and great imperfections therefore he is ready to judge that he hath no grace at all Thus because there are several disorders and distempers in such a Church which are deservedly daily matter of groan and sorrow to thee therefore thou beginnest to sentence such a Church as no longer Gods Church Again seeing that there are gradual differences of soundness and purity in Churches this should also make every Church take heed of appropriating the glorious name of a Church or Saints or Christians to themselves only as if none were Saints or Christians but what are members of their Society This is and hath been a most uncharitable proud disposition of some Churches The Popish Church saith There is no sanctity or holiness but with them Inter Catholicos saith Bellarmine multi quidem sunt mali sed inter haereticos ne uniu quidem est bonus What a censorious condemnation is this Not one good Protestant whom they call Hereticks not in all our Churches Thus they only appropriate the name of Church and sanctity to themselves So the Donatists did of old they inclosed the Church only amongst themselves they called none Christians but themselves To become a Donatist was to become a Christian with them So that we see it 's very hard for Churches not to admire their own wayes and constitutions thinking that none are Churches but themselves there may be pharisaical Churches that may condemn other Churches as Publicans as well as it is so in persons whereas it is good to observe that the Scripture doth describe Christians by such names as do not at all relate or distinguish by any Government or external constitution to be a believer to be a Saint to be a Christian These titles denote either some inward qualification or external profession but do not at all insinuate what kinds of order or way they are in yet this is not so to be understood as if Christs order and way his Government and Discipline were an indifferent or arbitrary thing only it is to shew that we are not to monopolize godliness amongst our selves meerly because of a Church-constitution although we are not to receive any form or spiritual order in our Churches but of Christs appointment There is a great difference and latitude in the soundness and purity of Churches Secondly When we speak of a Church being Gods true Church though greatly corrupted we must take heed of two extreams the first of those who therefore would have no Reformation though there be never so many disorders but say It 's wisdome and prudence to let all things be as they have been for it may be Gods Church though there be divers abuses Take heed of such carnal indulgence as this because it 's the Church of God therefore make no more stirre let errours and prophaneness alone let disorders continue and this many times is palliated with fair specious pretences that such indeavours to reform will breed great discontents and divisions in stead of having a pure Church it may be made no Church at all especially this is the more difficulty obtained if it be a Reformation in worship and manners for we are more willing to sit down under an Orthodox Church then a pure Church We can more easily endure to have sound Doctrine established then pure and holy Order because this doth so directly contradict our lusts and pleasures Hence Malachy prophesieth of Christs repurgation of his Church as a very dreadfull time even like the day of judgement Mal. 3. 2 4. Christ is there said to sit as a refiner and as a purger to take away droâ but who shall abide the day of his coming Christs coming being thus like the Refiners fire and the Fullers sope was as terrible as the day of judgment to them Who may abide
it saith he You see then orthodoxy is sooner received than godly and holy order but we are to know that though we have many things to glory in that we are a true Church that we have excellent preaching and many learned Officers in it yet if there be not an endeavour to take away all offences and scandals there is great matter of humiliation The Apostle speaketh notably in this matter to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 5. 6. Your glorying is not good c. The Corinthians they gloried and boasted in many things but as long as they did not cast out the old leaven or the wicked man but this leaven was in danger to leaven the whole lump therefore he telleth them Their glorying was not good there was greater cause to be deeply humbled because of such disorders amongst them Let us not then though we can and may prove our Church to be the Church of God therefore sit down and take our rest as if therefore reformation of corruptions were needless No the Apostle doth farre otherwise to this Church of Corinth though he call it the Church of God yet his Epistle is full of sharp reproof to them he is very zealous and lively in putting of them upon this that they became a new lump that they be made as it were a new Church and a new Congregation Farre be it therefore from us to excuse or connive at our publick impieties because Corinth though so polluted is a Church No we are to tremble and humble our selves under such disorders they are great provocations of Gods anger You see God did begin to judge and chasten this Church of Corinth God takes notice and is very angry with all these disorders and great neglect Therefore if you observe those Epistles of Christ from Heaven to the seven Churches of Asia where their works were not perfect where there were any decayes yea if Christ had any thing against them though there were other things commendable yet he will take notice and rebuke them therein yea to some he threatens to take away their Candlesticks that is their Ordinances and to unchurch them Oh then let us humble our selves under Gods hand for all our Church-sins all our Assembly-iniquities lest the wrath of God break out upon us The second extream we are to take heed of is That because of the corruptions that are in a Church we are not so farre transported with misguided zeal as to take no notice of the truth of a Church Some are apt so to attend to a true Church that they never matter the corruptions of it Others again they do so eye the corruptions that they never regard the truth of it but it is good to avoid both these extreams Whence cometh that impatiency in us to bear any evil in a Church Whence is it that we uncharitably rend from it Is it not because we do not consider it may be a true Church and salvation is there to be had yea conversion and regeneration though there be many things to be reformed There is no Church so pure but that there are some imperfections in it no Church so reformed but in some things it needeth a reformation Thou mayest go from Church to Church and be like Noah's Dove not know where to set thy feet if thou look for absolute perfection in any Church whether thou goest As there is no constitution of the body which hath an exact temperament ad pondus but some humour or other doth predominate so there is no Church that is of such a perfect frame but it hath its several grievances and though it may be freed from those evils they separated from yet they may be assaulted with others that are as destructive of a Church in a contrary way though freed from tyranny yet not from divisions and daily subdivisions amongst themselves So that in these things we are diligently to make the Scripture our Rule Thirdly Though that Church be a true Church where we live yet if many corruptions do abound therein we must take heed That we do not pollute our selves thereby or become partakers of any sinne indulged amongst them As we may not sinfully separate upon this ground because they are no Church so neither may we continue so as to pollute and defile our selves with any known sin The Apostles exhortation to the Corinthians under these manifold pollutions is that every one in their proper place should endeavour their new moulding So that under Church-pollutions thou art to consider what God cals thee to do to rebuke exhort admonish and if this will not do to complain to Church-Officers who are to guide and watch over the flock and if yet this will not do then to be the more earnest with God in prayer to bring about Reformation notwithstanding all the gainsayings of wicked men To mourn and sigh unto God as a Lot in Sodom vexing thy righteous soul continually as a lamenting Jeremiah among the apostatizing Israelites And certainly God doth in a special manner take notice of such who do mourn for those abominations that they cannot remove or take away Ezek. 9. 4. when thou canst appeal to God saying O Lord these corruptions these disorders they grieve me to the very heart I cry out daily Wo be unto me because I dwell with men of polluted lips This will much ingage God to thee Likewise we read Revel 3. 4. in what a special manner God takes notice of a few names in Sardis which had not defiled their garments To be therefore in the midst of a defiled Church and yet to keep thy self unspotted this is admirable as they record of the river Alpheus which though it runne into the Sea yet it keeps its own natural sweetness though we have communion with the Church in those things that are commanded by God yet we are not to partake with them in any evil way as those seven thousand in Eliâah's time though they did not depart from the Church of Israel yet they would not bow their knee to Baul In the next place Let us demonstrate this that a Church may be Gods Church though it be greatly corrupted And First It may be seen from the induction of several Churches as for example the Church of the Jews they were Gods people and God did own them as his yet as appeareth by the Prophets complaints and daily reproofs they were full of Idolatries and all moral impieties and for all this there were many repentings and turnings in Gods bowels to speak after the manner of men before he would call them Lo-ammi a people no more to him But you may say That was in the Old Testament when the Spirit of God was not poured out so effectually Consider then besides this Church of Corinth the Churches of Galatia were not they farre infected with doctrinal pollutions and vicious lusts of the flesh That the Apostle mentioneth not any where such zeal and sharpness as he doth to them threatning them with Apostasie
and carnal interest not that all glory and honour may be given to Christ alone So that by this fleshly wisdome we are to understand all crafty false and deceitfull wayes yea and all that pride and swelling in humane learning and oratory which the false Apostles gloried in From whence observe That the Ministers of the Gospel are to carry on their work without any fleshly wisdome or sinfull policy Gods truth doth not need mans lie The Gospel doth not want for its propagation the craft and fraud of ungodly policy Howsoever Politicians take up many rules about worldly greatness as Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare c. And with Plato to say That a lie is as necessary in a Common-wealth as physick to a diseased body Yet as Christ himself so all the Ministers of Christ are to be without guile in their mouth The Gospel of Christ is preserved and propagated onely by such heavenly and holy meanes that God will own and give a blessing unto Christ compareth his Disciples to Sheep not to Foxes It is true there is a Serpentine wisdome commended by Christ And our Saviour commissionating his Disciples to preach the Gospel biddeth them To beware of men Mat. 10. 17. but an offensive or a deceitfull way of walking that is not beseeming the Ministers of Christ And therefore Paul doth frequently disclaime it especially 1 Thess 2. 3 4 5. There are two false wayes of propagating Religion as Gerhard observeth Cathol confess parte prim Media violentiae and Media fraudulentiae The means of violence may be either in external temporal punishments or in tyrannical unreasonable Church impositions which later the Apostle doth also renounce vers 24. Both which wayes the Antichristian party are notorious in And there are Media fraudulentiae wayes of hypocrisie and deceit using subtil and unjustifiable wayes to bring about their religious designs Now although it be the Gospel that we would extoll though the holy truths and pure worship of Christ yet we must not make use of fleshly wisdome herein but walk by Scripture-rules For it 's Gods grace not mans policy gives successe to the Gospel Of this latter we are to treat And we are the more to consider this point for three Reasons First Because it is the nature of all enemies to the truth and holinesse of Christ to charge the godly and innocent defenders thereof with hypocrisie and policy that they do onely seek themselves that they drive on politick designes under religious pretences That whereas it is the property of heretical persons to broach new opinions Alicujus temporalis commodi causâ as Austin putteth in the definition of an Heretick these judging of others by themselves do think that even the faithfull servants of God do only seek their own earthly greatnesse and advancement Hence we see even our Saviour himself so diligent to remove this charge from him I seek not my own glory but the glory of him who sent me John 8. 50. So John 7. 18. where our Saviour giveth the character of a false teacher of one that speaketh of himself that he seeketh his own glory Thus the Popish party charge lies and calumnies upon the Protestants as if they had used all politick and crafty wayes to disseminate their Doctrines Therefore Lessius the Jesuite among his reasons why the Protestant Religion is not to be imbraced maketh this one That Religion saith he which useth lies and falshoods to propagate it self cannot be of God which he applieth to the Protestant Churches But as for the Major we grant it as a sure truth True Religion is only advanced by truth and sincerity whereas errours being in themselves lies are increasing by the father of lies But then we say the Church of Rome is notoriously guilty in this way from them first came that expression of Piae fraudes applied by some to indulgences It is the Church of Rome that hath Revel 17. 5. upon her forehead written Mystery she is the harlot that like Solomons doth wipe her mouth and speak of vows pretending Religion when she hath been acting her leudnesse But by how much the more the enemies of Gods Church are apt to charge the guides therein with policy and deceitfulnesse the more are they to watch to their wayes and to walk with all sincerity For these accusations are believed by many And withall there is a generation of Atheistical politick men in the world that hereby are hardened in their impiety as if Religion were but a politick devise of men and therefore matter not any further than their advantages are served thereby Whose damnation sleepeth not if they do not awaken betimes Secondly The second Reason why this is to be attended is Because all pretenders to any Religion in the world they would all be thought to be sincere None will own and justifie hypocrisie and guile to be lawfull Indeed the Jesuites they go high this way when they defend mental reservations and make equivocation Prudens defensio rei as Valentia These are not onely deceitfull and use fleshly wisdome but also plead for it yet at other times would be thought very free from all such carnal policy and way of lying As Bellarmine in a Sermon of his Conc. 9. deâprobitate doct Eccles inveigheth against Protestants whom he calleth Hereticks Although saith he their Doctrine were true yet ought they to confirme it with lies Nonne satius esset millies obmutescere quam semel mentiri Were it not better suffer to be a thousand times silent then once to lie What is the worke of the Devil if this be not Thus a great Champion of the Romish Church which you would think did all things in great candour and ingenuity And yet in that very Sermon reporteth forged lies against eminent men continuing the same bitterness in Conc. 10 11 12. as if his tongue were set on fire from hell But there are two famous places in the Scripture which may abundantly confirm us of the deceivable and false wayes in the Romane Church The first is 1 Tim. 4. 2. where they are said To speake lies in hypocrisie forbidding to marry c. who are therefore said To have seducing spirits yea and a conscience seared with an hot iron that is because they can so abominably dissemble both with God and man The second place is 2 Thes 2. 9. where the coming of that wicked one is said to be after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders in all deceiveablenesse of unrighteousnesse Here you see that fraud and impostures are as it were the true note of their false Church But though this be so yet they would wash their Blackmoor skin and charge that crime upon those Churches who departed from them Seeing then that this cousening deceiving way is charged mutually by all parties upon one another with what integrity and fidelity doth it behove those to walk who are indeed the faithfull Ministers of Christ But Thirdly
our knowledg true when it is conformable to the thing it self but then is the thing true when it is conformeable to the knowledg of God So that herein is the Infiniteness and excellency of Truth as it is in God manifested above that which is in man So that man may well respectively to God be called a lyar There is no truth in him Now because truth as it is in God is invisible and the same with his Essence and we are never able to cown to know Truth but by God Hence we have the Scriptures given to the Church as the rule of truth All truth is from God whether it be natural or supernatural When any of the Heathens have found out Truth it was from God even as all fashood is from the Devil so that when the Godly do lye 't is from the Devils temptation the Father of lyes Thus when wicked and ungodly men have uttered truth it hath been of God Now because Supernatural truth could not be discerned but by Divine Revelation and pacefaction Hence it pleased God to make known in his Word What is that truth which will lead us to Salvation So that seing we are not able to behold truth as it is in God we must look upon it as it is in his Word for God is the hidden Truth as it were the Word is the revealed truth Therefore whatsoever is Scripture we may conclude of it as sure and firm Truth coming from the supream truth If then ye ask as Pilate did another way What is truth I answer thee The Scripture is truth No men are true any further than guided by Scripture and led by the Spirit of God accordingly Oh that therefore you did more aw your hearts with the truth of Gods Word If that say sin will be bitter in the latter end though it may bring profit and pleasure for a while believe it against all the wicked men in the world and say I do more believe this Text this Place of Scripture than all which the wickedness of men may oppose against it 3. In that God is true Herein he differeth from man and is thereby opposite to the Prince of darkness He differeth from man Therefore it is said Numb 23. 19. God is not as man that he should lye or Repent To trust in man is to lean upon reads Yea hence it is that because God only is Truth no pastors or Officers in the Church are to be believed any further than they bring the Word of God It was Christ alone God and man that could say I am truth Neither Austin nor Luther nor Calvin can say I am truth Not that therefore the Ministers of God are therefore to be laid aside because they are not infallible For God hath commanded us to hear them and to submit to them only we are not ultimately to depend on them The Church is called the Pillar of truth because she doth declare and hold out the Truth but she is not the Author of it We are then to conclude of all men that of themselves they have no Truth they need the Spirit of God to guide them therein And then hereby is an Opposition in God to the Devil As God is true so the Devil is the Father of Liés John 8. 44. when he speaketh of his own he speaketh a lye Now then consider how inexcusable every wicked man will be For on the one side Christ who is Truth it self he speaketh to the sinner to repent to reforme promising Everlasting Happiness to him Christ saith Thy sinnes have no pleasure no profit in them thou wilt finde them prove a lye to thee On the other side The Devil he tempteth thee contrary to Christ he telleth thee sin is sweet it is good and profitable to sin he biddeth thee follow the lusts of thy soul thou shalt not be damned for all that and now thou believest this Devil this Father of lies rather than Christ Oh how unsufferable is this how great is the Patience of God towards thee What hearken to the Devil before God But even thus Eve did at first she believed the Serpent more than God and thereby brought ruine upon her self and Posterity Oh that we could convince you enough herein that you may see with what madness and folly your sinnes carry you away while you listen to the Father of Lies who is the Adversary of your soules rather than Christ who mourneth over you saying Oh that such a sinner did know the things that maketh for his peace 4. From this truth of God Hence it is that we are so much commanded in Scripture to believe on him to trust in him and to depend upon him which indeed is a quiet and blessed life For what is that maketh thy heart like a Sea What is it that causeth one wave to rise up after another in thy soul Is it not because thou dost not depend upon this truth of God Were thy soul more assured here in the frame of thy spirit would be more joyfull Two Temptations amongst others there are wherein the soul cryeth out as in a Whales belly not knowing what to doâ whereas the confidence of Gods truth would presently satisfie the soul The first is In matters to be believed about the Doctrine that is delivered there For because that is wholly supernatural above our humane reason though not contrary to it hence it is that we have many fluctuations of spirit and our understandings are with difficulty captivated unto the Word of God Though these temptations about the Truths of Christian Religion are not incident to all the Godly and it is a special mercy to be preserved from them yet upon some they have come like a violent storm and therefore there is no way to stand disputing and arguing but to say God is true the Word is true I believe when I cannot dispute as one Martyr said But then a Second temptation which is like a continual thorn in the sides of the Godly is their Diffidence and distrust about the Promises of God They do not live and walk as if they were true So that never did any Heretick more subtilly cavill against the Doctrine of the Scripture than they do argue against the Promises of the Scripture Whether they be such as belong to the Church or to themselves To the Church when they read the Scriptures they finde such glorious and excellent Promises that they exspect she should alwayes have Halcyon dayes that her enemies should alwayes be vanquished but alas they finde experimentally the contrary They cannot see how Gods Words and his Works how his Promises and Providences do concurre together But the reason of this is from themselves They do not take a right way to understand the truth of God in this particular for these three Causes which commonly make the sense to erre about the Object although to speak properly the sense doth not erre but the judgment of a man discerning according to sence for
did all was new their service new their Doctrine new but the iniquity and the corruption of the times made it appear to be so And indeed Popery is properly the great Novellisme for the Popish Doctrines the Popish Worship began to creep in when the Churches of Christ began to degenerate from their Primitive Institution The change then that is many times in the face of Religion which doth so offend many is not indeed so but in appearance Those truths of God were formerly professed in the Church only an Eclipse did arise which obscured the light of the Sun As then the Sun is not changed after an Eclipse we do not see a new Sun thus it is also with the truths of Christ the Reformers do not bring new truths only the darkness is dispelled and we see them which were long before It is with us as with men whose heads are distempered we think such and such things run round whereas indeed it is a distemper upon us and it is a signe that we have been corrupted when old truths seem new to us 4. We may therefore truly conclude that antiquity and consent are inseparable properties of a true Church That Church which retaineth Doctrines of the greatest Antiquity and which doth agree with the Primitive Apostolical Churches that must needs be a true Church for truth is alwayes alike That cannot be true Doctrine in one age which is not in another though men are apt to be changed by the times they live in yet Gods truth cannot be When therefore the Papists bring antiquity and consent as notes of a true Church we deny they can or are to be called notes because it is not Antiquity barely but antiqvity in the true Doctrine nor Consent meerly so but consent with the Primitive Churches Doctrine So that True Doctrine is properly the note of the Church only we add that Antiquity and Consent with the Primitive times do inseparably follow the true Doctrine Now the ground of this certainty and equality of the truths of Christ is because they are Gods truths Christs truths if they were the truths of mens making then they might alter and change as they please then it might be formed reformed and transformed into all the shapes that mens Interests could put them upon then truth might alter according to the climates customes and advantages of men then truth might be one thing at Rome and another thing at Constantinople then we might say such things were truth in one age and ye the contrary truth in another Popery was truth in Queen Maries dayes and Protestantisme in Queen Elizabeths And truly some men are so Atheistical or self-seeking that they account truth as the Apostle said some did godliness even outward gain and therefore when such an opinion is gainfull then it is truth but when not so then it is Heresie Use of Instruction How odious Instability and Inconstancy is in matter of Religion whether it be in private Christians or publick Officers It plainly discovereth that not the truth of Christ but some other uncertain motive prevaileth with thee either thy profit or thy applause or the times or customes or the Lawes of the Land or some other mutable respect doth work upon thee and if so then thou canst not but be a reed shaken with every winde of Doctrine Thou art then but as an Instrument of musick making no other sound nor no longer then thou art breathed into Profit will make thee a Papist profit will make thee a protestant profit will make thee an Heretick How contrary is such a fickle temper to the nature of Faith which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Use 2d of Instruction How false that position is of some Papists That the Church may make Articles of Faith and that the Authority of the Church maketh the Authority of the Scripture at least towards us So that the Scriptures would have no more authority then Titus Livius or Aesops fables in respect of our duty to believe were it not for the Churches Authority No less blasphemous is that other comparison of another Papist resembling the Scripture to a nose of wax If so then no wonder if they make what truths and what religions they please then we may call it the Popes truth the Churches truth and not the truth of God It is a ridiculous passage of a Papist Ford against Taylor saying that it is probable the Church will make that Opinion about the immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary to be an Article of Faith As if the Church could make that necessary to be believed if we would be saved that was not alwayes so Why may she not as well make a new Bible set up a new Christ as they establish a new Article of Faith SERM. CXXIV Of Gods Promises to man 2 COR. 1. 20. For all the Promises of God in him are yea and in him amen unto the glory of God by us THis Verse is a further confirmation of the constancy and immutability of the Lord Christ and so by consequence of Pauls doctrine For that Christ is unchangeable he proveth in that all the promises which God hath made they receive their fullnesse and complement in him and so are therefore true because fullfilled both in him and by him This is the Apostles sence in this assertion which Calvin doth well call memorabilis sententia c. a memorable sentence and one of the chiefest Articles of our Religion for herein is all our faith and confidence seated that in Christ God maketh his gracious promises to us by whose efficacy and impetration they be accomplished so that a promise is fullfilled not because of any worth or dignity in us but because of of the fulnesse and worth that is in Christ 1. The words may be taken as an entire Proposition wherein we have the subject and predicate with the amplification of it from the finall cause The subject is described from the nature of it ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã promises 2. From the universality and extent ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã all promises as many as are made 3. From the efficient cause the promises of God 4. The predicate are yea and are amen in him Of which in their order Let us begin with the Subject ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the promises many times in the plurall number at other times in the singular for indeed the covenant of grace is but one large promise or an ocean emptying it self into many streams yet sometimes called promises because of the many things both spirituall and temporall that are particularly promised by God the summe whereof is contained in that great promise or Magna Charta of the Church I will be their God and they shall be my people or else it may be promises in the plurall number because of the frequent repetition and reiteration of the grand promise of Christ to the Church Now the word promise is sometimes used for the
Four Propositions clearing it 220 221 The general good of such Sufferings is Gods glory and the Gospels enlargement 222 Others Sufferings for Christ may much conduce to our comfort and salvation 223 Three things premised concerning such Sufferings 223 224 How our Sufferings for Christ work our comfort 225 226 227 How they promote our salvation 228 229 230 Sufferings not barely in themselves but as improved by patience conduce to our salvation 232 Communion with those that Suffer for Christ a sure way to interest us in their glory and comfort 251 Two propositions clearing it 251 252 The reasons of it 253 254 Vid. Afflictions Swearing 'T is lawfull to Swear under the Gospel upon urgent occasions after a right manner 658 668 669 Whether it be lawfull to Swear by any creature 663 How we may mention a creature in an oath and not Swear by it 664 How and when we may lawfully Swear Motives against ordinary Swearing 672 673 674 675 The excuses and cavils for Swearing answered 675 676 T Thankfulnesse to God vide Blessing and Praising God Timothy OF the name Timothy 41 Two things observed concerning him 41 42 Trouble Trouble whence it ariseth 113 God is both able and willing to help his people in hopelesse Troubles 325 326 327 Truth God is a God of Truth and a true God 536 Propositions clearing the nature and kinds of Truth 537 538 539 540 The truth of God is alwayes the same 575 576 577 578 Trust Two sorts of Trust humane and divine 301 What are the sinfull objects we are apt to Trust in 304 305 306 307 308 God always the proper object of our Trust 315 Propositions concerning our Trusting in God 315 316 317 318 What is the matter for which we Trust in him 318 What is required to our Trusting in the Lord 320 321 322 Of the excellency of this grace of Trusting in the Lord 322 323 324 There are motives to Trust in God both from personal and general priviledges 349 Of the opposites to Trusting in God 350 The grace of Trusting in God cannot be perfect in this life 352 Trusting in God and the use of means not to be separated 355 W Wisdome WHy the Wisdome of this world is called fleshly Wisdom 423 Ministers ought not to use fleshly Wisdom 423 424 425 Principles of fleshly Wisdom 426 427 428 429 430 431 FINIS The Division of the Chapter and of the Verse Why our Saviour called Jesus Christ Why this Apostle called Paul who sometimes was called Saul Pauls persecution of the Church of Christ His conversion to it God of great sinners often maketh most eminent Saints ãâã Pauls sins great How the chiefest of sinners The work of Gods grace wonderfull Pauls serviceableness admirable Reasons why God of great sinners often maketh such eminent Saints 1. On Gods part 1. Hereby the power of God is manifested 2. Hereby the Wisdom of God is clearly evidenced 1. In converting Paul when in the height of his impieties 2. Because such fire-brands plucked out of the fire are the fittest to enkindle a fire in the hearts of others 3. Hereby he shews the freeness of his grace 2. On mans part 1. That hereby they may be more humble in themselves Lastly that all Formalists and Justiciaries might be provoked to an holy jealousie Pauls learning When men of great parts and learning are chosen by God and sanctified they become eminently usefull in their place Christs chusing of illiterate men to be Apostles makes not for the chusing of such now to be publick preachers Obs 2. Learning an excellent qualification in man the choisest of Gods gifts in a common way Obs 3. Learning through the corruption of man often made an engine to promote the Kingdom of the Devil This is not from the nature of learning it self but from the abuse of ãâã The assistance of Gods Spirit necessary to an holy and sanctified understanding and interpretation of Scripture Use 1. Use 2. Use 3. Why Paul prefixed his name to his Epistle Pauls name being prefixed to this Epistle argues it to be of Divine Authority The prefixing of the name of the Author not a sufficient argument of it self to prove the Divine Authority of any book The Pen-men of the Bible only the instruments used by God in an extraordinary way not the authors of it The Scripture being inspired by God we should rest satisfied in the style and method of it The authority of the Scripture not to be questioned or disputed of Yet to arm our selves against the Devil and all Hereticks 't is good to consider 1. That we have as good ground to believe the Scriptures were written by their acknowledged Pen-men as that any humane works were made by their Authors 2. Hence it follows that we must believe the matter therein to be of God 3. Hitherto we are to add the heavenly Doctrine and matter of the Scriptures as also the consent of all and martyrdom of many Christians and miracles testifying the truth of them 4. To these we are earnestly to beg the assistance of the Spirit of God Why Paul cals himself an Apostle What an Apostle was Two kinds of Apostles primary and secondary Christ in his first planting of his Church appointed extraordinary Officers which he called Apostles Our Saviour in the building of his Church did not follow the Government of the Jewish The properties of an Apostles 1. He should have an immediate call from Christ 2. The Apostles were to be the first builders of the Church 3. They should be eye-witnesses of what Christ did and suffered 4. They were universal officers 5. They were endowed of an infallible spirit 6. They were endowed with miraculous gifts 7. They were the chiefest and highest officers in the Church 8. They were equal in power and authority 9. They were temporary officers 10. Though they were extraordinary Officers yet they contained what was inferiour under them Lastly though they were thus admirably qualified yet they did not convert all below them It is of great consequence both to Ministers and people to be informed of the Divine Call of their Church-officers Both ancient and modern Writers have much disputed about the Call of Church-officers It is not enough only to have a true Call but that Call must be likewise faithfully improved What advantages follow upon a true Call 1. To the Officers themselvs 1. They may expect Gods assistance 2. Gods protection 3. Success and fruitfulness in their labours The word commonly more succesful to those who never had it before The Word less successfull to a people that have lived long under the preaching ãâã A two-fold Use of the Ministry besides conversion to increase grace and prevent errour Lastly They may expect a greater reward from God 2. What advantage the people may have by being assured of their Ministers call Use Of the proper Name of our Saviour Jesus The Lord Christ is a Jesus a Saviour to his people 1. Christ is not a Saviour in
damned Jesus is the Christ the anointed of God Where Ministerial labours are great there needeth the more help from others Where there is any fault in one Minister the people are apt to charge it upon all The grounds of it 1. The policy and enmity of false Teachers 2. The indiscretion of the people 3. The natural enmity in man against the Ministry 'T is an happy thing when all the Ministers of God agree to advance Christ The effects of this Agreement 1. The greater confirmation of the truth 2. The greater defence of the truth 3. The greater conviction of the impenitent and unbelieving Gods truth and so the true Preachers of it are alwayes the same 1. We must distinguish between the external formes of Gods worship and doctrinals 2. Between the growth and the change of truth 3. Between a seeming and a real yea and nay 4. Antiquity and consent are properties of a true Church God hath made many promises in Christ to us 1. God might have dealt with man by absolute soveraignty 2. The promises of God are properly promises 3. Gods promises do not adde to his simple affirmation but only are to confirm our faith 4. The rise of all Gods promises is his free mercy 5. Therefore the fullfilling of his promises is only of grace 6. The promises of God are absolute or conditional 7. There may be reasons given why God made such promises As 1. To exercise our faith 2. To teach us humility 1. Of the several sorts of promises 1. The promises of God are either Legal or Evang elical 2. Promises are either spiritual or temporal 2. Gods promises are the executions of his Decrees 3. No wicked men have any promises belong to them 4. Gods promises to us suppose faith in us 5. God hath sealed his promises to us 6. 'T is great skill to make use of promises In Christ alone are all the promises of God confirmed and made good 1. By the promises of God here are meant only tis promises of grace 2. Promises are fulfilled either in Christ or by him 3. There could have been no promises without Christ 4. And therefore is the covenant of grace called a testament Ans 1. It is hard to sail between the Arminian and Antinomian rock * Saltmarsh 2. A Christian in making use of a promise must not oppose it to Christ nor Christ to it What a Christian ought to do in his doubtings of his interest in the promises 1. He is not to ascend into the high points of predestination and universal redemption 2. He should make Gods command and invitation his ground of drawing nigh to a promise The promises being âounded upon will never be altered or changed The promises of God are made and are to be beleeved to his glory Wherein the glory of God is manifested in his promises 1. Hereby his goodnesse is known 2. His love 3. The freenesse of his grace How faith in Gods promises gives glory to him 1. Hereby we acknowledge our dependance upon him 2 Hereby we manifest him to be the truth it self 3. Hereby we exalt Gods way of justification Our establishing in the faith of the promise is the gracious work of God alone 1. God may be said to establish us either in the grace it self or in our apprehension of it 2. We are not able of our selves to do any thing towards the work of grace 3. Wherein lieth the establishing work of Gods grace 1. In preparing the understanding to it How God prepares the understanding 1. By discovering our own infirmity 2. The acceptablenesse of the work of saith 3. The evangelicall way of Gods vouchsafing mercy to the soul 2. In setling the and removing the impediments 1. Presumption 2. Despair Wherein Gods confirmation of us upon the promises consisteth 1. In working principles of grace 1. Faith 2. Love 3. Heavenly courage and spiritual fortitude 4. Divine âopâ 5. Spiritual joy 2. By actual motions of his Spirit upon us Arguments that all our establishment is from God It appears 1. From that unevenness that is in the godly themselves 2. In that weak Christians have gone through great temptations when strong ones have failed 3. It appears from the prayers of Gods people The strongest Christians need Gods establishing grace as well as the weakest 1. It appears from the falls the strongest have had 2 From Gods dispensations towards them 3. From the Devils malice against them more than others 4. From Gods leaving them oft to themselves that they may see their strength to be only in him 5. From the nature of the grace within us In Christ alone we are established 1. By grace are Christians united to Christ 2. From this union followeth our establishment 3 Our establishment comes from Christ 1. By meritorious impetration 2. By effectual application All true believers have a spiritual anointing from God 1. Who is the fountain of this ointment even God and Christ 2. The comparison betwixt material and this spiritual oyl They are like 1. As oyl was used in the consecration of things to God 2. As it comforts the heart and beautifies the countenance 3. As it refreshed the weary 4. As it healeth wounds 5. In that it is delightsom to the nostrils 6. As it mollifies 7. As it strengthens and comforts the limbs The people of God are his sealed ones 1. There is an active and a passive sealing 2. Gods sealing of his people is either vifible or invifible What the sealing of tee godly implys 1. The great esteem with God 2. Their safety 3. Security 4. Their difference from others 6. Secrecy and privacy 7. Confirmation Scriptures equivalent to the text Rom. 8. 18. Gal. 4. 6. 1 Cor. 2. 12. 1 Joh 3. 24. 1 Ioh. 5. 8 9 10. The description of the sealing of Gods spirit The description of the sealing of Gods spirit 1. It is a supernatural and gracious work 2. Of Gods spirit Reasons why it is the spirit alone that thus sealeth ãâã This sealing of Gods spirit is in the hearts of the sanctified 4. It confirms and establisheth the heart Reasons why we cannot confirm our selves 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The Spirit seals the promises of grace to a believer The division of faith as to the object it is 1. General 2. Special 3. Particular How the Spirit seals even by the means that God hath appointed Which means are either external as 1. The Sacraments 2. By the marks of such to whom the promises belong Or else internal The signes whereby we may know the spirit witnesses our interest in the promises 1. The sanctified improvement of afflictions 2. The experience of Gods gracious presence with us 3. The antecedent works of sanctification Of the end of the spirits sealing even that we might live godly and thankfully Whether all Gods people be his sealed ones 1. It belongs to all the godly 2. Primitive Christians did more partake of it then Christians do uow 3. It is not so necessary to
confession is a sign although Hereticks pretend thereunto As true Miracles were a sure Argument to prove the truth although others have done and Antichrist will pretend to true Miracles And indeed though all Sects as the Socinians especially pretend much to the Scripture yet it is not the words only but the sense of it that is by the Context and Scope to be discovered that is the word of God Therefore Irenaeus of old said elegantly That Hereticks making the Scripture to speak what sense they pleased did as if a man should take the Statue or Image of a King and so transpose the parts of it as to make it the image of a Dog or some other vile thing These things concluded on let us draw some Uses by way of Corollaries As 1. In that the holy Ghost is pleased to appropriate this Word in the New Testament to his people which among the Heathens signifieth the meaner sort of people for that they called Ecclesia and it was opposite to ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the Senate which consisted of more noble men Hence we may see who they are that are most commonly called to be of his Church even the meaner sort Not many rich not many noble hath God called 1 Corinth 1. We should not despise the Church of God if it be not so externally pompous and glorious as Kingdoms and States For Christ is more peculiarly present with his Church and shed his bloud for that 2. That if we speak properly the Church is not a material place not this building of stones and wood but the people of God meeting there Indeed it may tropically be well enough called a Church as Synagogue is applied to the place He built us a Synagogue whereas properly it signifieth the people meeting together as you heard Thus Concio amongst the Latines signifieth both the place and the company met together Bellarmine would have the word to signifie a place 1 Cor. 11. as also where it is said Let the woman keep silence in the Churches And those learned men Fuller and Mede expound it so in 1 Cor. 11. But there is no necessity of such Interpretation But though the Scripture doth not call it so we may by a Trope give it that name and use must authorize in these things Though Ifidore Pelusiota in one of his Epistles sharply reproving a Bishop that adorned the material place with Images and Ornaments but neglected the Church of God the true professours he persecuted doth call the people ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and the place ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Lastly Is it a Church a company called by God Then this sheweth of what consequence Unity and Concord is amongst all the Members thereof How can a body be kept together without ligaments and nerves How can the building stand if the wood and straw be not aptly fastned and cemented together How can the Church subsist if there be not Love Union and Concord It 's observable Phil. 4. 2. that the Apostle thought it not too low a thing even in canonical Scripture to intreat two women that were at difference to be of the same mind I beseech Euodias I beseech Syntyche that they be of one mind Two godly women differing the Apostle doth passionately intreat reconciliation and agreement how much more then would he have intreated the Pastors and Officers in the Church to take heed of discord SERM. XV. Why Paul writeth to the Church not the Churches of Corinth What is implyed in the Churches being called the Church of God 2 COR. 1. 1. To the Church of God which is at Corinth c. THe Nature of a Church hath been considered with the Marks thereof from the name ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã given here to the society of believers at Corinth So that we might dispatch this only in that the word Church is used in the singular number The Church at Corinth not Churches It 's disputed What one Church it was whether one single Congregation exereising all Church-government within it self or a combined and collective Church united into one but consisting of particular Congregations and it may seenâ probable that this Church of Corinth was a combined or associated Church partly because Act. 18. we may read of much people that God had in that place and therefore Paul staid above a year there which argued a multitude of converts The plenty also of their Teachers and Officers with the diversitie of tongues And lastly in that 1 Cor. 16. 19. Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned with the Church in their house It is true what is meant by the Church in an house is controverted we find the expression four times in Scripture Rom. 16 15. where Aquila and Priscilla are saluted with the Church in their house So 1 Cor. 16. 19. these persons are mentioned again with the Church in their house Col. 4. 15. There one Nymphas is saluted with the Church in his house Phil. 2. There likewise Philemon is mentioned with the Church in his house Mr. Mede doth from hence inferre That even in the Apostles dayes and so in the primitive times that the Christians had publick places fixed and setled being set apart for the publick Assemblies to worship God in answering those places of Arnobius and others who told the Heathens they had no Templa nor Aras he saith these mentioned in the Texts named did set apart some piece of their house for that end But it should seem by other passages that in the Apostles dayes there were no fixed places for to meet in Therefore sometimes they meet in one house and sometimes in another yea They went from house to house Others they think by the Church in their house is meant many believers For they say Whereas when other families are saluted only some are named sometimes the Master of the house is omitted as Salute the houshold of Narcissus because he was thought to be an infidel Yea Calvin thinketh it is that infamous and wicked Narâissus so notorious wicked and great with Nero of whom Historians speak Now when the Apostle salutes the men and the Church in their house it was because there were no unbelievers but all were of the Church Howsoever it be it 's plain there were many believers in that family more than ordinary and therefore called a Church which should argue That the Church of Corinth was a combined Church That passage also makes it likely 1 Cor. 14. 34. Let your women be silent in the Churches Your women therefore he speaks of the Corinthians there who are said to have Churches and yet here it is called a Church This will still appear the more likely if we consider that here were believing Jews as well as Gentiles in this Church of Corinth as Estius observeth in the Preface to the first Epistle Therefore when the Apostle speaketh of some who said they were of Cephas that relateth to the believing Jews yet because they were few comparatively to the Gentiles therefore the Apostle
the ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the few things or briefly as added for Modesty sake and indeed if it were related to Sylvanus it would not commend his fidelity but rather give occasion to doubt of it But if we attribute it to Sylvanus the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is not ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã it signifieth a firm and undoubted judgment upon good consideration therefore our English word suppose doth not so well answer it Therefore in the third place That distinction of a Saint by external profession or dedication to God thereby and by internal and spiritual renovation is the most genuine to answer this doubt Some were Saints by inward regeneration Others were Saints by external profession and outward submission so that they had not as yet renounced their Christianity and this sense the Apostle plainly makes when he gives that opposition between Heathens and Saints as 1 Cor. 6. 1. Dare any of you go to law before the unjust that is the Heathens and not before Saints where Saint is opposed to an Heathen So vers 6. a brother which is all one with a Saint is opposed to an unbeliever All that came out of the world to profess Christ are called Saints and believers though even amongst them all were not godly Now you must know that there are degrees of godliness 1. There is that which is supream and infinite and thus God is holy holy holy 2. There is created boliness and that either perfect such as the humane Nature of Christ the Angels and glorified Saints in Heaven have or else imperfect subject to many imperfections and weaknesses Hence saith Salmeron We dare not call any man a Saint while be liveth on this earth till he be consummated but that is absurd for to be a Saint is no more than to be holy so that if we may call any holy we may also call them Saints as our Translators do for the most part render the word The Papists indeed they call only those that are canonized Saints who are already in Heaven therefore those that lived in the Old Testament because of their opinion of their being in Limbo Patrum they are never in the Roman Church called Saints they never say Saint David or Saint Isaiah Salmeron also observeth from this title of Saints given to all believers That in the Infancy of the Church saith he all were called Saints in the Adolescentiâ only the Bishops and Officers in the Church but in Senectute only those that are translated into Heaven But we must conform to Scripture not humane speculations The Greek word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã answering the Hebrew Kodesh for the Septuagint seldom translate it by ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã but generally by ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is by some said to be as much as sine terrâ without earth or any worldly pollution But the best Grammarians derive it from ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to reverence and respect as ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã from ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to desire because all holy things are with much reverence to be regarded Whereas then to be holy hath a two-fold principal signification 1. To be dedicate and set apart to God 2. To be inherently sanctified and both these applicable in the Text. We may observe That all those who are of Gods Church are Saints by profession and dedication and ought to be Saints by their lives and conversations Hence Rom. 1. 7. we have that expression called Saints that is either called to be Saints holiness being the term to which of their vocation or Saints by calling as Paul was by his calling an Apostle Both these tend to the same thing and all oblige to holiness First Let us consider how much this Church-Saintship doth comprehend what degrees and steps it hath And 1. It doth imply Their being under the external dispensation of Gods Covenant of Grace All that are under the Covenant administration are thereby Saints and holy though all are not regenerated Upon this account it is that the children of one or more believing Parents are called holy 1 Cor. 7. 14. where to be under the Covenant is enough to give this denomination of holy And hence it is that all the people of the Jews among whom there were many prophane and unholy persons in respect of inward Sanctity are yet called all of them Saints because the Covenant-dispensation was towards them Psal 77. 2. The Psalmist complaineth That the enemies had given the flesh of his Saints to the beasts of the earth where the Nation of the Jews destroyed by their enemies are all called Saints So Psal 89. 5 7. the assembly of the Israelites wherein also David did meet to praise God is called the Assembly of the Saints Now we cannot think that every Israelite who came to sacrifice and serve God was truly holy Yea Psal 50. God complaineth of such Who came and took his name into their mouth and yet hated to be reformed Therefore they are called Saints because they are all under the Covenant of Grace 2. Church-Saintship consists in a dedication and consecrating our selves unto God For our Baptism is the initial Sacrament and by it we are externally sanctified and set apart to God from the Devil sinne and the world For as in the Old Testament there were by certain ceremonial Rites dedicating of persons and things to God which thereby had a relative holiness and so were called holy because dedicated Thus though with some dissimilitude by the Sacrament of Baptism we are baptized into the Name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost which amongst other things signifieth this also that we are given up to God from the world and the Devil to be no more theirs not to live according to their course and way And for this reason it is that those who are not of the Church are said to be without 1 Cor. 5. and the world is distinct to the Church when therefore of the Church we are not of the world we are not without under the kingdom of Satan but we are of the body of Christ of his house and our Baptism doth sacramentally denote our communion with Christ Now although all that are baptized do not in deed and in truth put on Jesus Christ yet as long as they do not renounce their Baptism so long by that there is an outward dedication of them to God And thus that Apostate spoken of Heb. 10. 29. who never had true grace yet is said to be sanctified by the bloud of the Covenant whereof the Sacraments are seals So that our sacramental relation doth give an outward denomination of a Saint or an holy person though if there be no inward holiness the condemnation of such will be farre more dreadfull and intollerable than of the vilest and worst of Heathens 3. This Church-Saintship goeth a further step and that is An external profession of our faith
Father being able to say with the Church I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine And Cant. 8. 10. I was in his eyes as one that found favour or peace being conducted from one room of consolation unto another As therefore thou desirest to answer the Law of God in holiness and a godly walking so conform thy self to the Gospel by a peaceable and joyfull disposition The Apostle saith Rom. 10. 15. How welcome are the feet of those who preâch the Gospel of peace And certainly there cannot be any truth in the world more precious and welcome to this indebted prisoner of sinne who groaneth under the burden of it then this year of Jubilee this year of peace and of a general releasment Matth. 10. 6. Our Saviour instructs his Disciples as they did go from house to house preaching the Kingdom of Heaven if they did meet with a Sonne of peace Peace should rest upon that house Oh that in our Gospel-Sermons we did meet with these sonnes of peace those hearers of peace that so it might rest upon them How can you be under the hot beams of this Sunne of righteousness displayed in the Gospel and yet be so chill and frozen with fear and unbelief How can ye be in the shop of this precious ointment and you not be full of the sweet savour of it Though the Antinomian abuse this precious Doctrine crying down the preaching of the Law and make all that do it to be legal Preachers Shall we therefore cry down a Gospel-disposition Neither of these is to be preached to the prejudice of the other SERM. XXVI A further Discovery of the Nature of true Gospel-Peace with the Effects of it and some Directions how to attain it 2 COR. 1. 2. And Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ WE are treating upon this admirable and unspeakable priviledge of Peace from God It is a Peace from God and it is a Peace with God You have heard several particulars going to the constitution of it there yet remain more In the next place therefore This peace here prayed for is a peace in heavenly considerations because our persons are justified our sinnes are forgiven therefore we have peace As Rom. 5. 1. there is an external worldly peace which the natural men of the world only desire let them live in peace and security let them have the good things of this world with the peaceable enjoying of them this is the utmost of their desire they think this is enough We see this notably Ezek. 13. 10 16. where the people desire such Prophets only that will prophesie of peace to them Peace is so loved that therefore wicked men do so extreamly hate the faithfull Messengers of God because they proclaim no peace to them they enform them of Gods wrath and vengeance against such now this cutteth them to the very heart They delight only in such peacemongers that though they go on in all wickedness and prophaneness yet you must tell them all is well sow pillows under their elbows that they may lie down in security Men that desire to sleep love not to hear any noise but the Peace in the Text is not bred from such base and low materials When the wicked man is deprived of his pleasure his profits then all his peace is gone but the godly doth many times partake in the most powerfull manner of this peace when they are in the most afflicted and wretched estate because this peace is within and upon spiritual grounds And therefore when the godly many times have most of outward troubles they do richly abound with this spiritual inward peace Hence it is that a gracious spiritual heart doth only prize it and pray for it The natural man not perceiving these things which must be spiritually discerned Secondly Whereas a godly mans trouble may arise several wayes this peace hath a proper antidote and cure in all these respects from what causes a godly mans disquietnesse and fears may arise from the contrary will his peace As for example a godly man is very frequently disturbed because of the sense of Gods anger for sinne because he is not reconciled such and such iniquities have provoked God to hide his face and this filleth him with all bitterness he will not be called Naomi but Marah but when this peace of God possesseth the soul then all these dark thoughts do presently flie away as when the Sunne ariseth the night is dispelled So that when thou thinkest of God and art troubled Thy meditation of him is not as Davids sweet but bitter this wholly ariseth from want of this peace for that will confirm and settle the soul in all references to God that will represent him to be a gracious reconciled Father Again A mans trouble may arise in his soul from the temptations and oppositions of Satan who when he cannot hinder Gods people in the exercise of their graces will in respect of their comforts So that as the Spirit of God is the Comforter one great work of his being to assure to enable to call God Father So the Devil he is the prince of darkness and he counter-works Gods Spirit As that is an holy Spirit sanctifying his people so he is an unclean spirit provoking to all sinne Again as Gods Spirit doth comfort and convince us of Christs righteousnesse being the Spirit of Adoption within us to deliver us from spiritual bondage and thraldome So the Devil he worketh oppositely to all this he filleth the heart with sad and unbelieving suggestions he endeavours to divide between God and us to make us afraid of him as being that severe Judge who will not in any wise be reconciled Thus he would perswade us that it is with us as it is with him and that there is no more hope for comfort and salvation for us than for him But this peace of God doth abundantly fortifie against this temptation also where this peace is the Devil doth not find the house swept and garnished but fortified and secured against him so that he cannot have any entrance This is the blessed effect of this spiritual peace that it overcometh the Devil he commonly entreth into the good tender heart by unbelief by fears by propounding doubtfull and anxious scruples and then draweth us into a wilderness farre off from God But this peace from God doth easily quench all his fiery-darts doth presently stop his assaults and maketh him not care for coming to us to graple with us while we have this spiritual armoury on In the third place Our disquietnesse doth many times arise from the reliques of original corruption within us The godly they find many sad discoveries and workings of the root of corruption within them They find that their hearts are not in such an uniform and heavenly way as they desire they often come short of what they endeavour after And seeing themselves thus foiled often by their lusts they begin to be full of
which yet David in every Psalm almost though never so cast down doth in some degrees and sparks as it were discover but here is nothing but disconsolateness yet this Heman was a godly man a Penman of some Psalms yea he was accounted one of the most eminent wise men that lived in that age for 1 King 4. 30 31. Solomons wisdom is said to exceed all others yea four wise men are instanced whom Solomon did surpass and this Heman was one Whereas then we are apt to judge such as want the sense of Gods comfort and go in a disconsolate manner fools and melancholly such as will go out of their wits You see here a godly man and one of the wisest men in Solomons times yet afflicted with the terrors of the Lord and can obtain no comfort This then being laid down as a foundation let us consider what is to be said to the doubt To answer the Objection you must know in what sense this is a doctrinal truth That God comforteth his in all their troubles and to that purpose observe these particulars 1. That comfort especially when we are sensibly affected and enlarged therewith is not of the essence of grace nor is it absolutely necessary to salvation It is indeed for the benè esse and is like oil to the wheels it doth wonderfully quicken and expedite the soul in wayes of holiness but yet a man may be in the state of grace and may have an unquestionable claim to Heaven yet for all that be destitute of such sensible comfort for these consolations do commonly flow from assurance of Gods grace and the sense of his love shed abroad in their hearts Now it is not this assurance that doth justifie us but it supposeth us justified already we may rest on Christ we may believe on him and yet want this faith of evidence as some call it while we have the faith of adherence and dependance Seeing therefore that this comfort is not an inseparable quality from a godly man we must then understand the promises of God for comfort as we do of other things which are separable from true grace God promiseth health outward peace long life yea of all outward mercies godliness hath a promise but yet the godly do not alwayes partake of these there are many of them sick weak poor and distressed though under such promises And the reason is because these are not necessary to salvation They are not required as Christ and grace is for then no godly man should be without them yea they may be an impediment an hinderance and therefore it 's a mercy sometimes when God denieth them Thus it is in regard of our comforts it is for our good to be sometimes without them God in much mercy suffereth his people to be in darknesse and to have no light So that you may no more wonder to see them sometimes without joy then to see them sometimes without the outward mercies of the world Yet you must understand when I thus compare these soul-consolations to bodily ones that I make them not of the same nature with temporal outward mercies as if they were no more spiritual than wealth or health are No I do not compare them in their nature but in their property of separability they neither are of the essence of grace nor of absolute necessity to salvation and herein they are alike otherwise these consolations they are spiritual mercies seated in the soul and have intimate connexion with the graces of Gods Spirit Gerson calls them Gratiae gratis datae and indeed they are the gifts of Gods Spirit and are highly to be prized yet as degrees in grace are of Gods Spirit but not necessary to salvation the truth of grace is but not every degree of grace for then no godly man could be saved that is weak in faith and in other graces Thus it is with this comfort in some respect They are gifts of God they are wrought by his Spirit yet so as that they do not necessarily accompany our salvation and in this sense you must understand the Doctrine 2. There is a two-fold joy which I may call a direct and reflex one The one is when we are carried with delight to that which is holy and good The other is when we know and feel that we are thus carried out joy is a fruit of faith 1 Pet. 1. 8. In whom believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable Now as faith acteth two wayes so also doth joy Faith acteth directly by going directly to Christ and then faith acts reflexly by looking upon this that I do rest on Christ Thus there is a joy that doth directly go to God and Christ by way of delight and enlargement being thus apprehended by faith Of such a joy in holy things Solomon speaketh Prov. 21. 15. The Prophet Isaiah also Chap. 64. 5. And then there is a joy flowing from the apprehension of this that we do delight in holy things For a man may rejoyce to find he can rejoyce in what is good a man may be comforted in finding that Christ and heavenly objects are matter of delight to him Now as it is with those two acts of faith the former which is the direct one that is absolutely necessary by that we are justified by that Christ is made ours by that we are in him and he in us but the latter is not of the same necessity It is no where said If ye know that ye do believe and if ye be assured that ye do believe but if ye do believe then ye shall be saved It would be sad with many of Gods children if none were justified but he that knoweth he believeth Thus it is also for joy joy in its direct acts it 's a necessary grace It is our duty to rejoyce in God and heavenly things as well as love them And indeed there cannot be any grace of love but there is also the grace of joy Hence Gal. 5. joy is made the fruit of the Spirit with other graces And Rom. 14. The Kingdom of Heaven is said to consist in righteousness and in joy in the holy Ghost So that there is a joy which being a grace is part of the new creature and there cannot be godliness without it as is our love so is our joy But then there is joy as a priviledge which as you heard ariseth from the knowledge of our being in the state of grace and this is communicable at Gods pleasure Those that have the most of Gods grace may for a time have the least of it in sense as we see in Christ himself So that we are to distinguish between joy as a grace and joy as a priviledge It 's of the latter the Doctrine is to be understood 3. Yet further The joy that Gods people partake of may be considered either as seated in the soul or as in the sensitive part The one is rational and spiritual The other is sensitive and corporeal For the
own two waies First God hath promised that to him which hath that is which useth and exerciseth his talent more shall be given The more these breasts give suck the more will milk abound Thou maiest therefore look upon Gods promise and expect that while thou art warming others spiritual heat will be encreased in thy own self And Secondly The exercising of graces doth inwardly corroberate and strengthen the principle of grace The moro thou puttest forth thy graces to stirre up others the more delight and joy wilt thou find in using of them Therefore be as the Olive-tree and the Fig-tree of thy fatnesse and sweetnesse enlivening and cherishing of others who stand in need of thee These things promised let us consider some of the choice Particulars wherein we may not only bring good to our own souls but to others also First That spiritual humiliation and brokennesse of heart which thou hast found may be very powerfull to perswade others of the bitternesse of sinne Say with meltings of thy soul to them Oh if thou hadst known if thou hadst ever felt what God hath made me feel what wonderfull changes would be in thee immediately Those sinnes which are honey would presently be as gall Thus it was with David Psal 51. when he could recover from his broken bones when he could enjoy the face of God which was hid from him Then I will teach transgressors thy waies Then his heart could not hold any longer He that had sound how bitter a thing it was to provoke God by sinne would perswade others also of it Thus Christ he bids Peter when he was converted to confirm his Brother To use his own experience to help him So that you see even the very sorrow and grief God hath put thee into let it be a reall Sermon to others Our Saviour made it an aggravation of the Jews wickednesse that if one should rise from the dead they would not believe And certainly if others will not believe thee who art as it were come out of hell who hast been in the depths of Gods displeasure their hearts must needs be much hardned Oh then make use of what God hath made thee feel to be a furtherance to others As Paul Knowing the terrour of the Lord we perswade men 2 Cor. 5. 11. He knew the terrour of the Lord experimentally when he was stricken to the ground in a Vision and found the power of God so wonderfully upon him in making of him another man Secondly The knowledge and true faith which God hath given thee do thou make use of it to direct and preserve others This knowledge and sound mind in Religion is not indeed essentially accompanied with holinesse A man may be very Orthodox be sound in the Faith as Hymeneus and Philetus were a while yet afterwards made shipwrack of all But yet it is a special gift of Gods Spirit to be led into the truth and although to have a sound mind only be not enough to godlinesse yet godlinesse cannot be without a sound mind in some measure or other Every godly man is built upon the true foundation though there may be some hay and stubble which though it shall not damn him because not fundamental heresies yet shall make his salvation the more difficult He shall be saved so as by fire If then God hath preserved thee in the truth and that in times when many fall on thy righthand and on thy left hand having this soul plague and infection upon them let it be thy greater care to reduce such Let them have thy light thy helps and knowledge Put thy light upon the candlestick and not under a bushel Consider that place James 5. 19 20. If any do erre from the truth and one convert him let him know he shall save a soul from death So that you see the salvation or damnation of another is interested in thy improving of sounds knowledge to inform such Howsoever the Apostle Rom. 14. in a particular case about things indifferent adviseth saying Hast thou faith have it to thy self Yet take heed of doing so in fundamental and essential truths of God Do not there have faith to thy self but endeavour that all may be seasoned with the same sound knowledge Even a private Christian though he is not to usurpe the Office of a Teacher yet he hath his proper sphere wherein he may move to propagate the true knowledge of Christ This knowledge then is a talent and expect that God will have an account of the improving of it Say as of comfort in the text so of sound knowledge and truth The Spirit of God hath directed us into the truth that we may also be able to guide others Thirdly Those temptations and assaults which the children of God have are not only for themselves but for others also That they may be able to direct and guide others groaning under the like temptations It is true God worketh a great good for his own people by these fiery darts of Satan 2 Cor. 12. Paul had those buffettings of Satan that he might not be puffed up with those wonderfull revelations he enjoyed There is no such way to keep the gracious soul humble and lowly in its own self as these affrights from the devil Even as vizors and such horrid representations ãâã are children and make them runne home to their Parents so also do these buffettings of Satan and tumults raised by him drive us out of our selves make us highly to prize Christ and his righteousnesse Yea though these temptations be very irksome and into âârable in themselves yet commonly none are such choice spiritual and eminent Christians as those who have been in these combates As dung though noisome in it self yet it maketh the field fruitfull and full of beauty thus do these temptations of Satan to a godly heart But yet this is not all By these the Lord intends them to be admirably usefull to others Alas how many poor afflicted souls especially new beginners new Converts have their trembling hearts suggest to them Who was ever tempted as thou art Can any be the Son of God and have such horrid and vile injections in his soul as thou hast What is this but the beginning of hell in thee Is not damnation already begun upon thee Now for a troubled soul in these whirlepooles to meet with such who are able to say They have been thus and thus these are no new temptations but what hath usually befallen the godly Is not such an one called out by God to pour oyl into such wounds Doth not God plainly speak Therefore hast thou been buffetted tempted and exercised that such bruised and wounded souls may receive comfort from thee Hence it is that Christ himself would be tempted that he might be able to succour those that are tempted Heb. 2. 18. Thus by our temptations we are not only to learn many things but also to teach others But of this more in the second Doctrine
then he only that hath the experimentals either of the bitternesse of sinne or the sweetnesse of the Gospel is only able with a tender heart and hand to cure a wounded soul And certainly if the Apostle make this an Argument Gal. 6. 1. to rejoynt as it were one that is overtaken in a fault because the most spiritual may be tempted how much rather when thou hast been tempted So that this experimental way in holy things worketh much commiseration and sympathizing with those who groan under the hand of God upon them When Judas was in that perplexed agony crying out I have sinned in betraying the innocent blood with what stony and seared hearts did the Pharisees reject him saying What is that to us look thou to that It 's a mercy for broken-hearted sinners to fall into the hands of a tender experienced Believer who hath felt what they feel and so is able to conceive of their sad estate And indeed even as for instruction of the ignorant there needeth much patience so there doth also pitty which will put thee upon unwearied diligence to comfort the dejected For it is not a work soon done they must bear with many infirmities they are full of subtile objections and when they are for a while comforted they loose all presently again insomuch that he must have tender bowels who is not wearied out with their weaknesses Thirdly Such experienced ones are only able to deal with tempted souls to instruct and comfort them because the afflicted find such only reall Such are in earnest He that hath experimentally felt the bitternesse of sinne maketh it manifest to others that it 's not meer Oratory or Eloquence that sets him against sinne but something within that he feeleth burning like fire within The very Heathen could say Si vis me flere dolendum est primo tibi A man that hath not inwardly felt the power of truth upon his heart he is so cold so formall so lazy that you cannot tell whether he believeth the things he preacheth to be true or no. And so also for comfort must it not much satisfie the dejected soul to meet with one under the same temptations under the same fears and yet now prayeth with joy heareth with joy Thou canst find all thy heart as it were in him and yet he is delivered he is comforted who thought it as impossible as I do Whereas if a man be a stranger to these workings of God the tempted soul flyeth off saying He knoweth not how to judge of these things I can give no credit to him Fourthly Such are only able because they alone are faithfull They dare not flatter them they dare not sooth them They will give them no comfort if there be no cause for it Now the truly broken soul loveth this faithfull dealing better then flattery There is a woe to those that made the heart of those merry whom God would have made sad And there are many in the ministerial Office that are unworthy and flattering in this case comforting every one that lyeth a dying though never so prophane Now he that is truly humbled careth not for such a mans comfort he knoweth he will not deal faithfully he will send me to hell with comfort And whereas it is one rule that experienced Divines give to tempted souls That under their fears and doubts they must believe the judgment of the Ministers of God about their condition rather then themselves this must be understood of sound faithfull and experienced Ministers otherwise it is a most dreadfull thing to fall into the hands of fawning flattering Ministers who will encourage them and send them to Heaven when they themselves know not either what true sorrow for sinne or true Evangelical comfort meaneth Use 1. Of Exhortation to the Ministers of Gods Word not to think learning study reading of Books enough to qualifie thee for a Ministerial employment but implore much the work of Gods Spirit herein A good heart a gracious heart will help as well as good Books Do not rest only upon studied and acquired gifts but pray also for infused and inspired Use 2. Of Instruction to the people of God How usefull it is to communicate their gracious experiences one to another much edification much consolation may come hereby Whose sadnesse hast thou comforted Whose deadnesse hast thou quickned It may be thou hast learned a precious receit how to cure such a sinne such a temptation and why doest thou not help others SERM. XLIII It is a special Duty incumbent upon every one both Minister and Christian to apply comforts to the Afflicted in a right manner 2 COR. 1. 4. That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble IN this final cause we considered the Subject who are fit for this comfort and they are said to be such who are in any trouble Those that abound in mercies need no comfort we are not to give honey to such full stomacks But the troubled the afflicted these are they whose condition we are to commiserate From whence observe That it is a special duty in a right manner to comfort those that are in trouble We are not only to seek the conversion of such who go astray but also to regard the consolation of those that lack it Hence Lam. 1. the Church complaineth That she had none to comfort her The Apostle speaketh of this duty often 1 Thess 4. 18. Comfort one another with these things 1 Thess 5. 11 14. Comfort the feeble minded You see by this pressing this duty so often that we are seriously and diligently to practise it lest as God will judge for neglect of corporal alms to fit objects of charity so also he will call to account for the not dispencing of these spiritual alms Thou hast not visited those who were spiritually imprisoned by the guilt of their sins neither fed those with the bread from Heaven who were hungry Hence it is that the Apostle speaking concerning the incestuous person who was now deeply humbled for his sinne 2 Cor. 2. 7. exhorts them to comfort him lest he be swallowed up with too much sorrow We have a notable instance for this in Jobs friends Job 2. 11. who when they heard of all the evil that was come upon him they made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him Thus you see that it is a special duty we are carefully to discharge to refresh the souls of others who are cast down That as the custom was among the Jews and Solomon he giveth a precept about it Prov. 31. 6 7. Give wine unto those that are of an heavy heart that he may drink and remember his misery no more So we are in a spiritual consideration to give the wine of the Gospel to such as mourn for their sins To discover this truth Consider First The troubled as you heard formerly are of two sorts Those who are afflicted in soul as the
publick interest which belongs to all the godly then it followeth what comforts one may and should comfort another The Scripture which was spoken peculiarly to Joshua Paul applieth Heb. 13. to every true believer Christ is a Christ equally to one believer as well as another The godly cannot strive about Christ as those women before Solomon about a childe one said It was mine and the other It is mine one cannot say It is my Christ and not thine but Christ is every believers and yet not divided Let the Use be of Direction to the godly In their application of comforts not to observe personal considerations so much To say a Paul may take comfort a David may but shall such an one as I This is to impropriate where God hath made common SERM. XLV The true and unfeigned owning of Christ is alwaies accompanied with some sometimes with great Afflictions 2 COR. 1. 5. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation aboundeth by Christ THe Apostle doth still amplifie that necessary and special truth viz. of Gods comforting those who are in trouble For the troubles which do constantly follow the waies of Christ are a great stumbling block and offence to many If therefore this be received as a fundamental maxime Christs Consolations are more then our sufferings then we shall no longer be afraid but see that the Lyon is killed and we may find honey in him In the text therefore the Apostle is illustrating this precious Doctrine shewing that God doth not only comfort but he comforteth proportionably If great afflictions if overflowing afflictions then great comforts and overflowing comforts So that in the words we may observe two Propositions first absolutely considered and then secondly comparatively The first Proposition absolute is That the sufferings of Christ abound in us The second That our Consolation aboundeth by Christ Christ is the cause of our afflictions and Christ is the cause of our joy Thirdly The Comparison lyeth in the terms of similitude and proportion As our sufferings abound so our consolation also aboundeth Let us consider the first Proposition absolutely The sufferings of Christ abound in us The sufferings of Christ ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is sometimes used for the affections of sinne as Rom. 7. 5. Gal. 5. 24. And indeed these were ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to Paul in another sense for he suffered and groaned under them But here in the text and in many other places it 's applied to afflictions and sufferings This is of various acception for sometimes it may be taken subjectively for those sufferings which Christ himself indured For though he was without sinne yet being our Surety he suffered for that yea he suffered every way God and man so that his sufferings were more dreadfull then the sufferings of all men put together In these sufferings is contained the treasure of all our peace and joy of which the Scripture speaketh abundantly and fully But with this our text doth not meddle Therefore in the next place The sufferings of Christ may be understood indeed of those he is affected with but yet it is in his Members not in his own Person This is a very comfortable truth that the sufferings of a godly man for Christs Cause Christ accounts them as his sufferings he taketh it as done to himself Thus Christ though glorified in Heaven saith Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Act. 9. 4 5. Christ is imprisoned Christ is buffetted Christ is reproached and mocked in them As it is comfortable to the godly so it is as terrible to all those who trouble and revile the godly for Christs sake as too many do though they think with Pilate to wash their hands and say they are innocent I mean the carnal and prophane ones of the world whose rage if God did not restrain would be as that Haman to the whole Nation of the Jews not leave one alive But this is not chiefly meant here though this be not to be excluded 2. The sufferings of Christ may be understood exemplarily by way of conformity to Christ That we suffer as he suffered In which particular Rom. 8. we are said to be conforme unto his Image 1 Pet. 4. 13. we are commanded to rejoyce when we are partakers of Christs sufferings That is when we have a communion and fellowship with him For if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him This is part of the meaning But then 3. That which is the principal and chiefest meaning of the phrase is to understand it causally those sufferings we indure because of Christ For owning his way for continuance in his Discipleship For the way of Christ being contrary to the course of the world hence it is that they are stirred up as so many hornets They are the Serpents seed and are of their Father the devil who was a murderer from the beginning and therefore if the godly will cleave to Christ they must expect no mercy from the world The second thing in the Proposition is the attribute ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã abounds It is not only ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in the plural number but also ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Chrysostome understands it comparatively to Christ as if the meaning were We suffer more then Christ Christ indeed said of his Disciples they should do greater works and miracles then he did but it is impossible they should suffer more then he did For his death was not only a Martyrdome but a Propitiation being a Sacrifice offered up for the sinnes of many The word then only sheweth That the Sons of God may not only suffer but their sufferings may abound may overflow so that both in number and weight they may greatly exceed Lastly In the Proposition it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã not ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as in the reddition it followeth which may be thought emphatical although it is usuall so to change Prepositions and Cases ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The words thus explained Observe That a true and faithfull owning of Christ and his way is accompanied with sufferings yea sometimes overflowing and excessive sufferings The Apostle takes it here for granted supposeth it as a received truth that Christs way and sufferings are alwaies together As the Sun and shadow as the Rose and prickes So that what was said of Christ is true also of every Member It behoved him to suffer and so enter into glory Christianus is Crucianus said Luther of old I only adde in the Doctrine A true and unfeigned receiving of Christ For if so be we take only some truths and some parts of Christs way and leave those which most enrage and trouble the world if we take his Doctrine and not his Discipline his truth and not his godly order the world is lesse moved So if of his truths we take some that are more speculative and leave the
the reproach amongst men That which the carnal heart is so afraid of the Scripture makes matter of joy and of glorifying God for it Secondly It being therefore so glorious a thing it is good to inform you What it is to suffer for Christ For we may be the devils Martyrs suffer as offenders or as busybodies suffer for heresies and the works of the flesh yet perswade and flatter our selves that we suffer for Christ Now to clear this we must consider what is required ex parte objecti on the behalf of the matter we suffer for And 2. What is required ex parte subjecti what qualifications ought to be in him who doth suffer for Christ And for the Object matter the Scripture describeth it in these Particulars First That what a man suffereth for it must not be for any sinne that is justly punishable by the Law It must not be for our folly and busy medling in such things wherein we have no call The Apostle Peter 1 Pet. cap. 3. 15 16. speaketh notably to this for giving the people of God in that Chapter great encouragements to suffer he cometh in with a caution They must take heed for what they suffer which is laid down positively and then oppositly Positively as a Christian it must be for professing and doing such things as Christ requireth Let it not be strange fire but the fire from the Altar If thou wouldst have comfort it must be for doing that which as a Christian thou art bound to do And the opposite to this is to suffer as a murderer as a thief or which is more general as a busybody in other mens matters ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is one who busily spyeth into and medleth with those things that he hath no call to it 's not his Office to deal in Now this must not be understood as the world will judge a man a busybody If a Minister a Magistrate or any in Office be zealous against sin and see to the punishing of it the prophane ones of the world call this an an hot busy medling So if private Christians cannot bear the impieties they see committed in the places where they live but do faithfully and boldly admonish and reprove such offenders and if this doth no good then they will proceed further to the Magistrate and Officers to complain of such that sinne may be punished God honoured and publique judgments prevented If I say private Christians be thus stirring as they ought to be unlesse they will have other mens sins lie at their doors and they become thereby very guilty then what an out-cry is made these are factious troublesome disquieting follows So that to judge who is a busy-body and when a man is guilty of it you must have recourse to the Scripture and to sound casuistical Divinity applying the general rules of Scripture to particulars and not to the common voice and noise of people in the world That good zealous Prophet for God Elisah who because he burned with fire for God had a wonderfull reward thereof to be carried up in a fiery Charriot to Heaven yet because he would not endure the ungodlinesse of Ahab and Jezebell what is said to him Then art the troubler of Israel They condemn him for a busy-body whereas indeed Ahab by his wickednesse as the Prophet said was the troubler of the Land In suffering then for Christ we see much prudence as well as zeal is required yet so as not to regard the censure of the world For who ever suffered for Christ and their persecutors did not represent them so odiously as that they might seem to deserve it This is the first thing Secondly For the object matter The Scripture expresseth it another time for the Name of Christ Mat. 19. 29. Whosoever shall for sake houses lands c. for my Names sake Job 15. 21. All these things will they do to you for my Names sake What is Christs name not only the Person of Christ himself but as the Name of God is that whereby God is known so is the Name of Christ Yea under this is comprehended those Doctrines and that Faith which Christ had delivered to us The truths of Christ are to be dearer to us then ourlives Hence it was that Christianity hath amazed the world with those millions and millions of Martyrs that have been for the faith of Christ It was a wicked opinion of the Priscillianists of old That a man migh lye dissemble and forswear the truths of Christ bow to Idols and communicate with heathens in any bodily worship so as they kept the true faith in their hearts But this is directly opposite to Scripture Rom. 10. 16. With the heart man believeth and with the month confession is made to salvation To salvation So that a man cannot be saved though he doth in his heart believe if he do not when it is casus confessionis a case of confession confesse also with his mouth the same faith And Rom. 11. 4. The true worshippers of God in Eliahs time are described not only by their inward grace but externally also that they did not bow their knee to Baal It is true there is a difference between profession and confession strictly taken As Cyprian Maluit nos Dous confiteri fidem non profiteri To professe is to do it ultroneously of our own accord when we are not called to it as some of the Martyrs would do crying out Christianus sum I am a Christian for which they were put to death And this could not be excused in them unlesse we say an extraordinary heroical frame of spirit was at that time infused into them by the Holy Ghost This voluntary profession when danger is is not required Yea in lesser truths we are not to professe them so as to disturbe the faith of others So the Apostle Rom. 14. 22. Hast thou faith have it to thy self But then in case of confession when the glory of God the good of the Church and our own salvation requireth it then we are to confesse the truths of Christ though we loose all It is the great glory attributed by Paul to Christ that 1 Tim. 6. 13. before Pontius Pilate he witnessed a good confession To suffer then for Christ it is to loose all for his Truth for his Faith when he requireth Therefore though Heretiques may glory in their sufferings and they be canonized as Saints amongst their Disciples yet they will be sound to have lost their blood in vain and that they were not the Lord Christs but the devils Martyrs The Donatists of old yea those Circumcelliones that would kill themselves and like mad men would make others kill them did triumph in the name of Martyrs The Messaliani also because they were punished for their Idols called themselves Martyriani the Martyrians as if they only were the Martyrs How greatly are the Popish Calenders filled with their saints when yet some of them dyed of desperate and
man He suffered in his Name in all reproach and ignominy dying a most accursed death and shalt thou be so tender and delicate as not to indure the mocks and rages of men for him Shall Christ be in cruce and thou in luce Christ in convitiis and thou in conviviis Christ in patibulo and thou in Paradiso as Gerhard expresseth it Oh fear left this prove dreadfull at the latter end SERM. XLVII What Qualifications they must be endowed with who suffer in a right manner for Christ 2 COR. 1. 5. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ WHat it is to suffer for Christ ex parte objects in respect of the matter for which hath already been dispatched We now proceed to shew What is required ex parte subjecti What are the qualifications necessary in him who doth truly suffer for Christ When we read of so many glorious priviledges promised to such as are troubled for Christs sake you must know that their bare suffering no not for that which is righteous is enough to entitle them to this blessedness but there must be the Adverb as well as the Nown it must not only be pro bono but benè for that which is good but also in a good manner for suffering and martyrdome it self as all other duties is not integrated of all its causes as it is not enough to pray to hear though these for the matter be commanded but they must be done in an holy and spiritual manner Thus it is not enough to suffer or to be persecuted and that for Christs sake unlesse also we have that holy frame of heart in suffering which Gods word doth require Let us then examine this truth viz. What are the requisites to qualifie a true sufferer for Christ When his cause is good his heart his ends also must be good Therefore that ordinary saying Causa non poena facit Martyrem The cause not the punishment doth make a Martyr must be further limited for the cause doth not unlesse there be also those concomitant graces in the subject as well as there is truth in the object and we shall find this suffering temper to have as curious ingredients into it as there was into that precious ointment made for the high Priest alone and no wonder for it is the highest pitch of love we can arrive at to suffer for him and it is the most contrary to flesh and blood So that âone can do this for Christ but such who are wonderfully enabled by him First Therefore in a sufferer for Christ there is required Faith in the eminent and powerfull actings thereof It is as impossible to suffer without faith as a bird to flie without wings It 's faith alone that can remove these mountains in the Sea Heb. 11. Those great exploits the Saints did yea and those wonderfull sufferings they underwent is attributed by the Apostle wholly to their faith Now this faith requisite to true suffering for Christ emptieth it self into two chanels there must be a Dogmatical Faith and a Fiducial Faith A Dogmatical Faith is that whereby a man is assured of the truths be suffereth for as divine and because of Divine Authority Faith must be as Heb. 11. 1. an ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The substance and evidence of things For if a man have not this faith it 's obstinacy and pertinacy not faith that maketh him suffer as we see in Hereticks Hence also it is that a meer Opinionist or Sceptick in Religion will never suffer for Christ because he hath no faith but opinion in Religion So likewise those who are of a Religion meerly for humane Authority sake because of the custome and Laws where they live commanding such a Religion as those amongst the Graecians that were called Melchitae because they followed the Religion the King was of though indeed the Orthodox were so branded by the Heretical party Vide Hornbeck de Graecis These cannot suffer truly for Christ Indeed they may suffer for their Religion as it 's local and traditional to them as Turks and Jews do but yet this is not from faith which doth necessarily relate to divine testimony This then cuts off the glory which Hereticks and erroneous persons may boast of if they suffer truly they suffer with a true Faith if they have a true Faith that can be proved and demonstrated out of Gods Word And when we say a Dogmatical Faith that must be understood in respect of its compleatnesse and integrity as to Fundamentals No man can suffer truly for Christ that peremptorily denieth any I undamental if he hold the foundation though he build hay and stubble superstructive errours yet if he do not demolish any of the foundation stones he may be saved but so as by fire And truly is this charity be not allowed we shall scarce find any person or Church truly suffering for Christ For where hath there been such a sound faith in Fundamentals circa-fundamentals and praeter-fundamentals as that there hath not been any spot or wrinkle in the face of the Church This prerogative belongs to the Church in Heaven They therefore suffer for Christ who are persecuted for his truths though happily they erre in many things not necessary to salvation But if they deny any Fundamentals I do not say doubt and that for a season as the Apostles did about the nature of Christs Kingdome and his Resurrection and that with persevering obstinacy then though he suffer for one Fundamental yet because he denieth another he doth in effect destroy the whole building of Christ Thus when a Macedonian suffered for holding the Deity of Christ being put to death by an Arian the primitive Church never judged him a Martyr because he denied the Deity of the Holy Ghost There is therefore required a sound Dogmatical Faith for which cause some have doubted Whether the Church did well in making all those infants which were killed by Herod because of Christ in reckoning them among Martyrs For they did not know any thing of Christ neither it may be many of their parents had any true faith about him Certainly ly they cannot be called Martyrs or Sufferers for Christ in an active fense but passively only The second act of faith is a fiducial dependance on the promise of God and his Power which is able to raise up the heart above all fears and discouragements yea to represent prisons palaces and coals of fire beds of roses such a transubstantiating nature is faith of It was faith Heb. 11. which made Moses esteem the reproaches of Christ more than all the glory and honour which was in Pharaoh's court especially faith as it is the substance of things hoped for As it maketh Heaven and glory present so it 's admirably quickning and enlivening the heart of him that suffereth It is therefore called The shield of faith which above all or to all as some expound we
threaten persecution yet from and in Christ he can abundantly rejoyce And indeed this is the wine the carnal man never drinketh of the honey he never tasted of The world is a stranger to this joy in Christ They rejoyce in riches in honours in worldly advantages but they know not what it is to rejoyce in Christ as our Mediator and treasure of all fulnesse Phil. 3. 3. They are said to be the circumcision who rejoyce in Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh As therefore in the day time we see the Sunne only and no Stars Thus the people of God in their sufferings behold Christ the Sunne of Righteousnesse and as for the Stars of the creatures they do not afford any light What made the Martyrs leap for joy Could they take any comfort from the world No that was an Aegypt to them a valley of tears so that it was in Christ only that they did rejoyce For want of the knowledge and experience of this it is that the unsound professor will deny Christ and his truth rather then suffer the losse of any thing because he feeleth more sweetnesse more pleasure in his goods in his pleasures in this world then he can do in Christ It is the gracious heart that can thus rejoyce in Christ In the next place Let us consider How many wayes Christ doth make our consolations in sufferings for his sake to abound And First Christ doth it by assuring and perswading of our hearts concerning those truths and righteous actions we do suffer for If comfort arise from suffering for Christ then the more assured we are that we do suffer for him the greater is our consolation If a man have great doubts in his heart whether he suffers for Christ or not Whether it be a truth or an errour that he is troubled for Whether he was a busie-body or not Whether he did keep within his calling and bounds or not If I say there be these hesitances and disceptations in his mind How can he have any comfort Therefore that our comfort may be full Christ giveth us the riches of assurance in our understanding Faith becomes the evidence and strong conviction Heb. 11. upon their souls insomuch that they know they are in the truth They know it's righteousnesse they suffer for Thus you may observe the Apostles in all the oppositions they met with from the world and all the malice of Satan yet never questioning or doubting whether they were deluded or no but were fully assured of those things they did preach Now this consideration is the more to be taken notice of because the sufferings for Christ in the latter age of the Church have differed wonderfully from the former For in the primitive persecutions their sufferings did arise from Heathens and Pagans it was for professing of Christ and opposing of Idolatry Now these things were plain here was no disputing But then in the after-ages of the Church when Hereticks got power especially when Antichrist was exalted and the Papacy lifted up with all strength then those that did persecute pretended Christ that what they did they did for the honour and glory of Christ and those who did suffer though indeed for Christ yet were reputed enemies to Christ And this is that which makes suffering for Christ to be a more difficult thing in these later dayes The Papists that have put to death so many Protestants defend themselves with these glorious Titles That they are onely the Church of Christ That Christ is onely amongst them That all who withdraw obedience from the Pope are out of the Ark out of hope of Salvation That it is service to Christ to root them out and therefore the Doctrines suffered for were not about the Trinity the Incarnation of Christ the Resurrection for which of old believers suffered from Pagans but about Transubstantiation the Universal Jurisdiction of the Pope the Infallibility of the Church the worshipping of Images and praying to Saints The Popish party pleading for these as allowed of by Christ The Protestant abhorring of them as Idolatry and also injurious to Christ Now on the Papists side was the whole Christien world almost all the learned men all the great men all the devout religious men they were zealous this way and the Martyrs they were but few comparatively many of them private men and women What a temptation was here to those that suffered How easily might they think what am I wiser than all Is it likely God would reveal that to me which he denieth to others more learned Besides they dispute they bring Scripture and Fathers May not I be deluded May not the Devil transforme himself into an Angel of light and so deceive me Truly such temptations would quickly have blown down the house had it been built onely upon sand but the Martyrs were established upon a Rock Christ gave them full assurance of those truths they lost all for and this made way for their great comfort This conviction then and assurance of faith wrought by the Spirit of God is that which is the root of our comfort whereas doubtings and fears would disquiet all It is true Luther speaketh of himself That he had many times such thoughts Tunè solus sapis Art thou onely wise What if thou art damned and drawest others to Hell with thee And when a grave Divine came to him complaining of this temptation That of the Evangelical Doctrine which he preached he could not find that Faith and Assurance upon his soul he desired which was a bitter trouble to him Luther upon the disclosing of this brake out saying I think God I have met with one tempted as I am tempted There were it may be some temptations and doubts sometimes upon the spirits of those who did suffer for there was flesh still remaining in them and the Devil was desirous to winnow them but yet the power of Faith and the evidence of Divine Authority in the truths they suffered for would at last like the Sunne break forth and dissipate those mists Therefore pray much for the guidance of Gods Spirit herein through the Word that thy comfort may be sure The Heretick that suffers because he hath a false and erroneous perswasion therefore he hath a false and a deceitfull comfort and therefore is but like one in a dream pleasing himself with great imaginations when he awakeneth poor and hungry but the true sufferer he hath joy and he knoweth his joy is good and upon âound grounds which never can be taken away Secondly Christ doth comfort by informing of us aforehand of all the troubles and sufferings which will necessarily accompany the true profession of faith in his Name Is not our Saviour often upon this subject Doth he not frequently fore-tell his Disciples what reproach and hatred they shall meet with Doth not the Scripture also in several places insist upon this point That all who will live godly must suffer many tribulations That the
them So that their sufferings were not for the salvation but the destruction of many through the sinne and indiscretion of after ages It is true there is a lawfull and due honouring of God for his graces bestowed on those Worthies yet they were but the pens Gods Spirit was the ready writer they were but the vessels God poured that curious ointment in them It was not they so much as God in and by them for they were men like us subject to carnal and worldly fears they were reeds of themselves ready to be shaken by every wind but God established them So that it is our duty to blesse God who gave such power and grace to men yea and we are in a civil way to honour and love them to desire to imitate them to make them examples for us to follow If the Papists had gone no further we and they should have been at concord in this point but from imitation they fall to adoration And although they heap up as many distinctions as Samson did men by his slaughter Heap upon heap to clear themselves in this matter yet it is but vitreum acumen these glasses are quickly broken That the name of such who suffer for Christ should be like a precious ointment and an honourable esteem of them be had alwayes in the Church none can deny Therefore those moral respects vouchsafed to them in the primitive times are not to be blamed as the regarding of the judgement of a Martyr as much or more than any Bishop or Doctor As also when any had fallen by infirmity in times of persecution such repenting did first go to the Confessours in prisons that were Candidates or designed Martyrs intreating their favour and desiring liberty of admission into Church-communion from them which the Church received they making publick satisfaction in respect of scandal by serious humiliation but this afterwards began to be greatly abused and Cyprian complaineth of it therefore it was at last justly abrogated howsoever such respects as were meerly moral are to be allowed but for religious considerations to do any thing to them that is unjustifiable A learned man thinketh that the Prophecy spoken of by Peter 2 Tim. 4. 1. which tels of an Apostasie bringing in Doctrines of daimons as he explains it is the worshipping of these Saints departed and that this was the great Apostasie of the Church Whether that be the intent of the holy Ghost is not here to be disputed Certainly there was great Apostasie in the Church from primitive simplicity when they began to worship such who had been Martyrs yea their reliques they would in a religious manner preserve and adore praying also unto them and expecting both soul-mercies and body-mercies from them Here this wine did begin to turn into vinegar and contrary to Christ they turned wine into water that which was only for example and imitation they turned to Adoration and worship wherein they did not only derogate from the glory due to Christ but even those Confessors and glorious Martyrs themselves were they corporally present would with Paul and Barnabas rend their cloaths and refuse such worship Certainly if the Angel did forbid John from worshipping him saying He was his fellow-servant and therefore he must worship God How much more would the Martyrs who were subject to like passions as we are Though therefore the godly are afflicted and persecuted for our comfort and salvation yet take heed of superstitious excesse about them turning imitation into religious adoration Thirdly Those that suffer may be very usefull to encourage us but then we must be sure they be such who do indeed suffer for Christ. For no doubt all those who have suffered in any false way The Heretick for his heresies the Papist for his Idolatry and superstition have greatly confirmed those that were of that perswasion They did greatly comfort and animate others that did believe them to be the true Martyrs of Christ So that we may say of such contrary to that in the Text They are afflicted for the destruction and damnation of others Others are hardened in their Idolatries and Heresies by their sufferings Look we then that we do propound right paterns to our selves that we be not deceived as sometimes in Popery they have worshipped the bone of an Asse or an horse for a Saints relique for the Devil hath his Martyrs Heresie hath her Martyrs yea vain-glory hath had many Martyrs And Austin saith It is possible for a man who dieth for the truth yet to have no other motive but vain-glory The Apostle affirmeth it also 1 Cor. 13. when he supposeth a man may give his body to be burnt and yet for want of charity be a tinkling cymbal or it will profit him nothing This is so secret a sinne and we are so prone to it that the Heathens did charge it upon all the Christians though falsly and maliciously that they suffered only for vain-glory being the more induced to think so because the Christians did in such an excessive manner give honour and praise to them These things premised let us consider how the afflictions of others for Christs cause work to our comfort and salvation First We shall have the greater assurance and perswasion of those Divine Truths upon our souls that they are not the meer inventions of men or delusions of our own souls For how can it but greatly assure us that if this were not the truth of God they could never have that comfort that courage that evidence and demonstration upon their hearts the presence of God with them in those exquisite sufferings do demonstrate that the truths are of God as well as the power and comforts to be of him It is true indeed the meer suffering and that with some joy the most exquisite torments For a religious opinion doth not presently argue that it is a divine truth that it hath Gods superscription upon it For many heretical and deluded spirits have demonstrated much confidence and comfort yet on the other side there cannot be an external greater sign of our love to the truth and that it is of God then by patient suffering for it And therefore though Hereticks die though Papists die for their Religion as well as the true Martyr yet the frame of their spirits and concomitant dispositions are greatly different For as their minds are corrupted with error so also are their hearts and affections unsanctified and therefore discover not the sweet and gracious workings of Gods Spirit upon them as the true sufferer doth So that it was not meerly suffering it was not meerly torments but the patience faith and heavenly mindednesse their love even to their very enemies that did draw out others to love them So that when we see others can be imprisoned executed for such Doctrines and they be full of an heavenly mortified gracious heart at that time this must needs work in us a greater assurance of the truth especially this doth confirm the
16. 9. where he said A great door and effectual was opened to him at Ephesus that was in Asia the lesse but there were many adversaries and these no doubt did endeavour to bring him into much danger So 1 Cor. 15. 32. he is said there To fight with beasts at Ephesus whether he understand beasts truly and properly or metaphorically men as wild and as savage as beasts all sheweth the extream danger he was in It may seem probable that the Apostle related to this only it is objected That the trouble here mentioned was but lately done and such as the Corinthians had not yet heard of Therefore the general current of most Interpreters do conclude that the Apostle meaneth that danger he was in mentioned Acts 19. by Demetrius and others when the whole City of Ephesus was in an uproar because of the Temple of Diana concerning which they so vehemently accused Paul for there we read was a popular sedition and the City was in a great confusion Demetrius and his company were in a mad rage against Paul So that although Luke doth not in particular mention the extream and grievous danger Paul was in yet it may well be concluded from the general Thus Calvin and many others So that this foundation being laid and this supposed to be the trouble We may observe That the faithfull Ministers of the Gospel are sure to meet with much opposition from all such who regard Religion no further than it maketh for their carnal advantage and interest A necessary truth this is for hereby every one whose heart riseth against the powerfull preaching of the Word may examine himself What is the motive thereof What is the cause thereof Though he may pretend this specious colour and that fair glosse yet it is some lust or other some carnal advantage or other that doth indeed kindle that flame in his brest That this Doctrine may be the better conceived let us take notice What was the cause that brought this trouble upon Paul at Ephesus and we shall there see how the same causes do still make men mad and bitter enemies against the wayes of God The History we have related Acts 19. from vers 23. to the end of the Chapter it is there declared That no small stirre did arise about that way that is the Evangelical way the Gospel way preached by Paul The occasion whereof was by one Demetrius a silver-smith which made-silver shrines for Diana that is little Images made for the worship of Diana which was a trade of very great profit and advantage to him and others of the like craft therefore he consults with them and useth two arguments to enrage them First That their craft would be in danger The trade they lived upon would fall to the ground And this certainly was that which did most prevail with him and by this we see how hard a matter it is to part with a profession or way of life though never so sinfull if it be a profitable way The matter of profit will be like dust in our eyes to hinder our sight it is ready to put out all spiritual discerning in the conscience between good and evil just and unjust So that we are greatly to suspect our hearts in those things that are matter of profit to us lest they deceive us therein The second Argument is religious Though his heart be carnal yet he runneth to the Sanctuary of Religion The former Argument was too grosse if it had been alone and therefore he maketh Religion the greatest The great Goddesse Diana shall be despised her magnificence destroyed Now this he maketh a very hainous sinne because all Asia and the world worshipped her Thus you see multitude universality and the custome of others that is the great reason he hath to perswade for the worshipping of Diana which is the same argument that carnal and superstitious people do still possesse their souls with So that from this historical passage you see the Doctrine genuinely deduced That men who regard Religion no further than they have carnal advantages are like so many Toads full of poison full of rage against such as do faithfully preach the Gospel Therefore in this very Chapter we have a notable instance of the work of Gods grace upon some who believed for they brought their Books of curious Arts which had been gainfull and profitable to them and burnt them before all men though the price of them was found to be fifty pieces of silver They mattered not their gain nor their profit they would part with all now they had received the Gospel in the power of it We have a parallel History with this of Demetrius Act. 16. 19. where there was a possessed Damsel that had a spirit of divination which brought her Masters much gain by soothsaying but Paul adjureth and dispossesseth that spirit whereupon it is said When her Masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone They took Paul and Silas and carried them to the Rulers laying great crimes to their charge Thus if we do search to the true ground of all that malice which the Chief-priests vented against Christ never ceasing till they had crucified him although they pretended Religion and because he spake blasphemy and did break the Sabbath yet the real cause was because he discovered their hypocrisie and covetousnesse manifesting that they sought only great things for themselves This also Paul chargeth upon his enemies the false Apostles who did create so much trouble and grief to him That they were enemies to the crosse of Christ and did mind earthly things Phil. 3. 19. Thus also Gal. 6. 12. They made a shew in the flesh that they might not suffer persecution But we come more more particularly to enlarge this And First You may take notice That there are two sorts of persons who do with much violence and despite oppose the holy truths and wayes of Christ First Such who may have such an absolute blindnesse and meer errour upon their mind that they take the true Religion to be blasphemy and horrible reproach to God and on the other side they take Idolatry and superstition to be the onely true service of God and therefore that they cannot do more acceptable service unto God then to oppose that way of Religion which yet indeed is only approved of by God Of such our Saviour spake to his Disciples John 16. 2. Whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service and of this number was Paul who professeth that he once thought himself bound to set against the Name of Jesus of Nazareth Act. 26. 9. Here we see Paul so convinced in his judgement that if he did not with all his power and might oppose the way of Christ he thought it would have been his great sinne And thus no doubt it may be the case of many deluded Hereticks and Papists so that they shall be perswaded there cannot be more acceptable work unto God then that they should
their rust cleansing out their spots they would quickly become very loath some and unclean Now in the pursuing of this Doctrine because I have already opened the nature of this self-trusting I shall only aggravate the evil of it that because the godly are so prone to it they may the more bewail it and watch against it And certainly the people of God doe not thinke and meditate upon the evil of this sinne enough you heare them complaining often of other sinnes they lie heavy upon their hearts but very little of this whereas this is like sweet poison it destroyeth and you feele it not And First It must nneds be a sinne highly displeasing God Because he doth so severely chastise his own people to prevent this sinne The sharper physick is given the greater danger of the disease God would not have exercised Paul thus above his strength but that he might see his own feebleness and infirmity and might accordingly trust in God onely Lighter and lesser afflictions do not drive thee out of all humane props thou hast some creature-consideration or other that doth make thee bear up thy heart but when God cuts every rope and drives the ship into the midst of the Sea among waves and tempests then thou art provoked to look up unto God Let then the children of God lay to heart this sinne more and examine themselves in every affliction that doth befall them Thou many times sayest Oh that I could find out the sinne the Jonah that hath raised this tempest Oh that I knew what was the peculiar corruption God would bring me in mind of by this trouble upon me Why try and search whether thou hast not secretly trusted in thy own self or in some earthly hopes Whether thy heart hath been weaned from all things It may be there is this or that creature thou doest inordinately lean upon and therefore because thou doest not yet trust in God with all thy heart he doth thus imbitter thy condition to thee Insomuch that were the children of God in no danger of self-dependance or creature-dependance they should seldome meet with the rod of God upon their backs Who was a man of greater afflictions and exercises than David was And who speaketh more of trusting in God than he doth This he learned by all his temptations Secondly This sinne is to be aggravated Because it is such a secret close imbred sinne it is the last sinne that will be mortified There is a difficulty of finding it out and a difficulty of overcoming it when it is discovered and both these make it the more dangerous and damnable sinne It is difficult to find it out This sinne like Saul hideth it self behind the stuff you may search and search as they did for the Spies in Rahab's house but because something or other covereth this sinne therefore you passe it by undiscerned How apt are we to say I do not trust in my graces I do not trust in my gifts Would you not have me to take notice of them How can I then be thankfull to God How can I bless God for them And for my graces Do not all Divines say though they may not trust in them yet they may take them as comfortable signs of Gods favour and thereupon rejoyce before God yea and plead them against the accusation of Satan or as an argument to God not by way of merit but because of the gracious promise made by God to our graces after this manner Hezekiah under the sentence of death prayed Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with an upright heart 2 King 20. 3. Thus also Paul did I have fought a good fight henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory 2 Tim. 4. 7. All this is true godly men are allowed to take comfort from their graces and thankfully to receive the evidences of Gods love thereby but how hard a matter is it to stay there and go no further How difficultly are consolations from them and confidence in them separated one from another Even as to have riches and not to trust in riches so to have grace and not trust in grace and the rather by how much grace is accounted a more excellent thing then wealth As it is hard to find it out so no lesse difficult to overcome it Caesar had some enemies of whom he said it was Difficilius invenire quam vincere but it is not so with this corruption Paul himself cannot so quickly shake off this viper that sticketh not to his hand but close to the heart For as faith is therefore the most difficult grace because it carrieth us out of our selves out of the creatures out of all things and fixeth the heart upon God alone So on the contrary this is the sinne that is most easie and where unto we are most propense with the worme we crawl upon the ground our feeblenesse and infirmity is such that we must have churches to rest upon and till faith be made perfect we cannot but catch hold upon some reed or other though never so weak Thirdly It being an heart-sinne It may be frequently committed in a day in an hour Thy heart is alwayes in motion it never lieth still now every time it moveth it may put forth some carnal dependance or other upon the creature Thus whereas many sins cannot be often committed there are many things concurrent ere they can be accomplished This may be committed as often as there is the twinkling of the eye The air then may not be fuller of Atomes or the sea of water than thy heart of carnal confidences And certainly every time God is not made thy refuge every time thou doest not rest under his shadow so often doest thou put trust in something else than God onely Take heed then of that sinne which like the Poets Hydra as often as thou cuttest off their Heads new ones arise again in the room thereof That the emptying of thy heart is like emptying of a lively and quick spring the more water is cast out the more new cometh in immediately Fourthly This trusting in any thing but God is a very great sinne Because it is a making of the creature a God and so a breach of that first Commandment wherein we are forbidden to have any other gods but the true one Now how great a sinne Idolatry is the Scripture doth every where speak Thou therefore that abhorrest to worship a stock or a stone who darest not fall down before an Idol to doe reverence thereunto How often doest thou as bad in thy heart to the creatures Yea many times some Idolaters did worship the true God they did not erre in the object onely they formed sinfull representations of God to themselves As the Israelites in that Calf which they made crying out These are thy gods O Israel And this Idolatry is not so bad as when that which is not the true God is set up for him
Though a bruised reed breaketh him more though but a smoaking flax yet ready to quench it this I say is adjudged by those who labour under it worse then death more bitter then death We have a remarkable instance for this in Heman Psalme 88. where Verse 14 15 16. he maketh bitter complaint under soul-terrours Why castest thou off my soul why hidest thou thy face from me While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted and Verse 3. he saith He was free from amongst the dead as the slain that lye in the grave whom God remembreth no more Yea his temptation doth so overcloud him that he seemeth to question the truth of our Doctrine v. 10. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise and praise thee This good man must needs be greatly dejected when he doubteth of this for nothing is more ordinary with God then to shew wonders to the dead and therefore had he but possessed his heart with this truth he had been able to walk on those waters whereas now he is ready to sink had he concluded saying Oh my soul why art thou cast down within thee what though thou art dead yet it is God that raiseth the dead the dead have cause to praise him this would have revived him Yea God for the most part will not come in to help till we look upon our selves as dead even as Christ did delay till Lazarus was dead and putrifying in the grave that so his glorious power might be the more discovered in restoring of him to life Indeed the Psalmist might have argued that if God should âuite forsake him suffering him to be swallowed up in despaire Do those that despaire do they praise thee Do the damned in Hell blesse and glorifie thy name If then in these sad and bitter temptations upon thy soul thou wouldst have some worke to get into then remember this truth God raiseth the dead Thus we have heard in what particulars this Doctrine is true let us now consider what is implyed in this expression God raiseth the dead And 1. It supposeth That Gods own Children may be brought into an helplesse and hopelesse estate They may be in a Wildernesse so that if God doth not extraordinarily provide Manna for them they will perish for you must know that this is attributed to God chiefly for the godly mans sake For though the wicked may sometimes be delivered from imminent dangers yet that is by the generall providence of God who doth in Heaven and Earth what he pleaseth but the godly are delivered from the speciall love of God and his peculiar promise to them of being their God So that it is in this case as it is in the Resurrection all men shall be raised from the dead even the wicked as well as the just only the wicked shall be raised by the power of God as a just judge but the godly as Members of Christ and from that speciall Covenant of grace God made with them and upon this foundation Luke 20. 37. doth Christ prove the Resurrection because he is the God of Abraham the God of Isaack and the God of Jacob. These are mentioned rather then Noah or Enoch when yet God was also their God because to those the promise of grace was either at first made or afterwards repeated As therefore because God is a God in Covenant he will raise up their dead bodies so from this relation he will raise thee up from thy extreame necessities yet this supposeth that God though he loveth us so as to deliver from evill yet he will not alwayes prevent the evill 2. Here is implyed That God hath an immediate soveraignty and dominiââ over all conditions and estates be they never so bitter and hopelesse We cannot say of the true God that he is the God of the Vallies but not of the Hils also When that Lord would not believe God could on a suddaine provide such incredible plenty he was severely punished for it The Israelites also are taken notice of for limiting God Psal 78 9. Though God had given them water yet say they Can he furnish a Table in the Wilderness Oh how often are we guilty of such distrust though God hath done thus and thus yet can he do this also But he raiseth the dead he hath a command over all things Hence God is said 1 Cor. 1. 28. To choose things that are not thereby to confound things that are So that there is no tentation no affliction but God can command it and work what he pleaseth out of it for thy good he can raise up Children to Abraham out of stones he can make Grapes to grow of Thornes and Figs of Thistles 3. There is implyed That our extremities are Gods opportunities They are the proper time to work in and not before Why doth he not say God that healeth the sick that comforteth the sorrowfull but instanceth in the utmost of all that raiseth the dead but to shew that it is commonly Gods way to delay his help till it be at the very outmost Christ would not turne water into Wine till all was spent When the poor creeple that lay so long by the Poole side said I have no man to help me then Christ healed him It became a Proverbe in the Church of old In the Mount the Lord will be seen God lets Abraham alone till he was lifting up his hand to give a mortall blow and then God appeareth providing also a Ram in Isaacs stead Thus it was also with Abraham God provideth him a Son out of a dead Wombe that so his glory may be more exalted commonly a godly mans Isaacs his joyes and comforts are brought out of the dead Wombe of the Creatures What more is to be said herein will come in seasonably in the next Verse Let us from the premisses make this Use Doth God raise even the dead and may such put trust in God Then shame and reprove thy saying oh me slow to believe oh me dull and heavy about Heavenly duties for though my afflictions are but weak and ordinary there is nothing above measure or strength in them yet I am ready to faint how can this be forgiven to me As the Apostle said in another case you have not yet resisted to blood So it may be thy exercises have never been so grievous and extreame so as thou art to be accounted as a dry bone as a dead man and yet I have much ado to trust in God in these inferior tryals Cry out unto the Lord to help thee in these weak graces be ashamed when any little trouble is apt to disquiet thee to discompose thee Oh say if it were the worst condition that could come upon me if it were the heaviest tryall that could fall on me yet I was to trust in him who raiseth the dead SERM. LXXIV We are not to consider Gods Mercies in general onely but their several Aggravations also 2 COR. 1. 10. Who delivered
we not to have done it 4. One chief motive which is to put us upon all holy obedience unto God is Thankfulness There are two great and principal parts of Divinity the one is De gratià Dei of the grace of God and the other De gratitudine hominis of mans thankfulnes There are indeed several reasons why we are commanded to abound in holy works but one of them is thereby to testifie our thankfulnes to God that though we cannot do anything to merit at his hands though Christ as Mediator hath purchased all spiritual priviledges so that we cannot do any holy duty as a cause to procure them yet to manifest our thankfulnes to God we are ready with delight to do his will 5. A thanksgiving heart is the most proper and sutable disposition to the Gospel dispensation wherein grace doth in so many wonderfull effects demonstrate it self Now praise doth properly answer to free grace and love Eph. 1. 16. Gods predestination and his adoption it is That we should be to the praise of the glory of his grace These new songs should alwayes be in our mouths And again v. 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory So that if you say Why did God predestinate thee It is to his praise Why doth he convert It is to his praise Thus he adopts he justifieth that we might be only to his praise Thus 1 Pet. 2. 9. we are a chosen generation a peculiar people that we should shew forth his praises The children then of free grace must be the children of praises and thanksgivings unto God Every power of the soul every part of the body should be a tongue as it were to glorifie God Were we more affected with the depth breadth and length of this grace of God we should be more abounding in this duty of blessing God David cals his tongue his glory though some apply it to the soul because of this work Lastly If we praise not God when mercies are obtained by prayer it discovereth a rotten and insincere heart It argued thou never didst pray for mercies upon right grounds to glorifie God to be thereby more instrumental in our service of him but only for our own ends and our own necessities For he that prayeth spiritually will praise God cheerfully he will more rejoyce in the favour of God because God heareth his prayers then the benefit obtained If then thou neglectest this duty of thanksgiving thou discoverest a prophane earthly heart that thou preferrest the mercy desired above the glory and honour of God and therefore it will be just with God never to hear thy prayers more For thankfulness is the only way to preserve mercies and to have more added SERM. LXXXII God is the fountain of all our Mercies they are his Gifts and why 2 COR. I. II. That for the gift bestowed upon us THe second part in order to be treated of is The Object matter for which or that for which Paul would have solemne thanksgiving after such solemn prayer The gift bestowed upon us ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã This temporal deliverance he calleth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã because it came from the favour of God not from any merits or deserts in Paul Some make a difference between ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as if ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã was applied onely to the common gifts of Gods Spirit especially those which Divines call Dona ministrantia Gifts of service and the Schools Gratiae gratis datae and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to the grace and favour of God in a special manner or to the effect thereof which is inherent grace in the soul These graces are called Dona sanctificantia Gifts that doe truely sanctifie those that have them The Schooles falsly call them Gratiae gratum facientes But though ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã be often applied to such common spirituall gifts as 1 Cor. 12. alibi Yet sometimes we must thereby understand sanctifying grace and justifying grace Rom. 5. 16. Rom. 11. 28. And indeed if we will make any difference it seemeth to be this rather that ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is the Effect and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the Cause as Rom. 12. 6. Having gifts according to the grace that is given to us Hence it is that ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is generally translated gift in the New Testament So Favorinus ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã So that what the Scripture other where calleth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Jac. 1. 17. Act. 8. 21. Psal 1. 17. it may be the same with ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã onely it doth properly signifie such a gift as maketh to the publick and spiritual advantage of the Church onely in this Text it may have the general signification and the special The general Paul's Deliverance was a temporal gift It was a mercy in these outward things a preservation from death either violent as the common exposition you heard is or from natural For Baldwin the Lutheran Expositor thinketh it may well enough be understood of some desperate sicknesse Paul was afflicted with Howsoever this outward mercy of preservation is called ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and it may have also the special signification of a Paul's life and preservation was a gift in this sense for hereby his ministerial labours might be more successefull But this latter consideration will come in in the close of this verse Let us take notice of the general one Paul's life and preservation it is a gift From whence observe That not onely spiritual mercies which are above natural causes but even our ordinary temporal enjoyments are the gift of God It 's not Gods gift onely to sanctifie us to justifie us but to give us our health our food our preservation so that we live wholly upon the meer bounty of God we are all so many Almes-men the world is an Almes-house Man doth not or cannot obtaine the least mercy with his owne wisdom and power without the blessing of God This is a necessary truth For we look more upon these ordinary mercies as the fruit of our own labour than as Gods meer free gift The Apostle Jam. 1. 17. saith Every good gift is from God Every gift whether natural or supernatural what have we that we have not received is true both in nature and grace For although in the sense that Pelagians did it was very erroneous to confound Creation and Nature with grace yet in this respect we may say That Creation and Preservation is of the grace and favour of God because he communicated of his goodnesse to the creature onely from his meer favour But to speake after the Scripture-language onely those spiritual favours and Church-priviledges which conduce to eternal blessednesse are called The grace of God So that health life and other mercies though they be The gifts of God yet are not called The grace of God However
that is not probable It is then for that deliverance vouchsafed to Paul that they are to be thankfull and the reason is clear because mercies vouchsafed to Paul were their mercies also From whence observe That the mercies vouchsafed to the pastors and guides of the Church are to be accounted the Churches mercies What advantage comes to the shepherd it redounds to the sheep The rain that fals upon the mountains descendeth to the benefit of the valleys Your life your comfort is bound up in theirs Paul indeed said We live if you stand fast It was his comfort his life to see them preserved from Apostasie by persecution 1 Thess 3. 8. And on the contrary the Church may say of her guides We stand fast if you live As mercies to the publick Magistrates are to be accounted the peoples mercies so the mercies of Church-officers are to be reckoned the Churches If the Pilotes be in danger it can never be well with the ship When Elijah was taken away the cry was The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof So great a mercy was one Prophet accounted to be We have a notable instance of the holy care of the Philippians about their Pastor Epaphroditus Phil. 2. 26 27. when he was sick unto death how heavily did they lay it to heart Insomuch that Epaphroditus was exceedingly grieved that they had heard of his being sick he knew it would so greatly afflict them Yea Paul accounted it a mercy to him also that God did heal him For though Paul did recover many out of their diseases yet this gift was not when they pleased and it was least of all extended to those that were of their intimate acquaintance but rather to such as were brought to them that so the truth of their miracles might be more manifested Use of Instruction How happy and blessed a thing it is when people are able to do their duty herein To look upon all the favours and good providences of God to the Ministers of the Gospel as their own mercies their health encouragements preservations as their owne but how bitterly doth Satan fill the hearts of some men who out of love to their lusts and their errours look upon their godly guides as the greatest burthens and would heartily rejoyce in any evil that should befall them This is clean contrary to those gracious loving and indeared affections which ought to be in people to their spiritual shepherds SERM. LXXXIV Of our Glorying and Rejoycing in our Gifts and Graces Why and how it is lawfull and how not 2 COR. 1. 12. For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards THis verse as appeareth by the raciocinative particular or note of inference For is brought in as a reason of something which went before But Interpreters do differ about the coherence thereof Some make this to be a reason of that hope and trust he formerly spake of which he had in God Though he did trust in Gods mercies yet not in them alone but in his own endeavours also Hence Aquinas from this saith That hope doth arise from the mercy of God and mans merits But this doth not consist with Scripture Others do make it part of his Apologetical Narration defending himself as against that crime of inconstancy and levity which was cast upon him because of his promise to come to them which yet he did not and therefore they think these words look backward and not forward Calvin and others which is most probable referre it to the words immediately preceding viz. their prayers and praises to God in his behalf This is given as a reason why they should be thus tender about him because he had obtained grace to be faithfull he had not sought himself or his own glory he had not walked in hypocrisie and fraud but had been kept by the grace of God in all sincerity in his conversation in the world not only at Corinth but every where else Now it is a great motive and encouragement to pray for such The Apostle useth this argument Heb. 13. 18. Pray for us for we trust we have a good conscience in all things The connexion then being thus discovered we come to the Text absolutely considered and therein we may consider 1. The ground and reason it self 2. That which is affirmed and predicated of it And this is set down in the fore-part of the verse and therefore we shall begin with it The words are This is our rejoycing ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã it is rendred by most our glory or our boasting The Apostle doth very often use the words ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã it seemeth to come of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which is of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the neck and so is a metaphore signifying for the most part pride and loftinesse taken from horses whose pride will be discovered by their neck and therefore called ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or as Homer ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã So that for the most part it is taken in an ill sense Hence Hesychius ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and with Budaeus ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is a proud boaster and bragger but with Paul it is used sometimes in a good sense as here For the word is used in a three-fold sense gradual to one another 1. To rest and relie upon a thing 2. From thence to rejoyce and to be glad in it 3. From thence to declare and publish this with boasting Now though Paul did not put confidence and trust in his good and sincere conscience yet from the perceiving of that he did rejoyce Whereas then we see Paul rejoycing and glorying from the testimony and evidence of that grace he had in him We may observe That an holy glorying and rejoycing in the graces of God we perceive in us is allowed and lawfull I say an holy glorying for the heart may quickly degenerate into a proud sinfull boasting Therefore this truth must be warily bounded So that the dejected and tempted soul may be quickned to its duty of comfort and not to deny the work of grace that it may feel and the proud pharisaical spirit may be debased The valley must be exalted and the mountain made low It is true indeed we have the Scripture saying Let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome 1 Cor. 1. 31 And if Abraham had not wherewith to glory who can have Yea the Apostle saith expresly Rom. 3. 27. That glorying is excluded by the law of faith But in what sense this is to be understood will appear when we come to manifest how many wayes it is not lawfull to glory or to rejoyce no not in our gifts and graces Only this Text maketh it plain that in some sense our graces may be matter
right testimony of conscience within them they have seared stupid consciences or they have deluded ones that make them trust in other things then Christs blood Do not most men rest in this that their conscience telleth them they are baptized they are made partakers of the Ordinances of God and this is all the witness they have But the Apostle Peter layeth an Axe to the root of this 1 Pet. 3. 21. Baptisme saveth but then by a rhetorical correction addeth Not the putting away of the filth of the body but an answer of a good conscience It is generally thought to be an allusion to a Covenant or contract for so Baptism is wherein the person is asked Do you take God for your God Renounce the Devil and all the lusts of the flesh Now if a man can unseignedly and with a good conscience answer that he keepeth to baptismal ingagements this will save SERM. LXXXVII A Believer may be assured of the Uprightness of his Heart in the Performance of Duties What is required to such an Assurance 2 COR. 1. 12. That in simplicity and godly sincerity THe third part of the Text as it stands divided cometh under our consideration and that is the Declaration in particular of what was spoken in the General The General was The testimony of his conscience Now he sheweth the Specials wherein this is manifested and that is set down Positively and Negatively and Oppositely 1. Positively In simplicity c. 2. Negatively Not with fleshly wisdome 3. Oppositely But by the grace of God Before we come to the particulars and open the Greek words we must take notice of the certainty and sure knowledge Paul had of his sincerity For how could Paul glory and rejoyce in his sincerity if he did not know it yea so know it that his conscience with the Spirit of God did witness it to him And therefore this is one of those places that is brought in the controversie between Papists and us about the certainty of our being in the state of grace which Bellarmine indeed would enervate But his labour is in vain For what can be clearer then that Paul had a certain knowledge of his upright heart seeing he did make this publick testimony of it and take so much joy therein Neither doth Paul in this pretend to any extraordinary revelation as if he had some peculiar priviledge in this above others as when he was rapt up into the third Heavens but he avoucheth the testimony of his conscience which must be in an ordinary way From this we observe That a Believer may have a certain knowledge not only that he performeth those gracious duties God requireth but that he doth them with an upright and sincere heart Paul did not only know that he was diligent in preaching of the Gospel that he was faithfull in dispensing of the word of God but also that all this was done with faithfull and sincere respects We do not only know that we believe that we repent but that we do these things in the uprightnesse of our souls Bellarmine urgeth this much Though we do discharge the duties God requireth yet how can we know that we do them with an whole heart with a sincere spirit Many hypocrites say they are sure Yea saith he among the Protestants one is assured of his way and another of another Sect but we are assured that they are all deluded So that he concludeth Seeing all the Hereticks of this age boast of this certainty yet saith he even in their opinion many are deceived and in ours all are But we are to walk by the Scripture-light in this case And indeed this being a truth the knowledge whereof is obtained both by Scripture and experience the savoury work of grace and sense of Christs Spirit dwelling in us doth more to perswade of this truth then voluminous controversies This Question is best answered by diligent prayer and an heavenly life and therefore practical experimental Christians can speak more to this point then the most learned speculative Doctors unless they have a gracious broken heart as well as a learned profound head That a believer may be assured of the truth of grace appeareth by several examples and general assertions of Scriptures Examples as Hezekiah Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart 2 King 20. 3. In Job who though under sad temptations both from God and his dear friends who charged upon him hypocrisie yet he would never let go the perswasion of his integrity David how often doth he professe his love of God with all his heart Peter when Christ asked him again and again he answered Thou knowest Lord I love thee John 21. 17. As for those places which affirm this truth I shall name one or two John 14. 17. Ye know the Spirit for he dwels with you and shall be in you And vers 20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you What is clearer then As where the Sunne is there is light to see it so where the Spirit of God dwelleth and worketh in a man there is an evident discovery of it 2 Cor. 2. 11 12. What man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man within even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God that we might know the things freely given to us of God By this we see that as the soul by its rational powers doth discover and feel the workings of reason and understanding within it self so also by those supernatural principles of grace infused into it it is able to discern and feel the divine and heavenly motions of a supernatural life within him The first Epistle of John doth in many places speak of this knowledge whereby we perceive that God is in us and we in him But I intend not to enlarge on this subject Let us explain this truth and consider What is required to cause this certain knowledge in us that we are sincere and in a state of grace and so by consequent that we are justified elected and shall assuredly be saved And First There is required A firm assent and faith of the truth of Gods promises which are in the general revealed in the Word as such as these He that believeth hath passed from death to life By faith we have remission of sinnes through the blood of Christ Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdome of Heaven The promises also to such as do confesse and forsake their sinnes we are strongly to assure our souls of Yea not only the promises but the whole truths revealed in Gods word we are firmly to assent to by a vigorous faith For the lively actings of faith to its general objects do wonderfully conduce to the application of it to particular and special objects As men of quick animal actions are thereby more enabled to rational for seeing what is in
our estate For we see by the Popish objections yea and of many others against this way as if it did nourish security as if it were the great wisdome of God to keep every man in this life uncertain about his spiritual estate that so he may be kept in humility and fear I say by such plausible objections as these are a man hath made a good progress that can despise them all that is convinced it is his duty to press after this certain knowledge and also that God hath promised to give his Spirit to work this in us And that therefore if we complain of our fears and uncertain doubts we are to blame our selves who like the people of Israel do peevishly keep our selves in this wilderness if we consider those places which speak so universally that God hath given his Spirit to all those that are his sons whereby they are inabled to call him Father Is it not disputed Whether all that are truly godly have not this certain knowledge especially considering how the first Reformers went very high this way Hence is that expression of Calvin which may startle the Reader Lib. 3. Institut cap. 2. Sect 16. Verè fidelis non est nisi qui solidâ persuasione c. He is not truly a believer who being not perswaded by a solid perswasion that God is a propitious and mercifull Father to him from whose benignity he promiseth himself all things who doth not upon the confidence of the promises of Gods good will to him assuredly conclude of his salvation which he repeateth again But this will be better considered at vers 22. For the commands to this duty I shall only commend two places unto you 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether ye be in the faith prove your selves know ye not that Christ is in you except ye be ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã men of an unsound mind that have no spiritual skill and experience to know what is of God in you and what of the Devil what is of the Spirit and what of the flesh and nature in you Here you see this duty is commanded and that earnestly with ingemination and the Greek words do signifie that the truth of grace and the life of Christ in us is not easily found out We must take pains and exactly distinguish the bottom may be copper when the superficies be gold There are many resemblances of grace which are not grace That expression of Calvins is true though so much abused by Papists Reprobi simili ferè modo afficiuntur c. Calvin Institut lib. 3. cap. 2 do Sect. 11. That even some reprobates are affected almost with the same experimental sense and feeling as the elect are and therefore they must have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil As the Gemmary by his skill can find the difference between true metal and counterfeit The second Text is 2 Pet. 1. 10. Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your calling and election sure Give all diligence This supposeth That the Christian who liveth carelesly and negligently who is not servent in spirit and vigorous in the actings of holiness is subject to many doubts and uncertain disputations about his estate Now it would be a vain exhortation to bid us Use all diligence for the attaining of that which is impossible This may suffice to shew it is our duty and truly we may be the more encouraged in the pursuance of this if we do consider the blessed and happy effects of such a certain knowledge of our selves For 1. Hereby we shall live With a quiet peaceable frame of heart David doth often professe the great tranquillity of his soul Ps 4. That he will lay him down and sleep because the Lord taketh care of him And Paul Rom. 8. doth confidently triumph That nothing shall separate him from the love of God in Christ This is an Heaven upon the Earth Oh the blessed estate of that man whose soul is alwayes on this Mount as it were of transfiguration This man is alwayes safe in the haven while others are tossed up and down with various temptations 2. This peace doth also breed joy and unspeakable comfort which the Gospel often doth speak of For want of this the people of God live not suitably to Evangelical principles They walk as if they were to be justified by the Law as if they were to look for righteousness by the Covenant of works whereas we are to consider that the Spirit of the Gospel is the Spirit of Adoption and that subdueth tormenting fears and overcometh disturbing doubts making him to rejoyce alwayes in the Lord. 3. This joy causeth Thankefulnesse filleth the heart and mouth with Hallelujahs unto the Lord. How can a child of God be thankfull for that which he questioneth whether it be in him or no The wonderfull effects of Gods grace converting of thee and discriminating thee from those millions of persons that on thy right hand and left hand fall into hell should overwhelm thee by amazing thoughts thereat But all this goodness and free grace of God is neglected not take notice of whilest thou sittest in the darkness and feelest no light Lastly This will be a great quickner of thee in the wayes of holinesse This will be wings and legs and all to thee The joy of the Lord is your strength Neh. 8. 10. If then thou complainest of thy barrenness thy deadness and lukewarmness in holy things examine whether this be not the root that lieth undiscernably under ground as it were that causeth all thy unprofitableness The Devil he labours to cut these Conduit-pipes that would convey all consolation to thee It 's against sense and experience to say This certain knowledge will breed laziness and carnal confidence as if the Sunnes beams would cause coldness No it cannot be Who laboureth more abundantly than Paul Who was more active in the wayes of godliness being like a spiritual Joshua subduing all the enemies of the Gospel before him And did not the love of Christ which he felt in his bosome thus constrain him Only take a Caution or two to prevent mistakes 1. This certain knowledge is never so glorious that it removeth all doubts and temptations neither is it alwayes permanent and abiding in us The people of God have their nights as well as dayes and the Devil is not only watchfull to deprive believers of their graces but also of their consolations Therefore be not discouraged if thou find the flesh combate against the Spirit in the way of comfort as well as of duty The second Caution is That although our constant and strict walking be not the cause of our assurance yet it is maintained and preserved in the lively exercise of grace To him that overcometh I will give to eat of the hidden manua and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which none knoweth but âe that hath it
These are allegorical and allusive expressions to declare the assurance that God giveth to his but all this is To him that overcometh If sin prevail over thee if the world and the Devil entice thee off from God then expect not to have this mercifull refreshment as thou usest to have This assurance is like the manna that fell in the wilderness refreshing the Israelites in their extremities It is the hidden manna alluding to that which was kept in the Ark that might not be seen It is the new name that none knoweth but he that hath it So that it is the sincere practice of godliness that maketh us to believe this truth he that hath it cannot declare it to another when prophane scoffers ' by derision bid us demonstrate and prove that we have it This cannot be no more than you can perswade a man honey is sweet unless he do eat of it These Cautions observed then wrestle and strive with God for the Spirit of God that adopting and sealing Spirit Say Lord thou hast given me grace give me also the assurance of it How can I praise thee how can I glorifie thee while unbelief doth shut up my mouth SERM. LXXXIX Of the true Nature of Godly Simplicity and Singlenesse of Heart 2 COR. 1. 12. That in simplicity and godly sincerity c. HAving finished the general we now come to the particular wherein his conscience did give this good testimony and that is concerning his conversation in the world Of which in its time Which is amplified as you heard in the manner of it Positively Negatively and Oppositely Positively and that is set down in two words In simplicity and Godly sincerity Of the first at this time ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The Vulgar Latine addeth heart In singlenesse of heart for so we find it used in other places Ephes 6. 5. Colos 3. 22. But that is supposed in the word though it be not expressed Grotius speaketh of a Manuscript that readeth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã but the Context is clear for this Now when he saith In simplicity by that he meaneth he did nothing craftily crookedly hypocritically deceitfully as Chrysostome interpreteth it in many synonymous words Varinus maketh the contrary to ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. almost the same words Chrysostome hath The word is often used for bounty and liberality as 2 Cor. 9. 11 13. because those who have a single plain spirit are hearty ready and free in all duties that are required It differeth from the next word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã because that doth properly respect the aims and intentions of men in all their wayes although we are not to be too exact in making a distinction between them This simplicity is as much as sine plicis that which is smooth and plain that hath not many folds and coverings and so is opposite to that which is in the Old Testament called an heart and an heart a man that hath two hearts So that this is a most blessed temperature of the soul when its internals and externals are both alike when it s inwardly towards God what it outwardly pretends to be From whence observe That godly simplicity and singlenesse of heart doth afford much comfort The hypocritical and crafty self-seeking man that maketh use of God and holy things for his own advantage and interest hath never any solid true comfort He is compared to the rush that groweth in the mire and if plucked from thence quickly withereth Job 8. 11. An hypocrite will not serve God but where his own advantages do induce him for hypocrisie is large and so contrary both to simplicity and sincerity The Apostle doth excellently comfort himself in this and thereby appealeth to the consciences of the Thessalonians 1 Thess 2. 3. Our exhortation was not of deceit or guile neither used we flattering words or a cloak of covetousnesse nor if men sought we glory Oh the admirable simplicity that here we find in Paul's spirit Now it is necessary to consider the nature of this And First It floweth from an heart sanctified and truly regenerated No man but he that is godly hath this singlenesse of spirit Jer. 17. 9. The heart is deceitfull above all things The word signifieth the crookedness of it How ready it is to supplant us Jacob had his name from that root because he supplanted Esau about his birthright This is the heart of man by nature full of concavities secret recesses and holes as it were deceiving himself and others and therefore till grace doth make pure and we have truth in the inward parts all is but a lie in us Our Religion is a lie our goodness is a lie there is no solidity at all It is true indeed there is in some men a natural ingenuous candour they abhorre dissimulation and hypocrisie but yet this is onely one of Aristotles virtues which is indeed but a splendid vice For if the tree be not good the fruit cannot be If the spring be bitter so is the stream and so if a man be a thorn no sweet grapes can grow upon him This then we are to do to look to the bottom to search to the original Hath the Spirit of God made thee a new creature then thou doest become faithfull and true both to God and man otherwise we see what the Scripture speaketh of every one by nature that he is a liar Rom. 3. 4. Therefore till the heart be purified by grace there is no truth and soundness within Secondly This simplicity and singlenesse of spirit doth eye God and looketh upon his will as the motive of his duty The presence of God the omniscience of God whereby he trieth and searcheth the heart is frequently in his meditation It is the glory of God the honour of God that stirreth up his heart It 's not glory from men or pleasing of men which doth quicken him up For although we told you the next word signifieth purity of intentions yet one is so intimately connexed with the other that they cannot be separated singleness then of heart is remarkably seen in those motives that move his soul they are arguments drawn from God You see this fully comprehended in that exhortation to servants Colos 3. 22. where they are commanded To obey their masters not with eye service as men pleasers but in singlenesse of heart fearing God They must look above Masters and Governours even to God himself Now we are all servants to God and therefore we ought the more diligently to have singleness of spirit towards him by how much he doth infinitely exceed all other masters And this particular doth likewise shew that all the moral ingenuity and verity which some Heathens have been famous for was but a glistering Glow-worm for they had no eye to God neither did they respect him but looked at their own glory and honour in all that they did Thirdly Simplicity of heart is essentially consisting in the fixednesse of it upon
not only apprehensiva but quietativa not only apprehensive but quietative it brings the soul to its center to its non ultra whereas reason doth but satisfie till a man come with a stronger and one argument like the circles in the water begets another So that whereas it was Iulian's objection against the Christian Religion as low and contemptible because it was ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã only believe yet this indeed is the glory of it this setleth and composeth when philosophical ratiocinations did carry them into endless contentions Therefore that is good counsel of Austins Noveris te esse fidelem non rationalem It is faith not syllogisms that brings an established mind in Religion It is true indeed Christianity hath her use of Reason and Arguments and there is an Habitus Theologiae whereby we do demonstrate the points of Divinity but this is when faith hath laid the foundation Fides facit argumentum non argumentum fidem as it doth in the liberal Arts Reason buildeth upon Faith not Faith upon Reason If therefore thou complainest of the diversity of Sects of the multitude of opinions that swarm every where there is no such way to escape splitting thy soul at such rocks as to pray for this godly simplicity of mind I say holy simplicity not a foolish popish blind obedience that is not faith The fool believeth every thing Faith hath alwayes an evidence and knowledge of the testimony though the thing believed may be above the comprehension But when truths out of the Scripture are with sufficient evidence held out to thee then simplicity is required to yeeld firm assent thereunto and not to dispute by humane arguments whether it can be so or no. Therefore the wisdome which is from above Jam. 3. 17. is said to be ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã easily to be perswaded As in respect of the objects to be believed and the instruments who propound it there is necessary Piscatoria simplicitas which is more than Aristotle's subtilty or his Minutiloquium as Tertullian calleth it So there is such an humble simplicity required on the subjects part who are to receive these divine truths I am the larger on this as being assured the best antidote against all heresies and the surest remedy to preserve from doctrinal Apostasie is this simplicity of mind But Secondly This simplicity is no lesse signally seen in the Will which is to cast away its contumacy stubbornness and propriety resigning it self wholly up to Gods command The Lord hath commanded it therefore I obey not disputing with flesh and blood whether this will be for my advantage honour or profit but the will of God boweth him into all ready compliance It is the Apostles advice Phil. 2. 14. Do all things without mumurings and disputings that ye may be sincere Here it is plain that sincerity is manifested when we willingly do our duty not murmuring and quarrelling at it Even as we read of Abraham though commanded by God to sacrifice his own sonne with his own hands when he might have had so many fair arguments against it yet he readily applieth himself to his duty and so when commanded to come out of his own countrey and to go he did not know whether yet he willingly obeyeth this is simplicity And so it was with Paul Galat. 1. who immediately obeyed the call of God Not consulting with flesh and blood whereas Saul because he did not obey in simplicity but waved the commands of God upon religious pretences his rebellion was accounted aâ witchcraft not believing that Obedience was better than Sacrifice 1 Sam. 15. 22. Thirdly This simplicity is seen in an holy boldnesse to do our duty to be zealous for God to reprove sinne though there be never so many Lions in the way It is true the wisemen of the world call this simplicity indeed making it the same with folly Thus most of our Christian duties if fervently and zealously performed are nothing but folly and silliness to carnal policy But to appear for God and to own his wayes among a crooked and malicious people is an excellent mark of simplicity whereas hypocrisie measuring all things by its safety honour and profit becometh like the shadow to the body suâeth it self to every corrupt humour of others But this plainness of heart maketh us with David Psal 119. to speak of the Law even before Kings and alwayes to obey God rather than men So much shrinking from thy duty because of the fear or favours of men is so much want of simplicity Hence Varinus makes ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the same with ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã boldnesse and freedome Oh then pray exceedingly for this simplicity of spirit that will make thee constant bold and zealous for God! How often may thy conscience convince thee that sinfull fear or foolish shame or carnal affections have made thee not do thâse duties with singleness of heart as thou shouldst have done How many times hast thou betrayed the truth by sinfull silence How many times hast thou wounded thy spirit by holding thy tongue whereas this holy simplicity would have imboâdened thee It is true there is Christian prudence required also there must be the wisdome of a Serpent as well as the innocency of the Dove Discretion is the salt to season our Sacrifices and there must be this salt as well as the fire of zeal but we must look the Serpent doth not eat up this Dove that discretion doth not devour this simplicity Thus much of simplicity as it relateth immediately to God Now because the Apostle useth the word largely relating to his ministerial conversation as it did reach to men we shall take in briefly the consideration of that also And First Godly simplicity maketh a man inoffensive to men This simplicity maketh a man harmlesse and unblameable as to others Christs Disciples are compared to Sheep not to Bears for cruelty or Foxes for craft in doing mischief therefore ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is as much as ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The Apostle saith I would have you simple in malice Rom. 16. 19. The leven that was forbidden in the Sacrifices did signifie malice and sourness So that where this simplicity is a man is wonderfull harmless is not injurious doth no wrong The word used in that place of Rom. 16. 19. is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which though it properly come from ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã yet some make it from ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as if to say without horns The people of God are meek and lowly as it 's said of Jacob He was a plain man but Esau rough and hairy which may relate to their manners as well as bodily constitutions not but that they can be as bold as Lions in the cause of God Simplicity is consistent with zeal and courage for God Moses was the meekest man upon earth yet in the case of Idolatry and the peoples uncleanness how forward was he to have severe punishment
convince as that it draweth out an acknowledgement when they do ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã This distinction is to be observed for the former many times is without the later Even as the Sun is in it self most visible and yet to a blind man it doth not enlighten him so it many times falleth out that godly Ministers and godly Christians do live convincing lives so that they will be a testimony at the day of judgement against all impenitent sinners and yet the world will not acknowledge this It is plain in Christ whose life could be every way way more convincing than his What sinne could they charge upon him He was not even as the best Ministers of God are so subject to infirmities to rashnes to passions to worldliness or any other evil and yet for all that his Ministry and life did not so actually convince many of his hearers as that they did acknowledge him to be the Sonne of God the true Messias and Saviour of the world Some indeed did acknowledge him but the Pharisees and Sadduces these said He was an impostor a blasphemer and therefore they put him to death as judging him a false Prophet Thus you see that there may be a convincing life and yet for all that men will be obstinate and malicious hardening themselves against the duties required of them Now it is good to take notice of some of those causes that keep men from being convinced that such Ministers or such people walk in the wayes of the Lord and therefore we are to walk in their steps As 1. Prejudice and prepossessed principles already received whereby we stop the ear like the Adder and will not hear the voice of the best charmer and wisest Thus it was with many of the Jews they had a tradition that no good no Prophet could arise out of Galilee They expected a Messias that in a temporal pompous manner should deliver them from all external bondage and therefore they would not be convinced by any thing that Christ did or said 2. Corrupt and earthly affections when our hearts are set upon any worldly or self-interest This will keep us from being convinced though Angels should come and preach to us Thus the Pharisees they were moved by self-respects if they should yeeld to Christ their applause their gain would quickly perish And no doubt such clay as this lieth upon the eyes of many men that seeing they do not see knowing they will not be convinced 3. Mistake about the nature and way of godlinesse may keep many off from being convinced I shall instance only in two principles 1. When men do judge nothing Godlinesse but what is exactly perfect And therefore if they see Ministers or Christians subject to any infirmities this hardens them in their impieties they see such men have failings If this were a good principle no godly man in the world except Christ in whom all fulnesse did dwell had a convincing life Was there any Prophet or an Apostle that had not some failings that did not pray for the pardon of sinne If we say we have no sinne saith John in the name of the most holy we deceive our selves and have no truth in us 1 Joh. 1. 8. 2. Another false principle that keepeth from convincing is When we thinke godliness lieth in the actual abdication and renouncing of all earthly worldly things It is true in our afflictions we are to have these things as if we had them not There is to be an habitual preparation of heart to leave all when Christ shall command It is true We cannot serve God and Mammon the love of the Father and the love of the world cannot consist together but the love of God and the use and possession of these things may Now by this errour many Papists are not convinced of the holiness that is in reformed Churches Why so Oh say they you have no Monasteries you have no publick places for religious persons you have no votaries that part with their earthly substance and vow a life of poverty your Ministers marry and have children Thus the Papist is not convinced because he mistaketh about godliness and not only they but many deluded persons amongst us are offended because Ministers take maintenance provide for their families as if this were against godliness whereas the neglect of this would be to offend to God Use of Exhortation to all Ministers and private Christians to study for convincing lives The more power and conviction is therein the greater is Religion honoured the more is God glorified the easier is the conversion of others and the more is the mouth of prophane men stopped Consider not only what is lawfull but what is convincing especially take heed of such actions or a life that is the contrary scandalizing offending and causing Religion to be the worse thought of by thy means SERM. C. 'T is Perseverance that is the Crowne of Holinesse 2 COR. 1. 13. And I trust that you shall acknowledge even to the end THe Apostle having declared that he had his testimonials not onely from his own conscience but theirs also he further addeth that he trusteth this will hold and continue For it is nothing to have hopefull beginnings and afterwards to revolt from all again Blossoms without fruit will not answer Gods expectation Now this his hope is expressed in this last clause of the verse I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end To the end that is say some fully and perfectly opposite to that ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in part mentioned in the next verse or else as it is used several times for the end and utmost of a thing as Christ is said John 13. 1. To love his to the end And 1 Thessal 2. 16. Wrath is said to come upon the Iews ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is to the end as some expound it who are against the Iewes National conversion But it may be understood of the heavinesse and quality of the judgements which are inflicted upon them being so great that they cannot be more Or else it may be interpreted of that end which God hath appointed for the judgements which are to come upon them till which end be accomplished there is no possibility of escaping that wrath which is upon them When the Apostle saith He trusts they shall acknowledge to the end some understand it wholly of Paul as if his meaning was My conversation hath hitherto beene acknowledged by you to be sincere and upright and I trust in God that by his grace he will so preserve me that you shall never see otherwise by me I hope by the assistance of God always to keep up this integrity of life Others understand it of the Corinthians I hope as you doe acknowledge us so notwithstanding all the calumnies and subtil endeavours of the false Apostles to draw you away from me yet you will persevere and continue in your right judgement
beginners in Christianity deliberately and seriously to consider how much it will câst tâ be godly They are not only to look to their motives but to the nature of such duties as they must be continually exercised in For when a man findeth that the way of godliness is a more self-denying mortified way a more opposed and persecuted way than he expected this maketh him to be offended and he is ready with Judas to betray Christ for a piece of silver or with Esau to sell his birth-right for a mess of pottage Our Saviour speaketh fully to this Luke 14. 28 29 31 32. where pressing those who are to be his Disciples to these great and difficult duties of hating father and mother and life it self for him Yea to take up his cross and to follow him No more for ever to own any object as the chiefest delight of his soul but Christ he illustrateth this by two similitudes one of a builder who if he be wise will consider what expences he is able to bear before he setteth upon it lest his folly be known to all And another of a King going to warre who will first consider what his strength is and whether he be able to meet his adversary or no. Thus it ought to be with every one that will profess the name of Christ How come you to to do it Have you seriously considered what it is to be a Christian indeed Can you hate all leave all if Christ require Can you part with your lusts your pleasures and profits If you could have these and Christ too then the way to Heaven would not be so difficult then many would be saved But this is that which maketh so many apostasies so many revoltings and scandals in the way of Religion that men come on a sudden into the profession of Christ either for education only or the national example or some external encouragements and then when they meet with harder brunts than they looked for when they see Christ will have them to be godly in good earnest to be self-denying indeed else they shall not be owned by him then they discover that Insipientis est dicere non putabam the language of the unwise I did not look for this I will go back into Aegypt again rather than endure in this wilderness Thus you see that a mans beginnings in Religion is all in all It is not so much to ask Doth he pray doth he hear doth he walk otherwise then he did But what was the cause of this How cometh it about that he doth so Hence the second particular to clear this truth is That true solid and sincere beginnings are the cause of our perseverance and continuance in what is holy Wheresoever a principle of supernatural life is infused Whosoever is borne of God The man who hath the fear of God put into his inward parts this man will be preserved that nothing shall either totally or finally separate that soul and Christ So that good and true beginnings will be sure to have holy and comfortable endings That place shall suffice for the present John 10. 27 28 29 30. My sheep hear my voice and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand c. To say they may by their own negligence throw themselves out of Gods hand is to thwart the comfort intended there for true believers For if the Devil or wicked men could not make them to perish yet if they should do it themselves if the grace of God did not keep back their own corrupt inclinations as well as keep off the Devil they should remain in continual perplexing fears and uncertainties Where then the foundation-stones of this spiritual building are truly and soundly laid there no tempests can wholly overwhelm though they may cause terrible shakings and therefore perseverance is not the condition upon which the truth of grace depends but it is the effect of it that is we are not to say as Arminians do If you persevere in believing if you continue in loving of God then this will make your grace effectual then this will make you to be sincere and not hypocrites For if so then till we die we cannot have any true ground of comfort because we know not how irrecoverably we may fall off from Christ before that time come And this is to thwart the general torrent of the Scripture who calleth upon the people of God To rejoyce and to have peace with God as a Father and to encourage our selves from the present state of grace we are in so that we shall never be deprived thereof Perseverance then doth not make our grace to be true but true grace maketh us to persevere as the wheel runneth round which is Austin's comparison not that it may be round but because it is round It is true our Saviour saith Iohn 8. 31. If ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples indeed not that this made them so but because this would declare and manifest them to be so Thirdly Therefore it is not enough for the grace of God once to put us into a state of holinesse and then to leave us to our selves but it is necessary that we should have his constant quickning grace to enable us to hold out to the end Christ is not only the Author but the finisher of our faith Heb. 12. 2. And therefore we have the godly so often praying that God would keep them that he would teach them that he would increase their saith that he would not lead them into temptation which necessarily suppose that the same grace of God which began the foundation must also build up all and finish whatsoever is begun It is not then from our selves or from the nature of grace as if it were not amissible Adam and the apostate Angels are a clear instance to the contrary but from the assistance and help of Christ without us Lastly Though perseverance to the end be thus the promised effect of Gods grace yet that doth not exclude but include an holy fear lost we that stand should fall a diligent working out of our salvation with fear and trembling a constant watching over our hearts and a daily keeping down of our body lest after we have appeared so long in the wayes of Christ we afterwards turne aside into the Devils paths For there are sad instances in Scripture of such who in outward appearance were eminent in the Church of God as Judas was but having not a sure bottome and neglecting such means which Christ required of them they became sad scandals in the Church of God for their fall was great Use of Exhortation Not to rest upon what we have been What though so many years thou hast appeared a Disciple of Christ For if the foundation was not well laid at first one time or other there will be a breaking upon thee What moved thee what prevailed
whereas this inconstancy may be discovered either in our civil and moral conversation or in our religious and holy concernments I shall begin with the first Let us consider the sinfulnesse of inconstancy in civil respects which may be manifested in these particulars First When we are not consistent with our selves in our assertions and affirmations This is a great dishonour to God and our selves when we will say and unsay things affirme one thing at one time and the contrary at another And in this case Inconstancy is the same with lying Thus it argueth a light vain heart to talke one thing one time and another thing another time Hence the Rule is Oportet mendacem esse memorem A liar must have a good memory and as others say A liar must have a good pair of legs that he may runne away for he will quickly be discerned if he stay long in one place Now we may not wonder if Paul would not be thought guilty of a lie For the way of lying is inconsistent with the state of grace as Colos 3. 9. Lie not one to another seeing ye put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man Observe the Apostles argument you that are made new creatures you that have the Image of God repaired in you how can you lie to one another Hence you have David praying for the grace of God herein Psal 119. 29. Remove from me the way of lying And vers 163. I hate and abhorre lying but thy Law do I love Mark the opposition no man can love God and his Word but he must abhorre lying But how little do people generally take heed to themselves herein They think not their gracelesse and unregenerated hearts may be discovered by such inconstant lying words as well at by grosse enormities Oh therefore look upon it as a very hainous sinne not to be a person of gravity consistency and harmony in thy words Can there be a greater reproach then to say of a man he will say and unsay there is no heed to be given to his words We are not to believe all things they say if this were onely thy dishonour it were not so much matter but it cometh from a corrupt heart within Now the people of God above all persons are to look to their words in this respect because with Paul they have their enemies to observe them And we see how prophane persons are apt to charge them with this that though they will not swear yet they will lie This indeed they do because of their enmity and malice to such as feare God but be thou sure to give no occasion herein for them to blaspheme We see this holy Apostle in a solemne sacred manner sometimes calling God to witnesse That he speaketh the truth and lieth not 2 Cor. 11. 31 Gal. 1. 20. Secondly This inconstancy and mutability in civil respects is discovered in our promises Yea when it becometh a crimson sinne then it is manifested in our promissory oaths lightly and perfidiously breaking of them Now as to abstain from all lying and to speak the truth to every man is made a property of a godly man So also it is a character of a godly man to keep his promise to be faithfull to that though it should be to his own damage Psal 15. 4. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not Though his Word and promises prove afterwards prejudicial to him yet he preferreth truth above all earthly respects whatsoever It is true Divines have a Rule In malis promissis rescinde fidem A sinfull promise is not to be kept for that would be to adde iniquity unto iniquity and to double thy sinne But in things that may be inconvenient to thee thou art not to use lightnesse and easily break thy word Thus then it is a character of a godly man to look to his promises to be very carefull to observe them It 's unjustice to break them because by a promise thou becomest a debtor to another And do you see Paul so carefull lest he should be thought to be yea and nay And art thou carelesse about thy word Oh you must know that true Religion and godliness doth not consist in the duties of the first Table but of the second likewise Do not think that this is godlinesse enough to pray to perform holy duties to be often in religious Ordinances No but thou art to abound in all truth and faithfulnesse towards man to avoid all lying all falshood in promises and so to have truth both towards God and man But how apt are our hearts to deceive us in this kind Some think their righteousness towards man because their words are as good as oaths that therefore they shall go to Heaven though they be not forward in religious duties they have no family-worship of God they do not walk singularly to the course of the world and others again they are ready to think that their religious duties their forwardnesse and zeal therein though they regard not words and promises though they neglect the duties of righteousnesse yet their condition will be good enough Oh but remember this passage of Paul for ever Be not hasty to promise labour not to forget what thou hast promised which will be if thou hast a conscientious regard unto thy self herein For when thou doest not think it matter of conscience when thou thinkest godliness is not much concerned herein no wonder then if thou art so often found faulty herein The Scripture is very frequent in pressing these duties of truth and righteousness between man and man Thirdly This mutability in civil affairs is seen in our affections our love and respect to men It is a mans duty to be a faithfull friend to such whom he hath cause to respect and therefore of a friend suddenly to become an enemy for one while to love and another while to hate this is to be yea and nay Men may be unfaithfull two wayes 1. When all the love and respect they professe is in hypocrisie Their tongues and their hearts doe no wayes agree Joab's Ave and Judas his Salve when they intended destruction is famous even to a Proverb David often complaineth of such deceitfull men but then there are unfaithfull men who once did love and were real for the time in their respects but then 2. Upon carnal sinfull grounds alter their affections again Such perfidious and inconstant dealings are abominable to God and man It is one great part of David's complaint that maketh him so solemnly cry unto God for help even becavse the faithfull fail from among the children of men Psal 12. 1. It is true a man of no godliness may be a faithfull friend there are great instances of such friends amongst Heathens and the wisest Writers amongst them have serious Discourses about Friendship But godliness only doth rightly order and regulate this faithfull friendship That is a Rule to be abhorred by all
men Ama tanquam aliquando osurus yet it may have its use considering how wicked and uncertain men are But true Religion inclineth a man to a setled and fixed way of love to those that are fit subjects thereof The Scripture speaketh of a love to all men and of a brotherly love which is upon more peculiar and holy respects Now truly if we speak in a moral sense onely we may take up Solomon's complaint Prov. 20. 6. Most men will proclaim their own goodnesse but a faithfull man who can find Men will talk and boast and professe much love and kindnesse but as it was in David's time so it will be in all ages Psal 5. 9. For there is no faithfulnesse in their mouth their inward part is very wickednesse they flatter with their tongue Hence is that Rule ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã But why is there such hypocrisie dissimulation and falshood in mens hearts and tongues It is because there is so little true godliness for that maketh a man sincere and of a single heart both towards God and towards man If then Paul was so afraid of being thought a light and inconstant man any was this sheweth what gravity constancy and faithfulness of spirit we ought to walk even to men in the world godliness and Religion teacheth us these things whereas to be double-hearted double-tongued cannot consist with a man that is made a new creature Labour then to inform thy self of the extent of Religion how farre godliness will put forth its self not onely in religious duties towards God but righteous just and faithfull actions towards man Now that we may have such plain and faithfull spirits consider the aggravation of this sinne in our civil actions to be yea and nay to be inconstant and changeable And First This is directly contrary to the glorious nature of God whose image ought to be stampt upon us we are to be like God in our holinesse Now how often doth the Scripture proclaim this glorious property of God that he is unchangeable that he is faithfull in his Word and promises And truly this is the comfortable support of our selves for it 's not any worth in us but Gods faithfulness in his promises that preserveth us to eternal glory Thus he is called a faithfull Creator 1 Pet. 4. 19. so faithfull is he that hath called us 1 Thess 5. 24. If God were not faithfull in his promises even when we have unfaithfull hearts how miserable would our end be It 's Gods faithfulness not our own we are to depend upon Now the children of God they are to have this Image of God established upon them to be faithfull as he is faithfull There is no yea or nay with God See this notably affirmed Numb 23. 19. God is not a man that he should lie neither the sonne of man that he should repent hath he said and shall not he do it So 1 Sam. 15. 29. The strength of Israel will not lie or repent for he is not a man that he should repent The Scripture maketh it a necessary property to a man to lie and to repent unlesse he be assisted by grace For such is the weaknesse and ignorance of his understanding that he cannot fore-see things and therefore must necessarily alter his resolutions and then so corrupt is his heart that as there are several objects to entice him so accordingly he transformeth himself but God is infinitely wise and infinitely holy and therefore there is no shadow of change in him Oh then be in love with this glorious Attribute of God and according to a creatures capacity do thou imitate it Shew forth the Image of God in this thing that thou art even a man and wilt not lie wilt not sinfully change thy words and promises I say sinfully because we are so apt to be ignorant to mis-judge of things to be deceived in what we resolve of that many times it is our wisdom and duty to be of another mind and to take up contrary resolutions to what once we pitched upon of which more in its time Secondly Endeavour after such constancy in words and life because as it is a great sinne against God so it 's an heavy reproach and scandal to Religion It thou shouldest study to do the Devil service and to promote his Kingdom so as to have Religion stink in the nostrils of all men thou canst not take a more compendious way then to lie to deceive to be unjust to make no conscience of words and promises This is to betray godliness to the scorn of all wicked men You see that even the most holy men that are that walk in a most tender conscientious regard to all their words and works yet cannot scape the censure of men in the world that they are hypocrites that they are lyars that they have no truth in them Oh then what a woe will be pronounced to thee who should give just occasion for such men to blaspheme the holy calling wherewith we are called When one by his apostasie and inconstancy had betrayed the true Religion of Christ he was afterwards troubled in heart for it he could have no rest in his spirit thought himself unworthy of any Church-communion and therefore cried out Calcate me insipidum salem Trample upon me as unsavoury salt If then thou wouldst have Religion honoured the Gospel well spoken of look to thy self in these things let no lie no falshood no deceit be found in thy words and dealings For if there be presently Religion is wounded then the carnal ones rejoyce this is their godliness this is their Religion Certainly a godly heart cannot but bleed exceedingly if at any time he hath in this way been so overtaken as to make men think the worse of godliness wherers on the other side to be true righteous and faithfull in all thy wayes as it is an ornament to Religion so it maketh thee have an awe and a reverence in the consciences of the most profligate persons Thus because John was a just man therefore even Herod the King did reverence him Mark 6. 20. John was both just and holy and this wrought reverence Thirdly It is a great sinne to be thus rash and inconstant because hereby a man maketh himself unfit for Gods service either in Church or Commonwealth such an unfaithfull man can never do any good but be scorned and reproached as one Bishop was called Euripus in antiquity for his inconstancy and mutability and this was the great reason why Paul doth with so much earnestnesse and affection take this calumny off from himself for this would be a special means to bring his person and Doctrine into contempt if there had been just cause to judge him such a mutable man Paul's preaching would never have done good more as we hear him saying at another time Gal. 2. 18. If I build again the things which I destroyed I make my self a transgressour Thus it always falleth out that a man of
go rather than peace and quietness of a good conscience A Second Principle of the flesh which maketh men inconstant is An inordinate desire of Greatness and Honour above others They that walk by this must be black and white now say and than deny according as those are affected from whom they exspect Advancement This secret Ambition is accompanyed with a vehement heat and drought of the soul making a man restless till their desires be accomplished Neither may we think the Heathens onely to be blamed for these proud affectations We see even the Apostles twice contending about Primacy and Superiority which is the greater wonder if we consider the meanness of their own condition they were in as also of Christ their Master and yet more wonder it is if we remember how frequently our Saviour did inform them of Persecutions and saddest Calamities for his sake We read likewise of Diotrephes 3 John 9. who loved to have the preheminence and would not own no not the Apostle John himself Now those that walk by such Principles of pride and ambition they must needs be like a materia prima ready to receive any form They flatter they dissemble they commend they dispraise and thus debased they are that afterwards they may be exalted Now nothing is more odious and abominable to a sincere man than such mutability and uncertainty Hence Christians of old were called the just and holdfast men It was not thus with John Baptist of whom saith our Saviour What went ye out to see a read shaken with the winde No he did faithfully and constantly discharge his duty without any fear of men But how many may we go out to see as reeds shaken with every winde And as the reed must grow in some mire so must such mutable persons have some carnal respect to encourage them Those that climbe up to high places are apt to have their heads grow giddy and to be unsteadfast so that when men lay this as a foundation I will have Preferment I will have Honor and greatness though it damn me this man walketh upon slippery ice and no wonder if he often fall 3. Another carnal Principle which maketh Inconstancy in all our wayes is Pleasing of men When a man maketh this his Rule he must change often and be as a shadow which moveth whoily according to the motion of the body stoopeth when that stoopeth and is upright when that is upright The Apostle doth notably disclaim such a sinfull distemper saying Galat. 1. 10. If I should please men I could not be the servant of Christ Man is a mutable creature subject to different apprehensions to different affections loving one thing one day and hating it at another Then must they also who would please men be prepared for all formes and postures insomuch that a man cannot live in greater bondage and slavery tan to be ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a peoples ape or to study the humouring of those we have to deal with If thou art guilty of this man-pleasing thou art never able to do thy duty thou canst not reprove and punish sin thou canst not be just and righteous in thy place Our Saviour said to his Disciples How can you belive which receive glory of one another John 5. 44. and do not seek the glory of God only Certainly till we study to please God alone in our lives and aim at his glory who is alwayes the same we must be unstable as water and be a lyar to every man We read of some who did believe in Christ yet dared not to make Profession thereof for fear of the Jews Here was a desire to please men rather than God But can the good word and favour of men deliver thee from the wrath of God in thy conscience and eternal torments hereafter When Judas pleased the Chief Priests in betraying of Christ could they comfort him in the Agonies of his conscience yea when he bewailed his sin They say What is that to us look thou to that Mat. 17. 4. Such miserable tormentors instead of comforters will all those men be whom thou hast pleased to displease God 5. Time-serving is a Principle which whosoever walketh by must be as a weather-Cock that is turned with every winde The people of Israel are remarkeable for this Inconstancy under wicked and Idolatrous Kings then they erected Altars they adorned Images and then immediately under Religious and Reforming Kings they would destroy the Idolls and deface the Images they had set up It is true all change and alteration in Religion is not to be blamed yea sometimes it is to be encouraged When Luther and Melancton gave over their former corrupt Doctrines and superstitious Practices the Papists condemned them for Turn-coats and Apostate persons when yet this change was necessary So that as they say in Philosophy there is alteratio corruptiva and perfectiva a destructive change and a perfective change thus it is also in Divinity and the Latter is absolutely commanded by God when Errors or Prophaneness have like a gangrene spread over the whole Church but of that in its time We are now speaking of that sinfull change whereby people accommodate themselves to the times they live in and therefore judg of truth judg of the holy things of God as Jeroboam did with subordination to State-Interests This is the great carnal Policy that the Wise-men of the world admire as if the true Doctrines of Christ were not alwayes the same as if a thing might be the worship of God one time and Idolatry at another as if the same thing might be the Doctrine of Christ at one time and Heresie at another as if that of Cusanus were true though otherwise not a very bad man That the Scripture is to be understood according to the present state and Affairs of the Church and therefore saith he We are not to wonder if at one time some Customes and Usages be exacted in a Church which at another time are to be decryed and refused But certainly the Scripture is a Rule of Faith and Manners in all Ages in all Changes and Revolutions Though Kingdomes and States may alter yet the Scriptures are the same still and what was once the Doctrine Worship and Order of Christ is still the same Lastly That all Particulars may be comprehended in one To live according to the Principles of the Flesh is To set up our selves as the Alpha and Omega to enjoy our selves and to use all things yea God himself in subordination thereunto Thus this love of a mans self even to the hatred of God is that which maketh us put on multiform shapes it is that which maketh us bend and bow and comply in all things For if we did love the Honour and glory of God more than our own selves as we ought to do then we should not attend to self-advantages but Gods glory and honor So that we may say This Self-love is the Beelzebub sin it
of the flesh and the principle of the Spirit and such as your principles are such are ye If thy principle be to be godly to live by the Word to save thy soul then thou art daily in these things thy heart is there thy life is there But if it be flesh that ruleth in thee then this maketh thee like a worm and a moal alwayes in the earth You cannot repent you cannot believe you cannot be saved while these principles abide in you for they make you prejudiced against godlinesse they make you neglect repentance Oh but when thou shalt lie howling and roaring in hell how wilt thou curse and bewail such principles These have damned me these have brought me to this place of torment I would not entertain other principles SERM. CXIV Of the kinds and sinfulnesse of Lying 2 COR. 1. 17. That with me there should be yea yea and nay nay IN these words is the sinne specified that would flow from those two evil causes named before viz. Inconstancy and corrupt principles They that are led aside by these must needs be liars and perfidious persons frothy and vain to whom no credit is to be given The Apostle therefore doth here remove the sinne of lying or saying one thing and doing another thing for such an unfaithfull false man can never be serviceable unto God by that uneven carriage of his he maketh himself uncapable of bringing glory to God and of edifying others Concerning the Greek expression and the interpretation of it there is great diversity amongst the learned That which troubleth most is the gemination of those particulars yea yea nay nay For we read it as a command and a duty Matth. 5. 37. James 5. 12. That our communication ought to be yea yea nay nay whereas the Apostle doth here speak of it as a sinne Some therefore do think that the gemination of the particle crept into the Text by the errour of the Scribes who finding it used in other places thought it should be here also and they are the rather induced to this because in the verse following the Apostle doth not use the gemination onely affirming Yea and nay Others they think that the Greek particle ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which is a note of negation should be supplied making it to runne negatively as if with me were not yea yea and nay nay But there is no necessity of running unto these harsh remedies for we may keep the gemination of the particles well enough as intending thereby a vehement affirmation and a vehement negation For so the Hebrews use to affirm vehemently by doubling the word And our Saviour often useth Amen Amen which custome also Heinsius saith is among the prophane Greek Authours And thus the sense will be very coherent I doe not inconstantly and carnally purpose things as if I should with great vehemency affirme one thing at one time and then with as great a vehemency deny it again at another time But then we must acknowledge that this differeth from those places above-mentioned Matth. 5. and James 5. for there the latter Yea and latter Nay is the predicate in the Preposition here it is the subject and Nay nay the predicate In those places also there is a respect had to our speech as opposite unto oaths but here is denoted only truth and constancy in our affirmations Chrysostome doth not read the words interrogatively and thereupon hath a peculiar interpretation implying the clean contrary to what we have said For he maketh the meaning to be as if Paul did deny he was constant or ought to be unchangeable he was not to have Yea yea nay nay but to be yea and nay as occasion served because he was not at his own disposing to go whither he would but was wholly guided by the Spirit of God and therefore when he attempted to preach in some places the Spirit of God suffered him not So that with this Authour Paul's intention should be to remove from himself such a constancy as if he were to dispose of himself and to hold to his own resolutions whereas he was wholly to follow the guide and motions of Gods Spirit But this seemeth not so proper The Apostle rather defends himself against the charge of lying and unfaithfull dealing he was not Yea and nay Hence some make the Latine word Naucus that signifieth a vain empty trifling fellow to come from the Greek words ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã but of this more in the following verse Seeing then that Paul doth in this expression free himself from the crime of lying and saying one thing but doing the contrary We may observe That lying or contrariety between our words and words or words and actions are not beseeming a Christian neither are they consistent with godlinesse A godly man can be no more godly and a liar than godly and a drunkard than godly and a prophane person This sinne the Apostle maketh as a stream to flow from those two poisoned fountains of levity of mind and a corrupt carnal heart Now how inconsistent this is with the new man and the work of grace you have heard from Colos 3. 9 Lie not one to another seeing you have put off the old man with his deeds To be yea and nay is to be a lyar and sometimes as the Apostle supposeth here we may be very vehement and earnest in our yea's and nayes and then we are bold vehement lyars I shall not enlarge my self concerning the whole Theological matter that may be delivered about a lie but speak so much as will be for our practical improvement of this truth And First We are to take notice of this That there may be a lie materialiter and formaliter That is a material lie when we speak that which is untruth but yet we think it to be a truth or else we would not speake it But then that is formally a lie when we affirm that to be true which we know to be false and this is directly and properly a lie Some say the former is Mendacium dicere the other is Mentiri Now this latter way of speaking untruths is that which properly is called a lie and men do then formally lie when they speak that which their consciences doe tell them to be false yet in some cases when we speake those things that are untrue though we thinke them to be so we are not presently excused from sinne For in many things it behoveth us to have knowledge and a right information before we speak about them Hence the false Prophets are often called lyars who it may be thought they spake what was true being delivered up by the just judgement of God to believe a lie and therefore we must take heed of rashnesse and suddennesse in our words that we may alwayes speak that which is consonant to the truth both materially as well as formally Secondly We may distinguish of lies as they doe of oaths There are Assertory lies whereby we
affirme things to be so and so There are also Promissory lyes whereby we doe promise to doe such and such things but afterwards breake these engagements And the Apostles speech may relate to both these kinds of lies and both these are sinnes against the second Table either when we affirme any thing falsly or perfidiously breake our promises For seeing words are instituted to signifie our sense and minde to others if we abuse them to other ends we doe hereby destroy the end of speech and so as much as lieth in us overthrow all humane commerce and society But in a Promissory lye there is a further aggravation of the sinne because hereby the rules of justice are broken for by promise another man cometh to have a right to the thing promised The Corinthians in this Text had a right to Paul's presence when he had promised them Now where grace is in a man that doth so sanctifie him that he taketh heed of every way of lying whether in words or promises It is true Aristotle speaketh of this verity as a moral vertue And there are some who have as it were a natural justice their words are as good as oaths their promises are as good as bonds and bils Some Heathens have been famous for such a truth in their conversation but yet godlinesse maketh a man keep from lying and falshood upon other grounds then such natural just men which is good to be observed because many are so apt to build the comfort of their souls upon it For 1. Such natural true men they are so onely from the Principles of a natural conscience not from the principles of sanctification within them If you ask them Why they doe it or observe the ground you shall see it is onely because the light of Nature instructeth them herein And although this be commendable yet it is not enough to make it godlinesse in them for what is done in a godly manner ariseth from a principle of godlinesse which is the new nature within a man So that it is one thing to abhorre lying from a meer natural conscience and another thing to do so from a supernatural light within them 2. You may observe a difference in the motive The godly man dareth not lie because God forbiddeth because it 's a sinne that he abominateth whereas the natural true man never minds the Scripture it is not from the word of God that he doth it but because it is a laudable thing amongst men They will greatly praise such a man that is so constant It 's the glory of men they look at not the command of God 3. That such men are true and just but not from a godly principle is plaine Because they doe not receive all other holy duties The same God that hath commanded thee not to lie not to deal falsely hath also commanded thee not to be drunk he hath commanded thee to sanctifie the Sabbath to keep up Family-duties to love those that are godly and to delight in such whereas many times none are more bitter enemies to the power of godlinesse and the beauties of holinesse then such natural just and true men Oh therefore that such would not stay in that Thou doest well that thy words are sure that thy speeches and actions are just but doe not stay here doe not thinke thou hast enough for Heaven For though you doe all these yet if you delight not in godlinesse if you love not those that are holy men if you cannot abide this strictnesse and precisenesse in religious duties know that thou art but half a Christian yet there are duties of the first Table as well as the second and how greatly mayest thou charge thy soul with such sins didst thou not put thy trust and hope in thy true and just dealings Thirdly Divines do usually speak of a three-fold kind of lying There is a pernicious lie a sporting lie and an officious lie 1. A pernicious lie is when we speak that which is false to the hurt and damage of another 2. A sporting lie is when we do in merriment affirm things that are false only to please and delight 3. An officious lie or mendacium misericors as some call it a mercifull lie is when we tell a lie but it is for the good of another to save him out of danger or death such was Rahab's lie and the lie of the Midwives For though God rewarded them for the maine yet it doth not follow he allowed their lie but pardoned it It is disputed by some Whether this be a sinne or no And Luther is so farre from making it a sinne that he speaketh of it as a duty in Genes And Musculus also alloweth of it Yea Comment in Johan cap. 8. he hath this strange division Mendaciorum quaedam fuit licita bona quaedam excusabilia quaedam levia quaedam vitiosa quaedam diabolica But certainly though sporting and officious lies are not so great sinnes as pernicious yet they are all intrinsecally evil and so cannot be made good for any advantage of the world To lie that thou mayest deliver a man from death is not lawfull because of the Apostles Rule We must not doe evil that good may come thereof Rom. 3. 8. Even as adultery and fornication may not be committed under any pretence whatsoever no not by a woman to save the life of her husband of which case some speak of So it is also with a lie being a sinne intrinsecally and of its own nature and therefore can never be made good Hence it is that it is forbidden without any limitation to this lie rather than another Levit. 19. 11. even as stealing and dealing falsly are Therefore Cassianus is of opinion That it is lawfull to use a lie as we doe Hellebore to depell some grievous danger and that the Patriarchs for this end did sometimes use lies is wholly to be exploded Plato was first the authour of this opinion That Magistrates might use Mendacio ut medicamento from whom Origen and his followers were infected in this point But as we heard every lie is of its own nature a sinne because as the Schoolmen say It 's Actus cadens supra indebitam materiam For words are naturally the signe of our meaning and to use them otherwise is unnatural And this should make us be the more wary in our ordinary sporting discourses For how few do attend to this sinfulnesse of the tongue herein But if of every idle word a man shall give an account then much more of every lying word though it may seem no such great matter to us It is certaine the Martyrs thought no such lies lawfull no though thereby they might have escaped cruel torments Yea they are blotted with ignominy in Antiquity who either by favour or money would accept of a Certificate or Testimonial that they had sacrificed at the Altar when indeed they had not and thereby preserving themselves But what gain is this to save a
temporal life and loose a spiritual life Fourthly Whereas sinnes according to Divines are distributed into sinnes of the heart of the tongue and of the hand Cordis oris operis Lying is a sinne of the tongue So that as by the tongue we come to know the disease sometimes of the body that is within so by the tongue we may discerne a sinfull wicked heart A lying tongue doth argue a deceitfull heart So that as the pureness and foulness in the fountain doth quickly empty it self into the streams Thus as the heart is either holily or sinfully affected so it emptieth it self into the tongue and hands Hence in the fifth place All those who would abstaine from the way of lying must study the spiritual government of the tongue Nature indeed hath inclosed it with lips and teeth but Grace must have a more powerfull and predominant curb over it The Apostle James doth notably speak of the sinfulnesse of the tongue James 3. 6. calling the tongue though a little member yet a world of iniquity an unruly evil full of deadly poison Certainly the Apostles zeal discovered in that Chapter against a sinfull tongue should make us with much diligence watch against it especially in that it is so unru y that no man can tame it Now among many sinfull evils of the tongue this of lying and falshood is not the least So that he who hath an holy meek just and faithfull tongue is called by the Apostle a perfect man vers 2. not but that he hath still much imperfection in him onely we are so apt to sinne by that to offend by that What is in the heart is so quickly in that that the Christian hath arrived at a great proficiency in godlinesse who hath this power over his tongue Hence David as sensible of this work above his own strength maketh his earnest addresse in prayer unto God Psal 141. 3. Set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the door of my lips Grace must be the spiritual porter to watch the mouth else such sins will come out thereat that will both greatly offend God and man Hence in the sixth place That this government of the tongue against lying or any other sin may be attained unto it is necessary 1. To cleanse the heart that is the original and source of all evil and therefore it is in vain to heal the outwards unlesse the inwards also be first purged Therefore David in the fore-mentioned prayer addeth another Petition to the former Psal 141. 4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing Therefore when Solomon had first given that counsel Chap. 4. 23. To keep the heart with all diligence then he speaketh of the duties about the eyes hands and feet No man can in an holy manner keep his tongue from lying cursing and swearing with other sinnes thereof unlesse he first endeavour that the inward frame of the heart be made pure and holy The old man must be put off and the new man put on as the Apostle speaketh and then we lay aside the way of lying In the next place Let us consider what are the causes of lying of yea and nay I doe not mean the general ones for the Text nameth them to be inconstancy and a corrupt heart but the particular ones And 1. Some have a strong inclination and peculiar propensity to it they love and delight in telling of lies Yea this lying disposition is noted to be the property of some Countreys as the Poet said of the Cretians They were alwayes liars Titus 1. 12. which witnesse the Apostle saith is true And no wonder at this for the same Apostle maketh it the quality of every man by nature and that wherein he doth oppose God whose Attribute is truth God is true and every man a lyar Rom. 3. 4. Seeing then the nature of man is thus prone to it and some have a more peculiar inclination to it no wonder if lyes as well as oaths do make a Land mourn Do we not see it in children how they are more forward to lie than to speak They come both together only lying seemeth more natural A second cause of lying is want of dependance upon God as if he would not fulfill his promises without our lies and unlawfull means that we use In this Rebecca failed Genes 27. 6 7. though she knew of Gods promise to Jacob yet because Isaac's affections were set upon Esau the elder brother she saw no visible way how the promise should be accomplished therefore she used lying and dissimulation but though she got the blessing for her sonne yet many sad afflictions did befall both her and Jacob thereby 3. Another cause is The captivity and bondage that we are in by nature to Satan for he being ãâã lyar from the beginning we imitate him and follow our father in this particular This our Saviour telleth the Jewes John 8. 44. Ye are of your father the Devil when he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own for he is a lyar and the father of it Mark that the father of it implying that by the Devil we are sollicited and tempted to lies and if there were no other consideration but this it were enough to make us with David Psal 119. 163. To abhorre the way of lying because it cometh from the Devil we thereby demonstrate the Devil to be working in us to move our tongues And truly the name of a lie is a very reproachfull thing How hardly can men endure the name of it who yet are constant in the practice of it So that the reproach especially the cause from whence it cometh may perswade us to leave it off which is hell it self we shall then quickly hear every man speaking truth with his neighbour 4. An inordinate desire of profit and gain doth many times put men upon lying They wilâ commend and praise that which in their conscience they know to be bad and all to get a little profit Thus Ananias and Saphira they lied to Paul and all to reserve a little profit to themselves Lastly A sinfull and immoderate fear that many times provoketh to lying It was thus with Abraham and Isaac about their wives they lied to save themselves out of dangers And although David did abhorre the way of lying yet we see him in several exigencies degenerate from his principles It is true in case of a mans life to choose rather to die than to tell a lie must needs be an argument of heroical grace in a man but we see in Peter how difficult it is to abstain from lies when thereby we can preserve our selves out of danger So that if at any time we find the godly overtaken with this sinne we must not from thence conclude the lawfulnesse of it but rather bewail our pronenesse thereunto For if those that are godly in an eminent manner are thus apt to fall what shall the little Trees do
when the Cedars are so weak Use of Exhortation To take heed of this sinne in a special manner as being so reproachfull to a man much more a Christian so opposite to the Attribute of God whose faithfulnesse and truth is so often celebrated that it is impossible for him to lie Yea it cometh so immediately from the Devil that there ought to be no communion with him in this thing Never call any lie profitable for it will not prove so at last What if by it thou escape danger here and be cast into Hell hereafter What if thou gaine the world here and lose thy soule hereafter Will not this be a dreadfull and dismall lie to thee Remember that place Prov. 12. 19. The lying tongue is but for a moment Hence Prov. 13. 5. A righteous man hateth lying For that lying tongue is but for a moment hereafter it will scorch in hell it will burne in those eternal flames SERM. CXV GOD is True 2 COR. 1. 18. But as God is true our word towards was not yea and nay IN this Verse the Apostle giveth a reason why he did not use Lightness or purpose things according to the flesh viz. Because the word he preached was not so much his word as that which came from God the Supream truth and therefore as no Falshood could fall on God so neither upon his Word that floweth from him Some indeed understand the Word Paul here speaketh of of his Promise to come to them as if he did thus solemny affirm That he was not unfaithfull in his Promise But the ensuing words do evidently declare That he meaneth his Preaching that his Doctrine was not mutable and changeable For the malevolent Adversaries that he had to do with they took occasion from the altering of his purposes or at least deferring of his Promise in that Particular about coming to them to charge his whole Doctrine with the same levity and inconstancy to bring all he Preached into Question because of that Whereupon the Apostle being far more solicitous for his Doctrine and his Office then his own credit or glory doth especially fortifie that and confirm the Truth of that so that by this we see the nature of evil men Whatsoever failings or weaknesses may be in a Minister they presently charge his doctrine with it and blame his Ministry whereas Gods truth is truth and thou art to receive it though the Minister may be false and unworthy but of this wore in its time The Apostles Argument in this Text to confirm the truth of the Doctrine he preached is from the truth of God the measure and Rule of all truth if his word be a lye then God must be said to lye which is heynous blasphemy to speak but God is true This Expression is taken by some to be only Enunciative and Affirmative barely asserting the truth of God as if the meaning were God is true from whom we have received our commission to preach the Gospel and therefore that also must be true Others and they speak more probably take it to be an oath that the Apostle doth here use a sacred oath for the confirming of what he saith and so it is the same with the Hebrews form of an oath The Lord liveth and Heinsius maketh those expressions ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã 1 Tim. 1. 15. 1 Tim. 4. 9. to be equivalent to this We take it there to be an oath but because we have Paul using an oath again at the 23d Verse I shall wave that respect at this time and consider it only enunciatively attending to that Attribute and Property which this oath is built upon and that is Gods truth God is true From whence Observe That God is true God hath many glorious Attributes There is his Omniscience his Omnipotency his Justice and his Mercy and there is also his property of Truth which is of great use and Influence in our comeforts and Duties This truth of God is often celebrated in the Scripture Yea he is not onely said to be true but truth itself Deut. 32. 4. he is so essentially truth it self that the Word saith It is impossible for him to lye Heb. 6. 18. For he being truth in the abstract no falshood or lye is compatible with him Abstractives admit of no mixture though Concretives may Light in it self or whiteness in it self admitteth not of any darkness but as it is in subjects so it doth Now God as he is said to be Light and that there is no darkness in him at all 1 John 1. 5. So God is truth and in him there is no falshood at all But let us discover this Doctrine in particulars And First There is a twofold Truth A Metaphysical Truth and a Morall or Ethicall truth A Metaphysical truth is the truth of Being and Entity and thus the Scripture doth often celebrate the truth of God making him only to be the Jehovah He is the ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the Am that I am For if that rule be true Ens verum convertuntur then where is the chiefest and Infinite Entity there is also the Supreamest Verity This true being of God is often opposed unto Idols and the Heathens Gods which have no true being at all And that God is true in this sense is the very fundamental Article of all Religion Heb. 11. 6. He that cometh to God must believe that he is This truth of Gods being is often to be remembred against that Atheisme which doth reign in most mens hearts How could they live in such excess of riot did they believe there was a God But secondly there is a moral or Ethical Truth and that is Two-fold either Verity or Veracity Verity is when we speak or barely affirm that which is true Veracity is in our Promises when we faithfully perform them Now this Twofold truth is eminently in God There is the truth of his assertion and that is revealed in his Word which is also called truth So that whatsoever is affirmed there can no more deceive us than God himself And then there is the truth of his Promises and the Truth of his Threatnings the truth also of Prophesies and Predictions in all which God will be found true When every man is a Lyar God is true then in what he saith in what is foretold in what he promiseth and in what he threateneth Never let the prophane and secure sinner flatter himself hoping it will prove otherwise than the Word speaketh There is no threatening of God will prove a lye 2. There 's a Division of truth into truth increated and created Increated truth is God himself and he is called truth because Gods understanding is the measure and rule of all other Truths Nothing in the world is true but as it is consonant to his knowledg It is otherwise with us Our understanding is not the measure of the truth of things but there truth is the measure and rule of our understandings then is
sense would be more properly said to erre if under such impediments it did not represent as it doth First One impediment in the sense is the two long distance of the Object from the eye to instance in this senfe As we judg the Sun less than the earth because of the vaste distance from us so that till a man take Astronomical Instruments and correct Sense by Art he misjudgeth about the Suns magnitude thus is it here When we go to judg of Gods Promises to us or his Church we finde not the truth of them because the wayes of God are too remote from us his thoughts exceed ours as much as the Heavens do the earth Therefore we must necessarily erre till we go to the Scripture that is as it were the Artificial Instrumennt whereby we are able to behold that truth in Gods proceedings which otherwise we could not A Second Impediment is the medium indispositum when the means of seeing is Indisposed as when we look upon a stick in the waters or the Sun through a dark cloud Thus many times when we judg of Gods proceedings according to his Promises we look through False mediums we think according to the Principles that men would do in the world as Luther said We would think that God should destroy Pope and Turk immediately but all this is because we look through an indisposed glass in this particular Lastly The eye cannot judg right of its Object when the visive faculty is disturbed when that is infested with any evil humors Thus the spiritual eyes even of a Godly man are in some measure vitiated and therefore are not able to behold that glory of God in carrying on the Affairs of his Church and by those very wayes which we would think tend to the destruction of the things promised by them he doth fulfill them for the wayes of the Lord are wonderfull to us in making good his Promises and commonly they are fulfilled by those means which seem contrary to them even as he cured the blinde man by mingling spittle with clay which he laid upon his eyes And thus the Godly soul may finde how God is true in spiritual Promises to his soul for he obtaineth comfort through desertions the way to Heaven he findes through Hell yea in sanctifying Grace he cometh to higher Degrees in Grace even by his Failings So true is that of Suarez Aliquando substractio gratiae est ad finem gratiae The end of Grace is accomplished by the gradual substraction and suspension of Grace for a time But I must not inlarge herein Lastly This truth of God is the foundation of all Religion and Godliness For if there were no truth in the Scriptures which are Gods truth if there were no truth in the Promises or Threatnings into what a Chaos and Confusion of wickedness would all men fall There would be no difference between Hell and this World So that Gods Truth is a Foundation of all Piety in these three wayes First The truth of God in his Doctrine delivered to the Church is the foundation yea the Essence and soul of his Church In this it doth differ from Jews Turks and Pagans yea from all Heretical Societies That she hath the truth of God and others not So that as the soulâ keepeth the body from rottenness and Putrefaction Thus also the truth of God keepeth the Church from being only a Carkase or to have the Name and Title of a Church without the thing it self Secondly The truth of God in his Promises is the great supporter of the hopes of all the Godly By them alone they are enabled to walk with Peter upon the water and sink not because they believe Gods Promises to be true they do therefore renounce all unlawfull Pleasures and Profits they will not leave the fatness and sweetness of them to go to those bryars Thirdly The truth of God in his threatnings That is like a fiery sword to keep them from all evil They know those threatnings are true and that the World and the Devil prove lyars to all those that serve them therefore they awe their hearts with a continuall fear of them And certainly if every wicked man would remember this That Gods threatnings are true they will be made good no wisdome no greatness no power can resist him For how can the stubble withstand the consuming fire this would make them utterly forsake their sinnes But whether thou wilt believe or no Gods Curses will fall upon thee For there is this difference between the Promises and Threatnings The Promises many of them are not made good unto them unless thou do believe believe and thy sinnes are forgiven thee but the threatnings will be made good to thee a prophane sinner whether thou wilt or not Gods Word will have its effect though thou dost desire it might be false SERM. CXVI The personal failings of Ministers are oft cast upon the Ministry it self 2 COR. 1. 18. But as God is true our word toward you was not yea and nay THe next particular considerable is the occasion of that Transition which the Apostle maketh from the word of his Promise in particular to come to them and the word of his Preaching in the general The occasion is from that evill and malevolent Disposition which was in his Adversaries who from any either real or but supposed Imperfections in other things would presently burden his Ministry with it and thereby as much as in them lieth make Paul wholly useless in the Church of God Now because this is the continual stratagem which the Devil useth to make the best Ministry ineffectual and because it is the constant inclination of wicked men to do so therefore I shall pursue this Observation That there is a propensity in wicked and evil minded men to cast all the imperfections of the Ministers of the Gospel upon their Ministry and Doctrine To bring the Truths they Preach either into doubt or disesteem because of some failings yea though they be not real but supposed in their own Imaginations Thus the Adversaries of Paul they did captiously lay hold upon his Promise and failing as they think in that thereby they would render all his Doctrine and Ministry odious that thereby their falshoods and corruptions may have the greater success Thus the wickedness of ungodly men doth constantly bend to this that they may be hardened in their hearts against the Word Preached that they may fortifie themselves with some damnable Principles of others that so the message of the Lord may be rejected Now to illustrate this consider these particulars First That when a Minister either preaches false Doctrine or liveth scandalously or is lazy and negligent in his place then it is lawfull for a people to have an holy and wise zeal against such persons that they may be quickened up to their duties Neither is this to be an enemy to the Office of the Ministry or to endeavour the publique Dishonour of it
out against the Doctrine and Office for any real or supposed failings because it is that which doth most grieve and trouble them It is the Word of God that is a terrour to them that will not let them sin securely theresore they have no care to take but as much as lieth in them to make it no word to make it nothing but the humours of men For all the while they believe this is the Doctrine of God this will reprove me this will damn me they dare not they cannot rise up against God but to delude their soules therefore they run to lies and sinfull refuges whereby they would undervalue this Word and make it nothing but the Opinions of men 3. They fall foul upon the Doctrine presently because herein they think they do the greater despite to the faithfull Ministers of God Herein they think the more to afflict them they know that no glory honour or profit doth so much prevail with him as the honour of his Office and the truth of his Doctrine and theresore that they might shew their mischief and malice the more they would him in that which is dearest 4. They condemn the Doctrine from personal failings because herein they think to justifie themselves the more That there is no such reason why it should be powerfull to reforme or convert them seeing it doth not so to the Minister himself They think they have a good plea for their unprofitableness and unfruitfulness If he be a Physician say they Why doth he not heal himself if he can save others why doth he not save himself as they derided Christ Use of Exhortation To observe and take notice of this subtilty of Satan and the naughtiness of thy own heart in this particular Are not all his workings to prejudice thee against the faithfull Pastor of thy soul Doth not every tale or story doth not every slanderous and lying report presently take off thy Faith and reverence to the word that is preached Oh remember that it is Gods word it is Gods truth whatsoever our failings may be its Gods treasure though it be in an earthen vessel It will be no excuse for thee at the day of judgment to say Lord I regarded not the word I mattered not Sermons I attended not to what they Preached because I thought the Messengers thereof were proud and covetous Will not God arraign thee saying It was my Word howsoever It was my Doctrine my word was not proud or Doctrine Covetous if not for their sakes yet you should have received it for my sake It was not the Ministers Doctrine the Ministers Sacrament but mine The Devil is very busie to destroy thee by this temptation but watch and pray against them SERM. CXVII Of Changing in Matters of Religion 2 COR. 1. 18. Our word toward you was not yea and nay WE are now arrived at the last particular considerable in this Text and that is the firmnesse and constancy of the Doctrine that Paul preached to the Corinthians You heard that malevolent adversaries from a supposed levity in Paul otherwise did presently argue to an inconstancy in his Doctrine And although this was but once they could not charge such an appearing levity upon Paul often It was but at one time yet how ready were they to take an advantage hereby against Gods truth It is true the verity and firmnesse of Gods truths doth not depend upon the esteem of Ministers his word is sure though men be vain and inconstant yet by this instance we see how much it concerneth the Ministers of the Gospel to abound in gravity sincerity and constancy especially so to deport themselves that the Doctrine they preach may not be suspected of changeablenesse as if they would preach that for Gods truth one time which afterwards they would preach to be the Devils lie This is that which Paul doth here renounce Our word toward you saith he was not yea and nay that is it was not light mutable it was not white and black hot and cold but it was alwayes the same constant abiding truth From whence observe That for a Minister to be mutable and contradictory in his Doctrine is very reproachfull to him and makes his Ministry wholly uselesse Sometimes to preach one way as the way of God one opinion as the certain truth of God and then afterwards to preach up the clean contrary this debaseth the person and the office of a man it maketh all his Ministry to be despised They conclude either that such a man thinketh there is no Religion at all or at least that he is either Atheistical believing none or else very ignorant or carnal and self-seeking that with Demetrius the Priest of Diana's Temple doth judge that only Religion which is profitable and therefore measure the truths of Doctrines by their interest and carnal emoluments In the Old Testament we read of many such lying Prophets who did not prophesie according to the visions of the Lord but from the imagination of their own hearts preached to Kings and people such pleasing things as they desired This hath done a world of hurt in the Church of God when the officers therein have not regarded whether the things they preach were Gods truths but whether pleasing to men or no. This was to make the Sunne to follow the Dial and the truth of God shall no longer be truth but while it pleaseth man Now such men that are thus mutable must needs be accounted transgressours by all For so saith the Apostle If I build the things againe I once destroyed I make my selfe a transgressour Galat. 2. 18. This Doctrine deserveth serious examination because as there is much truth in it and thereby much good may be done So occasionally through mistake men may be prejudiced to their own hurt For did not the Papists brand the Reformers at first with inconstancy and perfidiousnesse that they were nothing but Yea and Nay For formerly they came to the Masse they worshipped Images they acknowledged the Pope as well as they But then of a sudden they were all changed then the Pope was Antichrist then the Masse was blasphemous Idolatry then they puiled down their Altars and Images Thus say the Papists they were yea and nay And in our age Are there not many offended because the Ministers of the Gospel do not keep up the same Church-administrations as they once did that they do not pray baptize administer the Lords Supper in the same way as once they did If it was no sinne then why is it now Thus they think there is much inconstancy and levity in Ministers because they see such changes and alterations in their publick administrations Let us therefore abide the longer upon this truth seeing the Text doth give such seasonable advantages thereunto And First You must know That all yea and nay is not bad There may be a time when he that hath been for a Yea a long time in Religion must if ever he will be
upon the truth and then to be immoveable whereas the doubting and divided mind is never satisfied and flieth from one thing to another never having any rest If then thy saith be true believe as thou hast done if thy worship of God be according to his will continue to do as thou hast done and so if thy life be according to Gods command never change it thou canst not do better onely be sure thy foundation be truly laid and then abhorre all temptations and opinions that would bring thee to doubting for here will be no end thou will be in daily restlesse thoughts of soul Hence the Apostle James saith A double-minded man is unstable in all his wayes Jam. 1. 6 7. He is like a wave tossed up and down in the Sea Oh how unfit and unable are such to confesse the truth before a crooked generation to give witnesse to it by the losse of the dearest comforts they doe enjoy when they do not know whether it be Gods truth or mans errour that they plead for Now you may ask What are the causes procreant of such lightnesse and inconstancy The first is Ignorance when we are not able of our selves to judge what is the truth of God but receive it wholly from trust by tradition This traditional Religion receiving things meerly from men and because of their authority must needs make men change as that changeth Solomon hath a full expression to this The fool believeth every word but the prudent man looketh well to his going Prov. 14. 15. The more ignorant then a Ministry is the more credulous it is and so is like the materia prima ready to receive different formes and shapes when a mans faith is wholly borrowed and he liveth by another mans faith not his own when he shutteth his own eyes and will onely see by another mans then he must call black white and white black as often as those will have him do so upon whom he doth depend If then it be a shame for a private Christian not to live by his own faith and to resolve all into an implicit belief of others Is it not much more an hainous sinne in Ministers who are to be guides and to lead others Secondly An affectation of singularity and vain-glory in a Minister may make him to be Yea and Nay He seeth that by holding and preaching the old known way he shall not be much admired and therefore as people runne in multitudes to new sights so they do to such who bring unheard of opinions This hath been one of the chiefest causes of all the heresies and errours that ever have been in the Church they have been weary of the accustomed Manna they have like the Athenians been alwayes enquiring into what new thing is brought forth And hereupon as pride in apparel doth alwayes bring forth new fashions so pride in Religion new opinions And hence it is that men affect new words new phrases new expressions yea and new Doctrines all which causeth a mutability and change Now surely if a man ever did find the lively power of the truths of God he once professed upon his own heart when he should at any time be invited to taste of new wine he would say the old is better When Peter knew that with Christ alone was eternal life then he saith Whither shall we goe John 6. 68. Or to whom shall we goe We cannot be better than we are Now the other Disciples had not fully tasted of the good Word of God they depart from Christ and never follow him more We may say then to all those unstable soules who wander from one opinion to another and so from truth to falshoods many time Why doe ye leave the Fountain to go to the Cisterns Why do ye leave the fatnesse of the Olive and the sweetnesse of the Vine to go to the Briar Thirdly Another cause of changeablenesse is Love to profit to earthly greatnesse and worldly advantages There is none addicted to this but he must be Yea and Nay often and often again Must not the shadow alter often sometimes longer sometimes shorter sometimes streight and sometimes bowed down because it wholly followeth the body and hath its dependence thereon So it is here when men regard Religion only for politick and self-seeking ends then they must be hot and cold they must be bitter and sweet as their interest requireth This hath alwayes made Ecebolius's in the Church onely it were well if at last they would bewail this carnality this inconstancy as Ecebolius did throwing himself down before the Church gathered together crying out Calcate me insipidum salem This made one Bishop be sirnamed Euripus for his frequent compliances and accommodations of himself that thereby he might be advanced Lastly Another cause though external is The example of others When an whole Church or an whole Nation becometh Yea and Nay then it is very difficult to be immoveable To be onely Athanasius when the whole world is Arrian that is difficult We are apt to think that multitude is patronage enough for any inconstancy Though we judge the usages in Religion superstitious yet we are ready to say as he did Eamus ad communem errorem Hence it is that we read some Nations have received the Popish Religion and then after that Protestantisme and so change them mutually again Now unlesse a man be bottomed upon divine Motives he cannot be Lot in a Sodome he cannot be like that River that emptieth it self into the brackish Sea and yet keeps its own sweetnesse Not to turn when all turn argueth there must be some strong principle within some life within else the dead fish would be carried away with the stream The conclusive particular to clear this whole Discourse and which will antidote against the Objection at first mentioned is this We must distinguish between the Essentials of Religion and External formes thereof which are mutable and changeable It may be the same Essential Religion sull though the form of administrations may alter even as it is the same man still though he wear change of garments This is on purpose mentioned to discover the ignorance of those who charge levity and inconstancy upon the Ministers of the Gospel because they use not the same publick Liturgyl nor administer Sacraments in the same order and forme as was formerly Yea some are so farre scandalized as to think this is the removing of the Protestant Religion but all this is built upon a false foundation as if Protestant Religion were built upon Church-formes of administration For if that were so then there would be many Protestant Religions because several Protestant Churches have alwayes had several formes of administration some more pure than other though all retaining the essentials of Religion Religion then is the same still and the Ministers of the Gospel are the same still we have also the same way still to Heaven and the same Christ our Mediatour though
and division is greatly to be lamented A late Papist saith Ford against Taylor That seing Protestants write against Protestants and fight against Protestants and that for the Protestant Religion he hopeth that at last all will see cause to turn to the Catholique Religion But not to tell them of their Divisions though our differences are a great stumbling-block yet to any settled judicious Christian they should not prove so for the Scripture doth so evidently foretell that there must be heresies and that false Prophets will arise that shall come in such deceivable wayes that they would deceive the very Elect if possible and also that God doth for wise ends suffer all such rents to be that none should stagger thereat yea the approved will be made more manifest and this file will get off the rust from the iron this winnowing will drive the chaff from the wheat Lastly This harmony will be for the greater conviction of every one that shall abide in his unbelief and impiety For what a stock or stone art thou if so many droppings will not at last enter into thee Go from one Minister to another doest thou not hear every one cry down prophaneness incourage to godliness If you hear hundreds of faithfull Ministers what is the work of all but to subdue sin to dispossess Satan to bring men into obedience unto Christ Do we not all come with the same Embassage Intreating of you to be reconciled to God and to agree with this adversary while you are in the way What can more convince yea confound than this It was this which brought utter destruction upon Jerusalem there was then no more remedy 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. It was not one or two but many Messengers he sent and yet all these were refused with the same disobedient heart All the Prophets and faithfull Pastors that have ever been in several ages will rise up against thee for thy condemnation in that day directly or indirectly one way or other they will witness against thee SERM. CXXIII The truths of Christ and the Ministers of it are alwayes the same 2 COR. 1. 19. Was not Yea and Nay but in him was Yea. VVE are now arrived at the last Particular to be considered in this Verse which is The Predicate affirmed of the Doctrine preached by Paul and his Associates and that is It 's not Yea and Nay but Yea. The expression hath been explained already The sense is That the Doctrine of Christ is certain constant and immutable As also that such only are to be accounted of as true Doctors who do adhere to the same truth For Calvin saith gravely upon the Text That this taxeth all versatil and Proteus-like men who can transform themselves into any shape preach one time one Doctrine for their advantage and then again change and preach the contrary or else for sinfull fear do at one time assert such Doctrines as true and afterwards retract and recant them again whereas the truth of Christ is like Christ himself The same yesterday today and for ever Heb. 13. 8. and like God himself who changeth not yea in whom is no shadow of change So that from the words we may observe That it is a proper note of Gods truth and true preachers thereof that they are alwayes the same There is no change no contrariety in their Doctrines As the Apostle you heard expressed it If I build again the things which I destroyed I make my self a transgressor Gal. 2. 18. It is in an heynous manner to transgress when a Minister is thus contradictory This Doctrine is the more to be observed because Stapleton in his Antidotes upon this Text maketh a long harangue to demonstrate that Luther Melanchthon Zwinglius Calvin all the eminent Reformers cannot be the true Apostles of Christ because in their writings there was yea and nay one while they preached such and such things at another time the clean contrary Hence he brings a passage out of Zwinglius confessing that he did tempori not rei scribere he did write to serve the time not the matter that he could not deliver pearl because for the present auditors like swine would trample it under their feet and rend him also especially Melanchthon is instanced in as a very inconstant man in whose judgment they could put no confidence Hence he alledgeth a Synod of the Flaccians who were rigid Lutherans that call his Common-places Jocos communes and not Locos communes and much more to this purpose We finde him triumphing in the incertainty of the Protestants Doctrine so that although we know what they hold this year we cannot tell what they will the next and in the constancy of their Popish Religion which they have adhered unto for many years To all this we will readily grant that the truths of Christ are alwayes the same there cannot be any more new truths than a new Christ than a new Bible and therefore we will grant the Thesis but deny the Hypothesis or application of it to Protestants that wheresoever there is yea and nay there cannot be the truths of Christ But that we may throughly understand this point let us consider these particulars First That we must distinguish between the external administrations and formes of Gods worship and the doctrinalls between the Diducticalls and the Rituals For the former though appointed by God himself yet we plainly see a great a teration therein What a vast difference is there between the service and Sacraments of God in the old and in the new Testament There was Circumcision and the Paschal Lamb we have Baptism and the Lords Supper there were Sacrifices and many external Rites and Ceremonies which when Christ the substance came they presently vanished as the blossome falleth when the bud cometh This great change with some other Arguments made the Marcionites of old conclude that it was not the same God of the Old and New Testament but different but that is absurd The Church administrations though by Gods command are now altered so that it would be a heynous thing to circumcise children to offer Sacrifices to God though once it was the peoples duty Here you see then there is a lawfull yea and nay a time when we might circumcise and a time when we must not circumcise And if you say Doth not this argue inconstancy in God doth not this contradict that glorious Attribute of his immutability I answer No for God doth here as the Physician with a diseased person that sometimes administreth one kinde of Physick and sometimes another according as the nature of the disease requireth or as the husbandman soweth his ground sometimes with one seed and sometimes with another God then was pleased to appoint such a temporary worship and afterwards to appoint another which was more suteable to the Church being now no longer an infant as the Apostle insinuateth Gal. 3. 1. As therefore the mother ordereth her childe otherwise while a childe than
things promised as when any are said to inherit the promise Heb. 6. 12. and sometimes for the promise it self The Greek word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is used often in the New Testament whereas the Ancients did use the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã more frequently for a promise though the Apostle Peter useth that also twice 2 Pet. 1. 4. 2 Pet. 3. 13. The theme of it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which cometh of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã say some and for better pronunciation ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã But Eustathius maketh it to come of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã From this root we have the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in the singular number and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã applyed to the Gospel Whereas among humane Authours the word is for the most part in the plurall number signifying both glad tidings and also the reward given to those that brought them but the Gospel doth only deserve this name of glad tidings and therefore the word is now appropriated unto that though sometimes it signifieth besides the good thing preached the very preaching it self as 1 Cor. 4. 15. and therefore when the Apostle speaketh of one whose praise is in the Gospel 2 Cor. 8. 18. the meaning is one whose praise was in preaching the Gospel and labouring therein not of the Gospel written by Evangelists for Evangelium and Evangelist in that sence as it signifieth the Gospel written or a writer of the Gospel is not used in the Scripture but came in afterwards by Ecclesiasticall use The Greek word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã signifieth in the generall to declare to denounce sometimes to accuse hence is that phrase ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã spoken of by Budeus but in Scripture use it is often taken more particularly for to promise Hence Hesychius and out of him Varinus rendreth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã but this is enough for the word the thing itself hath much comfort and treasure in it and so observe That God hath made promises to his people all the promises of God in Christ are Amen This doctrine deserveth to be opened theologically as being the foundation of all our hope for on Gods promise only we can pleade as we see the godly often in their prayers urging that Not any thing of ours O Lord but meerly thy promise we do pleade before thee And 1. take notice That God might only have dealt with man by his absolute Soveraignty and dominion imposing only upon him commands to do his duty without adjoyning any promise of a reward especially such a reward as eternall happinesse and truly this maketh much as for our comfort so also for our humiliation under all the holy works we do For it is of Gods meer goodnesse that he hath promised glory to thy repentance to thy obedience after thou hast done all God might have annihilated thee neither would he have done thee any wrong if he did not put a crown of glory upon thee after thy holy life so that its gods great condescention to deal by way of promise with us and not by way of dominion and command alone as he might do he being our Creator and we his creatures Secondly The promises that God maketh to us are truly and properly promises They are more then simple and bare assertions of what good he will do to us We know amongst men there is a great difference between a bare affirmation what he will do and a promise for that addeth a new bond and obligation to a man for fullfilling his word Now some have thought that those passages which we call promises are not so properly and truly promises as meer insinuations and significations of Gods will and purpose what he will do Thus Durand expresseth himself lib. 2. dist 27. quest 2. because happily it may be thought that we attribute imperfection to God when we say that he promiseth properly for then thereby would accrue justice on mans part and a right or claim in him to the things promised hereby also the liberty of God would seem to be infringed as if he could not bestow his gifts any other way then he promised but these are no cogent reasons And seeing the Scripture doth so often call them promises and doth so constantly say God doth promise there is no reason why we should go from the proper signification of the word to an improper especially there being no imperfection in the act of promising For meerly as so that denoteth a dominion and power in him that promiseth and certainly if the actuall giving and collation of any good thing doth not declare any imperfection in God why should the promising of it do For when God hath bestowed any thing upon us that is not so alienated as it were but that still it is his and at his disposing to continue or takeaway as he pleaseth we therefore conclude that God doth truly and properly not in a metaphoricall sence make promises to his people Yet In the third place the reason of Gods promising is not as if that were to adde more confirmation to his simple affirmation but for condescension to confirm us against our unbeleef and diffidence Hence there is a vast difference between mans promise and Gods promise For the promise of a man doth adde a new tye and obligation to his word and so his word is made surer in it self as well as to those whom he promiseth but when God doth barely declare his will to do such good things for a beleever this hath truth enough yea so much that nothing can be added to make it truer only because we are apt to conceive of God after the manner of men it doth greatly conduce to strengthen our faith as well as his affirming word yea sometimes to his promise God is also pleased to adde his oath all which is not in respect of himself as if his word could be made truer but only to antidote the more strongly against that diffidence and distrust which is apt to rise up in our hearts This the Apostle notably considereth Heb. 6. 7. when he saith That God to declare the immutability of his counsell confirmed the promise by an oath so that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have a strong consolation It is not for his own sake that he promiseth yea that he sweareth but for our sakes that we might have not only consolation but strong consolation O beatos nos c. cryed Tertullian Oh happy us for whose sakes God doth thus swear but oh us wretched and miserable if we do not beleeve him thus confirming his promise so that the right understanding of Gods promise will make us see that it is not for his own sake but our sakes that he dealeth in a promise-way with us Hence in the 4th place The meer originall and rise of Gods promising any good to us is the bounty liberality and
at all of grace If of workes then not of grace It is the Apostles infallible argument Rom. 11. 6. It cannot be of grace and workes also Luther Comment in Genes maketh this properly Simony when we would have Heaven for the workes we doe and thereupon saith Omnis homo naturaliter est Simoniacus Now how necessary is this truth to be known by every humbled and afflicted sinner How difficultly is he brought to the promise of grace as if it were the forbidden fruit that he might not taste of it This was the precious gold that the first Reformers with much labour digged out of the mines of the Scripture it was the oyl they poured into wounded hearts In what a wildernesse doth the child of God wander till he hath this pillar of fire to guide him Peace and joy cannot be obtained till he come to this promise of grace in Christ How slavish how servile is he till he know that this onely is the way of justification this onely is the way of pardon and acceptance with God And Gods children especially while in the pangs of conversion or at any time under deserlions and black fears about their estate are to flie unto this as a City of Refuge Many an heavy temptation many an heart-breaking doubt would be overcome wert thou once perswaded that in the matter of justification thou must know nothing live upon nothing but the gracious promise of God in Christ Secondly We are to distinguish of promises they are either fulfilled in him or fullfilled by him For according to this division so some doe differently understand the Text. For there are Interpreters that make this the meaning All the promises viz. which have of old beene fore-told by the Prophets they were all Yea and Amen in him that is They were all fullfilled in him and in this sense all the promises are true in him ut subjecto But then others they say not onely the promises of the Old Testament but of the New also they are sure in him because through his worth and dignity they are accomplished and thus the promises of God are Yea in him ut fundamento causâ meritoriâ But we are not to oppose these interpretations For if we take the promises of both kinds they may well be applied to the Text Yea the latter do necessarily suppose the former The former is to support our assenting faith the other our siducial faith For the first we read of many promises in the Old Testament concerning a Messias to come and these were all accomplished in that person Jesus of Nazareth The first promise that was made concerning him is Genes 3. 15. where he is promised As the seed of the woman that should destroy the seed of the Serpent Afterwards he is more particularly promised As the seed of Abraham in whom all Nations should be blessed which the Apostle doth industriously apply to Christ and to Christ onely Galat. 3. 16. So that we may say the promise made to Adam the promise made to Abraham are fullfilled in Christ they are Yea and Amen in him Thus also the promise of a Shiloh the promise of a great Prophet whom God would raise up the promise of a King who should sit upon Davids threne and of his Kingdome there should be no end The promise of a Messias by the Prophet Daniel were all yea in Christ When he came into the world we might truly say Behold the seed of the woman behold Abrahams seed behold Davids King Jacobs Shiloh Daniels Messiah Yea the Prophet Isaiah who is justly called the fifth Evangelist because he doth as plainly and clearly speak of Christ as the Evangelists doe All his promises concerning him especially in Chap. 9. 6. To us a Childe is borne to us a Sonne is given and the Government shall be upon his shoulder As also Chap. 7. 14. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and beare a Sonne and shall call his Name Immanuel But chiefly Chap. 53. where at large his sufferings are fore-told for our sinnes That he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and that by his stripes we are healed All these are made evidently Yea and Amen in him And not onely the promises but all the Levitical administrations the Sacrifices the Scape-Goat the whole burnt Offering the Paschal Lamb these were types of Christ and were Yea in him which made John the Baptist say Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world John 1. 29. Now the consideration of this serveth greatly to confirme our faith against Jewes who blaspheme the Lord Christ cavilling that those promises could not be applied to him and therefore they doe expect another Messiah Neither doth the usefullnesse of this truth stay there but when it hath perswaded us of the true dogmatical faith then it further inclineth us to a fiducial recumbency and reposing of our soules upon him as our Prophet and King as our Christ who is to bring us into reconciliation with God And this sense of the Text we are to acknowledge but then the other which floweth from this is That in Christ all the promises of God to his Church are confirmed they have their vertue and efficacy from him Without Christ there could not have been such promises made neither without him could they have been accomplished as may appear in the third particular which is That the promises being the signes of Gods grace and favour there could neither have beene the existency of promises or the fullfilling of them without Christ And the reason is because of that infinite holinesse which is in God whereby he cannot but loath sinners and his glorious Attribute of Justice whereby he is carried out to punish every such offender This Justice of God causeth such a great gulfe between us and God that neither a gracious promise can come to us or we to it till by the blood of Christ this justice be atoned and a sufficient expiation made by his blood No wonder then if all Gospel-promises are said to be made in him because the least good thing promised could never be vouchsafed to us without Christs mediation There could not be remission of sin there could not be accepting of our persons there could not be the least drop of any blessing communicated to us had not Christ as our Surety interposed Therefore it is not the promise but Christ in the promise that the soul is by faith to receive The Ens incomplexum not Complexum is Objectum fidei saith the learned The promise or proposition is onely Objectum quo Christ or the matter promised is the Objectum quod In all promises then we are still to have our eye upon Christ as without whom they could not have any efficacy at all So that as it is with the creatures they all subsist by his power In him we live and move and have our being And if God should withdraw his arme they would all fall
of God like Peters Angel doth break up all the strong bars of any prison we are in any difficulty we are afflicted with As Dalilah gathered Sampson loved her when he would manifest where his strength was so may we assure our selves of Gods love to us by revealing his promises oh if you bring the promises you binde the hands as it were of the Almighty he can do nothing against his promises when therefore any thoughts of Gods Majesty of Gods purity and holinesse may affright thee run to his promise and as the people of Israel when amazed under the terrible lightnings and thundrings at Gods presence in giving the Law cried out Let not God speak any more to us but Moses so do thou let not thy Majesty speak thy Justice speak thy Holinesse speak but thy Promise let that speak and we will hear Lastly The freenesse of Gods grace is made very glorious and resplendent in the promises of grace Free-grace is more than love or goodnesse and bounty for Adam while in the state of integrity had those but free-grace is only where a miserable and hopelesse sinner is Now to such an one belong only curses and threatnings when therefore in stead of a threatning like a roaring lion to devour thee thou meetest with a gracious promise to embrace thee this must needs rejoyce thy heart Go to the spring head of every promise and thou wilt finde it to be alone free-grace The Scripture useth these Arguments as equivalent to have a thing by grace to have it by a promise and to have it by faith for grace is the originall and fountain Promises are on Gods part the active and communicative means faith on our part is the receptive and applicative so that when we enjoy any mercy by Gods promise thereby is excluded all works and all boasting and thus God is altogether exalted and man debased Again if we come to the second particular there we shall see how that our Amen subscribed to the promises or our firm beleeving in them doth give glory to God and this is the more to be pressed because we are apt to have low thoughts of faith as we see in Popery where Charity is far preferred before it and withall to beleeve is accounted an easie thing Thus also the Papists charge us as if we made the way to heaven a broad way because we say they must beleeve that is the soul and life of all And further it is good to presse this because the people of God look upon faith as was hinted before only as their ease not as bringing any glory to God Hence though they never doubt whether they should repent of sinne or love God yet they do very much doubt about their duty of beleeving Now all this preposterousnesse ariseth from the want of consideration in this particular that Faith giveth glory to God as well as procureth mercies to our selves yea to beleeve in the promise is the great and signall eminent way of giving glory to God First because by beleeving in Gods promises we thereby proclaim our dependance upon him in all things that we live both spiritually and corporally upon him only so that faith in this consideration is the great duty of the first commandment That requireth us we should have no other Gods besides him Thus faith doth it taketh off from all supports of sence of second causes of all humane advancements and setleth us upon the promise of God alone Now must not this needs give glory to God when God alone is set up no creature no other help is looked upon This is that which maketh faith in the promises so difficult because it is so hard to be weaned from the breasts of the creature we know not how to swimme without these bladders Though we have ten thousand promises to support us yet one crosse providence doth more to unsettle us then all these promises to confirm and quiet us Some have observed that all the letters in the Name Jehovah are literae quiefcentes teaching us thereby to rest our souls alone upon him it may be that is too curious howsoever faith may be called the acquiescent or quietative grace therefore to beleeve in the promises is to give glory to God Secondly By beleeving in the promises we glorifie God because hereby we manifest him to be truth it self the supream and infallible truth Therefore the Scripture maketh the contrary to this a very hainous sinne highly dishonouring God as when it is said John 3. 33. He that receiveth the testimony of Christ which is by faith hath set to his seal that God is true Then on the contrary he that doth not receive it he setteth to his seal that God is a lyar Oh execrable blasphemy so much unbeleef is so much giving the lye to God and if this be so hainous a sinne then beleeving doth God as much honour And truly it must be unpardonable if we who do upon a mans promise rest our selves contented and never doubt of the performance especially when a just and honest man that we should not much rather rely upon God of whom the Scripture saith It is impossible he should lye Thirdly Herein doth beleeving in Gods promise so exceedingly glorifie God because it exalteth that Evangelicall way of our justification and salvation which God above all things purposed for his own glory The works of Creation are for the demonstration of Gods glory Whether we eat or drink we are to do all for the glory of God But the way of mans salvation is in a more signall and eminent manner ordered for Gods glory This is the mystery that hath astonished all the world This is that glorious truth which the Angels desire to search into more and more Now by faith this glory of God is published and acknowledged Take the despairing sinner look upon the damned in hell do they give God the glory of his grace and of his wisedom and mercy Do they with cordiall ravishments speak of the unsearchable riches of Gods grace in Christ No they cannot do it therefore the Beleever only is he who giveth God the glory due to him for all Gospel-wayes and all Evangelicall Priviledges Therefore hath God exalted Faith above all its fellow-graces because that above all graces doth give God the glory due to him Indeed in the state of Integrity their love of God had the preheminence as it shall also have in Heaven but in the state of grace there Faith hath the Excellency God hath taken off the royal Crown from that Vasthi and put it upon this Esther this despicable grace as it were and which hath no Pomp at all in it Only as it is said of Christ who being poor made many rich So this poor grace doth not onely enrich us but every way advanceth the Glory of God Insomuch that from the unbeleever God hath no more glory than if he had never sent his Sonne into the world No more
of themselves Having thus illustrated the Doctrine let us touch some arguments à posteriori whereby it is plain That all our establishment is from God And 1. It is plain In that a godly man findeth such an inequality in the temper of his soul Sometimes he is able to withstand strong gusts of temptations and at another time he is so weak that every blow will beat him down David discovereth these hils and valleys in his soul in many Psalms Now if it were a mans own strength then he would be more constant and uniform Only by these ebbings and flowings we are taught that God doth alone support us if he withdraw his hand then are we troubled 2. It is plain Because sometimes weak Christians have gone through great temptations when strong ones have exceedingly failed Did not Peter an eminent Apostle of Christ fall very dangerously And yet how many weak women have been inabled to become Martyrs for Christ Did not Abraham called the father of the faithfull shew much sinfull fear when he was in Abimelechs country Alas if Samsons hair be cut he is no stronger than other men Oh the wise dispensation of God! Sometimes the strong Christian stumbleth and falleth when the weak standeth And why is all this but as the Apostle teacheth us to shew That the root beareth us and not we the root Rom. 11. 18. Christ keepeth us to him we do not keep Christ to our selves Lastly That it is God alone who establisheth as appeareth By the prayers of Gods people And it 's a Rule of Austins of old against the Pelagians It is an absurd thing to pray unto God for that which is in our own power If we can establish our selves why do we pray that God would not lead us into temptation Do we not therein proclaim that our own power our own strength cannot preserve us in any temptation Thus David prayeth Uphold me according to thy Word Psa 119. 116. and Psal 51. 12. Uphold me with thy free spirit The guilt upon his soul for those grosse sins would have swept him away like a flood had not God mercifully upheld him and as the godly have declared this by prayer so also by their praises and thanksgiving acknowledging that they could never have gone through such exercises conflicted with such temptations had not the Lord supported them They wonder to see how their hearts were kept up under such dejections Thus David Psal 63. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee thy right hand upholdeth me And Psal 145. 14. The Lord upholdeth those that fall though they fall yet he doth not quite take off his hand from them but raiseth them up again Thus you see how true the Text is That it is God who establisheth us SERM. CXXXI The most eminent for Godlinesse need to be established by God as well as the meanest which Establishment is in Christ Jesus 2 COR. 1. 21. Now he which establisheth us together with you in Christ c. THe next thing considerable is the Subject of this Establishment with the Object wherein The Subject is Us with you In this doth appear the Apostles modesty and humility Though he had such a plerophory and did exceed many others as much as the Cypresse doth the shrubs yet he attributeth it not to his own strength or power but to the grace of God If God leave him then this Samson is no more than other men And when he saith With you this is to be understood indefinitely not universally For who can think that every Corinthian was thus established anointed and sealed But it is ordinary with the Apostle when writing to Churches to speak of them as those that are truly godly either because many were so or else because in charity it was meet for him to think so Or lastly because according to their outward calling and profession they declared themselves obliged and bound thereunto Thus writing to the Church of the Ephesians he speaketh generally Grieue not the Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption Ephes 4. 30. In the next place you have the Object and that is in Christ ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in Christum Some render it as being more emphatical The sense is that we are incorporated as it were into Christ and thereby established for out of Christ we are as reeds shaken with every wind From these two particulars we may observe two Doctrines to be briefly dispatched at this time The first is That even the most eminent in godlinesse do need Gods power to stablish them as the weakest and most infirm Even the Pauls that are like gyants when others are but as dwarfs are not preserved by their own power It 's Gods right hand that upholdeth them and if that be removed they are no more than other men This is a very necessary truth to be improved for the comfort of those that are weak in their own sense and feeling Whatsoever encouragements you declare to them they are ready to put off all with this It is true such as Paul such as Abraham and David that were starres of the first magnitude these could do so God was in a special manner present with them But we must not argue from these Cedars to such Briars as we are whereas this Text sheweth that all are alike as to this dependance alone upon God Us with you saith the Apostle and therefore we have him Rom. 8. and in other places putting himself in the number of other Christians and a guing for their justification perseverance and eternal glory by such arguments as are common to all believers not from any thing peculiar and extraordinary in himself So that all believers have the same God the same Christ to rest their souls upon though they differ much in their inherent graces Thus we may see David a president herein Psal 32. 6. when he had declared Gods great goodnesse to him upon his purpose to confess his sins I said I will confesse my transgressions unto the Lord thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne that is spoken by way of aggravation whatsoever was guilty and damnable in it though never in so heinous a manner thou didst pardon it then mark the inference For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee for this because God did so with David whereas it might be objected Though God did so with David yet will he with such an unworthy wretch as I am But David answereth you For this euery godly man shall be encouraged to pray To demonstrate the Doctrine viz. That the strongest Christians are alone stablished by the power of God consider these particulars First The examples of the fals of the most godly men that are recorded in Scripture By which it is plain that not they themselves but the power of God did preserve them and when that had forsaken them being left to themselves they fall into the mire Thus David and Peter are sad
is the Sealing that here beleevers are said to have from God and that will appear to be a metaphor taken from men who for severall ends make use of seals and so accordingly it is to be applyed to that work of Gods spirit which is in the hearts of beleevers All which will better appear in the opening of the doctrine which is That the people of God are his sealed ones To improve which truth Consider First That we reade of an active sealing and a passive sealing An active sealing is when we by profession or otherwise do give our Testimony to the Truths of God for when a man receiveth the Word of God as his Truth and doth accordingly manifest this in his life herein he doth seal to God So the Evangelist John chap 3. 33. He that hath received his Testimony hath set to his seal that God is true By which expression you see of what necessity faith in the Word of God is with the profession thereof in our lives It is a sealing that God is true insomuch that he who beleeveth not as much as in him lieth maketh God a lyar Oh consider this thou who art tempted to unbeleef to distrust not to rest upon the Promises of God What an hainous sin is this not to give testimony to Gods Truth but this we are not to speak of Therefore there is a passive sealing which we reade applyed to Christ and to all beleevers To Christ thus Joh. 6 27. For him hath God the Father sealed How was that when by the wonderfull miracles that were wrought he was confirmed to be the Messias And then for beleevers they are said to be sealed not only in this place but Eph. 1. 13. and Eph. 4. 30. Thus you see the people of God have a sealing But in the next place Gods sealing of his people is twofold either visible or invisible externall or internall Gods visible sealing was again twofold extraordinary or ordinary extraordinary were the miracles and wonderful signes which many beleevers did in the first plantation of the Gospel Thus Paul cals miracles the signes of his Apostleship 2 Cor. 12. 12. and they are said to be a sign to those that beleeve not 1 Cor. 14. 22. Now some would have this sealing which beleevers are said to receive meant of these extraordinary miracles which were visible to the world but that cannot be partly because all true beleevers in those dayes had them not and some who were not true beleevers did partake of them and partly because that was but for a season while the Gospel was first preached whereas the Scripture speaketh of such a sealing as the godly may have in all ages even till their redemption In the next place there are visible ordinary seals such are the two Sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper for as circumcision is called Rom. 4. 11. the seal of the righteousneste of faith so that is to be applyed to every other Sacrament being of the genericall nature thereof It is true the Apostle in this Text and other places may happily allude to this Sealing in the Sacrament which is visible and externall but because the outward application of these is to the unregenerate and hypocrite as well as the truly godly therefore the Apostle meaneth a further thing even some proper priviledge that is peculiar to the godly only and that invisibly or spiritually in our hearts as the next words shew the earnest of the spirit in our hearts So that as the anointing is a spirituall invisible thing thus also must the sealing be Therefore before we come to declare the nature and use of this obsignation Let us consider what is implied in the metaphor of sealing for thereby we shall in part be brought to understand the admirable nature thereof And first Sealing of the godly doth imply the precious and excellent esteem they have with God for so amongst men those things are sealed up by us as we account precious None use to seal up dung and pibbles in a bag Thus Hag. 2. 23. God promiseth Zerubbabel he will make him as a signet because he had chosen him that is he should be very precious and dear to him as the diamond in a ring Therefore we have that expression Jer. 22. 22. Though Coniah were the signet of my right hand saith God yet I would pluck him from thence that is though never so dear to him We have also the Church praying Can. 8. 6. Set me as a seal upon thy heart as a seal upon thy arm As these who dearly love any were wont to have their image engraven upon the rings they did wear on heir hands to have them continually in remembrance Thus the Church prayeth that she may be put as a seal even upon the heart of Christ so that by this expression is meant the preciousnesse the high esteem God hath of them they are his Jewels they are his peculiar treasure and therefore it is that he doth thus seal them 2. Sealing is for the safety and preservation of any ohing that we would not have lost Thus Dan. 6. 17. when Daniel was cast into prison there was a stone laid upon the mouth of the den and the King sealed it with his own signet that so there might be no hope of having Daniel released and thus God sealeth his people by special grace preserving them that they shall never totally and finally be lost though Satan be never so watchful to destroy them They are sealed and therefore they shall certainly persevere but because this will come more fully in the next particular I passe it over 3. Sealing doth not only imply safety but security also against such danger that is imminent upon us God sealeth his people that the destruction which is consuming of others may passe them by Thus we reade in Ezechiel cap. 9. 4. when the Angel was to destroy the inhabitants of Jerusalem yet there was a command given to set a mark upon the foreheads of such as did sigh and cry for the abominations thereof When the Egyptians likewise were to be destroyed they passed by every house that had blood sprinkled upon the posts thereof Rahabs red thread was like a seal to preserve her from destruction and her family hence Rev. 7 4. we reade of many thousands of Gods servants sealed in the foreheads and they were therefore sealed that they might be preserved from desolation This sealing was not any external mark no more than the mark of the beast was but that reall profession of Christ which they put forth in the midst of all dangers not defiling themselves with the impurities of others And thus God doth still seal his people that Satan though he desire to winnow and sift them yet is not able to devour them as his prey Oh what unspeakable mercy is this when the justice of God goeth with a drawn sword to throw such and such into hell he passeth by thee because thou
necessity of this doctrine for while a godly man looketh upon what is to come he seeth such a terrible wildernesse he is to go through such a Red Sea to passe over such Anakims in the way to be destroyed that had he not this certain perswasion that he shall overcome all these difficulties and that God would daily hold him in his arms of grace that he shall not fall his doubts and fears would wholly dishearten him And thus much is comprehended in the metaphor of an earnest It is not my purpose at this time to lanch into that ocean of the doctrine of perseverance as also the certainty of it I shall therefore amplifie this doctrine with some few propositions and so conclude it for the excellency and comfortablenesse of it will not let us wholly passe it by This precious flower can be found only in the paradise of the Scripture Therefore Austin was weary of Platonical Books because they had not these excellent things in them the Scripture hath whereof this arra spiritus the earnest of the spirit is one he instanceth in lib. confes cap. 7. As first We must know that comfort of perseverance is only improved by those that are certain of the present work of grace in their souls He that findeth grace for the present in his soul may undoubtedly conclude of his salvation hereafter but if a Christian do lie in doubts whether he hath grace or no this doctrine will not be as the honey-comb to him for he hath not laid the foundation that this must be built upon but if his thoughts about the present work of grace be hopefull only in him then also are his thoughts about perseverance hopefull only He may have some comfort but not such a certainty as the Scripture propoundeth Neither can he use those triumphing expressions of holy confidence which Paul Rom. 8. speaketh not of himself by any peculiar revelation but of all the children of God that nothing shall separate him from the love of God in Christ Secondly There are some Doctors and Teachers who make the certainty of our present grace and of perseverance therein two distinct yea and separable things They will grant that a man may be certain of the present grace he hath but then they deny he is to be certain that he shall continue and persevere in this for they affirm that a man may have true grace and yet totally and finally fall from it others say that a man may have grace and not be elected and such may lose it but he that hath true grace and elected that man shall never lose his interest in heaven Nay some of these Teachers do not only deny any such certainty of perseverance in our present grace either ordinarily possible or necessary But say such a certainty would be very dangerous and destructive to all vigilancy and carefulnesse in an holy life for what a man is assured of he cannot fear he shall lose let him live how he will but this upon another account is in time to be more largely debated Therefore for the present I only adde this third Proposition viz. That the certainty which the godly have is not such an absolute abstracted one as that it doth not include the means leading to salvation but rather doth necessarily connote them Insomuch that if any godly man should be left to such a desperate frame of heart as to say I am sure of heaven let me fall into the most abominable impieties that are these shall not hinder salvation such an one would certainly be damned but that is not to be supposed that such who have the true seed of grace will ever be given up to such a prophane spirit The certainty then that a beleever hath is in the use of means to attain their desired end So that it 's like the assurance that Paul had concerning the preservation God would vouch safe to all his fellow-passengers in the ship with him which yet did relate to the necessary use of means as Paul exhorteth them or like that of Hezckiah to whom God promised the addition of fifteen years longer to his life Now he was assured of this God could not lye yet he did not neglect to eat and drink he knew Gods promise implyed the use of the means so that the adversaries to this Truth do fully mistake when they say we preach such a certainty of perseverance that though a man fall into any enormous crimes yet he shall enjoy this still This is oppositum in apposito to suppose that if fire be water it will refrigerate Fourthly We are further to distinguish of a two-fold certainty in this matter of salvation and perseverance in the way therein The first I call a dogmaticall certainty and that is when a man is fully convinced out of the Scripture of this truth in the generall that whosoever hath once had true grace shall never fall from it but certainly shall be saved and he that hath this differeth from those corrupt and erroneous Teachers that affirm the contrary as the Arminians and their complyers in this respect for there is no more reason to doubt of this doctrinal point than others that are maintained by the Orthodox against that party so that there is no more reason to make this a problematical point wherein learned men may dissent from one another then any other in the Arminian controversies But 2. there is a personal or reflexive certainty and that is when a man doth not only beleeve this position as a truth that he who hath true grace cannot fall from it but also is perswaded that he hath true grace in his own heart and therefore that he is built upon such a rock that no storms or tempests shall be able to overthrow him and this is that every godly man is to presse after This text is a speciall furtherance in this work for the spirits fealing perswadeth of the grace already wrought in us and the earnest doth assure us of that which is to come If you ask what grounds there are why he who findes grace in himself may thus conclude infallibly for heaven hereafter I shall amongst many give three only which is such a threefold cord that can never be broken As first That all true grace is the proper effect of predestination so that whosoever is effectually called in time is thereby declared to be predestinated before the world began Thus the Apostle Rom. 8 30. whom he did predestinate he called and those he justifieth and those he glorifieth You see it 's a chain of Gods making and so cannot be dissolved therefore Tit. 1. 1. it 's called the faith of Gods elect so Eph. 1. 4. he hath chosen us before the foundation of the world that we should be holy We see then that holinesse and true faith is proper to the elect only and therefore to distinguish of a two-fold Sonship of God some by present grace only and
swear yet Paul when he expressed them he did swear For I onely repeat them enuntiatively and by recitation I doe not practically call upon God Thus when a Magistrate or any inferiour Officer readeth a forme of an Oath to him who shall swear this reading of it doth not make him swear because he doth it not by calling upon God In the next place There is the Forme of this Oath and that is Calling upon God as a witnesse A two-fold forme we may speak of in an Oath Internal and that is when God is called to witnesse Or External and that is a forme of words Of which in its time because many Disputes are whether such formes be Oaths or no For the present The Internal is God called upon as a witnesse Insomuch that all oaths made by creatures or swearing by them is utterly unlawfull For seeing to swear is as you heard a divine Worship it must needs be Idolatry to give this worship to any other but God Neither will the Popish distinction of swearing by a creature transitivè or relativè with reference to God and terminativè or absolutè be able to make escape from the jealousie of God in this matter as is to be shewed Although not onely Pagans and Papists but even many Protestants are guilty of this Idolatry to swear by Saints and Angels by creatures irrational and rational But woe be to such because of their horrible offences in this kinde Now when we say God is called upon as a witnesse hereby is declared That an Oath in its nature tends to the glory of God for it is built upon this fundamental Article of Faith That God hath an all-seeing eye as also an avenging one where men deale perfidiously God is called as a witnesse and so by consequence as a Judge And in this an Oath differeth from a Vow For though a Vow be also a religious worship of God yet in that God is considered as it were a party with whom we make a sacred promise but in an Oath we attend to God as a witnesse as he that knoweth all things And therefore how highly do these common swearers sinne For while they swear they make use of his name who knoweth all things who observeth those very words and expressions at that time Certainly this consideration of Gods witnessing at that time should fill thee with much terrour In the third place There is the Matter and that is doubtfull and controversal Whether it be a thing past present or future For an assertory Oath may be about future things as if a man should swear the infallible event of such a thing which yet he doth not promise to accomplish This the Apostle sheweth when he cals an Oath Heb. 6. 6 The end of a controversie Therefore to use an Oath about manifest and evident things is an abuse of the end of it Had Adam continued in the state of innocency there had been no need of Oaths because there would have been no doubts no controversies there would have been no falshood or injustice amongst men But after sinne came into the world then man became sinfull and false as the Devil that did deceive him So that although Oaths are lawfull in some cases yet it is because of sinne they become necessary because of mans transgression And therefore Divines say well That although an Oath be a worship of God yet it is not as other worship is of it self to be desired and constantly exercised as to pray unto God and to praise God but onely it is to be desired propter aliud supposing sinne in man going before Even as Physicke is not in it selfe to be desired but upon supposition of a disease so that if mankinde were as honest faithfull and righteous as they ought to be there would be no need of Oaths and frequent use even of lawfull and necessary Oaths suppose a distempered Nation even as continual use of Physicians demonstrate a diseased people Lastly Here is the End of swearing and that is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã saith the Apostle Hebrews 6. 6. for confirmation and therefore called ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the Ne plus ultra of any controversie not that alwayes it doth confirme the truth For how many ungodly and gracelesse persons doe sweare falsly But in the nature of it it is for that end It is true your common swearers they doe so grossely abuse an Oath that the end is wholly frustrated no sober man giving them the more credit because they sweare yea the more they sweare the more they suspect them for lying SERM. CXLI Of Oaths and several expressions used in Swearing 2 COR. 1. 23. Moreover I call God to record upon my soul c. THe Definition and lawfulnesse of an Oath in necessary and urgent motives being declared I shall proceed to answer some Cases or Questions and that from the Description given Only First It is good to take notice that there are these four things may be used to the confirmation of any thing that is said The first is A bare Affirmation or Negation according to that command Let your communication be yea and nay 2. When we to this affirmation adde an Asseveration or Attestation Thus our Saviour many times Verily verily which is not an oath as learned men shew against those who have thought so so when we say truly or indeed this is an asseveration 3. There is an Obtestation and that cometh near to an Oath but is not an Oath and that is when we doe appeale as it were to the creatures to witnesse such a thing as Moses to affect the senslesse Israelites said Hear O Heavens and hearken O Earth Thus Paul 1 Tim. 5. 21. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect Angels He doth not there swear but use an Obtestation and that not onely before God and Christ but Angels also for they are present with us and bear witnesse of us Lastly There is an Oath and that is When we call upon God as a witnesse to confirme what is spoken I say When we call upon him as a witnesse For when there is a meer allegation of some Text of Scripture to confirme a truth there is a witnesse of God made use of he is then brought as a witnesse but it is not an Oath because it is not by way of Invocation In the next place Oaths may either be compleatly and perfectly expressed as here in the Text Or else elliptically or defectively which is very ordinary If they enter into my rest God doe so to me and more also Many times the creature that is dear to us we mention as exposing it to Gods curse if we say not truth and the name of God is not mentioned This is good to be remembred because many use execratory speeches and thinke because God is not named here is no swearing whereas they are terrible oaths such are Would I might never stirre would I might be hanged
the Lord liveth therefore not by any creature 1. In truth that is be sure that the thing thou swearest be true not onely in it self but to thy conscience that thou knowest the truth of it or if thou hast not the certainty of it that thou beleevest it to be so upon good grounds and against this offend all those who swear falsly and will bring as much as lieth in them God to witnesse a lye 2. In judgement that is with prudence deliberation and caution Be well advised before thou swearest and against this offend all common swearers that swear rashly and for ordinary things as also those who swear in passions and when moved by anger 3. In righteousnesse that is be sure the matter thou swearest especially in promissory oaths be lawfull and just such which is agreeable to Gods Word To these we may adde two more 1. That we swear in faith beleeving not only that there is a God but also that he is an observer of all that we speak or do and an avenger of such who shall pollute his Name And then 2. that we do it with holy awe and reverence of God upon our spirits We are to fear an oath Oh what trembling and confusion may this work upon rash and passionate common swearers How often hath the name of God been taken into thy mouth rashly and prophanely Thou who when thou art to do with a great man in place and honour dost with all reverence approach to him how cometh the Majesty of the great God to be thus contemned by thee In the last place When may we swear and that is in the generall when necessity doth compell when the truth cannot be found out any other waies for an oath is to be used when other means are deficient and more particularly we are then only to swear when the honour of God is concerned or Religion and Christianity is falsly accused and these are publique grounds To which we may adde the good of the Common-wealth or we are to swear upon a particular occasion to clear our selves from false accusations and crimes charged upon us if otherwise our innocency cannot appear or in the behalf of others when they shall suffer either in name life or estate and we are required ãâã unto by the Magistrate that so justice may proceed SERM. CXLIII Ordinary Swearing reproved and put to Silence 2 COR. 1. 23. Moreover I call God to record upon my soul c. I Shall now conclude the Subject which the former part of this verse hath afforded unto us From what hath been delivered concerning an Oath I proceed to an Use of severe Reproof against that common Epidemicall sinne of ordinary swearing It is a Nationall sinne it is the City-sinne it is the Village-sinne it is the Family-sinne it is the rich mans sinne the poor mans sinne the old mans sin the young mans yea the childs sin who learneth to speak and swear together But if an oath be a religious calling upon God as a witnesse if it be a sacred worship of his holy Name where will such prophane contemners of the honour and glory of God appear What mountains shall cover them from the wrath of God What shall be done unto thee thou cursing swearing tongue Not coals of juniper but of hell fire shall be powred upon thee We may be amazed and wonder why such a sinne should be thus universall for other sins have either pleasure or profit but this hath none at all Certainly the custome of such a sinne cometh from the meer wickednesse and prophanenesse of a mans heart having no fear of God in our souls for there is no earthly advantage that tempteth to this common ordinary swearing yet it hath been a generall sinne in the former ages of the Church as well as now How zealous and frequent is Chrysostome against that ungodly custom of swearing Adhuc timeo quia nullus timet saith he With no lesse godly affection doth Austin also set himself against it yea it seemeth there were such prophane wretches in his daies as are in ouâs who did account juramentum in ore magnum suave aliquid And have not we many who judge an oath to be a grace to their language and deride at such who are so precise as to be offended at such passages Oh therefore that God would so blesse this Discourse at this time to you that the prophane swearing tongue may be converted into a praying tongue a repenting and confessing tongue that he who hath sworn may never do so more but fear an oath as much as hell-fire and for this purpose consider these motives thereunto First That there is an expresse precept and command against such ordinary rash swearing and therefore you cannot with any forehead pleade for the lawfulnesse of it neither can you say we did not know that it was a sin to do thus for Christ hath set a command like a Beacon upon an hill none can but see it And it spâaks almost as loud as the Trumpet at the day of judgement none can but hear it It is Mat. 5. 34. But I say unto you Swear not at all and ver 37. Let your communication be yea yea nay nay he saith Swear not at all so that if it be but once an unlawfull swearing in all thy life thou hast transgressed this command and as one tile of the house neglected may in time make the whole covering consume and one rent in the garment let alone may at last destroy the whole so even one sinfull oath not repented of or humbled for may bring on the damnation of the whole man You see this command is laid down so strictly both in the negative and affirmative part that some have judged it wholly unlawful to swear in any case but that you heard was an error on the right hand yet so farre the command extendeth as to forbid all customary idle rash and unnecessary swearing So that the common swearer may as much fear to come near this command as the Israelite did to the mount when the Law was given Shall not this command of Christ be more to thee than all custome and example But I say unto you saith Christ Swear not at all who dareth then thus contradict Christ Why dost thou not all the day-long minde thy self of this Why doth not thy conscience put thee in remembrance of this command Say when thou risest when thou walkest when thou goest to bed this commandment to thy self Swear not The Apostle James also because of the great necessity and utility of this precept doth repeat it to beleevers For as Luthers saying is principum literae sunt bis vel ter legendae Princes letters and commands are to be read twice or thrice And thus we are daily to meditate on this duty by this gemination it should appear that the heart of man is very ready to break out into this filthy prophanenesse though there be no alluring motive Therefore he
bring the Tempests of Gods wrath upon the Land only when Magistrates make good and severe Laws against swearing and the under-Officers are diligent in execution for good laws without execution are like a Bell without a clapper as one said then the guilt is taken off the land And therefore it would be cruelty to the Nation to spare a particular person you are unwilling to make the swearer mourn and thereby you make the land mourn Therefore let justice be executed upon swearers that so the nation may not incur Gods displeasure Lastly This sin or common and irreverent swearing is condemned by the very light of nature Heathens as the Pythagoreans have thought it a reproach to a man to swear his word should be as good as an oath It is noted of Hercules that he did never swear and therefore judged by the Heathens most religious The more inexcusable are those Christians of whom Hierom complaineth that would use those Latine Oaths mehercule medius fidius Plutarch reports that when some were to swear among the heathens they took them out of the house and made them swear in the open air one reason whereof was to make them deliberating and considering before they did so Will not these heathens rise up in judgement against our common swearers who yet glory in this Title of Christianity But let us hear their excuses and cavils such swearers use to make 1. They say It 's a custome they have got and they cannot leave it But 1. the more desperate and incurable is thy disease the more a sinne is habituated the worse it is This is not an excuse but an aggravation Doth a custome in drunkennesse or uncleannesse alienate and not rather inhance And 2. Why may not this custome be left Of all customes we might think this might be parted with most easily for as you heard here is no profit or pleasure to tempt thee Chrysostome answering this very cavill saith That many who have had a custome to stammer have yet by diligence left it yea he speaketh of one who had a custome of lifting up one shoulder higher than another that by naked swords upon the place to cut him if he should do so any more did thereby leave that ill use and may not this custome of swearing be parted with upon easier terms Bid thy Wife tell thee of it thy children thy servants saith the same Ancient and then at last as many joyning together do so stop a beast that they catch him thus saith he they will at last we ary thee out of this custome In the next place Many do so even all generally except some few Precisians do swear and why should not I do as most do But to answer this the command is clear thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil Exo. 23. 2. Most men go in the broad way to hell most men will be damned and therefore this is no plea. Again we are not to live by examples but by precepts What though all use to swear that live by thee yet the command of Christ is to be more than the examples even of holy men and Angels themselves much more then of wicked and ungodly men In the third place I think no hurt I do no body any wrong But 1. there is no man that sinneth intendeth to sinne the will of man cannot be carried out to will evil as it is evil and so every sinner might excuse himself Again if thy oaths do not hurt others yet they do thy own soul thou art a murderer of that and as much as lieth in thee thou hurtest God robbing him of the glory due to him And lastly thou dost hurt others for if a father thy children learn to swear from thee if a Master thy servants do or thy neighbours are encouraged and the godly they are grieved at it In the fourth place Some pleade they sweare but sometimes it is when they are in a passion when they are provoked But 1. Once is too much any sinne once committed is enough to damne for ever without repentance And whereas thou saist It is in thy passion that will not excuse if thou killest a man in thy passion doth that free thee before God The stronger thy passions are the weaker thou art in grace yea in reason Therefore thy condition is the more dangerous because so easily moved into passion many grievous sins are sometimes committed in passion which may make thee ashamed and mourn all thy life long Again art thou in a passion therefore the more unfit to take the Name of God in thy mouth the greater thy irreverence by how much more violent the passion is In the fifth place But when I have sworn in my passion and do recall my self I am sorry for it and ask God forgivenesse But 1. seeing the sin of irreverent swearing is a very grievous sin committed immediatly against the Majesty of God it is not an ordinary confession a transient Lord have mercy upon me that can be accounted repentance in this case There must be a serious and solemn setting of our selvs to humiliation for sins of this nature And 2. if ye be so sorrowfull as never to fall into such passionate swearing again then it is good but upon the very next provocation the next passion you fall a cursing and swearing again as formerly so that it is plain thou hast not repented Thou sinnest and then askest God forgivenesse and then thou sinnest again what is this but to play the hypocrite with God and to mock him In the sixth place say some I would not swear but they will not beleeve me else To this it is answered happily it is thy fault they do not think thee a man of truth and honesty if they did thy bare word would be enough and in the next place who will beleeve thee the more for thy ordinary swearing they think it is so common with thee that thou dost not matter it and withall he that is not afraid to dishonour God I cannot beleeve him though he should swear a thousand oaths and indeed who doth regard the word and speeches of a common swearer that is wise and prudent Lastly Some excuse themseves That they are but petty oaths they do not take Gods Name in vain their oaths are petty oaths by their faith and troth and is that such an offence To answer this 1. there is no petty oath no more than a petty God or a petty damnation And 2. While you think to honour God you dishonour him out of reverence you will not swear by him but by a creature this is more highly to offend him while you give that which is due to him to a creature And therefore 3. here is not only unlawful swearing in those oaths but idolatry also Is your faith a God Is your troth a God Is your faith an alseeing witnesse Can that damn thee if thou swear falsly Therefore in these oaths you do not only sin but
We have dominion over your faith no more than they can say We are the true and great Jehovah They cannot make a Religion make Sacraments but enjoyn the observance of that which is required in the Word and the reason which excludeth both spiritual and civil Governours is general to all We are not baptized into any mans name neither hath any Emperour or Church-officer died for us they have not been crucified for us neither have they power over our hearts to impose a command upon them which must necessarily be in the duty of faith neither can they damne or save men Hence the Apostle saith There is one Law-giver which is able to save and to destroy Jam. 4. 12. Fourthly Although divine faith be such a noble and excellent work coming from Heaven and ascending up to Heaven againe Yet it doth admit of degrees in the subject where it is Some have stronger faith some weaker some have more explicite and extensive faith than others yea and the most setled beleevers are subject to temptations they are often assaulted and that even in their faith about the principles and fundamentals about God about the Scriptures about the immortality of the Soul about the state of Glory and eternal Torments Fiery darts are sometimes injected for which the people of God doe abhorre and loath themselves Therefore we must distinguish between little faith and no faith between doubtings and Atheisme And truely for this end doth God suffer errours and heresies to arise in his Church that truth may be more confirmed and the approved may be made manifest It 's to exercise the spiritual wisdome and faith of the godly whether they can discerne of things that differ and can tell which is the strangers voice and which is the true shepherds It is a very grievous temptation to be assaulted about fiducial faith whether the promises belong to thee in particular but in some respects it is farre more terrible to be exercised in doubts about dogmatical faith for this tendeth to the razing of the foundations and the arguments or remedies to cure this distemper are more difficult Use of Instruction Is faith thus immediately respecting God above all instruments though making use of them Then First Theirs is not faith which doth wholly depend upon the Authority of a man though never so eminent We may not relie on Austine on Chrysostome neither doe we owne those expressions of Lutherans and Calvinists For although we acknowledge them eminent instruments in propagating of the Gospel yet we believe not upon their authority meerly because Luther and Calvin saith so It is true nothing is more ordinary than to admire mens persons and while we extoll their gifts and abilities we are secretly enticed to thinke of worthy menâ above what we ought and finde an awe in our consciences to recede from any opinion they have delivered But we must take heed we doe not hereby become guilty of spirituall Idolatry setting up men as Idols in our hearts Secondly This instructeth that grosse ignorant men cannot have any divine faith for they feel nothing of any work of Gods Spirit or illumination upon their understandings hence they believe as other men believe as if a man were not to be saved by his own faith Thirdly It sheweth the Sceptical and Pyrrhonian man in Religion the meer Seeker that he hath no faith If he had the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen upon his soul he would not be tossed up and down as he is Fourthly It sheweth that the meer carnal Politician hath no divine faith for he looketh upon Religion but as an humane device or a State-engine and therefore can transforme into all shapes and times How contrary is this to true faith FINIS AN Alphabetical Table CONTAINING The chief Heads of this Treatise A Administrations THe godly sometimes deceived about Gods Administrations towards them pag. 293 294 295 296 297 Reasons of it 298 Rules for the preventing it 299 300 Afflictions God comforts his people in all their Afflictions both spiritual 167 And temporal 168 'T is a special duty to comfort the Afflicted See Comfort The most eminent Saints when Afflicted need comfort 188 189 190 See Sufferings 'T is of great use to know what are the Afflictions of the people of God 256 Reasons of it ibid. What use is to be made of preaching about those Afflictions which Paul and others suffered from the Heathens 257 258 259 The Afflictions of the godly heavy and yet light 270 Faith and flesh passe different judgements upon Afflictions 270 271 Propositions clearing it 271 272 How we may know when flesh and when faith speaketh in Afflictions 274 275 276 'T is very usefull to know that 277 Natural strength not able to carry a man through all Afflictions 280 Propositions clearing it 280 281 282 See Troubles and Sufferings Anointing All true believers have a spiritual Anointing from God 620 Propositions clearing it 620 621 Apostle What an Apostle was 15 Two kinds of them ibid. They were appointed by Christ in the first building of the Church 16 The properties of an Apostle 16 17 18 19 Of the difference betwixt the Office of an Apostle and of an ordinary Pastour 506 507 Assurance A believer may be Assured he performeth duties with an upright heart 394 What is required to an Assurance of our being in a state of grace 395 396 The impediments of Assurance 400 401 Gods command to look after it 401 402 The effects of it 402 Cautions about it 403 B Blessing A Threefold Blessing mentioned in Scripture 127 Christians ought to Blesse God for all his mercies ibid. What is required to our Blessing God aright 128 129 130 131 We should Blesse God more for spiritual mercies than for other 134 See Praising God C Call THe divine Call of Ministers necessary to be known 19 Two things premised concerning a Ministers Call 20 What are the practical concernments which will follow those who have a true Call from God to the Ministers 21 To the people 22 The Call to Church-offices proceeds meerly from the will and pleasure of God 33 34 What is there meant by the will of God 34 35 36 Changing Of Changing in matters of Religion 546 Christ Why our Saviour called Christ 36 What it doth imply 27 He is the Sonne of God 135 Propositions explaining how Christ is the Sonne of God 136 137. 561 562 563 564 This truth is the foundation of all Christian comfort 138 139 Christ the onely object of all preaching 557 When Christ is preached 557 558 559 560 Jesus is the Christ the anointed of God 569 See Jesus Church Of the name Church 50 51 The nature and description of a Church 51 It is a society 52 Called of God 52 53 54 By the preaching of the Word to the profession of Christ and Church-communion 55 56 Wherein Church communion consisteth 56 57 The notes and signs of a Church 58 59 Why necessary
to be known ibid. All are not of equal necessity ibid. A latitude to be granted in the application of them 60 Of the twofold form of the Church internal and external ib. The marks of the visible not to be confounded with the properties of the invisible Church 61 Why Paul writeth to the Church and not to the Churches of Corinth 63 A Church is Gods people in a more peculiar manner 64 Seven things implied in the Churches being said to be of God 64 65 66 67 A Church sometimes gathered amongst the most prophane people 69 A Church may be a true one though defiled with many corruptions 70 Three propositions clearing it 73 Three reasons demonstrating it 76 What corruptions were in the Church of Corinth 71 72 The soundnesse and purity of a Church admits of degrees 73 The Church of God as 't is a Church doth farre surpasse all civil societies and temporal dignities 77 Three propositions clearing it 78 79 The grounds of it 79 80 'T is hard for Churches to keep within their proper bounds about Church administrations 80 'T is a Ministers duty by all lawfull means to promote the Church he is related to 81 All that are in the Church are Saints by profession 83 What is comprehended under Church-Saintship 84 85 All Saints ought to joyn themselves to Church communion 91 Yet some causes may excuse them 91 92 What are those sinfull grounds why many do not joyn themselves to Church communion 93 94 The best Churches changeable in their affections to their guides 464 Propositions clearing it 464 465 The causes of it 466 467 The Church esteems many things which the world despises 31 32 Church-officers Church-officers appointed by Christ as the head 28 Propositions clearing it 29 30 Two things Church-officers are to take heed of pride and idlenesse 30 31 How it concerns Church-officers to agree in matters of Religion 46 Three propositions clearing it 46 47 Three things conducing to that happy agreement 47 48 Comfort God a God of all Comfort to his 148 What is implied in that expression 149 What in the word Comfort 150 151 Propositions about the Comforts of God 152 It is so to be managed as to be made an antidote against despair and yet a curb to presumption ib. Comfort not to be judged of without Scripture-light 153 God actually Comforts his people 157 How God comforts his people 158 159 160 God a God of Comfort only to believers 161 Six propositions clearing the truth 162 163 164 165 God Comforts his people in all afflictions 166 167 No Philosophers ever had the true art or grounds of Comfort 169 God Comforts onely by the Scriptures 170 What are the grounds of Comfort in Scripture 171 172 173 How God is said to Comfort his people in all their afflictions notwithstanding they are oft disconsolate 174 175 176 177 Comfort not absolutely necessary to salvation 175 These only are fit to Comfort others who have the experimental work of Gods grace upon their own hearts 182 Four propositions clearing it 182 183 184 Four reasons confirming it 184 185 186 It is a special duty to Comfort the afflicted 187 Propositions clearing it 187 188 189 190 Two things required to the Comforting others in a right manner 190 191 The same grounds of Comforts which revive one may revive another also 191 What are the general grounds of Comfort in afflictions 192 193 Reasons of it 193 194 195 Our Comforts are and abound by Christ 209 210 How Christ makes our Comforts to abound in our sufferings for his sake 210 211 212 God commonly proportions our comforts to our sufferings 214 And sometimes makes them to exceed 215 The reasons of it 216 217 Why God often denies Comfort in trouble 217 218 Our Comfort is promoted by others suffering for Christ 223 224 225 226 227 'T is universal holiness that is the ground of Comfort 443 Communion Two sorts of Communion 251 Communion with the sufferers for Christ a good way to interest us in their glory ibid. Confidence self-confidence Self confidence a great sin 302 Propositions clearing the nature of Self confidence 302 303 304 A godly man sometimes guilty of it 309 310 Of the sinfulnesse of it 313 314 315 Confirme vide Establish Conscience Of the Conscience 384 The witness of a good Conscience a great ground of comfort 385 What is required to a good Conscience 385 386 387 388 389 How the Spirit witnesses with our Consciences 389 What are those effects of the Spirit by which our Consciences are rightly guided in witnessing to us 390 391 Distinctions concerning Conscience and its testimonies 392 393 Consolation vide Comfort Conversation Of a twofold Conversation 443 What is required to a good Conversation 445 446 Conversion A great deal of difference in the persons the Converted 42 And in the manner of their Conversion 43 The reasons of both 44 Corinth Of the City Corinth 68 D Day CHrist hath a solemn Day wherein great changes will be made 479 Wherein these great changes will be 479 480 481 482 c. Dead Of Gods raising the Dead 326 What it implies 328 329 Death The natural fear of Death not removed by grace 284 Propositions clearing it 285 286 Of what use the natural fear of Death is 286 There is a natural fear of Death in all though in some more in some lesse 288 When the fear of Death is sinfull 289 290 291 Deliverance Deliverance both temporal and spiritual from God 341 342 Despair Whence Despair arises 352 Dispensation All Gods Dispensations further the salvation of his people 242 c. Two sorts of Dispensations which conduce to that end 244 Vide Administrations E Earnest GRace the Earnest of glory 651 How grace and an Earnest differ 652 653 What is implied in the Earnest of Gods Spirit 654 655 656 They who have the Earnest of the Spirit cannot fall away 657 658 Education Education not to be rested upon 44 45 Ends. What are these inferiour Ends interposing betwixt God and us which we are apt to look upon 416 417 Enjoyments Temporal Enjoyments as well as spiritual mercies are the gift of God 369 Propositions clearing it 370 371 372 Reasons for it 373 Establish Wherein the Establishing worke of Gods grace lieth 607 608 609 610 611 612 Arguments proving all Establishing to be from God 613 The most eminent need Establishment as well as the weâkest 614 Demonstrations of it 615 616 617 'T is in Christ alone that we are Established 617 618 Reasons why we cannot Establish our selves 636 637 Experience Experience in former should encourage to trust in God for future mercies 345 Propositions clearing it 346 347 F Faith OF the different judgements which Faith and flesh put upon afflictions 274 c. The division of Faith as to the object 638 Whether in Faith and by Faith be oaths 665 Ministers have no power over a Christians Faith 684 A Christians Faith relates onely to God 694 Propositions clearing it 696 697 Father
Because perhaps by our sins we have deserved it 3. God often denies comforts for the that they may be the more welcome when they come 4. And often to try whether my obedience be pure 5. To teach us how we are beholding to Christ 6. Whensoever it is necessary we are sure to have it The afflictions we suffer for Christ are not only for our own but for the Churches good The sufferings of Christ of two sorts 1. In his Person 2. In his members Propositions clearing the truth 1. The sufferings of Saints for the good of the Church are still to be distinguished from Christs sufferings How Christian Martyrs sufferings differ 1. His death was not only a Martyrdom but a propitiation 2. In the efficacy 2. Our sufferings for the Churches good are not meritorious either for our selves or others 3. That our sufferings turn to others good is not from themselves but from the power and grace of God 4. Hence we may admire the wisdom power and goodness of God turning our enemies wicked intentions unto our good What is the general good promoted by the Churches sufferings 1. The glory of God Christ and believers 2. The propagation and enlargement of the Gospel Sufferings for Christ help much our comfort and salvation 1. The sufferings of others work good only occasionally not efficiently or meritoriously 2. Hence we may bewail the superstiâion of the Church about the Martyrs 3. The sufferers for Christ may encourage us but we are to be sure they are indeed the sufferers for Christ How the afflictions of others for Christ work our comfort and salvation 1. Hereby we shall have greater assurance of these divine truths for which they suffer 2. Hence we may be encouraged to trust in God and depend upon him to enable us also if he should call us thereunto 3. Hereby we may take occasion to rejoyce in God as enabling them and as having promised to do so to us 4. Hence we may inform our selves they were in earnest and real for Christ 5. Hence we may learn to mortifie our hearts to the world The salvation of believers is promoted by their sufferings for Christ How sufferings advance our salvation 1. They help to make us mourn for sin and turn to God 2. They inform us more of God and Christ of his grace and power then we knew before 3. These afflictsons quicken us to more grace 4. Because of the glorious promises which are made to such Sufferings not barely in themselves but as improved by patience conduce to our salvation Humane Philosophers agreed in the commending of patience What goeth to the producing of patience 1. The efficient cause is God 2. The word of God is the instrumental cause 3. Afflictions they also work patience 4. God and Christ are the exemplary cause Motives to patience 1. We should consider and be affected with what we have deserved 2. Consider Gods great goodness in changing the nature of thy afflictions 3. Consider that God will be with thee 4. Consider what good will redound to thee by thy afflictions 1. What spiritual good 2. Eternal 5. Consider by patience thou maist promote the good of others A two-sold salvation temporal and spiritual Spiritual salvation is either inchoate or consummate God doth by all his dispensations carry on and further the salvation of his people What this salvation doth imply 1. It is Negative 2. Positive Two sorts of dispensations from God which further the salvation of a believer 1. The direct means appointed by God for this end 2. The occasional means as 1. Their sins 2. Their afflictions What is that hope and perswasion which Paul had of other men A two-fold hope Divine and Moral What is the Divine hope What Moral hope is 'T is a great encouragement to the Ministers of God to have good grounds for the hope of grace and stedfastnesse in their people What things they were which made Paul hope so well of the Corinthians 1. Their amendment and repentance by his former Epistle 2. Their setting up that good and holy order which was thrown down 3. Because they did communicate with Paul in a patient suffering for Christ A double communion 1. In what is evil 2. In what is good The communion with those who suffer for Christ is a fair way to their joy and glory 1. A two-fold communion with the afflicted 1. When a man living in peace and quietness himself yet is affected with their sufferings 2. When a man is cast into the same outward condition 2. It is as glorious and acceptable to be a companion to sufferers as to suffer Reasons why partaking with the Saints afflictions doth interest us in their glory 1. This demonstrates our faith in Christ to be upon spiritual grounds 2. Because this is suffering for Christ Of the compellation which Paul useth brethren Of the expression I would not have you ignorant 'T is of great use to know the afflictions of those who suffer for Christs sake Reasons 1. Hereby we shall be more provoked to pray for them 2. Hereby they will be more encouraged to bless God when they are delivered 3. Hereby we may learn patience zeal and heavenly mindedness and other graces Qu. What use is to be made of preaching about such afflictions which Paul and other Christians suffered from Heathens Answ 1. Answ 2. Answ 3. Answ 4. Answ 5. The faithfull Ministers of the Gospel are sure to meet with opposition from the world Two sorts which oppose the truth and wayes of Christ 1. Such as take the true Religion to be blasphemy and idolatry or superstition the true service of God 2. Such who professe religion meerly because it suits with their carnal interests Hence the Ministers of the Gospel are not only opposed to those who are without but by some within the Church Who are they which profess Religion meerly for carnal ends 1. Such as live in their lusts 2. Such as intend to advance themselves by it More characters of such who professe Religion only upon worldly respects 1. Such who in time of temptations prove adversaries to the Gospel and Ministry of it 2. Such as maintain doctrines which overthrow the foundation of Religion 3. Such as make parties and factions in the Church 4. Such who make use of the Doctrine of the Gospel only to shew their parts and learning 5. Such as do not own Religion upon divine principles and holy motives How the afflictions of the godly may be called heavy and yet light Godly men judge otherwise of their afflictions from sense and flesh then from grace and reason Propositions clearing the truth There are two selves in every regenerate man 2. These two selfs oppose one another 3. Hence 't is good to observe from which of those principles our actions proceed How we may know when faith and when flesh speaketh in our afflictions 1. Flesh argues from afflictions that God hath forsaken us 2. Flesh saith afflictions will undo us
joy and comfort 3. Thankfulnes Caut. 1. Caut. 2. Godly simplicity and singleness of heart affords much comfort Of the uature of godly simplicity 1. It flows from a sanctified heart 2. It looks upon Gods will as the only motive to obedience 3. It is fixed upon God only 4. It is not compounded 5. 'T is uniform in its obedience 6. It s outwards and inwards are all the same 7. It doth not cover any sin 8. It makes a man free in the service of God More propositions of the nature of simplicity 1. It humbly submits to the truths of God 2. It submits to the commandments of God 3. It boldly reproveth sin Of simplicity towards men 1. It makes a man blameless as to others 2. It is accompanied with ingenuity and truth Use 1. Use 2. Godly sincerity carrieth a man above all other things to God himself What it is in God that a sincere heart looks upon 1. His Omniscience 2. His being the first cause and the last end 3. His sovereignty and dominion 4. The wisdom of God What are those inferiour ends which interpose betwixt God our souls which we are apt to look upon 1. Vain-glory. 2. Honour and riches Propositions concerning godly sincerity 1. 'T is universal 2. Sincerity goeth to the bottom of sin 3. Hence it is that it is so hard to be a Christian 4. Sincerity is the proper difference betwixt a temporary professour and a true believer 5. Sincerity carries us through duties with delight 6. Sincerity makes a man find grace to be a reall thing Why carnal wisdom called fleshly Ministers ought not to use fleshly wisdom Why this truth is to be treated of 1. Because professors are charged with it 2. Because all professours would be thought clear from it 3. To take off prejudices from true believers Principles of fleshly wisdom 1. To defend errours from Scripture wrested 2. To hide our errours or else secretly to infect others with them More principles of fleshly wisdom in propagating Religion 1. To advance those of their own way and disgrace others 2. To maintain false doctrines that overthrow humane society 3. To indulge men in sin and to increase Disciples 4. To propound fleshly ends The godly ascribe all to the grace of God 1. A man may take comfort in his own holinesse and yet trust only in Gods grace 2. All is to be given unto grace What is that grace the Apostle exalteth against fleshly wisdom 1. That grace whereby he was converted 2. That grace whereby he was made an Apostle 3. That grace whereby he was enabled and prospered in his Ministry As 1. It was the grace of God that made Paul sincere What were those graces which the Apostle acknowledged in his Ministry 1. Faithfulness 2. Humility 3. Guidance and direction in his preaching and meditations 4 His patience self-denial zeal and courage 5. His heavenly wisdome 6. His successe in his Ministry It is universal holinesse which is the ground of comfort There is a two-fold conversation the one natural The other is an heavenly and godly conversation What is required to a good conversation 1. Principles of grace 2. A predominancy in the heart to Christ 3. Actual Improvements of grace 4. Pure and heavenly motives Whose conversation is not holy notwithstanding some good things in it The more evidently Gods presence hath been with the Ministry the more inexcusable is the unprofitableness of the people under it 1. The longer time a people have enjoyed the means of grace they 'll be more inexcusable if they answer not Gods expectations 2. The more faithfull the Minister is the more in excusable will the people be 3. Where the Ministry is more succesfull the impenitent are more inexcusable Wherein the success of a faithfull Ministry is seen A godly convincing life is of great advantage specially in a Minister 1. Godlinesse hath a convincing and converting effect with it 2. The efficacy of the Ministry depends not upon the piety of the Minister 3. Yet such Ministers as are not godly cannot expect comfort from God nor acceptance with him 4. A godly life is convincing either potentially or actually What are the causes that make godly lives oft not convincing 1. Prejudice 2. Corrupt affections 3. Mistake about the way and nature of godliness An hopefull beginning in holiness is not enough without perseverance 1. A man that would set upon an holy life must first look to his foundation 2. Sincere beginnings are the cause of perseverance 3. Therefore the grace of God is not only necessary to begin but also to continue holiness in us 4. Perseverance promised doth not exclude but include fear watchfulnesse and diligence The best Churches are full of changes in their affections to their spiritual guides though never so faithfull 1. It is an imbred corruption for all inferiours to be mutable to their inferiours 2. This inclination to this changeablenes hath more temptations in great than small places What are the causes of this changeablenes 1. Inconstancy and fickleness 2. An overhasty receiving of the Ministers 3. Curiosity 4. Mistakes about the Doctrine delivered 5. A faithfull discharge of the Ministers office 6. The importunity of deceivers It is a happy thing when Minister and people can rejoyce in one another 1. The relation betwixt Pastor and people is by divine Institution 2. Therefore doth the Devil endeavour to make differences betwixt Minister and beople How and why may a people rejoyce in their Pastor 1. As the instruments whereby God hath instructed and converted them 2. For their works sake 3. In the spiritual success of the Minister Wherein a faithfull Pastor hath cause to rejoyce over his people 1. When they are tractable and teachable Motives to knowledg in spiritual things 1. Consider the Necessity of it 2. The usefulness of it 2. When people believe and receive the Word as Gods Word 3. When they are converted by the Word 4. When they are ready to all duties 5. When they are ready to submit to the whole order of Christ Christ hath a solemn day wherein great changes will be made 1. There will be a great change as to the comforts of a godly Minister and people 2. A great change in the prophane sinners 3. A great change to the godly 4. A great change in mens judgements and apprehensions of sinne and holiness There will be a great change in wicked mens thoughts 2. Of good men as 1. That they are fools 2. Hypocrites 3. In respect to their outward estate 3. Their thoughts will be changed as to Christ 1. They will then behold him the chiefest good 2. As a Judge as well as a Saviour There will be at the great day a great change as to Gods providence Lastly There will be a special change made upon some sinners as the jolly secret and self-righteous Where a Faithfull Minister hath hopes of doing good he hath good encouragement to remain 1. All people naturally have a door bolted
against Christ 2. T is the grace of Godâ alone that can open this door 3. Sometimes Ministers are called to a people of small hopes 4. A Ministers hope of doing good should be guided by the Word Reasons why a Ministers hope of doing good should be matter of of joy to him 1. The End of his Ministry is accomplished A constant Ministry is necessary to every Church And that for these Ends 1. To informe against Errors 2. To reform the corruptions that are in mens lives 3. To comfort the godly 4. To edifie and strengthen them How believers may and are to grow 1. In knowledg 2. In the experimental power of their knowledge 3. In Faith 4. In Grace 'T is the duty of all Christians especially Ministers to lay out themselves for the glory of God 1. For all Christians 1. There is none but have talents to be improved 2. All lawfull actions may be improved for Gods glory 3. Christians should often meditate upon the ultimate end of all their actions 2. Especially it belongs to Ministers What is required to enable us to do all things for Gods glory 1 A converted soul 2 A publick spirit 3. Heavenlyn indedness 4. Fervency and zeal The office of the Apostle and ordinary Pastors differs in that the one had an universal the other a particular charge 1. The Apostles had commission to preach to all Nations 2. Yet the office of the Apostles did virtually contain all other 3. The Apostles had in their office something ordinary and something extraordinary 5. Though a Pastor is ordinarily to reside amongst his flock yet he is a Minister of the whole Church of God Where the Ministry hath wrought spiritually the Minister is esteemed highly Lightness and inconstancy is a great sinne and reproach to all much more to Ministers Of the sinfulness of inconstancy in civil respects As 1. When we are not consistent with our selves in our assertions 2. In our promises 3. In our affections Of the aggravations of this sinne 1. 'T is contrary to the nature of God 2. 'T is a reproach to men 3. Hereby a man makes himself unfit for Gods service 4. 'T is an abuse of our tongue 5. God threatens lying but encourageth sincerity Of the sinfulness of Inconstancy in spiritual things as in 1. Faith 2. In our Conversion and Repentance Motives against this Inconstancy 1. There is the same Reason at all times against sin 2. Sinnes after Convictions are the greater 3. This Inconstancy is a mocking of God and a dallying in soul-matters 4. It may justly cause God for ever to forsake thee 3. This Inconstancy is a great sin in Promises and Resolutions Of the Phrase according to the flesh which is taken for 1. The humane Nature 2. External Priviledges 3. Corrupt Principles Walking by carnal Principals makes men unstable and inconstant Principles of flesh 1. Covetousness 2. Ambition 3. Pleasing of men 4. Time-serving 5. Self-pleasing Of Principles 1 Herein men differ from bruit beasts because they act from inward principles beasts by instinct 2. Principles are either speculative or practical 3. All the principles of natural men are sinfull and carnal 3. Principles are oft hidden 5. There are principles of flesh even in our holy duties 6. The principles of the carnal and of the spiritual are contrary Of the principles of a godly man There are two general principles 1. There is a principle of knowledge viz. the holy Scriptures 2. The principle of his acting viz. the Spirit of God Particular principles 1. Alwayes to keep a good conscience towards God and man 2. To make sure of his ultimate end and the necessary means to it 3. Daily to expect death and judgment 4. To judg sin the greatest evil and godliness the greatest good Lying is not consistent with godliness 1. There is a material and a formal lie 2. There are assertory and promissory lies 3. There is a pernicious sporting and officious lie 4. Lying is a sinne of the tongue 5. They that would not lie must study the government of the tongue He that would govern his tongue must first cleanse his heart The causes of lies 1. Natural inclination 2. Want of dependance upon God 3. Our captivity to Satan 4. Covetousnes 5. Fear God is true God is true 1. There is a Metaphysical and a moral Truth 2. There is an increated and created truth 3. In that God is true he differeth from men and devils 4. 'T is because of Gods truth that we are commanded to believe and trust in him 5. The truth of God is the Foundation of all Religion and godliness Wicked men usually cast the Imperfections of the Minister upon the Ministry 1. A people may have an holy Zeal againg a loose scandalous Minister 2. A people are oft prone to take offence at the Ministers when yet 't is their sin 1. When they dislike that which may be of great use 2. When they are offended at his reproveing sin 3. When they cast the saults of the persons upon their Office and Doctrine 4. When they refuse the Ministry upon false Rumors and Surmises 'T is a great reproach for a Minister to be mutable and contradictory in his doctrine 1. All changes are not bad 2. But 't is a sin and reproach to change from the truth 3. Even such a change supposeth imperfection 4. No man but may know more than he doth 5. We must distinguish betwixt what is and what is not fundamental 1. We must distinguish betwixt constancy and pertinancy 2. Then is it a reproach to change when we change from truth The causes of inconstancy 1. Ignorance 2. Affectation of singularity and vain-glory 4. Examples We must distinguish betwixt essentials and circumstantials in Religion Christ only is to be the subject of our preaching When is Christ preached 1. When he is declared to be the Messiah 2. When preached as God-man 3. When preached in his person and his offices 5. When he is set up as the head of his Church The Lord Christ is the son of God 1. He is truly God 2. He is not the son of God as others are called his sonnes as 1. By Creation 2. By Regeneration 3. Because of their dignity 3. He is therefore called the Son of God because begotten from eternity of the Father 4. He was begotten of the Father 5. In these Mysteries we must adhere wholly to the testimony of the word 6. He is Antichrist that denies the Son to be God 7. The spirit of giddiness hath justly fallen upon these that deny Christ to be God Christ is a Saviour to his people What is implyed in Christs being a Saviour 1. That all mankinde was lost 2. What kinde of Saviour is Christ Even a spiritual one 3. He is an effectual Saviour Who is Christ a Saviour to 1. Some of mankinde 2. The repenting believing sinner 3. They are saved from ãâã and the world 4. Christs people 5. The saved are but few in comparison of the
in Christ and submission unto his will For a Church being a visible Society there must be some external and visible sign whereby we may demonstrate our selves to be of the Church Hence Rom. 10. it 's said That with the mouth confession is made to salvation There may be many secret and hidden Atheists in the Church of God yet because they do externally profess the Christian Religion therefore it is that they are of the Church in respect of the external and visible state of it Thus Simon Magus and others while they did profess their faith in Christ they were under the name of a Church and believers and so of Saints 4. There is yet a further degree in this Church-Saintship and that is When besides this sacramental and external holiness there are some workings of Gods Spirit upon their souls So that the Christian Religion hath some kind of influence upon them They are not only titular Saints but they have some kind of inchoate and imperfect workings of Gods Spirit upon their souls which have a tendency to godliness or at least a resemblance and shew of it So that in the opinion of others and many times in their own perswasions likewise they are true Saints Now these may well enough be stiled Saints because the Scripture attributes to them such acts as have the name of holiness So Mat. 13. the temporary believer likened to the thorny ground is said to have faith and to receive the Word with joy Some are said in 2 Pet. 2. To escape the pollutions of the world Yea Heb. 6. some are said to be enlightned to have tasted the good Word of God to partake of the holy Ghost c. and yet for all that such were never true Saints For such that are so can no more finally apostatize than true starres can fall from the Heavens Comets and blazing Stars may have a great lustre for a while but being composed of terrestrial exhalations at last they fall into the womb of that Earth from whence they sprang Thus those who have only some imperfect common works of Gods Spirit abounding in gifts and many admirable abilities these may seem in Saintship to exceed many that are truly so but because there was never true and deep rooting when the storms and tempests shall arise this glorious building will not have so much as a stone left upon a stone Those uncomfortable Teachers injurious to the grace of God that do so peremptorily dogmatize the Apostasie of the Saints do yet never bring such Texts of Scripture or instances that do necessarily prove those to be true Saints that are spoken of Saul was never a true Saint Judas was never a true Saint and so no wonder of hopefull beginnings degenerated into such tragical and horrid beginnings Now whereas the former mentioned viz. those that are only baptized that give an external submission to Christs Laws especially if as too many do wallowing in all the wayes of the flesh and carnal excess if these I say may by all be proclaimed to be no real but nominal Saints all the world seeth they are Christians in name but beasts and devils in respect of real Saintship Yet the great difficulty and the constant wisdome of a Christian is exercised about the discerning this later holiness from that which is true To know when I am gone further than any hypocrite or reprobate can attain unto This as we are greatly to study and examine our selves in so we are to know that it is better to be deceived in any worldly matter than in this Lastly The ultimate and most compleat step of Church-Saintship in this life is When we go beyond all the former and are made partakers of the Spirit of God in the powerfull renovation of us so that from that holy and new creature within us our lives and actions are made really and solidly holy And this is indeed the true and proper Saintship to which only the promise of Justification and Glorification is made So that if thou didst enjoy the greatest Church-priviledges yea and the most admirable gifts therein yet if destitute of this Saintship thou art but a tinkling cymbal and the hottest place in hell will be filled with such seeming Saints SERM XX. External Holiness is not enough to bring us to Heaven without the inward renovation of the Heart 2 COR. 1. 1. With all the Saints that are in all Achaia VVE have heard what is the last and ultimate step in Church-Saintship without which all the former though they be in themselves great mercies yet because we take them in vain do become in some respect in the number of those whom God will not hold guiltless They are I say in themselves great mercies For when we are thus called by God unto the external means of holiness there is some hope and a possible way for salvation whereas without this there is necessary destruction It is here as in blind Bartimeus his case Mark 10. 49. for when Christ commanded him to be called to him presently some said to the blind man Be of good comfort he calleth thee that was a good encouragement Christ called him so whereas there are many thousands in the world that are left alone in their state of darkness but he vouchsafeth the means of grace to thee We may say Be of good comfort there is some hopes Christ calleth thee yet because many are called and of those many called few are chosen therefore this external holiness and Saintship is not enough unless there be the inward renovation of the whole man Unless thou art holy inwardly as well as outwardly this will make to thy greater condemnation That therefore which is the essential form and gives a constrtutive being to Church-Saintship is Regeneration or the work of grace upon a mans heart Indeed to an external state and visible condition of Church-holiness a profession of faith with submission unto Christs wayes is enough but that which maketh us indeed members of the body of Christ and invests us with right to all saving benefits that is only this inward real Saintship And to clear this more you must take notice First That even in real Saintship there is a great latitude and difference All are not Saints alike The Scripture speaks of babes of young men of old men It speaks of some that are spiritual and perfect others are imperfect and even carnal 1 Cor. 3. comparatively so that we must alwayes distinguish between the truth of grace and the degrees of it A Saint is a Saint though but a bruised reed and a smoaking flax This is good to be observed that we may not judge of Saintship by such degrees and high attainments but by truth and sincerity No there will be alwayes difference both in Illumination and Sanctification and that amongst the Saints themselves And this should teach a mutual bearing and forbearing of one another Let not him that is strong who doth farre surpass others though
true Saints in gifts and graces despise and contemn such as are below them to judge them no Saints or not godly at all That there is such a disposition even in grown Saints appeareth Rom. 14. where the Apostle giveth several Rules to strong Christians especially That they judge not or despise him that is weak and one reason amongst others is Because God hath received him If therefore he be one whom God hath received for whom Christ died though subject to many weaknesses and infirmities take heed of contemning him Such a supercilious censorious spirit is farre from the Spirit of Christ who when he saw one not farre from the Kingdom of Heaven though not yet in it yet it 's said He loved him and encouraged him Hence in the second place This real Saintship is alwayes growing and ought to be more and more proficient continually It is an high delusion to dream of such a perfection that they are above Ordinances that they are of so full a stature in grace that one cubit cannot be added to them This is to let the Devil get thee up to the pinacle of the Temple and then to throw thee headlong into hell yet such sad delusions have been on some that coming to the Sacrament they have said They have had as perfect love as Christ himself But this is against the continual current of the Scripture which presseth to grow in grace to bring forth more fruit And 1 Cor. 7. to perfect holinesse in the fear of God Paul himself though a Gyant to us Dwarfs yet Phil. 3. Accounted not himself to have apprehended but forgat what was behind and pressed forward to the mark Cloppenburge a learned man thinketh That even Christ himself did feed and nourish his soul by meditating on Gods Word and that in the use of the Sacraments his faith was more confirmed for to go through that work of redemption for us This may seem hard to affirm of Christ who had the Spirit without measure But it is very true of every Saint on Earth though never so exalted and enabled by grace that he needeth the Ordinances that he is to perfect and fill up that vacuity and emptiness which is in him so that he may say with Ignatius when going to be sacrificed for the truth Nune incipio esse Christianus I do even now begin to be a Christian to be a Saint I am but a babe yet I am but a beginner yet Thirdly This Church-Saintship therefore doth consist with many imperfections and weaknesses so that we need a constant and daily remission of sinne through the bloud of Christ This is greatly to be observed because some have dreamed of such a perfection in this life that if not alway yet for some time we may be without any sinne at all and therefore they tell us of Saints in the Church which need no pardon or forgiveness as if to be a Saint in the Church and a Saint in Heaven were all one but our Saviour in directing all to pray for the forgivenesse of sin I say all that are to pray are to pray so doth plainly confute this And the Apostle John saith That if we say we have no sinne in us we deceive our selves and indeed we sinne in saying so And this is the more to be observed because the dear children of God think this title of Saint too glorious and great to apply to themselves who are compassed about with such infirmities How can I be called a Saint and yet so dull so sluggish so froward earthly and often disordered in heart But you are to know that though Saints yet we are not to be justified by our Saintship we need the imputed righteousness of Christ to cover the imperfections of our Saintship yea some have not lost their Saintship and yet have fallen into foul sins for a season David Peter and others did not cease to be Saints in those sad falls though their holiness was drawn inward and as the juice of the Tree in the Winter was hid in the root under ground but these Suns were not alwayes in an eclipse at last they did recover to their greater advantage in holiness and to be a pillar of salt to all other Saints Nor to be high-minded but fear Fourthly To be a Saint is a denomination from our conformity to the will of God as a rule of our lives So that if you ask What is it to be a Saint It is to be one born again by the Spirit of God making the word of God to be the rule of all his actions So that Gods Word must try whether thou art a Saint or no not thy own thoughts or the applause of others can make thee a Saint but thy life regulated by Gods Word The Papists cry up their Saint Francis whom they equallize to Christ in many things but his Saintship must be tried not by his voluntary poverty or strict observance of humane traditions but by a consonancy to Gods Word Thus who ever is cried up for a Saint still we must examine How doth the Word and his life agree Is he as it were a walking Bible Doth he will what that wils and nill what that nilleth And this further also may inform us That we are not to make a man a Saint because of a particular opinion in some way of Church-Government as if none could be Saints but of such an opinion For the word Saint denoteth One made holy by the Image of God restored in him though he may differ from another Saint in a Church-way For although it be our duty to study out the mind and will of Christ concerning Church-order and with his Institutions only we may expect his gracious presence yet such is the corruption and weakness upon the understandings of the best that though Gods Spirit will lead them into all necessary truth yet they may fail in some accessories and so one Saint may differ from another yea and write against another though such things do prove as Calvin said of Melancihons difference from him Pessimi exempli of very evil example and confirm the adversaries of godliness in their dangerous prejudices against it These things thus laid down let us consider Why all the fore-mentioned steps of a Church-Saint are nothing without the latter To be a Saint by the outward Covenant by dedication to God by outward profession and vocation Yea to be a Saint having some works of Gods Spirit on us unless we be born of God and so have holy Natures holy affections and an holy conversation it 's to be like the foolish Virgiâs who have lamps and those lighted but want oyl Let us therefore consider What may provoke us to be Saints indeed And 1. What matter of shame and reproach is it to have the name of a Saint only and nothing else Thy life not the life of a Saint thy words thy actions not the expressions of a Saint Is not this ridiculous even as