in the truth is not properly concord but conspiracy consent in a lie in falshood The builders of Babel they had a consent among themselves when they came for a wicked purpose as we see oft-times in Scripture Consent must be in the truth in that which is good or else it is not consent but conspiracy By reason of our weaknesse consent is usefull and that is the reason why in doubtful cases we may alledge Antiquity not that the Word is not sufficient in it self but to help our weaknesse to shew that we do not divert from the truth but that it is a truth warranted by others before In doubtfull cases this is warrantable He brings it likewise to enforce obedience the more when it was a truth brought to them by so many But that is not a thing I mean to stand on a touch is enough That which I will spend a little more time in is the next thing that is That Evangelical doctrine now is most certain Something I spake of it before in the former verse but I have reserved something to speak of it now The Son of God preached by S. Paul with the consent of these blessed men it was not yea and nay it was not unconstant Evangelical truth is not yea and nay and the Preachers of it the Apostles were not yea and nay in the delivering of it As it is true in it self so it was true in the delivery of it they were constant in it they sealed it with their blood some of them How shall we know the doctrine of the Gospel concerning Christ to be yea undoubtedly true I answer how do we know the Sun shines I know it by its own light and by a light that I have in my eye there is an inward light joyned with the outward light So it is in this businesse how do we know Divine truth out of the Book of God to be Divine By the light in it self by the majesty of the Scriptures by the consent of the Old and New Testament by the opposition of the enemies and the confusion of them at the last that have been opposers of it by the miraculous preservation of it and the like But especially by the powerfull work of it on the heart by the experience of this blessed truth I know this to be an undoubted truth I find it quelling my corruptions changing my nature pacifying my conscience raising my heart casting down high imaginations turning the stream of nature another way to make me do that which I thought I should never have done onely because I have a strong light of Divine truth and comfort There is this experience of Christ that a man finds in his soul it sets him down that he can say nothing but that it is Divine truth because he finds it so Besides this the testimony of the Spirit of God and the work of the Spirit in him For as to see there is an outward light required and an inward light in the eye so to see Divine truth there must be a light in it self a Divine sparkle in Gods Book in every passage but yet I must have an eye to see too I cannot see it except God witnesse to my soul that these things are divine that they are yea that they are certainly and infallibly true There is a great difference between us and our adversaries I can but touch it and I need but touch it They say we must believe and we must believe because of the Church I say no The Church we believe hath a kind of working here but that is in the last place For God himself in his Word he is the chief The inward arguments from the Word it self and from the Spirit they are the next the Church is the remotest witnesse the remotest help of all For the Church is but to propound Gods truth to lay it open to be as it were the candlestick now the candlestick shines not but upholds the candle while that shines So the Church is but to propose to set up Divine truth that of it self being set up will enlighten well enough The Church is to set out the Word and to publish it by the Ministery which Word of it self will shine That work which the Church hath therefore is the last and the inferiour for the Spirit of God and the inward majesty of the Word is of more force If a messenger come and bring a relation or bring a letter from one and he tells me many things of the man I but I doubt him because he may be false for ought I know but when I see his hand and seal and his characters and stile that shewes such a spirit to be in him I know by his own characters certainly this comes from the hand of that man Now the messenger brings it and gives it but I believe it because I see the characters and hand and seal of such a one that it is a truth So the Church propounds it is the messenger that brings the truth of God to us but when a Christian soul hears the truth and sees Gods seal upon it there is a majesty and power that works on the soul now we believe not for the messenger but for the thing it self Here is the difference we believe the Scripture for the seal of Divinity that is in it self they believe it for the messenger As if a doubtfull messenger should come that is not certain and a man should believe the things he brought for him for his sake we believe and entertain the messenger for the message sake not the message for the messengers sake our faith is better built then theirs But they say this All comes to this at the last God speaks by the Church as well as by the Scriptures therefore the Church is to be believed more then the Scripture it self I answer God speaks indeed in his Church by his Spirit and by his Word but his speaking by his Word is the cause of his speaking in the Church For what is the Church but begotten by the seed of the Word How is the Church a Church but by the Word Therefore he speaks first by the Scriptures there is a majestie and a Spirit in the Scriptures and then he speaks by the Church as cleaving to the Scriptures in a secondary manner He speaks by the Church mediately because that goes to the Word which speaks immediately The Word was written by men led immediately by the Spirit of God and the Church relying on that he speaks by them in the Church but primarily by his Word Having just occasion I thought to touch this Undoubtedly there are none that are not led with partiality but incomparably they see our faith is built on a better foundation then theirs they have a rotten foundation They talk of a Church and when all comes to all the Church their mother is nothing but the Pope their father What is their Church but the Pope
himself for they run from the Church essentiall to to the Church representative they run to Councels and when we force them with Councels that they may erre then the Pope he is the Church virtually so I say the Church their mother is nothing but the Pope their father and what manner of men they have been Histories tell us well enough We see on what ground they build Jesus Christ that is the Gospel by him is not yea and nay but yea that is it is certainly and infallibly and eternally true Hereupon we may answer that curious question that hath been and now is every where How we may know that our Church was before Luther's time or no as they idly say How we may know that the faith that we professe is the ancient faith I answer hence take these grounds First there is but one faith men have varied but faith hath not varied as S. Austin saith well for there is but one faith as there is one God one heaven and one happinesse There was one faith from Adam The times vary but not the faith of the times the same fundamental truth hath been in all times Sometimes it hath been more explicated and unfolded as we have the Canon inlarged now in the time of the New Testament in many books There is not a new faith but a larger explication of the old faith Divine truth is alway the same It was one faith from the beginning of the world from the first promise to Adam in Paradise till now Abraham believed as we do now so they were all saved by faith Heb. 11. Even as there is one Catholike Church consisting of all the members the triumphant being the greater part from the beginning of the world to the end of the world so there is one faith take that for a ground Indeed the Church varies as a man varies when he is a child and when he is a man he hath one manner of cloathes when he is a child and another when he is a man so the Church varies in cloathes it was cloathed with Ceremonies then which were cast off in Christ but this is but a variation of garments the Church had one faith Hereupon comes a second there is one Catholike Church that is built on that one faith one essential Church one Catholike company rhat believe in Christ from the beginning of the world to the end of the world which we believe in the Apostles Creed Well then this being so as it is undeniable that it is so what Church is built upon that one faith that was yea in the Apostles and was yea before then as the Apostle saith here Our Preaching was yea certain and true you may build on it what Church builds on that that Church all the while hath been for there is but one faith and one truth that runs along in all ages which is the seed of the Church therefore there must be a Church in all ages that is a branch of the Catholike Church why The Church must be built upon that one faith therefore all particular Churches before us that were branches of the general Church were built upon that preaching of the Apostle which he saith was yea There is but one faith and therefore all Churches that are true are built upon that one faith If we can prove that the Apostolicall doctrine agrees with our times that ours hath consanguinity with the Apostles doctrine then our Church was before we were ever since the Apostles it hath been alway yea for there is but one truth The Church is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and Christ saith Matth. 16. when Peter said to Christ Thou art the Son of God c. saith he Thou art Peter and upon this Rock that is upon this confession of thine will I build my Church So the confession of faith is the Rock of the Church Now there is alway one Rock of the Church that is alway yea if our Church be built upon that Rock then it is founded upon Apostolicall doctrine upon the Prophets and Apostles it was before we were and if there were any Church then it was ours which professeth that one faith If we conjure the Papists they are silent they dare say nothing Dare they say their doctrine is nearer Apostolical then ours they dare not say but ours is nearer why then our Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles why so All the Churches since have been built upon one foundation because there is one faith and one Church unity of faith makes the unity of the Church The seed of the Church is the Gospel is Divine truth now if Divine truth hath been alway there hath been a Church alway and if there hath been a Church alway there hath been Divine truth that hath been yea alway Now it is an Article of our faith in all times to believe a Catholike Church therefore there is a certain truth that is alwayes yea to be the seed and foundation of that Catholike Church Therefore we must search out what that yea was what was the Apostolical doctrine the positive doctrine in those Apostolical times in the Virgin-times of the Church before the Church was corrupted The Church was not long a Virgin as the Father said What was the yea of those truths some there must be alway that held Apostolical truths in all ages Our Church holds that positive truth that the Apostles held for directly in so many words we defend the Apostolical faith out of the Apostles Therefore we say our Church was before Luther because our doctrine is Apostolical and the Church continually hath been Apostolical because it was built upon the Apostles doctrine Our Church hath no doctrine in the positive fundamental points of it contrary therefore our Church hath continued Put case we cannot name the men as idly and ridiculously they urge what is that to the purpose shall we go from ignorance of particular men to ignorance of the Church we must believe that there is a Catholike Church and there must alway be a positive doctrine and truth the seed of that Church The Papists cavil with us and say we professe a negative Religion Ye cut off our opinions say they but what have you of your own what affirmatives have ye It is most certain that all our affirmatives have been ever since the Apostles time for we and the Papists differ not in affirmatives onely they adde patcheries of their own Religion stands most in affirmatives that is the ground first For we believe negatives because they agree not to affirmatives we believe a lie to be a lie because it is contrary to positive truth and the truth is before a lie the affirmation is before the negation a thing is before the contrary is not This laying for a ground affirmatives being truths our positive truths that we hold have been held in the Apostles times before and since even in
not believe the Articles of the Creed do we not believe the first four generall Councels we do who then will not say that these are sufficient being understood and believed to make a man that he be no heretick I may answer hence another question whether a Papist may be saved or no It is a curious question you will say but it is so ordinary that somewhat I must say I answer no doubt but many of them are saved How comes that to passe They reverse their false grounds and stick to those positive truthes that they and we hold together they reject their owne workes and help of Saints and go to Christ onely for as I said Poperie is full of contradictions Now a Papist when he comes to have his conscience awakened heleaves the Pope Indulgencies their 5. Sacraments Justification by works and then imbracheth only Christ and then he comâ—… our part They live by their Religion and die by ours So the question is whether living or dying Luther saith If they live and die peremptorily in all the points professed in the Tridentine Counsell they cannot But no doubt many of them the Lord hath mercy on to open their eyes to see the vanity of their works and of all their fooleries which those that are wise and have their consciences enlightened turn off then and so may be saved but it must be with reversing the grounds of their religion and sticking to ours which is agreeable to the Word Nay to speak a little more of it I say we do more safely believe we are more safe and on better grounds led into some lesse errours then they do believe maine truths It may seeme strange but it is most true For if so be a sound Protestant maintain an errour it is because he thinks it is in the Scripture that it is in the Word if it be discovered out of the Word of God to be an errour he leaves it as St. Cyprian and other Fathers blessed Saints in heaven they held some errours but if they saw the Scripture held otherwise they had prepared minds to believe otherwise therefore holding the maine fundamentall truths though they held particular errours they were saved The Papists maintaine fundamentall truths with us they believe the Word of God they believe in Christ and to be saved by mercy but upon what grounds They believe the truth upon heretical divellish grounds As upon what grounds do they believe the Articles of the faith to be so and the Scriptures to be so because the Church saith so Who is the Church but the Pope And what man is the Pope oft-times A man if we believe their own Writers led with a divellish spirit some of them have been Magicians If they believe the truth they do it not as divine truth they believe the truth for matter but the grounds of believing those truths are humane nay worse many times divellish for you know in the Revelation the beast is inspired with the spirit of the Dragon with the spirit of the Divell and teacheth the doctrine of Divels Now to teach that which is materially true upon reasons that are diabolicall or humane at the best it is but humane as the testimony of the Church is what an unsafe thing is this Nay I say it is the most horrible witchery the most horrible abomination one of them that ever was since the beginning of the World this principle that their Church cannot erre that is the reason of the believing of all divine truths Hereupon they come to practise most abominable treacheries hereupon they defend lies hereupon they kill Princes and dissolve the bonds of allegiance that Subjects owe to Princes And all humane and Divine things all the light of nature and Scripture all becomes a nullitie Why because the Church cannot erre And this they have from their holy Father the Pope he is above all Councells and all and cannot erre We know if principles be false all other things are false an errour in principles is a dangerous errour An errour in the ground is the worst thing in the VVorld As to maintaine treason to be lawfull it is worse then to be a Traitor for his judgement is convinced alreadie but he that maintaines a false principle he is a dangerous man indeed So to have this abominable principle that the Church that the Pope cannot erre Hence come all those dangerous practices in this Common-VVealth ever since the beginning of Queen Elisabeths time Who would have thought but that God gave up bitter proud poisonfull spirits vain spirits that rejected the Word of God that men of parts and understanding should ever be so sotted to believe such a thing that a wretched ignorant man should get into the Chaire and he should judge infallibly of the truths that he never knew in his life being of another profession as some are Canonists and not Divines But I leave that point To touch one thing more that borders a little upon this that Divine truth is of an inflexible nature whatsoever men think of it and that crosseth another rule of theirs that they will give what sense they will of Scriptures and the Current of the present Church must judge of all former Councels Now doth truth vary according to mens judgements according to the pcesent Church Must we bring the rule to the crooked timber or the timber and the things to be measured to the rule Shall the judgment of any man be the rule of truth shall it be the rule in one time and not in another shall present men interpret it thus and say it is so now and others that succeed say whatsoever it was now thus it must be believed Hereupon likewise if it be the constant nature of truth alway to be believed hereupon it comes to crosse another thing their dispensation no man can dispense with Gods Law truth is truth indispensible Laws divine and naturall are indispensible because they are alike in all things Reason is reason in Turkie as well as here the light of nature is the light of nature in any countrey as well as here Principles of nature varie not as languages do they are inbred things If the Principles of nature be invariable and indispensible much more divine principles saith the Heathen filthinesse is filthinesse whether thou think it to be so or no. Opinion is not the rule of things but the nature of the thing it self Therefore whatsoever is against nature none can dispense with God cannot deny himself What was naught in one age is naught in another and is for ever naught Whatsoever is divine or natural is indispensible No Monarch in the world can dispense with the law of nature or the Divine Law the Word of God for the opinion of any man in the world is not the rule of his course but the undoubted light of God whether the light of nature or the light of Divine truth I speak this the rather to crosse base
after there is inward intrinsical grounds in the Word that make us to know the Word without the Church Now they would have the authority of the Word depend upon the Church and so over-rule mens consciences in that case Whereas all that the Church hath is a leading inducing perswading to hear the Word under which Word and Ordinance we shall see such light and majestie in the Scriptures that from inward grounds we shall be perswaded that the Word of God is the Word of God Therefore the Church is the first inducer to believe the Word of God not the last object to which all is resolved For they themselves crosse it in their tenents when they speak discreetly Is this opinion so and so The Church holds it but what authority hath the Church to maintain it where is the authority of your Church then they bring some place of Scripture I will be with you to the end of the world And He that heareth you heareth me c. I do but a little discover to you the danger of this errour They make the Word of God to be believed because the Church saith so they make truth to be believed because their man of sin whom they depend upon saith so Do we believe the Trinity or that Christ is our Redeemer because the Church saith so should we not believe it except the Church say so what if the Church teach the Doctrine of Devils as they do they cannot shake it off we must believe because the Church saith so so upon equal grounds they shall teach the Doctrine of Devils and the Doctrine of Christ because the Church saith so As it was said anciently he that believes two things the one for the other he believes not two but one in effect because he believes the one for the other So in effect they believe nothing but the Church that is themselves believe the truth to be divine because they say so so they may believe any devillish errour because they say so so any treason or rebellion must go current because they say so because they cannot erre Yyou see how they domineer over the faith of others shall not Christ be Christ nor God be God nor the Devil be the Devill except the Church say so Again in the very matters themselves in the points that themselves do not urge the Church of Rome domineers and tyrannizeth over the souls of people For example they hold that the intention of a Minister in the Sacrament makes it effectual What a fear doth this breed in the souls of men that they know not whether they be baptized or no because it must be in the intention of the Minister And then in confession they must confesse all what a tyranny is this to the souls of people when perhaps there is somewhat that they have not confessed and so their confession is of no worth And in satisfaction perhaps I have not made satisfaction enough by their injunction laid on me and therefore I must satisfie in hell what a rack is this to conscience So what a rack to conscience is that opinion that the Pope cannot erre when I cannot tell perhaps whether he be the right Pope or no if he came in by Simony or is not in Cathedra and many conditions they have to salve that Point If any of those conditions be not observed he is not the man he should be what tyranny do they force upon people over their faith Therefore they are called in the Revelations scorpions indeed they are spiritual Scorpions that sting the souls of Gods people The Devil is the King of darknesse and is not he the Prince of darknesse that maintains ignorance of the Word of God that all his old tenents and opinions may have the better sway that he may sit in the blind and dark consciences of people It is said 2. Thess. 2. that he sits in the Temple of God that is in the Church nay he labours to have another Temple to sit in mans soul which is the Temple of the Holy Ghost It is not sufficient for him that is the man of sin to have any other place he must sit in the very souls and consciences of men Satan hath a special malice to sit in the place of God since he was turned out of heaven and cannot come thither he will come to that place if he can upon earth where God should be and where will God be God will especially be in the hearts of his people in the souls and consciences of his people Conscience is Gods throne Satan being thrust out of heaven labours to stablish his throne there Now they that are Satans vicars led with his spirit they are of the same mind let them be what kind of great ones they will they desire to sit in Gods throne in the conscience and if a man will not tie his conscience to them he is no body to them This is the property of Antichrist in the highest degree as far as any are addicted to this that they will not be satisfied but the consciences of men must be tied to them they must deny all honesty and justice and law and all to please them and to gratifie them with particular kindnesse so farre they are led with the spirit of Antichrist and of the Devil himself who labours to sit in Gods throne that is in the hearts and consciences of people And therefore as I said they labour to keep people in darknesse for this very purpose that people may let them into their consciences and rule them as they please As Sampson when they had put out his eyes they led him to base services so do they with Gods people they put out their eyes and then they lead them to grind in the mill to all the base services they can It is not to be spoken of the brutish slavery and ignorance that is in Spain and other Countreys where that Devillish Inquisition reigns which is a great help to Popish Tyranny What should I speak of the state of the Romish Church indeed the main scope of it is to subdue all to them to subdue all Kings and Kingdomes to them that is the grand scope of the greatest of them others have their particular scope for their bellies and base ends but those among them that have brains that are Governours their scope is to bring all under their girdle and how shall they do this They cannot bring their persons but they must bring their consciences for where the conscience is the person will follow presently therefore they labour to lay a tie upon the conscience of Prince and people upon all that so they may domineer and rule over their consciences And for that end they labour to nourish them up in blindnesse for by blindnesse they rule in the conscience and ruling their conscience they may rule their persons and Kingdomes This is their main scope this hath been their plot for many hundred years So
else will Therefore let us every day be setting our selves in some good way for comfort is in comfortable courses and not in ill courses in Gods waies we shall have Gods comforts In those waies let us exercise the spiritual strength we have let us pray to God and performe the exercise of Religion with strength shew some zeal in it let us shew some zeal against sin if occasion be if it be in Gods work in Gods way Let a man set himself upon a good worke especially when it is in opposition for the honour of God and the peace of his conscience presently there is comfort upon it And that we may not be discouraged with the imperfection of our performances one way of daily comfort is to consider the condition of the covenant of Grace between God and us In the covenant of Grace our performances if they be sincere they are accepted and it is the perfection of the Gospel sincerity Sincerity will look God in the face with comfort because he is with the upright so much truth in all our dealings so much comfort And with sincerity labour for growth to grow better and better God in the Gospel meanes to bring us to perfection in heaven by little and little In the law there was present perfection required but in the Gospel God requires that we should come to perfection by little and little as Christ by little and little satisfyed for our sins and not all at once In the condition of the covenant of Grace we must live and grow by grace by little and little and not all at once The condition of the covenant of grace is not to him that hath strength of grace in perfection but if we believe and labour to walke with God if there be truth of Grace truth goes for perfection in the covenant of Grace We should labour for sound knowledge of the covenant of Grace that now we are freed from the rigor as well as from the curse of the law that though we have imperfections yet God will be our father and in this condition of imperfection he will be a pardoning father and lookes on our obedience though it be feeble and weak and imperfect yet being the obedience of children in the covenant of grace and he accepts of what is his owne and pardons what is ours And every day labour to preserve the comforts of the spirit that we have not to grieve the spirit for comfort comes with the spirit of God as heat accompanies the fire As wheresoever fire is there is heat so wheresoever the spirit of God is there is comfort because the spirit of God is God and God is with comfort wheresoever comfort is God is and wheresoever God is there is comfort If we would have comfort continually every day let us carefully watch that we give way to the spirit of God by good actions and meditations and exercises And by no meanes grieve the spirit or resist the spirit for then we resist comfort If we speake any thing that is ill we lose our comfort for that time conscience will check us we have grieved the spirit If we heare any thing with applause and are not touched with it we lose our comfort conscience will tell us we are dead-hearted and not affected as we should be there is a great deal of flesh and corruption that is affected with such rotten discourse And so if we venture upon occasions we shall grieve the spirit either if we speak somewhat to satisfie others that are nought or if we hear somewhat that is ill from others Want of wisdome in this kind doth make us go without comfort many times want of wisdom to single out our companie or else if we be with such to do that that may please them and grieve the spirit and hinder our own comfort These and such like directions if we would observe we might walk in a course of comfort the God of comfort hath prescribed this in the book of comfort These are the courses for Gods children to walk in a comfortable way till they come to heaven More especially if we would at any time take a more full measure of comfort then take the book of God into your hand those are comforts that refresh the soul single out some speciall portion of scripture and there you shall have a world of comfort As for example let a man single out the epistle to the Romans if a man be in any grievance whatsoever what a world of comfort is there fitting for every maladie there is a method how to come to comfort There St. Paul in the beginning first strips all men of confidence of any thing in themselves and tells them that no man can be saved by works Jewes nor Gentiles but all by the righteousnesse of God in Christ All are deprived of the Glorie of God Jewes and Gentiles every bodie And when we are brought to Christ he tells us in the later end of the third Chapter that by Christ we have the forgivenesse of all our former sins whatsoever he is the propitiation for our sins In the 4. Chapter he comforts us by the example of Abraham and David that they were justified without works by faith not by works of their own but by laying hold of the promises of comfort and salvation meerly by Christ and all that saith St. Paul is written for us But in the first Chapter especially because all the miseries of this life come from the first Adam because we are Children of the first Adam death and miserie comes from that he opposeth the comfort in the second Adam and he shewes that there is more comfort by the second Adam then there is discomfort by the first Righteousnesse in the second Adam reigns to life everlasting and Glorie Sin and miserie came by the first but there is the pardon of all sin by the second Adam he doth excellently oppose them in the latter end of that Chapter In the begining of the fifth Chapter he shewes there the method and descent of joy Being justified by faith in Christ we have peace with God Considering that by the righteousnesse of Christ we are freed from sin We have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we have boldnesse to the Throne of Grace and we rejoyce in tribulation knowing that tribulation brings forth patience and patience experience and experience hope He sets himself there of purpose to comfort in all tribulation and he saith in these things we rejoyce We rejoyce in tribulation I but for our sins after our conversion after we are in the state of Grace what comfort is there for them there is excellent comfort in the fifth of the Romans If when we were enemies he gave his son for us if he saved us by the death of Christ when we were enemies much more Christ being alive and in heaven he will keep it for us and keep us to salvation now when we are
of trust in God True trust lookes to Gods truth and promise and Word in one part of it as well as another Thou trusts God for thy salvation and the promises of that but thou must trust him for the direction of thy life too Faith doth not single out some objects I will believe this and not that faith is carried to all the objects it believes all Gods truths therefo if I believe not the threatnings and the directions to be ruled by them I believe not the promises in what measure thou believest the promise of mercy to save thy soul in that measure thou believest the directions of Gods Word to guide thy soul. He that receives Christ as a Priest to save him he must receive him as a King to rule him All the directions and all the threatnings and all the promises must be received and believed A man hath no more faith and trust in God then he hath care to follow Gods direction for faith is carried to all divine truthes all come from the same God Thousands go to hell and think O God is a mercifull God and I will trust in him but how is thy life is it carried by Gods directions thou art a rebel thou livest in sins against conscience thou wilt trust in God in one part of his Word and not in another thou must not be a chooser Again the last that I will name at this time if thou trust God for one thing undoubtedly thou wilt trust him for all if thou trust him with thy Soul certainly thou wilt trust him with thy Children Some men hope to be saved by Christ O he will be mercifull to their souls and yet even to their Death they use corrupt courses to get an estate and to make their Children rich and except they have so much they will not trust in God If they have nothing to leave them they think not that there is a God in heaven who is a better Father then they Put cafe thou hast nothing hast thou not Gods blessing canst thou trust thy soul with God and canst thou not trust him with thy family Is he not the God of thy seed hath he not made the promise to thy posterity as well as to thy self If thou trust him for one thing thou wilt trust him for all Wilt thou trust him for Heaven and wilt thou not trust him for provision for daily bread Wilt thou not trust him for this or that but thou must use unlawfull meanes He that trusts God he trusts him for all truths and for all things needfull with his Family with his Body with his Soul with all And so much for the tryalls whether we trust in God or no. Let us not deceive our selves it is a point of infinite consequence as much as the salvation of our souls What brings men to hell in the Church false confidence they trust to false things or they think they trust in God when indeed they do not The fault of a ship is seen in a tempest and the fault of a house is seen when winter comes Thy trust that is thy house that thou goest to and restest in the fault of that will be seen when thou comest to extremity in the hour of death then thou hast not a God to go to then thy conscience upbraids thee thou hast lived by thy shifts in carnall confidence and rebellion against God and how canst thou then willingly trust God whom thou hast made thine enemy all thy life-time To go then to some helps If upon search we find that we do not so trust in God as we should Let us lament our unbelieving hearts complain to God of it desire God whatsoever he doth that he would honour us so much as that we may honour him by trusting in him for it is his glory and our salvation But because I will not go out of the text the best way is that which followes to know God as he is How come we to trust a man When we know his Honesty his Fidelity his Wisdom and his sufficiencie then we trust him therefore St. Paul adds here that we should Trust in God that raiseth the dead that is in God Almighty From whence I raise this general that The best way to trust in God is to know him as he is We know his attributes by his principall works we know his nature by his works as here is one of the principall set down he is God that raiseth the dead A sound sanctified trust in God is by knowing of him They that know thy Name will trust in thee Psal 9. There are three waies of the knowledge of God His Nature Promises Works To know what he hath engaged himself in in all the promises that concern us and then to know his strength how able he is to make good them promises And then to know his works how his nature hath inabled him to make good those promises Especially his nature as to consider his goodnesse and his wisdom every attribute indeed doth inforce trust for he is good freely he is good to us of his own bowels VVe may trust him that hath made himself a Father out of hiw own mercy in Christ when we were enemies His goodnesse and wisdom is infinite as himself and his power and his truth As the scripture saith oft-times Faithful is God that hath promised St. Bernard a good man in Evill times saith he I consider three things in which I pitch my hope and trust Charitatem adoptionis the love of God in making me his Child and Veritatem promissionis the truth of God in performing his promise his Love is such to make me his Child his truth is such to perform his promise Thirdly I consider his power that is able to make good that that he hath promised This threefold cable is a strong one his love in adoption his truth in performing his promise and his power in making good all this This threefold cable will not easily be broken Let my Sottish flesh murmur against me as long as it will as the flesh will murmur who art thou that thou darest trust in God What is thy merit that thou hopest for such great glory No no saith he I know whom I have believed as Saint Paul saith I answer with great confidence against my Sottish murmuring flesh I know whom I have trusted He is able he is good he is true This that Holy man had to exercise his faith I name it because it is the temper of all believing souls that are so in truth The believing heart considers the nature of God the promise of God and though the murmuring rebellious flesh say what art thou how darest thou that art flesh and blood look to God O he is faithful he is good and gracious in Christ he hath made himself a Father I know whom I have believed God is al-sufficient Trust and confidence doth grow in the soul in what measure and proportion the knowledge of him
a one as must relinquish in his purpose all wicked blasphemous scandalous unthrifty courses whatsoever he that purposeth to please God and to have his prayer accepted of God he must leave all For as the Psalmist saith If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer For a man to come with a petition to God with a purpose to offend him is to come to practise treason in the presence Chamber To come into the presence of God and to have a purpose to stab him with his sins Doest thou purpose to live in thy filthy courses in thy scandalous evill course of life to be a blasphemer a swearer and yet dost thou think that God will hear and regard thy prayer If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer That is another thing that thou mayest know it by whether thou be in such an estate as that thou mayest pray successefully for thy self and for others In Prov. 28. there is a third discovery He that turnes his eare from hearing the law even his prayer shall be abominable Thou mayest know it by this if thou be in such an estate as that God will regard thy prayers for thy self or for others that they may be prevailing prayers how standest thou affected to Gods Truth and Word how art thou acquainted with the reading of the Scriptures and with hearing the blessed Word of God unfolded and broken open by the blessed Ordinance of God How doest thou attend upon God Wouldest thou have him who is the great God of heaven and earth to hear thee and to regard thee when thou wilt not hear and regard him thou wouldest have him to regard thy prayers and thou regardest not him speaking by the Ministery of his Word thou despisest his ordinance which he hath left with thee he hath left thee the mysteries of his Word and thou regardest them not but spendest thy time altogether either about thy calling or about some trifling studies and neglectest the main the soul-saving truth will he hear thy prayer No saith the Wise man He that turnes his eare from hearing the Law that mans prayer shall be abominable Since prayer is so prevailing a thing so pleasing to God so helpfull to the Church and so helpfull to our selves who would be in such a case that he cannot pray or if he doth pray that his prayer should be abominable that God should turn his prayer into sin It is a miserable case that a man lives in that is in league with sin that allowes himself in any wicked course in rebellion to Gods Ordinance such men are in such a state that God doth not regard their prayers for themselves or for others Some do so exalt and lift up their pride against God that they do not regard the very Ordinance of God no not while they are hearing it but set themselves to be otherwise disposed at that very time How can such expect that God will regard them This shall be sufficient to presse that point saith Saint Paul I shall be delivered by your prayers God will deliver the Ministers by the peoples prayers God will be good to the Ministers for the prayers of the people This concerns us that are Ministers Prayer is prevailing even for us And as it is our duty to give our selves to Preaching and Prayer so it is the peoples duty to pray for us likewise and for these particulars as I named To pray for ability To pray for a willing mind to discharge that ability To pray for successe of that discharge for we must be able to Preach to the people of God and we must be willing and there must be successe It doth much discourage Gods people and those that are Ministers when they find no successe of their labours Isai. 49. saith the Prophet I have laboured in vain Elias was much discouraged in his time and Isaiah and Elias were good men yet they were much discouraged they saw little fruit of their labour Therefore let us help the Ministers with our prayers in this respect that God would enable them that God would enlarge their hearts with willingness For there are many that are of ability but they are so proud and so idle that they think themselves too good to Preach to them whom God and the Church hath called them to bestow their labours on they have ability but they want a large heart And those that have both ability and a large heart they want successe they see little fruit because the people pray not for them and they perhaps are negligent in the duty themselves their labours are not steeped in prayers Again a fourth thing that we ought to pray for for them is strength and ability of the outward man and all that fear God and have felt the benefit of the Ministery they do this and God doth answer it Likewise to pray for protection and deliverance from unreasonable men to pray for strength of spirit and likewise for protection For as St. Paul saith 2 Thess. 3. All men have not faith Pray for us that we may be delivered from unreasonable absurd men All have not Faith Men that believe not Gods truth that believe not Gods Word that are full of Atheisme full of contempt and scorn they are absurd men though they think themselves the witty men of the world yet they are unreasonable and absurd men pray for us that we may be delivered from unreasonable men Likewise from him that is the head of wicked men the Devil He sees that the Ministers they are the Standard-bearers they are the Captains of Gods Army they stand not alone and they fall not alone many others fall with them There is no calling under heaven by which God conveyes so much good as by the dispensation of his Ordinance in the Ministery therefore we should help them by our prayers There are no men better if they be good nor none more hurtfull if they be bad none worse As Christ saith They are the salt of the earth to season the unsavory world and if the salt have lost the savour it is good for nothing but to be cast on the dunghill Therefore pray that God would deliver them from the Devil who malignes them they are the Butt of his malice by his instruments There are many that come to hear the Word to carpe and to cavil and to sit as Judges to examine but how few are there that pray for the Ministers and surely because they pray not they profit not If we could pray more we should profit more I beseech you in the bowels of Christ put up your petitions to God that God would teach us that are inferiour to you in other respects setting aside our calling that we may teach you that we may instruct his people As John Baptist saith The friends of the Bride learn of the Bridegroom what to speake to the Spouse so we learn from prayer and from reading
many times but by the power of the Spirit he checked it and kept it under it was not his rule Now the reasons of this Doctrine That the godly guide not themselves by fleshly wisdome which hath worldly aimes and carnal means to bring those aimes to passe they are First Because Gods Children will not cherish that in them and make that their rule which is contrary to God which is enmity to God but this carnal wisdome which proules for the world and looks for ease and profit and pleasure it is enmity to God Rom. 8 6 7 8. the Apostle proves it at large They being subject to God Children of God being under him in all kind of subjection as servants as Children as spouses they will not cherish that which is rebellion to God which is not subject to God neither can be as we may say a Papist that is Jesuited he is neither a good Subject nor can be so the wisdome of the flesh neither is it subject to God nor can be subject in the nature of it it is rebellion It is Gods enemy it withstands all the Articles that he hath given us to believe fleshly wisdome hath some opposition against all truth it opposeth every command that God gives us to obey there is something in flesh and blood to withstand every command it is the greatest enemy that God hath And as it is an enemy to God so it is to us it is contrary to our good It is death the wisdome of the flesh Rom. 8. Saith the Apostle Rom. 7. The flesh deceived me and slew me There is no wise man will cherish that which is death and which is Gods enemy and his own too The wisdome of the flesh as it is opposite to Gods Spirit a rebel and an enemy to him so it is death to a Christian and therefore be will not frame his course of life by it It brings us to eternal death it betrayes us to Satan Sampson could have had no harm had not Dalilah betrayed him so the Devil could not hurt us unlesse it were for fleshly widome the Devil is not such an enemy to a man as his own fleshly wisdome Again a Christian knowes that as it is contrary to God and contrary to his good so it is base and unworthy as well as dangerous It is base and unworthy for a Christian that is an heir of heaven that is raised to be a Child of God to abase his wits to proule for the world how base and unworthy is it for him to seek the things below that is born again to an inheritance immortal and undefiled that is reserved for him in Heaven How unworthy is it for him that hath his understanding and all his inward parts and powers dedicated and consecrated to God to make his understanding a bawd for the base purposes of the flesh The high indignity of the thing makes the Child of God ashamed to be ruled by the flesh to prostitute the strength of his soul to the flesh to make his soul that should carry the Image of God to carry the Image of the Devil to make his wit and understanding a bawd to accomplish earthly things which God hath sanctified to attain grace and comfort in this world and to live as a Christian should do that he may die with comfort and enjoy heaven Again Gods Children will not be ruled by that which they should mortifie and subdue but this wisdome of the flesh is the object of mortification they are redeemed from it A Christian as he is redeemed from hell and damnation so he is redeemed from himself he is redeemed and set at liberty from the slavery of his soul to Satan to the world and worldly projects he is redeemed from the base conversation he was in before What hath he to do to be ruled by him from whom he is redeemed These things might be amplified at large but you see the truth evident what ground a Christian hath not to be ruled by fleshly wisdome But to make it a little clearer A Christian hath no reason to be ruled by earthly wisdome for the yielding to it doth all the mischief in the world it is the cause of all the misery in the world unto Christians especially God catcheth the wise in their own 〈◊〉 though they be politick and wise especially if a Christian give way to carnal politick wisdome God will universally shame him I never knew a Christian thrive in politick courses When he hath secret conveyances for the world God crosseth him every way in his reputation in his projects and purposes But consider to amplifie that which I gave in a branch before what reason hath a Christian to be ruled by fleshly wisdome when it hinders him from all that is good if he yield unto it and keeps him in imperfect good I speak especially now to those that are not in the state of grace What reason hath any one of you to be ruled by fleshly wisdome when it keeps you in the state of unregeneracy It keeps you perhaps in some good but it is imperfect good You think you are good enough and that all is sure and God will be merciful c. when as a Reprobate may go beyond you It hinders from good actions with pretences for fleshly wisdome will tell us there will be danger you shall be reproached if you do this and that you shall be accounted thus and thus and run into obloquie It hinders from doing good There is a Lion in the way it forecasts this and that danger it keeps us in imperfect good that will never save us it objects dangers the sluggard that will not set on his spirit to labour he thinks himself wondrous wise in forecasting dangers Oh I shall want my self c. It dulls and distracts us in good he that hath a carnal projecting head it eats up his soul that when he comes to pray or to hear or to meddle with spiritual matters the marrow and strength of his soul is eaten up with carnal projects and he doth things by halves Nay Carnal Wisdome as far as it is in us unmortified it sets it self against good by depraving good that we may seem to be mischievous and ill and wicked with reason Men are loath to go to hell without reason there was none that ever went to hell yet without wisdome a great deal of wisdome And how doth their wisdome bring them to hell as in other respects which I named before so in this it whets the poysonfulnesse of their nature to invent and to raise scandals or to be willing to take scandals when they are offered A carnal wise man when he knowes that such a degree of Religion is contrary to his carnal projects he fastneth all the disgrace on it that he can that he may be the lesse observed Religious he would be but with a limitation with a reservation and restraint as far as may stand with his
we must swear by him And indeed it is a service of God and to good purpose when Christians swear to stablish and determine truths that otherwise are doubtfull They were doubtfull of S. Paul's doctrine and his person saith he To put you out of doubt of the truth I speak to you I dare call God to witnesse it is true and sound The Apostle doth so once after in this Chapter therefore I reserve the further handling of an oath to verse 23. because the word there is more infallible I call God to record upon my soul c. The next thing I observe hence is this That The believing that Gods Word is Gods Word and is certain it is a matter of great consequence It is of great consequence for Gods people that look to be saved to be stablished in their opinion and judgment of Divine truth that it is certain and not flexible and mutable according to our wills and conceits and dispositions but is yea alway the same as God himself the Authour of it For laying this for a ground that I said before that S. Paul takes God to witnesse he would not enterpose an oath but in a matter of great consequence therefore it is a matter of great consequence to be setled in this that the Scripture is Divine truth unalterable and unchangeable An oath is never good as I said but when it is necessary It must not onely be in truth but there must be a necessity It must not only be taken in righteousnesse but in judgment a man must do it in discretion when the thing is not determinable any other way Therefore it is a matter of great consequence that men take the Word of truth not to be as the Oracles of Apollo and of the Devill true one way and false another The Devil would escape the imputation of a lie though he be a liar but Gods Oracles be Divine they be yea And it is good that we think them to be so to be constant undoubted certain and unmovable Therefore the Apostle seales it with an oath he would not seal a slight truth by an oath but saith he As God is true our word to you was not yea and nay c. And Saint Paul saw a disposition in them to suspect the truth of God as indeed we are proner to believe the lies of our own hearts and the suggestions of Satan and the counsell of Politicians of carnall friends then to believe God himself Therefore partly for the indisposition in us and partly for the great exigence and necessity of the thing to believe that Gods Word is his Word that it is truth he seales it with an oath God is true It is a point of great consequence The reason is God can have no service else and we can have no comfort If we do not believe the Word of God to be undoubtedly true in great temptations and assaults what armour of proof shall we have we can have no comfort nor grace For sometimes subtile and strong temptations to evill come if the Word of God be not more undoubted to me then the present profit or pleasure or whatsoever if the temptation be ready and I be not built on and settled on some grounded truth that I know to be true as God is true when the temptation is strong and our faith weak where are we a man presently yields to base lusts and temptations And so in matter of danger and despair when a man is tempted to despair if he cannot build on this God is true and his Word is as true as himself he will not the death of a sinner c. here a man is swallowed up It is no matter how strong the foundation be if the building on that foundation be weak If a strong man stand in a slippery place down he falls if a man stand slippery and have a weak standing on a strong place on a strong foundation if he have a weak building on a strong foundation he shall soon be cast off So the Word of God is true in it self but if we be not perswaded so that it is infallibly true that it is alway yea we shall be shaken with temptations When we are tempted to sin the temptation is present we are sure of the temptation if we be not more sure of somewhat against the temptation somewhat out of the Word to beat back the darts of Satan when we are tempted to sin and to despair for sin down we go and therefore it is a matter of infinite consequence to be perswaded of Divine truth What makes many as they are in courses that are corrupt in their callings nothing but this they stagger whether it be true or no that there shall be a Judgment they stagger whether it be true or no that the Scripture saith if they were perswaded that it were yea as true as God is in heaven as true as they have soules so their soules must be called to Judgment for that they speak and do would they do as they do Therefore S. Paul stablisheth them by an oath God is true and as God is true our Word to you was not yea and nay Therefore take in good part with thankfulnesse the means that God hath ordained to strengthen our faith and assurance of the Word of God and the Promises of God Therefore he hath appointed the Sacrament for that purpose I say there is nothing in the world so strengthened as the soul of a Christian if he give himself to Gods truth to be ruled by it For if we will believe God we have his promise That Whosoever believes in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life rich promises precious promises as the Scripture calls them We have not onely promises but they are sealed with an oath Now an oath is an unchangeable thing Heb. 9. 16. we have promises and oath that we might have strong consolation whatsoever might secure man we have Besides his oath we have his seal his Sacrament It was his love to condescend to make any Covenant with sinfull creatures that upon any terms he would give them life everlasting It was a higher degree of love to set Christ to be the foundation of this peace and of this Covenant that now God and we may be at peace with satisfaction to Divine Justice that he is the foundation of the peace between God and us Now God may be mercifull without wrong without impeachment to his Justice that is a higher degree of mercy to enter into Covenant and to give Christ to be the foundation of all And then it is a higher degree then that to secure us of the Covenant that Christ is ours to seal the Word with an oath and with the Sacrament which is the seal of the Covenant what could God do more What a horrible sin therefore is unbelief that we should tremble at to call Gods love and truth in question But yet we are prone to it
Redeemer and yet notwithstanding to need the help of other Mediatours and Intercessours here is yea and nay it is a contradiction That the Church of Rome is the Catholike Church if it be Roman it is not Catholike The universal Catholick Roman Church it is as much as the universal particular Church it is a contradiction one thing overturnes another The sacrifice of the Masse an unbloody sacrifice a sacrifice is the killing of a thing that was alive a sacrifice is with blood the offering of Christ in the bread is an unbloody sacrifice a sacrifice and not a sacrifice here is yea and nay a contradiction So that besides their thwarting of Scripture they thwart and contradict themselves in their fundamentall points they are yea and nay And then they are full of uncertainties they are not undoubtedly yea There is no Papist in the world would end his dayes so if he be not drunk if he be advised if he be not surprized with passion if he do not forget himself Come to a Papist and ask him what are the main points of Popery that you believe alwayes yea Can you say when you confesse your sins that you confesse all No can you then say then you have a perfect absolution that depends upon your confession No it is an uncertain thing What an absutd thing is Popish Religion it wracks the conscience of people Can you say that the Priest intends consecration in these words This is my body No and if the Priests intention be not there then Christ is not there and then you are Idolaters Can you tell certainly that Transubstantiation depends upon his consecration No how full of uncertainties and contradictions is Popery you cannot say the Points of Popery are alwaies yea Perhaps they are yea in life but are they yea in death It is yea in life that they merit salvation by works but is it yea in death No Bellarmine disclaimes it It is safe not to trust in our own merits for danger of vain-glory c. but to trust onely in the mercy of God in Christ. So their doctrine it is yea in life to sin by to live riotously by but then it is nay in death they reverse it if they belong to God they disclaim their works and other things and cleave onely to Christ and there is hope of them that have grace truly to do so So their doctrine is not yea that in life and death they can stick to To go on a little further to lay open the grossenesse of their tenents and the danger of their Religion We are better bottomed then they are which make the Word of God our rule and ground that is not yea and nay but yea The Canonization of Saints The Pope he makes Garnet a Traytor and Thomas of Becket Saints how can he know that these were Saints that he Canonizeth he that makes a Saint must know the hearts of men and search the heart for the truth of grace is there now it is the priviledge of God to know the heart So that Popery is full of uncertainties and pitifull perplexities Indeed they maintain the doctrine of doubting that we must doubt as if our nature were not sufficiently prone to doubt but we must get arguments to make us doubt as if it were needful to have infirmities to stablish grace in us Alas we are too prone to doubt and the Devil is ready to make us stagger in the time of temptation Again the Invocation of Saints it is a Point wondrous full of uncertainties Can they know and say certainly that the Saints hear them They cannot know that one Saint having a finite power should hear a hundred Petitions at once A finite creature hath but a finite power to hear one thing at one time distinctly how can they be perswaded that a finite Saint in heaven at one time distinctly should hear many thousands that put up their Petitions at once Can a man that is but a capable creature though glorified as Peter or Mary c. distinctly consider a thousand Petitions that are made they cannot how then can they think that a certain truth the Invocation of Saints The main ground of all their Religion is yea and nay the Pillar of it what is that The infallible judgment of the Pope but how can they tell when he speaks ex Cathedra for 9. or 10. exceptions and tricks they have when he speaks to be built on and when not how can poor soules know when he speaks so that the people may infallibly build on his judgment Because many times he is an illiterate man that knowes nothing in Divine things wherein he is to judge So the very foundation of Popery is yea and nay that is a most uncertain thing And then the ground of that that he is the Successour of Peter there is no place of Scripture for it neither dare they bring any It is but a Tradition It is somewhat uncertain whether ever Peter were at Rome that he was Bishop there is more uncertain but that the Pope should be his Successour is most uncertain and impossible of all So indeed the Religion of Popery is a rack to conscience especially to conscience that is awaked and knowes what Religion means at all Why is it a rack to them There is no certainty in it in the main Tenents of it It is not onely contrary to Gods yea but it is yea and nay uncertain in it self Now here the Apostle he frees his preaching from this imputation Our Word to you was not yea and nay and he calls God to record God is true and as he is true my Word to you was not yea and nay but was certainly yea Thus you see what use we are to make of it for confutation and conviction of our own judgments It may be moved by some perhaps How doth it appear how shall we know by what arguments that it is yea and not yea and nay I answer The testimony of S. Paul here is that it is so and his appeal to God with an asseveration As God is true But our own experience doth tell us that the Word of God is certain and true if we belong to God for we stand convict in judgment by many arguments which I will not now repeat But how shall any man certainly know it is yea the Word is the undoubted Word of God unchangeable wheresoever it is In a word you may know it is so he thinks it is so if he yield obedience to it as to such a Word absolute obedience to Gods truth without questioning when once a thing is clear to be agreeable to Gods truth he yields obedience to it then it is yea If it be a duty he must do it if it be a threatning he must avoid it by repentance if it be a promise he must believe it this is absolute obedience Likewise reverence in hearing it as Cornelius did Act. 10. To hear it as the
Word of God To tremble at the Word of God as it is Esay 66. To tremble at it as men do at thunder The thunder is said to be the voice of God The voice of God shakes the Cedars of Lebanon so it is with the voice of Gods Word Shall the Lion roar and the beasts of the Forrest not tremble Shall God threaten for sins that we are obnoxious to and shall we not tremble at his threatenings Therefore howsoever we hear it as if it were yea and nay yet it is yea therefore let us not think to go on in sin and escape and do well enough No it will not be so he that thinks it is the Word of God he trembles at his VVord and hath answerable affections to all the parts of Gods VVord If God direct he followes if God threaten he trembles if he promise he believes if he command he obeyes he hath a pliable disposition to every passage of Divine truth or else we do not believe it What shall we say then of those that come not so far as the Heathen man did VVe know Felix when he heard of justice and temperance and judgment to come he trembled VVhen he heard of things that he was loath to hear that he should be called to a reckoning for the course of his life he trembled and quaked If we hear these things and live in a course perhaps worse then he and do not tremble where is our faith that the VVord of God is yea that it is undoubtedly true Let us therefore examine our selves what power and efficacy the VVord hath it is a VVord that changeth and altereth the whole man it transforms the whole man It is a VVord of life if we find it hath so altered and changed us we can from experience say it is yea And likewise from particular Promises if we observe Gods Promises made good to us if we find peace of conscience upon the confession of our sins we can say Gods VVord is yea If upon the committing of sin we find God punishing and correcting us we can say Gods VVord is yea and it is a bitter thing to offend God I find carefulnesse is the best course to please God he finds me out in my sins and it is a bitter thing to offend God This is the best way to say in truth without hypocrisie that Gods Word is not yea and nay but yea Thus we see this truth that God is true and what followes thence his Word is true as himself and not inconstant yea and nay Besides all this that I have said Let us make this Use of it not to think Gods Word to be too good to be true but yield obedience to it yield the obedience of faith to it in the Promises Here is a foundation for faith the foundation of faith is without us the evidences of faith are within us by love by purging our hearts and stirring us up to pray c. but the foundation is out of our selves here is a foundation and pillar for faith to lean on God is true and his Word is true and not yea and nay it is eternally true Therefore apply all the Promises in the Old and New Testament to thy self It was not yea to Abraham and not to thee Gods Promises of forgivenesse of sins were not yea to David and not to thee they were not yea to Manasses and not to thee but Gods truth is yea eternally yea Whatsoever was written heretofore was written for our comfort and we are now the Davids and the Manasses and the Abrahams of God we are now the beloved of God for every one in their age are as they were in theirs and as the Promises of God were yea to them and saved their souls because they trusted on them so certainly every Promise of God is a shield for those that will have recourse to it The Name of God is a strong Tower and his Word is his Name whereby he will be known in his Promises Have recourse to it on all occasions relie on the Word wrastle with him when his dealings seem contrary though his dealings with us seem to be yea and nay We have been Gods Children he hath assured us that we were in the state of grace but now he deals with us as if we were not his children he afflicts us he suffers Satan to be let loose on us to tempt us here flesh and blood is ready to say Certainly I am not Gods child can I be thus and thus followed as I am No no Gods gifts are without repentance Hadst thou ever grace God hath said it who is truth it self that his gifts are without repentance Build on it therefore if thou hadst ever any grace where he hath begun he will make an end Where he hath begun a good work he will perfect it to the day of the Lord. Therefore wrastle with God in all temptations when things seem contrary yet alledge Gods nature to him and his Word for both are true and one is true because the other is true He is true in his Nature and true in his Word and free in his decree whatsoever his actions seem to be yet Lord thou canst not deny thy self thou art unchangeable thou art truth it self And thy Word that hath promised regard and respect to humble sinners that repâ—…t and come to thee it is unchangeably true as thy self therefore Lord I will not leave thee though thou kill me as Job saith Here is a ground of wraâ—…ng as Jobâ—…d â—…d alledge the Nature of God and the Word of God against his dealing Let his dealing be what it will his Nature is true and his Word is true therefore his Promises are true which is a branch of his Word that if we repent and confesse our sins he will be mercifull to us Therefore let us not forsake our own mercy This will uphold us as in all temptations so in Divine temptations when God seems to forsake us so Christ himself our blessed head did we cannot have a better pattern when God left him on the Crosse and left him to his humane nature to wrastle with the Devils temptations and the pains of his body and the sense of his wrath My God my God why hast thou for saken me yet he upheld himself that God was his God still and so likewise in the former example of Job I say it is a speciall comfort that Gods Word is not yea and nay as I said it is not doubtful as the Oracles of the Gentiles the Oracles of the Devill but Gods Word is certain Whatsoever it was to any Saint of God heretofore it is to every believing to every humble afflicted soul now and shall be to the end of the world So much for that VERSE XIX For the Son of God Jesus Christ who was preached among you by us by me and Sylvanus and Timotheus was not yea and nay but in him is yea IN the words the Apostle shews in particular
Parasites that when God calls them to stand for true causes what do they make their rule Not Gods constant yea but they bend and bow to opinion as if the opinion of any man in the World were the rule of their faith and obedience This is to make men and no men Is not the written Word of God the VVord of God Is not the law the law politike lawes I speak not of shall a man yield to mens opinion especially if the VVord do not warrant it shall he yield to any man living that is inconstant by his disposition There is truth which is certain that a man must maintain to the Death He is not onely a Martyr that maintaines Religion John Baptist was a Martyr that stood out in a matter that was not against heresie but for the standing out against Herod he did not yield as many thousands would have done in such a case Thou must not have thy Brother Philips wife it is unlawful Men ought to suffer for the truths of nature and not deny truth whatsoever because it is a Divine sparkle from God If it be any truth whatsoever it must be stood in because it is constant and it is the best thing in the world next to Divine and saving truth If this be so that the Gospel and Divine truth be yea and that the Church at all times hath been built on that and that whosoever is saved is saved by that yea Let us labour to have a faith answerable to our truth We say and distinguish well there is a certainty of the thing and a certainty of the mind apprehending the thing It is certain the Sun is bigger then the earth but you shall never perswade a simple Countrey-man that it is so There is a certainty of the object but not of the subject he will never believe it because it is against sense But now there must be both in a Christian. The Apostles doctrine the truth he doth believe the truth in the Scripture is yea that is it is certain and true and not yea and nay it is not flexible it is not as the Heathen Oracles were that is doubtful and wavering Let our assent be answerable to the truth let us build soundly on a sound foundation As a Ship that is to rest in the middest of the waves there is a double certainty necessary that the Anchor-hold be good in it self and that it be fastned upon somewhat that is firm if it be a weak anchor or if it be fastned upon gound that will not hold the Ship is tossed about with waves and so split upon some rock or other So our soules require a double certainty we must have an Anchor of faith as well as an object of faith we must have an Anchor of hope as well as an object For the object we may cast Anchor there it is Divine truth which will hold there is no doubt of that it is yea but then our Anchor must be firm our faith and affiance Let us labour to build soundly and strongly upon it It should be our endeavour continually to stablish our faith to stablish our hope that we may know on what terms we live and on what terms to dye Do but consider the difference between an understanding strong Christian and another A Christian that is judicious and understanding ask him in what estate he is why comfortable what is the ground of his faith why thus I live in no known sin I confesse my sins to God my doctrine is yea and I labour to bring my life to my doctrine Ask another What do you mean to live so loosely and carelesly why will you stand thus will you be content to die so perhaps he doth not know sound doctrine or if he do it is confusedly he doth not build on that rock on that foundation O let us labour to build stronger and stronger on the truth Our building strongly makes us eternal Gods truth is eternal truth because it makes us eternal Is it not a strange thing that man that is chaffe and vanity and smoak whose life passeth as a tale that is told that yet notwithstanding if he build on this yea which is certain and infallible the doctrine of the Gospel it will make him a rock a living stone it will make him eternal All flesh is grasse but the Word of God endures for ever What a comfort is this our life being a vapour and vanity and growing to nothing that the time will shortly come when we shall be no more no more in this world then to have Divine truth that will make us eternal Psal. 90. Moses a good man he saw men drop away faith he Thou art our eternal habitation from Generation to Generation What is the meaning of that That is We dwell in thee here in our Pilgrimage to Canaan we drop away but Thou art our habitation from Generation to Generation So when a Christian considers his life is uncertain all things are vanity that support this life yet notwithstanding I have a yea to build on the Divine truth The Word of the Lord endures for ever and it will make me endure for ever It is a Rock it self it makes me a Rock it will make me a living stone built on that foundation that all the gates of hell shall not prevail against my faith and hope What a comfort is this We have nothing without this Yea we are yea and nay and our happinesse is yea and nay we are so happy now as we may be miserable to morrow Let us labour to build on Divine truth which is like it self that in all the Changes of the world we may have somewhat that is unalterable that is as unchangeable as God himself As S. Paul here brings God himself As God is true my word to you was not yea and nay but yea So much shall suffice for that Verse I go on to the 20. Verse VERSE XX. For all the Promises of God in him are Yea and in him Amen THis comes in after this manner My Preaching to you saith he was invariable and constant because Christ himself is alway yea if Christ the matter of my preaching be alwayes yea and I preach nothing but Christ then my preaching is invariable and constant How doth he prove the minor how doth he prove that Christ is alway yea All the Promises of God in him are Yea and in him Amen Christ is invariable and my preaching of him was not yea and nay Christ is not yea and nay because all the Promises of God in him are Yea and Amen The Promises of God in him are Yea that is they are constant and in him they are Amen There is some diversity in reading the words But most constantly the best Expositors have it as this Translation hath it All the Promises of God in him are Yea and in him Amen The literal meaning is this All the Promises of God in Christ are Yea that is they are
this promise A Virgin shall conceive and beare a son and to us a Child is borne and a son is given to signifie that therefore they should have deliverance because God would give them a better thing then that he would give them Christ in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen and because Christ should come of that people they should not miscarrie in captivity under their enemies for then how should Christ come of them Therefore because a Virgin should conceive and because a Child shall be born and a Son given therefore you shall have outward deliverance All other things are Yea and Amen for Christ as St. Paul divinely reasons Rom. 8. If he spared not his onely begotten Son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things else All other promises are made in Christ and performed for him And since the grand promise it self is now Amen that Christ is come it is a pledge of all other things that are to come Is Christ come in the flesh according to the promise hath he done all and suffered all according to the prophecies as it was written of him Then why shall we not look for the accomplishment of all that are to come on the same ground have we not a pledge Why shall we not look for the resurrection of the bodie for the day of judgement for the second comming of Christ is not his first comming a pledge of it When God is become man and was mortall why should we doubt that man being mortall should be immortall is not the greater performed already Is it not a greater matter for God to become man and to die in our nature then for we that are mortal to become immortall by Christ Why should we not expect that which is to come since the greater is done why should we doubt that we shall be taken up to God since he is come down to man Therefore since it is upon the same ground let us look for the performance of all to be Yea and Amen Since the comming of Christ many promises have been performed in the Church and many yet remain some have been performed as the calling of the Gentiles and the discovery of Antichrist foretold by Saint Paul and the consuming of him in part There is somewhat unfulfilled the conversion of the Jewes the confusion of Antichrist the resurrection to glory with Christ c. Why should we doubt of them that are to come having such a pledge of truth of God and Christ in the reall performance of that which is past Let us not doubt of it for in Revelations 9. when he speaks of the destruction of Antichrist It is done it is done saith the Angel As Christ said when he was on the Crosse all was finished so it is as true of his adversaries all is done it is as sure as if it were done already Therefore the Church and people of God should comfort themselves for the time to come in the destruction of the implacable malicious enemies of the Church that glory in the flesh that set up an outward Religion that is opposite to the power of Christ that the time shall come that all shall be done to them and that all other promises shall be finished for as in the first coming of Christ all was finished for the working of our salvation so in his second coming there will be a time when it will be said all is finished for the accomplishment of that which was done in his first coming Therefore let us stablish our soules in the expectation of the blessed promises for All the promises in Christ are Yea and Amen and shall be for ever All the promises are infallibly true as God and as Christ himself is true Christ shall as soon fail and God shall as soon fail as any promise that we have made us in the Gospel if we apprehend it in Christ and believe it in Christ. Then here you see for the direction of our judgment what to think of a rotten opinion that some have that are unacquainted with divine truth and the alsufficiencie of Christ and the mercy of God in Christ that consider not the vilenesse of our nature and the infinite Majesty of God they will have the Gentiles saved by the light of nature and the Jewes by the Law of Moses and Christians by the Gospell of Christ as if there were some other meanes to come to heaven and to the favour of God then by Christ. Whereas now all that we have must be by promises and all the promises we have are in Christ they are all Yea in him without him there is no intercourse between the Majestie of God and us Therefore Act. 4. There is no name under heaven whereby we can be saved but by the Name of Jesus Which not onely confutes the divellish opinion conceit that some have but also the charitable errour of others that think the Heathens that never heard of Christ shall be saved I leave them to their Judge We must go to the Scriptures all the promises are in Christ in him they are Yea in him they are made in him they are Amen in him they are performed out of him we have nothing out of the promises in him we have nothing How are we to magnifie God that we live in the sun-shine of the Gospel that in Christ we have precious and rich promises A precious Saviour we have and precious faith to lay hold on him and precious promises all precious both promises to be believed and our Saviour in whom they are apprehended he is a precious stone and the faith that laies hold on him is precious How are we to blesse God that we have these advantages that we have Christ laid open and precious and rich promises whereby we may have precious faith to lay hold on these precious promises we are much to blesse God for it Again are all the promises of God in Christ and in him Yea and Amen This should direct us in our dealing with God not to go directly to him but by a promise and when we have a promise look to Christ in whom it is performed Go to God in the blessed promises that we have for Christs sake that he would perform all If we ask any thing of God in Chrsts Name we shall receive it because the promises are in him If we thank God for any thing it must be in Christ for that we have in him What a comfort is this that we may go to God in Christ and claime the promises boldly because we see out of the love he beares to Christ he loves us and hath made us promises in him and as verily as he loves him so he loves us and will perform all his gracious promises to us If we lay fast hold on Christ I say he can as soone alter his love to Christ as to us for the loves us with the same love
yea and amen to be yea and nay We make truth a lie and do rather believe our own lying hearts then Gods immutable and unchangeable Promises Therefore let us see the fulnesse of our hearts and complain of them to God and desire him to cure it and redresse it and he will do it This is to give glory to God indeed we cannot honour God more then to believe his Promises and build on him This will breed love when we feel the comfort of the Promises Foolish men think to honour God by complements by dead performances filly men consider that the principal honour in the world to God is to seal his truth that thou shouldest not make him a liar Hath he promised all things in the world get faith that will honour him and he will honour thy faith What makes God honour faith so much He that believes he will bring him to heaven Faith honours him it gives him the glory of his truth the glory of his goodnesse of his mercy of his truth c. as it honours him he honours it The Believer shall come to heaven when the idle fashionable Christian shall vanish with his conceits that thinks to serve God with empty vain shadowes Honour God with the obedience of faith man cast thy self upon him trust in him in life and death and then thou givest him the honour that he requireth at thy hands For as the honour of his mercy is the greatest honour he will have in this world more then that in the Creation so thou honourest him more in the Gospel to cast thy self on him for forgivenesse of sins and life everlasting and for the guidance of thy daily course of life thou honourest him more then by looking on the creature or by doing him any service He is honoured more by faith in Christ then by any other way Let faith go to him as faith honours him so he will honour it Let it be according to thy faith Let not all be lost let us bring vessels for the precious Promises the vessel of a believing heart Shall all this be lost for a vain heart that will not lodge up these promises shall we have a rich portion and neglect it shall we have so many promises and not improve them and make use of them Therefore I beseech you let it be our practice continually every day of all portions of Scripture make the Promises most familiar to us for duties follow promises if we believe the Promises with our heart they are quickning Promises we will love God and perform other duties Faith works by love If we believe love will come kindly off Therefore he saith here All the Promises are Yea and Amen insinuating that all is included in the Promises Let us empty our hearts of confidence in any thing and fill them with the Promises in Christ that are Yea and Amen Let us stablish our hearts with the Promises let us warm and season and refresh our hearts every day with these In these times of infection what do we those that are careful of themselves that go abroad in dangerous places they have Preservatives they take something to preserve their spirits and to strengthen them against the contagion abroad and it is wisdome so to do it is folly to neglect it and to tempt God not to be careful in this kind it is very well done But what is this if thou do not fence thy soul and thy spitit and take a draught of the Promises every day afresh Let us take out our pardon of course every day of the forgivenesse of sins We sin every day let us go for our pardon If we sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ and he is the propitiation for our sins And the blood of Jesus Christ shall purge us from all sin And he is in justifying us still every day he is acquitting our soules and there is a pardon of course to be taken out every day Let us renew and refresh our hearts with the Promises of pardon and forgivenesse of sins every day Let us strengthen our soules with renewing the Promises of grace for that day to walk comfortably before God that he will keep us by his Spirit from sin that he will be a shield and a Sun to us that he will give us wisdome to carry our selves as we should and he will give us his holy Spirit if we beg it Let us every day take these Promises to be Cordials in these dangerous times and then come life come death all shall be welcome why because we are in Christ and have imbraced the Promises and Christ and all in Christ is Yea and Amen it shall go well with us What a wondrous comfortable life would a Christians life be if he could yield the obedience faith answerable to the promises What a shame is it that having such rich promises we should be so loose so changeable that we should be cast down with crosses and lift up with prosperity It is because we believe not the promises of better things therefore we are proud of present things and cast down with present crosses and are fast and loose Now we have good things for the present afterward the devil comes between us and the promises and makes us let go our hold Religion stands on this which makes me to presse it the more If this were well taken to heart and digested we should know what Religion means if we know Christ and the promises all other things will come off All others are but formalities they will never comfort without the confideration of knowing God in Christ and the rich promises to us in Christ. Likewise if this be so that the promises of God in Christ are Yea and Amen This teacheth us how to make use of all former examples of others and of all former goodnesse to our selves Was God merciful to Abraham and to David Our father 's trusted in thee and were not confounded Psal. 22. Therefore he reasons If I trust in God I shall not be confounded for the Promises are Yea and Amen they are true to one as well as another And whatsoever was written afore was written for our comfort Rom. 15. And this is a singular good use we may make of reading of the stories of the Scripture and of holy men that the same God he lives for ever his arm is not shortened he that was is and is to come and therefore we should read histories with application Did God make sure his Promises to them surely he will make sure his Promises to us Had David forgivenesse of sins upon his confession surely so shall we Abraham believed and it was accâ—…ed to him for righteousnesse and â—…o it shall to us if we believe It is alledged for that end Rom. 4. And S. Paul prefixeth his example to all posterity God was mercifull to me and not so onely but to all that believe in him 2 Tim. 2. This is an Use
that we may make likewise of the story of our own lives as well as the story of others for consider the former times why Lord thy Promises heretofore have been Yea and Amen thou hast delivered me from such and such dangers thou hast been so good and so good to me thou art not changed Let us store up experience out of the story of our own lives God is Yea and Amen and his Promises are Yea and Amen constant to all his Children and to their children and they are alike in all ages from Generation to Generation as Moses saith Psal. 90. Thou art our God from Generation to Generation for ever Thus we see how to make use of the Promises for Promises we must know are either directly to particular persons or implyed A promise made to any directly to any in particular is an implyed promise to me in the general equity in matter of grace and glory or the removal of some true misery what was made to Joshua is applyed to all the Church Heb. 13. that which was directly promised to him is an implyed promise to all that will make use of that example Again if so be that all the Promises of God be Yea and Amen that is certain and constant in Christ this should comfort us when men deal loosely with us and fail in their Promises whereon we have perhaps builded too much when men deal falsly with us And indeed there is nothing that makes an honest heart wearier of this wicked world then the consideration of the falshood of men in whom they trust Oh it is a cruel thing to deceive him that unlesse he had trusted he had never been deceived by thee it is a treacherous thing but this world is full of such treacherous dealing that a man can scarce trust assurances much lesse words But there are things thou mayest trust if thou have a heart concerning the best good there are Promises that are Tea and Amen there is a God that keeps Covenant it is his glory to do so from Generation to Generation Here is the comfort of a Christian when he finds falsenesse in the world to retire to his God and hide himself there And in the uncertainty of all things below in all changes as this world is full of changes now poor now rich now in favour now out of favour why what hath a Christian to cast himself on The Promises of God in Christ they are Yea and Amen they are promises that never fail They that know thy Name will trust in thee Psal. 9. what is the reason it followes Thou never failest those that trust in thee Therefore in the vicissitude and intercourse of all earthly things under the Moon that are like the Moon changeable let us stablish our soules upon that which is unchangeable and that will make us unchangeable if we build on it For the Word of the Lord endures for ever Esay 40. which is alledged by Peter 1 Pet. 1. All flesh is grass and as the flower of the grasse that is it fades as the grasse and as the flower of the grasse all the excellency of wit and learning it is but as the flower of the grasse but the Word of the Lord endures for ever How doth the Word of the Lord endure for ever Saint John expounds it 1 Joh. 2. A true Christian endures for ever by the Word of the Lord he that believes in the Word he endures for ever because his comforts endure for ever they are Yea and Amen his grace endures for ever Gods love endures to him for ever Therefore by building upon that which is certain we make our selves certain too when the Word is ingraffed it is S. James his phrase when it is ingraffed into our hearts it turns our hearts to be like it self it is eternal it self and it makes us eternal He that doth the will of the Lord abides for ever saith S. John The world passeth and the lust thereof but he that doth the will of the Lord abides for ever And the Word of the Lord abides for ever as it is in another place the one expounds the other that is we by believing and doing the Word of the Lord abide for ever To stir us up to rely constantly upon this Word the promises and the grace of God brought to us by the promises As I said before Shall we have certain promises of God that never lie and shall we not build on them What is there in the world to build on if we cannot build on this and yet the froward heart of man will believe any thing rather then Gods truth The Merchant man he commits his estate his goods to the Sea he hath no promise that they shall come again it is onely in the providence of God he hath made no promise for it The Husbandman commits his seed to the ground though he have nothing left of his seed and though he sowe in tears yet he commits all to the earth in hope of a return and yet he hath no promise for this but Gods ordinary providence that may sometimes fail Are we in such hope when we commit our seed to the ground and when we commit our goods to the Sea to the Waves and yet have not a promise for this but Gods ordinary providence which oft-times failes having not bound himself that it shall be alway so because God will shew himself the God of nature that he can command nature and shall we not trust him when we have his providence and his promise too when he is bound by his Promise when he hath made himself a debtor to us when the free God who is most free hath made himself a debtor by his promise and hath sealed his promise by an oath and by Sacraments Alas God hath made all things faithful to us therefore we trust them but we trust not him that hath made other things so and is so faithful to us Therefore let us build on these Promises in Jesus Christ. Now to direct us a little further to train our selves up to make use of the Promises of God in Jesus Christ Observe every day how God fulfills his promises in lesser matters Parents train up their children by education that they may trust them for their inheritance So God traines us up to believe his providence that he will provide for us without cracking our consciences by ill means will we not believe his Promises for these things and will we believe him for life everlasting no certainly we cannot therefore let us exercise faith to believe the promises for provision that he will not fail us not forsake us but be with us in our callings using lawful means for the things of this life Sometimes again take another method when faith begins to stagger for the things of this life quicken it with the grand Promises Will God give me life everlasting and hath he given me Christ are his
certainly these promises being apprehended by faith as they have a quickning power to comfort so they purge with holinesse We may not think to carry our filthinesse to heaven Doth the swearer think to carry his blasphemies thither filthy persons and liars are banished thence there is no unclean thing He that hath these promises purgeth himself and perfecteth holinesse in the fear of God He that hath this hope purifieth himself as he is pure 1 Joh. 3. So these promises affect and quicken and purge And then the promises they do settle the soul because they be Yea and Amen they make the soul quiet If a man believe an honest man on his word he will be quiet if he be not quiet he doth not believe so much faith so much quiet Being iustified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So much faith so much peace Philip. 4. In nothing be carefull but let your desires be known to God in prayer supplication and thanksgiving and when you have done this The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall preserve your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus So where there is prayer and thanksgiving and doing of duty The peace of God which passeth all understanding will keep the mind in Christ and where there is not quiet and peace to preserve the heart mind there is neglect of duty before not committing our selves to Gods promises to build on them Again where there is a believing the promises there is not only a staying of the soul in generall but when all things are gone when all things are contrary that is the nature of faith in the promises Put the case that a Christian that is of the right stamp have nothing in the world to take to only Gods Word and Promises surely he knowes they are Yea and Amen It is the Word of God al-sufficient he is Jehovah he gives a being to his Word and to all things else therefore he hath the Name Jehovah therefore thinks the soul Though I have nothing yet I have him that is the substance of all things all other things are but shadowes God the Father Son and Holy Ghost are the substance that give all things a being and therefore I will cast my selfe on God here now is the Tryumph of faith when there is nothing else to trust to nay when all things else are contrary when it is faith against faith and hope against hope when there is such a conflict in a man that he sees nothing but the contrary here faith will shut the eye of sense and not look to present things too much though I see all things contrary though I see rather signes of anger then otherwise yet I will hope and believe in God for this or that Here is the wisdom of a believing Christian that believes the promises he will shut his eyes and not look on the waves on the troubles they will carry him away and dazle him but he looks to the constant love of God in Christ and to the constant promises of God his nature is constant and his truth is as his nature he cannot deny himself and his own Word when he hath made himself a debtor by his promise and bound himself by his Word Therefore in contraries say as Job Though he kill me yet will I trust in him True faith when it is in strength will uphold a man when all failes nay it will hold a man when all is contrary This our Saviour Christ in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen did excellently teach us by his own example For when all was contrary and our blessed Saviour felt the wrath of God which made him sweat drops of blood and made him cry out My God My God why hast thou for saken me yet here faith wrastled with My God my God still even under the wrath of God He brake through the seeming wrath of God into the heart of God Faith hath a piercing eye it will strive through the clouds though they be never so thick through all the clouds of temptation Christ had so piercing a faith it brake through all he saw a Fathers heart under an angry semblance So a Chistian triumphs by faith in oppositions to faith when all is contrary to faith yet notwithstanding he can say My God still This is an evidence of a strong faith in the promises Again an evidence of faith in the promises is faithfulnesse in our selves in our promises to God for surely the soul that expects any thing of God that he should be faithfull it studies to be faithful in the Covenant Psal. 25. All the wayes of God are mercy and truth All his dealings to his Children are mercy and truth to them that keep his Covenant For you know the promises have conditions annexed and where God fulfils his promise he gives grace to perform the condition to walk before him to allow our selves in no sin for if we allow our selves in any sin we perform not the Covenant on our part Now God will give grace to perform the Covenant where he will perform his own Therefore those that are unfaithful in their Covenant and yet think God will be faithfull to them it is presumption When we come to the Communion we think we do God a great deal of service but we must consider we enter into Covenant with God as well as he binds himself to us He gives us Christ all his blessings he reacheth forth Christ with all in him if we will receive him I but we bind our selves to God to lead a new life and to be thankful and to shew it in obedience And so in Baptisme we do not only receive in the Sacraments but we yield we bind our selves to God And we must be careful of what we promise to God as well as expect that which he promiseth to us if we expect his truth we must be faithful and careful of performing our Covenants to him Oh but how shall I do that saith the distressed soul I have no grace God knowes that well enough therefore he that promiseth he promiseth grace to perform the condition that is one part of the Covenant to give grace to fulfil the Covenant For he that saith If we believe and repent c. he will give us hearts to repent if we ask them he hath promised to circumcise our hearts to give us new hearts and to give us his holy Spirit if we ask him Why Lord thou knowest I have no grace in my self to fulfil the Covenant no but thou must perform both parts thou givest the grace and good thing promised and grace to keep the Covenant too therefore let none be discouraged Many things are required it is true but the things are promised that are required if in the use of means we depend on him by prayer For the promises are Legacies as well as promises what is the difference between a legacy and a
had at the first as Gods mending is ever for the better The state of grace and glory is better then ever the state of nature was spiritual is better then natural Therefore it is much for the glory of the wisdome of God that he can in Christ reconcile justice and mercy and shew more mercy then ever he did in making man out of the dust of the earth and all is to the glory of God These attributes especially are glorious in the promises in Christ. His Justice is glorious in punishing sin in Christ there sin is odious in the punishing of Christ God-man if we speak of justice there is justice If of Mercy to put it upon our surety for God to give his Son for us there is transcendent mercy and transcendent justice in the punishing of our sin how could it be punished greater And then the glory of his Wisdom to bring these together infinite mercy and infinite justice in Christ. Infinite Power for God to become man and without sin to be so farre abased a humble omnipotency to descend so low that God could be mortal and then to raise himself again And then the glory of his Truth that whatsoever was promised to Abraham to David to the Prophets all was performed in Christ all the Types here is glory by Christ of Mercy Justice Wisdome Truth for all are Yea and Amen in Christ. Therefore he may well say all this is To the glory of God Therefore consider how the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ as the Apostle saith If you would see God see him shining in the face of Jesus Christ see his Mercy shining in Christ and his Justice in the punishing our sin in Christ see his Truth his Power his Wisdome shineing in Christ and shining more then in the Creation or in any thing in the world besides Can you honour God more then in believing the Gospel Can you dishonour him more then to call his truth into question that is Yea and Amen If you believe the Gospel you set to your seal that God is true 1 Joh. 3. What an honour is this that God will be honoured by you in setting to your seal that he is true you give him the glory of all his attributes In not believing what a dishonour do you do to God you deny his Mercy his Wisdome his Justice his Truth you deny all his attributes you make God a liar what a horrible sin is unbelief Therefore fortifie your faith The Devil layeth siege to our faith above all other things if he can shake that he shakes all for holy life goes when faith goes Who will love God or obey God when he knowes not whether he be his God or no Let faith flourish and it will quicken life in the heart Let the promises grow in the heart and the Word be graffed in the heart and all will flourish in a Christians life all will come off clearly and freely obedience will be chearful and free when we see God reconciled in Christ. Then love will be full of devices when I see Gods love to me what shall I do to shew love again to shew thanks to God where is there any that for Cods sake I may do good unto How shall I maintain the truth and resist all opposers of the truth Can I do too much for him that hath done so much for me Love quickens The Devil knowes if he can shake faith he shakes all Let us fortifie faith and we glorifie God more then by any thing else He is glorious in the Gospel and how shall he be so by us except we set our hearts to believe him Therefore let us seal Gods truth by our faith and set to our seales that God is true God vouchsafes to be honoured by weak sinful men believing of him and that faith that honours him he will be sure to honour By us By us Ministers How When the Gospel is preached God is carried in triumph as it were and his banner is set up and the Promises displayed and sinners called unto him and God is glorified by the discovery of these things and faith is wrought in people to whom they are discovered and they glorifie God when they believe they blesse God that ever they heard these tydings so every way God is glorified The Ministers they open as it were the box of sweet oyntment that the savour of it may be in the Church and spread far They lay open the tapestry the rich treasures of Gods mercies they dig deep and find out the treasure Therefore these Promises in Scripture being so made and performed in Christ they tend to Gods glory but by us by our Ministery God to knit man and man together will convey the good he means to convey by the despised Ministery The enemies therefore of the Ministery of the Gospel what are they here is a double prejudice against them they are enemies of the glory of God and of the comfort of Gods people for they glorifie God in the sense of his mercy when it is unfolded to them God gets glory and they comfort What do we think then of Popish spirits that feed the people only with dead and dull ceremonies but let them go I go on to the next Verse having dwelt somewhat long on this VERSE XXI Now he that stablisheth us with you in Christ is God who hath anointed us c. AS the riches of a Christian consisteth in the promises of God which as we have heard in Christ are all Yea and Amen so unlesse he be stablished and built upon this strength all is nothing What if a man stand on a rock if he be not built on it what if the foundation be never so strong if he be not stablished thereon It is not sufficient that the Promises be stablished but we must be stablished upon them The Promises of God are indeed Yea and Amen might the soul say but what is that to me Therefore the Apostle addeth He that gives the Promises will stablish us upon the promises Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ is God The first thing that I will observe before we come to the particular handling of the words shall be onely this in the general from the connexion and knitting together of this Verse with the former viz. That there must be a double Amen There is an Amen in the Promises they are in themselves true there must be an Amen likewise in us we must say Amen to them that is we must be stablished upon them There must be an Echo in a Christians heart unto God that as God saith These and these things I promise and they are all Amen so the soul by faith must Echo again These things are for me I believe them For as we say in the Schooles to good purpose there is a double certainty a double firmnesse a certainty of the Object and a
especially weighty without invocation and dependance A Christian is wondrous weak a man is vanity in himself but take him as he is built upon the promises and as he is in the love of God and Christ he is a kind of almighty man then I can do all things in Christ that strengtheneth me A Christian is omnipotent if he depend upon the Promise and commit his wayes to God but he is impotent and weak in himself It is God that must stablish us A man that is vanity he makes him firm a man that is weak he makes him strong a man that is unsettled he settles him The Word is a firm thing and God that builds us on the Word is as firm and Christ in whom we are built is as firm Peter when he built on the Word he was wondrous firm he was a rock too A man that stands on a rock is firm Now in believing the Gospel and in being built on the Gospel upon the Prophets and Apostles upon Apostolical truth now we that are weak in our selves are firm The weakest creatures have the strongest shelters and weaknesse is turned by God to be a help for conscience of weaknesse makes us seek for strength out of our selves You know the Conies as Solomon saith they hide themselves in the rock they flee to their burroughs The birds because snares are laid for them below they build their nests on high to secure themselves that way We see the Vine a weak plant it hath the Elm to prop it weak things must have a strong support So man being weak in himself weak in judgment weak in affections he is stablished by God God herein triumphing in our weaknesse over strength For when we have strong Adversaries and we are weak Satan is a strong enemy God himself puts upon him the vizor of an enemy sometimes as in Job's case and Christs on the Crosse when God personates an enemy and the devil is a real enemy And the devils instruments Hereticks and Seducers are strong strong in wit and parts every way and we are weak to encounter with God to wrastle with him and we are weak to encounter with Principalities and powers and with men of stronger parts that are besotted and intoxicated with Satanical temptations and labour to draw all into the snare of the devil with themselves Now when God in weaknesse shall triumph over strength here is glory to God in stablishing us It is God that must stablish us And as God must onely do it so he is ready to do it for in the Covenant of grace it lies upon him God hath promised there to confirm it and therefore the Apostle 1 Cor. 7. 8 9. binds it with the faithfulnesse of God Faithful is he that hath promised who also will do it God is content that our confirmation should lye upon his faithfulnesse and therefore when he accepts us into the Covenant of grace he performs our part as well as his own God is faithful saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 9. who hath called us to the fellowship of Christ who will confirm us to the end he is content to hazard his reputation as it were and to be counted unfaithfull else so that strengthening grace is of God he hath bound himself by his faithfulnesse to confirm and to stablish those that are his Mark here by the way before I come to handle the Doctrine of perseverance what an invincibld Argument you have to prove that a man that is once in Christ can never fall away Say they Indeed God for his part is ready to maintain us to do this but we for our part are subject to fall away as if the carrying of us along in the course of grace to salvation did not lye upon God and Christ. God is faithful to confirm us to the end we being once in the Covenant of grace he doth our part and his own too how can those then that are in the state of grace ever finally fall away Now God doth confirm us by working such graces in us by his Spirit by which we are stablished As for instance I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall never depart from me he stablisheth us by fear Make an end of your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that works in you both the will and the deed he puts a spirit of jealousie into a man over his corruptions and a reverential filial fear which keepeth him from presuming And likewise he preserveth us by Wisdome as it is Prov. 2. 10 11. When wisdome entreth into thy heart discretion shall preserve thee and understanding shall keep thee And by Faith You are kept saith the Apostle by the mighty power of God through faith to salvation And by Peace of Conscience which is wrought in the heart by the Spirit The Peace of God which passeth all understanding shall guard for so the word signifieth your hearts and minds that is a true Believer that is once in Christ he finds such joy in the Holy Ghost such inward peace of conscience as preserves and guards him from despair from the temptations of Satan from the seeming wrath of God So that God as he stablisheth us so he stablisheth us as it becometh Christians as it becomes men by sanctifying our understandings by working grace in our hearts the grace of fear of wisdome of faith of peace c. so that a Christian now cannot presume save in a holy kind of presumption that God will finish his own good work But of this I say I shall have fitter occasion to speak hereafter To conclude therefore God you see must stablish and God will stablish It is a Point of great comfort every way Comfort from the foundation and root in whom we are stablished and from him that hath taken upon him to stablish us God by his holy Spirit If a Christian should fall God must be unstable or Christ the foundation must be unstable or the holy Spirit by which we are stablished must be unstable but it were blasphemy to think thus I come now to the last thing The subject or the persons that are stablished us with you He that stablisheth us with you We should have honourable conceits of all Christians there is an oyntment runs down upon the very skirts of Aaron's garment there is not the lowest Christian but he receiveth something from Christ the head Perhaps thou hast one grace in an eminent manner it may be he hath another more eminent then thou hast thou may est have more knowledge he may have more humility thou mayest have more strength of judgment he may have more sense of his own wants There is somewhat in every Christian that is valuable that is estimable and precious not only in the eye of God who valued him so as to give his Son for him but should be so also in the eye of stronger Christians therefore S. Paul here a strong Christian out of
care not to encrease their knowledge The more we know of God the more we shall trust him The more we know of a man that we have bonds from that he is an able man and just of his word we shall trust him more and the more our security upon his promise and bond is encreased so the more we know of God as he hath revealed himself in his Word and his voluntary Covenant he hath made with us and performed in the examples of Scripture the more we know him the more we shall trust him And this must be a spiritual knowledge not onely a bare naked reading but it must be spiritual like the truth it self We must see and know spiritual things in their own light to know them by their own light is to know them by the Spirit You know the Spirit dictated the Scripture to the Prophets and Apostles the Spirit did all they wrote as they were acted by the Spirit Now the same Spirit must inform our understanding and take away the vail of ignorance and infidelitie I say the Spirit must do it we must know spiritual things in their own light Therefore a carnal man can never be a good Divine though he have never so much knowledge an illiterate man of another calling may be a better Divine then a great Scholar Why Because the one hath onely notional knowledge discoursive knowledge to gather by strength of parts one thing from another Divinity is a kind of Art and as far as it is an Art to prove one thing by another so a natural man may do wonders in it and yet know nothing in its own spiritual light That is the reason the Divel himself knowes nothing he is a spirit of darknesse because he knowes nothing spiritually and comfortably therefore as there must be humility and faith for our stablishing so there must be spiritual knowledge It is said here that God stablisheth us the same God that stablisheth us must give us faith whereby we are stablished and he must give us knowledge Beg of God that he would vouchsafe us his Spirit when we read the Scriptures beg of God that he would open our understanding by his own Spirit that as there is light in the Scriptures so there may be in us You know an eye must have light before it can see the light light is full of discovery of things in it self I can see nothing except there be light in my eye too there must be a double light so there must be a Spirit in me as there is a Spirit in the Scripture before I can see any thing God must open our eyes and give us spiritual eye-salve to see and then the light of the Scripture and our light together is suficient to found a saving faith as stablishing faith on What is the reason that a Christian stands to his profession though he be weak when the greatest learned men in the world flinch in persecution The knowledge of the one is spiritual and heavenly he hatht ligh in him the other hath no divine spiritual light when light is ioyned with light the light in the soul with the light in the Scripture it makes men wondrous confident To this end labour to be acquainted with Gods Word study the Scriptures and other Treatises of that kind that you may be able to hold fast the truth that it be not wrung from you upon any occasion And in reading it is a good course to observe the main principal undeniable truths such Dogmaticall truths as are clear and evident and to lay them up and oft make queries to our selves Do I understanst this or no Yes I do this I know is true build on it then and bottom the soule upon it And so if it be matter of promises these promises are undeniable true I will stay my soul upon them And so when we meet with plain evidences in the Scriptures that crosse our coruptions that meet with our known sins then consider of those places as Jewels and lay them up that you may have use of them as occasion serves All things have not an equall certainty in Scripture to us some things we may have an implicite faith in but the main we must have a clear apprehension of There are some things that concern Teachers more to know then others by reason of their standing in the Church it is sufficient that in preparation of mind we be ready to imbrace further truths that shall be discovered but in fundamentall truths it is not so we must have our hearts stablished upon them that as they are certain in themselves so they may be certain to us And often let us examine our selves Would I die in this and for this would I stand in the defence of this against any this will make us make much of so much truth as we know and labour to grow in truths in that kind And take no scandal to hear that any shrink from the profession of the truth and the maintaining of it that are of great reputation Was Christ the worse for Judas betraying of him and for Peters denying of him was Paul's truth the worse because he had many enemies Elymas the sorcerer and others Is the truth the worse because there are many that have carnall outward dependance that seeme to shrink when they should stand out The truth is not the worse it is the same truth still truths are eternall in themselves and in the good they bring if they be believed The Word of God endures for ever it is not variable as man is and therefore be not discouraged though men discountenance it remember whose truth it is for whose good it is given the Word of God it is a soul saving truth And retain the truth in love Love is an affection with which we should receive the truth or else God will give us over to uncertainties They in 2 Thess. 2 10. had the truth but because they received not the Love of the truth therefore God sent them strong delusions that they should believe a lie O how lovely is the truth The certainty of our estate in Christ the glorious priviledges that come by him that the gifts of God are without repentance that God looks on us not for foreseen faith or works but such as he had decreed to work himself How comfortable how lovely are these truths being the Word of God notwithstanding some seek to shake them These very truths should be retained in love And indeed the truth is not in its own place till it be fixed in the heart and affections and in a good conscience which S. Paul makes likewise the vessel of the truth and those that care not for that they make shipwrack of the truth And what truths you know labour to practise and then you shall be stablished If any man do the will of my Father saith our Saviour Joh. 7. 17. he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God
things Magistrates and Officers go with their broad Seal and deliver things that they would have carried with authority sealed and the Seal of the Prince is the authority of the Prince so that a Seal is to make things authentical to give validity to things answerable to the value and esteem of him that seales These four principal uses there is of sealing Now God by his Spirit doth all these for God by his Spirit sets the stamp and likenesse of Christ upon us he distinguisheth us from others from the great refuse of the world he appropriates us to himself and like wise he authorizeth us and puts an excellency upon us to secure us against all when we have Gods Seal upon us we stand against all accusations Who shall separate us from the love of God we dare defâ—… all objections and all accusations of conscience whatsoever a man that hath Gods Seal he stands impregnable it so authorizeth him in his conscience for it is given us for our assurance and not for Gods God seales not because he is ignorant He knowes who are his But what is the Spirit it self this seal or the graces of the Spirit or the comforts of the Spirit what is this seal for that is the question now whether the Spirit it self or the work of the Spirit or the comfort and joy of the Spirit I answer indeed the Spirit of God where it is is a sufficient seal to us that God hath set us out for his for whosoever hath the Spirit of Christ is his and whosoever hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his but the Spirit is the Authour of this sealing and the sealing that is in us is wrought by the Spirit so that except you take the Spirit for that which is wrought by the Spirit you have not the right comprehension of sealing and so the Spirit with that which the Spirit works is the seal for the Spirit is alway with his own seal with his own stamp Other seales are removed from the stamp and the stamp remains though the seal be gone but the Spirit of God dwells and keeps a perpetual residence in the heart of a Christian guiding him moving him enlightning of him governing him comforting him doing all offices of a seal in his heart till he have brought him to heaven for the Holy Ghost never leaves us it is the sweetest inhabitant that ever lodging was given to he doth all that is done in the soul and he is perpetually with his own work in joy and comfort though he seems sometimes to be in a corner of the heart and is not discernable yet he alway dwells in us the Spirit is alwayes with the stamp it sets upon the soul. What is that stamp then to come to the matter more particularly what is that that the Spirit seales us with especially what is that work I answer the Spirit works in this order for the most part and in some of these universally First the Spirit doth together with the Word which is the instrument of the Spirit the Chariot in which it is carried convince us of the evil that is in us and of the ill estate we are in by reason thereof it convinceth us that we are sinners and of the fearful estate that we are in by sin this is the first work of the Spirit on a man in the state of nature it convinceth us of the ill that is in us and of the ill due unto us and thereupon it abaseth us therefore it is called the Spirit of bondage because it makes a man tremble and quake till he see his peace in Christ. When the Spirit hath done that then it convinceth a man by a better by a sweeter light discovering a remedy in Christ who is sealed of God to reconcile God and us And as he enlightneth the soul convinceth it of the all-sufficiency that is in Christ and the authority that he hath being sent and sealed of God for that purpose so he works on the affections he inclines the heart to go to God in Christ and to cast himself on him by faith Now when the soul is thus convinced of the evil that is in us and of the good that is in Christ and with this convincing is enclined and moved by the holy Spirit as indeed the holy Spirit doth all then upon this the Spirit vouchsafeth a superadded work as the Spirit doth still adde to his own work he addes a confirming work which is here called Sealing that seal is not faith for the Apostle saith After you believed ye were sealed so that this sealing is not the work of faith but it is a work of the Spirit upon faith assuring the soul of its estate in grace But what need confirmation when we believe Is not faith confirmation enough when a man may by a reflect act of the soul know that he is in the state of grace by believing It is true as the natural conscience knows what is in a man as the natural judgment can reflect so the spiritual understanding can reflect and when he believes he knowes that he believes without the Spirit by the reflect act of the understanding except he be in case of temptaton what needs sealing then This act of ours in believing and the knowledge of our believing it is oft terribly shaken and God is wondrous desirous as we see by the whole passage of the Scripture that we should be secure of his love he knowes that he can have no glory and we can have no comfort else and rherefore when we by faith have sealed to his truth he knowes that we need still further sealing that our faith be current and good and to strengthen our faith for all is little enough in the time of temptation and therefore the single witnesse of our soul by the reflect act knowing that we do believe when we do believe it is not strong enough in great temptations for in some tryals the soul is so carried and hurried that it cannot reflect upon it self nor know what is in it self without much ado therefore first the Spirit works faith whereby we seal Gods truth Joh. 3. He that believes hath put to his seal that God is true when God by his Spirit moves me to honour him by sealing his truth that Whosoever believes in Christ shall be saved then God seales this my belief with an addition of his holy Spirit so that this sealing is a work upon believing and as faith honours God so God honours faith with a superadded seal and confirmation But yet we not come particularly enough to know what this Seal is When we honour God by sealing his truth then the Spirit seales us certainly then the Spirit doth it by presence by being with us in our soules What then doth the Spirit work when we believe How shall we know that there is such a spiritual sealing I answer the Spirit in this seaâ—…g works these four things First a secret voyce or
because they grieve the Spirit and quench the Spirit by doing that which is contrary to the Spirit Let us therefore that we may have the more comfort preserve the stamp of the Spirit fresh by the exercise of all grace and communion with God and by obedience and by faith honour God by believing and he will honour thee by stamping his Spirit on thee more and more And let this be our work every day to have the stamp of the Spirit clear Oh what a comfort it is to have this in us at all times if a man have nothing in him better then nature if he have nothing in him in regard of grace if he have not Christs Image upon his soul though he be a King or an Emperour yet he shall be stript of all ere long and be set on the left hand of Christ and be adjudged to eternal torments It is the folly of the times come up of late there is much labouring for Statues and for curious workmanship of that kind and some pride themselves much in it and account it great riches to have an old Statue Alas alas what a poor delight is this in comparison of the joy that a Christian hath by the seal of the Spirit and what is this to the ambition of a Christian to see the Image and representation of Christ stamped in his soul that he may be like the second Adam that he may be transformed more and more by looking on him and seeing himself in him to love him considering that he hath loved us so much for we cannot see the love of Christ to us but we must love him the more and be transformed into him Now this transforming our selves into the Image of Christ is the best picture in the world therefore labour for that every day more and more There is besides the common broad seal of God his Privy Seal as I may call it It is not sufficient that we have the one that we have admittance into the Church by Baptisme but we must have this privy seal which Christ sets and stamps upon the soul of the true Christian Alas for a man to build onely on the outward seals and outward prerogatives which in themselves are excellent yet the standing upon them betrayes many soules to the Devil in times of distresse It is another manner of seal then the outward seal in the Sacrament that will satisfie and comfort the conscience in the apprehensions of wrath at the hour of death or otherwayes It must be this privy seal and then comes the use of those publick open known seales the broad seales then a man with comfort may think upon his Baptisme and upon his receiving the Communion when he hath the beginnings of faith wrought in him by the Spirit of God when a man finds the beginnings of faith in him then he may make use of the broad seal to be a help to his faith We must not be so prophane as to think slightly and irreverently of Gods Ordinances they are of great and high consequence for when Satan comes to the soul and shakes the confidence of it and saith Thou art not a Christian and God doth not love thee Why saith the soul God hath loved me and pardoned my sins he hath given me promises and particularly sealed them in the Sacrament here is the excellency of the Sacrament it comes more home then the Word it seales the general promise of God particularly to my self I am sealed in the Sacrament and withall I find the stamp of the Spirit in my heart and therefore having the inward work of the Spirit and God having fortified the inward work and strengthened my faith by the outward seal I can therefore stand against any temptation whatsoever They are excellent both together but the speciall thing that must comfort must be the hidden seal of the Spirit Let us labour therefore to be sealed inwardly and observe Gods sealing-dayes as we use to speak which though it may be every day if we be in spiritual exercises yet especially on the Lords Day for then his Ordinance and his Spirit go together Now as there is a sealing of our estates that we are the children of God so there is of truths and both are in the children of God as for instance this is a truth Whosoever believes in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life now the same Spirit that stirred up the soul to believe this seales it in the soul even to death and in all times of temptation and likewise there is no promise but upon the believing of it it is sealed by the Spirit upon the soul for those truths onely abide firm in the soul which the Spirit of God sets on What is the reason that many forget the comforts and consolations that they hear because the Spirit sets them not on the Spirit seales them not What is the reason that illiterate men stand out in their profession to blood whereas those that have a discoursive kind of learning they yield the reason is this the knowledge of the one is sealed by the Spirit it is set fast upon the soul the Spirit brings the knowledge and the soul close together whereas the knowledge of the other is onely a notional swimming knowledge it is not spiritual Those therefore that will hold out in the end and not apostatize those that will stand out in the hour of death against temptation and those that will hold out in the time of life against solicitations to sin they must have a knowledge suitable to the things they know that is they must see and know heavenly things by a heavenly light spiritual things by the Spirit of God And therefore when we come to hear the Ministers of God we should not come with strong conceits in the strength of our wit but with reverend dispositions with dependance upon God for his Spirit that he would teach us together with the Ministers and close with our soules and set those truths we hear upon our soules we shall never hold out else And it must be the Holy Ghost that must do this for that which must settle and seal comfort to the soul must be greater then the soul especially in the time of temptation when the terrours of the Almighty are upon us and when the hell within a man is open when God layes open our consciences and writes bitter things against us and our consciences tell us our sins wondrous near they are written as it were with a pen of Iron and the point of a Diamond upon our soules now I say those truths that must satisfie conscience that is thus turmoiled must be set on by that which is above conscience the Spirit of God who is above our spirits can onely set down our spirits and keep them from quarrelling and contending against the truth and quiet the conscience and this the Spirit doth when it sets the truth upon the soul. And therefore when our soules are disquieted
and troubled and we hear many comfortable truths let us lift up our prayers to God let there be ejaculations of spirit to God Now Lord by thy holy Spirit set and seal this truth to my soul that as it is true in it self so it may be true to me likewise This is a necessary Observation for us all Oh we desire all of us in the hour of death to find such comforts as may be standing comforts that may uphold us against the gates of Hell and against the temptations of Satan and terrours of Conscience why nothing will do this but spiritual truths spiritually known nothing but holy truths set on by the hoy Spirit of God But what course shall we take when we want comfort when we want joy and peace In the third of John there are three witnesses in heaven and three in earth to secure us of our state in grace and the certainty of our salvation The three witnesses upon earth are the Spirit the water and the blood and these three agree in one and the three that bear witnesse in heaven are the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and the three on earth and these three in heaven agree in one Now the Spirit is the feelings and the sweet motions of the Spirit The water may well be that washing of the Spirit sanctification The blood is the shedding of the blood of Christ and justification by it When therefore we find that part of the seal that extraordinary seal that I spake of before the joy of the Spirit of God that it is not in us what shall we do shall we despair No go to the water when we find not spiritual joy and comfort when the witnesse of the Spirit is silent go to the work of the Spirit in sanctification I but what shall we do if the waters be troubled in the soul as sometimes there is such a confusion in the soul that we cannot see the Image of God upon it in sanctification we cannot see the stamp of Gods Spirit there there is such a Chaos in the soul God can see somewhat of his own Spirit in that confusion but the Spirit it self cannot Then go to the blood of Christ there is alwayes comfort the fountain that is opened for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in is never dry go therefore to the blood of Christ that is if we find sin upon our consciences if we find not peace in our consciences nor sanctification in our hearts go to the blood of Christ which is shed for all those that confesse their sinnes and rely on him for pardon though we find no grace For howsoever as an evidence that we are in Christ we must find the work of the Spirit yet before we go to Christ it is sufficient that we see nothing in our selves no qualification for the graces of the Spirit they are not the condition of coming to Christ but the promise of those that receive Christ after Therefore go to Christ when thou feelest neither joy of the Spirit nor sanctification of the Spirit go to the blood of Christ and that will purge thee and wash thee from all thy sins This I onely touch for a direction what to do when our soules want comfort when perhaps we cannot see the seal of the Spirit in sanctification so clearly To go on now to the next And given us the Earnest of the Spirit Here is the third word borrowed from humane affaires to set out the work of the Spirit in our soules Anointing we had before and Sealing now here is Earnest The variety of the words shewes that there is a great remainder of unbelief in the soul of man that the Spirit of God is fain to use so many words to expresse Gods dealing to the soul to bring it to believe to be assured of salvation And indeed so it is howsoever we in the time of prosperity when all things go well with us we are prone wondrously to presume yet in the hour of death when conscience is awakened we are prone to nothing so much as to call all in question and to believe the doubts and fears of our own hearts more then the undoubted truth and promise of God therefore God takes all courses to stablish us he gives us rich and precious promises he gives us the holy Spirit to stablish us on the Promises he seales us with his Spirit and gives us the earnest of the Spirit and all to settle this wretched and unbelieving heart of ours So desirous is God that we should be well conceited of him he loves us better then we love our selves He so much prizeth our love that he labours by all means to secure us of his love to us because except we know his love to us we cannot love him again and we cannot joy in him c. But that onely in the general Here is earnest and the Earnest of the Spirit that is in plain termes he gives us the Spirit with the graces and comforts of it which doth in our hearts that which an earnest doth amongst men But what is this Spirit an earnest of It is an Earnest of our inheritance in heaven of our blessed estate there We are sons now but we are not heires invested into the blessed estate we have title to God leaves us not off in the mean time while we are in our Pilgrimage he keeps not all for heaven but he gives us somewhat to comfort us in our absence from our Husband from our Lord and King Christ he gives us the Earnest of the Spirit that is he gives the holy Ghost into our hearts which is the Earnest of that blessed everlasting glorious condition which we shall have in heaven hereafter that is the meaning of the words In what regard is the Spirit called an Earnest First of all an Earnest is for security of bargains and contracts so the Holy Ghost assures the soul of salvation being present with his graces and comforts the Holy Ghost is given for security Secondly an Earnest is part of the whole bargain though it be a very little part yet it is a part and so the Spirit of God here and the work of the Spirit and the graces and joy of the Spirit it is a part of that full joy and happinesse that shall be revealed The Spirit dwells not fully in any one he dwelleth no further then he sanctifieth and reviveth but that is an Earnest for the time to come that the Spirit shall be all in all wherein we shall have no reluctancy nor nothing to exalt it self against the sure regiment of the Spirit Thirdly an Earnest is little in comparison of the whole bargain so the work of the Spirit the comforts the joy the peace of the Spirit it is little in comparison of that which shall be in heaven in regard of the fulnesse of the Spirit which we shall have there An Earnest though it be little in quantity yet it
that the Romish Religion indeed is nothing but a meer carnal devillish policy to bring others to be subject to them and to make not only Kings and Princes but to make God and Christ and the Scriptures whatsoever is divine or humane to make all to serve their aimes What do they with Christ but under the Name of Christ serve themselves What do they with the Church but under the name of the Church carry their own ends What do they with the names of Saints and Angels Peter Mary c. but under a plausible pretence carry their own ends and set up a visible greatnesse in this world answerable to the Cesarian Monarchy This is plain and evident to all that will see that it is so and one main way to attain their ends is to rule over the conscience And that they may help all the better forward they have raised in the Church a kind of faith which they call an implicite and infolded faith that people must believe what the Church teacheth though they know not in particular what the Church teacheth and so they lead people hoodwinck'd whither they please themselves To make some Use of it briefly Let us labour to blesse God that hath freed us from this spiritual tyranny O beloved it is a great tyranny when conscience is awaked to be racked and tormented and stung by Scorpions to have conscience tormented with Popish errours as in the point of satisfaction the most of them if their eyes be open they dye with terrour O it is a blessed liberty that we are brought out of Antichristian darknesse that we know we believe and upon what termes we believe and are taught to submit our conscience only to the blessed truth of God that the soul it is the bed as it were only for Christ and his holy Spirit to dwell in and to lodge in and that no man may force the conscience with any opinion of his own further then it is demonstrated out of the Word of God what a sweet inlargement of Spirit do we live in now and our unthankfulnesse perhaps may occasion God to bring us in some degree of Popish darknesse again I beseech you let us stand for the liberty of Christ and the liberty of our consciences against the spirituall tyrant of soules Let us maintain our liberty by all we can by all lawes and execution of lawes by all that may uphold our spirituall liberty for there is no bondage to that of the soul. Do but a little consider the misery of the implicite faith that the Popish sort are under that infolded inwrapped faith wherein they are bound to believe without searching what the Church determines Hereupon they swallow in all doctrines that tend to superstition that tend to rebellion that tends to treason they swallow up all under this implicite faith as if God had set an Ordinance and Ministery in the Church against himself as if he had advanced any Ministery against his own Ordinance When you think of Popery consider not so much particular dotages as about Images and Transubstantiation and Reliques c. but consider the very life and soul of Popery in this opinion the leading errour of all others the tyranny over soules of people and holding them in blindnesse and darknesse It is not a device of mine do but read the Council of Trent in some editions There the late Pins Quartus that sate there daily he made more Articles then the Apostles distinct not proved by Scripture he made Articles of his own to be believed people were tied upon the necessity of salvation to believe them and to believe them with that faith that is due to Scripture And it is a common tenent among them Every man is bound to be under the authority of the Church of Rome under peril of damnation There is the grand errour that 't is a matter necessary to salvation to be under their tyranny Hereby they excommunicated all the Eastern Churches and all former times wherein they were not undes the Romane tyranny for that is but of late six hundred years since they condemned S. Cyprian's time and other times And they made Articles of Religion and established them with this censure that upon pain of damnation men must believe these things as well as the Articles of the Creed As Transubstantiation Invocation of Saints Purgatory and such things they are so many Articles indeed as I say they have more Articles then the twelve Articles of the Apostles We say an errour in the foundation it is not mended after and the first concoction if it be naught all after are naught if there be not good concoction in the stomack at the first the blood is naught and all is naught So this is a fundamental errour and a ground of all errours that they hold they cannot erre and hereupon they come to tyrannize over the consciences and soules of people Therefore I say let us blesse God that hath set our soules in spiritual liberty that now we see God in the face of Christ now we see the means of salvation we see the bread of life broken to us we see Christ unveiled we see what to found our consciences upon we cannot be sufficiently thankful for this Thankfull we may be for the peace of the Kingdome that we have so long a time enjoyed and for the outward prosperity we have so long had But above all be thankful for the peace of Religion for the peace of conscience for the liberty of soul that we enjoy And as I said if any thing move God to strip us of all it will be our unthankfulnesse and our practice witnessing our unthankfulnesse by valuing no more the blessed estate of the Gospel we enjoy Not that we have dominion over your faith This disposition to domineer over the faith of others from abominable grounds it ariseth Partly from pride and tyranny that they would set themselves in the Temple of Christ where he should rule in the hearts of his people And partly out of idlenesse they raise the credit of their own Traditions that they may not be forced to take the labour of instructing the people therefore they fasten a greater vertue upon outward things then there can be only to avoid the labour of instruction And then it riseth partly from guilt they are so in their lives especially if they be looked inwardly into as that they cannot endure the knowledge of people They are afraid that people should know much lest they know them too well and their courses and errours So partly from pride and partly from idlenesse and sloath and partly from guilt they domineer over the faith of Gods people But are helpers of your joy The end of the Ministery is not to tyrannize over peoples soules to sting and vex them but to minister comfort to be helpers of their joy that is to help their salvation and happinesse which is here termed joy because joy is a principal
book comforts against sin comforts against trouble outward and inward and all but till the Comforter come till God send his holy Spirit we shall not make use of them Therefore let us labour to have more communion with God before we come to hear the Word and after we have heard it let us have communion with God again that he would seal whatsoever is spoken to our soules and make it effectual to us Therefore we must learn to give the just due to the Ordinance of God and not to idolize it to make it the means of comfort not to make it the chief Comforter but the Spirit of God by it What is Paul or Apollo what are we but Ministers of faith and by consequent Ministers and helpers of comfort but not the authors of comfort Oh if I had such and such here I should do well I should be so and so Alas all is to no purpose unlesse thou hast the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God that can help by weak means Therefore we must not tie comfort and joy to this or that means but in all means look to the ground of comfort and the spring of all the Holy Ghost The reason why men do nor profit more that they are not more cheared and lift up with the Ministery of the Word which is a Word of reconciliation and of joy and comfort it is because they are more careful in the use of means then in going to God for his Spirit to blesse the means Now these must go together a care of using the means and a care to pray to him that he would give us wisdome and strength and blessed successe in the use of all means Then if we would joyn religiously and conscionably these two together the use of all means conscionably and in the use of all to lift up our hearts to God to blesse them we should find a wondrous successe upon the Ministery and all other good means likewise So much for that I go on to the last clause of the Chapter For by faith ye stand Why doth the Apostle vary the word we have not dominion over your faith but are helpers of your joy whereas the consequence it seems might run thus we do not domineer over your faith but are helpers of your faith he puts joy instead of faith and afterward he brings in faith again for by faith ye stand This is one main reason because joy riseth from faith therefore he names it in stead of faith for the Holy Ghost is not curious of words but when the same Spirit wroks both he names that which he thinks will fittest suit the purpose Faith breeds joy How is that Because faith first of all doth shew to us the freedome from that that is the cause of all discomfort whatsoever it takes away all that may discourage For it takes away the fear of damnation for our sins it shewes our reconciliation in Jesus Christ. Faith shewes liberty and deliverance and so discovering deliverance by a Mediator it works joy Is not a prisoner joyful when he is set at liberty Then likewise faith discovers to us the face of God shining to us in Jesus Christ it shewes not only deliverance but favour It shewes us the ground of all the righteousnesse and obedience of our Saviour whereby we are delivered and brought into favour Now from this comes peace from the knowledge of our deliverance and acceptance with God founded upon the obedience of God-man a Saviour there comes in peace and peace breeds joy because faith discovers all these the ground of reconciliation with God in Jesus Christ and thereupon peace therefore it causeth joy For this is the pedigree and descent of joy as the Apostle hath it Rom. 14. The Kingdome of God is in righteousnesse and peace and joy There must be righteousnesse first of a Mediatur to satisfie the wrath of God and procure his favour From righteousnesse comes peace peace with God peace of conscience From peace comes joy there is no joy without peace no peace without righteousnesse And this whole pedigree of joy as it were is excellently set down Rom. 5. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and have accesse to the throne of grace by which grace we stand and not only so but rejoyce So there is justification by the righteousnesse of Christ and thereupon peace with God and from peace boldnesse and accesse to God and thereupon joy So we see how faith brings in joy because it shewes the spring of joy whence it comes it shewes peace and peace riseth from reconciliation and reconciliation from righteousnesse of Christ Mediator whereupon we are delivered from all that we may fear and set in a state of true joy God being our friend When God is reconciled all is reconciled all is ours have we not cause of joy then Therefore the Apostle saith Rom. 15. The God of peace fill you full of joy in believing shewing that faith is the cause of all spiritual joy And the same you have in 1 Pet. 1. 8. In whom ye rejoyced after ye believed with joy unspeakable and glorious In whom after ye believed that is in Christ you rejoyced with joy unspeakable and glorious And therefore you see the Apostle might well substitute joy in stead of faith because it springs and riseth from faith in Jesus Christ the Mediatour Hereupon we may come to make this Use of tryal how we may know whether our joy be good or no. Among many other evidences this is one that spiritual joy is good if it spring from the Word of faith If it spring from the Ordinance of God unfolded in the Word shewing us the ground of believing For he that truly joyes can shew the ground of his joy Herein joy differs from presumption from presumptuous swelling conceits true joy that is not the joy of an hypocrite it doth shew from whence it comes it riseth from grounds out of divine truth Then again this joy doth more immediately spring from faith in the Word from assurance that God is ours and that Christ is ours that God is at peace with us and that we are at peace with him it ariseth from peace that is wrought by faith Then again this joy if it be sound it is such a joy as S. Peter saith is an unspeakable and glorious joy joy arising from the Word of God and from faith and peace it is above discouragement because we have in the Word of God matter of joy above all discouragements and all allurements whatsoever It is a joy above the joy of riches or pleasures or profits why because the Word shewes matter of joy above all these The Prophet David rejoyced in the Word of God above Gold and Silver as one that had gotten great spoyles you see how oft he repeats it Psal. 119. It was sweeter to him then the honey and the honey-comb Psal.
cause us to stagger and doubt whether it be true or no. He comes between us and our rock the Word of God So Adam fell Now we must be restored by the contrary to that we fell we fell by unbelief and distrust by calling Gods truth in question we must learn to stand again by the contrary grace by faith Thus you see the termes something unfolded By faith ye stand To clear it a little further There be four degrees of a slent that the soul hath to any thing The first is a slight assent that we call opinion that is with some fear that it may be otherwise that is a weak a pendulous assent It is a wavering assent it yields not a certain assent Opinion is a weak thing it may be so I but it may not be so it is with a fear of the contrary The second degree of assent is that that hath a better ground that is the assent to grounds of reason a man hath reason to yield and assent to and those reasons satisfy the soul and rest the soul something thereafter as the strength of them is And that assent we call knowledge science this is founded upon grounds of reason There is a third kind of assent and yielding that the soul hath that we call believing which is meerly upon the credit of him that speakes though we know no reason why the thing should be so but only the person it may be is a person of credit and wisdome and knowledge and thereafter as we conceive well of him thereafter we fasten our faith and assent to his authority so that assent to the authority of the speaker we call beliefe The fourth degree of assent is when we do not only assent to the thing because we have reason so to do and arguments or because we have some man to confirm it by authority but because we feel it to be so by experience and by taste As a man assents that fire is hot and that sweet things are so not from reason altogether or from the speech or rehearsing of another man but because he feeles it so indeed he assents to it from experience Now you will say How come we then to stand by faith As faith especially relies upon the authority of God upon Gods Word so we stand by faith because it assents to an authority But Gods Word gives reasons too therefore faith assents to the authority of Gods Word first and then we see divine reason enough too when we once believe God And then experience in Divine things too after we believe there is an incredible sweetnesse in divine things there is a knowledge with a particular taste There is never a Divine truth but it hath an evidence in it when a man believes it once that a man may say I know whom I have believed from experience let the speakers of the things be what they will let them apostatize from that that they have spoken after a man believes he will see the things themselves have Divine reason in them as well as Divine authority stablishing of them Some Divine truths are altogether upon Divine authority we see no other reason but that God hath said it but some truths are both credible and intelligible Credible because God hath said it and there is reason to prove it as a man may prove by Divine reason that all shall work for the best why The Apostle faith We love God and God hath called us according to his purpose therefore all things shall work for them that God hath called to them that answer his Divine call There is both reason and comfort so it is credible as it hath divine truth and intelligible as it hath comfort There are homogeneal reasons with divine authority God doth not only presse us with authority but he gives us reasons Besides this there is experience for the doctrine of divine providence and of the corruption of nature and the doctrine of comfort in the Mediatour Christ altogether The doctrine of faith the doctrine of the issue of all troubles for good we find these by experience however the teacher that teachâ—…h them perhaps may have no sense of them himself let him apostatize and do what he will our faith stands upon them partly because God saith so that is the chief and because there is reason for them and because we find it so by experience in many divine things these three both reason authority and experience concur in faith But to come a Lâ—…de further What doth faith it self stand most on by which we stand that which we stand oâ—… must stand it self Let us examine a little what faith it self stands on by which we stand I shewed you before partly by Divine authority and experience which gives some light to it but we will follow it a little further That faith by which we stand must stand it self therefore it cannot be opinion it must be faith It must not be bare science neither it must be science that hath faith faith must come in Now faith looks to Divine revelation especially it looks to truth revealed from God now faith looking to the Word of God it builds and pitcheth and bottoms it self upon Divine truth Divine authority Divine revelation which we call the first truth the first verity And not only so but faith that it may stand the better hath together with the Word of God the seales for God hath added Sacraments as Seales to the Word that helps the Word to us at least Gods Word is true enough of it self in regard of him but he condescends to us and therefore that faith may stand the better that we may build upon his Word there are his Sacraments there are seales together with his Word and his oath too Again that his Word may be the better foundation for faith it is conceived under the manner of a Covenant the Evangelical part of it the Covenant of Grace wherein God in Christ promiseth to forgive our sins to accept us to life everlasting if we believe in Christ It is a gracious Covenant God condescends to make a Covenant that faith may stand shall not I believe him that hath made a Covenant and bound himself by Covenant that he will do so Nay in the Covenant of grace faith layes hold upon this that he will fulfill and perform both conditions himself both his part and our part For the same truths that are a Covenant are a Testament too in the Gospel A Testament bequeathes things without a covenant and therein it differs from a covenant A Testament is I bequeath and give this Now whatsoever Christ in the Covenant requires because that in the Gospel he makes good the Covenant as a Testament If we believe and repent Now he hath promised to give repentance and belief in the Covenant of grace to all that attend upon the meanes and expect the performance of the Covenant from him For we can no
Church is for they come at length in the grand Point of all to meer traditions What is the present Church The Pope is the Church virtually How do they know that he cannot erre he is Peters Successour How do they know he is so the Scripture saith not so it is Tradition so that the foundation of their Religion is meer tradition a thing from hand to hand that is questionable and uncertain that is the foundation of all their Religion what a resolution of faith is this We stand upon this against the gates of hell and against all temptations and tryals whatsoever we believe and fasten our soules upon this truth why It is the Word of God How do we know it is the Word of God Indeed the Church first of all hath an inducing leading power perswading to read to hear the Word of God and to unfold the Word by the Ministery and that is all that the Church doth but when we hear this there is a Divine intrinsecal majestie in the Word it self by which I know the Word to be the Word How do I know light to be light from it self it gives evidence from it self so Divine light in the Scriptures gives light of it self to all those for whom the Scripture was penned For whom was the Scripture penned For Gods people To all that have gracious hearts the Word carries its own evidence with it as light carries its own evidence it discovers it self and all things else so doth the Scriptures You have a sure Word of the Prophets Our Saviour Christ himself founds what he teacheth upon the Word Shall not we therefore ground our faith upon the Word when he that was the Head of the Church brings all to the Word in his teaching Therefore we have a better resolution for our faith then they have For indeed to say the truth as we may say of their kind of prayers when they may to Saints c. They worship they know not what So we may say of their faith they believe they know not what they believe in a 〈◊〉 man for the present Pope is all their Church which is an ignorant man many times in the Scriptures perhaps he never read them and he must determine controversies and get into the Chair and judge that that shall judge him ere long he must judge the Scripture that must be his Judge and the Judge of all mankind I list not to be large in this point a 〈◊〉 discovery is enough I hasten to something more practical We see then that faith hath an establishing power to stand by faith Then hence we may see these truths which I will but touch First that faith is certain it is a certain thing and makes the soul certain it is not a weak apprehension Again in that it is said here By faith ye stand we see here the perseverance of faith But you will say That faith whereby we stand is changeable and therefore we may fall No S. Peter makes a Comment upon this place We are kept by faith to salvation and receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your soules We are kept through faith to salvation So God by his power keeps that faith that keeps us There is a divine power that keeps faith that faith may keep us so we stand by faith and that faith stands to salvation because it hath a firme bottom to stand on and because it is kept by God himself We are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation Mark how it runs along to salvation Salvation is not onely certain in it self but that faith that layes hold on salvation is sure By faith we stand not onely for the present but we continue by faith and stand even to the death Again in the third place which followes from the other faith is a certain thing in it self and we are assured of our continuance we are assured that we shall be saved he that believeth may be assured that he shall be saved First faith is a certain thing in it self laying hold upon a strong foundation the Word of God And it is sure to continue it builds upon the rock Therefore a man may believe and he may know that he shall be saved he may know that he shall continue in a sure faith There is a latitude a breadth in faith and sometimes there is doubting and sometimes faith but yet there is alwayes faith more or lesse There is a little and a great faith but there is alwayes faith By faith we stand These things need not further inlargement I onely shew how they spring from this Text. In a word hence we learn That it is by faith that we stand and withstand all opposition whatsoever for faith is our victory This is your victory even your faith 1 Joh. 5. 4. By faith we overcome the world by it we stand and stand against all opposition whatsoever To make it a little clear The reason is partly because faith doth present to the soul greater good then the world can therefore nothing on the right hand can shake the soul of a believing Christian. Shall pleasures and profits and the honours of the world draw a Christian from his faith when faith presents better honours better pleasures at the right hand of God plesures for evermore No they cannot for there is nothing in the world but there is better in Religion incomparably better There is no comparison of the pleasures of Religion and of the world between the honour of being a child of God and the honours that the world can give Therefore there is nothing on the right hand in the world that can overcome the faith of a Christian but he can stand against all though it be a Kingdome Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter why Faith presented him greater honours in the Church of God he accounted the very reproach the worst thing in the Church better then the best thing in the world the reproach of Christ better then the treasures of Egypt Let discouragements be offered to Faith by Satan and the world let them come with all the terrours and threatenings they can faith is victorious and triumphant against them all it stands against them all because it sets before the soul greater good then the ill that the world can inflict and sets before the soul greater ills if it apostatize then the world can inflict Saith the world If you do not thus and thus you shall be cast into prison or perhaps you shall lose your life O but saith the soul If I yield to the temptations of Satan and my own vile corruptions I shall be cast into hell is not that worse There can nothing be presented to the soul that is terrible but faith will present to it things more terrible therefore if there be faith in the soul it will stand against all those terrours whatsoever Fear not them that can kill the body when they have done
their worst if you will needs fear I will tell you whom you shall fâ—…ar Fear him that can cast both body and soul into hell So if we be forced to suffer the losse of any thing that is good in the world or be cast into any ill condition what saith S. Paul The troubles and afflictions of the world are not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed Let us set that glory before us and that will prevail against that all the world can threaten or take from us what is all to it nothing Therefore by faith we stand we keep our own standing and withstand all oppositions whatsoever Oh but what if there come more subtile temptations end the Lord himself seemes to be our enemy that we have sinne and God is angry and we see he followes us with afflictions that are evidences of his anger how shall we stand now and keep our selves from despair This is a fiery dart of Satan when a man hath sinned and conscience is awakened to make him sink in despair O but faith will make the soul to stand in these great temptations against those fiery darts faith puts a shield into the hand of the soul to beat back all those fiery darts For faith will present Christ to God Indeed I have been a sinner but thou hast ordained a Saviour and he is of thine own appointing of thine own aâ—…ting a Saviour of thine own giving and thou hast made a promise that Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life I cast my self upon thy mercy in him hereupon faith comes to withstand all such fiery temptations whatsoever nay against God himself Lord thou canst not deny thine own Saviour thou â—…mest to be an enemy and though I be a sinner and have deserved to be cast into hell yet I come to thee in the Name of thy Son that is at thy right hand and pleads for me by vertue of his blood shed for me I came in his Name thou canst not refuse thy owne Son For all temptations when a man hath faith in him it will send Satan to Christ to answer for him Go to Christ he is my husband he hath paid my debts he hath satisfied for my sins So that whatsoever the temptation be make it as subtle as you will there is a skill in faith to stand against it and to beat back all the fiery darts of Satan Therefore to end all we see here what an excellent estate a Christian is in above all others that he hath a better standing then others have not onely a better standing in Religion then the Papists have but in the profession of Religion he hath a better standing then common professors why he stands by faith by sound faith He stands not upon opinion or because he hath been bred so he stands not upon his wit because he sees reason for it he stands upon faith and faith stands upon divine authority he stands partly upon his own experience that seconds faith Those then that care not for Religion what standing have they those that stand only in pleasures and profits and in the favour of great men what standing have they They stand as the Psalmist saith in slippery places There is no man but if he nave not faith he stands slippery though he be never so great if he be a Monarch alas what is it to stand a while all these things are but uncertain though they yield present content they are but uncertain contentments the Wise-man saith they are but vanity they are like the reed of Egypt that will not uphold they will not sustein the soul in the time of trouble there is nothing that a man can stand upon and fasten his soul upon if he be not Religious that will hold scarce the fit of an ague that will hold in the pangs of death even in the entrance of it that will hold in terrours of conscience How little a trouble will blow away all those that stand on so weak a foundation as an earthly thing is For they have but an Imaginary good to speak of and that Imagination is driven out by the sense of the contrary Let contrary troubles come and all their fooles Paradise and their happinesse they had before is at an end it goes no deeper then Imagination All the things in this world stablish not the heart Those that do not stand by faith in the favour of God in Christ let their standing be what it will it will soon be over turned by any temptation they can stand out against nothing Therefore let us labour above all things in the world to have that faith strengthened by which we stand and let us often be encouraged to strengthen our faith by all means that we may stand the better upon it and try our faith before we trust it it is that that we must trust to and stand to in life and death Therefore let us often think Is my faith good is it well built Let us oft put this query to our soules I believe the Religion I professe but upon what grounds I believe the truths in the Word of God but upon what grounds have I a clear understanding of them because they are divine doth the Spirit of God open them and shew a light in the Scripture that is divine doth the Spirit of God give me a relish of the Scriptures above all the pleasures in the world Do I find God speaking to my heart in the Word do I find the Spirit of God with his Ordinance then my knowledge and my faith will hold out I can stand by that faith in the Word that is wrought by the Spirit and fastened upon the Word with the Spirit But if I believe the Religion I professe only because the State doth so and if the King and State should do otherwise I would change my Religion or if it be because my parents were so or my friends and Patron is of that religion whom I depend upon or because I see greater seeming reason for this then for the other I can hold argument for this and not for the other Alas this will not hold But labour to know the truth of the Word of God by experience as much as we can and by the Spirit of God giving evidence to our soules from the inward grounds of Scripture that it is the Word I know whom I have trusted I know the promises are good I have felt them in my soul the Spirit hath reported them to my soul they are sweeter then all the things in the world It is a sure Word I bottome upon it I have found the comfort of it before therefore I will build upon it We can never stand unlesse we can make our knowledge spiritnal it is but acquisite knowledge else We fall in three things vilely we labour that our knowledge of Religion be spiritual and fetched divinely out of the Word of God together with the Spirit We
fall into sin from this very ground for why do men fall into sin because at that time they stand not upon the Word of God revealed by conscience to be the Word of God Ask them why they sweat if they did believe the truth the Word saith I will not hold them guilâ—…lesse that take my Name in vain But I am not convinced by the Spirit assuring my soul that it is the Word of God if men did believe it would men bring a curse upon themselves And so whoremongers the Word of God saith Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge would men if they did believe this truth live in these sins But they have only an opinion of these things I hear that these things are divine perhaps they are not so and the knowledge that we have is not divine faith is not mingled with the Spirit Then again from sin we fall into despair for sin at last why because our knowledge of divine truthes is not spiritual nor from inward grounds of Scripture felt by experience the Spirit sealing the Scripture to my heart by some spirituall experience and thereupon men fall into despair for sin at length For Satan plies them with temptations from their own guilty conscience the grounds of their fears are present and the grounds of their terrours are present to their soules for they are there as it were sealed and branded in their very soules but their comforts are overly the promises are overly the Word is not rooted in their hearts by faith it is not sealed there by the Spirit of God the sanctifying Spirit never brought the Word and their soules together Hereupon they fall into desperation when their terrours are present and their comforts are overly If a man have never so sound a foundation if he stand not but float upon it he may fall and sink if a man be never so weak if he lie on a rock the strength of the rock is his so in our temptations if we have a strong foundation if we do not rest on it the foundation will not uphold us Now how can those rest on it that stagger in it that were never convinced by the Spirit that these things are so and that have had no spiritual experience Satan drawes thousands of soules to perdition because their terrours are present and their comforts are overly they are not built upon divine truth by the Spirit of God Again for Apostasie in the times of the alteration of Religion why do men alter as the State alters they are ready to have every Moneth a new faith if the times and Goverment alter why because they were never convinced by the Spirit of God of divine truths They had it from forreign arguments The former State of things countenanced this way now another State countenanceth another opinion therefore I will be of the safest This is because the soul was never convinced of the truth Therefore I beseech you labour to have arguments from the experience of the power of the Word in your soules and arguments from the Spirit of God to your spirits that it is the Word of God I will stand to divine truth I find such a majesty such a humbling pacifying satisfying power in it to all my perplexities and doubts that it cannot but be the Word of God it stayes my soul in all oppositions in all temptations and corruptions it gives a stay and foundation to my soul that no truth in the world else can do When the soul is brought to such a frame such a soul will not fall into grosse sins while it is in such a frame much lesse will it despair for sin and if there be altering of Religion a thousand times it stands as a rock unmovable because it knowes from inward grounds from the Word of God it self sealed by the Spirit to my spirit that it is the Word of God such a soul will hold out and only such a soul. We should labour therefore by all means to have our faith strengthened and amongst other meanes by the use of the Sacrament whereby God sweetly conveys himself to us by way of a banquet strengthening our faith in Christ he presents Christ to us as the food of our soules to refresh us even as the bread and wine doth Our blessed Saviour is wiser then we he knowes what we stand in need of that we have need to strengthen our faith For we have need to strengthen that that must be our strength which is faith And what is the Ordinance of God to strengthen faith is it not the Sacrament The proper use of the Sacrament is to strengthen faith which the Sacrament doth being a visible Sermon to us for here we see in the outward things Christs body broken and his blood shed it is a lively representation a visible crucifying of Christ a breaking of his body and pouring out of his bloud And withall here is an offer of Christ to us in the elements sealing of what it represents to our soules if we come prepared God feeds us not with empty signes but together with the outward things themselves he gives the spiritual to the soul that is a worthy Receiver Therefore come with a humble stooping to Gods wisdom in appointing these Ordinances to this end to strengthen faith And come with a desire to have faith strengthened that will uphold us against all temptations to sin or to despair for sin Oh beloved if we knew what good our faith must do us ere long we would labour to have it strengthened by all means What will become of us in the hour of death and in great temptations we shall be as chaffe driven with the wind if we have no consistence and stability in divine truth if our soules be not built on that if we have not faith whereby our soules may be rooted in Christ we shall be but a prey for Satan Therefore considering that faith is of such wondrous consequence it is the root of all other graces whatsoever as the Apostle saith here By faith ye stand He doth not say By patience or by hope or the like they are drawn from faith Strengthen that and strengthen all other that are infused from it As a tree we cast not water on the branches but on the root all the branches are cherished by the root so strengthen faith we strengthen love and hope and all if we strengthen faith and assurance of Gods love in Christ. Thus I have at length gone over this fruitfull portion of Scripture FINIS AN Alphabetical Table DIRECTING The Reader to the Ready finding out the Principal Points and Matters handled in this Book A. Achaia AChaia the Countrey wherein Corinth was Page 5 Acknowledge Acknowledge or Acknowledgment what p. 316 331 To acknowledge Christ what pag. 331 Christ acknowledged in the Minister p. 331 333 How to know whether we acknowledge the Minister p. 331 332 333 Action Three sorts of Actions good ill indifferent p. 254
Evill good and good Evill they have not learned to trust in God Those that think except they leave their posterity great they shall not be happie and therefore they will neglect the Sabbath and neglect all to scrape an estate Is this to trust in God have they learned to trust in God when sacrilegiously they take away the time dedicated for the salvation of their souls and the service of God Is this one meanes that God hath ordained to trust him in They that flatter and serve mens humours when they know them to be in a naughty and ill way is this to trust God when they go out of his meanes and way and make an Idol of flesh and blood to serve their own turn Alas we need not name these things if men had learned what it is to trust in God and depend upon him in the use of lawful meanes and would rather be content to want in this world then to have any thing with a crackt conscience I befeech you let us examine our own hearts in this there are many that think they trust in God when they do not they trust their policy they trust flesh and blood and by consequence they trust the Divell if they trust not in God In the next place he that trusts in God his mind will be quieted in some comfortable measure when he hath used the meanes that are lawful and cast himself upon God he will be quiet and let God work then When he hath taken paines in his calling lawfully and desired Gods blessing if God send wealth so it is if not he is not much troubled he knowes that all shall be for the best to them that trust in God when he cannot have it in the use of lawful meanes he is quiet He that trusts a Physitian when he hath used the direction of the Physitian he is quiet he thinks he is a wise man an experienced Physitian and now he will not trouble his mind any longer if a man vex himself and think all will not be well he doth not trust his Physitian And so in other professions we trust to a mans Counsel if we think him wise and honest we follow his direction and then we will be quiet Now God is infinitely wise when we have used lawfull meanes and commended the meanes to God for as he will be trusted in so he will be sought unto I will be sought to by the house of Israel for this for except we pray to him he is not trusted but when we have prayed to him in the use of lawful meanes let us be quiet let us not be distracted with dividing cares obout this and that as if there were not a God in heaven that had care of us that had a providence over things below certainly he hath do thou do thy work and let him alone with his work The care of duty belongs to thee when thou hast done thy duty rest thou quiet or else thou honourest him not as a God thou trustest him not thou dost not make a God of him it is a great dishonour to God A man thinks himself dishonoured when he is not trusted when we see he hath alway been faithful to us and is so reputed and yet we call his credit in question and will not be quiet We should do as Children do they follow their books and let their Father take care for all provision for meat and drink and cloaths and such things they beat not their heads about it they know they have a Father that will take care for that If we were true Children of God and have the disposition of heavenly Children we will do so if we trouble our selves and beat our heads it is a sign that we fear that God is not our Father therefore I add that to other signs a resting of ourselves quiet When we are quiet God will do more then when we vex our selves Be still and see the salvation of the Lord saith Moses at the Red-Sea so let us be still and quiet and see the Salvation of God he will work wonders Again it is a sign that we trust in God when there are no meanes yet notwithstanding we will not despair but hope and trust in God when we see nothing in the eye of flesh and blood no meanes of recovery yet we trust in God he can work his way though we see not how he can make a passage for us When God is thus honoured he works wonders This is to make a God of him when there is no meanes to believe that he can work against meanes If my life shall be for his glory and my good he can recover my life though the Physitian say I am a dead man if he have imployment for me in this world he can do it he can work with means or against meanes or without meanes And so in desperate troubles if God see it good for me he can deliver me though there be no meanes he is the Creator of meanes do not tye him to his own creature if all be taken away he can make new Again he trusts in God that labours to make God his friend continually for he whom we trust unto we will not provoke certainly we will not provoke a man whom we mean to make our friend Those that live in swearing in defiled courses in contempt of God and of holy things of the ordinances of God of the day appointed to holy and religious uses those that wax stubborn against God as the Scripture speaks do we trust him against whom we walk stubbornly VVill a man trust him that he makes his enemy by wicked courses Thou makest God thy enemy and provokest him to his face to trie whether he will pour vengeance upon this or no. He tells thee thou shalt not be upunished if thou take his Name in vain yet thou wilt be stubborn and not make conscience of these things Dost thou trust him No thou provokest him thou mayest trust him but it must be to damn thee to give thee thy reward with rebells thou mayest trust him for that but for good things thou doest not thou canst not trust him in wicked courses VVho will trust his enemy especially he that he hath made his enemy by his ill course of life A man that goes on in an evill course he cannot he doth not trust in God He that trusts in Gods promise will trust in his threatning where there is an Evangelical faith there is a legall faith alway He that believes that God will save him if he trust in Christ he believes that if he doe not believe in Christ he will damn him if he live in his naturall course without repentance There is a legall faith of the curse as well as an Evangelical of the promise they are both together if thou do not believe Gods curse in wicked courses thou wilt never believe him for the other Therefore I will add this to make up the evidences