tittle SECT VIII 8. BUt the great aggravation of this misery will be its Eternity That when a thousand millions of ages are past their Torments are as fresh to begin as the first day If there were any hope of an end it would ease them to foresee it but when it must be for ever that thought is intollerable much more will the misery it self be so They were never weary of sinning nor ever would have been if they had lived eternally upon earth And now God will not be weary of plaguing them They never heartily repented of their sin and God will never repent him of their sufferings They broke the Lawes of the eternal God and therefore shall suffer eternal punishment They knew it was an Everlasting Kingdom which they refused when it was offered them and therefore what wonder if they be everlastingly shut out of it It was their immortall souls that were guilty of the trespass and therefore must immortally suffer the pains O now what happy men would they think themselves if they might have layen still in their graves or continued dust or suffered no worse then the gnawing of those worms O that they might but there lye down again What a mercy now would it be to dye And how will they call and cry out for it O death whither art thou now gone Now come and cut off thâ—s doleful life O that these pains would break my heart and end my being O that I might once at last dye O that I had never had a beeing These groanes will the thoughts of Eternity wring from their hearts They were wont to think the Sermon long and prayer long how long then will they think these Endless torments What difference is there betwixt the length of their pleasures and of their paines The one continued but a moment but the other endureth through all eternity O that sinners would lay this thought to heart Remember how Time is almost gone Thou art standing all this while at the door of Eternity and death is waiting to open the door and put thee in Go sleep out yet but a few more nights and stir up and down on earth a few more dayes and then thy nights and dayes shall end thy thoughts and cares and pleasure sand all shall be devoured by eternity thou must enter upon that state which shall never be changed As the Joyes of Heaven are beyond our conceiving so also are the pains of Hell Everlasting Torment is unconceivable Torment SECT IX BUt I know if it be a sensuall unbeliever that readeth all this he will cast it by with disdain and say I will never believe that God will thus Torment his Creatures What to delight in their torture And that for everlasting And all for the faults of a short time It is incredible How can this stand with the infiniteness of his mercy I would not thus Torment the worst enemy that I have in the world and yet my mercifulness is nothing to Gods These are but threats to awe men I will not believe them Answ. Wilt thou not believe I do not wonder if thou be loath to believe so terrible tidings to thy soul as these are which if they were believed and apprehended indeed according to their weight would set thee a trembling and roaring in the anguish of horror day and night And I do as little wonder that the Devil who ruleth thee should be loath if he can hinder it to suffer thee to believe it For if thou didst believe it thou wouldest spare no cost or pains to escape it But go to If thou wilt read on either thou shalt believe it before thou stirrest or prove thy self an Infidel or Pagan Tell me then Dost thou believe Scripture to be the word of God If thou do not thou art no more a Christian then thy horse is or then a Turk is For what ground have we besides Scripture to believe that Jesus Christ did come into the world or dye for man If thou believe not these I have nothing here to do with thee but refer thee to the second part of this book where I have proved Scripture to be the word of God But if thou do believe this to be so and yet dost not believe that the same Scripture is true thou art far worse then either Infidel or Pagan For the vilest Pagans durst hardly charge their Idol Gods to be lyars And darest thou give the lye to the God of Heaven And accuse him of speaking that which shall not come to pass and that in such absolute threats and plain expressions But if thou darest not stand to this but dost believe Scripture both to be the word of God and to be true then I shall presently convince thee of the truth of these eternall Torments Wilt thou believe if a Prophet should tell it thee Why read it then in the greatest Prophets Moses David and Isaiah Deut. 32.22 Psal. 11.6 9 17. Isai. 30.33 Or wilt thou believe one that was more then a Prophet Why hear then what John Baptist saith Mat. 3.10 Luk. 3.17 Or wilt thou believe if an Apostle should tell thee Why hear what one saith Jud. 7.13 where he cals it the vengeance of eternall fire and the blackness of darness for ever Or what if thou have it from an Apostle that had been rapt up in Revelations into the third Heaven and seen things unutterable Wilt thou believe then Why take it then from Paul 2 Thess. 1.7 8 9. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power And 2 Thess. 2.12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness So Rom. 2.5 6 7 8 9 10. Or wilt thou believe it from the beloved Apostle who was so taken up in Revelations and saw it as it were in his visions Why see then Rev. 20.10 15. They are said there to be cast into the lake of fire and tormented day and night for ever So Rev. 21.8 So 2 Pet. 2.17 Or wilt thou believe it from the mouth of Christ himself the judg Why reade it then Mat. 7.19 13.40 41 42 49 50. As therefore the Tares are gathered and burnt in the fire so shall it be in the end of this world the Son of man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth c. So Mat. 18.8 9. So Mark 9.43 44 46 48. Where he repeateth it three times over Where their worm never dyeth and their fire is not quenched And Mat. 25.41 46. Then shall he say to
children and servants the knowledg and fear of God do it early and late in season and out of season Pray with them daily and fervently remember Daniels example Dan. 6. and the command 1 Thes. 5.17 Read the Scripture and good Books to them restrain them from sin keep not a servant that will not learn and be ruled Neighbors I charge you as you will shortly answer the contrary before the Lord your Judg That there be never a family among you that shall neglect these great Duties If you cannot do what you should yet do what you can especially see that the Lords day be wholly spent in these exercises To spend it in idleness or sports is to consecrate it to your flesh and not to God and far worse then to spend it in your Trades 5. Beware of extreams in the controverted points of Religion When you avoid one Error take heed you run not into another specially if you be in heat of disputation or passion As I have shewed you I think the true mean in the doctrine of Justification and Redemption so I had intended to have writ a peculiar Treatise with three Columns shewing both extreams and the truth in the middle through the body of Divinitie but God takes me off Especially beware of the Errors of these times Antinomianism comes from gross ignorance and leads to gross wickedness Socinians are scarce Christians Arminianism is quite above your reach and therefore not fit for your study in most points The middle way which Camero Ludov. Crocius Amâ—raldus Davenant c. go I think is neerest the Truth Separation comes from Pride and Ignorance and directly leads to the dissolution of all Churches That Independency which gives the people to govern by vote is the same thing in another name Anabaptists play the Divels part in accusing their own children and disputing them out of the Church and Covenant of Christ and affirming them to be no Disciples no Servants of God nor holy as separated to him when God saith the contrary Levit. 25.41 42. Deut. 29.10 11 12 c. Acts 15.10 1 Cor. 7.14 I cannot digress to fortifie you against these Sects You have seen God speak against them by Judgments from Heaven What were the two Monsters in New England but miracles Christ hath told you By their fruits ye shall know them We mis-interpret when we say he means by fruit their false doctrine that were but idem per idem Heretikes may seem holy for a little while but at last all false doctrines likely end in wicked lives Where hath there been known a society of Anabaptists since the world first knew them that proved not wicked How many of these or Antinomists c. have you known who have not proved palpably guiltie of lying perfidiousness covetousness malice contempt of their godly Brethren licenciousness or seared Consciences They have confident expressions to shake poor ignorant souls whom God will have discovered in the day of trial But when they meet with any that can search out their fallacies how little have they to say You know I have had as much opportunitie to try their strength as most And I never yet met with any in Garison or Army that could say any thing which might stagger a solid man You heard in my late publike dispute at Bewdley January 1. with Mr. Tombs who is taken to be the ablest of them in the Land and one of the most moderate how little they can say even in the hardest point of Baptism what gross absurdities they are driven to and how little tender Consciencious fear of erring is left among the best 6. Above all see that you be followers of Peace and Vnitie both in the Church and among your selves Remember what I taught you on Heb. 12.14 He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God All other sins destroy the Church consequentially but Division and Separation demolish it directly Building the Church is but an orderly joyning of the materials and what then is disjoyning but pulling down Many Doctrinal differences must be tolerated in a Church And why but for Vnitie and Peace Therefore Disunion and Separation is utterly intolerable Beleeve not those to be the Churches Friends that would cure and reform her by cutting her throat Those that say No Truth must be concealed for Peace have usually as little of the one as the other Study Gal. 2.2 Rom. 14.1 c. Acts 21.24 26. 1 Tim 1.4 and 6.4 Tit. 3.8 9. I hope sad experience speaks this lesson to your very hearts if I should say nothing Do not your hearts bleed to look upon the state of England and to think how few Towns or Cities there be where is any forwardness in Religion that are not cut into shreds and crumbled as to dust by Separations and Divisions To think what a wound we have hereby given to the very Christian name How we have hardened the ignorant Confirmed the Papists And are our selves become the scorn of our enemies and the grief of our friends And how many of our dearest best esteemed Friends are faln to notorious Pride or Impietie yea some to be worse then open Infidels These are Pillars of Salt see that you remember them You are yet eminent for your Vnitie Stedfastness and Godliness hold fast that you have that no man take your Crown from you Temptations are now come neer your doors yet many of you have gone through greater and therefore I hope will scape through these Yet least your temptations should grow stronger let me warn you That though of your own selves men should arise speaking perverse things to draw disciples after them Acts 20.30 yea though an Angel from Heaven should draw you to divisions see that you follow him not If there be erronious practises in the Church keep your selves innocent with moderation and peace Do your best to reform them and rather remove your dwellings if you cannot live innocently then rend the Church It must be no small Error that must force a Separation Justin a holy learned Martyr In Dialog cum Tryphone who was converted within thirtie one yeers of Johns death and wrote his first Apologie within fiftie one and therefore it is like saw Johns days professeth That if a Jew should keep the Ceremonial Law so he did not perswade the Gentiles to it as necessary yet if he acknowledg Christ he judgeth that he may be saved and he would embrace him and have communion with him as a Brother And Paul would have him received that is weak in the faith and not unchurch whole Parishes of those that we know not nor were ever brought to a just trial You know I never conformed to the use of Mystical Symbolical Rites my self but onely to the determination of Circumstantials necessary in genere and yet I ever loved a godly peaceable Conformist better then a turbulent Non-Conformist I yet differ from many in several Doctrines of greater moment then Baptism c. As
dayly expectations of renewed help or of growing insensible of the necessity of the continual influence and assistance of the Spirit When you once begin to trust to your stock of habituall Grace and to depend on your own understanding or resolution for duty and holy walking You are then in a dangerous declining State In every duty remember Christs words Joh. 15.5 Without me ye can do nothing And 2 Cor. 3.5 Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God SECT VII 7. HEre is supposed An Internal principle of life in the person God moves not man like a stone but by enduing him first with life not to enable him to move without God but thereby to qualifie him to move himself in subordination to God the first mover What the nature of this spiritual life is is a Question exceeding difficult Whether as some think but as I judg erroniously it be Christ himself in Person or Essence or the holy Ghost personally Or as some will distinguish with what sence I know not it is the person of the holy Ghost but not personally Whether it be an Accident or Quality or whether it be a spiritual substance as the soul it self Whether it be only an Act or a disposition or a habit as it s generally taken Whether a habit infused or acquired by frequent Acts to which the soul hath been morally perswaded or whether it be somewhat lower then a habit i. e. A power viz. potentia proxima intelligendi credendi volendi c. in spiritualibus Which some think the most probable and that it was such a power that Adam lost and that the natural man as experience tells us is still devoyd of Whether such a power can be conceived which is not Reason it self and whether Reason be not the Soul it self and so we should make the soul diminished and encreased as bodies Whether spirits have Accidents as corporal substances have A multitude of such difficulties occur which will be difficulties while the Doctrine of Spirits and Spirituals is so dark to us and that will be while the dust of mortality and corruption is in our eyes This is my comfort that death will shortly blow out this dust and then I shall be resolved of these and many more In the mean time I am a Sceptick and know little in this whole doctrine of spirits and spiritual workings further then Scripture clearly revealeth SECT VIII 8. HEre is presupposed before Rest an Actual Motion Rest is the end of Motion No Motion no Rest. Christianity is not a sedentary profession and employment Nor doth it consist in meer Negatives It is for not feeding not clothing c. that Christ condemns Not doing good is not the least evil sitting still will lose you Heaven as well as if you run from it It 's a great Question Whether the elicit Acts of the Will are by Motion or by subitaneous mutation But it s a Logomachy SECT IX 9. HEre is presupposed also as motion so such motion as is rightly ordered and directed toward the end Not all motion labour seeking that brings to Rest. Every way leads not to this end But he whose goodness hath appointed the end hath in his wisdom and by his soveraign authority appointed the way Our own invented ways may seem to us more wise comly equal pleasant but that is the best Key that will open the Lock which none but that of Gods appointing will do Oh the pains that sinners take and wordlings take but not for this Rest Oh the pains and cost that many an ignorant and superstitious soul is at for this Rest but all in vain How many have a zeal of God but not according to knowledg Who being ignorant of Gods Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness have not submitted themselves to the Righteousness of God Nor known That Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Rom. 10.2 3 4. Christ is the door the only way to this Rest. Some will allow nothing else to be called the way lest it Derogate from Christ The truth is Christ is the only Way to the Father Yet faith is the way to Christ and Gospel Obedience or Faith and Works the way for those to walk in that are in Christ. There be as before many ways requisite in Subordination to Christ but none in Co-ordination with him So then it 's only Gods way that will lead to this end and Rest. SECT X. 10. THere is supposed also as motion rightly ordered so strong and constant motion which may reach the end If there be not strength put to the bow the Arrow will not reach the mark The Lazy world that think all too much will find this to their cost one day They that think less ado might have served do but reproach Christ for making us so much to do They that have been most holy watchful painful to get faith and assurance do find when they come to dye all too little We see dayly the best Christians when dying Repent their Negligence I never knew any then repent his holiness and diligence It would grieve a mans soul to see a multitude of mistaken sinners lay out their wit and care and pains for a thing of nought and think to have eternal Salvation with a wish If the way to Heaven be not far harder then the world imagines then Christ and his Apostles knew not the way or else have deceived us For they have told us That the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence That the gate is strait and the way narrow and we must strive if we will enter for many shall seek to enter and not be able which implies the faintness of their seeking and that they put not strength to the work and that the righteous themselves are scarcely saved If ever Soul obtain Salvation in the worlds common careless easie way then I 'l say there is a nearer way found out then ever God in Scripture hath revealed to the sons of men But when they have obtained Life and Rest in this way let them boast of it till then let them give us leave who would fain go upon sure grounds in point of eternal Salvation to beleeve that God knows the way better then they and that his Word is a true and infallible discovery thereof I have seen this Doctrine also thrown by with contempt by others who say What do you set us a working for heaven Doth our duty do any thing Hath not Christ done all Is not this to make him a half Saviour and to preach Law Ans. It is to preach the Law of Christ his Subjects are not Lawless It is to preach Duty to Christ No more exact requirer of duty or hater of sin then Christ. Christ hath done and will do all his work and therefore is a perfect Saviour but yet leaves for us a
disproportionable to the justice of the Law but Christs doth extend to every title If he intercede there is no denial such is the dignity of his person and the value of his merits that the Father granteth all he desireth He tells us himself that the Father heareth him always His sufferings being a perfect satisfaction to the Law and all power in Heaven and Earth being given to him he is now able to supply every of our wants and to save to the uttermost all that come to him Quest. How can I know his death is sufficient for me if not for all And how is it sufficient for all if not suffered for all Answ. Because I will not interrupt my present discourse with controversie I will say something to this Question by it self in another Tract if God enable me 3. The Soul is also here convinced of the perfect excellency of Jesus Christ both as he is considered in himself and as considered in relation to us both as he is the onely way to the Father and as he is the end being one with the Father Before he knew Christs excellency as a blinde man knows the light of the Sun but now as one that beholdeth its glory And thus doth the Spirit convince the Soul SECT IIII. 3. AFter this sensible conviction the Will discovereth also its change and that in regard of all the four forementioned objects 1. The sin which the understanding pronounceth evil the will doth accordingly turn from with abhorrency Not that the sensitive appetite is changed or any way made to abhor its object but when it would prevail against the conclusions of Reason and carry us to sin against God when Scripture should be the rule and Reason the Master and Sense the Servant This disorder and evil the will abhorreth 2. The misery also which sin hath procured as he discerneth so he bewaileth It is impossible that the soul now living should look either on its trespass against God or yet on its own self-procured calamity without some compunction and contrition He that truly discerneth that he hath killed Christ and killed himself will surely in some measure be pricked to the heart If he cannot weep he can heartily groan and his heart feels what his understanding sees 3. The Creature he now renounceth as vain and turneth it out of his heart with disdain Not that he undervalueth it or disclaimeth its use but his idolatrous abuse and its unjust usurpation There is a twofold sin One against God himself as well as his Laws when he is cast out of the heart and something else doth take his place This is it that I intend in this place The other is when a man doth take the Lord for his God but yet swerveth in some things from his commands of this before It is a vain distinction that some make That the soul must be turned first from sin secondly from the Creature to God For the sin that is thus set up against God is the choice of something below in his stead and no Creature in it self is evil but the abuse of it is the sin Therefore to turn from the Creature is onely to turn from that sinful abuse Yet hath the Creature here a twofold consideration First As it is vain and insufficient to perform what the Idolater expecteth and so I handle it here Secondly As it is the object of such sinful abuse and the occasion of sin and so it falls under the former branch of our turning from sin and in this sense their division may be granted but this is onely a various respect for indeed it is still onely our sinful abuse of the Creature in our vain admirations undue estimations too strong affections and false expectations which we turn from There is a twofold Error very common in the descriptions of the work of Conversion The one of those who onely mention the sinners turning from sin to God without mentioning any receiving of Christ by Faith The other of those who on the contrary onely mention a sinners believing and then think they have said all Nay they blame them as Legalists who make any thing but the bare believing of the love of God in Christ to us to be part of this work and would perswade poor souls to question all their former comforts and conclude the work to have been onely legal and unsound because they have made their changes of heart and turning from sin and Creatures part of it and have taken up part of their comfort from the reviewing of these as evidences of a right work Indeed should they take up here without Christ or take such change in stead of Christ in whole or in part the reprehension were just and the danger great But can Christ be the way where the Creature is the end Is he not onely the way to the Father And must not a right end be intended before right means Can we seek to Christ for to reconcile us to God while in our hearts we prefer the Creature before him Or doth God dispossess the Creature and sincerely turn the heart therefrom when he will not bring the soul to Christ Is it a work that is ever wrought in an unrenewed soul You will say That without Faith it is impossible to please God True but what Faith doth the Apostle there speak of He that cometh to God must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him The belief of the Godhead must needs precede the belief of the Mediatorship and the taking of the Lord for our God must in order precede the taking of Christ for our Saviour though our peace with God do follow this Therefore Paul when he was to deal with the Athenian Idolaters teacheth them the knowledg of the Godhead first and the Mediator afterwards But you will say May not an unregenerate man believe that there is a God True and so may he also believe there is a Christ But he can no more cordially accept of the Lord for his God then he can accept of Christ for his Saviour In the soul of every unregenerate man the Creature possesseth both places and is both God and Christ. Can Christ be believed in where our own Righteousness or any other thing is trusted as our Saviour Or doth God ever throughly discover sin and misery and clearly take the heart from all Creatures and Self-righteousness and yet leave the soul unrenewed The truth is where the work is sincere there it is intire and all these parts are truly wrought And as turning from the Creature to God and not by Christ is no true turning so believing in Christ while the Creature hath our hearts is no true believing And therefore in the work of Self-examination whoever would finde in himself a through-sincere work must finde an entire work even the one of these as well as the other In the
Doctrinals as Justin Martyr Irenaeus Origen against Celsus Tertullians Apolog. c. As Also Philo Josephus Eusebius and others for History Me thinks it is preposterous to see men study so long the meaning of Gods Word before they know whether it be Gods Word or not As the Italians Melancthon mentioneth That would prove Christ was in the Bread before they believed well that he was in Heaven It is no questioning the Truth of Scripture to perswade men to the rightest course to be assured of its Truth I confess my self much offended at some mens doctrine who cry down Reason and Tradition here as if they were enemies to God and his Word and cry up nothing but Scripture and the Spirit Just like the Antinomians in the doctrine of Certainty of Salvation who cry up the Witness of the Spirit and cry down the trying by Signes and Evidences of Sanctification As if these were contrary which are co-ordinate If I had wanted either Reason Tradition or the help of the Spirit I should never have beleeved the Truth of the Scripture I confess for my part I cannot boast of any such Testimony or Light of the Spirit nor Reason neither which without Tradition would have made me beleeve that the Book of Canticles is Canonical and writ by Solomon and the Book of Wisdom Apocryphal and writ by Philo as some think or that Saint Pauls Epistle to the Loadiceans which is in the end of Bruno and others were not Canonical as well as Johns second and third Some men as soon as they hear talk of Reason and Tradition here they zealously cry out It is Socinianism and Popery Scripture is Gods written infallible Law Reason is the Eye by which I must read it The Spirit is the Physitian to cure the blindness of this Eye and in a common sense The very Life and Spirits The Church is the chief but not the onely House where these Records are kept Tradition hath chiefly three Offices It is to the unlearned where Scripture is The Proclaimer of it It is to the learned the Hand that delivereth it to them It is to some that never heard of Scripture a Herauld to proclaim the doctrine which it containeth And why must these needs be set together by the ears May they not yea must they not stand together and further each other The name of Antichrist Socinianism Arminianism for the things I renounce my self hath almost affrighted some men out of their Faith and others out of their Wits Is it any derogation from the Law to say A man must receive it from the hand that bringeth it and read it with his eyes c. A learned godly Divine is offended with Canterbury for these words Reason and ordinary Grace superadded by the help of Tradition do sufficiently enlighten the Soul to discern That Scriptures are the Oracles of God and he saith Here is the Socinians sound or right Reason before the Illumination of the Spirit and to please the Arminians ordinary or universal Grace comes in and the name of Tradition to please the Popish party And what all these are like to do without the special Grace of the Holy Spirit I leave it to any Protestant to judg But what will any Christian deny that there is such a thing as ordinary Grace or that Tradition is necessary to deliver us the Scriptures or hath every man special Grace who beleeveth Scripture to be Gods Word Is it not possible for an unregenerate man to beleeve that What kinde of Preaching would such a man use to Indians Turks or Infidels Are not men sanctified by the Word and must they be sanctified by a Word which they beleeve not that so they may beleeve it Indeed he that saith we may not onely know but know perfectly or know to Salvation without special Grace is mistaken But usually a common Grace and common Knowledg go before Special The same godly Divine against these words of Master Chillingworth The Scripture is not to be beleeved finally for it self but for the matter contained in it So that if men did beleeve the Doctrine contained in the Scripture it should no way hinder their Salvation not to know whether there were any Scripture or no saith I thought it had been necessary to have received those material Objects or Articles of our Faith upon the Authority of God speaking in the Scriptures I thought it had been Anabaptistical to have expected any Revelation but in the Word of God c. I should rather for my part think thus That the immediate Revelation of Scripture from God was not to me but to the first Witnesses and Penmen The way of Conveyance to us is another thing and is a Revelation too The best way is by Scripture which without Tradition no man would ever see or hear of Where this is not to be had there meer Tradition may save and is a Revelation sufficient to Salvation and not Anabaptistical Though Traditional unwritten doctrines to make up the defects of Scripture I abhor And I should ask the Dissenter first Whether men were not saved before Moses without Scripture And as Doctor Usher well observeth One reason why they might then be without it was the facility and certainty of Tradition For Methuselah lived many hundred yeers with Adam and Sem lived long with Methuselah and Isaac lived fiftie yeers with Sem So that three men saw all from the Beginning of the World till Isaacs fiftieth yeer Secondly And were not many saved by the Apostles doctrine many yeers before the New Testament was written And Jews before while the old was almost lost Thirdly What if some Ethiopians Armenians or Papists should by meer Tradition beleeve in Christ and who dare say That they may not should they not be saved He that saith No contradicteth Christ who saith That whosoever beleeveth in him shall not perish which way soover he came by it Will you hear Irenaeus in this who lived before Popery was born Lib. 3. cap. 4. Quid enim siquib de aliqua modica quaestione disceptatio esset Nonne oporteret in antiquissimas recurrere Ecclesias Mark he saith not Ad Romanam Ecclesiam vel ad unam principem in quibus Apostoli conversati sunt ab eis de praesenti quaestione sumere quod certum re liquidum est Quid autem si neque Apostoli quidem Scripturas reliquissent nobis nonne oportebat ordinem sequi Traditionis quam tradiderunt iis quibus committebant Ecclesias Cui Ordinationi assentiunt multae gentes barbarorum eorum qui in Christum credunt sine charactere vel atramento Scriptam habentes per spiritum in cordibus suis salutem veterem Traditionem diligenter custodientes c. Hanc fidem qui sine literis crediderunt quantum ad Sermonem nostrum barbari sunt quantum autem ad sententiam consuetudinem conversationem propter fidem perquam sapientissimi sunt placent Deo c. Sic per illam
give them such rejoycings in it and yet never bestow it on them It cannot be Nay doth he give them the earnest of the inheritance Eph. 1.14 And Seal them with the Holy Spirit of promise Eph. 1.13 And yet will he deny the full possession These absurdities may not be charged on an ordinary man much less on the Faithfull and Righteous God SECT VI. SIxthly And Lastly The Scripture mentioneth particularly and by name those who have entered into this Rest. As Henoch who was taken up to God So Abraham Lazarus the thief that was crucified with Christ c. And if there be a Rest for these sure there is a Rest for all believers CHAP. II. Motives to study and preach the Divine Authority of Scripture SECT I. THus much may suffice where the Scripture is believed to confirm the truth of the point in hand viz. The certain futurity of the Saints Rest. And for Pagans and Infidels who believe not Scripture it is besides the intention of this discourse to endeavor their conviction I am endeavouring the consolation and edification of Saints and not the information and conversion of Pagans Yet do I acknowledg the subject exceeding necessary even to the Saints themselves for Sathans assaults are oft made at the foundation and if he can perswade them to question the verity of Scripture they will soon cast away their hopes of Heaven But if I should here enter upon that task to prove Scripture to be the infallible word of God I should make too broad a digression and set upon a work as larg as the maine for whose sake I should undertake it Neither am I insensible of how great difficulty it would prove to manage it satisfactorily and how much more then my ability is thereto requisite Yet lest the tempted Christian should have no relief nor any Argument at hand against the temptation I shall adventure upon a confirming Argument or two but I shall premise first a word of entreaty to my brethren of the Ministery to preach this a little more to their people And that not any body but some of the choicest whom God hath especially furnished for such a task would be pleased in a full Treatise to undertake it To which end I give them some of the Reasons of my request entreating the Lord to enable and perswade some of them to the work 1. I desire them to consider whether any thing yet published be neer compleat or such as the weight of the subject requires Whether much more may not be said and is necessary to be said then is yet said by any that hath writ on this subject 2. Whether if Christians who have opportunity do their duty would it not be a singular part of their work to endeavour the conversion of Pagans and Infidels And as I said before without some Arguments to demonstrate to them the verity of Scripture how are we furnished for such a work Or what have we to say but naked affirmation Yea how can we maintain the credit of Christianity if we were put to dispute the case with an unbeliever 3. Whether the assertion of some of our Divines that a naturall man without the extraordinary Testimony of the Spirit cannot be perswaded of the verity of Scripture notwithstanding all Arguments that can be produced be not very derogatory to the Authority of Scripture and do not justifie the world in their unbeliefe for it is not their sin to deny assent to that which hath not sufficient evidence As if we confessed to them we have not Arguments to convince you but you must be convinced by the Spirit without Arguments as if the Spirit did not deal with us as rationall creatures and did perswade without Argument and not by it As if many wicked men did not believe the truth of Scripture Yet I confesse ther 's great difference betwixt naturall and Spirituall beliefe 4. Is not this the ground-work of the whole Fabrick of Christianity And the very foundation of our faith And therefore should it not be timely and soundly laid and frequently and clearly taught 5. Is not Faith a rational Act of a rational Creature And so the Understanding proceeds discursively in its production And is not that the strongest Faith which hath the strongest Reasons to prove the Testimony to be valid upon which it resteth and the clearest apprehension and use of those Reasons And the truest Faith which hath the truest Reasons truly apprehended and used And must not that on the contrary be a weak or false faith which receives the Verity and Validity of the Testimony from weak or false Grounds though the Testimony of it self be the truest in the world Our Divines use to say concerning love to Christ that it is not to be measured by the degree of Fervor so much as by the Grounds and Motives so that if a man should love Christ upon the same Reasons as a Turk loves Mahomet it were no true love if he love him upon false grounds it must needs be a false love and if upon common grounds it can be but a common love And is it not then as clear that to believe in Jesus Christ upon the grounds that a Turk believes in Mahomet or to believe Scripture upon the same reasons that the Turk believes the Alcoran is no true Faith Supposing that both have the like verity of their Reasons 6. Is the generality of Christians able to give any better then some such common reason to prove the verity of Scripture Nay are the more exercised Understanding sort of Christians able by sound Arguments to make it good if an Enemy or a Temptation put them to it Nay are the ordinary sort of Ministers in England able to do this Let them that have tried judg 7. Can the Superstructure be firm where the Foundation is Sandy And can our Affections and Actions be sound and strong when our belief of Scripture is unsound or infirm Sure this Faith will have influence into all For my own part I take it to be the greatest cause of coldness in Duty weakness in Graces boldness in Sinning and unwillingness to die c. that our Faith is either unsound or infirm in this point Few Christians among us for ought I finde have any better then the Popish implicit faith in this point nor any better Arguments then the Papists have to prove Scripture the Word of God They have received it by Tradition godly Ministers and Christians tell them so it is impious to doubt of it and therefore they believe it And this worm lying at the root causeth the languishing and decay of the whole yet is it usually undiscerned for the root lieth secret under ground But I am apt to judg that though the most complain of their uncertainty of salvation through want of assurance of their own Interest and of the weakness of the applying Act of Faith yet the greater cause of all
but to resolve our faith into some humane Testimony even to lay our foundation upon the sand where all will fall at the next assault It s strange to consider how we all abhor that piece of Popery as most injurious to God of all the rest which resolves our faith into the Authority of the Church And yet that we do for the generality of professors content our selves with the same kinde of faith Onely with this difference The Papists believe Scripture to be the Word of God because their Church saith so and we because our Church or our Leaders say so Yea and many Mininisters never yet gave their people better grounds but tell them which is true that it is damnable to deny it but help them not to the necessary Antecedents of Faith If any think that these words tend to the shaking of mens faith I answer First Onely of that which will fall of it self Secondly And that it may in time be built again more strongly Thirdly Or at least that the sound may be surer setled It s to be understood that many a thousand do profess Christianity and zealously hate the enemies thereof upon the same grounds to the same ends and from the same inward corrupt principles as the Jews did hate and kill Christ It is the Religion of the Countrey where every man is reproached that believes otherwise they were born and brought up in this belief and it hath increased in them upon the like occasions Had they been born and bred in the Religion of Mahomet they would have beeen as zealous for him The difference betwixt him and a Mahometan is more that he lives where better Laws and Religion dwell then that he hath more knowledg or soundness of apprehension Yet would I not drive into causless doubtings the soul of any true Believer or make them believe their faith is unsound because it is not so strong as some others Therefore I add some may perhaps have ground for their beliefe though they are not able to expresse it by argumentation and may have Arguments in their hearts to perswade themselves though they have none in their mouths to perswade another yea and those Arguments in themselves may be solid and convincing Some may be strengthened by some one sound Argument and yet be ignorant of all the rest without overthrowing the truth of their Faith Some also may have weaker apprehensions of the Divine authority of Scripture then others and as weaker grounds for their Faith so a lesse degree of assent And yet that assent may be sincere and saving so it have these two qualifications First If the Arguments which we have for believing the Scripture be in themselves more sufficient to convince of its truth then any Arguments of the enemies of Scripture can be to perswade a man of the contrary And do accordingly discover to us a high degree at least of probability Secondly And if being thus far convinced it prevailes with us to chuse this as the onely way of life and to adventure our souls upon this way denying all other and adhering though to the losse of estate and life to the Truth of Christ thus weakly apprehended This I think God will accept as a true Beliefe But though such a faith may serve to salvation yet when the Christian should use it for his consolation he will finde it much faile him even as leggs or arms of the weak or lame which when a man should use them do faile him according to the degrees of their weakness or lameness so much doubting as there remaines of the Truth of the word or so much weakness as there is in our believing or so much darkness or uncertainty as there is in the evidence which perswades us to believe so much will be wanting to our Love Desires Labors Adventures and especially to our joyes Therefore I think it necessary to speak a little and but a little to fortifie the believer against temptations and to confirme his faith in the certain Truth of that Scripture which containes the promises of his Rest. CHAP. III. SECT I. ANd here it is necessary that we first distinguish betwixt 1. The subject matter of Scripture or the doctrine which it contains 2. And the words or writings containing or expressing this doctrine The one is as the blood the other as the veins in which it runs Secondly We must distinguish betwixt 1. the substantiall and fundamentall part of Scriptureâ— doctrine without which there is no salvation and 2. the circumstantiall and less necessary part as Genealogies Successions Chronology c. Thirdly Of the substantiall fundamentall part 1. Some may be known and proved even without Scripture as being written in nature it self 2. some can be known onely by the assent of Faith to Divine Revelation Fourthly Of this last sort 1. some things are above Reason as it is without Divine Revelation both in respect of their Probability existence and futurity 2. others may be known by meer Reason without Divine Testimony in regard of their Possibility and Probability but not in regard of their existence or futurity Fifthly Again matter of Doctrine must be distinguished from matter of fact Sixthly Matter of fact is either 1. such as God produceth in an ordinary way or 2. extrordinary and miraculous Seventhly History and Phophesie must be distinguished Eighthly We must distinguish also the books and writings themselves 1. between the maine scope and those parts which express the chief contents and 2. particular words and phrases not expressing any substantialls Ninthly Also it s one question 1. whether there be a certain number of books which are Canonicall or of Divine Authority and 2. another question what number there is of these and which particular books they are Tenthly The direct expresse sense must be distinguished from that which is only implyed or consequentiall Eleventhly We must distinguish Revelation unwriten from that which is writen Twelfthly and Lastly We must distinguish that Scripture which was spoke or written by God immediatly from that which was spoke or writ immediatly by man and but mediatly by God And of this last sort 1. Some of the instruments or penmen are known 2. Some not known Of those known 1. Some that spoke much in Scripture were bad men 3. others were godly And of these some were 1. More eminent and extraordinary as Prophets and Apostles 2. Others were persons more inferiour and ordinary Again as we must distinguish of Scripture and Divine Testimony so must we also distinguish the apprehension or Faith by which we do receive it 1. There is a Divine Faith when we take the Testimony to be Gods own and so believe the thing testified as upon Gods word Secondly There is a Human Faith when we believe it meerly upon the credit of man 2. Faith is either first implicit when we believe the thing is true though we understand not what it is or secondly explicit when we believe and understand
what we believe Both these are again Divine or humane 3. It is one thing to believe as Probable another thing to believe it as certain 4. It s one thing to believe it to be true conditionally another to believe it absolutely 5. We must distinguish betwixt the bare assent of the understanding to the truth of an Axiome when it is only silenced by force of Argument which will be stronger or weaker as the Argument seemeth more or lesse demonstrative and secondly that deep apprehension and firme assent which proceedeth from a well stablished confirmed Faith backed by experience 6. It s one thing to assent to the truth of the Axiome another to taste and chuse the good contained in it which is the work of the Will SECT II. THe Use I shall make of these distinctions is to open the way to these following Positions which will resolve the great Questions on foot How far the belief of the Written Word is of necessity to salvation and Whether it be the foundation of our faith And whether this foundation have been always the same Pos. 1. The Object of belief Is the will of God revealed or a Divine Testimony where two things are absolutely necessary first The Matter secondly The Revelation 2. All this Revealed Will is necessary to the compleating of our faith and it is our duty to believe it But it s onely the substance and tenor of the Covenants and the things necessarily supposed to the knowing and keeping of the Covenant of Grace which are of absolute necessity to the beeing of Faith and to Salvation A man may be saved though he should not believe many things which yet he is bound by God to believe 3. Yet this must be onely through ignorance of the Divineness of the Testimony For a flat unbelief of the smallest truth when we know the Testimony to be of God will not stand with the beeing of true Faith nor with Salvation For Reason layes this ground That God can speak nothing but Truth and Faith proceeds upon that supposition 4. This Doctrine so absolutely necessary hath not been ever from the beginning the same but hath differed according to the different Covenants and Administrations That Doctrine which is now so necessary was not so before the Fall And that which is so necessary since the coming of Christ was not so before his coming Then they might be saved in believing in the Messiah to come of the seed of David but now it s of necessity to believe that this Jesus the Son of Mary is He and that we look not for another I prove it thus That which is not revealed can be no object for Faith much less so necessary But Christ was not Revealed before the Fall nor this Jesus Revealed to be He before his coming therefore these were not of necessity to be believed or as some Metaphorically speak they were then to fundamentall Doctrines Perhaps also some things will be found of absolute necessity to us which are not so to Indians and Turks 5. God hath made this substance of Scripture-Doctrine to be thus necessary primarily and for it self 6. That it be revealed is also of absolute necessity but secondarily and for the Doctrines sake as a means without which Believing is neither possible nor a duty And though where there is no Revelation Faith is not necessary as a duty yet it may be necessary I think as a means that is our natural misery may be such as can no other way be cured but this concerns not us that have heard of Christ 7. Nature Creatures and Providence are no sufficient Revelation of this tenor of the Covenants 8. It is necessary not onely that this Doctrine be Revealed but also that it be Revealed with Grounds or Arguments rationally sufficient to evince the verity of the Doctrine or the Divineness of the Testimony that from it we may conclude the former 9. The Revelation of Truth is to be considered in respect of the first immediate delivery from God or secondly in respect of the way of its coming down to us It is delivered by God immediatly either by writing as the two Tables or by informing Angels who may be his Messengers or by inspiring some choise particular men So that few in the world have received it from God at the first hand 10. The only ways of Revelation that for ought I know are now left are Scripture and Tradition For though God hath not tied himself from Revelations by the Spirit yet he hath ceased them and perfected his Scripture Revelations so that the Spirit onely Reveales what is Revealed already in the Word by illuminating us to understand it 11. The more immediate the Revelation caeteris paribus the more sure and the more succession of hands it passeth through the more uncertain especially in matter of Doctrine 12. When we receive from men by Tradition the Doctrine of God as in the Words of God there is less danger of corruption then when they deliver us that Doctrine in their own words because here taking liberty to vary the expressions it will represent the Truth more uncertainly and in more various shapes 13. Therefore hath God been pleased when he ceased immediate Revelation to leave his Will written in a form of words which should be his standing Law and a Rule to try all other mens expressions by 14. In all the forementioned respects therefore the written Word doth excell the unwritten Tradition of the same Doctrine 15. Yet unwritten Tradition or any sure way of Revealing this Doctrine may suffice to save him who thereby is brought to believe As if there be any among the Abaâ—sines of Ethiopia the Coplies in Egypt or elsewhere that have the substance of the Covenants delivered them by unwritten Tradition or by other Writings if hereby they come to believe they shall be saved For so the Promise of the Gospel runs giving salvation to all that believe by what means soever they were brought to it The like may be said of true Believers in those parts of the Church of Rome where the Scripture is wholly hid from the vulgar if there be any such parts 16. Yet where the written Word is wanting salvation must needs be more difficult and more rare and Faith more feeble and mens conversations worse ordered because they want that clearer Revelation that surer Rule of Faith and Life which might make the way of salvation more easie 17. When Tradition ariseth no higher or cometh originally but from this written Word and not from the verbal Testimonies of the Apostles before the Word was written there that Tradition is but the preaching of the Word and not a distinct way of Revealing 18. Such is most of the Tradition for ought I can learn that is now afoot in the world for matter of Doctrine but not for matter of fact 17. Therefore the Scriptures are not onely necessary to the well-beeing of the Church and to the
strength of Faith but ordinarily to the very beeing of Faith and Churches 20. Not that the present Possession of Scripture is of absolute necessity to the present beeing of a Church not that it is so absolute necessary to every mans salvation that he read or knew this Scripture himself But that it either be at present or have been formerly in the Church that some knowing it may teach it to others is of absolute necessity to most persons and Churches and necessary to the well-beeing of all 21. Though negative unbelief of the authority of Scripture may stand with salvation yet positive and universal I think cannot Or though Tradition may save where Scripture is not known yet he that reads or hears the Scripture and will not believe it to be the Testimony of God I think cannot be saved because this is now the clearest and surest Revelation And he that will not believe it will muchless believe a Revelation more uncertain and obscure 22. Though all Scripture be of Divine Authority yet he that believeth but some one Book which containeth the substance of the Doctrine of salvation may be saved much more they that have doubted but of some particular Books 23. They that take the Scripture to be but the Writings of godly honest men and so to be only a means of making known Christ having a gradual precedency to the Writings of other godly men and do believe in Christ upon those strong grounds which are drawn from his Doctrine Miracles c. rather then upon the Testimony of the Writing as being purely infallible and Divine may yet have a Divine and saving faith 24. Much more those that believe the whole Writing to be of Divine inspiration where it handleth the substance but doubt whether God infallibly guided them in every circumstance 25. And yet more those that believe that the Spirit did guide the Writers to Truth both in Substance and Circumstance but doubt whether he guided them in Orthography or whether their Pens were as perfectly guided as their minds 26. And yet more may those have saving Faith who onely doubt whether Providence infallibly guided any Transcribers or Printers as to retain any Copy that perfectly agreeth with the Autograph 27. Yet do all these in my judgment cast away a singular prop to their faith and lay it open to dangerous assaults and doubt of that which is a certain truth 28. As the Translations are no further Scripture then they agree with the Copies in the Original Tongues so neither are those Copies further then they agree with the Autographs or Original Copies or with some Copies perused and approved by the Apostles 29. Yet is there not the like necessity of having the Autographs to try the Transcripts by as there is of having the Original Transcripts to try the Translations by For there is an impossibility that any Translation should perfectly express the sense of the Original But there is a possibility probability and facility of true Transcribing and grounds to prove it true de facto as we shall touch anon 30. That part which was written by the Finger of God as also the substance of Doctrine through the whole Scriptures are so purely Divine that they have not in them any thing humane 31. The next to these are the words that were spoken by the mouth of Christ and then those that were spoken by Angels 32. The Circumstantials are many of them so Divine as yet they have in them something Humane as the bringing of Pauls Cloak and Parchments and as it seems his counsel about Marriage c. 33. Much more is there something Humane in the Method and Phrase which is not so immediatly Divine as the Doctrine 34. Yet is there nothing sinfully Humane and therefore nothing false in all 35. But an innocent imperfection there is in the Method and Phrase which if we deny we must renounce most of our Logick and Rhetorick 36. Yet was this imperfect way at that time all things considered the fittest way to divulge the Gospel That is the best Language which is best suited to the Hearers and not that which is best simply in it self and supposeth that understanding in the Hearers which they have not Therefore it was Wisdom and Mercy to fit the Scripture to the capacity of all Yet will it not therefore follow that all Preachers at all times should as much neglect Definition Distinction Syllogisme c. as Scripture doth 37. Some Doctrinal passages in Scripture are onely Historically related and therefore the relating them is no asserting them for truth and therefore those sentences may be false and yet not the Scripture false yea some falshoods are written by way of reproving them as Gehezies Lye Sauls Excuse c. 38. Every Doctrine that is thus related onely Historically is therefore of doubtful credit because it is not a Divine assertion except Christ himself were the Speaker and therefore it is to be tried by the rest of the Scripture 39. Where ordinary men were the Speakers the credit of such Doctrines is the more doubtful and yet much more when the Speakers were wicked of the former sort are the Speeches of Jobs friends and divers others of the later sort are the Speeches of the Pharisees c. and perhaps Gamaliels counsel Act. 5.34 40. Yet where God doth testifie his Inspiration or Approbation the Doctrine is of Divine Authority though the Speaker be wicked As in Balaams Prophesie 41. The like may be said of matter of Fact for it is not either necessary or lawful to speak such words or do such actions meerly because men in Scripture did so speak or do no not though they were the best Saints for their own speeches or actions are to be judged by the Law and therefore are no part of the Law themselves And as they are evil where they cross the Law as Josephs swearing the Ancients Polygamy c. so are they doubtful where their congruence with the Law is doubtful 42. But here is one most observable exception conducing much to resolve the great doubt whether Examples binde Where men are designed by God to such an Office and act by Commission and with a promise of Direction their Doctrines are of Divine Authority though we finde not where God did dictate and their Actions done by that Commission are currant and Exemplary so far as they are intended or performed for Example and so Example may be equivalent to a Law and the Argument a facto ad jus may hold So Moses being appointed to the forming of the old Church and Commonwealth of the Jews to the building of the Tabernacle c. his Precepts and Examples in these works though we could not finde his particular direction are to be taken as Divine So also the Apostles having Commission to Form and Order the Gospel Churches their Doctrine and Examples therein are by their general Commission warranted and their practice in stablishing the Lords Day in setling the
Officers and Orders of Churches are to us as Laws still binding with those limitations as Positives onely which give way to greater 43. The ground of this Position is because it is inconsistent with the Wisdom and Faithfulness of God to send men to a work and promise to be with them and yet to forsake them and suffer them to err in the building of that House which must indure till the end of the world 44. Yet if any of these Commissioners do err in their own particular conversations or in matters without the extent of their Commission this may consist with the faithfulness of God God hath not promised them infallibility and perfection the disgrace is their own but if they should miscarry in that wherein they are sent to be a rule to others the Church would then have an imperfect Rule and the dishonor would redound to God 45. Yet I finde not that ever God authorized any meere man to be a Lawgiver to the Church in Substantials but onely to deliver the Laws which he had given to Interpret them and to determine Circumstantials not by him determined 46. Where God owneth mens Doctrines and Examples by Miracles they are to be taken as infallibly Divine much more when Commission Promise and Miracles do concur which confirmeth the Apostles Examples for currant 47. So that if any of the â—ings or Prophets had given Laws and formed the Church as Moses they had not been binding because without the said Commission or if any other Minister of the Gospel shall by Word or Action arrogate an Apostolical priviledg 48. There is no verity about God or the chief happiness of man written in Nature but it is to be found written in Scriptures 49. So that the same thing may in these several respects be the object both of Knowledg and of Faith 50. The Scripture being so perfect a Transcript of the law of Nature or Reason is much more to be credited in its supernatural Revelations 51. The probability of most things and the possibility of all things contained in the Scriptures may well be discerned by Reason it self which makes their Existence or Futurity the more easie to be believed 52. Yet before this Existence or Futurity of any thing beyond the reach of Reason can be soundly believed the Testimony must be known to be truly Divine 53. Yet a belief of Scripture Doctrine as probable doth usually go before a belief of certainty and is a good preparative thereto 54. The direct express sense must be believed directly and absolutely as infallible and the consequences where they may be clearly and certainly raised but where there is danger of erring in raising consequences the assent can be but weak and conditional 55. A Consequence raised from Scripture being no part of the immediate sense cannot be called any part of Scripture 56. Where one of the premises is in Nature and the other onely in Scripture there the Conclusion is mixt partly known and partly believed That it is the Consequence of those premises is known but that it is a Truth is as I said apprehended by a mixt Act. Such is a Christians concluding himself to be justified and sanctified c. 57. Where through weakness we are unable to discern the Consequences there is enough in the express direct sense for salvation 58. Where the sense is not unstood there the belief can be but implicit 59. Where the sense is partly understood but with some doubting the Belief can be but conditionally explicit that is we believe it if it be the sense of the Word 60. Fundamentals must be believed Explicitly and Absolutely CHAP. IIII. The first Argument to prove Scripture to be the Word of God SECT IIII. HAving thus shewed you in what sense the Scriptures are the word of God and how far to be believed and what is the excellency necessity and authority of them I shall now adde three or four Arguments to help your Faith which I hope will not onely prove them to be Divine Testimony to the substance of Doctrine though that be a usefull work against our unbelief but also that they are the very written Laws of God and a perfect Rule of Faith and duty My Arguments shall be but few because I handle it but on the by and those such as I finde little of in others writings least I should wast time in doing what is done to my hands 1. Those writings and that Doctrine which were confirmed by many real Miracles must needs be of God and consequently of undoubted Truth But the books and Doctrine of Canonicall Scripture were so confirmed Therefore c. Against the major proposition nothing of any moment can be said For it s a Truth apparent enough to nature that none but God can work real Miracles or at least none but those whom he doth especially enable thereto And it is as manifest that the Righteous and Faithfull God will not give this power for a seal to any falshood or deceit The usuall Objections are these First Antichrist shall come with lying wonders Answ. They are no true Miracles As they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Thess. 2.9 lying in sealing to a lying doctrine so also in being but seeming and counterfeit Miracles The like may be said to those of Pharaohs Magicians and all other Sorcerers and Witches and those that may be wrought by Satan himself They may be wonders but not Miracles Object 2. God may enable false Prophets to work Miracles to try the world without any derogation to his Faithfulness Answ. No for Divine power being properly the attendant of Divine Revelation if it should be annexed to Diabolicall delusions it would be a sufficient excuse to the world for their believing those delusions And if Miracles should not be a sufficient seal to prove the Authority of the witness to be Divine then is there nothing in the world sufficient and so our Faith will be quite overthrown Object But however Miracles will no more prove Christ to be the Son of God then they will prove Moses Elias or Elisha to be the Son of God for they wrought Miracles as well as Christ. Answ. Miracles are Gods seal not to extoll the person that is instrumentall nor for his glory but to extoll God and for his own Glory God doth not entrust any creature with this seal so absolutely as that they may use it when and in what case they please If Moses or Elias had affirmed themselves to be the sons of God they could never have confirmed that affirmation with a Miracle for God would not have sealed to a lye Christs power of working Miracles did not immediatly prove him to be the Christ. But it immediately proved his Testimony to be Divine and that Testimony spoke his nature and office So that the power of Miracles in the Prophets and Apostles was not to aâ—â—est to their own greatness but to the truth of their Testimony conâ—â—rning Christ.
world their states and lives as well as it did the first testifiers 11. If there be such a dispersing of the copies of these records all over the world that the cancelling and abolishing them is a thing impossible 12. If the very histories of the enemies do never affirme any universall abolishing and consuming of them 13. If all these dispersed copies through the world do perfectly agree in every thing materiall 14. If it were a matter of such moment in the judgement of the preservers neither to add nor diminish that they thought their eternall Salvation did lye upon it 15. If the histories of their enemies do generally mention their attesting these records to the losse of their lives and that successively in every age 16. If these records and attestations are yet visible to the world and that in such a form as none could counterfeit 17. If the enemies that lived neer or in those times when the things were done do 1. write nothing against them of any moment 2. but oppose them with fire and sword in stead of Argument 3. nay if they acknowledge the fact but deny the cause only 18. And if all the enemies were incompetent witnesses 1. witnessing to the Negative of which they could have no certainty 2. and carryed on with apparent malice and prejudice 3. and having all worldly advantages attending their cause 4 and being generally men unconscionable and impious 19. If all these enemies having all these worldly advantages could neither by Arguments nor Violence hinder people from believing these famous and palpable matters of fact in the very age wherein they were done when the truth or falshood might most easily be discovered but that the generality of beholders were forced to assent 20. If multitudes of the most ingenuous and violent enemies have in every age from the very acting of these things to this day been forced to yield and turned as zealous defenders of these records and their doctrine as ever they were opposers of them before 21. If all these Converts do confesse upon their coming in that it was ignorance or prejudice or worldly respects that made them oppose so much before 22. If all the powers of the world that can burn the bodies of the witnesses that can overthrow Kingdoms and change their Laws could never yet reverse or abolish these Records 23. Nay if some notable judgement in all ages have befallen the most eminent opposers thereof 24. And Lastly if successions of wonders though not Miracles as the first have in all ages accompanied the attestation of these records I say if all these twenty four particulars do concurre or most of these I leave it to the judgement of any man of understanding Whether there be not an infallible way of transmitting matter of Fact to posterity And consequently whether there be not more then a probability even a fall certainty in such a humane Testimony SECT III. 2. THe second thing now which I am to manifest is That we have such a Testimony of the Miracles which confirmed the Doctrine and Writings of the Bible And here I must run over the three foregoing Particulars again and shew you first That the witnesses of Scripture-Miracles could and did infallibly know the Truth which they testified secondly That they had no intent to deceive the world and thirdly That it hath been brought down to Posterity by a way so infallible that there remains no doubt whether our Records are Authentick For the first of these I think will be most easily acknowledged Men are naturally so confident of the infallibility of their own senses that sure they will not suspect the senses of others But if they should let them apply here what is said before to put them out of doubt First It was matter of Fact which might be easily discerned Secondly The Apostles and others who bear witness to it were present yea continuall companions of Christ and the multitude of Christians were eye-witnesses of the Miracles of the Apostles Thirdly These were men neither blinde nor deaf but of as sound and perfect senses as we Fourthly This is apparent first Because they were great multitudes even that were present and therefore could not all be blinde if they had how did they walk about Fifthly These Miracles were not done by night nor in a corner but in the open light in the midst of the people Sixthly They were not once or twice onely performed but very oft of several kindes by several persons even Prophets and Christ himself and his Apostles in many Generations so that if there had been any deceit it might have been easily discovered Seventhly and lastly It was in the midst of vigilant and subtil enemies who were able and ready enough to have evinced the deceit So that it remains certain That the first Eye witnesses themselves were not deceived 2. Let us next consider whether it be not also as certain that they never intended the deceiving of the world First It is evident that they were neither fools nor knaves 〈◊〉 but men of ingenuity and extraordinary Honesty There needs no more to prove this then their own Writings so full of enmity against all kinde of vitiousness so full of conscientious zeal and heavenly affections Yet is this their Honesty also attested by their enemies sure the very remnants of Natural Honesty are a Divine off-spring and do produce also certain effects according to their strength and nature God hath planted and continued them in man for the use of societies and common converse for if all Honesty were gone one man could not believe another and so could not converse together But now supernatural extraordinary Honesty will produce its effect more certainly If three hundred or three thousand honest godly men should say they saw such things with their eyes he is very incredulous that would not believe it 2. It is apparent that neither Prophets Apostles nor Disciples in Attesting these things could drive on any designs of their own Did they seek either Honor or Ease or Profits or worldly Delights Did their Master give them any hopes of these or did they see any probability of their attaining it or did they see any of their fellows attain it before them 3. Nay was it not a certain way to their ruine in the world Did not their Master tell them when he sent them out That they should be persecuted of all for his sake and the Gospels Did they not finde it true and therefore expect the like themselves Paul knew that in every City Bonds and Afflictions did abide him and they lay it down as a granted Rule That he that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution Now I would fain know whether a mans Self his State his Liberty his Life be not naturally so neer and dear to all that they would be loath to throw it away meerly to deceive and cosen the world All that I know can be objected is That they
that such a Latine or Greek word hath such a signification when will he learn or how will he know Nay how do the most learned linguists know the signification of words in any language and so in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures but only upon the credit of their Teachers and Authors And yet certaine enough too in the maine Tradition is not so useles to the world or the Church as some would have it Though the Papists do sinfully plead it against the sufficiency of Scripture yet Scriptures sufficiency or perfection is only in suo genere in its owne kind and not in omni genere not sufficient for every purpose Scripture is a sufficient rule of Faith and life but not a sufficient means of conveying it self to all generations and persons If humane Testimony had not been necessary why should Christ have men to be witnesses in the beginning And also still instruments of perswading others and attesting the verity of these sacred records to those that cannot otherwise come to know them And doubtles this is a chief use of Ministers in the Church and the great end of God in the stating and continuing that function that what men are uncapable of believing explicitly with a faith properly Divine that they might receive implicitly and upon the word of their Teachers with a humane faith Every man should labor indeed to see with his own eyes and to know all that God hath revealed and to be wiser eâ—en his Teachers but every man cannot bestow that time and pains in the study of Languages and Sciences without which that knowledg is not now attained We may rather wish then hope that all the Lords people were Prophets The Church of Christ hath been long in a very doleful plight betwixt these two extreams taking all things upon trust from our teachers and taking nothing upon trust And yet those very men who so disclaime taking upon trust do themselves take as much upon trust as others Why els are Ministers called the eyes and the hands of the body Stewards of the mysteries and of the house of God Overseers Rulers and Governers of the Church And such as must give the children their meat in due season Fathers of their people c. Surely the clearly known Truth and Duty must be received from any one though but a childe and known errror and iniquity must be received from none though an Angel from Heaven What then is that we are so often required to obey our Teaching Rulers in Surely it is not so much in the receiving of new instituted Ceremonies from them which they call things indifferent But as in all professions the Scholar must take his masters Word in learning till he can grow up to know the things in their own evidence and as men will take the words of any aâ—tificers in the matters that concern their own trade and as every wise patient will trust the judgement of his Physitian except he know as much himself and the Client will take the word of his Lawyer so also Christ hath ordered that the more strong and knowing should be teachers in his school and the young and ignorant should believe them and obey them till they can reach to understand the things themselves So that the matters which we must receive upon trust from our teachers are those which we cannot reach to know our selves and therefore must either take them upon the word of others or not receive them at all so that if these Rulers and Stewards do require us to believe when we know not our selves whether it be truth or not or if they require us to obey when we know not our selves whether it be a duty commanded by God or not here it is that we ought to obey them For though we know not whether God hath revealed such a point or commanded such an action yet that he hath commanded us to obey them that Rule over us who preach to us the word of God this we certainly know Heb. 13.7 Yet I think not we are so strictly tyed to the judgement of a weak Minister of our own as to take his word before anothers that is more Judicious in a neighbour congregation Nor do I think if we see but an appearance of his erring that we should carelessely go on in believing and obeying him without a diligent searching after the Truth even a liklyhood of his mistake must quicken us to further enquiry and may during that enquiry suspend our belief and obedience For where we are able to reach to know probabilities in divine things we may with diligence lightly reach to that degree of certainty which our Teachers themselves have attained or at least to understand the Reason of their Doctrine But still remember what I said before that fundamentals must be believed with a Faith explicit Absolute and Divine And thus I have shewed you the flat necessity of taking much upon the Testimony of man And that some of these humane Testimonies are so certaine that they may well be called Divine I conclude all with this intimation You may see by this of what singular use are the monuments of Antiquity and the knowledg thereof for the breeding and strengthening of the Christian faith especially the Histories of those times I would not perswade you to bestow much time in the reading of the Fathers in reference to their judgement in matter of Doctrine Gods word is a sufficient Rule and latter times have afforded far better Expositors But in reference to matters of fact for confirming the Miracles mentioned in Scripture and relating the wonderfull providence since I would they were read an hundred times more Not onely the writers of the Church but even the Histories of the enemies and all other antiquities Little do most consider how usefull these are to the Christian faith CHAP. V. The second Argument SECT I. I Come now to my second Argument to prove Scripture to be the word of God And it is this If the Scriptures be neither the invention of Devils nor of men then it can be from none but God But that it is neither of Divels nor meerly of men I shall now prove for I suppose none will question the major proposition First Not from Divels for first they cannot work Miracles to confirm them Secondly It would not stand with Gods Soveraignity over them or with his goodness Wisdome and Faithfulness in governing the world to suffer Satan to make Laws and confirm them with wonders and obtrude them upon the world in the name of God and all this without his disclaiming them or giving the world any notice of the forgery Thirdly Would Satan speak so much for God So seek his Glory as the Scripture doth would he so vilifie and reproach himself and make known himself to be the hatefullest and most miserable of all creatures would he so fully discover his own wiles his Temptations his methods of deceiving and
yet if this be not palpable enough The frequent Apparitions of Satan in several shapes drawing men or frighting them into sin is a discovery undeniable I know many are very incredulous herein and will hardly believe that there have been such apparitions For my own part though I am as suspitious as most in such reports and do believe that most of them are conceits or delusions yet having been very diligently inquisitive in such cases I have received undoubted Testimony of the Truth of such Apparitions some from the mouths of men of undoubted honesty and godliness and some from the report of multitudes of persons who heard or saw Were it fit here to name the persons I could send you to them yet living by whom you would be as fully satisfied as I Houses that have been so frequently haunted with such terrors that the Inhabitants successively have been witnesses of it Luther affirmed of himself that at Coburge he oft times had an apparition of burning Torches the sight whereof did so affright him that he was neer swooning also in his own Garden the devil appeared to him in the likeness of a black Boar but then he made light of it Zozomen in his Ecclesiastical History writes of Appelles a Smith famous in Egypt for working Miracles who in the night while he was at workwas tempted to uncleanness by the devil appearing in the shape of a beautiful woman The like he tels of a strange apparition in Antioch the night before the Sedition against Theodosius Theodorus mentions a fearful sight that appeared to Gennadius Patriarch of Constantinople and the threatning words which it uttered The Writings of Gregory Ambrose Austin Chrysostome Nicephorus c. make frequent mention of apparitions and relate the several stories at large You may read in Lavater de Spectris several other relations of apparitions out of Alexander ab Alexandro Baptista Fulgosius and others Ludovicus Vives lib. 1. de Veritate fidei saith That among the Savages in America nothing is more common then to hear and see Spirits in such shapes both day and night The like do other Writers testifie of those Indians So saith Olaus Magnus of the Islanders Cardanus de Subtilit hath many such Stories So Joh. Manlius in locor Commun collectan cap. de malis spiritibus de satisfactione Yea godly sober Melanchton affirms that he had seen some such Sights or Apparritions himself and many credible persons of his acquaintance have told him that they have not onely seen them but had much talk with Spirits Among the rest he mentions one of his own Aunt who sitting sad at the fire after the death of her husband there appeared to her one in the likeness of her husband and another like a Franciscan Frier the former told her that he was her husband and came to tell her somewhat which was that she must hire some Priests to say certain Masses for him which he earnestly besought her then he took her by the hand promising to do her no harm yet his hand so burned hers that it remained black ever after and so they vanished away Thus writes Melanchton Lavater also himself who hath writ a Book wholly of Apparitions a Learned Godly Protestant Divine tels us that it was then an undeniable thing confirmed by the Testimonies of many honest and credible persons both men and women some alive and some dead that sometime by night and sometime by day have both seen and heard such things some that going to bed had the cloathes plucked off them others had somewhat lying down in the bed with them others hear it walking in the Chamber by them spiting groaning saying they were the souls of such or such persons lately departed that they were in grievous torments and if so many Masses were but said for them or so many Pilgrimages undertaken to the shrine of some Saint they should be delivered These things with meny such more saith Lavater were then frequently and undoubtedly done and that where the doors were fast locked and the room searched that there could be no deceit So Sleidan relates the Story of Crescentius the Popes Legate feared into a deadly sickness by a fearful Apparition in his Chamber Most credible and godly Writers tell us That on June 20. 1484 at a Town called Hammell in Germany the devil took away one hundred and thirty children that were never seen again But I need to say no more of this there is enough written already not onely by Cicogna Delrio Paracelsus c. and others of suspected credit but also by godly and faithful Writers as Lavater Geor. Agricola Olaus Magnus Zanchius Pictorius and many more But you will say Though this prove that there are Devils and that they are enemies to our Happiness yet how doth it prove that there is a future Happiness or Misery for man Answ. Why plainly thus What need Satan by these Apparitions to set up Superstition to draw men to sin if there were no difference between sinners and others hereafter Surely in this life it would be no great displeasure to them for usually the wicked have the most prosperous lives therefore his delusions must needs have respect to another life And that the end of his Apparitions is either to drive men to despaire or to superstition or some sin is evident to all Most of the Papists Idolatry and Wil worship hath either been caused or confirmed by such Apparitions For in former days of darkness they were more common then now How the Order of the Carthusian Friers was founded by Bruno upon the terrible speeches and cries of a dead man you may read in the life of Bruno before his Exposition on Pauls Epistles Such was the Original of All Souls Day and other Holidays as Tritenhemius Petrus de Natalibus l. 10. c. 1. Polyd. Virg. de inv l. 6. c 9. do declare Also praying for the dead praying to Saints Purgatory Merits of good Works Satisfaction Pilgrimages Masses Images Reliques Monastical Vows Auricular Confession and most of the Popish Ceremonies have had their life and strength from these Apparitions and Delusions of the Devil But especially the Cross hath been so magnified hereby that it is grown the commonest remedy to drive away devils of any in the world for many hundred years The Churchyard must have one to keep the devil from the graves of the dead and the Church and almost every Pinacle Window and part of it to keep him thence the childe Baptized must have one to keep him thence the High ways also must have them that he molest not the Traveller yea when morning and evening and in times of danger and in the beginning of any work or duty men must sign themselves with the Cross to keep away devils Insomuch that the learned Doctors do handle it among their profound Questions which makes the devil so afraid of the Cross that he shuns it above all things else So that
this is a lower excellency then Scripture was intended to And thus I have done with this weighty Subject That the Scripture which contains the Promises of our Rest is the certain infallible VVord of God The reason why I have thus digressed and said so much of it is because I was very apprehensive of the great necessity of it and the common neglect of being grounded in it and withall that this is the very heart of my whole Discourse and that if this be doubted of all the rest that I have said will be in vain If men doubt of the Truth they will not regard the goodness And the reason why I have said no more but passed over the most common Arguments is because they are handled in many books already which I advise Christians to be better versed in To the meer English Reader I commend especially these Sir Phil. Mornay Lord du Plessis his Verity of Christian Religion Parsons Book of Resolution Corrected by Bunny the Second Part. Dr. Jackson on the Creed and come forth since I begun this Mr. White of Dorchester Directions for Reading Scripture Mr. John Goodwins Divine Authority of Scripture asserted though some of his Positions I judg unsound yet the Work for the main is commendable Also Read a Book Called A Treatise of Divinity first Part. Written by our honest and faithful Countryman Colonel Edward Leigh a now Member of the House of Commons Also Vrsins Catachism on this Question and Balls Catachism with the Exposition which to those that cannot read larger Treatises is very usefull For the Question How it may be known which books be Canonical I here meddle not with it I think Humane Testimony with the forementioned qualifications must do most in determining that As I begun so I conclude this with an earnest request to Ministers that they would Preach and People that they would study this subject more throughly that their Faith and Obedience may live and flourish while they can prove the Scripture to be the Word of God which contains the Promise of their Everlasting Rest. CHAP. VIII Rest for none but the people of God proved SECT I. IT may here be expected that as I have proved That this Rest remaineth for the people of God so I should now prove that it remaineth onely for them and that the rest of the world shall have no part in it But the Scripture is so full and plain in this that I suppose it needless to those who believe Scripture Christ hath resolved that those who make light of him and the offers of his Grace shall never taste of his Supper And that without holiness none shall see God And that except a man be regenerate and born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God That he that believes not shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him That no unclean person nor covetous nor railer nor drunkard c. shall enter into the Kingdom of Christ and of God Ephes. 5.4 5. That the wicked shall be turned into hell and all they that forget God That all they shall be damned that obey not the Truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes. 2.12 That Christ will come in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power And Christ himself hath opened the very maner of their process in judgment and the sentence of their condemnation to eternal fire prepared for the devil and his Angels Matth. 25. So that here is no Rest for any but the people of God except you will call the intollerable everlasting flames of Hell a Rest. And it were easie to manifest this also by Reason For first Gods Justice requires an inequality of mens state hereafter as there was of their lives here And secondly They that walk not in the way of Rest and use not the means are never like to obtain the End They would not follow Christ in the Regeneration nor accept of Rest upon his conditions they thought him to be too hard a Master and his way too narrow and his Laws too strict They chose the pleasures of sin for a season rather then to suffer affliction with the people of God They would not suffer with Christ that so they might raign with him What they made choise of that they did injoy They had their good things in this life and what they did refuse it is but reason they should want How oft would Christ have gathered them to him and they would not And he useth to make men willing before he save them and not to save them against their wils Therefore will the mouths of the wicked be stopped for ever and all the world shall acknowledg the Justice of God Had the ungodly but returned before their life was expired and been heartily willing to accept of Christ for their Saviour and their King and to be saved by him in his way and upon his most reasonable tearms they might have been saved Object But may not God be better then his Word and save those that he doth not promise to save Answ. But not false of his word in saving those whom he hath said he will not save Mens souls are in a doleful case when they have no hope of Happiness except the Word of God prove false To venture a mans eternal salvation upon Hope that God will be better then his word that is in plain English that the God of Truth will prove a lyer is somewhat beyond stark madness which hath no name bad enough to express it Yet I do believe that the description of Gods people in England and in America must not be the same because as Gods Revelations are not the same so neither is the actual Faith which is required in both the same and as the Written and Positive Laws in the Church were never given them so obedience to those meer Positives is not required of them Whether then the threats against unbelievers be meant of Unbelief privative and positive only and not negative such as is all non-believing that which was never revealed Or whether their believing that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that seek him will serve the turn there Or whether God hath no people there I acknowledg again is yet past my understanding CHAP. IX Whether the Souls departed enjoy this Rest SECT I. I Have but one thing more to clear before I come to the Use of this doctrine And that is Whether this Rest remain till the resurrection before we shall enjoy it Or whether we shall have any possession of it before The Socinians and many others of late among us think that the soul separated from the body is either nothing or at least not capable of happiness or misery Truly if it
to stir against the Lord. O how the reviews of this vvill feed the flames of Hell With vvhat rage vvill these damned wretches curse themselves and say Was damâ—nation vvorth all my cost and pains vvas it not enough that I perished through my negligence and that I sit still vvhile Satan played his game but I must seek so diligently for my own perdiâ—tion Might I not have been damned on free-cost but I must purchase it so dearly I thought I could have been saved without so much ado and could I not have been destroyed without so much ado How wel is all my care and pains and violence now requited Must I work out so laboriously my own damnation vvhen God commanded me to vvork out my Salvation O if I had done as much for Heaven as I did for Hell I had surely had it I cried out of the tedious vvay of Godliness and of the painful course of Duty and Self-denial and yet I could be at a great deal more pains for Satan and for death If I had loved Christ as strongly as I did my pleasures and profits and honors and thought on him as often and sought him as painfully O how happy had I now been But justly do I suffer the flames of Hell who would rather rather buy them so dear then have Heaven on free cost when it was purchased to my hands Thus I have shewed you some of those thoughts which will aggravate the misery of these wretches for ever O that God would perswade thee who readest these words to take up these thoughts now seasonably and soberly for the preventing of that unconceivable calamity that so thou mayest not be forced in despite of thee to take them up in Hell as thy own Tormentor It may be some of these hardened wretches will jest at all this and say How know you what thoughts the damned in Hell will have Ans. First VVhy read but the 16 of Luke and you shall there finde some of their thoughts mentioned Secondly I know their understandings will not be taken from them nor their conscience nor Passions As the Joyes of Heaven are chiefly enjoyed by the Rationall soul in its Rationall actings so also must the pains of Hell be suffered As they will be men still so will they act as men Thirdly Beside Scripture hath plainly foretold us as much that their own thoughts shall accuse them Rom. 2.15 and their hearts condemn them And we see it begun in despairing persons here CHAP. III. They shall lose all things that are comfortable as well as Heaven SECT I. HAving shewed you those considerations which will then aggravate their misery I am next to shew you their Additonall losses which will aggravate it For as Godliness hath the promise both of this life and that which is to come and as God hath said that if we first seek his Kingdom and Righteousness all things else shall be added to us so also are the ungodly threated with the loss both of spiritual and of corporal blessings and because they sought not first Christs Kingdom and righteousness therefore shall they lose both it and that which they did seek and there shall be taken from them even that little which they have If they could but have kept their present enjoyments they would not much have cared for the loss of Heaven let them take it that have more minde of it But catching at the shadow and loosing the substance they now finde that they have lost both and that when they rejected Christ they rejected all things If they had lost and forsaken all for Christ they would have found all again in him for he would have been all in all to them But now they have forsaken Christ for other things they shall lose Christ and that also for which they did forsake him But I will particularly open to you some of their other losses SECT II. FIrst They shall lose their present presumptuous conceit and belief of their Interest in God and of his favour towards them and of their part in the merits and sufferings of Christ. This false Belief doth now support their spirits and defend them from the terrors that else would seiz upon them and fortifie them against the fears of the wrath to come Even as true Faith doth afford the soul a true and grounded support and consolation and enableth us to look to Eternity with undaunted courage So also a false ungrounded Faith doth afford a false ungrounded comfort and abates the trouble of the considerations of Judgment and damnation But alas this is but a palliat salve a deceitful comfort what will ease their trouble when this is gone VVhen they can Believe no longer they will be quieted in minde no longer and rejoyce no longer If a man be neer to the greatest mischief and yet strongly conceit that he is in safety his conceit may make him as cheerfull as if all were well indeed till his misery comes and then both his conceit and comforts vanish An ungrounded perswasion of happiness is a poor cure for reall misery VVhen the mischief comes it will cure the mis-belief but that belief can neither prevent nor cure the mischief If there were no more to make a man happy but to believe that he is so or shall be so happiness would be far commonner then now it is like to be It is a wonder that any man who is not a stranger both to Gospel and Reason should be of the Antinomian faith in this who tell us that faith is but the believing that God loveth us and that our sins are already pardoned through Christ that this is the cheif thing that Ministers should preach that our Ministers preach not Christ because they preach not this that every man ought thus to believe but no man to question his Faith whether he believe truly or not c. But if all men must believe that their sins are pardoned then most of the world must believe a lye And if no man ought to question the truth of his faith then most men shall rest deluded with an ungrounded belief The Scripture commandeth us first to believe for remission of sins before we believe that our sins are remitted If we believe in Christ that is accept him cordially for our Saviour and our King then we shall receive the pardon of sins The truth is we have more ado to Preach down this Antinomian faith then they have to Preach it up and to Preach our people from such a believing then they have to preach them to it I see no need to perswade people so to believe the generality are strong and confident in such a belief already Take a congregation of 5000. persons and how few among them all will you finde that do not believe that their sins are pardoned and that God loves them Especially of the vilest sinners who have least cause to believe it Indeed as it is all the work of those men to perswade
them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels For I was c. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment and the righteous into life eternal What sayest thou now to all this Wilt thou not yet believe If thou wilt not believe Christ I know not whom thou wilt believe and therefore it is in vain to perswade thee any further Only let me tell thee the time is at hand when thou wilt easily believe and that without any preaching or arguing when thou seest the great and terrible day and hearest the condemning sentence past and art thy self thrust down to Hell as Luk. 10.15 then thou shalt believe and never doubt again And do not say but thou wast told so much Surely he that so much disswades thee from believing doth yet believe and tremble himself Jam. 2.19 And whereas thou thinkest that God is more merciful why sure he knowes best his own mercifulness His mercy will not cross his Truth Cannot God be infinite in mercy except he save the wilful and rebellious Is a judg unmerciful for condemning malefactors Mercy and Justice have their several objects Thousands of humble believing obedient souls shall know to their eternall comfort that God is merciful though the refusers of his grace shall lye under Justice God will then force thy conscience to confess in Hell that God who condemned thee was yet merciful to thee Was it no mercy to be made a reasonable creature And to have Patience endure thy many yeers provocations and wait upon thee from Sermon to Sermon desiring and intreating thy repentance and return Was it no mercy to have the Son of God with all his blood and merits freely offered thee if thou wouldest but have accepted him to govern and to save thee Nay when thou hadst neglected and refused Christ once twice yea a hundred times that God should yet follow thee with invitations from day to day And shalt thou wilfully refuse mercy to the last hour and then cry out that God will not be so unmercifull as to condemn thee Thy conscience will smite thee for this madness and tell thee that God was merciful in all this though such as thou do perish for your wilfulness Yea the sense of the greatness of his mercy will then be a great part of thy torment And whereas thou thinkest the pain to be greater then the offence that is because thou art not a competent Judg Thou knowest what pain is but thou knowest not the thousand part of the evil of sin shall not the righteous Judg of the world do justly Nay it is no more then thou didst chuse thy self Did not God set before thee Life and Death and tell thee If thou wouldest accept of the Government of Christ and renounce thy Lusts that then thou shouldest have eternal Life And if thou wouldest not have Christ but the World or Flesh to rule over thee thou shouldest then endure eternal torments Did not he offer thee thy choice and bid thee take which of these thou wouldest yea and intreat thee to chuse aright And dost thou now cry out of Severity when thou hast but the consequents of thy wilful choice But it is not thy accusing God of cruelty that shall serve thy turn in stead of procuring thy escape or the mitigation of thy torments it will but make thy burthen the more heavy And whereas thou saist that thou wouldest not so torment thy own enemy I Answ. There is no Reason that thou shouldest For is it all one to offend a crawling Worm of the earth and to offend the eternal glorious God Thou hast no absolute dominion over thine enemy and there may be some fault in thy self as well as in him but with God and us the case is contrary Yet thou makest nothing of killing a Flea if it do but bite thee yea a hundred of them though they did not touch thee and yet never accusest thy self of cruelty Yea thou wilt torment thy Ox all his life time with toilsome labor and kill him at the last though he never deserved ill of thee nor disobeyed thee though thou hast over him but the borrowed authority of a superiour fellow creature and not the soveraign power of the absolute Creator Yea How commonly dost thou take away the lives of Birds and Beasts and Fishes Many times a great many of lives must be taken away to make for thee but one meal How many deaths then have been suffered in obedience to thy will from thy first Age to thy last hour and all this without any desert of the creature And must it yet seem cruelty that the Soveraign Creator who is ten thousand times more above thee then thou art above a Flea or a Toad should execute his Justice upon such a contemner of his Authority But I have given you some Reasons of this before SECT X. BUt methinks I perceive the obstinate sinner desperately resolving If I must be damned there is no remedy rather then I will live so precisely as the Scripture requireth I will put it to the venture I shall scape as well as the rest of my neighbours and as the most of the world and we will even bear it as well as we can Answ. Alas poor creature would thou didst but know what it is that thou dost so boldly venture on I dare say thou wouldest sleep this night but very unquietly Wilt thou leave thy self no room for Hope Art thou such a malicious implacable enemy to Christ and thy own soul And dost thou think indeed that thou canst bear the wrath of God and go away so easily with these eternal Torments Yet let me beg this of thee that before thou dost so flatly resolve thou wouldest lend me thine attention to these few Questions which I shall put to thee and weigh them with the reason of a man and if then thou think thou canst bear these pains I shall give thee over and say no more 1. Who art thou that thou shouldest bear the wrath of God Art thou a God or art thou a man what is thy strength to undergo so much Is it not as the strength of Wax or Stubble to resist the Fire or as Chaffe to the Winde or as the Dust before the fierce Whirlwinde Was he not as stout a man as thy self who cryed to God Job 13.25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble and he that confesseth I am a worm and no man Psal 22.6 If thy strength were as iron and thy bones as brass thou couldest not bear If thy foundation were as the Earth and thy power as the Heavens yet shouldest thou perish at the breath of his Indignation How much more when thou art but a little piece of warm creeping breathing Clay kept a few days from stinking and from being eaten with Worms by the meer support and favor of him whom thou thus resistest
sincerely shall be Justified and Saved there is requisite in us 1. A Certainty of Knowledg That such a Proposition is written in Scripture 2. A Certainty of Assent or Faith That this Scripture is the Word of God and True Also in respect of the Minor Proposition But I do sincerely Believe or Love c. there is requisite 1. A Certainty of the Truth of our Faith in point of Being 2. And a Certainty of its Truth in point of Morality or Congruence with the Rule or its Right-being And then followeth Assurance which is the Certainty that the Conclusion Therefore I am Justified c. followeth necessarily upon the former Premises Here also you must carefully distinguish betwixt the several degrees of Assurance All Assurance is not of the highest degree It differs in strength according to the different degrees of Apprehension in all the forementioned Points of Certainty which are necessary thereunto He that can truly raise the foresaid Conclusion That he is Justified c. from the Premises hath some degree of Assurance though he do it with much weakness and staggering and doubting The weakness of our Assurance in any one point of the premises will accordingly weaken our Assurance in the Conclusion Some when they speak of Certainty of Salvation do mean only such a Certainty as excludeth all doubting and think nothing else can be called Certainty but this high degree Perhaps some Papists mean this when they deny a Certainty Some also maintain That Saint Paul's Plerophory or full Assurance is this Highest degree of Assurance and that some Christians do in this life attain to it But Paul calls it Full Assurance in comparison of lower degrees and not because it is perfect For if Assurance be perfect then also our Certainty of Knowledg Faith and Sense in the â—â—â—mises must be perfect And if some Grace perfect why not all and so we turn Novatians Catharists Perfectionists Perhaps in some their Certainty may be so great that it may overcome all sensible doubting or sensible stirrings of Unbelief by reason of the sweet and powerful Acts and Effects of that Certainty And yet it doth not overcome all Unbelief and Uncertainty so as to expel or nullifie them but a certain measure of them remaineth still Even as when you would heat cold water by the mixture of hot you may pour in the hot so long till no coldness is felt and yet the water may be far from the highest degree of heat So faith may suppress the sensible stirrings of unbelief and Certainty prevail against all the trouble of uncertainty and yet be far from the highest degree So that by this which is said you may Answer the Question What Certainty is to be attained in this Life and what Certainty it is that we press men to labour for and expect Furthermore you must be sure to distinguish betwixt Assurance it self and the Joy and Strength and other sweet Effects which follow Assurance or which immediately accompany it It is possible that there may be Assurance and yet no comfort or little There are many unskilful but self-conceited Disputers of late fitter to manage a club then an Argument who tell us That it must be the Spirit that must Assure us of our Salvation and not our Marks and Evidences of Grace That our comfort must not be taken from any thing in our selves That our Justification must be immediately believed and not proved by our Signs or Sanctification c. Of these in order 1. It is as wise a Question to ask Whether our Assurance come from the Spirit or our Evidences or our Faith c as to ask whether it be our meat or our stomack or our teeth or our hands that feed us Or whether it be our Eye-sight or the Sun-light by which we see things They are distinct Causes all necessary to the producing of the same Effect So that by what hath bin said you may discern That the Spirit and Knowledg and Faith and Scripture inward Holines and Reason and inward Sense or Conscience have all several parts and necessary uses in producing our Assurances which I will shew you distinctly 1. To the Spirit belong these particulars 1. He hath indited those Scriptures which contain the promise of our Pardon and Salvation 2. He giveth us the habit or power of Believing 3. He helpeth us also to Believe Actually That the Word is true and to receive Christ and the priviledges offered in the promise 4. He worketh in us those Graces and exciteth those Gracious Acts within us which are the Evidences or Marks of our interest pardon and Life He helpeth us to perform those Acts which God hath made to be the Condition of Pardon and Glory 5. He helpeth us to feel and discover these Acts in our selves 6. He helpeth us to compare them with the Rule and finding out their qualifications to Judg of their Sincerity and Acceptation with God 7. He helpeth our Reason to Conclude rightly of our State from our Acts. 8. He enliveneth and heighteneth our Apprehension in these particulars that our Assurance may accordingly be strong and lively 9. He exciteth our Joy and filleth with comfort when he pleaseth upon this Assurance None of all these could we perform well of our selves 2. The Part which the Scripture hath in this Work is 1. It affordeth us the Major Proposition That whosoever Believeth Sincerely shall be saved 2. It is the Rule by which our Acts must be tryed that we may Judg of their Moral Truth 3. The Part that Knowledg hath in it is to Know that the foresaid Proposition is written in Scripture 4. The Work of Faith is to Believe the Truth of that Scripture and to be the matter of one of our chief Evidences 5. Our Holiness and true Faith as they are Marks and Evidences are the very Medium of our Argument from which we Conclude 6. Our Conscience and internal Sense do acquaint us with both the Being and Qualifications of our inward Acts which are this Medium and which are called Marks 7. Our Reason or Discourse is Necessary to form the Argument and raise the Conclusion from the Premises and to compare our Acts with the Rule and Judg of their Sincerity c. So that you see our Assurance is not an Effect of any one single Cause alone And so neither meerly of Faith by Signs or by the Spirit From all this you may gather 1. What the Seal of the Spirit is to wit the Works or fruits of the Spirit in us 2. What the testimony of the Spirit is for if it be not some of the forementioned Acts I yet know it not 3. What the Testimony of Conscience is And if I be not mistaken the Testimony of the Spirit and the Testimony of Conscience are two concurrent Testimonies or Causes to produce one and the same Effect and to afford the Premises to the same Conclusion and then to raise our Joy thereupon So
that they may well be said to Witness Together Not one laying down the intire Conclusion of it self That we are the Children of God and then the other attesting the same entirely again of it self But as concurrent Causes to the same Numerical Conclusion But this with Submission to better Judgments and further Search By this also you may see that the common distinction of Certainty of Adherence and Certainty of Evidence must be taken with a grain or two of salt For there is no Certainty without Evidence no more then there is a Conclusion without a Medium A small degree of Certainty hath some small glimpse of Evidence Indeed 1. the Assent to the truth of the promise 2. and the Acceptation of Christ offered with his benefits are both before and without any sight or consideration of Evidence and are themselves our best Evidence being that Faith which is the Condition of our Justification But before any man can in the least Assurance conclude that he is the Child of God and Justified he must have some Assurance of that Mark or Evidence For who can conclude Absolutely that he shall receive the thing contained in a Conditional Promise till he know that he hath performed the Condition For those that say There is no Condition to the New Covenant I think them not worthy a word of confutation And for their Assertion That we are bound immediately to Believe that we are Justified and in special Favour with God It is such as no man of competent knowledg in the Scripture and belief of its truth can once imagine For if every man must believe this then most must believe a lye for they never shall be Justified yea all must at first believe a lye for they are not Justified till they believe and the believing that they are Justified is not the faith which Justifieth them If only some men must believe this how shall it be known who they be The truth is That we are Justified is not properly to be Believed at all For nothing is to be Believed which is not written but it is no where written that you or I are Justified only one of those premises is written from whence we may draw the Conclusion That we are Justified if so be that our own hearts do afford us the other of the Premises So that Our Actual Justification is not a matter of meer Faith but a Conclusion from Faith and Conscience together If God have no where promised to any man Justification immediately without Condition then no man can so believe it but God hath no where promised it Absolutely therefore c. Nor hath he declared to any man that is not first a Believer that he loveth him with any more then a common love Therefore no more can be believed but a common love to any such For the Eternal Love and Election is manifest to no man before he is a Believer SECT V. 2. HAving thus shewed you what Examination is and what Assurance is I come to the second thing promised To shew you That such an Infallible Certainty of Salvation may be attained and ought to be laboured for though a Perfect Certainty cannot here be attained And that Examination is the means to attain it In which I shall be the briefer because many writers against the Papists on this point have said enough already Yet somewhat I will say 1. because it is the common conceit of the Ignorant Vulgar That an Infallible Certainty cannot be attained 2. and many have taught and printed That it is only the Testimony of the Spirit that can assure us and that this proving our Justification by our Sanctification and searching after Marks and Signs in our selves for the procuring of Assurance is a dangerous and deceitful way Thus we have the Papists the Antinomians and the ignorant Vulgar conspiring against this doctrine of Assurance and Examination Which I maintain against them by these Arguments 1. Scripture tells us we may know that the Saints before us have known their Justification and future Salvation 2 Cor. 5.1 Rom. 8.36 Joh. 21.15 1 Joh. 5.19 4.13 3.14 24. 2.3 5. Rom. 8.15 16 36. Ephes. 3.12 I refer you to the places for brevity 2. If we may be certain of the Premises then may we also be certain of the undenyable Conclusion of them But here we may be certain of both the Premises For 1. That whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish but shall have everlasting life is the voyce of the Gospel and therefore that we may be sure of That we are such Believers may be known by Conscience and internal Sense I know all the question is in this Whether the Moral Truth or Sincerity of our Faith and other Graces can be known thus or not And that it may I prove thus 1. From the natural use of this Conscience and internal Sense which is to acquaint us not only with the Being but the Qualifications of the Acts of our Souls All voluntary Motions are Sensible And though the heart is so deceitful that no man can certainly know the heart of another and with much difficulty clearly know their own yet by diligent observation and examination known they may be for though our inward Sense and Conscience may be depraved yet not extirpated or quite â—â—â—â—inguished 2. The Commands of Believing Repenting c. were in Vain especially as the Condition of the Covenant if we could not know whether we perform them or not 3. The Scripture would never make such a wide difference between the Godly and the Wicked the Children of God and the Children of the Devil and set forth the happiness of the one and the misery of the other so largely and make this Difference to run through all the veins of its doctrine if a man cannot know which of these two estates he is in 4. Much less would the Holy Ghost urge us to give all diligence to make our Calling and Election sure if it could not be done 2 Pet. 1.10 And that this is not meant of Objective Certainty but of Subjective appeareth in this That the Apostle mentioneth not Salvation or any thing to come but Calling and Election which to Believers were Objectively Certain before as being both past 5. And to what purpose should we be so earnestly urged to examine and prove and try our selves Whether we be in the Faith and whether Christ be in us or we be Reprobates 1 Cor. 11.28 and 2 Cor. 13.5 Why should we search for that which cannot be found 6. How can we obey those precepts which require us to Rejoyce always 1 Thes. 5.16 to call God our Father Luk. 11.2 to live in his Praises Psal. 49.1 2 3 4 5. and to long for Christs Coming Rev. 22.17 20. 1 Thes. 1.10 and to comfort our selves with the mention of it 1 Thes. 4.18 which are all the Consequents of Assurance Who can do any of these heartily that is not
dare search no further for fear of being counted a Novellist or Heretick or lest he bear their curse for adding to or taking from the common conceits So that Divinity is become an easier study then heretofore We are already at a Neplus ultra It seemeth vain when we know the opinions in credit to search any further We have then nothing to do but easily to study for popular Sermons nor is it safe so much as to make them our own by looking into and examining their grounds lest in so doing we should be forced to a dissent So that Scholars may easily be drawn to think that it is better to be at a venture of the common belief which may be with ease then to weary and spend themselves in tedious studies when they are sure beforehand of no better reward from men then the reputation of Hereticks Which is the lot of all that go out of the common rode So that who will hereafter look after any more truth then is known and in credit except it be some one that is so taken with admiration of it as to cast all his reputation overboard rather then make shipwrack of his self-prized Merchandize Yet most wonderful is it that my Christian especially so many godly Ministers should arrogate to themselves the high prerogatives of God! viz. to be the Rule and Standard of Truth I know they will say that Scripture is the Rule but when they must be the peremtory Judges of the sense of that Scripture so that in the hardest controversies none must swarve from their sense upon pain of being branded with Heresie or error what is this but to be the Judges themselves and Scripture but their servant The final ful decisive interpretation of Lawes belongeth to none but the Lawmakers themselves For who can know another mans meaning beyond his expressions but himself And yet it increaseth my wondering that these Divines have not forgotten the late arrogancy of the prelates in the same kinde under which some few of themselves did suffer Nor yet how constantly our Divines that write against the Papists do disclaim any such living final decisive Judge of controvesies but make Scripture the only Judg O what mischief hath the Church of Christ suffered by the enlarging of her Creed While it contained but twelve Articles believers were plain and peaceable and honest But a Christian now is not the samâ— thing as then Our heads shall swell so big like children that have the rickets that all the body fares the worse for it Every new Article that was added to the Creed was a new engine to stretch the brains of believers and in the issue to â—end out the bowels of the Church It never went so well with the Church since it begun as Erasmus saith of the times of the Nicene counsel reâ— ingâ—niosam fore Christianum esse to be a matter of so much wit and cunning to be a Christian. Not but that all our wit should be here imployed and controversies of difficulty may be debated but when the decision of these must be put into our Creed and a man must be of the faith that the Church is of it goes hard Me thinks I could read Aquinas or Scotus or Bellarmine with profit ut Philosophiam et Theologiam liberam but when I most make them all parts of my Creed and subscribe to all they say or else be no Catholick this is hard dealing I know now we have no Spanish inquisition to fire us from the truth But as Crynâ—us was wont to say Fontifici Romano Erasmum plus nocuiss◠〈◊〉 quam Lutherum stomachando so some mens reproaches may do more then other mens persecutions And it is not the least aggravation of these mens arrogancie that they are most violent in the points that they have least studyed or which they are most ignorant in Yea and that their cruel reproaches are usually so incessant that where they once fasten they scarce â—ver loose again having learned the old lesson to be sure to accuse boldly for the scarre will remain when the wound is healed Yea some will not spare the same of the dead but when their souls have the happiness of Saints with God their names must have the stain of Heresie with men More ingenuity had Charles the Emperor when the Spanish souldiers would have digged up the bones of Luther Sinite ipsum inquit quiescere ad diem resurrectionis et judicium omnium c. Let him rest saith he till the resurrection and the final Judgment if he were a Heretick he shall have as severe a Judg as you can desire These are the extreams which poor England groaneth under And is there no remedy Besides the God of Peace there is no remedy Peace is fled from mens Principles and Judgments and therefore it is a stranger to their Affections and practises no wonder then if it be a stranger in the Land both in Church and State If either of the forementioned extreams be the way to Peace we may have it or else where is the man that seeketh after it But I remember Luthers Oracle and fear it is now to be verified Hâ—c perdent Religionem Christianam 1. Oblivio beneficiorum ab Evangelio acceptorum 2. Securitas quae jam passim ubique regnat 3. Sapientia mundi quae vult omnia redigere in ordinem impiis mediis Ecclesiae paci consulere Three things will destroy the Christian Religion First Forgetfulness of the benefits we received by the Gospel Secondly Security Thirdly The wisdom of the world which will needs reduce all into Order and look to the Churches peace by ungodly means The zeal of my spirit after Peace hath made me digress here further then I intended But the sum and scope of all my speech is this Let every conscionable Minister study equally for Peace and Truth as knowing that they dwell both together in the golden mean and not at such a distance as most Hotspurs do imagine and let them believe that they are like to see no more success of their labors then they are so studious of Peace and that all wounds will let out both blood and spirits and both Truth and Godliness is ready to run out at every breach that shall be made among the people or themselves and that the time for the Pastures of Profession to be green and for the Field of true Godliness to grow ripe for the Harvest and for the Rose of Devotion and Heavenliness to be fragrant and flourish it is not in the blustering stormy tempestuous Winter but in the calm delightful Summer of Peace O what abundance of excellent hopeful fruits of Godliness have I seen blown down before they were ripe by the impetuous windes of wars and other contentions and so have layen troden under foot by Libertinism and sensuality as meat for Swine who else might have been their Masters deligh In a word I never yet saw the Work of the Gospel
If God were not more willing of our company then we are of his how long should we remain thus distant from him And as we had never been sanctified if God had stayed till we were willing so if he should refer it wholly to our selves it would at least be long before we should be glorified I confesse that Death of it self is not desirable but the souls Rest with God is to which death is the common passage And because we are apt to make light of this sin and to plead our common nature for to patronize it let me here set before you its aggravations and also propound some further considerations which may be useful to you and my self against it SECT II. ANd first consider What a deal of gross infidelity doth lurk in the bowels of this sin Either paganish unbelief of the truth of that eternal blessedness and of the truth of the Scripture which doth promise it to us or at least a doubting of our own interest or most usually somewhat of both these And though Christians are usually most sensible of the latter and therefore complain most against it yet I am apt to suspect the former to be the main radicall master sin and of greatest force in this business O if we did but verily believe that the promise of this glory is the word of God and that God doth truly mean as he speaks and is fully resolved to make it good if we did verily believe that there is indeed such blessedness prepared for believers as the Scripture mentioneth sure we should be as impatient of living as we are now fearful of dying and should think every day a yeer till our last day should come We should as hardly refrain from laying violent hands on our selvs or from the neglecting of the means of our health and life as we do now from overmuch carefulness and seeking of life by unlawful means If the eloquent oration of a Philosopher concerning the souls immortality and the life to come could make his affected hearer presently to cast himself head long from the rock as impatient of any longer delay what would a serious Christians belief do if Gods Law against self murder did not restrain Is it possible that we can truly believe that death will remove us from misery to such glory and yet be loth to dye If it were the doubts of our own interest which did fear us yet a true belief of the certainty and excellency of this Rest would make us restless till our interest be cleared If a man that is desperately sick to day did believe he should arise sound the next morning or a man to day in despicable poverty had assurance that he should to morrow arise a prince would they be afraid to go to bed Or rather think it the longest day of their lives till that desired night and morning come The truth is though there is much faith and Christianity in our mouths yet there is much infidelity and paganisme in our hearts which is the maine cause that we are so loth to dye SECT III 3. ANd as the weakness of our Faith so also the coldness of our Love is exceedingly discovered by our unwillingness to dye Love doth desire the neerest conjunction the fullest fruition and closest communion Where these desires are absent there is only a naked pretence of Love He that ever felt such a thing as Love working in his brest hath also felt these desires attending it If we love our friend we love his company his presence is comfortable his absence is troublesome when he goes from us we desire his return when he comes to us we entertain him with welcome and gladness when he dyes we mourn and usually over-mourn to be separated from a faithful friend is to us as the renting of a member from our bodyes And would not our desires after God be such if we really loved him Nay should it not be much more then such as he is above all friends most lovely The Lord teach us to look closely to our hearts and take heed of self-deceit in this point For certainly what ever we pretend or conceit if we love either Father Mother Husband Wife Childe Friend Wealth or life more then Christ we are yet none of his sincere Disciples When it comes to the tryall the question will not be Who hath preached most or heard most or talked most but who hath loved most when our account is given in Christ will not take Sermons Prayers Fastings no nor the giving of our goods nor the burning of our bodies in stead of love 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3 4 8 13. 16.22 Ephes. 6.24 And do we love him and yet care not how long we are from him If I be deprived of my bosom friend me thinks I am as a man in a wilderness solitary and disconsolate And is my absence from God no part of my trouble and yet can I take him for my chiefest friend If I delight but in some Garden or Walk or Gallery I would be much in it If I love my Books I am much with them and almost unweariedly poaring on them The food which I love I would often feed on the clothes that I love I would often wear the recreations which I love I would often use them the business which I love I would be much employed in And can I love God and that above all these and yet have no desires to be with him Is it not a far likelier sign of hatred then of love when the thoughts of our appearing before God are our most grievous thoughts and when we take our selves as undone because we must die and come unto him Surely I should scarce take him for an unfeigned friend who were as well contented to be absent from me as we ordinarily are to be absent from God Was it such a joy to Jacob to see the face of Joseph in Egypt and shall we so dread the sight of Christ in glory and yet say we love him I dare not conclude that we have no love at all when we are so loth to die But I dare say were our love more we should die more willingly Yea I dare say Did we love God but as strongly as a worldling loves his wealth or an ambitious man his honor or a voluptuous man his pleasure yea as a drunkard loves his swinish delight or an unclean person his bruitish lust We should not then be so exceeding loth to leave the world and go to God O if this holy flame of love were throughly kindled in our brests in stead of our pressing fears our dolorous complaints and earnest prayers against death we should joyn in Davids Wilderness-lamentations Psal. 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God The truth is As our knowledg of God is exceeding
or the frequency of the understandings apprehensions this Truth doth make a deeper impression so is longer retained which impâ—â—ssion and retention we call memory And as truth is thus variously presented to the understanding and received by it so also is the goodness of the object variously represented to the will which doth accordingly put forth its various acts When it appeareth only as good in it self and not good for us or suitable it is not the object of the will at all but only this Enuntiation It is good is passed upon it by the Judgment and withal it raiseth an admiration at its excellency If it appeare evil to us then we Nill it But if it appear both good in it self and to us or suitable then it provoketh the affection of Love If the good thus loved do appear as absent from us then it exciteth the passion of Desire If the good so Loved and Desired do appear possible and feasible in the attaining then it exciteth the passion of Hope which is a compound of Desire and Expectation when we look upon it as requiring our endeavor to attain it and as it is to be had in a prescribed way then it provokes the passion of courage or boldness and concludes in resolution Lastly if this good be apprehended as present then it provoketh to delight or Joy If the thing it self be present the Joy is greatest If but the Idea of it either through the remainder or memory of the good that is past or through the fore-apprehension of that which we expect yet even this also exciteth our Joy And this Joy is the perfection of all the rest SECT II. SO that by this time I suppose you see both what are the objects that must move our affections and what powers of the soul apprehend these objects you see also I doubt not what affections you must excite and in what order it is to be done Yet for your better assistance I will more fully direct you in the several particulars 1. Then you must by cogitation go to the memory which is the Magazine or Treasury of the understanding thence you must take forth those heavenly doctrines which you intend to make the subject of your Meditation for the present purpose you may look over any promise of eternal life in the Gospel any description of the glory of the Saints or the very Articles of the Resurrection of the body and the Life everlasting some one sentence concerning those Eternal Joyes may afford you matter for many yeers Meditation yet it will be a point of our wisdom here to have always a stock of matter in our memory that so when we should use it we may bring forth out of our treasury things new and old For a good man hath a good Treasury in his heart from whence he bringeth forth good things Luke 6.45 and out of this abundance of his heart he should speak to himself as well as to others Yea if we took things in order and observed some Method in respect of the matter and did Meditate first on one Truth concerning Eternity and then another it would not be amiss And if any should be barren of Matter through weakness of memory they may have notes or books of this subject for their furtherance SECT III. 2. WHen you have fetcht from your memory the matter of your Meditation your next work is to present it to your Judgment open there the case as fully as thou canst set forth the several ornaments of the Crown the several dignities belonging to the Kingdom as they are partly laid open in the beginning of this Book Let judgment deliberately view them over and take as exact a survey as it can Then put the question and require a determination Is there happiness in all this or not Is not here enough to make me blessed Can he want any thing who fully possesseth God Is there any thing higher for a creature to attain Thus urge thy judgment to pass an upright sentence and compel it to subscribe to the perfection of thy Celestial happiness and to leave this sentence as under its hand upon Record If thy senses should here begin to mutter and to put in a word for fleshly pleasure or profits let judgment hear what each can say weigh the Arguments of the world and flesh in one end and the Arguments for the preheminence of Glory in the other end and judg impartially which should be preferred Try whether there be any comparison to be made which is more excellent which more manly which is more satisfactory and which more pure which freeth most from misery and advanceth us highest and which dost thou think is of longer continuance Thus let deliberate judgment decide it and let not Flesh carry it by noise and by violence And when the sentence is passed and recorded in thy heart it will be ready at hand to be produced upon any occasion and to silence the flesh in its next attempt and to disgrace the world in its next competition Thus exercise thy Judgment in the contemplation of thy Rest thus Magnifie and Advance the Lord in thy heart till a holy admiration hath possessed thy Soul SECT IV. 3. BUt the great work which you may either promise or subjoyn to this as you please is To exercise thy belief of the truth of thy Rest And that both in respect of the truth of the Promise and also the truth of thy own Interest and Title As unbelief doth cause the languishing of all our Graces so Faith would do much to revive and actuate them if it were but revived and actuated it self Especially our belief of the verity of the Scripture I conceive as needful to be exercised and confirmed as almost any point of Faith But of this I have spoken in the Second Part of this Book whither I refer thee for some confirming Arguments Though few complain of their not believing Scripture yet I conceive it to be the commonest part of unbelief and the very root of bitterness which spoileth our Graces Perhaps thou hast not a positive belief of the contrary nor dost not flatly think that Scripture is not the Word of God that were to be a down-right Infidel indeed And yet thou maist have but little belief that Scripture is Gods Word and that both in regard of the habit and the act It s one thing not to beleeve Scripture to be true and another thing positively to beleeve it to be false Faith may be idle and suspend its exercise toward the Truth though it do not yet act against the Truth It may stand still when it goes not out of the way it may be asleep and do you little service though it do not directly fight against you Besides a great deal of unbelief may consist with a small degree of Faith If we did soundly beleeve That there is such a Glory that within a few days our eyes shall behold it O what passions would it
the drawn sword of his displeasure or at least overtake me to my grief at last But is he against the obeying of his own commands is perfect good against any thing but evil doth he bid me seek and will he not assist me in it doth he set me awork and urge me to it and will he after all be against me in it It cannot be And if he be for me who can be against me In the work of sin all things almost are ready to help us and God onely and his Servants are against us and how ill doth that work prosper in our hands But in my course to Heaven almost all things are against me but God is for me and how happily still doth the work succeed Do I set upon this work in my own strength or rather in the strength of Christ my Lord And cannot I do all things through him that strengthneth me was he ever foiled or subdued by an enemy He hath been assaulted indeed but was he ever conquered Can they take the sheep till they have overcome the Shepherd why then doth my flesh lay open to me the difficulties and urge me so much with the greatness and troubles of the work It is Christ that must answer all these Objections and what are the difficulties that can stay his power Is any thing too hard for the Omnipotent God May not Peter boldly walk on the Sea if Christ do but give the word of command and if he begin to sink is it from the weakness of Christ or the smalness of his Faith The water indeed is but a sinking ground to tread on but if Christ be by and countenance us in it if he be ready to reach us his hand who would draw back for fear of danger Is not Sea and Land alike to him shall I be driven from my God and from my Everlasting Rest as the silly Birds are feared from their food with a man of clouts or a loud noise when I know before there is no danger in it How do I see men daily in these wars adventure upon Armies and Forts and Cannons and cast themselves upon the instruments of death and have not I as fair a prize before me and as much encouragement to adventure as they What do I venture my life is the most and in these prosperous times there is not one of many that ventures that VVhat do I venture on are they not unarmed foes A great hazzard indeed to venture on the hard thoughts of the world or on the scorns and slanders of a wicked tongue Sure these Serpents teeth are out these Vipers are easily shaken into the fire these Adders have no stings these Thorns have lost their prickles As all things below are silly comforters so are they silly toothless enemies Bugbears to frighten fools and children rather then powerful dreadful foes Do I not well deserve to be turned into Hell if the scorns and threats of blinded men if the fear of silly rotten Earth can drive me thither do I not well deserve to be shut out of Heaven if I will be frighted from it with the tongues of sinners Surely my own voice must needs condemn me and my own hand subscribe the sentence and common Reason would say that my damnation were just VVhat if it were Father or Mother or Husband or VVife or the neerest Friend that I have in the world if they may be called Friends that would draw me to damnation should I not run over all that would keep me from Christ VVill their friendship countervail the enmity of God or be any comfort to my condemned soul shall I be yielding and pliable to the desires of men and onely harden my self against the Lord Let men let Angels beseech me upon their knees I will slight their tears I will scorn to stop my course to behold them I will shut mine ears against their cryes Let them flatter or let them frown let them draw forth tongues and swords against me I am resolved to break through in the might of Christ and to look upon them all as naked dust If they would entice me with preferment with the Kingdoms of the world I will no more regard them then the dung of the Earth O Blessed Rest O most unvaluable Glorious State who would sell thee for dreams and shadows who would be enticed or affrighted from thee who would not strive and fight and watch and run and that with violence even to the last breath so he might but have hope at last to obtain thee Surely none but those that know thee not and beleeve not thy glory Thus you see with what kinde of Meditations you may excite your Courage and raise your Resolutions SECT IX 5. THe last Affection to be acted is Joy This is the end of all the Rest Love Desire Hope and Courage do all tend to the raising of our Joy This is so desirable to every man by nature and is so essentially necessary to the constituting of his happiness that I hope I need not say much to perswade you to any thing that would make your life delightful Supposing you therefore already convinced That the pleasures of the flesh are brutish and perishing and that your solid and lasting joy must be from Heaven in stead of perswading I shall proceed in directing Well then by this time if thou hast managed well the former work thou art got within the ken of thy Rest thou believest the Truth of it thou art convinced of the excellency of it thou art faln in Love with it thou longest after it thou hopest for it and thou art resolved couragiously to venture for the obtaining it But is here any work for joy in this we delight in the good which we do possess It s present good that is the object of joy but thou wilt say alas I am yet without it Well but yet think a little further with thy self Though the Real presence do afford the choicest joy yet the presence of its imperfect Idea or image in my understanding may afford me a great deal of true delight Is it nothing to have a deed of gift from God Are his infallible promises no ground of joy Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of entring into the Kingdom Is not my assurance of being glorified one of these dayes a sufficient ground for unexpressible joy Is it no delight to the Heir of a Kingdom to think of what he must hereafter possess though at present he little differ from a servant Am I not commanded to rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 12.12 Here then Reader take thy heart once again as it were by the hand Bring it to the top of the highest Mount if it be possible to some Atlas above the clouds shew it the Kingdom of Christ and the glory of it say to it All this will thy Lord bestow upon thee who hast believed in him and been a worshipper of him It
pride and peevishness and other sins that we could scarce oft-times discern their graces But now how glorious a thing is a Saint where is now their body of sin which wearyed themselves and those about them Where are now our different Judgments our reproachful titles our divided spirits our exasperated passions our strange looks our uncharitable censures Now we are all of one judgment of one name of one heart of one house and of one glory O sweet reconcilement O happy Union which makes us first to be one with Christ and then to be one among our selves Now our differences shall be dashed in our teeth no more nor the Gospel reproached through our folly or scandall O my soul thou shalt never more lament the sufferings of the Saints never more condole the Churches ruines never bewail thy suffering freinds nor lye wailing over their death-beds or their graves Thou shalt never suffer thy old temptations from Satan the vvorld or thy ovvn flesh Thy body vvill no more be such a burden to thee thy pains and sicknesses are all novv cured thou shalt be troubled vvith vveakness and vveariness no more Thy head is not novv an aking head nor thy heart novv an aking heart Thy hunger and thirst and cold and sleep thy labor and study are all gone O vvhat a mighty change is this From the dunghill to the throne from persecuting sinners to praising Saints from a body as vile as the carrion in the ditch to a body as bright as the Sun in the firmament from complainings under the displeasure of God to the perfect enjoyment of him in Love from all my doubts and fears of my condition to this possession vvhich hath put me out of doubt from all my fearful thoughts of death to this most blessed Joyful life O vvhat a blessed change is this Farevvell sin and suffering for ever Farevvell my hard and rocky heart farevvell my proud and unbelieving heart farewell atheistical idolatrous vvorldly heart farewell my sensual carnal heart And novv welcome most holy heavenly nature vvhich as it must be imployed in beholding the face of God so is it full of God alone and delighted in nothing else but him O vvho can question the love vvhich he doth so sweetly taste or doubt of that which with such joy he seeleth Farewell repentance confession and supplication farewel the most of hope and faith and welcome love and joy and praise I shall now have my harvest without plowing or sowing my wine without the labor of the vintage my joy without a Preacher or a promise even all from the face of God himself That 's the sight that 's worth the seeing that 's the book that 's worth the reading What ever mixture is in the streams there is nothing but pure joy in the fountain Here shall I be incircled with Eternity and come forth no more here shall I live and ever live and praise my Lord and ever ever ever praise him My face will not wrinkle nor my haire be gray but this mortal shall have put on immortality and this corruptible incorruption and death shall be swallowed up in victory O death where is now thy sting O grave where is thy victory The date of my lease will no more expire nor shall I trouble my self with thoughts of death nor loose my joyes through fear of losing them When millions of ages are past my glory is but beginning and when millions more are past it is no neerer ending Every day is all noontide and every moneth is May or harvest and every yeer is there a jubilee and every age is full manhood and all this is one Eternity O blessed Eternity the glory of my glory the perfection of my perfection Ah drowsie earthy blockish heart How coldly dost thou think of this reviving day Dost thou sleep when thou thinkest of eternal Rest Art thou hanging earthward when heaven is before thee Hadst thou rather sit thee down in dirt and dung then walk in the court of the Palace of God Dost thou now remember thy worldly business Art thou looking back to the Sodom of thy lusts Art thou thinking of thy delights and merry company wretched heart Is it better to be there then above with God is the company better are the pleasures greater Come away make no excuse make no delay God commands and I command thee come away gird up thy loines ascend the mount and look about thee with seriousness and with faith Look thou not back upon the way of the wilderness except it be when thine eyes are dazled with the glory or when thou wouldst compare the Kingdom with that howling desert that thou mayest more sensibly perceive the mighty difference Fix thine eye upon the Sun it self and look not down to Earth as long as thou art able to behold it except it be to discern more easily the brightness of the one by the darkness of the other Yonder far above yonder is thy Fathers glory yonder must thou dwell when thou leavest this Earth yonder must thou remove O my soul when thou departest from this body And when the power of thy Lord hath raised it again and joyned thee to it yonder must thou live with God for ever There is the glorious New Jerusalem the Gates of Pearl the foundations of Pearl the Streets and Pavements of transparent Gold Seest thou that Sun which lighteth all this world why it must be taken down as useless there or the glory of Heaven will darken it and put it out even thy self shall be as bright as yonder shining Sun God will be the Sun and Christ the Light and in his Light shalt thou have light What thinkest thou O my soul of this most blessed state What! Dost thou stagger at the Promise of God through unbelief Though thou say nothing or profess belief yet thou speakest so coldly and so customarily that I much suspect thee I know thy infidelity is thy natural vice Didst thou beleeve indeed thou wouldst be more affected with it Why hast thou not it under the hand and seal and oath of God Can God lie or he that is the Truth it self be false Foolish wretch What need hath God to flatter thee or deceive thee why should he promise thee more then he will perform Art thou not his Creature a little crum of dust a scrawling worm ten thousand times more below him then this flie or worm is below thee wouldst thou flatter a flea or a worm what need hast thou of them If they do not please thee thou wilt crush them dead and never accuse thy self of cruelty Why yet they are thy Fellow Creatures made of as good mettal as thy self and thou hast no Authority over them but what thou hast received How much less need hath God of thee or why should he care if thou perish in thy folly Cannot he govern thee without either flattery or falshood cannot he easily make thee obey his will and as easily make thee suffer
4. punct 4. * That it is not properly any act of faith at all much less the Justifying Act to Believe that my sins are pardoned or that Christ dyed in a special sence for Me or that I am a Believer or that I shall be saved Besides what I have said in the Appendix to my Aphorisms of Justification I refer you for satisfaction to Judicious Mr Anth Wotton de Reconciliat Part. 1. Lib. 2. Cap. 15. N. 3 4 5 6 7 8. Pag. 87 88 89 90 c. * I use the word Evidence all along in the vulgar sence as the same with Signs and not in the proper sence as the Schools do * Therefore that saying of Cajetane is not so much to be valued as by some of our Divines it is Certitudine fidei quilibet scit certo se habere donum infusum fidei idque absque formidine alterius partis Except he take Certitudo fidei in a very large improper sence * Read Gataker Shadows without Substances pag. 83 84. * The distinction in the Schools used of Certitudo fidei Certitudo Evidentiae I deny not But that hath a quite different sence from this as it is used * Therefore I say not that our first Comfort much less our Justification is procured by the sight of Evidences But our Assurance is * Their common Error That Justifying faith is nothing else but a perswasion more or less of the Love of God to us is the Root of this and many more mistakes To Justifie us and to Assure us that we are Justified are quite different things and procured by different ways and at several times usually Vid. Aquin. ad 1. Sent. dist 17. art 1.2 3. q. 112. Scotum ad 3. Sent. dis 23. q. unicâ Bonavent 1. Sent. q. 17. Biel in 2. Sent. dist 27. q. 3. §. 5. * Yet I believe that their divines have some of them made the difference betwixt us and the Papists seem wider then it is as do these words of one of them Ex hoc unico articulo quantumvis minutus a plerisque reputari queat universus Papatus Lutheranismus dependet Martinus Eisengrenius initio Apolog. de Cert Salv. And so have some of our Divines on the other side as Luther in Gen. 41. Etiamsi nihil preterea peccatum esset in doctrina pontificia just as habemus causas cur ab ecclesia infideli nos sejungeremus §. 6. Hindrances of Examination 1. Satan Judg. 4.19 21. Judg. 16.21 §. 7. Read on thâ—s Subject Mr. Young his Books which handle it fully Luke 13.24 2 Cor. 13.5 2 Pet. 1.10 1 King 22.5 6 §. 8. * Or as Mr. Saltmarsh saith every man is bound to believe but no man to Question whether he believe or no. p. 92 93 And this Faith he saith is a being perswaded more or less of Christs love p. 94. So that by this Doctrine every man is bound to believe that Christ loveth him and not to question his belief If it were only Christs common love he might thus believe it but a special love to him is no where written §. 9. Hinderances which keep many that do Examine from attaining strong Assurance cause many to be deâ—ceived Mat. 19.20 §. 10. Some further Hinderances which keep some Christians without Assurance and Comfort Remedy §. 11. You sit poreing â— searching for pillers of hope within you be-bestow much pains to answer your own fears but the ready way to make the business clear is by going to Christ. Stand not so much upon this Question Whether you have believ'd in truth or no but put al out of doubt by a present faith The door is open enter live You may more easily build a new fabrick of comfort by 〈…〉 then repair your old dwâ—lling and clear all suits that are brought against your tenure Simonds Deserted Soul pag. 554. Flowings of Christs Blood c. pag. 95. §. 12. Mr Paul Bayne I think one of the holiest choicest men that ever England bred yet describeth the temper of his spirit thus I thank God in Christ sustentation I have but Su vâ—ties Spiritual I taste not any In his Letters §. 13. In watchfulness and dâ—ligence we sooner meet with comfort then in idle complaining Our Care therefore should be to get sound Evidence of a good estate then to keep those Evidences clear Dâ— Sibbs Preface to Souls Conflict As if a poor man should complain for want of money when a chest full stands by him and he may take what he wil Is it not better take it out then lie complaining for want §. 14. God wil keep the rich store of consistent and abiding comforts till the great day that when all the family shall come together he may pour out the fulness of his hidden treasures on them We are now in the morning of the day the feast is to come a breakefast must serve to stay the stomack till the King of Saints with all his friends sit down together Simonds Deserted Soul pag. 507. §. 15. So some think they are Gods people because they are of such a party or such a strict opinion and when they change their opinion they change their comfort Some that could have no comfort while they were among the Orthodox as soon as they have turned to such or such a Sect have comfort in abundance partly through Satans delusion and partly because they think their change in Opinion hath set them right with God and therefore they rejoyce So many Hypocrites whose Religion lieth only in their Opinions hâ—ve their Comfort also only there §. 16. §. 17. When men dally with sin and will be playing with snares and baits allow a secret liberty in the heart to sin conniving at many workings of it and not setting upon mortification with earnest endeavors though they be convinced yet they are not perswaded to arise with all their might against the Lords enemies but do his work negligently which is an accursed thing for this God casteth them upon sore straits Simonds Deserted Soul c. pag. 521.522 Some would have men after the committing of gross sin to be presently comfortable and believe without humbling themselves at all Indeed when we are once in Christ we ought not to question our state in him c. But yet a guilty conscience will be clamorous and full of Objections and God will not speak peace to it till it be humbled God will let his best children know what it is to be too bold with sin c. Dr Sibbs Souls Conflict Preface §. 18. See Dr Sibs Souls Conflict pag. 480 481. ☜ Souls Conflict pag. 480 481. Men experimentally feel that comfort in doing that which belongs unto them which before they longed for and went without Dr Sibbs Souls Conflict pag. 45. * Preface to Souls Conflict §. 19. Non est mirum si â—imenâ— Melancholici quia causam timoris continuo secum portant Anima enim estiâ—voluta cum caligine tenebrosa et