and strength of our affections with all my strength bee a man what hee will be if hee bee a Magistrate with the strength of his magistracy if he be a minister with the strength of his ministeriall calling in any â—â—ndition I must love him with al that that condition inableth me to For it is a commanding affection and being so it commands all within and without to give content to the person loved it commands the wit to devise and the memorie to retaine good things it commands joy and delight it commands anger to remove hindrances and so all outward actions love commands the doing of all things it sets all on worke It is a most active affection it is like to fire it is compared to it it sets all on worke and commands all that man is able to doe Therefore those that studie not in all their indeavours according to their callings and places according to every thing that God hath intrusted them with to please God and to honour him in their conditions they love not God What a shame is it that when God hath given us such a sweet affection as love that hee should not have our love againe when wee make our selves happy in loving him He is happy in his owne love the father Sonne and holy Ghost but when hee intends to make us happy it is a shame that wee should not bestow our affections upon him Much might bee sayd to this purpose for the triall of our selves whether we love God or no. Let us not then forget these things for it is the command both of the old and new Testament they run both upon love I give you a new Command sayth Christ and yet it is no new command but old and ordinarie But it is commanded now in the Gospell that is it is renewed by new experiments of Gods love in Christ that we should love him as hee hath loved us which is wonderfully that wee should love him and love one another And all this is in this affection as we see when the holy Ghost would set out the disposition and qualification of such as those great things are prepared for that neither eye hath seen nor care heard nor hath entred into the heart of man hee sets it downe by this They are for those that love him FINIS SERMON the fourth 1 COR. 2. 9. As it is written eye hath not seene nore care heard nor hath entred into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him THat which hath already been sayd should force us to begge the Spirit of God to teach the heart to teach us the things themselves the inside of them for a spirituall holy man hath a spirituall knowledge of outward things of the creatures hee fees another manner of thing in the creature then other men doe As another man hath a naturall knowledge of spirituall things so a holy man hath a spirituall knowledge even of the ordinary Workes of God and rayseth and extracts a quintessence out of them that a worldly man cannot see to glorifie God and to buyld up his faith in the sense of Gods favour c. This I adde by the way to that But the highest performance of this that there are things provided for Gods people that neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard c. It is reserved for another World for the promises of the Gospell have then their fulfilling indeed These words are true of the state of the Gospell here now but they have their accomplishment in Heaven for whatsoever is begun here is ended there peace begun here is ended there joy that is begunne here it shal bee ended there Communion of Saints that is begun here it shall be ended there Sanctification that is begun here it shall be ended there so all graces shall be perfect and all promises performed then That is the time indeed when God shall discover things that neither eye hath seene nor eare heard c. In the meane time let us learne to beleive them and to live by faith in them that theâ—e are such things And GOD resetves not all â—or another World but gives his Children a tast of those things before hand to comfort thâ—m in their distresses in this world as indeed there is nothing in this world of greater use and comfort to rayse them then the beginnings of Heaven upon earth a little peace joy in the holy ghost will make a man swallow all the discontents in the world Now God is so far good to us as that he lets us have somâ— drops of these things before hand to rayse up our spirits that by a tast we may know what great things hee hath reserved for us but of these things and the use of them I spake before We came then to speake of the qualificatioÌ„ of the persons For them that love him Not that we love God first and then God prepares these things for us but God prepares them and acquaints us what he meanes to doe with us and then we love him A christian knowes before what title he hath in Christ to Heaven and then he works he knowes Christ hath wrought salvation for him and then he workes out his salvation in a course tending to salvation in a course tending to salvation for there must be working in a course tending to the possession of salvation that CHRIST hath purchased wee must not worke and thinke by it to merit Heaven wee know wee have Heaven and those great things in the Title of Christ and then wee fall on loving and working There is a cleane contrary order betweene us and those mercinaries they invert the order of God for for whom God hath prepared these things hee discovers them to the eye of faith and then faith works by love this I adde by the way Now he sets downe this description of those persons for whom these excellent things are prepared by this affection of love by this grace of love as being the fittest for that purpose to describe a Christian. Faith is not so fit because it is not so discernable we may know our love when wee cannot know our Faith Oft times those that are excellent Christians they doubt whether they beleive or no but aske them whether they love God and his truth and children or no oh yes they doe Now God intending to comfort us sets out such an affection as a Christian may best discerne for of all affections we can discerne best of our love But to come to the affection it selfe there are 3. things in love There is the Affection Passion Grace of love wee speake of the grace here The affection is naturall The passion is the excesse of the naturall affection when it over flowes its bound Grace is the rectifying of the naturall affection and the elevating and raysing it up to a higher object then nature can pitch on The Spirit of God turnes nature into grace and workes corruption and
and glory the heavenly riches the heavenly inheritance the heavenly sonship when all these things vanish and come to nothing then comes in the true Kingdome Sonship and Inheritance Againe 2. wee know them in this world by way of taste for the things of the life to come there are few of them but Gods children have some experimentall taste of them in this world God reserves not all for the life to come but he gives a grape of Canaan in this wildernesse Thirdly by arguing from the lesse to the greater If peace of conscience bee so sweet here what is eternall peace If a litle joy here bee so pleasant and comfortable that it makes us forget our selves what will bee that eternall joy there If the delights of a kingdome bee such that they fill mens hearts so full of contentment that oft-times they know not themselves what shall we think of that excellent kingdom So by way of taste and rellish we may rise from these pettie things to those excellent things which indeed are scarce a beame scarce a drop of those excellencies If Peter and Iohn when they were in the mountain were not their owne men when they saw but a glimpse but a little glorie of Christ manifested in the mount what shal we think when there is the fulnesse of that glorious revelation at the right hand of God where there is fulnesse of pleasures for ever How shall our soules be filled at that time Thus by way of rising from the lesser to the greater by tasting feeling and by divine revelation wee may know in some measure the excellencie of those things prepared for us Now to cleare this thing more fully know that there are three degrees of revelation First there must bee a revelation of the things themselves by word and writing or speech and the like as we know not the minde of a man but either by speech or writing so there must bee a revelation of these things or else the wit of Angels could never have devised how to reconcile Justice and Mercie by infinite wisedome by sending a Mediator to procure peace God-man to worke our salvation Therefore wee could not know them without a revelation and discoverie outward this is the first degree that wee may call Revelation by scripture or by the doctrine of the Gospel Who could discover those things that are meerly supernaturall but God himselfe Then againe 2. when they are revealed by the word of God and by men that have a function to unfold the unsearchable riches of Christ by the ministerie of the Gospell yet notwithstanding they are hidden riddles still to a company of carnall men Put case the vaile be taken off from the things themselves yet if the vaile bee over the soule the understanding will and affections there is no apprehension of them therefore there must bee a second revelation that is by the Spirit of God Ofnecessitie this must bee for even as the Apostle sayth in this Chapter None knoweth the minde of Man but the spirit that is in Man so none knoweth the mind of God but the Spirit of God What is the Gospel without the Spirit of Christ to discover the minde of God to us We know not the good meaning of God to us in particular wee know in generall that such things are revealed in scripture but what is that to us if Christ bee not our Saviour and God our Father unlesse we can say as S. Paul sayth He loved me and gave himselfe for mee Therefore you see a necessitie of revelation by the Spirit But this is not all that is here meant there is 3ly a higher discovery and that is in heaven that that is revealed here is but in part and thereupon if wee believe wee believe but in part and wee love but in part If our knowledge which is the ground of all other graces and affections be imperfect all that followes must needs bee imperfect also Therefore St. Iohn sayth We know that wee are the Sonnes of God but it appeares not what we shall bee What we shall be in heaven it doth not appeare now there must bee a further revelation and that will bee hereafter when our soules shall bee united together with our bodies and then indeed our eyes shall see our ears heare and hearts shall conceive those things that while wee are here in the wombe of the Church wee neither can see nor heare nor understand more than the childe in the wombe of the mother can conceive the excellencies in this civill life Thus we see these truths a little more unfolded I will now adde somewhat to make use of what hath been spoken First of all therefore for matter of instruction if it be so that the things of the Gospell bee such as that without a revelation from God they could not bee knowen then we see that there is no principle at all of the Gospel in nature There is not a sparke of light or any inclination to the Gospell but it is meerly above nature for hee removes here all naturall wayes of knowing the Gospell eye eare understanding therfore the knowledge of it is meerly supernaturall For if God had not revealed it who could ever have devised it And when hee revealed it to discover it by his Spirit it is supernatural but in heaven much more which is the third degree I spake of Therfore by the way you may know the reason why so many heresies have sprung out of the Gospel more than out of he Law the misunderstāding of it There are few or no heresies from that because the principles of the Law are writtē in the heart men naturally know that whoredome and adulterie and filthy living c. are sins men have not so quenched nature but that they know that those things are naught therefore there have been excellent Law-makers amōg the heathens But the Gospel is a meere mystery discoured out of the breast of God without all principles of nature there are thousands of errors that are not to be reckoned about the nature the person the benefits of Christ about justification and sanctification and free will and grace and such things what a world of heresies have proud wits continually started up This would never have beene but that the Gospell is a thing above nature Therefore when a proud wit and supernaturall knowledge revealed meete together the proude heart stormes and loves to struggle and deviseth this thing and that thing to commend it selfe and hereupon comes heresies the mingling of naturall wit with divine truthes If men had had passive wits to submit to divine truthes and to worke nothing out of themselves as the spider out of her own bowells there had not beene such heresies in the Church but their hearts meeting with supernaturall truthes their proud hearts mingling with it they have devised these errours that I note in the first place Then againe if the things that wee
have in the Gospell be such divine truthes above nature altogether Then we must not stand to looke for reason too much nor trust the reason or wit of any man but divine authority herâ— especially For if divine authority cease in the Gospel what were it nothing the law is written in mens hearts but we must trust divine authoritie in the Gospel above al other portions of scripture and not to the wit of any man whatsoever The Church of Rome that is possest with a Spirit of pride and Ignorance and tyranny they will force knowledge on them that be under them from their sole authoritie the Church saith so and wee are the Church and it is not for you to know c. and scriptures are so and so but is the Gospell a supernaturall mysterie above the capacitie of any man and shall we build upon the authoritie of the Church for these truthes oh no! there must bee no forcing of Evangelicall truthes from the authority or parts of any man But these are not things that wee stand in so much need of therefore I hasten to that which is more usefull Eye hath not seene nor eare heard c. Here then we have an use of direction how to carrie our selves in reading and studying holy truths especially the sacred mysteries of the Gospel how shall we study them Wee thinke to breake into them with the engine of our wit and to understand them and never come to God for his spirit God will curse such proud attempts Who â—nowes the things of man but the spirit of a man and who knowes the things of God but the spirit of God Therefore in studying the Gospell let us come with a spirit of faith and a spirit of humility and meeknesse there is no breaking into these things with the strength of parts That hath been the ground of so many heresies as have beene in the Church Only Christ 〈◊〉 the key of David that shutteth and no man openeth and openeth and no man shutteth he hath the key of the Scripture and the key to open the understanding And to presse this poynt a little if eye hath not seene nor eare heard nor hath entred into the heart of man to conceive the things of the Gospell without the revelation of the spirit then we must come with this mind when wee come to heare the things of the Gospell Lord without thy holy spirit they are all as a clasped booke they are hidden mysteries to mee though they be revealed in the Gospell If my heart be shut to them they are all hidden to me Wee see men of excellent parts are enemies to that they teach themselves opposing the power of the Gospell whence is all this because they thinke only the opening of these things makes them divines wheras without the holy Ghost sanctifying and altering the heart in some measure to tast and rellish these things that as they are divine in themselves so to have some what divine in the heart to tast these things it is impossible but that the heart should rise against them and so it doth for when it comes to particulars you must deny your selfe in this honour in this pleasure coÌ„moditie now you must venture the displeasure of man for this and that truth the heart riseth in scorn and loathing of divine truth when it comes to particulars they know nothing as they should For when is truth knowne but when in particulars wee stand for it and will neither betray it nor do any thing that doth not benefit a Christian If we have not the spirit of God to relish truthes in particular they will doe us no good And except the spirit sanctifie the heart of man first by these truthes the truth will never be understood by the proud naturall heart of man Therefore the course that God takes with his children is this those that he meanes to have he first inspires into their hearts some desire to come to heare and attend upon the meanes of salvation to understand the Gospell and then under the means of salvation he shines into the understanding by a heavenly light and inspires into the will and affections some heavenly inclination to this truth of the Gospell to justification sanctification selfe-denyall and the like and workes a new life and new sences and upon them wrought under the meanes comes the soul to relish and to understand these mysteries and then the eares and the eies are open to see these things and never before A holy man that hath his heart subdued by the spirit of God in the use of the meanes oh he relisheth the point of forgivenesse of sins hee relisheth the point of sanctification he studies it daily more and more and nearer communion with God hee relisheth peace of conscience and joy in the holy Ghost they are sweete things and all the duties of Christianity because hee makes it his maine busines to adorne his proâ—ession and to live here so as hee may live for ever hereafter And this must be of necessitie for marke out of the text If the naturall eye and eare and heart can never see nor heare nor conceive the things of God must there not be a supernaturall eare and eye and heart put into the soule must not the heart and all be new molded againe If the former frame bee not sufficient for these things of necessitie it must be so From hence learne to arme your selves against all scandalls when ye see men of parts and account and such there may be men of deepe apprehensions and understanding in the Scripture for matter of notion and for the language of the Scripture exquisite and yet to be proud malicious haters of sanctity next to divells none greater consider what is the reason either they have proud spirits that despise and neglect the meanes of salvation altogether or if they doe come they come as Iudges they will not submit their proud hearts to the sweet motions of the Spirit stumble not at it if such men bee both enemies to that they teach themselves and those that practise it the reason is because their proud hearts were never subdued by the Spirit to understand the things they speake of For such a teacher understands supernaturall things by a naturall light and by humane reason that is to talk and discourse c. but hee sees not Supernaturall things by a supernaturall light divine things by a divine light Therefore a poore soule that heares the things published by him understands them better by the helpe of the Spirit than he that speakes them better indeed for his use and comfort As we see there are some that can measure land exactly but the man that oweth the land measured he knowes the use of the ground and delights in it as his owne the other can tell here is so much ground c. So some Divines they can tell there are such poynts and so they are raysed and they can bee
exquisite in this but what profite have they by it The poore soule that heares these things by the helpe of the Spirit hee can say these are mine as the man for whom the ground is measured As it is with those that come to a Feast the Physitian comes and sayes this is wholsome and good and this is good for this and that but eates nothing others that know not these things they eare the meate and are nourished in the meane time so when such men discourse of this and that a poore man that hath the Spirit he relisheth these things as his owne the other goes away onely discourseth as a Philosopher of the meate and eates nothing And therfore when you read heare these things content not your selves with the first degree of revelation no that is not enough when you have done that desire of God to joyne his Spirit to give you spirituall eyes and hearts that you may close with Divine truths and be divine as the truths are that there may bee a consent of the heart with the truth then the word of God will be sweet indeed Againe here we see this divine truth That a man when he hath the Spirit of God knowes things otherwise than hee did know them before though he did not know them by outward revelation of hearing and reading c. And hee believes them otherwise than he did before he sees them by a new light It is not the same knowledge that an unregenerate man hath with that he hath after when God workes upon his heart for then it is a divine supernatural knowledge And it is not the same faith and beliefe the Spirit of God raiseth a man up in a degree of creatures above other men as other men are above beasts hee gives new eyes new ears a new heart he moulds him anew every way Therefore you have good men somtimes wonder at themselves when God hath touched their hearts that they have had such shallow conceits of this and that truth before Now they see that they were in the darke that they were in a dampe before that they conceived things to be so and so and thought themselves some body but when God opens their eyes and takes away the skales and lets them see things in their proper light heavenly things by a heavenly light and with a heavenly eye they wonder at their former foolishnesse in divinity especially so farre as concernes the Gospell for there is more in the Scripture then pure supernaturall divinity there are many other arts in the Scripture The Gospell I say is a knowledge not of naturall men or great wits but of holy sanctified men Therefore we must not think that these things may be known by nature c. It is a sacred knowledge so much as will bring us to heaven it is a knowledge of holy men that have their hearts brought to love and tast and relish that they know Therefore it is no wonder though a company of men of great partes live naughtily they are no true divines because they have no true knowledge The divell is no divine nor a wicked man properly though hee can discourse of such things yet he is not properly a divine because he knowes not things by a divine light or heavenly things by a heavenly light The knowledge of the Gospell it is a knowledge of sanctified holy men but to come neerer to our practise If eye hath not seene nor eare heard nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive those things that God hath prepared for his Then let us make this the rule of our esteeme of any thing that is good or any thing that is ill make it a rule of valuation The Apostle here you see hath a ranke of things above the sight of the eye or the hearing of the eare or the conceiving of the heart of man if there be such a ranke of things above this then the greatest ills are those that eye hath not seene nor eare heard nor hath entred into the heart of man and indeed they are so Wee grieve at the Ague and at the Stone and the Goute they are grievous things indeed oh but what bee these things that wee feele and see to those in another world that wee cannot apprehend for the greatnesse of them The torments of hell wee cannot conceive and understand them here for it is indeed to bee in hell it selfe to conceive what hell is and therfore when God enlargeth mens spirits to see them they make away themselves And so for the greatest good these goods here this outward glory we can see through it Christ could see through all the glory in the world that the Divell shewed him And these are things that wee can heare of and here the utmost that can be spoken of them therefore surely they are not the greatest good there are more excellent things than they because the eye sees them the eare heares of them and the understanding can conceive of them but there be things that the eye hath not seene nor eare heard not the soule conceived and those bee the joyes of heaven And thereupon to descend to practise if this bee a rule to value things that the best things are transcendent beyond sence and comprehension then shall I for those things that I can see can heare and feele and understand shall I lose those excellent good things thaâ— neither eye hath seen nor eare heard c. Is not this desperate folly to venture the losse of the best things of the most transcendent things that are above the capacitie of the greatest reaches of the world shall I lose all for pettie poore things that are within my owne reach and compasse How foolish therefore are those that are given to pleasures they feele the pleasure indeed but the sting comes after They delight in those ill things that they can heare and heare al that can be spoken of them and never thinke of the excellent things that eye hath not seen nor eare heard c. Let this make us in love with divine truthes in the Scripture with the Gospel that part of the Scripture that promiseth salvation by Christ and all the graces and priviledges of Christianity they are above our reach Wee study other things we can reach them we can reach the mysteries of the Law by long study and the mysteries of physicke and to the mysteries of trades by understanding when men have done all they may be fooles in the maine Solomons fooles they may do al these things and be wise for particular things by particular reaches of that which eie hath seen and eare heard c. and then for the best things that are above the capacitie of men they may die empty of all and goe to the place oâ— the damned To bee wise to Salvation is the best wisdome What a pittifull case is this that God should give us our understandings
is alwaies supposed wheresoever there is love to God and good things there is Gods love first For our love to God is but a reflexion of that love hee beares to us First hee shines on us and then the beames of our love reflect upon him therefore hee need not say whom God loves though that be the cause of all but who love God and know thereby that hee loves them But why for them that love him more than for any other thing Because all can love therefore hee sets downe this affection there is no man living not the poorest Lazar in the world that hath a heart and affections but he can love He doth not say that are prepared for this great Christian and that learned Rabbi no but for all that love him bee they poore or rich great or small all those that love him Therefore hee sets down that to cut off all excuses yea and all that love him bee they never so many are sure to have these great things prepared for them God hath prepared these things for those that love him To come therefore to some observations The first generall thing is this that God dâ—th qualifie all those in this world that he hath prepared heaven and happinesse for in another world The cause of it is his free love but if you aske mee what qualification the persons must have They are such as love him This is not the proper cause why but tâ—e qualification of the persons â—on â—hom these things are There must bee an inward disposition and qualification before wee come to heaven all those that hope for heaven without presumption must have this qualification they must bee such as love him Why The Scripture is plaine 1. No uncleane thing shall enter into heaven No whoremonger or drunkard or filthy person bee not deceived sayth the Apostle you thiâ—ke God is merciful and Christ died c. but neither such nor such as you are and your consciences tell you so shall ever enter into heaven We must not think to come è coeno in coelum out of the mire and dirt of sin into heaven there is no such sudden getting into heaven but there must be an alteration of our dispositions wrought by the Spirit of God fitting us for heaven 2. Another is that that I touched before that heaven and earth differ but in degrees therefore what is there in perfection must be begun here Then againe thirdly It is impossible for a man if he be not truly altered to desire or wish heaven as it is holy He may wish for it under the notion of a Kingdome of pleasure and the like but as heaven containes a state of perfect holinesse and freedome from sinne hee cares not for it A man that is out of relish with heavenly things and can taste onely his base sinnes whereon his affections are set and exercised cannot rellish heaven it selfe A common base sinner his desires are not there There must bee some proportion between the thing desired and the desire but here is none hee is not fit for that place being an unholy wretch Therefore his own heart tells him I had rather have this pleasure and honour that my heart stands to than to have heaven while hee is in that frame of desire therefore there is no man that can desire heaven that is not disposed aright to heaven before Beetles love dunghils better than oyntments and swine love mud better than a garden they are in their element in these things so take a swinish base creature he loves to wallow in this world tell him of heaven hee hath no eyes to see it no eares to heare it except hee may have that in heaven that his heart stands too which hee shall never have he hath no desire of heaven Therfore in these and the like respects of necessitie there must be a disposition wrought before wee come there These things are prepared for those that love God If this be so let us not feed our selves with vaine hopes there are none of us but we desire at least wee pretend that we desire heaven but most men conceive it onely as a place free from trouble and annoyance and there are goodly things they heare of kingdomes crownes and the like but except thou have a holy gracious heart and desirâ—st heaven that thou mayest be free from siâ—ne and to have communion with Christ and his Saints to have the image of God the divine nature perfect in thee thou art an hypocrite thou carriest a presumptuous conceit of these things thy hope will delude thee it is a false hope Every one that hath this hope purgeth himsâ—lfe Every one hee excludes none Doest thou defile thy selfe and live in sinful courses and hast thou this hope Thou hast a hope but it is not this hope for every one that hath this hope purgeth himselfe No no how ever in time of peace and pleasure and contentment that God followes thee with in this world thou hast a vaine hope yet in a little trouble or sicknesse c. thy owne conscience will tell thee another place is provided for thee a place of torment that neither eye hath seene nor eare heard nor hath entred into the heart of man to conceive the misery of it There is not the greatest man living when hee is troubled if he be a sinfull man whose greatnesse can content him all his honour and friends cannot pacifie that poore conscience of his but Death the King of Feares wil affright him he thinks I have some trouble in this world but there is worse that remâ—ines things that he is not able to conceive of Let us not therfore delude our selves there is nothing will stand out but the new creature that we finde a change wrought by the Spirit of God then wee may without presumption hope for the good things which neither eye hath seene c. Againe we see in the second place Gods mercie to us the qualification is within us that we need not goe farre to know what our evidence is Sathan abuseth many poore Christians oh I am not elected I am not the Childe of God Whither goest thou man doest thou breake into heaven when thou carriest a soule in thy breast and in that soule the affection of love how is that set whither is thy love carried and thy delight and joy those affections that spring from love Thy evidence is in thine own heart our title is by faith in Christ his righteousnesse gives us title to heaven but how knowest thou that thou pretendest a just title Thou hast the evidence in thy heart What is the bent of thy soule whither is the poynt of it set which way goes that doest thou love God and divine things and delight in them then thou mayst assure thy selfe that those things belong to thee as verily as the Scriptures are the word of God and God a God of truth
When thou findest the love of God in thy heart that thy heart is taught by his Spirit to love him then surely thou mayst say Oh blessed be God that hath kindled this holy fire in my heart Now I know that neither eye hath seene nor eare heard nor hath entâ—ed into the heart of man those excellent things that are layd up for me The end of the second Sermon HIDDEN SECRETS Revealed by the GOSPEL The third Sermon 1. COR. 2. 9. Eye hath not seene c. SAINT Paul as we heard before gives a reason in these words why the princes of this world not onely the great men that oft-times are not the greatest Clerkes but the learned men of the world Princes for knowledge why they were ignorant of the mysteries of the Gospell Now the fourth is the disposition of those for whom he doth all this the qualitie hee infuseth into them they are such as love him 1. He hath prepared them before all eternitie he prepared happinesse for us before we were nay before the world was As hee prepared for Adam a Paradise before he was hee created him and then brought him into Paradise so hee prepared for us a kingdome with himsâ—lfe in heaven a blessed estate before wee were i. e. in election before the heavens were And then in creation hee prepapared the blessed place of the happy soules of happy persons hereafter where he himselfe is he prepared it for himselfe and for all those that he meanes to set his love upon from the beginning to the end And then secondly hee prepared them more effectually in time he prepared these things when Christ came in the flesh and wrought all things for us in whom we have all Of these things thus prepared he sayth Eye hath not seene nor eare heard them c. In what sence it is meant wee heard before Now take the whole of the matter the meaning is the matters of grace the kingdome of grace and the Kingdome of Glory they are but one For to adde this by the way the kingdome of heaven in the Gospell includes three thing First the doctrine of the Gospell the publishing of it And then secondly grace by that doctrine And thirdly glory upon grace the consummation of all So the mysteries of salvation is first the doctrine it selfe that is the first degree of the kingdome The doctrine it selfe is a mysterie to all those that never heard of it for what creature could ever conceive how to reconcile Iustiee and Mercie by devising such a way as for God to become Man to reconcile God and man together that Emmanuel hee that is God with us should make God and us one in love this could bee no more thought of than Adam could thinke of himselfe to bee made a man when hee was dust of the earth Could man when he was worse then dust in a lost damned estate think of redemption It is impossible for a man that cannot tell the forme and the quintessence that cannot enter into the depth of the flowers or the grasse that hee tramples on with his feet that hee should have the wit to enter into the deepe things of God that have been concealed even from the Angels themselves till God discover them I adde this to illustrate what I sayd before therefore the doctrine it selfe till God discover it out of his owne breast was concealed to the Angels themselves and since the discovery they are students in it and looke and pry into it But where the doctrine is no mysterie but is discovered there the application and spirituall understanding to those that have not the light of the Spirit is such a thing as eye hath not seene nor eare heard and therfore we must have a new light a new eye a new eare and a new heart before wee can apprehend the Gospell though we understand it for the literall truth As for the things of glory wee have no conceit of them fully but by a glimpse and weak apprehension as a childe conceives of the things of a man by some poore weake resemblances As St. Paul sayth When I was a childe I spake as a childe I thought as a childe so when we are now children in comparison of that perfect estate wee shall attaine in heaven we think and speake as children of these holy and heavenly things that shall be accomplished in another world And observe this too that when wee would understand any thing of heaven and see any thing say This is not that happinesse I look for I can see this but that is not to be seene And when we heare of any thing that is excellent I can heare this it is not my happinesse and when we comprehend any thing I can comprehend this therefore it is not the happinesse I looke for but those things that are above my comprehension that are unutterable and unexpressible Moreover Let us bee stirred up to thinke it a base thing for a Christian to lose the comfort and assurance hee hath of these thing that eye hath not seene nor eare heard for any earthly thing whatsoever Wee account it a poore thing of Esau to sell his Birth-right for a messe of pottage And we all smart for Adams ill bargaine that hee made to sell paradise for an Apple And it was a cursed sale that Iudas made that sold Christ himselfe for 30 pieces of silver surely it is that that every carnall man doth and howsoever wee cannot lose heaven yet it should be our indeavour to enjoy heaven upon earth to enjoy the assurance of this condition When we doe any thing to weaken our assurance and to weaken our comfort what do we but with Adam lose heaven for an Apple and with Esau part with our birth-right as much as the assurance and comfort of it is for a messe of pottage Therefore let us account it a base thing to bee overmuch in love with any earthly thing whereby we may weaken though wee could lose the comfort and assurance of this happy condition which is so transcendent All wicked men and indeed all men whether good or bad as farre as they fall into sinne are fooles the Scripture termes them so There is none wise indeed but the true Christian and that Christian that preserves the sence and feeling and assurance of his happy condition For those that love him The disposition of the parties is they are such as love God He sayth not such as are elected because that is a thing out of our reach to know but by going upward by going backward to goe from our grace to our calling from thence to election Nor such as believe because that is lesse discernable than love Nor the love of God to us for that is supposed when wee love him our hearts being cold they cannot be warme in love to him but his love must warme them first Love is such an affection as commands all other things therefore hee names that above all