which are wonderful Thy testimonies are wonderful therefore doth my soul Psal 119. 129. keep them There is peace that passeth all understanding joy unspeakable and full of glory There we have the ways of his Wisdom and his dealings with the Saints which are wonderful as Job saith Things too Job 42. 3. wonderful for me which I knew not To bring us to life by death to glory by shame to perfect his work in abasement to bring it low that he may raise after But how may we know these Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 1. You must use all means you must read and hear and discourse you must study the things of God and converse with the Saints to whom God hath revealed these Mysteries The Ministry of the Word is the golden pipe through which these Divine Mysteries flow down into your Knowledg And then meditate of these things till the heart be warmed fasten your thoughts on them every day It is your Wisdom to spend consideration on them Oh that my people were wise that they would consider their latter end I say it is your wisdom to consider the Excellency of these Mysteries of Religion the Beauty of them in themselves the fruit and sweetness of them in this world and in the world to come An ingredient in the use of means after this Knowledg is that you must search for it The promise of finding Knowledg is only to such as search for Knowledg It is such a precious treasure that it lyeth deep in the bowels of Scripture Thou Prov. 2. 4. shalt find wisdom if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures There are two places two veins especially where wisdom is to be found there is the Book of Gods Word and the Book of Gods Works the Book of Scripture and the Book of Providence In these two Books we are to search and study out the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven The Word reveals them the hand of Providence doth dispense them The Word unfolds them Providence makes all things to further them in the soul And let me tell you One great means to irradiate your Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is to know that Mystery of sinfulness that is in you and that Mystery of misery that lieth upon you It is not to be conceived as Jeremy saith How deceitful the heart is and how desperately wickea what a depth of corruption lyeth there The cursed and woful state we are in by nature is not to be conceived Man's apprehension is too little to take in all the Dimensions of it to lye under the eternal wrath of God what head can comprehend it VVhat created soul can fathom in her widest thoughts the wrath of an infinite God Who can tell what Hell is And how hot the fire is which Gods Almighty wrath hath kindled to all eternity As eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for those that love him so neither hath eye seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive those depths and treasures of misery that men are in by nature Here we may cry out Oh the depths Therefore the more transparent Knowledg we have of the Mystery of Corruption and of the dreadful misery we are in by sin the more we shall wonder at the unparalell'd goodness of God in the Mystery of our salvation the one will sharpen the appetite of the other Truly Sirs if you are yet in the state of sin consider how little there is between you and eternal Death you are ready to drop into Hell immediately and irrecoverably Did these things sit sadly and seriously upon your spirits how would it advance the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven 2. That you may know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven bring Humility and self-denial Humble reason and make her give place to Faith for the humility we here speak of is a Denial of our own Parts and Wits though they be never so capacious In this case the Intellectus must be rasa tabula I say the understanding must be as a Table scraped all the Writings and Notions of humane Wit and Reason must be scraped out It must be like the Wax that hath no Character that it may receive the Impression of the Seal That which reason should do in supernatural things is to stoop to Faith to believe the things of God upon the sole Authority of God Here it is the greatest reason to yield to Faith In Divine Mysteries Faith is the reason of reason and the highest reason is to yield to God that hath revealed them And therefore Faith stands with the greatest reason that can be for is it not the greatest reason in the world to believe him that is Truth it self Reason it self saith It is the greatest reason to believe God who is the first Truth 3. Wait upon the spirit Give the spirit that Honour to reveal these Mysteries to you For your eyes are blind you have an inward darkness upon you the Gospel takes away the Vail from the things but the spirit takes away the Vail from our souls The Jews had a Vail of types and shadows thrown over the things themselves now I say Our Gospel takes away the Vail from the things but the spirit must take away the Vail from our hearts In Nature there is need of a double light that we may behold Objects 1. A light someness upon the Object it self through the Medium and therefore men cannot see in the night because the air which is the Medium is dark 2. A light besides in the Organ that is the eye and therefore blind men cannot see in the day because though the Sun shines and things may be seen in themselves yet they want a light in the eye So though the former darkness which lay upon the Mysseries of Heaven be taken away those legal shadows and curtains are removed and the Sun of the Gospel shines full upon our faces yet we are blind within there lyeth an inward darkness upon our faculty and the spirit must open our eyes and give us a vital light to joyn with the outward light 4. Send up your prayers to Heaven The holy Vapours of Prayer ascending the spirit comes down in showres upon the soul The earth must send up Vapours before the Clouds can give down rain And therefore Paul prays for the Ephesians That God would give them the spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Eph. 1. 17 18. that the eyes of their understanding being enlightned they might know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints 5. He that would find the knowledg of Divine Mysteries must seek it with a sanctified mind That which enables us to know and understand aright the things of God must be a living principle of Holiness in us As Plotinus saith The eye cannot behold
his voice to the great World and the Rocks rend Thunder is the voice of God to the great World and in what Majesty doth he express himself to all Creatures below in that voice As there be Thundrings without so there be Thundrings within In great Majesty doth Christ speak to the soul sometimes Ask your Consciences else ask Faelix the Jaylour and Cain else yea ask your Father Adam else what a case were all these in when Christ did but reason with them Yea I ask you Hypocrites if any here is not the way of Christ full of Majesty What means those loads that gather about your hearts and that fearfulness which surpriseth you Thou dost but touch the mountains and they smoke saith the Psalmist so God doth but touch your Consciences and they smoke he doth but whisper within and your spirits fly about every where into the fingers into the face and up into the head and the heart within beats for want of them ready to swoon away Ask wounded spirits whether Gods Word be not full of Majesty Twenty years time not enough to heal the wound of a word of Gods mouth Oh the Majesty of that word Look upon the whole Creation upon the Earth upon the Sea upon the Heavens do they not all-speak the Majesty of Christ God is mightier than the noise of many waters yea than the Mighty waves of the Sea The tossings rollings and roarings of the Sea Do they not speak loudly the Majesty of Christ But ah sinner The tossings rollings and roarings of a troubled soul speak the Majesty of Christs word much more Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men 2. Kingdoms have Supremacy This is Basis Majestatis Christ is a great King over all as the Psalmist titles him Psal 29. God hath set Christ over all so should we as God hath set him so do you over all in all things Now self-denyal is an excellent means that Christ may Reign Thou must deny thy Kingdom that Christ may have his you must lay down your Crowns at his feet that he may wear his Crown upon his Head And this is a sweet Testimony of Grace in the heart if the heart can endure Tribulation that Christ may Reign If it can suffer all things that Christ may do all things if it can lye low that Christ may be exalted when we are most annihilated our Lord and his Mysteries are most admired Sixthly They know thankfully The beams of Knowledg that shine into them melt them into pangs of Thankfulness that they should have the Honour and Happiness to know those things that they know They would not be without Christ whom they know not for a thousand Worlds They would not be without the miracles of love and peace and pardon in Christ which they have and know for all the Worth of India They count themselves to have been no better than brutes and beasts all the time they were without the Knowledg of those Divine Rarities which now they lay up so close in their hearts They adore God that they should know and see those saving secrets which are hid from the eyes of so many round about them Seventhly The true Knowledg of spiritual things doth spiritualize True Knowledg of Religion makes a man Religious Religion in Scripture is called Godliness Without controversie great is the Mystcry of godliness that is The principles of 1 Tim. 3. 15. Christian Religion Godliness is great gain i. e. Christianity The Christian Religion is great gain Thus the Truths themselves are called Godliness Why so Because the true Knowledg of them begets an inward godliness As Religion it self is called Faith and the grace in the soul is also called Faith Why so To shew that Faith begets Faith that is the Truth revealed begets Faith and must be received by Faith Therefore one word includes both the Object the thing believed and likewise the Disposition of the soul to that Object So Religion is called Godliness because the true Knowledg of it begets Godliness Oh! See then what makes a true Christian What when a man nakedly believes Divine Truths When he knows the Principles of Faith doth that make him a true Christian No But when Religion makes him Religious when these Tit. 1. 1. Truths work Godliness for Religion is a truth according to godliness Where the Truths of Religion are embraced there is Godliness with them A man cannot embrace Religion in Truth but he must be godly because Religion is Godliness so it is called for that it tends to beget all Piety and Virtue and Godliness in the heart And therefore if the Mysteries of Heaven work not Godliness a man hath but an Humane Knowledg of Divine things When Lucius a bloody Persecutor offered to confess his Faith hoping thereby to gain an opinion that he was Orthodox Russin Hist Eccles l. 2. c. 6. Moses a Religious Monk refused to hear him saying The eye might sometimes judg of one's Faith as well as the Ear and that whosoever lived as Lucius did could not believe as a Christian ought A man knows no more of Christ than he is sanctified he knows no more of Divine things than he esteems and affects he knows no more of the Mysteries of Heaven than he brings the whole inward frame to be like the things He that saith 1 John 2. 4. I know God and keepeth not his Commandments is a lyar and the truth is not in him No doubt but Hophni and Phineas being Priests had a literal Knowledg of God yet being prophane they are said expresly not to have known him They were sons of Belial they knew 1 Sam. 2. 12. not the Lord. Eighthly If we know God aright we know God in us for we come to know God savingly by Regeneration and so by little and little we come to know God in us knowing in our selves those Divine perfections which the Holy Ghost attributes to God We know the Holiness of God by the Beam of Holiness which he hath irradicated into our hearts We know the love of God by the working of love in us towards him and towards his Saints We know hatred of sin in God by knowing in our selves an hatred of sin we know the Mercy of God by finding in our selves an Image of his Mercy towards our Enemies As Christ saith Be ye merciful as your heavenly Fathers is merciful Luk 6. 36. And it is a clear case We could never know in God Truth Justice Goodness were we not in some measure true just and good it being natural for Man to judg of others according to that which he knows in himself The spirit makes me to know Omnipotency in God through the great Power which he shews in me mortifying me and making me alive The spirit makes me know Wisdom in God by the Wisdom which I get through his Holy Spirit he makes me know Justice in God because he justifieth me in Christ he makes me know Truth
to profess and acknowledg their Ignorance Non Pudor est Nescire aliquid sed Discere Nolle Et Pudor Scelus est 4. The Saints are very desirous to know the Reason of Christs Actions Why speakest thou unto them in Parables 5. Beginnings of Grace and Knowledg are very earnest after more Good hearts are very Inquisitive and diligent to ask and understand the Mysteries of Heaven Dub. 1. And indeed it is a wonder that Christ who loved souls so dearly and thirsted after their Salvation who was sent into the world by his Father to Vnmask the way to Heaven and who had before Explained the Law and taken the Vizor off from the face of it and convinced the Proud and Preached so home to the heart that he Preacht with Authority He Preached plainly when he said Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand He preached plainly when he said Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven c. and now to cloathe his Sermons with such dark Parables it is a wonder Resp To this the Lord Jesus Answers That he therefore preached in Parables i. e. darkly and obscurely Because he preached in Judgment unto some that were present He preacht that they might not understand him Dub. 2. But why should his Disciples admire that he preached now in Parables seeing it was always his custom to do so And Parables do illustrate and clear things more to the understanding than plain phrases Resp Christ was wont to preach in Parables and therefore that is not the Disciples Query at least not the meaning of it why he did now use Parables for he did ordinarily use them but when he did use them he did Explain them Luk. 15. 4-7 and 16. 1-8 9. But now Christ did preach in Parables and not Explain them as he was wont to do And before we leave this Query of the Disciples Why speakest thou unto them in Parables Observe further First Their Charity Secondly Their Modesty 1. Their Charity and love to the souls of others Why speakest thou to them in Parables They understand thee not they first ask Christ why he spake to them in Parables before they ask him to Explain the Parables to them Obs Good hearts desire the Salvation of others as well as their own aeque though not aequaliter 2. Their Modesty towards Christ They do not question Christ's Doctrine or manner of Teaching in publick but ask him in private to Explain himself When he was alone Mar. 4. 10. and Mat. 13. 36. Obs People ought not to question and move doubts against their Ministers Doctrine in publick but in private lest they should by their importunity create stirs and tumult and give to others occasion of doing any thing unseasonably and out of due time Therefore his Disciples move questions in private We shall now descend to the words of our Text To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it is not given For whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more abundance To you The word to you hath Emphasis in it Vobis vestri similibus To you and such as you 1. To you Elect for Christ speaks of the Elect under the Apostles Persons To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 2. Vobis amantibus videlicet Sicientibusque veritatem To you Guilliandi who love and thirst after Truth to you that are godly and gracious the Spirit gives to you not only to hear and see these things but to know them and believe and feel them in your hearts And therefore these are no mysteries to you but Salvation and truth Revealed 'T is given that is it comes to pass 1. Not Casu by chance 2. Nor Necessitate by necessity 3. Nor Natura by nature or natural industry That you know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven But 't is given He discovers the gift and Grace of God For O man What hast thou which thou hast not received Obs The knowledg of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven is a Supernatural gift a gift from above None can understand the mysteries of Heaven but they to whom it is given The gifts of God are two-fold 1. The gifts of Nature 2. The gifts of Grace It was given them by Nature that they could hear or see But it was given them by Grace that they should hear the Gospel and see the Miracles and Face of Jesus Christ but more Grace yet that they could Receive the Gospel and Believe in Christ and know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven It was outward Grace to have the Gospel given them to hear it and Christ given them to see him It was inward Grace to have knowledg to see into the Mysteries of the Gospel and to have Faith to distinguish and apprehend Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory There 's the Gospel of Grace and the Grace of the Gospel To have the Gospel of Grace preached to them and to have Grace to receive the Gospel is a double Grace The mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Is a Periphrasis of the Gospel and of those things which lye hid in the Gospel Obs The Gospel is a mystery The Doctrines of the Gospel are mysteries Mysterium significat secretum aliquod quod remotum est ab oculis atque absconditum praecipuè vero in verbis ut cùm aliquid dicitur quod obscurum est intellectu difficile Solemus dicere hoc mysterium est Subest his verbis tectum aliquid abstrusum Mysterium sic enim consuevit appellare Scriptura quae praeter spem praeter humanam fiunt Opinionem Ecce mysterium vobis dico Omnes quidem c. Guilliandus in Loc. 1 Cor. 15. The mysteries of God therefore are Faith and the Gospel concerning Christ nay Christ himself is called a mystery because he is a Spiritual thing and remains hid and covered till the Spirit unvail him For whatever the Gospel preacheth they Mat. 11. 25. 1 Cor. 2. 6 7 8. are remote from sense and reason that the whole world cannot apprehend them till they are Revealed by the Spirit You shall see many preach and many hear that Christ was delivered for us to Redeem us but these words are only in ore in the mouth not in corde in the heart For 1. Neque ipsi suis verbis credunt neither do they themselves believe their own words 2. Neque gratiam hanc aliquatenus sentiunt neither do they feel the Grace of the Gospel But to them it is not given Luke hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark hath Luke 8. 10. Mark 4. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui for is sunt sive exteris To them that are without By which he understands not only them that are strangers all their time from the Kingdom of God as the Gentiles but also all those that have been for a time the children of the
in God because he keeps promise with me he makes me know goodness and mercy in God because he bears with my slothfulness and sins Ninthly This leads me to another much like it true Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is experimental A man never stands firm and solid and constant in the Faith till he hath in himself some experience of that which he knows and believes And 't is certain That he holds so much firmness as he holds of experience in himself and no more It befalls us in believing and knowing the Gospel as it doth in knowing at first some wise and godly Man As long as we know the Wisdom and Godliness of such a man only by the relation of other men we are so disposed that other men coming and making a contrary relation we change our opinion we had of him at least doubt of it till at last having strict familiarity with him our selves we know by experience that the relation of him is true which was made to us and then no man is able to perswade us to the contrary So long as we believe the Gospel and the Mysteries of Heaven only by the relation of Preachers we believe it till other Preachers come and tell us the contrary and then we believe the other way or at least doubt of the Truth we had from the first Preacher till by having experience of that which is preached in the Gospel we stand firm and constant in that which we know and believe and then all the men in the World are unable to unsettle or change our Faith and Knowledg after 't is confirmed by our own experience As for example here 's a Gospel-Mystery That God hath punished all our sins upon Christ and redeemed us from wrath if we believe in him Now thy great work and design should be to get the experience of this Mystery in thee that God hath punished thy sins in Christ and redeemed thee from wrath Quest You will say how is the experience of Faith gotten Answ Then a man hath experience of that which he believes when he hath peace in his Conscience when he hath the fruit of that which he believes in himself being assured in himself that he can appear in the Judgment of God with that self-same security wherewith he would have appeared if he had lived with that innocency wherewith Christ lived and had by Gods will fuffered that which Christ suffered Vse 5. If it be such a transcendent priviledg to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Oh then act your souls with disires and endeavours after the Knowledg of these Divine things For 1. Our souls are made for these things What are our souls made for but for excellent things And what is excellent but the Mysteries of Heaven Is the soul made to lay her mouth to the breasts of the World and suck in wealth and riches which she must spit out again I tell you these are but dunghils to a soul 2. They put Glory upon the soul They are glorious and make us glorious The Knowledg of God in Christ is a glorious Knowledg and the Gospel is called a glorious Gospel these things put a Glory upon our souls VVhat a glorious thing is it when by the Mysteries of Heaven a weak man shall have power againsta a strong Devil VVhen a poor Creature flesh and blood shall by some virtue distil'd through the Mysteries of Heaven into him have such a strong Faith in the promise of forgiveness of sins and such a mighty Faith in the promise that all shall turn to his good that all the gates of hell shall not prevail over that weak soul VVwhat a glorious thing is this And what a glorious thing is it when an impotent and unable soul shall by an Ordinance of God have strength over those corruptions and sins which others are slaves to That mean men of low and cheap education and parts should not be taken with those things that others are besotted with that are of more excellent natural parts than they VVhat a glory of grace is this 3. Did ye know the Mysteries of the heavenly Kingdom ye would wonder at nothing in the world besides VVhat is the reason that silly men are taken up with admiration of small and poor things here below but because their thoughts are not employed nor raised up to these high and great Excellencies The Poet saith Nil admirari prope res est una numici Hor. Epist 1. Epistol 6. Solaque quae possit facere servare beatum To wonder at nothing is the only thing to make us happy VVhilst men stand wondring at the glory and foolish lustre of the VVorld Oh! this honour and that greatness is a goodly thing they are undone they are taken with it and so undone This makes those whose names are not written in the book Revel 17. 8. of life to wonder at the beast as it is in the Text saying Oh! what a godly order have they among them one under another And this makes them worship him as it is in another Text All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him Revel 13. 8. whose names are not written in the book of life As the Philosophers speaking of the Knowledg of Causes say That the Knowledg of the cause takes away admiration O 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that wonders seems to be ignorant Arist 1. Metaph cap. 2. As Countrey-men that wonder at the Eclipse of the Sun or at a Blazing-star or at an Earth-quake it is from their Ignorance of the Causes a Philosopher wonders not at these things And therefore Pythagoras said That the end of Philosophy is that we should wonder at nothing So They that wonder at the Glory of the World and of earthly Dignities Oh! It is a fine thing to be rich and to shine in greatness it springs from their Ignorance It is the nature of shallow men to wonder at the things of this World A wise man wonders at nothing because he knows greater things he hath seen greater matters than those the world can shew Do you think a wise Christian will stand wondring at great and rich men at great places and honours and such things Alas He hath had greater matters in the eye of his soul and what can be great in this world to him to whom the World it self is not great What is great in this world to him that hath seen Christ and conversed with God Oh! come then and know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven These will so dazle your eyes with their glory that you shall wonder at nothing in the world besides To dwell in the favour of men and to rise up into high places and have the world smile upon you are these the things ye wonder at Truly Sirs If we would wonder let us come to Religion there we have him whose name is Wonderful that is Jesus Isa 6. Christ There we have his Laws and Testimonies
the Sun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 En. 1. l. 6. unless it be Sun-like and hath the form and resemblance of the Sun drawn in it so neither can the soul of Man behold God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unless it be God-like hath God formed in it and made partaker of the Divine Nature As in the natural body it is the heart that sends up good blood and warm spirits into the head whereby it is best enabled to its several Functions So in the spiritual fabrick 't is the heart that sublimates the head and stores it with pure influences the affections beget imaginations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. Iliad T. v. 44. As the Treasurers of an Army give out Corn and Provision to the Soldiers Some men have too bad hearts to have good heads they cannot be good at Theory who are so bad at the Practice Our Lord Christ hangs all true acquaintance with Divine Truths upon the doing of Gods will If any man will do his John 7. 17. will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God Such as set themselves to do the will of God shall know the Doctrines and Mysteries of God Corrupt passions and earthly affections are apt of their own nature to disturb all serene thoughts to precipitate our Judgments and warp our Understandings There is an inward sweetness and deliciousness in Divine Truth which no sensual mind can taste or relish And therefore the Platonists solicite so much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A separation from the body in all those that would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 purely understand truth The more our souls dive into our bodies the more will reason and sensuality run into one another and make up a most unsavoury and muddy kind of Knowledg And therefore wicked men let them imagine what they please have no true Knowledg of God Such as men themselves are such will God himself seem to be It is the Maxim of most wicked men that the Deity is some way or other like themselves their souls do more than whisper it though their lips speak it not That Idaea which men generally have of God is nothing else but the picture of their own complexion 6. Know things as God doth know them God to exercise the wisdom that he hath given to man hath planted a difference in the Creatures and hath given a faculty to man to know and make a right choice in those differences and then man doth know things aright when he knows them as God knows them and then man makes a right choice when he chuseth as God chuseth Now God knows that riches are but little things and that credit in the world is but a shadow and that honours in high places are but like leaves on the top of a tree And who would climb a tree to fetch a leaf But God knows that pardon of sin is a choice rarity 7. Know things and judg of them as they are in another world Whilst thou livest in the world and hast all things before thee know and judg of them as thou wilt when thou art going out of the world and hast all things behind thee ah my Beloved when thy last sand is run out thou wilt have a far different opinion of the World from what now thou hast Vse 7. As I desire you to know the Mysteries of Heaven so I would have you to know your selves that you have an Interest in these blessed Mysteries that they are yours Salvation is a Mysteries but if you know that salvation is yours and the way to salvation is a Mystery but if you know that you are in the way Ah! this is the soul and sweetness of the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaveb This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Greece of Greece the wheel in the wheel the Heaven of that heavenly Knowledg It is to no purpose to know that these things are Mysteries unless we know they be for us and for our good that Christ is ours and that God is reconciled to us Vse 8. You Saints and Children of God who enjoy this great priviledg Oh! go you and bless God For unto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Would it not have greatly ravisht your hearts had you been the persons present to whom Christ spake these words Surely it would But though Christ be in Heaven yet he hath left this Text behind him to speak to you and to tell you It is given unto you to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it is not given Observe here two things 1. It is a gift To know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven saith Christ it is given to you Dear souls Flesh and Hath 16. 17. blood hath not revealed these things unto you but your Father which is in heaven Now gifts are received with thankfulness even small gifts are taken thankfully 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom Odys Plutarch de Artaxcrxe Longimen It is said of Artaxerxes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was no gift so small which he received not kindly I say we take small gifts thankfully how much more spiritual gifts Such gifts as have Heaven and Salvation wrapt up in them Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Eph. 1. 3. Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ These gifts are blessings and for such blessings Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Being is a gift but grace added to it is a blessing to be born is a gift but the new birth put to it is a blessing otherwise It had been good for that man saith Christ if he had never been born To have Understanding and Knowledg is a great gift but to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven is a great blessing Blessed are the eyes which see the things that Luke 10. 23. ye see 2. They are Mysteries and will ye not bless God that he should make Mysteries known to you They are Mysteries of his bosom and is it nothing to be Gods bosom-friends They are the Mysteries of his secret wise and eternal Counsels And is it nothing to be Gods Privy-Counsellors They are the Mysteries of eternal life And is it nothing to know the Rolls and Records of eternity Saints God hath made ye his Cutodes Rotulorum is not eternal life a delicate flower to smell at Is it nothing to see within the vail Surely it is a great priviledg therefore you may rejoyce in it and bless God for it And this leads us to the third Doctrine which is this Doct. 3. The Divine Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is given to some not to others In this Doctrine there are three things clear and obvious 1. The Knowledg of Divine Mysteries is a gift To you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven What is given is a gift Divine Knowledg is a
refreshing and he will sit there and rest himself under it Men that have their feet or their arms scalded will put them into cold water which gives them ease though it gives them no cure yet because it gives them ease there they keep them So men whose Consciences are scalded with wrath Oh! now the Gospel and Justification by Faith in Christ is very sweet And so they are eased by it never cured by it and therefore you shall find them disclaim all works and cry up grace only when Christ is offered and general notice given them that there is Mercy and Hope for great Sinners this fills them with joy and peace But wherein doth these mens hypocrisie appear They receive Jesus Christ only for ease I say a false heart receives Christ only to ease him to ease him of the terrour of Conscience and to ease him of the work of Obedience And here prophane Sinners find great ease The weight of their guilty Consciences would press and sink them down but that they bear up upon the Righteousness of Jesus Christ Oh! he dyed for Sinners and paid our debt and now they are cheerful and easie they can sin and be easie follow their drunkenness and be easie swim in their uncleanness and be easie for they make the Righteousness of Christ their Bladder to swim upon and say what you will to them they will not sink If you ask one of these drunkards and haters of the Saints and railers at godliness I say if you ask them Do you believe in Christ yes say they Believe yea we believe exceedingly and so they do the truth is they believe beyond measure but they believe and rest upon Jesus Christ to ease themselves of sanctification they cannot but see the want of it and they cannot ease themselves but by pleading that Christ is holy and that though they have it not yet Christ hath it This is a great ease to their thoughts at the present and thus they receive Christ Oh Sirs that you would consider the sad condition of this man whose plagues shall be made wonderful whose Conscience suits him still for sin and then looks up to Christ and rests there and hears Sermons but then salves up all with the Righteousness of Christ and considers often that his ways are evil but never suspects his faith to be evil Then he is taken with Death and then looks up to Christ at last the snuff dyes and his Sun sets and darkness approacheth and then instead of heaven embraceth flames and what is it that hath deceived these men Oh! their Faith hath deceived them they believed they might have had Christ and Sin too and then in Hell they wish Oh! that I had considered and feared this before and will you not fear now I charge you then think not your Estates good because you rest on Christ and look for salvation by him only 2. There are others who receive Jesus Christ not only into their belief but into their bosoms not only into their heads but also into their hearts They have a great work upon them the Gospel doth not only Irradiate their minds but also in a great measure Captivate their Wills they have affections to Christ and sweet motions to holy things kindled in their hearts They receive the word with joy and delight Matth. 13. they fall into raptures of love to and admiration of Jesus Christ they do not only assent to the Doctrine of Justification by Christ but are made partakers of the Holy Ghost There is a change wrought in them they seem to be washed 2 Pet. 2 20. and sanctified in the blood of Christ having escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledg of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And so they shine in the surface of their outward lives The hypocrisie of the heart springs from defect of light in the mind The want of saving Illumination in the understanding is the reason of the hypocrisie of the heart These two faculties the Vnderstanding and the Will live very near one another if they be not really the same some say they are but one and the same power or faculty of the soul and so there is a real Identity of the Will and Understanding saying that the Will is Intellectus extensus others affirm that they are faculties really distinct However it is by all concluded that there must in order of nature be light before choice knowledg before election the Intellectual creature must see before it can determine or resolve upon Now I say the imperfect and unsound resolution of the soul flows from defect of light The hypocrisie of the heart springs from the want of a saving Illumination in the Understanding This appears in the Parable of the Virgins of whom the Lord Christ saith That five were wise and five were foolish The vanity of the one sprang from their folly the provision of Oyl the others made sprang from their Wisdom You know it 's frequent in Solomons Proverbs to call the upright and godly man the wise man the sinner and hypocrite the fool the power of sin lyeth in the power of darkness The strength of a State in the Wisdom of its Council 1. The Understanding is the first inlet of Sin and Grace this is that which opens and shuts to all life and sin When Satan laid his Train and Powder-plot to blow up all the World by the sin of one man he first enters into dispute with Eve and as the Apostle saith deceived her The woman was deceived and so darkned her mind with a mist 1 Tim. 2. 14. the serpent crept into her heart through the door of her Vnderstanding There could no sin get into the Will were there not an error first in the Vnderstanding 2. And as the mind is the first inlet into sin so it is the first door that lets in grace Sanctifie them through thy truth thy John 17. 17. John 12. 35. word is truth Walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you Satan knew if light came in Christ would come in Matth. 13. 15. 3. Divine light is very powerful it hath a mighty influence to change and renew the heart We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the spirit of the Lord All Divine light of glory works strongly if hypocrites had it their hearts would be sincere Not that bare light can change the will but the Lord works by it When the Lord comes with life he comes with light Awake thou that sleepest Ephes 5. 14. arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light When the spirit comes all his work is expressed by conviction of sin of righteousness and of judgment convince one effectually and you convert him You shall know the truth John 8. 32. saith Christ and it shall make you free that is from your bondage