have thoughts of fulnesse in themselves Their vertues and good actions are all they boast of and therefore these men prove barren under the Gospell With these full Pharisees wee have another sort of people in as great danger upon a contrary ground faith is their glory and they seare not to â—ee found with the best in Gods favour Aske thâ—se 〈◊〉 in good earnest 〈◊〉 they were convinced of sinne and they will bee briefe with you that they scorne but to bee lesse holy than the best and to reprove them is audacious slander Why but are you not sinners yes for fashion sake they will not deny that Are we not all sinners But what say you to want of faith in Christ to this they have a vulgar and grosse answer marry God forbid I should be so bad as not to beleeve in Christ I thanke God I love him with my very heart and so have done ever since I was borne But were you never soundly convinced by the Gospell and Gods Spirit of this great want What would you make us infidels wee abhorre to thinke of such questions goe and aske them the Turkes for we by the grace of God will never turne Turkes and take part against Christ But when came this perswasion into your hearts and by what meanes was it wrought I finde Iohn 16.8 9. a Spirit of conviction what say you Have you heard of this Spirit since you were baptized how and in what manner hath this Spirit wrought in you Truly we beleeve there is such a person in the Trinity for so we were baptized but for such a gift it is all one to us as if there were no Spirit at all Now poore soules you have put them besides all their divinity and convinced them of that for which they give God thankes blessing God they never wanted faith which assures them they never had it for to want it is the way to have it and to beleeve the contrary an undoubted testimony of their dangerous presumption God open their eyes and bring them to a better triall by the truth of his word I will therefore descend into a more strickt examination of the sinne and the judgement in my text and deale right downe in the whole worke of the conviction Iohn 16.8 and then againe repeate the judgements and summon up as many particulars as my memory and Gods mercy shall suggest unto mee I will reade this text alleadged and deale by faire and capitall titles for the more firme and faithfull remembrance of my Reader in all that followeth A glorious Kingdome Iohn 16.8 And when he is come c. There bee two great Doctors come from the Father into the world by whom he will convince the world before he judge it and these two succeed the one the other the first absents himselfe and the other comes in his roome To finde Christ a successor in man is the crime of the Church of Rome of which they are now ashamed and by correction mend their Authors and bid them say the Pope is the Vicar of Christ and Successor of S. Peter But by their leave they yet want an Index expurgatorius to expunge and wipe out the Pope and put in a more equall for Christ left by himselfe when he left this earth fitter to bee both Christs Vicar and Successous These two excellent Teachers undertake the conviction of the world before the condemnation of it So dealt Iesus Christ with the Iewes We will enlarge our selves in the worke of the Trinity and bee ample in the view of their Kingdome The excellent and admirable administration of Gods Kingdome There bee three persons in the Divine nature that worketh all things yet are all things wrought in a wonderfull and most distinct and unconfused manner The Father of himselfe and to himselfe worketh all things and so is the beginning and end of every action 1 Cor. 8.6 The progression from this beginning and regression to this end is the rarest and sweetest mysteries in the Bible In the progression the Father goes on by the Sonne and both Father and Sonne by the blessed Spirit and here beginnes the immediate administration of the Kingdome within the Spirit alwayes taking the possession of it I will open clearely this Divine and ravishing secret and set men on work with no new notion but an old truth for I abhorre to deflect from the wayes of Antiquity Of the progression and regression of the Kingdome from and to the Father St. Paul setling true religion upon the surest pillars pluckes downe the rotten and ragged pillars of Pagans and Papists 1 Cor. 8.6 To us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and wee to him c. Many gods confound themselves in their beginning and end and therefore if creatures were from them they should bee confounded in their originall this confusion would breed a greater they should not know whom to serve But wee saith the Apostle have this errour corrected in one God neither neede wee be confounded with many persons for they are our best helpe in religion Take the first person make him the beginning of all creatures and our end in speciall and we shall know both to whom wee are beholding and to whom we owe our thankes The Heathen have no such knowledge they neither know Author nor end of their actions praise In this wee agree with them that to goe to God without a mediator is presumption in both and therefore they have their many lords to goe by to their many gods and are here againe confounded in their praiers not knowing to what Saint to turne Fryer Teitis made a sermon that Saints might bee served with the Lords prayer for that it was a common question with the Romane Chanters to demand to whom do you say your Pater noster This is a straine of the old religion and many lords of the Heathen and therefore Christ being put out or shuffled in with the multitude it was no marvaile such a question should bee raised for to God must we goe by a mediator but Paul in the progression of our religion hath given us better direction that as the Father by one Lord Iesus Christ hath made all things so we if we will proceede aright must by the same Lord Iesus Christ and no other goe to the same Father and so in conclusion after a long and glorious perigrination upon earth we shal be brought to the Father that hee in us as Paul witnesseth 1 Cor. 15.28 may be all in all Of the Sonnes mediation in this Kingdome It was expedient for us that the Father should send his Sonne for wee which are the best of his creatures being lapsed cannot without Christ serve our end He is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 8.6 Ephs 4.5 1 Tim 2.5 and 6â—15 c. the alone mediator and powerfull potentate with God for us For this end he is incarnate and to this purpose he lives and dies riseth from
time for thou knowest not when thy appearance shall be he deliver thee to the Iudge the Iudge to the laylor the laylor to the prison where thou must lye for ever But in the close of this verse and that which followeth mention is made of the true cause of all this misery that is especially the disobedience of the Gospel The Law is added as a light of former sinnes consisting of impiety against God and cruelty against man The Iewes crucified Christ a legall sinne but they crucified themselves in rejecting his bloud and the Gospell that offered them pardon for that sinne and all others The fault was foule enough to murther Christ but to murther their soules in denying salvation by his blood was of all sinnes the greatest They are branded for ungodly persons by the testimony of the Law and their owne wicked actions of Idolatrie and obstinacy They are sinners deepe seyzed in singular bloodshed and butchery of Christ and his Saints but the transcendent sinne is here fairely characterized by a speciall act and by a speciall object The act is Evangelicall disobedience and the object the Gospell it selfe The Gospell In giving the Gospell to a Nation it is more than he does to all Nations where the Gospell is given faith and obedience are but given to some in that Nation The Gospell distinguisheth Nations faith and the gift thereof the men that professe it Grace is given where it is not received Given to a Nation of which it may more easily bee rejected than embraced Psal 147.19 20. here the Word is not revealed alike to all Psal 81.11 here rejected by them to whom it was given Psal 119.70 Davids heart being pined with want takes pleasure in the Word others having their hearts fat and greasie despise it Isai 6.9 10. Men have hearts too fatte to beleeve eares too heavy to heare and eyes closed up from seeing The Gospell is as strange to some that heare it as those that never heard it Hos 8.12 Christ came to his owne and yet was not owned by them Iohn 1.11 Some received him vers 12. when the nation rejected him These 1. had power to beleeve 2. to receive 3. to be sonnes In the mysteries of the Gospell prudent men come short of Infants Luke 10.12 and receive in parrables what others receive in power Luke 8.10 yea finde that savour death unto death which to others is life unto life 2 Cor. 2.15 16. Gods free Grace Shall wee say this is the worke of our owne wils and the good use of our owne freedome This were to render more than wee receive and to glory in our owne power and praise Thus to differ were to disgrace the Gospell that grants unto us deliverance from enemies and obedience unto friends Luke 1.74 Our good friends in heaven mutually conspired our victory and obedience God the Father Sonne and holy Ghost bound not up the hands of our enemies but gave us also hearts to obey for this gift 1 Cor. 4.7 presseth upon the pride of us all Physically Politically Theologically Who made man or man to differ from a beast He were a beast that would not acknowledge God for the Author of both Who raiseth man to honour or distinction of civill order Surely the same God that made him preferres him But above all grace is least in our command and most in the power of God nay wholly from him as appeares by the gift of faith a new principle nature never acknowledged by righteousnesse a purchase that never came out of our vertues by holynesse a worke not of our wils but the sanctifying Spirit Faith is a firme principle of the Gospell and keepes us by the power of God and not our owne unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 I know what advantage is taken Ier. 32.40 by turning the text from They shall not depart into They may not depart Loath the words should be more peremptory than possible Possible they would have it runne and then raise their answer against Gods grace that faith or feare is not so certainely placed in the heart but as it may stay so depart if wee will forward either God puts in our hearts a new principle and that for this end that we might bee assured of the new Covenant and of our cleaving to God and therefore fuller assurance than of a possibilitie and power in our selves The Legall and Evangelicall principles of well living as we shall afterwards declare differ much in nature office and end God by originall righteousnesse left man to the tryall of his owne power But by Faith or the new principle hath cast man upon himselfe and a holy and happy dependencie upon his power for salvation The Gospel is his best law for life and surest power of God Rom. 1.16 to save him yet with this caution that wee beleeve Promises are generall and must bee received as they are propounded Faith makes them particular to us and in our deeds and determinations wee may presume no further than the generall evidence applied we must silence all search of further secrets and Gods will revealed must bee our rule and to reach higher by his decrees is to outreach our selves and rove about the truth If any say why have some the Gospel and not Faith I silence his presumption with Gods freedome and say why hath hee either His Gospell is a pledge of his love and thy faith of his favour thou hast no wrong whē he counts thee worthy of neither If he have a list to leave thee an Infidel thou art but thy selfe His Law containes wonders and workes them daily in preaching All heare the same word yet have not the same affection Hee speakes too boldly of Gods counsels that will reason by our dispositions O the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and wayes of God! His judgements must bee past our finding and fadoming Wee must feare to search too much and take heed of an evill eye because his is good Hee cals and commands by his word and of them he chooseth as few or many as hee pleaseth Hee makes some last in Vocation first in Election some he cals first that hee never chooseth The Iewes by Peter in my text are divided and the nation differenced in receiving and rejecting the Gospell 70. Famous yeeres Foure things would further bee unfolded 1. the time of this end 2. the persons 3. the judgement 4. the cause The time is the last yeere or at least the last weeke of the 70. weekes of Daniel Dan. 9.24 The Gentiles Luke 21.24 have times to fulfill and from former times they come to latter times 1 Tim. 4.1 which divide themselves Dan. 7.25 12.7 Rev. 12.14 into a time times and halfe a time So the Iewes have the like account and computation and falling upon their last times have them by Daniel determined in the number of 70. weekes These make seaven points or periods of their time every period containing 70. yeares and six of
sinne may binde us to the penalty and want of faith in God may punish us with want of faith in Christ But want of faith in Christ in Christians and Professors of the Gospel is a guilt above all guiltinesse The worlds conviction by the Gospel Ioh. 15.22.24 The Iewes had been without the sinne of the Gospel if by the Gospel Christ had not convinced them This CoÌ„viction takes away every cloake from sinne and leaves no covering to cast over a sinner Ioh. 9.41 If the Iewes had remained in their blindnesse without the Gospel they had in comparison beene without sinne but saying wee see better than thou canst teach us therefore Christ concludes against them that their sinne remaineth that is their sinne against the Gospel But here comes in the great doubt and difficulty what power have men to be convinced by the Gospel and how is God righteous in these Gospel-punishments I shall answer as followeth Mans capacitie of Conviction That man is capable of Evangelicall Conviction is by no man to bee denyed Wee are not stockes and stones under the words of reproofe We have understandings and wils and by the same created understanding I apprehend the Law by the same I apprehend the Gospel and by the same will I obey the one and the other but these powers are too remote to remove the doubt wee must not speake of faculties but their obedientiall and conformable power to the Lawes given them by their Creatour Mans conformity to Conviction God having made man the free beginner of his owne â—ctions besides the facultie of will and understanding gave man originall righteousnesse to further him in the production of actuall obedience that if he pleased hee might in all things conforme himselfe to his Creators commands If God had done no more for Adam than made him reasonable and free hee had wanted the obedientiall power and had beene unable to conforme himselfe to the commands comminations and promises of the Law Therefore God to perfect his worke added a further helpe needfull for obedience in placing in man his owne Image and printing upon his soule a perfect patterne of all that hee was to follow and to imitate his Creator in Having lost this Image yet there still remained sufficient for conviction and condemnation But we are now to try whether this will teach the Gospel of the law no question is made Of power to beleeve in Christ by creation Many learned and godly Divines have asserted and assured us that Adam in his innocency had power to beleeve in Christ Of the capacitie no man doubteth but that will not solve the difficultie for all the question lyeth upon the obedientiall and conformable power of Adam This hee had not to the Law without originall righteousnesse and I beleeve we shall be puzled to find it in Adam without a new principle in the place of his first righteousnesse being expulsed by sinne Without faith it selfe I feare no man can conforme himselfe to the Gospel not that faith which was a part of Gods Image by creation but that faith which is the principle of the life and obedience of the new man Such a principle as never came within the kenne or cognisance of Adam upon the best day of his creation and perfection I will presse but three arguments and leave them to the answer of those that are wedded to this opinion The principle of life and Religion No power is obedientiall and conformable to GOD without a principall as well as instrumentall causes The faculty is subservient to the principall cause It may livide from it but without it 〈◊〉 cannot doe well Man had reason and will to know and obey God and to both was added by the Almighty his owne Image or originall righteousnesse that both reason might bee directed and the will ordered to obey and serve him Man had power to separate his understanding from true knowledge and his will from a holy and righteous impression of Gods Image in speciall upon it He might refuse to doe well but to attaine that end without such grace it was utterly impossible The like must be understood of man in his lapsed estate hee is not deprived of will and understanding yet such faculties are not sufficient without faith infused that may as a principle helpe us to action and pleasing of God Not faith in God for that turnes the minde to legall obedience but faith in Christ which serves us to obey Evangelically contrary principles cannot produce the same effect or bring to the same end we cannot by the same faith live in Christ and live in our selves Contrariety of commands There is no obedientiall power that can yeeld at the same time to doe contrary things The Law commands us to doe and live the Gospel to beleeve and live He that must conforme to the one cannot by the same power immediately conforme to the other Whiles Adam stands bound to the Law for life hee cannot stand bound to the Gospel for the same It is impossible for any man to have power in beleeving his duty is to bee saved by his workes and at the same time to bee saved by faith It were a strange subjection to command the creature to live by his deeds and then at the same time to crosse it and say not so but by the same power Beleeve and thou shalt be saued Such teaching we may suspect and seeke for better satisfaction by some more reasonable faire and even resolution for in truth this is rather subversion than subjection of will and power A power needlesse and needfull Adam in the estate of innocency had no need of faith in Christ and then â—e give him power to beleeve in him Man fallen hath need and necessary use both of power and faith and then hee hath lost both Poore creature God abounds in goodnesse when thou hast no neede of his helpe and forsakes thee in the extremity and greatest necessity Are these the waies of Gods wisedome to be lavish of power where man hath no need and to leave him where his helpe is of use no certainely God does nothing in vaine but gives man what is usefull and reserves himselfe to give more when where and to whom he pleaseth A power to beleeve in Christ by Redemption Faith is the free gift of God It was necessary by creation that man should not want the sanctified affection of faith to beleeve in the Creatour It was debitum naturae Natures debt to ingage God to make his creature holy and righteous but now it is of grace to give him the new principle of life to fetch from Christ both righteousnesse and holinesse for the whole man Heere is nothing hereditary or naturall the Gospel is free when where to whom to bestow it It was given in Parâ—dise to all the sonnes of men yet descended not by propagation from fathers to children Adam might have propagated originall righteousnesse as well as originall â—inne But be neither
THE SAINTS SVFFERINGS and Sinners Sorrowes Or The evident tokens of the salvation of the one and the perdition of the other Phil. 1.28 2 Thes 1.6 7. Sanctorum Victima victoria Rom. 8.36 37. 2 Cor. 4.8 Impiorum Laetitia luctus Iam. 4.9 5.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ambr. Melius falieius est pugnaÌ„tem non vinci quam desidem non tentari Impij per multa pericula perveniunt ad plura per plura ad pessima LONDON Printed by T. Cotes for N. Bourne dwelling at the Royall Exchange 1631. To the truly Honourable and Religious Sir Roger Townsend Sir Robert Crane Knights and Baronets and their Noble and vertuous Ladies increase of joy and peace in beleeving Honorable and worthy Witnesses I Crave your testimonies as well for the preaching as the printing of these Sermons You were at sundry times and in severall places the best and chiefest of my hearers and it concernes your honours to be as innocent in the hearing as it was my duty to be innocent in the speaking You cannot be ignorant of the Accusation and if that were sufficient to make a man guilty Si accusasse sufficiat quiâ— erit Innocens who should be innocent as once Julian said of the Christians the worst man of the best living It is the saying of Syracides Eccles 11.7 Blame not before thou hast examined the truth understand first and then rebuke It was the sharpe censure of King James in his Daemonology Lib. 3. Cap. 1. that uncertaine report is the authour of all lies yet they are worse who lye in wait to finde fault and to turne good into evill Ecclus 11 31. of whom the wise man hath complained long since and we may see how every age of the world renders it day by day more malicious Alas when there is wanting that vertue which in all men we call Honesty and that speciall gift of God which in Christians wee call Charity how are men condemned without hearing and wounded without offence given We see in experience that dogges alwayes barke at those they know not and that it is their nature to accompany one another in those clamors so is it with the inconsiderate multitude being once set on they trust to their tongs their teeth are gone and barke and bleat when they cannot bite It is a pennance to a Preacher to bee troubled with triflers who have neither eyes to see nor heads to apprehend what is said yet dare they thunder and threaten as if they meant to beare downe all before them Every understanding hath a peculiar judgement by which it answereth other meÌ„ and valueth it selfe and therefore it cannot seeme strange to me to be abused by reports Let vaine men pricke on in their pride hoyse up the top-sayle of untruth and flant it out against us yet God forbid that these should alwayes have wind at will and finde as free passage to superiours as they imagine But seeing it is so easie to faine and face out reports I must be content to leave such professors to their easie wayes of reprehension than the which there is nothing of more frailtie When Moses saw the Jsraelite and the Aegyptian fight hee did not say Why strive you but drew his sword and slew the Aegyptian but when hee saw two Israelites quarrell he said Yee are brethren why strive you If any thing delivered bee an Aegyptian let it be slaine by the sword of the Spirit and never reconciled but if an Jsraelite and yet questioned why strive you What wrong I have done let all judge that reade this Sermon what wrong is done to mee by the accusation Heave to him that either mistooke me or meant me a mischiefe Hee hath put an Aegyptian in the place of an Jsraelite and an errour in the place of a truth I said God is often a mothe in our counsels meaning in the successe and event of mans consultations which to be an Israelite these Scriptures doe acknowledge Deut. 28.28 Hos 5.12 Zach. 12.4 How these words may be strained to Counsels of State as they are by my accuser I confesse it passeth my understanding It may be the failes and follies of some in preaching to seeke vulgar applause A vanity much avoyded by wise men Saint Augustine affirmed Laudari a bonâ—â— timeo amari a ma io detestor that he feared the praise of good men and detested that of evill And to them that will reade and remember our ancients have given better rules Saint Ierom desired in preaching Hier ad Nepâ—t Lachryma auditorum sunt laudes tua Non plaâ—sum sed planctum rather to have the praise of the teares than of the tongues oâ— his hearers Saint Augustine being applauded for his preaching answeres Fâ—lia haec sunt nos fructuâ— quaerimus These aâ—â— but leaves we looke foâ— fruit Chrysostome tolâ— his hearers he owâ—â— them thanks when thâ—â— payed him teares Si haec audientes doletis maximas me debere vobis gratias confiteor quis est enim qui melaetificat nisi qui contristatur ex me These rules shall I desire to follow both in preaching and in printing and for this end I have desired to make my thoughts more legible and my selfe and my Sermons the subject of every opinion wise or weake I have presumed vpon the Dedication and having thought upon some Witnesses and Patrons have addressed my selfe to such friends as love the truth and deserve to be loved of it I wilâ— not trouble you oâ— any other with further reasons of my writing or with excuses He that doth ill no plea can warrant him and hee that doth well cannot easily be discouraged with any censures I crave no mans pardon in giving good counsell but his acceptation And presents of love may be well taken both of friends and strangers The things I dare say are both commoda accommodata seasonable and profitable for our times wherâ— in God smiteth and his houshold smarâ—teth and such beginnings will have feareful endings upon their enemies An heathen wisâ— man could say Adversities are Tributa vivendi tributes of living And wise Christians above all ought to know them and to pay them most willingly Their Lord and master hath gone before them and it is their duty to follow him not as those whining souldiers qui gementes sequuntur Imperatorem but as those worthy Martyrs which like a cloud of witnesses have gone before them And here I remeÌ„ber some passages that may bee patterns for others which I have heard from some of you well agreeing with the subject of my Text Dicta docta pia â—irâ— verè diligentis deum Ecclesiam as namely He will never dye for Christ that will not first learne to live for him Another of the like nature was concerning comfort in death videl Death takes away the pleasure of all worldly things and Religion the paine of death This may well make us prize the rule of the