all the truth at all times except he be called to it in judgement c. Otherwise truth as all good actions it is never good but when it is seasonable and then it is seasonable when there is convenient furniture of circumstances when a man is called to it For there may be a reservation a man is not bound to speak all things at all times but to waite for a fit time One word in a fit time is worth a thousand out of time but mentall reservation to speak one thing and to reserve another it is absurd and inconsequent and so is dissimulation there is a lie in fact a mans life is a lie that is a dissembler dissimulation is naught A man may sometimes make some shew to do something that he intends not Christ made as though he would have gone further when he did not mean it but dissimulation is that which is intrinsically naught But some man will say Except I dissemble I shall run into danger Well it is not necessary for thee to live but it is necessary for thee to live like an honest man and keep a good conscience that is necessary For come what will upon true dealing we ought to deal truly and not dissemble Those that pretend a necessity they must do it they cannot live else they cannot avoid danger else unlesse they dissemble saith Tertullian very well There is no necessity of sin to them upon whom there lies no other necessity but not to sin Christians they are men that have no necessity lies upon them but not to sin It is not necessary they should be rich it is not necessary they should be poor it is not necessary they should have their freedom and liberty there is no necessity lies upon them but that they be good that they do not sin Can he pretend I must sin upon necessity who hath no necessity imposed upon him by God but to avoid all sin As for lying which is against this simplicity that should be in speech all kinds of lies officious lies or pernicious lies officious lies to do a good turn to help our selves or others with a lie it is a giosse sin It is condemned by St. Austin in a whole Book which he wrote against lying therefore I passe it I shall have occasion to speak somewhat of it afterward It is intrinsically ill every lie because it is contrary to the hint of speech God hath made our reason and understanding to frame speech and speech to be the Messenger and Interpreter of reason and of the conceit now when speech shall be a false Messenger it is contrary to the gift of speech speech should be the stream of understanding and reason now when the fountain is one and the spring is another there is a contradiction it is against nature so it is intrinsically ill It is not onely against the will of God but it is against the Image of God which is in truth It is ill not by inconvenience or by inconsequence but a pernicious lie is inwardly ill jesting lies pernicious lies officious lies all lies let them be what they will they come from the father of lies the Divel and are hated of God who is truth it self Besides that it is a sin opposite to society and therefore by Gods just judgment it is punished by societie all men hate a lyar a false dissembler as an enemy to society as a man that offends against that bond whereby God hath knit men together Now to move us the better to this simplicity this direct course of life that there may be a conformity and harmony between the outward and inward man in the thoughts speeches and actions that they may be one Consider first of all that this simplicity it is a comely thing comelinesse and seemlinesse it is a thing that is delightful to the eyes of God and to a mans own conscience and it stands in onenesse and proportion for you know where there is a comely proportion there all things suite in one As in a comely body the head and all the rest of the members are suitable there is not a young green head upon an old body or a fair face on a deformed body for then there is two the body is one and the complexion another Beauty and comelinesse is in one when there is a correspondency a proportion and harmony in the parts In Revel 13. you have a cruel beast there with the horns of a Lamb there is two there is a goodly pretention and shew but there is a beast that is hid within Dissimulation is double where there is singlenesse and doublenesse there is deformity alway It is an ugly thing in the eyes of God it is a mishapen thing it is a Monster Jacob's voice and Esau's hands words as smooth as oyl and war in the heart It is a monstrous thing Even as there be Monsters in nature so there be in disposition Where there is such a grosse mixture the Devil and an Angel of light outwardly an Angel of light and inwardly a Devil to hide a Devil in the shape of an Angel of light there is a horrible deformity It is a comely thing therefore when all things hold conformity and correspondence in our lives when they are even amongst men when we labour to have sanctified judgments of things and speak what is our judgment and have outward expressions answerable to the inward impressions wrought by the Spirit of God every way then a man is like himself he is one there is not a heart and a heart Adam at the first was every way like himself but after falling from God to the creature the changeable corruptible creature to have his corruptible end he fell to this doublenesse And as S. James saith A double-minded man is unconstant in all his waies That is another reason to move us to simplicity of disposition for where doubling is a man is unconstant in all his waies What doth S. James mean by this where he saith A double-minded man is unsettled Because a double-minded man he looks with one eye to Religion and to those things that are good and with another part of his heart to the world and hereupon he can never be settled any way Why Because having unsettled intentions having false aimes double aimes he will be crossed continually Please God he would he would be Religious that is one intention but now comes the world and Religion to dash one against another and then he must be inconstant because he hath not simplicity he hath not a single eye as Christ saith If the eye be single then the body is light He hath not a right intention a right judgment of things he judgeth too high of the world and not high enough of grace and goodnesse And hereupon it comes that when the world comes to crosse his good intentions having his mind on earthly things because it is crosse to Religion his mind
be carnal she will have her own ends So a friend that is carnal he will have his own ends the Idol that he respects more then thee or then any thing in the earth is his own fleshly wisdome and his own ends Every carnal man makes himself his god he reduceth all to himself his own ends is his Idol therefore have no intimate society with such That with me there should be yea yea nay nay Observe again in this place That Carnal men are vehement They are vehement in either part if they be yea they are yea yea and yet they will be nay nay naught at the same time The soul of man will admit of contraries and yet be still the same in the general yea yea at one time and nay nay at another time And usually they that are vehement in businesse one way are vehement another if they be carnal A carnal man is vehement one way in the pursuit of things and he is vehement on the contrary if he be crossed What is the reason that men that are carnal some stand against Religion and some for Religion with like eagernesse the one is nay nay as much as the other is yea yea both are flesh and if those that are yea yea were where the other are they would be nay nay For instance a man is Religious onely for carnal respects he is yea yea O he will have the Religion of the times why he could not be safe else he cannot have his ends else he was bred up in it c. Another on the contrary is as much for the opposite Religion what is the reason he was bred in it it stands for his ends If a man be Religions not for religious respects he is peremptory and contrary to him of the opposite religion and yet they are equally naught A common Protestant hath no better ground for his Religion then a Papist hath for his the same reason that a Papist hath the same such a Protestant hath he was bred in it and the King is of that Religion and he shall attain his ends by it Hath a Papist other reasons except a man be truly changed and altered he shall be yea yea and nay nay sometime one sometime another peremptory in one and peremptory in another and all naught As for instance the Sea sometimes it ebbs sometime it flowes sometimes it flowes one way and then flowes back another way yet it is alway salt and brinish the nature of it is not changed so some men are peremptory yea yea they run one way amain and then they ebbe again yet they alway keep their nature brinish They are peremptory for good sometimes and when it stands for their ends they are peremptory against it Such a cause is so it is yea if it help their advantage and it is not so if it help not that as if truth it self in their judgment were flexible and alterable Thus a carnal man he alters and yet he is never good in his judgment Saint Paul declines this he was not yea yea nay nay because he did not purpose things according to the flesh To come to the point it self This declining of inconstancy of yea yea nay nay it came in S. Paul from hatred of inconstancy and falshood for yea and nay when a man is of one mind and another it comes from one of these two grounds in a carnal man Either because he is inconstant that he is now of one mind and now of another Or because he is false and means to dissemble Now both are dispositions that are contrary to a Christian man he should neither be light nor be false and untrue Now S. Paul doth much more decline the imputation of falshood and dissembling that he should be yea when he meant not yea but nay when he had declined the imputation of lightnesse for a man may truly say he will and yet change his mind after but for a man to say he will and yet mean it not that is falshood and dissembling which is worse S. Paul intends much more to decline the suspition of that Dissemblers are yea yea nay nay not at divers times but at the same time they make yea and nay all at once We say Contradictions cannot be true for a thing to be and not to be at the same time but dissemblers would have contradictions true they make as if they loved when indeed they hate God is the God of truth the Word is the Word of truth and Christ is the Truth and the Devil is the father of lies Therefore as we would be like to God and as we would be unlike Satan let us labour for truth in all things Saint Paul here labours to avoid the opinion of dissembling How would he think then of Equivocation when there is yea and nay at a breath they are not at divers times inconstant but yea and nay at once to speak one thing and mean the contrary to have reservations of the contrary It is so odious that I will not spend time to speak of it onely this If it were allowable as the best of their Writers allow it and practise it however if they do not allow it their practice is so but they do allow it by this means the devil himself should never be a liar there would be no lie at all And it were in vain for God to make prohibitions against lying if there might be equivocation for there is no lie in the world but it may be salved up with reservations Therefore that course that brings the devil from being a liar that frustrates Gods course and that makes men that they shall not lie whatsoever they do it is abominable such a conceit and odious to God but to maintain equivocation is to do all this for with absurd reservations what in the world may not be justified Then again we are exhorted to suffer Martyrdome to stand for Gods cause now to allow equivocation is to avoid suffering Where is the honour of Martyrdome and suffering for Gods cause when men shall speak untruths and justifie themselves by a lie It is contrary I say to the whole tenour and stream of Scripture Then again they may call it equivocation to mince it but it is a lie to speak one thing and reserve another for what is a lie to speak falshood with a purpose and intention to deceive another Now they speak false and with a purpose to deceive A lie must be esteemed as it is esteemed by another that hears it not him that speaks it As it is with an oath Isidore saith An oath is to be esteemed as he that I speak to esteems it not as I in my sense esteem it as God esteems it and he to whom I speak so a lie is to be judged as he judgeth it that I speak to because God forbids lying as a breach of charity to others because he would not have others deceived if I
Pharaoh in the overthrow of Gods people saith he Let us work wisely How wisely they were overthrown and drowned themselves their wisdome brought them into the middest of the Sea Consider the vanity of earthly things And then consider how just it is with God to crosse them either in their own time as the rich fool in the Gospel when he had riches for many yeares This night shall they take away thy soul. That we may not walk according to the false rules of fleshly wisdome let us oft think of these things And to adde another thing out of the Text You see here that S. Paul rejoyced in this That his conscience could witnesse that he had not walked in fleshly wisdome so if you do not walk according to the rules of fleshly wisdome you shall have this benefit your conscience shall glory in it To make it clear to you Take in your thoughts a Politician upon his Death-bed that hath striven so much for riches that hath striven to root himself by policy to attain to such and such places to obtain his pleasure and delights in the world what glory what comfort hath he in this There is nothing more opposite to comfort then plotting for as I said before when I spake of simplicity the more will there is the more deliberation and plotting there is in sin the more is the sin because it is done cooly as we say so of all persons usually if their wits be their own the greatest plotters die most desperately For then their conscience tells them that they have set their wits on the rack to do this mischief and that mischief and here his comfort is cooled his peace of conscience is broken What comfort can there be when that which he sinned for that which he broke the peace of his conscience for that is gone and he must be taken and hurried away from that but the wound of conscience the crack of conscience that remains for ever when he shall think That for which I sinned is vanished but my terrour abides for ever A man therefore that walks after the rules of fleshly wisdome he can never say with S. Paul I rejoyce But on the contrary let a man be able to witnesse to himself as S. Paul could At such a time my fleshly subtle wisdome would have discouraged me from doing good and the wisdome of flesh and blood in others would have discouraged me from reforming such and such abuses but I knew it was my duty and I did it here now is comfort At such a time I was moved to such evil by flesh and blood in my self or perhaps in others as a man shall never want the Devil in his friends the Devil comes to us in our nearest friends but I had the grace to withstand it I was not led by such and such ruleâ—… by my acquaintance or by my own devices but I had grace to resist such motions What a wondrous comfort is this There is nothing so sharp in conflict as this To resist Carnal wisdome it is the shrewdest temptation that is from carnal wisdome and as the Temptation is the strongest so the comfort is answerable When Jezabel shall be offered with her inticements with her colours with her paint and a man can dash her in pieces and cast her out of the window when a man can maintain sincerity and honesty what a comfort is this The greater and stronger the temptation is that is resisted the more is the comfort when we come to yield our soules to God when we come to our account Therefore be not discouraged when you are set upon by Carnal wisdome by strong reasons of others or subtle reasons of your own is it against the rule is it against Conscience is it against the Word withstand it that which is sharpest in the conflict will be sweetest in the comfort Again if so be that Carnal fleshly worldly wisdome for it is all one for the flesh is led by the world and both coâ—…spire together and hold correspondence to betray the soul if it be such an enemy that it hinders our joy and comfort and that it ever we will joâ—… we must not be led by carnal wisdome Then we ought in our daily courses to repent not onely of grosse sins but to repent even of carnal devices and carnal designs Why It is the motion and the counsel of Gods enemâ—… and of our enemy therefore as Davia Psalr 37. and Psal 7â—… when fleshly wisdome did suggest to him carnal motions oâ—… doubting of the providence of God that he began to think well of the waies of the wicked that they prospered that were led altogether by fleshly wisdome he censures himself it is the drift of both Psalmes So foolish was I and as a beast before thee As indeed Man is a beast by his own knowledge as Jeremy saith For all carnal men sympathize either with beasts in base lusts or else with Devils in politick lusts either they are like Devils subtle or like beasts brutish in all their courses Therefore when any base thought opposite to the Majestie of God and his Truth and to the Spirit of God moving our hearts ariseth in our hearts think This is the motion of mine enemy of an enemy that lurks in my bosome of Godsenemy of a Traitor let us renounce it and be abased and censure our selves for it as holy David did So foolish was I c. Crush all thoughts and devices of carnal wisdome in the beginning We see that the Godly they ought not nor do not lead their lives by fleshly wisdome nay take it in the best sense take it for the rules of reason they do not lead their lives altogether by the light of nature but only in those things wherein the light of nature and reason may be a Judge For the light of reason the principle of reason is given us as a candle in the dark night of this world to lead us in Civil and in common actions and it hath its use but yet natural reason it becomes carnal reason in a man that is carnal All things are impure to him that is impure even his very light is darknesse Not that the light of nature and that reason which is a part of the Image of God is in it self evil it is good in it self but the vessel taints it Those that have great parts of learning that have great wits and helps of learning as much as may be what do they they trust in them and so they stain them Therefore Luther was wont to say Good works are good but to trust in good works is damnable So nature and reason and learning they are good in themselves but trusting in them they become carnal when a man neglects better rules for them when men scorn Religion as your Politicians usually do then naturall reason in regard of this tainture it becomes Carnal Not with fleshly wisdome or not with natural wisdom as it is a
me so you will judge of me to the end Why hath S. Paul such a trust of them as of himself Among many reasons this is one He knew that where God had begun a good work he would finish it he saw that he had begun a good work in them and therefore he knew that he would go on with it And then again God planted in him a good hope and trust of them because hope and trust stirre up indeavour to the thing hoped for Desperation doth quell all courage and cool all endeavour Now God because he would have us constant in our carriage and in the expressions of our love to other men he stirres up in us a trust that all shall be well with them Likewise S. Paul sets down his hope that God had put into his heart of them for his own comfort for it is a great comfort to a Minister or to a Christian when he is to deal with such as he trusts are good and will be good it is a heaven upon earth and therefore God doth plant good conceits of other men in us for this end partly to stirre up our endeavour to do all good to them and partly to comfort us For if the finall estate of any man were discovered to us that God had no delight in them concerning their salvation who would do any service of love for them or who would have comfort in conversing with them But when God stirs up in our hearts a good opinion of them partly it is good for them to stirre up our endeavour to do all good for them and it is good for us it is a great comfort And again it was an encouragement to them when they heard of Saint Paul's trust of them to the end that they should continue as they were For to have a good conceit and opinion of another man especially the good conceit of a Pastor it is a great encouragement And the best Christians in the world have need of it oft-times Besides the judgement of themselves which is sometimes shaken by Satan that they give a false witnesse of their own estate Oh it is comfortable that a man have the judgment of a man that looks without passion and temptation on him you have been thus and my trust and confidence is in God and the promise of God looking to your former course that you will be so to the end he gives not a false witnesse Saint Paul speaks thus to stirre up his own endeavour to do good to them and to comfort them that so great an Apostle should have so good an opinion of them Therefore let us labour I say to entertain as good a conceit of them among whom we live as their carriage will bear Two things usually are the object of our hope and trust while men are here before their estate be determined of in hell God may have mercy on them and deliver them out of the snares of Satan that hope should stirre up some endeavour to pray for them seeing their estates are not desperate they are not yet sunk into Hell Or else if we see them in the state of grace we should expresse our love in the services and offices of love because God hath already set his stamp on them There is no man living but we may trust and hope of him one way or other Those that we see no grace in as the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 2. we may have patience towards them seeing if at any time God will have mercy on them to deliver them out of the snare of the Devil It is not good to cast off all conceit and all hope of any man living the worst sign is when we see men malicious and oppose known truths because it comes near the sin against the Holy Ghost but because we may erre in that it is good to take the safest way But where we see evidences of grace though in never so little a measure let us entertain and cherish a good hope because it will cherish that which we are all bound to to love one another We are bound to love one another and to shew all the offices of love now that which stirres up love and all the offices of love is Hope Faith works by Hope as well as by Love Faith works by Love in all duties and it works by Hope in this duty if we hope that God will have mercy on them that will stirre up our endeavour but we are not much in this errour we are rather ready to conceit over-well then too ill of men I trust you shall acknowledge to the end Saint Paul here besides his good conceit of them to the end doth imply his own resolution and purpose to hold on in good courses to the end My trust in Gods grace is that you shall acknowledge to the end what I have written to you of mine own courses As if he had said I am Paul now and you shall find me Paul hereafter you shall find me alwaies an honest man like my self for as he whom I have trusted is yesterday to day to morrow and the same for ever so likewise by Gods grace I hope to be the same that I have been I hope I shall be like my self The grounds of S. Paul's trust that he should be so is partly the act it self together with the endeavour I trust I shall be so to the end because I trust in God to the end and God is good to them that trust in him how often is it repeated in the Psalmes He is the God of them that trust in him he is a Sun and a shield he is all that is good and he keeps away all evil All the promises are entailed to trusting in God Now because I have confidence in it that God will do so I stirre up my endeavour to shew that it is not a presumptuous trust I trust in him that will perform the conditions of the Covenant which is made to them that honour him by trusting in him Saint Paul knew what God had done he knew that he that had bestowed the first fruits he would make up the harvest he knew that he that had laid the first stone he would set up the roof he knew that God had begun a good work in him by experience and that he would finish his own work that he knew by former experience And then he knew the promises of God the promises of the Covenant Many such grounds Saint Paul had to bear him up that he should continue to the end in a course of simplicity and sincerity and in the grace of God But withall Saint Paul did adde a holy and heavenly course to come to this end together with his trust What course did Saint Paul take Saint Paul that he might hold out constantly in holy resolutions to the end First he did judiciously consider what might hinder him between that and the end of his race and course he balanced all things
we must swear by him And indeed it is a service of God and to good purpose when Christians swear to stablish and determine truths that otherwise are doubtfull They were doubtfull of S. Paul's doctrine and his person saith he To put you out of doubt of the truth I speak to you I dare call God to witnesse it is true and sound The Apostle doth so once after in this Chapter therefore I reserve the further handling of an oath to verse 23. because the word there is more infallible I call God to record upon my soul c. The next thing I observe hence is this That The believing that Gods Word is Gods Word and is certain it is a matter of great consequence It is of great consequence for Gods people that look to be saved to be stablished in their opinion and judgment of Divine truth that it is certain and not flexible and mutable according to our wills and conceits and dispositions but is yea alway the same as God himself the Authour of it For laying this for a ground that I said before that S. Paul takes God to witnesse he would not enterpose an oath but in a matter of great consequence therefore it is a matter of great consequence to be setled in this that the Scripture is Divine truth unalterable and unchangeable An oath is never good as I said but when it is necessary It must not onely be in truth but there must be a necessity It must not only be taken in righteousnesse but in judgment a man must do it in discretion when the thing is not determinable any other way Therefore it is a matter of great consequence that men take the Word of truth not to be as the Oracles of Apollo and of the Devill true one way and false another The Devil would escape the imputation of a lie though he be a liar but Gods Oracles be Divine they be yea And it is good that we think them to be so to be constant undoubted certain and unmovable Therefore the Apostle seales it with an oath he would not seal a slight truth by an oath but saith he As God is true our word to you was not yea and nay c. And Saint Paul saw a disposition in them to suspect the truth of God as indeed we are proner to believe the lies of our own hearts and the suggestions of Satan and the counsell of Politicians of carnall friends then to believe God himself Therefore partly for the indisposition in us and partly for the great exigence and necessity of the thing to believe that Gods Word is his Word that it is truth he seales it with an oath God is true It is a point of great consequence The reason is God can have no service else and we can have no comfort If we do not believe the Word of God to be undoubtedly true in great temptations and assaults what armour of proof shall we have we can have no comfort nor grace For sometimes subtile and strong temptations to evill come if the Word of God be not more undoubted to me then the present profit or pleasure or whatsoever if the temptation be ready and I be not built on and settled on some grounded truth that I know to be true as God is true when the temptation is strong and our faith weak where are we a man presently yields to base lusts and temptations And so in matter of danger and despair when a man is tempted to despair if he cannot build on this God is true and his Word is as true as himself he will not the death of a sinner c. here a man is swallowed up It is no matter how strong the foundation be if the building on that foundation be weak If a strong man stand in a slippery place down he falls if a man stand slippery and have a weak standing on a strong place on a strong foundation if he have a weak building on a strong foundation he shall soon be cast off So the Word of God is true in it self but if we be not perswaded so that it is infallibly true that it is alway yea we shall be shaken with temptations When we are tempted to sin the temptation is present we are sure of the temptation if we be not more sure of somewhat against the temptation somewhat out of the Word to beat back the darts of Satan when we are tempted to sin and to despair for sin down we go and therefore it is a matter of infinite consequence to be perswaded of Divine truth What makes many as they are in courses that are corrupt in their callings nothing but this they stagger whether it be true or no that there shall be a Judgment they stagger whether it be true or no that the Scripture saith if they were perswaded that it were yea as true as God is in heaven as true as they have soules so their soules must be called to Judgment for that they speak and do would they do as they do Therefore S. Paul stablisheth them by an oath God is true and as God is true our Word to you was not yea and nay Therefore take in good part with thankfulnesse the means that God hath ordained to strengthen our faith and assurance of the Word of God and the Promises of God Therefore he hath appointed the Sacrament for that purpose I say there is nothing in the world so strengthened as the soul of a Christian if he give himself to Gods truth to be ruled by it For if we will believe God we have his promise That Whosoever believes in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life rich promises precious promises as the Scripture calls them We have not onely promises but they are sealed with an oath Now an oath is an unchangeable thing Heb. 9. 16. we have promises and oath that we might have strong consolation whatsoever might secure man we have Besides his oath we have his seal his Sacrament It was his love to condescend to make any Covenant with sinfull creatures that upon any terms he would give them life everlasting It was a higher degree of love to set Christ to be the foundation of this peace and of this Covenant that now God and we may be at peace with satisfaction to Divine Justice that he is the foundation of the peace between God and us Now God may be mercifull without wrong without impeachment to his Justice that is a higher degree of mercy to enter into Covenant and to give Christ to be the foundation of all And then it is a higher degree then that to secure us of the Covenant that Christ is ours to seal the Word with an oath and with the Sacrament which is the seal of the Covenant what could God do more What a horrible sin therefore is unbelief that we should tremble at to call Gods love and truth in question But yet we are prone to it
in the truth is not properly concord but conspiracy consent in a lie in falshood The builders of Babel they had a consent among themselves when they came for a wicked purpose as we see oft-times in Scripture Consent must be in the truth in that which is good or else it is not consent but conspiracy By reason of our weaknesse consent is usefull and that is the reason why in doubtful cases we may alledge Antiquity not that the Word is not sufficient in it self but to help our weaknesse to shew that we do not divert from the truth but that it is a truth warranted by others before In doubtfull cases this is warrantable He brings it likewise to enforce obedience the more when it was a truth brought to them by so many But that is not a thing I mean to stand on a touch is enough That which I will spend a little more time in is the next thing that is That Evangelical doctrine now is most certain Something I spake of it before in the former verse but I have reserved something to speak of it now The Son of God preached by S. Paul with the consent of these blessed men it was not yea and nay it was not unconstant Evangelical truth is not yea and nay and the Preachers of it the Apostles were not yea and nay in the delivering of it As it is true in it self so it was true in the delivery of it they were constant in it they sealed it with their blood some of them How shall we know the doctrine of the Gospel concerning Christ to be yea undoubtedly true I answer how do we know the Sun shines I know it by its own light and by a light that I have in my eye there is an inward light joyned with the outward light So it is in this businesse how do we know Divine truth out of the Book of God to be Divine By the light in it self by the majesty of the Scriptures by the consent of the Old and New Testament by the opposition of the enemies and the confusion of them at the last that have been opposers of it by the miraculous preservation of it and the like But especially by the powerfull work of it on the heart by the experience of this blessed truth I know this to be an undoubted truth I find it quelling my corruptions changing my nature pacifying my conscience raising my heart casting down high imaginations turning the stream of nature another way to make me do that which I thought I should never have done onely because I have a strong light of Divine truth and comfort There is this experience of Christ that a man finds in his soul it sets him down that he can say nothing but that it is Divine truth because he finds it so Besides this the testimony of the Spirit of God and the work of the Spirit in him For as to see there is an outward light required and an inward light in the eye so to see Divine truth there must be a light in it self a Divine sparkle in Gods Book in every passage but yet I must have an eye to see too I cannot see it except God witnesse to my soul that these things are divine that they are yea that they are certainly and infallibly true There is a great difference between us and our adversaries I can but touch it and I need but touch it They say we must believe and we must believe because of the Church I say no The Church we believe hath a kind of working here but that is in the last place For God himself in his Word he is the chief The inward arguments from the Word it self and from the Spirit they are the next the Church is the remotest witnesse the remotest help of all For the Church is but to propound Gods truth to lay it open to be as it were the candlestick now the candlestick shines not but upholds the candle while that shines So the Church is but to propose to set up Divine truth that of it self being set up will enlighten well enough The Church is to set out the Word and to publish it by the Ministery which Word of it self will shine That work which the Church hath therefore is the last and the inferiour for the Spirit of God and the inward majesty of the Word is of more force If a messenger come and bring a relation or bring a letter from one and he tells me many things of the man I but I doubt him because he may be false for ought I know but when I see his hand and seal and his characters and stile that shewes such a spirit to be in him I know by his own characters certainly this comes from the hand of that man Now the messenger brings it and gives it but I believe it because I see the characters and hand and seal of such a one that it is a truth So the Church propounds it is the messenger that brings the truth of God to us but when a Christian soul hears the truth and sees Gods seal upon it there is a majesty and power that works on the soul now we believe not for the messenger but for the thing it self Here is the difference we believe the Scripture for the seal of Divinity that is in it self they believe it for the messenger As if a doubtfull messenger should come that is not certain and a man should believe the things he brought for him for his sake we believe and entertain the messenger for the message sake not the message for the messengers sake our faith is better built then theirs But they say this All comes to this at the last God speaks by the Church as well as by the Scriptures therefore the Church is to be believed more then the Scripture it self I answer God speaks indeed in his Church by his Spirit and by his Word but his speaking by his Word is the cause of his speaking in the Church For what is the Church but begotten by the seed of the Word How is the Church a Church but by the Word Therefore he speaks first by the Scriptures there is a majestie and a Spirit in the Scriptures and then he speaks by the Church as cleaving to the Scriptures in a secondary manner He speaks by the Church mediately because that goes to the Word which speaks immediately The Word was written by men led immediately by the Spirit of God and the Church relying on that he speaks by them in the Church but primarily by his Word Having just occasion I thought to touch this Undoubtedly there are none that are not led with partiality but incomparably they see our faith is built on a better foundation then theirs they have a rotten foundation They talk of a Church and when all comes to all the Church their mother is nothing but the Pope their father What is their Church but the Pope
himself for they run from the Church essentiall to to the Church representative they run to Councels and when we force them with Councels that they may erre then the Pope he is the Church virtually so I say the Church their mother is nothing but the Pope their father and what manner of men they have been Histories tell us well enough We see on what ground they build Jesus Christ that is the Gospel by him is not yea and nay but yea that is it is certainly and infallibly and eternally true Hereupon we may answer that curious question that hath been and now is every where How we may know that our Church was before Luther's time or no as they idly say How we may know that the faith that we professe is the ancient faith I answer hence take these grounds First there is but one faith men have varied but faith hath not varied as S. Austin saith well for there is but one faith as there is one God one heaven and one happinesse There was one faith from Adam The times vary but not the faith of the times the same fundamental truth hath been in all times Sometimes it hath been more explicated and unfolded as we have the Canon inlarged now in the time of the New Testament in many books There is not a new faith but a larger explication of the old faith Divine truth is alway the same It was one faith from the beginning of the world from the first promise to Adam in Paradise till now Abraham believed as we do now so they were all saved by faith Heb. 11. Even as there is one Catholike Church consisting of all the members the triumphant being the greater part from the beginning of the world to the end of the world so there is one faith take that for a ground Indeed the Church varies as a man varies when he is a child and when he is a man he hath one manner of cloathes when he is a child and another when he is a man so the Church varies in cloathes it was cloathed with Ceremonies then which were cast off in Christ but this is but a variation of garments the Church had one faith Hereupon comes a second there is one Catholike Church that is built on that one faith one essential Church one Catholike company rhat believe in Christ from the beginning of the world to the end of the world which we believe in the Apostles Creed Well then this being so as it is undeniable that it is so what Church is built upon that one faith that was yea in the Apostles and was yea before then as the Apostle saith here Our Preaching was yea certain and true you may build on it what Church builds on that that Church all the while hath been for there is but one faith and one truth that runs along in all ages which is the seed of the Church therefore there must be a Church in all ages that is a branch of the Catholike Church why The Church must be built upon that one faith therefore all particular Churches before us that were branches of the general Church were built upon that preaching of the Apostle which he saith was yea There is but one faith and therefore all Churches that are true are built upon that one faith If we can prove that the Apostolicall doctrine agrees with our times that ours hath consanguinity with the Apostles doctrine then our Church was before we were ever since the Apostles it hath been alway yea for there is but one truth The Church is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and Christ saith Matth. 16. when Peter said to Christ Thou art the Son of God c. saith he Thou art Peter and upon this Rock that is upon this confession of thine will I build my Church So the confession of faith is the Rock of the Church Now there is alway one Rock of the Church that is alway yea if our Church be built upon that Rock then it is founded upon Apostolicall doctrine upon the Prophets and Apostles it was before we were and if there were any Church then it was ours which professeth that one faith If we conjure the Papists they are silent they dare say nothing Dare they say their doctrine is nearer Apostolical then ours they dare not say but ours is nearer why then our Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles why so All the Churches since have been built upon one foundation because there is one faith and one Church unity of faith makes the unity of the Church The seed of the Church is the Gospel is Divine truth now if Divine truth hath been alway there hath been a Church alway and if there hath been a Church alway there hath been Divine truth that hath been yea alway Now it is an Article of our faith in all times to believe a Catholike Church therefore there is a certain truth that is alwayes yea to be the seed and foundation of that Catholike Church Therefore we must search out what that yea was what was the Apostolical doctrine the positive doctrine in those Apostolical times in the Virgin-times of the Church before the Church was corrupted The Church was not long a Virgin as the Father said What was the yea of those truths some there must be alway that held Apostolical truths in all ages Our Church holds that positive truth that the Apostles held for directly in so many words we defend the Apostolical faith out of the Apostles Therefore we say our Church was before Luther because our doctrine is Apostolical and the Church continually hath been Apostolical because it was built upon the Apostles doctrine Our Church hath no doctrine in the positive fundamental points of it contrary therefore our Church hath continued Put case we cannot name the men as idly and ridiculously they urge what is that to the purpose shall we go from ignorance of particular men to ignorance of the Church we must believe that there is a Catholike Church and there must alway be a positive doctrine and truth the seed of that Church The Papists cavil with us and say we professe a negative Religion Ye cut off our opinions say they but what have you of your own what affirmatives have ye It is most certain that all our affirmatives have been ever since the Apostles time for we and the Papists differ not in affirmatives onely they adde patcheries of their own Religion stands most in affirmatives that is the ground first For we believe negatives because they agree not to affirmatives we believe a lie to be a lie because it is contrary to positive truth and the truth is before a lie the affirmation is before the negation a thing is before the contrary is not This laying for a ground affirmatives being truths our positive truths that we hold have been held in the Apostles times before and since even in
not believe the Articles of the Creed do we not believe the first four generall Councels we do who then will not say that these are sufficient being understood and believed to make a man that he be no heretick I may answer hence another question whether a Papist may be saved or no It is a curious question you will say but it is so ordinary that somewhat I must say I answer no doubt but many of them are saved How comes that to passe They reverse their false grounds and stick to those positive truthes that they and we hold together they reject their owne workes and help of Saints and go to Christ onely for as I said Poperie is full of contradictions Now a Papist when he comes to have his conscience awakened heleaves the Pope Indulgencies their 5. Sacraments Justification by works and then imbracheth only Christ and then he comâ—… our part They live by their Religion and die by ours So the question is whether living or dying Luther saith If they live and die peremptorily in all the points professed in the Tridentine Counsell they cannot But no doubt many of them the Lord hath mercy on to open their eyes to see the vanity of their works and of all their fooleries which those that are wise and have their consciences enlightened turn off then and so may be saved but it must be with reversing the grounds of their religion and sticking to ours which is agreeable to the Word Nay to speak a little more of it I say we do more safely believe we are more safe and on better grounds led into some lesse errours then they do believe maine truths It may seeme strange but it is most true For if so be a sound Protestant maintain an errour it is because he thinks it is in the Scripture that it is in the Word if it be discovered out of the Word of God to be an errour he leaves it as St. Cyprian and other Fathers blessed Saints in heaven they held some errours but if they saw the Scripture held otherwise they had prepared minds to believe otherwise therefore holding the maine fundamentall truths though they held particular errours they were saved The Papists maintaine fundamentall truths with us they believe the Word of God they believe in Christ and to be saved by mercy but upon what grounds They believe the truth upon heretical divellish grounds As upon what grounds do they believe the Articles of the faith to be so and the Scriptures to be so because the Church saith so Who is the Church but the Pope And what man is the Pope oft-times A man if we believe their own Writers led with a divellish spirit some of them have been Magicians If they believe the truth they do it not as divine truth they believe the truth for matter but the grounds of believing those truths are humane nay worse many times divellish for you know in the Revelation the beast is inspired with the spirit of the Dragon with the spirit of the Divell and teacheth the doctrine of Divels Now to teach that which is materially true upon reasons that are diabolicall or humane at the best it is but humane as the testimony of the Church is what an unsafe thing is this Nay I say it is the most horrible witchery the most horrible abomination one of them that ever was since the beginning of the World this principle that their Church cannot erre that is the reason of the believing of all divine truths Hereupon they come to practise most abominable treacheries hereupon they defend lies hereupon they kill Princes and dissolve the bonds of allegiance that Subjects owe to Princes And all humane and Divine things all the light of nature and Scripture all becomes a nullitie Why because the Church cannot erre And this they have from their holy Father the Pope he is above all Councells and all and cannot erre We know if principles be false all other things are false an errour in principles is a dangerous errour An errour in the ground is the worst thing in the VVorld As to maintaine treason to be lawfull it is worse then to be a Traitor for his judgement is convinced alreadie but he that maintaines a false principle he is a dangerous man indeed So to have this abominable principle that the Church that the Pope cannot erre Hence come all those dangerous practices in this Common-VVealth ever since the beginning of Queen Elisabeths time Who would have thought but that God gave up bitter proud poisonfull spirits vain spirits that rejected the Word of God that men of parts and understanding should ever be so sotted to believe such a thing that a wretched ignorant man should get into the Chaire and he should judge infallibly of the truths that he never knew in his life being of another profession as some are Canonists and not Divines But I leave that point To touch one thing more that borders a little upon this that Divine truth is of an inflexible nature whatsoever men think of it and that crosseth another rule of theirs that they will give what sense they will of Scriptures and the Current of the present Church must judge of all former Councels Now doth truth vary according to mens judgements according to the pcesent Church Must we bring the rule to the crooked timber or the timber and the things to be measured to the rule Shall the judgment of any man be the rule of truth shall it be the rule in one time and not in another shall present men interpret it thus and say it is so now and others that succeed say whatsoever it was now thus it must be believed Hereupon likewise if it be the constant nature of truth alway to be believed hereupon it comes to crosse another thing their dispensation no man can dispense with Gods Law truth is truth indispensible Laws divine and naturall are indispensible because they are alike in all things Reason is reason in Turkie as well as here the light of nature is the light of nature in any countrey as well as here Principles of nature varie not as languages do they are inbred things If the Principles of nature be invariable and indispensible much more divine principles saith the Heathen filthinesse is filthinesse whether thou think it to be so or no. Opinion is not the rule of things but the nature of the thing it self Therefore whatsoever is against nature none can dispense with God cannot deny himself What was naught in one age is naught in another and is for ever naught Whatsoever is divine or natural is indispensible No Monarch in the world can dispense with the law of nature or the Divine Law the Word of God for the opinion of any man in the world is not the rule of his course but the undoubted light of God whether the light of nature or the light of Divine truth I speak this the rather to crosse base
yea and amen to be yea and nay We make truth a lie and do rather believe our own lying hearts then Gods immutable and unchangeable Promises Therefore let us see the fulnesse of our hearts and complain of them to God and desire him to cure it and redresse it and he will do it This is to give glory to God indeed we cannot honour God more then to believe his Promises and build on him This will breed love when we feel the comfort of the Promises Foolish men think to honour God by complements by dead performances filly men consider that the principal honour in the world to God is to seal his truth that thou shouldest not make him a liar Hath he promised all things in the world get faith that will honour him and he will honour thy faith What makes God honour faith so much He that believes he will bring him to heaven Faith honours him it gives him the glory of his truth the glory of his goodnesse of his mercy of his truth c. as it honours him he honours it The Believer shall come to heaven when the idle fashionable Christian shall vanish with his conceits that thinks to serve God with empty vain shadowes Honour God with the obedience of faith man cast thy self upon him trust in him in life and death and then thou givest him the honour that he requireth at thy hands For as the honour of his mercy is the greatest honour he will have in this world more then that in the Creation so thou honourest him more in the Gospel to cast thy self on him for forgivenesse of sins and life everlasting and for the guidance of thy daily course of life thou honourest him more then by looking on the creature or by doing him any service He is honoured more by faith in Christ then by any other way Let faith go to him as faith honours him so he will honour it Let it be according to thy faith Let not all be lost let us bring vessels for the precious Promises the vessel of a believing heart Shall all this be lost for a vain heart that will not lodge up these promises shall we have a rich portion and neglect it shall we have so many promises and not improve them and make use of them Therefore I beseech you let it be our practice continually every day of all portions of Scripture make the Promises most familiar to us for duties follow promises if we believe the Promises with our heart they are quickning Promises we will love God and perform other duties Faith works by love If we believe love will come kindly off Therefore he saith here All the Promises are Yea and Amen insinuating that all is included in the Promises Let us empty our hearts of confidence in any thing and fill them with the Promises in Christ that are Yea and Amen Let us stablish our hearts with the Promises let us warm and season and refresh our hearts every day with these In these times of infection what do we those that are careful of themselves that go abroad in dangerous places they have Preservatives they take something to preserve their spirits and to strengthen them against the contagion abroad and it is wisdome so to do it is folly to neglect it and to tempt God not to be careful in this kind it is very well done But what is this if thou do not fence thy soul and thy spitit and take a draught of the Promises every day afresh Let us take out our pardon of course every day of the forgivenesse of sins We sin every day let us go for our pardon If we sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ and he is the propitiation for our sins And the blood of Jesus Christ shall purge us from all sin And he is in justifying us still every day he is acquitting our soules and there is a pardon of course to be taken out every day Let us renew and refresh our hearts with the Promises of pardon and forgivenesse of sins every day Let us strengthen our soules with renewing the Promises of grace for that day to walk comfortably before God that he will keep us by his Spirit from sin that he will be a shield and a Sun to us that he will give us wisdome to carry our selves as we should and he will give us his holy Spirit if we beg it Let us every day take these Promises to be Cordials in these dangerous times and then come life come death all shall be welcome why because we are in Christ and have imbraced the Promises and Christ and all in Christ is Yea and Amen it shall go well with us What a wondrous comfortable life would a Christians life be if he could yield the obedience faith answerable to the promises What a shame is it that having such rich promises we should be so loose so changeable that we should be cast down with crosses and lift up with prosperity It is because we believe not the promises of better things therefore we are proud of present things and cast down with present crosses and are fast and loose Now we have good things for the present afterward the devil comes between us and the promises and makes us let go our hold Religion stands on this which makes me to presse it the more If this were well taken to heart and digested we should know what Religion means if we know Christ and the promises all other things will come off All others are but formalities they will never comfort without the confideration of knowing God in Christ and the rich promises to us in Christ. Likewise if this be so that the promises of God in Christ are Yea and Amen This teacheth us how to make use of all former examples of others and of all former goodnesse to our selves Was God merciful to Abraham and to David Our father 's trusted in thee and were not confounded Psal. 22. Therefore he reasons If I trust in God I shall not be confounded for the Promises are Yea and Amen they are true to one as well as another And whatsoever was written afore was written for our comfort Rom. 15. And this is a singular good use we may make of reading of the stories of the Scripture and of holy men that the same God he lives for ever his arm is not shortened he that was is and is to come and therefore we should read histories with application Did God make sure his Promises to them surely he will make sure his Promises to us Had David forgivenesse of sins upon his confession surely so shall we Abraham believed and it was accâ—…ed to him for righteousnesse and â—…o it shall to us if we believe It is alledged for that end Rom. 4. And S. Paul prefixeth his example to all posterity God was mercifull to me and not so onely but to all that believe in him 2 Tim. 2. This is an Use
had at the first as Gods mending is ever for the better The state of grace and glory is better then ever the state of nature was spiritual is better then natural Therefore it is much for the glory of the wisdome of God that he can in Christ reconcile justice and mercy and shew more mercy then ever he did in making man out of the dust of the earth and all is to the glory of God These attributes especially are glorious in the promises in Christ. His Justice is glorious in punishing sin in Christ there sin is odious in the punishing of Christ God-man if we speak of justice there is justice If of Mercy to put it upon our surety for God to give his Son for us there is transcendent mercy and transcendent justice in the punishing of our sin how could it be punished greater And then the glory of his Wisdom to bring these together infinite mercy and infinite justice in Christ. Infinite Power for God to become man and without sin to be so farre abased a humble omnipotency to descend so low that God could be mortal and then to raise himself again And then the glory of his Truth that whatsoever was promised to Abraham to David to the Prophets all was performed in Christ all the Types here is glory by Christ of Mercy Justice Wisdome Truth for all are Yea and Amen in Christ. Therefore he may well say all this is To the glory of God Therefore consider how the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ as the Apostle saith If you would see God see him shining in the face of Jesus Christ see his Mercy shining in Christ and his Justice in the punishing our sin in Christ see his Truth his Power his Wisdome shineing in Christ and shining more then in the Creation or in any thing in the world besides Can you honour God more then in believing the Gospel Can you dishonour him more then to call his truth into question that is Yea and Amen If you believe the Gospel you set to your seal that God is true 1 Joh. 3. What an honour is this that God will be honoured by you in setting to your seal that he is true you give him the glory of all his attributes In not believing what a dishonour do you do to God you deny his Mercy his Wisdome his Justice his Truth you deny all his attributes you make God a liar what a horrible sin is unbelief Therefore fortifie your faith The Devil layeth siege to our faith above all other things if he can shake that he shakes all for holy life goes when faith goes Who will love God or obey God when he knowes not whether he be his God or no Let faith flourish and it will quicken life in the heart Let the promises grow in the heart and the Word be graffed in the heart and all will flourish in a Christians life all will come off clearly and freely obedience will be chearful and free when we see God reconciled in Christ. Then love will be full of devices when I see Gods love to me what shall I do to shew love again to shew thanks to God where is there any that for Cods sake I may do good unto How shall I maintain the truth and resist all opposers of the truth Can I do too much for him that hath done so much for me Love quickens The Devil knowes if he can shake faith he shakes all Let us fortifie faith and we glorifie God more then by any thing else He is glorious in the Gospel and how shall he be so by us except we set our hearts to believe him Therefore let us seal Gods truth by our faith and set to our seales that God is true God vouchsafes to be honoured by weak sinful men believing of him and that faith that honours him he will be sure to honour By us By us Ministers How When the Gospel is preached God is carried in triumph as it were and his banner is set up and the Promises displayed and sinners called unto him and God is glorified by the discovery of these things and faith is wrought in people to whom they are discovered and they glorifie God when they believe they blesse God that ever they heard these tydings so every way God is glorified The Ministers they open as it were the box of sweet oyntment that the savour of it may be in the Church and spread far They lay open the tapestry the rich treasures of Gods mercies they dig deep and find out the treasure Therefore these Promises in Scripture being so made and performed in Christ they tend to Gods glory but by us by our Ministery God to knit man and man together will convey the good he means to convey by the despised Ministery The enemies therefore of the Ministery of the Gospel what are they here is a double prejudice against them they are enemies of the glory of God and of the comfort of Gods people for they glorifie God in the sense of his mercy when it is unfolded to them God gets glory and they comfort What do we think then of Popish spirits that feed the people only with dead and dull ceremonies but let them go I go on to the next Verse having dwelt somewhat long on this VERSE XXI Now he that stablisheth us with you in Christ is God who hath anointed us c. AS the riches of a Christian consisteth in the promises of God which as we have heard in Christ are all Yea and Amen so unlesse he be stablished and built upon this strength all is nothing What if a man stand on a rock if he be not built on it what if the foundation be never so strong if he be not stablished thereon It is not sufficient that the Promises be stablished but we must be stablished upon them The Promises of God are indeed Yea and Amen might the soul say but what is that to me Therefore the Apostle addeth He that gives the Promises will stablish us upon the promises Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ is God The first thing that I will observe before we come to the particular handling of the words shall be onely this in the general from the connexion and knitting together of this Verse with the former viz. That there must be a double Amen There is an Amen in the Promises they are in themselves true there must be an Amen likewise in us we must say Amen to them that is we must be stablished upon them There must be an Echo in a Christians heart unto God that as God saith These and these things I promise and they are all Amen so the soul by faith must Echo again These things are for me I believe them For as we say in the Schooles to good purpose there is a double certainty a double firmnesse a certainty of the Object and a
care not to encrease their knowledge The more we know of God the more we shall trust him The more we know of a man that we have bonds from that he is an able man and just of his word we shall trust him more and the more our security upon his promise and bond is encreased so the more we know of God as he hath revealed himself in his Word and his voluntary Covenant he hath made with us and performed in the examples of Scripture the more we know him the more we shall trust him And this must be a spiritual knowledge not onely a bare naked reading but it must be spiritual like the truth it self We must see and know spiritual things in their own light to know them by their own light is to know them by the Spirit You know the Spirit dictated the Scripture to the Prophets and Apostles the Spirit did all they wrote as they were acted by the Spirit Now the same Spirit must inform our understanding and take away the vail of ignorance and infidelitie I say the Spirit must do it we must know spiritual things in their own light Therefore a carnal man can never be a good Divine though he have never so much knowledge an illiterate man of another calling may be a better Divine then a great Scholar Why Because the one hath onely notional knowledge discoursive knowledge to gather by strength of parts one thing from another Divinity is a kind of Art and as far as it is an Art to prove one thing by another so a natural man may do wonders in it and yet know nothing in its own spiritual light That is the reason the Divel himself knowes nothing he is a spirit of darknesse because he knowes nothing spiritually and comfortably therefore as there must be humility and faith for our stablishing so there must be spiritual knowledge It is said here that God stablisheth us the same God that stablisheth us must give us faith whereby we are stablished and he must give us knowledge Beg of God that he would vouchsafe us his Spirit when we read the Scriptures beg of God that he would open our understanding by his own Spirit that as there is light in the Scriptures so there may be in us You know an eye must have light before it can see the light light is full of discovery of things in it self I can see nothing except there be light in my eye too there must be a double light so there must be a Spirit in me as there is a Spirit in the Scripture before I can see any thing God must open our eyes and give us spiritual eye-salve to see and then the light of the Scripture and our light together is suficient to found a saving faith as stablishing faith on What is the reason that a Christian stands to his profession though he be weak when the greatest learned men in the world flinch in persecution The knowledge of the one is spiritual and heavenly he hatht ligh in him the other hath no divine spiritual light when light is ioyned with light the light in the soul with the light in the Scripture it makes men wondrous confident To this end labour to be acquainted with Gods Word study the Scriptures and other Treatises of that kind that you may be able to hold fast the truth that it be not wrung from you upon any occasion And in reading it is a good course to observe the main principal undeniable truths such Dogmaticall truths as are clear and evident and to lay them up and oft make queries to our selves Do I understanst this or no Yes I do this I know is true build on it then and bottom the soule upon it And so if it be matter of promises these promises are undeniable true I will stay my soul upon them And so when we meet with plain evidences in the Scriptures that crosse our coruptions that meet with our known sins then consider of those places as Jewels and lay them up that you may have use of them as occasion serves All things have not an equall certainty in Scripture to us some things we may have an implicite faith in but the main we must have a clear apprehension of There are some things that concern Teachers more to know then others by reason of their standing in the Church it is sufficient that in preparation of mind we be ready to imbrace further truths that shall be discovered but in fundamentall truths it is not so we must have our hearts stablished upon them that as they are certain in themselves so they may be certain to us And often let us examine our selves Would I die in this and for this would I stand in the defence of this against any this will make us make much of so much truth as we know and labour to grow in truths in that kind And take no scandal to hear that any shrink from the profession of the truth and the maintaining of it that are of great reputation Was Christ the worse for Judas betraying of him and for Peters denying of him was Paul's truth the worse because he had many enemies Elymas the sorcerer and others Is the truth the worse because there are many that have carnall outward dependance that seeme to shrink when they should stand out The truth is not the worse it is the same truth still truths are eternall in themselves and in the good they bring if they be believed The Word of God endures for ever it is not variable as man is and therefore be not discouraged though men discountenance it remember whose truth it is for whose good it is given the Word of God it is a soul saving truth And retain the truth in love Love is an affection with which we should receive the truth or else God will give us over to uncertainties They in 2 Thess. 2 10. had the truth but because they received not the Love of the truth therefore God sent them strong delusions that they should believe a lie O how lovely is the truth The certainty of our estate in Christ the glorious priviledges that come by him that the gifts of God are without repentance that God looks on us not for foreseen faith or works but such as he had decreed to work himself How comfortable how lovely are these truths being the Word of God notwithstanding some seek to shake them These very truths should be retained in love And indeed the truth is not in its own place till it be fixed in the heart and affections and in a good conscience which S. Paul makes likewise the vessel of the truth and those that care not for that they make shipwrack of the truth And what truths you know labour to practise and then you shall be stablished If any man do the will of my Father saith our Saviour Joh. 7. 17. he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God
see our interest in his humiliation and exaltation in glory because he is the second Adam These things should raise up our thoughts wondrously to think of his humiliation and his exaltation and of the love and mercy of God in him And then think of what you will nothing is discouraging think of death of hell of the day of Judgment think of Satan of the curse of the Law they are terrible things I but think of the Son of God of Christ anointed of God the Father to satisfie the Law to satisfie his Justice to overcome Satan to crush his head to be our Saviour as well as our Judge at the day of Judgment these things will make all vanish Things that are most tetrible to the nature of man without the consideration of Jesus Christ the Son of God all are most comfortable when we think of him Now when we think of Satan we think of one crushed and trod under foot as he shall be ere long When we think of Judgment we think of a Saviour that shall be our Judge when we think of God we think of God reconciled in Christ. We have accesse by Christ to the Throne of grace he is now in heaven and makes intercession for us When we think of death we think of a passage to life where we shall be with him I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. So the things that are most uncomfortable yet bring the consideration of them to Christ exalted in heaven having triumphed over all these in our nature and sits at Gods right hand The thoughts of these things are comfortable meditations Nay think of that which is the most terrible of all the Justice of God his anger for sin it is a matter of comfort above all other God is just to punish and revenge sin what then because he is just he will not punish â—…hing twice but his justice is fully satisfied aad contented in his Son Christ Jesus whom he hath anointed and predestinate and sent himself and he must needs acknowledge that satisfaction that is done by him that he hath sent himself hereupon we come to think comfortably of Gods Justice God out of Christ is a consuming fire there is nothing more terrible then God without Christ but now in Christ we can think of the most terrible thing in God with comfort Therefore S. Paul makes it the main scope of his preaching and so should we of ours and you should make it your main desire in hearing and the main subject matter of your meditating something concerning Christ. Let us often think of our nature in him now exalted in heaven and that we shall follow him ere long our head is gone before and he will not suffer his body alwayes to rot in the earth let us think of his natures and his offices and all the blessed prerogatives that we have by him and all the enemies that are conquered by him that in him we have God reconciled and the Devil vanquished we have heaven opened and hell shut we have our sins pardoned and our imperfections by little and little cured in him we have all in all There are four things that the Apostle speaks of which includes all 1 Cor. 1. 30. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made to us wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption Christ Jesus is all in all if we be ignorant he is our wisdome if we want righteousnesse and holinesse to stand before God he is ouâ—… righteousnesse we stand righteous being cloathed with his righteousnesse If we want Grace Of his fulnesse we receive Grace for Grace he is sanctification to us If we be miserable as we shall be to our sense our bodies shall be turned to rottennesse he is our redemption not onely of the soul but of the body he shall make our bodies like his glorious body as he makes our soules glorious by his Spirit conforming them to his own Image here he means here redemption of our bodies from corruption as well as of our soules from sin He is all in all in sin he is sanctification in death he is life in ignorance he is wisdome there is nothing ill in us but there is abundant satisfaction and remedy in Christ. I speak this the rather to shew what reason S. Paul had to stand on this That all his preaching was to bring Christ Jesus among them I go on The Son of God Jesus Christ preached among you All the good we have by Christ is conveyed by the Ministery Despise that and despise Christ himself Therefore whatsoever benefits we have by Christ they are attributed to preaching they are attributed to the Gospel as it is preached and unfolded therefore it is called the Gospel of the Kingdome The Word of reconciliation The Word of life The Word of faith all these are by Christ but it is no matter whatsoever we have by Christ we must have it by Jesus Christ unfolded in the Ministery of the Word despise the Ministery that is contemptible to flesh and blood and despise Christ himself despise the Kingdome and life and all for Christ preached is that we must relie on Christ unfolded the bread of life must be broken the sacrifice must be anatomized and laid open Christ Jesus the Son of God must be preached he profits not but as he is preached his riches must be unfolded The unsearchable riches of Christ. Therefore God that hath appointed us to be saved by Christ hath appointed and ordained preaching to lay open Jesus Christ among us But to come to the third Point why doth he bring in consent to help By me and Silvanus and Timotheus would not his own authority serve the turn I answer no it would not sometimes In it self it will but in regard of the weaknesse of men it is necessary to joyn the consent of others S. Paul was an Apostle of Christ but he knew that they were so weak that they would regard his testimony the more for the joynt testimony of Timotheus and Silvanus and the rest God considers not so much what is true in it self as how to stablish our faith in it As in the Sacrament would not God give Christ and his benefits is he not true of his Word Yes but he gives the Sacrament for us his promises are sure enough yet he condescends to our weaknesse to adde Sacrament and oath and all the props that may be So the men of God that are led by the Spirit of God though their own authority were sufficient yet they condescend to the weaknesse of others Therefore S. Paul alledgeth with himself Silvanus and Timotheus to strengthen them the better Then again consent is a lovely thing and proceeds from love how sweet a thing is it for brethren to dwell together in unity therefore we ought to stand much upon consent if it may perswade us But as Cyprian saith well it must be consent in the truth Consent that is not
kinds of the promises whether to the promises for this life or the promises of Grace If they be promises of this life take heed we abuse not our selves in them There have been grosse miscarriages even from the beginning of the world will be to the end of the world in the false application of outward promises We see the Jews cryed The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Loed as if God had tied himself to that by a perpetual promise Trust not to lying words saith the Prophet you think you are Gods people and that he will alwayes keep you out of captivity challenge not temporal promises without reservation and subjection to Gods will as he shall see goood Babylon saith I sit as a Queen and I shall for ever So mystical Babylon in the Revelation saith I sit as a Queen till her Judgment and destruction come in one day because she trusted to her present temporal estate Let no man promise himself that that God doth not promise in his Word immunity from the crosse for whatsoever Promise of protection and provision we have all is with the exception of the Crosse remember therefore to construc the Promises aright Then again another rule about the Promises is That it is usual with God to perform them in a wonderful manner that men know not how he doth perform them notwithstanding take that for a rule How is that As Luther was wont to say Gods carriage is by contrary meanes he performs them wonderfully He promised Abraham a child but his body was dead in a manner first and Sarah's womb He promised Joseph to raise him up so high but alas the iron entred into his soul first He promised that Christ should come but all was desperate first The Scepter was departed from Judah So he hath promised that we shall rise from the dead but we must rot in our graves first He hath promised forgivenesse of sins that he will be mercifull to us but he will waken our consciences to see our desperate estate that we are forlorn creatures first and unworthy of any respect from him He hath promised us happinesse we that are Christians are the happiest creatures in the world yet in the sense and eye of the world for the present we are the most forlorn creatures that are yet he performes his promise with comfort here and at last will fully manifest his love to us So at the last his Promises shall be wonderfully performed God doth not perform his Promises according to humane policy he will not do thus because we look he should do thus and thus he will crosse our expectation and yet perform his promise Saint Paul looked to come to Rome but he thought not of coming to Cesar by whipping and perill and ship wrack Moses knew he should come to see Canaan did he think to have such a conflict in the Wildernesse alas he thought not of it God doth wondrous strangely perform his Promises by contraries he crosseth our imaginations and conceits directly and yet he is true of his promise Another branch of this is That though Gods Promises be Yea and Amen in his time yet he usually defers his promises for a time and why Among many other reasons To mortifie self-confidence to fit us for his blessings for except he deferred them we should not be fit for them he defers them that we may be fitted for them long before they come That we might mortifie self-confidence to see that he immediately and graciously performs his promise And in the mean time to exercise faith and repentance and desire and prayer therefore he defers them but yet they are Amen at last though he defer Gods time is better then ours he knowes better then we the Physician knowes his time better then the Patient Hereupon comes a duty consequently upon this dispensation of God if he perform his promises wondrously and unexpectedly and perform them in delay let thy duty be answerable to his dealing wait wait upon God tie him not to such and such courses he can transcend and go beyond thy imagination and do more then thou art able to conceive as the Apostle saith therefore wait his good time Hâ—… that shall come will come Stay Gods leisure prevent him not run not before him And as he doth things by contraries so when thou art in contraries look for contraries when thou art in fin and feelest it on thy conscience believe that he is made righteousnesse to thee he hath promised it it is Yea and Amen in Christ. When thou shalt be turned to dust in the grave believe that he will raise thy body this promise is Yea and Amen and as a pledge of it Christ is gone to heaven when thou art miserable remember the Promise thou shalt be glorious with Christ as he is glorious All his Promises are Yea and Amen in contraries believe contraries because in contraries he performs contraries and say as Job doth Though he kill me yet will I trust in him I know thou canst not deny thy self and thy Promises are Yea and Amen In the worst estate that befalls us let us learn to wrastle with God in the Promises and implead his Promises Why Lord thou hast promised forgivenesse of sins to them that ask it thou hast promised grace and mercy and favour remember thy promise thou canst not deny thy self thou canst not deny thy gracious promise thy Word is as thy self thou art Amen and thy Word is Yea and Amen onely give me grace to wait thy good leisure yet I will not let thee depart without a blessing I will hold thee till I have received a gracious answer as Jacob wrastled with him till he had the blessing Let us labour to answer the promise with our faith and labour to bring our soules to be like his Promises they are Yea and Amen though they be not presently performed let us constantly believe a constant Promise let us cleave to God let us have a Amen for Gods Amen Are the Promises Amen Amen let the soul say Lord So be it so it shall be I will seal thy Amen in thy promise with my Amen in my faith so let us have an Amen for Christs Amen They are all and will be all Amen in Christ in fit time all the gracious Promises will be Yea and Amen let our soules echo and say Amen For our faith must answer the Promises faith and the Promises be correlatives for the promise is not except it be applyed Let faith answer the promise let us labour to be established in the Promises in Gods Word Shall we have certain Promises and shall we waver and stagger Therefore let us complain Lord thy Promises are sure and certain as thou hast said what is the reason I cannot build on them Oh my unfaithful heart Let us condemn our unbelieving our lying hearts that call the truth of God into question and make that which is