GRACE MERCY AND PEACE CONTEINING 1 Gods Reconciliation to Man 2 Mans Reconciliation to God By Henry Denne An unworthy servant of the Church Not by Arms nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of Hosts Zach 4.5 LONDON Printed for the Benefit of the City of Rochester A Prayer O Lord God Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hast given commandement unto thy Apostles and Ministers to preach the Gospell to every Creature Bel old O Lord the oppositions and threatnings which the enemyes of thy Grace have breathed forth against thy truth and thy seruants for thy truths sake How they gnaw their toungs for paine and blaspheme the God of 〈◊〉 not repenting them of their deeds Behold the troopes that are assembled together against the Lord and against his anointed sonne Iesus Christ for to to doe whatsoever thy hand and thy counsell hath determined before to be done Now let the Lord grant unto his seruants that with all boldnesse they may speake thy word being nothing terrified by the Adversarie That the light of the Grace of God may shine in the hearts of his people that the man of sin and sonne of perdition may be destroyed by the brightnesse of thy comming Amen Acts 10.36 Preaching Peace by Iesus Christ IT was our Saviours Commandement unto his Apostles Luke 10 into whatsoever City ye come say vnto them the Kingdome of God is come nigh unto you verse 9. And into whatsoever house ye enter first say peace be unto this house And if the sonne of peace be there your peace shall rest upon it if not it shall turne to you againe verse 5.6 I am this day by the providence of the Almighty comea stranger to your City And now what fitter subiect can I thinke of for a stranger to speake unto strangers than the glad tidings of Peace by Iesus Christ Cornelius the centurion with his kinsmen and neere Friends are the Auditors Peter is the preacher And this text a part of that sermon at the preaching whereof the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word verse 44. O that the Lord would vouchsafe that the like effect may this day follow the preaching of the word of this life That as many as heare me this day may goe away filled with the fullnesse of God Peter doth seem to say in effect thus much you are heere met together to attend unto the word of salvation delivered from my mouth I can preachto you no other gospel then that which was before by the Prophets declared unto the children of Israell in due time to be revealed that is to say Peace by Iesus Christ he is the Lord of all The Proposition from these words is that the Gospell is a Doctrine of Peace by Iesus Christ This Doctrine propounded needeth not soe much proofe as explication namely to shew unto you what manner of Peace this is which is holden forth unto you by the tender of the glorious Gospell I hope you doe not expect that I should this day declare unto you any outward temporall or worldly Peace in the middest of these distempers I would I might and be yet a true Prophet The Peace which is the subiect of the Gospell is like the Kingdom of Christ being indeed a part of it not of this world Iohn 18.46 The Peace which came by Iesus Christ is not an earthly Peace our blessed Saviour will not that you should entertaine or harbour such a thought as this Thinke not that I am come to send Peace on earth I came not to send Peace but the sword for I am come to set the daughter in law against her mother in law and a man 〈◊〉 shall be they of his owne houshould Math. 10.34 If any one then shall preach unto you that if you will imbrace the Gospell you shall have outward Peace and prosperity Is not this the presuptious man speaking His owne words Is not this the prophet prophesying in his own name whom the Lord hath not sent If any christian shall embrace the Gospell in hope to attain outward felicity and prosperity let me tell him his thoughts wander from the truth and he erreth not knowing the Scriptures for if any man will come after me let him deny himself take up his crosse and follow me Mat. 16.24 And all that will live godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 Heare we also what Paule saith 2. Cor. 11.23.24.25 verses In stripes above measure in prisons more frequent in deaths oft of the Iews five times received I fourty stripes save one that is in all 195. stripes thrice was I beaten with rods once was I stoned thrice I suffered shipwrack a night and a day have I been in the deep in iorneying often in perils of waters in perils of robbers in perils by mine owne countrymen in perils by the heathen in perils in the city in perils in the wildernesse in perils in the sea in perils amongst false brethren In wearines and painfullnesse in watchings often In hunger and thirst In fastings often In cold and nakednesse what a catalogue of evils what an inventory of afflictions have we here And yet all this and more is the portion of a laborious Apostle And if we will seek for a true and sincere Minister of the Gospel we shall assoon find him in poverty and nakednesse as jetting up and down the streets with attendants at his heels we shall assoon find him in the universitie of Newgate or some other prison as in great mens houses we shall assoon him in a cloud of reproach as in a fat benefice or Cathedrall dignity we shall assoon finde him at the Bar accused of heresie condemned for blasphemy as in the Courts of Kings or Princes for to the instruction and consolation of the people of God be it spoken they shall put you art of their Synagouges yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service John 16. Seing then that it is clear that it is no worldy peace it remaineth yet to shew you what peace this is which the Gospel preacheth It is not an externall peace but it is internall yea eternall It is a lasting yea an everlasting peace A peace which no tounge is sufficient to expresse nor heart to conceive it is even the love of Christ that passeth knowledge Eph. 3.19 It is even the peace of God which passeth al. yea angelicall understanding If some great and 〈◊〉 angell should undertake to declare this peace to you am consident he would confesse his abilities too weak how much more I that am but dust and ashes Surely when I shall have told you all that I am able I shall not tell you one hundredth part when you shall understand and believe all that you are able you shall not attain unto the least part of that glory which shall hereafter be revealed though I am not able to speak what you desire or the thing it self deserveth
yet I will endevout to speak what I am able And I shall commend unto you a twofold Peace the first Descending The second ascending The first is the tidings of the love and reconciliation of the everliving God unto the sonnes of men The second declares the reconciliation of the sonnes of men to the everliving and everloving God To speak plain first I will shew how God comes to be reconciled unto men Beare with the term reconciled although improperly spoken of him that was never an euemy Secondly I will shew you how we come to be reconciled unto God For the first How doth God come to be reconciled to men I conceive now the drooping conscience that sits in darknesse under the cloudy apprelhension of an angry Iudge under the fearfull expectation of a terrible account to be given unto the consuming fire wil be very attentive to heare that which his heart so thirsteth after How God may be reconciled Oh what shal I doe saith the soule to obtain the favour of God What shall I doe to turn away his wrathfull displeasure from me wherewith shall I come before him or how shall I appease him Attend therefore and I shall declare that which thou wilt hardly believe when it is told unto thee for Lord who hath believed out report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed Isa 53.1 And yet that which I shall declare if thou canst believe it will fill thy mouth with laughter and thy longue with singing Psal 126.2 Take this proposition God is freely and fully reconciled to the elect and loveth them in Iesus Christ without any previous dispositions without any qualifications without any performances of conditions on their parts unlesse to be polluted and finful be a previous condition or qualification This is a bold proposition will the pharisee say this is too good newes to be true will the distressed soul say But I say the Lord break your stony harts give you an heart of flesh that you may submit to his righteousnes And I make no question but the glorious grace of the father of our Lord Jesus Christ shal abundantly be manifested The method I intend is 1 To prove the truth of this proposition 2 To answer six obiections 3 To make application 1 For the proof When Eve and Adam in whose loins we all sinned had eaten the forbidden fruit and were now become guilty of condemnation They hear the voice of God walking in the garden which voice was this thou haste at en and thou shalt dy they hide thmselves from the presence of God amongst the trees of the garden when man had sinn'd was in a despairing condition having not so much wit as to think of a saviour much lesse the boldnes to ask one at the hands of an offended God Now in this case behold the exceed-Love of God towards man in giving and manifesting the promised seed aswell to the terrour of Satan as to the consolation of mankind And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed and it shall bruise his head and thou shalt bruise his heel Gen. 3.15 See if I may compare the Creator with the creature how the Lords bowells doe yern upon man And he cannot refraine himself but that least man should have been swallowed up with sorrow the blessing of the promised seed shall be first declared before the Lord pronounce the least curse against man Father Abraham receiveth the promise in the uncircumcision of his flesh And unto Adam is the promise revealed in the uncircumcision of his heart but lest you should think that some qualification in Adam did forerun the manifestation of the promise I will referre you unto that place of Scripture which I am resolved shall never slip out of my remembrance and I hope the like of you 2 Tim. 1.9 VVho hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Iesus before the world began What 〈◊〉 there that is not comprehended in this word grace here you see that grace was given before the world began Now what conditions or qualifictions were there in us before the world began We may safely therefore say that the grace of our God was before all conditions c unto this we will adde in the next place one text that like a diamond casteth his lustre in the dark and ministreth a great measure of the spirit Eph. 2.4.5 God who is rich in mercie for his great love wherewith the loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sinnes hath quickened us together with Christ by grace ye are saved What if I shall now prove so bold as to make such a stop at sinnes as shall shew that that part of the sentence is referred to that which went before so that we may say in plain terms that God loved us with his great Love even when we were dead in trespasses and sins If I shall read it thus the text will bear it either in the originall or in other translations But if any froward person shall say that I doe iniurie in reading it thus and that this clause dead in trespasses sins ought rather to be referred to quickened which followes after then to the verb loved which goeth before Let this man know that the sence will be one and the same for when God quickened us then he loved us with his great love His love being the cause of quickening the effect of his Love But thou sayst we were quickened when we were dead in trespasses and sins Therefore we conclude we were loved with his graet love when we were dead in trespasses and sins For further confirmation I must intreat you to consider what is written by the Apostle Rom. 9.11.12.13 verses For the children being not yet born neither having done good or evill that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calleth It was said unto her the elder shall serve the yonger as it is written Iacob have I loved but Esau have I hated Now you see Gods love set upon Iacob where were Iacobs qualifications he had neither done good nor evill Therefore it is plain that God loved him before any qualification But some may confesse that the Lord loved him indeed before he had done good or evil And yet may perchance ask a question upon a supposition saying suppose that after Iacob was born he should have led a wicked and perverse life suppose that for some yeares he should have been a notorious and prophane person would or could the Lord have continued his love to such a person as this I answer boldly yea for Gods love and mercy are mercies of eternity the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that feare him Psal 103 17 not only to everlasting as eternall in respect of time
moveth me unto it For there is nothing in you but rebellion but I doe it for my glory sake As the Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord Esay 48.8.9 I knew that thou wouldest deale very treachercusly and was called a transgressour from the womb for my names sake will I deferre mine anger and for my praise will I refraine for thee that I cut thee not off This is all the qualification we bring unto God to win his love and mercie We are rebellious we are prophane we are a stiffe necked people And if the Lord should not love us untill hee find lovely conditions in us surely he must hate us for ever If God should not be reconciled unto us untill we be reconciled unto him he must continue our enemy for ever Wherefore considering what hath been said we will be bold to conclude to the praise of the glory of his grace that his love and mercie to us is before all qualifications in us that his love and mercy to us is the cause of all qualifications in us That his love towards us is as great before faith and conversion as after There is no difference in him But some will say peradventure we grant that God thus loveth us as is before prov'd but it may be it was because hee foresaw we would be good repent beleeve c. Farre bee it from us to entertain such thoughts He that well pondereth what hath beene said shall well perceive that God doth not therefore love us because hee foresaw we will repent and beleeve but therefore causeth us to repent and beleeve in his time because he loveth us But to make this also more cleare the holy Ghost declares That the kindnesse of God towards man appeared not by works of righteousnesse which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us Tit. 3.4 5. The paterne according to which God setteth his love upon man was not any thing save his rich mercy whereby it is plain Not that wee loved him but that he loved us 1 Iohn 4.10 Yee have not chosen mee but I have chosen you Iohn 15.16 As our Father Abraham receiceived the righteousnesse of faith being yet uncircumcised and then received the signe of circumcision a seale of the righteousnesse of faith which hee had yet being uncircumcised So as Abraham was first righteous and then circumcised not first circumcised and then righteous So the children of Abraham are first beloved and then converted not first converted and then beloved And as God did not account Abraham righteous because he foresaw he would be circumcised But therefore he gave him the signe of Circumcision because he had made him righteous So it is with the children of Abraham God doth not therefore love them because he foreseeth they will repent and believe but therefore he causeth them in his time to repent and believe the Gospel because he loved them Thus have I done with the first thing propounded in the handling of this proposition The second followes namely the answer unto the severall obiections The first and greatest is this if God love the elect while they are yet dead in trespasses and sinnes tand so love them with his great love and with as great a love before couversion as after as is before proved then how is it said Psalm 5.5 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity And hither we may reserre many places of Scripture of like nature If God hate all the workers of iniquity how can he be said to love the ungodly Thus you see in one short sentence seemeth to be quite overthrown all that I have hitherto spoken To wind out of this labarinth which some having assayed have further intangled themselves with invocation unto God for the wisedome of his holy Spirit to guid us into the truth I will first shew you what some have said to clear this and then I shall deliver unto you mine own iudgement And yet I hope not mine owne but the iudgement of the Spirit of God and of most of the Saints of God First then I find a great Cathedrall Doctor moving the obiection and labouring to give solution to give us this distinction That God hates the workes but nor the persons of his elect I will not stand to question whether there may be such a distinction admitted or no but will take it for grant and yet I doe believe sinne to be of that hideous nature and the iustice of God so perfect that he cannot but hate the person unto whom hee imputeth and upon whom he chargeth sinne if so be the person charged cannot give full perfect and present satisfaction And yet will I not say that the Sonne of God upon whom all our iniquities great and small were charged was at any time Filius odii a sonne of hatred for the father was eternally well pleased with him the reason is that our sinnes were no sooner charged upon him but that hee had given full and perfect satisfaction being the Lamh slain from the foundation of the world Rev. 13.8 Although the soresaid distinction of person and workes should be granted without further question yet give me leave to pronounce it nothing pertinent to the solution of the Obiection in hand For the Text saith not onely he hateth the works but the workers that is the persons working iniquite Another answer is brought to untie this knot by a jiugling distinction of a twofold love in God namely Amor benevolentiae and amor complacentiae that the simple may understand there is in God say they a love of well willing and a love of liking Now God say they loves his elect before their conversion with the love of well-willing but not with the love of liking Like unto which we heare of a distinction not seldome Of the love of Election and the love of Iustification God say they loves his elect with the love of Election but not with the love of Iustification First of all I desire you to consider whether there be not more time then reason in these distinctions the love of Election and the love of Iustification being not diverfities of love or divers degrees of love but divers manifestations of one and the same infinite love As when a Father hath conveyed an inheritance to his Sonne here is no new love from the Father to the Sonne but a new manifestation of that love wherewith the father loved the sonne before Secondly how can it be that God should not like the person whom he loves There is indeed this difference betwen Humane love and Divine Men commonly love because they like but God likes because hee loves Man cannot but love where hee likes And I beleeve speaking of the person God cannot but like where hee loves To make such differences of love in God will I feare open a gap to many foule absurdities But suppose that these things could be so it will appeare that God loves the persons of his elect not only with a
this ceremony and another for that as though there were a mortall difference betweene them yea the difference so great that it is sometimes the greatest reason for one side to refuse this or that because the other useth it Now hee that shall search into the innermost secrets of these antagonists shall finde them that so eagerly differ about circumstance who could have beleeved it to agree in substance Like ships that sail in the sea a great way asunder yet all tending to one haven All tending to this end to win or obtaine the favour of an angry God This that hath beene spoken may prove a helpe to administer a spirit of discerning unto the simple in these distracted time wherein the Commonwealth is not more distracted than the Church Now among so many diversities of opinions how shall we know which is the old and the good way that we may walk in it One saith I am Christ another nay but I am Christ for thy direction search for that religion that abaseth man that giveth the glory of grace to God that propoundeth the free love of God in lesus Christ without mixture of any thing in the creature that is the true religion all the rest are false that is the true way and strait line all the rest are counterfeit and crooked This is the first application The second Application is to correct our idolatrous thoughts iudgements that vve have had of God What foolish fancies have possest our soules How often have we thought God to be like unto our selves How many times have wee imagined an angry God a wrath full Maiesty And sought to appease his indignation by fasting by praying by almes by teares and such like things O foolish man if his wrath should nor bee before appeased what creature could stand in his sight Doe wee not see when some Lion-like man is incensed the vvhole house trembles not one servant no not a son dares come into his presence before his wrath be over If we so feare the uniust vvrath of man how terrible would the iust vvrath of consuming fire bee what great presumption were it for the creature to come into his presence if his wrath were not appeased We complain of idolatry crept into our unhappy Nation We complain of bowing of cringing of crossing and many such fopperies Search we I beseech you if idolatry have not hitherto crept into your hearts if you have not set up a great idoll and bowed unto that image with all it vvorshippeth Learne to make clean the inside as vvell as the outside of the cup. Learn to banish out of the soule those foolish and vain conceits learn to see the glory of the face of God in Jesu and to worship him in spirit and in truth There cannot bee greater idolatry committed than to conceive a possibility of gaining the love and favour of God by vvorkes wrought in the creature This is as great an idoll as that which was set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon sixtie cubits high Dan. 3. This is the Beast that hath made the whole earth to partake of her fornications The third Application is to stirre us up to admire the exceeding love of God and his wonderfull goodnesse Heare O heavens and give eare O earth vvhether ever the like grace were heard of since the mountaines were framed Who could have expected that the Lord should have been halfe so gracious Did vve ever imagine to heare such a voyce from heaven to earth so full of grace so full of glory Had the Lord propounded his love and reconciliation to us upon hard and difficult conditions yet if possible should not we have accounted it an happinesse for what would not the distressed soul have done vvitnesse the acts of our Forefathers for to have purchased remission and to have obtained the favour of God But see if any grace bee like to this grace The Lord calleth from heaven unto the sonnes of men by his Son Iesus saying O yee sons of men what could I have done or what could you have vvished me to doe more then I have done Behold I am friends with you I love you truly see have I not given you my Sonne And now I beseech you by my Son that you would bee reconciled unto me I am friends with you be you friends with me Did vve ever think to hear the God of Heaven to beseech and intreat us to bee reconciled unto God That man should intreat God to be reconciled vvas that vve might imagine but that vve should find God already reconciled and praying of man that he vvould bee reconciled this is grace beyond expression And as this sets forth the glorious grace of God so doth it aggravate our unthankfulnesse unto God if vve shall refuse his gracious offer If some poore and base man some notorious person had offended the Magistrates of this Citie vvhereby he had deserved severe punishment yet the Magistrates should send for this offendor and declare themselves satisfied and intreat him to shake hands with them If now this offendor should stubbornly refuse to bee reconciled to them whom hee had offended what should vvee thinke of such a person The case is ours it is wee that have offended God God hath not offended us yet now when the offended God shall declare his grace and send the ministery of reconciliation to us who were offendors if wee shall now refuse and turne away our eares and refuse to submit to his righteousnesse what ingratitude will this be That we may yet more admire the grace of our God the Lord is pleased to use familiar expressions to declare unto us that it pleased God to betroath unto himselfe a wife whom he would admit into so much favour as to call him Ishi my Husband Hosea 2.16 unto whom he would vouchsafe so much honour as to call her his Spouse his Love his Dove c. and to betroath her unto himself for ever Who is it unto whom the Lord vouchsafeth such grace What person is it whom the Lord vvill take to be his Spouse Was there ever such a thing as this heard That povertie should sue unto riches That deformity should sue unto beauty is no wonder But that a Mighty Rich Beautifull and Potent Prince should sue unto a poore old decrepit deformed diseased lowsie beggar what story can witnesse any such thing And with reverence and trembling be it spoken the mighty God of heaven betroaths unto himselfe and sweares unto vile poore deformed sinfull diseased loathsom man When man intendeth to take a companion of his love some aime at Nobility some at Beautie others at Riches these are the three load-stones that commonly attract the liking and love of man But it is not so with God Look we at the nobility of his Spouse at her parentage from whence she is descended Thy father was an Ammorite thy mother a Hittite she is base borne a daughter of whoredoms But it may bee beauty