when thou hast fought the good fight and the Battle is over and Victory obtained thou shalt find a Song of praise to God as Israel of Old upon the Banks of Salvation when Pharoah and his Host were drowned in the Red-Sea Thou art discouraged and cast down and thy Soul is disquieted within thee because thou art affraid thou hast committed the unpardonable sin the sin against the Holy Ghost â—any of the Israelites were bitten they did look up to the Brazen Serpent a Type of Christ and they were immediately healed if the Devil the old Serpent hath bitten thee and wounded thy Heel look up to Christ by an eye of Faith and thou shalt be healed As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Dost thou think thy sin like that of Demas that embraced this present World Or like those Rom. 1.21 who were without excuse because that when they knew God they glorifyed him not as God neither were they thankful but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish Heart was darkened Is thy sin like theirs who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness Is thy sin like theirs that made Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience Is thy sin like the sin of them that blasphemed Christ when he wrought mighty wonders and miracles opened the eyes of the blind raised the Dead and cast out Devils and said he cast them out through Belzebub the Prince of the Devils Look up unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith look up unto him who was Crucified and lifted up upon the Cross raised from the Dead and is now Ascended into Heaven and is on the Right-Hand of God making intercession for us And the Apostle James giveth encouragement and direction to us James 5.14 Is any man sick among you Let him call for the elders of the Church and let them pray over him anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord And the Prayer of Faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him The effectual fervent Prayer of a righteous man availeth much These are the helps that God afforded to believers in that Day and time and he hath given us ground of hope in our time and Day that our iniquities and transgressions shall be pardoned and blotted out upon Confession and deep humiliation and turning from sin to God It may be thou canst say I did not sin willfully against the Lord and with an high Hand I did not say as they of old after a mighty deliverance wrought for them let us make us a Captain and go back again to Egypt I have not so presumptuously sinned yet I have been tempted and overcome the enemy the Old Serpent hath snapt me by the Heel and bit and wounded me then look up to Christ as they to the Brazen Serpent and that look of Faith will heal thee If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous believe in him and then Add to your Faith vertue and to your vertue knowledg and to knowledg temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godlyness and to godlyness brotherly-kindness and to brotherlykindness charity for if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledg of our Lord Jesus Christ It may be another Poor dejected sorrowful Soul may say I have met with many Trials Troubles and Exercises and I have been ready to sink under my burden I have been made a Spectacle to God Angels and Men and another may say what is like to this I want the assurance of my Salvation the enjoyment of all other things is inconstant and uncertain We have heard of terrible Earthquakes wherewith many have been suddenly swallowed up and ruined and we hear of Wars whereby the Blood of many thousands hath been shed and their Lives extinguished O the Joy of Gods Salvation they that have the lively hopes of this may say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.1 For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands Eternal in the Heavens As you come to enjoy this blessed Priviledg and have a prospect of a happy End you will not be much concerned about any Troubles or Exercises in the way to it The Devil your Adversary goes about continually like a Roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour He will assault and tempt us as he did our Saviour and hit us in those places where he is most like to wound us He taketh our Saviour up into the Holy City and setteth him on the Pinacle of the Temple and then said unto him if thou be the Son of God cast thy self down It is written He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee and in their Hands they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a Stone And then he took him up into an exceeding high Mountain and shewed him all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them and said All these things will I give thee If thou wilt fall down and worship me Then said Jesus to him get thee hence Satan for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Then the Devil left him and behold Angels came and Ministred to him In his first Temptation when he came to our Saviour and said If thou be the Son of God Command that these Stones be made Bread Our Saviour repelled the force of that Temptation and said Man liveth not by Bread only but by every word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of God Resist the Devil as our Saviour did and he will fly from thee and look unto Jesus the Captain of our Salvation and he will enable thee by Faith to quench his Fiery Darts and he will be a Saviour to save thee from thy Sins and also from the wrath to come I have opened the Poinr I propounded to insist on How we may know whether we belong to Christ if we are his he will save us from our Sins and if we belong to him we are under the drawings of the Father For none can come unto me saith Christ except my Father which hath sent me draw him And I have given you several other Marks and Tokens whereby you may examine your selves and know whether you be of Christs little Flock for whom he hath prepared a Kingdom When I come out of the Country unto this great City among a People that hear the Great Rabbies the learned Doctors the Silver-tongued Men and the admired Preachers and great Wits of the Age I cannot but observe how easy it is for People to be bewildred and imposed on and take things on trust from those they
of the Apostle Peter Pet. 1.1 8. Whom having not seen ye Love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with Joy unspeakaâ—le and full of Glory These words Import â—hat though now ye see not the Man Christ â—esus yet the time will come when you shall see him that is when he shall appear in his Glory at the great Day of Judgment when â—he Nations shall stand before him then they shall certainly see him though now they see him not and then Believers shall rejoyce with â—oy unspeakable and full of Glory I say Faith is a very great mystery in that it joyns the Souls of them that truly believe in him to Christ now in heaven Believers do not rejoyce Imaginarily but really True Faith is incomparably a more excellent thing than Imagination is Faith joyneth us to Christ it knitteth us to him and giveth us access unto God by him Remember what our Lord said to Thomas after he arose from the Dead when he appeared to his Disciples the Doors being shut the eleven had seen Christ before when Thomas was not present he would not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to them John 20. When the other Disciples told him we have seen the Lord. He said unto them except I shall see in his Hands the Print of the Nails and put my Finger into the Print of the Nails and thrust my Hand into his Side I will not believe And after eight Days again his Disciples were within and Thomas with them then came Jesus the Doors being shut and stood in the midst and said peace be unto you then saith he to Thomas reach hither thy Finger and behold my Hands and reach hither thy Hand and thrust it into my Side and be Faithless but believing And Thomas answeâ—ed and said unto him my Lord and my Gâ—â— Jesus saith unto him Thomas because thou hâ— seen me thou hast believed Blessed are they thâ— have not seen and yet have believed O my Friends these VVords are preciouâ— my Heart is touched and tendered with theâ— Blessed are they that have not seen yet haâ— believed we have not seen him risen from thâ— Dead he appeared not to us as to them and 〈◊〉 he appeared to Paul outwardly this is oâ— case you are blessed if ye believe in him whoâ— ye have not seen in the Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 the Man Christ Jesus and if they are Blesseâ— that have not seen yet have believed then follows by the Rule of contraries that theâ— were not blessed who did not believe in hiâ— though they saw him and heard him Preach I cannot say it is a Sin in them not to bâ—lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ who have nâ— heard him Preached to them outwardly nor Inwardly who have not heard of his Death Burial Resurrection and Ascension and sittinâ— at the Right-Hand of God I cannot say 〈◊〉 is a Sin in them not to believe who nevâ—â— heard of those things but those that have haâ— this Doctrine preached and also read in thâ— Holy Scriptures and yet do not believe Chrisâ— risen from the Dead that do not believe Chrisâ— died for their Sins nor believe that he is gonâ— to Heaven and liveth for ever to make intercession for us It is so great a Sin not to believe Christs Incarnation Death and Resurrection when it is preached that they bring a Curse upon themselves that believe not this Doctrin after it is plainly preached to them I do say it and am ready to prove what I say They that have an opportunity to hear this Doctrin preached and read it they have an obligation lying upon them to believe it not because of the outward Testimony barely for where-ever the Scriptures come and are read and preached there is an inward Witness and Testimony goes along with the outward Testimony and it cannot be supposed that the inward Testimony of God's holy Spirit will be wanting to them that enjoy the preaching of the Gospel of Christ to enable them to believe It is Unbelief that brings Men under the Curse and makes them guilty before God Our Saviour told the Jews Except you believe that I am he ye shall die in your Sins O this is most dreadful and whither I go ye cannot come It is not a bare literal traditional or historical Faith or Belief in Christ that I preach to the People which is a Faith of no Value or Worth for Hypocrites have this Faith but that Faith which I preach it is a living Faith wrought by the mighty Power of the Spirit of Christ accompanying the outward Teaching It is a living Faith a fruitful Faith and where-ever this Faith is Love is it is never without Love for Faith Hope and Love always go together and all the Fruits of the Spirit all evangelical Vertues Humility Meekness Temperance and Patience so that they that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ they have a Faith that worketh by Love Love to God and Man That Faith that they have in them is a pious devout religious consciencious Faith and this Faith is accompanied with a Desire that every one might partake of the like precious Faith Every one thaâ— hath it they feel an earnest Travel and concern upon their Spirits that all might be partakers of it they are zealous for the Faith of Christ's Doctrine for by the Faith of Christ's Doctrine we have the Faith of Christ himself So that I do not understand for my part how people can have the Faith of Christ that have not the Faith of his Doctrine A Man or Woman may have a measure of the true Faith of Christ and be short in some matter of Doctrine that is not fundamental they may be wanting in some measure but it were better that there was nothing wanting if possible I long to see you saith the Apostle Rom. 1.11 compared with 1 Thess 3.10 that I may perfect what is lacking in your Faith He did suppose those that were partakers of the Faith of Christ might have something lacking in their Faith that might be supplied to them Christ's Doctrine as it is powerfully preached hath this Service in it to help a Man to lay hold on Christ by Faith as you know we can more easily lay hold upon a Man that is cloathed than upon one that is naked we can more easily lay hold upon Christ by laying hold upon his Doctrine and upon his precious Promises the Promise of Remission of Sin and of his Holy Spirit John 7.38 He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of living Water These are exceeding great and precious Promises by which we may be made partakers of the Divine Nature I can tell you something of mine own Experience I was enabled to lay hold on Christ by laying hold on the Promise of Christ Christ comes cloathed with the precious Promises to believe the Promise of Salvation through Christ Jesus the Promise of Remission of
us exceeding great and precâ—ous Promises that by these we might be Partakers of the divine Nature according to his divine Power whereby he hath given unto us all things partaining to Life and Godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to Glory and Vertue You see the Promises are of great use to us in order to our being made Partakers of the divine Nature and to witness Regeneration and the new Birth It is not enough to read them outwardly unless a divine Work be upon us to enable us to see the Promises and our Right and Interest in them otherwise they will not be effectual upon us The next thing that I would speak to is the Subject of Faith that is the Seat of it as it is placed in a Man or Woman whether it is only in the Understanding as an assent to the Truth or placed in the Will and Affections so as to have an influence on all the Powers and Faculties of the Soul I answer True and saving Faith is seated in the Understanding and in the Will and so hath an influence upon the Affections and so the Affections come to be renewed and sanctiâ—ied through the Power of Faith As Faith is â—n the Understanding it respects Christ as he â—s faithful and true but as Faith is placed in â—he Will of Man he iâ— the Beloved of the Soul â—nd the great desire of the Soul and Faith reâ—pects Christ and God in Christ as he is good â—nd gracious not only as he is holy and â—â—ist faithful and true but as good merciful and gracious tender and compassionate 〈◊〉 Faith in God and in Christ Jesus as it is seated in the Understanding and Will it esteem him as the supream Truth and chief Good submits to his Scepter and depends upon hiâ— Sacrifice and Satisfaction resigns and surrenders up to his Government to commanâ— the whole Man the Affections Memory anâ— bodily Members that Christ may be All in All. And now to come to a Conclusion and to end as I begun it is the Duty of every one that professeth himself to be a true Christian to examine himself whether he hath the true Faith of Christ or be in the true Faith Now I have opened the nature of true Faith it is the more easy for you to come unto an Examination of your selves examine your selveâ— by all the Marks and Tokens that can 〈◊〉 given you whether you are in the Faith anâ— the true Faith be in you if you have thâ— Spirit of God ye may know the things freelâ— given you of God It is by the Spirit of Goâ— that we may know whether we have Faith and Love and Meekness and Humility anâ— other Evangelical Graces There are divers Helps and such things as may be called Marks and Evidences whereby we may be helped to know whether we have true Faith oâ— no. But some may say if we may know whether we have true Faith by Marks and Signs what need we the Spirit And if we maâ— know it by the Spirit then what need wâ— Marks and Signs and other Evidences It is the work of the Spirit to intimate to us whether we have these Marks God hath given us the Book of the holy Scriptures that tells us If we have Faith it works by Love it is such a Faith as hath Works accompanying of it such as love to God and love to one another If thou lovest not thy Brother whom thou hast seen how canst thou be said to love God whom thou hast not seen If we love God above all and love our Brother and love our Enemies these are good Marks and Evidences that we are in the Faith The holy Scripture giveth Marks and Signs of a Man's being a true Believer but the Scripture doth not tell us that we have those Marks But you will say If a Man do examine himself he may be mistaken though he attend â—o what Conscience shall speak You are not to rely upon the Testimony of Conscience alone a Man 's own Conscience may err and his Heart deceive him when it tells him That he hath Faith and Love and other Evangelical Graces But if the Spirit of God witnesseth with our Spirits that we have these Marks and that we are indeed the Children of God then be sure we cannot be deceived when the Spirit of Truth doth give us this infallible Testimony A SERMON Preached by John Raunce AT Harp-Lane near Towerstreet August 19th 1694. 1 Thess v. 21. Prove all things hold fast that which is good IT is a Saying of the Apostle Paul to the Church of the Thessalonians Prove all things hold fast that which is good The Thessalonians were a People too like to many in ouâ— Days they wanted to be truly settled in thaâ— which is good and that made the Apostle speak in Commendation of the Men of Bereaâ— Acts 17.11 These were more noble than thosâ— in Thessalonica in that they received the Worâ— with all readiness of Mind and searched thâ— Scriptures daily whether those things were so that were preached among them And truly Friends I have this to say among you That every one who is come through the Exercises they have met with to a tryal of things that offer themselves to their Consideration they may be said to be a happy People if they have so proved all things as to hold fast that which is good This is the Day wherein we live wherein things offer themselves to a seeking Peoplâ— after such a various manner that truly all who desire Salvation to their immortal Souls ought to be very mindful of the Exhortation I now mentioned Prove all things and hold fast that which is good Some may ask me What is here meant by All Things that the Apostle bids them Prove I answer They were such things as are of a Religious Concern He did not bid them prove all things of one kind or another that offered themselves to them but these all Things relate only to religious Matters We are among a People that are religiously concerned about many things that offer themselves unto them There are many Ways many Perswasions and Professions and many things that offer themselves to our Consideration It ought to be our Care and Concern like the noble Bereans to try all things and prove all things It greatly commends those Men and Women that will try and examine Matters and not receive things upon Trust as too many do in our Days There are a great many as the common Proverb is that are ready to pin their Faith upon another Man's Sleeve to be of his Opinion and Perswasion without any good Ground or serious Consideration That which I have to mention among you at this Time is the Apostle's Exhortation Prove all things hold fast that which is good In Matters of a Religious Concern Matters of Faith wherein your Eternal Salvation is concerned go not by hear-say because other Men say so but let us all come to practise